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Shocking! Just look at this and then tell me that prescription drugs are not a big factor in setting people off on killing sprees. It's not just guns, but includes swords, and knives, and clubs, and other weapons...and they are not all in the US...many abroad...and they all tie in to the use of prescription drugs. You will be shocked at how this list goes on and on and on.
http://ssristories.com/index.php
You've heard the phrase "...he died of a thousand paper cuts". The transfer of wealth has many faces, many avenues in the thousands hiden behind laws favoring the Rich. The Republicans want to increase the Social Security Insurance threshold for retirement to age 70 as the excuse for reducing the budget deficit and SSI has nothing to do with the budgit deficit, since it is over 2 Trillion dollars to the good. The Republicans want to increase the threshold for Medicare to age 67 and Medicare has nothing to do with the deficit. We paid into these insurance programs and they are separate from the deficit. But, the Rich have had laws favoring their wealth and they are greedy and what they can't get from the "Front Door" they go to the "Back Door". The Republicans want to reduce Unemployment Insurace for the Unemployed which the workers paid for. These transfers from the insurance programs when the wealthy paid taxes on only the maximum of 15% of their earnings when the working class paid on the full dollar is an insult! The transfer of wealth is shrouded in the guise of budget deficit when they spent our way to shoot "Santa Claus"...
Although the suggestions you make are fair they are not simple. They are not simple in two ways.
First, getting congress to pass any of these ideas is in no way simple.
Second, the economy has so many lags and non-linearities we need to look historically to see what might work. The first is my favorite "how can this be moment". When Reagan lowered the top tax rate from 78% to 35% the rich paid 2 to 3 times as much in taxes. Therefore, if one was to introduce a 70% tax rate there would be less revenue from the rich. Thom has sort of explained why this is. I will give my explanation if anyone cares.
Ok, I take it all back...
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Did somebody forget to take his meds today? I think so! It sure sounds like it.
Oh, wait a minute...of course...that's it...there's a full moon tonight!
I just finished watching PBS news hour and it is apparent that neither the President nor the Republicans want to avoid the program cuts or the tax increases. Obama just stated he is asking for what he has asked for from day one. Increase taxes on those making more than $25K a year with tax cuts for the middleclass. He knows damn well the Republicans have already said no to those figures. Boehner is also not willing to do anything that could cost him his Speakership in the House, which means no deal. Reid and McConnell will perhaps come up with a bill that the House will reject, so as I have stated all week there will be no bill that will prevent the fiscal cuts in spending and the tax increases for everyone. Why should the House agree on new taxes when if they do nothing they will at least get cuts in spending for Social Programs and unemployment benefits? And any Idiot who thinks the unemployed would prefer lower income so they do not have to work, probably said the same thing about welfare benefits. It is not even worth the time to address anyone with that mindset. Obama will get his tax increases on the wealthy and the Republicans will get cuts in social programs they have begged for over the years. Everyone can blame the other Party for what is happening and not take any hits politically. For God only knows the idiot voters who end up losing will never bring themselves to the point of blaming their political party and the politicians think they will skate right over this whole mess. If the American public falls for this bullshit they deserve what is coming their way from Washington. No wonder other countries laugh at our country and how Americans are so lazy they will not even stand up for their own benefit, and they are right!
Mathboy - The voters in this state realized that going into the election. We have a Democrat Governor, a Democrat majority in the Senate and Assembly. Not too bad for a state most people like to take jabs at. We also increased the taxes on those making more than $250,000 a year for seven years and voted in a 1/4 cent tax increase on goods purchased to prevent any further down grading of our schools. We will have enough teachers in the coming years to afford the students enough teachers on student time to learn what is necessary to have a more complete education. And who would guess there has not been this great exodus out of our state by the wealthy or the business community that the Republicans said would happen! Who would have guessed!
Abbot - Your comments are not only funny as hell, they hit the problem right on the nose. Good work. Sarcasm with a light hearted hand! Ha. A good way to end the year on this blog.
Here is wishing, A Happy and Safe New Year to All...
