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ADHD: Hunter in a Farmer's World
Thom Hartmann has written a dozen books covering ADD / ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder.
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Thom's Blog Is On the Move
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To answer Thom's question: You bet they will. Those ditto heads are so predictable!
It does my heart good to see input from folks like "dianhow" who declare themselves "former GOP voters". And congratulations for getting educated! Even when the truth hurts, we're better off knowing it.
Jazzyjoy, you are too funny.
Defense contractors don't create many jobs because, as we know from listening to Thom's programs, defense manufacturing is capital intensive, i.e., it is high technology and low on labor. It serves only to enrich contractors. For "make work" what is needed is high labor, low technology production..
Personally, I am thrilled by the changing demographics in this country. It could mean the Republicans' days are numbered. Through the past several years I've heard rumors that white folks are soon to be a minority here, which suits me just fine, since non-whites are more inclined to vote like I do. Just for my amusement, I'd love to see the stats on black & latino voters who picked Romney & Ryan!
Wow!!!You are really out there...It seems that the Only solution to your troubles and fears regarding a "Global Infestation of Humans" is population controll...Nothing short of killing off a half billion people a year. However since there aren't enough natural catastrophies turning out high number casualties to that volume, you will have to take matters into your own hands. How about deeming ALL non-white Americans as terrorist and enact drone strikes against ALL illegal immigrants. As well lets make it not only a anti non-white American issue, but why don't we snuff out all those lazy good-for-nothing welfare babies???No you don't have to get messy...Just deny them anymore government assistance, shut down medicare and medicade all together; no more medical attention, and keep wages low...That should solve your personal population nightmare. It will be a rich white elitist world...Galaxia.
Obviously the Jews get a pass since it would be in poor taste to wipe them out after what they have already suffered.
But in all honesty do you really believe that YOU are so much better...What makes you so privledge, superiour, entitled??? That you were "born" in the USA???Big Woop! Unless you are a Native American Indian, your family tree started somewhere else...Illegal white immigrants stole this land from the North American Indians, and Mexicans.
Oh the irony that in many parts of the U.S. Mexicans out number Whites. Ain't Karma a bitch!?!?
The Fed has printed 1 Trillion $'s a year and yes the Republican's ASKED for spending cuts but they didn't get any! We have taxed the rich. The middle class is where the money is and they are next.
Obama owns this econemy NOT BUSH!
Thom you know all this so cut the CRAP!
Many years ago Fox News vehemently argued with the critics about the American economy being good all the while President Bush was in Office until the final days before the change of command. Especially then Vice President Dick Cheney acclaimed that deficits don’t matter. Plus Henry Paulson handed off a three page summary of the economy in free fall. You can picture all the business friends parachuting in free fall holding on their ripcord called the Federal Reserve.
Many likely remember Hannity of Fox News in raving rants discounting anyone who knocked the economy while Bush held office. More over America’s first fiscal cliff was handed off to President Obama from Bush and his treasury chief secretary Henry Paulson.
After reflecting on the history here, America’s new president, Obama received a summary of the treasuries damage, President Obama started to learn what bail is really fast. Now the party of no regulation, hands off the too big to fail economy, or better put the biggest one shot piece of regulation stroking president Obama’s back end while laughing as they vanish like a mysterious derivative. This has to be the best failure any political party could deliver to the American people. Henry Paulson essentially saying, “you gota due some regulation or America goes to hell”. The kicker is that stimulation program called tarp was the first step in America’s on going “Fiscal Cliff”, really a stair way down the economic rat hole. Just how many steps to go, so two steps are behind America.
Gee that security market looks nice and fat now get ready here is the next step. My clue is when Mitch Mcconnell pulled out his diagrams. He dredged up something colorful and glitzy but it looked like a part of his up side down world to me.
We need sweeping reform across the spectrum. From publicly funded campaigns for all federal and state elections, to wall street and the financial sector. Wall street should be an effect instead of a cause. Long term investing should be encouraged over short term investing. FIAT money has to be replaced with a gold/silver/platinum backed money. The wealthy need to be systematically stripped of their power and ability to influence our government. Our TV Radio and news papers need to be stripped from the mega corporations with interests which oppose the good of the people. Our education system needs to be completely rebuilt from the ground up, from a high drop-out rate barely functioning system to a system that churns out educated work ready adults out of high school. Our military system depends on defense contractors that don't get the job by being the best, or the best for the money, but by hiring ex-politicians and lobbying.
