We have an exciting topic today, but even more exciting is the fact that, for the first time ever on Coffee Party Radio, you’ll be able to SEE the show as well as hear it. When you call in to add your voice, you now have the option of using your web cam to actually BE on the show with me. We will be able to see one another! How cool is that!?!   Our guest is blogger and political commentator Lowell Feld who runs the website Blue Virginia.  Lowell has a graduate degree in Middle Eastern studies so I’m looking forward to asking him about Gov. Mitt Romney’s visit to Israel. What are your thoughts on Romney’s foreign relations tour?   Lowell has been especially attack on President Obama. He sites its dishonesty, and also criticizes the essence of Romney's argument: that America's future relies on personal responsibility not collective responsibility, on duty to self, rather than duty to country. Do you agree?     Meanwhile the Obama campaign has gone negative as well.  Jeff Zeleny of the New York Times writes today that this is a big gamble.  "The president's prospects for reelection now rest in part on one of the biggest gambles of his career: that the benfits of trying to eviscerate Mr. Romney outweigh the costs to his own image and reputation."     Our guest today will tell us why he thinks this is a gamble Obama should take.  But I want to hear from you, and hopefully help me try out our new technology.

Politics Done Right With Egberto Willies is a political talk show on current events. While the show has a admittedly liberal bent, it seeks to engage citizens of all political ideologies to foment a healthy discourse. Join us on Saturdays from 12:00 Noon CST to 2:00 PM CST.

This week I will cover the following topics. I got Obamacare Rebate/price drop. Did You? Should Obamacare evolve to Medicare for all? Should workers benefit from record profits? Should candidates release 10 years tax returns?

On today's Lunch with Louden, we are so excited to introduce you to two pioneers in transpartisan dialogue.  

Joan Blades and Amanda Kathryn Roman of Living Room Conversation recently convened a session on money in politics with a group of progressives and conservatives... and you won't believe what happened! 

We’ll open the show with a report from Will Rice on the hearing held by the Senate Judiciary Committee titled “Taking Back Our Democracy: Responding to Citizens United and the Rise of Super PACs."

Living Room Conversations are designed to revitalize the art of conversation among people with diverse views and remind our fellow Americans of the power and beauty of civil discourse.

Michael Charney and Eric Byler talked about the July 24, 2012 US Senate hearing on "Citizens United" just a few hours after the hearing ended.  They also discussed the outsize influence that the gun lobby has on American policy.  Charney, a moderate Republican took a lot of heat for this piece which uses satire to criticize the electioneering and fund-raising tactics of the National Rifle Association. 

We'll look at the issue of money in politics through a trans-partisan lens.  Do tactics bother us more when "they" do it than when "we" do it?  Is there a role of humor and satire can in politics, even on the explosive issues such as "arms control."

Presented by Coffee Party USA, "The Middle Ground" is co-hosted by award-winning filmmaker Eric Byler and political author Michael Charney, the show airs every Tuesday 8-9 PM EST/5-6 PM PST.

"Who the hell is Grover Norquist anyway?"  That's what  President H. W. Bush said recently of the man who wants to drown our Republic in the bath tub, and, to whom many in Congress pledge their loyalty instead of the U. S. of A.

Thirty years of "Voodoo" has put the US economy in a lot of Doo-doo. Tonight Don Manning is your host as we examine how and why. 

Help us take a closer look at Grover's royalist agenda, and how he uses big money and big media to enforce it on the GOP, and on our country.

How does one millionaire wield so much power over the elected officials sent to Washington to represent We the People? Is this democracy at work, or more "in your face" corrpution and politics as usual?"

Also, we'll talk about tomorrow's historic hearing in the United States Senate on the impacts of Super-PAC's and "Citizens United."  T-shirt goes to caller who can best connect the two subjects!

Or, just call and tell us what's on your mind!

Every Monday evening we open the phone lines to whatever America wants to talk about. Politics, Environment, Culture, Social Issues, Local, National, even International. The direction of the dialogue is up to you! The host and guests take your questions and comments live. Civil Discourse Lives on "Speaking of America" Monday evenings @ 8pm PST / 11pm EST. Let's Talk About It!

