Recent comments
Popular blog posts
No blog posts. You can add one!
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.
We have to build ecovillages and protect and value our natural resources and become self sufficient.
Housing prices are going up because foreclosed properties are being held off the market. The pricing is STILL artificial, with the real estate brokers and lenders staying in bed with each other to game the market.
Tonight, Tuesday July 28, join our special guests as they update us on the evolving health care reform debate and provide us with specific examples about how we can effectively speak about health care's more contentious points.
Our experts include:
Patrick Romano, California Field Director for Health Care for America Now
Dr. Alex Blum, National Field Director of Doctors for America
Dave Roberts, veteran health care policy expert and OFA CD 50 volunteer
July 28, 2009 - 7:30PM Pacific Time
Register for this conference call at the link below:
http://myaccount.maestroconference.com/conference/register/197BFFWJP024JSLE
I will agree with Bill O Reilly in that the right have no basic education on what health care reform is about altogether and we must bear the few hours it would take to put a simple power point together or promote pieces like ‘Sick around the world’ at pbs.org.
Every college student can put one together to educate their class mates, surely our leaders ought to be able to bring those that do not understand the need for health care reform, the basics, and bring them up to speed. And certainly, we should not be allowing disinformation to interfere with what we need and want. In this, it would not be unreasonable to have case studies to reveal. For example, the City of San Franciso’s shot at a universal health care is not working so well and the Massachusetts a disaster [ well thx to Mitt Romney]. Mike Papatonio had some reasonable strategies this past Saturday on Ring of Fire. Start, he says by ferreting out the inefficiencies in the system, as we are doing with mileage standards. Pitifully slow, but until we stop attacking the other side for how stupid they are and become teachers, we will just be hampsters spinning the same wheel
B Roll,
Re my comment yesterday:
"...we already tried to make changes (2004 and 2008 elections) the peaceful way. The response was laughter from everyone in our group.
Too bad they didn’t know I was only partly kidding."
Thanks for your concern about my safety.
That brought back memories of people like William Kunstler and Angela Davis and other human rights advocates of the '60s, '70s, etc. When I was in college, those advocates would visit schools around the country to talk about their causes. They also spent time talking directly with us students after their main talks. They were such brave people to march and to speak out. What I do doesn't take nearly the courage they had. I wish we had "lightening rods" like them today. (Maybe we do and I'm just not seeing them.)
(Or, maybe it just a side effect of listening to "The U.S. vs. John Lennon" when I work out. lol)
It's people like Thom who've taken on their mantle in a more "work-within-the- system" way. (That was Paul Wellstone's m.o., too.)
Dr. Dean will be the guest host for "Countdown" both tonight and tomorrow night. It should be interesting.
btw, I called Rep. Barney Frank's office this a.m. to thank him for his work (with Harvard economist Elizabeth Warren) to put together a bill to regulate the banking/financial industry and protect consumers.
I was particularly touched when Frank said on Rachel Maddow's show last night that "consuming" was only a small part of what people do.
Today's Dilbert comic strip captures very well the problem with stock options for CEO's. It shows Dogbert the CEO manipulating the company stock before he retires.
http://www.dilbert.com/strips/comic/2009-07-28/
Here's an article that lists some of the markers that they thought could be used to determine if the stimulus package is successful or not. President Obama himself claimed that unemployment numbers was the most important indicator and we are still in a big mess. He promised to create millions of jobs. Has the money reached the people who will create those jobs yet?
http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/17/news/economy/obama_stimulus_meas_success...
Rick,
I hope to hear Thom's answer too because what seems really difficult is that we are defending a somewhat wrong-headed stimulus package. Thom often tells us that he wishes they would have bailed out the actual homeowners not the banks which seems really right because the banks have hoarded the money. But on the other hand, isn't it true that more than half of the stimulus money hasn't been given out yet? Perhaps Obama's team is waiting until we get a health care bill passed to be more proactive with homeowners?
