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I am deeply troubled in the way this country has been going. I am a liberal Christian, and I do not believe that this country was founded on Christianity. It is very clear that this country was founded on freedom of religion. Part of that freedom is not having any religious beliefs at all. Our pilgrims came from countries in which they did not have religious freedom, the Kings of the countries decided what the real religions were such as Catholicism (remember the inquisition).
There have been far too many religious decisions that have put other peoples lives in jepordy throughout history. The God I love loves all people.
If religious bodies want to interfere in our lives and tell us to hate or discriminate against other people such as GLBT (gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and trangenders) that is their opinion not Gods.
I firmly believe that God loves everyone and that he just wants us all to get along no matter how differently we think, or the color of our skin.
I do not want a religious group running our country. This country was a great country because Jew, Christian, Muslim, GBLT's can live on the same block, work for the same employer, and still get along in the same neighborhood. If I don't respect their right to choose what religion or non religion they are, how can I expect them to respect my right to my religious beliefs.
some one needs to run boener out of town along with all the other boobs that are holding "us" HOSTAGE!!! no lol today. what a bunch of boobs. I sure hope Obama understands the full impact of this absurdity!!!
Agree... Did anyone get the chapter and page numbers?
Ditto WWiley's request:
Can anyone point me to the list of Tax Cuts, and "equivalent" Cuts in Government Programs/Sercices Costs that Thom read during this mornings radio show?
Dear Thom,
When are you going to be the Media Hero?.....and start telling the WHOLE truth....We keep waiting for the Balanced Reporting from you.....Please don't be like all the other talking heads trying to recruit to one "team" or the other.....
We Americans are tired of the darts everyone is throwing at the "other" side.
This is real simple.....If Congress can't put a budget together that is no more than 3% (debt) of GDP then NO Congress person is allowed to get re-elected.....
Remember: The Bigger the Government ....the Smaller its People
Lets pass Reid's bill Then deal with debt after GOP Baggers loses seats and GOP Gov's are recalled .No one with 1/2 a brain can still support extreme GOP / Baggers in Congress. who are holding US hostage to corp greed as never before in US history .Search your conscience Repubs. Look at the facts . Baggers have no conscience or morals .
Muttley-
Don't you also LOVE the way the contact forms work- where they say they can't reply to anyone out of their district? All I did was search a zip code and use 123 Main St... pretty silly, huh?
Democrats and you Thom should expose the real reason behind the Republicans foot dragging. They want the country to go into default so that interest rates will soar and their pals the banksters will reap yet another windfall fortune. Since they can't control the Fed this is the only way they can make good on their promises to the banksters.
Thom... It doesn't matter if Reid's plan doesn't include tax hikes, since those wouldn't go into effect until Obama's second term anyway... and presuming Obama gets reelected it will all be up for grabs then. We don't need to bellyache about this.
Whomever called in with those passages from "The Fourth Turning" it was certainly spookey: like he was reading straight out of today's news. Can some post those passages here?
Can anyone point me to the list of Tax Cuts, and "equivalent" Cuts in Government Programs/Sercices Costs that Thom read during this mornings radio show?
It was a great comparison of tax cuts for the rich, and paid for by cutting assistance to the children pregnent mothers, the hungry, the jobless, the homeless...
