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.
Something must be wrong with the universe! I agree with Thom........I'll leave it at that....before the gravity quits gravitating....
I was hoping for Zimmerman to get some kind of punishment for stalking and killing this young man just because he assumed he was suspicious. I prayed they wouldn't just call him Not Guilty, when the decision was annouced I felt a hard blow in my heart and stomach. All he had to do was call report and stay in his vehicle till the police came -no he was on a mission to make an empression that he was eligible to become a police officer who could take on this young man.
That's a good one! And SOOO TRUE.
Republican Austerity
A man walks into a bathroom and up to a urinal next to a very short hairy young man. While relieving himself he can't help but notice that the little man is incredibly endowed. "My God!" He exclaims. "You certainly are unproportionally endowed! Congratulations!"
In an Irish accent the little man explains. "Tis nothing, Lad. You see, I'm a Leprechaun. Such a condition is characteristic of my people."
"Oh, I see." Said the man. "Wait a minute! You're a Leprechaun? And I saw you. That means you owe me three wishes."
"Alright, you got me. What be ya wishes?"
"I want a Billion dollars!"
"Very well. Go to your bank and you'll see your account topped off at $1 billion. What be ya second wish, Lad?"
"I want a huge mansion on a hill with a beautiful wife."
"Very well, Lad. When you go home tonight, you will find your home has become a three story mansion and your beautiful Lass wait'in for ya. What be ya last wish, Lad?"
"I want to be endowed just like you."
"Oh, no Lad! I'm sorry! Can't do that. That would be against the code of the Leprechaun."
"I insist!" Demanded the man. "I saw you! You have to do anything I ask!"
"Aye, you got me." The Leprechaun sighed. "But to do it, I'll have to rape you."
"What?"
"It's the only way Lad. The code of the Leprechaun, you know."
After thinking about it for a minute, the man agrees, lowers his pants and bends over the sink. "I'll do anything to be hung like that." He says. The Leprechaun responds in kind. Several minutes later the Leprechaun finishes and immediately pulls his pants back up. The man still bent over the sink howls out in pain. Crying with tears streaming down his face he exclaims, "I can't believe I just let you do that too me!"
Walking out of the bathroom door the Leprechaun pauses and says, "Laddie, I can't believe you think I'm a Leprechaun!"
What have we learned from this story. Two things. First, If something sounds too good to be true it probably is. Secondly, people tend to be very gullible when you tell them exactly what they want to hear.
Austerity is nothing more than smoke and mirrors designed to rape the masses.
It is amazing how a city can go from 1.7 million to 700,000 in such a short time. I don't imagine massive wages and pension and health care liabilities had any thing to do with it. High taxes chased all the money away. When will the left learn.
I heard that 80% of all pension funds are grossly under funded. Hold on this is just the start. How can you put a few hundred dollars a month into a pension fund for 25 years and get thousands a month for 40 years and not run out of money.
Very very sad.
oh and it couldn't hurt to have people like me working in municiple accounting and audits. i don;t need to rape the city i just need a honest wage for honest work and i'd make dam sure the pennies are properly appropriated. hmm, makes ya wonder just how much funding dissappears out the back door...
sad,sad,sad. just google images of detroit. detroit today? America tomorrow! Why? Duh! to think that as a native michigander i once aspired to trek to detroit as a youth thinking i'd be a line worker and live in some old brownstone, grow old have a tarrino parked in the driveway and drink miller beer while the wife hangs laundry to dry in those humid summer breezes. why do i care? don't really know 'cept it hits home when i recall my own home town and how one day industry just vanished and it's now more like crackville then any middle class small town i'd ever think of raising a kid in. Yup folks, my crystal ball tells me if washington and wall street don't get it together soon 20 years form now a lot of America will look like Deteriorationoit. PS. Sure would love to buy the old central depot and spruce it up, maybe turn it into a music/ art school or something...
I sure do wish someone would connect the dots between the Justice Luis Powell Memo, the outsourcing of jobs, the crash of the economy, and our infrastructure that is falling around us, and REPORT OUT to the public!
I am sure that this has been the wet-dream of corporate America since the case "Santa Clara v. Southern Pacific" at the end of the 1800s.
Come on, Tom! If anyone can connect the dots on the systematic take-over of this country by corporate interests, for the singular benefit of the rich, YOU CAN!
Thanks for all that you have done and are doing!
Yes Holder should do something but I doubt he will . Holder appears weak on upholding the law. . This law is dangerous in our gun happy violent socierty After killing a person any Shooter can say 'he ' felt ' threatened since the other person is dead and can not refute his story ! This is a Typical NRA Right wing law .
