• Is there a war on the American way, an attempt to replace law with Sharia law?
• Guest: Cliff Kincaid, editor, "Accuracy in Media". Should Michael Savage's anti-Muslim statements be considered "hate" talk or his 1st Amendment right to free speech?
• On Sunday December 23 at noon and 10pm EST C-SPAN2's Book tv will be showing Thom.
• The EPA denied California a waiver for tighter auto standards.
• Guest: Washington Governor Christine Gregoire. EPA, auto emission standards.
• Presidential straw poll.
• Guest: Naomi Klein, the Nation. "Guns Beat Green: The Market Has Spoken ".
• Guest: Christy Harvey, Center for American Progress.

Topics, guests, upcoming events, quotes, links to articles, audio clips, books & bumper music.

Thursday 20 December '07 National show

• Is there a war on the American way, an attempt to replace law with Sharia law?
• Clip:
  "It's a bloodthirsty religion that's practiced over there by a bunch of throwbacks, and we're to kill 'em." Michael Savage.
• Clip:
  "You know, when I see a woman walking around with a burqa, I see a Nazi. That's what I see -- how do you like that? -- a hateful Nazi who would like to cut your throat and kill your children. Don't give me this crap that they're doing it out of a sacred ritual or rite. It's not required by the Quran that a woman walk around in a seventh-century drape. She's doing it to spit in your face. She's saying, 'You white moron, you, I'm going to kill you if I can'. That's how I see it! What do you want me to do, mince words with you? I'm not going to mince words. We're too far gone in this country." Michael Savage.
• Clip:
  "Notice what this double-talking slut just did, this mind-slut Barbara Walters... And I stick by those words. She's an empty mind-slut. She'd peddle anything for a ratings point." ... That mental prostitute, Bra-buh-buh-buh Walters? It sickens me... I think that the woman is vermin, I think she's dirt." Michael Savage going off on Barbara Walters interviewing Hugo Chavez.
• Article: Our Rights at Stake in Michael Savage Case.
• Clip: Savage on Sawyer: a "lying whore" who "in essence, is agreeing that the Holocaust didn't occur". (Michael Savage is playing clips of Diane Sawyer and commenting on them):
  "SAWYER: I understand that it's confusing sometimes what we do and why we're there, but even, even your adversaries have their own point of view, and how can you tackle this part of the world if you don't understand why they say --

  SAVAGE: You lying whore.

  SAWYER: -- they're doing what they're doing. Even --

  SAVAGE: You lying whore.

  SAWYER: -- can teach you something about why they are doing what they're doing.

  SAVAGE: You lying whore, you.

  SAWYER: And we are trying to bring back real information in this critical time for these people who live in that part of the world. It is so complicated.

  SAVAGE: You're full of crap. Who do you think you're fooling? You're a liar, and the reason you gave this interview about that interview is because you realized what you have done. You're being told that the people hate your guts.

  I don't know how this goes on in this country, that a witch, a whore like Diane Sawyer -- and I'm going to stick to those words -- to me she's a whore, she's a whore for selling out her intellect like this, whoring herself for ratings. She goes and visits the Hitler of our time, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, does not challenge him on one of his statements, not one, and she does it just for ratings. And she has the nerve to come back here and pretend that it's confusing on what we do and why we're there. Who do you think you're talking to?

  "
• Guest: Cliff Kincaid, editor, "Accuracy in Media". Should Michael Savage's anti-Muslim statements be considered "hate" talk or his 1st Amendment right to free speech? There's genocide in the bible; see Jeremiah and Joshua. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) boycott, which he says is trying to apply Sharia law. The Michael Graham case.
• Fundamental values - fairness, and tolerance. Free speech ends when you shout fire. Laws about speech. What we need in America is less hate and more reasonable discourse. We should be able to say anything as free speech and, if there are consequences to what we say, hey, that's life, particularly in the commercial market place.
• Bumper Music: Do You Believe in Magic?, Aly & AJ.
• At his Press Conference, president Bush said about the destruction of the CIA tapes, " It sounds pretty clear to me when I say I have -- the first recollection is when Mike Hayden briefed me. That's pretty clear. Secondly, I am confident that the preliminary inquiry conducted by the AG and the IG of the CIA, coupled with the oversight provided by the Congress, will end up enabling us all to find out what exactly happened. And therefore, over the course of these inquiries and oversight hearings, I'm going to reserve judgment until I find out the full facts. I know I'm going to be asked about this question a lot as time goes on. I'm just going to prepare you; until these inquiries are complete, until the oversights are finished, then I will be rendering no opinion from the podium".
• Article: Clinton Launches Obama Attack Web Sites.
• Upcoming Event: On Sunday December 23 at noon and 10pm EST C-SPAN2's Book tv will be showing Thom riffing on "Cracking the Code: How to Win Hearts, Change Minds, and Restore America's Original Vision" at the Strand bookstore in New York City recently.
• Why are the Republicans stopping some states from saving the environment?
• Article: EPA Sides With Auto Industry: California Is Blocked From Tightening Caps On Tailpipe Emissions.
  "In denying the waiver last night, Mr. Johnson said California didn't prove it had a specific, compelling need to go beyond federal law. 'California is not exclusive in facing this challenge,' Mr. Johnson said. He said a national standard is 'a better approach than if individual states were to act alone'."
• 14 states that represent about half the cars in the country want to tighten their fuel efficiency standards, but the EPA says no. What happened to state's rights, democracy, 9th and 10th amendments?
• Guest: Washington Governor Christine Gregoire.
  "Washington is one of 16 states that have adopted the California clean car standards, which address tailpipe emissions of both air toxins and greenhouse gases (CO2). To take effect, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must approve a petition filed by California that would waive certain less-stringent standards that have been adopted by the EPA. Since the 1970s, EPA has quickly granted every waiver – more than 40 – requested by California. Wednesday’s action by the EPA was the first time a waiver was denied under the federal Clean Air Act.

