Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Today on the Signorile Show


So, according to her friends, Elena Kagan is not only highly qualified for the Supreme Court, but happens to be straight. Will this quiet down all the speculation? And was it a good thing to just get it out there? We'll discuss. Ben Smith at
Politico seems to have put this question to bed, asking close friends of Kagan's that very question. According to Sarah Walzer, Kagan's roommate in college and close friend, “I’ve known her for most of her adult life and I know she’s straight. She dated men when we were in law school, we talked about men — who in our class was cute, who she would like to date, all of those things. She definitely dated when she was in D.C. after law school, when she was in Chicago – and she just didn’t find the right person."

While the issue of Kagan's sexual orientation may still play out in the media, other issues are what will be playing out leading up to her hearings, like abortion or an issue that will be coming before the Supreme Court in the future, marriage equality. While its clear she does not support the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law, it's unclear what her position is on marriage equality, due to an answer she gave in during her Solicitor General nominations, saying “there is no federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage." We'll continue our discussion on the potential justice this afternoon.

Guest / 2:30pm EST - Steve Rothaus of the Miami Herald has written a story which goes into more depth on the Reker's scandal, focusing on his payment from Florida Attorney General to testify on the gay adoption ban and joins us this afternoon to explain the payments.

Guest / 3:30pm EST - Richard Socarides, former White House Senior Adviser to Bill Clinton, joins us this afternoon to help us understand more about Elena Kagan and speaks with us about his time working with her in the White House under President Bill Clinton.

Guest / 4:30pm EST - Bill Morgan, author of The Typewriter Is Holy: The Complete, Uncensored History of The Beat Generation, joins us this afternoon to talk about his new book and how the Beat Generation influenced popular culture in the 1950's and 60's.

In the financial world, Greece is the word... The past few weeks in Greece have been about political protest and citizens rioting over the financial ruins the country. With the economy the way it is across the globe, many are wondering how likely it is that America's financial problems could worsen and become as bad a Greece. According to the New York Times, "The United States will probably not face the same kind of crisis as Greece... But the basic problem is the same. Both countries have a bigger government than they’re paying for. And politicians, spendthrift as some may be, are not the main source of the problem." We'll discuss the problem and potential solutions this afternoon.

In "I didn't do it news," the Senate heard testimony from the CEO's of BP, Transocean and Halliburton, the three companies many are holding responsible for the oil leak in the Gulf Coast. Each "pointed fingers at each other in seeking to explain what caused the accident that set afire and sank the Deepwater Horizon rig, killing 11 people."Meanwhile, down at the accident site, BP is still trying to contain the leak, after a failed capping with the dome, this time with a "top hat" that will be designed to plug the leak instead of capping it.

These stories and so much more, today on The Michelangelo Signorile Show!

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