Billionaire cash steers the agenda, military and police power set the boundaries, and religious messaging sells it as virtue, all while taxpayers fund the very system that excludes them…
One reason many countries have failed to keep a democracy is because they don’t have a heritage of democracy. It is hard to convince people to think differently if they have little experience of a different society.
We do have a heritage of democracy, at least in our constitution if not always practiced. It is easier for us to see that things have gone wrong (even as we have trouble believing what we are seeing).
Thanks to you, Thom, and so many others, we are constantly reminded that we are in existential trouble and need to act to recapture our heritage of democracy.
The only reason evil prevails is because people are evil.
Trump was upfront about who he was, and yet people voted for him twice, and yes we wuz robbed, but that has nothing to do with the fact that millions of people voted for evil, and that wealth financed evil and the vote.
Evil is triumphing and yet 35 to 40% of the population supports him, and though a minority, they are well funded and organized, and a minority can and has taken control of a country.
Kingdoms were ruled by a minority, a minority took control of Germany, and Russia, Bolshevik means majority, but the Bolsheviks were actually a minority and a well organized minority.
Calling themselves Bolsheviks, was an excellent example of use of words, to influence or control men's minds. It is like Putin claiming to be victim.
A cohesive minority can subjugate a population, if they have the numbers which is about 17%. MAGA has 35 - 40%, aided and abetted by press,pulpit, and plutocrats.
We wuz robbed has EVERYTHING to do with getting justice.
“Those who vote decide nothing. Those who count the vote decide everything.” ― Joseph Stalin.
1. We still have a chance to get Congress to act.
2. The court decisions are working. After losing repeatedly, Trump announced he is abandoning his efforts to deploy the National Guard in Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, Ore.
The Ninth Circuit just ruled that the Trump administration has to return hundreds of California National Guard troops to state control.
3. As I said yesterday, MAGA and Trump increasing make unforced errors, like his two vetos of bipartisan bills that offend his own people. Like the Ukraine situation. Like the tariffs.
Placing all your hopes on the Epstein files is a forelorn hope. First obstacle is Trump/Pam Bondi, 2d Obstacle is Congress, third obstacle is the rich and powerful that will be implicated, if they could confine the perps to Democrats they would be happy, in fact that is what they are trying to do.
Who would try these criminals and perverts for money laundering, extortion and bribery? Question was rhetorical, answer is Bondi, and we know where that idea goes.
Yep MAGA should be interested to know more about Bubba, but they aren't at all curious, and neither is the corporate media. including, especially, MSNOW. A guest analyst or two have mentioned Bubba, but the hosts, with an ear bud firmly planted, doesn't follow through.
Everyone is afraid of being sued, and harassed by the regime.
The Business of America is business, Calvin Coolidge, and the only thing that is of importance is the next P&E
You've ridiculed those of us who have been working on the Jerry Weiss scenario. We're still at it. Besides Trump Epstein, House Republicans are breaking on other issues. Obamacare. Next week on Reussian sanctions for Ukraine. Tariffs.
It seems to me that MSNOW has succumbed to cowering in advance. For all their talk about "We, The People", it is STILL all about trump and not those who could depose him.
Unfortunately you are correct. What chagrins me most is that all of the hosts play it safe, they only report that which is already reported, and then kvetch endlessly over three current, breaking news, subjects, but use guests, so called (experts or analysts) to say the truth out loud, but never follow up or expand.
The firing of Joy Reid, Katy Phang, Keith Olbermann was a shot across the bow, that scum bag narcissist, Chris Matthews was fired over inappropriate sexual behavior.
Yep, and to get the people organized, the Democratic party is going to have to attract those people who bolted to the Republican party, and it is going to take more than words, words are cheap.
I will say this, if the Democrats had given us Universal Health Care during Obama's admin there would be no Trump. However AHIP, Hedge Funds, PhRMA would have been pissed,and poured millions into the Republican party...wait, didn't they do that anyway?
I checked the site searched using key word appeal, most of the rulings areGovernment Action not blocked pending appeal, the rest are mostly temporary stays, thus giving the government the abilityto appeal
And what happens when the hit the appellate courts, Checking that most rulings are with Trump, such as The First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Trump administration today in Svitlana Doe v. Noem, ruling that the administration’s termination of humanitarian parole was lawful. This ruling impacts the lawful parole status and work authorization for half a million “CHNV” humanitarian parole recipients from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. This is the first ruling in Svitlana since the Supreme Court granted the Trump Administration’s extraordinary request on May 30 to reverse the district court’s order blocking the termination — even before the First Circuit heard the case on appeal in July
And where the appellate court does not rule in favor of Trump, it is appealed to the Supreme Court. Which only dismisses cases on the shadow docket, if they are in favor of Trump, otherwise they schedule a hearing and so far, the SCOTUS has ruled with Trump 20 out of 22 times, and the times that it ruled against Trump he has ignored the ruling.
A court ruled that he couldn't send National Guard into Chicago, but that hasn't stopped him from sending National Guard into other cities.
It is axiomatic that Trump will veto any bills that are opposed to his own ideas and policies.
Which brings up the Epstein Files HR 4505, the only reason he signed it is because he knew that Bondi would not comply and scrub his name and name of his friends and sponsors., leaving only Democrats.
By the way very chagrined to see a photo of Bannon and Chomsky chumming it up so friendly. Which makes sense Bannon admitted he is a Trotskyite, Chomsky didn't come out and say it, but it is the consequences of his ideology.
The photo is proof of something I have long thought that Bannon and Chomsky are aligned in one aspect the destruction of the Administrative State, which means the Destruction of the American Democracy
The point Dear Daniel, is that you delight in citing a handful of lower court decisions against Trump, but ignore the appellate rulings in his favor, and then ignore the Shadow Docket and SCOTUS rulings in his favor.
You are wanting us to believe that a 5 or 10 yard advance, means a win, and ignore the touch downs and field goals of the opposition..
Yeh sure Daniel, telling it like it is, rather than deceiving yourself with false hope and misdiretion is rooting for the enemy.
The LRRP goes out and comes back and tells the battalion commander that there is an enemy battalion waiting for us, and the XO days, there you go again rooting for the enemy. it is not a battalion only a company.
Why support morally and financially, an incompetent and corrupt organization, just because it is the opposition to an even greater threat.
Nay I say, let's change and reform the one that we have, to be a real opposition and not just a kinder, gentler version of the enemy.
I frankly tire of your Manichean attitude, that is pure George W Bush,, that if you ain't with me, then you are again me.
I disagree somewhat with the assertion that "The only reason evil prevails is because people are evil." Some people surely are evil. However, my sense from talking to folks is that they seemed to take their government for granted. What difference does it make who my congressman is? I-95 is getting repaved, my daughter still gets picked up by the school bus. The cops come and arrest criminals when we call. Getting rid of these black illegals whose unfair advantage over me with libtard DEI will make my life better.
Trump used dissatisfaction with their standard of living to stoke rage that blinded most MAGAs to his megalomania. They never reflected on the possibility that his plan was to make them even less wealthy by making it easier for billionaires to take even more of their wealth.
When I said people are evil, I didn't mean or even infer that all people are evil.
However as I also stated in my comment, and organized and motivated minority can and has overwhelmed a disorganized, misled and lethargic majority.
And no it wasn't dissatsifaction with the standard living that propelled Trump to the throne, it was the culture war, that is what MAGA is all about. Like LBJ said.
"If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."
Trump played that culture war card, racism, transphobia, masculinity as victim, exonpobia, and he has followed through on his promise with a war against Woke and DEI.
No Tom, it wasn't the economy that enabled Trump to take the throne, it was the culture war, and so long as Democrats keep thinking and acting like it was the economy the Republicans will stay in power.
It started with Goldwater in 64, broke out in 68 with Nixon and his southern strategy, and finally grabbed the steering wheel and gas pedl with Reagan.
