Today I’ll be guest hosting The Randi Rhodes Show for the last time, as the show is going off the air two weeks from today.

I’ve had the honor of sitting at Randi’s microphone for 4 1/2 years now, and I never took for granted the trust or responsibility that entailed. Randi trusted me with her listeners, and I hope I never let her down.

Randi is a pro – one of the very best in the business. She is more thoroughly researched and knowledgeable than anyone else on the air, and the fact that her voice will be missing after May 16 is a travesty. But as I’ve told you before, Randi always has an open microphone here at Radio or Not waiting for her. And I promise you that I’ll keep after her – as much as I can without becoming a pain in the ass – to check in with us.

I plan on having a great show today, and hope you’ll call in (866-877-2634) with some of your favorite memories from the years of the Randi Rhodes Show.

We’ll put a fork in the week by dealing with two of the biggest news stories and ongoing issues today: Tim Wise – anti-racist speaker, author and activist will join us in the first hour to talk about the seeming explosion of racism in recent days, and Pulitizer Prize winning journalist David Cay Johnston will join us talk about America’s great economic divide – and his new book, a collection of articles on various aspects of that subject, aptly titled  Divided: The Perils of Our Growing Inequality.

And I’ll do my best to keep the homework coming every day… For now, here’s the homework as compiled by Randi’s wonderful producers, Shawn “Smith” Peirce and Beowulf Rochlen.

 

 

Audio/Video

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney Smacks Down Fox During Ridiculous Exchange Over Benghazi

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/jay-carney-jabs-at-fox-news-during-tense-exchange-with-ed-henry/

 

Fmr WH Spokesperson to Fox’s Brett Baier on Benghazi: ‘Dude, This Was Like Two Years Ago’

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/fmr-wh-spox-to-baier-on-benghazi-dude-this-was-like-two-years-ago/

 

Fox Contributor Rep. Lynn Westmoreland Gives Away The Right-Wing Game On Benghazi

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/rep-lynn-westmoreland-gives-away-gop-game-benghazi#sthash.1B3pDaeE.dpuf

 

Actual Benghazi Testimony Derails Fox’s Latest Fully Of Attacks On Obama

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/05/01/benghazi-testimony-derails-foxs-incredibly-damn/199116
Glenn Beck-hired Christian ‘historian’: Allowing women to vote ‘hurts the entire culture and society’
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/05/01/christian-historian-allowing-women-to-vote-hurts-the-entire-culture-and-society/

Fox Analyst: There’s A ‘Problem With Slavery’ Under Obama
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/fox-analyst-obama-slavery

 

Krugman: What’s with All the Billionaires ‘Whining’ over Criticism?

http://www.mediaite.com/online/krugman-whats-with-all-the-billionaires-whining-over-criticism/

 

Crossfire’s Van Jones: The ‘Get Obama Party’ Making America Look Weak

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/crossfires-van-jones-get-obama-party-making-america-look-weak/

 

Shep Smith: The Gawker Report on Fox and Me Is ‘Horsesh*t’

http://www.mediaite.com/online/shep-smith-gawker-report-on-fox-is-horsesht/

Jobs & The Economy

 

U.S. economy adds 288,000 jobs in April, jobless rate falls to 6.3 percent

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/05/02/u-s-economy-adds-288000-jobs-in-april-jobless-rate-falls-to-6-3-percent/?hpid=z1

 

Steve Benen: Where are the jobs? They’re right here

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/where-are-the-jobs-theyre-right-here

 

Vox.com: May Jobs Day – The Complete Rundown

http://www.vox.com/2014/5/1/5672082/may-jobs-day

 

Commerce Dept Inspector General: 2012 Jobs Report Data Not ‘Faked’ As Right Wing Claimed

http://www.businessinsider.com/jobs-report-data-not-faked-jack-welch-2014-5

 

Inequality In America

Seattle Announces $15 Minimum Wage, Highest In The U.S.
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/05/01/3433227/seattle-15-dollar-minimum-wage/

U.S. Postal Service workers continue to resist privatization plans
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/5/2/postal-worker-privatization.html

More seniors now must seek roomies to share expenses
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-c1-old-roommates-20140502-dto,0,1655654.htmlstory#axzz30Yr0U28K

 

Why America’s Essentials Are Getting More Expensive While Its Toys Are Getting Cheap
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/05/its-expensive-to-be-poor/361533/

Andrew Leonard: Warnings of another tech bomb are out there – but this time, the 1 percent won’t feel a thing
http://www.salon.com/2014/05/02/techs_ticking_inequality_bomb_the_crash_is_coming_%e2%80%94_but_the_1_percent_wont_feel_a_thing/

David Cay Johnston: The cockroaches are coming back – Enron-style Wall Street electricity price-rigging tactics are making a comeback

http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/5/new-england-electricitymarketwallstreetenron.html

 

Paul Krugman: Why Has Economics Failed Us? Because Policy Makers And Politicians Have Ignored It

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/02/opinion/krugman-why-economics-failed.html

 

Race & America Today

Right-Wing Nut William Gheen Defends Don Sterling: ‘I’m More Worried About The Black Mobs’
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/william-gheen-defends-don-sterling-im-more-worried-about-black-mobs#sthash.9wT9BaXx.dpuf

Los Angeles NAACP President Resigns Amid Criticism Surrounding Almost-Award For Sterling
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/naacp-leon-jenkins-resigns-donald-sterling

Donald Sterling’s past may speak to a present course with NBA
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-sterling-legal-20140502,0,695480.story#ixzz30YrqHs6r

 