We should not strip our Billionaires and Millionaires of their wealth and re-distribute it. However we should relax our protection of them when it comes time for them to reap what the've sewn. We should strip them of their right to do business if they do not do business in the best interest of the people.
A start would be to revoke Wal Mart's corporate charter.
Pro-growth policies, the kind that require the top 1% to pay their fair share of taxes, the kind that promote strong labor unions, strong social insurance programs, and in general the kind that make the vast majority of the electorate realize that our Democratic Progressive Representatives are the only ones without their heads up their whatever...... which is precisely why Republicans are pushing austerity economics.
It's all just a left wing hoax, Upstate NY, thunderstorms last night, over 60 degrees today, and had a wonderful run in my shorts and t-shirt tonight.
I must agree LibyMn - Both of the questions are true. But we shouldn't stand still and take it any more, instead put it right back in their obstructionist faces. Just concentrate on bringing back our manufacturing base, and puting people back to work in meaningful middle clas paying jobs.
Just think about it. With government defense spending and the make-work associated with the military-industrial complex, the economy would have grown AT A PUNY 1.27 percent pace! At below 10 percent growth rates there is NO WAY that the United States will ever by able to eliminate deficits and substantially pay down the national debt while maintaining social programs supported by tax extraction and further incurring national debt.
The military-industrial complex of subsidized private sector contractors and a war machine far greater than the combined military expenditures of the other countries in the world is a primary reason the American economy is chugging along, even at such a slow pace. Instead of over-subsidizing wasteful military expenditures we need to reform the Federal Reserve Bank to create new owners of future productive capital investment in businesses simultaneously with the growth of the economy. Such productive capital investment should be to produce REAL products and services that society needs and wants, while ensuring that through full-payout dividend income the new FUTURE owners will have income to engage in the economy as "customers with money."
The solution to broadening private, individual ownership of America's future capital wealth requires that the Federal Reserve stop monetizing unproductive debt, including bailouts of banks "too big to fail" and Wall Street derivatives speculators, and begin creating an asset-backed currency that could enable every man, woman and child to establish a Capital Homestead Account or "CHA" (a super-IRA or asset tax-shelter for citizens) at their local bank to acquire a growing dividend-bearing stock portfolio to supplement their incomes from work and all other sources of income. As well national debt needs to be focused on growing the private sector of the economy simultaneously with facilitating private, individual ownership of FUTURE productive capital formation. Policies need to insert American citizens into the low or no-interest investment money loop to enable non- and undercapitalized Americans, including the working class and poor, to build wealth and become "customers with money." The proposed Capital Homestead Act would produce this result.
Sign the Petition at http://signon.org/sign/reform-the-federal-reserve.fb23?source=c.fb&r_by=3904687
Sign the WhiteHouse.gov petition at https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/reform-federal-reserve/PhY3Jswk
Such policies will address our greatest problem, that being most Americans are not earning enough income to properly support themselves and their families. The country is experiencing a widening divide between an elite income class with well-paid salaries and dividend and capital gain income from stock ownership and low-pay wage earners and those dependent on taxpayer-supported government welfare funded by extracting taxes and incurring national debt. This situation will continue to worsen. Americans need to WAKE UP and realize that the FUTURE is one of technological unemployment. Private sector job creation in numbers that match the pool of people willing and able to work is constantly being eroded by physical productive capital’s ever increasing role. And as a result, most American incomes will decline, which will result in a downturn in the economy as there will be fewer and fewer "customers with money" to purchase the products and services society needs and wants. The result: no or significantly reduced opportunity for income.
This is the NEW REALITY! The obvious, logical solution is for people to OWN THE MACHINES and non-human means of production that result from technology.
This new reality is the result of technological innovation and invention, tectonic shifts in the technologies of production, and an obsolete union movement stuck in job creation and "more pay for less work" instead of bargaining for employee ownership and increased incomes resulting from dividends earned as stock owners in corporate America.
This can be accomplished by applying the logic of corporate finance, which is self-financing and asset-backed credit for productive uses to grow the economy. People invest in capital ownership on the basis that the investment will pay for itself.
The solution is not a focus on JOB CREATION but a focus on OWNERSHIP CREATION whereby EVERY American can acquire private, individual ownership in FUTURE income-producing productive capital investment without the need to limit the financing to past savings and/or requiring workers to reduce their consumption incomes to become owners.
