[UPDATE: Thanks, guys! We've now sold out the few copies we had in this premium, but we hope to have another one soon! The support, as always, is greatly appreciated! - Brad]

Our friend Greg Palast, investigative journalist, BBC documentary reporter and author of the best-selling books Best Democracy Money Can Buy and Armed Madhouse has a new book out in November, and he's been kind enough to give us a limited number of advanced, signed hardcover copies as premiums in support of The BRAD BLOG.

We don't have a lot of copies, so it's first come first serve!

His new book is VULTURES' PICNIC: In Pursuit of Petroleum Pigs, Power Pirates and High-Finance Predators. It's described as "A tale of oil, sex, shoes, radiation and investigative reporting".

If you'd like a signed copy, please hit THIS LINK and make a contribution of $50 or more to The BRAD BLOG and we'll get it out to ya, ASAP!...

You can also contribute via snail mail to: Brad Friedman, 7095 Hollywood Blvd., #594, Los Angeles, CA 90028 --- though I can't guarantee we'll have enough books by the time your contribution gets here. If it doesn't, we've got another premium book offer we'll be making available to readers later this month, and you'll be the first in line to have one of those instead! (You'll just have to wait to find out what it is, but hopefully you'll not be disappointed because, ya know, you're supporting the work we do here either way! And, believe me, it's very much needed!)

We hate fund raising, are not very good at it, and don't do it nearly often enough. So if you can help, please do! We've had a very busy summer and, so far, autumn, and really need all of the help you can offer as we continue to independently cover --- with neither corporate nor institutional help --- those things which we believe actually matter to all of us. This is especially true as we barrel toward another Presidential Election year!

Your support is largely the only thing that allows us to continue doing this work. So thank you very much in advance for whatever help you can offer! And you'll even get a helluva book out if it in the bargain if you act fast! --- Brad

P.S. If you happen to be in the L.A. area, I'll be emceeing Palast's appearance at a KPFK/Pacifica fund raiser on Nov. 16th. If you can make it buy, please do and be sure to say hey! More details here...

[Now UPDATED with audio archives below!]

The occupation of your public airwaves continues tonight as I guest-host the nationally syndicated Mike Malloy Show one again (and again tomorrow) while Mike is in D.C. rallying with the October2011.org / OccupyWashingtonDC.org demonstrations kicking off today.

Once again we'll be BradCasting LIVE 9pm-Mid ET (6p-9p PT), coast-to-coast and around the uprising globe from the studios of L.A.'s KTLK am1150 in beautiful downtown Burbank. Join us by tuning in, chatting in, Tweeting in and calling in! Our LIVE room will be up and rolling right here at The BRAD BLOG, as usual, while we are on the air. Please stop by and join the fun while you're listening! (The Chat Room will open at the bottom of this item a few minutes before airtime, see down below, just above "Comments" section.)

Scheduled tonight (so far):

• MIKE MALLOY, the boss checks in from the October2011.org/OccupyWashingtonDC.org demonstrations today in D.C.
• JOSHUA HOLLAND, senior writer/editor at Alternet.org from the #OccupySF demonstrations on what happened last night after we went off the air and police moved in to clear out tents and other property of protesters in San Francisco. And on his latest article on decades of increasing inequality as the top 1% has robbed the bottom 99% blind.
• NANCY TOBI, Founder and Chair of the NH Fair Elections Committee, Adviser to Election Defense Alliance and the Election Transparency Coalition and author of Hands-On Elections: An Informational Handbook for Running Real Elections, Using Real Paper Ballots, Counted by Real People.
• PLUS! More calls from "Occupation Nation" and "Occupiers" around the world (leaving Hour 3 open for calls from you all again!) and anything else that you'd like to talk about at 877-520-1150 and with your tweets to @TheBradBlog!...

The Mike Malloy Show is nationally syndicated on air affiliates across the country and also on SiriusXM Ch. 127. You may also listen online to the free LIVE audio stream at affiliate GREEN 960 in San Francisco or at WhiteRose Society or via MikeMalloy.com.

POST-SHOW UPDATE: The uprising continues. And it's all heard in audio archives below, with the commercials removed for your uprising pleasure! (The chat room archives are there too.) Enjoy!...

By the way, it seems we've finally fixed the long national nightmare that folks have had in trying to correctly "share" items from The BRAD BLOG over on Facebook!

So, please "share" away! Make noise loud to the highest heavens! And, in the bargain, there is no longer any excuses for not "liking" our page over there, at Facebook.com/TheBradBlog!

