Good Morning. Don’t you love the little sunshine daisies? They are quite rare due to habitat destruction and the fact they need to be pollinated by a plant they aren’t directly related to. They grow only in a few spots around the Great Lakes.

FDL Book Salon today is timely, Fighting for the Press, hosted by Kevin Gosztola (BevW really does use a crystal ball when she schedules these discussions). Digby and McJoan are Virtually Speaking tonight. And Monday, you and Lisa will interview Eric Minh Swenson, a documentarian chronicling the art and artists of Southern California.

And here are today’s BenghazIRS listings:

WASHINGTON JOURNAL.

ABC’S THIS WEEK:  White House Senior Advisor Dan Pfeiffer.  Then, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), and Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY).  Roundtable: George Will; Ron Fournier; American Urban Radio Networks White House Correspondent April Ryan; Katrina vanden Heuvel; Jeff Zeleny.

CBS’ FACE THE NATION:   White House Senior Advisor Dan Pfeiffer.  Then, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT). Plus, the President and CEO of the Associated Press Gary Pruitt.  Roundtable: David Sanger, Lois Romano, Dan Balz, John Dickerson.

CNN’S STATE OF THE UNION:  White House Senior Advisor Dan Pfeiffer.  Then, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY).  Roundtable: Susan Page, Donna Brazile, Ana Navarro, Jessica Yellin.

FOX NEWS SUNDAY:   White House Senior Advisor Dan Pfeiffer.  Then, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI).  Roundtable:  Brit Hume, Kirsten Powers, Karl Rove, Dennis Kucinich.

KORNACKI: The nature of scandals, the IRS, workers’ rights.
Margie Omero, democratic pollster, managing director, Purple Strategies (@margieomero)
Alan Abramowitz, political science professor, Emory University
Rick Hertzberg, writer, The New Yorker (@rickhertzberg)
Liz Kennedy, counsel, Demos
Mark Elias, attorney, Perkins Coie and chairman of the firm’s political law practice.
Kim Barker, reporter, ProPublica (@kim_barker)
Chaumtoli Huq, professor, New York Law School, with expertise in labor, employment and human rights (@lawatmargins)

MELISSA HARRS-PERRY.

MOYERS & COMPANY:   The Toxic Politics of Science.  Bill explores why lead and other toxins continue to threaten America. Also, how money still secretly rules Washington.

NBC’S MEET THE PRESS:  Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY).  Donald Rumsfeld, book hawker.  White House Senior Advisor Dan Pfeiffer.   Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI).  Roundtable:  Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Peggy Noonan, Bob Woodward.

NEWSMAKERS:  Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, talks about congressional strategy for dealing with the debt as well as whether Congress can move forward with a budget when the House and Senate have differing plans. He also addresses some of the controversies that are ballooning in Congress, including the IRS.  On Tuesday, the CBO scaled back its estimate of the U.S. deficit, suggesting it will be $642 billion this year, more than $200 billion less than it previously predicted.  Reporters:  Lori Montgomery, Economic Policy Reporter at the Washington Post, and Daniel Newhauser, Congressional Reporter at CQ Roll Call.

Q & A:  S. James Gates, Jr., a recipient of the National Medal of Science. The award for 2011 was presented by President Obama in a White House ceremony in February of 2013. Dr. Gates discusses the process by which a scientist is nominated and selected for this distinction, which is the highest honor the U.S. government bestows upon scientists. Gates shares memories from his childhood, and details how he came to be interested in studying science as a young student….

RELIGION & ETHICS.

60 MINUTES:  A Face in the Crowd – The odds are you are not just a face in the crowd any longer. Even if your picture isn’t on the Internet, computer facial recognition technology in public places is making it harder to remain anonymous.  Three Generations of Punishment – Born in a prison camp in North Korea, defector Shin Dong Hyuk describes how three generations of a family are brutally punished if one family member is considered disloyal to the regime. He tells Anderson Cooper the dramatic story of his escape.  Michael Jackson – Lara Logan gets a rare look at some of the personal effects of the late pop singer, whose brand is making more money in death than the King of Pop was earning later in his free-spending life.