I agree with Thom, I think the economy definitely played a part it was not JUST racism. Trump used the race card to stoke anger and get people to the polls. I saw Nuremberg with Russell Crowe last night (highly recommend), it reaffirms that Nazi Germany grew out of the Treaty of Versailles and the economic hardship and the resentment it created.
Yes the economy played a part , but for the uncommitted, I balk at downplaying the importance of the culture war, then and especially now.
I don't need remind you of Trumps war on "woke" and DEI.
I will watch Nurember when it shows up on TV. I don't go to the theater, however I am well versed in the Rise of the NAZIs, and their crimes, and Hitlers call to reclaim Germany's manhood after Versaille and of course he bamed it all on the Jews, stabbing Germany in the back, ignoring the thousands of Jews that fought for Deutschland in WWI. And one wrote about his experience in All Quiet on the Western Front
Nuremberg, showed clearly that Trump has followed the same roadmap to Nazi-ism that we see the roadmap to MAGA-ism. I loved the scene near the end, when Goering was confronted with the question of why he did all these inhumane things - his answer was"patriotism" to "Make Germany Great Again." Wow! very clever and very true.
Preaching to the choir, but I think you know that, but good info to put out there Make Germany Great Again.. There is a book by that name.
comparisons to the rhetoric used by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party in the 1930s to gain power. While Hitler never used that specific English phrase, his propaganda and campaign promises focused on restoring national pride, economic prosperity ("Bread and Work"), and a return to German greatness after the humiliation of World War I.
The slogan is also used in modern German politics, primarily by the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has seen a historic rise in popularity.
I don't buy movies, or even rent them. I waste $25 a month on Netflix, to please my boss. If it weren't for her I would have cancelled, nah never subscribed, by the same token I don't and won't subscribe to a streaming service.
I am not happy with this new subscription business model, but for the naif's, it is all they know
Bill, we disagree, in the sense that I believe the P2P standard of living was ripe for exploitation. As a grad student, in the mid 70s, I did not like living P2P, but I accepted that all graduate students are starving. But what if you are working, own a $65K F150 (still not paid for at the 5-year point) have 2 kids in school, a house you still owe 300K for, and a credit card debt of $26,000? It is much easier to blame somebody else (Somali niggers) than accept that you cannot stop spending money you do not have.
I fail to understand what you disagree with Tom. The P2P standard began with the advent of mass use of Visa and Mastercards.
Imarried in 1960, and didn't have a credit card until the 1970's, at the time I married I was an E-2, bought a 1956 Ford on credit, and my first piece of furniture, a sofa, from Sears on Revolving charge. I furnished the home, with revolving credit from Sears, but had to manage, even bought a 1962 Corvair, and then a 1965 Mustang on credit, 3 yrs contract, each., Mustang payments were $65 for three years
I never lived P2P, never in my life,not as an enlisted not as retired. As an E-5 in Vietnam my basic pay was $261.30, Basic allowance for Quarters was $105 Basic allowance for subsistence was $1 a day, all of which my wife received and I lived off Combat Pay ,I had traded the Mustang in for a 1966 Fords Station Wagon,as we know had three children. Combat pay was $65 a month and that is what I lived on Vietnam., More than enough to live on.
Still no credit cards,no Payday to payday living.
I believe that I mentioned that when I was living in Panama from 75 to 78, there was no P2P, prices were low, then Citigroup launched a massive advertising campaign for Credit Cards, now there is soaring inflation and people living P2P
P2P, like Nazi-ism and Trump's MAGAism, slowly crept up on people. It was not an overnight thing. P2P did not appear to be a common lifestyle until 2000. By 2008, it was obvious as I saw mansions in Potomac, MD, with foreclosure signs in the front yard just a few months after the crash. By that time, the GOP had so loosened credit debt regs that the only difference between people was their credit score (low to high interest rates on cards).
The only thing I used my VISA card for between 1975 and 1980 (graduation) was car repairs. Otherwise, I paid cash for everything cuz I wuz a starving grad student. Once I was making a decent salary on the U Med School faculty, I used plastic for everything, but paid it off each month. It provided an easy way to detect if I was spending more than investing. Leftover cash went into the NYSE.
P2P people today are not starving. They are spending more than they earn. They are not in the "havenot" class, they are in the new "wannahavemore" class. Many of us who were careful with our incomes joined the "havenuf" class by retirement.
There you go Tom: "P2P people today are not starving. They are spending more than they earn. They are not in the "havenot" class, they are in the new "wannahavemore" class. Many of us who were careful with our incomes joined the "havenuf" class by retirement."
That's it. We are a consumerist society, people have to have what they want, and they want it now, and if they don't know what they want, then they will be told that by advertising, twas TV, but now includes the internet.
Like you I use my credit card for Internet purchases only, and pay off the balance be before it is due, by monitoring it on the net. I haven't paid a cent in interest since I paid off the mortgage 5 years ago.
By the way Trump's super power is our consumption and our consumption is fueled by debt, all debt public and private.
Because we are a nation that wants it now, we are consuming the world, and the world comes to the Offal Office, on it's knees ready to fellate Trump, that he will buy what ever wares they peddle.
I agree with your statement that Trump used dissatisfaction with their standard of living to stoke rage. It worked, but why was there such dissatisfaction to begin with?
A lot of people were just pissed off at nothing ever changing, together with the Technocrats and the Christofascists who put up the money and we got Trump (again). Trump said was going to 'Drain the Swamp', 70 million people bought into that. Here's a great link I've attached previously, I agree completely with this take on things.
My response to your question about dissatisfaction with voter's SOL is that most MAGAs appear to be working class or lower income. They are just beginning to realize that they have self-indentured over the past 20 years and would prefer to follow Trump's assertion that it was not their fault for living paycheck2paycheck, it was the radical libtards wasting tax dollars on lazy welfare queens and most of whom are illegal aliens (and people of color, and often not Christians like them - they are Islamic heretics).
As a retired Fed, I find Trump using metaphors like swamp draining (implying all civil servants are snakes) and deep state (suggesting a conspiracy of the government employees against him for their own personal gain). Of course, the swamp is a creation of the ruthless billionaire class, and the deep state are people like I was, who gave up lucrative private sector careers to master our rigged government to make it work for citizens and to undermine political corruption perpetrated by people like Trump.
Oh, and he was allowed to run again because it was too sensitive politically and there were not enough votes in SCOTUS or Congress to make it stick.
Thom is right about this. The three forms of hierarchical rule--of tyranny--are military, religion, and business. The Constitution addresses military power by putting it under civilian control; Congress budgets it and the civilian president is commander in chief. The Constitution also addresses religious authority by separating State from Church, though not in so many words. But corporate power is not dealt with, or even mentioned, in the Constitution. That's the weakness that has been routinely exploited throughout our history, from the robber barons to the tech bros.
I do not think there was such a thing as a corporation back in days of our founding fathers. I think America invented them in the 18th century and they were gradually used to create monopolies, very likely aided and abetted by SCOTUS - not unlike today.
The British East India Company was the first private, for profit corporation. It was a major bone of contention to the American colonies, and British trade policies designed to support the interests of the East India Company over those of the colonies led to the Boston Tea Party, and ultimately, the Revolution.
Apart from the postal service, not mentioned in the Constitution. States issue corporate charters. The legal concept of "trusts" was worked out by lawyers for Rockefeller/Standard oil to justify their 19th Century monopoly. Some corporation law is based on folklore.
Thom has written several times about the contriovery whether corporations are "people" under the 14th Amendment. In the law, there is a concept of "coram nobis" that could arguabally change everything. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/writ_of_coram_nobis
Let's start with a "Western Interstate Healthcare Program" (WIHP), an interstate compact system providing Medicare-like benefits to residents of joining states. The seeds are already there in several states. A key element noted by Mark Cuban in a recent interview is the need to build radical transparency into the costs of procedures and treatments. WIHP could start there and then make a reasoned jump into benefits management.
