Friday News Roundup - Domestic
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-03-09/friday-news-roundup-domestic
The U.S. economy added 227,000 jobs in February, while the nation's unemployment rate remained stable at 8.3%. Consumer borrowing in January went up to nearly pre-recession levels. A look at what the increase in auto and school loans says about the economy. The House passed the bipartisan Jobs Act. Longtime Ohio congressman and former presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich loses his seat. And the question continues – is there a 'war on women'? John Dickerson of Slate, Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times and syndicated columnist Steve Roberts join Diane for a discussion of the week's top domestic 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."
Sheryl Gay Stolberg
Washington correspondent, The New York Times.
Steve Roberts
syndicated columnist and journalism professor at George Washington University.
Friday News Roundup Video
In response to a listener tweet, Diane reacted to the ongoing controversy over Rush Limbaugh's insults directed toward Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke. "I think what he did with Sandra Fluke is disgusting. I think he gave a weak apology. I think he ought to be repudiated by every single candidate out there, and I think his apology was pure cowardice," she said:
Comments
Please familiarize yourself with our Code of Conduct and Terms of Use before posting your comments.
NPR is ALWAYS bring up Obama's promise to keep unemployment 8% or lower.
SteMar wrote:
"When Republicans took over the House in 2010 they said the FIRST thing they would do would be to pass a jobs bill. A year and a half later here it is, preceed by all their social agenda bills and lots of doing nothing."
Republicans have passed bill after bill after bill in the House related to all segments of the economy, not just jobs. They all get tabled in the Senate.
Meanwhile, the Democrats have not passed a budget since ... 2006 was it?
Democrats control 2/3s of the legistlative/executive mix.
They are responsible for the "lots of doing nothing" unless you count race-baiting and class warfare.
J. Hamilton:
Democrats don't cowtow to Maher, and are not afraid to offend him, unlike Limberbaugh, he doesn't hold power over their party.
Teece Bowman wrote:
"You have to believe that socialism hasn't worked anywhere"
Well, it hasn't. At least not for going on 250 years as, at least token-capitalism has thrived here. Socialism always kills itself and ends in revolution.
But, I'll give you credit for one thing Teece. At least you're honest about being a socialist. That's a credit to you but not to most of the leftie posters here, nor to the President and the Democratic leadership.
Wow. Can't believe the amount of time spent on Rush Limbaugh.
jecamcnic wrote:
"I would have thought that the Diane Rehm Show would insist on first getting the facts rights. Otherwise, it is just another version of what happens regularly on the Fox Network"
I don't know why I'm even bothering with this, but you need to try actually WATCHING Fox one time. You will hear more balance and more factual presentation than you will get in a month's worth of MSNBC, CNN, and ABC combined. There are studies that actually show this. I've presented them here in the past.
jonhandere:
If only that were true, in fact the only jobs related bills have been specificly designed to fail, knowing they would not pass the Senate. If they had been genuine they would have worked together to get something passed, instead they are perfectly willing to let the American people go to hell in a handbasket, hoping for a chance to retake the White House this time around. A cynical ploy at best, treasonous at worst. Remember, their stated goal was to make Obama a one term president, not to help their constituents. They can't stand the fact that a black man is the president. Not a socialist (he's farther to the right than most past Republican Presidents), it's simply a matter that their hatred outweighs the good of the country.
SteMar wrote:
"Democrats don't cowtow to Maher, and are not afraid to offend him"
When they excuse his calling Bachmann and Palin M*LFs and Palin a c- and a b-, what would you call it?
Imagine Limbaugh using that kind of language about Michelle Obama or Nancy Pelosi.
Ms Rehm is selectively disgusted. How convenient for her biased delivery of message. To criticize others for doing what you do but in the other direction is pure hipocrisy and a double standard Ms Rehm.
Thank you, Diane, for strongly repudiating Rush Limbaugh's words and unimpressive apology. If only our leaders could do the same and put the issue to rest.
The lie continues, Sandra Fluke is no victim. Is it too much to ask the esteemed journalists on the show to at least acknowledge something stinks here and it's not Rush Limbaugh. How do these people sleep at night.
Don't forget that Rush Limbaugh is broadcast on Armed Forces Network courtesy of our tax dollars. Women veterans have come forward with a letter requesting that he be yanked. There's a petition on the WH site requesting the same. They need 25K signatures to be considered; they've collected over 19K in 5 days. https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!/petition/sec-panetta-get-rush-limbaugh-armed-forces-radio-now-no-tax-money-abusive-divisive-insulting/p439GWMm
I just finished getting my daily dose of Diane and was completely taken by her courageous comments at the end of the show. I'm referring to her comments about the Fluke controversy.
