Saturday, March 31, 2012

Randi Rhodes: Be Afraid

It's Friday, ya bastids!

The Supreme Court met this morning to take a vote on the healthcare law. There’s nobody else in the room when they take their vote, so nobody but the justices themselves will know the outcome. Great, nobody but them knows for sure if they’re going to have health insurance in the future… and they already have great health insurance.

If the Supreme Court strikes down the entire healthcare law, 30 million Americans could be denied health coverage. Talk about “activist judges!” That would be a case of hyper-activist judges! This week Antonin Scalia seemed obsessed with the notion that if the mandate stands, then the government could also mandate that people buy broccoli. In reality, healthcare is nothing like broccoli... except in the sense that both are good for you. If I don’t buy broccoli, that doesn’t infringe on someone else’s ability to obtain broccoli. I say that if the Supreme Court declares our health insurance unconstitutional, we propose a constitutional amendment that would allow it... AND force everyone in America to buy broccoli.

George Zimmerman’s brother has joined the small chorus of Zimmerman supporters—and I do mean chorus. They’re all hitting the exact same notes at the same time. They certainly have their talking points down. Do they have their own Fox News? Besides Fox News, I mean. Zimmerman’s brother and father both claim the screams for help sound like George. The screams are hysterical shrieks. Exactly how often did they hear such sounds from Gerorge? Are those frightened shrieks the kind of thing that George would routinely make around the family dinner table? He must have really wanted someone to pass the gravy. Or maybe his family remembers George making those hysterical shrieks every time a black person appeared... like on the TV. “Stop screaming, George. It’s just Urkel.”

A study shows that conservatives’ faith in science has dropped dramatically. Conservatives think that science “serves the agenda of the regulatory state.” Uh, maybe that’s because regulations make scientific sense. On the other hand, you don’t have to have PhD in science to know that the stuff that comes out of the tap on your kitchen sink shouldn’t be able to catch on fire.

Today’s Homework | Discuss

The Sanford Police Department has released the rest of the George Zimmerman security camera video...

Thom Hartmann: The nation of Spain ground to a halt yesterday

Working people across that nation went on strike and took to the streets to protest an austerity budget being pushed by their new government. It's the same sort of social unrest that's followed austerity measures in Greece, the U.K., and Italy. And it's the same sort of austerity budget that Republicans just passed out of the House of Representatives yesterday, approving multi-millionaire Congressman Paul Ryan's budget. In a vote of 221 to 191 - the Ryan Budget passed the House - but is dead on arrival in the Senate.

Ten Republicans joined the unanimous Democratic opposition - although many of those Republicans likely voted "no" because the budget doesn't go far enough in crashing the economy. Under the Ryan Budget - government discretionary spending will fall to its lowest level in 50 years - that means benefits for veterans, senior citizens, the poor, the sick, students - all of it will be slashed. Meanwhile - big oil gets $40 billion in corporate welfare - and Paul Ryan would give American billionaires a $3 trillion tax cut.

If you think what's happening in Europe can't possibly happen in the United States - think again. If the Republicans win in November - their radical billionaire/bankster/oil agenda will tear this nation apart.

-Thom

(What do you think will happen? Tell us here.)

Friday, March 30, 2012

The Tom Leykis Show goes LIVE Monday April 1st

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Thursday, March 29, 2012

Randi Rhodes: Busted

Police video of George Zimmerman on the night of the killing of Trayvon Martin shows no blood or bruises (video below). He doesn’t look like a guy who was on the wrong end of a punch. He looks like a guy who was on the safe side of a pistol. Zimmerman’s lawyer said his client was convinced “one of them was going to die that night.” I’m sure that he did. And I’m even more certain that he absolutely knew that it was going to be Trayvon Martin.

George Zimmerman's father was interviewed yesterday by an Orlando TV station where he doubled down on the claim that his son had been severely beaten and added that Trayvon verbally threatened his son's life. Also, it turns out that Roger Zimmermanther IS a former magistrate. He was a Virginia magistrate, without being an actual judge. Maybe that’s like how his son pursued and harassed suspects without ever being a police officer... or even an official Neighborhood Watch member.

The Supreme Court Justices said they didn’t want to read the entire 2,700 page healthcare law before making a ruling on it. I guess my question is—how do you make a decision on how you read the law... if you don’t read the law? Now that the Supreme Court has heard all the arguments, you may be wondering what happens next. Well first of all, all of the Justices take a long nap. They’re getting on in years, and that was a long three days. They heard the arguments. Now they will consider the arguments, or ignore the arguments, as the case may be. Nobody knows what the Justices will do, but one bad sign is that, no matter how they rule, they themselves will still have absolutely top shelf health insurance.

As you know, Mitt Romney occasionally likes to get in touch with voters to remind them of how out of touch he is. Mitt’s latest “out of touch” gaffe came when he decided to tell voters in Wisconsin a “humorous” anecdote. You know it’s going to end up being funny—but not in the way Mitt intended. Mitt’s little joke was about the time his father, as the head of American Motors, shut down a factory in Michigan and moved it to Wisconsin. I don’t want to ruin the funny part for you, but that pretty much is the funny part. It seems the point of the story is to appeal to Wisconsin voters by joking how his dad shut down a factory in Michigan and moved it to Wisconsin. And Mitt says that President Obama is trying to divide Americans! Why didn’t that “humorous” story pop into you money-soaked mind when you were campaigning in Michigan, Mitt? I get the feeling that someday Mitt is going to be giving a speech in China or India, and he’s going to be joking with the people there about how, with Bain, he shut down all these American factories and sent the jobs overseas.

