The Hollywood Liberal

Sunday Talking Heads: January 8. 2012
Lovely photograph from the Quadrantid meteor shower by twolf1, click for more and bigger. Last night was the ABC News-Yahoo debate, this morning it’s the NBC News-Facebook debate on Meet the Press, so please hang in the comments. Shoto found us a drinking game over at Pierce’s, hold onto your socks.

Ontelaunee Quadrantids (photo: twolf1)

Lovely photograph from the Quadrantid meteor shower by twolf1, click for more and bigger.

Last night was the ABC News-Yahoo debate, this morning it’s the NBC News-Facebook debate on Meet the Press, so please hang in the comments.  Shoto found us a drinking game over at Pierce’s, hold onto your socks:

Here’s your drinking game for your Sunday morning mimosa: Take a sip every time Gregory begins a question with the phrase, “Last night, you said….” Drink the whole thing down every time he prefaces matters with the phrase, “Do you stand by…?” I promise you, if you play this game, you will be utterly sockless long before Pittsburgh and Tebow tee it up Saturday afternoon.

(If straight whiskey is your Sunday-morning preference, book a suite at Betty Ford right now.)

Don’t forget FDL Book Salon this afternoon and Virtually Speaking this evening.  Also FDL Movie Night Monday.

Washington Journal.

ABC’s This Week: George Stephanopoulos returns. Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod. Then, Mike Huckabee. Roundtable: George Will, Mary Matalin, Matthew Dowd, Donna Brazile, Jake Tapper. Plus, Jonathan Karl on the campaign and social media.

CBS’ Face the Nation: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey on pirate rescue.  Sen. John McCain.

CNN’s State of the Union: Jon Huntsman.  Then, Romney surrogate and former New Hampshire Governor John Sununu, and Gingrich adviser former congressman Bob Walker.  Followed by House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. Roundtable: Neil King of the Wall Street Journal and Phil Rucker of the Washington Post.

Chris Hayes: Lin-Manuel Miranda, composer and lyricist, The Hamilton Mixtape. Irin Carmon, staff writer for Salon.com. Elise Jordan,  former speechwriter for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Maria Teresa Kumar, executive director of VotoLatino.org. Jay Smooth, host WBAI-FM’s “Underground Railroad.”

Chris Matthews: Will Republicans rally around Romney if he coasts to the nomination? What would a potential Ron Paul 3rd party candidacy look like?

Fareed Zakaria – GPS: Alan Simpson. Military analysts Michael O’Hanlon and Larry Korb.  Roundtable: Vali Nasr, Bret Stephens, Hooman Majd, Hillary Mann Leverett. Plus, why the Chinese this week found two-thirds of their favorite TV shows simply gone.

Fox News Sunday: RNC Chair Reince Priebus, DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL).  Roundtable: Brett Baier; A.B. Stoddard; Ovide Lamontagne, New Hampshire Gubernatorial Candidate (R); Neil Levesque, Executive Director, New Hampshire Institute of Politics.

NBC’s Meet the Press: NBC News-Facebook Debate.

Newsmakers: Following this Tuesday’s NH Primary, South Carolina is up next with their primary set for Saturday January 21. Chad Connelly, South Carolina Republican Party Chairman joins Newsmakers to  provide a preview of the primary and how the South figures into presidential politics. The South Carolina primary is often called the “first in the South,” and is one of the states that ultimately ignored the RNC’s instructions that early states not hold prmaries before Feb. 1st.

Q & A: Ward Carroll, editor of military.com. Military.com is a website which provides news, information and support to current and former service members and their families as well as non-military readers. The website has over ten million members. Carroll discusses a wide array of defense issues, including the way procurement works in the Department of Defense…

Religion & Ethics.

