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What a great looking group, huh? That photo was taken a few months ago, when Stephanie Miller’s Sexy Liberal Comedy Tour came to Ft. Lauderdale for a show at the Parker Playhouse. When Congressman Alan Grayson entered the room, the place erupted in applause and a standing ovation, confusing the performers backstage who had no idea what all the commotion was about.
Fast forward to this past Saturday. There I was, wandering the exhibit hall at Netroots Nation in Providence Rhode Island, when I happened upon Congressman Grayson, chatting with some adoring progressive conference participants. I joked that I had to leave Florida to see him (not actually the truth, just see the picture above!.)
But the congressman pulled me to the side to tell me that Stephanie’s show was in Boston that night, and he invited me to join him as his guest!
I think I responded with a very cool “yes,” even though inside I was screaming “Holy shit, did Alan Grayson just really invite me to go to Boston to see Steph’s show tonight? Fuck yeah!”
So, we met at the appointed time and rode Amtrak from Providence to Boston. After a lovely dinner with the Sexy Liberal cast, we headed into the beautiful Wilbur Theater. We found our seats and while the congressman was posing for pictures and signing autographs for the people seated around us, I found my way to the ladies’ room. When I got back, he left for the men’s room.
When he returned, people began to notice and, once again, the place erupted in huge applause and another standing ovation. I was very proud of my “date”. Here we were, in Massachussetts, a year and a half removed from his time in Congress, and the people cheered. That’s because they remembered, and realized how much we need Alan Grayson back in Congress!
The second hour of my show on Thursday morning is usually filled by John Fugelsang. But I got word this morning that he’d be in a plane on his way to Minneapolis (for a performance of Guilt: A Love Story). I had plenty to talk about, but figured I’d reach out to Congressman Grayson and invite him to come on with me. And he did…
The first hour of the show this morning was filled with serious shit. First up, I spoke with Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch. As the show was winding down yesterday, I saw a number of items cross my twitter stream and inbox about a leaked chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal that has been in the works for a few years under super secret conditions. One of the worst things that stood out about it was that, while under the Obama administration’s watch, it contains provisions that” submit the US government to the jurisdiction of foreign tribunals that can order unlimited payments of our tax dollars to foreign corporations that don’t want to comply with the same laws our domestic firms do”.
Again, this story just broke yesterday, but when I mentioned it to Alan Grayson, he knew exactly what I was talking about and explained a bit more about what’s so horribly wrong with it!
To find out more about the TPP deal, click here. If you need a bit more help understanding the A-B-C’s of TPP, just watch this video.
Then reach out to the White House and let them know what you think by clicking here!
Then, I spoke with constitutional attorney and Salon.com columnist Glenn Greenwald. I had been hoping to get him on the show for the last few weeks, ever since the news broke of the victory by Chris Hedges, Noam Chomsky and five other plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed against the government’s NDAA provision that allows for indefinite detention. (Background here as written by Greenwald.)
We discussed that – and the fact that there aren’t many of us in the media actually talking about it, but it is GREAT news. Then we moved on to a worse subject – drone strikes. Glenn wrote a piece this morning entitled “Al Qaeda’s Best Friend” which explains how the drone program is quite successful in creating new enemies for the US.
And, of course, when I asked Congressman Grayson about that issue, he sounded the correct amount of warning, likening the drone strikes to shooting a fly with a cannon.
All in all, a pretty great way to end my broadcast week. Thanks to my wonderful guests this morning and to my amazing listeners for being here.
Talk to you Monday, radio or not!
