Hotline On Call has the full text of former president Clinton's speech at Cooper Union's commencement today. Quite an interesting and - if I may say so - good speech. Some excerpts follow: "Too often in the past twenty-five years our elections and political discourse have been marked by the triumph of personal attacks, baseless or irrelevant assertions, and blind ideology over … [Read more...] about Clinton Talks Like a Centrist at Cooper Union

It looks as if ABC News bigwigs scoped the landscape — and third place ratings — and decided they needed to have one, big journalistic gun to compete with NBC's Brian 'Williams and CBS-to-be's Katie Couric in the evening newscast anchor wars:ABC News has named Charles Gibson to be sole anchor of "World News Tonight." "Charlie Gibson is one of the most distinguished … [Read more...] about ABC Names Charles Gibson Sole World News Tonight Anchor

I'm too sick to comment on it, but this article on Al Gore's political prospects is truly fascinating. … [Read more...] about Al Gore for President?

Once again the administration has stepped into a political buzzsaw involving issues of separation of powers. And, it now turns out, the government reportedly knew that this raid was indeed unprecedented — which suggests bipartisan concerns over this not being separation-of-power as usual have some foundation. The Washington Post reports: An unusual FBI raid of a … [Read more...] about FBI’s Raid On Lawmaker’s Office Questioned By Both Parties

Kurtz Media Notes Monday: Rove "Scoop" Remains Exclusive Robert Luskin, Karl Rove's lawyer, says he spent most of the day on May 12 taking his cat to the veterinarian and having a technician fix his computer at home. He was stunned, therefore, when journalists started calling to ask about an online report that he had spent half the day at his law office, negotiating with … [Read more...] about UPDATED AND MOVED UP: Truthout‘s Story on Karl Rove

Studs Terkel and friends have sued AT&T over NSA wiretapping. AP via CNN: CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- A lawsuit filed Monday on behalf of author Studs Terkel and others seeks to stop AT&T from giving customer phone records to the National Security Agency without a court order. The plaintiffs, who also include a doctor and a state lawmaker, said they rely on … [Read more...] about Go Studs Go!

Why is it important for Americans to continue to demand to find out exactly and precisely what went wrong during Katrina — even if a ton has come out already? Why is it important for Democrats, Republicans and Independents to want to get answers that are NOT covered with protective political figleafs — even in Congressional election year? Why is it important for … [Read more...] about Forecasters Predict “Tougher Than Average” Hurricane Season

The post-Communist-era reorganization of Europe continues — continuing to remind Europe of an unpleasant fact, as The Christian Science Monitor notes:PODGORICA, MONTENEGRO; AND PARIS – The joyful fireworks and street parties that exploded in the streets of Podgorica on Sunday night, as Montenegrins celebrated a vote in favor of independence, found few echoes Monday in … [Read more...] about Europe Gets A New Country

Can you guess which was was named the worst? Probably not. It's a relatively newer entry. The list is HERE. … [Read more...] about The Worst Movies Of All Time

TMV is still "stranded" (in a great place — the green-tree lined, cool climate mountains of Eastern Arizona). Dial up connection here is almost impossible. Wireless is poor. He will post as and when he can. Meanwhile, keep checking back for the always creative and independent co-bloggers' posts. He expects his car will be fixed later today (when the part arrives from … [Read more...] about TMV Still “Stranded”

My nomination for quote of the day (I'd recommend reading the post, as it's better in context): Interestingly, the newspaper didn't mention that Mao, unlike George Washington, George W. Bush, or Jesus, is responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of Chinese who died while he ran the country. Mao Tse Dong. The odd man out in the Washington, Bush, and Jesus club. … [Read more...] about Mao, Jesus, George Washington, and Dubya Walk Into a Bar…

That's the question amba poses after reading about the myriad of mistakes the administration and Pentagon officials made when trying to rebuild the Irai police force.Even before the 2003 invasion, General Jay Garner and Justice and State Department specialists had explicitly warned the administration that the rotten Saddam-era police force was likely to collapse and that 5,000 … [Read more...] about “Is Wanton Bungling An Impeachable Offense?”

I suppose I should look for a sound clip to illustrate this article. CNN: Busy Atlantic season could bring up to 10 hurricanes (CNN) — The 2006 Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be an active one, with up to 10 of the big storms, the National Hurricane Center announced Monday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted that four to six of those … [Read more...] about Stormy…..

Could the Jefferson corruption investigation actually help Democrats? … [Read more...] about The Sweet Smell of Bribery

It's up over at Allywork. My piece was submitted too late to make it in (or maybe they just didn't like it), but it looks wonderful. Go forth, and oppose racism. … [Read more...] about Erase Racism Carnival

Photo courtesy of the Aschwalds PASSAGE TO INDIA: Howard and Michelle Aschwald of Belvedere traveled to India in March this year so Howard could have laser eye surgery performed at a Mumbai clinic. The eye surgery that Aschwald had is considered elective and would not have been covered by his Blue Shield insurance. He would have paid for the operation himself regardless, … [Read more...] about “Medical Tourism”: Americans outsourcing hearts, eyes and teeth to India

Isn't it accurate to say that you can sense a certain tone on websites, in commentators' comments, editorial pages on on the Sunday news shows? Several people have commented on it before. Are some folks coming down with "conservative fatigue?" And, speaking of conservatives, one thread we get here now at TMV are some email and readers commenting who insist that Republicans … [Read more...] about Is There A New Political Disease?

The smell of corruption continues to spread:A congressman under investigation for bribery was caught on videotape accepting $100,000 in $100 bills from an FBI informant whose conversations with the lawmaker also were recorded, according to a court document released Sunday. Agents later found the cash hidden in his freezer. At one audiotaped meeting, Rep. William Jefferson, … [Read more...] about Tape Shows Congressman Taking Money

TMV is on the road and the road finally got him. He has just finished his first major trip since while recuperating from his illness and it was lively indeed. You haven't lived until you've driven nearly straight up an Arizona mountaintop in the dead of night with lightning all around you. And done it as your car begins to make sounds that it has a problem. TMV did arrive … [Read more...] about TMV Arrives At Destination But Is Stranded

"Thank you, my foolish friends in the West" is an interesting article in The Sunday Times of London. "One of the most vexing things for artists and intellectuals who live under the compulsion to applaud dictators is the spectacle of colleagues from more open societies applauding of their own free will. It adds a peculiarly nasty insult to injury... "When the Cuban novelist … [Read more...] about New Form of Populist Authoritarianism