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

  1. There is no arguing about it: The US is becoming catatonic. The next phase will be the death throes! The US has been a dominating factor in global politics, finance and warfare for almost a century, and their disintegration will be globally cataclysmic. Can anyone imagine the consequences of the military might of the US in the hands of lunatics like the current crop of US right-wingers?
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  2. The US intelligence community may not yet be under Trump's thumb, bit does that imply they are any less corrupt? NO! Try to imagine where in the US you could possibly find honest politicians that are not beholden to some interest groups (Financial/Fossil fuel/Industrial/Medical/Insurance/Military) is just as likely as finding genuine aliens on top of Vatnajökull.
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  3. Talk about brainwashed ignoramuses! Did you see the clips about the ER nurse that is finding it hard to deal with suffocating Covid-19 patients that deny they are dying from Covid-19 because it is A HOAX? The nonsense only stops when they are intubated, put on a ventilator! Perhaps this is the solution, callous as it is: Allow the idiots to follow Trump's advice and ignore all anti-infection measures! They will be guaranteed to catch the Coronavirus and, with any luck, a high proportion of them will die from the Covid-19 "Hoax".
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  4.  @julieannmyers8714 , no - this is the first I've heard of nukes and US troops deployed to Poland and, frankly, I do not believe it only on your word (nothing personal, where did YOU hear of this?).
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  5. The underlying problem is the simple fact that people that that fervently 'believe' something without a shred of evidence are dangerous. Evangelical zealots or Islamic zealots are equally dangerous, history contains countless examples of that. What is the difference between the Christian Witch-burnings of the past to the current Taliban actions in Afghanistan? Is there a difference - other than which fiction they were/are based on? Both the Bible and the Quran are works of fiction that are far beyond their 'best before' date and should be delegated to the trash-bin.
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  6. I'd like to point out that Thom is not strictly correct regarding the countries that he enumerated as having "free" health care - a more correct term could be to call it PREPAID health care, it has already been paid for with our taxes. Also, being universal, the total cost of health care in those countries is almost half of what it is in the US.
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  7. What we non-'Muricans are watching is the disintegration of 'Murica. You used to be our role model, now you are turning out to be everything that turned out to be wrong with the world. Well, we (Europe) and the Nordics have found a model (a way of running things) that works for us. The fact that you greedy 'Muricans are unable to even grasp the difference is telling!
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  8. Jeez - in Europe we are using ANYTHING other than copper for household plumbing, and have been for years. In fact, I needed a short piece of copper tubing for non-plumbing purposes, and had a hell of a time obtaining it! Living in an European country it's no wonder I simply missed this particular 'Murican inflationary bubble... The way you are going, pretty soon you 'Muricans will find ways to poison the air you breathe and the water you drink...
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  9. Generally, people that cannot pronounce important words properly are, frankly, a bit thick. Bush Jr. was one of them, he kept talking about "nucular this" and "nucular that". Even toddler Trump got his one right, and yet he is The Chosen One, the person that will be instrumental in bringing down the US Empire. I have a sneaky feeling that the elite did not think this one through: If the US federal system collapses (as Trump is aiming for), the state protection the big corporations and billionaires have been enjoying will go "poof"! The time of the pitchforks will be nigh (pitchforks being a metaphor for the much-more-abundant assault rifles available to the general public these days). I actually believe there are more assault rifles than pitchforks available to the public these days, pitchforks being tools your great-grandfather might have used...
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  10. If this goes any further, the US will become a laughing stock among other developed nations. This would change the US into a medieval-style country, ruled by a religious zealot minority that is rivaled only by the Talibans.
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  11. One has to wonder why the Democrats are even bothering to negotiate with the Repugnicans! The Repugnicans have repeatedly proved that they are cheats, shameless liars and will NEVER negotiate in good faith! The only opinion is to ignore them in congress and expose them in the media. If the US voting population is stupid or ignorant enough vote the Repugnican way, they bloody well deserve what they have coming to them. As for the non-Repugnicans: Try to emigrate to Europe, Australia, New Zealand or somewhere in Asia before the shit really hits the fan. The end of Nazi 'Murica will not be pretty...
