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Bill and the panel had a lively debate about race relations, sex ed, the economy and biofuels. What did you think?
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Posts:
11
Registered:
4/12/08
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(47 of 47)
Re: Tonight's Show 4/4 - Thumbs up or down?
Apr 12, 2008 1:10 PM
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I know that this is not an answer to the last threads that were posted here, but now that I have registered, I would like to answer Bill's comments on the Biofuels.
I am so glad that he reads the incomplete articles in Time magazine. They have also received an email from me about this topic.
Just a note - I am married to a Brazilian and we read the Brazilian newspapers.
What was not mentioned in that lovely little article is the fact that the Amazon is NOT being cut down for biofuels. Also what is not mentioned is that there is a law in place the does prohibit the cutting down of the forest.
It is also not mentioned that only 1% of Brazilian land is used for farming and only 3% of that 1% is used for sugar cane production (and only a portion of that is used for fuel).
Now you ask who is cutting down the forest? Why don't you ask Ethan Allen. They are the largest importer of ILLEGAL (meaning smuggled) Brazilian Amazon wood in the WORLD. So when you buy ANYTHING from Ethan Allan, you too are responisible for the cutting of the Amazon. So keep buying it. 
How about those pharmacuetical companies? They are actually talking about taking Brazil to court because they are not allowed to rape the forest of the items needed to continue making a buck.
Or how about the Oil Companies who are scared that they are going to lose money because biolfuels are such a viable possibility.
Now yes there are people who are cutting down the forest. They are cattle ranchers and soybean producers who feel the need that the rest of the 97% land in Brazil is not suitable for farming. Those people are being sought and prosecuted for doing so.
What is also not said is that since the President of Brazil has taken office that the cutting of the forest has been monitored and responded to in a way that has slowed it down tremendously. BTW it was just reported that the cutting has dropped by 59% in the last three years. The problem is that the forest is so large (about 1/3 of the size of the US) that as soon as they find one, two others have taken his spot. But don't worry, they have 27,000 troops in the Amazon today with plans to increase that to 70,000 in the next five years.
So judge for yourself. I just wish that there was more research done before he comments on things like that.
Oh and one more note - Brazil has GIVEN AWAY their technology for biofuel production as well as technology to help with farming to other countries without ANY strings attached - no royalties - nothing.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/04/10/brazil.biofuel.ap/index.html?iref=newssearch
On another note, at least around here, Urban Sprawl cuts down more trees to the point that the US has only ONE major indigenous forest left because we have cut down the trees. SO why is Brazil being hammered to where we are not? Should it not be illegal in the US to cut down trees?
BTW Bush is working on a plan to allow that forest to be cut down.
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Posts:
2
Registered:
1/12/08
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(46 of 47)
Re: Tonight's Show 4/4 - Thumbs up or down?
Apr 11, 2008 4:45 PM
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Why was the discussion of sex education set as if it is the schools now alone & lets change that to going to the parents Doesn't Amy understand that no one stopped the family from doing education so at this time it is both sources If we stop doing the teaching in the schools things can only get worse for it will be the parents doing it alone & a number of them got where they are by not knowing what to do In the future please use some logic in these discussions rather than just throwing opinions that were not completely thought through
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Posts:
1,159
Registered:
3/21/08
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(45 of 47)
Re: Tonight's Show 4/4 - Thumbs up or down?
Apr 10, 2008 6:05 PM
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Maher asked Reich to explain the financial situation, and then cut him off. I've heard a few people talking about the depth of the problem, that Bear Stearns is only the tip of the iceberg. It's almost impossible to find information. Just thought I'd pass along this excerpt from this month's Harper's, from Lewis Lapham's Notebook:
"...over the past several months the sovereign wealth funds had supplied $60 billion of liquidity to a roster of favored American financial institutions, among them Citigroup and Merrill Lynch, that otherwise might have been exposed to the embarrassment of having to sell the furniture, the silver, and the CEO's daughter."
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Posts:
1
Registered:
4/7/08
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(44 of 47)
Re: Tonight's Show 4/4 - Thumbs up or down?
