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We have no money for domestic programs but we do have money for a forty year drone war.
http://original.antiwar.com/engelhardt/2010/01/24/the-forty-year-drone-war/
The doomsday clock keeps on ticking.
http://freedomsyndicate.com/fair0000/latimes00107.html
Another glorious war awaits us!
http://www.opednews.com/articles/U-S-China-Military-Tensio-by-Rick-Rozof...
Brad,
Thanks so much for that. Will do!
Before I share some information, I want to offer a suggestion. We do not have in our newspapers a labor page. Thom, each of your hours has four segments for a total of sixty segments for the week. Would it be possible to have one or two segments a week devoted to labor news and labor guests?
I wish now to share some information. At times Thom has some humor on his show to lighten our day. Aside from these humorous pieces, please listen carefully to what he says. For example on January 25, 2010 Thom mentioned two pieces of information, such as retirement plans and Ronald Reagan.
Retirement plans came on the scene to eventually eliminate social security programs. Right now our COLAs are frozen for two or three years. This freeze is a prelude to the eventual elimination of social security programs and the elimination of Medicare programs will follow. But, money will not be frozen for wars and mass murders of God’s children.
Thom mentioned that Reagan showed signs of dementia in his first term. Dementia does not come overnight. It is a process that takes ten, fifteen, and in some cases twenty years to actually surface. With dementia Reagan was not running the presidency or the American government. I believe that Nancy was upset with the people in the White House because they were poor advisors to him. We must remember that is the way for our shadow government.
My counsel to the people who listen to Thom on the radio is to pay close attention to what he is saying.
P.S. I have not been receiving any of Thom's newsltters for the past several days. I am wondering if he has stopped writing these newsletters? They seemed to require time and maybe five newsletters per week were time consuming? Maybe one newsletter per week would have been sufficient for the readers?
PBS and Sarah Palin
PBS has an online poll posted asking if Sarah Palin is
qualified. Apparently the right wing knew about this
in advance and are flooding the voting with YES votes.
The poll will be reported on PBS and picked up by
mainstream media. It can influence undecided voters
in swing states.
Please do two things -- takes 20 seconds.
1) Click on link and vote yourself.
Here's the link:
http://www.pbs.org/now/polls/poll-435.html
2) Then send this to every single Obama-Biden voter
you know, and urge them to vote and pass it on.
The last thing we need is PBS saying their viewers
think Sarah Palin is qualified.
Rachel Confronts White House Economist
Last night Rachel Maddow told V.P. Joe Biden's economic advisor and member of the W.H. Middle Class Task Force Jared Bernstein that the last thing this country needs is stupid Hoover policies (referring to last night's W.H. announcement of a budget freeze.) This is a conversation worth watching. I wish more progressives would stand up against the idiocy and timidity in Washington! (Video):
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show#3506...
It seems like alot of people are upset that corporations now have the same rights as people, and are poised to take over our democracy after the SC ruling. So here's an idea...
Similar to the Move Your Money campaign... lets start a Vote Your Dollar campaign. If people realized more powerful than their voice at the ballot box is their voice at the register. We the people ultimately decide which corporations are going to have the power by buying their products... so if you want to take the power away, then stop buying from them. In addition to moving your money to a small local bank, also patronize small businesses, avoid national chains, or at least avoid shopping at national chains who ship jobs overseas, or have poor labor standards, or are anti-union, etc. The point is your dollar is your vote.
If we could awaken everyone to this reality... to make them aware that everytime they spend money... they are voting "yes" for that business. So do you want to vote for small businesses... or big corporations? Then make your voice heard, and let your dollar be your ballot.
Dday,
That's such a cool offer! I'll be done with my writing by the end of April, so maybe then? I would love to come and help out with the democratic party and push back against Palin. I'm a good cook too, and a massage therapist. That would be so very much fun. Thank you very much for the invitation. My email address is lorettamarielong@gmail.com if you want to write to me.
Thank you,
Lroetta
Sharon, I totally agree. I was taught in law school to respect judges, and working with Bar Associations we labored long and hard to keep the profession of law respected, against some pretty serious barriers too.
But why bother, when out top court re-writes the Constitution on a whim? It was bad enough in the Bush v. Gore stay, when they re-wrote the law of the stay; and then in the decision itself 3 days later, when they invented an entirely new protected class - IIRC it was people who had had their votes counted (as opposed to people who had not). Gaaah!
Remember the "Operation Pitchfolk" guy Thom interviewed last week?
He's written about his experience here http://operationpitchfork.blogspot.com/2010/01/in-defense-of-progressive... and I think we should give him a shoutout ! While we will never agree 100%, that's o.k. because we have more in common than I ever thought.
It's almost as if our corporate masters had some sort of "Divide and Conquer" strategy going on ... let's not fall for it anymore.
I pledge to give up the "Teabagger" jokes; they were fun but it's time to stop and have a nice talk with conservatives who, like us, are getting SCREWED! (Thom: wouldn't that make a nice book title?)
