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.
Deepspace - I don't know when common sense and human love of fellow man began to degenerate
Was it ever there unless in my idealistic mind
Got a strange feeling Trump is not going to be able to regenerate
There are numerous, non-partisan, credible analyses -- statistical studies clogging up the non-fiction sections of the internet, university, and public libraries -- that reveal clearly most of the so-called "free stuff," which common working people pay for through their taxes, ends up in the pockets of the corporate "welfare queens" at the top of the self-dealing, fascistic pyramid scheme called "unregulated American capitalism."
Should not most of the hard-earned taxes return to the workers and regular citizens in ways that help themselves and their families, rather than mostly to the wealthy one percent dynasties and their heirs? And what is more important in our society than the life, health, and general welfare of the People?
The question becomes: What is the purpose of our government and of our economy -- to enrich the few or the many?
Tsultrim Melong nailed it! Trolls are not solving the problem; they are the problem! And not just on this forum, but across the entire political landscape of America. Thus, we now have fouling the Oval Office an egomaniacal sexual predator and pervert, an immature, rapacious greed-head with his cabal of racist advisors, war-mongering generals, and billionaire scavengers.
FYI: The vast majority of the "working class" -- including but not limited to: Native Americans, Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Muslim Americans, Immigrant Americans, and most White Americans -- voted overwhelmingly for the Democratic Party, even if you exclude the seven million who were disenfranchised by Republican voter suppression schemes (which is the main reason why Democrats -- of many stripes -- "lost" the severely limited, undemocratic Electoral College).
What the good doctor (assuming by his moniker that he is) apparently means is that Democrats "quit speaking" to white racist Americans and lost their vote. Well, good riddance!
Republicans have made the repeal of the ACA the very reason for their existence. Now that they are in power, Republican congresscritters feel they must go through with this or Americans will have a 'moment of clarity' when they realize that Republican politicians are con artists who stand for absolutely nothing except smoothing the way for their very rich patrons. Some of them also realize that there is no plan that will continue providing coverage to the people who got first time coverage under the ACA, once they remove the revenue sources that tax their wealthy patrons. A few of them may also realize that there is a very real chance that once the ACA is brought down, that the health care system in this country will soon follow.
It is now less than 18 hours to Trumpocolypse, and I have resigned myself to the inevitable - Mr. Trump will become Mr. President. I still have hope that Trump will prove to be a sheep in wolfs clothing and will do more to help the average American, and stand up to, and oppose, the Republican agenda.
The iceberg is on the horizon, the rudder is broken, and the engines are turning over at full speed. What will happen next?
@Drrichardpaul, I'm so sick of you trollers. I'm sick of it. The Republicans are dismantling our government as we speak and all you can do is blame Democrats. This kind of trolling shuts down dialogue, but you know that, don't you. You know that by spewing more hatred you can divert attention away from what the GOP are doing. That is the point, isn't it. Fortunately, you will be left behind. Those of us with intelligence will find solutions and responses that are relevant and adult, and you can just stay home and sulk. I live in the Midwest. I'm not uninformed about you people. Go home and watch TV and sulk. Stay out of the way of the adults.
We can start showing up en masse at all their offices, day in and day out. We can tie up the phones all day everyday with complaints and opinions. We should pester them incessantly, never letting them off the hook. They chose to run for office. Now let them reap what they have sown.
That's irrelevant considering democrats voted for a known cheater and liar. They have become illiberal, demanding fealty alone to their brand of identity politics. This election showed one consistent fact. Democrats quit speaking for the Midwest working class. Instead, Democrats, almost entirely all Democrats, demand the working class take it in the.... so they can get paid. Even Howard Dean became a lobbyist for big PhRMA. Democrats are not to be trusted, ever. They will lie, cheat, and steal to hurt the working class, and line their own pockets.
I read today that some Republican congress members are going to start holding "town meetings" on YouTube or Facebook instead of in person. They know dems are taking a page out of the tea party playbook that worked so effectively and are running from them. Let's keep the pressure on these Republicans
"The lady doth protest too much, methinks."
