I've heard people who own farms say that there are special laws that protect their farms. So why would farm owners pay this guy to help them if they're already protected from the Rich Brat Tax?

Dave that is so against socialism and takes home $70 K did not reveal who his employer is. Could it be the RNC or some other right wing group that pays him to call progressive radio?

If you want to read the very best analysis of patriotism (my opinion) get your hands on Fernando Savater's "Contra Las Patrias" written by a courageous man who daily lives under a very real death threat - so real that his government provides him with a security escort. My copy is in Spanish but there may be an English translation. Find time to read it, even if you have to hire a Spanish speaker to read and translate it for you.

Thom, people (especially on Fridays with Bernie) often call in wanting to know what the president or congress is going to do about the nation's problems. They don't seem to recall another trusted and true cliche "people get the government they deserve." Ultimately only the people can solve the nation's problems. The tools are there, rusty and unused. It looks, though, as if the people have been so dumbed down they can't even distinguish friend from foe. It may be too late. The only recourse left for decent, intelligent folks may be to get out while the gettin's good.

Another thing. What is this business about "...lovers of democracy and the American way" anyway? The U.S. is no longer a democracy, there are three Americas, and the U.S. way seems to be perpetual war, killing innocents with predator drones, refusal to sign both the land mine and the cluster bomb treaties, torture, incarceration without trial or counsel and on and on. The U.S. is a truly sick nation.

"Eavesdropping" in Illinois:

ACLU files suit to protect the public's right to know. Audio recording your own arrest can bring a charge that will punish anyone who tries to record a cop on duty, and in public. It's a Class 1 Felony that can lead to 30 years in jail.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-aclu-privacy-lawsuit-20100819,0,2296176.story

Maybe there could be more than incremental change if the conservatives didn't cry and wet their pants and throw tantrums each and every time something is suggested to help our government function better or our give our people better lives.

I guess what we need are more trillion dollar wars, more trillion dollar debt, and all manufacturing and other decent paying jobs shipped overseas.

Pablito is right about one thing, though. You can't compromise with dirty, filthy, immoral, slimy, greedy, murderous thugs. Because it never works. They do need to be utterly crushed. But then I bet people like Pablito will also complain about the President overstepping and being power mad. I wonder if Pablito remembers who was President for 8 years and what happened to our country during that time. Or pays attention to the dirty, slimeball tactics of the right and their 24-hour propaganda machine. I could go on, but won't.

Draining the Swamp Department.

If you can't remember what Cheney and crew did to you, Obama will be evaluated in a vacuum. Voting "NO" doesn't help under the current system - it just results in flailing and failing government. The pre-alligator mode requires significant change to the methods we use to choose our government.

As Greg Palast wrote, we have "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy."

Politicians need to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to a system that works for all of the people.

Actually Thom, I believe that Ambrose Bierce's definition of patriotism is a more appropriate title. Quoting: "In Dr. Johnson's famous dictionary patriotism is defined as the last resort of a scoundrel. With all due respect to an enlightened but interior lexicographer I beg to submit that it is the first."

Between the corporate welfare and the low taxes paid by the wealthy, it is no wonder that we have revenue shortfalls. It is time that the U.S. government begins collecting the needed revenues. The media is always trying to conflate the issue of middle class taxes and those of the billionaires.

KBR Employee Legislative Issues Survey

My mom works for KBR and she emailed me this internal memo:

Thank you for your time to complete the legislative issues survey. Your input is invaluable as we continue to advocate for pro-business policies and on behalf of KBR and KBR employees.

Please provide us your input on the following issues. For each issue’s question, select AGREE or DISAGREE.

Trade
Trade is a significant component to American prosperity and to American businesses effectively participating in the global marketplace.

Select agree or disagree for each item in the followng questions

Question 1: Trade policies should:

Promote fair and open trade

Enhance investment, expansion and job creation

Limit or discourage market-opening trade agreements

Allow for the creation and implementation of trade agreements with key partners

Enforce existing trade and compliance rules

Taxes
Sound tax policies provide stability for both individuals and commerce. While required to sustain the essential functions of government, tax policies shape economic decisions and have profound consequences on doing business in a global market.

