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Palindromedary ~ Thom was just talking about how people who are born into poverty don't develop higher brain functioning because of the fight or flight mechanism of the mother being active while carrying the fetus prevents such development. Sorry for the off topic comment; but, your reply to Kend's comment made me think about that. Didn't Kend once say he was born into poverty?
We must abolish poverty!
Kend: Julia Davis had nothing to hide and in fact did what was her duty in reporting the July 4th, 2004 incident about those 29 potential terrorists coming across the border. And look what happened to her. Her report to the FBI made Homeland Security look bad and so the gestapo DHS went after her in retribution.
Kend: It's not about "nothing to hide". It's about violating people's privacy! If you have nothing to hide then why don't you tell me what all of your bank account numbers and passwords are! See, even you have "something to hide". That's right! It is none of my business what you have in the bank. And it is none of the government's business to know what is in my lap top. If you think so, then you would make a nice little Nazi citizen or a nice little Communist citizen who just bends over for the authorities every whim.
removed link.
Stecoop01: I too decided to retire early partly because of the hassles by TSA at airports. I had to do a lot of traveling and I was really getting very sick and tired of the violations of privacy..when they decided to start forcing people to hand over passwords on the lap tops so they could inspect the contents, I said..enough is too much already.
Seems to be many McCarthy types these days . People are so disgusted about politics . This is what US must do to TAKE back our gov't ! Bribing lobbyists must go Bloated defense budget must be cut Cut back on overpaid greedy war contractors , war profiteers making billions off death . Congress must live by the laws they make ! Congress must stop voting their own raises ! Citizens United must go. Corp tax rates must go up Corp Adjusted tax rate is the lowesr in 50 yrs . Increase Funding for education, disabled,mentally ill asap. get out of all wars now. Reduce US mitilary presence around the globe Cut back on foreign aid. Fix the USA first . Raise Min wage up to min of $ 10.00 Its immoral for the powerful to keep fighting basic fairness.
Palindromedary ~ You're most welcome. I too found it quite informative. Very unsettling as well.
Wow! Talk about "mission creep". Well, I guess it takes "creeps" to do "creepy" things! When our government partners with debt collection agencies to strong arm people then you know that they've gone way too far down the road to fascism. They are creeptomaniacs!
DAnneMarc: Thanks for that link. I just watched it. It has more information that I had not previously heard.
Thom you don't know crap about buying guns, the sale of them and state and Fed. law on the subject!
www.maglev.net http://www.maglevboard.net/
I don't know it makes me feel a lot safer. I have nothing to hide. I fly in and out of the US several times a year and have had no problems at all.
A few years back, just after all the hyper-security was implemented at our airports, I turned down a job offer that would have more than doubled my income. The reason: the job would have required me to fly all over the country. The employer couldn't understand that because of the oppressive regulations, I would feel less like a criminal if I were caught robbing Fort Knox or burning down the Library Of Congress. Why freedom loving Americans put up with this s&$t I just don't understand. The last vacation I went on, some 3000 miles, I DROVE. And I loved it!
Our government spies on us, and yet, gets all huffy if we spy on them. Can our government get any screwyer?
~ Oh, I agree my friend, that is a very tempting idea. Although we might be literally throwing the baby out with the bath water. Remember, along with the congressmen who may deserve to drink from that cup will be the likes of Alan Grayson, Bernie Sanders, Barbara Lee, and of course Thom and Louse Hartmann among many other good servants and citizens. I think these guys belong to a club that deserves clean gourmet drinking water.
Besides, allowing this drilling to happen will set a dangerous precedent for other parks, forests, and natural resources around the country. We need to wean ourselves off fossile fuels. We can't afford to let it happen.
DAnneMarc - In principle I agree, but consider this. The good people would know the water is bad and would avoid drinking/using it, whereas the bad people would drink/use it just to "prove" it's safe. I would hate to lose the National Forest, but the sacrifice might be worth it if it brings a complete stop to all fraking.
Infringing on my privacy is not what I call a free and open society. It is, in fact step one to tyranny.
I hear ya, Mark! That brand of stoopid has "Made In America" stamped all over it! We can blame transfats, flouride, high fructose corn syrup and corporatized infotainment for such low wattage.
You could be subject to repeated illegal searches at the mere suspicion of an agent? 13,000 people have been harassed to the point of lodging official complaints?
Where were these over glorified attack dogs when Julia Davis registered a legitimate complaint with the DHS and the FBI and got persecuted to the full extent of fascism for it? I want my Constitution back!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LL9Jnos-GA
Hi, Thom--
One of today's questions--What if JFK had lived?-- was the center of our conversation a while back when you had me on about UNAFRAID: A Novel of the Possible. Unlike the new book it's NOT an attempt at a straight-line extrapolation of what he'd do based on what he did do. UNAFRAID posits a break with the past, where JFK's near-death in Dallas transforms him, as near-death experiences often do. He sees the vanity of the whole quest for the White House and resolves to see how much he can nudge America's walk towards his talk in his remaining five years in office. More than "What would have happened?" it's about "What could have happened? and, more interestingly, "What can still happen?" What kind of leadership are we really ready for?
