and managing editor of the huffington post.een, let's start with you. is it time for rangel to get out? >> i think so. i mean, i think he sort of has to. you think? >> yeah. i can't remember what the word was you used, but hypocrisy is another one that springs to mind. you know if a republican were in that position, people would be calling for his head. that said, let's go back in time, when tom delay broke some rule, the gop's caucus' own rules, they just changed them so he would haven't to step down. >> you mean twinkle toes? >> yes, this was before "dancing with the stars". >> corruption and government is kind of oxymoron? >> hand in glove. >> it's redundant. >> i think what's the major problem right now is that the trust in government is going down dramatically. and when you have timothy geithner not paying his taxes and becoming treasury secretary -- >> oh, yeah. >> when you have, as you say, charlie rangel in charge of writing tax policy, not paying his tax, and coming up with some flimsy excuses, that if you and i or any

huffington post had at least four articles defending roman polanski. has two teenage daughters, would you be happy or comfortable leaving roman polanski in a room with her teenaged daughters. >> bret: i'm more offended that you name dropped arianna huffington. >> greg: the only reason i brut up the point is so i could name drop arianna huffington. >> whoopi is wrong because he copped a deal to statutory rape. >> greg: and then one of the woman, what is her name on the huffington post. joan. she is the president of women overseas for equality in belgium. >> is that an acronym for something? >> it as word. >> greg: anyway, she said that it wasn't really and she said -- she pooh-pooh ed the situation. she almost said the daughter asked for it. if a man had written it, they would ask for his job. >> this whole thing, i have never been there. flat earth, praise jesus, hit my developmentally delayed son with a spoon. >> she is one of the few flat earthers. earthers. >> you are right. >> greg: from dirt bags to degenerates. in raleigh, north carolina, which i

arianna huffington of huffington post, thank you as always. >>> >>> the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die. and two democratic governors has used new tacks to take on health reform. let's turn to senator j. rockefeller a democrat of west virginia and a member of that finance committee. >> let's start with your news, senator franken introduced something he has titled the fairness act of 2009, you have adapted it into the form of an amendment. tell me what it is and what's your trying to do. >> it's very simple, i really don't believe at all this is about politics and process, i think it's about how people are treated, do they get health care through their insurance or do they not? do the insurance companies make so much money that it means they're not giving health care to the people. the answer to that is yes. so my amendment will be very simple, along with franken, al franken, and that is that over half of the health care bill in the senate is spent on subsidies for the insurance companies, over half, $485 billion. so that todhey can take in more custom

and managing editor of the huffington post. let's start with you. is it time for rangel to get out? >> i think so. i mean, i think he sort of has to. you think? >> yeah. i can't remember what the word was you used, but hypocrisy is another one that springs to mind. you know if a republican were in that position, people would be calling for his head. that said, let's go back in time, when tom delay broke some rule, the gop's caucus' own rules, they just changed them so the very least, against the taliban in afghanistan. >> but look at who is in charge? the parties in charge is so corrupt, what's happening to him under the current party in charge is also horrific. >> so what would happen if we pulled out? what happens to those women? >> well, first of all, look at how many civilian casualties we are responsible for. >> that's not good. >> we are not want there had. al qaeda is in pakistan. >> that's what the strategy is, though, the strategy is, to the extent that we have one, is to shift away from killing -- well, that's obvious

arianna huffington. good evening. >> good evening. >> i think congressman grayson should not have used the word holocaust because it has a distinct and unique meaning. he should correct that as soon as possible. otherwise, i'm applauding him. what do you think? >> i agree with you on both counts. the word holocaust should not have been used. he doesn't need any hyperbole. he has the facts on his side. he has truth on his side. he's an incredibly effective leader. he has to speak the truth. he should speak the truth. i agree with you -- the word holocaust is simply a distraction and should not have been used. but, apart from that, you know, grayson has been a real leader on so many fronts, both the health care front and the financial scandal. he's been demanding accountability to the fed. he's been demanding that corporate crooks are held accountable and we should not allow it to distract us from the true leadership in the congress. >> is this the proverbial emperor's new clothes moment. is this the crack