I love how such a classy woman can use the power of words to express a point without being demeaning or childish. It's the first comments I've heard where someone stood up to the bully. Powerful. I could actually "feel" the emotion she was expressing as she was saying it. True authenticity. I love it.
I'm thankful that we have somebody courageous enough to stand up for what is right, and at the same time have enough class to express things "just right".
SteMar,
Find new talking points. Republicans are racists, everything is their fault, and they want the economy to fail are not working anymore. (And "Obama to the right of most past Republican Presidents" is just loony!)
The fact is, Obama came in facing a tough situation. He has not made it better. His policies have made things worse. When Democrats came in, in 2006 saying "we won the election, we write the bills", the die was cut. When Republicans were LOCKED OUT of the health care debate while President Obama held ALL THREE pieces of the puzzle between 2008 and 2010, it was set in stone - and at that, the Democrates had to use parliamentary tricks to get the ACA passed.
And by the way, don't you think Democrats wanted to make GWB a one-term President in 2004? Don't you think Democrats wanted to make Reagan a one-term President in 1984?!
Working with both sides to get things done is what is known as leadership. It's what Reagan was able to do with a Democrat Congress. And, by the way, what Romney was able to do with a Democrat statehouse.
Had President Obama, Pelosi, and Reid been willing to compromise on ANYTHING, they could have solidified Democrat control of government for a generation.
Leadership, SteMar. That's what is missing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
cane wrote:
"Wow. Can't believe the amount of time spent on Rush Limbaugh".
Believe it, and expect a lot more of it in the Obama campaign to divide and conquer, the future of the country be damned.
Diane:
I love your comments about Rush at the conclusion of your Friday program!! You insert into our weekdays a level of civility and humanity, unfortunately too rarely found in any our leaders!!
I soooo appreciate your programs of intelligence and respect for others which can only help to set a standard for relations in this county!!
Best of luck to you in your efforts to push back ignorance, injustice and lack of respect for others!
Margarette Beckwith
Number1DianeFan wrote:
"It's the first comments I've heard where someone stood up to the bully. "
That's because you didn't hear it while Bill Maher was calling Michelle Bachmann and Sarah Palin "M*LFs" and Palin a c- and a b-. Where was Diane then, Ms. "number one fan"?
johnandere, thanks for the laugh. You made my day. Best to you.
You are right on, THX. The left is trying to get done now what it couldn't get done with the fairness doctrine - control of the radio waves - the last category of truly Conservative media in America.
I don't see some key facts brought up during the discussion. First, US is already self reliant on oil. The correlation between low gas price and high domestic energy production is very low.
Secondly, fast or slow recovery will not bring down the unemployment rate to pre-recession level. The bubble had been blowing for over a decade. It was based on risk taking frenzy and cheap/obusive use of credit. Those days are gone.
The expectations are simply not realistic.
I appreciate Diane's final comments concerning Rush in general and Rush's recent incident.
Nice to see she was willing "to not hold back and told us what she really thinks".
I continue to believe in the power and potential of public broadcasting to enlighten and to inspire, even though not all of it is to my liking or my taste. The notion that the only worthwhile discourse or culture programming is that which can sell commercials is both tasteless and ignorant. Despite the outrage of some of the participants in this forum, it seems to me that NPR's bias skews toward granting the corporate control of our economy and political system a legitimacy that it doesn't warrant.
The rabid reactionaries who rail the about the injustice of having to contribute to the drop in an ocean that is public broadcasting’s share of the Federal budget will surely sympathize with me, who bitterly resents being forced to fund the utterly failed, wasteful and Constitution-shredding War on Drugs that has brutalized and impoverished a couple of generations now, having done far more damage than any set of liberal policies ever could or have. Somehow “conservatives” crying crocodile tears over the religious freedom of corporations have also ignored how this War on Workers has been used to supercede the rights of Americans to worship as we please. I am also angry that my tax money has been commandeered to fight other optional wars under false pretenses (even though Iraq and Afghanistan were funded with money "borrowed from China", I’m assuming those debts will come due), and used to continually fund exorbitantly expensive weapons systems – the Strategic Defense Initiative amongst them – that don’t even work.
