Virtually Speaking

Anya is the author of DIY U, ("Do it yourself university," a book that describes the future of American higher education in a world governed by a fast changing media and information environment.

Big news this week is, yet again, what was supposed to be evidence for a repeat of a 1994 GOP sweep of the Hill turned out not to be. Avedon and I will mock the excuses,then discuss reasonably seriously the role of incumbency in this mini election cycle. Then we will discuss the fascinating question of the new petroleum enriched Gulf ecosystem.

Olivier is Congressional Correspondent for Agence France-Presse, the French wire service. He twitters, wittily, as OKnox. We will talk about the latest kerfluffle on the Hill (to be determined by what is happening at the time). And we will talk about the craft of writing wire copy about America for non-Americans.

Marcy blogs at emptywheel.firedoglake.com. Joan McCarter is a front page blogger at DailyKos. The gusher in the Gulf and SCOTUS nominee Kagan are likely to be topics, although Tapper's This Week Roundtable, which has some voices from the left appearing, may also come up.

Jon is an innovative member of the Republican party, who is looking to the future of the party and the nation. He is a founder of The Next Right where he also blogs. Cliff Schecter is an outspoken liberal, a campaign consultant from Ohio, who has made many television appearances,some of them on Fox. Cliff and Jon make a unique pairing of sharp intellects ready to engage in an honest and civil discussion from the viewpoints of the left and the right.

Clammyc and CS Kendrick review the political and practical news of the week.

Jeffrey Feldman is the author of Framing the Debate (Ig Publishing, 2007), Outright Barbarous (Ig Publishing, 2008), and Founder of the influential blog on politics and language called Frameshop (frameshopisopen.com), which launched as an independent website Jan. 1, 2005. Dr. Feldman holds a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology which he applies broadly to the analysis of politics and communication, ranging from election speeches, to issue campaigns, and media analysis.

digby has been setting the blogging standard for as long as there has been a blogosphere. Stuart has been a scintillating commenter in the blogspace. They'll discuss the developments of the week. Our media, not theirs.

Alan returns to discuss his book about planetary exploration and identification on the outskirts of the solar system, making the case for Pluto as one of the nine planets.

Lt. Col. Barry Wingard and Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Bogucki, the U.S. military attorneys for Kuwaiti Guantanamo Bay detainee Fayiz Al Kandari, will host a virtual town hall meeting via Second Life at 6:00 PM PST on Monday, April 26, 2010. The attorneys will share Fayiz’s story, discuss legal developments in his case, provide their views on the Obama administration’s detention policies and take questions from the audience, consisting of citizens from across the country. Lt. Col. Wingard, a Judge Advocate General (JAG) in the Air Force, has served 26 years in the U.S. military and is a veteran of both the Bosnia and Iraq conflicts. Lt. Cmdr. Bogucki, a Judge Advocate General (JAG) in the Navy, previously represented former Kuwaiti detainee Fouad Al Rabiah, an innocent man who was released from Guantanamo Bay in December 2009. Fayiz Al Kandari, who was sold into U.S. custody in 2001, has been imprisoned for more than eight years

Eve is a high profile Daily Kos diarist writing about health care. watertiger blogs at dependablerenegade.com Developments of the week are discussed. The Gasbag atrocities are documented. And any news stories that arise during the Sunday shows may be discussed.

Katie is a comedian, specializing in political humor. Her links: http://katiehalper.com/ daily http://twitter.com/kthalps documentary http://anothercampispossible.org

Joan (mcjoan) is a front page blogger at Daily Kos.Developments of the week are discussed. The Gasbag atrocities are documented. And any news stories that arise during the Sunday shows may be discussed.

Matt blogs on a variety of topics at the Center for American Progress.

Chris is back! Clammy has electricity. Atrocities will be documented.