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Nicolette,
re: who should govern?
It seems to me that we do indeed create "God" in our own image. If you are a liberal, you see a loving. tolerant God, Where as a fundamentalist sees a judgmental, "tuff love" God. Therefor, it is us, who determines how we are governed.
Here's what Carrie Lukas is talking about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdi4onAQBWQ
Thom, You asked how one can reform a religion re the fundamentalist. As a former Christian, (now a Deist) I submit to you that perhaps you can't. When the liberal/moderate acknowledges the book to be the word of God (in any shape or form) the fundamentalist says " Yes, and this is what it says..."
I've wondered who Atheists believe should govern, what philosophers should be followed, who makes the rules, because if you look at the diversity of humanity, the cultural differences, religion tempers men. If we're the tribe of man, what rules do we follow and who proscribes those rules?
You know, Thom....
I've always felt that religion or spiritual practice is a bit like a good cloak. Therefore, like any well-worn item of clothing, it's gonna get a little frayed with wear. This explains "radical fringe" - (gentle hugs and warm smiles)
There is no doubt that a healthier life-style will keep Americans healthier. The sad news is that a simple appendectomy has a price tag of close to $20K.
Christopher Hitchens is the best. I had a sense ever since I was young that religion was bulls***. I told my family that Church was boring and we stopped going. I always kind of thought religion was okay. I mean, I liked Christmas. When I finally started finding some information on atheism, I felt like I finally knew why my childhood never seemed right. Anything that can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence, truer words were never spoken.
To Scotth,
Please be careful. A lot of ppl break their arms patting themselves on the back so hard!
And where do you get your "facts" about welfare recipients? Everyone was so sure things would really change when AFDC became TANF and got a 2 year limit. Turned out there wasn't much change at all because most ppl are only on it for 2 years max anyway. Turns out, hmm, they didn't need you hard-wrkg know-it-alls to make sure they went to work after all. gee. Maybe most ppl actually like to work.
Maybe you aren't so special after all, Scotth. Sorry if that hurts a little, but maybe I saved you a broken arm.
Here's the link to the story about the Socialist Mayors in Milwaukee:
http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=68504893762&h=gZtpT&u=Y3AGy&re...
You were saying on the air earlier that we need to stop making things that blow up. I think you would also agree that we need to help our auto industry. What do jet airplanes (and other things that blow up) and cars have in common? They can both benefit greatly from using composite parts. Look at any flying machine today that was manufactured relatively recently and you will find composite parts on it. (composite parts are fiber reinforced resins, kind of like a towel with super glue poured on it, it makes really light weight and strong parts, spread this glue towel on a mold and it can be cured into almost any shape imaginable). Add to this the fact that Hemp fabric composites are becoming more common (kind of odd that it took this long considering The first Ford cars were trying to use hemp based composites). Just go to www.votehemp.com and watch the video on the homepage for "the market for hemp products". Hemp takes less water than cotton, and I assume it is more environmentally friendly (less of an impact when put in a landfill, less energy required to produce) and easier to come by than carbon fiber or some of the other fabrics they use.
Thom,
I want to expand on my comment about your statement about 25% of in hospital deaths having iatrogenic causes, because you implied a comparison between standard western medical care and "alternate" approaches such as taking vitamins or naturopathy.
There are two many ways that the two aren't comparable. Many of the iatrogenic causes of death are related to infections that are related to surgeries. In addition, you have hundreds of very ill people packed into hospital wards, many with compromised immune systems. Then you have doctors and nurses working long tiring shifts, going from patient to patient, often under severe time constraints, so that proper hygienic practices are fudged on.
There are no similar circumstances in the alternatives you were comparing hospital care to.
There you go again, Thom,
Telling us that entrepreneurship is the magic lantern for us to rub to solve our economic problems. The American economy is losing jobs at the rate of around 600,000 a month for the last several months. How many new businesses can we start and how many new businesses can the economy absorb?
According to statistics from the Small Business Administration, 33% of small business startups fail within two years and only 44% last four years. And as you know, it can take one to two years or more, to start turning a profit.
Among the most common causes for small business failures are poor management skills and insufficient capital. Where are your average laid-off workers going to come up with the capital or management skills? I can tell you that for the great majority, the answer is nowhere?
Using Southwest Airlines is absurd. Even a four seat aircraft made in the 1960s can cost 10s or 100s of thousands of dollars.
What you should be addressing, and what I’m not hearing on your show is how the American people, or at least liberals and progressives can get organized to get our government to stand up for the people and not for finance capital.
FP is right on! Both the rise of consumerism and the constant drumbeat that the markets are gods and government is evil have given the Power Elite fertile soil in which to scam us out of trillions of dollars!
The reason we are not rising up and taking to the streets is that we are collectively (and subconsciously) afraid of doing anything that will upset the cart and keep us from buying all the stuff we are told to buy!
In order to resurrect the system we once had, we really have to do away with the religion of consumerism. That is the fuel that has gotten us in the situation we are in today. Obama represents hope. He is, however, only one man. We cannot rely on him to save us by himself. We must wake up, pay attention, and VOTE out of office all those who perpetuate this destructive system.
