Posts Tagged ‘Joe Sestak’
LiveBlog for Monday, October 19, 2009
Monday, October 19th, 2009
• The Rude Pundit (Lee Papa) calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about gays in the military, and the historical inaccuracies at the GOP’s new website.
• Eric Boehlert, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to co-host Right Wing World.
• Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) calls in at 8:30am Pacific to make a major announcement about his campaign to be senator from Pennsylvania.
• Three days after the world watched a giant balloon fly through the air as a tearful family expressed fears that their 6-year-old boy could be inside, authorities announced what millions already suspected: The whole thing was staged. Colorado authorities believe the event was a “publicity stunt” by the family to market themselves for a reality show.
• The White House will not commit to health care legislation that would cap insurance premiums or tax benefits, taking a wait-and-see approach as congressional negotiators seek a deal. President Obama will not demand that a final bill include a public option, though that’s his preference, advisers said yesterday.
• Defense Secretary Robert Gates is undertaking the tricky task of trying to persuade allies to remain committed to the war in Afghanistan even as the Obama administration debates whether to send more troops to fight. Allies like Japan and Great Britain, however, are showing signs of pulling back.
Tags: Afghanistan, Balloon Boy, Barack Obama, Eric Boehlert, Health Care Reform, Joe Sestak, Lee Papa, Media Matters for America, Robert Gates, Rude Pundit
Posted in liveblog | 408 Comments »
LiveBlog for Friday, August 21, 2009
Friday, August 21st, 2009
• Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-PA) calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about health care reform.
• Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) calls in at 7:05am Pacific to talk about health care reform and Afghanistan.
• Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about health care reform and his town hall meetings.
• Comedian John Fugelsang joins Steph in studio in NYC at 8:05am Pacific for more discussions of everything politics and pop culture.
• President Obama took his health care message to talk radio yesterday, telling listeners of a Philadelphia host that he wants to overhaul the nation’s health care system out of necessity rather than politics.
• Senate health care negotiators agreed late last night to ignore the increasingly strident rhetoric from GOP and Dem leaders and to keep working toward a bill that can win broad support from the rank-and-file in both parties, according to sources familiar with the talks.
• Former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge says he successfully countered an effort by Attorney General John Ashcroft and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to raise the nation’s terror alert level in the days before the 2004 presidential vote.
Tags: Allyson Schwartz, Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders, Donald Rumsfeld, Health Care Reform, Joe Sestak, John Ashcroft, John Fugelsang, Tom Ridge
Posted in liveblog | 358 Comments »
LiveBlog for Thursday, August 20, 2009
Thursday, August 20th, 2009
• The Rude Pundit (Lee Papa) joins us live in studio at 11:05am Eastern for an entire hour of rudeness about the day’s news!
• Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-PA), Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will all be calling in TOMORROW to talk about health care reform.
• Comedian John Fugelsang joins us in studio at 11:05am TOMORROW to hang and talk about all things politics and pop culture.
• Under the menacing threat of violence from the Taliban, Afghans headed to the polls today in the war-ravaged nation’s second-ever national election. Thousands of NATO and Afghan soldiers provided security at the polls and more than 30 observer groups were on hand to monitor the voting.
• President Obama appealed yesterday to faith-based groups to help garner support for his plan to overhaul the nation’s health care system. Obama urged the listeners to reject information about his plans, noting, “There are some folks out there who are, frankly, bearing false witness.”
• A cancer-stricken Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) has written a poignant letter to Massachusetts leaders asking that they change state law to allow a speedy replacement of him in Congress, instead of the special election now required. Kennedy wrote, “It is vital for this commonwealth to have two voices speaking for the needs of its citizens and two votes in the Senate.”
Tags: Afghanistan, Allyson Schwartz, Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders, Health Care Reform, Joe Sestak, John Fugelsang, Lee Papa, Ted Kennedy, The Rude Pundit
Posted in liveblog | 314 Comments »
LiveBlog for Friday, July 24, 2009
Friday, July 24th, 2009
• Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about green jobs and health care reform.
• Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about health care and his possible run for Senate.
• Comedian John Fugelsang joins us in studio at 8:05am Pacific to talk about all things politics and pop culture.
• Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) said yesterday that the chamber won’t vote on a health care reform bill until after the August recess. Reid said the leading Dems and GOPers of the Senate Finance Committee, who are negotiating a compromise plan, have asked for more time to complete their work.