With a number of Western states joining forces--perhaps 8 or 9, the size of the Congressional delegation would be sufficient to push through needed changes to the waivers at a Federal level.
Here is the thing, California if it was a country, would be the 4th largest in the world.
From AI Overview
California's economy is a global powerhouse, typically ranking as the fifth largest in the world, behind only the U.S., China, Germany, and Japan, though it recently briefly surpassed Japan to claim the fourth spot in early 2025 before slipping back slightly as of late 2025 data, holding strong as the largest sub-national economy globally. With a GDP around $3.9 to over $4.2 trillion in recent years, California's economic output is massive, driven by tech, entertainment, agriculture, and a diverse workforce, making it an economic leader.
As California goes, so goes the rest of the country. There were no Federal mileage and smog emission standards, until California passed them.
Corporations have to conform to California laws, and thus because it is too expensive to have one set of standards and 49 other standards.
The Same way Texas sets the curriculum for the nations schools, via the Texas School Board Advisory. It is the only state with a state wide advisory panel for school text books, and thus the printing companies set type for Texas that are sold throughout the country, because it is cheaper. California should have such a system, but it doesn't.
And because California sets the tone for the nation, corporations invest billions, buying legislatures, and opposing propositions.
The major single-payer healthcare bill stopped in the California Assembly was Assembly Bill 1400 (AB 1400), authored by Assemblymember Ash Kalra, which stalled in January 2022 because it supposedly lacked votes, with then-Speaker Anthony Rendon overseeing the Assembly but Kalra ultimately deciding not to call it for a vote before the deadline, according to NPR and CalMatters.
The exuse is bullshit because in Jan 2022, when the bill was stalled, The Democrats had a super majority in the Assembly.
Randon and subsequently Buffy Wicks also a Democrat, have been bought off by AHIP
And the California Democratic Party will not chastise, censure or primary their own, and who suffers... the people.
It may be time for state ballot initiatives in this area. This will also be brutal, but it does appear that people are reaching the breaking point with the repeated failures under the ACA and the constant threat of repeal and "replace", i.e., go back to 1965.
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming have initiative processes. From that group a critical mass could be built.
Proposition orginated AB 1440 in California offered Universal Health Care, but was tabled by the speaker of the Assembly, a Democrat name of Anthony Rendon, and is followed up by his successor Buffy Wicks, also a
Democrat, the excuse was that they didn't have the votes, in Jan 2022 the Democrats had a super majority in the senate.
The problem is fear and corruption of and by the Association of Health Insurance Providers (AHIP) and PhRMA.
The saying that anyone can be bought, is apparently true, if not by money then by threats and fear.
It will take someone with money to put up the organization and build the state organizations to do the work. This means bypassing the state legislatures / general assemblies if they are bought off, as you mention.
I would hope that the likes of Mark Cuban would step up. He seems to have the idea in his head, but has not yet translated it into action.
It is axiomatic that wealth is conservative. There is no super hero coming to our rescue we have to be our own super heroes, and that means giving up that our personal cause be given priority
MAGA is the reaction against political correctness.
Trump's war on woke and DEI is the one campaign promise he has actually fully kept, and with little to no opposition or effective opposition.
While I agree with the need for civility and civil rights for all, the reality is that a major segment of the population are racists, homophobes, religious freaks, misogynists and male supremacists and they are not an insignificant portion of the population, they are 35-40% of the population, and though they might quarrel among themselves, they come together for their avatar, and their party.
There is a lot of ink being wasted on the Fuentes, Kirk, Carlson, Rogan feud., they quarrel today, tomorrow they vote as the Borg, the Vote as one, and they act as one.
A family feud, and cops will tell you that what they fear the most is responding to a family feud
I am sure you are familiar with the abused spouse syndrome.
The king was in his counting house, Counting out his money. The queen was in the parlour, Eating bread and honey.
Once again Thom knocks it out of the park.
I just listened to another very smart person describe that TRump is building his "temple complex" in the midst of OUR Capital City. Next professional told me that he has all the symptoms of prefrontal dementia. That was convincing too. His prognosis is grim for him and the country.
We best prepare for the theocracy stage that the current iteration of Vance is "into", because before all of this is over, it's becoming clearer that is going to be the last bit we will need to crush. WE CAN DO THIS! See you in the streets.
Massive fraud scheme that fleeced thousands of people had ties to Pittsburgh area. Investors remain outraged over President Trump’s order to free convicted fraudster
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Sean D. Hamill
"Before he was freed from prison by President Donald Trump five weeks ago, David Gentile was a power player in the world of private equity companies, amassing a fortune that included car dealerships, waste hauling firms and storage facilities.
"The founder of GPB Capital Holdings boasted of the company's ability to invest in thriving businesses, including the purchase of one of the largest car companies in Pennsylvania — the Kenny Ross Auto Group near Pittsburgh — to reap massive profits.
"While overseeing the auto giant, which included nine dealerships in the region, GPB bought a waste hauling firm west of Pittsburgh on its way to attracting thousands of investors who were promised 8% returns on their money.
"By the time federal prosecutors in New York targeted GPB and accused Gentile and others of siphoning $1.6 billion from the company, the equity firm had fleeced more than 15,000 people in one of the largest criminal cases of its kind, records show."
The pardon adds insult to injury. TRump hasn't met a schemer he didn't like. What he is messaging is the law doesn't matter---HE is the law. SCOTUS 6 said so.
Is someone proposing help for the victims of what turned out to be essentially a Ponzi scheme?
JamelX had a wonderful article today, comparing the democracy of Denmark to the USA. It’s astounding. How these two countries differ, when it comes to the daily stress we go through compared to Denmark that actually puts the well being of its citizens and the environment they live in as a priority over corporate greed and corruption.
And I do believe the separation of these two countries happened when reganomics took control in the 1980s. So yes Thom Hartmann you were right about this.
“Warlord kings. The morbidly rich. And theocrats.” Memo to Ken Martin and all Democrats running for any office anywhere: Therein lies the essence of your campaign. If for any reason you can’t sincerely and forcefully address each of these issues, kindly step aside and make way for someone who can.
We remember the importance of democracy. We teach real history and real civics....
We resist. In the streets, in town halls, at school board meetings, and at city councils. We call Congress...
And we reform...
Here’s what we’re doing in a rural county in Washington State, across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon.
Like many rural Democratic parties, we’re the default organization for supporting protests like “No Kings” and other activities. But we realized we need longer term strategies that build participation with regular activities.
As a union organizer, I was steeped in the concept of getting large numbers of people involved at every step. First, do something that was perceived as low risk. Maybe signing a petition. Wearing a sticker that everyone wore. You build up from there. Keeping the large numbers but increasing the perceived risk of the activity.
We’re sponsoring, along with other community groups, a Conference on Strategies to Oppose Authoritarianism on January 10.
After a 9:00 am reception, the program begins at 10:00 am with history and political science professors speaking on the parallels in history to our situation today, and how authoritarianism has been opposed.
Featured speakers are Dr. Janet Campbell, Director of the Mount Hood Community College Political Science Department, along with Dr. Seth Cotlar from the Willamette University History Department and Dr. Donna Sinclair from the Washington State University Vancouver History Department.
Afternoon workshops will give participants opportunities to discuss and join projects that oppose authoritarian measures currently being rolled out by the federal government. The workshops will be on opposing ICE, ways to deal with stress and create community, organizing regular activities through Indivisible, supporting trans people under attack, working with Democrats in neighborhood activities and door-to-door conversations.
