Recent comments

  • Climate Deniers Fiddle while the Earth Burns   9 years 48 weeks ago

    IRV -- I went to google looking for Alice Friedemann and I came up with this link

    http://energyskeptic.com/2015/nuclear-power-never-econ-viable-never-will...

    How ironic.

    In any case, all the articles I find have a serious lack of numbers. Numbers, like how much arable land there is in the US and how they measure it. How much of our land is arable for hemp that is not included in that number. How much energy is generated by an acre of switchgrass vs an acre of hemp. Incidentally, why does one include marijuana in the discussion about hemp?

    Also, the San Onofre Nuclear power plant had to be closed down because it was beyond its prime. Now our PUC is duking it out with SCE for who has to pay for it. I think the thing that shut down the San Onofre nuclear power plant down was some software error.

    Where are you finding those stories on the MSM that are saying negative things about nuclear energy?

  • Could Donald Trump win the GOP nomination?   9 years 48 weeks ago

    "The Donald" would never be allowed to the RNC primary. Why? Because he represents the prospects of change...real change...not the usual empty promises both parties make. The folks who control the party (and who also control the DNC as well), are already debating amonst themselves who will win just as their counterparts are looking at who wins the Democratic primary election. From there, they will work out the best deal with both parties, and that's who will when in 2016. We, on the other hand, get to pretend that we had something to do with it. It's called the illusion of choice. And, by the way, no one who is serious about real change will ever get never get near the microphone with an acceptance speech in hand.

  • Back to the Future with Scott Walker   9 years 48 weeks ago

    I wish Thom would keep repeating his historical evidence about free markets. Thom has often said "free markets always fail". Some key examples are Iraq, Russia and Naomi Klein's examples in "Shock Doctrine".

  • We're running out of time...   9 years 48 weeks ago

    Thom --

    The person you need to bring on as a guest is the British economic journalist and author Fred Harrison. He has been sounding the warnings for several decades and forecasted every crash, every serious problem that we have experienced. Part of his unique insight comes from his understanding of history. I just received from him an advance copy of his new book, titled "As Evil Does." I recommend to all thoughtful people concerned about the state of the world, listen to this 2012 talk he gave in Argentina: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLcI3jBbi6Y.

    In addition to his books, he has written and narrated a number of hard-hitting documentary films that are all available on Youtube.

  • We're running out of time...   9 years 48 weeks ago

    Just to keep it real. What does any of this matter. Poor children attend what is left of a gutted and nullified public school systen gaining the advantage of genuine concern and action on their behalf......even to the extent that they are attempting to feed them better, even trying to add in breakfast. Now totally ignoring the obsolete nutritional guidelines defining this supplemental educational support program for the moment.........Why bother?.........the program ends when school is out.........then what, the kids go back to semi starvation, substandard biological development, basically nullifying any benefit acrued druing the previous school sessions efforts, add infinitum........tell me what the point of this is. Why not just shoot them at the outset and start over, wouldn't be more merciful to put them out of their misery with a clean kill........rather than half kill them developmentally with a screwed up nutritional effort, and no hope of acquiring the intellectual skills dependent upon a, for lack of a better term, normal physical development. Or is it no longer the belief that animals must have proper nutrition to achieve the potential inherrent in the genetic heritage.......is that to far left for the Christians to accept as at least a minimum standard.........just asking........so you decide, do I mail my donation to Bernie, or do I mail my donation to the fund and petition to try and help feed these children during the "off" season......."off" season.......I begin to wonder was there ever an "on" season.............have Bernie include this recommendation in one of his speeches, so I will know what to do next..........I can't decide, let the children continue to starve psycologically, emotionally, intellecturally and supplement their biology a little so they might survive to become good gun toting red neck cannon fodder, or send it to Bernie and let him take care of it...........you pick...........good luck Craig

  • We're running out of time...   9 years 49 weeks ago

    It’s very easy for people to misunderstand what climate scientists and activists are telling them. In 1992, another meeting of 2000 leading scientists also issued a SIMILAR warning: http://www.ucsusa.org/about/1992-world-scientists.html People also know about a string of scientists’ warnings back to Rachel Carson in the 50’s. The problem is, scientists and activists are doing a horrible job telling this story.

