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.
It's true about the ballots. I voted last week in Bristol, UK. I went into my local library, made a single x (in pencil!) next to a candidates name, and put it in a box, which was then hand counted. This link between MP and their constituency is one of the things opponents of Proportional Representation claim as a drawback, when actually the Single Transferrable Vote system proposed by the Lib Dems involves multi-member constituencies. This would basically mean that adjacent areas would be expanded so that each larger constituency controls 3-5 MPs, and the vote for that area would be proportionally assigned. As long as these larger constituencies are roughly equal in size, this would result in a far more representative system - and of course far more seats for the Lib Dems (about 4x what they actually received last friday). The Tories believe (quite rightly) that a change to PR could keep them out of power for a generation, as a coalition of labour and lib dem would be difficult to match electorally, so they've ruled out a referendum on that.
Now a few hours ago, as Gordon Brown announced his resignation, and the lib dems announced they were starting talks with labour, the Conservatives finally caved in and at least offered a referendum on the Alternative Vote (AV) which would keep the current constituencies but allow people to rank candidates in order of preference. This to me would at least stop the "wasted vote" mentality that has propped up the two-party system for so long, but the injustices remain. I along with many people, voted "tactically" for a hung parliament simply so that we could get some election reform on the table. Anything less than a referendum and a lot of people will be let down...
Elena Kagan's senior thesis sounds interesting. Is it available for the public to read? I've had some family connections to early 20th centurey socialists in New York.
Thom
I notice you have a tendency to suspect callers are paid Republican shills when they take certain positions. It seems that you do this when they oppose decisions, policies and nominations of Barack Obama.
You did that today when in response to a caller who objected to the comments of a previous caller who said that, as an out lesbian, she wants Elena Kagan's nomination to theSupreme Court to go down in flames if it turns out that she is a lesbian, but in the closet. You seemed to take her at her word while talking to her, but later implied that she was a paid Republican shill when discussing her call with a later caller.
Do you have any evidence or was your comment just a hunch? Did someone on your staff determine that this woman was calling from a known Republican phone number? Otherwise, you retroactively impuned her sincerity in expressing hurt and outrage over an issue that is very important to her. You may not realize how important such issues are to some members of the LGBT community, but let me give you a reminder.
Back in November/December of 2008, this was a sleepy little blog. You hadn't started giving out books to the "member of the day" and the numbers of posts rarely reached the low 30s and often didn't get out of the teens.
Then it was announced that President-elect Barack Obama had decided that he wanted conservartive pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inaguration and you declared that a brillliant move.Pandemoniium broke out all over the Internet, including this blog. Comments on this blog more than doubled and continued on that topic for three days. Some gays thrreatened to never vote or work for Obama (or Democrats) again. Some announced plans to turn their backs during the inaguaration and you were denounced on this blog. I remember one particular comment that gave that date as the day that Thom Hartmann essentially went over to the dark side (I don't actually remember exactly what what the comment charged you with but it was on that magnitude.)
Having seen how emotional the issue is. I can easily believe that the caller was sincere and angry, whether the caller was If she ior wrong. Her position may or may not be reasonable, but we all know that when emotions are involved, people don't always support reason.
I also have to point out that you stated that if Kagan is in fact a lesbian, that would increase your support for her 500 percent. What makes that such a plus from your point of view? If she is a lesbian, I assume it's no more of a choice than it was for Barack Obama to be black. Unfortunately, Obama being black hasn't resulted in big changes from the policies of his predecessor. You also said that if she likes socialists, you like her even more, but your version of socialism is really capitalism with a robust public sector. That might not be the kind of socialism she was writing about.
One quart of oil can foul 250,000 gallons of water according to the DPW Bureau of Sanitation.
Gulf oil spill spewing 210,000 gallons of oil a day (at least, some estimates are 1,000,000 gallons a day)
210,000 gallons of oil
x 250,000 gallons of water
x 4 quarts per gallon
= 210,000,000,000 (210 Billion) Gallons of Water a Day are Being Fouled
April 20 until now (May 10th) = 20 days = 4.2 trillion (4,200,000,000,000) Gallon of Water
BP estimates it could take 90 days to fix the leak, if they can fix it.
210 Billion x 110 days = 23.1 Trillion Gallons of Water
This is enough water to cover an area of 110,767 square miles with one foot of water.
This oil will soon be making its way up the Mississippi River and into our drinking supply.