The conference takes place Saturday Jan. 10 at Rock Creek Hegewald Center, 710 Rock Creek Dr in Stevenson, Washington. It is sponsored by Columbia Gorge Women’s Action Network, Skamania County Democrats, Klickitat County Democrats, Skamania Pride, Hood River Latino Network along with other participating organizations. Go to skamaniademocrats.org for info.
Thank you for your work in Washington! I'm in Seattle. Of course there's lots of organizing going on here. We need the involvement of the entire state, and you are obviously doing your part! Good luck on January 10.
On the bright side, I spoke with a former co worker/ friend last night who is a 3 time trump voter who told me that now she sees that trump is rotten to the core. Why? Because we are health care workers and she sees that getting rid of ObamaCare is a threat to her job security and access to health care. Maybe maga will finally wake up from their stupor when the reality sets in.
Get news through reliable sources, and spread it. If you hear anyone repeating lies and Trump propaganda, including local media, contradict them with the truth.
Here are some of the sources I currently rely on for the truth: Democracy Now, Business Insider, The New Yorker, The American Prospect, The Atlantic, Americans for Tax Fairness, Economic Policy Institute, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, The Guardian, ProPublica, Labor Notes, The Lever, Popular Information, Heather Cox Richardson, The Bulwark, More Perfect Union, Matt Stoller, and Mehdi Hasan.
I listen to and read news from all over the world and one thing is becoming crystal clear. The money is running out. As in leaving the U.S. to go to other countries that are more stable. Big corporations have gotten the message. The days of profit in the U.S. are gone.
There will be a shift in geography as global corporations move their operations out of the U.S. within the next few short years. It's already starting. Once the money runs out, so will the oligarchs in charge. They will crawl back into the dark recesses they came from to find other victims to leach from.
As other countries, like Mexico and Canada, move away from the U.S., other countries will take the hint and do the same. Again, this has already started. The current U.S. economy depends on being the financial anchor of the world. That anchor is turning into a pile of rusty metal under Trump. He's just putting gold paint on rusty metal in an attempt to keep selling the world on the idea of American exceptionalism.
When Canada and Mexico come to the negotiating table later this year to renegotiate the CUSMA treaty, I expect things will be a lot different this time around. Mexico and Canada will be negotiating from a position of strength this time as they don't need the U.S. anymore to survive. The world is watching and waiting. Other countries, like the central Africa three in the Sahel, are already telling the world that Americans are no longer welcome as they once were.
The United States has worn out its welcome around the world, thanks to Trump, and the economic effects are going to show themselves dramatically in 2026. The U.S. is going to learn in dramatic fashion this year, that it is no longer the world's largest economy anymore.
The damage is now so bad, with regard to reputation, that it will take many years for the Americans to regain that financial trust once again. In the meantime, the average American citizen is going to be enduring financial hardships they haven't experienced in decades.
I have been trying to prepare for this for months. I just hope I have prepared enough.
Few are able to zero in on who we have become as brilliantly as Hartmann. I’ve tried to come up with a couple of one-liners, such as: America needs to get religion out of politics, politics out of religion, and religion, politics, and money out of the government. The other thought I’ve had is that I believe we’re currently simultaneously experiencing another revolutionary war, a civil war, and a world war. And as a result, far too many are overwhelmed and in culture shock not understanding what’s happening to them or what to do so they isolate assuming someone else will fix the problem. Sadly, this is an all-hands-on-deck challenge , and the window of opportunity to save democracy is shrinking daily. I think we all need to become civic education messengers and tell America’s story to everyone in our respective communities. Some will learn it for the first time. Others need to be reminded of it and that democracy isn’t free: every generation has an obligation to fight for it.
My comment is based on a substack comment made a few days ago on this substack.
After the Christmas holidays, I always feel a little blue. This year, I have a lot of company. I listened to a discussion about who America is, between Jon Stewart and two knowledgeable, articulate history professors from Yale and Florida.. "It is a long discussion, but well worth spending the time to listen and ponder. It might also give you hope that all is not lost in America."
"They talk about the ideas that animate our culture, and how some pushing for autocracy may see “democracy” as fading, declining and pointless, still what motivated and started this country, however, much we were imperfect at the time has served as a starting point…not the end point!" Our founding fathers were far from perfect but as imperfect as they were, what they aspired for this country were ideas and ideals that were principled and invaluable. We began as an experiment, discovering by trial and error what works and what doesn’t.
"This country is still a work in progress, and we’ve been working at it for better or worse for 250 years, and this is no time to let the Heritage Foundation and Federalst Society types derail it and take us back to before the revolution …
It’s here, if people want to listen, to think, and maybe to feel a little empowered and hopeful.
We can add a ghost of things that could be to this: corporate control. Corporatocracy
This could force people—real people—into a feudal-like society. Corporations controlling where we work, our present and future abilities to support ourself, where we live, how we educate and how much we are able to educate ourselves and our children. It would keep us fixed in one place with little or no options, or opportunities much as serfs were tied to a fief where they lived at the employer “pleasure” for as long as we’re good little “employees”. And, where we pledged allegiance to our employers.
This type of existence, if you want to call it that, has been attempted by corporations since then. Look at mining towns where families lived in company housing and had little opportunity to better their lives. Whole generations of people tied to work and housing where little belonged to them, or ever would.
Long ago, Caesar joined forces with the apostles and made Christianity the state religion. It encouraged moral behavior by ceding authority to God so they could reduce their garrison sizes in conquered nations. Henceforth, no ruler in Europe could take the throne without being blessed by a bishop of Rome. Birth alone was not sufficient entitlement anymore.
It is amusing that our Bible-Salesman-in-Chief and his toady Veep pretend to be Christians while behaving like pagans. Trump's modern fascist predecessors, Hitler and Mussolini, did too. They used Christ to con the masses that, like monarchs before them, their grabbing power was God's will. So, no surprise that Trump has been waving bibles and surrounding himself with evangelical sycophants. Trump almost pulled off his coup on Jan 6, but he grossly underestimated DOD's unwillingness to join the insurrection. That is surely why we have a failed soldier and toady mental moron SECDEF today, who emphasizes macho over honor.
Trump and his oligarchs have learned many lessons, and this time the coup might succeed. So, I think Thom is right that we all need to get a bit more active in politics to undermine the MAGAs.
Thank you Thom for making it clear that the time has come....
Avoid paying all (at least as much as possible) of your taxes to this king and his henchmen/barons. I am not paying mine - they will have to ask for it individually. Let's see what their failing tax agency can do first.
One reason many countries have failed to keep a democracy is because they don’t have a heritage of democracy. It is hard to convince people to think differently if they have little experience of a different society.
We do have a heritage of democracy, at least in our constitution if not always practiced. It is easier for us to see that things have gone wrong (even as we have trouble believing what we are seeing).
Thanks to you, Thom, and so many others, we are constantly reminded that we are in existential trouble and need to act to recapture our heritage of democracy.
We can do this.
The only reason evil prevails is because people are evil.
Trump was upfront about who he was, and yet people voted for him twice, and yes we wuz robbed, but that has nothing to do with the fact that millions of people voted for evil, and that wealth financed evil and the vote.
Evil is triumphing and yet 35 to 40% of the population supports him, and though a minority, they are well funded and organized, and a minority can and has taken control of a country.
Kingdoms were ruled by a minority, a minority took control of Germany, and Russia, Bolshevik means majority, but the Bolsheviks were actually a minority and a well organized minority.
Calling themselves Bolsheviks, was an excellent example of use of words, to influence or control men's minds. It is like Putin claiming to be victim.
A cohesive minority can subjugate a population, if they have the numbers which is about 17%. MAGA has 35 - 40%, aided and abetted by press,pulpit, and plutocrats.
We wuz robbed has EVERYTHING to do with getting justice.
“Those who vote decide nothing. Those who count the vote decide everything.” ― Joseph Stalin.
1. We still have a chance to get Congress to act.
2. The court decisions are working. After losing repeatedly, Trump announced he is abandoning his efforts to deploy the National Guard in Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, Ore.
