Today On The Thom Hartmann Show

Hour Two: ”The Black-White Achievement Gap: Why Closing it is the Greatest Civil Rights Issue of Our Time” Thom challenges conservative Rod Paige, former Secretary of Education under George W. Bush, about his new book www.rodpaige.com

Hour Three: Economic crisis…who’s recovering, who’s not and why? Thom talks with global economists Eamonn Fingleton inJapan www.unsustainable.org and Steve Keen in Australia www.debtdeflation.com

This Morning On The Stephanie Miller Show

Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) calls in at 6:05am to talk about the new budget and about jobs creation.

Karl Frisch, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, calls in at 7:05am to co-host Right Wing World.

Tarryl Clark calls in at 7:30am to talk about her run against Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota.

Hal Sparks joins us in studio (in NYC) at 8am for “Humpdays With Hal.”

It’s time to repeal the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and allow gay troops to serve openly for the first time in history, the nation’s top defense officials declared Tuesday, with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff proclaiming that service members should not be forced to “lie about who they are.”

Obama’s top intelligence officials on Tuesday described it as “certain” that al-Qaeda or its allies will try to attack the United States in the next six months, and they called for new flexibility in how U.S. officials detain and question terrorist suspects.

Two IL Dems were virtually tied today in the race to decide who will defend the governor’s office from a GOP eager to exploit political disarray in President Obama’s home state come November. In the nation’s first 2010 primary, voters selected the candidates who will fight for Obama’s former Senate seat, but the governor’s races were exceptionally tight on both sides.

This Morning On The Stephanie Miller Show

Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-PA) calls in at 8:30am to give us her thoughts regarding the President’s State of the Union address.

Declaring “I don’t quit,” President Barack Obama fought to recharge his embattled presidency with a State of the Union vow to get jobless millions back to work and stand on the side of Americans angry at Wall Street greed and Washington bickering. Defiant despite stinging setbacks, he said he would fight on for ambitious overhauls of health care, energy and education.

The nation cannot afford the spending Democrats have enacted or the tax increases they propose, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell said Wednesday in the Republican response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address.

Today, President Obama will fly out to Tampa, Fla., where he’ll tour a maintenance hangar and greet crew members who work on aircraft that refuel other planes midair. The KC-135 Stratotankers have been involved in refueling planes flying aid into Haiti. After that, Obama and Vice President Joe Biden hold a town hall meeting at the University of Tampa. There, they’ll announce $8 billion in funding for a national high-speed rail system, an initiative the White House says will create jobs.

Ford Motor Co. says it made $2.7 billion in 2009, its first annual profit in four years. Ford says it benefited from cost-cutting, debt reduction and popular cars and trucks like the Ford Fusion sedan and Escape SUV. It’s enjoying customer good will for avoiding bankruptcy and refusing federal aid.

This Morning On The Stephanie Miller Show

Karl Frisch, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, calls in at 7:05am to co-host Right Wing World.

New York Times columnist Frank Rich calls in at 7:35am to talk about his latest column, “After The Massachusetts Massacre.”

Hal Sparks joins us in the L.A. Studio at 8am for another edition of “Humpdays With Hal.”  He’s bringing his video equipment, so be sure to visit The Hal Sparks Hot Sexy Cam Show during Hour 3!

Facing a divided Congress and a dissatisfied nation, President Barack Obama will unveil a jobs-heavy agenda in his State of the Union address tonight, retooling his message more than his mission. His goal: Get the economy, the confidence of voters and his own presidency on surer footing.

4 men accused of trying to tamper with Sen. Mary Landrieu’s (D-LA) office phones share a common experience as young ideologues writing for conservative publications. The most well-known of the suspects is James O’Keefe, a 25-year-old whose hidden-camera expose posing as a pimp with his prostitute infuriated the liberal group ACORN and made him a darling of conservatives.

Toyota announced late Tuesday the unprecedented sales suspension to fix gas pedals that could stick and cause acceleration without warning. Last week, Toyota issued a recall for the same eight models involving 2.3 million vehicles, some of the most popular cars in America today.

This Morning On The Stephanie Miller Show

Charlie Pierce, writer for “The Boston Globe” and author of “Idiot America,” calls in at 7:30am  to talk about the news of the day.

Carol Leifer, comedian and author of “When You Lie About Your Age, The Terrorists Win,” joins us in the L.A. Studio for the 8am hour to talk about her book and the news of the day.

The Senate is likely to reject a White House-backed plan to establish a bipartisan task force to recommend steps to curb the deficit, even as lawmakers digest the news that President Barack Obama wants a three-year freeze in the domestic budgets they control.

Bolstered by a White House lobbying effort that included the president, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s chances at a second four-year term improved Monday, calming a stock market that had grown anxious over the uncertainty of his support.