TO THE CONTRARY:   New Americans and the emerging industry that is growing up around them.

UNIVISION’S AL PUNTO:  U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R), Florida’s 27th District; U.S. Representative Mario Diaz-Balart (R), Florida’s 25th District; Jay Carney, White House Press Secretary; Pedro Pierluisi, Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico; Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor of Los Angeles; Dr. Juan José Rivera, Univision Network News Chief Medical Correspondent; Marta Duque, patient who underwent a double mastectomy

VIRTUALLY SPEAKING:  Digby & Joan McCarter discuss developments of the week; countering the narratives of the legacy media. Informed, lively and informal. Follow @digby56 @JoanMcCarter.  Plus political satire from Culture of Truth, @Bobblespeak.

C-SPAN’S BOOK TV:  2013 Gaithersburg Book Festival.

FDL’S BOOK SALON:   Fighting for the Press: The Inside Story of the Pentagon Papers and Other Battles.  ”James Goodale, chief counsel for the Times during the Pentagon Papers, tells the behind-the-scenes stories of the internal debates – legal, political, economic and corporate – and the reasoning behind the strategy that emerged. Goodale narrative follows those weeks in June when the press’s freedom of speech came under its most sustained assault since the Second World War.”  Chat with James C. Goodale about his new book, hosted by Kevin Gosztola.  5pm ET, 2pm PT.

FDL’s MOVIE NIGHT MONDAY:  Host Lisa Derrick ”interviews director/photographer Eric Minh Swenson about his work chronicling art and artists in Southern California.  Swenson has gained unprecedented access to artists, collectors, curators, gallerists, and art world denizens from San Diego to Ventura. His photos and interviews are revealing portraits of both the Southland and the artistic impulses–shaped by the area’s geography, climate, history, and cultures–that express themselves here. His growing body of work–over 200 short film about Southern California art to date, and thousands of photos– is unique, far ranging and in depth. The art scene in any city has yet to be documented this extensively.”  Join the discussion Monday 8pm ET, 5pm PT.

Photo by twolf, taken at the Lakeside Daisy (Colleen “Casey” Taylor & Ruth E. Fiscus) State Nature Preserve, 2013

 

Happy Mothers Day to all you mothers out there! May your breakfast be in bed, the kitchen clean, the flowers fresh, and the dinner out – and nothing but sunshine in between.

Other than that, it’s a Benghazi morning AND you get several helpings of John McCain.

WASHINGTON JOURNAL.

ABC’S THIS WEEK:  BENGHAZI! Martha Raddatz host.  Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI).  Foreign Policy Roundtable: George Will; former Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Chair Gen. James Cartwright (USMC, Ret.); Ruth Marcus; Jonathan Karl.  Roundtable: George Will, Donna Brazile, Matthew Dowd, Jonathan Karl, plus former Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe, author of the new book, “Fighting for Common Ground.”  Congressional Mothers:  Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA), and soon-to-be mother Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA).

CBS’ FACE THE NATION:  BENGHAZI!  Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.  Roundtable:  Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).   Also, Thomas Pickering, of the Accountability Review Board.  Plus, Maya Angelou and her book Mom & Me & Mom.

CNN’S STATE OF THE UNION:  BENGHAZI!  Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) who co-authored a report on security problems at the diplomatic post.  Then, sexual assaults in the military with Congress’ two female Iraq combat veterans: Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)  and Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL).  Roundtable:  Republican Consultant Alex Castellanos, Democratic Strategist Mo Elleithee, Karen Tumulty.

FOX NEWS SUNDAY:  BENGHAZI!  Sen. Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA).  Then, Mark Sanford.  Roundtable:  Bill Kristol, Dennis Kucinich, Kimberley Strassel, Juan Williams.