The Ninth Circuit just ruled that the Trump administration has to return hundreds of California National Guard troops to state control.
3. As I said yesterday, MAGA and Trump increasing make unforced errors, like his two vetos of bipartisan bills that offend his own people. Like the Ukraine situation. Like the tariffs.
Trump Epstein is a giant opportunity. Not just statutory rape, sex traffiicing, pimping, pandering, procuring, operating houses of ill repute.
Possible treason and/or money laundering. Extortion and bribery.
How about obstruction of justice?
E.G. Turns out that while Trump was #45, the FBI was investigating Julie Brown of the Miami Herald rather than the perps.
Purely for purient interests, MAGA should want to know more about Bubba
Placing all your hopes on the Epstein files is a forelorn hope. First obstacle is Trump/Pam Bondi, 2d Obstacle is Congress, third obstacle is the rich and powerful that will be implicated, if they could confine the perps to Democrats they would be happy, in fact that is what they are trying to do.
Who would try these criminals and perverts for money laundering, extortion and bribery? Question was rhetorical, answer is Bondi, and we know where that idea goes.
Yep MAGA should be interested to know more about Bubba, but they aren't at all curious, and neither is the corporate media. including, especially, MSNOW. A guest analyst or two have mentioned Bubba, but the hosts, with an ear bud firmly planted, doesn't follow through.
Everyone is afraid of being sued, and harassed by the regime.
The Business of America is business, Calvin Coolidge, and the only thing that is of importance is the next P&E
Who says all.
You've ridiculed those of us who have been working on the Jerry Weiss scenario. We're still at it. Besides Trump Epstein, House Republicans are breaking on other issues. Obamacare. Next week on Reussian sanctions for Ukraine. Tariffs.
My rep, a MAGAT Cubana breaks on Trump Cuba. https://english.elpais.com/usa/2025-12-09/florida-congresswoman-maria-elvira-salazar-breaks-ranks-with-miamis-cuban-american-republicans-and-trump.html
That veto re the Micosukee Tribe is a slap to another Miami Batiastiano Rep.
We'll soon see how MAGA Mike responds. He's extremely vulnerable.
It seems to me that MSNOW has succumbed to cowering in advance. For all their talk about "We, The People", it is STILL all about trump and not those who could depose him.
Unfortunately you are correct. What chagrins me most is that all of the hosts play it safe, they only report that which is already reported, and then kvetch endlessly over three current, breaking news, subjects, but use guests, so called (experts or analysts) to say the truth out loud, but never follow up or expand.
The firing of Joy Reid, Katy Phang, Keith Olbermann was a shot across the bow, that scum bag narcissist, Chris Matthews was fired over inappropriate sexual behavior.
Yep, and to get the people organized, the Democratic party is going to have to attract those people who bolted to the Republican party, and it is going to take more than words, words are cheap.
I will say this, if the Democrats had given us Universal Health Care during Obama's admin there would be no Trump. However AHIP, Hedge Funds, PhRMA would have been pissed,and poured millions into the Republican party...wait, didn't they do that anyway?
You keep vaunting court decisions. https://www.justsecurity.org/107087/tracker-litigation-legal-challenges-trump-administration/
I checked the site searched using key word appeal, most of the rulings areGovernment Action not blocked pending appeal, the rest are mostly temporary stays, thus giving the government the abilityto appeal
And what happens when the hit the appellate courts, Checking that most rulings are with Trump, such as The First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Trump administration today in Svitlana Doe v. Noem, ruling that the administration’s termination of humanitarian parole was lawful. This ruling impacts the lawful parole status and work authorization for half a million “CHNV” humanitarian parole recipients from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. This is the first ruling in Svitlana since the Supreme Court granted the Trump Administration’s extraordinary request on May 30 to reverse the district court’s order blocking the termination — even before the First Circuit heard the case on appeal in July
And where the appellate court does not rule in favor of Trump, it is appealed to the Supreme Court. Which only dismisses cases on the shadow docket, if they are in favor of Trump, otherwise they schedule a hearing and so far, the SCOTUS has ruled with Trump 20 out of 22 times, and the times that it ruled against Trump he has ignored the ruling.
A court ruled that he couldn't send National Guard into Chicago, but that hasn't stopped him from sending National Guard into other cities.
It is axiomatic that Trump will veto any bills that are opposed to his own ideas and policies.
Which brings up the Epstein Files HR 4505, the only reason he signed it is because he knew that Bondi would not comply and scrub his name and name of his friends and sponsors., leaving only Democrats.
By the way very chagrined to see a photo of Bannon and Chomsky chumming it up so friendly. Which makes sense Bannon admitted he is a Trotskyite, Chomsky didn't come out and say it, but it is the consequences of his ideology.
The photo is proof of something I have long thought that Bannon and Chomsky are aligned in one aspect the destruction of the Administrative State, which means the Destruction of the American Democracy
The point Dear Daniel, is that you delight in citing a handful of lower court decisions against Trump, but ignore the appellate rulings in his favor, and then ignore the Shadow Docket and SCOTUS rulings in his favor.
You are wanting us to believe that a 5 or 10 yard advance, means a win, and ignore the touch downs and field goals of the opposition..
A
You keep ROOTING for the enemy.
Yeh sure Daniel, telling it like it is, rather than deceiving yourself with false hope and misdiretion is rooting for the enemy.
The LRRP goes out and comes back and tells the battalion commander that there is an enemy battalion waiting for us, and the XO days, there you go again rooting for the enemy. it is not a battalion only a company.
Why support morally and financially, an incompetent and corrupt organization, just because it is the opposition to an even greater threat.
Nay I say, let's change and reform the one that we have, to be a real opposition and not just a kinder, gentler version of the enemy.
I frankly tire of your Manichean attitude, that is pure George W Bush,, that if you ain't with me, then you are again me.
I disagree somewhat with the assertion that "The only reason evil prevails is because people are evil." Some people surely are evil. However, my sense from talking to folks is that they seemed to take their government for granted. What difference does it make who my congressman is? I-95 is getting repaved, my daughter still gets picked up by the school bus. The cops come and arrest criminals when we call. Getting rid of these black illegals whose unfair advantage over me with libtard DEI will make my life better.
Trump used dissatisfaction with their standard of living to stoke rage that blinded most MAGAs to his megalomania. They never reflected on the possibility that his plan was to make them even less wealthy by making it easier for billionaires to take even more of their wealth.
When I said people are evil, I didn't mean or even infer that all people are evil.
However as I also stated in my comment, and organized and motivated minority can and has overwhelmed a disorganized, misled and lethargic majority.
And no it wasn't dissatsifaction with the standard living that propelled Trump to the throne, it was the culture war, that is what MAGA is all about. Like LBJ said.
"If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."
Trump played that culture war card, racism, transphobia, masculinity as victim, exonpobia, and he has followed through on his promise with a war against Woke and DEI.
No Tom, it wasn't the economy that enabled Trump to take the throne, it was the culture war, and so long as Democrats keep thinking and acting like it was the economy the Republicans will stay in power.
It started with Goldwater in 64, broke out in 68 with Nixon and his southern strategy, and finally grabbed the steering wheel and gas pedl with Reagan.
I agree with Thom, I think the economy definitely played a part it was not JUST racism. Trump used the race card to stoke anger and get people to the polls. I saw Nuremberg with Russell Crowe last night (highly recommend), it reaffirms that Nazi Germany grew out of the Treaty of Versailles and the economic hardship and the resentment it created.
Yes the economy played a part , but for the uncommitted, I balk at downplaying the importance of the culture war, then and especially now.
I don't need remind you of Trumps war on "woke" and DEI.
