Congress hasn't yet prevented one potential government shutdown, and the next one is right around the corner. On Wednesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew warned that our nation will hit the debt ceiling on October 17th. At that point, the Treasury Department will have only $30 billion dollars in cash on hand. In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, Secretary Lew wrote, “This amount would be far short of the net expenditures on certain days, which can be as high as $60 billion [dollars].” He warned that if Congress doesn't raise the debt limit, “it would be impossible for the United States of America to meet all of its obligations for the first time in our history.”

But, rather than working on a reasonable plan to prevent an economic disaster, House Republicans have prepared the long list of demands they want met before raising the debt limit. Those demands include approving the Keystone XL pipeline, weakening the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, cutting more than $100 billion dollars from federal health programs, and – of course – delaying Obamacare for another year.

Essentially, Republicans want President Obama to pretend he didn't win the last presidential election, and agree to nearly every major right-wing policy idea. And, House Republicans say they're willing to hold our entire economy hostage until their demands are met. President Obama has vowed not to negotiate over our nation's debt limit, but one side is going to have to give in to avoid a financial crisis. This is no way to run a government. This is an economic game of chicken that puts our nation at risk for a major disaster, and millions of Americans are waiting to see who blinks first.

-Thom

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Wednesday's Daily Stack

Hour One: Who is turning U.S. students against their own nation?
- Frank Vernuccio, NY Analysis of Policy & Government

Article: "U.S. schools turning American students against their own nation" by Frank Vernuccio.

Article: "Students Know Less After 4 College Years" by Annie Karni.

Book: "A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present" by Howard Zinn.

Book: Occupied America: A History of Chicanos by Rodolfo F. Acuna.

Article: "A Crisis Of Competence: The Corrupting Effect of Political Activism" by National Association of Scholars.

The Big Picture
- Andrew Campbell, The Big Picture producer

Article: "New Report: For 95% Of Americans, Obamacare Will Cost Much Less Than Expected" by Igor Volsky.

Article: "Final Word On Obamacare Coverage: Cheaper Than Expected" by Dylan Scott.

Article: "White House: Americans Can Register To Vote When Signing Up For Obamacare" by Dylan Scott.

Article: "AIG CEO Says Outrage Over Wall Street Bonuses ‘Was Just As Wrong’ As Lynchings In The Deep South" by Rebecca Leber.

Article: "Baltimore school system sued over homeless students" by Erica L. Green.

Article: "Interview with the Pope" by Ashley.

Article: "Talk Radio Pioneer Thom Hartmann to Receive Honorary Doctorate from Goddard College" by Lauren Moye.

Site: Goddard College.

Article: "Prices Set for New Health-Care Exchanges".

Book: "Thom Hartmann's Complete Guide to ADHD: Help for Your Family at Home, School and Work".

Article: "Cruz: A vote for cloture is a vote for Obamacare" by Katie Glueck.

Article: "Schumer Says Cruz Speech Advanced Democrats' Cause" by Bloomberg.

Book: "The Speech: A Historic Filibuster on Corporate Greed and the Decline of Our Middle Class" by Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Book: "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany" by William L. Shirer.

Site: National Exchange Club.

Law: " No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" (NCLB).

Plus, how do we eliminate global poverty by 2030?
- Michael Elliot, ONE Campaign

Article: "Cardin, Lugar, Leahy Welcome Sec Approval Of Transparency Rules" (Cardin-Lugar Amendment).

Article: "Sens. Cardin, Lugar slam oil industry's Dodd-Frank lawsuit" by Ben Geman.

Hour Two: The Pope speaks out about capitalism
- William Donohue, Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights

Article: "Pope attacks globalised idolisation of money" by Guy Dinmore and Giulia Segreti.

Article: "Rerum Novarum: Encyclical Of Pope Leo XIII On Capital And Labor", 1891.

Movie: "World Peace and Other 4th-Grade Achievements".

Site: World Peace Game.

Book: A People's History of American Empire by Howard Zinn, Mike Konopacki, Paul Buhle.

Speech: "To the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sept. 24, 2013" by President Obama.

Video: "The Day the Earth Nearly Died" (BBC Horizon programme on the Permian Mass Extinction).

E-book: "The Last Hours of Humanity: Warming the World to Extinction" by Thom Hartmann.

Talk Radio News Segment:
- Victoria Jones

Site: "Goats for the old Goat".

Article: "U.S. Renews Global Terror Alert, State Department Issues 'Worldwide Caution' In Wake Of Kenya Mall Attack " by Matthew Lee.

Article: "Senate Votes Unanimously To Start Debate On CR" by Geoff Holtzman.

Article: "After 21-Hour Cruz Speech, Senate Votes to Take Up Budget" by Jonathan Weisman.

Article: "Senator Persists Battling Health Law, Irking Even Many in His Own Party".

Article: "'Monsanto Protection Act' To Expire, Won't Be Part Of Continuing Resolution" by Ashley Alman.

Article: "America to hit debt ceiling by October 17, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew warns" by Katherine Rushton.

Article: "Report: House Will Tie Obamacare And Other Items To Debt Limit" by Geoff Holtzman.

Article: "Sputnik 1", October 4, 1957.

Article: "Rorschach test" by Wikipedia.

Book: An Autobiography of a Single Mom by Cheryl Kelmar.

Article: "Chicken makes a point in Wis. gun debate" by Jim Collar.

Article: "Federal workers to strike, march on White House Wednesday" by Josh Eidelson.

Article: "Piglet jumps off slaughterhouse truck, goes to sanctuary instead".

Hour Two: Get your Obamacare questions ready
- Igor Volsky, Think Progress

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

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