In an oligarchy, loyalty is more important than science or even reality. And, with the Trump administration, it appears that America has finally slipped into full-blown oligarchy. The question is whether we will recover from it and return to democracy, or whether the Trump oligarchy will cause America to descend into tyranny.

The latest example of Trump's oligarchic governance is his firing the man responsible for developing a coronavirus vaccine here in the United States because he wouldn't help Trump and Fox News promote chloroquine as a phony cure for COVID-19. Trump fired Dr. Bright at the same time that Germany is starting clinical trials on their own vaccine.

Meanwhile, Betsy DeVos is pushing "micro grants" for education, which is the new word for "vouchers." The EPA continues to loosen regulations that protect us from cancer-causing chemicals, the Interior Department continues to sell off American land for pennies on the dollar to big mining and drillingoperations, and the Fed, in violation of the law, is continuing to buy corporate bonds and stocks, artificially supporting the stock market. At almost every level of the federal government now we are seeing grifters and hustlers doing everything they can to support the Trump oligarchy, while physicians like Dr. Birx and Dr. Fauci are having to humiliate themselves in public by bowing and scraping before Trump.

Will this national nightmare continue for another 4 1/2 years? Have we passed the point of no return? Or can America recover from the Trump oligarchy?

-Thom

Thursday's Daily Stack

Article: "Elizabeth Warren's oldest brother dies of covid-19" by Annie Linskey and Felicia Sonmez.

Article: "Top Government Vaccine Expert Fired for Questioning Trump's Fake Science" by Jonathan Chait.

Article: "Trump says he doesn't know doctor fired for pushback on hydroxychloroquine, then questions his skills" by MSNBC.

Article: "DeVos Proposes 'Microgrants' for Students, Teachers During School Closures" by Evie Blad.

Article: "The Environmental Protection Agency says it won't enforce its own rules during the coronavirus pandemic" by Isaac Scher.

Article: "Fed to Buy Junk Bonds, Lend to States in Fresh Virus Support" by Christopher Condon, Rich Miller and Craig Torres.

Article: "Fox News report linking Biden to bin Laden drops hours after Trump comes up short in network's poll" by David Edwards.

Article: "Oil Prices Rise as Trump Tweets Threat Against Iran" by Rich Smith.

Article: "Mitch McConnell tells states to go BANKRUPT rather than ask for federal bailouts as tax revenues plunge and says he will REFUSE to give cash for failing pension funds" by Katelyn Caralle.

Tweet: "Tens of thousands have died. Tens of millions are unemployed.
But Senate Republicans have their priorities in order:
- No hazard pay for frontline workers.
- No food aid for hungry Americans.
- No funding to state and local governments crying out for help.
Good job, Mitch." by Adam Schiff.

Article: "Can America Step Back From the Ledge of Oligarchy?" by Thom Hartmann.

Article: "How a Trump administration official is quietly exploiting the pandemic to advance her family business - and right-wing agenda" by Jeff Bryant.

Article: "International oil prices rebound following Trump warning" by Myles McCormick.

Article: "Hydroxychloroquine whistleblower: Read full statement from Rick Bright, HHS official who says he was demoted for speaking out" by Dr. Rick Bright.

Article: "HHS Secretary Alex Azar Once Doubled The Price of Insulin" by Alexandra Hutzler.

Article: "HHS chief Alex Azar chose a former labradoodle breeder with minimal public health experience to lead the department's coronavirus response" by Mia Jankowicz.

Article: "Gov. Greg Abbott's task force to reopen the economy is packed with top business leaders - and donors" by Cassandra Pollock.

Article: "Attorney General Bill Barr threatens that the Department of Justice could sue states over prolonged social distancing" by Charles Davis.

Article: "12th Amendment"

Article: "Trump's Coronavirus Approval Bounce May Be Gone" by Ed Kilgore.

Article: "Georgia to reopen some businesses as early as Friday" by Jeff Amy.

Article: "2020 coronavirus pandemic in Thailand" by Wikipedia.

Quote: "A jackass can kick a barn down, but it takes a carpenter to build one." - Sam Rayburn (or LBJ?).

Article: "Remarks by President Trump, Vice President Pence, and Members of the Coronavirus Task Force in Press Briefing", April 22, 2020.

Article: "Coronavirus can survive exposure to high temperatures, study shows" by Jackie Salo.

Article: "Spectrum Health" by Wikipedia.

Article: "NSF International" by Wikipedia.

Article: "One America News: NY Doctor Finds Success Treating COVID-19 Patients With Hydroxychloroquine Cocktail" by Ian Schwartz.

Article: "Dr. Oz apologizes for suggesting it may 'only cost us' 2% to 3% of American lives to reopen schools" by Nicole Lyn Pesce.

Article: "Dr. Phil downplays coronavirus on Fox News by comparing it to car accidents and swimming pool deaths" by Igor Derysh.

Article: "US clinical trials of hydroxychloroquine hit 'warp speed,' could show in weeks whether it works on coronavirus" by Berkeley Lovelace Jr.

