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.
Yes, the corporate media does ignore all of those issues. But the corporate media and the liberal media (and I am a liberal) also ignore or mis-report on immigration reform as well. If you are against the TPP which we all should be you cannot be for immigration reform. If you are for a $15 minimum wage you can't be for immigration reform. If you are against outsourcing you can't be for immigration reform. If you believe that the inequity in wages must be reduced you can't be for immigration reform. if you think unemployment is too high you can't be for immigration reform. If you think the safety net is unfairly being shredded you can't be for immigration reform. If all you care about are votes or cheap labor and wage depression than you should be for immigration reform.
I thought up another plan of attack that I have not seen mentioned here. Every day at the opening of the Senate and the House, Berne Sanders and some progressive from the house should read Article III, Section 2 of the constitution. The should especially read the part that says " ... the supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Ecsceptions, and under such Regulations as te Congress shall make." If they read it enough times, maybe the Congress will like the power the constitution has given them and act on it. For example, they would tell SCOTUS where to stick that decision they made about the McCain - Feingold Law.
Someone should remind Thom about the AZ SCOTUS suggestion.
P.S. Danne...
I have been on a local 'starve the ratings' campaign. But sadly, according to a lecture I heard Norman Goldman give recently on the radio business because of something called "aggragated" ratings, apparently, what we know as ratings don't really matter anymore...it was confusing...but as it was told, the corps are not going to stop pooring $$$ into propaganda because they want to keep us deaf, dumb and blind. Keep on fightin'
I am behind movetoamend.org 100% but...Perhaps this is pessimistic, but as I understand it, once a Constitutional amendment is ratified by 2/3 of the states, it goes to the desk of the federal registrar who then amends the Constitution. The way I see it, with today's media, it would be ignored and very few people would even ever find out that the amendment was ratified..Congress would ignor it and it would get "lost" on the Registrar's desk. Even if we do amend the Constitution, if they 'uphold' that amendment as well as they are currently 'upholding' the 4th, 1st and 14th...they will pass laws in contradiction to the new amendment instead of in reponse to it. Most, if not all of the political elites of both parties do not shill for $$. The richest donars and lobbyists bang down doors to get to the legislators with the most influence. These political elites have more invitations to fancy Dos than they know how to handle. They just sit back and let the $$$ roll in, and what's even more corrupting than $$$ in elections is the revololving door that guarantees them cushy jobs after doing the corporate bidding. With the media educating the people, we might have a chance to force their hands...otherwise, ?.
I've expressed my thoughts on the "Shafta" (thanks, Thom) over at firedoglake:
http://my.firedoglake.com/karenjj2/2014/02/05/the-tpp-contract-for-a-cor...
I thoroughly enjoy the Thom Hartmann show especially hearing from sane and rational folks across the country.
sandlewould ~ It sure is a big problem. I've learned that the best way to deal with a big problem is to start chipping away at the root. In this case we aren't going to get anywhere until Citizen's United is overturned. A grassroots effort in this task--Move to Amend--has already been started and simply needs our support.
The next course would be Campaign Finance Reform. After we get big money out of the political process then we can seriously start dealing with these media issues.
As far as those "Blithering Idiots" you've spoke of are concerned, they have to be addressed on a one on one basis with patients. I've learned that such media victims tend to come around by themselves in time. You can fool some of the people some of the time but you cannot fool all the people all the time. The best we can do is to watch for their natural awakening and step in at the right time and encourage the process. Trying to force it never works; and, can actually push them further down the Rabbit hole.
Keep up the good work!
Mark Saulys ~ That is a most interesting tidbit. I didn't know that. If I understand you correctly Citizens United is already trumping any form of Campaign Finance Reform. Fascinating. You're suggesting that we tackle Citizens United before we waste time and resources on Campaign Finance Reform? Thanks for sharing that most valuable perspective.
This is actually a bit of good news. The fewer targets we have to focus on the more powerful the movement will be. At this point, overturning Citizens United is the sole paramount objective.
DAnne,
I must say it is gratifying to hear (see) Thom’s rant on the subject. (Thanks, Thom!) I am, obviously, obsessed with what to me is the FACT that there will be no way to wake up the country at large or organize constructively enough to force the hands of our legislators/leaders unless we gain control of the general dialogue. 30 years of ubiquitous propaganda and lies have thrown so many wrenches in the works of critical thought that perfectly bright people have been turned into blithering idiots who believe the complete opposite of what is true...and there’s no reasoning with them. After all, they heard it on the News! I am trying to figure out how to organize a movement of protestors that show up at the FCC’s monthly meetings demanding a return to the fairness doctrine and monopoly restrictions at the very least, if not the declaration of all media as public utilities that can only be run publicly and not-for-profit (in my dreams). As far as electing legislators who big $$$ can’t buy...I defer to a recent interview I heard on ‘Breaking the Set’.
