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During the time period of the Articles of Confederation the United States had a population of about 2.5 million people. Today we have a diverse population of about 321 million.
Vulnerable citizens the Bundy boys think even with a population that large we can still shrink the federal government down to a size where we can murder what's left of it in a bathtub.
The Bundys think like that in large part because a few wealthy Fascists, by manipulating the corpse media, foxmerized and turned them into fools who vote against their own best interests. Of course Fascists like the Kochs promote and want a fractitious and weak central government because with that comes totally unregulated capitalism.
Malcontents like the Bundys would be slashing their wrists if they had to survive in a post modern feudal economy under the full control of Fascists like the Kochs. If you believe you'd be better of with guys like this in charge of our environment and economy then you're a god damn fool who doesn't deserve to be a United States citizen.
It's also ironic that they they want to give the land back to it's rightfully owners, when the former owners were native americans, literally.
Is there any doubt that guns will be involved?
Using guns is how americans get it off
Sad!
I would suggest the President was crying for all children that have been slain. Isn't that possible? We don't know what was in his mind at the time. Why politicize genuine human emotion?
This isn't the correct clip. This is the Bernie vs DNC discussion again.
"This natural gas leak isn't just an environmental disaster - it's an atmospheric catastrophe like we've never really seen before." TH
Really Thom? Hyperbole perhaps? What about volcanoes?
The CEO needs to be put in jail. Only this will prevent future leaks. Yet the Kochs and ALEC are currently trying to make the CEO's less liable.
Wait a minute! What about all the rhetoric over the years from the "free markets" crowd, who insist such a situation would never happen, as the resulting loss of market share and trust from the communities harmed would more than provide enough incentive to make sure such a thing never occurred, unless it was unforeseeable.
Those guys who own pro sports teams aren't stupid. What's the commonality in what they've done? They got rid of "free markets" by imposing salary caps; preventing them from bidding against each other in a violent race to the bottom.
ISIS uses religion as a justification to rape, plunder, and seize power. The Oregon militia uses sham patriotism as justification to, trespass, threaten with gun violence, and seize land that belongs to all of us. It doesn't take a lot to program the minds of goofballs no matter what corner of the world they're from. Just ask those behind the scenes at the Fox News propaganda headquarters. My advice to the Oregon Militia members...get a real job, a union one.
I live in Irvine, Orange County, California. I have been reading about this man-made disaster for weeks. It appears that So. Cal Gas Company did more than cause the leak. When the residents complained that the leak was affecting their health, the Gas Company lied to them. They denied their was a leak and told the residents not to worry. I believe the executives behaved in a criminally irresponsible manner. Someone should go to prison and heavy fines should be paid from the profits of the utility.
This gas leak is another infrastructure problem which the Retards (R) will fail to recognize. I am wondering, now that the midwest has been pretty much destroyed by flood water, if they will continue to do the red states bidding and ignore these serious infrastructure problems. This flooding has caused multi-million of dollars worth of damage to bridges, highways, sewage treatment plants, water resources, railroads, electrical transmission lines, ad infinitum. Are the Retards (R) going to continue their denial of existing severe problems with our infrastructure or are they just going to go after the ACA, Planned Parenthood and the president. Will they continue to ignore these infrastructure problems?. I suppose they will need permission from the Koch Brothers to do anything that would help decent Americans.
I am laughing so hard.
Ted Cruz just said, "When you live by the pen, you die by the pen. And my pen... has an eraser."
What an idiot.
Based on an idea from Tina Dupuy on the Stephanie Miller Show, I'd like to suggest sending the Malheur insurgents glitter bombs. Apparently, there are now several companies that will ship your enemies glitter for you.
Sheriff Mack seems to think that the 2nd Amendment contains the word "sell". It doesn't. Nor does it contain the word "manufacture" or "buy". Therefore, the sale of guns can be regulated as much as anything else.
In my opinion, if we could remove profit from, "war for profit," then war would eventually fade away. The Republicans would have to find another out of control spending avenue to kiss the ass of their Fascist Masters with.
Trumps call to ban Muslims may have been both stupid and impossible to execute but these terrorists groups hardly need his comments as a recruiting tool. Furthermore don't you find it a little suspicious that a week after Clinton shoots her mouth off the ad appears.
Everything we do to eradicate these groups (like killing them) is a much better recruitment tool than Trump.
Thom you're better than this.
Thom,
I just heard you do a commercial for Sodastream. Please be aware that this is a product that is produced on "settler" land ,i.e. land taken from the Palestinians. At a time when so few people in the USA are even aware of the Occupation and Oppression of the Palestinians I urge you to support the BDS movement which includes boycotting Sodastream. Thank You,
Chuck Adelsman
What is your opinion on the Flex-Fuel mandate which was recently brought up here?:
http://www.thomhartmann.com/users/taiwanjohn/blog/2015/12/breaking-monop...
