The GOP is threatening to turn Ben Franklin's public libraries into corporate profit centers. It's time for Americans to truly take our country back.

I hope this week to be able to resume writing original articles for you every day; most likely, from what I understand about this type of back surgery, that should be Wednesday, but I'll keep you up to date.

In the meantime, this OpEd from last December is particularly relevant right now, as so much of the money in the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal are specifically designated to go to "public-private partnerships," one of the favorite techniques neoliberals use to make a buck off what should exclusively be public/government responsibilities. Enjoy!

Read more at HartmannReport.com.

-Thom

Equal trade, fair trade, honest, decent trade requires reasonable balance between trading partners and strong domestic economies. When that happens, Adam Smith's model works pretty well: prices for labor, materials, and finished goods all settle near the area where they "naturally" should be.

But as we've seen from the immensely imbalanced statistics on distribution of wealth in chapter 19, something is not working the way Smith envisioned. Wages appear to be dwindling, and the number of strong, healthy competitors appears to be shrinking.

Read more at HartmannReport.com.

-Thom

In America today if you poison & kill your wife you'll go to prison - but - if you poison and kill 100s of 1000s of people you'll take home a multi-million-dollar paycheck and buy a new yacht.

I'll be back to the regular Saturday News Report next weekend, when, hopefully, I'm no longer living on post-surgery painkillers. This piece was first published here back in January, but since then the problem has only gotten worse and really needs to be highlighted again…

Read more at HartmannReport.com.

-Thom

Monday's Daily Stack

Poem: "Monday" by Alex Dimitrov.

Article: "CNN is ending 'Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter'" by Frank Pallotta.

Article: "Fauci, top infectious disease expert, to retire in December" by AP.

Book: What Would Jefferson Do?: A Return to Democracy by Thom Hartmann by Thom Hartmann.

Article: "Code of Hammurabi" by Wikipedia.

Book: Bushwhacked: Life in George W. Bush's America by Molly Ivins.

Site: Activate America.

Site: Postcards to Swing States.

Article: "Lucretia" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Lucretia Mott" by Wikipedia.

White Supremacy & Censorship Explained
- Professor David Pepper, University of Cincinnati College of Law / former Chair-Ohio Democratic Party / Author - Laboratories of Autocracy

Article: "Sherrod Brown" (D-OH) by Wikipedia.

Case: "Roe v. Wade" (1973) (abortion legal).

Article: "Ohio's Worst-Gerrymandered Districts and Why they Look Like That" by RepresentUs.

Article: "United States Senate election in Ohio, 2022" by Ballotpedia.

Article: "Tim Ryan (Ohio politician)" by Wikipedia.

Article: "J. D. Vance" by Wikipedia.

Video: The Wealthy Are Creating Labs of Autocracy - Conversations With Great Minds - David Pepper.

Article: "What's The Matter With Kansas" by Thomas Frank.

Article: "Ohio 10-year-old went to Indiana for abortion, man charged with her rape" by AP.

Article: "2000 Elections Results" by Ohio Secretary of State.

Article: "Republicans keep gerrymandered maps – after they were struck down by court" by Sam Levine.

Article: "Ohio Republicans pass bill requiring genital inspections for school sports" by John Russell.

Article: "Ku Klux Klan" (KKK) by Wikipedia.

Law: "Voting Rights Act of 1965".

Article: "Nixon's Southern strategy" by James Boyd.

Article: "John Lewis" by Wikipedia.

Article: "McConnell allies launch ad blitz to prop up J.D. Vance's Senate campaign in Ohio" by Henry J. Gomez.

Article: "Peter Thiel" by Wikipedia.

Article: "J.D. Vance's Victory in Ohio Is a Huge Win for Peter Thiel's Political Movement" by Caleb Ecarma.

Article: "JD Vance suggested women in violent relationships should not get divorced for the sake of children" by Sravasti Dasgupta.

Article: "Ohio elections, 2022" by Ballotpedia.

Article: "Ohio gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2022" by Ballotpedia.

Book: All Politics Is Local: And Other Rules of the Game by Tip O'Neill with Gary Hymel.

Article: "DeSantis, Gaetz and Other Races to Watch in Florida's Primary" by Louis Jacobson.

Article: "Peter Thiel is backing a new generation of Trump-aligned Republicans" by Clare Duffy and Brian Fung.

Book: The Emperor Wears No Clothes: A History of Cannabis/Hemp/Marijuana by Jack Herer.

Article: "Critical race theory" (CRT) by Wikipedia.

Site: Democracy Nerd Podcast.

Article: "2010 Wisconsin gubernatorial election" by Wikipedia.

Article: "2018 Wisconsin elections" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Gerrymandering" by Wikipedia.

Article: "We Ended Gerrymandering In Michigan" by Voters Not Politicians.

Audio: How The People Can Push Back Against the Backsliding of Democracy w/ Katie Fahey.

Article: "America is an oligarchy, not a democracy or republic, university study finds" by Cheryl K. Chumley.

Article: "Electoral College" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Were Most Conservative Supreme Court Justices Appointed by Presidents Who Lost Popular Vote?" by Nur Ibrahim .

Article: "The Commission trial lifted the lid on the New York Mafia" by Marcy Knight.

Article: "Republic" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Democracy" by Wikipedia.

Article: "These Trees Are Spreading North in Alaska. That's Not Good" by Matt Simon.

Article: "The Mediterranean has experienced record sea temperatures this summer: this could devastate marine life " by John Spicer.

Article: "How Government Insider Trading Corrodes Democracy" by Thom Hartmann.

Article: "Citizens' Jury" by Participedia.

Article: "Ron DeSantis" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Nikki Fried" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Charlie Crist" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Biden marks Slavery Remembrance Day: ‘Great nations don't hide from their history'" by Caroline Vakil.

Case: "Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission" (2010).

Article: "Fairness Doctrine" by Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum.

Article: "Booker Announces Senate Introduction of Enslaved Voyages Memorial Act" by Cory Booker.

Book: The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Power by Max Chafkin.

Book: Power Worshippers by Katherine Stewart.

Video: Can Democracy Be Freed From Capitalism? Featuring Prof. Nancy MacLean.

Site: Vote Now Or Never!.

Article: "Filibuster" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Hastert Rule" by Wikipedia.

Article: "US Senate Representation" by Engaging Data.

Article: "Thomas Jefferson" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Absentee Voting Information for U.S. Citizens Abroad" by Travel.State.Gov.

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

Dhanaraj Thakur, Research Director - Center for Democracy & Technology, will be here to talk about the digital divide.

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...

What The Hell is Going on with Ohio? Featuring David Pepper

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