KORNACKI:  Guns, nullification of federal laws, gay rights.
Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Executive Director, CEO and Co-Founder, MomsRising.org (@rowefinkbeiner)
Celinda Lake, Democratic Pollster, President, Lake Research Partners (@celindalake)
Stephanie Schriock, president of Emily’s List (@schriock1)
Maya Wiley, Founder and President of the Center for Social Inclusion (@mayawiley)
State Sen. David Haley, D-Kan., (@DavidHaleyKS)
Fmr. Sen. Sheila Frahm, R-Kan.
Thomas Frank, Author, What’s the Matter With Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America, Columnist, Harper’s Magazine
Urvashi Vaid, currently Director of the Engaging Tradition Project at the Center for Gender and Sexuality Law at Columbia Law School  (@UrvashiVaid)
Pat Brady, Former Chairman, Illinois Republican Party (@pat_brady)
Rachel Stassen-Berger, Political Reporter, The Star Tribune (@RachelSB)
State Sen. Kelvin Atkinson, D-Nev., (@katkinson702)

Melissa Harris-Perry.

MOYERS & COMPANY:   How People Power Generates Change.  Activists Marshall Ganz, Rachel LaForest and Madeline Janis share how organized people can successfully fight organized money.

NBC’S MEET THE PRESS:   BENGHAZI!  Rep. Darryl Issa (R-CA) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (R-CA).  Also, Thomas Pickering, of the Accountability Review Board.  Roundtable:  Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) who is a veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan;  David Brooks; Katty Kay; and Afghanistan veteran and author Wes Moore.

NEWSMAKERS:  Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) talks about defense issues – this past week’s Defense Department report on sexual assaults on women, defense spending and the FY2014 DOD budget, what the U.S. should do about Syria, defense issues related to the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, what to do about the Guantanamo Bay base, the Afghanistan drawdown, and more.

Q & A:  Scott Shane, national security reporter in the Washington bureau of the New York Times. He discusses his recent New York Times Sunday feature story titled “From Spy to Source to Convict,” an examination of a former C.I.A. officer now in prison for leaking information to a reporter. He details the charges against former agent John Kiriakou, a fourteen year veteran of the agency…

RELIGION & ETHICS.

60 MINUTES:  The Rescue of Jessica Buchanan – In her first interview, the American aid worker recounts her terrifying kidnapping, captivity and dramatic nighttime rescue by Navy SEALs in the Somali desert. Scott Pelley reports.  >Succeeding As Civilians – Air Force veteran Mike Haynie, a business professor at Syracuse University, has created a course to teach vets how to start their own businesses. Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports.  Bill Gates 2.0 – Charlie Rose visits Microsoft founder Bill Gates in his private office, where he shows a personal side that’s rarely seen and displays a priceless Da Vinci manuscript that inspires the billionaire innovator and humanitarian.

TO THE CONTRARY:  Topics: Sexual Assault in the Military.  Young women freezing their eggs.  Mothers’ Day – International Surrogacy.  Panelists: Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Avis Jones-DeWeever, Tara Setmayer, Hadley Heath of the Independent Women’s Forum Intvus with Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Ca), Brigadier General Wilma Vaught USAF Retired.

UNIVISION’S AL PUNTO: Senator Patrick Leahy (D), Vermont; Jesús Esquivel, Correspondent for Mexican magazine “Proceso” and author of “La DEA en Mexico”; Shannon K. O’Neil, Senior Fellow for Latin America Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of “Two Nations Indivisible”; Aurora Martí and Altagracia Tejeda, neighbors of Ariel Castro, the man accused in the recent Ohio abductions; La Santa Cecilia, Latin Fusion Band.

VIRTUALLY SPEAKING:   Stuart Zechman & David Dayen discuss developments of the week; countering the narratives of the legacy media, Lively, informal & informed.  Plus political satire from Culture of Truth.  Follow @Stuart_Zechman @DDayen @Bobblespeak.

C-SPAN’S BOOK TV.

FDL’S BOOK SALON:   What Then Must We Do?: Straight Talk About the Next American Revolution.  ”Gar Alperovitz speaks directly to the reader about where we find ourselves in history, why the time is right for a new-economy movement to coalesce, what it means to build a new system to replace the crumbling one, and how we might begin. He also suggests what the next system might look like—and where we can see its outlines, like an image slowly emerging in the developing trays of a photographer’s darkroom, already taking shape.”
Come chat with Gar Alperovitz about his new book, hosted by David Dayen.  5pm ET, 2pm PT.