I will watch Nurember when it shows up on TV. I don't go to the theater, however I am well versed in the Rise of the NAZIs, and their crimes, and Hitlers call to reclaim Germany's manhood after Versaille and of course he bamed it all on the Jews, stabbing Germany in the back, ignoring the thousands of Jews that fought for Deutschland in WWI. And one wrote about his experience in All Quiet on the Western Front
Nuremberg, showed clearly that Trump has followed the same roadmap to Nazi-ism that we see the roadmap to MAGA-ism. I loved the scene near the end, when Goering was confronted with the question of why he did all these inhumane things - his answer was"patriotism" to "Make Germany Great Again." Wow! very clever and very true.
Preaching to the choir, but I think you know that, but good info to put out there Make Germany Great Again.. There is a book by that name.
comparisons to the rhetoric used by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party in the 1930s to gain power. While Hitler never used that specific English phrase, his propaganda and campaign promises focused on restoring national pride, economic prosperity ("Bread and Work"), and a return to German greatness after the humiliation of World War I.
The slogan is also used in modern German politics, primarily by the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has seen a historic rise in popularity.
Amazon Prime $19.99
I don't buy movies, or even rent them. I waste $25 a month on Netflix, to please my boss. If it weren't for her I would have cancelled, nah never subscribed, by the same token I don't and won't subscribe to a streaming service.
I am not happy with this new subscription business model, but for the naif's, it is all they know
Bill, we disagree, in the sense that I believe the P2P standard of living was ripe for exploitation. As a grad student, in the mid 70s, I did not like living P2P, but I accepted that all graduate students are starving. But what if you are working, own a $65K F150 (still not paid for at the 5-year point) have 2 kids in school, a house you still owe 300K for, and a credit card debt of $26,000? It is much easier to blame somebody else (Somali niggers) than accept that you cannot stop spending money you do not have.
I fail to understand what you disagree with Tom. The P2P standard began with the advent of mass use of Visa and Mastercards.
Imarried in 1960, and didn't have a credit card until the 1970's, at the time I married I was an E-2, bought a 1956 Ford on credit, and my first piece of furniture, a sofa, from Sears on Revolving charge. I furnished the home, with revolving credit from Sears, but had to manage, even bought a 1962 Corvair, and then a 1965 Mustang on credit, 3 yrs contract, each., Mustang payments were $65 for three years
I never lived P2P, never in my life,not as an enlisted not as retired. As an E-5 in Vietnam my basic pay was $261.30, Basic allowance for Quarters was $105 Basic allowance for subsistence was $1 a day, all of which my wife received and I lived off Combat Pay ,I had traded the Mustang in for a 1966 Fords Station Wagon,as we know had three children. Combat pay was $65 a month and that is what I lived on Vietnam., More than enough to live on.
Still no credit cards,no Payday to payday living.
I believe that I mentioned that when I was living in Panama from 75 to 78, there was no P2P, prices were low, then Citigroup launched a massive advertising campaign for Credit Cards, now there is soaring inflation and people living P2P
P2P, like Nazi-ism and Trump's MAGAism, slowly crept up on people. It was not an overnight thing. P2P did not appear to be a common lifestyle until 2000. By 2008, it was obvious as I saw mansions in Potomac, MD, with foreclosure signs in the front yard just a few months after the crash. By that time, the GOP had so loosened credit debt regs that the only difference between people was their credit score (low to high interest rates on cards).
The only thing I used my VISA card for between 1975 and 1980 (graduation) was car repairs. Otherwise, I paid cash for everything cuz I wuz a starving grad student. Once I was making a decent salary on the U Med School faculty, I used plastic for everything, but paid it off each month. It provided an easy way to detect if I was spending more than investing. Leftover cash went into the NYSE.
P2P people today are not starving. They are spending more than they earn. They are not in the "havenot" class, they are in the new "wannahavemore" class. Many of us who were careful with our incomes joined the "havenuf" class by retirement.
There you go Tom: "P2P people today are not starving. They are spending more than they earn. They are not in the "havenot" class, they are in the new "wannahavemore" class. Many of us who were careful with our incomes joined the "havenuf" class by retirement."
That's it. We are a consumerist society, people have to have what they want, and they want it now, and if they don't know what they want, then they will be told that by advertising, twas TV, but now includes the internet.
Like you I use my credit card for Internet purchases only, and pay off the balance be before it is due, by monitoring it on the net. I haven't paid a cent in interest since I paid off the mortgage 5 years ago.
By the way Trump's super power is our consumption and our consumption is fueled by debt, all debt public and private.
Because we are a nation that wants it now, we are consuming the world, and the world comes to the Offal Office, on it's knees ready to fellate Trump, that he will buy what ever wares they peddle.
I agree with your statement that Trump used dissatisfaction with their standard of living to stoke rage. It worked, but why was there such dissatisfaction to begin with?
A lot of people were just pissed off at nothing ever changing, together with the Technocrats and the Christofascists who put up the money and we got Trump (again). Trump said was going to 'Drain the Swamp', 70 million people bought into that. Here's a great link I've attached previously, I agree completely with this take on things.
https://saltypolitics.substack.com/p/how-democrats-must-exercise-power?utm_campaign=email-post&r=2g7cs&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=emai
Beyond that WHY WAS TRUMP EVEN ALOWED TO RUN AGAIN!! WHY DID GARLAND SLOW WALK INVESTIGATING TRUMP?
https://saltypolitics.substack.com/p/the-merrick-garland-failure-that
My response to your question about dissatisfaction with voter's SOL is that most MAGAs appear to be working class or lower income. They are just beginning to realize that they have self-indentured over the past 20 years and would prefer to follow Trump's assertion that it was not their fault for living paycheck2paycheck, it was the radical libtards wasting tax dollars on lazy welfare queens and most of whom are illegal aliens (and people of color, and often not Christians like them - they are Islamic heretics).
As a retired Fed, I find Trump using metaphors like swamp draining (implying all civil servants are snakes) and deep state (suggesting a conspiracy of the government employees against him for their own personal gain). Of course, the swamp is a creation of the ruthless billionaire class, and the deep state are people like I was, who gave up lucrative private sector careers to master our rigged government to make it work for citizens and to undermine political corruption perpetrated by people like Trump.
Oh, and he was allowed to run again because it was too sensitive politically and there were not enough votes in SCOTUS or Congress to make it stick.
Thom is right about this. The three forms of hierarchical rule--of tyranny--are military, religion, and business. The Constitution addresses military power by putting it under civilian control; Congress budgets it and the civilian president is commander in chief. The Constitution also addresses religious authority by separating State from Church, though not in so many words. But corporate power is not dealt with, or even mentioned, in the Constitution. That's the weakness that has been routinely exploited throughout our history, from the robber barons to the tech bros.
I do not think there was such a thing as a corporation back in days of our founding fathers. I think America invented them in the 18th century and they were gradually used to create monopolies, very likely aided and abetted by SCOTUS - not unlike today.
The British East India Company was the first private, for profit corporation. It was a major bone of contention to the American colonies, and British trade policies designed to support the interests of the East India Company over those of the colonies led to the Boston Tea Party, and ultimately, the Revolution.
Apart from the postal service, not mentioned in the Constitution. States issue corporate charters. The legal concept of "trusts" was worked out by lawyers for Rockefeller/Standard oil to justify their 19th Century monopoly. Some corporation law is based on folklore.
Thom has written several times about the contriovery whether corporations are "people" under the 14th Amendment. In the law, there is a concept of "coram nobis" that could arguabally change everything. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/writ_of_coram_nobis
Age-old human behaviors do persist. So what do we do?
The growing soft succession idea described by Chris Ameritage a few months ago makes sense. https://open.substack.com/pub/cmarmitage/p/its-time-for-americans-to-start-talking?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web. And, it's happening.
Let's start with a "Western Interstate Healthcare Program" (WIHP), an interstate compact system providing Medicare-like benefits to residents of joining states. The seeds are already there in several states. A key element noted by Mark Cuban in a recent interview is the need to build radical transparency into the costs of procedures and treatments. WIHP could start there and then make a reasoned jump into benefits management.
