- How do we make an economy work? How do we make an democracy work?
- It's the 37th anniversary of the Watergate break-in.
- It is not good to have a large disparity of wealth.
- Guest: Dan Gainor, the T. Boone Pickens Fellow and the Vice President of the Business & Media Institute. He works for a non-profit. Obama fiddles with our ability. He says that the business world is called depraved and indifferent, and Thom says it is. Working people are not the villains for taking out the loans they were encouraged to by banks, the villains are people like Phil Gramm or Wendy Gramm, a former director of Enron. He said that Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 added cost, Thom called it pathetic, we should break them up instead. Tax cuts lead to bubbles and crashes, tax increases lead to steady growth. He said it is not fair for the rich to pay more tax. They use a lot of the commons, pay a small percentage. He said that people care more about government spending if it is coming out of their wallets. Thom said there were people at the tea parties who pay no tax. Reagan class warfare, going after PATCO, expensive inaugural balls. Thom said 30 years of Reaganomics had caused the problems, Gainor said 30 years of morons in both parties in Congress.
- Article: Tax Cuts: The B.S. and the Facts By Larry Beinhart, November 11, 2008.
- If taxed higher, people leave their money in the business, engage in long range planning. Tax history.
- Bumper Music: Baby You're a Rich Man, Beatles (video).
- Bumper Music: You can leave your hat on, Randy Newman.
- Article: Woman cancels wedding after finding fiance was porn star.
- Rant. Look at history, Europe, Japan, where the income tax rate on people earning a lot of money is over 50%, they don't have bubble and burst.
- Article: Germans taste machines with Midas touch By James Wilson in Frankfurt and Javier Blas in London.
- Article: ‘Buy China’ policy set to raise tensions, Jamil Anderlini.
- Companies that protect their economies grow.
- Pay checks go high when income tax rates are low. Unhealthy disparity.
- Why is Thom not invited on progressive TV shows? Thom has been on some, he does not solicit them, he is on Fox more.
- The Department of Justice issued a memo defending the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in which they conflate homosexuality with incest.
The courts have followed this principle, moreover, in relation to the validity of marriages performed in other States. Both the First and Second Restatements of Conflict of Laws recognize that State courts may refuse to give effect to a marriage, or to certain incidents of a marriage, that contravene the forum State's policy. See Restatement (First) of Conflict of Laws § 134; Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 284.5 And the courts have widely held that certain marriages performed elsewhere need not be given effect, because they conflicted with the public policy of the forum. See, e.g., Catalano v. Catalano, 170 A.2d 726, 728-29 (Conn. 1961) (marriage of uncle to niece, "though valid in Italy under its laws, was not valid in Connecticut because it contravened the public policy of th[at] state"); Wilkins v. Zelichowski, 140 A.2d 65, 67-68 (N.J. 1958) (marriage of 16-year-old female held invalid in New Jersey, regardless of validity in Indiana where performed, in light of N.J. policy reflected in statute permitting adult female to secure annulment of her underage marriage); In re Mortenson's Estate, 316 P.2d 1106 (Ariz. 1957) (marriage of first cousins held invalid in Arizona, though lawfully performed in New Mexico, given Arizona policy reflected in statute declaring such marriages "prohibited and void").
- Article: Obama: Benefits for gay workers only one step: White House stopping short of a guarantee of full health insurance.
- Under Obama's latest plan for federal employees, there are no medical benefits, only relocation. It was thrown together at the last minute. Gays are furious. Don't ask, don't tell, Obama could have suspended it. He was throwing gays a bone.
- Bumper Music: Turn Up the Radio, Autograph (video).
- Article: Gone missing? No, gone fishing.
- Book: Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism, Kevin Phillips.
- Clip:
"Yes, I have stated in both debates and state again that I believe in a balanced budget and have supported that concept during my 14 years in the Congress. The only two times when an unbalanced budget is warranted would be during a serious recession and we had that in '58 in an unbalanced budget of $12 billion; or a national emergency where there should be large expenditures for national defense which we had in World War II and during part of the Korean War...Third, I think it's possible to gain a $700 million to a billion dollars through tax changes which I believe would close up loopholes on dividend withholding, on expense accounts...
So in my judgment we would spend more money in this administration on aid to education, we'd spend more money on housing, we'd spend more money and I hope more wisely, on defense than this administration has done, but I believe that the next administration should work for a balanced budget and that would be my intention. Mr. Nixon misstates my figures constantly, which is of course his right, but the fact of the matter is here is where I stand and I just want to have it on the public record.
"
John F. Kennedy, "Face-to-Face, Nixon-Kennedy" Vice President Richard M. Nixon and Senator John F. Kennedy Third Joint Television-Radio Broadcast. - Article: The recession tracks the Great Depression By Martin Wolf.
- So what do you do if you've got one of these wonderful gee-whiz mortgages that are now exploding in your face, where you've been laid off in the midstream? What do you do if you have a credit card where you thought it was 3.9% interest rate for the first year or whatever and it turns out to be 35%? What do you do if you find yourself in trouble here, apart from cutting back on your lifestyle?
