News Roundup - Hour 1
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-07-09/news-roundup-hour-1
Leaders of the immigration reform movement demonstrating in Washington, D.C., May 1, 2010
Flickr user Arasmus Photo
The Administration challenges Arizona’s immigration law. BP sets a new date for capping its gushing well. And the White House touts an increase in exports. A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week's top national news stories.
Guests
John Dickerson
chief political correspondent for Slate.com and CBS political analyst and contributor. Author of "On Her Trail: My Mother, Nancy Dickerson, TV News' First Woman Star."
Shailagh Murray
reporter, "The Washington Post."
Naftali Bendavid
national correspondent, "TheWall Street Journal"; author of "The Thumpin': How Rahm Emanuel and the Democrats Learned to be Ruthless and Ended the Republican Revolution."
News Roundup Video
The panelists discuss the politics behind criticism that the Obama administration and some Democrats in Congress are irresponsibly increasing the federal deficit in order to bolster the still-floundering economy:
Following this week's decision by the Obama administration to challenge Arizona's strict new immigration laws, the panelists explore the legal and political issues at play. The administration is arguing that "the state is undertaking something that's the province of the federal government," said panelist Naftali Bendavid:
Comments
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This is some kind of crazy. The feds don't enforce our immigration laws and files a lawsuit against a state for doing what it refuses to do.
There are other options, besides cutting hard-won social safety-net protections to the majority of the population, for solving our economic crisis that your guests neglect to mention: tax the rich at the level of the 1950s-1960s, cut the corporate-welfare trough, and pull out of our multiple illegal wars and occupations.
Obama did none of this, really, just window dressing. If he had, the budget would be quickly balanced with a surplus available for stimulus.
Such thoughts are beyond the pale to your neo-liberal or neo-conservative corporate media employed guests. They want to put more pressure and pain on working folk, in keeping with their propagandist role in a class war nobody wants to talk about but which has transferred wealth to the top half percent for the last 40 years at our expense.
A bigger question about jobs is the problem of age discrimination in our country. If you are over 55 and are looking for a job, forget it. Although there has been focus on sex and race discrimination, even sexual orientation, but the gorilla in the room is age discrimination.
How are we going to tell people that they will have to work longer in the future to alleviate SS and Medicare funding when there is this enormous unspoken problem out there for people over 55?
If a state can not enact legislation that mimics federal legislation and enforces that federal legislation because of the supremacy clause would that not mean that any state law that relates to a federal issue is also unconstitutional, and if so would that not mean that other laws regarding illegal narcotics or bankruptcy for example are also unconstitutional?
If the AZ law is declared unconstitutional I can see NORMAL having a field day with state laws.
Why is there no reporting on the concerted attempts to either hamstring or totally destroy the president's commission to study the oil spill? The House granted subpoena powers, but then a senator put a hold on it in the Senate. Then the Senate Energy Committee, led by Louisiana's senator, decided to appoint its own study committee. But the media are silent on all this, except for a critical and slanted article in The Wall Street Journal.
I share people's frustration at politicians' inaction on steps to fix the economy and help folks who are unemployed, and I deeply mistrust politicians' motives. However, politicians are afraid to act because everyone wants something from the government and a large fraction of the electorate doesn't have the maturity to recognize that they have to pay taxes for what they want. Meeting the needs of the unemployed and stimulating the economy would not create such a big budget deficit if there were not so much pressure for tax reduction. Although the Europeans may have gone to excess in the opposite direction, at least they have made the social compact that they will pay taxes in order to provide for the consensus of what is necessary for the common good. Wake up people - if you want things from the government you have to pay taxes to finance what you want!
Can your panel please comment on how this administration squares suing AZ with acceptance of other states with similar procedures (MA, RI, others), and “sanctuary” cities?
Each does things that either support or go around existing law, but AZ is the only one being sued.
Also, how will this affect local participation in federal gun, drug, or other laws?