How are stand your ground laws materially different than vigilantism?
Recommended reading for Thom Hartmann listeners:
W.E.B. duBois, The Souls of Black (Folks) I might have screwed up that title. But W.E.B. gets to the root of racism in a world of duh, I'm not a racist.
9/11 made us what we are today, pathetic and paranoid. land of the free? home of the brave? yeah right. we're really no better then any other third world country anymore and who do we have to thank for it? just sayin'.
Must see film for Louise and you:
Hi Thom,
Mark your calendar for a date this July 26 through August 1 to go to the Landmark E-Street Cinema in D.C. to see this historic and important film.
This morning I saw an incredible interview with the filmmaker of THE ACT OF KILLING on Democracy Now! Transcript & video here: http://www.democracynow.org/2013/7/19/the_act_of_killing_new_film
The film is set in Indonesia where beginning in 1965, military and paramilitary forces, backed by the United States and led by General Suharto, slaughtered up to a million Indonesians after overthrowing the democratically elected government.
See http://TheActOfKilling.com
Filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer said, "it’s as though I am in Nazi Germany 40 years after the end of the Holocaust, and it’s still the Third Reich, the Nazis are still in power. So the official history says nothing about the killings. But, and yet, the aging SS officers have been allowed to boast about what they’ve done, even encouraged to do so, so that they’ve become these kind of feared proxies of the state in their communities, in their regions, and also perhaps that they can justify to themselves what they have done. And I realized at that point that this was a reality so grave, so important, that I would give it whatever it took of my life."
This is a fascinating study in how humans are able to perpetrate extreme acts of evil. I'm going to make a point to go see it when it comes to LA next week.
~ Charell
(P.S. I'm the one who stood up and requested a debate between you and Brad Friedman on IRV when you came to Hollywood last Spring... and who gave you the "Robot Pigeons" song that I and my two best friends, Holly and Sanchez, recorded the night before.)
http://www.facebook.com/charellc
The coverage on CNBC today was very interesting. They went to pains to say that the portion of Detroit's debt held by foreign banks is "guaranteed" by water and sewer fees. They also mentioned that an "undisclosed" investor was given the "opportunity" a short time ago, to buy a large portion of the debt for 66 cents on the dollar. That investor hopes to sell their "investment" during the bankruptcy for 80 cents on the dollar and plans to make a very large profit on their "investment."
http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000184336&play=1
The questions I have are: Did Mr. Orr "organize" this bankruptcy so as to "protect" J.P. Morgan and other foreign banks, while doing nothing to protect retirement obligations? Will the bankruptcy judge look the other way? Also note that Mr. Orr "rushed" to file this bankruptcy before it could be blocked by the pension-holders. That is not being reported, anywhere.
Dear Thom,
I would like to suggest you interview Attorney Jerome Goldberg, who can speak to you regarding how the banks devastated our city (Detroit) with foreclosures since he is a People's Attorney. He can answer any questions from foreclosures to what the Emergency Manager's real job is here since one of our co-founders (through FOIA requests) requested all documentation between the banks and the City of Detroit for the past 10 years.
The following is a video of Jerry speaking at a public meeting for the review team for Detroit's finances on Monday, March 26, 2012 in Detroit.: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXNMYoogu6E
The following are our websites:
Where the City's FOIA documentation is posted: http://detroitdebtmoratorium.org/
Where our foreclosure struggles, etc., are posted: http://moratorium-mi.org/
Attorney Goldberg can be reached at the following phone number: 1 (313) 319-0870.
Thank you,
Jean Irwin
Petite fighter ~ Thank you for your perspective. I must agree you are right. Only a Tyrant (Dictator if you will) has proper reason to fear the people. Any good King (Leader if you will) has nothing to expect from his subjects except gratitude, loyalty, and respect. Leaders who fear their subjects fear them because they hold them in contempt. The only reason for that is because they are betraying their trust and best interests and robbing them blind. That fear demonstrated by our Government should be of a great cause for concern for us all. Our Government is not interested in protecting us. They lie to us for ulterior motives. To our Government, we are the enemy. If they continue down this path, in time, that fact will be obvious to everyone.
However, it is also important to mention that the Government is only a puppet show. It is the puppeteers that are our main concern. With our form of Government there is a means to regain control of the puppet show; and, thus turn the tide of Tyranny back onto the malicious current puppeteers. Knowing this is what drives the fear behind all this spying and militarization.