Subjective definitions of "leftie/socialists" and "rightie holier-than-thou wack jobs" and the "middle group" (Trump voters are still a minority of those who voted, regardless of how many times the alternate reality is repeated.) are all just opinionated labels that don't really mean much, unless supported by outside reality and actual facts -- not cherry-picked snippets, bumper-sticker slogans, and wishful thinking.
...but, by all means, keep on trying...:-)))
i fear that the republicans are willing to play with fire because they are the best congress money can buy, they are brave and they have great faith, faith in the koch brothers actually, and faith that a complacent electorate will continue to believe a well crafted message that equates health insurance for everybody as vouchers and believe that the republicans are merely saving the system from itself. my question is, is there a streamlined way to recall our congress that is selling us out, before it is too late? i would certainly be willing to volunteer for that endeavor.
Please don't take our Free Stuff!!
"Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely." -- Lord Acton
All governments become corrupted, because all politicians become corrupted. It's human nature and the abiding plight of our history. It's just a matter of degree. Shakespeare's Macbeth was an extreme example.
Too much power in the hands of too few, especially of one individual, invariably leads to the exploitation and persecution of the common people. That is why our Founders and the world's succeeding democracies tried to disperse power to as many disparate institutions and entities as possible -- primarily to the People -- and still have a functioning government.
Of course, at this late date, because of the corrupting influence of money in politics, the effort of civilization to evolve enlightened democracies has almost completely failed. Fascism in America -- where the interests of the wealthy elite are coupled to the power of the state -- controls (not yet totally) the most influential aspects of society: the military; the economy; the press.
That's why the whistleblowers who expose the malevolent actions of the government are so vital to the People -- if we are to claw back the power that rightfully belongs to us. They are the heroes, and the tin-pot "authorities" who seek to jail them are the cowards.
The difference between Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange is not in the overall principle of exposing truths that need to be exposed, but in their motivations. Manning did what she did (however flawed and naive) because she honestly tried to do right by the People. Assange (in this case, anyway) allowed himself to be manipulated by Putin's Russia to influence our election because they both personally hated Clinton. That was nothing but crass, partisan selective leaking (no dirt on the Republicans) to accomplish a selfish, short-sighted goal, which played right into the hands of the fascists in both countries and was extremely detrimental to the People and to the integrity of their electoral process.
@ErinRose. I agree with much of your post. I look at the population as a group with fringes that contain lunacy. Here tend to reside a lot of leftie/socialists. They are spurred on by radio and television talking heads that spend their nights dreaming up way to gin up their listeners by forecasting doom and gloom over and over. Let's face it, reporting good things is boring.
On the other end of the spectrum are the holier- than - thou rightie whack jobs who promote and broadcast the very same crap with a different slant.
In the middle sit a hell of a lot of the population that just got tired of the same old promises from mainstream politicians. Trump was the only outsider and the people in that middle group clearly voted for, or in a form of protest, just plain did not vote and Trump was the victor.
Trump won based on the shake things up platform. Leftie/socialists and rightie holier-than-thou wack jobs can both blow it out their behinds. Both groups hate soon to be president Trump with a vengence. Big deal, more power to Trump to disassemble the DC system.
Unfortunately, there is not a supply of hardcore holier-than-thou rightie's on this forum but there certainly is a plethora of leftie/socialists and I will continue to point out their hypocrisy.
#Dianereynolds: It's not "twisted logic". The reason SOME people decried the Clinton WikiLeaks is because they support the New World Order (whether they realize it or not) and others just wanted to see a female in the White House; that it was "her turn" and they don't care that the corruption that WikiLeaks exposed through the Clinton emails is a good thing. All they care about is that it interfered with the election of their candidate.
I also take issue with people who seem to think we are supposed to follow the rules even when that means protecting corruption. You have to be a dog-damn fool to contiue with business as usual if you come across that which is clearly NOT in the best interest of the country or the people. And I resent the Righties always painting out the "leftie/socialists" as somehow being at fault when the fault is with Rightie holier-than-thou attitudes they award themselves as if their **** doesn't stink!
