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.
Tonight Mitt will do nothing but attack what Obama has done. Everything will have been wrong. Obama cannot do the same to Mitt because Mitt has done nothing. This debate will be very bad because you are not comparing oranges to oranges. Mitt will tell us that his experience will make him a great leader.
It looks like our commons are up for sale. Detroit faces the Emergency Manager Law and we fear the selling of the Detroit Water Department. Workers are facing job cuts etc. Gov Rick Snyder gave $1.7 billion dollars in tax breaks to the corporations then cuts revenue sharing for the cities in Michigan to make up the difference. When the cities fall short of revenue, he sends in the Finiancial Emergency Manger to sell off the city assets. The Children's Park given in perpituity by the Klock family in 1917 in Benton Harbor Michigan was sold to the rich by the Financial Emergency Manager, a prime example of the cruelity of the law.
When I was a kid, if you told me a bottle of water could sell for two bucks, I would have laughed and thought you were crazy. But, after my ice melts in a drink, then observe the stuff at the bottom of the glass, stuff that is left over from an ice melt, Slurry, slight hazy stuff, little but can accumulate over time. What the heck is it? That is from my water tap, from a middle class suburb of Chicago. So, I have a filter for water; now buy bottle water to drink.
For those citizens out there must know our water supply is in jeopardy. So much so, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, on C-Span talked about a ten year program to improve the water condition and be able to supply good fresh water to the suburbs. He introduced a program for changing all the water pipes that are over one hundred years old. Pretty good idea. Our suburban problem stem from poor leadership. Here the village president bought a used water tower. The old one still in use is likely about one hundred years old, likely a wide range of water pipe corrosion.
In a sense our mayors are independent enough in many cases to take action just like a private entity. So with America’s present government Plutocracy, we are there. Perhaps that’s why we need universal health care because we have universal contaminated water. Reflecting on this entire infrastructure we need to improve is incredible, especially at a time when Republican’s want to do everything to make sure President Obama fails. As Rush Limbaugh arrogantly said. Or, Mitch McConnell, aggressively saying we will make Obama a one term President. Ladies and Gentlemen clean water do create jobs. We the people are job creators when electing the right people to serve everyone not just the one percent.
I believe that Bengazi is Obamas only terrorist attack on his watch. At least he did not have to fly around in Air Force One for a day and was able to talk to America from the Rose Garden. He did not have to stand on the rubble of collapsed sky scrapers that entombed 3500 people to call it a terrorist attack. All of the most recent Presidents have had worse terrorist attacks on their watch. How can they use this against Obama?
Re EU privatizing natural resources...
If I am correct, isn't this what the IMF/World Bank requires of any indebted country seeking help ( bailout) from them? Countries must sign over control of valuable resources ( collateral) to secure loans. The IMF/World Bank dictates loan terms AND explicitly details how funds can be spent, terms of repayment and penalties for violating any parts of the loan agreement. These loans are in the billions. Ask Haiti & Chad what happened when "unforeseen" events beyond their control led to breaches in their IMF/World Bank loan agreements. For every successfully completed loan there are also horror stories. Pls Goggle & research various destabilizing events impacting IMF/World Bank loan repayment...especially past loans to "third world " countries.
Why do indebted European countries think they will be treated any different. Despite good/ humanitarian objectives.... the IMF/World bank is a mega, multinational BANK. No less predatory than it's "smaller" cousins. It will extract it's pound of a countries national resources/wealth...and then some.
How about a baby doll that represents a botched abortion (still alive) that Obama voted on three times to let die without giving aid. Is that the kind of compation you are looking for?
Matt Tiabbi and Krista Freedland reported on Moyers & Co last night that their recent visit to Russia revealed that the Putin governement privatized, handed over government lands and services, to a small group of people. This group has managed to scoop up ALL the wealth in Russia. While they hold all the wealth and power and live behind well-guarded gates, the rest of the population is not doing so well.
That very concentration of wealth is happening world-wide and is planned for the United States.
People, please wake up--speaking up now and demanding change will save our children from having to stand up and fight and die in a revolution that their parents could have prevented. Mark my words, history IS repeating itself.
