sandlewould -- I think if you got $ out of politics it would eliminate the false equivalencies they push to pretend we have a "horse race". TV gets so much money from the $ in politics, it is hard to predict what would happen.

If we can get the FCC back, we might be able to get significant changes even with all the $ in politics.

You guys are right get the money out of politics. Harry Reid is worth somewhere between 5 and 10 million dollars and he has pretty much always worked for the government.

Does anybody but me think it is ironic that the ship that is stuck in the Artic ice is there to prove global warming is happening.

All the points made by Thom Hartmann will impact real Americans––individuals and families. Those who pretend things are getting better are acting rather disingenuous. But the solutions suggested, while definitely necessary emergency measures, if thought of as a panacea will continue to displace personal responsibility with collective dependency on the "State." Michael Greaney, my colleague at the Center for Economic and Social Justice (www.cesj.org) raised question today, which appropriately raises the issue of self-sufficiency or dependency.

"Does everyone have the right to an adequate income, as well as every other material need? Or do they have the right to obtain an adequate income and meet other material needs? A lot of people see no difference between the two questions, but there is all the difference in the world. If we answer "yes" to the former, we condemn humanity to a condition of permanent dependency on the State, which is the only agency that can redistribute wealth with any degree of legitimacy. If we answer "yes" to the latter, we force people to grow up and become more fully human.

"It all depends on what you mean by "respect for human dignity."

In my latest published article, I address a solution to the issues raised, stressing the critical necessity to expand individual citizen, not to just workers at corporations and companies, but to EVERY man, woman and child as the American way to secure the long-term productive capacity of the United States economy.

The real task is to change the culture, from one of wanting or lacking personal responsibility and dependency on the “State,” into one where our human nature can be sustained and advanced through a private property ownership mentality, pursuing individual virtue. We need to transform the present credo, as advocated by progressive political leaders and others from one of servitude and dependency to one of personal responsibility and sustainability by means of broadening wealth creating, income-producing private property ownership by EVERY citizen of the productive capital (non-human) means of production. Private property ownership is the cornerstone of American liberty. Without it our free enterprise system, our free markets, and our republican form of self-government cannot endure. Nor can we prosper without the equal opportunity to acquire capital ownership financed by its own earnings. We need to pursue policies that will strengthen the economic position of the individual, the family, and the local community with decreasing reliance on government welfare support financed by tax extraction and national debt.

See "Perpetual Unemployment And Underemployment" at http://www.nationofchange.org/perpetual-unemployment-and-underemployment....

It really stinks that we have such a problem with unemployment.

Do we have too many people who are looking for jobs, or, not enough people creating jobs?

What really erks me is when I saw that John A-hole Boehner say on national TV that the Repugs won't extend unemployment and that the president needs to do something to create more jobs. What a crock! The president has presented more than one jobs bill and the creeps on the right keep fillibustering every jobs bill the president has offered. If that idiot John Beohner wants more American jobs, why has he been on the side of the job outsourcers for so long? Proposterous, insencere hogwash! I would suggest to Boehner that he needs to ship our jobs back to the U.S. or shut the hell up. Stinking lying creep that he is. These right wing Neo-cons need to be horse whipped for being such lying criminals.

DAnne the ship went up there to do research on how the Acritic ice is disappearing. Like Al Gore showed in his movie. The fact is that it is not. The ice there changes season to season as it has done so for thousands of years. Just ask the Eskimos. I am starting to believe global warming is just a way for environmentalists to get as wealthy as Harry Reid.

The US has spent hundreds of billions on reseach on global warming. How many could have received benefits or help with that money.

can people go on welfare after there unemployment benefits run out? They can here in Canada.

On today's broadcast, Thom mentioned once again the importance of returning to pre Reagan tax rates. Not only would this extinguish the Teapublican austerity arson....the vast majority of voters, both Republican and Democratic are in favor of increasing tax rates on those in the top bracket.

DAnneMarc / Kend: Not only does science prove global warming is taking place, science also provides us with a 95% probability that humans are causing it. That probability may be 99.9% by now though.

2950. I don't think returning to pre Reagon tax rates is the answer. The wealthy will just sit on there money even more. I think the answer is to find a way to get the wealthy to invest there money. Something this adminasrtration isn't very good at.

