Thousands of miles away from Germany, Afghans were also heading to the polls for their country's first democratic parliamentary elections in 35 years: Afghans flocked to the polls today to vote in the country's first democratic parliamentary elections in 35 years. Although there were scattered attacks around the country, the gunmen who have been trying to subvert the … [Read more...] about Democracy in Afghanistan

Indiana State Museum Exhibit on LOTR (Lord of the Rings) … [Read more...] about Exhibit on the Making of LOTR Movies Opens Soon in Indianapolis

Guess whose brand of Christian: PBS RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY: Correspondent Lucky Severson visits one of several law schools that have been established by religious conservatives to train their own cadre of Christian lawyers... Cross-posted at Julien's List: … [Read more...] about R & E Newsweekly: Conservative Christian Law Schools

Conservative Politics and Moderate Religion Last week's (9/08/05) Speaking of Faith public radio program: Statesman and Episcopal priest, John Danforth, has emerged as a cautionary Republican voice. He speaks about the values that have helped him navigate the line between private faith and public life and his current concerns about religion in his own party and in the … [Read more...] about John Danforth on Conservative Politics and Moderate Religion

It sure seems so. … [Read more...] about Does There Seem To Be A Contradiction Here?

Can you guess who it is? … [Read more...] about Iowa GOPers Have A Preference For 2008 President

Because I remember the same thing from the State of Indiana: A TOLEDO BLADE INVESTIGATION: Political contributors get Ohio Department of Transportation contracts As the race for Ohio governor heats up, candidates will scour the state and country looking for the cash to fuel their campaigns. And if history is a guide, those candidates have a rich well to tap — the dozens of … [Read more...] about Why am I Not Surprised?

There are several fascinating — and significant — developments on the Supreme Court nominee(s) front where Chief Justice nominee John Roberts has received an endorsement from a major newspaper and a solid GOP website gives some inside info on the internal battles over the next court nominee. If people set aside ideological preferences (for John Roberts or against … [Read more...] about Supreme Court Endorsement And Manuevers

File this one in your PC Run Amok file:THE fast-food chain, Burger King, is withdrawing its ice-cream cones after the lid of the dessert offended a Muslim. The man claimed the design resembled the Arabic inscription for Allah, and branded it sacrilegious, threatening a "jihad". The chain is being forced to spend thousands of pounds redesigning the lid with backing from The … [Read more...] about Burger King Fudges On Cones

....at Newsy Vents a blog by famous ventriloquist/dummybuilder/vent studio director Clinton Detweiler. For many years Detweiler has run Maher Studios, which has the world's most famous and effective how-to-do-ventriloquism course. Several months ago, he concluded that the Internet had hurt his traditional print magazine Newsy Vent's circulation and that, in any event, it was … [Read more...] about Take A Peek….

(Cross-posted at The Reaction.) It's Schroeder vs. Merkel. (And it's more confusing than ever.) Well ahead of schedule, Germans head to the polls today with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's SPD (left-of-center Socialist Party) facing off against Angela Merkel's CDU (right-of-center Christian Democratic Party) — along with a few smaller parties with whom the two major … [Read more...] about Democracy in Deutschland

There hasn't been much focus on the Vatican since the conclave earlier this year that resulted in Cardinal Ratzinger's elevation to Pope Benedict XVI, but the Vatican has just released the details of the final days and hours of Pope John Paul II. … [Read more...] about The death of Pope John Paul II

Apparently, the Iraqi reconstruction isn't going all that well, at least not nearly as well as we are often led to believe by those who got the us into this mess in the first place. Surprise, surprise. … [Read more...] about Deconstructing the reconstruction

Cross-posted at The Reaction. As always, North Korea doesn't get much attention in the news, but there's increasing cause for concern that Kim Jong-il's "guerrilla state," perhaps the most wretched place in the world, is going ahead with its nuclear program as diplomatic efforts stall. Here's what Slate's Fred Kaplan says in his latest piece on North Korea: After a … [Read more...] about Secrets and lies: North Korea’s old nuclear ambitions

In the Washington Post: "Where are you?" That was the question Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) almost plaintively posed to Judge John Roberts as the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearings neared their conclusion. It is the right question... Cross-posted at Julien's List: … [Read more...] about E. J. Dionne Jr. – The Case For a ‘No’ Vote on Roberts

A whole bunch of our posts for today had vanished due to a coding mistake on our part. They are now back up. … [Read more...] about PROBLEM FIXED

Our occasional link fest from websites of MANY different viewpoints. The posts featured do not necessarily reflect the views of The Moderate Voice. There Are All Kinds Of Controversies On The Internet...all kinds. People Sometimes Get The Wrong Ideas About Moderates and he says it much better than we can. This is a classic MUST READ post. (He has written a version of this … [Read more...] about Around The Sphere Sept. 17, 2005

Nominee's Testimony Discounted by Groups On Both Sides of Issue... Cross-posted at Julien's List … [Read more...] about WP: On Abortion, Few Seem to Take Roberts at Face Value

One of the key concerns that Hurricane Katrina has raised is whether it's indicative of how the government might respond to a terrorist-created disaser. But, writes Donald Sensing,, a former military man, minister and top blogger/writer, says the two kinds of catastrophes may be apples and oranges. Sensing writes that the government would respond in the case of a terrorist … [Read more...] about Is Katrina A Model For A Terrorist Response Or Not?

....at The Journal Of A Future President. No, it isn't by Hillary C. Or Jeb B. Or — GOD FORBID — by Dennis K. or Alan K. It's by a young centrist blogger who asks the hypothetical question in a recent post: "Do I really expect to be President?" And he self-answers: Yes, I do. Why shouldn't I? I have a BA in Political Science, I'm smart, just, and compassionate. I … [Read more...] about Take A Peek….