Month: May 2023

How the Press Has Framed the Looming Act of Insanity by House Republicans as Dueling Budget Proposals 

We begin with the looming date of June the first when, if the debt ceiling is not raised, the United States will default on its debts and suffer untold self-inflicted damage to its economy and the lives of its citizens, to the US dollar and to the global economy. We discuss how Biden and the Democrats and the press have framed this pending act of insanity as dueling budget proposals when the debt ceiling has nothing to do with the budget and is a one-sided suicide pact to weaken America, not at the hands of foreign enemies, but from domestic terrorists known as the House Freedom Caucus, the MAGA radicals who control the craven Speaker Kevin McCarthy and would like to sow economic chaos to bring back their orange man on a white horse as the United State’s first dictator. Joining us is Norman Ornstein, a contributing editor for The Atlantic and an emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. He is the author of numerous books, most recently, the New York Times bestseller, It’s Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism, co-authored with Tom Mann, now with an updated version, It’s Even Worse Than It Was. He is the co-author of One Nation After Trump: A Guide for the Perplexed, the Disillusioned, the Desperate, and the Not-Yet Deported and we discuss his article at The Bulwark, “Staying Clear-Eyed About Republican Radicalism on the Debt Ceiling?“

Royal Fever Ahead of King Charles’s Coronation and a Plan to Abolish the Monarchy

Then with gushing press coverage ahead of Saturday’s coronation of King Charles III about golden carriages and the stone of destiny etc., we assess whether the royal brand and the tourism generated by the pomp and pageantry of a royal family compensates for the enormous expense of having a monarchy in a country the Tories have downsized and all-but ruined with their Brexit debacle. Joining us from London, England is Graham Smith, CEO of the campaign organisation Republic, which aims to abolish the monarchy and replace it with an elected head of state. He is the author of forthcoming book, Abolish the Monarchy: Why We Should and How We Will and we discuss his article at CNN, “We want a choice instead of Charles.”

Republican Governors are Bringing Back Child Labor in the United States

Then finally we examine the reintroduction of child labor in the United States by Republican governors in Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio and South Dakota. Joining us is Michael Hiltzik, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and columnist at Los Angeles Times. He received the Pulitzer Prize for articles exposing corruption in the entertainment industry. Currently he writes the twice-weekly column “Golden State,” covering business and economic issues relevant to life in California. His books include The New Deal: A Modern History and Iron Empires: Robber Barons, Railroads, and the Making of Modern America. We discuss his latest article at the LA Times, “America vanquished the ‘ancient atrocity’ of child labor. Republicans are bringing it back.”