• President Obama took his health care offensive on the road to Cleveland, Ohio yesterday, accusing top Republicans of playing politics with his top domestic legislative priority. He also said, “We have never been closer to achieving quality, affordable health care for all Americans.”
• The commissioner of the Cambridge, Massachusetts, police department said yesterday he “deeply regrets” the arrest of prominent black Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., but stands by the procedures followed by his department.
• President Obama is leaning hard on the nation’s schools, using the promise of more than $4 billion in federal aid – and the threat of withholding it – to strong-arm the education establishment to accept more charter schools and performance pay for teachers.
Tags: Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders, Harry Reid, Henry Louis Gates Jr, Joe Sestak, John Fugelsang
Posted in liveblog | 398 Comments »
LiveBlog for Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009
• Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about health care reform.
• Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) calls in at 8:05am Pacific to talk about the National Defense Authorization Act, Iran, health care reform, and military readiness.
• Lt. Dan Choi calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about his efforts to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and his work with Knights Out.
• Iran’s Guardian Council has ruled out the possibility of nullifying the results of the country’s disputed presidential election, saying irregularities were reported before the balloting – not during or after. The announcement was another in a series of inconsistent stances by the council on how to handle the unrest stemming from the disputed June 12th race.
• President Obama signed legislation yesterday, giving the FDA new power to regulate tobacco. The law gives the FDA power to ban candy-flavored and fruit-flavored cigarettes and prohibits tobacco companies from using terms such as “low tar,” “light” or “mild” and required larger warning labels on packages.
• President Obama yesterday praised a decision by the nation’s pharmaceutical industry to agree to a deal cutting drug costs for elderly Americans, calling it an example of the kind of compromise required for successful national health care reform.
• The death toll climbed to nine in a rush-hour collision between two Metro trains north of Washington, D.C. yesterday. Dozens of others were treated at the scene.
Tags: Barack Obama, Dan Choi, DC Metro, FDA, Health Care Reform, Iran Election, Jan Schakowsky, Joe Sestak, Knights Out, Tobacco
Posted in liveblog | 323 Comments »
LiveBlog for Thursday, May 28, 2009
Thursday, May 28th, 2009
• Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about the economy and North Korea.
• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about how the Right Wing Media is already attacking Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.
• President Obama marked another 100-day anniversary yesterday – this time the anniversary of the enactment of his $787 billion economic stimulus package. Obama told a crowd in Nevada that “we are already seeing results” from the federal government’s economic boost.
• Opponents of California’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriages launched a new court challenge yesterday, led by lawyers who were on opposite sides of the case that settled the 2000 presidential race. Attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies have asked a federal judge to block California from enforcing the ban, known as Prop. 8.
• Newt Gingrich has called Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor a racist, and he’s demanding that Obama’s pick withdraw her nomination. On Twitter, Gingrich said that “new racism is no better than old racism.”
• Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) announced last night that he intends to challenge Sen. Arlen Specter in a Pennsylvania Democratic primary pending a discussion with his wife and young daughter.
Tags: Arlen Specter, Barack Obama, David Boies, Eric Boehlert, Joe Sestak, John Yarmuth, Media Matters for America, Newt Gingrich, Prop. 8, Sonia Sotomayor, Ted Olson
Posted in liveblog | 328 Comments »
LiveBlog for Friday, May 22, 2009
Friday, May 22nd, 2009
• Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) calls in at 8:20am Pacific to talk about Obama’s and Cheney’s speeches yesterday, as well as passage of the credit card relief bill.
• Angela V. Shelton and Frances Callier (Frangela) join us in studio at 8:30am Pacific for another edition of Fridays with Frangela!
• President Obama and former Vice President Dick Cheney offered competing views on how to keep America safe in back-to-back speeches yesterday. Obama said his administration is trying to clean up a “mess” left behind by the Bush administration. Cheney stood up for Bush’s security record, arguing that Obama has weakened the country’s ability to combat Al Qaida and other extremists.
• The Senate late yesterday easily passed a $91 billion spending bill for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan after stripping the bill of funds to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay. The Senate included an amendment to prevent the public release of pictures that reportedly document the mistreatment of post-Sept. 11 detainees in U.S. Custody.
• President Obama will sign into law today a bill that will bar credit card companies from arbitrarily raising interest rates on existing balances and charging certain fees. Included in the bill is an unrelated measure that would allow people to bring loaded guns into national parks and wildlife refuges. Most provisions in the bill will take 9 months to go into effect.
