He's back! That's right, Mike is back from vacation today and hitting the ground running as we are 4 days away from The Path Forward at our XM Studios in Washington DC.
As we approach the event, word coming out of Washington, according to Politico, says that "the White House is quietly working to postpone a vote on repeal until after the midterm elections." Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and one of the panelists for this Thursdays event, has written a letter to President Obama, saying "I am very disturbed by multiple reports from Capitol Hill that your Congressional liaison team is urging some Members of Congress to avoid a vote on repeal this year. The upcoming House and Senate votes will be close, and very frankly, Mr. President, we need your help now." Where is the leadership we were promised and how can we work to repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy this year? We'll talk about this today.
Meanwhile, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, we're told, is expected to be voted on by the House Education and Labor Committee within the next week or two. Rep. Barney Frank told Metro Weekly this weekend that ENDA "has been 'promised' a quick vote in the full House by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) once the bill leaves committee." After stalling since last summer, we'll believe any of this when we see it. Though perhaps GetEqual's sit-in at Pelosi's office has gotten her to act!
Today marks the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing, a day where the country saw a tragic domestic attack spawned by right wing fears and smears of the government. While today we look back, there is still that rise of right wing hate groups and militias throughout the country. It may sound insane, but on this dark anniversary of hate and violence on the right, members of right-wing militias are marching in Washington with their loaded guns to show they they are willing to do whatever it takes to defend the constitution.
Guest / 3:30pm EST - Since Justice Steven's announced his retirement from the Supreme Court, there has been much speculation as to who President Obama will have on his short list to replace Steven's. Glenn Greenwald of Salon.com joins us this afternoon to talk about one name on the media's shortlist and "The case against Elena Kagan," saying in this article "that Barack Obama will actually take a Supreme Court dominated by Justices Scalia (Reagan), Thomas (Bush 41), Roberts (Bush 43), Alito (Bush 43) and Kennedy (Reagan) and move it further to the Right." Greenwald has now bit hit with a barage of White House -orchestrated atttacks. We'll also talk about the stupidity -- not to mention offensiveness -- of the White House's reaction of horror and outrage at CBS for a blog post on its website that said that Kagan could be "first openly gay justice."
Guest / 4:30pm EST - Robert Perkinson, author of Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire, joins us this afternoon to talk about his latest book which covers 150 years of America's prison history through one of the country's most locked down state, Texas.
Late last week, President Obama signed a memorandum directing Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius to allow for visitation to patients who may not have immediate family. This is great news coming out of the White House because it now allows LGBT couples to have those rights that straight couples are allowed in the hospital. But could this have been done earlier in his presidency? And what does this say to the White House as it considers how to help the LGBT community further? Is that all that's coming in 2010, DADT and ENDA be damned?
We'll talk about this and so much more, today on The Michelangelo Signorile Show!
And, don't forget, you can follow Mike on Twitter and Facebook for updates on what he's reading throughout the day!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Today on the Signorile Show
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