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Thom, these three panelists were not the best you've had. The fellow in the middle said nothing, the lady on the end could not understand anything you said related to 'this has never been done before' trying to create a dotted line connection between Iran Contra investigation of wrong doing, vs this current letter fiasco by GOP senators. The follow on the other end just droned on trying to make previous activity seem similar to this as well. None of the 3 listened and replied but restated their talking points. This was informative only in to showcase how the rightwing fails to listen.
Dan Bongino thinks government doesn't create jobs except by "getting out of the way". Even if that's the case, it still means that governments create jobs. But I have to wonder how the government of, say, Somalia, is standing in the way of its people becoming wealthy.
Not disband; round up and hang those not deserving to be burned at the stake.
Roland
Unprecedented? Unfortunately NO. Nixon scuttled the Viet Nam peace accords in 1968, leading to four more years of war and most American deaths in that twenty-seven year long war, Reagan offered arms to Iran for not releasing the U.S. hostages in 1980. Treason is just SOP for Repugscum.
Roland
I still think just pass "card check" and the middle class will return.
All we need is 61 dems in the senate and a majority in the house.
Chi Matt -- As Mark S pointed out when "we the people" spend essentially nothing on compassion how can we expect to see any results. Furthermore, what kind of return would you expect from so little expenditures.
To reveal the size of our "wonderful" compassion there are a few numbers of which you should be aware. From 2008 to 2010, the personal wealth of the US grew by $34 trillion.
We spend about $0.08 trillion per year on our compassion. How can anyone expect much from so little invested.
AIW -- Thanks for the list.
Kend -- Are you aware of anything in the human experience that is not speculation? If they were to speculate that my next airplane flight had a 10% chance of crashing I would go nowhere near it? The current speculation is less than 0.001% that my next flight will crash. Even with that low probability it slows down my wife from wanting to fly. With a 97% chance of global warming eliminating our species I would think one would be concerned.
I think Exxon-Mobil and Chevron spend more on advertising on TV, then the govt spends on combating global warming. They do not even advertise their products (Chevron does but Exxon-Mobil does not). I assume they spend all this money so discussions of global warming on the tube are far and few between.
I think the marketplace could easily solve this problem. A key incentive would be to tax gasoline (e.g. $4 a gallon) and provide a rebate based on miles driven. Remember DanMarc's saying "anything oil can do, hemp can do better". --c8
They will keep searching. "She's hiding something!" How do you hide nothing? You can't, that's why they found nothing.
Senator Cotton overheard Hillary's testimony when she said "I'm hiding nothing". He penned a letter to majority leader Mitch. "I overheard what Hillary is hiding and I want a special committee to find it". Mitch approved it and the GOP special committee to find nothing was formed. I am confident they will find it.
Here's a nice dose of reality for Kend. I've held onto this information for the past few years, just to spring on you ignoramuses who claim American corporations have paid the highest taxes in the world. Ready for this?
1. Bank of America in 2010 set up over 200 "subsidiaries" in the Cayman Islands. Remember, the Cayman Islands don't tax corporations. And Bank of America pays no corporate taxes in America because it isn't really the Bank of America, it's the bank of the Cayman Islands, although it does most of its business in America and makes most of its profit in America. During the financial crisis that Bank of America helped create, Bank of America got over $1.3 trillion in total financial assistance -- "corporate welfare"-- FROM BIG GOVERNMENT.
2. JP Morgan Chase in 2010 operated 83 "subsidiaries" in offshore tax havens to avoid paying $4.9 billion in taxes in America. And during the financial crisis, which JP Morgan Chase also helped create, it received over $400 billion in financial assistance FROM BIG GOVERNMENT.
3. Goldman Sachs, in 2010, operated 39 "subsidiaries" in offshore tax havens to avoid about $3.3 billion in American taxes. During the financial crisis that Goldman Sachs helped create, it got more than $800 billion in financial assistance FROM BIG GOVERNMENT.
4. Citigroup has paid no federal income taxes for years, after receiving $2.5 trillion FROM BIG GOVERNMENT.
5. General Electric has made $81 billion in profits, without paying ANY income tax on it, while receiving a tax "rebate" of $3 billion FROM BIG GOVERNMENT. GE has at least 14 offshore "subsidiaries" in Bermuda. And just for the record, you want to know what those "subsidiaries" look like? Well, in one building, approximately 2,000 square feet, there are over 200 huge corporate "offices". (Well, ok, actually the "offices" are just mail slots, but hey, doesn't it give you any ideas?) What the heck; if ya wanna avoid paying taxes, just put your money offshore and it instantly disappears off the IRS's radar. But of course, that only works if you're a super-rich corporation that can afford to purchase congressional candidates more to your liking. And for good measure, GE has also stockpiled over $100 billion in cash offshore. It would be so mean and unfair to expect GE to pay their share of taxes, because during the financial crisis they only got a $16 billion bailout. Boo-hoo. Obviously, they needed a bailout ever so much more than the people they defrauded of so much of that money.
