Comments by "Animal Farm" (@animalfarm7467) on "Thom Hartmann Program"
channel.
-
22
-
19
-
18
-
17
-
Thomas, when you continue the scam of, 00:37 “Kim’s violence against his own people” or “the level of violence against human beings in North Korea”, you sound like Rachael Maddow; pushing the propaganda that the US gives a damn about those in foreign lands. You fail to understand the Anglo-American oligarchs would slaughter anyone that gets in the way of their profits. Kissinger said, “The US has no friends or enemies, only interest” and he is correct. Consider the backer of Clinton in the last election, Madeline Albright who said, ”There is a special place in hell for women who don’t support Hillary”. This is the same Madeline Albright that, through UN sanctions, killed half a million Iraqi children under 5 years old during the early 1990s by starvation and disease. Consider when the US slaughtered twenty percent of the population of North Korea and totally destroyed it infrastructure which is a war crime, but then again who worries about War crimes when the oligarchs control the Western World. Remember the slaughter of the Libyans, and the Syrians with a US created civil Syrian war; then again, I have never heard you ever discuss the CIA operation ”Timber Sycamore” used to create the devastation in Syria. And now this scum Hartman pushes the idea that the US is concerned about human rights. Where have you been; you are either totally ignorant or the inveterate liar I always thought you were. What’s wrong Hartmann; did the oligarchs threaten to disable your show if you didn’t emulate MSNBC or CNN, or have they upped your remuneration to sweeten your intentional propagandizing of the people. I never see Chris Hedges on your show anymore and with this current scam I would also be surprised to see Wolff again, but then again he may not be aware of your insidious deception.
Hartmann, when are you going to start telling the truth; Trump is the result of a corrupt democracy and criminal politicians and the US is an Empire intent on slaughtering anyone or destroying anything that gets in its way, period. It appears you are intentionally destroying your YouTube channel just to propagandize the last few cretins that still take your show seriously at the request of your masters. Maybe soon you should quit and move to MSNBC or CNN or …” There are a multitude of mainstream networks out there waiting for someone that will sell their soul for a few dollars and you appear to be the perfect person to act as a stand-in for Rachael. There once was a time I called you the Corporate Liberal Alex Jones and then cringed at my own words - no more.
13
-
12
-
Alarm bells started going off when I heard "George Mason" University. When you think of George Mason, you think of the Antonin Scalia Law School and you think of the University that's owned by the Koch Foundation. According to Sourcewatch, the Kochs funded George Mason University to the tune of $14M in 2017 compared to the few hundred thousand usually given to the other universities they control. Maybe this "former" CIA intelligence officer can tell you the affiliation between the CIA and Koch institutions such as the Atlas-Network the oligarchs use to overthrow nation states not willing to bend to the will of Wall Street.
When you have read John Perkins’ book, “Confessions of an Economic Hitman”, it gives this "former" CIA intelligence officer’s book, “How to Get Rid of a President” a whole new meaning. After all, the CIA is expert at removing elected presidents not complying with the wishes of Washington, isn’t it? Shall we start with Mosaddegh and work forward through the 80 countries in which the CIA has intervened since.
I could tell Hartmann I was surprised he is interviewing this “former" CIA intelligence officer, but when you consider this sycophant’s obsession with keeping the Corporate Democrats relevant in the eyes of the few viewers that still watch this crap, continuing the Russiagate scam would be an understandable tactic.
This Hartmann interview reminds me of Hollywood’s recent attempts to lionize the CIA as the “good guys”. When factual history shows the CIA as nothing more than the subversive militant tool of Wall Street, we have Hartmann selling the CIA as “working for Main Street” – very sad. Who will be his next guest; Madeline Albright giving tips on childcare.
12
-
Since the Spanish American war two centuries ago, the plutocrats have used false flags and US foreign policy to create foreign wars for profit and power, but due to the contemporary strategies in place they have assured there will be no domestic civil war. Think about it! This is just an extension of the ongoing strategies of empire. Throughout history, as empires fail, many times the oppression and exploitation the plutocrats impose on brown people of foreign lands returns home and is eventually imposed of the domestic population; think of it as justice for the domestic population that allowed the crimes of empire.
But as for a civil war, you appear to forget about the systems put in place ever since the "Project for a New American Century" and the convenient 911. "Further, the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event––like a new Pearl Harbor". Think about it! There isn't just the CIA working to protect the plutocrats capital overseas and the FBI to attack the plutocrats' opponents (Unions) domestically, there are multiple agencies working against the people to protect the plutocrats' interests.
Not only do the plutocrats use taxpayer dollars for their foreign military aggression and theft, taxpayer dollars under the guise of domestic protection have been used to create multiple agencies to protect the interests of the plutocrats. There is a global surveillance system that scoops up “everything” and stores the information in a complex in Utah designed to process five zettabytes (5 x 10^21) of data. You may have also noticed the police have been militarized and all these new agencies are coordinated using the new nationwide Fusion Centers. The laws have been changed to make civil discontent illegal by the ambiguous meaning of the word “terrorist”. Maybe you should review the bipartisan NDAA section 10.21 to come up to speed. If you have any questions, watch one of Chris Hedges videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsGJpTAsV8k
You should also consider the ongoing and accelerating financial, media, political, and military control by the plutocrats and you may come to realize it’s not Hartmann’s civil war you should fear as that will never be allowed to occur. You should fear what do the plutocrats have in mind for the ignorant, impotent and outgunned individuals that frequent urban and rural alike. The poor and soon-to-be poor aren’t headed for civil war; the compliant are headed for a life of feudalism and others are destined for the camps. What camps I hear you ask; maybe you should research that for yourselves. Any thinking person realizes unchecked capitalism eventually leads to imperialism and fascism. If you have any doubt, read Lenin’s “Imperialism: the Highest Stage of Capitalism”.
Welcome to the Fourth Reich!
12
-
11
-
It’s pleasing to see Greg Palast on Hartmann’s show; at last someone you can trust to expose the fraud in Western Politics. But I notice Hartmann shut down Palast as soon as he began to criticize the Democrat’s complicity in the Venezuelan Coup. When Palast said, 03:50 “You know what’s amazing to me Thom is that the Liberals in America, the Democratic Party leaders in America; look at it. I was at the Macon Georgia Trump rally and when they (Liberal Democrats) see those white supremacists yelling those white supremacist nasty slogans, and they see that scary white crowd that’s trying to make sure black people have no; in Georgia where they’re trying to stop a black woman from becoming governor, they denounced that, they (Liberal Democrats) denounced those crowds. Yet in Venezuela they’re (Liberal Democrats) literally backing this minority white coup d’état.”
And that’s when Hartmann started his redirection away from the facts, 04:28 “But, but Greg . . . “ Hartmann then spewed some irrelevant rhetoric and then when directly into his “poor Venezuelan economic management” rhetoric specifically designed to distract from the fact the Liberal Democrats are supporting an illegal coup in Venezuela. In all political movements that endorse Imperialism, there are the oligarchs who control the narrative and the progression of events, there are their minions and puppets that carry out orders and spread the narrative, and then there are the fools who follow the rhetoric unquestioningly and support something they usually don’t understand. Palast has explained the Kochs and others are the oligarchs; Bolton, Pompeo, and Abrams are the minions; Hartmann appears to be one of their puppets they keep at arm’s length as Controlled Opposition, and so what does that make the viewer?
What Hartmann has done is show his unwillingness to be critical of the selective minority issues the Democratic Party uses to manipulate its rubes. Palast has clearly shown the Democratic Party’s willingness to call out racism when it can be an advantageous political tool to promote their cause, but when it comes to those in foreign lands who are at threat from invasion or coup, those who are of little to no use to the Corporate Democrats can be sacrificed in the interests of their masters’ Empire. I don’t blame Hartmann from going down that road; the road that shows complete hypocrisy and how Democrats use minority issues as tools of opportunity.
10
-
10
-
What concerns me is when the caller says, 01:23 “The Democrats really have to point out to the American people that the Republican Party sold out to the highest bidder.” This is very sad; the caller doesn’t realize the Democratic Party has also sold out the American people. Where have you been sir; under a rock? When I heard the principles behind the Laffer curve and Supply Side economics, I laughed so hard I got a stitch; well until Reagan’s Supply Side economics was implemented. Take a look at the change in income and especially wealth distribution since the 1960s. The reason there is no real jobs is they were sent overseas by the oligarchs for profit; the same oligarchs that benefit for the wealth inequality. They’re doing OK, they have been using cheap money to buy back stock and raise the price. Again that’s only for the 1% and the rest are expected to accept the imbalance. I am starting to admit that Professor Wolff is correct and we should be listening to what he has to say. Listening to the ignorance displayed by this caller makes me both frustrated and angry. Anyone in the 99% that believes the Democratic Party works for them needs to be shaken until they wake up to reality. This is the classic left-right paradigm used by the elite to manipulate the masses. Might I use a quote from Warren Buffet “There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.” Why can’t these fools see that they can depend on the Democratic Party just a little more than they can depend on the Republican Party; and the reason for that is so the oligarchs can offer an almost null choice to con the voting public. It is that small difference that is used to bribe the American people and that keeps people supporting the, so called, Democracy. What a pathetic state of affairs; that’s what you get for following the lesser of two evils. And when you think the oligarch’s Democratic Party may deliver, the oligarchs will snatch it away from you. It’s like a dog running between two people that pretend to offer the dog food; each time snatching the food away before the dog arrives. He believes he has a better chance with one of the food handlers as he hold the food in sight longer than the other. Because the dog is hungry he keeps up the pretence hoping for a mouthful of food. Will the dog run until he drops dead of malnutrition or will the dog look for alternatives?
10
-
10
-
"Why Don't Billionaires Pay Taxes?" - When I wanted to understand how and what the oligarchs contemplate on any topic, I would go to the Sanders website and look at the Charles Koch wish list for policy back in 1980. A large contingent of the 1980 Libertarian Platform from when David Koch ran for office in 1980 was once available on Sanders' website. You must remember Charles Koch; he was the one who funded the Clinton-Gore "Democratic Leadership Council"; when the Democratic Party transitioned to Neoliberalism "Third Way"; when the Democratic Party went completely rogue and followed the orders of oligarchs like Charles Koch and deregulated, crushed social security, pushed NAFTA through, and started the privatization process in earnest. Everything that the puppet Regan failed to finish was given to Bill to sell to the rubes.
But now the Koch's 1980 Libertarian Platform is no longer available on the Sanders' website. For some reason, Bernie has removed this invaluable document and all we get now is the usual, "Error 404: Page not found".
If one wished to know what the oligarchs thought on taxes, one would just read it off the Sanders' website:
“We oppose all personal and corporate income taxation, including capital gains taxes.”
“As an interim measure, all criminal and civil sanctions against tax evasion should be terminated immediately.”