I actually wasn't aware of it until reading that post so I did some research - Zubrin, really smart guy that he is, does an excellent analysis, and now I have to agree that would be the fastest and easiest way to end our oil addiction, especially the imported Terrorist oil. Note wind & solar have negligible effect on oil consumption.
I don't embrace Zubrin's enthusiasm for agro-fuels however, but certainly agro-waste to methanol is cost effective, low carbon and very doable. And in the USA & Canada there is a huge stock of diseased, overgrown, too-high-density forest wood stocks that can be selectively harvested to prevent the disastrous forest fires we have been having, which not only release vast amounts of carbon & soot into the atmosphere but have a severe health impact. Most practical way to use that is directly convert to methanol in local, portable processing plants.
Makes a whole lot more sense than biomass --> electricity, which is what is being done now. Plants are terrible at capturing solar energy, typically only about 0.1% efficient vs solar at 12-20% efficient. What plants are good at is capturing CO2 out of the atmosphere - carbon that we need for carbon neutral liquid fuels. There is no substitute for carbon liquid fuels. Ammonia just isn't viable. So biomass --> liquid fuels should be the priority.
I believe Thom was looking for the word keffiyeh.
And this will help Thom with the Harry Potter thing the caller brought up: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogwarts_staff#Gilderoy_Lockhart.
What Ian Millhiser was citing:
Art. IV, Sec. 3: New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.
The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.
Instant-RunOff-Voting, I fully agree, but what sounds like the best and fairest solution is not always politically feasible, unfortunately. :( I usually leave the politics to Thom, since he is so good at it. :) I stick to the science, since I have an Environmental degree. I'm currently doing a refresher - an honours level course in renewables - so expect more articles on renewables coming your way.
In some countries all the best sites for traditional hydro (the large dam projects that politicians and investors are so fond of) have been used, plus we are more aware of the environmental consequences. But there is still plenty of scope for small scale hydro, tidal power which does not involve barrages, and the like. Biomass also has a lot of scope, and I am writing an assignment about it at the moment, so I'll probably be writing about it the next time a news story about it comes along.
Another factor, which is not impossible like the decriers say, but does need some very careful consideration (which we are fully capable of) is how to integrate all the new sources into a robust grid. Even this has non-technical aspects, such as the charges electricity companies make to people who generate their own electricity and have excess to sell.
@ SueN the correct method is Carbon Fee & Dividend which Hansen is a strong advocate for. That would actually benefit the poor especially and to a lesser extent the middle class. The rich, like Al Gore, would pay the most since they consume the most energy, commony well over 100X the energy consumption of a poor or lower middle class person. So rightly they would pay 100X in carbon fees but the dividends would be returned equally to all citizens.
http://citizensclimatelobby.org/carbon-fee-and-dividend/
Note that the super-rich, including Al Gore, favor the corrupt Cap & Trade failure which does just the opposite of Fee & Dividend, it directs income from the poor & middle class to the rich & super-rich who love gambling on the Carbon Markets. Which reward the polluters and give zip to the non-polluters.
Fossil fuel companies do indeed also get high subsidies, primarily military support - Oil & Pipeline Wars and the legislated freedom to dump their toxic waste into our air, land & water for us to breath, eat & drink with complete impunity. Why can't we citizens get to dump our garbage for free? I have to pay ~$50/month. Also they get 100% liability protection for the 7 million citizens they kill every year with their toxic, carcinogenic pollution.
Any savings from forcing Fossil Fuel companies and countries like the Terrorist State - Saudi Arabia to pay for their military protection & emissions - should go equally & fairly to all low carbon sources - not to just renewables - which usually translates to Wind & Solar, not the major renewables Hydro & Biomass. Another case of technologically illiterate, dumb-ass politicians who figure they should pick the winners & losers in the low carbon energy field.
UK flooding: How a town in Yorkshire worked with nature to stay dry http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-flooding-how-a-yorkshire-flood-blackspot-worked-with-nature-to-stay-dry-a6794286.html
The New Deal was FDR's baby. The "Greatest Generation" benefited from it, then commences tearing it down.
Roland
It is indeed very difficult to achieve political solutions, If the carbon is taxed at source, then it would have some effect on everybody. This would be less of a problem if everyone was paid a living wage, or received adequate benefits, and these were adjusted accordingly.
By cutting subsidies to fossil fuel companies and taxing the carbon, then using the savings to subsidise renewables so they were more affordable and to help out those that need it, the change could be brought about without hurting anyone but those invested in fossil fuel.