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.
So what do conservatives say about the discrepancy between taxes on labor and taxes on investments and how this is fair to the average working American? I mean, if they actually answer the question instead of responding to a different one.
I know this isn't about the spill but, I just read this blog post by Rolling Stone's Matt Tiabbi and HAD to share it... OMG! This is fantastic!
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/matt-taibbi/blogs/TaibbiData_May2010/122137/83512
When a Billion Chinese Jump
Look how progress trashed the environment so that people could no longer be self-reliant. http://site.whenabillionchinesejump.com/
@jsea- thx- My whole morning is such that I cannot work now because I am so distracted by the Creekkeeper's videos, and just learned that Olberman did play them- bless MSNBC
But here is another landmark book, check out the multimedia page- Corporate Crimes- they trash the environment so that the people can no longer be self sufficent, then Fox News demonizes them as lazy, and then the bottom layer of the card house collapses, then the layer above them because the next new bottom layer.
I haven't heard the follow-up to ACORN that I just heard from Thom. Something as important as that incident (although I think it actually was incredibly insignificant even if true, especially in comparison to election fraud) that turns out to have been edited to show the opposite of what actually happened--wow.
I assume Fox News issued retractions and apologies for having mislead its viewers.
Thom's repsonse to Tancredo should be that simply lowering taxes helps no one. There's no such thing as a tax decrease unless the government spends less money, because ultimately whatever the government spends has to be paid for with taxes.
The Federal Reserve is a Ponzi scheme.
http://www.opednews.com/populum/linkframe.php?linkid=94497
Here is a serious problem that needs to be resolved.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/07/01/a-simple-solution-to-world-health-issues--toilets.aspx
CBO says debt to soar despite new health law
WASHINGTON — President Obama's overhaul of the health-care system has done little to improve the nation's budget outlook, congressional budget analysts said Wednesday. They also said the president's tax agenda, including a pledge to extend an array of tax cuts for the middle class, would only make things worse.
In its latest long-term forecast, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicted the national debt, which has surged during the recession, would keep rising in the coming decades despite cost-containment measures in the health overhaul Obama signed this year.
Government debt held by private investors is projected to hit 62 percent of annual economic output by the end of this year, the highest since shortly after World War II. It would rise to 80 percent of GDP by 2035 under current law, the CBO said.
The health-care overhaul made "steps in the direction of a sustainable fiscal policy. But they are small steps relative to the journey that will be needed for fiscal sustainability," CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf said Wednesday in testimony before Obama's bipartisan commission on the deficit.
The fiscal picture would darken dramatically, however, if Congress moved to short-circuit some of the cost-control measures in the new law, as some expect, while enacting tax policies Obama has proposed to benefit the middle class, the CBO said.
Those policies include a permanent reduction in the alternative minimum tax and an extension of tax cuts enacted during the Bush administration for families making less than $250,000 a year. The Bush tax cuts are to expire at the end of 2010.
Under that scenario, which assumes overall levels of taxation would remain relatively stable, the CBO said the national debt would soar to 87 percent of GDP by 2020, exceed its historical peak of 109 percent by 2025 and hit 185 percent of GDP by 2035.
Such deep debt is unprecedented in U.S. history and represents uncharted territory, Elmendorf said in his testimony. Its impact on the economy probably would be profoundly negative, he said.
Elmendorf said the gloomy long-term picture is not an argument for rejecting additional spending now to bolster the recovery. Indeed, he said, "enacting cuts in spending or increases in taxes now would probably slow the recovery."
However, Elmendorf said that developing a credible and certain deficit-reduction plan to take effect after the economy has recovered could boost public confidence by reducing uncertainty about what is bound to be a painful future path.
Bad reporting by Washington Post
This article states:
The health-care overhaul made "steps in the direction of a sustainable fiscal policy. But they are small steps relative to the journey that will be needed for fiscal sustainability," CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf said Wednesday in testimony before Obama's bipartisan commission on the deficit.
