With your permission, I would like to use your concluding statement on my April 19 protest sign —
Democracy doesn’t “die in darkness.” It dies when truth becomes a crime and silence becomes survival. Thank you for your outstanding reports. Every one.
I understand where you are coming from, but I think it is closer to the truth to say that THE PEOPLE have forgotten that they are the government, and they are also significant participants in the media.
For too long, the American people have fallen into the habit of perceiving the government as something “out there,” external to us, separate, beyond our control. If it is, it is only because we have allowed it to become so. After all, the power of the government comes directly from the people, and the primary purpose of the government of America was to protect & insure the Liberty and Freedom of the American people, and via the unique system of American democratic Republicanism, do two things: to insure the general well-being of the people, and to protect them from external & internal threats. In short, as Abraham Lincoln famously said (1863, to paraphrase), the American government is supposed to be “of, by and for The People” .
But the people are not meant to be passive recipients of these conditions; for every reward of being American, there are responsibilities that go beyond simply voting (and these days many Americans don’t even do that). At the very least, the people are the final line of defense against those who would undermine, if not destroy, our Constitution as the fundamental law of our country.
The founders also argued that the American people must have what Jefferson referred to as the Freedom of Mind, a product of a “liberal education” (liberal as defined at that time as in liberated, free from arbitrary obstacles that people in power have historically put in place to keep the masses from accessing the full range of knowledge available at any given time or place). As John Adams (1765) argued without access to a liberated education, the total sum of all knowledge from past to present and in the making, people aren’t even able to recognize their lack of Freedom, never mind, conceive of a path towards liberty (defined as the absence of the arbitrary abuse of power) and Freedom (defined by Jefferson as quite expansive, constrained only when such Freedom injures another - Jefferson, 17. The State of Virginia, XIII?).
For John Adams and others, a public system of Liberal Education was the best path towards producing an American population that would have the knowledge necessary to protect America and her founding ideals of Liberty and Freedom. See John Adams, 1765). A public liberal education, including American Liberal Colleges, was also one way to reduce the fear of many of the founders, themselves mostly wealthier land owners and professionals, of potential dangers of America’s masses, who left to their own personal & presumably ignorant, interests, could undermine this new vision of a Liberated and Free America (& if we are to be honest, these men were also concerned with protecting their own interests; there can be no question that “The Founders” were often conflicted as their own interests and their ideals collided on a regular basis, a problem that even today’s most progressive activists must contend with, ideally subverting their personal interests to that of the general well-being of all).
Unfortunately, as much progress America has made in creating a public education, it has never been successful in dismantling class and status inequalities in society; and as the American People’s knowledge of the original texts (& warnings) of America’s founders as declined considerably over the last 250 years, education system has become a microcosm of the ongoing battles between the interests of those in power (who have a stake in controlling the masses access to knowledge) and the masses who want their children to have access to better future outcomes via the best available education.
Perhaps most destructive to Jefferson’s, Adams, Franklin’s and others belief in the power of knowledge, has been the shift in the presumed function of public education - from the liberation of knowledge for the preservation of American Liberty and Freedom to the more transactional view of education to prepare youth for their place in the larger social-economy.
Under President Trump’s second term as President, the final twist of the knife to sever the intended objective of public education, the Liberation and Freedom of Mind replaced by the ancient method of protecting the power of a few, by controlling knowledge: its creation, its availability, its power as a source of Freedom.
Read "Fears of a Setting Sun..." by Rasmussen based on the founders own memoirs after the Constitutional convention. These prescient founders you note recognized that political parties could and eventually would remove the government from the people and disempower them from regaining control. That is exactly what happened; it simply happened later than expected. I do not agree that educated people do not recognize or have forgotten.
I’ve actually read many of original words of founders and yes, it surprises me that we even have political parties - just in the Federalist Papers, the association between political papers and political faction - a groups whose members use their government positions to serve their own and their groups interests instead of the interests of the people.
As a retired college professor, I spent a lot around educated people, people we’d expect to have a fair amount of knowledge at the very least about their own discipline. And I also know a number of people involved in local and state politics who, I’m sure, are equally well-educated. But I’m none the less frequently surprised by how few seem to have more than a very causal understanding of what the founders vision of America, whether from original sources or from historical summaries of that work. That in no way means that some people aren’t well informed in the topic. Just that it doesn’t seem to me to be the norm.