UPDATE 10/2/11: Well, that's annoying! Looks like the same prob is still cropping up when trying to share some of our items here! Like this one for example! Oh, the cruel irony. Now I'm really flummoxed! Well, it seems most of our items are now "share"-able, in any case! ... Back to drawing board for me! Open to ideas! Urgh.

After raking a considerable amount of muck yesterday at Mother Jones with Part 1 of our exclusive on the secret Koch tapes which I obtained from an insider source, it's time to do it again today in Part 2.

In yesterday's report, we promised to reveal the identity of the Koch brothers' opening night keynote speaker at their super-confidential, ultra-exclusive, invitation-only 2011 Summer Seminar. We teased that the mystery man was a high-ranking GOP public official who, until our special report, had managed to keep his appearance at the billionaire brothers' soiree at the plush Ritz-Carlton Beaver Creek Resort in Bachelor Gulch, CO (near Vail), a complete secret from both his own constituents and his local media.

That GOP superstar, we reveal today, is none other than New Jersey's flamboyant Republican Governor Chris Christie who, on the morning of Sunday, June 26, appeared on NBC's Meet the Press, then jetted quietly out to Colorado, mingled with the billionaires, offered a rousing stem-winder of a keynote address over dessert, jetted back home, and then appeared live Monday morning, in-studio, on three different cable news shows (two on Fox and the other MSNBC's Morning Joe) in Manhattan.

He never breathed a word of where he'd been the day before. Nobody other than those inside the big dinner pavilion at Bachelor Gulch --- where, outside, "pink noise" was blasted into the mountains on huge loud speakers to deter eavesdroppers on the night Christie appeared --- would ever even know he had left the state. Until now.

At one point during his nearly hour-long remarks (including a lively Q&A), Christie criticized President Obama as having "failed the fundamental test of leadership, which I believe is to tell the people who hired you the truth." Ironically enough, however, Christie seems to have forgotten to have told the people who hired him the truth about where he spent the day and night on June 26th.

While GOP Presidential front-runner Gov. Rick Perry (TX) as well as Govs. Bob McDonnell (VA) and Rick Scott (FL) had been discovered to have attended this year, Christie's presence had not previously been reported publicly anywhere. That changes today, thanks to the secret audio recorded inside the Koch's 2011 Summer Seminar.

Part 2 in my exclusive series is now published at Mother Jones here.

Any reason in particular that Christie didn't want his constituents to know he was palling around with the Kochs and delivering a wildly entertaining stem-winder to the hundreds of gathered corporate titans? Dunno. While his office confirmed to us that the trip was not on his public calendar, they declined to respond to multiple attempts seeking comment on the Colorado trip. Maybe, as the Kochs did yesterday, they'll decide they want to respond after all, once the story gets out today.

As noteworthy, if not more so, billionaire brother David Koch is heard introducing the Governor and revealing, among other things, that he had met privately with Christie in Koch's New York City office a few months prior, "just the two of us - for about two hours," according to the audio tapes. Afterward, the oil-and-chemical magnate, said to be worth $22 billion (just like his brother, as they both inherited their father's fortune), determined that Christie was "a true political hero" and "my kind of guy."

David Koch's "kind of guy." Well, that's the sort of thing that could leave a mark. Especially when the entire thing is recorded for posterity on audio tape. Perhaps that's why Christie didn't want anybody to know he was hobnobbing with the Kochs...or what he had to say at their secret shindig, including (but hardly limited to):

• Details on wielding extraordinary unitary executive powers to declare a "fiscal emergency" upon taking office in order to impound billions in planned spending ("The good news for all of you and for me is that the governorship in New Jersey is the most powerful constitutional governorship in America.");
• Snookering and strong-arming Democrats in the state Legislature to cut pensions and benefits and collective bargaining rights from public workers ("You know, I cannot believe how stupid these people are");
• How the same tactics and strong-arm governance he's brought to New Jersey need to be applied to the country as a whole, and;
• How his next major plan for his Garden State constituents is to crush the power of public school teachers ("We need to take on the teachers' union once and for all.")

It's all in today's report.

• Part 2 of my exclusive special report at Mother Jones...
• Complete audio & transcripts of David Koch's introductory remarks and Gov. Chris Christie's keynote and Q&A...

Enjoy!

UPDATE 9/8/11: Looks like Part 2 of my MoJo exclusive has ignited several political firestorms --- particularly in New Jersey. Oops. Full details now here...

A few quick follow-up items, for now, in advance of tomorrow morning's Part 2, from Part 1 of my exclusive secret Koch tapes scoop at Mother Jones this morning which went very viral, very quickly today, as I figured it probably would.

