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Thom's blog
It's time for Republicans to do some real work
Congress is back from vacation, but that doesn't mean Republicans are ready to get to work. Senate Democrats have already scheduled a test vote to restore unemployment insurance, but Republicans say they won't approve an extension without something in return. As of December 28th, 1.3 million Americans lost their long-term unemployment benefits, but Senate Republicans want more spending cuts or other concessions before passing another emergency extension.
As if that wasn't bad enough, Republicans in the House of Representatives plan to focus again on repealing Obamacare, rather than on helping to restore this financial lifeline for more than one million Americans. On Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said, "Republicans in Congress have to get away from being a Republican in Congress. They are just out of touch with what's going on in America today." In other words, Republican lawmakers are worried more about facing a primary challenger than about doing what's right for the American public and our economy.
There should be nothing more important to our elected leaders than ensuring Americans aren't going hungry or ending up in the street. We must make it clear to our lawmakers that if they don't do what's right for Americans - and restore unemployment benefits now - than we will elect new leaders who will.
-Thom
(What do you think? Tell us here.) |
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Bring progressive talk back to Portland, OR
A dedicated team in Portland, Oregon is trying to bring progressive talk back to their city with a station called XRAY.fm. The video for their Kickstarter campaign tells the story of a station fighting back against media consolidation. You should see it:
Portland is where my show really got its start, on KPOJ AM 620. Now, when you Google "Thom Hartmann Portland" the first result is for a Fox Sports Radio station. This is all because Clear Channel (owned by Bain Capital) killed Portland's only progressive talk station in 2012, just days after the general election, and replaced it with a Fox sports station. With over 850 radio stations, Clear Channel is the largest radio conglomerate in the United States.
Clear Channel is just a part of the problem of media consolidation. In the US, over 90% of the media we watch, listen to, and read is owned by a handful of media conglomerates. It's not all bad news though.
Dozens of community organizations applied for radio licenses with the FCC in 2013, many of them aided by XRAY.fm. Right now, we have the opportunity to help a new and growing movement of independent broadcasters. Progressives around the country are coming together to help build stations like XRAY.fm. Let's join them.
XRAY.fm will bring the Thom Hartmann Program back to Portland FM radio alongside my friend and former colleague Carl Wolfson. Their programming will include independent DJs, local cultural figures, and progressive talk that reflects their values. They will also stream their programming online so that fans around the world can listen.
-Thom
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Tonight on The Big Picture on RT TV at 7pm and 9pm... 10 years later, Bin Laden & Al Qaida have won (check your local listings for stations or stream at RT, and catch past shows on Youtube)
Watch the video 'Last Hours' narrated by Thom Hartmann about the "time bomb" that is ticking underground, underwater and under ice... frozen methane that is now escaping and could trigger runaway climate change. www.lasthours.org
Have a question or comment for Thom? Grab your phone, hit record and send your video to YourTakeMyTake@gmail.com and we may air it on "The Big Picture."
Need to Know: 10 years later, Bin Laden & Al Qaida have won...- Robert Parry, Consortium News 
Screwed: Secret court says keep on spying...- Beatrice Edwards, Government Accountability Project
Deep freeze for Detroit worker pensions...- Pastor D. Alexander Bullock, Change Agent Consortium (ActionCAC)
The Best of the Rest...
Politically Corrected: Are you Watching news or an infomercial?
Everything You Know is Wrong...about Decoding Your Dog- Dr. Debra Horwitz DVM, Decoding Your Dog
Daily Take: Who are the REAL Obamacare hypocrites?
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Friday's Daily Stack 
Hour One: If it's Friday, it's "Brunch With Bernie"... the honorable Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) joins Thom with all the news from our nation's capitol and as always he'll be spending the hour taking your calls and answering your questions too... Follow Bernie:    campaign site.
Hour Two: Thom talks with Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) about unemployment insurance and raising the federal minimum wage...
Hour Three: Anything Goes Friday |
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Monday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 3-6pm ET
Hour One: Libertarian model for tobacco..."go ahead and die?"- J.D. Tuccille, Reason
Hour Two: Who are the REAL Obamacare hypocrites?
Hour Three: Why FDR's "four freedoms" are REAL freedoms- Professor Harvey Kaye, The Fight for the Four Freedoms: What Made FDR and the Greatest Generation Truly Great
And, the best of the rest of the news and your calls right here on...
The Thom Hartmann Program...your media support group for "we the people"...
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Tuesday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 3-6pm ET
We'll have all the news and information you won't hear from the corporate owned news media...
Plus, later this year we'll be voting in the midterm elections...will an evolutionist be on your ballot? Not if conservative Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association has a say in it... I'll challenge Bryan to see what has him so hot and bothered on this issue...
Plus, we'll be taking your calls too! Right here on...The Thom Hartmann Program...
AND...Don't forget...Democracy is NOT a spectator sport...it begins with you...
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Thank you for being part of our ever growing community for News, Debate and Opinion on the Thom Hartmann Program.
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Sincerely,
The Thom Hartmann Program |
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Thom's Poll
Will the NSA admit to spying on members of Congress?
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Watch & Listen to Thom
Time to Close the Red State Donut Hole
Crazy Alert - The Real Duck Dynasty!
Geeky Science - Catastrophic Climate Change On The Way
Your Take / My Take Live - About Fukushima
Military poisoned by Fukushima radiation
Clemency for Edward Snowden?
Or watch the Full "Big Picture" Show...
Full Show 1/3/14: Poll: U.S. Biggest Threat to World Peace
Tonight's "Big Picture Rumble" discusses the expansion of Medicaid under Obamacare, how raising the minimum wage would lift millions out of poverty and a new global survey revealing that the world views the U.S. as the most significant threat to world peace. In tonight's "Conversations with Great Minds" Thom discusses obesity and urban farming with the National League of Cities' Tracy Wiedt and Bellisimo's Gino Campana and Kristin Kirkpatrick.
The Thom Hartmann Program - January 3, 2014
Senator Sherrod Brown: We must fix unemployment benefits!
Brunch with Bernie - January 3, 2014 |
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Show Info
Call Thom on the show at 1-866-987-THOM (8466) (0870 974 9686 from the UK).
Sign up for Thom's podcasts.
Come on over to the free chat room, where Thom hangs out during the show.
Join in the discussions on Thom's free message board.
Blog or upload videos or audios at Thom's community.
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 Would you like to help give a child with a very troubled background this feeling of peace? Thom and Louise Hartmann founded the New England Salem Children's Village (NESCV) in New Hampshire in 1979. With states delaying payment for the children they entrust to the village, they need help with cash flow. Can you help? Now on Facebook. |
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