You sir are correct...We are a greedy, vain, species like no other. We are willing to loot plunder and pollute ourselves, and our resources all for immediate gain...Which we find gratifying regardless of the cost. We are a society that justifies our means by the ends...Again, no matter the cost.
You are right in saying that there is a way out of this mess...We must change our way of thinking so people and planet last. Clean air, clean water, clean food is what we need in order to thrive and survive.
Don't get me wrong I am not so egotistical to think that "man" has the power to "save" the planet, but rather then rape and pollute her - which we have done long enough to clearly see the wrong of our ways - we should err on the side of caution. In just one century science has proven that even though the Earth on its own is in a constant state of change, has been since its begining, man's lustful, greedy, and wasteful practices are not killing the planet but are in fact killing man himself. It isn't that we don't see it, we're just choosing to ignor it. All for the sake of our tender little egos, marginal profits, and shinny new things.
Our current ethos is our demise.
This is a tough call. I think we all want the people to win out over the money and the nonsense. I would feel better if there were some real penalties for what seems obviously illegal. Looks like the ballot trasher in Florida is being made a fall guy while the top dogs are laughing all the way to the bank with their share of donations.
An interesting question ( Breaking the Set ) was presented about past campaigns where the actual tallies showed democrats had won in past presidential elections, why didn't the actual winners step up and stand up and make some noise about it? A better question, will we the people stand up?
Another good point w/ Bernie Sanders....no matter who wins, we have to start the day after the elections, keep working to get progressives in office. Keep standing up to Wall St. and injustice.
The one way out of this is never going to happen. It will take a mojority of citizens to participate in civil disobedience and self denial to kill the market for corporations. We will need to reinvent the economy based on self reliance. It may require a national strike shutting down trasportation and logistics. I hold out little optimism for the future. I think The Corporate Corruption is in all of us and we are all so afraid of denying our comfort, our entertainments, and our status.
TransCanada isn't using any of Americas resources or going through any parks. This is Canadian oil, pipe made by Canadian steel. coated in Canada with a special yellow jacket coating to prevent corotion. They put the pipeline safetly underground out of sight. It will replace the 900 million barrels a day of oil Texas is getting from Hugo Chaves's Venezuela that is shipped by tanker dangerously through your Gulf. No one whats more pipelines but it is the safest way to move energy. If North America can become energy self sufficient we will never have to worry about the middle East again. It will be Europe and China's problem. If Keystone doesn't go, the back up plan is a pipeline to the west coast and export it to China. Does America want safe, depenable, ethical oil from Canada or would it rather get it from the middle east or America hating Venezuela?
The quote, 'render unto Caesar,' indicated that it was OK to pay taxes into the coffers of an empire. The funds would have primarily gone to support the occupying legions in Israel. A little historical knowledge informs us that the legion was quite literally a terrorist organization with which the top local religious/governmental figures coöperated and prospered. This, I think, frames the pacificist position that Jesus of Nazareth advocated. It is difficult to understand what a shocking statement this was to his listeners.
Bottom line for all of this is that the Financial Guys have recognized the awesome financial gold-mine of governmental powers of taxation, and are literally wetting their pants having re-discovered "Privatization."
It goes way back; but in the sixties some of the biggest engineering design and construct firms began playing with the idea of adding "finance" -- turn-key municipal projects, from concept all the way to collecting (and keeping) tolls. This was tried at home and internationally, anywhere local governments needed infrastructure, but had financial and management difficulties.
Now, after financial Pirates get governments into dire economic straits, they can then bail them out by privatizing government commons or programs. If done right (where government keeps the risk, and the privateer keeps the profits) -- it's trillion-dollar gold-mines. Schools, Medicare, Social-programs? --we got vouchers. Roads, Bridges? --we got mandatory tolls. Water, Power, Garbage? --we got manditory taxes and fees. Military? --hey, the richest gold-mine of all. Every government function and resource can be mined if done right.
Just convince the voters that private business is more efficient than government bureaucracies, and make the decision-makers, partners in the scam.
say goodbye to once what was yours and mine. as if i don't pay enough already for what commons i have to rely on! yikes...
