Posts Tagged ‘Rod Blagojevich’
LiveBlog for Friday, July 10, 2009
Friday, July 10th, 2009
• Comedian John Fugelsang joins us in studio at 8am Pacific to talk about the news of the day and promote his upcoming gigs.
• AIG Insurance is preparing to pay millions of dollars more in bonuses to several dozen top corporate executives after an earlier round of payments set off a national furor. The troubled insurance giant has been pressing the federal government to bless the payments in hopes of shielding itself from renewed public outrage.
• The White House says it expects “frank” but constructive talks in President Obama’s meeting today with Pope Benedict XVI – two men who share similar views on helping the poor and pushing for Middle East peace, but disagree on abortion and stem cell research.
• CIA Director Leon Panetta has ordered an internal inquiry into the agency’s handling of a contentious and still highly classified program that has caused heated dispute between the CIA and Dems on the House Intelligence Committee.
• Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL) will today be announcing that he will not run for re-election in 2010. In addition to his problems regarding the details of his appointment to the seat by ousted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Burris has raised just $845 for the 2010 cycle.
• In April 2008, Sen. John Ensign’s parents each made gifts to the campaign staffer he had his affair with, her husband, and two of their children in the form of a check totaling $96,000. The payments were made as gifts, accepted as gifts, and complied with tax rules governing gifts.
Tags: AIG, Barack Obama, CIA, John Ensign, John Fugelsang, Leon Panetta, Pope Benedict XVI, Rod Blagojevich, Roland Burris
Posted in liveblog | 345 Comments »
LiveBlog for Friday, April 3, 2009
Friday, April 3rd, 2009
Follow Producer Chris Lavoie on Twitter!! Get updates on Steph’s appearances on TV, upcoming guests on the show, and much more.
• Author and theologian Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners and author of “God’s Politics,” calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about working with President Obama on faith issues.
• Actor, author, and activist Mike Farrell calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about his new book, “Of Mule and Man,” and about President Obama’s Gitmo ruling.
• Leaders of the world’s largest economies agreed yesterday to a package worth more than $1 trillion to tackle the global economic crisis. President Obama called the deal a “turning point in our pursuit of global economic recovery.” The plan calls for reform of the international banking system and the injection of more than $1 trillion into the world financial system.
• The Senate passed a $3.53 trillion version of the federal budget for fiscal year 2010 late last night in a party-line vote, ending several weeks of acrimonious partisan debate. Earlier in the evening, the House passed its own version of the spending plan – a $3.55 trillion budget.
• Impeached former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was arrested in December on charges of conspiracy and fraud, was indicted yesterday on 16 felony counts by a federal grand jury. The 19-count indictment charges Blagojevich and some of his closest aides with a wide-ranging “scheme to deprive the people of Illinois of honest government.” Blagojevich maintains he is innocent.
Tags: Barack Obama, Budget, House of Representatives, Jim Wallis, Mike Farrell, Rod Blagojevich, Senate
Posted in liveblog | 438 Comments »
LiveBlog for Thursday, February 19, 2009
Thursday, February 19th, 2009
• Hilary Rosen, Editor at Large for “The Huffington Post” and CNN political contributor, calls in at 6:30am Pacific to discuss the first 100 days of Obama’s presidency.
• Bay Buchanan, President of The American Cause, calls in at 7:06am Pacific to talk about the GOP’s reaction to President Obama’s first 100 days.
• President Obama unveiled a $75 billion multi-pronged plan yesterday that seeks to help up to 9 million borrowers suffering from falling home prices and unaffordable monthly payments. The plan will make it easier for homeowners to afford their monthly payments either by refinancing the mortgages or having their loans modified.
• President Obama makes his first foreign trip as president today with a visit to Ottawa, Canada. Obama comes bearing a pro-trade message to assuage Canadian concerns over protectionism, a promise of a new strategy in Afghanistan as Canada moves to yank all its troops out of there, and talk of clean-energy cooperation as controversy hangs over Canada’s oil-rich sands.
• Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said yesterday that a Senate ethics panel is investigating Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL) after his disclosure that he had spoken with the brother of Rod Blagojevich about raising money for the disgraced governor while seeking appointment to the Senate. Burris insisted yesterday that he was innocent of any wrongdoing.
Tags: Barack Obama, Bay Buchanan, Dick Durbin, Hilary Rosen, Rod Blagojevich, Roland Burris
Posted in liveblog | 436 Comments »
LiveBlog for Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Wednesday, February 18th, 2009
• GOP strategist Rich Galen, proprietor of Mullings.com, calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about President Obama’s first 100 days in office and the GOP’s take on the stimulus.
• Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) calls in at 8:06am Pacific to talk about President Obama signing the stimulus bill yesterday and what it means for Americans.
• Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about the stimulus, and about CA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s plan to furlough state employees due to a lack of a budget.
• President Obama today will visit Phoenix, AZ, one of the cities hardest hit with foreclosures, where he’s expected to outline a $50 billion to $100 billion plan to help homeowners. Officials are tight-lipped about details.
• President Obama has approved a significant troop increase for Afghanistan, Pentagon officials said yesterday. The new troop deployment is expected to include 8,000 Marines as well as 4,000 additional Army troops.
• The Chicago Tribune yesterday called for U.S. Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL) to resign, a day after Burris detailed several conversations with impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s brother he had failed to mention under oath. In them, he said he discussed possibly raising money for the governor before ultimately declining.
