If you’re wondering what’s going on in NYC near Wall Street and in other cities around the world in the “global revolution”, you’re probably looking in the wrong places. To see what’s happening in New York City, you’ll have to go to Al Jazeera or find the live feed online. (I’m happy to assist you with that live feed here):
Unfortunately,the stream is not very reliable, but it’s better than the coverage you’ll get watching any of the major networks or even the cable news channels.
If you’re wondering why there seems to be a media blackout, look no further than the owners of the networks, cable channels and local stations. I’m trying to find someone involved to come on the show tomorrow…
Today on the show, I was joined by Rob Boston, senior policy analyst at Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. I invited him on the show last week after seeing a Los Angeles Times article that confirmed my worst fears about the role evangelical preachers are taking in the 2012 elections. But they’re not alone. Slate’s Dave Weigel reported on last week’s loss of the Congressional seat by the Democrats who had occupied it for almost a century that the issue of gay marriage got Orthodox Rabbis involved:
The first wedge issue, getting a little less attention on Tuesday, was gay marriage. Earlier this year, Assemblyman David Weprin voted for the successful bill that legalized same-sex unions in New York. He explained his vote by explaining the tenets of his Orthodox Jewish faith. “I think everyone here would agree that we should not be outlawing marriages between Jews and non-Jews or interracial marriages,” he said.
That was dangerous. At least 40 Orthodox rabbis in the district signed a letterpronouncing it “forbidden according to Torah law” to vote for Weprin; this in a district where perhaps one-third of ballots would be cost by Jews, many of them Orthodox. The National Organization for Marriage, which had failed to stop the gay marriage bill, trained its death ray on Weprin, organizing direct mail and robocalls to spread the rabbis’ message, and targeting the district’s Hispanic voters – about 15 percent of the population – with a robocall from conservative State Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr.
If preachers preach politics from the pulpit, their churches ought to lose their tax-exempt status!
It’s Monday, that means I get to dissect the Sunday talking head shows with Nicole Belle of Crooks and Liars in a segment we call “Fools on the Hill.” Here’s what Nicole brought us today:
First, we have a brand new show on the weekend…and this one seems made for the liberal desperate for some reasonable discussion of the issues: Up with Chris Hayes on MSNBC. I have to say that so far, it’s been a pretty auspicious debut. And since it’s in all of our best interests to promote liberal voices on the air, I’ve got a clip from Chris’s show that has echoed our discussions for the last year. In previewing the Sunday shows, Hayes asked his panel what questions they would ask the scheduled guests. But instead of directing her question to the guests, NY Times Rebecca Traister wanted an answer from the producers and bookers for the shows: Where are all the Democratic representatives? (just the last minute of the video)
We got plenty of Republican representation on the Sunday shows. Like Herman Cain, who Fox News is still curiously taking seriously as a Republican candidate. Cain was on Fox News touting his absurd 999 plan. When Chris Wallace pointed out that the numbers in his plan didn’t quite add up, Cain claimed his plan was approved by leading economists, though he wouldn’t release their names because he didn’t want to “compromise their confidentiality”.
The ultimate in Republicans we should never have to hear from again is Dick Cheney, still be enabled for his revisionist history press tour by the mainstream media. This time Cheney is not denying any kind of war crime or extra Constitutional act. No, this time, the same man who pushed the notion that you were on the side of the terrorists to even question the actions of the president denies that he was “sowing discord” by pushing for an Obama primary challenge.
Ayn Rand devotee Paul Ryan appeared on Fox News Sunday to tell Chris Wallace that his “Buffett Plan” is nothing more than “class warfare” against those poor, downtrodden millionaires and billionaires. Oh wait… And if that’s not enough, he supports a plan to let the unemployed work for FREE. If that’s not the Objectivist ideal, I don’t know what is. Ayn would be proud.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt (who must defend his company against anti-trust allegations before Congress) told Christiane Amanpour that it’s demand—not tax cuts—that creates jobs. The GOP is absolutely right in saying that uncertainty is hurting us economically, but they’re focusing their attention on the wrong side of the equation. As long as people fear losing their jobs or worry about their underwater mortgage, they’re not going to spend money on unnecessary things. And as long as they’re not spending, there’s no demand and no reason for companies to hire more staff.