Today’s Homework | Discuss

Thom Hartmann: Despite a bad year, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan got a 600% raise

Most CEOs who watch their corporation's stock value drop in half get fired, or at the very least take a pay cut. But not if you're a bankster. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan was given a big fat check for $7.5 million in 2011 - a 600% increase from the year before - despite the fact that Bank of America's stock dropped 58% over the year.

Not to mention - Bank of America had to pay out $335 million in a settlement against charges that it discriminated against minority homeowners - and is currently hard at work blocking mortgage aid for its customers. All the things that would get a guy fired on Main Street - is just business as usual on Wall Street...and even gets banksters a raise.

-Thom

(What do you think they deserve? Tell us here.)

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Randi Rhodes: Dire Predictions

Already yesterday, news reports were saying the Supreme Court hearing was a “train wreck for the Obama administration.” Relax, people—the train hasn’t even left the station yet. Today the Court hears arguments about “severability,” which sounds like something surgeons discuss before they perform an amputation. In the legal sense, severability refers to whether or not the entire healthcare law has to go if the mandate part is ruled unconstitutional. The individual mandate is the centerpiece of the new law. If it is struck down, salvaging the rest will be difficult. It would be like trying to save the bathwater after you’ve thrown out the baby.

The lead homicide investigator in the Trayvon Martin killing recommended that George Zimmerman be charged with manslaughter the night of the shooting. The way this case panned out, I’m a little surprised to find out there ever was a homicide investigator. It turns out that the first detective to question George Zimmerman was not a homicide detective, but a narcotics officer. Maybe he was asking George just what kind of drugs he thought that crazy black kid was on.

Geraldo Rivera has apologized for his “hoodie” comments... and here’s the part you have to add for every Fox News-associated apology—“sort of.” He went out of his way to reemphasize his comments, even as he was apologizing for them. He actually said “I apologize to anyone offended by what one prominent black conservative called my ‘very practical and potentially life-saving campaign’ urging black and Hispanic parents not to let their children go around wearing hoodies.” Thank, Geraldo. “Sorry” would have been fine.

The NRA sells hoodies on their website! Of course, since they’re intended for white guys, they’re called “hooded sweatshirts,” not “hoodies.” I noticed the “NRA Concealed Carry Hooded Sweatshirt” doesn’t have any NRA insignia on it. I guess an NRA logo would be a pretty good tip-off that the person wearing the hoodie was carrying a gun! The ad says “the included Velcro®-backed holster and double mag pouch can be repositioned inside the pockets for optimum draw.” For those of you who don’t speak firearm, that means it’s easier to kill people.

Today’s Homework | Discuss

Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) got thrown off the House floor earlier today by Rep. Greg Harper (R-MS) because he wore a hoodie...

Thom Hartmann: It might not be too long before our economy gets screwed by Wall Street, again

The corporate corruption of our government is most glaring when it comes to regulating Wall Street. According to a new report released today by Public Citizen - lawmakers who oppose the Volcker Rule, which says banks can't gamble with your checking account money, receive on average four times more in campaign contributions from Wall Street than those lawmakers who support the Volcker Rule.

In total - Members of Congress opposing the Volcker Rule have collected more than $66 million since 2010 from the banksters - which works out to about $388,000 per Member. While most Americans are horrified by this blatant buy-off of our Congress - Wall Street considers it a worthwhile investment and the Supreme Court says it's legal.

-Thom

(What do you think can be done about it? Tell us here.)

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Randi Rhodes: Sweating the Mandate

Today all of the conservative justices on the Supreme Court had harsh questions for the new healthcare law... well, except for Clarence Thomas, who never has questions for anything. Clarence doesn’t have answers, either—he just uses Antonin Scalia’s answers. Would the John Roberts Supreme Court shoot down our healthcare? Hey, with Citizens United, they’ve already shot down our democracy.

It has come out that George Zimmerman told police that Trayvon Martin attacked him. It’s certainly not surprising that he told them that. The shocking thing is that the police believed him. Zimmerman told police he had lost Martin and was returning to his vehicle when Martin came up and accosted him. Right. Have you ever heard the phrase “When the rabbit attacks the hound?” No, you haven’t—because there is no such phrase. The rabbit never attacks the hound. Zimmerman said Martin asked him if he had a problem. When he said no, he claims that Martin said “Well, you do now!” and punched him in the face. OK, it sounds like George has been watching too many movies... and not very good ones at that. The reason it sounds like movie dialogue is that it was written for Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman. And unlike in an actual movie, this dialogue was written after the shooting had already taken place.

Someone in the Sanford police department evidently selectively leaked the information about the case in an attempt to smear Trayvon Martin. From the information, it looks like the Sanford police did a thorough investigation... into the victim. The Sanford police announced they would conduct an internal-affairs investigation to determine the source of the leak. It seems they’re a lot better at leaking information than they are at gathering information.

And a cash-strapped Newt Gingrich has started charging $50 to people who want their picture taken with him. Hey, anyone stupid enough to want a picture with Newt is probably stupid enough to pay for it.

Today’s Homework | Discuss

WTF? George Zimmerman's friend expands upon his bizarre 'coon vs goon' defense to include 'proud Louisiana coon-asses'...

Thom Hartmann: The United States belongs to an exclusive club of nations that put their own citizens to death

Amnesty International is out with a new report on the death penalty - showing that only 20 out of the 198 nations worldwide carried out executions last year - the United States is one of those nations. We're also the only Western democracy to still use the death penalty. The United States ranked fifth in the world in executions in 2011 - behind nations with upstanding human rights records like China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.

