Every single day we learn and are reminded of the violent antagonism by Republicans.
These people s only rule is to crush the opposition with corrupt monies and politicians.
And name me a real Republican who is straightforward and honest. I didn’t think so.
By its very nature supporting Donald Trump in spite of his multiple attempts to over turn a free and fair election is corrupt.
The money being donated to keep this travesty going is corrupt. Every Republican member of Congress is corrupt and follow a corrupt agenda .
Not one of these people would accept a free and fair election, obviously.
They follow a grossly biased and corrupt ex president who is working with no integrity or loyalty
To what’s good for Americans . In fact he’s busy getting caught up in the tenets of authoritarianism.
Why ? in order to keep power for himself and his wealthy supporters and corporations .
In order to utilize a situation that was rejected by the founders of the Country.
To get away from power hungry , money hungry corrupt leaders .
He fancies himself a victim and he is . He is a victim of his own malicious actions and behaviors, and creates chaos everywhere with his corruption.
No one gets charged with the number of felonious opposition to laws in this country at this time because of political interference , except Hunter Biden and his father the duly elected president of the US who is under attempted impeachment by the liars .
But if these Republicans get their way
It will be routine.
Everything they’ve touched is affected by this garbage of lies and misrepresentation . Everything .
Our quality of life since the Trump presidency had languished and still does because of his madman threats to everyone who doesn’t agree with him or opposes him by lawful means.
The law to him is malleable .
Just look at the stats in Red states where quality of life is deteriorating for all but the wealthy and powerfully corrupt leaders.
If you are looking for a debilitating leader, a corrupt and overpoweringly so strong man government . Then definitely the diabolical Trump and the Republicans scheme of corruption , denying even basic freedoms can be yours .
But if you want to live in a country where people matter and justice is served do every possible thing in addition to voting for Democrats to get us across to strengthen our Democracy and reestablish our pursuit of freedom for all.
The denizens of red states could care less about their deteriorating quality of life, at least they are owning the libs, the gays, the "feminazis" and the people of color. They learn their hate and fear at their parents knees and it is reinforced by the pulpit and press. There are isolated places of sanity and critical thinking in the south, but those are cosmopolitan cities. The fascist right aka Republicans know that and have taken voter negation laws to nullify their vote, not just laws but limiting drop boxes and voting booths, while encouraging the use of armed vigilante's to intimidate voters.
Like that toothless bib overalled , toothless, single wide trailer trash told Alexandria Pelosi, when she asked him why he resented food stamps, when he lived off them,, he responded in effect, I earned them, them lazy coloreds didn't. Only he did use the word coloreds.
TFG works *only* on loyalty and not integrity. He wants underlings who unquestioningly carry out his directives (loyal) even when those directives are illegal or immoral (no integrity).
It took me several tries to get through this article. I kept getting stuck on the first part. Gore won. Think about how much would have been different. Perhaps intelligence would have been listened to and 9/11 attacks would have been averted. Even if not, perhaps the USA would not have been in a 2 decade war in the Middle East. Climate change would have been addressed. The tax cuts for the rich that hollowed out the middle class might not have happened. And on and on. May be even that Trump would never have run, much less been elected.
I am glad to hear commentary now that the crookedness of the Rehnquist Court has not been forgotten. Speaking of recusal, weren't two of Rehnquist's sons working for the Bush campaign, and golly was it Ginny Thomas back then on the job "screening" Bush cabinet prospects? (Somebody's wife.) The writing WAS on the wall about Professor Strauss's "Great American Century" grandiose fantasy and the clique of his students "handling" Bush. What scares me today is how easily the flack media dismissed and ridiculed the truth-tellers, UNTIL IT WAS TOO LATE. (cue Cassandra) Barbara Olsen must have used the phrase "DIVINING the vote" 5,000 times about the serious, honest people using their eyes and reason to pick through set aside ballots: what an insult to them! Oh, wait; Ruby and Shaye at least have a specific perp to sue: the Florida workers back then went through a crowd of orchestrated abuse, starring, for one, our current Chief Justice. I think Frank Lutz is brought up in these comments by Mr. Farrar: I think Lutz came up with the "divining" meme. Stuck on the first part, indeed. But there are no indicators that the magic talking points won't work at least as well now.
