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This is the network without federal funding. President Obama talked with a member of the House Armed Services Committee. Our resident insider is Jared Cohen and Jan Sarah Gani share their Don't Miss Hicks. Well all that and more today on the Emily Rooney show. But first the news from NPR News in Washington I'm Lakshmi saying Nasser declares an end to

a historic journey. Thirty nine missions in nearly twenty seven years later. Space shuttle Discovery is back home for good. It made its final landing just moments ago at Florida's Kennedy Space Center. NPR's Russell Lewis is standing by. Russell What an emotional moment for Nassau today. Absolutely you know as as Discovery was beginning to roll down the runway. You could hear the controller speaking to the astronauts on board and it was this quote to the ship that has let us time and time again we say farewell Discovery this is the thirty ninth and final mission for the space shuttle that has been flying now since 1984 it is on the ground safely and it is quite quite an exciting time to be here. I mean there are other many other reasons why discovery was such an important shuttle for NASA's. It had return to space the space during after following tragedies at NASA's that right. Oh sure it was the first shuttle to return to space after both the Challenger and Columbia accidents it was the space shuttle that launched the Hubble Space Telescope. It was the first shuttle

to capture a satellite and bring it back to Earth. It was the first shuttle to fly a sitting member of Congress that was also the shuttle that flew Senator John Glenn back into space for a second time so many many firsts for the shuttle. And it is also the first shuttle to be to be retired now. And we have two more scheduled flights remaining is that right. That's correct. Endeavor next month and then Atlantis scheduled for June so two more missions and then that is it for the space shuttle program which I've been flying since 1981. All right thanks Russell. NPR's Russell Lewis at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida where Shuttle Discovery returned home moments ago from its final mission in space. President Obama is gathering with his national security team this morning to discuss possible U.S. intervention in Libya. NPR's John Snyder reports a no fly zone is high on the list of options. The discussion will bring together national security adviser Tom Donilon and CIA Director Leon Panetta Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and top Pentagon officials. A possible no fly zone is expected to be the

main topic on the table. But Secretary Clinton has already made it clear that the Obama administration believes that imposing a no fly zone is a matter for the United Nations to authorize. That meeting comes a day after President Obama spoke by phone with British Prime Minister David Cameron who told the BBC afterward that planning is vital. Britain and France are pushing for a U.N. resolution creating such as Zone. But Russia and China generally oppose such moves and they hold veto power in the Security Council. Joel Snyder NPR News Washington. The United Nations is investigating reports that forces loyal to leader Moammar Gadhafi tortured members of the opposition. The probe is being led by point man Juan Mendez. On Wall Street the Dow is down eight points at twelve thousand two hundred six. This is NPR News. NPR is president and CEO Vivian Schiller is stepping down today the board of directors announcing it has accepted her resignation effective immediately. This announcement comes a day after a hidden camera video surfaced showing another executive

calling the Tea Party racist and saying NPR was better off in the long term without federal funding. The statement the network rebute Schiller's departure comes months after she was criticized for her handling of the controversial dismissal of former NPR News analyst Juan Williams. A new study finds that young people increasingly value parenthood over marriage. NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports the research shows they're also less likely to link the two. The Pew Research Center finds more than half of those 18 to 29 so-called millennials say being a good parent is important. Just 30 percent say the same about a good marriage. That's a far larger gap than with the previous generation X. But Pew director Paul Taylor says it doesn't mean millennials will end declining fertility rates. Actually they are less likely to be parents than were Gen Xers back when they are at the same phase of life. However when they have children they are more likely to have children outside. It was in fact Pew finds 51 percent of all births to millennials in

2008 were to unwed mothers. Nearly half of millennials say the institution of marriage is becoming obsolete. Jennifer Ludden NPR News Washington. Southeastern Alabama is cleaning up from an apparent tornado the Mobile County Emergency Management Agency says a storm struck near Theodore this morning. Uncertain how much damage it caused or how many people were injured. I'm Lakshmi Singh NPR News Washington. Support for NPR comes from the health care compact alliance working for citizen control of health care information add health care compact dot org. It's live and it's local. Coming up next two hours of local talk the Emily Rooney show and the Kelly Crossley Show only on WGBH. Good afternoon you're listening to the Emily Rooney show the big boss is out at NPR today following the release of a video by gorilla undercover

filmmaker James O'Keefe which showed another NPR executive making critical remarks about the Tea Party Republican Party particularly to Couric because of course it's very Christian. You call it Christian. It's weird I have to ask you that undercover video was released yesterday and today NPR CEO Vivian Schiller resigned. The NPR board released a statement saying in part Vivian was passionately committed to NPR's mission and to stations NPR working collaboratively collaboratively as a local national news network show herself had no comment but the resignation follows a number of embarrassing episodes for NPR. The firing of Juan Williams last fall and Vivian chillers comment that he should consult the psychiatrist. Meanwhile the filmmaker who surreptitiously taped NPR's Ron Schiller no

