Was he sleeping or reading his notes (if he was in California, he could argue he was meditating)? … [Read more...] about Vice President Dick Cheney At Work

From the world of Beatles memorabilia, another clue for you all: A John Lennon schoolbook containing an illustration of a walrus has been sold at auction for £126,500. [That's about US$225,075.] Featuring the 12-year-old Lennon's drawing of Lewis Carroll's poem The Walrus and the Carpenter, the book had been expected to reach up to £150,000. The poem inspired Lennon to … [Read more...] about The walrus was Paul

With all the talk about how influential bloggers are, what if you took a poll? What if you chose a small group of people at random — NOT people necessarily wedded to their computers and NOT people who are necessarily screeching partisans of the right or left — and asked them a few questions? What would you find? Here's one interesting answer... PS: Joe Gandelman … [Read more...] about Do Most People Know Or Care About Blogs Or Bloggers?

David H. Koch, the executive vice president of Koch Industries, is the 33rd richest person in the world, according to Forbes. His estimated net worth stands at roughly $12 billion. In 1994, Mr. Koch bought Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis's apartment at 1040 Fifth Avenue, the entire 15th floor of the building, for $9.5 million. He and his wife, Julia, renovated it at an estimated … [Read more...] about The sweet life of New York’s super-rich

That's the question I think most Americans are asking themselves these days. My answer is here. … [Read more...] about Can We Still Talk To Iran?

The New York Times' Elisabeth Bumiller and Jim Rutenberg suggest today that new White House Chief of State Josh Bolten may be planning to replace current WH Counsel and failed Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers. Citing an unnamed "influential Republican with close ties to Mr. Bolten," the dynamic Times duo report "Mr. Bolten had floated the idea among confidants, but that it … [Read more...] about Is Harriet Next?

A great new article in New York magazine shouts from the rooftops what we've been talking about for a while now. "We're moderate as hell, and we're not gonna be silent anymore!"Republicans used to brag that theirs was the party of fresh thinking, but who’s brain-dead now? All the big new ideas they have trotted out lately—privatizing Social Security, occupying a big country … [Read more...] about The Purple Party

"I'm the decider." … [Read more...] about Who Cares What Both Parties Want On Those Social Security Appointments?

You know, the third party candidate who said there was no difference between the two political parties? The Demoprotestant takes a look at Nader and his impact. … [Read more...] about Re-evaluating Ralph Nader

Once again it's time for another gem from TMV's favorite poet, Michael Silverstein, aka Wall Street Poet: Iran's Nuclear Ambitions It really isn't that surprising When Bush says you're on evil's axis To try A-bombs to manufacture As invasion prophylaxis. Berlusconi's Consolation Prize Silvio, Silvio, don't feel bad That Prodi has defeated ya He took away your PM job But you … [Read more...] about Guest Poet: The Week In Verse

So was it a success or a wash? President George W. Bush huddled with China's visiting President Hu Jintao hu who was heckled.President Bush pressed China's visiting President Hu Jintao yesterday to open up markets, expand freedom and do more to curb nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea but came away with no specific agreements in a summit emphasizing symbolism over … [Read more...] about Bush And China’s President Meet But Hu Heckled

Jefferson Morley's World Opinion Roundup: Death Penalty for Danish Cartoons? The Danish cartoon story may have subsided in the West, but the controversy still reverberates around the world. [snip] For Yemeni journalist Mohammed Asaadi, the debate is a life and death issue. The 31-year-old editor of the Yemen Observer, an English-language weekly, returns to a courtroom today to … [Read more...] about Still Roiling…

Progress is a never-ending quest. We aren't in a utopian society now, weren't in 1950, and won't be in 2050. The nostalgia we find for a non-existent, idyllic past is, I think, due to exhaustion of never having a philosophical resting point. That's understandable. But the past was not perfect. And when we erase the terrors innate in our history, we inevitably distort the quest … [Read more...] about The Never-ending Journey

I hadn't. Maybe it's a product of being part of the post-Vietnam generation. An Army helicopter pilot, Thompson intervened in the My Lai massacre, placing his chopper in the line of American fire and pointing his guns at the butchering US troops in order to protect terrified Vietnamese civilians, eventually stopping the killing. In 1998, he was awarded the Soldier's Medal for … [Read more...] about Who’s Heard of Hugh Thompson?

I had no idea that Iran used child-martyrs in the Iran/Iraq war. I placed "soldiers" in quotes because they weren't really fighting. They were marched in straight lines to be either mowed down or to blow up mines with their bodies. This is a terrifying tale of humanity at its lowest. But it must be told. … [Read more...] about Iranian Child “Soldiers”

More bad polling news for President George W. Bush...this time from Fox News...and it's clear that part of the erosion is due to Republicans souring on GWB:More Americans disapprove than approve of how George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld and Congress are doing their jobs, while a majority approves of Condoleezza Rice. President Bush’s approval hits a record low of 33 percent this … [Read more...] about Bush’s Support Sinks Even More In New Fox Poll

Well, then you better think about creating campaign ads like this. … [Read more...] about Want To Run As A Centrist/Independent/Reformer?

We've added a few new links to our blogroll. We don't often go down the line and check, but we see that some weblogs have delinked TMV (usually this happens when someone on the right or left doesn't like a post). So in coming weeks you'll see our blogroll pared down. We have MANY weblogs on the left and right that don't agree with us but have us on the blogroll and we link to … [Read more...] about More Blogroll Changes

...but when someone says something nice, we often don't say "thank you." So, seriously, thank you. … [Read more...] about We All Let People Know When We’re Upset

Iraq's Prime Minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, could be stepping down. More from the NY Times:While some leaders said that Mr. Jaafari's move could lead to an end to the political impasse, expressions of optimism by the same officials in the past four months have proven to be premature, and many details remain to be worked out concerning other posts. But the fight over the … [Read more...] about A Breakthrough In Iraq?