Recent comments
ADHD: Hunter in a Farmer's World
Thom Hartmann has written a dozen books covering ADD / ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder.
Join Thom for his new twice-weekly email newsletters on ADHD, whether it affects you or a member of your family.
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.
I't easy to fall into despair and cynicism like the Mysterious Floating Head. My own bumper-sticker says "I feel better since I lost hope.". But Thom is always saying this is a "no-despair" zone, so sometimes I'm tempted to just keep quiet and not share my despair. So why am I writing this? Cause I still have a sliver of hope?
Charles, I see what you mean, but I think Obama has done a good job at screwing himself too.
Here's another thought, Thom how about you make Obama a honorary member, and as a token of this make him a very special member of the day and send him a copy of your whole catalog of books.
Feel free to highlight prior to sending.
I would just like to add that our rights are based on Natural Human Rights; those innate or apparent to all without the aid of a special supreme court microscope. The Ninth amendment to the U.S. Constitution states "The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." - apparently the 5 Supreme Court justices who decided to allow the unlimited big money spending on ads via their decision couldn't perceive that our natural right to a fair elections process, including a fair contest for office seekers, isn't a natural right in a Democracy! Maybe they need some greater illumination of text to get them to comprehend the ninth amendment, and thinking more about what is seriously wrong with their decision in terms of how it affects all the other rights we posses. Apparently, we need to spell it out to them, for their have such limited powers of natural imagination about the rights of citizens.
I apologize . . . That was not nice of me.
Nels
Don't you mean: "You're all F'd, thank you."
"Those who do not study history, are doomed to repeat it."
That being said, can someone get The President and his administration a good history book (or several) covering American history from the Civil War period through the Clinton Presidency? There are some real excellent solutions for him to learn, as well as pitfalls to avoid in that time frame.
RE SotU, Part 3: I'm thinking that Obama has the Joementum he desires and you all have the insanity of false hope.
I kinda' wouldn't be surprised if the President just delivered this one line for the State of the Union:
"We are F'd, thank you."
RE SotU, Part 2: Folk keep taklin' like Obama's first State of the Union Address will be a REDUX of Herbert Hoover's worst or FDR' best . . .
My money is on a direct lift from Pappy Shrub's third SotU.
RE SotU: I'm doubling down that Obama will tell America that it is doing GREAT because the Banking Industry bonuses for YE 2009 equal one percent of the nation's total GNP, then go on to thank Geitner and Bernake for all their good work.
Great program Thom, but if there is a silver lining to the decision, it highlights how corrupt our corporatist-controlled government has become, and the outrage will surely galvanize more citizens into taking action. But dancing around the root of the problem will not solve the central issue - getting honest citizens elected to office to represent us, and set things right again - It will take massive efforts to collect numerous small contributions & inform the citizenry to start launching honest citizen representation, exclude big donors from being part of the 'carrot', putting people-power ahead of corporate control. When we get a critical mass of real people into office, introducing amendments to the constitution guaranteeing our rights to fair elections and fair contests for office can take place.
Secondly, any politician running for office needs to be held up to high standards of scrutiny for their list of donors, and taking large contributions from moneyed interests should be highlighted, and shame in the media put on those who take this "bribe" money. Honest candidates in like kind need to be praised and lauded for their higher ethical standards.
Thirdly, public marches to highlight the problem and push for an amendment would tip public opinion, and gain an even greater groundswell of support.