Apr 7, 2008 1:07 PM
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Mr Maher correctly said that the top5% of the populatiom pay about 57% of the taxes. What he should have added is that the top 5% have approx 96% of the wealth in the US. So my question, if the top 5% have 96% of the money then why are they not paying 96% of the taxes.
D Bell, TN
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Posts:
4
Registered:
4/4/08
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(43 of 47)
Re: Tonight's Show 4/4 - Thumbs up or down?
Apr 7, 2008 11:45 AM
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Thumbs Even,
Two things that left me a little stung were the discussion of education and of the tax burden.
Why do Conservatives like Amy Holmes feel vindicated to complain about the education system when they have had 7 years to work on it. You can't bitch that kids can't read or write without laying blame at the feet of the current administration.
On the tax question...Sorry Bill and Amy but I would much rather hear Robert Reich's opinion on this matter than yours. As a former cabinet member he might be a bit more knowledgeable.
Bill we know Amy is cute but don't let her off the hook for saying stupid things !!
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Posts:
206
Registered:
2/24/05
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(42 of 47)
Re: Tonight's Show 4/4 - Thumbs up or down?
Apr 7, 2008 9:08 AM
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> Anybody who doesn't know the press is right-wing
> can't teach me anything I haven't heard a gazillion
> times before.
>
> If the press were liberal and free, topics would
> become issues and get complicated--we'd be hearing,
> for instance, from the people who lost their homes,
> and learn about, and from, their experience, instead
> of the reductionist 'blame the victim' sound bite.
> It would be a tool for education and enlightenment,
> , something beyond the understanding of people like
> Amy Holmes who doesn't yet or may never have the
> capacity to appreciate the complexities of the human
> experience.
>
> We'd be hearing from educators why millions of
> students are dropping out of school, instead of
> reductionist blame the teachers and drop the subject.
>
>
> We'd be brimming with coverage on important events of
> the day, like the Winter Soldiers testimonials that
> instead get relegated to You Tube. Instead of Rev.
> Wright et al hype and masturbations.
>
> We know what the problems are and how to solve them,
> but unfortunately conservatives have the money and
> power to destroy things, and in the schools and
> everywhere else, they're doing a helluva job.
Great post. The myth of "liberal media" is just that--utterly false. The coup of 2000 could not have happened with a liberal U.S. media, nor could the current war.
Fox News is the least of it. Yes, their propaganda machinery helps to perpetuate the myth, but Fox serves the more important function of making the mainstream media look moderate in comparison.
Yet it was the mainstream U.S. media that turned the 2004 election by giving constant exposure to the so-called "Swift Boat" controversy--something that began with minimally funded commercials shown in a handful of states until CNN, CSNBC, etc. decided to legitimize the vendetta by discussing it 24/7.
For that matter, the "liberal media" also turned the 2000 election to a point where the coup was feasible by portraying Al Gore as a complulsive liar--charges that vanished the day after the election.
And the war? They all helped get the ball rolling and made sure the momentum wasn't stopped by "inconsistencies" about WMDs or anything else. When it started, they were crowing about glorious "shock and awe" as the bombs fell, and embedded reporters were exhilarated to be reporting from speeding tanks headed for Baghdad.
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Posts:
1,159
Registered:
3/21/08
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(41 of 47)
Re: Tonight's Show 4/4 - Thumbs up or down?
Apr 7, 2008 8:29 AM
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Thumbs up until Amy Holmes. I loved the few moments of lively conversation the panel was having until she showed up. The show is predictable, as many have pointed out on these boards, complaining time and again how conservatives shout down and talk over whatever bright, articulate person happens to be speaking so they can make their narrow, shallow point on some complex issue they know less than nothing about.
I watch RT on Sunday mornings for the progressive viewpoints, after Bill Moyers Journal. The contrast is striking, going from a quiet, thoughtful, educational program where I get to be enlightened by smart people.
I choose my programs and media carefully, so very often I end up only half-listening to RT. I heard Bill ask Reich to explain the financial situation, and then cut him off, and then Holmes start in talking over people like all the ignorant conservatives do. Sorry, but I don't need to hear the dumbed down conservative claptrap.
