The Ed Show on MSNBC
Michelle Malsbury, BSBM, MM
April 27, 2009
I have been a fan of Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews, and Rachel Maddow (MSNBC hosts) for quite some time now. They are thoughtful, engaging, and timely in their topics presented for discussion. They present a balanced perspective on the politics of today by always choosing to showcase one viewpoint from the left and one from the right. Questions are not one sided, but asked to solicit amicable discussion on the issues.
There is a new show on MSNBC. It is called the Ed Show (Ed Shultz). Ed Shultz is not new to television, just new to MSNBC. He has chalked up over thirty years of radio and television expertise. I had not previously watched the Ed Show, but one day this week I tuned in and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of his information exchanged and interviews he conducted. Kudos for the Ed Show!This week the topics of discussion ranged from the newly declassified torture memoīs of the Bush Administration to the possibility of congress interceding in the capping of credit card interest rates to the republicans in congress being the party of no.
President Obama declassified the Bush Administrationīs memoīs dealing with torture of our detainees and those leading up to the gathering of information for support of a war in Iraq. Dick Cheney weighed in and said that he wanted more to be declassified so that the people could see how this torture had provided our investigators with credible information that prevented another 9/11. Cheney even went so far as to say he personally called the CIA, but people inside the CIA, according to Edīs interview (4/21/09) with people inside the CIA, said he (Cheney) had not called nor made any such request for further declassification of materials under their Administration. Congress is currently in the process of wading through some 200,000 documents to determine if top officials within the Bush Administration sanctioned such horrible behavior toward our detainees. Eric Holder, Attorney General, will then made a valuation as to whether or not those people in the Bush Administration should be punished.
Many people who previously worked for the CIA, FBI, and high ranking officials in our Military have said in television interviews (on MSNBC and CNN) that torture does not produce results. Senator McCain (R-AZ) has previously said that he does not believe America should torture. It has been disclosed that many of the people being detained were detained because of bounties that the Bush Administration dolled out for solicitation of information about 9/11. When money is the primary incentive for solicitation of information the information produced may be questionable at best. Many of those people currently being detained may be innocent. Donīt those people deserve to be treated humanly? If America wants to be seen as the example then why, and under what circumstances, can our elected officials sanction such reprehensible behavior? Why would the Bush Administration believe that torture was a viable avenue for procurement of sensitive information from detainees? And if these directions came from high ranking officials within the Bush Administration donīt they deserve to be punished the same as you or I?
This week President Obama met with many banking leaders on the topic of credit card interest rates. Banks say that these outlandish rates are what help them to be profitable. These are the same institutions that held their hands out for funding from TARP/TALF. With a cash infusion of billions of dollars one would think that they would not have to resort to outlandish interest or fees on credit cards to become profitable, but merely manage their businesses better. People across America are already struggling to make ends meet and credit card issuers are taking them for some serious rides by upping interest rates to three and four times what it was originally given out at. President Obama does not want to curtail any businesses ability to make money or a profit, but fair is only fair and these credit card companies are acting unethically. This practice has to be stopped. Congress is fashioning a new bill that is called the Consumer Bill of Rights that tackles what is allowable and not allowable as far as increasing interest rates, teaser rates, and fees in the credit card industry. I applaud their efforts to work fast in this regard.
Ed called to task a couple of republican leaders asking them if they had proposed any meaningful legislation or merely become the party of no. The hemmed and hawed and said that they were trying to work with the democrats on legislation that would be meaningful to the American public, but said they were stymied by democratic leadership. So far their record is no for the bailout funds for the banks, no for the bailout funds for the automobile industry, no for clean energy, no for education and healthcare reform. I would say, and so did Ed, that based on those credits or lack thereof the republican party is the party of no!
For a straight debate on the topics of interest across America tune in to the Ed Show on MSNBC. 6 pm EST, Monday thru Friday.
There is a new show on MSNBC. It is called the Ed Show (Ed Shultz). Ed Shultz is not new to television, just new to MSNBC. He has chalked up over thirty years of radio and television expertise. I had not previously watched the Ed Show, but one day this week I tuned in and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of his information exchanged and interviews he conducted. Kudos for the Ed Show!This week the topics of discussion ranged from the newly declassified torture memoīs of the Bush Administration to the possibility of congress interceding in the capping of credit card interest rates to the republicans in congress being the party of no.
President Obama declassified the Bush Administrationīs memoīs dealing with torture of our detainees and those leading up to the gathering of information for support of a war in Iraq. Dick Cheney weighed in and said that he wanted more to be declassified so that the people could see how this torture had provided our investigators with credible information that prevented another 9/11. Cheney even went so far as to say he personally called the CIA, but people inside the CIA, according to Edīs interview (4/21/09) with people inside the CIA, said he (Cheney) had not called nor made any such request for further declassification of materials under their Administration. Congress is currently in the process of wading through some 200,000 documents to determine if top officials within the Bush Administration sanctioned such horrible behavior toward our detainees. Eric Holder, Attorney General, will then made a valuation as to whether or not those people in the Bush Administration should be punished.
Many people who previously worked for the CIA, FBI, and high ranking officials in our Military have said in television interviews (on MSNBC and CNN) that torture does not produce results. Senator McCain (R-AZ) has previously said that he does not believe America should torture. It has been disclosed that many of the people being detained were detained because of bounties that the Bush Administration dolled out for solicitation of information about 9/11. When money is the primary incentive for solicitation of information the information produced may be questionable at best. Many of those people currently being detained may be innocent. Donīt those people deserve to be treated humanly? If America wants to be seen as the example then why, and under what circumstances, can our elected officials sanction such reprehensible behavior? Why would the Bush Administration believe that torture was a viable avenue for procurement of sensitive information from detainees? And if these directions came from high ranking officials within the Bush Administration donīt they deserve to be punished the same as you or I?
This week President Obama met with many banking leaders on the topic of credit card interest rates. Banks say that these outlandish rates are what help them to be profitable. These are the same institutions that held their hands out for funding from TARP/TALF. With a cash infusion of billions of dollars one would think that they would not have to resort to outlandish interest or fees on credit cards to become profitable, but merely manage their businesses better. People across America are already struggling to make ends meet and credit card issuers are taking them for some serious rides by upping interest rates to three and four times what it was originally given out at. President Obama does not want to curtail any businesses ability to make money or a profit, but fair is only fair and these credit card companies are acting unethically. This practice has to be stopped. Congress is fashioning a new bill that is called the Consumer Bill of Rights that tackles what is allowable and not allowable as far as increasing interest rates, teaser rates, and fees in the credit card industry. I applaud their efforts to work fast in this regard.
Ed called to task a couple of republican leaders asking them if they had proposed any meaningful legislation or merely become the party of no. The hemmed and hawed and said that they were trying to work with the democrats on legislation that would be meaningful to the American public, but said they were stymied by democratic leadership. So far their record is no for the bailout funds for the banks, no for the bailout funds for the automobile industry, no for clean energy, no for education and healthcare reform. I would say, and so did Ed, that based on those credits or lack thereof the republican party is the party of no!
For a straight debate on the topics of interest across America tune in to the Ed Show on MSNBC. 6 pm EST, Monday thru Friday.
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