60 Minutes: Stem Cell Fraud – Stem cells still have not proven to be the panacea many claimed they could be, yet the Internet is alive with stem cells for sale to treat incurable illnesses. Scott Pelley reports on one man offering to treat cerebral palsy who a respected stem cell researcher says could be endangering patients.  Marine Brothers – Lara Logan reports on five sets of brothers in the Marine Reserves who fought for the right to be on the front line of combat in Afghanistan with their siblings.  The Most Expensive Food in the World – European white truffles can sell for as much as $3,600 a pound. But harvests are down and a black market has emerged that has allowed an influx of inferior and cheap Chinese truffles that are diluting this lucrative market.

To the Contrary: Topics: Is an anti-contraception movement is on the horizon as GOP Presidential candidate Rick Santorum’s opposition to birth control is gaining national attention. Then, millions of female low-income workers in eight states got pay raises thanks to an increase in minimum wage. Lastly, Behind the Headlines: Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas shares why she is retiring from Congress and what’s next for her. Panelists: Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC); The Heritage Foundation’s Genevieve Wood; Judge; Judge and Former Federal Prosecutor Debra Carnahan, and Former EEOC Chair Cari Dominguez.

Univision’s Al Punto: Cecilia Muñoz, White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs; Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ); Helen Aguirre, Noticias Univision Republican Analyst; Fabian Nuñez, Noticias Univision Democratic Analyst; Arnoldo Torres, Expert on Hispanic Issues; Patricia Poleo, Journalist and Author of “Fugitiva en Rosa.”

Virtually Speaking: Cliff Schecter and special guest Gotta Laff discuss developments of the week, highlighting what’s been neglected or misrepresented on the Sunday morning broadcasts.

C-SPAN’s Book TV.

FDL’s Book Salon: Manufacturing Hysteria: A History of Scapegoating, Surveillance, and Secrecy in Modern America. “In this ambitious and wide-ranging history, Jay Feldman takes us from the run-up to World War I and its anti-German hysteria through the September 11 attacks and Arizona’s current anti-immigration movement. What we see is a striking pattern of elected officials and private citizens alike using the American people’s fears and prejudices to isolate minorities (ethnic, racial, political, religious, or sexual), silence dissent, and stem the growth of civil rights and liberties.” Chat with Jay Feldman about his new book, hosted by Jeffrey Feldman. 5pm ET.

FDL’s Movie Night Monday: Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea. “Once ‘California’s Riviera,’ the Salton Sea is now America’s worst ecological disaster. Yet a few hardy eccentrics hang on to hope, including a roadside nudist and a man building a religious mountain out of mud and paint. Hair-raising and hilarious, this is the American Dream stinky as a dead carp.”  Join host Lisa Derrick and Producer/Director Chris Meltzer.  8pm ET Monday.

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‘Left, Right & Center’: The (Elusive) Middle-Class Agenda
Republicans, start your engines. With the Iowa causues in the rear-view mirror and New Hampshire and South Carolina up next, the GOP primary field has pretty much narrowed to Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul. What might the great minds of “Left, Right & Center” think of these presidential wannabes?

Republicans, start your engines. With the Iowa causues in the rear-view mirror and New Hampshire and South Carolina up next, the GOP primary field has pretty much narrowed to Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul. What might the great minds of “Left, Right & Center” think of these presidential wannabes?

Related Entries

• January 7, 2012 No Child Left Behind 10 Years Later
• January 6, 2012 China Wary of Obama’s New Military Plan

China Wary of Obama’s New Military Plan
Republicans weren’t the only ones irked at our nation’s leader this week. President Obama has also ruffled some feathers in the Chinese government with his newly hatched military strategy, which he announced in a rare news conference at the Pentagon on Thursday, and which apparently strikes the Chinese as a potentially unwelcome display of U.S. prowess on their side of the globe.  —KA BBC: China’s state media have warned the US against “flexing its muscles” after Washington unveiled a defence review switching focus to the Asia-Pacific. In an editorial, official news agency Xinhua said President Barack Obama’s move to increase US presence in the region could come as a welcome boost to stability and prosperity. But it said any US militarism could create ill will and “endanger peace”. Read more  

Republicans weren’t the only ones irked at our nation’s leader this week. President Obama has also ruffled some feathers in the Chinese government with his newly hatched military strategy, which he announced in a rare news conference at the Pentagon on Thursday, and which apparently strikes the Chinese as a potentially unwelcome display of U.S. prowess on their side of the globe.? —KA

BBC:

China’s state media have warned the US against “flexing its muscles” after Washington unveiled a defence review switching focus to the Asia-Pacific.