Why is the world not freaking out about this! This could potentially be a cataclysmic, extinction event. World governments should be working at full speed to help BP to fix this. Eco-safe oil sorbents should be used on a never before seen scale. This needs to be properly addressed! Mainstream media is severely downplaying the severity of this. We all need to speak up now, before it is too late!
Thom: re torn rotater cuff. I consulted drs then consulted some real experts: fellow handball players. They told me to either get the operation OR get some surgical cord (rubber tubing) and start stretching with it, gently at first, but regularly.
It takes about a year to do it yourself. The surgery beginning-to-end is about half that time. The discomfort is about the same. I did the exercising w/tubing and it's been fine for about 10 years.
Of course, I had to give up my dream of winning the shotput in the Summer Olympics, but it worked well otherwise. Good luck.
Wasn't that King George III
Tarpley has a reputation of being among the tin-foil hat, black helicopter crowd; but that doesnt mean he's wrong in this.
Webster Tarpley
Thom, you might want to turn to someone other than Webster Tarpley to make your case against Wall Street vultures. Tarpley is an extreme "conspiracy theorist" who claims, among other thing:s, that there is no public knowledge of what Barack Obama was doing during the years 1981-1983 when he was at Columbia University. But wait, Tarpley knows! Barack Obama was picked out by Zbigniew Brzezinski to be turned into his Manchurian candidate so that Brzezinski could take over the world.
I personally heard Tarpley say this about Obama as well as saying that Barack and Michele Obama are part of the "Chicago Mafia". I assume he meant a political and financial mafia.
Tarpley has written two books about Obama: Obama: The Postmodern Coup - Making of a Manchurian Candidate and Barack H. Obama: The Unauthorized Biography, so you don't have to take my word for it.
I'm pasting the product descriptions from amazon.com of both books in the order I've listed them. I will bold some of the claims.
Product Description
Barack Obama is a deeply troubled personality, the megalomaniac front man for a postmodern coup by the intelligence agencies, using fake polls, mobs of swarming adolescents, super-rich contributors, and orchestrated media hysteria to short-circuit normal politics and seize power.
Obama comes from the orbit of the Ford Foundation, and has never won public office in a contested election. His guru and controller is Zbigniew Brzezinski, the deranged revanchist and Russia-hater who dominated the catastrophic Carter presidency 30 years ago. All indications are that Brzezinski recruited Obama at Columbia University a quarter century ago. Trilateral Commission co-founder Brzezinski wants a global showdown with Russia and China far more dangerous for the United States than the Bush-Cheney Iraq adventure.
Obama's economics are pure Skull & Bones/Chicago school austerity and sacrifice for American working families, all designed to bail out the bankrupt Wall Street elitist financiers who own Obama. Obama's lemming legions and Kool-Aid cult candidacy hearken back to Italy in 1919-1922, and raise the question of postmodern fascism in the United States today.
Obama is a recipe for a world tragedy. No American voter can afford to ignore the lessons contained in this book
and
Product Description
Written by the author of the legendary 1992 expose of Bush the elder, this book works from a New Deal point of view. Obama is exposed as a foundation operative and agent of Wall Street finance capital, controlled by Zbigniew Brzezinski, George Soros, and Goldman Sachs. Obama's mother was an official of the Ford Foundation, the World Bank, and US AID. By all indications, Obama was identified for future political use by Brzezinski at Columbia in 1981-1983, during Obama's secret lost years. Obama has worked for the Gamaliel Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, the Woods Fund, and the Annenberg Foundation as a community organizer - a poverty pimp, a cynical opportunist who uses suffering people as a political commodity. The foundation strategy is divide and conquer, pitting blacks against whites against Hispanics against Asians, to prevent any challenge to Wall Street. Racist provocateurs like Wright and Pfleger, along with Weatherman terrorist bombers Ayers and Dohrn, Obama's best friends, are cast in this mold. Rezko, Auchi, and Al-Sammarae represent the cesspool of Chicago graft and corruption in which Obama cavorts. Schooled in Nietzsche and Fanon, Obama qualifies as a postmodern fascist. An Obama administration would strive for brutal economic sacrifice and austerity to finance Wall Street bailouts, and for imperialist confrontation with Russia and China
If Tarpley is a credible as you implied in your interview with him, we're in a lot more trouble than you think. That's actually true whether or not Tarpley is credible.
You might also want to read Tarpley's article on rense.com Brzezinski Seizing Control Over US Policy in Slow-Motion Coup at http://www.rense.com/general80/bz,htm
You'll be terrified to learn of the forces behind Obama, their plans and the extent to which they were willing to go to get Obama elected president. (If you believe Tarpley.)
