Number #1 Radio Progressive Morning Show, THE STEPHANIE MILLER SHOW

Posts Tagged ‘Media Matters for America’

LiveBlog for Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

schakowskyRep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) calls in at 6:05am Pacific to talk about Obama’s Afghanistan speech, and about health care reform.

Karl Frisch, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to co-host Right Wing World.

sparksHal Sparks joins us in studio at 8am Pacific for another edition of “Humpdays With Hal.”

Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about health care reform and Obama’s Afghanistan speech.

• Declaring “our security is at stake,” President Obama ordered an additional 30,000 U.S. troops into the long war in Afghanistan last night, nearly tripling the force he inherited but promising an impatient public to begin withdrawal in 18 months. The buildup will begin almost immediately and will cost $30 billion for the first year alone

• Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) asserted yesterday during a rancorous floor debate that President Obama’s health care reform will shorten the lives of seniors by cutting Medicare. Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) decried such comments as scare tactics designed to kill legislation that he said would improve some benefits for seniors. At times, the debate recalled the raw charges and countercharges of the summer’s town hall meetings.

• Copies of e-mails between the White House party crashers and a Pentagon official undermine their claims that they were invited to President Obama’s first state dinner.

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LiveBlog for Monday, November 30, 2009

Monday, November 30th, 2009

fugelsang John Fugelsang joins Steph in the New York Bureau for all three hours of the show today!

The Rude Pundit (Lee Papa) calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about the news over the Thanksgiving weekend.

mmfaEric Boehlert, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to co-host Right Wing World.

The Senate is set to begin debate today on health care reform. Some Dem senators say they’ll jump ship from the bill without tighter restrictions on abortion coverage. Others say they’ll go unless a government plan to compete with private insurance companies gets tossed overboard. Such concessions would enrage Liberals, the heart and soul of the party.

• Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich), the leading Senate Dem on military matters, said yesterday that President Obama’s anticipated plan for expanding troop levels in Afghanistan must show how those reinforcements will help increase the size of the Afghan security forces.

• White House officials fended off new questions about how a fame-seeking couple finessed their way into the president’s State Dinner last week while the aspiring reality-TV stars themselves began trying to sell their story for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

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LiveBlog for Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

Karl Frisch, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to co-host Right Wing World.

henicanEllis Henican, columnist for “Newsday,” calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about the news of the day, and preview his show on Friday when he fills in for Steph and the Mooks.

sparksHal Sparks joins us in studio at 8:05am Pacific for another edition of “Humpdays With Hal.”

• Alysa Binder, Executive Vice President and co-founder of Pet Airways, calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about the service her company provides.

• War-weary Americans will support more fighting in Afghanistan once they understand the perils of losing, President Obama declared yesterday, announcing he was ready to spell out war plans virtually sure to include tens of thousands more U.S. troops. Obama will make his case to the nation in a speech Tuesday night.

• Traditional evening gowns and vibrantly colored saris mixed with banded-collar dinner jackets and tuxedos at President Obama’s first State Dinner last night. There were also turbans and bindies and diamonds, as several hundred guests put on the glitz and joined a White House celebration in honor of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

• With economic pressures still hitting household budgets hard, many Americans are foregoing air travel for Thanksgiving and opting for cheaper alternatives like staying home or driving.

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LiveBlog for Monday, November 23, 2009

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

rudepunditThe Rude Pundit (Lee Papa) calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about Sarah Palin’s book tour, and other news of the day.

mmfaEric Boehlert, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to co-host Right Wing World.

Dr. Eric Chivian, founder and director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard, calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about the Climate Change Bill.

• Health care reform backers won a key victory Saturday night as the Senate voted to move ahead with a floor debate on a sweeping $848 billion bill. The 60-39 vote to prevent a GOP filibuster against the start of debate on Sen. Reid’s legislation broke down along party lines.

Four U.S. service members were killed in the past 24 hours in Afghanistan, NATO forces said today. Three of the Americans died in southern Afghanistan yesterday. Two of them were killed by a bomb attack and the third in a separate firefight.

• Maj. Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist charged with killing 13 people at Ft. Hood, is paralyzed from the chest down and doctors believe it will be permanent, his lawyer said yesterday.

• In this business week, which will be abbreviated due to Thanksgiving, investors will look to reports on home sales, unemployment and consumer confidence, and the start of the holiday shopping season on Friday for more insight into the direction of the economy.

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LiveBlog for Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

sestakRep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) calls in at 6:05am Pacific to talk about health care reform, the economy, and Afghanistan.

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about jobs, the economy, and health care reform.

Karl Frisch, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to co-host Right Wing World.

David Plouffe, former campaign manager for President Obama, calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about his new book, “The Audacity To Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama’s Historic Victory.”

sparksHal Sparks joins us in studio at 8:05am Pacific for another edition of “Humpdays With Hal.”

President Obama huddled with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao this morning, the final day of his visit to China. The White House praised the meetings as strengthening possibilities for future cooperation. President Obama then toured the Great Wall of China before flying to South Korea.

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) declined yesterday to say when he would introduce a hotly anticipated health care reform bill. He said he was waiting for a cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office, and that estimate won’t be completed until at least this afternoon.

Somali pirates attacked the Maersk Alabama yesterday for the second time but guards on board repelled the takeover attempt.