On the bright side - worldwide, the number of nations embracing the death penalty has plummeted from ten years ago - when more than thirty counties still executed their citizens. And more and more states in the United States are taking steps to abolish the death penalty.

Then again - 16 states have passed "Stand Your Ground" laws like the one that killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida - leaving it up to average citizens to play the role of judge, jury, and executioner on the streets.

-Thom

(Do you agree with the death penalty? Tell us here.)

Monday, March 26, 2012

Randi Rhodes: It Begins

Today, the Supreme Court starts hearing three days of arguments about the constitutionality of the healthcare reform act. Supporters and opponents of the law are outside the Supreme Court building to demonstrate. I hope nobody gets hurt, but at least if they do, they have a better chance of receiving affordable care under Obamacare!

Nobody knows for sure how the arguments will go. Anything can happen. But then, anything can happen in life in general. That’s the whole reason we have health insurance in the first place. For people who love to watch the Supreme Court, this is like the Super Bowl... if the outcome of the Super Bowl determined whether or not you got health insurance. I don’t think anybody’s ever made a Super Bowl bet that important. At least we don’t have to worry about the Supreme Court getting dragged into politics. Dragged? With their “Citizens United” decision, this Supreme Court already dove headfirst into politics.

Geraldo Rivera says that the fact that he was wearing a hoodie was as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman was. No, if that was true, the Sanford police chief would have exonerated the hoodie too. I have news for you, Geraldo—George Zimmerman’s problem wasn’t the hoodie, it was the black skin directly underneath the hoodie. The hoodie wasn’t the cause of Trayvon’s shooting. It was just the excuse. Geraldo said he is ignoring the criticism because he is “the one who punched out the KKK and the Neo-Nazis.” Actually Geraldo, they punched you out. But it’s hard to remember the details when you get whacked that hard in the face. Hmm... Geraldo did get punched by a Ku Klux Klansman. Maybe that’s where he got his obsession about people wearing hoods!

Meanwhile, George Zimmerman has a black friend who was out trying to defend him. He tried to say that when Zimmerman uses a racial slur on the 911 tape, he is actually saying the word “goons,” which the friend describes as a “term of endearment.” Funny, I don’t recall ever seeing the word “goon” on a Hallmark greeting card. Somebody needs to tell George’s friend, when George was calling you a “goon,” it wasn’t a term of endearment... and he wasn’t saying “goon.”

Today’s Homework | Discuss

Wasn't Obamacare supposed to end life on Earth? A trip down Memory lane courtesy of Think Progress...

Thom Hartmann: Today begins The US Supreme Court hearings on the constitutionality of Obamacare

Today kicks off three straight days of oral arguments before the Supreme Court over the constitutionality of Obamacare. If the court ends up siding with the right-wing state Attorneys General who are in the pocket of the for-profit health insurance industry, then 50 million Americans will lose access to healthcare.

Not to mention - 17 million children will be denied insurance coverage because of pre-existing conditions - and more than 100 million Americans will have to live in fear that their insurance company will cap them just when they need a life-saving procedure. While Obamacare isn't perfect - and our nation should eventually adopt a single-payer system that makes health care a basic human right like in the rest of the developed world - the law is at least a start.

So now all eyes are on the Supreme Court and whether five unelected right-wing judges will put politics and corporate profits above the health of the nation.

-Thom

(How do you think the Supreme Court will decide? Tell us here.)

Friday, March 23, 2012

Randi Rhodes: United For Justice

It's Friday, ya bastids!

More than 8,000 people rallied in support of Trayvon Martin at a park in Sanford, Florida. Many of them were wearing hoodies and carrying Skittles. Fortunately, they were not followed around by 8,000 weirdoes in SUV’s. Meanwhile, Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee, Jr. has announced that he is stepping down “temporarily.” Temporarily? This guy never seems to get it—and that’s not a good for a chief of police.

Today marks the 2nd anniversary of Obamacare. And somehow, we have managed to avoid becoming either Stalinist Russia or Nazi Germany or both, as Fox News warned us would happen. Fox told us that Obamacare would be the end of America as we know it. I guess that was true, if you knew America as a place where children could be denied health insurance for pre-existing conditions, because they can’t be denied now.

Ever since the Romney adviser made his Etch A Sketch comment, sales of the toy have skyrocketed by more than 2,000 percent. And that will be the only beneficial effect Mitt Romney can or will ever have on the economy. Now the people at Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em robots are trying to find a way to get the Romney campaign to make some kind of gaffe involving their product. Actually, Mitt Romney could kick-start the entire economy if he could find a way to make the sales of one product soar for every gaffe he commits.

Karl Rove wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed in which he said that President Obama’s killing of Osama bin Laden was no big deal. Well, it was a much bigger deal than George Bush could arrange. Rove “proves” his point with a quote from Bill Clinton. But since Rove’s point is wrong, he has to do it with a totally misleading quote from Bill Clinton. Rove quotes Bill Clinton in Obama’s campaign film as saying of the bin Laden decision “that’s the call I would have made.” What Clinton actually says is “I hope that’s the call I would have made.” Bill Clinton, you’ve just been “Shirley Sherrod-ed!” It’s nice to know that, even if Andrew Breitbart is gone, his tactics still live on in people like Karl Rove.

Today’s Homework | Discuss

Earlier today President Obama commented on the Trayvon Martin killing. "If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon..."

