Hartmann Report

"I know a planet where there is a certain red-faced gentleman. He has never smelled a flower. He has never looked at a star. He has never loved anyone. He has never done anything in his life but add up figures. And all day he says over and over, just like you: “I am busy with matters of consequence!” And that makes him swell up with pride. But he is not a man—he is a mushroom." Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

The Best of the Rest of the News. — Tyre Nichols: We've Seen Too Many People Murdered By American Police. — Can the debt ceiling be abolished or will the GOP dig in on slashing Social Security & Medicare? — Bill Barr was the most corrupt Attorney General in modern American history, both when he helped George HW Bush avoid prosecution for Iran/Contra in 1992 and when he helped cover up Trump's multiple connections to Russia and that nation's help for him in the 2016 election. — How is the manufactured outrage going for Fox-So-Called-News? — Hispanic voters are the target of a new multi-million dollar effort to swing that voting block to the right. — How is Chevron getting away with a $75 billion stock buyback after price-gouging Americans & slamming the climate crisis? — Fascism Alert! Major corporations are backing book banning politicians. — Students are suing Ron DeSanctimonious over AP African American studies. — Crazy Alert! You'd think George Santos would be more careful now that everybody in the country has figured out that he lies almost as often as Donald Trump, but…no.

Congress should pass legislation to create national standards for policing to regulate local and state police departments so violence-prone and violence-craving individuals don’t end up as cops. As the horror of the police murder of Tyre Nichols washes across our TV screens, we’re reminded again of the crisis, it’s severity unique to America among developed nations, of police violence... You and I are 30 times more likely to be killed by police than are citizens of Germany or Great Britain.

A “donation” of as little as $25,000 can get you “face time” over dinner with a sitting justice of the US Supreme Court. If you think Republican politicians in Congress are corrupt, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Check out how little it costs to purchase access to a Supreme Court justice!

Wealthy partisans aligned with the GOP are going for that Hispanic vote in a big, big way. They intend to use the same tools that have turned state after state reliably red since the 1980s: radio & TV. If you’re a Democratic candidate for office in New Mexico, Texas, California, Arizona, Nevada, Florida, Colorado, New Jersey, New York or Illinois, get ready: the ceiling is about to fall in on you.

Dying on your own terms when you’re in miserable pain and just a step short of that eternal portal is, after all, the humane thing to do. The dignified thing to do. If it weren’t for the cops, I’d want Louise to pull the trigger. Jerry and Ellen Gilland were married in 1969, two years before Louise and I tied the knot, them in Florida and us in Detroit. They bounced around Florida for a few years, living in Sorrento, Mount Plymouth, and Orlando before settling in New Smyrna Beach where they lived when Jerry started getting really sick. Really sick as in terminally ill. They tried to handle his illness at home, but around Christmas Jerry started going downhill fast. He told Ellen he couldn’t handle the situation and planned to shoot himself to end it all when things got so bad there was no point in continuing to live, infirm and in pain. After 52 years of marriage, Ellen understood.

Mass shooters and child-killers are celebrating. Meanwhile Republican politicians vow to protect us and our kids from — wait for it — librarians and history teachers. Saturday night 10 people were murdered by a mass shooter in California. It’s the 37th mass shooting this year. We’re 23 days into 2023 and over 2,200+ Americans have already died of gun violence. We’re the only developed country in the world that unconditionally allows civilians to own military-style assault weapons, that allows “open carry,” that lets gun manufacturers openly buy politicians (thanks, SCOTUS).

Four Mistakes. "I fear our mistakes far more than the strategy of our enemies." Thucydides (47–400 b.c.), Pericles’ Funeral Oration.

The Best of the Rest of the News. — We have questions for the media about the debt ceiling — Speaking of questions, why wasn't Supreme Court Associate Justice Sam Alito asked under oath if he was responsible for the Dobbs decision leak? — Would the GOP survive a repeal of Citizens United? — As "macho man" Ron DeSantis says he wants to ban mask mandates by all Florida businesses, a new study shows one in ten people infected with Covid ends up with "long Covid". — And speaking of DeSantis, is his campaign against Black and queer people actually working? — Geeky Science! Strengthening your marriage might be as simple as putting pictures of you and your spouse around the house. — Video of the day: Anti-Abortion protestors get violent when someone with a bullhorn says the quiet part out loud

Has the American public finally wised up to Wanniski’s and Reagan’s Two Santas scam, even if they don’t know the details or the backstory? The media refers to it as a debate around the debt ceiling, but it’s actually far simpler than that. And entirely political. Back in November, a few weeks after House Republicans won the election and seized control of that body, I wrote to you warning that the House Republicans would try the same scam that Ronald Reagan first rolled out in the 1980s. I wrapped the article up with the “hope that Democratic politicians and our media will, finally, call the GOP out on Wanniski’s and Reagan’s Two Santa Clauses scam.” So far, no soap. I haven’t heard a single mention of Two Santas in the mainstream media, and I’ll bet you haven’t, either. That’s the bad news.