BTW... Thom Hartmann just published the GOP playbook. Really. It's all right here for anyone to read in straight-forward non-cryptic riddle-free plain-language. I have a hyphen problem, but certainly the point is made.
Onward to our fourth estate's dereliction of duty:
It's difficult to dream up a context in which a for-profit corporate media complex would risk financial averageness simply for virtue of truth and context. In this regard, I do not believe the present version of American media can wake up to anything at all.
A wise observation by Upton Sinclair sums up my sentiments on the issue: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on him not understanding it."
Thom, I've told you before that IMHO it's the culture.
90% of MAGATS vote contrary to their economic and physical health. All those "alternative" contrary facts are too much for them to handle. Some of it is because they have a hatred of "the other" and consider themselves a part of a team.
What success I've had with most cult members is when I discuss their personal finances. For example some MAGA grandparents had an epiphany when they leaned that their grandchildren lost $300/month/child due to their MAGA congressional representative's opposition. Or when MAGA truck drivers found out they couldn't write off their expenses and their state taxes due to Trump tax cuts. Or when they find out they will have to eat cat food if the Catfood Commission gets its way.
Gosh you are brave. I am aware of the dog thing, but I don't happen to have heard anybody bring up the reciprocal factor: doesn't one have to assume that dogs (animals in general?) recoil from Trump instinctively? Since I myself have a strong revulsion reflex to him, it is easy to speculate that animals are closer to their native survival reflexes, and would react to (the evil?) in Trump accordingly. Scott Peck: "People of the Lie." I don't recall Peck going into this. A psychiatrist of humans, after all.
I see "Notes from Bagdad" is pending, as of yet. This set of Hartmann responses got me in "way-back" mode: did you write for Bruce and "The Anderson Valley Advertiser" back in the day? (Others here: the "AVA" was much more than the name implies!)
No I was a federal employee, "super hatched" for 30 years when I couldn't say much about politics. I have written three books that are out there.....
I have decided that there are too many other voices about politics.... I could serialize one of my books "Pitching Cuba." I've given up on the publishing/entertainment industry. My books get excellent reviews but don't sell......
When I worked I heard 184 different types of cases, and wrote thousands of decisions. which are oblivious to the public. I'm too old to begin practicing law, and am entirely retired.
Frank Luntz taught the right how to use new speak, to neuter the liberals and put them on the defense. Proof of his success is that he successful used the word liberal as a slur and epithet, resulting in Democrats scurrying for holes , when the word was hurled at them, instead of actually owning it, as the right wing proudly own the word fascist.
The Republicans have, since Nixon kept the Democrats on the back foot, and that is only possible because the Democrats have gone along with the slanders.
In part it is the fault of the corporate media, (I detest the acronym MSM, as it tells us nothing, and lets the real culprits, corporations, off the hook.
MSNBC stands for Microsoft National Broadcasting Company it was a subsidiary of NBC Universal. GE owned NBC Universal
Comcast and GE struck a joint venture with Comcast owing 51% of and NBC Universal owning 49%
Comcast completed the deal in 2013 when it acquired NBC Universals 49%.
Comcast is a predator monoplist,, and along with Fox was a supporter of Trump's 2016 campaign, by giving him endless free publicity in the form of news.
Since Fox had the white nationalist Christian viewer eyes, MSNBC had to market differentiate and tap into the left over market of "liberals", but did so nuanced and not enthusiastic, they have built a channel of "liberal" hosts, leaving room in the morning and late evening for conservatives like Joe Scarborough and his wife Miki the daughter of the neo con Zbigniew Brezinski..
The current crop of hosts are well paid, making a million or more a year, and know very well who signs their paycheck, and they know what threshholds to not cross, and to make sure that they stay in the lane, they are monitored in the production booth, and have ear buds warning them, if perchance they slip, or a guest slips, there is a "technical" glitch and sound is lost, until they come back on and correct their behavior.
As Thom says. MSNBC survives on ad revenue, and that is from Pharmaceuticals and Insurance Companies, during open enrollment season it is Medicare disAdvantage, now that open enrollment is over it is the $9.99 plan for Life Insurance. $9.99 a month for $1000 worth of life insurance, that is $100 a month, $1200 a year for a measley $10,000 of life insurance, barely enough to bury you.
