The Hollywood Liberal

Sunday Talking Heads: May 22, 2011
Every Sunday morning you find listings here for all the major Sunday talk shows – and then some. Kickass Activism, Kickass Sunday Talking Heads Listings – that’s Firedoglake. So why don’t you become a member today? You know we have world class book salons here, yesterday’s featured Bill Moyers, with Glenn Greenwald (can’t get world classier than that!). Today we bring you Diane Winston and Diary of an Eco-Warrior. Also, don’t forget our movie nights, Monday Lisa showcases Our Summer in Tehran and filmmaker Justine Shapiro. Help us cover the costs of bringing these events to you. Seriously, where else but at Firedoglake can you find incisive analysis like Scarecrow’s gems? He’d be a dream guest for any of these shows, don’t you think?

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Every Sunday morning you find listings here for all the major Sunday talk shows – and then some.  Kickass Activism, Kickass Sunday Talking Heads Listings – that’s Firedoglake.

So why don’t you become a member today?

You know we have world-class book salons here, yesterday’s featured Bill Moyers, with Glenn Greenwald (can’t get world-classier than that!). Today we bring you Diane Winston and Diary of an Eco-Warrior.  Also, don’t forget our movie nights, Monday Lisa showcases Our Summer in Tehran and filmmaker Justine Shapiro.

Help us cover the costs of bringing these events to you.

Seriously, where else but at Firedoglake can you find incisive analysis like Scarecrow’s gems?  No holds barred.

Since the Israeli/Palestinian conflict was a major topic of the week, at least ABC’s This Week has two guests who actually know something about the topic.  The rest of the shows couldn’t find anyone who wasn’t a paid advocate.   We are left to wonder what “scandals” Cokie and Steve Roberts will talk about and why anyone cares what they think.

CBS continues to prove that it’s producers haven’t a clue what they’re doing.  Why anyone would think that America cares about Newt Gingrich, who’s never done anything but be a malicious demagogue and run his party into the ground, remains a mystery.  His only job now is to explain why the enormous foot in his mouth is not his, so it must be Rush Limbaugh’s.  His strategy will be to change the subject.

NBC’s Meet the Press appears to believe that if Paul Ryan just keeps denying that his plan would kill Medicare as we know it, and that he may have blowing it for Republicans, someone may believe him.  The panel will then debate whether Paul Ryan is honest when he denies what we know to be true.  It will be a split decision.

Fox News Sunday will interview an irrelevant politician most people don’t care about and Mitch McConnell, whom most people can’t stand and who has never answered a question he didn’t want to answer.  A panel of dissers will follow, featuring disgusting Liz Cheney, dishonest Paul Gigot, the disingenuous Juan Williams and the distinctly clueless Evan Bayh.  There’s a moral powerhouse for you.

Ms. Crowley’s CNN’s State of the Union somehow chose Dick Durbin, a man non-corporate Democrats do not trust, to talk about “bipartisanship” between the corporate wing of his party and the stupid wing of the other.   Ordinary American’s should watch in fear, and then they get Dick Armey.  The show will end with the Israeli Ambassador lamenting the fact that Obama did not bend over far enough for the Israeli right.

All in all, another dismal assortment of people from the Village television elites.  Not one person will address the real problems facing the country nor have a clue what to do about them, but Village media won’t even notice.

He’d be a dream guest for any of these shows, don’t you think?

Firedoglake can tell it like it is because we aren’t beholden to corporate interests, help us keep it that way.  Please support the work being done here by joining now (Or, if you prefer to speak directly with one of us about the membership program, call us anytime at 202-709-7498.) — and then it’s pancakes all around!

Washington Journal.

ABC’s This Week: The former Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell.  Then, King Abdullah II of Jordan.  Roundtable: George Will, Matthew Dowd, Donna Brazile, Jonathan Karl.  Scandals Roundtable: the author of “Le Seduction” Elaine Sciolino, Michelle Cottle of “The Daily Beast” and “Newsweek,” and ABC’s Cokie Roberts and her husband, journalist Steve Roberts.

CBS’ Face The Nation: Newt Gingrich.

CNN’s State of the Union: Bipartisanship with Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL).Then, improving intelligence with Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) and Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD).   Plus 2012 politics with Dick Armey and former Biden chief of staff Ron Klain.  Finally, Obama’s Middle East speech with Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren.

