News Roundup - Hour 1
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-01-07/news-roundup-hour-1
A new Congress convenes with the GOP putting in new rules for tax and spending bills. President Obama makes changes among his closest advisors. And a White House panel blamed BP, its contractors and U.S. regulators for last year's massive oil spill in the Gulf. A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week's top national news stories.
Guests
Susan Page
Washington bureau chief for USA Today.
David Welna
congressional correspondent, NPR.
Naftali Bendavid
national correspondent, The Wall Street Journal.
Friday News Roundup Video
Diane and the panelists discuss the Republicans' efforts to repeal the health care reform bill:
Comments
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As I read in the paper that there would be new editions of Mark Twain's famous novels brought to our nation's children, I thought that the objectionable content of these novels would be better served as objectionable material instead of sanitized material. I think that it should be taught in schools as it was written in order to show that racist language is bad. What do the panelists think about that?
-Greg
According to a study coming out of MIT about Tears & Testosterone:
When Tea Bag Party sees John Boehner's tears, their Testosterone levels go up instantly.
the health care plan will reduce Federal health care costs not overall costs. New costs are transferred to companies and states. Arguments that it reduces "costs" are disingenuous.
If 103 thousand jobs do not meet "natural workforce growth" then how can the unemployment rate drop? When you say this is a "story" you are correct. How many discouraged workers would have to be excluded from the workforce to claim the unemployment rate has dropped? And this is a far more "dangerous story" than your talking pointy guests would lead us to believe. Think not only of those who now have no income, but also the surging informal and underground economies that breed crime and corruption and pay no taxes. the government is losing legitimacy as well as revenue. Only a police state could collect those hidden tax obligations from the criminal exploiters and their impoverished victims. How about deducing the truth sometime.
In a country that is basically split down the middle, democrats and republicans can only really serve the people if they learn to work together and compromise.
Mr. Bayner often talks about Americans having the best health care in the world and how it is being harmed by the new health care law. American have the most expense health system and some of the most advanced technologies but our ranking in health care results are not number one in the world.
Are, the American people, only upset with the continuation of democratic shenanigans? The American People have had to up with the Republican shenanigans for the past two years!
I am perhaps being simplistic but considering unemployment is hitting the uneducated hardest wouldn't a WPA type program that focuses on training for new careers help tremendously!
I know support in congress would be problematic but perhaps there might be an executive means to kick start it.
A quick question for Susan Page. You make it sound like Obama needs to do more and go out of his way to get the GOP to work with him. At what point does any responsibility fall on the Republicans to work with the President? After two years of obstruction, stalling and bad faith negotiations with Democrats, it still seems like the media the has a double standard on how the parties are supposed to act towards one another.
Diane, you mentioned the reading of the constitution from yesterday. What do your guests think about the fact that they left out the ammendments to the constitution, which to me sanitizes the constitution and does NOT represent the Living Constitution which has evolved and will continue to evolve.
Jennifer Lee
We heard the details of the health care bill when it was in process and the majority of people want and need it. The republicans should be explaining why it would be as they say "a job killer". The ball should be in their court, give us reasons rather than threats.
Lynn in Baltimore
The drop in the jobless rate reflected the combined effect of the two components -- a sharp jump in employment (+297,000) and a drop in the labor force (-260,000). T he household survey that is conducted to calculate the unemployment rate is based on a relatively small sample size (approx 0.06% of all households are surveyed monthly). This means that the data can be quite volatile.
Amendments were read, John Lewis read the 14th.
November's election was a referendum on ObamaCare and Obama, both were shellacked. Pelosi noted that we'd find out what was in the bill once it was passed, not before.
Obama's first words to the Republicans in 2009 were "I won." Then he and the Democrats left the Republicans out of all legislative discussions. Now that he's lost, we'll see if we get a new attitude.
To MrsJLee, writing on January 7, 2011 @ 10:48 am:
It's not the (inane) question of whether the Constitution is "dead or alive", it's whether the Republi-Cons read it as written. They did not!
Instead they provided us with a "bowdlerized" version, with all the "naughty bits" carefully removed. But why should that be any surprise? The Republi-Cons (and Tea Baggers) make a great show of "revering" the Constitution, but in fact they are ignorant of what it really says (or else, are being deliberately deceitful). This latest exercise in propaganda is simply further proof of that fact.
hainc on January 7, 2011 @ 11:25 am wrote: “Pelosi noted that we'd find out what was in the bill once it was passed, not before.”
Why must you repeat that tired, old, lie?
Here is what the woman actually said: “But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy.”*
Get it? She was referring to the deliberate, and ultimately successful, campaign of misinformation spewed by the Republi-Cons. Funny how you omitted that part.
In fact, the bill was available on the internet (as promised) weeks before passage, and could be seen by anyone who bothered to read it. Furthermore (of course) it was debated for over a year. (Unlike, for example, the Republi-Con attempt to repeal it - why no hearings, internet postings, or open debate about that?)
* Oh, and if you’d like the source, so you can read her whole statement (including the part you Republi-Cons keep deliberately omitting) just go to http://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/2010/03/releases-March10-con...
Cowtowing to the Tea Party, come on Welna, that's a complete exaggeration.
This panel lacked some balance.
I wouldn't normally respond to someone using such inflammatory attacks, but the fog of controversy, please, the fog of 3,000 pages of backroom dealing: Cornhusker Kickback, Louisiana Purchase ...