“We support the repeal of all taxes on the income or property of private schools, whether profit or non-profit.”
“We support the eventual repeal of all taxation.”
If you wanted to know how the oligarchs contemplate restrictions on campaign finance and the electoral process, the answers were right in front of you:
“We urge the repeal of federal campaign finance laws, and the immediate abolition of the despotic Federal Election Commission.”
If one wanted to know what the oligarchs thought of regulatory agencies, a brief glance would give you the answers you sought:
“We support the abolition of the Environmental Protection Agency.”
“We support abolition of the Department of Energy.”
“We advocate the abolition of the Federal Aviation Administration.”
“We advocate the abolition of the Food and Drug Administration.”
This document wasn't just the Koch wish list of 1980s, this was the skeleton of the oligarchs plan to transition the United States from the pre-Reagan era to the modern day. The intent embedded in this document gives some insight into what the oligarchs have achieved so far. So why did Sanders remove such a valuable document from his website?
9
-
9
-
9
-
8
-
8
-
Thomas, you have opened up a can of worms when you begin a conversation about democracy. When the Constitution was ratified in 1789 only land holders and Tax payers were allowed to vote. Remember the tax policy then is much different from today; in general, wages weren’t taxed but profits were. So, when the Constitution was written, it was intended the original US oligarchs would run the country and that was about 6 percent of the population. From my vantage point not much has changed. There has been a concerted effort to give the illusion of democracy for all and since that time, the oligarchs have been lobbying and legislating to ensure any democracy was just a apparition of the people.
How many examples do I have to give of the mechanisms the oligarchs use to remain in control? Consider the Electoral College, the Democratic Party Superdelegates, Gerrymandering, etc. etc. and when you are exhausted watch Greg Palast’s documentary, “The Best Democracy Money Can Buy”. And you don’t have to limit your analysis to the electoral system; you may wish to consider the Princeton statistical study showing Government policy has no correlation with the wishes of the public. Even Jimmy Carter admits the US is not a democracy but an oligarchy. So why are you inferring the US is a Democracy? What’s the scam? You are referencing an article from the New York Times; why do you give credibility to such a propaganda outlet? Remember, this is the rag that pushed out the brilliant Chris Hedges; it’s been a long time since I’ve seen Chris on your show.
Thomas, might I suggest you read Kevin Kruse’s book, “One Nation Under God; How Corporate America Invented Christian America”. This Princeton history professor has done an incredible job of showing much of the history of the US since the New Deal is a construct of the oligarchs as you may have guessed from the title. So as you comment about the deaths attributed to Right Wing Supremacists and Islamic Terrorists might I suggest they too are a creation of the oligarchs? The CIA along with Saudi Arabia admits to funding, arming and training these groups to be used by the oligarchs as part of US foreign policy. The Right Wing Supremacists whose psychology and insecurities are targeted by the oligarchs through their pervasive media outlets are a tool for domestic unrest and “divide and conquer”. The Islamic Terrorists who are used for creating instability, terrorism, and as a mercenary force to do the bidding of these same oligarchs in nations these same oligarchs wish to control. Which nations you might ask; for a start, the 7 countries in 5 years that the US government was going to destroy so eloquently stated by General Wesley Clark in the famous video. The video is worth viewing; it’s on YouTube; just search “7 countries in 5 years”.
So questioning the democracy of other nations while accepting the democratic domestic farce of the US appears hypocritical but mostly ignorant; I don’t believe you are that ignorant so why the scam? But you are correct about one thing - the influence of the oligarchs around the World to subvert democracy. If you get a chance, have a read of the Intercept article, “Sphere of Influence: How American Libertarians Are Remaking Latin American Politics”. This details the influence of the oligarchs around the World through an organization called the Atlas Network, a Koch funded organization that is attacking most Western Nations. It is causing considerable democratic disturbance in Eastern Europe and South and Central America; a more covert subversion in Britain and Australia, and is active in many other nations. In fact, anytime you hear the term “Liberal Democrat”, you are probably encountering an arm of the Kochs and their Atlas Network.
8
-
8
-
8
-
8
-
7
-
As Hartmann misquotes the "Founding Fathers" and their “love” of democracy, I would like to introduce a founding father much unknown - John Jay. Yes, this close associate of Hamilton and Washington will give you the real thoughts of the founding fathers and democracy. Consider the quote of John Jay, “Too many in your state (Pennsylvania), as in this (New York), love pure democracy dearly. They seem not to consider that pure democracy, like pure rum, easily produces intoxication, and with it a thousand mad pranks and fooleries.”
And now consider the contemporary “Founding Fathers” (e.g. Rockefeller) and their Trilateral Commission. They too dislike democracy as can be seen in their publication, “The Crisis of Democracy“, as written by Crozier, Watanuki, and Samuel P Huntington. When Huntington talks about, “Crisis of Democracy”, he means too much Democracy. This is the same criticism of democracy as John Jay. So whether it’s the original “Founding Fathers” or contemporary plutocrats and their puppet leaders, the liberal and conservative elite only want rich white male landowners to vote.
7
-
7
-
7
-
@atrociousconsequences4432 : You should understand the term "National Security" is drawn like a gun to protect the criminal secrets of the Plutocrats. Your anachronistic rhetoric "Loose Lips Sink Ships" is an irrelevant term when the US government is the only aggressor and is filled with Mafia Crime Bosses. Think about what you mean when you say "Government"; there is no government of the people, by the people, for the people; anything resembling a peoples' government was removed by the Austrian/Libertarian Kochs' "Citizens United", Wall Street money and the Clintons' Liberal "Third Way" long ago; there is only the plutocrats' corporate government that remains in power. Haven't you learnt anything from Bush's and Obama's response to "Too Big to Fail; Too Big to Jail". The last time Obama invoked "National Security" was to apply sanctions to the oil rich state of Venezuela so US companies could get access to Venezuelan oil and the next time "National Security" is pronounced will be to hide the corruption of Assange's Virginian Kangaroo Court proceedings from the people. You should always remember the interests of the Plutocrats are bipartisan; Obama and Bolton are working for the same outcome in Venezuela - to maximize the wealth of the plutocrats they serve. You really need to understand that Hartman works for the interests of the plutocrats - period.
And never forger; when Gaddafi was slaughtered with a bayonet in the rectum at the hands of the "Liberal" Hillary, her response was "We came, we saw, he died". When half a million Iraqi children died under the sanctions of the "Liberal" Madeline Albright who promoted the "Liberal" Clinton at the primaries, her response was "It was worth it". Yes, this is the same "Liberal" Hillary who said about Assange, "Can't we just drone him?" As I have said to you before, Liberals are the scum of the Earth. Don't ever confuse "Liberal" with "Progressive", they are on the opposite sides of the political spectrum. When you take a close look at "Liberal" Ideology, it is very close to the Libertarian "free market", deregulation, pro-Wall Street anti-worker Ideology; no wonder the Kochs funded Clinton's Democratic Leadership Council.
7
-
Hartmann, if you are serious about change, you have to stop looking at the effects of oligarchy and plutocracy and start looking at the cause. Consider the Congressional Military and Intelligence Complex where the elected House continues the scam of transferring wealth from the taxpayer, laundering it through the Congressional Military and Intelligence Complex, and then transferring this wealth to the plutocrats. One of the answers is simple – get rid of the existing Congress.
This is where new DCCC regulations come into play. The DCCC has just stated they will not back any candidate who is attempting to overthrow a sitting member. Well, I guess that rules out any challenges from the people. Hartmann, this is what makes me think you are just Controlled Opposition working for the interests of the Corporate Democrats. This intentional hamstringing of any new blood is of the same magnitude as the intentional Clinton/DNC hamstringing of Bernie. This is much more important that revisiting yet again, the lies behind the Iraq War. Also, have you considered the number of Democrats that continue to accept the fake government narrative and support the Venezuelan intervention; with all the evidence I don't believe these Useful Idiots of Empire have learned a thing.
So as the Wall Street Corporate Democrats slowly crush the chances of any actual peoples’ voice from being heard, we have Hartmann revisiting history. A history that every thinking person should know; a history that explains in detail why the government is corrupt, and Hartmann continues with this farce while Wall Street is engineering more hurdles for the people to jump, but what the people don’t see is the brick wall beyond the hurdle. All this invokes one question; without platitudes and subjective rhetoric, what does “Liberal” actually mean? To me, with respect to foreign policy, the ever manipulative Identity Politics, and many other issues designed to distract, contemporary Liberals like Hartmann appear to be to the right of mainstream politics. You can't support the Democratic establishment and then call yourself a progressive.
7
-
7
-
6
-
6
-
6
-
6
-
Cohen sparked my interest with his movie title, “All Governments Lie”; if only he had included the words “and Media” in the title, it would have been more believable. Without the Corporate Media to back the lies of Washington, the oligarchs’ propaganda would fall on deaf ears.
When you analyze the Root Cause for the reason for Trump, it is not the way the Democratic Party does “voter outreach”, or the even the plutocratic policies that benefit the elite for which the Democratic leaders are well remunerated; the reason for Trump is the people that fill the ranks of the Democratic Party executive who are installed by the oligarchs and the oligarch engineered and intentionally compromised democratic system. Yes, you can listen to Maddow push the Russiagate scam; or you can listen to Hartmann go on and on about the issues of the downtrodden and the minorities to distract from real cause, but when have you recently heard Hartmann ever criticize the criminals within the Democratic Party?
Any contrived intent by the Democratic Party and the DNC to put the people first will just be an exercise in "extend and pretend" to continue the push for the voter to select the “lesser of two evils”. While the ownership of the executive and the engineered structural failures of the entire democratic system remain, there will be more Cheneys, Perles, Wolfowitzs, and Trumps and probably much worse. There could be another Schicklgruber with Lebensraum on their lips.
6
-
Thomas Hartmann, I assume by the introduction you planned this interview with Thomas DiLorenzo so maybe a little more research before you started may have helped. Yes, DiLorenzo is a Senior Fellow at the Koch Mises Institute and a professor of economics at the Koch Loyola University Maryland (Koch: $42,000 annually for "General Support"). He also taught at the Koch George Mason University (Koch: $35 million to the George Mason University Foundation) and was part of the strategy to oppose cigarette advertising bans and not to increase excise tax. When it comes down to it, someone like DiLorenzo is just an oligarch sycophant who ensures people aren’t educated and taught to think; and then exploits the ignorant.
Arguing with a Mises shill like Thomas DiLorenzo is usually a waste of time. The Mises Institute is dedicated to advantaging the oligarchs and increasing wealth and income inequality by playing on the ignorance of the majority. In fact, if you ever read Hayek’s “Road to Serfdom”, you will laugh at the irony. The Mises institute is dedicated to creating spin to support the Koch-Libertarian oligarch narrative to deregulate, remove social services, eliminate taxes, privatize, and oppress the voice of the people and their voice in the workplace. A Mises Institute employee’s entire job is to create spin to advantage the oligarchs by manipulating the ignorant and playing on their apathy.