Once we get enough true representation in Congress and other Congress members see that going against the issue will cost them dearly in the next election cycle, we can begin the process of including the rights of Fair Elections and Fair Contests for Office in the U.S. Constitution. Essential as the right to vote, the right to fair contests for office is a right by which all other rights are protected. Additionally, the public broadcast spectrum is a natural commons for all humans, and if we are to give up the use of that commons to private concerns, in return all broadcasters owe the citizenry equal access to the airwaves for 5% of the time during an election year, without charge, when the majority of citizens are watching or listening, and on an equal basis to all qualifying candidates for office. For the right to be heard on an equal basis, regardless of money, is essential to safeguard the Right to Fair Elections and Fair Contests for Office. And no other paid political promotional ads allowed - columnists can write what they want, pundits can discuss all they want, news programs can argue the points, but to use cash to buy more promotional time is essentially allowing the moneyed few to have greater influence in matters of public opinion regarding office seekers than the general citizenry, and that's unacceptable in a Republic with Democratic institutions.
The Right to Vote, the Right to Fair Elections, and the Right to Fair Contests for Office must come before paid political speech and press, for without the former, our general rights as citizens will not be protected in any sense, save for a few quiet whispers in a tavern, or some casual talk on the street.
OBAMA is a pro-corporatist DINO. Bernanke is a pro-corporatist shill.
Marriage in Bill Wiese's "Heaven".
Pre-State of the Union Musings:
1) Now that the Supreme Court has officially declared that corporations are "persons", corporations should be TAXED AT PERSONAL INCOME TAX RATES! Sounds good to me, plus these new "persons" will not be able to take tax deductions for their political donations! In addition, a "persons" gambling winnings are fully taxable, (read:credit default swaps)!
We should also look at raising the top marginal income tax rate and raise the capital gains tax on gains above $50,000 per year!
2) Cuts to education? Damn, I guess we won't be able to afford those new "revised" textbooks from Texas!
3) No cuts to the "Arts", you know security theater, brought to you by the "Department of Homeland Security" theater company!
I can hardly wait for the address......
Bernanke seriously needs to go . . . Only the input of Darrel Issa sheds any doubt.
DRichard
That was in the days before toasters and potato chips.
Charles
But doesn't God (usually) use a cave to give his revelations in private?
;)
Is a hostile takeover of one corporation by another now considered rape or enslavement?
Charles, tell me about it... you'd think this guy would've had at least a modicum of imagination and not claim that "Hell is just like what your Sunday preacher says it is, but even more so" (I'm paraphrasing of course).
I'd say at this point he's on the edge of plagiarism.
I wonder, in regards to the oldest business, which came first the Preacher or the Prostitute? I already know which one I view as being harmful to society.
Nels
Spot on.
My wife and I had this discussion over the weekend. It seems quite easy to claim a nonverifiable revelation or vision and take that claim to the masses. A good YouTube video is all you need.
On the God Thing-
(Assuming you are Christian)
Anyone who has had a child knows how your entire being changes when that child is born. You would do anything to protect that child and ensure its happiness. Perhaps God gave us his ONLY child, sacrificed him, and watched as that child was tortured to death, to prove exactly how much he/she loves us. . . to prove to us how much he/she is willing to give to us. The point would be that God has no measurement for his/her love of us. And we missed that point by a universe. (~ so many assumptions)
The whole sin forgiving thing makes no sense. It's human and church blackmail (just as the hell issue is) to get you to be a Christian. Whenever we listen to what people say more than to what God whispers in our heart, we confuse the man made institution of religion with sublime but honest spirituality.
I think this Real Estate guy who claims he had a out of body experience in hell, was no more the a pragmatist who realized his current career was awash, so he came up with the easiest (and most odious) for to get easy money, start a church.
I don't know if I believe in hell, but I want to (how else will we ever get justice for Cheney, Rumsfeld, Bush, Rice....)
“Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner”. –James Bovard
Corporate Personhood is one wolf being given State’s rights to devour the other two, being given a patent on the process of digestion, and exempted from the “Personal Responsibility” of cleaning up his own crap.
“All animals are created equal, but some are more equal than others.” –George Orwell, Welcome to the “Animal Farm.”
I argue the FEMA is Homeland Security and suggest that terrorism should be confined to Fatherland Security's purview.
A FUAX News Affiliate won the right to lie a decade ago . . .