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I didn't get to listen to your show today because I was working on the docks driving foreign cars around to get them ready to be sold. I feel like a traitor, but at least Americans get work that way! And some of the pay is union, too! (Not mine, though) But I will answer your question. What a question!
No questions asked--call 911 and get the person help immediately. Although the help might not be all that great, which is a huge problem. I would also visit the person in the hospital to help him or her find some decent support with that $100,000.
Mental health care is a f... nightmare, and everyone needs at least one very caring advocate to help get them through the maze of nutcases, who call themselves psychiatrists and therapists, in order to find a good match.
I hope the person who received the suicide note and check did the right thing. What a sad sad cry for help.
I also want to add that as much as I dislike Sarah Palin, she has become an excuse for pretty outrageous, horrifying sexism and I don't hear anyone talking about this aspect of the continuing saga. I found David Letterman's comments way out of line, and if it would have been my daughter, the lioness would have erupted from me as well. I respected her for her outrage even though I do not respect her politics.
Even though Sarah Palin is an ignorant mouthpiece for the right, I really think that men need to take a close look at their reactions to Sarah Palin, and use it as a tool for facing their own sexism and the need for some serious, deep thought on what feminism means, and how very important feminism is to leftist politics. David Letterman's jokes about Palin's daughter are a perfect example of how Sarah Palin has become an excuse for inexcusable behavior,
and from my own team, which I find terribly heartbreaking.
Pop science, feel-goodisms and “studies” designed to advance a political agenda do not advance our understanding of nature one inch. How about some scientific reality that isn’t politically opportunistic: While unicellular organisms do reproduce initially by way of fission, in order to survive for the long run, non-identical pairs or separate populations “fuse,” which is “sex” in its most basic form. Why? Because like in-breeding in humans, eventually a lack of diversity causes abnormalities and a lack of vitality that causes even unicellular life to fail to regenerate over time. Heterosexual sex between two organisms from seperate gene pools allows for the creation of an organism that can adapt to different environmental circumstances, without which survival is unlikely. So-called “self-fertilization” that some political activists with no scientific knowledge like to point to in lower forms of life does not provide the needed variability (within the confines of the separate species) that cross-fertilization provides for higher life forms. Without variability, adaptation and evolution is impossible.
Threat Level Privacy, Crime and Security Online
NSA Secret Database Ensnared President Clinton’s Private E-mail
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/06/pinwale
DRichards,
I agree that the general public agrees with Roosevelt's sentiments. But that's because they're uniformed. They been misinformed by our media and educational systems. But they've also willingly taken part in the violence perpetrated in the interests of the elites and in their own interest.
There weren't enough economic elites in this country to take the land away from the American Indians or to enslave Africans kidnapped and sold into slavery in the Americas. And American aggression around the world has been supported by the general public who've been misinformed by the media that they were under threat from people in other lands.
That's a major point in Stephen Kinzer's book "Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change From Hawaii to Iraq". But Kinzer's book only deals with the time from the late 19th Century to the early 21st Century. The process began with the arrival of Europeans in this hemisphere. The Europeans have morphed into the white governments and populations of the Americas and continue to oppress and displace the native populations to get access to the wealth of their lands. If you don't know about what's going on in Peru at this time, you might want to look into it. You can Google "democracy now peru 2009" as a start.
I was disappointed during the 2006 senatorial campaign of Jon Tester of Montana that some "progressive" talkers pointed to his family roots as "homesteaders" in Montana as a sign of his authenticity, but never even noted that the land they homesteaded was taken from the Indians by force and threat of force. It wouldn't make Tester and evil person, but I think it's sad that "progressive" talkers used his homesteader roots as a way to authenticate his "Americanism".
My comment was directed toward Thom, who I often criticize for presenting the American mythology I referred to. And Thom isn't as uniformed as the general public. He simply chooses to believe in the inherent goodness of this country and ignore our brutal history. That's why I said that I'm sure Thom could provide many examples. He occasionally mentions these examples but as unrelated events rather than as what this country has been fashioned into by the ruling elites over a period of hundreds of years.
I think Thom (in fact, I know) is a much better person than this, but he seems to need to believe in the essentially goodness of this country.
FREUDE,
Congress can negate this ruling by passing legislation that voids it and clarifies the issue. They've done that with other SCOTUS decisions which did not reflect congressional intent.
re: dna evidence this really is the party of DEATH they seem to miss no opportunity to destroy or kill can this ruling be " rescinded" have we no recourse here i hate to imagine people, innocent of the crime, living out their lives in cages ..
DRichards,
Er, meant lingering effects of the BLUE ONE....
DRichards,
'Sounds like you took the red pill, while so many of us are still suffering from the lingering effects of the red one!
Re: The American Myth
I suspect that that is because there is a disconnect between our government & the general population. It seems to me the general public, for the most part agrees with the sentiments Roosevelt expressed in the clip, our government for the most part does not (perhaps because they represent economic interest of the elite).
Thom,
Why didn't you ask your animal psychic if Higgins worships you?
You probably would have liked her answer.
I wonder if she could tell me what's going on with my bird. It lives in a small wooden box and every hour it comes out and says, "Cuckoo".
Memory is an interesting thing and I’m sometimes fascinated by what I remember and what I don’t. Here’s something I remember (with some gaps) from this show that Thom Hartmann probably doesn’t.
It was fairly early in the Democratic Party Presidential primary race. A man called in. Judging by his voice and manner of speaking I perceived him to be a white man. He tried to tell Thom about a commentary he heard from a black journalist and political activist who was critical of Senator Barack Obama.
