Recent comments

  • Thursday - September 3 2009 - Highlights   14 years 29 weeks ago

    I received an email from Kevin Zeese of Voters for Peace. He wnated me to sign a petition that will be sent to President Obama to end the Afghanistan war. Here is my response to the email.

    Kevin from Voters for Peace, thank you for this very important email on ending the war! Personally, Obama only wants to be a one term president. The Grand Experiment of Obama as president has already failed me. THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THEY REMAIN THE SAME! Obama does not have it. As a one term president here is what I would do – shoot for the moon with some cajones! Get out of the wars!!! Join the International Criminal Court!!! Hand Congress a one page my health care reform plan! Include the sentences such as the sentences that were introduced to include the Child Disabilities Act to receive Medicare. HEALTH CARE IS A MORAL ISSUE. ALL AMERICANS WILL BE ADDED TO THE MEDICARE PLAN. IF IT MEANS MORE TAXES AND THE ROLL BACK OF THE BUSH II AND REAGAN TAX CUTS SO BE IT!!! As a one term president I want to leave showing my cajones. Sincerely, Gerald Socha

    P.S. Kevin, this is my message to President Obama!

  • Thursday - September 3 2009 - Highlights   14 years 29 weeks ago

    http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/

    "Democracy Is Dead... Politicians [In] The White House, Senate And Congress [Are] Mere Puppets, Pawns For The ... Oligopoly"

    Guess who made the following statement:

    We refuse to believe in this new Orwellian America. We prefer the world of
    magic, myth and illusion.

    Democracy is dead. Oh, the illusion will be kept alive in our history books,
    in the rhetoric of politicians, in the manipulated minds of America's 95 million
    Main Street investors. The propaganda machine works. Like a child's fairy tale,
    democracy has been deeply imbedded in our brains for decades; we prefer
    believing old, familiar stories. They comfort us, even when no longer true. The
    real democracy, what so many fought and died for since 1776, is dead.

    Lobbyists now run America, own America, rule America. Forget the 537
    politicians you thought we elected to the White House, Senate and Congress to
    run America for us. No, they're mere puppets, pawns for the "Happy Conspiracy,"
    an oligopoly, plutocracy, cabal, monopoly all-in-one -- a private club of
    America's richest few on Wall Street, in Washington and in Corporate America.

    Voters and elections are irrelevant. Lobbyists decide what's in the best
    interests of this elite club...

    Most voters are destined to live in denial, trapped in mind-numbing illusions replaying over and over as they sit passively, dazed ... they aimlessly drift, unaware of how lobbyists rule America, how lobbyists help the "Happy Conspiracy" rob them blind. ..

    Stop kidding yourself. Wake up, you're in denial, in fantasy world, dreaming of a new "American Democracy." Wrong, you no longer live in a democracy. Lobbyists run Washington.

    Do you think an anarchist or a hippie or a Venezuelan citizen or a radical alternative blog wrote it?

    Nope.

    It was an American investment advisor, who writes a regular column on one of the most popular financial news sites (owned by Dow Jones), MarketWatch columnist Paul Farrell.
    http://www.marketwatch.com/story/16-credos-for-our-new-lobbyist-nation-2...

    The Founding Fathers would not recognize modern America.

  • Wednesday September 2 2009   14 years 29 weeks ago

    DDay,

    Yes, getting Michele Bachmann out of public office would be a kindness --- it would put us all out of her misery! LOL

    She's such a cartoon character. It's scary that she's for real. Have you ever called her local office? I have (to complain about some stupidity or other with which she so frequently regails us.) Of course, her staff enablers and loyalists are just as "amazing.")

    BTW, I find that I sometimes miss consciously hearing part of Thom's show if I only listen to it while I'm on the blog. (Yes, multitaskers, your brain really can do only one thing at a time!) So, I blog and listen to the live stream, then sometimes listen to the delayed broadcast in Mpls. to get the details on whatever I may have missed.)

  • Wednesday September 2 2009   14 years 29 weeks ago

    I took off posting here yesterday and decided to just listen to Thom's show on the radio where it is delayed broadcast here in Mpls. The reason I am posting now, (Thurs. morn) is to answer a inquiry directed at me from my friend Quark. Yes I did hear about Michele Bachmann's latest verbal IED. I am on a listserve that notifies me of everything she does or spews. I don't want to monopolize the conversations by bringing her up too much in this forum. I do think it would be a good thing if progressives from around the country took up the cause to oust her however. She is truly the "tip of the spear" of the Barbarian Faction of the Right. (My apologies to all regular Barbarians.) Lets make an example of her. It would be the patriotic thing to do. It would also be the compassionate thing to do. People here is the Minnesota Sixth Congressional District are suffering for their ignorance under her representation. She feeds that ignorance. They need your intervention America! This would make a perfect pilot project for progressives on the web who want to flex muscle.