FDL’S MOVIE NIGHT MONDAY:   My Neighborhood.   “When a Palestinian boy loses half of his home to Israeli settlers in East Jerusalem, he joins his community in a campaign of nonviolent protests. Efforts to put a quick end to the demonstrations are foiled when scores of Israelis choose to stand by the residents’ side.”  WATCH ONLINE (25 minutes) then meet with Lisa Derrick and her guests Monday night at 8pm ET, 5pm PT.

 

Cinco de Mayo!

I gotta say, ABC and NBC’s choices today are particularly warmed over, don’t you think? But there’s John McCain again some more – Exclusive! CNN has a promising roundtable on the Roots of Radicalization though, many new faces for that. Melissa Harris-Perry didn’t give a guest list, but if you click on her link, you get a preview of her show for today.

But we have good stuff here, Book Salon’s on the new biography of Rachel Carson, there’s someone who’s made a difference. Movie Night features a short film about a Palestinian boy whose family loses half their home to Israeli settlers and what he does about it, watch it online and come discuss it tomorrow evening. And Avedon Carol and Gaius Publius are Virtually Speaking tonight.

WASHINGTON JOURNAL.

ABC’S THIS WEEK:  Warren Buffett.  Roundtable:  James Carville, Mary Matalin, Heritage Foundation president and former South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, and ABC News’ Cokie Roberts.  Plus, Whoopi Goldberg discusses her new documentary on influential comedian Moms Mabley.

CBS’ FACE THE NATION:  Syria with Chair of the House Government Oversight Committee Darrell Issa, who also has new information on the September 11th attack in Benghazi.[!!!]  Then, Chair of House Intelligence Mike Rogers and the ranking democrat on the committee Dutch Ruppersberger.  Then gays in sports with Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, former Baltimore Ravens linebacker, now free agent, Brendon Ayanbadejo, and former NFL linebacker Esera Tuaolo. Then again with NFL Players Association President Domonique Foxworth, Owner of the Washington Capitals, Wizards and Mystics Ted Leonsis, New York Times sports writer Bill Rhoden and managing editor of Sports Illustrated Chris Stone.

CNN’S STATE OF THE UNION:  Peter King (R-NY) - House Homeland Security Committee hearings next week. Then, Dick Durbin (D-IL).  Roots of Radicalization Roundtable: Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Director of the Center for the Study of Terrorist Radicalization at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies; Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, Founder and President of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy; Jessica Stern, former member of the National Security Council under President Clinton and author of DENIAL: A Memoir of Terror; and Suhail Khan, a Senior Fellow for Christian-Muslim understanding at the Institute for Global Engagement.  Plus, The Hill’s A.B. Stoddard and Bloomberg’s Jeanne Cummings.

FOX NEWS SUNDAY:  Benghazi Hearings: Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) and Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA).  Then, Sen. John McCain.  Roundtable:  Jennifer Rubin, Julie Pace, Nina Easton, Evan Bayh.

KORNACKI:   On Ted Cruz, Obama’s coalition, Syria.
Abby Rapoport, staff writer, The American Prospect (@RaRapoport)
Nate Cohn, staff writer, The New Republic (@electionate)
Joan Walsh, editor-at-large, Salon.com, msnbc Political Analyst (@joanwalsh)
Nia-Malika Henderson, National Political Reporter, The Washington Post (@niawapo)
Maria Teresa Kumar, president, Voto Latino, msnbc Contributor (@Mariateresa1)
Michael Hanna, senior fellow at The Century Foundation
Amr Al-Azm, History Professor at Shawnee State University in Ohio and member of the Syrian opposition (@alazmamr)
Andrew Tabler, senior fellow, The Washington Institute and author of In the Lion’s Den: An Eyewitness Account of Washington’s Battle with Syria

MELISSA HARRIS-PERRY.

MOYERS & COMPANY:  The Sandy Hook Promise.  Newtown parents Francine and David Wheeler and legendary folk singer Peter Yarrow lift their voices to end gun violence.