If you put that $100 a month into a savings account, in 7 or 8 years, depending on yield, you have$10,000 and you have access to your savings if you need it, anytime
These $9.99 plans, are Whole Life, they build "cash value", but the majority of your premium goes to overhead and profit. it is money down the drain. Even term life is a rip off, because every 5 years, the premium is jacked up, and the longer you have the program, the more premium you have to pay.
The point is, who are the customers for PhRMA and Insurance companies that hawk Medicare Advantage and Life Insurance. Old folks like me. That is MSNBC's audience. Even their supplements are targeted to the silver hairs.
I don't, I can't watch Fox, I break out in a rash, so I have no idea who the target audience of Fox is, but I assume it is rubes and boobs, based on what I've seen elsewhere, the Right wingers are suckers for gold and silver scams. Suckers they are because they are sold at a premium profit, and bought back with a commission. You can't buy food, clothing, medicine with gold or silver, and if you try to buy a house or car with it, you will be lucky to find a seller who will take it, and the few that do, discount it, as the market is volatile.
Mr. Hartman. Good job listing the scams. But you do not address the "Why" in the title of your article.
Why do Americans accept scams?
Baseball is a good allegory to help find an answer. Baseball players are notoriously superstitious. There are many things they do and refuse to do because they believe that to violate certain informal rules for behavior will bring them bad luck. eg. "Never lay down two bats in the form of an X, one over the other." This brings bad luck. There are more rules. But no need to list them here. The idea is simple: Violate these informal rules or taboos and you suffer bad luck. Why do these rules develop? The outcome of a baseball game is always uncertain. There is no sure way to predict winners and losers. The ball players will give their best performance to win the game. But nothing is certain.
To mitigate the feelings of uncertainty they look for mystical routines that they believe might help them control their fate. They develop mystical aids to help them along to success, to victory. They hope the rituals will help them gain control over events and help them win.
Americans have been exposed to a series of events in the last half century which have diminished their likelihood of success in life. They have become losers. No need to list these obstructive events here. You have been writing about them for some time now. People feel as though no matter how hard they try to succeed, they fall short. The American Dream is unattainable for them. In the words of Arlie Russell Hochschild they are "STRANGERS IN THEIR OWN LAND". This alienation brings great uncertainty. So these people are looking for any explanation for their apparent or perhaps actual failure. In their fear and anger they will grab onto almost any scam-explanation that comes along. They feel that this helps them to gain some control over the uncontrollable. They fail because: The immigrants did it. The nonwhite minority groups did it. Women did it. Woke culture did it. Government did it. Well you can fill in the rest.
The MAGA crowd has just flooded the airwaves with a false documentary titled The Real Story of Jan.6. All Americans, they say, need to see this film. "This information can SAVE America".
Folks, they are doing everything possible to deceive the public. They are all about lies and deceit.
Media are part of the problem. They take on the memes of the GOP and act as if that is the norm. Misinformation seems to be their thought. They repeat that Hunter Biden has refused the request for meeting and act as if doing so is illegal. Never was but the narrative takes everyone by storm. As long as the media acts like that there is not going to be any help from them.
I think this is my favorite post I know of, and that is certainly saying a lot! To have the perfidy "menu" collected in one source is amazing! I humbly offer this addition: unconscionable pricing and exclusive licensing of pharmaceuticals is merely compensating for r&d: never mind the tax money behind the (lab) curtain.
I think I will print and send to anyone who still waves a Trump 2024 flag. Otherwise they will never see the truth. Democrats need to get a PR firm to get the message out there.
Mr. Hartmann, I deeply appreciate your outlining and defining not only the "progressive" or liberal point of view on current politics, but also the history of how the multitudinous things from which this country is suffering came to be. And what the effects are now of these growing wounds in the democracy, and how they are likely to worsen from ignorance, neglect, propaganda, dishonesty, and corruption. That said, I live in a "blue" state (California), where my congressperson and senators are Democrats, and tend to vote towards the left; and I have many family members, friends, colleagues, and students that I am in touch with, both in person and over social media -- but very, very few who vote Republican, or who espouse or believe the right-wing or pseudo-religious "scam" ideas and histories that you write about so succinctly and eloquently. So when you write that you encourage your readers to pass your reports and essays along, to get the word out there, to try to make a difference by informing and helping people to understand the facts, the underlying history, the potential consequences, I am very eager to do that. But, other than to my much older brother, who makes Rush Limbaugh look like a knee-jerk liberal, and for whom Ronald Reagan is a heroic deity and Franklin Roosevelt a satan, I simply don't know where or to whom to pass along what you explain and uncover. Would any office-holding Republican read or consider what you write if I managed to send it to his/her office? I doubt it. It's voters, in purple and red states especially, but everywhere, who need to read what you have to say. And I don't know how to reach "them." Do you have any advice?