And good luck with THAT if the Trans Pacific Partnership Obama is negotiating behind closed doors goes through. I'm sure Romney's down with it as well
Even now TransCanada is pushing through Texas using eminent domain to build the southern leg of the XL Keystone.
Between granting corprations "personhood and unleashing Citizens United on US we're cooked
I don't know how we're going to fight this if nobody knows it's even happening. I have a really sick feeling they've already won
I so agree with you that we must protect our commons. As I read this, I think back to the last debate when Romney came up in Obama's face demanding to know why more oil, etc, is not being mined/harvested from Fed lands. How dare we trash our Fed lands, most of which are natural preserves and sanctuaries? How dare we sell them off for short term cash at the expense of the future? It's like the people suggesting this have no concept that when it's gone, it's gone. And when our public lands are all sold off, where will we turn for cash in the next crisis that is bound to come.?
From :
http://bainport.com/
"In response to tonight’s live broadcast of The Ed Show, Sensata has sent workers home and closed the plant for the entire weekend, barricading the entrances and telling 2nd shift workers not to report. An incredibly clear expression of the needless fear coming from Sensata about the worker movement for a just severance package."
On election day, I think it would be fair to park a cadillac near polling places with a kenel strapped to the roof and a mock-dog howling and whimpering as a not to gentle reminder of the kind of person Mittens is.
Both comments are bad. Voter intimidation is bordering on illegal and should be investigated.
No, I couldn't be more against "Agenda 21" I would never give up my sovereignty. I mean if you work 7 1/4 hours a day and I work 16 hours a day I have the right to have and keep more money than you because I earned it. But we all should have a equal opportunity.
Since I don't believe in accidents, it stands to reason that not long after this conferance call that major employers sent out these messages to employees. I don't know if it's worse then his 47% comment, but it's definitely more illegal, or should be.
They are convinced that the only way they can win is through lies, voter manipulation, stacking the courts, buying people off and other dirty tricks, win at all costs, desperate actions. God knows they could never win on any sort of merit, because they don't support bettering the whole of society and begs the question: if that's the best they can do, why does the party even continue? Hard to comprehend that people don't ask what kind of party is worth voting for with such a destructive and self-destructive agenda. The most dangerous thing for society is ignorance and fanaticism - redoubling their efforts after losing sight of any goal. We the people have to do our best to beat the money! However, I strongly believe that if Romney wins, everything will be trashed so badly he won't get a 2nd term and neither will his pals in congress!
I see this election as being basically a major battle against the plutocrats who seem to have declared war on and want to subjugate everyone else to their will. I think the other battles such as gay rights, equal pay for women, contraceptive rights, access to health care etc. ( all of which I strongly support ) are diversions to the real and most powerfull opponent of humanity at this time which are the super wealthy who seem to want to dominate all aspects of life in this country. This is the battle I will fight every day with my vote and financial support, my speech, my purchasing power and my refusal to stand with any one who will oppose the equality and rights of others. I think we all need to come together for this fight.
no amount of pressure from anyone can force you to vote against your wishes because OUR BALLOT IS SECRET........meaning CANNOT BE TRACED WHO VOTED FOR WHOM !!!!!!!!!!!!
So please spread the word to your concerned friends !!!!!!!!!!!!
The same people who gripe about union dues, still want the protections and benefits the union can deliver; they just want all the goodies for free. Just read a little history, you uninformed, and see what unions have done to make things better for the worker and his/her family. Unions have been our protection against usery by the wealthy and the corporations.
They are the same people griping about the Healthcare law which requires all to BE REPSONSIBLE. And if they don't, and break the law, they will be fined. Fined, not taxed. No one pays a tax when they break the law. Justice Roberts must have been asleep during that class in law school.
They want to suck and feed off the rest of us who pay for healthcare, while they avoid paying premiums. And when something happens to them, they walk away from the bill and the rest of us get stuck with it.
My husband's work, because their name is on them, has been sending rethuglican flyers to our home since the dreadful Bush years. I find that practice to be offensive and illegal and a violation of my Constitutional rights. They have no business telling me how to vote or knowing how I vote.