Recent comments
ADHD: Hunter in a Farmer's World
Thom Hartmann has written a dozen books covering ADD / ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder.
Join Thom for his new twice-weekly email newsletters on ADHD, whether it affects you or a member of your family.
Thom's Blog Is On the Move
By webmaster
Hello All
Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.
Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.
Post#7
If you are going to post quotes from Fox News on this site you should try looking at this site several times a week. https://www.mediamatters.org/ Yeah, Trump is doing a great job.
We have moved up the chart to #3 behind China and Italy. We will pass China even with weeks of warning. We have 1/4 the population of China. And that is with poor testing. There is a lot more out there. https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/donald-trump-mike-pence-testing-delays-092924892.html
https://www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-u-axed-cdc-expert-202454983.html
Oh yeah, here we go again: Trump as ...wait, wait, drum roll, ominous music, splashy chyron, tanks in the street, jets overhead, enter center stage, ta-da... *** The War President! ***
Generalissimo in all his glory; the ultimate reality-show production; gaslighting at its finest. Trump habitually fondling the flag, creepy and repulsive as that is, turns on the weird wingers anyway. At least for the rest of us, there are a few good laughs still to be had in these anxious times of piss-poor leadership that maybe aren't as visually obnoxious as they are deeply troubling. Sometimes, all you can do is laugh.
Once again, shell-shocked fascist followers resort to hiding behind the polite and politically tactical words of professional politicians and pundits who are, like everyone else with a brain, desperate for action, any action, from this egomaniacal buffoon in clown makeup who fancies himself a respected statesman in charge. Whatever, Bolo -- just do something or get out of the gawddamn way, you "f*cking moron!" (Rex Tillerson)
And now, we have starry-eyed Trumpsters even boasting about the endorsements of socialists, Democrats, and (Grab your pearls, mama!) a CNN journalist no less -- to make some vague point that apparently can't be made directly using one's own words without sounding like a flaming hypocrite.
Could it be something about the mighty capitalist Trump, "a very stable genius," turning into a meek little mouse that was just plain dumb about it all from the get-go? Sure, after being dragged kicking and screaming to the microphones, Mini Mouse finally had to acknowledge that a serious pandemic was afoot. Ya think?
Could it be that the all-powerful, unregulated, Ayn Rand, super greed-mongers, who don't need no stinkin SOCIALISM! (And "the virus will disappear, and everyone will be just fine.") are disastrously wrongheaded about virtually everything of any import that contributes to a healthy, functioning society?
Are the wingnut true-blue believers flip-flopping now, going full-blown socialism on us? Thomas Jefferson, Franklin Roosevelt, Keynesian economics, proving nearly every point Bernie Sanders has been making his entire life? Wow! Welcome aboard! May the Force be with you.
Sickness and death everywhere; a do-nothing blowhard at the helm, a stunning drop in the stock market; a sudden rise of massive unemployment; the historical reversal of a failed, fascist wet dream of economic rugged individualism, do it alone hypocrisy, unapologetic selfishness, and unfettered greed, which to disciples of "conservative," loony-toon dogma might sound perfectly sane at CPAC, the circle jerk for the right-wing fringe, but nowhere else.
Who woulda thunk? Turns out a good healthy dose of socialism is just what this woefully under-prepared nation needs now that the leader, in name only, of the so-called "free" market proved his utter worthlessness during this truly pivotal moment in history.
So, Jane and John Q. Public, you are hereby commanded to forget all about the entire Republican cult rocking on Trump's little stink-finger thumb for those three crucial months, lying, denying, delaying, blaming Democrats -- priceless time that we'll never get back, that could have made all the difference and saved so many American lives.
Honest to God, reality never happened; believe me; how dare you ask; you very bad, terrible reporter; shut up and sit down; don't worry your pretty little head, Peter Alexander! Big Daddy Trump's got this: “I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.”
That's right. By July, we'll likely be in a completely different world in so many fundamental ways, especially politically. The sooner Biden and the other corporate Dems realize that and face the fast-approaching hard reality with resolve and true leadership, the easier it will be to relegate the cultish Republican Party to political oblivion where it belongs.
It will be a world where countless thousands upon thousands have died needlessly due to an inexcusable lack of foresight and planning by the Trump crime family despite plenty of warning -- a fake president who failed in leadership to maintain an adequate supply of critical medical equipment, especially PPE, test kits, ventilators, and ICU beds; who failed in leadership to ensure a sufficient number of doctors, nurses, specialists, and staff; who failed in leadership to increase the number and capacity of hospitals and clinics to match the urgent need throughout the country; who failed in leadership to provide informed guidance and a steady hand while lying profusely and trying to make it all about himself ...again.
It will be a world where: unemployment will have doubled or tripled that of the Great Depression; family bills can't be paid and probably never will be thanks to Trump's moronic response to the pandemic and resulting economic collapse, but also to decades of creeping corporate Republican fascism; homeowners and renters alike are mercilessly evicted after months of nonpayment; homelessness, crime, drug use, domestic violence, divorce, and suicides are rising inexorably.
