Pssst, guys. The campaign is over. I'm sure you heard that he lost. So isn't it time to stop beating a dead donkey? And, hey you: has anyone told you yet that the primaries are over? Isn't it time to win friends and influence people — particularly friends and people who might not agree with you but could accept your arguments if they did not generalize and were less … [Read more...] about Hey, I’ve Got Something To Tell You

Lest we forget about the drug war raging in Mexico and the number of lives it costs, consider this:MONTERREY, Mexico — For weeks, no one came forward to apply for the Nuevo Laredo police chief job because many saw it as a death sentence. But Alejandro Dominguez proudly took office Wednesday, saying he was not afraid of anything. Nine hours later, he was ambushed and killed … [Read more...] about Another Big Victim In Mexico’s Drug War

It looks like the White House is getting ready to throw down the political gauntlet AGAIN — this time by proposing someone who used to be a former co-chair of the Republican National Committee to be in charge of the agency that funds Public Broadcasting: A former co-chairman of the Republican National Committee is the leading candidate to take over the agency that funds … [Read more...] about Depoliticizing Public Broadcasting By Politicizing It

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell was on Jon Stewart's popular The Daily Show. And, as expected, he did well, touched on some issues and largely defended the administration. TMV missed it since he was on the road — but leave it to Crooks And Liars to offer us this great video of the appearance. … [Read more...] about Colin Powell Does The Daily Show

I recently attempted to answer the question "What is a moderate?" at my personal weblog Random Fate. My answer prompted a gratifying amount of discussion on other weblogs, but unfortunately, much of that discussion made no differentiation between "moderate" and "centrist". In response, I offer a short addendum to my original discussion, with the promise of more on this topic … [Read more...] about A brief addendum on the question of what is a moderate

The World Naked Bike Ride is this Saturday! Not that I'm planning to participate, and not just because I doubt my roommate would want me sitting on his bike in the buff (mine is 3,000 miles away). Sadly none of the rides are happening in the DC area, so I won't be able to document the festivities as I did last year in Seattle. You're mostly out of luck if you live between … [Read more...] about Nudity was never so laughable

People who weren't around during the Watergate days may look with dismay on former Nixon administration officials refighting Watergate with such bitterness but that's because you had to be around then to realize how it permeated the then-primative news cycle — and life in the United States — in the early 70s. People can usually remember exactly where they were … [Read more...] about My Personal Watergate Memories

Almost every time an environmental story like this comes out one thing becomes clear: if someone does a study of Presidential administrations starting with Teddy Roosevelt's this administration is going to be ranked as having one of the worst environmental records:A White House official who once led the oil industry's fight against limits on greenhouse gases has repeatedly … [Read more...] about Bush Aide Changes Reports To Lessen Global Warming’s Impact

For many years the concept of a stowaway has been a romatic one: someone who hid aboard a boat or a bus. The Marx Brothers even played stowaways in their classic comedy Monkey Business. But now we're in the era of air travel. And it's not romatic any longer. In fact, it's downright dumb:A man's leg and part of his spine came crashing onto the roof of a woman's home in Nassau … [Read more...] about A Leg Up On An Airline Stowaway’s Death

The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll suggests President George Bush, a little more than 6 months after his re-election, is skating on thin political ice — so thin that it could quickly shatter if several things go wrong. There is very little good news in this poll for GWB and the Republicans. In fact, it indicates the majority of voters don't like the President and … [Read more...] about Latest Poll News For Bush: A Billboard Sized Warning Sign

Attention Democratic Party powerbrokers: call CostCo FAST and order a big box of duct tape and use all of it on Howard Dean's mouth:Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean, unapologetic in the face of recent criticism that he has been too tough on his political opposition, said in San Francisco this week that Republicans are "a pretty monolithic party. They all … [Read more...] about Howard Dean Puts His Foot In It Again

If you think the John Kerry-George Bush campaign was over, think again. The 2004 Presidential campaign is still being fought by partisans of both sides — and the latest revelation is not...ahem...complimentary to John Kerry since it shows that he was just as unserious a college student as George Bush. The Boston Globe reports this: WASHINGTON — During last year's … [Read more...] about John Kerry Was As Lousy A Student As George Bush

I have been privileged for several months to guest-post here at The Moderate Voice. When Joe Gandelman, the proprietor of this site, first asked me to guest-post he mentioned it was because he felt that I did not take ideological stances but instead thought each issue through. Recently, I've been reading many different weblogs who accuse moderates of being "mushy" or always … [Read more...] about What exactly is a “moderate”?

You would think the governor of Texas, the state that produced our most recent two-term president, would have access to the best and brightest political minds in the country. They surely want to get taken along with him for any rides higher on the political ladder. But Rick Perry made a monumentally bad decision when he signed a parental-consent bill for minors seeking … [Read more...] about Texas Governor Rick Perry does a doozy on a parental consent bill

Big changes at CNN where heads are being added and rolled in what actually is typical staff juggling in the broadcast biz. It can be hyped up as more than that but it's not unusual for new network managers to come in and put in a new team and change the schedule around. And that's what the latest news about news network CNN is as it tries to shore itself up in its battle … [Read more...] about Changes At CNN: O’Brien & O’Brien In And Hemmer Out

...how long before this man is branded a traitor by those who don't want to hear his message? Cross-posted to Random Fate. Good Intentions Gone Bad NEWSWEEK's Baghdad bureau chief, departing after two years of war and American occupation, has a few final thoughts. By Rod Nordland Newsweek June 13 issue - Two years ago I went to Iraq as an unabashed believer in toppling … [Read more...] about Since shooting the messenger is now the national sport…

Tom Watson has a wonderful piece on the original Honeymooners and the late, great Jackie Gleason — the person who TRULY deserved the phrase "the Great One." This MUST be read in full but people of all ages. The new Honeymooners movie will be out, featuring a talented black cast and, reportedly, it features some of the shows' best material — and from all reports the … [Read more...] about Remembering A Comedy Great

To many — including some conservatives — the Supreme Court's ruling saying it's OK for federal officials to prosecute people using marijuana on a doctor's recommendation shows that many on the court are blowing smoke when they talk about respecting state's rights. In a decision that was not narrow, the Court added more fuel to the argument that these days left can … [Read more...] about States Rights Go To Pot In Supreme Court Anti-Pot Decision

Cross-posted to Random Fate. An unexpected conclusion is presented by Pennywit at his eponymous weblog: That's something you don't hear very often: That Justice Scalia does not apply his incisive views of the Constitution when his personal ox is being gored. Actually, other justices, and indeed, other judges, are far more guilty of this offense; differing strands of the law … [Read more...] about Abstractions are fine unless it is your ox being gored?

This weblog is named The Moderate Voice, but what does one do when it seems that in defense of the indefensible, one wing has gone beyond all reason? In my case, and in deference to Joe's aim of balanced writing, instead of cross-posting, I write about it on my own weblog, and warn those cheeleaders of the far-right-wing that what I have written will not please them. In my … [Read more...] about What is a moderate to do in an immoderate time?