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Thom Hartmann has written a dozen books covering ADD / ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder.
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Hello All
Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.
Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.
Oh, Thom. You always get so close to saying it: The fact that government intervention is necessary to create corporations in the first place makes Carrie Lukas' argument for non-intervention completely baseless. The government grants the corporation existence, therefore it can put conditions on that existence; it's a contract.
KMH, time to turn your volume off...!
Thanks for your thoughtful comments B Roll. We're looking at how to make the message boards easier. Louise
Thom,
I have thought, since Ford, the Repugnants have LOOKED FOR presidential candidates who are easily manipulated by the "dark forces" (corporate monarchists). They have little to offer except the "nice guy" demeanor. Bush very easily fits that mold.
Hi mathboy -
I don't have either of the problems you described. The date doesn't obscure anything else on my screen and neither does the add for Threshold. I've checked this with both Firefox and Internet Explorer. There was a time that the homepage wouldn't format properly from time to time, but I haven't seen that problem in a few weeks.
There are a lot of problems with the Message Boards and how they function. The one I commented on was the lack of an external link to those boards.
Thom,
On the SCOTUS Scalia is 73, Kennedy is 72, so maybe one of those 2 will retire in the next couple of years giving a true opening to get another liberal on the court
The only problem I have with the website is that the page content keeps covering the banner menu. For instance, from this page, I can't click on Home, because that button is obscured by the date on today's post. Other buttons on the menu are obscured by the ad for Threshold.
Thom,
Last week I posted a comment here that it's necessary to log-in to your site to access the message boards and you have to be a registered member to log-in. I think I was wrong, but not completely.
I was able to get to the message boards without loging in this weekend. But that was only because I noticed the URL for the message boards in the drop-down menu when I was entering the URL for your homepage.
So, the problem is that there's no link to the message boards unless you are logged in. There should be a link to the message boards on your homepage. That's how it used to be on your old site and how it is on the sites of people like Mike Malloy and Ed Schultz.
The lack of this link was probably an oversight when the site was built. I think it could easily be fixed by putting a link to the message boards right next to the CHAT link on the home page. It looks like there's enough room on that line.
One question Thom: Why do you love America so much? (Hope that makes up for my question last week.)
Our health care and financial systems were broken with the full knowledge and consent of the law makers . The people we sent to congress have no idea of finance or health care systems so they bring in the local lobbyist to show them how and the lobbyist winds up writing the laws . A few years ago I saw via the Cspan camera the lobbyist on the floor of congress handing out checks while congress was in session . After the public noise from this action became too loud congress made a rule that checks could only be handed out ourside of camera range . But YOU created the financial catastrophe . When Wall Street (WS) got it's hands on your retirement money (401K's , IRA's , Mutual Funds , etc.) WS became very powerful . It gave WS the money to buy our law makers and open the doors to massive out-sourcing of jobs at a rate beyond our imaginations . Even today we pump more of our money into the WS coffers and WS has flexed it's muscles during the last attempt by congress to pass an anti-WS law . Very little is manufactured in our country and WS is working hard to finish off what is left of our manufacturing . The only way we can win this battle is by taking our money out of WS and do the same as the China and Japan . Open American US Treasury Accounts and buy US Treasury Bonds as we did during WWII . Our money is leaving our community so fast our children will be leaving the US to find jobs in China or Japan . If those places will have them .
I am as disappointed as any of our liberals that our President is doing a 180 on many of the things he promised. But let's not forget we have the power to bring about change. If we set our priorities right with single payer health care on top of the list and flood the White House and the Congress with letters (e-mail are soon deleted) and phone calls and explain that we will remember broken promises in 2010 we can force change. It's imperative that we all unite at least on the health care issue which is favored by a majority of the electorate. We can't get everything we want in one fell swoop but we can get what we want one issue at a time.
(B Roll)
I whole heartedly agree with you. White Privilege has been written into the very DNA of pretty much all of the institutions in the USA. After the 60's, desegregation occurred and now colored faces started to appear in some businesses and institutions, but at their core they are still run by whites for whites. Joe Barndt in his book Understanding and Dismantling racism does a great job of pointing this out. Thom the next step for your program would be to recognize it's contribution to white privilege, and to become more accountable to the colored community, which would include perhaps bringing on some leaders from the colored community. (This does assume you arn't already doing this since it's a little tough to tell color over radio)
BTW I am a white male.
Thom,
If I misunderstood or misremember your comments I apologize, but based on what I think you said, I say:
Optimism is good, overoptimism is a problem especially when fueled by cluelessness.
You described the 60s and 70s as a time when America was a "we society" and you mentioned race relations as an example. Ask black people how welcome they felt in your "we society".
I've heard you occasionally use the term "white privilege" but you don't seem to believe it applies to how you conduct your program.
This is at least the 3rd or 4th time I've raised this on this blog page. African Americans and Hispanics together make up around 30% or more of the population of the United States. There are a variety of other ethnic minorities who make up several more percent.
How do those figures match up the list of guests on your show? I'd say that your guest list isn't very representative of the population of this country. How many times has Carrie Lucas been on your show this year? I wouldn't be surprised if she's been on more than the total number of blacks and Latinos you've had on this year.
In fact, I have any clear memory of black or Latino guests, although you may have had some black anti-gay preacher. Whatever... the number of ethnic minorities as guests on your show is either next to none or none.