It will be a world where the wealthy predators and ruling elite have deserted the People, as traitors always do. And like the medieval kings and queens before them, they will be sequestered and untouchable behind sumptuous fortresses with impenetrable walls, ever keeping the proper social and economic distancing.
It will be a world ripe for democratic socialism and universal, single-payer healthcare -- as a direct result, predictably, of the limitless greed and selfishness of unregulated capitalism/fascism, oligarchy, and free-market radicalism that have finally killed the middle-class and our frail democracy. The pandemic was only the trigger.
But hey, good news! There'll still be plenty of toilet paper once ignorant and panicky Trumpees (chronically slow on the uptake, just like their leader) belatedly realize that it's not intestinal.
The DNC needs to plan on the Democratic Convention being done online. It is schedule for July 13 thru 16 in Milwaukee. Need to change it to online so that delagates do not have to travel. Many could be sick or spreading it. Immediate planning is needed.
On the virus, one thing that I paid attention to is what other countries were doing. Taiwan has has about a 100 cases total. South Korea after a huge outbreak is now close to zero new cases. We are currrently tracking a few weeks behind Italy which is a disaster. And Russia: https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/21/europe/putin-coronavirus-russia-intl/index.html
They are coming with all sorts of plans to spend money. It is money that they do not have, I have heard nothing about cuts in spending. Increase taxes, suspend wall building, cut military spending etc. I hope that they give the money to the ones that need it. Many small business's have been shutdown and the low paid employees laid off. Give them money. Corporations such as Boeing can borrow if they need it with almost zero percent interest.
I can still recall a TV interview from many years ago when an explanation was given as to why the middle class was being so highly taxed. The answer was simple. "Because that's where most of the money is." How times have changed! It's still a sound economic solution for today's finantial woes. So, what class has most of the money now?
Of course, for any of that to happen, we need to "throw the bums out!"
Bought-off Republican politicians and their not-so-rich, not-so-bright constituents would rather sacrifice their children and grandchildren than agree to rollback tax cuts on their billionaire benefactors or to re-regulate their anti-competitive, anti-democratic monopolies, which are relentlessly raping whole economies with extreme wealth disparity, plundering dwindling resources, waging endless war, and destroying essential environmental systems that sustain all of life.
Come to think of it, they already have sacrificed their children and grandchildren, and ours ...on the altar of wealth and power.
Republicans jumping on the Socialism wagon. Real problem is they are spending money that they do not have. Another Trillion. Have you heard of any cuts in spending? They kept pumping up the stock market with interest rate cuts and Quantative Easing. Now they have no tools left to bring the markets back up. With close to zero interest airlines could borrow money. Apple (who is not hurting) probably will. They borrow and keep profits overseas to avoid taxes.
At yesterday's White House breifing, a question was raised about puting restrictions on how corporations could use bail out money in light of these companies engaging in company stock buybacks and CEO bonuses wich contributed to their current dilema. Trump said that applying restrictions would involve too many entities and would not be practical. Donald said. "I certainly hope they won't do that again. But if they do, I won't be happy."
https://a.msn.com/r/2/BB11pYY1?m=en-us&referrerID=InAppShare
#14:
Well, if you don't bother verifying a fact, I guess you could say it was unverifiable; however, that would render your judgment on the matter meaningless, would it not?
Perhaps you could use your time more wisely while hunkering down during the pandemic to reflect upon outward reality rather than to be made more ignorant by Fux News, Republican hate radio, and the rest of rightwing media, which is the true "fake news" along with what comes out of Trump's mouth. Sorry for the long list, but this really is just a smattering of what's out there as established, researched fact:
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/479041-fact-checker-counts-16k-false-misleading-claims-by-trump-in-three
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/trump-lies-supporters-fans-believe-fake-news-facts-immigration-border-wall-a8781571.html
https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/03/politics/donald-trump-lies-reasons/index.html
https://www.minnpost.com/eric-black-ink/2020/02/its-hard-to-understand-trump-supporters-willingness-to-excuse-his-blatant-falsehoods/
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/02/facebook-twitter-donald-trump-lies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veracity_of_statements_by_Donald_Trump
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/06/11/trump-lies-all-time-yet-toadies-keep-covering-him/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/03/04/lies-republicans-must-believe/
https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/trump-lies-research/
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/06/andrew-sullivan-donald-trump-and-the-art-of-the-lie.html
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/11/should-media-repeat-trumps-lies/576148/
http://openhumanitiespress.org/feedback/actualities/how-trumps-followers-construct-alt-truth-from-lies-part-1-a-deep-story-for-shallow-deception-2/
http://openhumanitiespress.org/feedback/theory/how-trumps-followers-construct-alt-truth-from-lies-part-2-daemonic-invention/
Throughout his crooked, two-faced life, Trump's modus operandi has been to lie, deny, blame, and bluster his way through crises after crises of his own making. His egotistically smug expression is a clear tell that he gets off on it. He loves the chaos he sows, overacting faux righteous indignation as he blames others for his own words and actions. Then, in his juvenile mind only, he is the mighty hero who swoops in to save the day.
