Monday November 16th 2009
By Louise
Hour One: Why are Conservatives hysterical here in the United States that President Obama performed a diplomatically correct bow to Japan's emperor? and What about the best Democracy lobbying can buy......
Hour Two: "The Audacity of Greed: Free Markets, Corporate Thieves and the Looting of America" Jonathan Tasini joins Thom to talk about his new book workinglife.org
Hour Three: "What's wrong with raising payroll taxes on the wealthy to pay for health care?" Thom has a rumble with JD Foster of the Heritage Foundation www.heritage.org
Comments
#2
Another Day in America
Friday there was a standoff at my house. All the police available along with 2 swat teams from the Minneapolis suburb in which my house is located (a rather nice one, though older) surrounded my house for almost 5 hours, hoping the Iraq vet that was renting a room and now threatening his own life would eventually come out without hurting himself or the neighbors. I sat on a side street in my car in the rain as we waited. Finally he came out with his hands up, was taken into custody (along with the arsenal of guns, knives and body armor no one knew he had.) He is due to be released today (Monday) and I will be there to meet him with the friendly suburban police to escort him away from the property when he comes back.
He's still angry; he doesn't understand that neighbors are now afraid (after being sneaked out of their houses by police.) His mother is coming sometime this week to gather him, his shattered leg, his weapons (which legally must be returned to him) and his other belongings to take him back with her to the family home in North Dakota. I will be waiting, with the police.
Jeremy is a vet who has lived with constant pain from his leg (acquired in a car accident stateside after he returned from his most recent tour --- his second --- in Iraq.) He was scheduled to attend weekend training this last weekend so he could deploy a THIRD time to Iraq this year.
This was on the news here in Minneapolis and now on YouTube. The "leads if it bleeds" element is there. It just doesn't convey the heartache, both for Jeremy and our neighbors. I have been crying for all of them (and us) for the last 3 days. It's not over...and there will be many more "Jeremys" before we finally end these wars.
Meantime, if you pray, please pray for us (Jeremy first.) Now we all have PTSD.
#3
P.S.
Jeremy doesn't understand the magnitude of the situation because he was drunk and passed out through a good part of it.
#4
Yahm (spelling?)
Father Ray gave a great homily or sermon on Saturday, November 14, 2009.
He discussed the word, Yahm. It is a Hebrew word that means day, a period of time, or a great period of time.
In the Bible the Good Book says that God created the world in six days and He rested on the seventh day. The fascist-Nazi fundamentalists take the Bible literally. For God one Yahm may be ten trillion years and six Yahms may be the equivalent of sixty trillion years. God may have created the world in sixty trillion years and not six days as the Bible says. God’s time schedule is different from our time schedule. He is a very patient God.
The Catholic Church says that the Bible must not be taken literally. That is one reason why the Church accepts evolution as a possible evolving of our world and of the human species. But, the psychos and the sociopaths stick with the literal interpretation of the Bible.
The apocalyptic writings in the Bible attempts to inform us of what may await a person. God does not want to surprise us at our last judgment. He loves us and He wants us to prepare for the last judgment.
The fascist-Nazi psychos and sociopaths use the literal interpretation of the Bible as wedge issues in order to be elected. Please never forget that we have lunatics running our asylums in government.
Father Ray also talked about predictions for the end of the world. Nostradamus and the Mayan culture predict 2010 as the end of the world. Chinese culture predicts 2013 as the end of the world. Gordon Thomas in his book, “Seeds of Fire,” predicts that a nuclear holocaust will occur in 2015 between fascist-Nazi America and China. Maybe that is why we are embedded with China in SUPERFUSION. As China gains in economic power, she can swallow up fascist-Nazi America like a bug.
There are also apocalyptic writings about hell. I envision three hells. A definite hell is the loss of the beatific vision of God for all eternity. Another hell is fire and brimstone. The third hell is to relive each second in hell as we lived the eight years of hell under the Hitler Bush and Hitler Cheney cabal.