Tags: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Barack Obama, Barbara Lee, Linda Sanchez, Rich Galen, Rod Blagojevich, Roland Burris
Posted in liveblog | 473 Comments »
LiveBlog for Monday, February 16, 2009
Monday, February 16th, 2009
• Today is Presidents’ Day, and the Stephanie Miller Show is LIVE today!
• Bill Maher calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about the new season of HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” and about the DVD release of “Religulous.”
• Author Austin Hill joins us via ISDN at 7:30am Pacific to talk about some of the weird presidential trivia contained in his book, “White House Confidential: The Little Book of Weird Presidential History” in celebration of Presidents’ Day.
• President Barack Obama will sign the economic stimulus bill Tuesday in Denver, Colorado. Aides cited a desire to get out of Washington, to go “out west in an area hit hard economically, away from the politics of Washington. Denver is described as “a place that will see the benefits of the bill in hiring workers.”
• Freshman Sen. Roland Burris released an affidavit Saturday that contradicts his statements last month to a House committee investigating former Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s impeachment. Members of the impeachment committee are calling for Burris’ resignation, but Burris is insisting he hadn’t done anything wrong and never misled anyone.
• President Obama plans to appoint senior administration officials – rather than a single “car czar” as had been discussed – to oversee a restructuring of the auto industry. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers will oversee the across-the-government panel.
Tags: Austin Hill, Barack Obama, Bill Maher, Lawrence Summers, Rod Blagojevich, Roland Burris, Tim Geithner
Posted in liveblog | 444 Comments »
LiveBlog for Friday, January 30, 2009
Friday, January 30th, 2009
• Workers at the Illinois Capitol building wasted little time last night changing the face of state government, shortly after Gov. Pat Quinn replaced the ousted Rod Blagojevich. The Illinois Senate voted 59-0 yesterday to remove Blagojevich from office, and prevented him from ever holding political office in the state again.
• President Barack Obama yesterday signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, a landmark piece of gender pay-equity legislation which allows victims of pay-based discrimination to file a complaint to the government within 180 days of their most recent paycheck, as opposed to within 180 days of their first unfair paycheck.
• President Obama yesterday called the prospect that some of the $700 billion Wall Street bailout could end up paying for bonuses to managers of struggling financial institutions “shameful.” Obama said it was the “height of irresponsibility” for executives to pay bonuses when their companies are asking for help from DC.
• President Obama is considering nominating a Republican, Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) as his commerce secretary, officials in DC and NH said last night. Gregg was the GOP’s chief negotiator for the $700 billion bailout of the financial industry. Gregg would be Obama’s second choice to run the commerce department after Bill Richardson took his name out of consideration.
• The Super Bowl is this Sunday. The Arizona Cardinals will take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in Tampa. The game starts at 6:15pm Eastern and will air on NBC.
Tags: Arizona Cardinals, Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, Judd Gregg, Lilly Ledbetter, Pat Quinn, Pittsburgh Steelers, Rod Blagojevich
Posted in liveblog | 575 Comments »
LiveBlog for Thursday, January 29, 2009
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
• Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about the House’s passage of President Obama’s stimulus package last night.
• The House last night passed an $819 billion economic stimulus package on a party-line vote, despite President Obama’s efforts to achieve bipartisan support for the bill. The Senate is likely to take up the bill next week.
• President Obama visited the Pentagon yesterday for a dose of “unvarnished” give-and-take on how to move forward in America’s two wars. Obama sat down with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the Joint Chiefs of Staff to get a “comprehensive view of the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan and the impact on our forces.” Obama first expressed his thanks for the men and women fighting abroad.
• The Senate confirmed by unanimous consent retired Adm. Dennis Blair as director of national intelligence yesterday. The confirmation followed the resignation of former director Michael McConnell, who left the post Tuesday after nearly 2 years on the job.
• Senate GOPers, who acted like lions in challenging Eric Holder, turned into lambs yesterday as they joined Dems in recommending President Obama’s choice for attorney general. The Judiciary Committee voted 17-2 to endorse Holder, and the full Senate could vote as soon as today.
• Embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has announced he wants to speak at his impeachment hearing before the state Senate today if lawmakers allow him to do so.
Tags: Barack Obama, Dennis Blair, Eric Holder, Michael McConnell, Robert Gates, Rod Blagojevich, Steve Cohen
Posted in liveblog | 561 Comments »
LiveBlog for Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Wednesday, January 28th, 2009
• Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about President Obama’s stimulus plan and the economy.
• Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) calls in at 8:05am Pacific to discuss how President Obama’s stimulus plan is faring on Capitol Hill.
• Vincent Bugliosi, author of “The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder,” calls in at 8:30am Pacific to discuss whether Obama will hold Bush accountable for war crimes.
• President Barack Obama will face the first real test of his push for a stimulus package today, as the House of Representatives prepares to vote on the bill later today. Policy experts believe the bill will pass easily, since Dems have an overwhelming majority in the House. The Senate will vote on its version of the bill next week.
• Closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility is necessary and President Obama’s decision to set a one-year deadline on doing so was probably the only way to get it done, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said yesterday in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee.
• Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was absent again yesterday from his Senate impeachment trial, but state senators who will decide whether to remove him from office heard him loud and clear on FBI recordings of his phone calls. Only 4 snippets of conversations were played, and all pertained to quid-pro-quo on horse-racing legislation.
Tags: Barack Obama, Byron Dorgan, Gregory Meeks, Robert Gates, Rod Blagojevich, Vincent Bugliosi
Posted in liveblog | 522 Comments »
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