(C) 1988 Geffen Records
I admit it: I miss New Jack Swing. The fusion-R&B genre streamed non-stop out of my Walkman in the late eighties, but now when you hear the words "new jack," you probably have "New Jack City" -- "tick tock, you don't stop," "we takin' over the Carter," and all that -- pop into your head. I know it's not just me. Funny, considering that movie (and that song) were harbingers of the eventual death of new jack swing. (Maybe it was dying already, but I digress.)
I bring all this up because not just Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative" ties into our discussion today about executive privilege, but mostly due to that privilege was used this past week by the President to hold back documents sought by House Oversight Committee chairman Darrell Issa. Conservative consternation over the president using that power has been amusing, considering the abuses of office many of them excused during the George W. Bush administration.
The point of all this is that the mere exercise of presidential power may not always a bad thing -- and just because someone came along once before, profiting off it while soiling it, it doesn't mean that the original isn't still good, or useful. That's a question Melissa will be confronting today at the top of the show.
Other topics will include the forthcoming Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act, LGBT Pride Week (and Month), and voter suppression throughout the country.
Our guests will include:
- David Chalian, Washington bureau chief for Yahoo! News.
- Jonathan Cohn, senior editor of The New Republic, and author of "Sick.
- Jeff Johnson, MSNBC contributor and executive editor of Politic365.com.
- Richard Kim, executive editor of TheNation.com.
- Liz Margolies, executive dirstor of the National LGBT Cancer Network.
- Aisha Moodie-Mills, advisor of the LGBT Policy & Racial Justice at the Center of American Progress.
- Ana Oliviera, President/CEO of the New York Women's Foundation.
- Scout, director of the Network for LGBT Health Equity at the Fenway Institute.
- Kenji Yoshino, New York University law professor.
We hope that you interact with us during the show here in the comments of this post, on Facebook, and on Twitter, using the hashtag #nerdland -- and encourage others to do the same. We look forward to having you join us at 10am ET on msnbc!
Leave a Comment:
sorry melissa,but sadly our president is not the most powerful man of the world,is the congress the most powerful institution of the world,and now that institution is drowning us.
In the words of my favorite hip-hop group of all time, Public Enemy, "Don't believe the Hype." Our President can find ways around Congress, but they are limited. We do have a "checks and balance" system after all. The rest of world may have always known this, but we, here in the U.S. have just realized that.
We should keep in mind that in December, 2010, The House passed the DREAM Act by a healthy margin. And the 100 member Senate voted 55 for the DREAM Act. But because of obstructionism and record breaking use of the filibuster, 60 votes were required. A majority of both the House and the Senate for for the DREAM Act.
I think it is a not exactly fair to conclude that President Obama violated the will of the people or did a end run around the Congress. He did the right thing!
Once again MSNBC has no opposing voices on their panel shows. I enjoy these shows, however, it would be good to have an actual discussion on the issues. Instead, I just get to watch people who all agree with each other. C'mon MSNBC.
I'm a lesbian and a longtime supporter of marriage equality (and a fan of your show). I do not look kindly on LGBT activists who make spectacles of themselves when guests in the White House. By that I mean the "proposal" (neither person believes in marriage) made by Scout and the rude gesture by Zoe Strauss. Grow up, my people!