In the words of Kshama Sawant;
“...If you are serving in the Democratic Party, you are serving the interests of big business. That is not a channel for social change. The sooner we wake up to this fact, the sooner we can implement change”.
"Economic condom". That's hilarious. I want to hear that in a State of the Union Address.
If we removed greed from the equation - or, private property - we could probably do away with government all together.
Why don't we stop putzing around and go to publicly financed campaigns? Arizona and Maine had fascimiles that were struck down by Citizens United. The push on Move to Amend should be for that. Anything else is a system of bribery.
sandlewould ~ Well, it looks like if Thom didn't read your letter yesterday, he sure was on the same beam of influence.
The Main Stream media is a joke that is not funny. I've given up on 99% of it about 6 years ago or so. (I turn on the news for 10 min. in the morning to hear the weather and traffic. That's about it.) I believe the only recourse we have in this matter is to boycott the major networks. That's no problemo for your's truly. Consider it done! It's about time the rest of the country jumps on the bandwagon. "0" profits will get their attention. Meanwhile, lets use the "free market" to move all those profits to better desired media sources like RT and Free Speech TV. After all, Corporations may have control now; but, in the end, we own them.
Let's throw in the public's inability to read critically generally. We don't distinguish reportage of fact and opinion. We don't have a basic understanding of propaganda techniques. The average reader wouldn't recognize an ad hominem attack if it spit on them. The Texas Republican Party platform recently contained a plank that would have prohibited the teaching of critical thinking skills in Texas public schools. Curricula would teach job skills rather than what it takes to be a functioning Citizen. Don't ask questions, just do as you are told because there are plenty of unemployed who will!
I heard you say that you are in favor of a constitutional convention. But you followed back your belief that there is not enough support. I am very glad to correct you on this, in fact the 99%, anonymous,the tea party, the majority of world bank whistle blowers including Karen Hudes(hint; great person to have on as a guest). So please join us, if you want source information please ask and I will send. Freedom 2014
;contact me at gavrielinmotion@hotmail.com
if you want more information or would like to get involved.
a very interesting interview and a wink and a nod at inviting Karen on your show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWBogcrFGx4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS4sBZyjTEE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZJ0w8FRAF0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joDR2If5I8o
Loren Bliss ~ A most provocative analysis, indeed. Again, your logic is impeccable. I agree 100%. However, I think there is a bit more to it than that. If you read some of Jefferson's writings about his warnings of industrialization it might open one's eyes a bit more clearly to the root causes of greed and Capitalism. Statesmen, politicians, philosophers, even the Church throughout history has warned about the perils of industrialization. Capitalistic greed prior to the industrial revolution may have existed; yet, do you believe it existed to the extent that it does today? In your opinion, would you say that industrialization may in fact feed the greed of Capitalism? Certainly, as you've stated, no structural model of government has proven to be immune to influence of Capitalism--at least when it becomes a viable industrial base; or, even a source of resources for such a base.
My point simply being that I'm not so sure that it is possible to remove greed from the powers that be in an industrial society. Yet as you so eloquently restated almost exactly what St. Thomas Aquinas described, removing greed from our governments is definitely the solution to all these problems. Industry seems to feed on greed. Take Carnegie for instance. Didn't his efforts in the steel industry reach the height of productivity during the reign of his most greedy administrator, Frick? I don't see how you can have one without the other. If this suggestion is accurate then it follows that the only way to permanently remove greed from society is to abandon our industrial based economy for a agricultural model. Would you agree?
Perhaps worker owned co-ops might remove the greed from industry? Do you know if it was attempted before?
chuckle8: People with afluenza are exempt from criminal prosecution while the rest of us go to prison if we committed the same crimes.
Hello....
On the Thursday Feb 6 show, Pap and Thom were talking about a book by Richard Pearlman on the Nixon years....
I can't find this book on the usual sites (Amazon etc....).
Pap didnt mention the official title of the book.....do you have it? Is the name "richard pearlman" the correct author?
Thanks
Dave R
How come the 99% accept a Government that actively uses deception to govern the Nation against the will of the People?
Hi there, do you have a translation from this article?