- Article: Free legal aid available for low-, middle-income homeowners facing foreclosure.
- Bumper Music: Where The Blacktop Ends, Keith Urban.
- Bumper Music: Are the Good Times Really Over for Good Wynonna Judd.
- Upcoming Event: June 28 11:00AM - 1:00PM, Reno, NV – Washoe County Democratic Party Brunch – Reno Ballroom, 50 East 4th St., Reno, NV 89501. "The Washoe County Democratic Party are featuring a lively forum including presumptive gubernatorial candidates Clark County Commissioner Rory Reid and Nevada State Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley as well as Thom Hartmann, "the nation's number one progressive talk show host." Emcee: Reno City Councilwoman Jessica Sferrazza." Tickets are $50, Table for Ten $500, Tickets are available online at washoedems.org, or call 775-323-8683.
- Guest: Alan Jablonski. Consumer Rights Attorney, California Mortgage Broker and author of “Successfully Navigating the Mortgage Maze”. He answered a lot of questions from Thom and callers about availability of help, the companies advertising help and whether they are worth the money, holding their feet to the fire, your rights, dealing with a variety of debts, whether bankruptcy would be the best policy, "qualified written request", foreclosure, short sale, rebuilding your credit score, deficiency judgements, consulting your CPA, loan modification, avoiding just postponing the problem to further down the road.
People have a deep attachment to their homes, they don't want to give up pets to rent cheap apartments. The Fed has guaranteed/loaned/given $9.5tr dollars, or 30,000 per person. We need a stimulus from the bottom up. Thom suggested we need a lender of first resort, where you could consolidate credit card debt, and the government has the power to garnish your wages, but nobody talking about it and it would find strong resistance. Credit card lobbyists. Campaign finance reform. The Center for Responsive Politics statistics on how much the various financial sectors have spent on lobbying. Bernie Sanders said that over the last ten years there has been $5 billion spent by financial services influencing legislation.
- Thom:
37 years ago five men, including Bernard Barker who recently died just a few weeks ago, were arrested at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. for breaking into the office of Democratic National Chairman Lawrence O'Brien. Waiting across the street, the planners of the operation -- E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy -- fled, but they were soon arrested as well. Although that scandal had no impact on the '72 presidential election, it eventually forced the resignation of Richard Nixon.
Watergate's legacy still affects us today, in ways ranging from domestic surveillance to secrets withheld from Congress to criminal behavior in the previous administration, some of whom launched their careers under Richard Nixon. But even after 37 years there's a lot of questions about Watergate that remain unanswered -- what were the burglars after? Who ordered the break-ins? Why were the Cuban exiles and other veterans of the CIA Cuban operations involved?
- Book: "Pure Goldwater", John W. Dean, Barry M. Goldwater Jr.
- Guest: FindLaw columnist and former counsel to the president John Dean. His latest book, "Broken Government: How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches". Previous books, "Conservatives Without Conscience" and "Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush".
He and Barry M. Goldwater Jr. published "Pure Goldwater", the diaries of Senator Barry Goldwater. A lot of the entries were about Nixon. His latest book, "Blind Ambition: The End of the Story ", is a reissue of his 1976 book with a 30,000 word afterword mostly about 'why?'. There are no unanswered questions, but he collected the material together, some of which was not very accessible. They were looking for financial information about the Democrats because the Republicans were being attacked for the "ITT anti trust settlement", which was a bogus claim affecting the positive publicity following his trip to China, so he wanted to attack the Democrats. He tracked down the tapes and documents. After the second break in on June 17 (both break-ins were bungled), Nixon and White House Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman, who pretended to have amnesia, occasionally slipped on the tapes.
Thom said we know now that there was a coup planned in Cuba for December 5 1963 that Bernard Barker who was working for Howard Hunt was also working for Santo Trafficante. Dean thinks that was pure coincidence. Hunt and Liddy tried to recruit other people who turned them all down, and these were the only people they knew, and they had used them earlier when working at the White House to break into Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office. This is the reason there was a cover up at the White House, otherwise Holderman, Ehrlichman would have told Nixon to cut Mitchell loose. It wasn't national security, though Bush and Cheney would have declared it so.
Why did Nixon kept asking the CIA for Bay of Pigs material but Richard Helms kept refusing to give it to him? Nixon wanted to embarrass the Kennedys, and was convinced that that information would. Why did Nixon ask H R Holderman to use the threat of blowing the whole Bay of Pigs thing to pressure the FBI to back off the Watergate investigation, and Helms blew up at the mention of the Bay of Pigs, which he was not involved in? Helms knew ultimately he worked for the president. He was trying to protect his agency and the Kennedy legacy. Even today, Leon Panetta an outsider coming in to the CIA from outside, is becoming very protective.
It takes about 100 days for a new guy to be captured by the existing establishment. We're seeing it happen now with the people in Barack Obama's administration. The national security community is very powerful and persuasive. They are a there a lot longer than appointed officials.
