Beginning with the state of the economy, Joan and Jim report that it's doing pretty darn well, with most sectors showing at least reasonable health, if not growth, especially from consumers. They go on to talk about what Congress is doing to regarding taxes, especially with regard to the alternative minimum tax. Next up is alternative fuels, like ethanol, then the volatility of the Chinese capital markets, and finally, insuring our coastal real estate.

Joan and Jim begin their visit talking about the Employee Free Choice Act (Jim doesn't like it), then they move on to what caused much of the stock market drop this week, and then to housing, energy and politics, among other topics.

Jim and Joan talk about how as the 21st century marketplace evolves, the great challenge is getting the newly unemployed from 20th century jobs transferred to the often unfilled 21st century assignments. They go on to talk about the new way the Fed is looking at the twin challenges of unemployment and inflation, why you should do your due diligence when picking a professional employer organization, and finally, a look as some of the tax incentives that are being packaged with the minimum wage increase.

Rich and Jim talk about the current issues on the Iraq war and then move on to who is going to be the most likely to emerge as the presidential nominee a year from now.

Beginning their visit with some of Jim's sarcasm about the global warming wack-jobs not being able to debate the issue -- due to cold weather, Jim and Joan move on to talk about Fed Chairman Bernanke's speech to Congress and what he had to say about the economy. They wrap up with thoughts on the relative health of independent banks and something called reverse mergers.

The economy is defying the news media and clicking right along, and Joan talks with Jim about why, plus some good and bad news for small business.

What do you do with your small business when you travel? Jeff Zbar and Jim Blasingame, small business expert, talk about this on The Small Business Advocate Show.

Rich joins Jim to talk about how the Democrat Congressional majority is doing in their first month in business, plus his thoughts on the 2008 presidential campaigns.

Joan and Jim talk about the complicated issue of lowering C02 emissions, while simultaneously meeting the increased demand for energy of all kinds. They also talk about the prospects for some of the legislative issues being debated in Congress, and other current events.

Joan joins Jim to talk about the issues covered in the most recent Kiplinger letter, including the national attention being given to the Massachusetts' Model for healthcare insurance reform. They also talk about the trend in crude oil prices, human resources, interest rates, the federal deficit and the actions of some of the dictators around the world.