political reporter for the "huffington post" doing much to illuminate thing for us. >> thanks.on the rick berman hour, okay? >> okay. coming up on "countdown," senator jay rock federal join keith with breaking news on his breakthrough. and next, kent jones will be here to tell us about sarah palin's ghost writer. the person who wrote sarah palin's book. apparently, sarah palin didn't go rogue all by herself. ♪ crunch. wheat thins. that's what's gonna happen here. because you're tasty... with toasty whole grains. (crunch) wheat thins. toasted. whole grain. crunch. have at it. finally, good news for people with type 2 diabetes or at risk for diabetes. introducing new nutrisystem d, the clinically tested program for losing weight and reducing blood sugar. hi i'm mike, and i lost 100 pounds on nutrisystem d when i was first diagnosed with diabetes, that first step was more like a giant leap. till i discovered nutrisystem d. in a clinical study people on nutrisystem d lost 16 times more weight and reduced their blood sugar 5 times more than those on a hospital-directed plan. plus a1

arianna huffington and donna brazile. george, i have to condition fez, when i want to know what the white house thought and what you thought given your history with the nobel prize committee. >> the nobel prize committee forfeited its reputation for seriousness. if it had a reputation for seriousness. the president has a problem in afghanistan a real problem in scandinavian. the war set off a global cry of two words, for what? the committee answered that. they said, after 263 days of his presidency, but really after 11 days, because it was february 1st that the nomination was closed. he was honored for values and attitudes. notice the word attitude. shared by a majority of the world's population. this is an award for attitudinizing. >> it is well deserved. >> well deserved in. >> come on, george. i'm a forward-looking optimistic person. the president, in my judgment, he's well deserv. but he must also earn it. george, in 11 days, president obama overturned many of the policies that much of the world disliked. he ended ban

it's one thing to say we're having a discussion on the huffington post now. some people say he defshed it, some people say he didn't. the likes of rush limbaugh to say -- >> he's angry naturally. listen to this tirade. >> can you imagine, folks, how big obama's head is today? i didn't think it could get any bigger, but i think his head's now growing so big that his ears actually fit. liberal sellouts get this prize. george bush liberates 50 million muslims. ronald reagan liberates hundreds of millions of europeans, saves parts of latin america, any awards? no. just derision. obama gives speeches trashing his own country and he gets a prize for it. >> he's so jealous and angry it seems to me because the guy got the nobel -- first of all, iraq, 100,000 civilians were killed in iraq. let's not give credit to george bush for that. in latin america, what did he do in latin america? what did he do there? >> reagan did an awful lot of things throughout the world -- >> the peace prize worthy of that. el salvador, very worthy of the peace prize. >> nuclear weapons, in

joy behar spoke with arianna huffington about this. >> it remains in the private realm and i feel strongly whether you're a comedian or a politician if it is a private matter it's between you and your wife. if the law is involved because of sexual harassment or prostitution or anything else, that's another story. but we have no evidence yet that it was sexual harassment. >> what do you think about that? >> i have a very high tolerance for sexual harassment. >> you write about politics. >> there's a lot more interesting conversation as you can probably imagine, some commentary, too, at 9:00 p.m. eastern here on hln each and every night. >>> shifting gears a little here, one major league team is rallying around the memory of a fallen teammate to guide them through the playoffs. here is rafer weigel with this story. >>> yeah, and it appears to be motivating the club. it's very bittersweet right now, richard, for the los angeles angels. they lost pitcher nick adenhart at the start of the year to an alleged drunk driver. start of drunk driver. but his memory has been hanging on the wall with hi

ariana huffington on the latest politics. and senator jay rockefeller reveals exclusively on you'll never believe who threw the birthers and the lonesome roads back under the bus. >> i want to talk to you about copenhagen. warning, this product may be cancerous. may can cancerous. see, he was pulling up a tin of koegen haguen snuff and obama went to the city of copen hag again so that was intellectual. beck is a sin nick a nation made great by believers. so says lindsey graham. >> only in america can you make that much money crying. >> that's czar lindsey graham to you. >>> good evening from new york. the senate finance committee, fop lated with the majority not only crafted the bills of the insurance mon nollys but added that touch of medieval punishment, so familiar to the customers of the insurance monopolies. debating not only making health insurance by threat of fine, but by criminal penalties. buy their health insurance or go to jail, courtesy max baucus. to parody my grandma, i suppose i have no choice but to shove the