Dear hainc:
"inflammatory attacks"
Funny, isn't it, how when conservatives are caught in a lie they avoid the issue by claiming they were "attacked", and then continue with "attacks" of their own.
You still haven't explained why you saw fit to omit the last seven words of Pelosi's sentence ("away from the fog of the controversy"), which, of course, changed the meaning of what she said.
As for that "backroom dealing" - funny how I don't hear you complain about the backroom dealing that got the Republi-Cons their precious tax cuts for the wealthiest? Also, funny how everyone knew about those deals in plenty of time to protest and get them removed. Why, it's almost as if anyone who cared to look knew what was in the bill before it got passed! (Which is further evidence that the hoary old misquote of Pelosi you used is nothing but a lie.)
P.S. - Oh, and as for the bill being 3,000 pages long: funny thing, I downloaded a copy of both the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconcilliation Act of 2010 (which together make up the new law), and together they are not even 1,000 pages in length!
By the way, any idea how many pages the Bush Patriot Act was, or why Republi-Cons didn't seem to care about the length of legislation they were passing during his administration?
Finally, concerning "balance" on the panel - yeah especially with that reporter from that notably "liberal rag" The Wall Street Journal!
One listener had a great suggestion: someone should do an adeguate presentation of the health plan. Why couldn't PBS do that?
Show examples of people of ages 25, 45, 55, 65 for the old and then the new plan. It might take more than one prorgam to be done well.
I'm sure you could find some moderates who would be happy to help. Make it politically neutral.
Dave
Etaoinconned:
The tax bill that passed under the lane duck congress, was passed by the Dem's . The Dem's were still in power.
One of the reason the far left is upset with Obama is because he does not stand up to their principles. Thought maybe in your blind eyes you could see that.
By the way Etaoinconned, you sure don't have your fact straight. Did you read the 1000 page from the Health Care Law word for word? Do you know that Kathleen Sabulius will alternately have the final say on what is covered and what is not?
You probably didn't
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I had never heard the "blood" phrase before this week just like I had never heard the word "hoe" before it was used to describe basketball players.
Could Susan Page cite one well-known historian that has used the blood phrase in any book on WWII? I feel Ms. Page does a disservice to many by assuming "everyone knows" the term.
Ann
meangreen on January 9, 2011@ 10:07 am wrote: “The tax bill that passed under the lane duck congress, was passed by the Dem's . The Dem's were still in power.”
PART ONE
I apologize for this late response. I only happened to spot this Comment by accident while researching past shows (then again, meangreen is bringing up a topic we debated on another episode of the Diane Rehm show, not this one, so I guess that balances out.)
Sir, you forget that the tax bill was only passed with tax cuts for the wealthiest because the Republi-Cons insisted on it, and threatened to filibuster everything until they got their way. And, of course, they voted for it too when the time came. So invoking the Democrats’ “power” is a bit disingenuous on your part.
Tell you what, though, how about having the current Democratic Senate filibuster everything the Repubican House proposes until the Dems get their way and all the funding cuts (for the EPA, etc.) are restored? Will you then blame the Republicans for doing what they’ll be forced to do, or will you put the blame (again) solely on the “Dems”. Can’t have it both ways, sir: the party that forces the other to “cave in” deserves the credit (or blame) for what they forced. In this case, the Republi-Cons deserve the blame for ballooning the deficit in December through insisting on tax cuts for the wealthiest.
“One of the reason the far left is upset with Obama is because he does not stand up to their principles. Thought maybe in your blind eyes you could see that.”
- Not just the “far left”, sir. I have my disagreements with Obama, they’re just not yours or theirs. News flash: just because I may defend the President (or the Democrats) against unjust attacks from the right doesn’t mean I’m in love with them! (It’s called independent and critical thinking. Try it some time.)
TO BE CONTINUED
PART TWO
“By the way Etaoinconned, you sure don't have your fact straight.”
- Still can’t be bothered to get my name right, eh? How childish, “pukegreen”. By the way, in case you’re objecting to my term “Republi-Con”, it’s simply short for Republican - Conservative. If you think it means something else, that’s your problem and not mine.
“Do you know that Kathleen Sabulius will alternately have the final say on what is covered and what is not?”
- Actually the courts, based on what Congress passed, will. True Sibelius (can’t get her name right either, eh?) and her Department will issue regulations implementing the law, but if those regulations don’t conform to the law they’ll be struck down by the courts. Try learning something about how our government works, especially the regulation process, before parading more of your ignorance.
Ann Bearden on January 14, 2011 @ 10:54 am wrote: “I had never heard the "blood" phrase before this week. . . . Could Susan Page cite one well-known historian that has used the blood phrase in any book on WWII?”
I think you posted this to the wrong show, since there was no mention of “blood” in this episode. I’m assuming you are referring to the term “blood libel” - misused by Ms. Palin. That phrase was in existence long before World War II, and refers to the false accusation that Jews killed Christian children to use their blood in matzo during Passover. It first appeared in Medieval times, and usually resulted in the wholesale slaughter of Jewish communities by outraged Christians. A famous example was “Hugh of Lincoln” in England, a child supposedly killed that way. Such an incident forms the plot of one of the Canterbury Tales by Chaucer. (Of course, I’m assuming you’ve heard of them!)