relation to Devean chiller is one in the same James O'Keefe who brought the housing assistance group ACORN to its knees and tried to break into U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu whose office looking for information about health care bill complaints. Joining me now by telephone to talk about the developments at NPR are Al Tompkins senior senior faculty person at the online Poynter Institute and Jay Rosen NYU journalism professor and media critic. Welcome to both of you. Well yesterday Jay as you know Vivian Schiller. Distance herself as much as she could from Ron Schiller and said that he had already stepped down he was no longer with the organization but clearly the board met in the last 24 hours. The chairman of the board Dave Edwards saying essentially that she that Vivian had become a distraction to the organization that in the board's mind it hindered her ability to lead the organization going forward how do

you respond to it. I think it was a act of cowardice by the board of NPR. I think they don't recognize that the people who did this to them want to be are destroyed just as they want to destroy the rest of the mainstream media and that they are going to invite more surreptitious that it's attack centric like this. And that they failed to stand up for a visionary leader at a dangerous time in their history. So I give the boy to give Dave Edwards an F-minus And I think it's a very dark and sad day for National Public Radio. Did you think that they effectively or did not effectively distance themselves from Ron Schiller I mean Ron is a is a development guy. He's a funny guy. He works for the foundation so he doesn't speak for the news division but he kind of swept the you know he did a lot of we this and we that there was some joking around with these two people I should say who were

posing as members of a Muslim group it was a made up name but they said they had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and they were offering NPR five million dollars by the way he didn't buy it he didn't take the 5 million dollars. Well I think it would have been smart for the board to make some distinctions here between Ron Schiller and the editorial operations of NPR are you to have anything to do with that. And when he made his ill advised comments about Tea Party activists he said I don't speak for and PR These are my personal views and I understand that those things don't matter in the white heat of public controversy but they should better. To the NPR board. But instead I think the board is. Unable to understand it it is in a culture war. People want to see its demise it's the forces aligned against it. O'KEEFE And people like Andrew Breitbart who lowkey has cooperated with before had said that Breitbart for example has said that

he is committed to the destruction of the old guard in BDA. And I think people within NPR devoted as they are to professional attachment and what I call the view from nowhere fail to understand that they actually have political enemies in this culture and they just allow their political enemies to win and that's why I think it's a dark day for NPR. I'd like to bring Al Tomkins from the Poynter Institute into discussion actually. You have us a different take on that. Well I mean you just any organization especially media organizations can only just take so many hits one after another after another especially while they are seeking federal funding. And this is an organization that that has been taking hits and this show has been at the center of it for quite some time. I mean you know she brought the heat out on herself in the Juan Williams matter who didn't say by the way that that he ought to go see a psychiatry she says this is a matter between

me and not Queen behavior because I addressed but. You know it's just a crazy thing to say it. And she was even denied her end of the year bonus she was reprimanded and she was already on pretty thin ice here and you know you just can't take that many hit. What did she do not just what did she do wrong in the Ron Schiller. Well I mean that's how level when you're a top executive you do stand responsible for the utterances of those who work under you. I mean it does happen and this certainly wouldn't be the first time that someone in a leadership role has had to stand good for something that that happened with other leaders in a news organization or other leaders or organization. And even though he was not associated as you and I and you know we we understand the disassociation between the foundation and the editorial side I'm not sure everybody does. I mean it does speak to some organizational cultural thing and the fact of the matter is this NPR relies principally on donations from the public and the goodwill of

the public. And anything that gets in the way of that is is is is troublesome that NPR is fighting to keep federal the federal funding which is nowhere near the majority not even close to the majority of of the income. But they need the money. And if this makes it more difficult if if if she is battling for her name it makes it more difficult for the larger organization to do the work that it needs to do. You know she look she brought some great things to guard. And I would say the single best thing she brought was a real awareness of multimedia. I mean the the the the online site the interactivity of NPR is so much better than it was when you got there two years ago. I mean it's really dramatic and she would have to be credited with bringing that that awareness that that wonderful delivery online. I think it's extraordinary.

Talking to Al Tompkins from the Poynter Institute Jay Rosen from New York University I'm also joined on the phone by James Poniewozik He's a media writer for Time magazine. James what do you think this means for the federal funding. Some of the some of the Republican congressmen have already made hay of this. You know that this didn't precipitate the controversy over federal funding which you know comes around every few years kind of like comment. And Republican Congressman beat the drum for denying funding to these you know. Coast elitist to live off the public teat and look down on you and so on and so forth. And I think that you know I think back a lot of people expect that to play out the way that it has in the past which is that you throw red meat to the base it gets a lot of hot air for a while and then there's some compromise reached where the funding somehow continues. I think that the particular nature of these controversies

that you may possibly have made it harder for a Republican senators or congressman to a later you know justify themselves to particularly the Tea Party when they're so strongly trying to ingratiate themselves to it. If they eventually reach the settlement that is not defunding public broadcasting I mean it's just it just raises the temperature all around. I want to bring Jay Rosen back in this from New York University. Jay as you said earlier on my words not yours a basically NPR buckled to this renegade group led by James O'Keefe who is bent on destroying certain arms of the of the mainstream media. But as I'm sure you know the culture at NPR is extremely sensitive. And you know tries to appeal to a broad base. They're going to they're going to do this again probably they're gonna bring somebody in very much like Vivian Schiller.

