Laura Flanders

Questions of patriotism and of terrorism—the domestic variety—are now dominating the airwaves. Yes, the economy’s bad but perhaps not bad enough to drown out the guilt by association narrative being trumpeted by Sarah Palin and John McCain. But McCain and Palin have their own baggage. Why aren’t we hearing about it?

How is it possible to unfairly grill a prospective commander in chief on a raging war? After 8 years of Bush, have our expectations for what a top leader can articulate fallen so low as to make a meaningful debate impossible? To answer these questions, we turn to Robert Fisk, Britain's foremost foreign correspondent, who writes for the Independent and author of new collection of essays.

Live From Main Street and GRITtv continue our week of special programming. Today, technology, voting machines, and the future of democracy. In November, one quarter of the country will be voting on paperless electronic voting machines. Yet, questions have emerged about partisan contractors programming the machines that will count the vote.

In November, one quarter of the country will be voting on paperless electronic voting machines. Whether those machines work and how accurately the votes are counted are two very big concerns not only for election integrity activists, but for all voters. This spring in a number of states , electronic voter lists were missing names - in some states affecting thousands of voters.

Why Is It So Difficult to Vote?

In a marathon session, amidst protestors chanting: "bailout people not banks", lawmakers reached a deal to move forward with the largest bailout in our nation's history. House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, declared victory: "We sent a message to Wall Street," she said. "The party is over."

Our media roundtable looks at the economic crisis and how it's been covered by the press.

Today on GRITtv we discuss the true cost of the Right's war on science and the environment with Jeff Sharlet, Heather Rogers, Esther Kaplan, and Diana DeGette.

With the United States facing the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression, the presidential campaign has finally been forced to get real. The Paulson Plan appears to be a bail out of Wall Street, more YOYO (you're on your own) economics for Main Street. Socialization of debt, while maintaining privatized profit. So what do the candidates have on offer?

This week, debates regarding national security focused attention not on bombings, terrorism and war… but on Wall Street --- as major financial institutions have been rocked, some collapsing, with severe fallout in economies around the world; from China, to India, to Brazil, Europe and Canada… national banking systems are seething at the United States.