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Thom's blog
Is it time to regulate or nationalize Facebook?
 I was oblivious to the real significance of Facebook in everyday life until the company disabled my personal, private thomhartmann account. The list of "possible" reasons they posted for doing this included "impersonating a celebrity," so maybe they shut me down because they thought I pretending to be that guy who's a talk show host and author. (Facebook, if you're reading this, I am that guy.) It's also possible somebody at Facebook took offense to my interviewing Judd Legum around that time about the groundbreaking research he's been publishing over at popular.info pointing out the right-wing slant Facebook's corporate management and founder have taken. Fact is, though, I have no idea why they did it. Read more here. -Thom |
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Thom's blog
How Are We Going to Pay for the Pentagon?
When the Founding generation wrote the constitution, they were very worried about a permanent defense industry emerging. They saw that as something that could corrupt a country, as they had watched nation after nation throughout history be overthrown by military coups and corrupted by partisans funded or supported by their countries' own military. Therefore, they wrote into Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution, that the military may not be funded for any longer than two years. Period. Ever. As a result, every two years Congress has to reevaluate our military spending from top to bottom, and the military funding is referred to as "must pass" legislation because if it doesn't pass the military shuts down. This year the US military is asking for $738 billion. Compare that with the Department of Defense's budget for the year 2000: $384 billion. By building weapons manufacturing facilities in every congressional district in America, the defense industry, what President Eisenhower referred to as the "Military Industrial Complex,"has become a giant parasite attached to the American taxpayer. While Donald Trump is preparing to throw over 3 million people off food stamps because we "can't afford" the less than $1 billion it costs to feed people in America. When it comes to things that help people, Republicans always scream, "How are we going to pay for it?" But when it comes to the Pentagon's budget, this year they are poised to give it even more money than it's asking for. Dwight Eisenhower's warning has come true, and it's time for American politicians to do something about it. -Thom |
Wednesday's Daily Stack 
Hour Two: How Are We Going to Pay for the Pentagon?
Article: " Constitution of the United States" Article 1 section 8 (Powers of Congress). " ...To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;..." Article: " Constitution of the United States" Article 1 section 8 (Powers of Congress). " ...To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years..." Article: " As a matter of fact, in interviews in 1999 with respected journalist, and long time Bush family friend, David Herskowitz, then Governor George Bush stated: 'One of the keys to being seen as a great leader is to be seen as a commander-in-chief. My father had all this political capital built up when he drove the Iraqis out of Kuwait and he wasted it. If I have a chance to invade... if I had that much capital, I'm not going to waste it. I'm going to get everything passed that I want to get passed and I'm going to have a successful presidency." - My Testimony for the Downing Street Memo Hearings" by Cindy Sheehan, June 16 2005. Quote: " As we peer into society's future, we -- you and I, and our government -- must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering for our own ease and convenience the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow." - Dwight D. Eisenhower. Speech: " Farewell Address", by Dwight David Eisenhower, January 17, 1961 ( transcript). " In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex." Quote: " It is our duty now to begin to lay the plans and determine the strategy for the winning of a lasting peace and the establishment of an American standard of living higher than ever before known. We cannot be content, no matter how high that general standard of living may be, if some fraction of our people—whether it be one-third or one-fifth or one-tenth- is ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill housed, and insecure." - Franklin D. Roosevelt. Quote: " We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. "Necessitous men are not free men." People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made." - Franklin D. Roosevelt. Quote: " During the long lane of the history yet to be written, America knows that this world of ours, ever growing smaller, must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be, instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect." - Dwight D. Eisenhower. Quote: " May we be ever unswerving in devotion to principle, confident but humble with power, diligent in pursuit of the Nations' great goals." - Dwight D. Eisenhower. Quote: " To all the peoples of the world, I once more give expression to America's prayerful and continuing aspiration: We pray that peoples of all faiths, all races, all nations, may have their great human needs satisfied; that those now denied opportunity shall come to enjoy it to the full; that all who yearn for freedom may experience its few spiritual blessings. Those who have freedom will understand, also, its heavy responsibility; that all who are insensitive to the needs of others will learn charity; and that the sources -- scourges of poverty, disease, and ignorance will be made [to] disappear from the earth; and that in the goodness of time, all peoples will come to live together in a peace guaranteed by the binding force of mutual respect and love." - Dwight D. Eisenhower. Article: " The Universal Declaration of Human Rights" by United Nations. " Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control."
Hour Three: Science Revolution: Is high-risk romaine simply the new normal?- Jesse Hirsch, Managing Editor - New Food Economy 
Science Revolution
Speech: " Campaign dinner address of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (the Fala speech)", 9/23/1944 " Remember, a number of years ago, there was a book, Mein Kampf, written by Hitler himself. The technique was all set out in Hitler's book - and it was copied by the aggressors of Italy and Japan. According to that technique, you should never use a small falsehood; always a big one, for its very fantastic nature would make it more credible - if only you keep repeating it over and over and over again.". Quote: " If taken seriously, our colleagues' assumption that the identity of a speaker has no relevance to the Government's ability to regulate political speech would lead to some remarkable conclusions. Such an assumption would have accorded the propaganda broadcasts to our troops by "Tokyo Rose" during World War II the same protection as speech by Allied commanders. More pertinently, it would appear to afford the same protection to multinational corporations controlled by foreigners as to individual Americans" - Justice Stevens. |
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Thursday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 12-3pm ET
The House Judiciary Committee is debating the articles of impeachment against Donald Trump.
Plus, today is the UK General Election.
And, the best of the rest of the news along with your calls right here on...
The Thom Hartmann Program, Occupying The Media 3 hours a day 5 days a week" for "we the people"
And don't forget...Democracy is NOT a spectator sport...it begins with you...
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Watch & Listen to Thom
High Price of The Billion Dollar Military Budget
Anti Trump Conservative Reacts To Impeachment (w/ Bryan Pruitt )
Is Trump Getting Off Too Easy?
Authoritarianism Is an Impeachable Offense
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I'm so grateful for FSTV!  |
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