The same party that screams about government overreach doesn't have a problem with stepping on cities' autonomy to write their own laws.

Last week, Rick Snyder's Republicans in Michigan passed a bill that blocks cities from raising wages or implementing paid sick leave.

According to the text of the legislation, “the regulation of the employment relationship between a nonpublic employer and its employees is a matter of state concern.”

However, Rick Snyder and his cronies are not concerned about whether or not workers in their state can survive on wages or take a day off when they're sick.

They're only concerned about whether or not their buddies in big business have to miss out on one cent of possible profit.

And, to make matters worse, Michigan is the 12th state to enact laws that prevent cities from raising their minimum wage or mandating paid sick leave.

It's bad enough that the United States Congress can't get their act together to help workers, but it's absurd that cities and towns should be blocked from stepping in when our national lawmakers fail.

Governor Snyder and his buddies should block this law, and the other 11 states should remove similar legislation from their books.

-Thom

(What do you think? Tell us here.)

Tonight on The Big Picture on RT TV at 7pm and 10pm... Is It Finally the End of the Confederacy? (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 newest video: RESTORATION - narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio & Thom Hartmann, directed by Leila Conners / Visit GreenWorldRising.org to check out all the videos: CARBON, LAST HOURS & GREEN WORLD RISING - narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio & Thom Hartmann, directed by Leila Conners

Big Picture Rumble:
- Gianno Caldwell, Caldwell Strategic Consulting
- Victoria Jones, Independent Commentator & Political Analyst
- Hughey Newsome, National Advisory Council-Project 21/MoveOnUp

Best of the Rest: Is It Finally the End of the Confederacy?
- Dr. Lonnie Randolph, South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP

Will Muslims Accept Same Sex Marriage?
- Ani Zonneveld, Muslims For Progressive Values

Friday's Daily Stack

Article: "2016 GOP Hopefuls Meeting with Key Donors at Koch Party" by Sandy Fitzgerald.

Article: "Scott Walker Prepares To Sign Budget That Eliminates The Living Wage And Prevailing Wage" by Alice Ollstein.

Article: "Jeb Bush Draws on Family Dynasty for Fund-Raising Efforts" by Nicholas Confessore.

Article: "Coons: 'Not Confident' In Bernie Sanders' Qualifications" by Kendall Breitman.

Article: "Claire McCaskill, a major Clinton ally, unloads on Bernie Sanders" by Daniel Strauss.

Article: "In Bolivia, Pope Francis Apologizes for Church’s ‘Grave Sins’" by Jim Yardley and William Neuman.

Article: "At Heroin's Source, Taliban Do What 'Just Say No' Could Not" by Barry Bearak, May 24, 2001.

Article: "Bush gave $43 million to Taliban 4 months before 9/11 " by redstatehatemonitor.

Article: "Heroin use jumps in US as painkiller addicts switch drugs" by BBC.

Article: "Crowd Cheers as Confederate Flag Removed from South Carolina Capitol" by Jon Schuppe and Elizabeth Chuck.

Article: "Confederate States of America - Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union", December 24, 1860.

Article: "A Declaration of the Immediate Causes which Induce and Justify the Secession of the State of Mississippi from the Federal Union".

Article: "Wisconsin Residents Sue State, Claim Legislative Districts are Unconstitutional" by Marge Pitrof.

Article: "Florida Supreme Court orders new congressional map with eight districts to be redrawn" by Mary Ellen Klas.

Article: "George W. Bush charged wounded vets group $100k for speech" by Tom LoBianco.

Article: "Veteran Has Had It With Republicans: ‘Don’t You Dare Thank Me For My Military Service’" by Veteran Has Had It With Republicans: ‘Don’t You Dare Thank Me For My Military Service’.

Article: "WMD's my ass" by shadowmayor.

Article: "Was Donald Trump Right About Immigrant Sanctuary Laws?".

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

Article: "WTO Says U.S. Consumers Don’t Need to Know Where Meat Comes From" by Anastasia Pantsios.

Article: "Robert E. Lee" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty" by Wikipedia.

Article: "North American Free Trade Agreement" (NAFTA) by Wikipedia.

Article: "Dominican Republic–Central America Free Trade Agreement" (CAFTA-DR) by Wikipedia. (CAFTA pre January 2004)

Article: "Export-Import Bank of the United States" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Export-Import Bank expires" by Walt Cronkite.

