For some reason you put hour 3 before hour 2 on the podcast list. That stopped Itunes from downloading hour 3 Friday and downloaded 2 hour 2's. This has never happened in the past. I manually downloaded tonight and will run it separately.

Hello Thom,

I just got through a youtube about "The Pursuance Project". This is an idea developed by Barret Brown who is famous for his connection to "Anonomous".

Brown's Pursuance Project is about useing the internet for civic organizing. It is just getting started and I think you might want to consider having him on your show for an interview. You can find out more by going to pursuanceproject.org.

If you could, would you delete some memories you don't like and replace them with much better ones? How far are you willing to go to tweak your brain if doing so could give you super abilities?

http://bigthink.com/paul-ratner/this-startup-plans-to-put-chips-into-hum...

If we have a single payer Gov. health plan do you think that Mental Health pro's. could demand that you, me, we must have an upgrade? Would you accept that?

Large glasses of Jameson?

# 38: Aaawww, another snowflake melts in the sunshine...

Ya gotta love the Irish though -- here's a new twist on one of their old proverbs: "Insults are pronounced the same everywhere in America, they only sound different."

I'm sorry you're out of your comfort zone and don't appreciate my crude writing style, but what is truly "foul and ugly", a helluva lot more than a little dose of salty language to spice things up now and then, is the stench of worthless assholes (i.e., Grumpy Trumpy dolls, happy Trump trolls, feckin' gobshites, male, female or combination of both, et al. For sh*ts and giggles, they come onto liberal blogs such as this one to dump their load of focking ballsch, disseminating Republican Big Lies and ridiculous right-wing garbage that has no moral underpinning whatsoever or any inkling of truth and reality.

And they most certainly have "too much fun looking for ugly discriptions [sic] of the" ... "washed-up leftie-socialists" (yawn) in comment after comment, thread after thread. When they stop shooting, I'll stop. When they quit insulting and lying ("foul and ugly" words indeed) to and about the liberal bloggers in nearly every goddamn post, then I'll quit insulting them (sniff, a tremendous sacrifice on my part) -- unless Sue Nethercott, the real monitor, intervenes first. I certainly don't expect a free pass and neither should they, especially when their ad hominem attacks are non sequiturs with no connection to the topic at hand.

In fact in post #23, my initial contact with you on this thread, if you noticed (evidently not), despite our past "battles," I tried to bury the hatchet by asking a fairly reasonable, garden-variety question -- no cussing or insults, just 100% subject matter -- about the main point(s) you were trying to convey in that long list of cherry-picked quotes, which you obviously researched meticulously in order to bolster your unspoken side of the argument, and which is commendable on your part. After perusing your list of our founders' words, I had a pretty good idea what you were trying to get at, of course, but why should a reader have to guess what a writer means?

Jefferson was a complicated and conflicted soul throughout most of his life who changed some of his positions as he got older and wiser. For a more complete profile of this great man, beyond those few quotes from a lifetime of his writings, look no further than this website. Thom is a scholar of that era and has written extensively in many books and articles about Jefferson and the other Founders with very precise accuracy in the context of their times and in wonderful detail. That is basically the gist of what might have been a "reasoned discussion", from my point of view anyway, had you not slammed the door by lying right out of the chute, which is pointed out at the beginning of post #36.

Like you say, words matter. If I had gotten your point of view wrong by assuming what you did not explicitly state, you would surely have jumped all over me for putting words in your mouth, no? So why not just state it clearly for the record? That's all I was trying to get at. I thought it was clear and straight forward. I mean, right or wrong, "ugly" or not, I don't think there's any mistaking my own long-winded, painstakingly spelled out positions, is there? LOL.

Yet ...bam... in post #32, you just couldn't resist to pretty much directly lie about the content of post #23 -- it seems almost like a subconscious tick or perhaps an ax to grind over something I might have said in the past to you or someone else. After a zillion words, it's hard to keep track of everything in the hazy and hopelessly complicated past, so I primarily try to focus on the immediate present, which is equally complicated, not quite as hazy, yet absolutely critical for the survival of future life on Earth.

