TMV prides himself on the fact that he obsesses and reads blogs from all over — and extensively USES his own blogroll to look at the various categories. He doesn't always see every blog on a given day but he does make the rounds. Still, it's hard to see how a post we just discovered about this website somehow got past us. And so we say a VERY belated but heartfelt … [Read more...] about One View Of The Moderate Voice

Faced with signs that North Korea might be making preparations for a nuclear test, the United States has basically told North Korea to "Cool it." Of course the language is a lot more diplomatic than that. Reuters: The White House said Saturday that the United States had a "robust deterrent capability" in the face of worries that North Korea might be planning to test a nuclear … [Read more...] about US To North Korea: COOL IT

President George Bush has been saying a lot of nice things these days about the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt, but that's when he has been pitching his Social Security reform plan — suggesting FDR's showpiece program was a good one and that the late President would perhaps even support his own controversial proposed reforms. But now, speaking in Europe, Bush has … [Read more...] about Bush: FDR Blew It On Postwar Europe

The fear has been there since 911: terrorists will somehow get their hands on nuclear weapons. That could mean an actual big weapon, a suitcase nuke (rumors have swirled around in some quarters for several years that they may already have one), or some kind of "dirty bomb" that may not be as sophisticated as one of the bigger ones, but have a huge impact nonetheless. And then … [Read more...] about Fears Over Terrorists And Nuclear Weapons

...and if you're like millions of other Americans, chances are you're going to church. And when you walk into your church, you focus on the spiritual. True, once in a while a pastor, priest or rabbi will deal with a political issue, but even then there are certain boundaries. Most of the time. Look at this to see how silly and extreme partisanship has gotten in this … [Read more...] about Sunday Is Church Day….

There is a new Letter from Europe posted at my weblog, Random Fate: The forgetting will be their second death … [Read more...] about Some thoughts on the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe

Pennywit has some thoughts on the conflict between some bloggers and some members of the mainstream media. If you are interested in blogging at all I highly recommend reading what he has to say. … [Read more...] about Blogging versus the Mainstream Media

Interesting news from the Tri-Cities area of Washington state (the heart of a region that produces some mighty fine wines, by the way): Dead rattler may have legs This story was published Friday, May 6th, 2005 By John Trumbo, Herald staff writer Nancy McLeod of West Richland knew she had snakes in her back yard, but she had no idea one of them was a biped. The 2-foot-long … [Read more...] about A shaggy snake story…

Following a firestorm of negative national reaction, a 17-year-old Georgia high school student will be allowed to return to class after being banned from the school for three days for refusing to hang up his cell phone on his military Mom who was calling him from Iraq. A major media and Internet furor was ignited when the story came to light about how Kevin Francois was … [Read more...] about Suspension Penalty Sliced For Student Penalized For Talking To Military Mom

The U.S. congratulated Israel yesterday for the peaceful Palestinian elections — but the real story behind the vote is the strong strength displayed by the Islamic militant faction Hamas. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement won most municipal councils across the West Bank and Gaza Strip this week. But initial results indicated Hamas netted the three … [Read more...] about Hamas Shows Itself A Force In Palestinian Elections

Via Cox & Forkum … [Read more...] about It’s A Matter Of Attitude

You truly wonder sometimes: when will these politicians of both parties and public figures ever learn that they must use their mind before they open their mouths? Read this: In the course of a discussion on filibusters and Senate rules, Washington's top Democrat gave the 60 juniors a lesson in partisan politics, particularly about the commander in chief. "The man's father is a … [Read more...] about Harry Reid’s BIIIIIIIIIIIG Mouth

Here's a story that pits common sense against unfeeling educational bureaucratic thinking: a high school student has been suspended for 10 days for refusing to end a mobile phone call with his mother who is serving in Iraq. Even when you read the bare-bones facts of this story from the AP it makes your blood boil: COLUMBUS, Ga. May 6, 2005 — A high school student was … [Read more...] about Student Suspended For Talking To Military Mother In Iraq

The move is on by opponents of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to peel away many of the Democrats and independent voters who gave the politically slumping movie-star-turned-politician his victory in the recall. Part of the reason it's happening is that the novelty of Schwarzenegger's celebrity seems to have worn off with the Democrats at the same time as … [Read more...] about Challenger Likens Arnold Schwarzenegger To George Bush

Here's yet another high profile resignation from the staff of a newspaper: USA Today's respected Pentagon correspondent, Tom Squitieri reportedly resigned under pressure after it was learned he had lifted quotes from other publications without identifying them as such. According to the Washington Post's Howard Kurtz, one of the questioned pieces had a quote from a parent who's … [Read more...] about USA Today Reporter Resigns For Lifting Other Papers’ Quotes

The remaking of beset House Majority leader Tom DeLay's image has begun...as he edges towards a mea culpa...an act that usually has some success in American politics: House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) delivered an emotional homily yesterday on the need for greater humility in public servants, declaring himself a sinner before a largely Christian audience and warning … [Read more...] about Tom DeLay Tip Toes Towards Rehabilitation

There are allegations that some doctors from the New York suburbs were helping mob figures with stick ups: Three doctors from the Westchester suburbs of New York City allegedly provided mob figures with erectile dysfunction drugs in exchange for various favors, the FBI said Thursday. The FBI arrested the doctors — Arlen Fleisher, Stephen Klass and George Shapiro — … [Read more...] about NY Doctors Working With The Mob?

NOTE TO READERS: To be inducted into TMV's prestigious Get A Life Club a person or organization must display silliness, pomposity or PC behavior that goes beyond the realm of normal rational beings. The story below marks the entrance of some new members into this exclusive club. See UPDATE at bottom of this post. Decency is indeed a valid and "appropriate" (favorite school … [Read more...] about New Members Of TMV’s Get A Life Club: Officials And Parents Obsessing Over Louie Louie

We may start a little later than usual Friday morning on most of our posts. So do check back often. We do have some things on tap for today. NOTE: We also made a mistake on today's edition of Around The 'Sphere, our occasional linkfest, and put it on last night's dated blog. We don't know (yet) how to change that without messing up all the trackbacks to various blogs. So … [Read more...] about Late Start This Morning

Our occasional linkfest. Links are NOT restriced to one viewpoint — and viewpoints don't necessarily reflect our views. The Bush Administration Is Fighting A War Against Pornography: Here's Jazz Shaw's take on it. (My view? Pornography? I don't even have a pornograph!) Is Hamas A Terrorist Group Or A Political Group? GeoPolitical Review explores the issue. Walter … [Read more...] about Around The ‘Sphere