The Hartmann Report

Thom's take on just some of the crazy world Trump is presiding over- should we be worried about the state of this union? - Trumps cancellation of the nuclear treaty with Russia could be dangerous, with the possibility (probability?) that both sides will now develop new nuclear weapons. Derek Johnson from Global Zero tells Thom about what happens next and whether we are all safe " or not. Is the Co...

Thom's take - Intentional cruelty was used by the Trump administration to frighten possible future asylum seekers from coming to America. And with 48,000 people presently in detention, many of them children, and many children placed in foster homes, now the administration is claiming it would be too difficult to return the kids to their families. Thom is utterly disgusted, and so are his callers,...

Thom's Take: Republicans in Utah are pushing legislation that would reverse a voter initiative to accept federal Medicare expansion in that state. What are they thinking? - Norma in Alabama speaks passionately about the suffering of those who have no way to see a doctor, and the push by conservatives to pay lower and lower wages, tax the poor and middle class but not the rich- are the rich trying...

Thom's take- as Foxconn has been to show to have conned Wisconsin for massive tax break money- what can be done to keep cities from racing to the bottom with tax giveaways? - Steve in Phoenix says the endgame for the billionaires is to get rid of government spending that benefits everyone. Thom adds, they'd rather change everything into a chance for billionaires to get richer. Thom's thoughts on t...

Why shouldn't billionaires also pay a property tax on their non-real estate property? - The man in the White House won't or can't accept the scientific consensus on climate change. As Chicago faces temperatures as low as 50 degrees below zero as the jet stream breaks down, even as the arctic is warmer than ever, could this be the crisis that requires Progressives to take power to make things...

Thom makes the case that our present crisis of extraordinary corruption- with lobbyists and billionaires directly running the government to enrich themselves- is on the level of past crises that led to a powerful Progressive response. Who is the right person to disinfect government and return power to the people? Elizabeth Warren, or? ------ Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin examines the crisis...

------- Thom's take - Medicare for all, free education, and the Green New Deal have a majority of American citizen support, and then some. So why do billionaires and banksters insist those ideas are not centrist? CEO-candidate Howard Schultz and corporate Democrat banksters want Democrats to continue to champion corporate interests over the common good. How should Progressive push back? ------- Se...

Thom shows how Republican favors to the rich since Reagan have worsened working class circumstances, and reflects on Stone indictment and fraud of 2016 election. - Kate Pickett, author and researcher has the facts on how unequal out society really has become, and what real-life consequences that has for millions of people. - Thom reads from "The Inner Level review – how more equal societies r...

Thom welcomes Roger Wolfson, Democratic speechwriter, Hollywood scriptwriter, and consulting expert on effective communication. Roger offers Thom and his callers specific advice on how to really get across to people. Thom has thought deeply about effective political communication, and he lays out the fundamental differences that give rise to the conservative and Progressive world views that h...

Thom's thoughtful take on the MAGA hatted youths caught on video in Washington D.C, and America's response to it. Will the Covington Catholic kids get away with bigoted taunts while the racist in chief invites them to the White House and right wing media portrays them as victims? - Co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, man-of-action Mark Pocan takes the citizen's concerns and plans out...

Shutdown Crisis: Is Trump trying to break the FBI or all of government? Why is the GOP voting to give millions to Deripaska but won't end shutdown? Author Dahr Jamail talks in person with Thom on the subject of his new book 'The End of Ice: Bearing Witness and Finding Meaning in the Path of Climate Disruption.' Dahr argues that we must ultimately take an attitude to our planet more like the i...

A fascinating deep dive with author and hard-core researcher Lamar Waldron, author and co-author with Thom of numerous books on the related coverups of the MLK & JFK assasinations, Iran Contra, and other crimes. Also, the connection to the former CIA lawyer William Bar who is presently candidate for Attorney General. ---- Thom reads from 'Legacy of Secrecy' by Lamar Waldron and also by Thom hi...

Lies, lies, lies, lies, lies.... A leaked memo proves that Trump's people lied to congress when they claimed there was no intentional program to take kids from their refugee parents at the border. And Thom covers the bombshell evidence the FBI has discovered of impeachable criminal lies; Trump directly instructed persons- including Cohen and his family- to tell congress about Trump's Russia ties....

