Congress Wants Fairness, Pentagon Gets Careless, and Toilet Paper Rareness

Plus: Dick Cheney wants to clear up “urban legends"...which teenaged dropout babydaddy’s father is mad media coverage means his son has to play by the rules...Joe The Plumbing Country Star War Correspondent...five things to know about the upcoming inauguration (aka: BYOTP)...and which dirty magazine empire wants a government bailout. It’s Thursday, January 8 and this is Mic Check Radio. Apply directly to the forehead.

Celebration Excuse

Grab a cocktail, watch “Citizen Kane” and put on your Blue Suede Shoes — it’s January 8.

1815

The Battle of New Orleans is valiantly fought. Thing is, the treaty ending the War of 1812 had been signed three weeks earlier. Which sort of sucks for everyone that died.

1867

Congress overrides President Johnson’s veto and passes the first law giving African-Americans (well, the men) the right to vote in D.C.

1918

President Woodrow Wilson outlines his “Fourteen Points” for peace after World War I. Good call on self-determination in Europe and colonialism everywhere else.

1918

We need a cocktail. Mississippi is the first state to ratify the 18th Amendment. You know, the one banning booze.

1941

Newspaper giant William Randolph Hurst tries to block ads for the Orson Welles classic film “Citizen Kane".

1958

Checkmate! At age 14, chess wunderkind Bobby Fischer wins the U.S. Chess Championship for the first time.

1992

SUMIMASEN! An ill President George H.W. Bush upchucks on Japanese Prime Minister Miyazawa Kiichi.

2006

Overwhelmed with corruption charges, Rep. Tom DeLay resigns as House Majority Leader.

It’s the birth date of Kings

1935: Elvis Presley. Like we need to tell you who he was.

1938: Bob Eubanks, host of “The Newlywed Game,” and human being most likely to say the phrase “make whoopie”

1942: Stephen Hawking, brilliant physicist

1947: David Bowie, gender-bending rock star

1967: R. Kelly, the hip-hopera mastermind behind Trapped in the Closet. We’re anxiously awaiting Chapter 23.

Daybook

POTUS

11:05AM

Gives a speech on the 7th anniversary of No Child Left Behind. Joined by Education Secretary Margaret Spellings. Philadelphia.

SOON-TO-BE POTUS

11AM

President-elect to give a major speech on the state of the American economy

OTHER PEOPLE

CONFIRMATION HEARING!

10AM
Tom Daschle, on his nomination to be secretary of Health and Human Services

ON THE HILL

Senate

9:30AM

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee: Full hearing on energy security. Watch For: Kit Batten, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress

10AM

Senate Budget Committee: Full hearing on new Congressional Budget Office budget report. Watch For: Acting CBO director Robert Sunshine

10AM

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee: Full hearing on the coal ash spill in Tennessee. Watch For: TVA President and CEO Tom Kilgore

WATCH MORE TELEVISION

EARLY

The View: Actor Tom Cruise
Regis & Kelly: Actor Kevin James ("The King Of Queens")
Oprah: Best Life Week — Your Money Plan 2009 (with Suze Orman)
Ellen: Actress Anne Hathaway ("The Bride Wars")

PRIME TIME

7:30PM
BET: Notorious B.I.G.: Larger Than Life
8:15PM
Fox: BCS Championship Game, Florida vs. Oklahoma
9PM
VH1:  Critics Choice Awards

LATE

Stewart: White House Press Secretary Dana Perino
Colbert: Stanford law professor Lawrence Lessig (author of “Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy")
Letterman: Actress Kate Winslet ("Revolutionary Road), Sportscaster Marv Albert
Leno: Actor Dustin Hoffman ("Last Chance Harvey), Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe from “24″)
Conan: Comedian Howie Mandel ("Howie Do It")
Kimmel: Actress Anne Hathaway ("The Bride Wars")

 

Eavesdrop

STEAL THIS AUDIO

Who? MSNBC star Rachel Maddow on the Daily Show

When? Last night
Stewart: Did you ever see The Munsters? Here’s what I think when I watch MSNBC. You’re Marilyn, but everyone else over there is f*&$ing nuts. Now, I won’t tell you who Hermann Munster is, but I will tell you Chris Matthews is the dragon who lives under the stairs.

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Stewart, on hearing Maddow doesn’t own a TV: So you don’t follow, see this is what I find interesting about your program is that the tone of it seems very different. I didn’t know if that was a purposeful response to other shows but clearly it’s not, you’re just maybe...likable.

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Maddow, on talking to Pat Buchanan: Pat and I disagree on everything except one thing, which is that we really like debating. It’s fun to debate people and to talk about issues with people who are good at talking about issues, who sort of follow the rules of debate, who aren’t personally insulting, who can go there and get at the ideas. It’s fun, it’s constructive. I don’t think Pat’s ideas are good ones...but I enjoy pointing that out!

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Popularity Contest

HOTTEST! Here’s a list of the most popular stories on the top news sites yesterday.

ABC: Travoltas Turn to Scientology, Hometown in Trying Times 
CBS: On Elephant Sanctuary, Unlikely Friends
MSNBC: Top dog and cat names of 2008
CNN: Army sorry for ‘John Doe’ letters to relatives of war dead 
FOX: Mystery Remains After Wisconsin Man’s Deathbed ‘Confession’ 
NYT: Fresh Start for a New Year? Let’s Begin in the Kitchen
WP: Inauguration Will Close Area Bridges to Most Vehicles 
USAT Obama hails presidents’ gathering 
LAT: New safety rules for children’s clothes have stores in a fit
WSJ: Real-Estate Executive Found Dead in Apparent Suicide  
REUT: Scared Swayze says may have only 2 years to live 
BBC: Chairlift mishap strips US skier 
POL: Talking Joe: Biden makes news 
MCC: Obama slams Bush on deficit, vows changes at the CIA 

Masthead

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Mic Check is produced every weekday by Christy Harvey, Sara Langhinrichs and Nicole Murphy, and is a project of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Read more about Mic Check.

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