Democratic congressional leaders are coalescing around their last, best hope for salvaging President Barack Obama’s sweeping health care overhaul. Their plan is to pass the Senate bill with some changes to accommodate House Democrats, senior Democratic aides said Monday.

Sales of previously occupied homes took their largest drop in more than 40 years last month yet managed to end 2009 with the first annual gain in four years. Still, prices plunged by more than 12 percent last year — the sharpest fall since the Great Depression.

Today On The Thom Hartmann Show

Quote: “If by the mere force of numbers a majority should deprive a minority of any clearly written constitutional right, it might, in a moral point of view, justify revolution” — Abraham Lincoln

Hour One - What will a brave new America look like now that corporations are king? (pt 1)

Hour Two - What will a brave new America look like now that corporations are king? (pt 2) Plus –  Christian Norton www.workingamerica.org What is Labor’s campaign against the banksters

Hour Three - A debate! - Why should corporations have human rights? Peter Ferrara www.theacru.org

This Morning On The Stephanie Miller Show

The Rude Pundit (Lee Papa) calls in at 6:30am to muse rudely on the Supreme Court campaign finance decision, and the Massachusetts election.

Eric Boehlert, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, calls in at 7:05am to co-host Right Wing World.

Investigative Journalist Greg Palast calls in at 8:05am to talk to us about the dangers of the Supreme Court’s campaign finance decision.

Osama bin Laden endorsed the failed attempt to blow up a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day and threatened new attacks against the United States in an audio message released Sunday that appeared aimed at asserting he maintains some direct command over al-Qaida-inspired offshoots.

A defeat of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s quest for another 4-year term could raise the risk of a “double dip” recession if political jousting over a successor were to drag on for months, economists warn. But Bernanke’s prospects appeared to brighten Sunday, with three more senators, including GOP leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), predicting he’ll be confirmed. A vote is expected later this week.

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) says his efforts reform how political campaigns are financed are dead. McCain says the Supreme Court has spoken on the constitutionality of political contributions by corporations. He had sought to regulate them with a landmark campaign finance law he wrote with Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI).

This Morning On The Stephanie Miller Show

John Fugelsang joins Steph in the NYC Bureau for all three hours of “Fridays With Fugelsang.”

Ian Millhiser, Legal Analyst for the Center for American Progress calls in at 6:05am to tell us about the Supreme Court’s campaign finance ruling yesterday.

Former NY Gov. Eliot Spitzer calls in at 6:30am to discuss the economy and yesterday’s campaign finance ruling by the Supreme Court.

Economist Christian Weller calls in at 7:05am to talk about the economy, jobs, and President Obama getting tough on banks.

Joan Walsh, Editor of Salon.com, calls in at 8:30am to talk about the site and the news of the day.

In a landmark ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday struck down laws that banned corporations from using their own money to support or oppose candidates for public office. By 5-4 vote, the court overturned federal laws, in effect for decades, that prevented corporations from using their profits to buy political campaign ads.

President Barack Obama today is telling voters in Ohio, already wracked by high unemployment, that investments in clean-energy technologies will help boost the nation’s economy.

Haitian officials are planning a massive relocation of 400,000 people from makeshift camps to the outskirts of the capital as the U.S. government tackles repairs to the damaged main port — dual efforts to help residents survive the aftermath of the catastrophic earthquake.

Today On The Thom Hartmann Show

Hour One: “Brunch With Bernie” Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) spends the hour with Thom discussing the issues and answering listener questions www.sanders.senate.gov

This Morning On The Stephanie Miller Show

Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) calls in at 6:05am to talk about Martha Coakley, his Senate race, and health care reform.

Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) calls in at 8:05am to talk about what’s next for health care reform in the wake of the vote in Massachusetts.

Workers are carving out mass graves on a hillside north of Haiti’s capital, using earth-movers to bury 10,000 earthquake victims in a single day while relief workers warn the death toll could increase. Medical clinics have 12-day patient backlogs, untreated injuries are festering and makeshift camps housing thousands of survivors could foster disease, experts said.

The White House has begun focusing greater attention on economic issues, including unemployment persisting near 10 percent, government expansion, Wall Street excesses and federal deficits. Officials said Wednesday that that shift will intensify now in the wake of Tuesday’s Senate election of Scott Brown in the Democratic stronghold of MA.

Shorn by MA voters of their pivotal 60th Senate vote and much of their political momentum, the White House and congressional leaders are considering a more modest version of health care reform. It could focus on curbing insurance company practices like denying coverage to sick people and on helping low-earning people and small businesses afford coverage, officials said.

President Obama will announce today that he wants new federal government powers to limit the size and complexity of large financial institutions and to limit their ability to engage in high-risk trades.