Thom Hartmann: Brazil arrests 17 Chevron Oil Executives for "Environmental Crimes"

Brazil is going to great lengths to protect its commons. Seventeen executives, including American citizens, working with Chevron and oil rig contractor Transocean have been charged with crimes against the environment in Brazil after an oil spill off the coast poured about three thousand barrels of oil into Brazilian waters last November. If found guilty - the corporate executives could face up to 31 years in prison. The lead prosecutor in the case told Reuters he was tired of big oil corporations escaping accountability for ruining the environment saying, "We need to change the parameters. If companies don't listen to millions, we have to ask for billions."

After the spill - Brazilian authorities immediately suspended all of Chevron's drilling operations and banned the corporation from further oil explorations off the coast. Transocean is a familiar name - it was the corporation operating the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that exploded in the Gulf back in 2010 - leading to the death of 11 workers and the worst ecological disaster in American history.

But that's where the similarities between Brazil and the United States end. Because unlike Brazil - where corporate oil-industry criminals are actually arrested and held to account - not one corporate executive in the U.S. has yet been charged for their role in the death of 11 people in the Gulf and the permanent destruction of coastal ecosystems. And even worse, BP continues to expand its drilling operations in the the deep waters of the United States like nothing ever happened.

-Thom

(Why do you think that the United States has not prosecuted? Tell us here.)

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Randi Rhodes: Deja Vu

Randi's out today while her studio undergoes some critical repairs. But fear not, our good friend Nicole Sandler will be guest hosting.

The Trayvon Martin case brings back memories of the civil rights era in the 60’s. Today the video images are no longer in black and white, but our society is still defined in terms of black and white. Today, the Attorney General is a black man. The President is a black man. So some things have changed, but not Florida. There’s something about Florida that allows very frightening things from the past to survive. It’s no coincidence that Florida is where you find alligators.

“Stand Your Ground” gun laws have been pushed all over America by the ultra-conservative American Legislative Exchange Council. Florida’s law is identical to the model legislation that ALEC came up with. Come on, Florida legislators! Even high school kids know to rearrange a few things from the Wikipedia entry before turning it in as their own work. The NRA supports ALEC, which controls Republican state governments. So if you live in a Republican-controlled state, the person ultimately in charge of your life is Ted Nugent.

You’ve probably already heard about how the Mitt Romney campaign adviser said that Mitt’s ultra-conservative positions in the primary could just be erased in the general election: “It’s almost like an Etch A Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and restart all over again.” The fascinating thing about this Romney gaffe is that it was made by an aide. Mitt has so many gaffes that he has to delegate them!

Within hours of the gaffe, both Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich were at campaign events with actual Etch A Sketches as props. The Rick Santorum campaign is so disorganized that I wouldn’t have been surprised if he would have showed up at a campaign even with a Lite Brite or an Easy-Bake Oven. Santorum warned Republican voters that if they vote for Romney, “whoever you vote for is going to be a completely new candidate.” Actually, that’s something of a comforting thought. A candidate who is completely fake and insincere is better than a candidate who truly believes in the ultra-conservative crap that Mitt Romney has been spewing. And the candidate who truly believes that crap is Rick Santorum.

Today’s Homework | Discuss

Last night in NYC there was a 'Million Hoodie March' calling for justice for Trayvon Martin (video below / NSFW language) - tonight the rally moves to the scene of the crime in Sanford, FL.

Thom Hartmann: "Too big to fail" is bigger than ever!

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas is out with its annual report on America's banking industry - and the numbers are shocking. Currently - only 5 banks control more than half of all the industry's assets. That's right - the top 5 banks in America own 52% of all the wealth in the finance sector. To put that in perspective - in 1970 - the top 5 banks controlled only 17% of the industry's assets. Not only that - the total wealth owned by the top 10 banks in the nation now equals half of America's total GDP.

These startling numbers have prompted the President of the Dallas Fed - Richard Fisher - to call for the breaking up of the big banks - warning that they've become so large they not only threaten the Federal Reserve's ability to conduct monetary policy - but also "erode faith in American capitalism." Fisher also called for tough new financial reforms to strengthen the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law. Thanks to three decades of Reaganomic deregulation of Wall Street - we've all become slaves to the banksters.

As President Grover Cleveland said in his 1888 State of the Union address to a nation then under the control of the Robber Barons, "Corporations, which should be the carefully restrained creatures of the law and the servants of the people, are fast becoming the people's masters." Here we are again. It's time to break up Wall Street before they crash our economy for a second time in just a few years.

-Thom

(What do you think will be done? Tell us here.)

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Randi Rhodes: Ryan's Rerun

In the middle of everything that’s going on, the House Republicans have released their budget plan. I think they were hoping that maybe that way fewer people would notice it. This GOP plan actually looks scarier than Paul Ryan himself does! The plan turns Medicare into a “premium support” system. That’s a nicer term for “vouchers,” which itself is a nicer term for “you’re on your own, Grandma.”

Last night, Mitt Romney beat Rick Santorum in the Illinois primary by a convincing margin. And that is the only thing about Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign that has been convincing, in any sense of the word. Rick Santorum gave his election night speech from Gettysburg, PA. I know Rick is from Pennsylvania, but Gettysburg is an odd choice for a guy whose major strength is in the South. Gettysburg sends a great message, Rick. From now on, your campaign is just going to be a slow, painful slog to Appomattox.

