Media Lizzy

This morning on CNN’s Reliable Sources, the last real reporter on any of the Cable news channels, Howard Kurtz, hosted a fiery segment regarding the HuffPo receiving a heads up from the Obama Administration that the President would be calling on Pitney at his big presser. 
Rarely do I find myself defending the honor of Dana Milbank [...]

Well folks, General Motors has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  As a taxpayer, I would just like the $50 Billion the American taxpayer fronted to GM to be accounted for.  What bank is it in? What account is it in? Who are the signatories?   And why does the President keep saying he doesn’t want to run [...]

And this is what love looks like.  Yes, I know many folks are upset about the D-Day celebrations en France, I understand.  I agree that Queen Elizabeth II should be first on the invite list….but this video, from an interview in the private residence at the Elysee Palace (with the ladies from Femme Actuelle or [...]

While I cook up columns on Gay Marriage and the brewing storm between ODNI Blair & DCI Panetta over CIA Station Chiefs… I just want to say this:
Being in love, finding the other half to self — it is such a blessing.  I am grateful every day.  And I hope you are too… remember why [...]

National Security is the singular issue where I just climb a tree.  I admit it.  I’m not a neocon.  I’m not a “national security” mom.  I am definitely not a dove.  Nor am I a hawk, or any other damn bird.  What I am: a supporter of the experts in our Clandestine service, our special forces, our CIA & FBI interrogators, the greater intelligence community - with special recognition for Great Britain, Israel & France.  Those folks - along with our active duty & reserve military - keep us alive, free and safe under the blanket that is the US Constitution.
President Barack Obama is a man of his word.  He said he would meet with dictators and tyrants “without preconditions.”  And so he has.  It’s all sweetness and light with his book club buddy Hugo Chavez.  It’s cigars all around with Cuba’s Castro Brothers.  It’s Imadinnerjacket and ready for drinks with Iran’s Ahmadinejead.  During the first YouTube debate, hosted by Anderson Cooper, Obama went on to say,”I think that it is a disgrace that we have not spoken to them…” (see video below)
Earlier this month, he authorized the disclosure of several Bush-era memos regarding torture.  Notably, formerVice President Cheney has also requested the release of memos demonstrating the intelligence we DID gather as a result of enhanced interrogations.  What is good for the goose is good for the gander. 
Also weighing in: former DCI Mike Hayden & former US AG Mike Mukasey, via an Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal. (h/t Scott Stanzel)
The release of these opinions was unnecessary as a legal matter, and is unsound as a matter of policy. Its effect will be to invite the kind of institutional timidity and fear of recrimination that weakened intelligence gathering in the past, and that we came sorely to regret on Sept. 11, 2001.
Proponents of the release have argued that the techniques have been abandoned and thus there is no point in keeping them secret any longer; that they were in any event

Nice profile!

It can’t be all politics, all the time.  So… it’s time for something completely different.

On The Media Lizzy Show today, I’ll be talking with Vets for Freedom Chairman & Executive Director Pete Hegseth.  On tap: the G20 meeting, the Obama Administration’s deep Defense budget cuts, the new Commander-in-Chief’s visit to Iraq, and where America goes from here. 
Also, the Political Threesome rides again… I have AOL News’ Tommy Christopher and Caleb Howe all lined up for a raucous roundtable.  As in, did President Obama bow to Saudia Arabia’s King Abdullah? (The answer is yes but, Robert Gibbs & unnamed White House sources are telling you not to believe your lyin’ eyes)
All in all… it’s quite nice to be back in the saddle. 
—Media Lizzy
Show prep:

Last night on the ACM’s, Sugarland performed… oh how I love, love, love them.  Like a few other songs belted out by Jennifer Nettles - this one is just amazing.  Since I’m in love, I had to share.  This is what love sounds like, right at the beginning - and every morning when the first voice you hear is the one that “gets” you.  When the last voice you hear are the sweetest whispers in the world. 
Yes, there’s a recession.  Yes, we still have a GWOT. (Global War on Terror) Even though our President isn’t keen on fighting it.  It’s okay.  No matter what, we still have lives to live.  Children to raise.  Meals to cook.  Sunshine to enjoy.  Rain to dance in.  So… remember how your heart raced, then slowed down with the knowing that comes when it’s finally right.  When you’ve found home.

Almost as good as BOGO.
—Media Lizzy

It’s intense, apocolyptic and seriously sci-fi.  I won’t pretend to understand the genre.  There are plenty of film critics that will dissect Nicolas Cage’s new film KNOWING.  It topped this weekend’s box office.  Our family enjoyed the amazing CGI effects, thought Cage was solid as ever - and even though the plot is rather unbelieveable… we liked it.
Something else cool happened though.  A couple of times, Nicolas Cage goes to his computer and on his desktop - is the AOL Hot Seat.  Along with about a dozen other folks, I am a contributor.  It goes by so fast that I couldn’t see which of us made the cut… but it was totally rockin! 
What’s cooler than that? The AOL Hot Seat made the trailer.
Knowing was worth the price of admission, and even a trip to the concession counter.  Can’t wait until its out on DVD, then maybe I’ll figure out which two AOL Hot Seat contributors made their big screen debut!!!!