  • Thursday - September 3 2009 - Highlights   14 years 29 weeks ago

    Thom,

    Regarding my last post, I guess that WASN'T the latest info. on the subject --- I decided to watch the program again and info. came up saying that it first aired in July, 2007. Oh well... That does seem to be an interesting website, tho, with archives.

  • Thursday - September 3 2009 - Highlights   14 years 29 weeks ago

    Thom,

    There were some terrific programs on NOVA (PBS) this week. (I really wish there was a "NOVA channel" that aired science stories every day!) Your webpage ad for "Restabs" reminded me of one story in particular about why we sleep. (For one thing, it appears to edit our daily experiences and "send" them to a different part of the brain to become memory and learning, part of which you've discussed before.) This program goes deepter into the research.

    Here's the latest:

    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/archive/date-20090901.html

  • Thursday - September 3 2009 - Highlights   14 years 29 weeks ago

    Believing that all politics are local and change begins at home. My wife and I used the cash for clunkers program to unload our gas wasting Blazer for a Prius, which is getting well over 50 mpg thus far and are in the process of installing a geo-thermal heating and cooling system. It's too bad that the stimulus package didn't have more in the way of infrastructure money for mass transit. We would leave that Prius at the park & ride lot if there was a train or light rail available. Anyone who has spent time in Europe knows how wonderful it is to travel there.

  • Thursday - September 3 2009 - Highlights   14 years 30 weeks ago

    On occasion, the History Channel does provide useful enlightenment on crucial issues of the day. It recently aired a program that discussed a looming problem that may in fact have more impact on the U.S. economy—and the world at large—than the health care crisis. It is, of course, the world’s dependence on oil for its principle energy source. It was noted that Brazil was one of the few countries that learned a lesson from the oil embargo of the 1970s, preparing itself for a “soft” landing by using its own resources, such as cane sugar, to produce an imported oil substitute.

    One should not underestimate the impact of potential double-digit prices at the pump on the economy—let alone a wholesale disappearance of oil altogether. The cost of transporting goods by itself is would have major inflationary effect on the price of goods, not to mention the reluctance of consumers to purchase goods if they have to consider shipping costs. The cost of transportation to travel to and from work, of heating or cooling and electricity will have a prohibitive impact on family budgets (especially if the wage earner can’t even afford the expense of driving to work), and economic activity that depends on the mobility of consumers will be hurt. If people think that paying for carrying a second bag on an airplane is a bother, just wait to see what airlines will charge extra for next when jet fuel prices go through the roof. The military will be forced to cut back on properly training soldiers, and mobility in the field during combat operations will be strained. Worse, the potential for turmoil in the streets will be a real possibility, as an increasing number of have-nots resort to violence and crime to satisfy their immediate survival needs.

    And then there is the international problem it poses. China and India’s burgeoning thirst for oil is already ratcheting-up tensions and conflicts; China is right now busy undermining U.S. interests in Africa—particularly in the Congo—by making promises of economic and infrastructure aid in exchange for access to its natural resources. It is not beyond the imagination that if push comes to shove, a major military conflagration will occur in order to maintain access to oil located in the hot spots of the world—a major reason why the acquisition of nuclear weapons in the Middle East is such a concern.

    The question then is—what are we waiting for? Yes, Obama has “green energy” next on the agenda, but given the way the health care debate has transpired, why should we be any more confident that an energy policy that prepares the country for a “soft” landing will be “doable?” Furthermore, most Americans seem to think that we will be “alright” because of all this coal the country has, or we could just start building more nuclear power plants. Nuclear power will do nothing for transportation, and extracting oil from coal is still in the prohibitive cost phase. Perhaps what the country truly needs is a massive, space-age-type program in order to develop a fuel (say, like, umm, dilithium crystals?) to run vehicles. For the short-term, maybe everyone should be required to buy a Volt, but Americans are simply too short-sighted to do the intelligent thing, and this time it may truly be too late to avert complete chaos.

  • Thursday - September 3 2009 - Highlights   14 years 30 weeks ago

    Thom had a guest on his show who has predicted an end time or something in 2012. I cannot predict anything. So, we will have to wait.

