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.
Do not read. Just to get rid of the new
This edit after posting is an interesting new feature.
I knew a retired African-American cop in Chicago (Chicago's police department today is kind of a model of professionalism, they're like uniformed social workers. Mayor Richard M. Daley, as much as I didn't like him for his gentrified mind, Walmart, etc., was always trying to show that he wasn't "your father's Mayor Daley" and one of the things he did was to professionalize the police department. He got their pay increased and required four years of college to get on tthe force. When the Democratic National Convention came back to Chicago in 1996 he showcased this new police department. - of course, I'm white so my experience with the C.P.D. might be better but even I remember what ignorant pigs they used to be.). He was an old timer and he described to me once an instance where his partner arrested someone who wasn't violating any statute just for fun as she was walking out of the grocery store with a bag full of groceries. He said he disapproved of his partner's act but didn't dare give him any trouble because he might have to depend on him in a life or death spot.
That and things like the rule against fraternizing with the public (so they wouldn't hesitate to arrest anyone who violates the law) made the mentality of "brothers in blue" against the world that makes investigating them so hard.
catman306: Yes, that was funny and true. I guess Chris Rock says it so much better than I ever did.
I care little who hosts Meet the Rightwing Stooge and sincerly hope it dies a fast and complete death. Otherwise a fine video journal propaganda tool. After all isn't another Rightwing slanted news outlet just what the doctor ordered?
It's not about the producers thinking the viewers are uniformed. It's about the producers wanting the viewers to be misinformed.
Aliceinwonderland ~ I just left a message for Nigel about the post numbers. Palindromedary already mentioned it in another post on that thread and Nigel responded that they were going to look into it. I suggested they incorporate the post number format for that particular website design community blog. You should check it out. Their post numbers are quite pronounced and clear. They would work exceptionally well here.
Aliceinwonderland ~ Palindromedary is right. You get a little black box by the left most corner of the screen with the URL and blog post number at the end of it. It is a six digit number that is absolutely useless. Sure it identifies your post if you happen to find it and hover over it; however, it is not in numerical order. For instance, Palindromedary's post number above is 279674. Chuckle8's post right below it is number 279722. WTF Like that makes any sense. Logically it should be 279675; but, it is not. For that reason this system sucks. It is unnecessarily difficult to use when a simple blog number next to the post resolves the problem without hovering or guessing. I wouldn't waste my time with it unless you were desperate. I'd take the advice in Palindromedary's other post and complain to Nigel the webmaster. That is exactly what I intend to do right now.
They don't want us to know.
Putting Church Todd in that position is going from bad to bad. Why not someone such as Martin Bashir or someone with some gumption and a mind from which to pull intelligent questions and answers. And, NBC wonders why their ratings are so low - because they are idiots!!!
catman306 ~ Thanks for the link to that video. It was hilarious; and, so true. Very good advice as well!
This is a great read! Keep on posting blogs like this Thom Hartman.
Also, you might want to consider http://goo.gl/GsIL84. I've tried it and it works for me!
I'll wait for your next write-up!
Blue to red, Palin. That's it. Thanks anyway. - AIW
I really enjoyed your show today with Joe Madison, great conversation thank you.
Wrote this comment on our local News Facebook Page. Tag- I'm it.......
"Another Unarmed Black Teen Shot by Militarized Police" (Hartmann).
Amazingly, while crime is lower than it has been in 30 years (Wikipedia, Richard Davis-Desert News, Christian Science Monitor) how is it possible that the LVMP needs more police officers? Meanwhile the police Shoot first and investigate later, refuse to attend car accidents, mistreat and abuse citizens, especially the poor. Itseems the only citizens who have rights are those who have the financial means to enforce their own rights as the poor can not and the police know it! Unfortunately, the police need a big reminder that WE are citizens in terribly tough economic times caused by those who will never know the suffering they caused because the police do not arrest white collar crimes and the Justice Department will not prosecute them. Where is the "Protect and Serve" within domestic policing?
According to Radley Balko of The Huffington Post: "A Decade After 9/11, Police Departments Are Increasingly Militarized".
Citizens are not terrorists! "The problem with mingling domestic policing with military operations is that the two institutions have starkly different missions" (Balko).
Meanwhile the Children’s Defense Fund, Cradle to Prison Pipeline® Fact sheet for Nevada declare that: "The States spend about 2.8 times as much money per prisoner as per public school pupil. Unless we focus our efforts on early intervention and prevention, rather than punishment, we are robbing thousands of youths each year of their futures and our country of vital human resources."
Citizens/Parents do their part by working and raising families while severe social resources have been drastically cut. Until social services are reinstated and schools produce High School Graduates at 1980 rates those who dwell behind guarded gates will not be able to hide or run far enough.
Our citizenry deserves social services that support families in a dignified and respectful manner. As the State and National levels we know how to provide strong communities for ALL and not just those in gated communities.