Alice I would never try to change your mind about climate change, sorry global warming. The science I am seeing is not saying the same. Al Gore and his scientists said arctic ice is melting and it is not. Period. I know I live here. look at these idiots going up there trying to prove the ice is melting frozen stiff in the unforgiving Acrtic. people have know idea how dangerous it is there the weather can change in minutes. The Eskimos must be laughing there heads off Up there. Oh by the way the people are not stranded up there there vessel is. We can get the people out anytime. the Canadian government is building two state of the art military ice breakers as there are more and more of those morons going up there every year because Al Gore said there is no ice there anymore.

yes you are right about the economy it will pick up when you raise taxes but sooner or later you will run out of wealthy people to tax then what. Higher taxes are just a band aid. You need incentives to get people to create work. You know like Reagon did to get the US out of the mess they where in.

Have you seen the satellite photos taken of the arctic regions over a period of decades? It's shrinking. I do understand that some people can't grasp the impact of long-term temperature trends, much less understand the role global pollution plays. You should catch up on reading how air pollution worldwide effects weather, about the meaning of overall weather trends, etc -- too complex to address in a post. But it is with good reason that scientists have been sounding the alarms on this critical issue. This isn't a political or social issue. It's straight out, well-documented science.

They have been investing a great deal of money since the 1980s, much of it in job creation -- just not here in the US. Years of massive tax cuts, etc., have been used to build factories and offices outside the US while steadily turning the US into a source of cheap, third world labor.

Unfortunately you are preaching to the choir here. What we need to do is to find a way to get the so called "conservatives" to understand that when all Americans are working the economy has the funding it needs to provide the Safety net programs and reduce the deficit and give tax cuts.

We also need to get them to understand that tax cuts do not encourage corporations to hire more people! When we give corporate tax cuts they see it as increasing their bottom line without having to produce more. If we raise their taxes they have to produce more to increase their bottom line and therefore they have to hire more people to produce more.

The problem with this is the Corporations would likely turn to other countries where labor is cheaper and increase the unemployment here in America.

There has to be a way to get corporations to understand that they are better off getting every ablebodied person in America working, which would allow for tax cuts and other forms of overhead reduction. Passing Single payer Healthcare would reduce or eliminate the insurance mandate while ensuring that all Amercans are covered for illness or injury further reducing employer overhead.

WE could try persuading the corporations that if every American was working they would have money to buy their goods and they would make more money, their stock value would increase and their shareholders would reap a greater dividend. And the workers would be paying taxes which would reduce the need for more taxes and allow tax cuts (since they seem to want tax cuts so badly),

Just my thoughts.

Sincerely

Wiliam Manners

Kend - You hate being called stupid, but you keep saying stupid things like "sooner or later you will run out of wealthy people to tax then what." Right. Claiming that taxes are just a band-aid for the economy is like saying food is just a band-aid for starvation, or water is a band-aid for dehydration, or... need I go on? All horse crap.

As for the climate issue... sorry pal, I"m not buying it. You fossil fuel cheerleaders and fossil fuel shills can keep on quacking; you're simply wasting your breath on us who know better. Whoever you're listening to on this topic, I'd guess it's someone who either isn't a climate scientist at all, or is one whoring for the fossil fuel industry, getting paid to lie to the public. Whatever you're listening to is propaganda, not science. And for you to claim any authority on this subject (because you're Canadian?!) is a joke. All you climate-denying fools love dissing Al Gore, trivializing the whole climate movement by suggesting those "morons" are flocking to the Arctic because of something Al Gore said or whatever. (PL-EEEZE!) Seems to me the real morons are the fossil fuel shills who have the stupidity and arrogance to argue with the experts. Now, I'm no climate scientist myself; but since over 95% of climate scientists out there are saying our weather changes are human-caused, that's more than enough to convince me that we are the source of the problem. Period. - Aliceinwonderland

Mr. Manners, all your points are correct. The only flaw I see in your reasoning is your apparent assumption that if only the neocons and corporations understood these obvious remedies, they would mend their ways; then we could be enjoying another Golden Era for workers and the middle class, living the good life again! Dream on, comrade.

