Daily Topics - Wednesday January 12th, 2011

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, "Rebooting the American Dream."
Hour One: Has Paul Krugman committed blood libel against Sarah Palin?
Hour Two: Could new legislation help prevent another Tucson tragedy? Attorney Robyn Thomas, Executive Director-Legal Community Against Violence will be here - www.lcav.org Plus, one woman's story of bravery and survival - Arizona businesswoman Patricia Maisch will be here
Hour Three: "Aflockalypse Now" - Why We Should Really Be Concerned About the Huge Bird and Fish Die-off - Tara Lohan, Sr. Editor with Alternet and editor of the new book "Water Matters" will be here- www.alternet.org
Comments


As with Dan Quayle, the right wingers were so relieved when they discovered that Sarah Palin could read a teleprompter and speak at the same time.

Sarah Palin's expressed belief that society cannot influence whether a person commits a crime perfectly meshes with the Republican denial of global warming. To them, there's no such thing as a collective effect arising from human action. In other words, two plus two equal two.
I live in Maricopa County, in Arizona and am an active Democrat. I have had guns brandished directly at me during ralies. My question is: where does the right to carry a exposed gun end and my right to not be intimidated, which the incidences I have experienced have no doubtly been.
The atmosphere here is extremely intimidating and oppressive.
Well Palin continues to be polarizing. What a maroon, what an ingnoramoose, she could have just quietly walked back her rhetoric and admitted that maybe she was over the top, but oh no no no, true to form she just had to double down and attack back with a wink wink nudge nudge. Its because she predictably heads off down the worst path like that, when doing the wise thing may just be stating your Mea Culpa, even in some small part, this is why she is not qualified to be president. Yeah she may be electable.. to some, but she is in no way competent, and her speech proves that without a doubt.
Again, thank you John McCain, in choosing this idiot as your running mate, you did more to elect Obama then if you had personally endorsed him yourself, but unfortunately you doomed the American people to have to endure this slack jawed dumb ass on the main political stage, instead of letting her be drummed out of politics as her corrupt positions would have naturally done.
N
Yeah Thom there are many shreds of decency in Sara, she shreds her decency all the time.
HA!
N

She has some very dangerous counselors.
I wonder just how many takes it took Palin to get that speech 'in the can'?
Hey it occurs to me that if the right is putting out cross hairs on maps and saying things like don't retreat, reload, that the media is liberal, the President isn't an American, Democrats are Nazi Socialist Commies, etc, etc... aren't those basically "Blood Libels". I mean haven't they been whipping up this BS for years now?
Please explain to us Sara, why your rhetoric is okey dokey by gosh, but left rhetoric is a "Blood Libel".
What a hypocrite.
HYPOCRITE, look that one up too Palin speech writers... you'll find it right next to your photos in the dictionary.
N
One would think that Palin would have a little different perspective these days...
http://skeptictank.tumblr.com/post/2701250935/kaleyoutloud-bam

Palin's speech writers are taking the Pee Wee Herman approach, "I know you are but what am I?"
The response to Sarah Palin's utube video is very simple and is stolen from Ronald Reagan. Simply say "There you go again".

Hi Thom ,
think security is the issue--when I traveled to Turkey noticed you had to pass though metal detector to enter a large shopping mall ,pretty much like airport security at the time 2 yrs. ago . .

Thom,
One of the other stations here in Tucson this morning is advertising the Crossroads of the West
Gun Show at the Pima County Fairground THIS weekend. The ad was placed at 10am news break
between the local conservative and the Neil Bortz program. And of course you've about the
rush to by Glocks

Caller Jeremy is right.

As I've mentioned, the right uses the gun card to whip up frenzy. They know that they have the police, Blackwater, Brinks (and other private cops), National Guard, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, the National Security apparatus, and a lot of paranoid volunteers to call on when you step up with your semi-automatic M15-A2 and 100 rounds of .223 ammo to "take back" your government (country, whatever). Hell, they'll even let you have a helmet, body armor, and camo uniform.
The last I checked, the Savory Navy wasn't allowed to have cannon over 4" bore according to a 1799 federal law.
For the "government can't make me buy something crowd," the Militia Act of 1792 is probably still in effect, although I haven't checked recently.
Sarah Palins "Whalin" makes her a FOOL and a FELON!

Joe, I think you mean " wailin' ". I've never heard of Sarah Palin hunting whales, though I wouldn't be surprised.
Gnostics & Nazis?!?!
I had to turn on my computer to give my two cents on the caller who conflated Gnostics with Nazis. As a Liberal, Progressive GNOSTIC, I have to say that by my definition, Gnostics are the complete antithesis of Nazis. No Gnostic ever persecuted anyone but plenty of Gnostics were persecuted as heretics. Consider the Albigensian Crusade, for example, when the Gnostic Cathars were slaughtered on orders of Catholic Pope Innocent III. (The little known Christian on Christian crusade.)
Just had to push back against the continuing, centuries old, sluring of people who call themselves Gnostics.

Some of us are falling into the language trap: equating a thing with a behaviour. A rifle somehow becomes an "assault" rifle. A telescopic sight becomes a "sniper" scope, and on and on.
The argument needs to be reframed. Attacking things because insane people may do horrendous things with them skips the real problem: our health "care" system has been seriously broken for generations, and the fact that sick people are not treated for their illnesses is proved over and over.
We have thousands upon thousands of weapons control laws in this country. Some estimate the total to be over 40,000. Bringing back the "assault" weapons ban that didn't work the first time is not going to help. Those laws don't work when they are not enforced, and enforcement is much harder than slapping a few more pages into the law books.
About the Unilateral Cross.
Just as the Nazis ruined the swastika, which used to be a symbol of peace, now I guess I have to give up wearing a unilateral cross in fear that people will think I'm a Fascist. To me, it's a symbol of balance as apposed to the traditional Christian cross with the longer bottom prong, which can be seen, as I do, as a symbol of culture out of balance to the side of Patriarchy.
Another reason why I won't wear a traditional Christian cross:
If your best friend were beheaded would you wear a guillotine around your neck?
I guess any kind of cross is out for me now.

Remember, the 2nd Amendment says nothing about a right to manufacture or sell arms.
Villainizing the Tea Party
I am a bit cautious when both the Democratic Party & the Republican Party villianize the Tea Party. Reminds me of what happened after Ross Perot... when a third party threatens the status quo.
Well I kinda think that Perot's run had a lot to do with Bush losing that election, so if your concerned about too many people being on the case of the Tea Party, it seems to me it still works towards the benefit of progressives.
Though the Tea Party has yet to attempt to be a third party, their puppet masters won't allow that to happen. Though I would love to see the Tea Party become another party... how wonderful it would be to have them as splitters.
N

I think the caller who suggested "The Green Tea Party" had a good idea.



If we are a "light to the rest of the world," why do so many people prefer to remain in the dark? Could it be that we don't know that our light might be someone else's darkness?