They also fired Ellen Weiss I think her name was going to look for people who bring that kind of same sensibility to the organization. And I guess my question is have have they had the damage themselves in a way that the not to be able to recover from. Well I think they'll probably bring a weaker person in somebody who is more pliable and she's going to or he's going to preside over the organization where every single NPR employee who has a conversation in a bar is going to have to think about whether they're being taped or not and whether it they'll get their bosses fired through what they're saying. I mean they they've just invited acts of intimidation. And I think a massive scale by the cowardice that they show and the lack of political insight. Now what it cuts to the federal funding which I agree is it is an issue there I think Vivian Schiller maybe she did make a mistake maybe what she should have done is gone completely off federal funding directly for NPR and then allowed dare the Republicans to kill

local radio stations by killing the CPB and have that political fight at the local level where Republican congressmen have to. Stand up and say Yes I think your local radio station is going to have to go out of business I'm sorry but that's just the way it is and the strength that NPR would have in that situation is that among listeners they actually do very well with conservatives and independents and liberals. And I think there was that has attempted to be bold politically in in that way and if the board had fired her for it that the board would be standing up for NPR. What the board did was just cave under political pressure and sometimes in life you're supposed to be able to rise above that. Try to Jay Rosen from New York University Al Tompkins from the Poynter Institute and James Wozzeck from Time magazine. I'm curious any of you jump in on this. The comments that Ron Schiller made about the Tea Party.

He said that they're not just they're not just races they're xenophobia. He made the comment that NPR would be better off without federal funding does anybody think that there was a salt of truth to what he was saying. Well I. I've been on a lot of this is James. I you know I did. Yeah I'm glad Tim is making the point that the Tea Party comments were just one of the troublesome things that he said. Another was making that remark that NPR could survive without federal funding which you know as as as Jay pointed out is to a considerable pool is that true. Certainly more so than local stations or local PBS station. You know I think that there has been a tendency sort of a decision within the public broadcasting community to hold by this this sort of absolutist position that you know it you know all of the money is needed across the board. Let's not recognize that there's some part of this framework that need it more than

others and you know frankly I think that that is a nuance of the discussion that you know kind of tends to get slighted by a lot of sides in this debate and that that that's worth talking about. OK but I guess what I'm asking is were any of his comments defensible. I'm talking about Ron Schiller who's the president the NPR Foundation who made the comments you know seeing he saying that the Republican Party has been hijacked by this group meaning the Tea Party. They're not just Islamophobic but xenophobic basically they are that he says white middle America gun toting. It's scary they're seriously racist is any of that defensible. I mean. Well position can have you know to just say that you believe that there is racism in the Tea Party but there is a distinction between saying that there are racists in the Tea Party and saying that the Tea Party is racist. OK. That what James just said.

The if it's unwise to take an entire group and characterize that group but it certainly defensible to say there are elements and statements. And here's what I mean. But at the same time you have to kind of use your moral imagination to realize that this person is just having lunch with somebody that he thinks may want to fund NPR there. He's if he's not trying to think about his word because he was the victim of a stay there's going to be more sting like this and so questioning has been tight. Hell yeah I used to be differentially try to talk like a fundraiser talk where you don't emphasize sharp disagreements with the people you're trying to raise money from you have a fact of life. But I think the board should have to answer for the future attacks that is going to it bite through this action about. I want to see Dave Edwards about ADD and take his

hits for what he's done both within the NPR public radio community and in the public at large. Al Tom as I'm curious to get your take just on James O'Keefe methodology or even the character from the Buffalo Beast who called Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker a week or so ago you know basically buffaloed him said he was the billionaire David Koch right. What about that is I mean they're not journalists per se but for them to position themselves as more sort of guerrilla journalists but what about that as a tactic fair game. If you're asking is it fair game for a journalist to do that I would say no because they are going in with an agenda that they're trying to prove journalists have gone undercover for over 100 years. Now why eighteen hundred. So there is there is a place for undercover journalism but it follows a protocol and it's not the

first tactic of the last tactic. And you know and there are a lot of questions that we asked before. Before we go undercover first is that the issue of overwhelming public support. Is there any other way to get it are you willing to invest the time to show that happens over and over again. I mean there are lots of things that you go through before you go undercover. That's not what happened here what happened this is this is this. Is it entrapment. And for what purpose. You know it's only it's only to get the information to the side of your story that that helps to fulfill your point of view. Another question that hasn't been addressed yet. I don't know that matters is how this was edited. That certainly came up in the acorn undercover video because it was clearly edited in such a way to make it appear that you know you have to acknowledge that activists have done this kind of thing for a long time.

