Uncategorized - The Nicole Sandler Show

Pity the Billionaire — or Not!

Pity the Billionaire is the title of one of Thomas Frank's brilliant books, and one I immediately thought of when I read his current column, "Hillary Clinton forgets the '90s" Our latest gilded age and our latest phony populists" over at Salon.com. In it, the man who originally asked What's the Matter with Kansas? today reminds us that Hillary, with her latest references to our living in a new gilded age, was living in the White House with her then-president husband when Frank and his colleagues at The Baffler used the same phrase to describe that era. In fact, as Frank recounts, there were a [...]

By nicolesandler|June 24th, 2014|Tags: Charlie Rangel, Cheney, climate change, Dick, elections, gender identity, gilded age, GottaLaff, Heather Mizeur, Hillary Clinton, inequality, Iraq, Pity the Billionaire, primary, soldiers, Thomas Frank, veterans, war|Comments Off

Between the Shiite & Where the Sunni Don’t Shine

It's just one giant mess in Iraq, most likely exacerbated by our invasion over a decade ago. And the question is whether or not we should get involved again. I say no. But it's not up to me.. This morning, I was excited to welcome Juan Cole to the program. Unfortunately for me, a power surge knocked me off the air just moments before I was to call him. Needless to say, when I did get Juan on the line, I was a bit frazzled, and all the pages I had up on my computer had closed, leaving me a [...]

By nicolesandler|June 23rd, 2014|Tags: Blue America PAC, bombs, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, Defense spending, Downwithtyranny, drones, Glenn Greenwald, Howie Klein, Iran, Iraq war, Juan Cole, NSA, Shiite, Sunni|Comments Off

Friday News & Newman

This was a surreal week. It was the week in which Glenn Beck admitted that we were right! This was the week that saw Fox's Shepard Smith speak the truth about Iraq instead of simply repeating the neocons talking points. It was the week in which right wing shill and apologist Mark Halperin called out Paul Bremmer for being the war monger that he is. It was the week that saw Faux News Channel's Megyn Kelly emerge as the one who took on Dick Cheney! Speaking of Dick and his evil spawn, Tina Dupuy wrote a great column explaining the [...]

By nicolesandler|June 20th, 2014|Tags: Brian Schweitzer, Chris Christie, Dick Cheney, Fox, Iraq, Joe Walsh racism, Megyn Kelly, NeoCons, Rachel Maddow, Randy Newman, Scott Walker, Shepard Smith, war|Comments Off

From Rio with Love and Balls

This is the lead banner for Sunday's protest that was gassed by Brazil’s military police. June 15, 2014. (Photo by Dave Zirin) I am not a soccer fan. That makes me in the distinct minority among the world's population, as most of the planet is is in the throes of fútbol mania as the "FIFA World Cup" is underway in Brazil. My favorite sports writer, Dave Zirin of The Nation, has been ready for this global event for a while now, as he'd been working on his new book, Brazil's Dance with the Devil: The World Cup, The Olympics, and [...]

By nicolesandler|June 19th, 2014|Tags: Amy Simon, asshole, boots on the ground, Brazil, Brian Schweitzer, bullshit, Cheney, Dave Zirin, FIFA, futbol, gaydar, Jeanette Rankin, pacifists, protests, soccer, Stephen Goldstein, war, war criminal, World Cup|Comments Off

Hell Freezes Over

No, I'm not talking about The Eagles. But seriously, hell must have frozen over yesterday! Glenn Beck, the hate talker who was too extreme for Faux News, yesterday admitted that not only was he wrong about the US invasion of Iraq but, "Liberals, you were right!" Seriously! If you need to hear it right from the horses mouth, I don't blame you. Just hit play: There was more. Of course, Beck was wrong about more than he got right in this clip... But there was more to enjoy: From the beginning, most people on the left were against going into [...]