For a brief second, I thought Obama was being philanthropic by commuting Chelsea Manning's prison sentence. Then it hit home that he is just doing whatever it takes to get his hands on Julian Assange. For YEARS I have been writing Obama asking that he pardon (with prejudice) Leonard Peltier but he has never considered this even though Leonard never killed anyone but was sentenced to multiple life sentences because the FBI needed a scapegoat to save face for the fact that they couldn't come up with the actual shooter. I'm really disgusted with the American government. It is so rife with corruption there is nothing to recommend it. I'm ashamed to be an American and I have great fears for the safety of Julian Assange. Even Hillary Clinton asked if they could drone bomb the Ecuadorian Embassy which goes to show how insane the Establishement Elite (Obama, the Bushes, the Clintons) actually are. Knowing what they did to Chelsea Manning, I expect no less for Julian. This government is a complete nightmare and I despise what America has become.
Thom, help me understand. You embrace whistleblowers.
When Bradley Manning illegally downloaded thousands of US top secret documents and WikiLeaks released them the the public exposing the corruption and coverups in the Pentagon, leftie/socialists said it was a good thing for the truth to be told to the American public and WikiLeaks was the saviour of the world.
Now,
When that same WikiLeaks obtained and released documents exposing the corruption and coverups in the Clinton campaign, suddenly it is a bad thing for the truth to be told to American public and WikiLeaks is the devils spawn.
How do you justify this twisted logic?
@ Diane # 17:
Sad. When Trump's grunts reach into the bottom of their depleted ammo bags of phony excuses and pull out these pathetic comebacks, you know they're out of bullets. Should one dispatch them quickly or just walk away and let them bleed out slowly? Hard call...
You picked a side in this fight, so don't subtly pretend you are somehow above the fray and not accountable for the Republican's eight-year, non-stop campaign of character assassination against a sitting President of the United States, who did not deserve such treatment.
This was and is a sincere human being who honestly tried to reach out to the Republicans and find common ground for the good of the country every chance he got throughout most of his two terms in office, even after taking heat from his own party for being an "appeaser." His only reward was to be mauled and bloodied at every turn, until he finally wised up and started fighting back toward the end of his presidency. Unfortunately, his gallant efforts were too little, too late.
You are in no position to define "classy" when you are supporting an indisputable liar, an on-the-record, self-dealing, power-hungry, egomaniacal authoritarian, a serial sexual predator who deliberately and shamelessly fanned the flames of hate and fear in every category to "win" an election -- traits and tactics possessed and employed by some of the worst dictators in history.
With his own vicious words from his own creepy lips, he has repeatedly belittled and maligned every single one of his political opponents on all sides, celebrities who dared to speak out, reporters just doing their jobs, war heroes and their families, disabled people, union members, poor people (losers!), Muslims, Mexicans, blacks and most other minorities by using code language like "inner city" and "those people," etc., etc., and on and on.
Obama deserved respect and cooperation; your man deserves nothing but contempt.
Your other pathetic comeback is to bring up Bill Clinton's peccadillos with Monica (which was consensual -- big difference), as if that somehow justifies Trump's life-long sexual predation. But sorry, I have never, nor will I ever, defend Bill's behavior either, which has been adjudicated ad nauseam. Plus, he had to face the public humility of impeachment, crippling his presidency, and was disbarred to boot. (Hillary should be applauded for bringing him to bear responsibility and for keeping her marriage intact -- a very conservative value.)
BTW, aren't you the one who criticized "Dems" for "living in the past?"
What is so amazing about this particular comeback, however, is the utter hypocrisy and complete lack of self-awareness. Think of the logical fallacy: If Republicans were so appalled by Bill Clinton's past behavior that it led to impeachment charges, the most extreme measure possible, why do they totally ignore Trump's much worse behavior and give a free pass for him to be a role model to our children?
