• "Brunch with Bernie" with Senator Bernie Sanders.
• Guest: Paul Hannam, author, "The Magic of Groundhog Day: Transform Your Life Day by Day".
• Last night's debate.

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

Friday 01 February '08 National show

• Last night's Democratic debate was more of a debate.
• Article: The State of the Union Bush Forgot to Talk About, Senator Bernie Sanders.
• Quote:
  "Well, kudos to the president and Congress for finally agreeing on something and doing something. But as I expressed in the debate the other night, the problem I have is that what we are really doing is borrowing about $150 billion from the Chinese, which is where this money has got to end up coming from, in the trade deficit.

  Then we're going to give rebates to taxpayers, and that's great. I'm glad. But what will most of them do with it? They're going to buy things that were imported from China. So I have to ask, whose economy is being stimulated the most?

  "
  Mike Huckabee.
• "Brunch with Bernie" with Senator Bernie Sanders, Independent of Vermont. Democratic retreat to discuss strategies, some lecturers. His newsletter, the real state of the union. He detected sadness in Bush. He had nothing to say; almost no accomplishments, lots of disasters. The real state of the union. Stimulus package including LIHEAP, food stamps, global warming. Mike Huckabee saying the package will borrow from China to buy things from China - whose economy are we going to stimulate? Debate.

  Can Hillary build bipartisan consensus? Bernie is not endorsing anyone. The Republicans threw divisiveness at the Clintons because they were disappointed that Bill won, and some sexism, for example Michael Savage. She is intelligent, hard working. Either would do a good job. Bernie said we should return to usury rate. Counter the Obama email with email of truth? Getting the facts out about everything is very important. We dropped the ball, there used to be no left think tanks. Lots of things are named after Reagan, few for LBJ. Privatized student loan collection. Tax relief for people with disabilities.

  The Vermont legislation is trying to give the governor the ability to make the decision to recall the National Guard. ID, voter fraud: Bernie would throw the book at fraudulent voters, but is against anything reducing the number of people voting. Weyrich clip. The signing statements attached to the Defense authorization Bill. Congress must demand that Bush follows the law, Congress will push back on signing statements.

• Bumper Music: Mother Freedom, Bread.
• Bumper Music: Dreams, Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac.
• Bumper Music: Free Falling, Tom Petty.
• Clip:
  "Now many of our Christians have what I call the goo-goo syndrome. Good government. They want everybody to vote. I don't want everybody to vote. Elections are not won by a majority of people. They never have been from the beginning of our country and they are not now. As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down." Paul Weyrich
  

  .

• It's Groundhog Day tomorrow.
• Guest: Paul Hannam, author, "The Magic of Groundhog Day: Transform Your Life Day by Day". he co-founded Bright Green Talent and is Chairman and co-owner of Greenest Host , a web hosting solution that is 100% solar-powered. The book takes the lessons of the movie "Groundhog Day" to show how you can get out of your rut.
• Bumper Music: I Got You Babe, Sonny and Cher.
• It's Super Tuesday next Tuesday.
• Thom Hartmann Program Progressive Straw Poll:
  - Obama 48
  - Clinton 8
  - Edwards 5
  - McCain 1
  - Ron Paul 1
• Clip:
  "Roosevelt is dead, his policies may live on, but we're in the process of doing something about that as well." Rush Limbaugh.
• During the last debate Thom formed the opinion that Hillary is better than Bill was. Thom is absolutely torn. A moveon.org poll found 70.4% for Obama. Thom was surprised with the result of the straw poll as he thought that Hillary also did very well last night; he was expecting more of a 50-50 split.
• Bumper Music: You Really Got Me, the Kinks.
• We had a war. Bush declared victory and it became an occupation. They are kicking back at the occupiers.
• "My fellow Americans: major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed."
  George W. Bush, May 1, 2003, Remarks by the President from the USS Abraham Lincoln
• Clip:
  "If I could just tell you a brief story. I was in Iraq with my friend Senator Lindsey Graham. 688 brave young Americans, temperatures like 125, reenlist to stay in Iraq and fight. I mean, it was one of the more moving experiences I've ever had. We were on the plane on the way back, and we were talking, and I said, "You know, you've got these kids out there, these brave young Americans out there, and I'm worried about my political future, and they are putting it on the line. We're not going to let them get defeated. We're not going to have them surrender, and they're going to win," and, by golly, they are winning, my friend."
  Senator John McCain, Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
  He was cheered. The American public is accepting the language of war, victory, surrender - an effective Republican strategy - when what we really have is an occupation. Occupations come to an end. Moments after McCain spoke, there were bombings in Iraq.
• Article: Mentally Retarded Women Used in Bombings.
  "Remote-controlled explosives strapped to two mentally retarded women detonated in a coordinated attack on Baghdad pet bazaars Friday, Iraqi officials said, killing at least 73 people in the deadliest day since the U.S. sent 30,000 extra troops to the capital last spring."
• Nader exploratory committee. When Nader was on the show, he gave the impression that if Hillary was the nominee, he would run. Thom is more concerned about Bloomberg.
• Edwards' delegates can vote for anybody, anyway, although if he endorses somebody they will probably follow.
• Article: The Edwards Effect.
  "So John Edwards has dropped out of the race for the presidency. By normal political standards, his campaign fell short. But Mr. Edwards, far more than is usual in modern politics, ran a campaign based on ideas. And even as his personal quest for the White House faltered, his ideas triumphed: both candidates left standing are, to a large extent, running on the platform Mr. Edwards built."
• Bumper Music: Anything Goes, Harpers Bizarre.
• Bumper Music: I'm free, Rolling Stones (video).
• Next week Thom is doing the show from New York City Monday to Wednesday, and is participating in Air America's Super Tuesday evening. Thursday and Friday he will be live from CPAC in Washington DC. On 15th he's in Reno at Borders at 5pm. On the 16th he's in Los Angeles giving a keynote for Mensa. 28th/29th he'll be joining the Air America Cruise.
• Article: Obama's Liberal Hat Trick.
  "In The Span Of Five Days, Barack Obama Earned MoveOn.Org Endorsement, Sen. Ted Kennedy's Seal Of Approval, And National Journal's Most Liberal Senator Ranking".
• Book: "Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism", Ha-Joon Chang.
• Bumper Music: What a Wonderful World, Louis Armstrong. Thanks.
• Article: The War in Iraq Costs... What the money spent in Iraq could have paid for back in the USA.
• Victoria Jones of Talk Radio News. On Monday the president presents his budget, $3 trillion plus, a record. Deficit over $400 billion. The powers that be are warning that the USA's triple-A rating could disappear. Bush does not have to worry because he is leaving. The US military is not ready for a catastrophic attack, new 400 page report, independent commission on the National Guard. People are shocked about both! Victoria said it will end.