Palindromedary – After reading the article you refer to, I am appalled, yet not surprised by your comments concerning antidepressants and people committing horrific crimes against fellow human beings. Your insensitivity towards people who have a legitimate medical problem like depression and suffer from this disease on a daily basis is simply wrong. As usual you rant on about something you know little about, yet you take the freedom to compare those who take medications to treat this illness with psychotic killers. To start with, not all antidepressants are of the same class or type as the S.S.R.I. medications. And those who do take this class of medication are not prone to be madmen waiting to wreak havoc on society. With your usual bravado you link a conspiracy by the drug manufacturers and the C.I.A. and others who legalize these dangerous drugs. Again, as in the past, you read one article and come up with an all-consuming theory with very little knowledge of what you speak of. Just to set the record straight I do not use antidepressants, but I do have friends that do. And, they are far from the pyscho's you seem to link to these medications. I have seen the benefits of pharmaceutical drugs that are prescribed to patients in the correct dosage for specific ailments. I do agree that these lifesaving drugs need to be monitored, as any drug needs to be, to make sure the effects are not harmful to the patient or society. One of the people I speak of is a teacher and a leader in his community. But to hear your rants, one would be led to believe that everyone taking medications for a biological problem ends up enemy no.1 on the F.B.I.'s list of criminals. I really thought there was some meaning behind your rants on several subjects, but again I see I am wrong. I not only find your comments to be thoughtless, but also highly offensive in the way you portray these highly tested drugs as have been given a "pass" by the government agencies you mention. And to compare antidepressant drugs to heroine shows just how uninformed you actually are concerning this subject.
If you want to prevent people from owning weapons who use drugs that could result in people being murdered, you will have to start with the legal and lethal drug known as Alcohol. This drug has been involved in more deaths by the hands of others than any prescribed drug. I often wonder if you make these comments to get attention or you actually believe what you rant on about. No my friend we are not more alike than different. Your comment on several subjects has shown this to be the case.
The individuals involved in these horrific crimes against humanity had psychological problems much greater than simple depression. And to assume all individuals that do have this medical problem and are treated by doctors could somehow become psychotic and present a risk to society is simply an uneducated and moronic statement to make as a generality of all the tens of millions of people who are treated for this medical problem.
And having said that, I hope you have a healthy and happy New Year.
Well, we progressives, and Americans in general, need to be more reasonable and fair with the republicans, because the republicans have been sooo nice to us.
Here is a compromise that I think will be workable both from the progressive and the republican sides of the aisle:
The democrats will get unemployment benefits extended for one more week, and those unemployment benefits will be taxed at 85%, with the tax revenue being given to military contractors who keep America safe by going overseas and killing foreign people. Here's how it will work: if you get $100 a week in unemployment, $85 will be deducted from your unemployment check, then you will be subject to a body cavity search for weapons of mass distraction, then you will be drug tested and your DNA matched with DNA left at crime scenes all around the country to make sure you're not some sort of criminal, your home will be searched for illegal substances, you will work for free for at least 40 hours for a major corporation, and then you will receive a very generous $15 to feed your family for a week.
And here's what the republicans will get in return for being so generous with us: people who earn more than $100,000 a year will pay no tax whatsoever- no income tax, no capital gains tax, no sales tax, no property tax, no excise tax, no taxes on their cells phones, etc.. The middle class and the poor can certainly pick up the slack and pay more taxes so the rich will have nice roads to drive on, and so our military can continue to protect only the interests of the rich. And there will be nationwide redistricting resulting in democrats having no representation in congress.
Don't get me wrong, it will be tough to sell this compromise to the republicans, but in the end I think they might be willing to do it, if we throw in a few incentives, such as a 90% tax on social security benefits, a 95% tax on medicare benefits, and a $500,000 co-pay on medicaid benefits,
Well said, Aliceinwonderland!... "the stakes are higher than most have dared to imagine." Which means, it is time to create, not follow the old ways because they brought us to this moment which is disfunctional disaster. I like your next entry, too where you talk about our possibilities of barter, not working for "the Man", etc. I do like a democratic co-operative. Where they do exist, they are doing very well and operate with respect for the people. Nearby, we have a 35-year-old food co-operative that has grown into two stores and sells produce from local farms and vendors; also we have a growing "Time-Bank" where working for others is a recorded investment of hours that can be used to get help and services when you need it... all in the "Bank" by the hour.
