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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.
Quark & Zero - Thom has been debating on his show since day one and this show is in it's ninth year. He doesn't just have them on - he both challenges them and informs them. If this isn't what you want to hear then find a different blog to hang out on.
Zero G and Nels,
I have heard a few others reflect similar sentiments over time on this blog. You and others here seem like part of my "family" and I didn't want to just disappear without an explanation. Thank you for your thoughtful, kind words and friendship. I will probably continue to post when I'm able, though I think I need to take periodic breaks.
First, look carefully at most of those photos comparing Bush to Hitler. Nearly all of them were taken in Europe.
Second, how do tea-baggers defend comparing "reforming health care" as justification for comparing Obama to Hitler vs comparisons of Bush to Hitler for an unprovoked attack against another country?
Democrats and Progressives can develop their spine by understanding when they are questioned by libertarians and conservatives about the ‘evil’ connotation of their socialism and polices for the ‘redistribution” of wealth is that what is being done is putting right the laws, rules, and beliefs that allowed the miss-distribution of wealth in the first place through inequalities in wages, benefits, retirement plans, quality heath care, and tax benefits. It seems to be forgotten by all concerned that this miss-distribution of wealth came first.
Hey Nels,
I heard Amy's show this morning and most mornings, also I had posted Glen Greenwald's critique of Kagen before the pick became known.
I full well acknowledge calling GWB a fascist. His Grandfather Prescott's Union Bank had their funds confiscated for funding the Third Reich. GWBush used the Big Lie technique to force the US into wars of aggression. During the FDR regime the GOPhers tried to organize a coup against him. They are fascists. They are the decendants of fascists. Let's be honest about it.
Disasters are "an act of god" according to the irresponsible, and hence not their duty to clean up - god has to fix it.
If you leave the lights on when you park your car, they will only be on for a while, but that doesn't fix the problem.
@Pablito re: She was in the Clinton WH,what does that tell ya ?
It tells me she wasn't in the Bush Administration.
N
@Quark and Zero G., sounds like you guys need a strong dose of Pacifica Radio and Free Speech TV. You'll get a lot more of the left there, heck just this morning I was listening to Amy Goodman/Democracy Now and there was a lot more scrutiny on Kagan from the left than I'm hearing even on Thom's show (as an example).
I do personally hope you two don't abandon this blog completely though. :-)
N
Folks this is madness:Bay Buchanan maybe a Right -Wing hack but she is more than correct.
Buchanan says the GOP get whom ever they want to sit on the Supreme Court.
And Thom sounded silly calling the chief justice Roberts a Right -Wing hack,Roberts may well be,but he is on the court.What good progressive can we point to that has a seat on the court,none.
And so liberals are stuck defending Kagan on behalf of the Administration.Liberals are now doing just like the GOP,saying yes & defending everything the WH hands 'em.even if it's not in their best interest.
Kagan is no progressive or if she is,she is a corporate progressive.Ordinary people be damned.
She is more than bad news,and progressives ought not to be defending her, on behalf of the WH.For someone who is such a progressive, Kagan had no damn confidence or courage to defend her beliefs.She has written nothing supporting her so called0" progressive" stance.She was in the Clinton WH,what does that tell ya ?
@Quark!!!, long time no blogging. If Thom isn't what you need right now, just turn down the volume, but I hope you do spend some time with us here on the blog.
N
@Quark,
I haven't been here much in the past week or so, but I've just been busy...but I feel the same way. Thom says that there isn't much attention paid to the left in the media, then he spends almost all the time talking to the right. There are many Socialist academics who could use the airtime, someone mentioned Richard Wolff recently, but Thom brings up a four year old talk with the head of the CPUSA...
ps When the Nazis came to L.A. recently it was mostly the various socialist contingents that came out to protest.
re: What do Democrats need to do to get a spine?
They need to get their progressive/liberal policies taken seriously in the media.
I'm hoping that the progressive media will grow and flourish, to the point that the common American, who doesn't care about politics, is exposed to it like they are exposed to the right wing crap. In the meantime, its a grass roots struggle for the rest of us.
N
I haven't listened to Thom or posted on the blog since Thom talked with Ravi Batra a week or two ago. Thom seemed to lead the "witness" (Batra) to confirm Thom's longtime prediction of a coming depression. Batra did not confirm that outlook per se, for which I was glad. Even tho Thom tells his listeners that "despair is not an option," he sometimes has a way of setting up a very bleak future (for which you'd have to be crazy not to be in despair.) (Last week, my doctor told me to spend less time being involved with politics, that it was hurting my mental and physical health.) Thom's interviews with authoritarian right-wing "mouthpieces" are equally discouraging. Why not just post the right-wing, corporatist talking points on the website every week? That's all these people have to say anyway.