But Thomas, you appear to make a sport of arguing with sleaze and exposing the same corrupt intent time and time again. Sure, it fills up time with the obvious intent of the oligarchs, but it doesn’t really expose any new light on the problem of Neoliberalism/Austrian Economics. I have an idea how you can educate your audience. Thomas DiLorenzo recently wrote a piece in the Mises Institute criticizing the book, “Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America” by Nancy MacLean. Thomas, I’m sure you are well aware of Professor MacLean’s book so may I suggest a book review of “Democracy in Chains” as a place to start.
Reviewing “Democracy in Chains” will demolish the entire Koch-Mises-Libertarian farce. It goes into the people, strategy, institutions & think tanks, and the oligarchs’ expected outcome of this generational strategy. Pay special attention to the Kochs strategy to use Article V to call for a Constitutional Convention to rewrite the Constitution in the oligarchs’ favor. You may remember the Libertarian fascists rewrote the Chilean Constitution to advantage their oligarchs under Pinochet. After an interview with Professor MacLean, your previous efforts to expose the Austrian/Libertarian scam will look pale by comparison. It may even help you improve your game.
6
-
Thomas, I do enjoy Professor Wolff’s message and I have to agree with much he has to say; BUT he tends to avoid any in-depth analysis of the US Federal Reserve. When he said, 07:44 “The banks are free to do what they want; the burden is now on the Government, the Federal Reserve and other branches of Government to find that they’re doing it, catch them at doing it; prove that they’re doing it”.
How I understand the FED is it is either a totally private entity or a private entity in some type of working partnership with the Government. Those who manage the FED and its 12 branches (Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas, and San Francisco) are mostly the same executives that that manage the private banks (Goldman Sachs, Citi Group, etc.). The FED cannot be investigated because it is a private entity and Congress or any branch of Government has no say in the FED’s monetary or fiscal policy. There are also questions about its origin in 1913 and how it is involved in manipulating markets.
So when Professor Wolff says, “The Federal Reserve and other branches of Government”, am I missing something and has all my analysis of the FED been in vain. Why does Professor Wolff through his historical statements always infer the FED is Government owned and controlled? Is there some reason Professor Wolff doesn’t want to admit the Government has no control over monetary policy and that monetary policy is in the hands of those who control the private banks? But, then again, I forgot to mention those executives who control the private banks also control the Government; so there might be some truth to the idea the Government controls the FED after all.
6
-
6
-
6
-
Thomas, the US never was a functional democracy. Remember the people weren’t allowed into the first Constitutional Convention, May 25 to September 17, 1787. The “Founding Fathers” were concerned their interests (Slavery) would be compromised with any input from the people. Also remember Washington was a very wealthy man who grew rich by selling the land of slaughtered Native Americans to the plutocrats for their slave plantations. There was even the author of the Declaration of Independence who sold his children with Sally Hemings into slavery. So things are not always as they appear or as they are sold to the people. And since then, the plutocrats who have always controlled the US have played a game of allowing enough “democracy” to give the illusion of freedom, but not enough to lose control of power. After all, the “Founding Fathers” learnt early on, it is easier to control a slave when he is under the illusion he is free. Since then the plutocrats have given a little (e.g. 17th & 19th Amendments) and have taken a little (e.g. 22nd Amendment & Taft-Hartley Act & Citizens United vs. FEC), but their control of power was never in question. So Thomas, talking about US democracy is like talking about Rocking Horse droppings; understand most of state history is just the remnants of Disney and Hollywood productions.
So instead of looking at Greece to see how “democracies” fail; it may be more beneficial to look at Rome and understand how Empires fail. Understand the Bread and Circuses or MSNBC & Maddow; understand the clipping of coins or the printing of money; there are many similarities to the contemporary US. If you want factual US history, you have to reject the fabricated propaganda history of the perpetual plutocratic government and look elsewhere (Howard Zinn, Peter Kuznick). And always remember, the people are just ignorant observers in the plutocrats’ grand scheme of Imperial World domination; the Useful Idiots of Empire that give mostly ignorant and tacit support to the crimes of Wall Street. Even Major General Smedley Butler’s “War is a Racket” is an excellent short book if you wish to understand the perpetual US role in Global Empire.
6
-
6
-
Thomas, how many ways can you spin "vote for the Corporate Democrats"? You've already exhausted the old, "They're not as bad as the others". Again, US politics is very simple; the oligarchs control both parties and the oligarchs will only allow two parties in the race. How difficult is that to understand? The only policies the Corporate Democrats will take to the election are the same old policies based on their old divide-and-conquer and identity politics that keeps the old pendulum swinging back-and-forward for those who still believe voting may make a difference. Thomas, you may have noticed as the corruption increases, fewer and fewer are coming out to vote. Soon it will only be the desperate clutching at straws that frequent a polling place.
Thomas, I believe by now most understand your job is to not have these numbers go to zero. Your job is to keep the pendulum swinging and keep "Hope and Change" alive when Obama did such an excellent job of driving the last nails in the lid of the coffin. And when that doesn't work, your job is to continually berate the puppet Trump and the Republican Party for the acts of the oligarch owned individuals making decisions on both sides of the isle. If you look at the titles of most of your previous videos, they nearly always take the attention away from the failings of the Democratic Party by berating the Republicans; and the Republicans conveniently give enough fuel to keep the flame of discontent roaring. It is not only obvious, it is rammed down the throats of the American people; I wonder why? Don't get me wrong, the Republicans are probably more detrimental to the good of the American people than the Democrats but that how the deception is designed to keep the pendulum swinging.
So the Democratic Party can never be destroyed until the vote count reaches single digits. While there is enough voting to give legitimacy to the system independent of which party gets the votes, the oligarchs are happy. They have fooled the voters for another voting cycle and they again have false legitimacy to continue directing their Washington puppets as usual. Thomas, by just continually berating the Republicans or continuing with the Democratic talking points, may I suggest you are presenting to your audience with just a small part of this Rube Goldberg machine; you need to stand back and observe the whole mechanism.
6
-
6
-
5
-
5
-
5
-
5
-
Thomas, get real; the US is not a Democracy’ it is an Oligarchical Republic. In fact John Adams coined the phrase “Tyranny of the Majority” in 1788 to describe the potential threats of a Democratic system. This thought was then compounded by James Madison. The founding fathers used the word “Democracy” as a pejorative and did all they could to disable majority rule. Remember, it started with only land holders having the right to vote and ever since there have been corporate conservative forces undermining the will of the Majority. So Thomas, you can’t be surprised about the state of the nation when most conservatives and many democrats attempt to subvert and suppress the will of the people. The idea of Democracy in the US is so absurd that any thinking person must understand it is just an illusion of choice given to the people by the Oligarchs. The illusion if choice as the late, great George Carlin would put it, is the way the Owners keep the population fooled. Mark Twain said “If voting changed anything, they wouldn’t let us do it”
and he was correct lo those many years ago. The title of your discussion, “Our Democracy Is At Risk” is deceptive as it infers that one had a democracy in the first place. Might I suggest that you awaken yourself and your guest to the reality of US politics and refrain from self delusion? So unless you wish to form a real Democracy from the ashes of a covert Oligarchical totalitarian false Democratic system, you will only be installing yet another layer of deception to fool the masses.
To understand Hartmann’s intent one must listen very carefully when he is speaking out of both sides of his mouth. Listen when Thomas is discussing Cory Booker 9.58 “He takes a lot of money from big pharma, and it’s not to say Cory Booker is a sell-out; he is a decent guy on a lot of issues but there is seven big pharma companies in New Jersey and he represents New Jersey and that’s not that he is a bad guy that’s that the Supreme Court in 1976 in the Buckley decision and 2010 in the Citizen’s United decision said
that owning a politician is a perfectly legal thing.” Given that quote, you have all the material necessary to unpack the principles of Thomas Hartmann. Pay close attention to the context of the word "decent". I’ll leave it up to you to do the heavy lifting but might I introduce one thought; if the Supreme Court legislated it was legal to murder, would your intrinsic morals inhibit you from carrying out the act of murder?
5
-
5
-
5
-
Hartmann, I liked your narrative and justification for a “little” socialism; it certainly appeared to come from the heart. But if you persist in selling people like Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton to your audience and promoting fake progressive institutions like the Congressional Progressive Caucus and its members, the only socialism you will see is socialism for the oligarchs. Maybe you could recommend that the Neoliberal policies Bill Clinton pushed through as a “New Democrat” and being funded by the Kochs is repealed for a start. By reversing Bill’s NAFTA, the destruction of social security, and the deregulation of Wall Street, you are not even close to socialism but it’s a start. Even with these simple steps, all you are doing is reversing the betrayal of the People by Democratic Party and the Corporate Democrats.
If you have time, maybe you should read a little about the Gore and Clinton “Democratic Leadership Council”. https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Al_From
This institution funded by the Kochs and other oligarchs and corporations is still used to push Corporate Democrat policy today. This “Third Way” Democratic institution filled with “New Democrats” was designed to deliver the progressive remnants of the Democratic Party to Wall Street. Thanks to the efforts of Clinton, Gore and Lieberman and a little funding from the oligarchs (e.g. Kochs), the Democratic Leadership Council has been one of the more effective oligarch controlled institutions that have screwed the American people.
To understand this in more detail, maybe you should read Ralph Nader’s article describing the DLC as the “The Corporatist Democratic Leadership Council”: http://dissidentvoice.org/Articles7/Nader_DLC.htm
5
-
Hartmann well knows that Roosevelt wasn’t actually a president of the people; he was an opportunist who was pushed by communist, socialist, and union movements to push back against Wall Street. But today, this is all moot. There are no effective peoples’ movements with any power today. Hartmann’s mates in Wall Street have made sure the peoples’ movements were their first target of the plutocrats after 1933 in response to the New Deal. The plutocrats’ strategy was well documented in Princeton History Professor Kevin Kruse’s book, “One Nation Under God; How Corporate America Created Christian America”, and these Liberal and Republican capitalists still hold all the power with barely a real Progressive in sight.
So Hartmann wants you to believe without these peoples’ movements of the 1930s, the people still have the leverage to instigate another “New Deal”. If you can swallow that, I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn. Sorry, but that ship has long since sailed and the people are scattered and ignorant; just the way the plutocrats want. When you are in any war (Class), the worst mistake you can ever make is underestimate the capabilities of your enemy and that’s exactly what Hartmann wants you to do. Without a strong collective consciousness, no one has a chance and a collective consciousness starts at a local and state level.
