The Commoners Guide to the Galaxy

Election 08... The Fix is in: Ten questions With God

Fri Dec 14, 2007 10:25 PM EST

First off, let me say that getting an interview with God isn't the easiest thing I've ever done.

Continue reading this entry ...

politics, bush, white-house, humor, christianity, satire, god, giuliani, romney, huckabee

A Journal By Jamie Leigh, Alleged Rape Victim of Halliburton Employees

Seeded on Fri Dec 14, 2007 3:18 PM EST (jamiesfoundation.org)

A time line of events in her own words...

us-news, iraq, iraq-war, rape, halliburton, green-zone, contractor, jamie-jones, jamie-leigh, kellog-brown-root

Justice's Voting Chief Dumped Amid Controversy

Seeded on Fri Dec 14, 2007 2:42 PM EST (mcclatchydc.com)

In October, Tanner provoked more controversy while trying to defend the Georgia law after a speech to a Hispanic group. He said the ID requirement did not unfairly impact poor, elderly blacks because African-Americans ``don't become elderly the way white people do.

politics, bush, white-house, justice-department

Phelps Church Supporters... Drag them to the Light of Day

Seeded on Fri Dec 14, 2007 11:39 AM EST (The Kansas City Star)

As an American, I believe the supporters of the Westboro Baptist Church and the Phelps family should be able to publicly preach their misguided, twisted gospel.

us-news, religion, christianity, kansas, gays, boycott, fred-phelps, westboro-baptist-church, phelps

Huckabee's rise attracts attention to his embrace of controversial tax plan

Seeded on Mon Dec 10, 2007 11:44 PM EST (mcclatchydc.com)

WASHINGTON — Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee's rise to the top of Iowa opinion polls has drawn attention to his embrace of a national retail sales tax. Backers of this tax concept call the former Arkansas governor a visionary; detractors call the plan unworkable.

politics, republican, gop, tax, irs, huckabee, income-tax, election08, sales-tax

Mothers Hold Huckabee Partially Responsible for Daughters' Murders

Seeded on Mon Dec 10, 2007 11:06 PM EST (mcclatchydc.com)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said Tuesday that he is "heartbroken" over the pain suffered by the families of two women murdered in Kansas City more than six years ago.

politics, mike-huckabee, arkansas, election08, arkansas-governor

Gore Accepts Nobel Peace Prize

Seeded on Mon Dec 10, 2007 6:50 PM EST (Guardian Unlimited)

OSLO, Norway (AP) - Saying it's ``time to make peace with the planet,'' Al Gore accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on Monday with a call for humanity to rise up against a looming climate crisis and stop waging war on the environment.

world-news, global-warming, climate-change, al-gore, nobel-peace-prize

Witch Hunt... Kansas Style. Grand jury Investigates Abortion Clinic.

Seeded on Mon Dec 10, 2007 1:56 PM EST (The Kansas City Star)

For abortion opponents, getting a grand jury to investigate Planned Parenthood of Overland Park was relatively easy. All it took was a few thousand signatures on a petition.

politics, abortion, kansas, planned-parenthood, abortion-clinic

Consider Lessons, Complexity of Intelligent-Design Case

Seeded on Sun Dec 9, 2007 1:19 PM EST (The Kansas City Star)

In 2005, federal Judge John Jones III found himself in the national spotlight when he presided over a trial about the introduction of intelligent design into public school classrooms.

politics, evolution, school, intelligent-design, creation, dover-pa, judge-john-jones

U.S. Has a Duty to the Military

Seeded on Sun Dec 9, 2007 12:56 PM EST (The Kansas City Star)

Here's a classic story of heartless misplacement of risk. A soldier in combat suffers debilitating wounds and is mustered out of the armed forces early. So what does the Pentagon do?

politics, congress, military, army, pentagon, marines, air-force, navy, recruiting, coast-guard

Mike Huckabee's True Calling

Seeded on Sun Dec 9, 2007 12:42 PM EST (Newsweek)

It has become a requirement for presidential candidates, Republicans and Democrats alike, to make a public declaration of faith. Some are more comfortable doing it than others. Rudy Giuliani, never a churchgoer, says his bout with prostate cancer made him more spiritual.

politics, white-house, church, huckabee, preacher, election08, sermon, seperation

U.S., Iraq at Odds Over Sunni Groups

Seeded on Sat Dec 8, 2007 12:28 PM EST (mcclatchydc.com)

BAGHDAD — The Baghdad neighborhood of Saidiyah is becoming the focal point of a growing battle between the U.S. military and the U.S.-backed Iraqi government over the burgeoning number of U.S.-financed armed groups known as "concerned local citizens."

world-news, iraq, iraq-war, sunni, shia, nouri-al-maliki

Cheney uses Air Force Two to Attend Local Kansas City Fundraiser. Calls Congress 'Irresponsible'

Seeded on Fri Dec 7, 2007 7:25 PM EST (primebuzz.kcstar.com)

Vice President Dick Cheney lampooned Congress this afternoon for failing to pass what he views as a reasonable wartime defense spending bill.

politics, congress, republican, cheney, election08, defense-bill

Bush: Pathological liar or idiot-in-chief?

Seeded on Fri Dec 7, 2007 12:15 AM EST (MSNBC)

We have either a president who is too dishonest to restrain himself from invoking World War III about Iran at least six weeks after he had to have known that the analogy would be fantastic, irresponsible hyperbole, or we have a president too transcendently stupid not to have aske …

politics, bush, iran, cheney, nuclear-weapons, nie, wwiii

Largest creator of all political talking action figures.

