America is exceptional…when it comes to war profiteering. Ever since the Supreme Court said that defense contractors can buy off politicians left and right, business has been booming for the defense industry.

Last year, the defense industry spent over $125 million on lobbying efforts. And that industry has spent at least $120 million on lobbying every year since 2007. In response, our lawmakers have made sure that the defense industry is well-rewarded.

In 2011, the U.S. government spent 20% of the federal budget on defense. That’s more than it spent on Medicare, Medicaid, and other social safety net programs. And that 20% equals about $718 billion, more than the next 13 closest nations spent on defense combined.

America’s defense spending today is higher than at any time since the height of World War II. As you might expect, all of that spending has made U.S. defense contractors very, very rich.

A new report finds that U.S. defense contractors are behind a staggering one-third of all military equipment and weapons exported world-wide. And, not surprisingly, U.S. defense contractors are profiting quite nicely from tensions in the Middle East.

The IHS report found that U.S. contractors accounted for a whopping $8.4 billion in military exports to the Middle East in 2014 alone. That’s compared to $6 billion in 2013. But as we all know, defense contractors are very greedy. They’re always looking for a new way to make more money, even if that means drumming up a war or two.

So now, they’re using their shills in Washington, our elected officials and politicians, to encourage other countries to spend more on defense just so defense contractors can pad their already ballooning wallets. That’s where U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power comes in.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s “Today” program, Power sounded the alarm bells over Europe’s decreasing defense spending. Power said that cuts to defense budgets across Europe are “concerning” and warned that, “The number of missions that require advanced militaries to contribute around the world is growing not shrinking.”

Read more here.

-Thom

Tonight on The Big Picture on RT TV at 7pm and 10pm... The Politics of Voter Suppression (check your local listings for stations or stream at RT or Free Speech TV, and catch past shows on Youtube)

Be sure to check out our new videos: CARBON, LAST HOURS & GREEN WORLD RISING - narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio

Big Picture Politics Panel:
- Jennifer Kerns, Washington Times / The Blaze
- Nate Sweet, Progressive Commentator
- Hughey Newsome, Project 21 / Move-On-Up

Best of the Rest: The Politics of Voter Suppression
- Professor Spencer Overton, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies / Stealing Democracy: The New Politics of Voter Suppression

PLUS, a special report from Madison, WI
- Manuel Rapalo, RT News

Best of the Rest: How Shootings by Police Should Be Investigated
- John Nichols, The Nation Magazine

Tuesday's Daily Stack

Hour One: #47 traitors
- Neil McCabe, Townhall.com / The Washington Mercury

Article: "Republican Senators Write To Leaders Of Iran, Attempt To Sabotage Nuclear Deal" by Igor Volsky.

Article: "Text of GOP Senators’ Letter to Iran’s Leaders on Nuclear Talks ".

Book: "The Illustrious Dunderheads" by Rex Stout.

Article: "New York Daily News blasts Cotton, Cruz, McConnell, and Paul over Iran letter: ‘TRAITORS’" by Arturo Garcia.

Article: "Hartford Convention" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan & Kevin McCarthy: Plot To Sabotage US Economy with Frank Luntz" by keepemhonest.

Article: "Benedict Arnold" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Republicans are beginning to act as though Barack Obama isn’t even the president" by Paul Waldman.

Law: "Logan Act", 30 January 1799. Citizens may not negotiate with foreign governments

Article: "White Christians Are No Longer The Majority In 19 States" by Jack Jenkins.

Article: "Did 47 U.S. Senators Just Commit Treason By Attempting to Sabotage Iran Deal?" by David Knowles.

Article: "Obama White House Rips Senate Republicans For Their Treasonous Letter To Iran" by Jason Easley.

Tweet: "Republicans are Committing Treason in Public!" by Thom Hartmann.

Article: "Iran Schools GOP Senators On International Law" by Akbar Shahid Ahmed.

The good: "Bertrand Piccard begins around-the-world flight in a plane that requires no fuel" by Kate Torgovnick May.

The bad: Kimberly Strassel: "WSJ columnist: Obama tainted Selma speech by complaining about voter suppression" by David Edwards.

The very, very ugly: "Oklahoma Frat Boys Caught Singing 'There Will Never Be A N***** In SAE'" by Tyler Kingkade.

Article: "Constitution of the United States" Article 2 section 2." ... [The President] shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; ..."

Article: "The Parties’ Role Reversal on ‘Interfering’ with the Commander-in-Chief’s Foreign Policy" by Glenn Greenwald.

Article: "King Seeks to Block Pelosi Travel to Terrorist States" by Steve King.

Case: "United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp." by Wikipedia.

Article: "Jesting, McCain Sings: 'Bomb, Bomb, Bomb' Iran" by Don Gonyea.

Article: "#47traitors trends in response to Republican open letter to Iran" by Laura Clawson.

Article: "It’s time to confirm Loretta Lynch".

Article: "44 former attorneys general file brief supporting Bob McDonnell" by Adam B. Lerner.

Case: "Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission" (2010).

