Author: Thom Hartmann

Algorithms and Addiction: How people are jolted with highs from social media

The difference between cocaine and crack cocaine is almost entirely one of pH, the relative scale of acidity or alkalinity. Regular cocaine in its original plant form, coca leaf, is commonly consumed by people across the mountainous parts of South America and has been for millennia, much as caffeine has been used through drinking tea in parts of Asia. It causes little to no harm; people can drink coca tea with no more impact than the caffeine from a soft drink. But when you concentrate and tweak the compound just slightly to make it more alkaline (called “base” in...

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Tent Cities: Zillow study shows how Wall Street is causing homelessness while profiting from the harm

It seems that everywhere you look in America you see the tragedy of homelessness. Rarely, though, do we hear that Wall Street is helping cause it. Thirty-two percent seems to be the magic threshold, according to new research funded by the real estate listing company Zillow. When neighborhoods hit rent rates in excess of 32 percent of neighborhood income, homelessness explodes. And we are seeing it play out right in front of us in cities across America because a handful of Wall Street billionaires want to make a killing. Housing prices have gone out of control since my dad...

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Black Flag: Trump’s agenda remains an open declaration of war on democracy itself

Trump’s agenda is to destroy democracy in America, and the GOP and their billionaire donors are going along with it while much of the media are treating it like politics as usual. It is a two-part plan that involves both corrupting our election processes and fomenting a violent “rebellion” by White Supremacists to shatter our society. Part one is to end free and fair elections in America. The latest bombshell has become the most under-reported and misunderstood story of the week, when Donald Trump threatened the Republican Party. On October 13 I got a fundraising email, he averages around 5...

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We Deserve Better: How the unlimited political bribery of dark money robs Americans of quality health care

“I live in Sweden. We have social security, affordable health care, strict gun laws, 5 weeks paid annual leave, 1 year maternity leave, etc. And no, we’re not a communist country, and not even strictly socialistic but socio-democratic. And our freedom is not inhibited. For example, health care can cost a maximum of around $130 per year for visits to health care centrals etc., hospital nights costs $12 per night with a $175 roof per month. Prescription drugs have a yearly roof of $250.” – Caroline @SweResistance, Twitter Sweden is a democratic republic that practices an economic system often...

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Power-At-All-Costs: The GOP’s obsession to rule will end badly for everyone

Many commentators and pundits have worried out loud that the Texas “precedent” of using vigilantism to end safe, legal abortion in that state is either wildly unconstitutional or, if it stands, will set a precedent to take down other rights like free speech or protest. Republicans are playing with fire here, but it’s not just around abortion rights. They’re also explicitly going after a wide variety of other rights that Americans have fought to maintain for centuries. If they achieve their endpoint — the direction they’re currently heading — they will ultimately see their own rights stripped away as...

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The Two Santas Strategy: How the GOP has used an economic scam to manipulate Americans for 40 years

“The only thing wrong with the U.S. economy is the failure of the Republican Party to play Santa Claus.” – Jude Wanniski, March 6, 1976 The stock market is falling, in part a reaction to GOP threats to shut down the government: it’s all part of their plan. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen last week warned us that the GOP is about to use Jude Wanniski’s “Two Santa Clauses” fraud again to damage Biden’s economy and our standing in the world. And, sure enough, Mitch McConnell verified it when he said last week there would be “zero” Republican votes to raise...

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