But the bad thing is that what we have to use to argue with people who don't want bailouts-- for anyone-- is the imaginary what if. That's all we have. We were told that if we would have done nothing we would have had a worldwide economic depression so all we can say is" Well, you think it's bad now, the unemployment numbers would have been twenty percent if nothing had been done." But we don't have any proof for any of this because we chose the bailout and we aren't sure what would have happened exactly.
That's why President Obama has such a horribly difficult job. The Rebublicans can easily blame him for everything even though they got us into this mess and we have a very hard time coming up with a defense they will believe. Plus, progressives are annoyed that more isn't being done for working people which seems like Obama's terrible mistake unless he is timing that part of the stimulus for after health care reform. President Obama isn't making anyone happy right now and I'm not sure that he will ever be able to.
After listening to the “independent” women’s forum spokesperson yesterday (why do conservatives call themselves “independent” when they are beholden to a narrow-minded ideology that opposes any whiff of change?), one thing is quite clear: for the right, morality and common human decency does not belong in any discussion regarding political, economic, social and cultural affairs—let alone health care. When people’s lives are at stake, the only variable they consider is cost, and whether they will be forced to pay additional taxes to assist the lower classes that they regard with contempt. It always seems that these right-wing commentators, who have no cause to worry about their own health care, seem absolutely conscienceless when it comes to any regard for the people who by the policies they support ensure they remain mired in a social underworld. Health care reform, then, is essentially a shibboleth if it does not contain at least these the following elements:
Guarantees a general universal coverage for all citizens and legal residents, meaning access to care regardless of the “acceptability” of the insurance provider.
That all insurers allow for primary and preventative care at minimal out-of-pocket expense for the consumer.
No one will be denied coverage if they have a pre-existing condition, or a post-existing condition, for that matter.
Force competitive pricing for drugs; if drug companies remain recalcitrant in the pursuit of profits, allow for the importation for cheaper drugs after agency approval, and increase government-run or non-profit research and drug-development.
No one will be made financially vulnerable to exorbitant health care bills.
Provide government incentives and medical school tuition assistance to encourage an increase in the number of primary care physicians.
Help finance new construction of public hospitals throughout the country.
If Congress cannot pass a plan that will provide immediate relief to uninsured or under-insured people, or fix the core problems—which seems rather more likely than not--than a public option backed by the full authority of the U.S. government, with penalties to health care providers who refuse to honor its mandate, is not merely essential, it is a requirement. The only issue that needs to be discussed is funding requirements, period.
Re: ATT censors website piece on Am Left 7/27/09 about 5:30 pm
What was the name of the website?
It was noted that Sarah Palin emails were initially published on the censored site.
Hi Tom, need some serious help was hoping you can give me the talking points I need to combat a conservative friend. He asked me the other day at what point would I consider the Stimulus a faiilure? I told him, that we took years to get to this point and would need more time. Well he rephrased the question into at what percentage of unemployment would I consider the stimulus a failure? What would be the best way to answer this type of question?
Quark- cool! on the state systems. California will have a hey day with this! Accupuncture, home grown herbals - I am actually really liking the idea, except for the fact that Schwarzennegger already vetoed SB840 twice here. Could Obama really make Schwazennegger have a health care plan in CA for example?
Rasta go listen to Rush Limbaugh you rude a hotel. You have something to say, say it. No need to run down a fellow who works 24/7 to help us wipe our own butts and keep this nation free for all- You have some information to report, report it like everyone else does.
It seems to me that it's time for us progressive to take off our blinders and acknowledge that the corporations own Obama and the Democratic party.
Is this web page slow, or is it my computer? I don't experience this on most sites. . Any advice? I'm using a small Compaq lap top Thanks.
More healthcare information at
http://democratichealthcareturncoats.webs.com/todaysnews.htm
WHAT A BORING SHOW
ANYTHING TO DEFLECT AWAY FROM ZIONISM AND THE LATEST RABBIS TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN ORGANS I GUESS
THOM HARTMANN IS GOING DOWN IN FLAMES...AND IT'S OBVIOUS
While listening to Steve Early, I just realized something about health care benefits that employers have been providing. Health insurance itself became, over the years, a status symbol in a way. The attitude toward uninsured was often--"well if you just got a decent job and worked as hard as I do you would have the great benefits that I have."