Thom has talked about the Mondragon Co-operative Company in Spain. The Basques, who were always persecuted by Franco, were desperate in the 50's (no jobs) and started a school (to train labor) and a bank as a co-operative. It has sustained the people to this day, grown to a world-wide co-operative, and when the world economy was crashing, no one was layed off, but everyone took turns working with full salary, then not working with an allowance. In many ways, hierarchical structure where the power and money is at the top like a dictator, is on its last legs. What a failure capitalism and the corporate structure have been! LIke you said, "we must create alternatives for ourselves by re-adapting and disengaging our way out of this nightmare." Then, we can call life an adventure to enjoy our own creativity and genius!
With further and further dependency on JOB CREATION, which is a travesty in light of tectonic shifts in the technologies of production that destroy and devalue jobs, eventually resulting in taxpayer-supported government welfare, the United States has a bleak future ahead unless our leadership, academia, and the national begin to address income inequality resulting from OWNERSHIP CONCENTRATION of the productive capital of our economy, and implement financial mechanisms ala an Economic Marshall Plan that empowers ordinary Americans that are non- or undercapitalized to acquire ownership in the FUTURE growth of our economy's business corporations.
On unemployment: The middle class made it very clear that extended periods on aid (regardless of what one calls it) drains a person of the incentive to get up and find a job. This is why it was decided that any sort of poverty relief provided to the able-bodied must be very time-limited. UI puts people at far greater risk of dependency than our former welfare aid because it iprovides a much higher income. On the argument that we don't have jobs for everyone, this was (to my knowledge) always true. But it states right within our welfare reform policies, which the middle class supports, that there is NO legitimate excuse for failing to secure employment. If we can require the most disadvantaged to find jobs, even in times like this, how could we expect less of those with all the middle class advantages? If government extends UI once, they'll be asked to do it again, and again, and we'll end up with a welfare system, putting us all in danger of UI dependency. Right?
President Obama doesnt have a clue when it comes to negotiations.You would think that somebody on his team would speak up!
I think we should get ready for Phase II of the 2008 mortgage takedown now that people have less and less money.
I know more than several people who stopped paying their mortgage payments the last several years because of a company's inability to find the original loan papers.
I think this paper chase was a stall on the part of the banks, to create a lag in a massive plan to foreclose, and to do it after the election. Now the time is ripe for more and more legal action to be taken by banks. Payments are bound to be higher for those who haven't paid into escrow.
This will ball up the Administration, and as well banks will threaten that if they can't foreclose some of these loans they are going to fail.
There are no free houses in America and these years of no payments will be taken out of all our hides one way or another.
On your show today, 12/28/12 you gave statistics of bills that have been passed by this congress and those that have been blocked. Your point was that in all the bills that have been passed, none of them were to create jobs--which is what Boehner had promised the congress would do. Of those that had been blocked, most were desigend to either create jobs or to protect/support the working poor. Where can I get a copy of that list / statistics? I'd like to pass it on to one of the non-believers in my family.
Thanks for your wonderful shows!
Can't get through on the phone lines but I am a Tennessee resident living in the district of Dr. Scott DeJarlais. The Congressman that was found to have pressured his girlfriend (who just happened to be his patient) to get an abortion. But he was reelected even after all this had come to light. Actually I am in Rep. Diane Black's district until the new congress begins and the redistricting beginds. Diane Black has been named the most conservative member of congres. Over all I am disgusted byt the Democratic Party on the State Level.
I was able to get through to Thom on the phone but got dropped, Thanks verizon.
When I first moved to TN I worked within a stones throw of Al Gore's home in South Carthage TN. This area has been solid Democrat many years. Al Gore's father was Senator for many years I believe as well. Not long after 1988 things started to swing. Now it is solidly entrenched Republican. Is it the corporate right wing media? Limbaugh and Faux News etc.?
I would love to get out and get involved in party politics more but being disabled it is hard to do.But I can write letters, emails and make phone calls which I have been and will be doing to my elected officials ASAP. Including Corker, Alexander and DeJarlais. When I do contact them I get canned responses writen by some corporate lobbyist it seems.