Also, I wish that Thom would generally do less talking and taking over of conversations (especially with callers) and more listening and asking of questions.
Thom's blog separate blog entry on the story of how the Oil Rig may have cut safety corners is quite interesting. Worth the read.
N
Ideologs don't reason, they repeat.
I don't usually get irate when I'm driving home. Traffic is traffic and NPR is, well, NPR. I've learned to deal with Kai Ryssdal's bias (or my need to read bias into his commentary) but in his 5/11 pm show he allowed Todd Buchholz, a former GHW Bush economist, to spew unchallenged conservative ideology across the air waves. I was so mad, I immediately called my number to remind myself to give Marketplace and Local and National NPR stations a piece of my mind. It occurred to me that maybe Thom would like to invite him on his show to defend his position.
I know Kai allows unchallenged left leaning views on his show as well but this went to far.
The gist of Todd's commentary was that California, Rhode Island and others are in trouble because they are "chasing away private jobs and paying public union employees too much" (That's my attempt at a PIGS tie in so I could post my diatribe here). He then goes on to accuse pensions and unions of scare tactics and "slick commercials" to keep the status quo never once mentioning the loss of manufacturing jobs, the housing bubble or the recession.
It upsets me that I can watch Republicans, admittedly with the help of some Democrats (NAFTA anyone?), ruin America for their own greedy ends and then blame Democrats for the problem. Call him up Thom. Invite him on the show and see if he can defend his position with anything that resembles fact.
Source commentary info: http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/05/11/pm-lessons-in-greek-debt-crisis-buchholz-commentary/
Interesting reads:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/employment/2009-02-08-recession-unemployment-relocation_N.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2009-02-06-new-jobs-growth-graphic_N.htm
OMG, Bay Buchanan is nothing but a right wing hack. I rarely hear such hypocritcal dreck from one person, but she is just overflowing with it. Her reasoning is just completely based on ideology.
N
This is a song we've heard from you before, Thom. You're just trying to get your greedy little paws on other people's ill-gotten gains through the taxes of an oppressive federal government.
Thom, you need to give up on socialism and start a pyramid scheme. It's just so much easier to get nine down and ten across by buying candy bars and diet pills than to get the American people to accept responsibility -not only for themselves- but for their fellow human beings and their future generations.
That workers would have cut corners to impress bosses seems all too possible. We are now a country of servants less than working men and women, it is our ethos to bow and scrape to power thanks to the destruction of unions. I can definitely see this happening. But I fear that even if an investigation reveals that workers did cut corners there will still be no condemnation of the fact that we've turned our workforce into a people who won't speak out even at the danger of losing their own lives.
In regards to the Oil Exec's pointing fingers instead of taking responsibility. I think that they should be taken at their word, they have all implicated each other, so fine, its all of their responisibility. I think that's completely fair.
Side note, here in CA, the Republican Canidate for Gov that used to have a 50 point lead, is now neck and neck with her primary challenger. I'm figuring since I've heard or seen nothing but her campaign ads, that her extreme right wing position has shot herself in the foot. Hil-f'n-larious.
N
That would be great! But first we have to break through the brain washing machine that controls the masses.
Thom, In Addition
Here are two pro Prolotherapy website links: http://www.getprolo.com/ AND http://www.prolotherapy.com/prolodefine.htm
I didn't find any sites specifically anti-Prolotherapy in nature.
My experience was negative, but many people believe it works. The theory sounds good; injecting a sugar water solution initiates the body's inflammatory response at targeted locations. The proliferation of new collagen at these injection sites leads to stronger ligament, tendons, cartilage, and other connective tissues. If successful, many painful condition are supposed to go away. Good luck with your painful shoulder, I so very much feel for you.
Randy Cole
If you don't want to follow the links, here are two quick overviews:
Prolotherapy is also known as nonsurgical ligament reconstruction,
and is a treatment for chronic pain
Prolotherapy is helpful for what conditions?
The treatment is useful for many different types of musculoskeletal pain, including arthritis, back pain, neck pain, fibromyalgia, sports injuries, unresolved whiplash injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome, chronic tendonitis, partially torn tendons, ligaments and cartilage, degenerated or herniated discs, TMJ and sciatica.
What is prolotherapy?
First, it is important to understand what the word prolotherapy itself means. "Prolo" is short for proliferation, because the treatment causes the proliferation (growth, formation) of new ligament tissue in areas where it has become weak.
Ligaments are the structural "rubber bands" that hold bones to bones in joints. Ligaments can become weak or injured and may not heal back to their original strength or endurance. This is largely because the blood supply to ligaments is limited, and therefore healing is slow and not always complete. To further complicate this, ligaments also have many nerve endings and therefore the person will feel pain at the areas where the ligaments are damaged or loose.