Fox News is saying that they never said or implied that President Obama is a Muslim. And even that is hard for them to say without implying that President Obama is a Muslim. Bret Baier said “For the record, we found no examples of a host saying President Obama is a Muslim.” Thanks, Bret. All that proves is that you didn’t look. One Fox News segment was titled “Islam or Isn’t He?” So Fox News is guilty of spreading lies AND using terrible puns to do it. “Islam or Isn’t He?” Really? Who is writing copy for Fox News now, Rip Taylor? Fox News, your corny Islam puns are full of Shiite. But I don’t want to Mecca big deal out of it.

Fox News initially had a hard time deciding how to cover the killing of Trayvon Martin. So they decided to cover it up... kind of like the Sanford Police Department did, and about as successfully. The story is all about race, guns, and crime. You would think Fox News would be all over it. Unfortunately, this story has the wrong bad guy to fit in with the rest of the fairy tales on Fox News. Fox News always has a problem reporting tragedies, because they have a very different idea of what constitutes a tragedy. If this had been the story of a 17-year old black teenager who had managed to vote fraudulently, you’d never hear the end of it.

Today’s Homework | Discuss

The Internet is buzzing about a racial slur ("f**king c**ns") uttered by Trayvon Martin's killer George Zimmerman during his now infamous 911 call. Some dispute the word used, but you can judge for yourself at the 2:21 mark...

listen to ‘George Zimmerman call to police’ on Audioboo

Thom Hartmann: American Women are screwed

Putting aside the Republican's war on women for a moment - a new report from the National Women's Law Center reveals that health insurance companies are charging women in American an extra billion dollars annually, and it's just good old fashioned gender discrimination. The report finds that the practice of for-profit health insurers charging women more than men for identical coverage is widespread - and states are doing little to stop the rip-off. In the states that don't ban health insurance gender discrimination, 92% of the best-selling plans charge women more than men.

President Obama's Affordable Care Act would ban this practice nationally - saving women a billion dollars a year. Unfortunately for women - Republicans are working as hard as they can to repeal Obamacare.

-Thom

(Are you screwed? Tell us here.)

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Randi Rhodes: Senseless

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has announced that it will open an investigation into the killing of Trayvon Martin. It seems that the only way to get justice in Florida these days is to bring it in from out of state. If you haven’t heard the tragic story, a crime watch volunteer pursued, shot, and killed an unarmed black teenage boy as the boy was walking home from the store with an Arizona iced tea and a bag of Skittles. Skittles are not a deadly weapon. If they were, the NRA would demand that everyone be allowed to carry them everywhere.

The shooter, crime watch volunteer George Zimmerman, said he felt threatened by Martin. If you feel threatened by a kid who is running away from you, you have a pretty low threshold for feeling threatened. You probably shouldn’t be carrying a gun. But according to the NRA, there’s nobody who shouldn’t be carrying a gun. No crime was being committed before George Zimmerman shot the unarmed boy. And according to the way the cops handled it, no crime was committed in the act of that shooting. The police in Sanford, Florida made no arrest, hence the Justice Department has stepped in to investigate what is being called a botched investigation.

Florida has a “Stand Your Ground” law that essentially suspends all other laws, and makes guns themselves the law. In Florida, as long as you have a reasonable belief that your life and safety is in danger, you can use deadly force to defend yourself. In other words, if somebody makes you afraid, you’re free to shoot them in Florida. Under Stand Your Ground laws, there is no more right or wrong. Whoever has the gun is right. And if both parties have guns, the one who is right is the one who shoots first.

After the Stand Your Ground law went into effect, the number of justifiable homicides in Florida tripled. That should tell you that a lot of these homicides weren’t justifiable at all. The Stand Your Ground law turns Florida into the Wild West, except that a lot of the killings in the Wild West were at least technically illegal.

Today’s Homework | Discuss

Trayvon Martin's mother appeared on the Today Show this morning...

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Thom Hartmann: The Republican vision of America is one in which 99% of us are condemned to serfdom

Republicans in Congress unveiled their vision for America today - and if they succeed, the 99% of us are condemned to live like serfs. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, himself a multimillionaire, released his blueprint budget for fiscal year 2013 - which includes massive cuts to food stamps, student loans, Medicaid, and Social Security. The budget also dismantles Medicare as we know it - transforming an insurance program into a voucher program, leaving millions of senior citizens on their own to deal with for-profit health insurance companies.

And in a nod to the Republican Party's super-rich members like himself, Ryan proposes enormous tax breaks for the 1% - lowering the top income tax rate from 35% down to 25%. According to the Tax Policy Center - Ryan's budget would give $3 trillion in tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans - all paid for by cutting spending on education, healthcare, and Medicare. Congressman Ryan said about his budget, "It's up to the people to demand ... a choice between two futures. The question is which future will you choose?"

That is the question indeed - will we choose the future in which a middle class can thrive again in America like it did for 50 years after the New Deal until Ronald Reagan blew everything up? Or - will we choose Paul Ryan's path to an Ayn Rand dystopia, in which only the super-wealthy can go to good schools and see doctors, and everyone else is left with what trickles down from the tables of the rich?

-Thom

(What do you think of their budget? Tell us here.)

The Florida 'Stand your Ground Law' is Flawed & Stupid!

So, let me get this straight - if you kill someone driving, you get taken in and drug tested for DUI - But in Florida, you can shoot an un-armed kid and you get to go home? If you go back to the history of this Zimmerman A-Hole, he is nothing more than a 'Ticking Time Bomb Paranoid Racist Freak' - If I was in Florida, I would use this STUPID law against him and shoot him and 'claim' I felt in danger of him!!!!!

