Thom Hartmann

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Thom Hartmann

Thom Hartmann (b. May 7, 1951) is an American broadcaster, three-time Project Censored Award Winning New York Times bestselling author, and former psychotherapist. He is a lay scholar of the history and textual analysis of the United States Constitution, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), electronic voting fraud, and environmental issues such as global warming.

Hartmann hosts a 3-hour progressive talk radio program syndicated by Air America Radio, begun in March of 2003. Hartmann's original article "Talking Back To Talk Radio" became part of the original business plan of Air America Radio. He replaced Al Franken on the network, live noon-3 PM ET, on February 19, 2007.

1 Biography
2 Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
3 Bibliography
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Biography

Hartmann was born in Lansing, Michigan and became interested in politics at a young age. He reportedly campaigned for Barry Goldwater during the U.S. presidential election, 1964. By 1967 Hartmann was studying at Michigan State University and working as part-time news announcer at local country-music station WITL while protesting the Vietnam War with Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

Hartmann is considered to have progressive / liberal politics (although he describes himself as part of the radical middle) ^[1]. He is the author of numerous books including Unequal Protection: The Rise of Corporate Dominance and Theft of Human Rights, in which he argues that the 1886 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Company (118 U.S. 394) did not actually grant corporate personhood, and that this doctrine derives from a mistaken interpretation of a Supreme Court reporter's notes. Hartmann considers this a clear contradiction of the intent of the Founding Fathers of the United States. ^[2] He has also written on the separation of Church and State, drawing upon the Federalist Papers to argue that the Founding Fathers warned against the notion of The United States of America being a Christian nation. He contends that the 2000 American election and 2004 American election were stolen through electronic tampering, denial of the voting franchise by rigged voting lists, and limiting availability of voting machines. He also raises the issue of the erosion of democracy and of individual freedoms by the Bush Administration.

Hartmann is also a vocal critic of the effects of globalization on the U.S. economy, claiming that economic policies enacted since the presidency of Ronald Reagan have led, in large part, to many American industrial enterprises being acquired by multinational firms based in overseas countries, leading in many cases to manufacturing jobs - once considered a major foundation of the U.S. economy - being relocated to countries in Asia and other areas where the costs of labor are lower than in the U.S.; and the concurrent reversal of the United States' traditional role of a leading exporter of finished manufacured goods to that of a primary importer of finished manufactured goods (exemplified by massive trade deficits with countries such as China); Hartmannn argues that this phenomenon is leading to the erosion of the American middle class, whose survival Hartmann deems critical to the survival of American democracy. This argument is expressed in Hartmann's 2006 book, Screwed: The Undeclared War Against The Middle Class and What We Can Do About It.

He has been hosting a local talk show in Portland, Oregon since 2005 on KPOJ, an affiliate of Air America Radio and owned by Clear Channel Communications. The local show, 6–9 am PT with co-host Heidi Tauber, precedes his national program; Hartmann does 6 hours a day of live talk radio, 5 days a week. Following the departure of the Air America network's The Al Franken Show on February 15, 2007, Hartmann's program automatically replaced Franken on most Air America affiliates. [3] However, not all affiliates picked up his show when Franken's show stopped. Most notably, XM Satellite Radio elected to carry Ed Schultz in lieu of Hartmann, despite XM having an exclusive deal to carry Air America content. [4]

There is a new wave of fans who refer to Hartmann as Thom "The Hitmann" Hartmann, a tribute to former wrestling superstar Bret "The Hitman" Hart. They feel that Hartmann is a voice for the people, and that he "stands up to the bad guys and fights for law, order, and justice" similar to the way his near-namesake took on rasslin' bad guys in that ring.

He often debates members of the Ayn Rand Institute [5] and conservatives. Several of his debates, including one involving Bill Bennett at The Heritage Foundation, were carried on C-Span, although most of them occur on his own radio program.

Of his various books, the one which won the most critical acclaim is The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight. In 1999 he was invited by the Dalai Lama to spend a week in Dharamsala after reading his book. ^[6] Thom Hartmann won the Project Censored Award in 2004 for his book Unequal Protection ^[7] As a result of his book on spirituality, The Prophet's Way, he was invited in 1998 to meet Pope John Paul II.

Leonardo DiCaprio made a web movie titled "Global Warning" that was "inspired by The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight by Thom Hartmann" and is available on DiCaprio's website [8]. Hartmann will appear in DiCaprio's 2007 documentary "The 11th Hour" about the fate and future of humanity.

[edit] Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

Hartmann has authored in the area of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD or ADHD) and adult attention-deficit disorder (AADD) and he is the creator (first proposed by him in 1978, first published nationally in 1992) of the now well-known hunter vs. farmer theory - that ADD is an expected evolutionary adaptation to hunting lifestyles. These individuals have the ability to rapidly shift their focus and external attention and to hold multiple trains of thought. This causes difficulties when they must live and work in cultures in which "farming" - well-planned, predictable, organized and repetitive behaviours are typical. Hartmann has established specialized schools for children with AD/HD. ^[9]

[edit] Bibliography

2006 Screwed: The Undeclared War Against The Middle Class and What We Can Do About It. Berrett-Koehler. ISBN 1-57675-414-6.
2006 Walking Your Blues Away: Practical Bilateral Therapies for Healing the Mind and Optimizing Emotional Well-Being. Park Street Press. ISBN 1-59477-144-8.
2005 Ultimate Sacrifice: John and Robert Kennedy, the Plan for a Coup in Cuba, and the Murder of JFK. Carroll & Graf. ISBN 0-7867-1441-7.
2004 What Would Jefferson Do?. Harmony Books. ISBN 1-4000-5208-4.
2004 (revised ed.): Unequal Protection. Rodale Books. ISBN 1-57954-955-1.
2004 (revised ed. - first ed. 1998): The Prophet's Way. Park Street Press. ISBN 0-89281-198-6.
2004 (revised ed. - first ed. 1997): Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight. Three Rivers Press. ISBN 1-4000-5157-6.
2003: The Edison Gene. Park Street Press. ISBN 0-89281-128-5.
2000: Thom Hartmann's Complete Guide to ADD. Underwood Books. ISBN 1-887424-52-0.
2000: The Greatest Spiritual Secret of the Century. Hampton Roads. ISBN 1-57174-166-6.
1996: Beyond ADD. Underwood Books. ISBN 1-887424-12-1.
1996: Think Fast!. Underwood Books. ISBN 1-887424-08-3.
1995: ADD Success Stories. Underwood Books. ISBN 1-887424-03-2.
1994: Focus Your Energy: Hunting for Success in Business. Pocket Books. ISBN 0-671-51689-2.
1994: ADHD Secrets of Success: Coaching Yourself to Fulfillment in the Business World. Select Books. ISBN 1-59079-017-0.
1992 (first edition): ADD: A Different Perception. Underwood Books. ISBN 1-887424-14-8.