Daily Topics - Monday December 20th, 2010
By shawnt56
Truthout is proud to bring you an exclusive series from America's No. 1 progressive radio host, Thom Hartmann. We'll be publishing weekly installments of Hartmann's acclaimed new book, "Rebooting the American Dream: 11 Ways to Rebuild Our Country." We invite Truthout readers to join us as, chapter by chapter, we explore these groundbreaking ideas for national transformation.
Quote of the Day: A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)
Hour One: Has our desire for a bigger and better nest crushed the American Dream?
Hour Two: Should polygamy be legal or is it harmful to women and girls? Thom confronts Mark Henkel, National Polygamy Advocate www.truthbearer.org
Hour Three: Remember 9/11? How about starting with the first responders? Thom speaks with first responder operating engineer John Devlin, who became ill working at the WTC site (member IUOE, Local 15) www.iuoe.org; Plus, you won't believe who pushed the GOP to kill the bill to provide health care to our nation's first responders - Thom talks with Lee Fang, Reporter/Blogger for Think Progress.org - www.thinkprogress.org
Comments
#2
Consume, consume, consume... its the corporate mission statement. If you're not a gluten someone else is going to swallow your share, don't stop to think, just take take take.
Its sad, but true. You know Thom when you watch those old movies, you should also listen for what the off hand conversations of saving vs consumerism is, bet you might find more talk about saving then buying the latest greatest. I bet you could even pinpoint the change in dialog matching the rise of home television sets and the need to sell sell sell.
N
#3
In all fairness, why is polygamy always talked about in terms of one man and multiple women? If this fellow was completely honest with his point of view, he wouldn't be talking about women being smart enough to make their own decisions, no he would be talking about adults being smart enough to make their own decision. Of course I doubt he can wrap his head around the concept of one women having multiple husbands. Though somehow that makes more sense, because then one women would have more potential sources of income to raise her children from a genetically diverse pool.
Though it seems to be quite out of the social norm, no matter how you look at it. However, there are lots of arguments that probably make one's head spin on both sides.
N
#4
I don't want the Government to pick winners or losers, but I do want them to make, maintain and keep the playing field level. I want the Government to protect Unions as well as they protect corporations. Its not even picking winners or losers, its running a strong and stable country... is that so much to ask?
N
#5
I would like to mention it is not the government. It is government; also, known as we the people. I want "we the people" picking winners and losers. The real debate is who owns government.
#6
Tom,
Can you get Chris Hedges on to talk about his book "Death of the Liberal Class"?
I just started reading the book & highly recommend it.
It's not class envy, but an all out war by the Corporations against the lower classes, & there is no longer a Democratic party representing the common people.
#7
The fact that our 9/11 first responders are still fighting more than 9 years later truly says something about us as a nation. I really shows the decay that is eating away at our country from the inside. 9 years ago we stood side by side in lines for hours to donate blood and money, but today most of us can't even be bothered to take a moment or two to write a letter or an email to our Senators or Representatives in support of these men and women who were there to help us in our time of need. It's our turn to help them in their time of need; please contact your officials and let's see this through together.
#8
After listening to Lee Fang I know why my rectum is shattered. Americans must pay taxes but foreign companies and investors do not have to pay taxes. We not only have our jobs outsourced but we also have our monies outsourced with no foreigner paying any taxes on the money made in the United States of Mortal Sin. When will the BOHICA DAYS ever end for me???
#9
I JUST tried to call the program-I knew it was the end of the show, but I desperately wanted to get a message to shawn. The "call screener", was nothing short of rude.
Listen, I was a First Responder to GZ0-although I went in with a rescue/recovery team on Thursday, Sept. 13th. I was EXTREMELY upset by the phone call by John Devlin-or, more accurately, by what is going on in the Senate. After I calmed down, I called the Fire House I worked with on Long Island back then. It had been about a year since I called the guys, (I was the only woman at the time), to "catch up"-especially since our 2 main teams, 2 Ladder Trucks, had been on scene for 2-3 days at a time, off and on for a month. Since I was on a Medical Team, we were only there for one ten hour shift on the 13th. As John stated on his call, that first week was mayhem as far as disorganization-no one really knew exactly WHO was in charge, and because of all the volunteers coming from all over the Country, there wasn't exactly a "schedule" or anything set up. We basically staged and "lived" at Shea Stadium for 6 days, not knowing when, or if, we would be called in to the scene. I am "blessed" that 1. Compared to others, me & my team spent just a short time on scene exposed to the toxins that were EVERYWHERE, (ashes & debris were up to my knees in places), and 2. We brought & wore our own masks-most people there had no masks, even 3 days after the disaster, and most, like us, wore just the paper masks.
Anyways, all I wanted when I called was to tell Shawn I would write her an email & let her know some of the things the guys told me today. I think my email has been blocked as I tried to send her something & it was returned. The "call screener" , when I asked to pass a message on to Shawn, "she was in the Portland office". When I asked if I tried to send an email to thproducer@thomhartmann.com would get to her or someone that would read it, he said "I don't have that information". When I asked if there was ANY email, ANY phone number I could call to GET information-he said the same thing & hung up on me.
ALL I wanted was to tell someone, to let Thom know, what I was told by the guys at the FD because I think it's important. I want to do some checking myself to try & figure out where the heck their information was coming from-because it also upset me, and then pass on to Shawn/Thom what I found out. I'd call in tomorrow, but I won't be home-in fact, I won't be here for the rest of the week.
If Shawn or someone gets this-you can reach me at the SoloPocono at gmail address.
elaine
#10
@SoloPocono, if nothing else writing your message on the Daily Blog here gives you a pretty good chance that Thom will read it, he often goes over the message board (or so he says, which I tend to believe). Anyway during the slow weeks before years end, he shouldn't have too hard a time looking over the boards. Try posting your message to him again tomorrow and the next day if you don't hear back from him... though I'd personally would leave out the comments on the call screeners, not that it matters much, but he may just pass over comments that seem to be more of an axe to grind with his personnel. Good luck in your endevors, I'm sure Thom would like to get the additional info.
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.
Images of Thom
Mueller's favorite place to pray (written about in "Prophet's Way"), and the roof of the room where the Last Supper is reputed to have happened.
Thom & Louise at a "private audience" with His Holiness Pope John Paul II at his summer palace, Castle Gandolfo, Italy
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"In an age rife with media-inspired confusion and political cowardice, we yearn for a decent, caring, deeply human soul whose grasp of the problems confronting us provides a light by which we can make our way through the quagmire of lies, distortions, pandering, and hollow self-puffery that strips the American Dream of its promise. How lucky we are, then, to have access to the wit, wisdom, and willingness of Thom Hartmann, who shares with us here that very light, grown out of his own life experience."
From Cracking the Code:
"In Cracking the Code, Thom Hartmann, America’s most popular, informed, and articulate progressive talk show host and political analyst, tells us what makes humans vulnerable to unscrupulous propagandists and what we can do about it. It is essential reading for all Americans who are fed up with right-wing extremists manipulating our minds and politics to promote agendas contrary to our core values and interests."
From Unequal Protection, 2nd Edition:
"If you wonder why and when giant corporations got the power to reign supreme over us, here’s the story."
Your friend, Tom Friedman of the NYTimes, had some new magic bullets to cure our (USA) ills and bring us back to the future world that China has transformed into. He was interviewed on NPR about his new book. His solutions include cutting back on Social Security and having US workers produce 10 times the number of goods per unit time than the Chinese are producing now. He is an amazingly simple minded person. He speaks "Grandiosese" language with no detailed solutions. I distinctly had the impression that worker slavery might suit his needs adequately.