Mass shooters and child-killers are celebrating. Meanwhile Republican politicians vow to protect us and our kids from — wait for it — librarians and history teachers. Saturday night 10 people were murdered by a mass shooter in California. It's the 37th mass shooting this year. We're 23 days into 2023 and over 2,200+ Americans have already died of gun violence.

We're the only developed country in the world that unconditionally allows civilians to own military-style assault weapons, that allows "open carry," that lets gun manufacturers openly buy politicians (thanks, SCOTUS).

As a consequence, we're also the only country in the world where the leading cause of death for children is being blown apart by bullets.

America has just a bit more than 4 percent of the world's population, but, with more guns than people in our country, we have more than 40 percent of all the civilian guns in the world.

Read more at HartmannReport.com.

-Thom

Four Mistakes

I fear our mistakes far more than the strategy of our enemies.

- Thucydides (47–400 b.c.), Pericles' Funeral Oration

Chapter 4: Unnatural Selection

Every action admits of being outdone. Our life is an apprenticeship to the truth that around every circle another can be drawn; that there is no end in nature, but every end is a beginning …

- Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Circles" (1841)

Read more at HartmannReport.com.

-Thom

The Best of the Rest of the News.

— We have questions for the media about the debt ceiling
— Speaking of questions, why wasn't Supreme Court Associate Justice Sam Alito asked under oath if he was responsible for the Dobbs decision leak?
— Would the GOP survive a repeal of Citizens United?
— As "macho man" Ron DeSantis says he wants to ban mask mandates by all Florida businesses, a new study shows one in ten people infected with Covid ends up with "long Covid".
— And speaking of DeSantis, is his campaign against Black and queer people actually working?
— Geeky Science! Strengthening your marriage might be as simple as putting pictures of you and your spouse around the house.
— Video of the day: Anti-Abortion protestors get violent when someone with a bullhorn says the quiet part out loud

Read more at HartmannReport.com.

-Thom

Monday's Daily Stack

Article: "America Is #1 in Gun ownership & Gun Deaths - Time to Wake the Hell Up" by Thom Hartmann.

Tweet: "What changed in the mid-2000s to accelerate deaths from mass shootings?
The assault weapons ban expired.?
We have the tools to prevent gun violence. We just need leaders with the conscience and courage to implement them." by Hillary Clinton.

Tweet: "Merry Christmas! ps. Santa, please bring ammo." by Thomas Massie.

Tweet: "Even before the school shooting in Uvalde, three out of five Americans said they wanted stronger gun laws.
We are the majority. Don't forget it." by Hillary Clinton.

Tweet: "It's that time of year again where the jolly man in the big red suit better bring us some freedom seeds… 9MM, 5.56, 300 blackout — anything! Santa, PLEASE!" by NRA.

Tweet: "Koskoff says this is how it was marketed to young men, a campaign called "the Man Card" which allowed people to report their friends to Bushmaster for not being a man. @News12CT" by Marissa Alter.

Article: "What other countries show us about America's gun violence epidemic" by Meredith Deliso.

Article: "American Public Opinion and Gun Violence" by Frank Newport.

Article: "Gun Ownership by Country 2023" by World Population Review.

Article: "Violent Death Rates: The US Compared with Other High-income OECD Countries, 2010" by Erin Grinshteyn, David Hemenway.

Article: "Mass Shootings in 2023" by GVA.

Article: "Estimating global Civilian-Held Firearms numbers" by Aaron Karp.

Article: "10 dead, 10 wounded in mass shooting in Monterey Park, California, with suspect found dead" by Kevin Shalvey, Bonnie Mclean, Alex Stone, Bill Hutchinson, Aaron Katersky, and Josh Margolin.

Article: "Kyle Rittenhouse" by Wikipedia.

Article: "the Cult of Kyle: why the shittiest people in the world worship Rittenhouse" by Jeff Tiedrich.

Article: "Manchin says it's a ‘mistake' for White House to want Democrats to address debt ceiling without GOP" by Daniella Diaz and Paul LeBlanc.

Article: "'Rich and Powerful Don't Need Any More Advocates': Gallego Launches Bid to Unseat Sinema" by Jake Johnson.

Video: Watch Morning Joe Highlights: Jan. 23 | MSNBC.

Article: "Problem Solvers Caucus" by Wikipedia.

Article: "No Labels" by Wikipedia.

Article: "No Labels and the 'Problem Solvers' are Wolves of Wall Street in Sheep's Clothing" by Porter McConnell, Rion Dennis.

