Martha Rosenberg, Health Reporter & Commentator joins Thom Hartmann. If you think that modern medicines are developed and marketed when the medical industry sees a need for comprehensive treatments for diseases that are becoming more common in a population - then everything you know about the pharmaceutical industry and it's influence in the marketplace is wrong. Analysts say that Big Pharma is often driven by supply-side marketing that makes them billions each year by putting the proverbial cart before the horse -- meaning once they have the drugs in hand, they create enough buzz around the diseases the drugs can supposedly cure to rake in the profits as we turn into a nation of pill-popping hypochondriacs. And all of this is happening while there is a shortage of viable drugs to treat real medical problems. So what are some of the most profitable diseases that Big Pharma hopes we'll all think we have in 2012?

The Good! San Francisco. Beginning next year - the city will be the first in the nation to have a minimum wage above 10 dollars. The Bad! Rick Perry. If you want to be the Republican candidate for President - then you have to make sure you're up-to-date on what is the latest White House controversy manufactured by Republicans. And the very, very ugly...John McLaughlin. The host of the weekly show known as the "McLaughlin Group" gave his take on President Obama's "Teddy Roosevelt" speech last week - and it appears he got his talking points from GOP TV's Fox so-called News.

Jeremy Symons, National Wildlife Federation joins Thom Hartmann. The UN Climate Summit in Durbin, South Africa wrapped up over the weekend - without a comprehensive treaty for the world to stop or even slow down global climate change. The deal reached in Durbin just kicks the can down the road - by laying out steps toward signing a new climate change treaty in 2015 - that will be enacted in 2020 - well beyond the time frame most climate scientists agree is the "point of no return." One small victory from the Durbin Summit is that nations like China and India will no longer be considered "developing nations" - and will no longer be exempted from mandatory emissions cuts when a deal is finally reached. Meanwhile in Congress - in a direct slap in the face to environmentalist and future generations- House Republicans are holding the payroll tax cut extension for 160 million American hostage until the dangerous Keystone XL pipeline is approved. So why is it that our nation is incapable of addressing climate change - and, in the face of catastrophic weather, pushing ahead with even more climate-destroying energy projects?

Tony Katz, Tony Katz Radio Spectacular joins Thom Hartmann. Republicans say the so-called "millionaire surtax" will be the death knell for small businesses. But guess what? Small business owners are saying "Not so much!" The clock is ticking for Congress to come up with a plan to extend the payroll tax cut - or else 160 million average working Americans will get slammed with a $1000 tax hike. Congress has until the end of the month - and already Senate Republicans have twice filibustered plans by Democrats to pay for an extension of the payroll tax cut for the middle class - with a small, roughly 3% tax increase exclusively on income over a million bucks a year. Republicans argue a tax hike on millionaires and billionaires - no matter how small - will kill the economy - and strangle the so-called job creators. But NPR blew a hole in that argument week - when they reached out to Republican Congressional offices - business lobbies - and small business owners - and asked what effect a small tax on millionaires would have on job creation. The answer NPR got - it would have no effect. So what's the real reason behind the Republican filibuster? Is it to protect the 1% at all costs?

Amie Stepanovich, National Security Counsel-EPIC joins Thom Hartmann. We've all seen them - the super high-tech predator drones used by the American military to collect intelligence and hunt down terrorists in the Middle East. So what the heck are they doing circling the skies over NORTH DAKOTA?!?! According to the Los Angeles Times - unmanned Predator drones aren't just for hunting terrorists in the Middle East anymore - they're being used to hunt American citizens too. Three men were arrested in North Dakota on suspicions they stole cattle from a nearby farm - and they were located thanks to the help of a Predator drone conducting surveillance above. Local police are now saying they've used Predator drones to run at least two dozen surveillance flights in North Dakota alone since June. Although Congress authorized the drones to be used domestically in 2005 to patrol our Northern and Southern borders - their use for local law enforcement is increasing - with virtually no input from the American people. And privacy experts warn continued use of drones radically threatens the privacy of all of us.

Joshua Kadrich, Occupy Richmond, VA joins Thom Hartmann. So with the Tea Party on the decline - and the Occupy Wall Street movement on the rise - is there any hope of these two movements combining forces? What happened when OWS Richmond and the local tea party got together?

Thom debate the issue of the payroll tax cut, drug testing of the unemployed population and Newt Gingrich's surging popularity at the GOP polls in the Lone Liberal Rumble. Later in the show, Dr. Peter Beilenson, founder of "The Evergreen Project" joins Thom for Conversations with Great Minds.