Animal rights groups do it you know anti-whaling group if you want to group lots of people have gone undercover lots of people have released shocking or amazing video to the media that makes news. And sometimes it's even useful. So it's there's not much new about about that tactic. Journalists would be much better served to do their own exploration than do their own investigation where they know everything that happened on the front and back of it they know the editing process they know what was left and left out. But you know it's certainly true that it has happened many many times that the public provides video provide images that that become an important part of of how we understand issues. I mean there's a broader film was essentially a citizen provided video. That is in fact the only representation of kind of what happened at that moment. JAY ROSEN You mentioned a few minutes ago that you thought NPR would probably make a move

to hire someone even weaker unless they stop taking federal funding which is unlikely to happen any time soon. That's the kind of person that they're going to when they want to understand want somebody who understands the kind of culture that thrives in that organization. But what would you do would you bring in somebody that was completely disparate that was it from a different kind of media source what would you do. Well I don't advise NPR and I haven't run an organization like that so I'm not sure anyone should listen to me but what I would do is get off federal funding directly sent to NPR right away stop claiming that that NPR people have no politics have no of you wean yourself away from the view from nowhere and instead. Shift and the official philosophy of NPR to emphasize that it is a place with many voices people who have many different views on all kinds of issues

and that we are no longer expecting our people to pretend that they don't have political lives and political souls and points of view but stead we are going to demonstrate in a variety of ways that the full range of voices in American culture is represented in our organization and if you can do that successfully we very hard difficult transition to make then the exposure of one person or another as somebody with a political life won't actually hurt you and that you take the sting out of the culture war tactics that way. So I think the combination of getting off that federal funding and moving away from the view from nowhere will reduce the likelihood that these sorts of things can work. Then you have the additional problem of the local stations and that eventually is going to be solved by technology when people have internet in their cars they'll be able to get their signal directly from and From NPR and the stronger stations that actually provide local service not just a relay of All Things

Considered will survive and that's the ultimate shape of NPR but you have to go. It is too yellow to move towards. Instead what the board of poly do is hire some milktoast person who will run at the first sight of a culture war controversy. Oh come on I don't believe that I really this is Al I really don't believe that. NPR is is a strong organization it is an important increasingly important organization especially for news that is not a strong organization but it's alright. James last word from you. I think that Jamie good morning you make a good point you know the one thing that James I'm at an advantage of over NPR the situation is that he's black. They were all right you know. And and and NPR according to tradition did James Bond book and was six are Al Tompkins and Jay Rosen thanks so much for being with us again. All right we're going to take a short break when we continue Rhode Island Congressman Jim Langevin on the

Libyan no fly proposal and a potential government shutdown. You're listening to the Emily Rooney show. Stay with us. Support for WGBH comes from you and from Simmons leadership conference on Tuesday April 26 a day of leadership motivation and networking for women seeking to compete in today's changing business climate information at Simmons dot edu slash leadership and from Lexus Broadway Across America presenting the Tony Award winning Broadway musical Hair at Boston's Colonial Theatre March 22nd through April 10th. Tickets at Broadway Across America dot com part of the Broadway Across America Lexus series. And listen to music from his forthcoming CD of String Band songs called Heirloom Music

lives in Austin where he'll perform next week at the South by Southwest Music Festival. Joining us this afternoon to an eighty nine point seven according to the great American writer Ernest Hemingway. Wine is the most civilized thing in the world. And whether you've traveled to the ends of the earth to find the perfect collection or just around the corner to pick up your favorite dinner party standby the WGBH wine option is certain to pique your interest. A fine selection of red wine the WGBH wine auction has something for everyone. Place your bid online at auction dot WGBH dot org. I'm Cally Crossley next on the Kelly Crossley Show a radio remember of the late Reverend Peter J. Today one after the Emily Rooney show. Twenty nine point seven. WGBH

You're listening to the Emily Rooney show. Rhode Island Congressman Jim Blanchard sits on the House Armed Services Committee as well as a subcommittee on terrorism and unconventional threats. He joins me to discuss a potential no fly zone over Libya and other matters facing the Congress. Welcome Congressman. Oh Emily how are you. It was I realized as I was going through some of my research on this that I don't have a really good grasp of what it means to enforce a no fly zone. What does it mean. Well it basically would mean that Libya would be told that they can't buy any type of aircraft either fixed wing or a rotary aircraft. And and if so they would potentially be shut down. So does it include commercial airplanes. No this is the premise that you know that I mean to say the obvious is primarily a military no fly zone it depends on how far the no fly zone is extended whether that would they would ground commercial aircraft or not but I raise that question because clearly

you know any no fly zone that would be opposed and I think it should be done through a coalition or through the United Nations if at all. It would certainly not be intended at all to affect commercial air traffic. And who exactly enforces the imposition of the no fly zone is it the UN Council NATO or kind of well I've studied this. I don't think the United States should be acting unilaterally I think that this should be done something through a coalitional potentially through the United Nations. We're not there yet and I know that they are trying to see these diplomatic efforts going on right now discussing a no fly zone but no decision has yet been reached. Well China and Russia have said that they oppose a U.N. sanctioned no fly zone and of course Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says he's wary of one where where do you stand on it. Well I would agree with Secretary Gates that we need to approach this cautiously and the American people need to understand it as a consequence. What is the downside. Well the you know potential terrorist action of that Libya could carry out against the US forces whether it's by Surat the

