Daily Topics - Wednesday July 14th, 2010
By shawnt56
Quote of the Day: The fifth revolution will come when we have spent the stores of coal and oil that have been accumulating in the earth during hundreds of millions of years. . . . It is to be hoped that before then other sources of energy will have been developed. . . . Whether a convenient substitute for the present fuels is found or not, there can be no doubt that there will have to be a great change in ways of life. This change may justly be called a revolution, but it differs from all the preceding ones in that there is no likelihood of its leadings to increases of population, but even perhaps to the reverse. -- Charles Galton Darwin
Hour One: What the hell is going on in the Gulf? Master Mariner Captain Kelly Sweeney will be here www.maritimeheadhunters.com; Plus, President of the Louisiana Shrimp Association, Clint Guidry, tells Thom what it's like on the front lines of hell www.louisianashrimp.org
Hour Two: How do we take America back from HP other trans-national monopolies? U.S. Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) will be here www.defazio.house.gov
Hour Three: Why do conservatives want you to die? Thom has a rumble with Robert Moffit, Ph.D of The Heritage Foundation www.heritage.org
Crawfisher Drew Landry Uses Folk Song To Urge Oil Spill Commission To 'Do The Right Damn Thing'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52am1DN_svA&feature=player_embedded
Comments
#2
Just noticed that Thom's gonna have a guy from the Heritage Foundation on today (I, of course, will hear it tomorrow). Apropos of the question Thom uses above to lead into his debate with this crumb, I'll simply remind you all what the foundation's original mission was.
Back in the late '50's , Heritage was formed with the single purpose of gathering evidence to support the claim that cigarette smoking posed no significant health risk.
Given these lofty origins, why on Earth should anyone beleive anything these jerkwads have to say?
#3
I find it implausible to put my full support behind the Democratic party, if for no other reason than they seem to need 60+ votes to follow through on their platform promises, yet the Republicans can push through whatever they want with 51. If the Democratic party had 70 votes in the Senate, I have complete faith in their ability to come up with reasoning (pathetic as it may be), as to why that's not enough for them. Its a farce, and I can't put my full support behind such a party. Yes, I'll vote for a Democratic Senator over a Republican't, and for a Democratic President over a Republican't. I'll vote for them, but in the mean time I'm working for my favorite alternative party, in the mean time I looking at change the local politics to the best of my ability to my progressive point of view. The duality of the present Democratic party is nothing short of hypocrisy, and I just can't wholeheartedly support it.
What's the point of having a big tent if you're even proactively letting in termites that are eating away at the tent poles and moths that are consuming the textile? Soon the tent will collapse on itself, even with such insignificant members working towards their own self interests.
N
#4
Some Americans are only stock holders because they have little choice, its either a 401K or nothing as retirement plans go now-a-days.
N
#6
I think the majority of the Tea Party members are nothing more than a grass roots racist movement. Sure there are some that really believe in the stated goals of their movement, but it seems that the true heart of that movement want nothing more than to get "That One!" (McSane) out of the White House.
But yes, there is definitely an undercurrent of Americans that are fed up with the Status Quo. Getting to them, earning their trust is so hard because the right wing sound machine has made it their main mission to make the average American distrust the media and all movements.
Its an uphill battle, (Olympus Mons size hill) and we're so at sea level, we're struggling hard to keep our head above water. However, what are you going to do, give up and sink? I'm making me first goal to get to the shoreline, once there... well let me get there, and then I worry about my Sisyphean task.
N
#7
I think most tea partiers are just scared for the future and don't know who to blame 'cause of the corporate owned media. the main stream media prefers us to be good consumers rather than a well informed public. Yes, there are some racists in the tea partiers. Most are being mis led to misdirect their anger at the true culprits.
#8
re: #7 "who" is the correct word in this instance isn't it? as opposed to "whom"?
#9
I think the core Tea Partiers were far from being racist, but as Fox and the Oligarchy promoted the grass roots party, and heavily leaned on the anti-Obama slant, more and more racists came a-running. The signs they carry are just too racist for me to believe that the majority of the movement isn't OK with that type of message. Good lord you don't dress up Obama as a witch-doctor or Hitler if you're not playing the race card.
#10
I think many people shied away from tea parties after seeing some of those signs.
