Comments by "Halfdan Ingolfsson" (@Halli50) on "Thom Hartmann Program" channel.

  1. It does not matter if each individual within the infamous 1% gets what, to them, is only a little change. That is only a tiny fraction of the aid package and is irrelevant. The important point is to get financial relief to the 90% that REALLY need it.
    4
  2. The "bear poops in the wood" example is no doubt true, but likely only for isolated cases of fine-tuned ecosystems that have existed in symbiosis for millennia. Woods WILL grow without bears pooping or salmon swimming, they will just be a different kind of woods, a different ecosystem balance. The bear-poop woods example (and the penguin/krill example), however, illustrates how fine-tuned entire ecosystems can be and how little it can take to upend everything mankind has taken for granted. Biological life WILL go on in some form, but will we be able to adapt to the changes? People in the sub-Saharan areas are already dealing with similar problems, is it any wonder they are migrating?
    4
  3. You 'Muricans have allowed corporate/ultra-rich interests to literally brainwash you into believing that caring for your fellow citizens is COMMUNISM or SOCIALISM, something that will be the end of the world - AND you swallow it hook, line and sinker! Roosevelt proved that nonsense to be a lie in the 1930s and the Nordic countries are proving it today (most European countries, in fact). We are all in this together and the world is a far better place if we look out for each other. Affordable health care & education, not to mention a good work/life balance, a single job providing a living wage etc. If it means fewer billionaires, so what?
    4
  4.  @juniorgod321  , it will only take a generation or so. Rest assured, the fruits of your labors will DEFINITELY make the lives of your grandchildren miserable, your great-grandchildren will either suffer horribly or die soon after birth. What a legacy you leave behind...
    4
  5. One wonders: Which is more important to Thom Hartman - his Hard Breaks or the issues being uncovered?
    4
  6. As a citizen of one of the Nordic countries (Iceland) I feel REALLY sorry for the citizens of the madhouse you call 'Murica! In my country (and all the other Nordic countries) we are automatically registered to vote the day we reach the official voting age. All we have to to do on voting day (ALWAYS a general public holiday, usually a Saturday or a Sunday) is to look for the nearest polling station, show up and show ANY personal ID (passport, driver license, student ID, even a credit/debit card that has a photo ID). Waiting time? Anything beyond 10-15 minutes would cause a loud outrage! You see, we have FUNCTIONING democracy, not a flawed, even corrupt one like you do in 'Murica! I have voted for over half a century. Moreover, I have always seen it as a DUTY to vote every time! How else can I expect my society to hopefully function the way I want it to do? The infamous 'Murican voter apathy is beyond my comprehension!
    4
  7. Thom, this clip was very patchy and broken up. Is it your staff or YouTube - or some other entity - that is doing a spot of sabotage?
    4
  8. Ahem.. If he quit the Proud Boys in 2015, how could he tell "all OUR members not to go to Jan.6"? It implies that he is still a member. Did he re-join?
    4
  9. According to this, the US is performing a slow Hara-Kiri, all to benefit big corporations.
    4
  10. I imagine that in the 1960s, Tuberville would have been jailed, prosecuted, convicted and possibly executed as a Soviet agent. What he is doing is following Putin's playbook - to the hilt - by weakening the US military to the extent possible. One wonders what the intelligence services would find, searching through Tubervilles banking accounts! As a Repugnican, he is certainly doing this only for money! What is worrying for us Western US allies is how reliable the US is turning out to be! The US is proving to be, at best, a flaky ally, Here today, on Putin's side tomorrow. The mere fact that Trump might conceivably become the US president again is beyond belief! The current US allies simply cannot trust the US to keep their intelligence secret or be consistent in any way, shape or form. Is the US an important partner within the NATO alliance?! Heck, YES! Is the US a RELIABLE partner within the NATO alliance? Heck, NO! The way things are going politically, the US might end up as a joke in global power politics, if not for the immensely powerful military - and even that will only last long! Behold all the levels of the Nazi military might (the thousand-year Third Reich)t: it lasted for, what, less than 10 years? Bottom line: By destroying public education, the Repugnican party has shown it's true colors. The 'Murican nation will become ever more ignorant (not stupid, only kept-in-the-dark!). One wonders how long the US empire will last without allies?
    3
  11.  @kevincrady2831 , right - like jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Let's hope the quiet majority finally rises up to decisively vote the lunatics out and turn the US into a humane and truly democratic country.