The fiscal picture would darken dramatically, however, if Congress moved to short-circuit some of the cost-control measures in the new law, as some expect, while enacting tax policies Obama has proposed to benefit the middle class, the CBO said.
So if Republicans do succeed in dismantling portions of the heath care bill, it will actually make the deficit worse while Obama is trying to reduce taxes on most of the readers of this newspaper.
I believe the following is a totally inaccurate statement:
..."an extension of tax cuts enacted during the Bush administration for families making less than $250,000 a year. The Bush tax cuts are to expire at the end of 2010.
The writer is trying to link the tax cuts for the middle class families making less than $250.000 that Obama enacted, not Bush and the expiration of the Bush tax cuts that benefit the top 2%, (millionaires and billionaires), not the average paycheck worker. This is a disingenuous statement designed to gain support for preserving the tax cuts for the ultra rich oligarchs.
Also, Bush never put the wars on the budget, they were always supplemental, off budget funding so the deficit was lower. They were finally added to the budget when Obama came into office, so the American people could actually see the cost.
Didn’t Dick Cheney famously state “deficits don’t matter.” Why, now?
Last night I saw what I never wanted to see – dolphins and a whale – struggling in the water. Dying.
Oh, I had already seen them in my heart – but to see them with my eyes – it feels like dying myself.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. founded the Waterkeeper Alliance in the 1999’s. They are a wonderful group, now with the searing task of showing the world what BP does not want us to see – what we don’t want to see ourselves. But I say – Look. Look. Look – straight at it. And then get active. Waterkeeper Alliance member, Creekkeeper has aerial footage of BP’s crime and its consequences at :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxDf-KkMCKQ
Waterkeeper Alliance at: www.waterkeeper.org .
If this does not bring us to our knees – and then to our feet – nothing will.
re Toxicity and vog991 @ #2 the dispersant Corexit 9527 (EGBE) is less toxic to human than rodents. It kills rodents by rupturing their red blood cells humans metabolize it differently so it has a different form of toxicity in us. I don't think EPA has a clue what it will do to crustaceans, fish, turtles and dolphins. If they(?) have dead marine mammals these victims should be autopsied to look for signs of EGBE poisoning: stressed blood systems and ruptured red blood cells. The oil gusher is disaster enough. Use of over a million gallons of dispersant should be an environmental crime and not government approved spill remediation.
Hurricane season has started and Alex became the first hurricane on 6/30 - average first hurricane in the Gulf is 8/10. Forty days before 'normal'. If the storms keep coming the relief wells may not get done till after hurricane season.
The Third Depression!!!
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/28/opinion/28krugman.html?ex=1293508800&en=af911408bc4c7060&ei=5087&WT.mc_id=NYT-E-I-NYT-E-AT-0630-L15
Link to BP Crime/ Dolphin Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxDf-KkMCKQ
Where is law enforcement? Where is the EPA? Where is Fish and Wildlife? Where are the TeaPartiers? Where are we?
Thank you, Governator Schwarzenegger and the Party of No, for you hard work on destroying the seventh largest economy on the planet. May your eventual stay in whatever divine judgment your soul has reaped be as unpleasant as you have inflicted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-state-budget-20100701,0,877217.story
Did I hear correctly in the news yesterday that our fears of the dispersant agent should be assuaged because, lo and behold, BP did tests and determined that (thankfully) the dispersant is not AS toxic as the Black Death that is continually vomiting into our waters? Phew! Guess I can start smoking again. After all, while smoking does cause cancer it's probably not as lethal as getting shot in the face.
Dear Thom Blog Listeners,
Here is an open letter for you to read. The United States of Hell continues her evil, vile, and wicked ways. Let me give you some background information about the world’s most contemptible nation in the history of the universe. Our Numb Nut nation starts wars for profit; kills God’s children in immoral and wrong wars; has enslaved middle and working class people on slave wages; has given permission for Americans to be above the law; has glorified murder and torture; has also permitted financial institutions to cheat and rob Americans; the Federal Reserve has not been audited in nearly one hundred years; has made our teenagers disillusioned about fairness; and an activist United States Supreme Court has defamed and defiled the United States Constitution. I have offered you some examples in our country’s direction that is leading our people into the abyss of hell.