By nicolesandler|June 18th, 2014|Tags: charter school fraud, education, Glenn Beck, Iraq, Jeb Bush, Liberals were right, Sabrina Stevens, Susie Madrak, teacher tenure, Vergara|Comments Off

Why They Fight

An Iraqi mourner waves an old flag of Iraq during the funerals of victims killed in clashes with security forces in Falluja, January 26, 2013. (REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani) If you're confused about what's happening in Iraq right now - plus Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia and other neighboring countries - you're not alone. The Washington Post attempts to help us wade through it in "Why The Sunnis and Shias Are Fighting Explained in Two Minutes." Any my first guest this morning, Robert Dreyfuss of The Nation, helped me try to make sense of Gen. Wesley Clark's war mongering on this [...]

By nicolesandler|June 17th, 2014|Tags: bombs, GottaLaff, Iran, Iraq, OJ Simpson, Robert Dreyfuss, Shia, Sunni, Syria, war, Wesley Clark|Comments Off

Stop Making Sense or Life During Wartime

Once again, I feel as if I've entered Opposite World, where up is down, in is out and everything is completely backwards. I didn't meant to quote the Talking Heads, but it's the lower case talking heads who are making my brain hurt right now. First of all, the talking head making the most sense about Iraq right now is... Shephard Smith!?!?! Yes, the man who is relegated to keeping his sexuality safely hidden in the closet because his employer is Faux News is, once again, speaking the truth. This time, he's saying what I'm thinking about Iraq. If [...]

By nicolesandler|June 16th, 2014|Tags: afghanistan, dave brat, Democratic leadership, Eric Cantor, Gen Wesley Clark, Howie Klein, Iran, Iraq, politics, Steve Israel, war|3 Comments

Friday the 13th, Guns and Jackson Browne too

Today is a rare day indeed! Not only is it Friday the 13th, but it's the rare Friday the 13th that falls on a Full Moon! It won't happen again until 2049, so let's enjoy it, or not, while we can. Today, I welcomed lawyer turned comedian and writer, Dean Obeidallah to the show. At The Daily Beast, Dean has been writing about the same things we talk about here on the show. Today, we centered in on two of his recent works, "It's Time to Think Big or Shut Up on Gun Control" and "Home Grown, Right Wing Terrorism: [...]

By nicolesandler|June 13th, 2014|Tags: Dean Obiedallah, fm101.9 Los Angeles, guns, Iraq, jackson browne, KSCA, McCain, radio|2 Comments

World Beyond War

Imagine a world a peace. A world where warfare is not the go-to strategy when conflict arises. It's an especially important vision today, when Iraq is, once again, a bloody mess. And it sickens me even more because the US is wholly responsible for that. Author and activist David Swanson, and retired Naval Commander and former national president of Veterans for Peace Leah Bolger joined me today to talk about this new project they're working on, World Beyond War: a global movement to end all wars. If ever there was a truly worthy goal, that's it. I've joined in to [...]

By nicolesandler|June 12th, 2014|Tags: Amy Simon, asshole, David Swanson, Iran, Iraq, Leah Bolger, peace, Political Bullshit, Stephen Goldstein, Victoria Woodhull, war, World Beyond War|Comments Off

Virginia is for Losers

In this case, the loser in Virginia is Eric Canter. While no one in Cantor's campaign was paying attention, a teabagger named Dave Brat came out of nowhere to defeat the seven-term Congressman and House Majority leader in yesterday's primary. Did I say House Majority Leader? Not for too much longer! BREAKING: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) will resign from being Majority Leader, GOP aides confirm to NBC News. — msnbc (@msnbc) June 11, 2014 To Eric Cantor who really, really wanted to be the first Jewish Speaker of the House: Not only will that never happen, but now there [...]

By nicolesandler|June 11th, 2014|Tags: bulletproof blankets, Cliff Schecter, David Brat, Eric Cantor, guns, Jack Trammell, NRA, primary, Susie Madrak, tea party, VA|Comments Off

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