Donald Trump refused to brief the only branch of government that has the power to make war about his attack on Iranian General Soleimani. He never notified the senior officials, referred to as the Gang of Eight, in the House and Senate.Instead, he gave a briefing to his high dollar donors in Florida, and essentially bragged that he didn't even need a reason beyond that "this guy was bad mouthing America." This is shocking. Had Barack Obama done anything like this, the Republicans would've immediately impeached him.

The biggest struggle America is going to be facing over the next few years is recalibrating what "normal" means. Donald Trump, and the other Republicans supported by the billionaire class who follow him, have so distorted our norms that we stand on the edge of this country becoming a total and irreversible oligarchy.

The immune system the Framers built into our form of government is elections; if the elections this year don't throw the Republicans out of power in state after state and at virtually every federal level, it's not inconceivable that this country will be so severely damaged that democracy will not survive in this republic.

-Thom

Monday's Daily Stack

Article: "Martin Luther King Jr. Day: How America is honoring the civil-rights hero" by Vandana Rambaran.

Article: "Thousands rally in Virginia's capital for gun rights" by AP.

Article: "What MLK Would Think Today" by Rohn Kenyatta.

Article: "The Democrats' Best Choices For President" by NY Times.

Case: "Brown v. Board Of Education", 1954 (Segregation in public schools) (overturned Plessy v. Ferguson).

Article: "Civil Rights Act of 1964" by Wikipedia.

Law: "Voting Rights Act of 1965".

Article: "The Impeachment Trial Begins Tuesday: What You Need To Know" by Isabel Togoh.

Article: "Senate impeachment trial rules: No phones and no talking for senators" by CNN.

Article: "Parnas Says He's 'Scared' Of DOJ, Claims Trump's Power Has Grown Under AG Barr" by Sanjana Karanth, Nick Visser.

Video: Special: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in His Own Words ("Beyond Vietnam" and "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speeches).

Article: "CNN Unearths Video of Alan Dershowitz Endorsing Impeachment of Any President Who 'Corrupts the Office' and 'Abuses Trust'" by Reed Richardson. "It certainly doesn't have to be a crime if you have somebody who completely corrupts the office of president and who abuses trust and who poses great danger to our liberty, you don't need a technical crime."

Article: "Alan Dershowitz Flings Theory That Abuse Of Power Is Not Impeachable" by Red Painter. "But abuse of power, even if proved, is not an impeachable offense. That's exactly what the framers rejected. They didn't want to give Congress the authority to remove a President because he abused his power. They have to prove treason, bribery, or they have to prove other crimes and misdemeanors. "Other" refers to crimes of the kind such as treason and bribery."

Article: "Madison's notes on the Constitutional Convention of 1787: July 20, 1787" by James Madison.

Quote: "Mr. P[INKNEY] observd. he ought not to be impeachable whilst in office" - James Madison.

Quote: " Shall the man who has practised corruption & by that means procured his appointment in the first instance, be suffered to escape punishment, by repeating his guilt?" - Col. Mason.

Quote: "Docr. FRANKLIN was for retaining the clause as favorable to the Executive. History furnishes one example only of a first Magistrate being formally brought to public Justice. Every body cried out agst. this as unconstitutional. What was the practice before this in cases where the chief Magistrate rendered himself obnoxious? Why recourse was had to assassination in wch. he was not only deprived of his life but of the opportunity of vindicating his character. It wd.. be the best way therefore to provide in the Constitution for the regular punishment of the Executive where his misconduct should deserve it, and for his honorable acquittal when he should be unjustly accused." - James Madison.

Quote: "Mr. Govr. MORRIS admits corruption & some few other offences to be such as ought to be impeachable; but thought the cases ought to be enumerated & defined:" - James Madison.

Quote: "Mr. MADISON thought it indispensable that some provision should be made for defending the Community agst. the incapacity, negligence or perfidy of the chief Magistrate. The limitation of the period of his service, was not a sufficient security. He might lose his capacity after his appointment. He might pervert his administration into a scheme of peculation or oppression" - James Madison.

Quote: "Mr. GERRY urged the necessity of impeachments. A good magistrate will not fear them. A bad one ought to be kept in fear of them." - James Madison.

Quote: "Mr. RANDOLPH. The propriety of impeachments was a favorite principle with him. Guilt wherever found ought to be punished. The Executive will have great opportunitys of abusing his power; particularly in time of war when the military force, and in some respects the public money will be in his hands. Should no regular punishment be provided, it will be irregularly inflicted by tumults & insurrections." - James Madison.

Quote: "Doctr. FRANKLIN mentioned the case of the Prince of Orange during the late war. An agreement was made between France & Holland; by which their two fleets were to unite at a certain time & place. The Dutch fleet did not appear. Every body began to wonder at it. At length it was suspected that the Statholder was at the bottom of the matter. This suspicion prevailed more & more. Yet as he could not be impeached and no regular examination took place, he remained in his office, and strengthening his own party, as the party opposed to him became formidable, he gave birth to the most violent animosities & contentions. Had he been impeachable, a regular & peaceable enquiry would have taken place and he would if guilty have been duly punished, if innocent restored to the confidence of the public." - James Madison.

Article: "I Have A Dream: Full Text March On Washington Speech" by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Article: "Discovery doctrine"(doctrine of discovery) by Wikipedia.