let's turn to the former choef of staff "huffington post" contributor. lawrence o'donnell. school based health clinics with mandatory parental information. >> according to michelle's definition, the house clinic that you were talking about earlier would be the congressional sex clinic where she and other female members of congress can go and get abortions in the afternoon, and then as she put it, be home for dinner with no one ng the difference. she went on imagining what it would be lake for these kids to come home from school with an abortion and the parents don't know it. so she is off the deep end once again. >> why is she boston wherg they are doing such a good job for her as we discussed? the nearest we've been able to narrow it down, who brought up the idea of putting people in jail for not buying this worst health care plan we have currently, is that it came in the mark-up from the gang of six. so it could be any one of those turkeys. >> when i was working for senator moynihan in the finance committee, at the last minute he came up with a strategic motion that he sh

. >>> let's turn to lawrence o'donnell, contributor to "huffington post." good evening. what is the cloud in opt out? >> i agree with senator widen, it's very unclear what version of the public option this would be. it would probably be an extremely watered down version of the public option and states have the option to opt out of. it's bringing something small to the table that seems to be in some kind of cover, something that the phrase public option can be used as they move it through the floor. it's unknown what public options they are talking about. >> is there a prospect, if it's an acceptable version, doing it this way, sends us down the path -- >> it's terrible public policy to have federal laws with states having the ability to opt out of laws. it's a terrible concept. it's not something i would want to be trying to legislate. >> the democrats are demanding a full public option and went to the floor of the senate and are doing so as we speak. what are their chances of making it happen? it's a great show of support and good for the egos and the psyches of everybo

you blog for the huffington post.re is enough way to get it. >> i'll put it out there. >> i think we should. and so my point is, people have to demand it. frankly. it's part of our job to hold these guys accountable. you're right. there should be absolutely no reason if it's our money, that we shouldn't be able to see how our money is being spent, misspent, mishandled, you know, what corporations are accessing federal dollars. again, our money. but again, let's remember that with the a.c.o.r.n. legislation, that was not the goal. initially of that piece of legislation. this could end up being a very positive outcome for the rest of us, but unfortunately that wasn't the goal when they actually passed this legislation. >> they like to say in washington unintended consequences. maybe we had a surprise in the beneficial unintended consequence which is penalties for entities that defraud taxpayers out of their money as bizarre as that actually may be. danielle, thank you. karen, i'll talk to you soon. monica, what else is

a simple 50-plus one majority to pass health reform, sam stein of the huffington post has reported thatelson supported the use of reconciliation to pass one, about now two of president's bush's tax cut packages. senator nelson also told -- not just a simple majority of 51 votes, or even a supermajority, filibuster proof 60 votes, but he said it should have a due per duper majority of 65 votes in the senate in order for him to consider it legitimate. greg sergeant of plumline reports that senator nelson's most acclaimed legislative accomplishments, the one for which he pats himself on the back most regularly is the stimulus bill. hiss efforts helped target the bill more on job creation and tax relief to turn the nation's troubled economy around. that bill that nelson was so proud of passed the senate, 60 to 36. they didn't get that 65 vote threshold. has night we pointed out that senator nelson won hiss fist term with 64% of the vote. his new majority standards have not been adopted retroactively, so thoseing us now is huffingto political reporter sam stein. does senator >> thanks for ha

big headline just posted on huffington post. the senate finance committee narrowly passed an amendment moments ago from senator maria cantwell from washington that moves the conservative panel as close as it likely will get to the public health insurance option. it creates a federally funded plan to compete with the private insurance companies. it got the support of chairman max baucus and senator kent conrad and passed the committee by only one vote. senator cantwell joins us now. great to have you with us. >> thank you, ed. >> you know, give us, the detail of this. what was in this amendment that moved max baucus and kent conrad? >> i think, ed, we hit the sweet spot. that is to say we are going to provide leverage by giving states the opportunities to opt in and they are going to do it by negotiating with private insurers. so you're taking the best of practises that exist today to drive down insurance prices. when we put that on the table, people saw that is what has happened in my state and what we can deliver for americans.