I live the nightmare they created nearly every day, so it becomes an exercise in masochism to sit and listen to them when I have to go out into the world and pick up the pieces of human wreckage caused by their selfish, self-serving policies. I don't watch CNN or Fox or MSNBC or the major networks bcz I can't stand being lied to and manipulated, especially by people that aren't smarter than me.
Anybody who doesn't know the press is right-wing can't teach me anything I haven't heard a gazillion times before.
If the press were liberal and free, topics would become issues and get complicated--we'd be hearing, for instance, from the people who lost their homes, and learn about, and from, their experience, instead of the reductionist 'blame the victim' sound bite. It would be a tool for education and enlightenment, something beyond the understanding of people like Amy Holmes who doesn't yet or may never have the capacity to appreciate the complexities of the human experience.
We'd be hearing from educators why millions of students are dropping out of school, instead of reductionist blame the teachers and drop the subject.
We'd be brimming with coverage on important events of the day, like the Winter Soldiers testimonials that instead get relegated to You Tube. Instead of Rev. Wright et al hype and masturbations.
We know what the problems are and how to solve them, but unfortunately conservatives have the money and power to destroy things, and in the schools and everywhere else, they're doing a helluva job.
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Posts:
7
Registered:
4/5/08
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(40 of 47)
Re: Tonight's Show 4/4 - Thumbs up or down?UP! Five stars!
Apr 6, 2008 9:35 PM
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I agree! Exactly my point!
Bill Clinton was wrong, but the exposure nationally , and internationally was worse.(After all Bill only wanted to be exposed in the oval office  ...)
As I said, in some cases ignorance is bliss.
So what to do! Vote for McCain, and his hundred year war(wake up McCain The Muslims have been at war for thousands of years, you have no magical fix...Saddam is dead, he paid for the genocide, it's time to re-build America and stop playing Big Brother). Or vote for Hillary, and have The Clintons back in The White House(better economically). Or vote for Obama, brainwashed by rev Wright for how many years?
I say we do not have much to choose from.
Romney was pushed out of the race in the name of religion. At least he did not believe in having a hundred year war.
I'll probably write in my candidate, and I'm a republican(yes I admit it! I used to be a democrat I'll admit that too. I did not leave the democratic party, they left me, when they decided that babies should be murdered in the womb). Hillary is the lesser of the three evils. At least with Hillary, she can take something for PMS when she feles like blowing up something, instead of keeping us in another Viet Nam. Maybe her grandma gene will kick in, and she will stand up for the rights of the unborn.
Write MaCain a letter and let him know we lost that war. McCain needs to wake up and realize how many lives that war cost. How many lives have been lost already in Iraq, and how long the Muslem sects have been warring with each other, and us infidels.
We live in a country that murders helpless babies in the womb. The pro chioce groups in Florida are trying to prevent a Bill from passing, that requires sonagrams before a woman goes through with an abortion. They are saying "it is not cost effective"..Yeah right! What they mean is "the jigs up". A sonogram shows the little baby in the womb, that the "pro choice camp, want people to believe is not a baby!(pro-choice= choice for everyone, except the helpless little baby in the womb, who is at the butchers mercy).
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rhymeskiss
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Edited by LaRene at 04/06/2008 6:38 PM PDT
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Posts:
40
Registered:
7/1/07
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(39 of 47)
Re: Tonight's Show 4/4 - Thumbs up or down?
Apr 6, 2008 7:30 PM
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It was a typical Bill show!
Bill has to carry the show, sometimes he can other times, well.
The panal was the same ole same .
How about bringing back some more of the old Bill, whatever that was I can't remember anymore.
I look forward to your show Bill, but something is missing.
Maybe we are just so bored of Obama and Hillary.
Oh and McCain too.
See you
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Posts:
245
Registered:
4/16/07
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(38 of 47)
Re: Tonight's Show 4/4 - Thumbs up or down?
Apr 6, 2008 7:30 PM
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Someone else here accused Bill of humiliating Arlen Specter. I saw it just the opposite. A participant in the biggest lie in the history of this country was given the opportunity by Bill to appear cute and lovable.
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Posts:
10
Registered:
4/4/08
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(37 of 47)
Re: Tonight's Show 4/4 - Thumbs up or down?
