Friday, July 29th, 2005 Opening Thread
UNDERBELLY STORY
FRONT PAGE STORIES
Bolton Lied to the Senate
The Most Pressing PR Issue at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.? Bush's Finger.
-Homeland Threats Go Uninvestigated
-Libyan Lobbyist Finally Removed From Energy Panel
-Uranium Now Easier to Buy
-CIA Stops Publication of Torra Borra Book
-Fewer Screeners at Your Airports
PET STORY
Rachel’s New Ex-Con Boyfriend
EXTRA CREDIT:
Ready for your John Roberts Supreme Court Nomination update? Two developments today. First. The democrats in the Senate are setting up a website that will solicit questions from YOU and ME! From the public. Questions that should be asked of Roberts during his confirmation hearings. That's cool. I don't know what the website is yet, but I'll tell you when I know. Second development. You know how the republicans are saying attorney client privilege is the reason we can't see john roberts papers from when he worked for Kenneth Starr? It turns out that the legal precedent on that question - whether a lawyer in the solicitor general's office can use attorney client privilege to shield his papers? - the legal precedent on that goes AGAINST the White House. You know why the legal precedent on that goes against the White House? Because KENNETH STARR won a ruling on that very issue when he was leading the witch hunt against Bill Clinton.A rightwing talk show host in Washington DC, Michael Graham, last week started to get some critical attention for the fact that he has said on his show that Islam - Islam itself - is a quote "terrorist organization". His station, WMAL, has finally suspended him without pay. Graham has said quote "the problem is not extremism, the problem is islam. we are at war with a terrorist organization named islam". Operation Truth's Paul Rieckhoff wrote a great post about Graham on huffingtonpost.com recently.
On the Rachel Maddow Show we've been keeping track of the special election in Ohio's second district on Tuesday. Republican Jean Schmidt and Democrat Paul Hackett are running to replace republican Rob Portman, who is the US trade rep now. Paul Hackett is an Iraq War Vet; Jean Schmidt is a hack. She went on Olbermann last night and said that Hackett's service overseas is not really the kind of experience that voters here at home are interested in.
Listen. Stream. Download.
morning Rachel,
Im just now hearing.The President can't do that!No President can do that,it dishorors the very position and title that is President of the United States of America.If I flip off someone,you don't just walk away,unless your flipping off the TV or someone on TV.What kind of punk is this idiot to flip of,oh and on film!So he sends the image to all,he didn't just flip off a cameraman,George Bush flipped off America.
Scott
dude,Montgomery Burns Bush.He did it,if they cant admit it he shouldn't have done it.Scott can go screw himself.
Its not even
a big deal,,you know,you wouldn't think,not in most cases,f-u with a hand jesture,big deal,but this guy isn't a customer at a garage sale or some snot-nosed kid at a job he hates going of after having too much coffee.But this happens a lot with him it seems,unprovoked,does he still peek on girls through there window,beat up kids for lunch money,and cheat on his test and skill school too...Oh yeah.this is George Bush,he does all that pretty much and he ain't a frat boy anymore,he supposed to be president.Oh,and your suppose to wait till someone turns their back on you to flip someone of,otherwise like some of my friends,they flip you off back,then use two fingers,thenyou flip them 2 back and tell them to suck it,then they throw something,then you grab a guitar or something and club them,then they push you into a wall and thats when someone shit gets broken and someone owes someone else somemoney,and thats when friendships can fall apart.Bush doesn't want his friendship with the press he has so efficiently subdued to fall apart does he?They might actually start reporting on him if that happens.
What's your Point?
What's your point?
You're Hot...
Right wing reviews of our favorite liberal TV pundit:
March 2005: "Has anyone heard of Rachel Maddow?"
July 2005: "You're hot, you should be in television."
You've come a long way, baby.
;-)
Overdue praise
Excellent show. I've been meaning to tell you for a while how much I love the program. I get the podcast every morning and it's the first thing I listen to.
I'm a former republican who is now an independant and I think that what you are doing is of MAJOR importance to everyone in the country. In an age where "news" is no longer the same as "facts" and people tend to listen only to those they already agree with there needs to be a lot more of what you do...
Unless it's with Tucker - that guy is just an embarassment. At least the people calling the shots at the show let him get made to look a fool whenever you are on.
Keep up the good work.
Paul Hackett in Ohio
You guys have to see what is going on with the grassroots fundraising for this guy! Go to Actblue.com and make a contribution. We could be part of a shift if we contribute and this guy actually wins. Also, Swingstate.com has info on this race. I first heard about it on the Rachel Maddow show, and I've obsessed ever since. The guys raised over 300,000 in a blink of an eye and the republicans are going after him now like crazy, because they know if he pulls this off, we can take back the whole damn country in '06! Go give him 10 bucks.
We all have those skeletons in our closets
Okay Rache, the respecto-meter went up, yet again, for you. Way to handle ol' G. Liddy last night. I knew you were just biting your tongue as I could tell by some of those looks you were giving off. Imagine if they'd had him in the studio! Whew! You think they intentionally did that? Maybe they ARE getting scared...
good luck w/your ex-convict new boyfriend. I could hook you up w/some fabulous prison web sites where you could have your pick of rapists, child molesters and murderers. Those white-collar criminals just don't stack up to those other fine role models!
Really Enjoying It
I bought an iPod just so I could podcast Morning Sedition. Soon I was hooked on podcasting, and now my wife and I are hooked on YOU! Keep on doing what you are doing. We appreciate you out here in Portland, OR.
Robert Byrd
Rachel, just a quick comment about your view that Sen. Byrd shouldn't be in the Senate because of his privious affiliation with the KKK. I agree that anyone who belongs to a hate group shouldn't be in the Senate, however, people do repent, and this is the case with Sen. Byrd. I would rather have someone in the Senate who acknowledges their past sins, than someone who lies and continues down the path of evil. Sen. Byrd is a more valuable spokesman for Civil Rights than the entire Repuplican Party combined. We all have skeletons in our closet, but Sen. Byrd is out of the closet and has repented. A former drug addict can better speak of the pain of addiction than someone who has never been down that path. Sen. Byrd is a very good spoksman for the evil of racism. Just my opinion. Robert
Some truth to that...
Sen. Byrd cannot make his past go away. However, he seems to have had a deep and thorough change of heart, if we can go by what he says today, and if he is honest about that then it should be accepted.
If only we could get more racists to change their ways and come back to a more tolerant view, society would be much improved. We can't, after all, just put all the bigots on the moon. If we see any of them change, it's a good thing, since we are stuck with them as part of the country anyhow. Making a change is what we want them to do, I think.
About the moon, it's a thought...let me go to the NASA website...
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There are some bad people on the rise/ They're saving their own skins by/ Ruining other people's lives
Now George, didn't your mother raise you better than that?
Seems she didn't.
This is not some rock star heading off stage or a comedian doing a show. This is the President of the United States, and he ought to show a little more dignity and respect than that. Press people, even if you don't like them, have a job to do and that's why they're following the President. That is what they are supposed to do. He is acting like a five year old. Flipping them off is something only a rank idiot would do.
Wait a minute...
Yes, it's a pen. A flesh-colored pen between his index and ring fingers. What a way to hold it--funny, eh? What exactly was he preparing to write, with no paper and walking down the hall away from people?
I cannot wait until this nightmare is over.
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There are some bad people on the rise/ They're saving their own skins by/ Ruining other people's lives