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It's time for the FEC to do their job!
Thom plus logo  Despite the fact that we're in the heat of election season, the agency charged with protecting the process is laying down on the job. That's why groups have begun calling on the Federal Election Commission to get to work.

According to a recent article over at CommonDreams.org, the FEC's failure to update rules and regulate election spending have created a "unprecedented flow of so-called 'dark money' into the U.S. political process."

In a letter to the commission, groups like Friends of the Earth, Public Citizen, the Center for Media and Democracy, and many others demanded that the FEC address vital regulatory shortfalls.

They wrote, "Since the 2010 Citizens United decision, each election system has seen dramatic changes in the campaign finance environment." However, they added, "the rules and regulations of the Federal Election Commission have not kept pace."

Specifically, they want the FEC to update their rules to address three important issues. The groups say the agency must reestablish the disclosure rules that existed before the Commission destroyed them, strengthen rules that keep foreign money out of our political process, and ensure that unregulated Super PACs and outside groups are not working directly with political candidates.

These suggestions are simply common sense, and they would help put our democracy back into the hands of We, The People.

Ever since that disastrous Citizens United decision back in 2010, our democracy has slipped further and further into the hands of the billionaires. It is the job of the Federal Election Commission to address this corruption, and put in place rules that make all our voices have equal value.

By ignoring their duty, the FEC is directly responsible for the unfettered purchase of our democracy, and they should be held accountable. If the commissioners can't get their acts together and stand up to big money, it's time to throw them out and appoint people who will.

-Thom

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Greatest Topic: Social Security: What You Need To Know Now
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Hour One: The only way the GOP can win - is lie
Article: "Voting in VA" by Virginians for Bernie.
Article: "Gov. Christie, Time to Go Home" by NYT Editorial Board.
Article: "Truth (2015 film)" by Wikipedia.
Article: "What Exxon knew about the Earth's melting Arctic" by Sara Jerving, Katie Jennings, Masako Melissa Hirsch and Susanne Rust.
Site: SuperBeets.
Article: "Full Transcript: Democratic Presidential Debate" by The New York Times.
Article: "When Family-Friendly Policies Backfire" by Claire Cain Miller.

Hour Two: Anything Goes Friday!
Article: "Where Are Black Children Safe?" by Roxane Gay.
Article: "2nd Amendment". A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Book: The Benghazi Hoax by Ari Rabin-Havt.
Book: "Rebooting the American Dream: 11 Ways to Rebuild Our Country" by Thom Hartmann (read online).
 
Talk Radio News Segment:
- Victoria Jones Twitter
Article: "Two-Year Budget Plan Passes Through Congress" by Justin Duckham.
Article: "White House Applauds Budget Passage" by Justin Duckham.
Article: "White House to deploy Obama for 2016" by Bradford Richardson.
Article: "US readies new rules for nuclear reactors" by Cory Bennett.
Article: "RNC Suspends Partnership With NBC" by Nicholas Salazar.
Site: Governor Free Don Siegelman.
Article: "TRNS News Notes- 10/30" by Victoria Jones.
Article: "TRNS News Notes- 10/29" by Victoria Jones.

Hour Three: Your calls on any topic you choose!
Law: "Glass-Steagall Act", 1933.
Book: "Unequal Protection: The Battle to Save Democracy" by Thom Hartmann (read online).
Book: "Unequal Protection: How Corporations Became "People" - And How You Can Fight Back" by Thom Hartmann - new updated version out now!
Quote: "Curtin, what do you think of those fellows in Wall Street who are gambling in gold at such a time as this? ... "For my part, I wish every one of them had his devilish head shot off." - Abraham Lincoln, Personal letter to Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin, April 25, 1864.
Book: "The Illustrious Dunderheads" by Rex Stout.
Article: "Springtime for Grifters" by Paul Krugman.
Event: Chicago, Il. Nov 11: "Lunch 4 Labor".
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