So while Hartmann convinces you yet again, to vote for the lesser evil and maintain the plutocrats’ status quo, he will be well paid for his treachery. If you start talking about viable third parties and alternatives to the Wall Street owned bipartisan scam, Hartman will start ranting about wasted votes and probably raise the spectre of Ralph Nader or Ross Perot. Just remember, the DNC is a corporation owned by the plutocrats and this treachery isn’t just a recent phenomenon; the plutocrats and their Liberal cohorts removed Henry Wallace in the 1940s and they will remove any viable candidate of the people that may raise their head in this turkey shoot. There was a reason Reagan pushed the idea of individuality and Thatcher said “There is no such thing as society”; and that was to remove the last remnants of a collective in the minds of the people.
5
-
5
-
5
-
5
-
5
-
5
-
5
-
5
-
5
-
5
-
5
-
4
-
4
-
I am going to break one of my golden rules for on time only. Call me a hypocrite, but it looks like I also have not learned to never argue with Libertarians.
You referenced text from the Mises Institute. So Rothbard was quoted criticizing the banks with their corruption and their push to foreign aggression. Talk about stating the obvious; if a political movement
doesn’t acknowledge the obvious; its future is very limited. Notice how he then perpetuates the Libertarian false critique of blame. Wanting to maintain some of Wall Street’s false integrity, the blame is then quickly directed towards the government. That bait-and-switch tactic is starting to wear out. Today the government is part of the problem but not because of some internal government cabal that wishes to dominate the world. Government is not a perfect institution; it is a bureaucracy filled with cogs and wheels and with leaders, who have been statistically proven, only works for Wall Street. Most of the time in American history, the leaders of government have been puppets of Wall Street. Think of the current government structure as a gun that Wall Street capitalists and free marketers are holding in their hand. When either you see foreign aggression of domestic exploitation by the government, you are watching Wall Street using that gun. Only an idiot blames the gun in a crime, your attention should be redirected to the entity that wields that gun with intent. I find this intentional deceptive redirecting of blame by libertarians obnoxious to say the least. Any institution can be corrupted by a malevolent immoral entity like Wall Street.
If you ever take the gun out of the hand of Wall Street by removing the government, Wall Street will pick up a baseball bat or crossbow.
In the late 1800s, Wall Street used private police (Pinkerton Detective Agency) to enforce its will and killed many workers and their families in this Union Busting and Strike Breaking. Even when a government is working for the people, it is mostly incompetent and the management is filled with sociopaths but it is the only bulwark against the threat of pure capitalism and free markets. Remember something approaching the perception of a voting majority has to be maintained and then must vote the representatives into power; by definition corporations are a fascist dictatorship.
You say today’s libertarians don’t support Wall Street cronyism. Might I suggest you review Kevin Kruse’s book, “One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Created Christian America”. Kruse is a Harvard History Professor and the book is well researched and written. Admittedly, this text mainly deals with the deceit of the majority by Wall Street and the capitalists, but it also gives an understanding of the origin of Libertarians, John Birchers, and any entity that opposed Roosevelt’s New Deal. Remember the Birchers were partly founded by David Koch’s father. David Koch was nominated and ran as the VP candidate for the Libertarian Party in 1980; the same year when the honest libertarian policy platform was published. If you get a chance, listen to the YouTube, “Koch Whore: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker”. This is not David Koch but a gotcha from a radio station; however, it gives you some idea of the influence this libertarian VP candidate has over politicians. If you wish to defend David Koch, feel free to do so. If you don’t want to read Kruse, there are extensive YouTube videos with Kevin discussing the content of his book.
Hartmann is correct when he points out the evolution of the Libertarian political platform from the well defined 1980 publication to the more obfuscated publication of today. Like so many institutions of today, they have to disguise their real intent son they can chase the consensus of the majority.
Libertarianism is insidious; it covertly encourages rubes to work against their own best interests. Libertarianism, like Wall Street, is against democracy. Libertarians create the analogy of democracy as “two wolves and a sheep voting on what is for dinner”. According to Jimmy Carter and studies at Princeton University, the Oligarchs have disabled democracy in America but it looks like the Libertarians wish to help them eliminate it.
It appears that once these libertarian rubes are committed, logic and real history will not shake their faith. It is like a religion to those that exist within the enclave. The rubes pontificate over fallacious economic principles while those that will benefit financially keep storing their wealth. It’s like a televangelist exploiting the emotionally vulnerable, taking his ill-gotten wealth and building a theme park.
As I mentioned before; Adam Smith wrote that for Capitalism and markets to function in a sustainable way, the participants must be ethical, moral individuals. I’m not sure about your understanding of human nature, but today’s world of capitalism rewards the least ethical and moral and the ones that can manipulate those with less cognitive skills while sleeping soundly at night. It has been shown that the population of psychopaths concentrates the higher you progress up the capitalist system and usually spills over into the capitalist puppets. You know those puppets as politicians; the ones the Oligarchs present as a choice for office. The psychopathic concentration at the top of corporations today is about five percent; the same psychopath concentration as in the prison population. The old adages that power corrupts and the love of money is the root of all evil are valid. The “free market” concept of capitalism, like the “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” concept of pure socialism, will never work. Both conflict with the ideals when considering the reality of human nature.
You might argue what we have today is not capitalism. I would say it is the final stage of capitalism. Generations ago Lenin stated that “Fascist Imperialism is the highest form of Capitalism” and he appears to be correct. We now see the US in the throes of immoral, unethical, unbridled, sloppy and dangerous Imperialistic aggression while the Libertarians hint their philosophy will temper the Oligarchs due to their non-aggression stance. I believe their non-aggression stance is at best well intentioned by the rubes and at worst a deceptive plot to attract the few honorable and humanitarian
rubes that remain. You need to understand that their rubes’ belief in the non-aggression stance is only a paper tiger. There is so much deception within the Libertarian movement, I believe the non-aggression policy is illusionary and if it ever does get to a point where it can be tested by the Oligarch Imperialists, it will dissolve in the rain.
If you wish to continue, I would like to discuss the philosophy of Hayek and Friedman and their conflation with Reagan, Thatcher, and modern Neoliberal policies. How Neoliberalism especially privatization, deregulation, and modern free markets are now used to devastate the working classes of Europe and Latin America.
4
-
4
-
4
-
4
-
4
-
4
-
4
-
The dog-eat-dog society of Reagan's "Rugged Individualism" was a war on collective and caring society itself. It was used to crush unions and pit one worker against the other in a dog-eat-dog fight that served the purposes of the plutocrats; it was the perfect psyop. Even Reagan's partner in crime across the pond (Thatcher) paralleled Reagan's assault on society when she said, "There is no such thing as Society". The creation of a society that is "selfish, self centered, me me me, dog eat dog society" was clearly intentional and was very useful to the plutocrats. While the people were fighting amongst themselves, they were too distracted and busy to criticize the theft and atrocities of the plutocratic class and its government? So, how could a society ever consider itself moral when their tax dollars go to fund a plutocrat owned government, a militarized financial system, and a military that is used by those same plutocrats to sanction, starve, steal resources, oppress, and slaughter those in foreign lands for profit. The best that society could ever hope for is living a life in some form of righteous self-delusion and a corrupted history being sold to them by a corrupt corporate media. Maybe that's where we get the "Shiny City on the Hill" and "US Exceptionalism"? After all, the Nazi fascists also believed in the "Master Race" and history hasn't treated them too well. A reset of moral values can only occur if one can reverse the atrocities that have occurred over time and apologize for the actions. I doubt if the plutocrats will apologize for their war crimes; and how can you rebuild so much intentional damage around the planet; how can you atone for the current ongoing atrocities, leave alone, return the lives of tens of millions of innocents slaughtered throughout history for profit?
4
-
4
-
4
-
4
-
4
-
Hartmann, it's healthy to see you admit the recent (40 years) of treachery of the Democratic Party and its affiliates, 00:03 "It used to be running through the Democratic Party up until the 1980's"; it shows some potential for future change. Maybe it’s time for you to again interview the greats on your show. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Chris Hedges or even the more accommodating Thomas Frank grace your studio. However, it is my bet that when the primaries are forced to a second round and the Superdelegates are brought in to eliminate Bernie, you will eventually be promoting the same old corrupt Wall Street candidates as the mainstream media. Now I'm not saying you will be silly enough to sell the plutocratic puppet Biden, but after Sanders and possibly Gabbard, the remaining candidates appear to owe much to Wall Street and they must return the favor.
If you were really interested in democracy, you should be teaching your audience how to detect another Obama. Yes Obama, like many of Trump's promises and most before him, promised much and delivered little; and then used deceptive lies and excuses about the status of the house and senate on why they couldn’t deliver. You should be teaching your audience the truth; vote for whoever you want because in this nonexistent democracy and corrupt political system, the plutocrats and Wall Street will always win.
And as for Grover Norquist, what a waste of time! Why do you continually insult the intellect of your audience by using the same technique to interview these Mont Pelerin and Koch John Birch Society Libertarians? You must realize you will get the same answers over and over again. Just look at the Mises Institute website and you will get a list of responses designed to spin awkward questions. These institutions and think-tanks (e.g. Heartland Institute) have been designing and generating this deceptive rhetoric for years. This is why, whether you interview Grover Norquist, Charles Sauer, or any "Austrian/Libertarian" promoter, they have a list of responses and they use a "best fit" technique in their attempt fit a “suitable” response to the question asked. So Thomas, you appear to be a little passive and accommodating in your interview strategy; unless your change your strategy, you will continue to get the same repetitive, deceptive, and side-stepping spin to the questions you ask.
4
-
So why is Hartmann emulating MSNBCs’ most valuable asset – Maddow? Why is he playing this deception game with the “conservatives” of, “look over there you Democrats at those Republicans who want to shaft you, and look over here you Republicans at those Democrats who want to shaft you”, when these fools should be looking at the red, white, and blue system that is giving them a colon examination every time they turn on their television. Consider the question, “Have the Republican Party become a cult?”. For a start it should be “Has”; the correct conjunction of the verb to have for singular possession is “Has”, but I digress. So “Has the Republican Party Become a Cult?” the answer is yes; but you must remember, for the two allowable parties in the US and for that matter, most Western nations, the answer is “yes”.
The US is not the only nation where this oligarch engineered binary party scam is entrenched; this same structure exists in many Western nations. In fact, the same strategies appear to be Global-Western in design and implementation. I will admit the Republican Party has exhibited more overt fascist tendencies over the last 100 years than the Democratic Party, but the Democrats have nurtured their fascism behind a curtain where, if you want to understand their actual intent, you have to search for answers. With the current state of journalism, this is extremely dangerous as many expect these answers to emanate from their televisions. So I’m sorry Hartmann but the Democratic Party is also a cult and when you combine the fake rhetoric of the Democratic Party with the unfulfilled aspirations of minorities that blindly follow this scam, the Democratic Party cult will continue to be very effective at deceiving its base.