We must be prepared for our destiny before God. A good preparation for all of us is to have lived our lives by the Golden Rule.
#5
Here is another great article from one of my favorite writers.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Myths-of-Our-Time-by-Paul-Craig-Roberts...
#6
I gave each of our sons this letter for Christmas in 2007. It was the greatest gift that I have ever given them. Since I want the best for all of you, here is my early Christmas gift for you in 2009. Please take the time to experience how much I love you by wanting and wishing you the best in your life.
http://www.populistamerica.com/a_letter_to_my_son_regarding_the_problem_...
#7
one of the most stupid things ever said in the history of mankind is milton friedman saying greed is good.
#8
@Mark -
2 points regarding your openinfg volley today -
"If some people prefer to be told what to think (and I’m sure this does not describe anyone on this page) ... "
C'mon, Mark - it's not like we don't have our share of ideologists here. In fact, I just saw have 3 consecutive posts by one of 'em. ;)
"Because they think, according to Gottlieb, that “ gun bans that leave them defenseless against merciless thugs.” And who are “them?” White people, perhaps? And are the “thugs” merely a euphamism for minorites?"
Actually, Mark, many of the "gun nuts" I know are just as (possibly even more) afraid of the police and other forces of the state as they are of thugs and minorities.
#9
@Gerald Socha -
The two articles you posted were good, well thought out statements that state the case for peace in a cogent manner. I found them interesting and touching.
I must also state that I find the bulk of your posts, which NEVER fail to employ the phrase "fascist-Nazi America" peurile and annoying.
Perhaps you've heard of one of my favorite political philosophers - a guy named Lennon (yes, that IS the correct spelling ... the British guy, NOT the Russian) -
"But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao,
You ain't gonna make it with anyone, anyhow."
Tone it down a bit, guy - remember, honey attracts more flies than vineger.
#10
MSNBC did a story on this EBay for billionaires this morning. You have to have 2 billion in liquid assets to join.
#11
i think alot of people seen George w. make it to president felt you can be an idiot and succeed
#12
As long as we're temporarily waiving political correctness ...
C'mon Thom - it wouldn't be the Chicago Jewboys! It would be the New York Jewboys!
Chicago would have to settle for the Polaks. :D
#13
Re: the Stupac Amendment -
Wow! I think they got out ahead of us on this one, folks. I didn't even know that there was a political action committee for the stupid - although I don't know why I should be surprised.
:D
#14
hearitage foundation needs to diapear from the face of the earth . it is an unamerican think tank. neo conservative tool of corporate america.
#15
I'd always thought that the Heritage Foundation's original mission was to publish "research", "proving" that tobacco products were NOT unhealthy.
#16
Republicans as Bathists
I heard over the weekend that there had been a bombing in Iraq and that 'Bathists' had claimed responsibility.
Not the same thing of course but when I hear your republicans so full of themselves and how they are going to kill any form of health care reform, I can't help thinking that they are much the same.
They seem to believe that they should still be in power and that pesky election didn't mean anything. They and the public as a whole need to be reminded often that their party is down to 20 %.
When you hear that 50% of republicans are for or against something, remember that means only ten percent of Americans.
They have fun using the term 'Democrat party', maybe they should be either the Republic party' or just the American Bathist Party. They are like a lizard's tail left twitching on the ground; you shouldn't pay any attention to it if you are after that big meal.
I love that Eisenhower quote; ( http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/ike.asp ) "Their number is negligible and they are stupid."
Happily covered with single payer health care in Canada.
Rick in Canadia
Palin-Prejean 2012!! Single 'prayer' health care.