    3
  12. What is the difference between Corporate Democraps vs. Repugnicans? The Repugnicans are unabashedly inhumane liars, the Corporate Democraps are lying their socks off, sailing under a false flag. They have all been bought and paid for by big, monopolistic cirporations.
    3
  13. The US stance regarding the Palestinians, not to mention atrocities the US is supporting in Yemen, will be a shameful blot on the US nation for generations to come.
    3
  14. If my understanding is correct, this is a combination of lack of accountability AND training of 'Murican cops. You are stuck in a vicious, self-sustaining circle. In my own country, police training is at university level and takes years! In the only police killing case in my country's history, the SWAT team that did the killing humbly apologized to the relatives of the mentally deranged individual for not handling the situation better. Still, we did have an accountability problem years ago, with customers (NOT 'suspects'!) dying in police custody, mainly due to negligence, but there have been none since police training was elevated to a university level. Training really matters.
    3
  15. The US, Canada, Australia, Norway and the UK will be solely responsible for half of mankinds "blowing through the World's dwindling carbon budget"? The middle east oil producers (Saudis et.al.) and Russia are now no factor regarding the carbon budget? Thom, I am beginning to seriously doubt your credibility.
    3
  16.  @markallen3293  yep, I got you the first time and I agree that if anyone deserves some lead poisoning, it would be Trump and his sycophants. My point is the sad fact that fate appears to be on the side of the disgusting crooks - at least it feels that way.
    3
  17. What a horrible - but true - testament to what is happening in minority-ruled, religious-zealot controlled 'Murica.
    3
  18.  @robinsss , I am not a US citizen, just a Nordic observer, so I am at sea regarding that. I imagine federal courts have the power to strike down state court rulings in many cases, but not state laws - unless said laws are found to be unconstitutional.
    3
  19. US Americans are scared witless when faced with HAVING to seek medical help - the current US health insurance scam is completely dysfunctional as a tool to ensure public health. As described in this clip, the current system virtually ENSURES that the US will be by far the hardest hit nation when this pandemic is over. In a normal universe head would roll when all this has been investigated, but the Trumpzis will probably be laughing on the way to the bank with the proceeds...
    3
  20. True, while the US is the main customer for it's products, China is unlikely to start real hostilities (and vice versa). On the other hand, the current state of affairs is absolutely not sustainable, long-term. When (or possibly before) the US collapses there will be some return to the old ways. How, when and to what extent is inscrutable. We are in for some interesting times...
    3
  21. I've long been skeptical of our real capacity to fully understand our observable Universe. For example, what is the capacity of a sheep to understand what it's life is all about? Or a fish, a mouse, an insect? What if we are only a little degree better than a sheep when it comes to mental capacity? True, we are top dog on our planet, but we might only be slightly smarter than sheep, much like a squirrel is smarter than beetle. The good news is that when push comes to show, we are probably too stupid to realize how stupid we are!
    3
  22. I suggest we stop referring tho the Repugnican Party as the GOP (Grand Old Party). HOP (Horrible Old Party) is more appropriate,
    3
  23. Can anyone tell me the current 'Murican definitions of the racial terms "white" and "colored"? My current impression is that "black" and "colored" are simply being lumped together as "non-white" in the minds of right-wing zealots, but what qualities does a person have to have to be considered "white"?
    3
  24. How about young 'Muricans fixing the domestic problem by bothering to VOTE as they desire instead of emigrating to countries with a properly developed society model? 'Murica is an incredibly wealthy country in human and natural resources, all you have to do is get rid of the corruption and follow the models of one of a multitude of countries that are doing well. I know, you are too big, too corrupt and too incompetent (which you were NOT 60-80 years ago!), but you can do it in a generation or two if you really want to. Here is an old saying: What is a dead billionaire, made to swim with concrete shoes? Answer: A good start! The French reacted violently to a similar situation some hundreds of years ago when a few had everything and everybody else had virtually nothing: They chopped the heads off the aristocracy (the billionaires of the era) on an industrial scale (the Guillotine). That will inevitably happen in 'Murica in the near future (during the Second US Civil War?).
    3
  25. If you are religious, you can rest assured that Ronald Bloody Reagan is roasting on a spit down there - for eternity!
    3
  26.  @desireesalas5820 , the scandal is that the time that WAS available was not used to do anything constructive. Italy and Iran were certainly caught unawares, but at least in e.g. Italy they were early on able to identify (by testing) what patients had regular flu and who had COVID-19. Not so for the US.