world or you know things that could be done to put our asleep at risk I'm sure that the fleet would be fine defending itself but you know this may not be without consequences. If we were to interfere right now with what's going on with Libya and I am very concerned about civilian casualties in Libya right now and United States you know where has all of us are monitoring the situation. I very carefully but I would hope that any effort to bring the fighting it will be it to an end would be done as either a coalition or through diplomatic means international talking to Rhode Island Congressman Jim Landrigan when when and if the no fly zone were enforced would there be any economic fallout for the country. Over that. Well the the whole economic fallout that is occurring or could occur is as if it was playing out right now and that it reduces oil production in Libya and that affects the world's supply of oil

which has the effect of my demand therefore their price increases which is one of the reasons why gas has peaked. Who are told the four dollars a gallon in many places any time I visited the Middle East North Africa or that very volatile region of the world. And any time there's any kind of unrest in those areas it even the fear of unrest can affect oil prices and by and where obviously the American people are feeling the pain at the pump right now need to be to be mindful of course it's another reason why we really need to get ourselves off our dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels in general I've been a longtime proponent of of a national energy policy developing alternative fuels and technologies whether it's wind solar power or solar power or a biofuel. These are things that are ultimately going to get our energy prices in check and no longer have a dependence.

And thought of talking to Rhode Island Congressman Jim Landrigan who sits on the Armed Services Committee. Well of course the administration and as I said earlier Secretary Gates are are loath to take any military action. But is there a way that our country can do more to protect the citizens of Libya without going in there with military force. Well obviously without having any kind of forces on the on the ground it's very difficult for us to take any action that's going to directly protect that population. But we can do is continue to pressure the Libyan government to cease any actions that would affect the civilian would could cause casualties. But I. Again I think we need to redouble our efforts on the diplomatic front and Mr. Kerry Clinton is doing that right now and having a special coalition partners to see what would be the best and next steps forward. But this is a very you know complicated

difficult issue it's not going to be a simple one to solve in another voluntarily. The ball issue is back in January. Pakistani authorities as you know arrested Raymond Davis a American for shooting two men. He claimed that they were attacking him as he drove through the horror but reports have said that the two men were shot in the back running away of it first U.S. officials claim that Davis was a diplomat with diplomatic immunity and has served since come out that and the United States is admitted that Davis is a CIA contractor he's still being held in that country. What has this done to relations between United States and Pakistan. Well the relations between the U.S. the Pakistan are tenuous at best in the best of circumstances circumstances. They have been a very important ally and in part a lot of ways in the the front of the war on terrorism they've made a decision to

work with us to go after al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. But they have a population that doesn't always nice they agree with the actions of the government and so they act in Officials many ways walk a very fine line and be trying it wanted to be supportive of our efforts to disrupt al Qaeda because either the Taliban or the OK there are a direct threat to the Pakistani government. At the same time recognize that much of the population may not be as sympathetic to that that cause tied to Rhode Island Congressman Jim Langevin. You also said on the House Intelligence Committee. Were you briefed when this incident first happened did you know that this was this Raymond Davis was a CIA operative. And I can't either confirm or deny any issues with respect to rethink that may or may not have received.

You can't tell me whether they should talk to you about it. I can't confirm or deny any issues that we're going to take that as well as the work that we do on the Intelligence Committee is. But it's a very sensitive and very reluctant never ever comment about it. Well it's certainly heartening to know that it feels any way at least that they are on top of that situation. Moving on for a few minutes here to the temporary spending measure that now expires March 18th I'm going to bring up the issue that we were talking about for the first 25 minutes of this program which was the ouster of NPR chief CEO Vivian Schiller in the wake of that undercover video that surfaced yesterday. We're another NPR executive was making critical comments about the Tea Party and then went on to say that NPR would be better off without federal funding and of course NPR and PBS funding has been one of the hot button issues as the budget goes forward even though it's not it's not a huge part of the budget somewhere in the neighborhood of four hundred fifty million dollars. Will that affect

debate on funding over NPR and PBS. Well I've always been a strong supporter of funding for NPR and public communication public education in general if you will and I think it's just the issue of rent vs funding will probably be you know. It is as they as a political tool. But I'm hopeful that if we can work through this and that that funding for NPR will still be applied as has it in for say I don't think this this particular incident will become part of the debate. Oh I'm I'm sure it will probably be part of the debate by those who would like to cut funding to NPR. But I don't know that it's going to have any kind of a major impact. It's my hope that we're going to turn our attention to the real serious issues of achieving economic growth and job creation and at the Ultimately we have to also look at

long term deficit reduction but not act precipitously and act acting arbitrary recently based on emotion but rather looking at facts and figures and. And we have we can't achieve economies. We're we can rein in spending but not affect the fragile economic recovery that we're just beginning to see right now on the budget what do you make of Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia's comment that Obama needs to show more leadership on the budget debate and here locally yesterday former Congressman Joe Kennedy was also critical saying that we're cutting in the wrong places he was talking specifically about the oil assistance funding. Well I of course think that both parties need to come together in a bipartisan way and have a serious adult conversation about where our spending priorities need to be and how we get our our fiscal house in order. In many ways the you know the can has been kicked down the road for far too long