With a number of Western states joining forces--perhaps 8 or 9, the size of the Congressional delegation would be sufficient to push through needed changes to the waivers at a Federal level.
Here is the thing, California if it was a country, would be the 4th largest in the world.
From AI Overview
California's economy is a global powerhouse, typically ranking as the fifth largest in the world, behind only the U.S., China, Germany, and Japan, though it recently briefly surpassed Japan to claim the fourth spot in early 2025 before slipping back slightly as of late 2025 data, holding strong as the largest sub-national economy globally. With a GDP around $3.9 to over $4.2 trillion in recent years, California's economic output is massive, driven by tech, entertainment, agriculture, and a diverse workforce, making it an economic leader.
As California goes, so goes the rest of the country. There were no Federal mileage and smog emission standards, until California passed them.
Corporations have to conform to California laws, and thus because it is too expensive to have one set of standards and 49 other standards.
The Same way Texas sets the curriculum for the nations schools, via the Texas School Board Advisory. It is the only state with a state wide advisory panel for school text books, and thus the printing companies set type for Texas that are sold throughout the country, because it is cheaper. California should have such a system, but it doesn't.
And because California sets the tone for the nation, corporations invest billions, buying legislatures, and opposing propositions.
The major single-payer healthcare bill stopped in the California Assembly was Assembly Bill 1400 (AB 1400), authored by Assemblymember Ash Kalra, which stalled in January 2022 because it supposedly lacked votes, with then-Speaker Anthony Rendon overseeing the Assembly but Kalra ultimately deciding not to call it for a vote before the deadline, according to NPR and CalMatters.
The exuse is bullshit because in Jan 2022, when the bill was stalled, The Democrats had a super majority in the Assembly.
Randon and subsequently Buffy Wicks also a Democrat, have been bought off by AHIP
And the California Democratic Party will not chastise, censure or primary their own, and who suffers... the people.
It may be time for state ballot initiatives in this area. This will also be brutal, but it does appear that people are reaching the breaking point with the repeated failures under the ACA and the constant threat of repeal and "replace", i.e., go back to 1965.
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming have initiative processes. From that group a critical mass could be built.
This will take money, of course, so not trivial!
Proposition orginated AB 1440 in California offered Universal Health Care, but was tabled by the speaker of the Assembly, a Democrat name of Anthony Rendon, and is followed up by his successor Buffy Wicks, also a
Democrat, the excuse was that they didn't have the votes, in Jan 2022 the Democrats had a super majority in the senate.
The problem is fear and corruption of and by the Association of Health Insurance Providers (AHIP) and PhRMA.
The saying that anyone can be bought, is apparently true, if not by money then by threats and fear.
It will take someone with money to put up the organization and build the state organizations to do the work. This means bypassing the state legislatures / general assemblies if they are bought off, as you mention.
I would hope that the likes of Mark Cuban would step up. He seems to have the idea in his head, but has not yet translated it into action.
It is axiomatic that wealth is conservative. There is no super hero coming to our rescue we have to be our own super heroes, and that means giving up that our personal cause be given priority
MAGA is the reaction against political correctness.
Trump's war on woke and DEI is the one campaign promise he has actually fully kept, and with little to no opposition or effective opposition.
While I agree with the need for civility and civil rights for all, the reality is that a major segment of the population are racists, homophobes, religious freaks, misogynists and male supremacists and they are not an insignificant portion of the population, they are 35-40% of the population, and though they might quarrel among themselves, they come together for their avatar, and their party.
There is a lot of ink being wasted on the Fuentes, Kirk, Carlson, Rogan feud., they quarrel today, tomorrow they vote as the Borg, the Vote as one, and they act as one.
A family feud, and cops will tell you that what they fear the most is responding to a family feud
I am sure you are familiar with the abused spouse syndrome.
Right on with the last sentence!
S_L_O_W.
We can pressure Congress re Obamacare today!
The king was in his counting house, Counting out his money. The queen was in the parlour, Eating bread and honey.
Once again Thom knocks it out of the park.
I just listened to another very smart person describe that TRump is building his "temple complex" in the midst of OUR Capital City. Next professional told me that he has all the symptoms of prefrontal dementia. That was convincing too. His prognosis is grim for him and the country.
We best prepare for the theocracy stage that the current iteration of Vance is "into", because before all of this is over, it's becoming clearer that is going to be the last bit we will need to crush. WE CAN DO THIS! See you in the streets.
IMHO we have an opportunity to help Trump victims.
Here's what's happening in Pittsburgh in response to some of the Trump pardons. Many of the victims are Republican donors.
https://www.post-gazette.com/news/crime-courts/2026/01/01/david-fentile-fraud-trump-commute/stories/202601010016
BTW the Post Gazette has been a right wing apologist for Trump.
I agree they need help. Couldn't get past the paywall, Daniel.
Massive fraud scheme that fleeced thousands of people had ties to Pittsburgh area. Investors remain outraged over President Trump’s order to free convicted fraudster
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Sean D. Hamill
"Before he was freed from prison by President Donald Trump five weeks ago, David Gentile was a power player in the world of private equity companies, amassing a fortune that included car dealerships, waste hauling firms and storage facilities.
"The founder of GPB Capital Holdings boasted of the company's ability to invest in thriving businesses, including the purchase of one of the largest car companies in Pennsylvania — the Kenny Ross Auto Group near Pittsburgh — to reap massive profits.
"While overseeing the auto giant, which included nine dealerships in the region, GPB bought a waste hauling firm west of Pittsburgh on its way to attracting thousands of investors who were promised 8% returns on their money.
"By the time federal prosecutors in New York targeted GPB and accused Gentile and others of siphoning $1.6 billion from the company, the equity firm had fleeced more than 15,000 people in one of the largest criminal cases of its kind, records show."
The pardon adds insult to injury. TRump hasn't met a schemer he didn't like. What he is messaging is the law doesn't matter---HE is the law. SCOTUS 6 said so.
Is someone proposing help for the victims of what turned out to be essentially a Ponzi scheme?
It's called "bankruptcy."
Yes, agree the Thiel/Vance theocracy plan is huge. Now these nut jobs are going to give us salvation whether we want it or not. Scary stuff.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/26/opinion/peter-thiel-antichrist-ross-douthat.html
JamelX had a wonderful article today, comparing the democracy of Denmark to the USA. It’s astounding. How these two countries differ, when it comes to the daily stress we go through compared to Denmark that actually puts the well being of its citizens and the environment they live in as a priority over corporate greed and corruption.
And I do believe the separation of these two countries happened when reganomics took control in the 1980s. So yes Thom Hartmann you were right about this.
Woops it was Norway not Denmark in Jamel x article.
“Warlord kings. The morbidly rich. And theocrats.” Memo to Ken Martin and all Democrats running for any office anywhere: Therein lies the essence of your campaign. If for any reason you can’t sincerely and forcefully address each of these issues, kindly step aside and make way for someone who can.
Tell them youself. https://blueprint.democrats.org/
As if we are a top down autocracy.
I do. The Schumercats can’t hear me.
I'm sorry but he's highly underestimated and it turns out played the shut down like a violin.
BTW -- He's not the DNC.
So what do we do? As Thom points out:
We remember the importance of democracy. We teach real history and real civics....
We resist. In the streets, in town halls, at school board meetings, and at city councils. We call Congress...
And we reform...
Here’s what we’re doing in a rural county in Washington State, across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon.
Like many rural Democratic parties, we’re the default organization for supporting protests like “No Kings” and other activities. But we realized we need longer term strategies that build participation with regular activities.