And I was wrong. Ashley Judd is in Kentucky. They are trying to recruit an oppenent to Alexander.
Next time around, we need to make sure Democrats understand the importance of elections for state legislators leading up to and just after the census. In 2018 and, in some states, 2016, elections will determine who's in the state senates at the time of redistricting. In 2020, all the elections for state legislator are important. Luckily, this coincides with a Presidential election.
Of course, we could also try to make the redistricting process more objective: http://www.thomhartmann.com/users/mathboy/blog/2012/05/system-electing-legislators-part-2-mechanics
This is the beauty and appeal to being a Conservative politician. (A) You do your job by doing nothing and (B) Your bribery benefactors have the deepest pockets.
None of those pesky responsibilities or hard decisions to run the country. And plenty of golf, booze and women.
The fiscal cliff shows the fatal flaw in a bicameral legislature. If the Congress were unicameral, they could bring a bill to the floor with a deadline and amend it until the last minute. But when that deadline hits, the legislation passes as is. With a bicameral legislature, there's absolutely no way to do that. I realize that the deadline rule isn't something that's ever actually done, but I think that's because it can't work. (Nebraska's legislature is unicameral; I wonder if it's ever done anything like this.)
Just what does it take for this country to comprehend that the most dangerous element this country has ever faced is the Republican Party.Republicans continue to refer to the left wing media distorting the facts. What left wing media? 90% of all media, written, radio, or television is controlled by the wealthy Republicans. The American public is just as misinformed as citizens of Russia and Iran do complete absence of honest discussion of the real facts that exist such as exist through this source and MSNBC evening programming. It is time to make a final decision as to whether we should refight the Civil War as is the wet dream of S. Carolina, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Idaho, Utah, Montana, North and South Dakota, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, W. Virginia, Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana, etc. or do we want to have one country for all Americans where bigotry is no longer acceptable and the average American matters as much as those born from wealthy parents. It is time for honest discussion. I for one voted equally until 2008 for both parties but now hold the Republicans in the highest level of contempt imaginable.Does anyone really believe the Democrats want to take everything away from the wealthy and give to the people of color? Isn't it time to put this 70 year myth to bed for good.
JLC: Wow! That is a fantastic article...and one of the things I noticed on all of the photos, I've seen before, of these lone gunmen was their zombie-like stares.
So, it's not the guns that kill people it's the drug-induced people that use guns that kill people. And if they don't have guns they will use clubs and knives...like in the many times this has happened in China where guns are banned. Maybe instead of targeting (pardon the pun) the NRA and gun owners we should be targeting the DEA and other parts of our government that lets these pharmaceutical companies market these dangerous drugs.
Or, if you are going to try to ban guns...at least ban only those who are taking dangerous psychoactive drugs like some anti-depressants.
There could be a direct real-time communication line between those prescribing and/or selling pharmaceuticals and the regulating arm of our government so that if someone in a residence is prescribed a dangerous drug then their guns have to be turned in, or they can't purchase these weapons to begin with. Don't blanket the whole population with strict gun laws.
And, thanks to the CIA and the US Government that took part in making the drug problem what it is today, who smuggled Heroin and Cocaine into the US on a massive scale, and who gives the pass on other dangerous "legal" drugs, we have atrocities occasionally flaring up that kills masses of people. The article mentions the book "The Politics of Heroin" by Alfred W. McCoy which I haven't read but I have read "Whiteout: The CIA, Drugs and the Press" by Alexander Cockburn and Jeffery St. Clair.
With over two million unemployed losing their unemployment benefits and any means to feed and house their families, there may be a lot more people so depressed that they are likely to do anything...maybe the government will put them on anti-depressants.
Well done! Well said!
There seems to be a decades old plan on the dark side to systematically take over all democratically organized government. Well, finally the voters in America rose to the call to dump the hyenas that have called themselves Tea Partiers. So keep up the resistance, don't fall into the pit of pointless paranoia and keep voting and working against the dark and cruel promulgaters of Chaos.
Thom - - I thought you might be interested in this article about a relationship betwwen violent shootings and other crimes and antidepressant medications.
http://www.realitysandwich.com/shooters