I am a liberal with centerist leanings and voted for Obama. What I am experiencing, having lived in 3rd World countries, is causing great anxiety in me. Dictators are fearful of the people and must have a system of spying on them. Dictators are the ones who sign secret orders and laws. Dictators bypass their Congress and sign laws that were never considered for the greater number of people. Dictators are the ones who turn to secret courts. Dictators maintain a militarized police force. Does any of this sound familiar? Over 1,000 executive orders signed, promises not to sign NDAA, secert courts and secret court orders enforcing secret laws and the use of drones and other military war zone weaponry now being used on the American people. Yes, I've seen this all before, and now it's happening here.
DANNEMARC,
Gandhi was a true & peaceful man, much like that dude in the new testiment...What was his name???Oh that's right Jesus! ;) Anyway when I was doing my time in prison(3yrs) I did ALOT of reading writing and meditation. I read the Bible, and the Koran (found them both to be parallel and intertwined in their teachings), and a few books written by Thich Nhat Hanh (a Vietnamese Buddhist, who wrote Walking Buddah Walking Jesus), I liked his message about practicing mindfullness in everyday interations. It is amazing how powerful this practice is...The energy that comes from being awake in all that we do. It is my opinion, regardless of who you pray to and put your faith in, that our social problems are do to reacting without mindfull understanding of the situation and consideration for the short and long term affects. That our knee jerk solutions often lead to bigger problems is a true sign that we do not understand the problem in the first place.
I don't blame any one particular race, or political party, or religion, or culture...There is mass greed & lust...corruption everywhere. In our communities, our courts, our churches, or hearts...It is a social disease! Knowing this truth and being mindfull in nonviolent resolve is our only way to salvation. Peace will never come by way of more draco laws, and bombs...Those only lead to more dispare, discrimination, and suffering. The first noble truth in Buddhism is "Life is Suffering" and the other three are; Suffering originates from within ourselves, Suffering can be eliminated, Following a mindful peaceful path will liberate you from suffering.
You are correct in what you say about how we are fooled by the corporate commercial media; to think that our social problems - at least in the case of Andrew Zimmerman & Trayvon Martin - are merely black and white. Even Democracy Now is guilty at times of this, however I give them and other independent news sources lots of credit for digging deeper as well as covering those stories the Big networks ignore and/or make a mockery of; Which is a sure sign of fear and selfdenial.
It takes alot of patience, and practice, and energy to not become a victim of the corporate bullspit and loose site of humanity.
When I was doing my time and could go outside during rec (2 90min periods per day) I would sit and stare passed the armed guards tower and through the chain link fence and razor wire, day dreaming of the day I would be released. Then one day I saw the world in a different light...I realized that I wasn't the one in prison, I had been kicked out of a foolish tawdry society with all its commercial and materialistic garbage for not being a "good boy" and following order. I was free from the grimy win by any means neccessary rat race. Don't get me wrong I never want to be told when I can eat when, I can go out side, when I can shower, or be locked down again. I vowed to never allow myself to become a foolish pawn in this profit over people world. A man made world that forces people to lie, cheat, steal, and kill just to make a buck...And for what???More plastic!?!?Faster Internet!?!?Faster Food!?!?Faster Faster!?!? There is more to life than trying to find was to make it go faster.
It is never to late to change ones way of thinking, to be kind and peaceful, and mindfull, in actions towards ourselves and each other...Even if it is to be your last day on earth. Though I hope for sooner.
Love
1.7 BILLION per year is chump change. We GIVE wallstreet criminals that obama refused to investigate 85 BILLION PER MONTH.
And still no JOBS PLAN.
TAR AND FEATHERS.
Instead of cow bells, I suggest tar and feathers.
I wonder why, with the "sequester" forced on us by an incompetent congress and senate, none of those future tar and feather recipients have been vocal about the 85 BILLION DOLLARS per month printed and given to the wall street criminals?
You would think those deficiet "hawks" or FRAUDS as I like to call them would be more concerned about this welfare plan for millionaires.
TAR AND FEATHERS.
