Hartmann Report

Reagan’s “starve the beast” strategy has been used for nearly 50 years to shrink government until it no longer works well and then point to that failure to justify privatization. Trump most recently reduced the workforces of Social Security, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRA) by tens of thousands as his contribution to starving the “beast” of government: the result is that it can now take two years for Social Security to process a disability claim; the EPA is virtually impotent against corporate polluters; the USDA is letting factory farms “self regulate,” producing a nationwide explosion of food poisoning; and the IRS has largely stopped conducting large, multiyear audits of wealthy people, focusing instead on cheaper and faster audits of average working people—all while private tax-preparing companies’ efforts to prevent the IRS from offering free tax services got a huge boost.

The Best of the Rest of the News. — Violent political threats are surging as we enter 2024: trickle down fascism? — MAGA has taken over much of the evangelical movement. — Following Trump’s new religion, Republicans are spitting in the face of Jesus. — Telling a gay-basher that he’s “homophobic” will cost you $35,000 in fines under new Republican legislation just introduced to the Florida House. — Book bans, another import from Nazi Germany, are getting absurd in Florida and other Red states. — Hunter in a Farmer’s World Alert! ADHD: Learning how to focus your attention. — Wisdom School Alert! The Motivation Code revealed. — Who are the Houthis and why should we care?

Ron DeSantis & Nikki Haley had a spitting match Wednesday night on CNN as they fight for, well, something. Vice president? Unlikely. Beating Trump? Probably not… Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley had a spitting match Wednesday night on CNN as they fought for, well, something. Vice president? Unlikely. Beating Trump? Probably not. Book deal? Who knows? Anyhow, during the "debate," they both threw out numerous Reagan-era GOP talking points that most people probably poorly understand, so here's a handy guide to translate Republican-speak into plain English.

If America is ever to become a pluralistic, multiracial democratic republic we must come to terms with racism and white privilege… Some white people really don't want to hear that if they'd been born Black their lives would have almost certainly been much harder. It shatters their ability to cling to the number one most important aspect/benefit of white privilege. It confronts them with the end of innocence. This is particularly difficult for America's elite media. The very idea of calling out, for example, Trump supporters for their racism is "beyond the pale." And I mean that nearly literally. A "palus," the "pale" referenced in that old phrase, was a sharpened stake sticking out from a fence designed to keep people within a certain area: it was the 13th century version of barbed or razor wire. They were called "paling fences." The British used them back then to keep Irish people from leaving their Gaza-like confinement areas in eastern parts of Ireland, the area that, for the British, was "beyond the pales." America's news media is as wary of calling Republicans racists as the Irish were of getting themselves impaled (also where that word came from) on the British fences. Think about it: when was the last time you heard or read Trump, or his cult followers, being explicitly identified as "racist" by any of our major media outlets. And yet they are racists.

Because fascism trickles down from fascist leadership, it's what Trump's cult members are dreaming of, too. As are his toady lawyers… Trump dreams of revenge. It's what fascists do. Because fascism trickles down from fascist leadership, it's what Trump's cult members are dreaming of, too. As are his toady lawyers. Yesterday, for example, Trump's lawyer argued before the DC Appeals Court that if Trump became president again he could order Seal Team Six to assassinate Joe Biden or Liz Cheney and nobody could do anything about it

What is the opposite of diversity, equity, and inclusion? Whites-only communities, whites-only jobs, and racial segregation... As one of Georgia's most high-profile racists (a high bar in that state), Marjorie Taylor Greene has a reputation to uphold. Which is probably why this week she posted an attack on the Blackrock investment firm for having DEI or Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs at that company. "Corporate communists believe they have to force behaviors," Greene wrote on her Xitter feed. "They only need to remember as a corporation or business their ONLY job is to SERVE THEIR CUSTOMER with the best job possible to make their customers happy! It's not about gender, sex, race and blah blah blah." In this, Greene is channeling centuries of racist rhetoric that argued it was inappropriate for government or companies to have any concerns about racial fairness or equity. After all, the white customers of Georgia's segregated 1960s lunch counters were "happy!" What else is necessary? There's a reason why America's white supremacist Republican politicians like Greene and Stefanik are pushing so hard to get rid of DEI and to fire Black people in academia and the Pentagon: it wins them votes. From the geriatric Fox "News" followers, to white nationalist militias, to the preachers in all-white evangelical churches, the browning of America has provoked a collective freak-out.

Republicans are pushing our country: no social safety net, corrupt regulatory and police agencies, politicians and legislation for sale, and absolute immunity for the morbidly rich… Donald Trump and his fellow rightwing billionaires have a plan for America. They want to turn the United States from a prosperous, middle-class nation into a country of paupers, where bribery is common and the wealthy can get away with anything. The latest example of this comes from the House Oversight Committee’s report last week documenting how Donald Trump took at least $7 million in bribes in exchange for changes to US foreign policy when he was president. Most of the world already operates the way Republicans are pushing our country: no social safety net, corrupt regulatory and police agencies, politicians and legislation for sale, and absolute immunity for the morbidly rich.

The core argument of the “government is bad” crowd is that government is, itself, a monopoly. Since everybody knows that monopolies are bad things, so, too, government must be an intolerable affront that reduces the quality of life for its citizens. This meme has been incredibly destructive to America’s working people, who’ve become hostile to government while losing their wariness of corporate monopoly. There’s one type of monopoly that’s actually good, with a single caveat. That’s called a “natural monopoly,” and for it to work properly, it generally requires government. Consider your home. While you can buy a new stove or sofa or rug from many different companies, you’ll be hard-pressed to buy your water, electric, or septic from more than one single vendor. There’s only one power line, water line, and sewer line attached to your home. Thus, power, water, and septic are generally referred to as “natural monopolies.”

The Best of the Rest of the News. — Trump's foreign cash scandal is, to paraphrase Bernie, "YUGE!" — Wisdom School Alert! The #1 Lesson to Become a Brilliant Writer Revealed — Breaking News: New evidence shows Trump's campaign "directly orchestrated" the criminal fake elector plot to steal the White House in 2020 — A new report says Trump killed 17,000 Americans by pushing his fake covid cures — Crazy Alert! Florida's crackpot surgeon general calls Covid vaccines "the anti-Christ." Really!? — Florida is set to follow Ohio and secure abortion rights, although Republicans are playing dirty — Help California close the money loophole! — Geeky science! Hearing aids can extend your life!

Into the void steps the "pink slime journalism" newspapers and websites, funded by multiple rightwing billionaires, peddling lies and hate to get rightwing Republicans elected to office… It's an election year, so get ready: here comes "pink slime journalism." Pink slime, of course, is the ground up gristle that's colored red and sold as meat or a meat additive, but the term has come to mean anything that purports to be one thing but in fact is something quite different. In this case, these are rightwing propaganda outlets that purport to be local newspapers. They're taking advantage of the tragic reality that since Reagan stopped enforcing antitrust laws in 1983 and Clinton did away with ownership limits for news outlets in 1996, over 2,100 local newspapers in America have gone out of business. Into that void have stepped the "pink slime journalism" newspapers and websites, funded by multiple rightwing billionaires, peddling lies and hate to get rightwing Republicans elected to office.