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  12. A stain on your democracy? This raises a question: Did you ever HAVE a true democracy? I certainly hope that society-minded 'Muricans will carry the day in November 2022. If not, the world is in for a lot of pain in the following decade. Make no mistake: When (not if) the US goes fascist, there will be hell to pay. Neighbors and former allies will turn against you, and despite it's current superpower status, a fascist US will find itself alone, an enemy of all other nations. The end result, what Nazi Germany experienced, will be an inevitable result. Like Goebbels and Himmler, the Fascist Repugnican leaders will have the choice between the noose and a cyanide pill - and their family names will be held in infamy for time immemorial - does the name Benedict Arnold ring any bells?
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  13. I wonder what fraction of 'Muricans actually think about and consider the level of depravity 'Murica has sunk to. I am a member of a NATO founding member nation, and while the United States were our role model until the early seventies, is almost incomprehensible how the US has become 'Murica - a nation of ignorance and stupidity and bigotry and... In a nutshell, I would NOT want to be a US citizen these days, and fully expect Trump's 'Murica to ditch it's NATO membership (to appease Putin). The way things are going, what the future has in store will NOT be favorable to 'Murica.
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  14. Thom is getting to the real heart of the problem by using a really appropriate handle for rabid Trump-followers: CONFEDERATES! That is what they are, they are clinging to a 250 year old ideology that should have been stamped out but never was. Stamping it out this time around just might amount to another US civil war, even another World War!
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  15. Someone on the Internet pointed out that the usual West Coast Wildfire Season proper has not even started yet, calendar-wise! Is this true? Are things about to get even worse for you US Americans than they have been? Uncontrollable wildfires in the western states, hurricanes and floods in the Gulf states and Tornadoes in the Midwest. Then add a horribly mismanaged COVID pandemic response that is REALLY proving how exceptional you are - your God must really be disgusted with you to have saddled you with the politicians you have.Your current problem is that you are drowning in your own shite. OUR (all the non-US-Americans) problem is that WE are drowning in your shite as well! Most of us have been trying to compensate, to no avail. Your shite overrides whatever other nations are trying to do.
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  16. 'Murica, vaunted shining "city on the hill", the main bastion of democracy, is apparently hanging on to that label by a thin little LIE! It remains to be seen how the wannabe fascists will manage the next coup attempt, the only certainty is that THEY WILL TRY! 'Murican males seem a lost cause, the question is what will Maternal 'Murica do! The apathy of 'Murican voters is monumental, but are the women of this misbegotten country about to allow christian Mullahs to determine their fate, as well as the fate of their daughters and granddaughters?
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  17. Methinks the US is doomed. Watching the disintegration so far is mind-boggling! The US has been pioneers on many issues in the past and they seem to be dead-set on following up past achievements by doing the Crumbling-Empire bit absolutely 'pedal-to-the-metal'! The only developed nation in the world that is unable to provide it's citizens with basic RIGHTS like genuine democracy, affordable health care and education is doomed to descend into chaos and disintegration (meaning civil war, followed by genocide). When the shit finally hits the fan, the first thing to end up like a bug smear on a car windshield will be useless politicians, rich elites and all their descendants. When France blew up 230 years ago, the main cleanup tool was the Guillotine. Since then, mankind has come a long way - we are so much more advanced regarding torture and extermination.
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  18. Lobbying is the epitome of corruption and should be illegal. This cannot end well. When the US eventually falls apart in a few decades, they can thank the SCOTUS for their demise. Legalizing political bribery and corruption was the beginning of the end...
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  19. I have sometimes wondered: Should those egotistical US Americans traveling outside the US be offered the same kind of generosity they offer non-US citizens, for example, a US American having a serious accident in Europe should be left bleeding at the site of the accident until the issue of "who is paying" is sorted out. If the US American bleeds to death while this is being sorted, well - tough luck, American, this is your way of dealing with these things! Fortunately for US Americans, every other developed nation does NOT think like this: We see someone in need, we treat it to the best of our abilities and worry about the cost later.
