Author: Thom Hartmann

Divided We Stand: How ALEC’s legislative agenda pushes racist reactions over egalitarian values

America is increasingly becoming two nations, a result of the Great Neoliberal Experiment playing out across the country since the start of Reaganism in 1981. One is made up of states representing modern democracy holding egalitarian values; the other has reverted to racist reaction, widespread indigence, and oligarchic ownership of state political systems. States run by Democrats generally offer better educational opportunities, higher quality and more readily available healthcare, and easier access to the ballot box. States run by Republicans generally see shorter lifespans, poorer health, more gun violence, and deeper poverty. This is not an accident or merely...

Read More

Carbon waste byproducts: Why “hairdryer math” gets bizarre when applied to global warming

Most people know that a hairdryer draws about as much power as your average modern outlet will give it. Typically around 1000 watts or, at 110 volts, just shy of 10 amps. Plug in and turn on two hairdryers from the same outlet and you will usually blow a circuit breaker: most homes max out at 15 or 20 amp circuits. If those numbers are gibberish to you, hang on: it’ll all have meaning in a moment, particularly when I get to the really shocking part about climate change and hairdryers. I was recently listening to a rightwing radio...

Read More

Partisan Strategies: Why the real political divide is not Conservative vs. Liberal but Fear vs. Trust

Increasingly, the Democratic and Republican parties are offering us all a very real choice: trust or fear. Think back to the 2022 election we endured just two months ago. Remember the ads you saw on TV? Odds are each one fell into one of two very simple categories: “be afraid of the other guy” or “trust that I’ll make your life better.” Most of the “fear” ads came from Republicans; most of the “trust” ads came from Democrats. Pain or pleasure.  Fear or trust. These are the two primary strategies we all use to motivate ourselves and others every...

Read More

A parasitic industry: Understanding why America does not define healthcare as a basic human right

Republicans have taken control of the House of Representatives, and already have their sights set on forcing major cuts to “entitlements” like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. One of the promises McCarthy made to become speaker was to force a vote on dialing back 2023/2024 spending back to 2021 levels — and there’s been a 7% inflation increase in costs/expenses since then. In other words, they want massive cuts. His Republican colleagues have already outlined the starting point for their demands, as reported by Yahoo News: “The Republican Study Committee proposed a budget for fiscal 2023 that would gradually increase the...

Read More

Murdered By Police: Congress should pass legislation of a national standard for law enforcement

As the horror of the police murder of Tyre Nichols washes across our TV screens, we are reminded again of a crisis that is unique to America among developed nations. Police violence. As Nichols’ stepfather, Rodney Wells, told CNN: “When I saw the police officer, you know, they have this little like stick, this metal thing that they pull out. I saw them pull that out and started beating my son with it. And I saw officers hitting on him, I saw officers kicking him. One officer kicked him like he was kicking a football a couple of times. “But...

Read More

Demise of liberal democracy: We are living in the final stage of Reaganism’s dystopia

Back in 1981, when Ronald Reagan was sworn in and implicitly promised to destroy our government because it was “the problem,” many of us who strongly opposed him wondered what the final stage of Reaganism would look like. Now we know. We are there. Violence toward women and minorities has exploded. Armed militias tried to assassinate the Vice President and Speaker of the House in an attempted coup directed by the Republican President of the United States. They tried to kidnap and murder the Democratic governor of Michigan. They’re blowing up power substations from Oregon to the Carolinas. They’ve...

Read More