I don't reckon I'm the only blogger here who believes these plutocrats are deliberately destroying our country. They know exactly what they are doing. I think Noam Chomsky is spot-on when he says that much of this relentless attack against workers' rights, voting rights, women's rights and so on is simply a reaction to all the activism of the 1960s and '70s, when us peons got a little too uppity and "needed" to be taught a "lesson". The reality is, these fascist pigs are out to destroy us. They want us all to be living hand-to-mouth, too busy just providing the barest necessities for ourselves and surviving to be politically engaged. As Thom keeps pointing out, from the piggies' perspective you have more stable government when the citizenry is disempowered. When We The Peons are too poor, demoralized and frightened to be protesting or making waves, the elites can keep on plundering and thieving without interference or consequence, which is what "stability" and "freedom" means for them. The sad truth is, we are in a heap of trouble and it's worse than you think. - Aliceinwonderland

Gee kend, how enlightening. Thanks for setting me straight.

Kend -- I have a few questions. Why are they studying Artic ice in Anartica? Do you know that when we lower taxes on the rich they pay more taxes? Do you know Raygun tripled our national debt? Do you think that CO2 in the atmosphere traps energy from the sun?

Kend -- About 10 years ago, the scientists pointed out that the ice they are stuck in the ice that used to be somewhere else. As the antartic melts it creates a high relative humidity which forms into snow storms. Those snow storms are probably what they are stuck in. The metric of interest is the total ice mass which satellite photos seem to show that total ice mass is decreasing. Al Gore tried to simplify what is happening due to the increase in trapped energy caused by excess CO2. These simplifications were to help explain what could happen. The right, like you, pick on his simplifications not the real problem of the extra enegy. One should note that the amount of enery to melt one unit (be it gram, kilogram, pound, ton etc) of ice is 80 times the amount of enery to raise the same unit 1 degree. To vaporize (you know to make snow) that same unit would consume 512 times as much.

28 pages of an 800 page report, based on FBI and CIA documents, that was censored by the Bush Administration are still being censored by the Obama Administration. And the couple of Senators that managed to read parts, after a great struggle to do so, were very much disturbed by what they read...and they were not given all those 28 pages...only a few select pieces...most of which was blacked out...whole pages.

Quote New York Post article:Some information already has leaked from the classified section, which is based on both CIA and FBI documents, and it points back to Saudi Arabia, a presumed ally.

The Saudis deny any role in 9/11, but the CIA in one memo reportedly found “incontrovertible evidence” that Saudi government officials — not just wealthy Saudi hardliners, but high-level diplomats and intelligence officers employed by the kingdom — helped the hijackers both financially and logistically. The intelligence files cited in the report directly implicate the Saudi embassy in Washington and consulate in Los Angeles in the attacks, making 9/11 not just an act of terrorism, but an act of war.

http://nypost.com/2013/12/15/inside-the-saudi-911-coverup/

But, the Saudis weren't alone in planning and carrying out 911...the Bush administration and the Royal Saudis were hand holding...nose rubbing..conspirators. And I believe it is not just a matter of trying to protect the Saudis...I believe the Neocons conspired with the Saudis and others in carrying this out. That's what US officials are most worried about...that it was mostly an "inside job" and high level US officials committed treason against the American people.

Look at Saudi Arabia's behavior against Syria and threats against Russia, against Sochi, the bombings in Volgograd. There is information that Saudi Arabia, Britain, Israel, and the US were responsible for that chemical attack in Syria. Look at the US backing of Al Qaida forces in Syria...staging another false flag operation.

Okay "chuckle", fair enough. Pain is the only language ignoramus voters will ever understand.

On another topic, why bother explaining the facts about global warming to Kend? He used to work in the fossil fuel industry; he's already an expert on the subject! Who needs climate scientists anyway?

Science is a hoax. Just ask any Republican! Today I heard on the radio (from Thom Hartmann?) that a majority of Republicans believe in creationism.

It never ceases to amaze me, the ease with which some folks can reject things like science. Whenever the facts are uncomfortable or inconvenient for them, they simply create their own little reality. I suppose these dingalings also believe my gender came into existence popping out of some guy's ribcage. It's a clear example of arrested development, the adult version of Santa Claus & the Tooth Fairy but with a patriarchal twist!

Personally, I'd prefer to imagine myself having evolved from the apes (or even from termites or fruit flies) rather than from inside this dude's goddam ribcage.