  “I have requested our Attorney General file in support of California’s challenge to this decision as soon as possible,” said Gov. Gregoire.

  "

  The EPA sat on request for too long, they had to go to court just to get a decision and will now have to go to court again. It was necessary to go to the Supreme Court when the EPA refused to regulate CO2. Disaster declarations, once rare, are now routine. Barbara Boxer said it would be an issue in the presidential race. Send a message to the EPA to get out of way. Ask every candidate. Energy bill. The average in Europe without legislation (but with taxes) is already higher.

• Article: How to Rig an Election: Confessions of a Republican Operative. Allen Raymond. "After ten full years inside the GOP, ninety days among honest criminals wasn't really any great ordeal".
• Clip:
  "So, all those clowns at the liberal radio network, we could incarcerate them immediately. Will you have that done, please? Send over the FBI and just put them in chains, because they, you know, they're undermining everything and they don't care." Bill O'Reilly, June 20 broadcast of Westwood One's The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly.
• Bill O'Reilly is claiming victory in the war against Christmas, but George Bush has been talking about the holidays.
• Harry Reid is going to keep the Senate in pro forma session over Christmas and the New Year. Call and tell him you are pleased. It is good management, motivating, catching people doing something right.
• "Forty-one percent of the al Qaeda fighters in Iraq were Saudi nationals, according to a West Point study. Libyan nationals accounted for the second largest group with about 19 percent of the total, “followed by Syrians and Yemenis each at 8 percent, Algerians with 7 percent and Moroccans at 6 percent.”"

  "“Teenagers who have had formal sex education are far more likely to put off having sex, contradicting earlier studies on the effectiveness of such programs,” a new report in the Journal of Adolescent Health said yesterday. “Sex education seems to be working,” said Trisha Mueller, an epidemiologist with the CDC who led the study."
  ThinkFast: December 20, 2007.

• Bumper Music: Speed of Sound, Coldplay.
• Article: Morgan Stanley taps China for $5bn.
• Article: Central banks' actions calm year-end jitters.
• Economics rant. They are buying our banks and investments.
• Article: CSPAN’s think tank coverage is 51% right wing.
  "A new study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research “finds that right-wing think tanks got 51 percent of C-SPAN’s total coverage in 2006, while left-of-center think tanks only got 18 percent of their coverage (a mere 5 percent of which were ‘progressive’ think tanks). The other 31 percent of coverage went to centrist groups.” As TAPPED’s Kate Sheppard points out, this is at odds with C-SPAN’s stated aspiration of “a balanced presentation of points of view.” "
• Bumper Music: Please Come Home for Christmas, Bon Jovi.
• Presidential straw poll results:
  Who would you vote for if the election were held today?

  Senator John Edwards 38

  Congressman Dennis Kucinich 27

  Senator Hillary Clinton 4

  Senator Barack Obama 3

  Gov. Bill Richardson 2

  Senator Chris Dodd 2

  Senator Joe Biden 1

  Former VP Al Gore 1

  Congressman Ron Paul 1

  Former Pres. Jimmy Carter 1

• Article: Guns Beat Green: The Market Has Spoken , Naomi Klein.
• Guest: Naomi Klein, the Nation. "Guns Beat Green: The Market Has Spoken ". Venture capitalism is focusing on green energy and homeland security - security, border control, surveillance. Homeland Security has doubled. Recent article in the Financial Times said that for the first time demand for wheat has exceeded supply. Oxfam. Government policy to sell privatized rescue, so keep the disasters coming - sell escape to the rich. Fortressing countries like the USA to keep climate refugees out. Detention centers.
• Fire at the White House.
• Congressman Wexler's call for Cheney impeachment hearings.
• Bumper Music: Not A Moment Too Soon, Tim McGraw.
• Guest: Christy Harvey, Director of Strategic Communications at the Center for American Progress, MicCheckradio.org. News from under the radar. Burger King and tomatoes - they stopped paying a penny a pound extra. Burger King is owned by big equity firms who are paying big bonuses. It would only cost |$250,000 to pay them all - half of one person's bonus. Republicans new record, the 110th Congress is the most obstructionist group in history. Bush press conference. Filibustering. Why is Harry Reid not making them filibuster? The "mustache of justice" oversight committee, why EPA denied the California waiver. Waxman said the "EPA's decision ignores the law, science, and common sense". Is the CIA going to hand over some tapes?
• Bumper Music: The Holidays Are Here (and We’re Still at War), Brett Dennen.
• Article: Blindly Into the Bubble, Paul Krugman.
• Ellen Ratner of Talk Radio News. Bush's press year end conference. He claimed the economy was fine. Paul Krugman op ed today. The president was ambiguous at the press conference, no recollection about the tapes. Housing crunch. Afghanistan surge, 5 million kids going to school. Baghdad. As soon as the Brits left, the violence died down. 30-50% Afghanistan under control of the Taliban? Protect America Act.