The Interview:

Laura Poitras is the Oscar-nominated filmmaker of CITIZENFOUR, about NSA leaker Edward Snowden. She is a co-founding editor of the online news magazine, The Intercept, and a 2014 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for her reporting on the government’s surveillance programs.

The Panel:

Joaquin Castro is a Democratic Congressman representing Texas’s 20th congressional district. He serves on the House Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Foreign Affairs. His identical twin brother is Julian Castro, former mayor of San Antonio and current Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

Katty Kay is the BBC World News America anchor and author of the NYT bestseller The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance – What Women Should Know.

Monica Mehta is a financial expert and Ambassador for Operation HOPE Project 5117, whose mission is to strengthen the economy by focusing on empowering those who earn less than $50,000 a year. She is the author of The Entrepreneurial Instinct.

Mid-Show Guest:

Mel Brooks stars in the upcoming HBO comedy special “Mel Brooks Live at the Geffen,” premiering January 31. Brooks holds the distinction of being one of only twelve people in the EGOT club, having won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award.

The two, brother and sister hammed it up for me. The entire thing took 20 seconds. Their Mom was happy to let me take their picture.
They are so precious.
I also will get to see them grow up.

DES MOINES (The Borowitz Report)–Republican Presidential candidates descended on Iowa over the weekend, giving Iowans a rare opportunity to evaluate all thirty thousand hopefuls in one place.

The candidates were a big hit with their G.O.P. audience, who attempted to determine which of the thirty thousand would do the best job of eviscerating Obamacare and deporting college students.

Attendees gave an especially warm welcome to the businessman Donald Trump, whose potential entry into the 2016 race would instantly raise the credibility of everyone else.
In a speech laden with red meat for the Republican faithful, Trump explained how his experience of hosting a reality TV show would prove invaluable in defeating the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).

But Iowans reserved their most enthusiastic response for Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who laid out an ambitious vision for depriving future generations of a living wage.

Asked how he hopes history will remember him, Walker said, “If I have my way, there will be no one teaching history.”



www.borowitzreport.com

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—President Obama’s proposal to give workers six weeks of paid leave is meeting strong opposition from a group of people who annually receive thirty-three weeks of paid leave.Members of the group heard the President’s proposal on Tuesday night, one of the few nights of the year when they are required to report to their workplace.

The opponents of paid leave, who show up for work a hundred and thirty-seven days per year and receive paid leave for the other two hundred and twenty-eight, were baffled by other moments in the President’s speech.

For example, they were confused by Obama’s challenge to try to survive on a full-time job that pays fifteen thousand dollars, since they all currently hold a part-time job that pays a hundred and seventy-four thousand dollars

www.borowitzreport.com

Poll: Majority of Americans Now Believe That They Could Be Senators claims Andy Horowitz




WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) – In a poll taken on Tuesday night, a wide majority of Americans said that they now believe that they could be elected to the United States Senate.

The results reflected a renewed sense of the inclusiveness of the American political system, as those surveyed said that they believed that anyone could serve in the Senate regardless of intelligence, the ability to speak, or any other qualifications whatsoever.

While those responses indicated that, as of Tuesday night, at least, Americans were energized about the possibility of their future careers in Washington, other results were not so encouraging.

Nineteen per cent of those surveyed said that they could not respond to the poll questions because they were still in a state of shock, while fourteen per cent agreed with the statement “WTF???”


www.Borowitzreport.com

Source: NYTimes

President Obama Will Seek to Reduce Taxes for Middle Class
President Obama will use his State of the Union address on Tuesday to call on Congress to raise taxes and fees on the wealthiest taxpayers and the largest financial firms to finance tax cuts for the middle class, administration officials said on Saturday.
The proposal — which will also push to reshape the tax code to help working families and raise $320 billion over the next decade — faces long odds in the Republican-controlled Congress, led by lawmakers who have long opposed raising taxes and who argue that doing so would hamper economic growth.
But the decision to present the plan signifies the start of a debate over taxes and the economy that will shape both Mr. Obama’s legacy and the 2016 presidential campaign.
READ MORE »


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/18/us/president-obama-will-seek-to-reduce-taxes-for-middle-class.html?emc=edit_na_20150117

Note: what George Hamilton and John Boehner have in common

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Citing what he called “security concerns,” House Speaker John Boehner said on Wednesday that he would do all of his drinking at the office for the foreseeable future.

Boehner said that he may have to stay at work later in order to get his drinking done, but added, “I’m doing it for the American people. They need to know that their Speaker is safe.”

Calling the move “a temporary security measure taken out of an abundance of caution,” the Ohio Republican said that his decision to do all of his drinking at the office “should in no way be seen as a negative comment on the nation’s bartenders, who do fine work.”


“To the men and ladies who stand behind the bar, let me say this: ‘I’ll be back,’ ” he said, choking up.


Andy Borowitz is a New York Times best-selling author and a comedian who has written for The New Yorker since 1998. He writes the Borowitz Report for newyorker.com.

You asked to see, so here is what I can offer for you to walk with us:

I was traveling with my grandson and a family friend. Grandson’s hope is that he will end up working for Cirque in the future. We learned that there are no visitors allowed and no tours.
So we walked the grounds and peered into the brightly lit windows under the eyes of a (kindly disposed) security guard.
The place is a haven for any kind of free thinking artistry imaginable, and I wish I could have taken more photos.