Tendons are the name given to tissue which connects muscles to bones, and in the same manner tendons may also become injured, and cause pain.
Prolotherapy uses a dextrose (sugar water) solution, which is injected into the ligament or tendon where it attaches to the bone. This causes a localized inflammation in these weak areas which then increases the blood supply and flow of nutrients and stimulates the tissue to repair itself.
Historical review shows that a version of this technique was first used by Hippocrates on soldiers with dislocated, torn shoulder joints. He would stick a hot poker into the joint, and it would then miraculously heal normally. Of course, we don’t use hot pokers today, but the principle is similar—get the body to repair itself, an innate ability that the body has.
How long will it take to complete a course of treatments?
The response to treatment varies from individual to individual, and depends upon one's healing ability. Some people may only need a few treatments while others may need 10 or more. The average number of treatments is 4-6 for an area treated. The best thing to do is get an evaluation by a trained physician to see if you are an appropriate candidate. Once you begin treatment, your doctor can tell better how you are responding and give you an accurate estimate.
Prolotherapy
Prolotherapy is a simple, natural technique that stimulates the body to repair the painful area when the natural healing process needs a little assistance.That's all the body needs, the rest it can take care of on it's own. In most cases, commonly prescribed anti-inflammatory medications and more drastic measures like surgery and joint replacement may not help, and often hinder or even prevent the healing process. The basic mechanism of Prolotherapy is simple. A substance is injected into the affected ligaments or tendons, which leads to local inflammation. The localized inflammation triggers a wound healing cascade, resulting in the deposition of new collagen, the material that ligaments and tendons are made of. New collagen shrinks as it matures. The shrinking collagen tightens the ligament that was injected and makes it stronger. Prolotherapy has the potential of being 100 percent effective at eliminating and chronic pain due to ligament and tendon weakness, but depends upon the technique of the individual Prolotherapist. The most important aspect is injecting enough of the solution into the injured and weakened area. If this is done, the likelihood of success is excellent.
Prolotherapy involves the treatment of two specific kinds of tissue: tendons and ligaments. A tendon attaches a muscle to the bone and involves movement of the joint. A ligament connects two bones and is involved in the stability of the joint. A strain is defined as a stretched or injured tendon; a sprain, a stretched or injured ligament. Once these structures are injured, the immune system is stimulated to repair the injured area. Because ligaments and tendons generally have a poor blood supply, incomplete healing is common after injury.This incomplete healing results in these normally taut, strong bands of fibrous or connective tissue becoming relaxed and weak. The relaxed and inefficient ligament or tendon then becomes the source of chronic pain and weakness.
The greatest stresses to the ligaments and tendons are where they attach to the bone, the fibro-osseous junction. The most sensitive structures that produce pain are the periosteum (covering of the bone) and the ligaments. It is important to note that in the scale of pain sensitivity (which part of the body hurts more when injured), the periosteum ranks first, followed by ligaments, tendons, fascia (the connective tissue that surrounds muscle), and finally muscle. Cartilage contains no sensory nerve endings. If you are told that your cartilage is the cause of your pain, you have been misinformed; the cartilage cannot hurt because they contain no pain sensing nerves. If there is cartilage damage, the ligaments are typically the structures that hurt. Ligaments are weakest where they attach to bone. The periosteum is the most sensitive area to pain and the ligaments second. It is now easy to understand why this area hurts so much. This is where the Prolotherapy injections occur, and thus eliminate the chronic pain of many conditions including arthritis, mechanical low back pain, degenerative disc disease, cartilage injury, and sports injuries.
Prolotherapy works by exactly the same process that the human body naturally uses to stimulate the body's healing system, a process called inflammation. The technique involves the injection of a proliferant (a mild irritant solution) that causes an inflammatory response which "turns on" the healing process. The growth of new ligament and tendon tissue is then stimulated. The ligaments and tendons produced after Prolotherapy appear much the same as normal tissues, except that they are thicker, stronger, and contain fibers of varying thickness, testifying to the new and ongoing creation of tissue. The ligament and tendon tissue which forms as a result of Prolotherapy is thicker and stronger than normal tissue, up to 40% stronger in some cases!
@mstaggerlee, don't pee in their coffee, all you need to do is put syrup on their fingers and give them a feather to play with.
@mstaggerlee, BTW sorry you have Inter-NAZIs infecting your work place. They're notorious pests that once have started nesting in an office, quickly breed and spread their policies. May I suggest you pee in their coffee pot, it won't do anything but give you much needed relief though.
N
@mstaggerlee, I would have to say Rands' Giants are Giant Leeches, nothing more. So how can we stand on the shoulders of shoulderless creatures?
I agree with you, she's full of 5h!+
N