In an editorial, official news agency Xinhua said President Barack Obama’s move to increase US presence in the region could come as a welcome boost to stability and prosperity.

But it said any US militarism could create ill will and “endanger peace”.

Read more

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Related Entries

• January 7, 2012 No Child Left Behind 10 Years Later
• January 6, 2012 China Wary of Obama’s New Military Plan

Chris Weigant: Friday Talking Points — Obama Picking His Fights
Obama is basing a large part of his campaign on what he can manage to accomplish without dealing with the congressional gridlock, and this is quite likely a winning political strategy.

Jason Fitzgerald: Ask Not What Occupy Wall Street Will Do Next; Ask How We Will Change The Status Quo
Occupying Wall Street was not a crazy scheme that a group of activists did for attention. They did it for us. If the stock market is really going to be a seat of power in contemporary society, then we all have a stake in what happens there. If Wall Street is king, then Wall Street is ours, and the activists were holding our spot. The state knew this, so it dispatched some of its employees to arrest a few of us, to pepper spray a few others, and then, finally, on a cold November night, to throw all of us out.

Karen K. Harris: Why Obama Has the Right to Appoint Cordray
Although it is very likely that Cordray’s recess confirmation will be challenged, it is clear that President Obama had both the legal authority and moral obligation to make this appointment.

Gabe Canales: Presidential Politics and ‘The War on Cancer’
In many GOP primary debates on many topics, not once have I heard a serious discussion of the No. 1 health-related killer in the world: cancer.

Kevin Cathcart: When Ordinary People Say ‘No’ to Injustice
Three ordinary people who stood up against injustice and became heroes died in the past two months. Lambda Legal was proud to represent each of them in court, wining victories that improved the lives of many.

Analysis: Minority Voters Overwhelmingly Rejected Mississippi Voter ID Law
Less than 25 percent of non-white Mississippi citizens voted in favor of a state constitutional amendment to require voter ID at the polls compared to about 83 percent of white voters, according to a newly released report.

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Milwaukee D.A. Announces Charges Against Ex-Walker Aide, Two Others In ‘John Doe’ Probe
Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm (D) announced on Thursday charges against three men, including a former top aide to Gov. Scott Walker (R) during his time as Milwaukee County Executive, in two separate sets of criminal allegations.

GOP Candidates to Debate ‘In the Round’ Tonight at Manchester’s ‘Toidy Field’

Obama’s Military Strategy Review: Seeking Real Reform
Tomorrow morning the Obama administration will present the findings of its latest national security strategy review. The review has been undertaken with an eye towards scaling back Pentagon spending in a way that best provides for the defense of the…

Republican Foreign Policy Mad Libs
It’s the holiday season, a serviceable pretext time for good clean nonsense. Last year I offered my misheard lyrics video for the epic Clash song “Safe European Home” (fairly suitable for work, but funny mainly for Clash fans). Today’s frivolous…

The Imaginary World Where GOP Foreign Policy Could Work
Embedded within some of the critiques of the mounting Iran War fever are clues to the larger problems of the Republicans’ foreign policy approach. A new Foreign Affairs “Time to Attack Iran” article by Matthew Kroenig has drawn responses from…

Open Thread Plus Holiday Clean Air Cartoon
A penny for your cyber thoughts. And a belated holiday cartoon from Moms Clean Air Force.  

A penny for your cyber thoughts.

And a belated holiday cartoon from Moms Clean Air Force.

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Rick Santorum draws passionate reactions from all sides in New Hampshire

HOLLIS, N.H. – Rick Santorum may be more of a “full spectrum” conservative than he’d imagined.