• As I noted in UPDATE to my short stub story this morning linking over to the MoJo article, the Kochs finally decided to respond today, first to Jake Tapper at ABC News, after days of their refusing to give me a response --- even though I pressed them, multiple times in advance, for an explanation of Charles Koch's seeming comparison of "Saddam Hussein" to Barack Obama and the 2012 election as the "Mother of All Wars." See their response, and my response to it, in that UPDATE.

• CNN's Brian Todd did a decent report on the Situation Room today, in which I offer a quick comment...

• After years of appearing on Fox "News" and CNN, it was nice to finally be invited today to appear on MSNBC for the first time. Here's my appearance this evening on The Ed Show...

And just a few more quick points for now...

I was joined today by The Nation's Ari Berman on my KPFK/Pacifica Radio show to discuss his new article today in Rolling Stone on "The GOP War on Voting". See my report on his article from earlier in the day right here.

This was an important discussion about an important article about one of the most important issues to directly effect the outcome of virtually every election in the nation in 2012. None of that, apparently, given what the rest of the MSM decided to cover today, is any where near as important as whether John Boehner will allow the President to speak to a joint session of Congress on Sept 7th or or whether it'll have to be on Sept 8th, and whether Christine O'Donnell or Sarah Palin will appear at a "Tea Party" event this weekend in Iowa.

And you wonder why we're in the mess we're in.

My conversation on "The GOP War on Voting" with Ari Berman today follows...

Download MP3 or listen online here [appx 27 mins]...

We've now got well over 4,000 followers on the Twitters (Twitter.com/TheBradBlog) --- 4,228 at this exact moment, to be specific --- but our Facebook presence (Facebook.com/TheBradBlog) is lagging shamefully way behind for some reason!

Please "Like" us below to join up & help spread the word!...

The OC Weekly's Matt Coker picked up on my Monday report describing my experience over the weekend at the Orange County Registrar's booth at the Orange County Fair wherein my attempt to try out their 100% unverifiable Hart Intercivic electronic voting system, um, didn't work out too well.

Coker's amusing take on the apparent system failure that occurred while I was testing it out with assistance from employees of the OC Registrar's office is described as "akin to making an illegal U-turn in front of a motorcycle cop. ... or letting it slip to 'Woodstein' that Tricky Dick audio taped everything in the Oval Office."

His coverage is much briefer than mine. So if you've yet to read my account of what happened and want a more-to-the-point version, please see Coker's piece.

For the record, for those who've asked, no, I've yet to hear back from either OC Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley or from anyone at CA Sec. of State Debra Bowen's office about what happened on Sunday. I've contacted all them via email, with a link to my original article, seeking comment. If I hear back from any of them substantively, of course, I'll let you know.

[Now UPDATED with audio archives below...]

We're back in one more night, as Mike wings his way back from Seattle's weekend Progressive Voices conference, filling in to guest host the nationally syndicated Mike Malloy Show starting tonight (through Monday)!

We'll have another big night (unfortunately), as both President Obama and House Speaker Boehner are set to give live addresses to the nation during our show! We'll cover as much as we can of both of them LIVE.

As usual, we're BradCasting LIVE again 9pm-Mid ET (6p-9p PT) tonight, coast-to-coast and around the globe from the studios of L.A.'s KTLK am1150 in beautiful downtown Burbank. Join us by tuning in, chatting in, Tweeting in and calling in! Our LIVE and lively chat room will be up and rolling right here at The BRAD BLOG, as usual, while we are on the air. Please stop by and join the fun while you're listening! (The Chat Room will open at the bottom of this item a few minutes before airtime, see down below, just above "Comments" section.)

Scheduled tonight (so far):

• OBAMA/BOEHNER, live coverage of each one giving their addresses to the nation on the GOP's hostage crisis "Debt Ceiling" crisis, as the Republican's put a gun to the nation's head and continue their fiscal terrorism, in lieu of actual governing, jobs and all the rest. What will the Dems give away in response to the terrorists? Perhaps we'll find out tonight.
• ROBERT SCHEER, the great veteran journalist, columnist and now Editor-in-Chief of Truthdig.com joins us with perspective on the entire fine mess, from his unique perspective.
• JOHN AMATO from Crooks and Liars joins us to make sense of the President and Speaker's dueling addresses on the "debt ceiling" crisis. Or at least to try to!
• PLUS: In whatever time we'll have left over: Rightwing extremist mass murder/terrorism in Oslo, the GOP games the polling place w/ their Photo ID restrictions in WI; and anything you'd like to tell me about via calls to 877-520-1150 and tweets to @TheBradBlog!...

The Mike Malloy Show is nationally syndicated on air affiliates across the country and also on SiriusXM Ch. 127. You may also listen online to the free LIVE audio stream at affiliate GREEN 960 in San Francisco or via MikeMalloy.com.