Democratic Congressman Bennie Thompson calls it like it is: Says Justice Clarence Thomas is an “Uncle Tom” and Mitch McConnell is a racist

http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/democratic-congressman-makes-shocking-racial-comments-about

 

Black congressman stands by comment that Clarence Thomas is an ‘Uncle Tom’

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/04/30/black-congressman-stands-by-comment-that-clarence-thomas-is-an-uncle-tom/

 

Morning Joe berates Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) over Rep. Thompson’s comments

http://on.msnbc.com/1jnUqlg
Sean Hannity’s next, post-Bundy hero: Meet vigilante killer Byron Smith
http://www.salon.com/2014/05/02/sean_hannitys_post_bundy_hero_meet_vigilante_killer_byron_smith/
Politics and Policy

States that didn’t set up marketplaces see surge in health plan enrollment, figures show

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/states-that-didnt-set-up-marketplaces-see-surge-in-health-plan-enrollment-figures-show/2014/05/01/8cc0d5ac-d16a-11e3-9e25-188ebe1fa93b_story.html

 

Confirmed: Young adults fueled final surge in health insurance enrollment

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/05/01/226217/young-adults-fuel-final-marketplace.html

 

Update Confirms: Most Obamacare Enrollees Lacked Prior Health Insurance

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-05-01/most-obamacare-enrollees-lacked-prior-health-insurance

 

Report Confirms: Major Corporations Likely To Move Employees to Obamacare Exchanges, to save $700B

http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/204893-report-o-care-to-save-large-firms-hundreds-of-billions

 

Vox.com: Insurers pretty happy about Obamacare outcomes

http://www.vox.com/2014/5/1/5668448/insurers-sound-pretty-happy-about-obamacare

 

Desperate House GOP Releases Its Own Incomplete Obamacare Data

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/house-gop-obamacare-premiums-report
Michael Tomasky: Obamacare Truthers Get Caught in a Lie on Delinquency Rate
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/02/obamacare-truthers-get-caught-in-a-lie-on-delinquency-rate.html

 

Republicans to push anti-Obamacare message in upcoming Senate confirmation hearings

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/01/us-usa-healthcare-republicans-idUSBREA4003A20140501

 

White House Calls For Limits on Use of Customers’ Web Data By Private Corporations

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/02/us/white-house-report-calls-for-transparency-in-online-data-collection.html

 

House Votes To Expand Sexual Harassment Training For Members

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/house-sexual-harassment-training-congress

 

SpaceX company wins injunction to stop U.S. Air Force from buying Russian rocket engines

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/01/us-spacex-unitedlaunchalliance-idUSKBN0DH2G420140501

 

GAO Report: Cost of Pentagon weapons systems balloons to half a trillion dollars; 80 programs delayed more than two years

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/cost-of-pentagon-weapons-systems-up-a-half-trillion-dollars-delays-of-more-than-two-years/2014/04/30/245a287a-d083-11e3-b812-0c92213941f4_story.html

 

Benghazi Baloney

 

General’s opinion on Benghazi draws a rebuke from Republicans in hearing

http://www.wnct.com/story/25403273/generals-opinion-on-benghazi-draws-a-rebuke

 

Steve Benen: Right-wing Benghazi conspiracy theorists are coming unglued

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/benghazi-conspiracy-theorists-come-unglued

 

Fox Contributor: Donald Sterling’s Racism Is Terrible – But Not As Terrible As Benghazi

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/04/30/fox-contributor-donald-sterlings-racism-is-terr/199089

 

Paul Waldman: The GOP hunt for a Watergate-scale scandal continues – and finds nothing

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2014/05/01/the-gop-hunt-for-a-watergate-scale-scandal-continues/

 

The Spying Game

 

U.S. and Germany Fail to Reach a Deal on Spying

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/02/world/europe/us-and-germany-fail-to-reach-a-deal-on-spying.html

 

Germany blocks Edward Snowden from testifying in person in German parliament inquiry into U.S. NSA surveillance

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/01/germany-edward-snowden-nsa-inquiry

 

Apple, Facebook, others defy authorities, increasingly notify users of secret data demands from governments

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/apple-facebook-others-defy-authorities-increasingly-notify-users-of-secret-data-demands-after-snowden-revelations/2014/05/01/b41539c6-cfd1-11e3-b812-0c92213941f4_story.html

 

Meanwhile…

Taser was used on Oklahoma death-row inmate on morning of his botched execution
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/01/oklahoma-clayton-lockett-tasered-before-botched-execution

 

Maryland dealer, under pressure from pro-gun extremists, drops plan to sell smart gun

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/maryland-dealer-will-defy-gun-rights-advocates-by-selling-nations-first-smart-gun/2014/05/01/564efa48-d14d-11e3-937f-d3026234b51c_story.html

 

Around the world, water now becoming more valuable than gold

http://money.cnn.com/2014/04/24/news/water-gold-price/index.html

 

Brad Plumer: A Very Bad Sign – Carbon-dioxide levels are higher than they’ve been in at least 800,000 years

http://www.vox.com/2014/5/1/5672494/carbon-dioxide-levels-are-at-their-highest-point-in-800000-years

 

Scientific American Editor Says Fox Producer Told Him not To Talk About Climate Change

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/scientific-american-editor-claims-fox-told-him-ixnay-on-the-climate-change/

 

Fox Smears Scientific American Editor; Attempts to Brand him A ‘Coward’

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/fox-news-hosts-brand-scientific-american-editor-coward

 

Limbaugh’s California Ratings Collapse; Now Rated 37th in LA, Worse Than Previous Progressive Talk Format

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/05/01/rush-limbaughs-california-ratings-debacle/199108