Comments by "Matthew Ingerson" (@matthewingerson) on "Thom Hartmann Program" channel.

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  3. "A fellow was stuck on his rooftop in a flood. He was praying to God for help. Soon a man in a rowboat came by and the fellow shouted to the man on the roof, "Jump in, I can save you." The stranded fellow shouted back, "No, it's OK, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me." So the rowboat went on. Then a motorboat came by. "The fellow in the motorboat shouted, "Jump in, I can save you." To this the stranded man said, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith." So the motorboat went on. Then a helicopter came by and the pilot shouted down, "Grab this rope and I will lift you to safety." To this the stranded man again replied, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith." So the helicopter reluctantly flew away. Soon the water rose above the rooftop and the man drowned. He went to Heaven. He finally got his chance to discuss this whole situation with God, at which point he exclaimed, "What am I doing here? I had faith in you but you didn't save me, you let me drown. I don't understand why!" To this God replied, "What ARE you doing here? I sent you a rowboat and a motorboat and a helicopter, what more did you expect?"" ========================= From The Bible: From the book of Matthew, chapter 4, verses 5 - 7: 5 Then the devil took Jesus to the holy city and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple. 6“If You are the Son of God,” the devil said, “throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command His angels concerning You, and they will lift You up in their hands, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’” 7 JESUS REPLIED, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ From the book of Luke, chapter 4, verses 9 - 12: 9 Then the devil led Jesus to Jerusalem and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple. “If You are the Son of God,” the devil said, “throw Yourself down from here. 10 For it is written: ‘He will command His angels concerning You to guard You carefully; 11 and they will lift You up in their hands, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’” 12 But JESUS ANSWERED, “It also says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ========================= It seems that the devil has put you in a high place, like the top of your roof during a flood, or the pinnacle of the temple during a time of distress, or in the height of your own mind during a pandemic, and the devil is tempting you to drown, jump, or contract the sickness. God has already sent you a row boat, masks, and prayer. God has already sent you a sail boat, social distancing, and faith. God has already sent you a helicopter, a vaccine, and the ability to act. We wouldn't have the knowledge regarding masks, social distancing, and vaccines if God didn't want us to have that knowledge. Stop testing, tempting, and challenging God to keep you safe even more than He already has. Stop testing, tempting, and challenging God to do even more for you than He's already done.
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  14. Hedges knows that the Democrat Party is funded by the wealthy-class, just like the Republic Party is funded by the wealthy-class. Thom is an apologist for the Democrat Party, and he has spent his life putting energy into the Democrat Party. Hedges left the Democrat party and became an outspoken opponent of the party when he realized that Democrats were becoming just as corrupted as the Republic Party. Thom can't seem to get away from the grasp of the wealthy-class financiers who have corrupted our political systems and both political parties, because Thom still believes that the different names of the parties matter more than the similarities of the policies which those parties support. Even though Hedges and Thom both consider themselves to be politically left-leaning, Hedges is much farther left. Hedges understands that the Democrat Party is a politically center-right leaning political party (with the Republic Party being a far-right political party). Hedges and Thom have some similarities but, for two self-proclaimed leftists, Hedges is much farther left-leaning than Thom. Thom is an apologist for the corrupt Democrat Party, while Hedges is an opponent of the corrupt Democrat Party. Very few people in the world want to hear about their shortcomings, face those shortcomings, and then make strides to change them. Thom doesn't want to hear how, by propping up the Democrat Party, he is helping to prop up the corrupt political system which breeds inequity, inequality, suppression, oppression, and repression. I think the differences between Hedges and Thom are why Thom doesn't have Hedges is on the show more often, or maybe it's because Hedges doesn't want to be on the show. On a side note, I am somewhat surprised that Thom has Richard Wolff on the show so often. Maybe it's because Wolff is much less direct in his criticism of one party over the other, while Hedges is very direct in his criticism. I'm not as concerned with why someone is or isn't on this show or that show as I am concerned about the quality of the knowledge provided. I am very thankful for the knowledgeable voices of Hedges and Wolff, and I am thankful to Thom for helping me to understand the Supreme Court cases of Buckley v. Valeo of 1976, First National Bank of Boston v. Belotti of 1978, Citizens United v. FEC of 2010. But it bothers me to see and hear Thom prop up the Democrat Party because he should know and understand that the decisions in those Supreme Court cases helped pave the way for the Democrat Party to become corrupt like the Republic Party.
