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.
..uhh... we still can't get high when we want to? ....
I'm all for legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes and believe that those that want to smoke socially should be able to do so in private. No smoking/driving!! The research shows that marijuana properties do help those suffering from chemotherapy, children with brain cancer, and so much more. That Rockefeller/Hearst prohibited it purely for corporate greed should be indication enought that it was wrong to do. To imprison millions of people for social/medicinal use is horrendous! I just do not want to see the USA in the same boat as Canada. Where one company (PrairiePlantSystem) grows it and sells it to the CDN gov't thru Big Pharma in pill form at a hugh cost to those that really need it - Not good!! Michigan already has PrairiePlant in the upper pennisula - growing. Growing for Richard DeVos (billionaire), Amway, who will distribute in his herbal line. Michigan people got the proposal through; but, Snyder destroyed it. So, we will see who gets to actually get this passed legitimately; but, I don't see it happening until the Feds REALLY do the necessary reading of research and declare it a "safe" drug!!
Let's have truth in labeling here. Nobody's making war on drugs, because drugs are not combatants. They don't take up arms, they don't fight back, they don't hold territory, they can't be fined or arrested or jailed or killed. They are merely substances.
No, what we have, and what we should properly call it, is a War on Drug-Using Americans.
It is cleverly helping us finance BOTH sides in the war in Afghanistan and providing the world's leading excuse for keeping our southern border porous and much of Latin America in economic and political turmoil.
As we SHOULD have learned during the Prohibition Era, there is no drug so awful that its effects can't be made worse by prohibiting it.
Yaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy!
Legalization will save us a hell of a lot of money. Add up the costs of enforcement, prosecution, incarceration, probation and add in the potential revenue from taxation, it's gonna be a pile of loot. Makes me wanna roll a fattie.
Bob Higgins
If this story is true, you can expect something like this: the next republican president will use the bully pulpit to turn Anonymous into the new Al Queda that must be uprooted. A GOP controlled FBI and FHS would be happy to violate personal liberties in search of a newly reviled hacker group. We have had the taliban, before that drug users and before that communists that conservatives declare war on. A hacker group like Anon falls neatly into the castigated group of 'others' that the GOP always loves to use in campaign rhetoric.
If this story is true, Thom is very correct to call for better proof from Anon. Assuming it's true for the moment, Anon is now the nemesis to the neocons and elephants have long memories. Without demonstrable proof, this story will linger as conspiracy theory and Anon will function until someone with an axe to grind gains some power to flex. With proof, the conversation would change to how is this possible and what should be done to stop private incursions into the counting of votes.
Even if not true, the messages from Anon may give would be vote riggers a pause to their thinking.
Regardless of the veracity of this story, this plot is fantastic fodder for a Hollywood screenplay. I just hope it is not done in the context of Mulder, Skully and Fox Television.
Hi Ken, Thank you for your response. A couple things I want to clear up before we have further discussions on important issues. First I want to make it clear that I am not motivated by Left or Right wing political agendas. I am N.P.A. The stance I take on different issues have noting to do with political partys. That you take my comments as being "right winger" rhetoric confuses me since I don't agree with neocon ideologies. The only thing conservative about me is I do believe that; One gets what one works for, and nothing is guarenteed except death. However, life can be cruel and bad things happen to good people. That being said, it is my opinion that all to often society makes life more unfair than it already is. Right or Left, todays political figures are the problem. In my opinion there isn't a great leader amongst them. They're all a bunch of corrupt businessmen and lawers playing golf with BIG BUSINESS while discussing ways of carving up this country for profit. To answer your question; Yes I am framilar with natural gas. In my town all of the police cars run on clean burning gas...and have been doing so since the 80's. I am not apposed to this resource, however there is no sense in harnessing natural gas if we have to do so in destructive ways that have long term adverse effects. Yes I have heard of the meteor theory, and no I don't consider that to be "weather", but the results of a huge meteor hitting the earth would contribute to a change in the climate which would effect weather. And I think you misunderstand me when it comes to the natural cycles of climate change. We cannot change these natural cycles, nor should we try; for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. BUT and it is a big but...We have the knowledge and abilities to start using all the clean energy resource that you claim to have known about since 9th grade...So what gives???I was in 9th grade 27 years ago; which at that time we were already behind in utilizing solar, and wind power. The countries that starting utilizing clean energy sources back then have advanced further on the technology. My wife works for a solar company here in Fl. where we have lots of long sunny days, but the cost of purchasing and installing PV panels along with domestic hot water panels cost on average of 25k to 50k depending on how many kilowatts a house hold uses. High costs like this with very few and ill funded rebate programms has kept most people from installing Solar for their homes. Those that do run on solar power RAVE about it. Here in my town most of the county adminastration buildings run on solar. Solar works...If we can influence our Government to rewrite an Energy Policy that would help more people to install Solar more people would, and it would take the trendiness out of the idea making it more about true conservation through common sense. Now that is green kool.