and john fogt, contributor to the huffington post. debra tate, sharon tate's sister said yesterday, there is rape and then there is rape. gloria, rape is rape, isn't it? >> well, of course, nothing was determined, because he entered a plea. entered a plea to unlawful sexual intercourse which is a felony. he admitted he understood at that time she was 13 years old. even if he hadn't confessed to it, in the grand jury testimony, there was a lot of testimony from the victim, joy, that, in fact, he had given her way lewd, that he had given her champagne. there was semen in her panties. he had engaged in various acts. for example, sodomy. so i think that we have to understand that this was a crime. >> yeah, but why are they saying -- why is the sister of sharon tate saying, you know, there's rape and there's rape? what kind of thinking is that? >> i'm not a lawyer, first of all. i'm a movie guy. >> but you play one on tv. >> i think there is a difference between statutory rape and classic rape. >> classic rape? >> i don't mean to say class

also the public option compromise, which was first reported on this show by huffington post reporter sam stein last night and allow states to opt out, joining that plan apparently has support of a couple of democrats on opposite ends of the spectrum. both chuck schumer and max baucus, they are activity considering the idea. and late today, you know what? i never thought i'd be left of howard dean, but i guess i am. howard dean, a doctor whose opinion carries a lot of weight with lefties, threw his support behind this state opt-in, opt-out gig? dean says it's real reform and if the opt-out proposal were to get 60 votes in the senate, democrats ought to support that. am i the last rat to leave the ship? the republicans are getting everything they want for the insurance industry, and i'll tell you what, lefties, we got to call, stay focused, we got to be on this. no cable talk show is going to talk somebody into a vote. i understand that. but i do believe that there are americans out there that want this, that can be motivated to force these folks that when they get in the conference co

jim warrens, msnbc, our contributor and also writes for the huffington post.nd roger simens, chief political comments for politico. jim, i know you got a scoop on the copenhagen thing. hold it for a second. let's talk about this big thing here, grayson, is he going to teach the democrats how to do it? he just comes out and says it. >> he's like a guy on crack who always searches for a bigger high and he knew he was going to go too far. which he did when he said health care in america was a holocaust. >> which is the way republicans deal with it. >> yeah. there are some people in america, a lot of them live in florida, who take that word very seriously. >> it's better to not make comparisons to hitler on any grounds. any grounds. >> this is a congressman that won by four percentage points. >> in orlando. >> in orlando. he's the 12th richest person in congress, $31 million. that's twice as much as the late senator ted kennedy. >> that's ahead of above almost all, seven or eight senators. >> twice as much as john mccain. twice as much as the late senator kennedy.

. >> "the huffington post" today reported, a columnist for news max, the conservative media, a fellow named john perry wrote a column tuesday which later was pulled which in part said the following. "imagine a bloodless coup to restore and defend the constitution through an interim administration that would do the serious business of governing and defending the nation, skilled military trained nation builders would replace accountability challenged radical left commissars having bonded with his twin teleprompters the president would be detailed for ceremonial speech making." is this just loony tune stuff, general? we all saw "seven days in may." i wonder if in this country anybody takes seriously the push for the military to grab power? >> having spent a long time in the military i don't remember any discussions about a coup. in fact, i think it's a great strength of this country that our military completely understands the role of our civilian leadership and their superiority. we have sworn in oath to uphold and defend the constitution of the united states. it's worked pretty well fo