The caller didn’t get very far into his comment when Thom, lover of freedom, democracy and the American way, cut him off and said, “Anyone can write a political hit piece”. (I’m not sure if Thom said the word “political” but he definitely said “hit piece”.)
Who was the black journalist? What was his criticism of Obama? Where did the caller come across this criticism?
The journalist was Glen Ford, a veteran journalist and activist who has a website www.blackagendareport.com . He knows Obama from Chicago and has observed him for years. He’s often been a guest on Amy Goodman’s Democracy Now, Laura Flanders’ Grit TV and has even written for the website of the Progressive Democrats of America (Disclosure: Thom Hartmann is on the advisory board of PDA.) If you Google “glen ford black agenda report” you’ll find many links to progressive websites.
If you want to know Ford’s criticism of Barack Obama was one-and-a-half to two years ago, you can keep listening to the Thom Hartmann Show. Ford was trying to us that Obama was going to be what he’s turned out to be so far.
There are several places the caller could have come across Ford’s critique of Obama, depending on where that caller lives. My guess is that he heard it on Democracy Now. If Thom actually listened to or watched Democracy Now, or even read the Democracy Now website rather than just throw occasional praise in the direction of Amy Goodman, he might have been forewarned about Obama.
I remember what I thought when Thom dismissed the caller with his “hit piece” comment. I thought that Thom blew off a critique of Obama as a “hit piece” even though he knew nothing about it or its author.
I think that was the point at which I started noticing the lack of “people of color” as guests on Thom’s show; a policy that continues today.
Who can we get to sponsor THE INSURANCE BROKERS & WORKERS JOB REASSIGNMENT ACT? Let them build windmills for peet sake
Thom,
We haven't fallen from the sentiments in the clip you played of Roosevelt. He was wrong and it never was true.
I'm sure you could provide many examples that prove my point, if you wanted to. Unfortunately, doing that would undermine the American mythology that you embrace.
You know what? Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the epigenetic material is considered part of the DNA molecule.
Correction: an epigenetic change is not a change to DNA. That would be a genetic change. This is epigenetic, meaning a change in the chemicals on the surface of the gene. Epigenetic changes alter how strongly a gene is expressed. These changes can be inherited, but so far as I know, always revert eventually, although some can be passed down for dozens of generations.
Just sent an email to Tom Daschle, suggest that you do as well. tom.daschle@alston.com
For your hard work to take away the public option for health care I gladly include you in my list.
http://democratichealthcareturncoats.webs.com/
Re: I have noticed that right-wing fanatics often have TERRIBLE spelling and grammar skills!
I think that is because they are so angry. They often speak with their emotions, rather than their heads.
About the Supreme court decision re DNA. Why do we never year from law and order types? Not only without DNA testing does an innocent man get prosecuted for rape, but a rapist goes free?
Thom,
You could probably come up with a better phrase than "blow up the banks." I know it's just a metaphor, but unfortunately, our semi-literate country struggles with metaphors. (Perhaps related to the constant misuse of the term 'literally', but I digress.)
Remember "Lipstick on a Pig"? I know it's dumb, but trust me, Fox News would have no trouble saying you are calling for violence against banks.
I'm just saying...
mstaggerlee,
OK, point taken! (btw, I just misspelled "misspoke" in my previous post.)
I have noticed that right-wing fanatics often have TERRIBLE spelling and grammar skills!
Mark -
Is Harriet Christian the psycho who was yelling "We have to protect our children from David Lettermen's mouth!"? I have just one question for THAT clown - why the heck are your children awake to watch a show that airs at 11:30 PM, anyway??!!
Quark -
Is ONE proofread pass too much to ask for? Some of the posts that show up here (NOT yours, btw) have errors egregious enough to brand the opinions they express as the rantings of either a lunatic, or a 6-year old.
What --- KEITH died, too, Thom? (You mispoke.) What a family the Carradines are! LOL
ABC,
Interesting how something done with good motivations can be so potent. I think that is what the enlightened human being Jesus was trying to tell us...
Mark,
I honestly believe that part of the reason "Republics" are against mental health insurance coverage parity legislation is that people with the mental disorders that seem to be prevalent in their party nowadays might be CURED or ameliorated! THEN where would they be?! (There's so much "Republic" dysfunction in your comments, that was my first thought in response.)
Also, as Thom says, civics and American government classes should be reinstated in our school curricula.
BTW, I worked on all 3 of Paul Wellstone's senate campaigns. He was working very hard in his last term (before his "accidental" death) to pass a bill requiring mental health coverage parity, along with Sen. Kennedy. I really miss him --- he would have taken names and kicked butt (besides being the most decent and honorable human being I've ever met.)
BTW EVERYONE :
I've decided that if I misspell any words or names on this blog, too bad! Life (and typing fast) is/are too short! I'll try to be accurate but, if I miss a few, I won't kick myself. I hope everyone else feels that way about his or her writing. If we were writing a piece to be published (or handed in for a grade), that's another issue.
'Just wanted to get that off my chest...'Hope it's OK with everyone.
Twitter 1, Censors 0: Why it's still working
Posted: Thursday, June 18 2009 at 05:00 am CT by Bob Sullivan
Why does Twitter work inside Iran even after other Internet services have been disrupted? The key feature enabling it to evade government censorship, some observers say, is something that might otherwise be considered Twitter's Achilles’ heel.
Unlike Facebook, and most other social networking sites, Twitter users don't need to visit Twitter.com to use the service. In the business world, that's a terrible idea. Twitter has no way to promise potential advertisers that its enormous audience will ever see ads placed on the site.
http://redtape.msnbc.com/2009/06/twitter-1-censorship-0-why-its-working....