Chris Matthews.

Fareed Zakaria – GPS: From Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt – Waleed Rashed, a spokesman for the April 6th youth movement, one of the key groups organizing protests in Tahrir Square. Sarah Abdelrahman, student activist and video blogger who was in Tahrir. Noor Ayman Nour, a law student active in the protests. Ragia Omran, a human rights activist and a lawyer helping defend the protestors against the military tribunals. Then, “what in the world has the revolution done to Egypt’s economy?” Plus, elections are planned for November, here are the presumed favorites, Amr Moussa, the outgoing Secretary-General of the Arab League and former Foreign Minister of Egypt and  Mohamed Elbaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency and Nobel Laureate. And more.

Fox News Sunday: Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain.  Then, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).  Roundtable: Paul Gigot, Evan Bayh, Liz Cheney, Juan Williams.

NBC’s Meet The Press: House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI). Roundtable: Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD),  Mike Murphy, Andrea Mitchell, Eugene Robinson, Andrew Ross Sorkin.

Newsmakers: The doctor in charge of the Medicare program, Dr. Donald Berwick, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator, talks about the alternative futures of Medicare under the Administration and under Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s plan to shift Medicare to more of a premium support and voucher system.

Q & A: David McCullough. This is the first of a two-part Q&A program focusing on his newest book “The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris.” The book focuses on a group of Americans who spent time living in Paris between 1830 and 1900 to study, work, and further their vocation…

Religion & Ethics. Including coverage of the new clergy sex abuse study released this week.

60 Minutes: Ex-teammate testified on Lance Armstrong and EPO – George Hincapie is among three ex-teammates who have told federal authorities they used banned substances and saw Armstrong use them too. DeVecchio and “The Grim Reaper” – Former FBI agent Lin DeVecchio talks about his relationship with mob informant Greg Scarpa, also known as “The Grim Reaper.” U.S. v. Drake – Tom Drake, a former NSA senior executive indicted last year for espionage after leaking to the media allegations that the nation’s largest intelligence organization had committed fraud, waste and abuse will appear in his first television interview.

To The Contrary: Topics: 1- Tough job market for new college grads–lower pay for women; 2-France’s attitude towards sexual assaults on women; 3- Are all women natural full-time mothers? Panelists: Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Erin Matson, Genevieve Wood, Mercy Viana Schlapp.

Univision’s Al Punto: Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO Secretary General; Charles Luoma-Overstreet, Press Advisor and Spokesperson, Western Hemisphere Affairs at U.S. Department of State; Armande Gil, Immigrant Affected by Diversity Immigrant Visa Program Computer Glitch; Mony Ruiz-Velasco, Director of Legal Services, National Immigrant Justice Center; Raquel Gomez, Transgender Immigrant who Filed Complaint for Alleged Abuse at Detention Center; Julio Ligorria, Political Consultant and Analyst.

Virtually Speaking: Chicago Dyke and CS Kendrick dissect the content, omissions and distortions of the Sunday morning MSM talking heads.

C-SPAN’s  Book TV.

FDL’s Book Salon: Diary of an Eco-Outlaw: An Unreasonable Woman Breaks the Law for Mother Earth. On “becoming a world-class activist against corporate injustice, war, and environmental crimes.” Chat with Diane Wilson, hosted by Josh Nelson. 5pm ET.

FDL’s Movie Night Monday: Our Summer in Tehran. “Justine, a Jewish-American filmmaker and former host of the travel series GlobeTrekker, takes her 6-year-old son Mateo with her to Tehran where they spend the summer.”  Come chat with filmmaker Justine Shapiro and host Lisa Derrick.

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Late Late Night FDL: Fresh Fish
Fresh Fish. This Warner Bros Merrie Melodies cartoon was originally released on November 4, 1939.

Fresh Fish.  This Warner Bros Merrie Melodies cartoon was originally  released on November 4, 1939.