Society has rewarded him immensely despite his glaring, well-documented transgressions, so why should he ever change? In fact, with signs of mental decline, he probably can't change -- that is, if the thought to engage in even a modicum of self-reflection ever occurred to him in the first place since that would require humility, of which he has none. He's an old man stuck in his old ways. And for that, we all suffer.
Inevitably, we now have another serious crisis that is not of Trump's making, and of course, he has no idea how to respond other than to lie, deny, blame, and bluster his way through. It's the same dumb approach that has led to his many other failures.
And that salient fact should concern us all even more than his foolhardy delayed response to the pandemic, for it's the same dumb approach he is taking toward anthropogenic climate disruption, which threatens to crumble the very foundations of civilization itself and our ability to survive let alone thrive. Perhaps this pandemic is only a prelude to the kind of dire challenges humankind will continually face in the near future thanks to the criminal inaction of those presently in power.
The Trump administration views the census as just another tool to target ethnicities for discrimination. That's what happens when racists are in power.
Between the Economy and the virus this is going to get really bad. Trump had plenty of warning and ignored it as a hoax. It was easy to see this coming. It would take a book to describe all of the screw ups. LOL at Trumpsters attempts to dignify this mess. We are charting to be the worse in the world at dealing with this.
With all of us so busy around the Virus, has anyone considered that the Patriot Act was up for reauthorization on 3/15/20 and this seems like just the platform they would use to slide an undetected extension past the public's eye. As it helped them cloak so many indescressions since it was imposed, I'd be surprised to see them just walk away. Did it drop off or did they pass something with the Virus package?
You seem to repeat it constantly and I doubt that Thom reads this. Call and ask.
LOL. If you criticize Trump he does not hesitate to cut off federal aid. Look at Puerto Rico in a crisis. Checks in the mail. He is a narcissist that needs his ego filled constantly. Foreign leaders Putin and Kim Jung Un were first to figure this out.
Has anybody done the Census online. It seemed to be very concerned as to your nationality or where your family came from. My Fathers relatives came here from Ireland in 1872. I do not feel much of my Irish roots. My mother was born to 2 from Sweden that came here a year before she was born. She spoke fluent Swedish and never taught me a word of it. And again, I do not feel Swedish. I have been to both countries. Nice places to visit but I am American. The questions get even more intrusive if you are Hispanic. What about African Americans that do not know where their relatives were captured and boarded a slave ship? Why don't they just have us do AncestryDNA.com and have all of the percentages of our heritage? But, what difference does it make? What if you are adopted and do not know? What if you have dozens of countries in your heritage? The Census is for sizing Congressional districts not determining heritage. A lot of people will lie. I considered it intrusive.
I would imagine that you have at least one of those conditions. I take a blood pressure medicine so that would qualify me. Italy has an 8.3% death rate for people that get it. We are tracking about 3 weeks behind Italy.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/one-chart-shows-different-countries-185900633.html
https://www.livescience.com/why-italy-coronavirus-deaths-so-high.html
You like the Washington Examiner
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/nearly-40-of-hospitalized-adults-in-us-for-coronavirus-are-between-20-and-54-years-old
ROTFLOL
https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/donald-trump-coronavirus-snuck-up-on-us-080312319.html
Tinhat,
Worse part about posting references is people actually check them. Your first one is from the Washington Examiner. It is not really new but is the opinion that Billionaire Phillip Anschutz wants you to have. LIke Fox New and Rush Limbaugh it does not care if it reports lies. The 99% was a dead give away in this article.
https://www.politifact.com/search/?q=washington+examiner
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Anschutz#Political_and_religious_activism
What is interesting about Italy is how we are tracking it. We are about 3 weeks behind with our really low testing.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/italy/
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/
Your second reference is an interesting article from Reuters. A good source. Suggest that everyone read it. Shows the value of testing and how far behind we are. One thing that the President can do though, is cut red tape. The other is not gut the CDC and the Pandemic Response team. Pick your article.
https://www.google.com/search?q=trump+gutted+cdc&oq=trump+gutted+cdc&aqs=chrome..69i57.11115j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Deepspace:
I'm sorry, Legend stated "Trumpsters tend to post lies and ignore the truth. Just like their leader". I didn't realize that was a verifiable fact. :)
This was to easy see it coming. I paid attention to what other countries were doing. China did not lock down millions for nothing. It closed so many factories that the air cleared up. Taiwan took it head on and has had only 100 cases total. South Korea had a large out break and set up a huge testing program. The cases are going down after the action that they took. More than a month ago a retired doctor friend told me that we did not have enough ICU beds or ventalators to deal with this. The Trump Administration ignored all warnings. Now we are charting to be similar to Italy and Iran. Our markets have crashed and will get worse. Everything is an Emergency. We are way behind in testing. Many thousands more have this virus than the statistics show. Millions that cannot afford to miss work will spread it. ER's will be swamped. I live rural and I am a senior. I have decided to hunker down. There is no talking too fearful about this.
Think about it: Why is someone a "hateful, pompous, skumbag" [sic] simply for pointing out verifiable facts? You honestly are not aware of just how far you have fallen down the Trump rabbit hole, are you?