With geniuses like that rulng the universe, each additional year we survive is a miracle. Anywaaay... Happy 2014, my friends! (And Kend, that includes you.) - Aliceinwonderland

Oh, my gosh, lookie here...I just noticed..look at the time stamp of my #39 post! Must have been the fireworks and gun fire in the neighborhood! 1. January 2014-0:00

And, yes, I realized I committed an unforgivable faux pas..."most of which was blacked out" should have been "most of which were blacked out". And, I suppose, I got the previous "was"/"were" wrong as well...referring to the "28 pages".

Children, and those with cognitive limitations, take things literally. Scripture was often not intended to be taken literally (consider the parables, etc.) In the pre-science world, the story of creation could only be outlined in the terms used. Those who believe in God as the creator of life (as we know it) do believe in evolution, and don't view this as being in conflict with faith. The Bible says that it is a sin to squander the gifts God gave us. This includes our brains, folks, our ability to do the research, the science, to understand more about life -- like evolution.

Reality is, not everyone can work, due to health or circumstances, and there simply aren't jobs for all who need one. What should we do about them? (That's an open question, folks -- ) America does have the money to fund a legitimate safety net. It was largely wiped out because that's what the middle class demanded -- end welfare aid. Middle classers might grumble a bit about the fact that our govt. has redistributed several trillion taxpayer dollars to the rich (since the 1980s), but what sends them into a frenzy is the very thought of someone purchasing food with a food stamp card.

Gary Reber ~ Although I agree with your conclusion, your implication that providing unemployment benefits to people is the problem it is both flawed an uncompassionate. First, the unemployed by far are not responsible for their situation. They had jobs and lives that were perfectly fine until Bill Clinton and his fascist friends plunged this country into the dimension of free trade by removing import tariffs that for centuries have been used by nations to protect their own citizens from just this kind of a disaster. Mass Unemployment was caused by a government who decided to put Corporate profits above it's own citizens well being. The people who have been victimized were stuck in lifestyles they had earned for themselves and their families. Their only means to maintain that lifestyle was removed by government policy; and, therefore, it is the government that is responsible for the consequences.

You are right when you say that unemployment compensation can be a habit forming lifestyle. However, encouraging people to seek any work possible by stripping them of their benefits is as impractical as it is inhumane. If you cannot understand the concept of human dignity then I question your own humanity.

The last thing the government should do is to cut benefits. There are so many other practical approaches to the problem then that. Like Thom suggested, the government can become the employer of last resort. Like you suggested the government could sponsor worker owned coops. Personally, I like the idea of ending free trade for ever and cutting off incentives for industrial flight. Any and all of these ideas can be accomplished without cutting benefits or disrespecting human dignity. If there is any hesitation for recipients to take advantage of new government sponsored employment opportunities it would be fine to make the acceptance of them a condition to receive benefits.

To cut massive benefits thinking that the unemployed will simply have to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps overlook the fact that the current unemployment problem was caused by powers far beyond the control of the individual. Personal responsibility begins and ends when the actions of the many victimize the lives of the few. FYI Human dignity assumes that all people are created equal and that it is right to extend the same respect and compassion to others that you would have them extend to yourself. Cutting unemployment benefits without ensuring any other income opportunity capable of paying peoples current bills would plunge a huge segment of society into a life of pauper servitude, permanent under compensation, abject poverty, and in many many cases, homelessness and death. Not only would it completely ignore the real causes of this problem; but, it would officially destroy the American way of life for everyone. Such a solution is irresponsible and intolerable in any advanced civilized society. It is also safe to say that such a course of action is nothing less than soft genocide.

Quote Kend: The Eskimos must be laughing there heads off Up there. Oh by the way the people are not stranded up there there vessel is. We can get the people out anytime. the Canadian government is building two state of the art military ice breakers as there are more and more of those morons going up there every year because Al Gore said there is no ice there anymore.

Kend ~ Just because there are larger than normal ice sheets floating around in the shipping lanes doesn't discredit global warming. Where do you think these ice sheets came from anyway? If they were created in the shipping lanes than your theory is credible. On the other hand, if they somehow broke off from melting glaciers and floated there while they continue to melt then you theory is incredibly flawed and misleading.