    For people who don’t understand the details or won’t take the time to learn them, which is MOST people, this seems exactly like “crying wolf”. So, reporters like you can help out a lot with this. But you also have to change the message.

    The key problem with the message is its format of broad generalizations! For example, the report you refer to states, “Mitigation over the next few decades will be pivotal in determining the amount of long-term warming and associated risks.” GARBAGE! Complete GARBAGE! This is exactly what they have always said. It was just as true in 1952 as it was in 1992 and 2012. And from such a statement, what does the average person need to be afraid of: “warming and associated risks.” Why would anyone be afraid of that? What people need to hear is SPECIFICS.

    An example would be to “interpret” a graph from the Club of Rome study, which has been confirmed to be accurate repeatedly for 40 years. One such interpretation might go, ‘by 2060, if we don’t make major changes now, ONE BILLION people EVERY DECADE will DIE from resource limitations and climate change until the world population gets back to 1.5 B people. And EVERYONE on earth, except “the privileged” few, will suffer greatly from starvation, collapse of lifestyle and the process of dealing with all the dead and refugees swarming the planet. This is the kind of message people can relate to.

    The other important message to drive home is the answer to, the question ”Is it too late?” The answer should now be,”YES!” Our failure to act has ALREADY LOCKED IN the death of ONE HALF of the population alive today. The only question left now is, “what happens to the other half?”

  • Back to the Future with Scott Walker   9 years 49 weeks ago

    The Lochner decision was very weird. People do have the right to enter contracts that are detrimental to themselves (by the 9th & 10th Amdts.), but the government has an obvious overriding power to make contracted actions illegal. It's just odd to try to divide this power according to whether any deleterious effects fall upon one of the contracting parties or on someone else. Harm is harm, and if the general welfare is helped by such a prohibition, then it should be allowed.

  • We're running out of time...   9 years 49 weeks ago

    The human specie will not see 2050.

  • We're running out of time...   9 years 49 weeks ago

    When a species has run its course the Earth Avatar lets it go.

    It seems the human species is about to run its course.

  • John Boehner vs. Bernie Sanders: Who’s the Real Extremist?   9 years 49 weeks ago

    to RLTOWNSLEY -- Have you heard that Bernie was arrested for marching for CORE in 1968(?). Democrats supporting things like CORE is why the Southern Democrats left the party.

    I think Thom is misleading when he uses the quote from Harry Truman (paraphrased) "Given the choice between a Republican and Republican-lite they will chose the real Republican". Alan Grayson clarified that statement for me. What it means is the base will not vote at all for the republican-lite. They do not chose the republican, instead they chose to not vote at all.

  • John Boehner vs. Bernie Sanders: Who’s the Real Extremist?   9 years 49 weeks ago

    to RFord -- Obama only had his ability to accomplish things for 13 weeks. He did not lose it when the house became repuglican. He lost it when the Senate was no longer filibuster proof. This happened when Sen Brown replaced Sen Kennedy. Also, he did not get the power until Al Franken became senator. You may recall that Sen Franken election results were contested well into 2009.

  • John Boehner vs. Bernie Sanders: Who’s the Real Extremist?   9 years 49 weeks ago

    to Vegasman56 -- Thanks for the links. I have only one significant problem with what you say. FDR was a millionaire.

  • Daily Topics - Tuesday July 14th, 2015   9 years 49 weeks ago

    Neil, and others, like to point to the reduction of poverty in China as a great example of capatalism, however, great reduction in poverty has occurred in many places in the world that cannot be attributed to unbridled capitalism. The United States during that evil socialistic rule of FDR comes to mind. The Third Reich might be another. Reconstruction after WWII with help from the Marshall plan might be another.

  • Back to the Future with Scott Walker   9 years 49 weeks ago

    We are told ad nausem, "Iran is the largest supporter of terrorism!" Please support that claim. Who? When?

    If we are talking about aid to desperately poor Palestinians maybe that's not such a good case. Who's supporting ISiS? Is the claim about Iran and terrorism mostly propaganda by our side? How about some details rather than an unchallenged "everybody knows"? Are we just misreading the Shia-Sunni religious conflict?

