LIBERADIO(!)

Summary: It’s our most Long Island show ever! And even though we can’t convince Tennessee State Senator Joe Haynes to say “youse guys,” we do convince him to fill us in on what the Democratic Caucus is up to, explain how the legislative committee system works in Tennessee, and give us his take on that pesky Ron Ramsey/John Wilder kerfuffle. Plus, what he says about his vote for mandating english-language drivers license tests will both shock AND awe.

Listen to: Youse Guys (Interview with Senator Joe Haynes) (24:52 22.8MB)

Summary: It’s part one of our “Most Long Island Show Ever!” The Democrats have a good, solid plan for Iraq, which comes as no surprise to us. We’re also not surprised by Republican reaction. The Bush administration stealing it and calling it their own? Big surprise. Plus, look who Newt was doing in the 90’s, Halliburton: No Need for Irony, the Onion’s Presidential Weekly Radio Address, and Freddie gets a linguistics lesson.

Listen to: The Plan! The Plan! (30:42 28.1MB)

Guests: Tennessee State Senator and Chairman of Senate Democratic Caucus, Joe Haynes; TV Critic and Author of, The Man Who Would Not Shut Up: The Rise of Bill O’Reilly, Marvin Kitman; Hip Hop artist and member of Northern State, Sprout; Research Fellow with Media Matters for America, Elbert Ventura.

Links: House/Senate to Debate Joint Iraq War Resolutions This Week; Karl Rove Was Asked to Fire US Attorney; Newt Gingrich Apologizes for Cheating on His Second Wife – Twice; Halliburton – No Need for Irony; Media Matters for America.

Events: Northern State, Tuesday, march 13, The Pub in Sarratt Student Center, Vanderbilt University, 9:00pm, Free.

Summary: In this episode, we try and talk about about John Edwards’ refusal to take part in a presidential debate sponsored by Fox News and the “mistakes” made by the FBI but the sheer hypocrisy of Newt Gingrich’s recent disclosure derails us.

Listen to: She Turned Me Into a Newt (32:00 29.73MB)

“Generation Trap,” by Kevin Drum (Washington Monthly, Political Animal)
Drum picks up on Time’s Joe Klein and his fight with his own personal blogosphere of influence. How are generational gaps affecting political beliefs in an era in which communication is changing so rapidly?

“Dick Cheney in Twilight,” by Michael Duffy (TIME)
Another profile of one of the world’s most mysterious and dangerous men, as his personal empire slips into decline.

“GOP Opponents Say Now It’s Rudy’s Turn,” by Jonathan Martin (The Politico)
If you love profiles as much as we do, then you’ll want to peak under the hood of America’s 9/11 mayor — Rudy Giuliani, the man who’s currently leading the pack of 2008 Republican polls.

“No crime, so Libby should get no time,” by Robert Novak (Chicago Sun-Times)
The man who started the entire Plame affair weighs in on the ramifications of the Libby trial in its aftermath. He and Freddie share the opinion that the trial that occurred is fairly meaningless, but our guess is that Freddie is the more suspicious of the inner machinations of the Bush administration. Mary shares Jon Stewart’s opinion of Robert Novak.

“A predator becomes more dangerous when wounded,” by Noam Chomsky (The Guardian)
Washington’s escalation of threats against Iran is driven by a determination to secure control of the region’s energy resources.

“The Gonzales Eight,” (NY Times Editorial)
Congress looks into the firing of eight United States attorneys and uncovers politically motivated machinations. Oversight hearings rock. We’ve missed them.

“Who Cares For Incarcerated Girls?,” by Mie Lewis (TomPaine.com)
The American delegation to the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women is undermining protections for young women.

Summary: Our guest is Paula Span, adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and a contributing writer to the Washington Post Magazine. Her latest piece for the magazine entitled “Battle Worn,” tells the story of Tennessee soldier Corporal Richard Twohig, who was injured in Iraq and came home to fight a enemy he never saw coming, the US Army.

Listen to: Battle Worn – Interview with Paula Span (24:26 22.4MB)

Summary: It’s another episode of the Media Matters for America Smackdown with Media Matters Research Fellow, Elbert Ventura. Coulter is savage, Savage gets gored, and Gore gets the shaft.