Tags: Angela V. Shelton, Barack Obama, Credit Cards, Dick Cheney, Frances Callier, Frangela, Guantanamo Bay, Joe Sestak
Posted in liveblog | 438 Comments »
LiveBlog for Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
• Mary Tyler Moore calls in at 6:06am Pacific to talk about her new book, “Growing Up Again: Life, Loves, and Oh Yeah, Diabetes.”
• Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-PA) calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about the economy.
• Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about the torture memo debate.
• The World Health Organization raised its pandemic alert level yesterday in response to the outbreak of swine flu that originated in Mexico. The number of cases confirmed by health officials worldwide totaled 82, most of them in the U.S. and Mexico, but hundreds more cases are under examination and Mexico has said 149 deaths may have resulted. The virus has now been confirmed to have spread to Asia and the Middle East.
• Morning debate and an afternoon vote are scheduled in the Senate today to confirm Kathleen Sebelius as Secretary of Health and Human Services, giving the agency a leader in the midst of the swine flu outbreak. She is expected to get the 60 votes needed, though perhaps with little margin to spare.
• House and Senate Dems reached an agreement late last night on a budget resolution for 2010, which includes key spending priorities for the young Obama administration. The agreement came as lawmakers were reconciling the House and Senate versions of the budget package. The House and Senate will likely vote on it this week.
Tags: Allyson Schwartz, Barack Obama, Joe Sestak, Kathleen Sebelius, Mary Tyler Moore, Swine Flu, WHO
Posted in liveblog | 224 Comments »
LiveBlog for Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Tuesday, March 31st, 2009
• Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about President Obama’s Afghanistan and Pakistan plans.
• President Obama announced yesterday that struggling automotive giants General Motors and Chrysler will be given a “limited” period of time to “restructure in a way that would justify an investment of additional taxpayer dollars.” GM will be given 60 days to develop a better recovery plan and Chrysler will be given 30 days to complete a merger with Fiat.
• President Obama leaves today for his first presidential trip across the Atlantic. He will first attend a summit of the world’s economic powers in London to address the global financial meltdown, and he hopes to convince European allies that his administration can improve the economy and the U.S. image.
• President Obama made a strong pitch for his budget to House Dems in a closed-door meeting last night, arguing that the budget includes key components to turning around the ailing economy. He also told them that voting for the measure was good politics for Dems on the Hill.
• Conservationists claimed one of their most significant victories of the new administration yesterday as President Obama signed sweeping land reform legislation designating 2 million additional acres of public wilderness areas, the highest level of governmental protection from logging and other development.
Tags: Barack Obama, Chrysler, Fiat, GM, Joe Sestak
Posted in liveblog | 523 Comments »
LiveBlog for Friday, March 6, 2009
Friday, March 6th, 2009
The Right Wing Blogosphere is going ape-dump about Steph’s joke that Rush Limbaugh should be executed for treason!!! Read all about it here!!! And at Free Republic here!!!
• Marc Elias, Attorney for the Franken campaign, calls in at 6:30am Pacific to discuss the latest in the Coleman / Franken trial.
• Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) calls in at 7:06am Pacific to talk about President Obama’s budget, the mortgage plan, and the latest on the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• Frances Callier and Angela V. Shelton (Frangela) join us in studio at 8:30am Pacific for another edition of “Fridays with Frangela!”
• President Obama yesterday called for a comprehensive overhaul of the U.S. health care system, warning that soaring medical costs present “one of the greatest threats not just to the well-being of our families… but to the very foundation of our economy.”
• The U.S. Senate postponed a planned vote on a $410 billion spending plan yesterday, with Dem leaders saying they would allow GOP changes to the bill to be considered after coming up just short of the support they needed. The decision delays a dilemma for President Obama, who was not in office when the bill was being put together.
• The Senate Intelligence Committee has launched a review of the Bush administration’s controversial interrogation and detention program. The purpose of the review is to fully understand the program and to help “shape detention and interrogation policies in the future,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), chairwoman of the committee.
• Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent, has withdrawn his name from consideration as surgeon general of the U.S.
Tags: Angela V. Shelton, Barack Obama, Dianne Feinstein, Frances Callier, Frangela, Joe Sestak, Marc Elias, Sanjay Gupta
Posted in liveblog | 481 Comments »