In all cults’ webs, there is always a spider at the center; so where is the spider controlling the Democratic Cult? The answer is simple; it’s the same spider that controls the Republican Cult. The fake “democratic” political system has been engineered to exist on two parallel webs, separated and controlled by the same entity – Wall Street. This engineered political polarization is designed to have the populations on each web attack each other and this takes the attention away from the hub of control at the center. You must admit it has been very effective. Take Hartmann for example; he has decided to follow the CNN-MSNBC-Maddow model for selling his version of deception to the last few cretins that take his rhetoric seriously. After all, consider the cretins that watch the MSNBC garbage and have pushed Maddow and MSNBC to the top of the ratings chart. In this latest rhetoric, Hartmann is only rearranging the deckchairs as the ship is sinking. It shows the ignorance and gullibility of so many – very sad. This current wave of deception by Hartmann appears to be the all-out gamble to ensure he entraps the last few rubes that will still consider anything he says as credible; the Jonestown Kool-Aid if you will.
And this is just the web of entrapment for the fools that support the Democratic Party and DNC; there is another identical web just as vast and complex for the Republican Party and RNC to entrap those who are so inclined. And the same spider controls both and feeds on the stupidity and ignorance of those entrapped using the fake mainstream media and taking advantage of their own fallible emotions. So Hartmann, do the audience a favor; instead of emulating the war criminal Maddow and MSNBC, direct the audience’s attention to Edward Bernays’ book “Propaganda”; that’s if you really want an informed population.
4
-
4
-
4
-
When you consider NAFTA, you have to understand it was the plutocrats that wanted to offshore jobs for profit. They knew it would have been impossible to get NAFTA through when their Republican Party was in power, so they decided to use their Democratic Party instead. Now Clinton wasn’t only responsible for destroying Social Security and for major repeals in legislation (Glass-Steagall) that led to the 2008 financial crisis; this Clinton-Gore “Third Way” deception and the “Democratic Leadership Council”, funded by the Kochs (who else?), were able to do what the Republicans could never achieve – export jobs and gut the manufacturing sector.
So it’s interesting to watch Hartmann slyly move the blame to Reagan and Bush when it was the party of the so-called “Working Class” who passed the legislation that screwed the working class. Hartmann is trying to sell you on the scam the Democrats selling NAFTA actually believed it would benefit the working class. Yet another “mistake” by the Democrats for which I am sure they have been well reimbursed. But then again, you will still find some fools that continue to believe the narrative Hartmann is trying to sell no matter how much proof you put under their nose. I always remember the words of Mark Twain, “It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.”
And don’t stop there. Maybe you have heard about the recent alignment between Soros and the Kochs, “George Soros and Charles Koch team up for a common cause: an end to endless war” as can be found in the Boston Globe and Vox. My only comment here is - what new scam is this? Maybe Hartmann could comment on this overt alignment between these two individuals? When are the people going to understand they are being played by these plutocrats? The plutocrats extract the peoples’ wealth by siphoning tax dollars through the Military Industrial Complex, by using tax dollars to pay for imperial wars that only benefit the elite, by using tax dollars to prop up the industries of the plutocrats, and by printing dollars to bail out corrupt banks for which the taxpayers will be paying for generations.
It just shows what you can do when you own the politicians, control the government, own both political parties, control the regulation of these parties, own and control the media, and have a population of misinformed and ignorant voters who tend to believe everything their government tells them. Maybe it’s time to shop shaking in fear, climb out from under your bed, and start to research how the US government actually functions. Learn how you have been lied to in school and then by your government. It may be a little scary initially, but as you learn more, you may even get hooked on uncovering the truth.
4
-
Hartmann again, is only half right. The Libertarian movement might have been named in the 1950, but the movement itself has been around since at least the start of FDR's New Deal. The contemporary Libertarian movement was spawned in organizations like the American Liberty League in conjunction with religious movements and Hollywood to sell Capitalism as a Christian principle. In reality, they were just selling Austrian economics to the rubes. In 1933, the plutocrats (e.g. the DuPonts, S.B. Colgate, Sewell Avery, John Raskob, Alfred P. Sloan, Elihu Root, and Grayson M. P. Murphy) backed a failed coup against the Roosevelt administration in response to the New Deal.
It was in 1940 when the Rockefeller Foundation brought Ludwig von Mises to the US. Rockefeller funded and set up Mises at the Rockefeller University of Chicago from where he started pushing libertarian propaganda. And in the 1990s Libertarianism came into its own when it recruited the Democratic Party and its affiliates to the libertarian cause. The Austrian-Libertarian Charles Koch funded the Clinton-Gore “Democratic Leadership Council” and the Democrat “Third Way” was born – selling out to Wall Street. It didn’t take long until Billy boy was recruited by the plutocrats to sell NAFTA, Financial deregulation, and the winding back of Social Security to the rubes. And the shills like Hartmann were recruited to tell these poor rubes it was all an unfortunate “mistake” by Clinton and the Democratic establishment, as they didn’t know what they were doing. So don’t ever forget – “Vote Blue No Matter Who”.
4
-
Thomas, if you were an oligarch which party would you subvert to do your bidding? The Republicans who already encompass the will of the elite and whose goal is to increase their wealth; or a party that professes to work for the common man. Yes Thomas, you are right, you will get much more mileage from a Trojan Horse until the majority awaken to the deception. Even then, it will take time as most will take years to understand and even longer to accept the deception. This cognitive acknowledgement will further be suppressed when they can start to understand they have very limited electoral options. They either have to go along with the Corporate Democratic scam or acknowledge they have no voice. I believe this is why so many accept the scam and effectively delude themselves into believing the Corporate Democrats will deliver for them.
A quote from the late, great George Carlin can say it much better than I, “The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don't. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They've long since bought and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the statehouses, the city halls. They've got the judges in their back pockets. And they own all the big media companies, so that they control just about all of the news and information you hear. They've got you by the balls.”
So Thomas, I am not sure what you are trying to prove with a screaming match with a Koch sycophant. It might be entertainment for the rubes but it doesn’t educate. You need to debate with a one more effective adversary; one that doesn’t mindlessly distort, omit, or lie; someone where you will need to work for your supper. To win against the arguments generated by oligarch think tanks, you will need to attack the best they have. To do that, you will need to look past the pool of pathetic Libertarian targets usually presented.
Please enroll in the George Carlin School of Political Science to further your education.
4
-
4
-
Thomas, you still refuse to admit the Democrats are the same as Republicans when it comes to deception. Both sides work for the oligarchs. Obama’s entire administration was selected by Citi Group. So do I have to again, repeat all the ways the Democrats are similar to the Republicans or will you eventually learn the reality of US politics. You appear to live in hope with your small smattering of what you call progressives that sometimes frequent this show and you expect those few to appease the rage of true anti-war, socialist leaning progressives enraged by the current Wall Street Democratic Party?
Thomas, you appear to tread a fine political line apparently to avoid enraging your DNC employers. On one hand you have your Wall Street bosses and on the other, your viewers who you appear unwilling to insult with the CNN-MSNBC Russiagate propagandistic garbage or the multitude of other deceptive techniques to stop the people thinking about the real deception. Thomas, you appear to be walking this fine line between not denigrating the corrupt Democratic Party and not reinforcing the mainstream propaganda. You must believe your viewers are so stupid they won’t pick up on your deception. Why not tell it like it is? Yes, Trump is a puppet and for that matter, Obama was a puppet; Bush was a puppet if he could read the teleprompter; Clinton was a puppet when he wasn’t dry cleaning blue dresses; Bush senior was a puppet and a card carrying member of the CIA; Reagan started as a puppet of Don Regan and ended as a puppet for all of Wall Street; and Jimmy Carter was a puppet and just didn’t know it. I could keep going but its gets boring after a while.
So Thomas, why the scam; why not call out the intentionally flawed US democracy for what it is – an oligarchy. You sometimes do call it out as an oligarchy but then continue with your discussion as if the perpetually flawed system can be repaired. Thomas, you must realize the Democratic Party like the Republican Party will always belong to Wall Street; it has never actually worked for the people. Why the obvious schizophrenia? Forget about trying to appease your bosses and call them out for whom and what they are.
4
-
4
-
4
-
4
-
Palast has always appeared to be a credible individual and I have always found his journalism to be honest. Whether you wish to understand the background of electoral corruption in the US or Washington’s efforts to destabilize Venezuela and the links between US oligarchs and Latin American resources, Palast has always been a credible source. So Thomas, as you attempt to emulate MSNBC’s Maddow and continue to push the oligarchs’ fabricated Russiagate, your listeners need to listen to Palast when he tells you, 04:37 “Forget about the Russians”, 05:22 “The Cold War is over, let’s leave the Russia stuff out of it”, and 06:03 “I’m very concerned about this Russia stuff because it can be disproved”.
So Thomas, maybe if you were attempting to continue the oligarchs’ narrative and justify the Democrats loss by continuing the Russiagate scam with Greg Palast, don’t you think this was a big mistake. Palast doesn’t appear to want to follow your Russiagate narrative. It doesn’t look like you will be getting your check from the oligarchs this week; they don’t pay for an attempt to deceive, they only pay for results and Palast appears to have burst your balloon. To effectively scam your audience, you need to recruit scammers like Malcolm Nance who you had on your show recently. I don’t think your choice of Palast was a wise move. Sure it may give your audience a glimpse of the truth, but when has truth ever been a high priority on your show?
Somehow I don’t believe we have heard the last of Thomas pushing the Russiagate scam to cover the corruption of his friends at the Democratic Party and the DNC. To cover the corruption from which the voters reeled in disgust. It’s that disgust of the “peoples” party by the people that Hartmann is apparently attempting to conflate with Russian interference.
So when Palast says, 09:33 “The Democrats have got to have a different line other than Russians to talk about election theft, especially if they are going to go along with GOP systems of blocking voters from voting”, you have to thank Palast for exposing the Russiagate is just a fabrication and the real enemy of the people is the Democratic Party and the DNC. Sure, the GOP as well, but if the people haven’t worked that out by now, there is no hope for them.
Thomas, you probably won’t like this but thanks; thanks for an honest guest for a change; thanks for exposing Democratic movement as the corruption and not “Russiagate” who put Trump in office. This exposure may not please your bosses, but they will just have to learn that nobody’s perfect. Maybe next time your guest pre-interview may need to be a little more comprehensive. Sadly Thomas, I expect you are now contemplating how long before the viewers that still watch this garbage forget about this catastrophic interview. Sadly, most would have forgotten by tomorrow; they are too busy looking at the bright shiny baubles that capture their attention and will only see your next video in isolation to your ongoing deception.
