I have this new idea we can all try out. One thing we can do is watch a popular scheduled programming that hosts a variety of people speaking on a variety of topics and after the show is over, come to AD and debate the topics.

For instance, one shoe I like to watch (though I don't always agree with him) is "Real Time with Bill Maher". If everyone agrees, we can watch a political show that hosts people from different sides of the argument (obviously) and then debate the topics they debated.

What does everyone else think about this idea?

It seems like a good idea on the surface, and similar ideas have been suggested before.

There was quite a lengthy discussion about who would participate and what the subject would be (book, movie, whatever).

The last topic ( link ) died on October 14.

I know this may seem hard to believe, but we as a group seem to have a hard time agreeing with each other. Go figure...

Anyway, you're more than welcome to give it another shot!

Mike

It will be difficult to have one program that everyone decides on, thus I would propose that each person has one vote and a program is either voted in on a weekly basis, though this will be time consuming.

The other solution is that each person picks a program, and we cover them all, one each week. That way everyone is partially satisfied. It will be hard, and I encourage the ideas of others to discuss this, since it could be fun.

I read through the thread Paul Doran provided and it seems like everyone was excited about the idea...but then nothing happened.

Maybe it was just that reading would take to long. Or maybe ONE book couuldn't be decided upon.

I think it would be much easier trying to do a (or 2) one hour (or 30 minute)
show(s). One hosted by a person more conservative and one for a person more liberal.

I would think "The o'Reilly Factor" would be a good show, but he doesn't have a panel of people on his show, and it comes on everyday. But, IF anyone is interested...I guess we could throw out some ideas.

One of my favorite shows used to be CNN's Crossfire, but they moved it to 4:30 and cut it to 1/2 an hour. The big problem I see with "Real Time with Bill Maher" is that it's on HBO, and not everybody gets it.
It would be a great idea, but as Mike said, it's been brought up before, and then fell kind of flat.

Great idea but I have no cable anymore. unemployed

Bil Maher, Rush Limbaugh and Al Franken all make me want to toss cookies. How abot Russert or Matthews?

The McLaughlin Group. They're on PBS and the issues and comments can be found at their website.

I'm not sure if this is correct, but I believe Al Franken and Rush Limbaugh each have unilateral talk shows. That is the reason why I like Bill Mauer's show: even though he is too liberal for me, he always have conservative panels to duke it our on his show.

I have never seen Tim Russert's show, and I can never figure out when that Hardball show comes on.



What channel is that on? Maybe we should also start posting times.

Edited to say:I asked this question before the edit. We all get PBS, and the fact that they post issues online seems like it would work.

I'd second The McLaughlin Group. Then again, it's one of the few pundit-fests I watch with any regularity, anyway, so I wouldn't have to make any effort. It is fairly balanced, though, generally covers a range of topics, can be a bit heated (my partner and I used to call it The People Who Shout At Each Other Show), and should be accessible to anyone who gets a PBS channel (it's also carried by some NBC affiliates).

Does anyone know what time and date this show comes on? And is it a weekly or daily show?

How long does it last and how do we want to set up the debate if this is our final answer?

I realise that this is America's Debate, but there are quite a few international posters here who might have trouble accessing many topical TV shows.

In this light, I'd suggest something that can be viewed on the net, either as video or transcripts. This woiuld also be handy for US posters who didn't have the relevant TV station, or just missed the broadcast.

Even better - maybe we could discuss a newspaper column or radio show available on the net (like the recent thread on the Perle interview on PBS radio), or even a book.

Just ideas...

Actually Julian, that is a good point andI hadn't thought about that. I for one would not want to do a book however, because it apparently never got off the ground last time.

Someone actually said that the McLaughlin group's issues were posted to their website, although no one gave the website, but if there are other ideas for weekly topics that would help in an international forums that would be great.

McLaughlin Group website is at www.mclaughlin.com. They have both issues and predictions that could be debated. Latest predictions:

John McLaughlin I predict that the U.S. will open a full-scale operational air and naval base in Australia.



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Eleanor Clift Republican Governor John Rowland of Connecticut will be forced to resign because of ethical improprieties. He's probably already gotten the tap on the shoulder.

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Tony Blankley President Bush is going to ask for a limit of only 3 percent growth in spending next year. It's going to be a big fight, both with Republicans and Democrats in Congress, to keep it to only 3 percent.

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Pat Buchanan John Edwards, who's been running a very positive campaign for the last three months, he's going to get himself into the finals for vice presidential nominee on the Democratic ticket -- with Howard Dean.

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Lionel Barber Everybody says that 2004 is an election year and trade liberalization is off the agenda. Wrong! Watch out for a new U.S. initiative shortly.


Wonder where Blankley gets the idea that Bush is going to ask ro reduce the growth of government spending to 3%? That would be a nice change.

We aint copious in number mate!

I can belive you think us lowly scum deserve any recognition!

The other limitation is that watching videos online relies on ADSL - which not everyone has....

I know you think you're being funny, but it's not really appreciated. Members from all over the world are very welcome to participate here. Your input is obviously wanted and considered valuable or we would not have a thread like this.

Edited: We will use this thread to discuss this idea ONLY. Anything else, PM me.

Maybe not, but there are several of us that are pretty visible here - you, me, Robin, and Nikachu for starters, and that's just from the UK, alone. Then there are several Canadians and Australians who post regularly.


You speak for yourself. YOU might be lowly scum, but I'm Welsh and so inherently superior. Especailly to the English


True
Essentially it was just a suggestion, mainly to make the proposal as widely accessible as possible. Remember, not everyone in the USA has access to the same TV channels. By definition, though, everyone here has internet access. While your point on bandwidth is a fair one, anything that is online as video or audio files and/or has transcripts online would be more widely available than something shown once on a US cable channel.

Why don't we start on a news program like 20/20 or 60 minutes? Are those aired in the UK?

You had to know that a simple suggestion would turn into a heated debate. By nature, we all love to argue and nit pick.

I think the idea is a good idea. Everyone can rent movies. We could either debate a movie, or a book. Or even a magazine (we get Foreign Policy mag - and I noticed that our local library has the newest issues too).

Some of these shows aren't exactly debatable however. Sometimes, it is something such as "interview with Britney Spears", and does not really have a debatable topic.




I was saying earlier that I thought it was a good idea, but it seemed that in the last thread people were sort of undecided as to which one to choose, and it ultimately seems to have died.

This is why I thought a program would work. Because all EVERYBODY would have to remember is the time that it comes on.

I think McLaughlin seems like a good pilot idea. We could try it out for next week and see if the show works.

If it does not, we can look at something else.

Where I live, the show comes on Sunday afternoons. What time is it at your place?