Übersetzt Englisch Deutsch durch profischnell.de
Übersetzung Deutsch Englisch - profi-fachuebersetzungen.com
Homepage
I was inspired by the documentary " I AM " produced and directed by Tom Shadyac. I believe in the idealism of this film and hope with all my heart that we may be able to enrich our governemnt with some of these ideas. Every Wednesday and Friday I meet with a group of retired friends for coffee and conversation. If the magority of mainstream average white males in America believe as most of these our democracy is in trouble. Unfortunately, great ideas take a long time and tremendous effort and are subject to the danger of corruption and backlash. At the present time I believe the majority of the public have more faith in corporate deception than in democracy. In fact, I believe there are many who are truely threatened by democracy out of fear that they may be giving up some economic priviledge regardles of how insignificant. The very definition of democracy has been altered by the power brokers and their defnition of democracy is transalted to the masses by their media. Many mistakes will be made before we understand that we've got it all wrong.
Marc, in discussions of this sort, it's essential we distinguish between the form of the U.S. government (constitutionally regulated representative democracy) and the anti-democratic purpose to which it has been re-directed by capitalism. As the capitalist subversion of the United States, the Soviet Union, the Peoples Republic of China and the democratic socialist nations of Europe so vividly demonstrate, no form of government is safe from capitalism. Beyond the geopolitical nuances of the world's various nation-states, the common denominator of all their vulnerabilities is greed: the ultimately deadly human weakness on which capitalism thrives. Capitalism is therefore the greatest threat to human survival -- thus the greatest evil -- in the entire history of our species. And as long as capitalism is allowed to exist, it will by its nature evoke and inflame greed as a means of sustaining "growth" and "progress," both of which are euphemisms for profit. Greed will in turn enable the capitalists to seize absolute power, just as they have done here on Earth, whether by destroying the Soviet Union or corrupting the Peoples Republic, the United States and the European Union. But remove capitalism from the equation, and it quickly becomes obvious the best form of government -- that is, the most responsive (and responsible) government -- is a constitutional system similar to what the founders of the U.S. designed, less the tyranny of the Electoral College of course. Indeed were the U.S. Constitution modified to eliminate the Electoral College and wed to a democratic form of Marxism, the resultant hybrid would come as close to perfection as anything our species has yet achieved. (It's Ruling Class terror of this potentially perfect marriage that fuels its anti-Communist fanaticism.) Beyond that, why Marxism? Because of all the extant forms of socialism, only Marxism recognizes the truly apocalyptic evil of capitalism and responds accordingly.
This is the best news I've heard in YEARS! If only we had started this in 1980, when Reagan set out to tear down our government by the PEOPLE. Thank you, Thom, for this wonderful news.
Pal...ary -- As I like to say Paul Ryan budget for the US $970 billion and Madison Ave budget $600 billion. What chance to we have. Roll back the Reagan tax cuts.
Loren Bliss ~ Well said! I agree.
However, I'm not sure if I agree with the rest of your statements.
St. Thomas Aquinas in his Letter to the King of Cyprus outlined 6 basic structures of government. He placed Democracy in the most favorable group of three; but, in the least favorable spot of that group. He summed up his analysis by stating that a government was only as powerful as the person--or group-- was in size that controlled it. Finally, the benevolence of a government is solely dependent upon the character of the individual(s) who run it. Therefore, regardless of what form a government takes it is the character of the ruler(s) that determines the benevolence of the government. It is my firm belief that St. Thomas Aquinas was spot on in his Letter.
My point being that there is much more to fixing a government then simply changing it's form.
This seems like a good start and one that should be promoted every way possible. Good Luck.
Tragically, the Government by the People Act, like Move to Amend and the other campaigns against the Citizens United decision, is nothing more than pie-in-the-sky -- (yet another) effort by the Ruling Class to inspire the imbecility of hope by deluding us with more Big Lies of "change we can believe in." Even were the Government by the People Act to be made law, which it will never be, it would soon be subverted to meaninglessness. This is the one undeniable lesson of the history of the United States -- that the One Percent has nullified every progressive measure this nation has ever enacted, beginning with the Bill of Rights itself.
The problem is of course that capitalism and humanitarianism are diametrical opposites. Capitalism is infinite greed elevated to maximum virtue. Thus it is the deliberate rejection of every humanitarian principle our species has ever articulated. It is likewise, because democracy is a subset of humanitarianism, the rejection of all democratic principles. Moreover, this fanatical rejection of humanitarianism is the one defining truth of capitalism. It is a truth proven beyond argument by U.S. history, which documents the nation's (now obviously inevitable) march toward capitalist governance: absolute power and unlimited profit for the One Percent and the Ruling Class in general, total subjugation and bottomless poverty for all the rest of us.
When we recognize that capitalism by its unequivocal rejection of humanitarianism and democracy is tantamount to absolute evil; when we acknowledge that the ultimate purpose of capitalist governance is maximizing the One Percent's power and profits by reducing us, the 99 Percent, to abject slavery in a global concentration camp maintained by electronic surveillance; then at last we understand that any alternative short of getting rid of capitalism itself is no alternative at all.