The earth is still shaking along the east coast of the United States – after a 5.8 earthquake rocked the small town of Mineral, Virginia and reverberated through the nation’s capitol and several other states up and down the coast – from Georgia to New York. Today – schools and government building are closed in Washington, DC out of fear of after-shocks – and damage has been discovered at the National Cathedral and Washington Monument. It was the largest earthquake to strike Virginia in well over 100 years.

Located near the epicenter is the North Anna Nuclear Power Station – rated the seventh most likely nuclear power plant in America to receive core damage in the event of an earthquake. Due to budget cuts – the quake sensors at the plant were removed back in the 1990’s. Luckily – back-up diesel generators kicked in to prevent a meltdown after the plant lost power during the earthquake.

The plant was built to withstand a 6.1 earthquake – yesterday’s was a 5.8 – meaning we were that close to suffering a Fukushima-like nuclear disaster near the nation’s capital. Let’s hope this is a wake-up call.

-Thom

(Will this shake-up wake up the Republicans? Tell us here.)

"Song against citizens united"

The Daily Stack

Hour One: Why did the VA nuclear plant (built on a fault line) have its quake sensors removed? Kevin Kamps, Beyond Nuclear

Article: "Quake sensors removed around Virginia nuke plant due to budget cuts" by David Edwards.

Article: "Mother Nature Sends Warning as Earthquake Strikes Where Reactors Sit" by Beyond Nuclear.

Video: "Thom Hartmann - Earthquake Live On Air!"

Article: "Power restored to nuclear plant after quake" by Steve Hargreaves.

Article: "Backup Generator Cooling Nuclear Power Plant Shutdown By Virginia Quake Fails" by Alexander Higgins.

Article: "Does Lake Anna, North Anna nuclear power plant's cooling water supply, have one of Virginia's many "high-hazard dams"?" by Beyond Nuclear.

Article: "Glenn Beck Moves Time Of Jerusalem Rally To Accommodate Ramadan" by Zaid Jilani.

Article: "Talking with Thom" by Shay Totten.

Article: "Report: 60 percent of House members not holding town halls this summer" by Felicia Sonmez.

Article: "Facing pressure, Cravaack agrees to Duluth town hall" by Laura Clawson.

Article: "I Experienced a Man-Made Quake in 1967 Caused by Fluid Injection in a Chemical Weapons Facility Well" by Steven D .

Article: "9/11 Families Meeting With Eric Holder In Washington About Murdoch Phone Hacking Allegations" by CBS.

Article: "Perry presided over most executions" by UPI.

Article: "The Powell Memo or Manifesto".

Article: "Lewis Powell, Crucial Centrist Justice, Dies at 90" by Linda Greenhouse, August 26, 1998.

Article: "Perry Vaults Into Lead For GOP Nomination In Two National Polls" by Kyle Leighton.

Article: "Paul Ryan Tries To Create Tax Loopholes For His Biggest Donors" by Jennifer Bendery.

Hour Two: Clarence and Virginia Thomas...will they succeed in killing Obama's health-care plan? Jeffrey Toobin, The New Yorker

Book: "The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court" by Jeffrey Toobin.

Article: "Partners... Will Clarence and Virginia Thomas succeed in killing Obama’s health-care plan?" by The New Yorker.

Article: "Constitution of the United States", article 3 section 2. "... the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make..."

Article: "Gov. Corbett’s Education Cuts Force Pennsylvania School District To Use Sheep To Cut Grass" by Travis Waldron.

Site: "New England Salem Children's Village" (NESCV).

Site: "Free Speech TV".

Cheesy news alert: "Earthquake Does Less Damage to Washington than Eric Cantor" by Andy Borowitz.

Cheesy news alert: "Pat Robertson Blames Mild Earthquake on People Who Seem Kind of Gay" by Andy Borowitz.

Article: "Quake Highlights East Coast Fault Lines" by Will Oremus.

Talk Radio News Segment: Victoria Jones, White House Correspondent

Article: "Cantor returns to his district, the epicenter of Va. quake" by Daniel Strauss.

Article: "Irene Heads for North Carolina, New England" by Brian K. Sullivan and Conor Sullivan.

Article: "Earthquake scientists look to shake up D.C. lawmakers" by Dave Levinthal.

Article: "US quake bolsters calls for public safety wireless network" by Jasmin Melvin.

Article: "All The Journalists At Rixos Hotel Are Safe And Free" by Kenneth R. Bazinet.

Article: "Blind Former Slave From Sudan Taken To The US For Eye Surgery" by Ellen Ratner.

Hour Three: Why do conservatives care more about a balanced budget amendment than jobless people? Thom confronts Ken Klukowski, The American Civil Rights Union.

Book: "Resurgent: How Constitutional Conservatism Can Save America" by Ken Blackwell and Ken Klukowski.

Article: "Is a Balanced Budget Amendment a Good Idea?" by Simon Johnson.

Article: "Balanced Budget Amendment To Get Renewed Push By Republicans In Congress" by Andrew Taylor.

Article: "2011 Index of Economic Freedom" by Heritage Foundation.

Article: "Military Expenditures " by CIA.

Video: "Hartmann: The Republican plan to end Social Security?".

The good: "Texans Stage Mock Funeral To Mourn The ‘Death Of Good Jobs’ In GOP Congressman’s District" by Marie Diamond.

The bad: "Texas GOP Congressional Candidate Compares Welfare Recipients To Donkeys In New Ad" by Marie Diamond.

The very, very ugly: "Perry presided over most executions" by UPI.

Site: "Los Alamos Study Group".

Article: "Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement Facility".

Article: "Dozens more arrested in oil pipeline protest" by CBS/AP.

Article: "For-Profit College Enrollment Plummets" by Alex Seitz-Wald.

And, the best of the rest of the news and your calls right here on...

The Thom Hartmann Program... your media support group for we the people.

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