YES! - Austerity is already being forced on Americans, it's only a matter of time.
97%
NO! - We need to trust our elected officials to fix the economy, we don't need General Strikes.
3%
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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.
Images of Thom
With His Holiness The Dalai Lama, at His home in Dharamsala, India (Synthesis Dialogues - made into a movie narrated by Harrison Ford)
Thom & Louise at a "private audience" with His Holiness Pope John Paul II at his summer palace, Castle Gandolfo, Italy
From Cracking the Code:
"In Cracking the Code, Thom Hartmann, America’s most popular, informed, and articulate progressive talk show host and political analyst, tells us what makes humans vulnerable to unscrupulous propagandists and what we can do about it. It is essential reading for all Americans who are fed up with right-wing extremists manipulating our minds and politics to promote agendas contrary to our core values and interests."
From Unequal Protection, 2nd Edition:
"Hartmann combines a remarkable piece of historical research with a brilliant literary style to tell the grand story of corporate corruption and its consequences for society with the force and readability of a great novel."
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Thom Hartmann is a literary descendent of Ben Franklin and Tom Paine. His unflinching observations and deep passion inspire us to explore contemporary culture, politics, and economics; challenge us to face the facts of the societies we are creating; and empower us to demand a better world for our children and grandchildren."
Trust our Government!?!?
...that's what got us in this mess!
Washington is owned by Wall Street. There are very VERY few trustworth "elected official"...and those few can't make a difference. It is up to WE THE PEOPLE to change the way things our. But even then that road is looooong and arduous; so unless We the People are truely up for the fight (more than a vote) things will not change.
I don't know when, but I certainly believe it could happen here! The US economy doesn't "operate" (or not operate as it were) in a vacuum. We need to remember that the Great Depression not only was a problem for the US, but for the world as a whole. The scary part is that it was the runaway inflation in Germany, irresponsible lending, investing and speculation in our country, and the sad state of the economies of other countries in what is now the EU, that put in a stewpot to boil and stew, gave us Hitler, impossible-to-fathom inflation in Germany, and unrest in the Soviet Union. Put it all together and we had a Great Depression that not only affected the U.S., but the rest of the world as well! And how did we get out of that mess? Well, many would say that it was simply the War, but others will agree that it was FDR's forward-thinking policies that put people back to work, putting money in their pockets, food on their table, and money in circulation again. And that was BEFORE we entered
WWII! (And as an aside, WWII was basically the "continuation" of WWI, the "War to End All Wars", which never had a "satisfying" end for many parties involved...) What we need are leaders and legislators who know their economics, and who realize that there are no such things as "band-aids" or "quick-fixes". And that's what the GOP would like to hound the Democrats about..."Where are the immediate plans?? There's a big lesson to be learned from the esteemed economist and UC Berkeley ("Cal") professor, Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administation, who left after the first term. He's the "go-to guy" for solutions to problems such as our (worse than) lackluster economy and economic growth. Basically, it's unconscionable to think that there are those who hate so much (and let's face it, it's the "hate-factor" the GOP candidates are using to pander to their followers. Can't we get past that at last? I can't get over the numbers of people who still think the Civil War is still being fought, or worse yet, that it is over, and the "Confederate States of America" actually won! They seem to forget that President Obama is not even totally "African-American"; he's 1/2 "Anglo-American" as well. And those who would not vote for him should think twice, and think good and hard about what they want for the future of the Supreme Court! I'm sure respected and esteemed justices such as Thurgood Marshall, Earl Warren (yep, even him...call him an "activist Chief Justice", but hell, what would you call Rhenquist or Roberts? People like justices Brennan, Potter, Stevens, Blackmun, and even O'Connor, who held her own in the center, were experienced jurists who were thoughtful, and believers in the Constitution and the values of precident. I'm sorry, but my eyes tear over when I think of what courts in the past have accomplished by way of interpreting the law!) So, what do you think the makeup of the court would be if Romney, Santorum, or any of the other GOP wannabe candidates, were to be the ones making appointments to fill what are to likely be at least two vacancies, and possibly more, during the next four years. Scary, eh?
We've had general strikes before, and in fact there was one when I lived in San Francisco, which almost brought the city to its knees, because there were so many people who were not able to get to their jobs, people who worked in public safety, transportation, and sanitation (not to mention the city government as well, under then-mayor Allioto.) It was a nasty business, but it didn't last for long!
I regret that Thom is no longer on our local progressive talk station in LA, KTLK AM 1150! I'm still trying to locate him on Time-Warner in our area, but to no avail!
Thom's books should be "required reading", for voters of all stripes! A voice of reason needs to be heard, and between Thom Hartmann and Bernie Sanders, they can't do all the work themselves! Out here in California, a (so far) "true blue" state, it seems that so many of our Democratic party leaders (including President Obama) come out here to raise money, but once that is done, we seem to be forgotten, with our votes taken for granted. Not a good idea. We can't afford for the progressives to sit out this general election because too much is at stake! So Thom, it's up to you to get the message out to a mass audience, and to stick to your guns (so to speak) and not be shoved around by the GOP "playground bullies", because that's exactly what they are.
Kudos to you, Thom!
We need to do it NOW!!!
I haven't seen or heard of a Democrat with a spine since JFK!!!
This should have happened when during the PATCO strike but Organized Labor has to many National Leaders that have and are working long past the time they should have retired and turned leadership over to younger folks that haven't forgotten what life is like out in the field. Unless we get Labor Leaders who have a backbone how can we expect the average American to stand up to a Government Of Corporations, by Corporations and For Corporations.
History shows that strikes and movements have usually followed when big business, or the elite, get too big and too controlling. Not only strikes, but whole revolutions!!! "Those who do not learn from the mistakes of history are doomed to repeat them."
This says it all.
Sorry, Abe image did not paste to my comment.