Yes, I have a neighbor who is struggling with medical debt, yet is a MAGA voter and can't seem to understand who has screwed him. He won't hear anything to sway his thinking. He is not stupid, but has decided that nothing can be trusted, at least from "liberals". I have hope, but it's been tough to convey to him who the real culprits in all this are. I'm thinking of making a bumper sticker saying "Ignorance is not an incurable condition".
I'd buy dozens of those! :D One of Thom's program callers is a man named Ziggy from NY. He runs a print business, name escapes me now, of course. He would be excellent to get your bumper sticker idea moving forward.
I agree that this is a BIG problem! I wonder how some of my friends and family "don't get it", yet some of them wonder why I "don't get it" from their perspective. I feel like if they took the time to read some of these things about how we have been failed economically that a light bulb would go off (everyone can say that the rich get richer but don't always understand it). They likely would not bother to read it and brand everyone involved as socialists (without really knowing what that means). There is too much information on the internet.
I will keep bringing up the idea of a physical movement. I may not recall "Occupy Wall Street", but I assume that some people at the time looked it up to see what was going on and why. "Birds Aren't Real", UAW strike, Black Lives Matter, War in Israel protests, Vietnam War protests, Civil Rights, etc. get notice (as well as scrutiny).
Michael Moore led me to Tom Morello's Rage Against the Machine Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction speech, and it brings me to tears and makes "me want to fight".
May I suggest you do what I'm doing today and this week. Mail it to every newspaper you think of to print as an Op Ed. :D I'm starting with the WI State Journal (I live in Cottage Grove.) Then, I am sending it to every newspaper I can find an address to send it to. I figure it will keep me so busy that I won't have time to attack that unpleasant chore list this holiday week of leisure. Haha! What more incentive could possibly exist?!? None! Hope this helps. I'm off to mass mail Thom Hartmann's genius writing. Much love and respect, xoxo-Frances
"The progressively lower standard of living over the last 40 years is not the result of $50 trillion of wealth transferred (stolen) from the working and middle class to the wealthy, but rather due to 'tax-and-spend' and government regulation policies of the Democrats."
Perhaps you could contrast administration fiscal policies, Eric. Over the last 40 years, which presidents reduced the national debt, provided health care for poorer Americans, got us into wars, increased taxes on the middle class, reduced taxes on the wealthy? You might be surprised at the results of your comparisons.
I guess there have always been two paradigms of ethics and action, irreconcilable: Eric was regurgitating religious dogma. Your reference to human experience (humanism; commonly "demonized.") doesn't participate in the same consciousness. My observation has been that Eric's way has perpetually been bad for humanity. Here's a scary sermon: https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/what-made-it-okay-for-god-to-kill-women-and-children-in-the-old-testament Was just looking for Saul and the Amalekites, which has recently been cited as justification for razing all Palestinians: 1 Samuel 15
1
Samuel said to Saul, "I am the one the LORD sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the LORD.
2
This is what the LORD Almighty says: `I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt.
3
Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy [1] everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.'" Maybe it seems like I am "reaching," but I just had such a strong response to the religious rote character in Eric's comment, impervious to your mundane response.
Fear mongering and "beyond a reasonable doubt" makes for great messaging. Qanon brilliantly said that Democrats were blood sucking, cannibal, pedophile, satanists (the worst things that come to mind for some people). And people somehow wanted to believe it.
The “Freedom to Work” laws that prohibit unions & are actually freedom to work for less laws.
Brilliant: thank you! I just updated the article to add that…
Uuugh, what about immigrants are let in to vote for Democrats?
I wish the Joe Biden 2024 campaign and the DNC would make all these points as effectively as you have.
Every single day we learn and are reminded of the violent antagonism by Republicans.
These people s only rule is to crush the opposition with corrupt monies and politicians.
And name me a real Republican who is straightforward and honest. I didn’t think so.
By its very nature supporting Donald Trump in spite of his multiple attempts to over turn a free and fair election is corrupt.