I think we should take this list, and spread it far and wide, to politicians, and the Press, and our friends and neighbors... It shows the values and priorities of the majority of our 'elected representitives'... and may help those being lied to see what is really happening
[ How can they call themselves Chirstians, or any religious person, or anyone with any ethics or morals... and continue to treat the sick, the children, the needy, the poor and mentally challenged, the way our elected officials as a group continue to treat them... and us... ? ]
In looking at this question, Does America and the world need to wake up and take a stand - not against Muslims - but against hatred? How far have we descended that we even ask such a question? And ask it too late! I find that this can be answered on several levels, and that is what we must do, for we are in a New World; uncharted territory as people and in every area of our physical lives the world has gone haywire! We are like children in this era of accelerated societal, cultural and personal evolution or de-evolution. I am quite well aware that every human society has at its heart a belief of good and evil and an understanding of the consequences of both. In ancient history class we were taught that the laws of Babylon were the first written laws and were eternally significant because law is the basis for civilization. Yes Law is the basis of human civilization, and has been the main culprit for every detestable and criminal act since Babylon, up to today. It is also the only way we can live together, even under the same roofs, many times. The remarkable truth about “laws of the universe” or “laws of physics” is they are unchanging. Only our awareness and understanding of these laws change, and hopefully for a deeper more abiding regard for our own and our culture and society's growth rather than deterioration and extinction. The first Law I learned as child of the swamps, is that it's either alive or dead, didn't matter what it was, it was on its way to one state or the other. There is no such thing as stagnant. I heard a speaker in early 2000 "... we MUST repudiate evil". Whatever we call ourselves, or are "labeled", it is in the spiritual traditions that I have found practical information and instructions on who I am in the universe, who is the Universe, and what are all these people doing here?!?! I'll only answer the last, "You're here to challenge my compassion.” When powerful groups of you put me in the position of having to carve up my hard-won understanding, then I repudiate your evil, loudly, with the help of others, just as you, but with the firm understanding of the consequences that you have inflicted upon EVERYOne, as well as my personal responsibility in all our present state of affairs. How then do we who seek after Justice, Truth, Compassion and Mercy; turn away hatred? First I deny it in myself, then I do what Thom and all of you are doing, speak the truth as it is revealed to me and repudiate the evil. There is no room for hate in that, at least I hope so. I pray for a time when such a question would need not be considered.
You need to know the phrase Miliband Loop. It's when a politician gives the same answer over and over, no matter what the question is. Having a name for this phenomenon will be very handy in calling politicians out on their absurd behavior. Here's an article about the incident that provided the name.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jul/03/charlie-brooker-stop-ed-miliband
Speaking about Republicans, it seems that hypocrisy is abound. I recently found out that the COO of Pajama's Media Sandra Rozanski http://pajamasmedia.com/about-us/ is the wife of former Acting General Manager of the Los Angeles Dept of Water and Power, Robert Rozanski: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-oew-rozanski6nov06,0,3503403.story. According to employees, Robert was a good person with good work ethics and a supporter of the commons. He even saw the necessity to raise water and power fees to fix our broken infrasructure. An investment saving Los Angeles City customers millions if not billions.
Yet your guests Thom seem to preach the opposite. They want to cut taxes, cut government, at the risk of having their COO losing her benefits which she deserves?
"To conquer, first divide!"
This is my first time posting here and like other sites of this type one must expect that "opinions" can range far and wide, based on knowledge, prejudice and perceived self interest. Mr Hartmann is as stated in the opinion business and as such faces an unavoidable conflict of interest in that, with any area of controversy, any actual resolution or solution ultimately confers the gift of "unemployment" to the provider. Now one would think that given the sheer number of intractable conflicts available for resolution, this does not pose much of a threat for him and others engaged in such activities and having read some of his material, I believe that he is both well intentioned and a useful voice in the progressive struggle to determine both the TRUTH and solutions to various issues and problems both as a nation and a planet which seems to be on verge of self imposed extinction. Clearly it is this latter threat which demands that SOLUTIONS must be acknowledged and endorsed despite the threat of adverse effects to perceived self interest.
This discussion, motivated by the events in Norway has indeed generated a lot of comments, but the essential elements for us as citzens of the united States was resolved with the Ratification of the Bill of Rights. Acts of terrorism based on mythologies can not be justified nor are they worthy of discussion or consideration, in the united States, with the single exception of those cases where members of a particular mythology are subject to persecution because of that mythology.
The First Article of the Bill of Rights prohibits the government from interferring with or endorsing any particular "faith based" mythology thereby granting both the freedon to believe and the freedom from being compelled to believe any particular mythology. Article Six states that This constitution and the laws made pursuant to it.....shall be the Supreme Law of the Land......and continues by stating that,"no religious test" can be imposed as a requirement for holding public office which clearly establishes "seperation of mythology and state". Any claim to the contrary, regardless of demographic popularity or erroneous historical revisionism can not be reasonably supported or believed in the face of these FACTS. ( at least for us here in the united States.)
