molly ivins
GRITtv: The F Word: Campaign Cash From Rate Hikes
“Corporate interests are buying the elections? Oh no", Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, told the New York Times this week. “It’s much worse than that. We don’t know who’s buying the election.” Sure enough, but we do have an inkling. The first since the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Citizens United case, which lifted a ban on direct corporate spending -- the 2010 elections are being bought by the highest bidder.
Email this pageGRITtv: The F Word: Willing to Reconsider
Eight and a half years after their epic battle over the 2000 election, lawyers David Boies and Ted Olson are on the same team challenging the constitutionality of California's marriage equality ban. My point is this: I can't and don't want to change how I feel about Elizabeth, or marriage, or the stolen election of 2000, but I am willing to reconsider Ted Olson. It's taken me a while to get here but here it is. The point: I'm willing to reconsider. Are you? If I can reconsider Olson, and Olson can team up with Boies, can you out there, opponents of my equality, listen to Kristen Perry and change your mind about me? Do I hear you say "I do?" Oh go on. -- Laura Flanders
GRITtv: Somewhere Molly Ivins is Smiling
The red state-blue state line continues to break down. Houston, Texas elected its first openly gay mayor this weekend in a runoff election. Annise Parker, current city controller, will run a huge city not known for its progressive politics -- and the largest city so far to elect an openly gay chief executive. Here's an excerpt from her victory speech.
GRITtv: Books with Grit: Responding to National Book Awards
The National Book Awards were announced this week; Colum McCann was honored for his fiction work "Let the Great World Spin: A Novel," and T.J. Stiles' biography of Cornelius Vanderbilt won the nonfiction prize. Dave Eggers, author of Laura's book of the year, Zeitoun, received this year's Literarian Award. Jeannie Vanasco of Lapham's Quarterly, Julian Brookes of the Progressive Book Club and Sir Harold Evans, of The Week magazine and former president and publisher of Random House trade group, talk about the books that they think deserve more recognition. Which books impressed you this year? Leave them in comments or email to grittv@grittv.org and maybe we'll discuss them on the air.