4
-
It’s always interesting how Hartmann presents his “fierce” debate with the Koch funded Marion Smith with “We had Words”, and then subtly promotes the interests of his “opponent”. He does that when he debates the Koch backed Julio Rivera and Charles Sauer, and now he is applying the same tactic with Marion Smith to denigrate Socialism. Hartmann starts off by intentionally painting a picture of East Germany with landmines exploding in the winter just to set the Socialist scene for his audience. This tactic works well when manipulate the rubes, but someone less gullible will see straight through Hartmann.
This scam is much easier to understand once you learn that the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation and the Clinton's Democratic Leadership Council have been backed and funded by the same person - Charles Koch. Consider the irony of the Kochs pushing this scam when their own father made his fortune building Oil Refineries for both Stalin and Hitler. These two propagandists are throwing around terms like Socialism and Communism with wild abandon; not one has a grasp of any actual meaning. Maybe the next time Hartmann has Professor Wolff on his show, he can ask Professor Wolff to explain to you how the USSR was actually State Capitalist similar to the United States of today.
If this doesn’t prove that Hartmann is nothing more than “Controlled Opposition”, nothing will. Notice how Hartmann goes to great lengths to label the 20% that support Communism in a questionable survey as ignorant and “would not know the three branches of government”. Then Hartmann goes on to denigrate China and the “million” Uighurs in camps. Notice how Hartmann fails to mention the Uighurs have been radicalized by Western interests to destabilize the west of China. According to the Reuters' article, “Uighur IS fighters vow blood will 'flow in rivers' in China”, the Uighurs have been militarized in Iraq by these “Western Interests” and now they are returning to China. Isn't it ironic, you have to look outside the “Communist” media of the United States to learn the truth.
You can also see this “Controlled Opposition” in Obama’s speech. Notice how after Obama praises Cuba for the health care and education it gives its people, he then goes on to say the economy isn’t working. How can the economy work when the US plutocrats have restrictive Sanctions on Cuba? You may also remember how Hartmann labeled the economy of Venezuela as failed, when the US puppet Obama labeled Venezuela as a “Threat to US National Security” and the US plutocrats’ sanctions on Venezuela have killed tens of thousands. It’s sort of like continually kicking someone in the head and then asking why they’re not getting up. The bottom line is the plutocrats cannot accept any alternate system to capitalism; you saw that when 10,000 US, British, and Japanese troops invaded Russia in 1918 during the revolution and were quickly expelled by the Bolsheviks; you see that in any country with a functioning democracy that elects a “Socialist” leader to redistribute the natural wealth of the country, and then is attacked by plutocratic agents (CIA, National Endowment for Democracy); don’t you just love the irony of these names.
And when Hartmann talks about his hate of political oppression, always remember; Hartmann wants Assange prosecuted for revealing crimes of Empire. Do you ever get the impression everything you have ever learned from the corporate state, the corporate media, the corporate Hollywood, or the corporate Hartmann was a lie? If I was in court for spitting on the sidewalk and the Controlled-Opposition Hartmann was my lawyer saying he was fighting for my freedom, I would be expecting the death penalty.
4
-
I wouldn't focus so much on gender as on policy. Could this just be yet another attempt by Hartmann to avoid the true progressing narrative and again intentionally obfuscate the divide between True Progressives and Corporate Democrats? Anyway, candidates aren't selected by gender; they are selected by which oligarchical faction they support. Do they support the Oil & Gas sector or do they support the Military Industrial Complex, but independent to all of that, they must support an imperialist aggressive Foreign Policy and War.
If you want a female President believing a woman may make better decisions, might I remind you of the butcher of Libya, Hillary Clinton. When Gaddafi was killed by the CIA backed mercenaries with a bayonet in the rectum, Hillary famously said, "We came, we saw, he died". Then there is the appointment of the known torturer Gina Haspel as head of the CIA. And if you want the epitome of evil, consider the war criminal Madeline Albright. Albright who was responsible for the deaths of half a million Iraqi children under five years old from disease and starvation through UN sanctions and all Albright said in response in a 60 Minutes interview was, "It was worth it".
Yes, this is the same Madeline Albright who said, "There is a special place in hell for women who don't vote for Hillary". So I do question whether a different gender would make more suitable decisions. For those who have been so manipulated using this divide-and-conquer strategy, might I suggest a rethink? Maybe you should consider the possibility, it is not male or female, or the deceptive Democrat or Republican that matters; or even the corrupted words of "Liberal" or "Progressive" that now have little relevant meaning; it is the policies for which the candidate stands.
4
-
4
-
Is Hartmann correct; is the Democratic Party rapidly becoming more “progressive”? I put it to you the Democratic Party hasn’t changed except for the few new entries (Tulsi Gabbard, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, & Ro Khanna) and these new voices are swamped by the incumbent Corporate Democrats that dominate the Congress, but it’s a start. What Hartmann is clearly showing in his sales pitch for Pelosi is the words “Progressive” and “Liberal” no longer have any meaning. The actual meaning of Liberal is much closer to the meaning of Neoliberal that most Democrats would like to admit. And as for “Progressive”, just take a look at the PAYGO vote in the Congressional “Progressive” Caucus where the three actual “progressives” (Gabbard, Ocasio-Cortez, and Khanna) voted it down and the rest of the caucus swamped their vote and passed PAYGO. So what is PAYGO; it’s legislation that says any future progressive policies must be neutrally funded. Unlike the Imperial Wars or Bank Bailouts or Tax Cuts for the Elite which are funded by deficit spending, any new “progressive” policies to be implemented must take funding from other existing progressive policies. Sort of reminds you of Trump’s two for one regulatory scam, doesn’t it? So when Pelosi recently unveiled PAYGO, she said it would help fight the deficit. Well if any funding for future progressive policies has been legislated to be deficit neutral, Hello! Most thinking Progressives (for lack of a better word) are questioning why Democrats are backing a PAYGO Rule that will make “Progressive” legislation harder to pass. But this question doesn’t appear to be on Hartmann’s agenda.
So who is in this Congressional “Progressive” Caucus? Let’s look closely at the membership. We have Hartmann’s cohort Mark Pocan as one of the Chairpersons and we have the frequent guest on Hartmann’s show Corporate Democrat Keith Ellison as Vice Chair. So with respect to the Congressional “Progressive” Caucus, what does the word “Progressive” actually mean? As I see it, there are three real “Progressives” in this Corporate Democrat Congressional Progressive Caucus and 93 potential Corporate Democrats; and the question now to be asked is how much more will the oligarchs allow their institutions be diluted by actual progressives. I hope this progressive trend continues and if it does, it will be interesting to watch how the oligarch minions you see on Hartmann’s show attempt to kneecap their rise.
4
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
Richard, we all know Trump is an idiot; the choice is between an idiot and a criminal warmongering sleaze that works for the Oligarchs. The phrase, “I guess so”, was used by Trump. Yes, it sounds indecisive but one must remember, Trump doesn’t have the detailed analysis to which Bill Clinton had access. Trump would have been basing his openly vague decision on the perverted narrative from the mainstream media. Hillary, on the other hand, had the detailed analysis of all the intelligence agencies, the information from the Executive Chairman of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (Hans Blix) and still she made the decision to go to war. Like the other Neocons, her job was to obfuscate the evidence and obey her masters; the same masters that control her today.
This fact checker is showing extreme ignorance. Don’t you understand the Armed Forces of the United States and NATO is just the muscle of the Anglo-American Empire. What do you believe is behind the attack on Iraq? It wasn’t the WMDs; there weren’t any. Wasn’t Saddam’s killing of his own citizens. Hell, Madeline Albright killed 500,000 Iraqi children under 5 years old by sanctions and she was awarded for her service to America. If you want to find the answer, understand the importance of the military backing of Saudi Arabia, the Bond Market, and the petrodollar to the value of the US dollar. That appears to be a little too complex for you to understand. At least Thomas has some understanding between its imperial links, the Oligarchs, and the US of today.
You appear to be the typical CNN commentator; removing most of the criticism for the illegality and aggression in the Iraq War and what you do accept, you use for political means. Hell, you even got the stats wrong. Iraqi deaths were at least in the order of hundreds of thousands, not tens of thousands. And, you call this fact checking. What facts have you checked? It seems to be you are selecting vague topics and dubious statistics in the hope of creating some spin just to manipulate the fools that may still be considering Hillary. I was wondering if you, Alex, and Thomas are in a contest to see who will replace Christine Quinn on CNN. You have similar motivations. All three of you would be in your element.
3
-
The Lima Declaration. The World’s Elite prior to 1975 figured out that if they push manufacturing into third world countries in an attempt to create the perception of equal opportunity of employment for the underdeveloped world, the strategy could be used to engineer the reduction of the wages and benefits for most of the workers in the developed world. Seems to key in well with the disassembly of Roosevelt’s new deal, doesn’t it. In the Oligarchs own words, “The Lima Declaration and Plan of Action calls for the redistribution of world industry so that developing countries would have 25% of it by the year 2000”. When profits are involved, why stop there. People like Bryan Riley are completing what UNIDO started in 1975. Remember when this sleaze Riley said that the U.S. manufacturing output is 50% higher, he is deceiving you. The foreign manufacturing component of American designed products overseas is included in the distorted U.S. GDP calculations. That’s right, overseas labor costs are included in the U.S. GDP. Sadly, what this moron doesn’t want to accept is that eventually when debt saturates and people don’t have the wealth or income to consume these products, the corporations will suffer. This has already started and the only way many corporations can maintain share price is in a share buy-back. For the corporations, it is a gradual decline but for the worker, at some point, it will be a downhill roller-coaster. By the time it is over, the Corporations and their shareholders will have extracted nearly all the wealth of the planet and individuals like Bryan Riley will still be earning their dollars by selling out their fellow countrymen. Thomas is correct; the only way to defeat this Neo-Liberal, Social Darwinism agenda is to introduce tariffs; tariffs on the manufactured goods, no tariffs on raw materials. If the current Neo-Liberal path is taken, workers will just be serfs either manufacturing or servicing assembly robots and making expensive items that we could never afford only for consumption of the elite. By then, most of us will be dead and not from old age. If you don’t vote for Bernie, welcome to Soylent Green.
3
-
3
-
3
-
Trump is a liar!? Yes he is a liar, he is a deceiver, a capitalist and a businessman in the modern world; what do you expect. We all live knowing that people in foreign nations are dying to prop up our lifestyle. This is not the time to get righteous. Who do you think you are; Walter Vincent Grant, Peter Popoff, or Jimmy Bakker. We all know we exist at the expense of others. If we didn't, Native Americans would be the landlords. So Trump admits that he bought politicians. Glad to see that he is transparent about previous dealings. I wonder what are in the speeches that Shillary gave to Goldman Sachs? Hillary is a criminal but with more political savvy to manipulate the rubes than Trump. Looking into the political clothes hamper, I would prefer a muddy sleaze over an excrement covered psychopathic criminal anytime. Hillary does not lie all the time, “We came, we saw, he died” and she takes pride in being supported by the child killer Madeline Albright. If you don’t want real change with Bernie, there may be a slim chance of change with Trump, but the chance of change with Hillary is zero.
