The nation’s new agenda, as laid out by President Obama last night, may have moved on to other weighty matters – ooh, economy, when will you be your old self again? – but the fight against Proposition 8, banning gay marriage in California, still rages on. Guest Geoff Kors, Executive Director of Equality California, joins the W&W crew to talk Sean Penn’s speech at the Oscars, the new “I do” campaign from his organization featuring Wanda Sykes, and the California Supreme Court battle coming up next week, including a revelation as to where Ken Starr slithered off to all those years ago. He also discusses the implications of state’s dramatic marriage rights campaign on the national agenda, particularly given criticisms of the White House’s separate-but-equal civil unions stance.

Our hosts Ted, Maegan, and Teresa also weigh in on the Non-State of the Union. Is Obama breaking through with the public and getting his message across clearly, or is it just more spin? And did Bobby Jindal’s response land with a thud? Sounds like, from the “Oh God” emitting from MSNBC! (Suuuure, it was a cameraman, Keith.) Also, George Clooney visits the White House to chat about Darfur. Does celebrity support mean anything? Are actors really American citizens? Do we let them vote, and should we, really? Maegan argues everyone’s voice should count but Chuck Norris. And finally, Teresa enlightens us about a new initiative that basically lets immigration zealots act as virtual minute men from their home computers using crowd sourcing technology. (No word yet whether Lou Dobbs is one of them.) All on today’s Wilshire & Washington.

Listen to the show here, subscribe to the iTunes podcast, or use the Blog Talk Radio player to the right:

Wilshire & Washington, the weekly Blog Talk Radio program that explores the intersection of politics, entertainment, and new media, features co-hosts Ted Johnson, Managing Editor of Variety; conservative blogger Teresa Valdez Klein (www.teresacentric.com), and liberal blogger Maegan Carberry (www.maegancarberry.com). The show airs every Wednesday at 7:30am PST on BlogTalkRadio.com.

Not everyone knows what an ad network is. They’re the middle-man between a bunch of publishers (web sites) and media buyers (people who want to advertise on those sites). The ad network collects all this ad space inventory from the publishers and sells it as a package to media buyers. Complex, no? A new article I wrote on some of the better ad networks just went live at iMedia Connection. Check it out, if this sort of thing interests you.

I don’t always cross-post the entries I do for the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel’s Blog but I wanted to link to the last two: one on environmentalism (with tons (or tonnes) of recycling) and the other on Valentine’s Day. I guess I’m just not very on top of things… UPDATE: And here’s another, this time on Oscar Predictions.

How about that? Mr. Obama came to Washington and got his stimulus. Of course, he didn’t have the “presidential mojo” to sign the bill in DC. But here’s the big question (or two): Did Obama come out ahead politically, and were Republican lawmakers just voting against the stimulus bill so to err on the side of plausible deniability – and to acquiesce to the mighty Rush? Ted, Teresa, and Maegan weigh in on the madness of the stimulus battle (again), how the media coverage is basically lost in its own conventional wisdom feedback loop (kinda like TiVo but much more boring), and the Republicans loss of leadership. Speaking of TiVo, Illinois is basically stuck in “politically-corrupt repeat-mode.” What happened to the Land of Lincoln, and what was Roland Burris thinking when he lied about his Blago connections? You know where this is going, right? “Please welcome the Junior Senator from Illinois, the Honorable Corpse of Richard M. Nixon!”

But back to serious topics: The Oscars. Our hosts have their Academy Award picks locked and loaded, but there are misgivings! Has the award season gotten too political? Who should win, who will win, and who’s trying the hardest? Will Maegan watch at all past the Red Carpet? And will Teresa get over her lady-crush on Angelina Jolie? (Probably not. I certainly won’t.)

Listen to the show here, subscribe to the iTunes podcast, or use the Blog Talk Radio player:

Wilshire & Washington, the weekly Blog Talk Radio program that explores the intersection of politics, entertainment, and new media, features co-hosts Ted Johnson, Managing Editor of Variety; conservative blogger Teresa Valdez Klein (www.teresacentric.com), and liberal blogger Maegan Carberry (www.maegancarberry.com). The show airs every Wednesday at 7:30am PST on BlogTalkRadio.com.

