Friday News Roundup - Hour 1
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-11-18/friday-news-roundup-hour-1
The “super-committee” faces a Thanksgiving deadline with no real evidence of progress on a debt plan. New York police prevents protesters from shutting down Wall Street on the two-month anniversary of the “Occupy” movement. Energy secretary Steven Chu says the decision to approve the Solyndra loan was not based on politics. Newt Gingrich makes gains in the Republican presidential primary race but faces questions about his lucrative consulting business. And the Supreme Court agrees to hear challenges to President Obama’s health care law. Diane will discuss the week's top national news stories with John Harwood of CNBC, Lisa Lerer of Bloomberg News and Major Garrett of National Journal.
Guests
John Harwood
chief Washington correspondent for CNBC; reporter, "The New York Times."
Lisa Lerer
politics reporter, Bloomberg News.
Major Garrett
congressional correspondent, National Journal.
Friday News Roundup Video
The Diane Rehm Show (http://wamu.fm/sCi0cJ): The panelists talk about this week's arrest of a man accused of attempting to assassinate the president or his staff and explore the possible future of the Occupy Wall Street movement:
Comments
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Hypocrits....I rest my case:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-center-for-public-integrity/15-tea-par...
I really like this line-up of commentators. They seemed to 'play' nice with each other without obvious bias. Very professional! Please invite them back as a group again.
Teece Bowman wrote:
"Hypocrits....I rest my case:"
That's about 200K a piece. Chicken feed in Washington. Shall we look at the PAC money for Durbin, Schummer, or Reid?
See:
http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2011/11/16/congress-...
Spencer Bachus claims that in September 2008 it was public information
that the economy was headed for disaster. Yet, such is not indicated in this letter to me from Representative Bachus:
http://min.us/mqfvf5UOI
There is a huge difference between the public knowledge of "economic challenge"and the non-public knowledge of economic disaster.
He traded on the non-public knowledge which he he was careful not to reveal in the letter.
new
"Teece Bowman wrote:
monte, conservatives didn't seem to be concerned in the least with deficits until now. They certainly thought they were fine under Bush/Cheney....why are they such and issue with you folks now? I smell hypocris:y"
TB
They failed by one vote in the Senate in 94 for a Constitutional Amendment to have a balanced budget.
"kathleen wrote:
Over the last three years the American public has witnessed the Republicans and Democrats inability to work things out on many fronts. Do you think the Super Committee's inability to get closer to an agreement will effect the 9% of the American public who have confidence in them?
Can that 9% number go any lower?"
Kathleen:
Does not make a difference because in their own Districts they have high approval rating. Those polls you quote are when people are asked about the whole congress. But then you ask those people who were polled about their district and they would give their representatives higher marks.
meanconser wrote: "Does not make a difference because in their own Districts they have high approval rating. Those polls you quote are when people are asked about the whole congress. But then you ask those people who were polled about their district and they would give their representatives higher marks."
Good point, one of many which must be made over and over to combat the deliberate stupidity and laziness of the opposition.
Conservative caller Greg pointed out that progressives, in a very liberal turnout in Ohio a couple of weeks ago, voted down a corollary vote on the “Obamacare” health care personal mandate, two to one. He uses this as evidence for why voters will have no problem voting for Mittwit Romney or any Republican nominee, because Obama has moved the country so far to the left. It amazes me that people can be this poorly informed: “Obamacare” is a Romney baby! It’s his. He owns it. The reason why progressives opposed it in Ohio is likely because Obama is essentially a corporatist in progressive clothing—because our country’s policies and both parties are way too far to the right, not the left. Lord, I wrote literally every congress member who would accept e-mail out of his/her district begging them to oppose the health care bill without a public option, to no avail. PREDICTION: The Supreme Court will support the health care bill and its mandate. Democrats may cheer it as a triumph and Republicans may exploit it politically as an example of how the country is going down the drain of lemon socialism, but the truth is to be found in the health care and insurance stocks the day after the legislation passed (and again when the Supreme Court affirms it). In truth, a majority within all three branches of government rests firmly in the pocket of Corporate America. No legislation passes if it does not meet with financial investors’ profit expectations, and no legislation will be shot down if it does, either; even if it spells slavery for all Americans, regardless of race, creed, religion, political affiliation, or country of natural origin. I pray to God I’m wrong, but the odds in this casino are against me.
I think some of what you write is correct. I would disagree though about who is calling the shots. Congress and the president are the ring masters in this circus, they roll out the red carpet for lobbyists and special interests to get money and votes. With the revelation of insider trading going on in congress, this has only become more evident. I just do not see a justification for blaming Wall Street for following the rules that congress has made.
Republicans should be more than a little nervous about the silence from the left about Romney. All I need to do is have a picture of Kagen and Sotomayer in my mind to know who I'm voting for.
I was dismayed at two statements made during the first segment of the Diane Rehm show on Friday, November 18.
First, there is no relation between anything and waterboarding, except for violence and torture. The prospects of this word entering the English language as anything besides what it specifically means should be repugnant to any moral person. I urge Diane to chastise any of her guests who use that word with casual oblivion to describe politics or social movements as did John Hardwood. Incredibly callous and unthinking. Perhaps he should experience waterboarding before using in relation to such mundane topics as politics and social movements.