The money being donated to keep this travesty going is corrupt. Every Republican member of Congress is corrupt and follow a corrupt agenda .
Not one of these people would accept a free and fair election, obviously.
They follow a grossly biased and corrupt ex president who is working with no integrity or loyalty
To what’s good for Americans . In fact he’s busy getting caught up in the tenets of authoritarianism.
Why ? in order to keep power for himself and his wealthy supporters and corporations .
In order to utilize a situation that was rejected by the founders of the Country.
To get away from power hungry , money hungry corrupt leaders .
He fancies himself a victim and he is . He is a victim of his own malicious actions and behaviors, and creates chaos everywhere with his corruption.
No one gets charged with the number of felonious opposition to laws in this country at this time because of political interference , except Hunter Biden and his father the duly elected president of the US who is under attempted impeachment by the liars .
But if these Republicans get their way
It will be routine.
Everything they’ve touched is affected by this garbage of lies and misrepresentation . Everything .
Our quality of life since the Trump presidency had languished and still does because of his madman threats to everyone who doesn’t agree with him or opposes him by lawful means.
The law to him is malleable .
Just look at the stats in Red states where quality of life is deteriorating for all but the wealthy and powerfully corrupt leaders.
If you are looking for a debilitating leader, a corrupt and overpoweringly so strong man government . Then definitely the diabolical Trump and the Republicans scheme of corruption , denying even basic freedoms can be yours .
But if you want to live in a country where people matter and justice is served do every possible thing in addition to voting for Democrats to get us across to strengthen our Democracy and reestablish our pursuit of freedom for all.
The denizens of red states could care less about their deteriorating quality of life, at least they are owning the libs, the gays, the "feminazis" and the people of color. They learn their hate and fear at their parents knees and it is reinforced by the pulpit and press. There are isolated places of sanity and critical thinking in the south, but those are cosmopolitan cities. The fascist right aka Republicans know that and have taken voter negation laws to nullify their vote, not just laws but limiting drop boxes and voting booths, while encouraging the use of armed vigilante's to intimidate voters.
Like that toothless bib overalled , toothless, single wide trailer trash told Alexandria Pelosi, when she asked him why he resented food stamps, when he lived off them,, he responded in effect, I earned them, them lazy coloreds didn't. Only he did use the word coloreds.
TFG works *only* on loyalty and not integrity. He wants underlings who unquestioningly carry out his directives (loyal) even when those directives are illegal or immoral (no integrity).
It took me several tries to get through this article. I kept getting stuck on the first part. Gore won. Think about how much would have been different. Perhaps intelligence would have been listened to and 9/11 attacks would have been averted. Even if not, perhaps the USA would not have been in a 2 decade war in the Middle East. Climate change would have been addressed. The tax cuts for the rich that hollowed out the middle class might not have happened. And on and on. May be even that Trump would never have run, much less been elected.
I am glad to hear commentary now that the crookedness of the Rehnquist Court has not been forgotten. Speaking of recusal, weren't two of Rehnquist's sons working for the Bush campaign, and golly was it Ginny Thomas back then on the job "screening" Bush cabinet prospects? (Somebody's wife.) The writing WAS on the wall about Professor Strauss's "Great American Century" grandiose fantasy and the clique of his students "handling" Bush. What scares me today is how easily the flack media dismissed and ridiculed the truth-tellers, UNTIL IT WAS TOO LATE. (cue Cassandra) Barbara Olsen must have used the phrase "DIVINING the vote" 5,000 times about the serious, honest people using their eyes and reason to pick through set aside ballots: what an insult to them! Oh, wait; Ruby and Shaye at least have a specific perp to sue: the Florida workers back then went through a crowd of orchestrated abuse, starring, for one, our current Chief Justice. I think Frank Lutz is brought up in these comments by Mr. Farrar: I think Lutz came up with the "divining" meme. Stuck on the first part, indeed. But there are no indicators that the magic talking points won't work at least as well now.
Sigh.
I believe whole-heartedly you are correct on every possibility. Yet here we are. Now what?...
BTW... Thom Hartmann just published the GOP playbook. Really. It's all right here for anyone to read in straight-forward non-cryptic riddle-free plain-language. I have a hyphen problem, but certainly the point is made.
