• Show live from the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Denver, radio row.


• Guest: Congressman Michael Capuano, 8th Congressional District of Massachusetts.


• Guest: Bob Borosage, Co-Director, Campaign for America's Future, chair of Progressive Majority.


• Guest: R. Thomas Buffenbarger, International President, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.


• Guest: Congresswoman Allyson Y. Schwartz, 13th district of Pennsylvania.


• Guest: John Podesta, founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of American Progress.


• Guest: David Keith, film actor, advisory board, The National Association to PROTECT Children. Senate bill 1738, the Combating Child Exploitation Act.


• Guest: Congressman Peter DeFazio.


• Guest: Governor Phil Bredesen, Tennessee.


• Guest: David Sirota. His new book, "The Uprising: An Unauthorized Tour of the Populist Revolt Scaring Wall Street and Washington".

Topics, guests, upcoming events, quotes, links to articles, audio clips, books & bumper music.

Tuesday 26 August '08 show

• Show live from the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Denver, radio row.
  
• Guest: Congressman Michael Capuano, 8th Congressional District of Massachusetts, Boston, Cambridge. Fox pool coverage did not show smiling white faces, only smiling black faces and quite a few frowning, bored or distracted faces, unrepresentative of the audience. Last night was a good start for the convention. Michelle Obama's speech was the best spouse speech that Thom has seen. He's on the Financial Services Committee and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Several hundred banks are on the watch list. He doesn't think it is as bad as '29. Deregulation. A small number of people in Wall Street have caused the problems, human natures, if you break the rules I have to do something to match you. We allow corporations to get too big.
  
• Bumper Music: Where's All The Freedom, Merle Haggard.
  
• The panel Thom moderated last night. He slipped up and commented on Ariana's perfume.
  
• There were a lot of callers about the Fox pool coverage and Michelle Obama's speech.
  
• Bumper Music: Hang On, Dr. Dog (video).
  
• Guest: Bob Borosage, Co-Director, Campaign for America's Future, chair of Progressive Majority. They helped build the coalition that beat Bush on privatization and just launched the coalition that's going to do health care. The convention so far, Democrats coming together, people can see choice between candidate's visions. Republicans seeing it as us vs them, race. Fox pool coverage. There were a lot of tears in the hall. Fox were trying to destroy the picture of Barack and Michelle were just like ordinary people. Other networks' coverage, and newspapers. Thom did not find any angry Hillary delegates. How do we fight back? reveal it, like Thom is doing, and re-tell the story.
  
• Bumper Music: Hillary Survive, Capitol Steps.
  
• Guest: R. Thomas Buffenbarger, International President, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. It was his 6th convention, it went very well. The state of labor. The work begins when Obama becomes president, the parade should push him. Card Check. Employee Free Choice Act. Previous presidents. People are desperate for a president to turn things around, give hope, put us to work. Conservatives saying that union bosses will intimidate you. Card check is not a vote, it's a voter registration. Ask the conservatives about how would you feel if I turned up to vote for president and I wasn't registered to vote? Should I register secretly? If the right wing, adopt one of their tactics; if they believe that the best for of government is a deregulated government, and the best for of an economy is a deregulated economy, let's look how successfully it is working. It's time to deregulate the labor movement. In other nations, even communist China, have sensible laws to allow people to form unions. Thom would agree if we still had sensible trade policies. How Thom's dad raised a family on his union job. What should non union members do to support the labor movement? Get to know unions and follow their lead. They can communicate and interact with a large block of voters.
  
• Bumper Music: Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This),Eurythmics (video).
  
• Bumper Music: It Don't Come Easy, Ringo Starr.
  
• Guest: Congresswoman Allyson Y. Schwartz, representing the 13th district of Pennsylvania, in her second term. A leading healthcare executive in Philadelphia in the past. She was in the state congress for 14 years. Health care. We need president Obama, for a start. We want all Americans to have access to quality health care coverage. How do we reach out to the other side, with organizations like Fox demonizing the left and demagoguing the issues? Increasing numbers of Americans are saying they are unhappy about their health coverage or lack of it. The goal is to get health coverage to all Americans, not to disrupt it where people are happy with what they have. Be open to options, come up with a uniquely American solution.
  
• Guest: John Podesta, founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of American Progress. He served as Chief of Staff to President William J. Clinton. His new book, "The Power of Progress: How America's Progressives Can (Once Again) Save Our Economy, Our Climate, and Our Country". He was on a panel that Thom was moderating yesterday. How leaders came together in the early 20th century and built the country, focusing on opportunity for everyone and on the common good rather than special interests. They inform and empower the Obama/Biden platform, values that will get the country moving again and face the big issues of restoring the economy, making it work for working people, dealing with the energy crisis and global warming and creating a more sustainable security structure globally. We need to take back the media. 1880s, Wobblies, Joe Hill, movements came out of great pain.
  
  The pain is not visible these days, shown in the media. Teddy Roosevelt. The progressives in both parties fought for social justice. Franklin Roosevelt, new deal. McCain saying the economy is fine. LBJ was the last president to talk like this, though Jimmy Carter was good on energy. Teddy Kennedy spoke last night, has been calling for 30 years for health care to be a right. Where are the major leaders in the democratic Party standing up for Labor? Clinton harmed it with NAFTA, etc. John Edwards was right about the economy. Employee Free Choice Act. Clinton and labor. Early progressives experimented, focused on the common good. Michelle Obama's speech. His grandparents were immigrants.
  
• Bumper Music: If not for you, George Harrison.
  
• Upcoming Event: August 26, Denver, CO - Thom is giving a talk and signing books - Borders Books in Lone Tree, Colorado in the Park Meadows Mall. 8557 Park Meadows Center Dr. Lone Tree, CO 80124. 303.708.1735
  
• Guest: David Keith, film actor, advisory board, The National Association to PROTECT Children. Senate bill 1738, the Combating Child Exploitation Act sponsored by Joe Biden to protect child victims. Law enforcement has identified the whereabouts of 750.000 Americans trading in child porn; they can investigate less than 2% of leads, and 40% of the time they do, a child is rescued. Only 4% of child molestation is stranger danger; 96% is family or inner circle of trust. They are finding 28,000 new addresses a day. Tom Coburn said that he will not let anything that is paid for to the floor. his is the authorization bill, the appropriation would follow in the next session. Coburn has put 83 holds on and Harry Reid has broken his promise to take this bill separately to the floor as promised, putting it in an omnibus bill of the 83 held bills and the Republicans stopped him. Trent Lott said they would be doing this to create a do nothing Congress, yet the Republicans threatened to use the nuclear option in similar circumstances. Political theater. Yet Reid in the past has said that holds are just a courtesy. In the meantime children are being raped and beaten while they play parliamentary tricks. Other issues, like people dying because they don't have health insurance. Join PROTECT. Cosponsors include Barack Obama and Orrin Hatch.
  
• Article: New McCain Ad Attacks Obama Kids.
  
• Bumper Music: How 'bout you, Eric Church (video).
  
• Book: "The Way of The World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism", Ron Suskind.
  "From Pulitzer Prize