Now Americans who want a better America and a better world are considered active terrorists for being humanitarians. Sacramental Moments, such as good deeds, are also considered acts of terrorism by the corporatists, the elites, and the Mafioso United States Supreme Court. Sincerely, Gerald, a Jesus liberal, a pacifist, and a progressive!
P.S. Does this open letter make me an active terrorist???
**Reflection of the Week**
"If we all tried to make other people's paths easy, our own feet would have a smooth even place to walk on."
- Myrtle Reed
The "Papers Please Law" is not just about racism although that is probably its immediate appeal to the general public. I think that it is a mistake for liberals to portray it as just about racism though, when its larger effect could be to suppress all dissension, this is the most extreme justification for a "Police State", so far.
When you consider that this is a law that has no specific action to define its enforcement, then ultimately it be could used at any time on anyone merely based on someone's opinion of what constitutes "suspicious behavior". For instance, a cop sees a bumper sticker he disagrees with, he could dream up just about any excuse to describe as "suspicious behavior",
"The driver was wearing a beret, therefore I suspected that he was an illegal alien from France" "The guy was wearing a plaid shirt, so I thought he was an illegal from Scotland" etc. etc. Virtually any excuse could be used to harass anyone at will and the officer merely needs to state that it is a crime for him not to investigate what he perceived as 'suspicious".
A variant on FDR:
Neither a man nor a crowd nor a nation can be trusted to act humanely or to think sanely under the influence of a great fear. -Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, author, Nobel laureate (1872-1970)
I sympathize with your thoughts and feelings. I wanted to move to Sweden in 1980, when I saw that the Reagan Reaction was happening against the postmodern advances we had made in the 60s and 70s, and even the New Deal and the T.R. Progressive era, but I hoped it wouldn't work out as badly as it has at this point. I hope they enjoy the planet they're ruining, one reason for which is that they lack (haven't grown into) ecological awareness which often brings on understanding of pluralistic (our interdependent) unity and a planetary awareness.
The most generous (and Buddhist-like) explanation one can give to their actions is that it's over their heads. (I'm thinking of BP now, but one can apply it to the last 30 years of leadership in the U.S.) Of course, fear in the form of greed, rather than unity-vision-logic which accompanies Love cannot be marked off the slate of their sins (sins meaning missing the mark.)
Yes, the corporate plutocracy is winning most battles against the people at this point.
My parents raised 2 children from 1948 to 1972 on a single income. Both were born in 1920 and survived the Great Depression. My dad was a Navy lifer from 1940-1960. My mom was a Roosevelt Democrat and had a business degree, but quit working in 1948 to be a stay-at-home mother. My dad served a term as union president in the 60s as a postal clerk, but was a staunch Orange County, CA John Wayne-loving Republican. Both died just before retirement in 1975. My work ethic came from this background and I worked from 1966, all through high school and college, until being disabled from osteoarthritis in 2009. In 1972, Nixon put a freeze on wages that paralyzed the working class, who were at least making a livable single income-per-family wage. When I started driving a truck back then, 90% of us were card-carrying teamsters at $13.25/hour. Much frustration and stress was a result over that decade, not only as a union organizer, but watching deregulation put unqualified drivers behind the wheels of unsafe vehicles. After working at $14.50 for 8 years for a non-union company in 1995, my employer sold the business to a company who offered to keep us on at $11/hour. At that time, 90% of drivers were non-union, thanks to Ronnie Raygun's union busting policies. Wages have not increased when compared to corporate profit level. In the past year, my household income has gone from 60K/year to 14K/year now that my wife's unemployment ceased a few days ago. Our retirement home had to be sold to pay off enormous medical bills and since our meager income is still 12 dollars per year above poverty level in California, we don't qualify for free MediCal. Instead, we have a $2800 per month deductable that does NOT cover prescriptions, thanks to our new state contract with WellPointe/Blue Shield. As a life-long NRA member, I want to keep my 2nd amendment rights so that I may limp my way to Sacramento and shoot the Guvahnator right between his beady little eyes. This is impossible now, though. I had to sell all of my guns to buy groceries and pay the rent !!!