When Nixon told Dean he could get $1 million hush money, did he have any sense where he would get that kind of money? Had intended to try and get Nixon to end the mess, the so-called "cancer on the presidency" conversation, every time he raised something Nixon would have an answer. He sad the burglars were extorting them, Nixon asked how much it would cost, he pulled a then astronomical figure, $1 million, out of the air, Nixon said he could find it. He learnt years later that straight after the conversation Nixon had been overheard on tape asking Rose Wood how much was in the slush fund.
The lessons from Watergate have been lost. The shadow of Watergate influenced presidents for the better for decades. It all broke down in the Bush-Cheney years. Could we remember them by an investigation or prosecution? Just by remembering history.
- Bumper Music: The Gambler, Kenny Rogers (video).
- Conservative Alert: Culberson: House GOP just like Iranian dissidents…??.
House Republicans are using Twitter to expose oppression just like Iranian dissidents, according to Rep. John Culberson (R-Tex.).
The Texas Republican just tweeted:
Good to see Iranian people move mountains w social media, shining sunlight on their repressive govt - Texans support their bid for freedom
Oppressed minorities includeHouseRepubs: We are using social media to expose repression such as last night’s D clampdown shutting off amends
...
Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) tweeted something similar:
Iranian twitter activity similar to what we did in House last year when Republicans were shut down in the House.
- Video: CNBC Fail: Iran elections = Employee Free Choice Act?.
- Watergate. John Dean nailed it at the end. We have military commissions within the executive branch, we used the term enemy combatant to exempt them from constitutional protection. The constitution says 'person'. Magna Carta. They suspended the Geneva conventions, tortured, are monitoring Americans including Bill Clinton. Signing statements. If we don't hold them to account, it will happen all over again.
- Bumper Music: "A Thing Called Love" by Jewel Aken.
- Clip:
"Bad boy, Bill Clinton. You're a naughty boy. The American people already know that Bill Clinton is a bad boy, a naughty boy. I'm going to speak out for the citizens of my state, who in the majority think that Bill Clinton is probably even a nasty, bad, naughty boy."
Larry Craig, NBC's "Meet the Press", January 24, 1999. - Article: Nevada GOP Sen. Ensign admits extramarital affair.
"Ensign had been highly critical of former Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, who served in Congress for a quarter-century, after Craig's arrest in an airport bathroom sex sting. Ensign stopped short of urging Craig to resign but suggested strongly that he should."I wouldn't put myself hopefully in that kind of position, but if I was in a position like that, that's what I would do," Ensign said. "He's going to have to answer that for himself." In the end, Craig served out his term.
" - When Clinton said, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman", Ensign was calling for him to resign. He has resigned from his leadership, but not his seat.
- Clip: "Thank you, Mr. Know-It-All" June Foray (Rocket 'Rocky' J. Squirrel) from The Bullwinkle Show.
- Article: Is Larry Summers Taking Kickbacks From the Banks He's Bailing Out? By Mark Ames.
- Book: "The Global Class War : How America's Bipartisan Elite Lost Our Future - and What It Will Take to Win it Back", Jeff Faux.
- Article: A New Financial Foundation By Timothy Geithner and Lawrence Summers.
- The political system is broken, it does not matter if a Democrat or a Republican is in, for example Clinton and NAFTA? They are continuing free trade agreements. He is coming up against incredibly strong forces. Even greens have sold out. Nader took money from Republicans. FDR, things changed, so he did. Thom believes things are going to get a hell of a lot worse. Summers and Geithner's op ed in the Washington Post repudiating their own positions from 2-3 years ago is a good sign as is the bone he threw to the LGBT.
- The small number of companies controlling the media. The Obama honeymoon is coming to a close, which may be a good thing as we get to know each other. We're really at a turning point in America right now.
- Bumper Music: Pickin' Wildflowers, Keith Anderson (video)
- Senator Bernie Sanders, Independent of Vermont has a petition for single payer, sign it.
- Ellen Ratner of Talk Radio News. She is on the Strategy Room at FoxNews.com, go vote for her as she wants to stay on the island, she thinks she's the only liberal. 5 o'clock meeting to sign memorandum for benefits for gays, rumor has Obama was going to do it on the anniversary of Stonewall, but then the Justice Department memo came out, gay folks went out of their minds, there is about to be a conference call at the White House, what the memorandum includes and excludes. It excludes the military. It is not what she has been marching for since 1970. They don't want to get into the "cultural stuff" until after they have health care under their belt, but they are alienating a large group that could be helping them with health care and with re-election and overestimating the crazies of the right wing. Reform financial regulation, dismantling the office of thrift supervision. The Chamber of Commerce opposes the plan. He doesn't want people to be able to regulation shop in different countries. The fallout from free-trade, deregulation, internationalization of banking. Passing laws are no good, they can use subsidiaries. Jeff Sessions said Attorney General Holder is soft on terrorism because the Justice Department wants to release the Bush administration memos that authorized the interrogation techniques. Did the Don Siegelman case or those of other selectively prosecuted Democrats come up when Holder was grilled today? She did not know.
