Hartmann Report

It's time to declare the 43-year Reagan Revolution's neoliberal experiment a failure, and outlaw or heavily tax the share buybacks that are one of its most visible markers… I hate stock buybacks. I think they are one of the most self-serving things that corporate America does. Instead of investing in workers and in training and in research and in equipment, they don't do a thing to make their company better and they artificially raise the stock price by just reducing the number of shares. They're despicable. I'd like to abolish them. —Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer August, 2022 A Boeing whistleblower is testifying before Congress today that the 787 has dangerous flaws in the way it's put together. Senator Richard Blumenthal, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee's investigations subcommittee that will hear from the whistleblower, told The New York Times he has heard: "Repeated, shocking allegations about Boeing's manufacturing failings [that] point to an appalling absence of safety culture and practices — where profit is prioritized over everything else."

And now we learn he apparently covered up Trump's link to Russia (the Mueller Report) & his scheme to fix the 2016 election by shutting up Stormy Daniels, Karen MacDougal & the Trump Tower doorman… Congressman Jim Jordan wanted revenge on behalf of Donald Trump against Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg for charging Trump with election interference in Manhattan. He threatened Bragg with "oversight": dragging him before his committee, threatening him with contempt of Congress; putting a rightwing target on Bragg's back by publicizing him to draw sharpshooters from as far away as Wyoming or Idaho; and facing the possibility of going to jail if he didn't answer Jordan's questions right. Jordan, James Comer, and Bryan Steil — three chairmen of three different committees — wrote to Bragg: "By July 2019 ... federal prosecutors determined that no additional people would be charged alongside [Michael] Cohen. ... [Y]our apparent decision to pursue criminal charges where federal authorities declined to do so requires oversight...." They were furious that Bragg would prosecute Trump for a crime that the federal Department of Justice had already decided in 2019 and announced that they weren't going to pursue. But why didn't Bill Barr's Department of Justice proceed after they'd already put Michael Cohen in prison for a year for delivering the check to Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet at least until after the election, and then lying about it? Why didn't they go after the guy who ordered the check written, the guy who'd had sex with Daniels, the guy whose run for the presidency was hanging in the balance?

While it requires lawful due process — your day in court — to take away your gun, red state governors and secretaries of state can take away your vote without even telling you. Republicans know most Americans aren't fans of tax cuts for billionaires, more pollution, deregulation of polluting industries, high-priced drugs, privatizing Medicare, ending Social Security, criminalizing abortion and birth control, student debt, hating on Black and queer people, and the GOP's war on unions and working people. So, to win elections across the country this fall and secure the White House for Donald Trump, they're removing millions of mostly Black and Brown voters from the rolls. This started in a big way with Georgia and Texas, but the practice has now metastasized to nearly 30 Republican-controlled states across the country.

Fox News isn’t the only example of a business that is willing to cut into its profits for the short term in order to change minds and drum up support for policies that will make it richer in the long run. Just prior to the 2016 presidential election, the Progressive Change Institute commissioned a nationwide poll conducted by the highly respected firm GBAO Strategies. The result showed clearly just how deep and extensive is the problem of monopolistic, legalized political bribery in America. When asked whether the US government should negotiate prescription drug prices, 79% of Americans agreed and only 12% opposed. But because Big Pharma bribed Congress to the tune of $2.5 billion over the last decade, giving money to 9 out of 10 members of the House and 97 out of 100 members of the Senate, nothing has changed. Tens of thousands of Americans die every year because of this bribery.

The Best of the Rest of the News. — Are Arizona Republicans masochists? They just blocked an attempt by Dems to repeal the 1864 abortion law! — Who runs the House: Republicans, Trump, or Putin? — Is Biden doing everything he can for Ukraine? — And the stakes in the Ukraine war couldn't be higher. — Finally! The US will require background checks for gun shows and online firearm sales. — Crazy Alert! Revealed: Trump county chair is reportedly an ex-cop who threatened to rape his boss' wife and daughter before he killed the boss. — Wisdom School Alert! Why Mastering the Learning Trance Can Be Useful. — Hunter in a Farmer's World Alert! How Authoritarianism Leadership & Economic Chaos Affects ADHDers. Should "Hunters" beware of the overfocused Farmers who want to set the rules & define the game? — The Biden EPA imposes first-ever limits on levels of toxic "forever chemical" PFAS's in drinking water.