Congratulations on being chosen as member of the day Lisa! Your reply to Thom @ #1 so eloquently stated the angst of millions of self-aware US citizens. Computer (professional) jobs, manufacturing (union blue collar) jobs and even administrative/call center jobs have all gone offshore. Where I am now is a shadow of where I thought I might be 15 years ago when I had a new engineering degree and years of computer experience.
Conservative Dan Gainor said on today's show that we don't need regulation because enlightened self-interest and outrage should work. He was definitely 'right' and strangely he was almost correct: It is increasingly clear that enlightened self-interest and outrage will be required to get enough people out 'takin it to the streets' and into the polling booths for US to win effective regulation of the banks, big oil and all the other out of control mega-corporations. We need to look south - past the Deep South - South of the Border to see how the forces of fear and reaction can be defeated here and now by Americans - a majority of South Americans in a majority of South America have elected leftist governments that declare and act for theircommon people.
In order to really comply with the spirit of the second ammendment we need to form well regulated Militias. We have ignored this for decades we have wound up with militias as we see them today. What I think was intended would be more like our States National Guard units, which are now being used as they were never intended.
If we had been more diligent we would have promoted participation in local NG units by all of our citizens. We would be properly trained in the use of firearms of all types including automatic weapons, artillery, and whatever else is available to defend our communities in worst case situations. All of the "Good Stuff" would be stored at the community Armory and personal weapons would be kept by the people for their personal protection.
The National guard militias would be organized to respond to all situations unique to their respective States, people helping and protecting their families and neighbors. And in a threat to our nation they would be combined with other State militias to defend the Country.
We seem to have forgot the part of the Constitution that says basically that there will be no standing armies maintained by the Federal government.
To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
To provide and maintain a Navy;
To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;--
Navy, yes, Army, Marines, Air Force, NO The militias were to be all of these except the navy
Another gun freak. It seems they are more concerned about gun control than losing their businesses and jobs. But small minds never cease to amaze me. They think they can fight the military with small arms and take back the country, which is ridiculous when you think about it. These people in DC would start changing their tune if we moved to the streets in peaceful protest against the banksters. Arming ourselves is not the issue, but expressing ourselves in mass is.
Thom
Will you shut the hell up about gun control? If a democrat wants to lose and election then the best way to accomplish a loss is to propose gun control legislation. Gun control is never gonna happen.
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
If anything "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms" implies that we should have our own tanks and grenade launchers so as to be properly armed against potential military threats. When it was written the colonists had comparable weaponry to their enemies. Now we don't. A better reading of it would have the citizenry much more heavily armed.
Now shut your blowhole about it before some democrat politician loses an election because he or she listened to you.
To the unemployed therepist.
You are the fourth therapist I have heard from who has been financially ruined.
My family USED to be professional too, we are ruined. We are scratching by in the country, can't afford to go to town for a damn movie.
At least we aren't homeless, like we became when Reagan was Prezidunce.
My question to you and all other professionals. WHERE WERE YOU ALL THESE YEARS?
WHERE WERE YOU when I was holding activist meetings in the ladies bathroom at work because it was the only place in the building not on camera, while our bosses held republican PAC meetings in the dining room, telling everyone who didn't ante up they would not have promotions or raises?
WHERE WERE YOU when we were boycotting PAY TV, the disseminater of propaganda?
WHERE WERE YOU while we have been out here trying to wake the nation up?
WHERE WERE YOU?
Right wingers don't use an echo machine. They use a fog machine.