Onward to our fourth estate's dereliction of duty:
It's difficult to dream up a context in which a for-profit corporate media complex would risk financial averageness simply for virtue of truth and context. In this regard, I do not believe the present version of American media can wake up to anything at all.
A wise observation by Upton Sinclair sums up my sentiments on the issue: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on him not understanding it."
Thom, I've told you before that IMHO it's the culture.
90% of MAGATS vote contrary to their economic and physical health. All those "alternative" contrary facts are too much for them to handle. Some of it is because they have a hatred of "the other" and consider themselves a part of a team.
What success I've had with most cult members is when I discuss their personal finances. For example some MAGA grandparents had an epiphany when they leaned that their grandchildren lost $300/month/child due to their MAGA congressional representative's opposition. Or when MAGA truck drivers found out they couldn't write off their expenses and their state taxes due to Trump tax cuts. Or when they find out they will have to eat cat food if the Catfood Commission gets its way.
I also find that most of them are not aware that the Trump family charity stole from kids with cancer and disabled veterans. https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2019/donald-j-trump-pays-court-ordered-2-million-illegally-using-trump-foundation
I've been posting it on charity web sites. News to many. Hope it's waking them up.....
Trump' documented hatred of dogs wakes them up.
These are entrees to MAGAworld. When they're in, I send them your essay.
Gosh you are brave. I am aware of the dog thing, but I don't happen to have heard anybody bring up the reciprocal factor: doesn't one have to assume that dogs (animals in general?) recoil from Trump instinctively? Since I myself have a strong revulsion reflex to him, it is easy to speculate that animals are closer to their native survival reflexes, and would react to (the evil?) in Trump accordingly. Scott Peck: "People of the Lie." I don't recall Peck going into this. A psychiatrist of humans, after all.
ps can't resist: a Tribble can always tell a Klingon
I see "Notes from Bagdad" is pending, as of yet. This set of Hartmann responses got me in "way-back" mode: did you write for Bruce and "The Anderson Valley Advertiser" back in the day? (Others here: the "AVA" was much more than the name implies!)
No I was a federal employee, "super hatched" for 30 years when I couldn't say much about politics. I have written three books that are out there.....
I have decided that there are too many other voices about politics.... I could serialize one of my books "Pitching Cuba." I've given up on the publishing/entertainment industry. My books get excellent reviews but don't sell......
When I worked I heard 184 different types of cases, and wrote thousands of decisions. which are oblivious to the public. I'm too old to begin practicing law, and am entirely retired.
Frank Luntz taught the right how to use new speak, to neuter the liberals and put them on the defense. Proof of his success is that he successful used the word liberal as a slur and epithet, resulting in Democrats scurrying for holes , when the word was hurled at them, instead of actually owning it, as the right wing proudly own the word fascist.
The Republicans have, since Nixon kept the Democrats on the back foot, and that is only possible because the Democrats have gone along with the slanders.
In part it is the fault of the corporate media, (I detest the acronym MSM, as it tells us nothing, and lets the real culprits, corporations, off the hook.
MSNBC stands for Microsoft National Broadcasting Company it was a subsidiary of NBC Universal. GE owned NBC Universal
Comcast and GE struck a joint venture with Comcast owing 51% of and NBC Universal owning 49%
Comcast completed the deal in 2013 when it acquired NBC Universals 49%.
Comcast is a predator monoplist,, and along with Fox was a supporter of Trump's 2016 campaign, by giving him endless free publicity in the form of news.
Since Fox had the white nationalist Christian viewer eyes, MSNBC had to market differentiate and tap into the left over market of "liberals", but did so nuanced and not enthusiastic, they have built a channel of "liberal" hosts, leaving room in the morning and late evening for conservatives like Joe Scarborough and his wife Miki the daughter of the neo con Zbigniew Brezinski..
The current crop of hosts are well paid, making a million or more a year, and know very well who signs their paycheck, and they know what threshholds to not cross, and to make sure that they stay in the lane, they are monitored in the production booth, and have ear buds warning them, if perchance they slip, or a guest slips, there is a "technical" glitch and sound is lost, until they come back on and correct their behavior.
As Thom says. MSNBC survives on ad revenue, and that is from Pharmaceuticals and Insurance Companies, during open enrollment season it is Medicare disAdvantage, now that open enrollment is over it is the $9.99 plan for Life Insurance. $9.99 a month for $1000 worth of life insurance, that is $100 a month, $1200 a year for a measley $10,000 of life insurance, barely enough to bury you.
