The indispensable site Watching America, which contains pieces from foreign newspapers, many of them translated specifically for the site, has a Le Monde editorial that proclaims "Zarqawi Has Won." And rather than being a medley of rhetoric, it lays out its case in specifics. Some highlights:Before disappearing, the Jordanian jihadist had, in less than three years, won his … [Read more...] about French Newspaper Argues “Zarqawi Has Won”

Oxblog's Patrick Porter raises the issue:THE UTILITY OF FORCE? How useful is killing single figureheads when fighting a complex insurgency? This recurrent question has sharpened with today's news that Zarqawi is dead. It is tempting to assume, as some commentators do, that this falls into a futile and self-propelling cycle of violence.Read the rest to find out the rest. … [Read more...] about Zarqawi’s Death: On The Utility Of Force

Should they be auctioned off? … [Read more...] about The Debate Over Martin Luther King, Jr’s Papers

...and the clone group sang their hits in another language. The group was The Indian Beatles. … [Read more...] about The Beatles Once Had A Clone

The first send-'em-a-message action by iraq insurgents/terrorists in the wake of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's death has been transmitted...and received on the Internet:Insurgents signaled the fight is still on after Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's death, posting an Internet video Saturday showing the beheading of three alleged Shiite death squad members in revenge for killing Sunnis. The … [Read more...] about Iraq Insurgents Make It Clear Beheadings Will Continue

Yesterday we ran this post about a story about Virginia Senate candidate James Webb's campaign having put out a cartoon that his Jewish opponent considered antisemitic. Drawing pictures of Jewish people with accentuated hooked noses, and also using the phrase "anti-Christ" is not usually something that would qualify you for an Anti-Defamation League Citizen Of The Year award. … [Read more...] about More On Senate Candidate Webb And The Cartoon

Washington Post: For Fans, It's Time to Let It Fly Roger Eatwell, a professor of European politics at the University of Bath, said there are several reasons why people were for so long uncomfortable with the flag. Since the 1970s, the Union Flag and the St. George's flag have become closely associated with extreme nationalist parties, he said. Those political parties have … [Read more...] about Of English Flags & PC

Washington Post: For Fans, It's Time to Let It Fly Roger Eatwell, a professor of European politics at the University of Bath, said there are several reasons why people were for so long uncomfortable with the flag. Since the 1970s, the Union Flag and the St. George's flag have become closely associated with extreme nationalist parties, he said. Those political parties have … [Read more...] about Of English Flags & PC

Miss Frances of Ding-Dong School, my most famous relative, has been honored with an Ohio Historical Marker according to today's Toledo Blade: OTTAWA, Ohio - The star of the 1950s television show Ding Dong School, known simply as Miss Frances, was an unforgettable character to Betsy Baldwin. When the retired teacher learned Miss Frances was born and raised in this Putnam County … [Read more...] about Miss Frances Gets Historical Marker

TMV in his other incarnation drove some 350 miles in two days and did five shows. His posts will resume after 7 a.m. PST. But keep checking back since our always independent cobloggers may have some things to say. … [Read more...] about TMV’s Posts To Resume After 7 a.m. PST

THIS JUST IN from investigative reporter Andy Borowitz:ANN COULTER CHALLENGES PRESIDENT OF IRAN TO INSANE COMMENT CONTEST Conservative Pundit, Iranian Madman to Face Off on Live TV Conservative pundit Ann Coulter today challenged Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to what she called “an insane comment contestâ€? on live TV to determine who is the insane comment champion … [Read more...] about THIS JUST IN!

Michael Reynolds has a must read post about Daily Kos and what it really means in the grand scheme of things.I am a netroots skeptic. I don't think politics has moved to the web. I think there is a disconnect between web-world and real-world. Remember "meet ups?" Go to MeetUp.com, scroll through the political stuff. Lots of zeroed-out groups. Remember "flash mobs?" Yes, the … [Read more...] about The Notroots

How Baseball fans can teach us a valuable lesson about anti-discrimination law. I ask my loyal TMV readers from some verification of a judgment call I made. Both Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire pursued a cherished home run record while under the shadow of steroid allegations. And while McGwire certainly took a fair amount of heat, his treatment in the press and in the popular … [Read more...] about Two Kings

Daveed Gartenstein-Ross knows:Zarqawi's role model was twelfth century Arab fighting king Nur ad-Din Zanki. Zanki had two missions in life: to drive the Crusaders from Arab lands and to crush Shiite rulers. Few understood the importance that Zarqawi placed on him. In interviews with Iraq and Zarqawi specialists at the State Department, Defense Department and West Point's … [Read more...] about Who Was Zarqawi’s Role Model?

Dennis Sanders is right. Gay marriage is an important issue, and after watching clips of Bill Bennett trying to explain his views about gay marriage on The Daily Show, I can't help but feel that this issue is essential to our nation moving in a positive direction. Why? Very simple. Bennett's arguments just don't hold water. And the tradition argument has been used to prevent … [Read more...] about Bill Bennett On Gay Marriage

Yes, Virginia, in Virginia you should file this one in your Reprehensible Department File:[Virginia] Senate candidate James H. Webb, President Reagan's former Navy secretary, was criticized by his Jewish opponent Friday over a campaign flier that depicted the opponent with a hooked nose and cash spilling from his pockets. The flier was intended for distribution among labor … [Read more...] about UPDATED: Senate Candidate Webb Caught In Bigotry Web

I just want to give a plug to The Washington Post's spectacular series on being a Black man. The current installment, about an 9-year old Black boy growing up in a wealthy suburb, is wonderful, and I've enjoyed every article in the series that I've read. This one is particuarly important since, as Prometheus notes, it illustrates that Black people of all economic classes face … [Read more...] about Portrait of a Young Black Man

Over at The Reaction, co-blogger Creature looks at the Zarqawi killing, the spin from Tony Snow, and the truth about Iraq. See here. Some further reaction to Zarqawi's death is here. … [Read more...] about Iraq — “scattered, fragmentary acts of violence”?

So the U.S. finally got one of the most wanted terrorists. The man who was seen taunting President George W. Bush on a video (didn't he remember what happened to the last leader in Iraq named Saddam who taunted Bush?). The man who gleefully and mercilessly sawed off the heads of terrified, screaming victims and held the dripping-with-blood heads up so the "snuff video" could be … [Read more...] about UPDATED: Zarqawi’s Death Brings Hope, Joy And Partisanship

It's time for another poem by TMV's favorite poet, Michael Silverstein, aka Wall Street Poet. The Gay Marriage Poem There's something sacred about the union Of a married man and wife, Which is doubtless why such bondings Rarely lead to household strife; Were we ever to acknowledge Other pairings with no cavil, Then our present social order Would most certainly … [Read more...] about Guest Poet: The Gay Marriage Poem