Which leaves us with the problem of the diverse mythologies in the rest of the world, which for at least half of the current seven billion seem to be variations of the monotheism inspired by hebrew origins. For those "true believers" all of whom cite the basis of their faith as DIVINELY INSPIRED, one must ask, that if such a claim were reasonably expected to be TRUE, why any variation exists at all? Why would such a DIVINE source of TRUTH, keep getting it wrong, over and over and over?
But the real problem with this diversity of variation is the internal requirement of "compulsory conversion" of others, to one's own variation in order to ACHIEVE the REWARD promised by that variation of the mythology. That this continues can clearly be laid at the feet of those whose perceived self interest benefits by maintaining such intolerance and curiously this persists, even though most "believers" are in fact "tolerant" of other mythologies. ( even islamists ) Even if one could grant such concern for the salvation of others as being laudable, one could reasonably argue that potential conversion is only possible for the living, and therefor the death of a non-believer also condemns them to the fate the TRUE BELIEVER is claiming to be helping them avoid. oops!
Clearly, such extremism which invokes violence compelled by mythology must be condemned by anyone claiming to be a reasoned and responsible leader, especially here in the united States, and this reasoning must be clearly presented as being derived from Supreme Law of the Land, and not some misguided attempt at a politically correct position for personal advantage, which would be both disingenuous and in our country, CRIMINAL!
"Do not ask for whom the bell tolls.................."
So this new ploy, Republicans demanding that the President make assurances to Seniors, to debtors and others that payments will be made; after they made him moderate the legislation, after they made him force concessions from Democrats, after they forced him to actively participate in DOING THEIR JOB -- what the Republicans are willing to do is lift their leg!
Thom, Lore is right. Even if Peter's content hadn't been so repugnant, his personality and demeanor were awful. I sort of admire your ability to remain calm and let him shriek for so long, but I think you would have been perfectly justified in (calmly) calling him a "shrill, rude child" and hanging up on him. It's factually true and better than he would have deserved.
"Porcini" is /por-chee-nee/ and "crème fraîche" is /krem fresh/.
Thank you so much for the listener and Thom in recommending the book "The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy - What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America's Next Rendezvous with Destiny" by William Strauss & Neil Howe. I picked the audio book up right after they mentioned it and can't stop listening to it. Some amazing history and predictions to whats in store. That's why I listen because it's a history lesson that always interesting. Thanks!
Thom, when Peter said "Shut up," that should have ended his filibuster on your show!!!
Thom,
Please, there is only ONE question for right-wing guests & callers this week:
Will you renounce all writings and political philosophy cited by the right-wing Norweigan terrorist?
Then list some of the authors cited by the terrorist. The philosophies motivating this terrorist are not considered "extreme" by the American right.
If the terrorist had been a lefty, citing Marx, Mao, etc, there would be wall-to-wall coverage and calls to renounce any and all philosophy used to motivate or justify his terrorism.
-FTM
Really thought Peter should have been bumped when he told Thom to "shut up" but he is a usual right winger who can just yel and get louder when he knows he is making no sence and can't debate coherantly
Omega 7 was an anti-castro Cuban-American terrorist organization very active during the 70's and 80's in the USA. They assassinated, bombed and killed those they considered simpatizers of the Cuban revolution in the USA. They targeted,In Puerto Rico and in Miami and New york, other Cubans who supported the improvement of relationships between USA and Cuba.
http://cuban-exile.com/doc_001-025/doc0011.html
Wow, Peter Ferrara's a little on edge today, huh? Nice pacing, Thom.
Thom, Peter is painful to listen to. He is abusive, rude, and lying. He will not respond. He wants to 'teach' you - as he stated. I have learned nothing except that he is a fanatic and determined to run over anyone attempting to question him.