Chief Justice nominee John G. Roberts suprised many today with his comments on the rights of privacy and choice, reports the AP's Jesse J. Holland. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts said Tuesday that the landmark 1973 ruling legalizing abortion was "settled as a precedent," as he was immediately pressed to address the divisive issue on the second day of his confirmation … [Read more...] about John Roberts and the Right to Privacy

Our occasional linkfest to weblogs of VARYING VIEWPOINTS. Views don't necessarily reflect the opinion of TMV. The Story Of Hurricane Katrina in poem form (WARNING: If you believe only the government or only local and state officials are responsible and that criticism is the "blame game" this may be harardous to your health. So White House apologigists, local government … [Read more...] about Around The ‘Sphere Sept. 13, 2005

On Sunday we gave you this post which pointed you to a site with dumb Hurricane Katrina quotes. Most of those were from the right. Now, via Right Wing News we give you THIS POST HERE from Right Wing News that takes a look at the 20st most obnoxious Hurricane Katrina quotes...but John Hawkins doesn't just limit them to the left as some might expect. He includes some people on … [Read more...] about Obnoxious Hurricane Katrina Quotes

It's Trent Lott's Porch. … [Read more...] about A New Bumper Sticker And Yahoo Group

...at the NEW memeorandum. memeorandum has long been one of our favorite sites — and a site we've gotten lots of "Thank yous!" about when we've recommended it. And for good reason: It's a different kind of news aggregator, that takes a breaking story (hard news or opinon) that is getting a lot of attention, then gives you a cross section of bloggers representing various … [Read more...] about Take A Peek…..

Cross posted at The Smoking Room "I need a break from domestic politics. So I’m setting out to write about The World instead." So says Portland blogger Michael Totten, announcing he's moving to Beirut for six months, where he visited to meet the Lebanese revolution shortly before Syria pulled out:The first places I’m going to visit after I secure my apartment are the very … [Read more...] about Portland blogger moving to Lebanon to cover the revolution

TMV's posts will be late today. He returned last night from a 13 hour trip, from his parents in Woodbridge, CT to his home in San Diego, CA. His posts will resume after 7 a.m. this morning. In the meantime, we're REPOSTED some key important posts that were posted late yesterday, in case you missed them. … [Read more...] about TMV’s Own Posts Will Be Late Today

Breaking news: Following up on Holly's recent post, Mike Brown has indeed resigned his post as director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). AP reports: Federal Emergency Management Agency director Mike Brown resigned Monday, three days after losing his onsite command of the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. The White House picked a top FEMA official with three … [Read more...] about MIKE BROWN RESIGNS

But alas, I'm trying. So here's take two of why supporting an interventionist foreign policy doesn't make me a conservative. … [Read more...] about It’s Hard to Argue When They Just Assume You’re Lying

If you're going to attack me, at least label me right. It's neo-liberal, and I'll defend it as true liberalism any day of the week. … [Read more...] about Nothing Left

This post is categorized "Some thoughts..." at my own weblog, Random Fate, because it demands that you think outside your prior, canalized, familiar paths of "logic". --- Step outside your partisan box for a moment and consider this: What if the decoding and delivery of the message the Japanese Ambassador was supposed to give to the Secretary of State of the United States … [Read more...] about Perfidy, or a pre-emptive war?

It's now down at 42 percent in the wake of his and the federal government's mismanagement of the initial relief and recovery efforts after Katrina tore through New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. According to The Washington Post: President Bush's public standing has hit record lows amid broad support for an independent investigation of the federal response to Hurricane Katrina and … [Read more...] about Bush’s approval rating continues to sink

From AP: President Bush denied Monday there was any racial component to people being left behind after Hurricane Katrina, despite suggestions from some critics that the response would have been quicker if so many of the victims hadn't been poor and black. "The storm didn't discriminate and neither will the recovery effort," Bush said. "The rescue efforts were comprehensive. … [Read more...] about Bush on Katrina: Race had nothing to do with it

This NY Times Magazine article inspired a very thoughtful post by Tom Strong of The Yellow Line on how telling a good story can influence even somewhat suspicious people to adopt (or at least listen to) one's own argument. Strong notes that his "reflexive[ly] pacifist" views were counterbalanced by the strong narrative weaved by pro-war liberals, such as Tom Friedman, Dean … [Read more...] about Warring Stories

According to AP and MSNBC, Mike "Drownie" Brown has stepped down as head of FEMA. … [Read more...] about Mike Brown…

19 years ago, the Senate elevated William Rehnquist from associate justice to chief justice of the Supreme Court. Today, the Senate is set to begin to consider his possible (and likely) replacement, John Roberts. I've written a good deal on Roberts already. See here for my initial view of his nomination to be chief justice. I essentially had three reactions to his nomination: … [Read more...] about Senate begins Roberts hearings

I would be remiss if I neglected to lay down some thoughts given that it is the fourth anniversary of Al Qaeda's attack on our homeland — and also given the status of hundreds of thousands of our brethren in the Gulf Coast. At this time last year I began to consider America's mortality, and I think my thoughts are still as germane today as they were then. In August of … [Read more...] about Four Years Later

From the (London) Times: ADVISERS appointed by Tony Blair after the London bombings are proposing to scrap the Jewish Holocaust Memorial Day because it is regarded as offensive to Muslims. They want to replace it with a Genocide Day that would recognise the mass murder of Muslims in Palestine, Chechnya and Bosnia as well as people of other faiths. The draft proposals have … [Read more...] about The rise of the Holocaust (Day) deniers

Cross-posted at The Reaction: Not too long ago, I praised the I.R.A.'s decision to lay down its arms and to pursue a political settlement in Northern Ireland. I was cautiously optimistic. "Hope abounds," I declared, but: [W]e'll have to see just how effectively peace and politics replace war and terror. For if a widely satisfactory political solution doesn't emerge in the near … [Read more...] about More trouble in Northern Ireland

The waters are receeding in New Orleans and it seems as if some positive developments are happening — but the political firestorm continues unabated. At first glance, the political context would seem a normal one: a President of the United States arriving on the scene of a disaster to symbolize the government's commitment to restore normalcy and its quick aid to its … [Read more...] about Did George Bush Really “Blow It?”