How? Why not buy some stuff from them? The following businesses are located in New Orleans and all need our help.Unique Jewelry Local Artists Cute New Orleans T-shirts Louisiana Caviar Retro Women's Fashion Fabulous Lingerie Monogrammed Heirloom-quality Linens New Orleans-inspired Jewelry Children Clothes and Gifts Great Local Music Tim Laughlin, Jazz Clarinet Don Vappie and … [Read more...] about This Xmas, Help New Orleans…

President George W. Bush proved a lot of pundits wrong with his highly awaited "Victory Strategy" speech yesterday. The full text is here. He proved pundits wrong who predicted it would be a watershed speech announcing the beginning of a withdrawal of troops from Iraq. We wrote about that speculation here. He proved analysts wrong who predicted that poll numbers dropping … [Read more...] about Bush “Victory Strategy” A Reaffirmation — But Not Quite

Increasingly, I'm becoming fairly disheartened with Samuel Alito's record regarding reproductive rights. Now some new memos released from 1985 do nothing to quell my fears. From the Wash Post:As a Justice Department lawyer in the Reagan administration, Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. helped devise a legal strategy to persuade the high court to restrict and … [Read more...] about Alito + Roe v. Wade =

Joint Chief of Staff Chairman Peter Pace sticks to his guns over Rumsfeld's protests regarding US obligations and Iraqi torture. … [Read more...] about Rumsfeld vs. Pace: Semper Fi!

The Chief Justice of the SCOTUS proposes an interesting compromise recently. Read more here. … [Read more...] about Roberts On Parental Consent

This is why I'm so busy. … [Read more...] about So This Explains It

It sounds like some corrections might be in order here. TMV thanks reader Michael in Miami for the tip. … [Read more...] about Should Bloggers Issue Corrections Part II

As many in the Bush administration find their stature is decreased during Term Two: Bush The Sequel one person's star is on the ascent, writes the Washington Post's David Ignatius:Condoleezza Rice had an interesting office visitor on Monday — none other than her old mentor and the nation's realist in chief, former national security adviser Brent Scowcroft. It was the … [Read more...] about Rice Is Rising

People have been told this for years — but now more hard evidence comes out that it's true:NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Eating a Mediterranean-style diet for three months can reduce the risk of heart disease by 15 percent, a new study shows. The heart-healthy effects of the Mediterranean diet — rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and fish and olive oil … [Read more...] about The Mediterranean Diet Is Good For Your Health

You see the diverse views expressed by our co-bloggers here...but make sure you also check out their own sites as well. You can do that easily by going to CONTACT in the upper left hand corner of this site and clicking on their names. Run down the list and you'll see a diverse group of viewpoints...and since they don't always post or link everything they write on their sites … [Read more...] about A Reminder To Readers

(Again, points for identifying the title's source). I'm thrilled that Jewish groups are being more assertive about their differences with the radical Christian Right. But let's not act as if this is some dramatic break-up between two intertwined lovers. Jews have consistently been at the liberal end of American politics, and there's no indication that they're moving away. … [Read more...] about Can’t Miss a Place You’ve Never Been

On Monday, I reported on Ayad Allawi's assertion that in terms of abuse things are just as bad in Iraq now as they were under Saddam. Well, now there's more -- and it isn't pretty: Shiite Muslim militia members have infiltrated Iraq's police force and are carrying out sectarian killings under the color of law, according to documents and scores of interviews. The abuses raise … [Read more...] about Iraq’s death squads

...I suggest you read the response of the right-wing to recent news. Seems to me that there is enough hypocrisy and hate to go around without flinging accusations of hate against your fellow Americans. Do your own math, but my sums come up that naming and treating those who don't agree with me as the enemy leads to negative numbers. --- Cross-posted to Random Fate. … [Read more...] about For those who like to point out how “hateful” the left is…

Should a man be allowed to sit next to an unaccompanied child on a plane? No? Believe it or not, that's the policy on Qantas and Air New Zealand. Is it political correctness or a sensible policy? … [Read more...] about Sexism in the air… down under

Well...maybe. Find out what killed him (or didn't kill him) and who said it. And although some on the right would have you believe that the person who said it is possibly leaking military secrets, find out why they're wrong. And when you find out that they're wrong, spread this info around and please link to the post over at Donklephant. … [Read more...] about Osama Bin Laden Is Dead?

I swear you won't believe this. Or maybe you will. … [Read more...] about What Does Rumsfeld Think Of Torture?

Reports like this make my toes curl. Do they not realize that actions like these simply create an atmosphere where it's easier to compare us to Saddam? Couple stuff like this with our torture policy, and you have a recipe for credibility damage. From the LA Times:WASHINGTON — As part of an information offensive in Iraq, the U.S. military is secretly paying Iraqi newspapers … [Read more...] about Military Propaganda Infiltrates Iraqi Media

TMV is travelling today so actual coverage to the Bush speech, etc. will likely be done by co-bloggers, as their schedules permit. TMV's own posts will resume later tonight. … [Read more...] about TMV’s Own Posts Limited Today

From the AP: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday defended her vote to authorize war in Iraq amid growing unease among liberal Democrats who could determine the potential 2008 presidential candidate's future. "I take responsibility for my vote, and I, along with a majority of Americans, expect the president and his administration to take responsibility for the false … [Read more...] about Divide and conquer: Bush’s new strategy to win in Iraq and at home

It's a truism across time and space. But has it gotten worse? And who's to blame? See here. … [Read more...] about Politics + Money = Corruption