I think it's time for us to start reconsidering exactly what it means to be human. We claim that our self-awareness and superior intelligence compared to the rest of the animal kindgodm makes us more "special," or supposedly more compassionate for our fellow human and for other species of living creatures. I don't see it. These billionaires that control the world's economy are actually less humane than most animals one would encounter in the wild. Many, if not most, politicians are less humane. Corporations are the exact opposite of humane. America's police force is less humane than most animals. One could argue that dolphins are consistently more humane than most humans. One might even aruge they are smarter than the average person! So if "superior" intelligence, compassion, empathy, self-awareness...If these things don't distinguish us from the rest of life on earth, what exactly does? What does it really mean to be human?

FOX NEWS HAVE NO CONSCIENCE; ALL THEY CARE ABOUT IS THE RATINGS, AND WILL DO WHATEVER TO KEEP THEM UP ... GETTING RID OF MEGYN KELLY IS A DROP IN THE TOILET!

You're right Thom, listeners should go out today and buy Jane Mayer's book 'Dark Money'. Thank you for having her on the show. Never have the dots been so convincingly and completely connected in this trail of radical right obstruction. Like a dark tunnel cut with many branches beneath our government, every dot along the way becomes a light bulb, illuminating the once invisible path of the vile conspiritors. Brava Jane!

I would add that establishment liberals, such as Krugman, have a stake in the status quo. A comfortable order exists inside the Beltway. The liberal class, as Chris Hedges has written about, long ago abandoned its role as a defender of the poor, middle and working classes. It has bought into the corporatocracy (or been bought into it). Liberal corporate media mavens such as Krugman, while they may deny it, are part of the problem; their opinions reflect differences that exist among the elite cadres of what is essentially the same political/economic establishment. Gore Vidal pointed this out when he wrote, "There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party . . . and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit stupider, more rigid, more doctrinaire in their laissez-faire capitalism than the Democrats, who are cuter, prettier, a bit more corrupt – until recently . . . and more willing than the Republicans to make small adjustments when the poor, the black, the anti-imperialists get out of hand. But, essentially, there is no difference between the two parties." Sanders' political philosophy hearkens back to the Democratic Party of the New Deal. He's a social democratic along the lines of European-style social democracies. (He's not a socialist. Socialists believe in worker ownership and democratic control over the means of production.) Sanders opposes the rule of the wealthy and of large corporations, which is what exists now in America. That puts him at odds with the mouthpieces of Vidal's "Property Party".

Great change will not occur until you elect the unelectable

good comment but they are not wimps.. what has happened is more are becoming neoliberals wearing the Democrat brand.. they are in the money.

That's really funny, Paul Starr says Bernie is a flawed candidate because he believes he can do something. Bet he has a lot invested in the status quo to put forth contorted logic like that.

The Democrats have shown themselves to be hyprotical wimps. Sanders unlike Obama but more like FDR would be able to push through progressive legislation. The Dems just want someone that is all talk but in the end nothing more than a protector of the corporatocracy, the MIC. Wall Street & big Pharma.

It seems that "only the ignorant despise education"- a problem noticed in the old Roman empire as it began to degenerate.

Genuine ecological science is still not heard on the main stream media. An ecologist could make a good case for taking better care of the planet by exposing the continuing drop in Net Primary Productivity (NPP or photosynthetic biomass production at the primary level) in the earths ecosystems but who in the main stream media would listen. As the NPP drops, the production in all the higher levels must also drop. You can't make predators like tuna at the top of the food chain if the production at the base of the food chain is going to hell.

So the corporate solution is not to ease up on the earth but to gain direct control over the food production by farming fish etc.. However, it takes at least 5 pounds of ocean caught forage fish (like sardines) to make a pound of farmed fish. It takes a lot of carbon rich fuel to run the boats to catch the forage fish, but who cares, its providing jobs for corporate boats and is still making oil companies happy -for at least little while.

Since stocks of traditional food fish and crustaceans are dwindling some fisherman are trying to get ahead of the depletion game by harvesting jellyfish. If you told a fisherman he'd have to harvest jellyfish 25 years ago, he would have thrown you overboard. But as an example, shrimp fisherman in Georgia have switched over to jellyfish because they are so plentiful and there is a good market for them in China. At 7 cents a pound it takes a lot of jellys to make a profit but jellyfish love warm water and low oxygenation and can stand a lot more pollution than other species. One fishing operation in Georgia caught about 5 million pounds of jellys in one year and made $350,000.

Thus it seems that no one with the power really wants to help our broken ecosystems but would rather sit by and allow business to take advantage of catestrophic changes in our planets systems.

So with no real change or regulation on the horizon mass starvation looms closer.

Bon Appetit

Nor does Diabolical Debbie.

Bernie and Martin O'Malley should have their own debates, sponsored by the League of Women Voters or whoever,and boycott the DNC ones. Let Hillary talk to herself.
Course, DWS wants more debates now that Hillary's behind.

Good morning, or afternoon to you too, OU812. I'm still a big nuclear fan despite all the doom and gloom warnings. I think that all it's problems are caused by neglect, indifference and politics. The few remaining problems could be fixed to the benefit of all, if experts would just be given the time and money to sit down and figure things out. We're 90% there. Solving the waste problem would pave the road ahead for clear skies.