#17
RE today's caller with a theory about the growth of feminism: Seemed interesting but I did NOT like her use of the word "surplus". An excess of women? Would that sort of idea be used to justify the drowning of baby girls, or the modern version of that -- unltrasounding for the sex in utero and then aborting females? Or would this idea of a "surplus" be used to rationalize increasing other heinous treatment of females that occurs on this planet at the hands of exploiters and misogynists? Creepy. Besides, what's wrong with women, whether half or more of population or only a fraction of it, wanting equal rights with men and fair treatment from governments and society?
If the caller had continued, would she have pointed out that only when women are not serving men as wives do the have the luxury of free time to pursue political realization of personal goals?
#18
mstaggerlee, thank you for your post!
Here is a more explicit case for why we are a fascist-Nazi nation. Yes, we are an evil, vile and wicked country.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Army-Sends-Infant-to-Prote-by-Dahr-Jama...
We are truly a transparent country on how pure evil we are.
#19
The UNITED STATES OF EVIL is my best description of how inhumane we are as a nation and in our incessant craving for human blood. We are a certifiably crazy nation.
#20
We must believe that Alexis Hutchinson, a soldier in Afghanistan, can alter the destination of our failed wars to bring victory in the Middle East. Alexis Hutchinson must truly be a miracle worker. She is our one person army, a new Rambo for our times.
#21
If the death and maiming of human beings wasn't so serious, our fascist-Nazi nation's actions would remind me of the keystone cops' comedy act.
#22
mstaggerlee, I believe that you are sincere in your comments. Please try to understand how I feel by saying we are a fascist-Nazi nation. mstaggerlee, that phrase warms the cockles of my heart. I receive an extraordinary high by saying, we are a fascist-Nazi nation. You will probably never really understand me. The phrase is my daily warm fuzzy.
Thom's Blog Is On the Move
By webmaster
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.
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It was noted in a story last week concerning the exit of Lou Dobbs from CNN--apparently brought on by tension between Dobbs and management over his inability to maintain some semblance of intellectual integrity--that CNN has attempted to position itself as a source of “hard news,” as opposed to the opinion heavy Fox “News” and MSNBC. I’m not sure they have been particularly dedicated to this process, given the cheap tabloid nature of much of what it considers news. But regardless of its intent, CNN continues to lose audience share to its competitors. What does this mean? That people are becoming less attentive to the details of public policy? That they’d rather have someone tell them what to think, whether it is from the right or the left?
If some people prefer to be told what to think (and I’m sure this does not describe anyone on this page), this can be expected to have the predictable result of the dissemination of falsity as fact. This past week’s issue of the Seattle Weekly featured a story on Alan Gottlieb, that bow-tied gun-nut operating an organization called the Second Amendment Foundation out of an office in Republican Bellevue. Gottlieb’s attacks on Barack Obama’s alleged efforts to take people’s guns away border on the psychotic, if only because these attacks have no basis in discernable fact. Obama has in fact been careful not to “upset” gun owners by proposing anything that would, but that has not stopped 55 percent of the public being convinced by all the propaganda that he will.
We have to be honest about this. People like Gottlieb and other gun rights advocates have become, if anything, more fanatical and paranoid than ever. Why? Because they think, according to Gottlieb, that “ gun bans that leave them defenseless against merciless thugs." And who are “them?” White people, perhaps? And are the "thugs" merely a euphamism for minorites? I know Thom is reluctant to apply racism to much of the right-wing criticism of Obama (especially from tea-baggers), but it is becoming increasingly more difficult to escape that conclusion.
According to the Weekly article, Gottlieb admits to basing his anti-Obama campaign on three basic premises: playing on the “fear, hate and revenge” of the paranoid and bigoted. And someone must be designated as a "bogeyman" to focus this hatred and fear on, and Obama fits the bill "perfectly" as a black man. Gottlieb also confesses that hatred and fear are good fund-raising tools, which explains why this ex-felon is a multi-millionaire.
What can be done to reverse this trend toward lies passing as truth? Not much, so long as the undercurrent of racism, and the idea that government “favors” minorities over whites, motivates (spoken or unspoken) them. To deny it merely ensures that it continues.