There is a solution. The Just Third Way Master Plan for America's future is published at http://foreconomicjustice.org/?p=5797.
The fundamental economic solution is to create income for EVERY American by simultaneously broadening private, individual ownership of FUTURE productive capital economic growth and fully paying the profit dividends to the new American owners of the income-producing capital assets of our corporations.
Support the Capital Homestead Act at http://www.cesj.org/homestead/index.htm and http://www.cesj.org/homestead/summary-cha.htm
Oh come on...both of those are true.
Tom, it was an honor meeting you at the Blue State Ball in Minnesota. So sorry for the adversity you've experienced in your family over the recent months. Your presentation was very moving. Peace!
The current fiscal debate is hiding the fact that it was not the cause, therefore, NOT the solution to the Great Recession. The monetary-financial system crashed the economy causing the taxe revenues to go down and the safety net expenses to go up. Almost every gov't involved in the sub prime fiasco went into deficit. Cutting taxes and increasing spending is only a temporary and partial solution.
The economy is starving for money! Trillions of debt has been paid off since the crisis reducing the supply in cirulation. Banks with their fractional reserve banking and narrow lending can not put enough money back into circulation. We need complete monetary reform by eliminating fractional reserve banking and the creation of money by debt only! We need to subtantially increase the diversity of distribution of new money and take the creation process out of the bankers hands into a transparent democracy. It worked for the Colonists both before and during the Revolutionary War and again for Lincoln during the Civil War with the Greenbacks.
The complete answer is in the "Monetary Reform-The Big One" Section on the right side of our site at www.cpe.us.com
Center for Progressive Economics
Bagger run GOP are disgusting blocking stalling lying creeps . Now I feel better Signed Former GOP voter who got educated
CAMPAIGN FINANCE (& LOBBYIST) REFORM
I absolutely agree. This is my only issue because mega-money corrupts ALL other government, political and social-issues. And yet almost nobody is doing much about getting this scourge on democracy under control. Certainly the major political groups are doing nothing -- they're making out like bandits, feeding out of the $-Billion or so raised during last year's campaign.
They're doing nothing other than continuing to fill my In-box every-day, panhandling for spare-change. Sorry guys; but while I supported this last election, I just can't keep paying folks who were elected to do a job, or various campaigns every week or month, now -- to simply do their job.
Worse yet, some of the Mega-Million-PACs and Funds are now supporting paid professionals, working right now to corrupt and destroy our basic freedoms and democracitic systems -- while our "world's biggest military" can do nothing about it -- do nothing but in-fact support it.
Wake-up, folks. The Corporations and the Mega-Rich can somehow find ways to write-off the value of their "contributions" (investments). We of the 98% have to dig into our monthly budgets or our savings for the future. From now on, the vast majority of any of my contributions will only be to Financial Reform or specific un-addressed issues.
__
Larry Pius: +230,000,000 (or $6B whichever you prefer)
The Conservative "trickle down" ideology hasn't done what they said it would do. Instead it has turned into a massive "flood upward". Unfortunately to change the policy direction will require a lot of politicians who voted for and enacted these policies, to admit that they were wrong. Anyone who has experienced the full glare of a politician's ego up close, will know that admitting a mistake or wrong policy choices is something VERY few politicians would ever do. Very few politicians have the integrity or strength of character required to do this. The ONLY way we'll see a change of policy direction is through generational change of representatives or some kind of political purge of the old guard. It will also require voters to actively think about issues and not just accept the Fox News (read corporate) propaganda. Given the popularity of the right-wing shock jocks and other hate and fear mongering media, I'm not optimistic.
Austerity is being used as a tool by the "neo-liberals" (who are NOT liberal) to depress economies that have (or used to have) strong social safety nets --good education, universal healthcare, solid pensions and strong unions, acquired with great effort during the 1930s -- which the "neo-liberals" around the developed world are trying to dismantle. The same scenarios are being observed in Australia, France, Canada (!), which is to plead "we're broke" by governments, even "socialist" governments, after purposefully taking measures to enrich the rich, plundering the natural resources, cutting jobs, and glorifying "the free-market" and the big banks.