6. Verizon has made over close to fifty billion in profits in the last few years. But Verizon paid NO income tax on that money, and IT GOT A $535 MILLION TAX REBATE. Sound fair to you? But hey, they're the "job creators", so they should be allowed to do anything they damn well please. Right? But if those employees want a fair living wage, let them pull themselves up by the bootstraps and start gaming the system like Verizon does! Of course Verizon "had" to cut 13,000 jobs in 2010- the third-highest corporate layoff of the year, because they only made $48 billion. But it was all for a noble cause. The top executives of Verizon got to keep more of that money when they laid off thousands of employees. Meanwhile the remaining employees got to work like dogs while being treated like shit. After all, any Verizon employee who doesn't like it can always get a job somewhere else; there's jobs all over the place! Right?
7. Honeywell International: from 2008 to 2010, Honeywell paid no income tax, instead getting a tax refund of $34 million. Why should big government quit regulating Honeywell? As of 2010, they hoarded $8.1 billion in offshore tax havens. Slim pickins.
8. In 2009, Merck paid no income tax, but got a tax refund of $55 million. Here's another example of big government standing in the way of the job creators trying to do business... Right Kend? How dare the government regulate Merck by giving them a $55 million tax refund when Merck didn't even pay any income tax? As of 2010 Merck had $44.3 billion in offshore tax havens.
9. Corning, from 2008 to 2010, paid no income tax but got a $4 million tax refund. It made about $2 billion in profits in America during those two years. Corning has $10.8 billion in offshore tax havens. Oh dear, it's SO hard for corporations to do business in America, with big government regulating them so heavily. Why don't we send Corning a few dollars to help tide them over until big government stops regulating them so strictly?
10. Boeing made over $21 billion in profits over a five-year period, while paying no income tax, receiving a $23 million tax refund. (Boeing, I feel your pain.)
(Psssst! Could anyone explain to me the logic of giving a refund for something that never got paid in the first place? And wouldn't you "ordinary" folks out there in Blog Land just LOVE receiving checks from the IRS, after paying ZERO in taxes!! Doesn't get any sweeter than that.)
11. Microsoft had stashed over $60 billion in offshore tax havens, freeing them from the obligation to pay $19.4 billion in income taxes. Woo-hoo!
12. Qualcomm kept $16.4 billion stashed in offshore tax havens, allowing it to dodge $5.8 billion in income taxes. See how the Free Market works, my friends! The Free Market is here to serve the corporations, obviously, because none of those handy tricks work for us "little people". After all, if you hid your money offshore, the IRS would be all over you like brown on shit. Unless, of course, you made huge "campaign donations" to Congress... just like Qualcomm does.
13. Caterpillar would have owed $4.55 billion in income taxes, had it not stashed $13 billion in offshore tax havens.
14. Cisco Systems has $41.3 billion in offshore tax havens, freeing it of the obligation to pay $14.45 billion in taxes. Ain't it special how corporations can cheat, in ways you and I could never get away with in our wildest dreams?!!!
15. Dow Chemical, who manufactures toxic potions that have poisoned countless people to death and sickened many more, had (as of that time period) stashed $10 billion in American profits offshore.
I hate to break it to ya, Kend, but these are the real welfare queens. These are the deadbeats, the parasites feeding off of us, our labor, our economy and our country, with the blessings of the Republicans and (to a lesser but significant degree) the Democrats as well.
Meanwhile, to all my fellow yankies out there, I've this to say: Have fun paying YOUR taxes, suckers!
Humanity that only works if you produce the food in your own garden or from a small producer who doesn't use machinery or chemicals. If you buy factory veggies you are kinda defeating the purpose. No meat. I would rather have screws drilled through my thumbs. I am sure Alice would be glad to hold the drill. Then again it would be nice to lose a few pounds.
When I tried a vegan diet, I became anemic and lost ten pounds I hadn't intended or needed to lose. No one particular diet works for everyone.
The fastest way to reduce your carbon footprint ....eat a vegan diet ....
Hey they won't teach you that school .
Thoms books teach you this stuff though !
Green World Rising is an outstanding effort. i really liked the video and shared the link with others too.
The biggest obstacle to combatting global warming is greed, slowness and hardheadedness. With global warming happening at a slow rate it's not causing panic. If the oceans were rising six inches every year you would see a worldwide scramble to get off of fossil fuels asap. Many people are just hardheaded and are not going to believe the world is warming until the Florida keys are underwater. Even then there will be those that will say that it's not mankind's fault but god's will. Greed is causing denial of global warming. Politicians and the media are not willing to give up their profits from fossil fuels so they are not going to recognize global warming and will cause others to also deny global warming. Those in the fossil fuel business are going to keep promoting politicians who deny global warming to prevent the reduction of fossil fuel sales. As long as the majority of people recognize the truth about global warming we will make progress in combatting it.
PFNELKAK, Alaska is the 49th state.
Kend, maybe you've mixed up your units, but "point two percent" of temperature is a full degree Fahrenheit (~300K * 1.8°F/1K * .002 = ~1.08°F). If it took 40 years (1975 - 2015) to go up the first 0.2°, and it will take only 10 years to go up the next 2% (= 1°F) or 0.2° (whichever you meant), there's reason to be concerned.
