I'm not above admitting that my views change -- or, more specifically, that I modify them as I learn more -- and I seem to be warming more and more to Supreme Court nominee John Roberts. When he was first nominated, I called him "a right wing radical" and I argued that his nomination was "clearly for the base" (see here). A day later, having digested the pick and gotten over my … [Read more...] about A modest judge: John Roberts, gay rights, and legal precedent

This is nice. As reported by Media Matters, Focus on the Family's James Dobson, one of the leading figures on the evangelical right, recently compared stem-cell research to Nazi experimentation on living human beings: You know, the thing that means so much to me here on this this issue [embryonic stem cell research] is that people talk about the potential for good that can come … [Read more...] about Dobson’s extremism on stem-cell research

...from outside the United States, Spiegel Online, the English language, Internet edition of the German magazine Der Spiegel, is a useful source: On Monday, US President George W. Bush bypassed Congress and installed the pugnacious John Bolton as UN Ambassador. While diplomats are trying to smile graciously, academics and European specialists insist the appointment is a direct … [Read more...] about For a view on the Bolton recess appointment…

Al Qaeda's latest video has a message for Great Britain and the United States: we're coming to get ya: Al Qaeda deputy leader Aymen al-Zawahiri marked the four-week anniversary of the deadly blasts in London's transit system by threatening more attacks on London and against the United States. Al-Zawahiri, in a tape shown on the Al-Jazeera satellite channel, warned that … [Read more...] about Al Qaeda Video Threatens More Attacks

"Hey: I wasn't the one who said it!" That's essentially the message of President George Bush who has made it clear that as far as he's concerned the "war on terrorism" REMAINS "the war on terrorism" on the war on "violent extremism" as some of his advisors began to call it as the latest round of PC fever seemingly hit Washington:GRAPEVINE, Tex., Aug. 3 - President Bush … [Read more...] about Bush Rejects Attempt To Change War On Terrorism’s Name

Is a hero someone who comes to the rescue during battle? Is a hero someone who runs into a building on fire to save a child? Is a hero a police officer who gives up his life to stop a crime? And isn't a hero someone who defends core values like this guy? … [Read more...] about How Do You Define “Hero”?

South Korean researchers have cloned a dog. That's right, cloned a dog. And the name of the cloned canine is Snuppy. Cloning enthusiasts no doubt see this as a major triumph, a step towards actual human cloning, but ethicists may see it as yet another, well, Sign of the Apocalypse. I'm somewhat ambivalent. … [Read more...] about The cloned life of Snuppy the Dog

In a move long expected, numbers of Kurds are returning to Kirkuk years after being displaced by Saddam Hussein. It's an obvious effort to consolidate influence in the region before the unveiling of the proposed permanent Iraqi constitution which will most likely make way for Kurdish autonomy. Still, the question remains whether or not the final draft of the constitution will … [Read more...] about Status of Iraq Federalization

TMV will be starting his posting a bit late today: around 7 a.m. Wyoming time. Also, due to a logistical logjam, TMV's own posts will be greatly limited today as well. However you will likely see some posts by our co-bloggers throughout the day. So keep checking back! … [Read more...] about Late Posting 2Day

While expressing some reservation on a few memos he wrote in the Reagan administration--memos in which he came down on the right of some of his other administration colleagues--ex-president Bill Clinton had generally positive things to say about Supreme Court nomineed Judge John Roberts (via How Appealing). This comes at the same time dKos is making murmers of filibustering … [Read more...] about The Split Begins

America desperately needs more men and women like Wendell Wilkie. … [Read more...] about Resurrecting a Forgotten Hero

A new Gallup poll taking the pulse of voters on the 2008 race has good news for Republican candidates in general and very bad news for Democrat John Kerry in particular. The poll shows the GOPers would be ahead in a vote — and that Kerry's image has deteriorated since the election. In other words: for the Republicans: if it's not broke, don't fix it. For Kerry, it's … [Read more...] about Republicans Fare Better In 2008 Presidential Poll

Terrorist "insurgents" have claimed another innocent victim in Iraq — this time freelance American journalist and blogger Steven Vincent. He had dared to criticize Shiite clerks. His fate: kidnapped, shot to death, his body dumped. The BBC reports:A US freelance reporter, Steven Vincent, has been shot dead by unknown gunmen in Basra, southern Iraq, police have said. Mr … [Read more...] about US Journalist/Blogger Shot Dead In Iraq

Greetings from Graybull, Wyoming. Our hotel wireless connection doesn't work, so we have to use very slow dial up. Due to that and our daily schedule, TMV himself will do limited blogging today. Our daily schedule is both time consuming and will have us in an area with no Internet connection. But check back often to see what our co-bloggers have to say. And SCROLL DOWN to see … [Read more...] about Light(er) Blogging From TMV Today (But Co-Bloggers Will Chime In)

Don't miss a GREAT talk show that features bloggers. We got this from one of our favorite talk shows: Tonight SUBJECT2DISCUSSION the LIVE webcast about the news with bloggers will have as its guest Robin Koerner co founder of WatchingAmerica.com LIVE at 6pm PST, 8pm CST and 9pm EST LIVE on LVROCKS.COM The site WatchingAmerica shows what the world is thinking about the USA. … [Read more...] about Listen To A Blogger LIVE

Uh, oh, life as we know it seems to be ending:Berlin, July 31: In the days when Germany was Europe's leading beer-drinking nation each village had its own brewery. Not any longer. Many of the breweries have long since closed or been sold to foreign companies. Once the world's leader in beer consumption, Germany has now been overtaken by the Czechs and the Irish. Even in … [Read more...] about Is This A Sign Of The End Of The World?

NOTE: We have REVISED THIS POST due to some info and links presented by a reader in our comments section. It turns out that there has been some controversy about this group itself perhaps being a GOP front group. The fact that this has been a controversy that goes back months certainly does CHANGE the context of its findings. We will put our additions in boldfaced. The … [Read more...] about Democrats Accused Of Suppressing Votes More Than GOPers (REVISED)

A follow up to Joe's recent post on Bush's views on intelligent design as revealed on Monday in a roundtable interview with Texas journalists: In that interview, Bush also addressed Rove and Palmeiro (each a presidential friend, in his own way), stating that he continues to have confidence in the former and that he believes that the latter never took steroids. I've got more on … [Read more...] about Bush’s faith-based reality

Via Obsidian Wings, we learn of what surely is to be the next great comic book series of our lifetimes. On one dark day, in 2006, many conservative voices went forever silent at the hands of terrorist assassins. Those which survived joined forces and formed a powerful covert conservative organization called “The Freedom of Information Leagueâ€?, aka F.O.I.L. (...) The New … [Read more...] about Somebody Please Foil This

Well you're in luck! The logic of a recent New York court decision, there's a loophole in prostitution law you could drive a truck through (I'm trying to decide if that phrase in any way lends itself to double-entendres. Let's just say that if it's witty, it's intentional). … [Read more...] about Always Wanted to Hire a Prostitute, But Hated the Idea of Prison?