In this week's Conversations With Great Minds we'll meet a true pioneer who may well help revolutionize your relationship with our healthcare system. For tonight's Conversations with Great Minds I am joined by Dr. Peter Beilenson. He currently heads up the Health Deparment in Howard County, Maryland where he and his team have launched the Healthy Howard Intiative - a program that joins individuals, businesses, schools, community organizations and government to ceate and make accessible healthy alternatives in many different aspects of daily life for county residents. For 13 years he served as the Health Commissioner of Baltimore City in Maryland where his vision led to expanded drug treatment programs, improved immunization compliance, a wide range of extremely effective lead poisoning prevention initiatives, juvenile violence prevention, and the creation of the state-wide initiative for universal health coverage in Maryland called "Health Care for All" He is also the founder of "The Evergreen Project" - an initiative that was inspired by a provision in the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and seeks to create healthcare co-ops that cut costs to both patients and providers while making sure that excellent health care is avaialble to communities. Dr. Beilenson was chosen as an Utne Reader visionary in 2011 - joining a distinguished list of individuals who - as described by the Editors of the publication - "are world visionaries who don't just concoct great ...

In this week's Conversations With Great Minds we'll meet a true pioneer who may well help revolutionize your relationship with our healthcare system. For tonight's Conversations with Great Minds I am joined by Dr. Peter Beilenson. He currently heads up the Health Deparment in Howard County, Maryland where he and his team have launched the Healthy Howard Intiative - a program that joins individuals, businesses, schools, community organizations and government to ceate and make accessible healthy alternatives in many different aspects of daily life for county residents. For 13 years he served as the Health Commissioner of Baltimore City in Maryland where his vision led to expanded drug treatment programs, improved immunization compliance, a wide range of extremely effective lead poisoning prevention initiatives, juvenile violence prevention, and the creation of the state-wide initiative for universal health coverage in Maryland called "Health Care for All" He is also the founder of "The Evergreen Project" - an initiative that was inspired by a provision in the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and seeks to create healthcare co-ops that cut costs to both patients and providers while making sure that excellent health care is avaialble to communities. Dr. Beilenson was chosen as an Utne Reader visionary in 2011 - joining a distinguished list of individuals who - as described by the Editors of the publication - "are world visionaries who don't just concoct great ...

Vince Coglianese, Daily Caller, Brian Darling, Human Events and Roger Hickey, Campaign for America's Future all join Thom Hartmann. Tax cuts, poison pills, drug testing the unemployed, food stamp shooting, and - Is Gingrich "Anyone but Romney" really the best the GOP can do?

A budget deficit isn't the REAL problem with Congress - it's an empathy deficit. Luckily - researchers at the University of Chicago may have just discovered a solution to that problem. According to a new study published this month in Science magazine - the latest animal discovered to be able to empathize with others is...rats! That's right - rats are empathetic. The experiment went like this: two rats that normally share a cage were placed in a new cage in which one of the rats were restrained in a tube that could only be opened from the outside of the cage. Once the rat that was roaming free in the cage - was let out of the cage and completely free - it time-and-time-again went back to let his cage buddy free as well. Think about that for a second - the rat was free - but wasn't satisfied until his cage-mate was free too. Researchers said that the free rat acted far more agitated when its fellow rat was restrained nearby - a sign of what researchers call "emotional contagion" - which is often only observed in humans and more developed animals. Even when the free rat was given a choice between freeing his cage mate or eating chocolate - the rat freed his buddy just as often. As one researcher said, "There was no other reason to take this action, except to terminate the distress of the trapped rats...In the rat model world, seeing the same behavior repeated over and over basically means that this action is rewarding to the rat." As in - rats got pleasure out of helping ...

Florida Congressman Ted Deutch explains in detail his OCCUPIED Amendment (Outlawing Corporate Cash Undermining the Public Interest in our Elections and Democracy).

The Good! Georgia State Rep. Scott Holcomb. Republicans in Georgia are following in the footsteps of Florida Governor Rick Scott - and trying to force all welfare recipients to submit to and pass a drug test before they can receive any benefits. The Bad! Newt Gingrich. Just when you thought Mitt Romney best represents the 1% in the Republican race - The Smoking Gun got a hold of one of Newt's speaking contracts. And the very, very ugly...Gretchen Carlson. This morning - GOP TV's favorite Christmas warrior went on a tirade against Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee's decision to put up a "Holiday Tree" rather than a "Christmas Tree."

Professor Costas Panayotakis, New York City College of Technology at CUNY joins Thom Hartmann. When it comes to the ongoing European financial crisis - it's time to prepare for the worst. At least that's what the banksters are doing. Banksters in Europe and here at home are kicking Plan B into action in case the Euro collapses and France and Germany aren't able to save the day. But will it work?