I'm just glad that I don't live right next door to a huge major polluter like a refinery where I'm sure the pollution levels must be through the roof...it could adversely affect one's ability to think straight...make people bat sh1t crazy.
I love the apologist for Walmart. He is using the same argument that Slave-owners used that the human beings that they owned were happy. I suppose that he believes it because it he didn't, his very livelihood would be in jeopardy. It is sad and it is sickening.
I have always admired the way each state can make its own laws. It makes America very unique. Most countries are all under a Federal rule with every thing. If you don't like them you can always go to a different state. Shouldn't everthing that can be done at a state level be done at a state level? I guess that would never work as all the companies and money would move to the states with the lowest taxes and regulations. It is a good thing that isn't happening now. Or is it.
How is a law Racist Thom doesn't it apply to everyone? I know this is a crazy, radical though but don't smoke or have weed on you and you will never be charged. Man
Fraud - If you would take the time to read my comment you will see I was speaking for myself and my observation of how the two different political mindsets generally determine what you believe! Furthermore you have not provided one iota of evidence to support your theory. Basically you are rattling off the same info most of us learned in the 9th. grade of high school. Of course this planet has gone through billions of years of evolution and change. Most scientist believe there was a collision on earth hundreds of millions of years ago that wiped out most species on the Earth, not some weather changes unless you put that in the category of weather, the Earth being hit by a large meteor! l No Fraud, (which I find a little funny after reading your comments) have you ever heard of clean burning natural gas? This would eliminate the carbon pollution that is warming up our planet. But the right wingers seem to follow their corporate politicians and believe this is just another phase the planet we call home is going through, because it benefits those who keep them in power, the source of our pollution the multi-national corporations you how is such great esteem. Wake up and use that part of your brain that does not run automatically on your need to follow your corrupt political corporate hero's in Washington and listen to the World's scientific community that has not been bought off by the corporate crooks. Again you guys on the right shout out it is the big bad and overly large federal government that is to blame. If it was not for the laws passed in Washington under President Johnson our kids would not be able to play outside and still be able to breathe. The government you hate so much was responsible for the Clean Air Act that cut corporate pollution way down while putting regulations into effect to save the air you and you right wing conspiracy theorists breathe each day! And guess what we did not fold up and kill our economy, on the contrary we introduced new technology that the geeks invented and created more jobs. When will you right wingers stop following your Republican gods in Washington and think for yourself....
i sure hope so! like many people, i have often thought that our only effective resistance to galloping corporate Fascism will be in cyberspace. because so much of the oligarchy's business depends on computers, but mostly because of the web's anonymity. torture accomplishes little in terms of getting information. its real purpose is chilling dissent. a lot of us baby boomers might be willing to give their lives to sabotage the war machine, but torture is way scarier than death. That's why anonymity and "Anonymous" are sooooo important. plus i think we have better brains on our side!
Global - You are still a right wing conspiracy theorists that believe there is this conspiracy by the United Nations to form its own world government and the one ruler conspiracy. I did look it up and it appears it is your interpretation that is different from those who disagree and are on the left or liberal point of view. To me you are just an angry right winger who see's conspiracy around every corner. You should get together with Fraud and Palindromedary and compare notes about all the conspiracies you see in our government and the World in general, it should make a good comedy to read...