and it we're coming to to a point now where decisions very tough decisions are going to have to be made. But there's a right way the wrong way to approach it. You know some of the cuts that the Republicans are pushing through right now I believe would fall into the category of being arbitrary and capricious and I would instead rather look at the areas where the long term cost growth is affecting our ability to budget responsibly and go from there and I think that we need to look at for example things like. Health care spending which by the way you know we try to address health care reform bill in which we were going to achieve five hundred seventy five billion dollars they've ings to Medicare over the next decade by largely improving quality and preventing waste and fraud and unfortunately those efforts at almost every turn who are opposed by many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. But I think that we can look at things for example like also defense procurement and outsourcing that we have have to be

really properly reduced and streamlined in this. The issues that we've discussed the budget committee hearings and then ultimately we should also perhaps look at tax reform. What's clear by experts on the economy looking to people like Ben Bernanke is that acting precipitous the and and and and not being thoughtful about how we achieve Kesar action could right now cost us 200000 jobs. On the conservative side if you listen to experts economists that at Moody's for example it could be as much as close to 700000 jobs just at a time when the economy is starting to show signs of life that we're turning a corner. The American people want jobs they want the economy fixed. That means yeah where are you right now. And then we need to try to aggressively do it on term deficit reduction. Title Rhode Island Congressman Jim Langevin just quickly on the matter. Last week you formally announced your support for gay marriage. You're liberal but you prefer the say you'd only supported civil unions what changed your mind.

Well I have a long standing record of supporting equal rights for people that are gay and lesbian that whether it's a hate crimes legislation or repealing the don't ask the Pentagon's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. Even going back to my days when the legislature supported the gay rights bill with respect to marriage equality I've always believed that same sex couples should have the same rights and protections of law as as heterosexual couples. And for many years I believe that civil unions have the broadest base of support to achieve that goal. But for a variety of reasons that as time has gone on I've really come to a conclusion. Separate but equal issue doesn't doesn't doesn't work here and that if we really do believe in equal protection of law that that a civil institutions have to reflect those values. I also had the opportunity to attend a commitment ceremony of a longtime staff member years ago and you know it just seemed to be fundamentally unfair that there is a commitment that's recognized and of a way that

there it would be so for right reasons I felt the time was right in the middle and was considering the marriage equality bill right now in the General Assembly and I felt that it was timely to make my decision. All right Jim Langevin from Rhode Island's second congressional district. Thanks so much for joining us. Thank you. We're going to take a short break when we continue our resident insider's Jay squared explain why today isn't that day to make a reservation at that restaurant. You've always wanted to try but couldn't quite fit into your budget. You're listening to the Emily Rooney show. Stay with us. Support for WGBH comes from you and from the New England mobile book fair in Newton. For 54 years. New England's independent bookstore. The New England mobile book fair. Find them online at an e-book fair dot com. That's an

e-book fair dot com and from Newberry court a full service residential community for persons over the age of 62. Newberry court invites you to try the sleep on it program. You can experience the community and sleep on it in one of the guest suites Newbury court work. And from Celtic Thunder. Back again with a new show called heritage. Don't miss Celtic funders return to public television. Watch Celtic thunders new show heritage. Tonight at 7:30 on WGBH too. I'm Marco Werman. Tunisia's revolution toppled a dictator but efforts to bring members of his regime to justice are just getting started. The people are involved in the dictatorship. They they talk to they they kid they did a lot of desiccation against people pressing for justice in Tunisia. Next time on the world. Coming up at 3:00 here on eighty nine point seven WGBH. Hi I'm Brian O'Donovan host of a Celtic sojourn on WGBH and I hope you can

join me for this year's presentation of a St. Patrick's Day Celtic sojourn. The concert features island's dynamic fight his band The iconic vocals and accordion work of Seamus Bagley and the Irish-American singer songwriter Carla Newman reserve your tickets for March 18th at Sandhurst Theatre in Cambridge on Saturday the 19th at the Tyrian Theater in New Bedford visit WGBH dot org slash Celtic. I'm Cally Crossley next on the Cali Crossley Show a radio remembrance of the late Reverend Peter J. Today at 1:00 after the Emily Rooney show. Eighty nine point seven. You're listening to the Emmy winning show always wanted to try the smooth breeze to short ribs at Les bellyache. How about the roasted Scottish salmon at number nine park Well it's the high price of those renowned restaurants that's been stopping you you no longer have to an excuse to stay away. It's Restaurant Week. Here to talk about that and other

things happening on the social scene are our resident insiders Jay squared Jan ceremony and Jared Cohen. Welcome you guys you've been looking at the actual menus of the restaurants. Well I have been studying them every night and this is just incredibly These are things that either you can't afford to order when you go out or you would never think of making at home of course Restaurant Week started March 6 that go through the 11th they stopped for the weekend and I presume to get these because if you were getting the crowd there anyway and I go and then March 13th to the 18th and all the local restaurants or most of them offer a three course menu with a focus on their signature dishes lunch is always $15 at 11 cents for two course meal or $20 at 11 cents for a three course meal and dinner is 33 dollars and 11 so that for every meal at every participating restaurant and Restaurant Week Now does anyone ask me why 11 cents is that yeah that's what I do with the tax when I see my 2011 vary but it's all right there for you. That right away I couldn't figure that out. So