Directed by Tex Avery (as Fred Avery).  Produced by Leon Schlesinger.  Story by Jack Miller.  Animation by Sidney Sutherland, Virgil Ross (uncredited), and Rod Scribner (uncredited).  Film Editing and Sound Effects Editing by Treg Brown (uncredited).  Voices by (in alphabetical order) Tex Avery (School Teacher Fish – uncredited), Sara Berner (Starfish – uncredited), Mel Blanc (Tuna; Two-Headed Fish;  Pickled Herring – uncredited), Robert C. Bruce (Narrator – uncredited), and Kent Rogers (Old Crab – uncredited).  Original Music by Carl W. Stalling (uncredited).  Music Directed by Carl W. Stalling.  Orchestration by Milt Franklyn (uncredited).

Grab your popcorn, put your feet up on the seatback in front of ya, and aim your spitballs at the ushers please. This is Late Late Night FireDogLake, where off topic is the topic … so dive in. What’s on your mind?

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‘Left, Right & Center’: Barack and Bibi, DSK and Arnold; Cornel West’s Broadside
What an action-packed week it was—how will “Left, Right & Center” regulars Robert Scheer, Matt Miller and Tony Blankley and guest panelist Chrystia Freeland possibly cover it all in 30 minutes? But they do—and they also manage to slip a little Newt-talk in there, too. Listen and learn.

What an action-packed week it was—how will “Left, Right & Center” regulars Robert Scheer, Matt Miller and Tony Blankley and guest panelist Chrystia Freeland possibly cover it all in 30 minutes? But they do—and they also manage to slip a little Newt-talk in there, too. Listen and learn.

Related Entries

• May 21, 2011 Time’s Up: Obama Ignores War Powers Act in Drive Against Gadhafi
• May 16, 2011 International Help

Power-Mad Man Have Their Moment
What do a professed love for women, a so-called commitment to family values, a culture of social change and institutionalized rape have in common? 

By Marcia Alesan Dawkins

What do a professed love for women, a so-called commitment to family values, a culture of social change and institutionalized rape have in common??

Related Entries

• May 21, 2011 Time’s Up: Obama Ignores War Powers Act in Drive Against Gadhafi
• May 16, 2011 International Help

Arianna Huffington: Sunday Roundup
If you are reading this Sunday Roundup, it means that those Rapture-ready believers predicting that Saturday would be Judgment Day were wrong. But earlier this week, a different kind of judgment day did arrive, in the form of the first comprehensive report on last year’s Upper Big Branch mine disaster, which killed 29 workers. And a damning judgment it was, placing blame squarely on the mine’s owner, and calling the tragedy “a cautionary tale of hubris.” The same verdict could be applied to Dominique Strauss-Kahn who, on course to become president of France, felt entitled to take a detour to a hotel sexual assault. Paired with the latest news about the equally hubristic former governor of California, it made one long for more women leaders — who, if you notice, never seem to find themselves accused of attempted rape or forced to admit to having a child with the household help.

Jodie Allen: The Gingrich “Gaffe”
In the political arena, as premier political commentator Michael Kinsley enunciated many years ago, a gaffe occurs “when a politician tells the truth.”

Romney Returning To Key Primary State, But Can He Bounce Back From 2008 ‘Mistake?’
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina wasn’t kind to Mitt Romney in 2008, but the ex-Massachusetts governor and presidential contender is hoping for a better fate…

Did Palin Buy A House In Arizona?
Has Sarah Palin bought a house in north Scottsdale?…

Democrats Probe Koch’s Interest In Oil Sands Pipe
Democratic U.S. lawmakers have asked Congressional panels to look into whether Koch, an energy company led by brothers who are powerhouses in conservative politics, will…

Anti-Gay Preacher Ignites Fury After Giving Prayer On MN House Floor
A controversial anti-gay preacher questioned President Obama’s Christianity Friday morning, when he delivered the morning prayer on the Minnesota House floor. “I know this is a non-denominational prayer in this chamber and it’s not about the Baptists and it’s not…

Sovereign Citizen Resists Traffic Stop Arrest As A ‘Free Citizen On A Free Highway’
A sovereign citizen in Virginia was arrested and charged with five misdemeanors after a bizarre encounter with a state police officer where he called himself a “free citizen on a free highway” and gave multiple fake names.

GOP FEC Commissioner To Campaign Reformers: You’ve Wasted Your Life
Bloomberg has a great report out today on the influx of cash from secret donors into U.S. elections and the lack of action from the Federal Election Commission….

