The US is still in the midst of Pope fever. Today, our regular Fri morning guest Julianna Forlano is instead in Central Park, hoping to get a Pontiff glimpse. That's OK. Congressman and Senate candidate Alan Grayson will fill in! Plus, the other Joel Silberman. Really. And for Flashback Friday, we end the week by going back to 2001 with Ryan Adams!
Sometimes I get so frustrated and/or disheartened and/or annoyed by some of the news stories of the day that I can’t bring myself to write about them. Here are a few recent reports that made my blood pressure hit the roof. I am avoiding delving into them at length out of concern for my physical and mental health. CIA torture report not likely to result in reforms or prosecutions: "The Justice Department has cast the matter as a closed case... Federal prosecutors will not reopen their investigation of whether criminal laws were broken by CIA guards and interrogators for mistreating [...]
On Friday afternoon, twitter was all a-tweet with the news that MSNBC had suspended Keith Olbermann - INDEFINITELY! - because he had the hubris to donate to three political campaigns... without asking permission from the corporation first! That's the important part. Not the fact that someone working for this news organization made a political contribution, but that he didn't ask permission first! Seriously?!?! This is the corporatocracy of which we've been warned. (And the right screams of 'facism'? Seriously?) Well, after a weekend of hand-wringing and petition signing, MSNBC chief Phil Griffin this morning announced that Keith will be back [...]
Yesterday, my 11-year old daughter enthusiastically asked me "Are you excited Mom?" When I asked her "about what?" she replied "Your Birthday!!!!" After explaining that, at my age, birthdays are not something we really get excited about any more, I realized that it is still a day for recognizing milestones and taking inventory of our blessings and shortfalls both. Two years ago today, I was thinking I got the greatest birthday gift ever, with the election of Barack Obama--the first African-American president in history, and someone who would advance a progressive agenda and get us back on the right track [...]
Yes, I'm in mourning today. I've never been particularly fond of Florida (except for the weather from Dec-March), but the next few years will be particularly awful here. Although the Governor's race hasn't officially been called, as of this writing -at 9:40am Wednesday morning and 99% of the precincts reporting, Rick Scott is in the lead with 2,553,434 votes (49%) to Alex Sink's 2,500,510 votes (48%). Ms. Sink has a press conference scheduled for 10:30 this morning. Unfortunately, I think it'll be her concession speech. Want to know a bit more about our presumptive governor? Here's what the Broward New [...]
Well, my day certainly started with a bang. We had a small thunderstorm this morning here in Coral Springs, Florida... and true to form, Florida Power & Light couldn't keep my power on! The lights went out right around 9:10am, a scant 50 minutes before showtime. When I contacted FP&L, they said they hoped to have the power restored by 11:15, so I shut everything down and contacted my scheduled guests to let them know there might not be a show today. Imagine my surprise when the lights came back on at 9:53, giving me a whopping 7 minutes to [...]
It's a busy news week. Elena Kagan's Supreme Court confirmation hearings have been going on all week. General Petraeus was confirmed as the next leader of all forces in Afghanistan. Scott Brown successfully got the financial regulation legislation watered down even more, then decided not to vote for it after all. The Republicans successfully filibustered the extension of unemployment benefits yet again. Sharron Angle actually gave an interview. John Boehner proved that he doesn't know jack shit about anything (details on that one coming up). I get it. It's a busy news week and there's lots to talk about. But [...]
What a way to end the week... It was a busy show tonight. So click on the player above, and here's what you'll hear: Since today is Earth Day, we started the show with a conversation with Jeff Regen, VP of Online Communications for Defenders of Wildlife. In addition to a campaign to urge people to dedicate a day of service to the earth, they've also spearheaded a drive to make Discovery Inc rethink its terrible idea to air a program on its TLC channel called "Sarah Palin's Alaska." There is a light at the end of the Boehner tunnel. [...]