and john farr, contributor to the huffington post. let's start with share tate's sister. deborah tate said yesterday, there is rape, and then there is rape. gloria, rape is rape, isn't it? >> well, of course, nothing was determined, because he entered a plea. entered a plea to unlawful sexual intercourse which is a felony. which is a crime. he admitted he understood at that time she was 13 years old. even if he hadn't confessed to it, in the grand jury testimony, there was a lot of testimony from the victim, joy, that, in fact he had given her quaaludes. that he had given her champagne. there was semen in her panties. he had engaged in various acts. for example, sodomy. so i think that we have to understand that this was a crime. >> yeah, but why are they saying -- why is the sister of sharon tate saying, you know, there's rape and there's rape? what kind of thinking is that? >> i'm not a lawyer, first of all. i'm a movie guy. >> but you play one on tv. >> i think there is a difference between statutory rape and classic rape. >> classic rape? >> i don't mean to say classi

it's one thing to say we're having a discussion on "the huffington post" now.ome people say he didn't. the likes of rush limbaugh to say -- >> he's angry naturally. listen to this tirade. >> can you imagine, folks, how big obama's head is today? i didn't think it could get any bigger, but i think his head's now growing so big that his ears actually fit. liberal sellouts get this prize. george bush liberates 50 million muslims. ronald reagan liberates hundreds of millions of europeans, saves parts of latin america, any awards? no. just derision. obama gives speeches trashing his own country and he gets a prize for it. >> he's so jealous and angry it seems to me because the guy got the nobel -- first of all, iraq, 100,000 civilians were killed in iraq. let's not give credit to george bush for that. in latin america, what did he do in latin america? what did he do there? beside invade grenada. >> reagan did an awful lot of things throughout the world -- >> the peace prize worthy of that. el salvador, very worthy of the peace prize. >> nuclear weapons, intermediate

first, straight out to my fantastic expert panel tonya acker, attorney and blogger for the huffingtonost, dr. rief carrine, terry liles, psychologist and crisis expert, tom ruskin, spokesman for the schuler family and former new york city investigator. and joining me on the phone, michael ayman, reporter for "newsday." michael, you've heard the tapes. what are the most significant new comments coming out of these newly released calls? >> well, i think that the most significant new thing that we heard today was the attempts by the new york state police to track diane schuler's cell phone. there was some attempt made to contact verizon, which is diane schuler's cell phone carrier, to ping the cell phone and get some kind of location so they could send out patrol cars and find that minivan full of children. but it's not clear to me if they were -- if all of these efforts were happening too late. she did crash at 1:35 p.m., and i'm not sure exactly when these calls took place. >> so, the horror of all this is that they knew there was a problem and they were trying to connect the cell phon

plus julie mennen a contributing blogger to "the huffington post." >> if they can find somebody in the water who can be a standard bearer, there's no guarantee that the republicans are going to take back the house. there are a lot of conservatives who don't like the way the leadership of the party is taking the party. >> what is the leadership of the party? >> well, it means whether it be the sitting senators or the sitting congressmen who comprise the committee chairman, the fund-raisers, whoever it may be that you would comprise the leadership of either party, it's not a republican versus democrat. >> no one has emerged yet from the republican party that looks sane enough for smart enough to lead the party. >> we're not doing that all the time, you asked me a simple political question. >> there's nobody who's bright up in coming out of the party right now. i can't say see it. do you see it? >> i liked mitt romney during the last election, most conservatives were not fans of john mccain. >> they turn on him for that. >> i don't know about that. i kn

from the left, the huffington post wrote it would be hard to see of a more deserving recipient. we hope hi will achieve real progress in diplomacy. on the right, michelle thinks the president is being awarded the prize "not for anything he's actually done but rather for the symbolism of what he might possibly achieve way off in the future." adding, "it's the final nail in the nobel peace prize's." >> big tent democrat blogs for reason unfathomable. president obama was awarded the nobel peace prize and saying it makes the committee look foolish. they are saying there's no way the president earned the nomination. >>> the stepmother of the missing florida girl says she still believes haleigh is alive. in an interview this morning she said somebody on her husband's side of the family has her. here's video of them. haleigh's father now wants a divorce because of inconsistencies in misty's story. we've also learned police pulled cummings over in a suspected road rage incident. she and the person driving the other car were questioned and police. the driver who talked to police talked t