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  16. This is Julio. Last I knew, Julio loved America so much, he decided to leave America under the excuse of 'employment-opportunities' (or so he claimed on-air some months ago). In reality, Julio probably left America to expand on his Capitalist GRIFTing-opportunities in other countries, while also taking advantage of the Socialist GIFTing-opportunities which those countries provide to their citizens. In China -- where their elite-class has been financially propped up by the Western elite-class for whom Julio grafts -- Julio's kids would be taken away from him and they would all be put into concentration camps... /S I mean, "re-education centers..." I mean, "holding cells..." You know, for "safe-keeping" like we're doing to people here in the states. Julio's fine with doing it to strangers here in the states, I'm sure he'd be fine with it him and his family in China... /S Sarcasm aside... Luckily for Julio, he could afford to move his family away from American-authoritarianism to the more Democratic society of Europe. Luckily for Julio, he comes from a place that Europe doesn't openly discriminate against (yet). Luckily for Julio, his grafting has furnished him with the ability to take advantage of the best of both socio-politico-economic systems -- the system here in the U.S. which benefits rich-knaves and their poor-fools, and the European system which is more egalitarian -- just as any regular hypocrite would. Julio is a fool-shill at best, and a knave-propagandist at worst. Don't be like Julio.
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  18. For further reading on this topic, seek out books by Diane Ravitch and Jonathan Kozol. I'm sure there are other valid authors on this topic, but those two are well-researched. My brief, non-professional point of view is as follows: Lower-class kids go to defunded and destandardized public schools. Those kids are cultivated to become good-soldiers and obedient-workers, and, if they're unlucky, subservient prison-slaves. Wealthy-class kids go to over-funded and deregulated private schools. Those kids are coddled to become human-manipulators and labor-exploiters, and, if they're lucky, demanding-sociopaths. (Disclaimer: I understand that my explanation is a broadly-brushed verbal-painting that isn't representative of the entire educational-canvas nor every education-institution. Just most of them.) This dual education-structure is a means to continue the division between people -- to maintain the hierarchical systems of class and caste -- in which the wealthy-class minority continues to rule and reign over the working-class majority. By separating and segregating citizens, it serves to keep the working-class majority in constant competition against each other -- elbowing side-to-side at the people who they have the most in common with, kicking down at the least-fortunate in society -- fighting for the falling crumbs from the master's tables. Many people in American society want to gripe about the lack of "common sense" within society, but I find that most of those people don't seem to have an explanation for how to achieve or maintain common sense. I would argue that a basis for common sense can be found in the pursuit of common goals. Those common goals should be achieved by the utilization of common knowledge. That common knowledge should be obtained by a common education. That common education should be taught by common teachers who teach common lessons, learned by common children who attend common schools. But again, I'm no professional.
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  27. ​ @fredo3161  Anyone who's spent time in a reputable classroom beyond high school knows that Wikipedia isn't an acceptable source of information due to its RIGHT-WING BIAS. Anyone without a right-wing, wealthy-class propagandized brain, who's spent time outside the U.S. -- or in the presence of actual working-class conscious leftists -- knows that every MSM source in the U.S. is a right-wing source. The leadership of both major parties is all right-wingers. They're all from the wealthy-class. Wealthy-class politics are right-wing politics. Corporate-politics are right-wing politics. Fascist-politics are right-wing politics. Capitalism is right-wing politics. Bankers, financiers, the KKK, and Nazis cling to right-wing politics. Right-wing politics are the catalyst for the mob-rule of the wealthy-class minority, and they utilize working-class fools as the mob. Every class-conscious person understands this. This is why the working-class in other, better countries laugh at the U.S. You have gone-done let yourselves become ruled by two right-wing wealthy-class parties. You've been convinced to sell out your families, friends, and neighbors for a few extra crumbs. Worse than that, many of you are willing to do much worse than sell them out. It won't be long until the better parts of the world do the same thing to the right-wing U.S. that was done to right-wing Germany in WW2. I'll be surprised if this posts, because the YT cents'r'ship alg-rhythms are designed and regulated by corporate right-wingers. Just like Facebook, Twitter, etc. Oh yeah, technocrat-politics are right-class politics, too. If this does post, you owe me for the best education you've ever gotten.