Thanks,
Todd G
Melbourne, FL
Paying unemployment benefits does nothing to establish sustainable economic growth, not that we shouldn't do it on a temporary basis. However, I would prefer to pay these people to do the things that need to get done around this country, and there is plenty of that.
The government would be more successful getting businesses to invest and hire if they didn't badmouth them all the time and if they didn't create so much uncertainty by focusing only on taxing and regulating. Businesses aren't charities. Profits are up this year because they were so low a year ago.
I'm not sure about age discrimination. Unemployment rates are considerably higher for people under age 24 than for those over 55.
I am not buying from corporations that keep firing.
Why should I support their greed? Why should anyone? The panels attitude that business has one goal greed, is wrong. They have a responsibility not only to shareholders, but to customers, employees, management, suppliers, and their country. Time for patriotism over profits, or if they refuse to help in hard times, it's time for a backlash and boycott of those that keep firing.
Show those corporations with high profits that keep firing, that their greed business plan will do more harm than good.
As a consumer what matters to me in hard times above all is price. Did the fact that the company that made it laid off a bunch of employees make that product cheaper, you bet. I live within my means, and I'm concerned about my means, cheaper in the long run is going to be my number one purchasing guide for a long time to come.
I don't have enough time in Wal-Mart to figure out what the labor practices are of the companies that make the various pancake mixes. I just know that Hungry Jack is on sale and, as a result, is cheaper than the others, so it's going in the cart.
A company that hires people to do nothing will have to charge higher prices than its competitors who have just enough workers to get the job done. They won't be getting my business.
I am very frustrated about our discussions about the military and the budget. Everytime it is brought up it virtually dismissed. We can't decide ou budget if we don't have a discussion about the debt created by the wars, the cost of health care for returning vets, the money paid out in pentions to military, the cost of the black budget in the military, the number of over seas bases, and the role of the military in providing jobs. Isn't this latter a type of socialism?? Finally the size of our military relative to the world's military. It would be interesting to divide our debt by category of spending. What is the military costs including its portion of .debt
It seems to me that we need to reexamine the assumptions underlying our military presence. We can't afford what we're doing. Please don't brush this important discussion under the rug.
Audrey Irvine
Charlottesville Va
I'm an American Indian living in Arizona. Like other People of Color, I'm very worried about law enforcement officers who can't tell the difference between American Indians and Latinos. For those of you who DON'T live here--you may be unaware of the historical racism of the police, or the fact Maricopa's Sheriff has been under federal investigation for racial profiling. For those of you who DON'T live here, you might not have access to the 90 minute training video for state police in utilizing the new law--the video states that "racial profiling" is not allowed--but what is? Well, if a police officer observes a person is "nervous" that's enough to justify invoking the law.
Many of us object to the law because it was passed without any public input or discussion of exactly how it would be enacted to avoid racial profiling. Many of us would also feel safer is the appointed governor had not openly fabricated her facts on immigration. "Unless Gov. Brewer can provide hard data to substantiate her claim that most undocumented people crossing into Arizona are 'drug mules,' she must retract such an outrageous statement," said Oscar Martinez, a University of Arizona history professor whose teaching and research focuses on border issues. "If she has no data and is just mouthing off for political reasons, as I believe she is doing, then she must apologize to the people of Arizona for lying to them so blatantly."http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/25/jan-brewer-drug-smuggling_n_626258.html
You want to help the poor AND fix the economy? One word...Fairtax
Diane,
It's sometimes up to the callers, or you, to get some issues out into the discussion.
The remarks of the panelists on the deficit were thoughtful. Opinions were given as to why certain programs were expendable and others less so.
However, absolutely nothing was said with regard to cutting the bloated military budget, including nuclear warheads, and ending the War in Afghanistan, until 20 minutes into the show you mentioned the War. The panelists side-stepped this opening and went on to something else regarding the deficit.
Rep. Barney Frank has suggested cutting the deficit by reducing military spending. This, along with an immediate halt and exit from the Afghanistan quagmire, will save lives and trillions of tax dollars.
thanks for the show.