Thom says American billionaires may be giddily imagining that the shut down will result in federal employees never returning to their jobs, derailing democracy and moving us towards an oligarchic state. Marxian economist, Professor Richard Wolff explains how the government shutdown increases economic instability and that the longer it lasts the worse it will affect the economy as a whole...

Presidential candidate and author Andrew Yang argues that a universal basic income (UBI) is the solution to many of our basic economic problems. He and Thom have a fascinating discussion. ---In today's book club, Andrew Yang's 'The War on Normal People. ---The feasibility of autonomous trucks from the perspective of Bryan in Connecticut, a truck driver. And the discussion continues with our insigh...

Trump's latest candidate for attorney general goes before Congress, but who is this guy? Thom reminds us of Bill Barr's history as the former CIA lawyer and Bush insider who was the coverup artist for Iran/Contra. And how does rampant federal corruption tie into Pompeo and Pence seriously expecting Jesus to make all things new? ----- The Brexit deal is heating up, Luke Vargas has the scoop on...

We now know the FBI has had reason to investigate Trump's financial obligations to the Russian government since at least 2016. And, financial ties have been demonstrated between foreign governments and some key Republican players in Congress. Thom asks who is really pulling the strings? Could it be oligarchs abroad, and/or at home? Does the federal shutdown further the mission of billionaires to c...

Thom reflects on the 75th anniversary of FDR's 2nd Bill of Rights of considers that vision versus the conditions of today and more news stories. Thom holds a spirited discussion with thoughtful listeners while discussing that Trump lied on TV and made no real effort to compromise with Congress. Professor Richard Wolff shares his insight on what chance Democratic proposals to require...

Thom explores the potential dangers if Trump succeeds at gaining emergency powers and where it will end. Mark Pocan, co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus takes listener calls on the politics of the government shutdown. Former Republican congressman Bob Ney of Talk Media News briefs Thom on the history of presidential use of Emergency Powers, and they consider the state of play of the e...

In Thom's take today: Brazenness is a leadership quality shared by many great presidents. Although, as Trump scores high on brazenness, yet Trump doesn't have the rest of the presidential toolkit including morality, intelligence, introspection, empathy, and foresight. Thom looks at how this deficit may be a threat to us all. Caller Paulette adds the word 'indifference', which Thom says is the oppo...

Thom introduces the idea that most of our media is fundamentally corrupt, and the way they misreported OAC's tax ideas is a clear example of this. --------- George in Illinois adds that the major corporate Spanish networks also skew the news.------ Thom welcomes Pulitzer-winning Art Cullen, a small town reporter in Iowa. A discussion on the fact that the national media barely reported the unp...

0:00 - Thom welcomes Greg Grandin, author of 'The End of the Myth from the Frontier to the Border Wall'- a fascinating description of the way both secret and overt American intervention in Latin America has created the flow of refugees that Trump is exploiting for his own purposes. Listeners add their own fascinating dimensions as they chime in. ----16:02 - Thom reads from 'Confessions of a R...

Despite cable media's piling-on of criticism of Elizabeth Warren's ancestry test, it turns out that no Native American elected leaders were asked in the national coverage. When leaders were asked, all supported Warren and yet consensus of the so called debacle continues. Thom continues the conversation on gender and race with his brilliant callers. ---------- Marxist economist...

Ass-kicker Nancy Pelosi is now officially the Speaker of the House, and prepared to go toe-to-toe with Trump. And while the partial government shutdown drags on, the president worries he might look foolish. ------- Peter Beinhart joins Thom, his article in The Atlantic considers the degree of bias against Elizabeth Warren in the media, and how she might be considered more fairly. -------...

Elizabeth Warren appears ready to toss her hat in the ring with a campaign issues video. Thom considers her as the first authentically progressive candidate since Jimmy Carter. ------- Thom reads from 'Playing with Fire' by Lawrence O'Donell. ------- Will Elizabeth Warren be able to run on the issues, or will she be judged superficially? Thoughtful callers respond. And, how can...