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
@auntiebobbolink : So what to do about it? - Find a way out of the two-party duopoly that has destroyed any semblance of actual democracy. Media outlets like MSNBC (and Hartmann) will always attempt to induce fear and push you towards the Democratic Part just as FOX and their cronies will also attempt to induce fear and push you towards the Republican Party. This is just a game of Good-Cop/Bad-Cop to keep you off balance and to continue swinging the political pendulum to maintain Wall Street's monopolistic control. Have you noticed whether it’s Bush or Obama or Trump or Biden, little has actually ever changed? Your real enemy is the plutocrats, their corporations, and their financial sector control. What you see on television is just politicians from both parties in a choreographed stage show to give the impression of an adversarial relationship, but it’s only a Hollywood production to create the illusion of choice and democracy.
So what to do about it? - The last time this happened was in the late 1920 and early 30s, but there is no longer a Communist Party, a Socialist Party, or Union movements that can threaten the hegemony of today's plutocrats. And the plutocrats and their domestic henchmen (FBI) have made short work of any corporate resistance since those early days. Since the 1933 New Deal, the plutocrats, their federal henchmen, and their political minions in both parties and in all branches of government have implemented a campaign to turn words like “Union”, “Socialist” and "Collective" into pejoratives. And thanks to Hollywood and other media propaganda, they have done an excellent job. That treachery must be undone and resurrecting Collectives and Unions will take some time. In the meantime, try to create your own small movement and stop playing that perpetual game of political Good-Cop/Bad-Cop. Avoid those (like MSNBC, CNN, FOX or Hartmann) whose job it is to keep you in fear of the “Russians”, or the “Chinese”, or “Trump”, or “Biden”; avoid those who use remnants of the McCarthy era strategies like "Reds under the bed" or "Duck and Cover" to do so. Once you understand it's just one big psyop, you will be liberated. This is just a strategy to induce fear exactly the same as was used by the plutocrats and their federal minions (FBI) in the 1950s & 60s to redirect your attention from what is important. So don't be one of those who Gore Vidal was thinking about when he coined the phrase "The United States of Amnesia".
So what to do about it? - Don't fund or vote for either party and look for a real alternative; possibly a party whose policies more closely represent your needs. You may consider voting for a "third party" as being a waste of time, but if enough follow this will eventually work. How many times can you be fooled into believing the perpetual lies of the oscillating establishment candidates (Clinton (D), Bush (R), Obama (D), Trump (R), and now Biden (D)) as they scam you into perpetuating the status quo? It will take some time to reach critical mass, but spread the message and educate as many as possible. If there is one thing the plutocrats and their controlled media (including Hartmann) fear is the possibility of both progressives and conservatives coming together against the corruption. Think about how well the plutocrats’ Divide-and-Conquer strategies have worked since Eisenhower was president. Always remember, the job of these traitors is to ensure they maintain control by manipulating your thoughts using techniques like stimulating primordial tribal emotions, and then setting you at each other's throats.
3
-
@nil981 : Yes, but for a capitalist, psychopaths are the perfect choice. Psychopaths aren't hindered by ethics or emotions; they are naturals at lying and manipulating; and in the case or presidents, they have no qualms about killing for profit so the corporations that have funded them can turn a profit. For the Military Industrial and Intelligence Complex to exist and manufacture weapons to kill for profit, it needs an army of psychopaths. So for corporation executive or politician alike, the psychopath is the perfect choice in a corrupt immoral world. Obama wouldn't lose any sleep over killing a wedding party in the Middle East from a drone strike; Madeline Albright wouldn't lose any sleep when she killed half a million Iraqi children through sanctions - she even said in a 60 Minutes interview, "It was worth it". When Hillary was responsible for the bayonet enema and killing of of Gaddafi, all she could say was, "We came, we saw, he died"; now that's a real psychopath.
3
-
3
-
Apart from Cuba, China and Vietnam, it’s difficult to name a “Socialist” country on the planet; and even China is what is usually called State Capitalist. The Anglo-American plutocrats and their minions (CIA, FBI) would never allow a purely "Socialist" country to exist as it will expose the exploitation and oppression of the capitalist system. Remember in 1917 during the Bolshevik Revolution, the western capitalists of Britain, US, and Japan were the first to invade the Soviet Union with 10,000 troops – it didn’t succeed. However, the plutocrats and their minions (CIA, FBI) will allow capitalist countries with varying amounts of socialist policies to exist as the plutocrats are slowly eroding these socialist policies (NHS in Britain) around the world as we speak. Take a look at the CIA overthrow of Greece in the 1960s or the CIA backing of the slaughter of half a million Indonesian socialists under Suharto, or the US ongoing trade embargo of Cuba. Understand the "Socialist" Venezuela that Obama labeled as a "Threat to US National Security" is a capitalist country. The only reason Washington continues to label them as "Socialist" is because Venezuela has the largest oil reserves on the planet and the Anglo-America plutocrats want the oil. Washington has already stolen the CITGO Oil Company from the Venezuelans and England has stolen their gold, but as the Venezuelan people suffer under US sanctions in an attempt to install a puppet regime; the plutocrats’ focus is on what's under the ground in Venezuela - oil.
3
-
3
-
Hartmann, if you want to understand the National Defense Authorization Act, especially Section 10.21, you should engage the services of a real Progressive, Chris Hedges. Chris will explain about how he was attempting to legally stop Obama effectively repealing the Posse Comitatus act to stop the government using the military on the streets of the US; only to be thwarted by Obama on the basis of “no standing”. So if you want a real Progressive to expose the corrupt Democratic Party and the DNC instead of scamming your audience with those fake Progressives you will find in those fake Progressive institutions dotted around Washington, maybe it’s time you gave Chris a call.
And just remember, when it comes to your favorite Military Industrial Complex candidate, Warren never met a funding bill she didn’t pass. Just as the Democrats passed the Tax Cuts you appeared to be so furious about, or passed the additional $80 billion addition to the Defense Budget, or even gave no resistance to the confirmation of Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court. So forget about these “Progressive” scammers you bring on from all these fake left institutions; the Republicrats Party is one big con and those poor fools that haven’t yet realized the truth about the one-party state are the target. The voters have yet to discover the Military Budget is one of the most effective methods for the plutocrats to steal from the US taxpayer.
So Hartmann, what’s your point? I bet before the start of the primaries you will be pleading with your meager audience to vote for a Democrat that supported the expanded Military Budget or had some hand in passing the NDAA. How does it feel to be a hypocrite? The system has been designed by the plutocrats so the voters have no other choice than select what they trained to perceive as “the lesser of two evils”. If your audience would return in ten years, you will be presenting the same old argument. So vote all you want, but the corporate government will never change. The Democratic Party and the DNC has been designed so a real Progressive will never take power.
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
Yes, Warren appears to be the real deal and she is hitting all the right notes; Wall Street corruption and greed; the oligarchs' assault on unions and the labor market, but I'm still unsure where she stands on military spending, foreign policy, and Globalism.
So I would like to hear what Perez has to say about Warren. Hartmann, you must remember Perez; he was on your show recently and you were promoting his efforts. I assume you know Perez is Chair of the DNC. I assume you know the DNC just passed the following rule with respect to candidates seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination in the 2020 presidential election:
At the time the candidate announces their candidacy publicly, they must publicly affirm they are a Democrat. Each candidate perusing the Democratic nomination shall affirm, in writing, to the National Chairperson of the Democratic Committee (Perez), that they:
• Are members of the Democratic Party.
• Will accept the Democratic nomination.
• Will run to serve as a member of the Democratic Party.
I do have some questions about Warren’s intent, but they may just be due to her reactions to the ducking and swerving so many candidates have to do to keep out of the crosshairs of the oligarchs mainstream media. In general, Warren appears to be the real deal. On the govtrack website, Warren’s score from the Human Rights Campaign is 100%; her score from American Civil Liberties Union is 94%; excellent. And now the more important and telling scorecard; Warren’s score from Americans for Prosperity is 5% and especially her score from FreedomWorks is 0%. So yes, Warren appears to the genuine article; the original funders of the Clinton-Gore “Third Way” New Democrats that Hartmann so admires, and brought you Wall Street Deregulation, NAFTA, and the destruction of the Union Movement, Charles and David Koch, have given Warren a score of “0”. You can’t get a better recommendation than that!
So the introduction of this DNC neutering rule after Sanders debacle invokes many questions. Why introduce this rule as it clearly infers voters are now voting for the policies of the Democratic Party and not those of the candidate? And what does it mean to “serve as a member of the Democratic Party”.
So Hartmann, you had the opportunity to ask Perez these questions many times after this rule came into existence in June, why didn’t you? Since then Perez has been on your show five times. These are the questions that jump out at you begging to be asked, but you appeared to ignore the relevant and run with your usual rants to either induce fear or to chastise the puppet Trump. Yes, the last time Perez was on your show in late November, you spent all the time berating Trump; your usual strategy of distraction. And in this tirade you conflated Anthropogenic Climate Change, the loss of jobs and many other symptoms, but never questioned the cause – Oligarchy and the loss of democracy. Don’t you think questioning the Chair of the DNC that implemented this rule is relevant? Instead of that all I ever hear is a non-confrontational discussion on issues of effect; the cause of these issues is never seriously debated.
I see Hartmann as the Ron Paul of the Corporate Democrats. Hartmann is a Corporate Democrat working for the oligarchs; he will never bring truth to power just as Paul will never criticize his Koch masters or the John Birch Society. They construct an environment of mutual admiration and only produce puff pieces, sickening mutual admiration and any criticism of the causes or the treacherous Perez is off the table. These deceivers are there as controlled opposition; they pretend to criticize the system and in doing so, produce propaganda to perpetuate the system. It can be a lucrative scam if you have enough rubes watch and believe it. Just ask Alex Jones!
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
This is what happens when you give the people nowhere to turn. The reason for Trump is a combination of things but mostly it is because the population has no options. If you give the population the choice of the war criminal Hillary Clinton who destroys the democratic process (Bernie), you are pushing people away from the Democratic Party. And the Democratic Party itself, with its "Third Way" origin in Charles Koch, its sycophantic alignment with Wall Street, its attack on unions, and its utilization of Identity Politics where the hypocrisy of their boutique and limousine concern for the oppressed is only to manipulate the gullible fools that blindly follow, this hypocrisy makes one vomit. The Democratic Party, that backs Trump's attack on the sovereign rights of Venezuela, and would sooner allow Trump in office than to allow real progressives take part in the future of the country, is a spent force to anyone with principle. If you want to know the reason for Trump, the answer is simple - Hillary Clinton, the DNC and the Democratic Party.