It's time to stand up against a free society. Surveillance guarantees security. I for one am sick and tired of the random movements of an unregulated and unsurveilled populace. It reminds me of nothing so much as the random jittering of molecules or bacteria under a microscope. Disgusting, and disorganized, too. What is the purpose? So much wasted movement. Agitation such as this might have been all right in the ancient past, like 1975, but this is 2013. Now, thanks to the incessant bombardment of insane-ons from outer space, we have terrorists popping up everywhere -- like whack-a-moles. We've got to be ready to whack them down. We need order in society. Lots of order. And vigilance. Constant vigilance. Ever since the traitors, Saul Olinsky and Emmanuel Goldstein, promulgated their subversive doctrines, it's been nothing but chaos and trouble. Were it not for the dedicated, primarily caucasoid guardians of order such as the NSA and Homeland Security, I for one would be worried. Very worried. All the time. Now I can say, without fear of contradiction, patriots unite! Until the war on terror is won, we can trust no one. No one, that is, except for our fully-vetted, peerless and exalted friends in the bunker in Utah. Let us all take a moment to bow now in their general direction. Anyone not bowing will be noted and a permanent record made in the national database.
welcome to corporate america, i mean police state america, no i mean drone city!!!
now they want to lock up a young man because he spoke the truth about what the government is doing with phone records. he did nothing wrong!! our government is wrong.
remember what b. franklin said (they who give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety).
Palindromedary ~ I agree! Trayvon was the person exercising the 'Stand Your Ground Law' far more than Zimmerman. Little good it did him. That particular law had nothing to do with the outcome of this event. The media attention this event is getting is the biggest travesty associated with this story.
Parents hurt their children when they teach hatred. When they train them to properly react to confrontation and emergencies they educate them and save their lives.
I can't help but believe that if Zimmerman were black we never would know the name Trayvon Martin. In fact, If Zimmerman were black, there is a possibility that Martin would have survived. Martin would have never waited for a black man stalking him to get near. The moment he realized what was happening he would have ran to his parents house out of fear and possiby been safe. However, considering the way homicide occurs in the black community, depending on how fast he could run, he may have died and his parents along with him. Nevertheless, if Zimmerman was black we never would have been subjected to this trial--even if there was one.
It's funny how the White House Spokesman and Spokeswoman squirm and sputter inanities repeatedly when addressing questions about whether the Coups in Egypt was in fact a Coups..or something else.
They can be so exact and definite whether or not Snowden or Manning or Assange are traitors, but they can't say exactly what it was that happened in Egypt. They just will not say the word "Coups" as in "Coups d'etat". (It would be illegal for the US to continue funding Egypt with the yearly $1.7 billion if what happened was a "Coups"...which it definitely was!)
Watch them wiggle...watch them squirm...watch them commit yet another illegality by redefining what happened when Morsi was kicked out of the Presidency by the military. Morsi, freely elected by the people through a democratic process, was overthrown by a military coups. And despite whether or not this was a largely popular occurrence..(Morsi turned out to be a bit like Obama..the people had a lot of hope for change but the change was not in favor of the people)....it was still a military coups. What select manipulation of the English language will they use to make it "not a coups"?
What they do in those levels, they do even more so down on our level. They violate our privacy, spy on us, because they claim they are "fighting crime" or "terrorism". The terms "crime" and "terrorism" will be just as manipulated as whatever term they come up with to justify continued aid to Egypt. Because, without providing aid to Egypt, we cannot control Egypt. The words "crime" or "terrorism" will continue to be manipulated by those in power here in the US, just as they have always been.
It reminds me of a cartoon I saw many years ago: a view through the barred windows of this building in the old Soviet Union...where people were praying and reading bibles...the sign on the building was "Prison For the Criminally Insane".
So, is it any wonder why a lot of people feel threatened and feel the need to carry weapons in order to defend themselves? If a certain group of people wants to be respected, trusted, and not feared, then they need to work on cracking down on their own people instead of expecting someone else to buy into some kind of "can't we all just get along" mentality. And it should all start with the parents of the children who develop hatreds and criminal mentalities. Those parents need to crack down on their children if they ever hope to see them live to be a grandfather...or even just a parent themselves.
But, I believe that Zimmerman was way out of line when he went looking for trouble with a loaded gun. Zimmerman should have been found guilty! He wasn't "standing his ground"...Trayvon Martin was...and Trayvon Martin had, according to Florida law, every right to "stand his ground" against Zimmerman.
And I agree with DAnneMarc that this was getting way too much attention...that there are many things that need to be at the forefront of our concerns right now. I believe that now, since the Martin family has petitioned President Obama, that it will just be used as a political football excuse to detract from what we should all have...the right to "stand our ground" against anyone who attacks us (just like Trayvon Martin should have had the right to stand his ground against his attacker, Zimmerman). We should all have the right to self defense and not be bullied. With no "stand your ground" the bullies, muggers, rapists, robbers, murderers will have a field day because they will have no fear that their victims may try to defend themselves. The only thing the verdict in Florida showed us is that "stand your ground" only applies to whites and not to blacks.