#11
@harry, yep, leaving what behind them.....
racists
N
#12
I'm not even convinced that the Tea Party movement is all that big, never has been, its just a PR con job. Every time a small group would show up, TV camera's were there waiting for them. Any time a progressive demostration is out and about, well unless you know about it from active involvement in progressive media, you never hear about it, it never happened, the numbers are deflated, if there were a 1000 there, maybe a blurb about 400 people might be mentioned somewhere in the Corporate media, and that's only done so the can comment on the small group of crazies.
Well I'm not stating anything Thom listeners don't already know. Just feel like I'm living in some sort of Alice in Wonderland story at times, where nonsense is the rule.
N
#13
Yep, there will be a lot of people who pay the fine instead of buying health insurance. However, they weren't buying health insurance in the first place and are now paying something to help the government offset the cost.
Heritage Foundation solution, get a job, get health care, or f off and die!!! Doesn't matter that more and more companies aren't offering health care, and fewer and fewer people can find a job.
N
#14
Thom and Moffit agree that the Health Care plan is an imperfect plan, however, Thom seems to feel that something is better than nothing, and Moffit seems to feel that nothing is best of all. Very different points of view, their lines of thinking make one intersection, which is bound to happen when points of view aren't parallel. How Geometrical.
N
#15
When I lived in Callifornia, I was given a state tax deduction for taxes I paid through my landlord.
#16
I disagree with Amir, the human race isn't the superior race on this planet. I know better, I have cats at home that I serve, quite obviously they are the Superior Race on the planet. ;-)
N
#17
the roach will be here long after the rest of us are gone...just like Karl Rove.
#18
Been calling it "Trickle On" economics for years, but would like to make one change to your meme.
Trickle On economics creates "peed ons".
#19
Ernestine (Lily Tomlin) on YT:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrRQQ2dObkA
Check related video list for more!
#20
AWESOME, I now have a new book to read to my furry 4-legged masters!!!
N
#21
Global control of meat production has just gotten more consolidated. JBS S.A. (The world's largest meat produder) has acquired Smithfield Food's Beef production arm further consolidating the choices of beef in the world. Smithfield was happy to get rid of that arm because they cannot make as much money on the beef as they can chicken and pork. Here is a quote from Smithfield's CEO from the Smithfield website ( "We are pleased that Smithfield Foods is able to benefit our shareholders through this transaction by using the ultimate net proceeds of approximately $750 million to reduce leverage and invest capital in higher return businesses," said C. Larry Pope, president and chief executive officer."
Watch out pork and poultry producers of america, we are basically going to have one company owning the means of production to the "commercially" available pork and poultry. We need anti-trust lawsuits and have to break up this market. We bitch about health care, but Corporate Agribusiness takes the cake as far as the worst possible industries ever.
All I can say is buy-local and shift the balance in your area, but WE as a small subset who only purchase local sustainable meat is not large enough to tip the balance...we need governmental break ups of these companies and the business in general.
#22
Maxrot wins a book over a cat joke? I'm licking my hot spots now.
#23
now i got a hairball....
#24
@harry, who said I was joking, what other creature on this planet can live for free in shelters humans build, be fed routinely and not even bother to give anything back unless they feel like it, not only that, but they're so convinced of their own superiority, they clean themselves to make sure the job is done right.
By the way, congrats on being able to lick you're hot spots, not everyone is lucky (or determined) enough to be so flexible. ;-P
N
#25
Dear Maxrot: you wrote: " what other creature on this planet can live for free in shelters humans build, be fed routinely and not even bother to give anything back unless they feel like it, not only that, but they're so convinced of their own superiority, they clean themselves to make sure the job is done right."
-teenagers?
#26
@harry, yeah except for the "clean themselves to make sure the job is done right" part. Some of them you gotta hose down monthly.
N
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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Thom & Louise at a "private audience" with His Holiness Pope John Paul II at his summer palace, Castle Gandolfo, Italy
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Irony? ... or just business as usual?
On my way into work, I drive by a Bank of America branch. This morning, as I drove through moderately heavy rainfall, I noted that the B of A branch had their lawn sprinklers on. Now it's been a pretty dry summer here in the Northeast so far, and most communities have some sort of water restrictions in place. Generally, the first thing any community requests of its citizens during a water shortage situation is that they refrain from watering their lawns.
Apparently, though, just as the Big Banksters seem to feel that the laws of the nation (not to mention those of common sense) do not apply to them, the little banksters feel pretty much the same way. Why should we live under YOUR rules, when WE are really in control of the purse strings.
Discuss amongst yourselves, maybe I'll check in later. :-)