NBC’S MEET THE PRESS:  Protecting the ‘Homeland’ with Judiciary Committee Chair Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT); former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani; President and CEO of the Wilson Center, former Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA); and Rep. Tom Cotton (R-AR).  Roundtable:   Newt Gingrich; Harold Ford; Rich Lowry; and MSNBC contributor as well as political columnist for the Miami Herald, Joy-Ann Reid.  Then, former Baltimore Ravens All-Pro linebacker and gay rights supporter Brendon Ayanbadejo.

NEWSMAKERS:  Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL), chair of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, talked from Pensacola, Florida, about key issues facing veterans such as jobs, delays in veterans benefits claims, and why officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) had been paid bonuses despite a claims backlog. The VA had 882,000 compensation and disability claims pending that week, including 250,000 that are at least a year old. Chairman Miller had urged VA Undersecretary Allison Hickey to resign because of the backlog.

Q & A:  Former Michigan Republican Congressman and Reagan administration budget director David Stockman. He discusses his new book titled “The Great Deformation: The Corruption of Capitalism in America.” He suggests that Wall Street and the Federal Reserve have joined forces to harm the economy, punish savers, and fuel new financial bubbles which he claims will soon burst. He asserts that control of the federal budget has been surrendered to lobbyists, PACS, and special interests which block legitimate attempts to implement real spending cuts…

RELIGION & ETHICS.

60 MINUTES:  Counterinsurgency Cops – Counterinsurgency tactics they used overseas in the military are helping law enforcement take back the streets of Springfield, Mass., from criminal gangs. Robin Hood – Inspired by a 1986 60 Minutes story, Paul Tudor Jones founded the Robin Hood Foundation, a charity that has given over $1.25 billion to New York’s neediest. Scott Pelley reports. Invisible Wounds – Tens of thousands of battlefield veterans now suffer permanent brain injuries from concussions-or traumatic brain injuries — received in Afghanistan and Iraq. David Martin reports on a situation the military is only recently coming to grips with.

TO THE CONTRARY:  Topics:  Plan B Controversy Continues.  Are Millennials Spoiled?  “Sex and the Citadel” author Shareen El Feki.  Panelists: Conservative Commentator Nicole Kurokawa Neily, SpiketheWaterCooler.com Founder Marjorie Clifton, Progressive Commentator Patricia Sosa, Red Alert Politics Editor Francesca Chambers, (and for third segment)  USIP Director of Iraq, Iran and North Africa Programs Manal Omar.

UNIVISION’S AL PUNTO:  Barack Obama, President of the United States; Enrique Peña Nieto, President of Mexico; Julio Borges, Venezuela Opposition Member of Parliament; Juan José Rendón, Political Strategist; Wendy Greuel, Los Angeles Mayoral Candidate.

VIRTUALLY SPEAKING:   Avedon Carol and Gaius Publius discuss developments of the week; countering the narratives of the legacy media. Informed, lively and informal.  Plus political satire from Culture of Truth.  9pm ET, 6pm PT.

C-SPAN’S BOOK TV:  In Depth with Melanie Phillips, a journalist and columnist for the London Daily Mail.  She won the Orwell Prize for Journalism in 1996 and blogged for the Spectator from 2007 to 2011.  Ms. Phillips also wrote the play “Traitors,” performed in London in 1985.  For more on Ms. Phillips and her work, visit www.melaniephillips.com.

FDL’S BOOK SALON:  On A Farther Shore: The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson. “Published on the fiftieth anniversary of her seminal book, Silent Spring, here is an indelible new portrait of Rachel Carson, founder of the environmental movement.  She loved the ocean and wrote three books about its mysteries, including the international bestseller The Sea Around Us. But it was with her fourth book, Silent Spring, that this unassuming biologist transformed our relationship with the natural world.” Come chat with William Souder about his new book with host Will Potter.  5pm ET, 2pm PT.

FDL’S MOVIE NIGHT MONDAY:   My Neighborhood.   “When a Palestinian boy loses half of his home to Israeli settlers in East Jerusalem, he joins his community in a campaign of nonviolent protests. Efforts to put a quick end to the demonstrations are foiled when scores of Israelis choose to stand by the residents’ side.”  WATCH ONLINE (25 minutes) then meet with Lisa Derrick and her guests Monday night at 8pm ET, 5pm PT.

Photo by fotogail under Creative Commons license