All eyes are on Chicago this weekend – where an annual NATO Summit is going up against the Occupy Movement. Tens of thousands of demonstrators are expected to attend this weekend’s marches and rallies, calling for peace and economic fairness. Chicago police have already spent more than a million dollars on riot gear and high-tech crowd dispersal technology like long-range acoustic devices to use against the peaceful Occupy demonstrators.

Already – in the lead up to this weekend’s actions – twenty people have been arrested – including some for protesting outside President Obama’s re-election headquarters on Monday. So keep an eye on Chicago where the big question is: Will First Amendment rights be honored – or will we see another violent crackdown by law enforcement against patriotic Americans?

-Thom

(What do you think will happen? Tell us here.)

Hour One: If it's Friday, it's "Brunch With Bernie"... the honorable Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will be here with all the news from our nation's capitol and as always he'll be spending the hour taking your calls and answering your questions too...

Plus, It's Anything Goes on Townhall Friday...you choose the topics and we'll talk...

The Thom Hartmann Program...your media support group for "we the people"...TAG, YOU'RE IT!!!!!!!!! (OCCUPY SOMETHING!!!!!)

Free excerpt, read book for free at Truthout, buy the book!

Thursday's Daily Stack

Quote: "Peace and friendship with all mankind is our wisest policy, and I wish we may be permitted to pursue it." -- Thomas Jefferson.

Article: "If Fukushima Unit 4 Falls, Hazardous Radioactive Cesium-137 Release Could be Eight Times Worse Than Chernobyl" by Beyond Nuclear.

Article: "Evacs and drills pared near nuke plants" by Jeff Donn.

Book: "Unequal Protection: How Corporations Became "People" - And How You Can Fight Back" by Thom Hartmann - new updated version out now!

Article: "G.O.P. ‘Super PAC’ Weighs Hard-Line Attack on Obama" by Jeff Zeleny and Jim Rutenberg.

The Big Picture
- Sam Sacks, The Big Picture producer, progressive commentator

Article: "Statement by the President on H.R. 1540, the "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012.".

Article: "Constitution of the United States" Article 1, section 8: ...To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

Article: "Judge suspends US law that provided for indefinite detention without trial" by Cory Doctorow.

Article: "Nebraska's GOP Senate primary: another tea party surprise?" by Amanda Paulson.

Article: "Can $250,000 buy a senator? " by Michael Beckel.

Article: "Homeless-camping ban signed by Denver mayor".

Latest on Jobs Act and student loan hikes
- Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH)

Article: "Brown Outlines “Bring Jobs Home Act” Aimed At Encouraging Business To Bring Jobs Back To The U.S." by Sherrod Brown.

Article: "Political divide over student loans" by Robert Wang.

Site: "Sherrod Brown campaign site".

Petition: "OVERTURN CITIZENS UNITED: A Constitutional Amendment" by Sherrod Brown.

Hour Two: Naked shorts exposed at Goldman
- Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone Magazine

Article: "Accidentally Released - and Incredibly Embarrassing - Documents Show How Goldman et al Engaged in 'Naked Short Selling'" by Matt Taibbi.

Book: "The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics, and Religion" by Matt Taibbi.

Book: "Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That is Breaking America" by Matt Taibbi.

Veterans issues...
- Beau Biden, Attorney General

Article: "Beau Biden kicks off Veterans and Military Families for Obama campaign" by Jenna Zibton.

Geeky Science rocks! - can sugar make you dumb?

Geeky Science alert: "Sugar can make you dumb, US scientists warn " by AFP.

Article: "Wells Fargo Has Blood on Its Hands: Desperate Man Commits Suicide After Shocking Foreclosure Mistreatment" by Dave Johnson.

Article: "Former Mormon Explains Why Mitt Romney Should Never Be President" by Sarah Wood.

The good: Rob Hatch: "Op-Ed From Republican Business Owner: ‘Wind Is An American Success Story In Iowa’" by Stephen Lacey.

The bad: "Colorado Congressman Mike Coffman: Obama in his heart is ''not an American''" by KUSA 9 News.

The very, very ugly: Virginia Del. Bob Marshall: "Anti-Gay Virginia Lawmaker Explains His Decision To Block Gay Judge: ‘Sodomy Is Not A Civil Right’" by Ian Millhiser.

Article: "Fred Davis, Joe Ricketts Disavow Rev. Wright Proposal" by Pema Levy.

Book: "The Complete Mystical Works of Meister Eckhart" by Meister Eckhart.

Article: "New college graduates earning less than a decade ago" by Marla Dickerson.

Article: "Spanish recession bites, may be prolonged" by Reuters.

Article: "Cesium spikes in Tokyo Bay samples" by Jun Hongo.

Article: "Minority Birth Rate Now Surpasses Whites In US, Census Shows" by Hope Yen.

Article: "D.C. delegate to Congress Eleanor Holmes Norton silenced at hearing on abortion limits" by Sarah L. Voisin.

Article: "JPMorgan trading losses climb to $3-billion, paper reports" by Kim Mackrael.

We'll be keeping an eye on the latest from the G8 and NATO summits...

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"...TAG, YOU'RE IT!!!!!!!!! (OCCUPY SOMETHING!!!!!)