The Trayvon Martin Killing, Explained

How did a kid armed with Skittles and an iced tea get gunned down by an overeager neighborhood watch captain? And why didn't police detain shooter George Zimmerman?

—By Adam Weinstein

An undated photo of Trayvon Martin Courtesy Martin family

On the evening of February 26, Trayvon Martin—an unarmed 17-year-old African American student—was confronted, shot, and killed near his home by George Zimmerman, a Latino neighborhood watch captain in the Orlando, Florida, suburb of Sanford. Zimmerman has not been charged with a crime. Since Martin's death and the release of more details, the case has garnered national media attention and sparked a host of public debates over racial tensions, vigilantism, police practices, and gun laws.

Read on for our primer, or jump to these latest updates:

What happened to Trayvon?

Martin, a Miami native, was visiting his father in Sanford and watching the NBA All-Star game at a house in a gated Sanford community, the Retreat at Twin Lakes. At halftime, Martin walked out to the nearby 7-Eleven to get some Skittles and Arizona Iced Tea. On his return trip, he drew the attention of Zimmerman, who was patrolling the neighborhood in a sport-utility vehicle and called 911 to report "a real suspicious guy."

"This guy looks like he's up to no good or he's on drugs or something," Zimmerman told the dispatcher. "It's raining, and he's just walking around looking about." The man tried to explain where he was. "Now he's coming towards me. He's got his hand in his waistband. And he's a black male...Something's wrong with him. Yup, he's coming to check me out. He's got something in his hands. I don't know what his deal is...These assholes, they always get away."

After discussing his location with the dispatcher, Zimmerman exclaimed, "Shit he's running," and the following sounds suggest he left his vehicle to run after Martin.

"Are you following him?" the dispatcher asked. Zimmerman replied: "Yep."

"Okay, we don't need you to do that," the dispatcher warned.

Several minutes later, according to other callers to 911 in the neighborhood, Zimmerman and Martin got into a wrestling match on the ground. One of the pair could be heard screaming for help. Then a single shot rang out, and Martin lay dead.

Are the 911 recordings available to the public?

Yes. After public pressure, the city of Sanford played the tapes for Martin's family, then released the audio recordings. Here are some excerpts. You can also read a full transcript of George Zimmerman's initial police call here, along with an examination of whether he used a racial epithet, as some listeners have suggested.

Continue Reading here: http://motherjones.com/politics/2012/03/what-happened-trayvon-martin-explained

Monday, March 19, 2012

Randi Rhodes: Porn Patrol

Rick Santorum is promising to fight pornography. That’s rich—depending on what search engine you use, Santorum IS pornography. Rick, for most Americans, pornography is not a priority. OK, I need to rephrase that. For most Americans, fighting pornography is not a priority. Judging from the numbers, pornography itself is a huge priority for a lot of Americans. And you can’t deny that the porn industry gives a lot of people jobs. You can make a double entendre joke out of it, but you can’t deny it. Anti-pornography crusaders say that porn is damaging to women. Perhaps so, but it’s not nearly as damaging as Republican policies. Here’s the irony—Republicans would like to outlaw depictions of penetration among willing participants, while mandating penetration for women who don’t want it.

Santorum blasted President Obama for not enforcing laws against pornography. Sorry, I guess he got distracted by catching bin Laden and saving the auto industry. Give it up, Rick. The only thing that’s sadder than a man who is obsessed with porn is a man who is obsessed with porn, without ever actually enjoying it. Of course, I may be assuming too much.

Yesterday, Mitt Romney won the primary in Puerto Rico after failing to come up with a gaffe anywhere near as big as Rick Santorum telling the Puerto Ricans they had to learn English. The Romney campaign pointed to the win in Puerto Rico as a sign of Romney’s strength. It’s really more of a sign of Rick Santorum’s weakness. But then Rick’s weakness is Romney’s greatest strength. Romney won 83 percent of the vote in Puerto Rico. 83 percent! This was a victory so lopsided that even the Republicans are able to count the ballots correctly.

This weekend the Occupy Wall Street movement marked the 6-month anniversary of the uprising with protests in Manhattan. Dozens of people were arrested at the protests on Saturday, which was St. Patrick’s Day. What exactly are they going to be charged with—disorderly conduct on the streets of New York on St. Patrick’s? Everyone on the streets on St. Paddy’s Day is disorderly! The Occupy protesters should have been dressed in kilts and leprechaun hats. You can do anything you want on St. Patrick’s Day if you’re dressed like that.

Today’s Homework | Discuss

While introducing (and then laying hands on) Rick Santorum yesterday, Pastor Dennis Terry had a very special message for all non-Christian-nation Americans: get out!

Randi Rhodes: Occupy Wall Street....We're Back!

Hundreds of demonstrators returned to Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan on Saturday to celebrate the six-month anniversary of the movement. But as the sun went down, the peaceful crowd was once again broken up by NYPD officers. In all - 74 people were arrested, and there were widespread allegations of police brutality against peaceful demonstrators. One woman was taken to the hospital after appearing to suffer a seizure.

So it looks like the grassroots activism that swept the nation last fall is set to bloom again in the spring. Unfortunately - so is the violent suppression of free speech, as the oligarchs and banksters desperately cling to power and to their enormous wealth, amid economic instability and social unrest.

-Thom

(What do you think will change? Tell us here.)

Friday, March 16, 2012

Randi Rhodes: Beyond Mere Mortals

It's Friday, ya bastids!

