Left, Right & Center
Left, Right & Center
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Provocative, up-to-the-minute, alive and witty, KCRW's weekly confrontation over politics, policy and popular culture proves those with impeccable credentials needn't lack personality. This weekly "love-hate relationship of the air" features four of the most insightful news analysts anywhere.
Photo from L-R: Matt Miller, Arianna Huffington, Tony Blankley, Robert Scheer
Photo credit: Marc GoldsteinLATEST BLOG POST
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(Left, Right and Center) 2009-03-03 08:09
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RECENT SHOWS
Thoughts on the Economic Crisis
Some really deep reflection on the economic crisis. How did we get here? Who's to blame, how to cure, can it be fixed? A civil discussion about a serious topic with an entertaining bent.
Sanford; Energy Bill; Healthcare; Michael Jackson, RIP
Mark Sanford's fall from grace and a first-time-ever LRC conversation about SEX. Also, the Waxman-Markey Climate/Energy bill is up for a vote today, and healthcare public option hits a snag. Finally, a brief reminder that that King of Pop no longer moonwalks on this earth.
Iran on the Brink; Financial Regs; Healthcare Snag
Massive post-election protests in Iran are being met with threats of an iron fist if they continue. What should Obama do? Treasury Secretary Geithner unveiled new regulatory proposals to oversee the financial industry. Will they better protect consumers or are they too watered down by special interests to create real reform? And the CBO announced the costs for healthcare proposals – before the actual bill has been proposed.
Iran; Big Bank Payback, Reregulation; Healthcare
There's a big turnout for the presidential election in Iran. Can a former PM have persuaded the youth vote he's really a reformer? Will the poor out-vote the middle class? Also, banks are eager to pay back their TARP money. Are they just trying to postpone inevitable reform and re-regulation? Plus, will a public-plan healthcare option become a reality, or will partisan compromises strip any plan of any real change for the uninsured?
Obama's Mid-East Speech; Unemployment and GM, Now What?
We look at the aspirational nature of President Obama's Cairo speech, then a serious take on the still-tanking economy. Lots of steak, not just sizzle.
Sotomayor; North Korea Nukes; GM's Broke; Healthcare
Is Sonia Sotomayor a judicial activist? A racist? Is empathy a good or bad thing in a judge? Also, North Korea's nuclear activity is an unwelcome challenge. Only China has the kind of influence to get them to scale back, and they've chose not to pull those strings. Then, what's in GM's future? Will the free market or government influence the kinds of cars they should be producing? Finally, can Obama succeed in reforming healthcare?
Obama v. Cheney on Detainees; California in Chaos
Obama and Cheney present dueling speeches, but is being against torture a left-right issue? Also, as the economy continues to slide, California suffers a severe budget crisis. (Arianna Huffington is away.)
Pelosi; Obama on Gitmo; Financial Reforms; Healthcare
Pelosi twists and turns on what she knew when about the CIA’s methods. Also, Obama’s reversal on military tribunals for detainees, the Treasury pressures Wall Street on financial reforms, and healthcare reform may be afoot.
Bank Stress; Gay Marriage; Afghani-Paki-stan; Jack Kemp
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Alert the media: Banks need money! Who’s stressed and who’s reassured by the government’s test of the banks’ capitalization? With Pakistan in serious danger, Afghanistan hardly a model of an emerging democracy and their leaders are in Washington, what will the US role be? Maine legalized same sex marriage. Is it true that state’s rights have become the vehicle for progressive causes? Plus, we remember Jack Kemp.
Souter, Specter; Chrysler, Stress Test; Swine Flu; 100 Days?
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Today's show is brought to you by the letter "S." David Souter is said to be leaving the US Supreme Court. Arlen Specter switches sides. Plus a conversation about banking, hedge funds, pensions and bondholders on the eve of stress test results. To round out the discussion, Swine Flu.
Torture; B of A; Credit; Stress Tests; Chrysler; Susan Boyle
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The "torture memos" fallout continues, with calls from the far left to “cut off their heads.” Is this wise? How could Obama not have predicted the outcry? Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis told Andrew Cuomo that the government muzzled his fiduciary responsibility to reveal the terrible condition of Merrill Lynch during B of A’s takeover deal. Plus, President Obama scolds credit card companies for their outrageous rates, a possible benefit for works if Chrysler declares bankruptcy, and the fairytale story of YouTube star, English singer Susan Boyle.
Tax Tea Parties; EPA on CO2; CIA and Torture; Raul Castro
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Are those tax protests real revolts or a tempest in a teapot? The EPA says it’s in charge of CO2. Plus, the CIA torture fallout, and Raul Castro makes nice.
Economy – up?; Piracy; Defense Budget; Cuba
Legacy Player:
A "glimmer of hope," says President Obama. Have we turned the corner on the economy or are we just laundering toxic assets for the hedge funds at the expense of taxpayers? What to do about Somali pirates? Was the Navy asleep at the wheel when the captain jumped out of the lifeboat but got pulled back by his abductors? Plus, Obama's whole new foreign policy course with openings to Russia, Iran, and now Cuba. Should the Black Congressional Caucus have met with the dissidents, too?
G-20: Did Anything Happen? Obama’s Budget 'Prowess'
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So did the G-20 nations save the world or was it all sleight-of-hand? Also, an in-depth explanation of the process that Obama is using to guarantee passage of his budget. Pretty nifty maneuvers.
Geithner's Plan; Social Safety Net; Europe on the Stimulus; Afghan Initiative
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Geithner's bank plan: Will it work? Who bears the greatest risk? Spectrum of economists divided; Plus, with tent cities cropping up and 14,000 people a day losing their health insurance, is our social safety net adequate? It's Europe versus the US on stimulus. Plus, will Obama's Afghan Initiative be his Vietnam?
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Hosts
Arianna Huffington (independent progressive) is the editor of the Webby Award-wining online newpaper, Huffington Post, a nationally syndicated columnist and author of twelve books, most recently Right Is Wrong: How the Lunatic Fringe Hijacked America, Shredded the Constitution, and Made Us All Less Safe.
Tony Blankley (Right), who served as press secretary to former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, is a syndicated columnist and former editorial page editor of the Washington Times. He is Executive Vice President of Edelman Public Relations in Washington, DC and a visiting senior fellow in national security communications at the Heritage Foundation. He is also the author, most recently, of American Grit: What It Will Take to Survive and Win in the 21st Century, published by Regnery.
Matt Miller (center/moderator) is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress; a columnist for Fortune, and an award-winning contributor to The Atlantic Monthly, the New York Times Magazine and many other publications. A former aide in the Clinton White House, Miller's first book, The Two Percent Solution: Fixing America's Problems In Ways Liberals And Conservatives Can Love, was a Los Angeles Times bestseller. His next book, The Tyranny of Dead Ideas, will be published by Henry Holt/Times Books in January, 2009.
Robert Scheer (Left) is Editor of the Webby Award winning political website Truthdig.com. He's a syndicated columnist based at the San Francisco Chronicle and a clinical professor in Communications at USC. He has authored numerous books, most recently The Pornography of Power: How Defense Hawks Hijacked 9/11 and Weakened America.
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Transcripts are not available.
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