Hartmann Report

The Best of the Rest of the News. — Trump loyalist eyes new enemy list? — Hegseth basically declared war on Iran Thursday night with an unhinged X post — Collapsing bird numbers in North America prompt fears of ecological crisis. — Geeky Science: Now that we know gut microbiomes can regulate everything from obesity to depression, here's some good news: you don't need a fecal transplant, just a high-fiber, low-fat diet! — Courts, including one run by a judge Trump appointed, are standing firm against his unlawful and unconstitutional behavior — "Don't fly into Newark; it's not safe." Trump's and Musk's cuts are taking a toll on air traffic safety. — Bob Kennedy is screwing up an updated Covid vaccine. — Rightwingers being paid by the Kremlin are now claiming that Ukraine is selling American weapons to drug gangs in Central America.

It’s not paranoia when it’s happening right in front of you… In the dark corners of America’s halls of power, something sinister is unfolding. Attorney General Pam Bondi has just launched an assault on one of the most sacred pillars of our democracy: the freedom of the press. And make no mistake, this isn’t just another policy change. It’s a deliberate strategy straight from the dictator’s playbook. Last week, Bondi quietly issued a memo rescinding vital protections for journalists that had prevented the government from forcing reporters to reveal their sources or surrender their notes during leak investigations. This wasn’t just any memo; it was a declaration of war against the very foundation of press freedom in America.

Forty-four years of plunder, and now Trump wants to garnish your wages to finish the job… Big news from the Trump regime: Next week, 1.8 million student loan borrowers who are currently in default will be under attack by our own government, according to billionaire, former wrestling executive, and now Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and documented by the folks at How We Fight Back. They note that McMahon bragged about her plans to go after financially distressed Americans in a Wall Street Journal op-ed on April 21: "On May 5, we will begin the process of moving roughly 1.8 million borrowers into repayment plans and restart collections of loans in default. Borrowers who don't make payments on time will see their credit scores go down, and in some cases their wages automatically garnished," McMahon wrote. Which raises the vital question: Is it time to lay down a claim for reparations for student loan borrowers and health insurance payers?

Mahmoud Khalil isn't a criminal. He's a student, a resident, and a protester. In 1841, Adams stood for people like him. In 2025, Trump locks them away… It was a cold, gray morning in Oklahoma when the government came crashing through the wrong door. Without warning, ICE agents clad in black tactical gear burst into a quiet family home. Guns drawn, boots pounding on hardwood, they moved like soldiers in hostile territory — except this wasn't a war zone. It was a suburban neighborhood. A home where children did homework, parents made dinner, and everyone believed, until that moment, that living in America meant having rights. They were wrong.

Structural eugenics isn't science fiction — it's happening right now, and if you're not terrified yet, you should be… Wake up, America! While we've been distracted by the daily chaos of the Trump administration, something far more sinister has taken root in our country. It's called Structural Eugenics (and a hat-tip to Qasim Rashid for putting this on my radar), and if you're not furious about it yet, you damn well should be. This isn't some fringe conspiracy theory: it's a coordinated assault on our most vulnerable citizens happening in broad daylight with deadly consequences. Let's be brutally honest here: the MAGA movement isn't just pushing bad policy, they're implementing a modern form of eugenics through selective attention and neglect.

America is slipping into the authoritarian nightmare Putin dreamed of for us... It didn't happen in some shadowy back alley or under the cover of night. It happened in broad daylight — in the heart of an American courthouse. Federal agents, acting without even the decency of a signed warrant, stormed into Judge Hannah Dugan's courtroom on Friday morning and dragged her away like a common criminal. No warning. No legal process. No respect for the law she had spent a lifetime upholding. But they made sure the cameras were there, so America could see what they were doing. Because this was not about justice. This was about terror. This was a warning shot aimed directly at the beating heart of America's judiciary: "Fall in line — or you're next."

Most Americans, even today, would tell you that being in the middle class enhances their sense of freedom and liberty, even though they don’t realize that a middle class is not a normal thing for capitalist societies. But the simple reality is that middle classes must be created, and that requires government intervention in the marketplace and government guarantees of some services that otherwise aren’t available to average working people (like free roads, public schools, and the ability to join a union).

The Best of the Rest of the News. — The audience for Pam Bondi‘s performance yesterday — when federal agents swarm-raided a county judge — was not the general public. — Are we just 2 weeks from empty shelves? — Busted: Trump stuns Time Magazine with outlandish lies to cover up his trade deal collapse. — Are Wall Street insiders getting stock tips from Trump? And why is Apple moving their production to India instead of the US? — While America is burning (both economically and from climate change), professional grifter Trump is making out like a bandit. Are Americans paying attention yet? — Fascism Alert! Bob Kennedy wants autistic kids and adults to be enrolled in a national “registry.” Can you spell eugenics? — Geeky Science: Will dimming the sun shield the planet or backfire catastrophically? — Trump orders his Justice Department (sic) to try to cripple Act Blue, the Democrat’s main fundraising vehicle.

Will we let this orange-faced death-cult leader finish the job he started, grinning over the corpse of the America we once believed in? The Trump administration just gutted Meals on Wheels. Seriously. Meals on Wheels! Donald Trump didn't just "disrupt" America; he detonated it. Like a political Chernobyl, he poisoned the very soil of our democratic republic, leaving behind a toxic cloud of cruelty, corruption, and chaos that will radiate through generations if we don't contain it now. He didn't merely bring darkness; he cultivated it. He made it fashionable. He turned cruelty into currency and made ignorance a political virtue. This man, a grotesque cocktail of malignant narcissism and petty vengeance, ripped the mask off American decency and showed the world our ugliest face. He caged children. Caged. Children. He laughed off their cries while his ghoulish acolytes used "Where are the children?" as a punchline for their next QAnon rally.

If you want your children to grow up with lungs that work, you better start voting like your life—and theirs—depends on it… Breathing is no longer a basic human right in America: it's now a political battleground. Over 156 million Americans are inhaling toxic air today, not because we don't know how to fix it, but because the Republican Party has decided that clean air is something only Democrats care about. While children gasp through inhalers and wildfires choke entire cities, Trump and his fossil-fueled allies are dismantling environmental protections with surgical cruelty. This isn't ignorance — it's policy. It's profit. It's war on your lungs, your family, and your future. The American Lung Association just released a new report documenting how over 156 million Americans are breathing poisonous air. Trump and the Republicans don't give a damn; if anything, they're enthusiastic about it.