We need to organize ourselves from scratch at the local level, into cooperatives. Cut out the greedy middle "men", and share modest profits among ourselves. It's happening!
http://www.usw.org/media_center/releases_advisories?id=0523
DAnneMarc....Go read up on the clean drinkable safe water and then come back and tells us what you think. In fact read up on every question I asked and answer them, don't just cherry pick them and respond with generalities like they were actual FACTS. MY GOD CAN YOU find one single fact to respond to a single question. THIS IS LIKE DEBATING RIGHT GLENN BECKERS. NO facts just generalities and they think that is a valid rebuttal. BS BS.
Over 3 to 4 billion people on this planet make less than $ 3 a day. If just 5% want to come here......200,000,000........what is an acceptable number to you? I think the percentage would be very high in some countries. When I was in India I remember every single person there said yes to that question. So 5% is an unrealistically LOW NUMBER.
When would you say enough is enough?
The world's population increases at about 70 to 90 million a year. If just 5% come the this country a year...3 to 4 million, 40 million every decade, they will most likely bring a propensity for high birth rates with them, 40 million could turn into 80 to 200 million in 10 years. What number is acceptable to you?
Not a hard question.
As an afterthought, I've just one more comment to make before putting this issue to rest. I am always hearing people like Mr. Ware dumping on the poorest, most marginalized people in our society, those who must work longest and hardest for the smallest compensation; those who have the least, condescendingly referred to as "the least among us". And if there is one thing I've absolutely NO sympathy for, it is scapegoating and misdirected anger. Because everyone should know who the real parasites are: banksters, CEOs, insurance hacks and Trust Fund Babies; those who contribute nothing of value to society, yet skim the cream off the top, enjoying all the benefits of other people's hard work, reaping every imaginable reward and advantage society has to offer without even having to lift a finger. This is why I am so fed-up, hearing the same tired old sermons about work ethics and "bettering oneself", ad nauseam... It never applies to EVERYONE; just to the 98% of us who aren't in the Lucky Sperm Club! - Aliceinwonderland
The wording of the poll question needs to be refined. Your position, Thom, is outstanding. Treat guns like cars. Register, insure, and license owner/operators. Does this "limit" the number of cars on the road? Not really. But it makes our daily life much safer. The same would be true if we used the same principles on guns. In the case of guns, these three principles would operate like a three-legged stool. You could not buy the gun if you did not have proof of insurance and proof of training. The insurance companies would be the best organizations -- by far -- to be in charge of the "background check." Why? Because the insurance companies could easily get access to the private health information that would keep guns out of the hands of psychotic madmen.
If the insurance companies were in charge of background checks, you better believe the entire system would be brought into the 21st century OVERNIGHT. Insurance companies could work hand-in-hand with law enforcement agencies to track down criminals. Don't insurance companies suffer from big losses when criminals commit a wide range of crimes? Insurance companies would probably be better off if they could identify criminals and mentally ill people in the community who were stockpiling guns. It might be tip-off for other things that needed to be looked into. It would make every other type of insurance they sold more likely to be safe and would improve their profits at the same time it made the community a safer place.
Let me start by apologizing for not returning to the blog when I said I would. I've been flat on my back with a cold and fever. I will return to bed ASAP.
David Abbot, MmmmNachos, and Aliceinwonderland, thanks for fighting the good fight. It's quite overwhelming the hostility and paranoia that exists out there concerning "Illegals". Personally I'd prefer to call them "Unexpected Visitors." I'd just like to state my main concerns on this issue.
1. ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL!! Not American citizens or legal immigrants; but ALL MEN. If we cannot as a people have the basic decency to treat others as we would have them treat us, we are hypocrites and deserve nothing better. Remember, whenever we diminish any group or anyone, we diminish everyone!
2. TEMPORARY WORK VISAS. With all do respect, NO! For two reasons:
*Anytime the ability to discriminate exists in the job market it will be taken advantage of by employers to exempt American Citizens from the labor force.
*If you intend to tax these workers for Workman's Comp, Social Security and any benefits while intending to deny them the ability to collect them this is unfair and unacceptable.