Question 2: Tax regulations should:

Increase the corporate tax rate
Increase the tax rate for individuals
Encourage savings and investment by both business and individuals
Promote capital formation
Spur private sector innovation and development to enhance global competitiveness
Support measures that ensure a level playing field for American commerce and avoid punitive or discriminatory provisions

Energy
The supply, availability, sustainability and cost of energy are all critical components of economic viability.
Question 3: Energy public policies should:

Respect the role market forces play in determining effective solutions
Strengthen energy transmission and infrastructure

Advance economically viable energy efficiency

Promote private development of renewable fuel sources and industries

Encourage onshore and offshore drilling within the U.S.

Labor and Employment
People and talent are rapidly becoming one of the strongest competitive advantages within any business.
Question 4: For American companies to thrive in the global economy, public policies should:

Guarantee workplace regulations are fair, flexible and balanced

Protect the right of American workers to private ballots when voting whether to unionize

Ensure the strength of the private retirement system

Preserve freedom of speech protections in the workplace

Regulation
Regulatory activities are required for implementation of public policy, the protection of the public from the unscrupulous, and the establishment of a parameter which enables the conduct of responsible commerce.

Question 5: Public regulatory activities should:
Reflect a cost benefit perspective wherever possible
Foster investment, innovation and economic expansion among American businesses
Avoid punitive or discriminatory action
Ensure the most favorable environment possible for domestic job creation

Question 6: There are many significant legislative issues that impact KBR and our employees, many of which have different levels of impact depending on the business unit’s focus. Rank these issues in order of importance to you, your job and KBR’s ability to achieve our business goals. 1 being the most important and 5 the least important.

Trade
Taxes
Energy
Labor and Employment
Regulation

Question 7: Decisions made by elected officials at all levels of government affect KBR and our employees. The decisions made by what level of government are of most concern to you? Rank these in order of importance to you. 1 being the most important and 3 the least important.

Local Government
State Government
Federal Government

Question 8: Do you think legislative issues and governmental decisions have:

No impact on your ability to do your job and KBR’s ability to reach our business goals
Moderate impact on your ability to do your job and KBR’s ability to reach our business goals
Significant impact on your ability to do your job and KBR’s ability to reach our business goals

Question 9: Please tell us any other legislative or governmental issues that are important to you as a KBR employee.

Question 10: As a KBR employee, would you like to become more engaged in the governmental and political process?

Yes
No

This is nonsense. This is coming from a person who believes a printing press of green pieces of paper and limiting the division of labor at gunpoint increases wealth for everyone.

Kevin Carson, a mutualist anarchist, refutes this interpretation of Somalia here: http://c4ss.org/content/2859

Somalia -- and all of Africa -- was put into impoverished conditions by the tyrannical government policies that choked it off from capital accumulation and and it will take more than 19 years [the central government collapsed in 1991] for it to escape from it. They also have not had a predominant shift in class consciousness to fully accept the implications of private property and capital accumulation and reject ill-concieved attempts to start mini-governments The situation is extremely complex, and not cut-and-dry like you impugn.

Some more reading materials on the subject are below:

http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1880

http://libertariannation.org/a/n030d1.html

http://mises.org/daily/2701

http://mises.org/Community/forums/t/14358.aspx

http://c4ss.org/content/1201

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtGkTRnocZI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBuPECU0_P0

http://anarchistnews.org/?q=node/11485

Additionally, in the meantime, I strongly suggest you quit conflating the big-government Republicans with the philosophy of libertarianism, which you and Thom have absolutely zero knowledge/understanding of and strawman every single day on the show. It is literally embarrasing. It is the left-wing equivalent of calling Obama a Marxist.

If you want to (attempt to) debunk libertarianism, have Thom debate someone from the Ludwig Von Mises Institute, not the clueless statist-Republican Dan Gainor and the warmongering Ayn Rand Institute who are not libertarians at ALL. Reason Magazine and Cato also barely count as libertarian.

I should also inform you that the people of Somalia have repeatedly resisted the UN's tyrannical attempts to impose its "democratic" tyranny on them. What does that tell you about how much "the people" love democracy there?

On the tea parties: the tea party movement is not anti-government. They oppose some aspects of government while supporting others. By your logic, your (correct) support of the absolute right to build the Ground Zero [community center] would make you an advocate of Somalia as well.

@Jeanie, its all evaporating before the Trickle gets down off the Estates.

N