Crazy Alert: "Urinators in Germany warned: St. Pauli walls 'pee back'" by Ben Hooper.

Article: "Now They're Saying It in Public: Professor At Koch-Funded University Department Calls For 'Less Democracy'" by Zaid Jilani.

Article: "Sedition" by Wikipedia.

Law: "18 U.S. Code Chapter 115 - TREASON, SEDITION, AND SUBVERSIVE ACTIVITIES".

Petition: "File charges against the 47 U.S. Senators in violation of The Logan Act in attempting to undermine a nuclear agreement.".

Quote: "A little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their spells dissolve, and the people, recovering their true sight, restore their government to its true principles." - Thomas Jefferson", letter to John Taylor, June 4, 1798.

Book: "The Crash of 2016: The Plot to Destroy America--and What We Can Do to Stop It" by Thom Hartmann.

Speech: "Campaign Address at Baltimore, Maryland October 25, 1932" by Franklin D. Roosevelt. "... the "Four Horsemen" of the present Republican leadership: The Horsemen of Destruction, Delay, Deceit, Despair"

Talk Radio News Segment:
- Bob Ney

Book: "Sideswiped: Lessons Learned Courtesy of the Hit Men of Capitol Hill" by Robert Ney.

Article: "Immediately After Launching Effort to Scuttle Iran Deal, Senator Tom Cotton to Meet with Defense Contractors" by Lee Fang.

Article: "TRNS News Notes- 3/10" by Victoria Jones.

Article: "TRNS News Notes- 3/9" by Victoria Jones.

Article: "While Tom Cotton insists he isn't a traitor, Senate Democrats denounce Iran letter" by Laura Clawson.

Article: "Benghazi chairman drops out of fundraiser after complaints" by Martin Matishak.

Clip: "Paul Weyrich - "I don't want everybody to vote" (Goo Goo)".

Article: "Tom Cotton’s bogus claim that the Islamic State collaborates with Mexican drug cartels" by Glenn Kessler.

A survival guide for the 21st century
- Matt Anderson, Fall and Winter (catch a special showing on Free Speech TV... check listings for showtimes!)

Site: National Defense Industrial Association.

Event: "LID Breakfast Featuring Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR)" 3/10/2015.

Article: "Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement" (TPP) by EFF.

Law: "Buy American Act", 1933.

Article: "Climate change key in Syrian conflict – and it will trigger more war in future" by Tom Bawden.

Article: "Common ingredient in packaged food may trigger inflammatory disease" by Kelly Servick.

Article: "No one could see the color blue until modern times" by Kevin Loria.

Article: "Everglades To Be Killed This October by Florida's Own Koch Brothers" by SemDem.

Article: "Science finds the best place to hide from zombies" by Eric Mack.

Wednesday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 12-3pm ET

I'll be talking with Rob Kall, Publisher/Founder of Op Ed News & Host of the Rob Kall Bottom Up Radio Show, about corporate personhood on steroids.

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

The Thom Hartmann Program, Occupying The Media 3 hours a day 5 days a week" for "we the people"

And don't forget...Democracy is NOT a spectator sport...it begins with you...

Please support the Hunter School, a unique therapeutic boarding school for young children diagnosed with ADHD, Anxiety, Sensory, Mood and related conditions...

Will the Republicans' letter to Iran backfire for their party?

Vote here!

Iran sabotage...is the GOP committing treason?

How Climate Change Triggers War

Why Americans Are In the Dark about "Right to Work"

Climate Change Now Banned in Florida?

Will the Voting Rights Act Get Fixed?

The Good - The Bad - and the Very Very Ecdemicly Ugly

Politically Corrected - Scalia & His Right Wing Talking Points!

Crazy Alert! Lookout - When Badgers Go Berserk!

Full Show 3/9/2015: Doomed Florida Denies Climate Change

In tonight’s show, Thom debates republicans’ attempt to sabotage the Iran nuke agreement with David Laska, Communications Director for the New York State Republican Party.

Brendan Fischer of the Center for Media and Democracy and Mark Ames, author and Senior Editor of Pando Daily, talk Gov. Scott Walker’s right-to-work state and its crushing impact for the middle class.

Tommy Christopher of the Daily Banter talks voter ID laws in American and republicans attempt to keep minorities from the polls. Columbia University Prof. Richard Seager talks climate change and its impact on the conflict in Syria.

Thom gives his Daily Take – Doomed Florida Denies Climate Change, plus Politically Corrected, Crazy Alert, Green Report and The Good, The Bad, and the Very Very Ugly.

#47Traitors

Neil McCabe: It's About Time Republicans Stand up to Obama!

Thom Hartmann on Science & Green News - March 10, 2015

Beware the Ides of March! (and Manufactured Conservative Crises...)

Caller: The Libertarian Philosophy is about Freeloading...

Caller: President Obama Needs to Develop a Backbone...

If You're Gonna Tell a Lie, Make it a Good One...

We Have a Crisis of Governance...

Caller: Did Netanyahu Response Encourage Iran Letter?

O'Malley hits Hillary from the Left...