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  20. Just goes to show how far over the edge of the cliff extreme right-wingers have gone in 'Murica.
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  21. The cutting edge of modern warfare is being developed in Ukraine at this very moment. What works, what does not work? 'Murica's ancient model of throwing vast amounts of money at a "defense" problem (a misnomer, seeing that 'Murica has always been the aggressor in recent decades) is not working anymore. Wasting a multi-million AA missile on a $1K drone might work short-term, but it will bankrupt any nation (like the US) trying to use that method. "Budget warfare" seems to be the order of the day, the 'Murican Military-Industrial Complex (MIC) definitely has priced itself off the market. The interesting bit: The US has been checking out of western cooperation; no former ally will be willing to share useful intelligence with the US, knowing it will all leak directly to Russia. The US is in for a prolonged time of abject misery, ALL of it the Toddler's making!
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  22. "Greed is good"? It seems the US population is reaping the "benefits" of that particular philosophy these days. The one and only chance for sensible US Americans to turn this around is NOW, next November. Forego this chance and the US as we know it will be history, it will go down the road Hitler's Germany traveled 90 years ago. That will be just as painful for the entire world as WW2 was, if not worse.
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  23. What have progressives been warning shallow 'Muricans regarding Republicans? Believe what they DO, not what they SAY! The same must apply to Democrats (ALL politicians, everywhere, for that matter): Look at what Biden has DONE during his term instead of losing your waters over one debate where Biden did not do well. Biden's achievements so far speak for themselves Given how Biden has performed in speeches and debates until this one, something very strange is going on - and don't jump to the conclusion that Biden is suddenly falling apart!
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  24. Not a day goes by where I do not rejoice in NOT being a US citizen. What worries me is the fact that the US madhouse is bound to blow up and be the end to Western civilization as we know it.
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  25. The "Trump 2008 housing crash"? Wasn't George Witless Bush president at the time? This is not the time to give the Repugnicans an opportunity to start screaming "AHA! Misinformation by Democrats!"
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  26. Good point: The SCOTUS wants to take the US back to the time when almost all officials, judges included, had to wear silly wigs, so why not mandate that SCOTUS "justices" ALWAYS have to wear silly wigs when seen in public? They already wear silly, billowing dresses so why not have them dot the i? The SCOTUS has proven itself to have become a dangerous farce, let them fully dress the part!
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  27. So, Trump might off himself, like Hitler, No big deal. The important thing is: The USA, the main superpower on the planlet, managed to elect a lunatic as it's leader! There are no checks or guardrails when a leader is elected in a severely flawed democracy like the US - a glib but moronic lunatic managed to snatch the prize. That is not criticizing Trump, it just says all there needs to be said about the rotten state of the US. This is by no means a leader the rest of the world is ready to follow...
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  28. ...it's insane, it is wrong, it is it is . . . When all is said and done, IT IS 'Murica! Can you change it? Can you even be bothered to TRY to change it ! ?
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  29. Good analogy: If the Second Amendment to the US Constitution was like an appendix, the US now is suffering from acute appendicitis, a normally fatal condition unless properly treated. The authors of the US Constitution were obviously very wise people, but they were lousy prophets. The shenanigans of the current crop of corrupt politicians will have them spinning in their graves.
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  30. Can we agree that 'Murica is a nation of certifiable idiots? The certifiable idiots (the gun-mad religious zealots) may be a minority, but the rest of 'Muricans are to lazy or complacent to get off their arses and make sure 'Murica does not end up like Germany in the nineteen thirties!
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  31. Please stop referring to US prisons as "correctional facilities" - they are anything but that! To the rest of the Western world, US prisons are revenge-based torture facilities where no attempt is made to make the inmates better citizens when released. The for-profit, privatized part of the US prison system is focused on creating 'returning customers'.
