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The Trump budget as it relates to the old Marie Antoinette quote of…"let them eat cake," is: let them drink piss. Why do you think they call it "trickle down economics?" So Trump supporters, while you are looking up to your dear leader…he will literally be pissing in your face, which of course, will make you love him even more.
I see nothing that Thom posts on this blog as having to do with "teaching". He takes the hot news of the day and lays it out in the most partisan way, Then he typically poses one or two pregnant questions designed to evoke a predictable response from the faithful. This is sheer dogma. Being open ended, it only invites a repetition of the same. Don't misunderstand. I'm not in the least sympathetic with the Conservative Agenda. I would hope however that Thom Hartmann would more effectively use his position to stir a meaningful discussion. I think I'm 'pissing into the wind' here.
deepspace: Why in hell the Pope would agree to a meeting with an evil loser I'll never know. I guess he hasn't heard about Trump's budget yet? God help us all.
It doesn't take a PhD in economics to figure out that cutting trillions from an economic engine that's already a house of cards and then redirecting those same trillions into the accounts of billionaires and unending war is economic insanity.
Putin is using the Republican Party to destroy our country. We've been attacked and are at war. It seems the CIA is the only agency aware of it and they aren't doing a damn thing to stop it.
Thom is not so much an apologist as he is a teacher telling us how to change that decrepit institution.
Myself, I want a parliamentary democracy.
I think it would be absurd to now pretend to be shocked by the idea of worsening conditions for the poor, much less to put the blame on Republicans. The Clinton Democrats ended actual welfare aid some 20 years ago, and took the first steps to similarly "reform" Social Security, targeting the disabled. Since then, the overall life expectancy of the US poor fell below that of every developed nation. Dems in Congress kicked off 2015 alone with voting to virtually end food stamps to the elderly poor and thre disabled (cut from $115 per month, dpown to $10). The liberal response throughout...? Democrats not only took the lead in the war on the poor some 20 years ago, but made it cool to ignore the consequences.
I'll go further. Rather than laying out a continuous series of statementes of the patently obvious (to most of us), why is the focus not shifted to "what can we (like minded people) potentially do about it"? Is the Democratic Party salvageable? I notice that Thom seems to be an unabashed apologist for that decrepit institution. Or "How can anyone calling him/herself a 'progressive', combat the forces that seem to permeate the only two existing viable parties intent on maintaining the status quo"?
Even if Congress dilutes the fake president's draconian budget proposal somewhat to make it slightly more palatable for their fake moderates, don't expect any of the mercy for the poor and the disadvantaged that their religion teaches. These people are unprincipled hypocrites to their core.
Look no further than today's CBO score for the billionaire tax cut disguised as a "healthcare" replacement bill, which was already passed out of the House with the help of their so-called moderates: 23 million fellow human beings will lose coverage by 2026, ensuring that tens of thousands every year will be condemned to death.
The tyrant and his thugs are genocidal maniacs. Does anyone honestly believe that Pope Francis had any affect at all on The Liar, while he pretended to humble himself in the presence of His Holiness? All the prayers and incantations in the world won't inspire these soulless fiends to repent their evil ways.
#11, #14 RE: my post#5
So much for debate. Deepspace, as usual, eloquently sums up today's reality. I beleive 90+% of people that regularly contribute here will concur with his assessment.
I rest my case.
Pozoblanco: "If he sounds a little pessimistic or cynical it's because there's good reason to be."
Taking that thought one or two steps further: People who are not pessimistic and cynical -- and, frankly, deeply alarmed -- by the astoundingly regressive agenda of a narcissistic authoritarian and his fascist party of billionaire bootlickers are either living in a pollyannaish fantasy or are just as depraved as the liars and cheaters for whom they cheer.
Politicians who have no empathy with the people and no understanding of their plight have no business ascending to positions of power in a representative democracy. Just as Eisenhower warned in his farewell address, the "military-industrial-[congressional] complex" has finally succeeded in overshadowing most of our democratic institutions.
That sobering reality along with massive election fraud, which, in effect, perpetuates one-party rule and imposes the will of the minority on the majority, there is no other way to describe it: By all relevant measures, America is a failed democracy!
Let's quit pretending.
jogjr1 -- I think you left out one very effective way to become actively involved. I think you can have impact by continually communicating with your representatives.
Dianereynolds -- How many hours a day to you watch Fox News?
Ou812 -- You need to watch Greg Palast's DVD, "The best democracy money can buy". The repugs stole the election back in November 2016.
Did the repugs bring the suit to destroy the risk corridor? I thought Marco Rubio's change to the ACA in December 2015 was enough to destroy it.
What does he get out of this? In my opinion Thom poses questions like that because he is trying to spark some kind of thoughtful debate. I dont think he's being inflammatory or sensational. If he sounds a little pessimistic or cynical it's because there's good reason to be.
100% it will work. Trump will be viewed as fiscally conservative. Besides the media doesn't use big words like "cost-sharing reductions."
It's not "who knew healthcare could be so hard" Trump that is sabotaging the ACA, it is and has been the Republican party. Trump is just the celebrity spokeperson putting the stamp of approval on the destruction, like a retired athlete doing commercials for a car dealer. Trump doesn't know enough about the machinations of Washington politics to orchestrate such a complex task as undermining the health care system. Let's not lose sight of the reality that it is the GOP's agenda that Trump is implementing, and that Trump was made possible by the GOP's decades long campaign of misinformation and hatemongering.