No way on Sotomayor--
She decided that Crush Films were to be protected by the 1st amendment.
Sorry about that Dr Richards-
It s possible I was reading a positive response off another blog perhaps? The number of screens I have up now is quite a few....
Many of the posts in here are so long that I can't tell what they are often saying. If I see something longer than 5 lines I think-- oh dear ...get to the point!
FoodFascist
Re; I sure hope you are right.
You lost me on that one.... I am not excited about Clinton/Obama's pick.
Everybody needs somebody to look down on.
"It should be noted that as Solicitor General, Elena Kagan, President Obama's nominee for the US Supreme Court, refused to review the Justice Department's cases against Diaz, Minor, Siegelman, and others. Kagan is a disgrace to the legal profession and is clearly unfit to serve on the nation's highest court."
Obama is not the person I thought I was voting for!
Matt needs to spend a winter in Chicago as a homeless person, plenty of our vets and other cherished humanity do. What is with the snottiness of people?
Anybody know where the term "doozie" comes from? It comes from the Deusenberg automobile.
Nice comment. Well done...there is little difference with far left and far right...that is why there is little movement in regaining our country to at least a well thought out direction and purpose....you sound pragmatic and clear...I wish those in DC were as focused. We are heading towards some real challenges unless they move to the center...where most of us are really...Fiscal Conservative/Social Moderate Libertarian/Independant
Thanks
Shoulder problems - Here are the psychological causes behind shoulders problems from the Louise L. Hay disease symptom book, Heal Your Body.
Shoulders represent our ability to carry our experiences in life joyously. We make life a burden by our attitude.
Affirmation for healing: I choose to allow all my experiences to be joyous and loving.
As your metaphysical doctor today, I suggest that you carve out an area of your life where you allow yourself to leave all the troubles behind. Your analysis is needed for your radio listeners, but if you carry the problems into your personal life, something will break down. It is unnatural and unhealthy to fight problems twenty-four hours a day.
Are progressives socialists? I thought there was a difference? I thought Thom was a progressive? I am confused????
DR Richards-
I sure hope you are right. I was waiting for Thom's tone of voice this morning. I had decided that if Thom could get excited about this lady, I could. Among the depressing gunk with hell unleashed by the other side, is the President finally figuring out who is frends really are- they is us- whether he thinks we are fruit and nuts, we are his true buddies. Buddies who will tell him when he is wrong but be there for him when he is right.
Both Harriet Myers and Condoleeza Rice were not married. A study someone flashed at me once were that there was a generational block of persons born between 1960 and 1980 in which two-thirds of all of those persons had decided Not to marry. So really, the Republicans are already going to be seen as against the liberation of women AND single persons. Is that Frank Luntz a genius or what- he' snot - and correct, I meant the lack of space between he's not and snot. :)
Bad choice. You'd think that if Obama is the master politician and 8-dimensional chess player that some say he is, he'd have figure out now that every Republican will unite against his pick even if it were Zombie Ronald Reagan. So he should take the opportunity -- especially when there are 59 Democratic senators, surely the high water mark of his presidency -- to pick someone the progressive community can get excited about, a liberal Scalia who would be a powerful voice on the Court for decades to come.
No such luck. You know, when Bush was seeking unprecedented powers for the executive branch, a few of us were warning that conservatives should be careful what they wish for, that a Democratic president might not roll back Bush and Cheney's power grab but expand it. Which is exactly what may happen if Obama gets Elana Kagan onto the Supreme Court.
This is the kind of thing that should send chills down the spines of liberals and conservatives alike:
Indeed, after Mr. Obama selected her to be his solicitor general, she publicly embraced an expansive interpretation of the Congressional authorization to use military force against Al Qaeda. Ms. Kagan also took a leading role on a legal team that has sought to suppress lawsuits using the state secrets privilege and fought a ruling granting habeas corpus rights to some detainees in Afghanistan.
Glenn Greenwald has taken a lead role in pushing liberal opposition to Kagan -- it would be great to see other progressives join him.
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/attytood/
I'm not sure what to think about Kagan. So far in this administration, every time I have gotten my hopes up that Obama will actually stand up for those of us on the left they have been dashed upon the rocks. I don't see why we should expect anything different out of this Scotus nomination than what we've gotten with any of his other nominations so far (think Geitner, think Gates, etc.)
