Big tobacco is suing the FDA. Under new FDA regulations – by September of next year all cigarette packs must display graphic images showing the consequences of smoking. But now – the tobacco companies are pushing back – using the Mitt Romney argument that they’re people – and that these new regulations violate their First Amendment rights.

Lorillard – the nation’s third largest cigarette maker – said the new regulations were, “an unconstitutional way of forcing tobacco manufacturers to disseminate the government's anti-smoking message.” The government SHOULD have an anti-smoking message.

Smoking kills more than 1,200 people a day – is the only product legally sold in America that kills people when it’s used as directed, and costs taxpayers a fortune in healthcare and lost productivity.

-Thom

(What do you think? Tell us here.)

"INJUSTICE! Teen struck by Ohio campus officer's Stun Gun DIES!"

The Daily Stack

Quote: "I hope that we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country." -- Thomas Jefferson.

Hour One: Why do conservatives want to take away our social safety nets? Stephen Moore, Editorial board member and senior economics writer, The Wall Street Journal

Book: "Return to Prosperity: How America Can Regain Its Economic Superpower Status" by Arthur B. Laffer, Stephen Moore.

Book: "The End of Prosperity: How Higher Taxes Will Doom the Economy--If We Let It Happen" by Arthur B. Laffer, Stephen Moore, Peter Tanous.

Article: "Super Gridlock?" by Stephen Moore.

Article: "Getting Back to Growth" by Stephen Moore.

Article: "GOP Super Committee Member Pledges Not To ‘Chop’ Entitlement Benefits Or Raise The Retirement Age" by Marie Diamond.

Article: "Warren Buffett Is Wrong On Taxes" by Stephen Moore.

Article: "Democrats hold seats in Wisconsin recall elections" by Reuters.

Article: "Wisconsin Recall: Gov. Walker Next?" by Kenneth R. Bazinet.

Article: "Silicon Valley billionaire funding creation of artificial libertarian islands" by Liz Goodwin.

Crazy alert: "Yvonne the runaway cow brings fame to Bavarian village but no milk" by Helen Pidd.

Article: "Crashing the Tea Party" by David E. Campbell and Robert D. Putnam.

Article: "Poll Shows Negative View of Tea Party on the Rise" by Kate Zernike.

Article: "REPORT: Texas Ranks Dead Last In Total Job Creation, Accounting For Labor Force Growth" by ThinkProgress.

Article: "Some Inconvenient Truths About the National Debt" by ThinkProgress War Room.

Article: "Rick Perry Rental Mansion Costs Texas $600,000 Amid $11B Budget Shortfall" by Jay Root.

Article: "Tobacco firms sue US over graphic cigarette labels" by UPI.

Article: "Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission" by Justice J Stevens.

"Tillman Act of 1907".

Site: "Move to Amend".

Full Monty alert: "Dean H. Meginniss, Washington Man, Arrested For Fishing Naked (VIDEO)".

Video: "More Doctors Smoke Camels Than Any Other Cigarette".

Book: "Ultimate Sacrifice" by Lamar Waldron with Thom Hartmann.

Talk Radio News Segment: Ken Bazinet

Article: "Obama To Give Major Speech On The Economy, Jobs" by TRNS.

Article: "Obama: Biggest terror fear is the lone wolf" by CNN.

Article: "Perry stands by Bernanke "treasonous" remark amid criticism" by Corbett B. Daly.

Article: "Santorum on Perry: ‘We’re not in Texas, anymore’" by Ashley Killough.

Article: "W’s Revenge: Ex-Bushies Gang Up On Rick Perry" by Benjy Sarlin.

Hour Three: "Game Over" for the environment? What you can do about it Bill McKibben, Environmentalist / Founder of 350.org campaign

Book: "Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet" by Bill McKibben.

Article: "A Watershed Moment for Obama on Climate Change" by Bill McKibben.

Article: "Defusing the Largest Carbon Bomb on the Planet" by 350.org.

Article: "New Pipeline to Challenge Obama's Promises" by Bill McKibben.

Site: "Stop the Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline!"

Article: "Join us in civil disobedience to stop the Keystone XL tar-sands pipeline" by Bill McKibben.

Article: "Top Climate Scientists Support Civil Disobedience Against Keystone XL Tarsands Pipeline" by Brad Johnson.

Book: "Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back" by Frank Schaeffer.

"Matthew 6 (New International Version)".

"Matthew 7 (New International Version)".

"Matthew 8 (New International Version)".

"Matthew 25:31-46 (New International Version)".

The good: "Hightower: There’s a ‘very ugly side’ to Rick Perry" by Stephen C. Webster.

The bad: "Poll: Tea Party Less Popular Than Muslims, Atheists, 21 Other Groups" by Alex Seitz-Wald.

The very, very ugly: "Herman Cain: Impeaching Obama would be 'a great thing'" by Alexander Burns.

Book: "Screwed: The Undeclared War Against The Middle Class" by Thom Hartmann. Get "Screwed" by Thom Hartmann!

Article: "Gov. Rick Perry’s Texas Supreme Court Sides With Corporations In Three Out Of Four Cases" by Ian Millhiser.

Article: "Judge OKs Recall Election Against Author Of AZ Immigration Law" by Jillian Rayfield.

Article: "Pentagon: Army Body Armor Plates Improperly Tested, May Not Meet Safety Requirements " by Donna Cassata.

Article: "Tobacco firms sue US over graphic cigarette labels" by AFP.

Article: "State Officials Seek To Expand Low-Income Workers' Coverage" by California Healthline.

Hour Two: Geeky Science Rocks... what we can learn about community from European paper wasps

Hour Three: The GOP's evolution from Reagan to Bush to Perry - Cliff Schecter, National progressive PR strategist, author

And, the best of the rest of the news and your calls right here on...

The Thom Hartmann Program... your media support group for we the people.

Read an excerpt here, and buy the book!