I do not believe that Trump is a sociopath. Neither do I believe that he is a scion of empathy and compassion. What he is is a hard-nosed businessman. Casino's prey upon weak minded people. Because they are easy prey. I believe that he has become Jaded and addicted to power and control and he has little use for anyone who doesn't see things the same way he does. That, unfortunately, would be all the rest of us. He believes that we are easy prey.
He believes that "if you don't pay, you dont play". He honestly feels that the majority of we the people contribute nothing - that is, "they bring nothing to the table". Only the "alpha's" bring something to the table. Therefore only the alphas should get to play.
There are obviously a whole bunch of holes in that point of view. Historical myopia jumps right out at me. Can you spell SERF or PEASANT? That's how they're treating us.
Problem is, when was the last time you (we) took an active role in governing yourself? City Hall? County Seat? State? Federal Government? Probably never! Easy pickings! What are you going to do about it. All anybody has done so far is whine. That ain't nothing. We're easy pickings.
He is a "takeover artist". Strip all assets and do whatever is necessary to make the budget appear to be balanced to the "board". Then rebuild or sell. That is what this particular action is about. Creating the appearance of balancing the budget while raking off all the "profits" for the board.
What happens after that is that either they win or we lose. Take your pick. It really doesn't matter to them. It's just another deal.
Health care COSTS are determined by the providers NOT the people. We the people are NOT the problem here. What California is working on now (a single pay system) may not be perfect but at least it's doing something besides playing the blame game or a bunch of name calling like a 12year old boy.
OUR system was designed, from the beginning, to be able to make mistakes and TO FIX THEM. That is the very thing that made it better than all the systems that came before it. Nothing was written in stone!
Trump was a mistake. And allowing the Health Care hen house to be run by the foxes was a mistake. Both were our mistake!
We have to decide: is the government just another business? WE HAVE TO DECIDE! If we decide it's not - what then? We must ACT. We must get actively involved.
If we decide that it is, well, then that's it. This is what you get. Get used to it.
Hi Thom,
I answered your challenge and went to the California Democratic Party Convention in Sacramento last weekend. I attended as a proxy to a delegate, meaning I got to vote on the State Party leadership.
Maybe you've seen the news of how close Chair election was. 60 votes out of 3000 cast.
The energy in that building was intense. Don't fall for the frame that a close election was a bad thing. That convention was a building block for the future of the party.
A LOT of leaders will emerge. From this convention and from elsewhere.
Rich Reinhofer
San Marcos, Ca.
Paid? Ha! ha! That is insanity based on the dozen or so regular reader/posters.
Work for the Hartmann organization? That is even funnier. I would rather stick my head in a blender.
22 dead and 59 injured and not one word mentioned in three hours on the air. Now that is a question worth asking.
This is certainly "off topic" but it's a question I've been meaning to pose for quite a while. Thom's piece for the day ends thus:
"So in other words, Trump is trying to sabotage Obamacare. Is this what a president does?
Trump is clearly hoping Democrats take all the blame here. Will it work?"
Here's my question: What is Mr. Hartmann hoping to achieve with his questions, many of which I find rhetorical in this space, other than to kick the choir into some kind of frenzy inside the echo chamber?
Oh sure, there is the occasional antagonist, most notably Dianereynolds, who is obviously either a paid troll or potentially someone within the Hartmann organization itself charged with "keeping the temperature up". I doubt the former possibility is credible owing to the very small stage here.
So what's the deal? What is Thom Hartmann getting out of this? Does he or any of his staff actually read the shit we write? Are any of the ideas we kick around actually used in directing his agenda in his wider radio venue? Why doesn't he personally make an occasional appearance by way of a post?
Any thoughts?
Putin better start worrying about his own damn country and position of power. I keep hearing that he's a marked man and some of those close to him absolutely abhor him and want the freak gone.
I smell Bannon and his KKK /Nazi party behind all of this safety net cut stuff. The sabotage of the ACA, food stamp cuts, medicaid cuts, you name it, anything to do with the poor, which is code for people of color to Bannon and his crowd. Bannon is bringing out the inner racist in Crooked Donny. Word is, Bannon reminds Trump of his racist father.
It's probably pretty god damn easy to program a simple mind like Trumps, and I'm sure Bannon and Trump are being discreet with their communication, so as not to upset other family members.
Off topic but needs to be mentioned. Everyone agrees that Putin's goal is to undermine our democracy. With this in mind, consider which political party Putin is using to destroy out country..... Why aren't the Democrats pointing this out???
This is all going to end very ugly. Prepare to be shocked, but don't panic. Put your money in a safe place asap.
If this Bill Passes: The death panel is coming for real. 7 billion is squat for what you get in return. The Bible, (Old and new Testament) not only tells you to take care of the poor, It tells you to take care of the alien!
If Trump and the Republicans pass their selfish health care act sentencing up to 44,000 Americans a year to death, please introduce a bill to charge all those who voted for this "death" bill with premeditated murder and genocide and to be tried by a military tribunal at Leavenworth Prison. March them there like Trump's buddy Andrew Jackson made the Native Americans leave the Southeast and were herded on foot to an area west of the Mississippi. They called this the Trail of Tears. When the Republicans eliminate Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, VA care, Food Stamps, Meals on Wheels, School lunches and other social programs, additional thousands will starve to death or commit suicide. I also want them charged with premeditated murder and genocide. On the way through Kansas, pick up the Koch Brothers and charge them with murder as well. They have done a fine job buying our Congress and pressing for these egregious crimes. They are even trying to change our constitution and so far, 25 states have signed up for this change thanks to ALEC. Talk about fascist bastards. It would suit me just fine if they are found guilty and hanged.
Barstool activists are the soul and the conscience of a people -- where the revolution begins.
;--))