Monday, April 11, 2011

Today On The Signorile Show

Once again President Obama and the Democrats have capitulated to republicans, this time claiming a win. After the cave in on tax cuts last fall and the reversal on military tribunals last week, it was hugely dispiriting though not shocking to see the cave in on the budget. But to see the president and Harry Reid boasting about having made history by passing the biggest spending cuts ever was a gut punch. Just a month ago Reid was calling the budget Draconian and the president was pushing for more spending, rightly understanding that in an economic downturn government stimulus is the only way out. But now looking toward his reelection and moving to the center he ran from a fight. And that’s allowed Republicans to win the larger debate, claiming that slashing programs is the way to go. Democrats lost both the battle and the war. We'll get into the entire debate and the process, and we'll look at what lots of people are saying. We'll also look at the latest in the Trump birther madness, as Sarah Palin backs him big time. And a plan for a hearing on Defense of Marriage Act defense in the House has been announced. Also, the French burka ban goes into effect. Is this right? We'll take your calls.


Guest / 3:30pm EST - Last week, the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law released news estimates of LGBT adults in the United States, based on several surveys conducted from 2004. According to their estimates, 9 million Americans are LGBT, which equals 3.8% of the population, "equivalent to the population of New Jersey." Gary Gates, distinguished scholar with The Williams Institute, returns to the show to talk about this research.

Guest / 4:30pm EST - Justin Elzie wanted to make a difference and followed the Marines rules of integrity by coming out publicly on ABC in January 1993 and becoming the first Marine discharged under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. He joins us this afternoon to talk about his book, Playing By The Rules, in which he writes about his own life experiences growing up in Wyoming and joining the Marines, finding an underground gay subculture within the military.

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