Daily Topics - Thursday June 14th, 2012
By shawnt56
Catch The Thom Hartmann Program LIVE at our new time, 3-6pm Eastern!
Hour One: What kind of couples counseling do Obama and Progressives need?
Hour Two: Should unborn babies be tested for 3500 genetic faults? Mark Williams / Plus, Geeky Science - diet sodas may confuse the brain's calorie counters
Hour Three: Get your questions on the economy ready for Dr. Ravi Batri
Comments
#2
neither can I
#3
Hey Thom,
How do you feel about the Green Party as an alternative to the Republicratic party?
Why not a Green Party president instead of Obama? Or would you say that it's better that the Green Party take lower offices first?
#4
It's almost sad to hear Thom talking to the presidents campaign director in the classic old democratic tone of "well, we may not be liberal as you want, but we're not the jerks that the republicans are".
Is that your best argument? For over 30 years the republican party has pulled the democrats over to the right. So much so that a sitting democrat is not only ordering the assassination of american citizens (and other innocents) but now permitting the drone based surveillance of potentially every american.
When the fourth amendment falls, they will all fall. It is the lynchpin of the bill of rights.
Here is what liberals need to do. When the president steps out to make his acceptance speech in Charlotte, he should look out abd see a half full stadium. We need to show him that we are willing to endure a Romney presidency in order to pull him back over to the left. This nation cannot afford 4 more years of a wishy-washy center-right democrat. What's the difference between a little fascism and alot of fascism? Barack Obama will only be liberal if we hold him and the democratic party hostage. It's our duty as americans to so.
#5
Re "couples counseling". I'm in the camp of callers who probably will vote for Obama but with such strong reservations that I'd prefer a write in as part of a grass roots "protest vote". For instance, I've wondered if writing in "Occupy" might not send a meaningful message (but it would only be effective, if at all, if it were nation wide.)
After much study, observation, and analysis - I'm afraid I can only conclude that Obama is "a corporatist". He may be less ruthless than other corporatists on some counts, but I wonder if his "empathy" for ordinary folks isn't more intellectual than real. I'm not sure he'd recognize the distinction - might easily believe he truly "gets it" on what's happening to American people. And I think "at heart" he *means* for it be real. But I wonder ... something simply doesn't seem to compute.
Obama is, afterall, a product of the late 20thC, when the corporate decision-making model was used everywhere - in government, in school districts, etc. Effeciency - "rationalizing and downsizing for efficiency's sake" - were the order of the day. Even "personal achievement wisdom" promoted careerism, emphasized ways to increase personal wealth as evidence of "success". It seems maybe Obama's experience has shown him this approach works. Even drones and other global power-plays seem in line with what I am calling "corporatism" as a *style*, a *system*, of operation.
Sometimes it seems Obama "sides" with mega-corporate interests because in some way he deeply admires their success as per widely accepted and promoted attitudes and beliefs of the late 20thC. It's increasingly difficult to believe he's "only doing what he has to do to get a bit of valuable work done." Amy Goodman's interveiw today re the Trans-Pacific Partner's trade agreement seems yet another compelling "hint" that Obama is at heart a corporatist.
... just sharing ... Thanks.
#6
I'm troubled at the concept of an economic fix that depends on increased spending. One of the giant issues of the day is earth degradation related to high-consumption lifestyles. This does not mean we never replace old products with new, but it means we've got to shift to maximum "renew, reuse, and repair" for the sake of earth-care.
I like Dr. Batri's interest rate proposal - it can only help and should be step #1 re "usury regulation".
But I fully agree also with the caller who questions length of work week. Automation has replaced many jobs and will replace more. People can develop other talents and interests, and spend more time in family/community activities with reduced work hours. More people can participate in the economy with reduced (shared) work hours. Some earth-care practices such as dismantling buildings to re-use materials, can best be done by hand - more employment, and this time "labor" should be viewed as a major contribution, with good pay instead of subject to our current disdain for "laboring" tasks! IMO, we must definitely look at how we allocate work opportunities and type of work!
#7
Thom, your first hour yesterday comparing the political dialogue to the evolution of a couples relationship was thought provoking. I'd say that it had some merits as far as it goes. But in politics, and indeed, in a couples relationship, whether through miscommunication or misaligned values, the only honorable thing left is divorce. And I've done both. On a personal level, when you find a partner values you only because of your function and not because of what is unique to you, divorce is the only honorable thing to do. On the political front, several issues, in my mind make compromise with the republicans/conservatives impossible. After I read Corey Robin's book "The Reactionary Mind", I realized that hierarchy is at the core of the conservative mind set. It is the basis of racism, or Darwinian economics. It is how they view the world because they have no other yardstick with which to measure the success/failure of their lives. This viewpoint is incompatible with equality and democracy and is fundamentally, I believe, a sociopath view of life. Secondly, not believing the science of climate change renders, over time, their political arguments null and void. This is why I believe that divorce is the only honorable position to take with the republicans. I think you mentions Louise wants two countries; I'm with her. No amount of argument/persuasion are going to change conservative thought on these issues. Only the passage of time will. Sometimes its just best to "cut bait".
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
Thom & Louise at a "private audience" with His Holiness Pope John Paul II at his summer palace, Castle Gandolfo, Italy
With His Holiness The Dalai Lama, at His home in Dharamsala, India (Synthesis Dialogues - made into a movie narrated by Harrison Ford)
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Thom Hartmann channels the best of the American Founders with voice and pen. His deep attachment to a democratic civil society is just the medicine America needs."
From Screwed:
"I think many of us recognize that for all but the wealthiest, life in America is getting increasingly hard. Screwed explores why, showing how this is no accidental process, but rather the product of conscious political choices, choices we can change with enough courage and commitment. Like all of Thom’s great work, it helps show us the way forward."
From Unequal Protection, 2nd Edition:
"Beneath the success and rise of American enterprise is an untold history that is antithetical to every value Americans hold dear. This is a seminal work, a godsend really, a clear message to every citizen about the need to reform our country, laws, and companies."
hi. can't get chat room to work today, yet