I know you're very busy, but i'd suggest you do some research on race relations in the 60s, 70s and today. Look at the numbers of blacks and Latinos in our prisons and jails. Look at unemployment among ethnic minorities. Look at income and wealth disparities and mortality rates.
I think your claim that the election of Barack Obama indicates that we're becoming a "we society" is a misreading of the facts. While it's true that race was less of an issue in this election than ever before, that's only part of the reason that Obama is president now.
Hillary Clinton failed to win the Democratic nomination to a large degree because of a poor campaign strategy based on over confidence. John McCain had so many factors going against him, the main factor being that he's a Republican. Remember that the Democratic Party, as a whole, was polling better than Obama in the run-up to the election. I remember polls that indicated that a significant number of Democrats felt they couldn't vote for Obama because he was African American, and many Clinton supporters expressed racist feelings.
I assume you saw Obama's 100 day press conference. A black journalist raised the issue of high black unemployment, pointing out that unemployment for black men in New York City was over 50% and asked if Obama's economic program was going to address this problem.
My impression was that Obama didn't even understand the question. He talked about community health clinics and extended unemployment benefits. 50% unemployment among black men is a largely a systemic problem, not a mere statistical blip. It has to be addressed specifically.
After Obama's news conference, I was amazed to see Chris Matthews, Mike Barnacle and Lawrence O'Donnell saying that Obama's elections was an indication of how little a part racism had become in American society. I particularly remember O'Donnell talking about how un-racists white Amreicans had become. Early in that discussion Matthews commented on the irony of three white men talking about race in that way.
This post is too long already, but I think your understanding of racial dynamics in this country is seriously flawed and your apparent indifference is sad. This is typical of what I've seen on "commercial" progressive radio. But then, I've said that on this blog before. Who's listening?
Recent report suggesting that we don't have hundreds of years worth of coal after all. Hubbert's Peak , The Coal Question http://rutledge.caltech.edu/
http://climateprogress.org/2009/02/12/clean-energy-action-peak-coal-usgs...
Am I the only one that is disturbed beyond belief that Karl Rove actually HAS a wife?
Michael Tate,
I agree that Pelosi is being promoted (by the Repubs) as the one who should receive outrage and blame in the waterboarding fiasco. However, once she was briefed by the Bush degenerates, she was legally restrained from talking to anyone other than a fellow "briefee" about it. Her hands were tied.
Once again, why blame the person who was TOLD about the illegality when it's the people who PERPETRATED it who need to be held accountable? It's amazing how good the Repubs are at twisting facts and distracting people by spreading skewed information.
THOM,
I really appreciate your comments on my call today regarding the health ins. cos. backpedalling on their $2 trillion cost reduction over 10 years "commitment." (The knot in my stomach feels better.) Maybe Obama really is playing chess.
Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap.
Barbara Jordan
Thom,
Sorry I don't mean to fill up your liveblog, but you just mentioned how Bush tried to keep the war going in 2003-2004 and it reminded me of the book 1984, and the book in the book by Goldstein. Chapter 3 where he talks about "War is Peace" This Iraq war the more I think about it is straight out of the pages of that book. They have this war that does not have the catastrophic losses on our side that most other wars had. We are fighting over resources in the middle east (as stated in the book). And it is an endless war designed to destroy our overproduction keeping the population from acquiring wealth and thus keeping them in check from rebellion. I think this might make an interesting segment for your show, but wow this war is soooooooooo 1984.
How poorly educated are we really? Everyday the point is proven, many of the callers to the show sound like imbeciles! No offence, we need everyone to be involved. But is there any doubt about how rediculously inane we have become as a nation. WE NEED EDUCATION REFORM!
People are questioning Obamas pull back on the torture issue. I think his move is to be forced by the higher court at a more opportune time and allow for various legal manuvers to take place because I think that once he and those who want justice will have an air tight case that will not be defeated by any legaleese. I pray that that is what is truely going on.
One thing that annoys me about this Pelosi outrage, is that even if she knew waterboarding was going on, she is not the one you should go after. She is like the woman who sees a bank robbery and does not call 911. Yes she was wrong in not alerting the crime to others, but SHE WAS NOT THE ONE ROBBING THE BANK.
How poorly educated are we really? Everyday the point is proven, many of the callers to the show sound like imbeciles! No offence, we need everyone to be involved. But is there any doubt about how rediculously inane we have become as a nation. WE NEED EDUCATION REFORM!
When President Obama was in the Senate he was the * * * 46th * * * most progressive Senator. In short, he was on right-hand fringe of Democratic Party and just RIGHT of Centrist.
President Obama was and is not progressive. I know that folk THOUGHT he was Progressive because he was not jack-booted right BUT thinking that he was Progressive was self-delusion at best.
We, the People, have gotta drag this horse to water. Anything less is selling our essential liberties for less than eternal vigilance.
Thom,
You have a tendency to misapply animal research to humans. For example, you cited the research that showed that rats remember better after eating fat.
I tried that. In fact, while I listen to your show, I'm just sitting here eating potato chips and double cheeseburgers. I don't remember much of what you talk about, but I am a better rat. Is that what you want for humanity?
I probably won't even remember writing this in 5 minutes. Where's my milkshake?
Ned Nefarius
"."
RLA
Lets say the courts, including the Supreme Court, agree with the Obama position that releasing the torture photos would create a more dangerous situation for our troops, and maybe some civilians, who are already in harms way. And they decide this regardless of the legal merits of the case, could you say that the judge, or judges, made the decision based on EMPATHY?