Regardless of everything else swirling around us though, such a fundamental lie that deliberately twists someone else's words to mean what you want them to mean, even though the original words reveal nothing of the kind (of which you have readily accused others), is most "foul and ugly", to me much worse than having a little "fun" with some off-color descriptors -- pretty tame stuff compared to the violent vulgarity of, say, a typical Trump rally.

So much for attempting to "[open] a discussion of the article" and to have a "reasonable discussion" I guess. Never again. That's okay though -- back to having a blast with just another dime-a-dozen troll:

Proven yet again, it's impossible to have a "reasoned discussion" with flat-out f*cking liars and nonstop intellectual dishonesty and hypocrisy. And I'm not the only one who has figured that out about the trolls on this blog since the coronation of King Pussy Grabber, the foulest and ugliest human being imaginable who has ever took a dump in the Oval Office. After awhile, there's no sense even trying, so one may as well have some fun poking sticks at the damn fools until their sphincters are twitching like jumpin' beans and ass juice is runnin' down their legs.

Of course, Trump trolls never seem to have much of a problem with Trump's well-documented disgusting and "ugly" persona, fat ego, pathological lies, petty vindictiveness, angry rhetoric, hate mongering, egomaniacal self-centeredness, self-dealing, greed, xenophobia, bigotry, racism, and misogyny, etc., etc., etc. -- the complete on-record list is much too long for even your copy-and-paste posts. "Too bad you don't put [your] energy ... [and] talents" into helping expose this phony as hell rat-bastard for what he obviously is, instead of always deflecting with false equivalency and double-standard "Hellary" hating, oh sweet óinseach. (The Gaelic male-gender equivalent is amadán.)

BTW, female liar, just to set the record straight (check the archives), I'm an equal opportunity insulter whether a lying troll has a penis or a vagina, so don't have a big hissy fit and pull out the "woman card" like you Hellary haters always falsely accuse her of doing, even when her complaints in that regard are totally legitimate. I don't just have "too much fun looking for ugly discriptions [sic] of the "{gals) [sic]"; there's plenty of swingin' dicks out there who've earned their share of wrath and ridicule for regurgitating hugely destructive propaganda, which is literally tearing apart the fabric of society right in front of our eyes as we speak. It's our duty as citizens to fight back hard with everything in our meager armory.

So when male trollshites pop their stupid Republican dunderheads out of their far-right, dark little sh*tholes ...well then, it's time to play whack-a-mole with those pricks too. Negan's Lucille bat is gender non-specific. At the moment, most of the Grumpy Trumpy dolls happen to be "gals" -- ain't my fault. (Though nobody is quite sure which way hotdog rolls.) In fact, it would be sexist to treat the gals any different than their guy counterparts, now wouldn't it?

"Different strokes for different folks?"

g'nite and g'bye.

II know this probably isn't the proper place to put this but I can't find anywhere else. The individual who replaced Thom Hartmann on his Rt show the Big Picture is terrible. Holland Cooke isn't even a progressive. He is a wishy washy moderate. On one of his last shows he had a stock market expert on for 15 minutes telling people to buy oil stocks. I am not sure if he hhas control of the show or if the network makes him do certain things. Thoms replacement should have been someone like Chris Hedges or Mike Papantonio Lee Camp and there are several other I could name. I won't watch that show anymore. Anyone who reads this and would like to comment please do. I welcome other progressives insights.

@35

Thank You Al Gore for inventing scrolling :))

#31: Holy bigdickinthemouth, Batman! You must be a real hit with your students! I bet they can't wait until the bell rings.

I am sooo sorry -- not! -- that my big ego and bullying has you sooo upset. YES! SUCCESS! Another Trump snowflake melts in the heat ...of honest scrutiny. Clearly the "bullying" (or rather, the simple pointing out of deliberate lies and blind hypocrisy, albeit with a bit of colorful street language) is most definitely working as evidenced by your miffed retort.