Are corporations really just groups of citizens and therefor worthy of free speech rights, as the supreme court has decided?
WHO CARES! It is NOT relevant!
Here is an analogy: The game is football and the long-bomb forward pass. There is a very logical way to defend against any forward pass. Simply tackle the receiver before he catches the ball! Why not? There is a rule against it because without that rule the game will not work! It’s cheating. Giving corporations the right to use their huge financial resources to express their opinions is giving each of them a 1000 Watt bull-horn and all the rest of us a muzzle! It does not matter if they SHOULD have free speech rights or not. There must be a rule against it because it’s cheating! This why I believe there must be a constitutional amendment that puts a halt to corporations using their money to promote their antisocial thinking.
Al K.
After 33 years of practicing law, I feel such shame at the pandering of our supreme court. The bliindfold has been torn away, the scale weighed down with corporate dollars, and the law which is to be our servant has become but a tool in the hands of the 'haves'.
Sure did, mstaggerlee.
Jack, that sounds more like Obama. Maybe you have a point after all if change the names.
More comments as well as Naomi Klein stuff...
http://rdrutherford.blogspot.com/2010/01/naomi-klein-dweeb-as-normal.html
godknows
at least
Hi Thom,
I read through the blogs and some of them touched on the subject as to what should congress do about this new ruling.
I for one think that congress should change the definition of Corporation as a person to a business entity. The religious right should like this one; a person is one that has a soul (maybe include this), is male or female, and is able to marry (notice I said able), die, eat, breath, pay taxes, go to the restroom. Basically, a person is a human being and not some conglomeration of individuals that the basic motive is profit.
ONLY Persons that can vote should be able to participate in campaigns. Yes this would eliminate the unions but they are currently minor figures in contributions compared to what corporations will contribute.
If it has to be so:
Make it so that corporations cannot advertise under phony names or non-profit corporations.
Make it so that corporations must use the parent companies name at the beginning of the commercial stating support for the subject or person.
Make it so that the political advertising is not a tax write-off.
Make is so that only corporations that are 100% American owned can participate in politics.
Religious corporations that claim nontax status cannot participate in politics.
Just a thought, congress can set the laws. The Supreme Court is supposed to rule if they are constitutional.
Jeff
I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.
- Thomas Jefferson
DDay, what really pisses me off is the total insensitive that I see with Americans treating other Americans and with all of God's children.
Gerald-
It is not the nature of the hardship, but the "lessons" we learn from them that can make us victims. Because we are told lies and fairy tales does not mean that we should take the opposite as being true. It was no more true that we as a nation were always good anymore than it is true that we are all evil. Real life isn't as simple as religious dogma would too often teach. It is a tragic truth that when the pendulum swings too wide in one direction it will surely swing too far in the opposite. You, as a thinking, caring, adult, should remember this: not only for your own peace and growth, but for the peace and benefit of your friends and loved ones. No beans about it. Lithium anyone? :-(
mstaggerlee, thank you for the comment! A high school friend shared with the pulling of the finger ritual on his honeymoon. I do believe that the pulling of the finger helps a marriage.
Here is what actually happened! "Jo, Jo, hurry, pull my finger" and as she pulled the finger I broke wind.
One year later as my wife and I were talking, I mentioned to her about the pulling of the finger ritual. She said to me that she thought to herself, "What have I gotten myself into by marrying this man?" Well, she got a man who will be her husband for forty-five years in about five months or so.
I have not given my wife or our sons much money but I have tried to fill our home with laughter and a sense of humor. For the most part I have succeeded with the laughter and sense of humor during our marriage.
It gives me reason for hope to hear all these voices of outrage and concern for the survival of our heritage. Our opponents have been successfully selling fear and alarm for a long time now. Mostly fear about things external like terrorism or "Arabs". Years ago, before 9/11, it was often things more insidious and internal like "activist judges" or "liberal justices". Hitler blamed Jews and Communists. Now many people are awakening to the realization that our basic American, individual freedoms are under attack and on the verge of being usurped by a cabal of oligarchs, plutocrats, and corporatists who place personal gain before all else; including their own country.
Now it is our turn to sell fear and alarm. Not trying to promote false or racist fear as has been the case but real concern and protection for our most precious charge: " to keep this Republic...if we can". Ensuring our sacred and unique individual rights of self determination unalloyed or conditioned by any artificial our outside influences. One human...One vote! We must alert the public to the real dangers and inspire them to act. Encouraging people of all political stripes to act responsibly and patriotically in service to their solemn obligations of citizenship as truly loyal Americans would. The danger is real.