Quote: "[False] Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel" - Samuel Johnson.

Article: "US billionaires gaining net worth during pandemic as lowest earners struggle" by Caoimhe Toman.

Article: "History of Federal Income Tax Rates: 1913 - 2019" by Bradford Tax Institute.

Article: "The Hayes-Tilden Electoral Commission" by James Monroe.

Hour Two: What is the Relationship Between Deflation and Depressions?
- Economist Dr. Richard Wolff, Democracy At Work / Understanding Marxism / Understanding Socialism

Article: "Deflation" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Inflation" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Crude Oil Prices - 70 Year Historical Chart" by Macrotrends.

Article: "How Mitch McConnell's threat against a "blue state bailout" could backfire" by Cody Fenwick.

Tweet: "McConnell's office is distributing a document titled "Stopping Blue State Bailouts." So it's probably time for Joe Biden to echo his old boss: There's not a Blue State America and a Red State America. There's the United States of America." by Bill Kristol.

Quote: "I think this whole business of additional assistance for state and local governments needs to be thoroughly evaluated... There's not going to be any desire on the Republican side to bail out state pensions by borrowing money from future generations." - Mitch McConnell.

Article: "Credit Cards Start Offering Lower Limits Amid U.S. Outbreak" by Jenny Surane.

Article: "FDA continues to seize cheaper drugs from Canada as COVID-19 spreads across US" by Phil Galewitz.

Article: "Officials in at least 6 states are accusing the federal government of quietly diverting their orders for coronavirus medical equipment" by Mia Jankowicz.

Article: "Drugmaker tripled the price of a pill as it pursued coronavirus use" by Bob Herman.

Article: "N.J. Governor Calls McConnell Bankruptcy Comment 'Irresponsible'" by Elise Young.

Tweet: "When Mitch McConnell says we should let states go bankrupt, let's be honest about what he's saying:
He wants police officers to lose their jobs.
He wants firefighters to go broke.
He wants hospitals to close and sick people thrown out on the street.
Prove me wrong, Mitch." by Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Quote: "I said yesterday we're going to push the pause button here, because I think this whole business of additional assistance for state and local governments needs to be thoroughly evaluated" - Mitch McConnell.

Article: "National Governors Association Outlines Need For 'Additional And Immediate' Fiscal Assistance To States" by National Governors Association.

Article: "'Deliberately Cruel': Millions of US Citizens Blocked From Stimulus Payments Because They Married Immigrants" by Andrea Germanos.

Article: "Trump campaign sues TV station over Democratic super PAC ad" by Jonathan Easley.

Article: "Most & Least Federally Dependent States" by John S Kiernan.

Article: "Mike Pence praises lockdown protesters on Rush Limbaugh's show: 'They play an important role in moving our nation forward'" by Eric W. Dolan.

Article: "Cuomo Shreds 'Grim Reaper' McConnell's Suggestion That States Go Bankrupt" by Lisette Voytko.

Article: "2020 coronavirus pandemic in South Korea" by Wikipedia.

Article: "2020 coronavirus pandemic in the Czech Republic" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Trump tests negative for coronavirus, White House checks visitors for fever" by Francesca Chambers And Charles Duncan.

Article: "Why were 400,000 N95 masks seized en route to a Delaware importer?" by Karl Baker.

Article: "Trump team's use of big insurer to dispense recovery funds comes under scrutiny" by Maggie Severns, Daniel Lippman.

Article: "In front of White House, nurses read names of colleagues killed by coronavirus" by Marissa J. Lang.

Article: "Study finds no benefit, higher death rate in patients taking hydroxychloroquine for Covid-19" by Elizabeth Cohen and Dr. Minali Nigam.

Video: Bush: "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job".

Article: "Michael D. Brown" by Wikipedia.

Article: "How the Republican Party Has Conned America for Over 30 Years" by Thom Hartmann.

Article: "The Koch network, avatar of the tea party, rejects shutdown protests" by Maggie Severns.

Article: "Hidalgo orders Harris County residents to wear masks in public, draws fire from police unions, GOP" by Zach Despart.

Article: "Police Have Started Revolting Against Draconian Coronavirus Edicts From Local Tyrants" by Tristan Justice.

Article: "Václav Havel" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Sanders and Jayapal Put Forth Bill to Provide No-Cost 'Health Care for All During Pandemic'" by Jake Johnson.

Article: "History of the United States public debt" by Wikipedia.

Book: "Screwed: The Undeclared War Against The Middle Class" by Thom Hartmann. Get "Screwed" by Thom Hartmann!

Book: The Hidden History of the Supreme Court and the Betrayal of America by Thom Hartmann.

Article: "Trump officially ditches NYC, changes residence to Florida" by Tamar Lapin.

Article: "Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) - August 1981 strike" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Oklahoma's GOP governor plans to reopen the state starting Friday, despite opposition from doctors and Democrats who say it's way too soon" by Ashley Collman.

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

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The Billionaires Behind Re-Open Protests Revealed!