one resident of oregon telling the huffington post that bartering has become the norm there with people trading everything from flower bulbs in return for seeds to shirt for a jacket and a place to sleep for help around the house. it's not just a small community. more americans getting involved in national bartering networks. i tech allows businesses to trade goods and businesses without cash increase in membership of 47% and before folks probably know they exist. one of civilization early economic systems seems to be make ago comeback and maybe the dollar's decline, ezra. >> i hope not. you know somebody will trade for you a blog post, dylan? >> what? >> nothing at all. >> that's a great barter. this next headline. sad and alarming like music. the recession not only affects the living but the dead now. from michigan to alabama some cities are too poor to lay the dead to rest. local budgets for buried unclaimed bodies getting cut and more cash-strached families are leaving their loved ones at the morgue in the hands of the state. recently the state of illinois had to put 12. million bac

plus julie mennen a contributing blogger to "the huffington post. >> if they can find somebody in theho can be a standard bearer, there's no guarantee that the republicans are going to take back the house. there are a lot of conservatives who don't like the way the leadership of the party is taking the party. >> what is the leadership of the party? >> well, it means whether it be the sitting senators or the sitting congressmen who comprise the committee chairman, the fund-raisers, whoever it may be that you would comprise the leadership of either party, it's not a republican versus democrat. >> no one has emerged yet from the republican party that looks sane enough for smart enough to lead the party. >> we're not doing that all the time, you asked me a simple political question. >> there's nobody who's bright up in coming out of the party right now. i can't say see it. do you see it? >> i liked mitt romney during the last election, most conservatives were not fans of john mccain. >> they turn on him for that. >> i don't know about that. i know that a lot of republicans and conservativ

hln's joy behar spoke with columnist arianna huffington about it. >> if it isn't, it remains in the private realm. and i feel really strongly that whether you're a comedian or a politician, if it is a private matter, it's between you and your wife. if the law is involved, whether because of sexual harassment or prostitution or anything else, that's another story. but we have no evidence yet. i mean, we may have, that it was sexual harassment. >> what do you think about that? >> well, first of all, i have a very high tolerance for sexual harassment. >> you write about politics, no wonder. >> i used to have a sign over my door, sexual harassment welcome here. no one has knocked lately, that's all i can say. >> the conversation, i guess, didn't exactly end there. you can watch more of the commentary with joy behar. her show happens at 9:00 p.m. eastern time right here on hln. >>> and we are getting all kinds of reaction from president obama winning the nobel peace prize this morning. hear what former winners are saying about that announcement. they said it would never last. but it's been two m

let's go back to tanya acker, blogger for the huffington post. criminal defense attorney bradford cohen and clinical psychiatrist, dr. dale archer. dr. dale, in the first case, it was a wild out of control chicago mob. in the second case, prosecutors say these four teenaged males entered the home intending to kill the occupants and allegedly proceeded to murder the mom in her bed. officials say their goal was to rob the home with the intention of killing everyone inside. is there any way to explain this kind of sadism we're now seeing in the country and in the city? >> well, there's no doubt that violence has taken on epidemic status. in just a few statistics, 60% of kids have witnessed violence. 60% of kids have been assaulted and 20%, 20% of kids have seen a shooting. so there's no doubt it's an epidemic and there are three reasons why. you alluded to them. one, violence on the internet. two, violence on tv and three, violence in video games. kids are seeing it every single day and teenaged years are tough enough, always have been, but now that

. >> well, that was arianna huffington calling for joe biden to resign. if obama doesn't heed his advice on afghanistan. i have to tell you after eight years of the gchl op slobbering over president bush it's refreshing to see how the left is willing to engage the white house in an honest, open debate. joining me are actor, comic and author of "i am not a psychic." and new york daily news columnist liz benjamin. welcome to the show. so listen, should biden resign? if obama sends troops into afghanistan? >> i think that arianna is right on the money in terms of when you look back at recent history, colin powell should have spoken up, clearly. >> yes. >> certain people should have spoken up. >> scott mcclellan. >> scott mcclellan wasn't making war decisions. >> he was there and he knew about the machinations and the evil -- >> colin powell became the good soldier and i think forever tarnished his reputation by helping lie us into a war. i agree with arianna. i think if biden threatens to resign if there's no troop reduction, then we have a real country here