Thom do you like modest mouse? Ha! they have been my favorite band for about 5 or 6 years now. I heard the lead singer is a jerk in real life, and their not as good in concert unfortunatly

I know how get a lot of media attention if I am going to run for president - don't announce my candidacy and say that I have no intention of running at this point in time. It is working fabulously for Michael Bloomberg, Fred Thompson, and Al Gore.

In fact, the recent NPR story by "reporter" (and Fox commentator) Mara Liasson, on the Democrats speaking at the Take Back America Conference, completely ignored many announced presidential candidates. In particular, it ignored, Mike Gravel, who got one of the biggest and most favorable responses from the audience - bigger than some of those candidates that the Snooze Media have chosen to make the front runners.

So what was NPR's next story? It was a long and detailed report about the presidential non-candidate, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Non-candidates Fred Thompson and Al Gore have also had dozens of solo stories on their non-candidacies, while candidates Dennis Kucinich, Mike Gravel, Chris Dodd and many others get ignored.

Hmmm, I have often felt that I could do a much better job than most presidential candidates. So, today I am making a major announcement - I have no intention of running for President in 2008 at this time.

I am available for interviews to discuss my non-intentions and will be making other major non-announcements at a series of non-press conferences. Please contact me as soon as possible. Contributions to my non-campaign gladly accepted.

I am of the belief that Corporate interference in our government is the root of ALL of our problems - from Iraq to healthcare to the environment and beyond.

Our votes count (when they ARE counted) to get officials into office, but they are not affecting POLICY the way they should be.  Who, but pharma, benefits when Medicare cannot negotiate prices for medicine?  Not the American people.  Who, but Big Oil, benefits when OUR tax dollars support their massive profit margins?  Not the American people.

And who basically wrote those bills?  They did.

We need Publicly funded elections.  We need Campaign Finance Reform and Ethics reform.  We need to get corporations, who do not vote as an entity, out of government.  How can we allow money have more power than a vote when deciding the policy of this nation?

TJ in Bethlehem

They were discussing the "War on the Wealthy" this morning on CNBC.  It's about time since there has been a war on the middle class since Regan was president.  Don't back down, don't be afraid to stand up and say yes, it's about time to reclaim this country for the majority of the hard working people. 

Let me preface this with the fact that I am a Christian. When Thom posed the question (Which came first - morality or religion?) yesterday, I thought he would go further than he did. I have been thinking about it in connection with the idea that liberals think that everyone is basically good (I think that - but flawed - needs to be added to that) and conservatives think that everyone is basically bad. My conclusion is that morality came first. The liberals of the time tried to get everyone to accept that laws were a good thing. When it was hard to get people to look out for anything but their own interest, religion was born as a way to secure the common good. If people knew that they would have to answer to an omniscient being, they were more likely to do what was right than if they only had to be concerned about getting caught by other people. Therefore, religion was born out of necessity as a crutch for society to fall back on when laws were not enough. That being said, the question is - Is George W. Bush really a Christian, since he doesn't even care about getting caught by an omniscient being?

Thom on AM 1090

http://www.am1090seattle.com/

welcome!

good to see all you new folks on the this thread.

the phone-in polls a good idea, louise, try one on the blog thread.

i like Dennis, i support him. especially his efforts to inpeach cheney recently!

 Today I called my Republican representative in Ohio.  I usually call him and my Senator's a couple of times a week.  Sometimes I call to express my opinion about the Iraq occupation, other times it's about the outrage of the week; sometimes it's a laundry list of everything.  

Today I called to express my support for Representative Conyers and his investigation of vote caging by Karl Rove and Tim Griffin, the illegal use of RNC email accounts and Cheney's latest claim that his office is not part of the Executive Branch of government.  I requested that the representative support Kucinich’s' efforts to impeach VP Cheney.  

As I made my rant, the young man on the phone stifled a laugh when I got to the part about Cheney.  After I was finished I asked him why he laughed.  He replied that he thought Cheney's claim was baseless given his understanding of the constitution.  I was startled for a second and then asked if he'd received many phone calls on this issue, given that it's not likely to be covered in the mainstream media.  He replied that yes, he has taken allot of calls similar to mine and will pass my views on to the representative.  

