February 18, 2018

I have to admit, when I saw the news coverage of the shooting in Parkland, Florida, this week, my jaded heart hurt. More young lives snuffed out senselessly and yet I was sure nothing would change. I mean, if Sandy Hook and those precious first graders couldn't mobilize us, what would? We'd get the standard round of thoughts and prayers, then cautions not to politicize it, then the arguments for "good guys with guns" protecting us. We've seen it over and over, way too many times not to feel cynical about the entirely predictable process.

But admit it, this one feels different, doesn't it?

Sure, the GOP tried to fall into those familiar routines. But God love them, those Parkland teenagers weren't falling for it. These soon-to-be-adults are soon-to-be-voters and they're done risking their lives because we adults who are tasked to care for them and see to their safety have fallen down on the job. And what's stunning to me is to see how many mainstream media people are similarly not falling into their typical both-siderist speak. And they let their horror at covering these events, of speaking to raw, grieving parents, of looking at children and realizing how tenuous and precious life is, show. They choked up, they teared up, they got angry. When was the last time something like this happened and multiple news shows contrasted the limp "thoughts and prayers" tweets with their donations by the NRA?

I fully anticipated that when I looked at this weekend's line up, it would be full of conservative commentators and politicos who would be there to rationalize the Mueller indictments. And sure, some of that is there too. But look who else is there: Emma Gonzalez, who spoke so powerfully yesterday and her fellow students Cameron Kasky, David Hogg, Alex Wind and Jaclyn Corin. Mark Kelly, Gabby Giffords' husband and co-founder of Giffords Courage to Fight Gun Violence foundation will be on Fox News, of all places. And look at who wasn't booked: Wayne LaPierre of the NRA.

Yup, this feels different. Maybe there's a chance for some real change at the hands of these young people.

ABC's "This Week" - Martha Raddatz reports from Lakeland. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla.; former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson; former Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J.; Pierre Thomas of ABC; and former FBI Agent Brad Garrett.

NBC's "Meet the Press" - Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie; and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students Jaclyn Corin, Emma Gonzalez, David Hogg, Cameron Kasky and Alex Wind. Panel: Democratic pollster Cornell Belcher; Hallie Jackson and Carol Lee of NBC News; and Rick Santelli, editor at CNBC Business News Network.

CBS' "Face the Nation" - John Podesta, chairman of Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign; Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Jeff Flake, R-Ariz.; Panel with retiring Republican Reps. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., Ed Royce, R-Calif., Charlie Dent, R-Pa., and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla. Political panel: David Frum of The Atlantic and author of “Trumpocracy”; Susan Page of USA Today; Jonathan Swan of Axios; and Shawna Thomas of Vice News.

CNN's "State of the Union" - Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio; James Clapper, former director of national intelligence; and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students Kasky, Gonzales, Hogg, Wind and Corin. Panel: Bakari Sellers, Amanda Carpenter and Andre Bauer and former Gov. Jennifer Granholm, D-Mich.

CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Jung H. Pak of the Center for East Asia Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution and former senior CIA analyst; Tracy Gordon of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center; and Kristina Swallow, president of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

CNN's "Reliable Sources" - Sam Vinograd, CNN national security analyst; Karen Tumulty of The Washington Post; Lachlan Markay of The Daily Beast; Ronan Farrow of The New Yorker; Dan Pfeiffer, former senior adviser to President Obama and co-host of “Pod Save America”; David Gergen, former presidential adviser to Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton; and David Zurawik of The Baltimore Sun.

"Fox News Sunday" - Mark Kelly, Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence; Rush Limbaugh. Panel: Michael Needham, chief executive officer of Heritage Action for America; Julie Pace of The Associated Press; Marc Lotter, former press secretary to Vice President Mike Pence; and Charles Lane of The Washington Post.

So what's catching your eye this week?

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