For some perspective on weblogs in addition to what Joe Gandelmen presented here at The Moderate Voice, you can find it in some "Navel-gazing". There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.    -William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), Hamlet, Act 1 scene 5 … [Read more...] about Some thoughts on blogging

Sorry: we could care less how people jump through mental hoops to justify it, but this is just one more sign of the brutalization of society — always couched with an intellectual justification...but there are some of us that'll be resisting this one by signing petitions and writing letters: Cat lovers might be outraged by the idea of allowing hunters to stalk their furry … [Read more...] about ‘Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty…” BLAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Each day the Michael Jackson trial seemingly has allegations sleazier and more troubling. And it has weird twists and turns...such as the latest bulletin that the mother of the current victim may choose not to testify — thus possibly putting the prosecution's case at risk. Or will it? (Choose your theory) Recent compelling testimony is a result of the judge allowing … [Read more...] about Michael Jackson Trial: Murky And Unpredictable

The Christian Science Monitor has (as usual) a superb piece that suggests that in both terms of historic and current trends Tom DeLay is in increasingly boiling political hot water. The boldfaced sub head gives part of it: From Jim Wright to Newt Gingrich, powerful House leaders have become targets of opposition. And then there's this paragraph which we'll boldface: In … [Read more...] about Monitor: Current And Historic Trends Work Against Tom DeLay

A couple of readers asked for us to repost the MSNBC appearance yesterday, so here it is. Go to The Political Teen here then click on the Connected screen and you can see the blog wrapup and TMV. Also, in answer to your questions: the segment was done from a studio in downtown San Diego rented by MSNBC. This wasn't discussed as a permanent commentary feature by TMV but was … [Read more...] about Here’s MSNBC Appearance Link Again

Our periodic round up of great posts from around the Blog-0-U-Know-What. Posts are NOT selected due to political ideology and viewpoints vary. Viewpoints do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Moderate Voice or his Gifted Guest Bloggers. A BIG CONTROVERSY OVER A NEW GROUP OF BLACK CONSERVATIVE BLOGGERS called The Conservative Brotherhood is unfolding. Visit Booker … [Read more...] about Around The ‘Sphere

As if conservative columnist Robert Novak being absolutely shocked at how Op-Ed pages work wasn't enough, now we have liberal investigative journalist Sy Hersh saying it's OK if he lies to audiences who pay him big bucks to speak. Is there something in the water (or bourbon) that these guys are drinking? We dealt with Novak below and now — JUST when we THOUGHT we caught … [Read more...] about More Declining Ethics As Sy Hersh Says It’s Ok To Lie To Audiences

There's been a big fuss over this Bob Novak column and it makes you wonder if he's been hiding under a rock all these years when he's been such a profilic reporter, columnist and just plain journalist: On March 24, former Congressman Bob Livingston was sent an e-mail by a New York Times editorial page staffer suggesting he write an op-ed essay. Would Livingston, who in 1998 … [Read more...] about Let Me Get This Straight: Bob Novak Is In JOURNALISM?

We JUST got back from doing the appearance on MSNBC's Connected Coast To Coast. You can see our appearance by clicking HERE which will take you to the segment posted by The Political Teen. The Political Teen also has the links to the individual sites and posts that we mentioned, so you can explore those as well. This was quite a day. MSNBC called in the morning and TMV did … [Read more...] about Our Appearance On MSNBC’s Connected

I'll be appearing briefly on MSNBC's Connected which airs at 5 p.m. EST today to do a brief segment on some stories blogs are writing about. Read the great posts by our Guest Bloggers below (when I come back later this afternoon I'll fix some technical glitches on one of my posts etc. but I'll be busy getting ready the next hour or so). … [Read more...] about TMV On MSNBC

President George Bush is telling Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to cool it in the case of a key Jewish settlement if he truly wants peace in the Middle East. That's the bottom line of their meeting, as the AP notes: CRAWFORD, Texas - President Bush, concerned about the progress of negotiations toward peace in the Middle East, asked Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon … [Read more...] about Bush Tells Israel’s Sharon: WHOA!

This past weekend's anti-American demonstrations in Baghdad speak to the growing influence of Muqtada al-Sadr as the Iraqi people become less tolerant of US occupation and influence. I will admit, the size of the protests was surprising. Of course, there's disagreement on the exact number of protesters ranging from "tens of thousands" to ">300,000, but, regardless, it shows … [Read more...] about Sadr Waiting in the Wings

President Bush has a great reputation for "sticking to his guns" on key issues - a quality that's grudgingly attributed even by those who disagree with his policies. Some political minds are beginning to wonder if his low approval ratings might have to do with his selection of sticking points. … [Read more...] about Bush’s Solidarity Costing Him Public Opinion?

We're holding our second post on the Stanford conference and other posts until later this morning to go get some ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Check back! … [Read more...] about Postings Resume 6 AM PST

NOTE TO READERS: I moderated a panel discussion at Stanford's Bay Area Law School Technology Conference Saturday and below you'll find the text of my prepared comments. There were some ad libs that went off this script, but I stayed close to it since I had been asked to moderate in my role as someone who was in the middle of the other great blogger panelists. Also, I wanted to … [Read more...] about BLOGGING: Why Didn’t Blogs Have The Impact Some Expected In The 2004 Elections?

TMV is back from Stanford. We'll be posting his comments to the conference panel he moderated soon, plus another post with a link to antoher presenter's full comments (his really livened it up), plus some excerpts from some of the other talks and Q& A sessions very soon. There will be at least two posts based on the conference. UPDATE: Due to having just gotten back, these … [Read more...] about Back From Conference:

Supporters of Howard Dean usually have the stereotype of hard, uncompromising stances on the issues of the day - war, taxes, health care, etc. - but a new Pew poll shows they are more likely than Democrats in general to shift their positions on arguably the most important issue of last year. Matt Yglesias explains:Not surprisingly, Dean folks are essentially unanimous in their … [Read more...] about Flexibility found among Dean supporters

Convicted murderers get new trials for all sorts of reasons, but this is the first button-related reversal I've heard. Not surprisingly it comes from the 9th Circuit, whose decisions over the years have been "novel" to say the least. … [Read more...] about Button-crazed vigilantes

TMV will be winging his way back to San Diego from Stanford University very soon. When he returns to San Diego he'll do TWO posts on the blogging related panel he moderated at a conference here. One will contain some of the highlights of the presentations by the other three members. The other will be the prepared text of his own presentation which he intentionally made more … [Read more...] about Stay Tuned

With every passing day, it seems as if House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is in more political trouble — so can he counter it with "the best defense is a good offense?" Amid continued news reports that DeLay's supporters will soon launch a big campaign painting to opposition to him as merely coming from liberals and a biased media, a prominent Republican has moved to put a … [Read more...] about Is The Fat Lady Starting To Sing For Tom DeLay?