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  30. Richard, Thom did a segment on Medicare Advantage recently (he talks about it a lot). I believe that by signing up for Medicare Advantage plans (offered by private, for-profit corporations with no accountability) which you must pay extra for, then you waive your rights to unconditional future enrollment in Medicare (which is public, non-profit, and transparent) which you have already paid for your entire life. Again, I think that by signing up for Medicare Advantage with a private company, and then trying to switch to Medicare with the government, this allows the government to refuse you based on the quality of your health, just like private insurers are allowed to refuse to pay for your care. I could be wrong. I hope I am. Now, you might be wondering, "Why would the government be allowed to refuse my enrollment in Medicare?" Answer: Because people like Charles Sauer -- corrupt, devious people who have many addictions to pay for -- are allowed to write the laws. I know everyone's situation is different, but wtf were you thinking? If you're healthy, what are you getting from Medicare Advantage besides, maybe, dental and vision, and how much are you paying the Medicare Advantage company? I'm guessing thousands of dollars per year. One out-of-pocket eye-doctor appointment per year: couple hundred bucks, at most? You can buy eyeglasses online for a tenth to a quarter of the price you get them in a retail store (see Zenni Optical online). One out-of-pocket dental appointment per year: couple hundred bucks, at most? Your primary doctor, local hospital and emergency room can handle any major issues. They won't let your teeth just fall out of your head, although they will help you get them removed if need be. If you're healthy, you're paying the Medicare Advantage company for nothing, and if you're not healthy, they can refuse to pay for any care anyway.
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  41. I come to Thom's videos for a neoliberal perspective, which is a moderate conservative perspective. Aside from Richard Wolff's working-class point of view, neoliberal-conservatism is the best you can expect from Thom's show. Thom, and many of his guests, still toot the horn of the Democrat party, which has become the left-leaning arm of the Republic party. Thom, and many of his guests, seem to believe that meaningful "reform" can happen through the Democrat party, even though the Democrat party is corrupted by the funding from the same wealthy-class which funds the Republic party. Just as the wealthy-class promoting Republic party cannot rid itself of the many racist, misogynist, compassionless, nihilistic, supremacist voters, many Democrat party voters cannot rid themselves of the wealthy-class promoting Democrat party. They are married to it, acting as if the relationship were to end it would reflect poorly on themselves within society. They tow the party-line because of how they feel they will be perceived, rather than ending the relationship for the toxicity it breeds in their lives. There is no viable leftist, employee-labor, or lower-class political party in America. There are two economically right-wing, socially-authoritarian, anti-small business, pro-corporate, anti-worker, pro-employers, anti-poor, pro-wealthy-class, extremist political parties. Lastly, these short-form interviews do a disservice to the American citizens who are duped into wasting their time by following Thom. Especially when those citizens could be following much more substantive channels and better pundits. Thom is as equally as bad at messaging as the Democrat party leadership, but the Democrat party leadership is paid to be bad at it. They are paid-opposition, funded by the wealthy-class. The question is, rhetorically, if Thom is bad at it on accident, or on purpose. My advice, for what little worth it may have, is to stop wasting your time here. Good day.
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  47. Yup, and when the small minority of wealthy-class parasites lose control in one area, they fabricate the demise of that area and sneak out the backdoor leaving the working-class holding the bag. It's a tale as old as time. The small minority of wealthy-class parasites have been sabotaging state and local governments and communities throughout the US since they created the country. And while they've been sabotaging state and local governments and communities, they have been simultaneously planning to do the same thing to the federal government. That small minority of wealthy-class parasites has been slowly leaving the country for decades, little by little, dollar by dollar, resource by resource. But their pace has increased over the past decade. The most conniving of the parasites realized that the ruse was up a long time ago. That is why they pushed through NAFTA, to help them facilitate their departure from the country (NAFTA was developed by right-wing Republicans and passed by right-wing Dems, just like Obamacare). The American working-class is on its way to reaping the worldly repercussions of allowing themselves to be controlled by wealthy-class right-wing parasites, the same way that working-class Germans allowed themselves to be controlled by wealthy-class right-wing parasitic Nazis. The better countries of the world are sick and tired of America's bullsh!te, just like they were sick of the Nazis. The American working-class will be lucky if they don't reap the same demise as the working-class Germans did during and after World War Two.
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