Mister President, please look at American History. The good-cop/bad-cop routine that Boehner and Cantor are playing on you is as old as time, and you should stop buying it. There is no Republican Santa Claus, just like there's no confidence fairy and the American People will only rally behind you if you ask them to. It worked for FDR, and it can work for you, too, if you'll try it.

A new study by the American Journal of Public Health takes a look at how certain social factors contribute to early deaths. Looking at just the year 2000 - the study found that 245000 Americans died from causes directly related to low education. In comparison, according to FBI crime data - just over 15000 Americans were murdered in the year 2000. That means nearly 15 times as many Americans died because they failed to achieve adequate levels of education than were killed in acts of homicide. And out of the 34 OECD nations - American high school students currently rank 14th for reading skills - 17th for science - and 25th for math skills. Yet - Republicans don't hesitate to gut public education with spending cuts and by waging war on teachers unions nationwide. But Finland's educations system has consistently ranked number one in world. So what are the Fins doing right - and what can we learn from them? Joining Thom to answer these questions is documentary filmmaker Bob Compton, whose new film "The Finland Phenomenon" offers a fascinating look into the world's best education system.

Stephen Webster, Raw Story, joins Thom Hartmann. Could the demise of "News of the World" be the first major crack in the media mogul's empire - including The Wall Street Journal and Fox so-called News?

While Congress prepares to cut senior's medical care, the leader of the "anti-medicare" pack is caught sucking back bottles of wine priced at 350 bucks a pop! Thom talks to economist, Susan Feinberg who caught Paul Ryan in the act!

Economist Max Fraad Wolff joins Thom Hartmann. Another former "power nation" prepares for possible economic collapse...Italy! With that country's bonds now under attack, what's to become of the "Euro"?

The clock continues to tick closer to August 2nd's debt ceiling deadline and the GOP is holding firm on their "My Way or the Highway" approach to tax hikes. So if a deal is not reached in time, how severe will the repercussions be for you and me?

Thom explains how the nation's deficit is not a result of entitlement programs such as social security and Medicare, but from Bush supported tax cuts and war spending. Later in the show, he discusses Rupert Murdoch's struggling media empire.

Best-selling author and scientist, Dr. Jared Diamond joins Thom in the first half hour for "Conversations with Great Minds". He discusses his latest books which focus on how humans have evolved and how our societies succeed or fail. Later in the show, Thom's guest panelists Erikka Knuti, Heather Cirmo and Amanda Carey join in the weekly rumble debate.

Best-selling author and scientist Dr. Jared Diamond joins Thom Hartmann in Conversations with Great Minds. They'll discuss his world famous books, Guns, Germs and Steel & Collapse that shed light on how we as humans have evolved and how our societies succeed or fail.

By joining the World Trade Organization - our nation agreed to follow a whole slew of new international laws that protect so-called Free Trade - the feather in the cap of transnational corporations. So now - whenever our Congress passes a law that transnational corporations don't like - we can be taken to a WTO court and forced to drop the new law. This happened earlier this year in May - when the WTO took a bite out of US sovereignty - ruling that America can no longer label tuna products as "dolphin safe." Why? Because such labeling could deter customers from purchasing certain foreign tuna products that aren't "dolphin safe" - thus limiting "free trade" in America. Not a peep from the Supreme Court, though - this was about corporations making more money. But that's not all - the WTO has struck down laws in America that ban importation of goods made by child labor - laws that prevent importation of shrimp from transnational corporations that kill sea turtles in the process - and laws that ban the importation of carcinogenic gasoline additives. Nothing from the Supreme Court on these either - in each case it meant more profits for transnational corporations. Ultimately - our nation has lost 9 out of every 10 cases in front of the WTO since joining the organization in 1995. That means 9 times out of 10 - our nation was forced to change OUR laws - passed by OUR Congress and signed by OUR president - because of what some massive transnational corporations tell. We need to ...

Best-selling author and scientist Dr. Jared Diamond joins Thom Hartmann in Conversations with Great Minds. They'll discuss his world famous books, Guns, Germs and Steel & Collapse that shed light on how we as humans have evolved and how our societies succeed or fail.

What our nation is faced with today is a mountain of debt run up mostly by 3 Republican Presidents - Ronald Reagan - and the two Bushes. And now today - that very same Republican Party is saying "no way" to Democrats who just want to pay off that pile of Republican debt. Think about it this way - the Republicans ran up a huge credit card bill, and now they're refusing to pay for it. They took the good times - the stimulation to the economy from all that spending and the political benefits from all those wars - and now they don't want to pay for it. If you or I did that with our credit card - and did it intentionally - we'd be in jail. Here is why we are in debt. Before Reagan took office - our national debt was just under one trillion dollars and our top tax rate was 74%. But Reagan promised the nation good times - so he gave all his rich buddies tax cuts - and then put $2 trillion on the nation's credit card. Reagan borrowed and spent - in just 8 years - more money than every president of the United States from George Washington to Jimmy Carter - COMBINED. And now the Republicans don't want to pay the bill for Reagan's debt.

Michael Bloomberg, James Inhofe and Minnesota Republicans.

Lawrence Walters, Attorney specializing in intellectual property, joins Thom Hartmann. There's a full fledge battle brewing against a new internet bill that could send American spiraling down the same road as an oppressive regime. Find out who's behind this new bill - and what it could mean for internet users across America.

Faced with growing public outrage toward his British tabloid newspaper "News of the World" - Rupert Murdoch officially announced today he is shutting the paper down next week. Journalists and editors at the paper are involved in a highly public scandal - and are accused of hacking into phones belonging to a teenage murder victim - as well as victims of the London terror attacks - and even British soldiers who were killed in combat. British lawmakers now have their attention honed in on Rubert Murdoch's far-reaching media empire in the UK - and are looking to break it up. Meanwhile here in the United States where we have to deal with Murdoch's Fox so-called News - a court decision today against the FCC could have far-reaching effects on the state of media ownership in America - and could block Murdoch from expanding his media empire in the states. The US Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that a company can no longer acquire newspapers AND broadcast stations in the same market - reversing an old FCC ruling. And, at least one reporter is suggesting Murdoch's UK scandal may even extend to his crown jewel of credibility in the US, The Wall Street Journal. So what does all this mean for the state of media ownership in America? And now that a tabloid has imploded across the Atlantic - what effect could that have on Murdoch-style infotainment here in America? Joining Thom Hartmann is Jeff Cohen, Founder of FAIR, Corie Wright, Policy Counsel-Free Press & Adele Stan, Alternet.