Article: "The Powell Memo or Powell Manifesto".

Article: "Extremist groups descending on Virginia are using Facebook to promote violence " by Judd Legum.

Article: "Bill Maher warns liberals not to 'hate' Trump supporters: 'That way lies civil war'" by Jessica Chasmar.

Article: "Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan & Kevin McCarthy: Plot To Sabotage US Economy with Frank Luntz" (caucus room conspiracy) by keepemhonest.

Article: "House Democrats have passed nearly 400 bills. Trump and Republicans are ignoring them." by Ella Nilsen.

Article: "Trump claims Suleimani was 'saying bad things' about US before deadly strike" by Martin Pengelly.

Article: "West Virginia's Large-Scale Purge Raises Concerns Among Voters" by Jonathan Brater.

Article: "Supreme Court gives Ohio right to purge thousands of voters from its rolls" by Pete Williams.

Hour Two: MLK life, death & legacy
- Joe Madison, The Joe Madison Show/SiriusXM Urban View

Book: Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? by Martin Luther King Jr.

Book: Strength to Love by Martin Luther King Jr.

Quote: "Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." - Martin Luther King Jr.

Article: "Charlottesville car attack" by Wikipedia.

Quote: "May they always inspire you with their vision and their valor, may their lives continuously remind each and every one of you that service is more important that success, that people are more important than possessions, and most important of all, that principle is more important than power." - Joe Madison.

Article: "John Lewis (civil rights leader)" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Selma to Montgomery marches" (Bloody Sunday) by Wikipedia.

Article: "Edmund Pettus Bridge".

Article: "John Lewis returns to House floor just weeks after cancer diagnosis" by CBS46.

Article: "Alan Berg" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Edmund Pettus" by Wikipedia.

Petition: "Rename the Edmund Pettus Bridge for Congressman John Lewis".

Book: Root Shock: How Tearing Up City Neighborhoods Hurts America, And What We Can Do About It by Mindy Thompson Fullilove.

Site: Poor People's Campaign.

Book: How the Irish Became White by Noel Ignatiev.

Article: "Wells Fargo to pay $175 million in race discrimination probe" by Rick Rothacker, David Ingram.

Site: Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

Site: American Civil Liberties Union.

Site: Free Speech TV

Hour Three: How Factory Farms Are Harming Your Health
- Tia Schwab, Independent Journalist, contributor to Truthout & a former Stone Pier Press news fellow

Article: "Factory Farm Conditions Are Unhealthy for Animals and Bad for People, Too" by Tia Schwab.

Article: "He helped make burgers safer. Now he's fighting food poisoning again." by Kimberly Kindy.

Article: "Tightened rules for antibiotics for food livestock go into effect" by Helen Branswell.

Video: Greta and George, the best short video of 2019.

Article: "'Our Planet Is Seriously Burning and the Adults Keep Letting Us Down': Ninth Circuit Throws Out Youth Climate Case" by Jon Queally.

Article: "Ninth Circuit Concludes US Government and Fossil Fuels Responsible for Grave Harms; Abdicates its Role to Remedy those Harms in Juliana v United States" by Baskut Tuncak.

Article: "The climate change lawsuit that could stop the U.S. government from supporting fossil fuels" (Juliana v. United States) by Steve Kroft.

Article: "'Where Is the Hope?' After Juliana v. U.S. Lawsuit Gets Tossed by Federal Court" by Olivia Rosane.

Article: "Atlantic City mayor: Tear down 'eyesore' of ex-Trump casino" by AP.

Site: USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

Article: "An Ivanka Trump Trademark For Voting Machines Was Approved By China - Here's What That Means" by Angela Chen.

Article: "Bacteriophage" by Wikipedia.

Article: "The Hidden History of the War on Voting: Who Stole Your Vote and How to Get It Back" by Thom Hartmann.

Article: "Assassination of John F. Kennedy" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Million Man March" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Trouble Every Day (song)" by Frank Zappa.

Article: "Watts riots" by Wikipedia.

Article: "More Trouble Every Day Lyrics" by Frank Zappa.

Article: "National Firearms Act" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Escherichia coli O157:H7" (E. coli)by Wikipedia.

Video: How to green the world's deserts and reverse climate change | Allan Savory.

Site: Safety Recall Advocates.

Tuesday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 12-3pm ET

We'll have the latest news and information...everything you need to know to win the water cooler wars...

And, the best of the rest of the news along with your calls right here on...

The Thom Hartmann Program, Occupying The Media 3 hours a day 5 days a week" for "we the people"

And don't forget...Democracy is NOT a spectator sport...it begins with you...

Martin Luther King Jr's Radical Legacy!

What's After We Get Single Payer Healthcare?

Debate: Do Libertarians Want The Freedom To Starve?

Is Ending Nuclear Power The Best Way To End Nuclear Waste?

Mon, Feb 17, 7:30pm PT: Berkeley Arts & Letter Series.

Wed, Feb 19, 7:30pm PT: Seattle Town Hall.

Sun, Feb 23, TBA: Blue State Ball.

Fri, Feb 28, 7:30pm PT: Powell's, 1005 W Burnside St., Portland.

Sun, Mar 1,TBA: Chicago Book Store - TBA.