I’m far more concerned by how little our public school education educates youth with original sources when learning their history - it was certainly dismal when I was in school in the 60s and 70s. I remember history being about as dry and burning as it can be, which is sad, bc it should be a relatively easy thing to make the issues that the founders debated and wrestled with relevant to the everyday life of students, particularly by junior high and high school (in Education and Democracy, John Dewey talks about the importance of the teaching skill of making course studies relevant to the lives of students to draw students in and encourage them to negate in critical thinking).
As I’ve written before, I didn’t only had a general sense of what the Founders of our nation envisioned for America and it was only five years ago that I set out to learn as much as I could by reading their original works. It’s been eye opening. Ive learned first hand how important knowledge is and how, as john Adams argued, knowledge is power. - knowledge of the past and present, of what works and doesn’t work so well, of the good and bad, and of the multiple challenges for anyone who understands and believes in a liberated and Free society but, at same time, finds that the path to that ideal may conflict with our own interests; it’s this later messiness that I think all Americans need to think about - not just in how many of those founders who look up to were flawed men, with their own biases and their own conflicting self interest but also how that is likely true to ourselves as well; are we prepared to give up our own interests in order to serve the greater good of the people and nation? Or will we find excuses or rationalizations that help us convince ourselves that we have no choice, or that it’s too much to ask for us to sacrifice so much.
It’s seems to me those very questions are particularly relevant today, as we watch people we elected to office choose between self interests vs the interests of a Liberated and Free Society.
I do wonder how so many of us talk about what the government does to us. Or your comment that political parties are shifting the power of government from the people on general to the parties and their Donors. My question is, does this really happen to us, the people, the voters. Are we being forced out of government? Or have we simply given up both our power and responsibility. The people do have power, of the work together (a big lesson in the accounts the founding or America). So why didn’t we use that power to resist the shifting of control over the government? As a Sociologist, could easily list out many potential variables that contributed to this change; in fact, I’ve done just this as I attempt to flesh out the changes that have occurred in America most since 1980. It’s a messy schematic - and involves multiple push-pull of interactions between institutions, culture, social order, competing interests, playing out amongst an overwhelmed and struggling population and a small group of self-entitled wealthy people whose greed/purpose in life seems to involve the objective of grabbing up a exponentially increasing proportion of wealth, property & power in the US.
Sure, some of those people have more resources and higher statuses that make them quite influential, especially as they have increased their control over the multiple types of media. But the people are not y totally helpless. They have agency, they have power in numbers. And they make choices - or whether to fight it just keep their head down and keep going.
I would also argue of many of us are not as well informed about what is happening, and perhaps more importantly, the larger implications of what is happening - for Democracy, for Liberty, for Freedom.
This is what I mean about knowledge. It’s not just to know things, to memorize names and dates, or being able to recite this Constitutional amendment or another. It’s about knowing how to use knowledge as the tool it is - to develop understanding, to consider the consequences this response or another, and to recognize the enormous responsibility we the people really have in protecting our nation, and how each decision we make, from who we vote for, to paying attention to what politicians are or are not doing (and any difference between what they saw and what they do) and how to engage in discussion of these issue with one another without being sucked in to partisan propaganda and false dichotomies of us vs them (usually distractions).
The people are as strong or weak as they choose to be. But it’s easier to be strong and protect our nation of we truly understand the importance of our responsibilities, not just in voting, and certainly not as passive recipients of news from Washington DC, believing we have no role to play in holding those that are voted into office accountable. We’ve always had the ability to make ourselves heard - perhaps even more so before the current administration. I doubt we will ever recover American democracy, liberty and freedom until we recognize our responsibilities and our abilities to fulfill them.
When I heard about his order yesterday to investigate 2 public servants for simply telling the truth I was so furious I could hardly contain myself. I was watching MSNBC at the time, and even though it was discussed I don’t think it was given the outrage it deserved. Even Rachel barely touched on this hideous example of despotism.
I am calling every Republican in what we still laughingly call our government, to ask if they are going to stand up for the Bill of Rights and free speech.
Let’s face it: we are in a full blown dictatorship, mainly because of this Party of cowards.