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  32. The common 'Murican argument of "Why should I pay for someone else's education/health care, whatever" exposes an all too prevalent aspect of the 'Murican sick psyche: Me, Me, ME mentality instead of the simple WE concept. The US was NOT like this almost 80 years ago - but then again, the US was different from what it is now. At the time EVERYONE had a shot at the American Dream, industry was booming and every family made a good living with only one member of the family having a job, ONE JOB! Throughout Europe, we do not "pay for other people's education or health care", we simply ALL chip in, one way or another, for the common good because we know that one day we are bound to become recipients of the "common good". It works for us, what makes you silly' Murican sods think you are different?
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  33. Just the thought of accepting the fact that Clinton was "a reasonable president" is rather nauseating. That thought was the beginning of the end of the US as we know it. After 2 terms of "useless Obama, the drone-strike president" that filled a certain violence-in-other-countries desire in the US, Trump came along and clinched the deal. While the US is still the backbone of Western cooperation, the writing is on the wall. The US autocrats/Nazis/racists are obviously taking over and the western disintegration that Putin was counting on is well in progress. Fortunately for Western, democratic nations, Putin miscalculated grossly - the western disintegration he counted on is not as imminent as he counted on and it will be his demise - be it by sickness, assassination or by Russia eventually being blown to smithereens in the inevitable WW3 remains to be seen. Either way, Putin's grandiose dreams are dead in the water, and so is he. The demise of the US, however, remains in question. The upcoming midterm elections will be a harbinger of things to come: Will the corrupt influences in the US prevail or will the current right-wing overreach be the straw that finally breaks the camel's back? Will the general US voting public be jolted out of it's long-term apathy to overthrow the voter suppression, gerrymandering and general corruption of the US political system, or will apathetic US voters allow the US to become full fascist? A US version of Nazi Germany will be the end of civilization as we know it, one way or another. Decades of misery for the entire world will ensue, followed by a Global Chinese Autocratic Rule. Is that what we want?
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  34. Northern Italy (the most developed and wealthy part of the country) was caught flat-footed when the Covid pandemic hit them. They experienced the worst horrors any society can experience for a while: A saturated health care system, no ICU beds available etc. The US, due to the stupidity and ignorance of Trump and his enablers, is just beginning to experience the horrors the Italians had to endure. Given the typical and Trump-enhanced US ignorance and arrogance, Thanksgiving will be just another Trump-induced super-spreader event. The final death toll will be anyone's guess. European countries have their problems, but they are miniscule compared to the US problems. In most countries a SECOND pandemic wave is a genuine problem that is being properly dealth with while the the US is already losing it's battle with it's THIRD wave. Does anyone really want to live in the US of bloody stupid A? If so, they need to have their heads examined...
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  35. The frequency of severe discrepancies in Thom's videos is suspicious. The soundtrack of this clip is awful, and every now and then these videos have TWO soundtracks out of sync, making the clips unintelligible! Either Thom's team is using crappy equipment or (more likely, this being 'Murica) someone on Thom's team is doing sabotage or (most likely) someone at YouTube is doing the sabotage.
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  36. I have decided on an experiment this year. If I meet an 'Murican in my country that needs aid or directions, I will first ask if he/she is a Republican. If the answer is yes, I am determined to rudely walk away with the words "I do not consort with inhumane idiots"! Of course, if they are in genuine need of aid or comfort, it will be provided - I am not a Right-Wing-type monster devoid of empathy, I just have acquired a thorough disgust with the type.
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  37. One wonders how the right-wing sister in this story is feeling these days. . . My old man got Covid exactly a year ago - and breezed through it in less than 3 days. He turned 93 two months later. When vaccinations for Covid survivors became available this year, talking into getting the jab was easy, even if he is and always has been - by our Icelandic standards - a far-right-winger! Mind you, by 'Murican standards he would actually be called a pink-commie socialist. We have a lot less misinformation and a lot of proper information floating around in my country than you do in the US.
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  38. Two recurring falsehoods have been revered by some 'Muricans for decades. One of them is : "' 'Murica is the Greatest/Best country in the world!". No, it isn't, in fact the American Dream has turned into the American Nightmare over the last 40-50 years. The other falsehood, "This is NOT 'Murica, this is not who we are!", usually chanted when faced with unpleasant truths about what 'Murica has become, is simply an outright denial of obvious facts.