What is not working however -- in fact is backfiring badly -- is the pathetic schoolyard bullying of the overweight, over-the-hill, limp-dicked, creepy-old-man, pussy-grabber, criminal rapist whom you are so eager to emulate. As long as were 'splainin' things here, why don't you fess up and explain your sick infatuation with this pervert?

Crickets...

BTW, My preferred method of aggressive ridicule (so well earned) is not for "everyone" -- said bullying is tailor made with loving care exclusively for you and your fellow "washed-up righties." ("That's not an insult, just the truth." -- Ou812) But don't get all chubbed up just yet, ya feckin' chancer; this here, ah, big 'ol "ego" will horse it into ya hard and leave ya spent! (Insert evil cackle-whinny here.)

Hint on logic: Don't lead with your "dumb shit" jab and then end with being the whiny little bitch about bullying. Hypocrisy in; hypocrisy out. Is that all you retained from watching Imus in the Morning? LOL.

Clarification on straw-man argument: Please demonstrate -- in your own words, dick-breath, not mine -- where I'm lying or being inconsistent in any way shape or form in the two quotes (thank you) that you have so honored me with by citing in full ...mostly?

(FYI: It's not spelled "lieing", Ms./mr. "Teach" ...unless you're "lieing" about that too, which is, mmm, starting to sound veeery suspicious.)

Pardon me salty alley tongue, dingleberrie, but what feckin' bum's butt did you pop out of? I think 2950-10K is right -- when all is said and done, the bottom line is you really are just plain ass stupid, as in low IQ.

There is simply no other logical explanation when the evidence is displayed right directly in front of everybody's eyeballs on a public forum in plain English. Pretty damn hard to ignore or deny. I actually feel a tinge of compassion for what you must suffer in life.

But the dreary truth marches on...

...And some feckface needs it 'splained. Jaysus sufferin' f*ck! 63 million of these complete idiots voted! It's no goddamn wonder we now have "F*ckface Von Clownstick" twittering juvenile ego sh*t in the Oval Office crapper and the McTurtle-Ryan sideshow herding hissy-fit cats in Congress.

Every single nook and cranny on planet f*cking Earth is stuffed full of glaring blaring, chirping, chattering TV screens, gigantic ones, teeny ones, and all the shapes and sizes in between. And spare-arse Bachmann-gobshite, LMOA, wearin' her swamp sh*t-blinders and dickhead ear plugs, stuffed all the way into what passes as a brain, is as baffled as bullsh*t that someone who doesn't own one of those goddamn hunks of worthless plastic crap and wasted resources, and who doesn't live in a sealed-off tomb, would somehow know about all the "Repetitive nonsense that means nothing and in the end is just boring as hell!"

Yup, 2950-10K ask the exact right question: "Are you stupid?"

And, are we clear here, boys and girls, er, "my followers"? LOL! So that there is absolutely no confusion, I dare mingin' molly, or anyone else stubbornly still reading this screed, to get through just one "normal" day in Happy Brainwash Land without having ubiquitous robot TV trolls clawing at your poor beat-down frontal lobes. Good luck with that. Ya can't avoid the little f*ckers; they're poppin' up every-goddamn-where like stupid troll posts!

My personal form of protest that I highly recommend: At every possible opportunity despite angry glares, hit the little, almost hidden OFF button -- at the stores, shops, eateries, bars, schools, doctor office (especially), or any-damn-where else they might jump out to git ya. (Lightening keeps me from the churches.) Abso-goddamn-lutely I quit watching the idiot-f*cking-box! Can't explain it more directly.

And I'm so goddamn damn glad that I did ...a long, long time ago in a distant galaxy. Poor another pint o' Guinness. Ahhh, what a relief! Now that's real freedom, buddy, not the hollow "liberty and freedom" motto tattooed on the fatty biceps of some bogger eejit with a pussgut hidin' his clackers.