If you put that $100 a month into a savings account, in 7 or 8 years, depending on yield, you have$10,000 and you have access to your savings if you need it, anytime
These $9.99 plans, are Whole Life, they build "cash value", but the majority of your premium goes to overhead and profit. it is money down the drain. Even term life is a rip off, because every 5 years, the premium is jacked up, and the longer you have the program, the more premium you have to pay.
The point is, who are the customers for PhRMA and Insurance companies that hawk Medicare Advantage and Life Insurance. Old folks like me. That is MSNBC's audience. Even their supplements are targeted to the silver hairs.
I don't, I can't watch Fox, I break out in a rash, so I have no idea who the target audience of Fox is, but I assume it is rubes and boobs, based on what I've seen elsewhere, the Right wingers are suckers for gold and silver scams. Suckers they are because they are sold at a premium profit, and bought back with a commission. You can't buy food, clothing, medicine with gold or silver, and if you try to buy a house or car with it, you will be lucky to find a seller who will take it, and the few that do, discount it, as the market is volatile.
Mr. Hartman. Good job listing the scams. But you do not address the "Why" in the title of your article.
Why do Americans accept scams?
Baseball is a good allegory to help find an answer. Baseball players are notoriously superstitious. There are many things they do and refuse to do because they believe that to violate certain informal rules for behavior will bring them bad luck. eg. "Never lay down two bats in the form of an X, one over the other." This brings bad luck. There are more rules. But no need to list them here. The idea is simple: Violate these informal rules or taboos and you suffer bad luck. Why do these rules develop? The outcome of a baseball game is always uncertain. There is no sure way to predict winners and losers. The ball players will give their best performance to win the game. But nothing is certain.
To mitigate the feelings of uncertainty they look for mystical routines that they believe might help them control their fate. They develop mystical aids to help them along to success, to victory. They hope the rituals will help them gain control over events and help them win.
Americans have been exposed to a series of events in the last half century which have diminished their likelihood of success in life. They have become losers. No need to list these obstructive events here. You have been writing about them for some time now. People feel as though no matter how hard they try to succeed, they fall short. The American Dream is unattainable for them. In the words of Arlie Russell Hochschild they are "STRANGERS IN THEIR OWN LAND". This alienation brings great uncertainty. So these people are looking for any explanation for their apparent or perhaps actual failure. In their fear and anger they will grab onto almost any scam-explanation that comes along. They feel that this helps them to gain some control over the uncontrollable. They fail because: The immigrants did it. The nonwhite minority groups did it. Women did it. Woke culture did it. Government did it. Well you can fill in the rest.
The Press is corrupted by their oligarchic owners, and if we don't want to end up like Hungary we need to demand that they be more accountable.
The MAGA crowd has just flooded the airwaves with a false documentary titled The Real Story of Jan.6. All Americans, they say, need to see this film. "This information can SAVE America".
Folks, they are doing everything possible to deceive the public. They are all about lies and deceit.
Media are part of the problem. They take on the memes of the GOP and act as if that is the norm. Misinformation seems to be their thought. They repeat that Hunter Biden has refused the request for meeting and act as if doing so is illegal. Never was but the narrative takes everyone by storm. As long as the media acts like that there is not going to be any help from them.
I think this is my favorite post I know of, and that is certainly saying a lot! To have the perfidy "menu" collected in one source is amazing! I humbly offer this addition: unconscionable pricing and exclusive licensing of pharmaceuticals is merely compensating for r&d: never mind the tax money behind the (lab) curtain.
I think I will print and send to anyone who still waves a Trump 2024 flag. Otherwise they will never see the truth. Democrats need to get a PR firm to get the message out there.