As a union organizer, I was steeped in the concept of getting large numbers of people involved at every step. First, do something that was perceived as low risk. Maybe signing a petition. Wearing a sticker that everyone wore. You build up from there. Keeping the large numbers but increasing the perceived risk of the activity.
We’re sponsoring, along with other community groups, a Conference on Strategies to Oppose Authoritarianism on January 10.
After a 9:00 am reception, the program begins at 10:00 am with history and political science professors speaking on the parallels in history to our situation today, and how authoritarianism has been opposed.
Featured speakers are Dr. Janet Campbell, Director of the Mount Hood Community College Political Science Department, along with Dr. Seth Cotlar from the Willamette University History Department and Dr. Donna Sinclair from the Washington State University Vancouver History Department.
Afternoon workshops will give participants opportunities to discuss and join projects that oppose authoritarian measures currently being rolled out by the federal government. The workshops will be on opposing ICE, ways to deal with stress and create community, organizing regular activities through Indivisible, supporting trans people under attack, working with Democrats in neighborhood activities and door-to-door conversations.
The conference takes place Saturday Jan. 10 at Rock Creek Hegewald Center, 710 Rock Creek Dr in Stevenson, Washington. It is sponsored by Columbia Gorge Women’s Action Network, Skamania County Democrats, Klickitat County Democrats, Skamania Pride, Hood River Latino Network along with other participating organizations. Go to skamaniademocrats.org for info.
Thank you for your work in Washington! I'm in Seattle. Of course there's lots of organizing going on here. We need the involvement of the entire state, and you are obviously doing your part! Good luck on January 10.
On the bright side, I spoke with a former co worker/ friend last night who is a 3 time trump voter who told me that now she sees that trump is rotten to the core. Why? Because we are health care workers and she sees that getting rid of ObamaCare is a threat to her job security and access to health care. Maybe maga will finally wake up from their stupor when the reality sets in.
Yeah, a lot of them don't care or think it's great. Right up until it punches them in the face or wallet.
Robert Reich
Here's something we all can do.
10. Spread the truth.
Get news through reliable sources, and spread it. If you hear anyone repeating lies and Trump propaganda, including local media, contradict them with the truth.
Here are some of the sources I currently rely on for the truth: Democracy Now, Business Insider, The New Yorker, The American Prospect, The Atlantic, Americans for Tax Fairness, Economic Policy Institute, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, The Guardian, ProPublica, Labor Notes, The Lever, Popular Information, Heather Cox Richardson, The Bulwark, More Perfect Union, Matt Stoller, and Mehdi Hasan.
I listen to and read news from all over the world and one thing is becoming crystal clear. The money is running out. As in leaving the U.S. to go to other countries that are more stable. Big corporations have gotten the message. The days of profit in the U.S. are gone.
There will be a shift in geography as global corporations move their operations out of the U.S. within the next few short years. It's already starting. Once the money runs out, so will the oligarchs in charge. They will crawl back into the dark recesses they came from to find other victims to leach from.
As other countries, like Mexico and Canada, move away from the U.S., other countries will take the hint and do the same. Again, this has already started. The current U.S. economy depends on being the financial anchor of the world. That anchor is turning into a pile of rusty metal under Trump. He's just putting gold paint on rusty metal in an attempt to keep selling the world on the idea of American exceptionalism.
When Canada and Mexico come to the negotiating table later this year to renegotiate the CUSMA treaty, I expect things will be a lot different this time around. Mexico and Canada will be negotiating from a position of strength this time as they don't need the U.S. anymore to survive. The world is watching and waiting. Other countries, like the central Africa three in the Sahel, are already telling the world that Americans are no longer welcome as they once were.
The United States has worn out its welcome around the world, thanks to Trump, and the economic effects are going to show themselves dramatically in 2026. The U.S. is going to learn in dramatic fashion this year, that it is no longer the world's largest economy anymore.
The damage is now so bad, with regard to reputation, that it will take many years for the Americans to regain that financial trust once again. In the meantime, the average American citizen is going to be enduring financial hardships they haven't experienced in decades.
I have been trying to prepare for this for months. I just hope I have prepared enough.
I especially liked the "putting gold paint on rusty metal" part.
Few are able to zero in on who we have become as brilliantly as Hartmann. I’ve tried to come up with a couple of one-liners, such as: America needs to get religion out of politics, politics out of religion, and religion, politics, and money out of the government. The other thought I’ve had is that I believe we’re currently simultaneously experiencing another revolutionary war, a civil war, and a world war. And as a result, far too many are overwhelmed and in culture shock not understanding what’s happening to them or what to do so they isolate assuming someone else will fix the problem. Sadly, this is an all-hands-on-deck challenge , and the window of opportunity to save democracy is shrinking daily. I think we all need to become civic education messengers and tell America’s story to everyone in our respective communities. Some will learn it for the first time. Others need to be reminded of it and that democracy isn’t free: every generation has an obligation to fight for it.
My comment is based on a substack comment made a few days ago on this substack.
After the Christmas holidays, I always feel a little blue. This year, I have a lot of company. I listened to a discussion about who America is, between Jon Stewart and two knowledgeable, articulate history professors from Yale and Florida.. "It is a long discussion, but well worth spending the time to listen and ponder. It might also give you hope that all is not lost in America."
"They talk about the ideas that animate our culture, and how some pushing for autocracy may see “democracy” as fading, declining and pointless, still what motivated and started this country, however, much we were imperfect at the time has served as a starting point…not the end point!" Our founding fathers were far from perfect but as imperfect as they were, what they aspired for this country were ideas and ideals that were principled and invaluable. We began as an experiment, discovering by trial and error what works and what doesn’t.
"This country is still a work in progress, and we’ve been working at it for better or worse for 250 years, and this is no time to let the Heritage Foundation and Federalst Society types derail it and take us back to before the revolution …
It’s here, if people want to listen, to think, and maybe to feel a little empowered and hopeful.
https://youtu.be/isBCQpJIDlU>
All so true, Thom.
We can add a ghost of things that could be to this: corporate control. Corporatocracy
This could force people—real people—into a feudal-like society. Corporations controlling where we work, our present and future abilities to support ourself, where we live, how we educate and how much we are able to educate ourselves and our children. It would keep us fixed in one place with little or no options, or opportunities much as serfs were tied to a fief where they lived at the employer “pleasure” for as long as we’re good little “employees”. And, where we pledged allegiance to our employers.
This type of existence, if you want to call it that, has been attempted by corporations since then. Look at mining towns where families lived in company housing and had little opportunity to better their lives. Whole generations of people tied to work and housing where little belonged to them, or ever would.
A great irony of the regime is that Trump has a copy of the Declaration of Independence mounted on the wall of the Oval Office.
Long ago, Caesar joined forces with the apostles and made Christianity the state religion. It encouraged moral behavior by ceding authority to God so they could reduce their garrison sizes in conquered nations. Henceforth, no ruler in Europe could take the throne without being blessed by a bishop of Rome. Birth alone was not sufficient entitlement anymore.
It is amusing that our Bible-Salesman-in-Chief and his toady Veep pretend to be Christians while behaving like pagans. Trump's modern fascist predecessors, Hitler and Mussolini, did too. They used Christ to con the masses that, like monarchs before them, their grabbing power was God's will. So, no surprise that Trump has been waving bibles and surrounding himself with evangelical sycophants. Trump almost pulled off his coup on Jan 6, but he grossly underestimated DOD's unwillingness to join the insurrection. That is surely why we have a failed soldier and toady mental moron SECDEF today, who emphasizes macho over honor.
Trump and his oligarchs have learned many lessons, and this time the coup might succeed. So, I think Thom is right that we all need to get a bit more active in politics to undermine the MAGAs.
Thank you Thom for making it clear that the time has come....
Avoid paying all (at least as much as possible) of your taxes to this king and his henchmen/barons. I am not paying mine - they will have to ask for it individually. Let's see what their failing tax agency can do first.