Reportedly, yesterday Rep. W. Gregory Steube (R-Fla.) called Speaker Johnson a liar and said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus!" according to three sources.https://www.alternet.org/gop-johnson-budget/
I've been hoping that some Republicans would have a revelation that they were working for/with the devil.
Don't know the context -- the devil is in the details -- but this ties into Feathers of Hope.
Congress is supposed to recess 2 weeks, come back to endores the Trump budget. But there is an ever greater incentive to reject most of it.
Guilty before they are even charged. This is Trump's modus operandi.
The Trump corruption is growing daily. That too is part of his MO; he follows the Roy Cohn rules of attack attack attack, deny deny deny, and declare victory even when you lose.
Let's remember a court held him responsible for rape, convicted him of fraud, and Congress impeached him twice. Nothing Bondi or the Republicans on the Supreme Court do will change the history of what this psychopath has done to this country. Their names will go down right next to his. Their legacies are RUINED.
All that study and work down the drain for a sick SOB that abuses everyone and ruins everything he touches.
We must keep the faith, keep the records, and keep trying to help the truth-tellers like Krebs and Taylor. Thanks, Thom.
Can you translate the words of the song into another style of music? Country Western music is not my preferred style, although I had liked country music before 1980. I usually turn it off.
I copied the news report about Trump ordering probes of the two ex-officials first thing this morning. I had the same impression as Hartmann that the purpose is to intimidate potential dissenters by financially ruining and possibly imprisoning these two.
Yes, Democracy works, but only if you enforce the laws. Our Blond bombshell AG Bondi only pursues enemies of Der Fuhrer while refusing to prosecute obvious conflicts of interest and brazen violations of established law. Remember when a conflict of interest could force you to resign rather than get richer? Remember when extortion was considered illegal racketeering? Now our government is doing it on a global scale with legal impunity.
Of course, average voters of both parties will pay the price for the senile and reckless impulsive actions of our President. As Paul Krugman has pointed out, the damage to the global economy will not disappear. In fact, all Trump did was erect a Sword of Damoclese for the next 90+ days making it impossible for businesses to profitably plan for the future. So stocks will still be uncertain, and eggs will remain expensive - especially given Wormbrain's opposition to vaccines to counteract bird flu spread.
Article 25 was written to derail this sort of behavior. Of course, the Biden administration demonstrated that the article is toothless. After all, it requires cabinet political insurrection. Duh.
Djt is doing what he constantly accused Biden of doing! I would like to see a reporter lay this right in his face and ask for an explanation. Of course Biden never did this, much to my chagrin.
This is a very good question for the time that we live. This could be a major step to becoming a Fascist police state. Things are happening so very fast.
Breaking news: The Supreme Court has ordered the Trump administration to help facilitate the removal of a migrant who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador, despite an immigration judge's 2019 order prohibiting his removal, but kicked the case back to a lower court — and any possible date for return remains an open question. (If Trump defies this order THIS could be a breaking point.) https://www.rawstory.com/kilmar-abrego-garcia/
The Extreme Sport of Injustice has zero enforcement abilities, zero, unless they issue any writ to hold a violator in contempt of court. Then US Marshals can arrest for that, and that alone. From there, could TFG be held in jail? If so, could the VP order his release? What jurisdiction could file charges for any of the federal crimes TFG has knowingly been accused of committing? How can a federal LE agency arrest a president? What judicial entity could file charges? It appears to me that the Constitution is so full of holes it makes swiss cheese look as solid as a brick.
Mr. Hartmann,
With your permission, I would like to use your concluding statement on my April 19 protest sign —
Democracy doesn’t “die in darkness.” It dies when truth becomes a crime and silence becomes survival. Thank you for your outstanding reports. Every one.
Between this worthless CONgress and our corporate mainstream media, in 2025 we the people seem to have neither a government nor a country.
I understand where you are coming from, but I think it is closer to the truth to say that THE PEOPLE have forgotten that they are the government, and they are also significant participants in the media.
For too long, the American people have fallen into the habit of perceiving the government as something “out there,” external to us, separate, beyond our control. If it is, it is only because we have allowed it to become so. After all, the power of the government comes directly from the people, and the primary purpose of the government of America was to protect & insure the Liberty and Freedom of the American people, and via the unique system of American democratic Republicanism, do two things: to insure the general well-being of the people, and to protect them from external & internal threats. In short, as Abraham Lincoln famously said (1863, to paraphrase), the American government is supposed to be “of, by and for The People” .
