Hartmann Report

"There is absolutely nothing to be said for government by a plutocracy, for government by men very powerful in certain lines and gifted with “the money touch,” but with ideals which in their essence are merely those of so many glorified pawnbrokers." —Theodore Roosevelt, 1913 letter to Sir Edward Grey Make no mistake: Trump wasn’t president because of his policies, his qualifications, or even primarily because of his base. He was president because America’s wealthiest class funded his rise, protected his power, and enabled his worst instincts, at least so long as he delivered the goods..

The Best of the Rest of the News. — The Trump Grinch that stole America! — MAGA, meet the pothole: Trump floats withholding road money and refusing to pave roads in the Red states of his own base. — Grand Theft Retirement: Trump’s GOP war on Social Security and Medicare rolls on. — “Who is Antifa?” FBI Director can’t say because it’s not a membership club. — Merry Christmas: the EU just kicked Trump and Putin in the nuts. — Detained for “looking Somali”: ICE goon grabs a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis. — What happened to Republican’s love of states’ rights? — Not a Palace: National Trust sues to stop Trump’s “Presidential Ballroom.”

As America slides into recession, this is a struggle over who owns America's future: a broad middle class—or a locked-in economy run by the richest few… America is in or on the verge of a seriously bad recession and the Trump regime is hiding the numbers; the signs are everywhere. His incoherent tariffs, massive tax breaks for billionaires, and gutting the Inflation Reduction Act are kneecapping our economy. In response, Trump visited Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania this week and tried to pitch himself as a champion for the little guy, the middle class, small farmers, and working people. Which raises the question: who do Trump and the GOP really work for? — Putin was furious that the Biden administration had been providing Ukraine with weapons systems, including air defense munitions and HIMARS rockets, so in March of this year Trump abruptly suspended delivery of most US military aid and Republicans in Congress never restarted it.

The convergence of pro-Kremlin policy, tech giveaways to rivals, and rising domestic repression is a five-alarm warning that we ignore at our own peril… Many of us have long suspected or even predicted that Donald Trump would betray America, gut our democracy in favor of a police state, and align us with Russia. You know, the country that the Financial Times reported this week tried to launch multiple terrorist attacks against the United States and Europe over the past year. We're now there. It's the most under-reported story of the year, perhaps of the century: under Trump, the United States is abandoning advocacy of democracy (shutting down Voice of America, etc.), abandoning our democratic allies in Europe, and for the past year has abandoned Ukraine to the tender mercies of the Butcher of Moscow.

If we allow a network of secretive, cruel, detention facilities for one set of powerless people today, tomorrow it will inevitably turn those same systems against anyone who challenges their power. Amnesty International's new report on the U.S. detention sites Alligator Alcatraz and Krome is a warning flare for every American who believes in the Constitution, the rule of law, and the basic dignity of human beings. We've seen governmental cruelty before in our history, but these facilities mark a new level of calculated dehumanization on U.S. soil, and Amnesty is calling it what it is: torture, enforced disappearance, and a deliberate system designed to break people.

When dissent becomes an “indicator,” the First Amendment stops being a right and starts being a risk… Back in September, most Americans (and the media) thought it was so over-the-top that it had to be a joke. Turns out, it wasn’t a joke and isn’t remotely funny. In a bizarre directive that could have been written by the staff of The Onion or Putin’s secret police, National Security Presidential Memorandum-7 (NSPM-7), Donald Trump ordered the FBI, DOJ, and over 200 federal Joint Terrorism Task Forces (coordinating FBI with local police forces across the country) to seek out and investigate any person or group who meet it’s “indica” (indicators) of potential domestic terrorism. They include, as Ken Klippenstein first reported: “[A]nti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, anti-Christianity, … extremism on migration, extremism on race, extremism on gender, hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family, hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on religion, and hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on morality.” — Have you ever spoken ill of our country or its policies, particularly under Trump?

Our elections, our media, even our justice system, are all owned by the few. The Powell Memo lit the match; Citizens United poured on the gasoline. The fire of corruption is now a national inferno... "When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in a society, over the course of time they create for themselves a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it.” — Frédéric Bastiat, Economic sophisms, 2nd series (1848) With so little pushback to Hegseth’s murders in the Caribbean and ICE’s cruelty and violence that highlight Trump’s brutality, we’re watching the final fulfillment of a 50-year plan. Louis Powell laid it out in 1971, and every step along the way Republicans have followed it. It was a plan to turn America over to the richest men and the largest corporations. It was a plan to replace democracy with oligarchy. A large handful of America’s richest people invested billions in this plan, and its tax breaks and fossil fuel subsidies have made them trillions. As any advertising executive can tell you, with enough money and enough media — particularly if you are willing to lie — you can sell anybody pretty much anything.

"I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed . . . corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country." —Thomas Jefferson It was October 10, 2016, and the world watched as the last credible, integrity-bound Republicans surrendered. Just three days earlier, the infamous Access Hollywood tape had played on TVs worldwide. Donald Trump bragged about grabbing women “by the pussy,” claiming that “when you’re a star, they let you do it.” The footage triggered a political firestorm. House Speaker Paul Ryan distanced himself, canceling a planned appearance with Trump. Senator John McCain withdrew his endorsement entirely. Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz declared he could no longer support Trump while looking his fifteen-year-old daughter in the eye.

The Best of the Rest of the News. — Trump released his new National Security Strategy and it looks like the focus is based on the racist "Great Replacement Theory" that posits "international Jews" are funding immigration of Black and Brown people into "European" (ie white) countries including the United States to replace the white population. — When the government can kill without consequences, what's left of democracy? — Bob Kennedy delivers a lifetime of disease and death to babies? — Has Kash Patel ordered his agents to act as Uber drivers and deliver one his girlfriend's "inebriated" pals home? — Is Trump going to let big corporations loot America via the tax code? — Is Trump's conspiracy machine turning anger into pipe bombs? — Is Trump's Christmas greeting "Daddy's Home" an authoritarian warning?

Expect a fight for healthcare access, debt relief, affordable housing, and a living wage that doesn't require two full-time jobs… Young people are furious. A survey released this week by the Harvard Institute of Politics finds that under-30 Americans are "a generation under profound strain" who've lost pretty much any confidence in government or corporate institutions. By a 57% to 13% margin they told pollsters America is on the wrong track, and only 32% agree that the US is a healthy democracy or even one that's "somewhat functioning." Fully 64% of young American adults say the system is either in trouble or has completely failed. Pollster John Della Volpe summarized the Institute's findings: "Young Americans are sending a clear message: the systems and institutions meant to support them no longer feel stable, fair, or responsive to this generation." Which raises the urgent question: How the hell did we get here from the widespread prosperity of the postwar years?