"Idiot box," by the way, is the most accurate name for it. Sorry to throw around more irritating details, those damnable "details!" (Thanks again, granny, for studiously perusing my latest work product here -- it's a "Christmas gift" meant for you too.) But, yes, as you might suspect, brain scientists have demonstrated that corporate TV programming's long-term effect on concentration can be worse than alcohol and drugs.

Contrary to old wives' tales (no offense, granny), the conscious and deliberate human mind never multi-tasks very well, because the process of thinking happens basically in chronological succession, which means it happens one thought at a time. That means, in turn, although we certainly can purportedly "multi-task," we really can't perform each sub-task very efficiently or sufficiently. Only when we can focus without undo distraction (given the numerous other unavoidable demands in our rat-race world) on one task at a time do we get good at each of them. Plus, anxiety levels plummet and life is a more easy-going, pleasant experience after you hit the OFF button.

Ergo, TV "users" subject to constant marketing every five minutes during commercials, and broken-up, rapid-fire action every few seconds during regular programming, are retarding their active thought constructs through the sheer volume of endless interruptions and glitzy, addicting distractions. Long term exposure to such a bombardment of the senses severely shortens attention span -- which is borne out by the disjointed thought patterns of Grumpy Trumpy dolls every day on this blog, although it would be unfair to blame it all on the TV industry. Sometimes basic stupidity is congenital.

And for that I have great sympathy. Hard to say it, but it's not really a gobshite's fault that he or she or whatever felt compelled to vote for another born fool. You know -- science.

Thanks again for shoppin' at our lil' house o' whores. Ya'all come back now. Hope not too many of yer fartstrings were pulled, troll-shites. (Now leave a "Grant" on the dresser and pull yer manky trousers back up, skank. Yer trunks are leapin' wi' dingleberries!)

slán

Hot Coffee, You should add references and facts with all of your opinion. Otherwise it is just opinion.

# 5

Oh; there are many racist "D's" and they don't realize it. Thank you for replying/commenting by the way, sincerely. The racism I refer to is; as I witnessed recently, "white people (friends/coworkers) " congregated in a public venue and one decides to enter that realm with conversation. He looked both ways and backwards before speaking. It wasn't a terrible remark but; why feel as though you must look? I call it "latent racism". Something I have been guilty of engaging in ocassionally in my time here. My point is; they/I ocassionally, don't even realize it.

Great Job Jayemal! I have seen the Reverend Dr. in person in Asheville NC. He is the true and present MLK of our time. No offence to Thom whatsoever. God is God. I don't think I need an intermediatery to funnel through as in Jesus or any others to speak and pray. Perhaps that was the reason kings like "King James" authorized the rewriting (or writing) of the Bible. Seems these southern white males want to comix and constrew the Old Testament with the new. The old testament seems rather "Sharia" law to me.... Actually after rereading Thoms post before posting this, i'm not sure how he trashed religion..... However; I'm hitting send! Enjoy and comment as appropriate. Remember though; this comes from a Southern White pater figure of two sons who share my resolve.

And yes; Hotcoffee, they are racist. I see and hear it most days. Not as frequent though.

If you have wealth and power, you wish the status quo to prevail. Change is a threat to the status quo by it's very nature. Conservatives (real conservatives) seek to maintain the status quo. When you want to conserve something you don't seek to change it.

I am reluctant to refer to many republicans, that I speak with today, as "conservatives". There seems to be a disconnect between the ideologys of the republican party, of the past, with the direction of the party today.

Law and order seems to get lost, in the lack of interest in making sure that people purchasing guns (handguns and assault weapons), are able/capable of making responsible decisions. At least as responsible as we would expect from someone with a drivers license. Protection of property rights?: why is it that my community has no right to protect it's water supply from a corporation looking to find a cheap way to expose of waste?

The framers of our constitution had no interest in our rights. That's why you have no rights in the body of the constitution. The "bill of rights" are simply ten amendments to the constitution added/negotiated to get the constitution ratified. The constitution was written by the rich for the rich. Property and commerce, these are the only two rights fully protected by the framers of the constitution. Every thing else was fluff.