Daily Topics - Tuesday July 5th, 2011
By shawnt56
Get the new IPhone App for Thom Hartmann
Hour One: America & Europe both drank the free trade kool-aid now both are dying because of it...
Hour Two: Why do conservatives hate poor people? Peter Ferrara, The American Civil Rights Union
Hour Three: "John Dean Knows How to Get Rid of Clarence Thomas" - John Dean
Comments
#2
Trade policy, social infrastructure and defense. We need to change our focus on all three, simple as that.
Cut defense spending (end our wars and occupations)
Invest in our infrastructure, and no ten year projects. We need major programs that we start now and when they are being finished up, other projects are waiting in the wings to be started on. From transportation and alternative power, to re-engineering city layouts to be more economically practical and environmentally sustainable. We should have a federal dept of infrastructure that is dedicated to directing improvements and determining priorities. Peterr Ferrara's thought of changing unemployment offices into work assignment offices is a practical way of providing the work force, but I disagree with the work being set a minimum wage levels, the pay should be at least equivalent to the same private sector wage for the given position. By Ferrara's setup, an out of work Engineer would be paid minimum wage if assigned a position working as an Engineer on a transportation project, so I just have to disagree with that part of his proposal.
End free trade agreements now, and raise tarrifs.
This is all that needs to be done, but I'm not holding my breath.
N
#3
An argument frequently used by the Libertarians is that good government is hard. They think that by doing away with government programs that the problem dissappears. This is nonsense. If we ditch Medicaid we don't magically get rid of all of the disease and suffering. If we stop all regulation and rely on market forces, then each and every one of us take up the burden of policing corporations ourselves, which is an impossible task.
Democracy is the worst kind of government except for all of the others. Regulation and government programs are the same. They are messy, require constant adjustment and can lead to corruption and unfairness. But every other solution is worse.
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
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 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:
"No one communicates more thoughtfully or effectively on the radio airwaves than Thom Hartmann. He gets inside the arguments and helps people to think them through—to understand how to respond when they’re talking about public issues with coworkers, neighbors, and friends. This book explores some of the key perspectives behind his approach, teaching us not just how to find the facts, but to talk about what they mean in a way that people will hear."
I have never met Peter Ferrara. Peter Ferrara may be a loving husband who is kind to children and puppies. That being typed, Peter Ferrara’s public persona displays all the earmarks of purely sociopath thought when he appears on Thom’s show.