The GOP’s New Old Brew

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Abbas And The 1967 Border: In His Own Words
President Obama has now stated that it is the policy of his administration that a Palestinian state should rise in the 1967 borders with agreed land swaps.?Prime Minister Netanyahu immediately called those borders “indefensible,” insisting that Obama should instead honor…

The Stimulus Did Not Create Jobs: The 35,496th Try
Yes, they are back again. We have another paper claiming that the stimulus did not create jobs. Timothy Conley and Bill Dupor, professors at Western Ontario University and Ohio State respectively, have a new study of state level employment that…

Rep. Webster Tells Town Hall Constituents That If Health Reform Isn?t Repealed, ?We Won?t Have A Country?

ThinkProgress filed this report from a town hall meeting in Astatula, FL.

When Congress passed the landmark health reform law last March, Republicans predicted the result wouldn’t be insurance for 32 million Americans, but rather “Armageddon.”

More than a year later, such outlandish rhetoric continues unabated.

This week, Rep. Daniel Webster (R-FL) met with constituents for a town hall meeting in Astatula, FL. During the event, a constituent asked Webster about how repealing health reform would affect citizens like her who have cancer (or other preexisting conditions) and found it next to impossible to get insurance in the private market. Webster agreed with the constituent that – despite his voting to strip such protections in January – preexisting conditions ought to be covered by insurance. However, Webster then went on to tell the audience that unless the health reform law, which covers preexisting conditions, is repealed, “we won’t have a country” anymore:

CONSTITUENT: All the years that your party has had to work on this, you still don’t have an answer for people like me, if I have a cancer recurrence before I’m eligible for Medicare, what’s your answer for people like me? You’ve been working on it year after year after year, and you never have an answer. I’m sorry, but it’s unacceptable to find out that there’s a clinic someplace that serves primary care to Medicare or Medicaid patients, when I want to know who serves cancer care to people with preexisting conditions who are uninsurable in a private marketplace because they’re interested in profits.

WEBSTER: Thank you for that question and I’ll answer it. Here’s how I’ll answer you first. I got to Congress here. [Points to January 2011] […] I’ve told you, first of all, that I believe there is a need to have preexisting conditions covered. I’ve said that. So I’m not trying to eliminate that at all, and that would be the answer to your question. All I’m saying is, left to the community and the states and having partnerships will free us from this. [Points to debt chart] We can’t afford it. We can either do it on borrowed money and run our country into the ground and then no one gets coverage because we won’t have a country.

Watch it:

Still, Webster isn’t the only one predicting dire consequences for our country as a result of health reform. Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) surmised that “a lot of people are going to die,” while Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) recently said that if you believe in a right to health care, “you believe in slavery.” Last year, then-House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) even called the law “Armageddon” that will “ruin our country.”

Listening to such over-the-top rhetoric, one can certainly be forgiven for believing that the rapture is indeed nigh.

Back To The Future: ?Death Panel? Myth Invoked At GOP Town Hall To Scare Voters

ThinkProgress filed this report from Manilus, NY

Facing increasing backlash at home, House Republicans are tap-dancing around — and away — from House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) deeply unpopular plan to end Medicare. But in struggling to justify their overwhelming support for a plan that drastically raises health care costs for seniors, Republicans are now blaming Democrats for employing “political rhetoric” and “Mediscare” tactics to purposefully frighten seniors about the GOP plan.

Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R-NY) tried that trick during her town hall meeting on Wednesday in Manilus, NY. Facing a crowd of seniors peppered with “Hands Off My Medicare” signs, Buerkle decried “despicable” attempts by Democrats “to frighten seniors into thinking that [the Ryan plan] is going to take away their Medicare.” Insisting that the plan is in no way a voucher system, Buerkle said, “I am disgusted by what has been said about this and the fear that has been instilled in some citizens.”