Okay… back to the grind.
—Media Lizzy

This is one of those brief posts, where the author opines on a personal level.  Here’s the thing, I have three massive articles that I’ve been working on.  Darfur, the Economy, and leadership.  Usually, that’s easy enough to crank out.  But - the Obama administration has really surprised me.  It’s all politics, all the time.  Democrats will say - oh, yeah well so was George W Bush. 
Well, that may have been true for some members of his administration.  And it certainly was true of both houses of Congress - under Democrat & Republican leadership.  It was not true of him personally.  I think that next year, when his book “Decision Points” comes out (thank you Bob Barnett for yet another high-powered deal) it will rock some folks back on their heels. 
In the meantime, as I finish up my three articles - and three weeks worth of paperwork, unreturned emails and phone calls (sorry Chris, Michael, Maegan, etc!) - I am ready for the best chapter in my life to begin.  I am quite possibly the luckiest girl in the world.
I would remind everyone that politics, policy, and breaking news are not more important than the people you love.  Family, love, and everyday, down-to-earth, non-digital relationships are what matters most. The world will keep turning if you take a few days off to make memories - fall in love - get married - renew vows - catch up with old friends - sleep late - or play with your kids and the dog.  Life is remarkably short and when you allow a little wonderment to creep in, to remind yourself how great it is just to be alive and loved, and to love in return… well, that’s the best.
So, I guess I’ll get back to my mound of paperwork.  But I’m personally thankful for my Beloved, my daughter, my amazing father and mother, my extremely festive family, and all things YaYa that we ladies in ‘the Fam’ share. 
Now, it’s back to Darfur, Obama, the economy, and thinking about leadership.  While I’m navigating the stack of...

Remember the days of Bush Derangement Syndrome. the really ugly days after Hurricane Katrina hit NoLa & the Gulf Coast?
You know, when the Democrat Governor Kathleen Blanco would not accept federal assistance until it was darn-near too late?  When she played politics with the lives of her people, but blamed everything on then-President George W. Bush?
And when he chose not to land, his critics screamed he hadn’t done the photo op? (Nevermind that he didn’t want to divert resources to his own security when the situation was so dire)
And when he made the remark that came to define the botched relief efforts in NoLa, “You’re doing a heckuva job, Brownie” - the Leftinistra, led by Rachel Maddow, went absolutely bat crazy.
Do I think the Bush administration handled the Katrina situation correctly? No.  But I also remember the facts.  The Democrat governor played politics with people’s lives, so that she could blame George W. Bush.  What happened in Lousiana after Katrina tells the real story.  Blanco was so disgraced that she could not even stand for reelection.  And Lousiana democrats lined up behind Republican Bobby Jindal and put him in office.  While I am not a big fan of Jindal’s when it comes to his presidential aspirations, he’s clearly been a competent and well-liked Governor.  presicisely because he cleaned up the mess left behind after Katrina.
Now… The CBO (Congressional Budget Office) has released it’s budget projections, (h/t: Jake Tapper) and we’re going to be $2 TRILLION in hock, thanks to Obama’s economic strategy.
In 2001, our national defecit stood at $5.6 Trillion.  When Obama got elected it was $9 Trillion.  (an increase of $3.4 Trillion over eight years)  Today, the federal defecit is $12.1 Trillion, and rising.  That’s an increase of $3.1 Trillion.  If you add Obama’s budget, we’re hovering at the same amount of money in 60 DAYS that Bush & the US Congress spent over EIGHT YEARS.
There has...

Hello all,
For a little Wednesday humor,  I thought I’d drop in this little clip from the Bill Maher show. Bill and MediaLizzy are friends, although Bill’s show generally makes me nauseous. But this clip satirizes (to a very scary and accurate semblance) the situation we’re in here in America. Take a look…I promise you’ll love it.
- OxyChaz

Today on NBC’s Meet the Press, the role of Clark Kent was played by GOP Whip Eric Cantor:

Yes. We. Cantor.
—Media Lizzy

Meghan McCain is stepping into the fray.

You go girl.  (to borrow a phrase from Beck, you are not alone)
—Media Lizzy

The movement conservatives can keep Rush.  I’ve developed a fondness for Glenn Beck.  Less pompous, more practical, and since he’s a husband and father - I’m willing to bet… he understands the lives of average workers a whole lot better than most.

Agree or disagree with me, or with Beck - that’s cool.  But I think its worth a listen & a visit to Beck’s 9/12 Project. (as in September 12th, 2001_
—Media Lizzy

For BOGO:

Sure, there is all kinds of catastrophic news.  The Dow is at 6,800.  Obama is ticking people off.  The RNC Chairman called Rush an entertainer, and Rush gave a pretty great speech at CPAC (yes, even I must admit that) and many other clouds are gathering on the horizon. 
However, as I work on some tech stuff for HeadingRight today (and especially tonight) - I thought it important to remind myself, and others that in reality… we Americans are an exceptionally lucky lot.  As are our friends in other Western countries, where essentially - our individual identities are not restricted. Hidden. Or beaten out of us. 
I have been, and continue to be, one of the luckiest folks in the world.  I am an American.  I am free.  And my future is to a great degree, entirely in my hands.  What’s the big deal?  Well, I am no different than any other American.  We won the lottery when it comes to citizenship.  Our government, however flawed and bureaucracy laden, still looks out for her people.  Do not let the politics of the moment or particular election cycle get in the way of the facts. Truth will out, and Obama’s mis-characterizations will eventually erode the sheen off that high wattage, beautiful, shiny enamel smile.
In the meantime, I think it is worth noting that love survives turbulent times.  And sometimes, love is so great that we do not feel the turbulence around us.  We are grounded by our spouse or fiance, mother or father, friend, uncle, aunt, cousin… and while the world spins on, the Dow plunges, and troops ready their return home from Iraq - or hundreds of other stations around the world… those of us waiting on the dock, or on the tarmac, preserve a quiet place for love to flourish. 
Whatever leads the news tonight, remember this too shall pass.  That does not mean we don’t work, take action, organize, posture and execute… it simply means that we must remember to turn to the ones we love and say thank you. I love you. And, how do we

The American Issues Project released this second ad, and - yes… it makes me happy.

—Media Lizzy