Everything is fleeting – glory, fame, money, love, kindness, a home, a family, romance, sex, drugs, rock and roll. That’s The Wrestler put into stark terms. Seen by itself, this new drama from is a somewhat generic, by-the-numbers sports drama about a performer seeing his life on the stage fade into the twilight. But with Mickey Rourke, with his long history of personal and professional drama, cast as its lead, The Wrestler takes on a whole different dimension. Whether that makes the movie worthwhile is up to how ‘meta’ you like your films. Read the rest of this entry »

As we watch the newspaper industry crater, devouring itself from within, it might be prudent to reflect on why we read newspapers in the first place. Do we do it to stay informed on the daily happenings both locally and nationally, or to be entertained by the amazing stories of a world more fascinating day by day? To find the latest business happenings and sports scores? To be more involved in the world of music, movies, and culture?

Note that, among the reasons above, never did I mention, “To get our faces slapped by a giant elitist widget.” Of course, sometimes newspapers forget this key fact. Read the rest of this entry »

Obama promised us Government 2.0, but what really happens after you join the Facebook group to save the whales or add your name to an Overturn Prop 8 email list? Does anyone actually read them? What happens when these thousands upon thousands of letters arrive at the door of Congress? Sarah Schacht, founder and Executive Director of Knowledge As Power, a non-profit dedicated to helping citizens become informed and effective within the legislative process, is a long-time insider and knows what influence, if any, these actions have on Congress. In her interview today on Wilshire & Washington, she offers some effective advice on how to best get your representative’s attention. You may be shocked by what you hear: Forget FISA, it’s the movement against the sale of wild horse meat that she recommends modeling your campaign after.

In other news: How about President Obama’s first primetime press conference? Did you fall asleep? Did he effectively dodge any and all serious questions W-style, including a doozy from Helen Thomas, the cutest WH correspondent who’s ever lived? And what about former e-bay exec Meg Whitman’s bid for CA governor? Does this signal a new involvement by Silicon Valley players in politics? Does Whitman get a pass for her nuanced support of Proposition 8, despite potential opposition from the sultry mayor of San Francisco?

Listen to the show here, subscribe to the iTunes podcast, or use the Blog Talk Radio player:

Wilshire & Washington, the weekly Blog Talk Radio program that explores the intersection of politics, entertainment, and new media, features co-hosts Ted Johnson, Managing Editor of Variety; conservative blogger Teresa Valdez Klein (www.teresacentric.com), and liberal blogger Maegan Carberry (www.maegancarberry.com). The show airs every Wednesday at 7:30am PST on BlogTalkRadio.com.

Looking for a Twitter primer? Listen in to today’s show and hear from Chris Cardinal, CEO of Principal Strategy, Inc., who introduces us to the wide world of hashtags for twitter: #topprog for liberal thoughts and news, #dontgo for conservative thoughts and news, and #tcot for microblog entries from top conservative lawmakers. Are Republicans suddenly ahead of the curve in terms of new media? Have they taken any strides forward in organizing though?

So Barackstar can’t deliver the GOP house votes? Not a single one, eh? Now what? Hosts Ted Johnson, Maegan Carberry, and Teresa Valdez-Klein weigh in Obama’s full-court press to get the Republican Senators on board his stimulus package, and his media blitz on all the major networks last night. Will any of this work? Can conservatives really get behind such a big spending bill? Teresa offers a compelling argument for GOP support of the stimulus.

Finally, Blago has to get a few parting shots as he fades into the void. You miss him already, don’t you? Was he insane? Was he brilliant? Does he have a future as a commentator, a la Elliot Spitzer? There’s no question, the guy was entertaining.

Listen to the show here, subscribe to the iTunes podcast, or use the Blog Talk Radio player:

Wilshire & Washington, the weekly Blog Talk Radio program that explores the intersection of politics, entertainment, and new media, features co-hosts Ted Johnson, Managing Editor of Variety; conservative blogger Teresa Valdez Klein (www.teresacentric.com), and liberal blogger Maegan Carberry (www.maegancarberry.com). The show airs every Wednesday at 7:30am PST on BlogTalkRadio.com.