The entertainment news in place of real news goes against what our country is founded upon and scaring citizens to believe we need more police at a time crime is lower than it has been in thirty years is disgusting.
United We Stand -
Divided we Fall.
Esteleen Westby
http://www.childrensdefense.org/child-research-data-publications/data/state-data-repository/cradle-to-prison-pipeline/cradle-prison-pipeline-nevada-2009-fact-sheet.pdf
"
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2012/0109/US-crime-rate-at-lowest-point-in-decades.-Why-America-is-safer-now
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765635005/Despite-what-you-may-think-crime-rate-is-down.html?pg=all
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/12/police-militarization-9-11-september-11_n_955508.html
http://www.thomhartmann.com/blog/2014/08/another-unarmed-black-teen-shot-militarized-police
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_the_United_States
Chris Rock (a black Canadian commedian) will show you what NOT to do when stopped by the police. Funny man with some good sense.
Chris Rock - How not to get your ass kicked by the police!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj0mtxXEGE8
Petite fighter: Are you referring to Camp Peary in York County (but some of the 9,000-10,000 acres does reach up a little into James City County)? It is also known as "The Farm" where the CIA, DIA and the Navy share the facillity. They currently call it STC (Special Training Center). They deny it but it has been believed to be a training center for teaching how to torture people. The mile long airport is believed to have been one of the places where Air America smuggled in drugs during the Vietnam War.
http://cryptome.org/eyeball/peary/peary-eyeball.htm
http://cryptome.org/eyeball/stc/stc-eyeball.htm
I could say a lot about suicidal thoughts. I've never been depressed, but I've considered suicide continuously since at least puberty, and I agree with the caller that it's hard to imagine that one will actually be dead after suicide. It's very difficult to consider the aftermath without imagining that you will be able to benefit from the new attitude toward you that your death would bring about.
gopherindian re #279688 -- I am replying with respect to your growing trend analysis. I think a key cause of this society ill, cops using excessive force, as well as many others is due to growing economic inequality. This inequality started growing as reaganomics took root. The Rodney King beating took place after this inequality started. The inequality continues to worsen. The ability of citizens to use video recorders has certainly increased our awareness of the problem. I think the number of incidents is also growing.
gopherindian ~ Well said! I agree! Typical Americans will do anything to deny situations that they find appalling when there is little easy recourse to do anything about it. Especially if it doesn't directly affect them. Of course, that denial becomes very difficult when the evidence is staring you in the face via a video recording. Yet, even then, I've seen extraordinary efforts spent at denial by some. In the famous Oakland BART shooting of Oscar Grant I've seen some people go out of their way to deny what they saw. "He pulled the trigger by accident. You could tell by his reaction." I heard. "Why was he aiming a loaded gun at an unarmed teenager lying prone on the ground with three police officers holding him down?" I'd ask. Silence.
Fortunately, that is a rare reaction of denial that I've noticed. Far from the general mean. Most people are horrified and outraged beyond belief. However, this reaction goes to show just how far some people will go to deny even their own eyes. This "trend" is more of a trend of realization than anything else. It is a profound revelation of what really goes on in our streets behind most people's backs. It is not a trend of behavior or circumstance in the minority community. There this is the norm. This is a trend of realization in the white community; and, it is a long time coming. Like you, in the long run, I certainly hope shock and realization win out over denial and rationalization. If anything positive is to come of these tragedies, it would be the widespread acknowledgement by our society that this problem exists; and, needs to be addressed and resolved. Serious steps need to be taken by law enforcement organizations, our government, and justice department to prevent such senselessly harsh encounters with police in the future; and, what we might be seeing for the first time is the beginning of such a movement that will accomplish just that. Equal treatment under the law for all. It is a shame that so many had to sacrifice so much to obtain so little.
DAM -- In CA this is a result of the omnivore created 36 years ago. AKA, Prop 13.
this is just to get of the # new comments
Massachusetts would not have had to remove theocratic provisions from its constitution before being admitted to the union, because the First Amendment was not in the U.S. Constitution yet.
Petite, stories like yours make me crazy. I don't know how folks like you, subjected to such abusive neglect from our '"justice" system", manage to keep their sanity. As if the burglary wasn't bad enough... - AIW
I live in James City County, VA which is home to both the CIA training facility and high ranking retired military. The police here will lie on reports to protect both groups and anyone associated with them. Corruption is rampid, but because of the government connections, even the Obama Administation will not do anything. I had my home broken into, all of my things taken and so far have had to spend over $20,000, borrowing over 17.000, out of pocket to repair the damage they caused, and it still isn't all fixed. The police wrote in the reports that I did the damage myself, and I am insane, even though I was out of the country for 2 years at the time and the neighbors continually called the police about the people who illegally took up residence here. I even got a guilty plea out of one of them, but the police still refuse to press charges against them. One man's father got money for CIA ops. I have a notebook that was left here that proves it. I live on 889 a month, and the county is happy to screw me because of the connections of the parents of these young adults.
Bingo