Democracy Now! Monday, September 22, 2008

Today's Headlines

• Congress Asked to Approve $700 Billion Wall Street Bailout
• Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley Leave Investment Banking
• Obama Slams McCain Over Privatization of Social Security
• McCain Defends Deregulation of Financial Industry
• South African President Mbeki Resigns
• Hotel Bomb Blast Kills 53 in Pakistan
• Jimmy Carter Urges Georgia to Stay Execution of Troy Davis
• Study: Ethnic Cleansing Was Primary Factor in Reducing Iraq Violence
• St. Paul Drops Charges Against Journalists Arrested at RNC
• Army Unit to Deploy in October for Domestic Operations
• 200 Arrested in Immigration Raids
• Vermont Candidate Pledges to Prosecute Bush for Murder

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  Sen. Bernie Sanders, Robert Scheer and Dean Baker on the Proposed $700 Billion Bailout of Wall Street, the Largest Government Bailout of Private Industry in US History

  It’s being described as the largest government intervention in private markets since the Great Depression. The Bush administration has asked Congress to swiftly approve a massive $700 billion package to rescue the crippled financial institutions on Wall Street. Some analysts say the final cost to taxpayers could top one trillion dollars. Over the weekend, the size of the proposed bailout grew as the Bush administration said foreign banks, including Barclays and UBS, should be eligible for the bailout. [includes rush transcript]

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  Farnaz Fassihi on "Waiting for an Ordinary Day: The Unraveling of Life in Iraq"

  It was the email read around the world. Four years ago in September 2004, Farnaz Fassihi, an Iranian American correspondent in Iraq for the Wall Street Journal, sent a private email to family and friends that described the situation in Iraq more sincerely than her published newspaper articles ever could. She wrote, “One could argue that Iraq is already lost beyond salvation. For those of us on the ground it’s hard to imagine what if any thing could salvage it from its violent downward spiral." She is author of the new book Waiting for an Ordinary Day: The Unraveling of Life in Iraq. [includes rush transcript]