The system is supposed to service us. We are victims of a government that has been purchased, and is now a wholly owned subsidiary of corporate America. We now exist to service the system. This system must be destroyed. We need a third party; the republicans are simply the most virulent agent of corruption in the system we live under. Democrats aren't much better; when it comes to voting for the interests of the common man, they are typically asleep at the wheel, or engaged in some sort of tap dance to avoid telling us why we don't have universal health care.
Thom,
Saying that 25% of all hospital deaths are iatrogenic isn't the same as saying that 25% of people who get on airplanes die in a crash.
The proper comparison would be to say that 25% of people who go to a hospital die due to iatrogenic causes, but that's not the case. And don't forget that our hospitals tend to be understaffed and the health care professionals who work in hospitals tend to be overworked.
Good Health Care include preventive medicine: Making sure we know about exercise and good nutrition. Making sure we know how to brush our teeth. Helping us exercise with deals at gyms.
To the women who does not want people to eat candy all day: who is going to tell them that what they are doing is bad? The ER doctor at 2 am when their teeth fall out could tell them, but that is a little late. Good AFFORDable Health Care means preventive medicine.
Thom,
You asked what someone could do that would be worth being paid $50,000 an hour.
I would suggest it would have been worth it to pay both Bush and Cheney $50,000 an hour to do absolutely nothing over the last 8 years. I'd even expand that and pay all Republicans elected to public office $5,000 an hour to do nothing while they were in office.
Here's a great interview with William K. Black by Bill Moyers. Black was the Director of the Institute for Fraud Protection and the former senior regulator who cracked down on banks during the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s.
He offers a scathing account of what happened and who is covering up how bad it really is.
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04032009/watch.html
In September of 2004, the FBI, OUR FBI, warned us of the coming mortgage crisis and meltdown!!
http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/09/17/mortgage.fraud/
It's also "illegal" for state employees in Virginia to enter into collective bargaining. We haven't had a raise in a number of years. In fact a Virginia General Assembly Senate Committee came out with a report several years ago that stated that state employees in Virginia in general, were over 17% behind the private sector in compensation.
Thom thanks for standing up for the lower and middle class.You are truly a Renaissance Man.
My husband is an active Teamster. He drives a city bus. Without the union, he would probably be making minimum wage and have no benefits. Blue-collar workers need unions, especially government employees, for the simple reason that labor is considered an expense. When company expenses increase, or when a company is failing, what is the first expense to be cut? Not the CEO's six- or seven-figure bonus. Usually not even the salaried employees in middle management. The first employees to be cut are those on the bottom. Without unions, company management has little to no incentive to pay employees a living wage or give them decent benefits, unless they choose to do so out of the goodness of their hearts--which let's face it, many of them don't. And many people assume what Scotth has assumed above--that these low-wage employees can just go get another job if they want to. Really? In this economy, where are they going to go? I live in North Carolina. We have an 11 percent unemployment rate here. Does anyone think that one in ten people in my state *choose* to be unemployed, or are too lazy to work? We were a strong manufacturing state at one time, until some greedy CEOs discovered that they could ship operations to China and pay a 10-year-old a dollar an hour to produce the same goods that American adults were producing here. This started in the early 80s--as Thom has often mentioned on his show, this started with Reagan, who in my opinion is the worst President we've ever had and ruined the country.
As far as incentive: it is hard to have incentive or drive when working for $7 an hour for an oppressive or even abusive employer. It is hard to go back to school and learn new skills when you are having to work two jobs just to keep a roof over your head and feed your children. This is why Wal-Mart management is so afraid of unions, and had meetings back in the fall in which they told their employees not to vote for Obama. What are they afraid of exactly? That they wouldn't be able to force their employees to work overtime without pay anymore? That they might actually have to pay them a decent wage?
It is *illegal* in North Carolina for state employees to enter into a collective bargaining contract. That goes beyond ridiculous. That is immoral. It is no wonder that state employees' benefits decrease year after year.
Thank you, Thom, for sticking up for the laborer who often has no voice. I enjoy your show. A lot of good common sense there.
To Nora @ 4/2
Thank you! "Debating" torture is simply a search for a justification. Torture is wrong, always and in all circumstances. It is amazing that those who advocate or justify torture can be so unaware of the effects on the torturer. What we do to our brother, we do to ourselves. We are the prisoners of our own moral choices. One would think that EVERY Christian minister, preacher or priest would be decrying this practice. One would think...
Does anyone know or have a link to the article that Thom was talking about today. It dealt with unemployment, welfare, food stamps and other things. I wanted to read it.
Thanks
Yes...I am a plant...put in place by a giant right-wing organization. We wire-tap your phones and feel threatened by your radical ramblings. I would love to debate issues with Thom but he screens out conflicting callers. All he allows are right wing wacko guests that he knows he can tackle. I would love to see him take on a conservative host like a Limbaugh, Hannity or Levin. They would eat him alive. Despite his rantings, the founding fathers are rolling in their graves at what is happening to this country. When did Jefferson say that we are owed health care, a house, a job, a college education, etc.... Help yourself. Cheers!