Seeded on Mon Dec 3, 2007 8:24 PM EST (herobuilders.com)

Yessir folks... get your Larry Craig action doll right here!!! Heh... and just about any other politician....

politics, bush, clinton, cheney, obama, dolls, sen-craig

More Gay Men Describe Sexual Encounters with U.S. Sen. Craig

Seeded on Mon Dec 3, 2007 7:30 PM EST (IdahoStatesman.com Boise)

David Phillips. Mike Jones. Greg Ruth. Tom Russell.

politics, congress, sex, republican, gay, homosexuality, sexuality, larry-craig, talking-senator-larry-craig-action-figure

The Gates Keeper: No Plans to Attack Iran.

Seeded on Mon Dec 3, 2007 8:30 AM EST (Newsweek)

Right now, Gates is seen as the best insurance that the Bush administration (read: Vice President Cheney) will not leave a legacy of ashes in Iran.

politics, iraq, bush, iran, white-house, iraq-war, cheney, rumsfeld, gates

The Eye in the Sky

Seeded on Sat Dec 1, 2007 11:34 PM EST (patricksaviation.com)

"Parking" has been an American (and probably other countries) tradition since Henry invented the assembly line. Ahh... the stories I could tell....

technology, sex, army, helicopter, parking, internet-porn, night-vision

Breaking: Turkey says it enters Iraq.

Seeded on Sat Dec 1, 2007 9:51 AM EST (MSNBC)

ISTANBUL, Turkey - The Turkish army entered northern Iraq on Saturday, the army said.

world-news, iraq, middle-east, turkey, pkk

Citing Statistics, Giuliani Misses Time and Again

Seeded on Fri Nov 30, 2007 8:03 AM EST (The New York Times)

In almost every appearance as he campaigns for the Republican presidential nomination, Rudolph W. Giuliani cites a fusillade of statistics and facts to make his arguments about his successes in running New York City and the merits of his views.

politics, white-house, republican, giuliani, romney, election08

President George Bush Supports Hillary Clinton?

Seeded on Wed Nov 21, 2007 10:15 PM EST (FOXNews.com)

Would somebody please explain to us what Bush is doing, touting Hillary just as the rest of America is finally catching on to her artificial, evasive and contrived campaigning style?

politics, bush, white-house, republican, clinton, democrat, election08

Where There's Smoke...There's an Arsonist With an Agenda

Seeded on Wed Nov 21, 2007 9:43 PM EST (FOXNews.com)

Only Bob Novak knows who told him that someone told them that the Clinton camp had dirt on Obama, but the real issue is not the conservative Mr. Novak, who few Democrats I know confide in, but letting him play any role at all in the primary contest.

politics, republican, hillary-clinton, barack-obama, democrat, election08, bob-novak, susan-estrich

Supreme Court Will Hear Historic Gun Rights Case

Seeded on Tue Nov 20, 2007 7:40 PM EST (mcclatchydc.com)

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to consider a challenge to Washington D.C.'s strict handgun ban, setting up one of the biggest Second Amendment cases in U.S. history.

politics, supreme-court, washington, guns, gun-rights, gun-ban, second-amendmet

New search engine IDs stars in sky photos

Seeded on Tue Nov 20, 2007 6:56 PM EST (MSNBC)

A new search engine will soon turn your night sky images into powerful research data and identify the twinkling objects in them with just the click of a button.

technology, space, computers, photography, pictures, stars, search-engine, telescope, amature-pictures

Governors Challenge Congress to Cap Global Warming Pollution

Seeded on Mon Nov 19, 2007 11:31 AM EST (environmentaldefense.org)

A TV ad featuring three western governors... Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA), Brian Schweitzer (D-MT) and Jon Huntsman (R-UT) will start running today in Kansas City, Nashville, Albuquerque, and Columbus.

world-news, congress, global-warming, climate-change, california, utah, arnold-schwarzenegger, montana, brian-schweitzer, jon-huntsman

– Show More

Comments & Feedback

Who doesn't like Jim? Only those people who fear truth. "you are only as important as your enemies." He is honest. That is the best quality anyone can have. Everything else flows out from that. Thats why I respect him.

"Honesty, disinterestedness and good nature are indispensable to procure the esteem and confidence of those with whom we live, and on whose esteem our happiness depends." --Thomas Jefferson
Jefferson could have been referring to Jim had he known him.
— Dan Hallo, aka, Zoilus

Jim has the ability of getting right to the heart of the matter and speaking his mind in a very convincing way. He has his facts down stone cold.

— luckydog

Jim is one of the best features on Newsvine, his claim of homespunality, I'm not sure that's a word, couldn't be farther from the truth as his breadth of understanding evolves somewhere into the depths of deep space where he keeps an eye on things for us. Still looking for another telescope adventure, and thanks for being here....Forest

— Forest Browne

I feel like I don't see Jim enough around the Vine - consistently amusing as he cracks it to those that don't know their facts. Love the variety of articles and the smackdown being laid down in comments.

— indecent

Jim Dent will never be the Commoner he claims in his byline. He has an uncommon ability to be concise and comprehensive at the same time.

— oldfogey

I've read some of Jim's articles and comments, and for someone who says the have a "dropped out of high school at 17" variety of writing, his topics, opinions, thoughts and insight would keep me from guessing that at all.

— Shawn Gordon