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The Brian Lehrer Show / November 27, 2007

The Brian Lehrer Show

Tuesday, November 27, 2007
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  • Sen. Trent Lott, Republican Whip
    Sen. Trent Lott, Republican Whip

    Lobbying Limits

    Trent Lott’s resignation from the Senate may be timed to get out before new restrictions on lobbying kick in. What does the law say on when former members of Congress can become lobbyists and why is it changing on January 1st? Also, Naomi Wolf on lessons from the Weimar Republic for America today. We check in on the Middle East Peace summit in Annapolis, Maryland, and get the scoop on the West Side rail yards development plans. Finally, a call in: will Oprah's endorsement of Barack Obama affect your vote?

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Lobbying Limits

Dick Dadey, executive director of the Citizen's Union , a watchdog for the public interest and an advocate for good government, and Sarah Dufendach, vice president for legislative affairs at Common Cause, discuss the change to the lobbying rules that may have affected the timing of Trent Lott's resignation.

All We are Saying, is Give Peace a Chance

Steve Clemons, the director of foreign affairs at the New America Foundation and publisher of the The Washington Note, compares the Middle East Peace summit in Annapolis to another summit held at the same location in 1786.

The Washington Note

West Side Redux

Five developers just unveiled plans for the West Side railyards in Manhattan. Lockhart Steele, publisher of Curbed.com assesses the plans.

Curbed's take on the railyard plans

Losing Democracy

Naomi Wolf, author of the best-selling The Beauty Myth, likens what is happening in the U.S. with other democracies that became dictatorships, including Weimar Germany, in her new book, The End of America: Letter of Warning To A Young Patriot. Historian Eric Weitz, author of Weimar Germany: Promise and Tragedy, joins her to look more deeply at the comparison between then and now.

The End of America is available for purchase at Amazon.com.

Weimar Germany is available for purchase at Amazon.com.

If you can't see the video click here

Open Phones: The O Factor

Do celebrity endorsements matter? Oprah Winfrey has endorsed Barack Obama, how does that endorsement, or any endorsement, affect your vote?

All We are Saying, is Give Peace a Change

Steve Clemons, the director of foreign affairs at the New America Foundation and publisher of the thewashingtonnote.com, checks back in to react to President Bush's speech on the Annapolis Middle East Peace summit.

A person dressed as a bear to represent a bear market performs outside the New York Stock Exchange on October 6, 200 in New York. Wall Street tumbled after the opening bell as fallout from the credit crisis triggered concerns about the economy and the Dow fell below 10,000 for the first time in four years.

Uncommon Indicators

The Brian Lehrer Show

The Brian Lehrer Show wants to hear how the economy is affecting the little things in your daily life. Share your stories and photos of the downturn.

Cast your vote for our video contest semi-finalists.

Ray Young, General Motors Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

The Rocky Road Ahead

The Brian Lehrer Show

Ray Young, the chief financial officer of General Motors, talks about GM’s bankruptcy.

Then, Damon Lester, president of the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers, and Greg Williams, former owner of the recently closed Huntington Chevrolet in Huntington Station, NY., discusses the effect GM’s bankruptcy has had on dealerships and their employees.

paper trail small

Tweet If You Use Twitter

The Brian Lehrer Show

Farhad Manjoo, Slate's technology columnist and the author of True Enough: Learning To Live in a Post-Fact Society talks about what Twitter means and how different groups use it.

What's your take on Twitter? How do you use it? Comment below!

(<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexerde/80417539/">alexerde</a>/flickr)

Don't Say That, Literally

The Brian Lehrer Show

John Flansburgh of the band They Might Be Giants discusses the running list the band keeps of "things we can no longer say." (a few examples: "my bad" "don't go there" "one hundred and ten percent" and "voted off the island")

What would be on your list of banned words or phrases? Comment below!

happiness

From Denmark with Love

The Brian Lehrer Show

Jesper Grunwald, senior managing editor with the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, talks about the Danish economy, biking to work, and why the Danes are allegedly the happiest people in the world.

Judge Sotomayor

Squatting, Then and Now

The Brian Lehrer Show

As former squats in the East Village make the transition to coops, making homes from abandoned housing is again an issue. Andrew Reicher executive director of Urban Homesteading Assistance Board, Frank Morales an Episcopal priest involved in East Village/Lower East Side squatting and homelessness activism since the late '70s, and Rob Robinson, a leader of the Housing Campaign of Picture the Homeless, discuss the return of squatting.

Video Picks

The Brian Lehrer Show

Check out some recent video clips of interviews with guests and Brian Lehrer's weekly Web video picks.