But the people are not meant to be passive recipients of these conditions; for every reward of being American, there are responsibilities that go beyond simply voting (and these days many Americans don’t even do that). At the very least, the people are the final line of defense against those who would undermine, if not destroy, our Constitution as the fundamental law of our country.
The founders also argued that the American people must have what Jefferson referred to as the Freedom of Mind, a product of a “liberal education” (liberal as defined at that time as in liberated, free from arbitrary obstacles that people in power have historically put in place to keep the masses from accessing the full range of knowledge available at any given time or place). As John Adams (1765) argued without access to a liberated education, the total sum of all knowledge from past to present and in the making, people aren’t even able to recognize their lack of Freedom, never mind, conceive of a path towards liberty (defined as the absence of the arbitrary abuse of power) and Freedom (defined by Jefferson as quite expansive, constrained only when such Freedom injures another - Jefferson, 17. The State of Virginia, XIII?).
For John Adams and others, a public system of Liberal Education was the best path towards producing an American population that would have the knowledge necessary to protect America and her founding ideals of Liberty and Freedom. See John Adams, 1765). A public liberal education, including American Liberal Colleges, was also one way to reduce the fear of many of the founders, themselves mostly wealthier land owners and professionals, of potential dangers of America’s masses, who left to their own personal & presumably ignorant, interests, could undermine this new vision of a Liberated and Free America (& if we are to be honest, these men were also concerned with protecting their own interests; there can be no question that “The Founders” were often conflicted as their own interests and their ideals collided on a regular basis, a problem that even today’s most progressive activists must contend with, ideally subverting their personal interests to that of the general well-being of all).
Unfortunately, as much progress America has made in creating a public education, it has never been successful in dismantling class and status inequalities in society; and as the American People’s knowledge of the original texts (& warnings) of America’s founders as declined considerably over the last 250 years, education system has become a microcosm of the ongoing battles between the interests of those in power (who have a stake in controlling the masses access to knowledge) and the masses who want their children to have access to better future outcomes via the best available education.
Perhaps most destructive to Jefferson’s, Adams, Franklin’s and others belief in the power of knowledge, has been the shift in the presumed function of public education - from the liberation of knowledge for the preservation of American Liberty and Freedom to the more transactional view of education to prepare youth for their place in the larger social-economy.
Under President Trump’s second term as President, the final twist of the knife to sever the intended objective of public education, the Liberation and Freedom of Mind replaced by the ancient method of protecting the power of a few, by controlling knowledge: its creation, its availability, its power as a source of Freedom.
Read "Fears of a Setting Sun..." by Rasmussen based on the founders own memoirs after the Constitutional convention. These prescient founders you note recognized that political parties could and eventually would remove the government from the people and disempower them from regaining control. That is exactly what happened; it simply happened later than expected. I do not agree that educated people do not recognize or have forgotten.
I’ve actually read many of original words of founders and yes, it surprises me that we even have political parties - just in the Federalist Papers, the association between political papers and political faction - a groups whose members use their government positions to serve their own and their groups interests instead of the interests of the people.
As a retired college professor, I spent a lot around educated people, people we’d expect to have a fair amount of knowledge at the very least about their own discipline. And I also know a number of people involved in local and state politics who, I’m sure, are equally well-educated. But I’m none the less frequently surprised by how few seem to have more than a very causal understanding of what the founders vision of America, whether from original sources or from historical summaries of that work. That in no way means that some people aren’t well informed in the topic. Just that it doesn’t seem to me to be the norm.
I’m far more concerned by how little our public school education educates youth with original sources when learning their history - it was certainly dismal when I was in school in the 60s and 70s. I remember history being about as dry and burning as it can be, which is sad, bc it should be a relatively easy thing to make the issues that the founders debated and wrestled with relevant to the everyday life of students, particularly by junior high and high school (in Education and Democracy, John Dewey talks about the importance of the teaching skill of making course studies relevant to the lives of students to draw students in and encourage them to negate in critical thinking).
