It's Friday which means some members want the Sunday Chat & Chews lineup. So grab the palm pilots, day planners and to-do list for those brave enough to watch.
ABC's This Week (Sundays, check local listings) offers the following lineup:
Guests:
Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.
Ranking member, Financial Services Committee
Suze Orman
Financial Adviser
Anthony Hsieh CEO, LendingTree.com
Rep. Walter Jones Jr., R-N.C.
Armed Services Committee
Brad Pitt
Actor
It's not bad enough "Suze Orman" inflicts herself upon PBS viewers (often during pledge weeks which seem to come more often) with her infomercials for her books, tapes, et al while passing her "special" off as "public affairs," now she's on ABC This Week?
If you're considering watching one of the Sunday Chat & Chews, you might want to pay attention to this:
Then, the man who brought you "Freedom Fries," Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C. A conservative Christian from North Carolina, he voted to go to war in Iraq but now wants the United States to get out. He has asked the administration to apologize for what he calls the misinformation that led to war, and has personally written to the families of hundreds of troops killed in Iraq. Jones sits down for his first interview on national television.
That should make for an interesting interview and I don't believe any other Sunday Chat & Chew has had him on.
Democracy Now! viewers, listeners and readers will remember this from the May 25th Headlines:
Backer of 'Freedom Fries' Now Opposes the War in Iraq
But also on Capitol Hill -- a surprising critic of the war has emerged -- Republican Walter Jones. The Congressman from North Carolina recently told a local newspaper that the US went to war "with no justification." Jones made international headlines three years ago when he lashed out at France for not supporting the war effort. In March 2003 he demanded that three Congressional cafeterias ban the word French from the menus. French fries soon became freedom fries. While the ban is still in force, Jones' current view on the war appears to be closer to France's than President Bush's. Jones said "If we were given misinformation intentionally by people in this administration, to commit the authority to send boys, and in some instances girls, to go into Iraq, that is wrong. Congress must be told the truth."
Please note, Democracy Now! is not a Sunday Chat & Chew. It's real journalism and I offer the above because it gives background and also demonstrates that this was news in May. Good for This Week for having Walter Jones on.
The round table is Robert Reich, Linda Douglas, and George Will and they will discuss:
Howard Dean's recent rash of comments about Republicans, President Bush's low approval ratings, the new layoffs announced by General Motors and the rest of the week's political events.
"Recent rash of comments about Republicans?" Well, it gives you a tip off to where they stand. Also tells you that someone's going for alliteration.
Over at NBC's Meet the Press (Sundays, check your local listings) the guests are:
SEN. JOE BIDEN (D - DE)
Ranking Member, Foreign Relations Committee
REP. CURT WELDON (R - PA) Vice Chairman, Armed Services Committee Vice Chairman, Homeland Security Committee Author, "Countdown to Terror: The Top-Secret Information that Could Prevent the Next Terrorist Attack on America... and How the CIA has Ignored it"
For the roundtable:
DAVID BRODER
Washington Post
JOHN HARWOOD
Wall Street Journal
GWEN IFILL
PBS' "Washington Week"
JUDY WOODRUFF
Former Anchor, "Inside Politics"
CBS's Face the Nation (Sundays, check your local listings) will have the following focus:
Topics:
Guantanamo Bay, Patriot Act, Iraq
Guests:
Sen. Patrick Leahy
Democrat - Vermont
Ranking Member, Judiciary Committee
Sen. Lindsey Graham
Republican - South Carolina
John Harris
Author, The Survivor: Bill Clinton In The White House
If I'd watch one of them, I'd go with either This Week or Face the Nation. This Week is a Cokie Roberts-free zone this week and those can be so rare. Plus they have Walter Jones and I'd be curious as to his statements. (Which will no doubt be covered by Bill Scher at Liberal Oasis. Bob Somerby, The Daily Howler, will highlight the Sunday Chat & Chews if anything stands out. Between the two of them, I'm able to skip the Chat & Chews.) But, like any other member of this community, list the Patriot Act as a topic (as Face the Nation does) and you've peaked my interest.
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