Thom Hartmann apologizes to Keith Olbermann for calling him pro-war

[90-percent]

11. thanks radiclib

If I have posted worthwhile things on DU, it's because I have stood on the shoulders of DU giants. To be self critical, most of my stuff I consider to be mediocre regurgitation of ideas and info found elsewhere.

As I strive to channel the writing styles of Frank Zappa and Hunter S. Thompson, I adhere to FZ's approach to his career; "First don't stop. Second, keep going."

And one thing I recently understood better is the Nazi/Fox News BIG LIE technique of repeating something enough times and it becomes true. If that can work with lies, imagine the impact when you do the same thing with truth, reason and facts!

And there's so much that bears repeating. I think I repost George Carlin's "Corporations Own You" every six months and it always scores over 5 rec's every time.

And I've learned that such profound classic thinking is not necessarily included in the set of root concepts every DU member includes in their core P.O.V. So it's lot more constructive than I realized that there's so much info out there that bears repeating and reinforcement.

And DU is preaching to the choir, so I've recently been doing a lot of DU type posts over at Facebook, where some of my best friends are Conservative. And I try to engage those types in the manner of Thom Hartmann, respectful and dignified but firm on where I stand. Which results in comments like this: "Jim...you're one of the few liberals I've engaged who can conjure a critical thought and write it down...I think the others can agree...which is why we're engaging you." I'm sick of the divide and conquer tactics of the Oligarchs and it's my belief we have more in common than our differences.

And, as long as I'm blathering, one of the most hurtful things I experienced on DU was when I posted a link to a drudge or a newsmax type item to discuss oppo research. And I was shut down 5 to 1 by a DU jury. Tried and convicted by a jury of my peers for being a right wing troll. My feelings were really hurt by that one, as it happened less than a year ago, after I'd been here perhaps nine years. Like I spent nine years and 4,500 posts to go deep undercover so I could slip in one subversive piece of righty propaganda.

And while I'm being so self absorbed, one thing I'm most proud of with my half assed activism is when I went to the September 10, 2009 Tea Party Rally at the state Capital in Hartford carrying a sign that read; "Tea Baggers are astroturf puppets of fascist corporations." That could not suck enough, as I did not run into one single counter protester. And I have never seen a pic of myself on the internet. I was hoping to become the right wing version of the "Get a brain Morans!" guy.

And I was happy to go see Chris Hedges speak at Central CT State University in New Britain last March. I spoke to him after the talk, and as disappointed to find out, although he was there reporting the Czechoslovakia Velvet Revolution, he had no awareness what so ever of Frank Zappa's role in helping that revolution come to be in the first place. Oh, well. At least Frank got to pal around with Vaclev Havel for a while.

A very interesting point about Chris speech. During the Q&A, (which was not part of this recording) a lawyer spoke to Chris about why the legal profession is utterly impotent about righting any of the legal wrongs that have been piling up over the years. He had participated in some Occupy cases, and he got the word from somebody up high in the Bar Association, or whatever Guild all lawyers belong to, with the chilling message that was something like; "Nice law practice you have there. Wouldn't want anything to happen to it if you continue to represent these OWS people, would you?"

And I mention that because doesn't the legal profession have an important Constitutional Role to insure checks and balances are working properly to keep our Democracy a Democracy? Most of the legal profession has remained utterly mute as our Constitutional rights have continued to be rendered inoperative since 9-11. Just one more of the checks and balances dismantled over the last thirty years as the Oligarch's reshape our country into a Middle Ages Paradise for the elites, and drudgery and suffering and hopelessness for the rest of us.

Chris has covered Revolutions and he said all that's needed is for one percent of the population to be engaged in the profound change that triggers a revolution. So if us Revolutionary 1%'ers want to git 'er done, we better bone up on Chris' body of work. He's got the roadmap.

-jim