I think that part of trouble we are having with convincing people that the public option is a good thing is that many people have spent so much time sacrificing wages and all sorts of things to gain their high-status insurance that they may feel worried about the loss of meaning in all that if we provide universal care.
Perhaps people who do have insurance feel that their efforts to work hard to get insurance wouldn't mean anything if the playing field were leveled and everyone got what they feel they have sacrificed so much to achieve. Even though in the end they will have more money, higher wages, a GDP that can offer more support to schools and clean energy, loosing the "status" of being one of the elite insured may feel scary for them?
Maybe unconsciously they like having some people go without insurance because it makes them feel like a better person?
I'm trying to make sense of this craziness.
Food Fascist,
Yes, someone (on the blog, on Thom's show, who?) mentioned Kucinich's amendment recently. I posted that, if it becomes law, I'm considering contacting the most progressive pro-single-payer legislators in the state and volunteering to help them make that happen, working from the "inside."
These Blue-Dog Democrats are simply making a power grab and forcing a defacto-Parliamentary Styled Legislative process on all of us.
I will not give one more dollar to any group tht funds all or in part any of these Blue Dogs. Tht means the DCCC and the DSCC. I am also going one step further; I am going to give money to anyone who runs a primary challenge to these Blue Dogs. I may even give to 3rd party challengers in the General election for the sole purpose of helping the Republican challenger win.
Healthcare is a Core issue for us. I can compromise on many issues, but not supporting the President on a core issue like this deserves the ultimate rebuke. What good is it to be a DINO on a core issue like this?
Referencing what Thom was talking about in the first hour regarding Japan…I happened to see the program “Ascent of Money: Risky Business” with Niall Ferguson last week on our local PBS station. This program was complete corporatist propaganda partially covering the Pinochet regime in Chile and the collaboration of Milton Friedman and the “Chicago Boys” in the coup in 1973. It left out the involvement of Kissinger and Nixon in the Allende murder and the coup, and presented an underdeveloped, one-dimensional analysis that was shocking to see on a PBS. To top it off, following the section on the “wonders” of Chile after the coup the program suddenly switched to Japan, and proceeded to trash the Japanese governmental system referring to it as “socialism” run amok. There was a point while watching this program when the light bulb went off, and I realized that Japan is the next target of the corporatists. The gloves are certainly off as that one caller mentioned in the first hour, and the desire is to steal the Japanese populace blind while privatizing the country. Watch out! I bet we start hearing a lot more about how Japan is a terrible place, and it is all due to those dirty “socialist” ideas.
To view the The Ascent of Money, please go here:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/ascentofmoney/featured/the-ascent-of-money-episo...
I think I sent this in before:
Great is a society that plants trees that will yeild shade for futer generations to enjoy. -Greek Proverb
What kind of a society do we want for our children?
Pax Vobiscum.
Looks like Sara Robinson's group Our Future.org is also onto Ross
Here is a link to that article, however it does not cover the founding of Ross Pharmacy, We have got to know more about his business dealings.
http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2009073023/why-rep-mike-ross-ar-4-bl...
Thom,
Just heard the story of how the insurance company sent the letter and denied you claim due to no responce. Again, this is the nature of the corperations to pad their bottom line.
I noted that people think that this is a discussion about the government paying for health care. People should focus more on how we are going to pay and efficency. We are going to pay any way wether it is part or your compensation, an insurance you bought for yourself or part of the government package, it is part of the economy. The question is what is the most efficient manner to pay for this expense and will yeild the best service?
From my discussion above and what we know the greed of the insurace companies (think that they are spending $1.4 million a day to stop a discussion on health care, what a waste) the best solution is single payer (non-corporation).