    We have heard that God works in mysterious ways. Personally, God is not a mystery. The Bible gives us what we need to do. The only mystery that God reveals to me is His patience. He has been slow to punish the USA for her inhumanity to humanity.

    We hear how China will dominate the twenty-first century. The USA will let China dominate for a short time period but our nation will never let China dominate for the long term. I cannot remember the author's name but the book's title is "Seeds of Fire." The author claims that we are on a collision course with China for a war in 2015, possibly a nuclear holocaust.

    American policies have created world-wide hatred for each other. This is not rocket science. We only have to read Stephan Lendman's article, "The Culture of Violence." Make no mistake we are a violent nation!!!

  • Thursday - September 3 2009 - Highlights   14 years 30 weeks ago

    Pigeons

    They travel on the london underground a number of studies have been concerned with this. I became aware of it in 1995. One research study tagged a load of pigeons in a London park and tracked them doing the same journey into Central London each morning and back out to the suburb park in the evening.

    http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg14719978.600-passenger-pigeons.html

    http://www.iankitching.me.uk/humour/pigeons-tube.html

    http://victorian.fortunecity.com/finsbury/254/tubeanimals.html

    I have personal experience of this in Amsterdam where in the mornings pigeons would get on trams at Centraal Station and get off at Leidseplein only to stroll straight into the nearest McDonalds. Later in the day they would queue with everyone else at the tram stop, get on only to get off a few stops later at Dam Square where by this time it was full of tourists feeding hundreds of pigeons. Upon visitng that Mcdonalds I witnessed staff repeatedly chasing them out with a broom only for the pigeons to prance around proudly outside waiting for the doors to open before coming back in. The pigeons always had more patience than the staff, and i swear they pumped up their chests whenever they won.

  • Wednesday September 2 2009   14 years 30 weeks ago

    THX Loretta-

    I really appreciate your information. The Thom Hartmann Show is the incubator of Cracking the Code Truly. In fact, I am preparing for our Move On .org Vigil this evening and wanted to at least have some sort of quick white paper for those who are just begin introduced to the issue, or wish to learn from the stories of others rather than experience it ourselves! Though Lord knows, I have been in some real CAT FIGHTS with health insurers and so no longer have as it seems such a waste of hard earned money MEOW!!

  • Wednesday September 2 2009   14 years 30 weeks ago

    BP Says It's Made 'Giant' Oil Find in Gulf of Mexico

    http://www.cnbc.com/id/32653850

  • Wednesday September 2 2009   14 years 30 weeks ago

    mathboy,

    Maria Bartiromo Presses 44-Year-Old Congressman: If Medicare Is So Good, Why Aren't You On It? (VIDEO)

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/01/maria-bartiromo-presses-4_n_274...

  • Wednesday September 2 2009   14 years 30 weeks ago

    mathboy,

    An audio clip has been played throughout Thom's show today featuring a healthcare reform discussion with Rep. Anthony Weiner responding to a typical idiotic comment by Bartiromo.

  • Wednesday September 2 2009   14 years 30 weeks ago

    Contrary to what William Gladstone thinks, scarcity is normal, because of the Malthusian principle that a species reproduces to fill its ecological niche. It stops growing either when it's so populous that a predator eats it too easily or when it's using all available resources (and a larger population would be reduced through starvation). And currently there are no predators keeping humans from using all available resources.

  • Wednesday September 2 2009   14 years 30 weeks ago

    Food Fascist,

    That's a terrific list of arguments we need to make to the already-insured. I posted this link yesterday, but I think you might like to read the article by Michael Lind on salon.com. The second page of the link lists ways we can name our enemy and frame the debate to help the skeptical, already-insured middle class support reform.

    The statistics you've lined up for us are exactly the sorts of arguments Lind is suggesting we use, instead of trying to draw out compassion from self-absorbed people for the poor and uninsured . Appealing to compassion doesn't work apparently, even though it did in Taiwan. We have to show people how THEY will benefit, not people who have less then they do who many in the already-insured bracket feel should simply work harder to earn their insurance.

    http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2009/09/01/demagogy/?source=newsletter

    I'm going to post your post on my wall. Thanks!

  • Wednesday September 2 2009   14 years 30 weeks ago

    DRichards, I'm waiting for the punch line:-) A mercenary ...

  • Wednesday September 2 2009   14 years 30 weeks ago

    Quark,

    What does all that stuff about Maria Bartiromo have to do with Anthony Weiner?