    3
  27. There was a time when being 'born in the USA' was considered a winning ticket in the lottery of life. These days, having been born in the USA is proving to be a ticket to Hell for a considerable part of the US population.
    3
  28. I just looked it up: Denmark has 5.6M citizens, the US about 330M - a ratio of 1:59. Denmark's 2616 Covid deaths would equal 154K deaths in the US, but instead the US has 664K deaths, 4.3 times the deaths pr. capita compared to Denmark, with no end in sight! The US has 41M cases (and counting), while Denmark has 0.354M cases, only half of the US pr. capita case rate. It seems obvious that the US's response to Covid has been rather dismal.
    3
  29.  JSavic , I have no idea, this is a decades-old saying.
    3
  30. Well, "to fight for our freedom" by going yourself or sending your children to (mostly) kill civilians in far-off lands has never made any sense. The only ones to have any benefit from this international meddling are the fossil-fuel corporations that take over the oil resources of the countries being "liberated" and the contractors that serve them. A really serious side effect is that the US does NOT win the "hearts and minds" of invaded nations by propping up despots and those that will exploit whatever resources the invaded nations had. The US is fast becoming a pariah among the international community, a nation to be feared and hated almost as much as the Soviet Union in it's day.
    3
  31. Is our best hope REALLY that the White House staff (and all the Trumpzis) become infected? THAT would really get their attention!
    3
  32. Holy cowpat, I seem to be losing my cool: Commenting like crazy in an environment where sensible thought is a banned commodity. A very significant point Thom made: Post WW-2 Europe was - and is - based on concepts introduced to us war-torn Europeans by US Americans! Furthermore, it is still being practiced in just about every country in Europe, AND IT BLOODY WELL WORKS! Affordable (pre-paid) health care and education is a RIGHT, not a privilege in Europe. Again, it bloody well works! You 'Muricans can argue on the behalf of the blood-sucking elites in ´Murica, and it is your prerogative: If you WANT to be shamelessly exploited, you actually have the FREEDOM to be exploited. Just leave the rest of us out of it!
    3
  33. So, US elections are largely influenced, almost controlled, by Republican Cheaters? The rest of the world recognized long ago that US democracy was flawed, apparently becoming so flawed as to be a parody. The Nordic countries have a different approach: You are registered as a citizen at birth (or via an immigration process). You, the citizen, are required to report any change in domicile whenever you move (taxes are not optional here, but we know what we get in return!). When you reach the voting age, you are automatically registered to vote at your domicile district. Your domicile might be a prison, but you are STILL a citizen and thus registered as a voter. Bottom line: We actively encourage EVERY citizen to vote, and no citizen is ever required to take time off from work to vote because voting day is ALWAYS a public holiday. Polling stations are accessible and you are usually able to walk to your designated polling station. No trickery involved or allowed.
    3
  34. The similarities between the rise of the Trumpzis and the rise of the Nazis in Germany is terrifying.
    3
  35. 'Murica has been addicted to cheap oil, excessive elite profits and slave labor (the average working 'Murican has become a slave these past 40 years), and now suddenly find itself with the daunting prospect of having to go into rehab, kicking and screaming. The withdrawal symptoms will be painful, but they are unavoidable.
    3
  36. Radical Repugnicans certainly have some weird and twisted ideas about the concepts of "Small Government" and "Freedom".
    3
  37. Ms. Henderson has a refreshing look: A genuine sixties/seventies balloon Afro haircut. I love it! Being Nordic myself (with sparse, straight and uninteresting hair), I always wondered about the pros and cons of the wildly curling hair most Africans have. Possibly irritating to some, but apparently proudly embraced by Ms. Henderson. My country is largely homogeneous, but I try to go out of my way to treat obvious immigrants (African, Asian) with respect and welcome them into our small society. They assiduously conform to the laws of our land and bring new cultural and culinary flavors to our society. What is there to dislike? Regarding the topic of this particular video, I only feel sorry for the US population having a GESTAPO-like police force mucking up their everyday lives. While gun ownership is very high in my country, it is licensed an tightly regulated, and handguns are only allowed for certified marksmanship gun-club members (and the police). Our police is normally unarmed - they have quick access to weapons if called for, but the paperwork required in the aftermath virtually eliminates frivolous application of firearms when upholding the law. We in the Nordic countries have for decades had the type of policing the US population is calling for.