The former Pennsylvania senator has long been known for his conservative views on social, foreign and economic policy.

But as he left the last event in a six-stop campaign blitz in the Granite State Saturday – a meet-and-greet with patrons at a pharmacy and general store in this small town 20 miles south of Manchester – it became clear that the higher Santorum’s profile becomes, the stronger the reaction he receives from all sides.

Read full article >>

New Hampshire Republican debates: When and where to watch

The New Hampshire primary is Tuesday, exactly one week after the Iowa caucuses were held on Jan. 3.

The tight window between nominating contests set up for a debate double header: Republican presidential hopefuls will meet on stages in the Granite State on Saturday night and again Sunday morning.

Details for both debates follow the jump.

Read full article >>

Michelle Obama had tense relationship with president’s top advisers, book asserts

First lady Michelle Obama’s tough personal criticism of her husband and protectiveness of his public image have routinely irritated, and at times outraged, President Obama’s top advisers as they compete with her for influence inside the West Wing, according to a new book.

The tension provoked Obama’s former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel to offer his resignation after determining the president had decided, with his wife’s prodding, to go for broke on passage of the landmark health care reform law. And it led former press secretary Robert Gibbs to unleash a profanity-filled tirade when he thought, mistakenly, that the first lady had criticized him.

Read full article >>

‘Morning-after pill’ advocates take their case to Obama’s science adviser

Advocates for unfettered access to the “morning-after pill” Plan B One-Step took their case to President Obama’s chief science adviser Friday, asking him to find out the basis for the administration’s controversial decision last month to continue requiring that young teens get the drug only by prescription.

Read full article >>

California Republican Rep. Elton Gallegly retiring

Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.) is retiring in 2012 after 12 terms in Congress, he announced Saturday morning.

A new congressional map drawn up by the state’s independent redistricting commission significantly diminished Gallegly’s chances of reelection. His 24th district was drawn into the new 25th district held by the better-funded Rep. Buck McKeon (R), and his only other option was the 26th, which included part of his old territory but becomes more Democratic under the new map.

Read full article >>

Gingrich Blasts Romney on Taxes, Trust
Erin McPike, RealClearPolitics
SALEM, N.H. — Newt Gingrich came to this town on the border with Massachusetts to try out his new, sharper attack on the neighboring state's former governor, the candidate to beat in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.”I am dramatically more conservative than Mitt Romney,” he said to applause at Salem High School. “I am prepared to defend conservative principles; I am prepared to defend conservative appointments; and I am prepared to defend conservative policies.”The subtext to Gingrich's commentary drew on Romney's identity as a…

The Redistributionist Behemoth
George Will, Washington Post
Liberals have a rendezvous with regret. Their largest achievement is today's redistributionist government. But such government is inherently regressive: It tends to distribute power and money to the strong, including itself.Government becomes big by having big ambitions for supplanting markets as society's primary allocator of wealth and opportunity. Therefore it becomes a magnet for factions muscular enough, in money or numbers or both, to bend government to their advantage.

Finally, Obama Goes All In on Recess Appointments
Roland Martin, CNN
Finally.That's all that needs to be said about President Barack Obama's decision this week to stop playing footsie with GOP senators and push through the recess appointments for the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and members of the National Labor Relations Board.Republican are in a tizzy, saying he is establishing a bad precedent with the moves. But frankly, they need to shut up.

Safe + Moderate, Does Not = Electable
Lawrence Lindsey, Weekly Standard
The conventional wisdom among the chattering class about the Republican field is that voters face a choice between “electability” and “ideology.” But a careful look at elections since the end of World War II suggests that is not the case. What most pundits think of as “electable,” a safe candidate attractive to moderate voters, has historically been highly unlikely to unseat an incumbent president. In the five elections since World War II in which the party out of power has picked a “safe” candidate to take on a…

Modestly Bullish Jobs Report, Slow Recovery