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  39. It does not matter if 'Muricans have been brainwashed with the " 'Murica is the greatest country in the world" and " 'Murica is a country of Law and Order", two of the biggest lies floating around in this centuryhese statements, but the fact remains that 'Murica is a big, fat LIE! 'Murica has been neither Great or law-and-orderly for over 50 years...
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  40. Nothing is for free! The current $17 Trillion difference now ends up as profits for the shareholders and CEOs of the insurance and pharmaceutical companies! Single payer is more efficient by mostly eliminating the for-profit motive of your current system.
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  41. @SARAH Connors, you are hinting that the Corporate democrats cannot be trusted to do anything about this.  Sadly, you are probably correct - at least until enough Justice democrats have been elected to both the House and the Senate. That will take at least several election cycles, and may even never happen.
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  42. Sadly, you (the US) elected this monster. You reap as you sow... There is a simple solution to this: Make sure Trump, Barr, Pompeo etc. receive a massive dose of the Covid virus. Problem solved.
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  43. Why do you do this? The first thought: Because you are stupid? Personally I think the problem is complacency, not stupidity on behalf of the US voter base - this has allowed political crooks (Repugnicans and corporate Democraps) to gerrymander, voter suppress and lie their way to power.
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  44. I'm not 'Murican and no authority on this, but I believe I have read about at least two cases where US presidents with a semblance of a spine simply chose to IGNORE controversial SCOTUS rulings, in effect giving SCOTUS the middle finger! Fact: The SCOTUS has no way of enforcing ANYTHING! To be taken seriously, an entity like the SCOTUS has to have CREDIBILITY, something that is nonexistent these days. The SCOTUS will simply become a joke if the population and the current administration chooses to ignore their blatantly corrupt rulings!
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  45. I have long suspected that radical conservatism (which implies a total disregard for the needs of other people) is a mental disorder. Now we might have to throw perversity into the mix when trying to figure out what goes on in the minds of holier-than-thou Repugnicans.
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  46. What is needed right now is for the pandemic to reach inside the White House. Trump, Pence, Pompeo, these are all old men with various underlying medical problems and they have certainly been very lax regarding preventive measures. If anyone deserves a massive infection, it is Trump...
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  47. What Canada should do to 'Murican truckers that are violating Canadian Traffic Laws is to arrest each and every one of them, impound their rigs and auction them off to cover the cost of dealing with these idiots, and then Canada should make these truckers "persona non grata" for life, banning them from ever entering Canadian territory again. That should be sufficient to cure those bullies. Canada is NOT 'Murica! The Anti-Vaxer idiots might be able to get away with their bullying tactics south of the Canadian border, but they have no right to force their idiocy and bullying on other nations!
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  48. Here I was, believing the original purpose of the ridiculous US Electoral College arrangement was to provide a balance of political influence between large-area-but-sparsely-populated states one one hand, and small-area-but-densely-populated states on the other hand. Most democratic countries have implemented variants of this arrangement, for exactly the same purpose, and EVERY country has had do deal with cunning and sleazy politicians trying to subvert the purpose of this kind of arrangements over the years. Now Thom Hartman comes along, saying this entire arrangement was originally implemented by the founders of the US to prevent the 2016 Trump debacle from happening! Confused? You won't be after this episode of "US democracy!"
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  49. Can we hope that enough sane Republicans remain in the US Congress, and that they will they will STAY sane when the lunatics that have now taken over the gavel in the House start their insane attempts to tear down what remains of democracy in the US Congress. It is not a question of IF, only WHEN and HOW. What is about to happen int he Federal US House of Representatives is likely to be the worst farce in the entire history of the US, and any members of Congress that aid and comfort that effort will go down in infamy, possibly even worse than Benedict Arnold.
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  50. Thom's explanation of Hungary and Orban was interesting. Orban has already managed to corrupt Hungary the way Republicans and Trump have been trying to do to 'Murica.
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