this has been. This has been fun hopping around. Should I just go in right now. Yeah I just wanted to do on one of my favorites right you just were talking about Les Paul Yeah I rarely get there anyhow. But but the three course lunch which I was lucky enough to sample you can do the first course includes a goat cheese palm a cult you upon you're going to use me with rhubarb or mussels with garage Grande Marsala and sour cream second chorus slow braised ribs that you just talked about with Herb crusted Arctic char the one you can get a delicious dark chocolate caramel mousse for lunch delicious heavy walk after you eat. And of course they're right on Boylston Street that used to be overrun that little guy was up and they were going to get the kind of elevator you go by the wine closet on the way at the time of the elevator just beautiful space I love that space I think I've only ever been there for cocktails but it's gorgeous and we can go there for a little raise now let's go right now. After the air is over you know it.

Well my one of my five actually you know it's my favorite restaurant in the city is Mr. Hall and so they participate in restaurant week for an appetizer you can have something I always have either the Mistral Caesar salad or the beef sort of lowing carpaccio with black truffle parmesan and toasted brioche. So delicious you have to have a steak there I always do the grilled 12 insert a loyal potato Leo and port wine reduction Gorgonzola butter the same then you have to walk after that and then you know you have three samples for desserts but I always it's on the menu but I'm sure you can ask what I would get the mint chocolate chip ice cream. I'm so simple when it comes to dessert. That's all I ever get is either dish or vanilla ice cream and ice mint chocolate chip if they have it now I don't buy it does coffee ice coffee ice cream or he thought he my two favorite ice creams coffee and Mint Chocolate Chip were all joined at the hip. Do they have that you know usually $40 Dover sole on the Restaurant Week menu you know that you know they just have chicken or salmon.

Yes you they have to go with the entrees that are a little less pricey I guess. Right. What else give me some others. How about Mari in the north and I have been avoiding going off and I don't know that warm our arrests. It's on Richmond Madre as an as an ocean. They feature organic seafood and this week they're featuring as part of Restaurant Week grilled octopus really fabulous I love Of course I love it too Emily you say use it don't we. It's chewy but not rubbery it's foolish Yeah it really is phenomenal. They're offering spice rub lamps are aligned with lentils and Swiss chard. Interesting menu nice space and nice people where is that one. Right on Richmond Street but there is a project off of off of Hanover everything's off of him. Yeah it is to the right hand over and I'll tell you the restaurant too tiny and of course there's the move right now I think led by the guy who owns all those restaurants trying to persuade me to have had a history go one way because of all the traffic I saw that yesterday in the paper and I think that makes us I think it makes a horse I thought head over

was who I was. Oh look at there at the end we thought north then where is the north now I go to the north and a fair amount that I do get to but I do a lot of walking so I'm not really clear which way the car let it go which when it's so easy to get there are not so easy as to what is essentially already an artery underneath like the. Whatever that is the seaport district where you don't want a table you know but you know I feel a little guiltily mentioning in the telly and restaurant actually not that it was on the road but because Jarrad I see on his list has one of what I think is the best Italian restaurant in the city and it's not in the north that it's just gone Oh I go there although it's a great rate on Charles Street. First of all it's a beautiful room. That's how much fun the big grand would want or get me for you are real glass what you said. If you don't know this you know it's a third fall and I think they give you a glass of wine to get what you pay for. It's all about the hospitality there is a surprise when we talk about well why did you talk about what your favorite food is just gonna last summer.

They have I had something else on the Restaurant Week menu they had the appraiser of the imported buffalo mozzarella beefsteak tomatoes bays all phenomenal I mean that is almost but it's so large you tell me how you know and you know you can always take it home you can take you know I end up getting all the time I go even if I split it as a first course with friends. The result and they change seasonally So in the winter it's usually mushroom risotto but they'll do wonderful seafood result and just a plain old saffron result was just a marvelous. Yeah it is if you're short there's a friendly atmosphere it's kind of a neighborhood restaurant. But at the same time it's a good destination place because it's it's different it's very friendly the same. Well David D'Alessandro owns it the former CEO of John Hancock and his son runs it right and the same guys are there every time. So you know you're going to see the same waiter same same cooks and same clientele so that's really fun. While we're on Beacon Hill How about a little trip to La La Roque mainstay for homestyle Persian could have you ever been there.

It's all on record that's off of her. It's off of Charles Street I think it's what's that first one go choice not any or not that is their branch or I don't know something like that but they've got this incredible fish called the rabbit before until recently more GPU Lou. Mortgage holder. P o l o o. It's a saffron seared chicken and a light tomato broth with rice and seasoned with Kuhlman cinnamon and rose petals spices that I don't normally see in my food because I wouldn't know how beloved it is after the news or Oh yeah I have brought some saffron rice for lunch today than I did. Yeah I love that I know that oh yeah do you buy the lilo I buy I buy this in the strands that look like little sticks. The little you know you should say only slightly behind you and you're always brings it all a little making sure she fixes it up quickly. They are always really fun I am I boring you all turkey sandwich every day and then I went over to Emily and she should remember what it was like yeah and I saw a rock I think is great of course the honorable Iraq what is her name.