As I’ve written before, I didn’t only had a general sense of what the Founders of our nation envisioned for America and it was only five years ago that I set out to learn as much as I could by reading their original works. It’s been eye opening. Ive learned first hand how important knowledge is and how, as john Adams argued, knowledge is power. - knowledge of the past and present, of what works and doesn’t work so well, of the good and bad, and of the multiple challenges for anyone who understands and believes in a liberated and Free society but, at same time, finds that the path to that ideal may conflict with our own interests; it’s this later messiness that I think all Americans need to think about - not just in how many of those founders who look up to were flawed men, with their own biases and their own conflicting self interest but also how that is likely true to ourselves as well; are we prepared to give up our own interests in order to serve the greater good of the people and nation? Or will we find excuses or rationalizations that help us convince ourselves that we have no choice, or that it’s too much to ask for us to sacrifice so much.
It’s seems to me those very questions are particularly relevant today, as we watch people we elected to office choose between self interests vs the interests of a Liberated and Free Society.
I do wonder how so many of us talk about what the government does to us. Or your comment that political parties are shifting the power of government from the people on general to the parties and their Donors. My question is, does this really happen to us, the people, the voters. Are we being forced out of government? Or have we simply given up both our power and responsibility. The people do have power, of the work together (a big lesson in the accounts the founding or America). So why didn’t we use that power to resist the shifting of control over the government? As a Sociologist, could easily list out many potential variables that contributed to this change; in fact, I’ve done just this as I attempt to flesh out the changes that have occurred in America most since 1980. It’s a messy schematic - and involves multiple push-pull of interactions between institutions, culture, social order, competing interests, playing out amongst an overwhelmed and struggling population and a small group of self-entitled wealthy people whose greed/purpose in life seems to involve the objective of grabbing up a exponentially increasing proportion of wealth, property & power in the US.
Sure, some of those people have more resources and higher statuses that make them quite influential, especially as they have increased their control over the multiple types of media. But the people are not y totally helpless. They have agency, they have power in numbers. And they make choices - or whether to fight it just keep their head down and keep going.
I would also argue of many of us are not as well informed about what is happening, and perhaps more importantly, the larger implications of what is happening - for Democracy, for Liberty, for Freedom.
This is what I mean about knowledge. It’s not just to know things, to memorize names and dates, or being able to recite this Constitutional amendment or another. It’s about knowing how to use knowledge as the tool it is - to develop understanding, to consider the consequences this response or another, and to recognize the enormous responsibility we the people really have in protecting our nation, and how each decision we make, from who we vote for, to paying attention to what politicians are or are not doing (and any difference between what they saw and what they do) and how to engage in discussion of these issue with one another without being sucked in to partisan propaganda and false dichotomies of us vs them (usually distractions).
The people are as strong or weak as they choose to be. But it’s easier to be strong and protect our nation of we truly understand the importance of our responsibilities, not just in voting, and certainly not as passive recipients of news from Washington DC, believing we have no role to play in holding those that are voted into office accountable. We’ve always had the ability to make ourselves heard - perhaps even more so before the current administration. I doubt we will ever recover American democracy, liberty and freedom until we recognize our responsibilities and our abilities to fulfill them.
When I heard about his order yesterday to investigate 2 public servants for simply telling the truth I was so furious I could hardly contain myself. I was watching MSNBC at the time, and even though it was discussed I don’t think it was given the outrage it deserved. Even Rachel barely touched on this hideous example of despotism.
I am calling every Republican in what we still laughingly call our government, to ask if they are going to stand up for the Bill of Rights and free speech.
Let’s face it: we are in a full blown dictatorship, mainly because of this Party of cowards.
Voter suppression is the biggest issue facing our country now. https://sdvoice.info/trump-lost-vote-suppression-won-here-are-the-numbers/ ... https://popular.info/p/the-five-month-campaign-to-steal I fear we are lost already. rump is a fraud.
Reportedly, yesterday Rep. W. Gregory Steube (R-Fla.) called Speaker Johnson a liar and said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus!" according to three sources.https://www.alternet.org/gop-johnson-budget/
I've been hoping that some Republicans would have a revelation that they were working for/with the devil.
Don't know the context -- the devil is in the details -- but this ties into Feathers of Hope.