Oh, that's right -- Clinton is a Democrat and Trump is a Republican!
As an aside: In one of the next blogs, you stated -- because even Thom said so (So, you hang on his every word now?) -- that Trump was not a Republican but a pragmatist, and to disagree was a minority opinion. Excuse me? The last time I checked, "pragmatist" was not a political party. Whatever he, or you, might identify with now, he hitched his wagon to the Republican Party to run for public office; ergo, he is absolutely a Republican by every conceivable definition, notwithstanding subjective psycho mumbo jumbo. And, as his toady, you are too.
Well, I guess I'll just walk away and let them bleed out...
Did the American soldiers in that helicopter and the officers directing the operation ever go to jail for their war crimes, or did they return to America as heroes? After fifteen long years of similar atrocities -- of blood for oil -- how many other war criminals are walking our streets as "heroes?"
Why are Bush, Cheney, and their gang of thugs not facing ultimate justice for lying us into a war of choice, as did the Nazis and Japanese high commands for starting WWII? Why are Obama and his generals not being held accountable for a bombing campaign that is killing and maiming thousands of innocent men, women, and children -- and for creating more terrorists than it's destroying?
In none of the campaigns, during one of our supposedly most important elections in history, did anyone hardly even mention America's gratuitous war-making. When there is no accountability, elective wars become acceptable and normalized, just another way of doing business and making money.
Politicians vote mechanically for more and more military funding to keep war material flowing, to keep defense contractors donating to their campaigns, to keep jobs in their states, to keep votes in their names. When the winds changed, they might have been halfheartedly criticized for voting to help Bush start his foolhardy war; but today, they would be criticized even more by not voting for increased defense funding and for continuing our all-consuming addiction to endless warfare.
The stigma of "not supporting the troops" and "making America weak" would be fatal to any politician's career, either Democratic or Republican. Never mind that America spends more on so-called "defense" than most of the rest of the world put together -- a boring old statistic that's been around forever. Yawn ... who cares?
A cynical population constantly lied to and spied upon remains numb and disinterested. Real-life death and destruction on infotainment news is just another distraction after a busy day at work before we go to bed. Individually, there's nothing any of us can really do about it anyway, so we just shrug our shoulders and flip the channel or click on another website. Nobody else seems to give a shit, so why should I?
And the killing continues.
This is the nation that 62 million Americans handed to a malignant narcissist with authoritarian tendencies, an emotional juvenile who tweeted insults at a celebrity at three in the morning, the night after North Korea once again threatened nuclear war.
"Oh, just give him a chance! ...Say, any good shows on TV tonight?"
Little Bush and Petraeus are more guilty and should be scrutinized more, held to a higher standard.
Assange is quite rightly distrusting the US
Loadsa dosh to be made from that one
Ca a leader in what is real. Blue state doing great. Unlike the red states.
Thom,
Haven't heard you cover this but California just elected it's State (D) members. The vote went huge for Bernie/Progressive candidates. These people vote for DNC council. California is pushing the party left as hard as we can.
Start amplifying on the air that as California goes......
my .02
Assange hasn't been charged with any crimes by the US so the US would have no legal basis for an extradition request regarding him. His "offer" was pure distraction.
I read that Manning was eligible for parole after 8 years. Her sentence has now been reduced to 7 years. She spent a lot of time in solitary confinement. General Patreus Got zero time.
While everyone is obsessing over Trump's latest outrageousness, Paul Ryan and friends are rubbing their hands in glee. Wake up people! The destruction of Social Security and Medicare is about to commence and it will move fast. Trump will not stop it. But we can.
Everyone across the political spectrum who depends on or cares about these programs needs to write and call their congressional representatives NOW and tell them: "I oppose any move to privatize Social Security and Medicare. No reduction of benefits, no voucherization, no reduction of COLAs, no increase in eligibility age. If you support any of these things you lose my vote."
Republicans may have majorities in Congress but we still have the franchise. Congresspeople want to keep their jobs and we are the ones who determine if they will.