Autocrats & fascists, know the importance of media ownership (Hitler &Mussolini also took over radio & newspapers during their time). Why this simple lesson is lost on progressives is confounding... Vladimir Putin understands better than Democrats and Democratic donors how to seize control of a nation. And Democrats damn well better learn the lesson, and fast. Forget about the economy and even abortion: it's the media, stupid! When Putin wanted the Central African Republic (CAR) to give him multiple gold and mineral mines in that resource-rich country, the first thing his agent, Yevgeny Prigozhin, did was to buy a radio station and start running propaganda about the benefits of the CAR creating closer ties to Russia.

So, what is it? Is it that Republicans simply think having Americans in debt somehow works to their advantage? If so, how does that work? I don't get it and I'm hoping you can help me figure it out. Why do Republicans oppose President Biden's efforts to cancel student debt? This Tuesday, seven states, led by Missouri's Republican Attorney General, sued the Biden administration to stop his most recent attempt to reduce student debt. In a separate lawsuit, ten other Republican-controlled states filed a separate lawsuit to try to block the same Biden effort. The week before, somebody slipped this little gem into Maria Cantwell's must-pass legislation reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) (my inquiry to her press office was never answered): "The Secretary, the Secretary of the Treasury, or the Attorney General may not take any action to cancel or forgive the outstanding balances, or portion of balances, on any Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, or otherwise modify the terms or conditions of a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, made to an eligible student, except as authorized by an Act of Congress." In other words, it appears, they're trying to use the force of law to prevent President Biden from forgiving a large category of student loans.

The real question at the core of the Ukraine conflict, is simple &straightforward: "What's the best way for humans to govern themselves?" Yesterday, Politico published an interview with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy titled "Zelenskyy warns Russia has penetrated U.S. politics, invites Trump to Ukraine." It's a chilling read. Democracy is in trouble, and the Russian/Ukrainian conflict highlights how imperiled it is becoming in the 21st century. The real issue in Ukraine isn't just land, any more than the real issue in the US is abortion: that's all the activity on the surface. What's grinding away below the surface, however, is the erosion or outright destruction of democracy itself, whether by invasion from without or corruption from within.

If we fail to aid Ukraine and Russia succeeds in overwhelming that country, expect Putin to head to Moldova and Poland or the Baltic states next: his generals and his #2, Dmitry Medvedev have said so… Today, the House of Representatives is back from a 2-week vacation and news reports suggest that Speaker "Moscow Mike" Johnson may put legislation on the floor to provide aid to Ukraine. Other news reports, however, say that his entire "I'll consider Ukraine aid" is just BS: that he's going to poison pill the legislation by attaching riders and amendments demanding things that Democrats won't go along with. Sunday, Johnson told Fox "News": "We've been talking to all the members, especially now over the district work period. When we return after this work period, we'll be moving a product, but it's going to, I think, have some important innovations." Innovations? You mean scams? Like calling the aid to Ukraine a "loan" or funding it with seized Russian assets, a process that could introduce more months of delay.

Is the GOP's cynical manipulation of religion, gender, and race enough to keep them voting to hurt themselves and enrich Republican fat-cats? Rural white voters have, in many cases, far more political power than suburban or urban voters, and they're using that outsized power to push our nation toward disaster. While they're only 20 percent of the country, for example, because of gerrymandering they control fully 42 percent of seats in the House of Representatives. The authors of new book, White Rural Rage: The Threat to American Democracy point out that rural whites are measurably more bigoted and xenophobic than suburban or urban voters, 13 points more likely to hate on queer people, 15 points more likely to support Trump's Muslim ban.