POST-SHOW UPDATE: Thanks for another great three days on the Malloy Show! Tonight's audio archives (commercial-free) are now posted below, along with the chat room archives as usual! Until we meet again in MalloyLand, thanks, Truthseekers! Enjoy!...

[Now UPDATED with audio archives below!]

Mike is in Seattle for the Progressive Voices conference this weekend, sponsored by local show affiliate am1090, so I'm back in the saddle guest hosting the nationally syndicated Mike Malloy Show again tonight (and Monday)!

Once again, we'll be BradCasting LIVE 9pm-Mid ET (6p-9p PT) tonight, coast-to-coast and around the globe from the studios of L.A.'s KTLK am1150 in beautiful downtown Burbank. Join us by tuning in, chatting in, Tweeting in and calling in! Our LIVE and lively chat room will be up and rolling right here at The BRAD BLOG, as usual, while we are on the air. Please stop by and join the fun while you're listening! (The Chat Room will open at the bottom of this item a few minutes before airtime, see down below, just above "Comments" section.)

Scheduled tonight (so far):

• DAVID DAYEN, from the news desk at Firedoglake, on the late breaking news out of DC on the debt ceiling meltdown, Beohner's walk-out from negotiations, Obama's angry evening presser, and other late news on the GOP's manufactured "crisis"...
• BOB FITRAKIS, attorney, political-science professor and award winning investigative journalist and editor of Ohio's FreePress.org, on the latest court filings in the King-Lincoln-Bronzeville v. Ohio Sec. of State (2004 Ohio election fraud) lawsuit, the finally-unsealed 2008 pre-Election Day deposition [PDF] of the mysteriously-deceased GOP IT guru Mike Connell, the ongoing battle over the 2010 subpoena to depose Karl Rove in the case, and what it all now means to Ohio and the Presidential election as a whole in 2012.
• PLUS: Latest on the GOP's fake crisis over the debt ceiling; Obama's late presser tonight; More madness, and anything you'd like to tell me about via calls to 877-520-1150 and tweets to @TheBradBlog!...

The Mike Malloy Show is nationally syndicated on air affiliates across the country and also on SiriusXM Ch. 127. You may also listen online to the free LIVE audio stream at affiliate GREEN 960 in San Francisco or via MikeMalloy.com.

POST-SHOW UPDATE: Lots of interesting (and breaking) news, and occasional rants, in tonight's show, which is now available, commercial-free, in three swell archive "hours" for you below! Enjoy! And we'll see ya again right here, Monday! Same Brad Time! Same Brad Channel! For another thrilling episode of the Mike Malloy Show!

[Now UPDATED with audio archives of tonight's show below...]

Mike is off to Seattle for a Progressive Voices conference this weekend, sponsored by local show affiliate am1090, so I'll be filling in for a few days to guest host the nationally syndicated Mike Malloy Show starting tonight (through Monday)!

As usual, we'll be BradCasting LIVE 9pm-Mid ET (6p-9p PT) tonight, coast-to-coast and around the globe from the studios of L.A.'s KTLK am1150 in beautiful downtown Burbank. Join us by tuning in, chatting in, Tweeting in and calling in! Our LIVE and lively chat room will be up and rolling right here at The BRAD BLOG, as usual, while we are on the air. Please stop by and join the fun while you're listening! (The Chat Room will open at the bottom of this item a few minutes before airtime, see down below, just above "Comments" section.)

Scheduled tonight:

• HOWIE KLEIN of DownWithTyranny.com with a big scoop (so he tells me) on the debt ceiling showdown (or, as I call it, fake crisis.)
• ERIC BOEHLERT of MediaMatters.org on Murdochaplyse! The quickly growing Rupert Murdoch/News Corp. hacking scandal, and on James O'Keefe's latest, lamest video scam.
• PLUS: Much, much more, and anything you'd like to tell me about via calls to 877-520-1150 and tweets to @TheBradBlog!...

The Mike Malloy Show is nationally syndicated on air affiliates across the country and also on SiriusXM Ch. 127. You may also listen online to the free LIVE audio stream at affiliate GREEN 960 in San Francisco or via MikeMalloy.com.

POST-SHOW UPDATE: If you missed the show tonight, or any portion, the audio archives are now posted below (along with the chat room archives). Enjoy!...

I found being off the grid over much of the past week, just about as confusing as being on it. See above.

But we've made it back from our brief stint into the wilderness and now have much catching up to do (along with a few days of Mike Malloy Show guest hosting later this week and a few big stories I've been working on for a while) in the days ahead.

So please stay tuned...Back at full speed shortly...Please chat amongst yourselves until then...