(No, not those Minutemen.) The Minutemen of West Morris Mendham High School. My alma mater in Mendham, New Jersey, which is ranked 151st in Newsweek's list of the 1,200 best high schools in the U.S. -- see here. Not too shabby. … [Read more...] about Go Minutemen!

Cicero pens a great essay about his recent move across the country, the new energy considerations he's facing in Massachusetts and the looming conflict with Iran. A taste...Each passing day has me more convinced that our lives are carefully constructed fantasies, scripted in the last 60 years or so. Our fantastic expectations on how to live well are built upon the assumption … [Read more...] about On Moving, Energy And Iran

First, the mission of the Centrist Coalition: "To Unite the Middle and Give Power to Their Voice." Alan Stewart Carl, the newly appointed Executive Director, explains why...This nation absolutely must move back toward the center—and I’m not just talking about finding compromises. I’m talking about reviving a spirit of civility and open debate that avoids petty … [Read more...] about Another View On The National Centrist Conference

The St. Petersburg Times notes that love her or hate her Arianna Huffington has beat the odds:In a medium started by guys typing at computers in their bedrooms, she was a glamorous socialite with an A-list address book of investors and endless media coverage. Critics swore Arianna Huffington's dream - a collection of blogs from the likes of Warren Beatty and Arthur Schlesinger … [Read more...] about Arianna Huffington Beat The Odds

May 10: On this day in 1940, Winston Churchill took over from Neville Chamberlain as prime minister of Britain at the head of a new coalition government. And the rest, as they say, is history. Check out the BBC here. … [Read more...] about It was 66 years ago today…

Being a journalist is a profession that means walking in minefields, according to a new survey — which found that 7 out of 10 journalists had been accused of bias in the past year:More than half of newspaper journalists in a recent survey believe an unethical or unprofessional incident occurred in their newsroom within the past five years, while seven out of 10 said they … [Read more...] about 7 Out Of 10 Journalists Say They Faced Bias Accusation

Haaretz: Israeli military intelligence expects that Iran will have nuclear weapons no later than 2010 CE. … [Read more...] about Iranian Nukes by 2010

Something significant happened on the political front last week. In the midst of Donald Rumsfeld's trial by fire from hecklers and Porter Goss's forced resignation as CIA director and George W. Bush's inexorable fall in the polls, it was easy to underestimate the importance of Congressman Patrick Kennedy's latest little scandal. After all, he is a Kennedy, and at some point in … [Read more...] about Sabato’s Crystal Ball: The Culture of Corruption – It’s bipartisan now

Pulitzer and Bancroft Prize-winning historian Alan Taylor recently released a new book, The Divided Ground: Indians, Settlers, and the Northern Borderland of the American Revolution. I have posted a review of it here at Charging RINO. … [Read more...] about Book Review: “The Divided Ground”

The Washington Post notes that Majority Leader Bill Frist and GOP leaders are planning to use judicial nominations to polarize the Senate — and define the Democrats:SENATE REPUBLICAN leaders have decided to reignite the judicial nomination wars. The reason is politics. Majority Leader Bill Frist's strategy, with elections coming, is to schedule votes on the most … [Read more...] about Washington Post: GOP Moves To Polarize Senate For Elections

Our periodic linkfest to introduce readers to a WIDE VARIETY of views from all over the 'Sphere. We do NOT restrict mentioned links to one viewpoint — and views do not necessary reflect the opinion of The Moderate Voice. Academics And Israel: Oxblog's Patrick Porter looks at proposed academic boycotts in Great Britain of Israeli lecturers and religious institutions that … [Read more...] about Around The ‘Sphere May 10, 2006

Once again it's time for another gem from TMV's favorite poet, Michael Silverstein, aka Wall Street Poet: If Jeff and Ken, the Enron guys, don't end up beating the rap altogether, each may come away from a short stay in a minimum security prison muttering this paean to his own stern stuff... Convictus Trapped by a heartless SEC, Condemned to the pit where the felons board, I … [Read more...] about Guest Poet: Convictus

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, and forescore and seven years ago we had nothing to fear but fear itself. But, today, plagiarism is spreading: Andy Borowitz:BIDEN ADMITS COPYING STUMP SPEECH FROM YOUNG ADULT NOVEL Calls Forty Similar Passages ‘An Honest Mistake’ Sen. Joseph Biden’s road to the White House became a little bumpier today as the … [Read more...] about Plagiarism Is Spreading (UPDATED)

According to Gallup, it's now at 31 percent, "a 12-point decline since the start of the year". UPDATE (by TMV): Now there's ANOTHER poll by CBS/New York Times which also shows 31 percent:Americans have a bleaker view of the country's direction than at any time in more than two decades, and sharp disapproval of President Bush's handling of gasoline prices has combined with … [Read more...] about Bush’s approval rating sinks even lower (UPDATED)

If you have a contract with the government and you say you don't like George Bush you can kiss off — and kiss your contract goodbye. That's the thinly veiled message U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson apparently tried to send during an April 28 talk in Dallas. In the past it was always assumed talking out of political school could create some … [Read more...] about Don’t Badmouth Bush If You Want A Government Contract (UPDATED)

From CNN, some troubling news: An estimated 2 million babies die within their first 24 hours each year worldwide and the United States has the second worst newborn mortality rate in the developed world, according to a new report. American babies are three times more likely to die in their first month as children born in Japan, and newborn mortality is 2.5 times higher in the … [Read more...] about U.S. has second-worst infant mortality rate in the developed world

As you may know by now, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently sent a letter to President Bush, the first such correspondence between an Iranian president and a U.S. president in 27 years. Joe wrote about it here. Well, the letter is now public. Here's The New York Times: In his letter to President Bush, Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, declared that … [Read more...] about Iranian “olive branch” goes public

Over at The Reaction, guest blogger Aspazia has the latest in her excellent series on "Rethinking feminism". This one's on sexual consent, sexual assault, and collegiate codes of conduct. It's a provocative yet thoughtful post sure to elicit passionate reaction from left, right, and center alike. I encourage you to check it out. See here. (Note: Blogger has been a bit slow … [Read more...] about Rethinking feminism: Consent

The Democratic Party is looking ahead to November '06 and November '08: With Democrats increasingly optimistic about this year's midterm elections and the landscape for 2008, intellectuals in the center and on the left are debating how to sharpen the party's identity and present a clear alternative to the conservatism that has dominated political thought for a generation. Read … [Read more...] about A Democratic debate

TMV will be out of pocket most of today but keep checking back since our always independent co-bloggers will likely have some things to say. … [Read more...] about TMV Himself Will Not Post Much Today