Mark, what this Shill is saying is that the yearly deficit is one trillion a year. What you told me is that the DoD baseline budget has gone up 250 billion a year since 2000 or so. My question is how is the DoD the big problem here?
We can argue all you want about how we got here, that is unproductive. Frankly there is blame on both sides of the aisle We have to balance the budget, or at least significantly close that 1 trillion dollar a gap. The answers I keep getting from the left is "tax the rich" and "cut the military". The absolute most you can hope to get out of that combination is 150-200 billion a year.
Where is the rest of it going to come from?
Don't start calling people names unles you can come up with answers. You have yet to come up with any answers. The only thing I have gotten out of you so far are left wing talking points and name calling. See if you can do better than that.
The more signatures, the more it will pass. Keep signing this petition!!
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/support-law-protecting-states-...
A deficit, intentionally accumulated over a period of years, is not eliminated in one year's budget.
What else you're missing is that it is easily doable to balance the budget and maintain an ambitious social agenda. LBJ is a great example.
You're playing with the Republican subterfuge of, "Deficits mean we can't have social programs." leaving out mention of the willful Republican sabotage of the budget.
You MUST be a shill if I ever saw one posting.
I beg your pardon! Speak for yourself!!
I am very well versed in the areas of Global Warming and Climate Change, and the distinct difference between the two; as well as the connection.
Global warming has to do with a rise in ocean temperature. Now for as long as the Earth has had it's oceans there has been increases and decreases in temp.and it has effected Earths Atmosphere. Which brings us to climate change. Climate change is a result from how earths enviroment changes and the effects it has. Best example, even though all ideas are still just theory, is how the Dinosours became extinct. Something happened to change the climate, which in turn adversly effected most of life at that time.
Bottom line...The Earth has gone through many "enviromental" changes through out its history. Changes that have supported life and changes that have spoiled life. This was happening before, it is happening now and it will continue to happen on into the future.
As I mentioned in my other post, man is not to blame, even though his ways do add to the equation, mother nature is just doing her thing; we give her waste and she reacts.
However man's ego seems to think that it is our responsability to "save the planet". The only problem is, the planet is just fine. Instead of stroking our egos with pointless do gooder ideas we all need to work together at vastly reducing the amount of waste product we produce, as well as the type of waste. Two of the big ones are the waste we produce from coal and oil. And I don't think I need to get into what happens when nuclear power plants run a muck.
It all comes down to two things...Changing the way we think, and how we function.
For over 4 decades our science geeks have developed and been dialing in several technologies that would use clean sources of energy in order to power our homes and offices effectively and efficiently. As for reducing immisions from automobiles...Electric cars really are not a solution. UNLESS we are to use solar, wind, and wave energy. Currently most of our electric power is dirty, so even though electric cars are good in that they don't directly produce waste their source for power does. And if billions of cars are being pluged in everyday to power up...We might as well keep the path we are going.
Though I agree - for the most part - with reducing BIG government, this is one of the areas that I feel we need to have policy and regulation. Much like the dangers of unregulated capitalism, to not get on board with producing Clean Energy and Alternative bio fuels will not so much be the end of the planet as much as the end of humans.
Hey Ken, look it up. UN Agenda 21 is real and it is in your face at the local level. Especially in California where "sustainable development" is there and is trying to force you to live in condensed areas in high rise apartment complexes. Also, the transfer of wealth comes as taxes on carbon and whatever else they can dream up will be funneled as payments to other countries to develop their economies. it is in the preamble 1.4. You should try to read some of the Agenda 21 and understand that the UN wants to one day be the world government. Agenda 21 is an absolute reality and the strategy is to come in from the environmental argument as that is the most effective vehicle for their propaganda machine. No conspiracy, just fact. In the words of the genius on MSLSD - Al no so Sharpton "resist we much".
Here's a few facts regarding fossil fuel consumption for the skeptics;
World daily gasoline consumption: 800 +/- million gallons
World daily coal consumption: 18,476,000 short tons
World daily Natural Gas consumption: 249.3 Billion cubic feet
You also have propane and other fossil fuels consumed on a daily basis. Then there is methane from the increased number of livestock to feed all of us.