Her disgust, however, did not stop her from trying to fearmonger seniors herself. While simultaneously denouncing scare tactics, Buerkle pulled out the GOP’s trusty “death panel” myth — which earned the dubious distinction of Politifact’s “Lie of the Year” — and told her constituents that President Obama’s budget creates a panel that will determine what procedures a senior can have. Outraged at the allegation, her constituents yelled back, “that’s a lie” and noted, “you’re scaring seniors with that”:

BUERKLE: The other thing you don’t hear very often is the fact that the health care bill cut Medicare by $500 billion dollars. It has a real detrimental effect on seniors. And what the president is proposing in his budget, is a panel and they will look at — so if you have to have a procedure done, the panel will make a decision as to whether you can have it or …

CONSTITUENT 1: Death panel!

CONSTITUENT 2: No, no that’s not true. That’s false.

CONSTITUENT 3: You’re scaring seniors with that.

CONSTITUENT2: Yes you are.

BUERKLE: I’m answering this gentleman’s question.

Watch it:

The only panel in Obama’s budget proposal is the IPAB, a panel that has nothing to do with rationing care or making medical decisions for seniors. IPAB is a 15-member commission tasked with making recommendations for lowering Medicare spending if costs increase beyond a certain point — an idea previously supported by Ryan himself. According to law, the panel explicitly cannot “ration health care, raise revenues or Medicare beneficiary premiums…increase Medicare beneficiary cost-sharing (including deductibles, coinsurance, and co- payments), or otherwise restrict benefits or modify eligibility criteria.”

In conjuring the “death panel” myth, Buerkle is dramatically misinforming seniors while denying the very detrimental impact the GOP’s plan will have on them. Whatever standard for “despicable” she may have, it most certainly applies here.

Frustrated with Democrats, some large unions cut back on donations

Some of the nation’s largest labor unions are cutting back dramatically on their financial support to the Democratic Party, saying they are highly frustrated with the failure of Democrats to put up stronger resistance to Republican proposals opposed by labor.

The unions have cited what they see as Democrats’ tepid response to Republican efforts to eliminate collective bargaining rights for public sector workers, cut Medicare funding and require voters to show identification at the polls.

“It doesn’t matter if candidates and parties are controlling the wrecking ball or simply standing aside,” said Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, in a speech Friday. “The outcome is the same either way. If leaders aren’t blocking the wrecking ball and advancing working families’ interests, working people will not support them.”

Read full article >>

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Irish village dancing jigs over Monday’s visit of its most famous son, President Barack Obama

MONEYGALL, Ireland — Ever since the American president announced on St. Patrick’s Day he would visit his ancestral Irish home, the village of Moneygall has been suffering an incurable case of Obamamania.

This roadside hamlet of two pubs, three shops and barely 350 residents has repainted every house, festooned every lamppost and seemingly rebranded every product in preparation for Monday’s visit by President Barack Obama. Locals have stood in line for hours to receive one of 3,000 tickets that will let them meet Moneygall’s most famous son.

Read full article >>

Rising-star NJ governor owes much to complicated relationship with state Senate leader

TRENTON, N.J. — One is a tough-talking, union-bashing former federal prosecutor. The other is a tough-talking union leader and former ironworker.

Much like Felix and Oscar of “Odd Couple” fame, Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Democratic state Senate President Stephen Sweeney are learning to live together and breaking some china in the process.

In many ways, Christie’s national reputation for fighting runaway spending and taking on unions, which has conservatives begging him for run for president in 2012, is tied to his relationship to Sweeney — an unknown outside New Jersey, a union guy who can control which legislation gets a vote and stop the supposedly unstoppable Christie.

Read full article >>

How to Repair the Bungling, Broken IMF
Larry Kudlow, IBD
As the International Monetary Fund gets ready to choose a successor to Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who resigned following his arrest on charges that he sexually assaulted and raped a hotel housekeeper, it would be a good thing to step back for a moment and ask: What should the IMF do? More specifically, can the IMF possibly morph itself into a worldwide force for economic growth instead of Bailout Nation?Yes, it's a powerful global economic agency. It's also one with a very checkered past. Usually opting for austerity policies, such as currency devaluation and tax increases, the IMF has…

For Democrats, It’s All About Tax Hikes

Israel’s 1967 Borders Aren’t Defensible
Dore Gold, Wall Street Journal
It's no secret that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas plans to lobby the U.N. General Assembly this September for a resolution that will predetermine the results of any Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on borders. He made clear in a New York Times op-ed this week that he will insist that member states recognize a Palestinian state on 1967 lines, meaning Israel's boundaries before the Six Day War.