Listen to: MMFA Smackdown: Coulter is savage, Savage gets gored, and Gore gets the shaft (13:23 12.3MB)

Liberadio(!) hosts Mary Mancini and Freddie O’Connell will have an on-air conversation with Tennessee State Senator and Chairman of Senate Democratic Caucus, Joe Haynes (D-20), during the first hour of their most Long Island show ever on Monday, Mar. 12th. Liberadio(!) airs every Monday on Vanderbilt University’s WRVU-FM, 91.1, from 7:00 to 9:00 am.

“Last week we spoke with Senator Rosalind Kurita (D-22) and we felt it would be instructive for Tennessee voters to hear a legislative point and counterpoint from two of the Democratic leaders in our General Assembly,” O’Connell said. “The legislative process is complicated, and we’re hopeful that Democrats can work together and with Republicans to ensure that Tennessee makes progress in the early 21st century.”

Mancini added, “I’m interested in Senator Haynes’s take on being in the minority and the real-world impact this will have on passing Democratically sponsored legislation. In addition, last year he was at the top of the list of the Tennessee Conservation Voters list of environmentally-friendly legislators and it would be nice to thank him for that.”

Other guests for Monday’s most Long Island show ever will include author and TV Critic, Marvin Kitman, who wrote for Long Island’s news daily, Newsday, for 35 years and whose latest book is The Man Who Would Not Shut Up: The Rise of Bill O’Reilly, about a man born and raised on Long Island; and Sprout, one-third of Long Island’s premiere all female hip-hop band, Northern State. Northern State will play a free concert at the Sarratt Student Center, Vanderbilt University, on Tuesday, March 13.

Mary and Freddie will also do their best to find Senator Haynes’s Long Island connection.

Liberadio(!) is a liberal talk radio show covering local, state, and national political news that is broadcast on WRVU-FM in Nashville,Tenn.

The Words of the Week in the March 8 issue of the Nashville Scene are from Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen, who is able to imagine himself in other people’s circumstances.

“I’m completely in favor of tightly controlling our border, but I have to tell you that watching this unfold while we circled dirt-poor human beings in several thousand horsepower of helicopters drinking our bottled water was unpleasant; the emotion is not the thrill of the chase, it’s just pity. I tried to tell myself that maybe they were drug dealers, but I don’t really believe that, they were just me in another version of the world.” —Gov. Phil Bredesen, blogging his trip to the Arizona border last week on The Tennessean’s website.

Good for you, Governor Bredesen, for having something which is in short supply and in real danger of becoming extinct – empathy. The people who come to this country do so because they are trying to take care of their families. They are dirt poor. They want to feed their children. And you can’t tell me that you wouldn’t do the same exact thing if you were in their shoes.

The Always On series highlights what we’d be talking about on a particular day if we were on the air 5 days a week.

• State of the Schools Director of Metro Public Schools Pedro Garcia will give a “State of the Schools” address tonight. Is he on the same blue booklet as Governor Bredesen? Which mayoral candidates will be there? The address will begin tonight at 5 p.m. at Isaiah T. Creswell Middle Arts Magnet, 3500 John Mallette Drive. We’re all invited.
• Green Building in Nashville Last night, the Civic Design Center kicked off a series of discussions with a public workshop on green building introduced by a representative of the U.S. Green Building Council. According to them, green (like the environmental kind) begets green (like, the money kind). Here’s to hoping that the ordinance before Metro requiring LEED Silver certification on new Metro construction passes.
• Senators “Lamar” Alexander and “Stay the” Corker to visit Veteran’s Care Facilities Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker announced Wednesday that they, or members of their staffs(!?!), will visit all of the state’s veteran’s health care facilities in order to keep what happened at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. from occurring in Tennessee.
• Another Blow to a Broken Immigration System. Or Not. On Tuesday, a giant immigration raid took place in southern Massachusetts after hundreds of illegal immigrants were discovered working at a factory in New Bedford. The factory was making products for the U.S. military.
• The Other White Meat The Citizens Against Government Waste group releases their annual “Pig Book,” a compilation of all the pork-barrel projects in the federal budget. Thanks to the new moratorium on padding spending bills with grotesque amounts of pork, this year’s Pork Book was the smallest since 1999.
• Trials of Guantanamo Suspects To Begin Without a Lawyer or Reporter in Sight The Bush administration will proceed with secret proceedings against 14 “high-value” terrorism suspects currently being held at Guantanamo Bay. The military tribunals, scheduled to begin tomorrow, will take place behind closed doors and away from the scrutiny of the media. None of the suspects will be able to have a lawyer present.