I've sent Thom a personal message on the subject of Geo Engineering. On 1/15/2015 I saw jets flying over my city spraying something that was forming flat sheets of white cloud and by the end of the day the entire sky was white and blocking the sun. Since that day I take photos and video 24/7 of these jets spraying the sky and I literaly watch them change the weather by blocking the sun. Today is 3/14/2015. Please watch this video that I found that really puts everything in a nuts shell and will answer your question Kend.
https://youtu.be/5yZhh2leRJA
My life has been forever changed since my eyes were opened simply because I looked up in the sky on Jan 15. I've learned they been spraying now for 20 years and worse for about the last 3 or 4 years, Please watch this video and find out what your not being told and what you are told is HUGH LIE and I have my photos to proove it. LOOK UP
Throw the book at ‘em! I’m sick and tired of the Washington\Rich\Oligarch elite doing whatever they want to maximize their interests while the People get stuck with consequences without them showing a care in the world. I’m sick of mopping up after their messes and living the residual mess it leaves behind! (yea, I did just say that American society for the 99% is basically the residual left behind from the rich and "powerful" pursuing some god only knows agenda)
Make an example out of them. It is bad enough the American People have been forced to let bribery slide (aka campaign contributions) but treason?! Oh HELL NO!
You want another chance at putting some more Democrats into National Office pronto?! Well here ya go! Throw all 47 of the sons-a-bitches into GITMO and hold some elections - pronto!
Since there isn't a "NO", I won't bother to "vote" in this poll. However, my answer is obvious---no, the Republicans shouldn't be prosecuted for sending the letter to iran. It's not that I'm pro-Republican (I'm an Indie), but that this was just a political stunt designed to embarrass Obama (and thanks but no thanks, he's quite capable of doing that on his own). The embarrassment part came at the expense of the US Government again. Iran understands political ploys. They know their reputation here in the US.
In addition, it made the opinion of American foreign policy look even more haphazard than it already is in the eyes of the world. Besides, why go after the GOP for sending the letter? It may prove useful the next time the Democrats are in charge!
This is scary stuff. But we don't have to panic yet. After reading the PNNL study It is clear that this is all speculation. They speculate global tempatures will go up point two percent over the next decade. The same chart shows that global tempatures have only gone up about point two degrees since 1975. The fact is governments are spending trillions on combating global warming. Cars get twice the gas milage. Most people world wide are very conscious of global warming. Over all we have reduced the use of fossil fuels so why are they expected to rise so drastically. I am so confused. Although that doesn't take much for me.
The world needs new leaders .We have to keep the temperature at a certain range so life can evolve and thrive .
We also need to take resonsibility for the speciesystem it's about having reverence for nature and working with her .
I see this as a crirical time in our evolution ,we are going through what could be described as a birthing process .Humans are a very young species with alot of growing up to do .
I believe when we see ourselves as one family then everything will change for Humanity ! Seperation conciousness creates a pathology of survival of the fittest and individualism short termism creating no collective responsibility for our future .
The human race needs to decide what's it trying to do as a species .
Dear Thom Hartman
I really didn't like the woman you had on the panel on the show tonight. She make really bad arguments and is quite anoying to any intellegent debater. Her points make no sense. Unless you have her on the show to make her look stupid and take a chair to argue herself stupid to make the republican party look ignorant.
I am a long time fan of yours.
Susan
Reply to #10: RF suggests our system of government “may be the best in the world”. By what measure?
Reply to #12: upperrnaz, I too grew up in the fifties and sixties, and I feel your pain.
Kend says “You can not rise to the top in feudalism. Capitalism you can."
Remember, Kend: Shit floats.
Reply to #32: Mathboy, as to the suggestion your desire to improve things should "begin and end with government", I've said nothing of the sort.
You can lecture us all on proper grammer & punctuation nonstop and it won't change a thing, no matter how honorable your intentions. This is for a number of reasons. To list a few: (1) Many people don't know how to use punctuation properly, and lack the motivation and/or the wherewithall to learn; (2) Not everyone is inclined to notice these things like you or I (and believe me, I notice such errors as much as you do!). And (3) some folks just don't give a flippin' damn.
Far as Thom Hartmann is concerned, that's a published author you were admonishing! I'd bet serious bucks that Thom's writing skills are as good as anyone's here on this website. I think his errors, such as the improper use of apostrophes you’ve cited, are not from ignorance so much as the sort of sloppiness one could reasonably expect of someone who is rushed. In light of how busy a life & career this man has, I think it could be reasonably assumed that he does a lot of things in a hurry. Like the old adage, "haste makes waste"… Not that Thom’s efforts are wasted! But the end result might be a little less perfect than something written methodically, without time constraints.
Of course I can’t make you desist from writing such comments, Mathboy. You’ll continue doing whatever your heart desires. I just happen to think your efforts are futile. If you prove me wrong, good on ya. But in the meantime… well, you get my drift.
Anyway I've said my peace. So... happy Friday! - AIW