“Conservatives” apparently think that people don’t need or deserve any health care that insurance companies choose to deny. I would be delighted if “conservatives” could ever articulate a set of principles that protect the rights of citizens they disagree with. Instead, they choose to vilify anyone who expresses any view or adopts any practice they don’t share.
The people of Iran are the best friends Israel and the U.S. have in the Middle East and even the wider Islamic World (including Pakistan, Indonesia, etc). A preemptive attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities by Israel or the U.S. will turn the Iranian people into the enemies of these countries. Does Israel really think it will be safer with every Iranian that feels some sympathy toward it now becoming its enemy?
What would Iran's regime gain by dropping an atomic bomb on Israel, supposing it can manage to do that without itself being annihilated? It will gain a land for Palestinians? But will many Palestinians not be killed also by an atomic bomb dropped on Israel? And, Jerusalem, the sacred site for Moslems, will that not be destroyed also? How about all the Jordanian, Lebanese, Syrian, even Egyptian and Cypriot people who will be maimed or exposed to radiation? Does Iran's regime want to kill and maim hundreds of thousands of people, many of them outside Israel? What purpose does it serve ? Can Iran then go on living as if nothing had happened? The idea that Iran will drop a bomb on Israel is just nuts.
Building an atomic bomb, or indeed even a nuclear reactor for energy purposes, constitutes first and foremost an existential threat to the Iranian people. Given the lack of the needed security safeguards, many informed observers are worried that catastrophic nuclear accidents cannot be ruled out in Iran. Building bomb or getting close to doing so will increase the risk to the people of Iran, not Israel.
mellifluous, your post is a perfect example of someone who assumes too much, and only hears what he wants too. Welcome to the ignorant majority.
Limbaugh crossed the lines of decency with his comments. He is nothing more than a bloviating windbag, reminiscent of the late Senator Joseph McCarthy. The timidity of the Republican presidential candidates who appear to lack the courage to challenge Limbaugh is telling.
I'm particularly disappointed in Mitt Romney who was the only politician in Massachusetts with the courage to take on the Bulger mob. He must want the presidency so badly he's willing to sacrifice his principles to attain it.
SteMar wrote:
"johnandere, thanks for the laugh. You made my day. Best to you."
read: I have no clue how to refute what you say.
Glad to provide a little levity today, SteMar. Come back Monday and I'll be happy to do it again.
Thurston Howell III ,
I wish DR Show board had a "like" or rating system. I would give you 5 stars out of 5 for that eloquent dismissal, Thurston.
Supposedly there is a "new" board coming later this year. Maybe DR Show could add something like that.
I'll add a "like" to Johnandere's last comment.
(not so much for the rest of his)
It seems the Sandra Fluke controversy has exposed many hypocrisies and deliberate attempts to distort the facts by the right wing media for political gain. First of all, the apology by Rush Limbaugh was no apology at all. He only said what he did because of pressure he was receiving from advertisers leaving his show. Rush also revealed to all how totally clueless he was about how birth control pills work and why women use the pill. He made a fool of himself by falsely claiming that Sandra Fluke wanted taxpayers to pay for contraceptives. He clearly did not listen to what she said and the right wing media continue to falsely report what she said. Women pay for health insurance just like men do. Contraceptives should be covered by insurance just like every other drug that is prescribed by a doctor for his patient.
Secondly the right wing media and their fans are actually trying to deflect attention for the hateful comments of Rush by blaming comedians like Maher for making similar comments. Well, there is NO COMPARISON to what Rush did vs Bill Maher. Rush viciously attacked a private college student for three days on public airwaves that anyone could listen to including children. Contrast this with a three second joke made about a public person on cable TV that you have to pay to view it.
Rush needs to be taken off the air by the FCC for soliciting porn on the public airwaves.
An executive of adweek said that companies are leaving because they don't want to ruin their reputations by being associated with Rush.
Fox news regularly lies about the facts. In fact they wouldn't know a fact if they tripped over one. For example when they were reporting on the protests in Wisconsin they showed a tape of demonstrators fighting. The only problem was that the tape was of an event that happened in California as there were palm trees in the background! The demonstrations in Wisconsin were all peaceful so Fox deliberately tried to distort the news by showing this tape and by the way, there are no palm trees growing along the streets in Wisconsin.
Secondly, if you look at tapes of Fox in 2008 they were all over themselves claiming that the president has no control over gas prices. But now that Obama is president Fox now claims that he somehow can magically control the price of gas. Well Obama can't control what happens in other countries!