Congress is supposed to recess 2 weeks, come back to endores the Trump budget. But there is an ever greater incentive to reject most of it.
The 3.5% solution may be our only resort: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190513-it-only-takes-35-of-people-to-change-the-world .
Guilty before they are even charged. This is Trump's modus operandi.
The Trump corruption is growing daily. That too is part of his MO; he follows the Roy Cohn rules of attack attack attack, deny deny deny, and declare victory even when you lose.
Let's remember a court held him responsible for rape, convicted him of fraud, and Congress impeached him twice. Nothing Bondi or the Republicans on the Supreme Court do will change the history of what this psychopath has done to this country. Their names will go down right next to his. Their legacies are RUINED.
All that study and work down the drain for a sick SOB that abuses everyone and ruins everything he touches.
We must keep the faith, keep the records, and keep trying to help the truth-tellers like Krebs and Taylor. Thanks, Thom.
DJT perfected the art of using the legal system to bankrupt those who stood up to him in the 80’s and 90’s. Destruction is his side hustle.
Standing up won't scare us; bowing down won't spare us.
Can you translate the words of the song into another style of music? Country Western music is not my preferred style, although I had liked country music before 1980. I usually turn it off.
I copied the news report about Trump ordering probes of the two ex-officials first thing this morning. I had the same impression as Hartmann that the purpose is to intimidate potential dissenters by financially ruining and possibly imprisoning these two.
Everything I write turns into the blues.....
Lol.
Yes, Democracy works, but only if you enforce the laws. Our Blond bombshell AG Bondi only pursues enemies of Der Fuhrer while refusing to prosecute obvious conflicts of interest and brazen violations of established law. Remember when a conflict of interest could force you to resign rather than get richer? Remember when extortion was considered illegal racketeering? Now our government is doing it on a global scale with legal impunity.
Of course, average voters of both parties will pay the price for the senile and reckless impulsive actions of our President. As Paul Krugman has pointed out, the damage to the global economy will not disappear. In fact, all Trump did was erect a Sword of Damoclese for the next 90+ days making it impossible for businesses to profitably plan for the future. So stocks will still be uncertain, and eggs will remain expensive - especially given Wormbrain's opposition to vaccines to counteract bird flu spread.
Article 25 was written to derail this sort of behavior. Of course, the Biden administration demonstrated that the article is toothless. After all, it requires cabinet political insurrection. Duh.
Djt is doing what he constantly accused Biden of doing! I would like to see a reporter lay this right in his face and ask for an explanation. Of course Biden never did this, much to my chagrin.
Thom,
This is a very good question for the time that we live. This could be a major step to becoming a Fascist police state. Things are happening so very fast.
Be safe and watch your six.
Steve Dundas
This is worse than a police state; it's a mafia state, with Trump as godfather. Our only solution may be the 3.5% rule: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190513-it-only-takes-35-of-people-to-change-the-world .
If they can come for Krebs and Taylor, they can come for all of us.
Our democracy "broke" when Bondi, Patel, and Bongino took over at the Department of Justice. Who now will prosecute crimes against the rule of law?
Is he also planning on investigating Bill Barr, Mike Pence and everyone else who told him he lost?
If he can come for them, he can come for any or all of us.
He can already come for us.
The Supreme's are playing along well too.
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/supreme-courts-rulings-abrego-garcia/
Breaking news: The Supreme Court has ordered the Trump administration to help facilitate the removal of a migrant who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador, despite an immigration judge's 2019 order prohibiting his removal, but kicked the case back to a lower court — and any possible date for return remains an open question. (If Trump defies this order THIS could be a breaking point.) https://www.rawstory.com/kilmar-abrego-garcia/
There are some miracles. Just in: The SC by 9-0 rules that Trump must "facilitate" return of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia from El Salvador.
The Extreme Sport of Injustice has zero enforcement abilities, zero, unless they issue any writ to hold a violator in contempt of court. Then US Marshals can arrest for that, and that alone. From there, could TFG be held in jail? If so, could the VP order his release? What jurisdiction could file charges for any of the federal crimes TFG has knowingly been accused of committing? How can a federal LE agency arrest a president? What judicial entity could file charges? It appears to me that the Constitution is so full of holes it makes swiss cheese look as solid as a brick.