3. David accurately stated how hardy and strong the Mexican worker is. This is absolutely true. I've seen these gentle mannered people haul cement in wheel barrels all day without breaking a sweat or breathing hard. I've seen field workers tending weeds under the direct sunlight hunched over all day and then go dancing all night. As far as that Black Widow spider incident you've mentioned is concerned, I know an Agricultural Engineer in Mexico who works his own ranch. He told me that he is used to receiving stings from Scorpions on a daily basis because there are so many on his ranch. He say's there like Mosquito bites to him. Of course, this wasn't always the case. When he was a boy and received his first sting he went to the hospital and almost died. After that he would just get sick. After that he just felt a little woozy. When he got older, he didn't even bother going home. It had become a mild irritant at that point. You see David, there is no genetic factor prone to hardiness or strength. These characteristics are developed through your environment and lifestyle. I might argue that all of our ancestors were equally as "tough" at one time or another. I respectfully submit that it is our sedentary lifestyles and automated environment that makes us perceive the average Mexican Immigrant as Super People. We must be careful here. To carelessly bestow upon a group of people a physical characteristic as being genetic, when it is not, is discrimination.
4. Jlane said "Question 8 How can we support mass immigration at these levels?
Question 9 How many people can this countries water supplies sustain."
First of all Jlane you seriously overestimate the appeal of the United States. Most Immigrants that I know only want to support their families or earn enough to buy a business in Mexico and return. Your paranoid and delusional concern really has me scratching my head and wonder why I'm wasting my time; but, here goes:
90% of the earths surface is covered with water. There will always be plenty of water. If we fall short of drinking water then we will have to refine ocean water. That is going to require worker, right? Our main concern right now concerning water is having too much. With global warming and receding ice caps, if you live near the coast, you may find yourself with more water than you would care to have.
As far as food is concerned, this country produces enough food to feed itself, then it feeds countries all over the world with its exports. After that, our Government, with our tax money, buys back the excess surplus and destroys it. To answer that issue I have to say NO, we are not going to run out of food. In fact, everyone in Mexico could come here--if there was enough jobs--and we could easily feed them all. However, if we were to kick every undocumented Mexican out of this country we and much of the world would probably starve because THEY PRODUCE THE MAJORITY OF THE FOOD!!
5. In addition, another important issue I wish to address is in agreement with DavidAbbots point that non of this is going to matter if we don't reinstate our import tariffs and make a serious, and successful effort to bring our manufacturing base back to this country. Without that, we are all doomed.
6. Finally, we have to take a good long look at the policies of President Ronald Wilson Reagan. This Administration put into motion many plans that have resulted in disaster. They need to be reversed ASAP!
Thanks everyone. Have a good one. Back to bed for me. I'll check back next chance I get.
Well thanks, AliceInWonderland. I do enjoy a vigorous exchange of information. And I enjoy it even more as a result of something that happened in the mid-1970's: Suddenly I realized how very difficult it was for me to admit that I was wrong about anything, and I sawthe damage that my attitude was doing to me and to all of my personal and work relationships.
I really did want to be right, but I saw that in order to be right, sometimes I might have to stop being wrong, especially when someone very clearly showed me why I was wrong about something. Teaching myself to admit it when I was wrong was one of the most difficult things I have ever done. No joke, it was like going to war inside of myself, with a part of myself. The first time I decided to admit that I was wrong, it took me two weeks to get up the courage to admit it. And it was about some stupid little thing that didn't even matter to me or to the woman I was living with. I would start to admit it, but I could not get my mouth to form the words.
That was the most courageous thing I have done. For me, getting angry or lashing out at someone took no courage at all, because in fact I was addicted to getting angry and lashing out at people. Getting angry didn't show any character. Getting angry was the EASIEST thing I did at that point in my life. Forcing myself- against MY OWN resistance, to start learning to admit it when I was wrong, was one of the most rewarding things I have done, because now when I disagree with someone about something or when someone disagrees with me, I can relax a little, and not being quite perfect yet, I can listen to the other person and consider what they're saying, so that if I am wrong, hopefully I can quickly see it, admit it and then I will be right.
Sometimes I realize that I am wrong as soon as the other person states their case, and that makes it fast and easy. But other times it takes hours, days, months, or even years for me to realize that I am wrong about something.
When I dialog with people like Ken Ware, I see myself in the early 1970's. Ken proves that I was right to admit that I had an anger management problem and start dealing with it in a sane manner, and I was right to admit that I am not always right.
First, I'm sorry to hear about your daughter's fiance, Thom. A prevented future is always painful.
Second, unrelatedly, I think it would be a great symbol to prosecute Wayne LaPierre for lying under oath to Congress. The NRA needs some impetus to start telling the truth.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM - We must divert ALL of our efforts into achieving public funding of elections, NOW, NOW, NOW. NOTHING of any real consequence will happen in this country unless and until this happens as evidenced by the recent filibuster reform debacle.