Apr 6, 2008 4:19 PM
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Bill, In watching your show on 4/4/08 you made a mention of the income tax paid by middle to low income. Well, let me show you my paycheck! on average I pay 29% if I work overtime to help pay bills that jumps to 40% need proof look at my paystub. If you dont think that is my fair share your mistaken, I make less than $35,000 per year and after taxes I still have to pay for my health care.
My next issue is with the new Biofuel! Who do we beleive and if its bad for the environment then why are we using it? Also, if its going to creat higher prices on food costs because the farmers want to cash in on the growing demand for alternate fuels where is the justice. Im already paying too much for gas and no one can tell me why. How can the big corporations be making billons on fuel sales and say they are paying their fair share?
A little more on this subject would be nice, and ask the people what the stats are, we are the ones that work and pay for alot of the amenities that others get the advantage of. I can barely keep my house let alone food on the table. I think the show went off topic.
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Posts:
630
Registered:
1/17/08
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(36 of 47)
Re: Tonight's Show 4/4 - Thumbs up or down?UP! Five stars!
Apr 6, 2008 2:49 PM
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> I don't think the Clintons traumatized America. It
> was something that never should have been a national
> issue in the first place. You don't need to look at
> many leaders in the "international community" to find
> plenty with their pants down.
>
Heck, we've got some senators and congressmen who have done much worse and are still in office.
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Posts:
1
Registered:
4/6/08
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(35 of 47)
Re: Tonight's Show 4/4 /Youtube film mentioned by Esai Morales
Apr 6, 2008 12:21 PM
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Greetings..
Good show..
I was wondering if anyone remembers or knows of the film that Esai Morales was referring to on YouTube.. Bill glossed over it. I would like to see what Esai was tallkng about..
Thanks.
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Posts:
206
Registered:
2/24/05
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(34 of 47)
Re: Tonight's Show 4/4 - Thumbs up or down?UP! Five stars!
Apr 6, 2008 10:38 AM
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> In all fairness, The Clinton's "DID" traumatize
> America with that scandle!
> That was no laughing matter.
> The international community catching Bill with his
> pants down, was a desgrace to America.
> We did not approve of the old CIA tactics, but at
> least America was not embarrased by our president
> when the CIA was able to stiffle that type of
> indescretion.
I don't think the Clintons traumatized America. It was something that never should have been a national issue in the first place. You don't need to look at many leaders in the "international community" to find plenty with their pants down.
Sure, it is rather embarrassing to have a leader who has such little self-control in his personal life, and yes, if you are president, your personal life becomes part of your professional life. But I never took the scandal seriously enough to think that he should be removed from office. And some of the loudest voices crying out for his impeachment were found engaging in similar activities later.
It was the hypocrisy of those who escalated it into a national crisis that I object to, and that's why I thought Amy uttering it with her ever-earnest expression was ludicrous. And I say this as someone who is no huge fan of the Clintons.
I agree that Bill has her on in the interest of balance, but surely he can find a more articulate, insightful conservative for the panel. Most of the time it's either P. J. O' Rourke or Amy, though occasionally a Republican congressman will come on to take the heat.
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Posts:
7
Registered:
4/5/08
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(33 of 47)
Re: Tonight's Show 4/4 - Thumbs up or down?UP! Five stars!
Apr 6, 2008 2:24 AM
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In all fairness, The Clinton's "DID" traumatize America with that scandle!
That was no laughing matter.
The international community catching Bill with his pants down, was a desgrace to America.
We did not approve of the old CIA tactics, but at least America was not embarrased by our president when the CIA was able to stiffle that type of indescretion.
Sorry to disagree but in that case, Ignorance would have been bliss.
And while were on the subject, how do we have The Clintons back in The White House as president(s), and risk history repeating itself?
Forget about the drama used to make Hillary the victim, for the sake of the election(the tears in RH...ETC..), You have to admit, that Hillary is pretty brave even being in the public eye after that whole embarassment.
On Amy, I think she is good at skating, instead of answering the questions posed. I don't recall one straight answer from her. Okay, maybe one. The question on abstinance and teens.
She is pleasant, so maybe that's why Bill has her on the show. A little ballance from the, in your face attitudes of some of the guests.
Have A Blessed Day!
LaRene
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rhymeskiss
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