I hope people stay fired up and start to take actions which will inspire their less concerned friends and neighbors to take a look, and then spread the alarm. This is a debate we can win so long as we insist on staying on point. It's about INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM and what our fore father's intended. It is about the absurdity of the opposing propositions for corporate person-hood. Plain and simple. They will try and change the wording in hopes of changing the debate. If we don't let them, if we keep coming back to individual freedoms and liberty as opposed to, or versus corporate hegemony, we win the argument. Gen. Lee won most of his battles with lesser means, because he almost always seized the high ground. Last Thursday's Court decision revealed the high ground in this battle. We must seize it and then strike out from it. We will all truly suffer if we don't, and so will our children's future. Time to take a stand. Truth is: There should be thousands of suits brought to the court to fight this grab for power. Keep agitating! Start the Revolution!
Gerald - I am now convinced - you should NOT wait for reform legislation before seeing a doctor - you should go, IMMEDIATELY, to -
1) A gastroenterologist, for the regurgitation issue - I read lotsa stuff on the net that mentally sickens me, but it NEVER gets to the point of physical ilness.
2) A psychiatrist, if you REALLY buy that "pull my finger" stuff. :D
I will start this comment by saying that I have a great wife. As people grow older, they can develop some different and peculiar ways. For example, I love my wife’s famous marinated four bean salad. I have asked her to make it for me but she refuses. She has said that she would never make this salad in the winter. I promised her that I would not go out in the public after I have eaten her salad. She still refuses to prepare this salad. In some ways I can understand because some guests may stop by our place and there can be a problem.
I will concede to her that the salad in the winter may not be a good idea. Now, she is upset at me because on the side of my desk where I have the computer, there are two beach towels slightly overlapping. I also have a regular towel, a hand towel, and a wash cloth near me. On top of the beach towel is an empty All Detergent bucket. The bucket is about thirteen inches square and on the side of the bucket I have three words printed, “My Barf Bucket.” When I surf the internet, I will come across various writers’ articles and politicians’ words that will make me puke. The barf bucket is helpful because I can place my head in the bucket to puke. There is no spatter onto the carpeting but my wife is not happy with me.
This barf bucket is definitely needed. I frequently puke and the bucket is necessary. At the end the day as I walk by the bathroom, I will let the contents from the bucket slide down into the toilet. With an empty bucket I go to the basement and I will wash the bucket in the wash tub. I will also dry the bucket and head upstairs and place the bucket on the beach towels. It is my daily ritual.
The word, ritual, reminds me of some information that I wish to share. To consummate a marriage two acts must be completed. Saying, “I do,” in a wedding ceremony does not consummate a marriage. First of all, the conjugal act must be completed. The second act that needs completion is the pulling of the finger ritual. Unless this second act is completed a couple is not fully married. Either spouse may pull the other spouse’s finger. At the very time one spouse pulls the other spouse’s finger, the second spouse breaks wind. Once the pulling of the finger and the breaking wind are completed, the second act is completed and the couple is fully married.
By the end of our honeymoon I am happy to say that both acts were completed and we arrived home fully married.
Nels, Vatican II has tried to bring our Church out of the Dark Ages. I believe that Vatican II was trying to have the Church become more mature over past mistakes. The problem we and the Church face has to do with the Traditional Catholics who want to return the Church to the Dark Ages. I do not want us to turn back the actions of Vatican II. Nels, as you know, there are different kinds of Catholics. It is my perceptual opinion that Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, and Charles Krauthammer are not good examples of Catholics. We can also add those five Mafioso types on the U.S. Supreme Court as terrible examples of Catholics in action.
Unions do not sell a product, real or fictitious, and therefore have only the dues collected from their members to fund advertisements. Since the folks who fought for the privileges that today's workers enjoy have left the workforce or passed on, the significance of unions has lost its value and in turn its membership has fallen greatly. This is like the proverbial bringing a knife to a gun fight.
Let me say that Thom's three hours on January 25, 2010 were great.
I would like to share with you an actual experience on January 25, 2010. As I was awakening from my deep sleep, my Guardian Angel shared a verse from the Bible. “Render to God the things that are for God! Render to Caesar the things that are for Caesar!”
As I reflected on this revelation from my Guardian Angel, I now realize that our elected politicians are not committing mass murders and war crimes in spreading wars. Our politicians are rendering to Caesar or the president that call for wars and more funding for these wars in order to keep us safe and secure.
Our politicians might actually be saints for their votes. Jesus did say “Render to Caesar the things that are for Caesar!” Some people will say that our presidents are only puppets. Our presidents take orders from our Shadow Government. The Shadow Government is made up of many transnational corporations. Some Americans will say that these corporations are not human beings or persons. These Americans are wrong because the U.S. Supreme Court says that corporations are human beings or persons. These corporations are the Caesars whom we can render to them the things that they want. If it means, that war is acceptable and the killing of God’s children is acceptable because Caesar says we are going to war for our safety and security.
The U.S. Supreme Court may have given us an intended consequence of their decision to say that corporations are human beings or persons and corporations are rendering to the world saintly acts and deeds.
It now appears that mass murders, war crimes, and crimes against humanity are actually saintly actions as long as we are doing these actions for our safety and security.