Newt Gingrich said that his mind works on such a grand scale that “the news media can’t cover it and, candidly, my opponents can’t comprehend it.” We can’t get our minds around Newt’s ideas any more than Callista can get her arms around Newt’s waist. Newt also said “The willful avoidance of knowledge, it’s astonishing.” This is a Republican talking! Newt, you can’t complain about “the willful avoidance of knowledge” when you’ve spent the past few months trying to appeal to voters who don’t believe in evolution or global warming. “The willful avoidance of knowledge” is the motto of today’s Republican Party! They just won’t let themselves know that.

Rick Santorum is trying to “clarify” his comments that Puerto Rico would have to adopt English as its official language if they want to become a state. The Santorum campaign said Rick “knows there’s no current federal law in place — but what he was talking about — is that once English is made the official language, obviously all states would need to comply.” So Rick Santorum wants us to comply with laws he just thinks should be in place! Great! Rick Santorum is already living in his dream world... and now he’s insisting that the rest of us join him there!

President Obama is out mocking the Republican’s ideas on energy... which is hard to do when you realize that the Republicans have no ideas on energy. The President said that if Republicans had been around when Columbus sailed, that they would have been part of the Flat Earth Society. It’s odd to think of Republicans being around when Columbus sailed—Republicans seem to be living in the 15th century right now.

The second huge post-death Andrew Breitbart scoop about President Obama is out—and it’s deader than Breitbart himself. It turns out that, 14 years ago, Barack Obama attended a play about Saul Alinsky. I shouldn’t have sprung that on you. I hope you were sitting down. Of course, the Breitbart people made their big expose on Sean Hannity’s show. What? You were expecting “60 Minutes”? Hey, these revelations are so pathetic that I doubt they could get booked on “The Search for Bigfoot” on the Animal Planet network.

Today’s Homework | Discuss

Bravo, Mr. President...

Thom Hartmann: Without the government protecting us from industry....

The largest online protest in the history of the Internet may have derailed SOPA and PIPA earlier this year - but major entertainment corporations like the Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America are still coming after you. With the help of Internet Service Providers like Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T - tabs are being kept right now on people who are sharing copyrighted material online.

And on July 12th, Internet providers will begin putting in a place a new anti-piracy plan - warning internet users that they could face penalties of up to $150,000 if they continue to file-share. Providers will begin cutting down - or eliminating altogether - bandwidth for so-called offenders - until said offender agree to take an education course on piracy. Providers may also restrict access to only major websites like Google and Facebook. And most disturbingly - providers may share your information with other Internet providers to effectively create a blacklist of people who won't be allowed to sign online.

This is the corporate lock-down of the Internet that we've feared - and it's the reason why Libertarians and Free Marketeers are wrong. Without the government protecting us from industry - be it Wall Street, dangers in the workplace, or the Internet - corporate power always creeps in to strangle consumers.

-Thom

(What do you think can be done? Tell us here.)

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Randi Rhodes: Pump Politics

You can tell how good the unemployment numbers are starting to look by the fact that the only numbers Fox News wants to talk about are gas prices. When Bush was president, Fox News blamed high gas prices on everything except Bush. The only surprising thing is that Fox News even mentioned high gas prices when Bush was president. Back around 2008, high gas prices were this uncontrollable thing that a heroic president was doing his best to contain. In 2012 high gas prices are part of an evil president’s plan to turn us all into Volt-driving pinkos. Now that Barack Obama is president, Fox News thinks that there’s a button the president can push to control gas prices—and Obama just refuses to push the button.

Greg Gutfeld on Fox News says that “feminists should be outraged” over high gas prices because they limit women’s access to birth control. High gas prices aren’t the problem—the problem is that some women have to drive hundreds of miles to get to a women’s health clinic. Gas prices do become a problem—when rightwing nutcases in state government shut down most of the women’s clinics in a state… and gut the funding for public transportation on top of it. This isn’t a case of gas prices limiting women’s access to birth control—the thing that limits women’s access to birth control is a perfect storm of intentional Republican policies.

Mitt Romney just can’t seem to wash away the story of him putting his poor dog on the roof of his car. Look on the bright side, Mitt—at least it’s a break from all these stories about how ridiculously rich you are. It would have been worse if the story also reinforced the “rich guy” theme, like if the car had been one of Ann’s Cadillacs.

A senior Santorum campaign strategist mentioned the dog story on CNN. They should be careful—Rick Santorum has at least one rather embarrassing dog quote of his own. Rick compared gay marriage to “man on dog sex.” It’s a toss-up whether “Man on dog” is more disturbing than “dog on roof.” Word to Mitt—if a guy like Rick Santorum has any leeway at all to call you weird, then your campaign has some serious problems.

Today’s Homework | Discuss

Release the Biden! Vice President Joe Biden officially hit the campaign trail today, addressing auto workers in Ohio...

Thom Hartmann: More setbacks in the decade-long Afghanistan War

After a U.S. soldier snapped, and massacred 16 Afghan civilians - including nine children - Afghan President Hamid Karzai called for all NATO troops to be pulled out of rural areas. That could throw a wrench in the US exit strategy, which depends on handing Afghanistan over to NATO and Afghan Security Forces by 2014.

Another blow to the US exit strategy came when the Taliban suspend negotiations with US diplomats. In order to end the civil war in Afghanistan - a power-sharing deal with the Taliban must be worked out - but Taliban leaders walked away from the table, claiming that the US keeps changing the terms of the negotiations.

Clearly - after a decade of war - the Afghans want us out of their country. And recent polls show that the American people - who are watching this nation go bankrupt from war and our young soldiers deteriorate mentally and physically - want the war to end as well. In fact - 50% of Americans want the United States to speed up its withdrawal from Afghanistan. Time to pull a Saigon - and just get the hell out of there.

