1-14-15 Not In Our Name
Nicole discusses the controversy over the new Charlie Hebdo cover, what is "offensive", FloriDUH and Chris Christie's latest scandal in the making. Today's guests are Susie Madrak of Crooks & Liars and comedian Maysoon Zayid
News, Views and Muse
I was a bit worried that there might not be enough news to talk about with Congress going on a 5 1/2 week recess but, then again, it's not like they do anything when they're in session. But the drama that unfolded yesterday as they all attempted to leave DC was the perfect snapshot to illustrate the comedy of errors that the 113th Congress is. Adding to the absurdity of it all was Boehner's contention that President Obama, against whom the Speaker is filing a lawsuit over his use of executive orders, should use his executive powers to do something [...]
#YesAllWomen and “Chris’s Dad is Right”
I started seeing the #YesAllWomen hastag on Twitter sometime over the weekend. Even when a few people Tweeted telling me to follow it, I didn't make the connection between that and the massacre in Santa Barbara on Friday evening. I found the Tweets fascinating, and began searching for the story behind it. Though I still don't know where it started or by whom, the message is resonating with millions of people globally. I came across a beautiful essay this morning in The New Yorker, written by Sasha Weiss, "The Power of #YesAllWomen" . In the piece, Weiss tells how the hashtag [...]
Cold Start to a New Year
Even here in Florida! For some reason, the mercury will hit 85 this afternoon, and dip down to 45 tonight. But no, there's no climate change. Not at all. The best part of my day was watching Maysoon Zayid's brilliant TED talk. In case you haven't seen it yet, have a look now. It's been too long since Maysoon joined us, so she came on this morning to talk about that experience and why General Hospital should hire her (and they should!) And, as it's Monday, Nicole Belle of Crooks and Liars joined in with our first Fools on the [...]
Fighting Back with Funny!
Yesterday, I wrote about the GOP's "rebranding" effort following their "autopsy" in the wake of the 2012 elections. Let it be known that they're doing the exact opposite of everything recommended in that report. Just today, in his Plum Line blog at the Washington Post, Greg Sargent marveled at the backwards nature of today's Republican Party in "GOP opposition to gay workplace equality will do wonders for that 'makeover'" - a piece about the fact that ENDA (The Employment Non-Discrimination Act) today passed out of the Senate Health and Education Committee with votes from three Republicans (Kirk, Murkowski and Hatch), [...]
Droning On and On
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul filibusters the nomination of John Brennan to head the CIA. AP photo *** Today's ustream recording stopped after 38 minutes. So, if you like to watch instead of listen, click the read more link below to watch the YouTube recording*** Rand Paul droned on for almost 13 hours yesterday, creating great political theater and making heads explode - on both the left and the right! By criticizing the Obama administration's drone policy under the guise of a filibuster of the Brennan confirmation to head the CIA, Paul angered the Republicans who love the drones [...]
Who Needs Detention when We’ve Got Jails?
That seems to be the attitude these days -- especially in the wake of the Sandy Hook shootings. Forget protecting these innocent little lives; arrest them and insure that they grow up to be troubled teens and adults. Quite the vicious circle. I first learned of this new trend three weeks ago, when I read "Students Arrested for Throwing Spitballs", Lollipops" in my local newspaper! The story was as bad as the headline made it sound. Offenses that used to result in a trip to the principal's office and detention or suspension are now prompting police visits and, often, handcuffs. [...]
It’s Money that Matters
Today on the show, we talked about money. Well, the real topics were campaign finance reform and the Oscars... but it all boils down to dollars and cents. The Supreme Court is set to hear another case involving campaign contributions. McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission is being called Citizens United 2.0, as the GOP wants to lift the limits on the aggregate amount of money an individual can contribute directly to candidates and to their party. I spoke about it and the progress made to undo the Citizens United damage with a constitutional amendment with Move To Amend's David Cobb. Note [...]
Droning On and On
Nicole speaks with HuffPost's Joshua Hersh about the Drone white paper and today's Brennan CIA confirmation hearings, and Maysoon Zayid about everything else
Filibuster Fix Fail
Nicole gives an update on the efforts to fix the filibuster. Marcy Wheeler (emptywheel.net) tells about yesterday's Hillary Clinton testimony on Benghazi, and Maysoon Zayid joins in for serious discussion and some laughs too