On today's show Sam was joined by Guardian columnist Glenn Greenwald to discuss the Justice Department’s decision not to prosecute murder cases related to the Bush Administration’s torture program in Afghanistan and Iraq.Glenn explained that this investigation was the last remaining opportunity that the Obama Administration had to bring some accountability to those involved in the torture program and Sam wondered if it would take another couple of decades for a real reckoning the crimes of the Bush era.

But, first Occupy activist Jeff Smith talked with Sam about the events planned for next week to mark the one year anniversary of Occupy, how the mainstream media coverage of Occupy often ignored the issues that drove the movement, the ongoing police efforts to disrupt people’s right to peacefully protest and why he feels Occupy should stay independent  as a movement.

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On today's show Sam and Rick Perlstein discussed the Teacher's strike happening right now in Chicago. Rick explained how effective the Chicago Teacher's Union has been in gaining public support, the corporate special interests funding the "education reform" movement and how Rahm Emanuel's disdain for unions is driving Chicago city politics. Sam focused on the ideological nature of the attack on public schools and Rick said that universal education has always been vital to our economic societal success.

On the Better Half: a Libertarian caller sounded a bit confused but definitely loved Gold, Sam went over Kurt Eichenwald's new reporting on the Bush Administration stunning negligence before September 11th, Pat Robertson is confused as to whether men can be beat their wives in America but knows they can in Saudi Arabia and Sam shared his memories of September 11th.

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Digby joined Sam to discuss the state of the shambolic Romney/Ryan campaign, how the weakness of the GOP ticket may hurt progressives and why Bill Clinton so artfully explained why Medicade was not only a program for the poor but also the middle class. Digby pointed out that Obama left himself a lot of wiggle room for cuts in his acceptance speech and said she felt the same way watching the push for austerity as she did in the lead up to the invasion of Iraq. Both she and Sam agreed that progressives can still influence economic policy and that they should keep pushing to reverse the austerity madness. 

On today's show Sam spoke with Cliff Schecter about the DNC. Both Cliff and Sam agreed that the production value of DNC was a lot better than the RNC's debacle and that the only thing people remember from Tampa is Clint Eastwood's chair address. Cliff told us what he liked and didn't like about Obama's speech, the importance of keeping up the fight against Social Security and Medicare cuts and the disturbing pro Simpson-Bowles sentiments expressed by the keynote speakers. Obamabot (Andy Kindler) had a different reaction to the speech and reminded Sam that we must continue to believe in hope and that drones get the job done. Abi Hassen from the National Lawyers Guild told Sam about protests that took place during the DNC from both left and right and said that Charlotte was far less militarized than Tampa. Also the The National Lawyers Guild is fundraising to support its vital work in protecting demonstrators.

On the Better Half: Germo's wife is afraid that the Majority Report is a cult and Sam offers to have her in studio to clear out her negative energy, Sam maintains there is a real difference between Obama and Romney winning, but says the best scenario for protecting social security is Democratic control of Congress plus all of your calls and IMS.

Members make the Majority Report possible.  Please join us by becoming a MEMBER.  You can also show your support by clicking thru to the DONATE button for a one-time donation — anytime.  And don't forget Sam is live every week day at noon. Thanks!

On today's show Harper's Magazine's dynamic duo Jack Hitt & Kevin Baker called in from Charlotte and discussed Michelle Obama's successful speech, how forgiving and organized the Democratic Party base is and how the bear hug between Bill Clinton and Barack Obama represented the cultural bestof the Democratic Party. Sam noted that Elizabeth Warren's speech could be seen as an implicit critique of Bill Clinton and he agreed with his guests that Clinton is turning into a Democratic Reagan, even though his Presidency was problematic from a progressive perspective. A deeply disillusioned Kevin said that the Republican Convention was so disturbing that he was almost ready to campaign for and contribute money to Obama again.

Comedian Dean Obeidallah let Sam know about his new comedy tour, why he wants to be Vice President, how the Republican Convention "looked like an early bird special at Cracker Barrel." And Dean spoke about the real world consequences of the anti Muslim hate speech of Michelle Bachman, Joe Walsh and Allen West.

The Better Half: Sam spoke about the DNC amending its Platform on Jerusalem and the word God and contrasted the platform with official US policy on Jerusalem. Mentioned good news from Michigan on collective bargaining and took your calls and IMS.

Members make the Majority Report possible.  Please join us by becoming a MEMBER.  You can also show your support by clicking thru to the DONATE button for a one-time donation — anytime.  And don't forget Sam is live every week day at noon. Thanks!

On today's show Matt Taibbi called in to discuss his new Rolling Stone feature story: Greed and Debt. The True Story of Mitt Romney and Bain Capital. He and Sam talked about how Bain Capital and Mitt Romney exemplified the shift from an industrial economy based on making things to a economy run on speculation, how Bain moved away from investing start up capital to simply loading existing companies with debt and stripping their assets and how the restaurant scene in Goodfellas is the best way to understand how Bain's business model works. Sam lamented that the Democrats haven't followed up on Newt Gingrich's attacks on Bain he made during the primary and he and Matt agreed that the Democrats are still committed to making nice with Wall Street.

Better Half: What Sam liked and didn't like about the DNC. The worlds richest woman had some more inspiring things to say about how people move up the economic ladder, the Ted Kennedy tribute at the DNC was great and Sam thinks Teddy would love that he is getting to destroy Mitt Romney post posthumously and Sam outlined three scenarios for what happens to Medicare and Social Security after the election.

On today's show the Nation's Ari Berman spoke with Sam about some recent encouraging Court decisions at the state level against voter suppression, described how the GOP is attempting to politically re-segregate the south and he and Sam debated the merits of holding the Democratic Convention in North Carolina. Tina Dupuy the editor-in-chief of TheContributor.Com described a pleasant atmosphere in Charlotte and said the DNC had less of a police state feel than last week's RNC. John Knefel, co-host of the podcast Radio Dispatch, gave an update on the many different protests and outside pressure groups meeting in Charlotte to fight for labor rights and genuine immigration reform.

On the Better Half:
Sam continued the Grand Bargain watch and highlighted David Koch's new generous offer to possibly accept some small tax increases in exchange for gutting Medicare and Social Security, a caller from North Carolina explained the power of the Occupy in NC and we discover the incredible danger that Mitt Romney placed himself in during Vietnam War (hint he did not experience this danger in Vietnam).