As we approach the historic Senate hearing about the impact of Super PAC's and the "Citizens United" decree, Jessica English welcomes Mattea Kramer of National Priorities Project as her guest.  Mattea's article, Four Spending Myths Holding Up the Economy, has been bouncing all over the Internet, including TomDispatch, CBS News, Mother Jones, Huffington Post, and Salon.  Read the article, and come up with a good quetions for Mattea!

My favorite (actually least favorite) was Myth 4: The Affordable Care Act -- Obamacare -- will bankrupt the federal government while levying the biggest tax in U.S. history.

Coffee Party Radio from 5 PM to 6:30 PM eastern time each Sunday.

by Egberto Willies

We'll have to begin with the Aurora Colorado Shooting & Massacre. How many more mass murders do we need before we finally decide to have sensible gun control policies? When will we stop believing the cliché “Guns do not kill people? People do”? We need a new one. Guns do not kill people. Policies allowing people to use guns indiscriminately do.

At 10 past the hour, I'll ask Marge Baker of Free Speech for People. Marge will tell us why we need Constitutional Amendment to overturn Citizens United, and, abou the US Senate hearing on Tuesday to discuss just that.

At 20 past the hour, we'll open up the phone lines and take your calls. 

SIGN OUR PETITION: I support, and I ask the United States Senate to support, a Constitutional amendment to overturn "Citizens United," preserve the integrity of our elections, and protect our right to self-governance.

Politics Done Right With Egberto Willies runs on Saturdays from 12:00 Noon to 2:00 PM Central Time (1 pm to 3 pm Eastern Time).

Voter Polarization and Voter Suppression - the battle for 4 Million votes is casting CIVILITY to the wind.

According to pollster Frank Luntz, most Americans have set their flag for a presidential candidate, so the billions about to be spent is for the benefit of 4 million undecided voters in eight battleground states.

Is it a coincidence that six of those states are among the several embroiled in the voter suppression controversy?  In an article released today, the Brennan Center for Justice reported that 500,000 Americans could face significant challenges to obtain their free state ID.

Can civility and reason win the day? Tell us what you think. [MORE]

from today's blog by ERIC BYLER

As my friend and co-host Michael Charney has pointed out from the Republican vantage point, if Republicans oppose laws that curtail the amount of influence corporations and super-wealthy individuals can have on our elections because such spending HELPS their electoral chances, isn't it also a fair criticism that Democrats want to limit the influence of said corporations and aristocrats because their involvement HURTS their electoral chances?  Michael has pointed out, much to the dismay of liberals and progressives, that Opera Winfrey has given money to politicians on the Democratic side.  If money in politics is a corrupting influence when it flows into Republican coffers, why not also when it benefits Democrats?  And, aren't both parties acting in their self-interest when they vote on a party line on bills like the DISCLOSE Act?  

Which side do you fall on?  Senate Democrats are not giving up on the DISCLOSE Act.  What outcome do you feel is best for the American people?   Help me and Michael sort it out tonight on The Middle Ground, 8 to 9 pm ET on Coffee Party Radio.

We want to hear from you this week to see where YOU draw the line. Should there be a $ limit? People only, but not corporations? Why is it that, for some, intention is the driving force? Why is it that Dems justify Maher's donations and Reps justify the Kochs?

Update; During our interview with Karen Teegarden, several callers offered their version and opinion of the post march fallout between some women and the Unite Women organization itself. Claims of hijacking Facebook pages and state membership rosters, name calling etc. Civility ruled but the air gets thick. Have a listen and decide for yourself, has UniteWomen.org got too big too fast? Were some treated poorly and banned from the group?

Tonight our guest will be Karen Teegarden, one of the founders of Unite Women.org. I'll ask her what's next for the organization, what growing pains has it suffered, and where is the next battlefront?

Plus whatever's on your mind!

Every Monday evening we open the phone lines to whatever America wants to talk about. Politics, Environment, Culture, Social Issues, Local, National, even International. The direction of the dialogue is up to you! The host and guests take your questions and comments live. Civil Discourse Lives on "Speaking of America" Monday evenings @ 8pm PST / 11pm EST. Let's Talk About It!