The main issue of this comment, however, has to do with the VERY OFFENSIVE call which Thom just took from a woman representing the LGBT community. She made the comment that anyone (of a certain age, I assume) who does not have a partner or is married sends off an alarm in the LGBT community that this person must be gay. How is this any less biased than those who discriminate against others' for race, nationality or sexual orientation? I am a 48 year old, single, straight, white male. And I am sure that many of you will titter at this, but I am damn tired of being labelled as gay by the public at large (and now even by the supposedly open-minded LGBT community). I have never been married for several reasons of my own, none of which include any homosexual tendencies on my part. I am not in the closet about my sexuality, I am heterosexual. I just happen to like my independence and enjoy going through life without the burden of a partner.
The caller made the point that she may not be able to trust a candidate who would not come out and be open about their sexuality and further indicted the Obama administration for not backing such a candidate if they were to come out. If this is the view of the LGBT community as a whole, then maybe they had better examine their own assumptions about others' orientations before they throw any stones at others. I don't know if Kagan is a lesbian, frankly, wtf does it matter? But if those on the left are going to jump to conclusions about others' just as those whackos on the right do, then then what makes the left any better than the right? We've got MAJOR psychological problems in this society.
Will Silver (And Gold) Prices Rise Now that the Feds Are Launching Criminal and Civil Investigations Into Manipulation of the Silver Market?
The Feds are launching criminal and civil investigations into manipulation of the silver market by JP Morgan.
As the New York Post points out:
Federal agents have launched parallel criminal and civil probes of JPMorgan Chase and its trading activity in the precious metals market, The Post has learned.
The probes are centering on whether or not JPMorgan, a top derivatives holder in precious metals, acted improperly to depress the price of silver, sources said.
The Commodities Futures Trade Commission is looking into civil charges, and the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division is handling the criminal probe, according to sources, who did not wish to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the information.
The probes are far-ranging, with federal officials looking into JPMorgan's precious metals trades on the London Bullion Market Association's (LBMA) exchange, which is a physical delivery market, and the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) for future paper derivative trades.
JPMorgan increased its silver derivative holdings by $6.76 billion, or about 220 million ounces, during the last three months of 2009, according to the Office of Comptroller of the Currency.http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/
Corruption
Americans are dealing everyday with evil and powerful people.
Let us take a look at our country and the rampant corruption on a daily basis that affects ninety percent of Americans. Here are areas and issues that affect Americans – food and abuse of our feed animals, water, air, energy, health, pharmacies, weapons of mass destruction, the ability to blow up our planet, wars and defense contracts, lies, hatred, killing and maiming of human beings, credit cards and loan sharks, home mortgages, Wall Street, banks, bailouts, failing to audit the Federal Reserve, the ability of American banks and financial institutions to destroy countries, no fees charged on the buying and selling of $900 trillion in derivatives, politicians, the White House, and Congress, the Supreme Court membership and its decisions, lobbyists, religions and Christian fundamentalists, right-wing American Zionists (for example such as an attack on Rabbi Michael Lerner’s home in Berkeley, California), the façade of separation of church and state, mercenary groups, invasion of privacy, defective and toxic products, racial profiling, wiretapping, slave and stagnant wages, college loans for an education, outsourcing of jobs, downsizing of employment, profits over people, tariffs and our trade policies, Americans as mushrooms and cannon fodder, freedoms and rights, voting and voter’s rights, identity theft, false prophets, greed and money, rigged elections, loss of love, mercy, and forgiveness, social injustice, faith-based programs (a bribe for religions and religious organizations), the Texas publishing companies and the rewriting of American history and education, a culture of violence for five hundred years, the destruction of the middle class, deregulations, and no objective oversight of policies and practices. These are the only corruptions that I in one sitting can remember at this time.
American corruption continues day in and day out. Americans live with alley muggings and BOHICA days.
I truly wish that I would be able to say that my country has a future but I cannot.
Martin Luther King Jr. from his jail in 1963 said, “We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of bad people, but for the appalling silence of good people.”
http://www.opednews.com/populum/linkframe.php?linkid=111126
Obama's Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan Will Move the Court to the Right
President Barack Obama has chosen Elena Kagan to fill the vacancy left by Justice John Paul Stevens' retirement. Sadly, Kagan cannot fill Justice Stevens' mighty shoes. READ MORE
Marjorie Cohn / AlterNet
http://www.alternet.org/story/146794/obama%27s_supreme_court_nominee_ele...