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
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
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’
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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