Mr. Hartmann, I deeply appreciate your outlining and defining not only the "progressive" or liberal point of view on current politics, but also the history of how the multitudinous things from which this country is suffering came to be. And what the effects are now of these growing wounds in the democracy, and how they are likely to worsen from ignorance, neglect, propaganda, dishonesty, and corruption. That said, I live in a "blue" state (California), where my congressperson and senators are Democrats, and tend to vote towards the left; and I have many family members, friends, colleagues, and students that I am in touch with, both in person and over social media -- but very, very few who vote Republican, or who espouse or believe the right-wing or pseudo-religious "scam" ideas and histories that you write about so succinctly and eloquently. So when you write that you encourage your readers to pass your reports and essays along, to get the word out there, to try to make a difference by informing and helping people to understand the facts, the underlying history, the potential consequences, I am very eager to do that. But, other than to my much older brother, who makes Rush Limbaugh look like a knee-jerk liberal, and for whom Ronald Reagan is a heroic deity and Franklin Roosevelt a satan, I simply don't know where or to whom to pass along what you explain and uncover. Would any office-holding Republican read or consider what you write if I managed to send it to his/her office? I doubt it. It's voters, in purple and red states especially, but everywhere, who need to read what you have to say. And I don't know how to reach "them." Do you have any advice?
Yes, I have a neighbor who is struggling with medical debt, yet is a MAGA voter and can't seem to understand who has screwed him. He won't hear anything to sway his thinking. He is not stupid, but has decided that nothing can be trusted, at least from "liberals". I have hope, but it's been tough to convey to him who the real culprits in all this are. I'm thinking of making a bumper sticker saying "Ignorance is not an incurable condition".
I'd buy dozens of those! :D One of Thom's program callers is a man named Ziggy from NY. He runs a print business, name escapes me now, of course. He would be excellent to get your bumper sticker idea moving forward.
I agree that this is a BIG problem! I wonder how some of my friends and family "don't get it", yet some of them wonder why I "don't get it" from their perspective. I feel like if they took the time to read some of these things about how we have been failed economically that a light bulb would go off (everyone can say that the rich get richer but don't always understand it). They likely would not bother to read it and brand everyone involved as socialists (without really knowing what that means). There is too much information on the internet.
I will keep bringing up the idea of a physical movement. I may not recall "Occupy Wall Street", but I assume that some people at the time looked it up to see what was going on and why. "Birds Aren't Real", UAW strike, Black Lives Matter, War in Israel protests, Vietnam War protests, Civil Rights, etc. get notice (as well as scrutiny).
Michael Moore led me to Tom Morello's Rage Against the Machine Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction speech, and it brings me to tears and makes "me want to fight".
I'll check that speech out. Thx for the reference.
May I suggest you do what I'm doing today and this week. Mail it to every newspaper you think of to print as an Op Ed. :D I'm starting with the WI State Journal (I live in Cottage Grove.) Then, I am sending it to every newspaper I can find an address to send it to. I figure it will keep me so busy that I won't have time to attack that unpleasant chore list this holiday week of leisure. Haha! What more incentive could possibly exist?!? None! Hope this helps. I'm off to mass mail Thom Hartmann's genius writing. Much love and respect, xoxo-Frances
Another one I like to use is:
"The progressively lower standard of living over the last 40 years is not the result of $50 trillion of wealth transferred (stolen) from the working and middle class to the wealthy, but rather due to 'tax-and-spend' and government regulation policies of the Democrats."
Perhaps you could contrast administration fiscal policies, Eric. Over the last 40 years, which presidents reduced the national debt, provided health care for poorer Americans, got us into wars, increased taxes on the middle class, reduced taxes on the wealthy? You might be surprised at the results of your comparisons.
I want it to be clear that I use the term "mundane," below, in its most literal sense of "earth-based" or "grounded."
I guess there have always been two paradigms of ethics and action, irreconcilable: Eric was regurgitating religious dogma. Your reference to human experience (humanism; commonly "demonized.") doesn't participate in the same consciousness. My observation has been that Eric's way has perpetually been bad for humanity. Here's a scary sermon: https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/what-made-it-okay-for-god-to-kill-women-and-children-in-the-old-testament Was just looking for Saul and the Amalekites, which has recently been cited as justification for razing all Palestinians: 1 Samuel 15
1
Samuel said to Saul, "I am the one the LORD sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the LORD.
2
This is what the LORD Almighty says: `I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt.
3
Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy [1] everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.'" Maybe it seems like I am "reaching," but I just had such a strong response to the religious rote character in Eric's comment, impervious to your mundane response.
I appreciate your response and agree wholeheartedly, Mmerose.
Fear mongering and "beyond a reasonable doubt" makes for great messaging. Qanon brilliantly said that Democrats were blood sucking, cannibal, pedophile, satanists (the worst things that come to mind for some people). And people somehow wanted to believe it.