Article: "Are We Seeing the Last Gasp of the GOP's Two Santa Claus Scam?" by Thom Hartmann.

Article: "Stop the Charade: The Federal Budget Is Its Own ‘Debt-Ceiling'" by Robert Hockett.

Article: "National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform" (Bowles-Simpson/Simpson-Bowles) by Wikipedia.

Law: "Second Liberty Bond Act" (1917).

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

Law: "Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974".

Book: People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil by M. Scott Peck.

Article: "New gun law: Over 2 dozen sheriffs refuse to enforce Illinois assault weapons ban" by Sarah Schulte.

Article: "Watch: Lauren Boebert refuses to say if she will bring a gun into the Capitol following removal of metal detectors" by Brandon Gage.

Article: "Henry Hyde" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Rolando Cruz case" by Wikipedia.

Article: "List of George Santos Lies: All the Mistruths the Congressman Is Accused of Telling " by Ben Berkowitz.

Article: "Trump's false or misleading claims total 30,573 over 4 years " by Glenn Kessler, Salvador Rizzo and Meg Kelly.

Article: "'A Small Piece of American Freedom': Gun Show to Feature Kids' Rifle Inspired by AR-15" by Brett Wilkins.

Case: "Buckley v. Valeo", 1976.

Case: "First National Bank Of Boston V. Bellotti", 1978.

Article: "The Lewis Powell Memo: A Corporate Blueprint to Dominate Democracy" by Lewis Powell.

Hour Two: How can the GOP justify holding America hostage for the bills Trump ran up?
- Charles Sauer, Libertarian / Economist & President - The Market Institute / author of Profit Motive: What Drives the Things We Do / podcast Pardon My Parsing

Article: "2011 United States debt-ceiling crisis" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Constitution of the United States" Article 1 section 8 (Powers of Congress). "The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States..."

Book: Inequality Kills Us All: COVID-19's Health Lessons for the World by Stephen Bezruchka.

Site: "The Equality Trust".

Article: "14th Amendment section 4, July 9, 1868 "The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned."

Article: "'Open Admission of Fraud': United CEO Says Airlines Are Scheduling Flights They Can't Fulfill" by Jessica Corbett.

Article: "Idaho woman shares 19-day miscarriage on TikTok, says state's abortion laws prevented her from getting care" by Mary Kekatos.

Article: "Here's What They're Celebrating" by Jessica Valenti.

Article: "Kyrsten Sinema Is Demanding Democrats Keep A Tax Break For The Super-Wealthy" by Kevin Robillard.

Book: "Threshold: The Progressive Plan to Pull America Back from the Brink" by Thom Hartmann.

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

Movie: "A Man for All Seasons".

Article: "The top 1% captured nearly twice as much new wealth as the rest of the world over last two years" by Tami Luhby.

Article: "Historical Background and Development of Social Security" by SSA.

Article: "Bismarck model" by Wikipedia.

Hour Three: All about the right wing attacks on the grid
- David "Dave" Neiwert, Investigative Journalist - Daily Kos / Author, 'Red Pill, Blue Pill: How to Counteract the Conspiracy Theories That Are Killing Us (2020) and, Alt-America: The Rise of the Radical Right in the Age of Trump

Article: "Skipped court dates suggest Patriot Front members aren't taking Idaho rioting charges seriously" by David Neiwert.

Article: "When power stations are attacked, it often looks like neofascist terrorism, but sometimes isn't" by David Neiwert.

Article: "Form 1099" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Q&A: Gross Debt Versus Debt Held by the Public" by Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

Article: "We Need Housing for People to Live In, Not for Corporations to Invest In " by Nancy Braus.

Article: "Beto O'Rourke Sued For Defamation, Slander By North Texas Billionaire" by CBS.

Article: "Vandalism At San Jose PG&E Substation Called 'Sabotage'" by CBS San Francisco.

Article: "Alito Mouths 'NOT TRUE' At State Of The Union (VIDEO)" by Sam Stein.

Video: GOP Rep. to Obama: 'You Lie!'.

Article: "Canada bans most foreigners from buying homes " by AFP.

Article: "Share of popular votes for the Democratic and Republican parties in presidential elections from 1860 to 2020" by Statista.

TV: "Real Time with Bill Maher: January 20, 2023: William Barr, Andrew Sullivan, Rep. Nancy Mace".

Bible: "Matthew 25:31-46 The Sheep and the Goats".

Article: "Sermon on the Mount" by Wikipedia.

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...

Do the Biden & Trump TOP SECRET Documents Expose Who They Are?

Did Santos Fund Campaign With Migrant Smuggler Money?