-Thom

(Why is the U.S. still there? Tell us here.)

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Randi Rhodes: Frothy Ricky Wins

Mississippi and Alabama have spoken. And it’s pretty clear what they said, despite the missing teeth. Voters in Mississippi and Alabama rejected both Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich—which is the first sign of intelligence we’ve seen from voters in Mississippi and Alabama. Then they went and blew it all by voting for Rick Santorum. In his victory speech, Rich Santorum said “We did it again.” Somehow, when Rick Santorum says that, it sounds like he spilled something. That’s OK, Rick. We’ll get a mop.

Today, Mitt Romney is left with the taste of bitter grits. Mitt finished third place in both Mississippi and Alabama. And Ron Paul’s numbers are so pathetic at this point that there essentially is no fourth place. So after another stinging rebuke, Mitt Romney is left to argue delegate math. At least Mitt’s delegate math arguments are remotely connected to real math, which is more than you can say for his economic numbers. And anything is better than listening to him recite the lyrics to “America the Beautiful.” But Mitt’s delegate math argument essentially boils down to him saying “I’ll be the pick—even if nobody wants me.”

Republican voters last night thought that Mitt Romney was the most electable, but that he was not conservative enough. Has it occurred to you geniuses that being electable and being radically conservative might be mutually exclusive properties?

After last night, Newt Gingrich is running on $2.50 gas fumes. After his defeat, Newt delivered yet another victory speech. Newt tried to make the point that Mitt Romney was not inevitable. Newt, Mitt might not be inevitable, but you’re impossible. Newt Gingrich’s entire campaign is based on promising voters that he will deliver gas prices of $2.50 a gallon. He’s one step away from sending out emails promising a way to enlarge your penis... if you just make him president. Newt thinks he can command the laws of supply and demand. I have news for you, Newt—the laws of economics aren’t as easy to break as, say, the ethics rules in Congress. Newt must think that the voters are a bunch of idiots. Actually, that might not be such a bad assumption when your whole campaign is based on a Southern strategy.

Today’s Homework | Discuss

Stephen Colbert on the Southern-fried anti-science pandering from the GOP candidates...

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Thom Hartmann: Goldman Sachs thinks you're a "Muppet"

Former Goldman Sachs Executive Director Greg Smith recently resigned from the banking giant, and today in a New York Times op-ed blew the whistle on what he called a "toxic and destructive" environment within the bank. Smith writes, "I believe I have worked here long enough to understand the trajectory of its culture, its people and its identity. And I can honestly say that the environment now is as toxic and destructive as I have ever seen it."

Smith went on to write that banksters at the firm "callously" rip their clients off - and routinely refer to their customers as "muppets." Most shocking, Smith reveals that the most common question he gets from fellow banksters is, "How much money did we make off the client?"

The dangerous part of this is that banksters like Goldman Sachs now make up more than a quarter of our economy when they used to make up less than a tenth. That means one-fourth of all the money in the United States comes from banksters on Wall Street preying on their customers with things like exploding mortgages and fees, jacking up oil and food prices by gambling on them, and making a profit crashing entire nations economies.

This is called financialization - and if it's not reined in - it will destroy our nation and much of the developed world.

-Thom

(Can it be reined in? Tell us here.)

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

LIST: Obama’s Top 50 Accomplishments You've been asking for a list of what the President has accomplished for some time - so here it is.

Everyone has one of ʻthoseʼ kinds of friends, either on the left or the right - people who keep complaining that no matter what President Obama has done, they still don't seem to believe he's done anything at all.

Now, thanks to the hard-working and talented team at one of our favorite sources, Washington Monthly, there's a list of President Obama's Top 50 accomplishments you can helpufully show to the doubters. Team Randi hopes this is just a starting list from Mr. Obama's first term - what Paul Glastris at Washington Monthly calls 'President Clinton's third term'.

Read Paul's cover story, and check out a few of our favorites from Obama's 'Top 50' list, below.

Obama’s Top 50 Accomplishments
By Paul Glastris, Ryan Cooper, and Siyu Hu - Washington Monthly

1. Passed Health Care Reform: After five presidents over a century failed to create universal health insurance, signed the Affordable Care Act (2010). It will cover 32 million uninsured Americans beginning in 2014 and mandates a suite of experimental measures to cut health care cost growth, the number one cause of America’s long-term fiscal problems.

4. Ended the War in Iraq: Ordered all U.S. military forces out of the country. Last troops left on December 18, 2011.

7. Turned Around U.S. Auto Industry: In 2009, injected $62 billion in federal money (on top of $13.4 billion in loans from the Bush administration) into ailing GM and Chrysler in return for equity stakes and agreements for massive restructuring. Since bottoming out in 2009, the auto industry has added more than 100,000 jobs. In 2011, the Big Three automakers all gained market share for the first time in two decades. The government expects to lose $16 billion of its investment, less if the price of the GM stock it still owns increases.

9. Repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”: Ended 1990s-era restriction and formalized new policy allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military for the first time.

Check out the full list of 50 HERE.

KEEP IT IN YOUR POCKET...
If you love the full list and you'd like to have a handy reminder, for the times you're having one of THOSE discussions?

Click on the stack of wallet cards and you can download your own prinatable, wallet-sized folding card listing all 50 of President Obama's first term accomplishments.

Print them as you need, laminate them, even give them away.

Just remember what Randi says: When they show you who they are? Believe them.