  • Wednesday September 2 2009   14 years 30 weeks ago

    Rep. Anthony Weiner has been my new hero for some time now.

    Maria Bartiromo - CNBC, however, always sounds irrelevant when discussing political/economic issues on MSNBC programs. Her comments have no dimension or perspective because she is ignorant and unaware of any background info. She has no empathy for the average worker or human being in this country because she's so one-sided in her protection of big business. Business doesn't need defending if one isn't blinded by ideology.

    Besides, her appearance and behavior (on Morning Joe, etc.) often shocklingly seems as though there's something wrong --- she's strung out on drugs (?) or maybe she didn't make it home the night before. Anyway, she's a mess, inside and out.

  • Wednesday September 2 2009   14 years 30 weeks ago

    Thom,

    What's the difference between a "contractor" and a mercenary?

  • Wednesday September 2 2009   14 years 30 weeks ago

    Okay- let's break this whole overwhelming health care/ insurance reform down:

    ISSUES with Health Care Insurance alone:

    BANKRUPTCIES

    Every year one million Americans
    claim bankruptcy due to a major medical issue
    Senator Bernie Sanders,
    Thom Hartmann Show 8. 2009

    INSURANCE CAPS
    Once your cap is used say in a major medical
    you are virtually uninsurable afterwards.
    Representative Slaughter, Ron Reagan
    Show 9/1. 2009

    POST CLAIM UNDERWRITING

    You pay your premiums faithfully but
    when you have a major medical matter,
    the company drops you from your policy.
    Ex insuance broker, Stephanie Miller Show
    8/17. 2009

    CLAIM DENIAL
    You pay your premiums faithfully, something major happens. Your claim was denied.
    A bonus was paid to the employee for denying
    your claim. Caller to Stephanie Miller Show8/17. 2009

    LOSE YOUR JOB LOSE YOUR
    COVERAGE / PORTABILITY

    Then, if ill, this becomes a lapse in coverage
    and a possible pre existing condition.

    PRE EXISTING CONDITION
    There are disabled persons and others
    for whom will never be insurable.
    How could this happen in America?

    WORKMANS COMP/ MALPRACTICE CASES could be virtually be eliminated.

    COST INCREASES TIES UP COMMERCE

    The average business can spend as much
    as 20% of their costs on health insurance making
    them unable to compete with companies from
    other countries that do have nationalized coverage.
    USA 18-22% GDP is health care while other

    THE COST OF NON INSURED

    The average insured can pay as much as 1000. Per year more to compensate for those who are uninsured and relegated to using the emergency room as a source of primary care for which a tooth abscess can become a 250,000 surgery.

    http://foodfascist.blogspot.com/2009/09/issues-with-health-care-insuranc...

  • Wednesday September 2 2009   14 years 30 weeks ago

    So much for 'the good war'?

    White House stalls as US public opinion swings against Pentagon's plans to escalate war in Afghanistan

    http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&It...

  • Wednesday September 2 2009   14 years 30 weeks ago

    Mark - your impressions were, without a doubt, absolutely correct.

    I worked for a recruiting firm ages ago. On paper, we were not allowed to keep track of applicant race or gender. However, employers would sometimes express preferences, e.g. "This is a tough shop and a woman just won't fit it." So our boss directed us to put a stray mark in each applicant's "COMMENTS" section, e.g. multiple periods for a woman (?get the oh-so-subtley?), so that we could select on that basis but a casual investigation would reveal nothing.

    P.S. they're out of business now. Karma!

  • Wednesday September 2 2009   14 years 30 weeks ago

    DDay and Thom,

    Have you heard the latest crazy talk by Michele Bachmann? Writer Dan Savage has no-holds-barred response on "Countdown" last night:

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/ns/msnbc_tv-countdown_with_keith_olb...

  • Wednesday September 2 2009   14 years 30 weeks ago

    too bad Thom Hartmann's empathy doesn't stretch to the Palestinian Genocide as well as the "GYPSIES"......but then, bloodthirsty KKKristian cult zionists believe in their own supremacy and there's no amount of blood and death that can satiate it's cult driven indoctrination.

    nothing short of the NAZIs.....when Thom writes and talks about that disgusting regime he isn't railing against all FASCISM....he's advocating FOR the neo-fascist ISRAELI zionism.

    Fascism doesn't care what ethnic group is demonizes just as long as it demonizes .....and Hitler would be proud that his minions like Thom are still carrying out the Fuhrer's wishes.

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