Wednesday marks 70 years since the Japanese attacks on the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. Within 48 hours, our nation was at war. How did that event completely change the mindset of most Americans toward the ongoing war and our role in it? What were the biggest changes ordered by government to begin ramping up for war? Were Americans accepting of mandated rationing and other sacrifices or was there frustration? What are the similarities and differences between Pearl Harbor and the 9-11 attacks? And what does it tell us about America that despite being decimated by the attacks, we were able to turn the tide in the Pacific less than a year later? We discuss it all with Craig Shirley, author of “December 1941: 31 Days that Changed America and Saved the World”.
Archives for December 2011
Blagojevich Gets 14 Years
A three-year political and legal circus is finally over in Illinois as impeached and convicted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison on multiple counts of corruption – most notably his attempt to award a U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder. Was the sentence much of a surprise? Why did prosecutors get a conviction this time? Has this saga kept a cloud over Springfield for the past three years? And are we done with the federal prosecutions in this case? We discuss it all with Bernard Schoenburg of the State Journal-Review newspaper in Springfield.
REIN-ing in the Regulations
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives is poised to pass the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act – also known as the REINS Act. What would the bill do and why do Republicans think this necessary? Is this idea drawing bipartisan support or will the vote be along party lines? We ask Ohio Rep. Bob Gibbs, who also updates us on his fight against a new pesticide regulation that he says could be devastating to his district.
Three Martini Lunch 12/7/11
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Daniel Foster of National Review Online applaud Mitt Romney for declining to appear at the Donald Trump debate in Iowa. They also shred President Obama’s fairness argument for soaking the rich. And they wonder how confident Newt Gingrich could have been about this campaign in that he has not even bothered to get on the ballot in some important states.
Latest ‘Fast & Furious’ Bombshell
The investigation into the gun smuggling scheme known as ‘Fast & Furious’ is taking bizarre new twists. Last Friday, the Justice Department released a pile of background documents and revealed it had misled Congress in two different areas. Now reports suggest the Drug Enforcement Agency was also sending millions of dollars to the Mexican drug cartels. How significant are the reactions from the Justice Department? How does it shape the remainder of the investigation? And what possible reason could there have been to send tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to Mexican drug lords? We discuss it all with Texas Rep. Blake Farenthold, a member of the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee which is investigating ‘Fast & Furious’.
Culture War Hits Macy’s
Macy’s department store is getting some very unwanted attention after an employee was fired for refusing to allow a man dressed as a woman to use the women’s changing rooms. Why was she fired and why would Macy’s allow such a thing? Do most stores have policies like this? Should the worker have backed down when learning of the official policy? We discuss it all with Mathew Staver of Liberty Counsel, which is representing the fired worker in the case. As you go about your Christmas shopping, Staver also explains how to determine which stores truly embrace Christmas and which ones try to profit from the season while muzzling any references to the true meaning of it.
The Gentleman from Kansas Responds
On Tuesday, President Obama visited Kansas to drum up support for his plan to extend current payroll tax rates by raising taxes on the wealthy. He also invoked a 1910 speech by Theodore Roosevelt in that same location that Obama says is proof Republicans were once willing to compromise but today’s GOP lawmakers are not willing to find common ground. How does Kansas Rep. Tim Huelskamp react to all this? What is his response to the charge that Republican opposition to any tax increases on the rich threatens a tax increase for all of us? And does he expect some sort of deal to be struck by the end of the year? We discuss it all with Rep. Huelskamp.
Three Martini Lunch 12/6/11
Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review are pleasantly surprised to see Vladimir Putin take a political punch – they just wish it didn’t mean a surge in Communist support. They also discuss Mitt Romney’s decision to replace hard drives and scrub the servers as he left the governor’s office in Massachusetts. And we discuss Nancy Pelosi threatening to release dirt on Newt Gingrich from an old ethics investigation – until Gingrich reminded her that releasing confidential information was a major violation of House rules.
Budgeting for Obamacare
The company that owns burger chains Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s is fearful over what the new health care laws will mean for its bottom line. How much could the new mandates add to the operating expenses of the company? Why are there huge disparities in cost estimates? How is it impacting other businesses? And what will businesses do to avoid the huge new costs? We ask Texas Rep. Michael Burgess, a longtime physician.
America and the Euro Crisis
In recent days, the Federal Reserve, the Central Bank of Europe and the state banks of several economic powers have acted in concert to bring more liquidity to European markets and at least stave off fiscal calamity on the other side of the Atlantic. So what exactly did we accomplish? Did it do any long-term good? How far can we go to save Europe given our own financial woes? We discuss it all with California Rep. John Campbell, a member of the House Financial Services Committee and its International Monetary Policy and Trade subcommittee.