Our Question: Is The Public Sick From The White House, Or The Plague?

PLUS: States rumble with Bush over SCHIP...The White House isn’t allowed to play hide-and-see with important documents...More Blackwater fallout...Isiah Thompson’s kind of a creep...Pollution’s murdering your white blood cells...and we’ve reported you on RottenNeighbor.com. So next time turn down your music when we ask. Today is October 3rd, and this is Mic Check. Turn it up.

Celebration Excuse

Wednesday’s the new Friday...

1789

George Washington proclaims the first official Thanksgiving Day. Get hungry thinking about Thanksgiving dinner.

1795

Napoleon Bonaparte is named to defend the French National Convention against counter-revolutionary rioters. Oh, the irony.

1955

Captain Kangaroo debuts on CBS while the Mickey Mouse Club debuts on ABC. It was a good day to be a kid, assuming you owned a television.

1990

The Federal Republic of Germany is formed in the re-unification of East and West Germany. Eat some bratwurst and schnitzel!

1995

A ‘not guilty’ verdict is handed down in the trial of O.J. Simpson for the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman. Kate Kaelin jokes slowly fall out of fashion.

If you see ____, wish them a happy birthday...

Baptist minister, regular O’Reilly Factor guest, political, civil rights, and social justice activist, and occasional presidential candidate, Al Sharpton (1954)
Motley Crue drummer, amateur porn star, and ex-husband of both Pamela Anderson and Heather Locklear, Tommy Lee (1962)
Singer, songwriter, fashion designer and trendsetter, Gwen Stefani (1969)
Successful Soul and R&B musician, India.Arie (1975)
Popular Underground “Conscious” Hip-Hop artist, Talib Kweli (1975)
Steve Stifler himself, Sean William Scott (1976)
Pop-rock singer, actress, reality-show star, and not-so-successful lip syncing younger sister of Jessica Simpson, Ashley Simpson (1984)

Daybook

CONGRESS

HOUSE

10 AM

House Energy and Commerce Committee
Health Subcommittee hearing on H.R. 1108, the “Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act,” to provide the Food and Drug Administration with certain authority to regulate tobacco products
House Financial Services Committee
Full committee hearing with testimony on “The Fight against Global Poverty and Inequality: the World Bank’s Approach to Core Labor Standards and Employment Creation”
House Homeland Security Committee
Emergency Communications, Preparedness, and Response Subcommittee hearing on “Practicing Like We Play: Examining Homeland Security Exercises”

2 PM

House Financial Services Committee
Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises Subcommittee hearing on the need for insurance regulatory reform.

SENATE

9:30 AM

Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee
Senate Assistant Majority Leader Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) testify during full committee hearing on combating genocide in Darfur, focusing on the role of divestment and other policy tools

10 AM

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
Clean Air and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee hears testimony during hearing on “The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Reactor Oversight Process”

2:30 PM

Senate Foreign Relations Committee
East Asia and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee hearing on “Burma’s Saffron Revolution.” The phrase “Saffron Revolution” connects the protests against Myanmar’s military dictatorship to the saffron-colored robes widely associated with Buddhist monks, who are at the forefront of the demonstrations

TV

TIVO…
Oprah: Why Did I Get Married?
The View: Sarah Silverman, Lee Pace
Regis and Kelly: Ted Danson, Ted Koppel
Ellen: Jamie Foxx, 6 year-old pianist Emily Bear
STAY UP FOR…
Letterman: Alec Baldwin, Faith Hill
Leno: Tom Selleck, Carlos Mencia, Bobbie and Willie Nelson
Late Late Show: Kevin Smith, J.L. Cauvin
Conan: Tina Fey, Ani DiFranco
Last Call: Moon Bloodgood, the Last Goodnight
Kimmel: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Brad Womack, Nick Lowe
Daily Show: Ted Koppel
Colbert Report: Jim Lovell

 

Eavesdrop

STEAL THIS AUDIO

Less Safe, Less Free

Who: Center For American Progress Senior Fellow, Mark Agrast, moderates a discussion between Professor David Cole and Brad Berenson on the topics discussed in Cole’s new book Less Safe, Less Free: The “Preventative Paradigm” and the War on Terror.
Where: The debate took place last week at the Center for American Progress. [AMERICAN PROGRESS]
Why you should care: Cole and his coauthor, Jules Lobel, argue that the “preventative paradigm” adopted by the Bush administration has not only undermined our nation’s character and the rule of law, but has also made us more vulnerable to terrorist attacks.

The Audio

  • Cole defines the “preventive paradigm.”
    David Cole, on Defining Preventive Paradigm — You do not have sufficient permissions to view this object.
  • Professor Cole served as co-council to Maher Arar, a Canadian who was subjected to the United States policy of extraordinary rendition; A process where detainees are transferred from one country to another, with the expectation that they will be tortured.
    David Cole, on Maher Arar — You do not have sufficient permissions to view this object.
  • Are illegitimate means permissible in the name of legitimate ends? Cole says no.
    David Cole, on Undermining Your Purpose — You do not have sufficient permissions to view this object.

Popularity Contest

Take a walk on the wild side. With these headlines.

NYT:
Marital Spats, Taken to Heart

WP: A Union of Families, Politics and Society

USAT: Can Britney Spears bounce back?

LAT: Blackwater founder defends role in Iraq

CBS: Chelsea Clinton Photo Causes NYC Ruckus

ABC: Spears’ First Step in Getting Back Kids: Get a License

NBC: The Eight Most Fattening Foods of Fall

CNN: Readers sound off on Britney Spears’ custody battle

FOX: 10-Year-Old Girl Gives Birth in Belgium

Masthead

Questions? Comments? Send us e-mail.

Problems logging in? Reset/reactivate your password.

Mic Check is produced every weekday by Christy Harvey, Grant Ginder and Ben Furnas, and is a project of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Read more about Mic Check.

RSS icon RSS headlines feed