I always invite interested folks to sample UNAFRAID for themselves at www.unafraidthebook.com. Thanks! -- JG
Thom and All:
while being born into poverty is a recipe for intergenerational poverty, it should be considered that poverty is also an institution. Here is a definition from Websters for "institution:
in·sti·tu·tion [in-sti-too-shuhn, -tyoo-]* any established law, custom, etc.* A well established and structured pattern of behavior or of relationships that is accepted as a fundamental part of culture
Institutions remain in place because, inspite of the horrible damage they may do for many, they also benefit others. The Institution of Poverty remains in place with the use of racism, sexism (including LGBTQ), ageism, classism and disablities. While it is illegal to discriminate against most of these "isms", it is perfectly legal to discriminate against anybody if they are poor for housing, jobs, even entry to public buildings. The Institute of Poverty replaces all these "reasons" for discrimination and can simply now put it down to someone being in poverty and pretend it is not because they are a person of color, the wrong sex, disabled, or senior.
Poor people are far from the "burden" they are consididered to be. Many people ask, "How many jobs has a poor person ever made?" The answer is "Lots!" Poverty is Big Business for cheap labor, as a matter of fact, for many TANF recipients they are forced to work for free alongside opaid workers in for-profit companies, Poverty is a job creator for people managing people in poverty as "gatekeepers" in both government and mega-non-proftis. Poverty is a massive Cayman Islands for the rich to hide their $Millions in mega-non-profits and foundations. In every single state the poor pay the highest rate of taxes than any other class (check out your state here: http://www.itepnet.org/whopays ) . In other words the upper classes depend upon the poor in order to maintian their own class status.
While it is painful to admit, let's just face it; in a capitalistic society, poverty would *not* exist unless somebody can make money from it. Until we can admit it is an institution like sexism and racism is and slavery was, we will not be able to tackle the issue. Period.
My 2 cents
Cat in Seattle
Board member of POWER; http://www.mamapower.org
as opposed as I am to fracking, DC might be a good place for a wholesale fracking experiment.
at 62 I have yet to meet a con or teabagger who can grasp the destruction of their actions, until the mess is in their yard or bed or in this case, toilet
Aliceinwonderland ~ Thanks for clarifying that. It just seemed too senseless and stupid of a comment to be true; or, a complete thought in context. My brain refused to process it without further information. However, I somehow conjectured it was the ramblings of a nincompoop. I can now rest easy that my suspicions were correct. What is wrong with this tea party/conservative crowd's general brain activity--or lack there of? Could it be sign of the beginning of the Zombie apocalypse? Or, is greed simply making them stupid? Or, is it something in their water? Transfats or flouride, maybe? I so want to believe it is curable. I too must confess that I'd also bet $$ he's an American. Just a terrible gut feeling. You know, like the one you have right before you throw up. For some reason, I just can't picture a European with those words rolling out of their mouth. At least, none of the ones I've met.
Kend ~ Is that such an obvious fact to you that you don't need to quote any source to support it. How very Kend, of you? Like I said, the plant grows in all 50 states in any climate. That includes Alaska. We would not need to use farm land; except, as an alternative in crop rotation. You see Hemp can also replace petroleum based fertilizers by using it in crop rotation. That means that you plant beans one season, then Hemp, tomatoes, then Hemp, beats, then Hemp. The Hemp is just to rebuild the soil. It becomes waste and is then used for very cheap industrial purposes; and, of course, fuel. The real fuel is grown in dedicated Hemp fields far away from food farms and closer to the big cities. That way regular city folk can work the jobs operating the big equipment that will be used to plow, seed, cultivate, harvest, transport, and process the Hemp plants. Remember, we just want to power our vehicles; not fill the Great Lakes. Don't worry about the food supply. Food always takes priority over energy. Water takes priority over food. Air takes priority over water. That is why we will use Hemp. To protect the air. That gives Hemp priority over everything as long as we use energy.
Kend ~ FYI. The definition of a "renewable resource" is a resource that can be replaced as fast as it is consumed. Trees on average take anywhere from 40 -100 years to reach full maturity; some, more. The type of trees in our national forests that Bobbler is talking about are several centuries old. If you are suggesting using the resource of a tree over several centuries before cutting down any more, than yes, it is a renewable resource. Otherwise, you are just blowing hot air--again!
But Thom, there have been spills. The on-site holding ponds that hold fracking water, until trucks can haul it away to god knows where, are very shallow, earth-banked, and lined with some kind of plastic. These holding ponds overflow when there is heavy rainfall--as we had here in the spring--and cattle have died from drinking from the streams into which this fracking fluid overflowed.
Drilling for oil and gas is like flogging a dead horse. These "resources" are limited and their extraction has been shown to be detrimental to the environment. Why not put all that effort into renewables?
The fact is, even if there are no spills or accidents, - See more at: http://www.thomhartmann.com/blog/2013/10/dont-frack-dc#sthash.9W4S2fY5.dpufThe fact is, even if there are no spills or accidents, - See more at: http://www.thomhartmann.com/blog/2013/10/dont-frack-dc#sthash.9W4S2fY5.dpuf
There ARE answers and alternatives to ruining Mother Earth and ourselves. No one has mentioned the high health costs of oil and gas pollution. We now know that pollution causes cancer, plus various lung diseases--asthma, which has been increasing--and other ailments. That COSTS us. Dismissing any one of the alternatives mentioned as impractical--which sounds to me like pure speculation based on ignorant assumptions--is silly. Why not hemp? Why not windmills (by the way, I do live in the Midwest. My energy company has a miniscule percentage of energy in renewable resources. Why? They aren't finding it profitable enough--they are instead patching up the old plants, including nuclear plants. What is needed is more government financial encouragement).
People are working on alternatives and we need to support all of that. It's downright silly to be so dismissive of all of these alternatives by talking about the Amish or horse-and-buggy transportation.
Think. Innovate. Support alternatives. Come into the 21st century.
Danne yes that may be true but the amount you need to replace oil there would be no room to plant food.