• Thom Hartmann is traveling in Darfur, Peter B. Collins guest hosted live from the Take Back America conference.
• Obama speech in Philadelphia, "A More Perfect Union".
• Guest: Joe Andrews, former DNC chair, author, "The Blue Way: How to Profit by Investing in a Better World".
• Guest: Jared Bernstein , author, "Crunch: Why Do I Feel So Squeezed? (and Other Unsolved Economic Mysteries)".
• Guest: Drew Westen, Professor of Psychology, Emory University. Author, "The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation".
• Guest: Congressman John Conyers, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
• Guest: David Sirota, columnist.
• Guest: Celinda Lake, pollster.
• Guest: Khari Mosley, League of Young Voters, PA.
• Guest: Donna Edwards.
• Guest: Producer and People For the American Way founder Norman Lear.
• Guest: Kathryn Kolbert, president of People For the American Way.
• Guest: Bob Borosage.
• Guest: John Gorenfeld, author, "Bad Moon Rising: How Reverend Moon Created the Washington Times, Seduced the Religious Right and Built an American Kingdom".
• Guest: Jesselyn McCurdy, ACLU Legislative Counsel.

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

Tuesday 18 March '08 National show

• Thom Hartmann is traveling in Darfur, Peter B. Collins guest hosted live from the Take Back America conference. peter@peterbcollins.com.
• Obama speech in Philadelphia half an hour ago; "A More Perfect Union".
• Guest: Joe Andrews, former DNC chair, author, "The Blue Way: How to Profit by Investing in a Better World". Florida no revote. Peter B Collins said that is the right decision. Puerto Rico is right at the end of the line. Senators are superdelegates for their term, he is for life. "The American Plan" book by Thomas Gangale: "From the Primaries to the Polls: How to Repair America's Broken Presidential Nomination Process". Primaries. We don't need delegates or super delegates to choose our representatives, though we need them for other processes. We can't count the votes in Michigan as Obama was not on the ballot. The challenge is, who pays for it?
• Bumper Music: The Only Living Boy In New York, Simon & Garfunkel.
• Guest: Jared Bernstein , author, "Crunch: Why Do I Feel So Squeezed? (and Other Unsolved Economic Mysteries)". Sub prime mortgage, Bush, Fed. Housing bubble burst, loans that would only work out if the bubble continued. Risk was inadequately priced. How do we protect working families? Recession. Recovery.
• Clip:
  "In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don't feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience - as far as they're concerned, no one's handed them anything, they've built it from scratch. They've worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time."
  Remarks of Senator Barack Obama: 'A More Perfect Union'. Philadelphia, PA. March 18, 2008
• Guest: Drew Westen, Professor of Psychology, Emory University. Author, "The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation". Bill Kristol on Fox with a blond and an all white crew discussing Obama's speech. Hannity and Colmes, he was bragging about playing the pastor Wright clip and being the first to feature the Swift boat veterans. Obama's speech was heard by white collar males. He had the courage not to disown Wright; loyalty. The speech was full of leadership and courage.
• Guest: Congressman John Conyers, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Greetings from Tony Trupiano. No rerun in Florida. Michigan, split the votes, don't spend a dime, get past it. Redoing is nonsense. Hillary can't win without Obama and vice versa. Keep personality differences down between them and supporters, that's his goal, everybody be nice. The big game is in November. Desperation, fanatical must win, this is not a sports game. He has a copy of Obama's speech to read. His staff said to say this was the best speech he heard since "I have a dream" - he hadn't yet heard or read it. His staffer Melanie Rousseau on his committee said it was the most moving speech she had heard live. Impeachment. He will go drop a resolution as soon as we finish.
• Guest: David Sirota. He's heard bits of Obama's speech. He wrote a cover article for the Nation on him two years ago. He says Obama wants to do the right thing, wants to be pushed, wants the movement to help. David is concerned Obama is conflicted about whether he wants to be a movement leader or to be praised from above by the the establishment. It is difficult to be both while you are alive. If you are putting forward substantive change, you are going to polarize people. Obama's post partisan idea will mean no change. Sirota's recent columns about working families. They should trickle up help from people having problems making their mortgages; instead they are baling out banks.
• Guest: Celinda Lake, pollster. Polling. The race. Senators up for reelection.
• Cheney spent the night in Baghdad. He left the green zone briefly. He said Iraq was a successful endeavor that has been well worth the effort, phenomenal, remarkable, there was a link between Saddam and al Qaeda. John McCain was there too, spoke of al Qaeda.
• The United for Peace & Justice is staging events tomorrow for the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq including crime scene tape around the White House, a march of the dead, 5 minutes of stillness at Union station.
• Clip:
  "I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy. For some, nagging questions remain. Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely - just as I'm sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed."
  Remarks of Senator Barack Obama: 'A More Perfect Union'. Philadelphia, PA. March 18, 2008
• Guest: Khari Mosley, League of Young Voters, PA State Director. He's based in Pittsburgh, covers Pennsylvania. There's a huge disparity in voters depending on level of attainment; 4:1 of college-educated voters voted on Super Tuesday, 14:1 of non-college educated voters. 5 weeks to his primary. They are doing voter registration, education, radio, events, parties. They aren't talking about Wright. Hannity claimed credit. Obama speech.
• John Conyers returned briefly to talk about Donna Edwards, who was interrupted by Thom yesterday calling in from the Sudan and big-footed by Conyers today
• Clip:
  "I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother - a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe. "
  Remarks of Senator Barack Obama: 'A More Perfect Union'. Philadelphia, PA. March 18, 2008
• Guest: Donna Edwards. She wants to be on a committee dealing with health care, environment. Obama speech.
• Guest: Producer and People For the American Way founder Norman Lear, who received the America's Future Lifetime Award at the 2008 Take Back America conference in Washington, D.C. from Bill Moyers. 'All in the Family' TV Sitcom. Declaration of Independence. Obama speech.
• Guest: Kathryn Kolbert, president of People For the American Way. This was her second day on the job. She argued Planned Parenthood vs. Casey. at the Supreme Court. Roe v Wade. The current Supreme Court may take away many rights. New case yesterday about the first amendment - obscenities, Fox. The presidency is important for the next 30 years, and Senate. The Holt bill which did not pass. Voter registration should last a lifetime.
• Guest: Bob Borosage. Press conference about the mobilization of voters, moveon.org targeting senators. His keynote yesterday morning. Rainbow coalition.
• Guest: John Gorenfeld, author, "Bad Moon Rising: How Reverend Moon Created the Washington Times, Seduced the Religious Right and Built an American Kingdom". Has spent over $3b on the Washington Times since 1982. Fresh fish distribution. The Chicago Tribune 2 years ago, True World Foods, Moon monopolized sushi. He also got money for ripping off widows - a scandal in Japan. Money laundering. Uruguay. Relationship with the Bush family, they go on tour with him and stroke his ego. The Paraguay ranch rumor is hard to confirm. Brainwashing. Moon says he is the messiah and that Jesus was a failure. Anti-Semitic. Tear down the cross tour. Funeral for cross in Jerusalem in Potter's field. Lots of the religious right have compromised themselves to work with him. Deprogramming. Korean intelligence.
• Guest: Jesselyn McCurdy, ACLU Legislative Counsel. Joe Biden's law, 100-1 difference between crack and powder cocaine. The cost of incarceration. The USA is number one in incarcerations. Generational issues.