Mrs. Laura Mrs. Rowe her brother are right across be you know study up which also is evolving. So if he does brother whose name I forget but he's running a fabulous place over in the downtown Boston slash theater district behind the Ritz. So for Restaurant Week They're featuring a pork shoulder with Swiss chard cooked in vermouth it sounds a little sweet but I hear it's The happens there on Washington Street too so you know most of the you know a lot of you know you're one of these we've talked about before is what you do about tipping during restaurant week because you're basically getting more for your dollar than you normally would should you tip. And by the way this whole thing about you don't tip on alcohol that's going out the window of course you tip you know that's ridiculous yeah. And you do tip on alcohol. I whenever I go out to dinner with my father you know I don't have an alkali said that's that's you know 30 years ago. Right but but what do you do do you do you add in a little bit because you're getting a good bargain or not. I don't I saw that in the globe this weekend and I've got to go back and read to see what the etiquette person said had to say about it but I don't I tip I tip on the whole bill

including alcohol because actually I have gone to a restaurant we get a couple occasions before where I felt really scrimped on the meal so I didn't feel like I was getting more and I think that does happen it someplace I won't name which ones. But so I don't I just tip on the bill that comes. Yeah what about you Jane I agree with Jared a tip on the bill that comes the complete bill. And sometimes the portions are a little smaller but that may be good if you're counting calories but you know I always add a little. I mean I'm a solid 20 percent Tipper anyway unless the service has been horrible. Being a long time waitress I sort of yeah I get you know even though it's horrible I generally even if it's horrible sometimes I'll even say something to the server of course waiters get automatic added 5 percent of the tip if they don't come to the table and introduce themselves by their first name and ask me how I am right about I don't know frankly about that I just want them to come take my drink water. Say hello and call it a day. I want to be grilled and interrogated about how my day was. That's how I am.

I'm Shawn how are you. How was your day. Thank you. Any other restaurants to list I had a really really excellent. They do need to be on Boylston Street during the last years or last summers I think. Restaurant Week was fantastic. I just went there myself I had to. I was with a group and we had a really great really great meal I had only I think I'd been there with you actually had it was not a barbarian. Yeah it was a fortune Cafe do you think it was a fortune and we had a couple of snacks and you know it wasn't good. But no I had a terrific meal as well and the service was terrific and up stairs it's another really beautiful room especially because it's right on Boylston Street overlooks a public garden so gorgeous it is beautiful That's the former Bush X execute also. So where do you think they get off to a rocky start but I agree I think they're really putting out great food great so you guys have you know the I was staying up on Beacon Hill as well for K.O. prime. Remember we went there once as well and only you can you get this big piece of steak it was like a Flintstone steak I remember when it came we all of us at the table we we had no idea how large it was

going to be it's great it's at 9 0 the hotel. Oh yeah. So but the item I picked from there that I am dying to have is the deconstructed Beef Wellington grilled fillet sautéed spinach mushroom I goof powder and puff pastry powder I guess that makes it OK to eat right. If it's only powder while just pretend. Yes you know. Going a little bit out that sounds delicious you know going a bit outside of the city let's not forget about Maxwell's one forty eight in Natick. I went there once with Susan Warren a couple years ago going back a few times. Delicious they are also participating in restaurant week. They're serving as delicious main muscle soup a lobster butternut squash result Joe and Thai spiced wild salmon along with the fruit the spaghetti that's on Central Street and made it yummy by the way speaking of that how do people get a complete list of the restaurants that are produced mostly online in fact there is a restaurant just google Restaurant Week. That's what I did you know right and that week and everything comes out and you can see it by neighborhood and

you know figure out where you want to go and it's very clear cut you know exactly where to go sometimes as I think their first of the globe was terrific a wonderful food radish very funny people you know websites how sometimes you just want to go to a restaurant website see when they're open and they have the same thing all kinds of things by the way we're going to put all of this on our website so people can check they can you know go to our website WGBH or slash Emily Rooney show and then find everything that we're talking about including the list of restaurants but before we go today I want to ask you too how are the tango lessons going. Oh funny you should ask. Jared I don't perhaps but I think that we got a rep you're likely going to get. Where would you like. Thumbs up their thumbs down to us and going to sing us to compete but only where we're doing very well. Jan just needs to learn how to cross step 5 1 2 3 4 5 crosses I have to remind her as a leader I should not be reminding the follower cross cross cross. Right away but if you're continuing on that's where you know we're going to get a demonstration when it's all over. All right thank you.

To James where Jan Sarah Gani and Jared BOWEN We will be back tomorrow at noon in the meantime tune into Greater Boston tonight at 7 more on the resignation of NPR chief Vivian Schiller and BlueCross BlueShield board member Paul does he is here along with VSO executive director Mark the Emily Rooney show is a production of eighty nine point seven WGBH Boston NPR station for news and culture on the web at WGBH dot org slash Emily Ronie the Kelly Crossley Show is coming up next. And Emily Rooney have a great afternoon. Just man to man. She is.