These are all undeniable facts. C02, methane and water vapor are all on the increase in the atmosphere, another fact.
It's also a fact that never before in earths history (other than pre-historic times when active volcanos were everywhere) has there been this steady, daily production of CO2 and other greenhouse gasses.
Now doesn't it stand to reason that on a planet with an undeniable history of climate change, climate change very much based on the levels of these gasses in the atmosphere, that a steady manmade production of CO2 in vast quantities could alter our climate?
It is unfortunate that Global has such a narrow vision. It is already obvious that outfits like Enron are trying to tie up the water supplys of the world. Or maybe it is that Global is just informationaly challanged. If Global would switch from Fox News to true information venues, he MIGHT see the world as it REALLY is.
Just because you are paranoid doesn't mean everyone isn't out to get you... So you don't have to be a conspiracy theorist for there to be a conspiracy
Hope you don't mind lots of company, Kend, up there in Canada when all the people in Central America, Mexico, and the US migrate up there to where the temperature is still bearable. You've all got plenty of room, right? Of course, I imagine you will have erected giant walls at the border to keep all of us peons out.
Ever watch the movie "1984"? Where when O'Brien straps a rat cage around Winston's face separated from the rats by only a door with a lever... O'Brien tells Winston that all he has to do is hold a flame up to the rat's side and then lift the lever, raising the door, and the rats, trying to escape the flames, would bury into Winston's face.
Electric or hybrid cars sound great on the surface but you still have to charge them and replace the very expensive reams of batteries (lead acid still?) periodically. That electricity you need to charge those batteries still has to be created by power plants...coal? oil? damns? nuclear? And, as has been mentioned already, there is a premium on these cars...what do you really save in the long run? What you don't spend in gasoline...you will still have to pay very high electrical bills and periodically pay high costs to replace the batteries. And you may not be polluting the atmosphere directly as when you burn gasoline but indirectly by whatever fuel the power plants uses... unless it is hydroelectric or solar.
Global - If you think the United Nations agenda for article 21 is to transfer wealth you had better look it up. You are starting to sound like a real conspiracy nut. Your beginning to sound like another right winger who sees’s plots around every corner and makes comments here also....It might behoove you to seek some help concerning your paranoia...
I am not well versed on Global Warming and it appears neither are the people who have commented on the subject... But I find something quite astonishing while reading the comments. People like Global and Kend who are obviously Republican and/or conservative claim there is no global warming, even though a majority of scientists believe there is. And, people who tend to be more liberal or Democrats believe there is global warming, despite the findings of scientists that work for corporations. There can be no doubt that the glaciers are melting in places like Switzerland and the Artic and there are pictures to prove it, to mention just two. That statement is factual and you can Google that info. While nobody seems to site any actual scientific data to back up there comments, I will try to state only facts that can be confirmed. Global, just because there are more seals could be an indication the Polar Bears are not able to catch them since the Bears depend on ice sheets to hunt on for the seals, not in the open ocean as you apparently believe. Kend the Polar Bear population is shrinking year after year. This too is a fact that you can find out by researching versus your opinion which is based on the premise you live in an environment (frozen lake) that has not been affected yet. And it is very true that fresh water habitats do not do well when salt water intrudes. Also, I believe the people on the weather channel mentioned that the water temperature made a difference in the strength of a hurricane and how fast it is going, and that affects how much salt water will be deposited inland and how far inland it will go. One thing is certain, the Earth is slowly warming up and that will affect our weather conditions around the globe. Again this can be authenticated by checking the facts on Google versus you opinion which appears to be based on your political stance, right or left wing. Is the planet warming up naturally or are we hastening the increase in the planets temperature. If we continue and we are the source of global warming my grandchildren and their children are simply screwed because of our inability to agree on anything because we stick to our political party beliefs and always want that party to be right, even if it kills you and it looks that it may do just that....I have made one non –scientific observation here in Southern California, the beach sands have become smaller over the last 20 years to the point there is not much left. That could be construed that there is more water and less land or beach area to lie out on! Why I really do not know, but it could be more water due to the ice melting in the Artic!