Second is Lisa Lerer's ridiculous comment that the camps were shut down because of "sexual assault and all these other sort of horrible things." By implication then should shut down most major sports teams, the Catholic Church, and Congress? All of these "communities" have experienced various levels of sexual assault and abuse, drugs, fraud, and ethical violations too numerous to mention made by their members and often ignored by their leaders. Any time you have thousands of people gathered together, you statistically risk a percentage of "bad" elements, but closing the camp is not the answer. If solutions are that simple, then we should close the aforementioned organizations pronto!
Eleanor Sommer wrote:
"First, there is no relation between anything and waterboarding, except for violence and torture. The prospects of this word entering the English language as anything besides what it specifically means should be repugnant to any moral person. "
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Please. Since you have never been waterboarded, how do you know there is no relation to anything else? For all those who have never been waterboarded, it could be similar to having liberal dogma crammed down your throat. Do you have the same problem with the term "teabaggers" being applied to anything other than that sexual act?
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Eleanor Sommer wrote:
Second is Lisa Lerer's ridiculous comment that the camps were shut down because of "sexual assault and all these other sort of horrible things." By implication then should shut down most major sports teams, the Catholic Church, and Congress?
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And like Penn State, the Zucotti Park organizers wanted to handle (read that not handle) sexual assaults in house and not report it to the outside authorities. It would appear the so called "99%ers" did not learn anything from the transgressions of the CC/Congress/PS.
Folks, in this response,you see the hatred of those on the far right and in corporate America -- you also see the deceit. In this case, ask yourself -- what is ecgberht offering you to replace Social Security and Medicare? (If you come up with something better than nothing, let us know.)
Do I want the Government managing my 401k? I'll ask a better question -- who do you trust more to protect your retirement plan and retirement insurance: the Federal Government or the likes of Enron and AIG? (If you chose the latter, good luck!)
Every year Goldman Sachs, the hedge funds, etc, etc, take hundreds of billions of dollars out of the stock exchanges (the real America) generating double and triple digit returns (and, of course, they got hundreds of billions in bailouts when they went bankrupt and are now getting hundreds of billions more every year in subsidies). How has your 401k done over the last decade -- stayed even or maybe gotten a percent or two? Remember, this is the plan the Republicans and far right wingers like ecgberht have for you for your retirement -- you get nothing as they steal the country's wealth.
So, vote with ecgberht for the Republicans if you like -- but as I said, if you do, you (and we) have no one to blame but ourselves when we end up in the streets starving and suffering from disease like was common except for the truly wealthy prior to the 1940s. (Of course, you will undoubtedly get lots of charity from the ecgberhts of the world.)
"So, vote with ecgberht for the Republicans if you like -- but as I said, if you do, you (and we) have no one to blame but ourselves when we end up in the streets starving and suffering from disease like was common except for the truly wealthy prior to the 1940s"
Yeah that'll happen. The sun will probably explode too!
RE: ecgberht
In my last post, I missed the obvious -- ecgberht doesn't lie like most Republicans -- he admits that the Republican's objective is to completely dismantle both Social Security and Medicare. You will see Republican commercial after Republican commercial over the next year promoting the lie that democrats are cutting Medicare and Social Security and that Republicans want to protect the programs. At least ecgberht is straightforward in this regard.
Mike Larson,
If you're going to speak for me, at least don't MISspeak for me.
For example:
"what is ecgberht offering you to replace Social Security and Medicare? (If you come up with something better than nothing, let us know.)"
Yes, something much better than "nothing" and much better than SS has already been suggested - more on that in a minute.
"Who do you trust more to protect your retirement plan and retirement insurance: the Federal Government or the likes of Enron and AIG? (If you chose the latter, good luck!)"
First, we're not talking about your 401K. We're talking about your contribution to SS and what you are going to get back when you retire. I don't trust the FG (more specifically, the Congress), I don't trust Enron, and I don't trust AIG. I trust me. If the government wants to hold my SS contributions for me, fine. But I want them in a private account that Congress CANNOT touch and I want them invested in very safe, limited choices - determined by my years to retirement but with the choices directed by ME, not the FG. I don't want them in TBills (read:promises to pay) when the actual money I put in has already been spent. That's WORSE than GS or AIG (Enron is no more). If those companies did what the FG has done, their directors would go to jail.
SS could be unwound into private accounts in as little as 30 years or so. Medicare is more problematic, but it can be unwound into private accounts too - with the requirements under the control of the individual, NOT the FG.
"democrats are cutting Medicare and Social Security and that Republicans want to protect the programs"
That is EXACTLY what is happening. Democrats DO know they have to cut Medicare and SS in order to keep these programs run the way they are with the enormous SLUSH fund that they call a "trust" fund. Republicans want to preserve these programs in perpetuity with the INDIVIDUAL in control of this retirement future, NOT the FG.
The trust issue with Herman Cain is the same many Americans have with CEO's and business leaders. He hid his relationship with Ms. White and even did not tell his wife even after the other claims were made. This show how many CEO's want to have one set of standards for their workers and another for themselves. This is the issue that the present congress is struggling with in the eyes of the public.