While the media was focused on Chris Christie and "Bridge-gate", Congress moved closer to accepting a massive, international trade agreement. On Thursday, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators proposed legislation to give the Obama Administration the power to fast-track the Trans Pacific Partnership and other controversial trade deals. The White House welcomed the fast-track proposal, and issued a statement saying, "We need to use every tool we have to knock down trade barriers."

 

If this legislation passes, the President could push through the TPP and other deals, and Congress would only get an up or down vote on whether or not to approve them. The TPP is the largest of these proposed deals, as it includes the U.S. and 11 Pacific Rim nations, and nearly all of its provisions have been negotiated in secret. The few sections of the TPP that have been leaked have exposed the danger of this trade deal - to our jobs, our environment, our civil rights, and even our national sovereignty. This massive trade agreement would even allow mega-corporations to challenge U.S. regulations that stand in the way of their unfettered greed.

 

We don't need free trade, which drives down wages and sends more American jobs over seas, we need fair trade. And, we certainly don't need to give corporations any more power to put profit over people. Congress must never give up their power to debate and amend trade agreements, and they must stop the Trans Pacific Partnership from destroying our jobs, our civil rights, and our national sovereignty.

 

-Thom

 

(What do you think? Tell us here.)

 

Tonight on The Big Picture on RT TV at 7pm and 9pm... Andy Shallal, DC Mayoral Candidate / Busboys & Poets (check your local listings for stations or stream at RT, and catch past shows on Youtube)

 

Get your copy of Thom's new book, The Crash of 2016, today and click here for tour dates & events!

 

Watch the video 'Last Hours' narrated by Thom Hartmann about the "time bomb" that is ticking underground, underwater and under ice... frozen methane that is now escaping and could trigger runaway climate change. www.lasthours.org

 

Have a question or comment for Thom? Grab your phone, hit record and send your video to YourTakeMyTake@gmail.com and we may air it on "The Big Picture."

 

Big Picture Rumble:
- Nicole Williams, Democratic Strategist / Attorney  
- Marc Harrold, Observations of White Noise  
- Dutch Martin, Project 21  

 

Conversations with Great Minds - Andy Shallal, DC Mayoral Candidate / Busboys & Poets    

  

Thursday's Daily Stack 

Hour One: Is Chris Christie's car out of control?
- Congressman Mark Pocan (D-WI, 2nd District) 

Article: "Pocan Calls on Speaker Boehner to Make Extending Unemployment Benefits for More than 25,000 Wisconsinites First Priority of 2014" by Sen. Mark Pocan.

Article: "Senator Will Only Support Unemployment Benefits If Congress Stops Helping Children Of Immigrants" by Aviva Shen.

Article: "Leaked Memo Shows Republicans Being Coached on How to be Compassionate to the Unemployed" by Sarah Jones.

Article: "Senator: Extending Unemployment Benefits Would Do 'Disservice' To Unemployed" by Bryce Covert.

Quote: "Well, I'm not a crook. I've earned everything I've got." - President Richard Nixon, Televised press conference with 400 Associated Press Managing Editors at Walt Disney World, Florida. (17 November 1973).

Quote: "Politics ain't beanbag ... I am who I am. But I am not a bully." - New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie".

Article: "Here's Proof That Governor Christie Is Still Misleading The Public On Bridge Scandal" by Igor Volsky.

 

The Big Picture
- Nate Sweet, The Big Picture producer

Video: Casablanca gambling? I'm shocked!

Book: In Bed with Wall Street: The Conspiracy Crippling Our Global Economy by Larry Doyle.

Article: "Senator Will Only Support Unemployment Benefits If Congress Stops Helping Children Of Immigrants" by Aviva Shen.

Article: "Thawing Permafrost Could Release Vast Carbon Deposits, Diseases".

Article: "It's Time for Shooter's Insurance" by Thom Hartmann.

 

Article: "Chris Christie: I Am "Heartbroken" and "Embarrassed" About Bridge Scandal-But Not Guilty" by Andy Kroll.

Article: "Pleading the Fifth: Wildstein's silence in GWB scandal could speak volumes" by Tony Kurdzuk.

Article: "Full transcript: N.J. Gov. Chris Christie's Jan. 9 news conference on George Washington Bridge scandal".

Article: "Not An Isolated Incident: Christie Has Been Repeatedly Accused Of Political Retribution" by Adam Peck and Josh Israel.

Book: "Conservatives Without Conscience" by John W. Dean.

Hour Two: Chris Christie's Nixon moment
- Mike Papantonio, Ring of Fire Radio 

Article: "Report: Jersey Bridge Closures Delayed Emergency Responses" by Hunter Walker.

Article: "Smoking Gun: Christie Aides Implicated in Retaliatory Bridge Closure" by Keith Brekhus.

Article: "Christie's Access Lane Onto the Presidential Trail Gets Gridlocked" by John Nichols.

Article: "Fort Lee woman died as GWB closures delayed medical help, report says" by Brent Johnson.