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LiveBlog for Monday, November 16, 2009

Monday, November 16th, 2009

rudepunditThe Rude Pundit (Lee Papa) calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about moving Gitmo detainees to New York, and the media’s shoddy treatment of women.

mmfaEric Boehlert, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to co-host Right Wing World.

Joe Decker, founder of GodHatesShrimp.com, calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about how ridiculous religious arguments against homosexuality are.

• Politely but firmly pressing for greater freedoms on China’s own turf, President Obama spoke in Shanghai this morning against censorship, saying tough criticisms of political leaders should be allowed and the free flow of information on the internet “should be encouraged.”

• While President Obama’s decision about sending more troops to Afghanistan is primarily a military one, it also has substantial budget implications that are adding pressure to limit the commitment. Governmental estimates place the cost of adding 40,000 troops at $40 billion to $54 billion a year.

Today’s Commerce Department report on October retail sales is likely to set the tone for the rest of the week on Wall Street. Economists polled by Reuters predict retail sales rose 0.8 percent in October after at 1.5 percent drop in September. Stronger consumer spending is needed for any rebound, and disappointment is likely to send stocks falling today.

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LiveBlog for Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

watersRep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) calls in at 6:05am Pacific to talk about health care reform and the economy.

sestakRep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about Veterans’ Day, health care reform, the economy, and his run for Senate.

Karl Frisch, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to co-host Right Wing World.

Hal Sparks joins us in studio at 8:05am Pacific for another edition of “Humpdays With Hal.”

Former President Bill Clinton told anxious Senate Dems yesterday to pass a health care bill soon because the U.S. economy can’t resist the toxic combination of exorbitant medical costs and nearly 50 million uninsured for much longer.

• Caution returned to the stock market yesterday as investors decided to slow an advance that has lifted the Dow Jones industrial average 475 points in five days. Stocks fell in light trading, though the Dow tacked on 20 points to close at a new high for the year.

• A senior government official tells ABC News that investigators have found that alleged Ft. Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan had “more unexplained connections to people being tracked by the FBI” than just radical cleric Anwar al Awlaki. Names and countries of origin are likely to emerge soon, according to officials.

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LiveBlog for Monday, November 9, 2009

Monday, November 9th, 2009

rudepunditThe Rude Pundit (Lee Papa) calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about passage of the health care reform bill in the House of Representatives.

Eric Boehlert, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to co-host Right Wing World.

Mary Bonauto, Civil Rights Project Director at Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD), calls in at 7:30am Pacific to discuss the repeal of gay marriage in Maine.

sparksHal Sparks joins us in studio at 8:05am Pacific for a special Monday edition of “Humpdays with Hal.”

President Obama yesterday praised the “historic” House vote to pass a bill overhauling the nation’s ailing health care system, and said it is now time for the Senate to “take the baton” and complete its work. The House passed its health care bill late Saturday night by a 220-215 vote, with 39 Dems opposing and 1 GOPer supporting.

The alleged Ft. Hood shooter apparently attended the same Virginia mosque as two 9/11 hijackers in 2001, at a time when a radical imam preached there. The FBI is looking into any possible associations.

• Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) has declared a state of emergency in Louisiana as Hurricane Ida heads toward the Gulf Coast. It’s the first hurricane to target the U.S. this season.

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LiveBlog for Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

Karl Frisch, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to co-host Right Wing World.

kindRep. Ron Kind (D-WI) calls in at 7:33am Pacific to talk about health care reform, the economy, and yesterday’s elections.

sparks Hal Sparks joins us in studio at 8:05am Pacific for another edition of “Humpdays with Hal.”

Republicans won gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey yesterday, two states that had backed President Obama last year. Dem Bill Owens beat Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman in upstate New York. Opponents of gay marriage claimed a victory in Maine, but voters approved an “everything but marriage” law in Washington State that greatly expands the rights of gay couples.

• In a blow to the White House, Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) signaled yesterday that Congress may fail to meet a year-end deadline for passing health care legislation, leaving the measure’s fate to the uncertainties of the 2010 election season.

Republicans boycotted the start of committee debate yesterday on a bill to curb greenhouse gases, protesting that the bill’s costs have not been fully examined. The action put a spotlight on the difficulties Dem leaders face in moving climate legislation this year.

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LiveBlog for Monday, November 2, 2009

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

rudepunditThe Rude Pundit (Lee Papa) calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk rude about the news of the day.

mmfaEric Boehlert, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, calls in at 7:30am Pacific to co-host Right Wing World.

Morgan Hurley, reporter for SDGLN.com (San Diego Gay and Lesbian News), calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about her story regarding a proposed ban on divorces in California.

• Afghanistan’s Election Commission announced this morning that Saturday’s runoff election between Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah has been cancelled. Abdullah dropped out of the race yesterday, and the Obama administration said it was prepared to work with Karzai to combat corruption and confront the Taliban insurgency.

• GOP nominee in New York’s 23rd Congressional special election tomorrow, Dede Scozzafava, announced this weekend that she’s suspending her campaign. Her exit leaves Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman as the favorite to win the formerly hotly contested 3-way race. Scozzafava threw her support behind Dem Bill Owens.

• The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that just 2 percent of Americans younger than 65 would sign up for the public option plan under the health care bill that Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is steering toward House approval

The New York Yankees beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-4 last night to take a 3-1 lead in the World Series.

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