  • Full Show 7/15/15: Obama Schools CBS Reporter and Republicans on Iran Deal   9 years 49 weeks ago

    On Fire, their Pants

    . . . .

    Watch them prance

    their mating dance

    with Right-wingers nitty of wit.

    Ill-researched rants.

    On fire, their pants,

    and pooching oozings of {expletive deleted}.

    . . . .

    {Reference is to Repugnantan candidates}

    http://www.tpnn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/2016GOPPresidentialCandidates.jpg

    = = = = = = =

  • We're running out of time...   9 years 49 weeks ago

    Thom, you forgot to mention what the experts at Fox News say about the problem.....

  • We're running out of time...   9 years 49 weeks ago

    We need to go MUCH further. Municipalities would do well to require solar photovoltaic on all new construction. There is no argument against it that does not fall flat when analyzed for economic, social, and environmental needs. And, as Amory Lovins has pointed out for decades, a dollar spent on improving efficiency of existing energy-using systems is better-spent than a dollar on new carbon-based generation.

  • Should the United States expand Social Security benefits?   9 years 49 weeks ago

    Social Security was once one leg of the "three legged stool", the other legs being Pensions and Savings. Since the Repugs have already destroyed those two legs, Social Security must be strengthened. Thank goodness the 2008 recession devoured 401Ks, aborting the Repug plan to privatize Social Security. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 absolutely dedicated pension funds to be used exclusively to pay benefits; but Ray-Gun decided to let companies use those funds as they pleased, so now only federal employees can expect pensions. What this country needs is a Repug hanging from every lamppost.

    Roland

  • Could Donald Trump win the GOP nomination?   9 years 49 weeks ago

    NO! Trump is such a loony self-absorbed clown he has no chance of winning a single electoral vote.

    Roland

  • Could Donald Trump win the GOP nomination?   9 years 49 weeks ago

    I think he could be a shill to take down Bush to put Walker in front like has been discussed on Thoms show, then he will drop out.

  • We're running out of time...   9 years 49 weeks ago

    While we all applaud Tom and his effort to build a mass green

    movement, my guess is the actual solution will come from a few researchers in a lab

    who develop a clean cheap energy source.

    Focusfusion.org is one such possible group.

    Another is the Z-pinch fusion group at the U of Washington in Seattle.

    Good place to keep track of the energy horse race is

    revolution-green.com

    ct

  • We're running out of time...   9 years 49 weeks ago

    Agreed. We need to bill those who have profited the most from all this polllution for the restoration. If we don't, we will fail. This is as much an ethical fight as a fight for a viable biosphere.

    Internal Documents Expose Fossil Fuel Industry’s Decades of Deception on Climate Change.

    http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/fossil-fuel-folly/fossil-fuel-propaganda-modus-operandi/msg3434/#msg3434

     

    The 1%'s Responsibility to Shoulder 80% of the COST of a 100% Renewable Energy World with a Viable Biosphere for ALL Earthlings.

    http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2013/10/one-percents-planetary-assets-equals-80-responsibility-for-funding-a-100-renewable-energy-world

     

    "We do not need a 'new' business model for energy because we never had one. What we need, if we wish to avoid extinction, is to plug the environmental and equity costs of energy production and use into our planning and thinking. " -- A.G. Gelbert

    "Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." -- Aldous Huxley

    "We can’t have a healthy business on a sick planet."-- Ashley Orgain, manager of mission advocacy and outreach for Seventh Generation, Burlington, Vermont

    "Technical knowledge of Carrying Capacity will not save us; only a massive increase in Caring Capacity will." -- A. G. Gelbert

  • We're running out of time...   9 years 49 weeks ago

    Looks like the 1% need to get involved here

    Otherwise they are knowingly a part of our "extinction"

    Whilst being a part of it at the same time

    Does money make you blind???

  • Daily Topics - Wednesday July 15th, 2015   9 years 49 weeks ago

    I've made a serious version before of a way to deal with obstruction in the Senate, but I want to be cynical just this once and rewrite Art. II, Sec. 2 to read:

    "The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the shirking of responsibility of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session."

  • Daily Topics - Wednesday July 15th, 2015   9 years 49 weeks ago

    I can't wait to explain to all the Walker fans how ridiculous the Laffer curve is. We'll be able to make it a meme.

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

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.