Article: "Our Most Powerful Weapon Against Wall Street? The Rise of Reverse Eminent Domain" by Les Leopold.

 

Cheesy News: "Christie Urges Media to Focus on Weight" by Andy Borowitz.

Article: "Chris: fat chance!" by Tim Perone.

The good: Michael De Beyer: "Texas man selling restaurant to save uninsured employee suffering from a brain tumor" by David Edwards.

The bad: Gov. Paul LePage (R-ME): "Governor's Attempt To Find Massive Welfare Fraud Turns Up Next To Nothing" by Bryce Covert.

The very, very ugly: "Roger Ailes Offered Employee A Raise In Exchange For Sex, New Book Claims" by Jack Mirkinson and Joanna Zelman.

Movie: "Twelve Years A Slave".

Article: "Herman Cain On Occupy Wall Street: 'If You Don't Have A Job And You're Not Rich, Blame Yourself!'" by Alex Seitz-Wald.

 

Talk Radio News Segment:
- Ellen Ratner, Bureau Chief 

Site: "Goats for the old Goat".

Article: "TRNS News Notes - 1/10/14" by Victoria Jones.

Article: "TRNS News Notes - 1/9/14" by Victoria Jones.

Article: "Rand Paul: 'I Haven't Come Out in Favor of Clemency' For Edward Snowden" by Fred Lucas.

Article: "Sen. Rob Portman proposes a way to pay for unemployment-benefits extension" by Stephen Koff.

Hour Three: What does socialism mean to you?
- Kshama Sawant, Seattle City Council 

Site: Socialist Alternative.

Site: Fight for $15.

Article: "Seattle Swears In a Socialist" by John Nichols.

Article: "Socialist Kshama Sawant Delivers Blistering Speech At Inauguration" by Deborah Wang.

Article: "A Socialist Elected in Seattle: Kshama Sawant on Occupy, Fight for 15, Boeing's "Economic Blackmail"" by Democracy Now!

Article: "Mayor Murray: Start $15 wage floor with city workers" by Emily Heffter.

 

 

Movie: "Django Unchained".

Book: 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup.

Book: "The Crash of 2016: The Plot to Destroy America--and What We Can Do to Stop It" by Thom Hartmann.

Video: The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross.

Documentary: Dark Girls.

 

Article: "Think Metadata Isn't Intrusive? Read This" by Kade Crockford.

Article: "USDA Moves to Approve "Agent Orange" GMO Seeds" by Mike Ludwig.

Article: "New California Legislation Seeks to Thwart NSA Spying" by Michael Boldin.

Article: "RadCast radiation readings - January 9, 2014".

Article: "Eighty-Six Percent of Americans Think the Government Should Fight Poverty" by Zo� Carpenter.

Article: "Houston firefighter uses beer to put out 18-wheeler truck fire" by Evan Bleier.

       

Friday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 3-6pm ET 

Hour One: Brunch With Bernie - Senator Bernie Sanders takes your calls 

 

 

 

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"...

Free excerpt, read book for free at Truthout, buy the book!

Monday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 3-6pm ET 

 

We'll have all the news and information you won't get from the corporate owned news media...

 

Plus, the battle on minimum wage...should you make more or less based on your age?! Seriously...some right wingers think a sliding "pay per age" scale is a good idea...I'll challenge conservative talker Peter Schiff, The Peter Schiff Show..

 

And, your calls as always...right here on...The Thom Hartmann Program...

 

AND...Don't forget...Democracy is NOT a spectator sport...it begins with you...

Thank you for being part of our ever growing community for News, Debate and Opinion on the Thom Hartmann Program.

 

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Sincerely,

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"Crash of 2016" website

Watch Thom on: - MSNBC's The Cycle
- CNN's Crossfire
- Democracy Now!

Will the bridgegate scandal hurt Gov. Christie's chances in 2016?

Vote here!

Full Show 1/9/14: Christie In A (Traffic) Jam

Thom talks Chris Christie's bridgegate scandal with Radio Host and Attorney Mike Papantonio, big banks with former big banker Larry Doyle and debates Conservative Rusty Humphries on extending unemployment benefits. Thom takes viewer video questions and phone calls in "Your Take, My Take Live" and in tonight's "Daily Take" Thom discusses why we need regulate guns like we do automobiles.

Thom Hartmann on the News: January 9, 2014

Revelations From 12 Years a Slave...

Caller: My Thoughts on 12 Years a Slave

What Does Socialism Mean to You?

Chris Christie's Nixon Moment...

Is Christie's Car Out of Control?

Chris Christie is a Bully!

The Thom Hartmann Program - January 9, 2014 Hour 1

The Thom Hartmann Program - January 9, 2014 Hour 2

The Thom Hartmann Program - January 9, 2014 Hour 3

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Thom and Louise Hartmann founded the New England Salem Children's Village (NESCV) in New Hampshire in 1979. With states delaying payment for the children they entrust to the village, they need help with cash flow. Can you help? Now on Facebook.