Article: "Lots of Fuzzy Numbers Behind Walmart’s American Manufacturing Push" by Scott Paul.

Site: NutritionFacts.org.

Article: "Uprooting the Leading Causes of Death" by Michael Greger M.D.

Article: "Firms Paid Bill Clinton Millions As They Lobbied Hillary Clinton" by Andrew Perez, David Sirota, Matthew Cunningham-Cook.

Talk Radio News Segment:
- Victoria Jones

Article: "Background Check System Failed to Flag Charleston Shooter’s Drug Case" by Ben Mathis-Lilley.

Article: "OPM Director Resigns Over Data Breach Scandal" by Sydnee Fried.

Article: "Hacking of Government Computers Exposed 21.5 Million People" by Julie Hirschfeld Davis.

Article: "Attack Gave Chinese Hackers Privileged Access to U.S. Systems" by David E. Sanger, Nicole Perlroth and Michael D. Shear.

Article: "SC Confederate Flag Flies No More" by William McDonald.

Article: "US House cancels vote on allowing Confederate flag at national cemeteries" by Payton Guion.

Site: "Goats for the old Goat".

Site: Governor Free Don Siegelman.

Article: "TRNS News Notes- 7/10" by Victoria Jones.

Article: "TRNS News Notes- 7/9" by Victoria Jones.

Article: "The Emancipation Proclamation" by President Abraham Lincoln, January 1, 1863.

Book: "The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight: Revised and Updated: The Fate of the World and What We Can Do Before It's Too Late" by Thom Hartmann.

Article: "The Trail of Tears " by PBS.

Quote: "John Marshall has made his decision: now let him enforce it!" -- Andrew Jackson.

Article: "How Jackson Made a Killing in Real Estate" by Steve Inskeep.

Book: "Rebooting the American Dream: 11 Ways to Rebuild Our Country" by Thom Hartmann (read online).

Book: "Rebooting the American Dream: 11 Ways to Rebuild Our Country" by Thom Hartmann.

Article: "Report on the Subject of Manufactures" by Alexander Hamilton.

Article: "The Danger of American Fascism" by Henry A. Wallace.

Article: "Permanent normal trade relations: U.S. and China" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Senators Call on FCC to Probe Cable, Broadband Prices" by Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Article: "Evangelicals Aim to Mobilize an Army for Republicans in 2016" by Jason Horowitz March 15, 2015.

Article: "Veto Act on Incorporating the Alexandria Protestant Episcopal Church (February 21, 1811)" by James Madison.

Book: "The Age of Reason" by Thomas Paine.

Article: "White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Donald Trump Lied to Us" by Antonio Tijerino.

Geeky Science Alert: "Targeting copper to treat breast cancer" by Ken Garber.

Article: "Fossil fuel industry must 'implode' to avoid climate disaster, says top scientist" by Damian Carrington.

Article: "Declaration of Independence".

Book: With God on Our Side: One Man's War Against an Evangelical Coup in America's Military by Michael L. Weinstein and Davin Seay.

Book: The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power by Jeff Sharlet.

Site: Hamilton College, New York.

Speech: "Farewell Address", by Dwight David Eisenhower, January 17, 1961 (transcript).

Article: "Republican Party Platform of 1956", August 20, 1956.

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David Duke vs. Thom Hartmann: The Confederate Flag

Is It Time to Occupy the South?

Here’s How to Limit CEO Pay & Boost Worker Pay

How You May Be Eating Diseased Beef

Full Show 7/9/15: David Duke Defends the Confederate Flag

Thom discusses the latest from the GOP presidential field with attorney and radio host Mike Papantonio, how the USDA may have set the stage for a return of foot and mouth disease with Food & Water Watch’s Patty Lovera, and what the confederate flag means to David Duke with David Duke.

Pope Francis: Church Complicit in Destruction of Native Americans...

Is Donald Trump Just a Foil to Help Scott Walker?

Recovering Republican Concerned over Texas Whitewashing History...

Bernie Sanders on Reversing Reaganomics...

Bernie Sanders on Immigration...

Bernie Sanders: Break up the Big Banks!

Caller: How do I Describe 'Democratic Socialist' to Skeptics?

SC's Confederate Flag will Finally be Removed...

S.C. Rep's Impassioned Speech Against the Confederate Flag...