After I hung up I felt so good about that phone call.  Usually I end the call wondering why I bother calling my Republican representative.  Does he really listen to my progressive democrat opinions? And does he care?

I was lifted up by the moment I shared with a young man, who works for who I consider to be "the enemy".  I realized that perhaps we are at long last becoming the majority in America.  All of this with one simple phone call!!

Peace,

River

  Rogues Gallery:  Diabolic Duo Dark EvaderZany is a a most unusual manHe really thinks he's beyond the reachOf the law of this his native landAll the more reason for us to impeach. Morality AbnormalityPush claims to be on moral high groundWith no federal funds for stem cell research But it's only a feeble cover-up For his precious privatizing perch. Yet sadly, he pleases the credulous quarterOf the masses addicted to obeying powerWho swallow all his talking pointsLike baby birds in a shaded bower. June 21, 2007

 the next time you do a straw poll how about an instant run off.

Kucinich 

Edwards 

"...that whenever you are engaged in work that serves humanity and is for the building of humanity, it has dignity and it has worth." MLKing,Jr AFSCME Memphis Sanitation Strike, April 3, 1968

You gotta go with Obama, he's got that charismatic quality that we haven't seen since Kennedy.  I think more that just a good policy maker he could really change the attitudes of ALL Americans.

Hearing all the talk about wishing Gore gets in to the race I think back to 2000 Gore did not try to look to different from Bush..

This is the triangulation at its worse. I like what I have heard from Gore since he lost and is not running.

"...that whenever you are engaged in work that serves humanity and is for the building of humanity, it has dignity and it has worth." MLKing,Jr AFSCME Memphis Sanitation Strike, April 3, 1968

the deal with Obama is his crew are all 'new' players in the power game.

Hil is a closed shop.

everyone else is inbetween.

I hadn't even thought about how Instant Runoff Voting might affect the primaries. That would be AWESOME. I'm sure we'd get a totally different -- and superior -- result.

http://www.thepeacealliance.org

Paper ballots

Public financing

Instant runoff voting

And last but not least, a media that doesn't try to pick the president for us. 

http://www.thepeacealliance.org 

yup!

good thing to remember!

but basically we need wayyy more change

then they can bring about. we're in need of faster govermance.

in terms of what we can really do...

blogs still forming the interconnections and skills i see.

Bernie has a nice site but no two-way chat or blog threads. amazing eh?

Kind of disappointing that Thom dismissed the definitive result of the straw poll. It showed democracy the way the US Constitution intended, not as it has been compromised by corporate media.
Scary that so many seemingly reasonable people buy the antidemocratic notion of "reasonable" or "top tier" candidates. This is pseudo-savvy realpolitik horse betting, not democracy. A candidate is electable if you vote for him or her. NO ONE may narrow your candidate choices in a democracy - not other voters, not corporate presstitutes

Unless Thom voted in Florida in 2000, why does he feel the need to "apologize" (his word) for voting for Ralph Nader?

 If  we continue to blame Nader for the Democtic losses and don't listen to the BLUE GRIT of the Democratic Party the Next time we get SCREWED it won't be by THOM HARTMAN

"...that whenever you are engaged in work that serves humanity and is for the building of humanity, it has dignity and it has worth." MLKing,Jr AFSCME Memphis Sanitation Strike, April 3, 1968

I had to run and pick up my kids.  The are NO progressive format stations in Pennsylvania. Thom is only aired live in Pittsburgh.  So who won the blogger contest today?

Hartmann send Ann Coulter to go screaming madly bashing herself into wall after wall as she is driven into a frothing rage causing her to devour the microphone as she declares shes a fag trapped inside a womans body having realized she never did and never will make any sense in any way?!....

OR!

Will,

bewildered and virtigoed into a daze of torrets style banter by the sheer ludicrisity of Coulters side of the debate and unfathomable unwillingness to be reasonable or non-assinign, will Thom accidently call her "Toots"?!

Find out next on tomorrows show, same bat time, same bat channel. Wouldnt miss it.