    3
  38. Thom, any "real" 'Murican would have grabbed his rifle and shot the dog, which would have been bloody unfair, because the dog was just being a dog! The problem was the owner, an embodiment of what is wrong with the US these days.
    3
  39. Omigosh - this smells more than a little cultish, but it has a serious ring of truth to it. The bad news: There is only one nation between 45°W and 150°W potentially willing or capable of heeding this, and that is Canada. The MSA (Medieval States of America) are certainly not capable and, as such, are in for a spectacular ride. Let's just hope it does not end with a lot of smoking ruins...
    3
  40. When even the Supreme Court of the land is an accomplice to blatant voter suppression, you simply KNOW that the US is in dire straits. The US has not been a true democracy for almost 40 years by now. In fact, the US has slowly become a farce, not a democracy, and former allies are turning their backs on the US in disgust! Not to worry, though - the dictators of the world are held in high regard by the current administration (and vice versa).
    3
  41.  Alan Rosenzweig , in part you are correct, in part not (according to my own SWAG). The grim news is that a LOT of US Americans will not survive this, the "good" part of the grim news is that the ratio of ignorant conservatives vs. socially conscious independents will NOT be favorable for the Repugnicans. The cost of this debacle, in lives and economic breakdown, will be devastating but, eventually the US will come out stronger. The main question is - how many decades will it take? If you manage to elect a FDR/Eisenhower/JFK type president it might happen within a single decade, but given your track record and how broken your democracy and election system is, you are in for a lot of misery before things start to get better. You are a country awash with assault-style weapons, and the worst case scenario might even be a genuine civil war - again!
    3
  42. Please, PLEASE do not forget that there was a time when it was a toss-up which was more dangerous for other countries: the USA with it's unchained Capitalism, or the USSR with it's pretending to be Communist while actually being an Authoritarian regime - labels notwithstanding. Sadly, it would still be a toss-up, if the USSR had not turned out to be worse than the USA, but only barely. The USSR finally went bankrupt and every other nation ambled on in blissful ignorance: Armament spending was pointless, no need to waste too much energy or resources on defense and the military! Well, Putin proved everyone wrong! Now the question remains if Western-world leaders will be stupid enough to continue to try appeasing Putin or if they agree that Putin is out of control (MAD!) and cannot be allowed to gain an inch from his land-grab. NATO is stronger and will be larger and more coherent than it ever was during the almost 80 years since the Cold War started, all due to Putin's colossal miscalculation.
    3
  43. Vermont with it's 600K people is not large enough to implement a Universal Health Care plan? What utter hogwash! Little Iceland, with a population of only 360K has had it for over half a century and is doing just fine, thank you very much!
    3
  44.  @marym1053 , I really hope my pessimism will not be borne out. I really, REALLY hope US voters will be able to fix this in 2020, if not before.
    3
  45. Repugnican politics grow more disgusting by the day...
    2
  46. Short answer: YES! In the long history of humanity, the US is probably not the absolutely FIRST country to go backwards intentionally, but the US is currently hurtling backwards down a steep and rocky slope.
    2
  47.  @julieannmyers8714 , "unfortunately" is spot-on. I wonder if the horrors of the coming 2-6 weeks will be sufficient to wake up the sleeping giant (the US general public), resulting in reasonable and humane justice (not for-profit exploitation), access to affordable health care and education as a RIGHT, not a privilege.
    2
  48. The truly terrifying thing is the fact that Trump just might pull it off! Cheating, voter-suppressing & gerrymandering Repugnicans have perverted what is left of US democracy to the point that a clown with the verbal acuity of a toddler could actually stay in office for another 4 years.
    2
  49. 'Muricans like this caller can argue until they are blue in the face, but Thom referenced a point that shoots ALL such arguments down in flames: In Denmark a McDonald worker earns $18 pr. hour (a living wage) while the burgers cost only 3% more. In fact, this applies to all of Europe: The people that serve you at restaurants all earn a living wage and tipping is not needed to help them survive, yet those restaurants flourish. Riddle me THAT, 'Muricans! 'Murica may be exceptional, but only in how they are managing to slowly re-introduce slavery through their warped labor market practices.
    2
  50. Having followed US politics for some decades, I have long ago realized that the US has NEVER been a true democracy. It has always been a paradise for the rich and influential (male landowners), and while minorities like women and non-whites have had an elevated position for almost a century, that is about to end. For over 40 years, the US has been a cesspool of political bribery and corruption, and that state of affairs is about to culminate in a disaster.
    2