3
-
3
-
The real crisis in the US is very simple; it’s not the Dog and Pony Shows you see on Hartmann or MSNBC or for that matter, on most of the mainstream or alternative media designed to distract fools from reality; the real crisis as Jimmy Carter said is fake democracy and Oligarchy. I have been told I should use the work Plutocracy instead of oligarchy as Plutocracy best describes rich oligarchs that have replaced all functional parts of a peoples’ government.
So yes, the US is a plutocracy in which the plutocrats now control all branches of government and the Fourth Estate, and the entertainment media that feeds subtle propaganda to the people in very creative and deceptive ways. The plutocrats use the weaknesses of the people (apathy, ignorance, greed, hubris, fear) against the people, and in doing so effective steer public opinion. So when you say its war or anthropogenic climate change that is the real threat, you should always look at the instigator of that threat. The US doesn’t really care about the Venezuelan people; as Bolton openly said when we gain access to Venezuelan oil it will help the US economy.
And don’t look to other countries to help as most are being controlled by Washington. Countries like Japan, Australia, and much of the EU is controlled by the same Plutocrats that control Washington. And don’t just look at Neoliberalism in isolation; you should also include Globalism in this package. Not only has this plutocracy corrupted democracies in many western nations, they also control the politics and the economies of these nations as well. When the plutocrats have gained this much power it’s a long road back to democracy for the majority.
So while people like Hartmann continue to push the puppets of the plutocrats (Clinton, Pelosi, etc,) on the people, little will change. It’s only when you see fresh meat (AOC) in the arena that you have a hope.
3
-
3
-
What is the plutocratic tool (Hartmann) talking about with Obama - Hope and Change? Even before Obama filled his administration with City Group executives, installed Republican health insurance, expanded the wars and started 7 new wars, threw 3 million out of the US, and famously said "We don't look backwards, we look forward.", anyone could have seen this was a scam in waiting. McConnell was just an excuse for the Democrats to maintain their benefactors' (plutocrats') policies. If you looked carefully, you could detect Obama was just another confidence trickster working for the plutocrats. If you want to get some insight into the Democratic Party and the plutocrats' scam, just research "Ratchet Effect". This deceptive shill talk makes me very interested in observing how Hartmann spins the narrative and attempts to convince his liberal rubes NOT to vote for Bernie Sanders. Let's watch very carefully and see how he does it, shall we!
And listening to Hartmann going through the litany of recent presidents exposes so much about his character. I much prefer the analysis of a True Progressive - Noam Chomsky who said (1990), "If the Nuremberg laws were applied, then every post-war American president would have been hanged." I will be interested to see if Hartmann discusses Assange, Venezuelan sanctions or the Bolivian Coup with Greg Palast.
3
-
3
-
3
-
2
-
I was at least expecting some hint of policy but neither candidate said anything specific. They spent the whole time on generalizations and mudslinging. Anyone that takes this seriously would have to have spent their life watching sports. They didn’t raise one serious specific topic that would affect the lives of the American people. They didn't raise any relevant points they could debate. It would make more sense trying to dissect the motivation of an amoeba than to analyze this debate.
There was one especially funny part where Trump and Clinton slung rhetoric in an attempt to appease the security fears imposed on the American people by ISIS.
Ironic when the Bush and Obama regimes created, funded, armed and trained many
of ISIS’ troops. On a more serious note, there is one politician I would take seriously, Richard H. Black, Senator of Virginia. He is one of the few that is actually telling the truth about the origins and Imperial strategy behind the Syria conflict.
Because it appears that Hartmann doesn’t allow any references, just lookup, “Origins of the Syrian War, Richard H. Black, Senator of Virginia”. You will find multiple references of the story; one even from the Washington Post. How surprising, they were very critical.
Don’t believe it, lookup and watch on YouTube: “General Wesley Clark: Wars Were Planned - Seven Countries In Five Years” The Democracy Now interview is the most concise. The Empire has just used its mercenary army ISIS instead of its own troops. The interesting thing is Hillary is fully aware of this fact; Trump appears ignorant of the US and allied support of the terrorists. If Trump is actually ignorant and should win, he is in for one hell of a wake-up and an even steeper learning curve.
2
-
2
-
2
-
At last a progressive caller that understands the task ahead. I am hesitant in using any label, especially liberal, as many have passed through a MSM Orwellian filter and the meanings have been inverted. Do the people know who real the enemy is? You can't be at war with the government; it is only a implementer of Wall Street demands. Wall Street has been waging a class war since the early 18th century. The sad part is that Main Street is just starting to wake up to the fact that there has been a class war raging while most of Main Street has been asleep. Now that a few people have awakened to that fact, never give up the fight. Wall Street was an African and Indian slave market started in 1711 and continues to be a slave market for Main Street today. Democrats should never be fooled by their party’s current stand on minority rights, remember at the time of Lincoln and beyond, the Democratic Party supported slavery. Remember the legacy of Senator Byrd. The party is meaningless; what is important is the character of the individuals in the fight. Once the fight has started, surrender is not an option. Wall Street will never give up. Remember how Wall Street unwound all the progressive advancements of the New Deal. It took decades but Reagan’s administration (Don Regan) finally buried Roosevelt’s legacy and then some. It is time that people discredited that, so called politically correct MSM pejorative “Class War”. If you believe there has never been a class war, read “How Corporate America Created Christian America” by Kevin Kruse. This book covers the subversive and malignant intent of Wall Street and their Edward Bernays psyops operations. If you do not want to read the book, the Princeton History Professor, Kevin Kruse, has some YouTube videos that cover some of the content. It is certainly worth a look.
2
-
I have learned not to argue with Libertarians. Libertarians are like
those Christians who pick and choose pieces of the Bible upon which to base their principles. Like the Schofield bible, they reinterpret passages that do not fit the politics and economic principles of Wall Street. They will never acknowledge the passage, “For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” as the original text intends. This gives Christian insight a Libertarian will never accept.
Libertarians also pick and choose pieces of Economics text that fit their narrative. Consider the term, “Invisible Hand”. What Adam Smith meant by the invisible hand was the markets self protection mechanism when it comes to exporting jobs to countries with cheaper labor. Smith knew that shifting a nation’s labor income off shore would starve the retail trade of that nation. Smith didn’t believe the Oligarchs would cut their own long-term throats with this stupidity. Ironic, don’t you think when Ayn Rand’s apprentice, Alan Greenspan, recently stated that he was wrong about the invisible hand of markets when discussing the reasons behind the 2008 crash. Markets will not self protect; the 2008 crash has proven that even the discrete example Adam Smith meant by “the Invisible Hand” was incorrect. The Oligarchs will gamble with the risk component of Wall Street. Like quarks that come in three colors, Libertarians appear to come in two flavors; the first is greedy and works only for self gratification and the accumulation of wealth, they follow the “greed is good” principles of Wall Street. The second is the ignorant rube that follows the simplistic and misinterpreted parts of historical economic text and economics doctrine whose funding origins can be found in the early Wall Street Oligarchs. You will also find the cowards who continue to jump between the two; selecting whichever side that fits today’s narrative. In a way, the second is far more dangerous as they convince those that either can’t think or do not want to think (the majority) that Libertarian philosophy will cure all the economic ills. If they spent the time thinking about a satisfactorily complex libertarian economic structure, they would soon understand their ideas would only benefit Wall Street and increase wealth disparity.
Roosevelt’s New Deal prompted a rebellion from the Oligarchs and this was the origins of the modern Libertarian party; not to be confused with the European Libertarian Socialists of the 1800s. Wall Street used it considerable resources and the work of Edward Bernays to conflate capitalism, corporatism and Christianity to fool the rubes into believing they were consuming and supporting corporate corruption for a higher purpose. Even Billy Graham got into the act. If you want to understand this part of history, Kevin Kruse wrote an excellent book, “In God We Trust; How Corporate America Invented Christian America”. Kruse is the History Professor at Harvard and the book is well written.
Returning to the Libertarians analysis; I believe the rube component of the Libertarian population lives in an enclave similar to the isolation one would see in a religious cult. Similar to a religion, they appear to have faith in their economic beliefs but never willing to significantly debate their philosophy to the level necessary to be put into practice. They continue to sell the theory behind their cult with a side salad; the non interventionist libertarian policy. As if to say, if you support us, we have a non-interventionist policy and we will stop the US imperial aggression and butchery around the world. When you consider the Oligarchs that are responsible for Imperial aggression are the same Oligarchs that funded and continue to fund the Libertarian movement, this looks like a hollow promise. This just appears to be another example of sleaze (Wall Street Libertarians) using rube Libertarians to support their own political and economic ends. The scary part of the Libertarian and Neoliberal economic philosophy is the fact that Oligarchs around the world are now selling components of this philosophy to politicians (who don’t work for Goldman Sachs) in an effort to strip wealth from the labor class through the teachings of such institutions as The Cato Institute. This Wall Street institute and many similar around the world are transforming the working man into a serf and stripping national wealth. Impoverishing nations creates opportunities for the Oligarchs to asset strip the wealth of the nation’s people – the public infrastructure. Corporate privatization is the future with the Oligarchs moving from a manufacturing to a rent-seeker economy. As the labor class becomes more indebted to support a suitable standard of living, retail contraction will occur and the retail trade will dry up. The only money flowing will be to pay the rent-seekers for a place to stay and for the exorbitant prices for the utilities and services once supplied by the public sector. All that wealth will now go to the Oligarchs on the false premise they can run things more efficiently. Ironic, don’t you think, especially when you consider the Libertarian text “The Road to Serfdom” by Friedrich Hayek.
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
Thomas appears to be incorrect and he is missing the point. The EU was not created for the future stability of Europe; that was only a deception. The EU was created by special interest groups to control Europe. If you Google “The European Union always was a CIA project”, you will start to appreciate how this structure removes the sovereignty of the European people and was designed for one entity – The Anglo-American Empire, to control a group of independent and sometimes recalcitrant states. Have a close look at the anti-democratic structure of the EU. Whatever fascist antidemocratic special interest controls Brussels also controls Europe. Ina way, the Empire shot itself in the foot. After using covert dissidents and mercenary forces, funded, trained and equipped by the US, Qatar, and the Saudis in an attempt to decapitate and destabilize Libya, Syria, and Ukraine; the Empire appears to have missed the effect it would have on the decisions people would make when they saw a flood of asylum seekers overload their resources. Combine this with the lies, hyperbole and corruption around the banksters, media, and politicians supporting the Remain campaign, and I believe that they could have not made a better decision. Many that voted to remain did so for their own personal interest. Many were the business owners that did not wish to experience any losses that potential destabilization may bring. The politicians, banksters and media were certainly against the Brexit as they work for the same special interests that wish to
remove sovereignty from the citizens of Europe.
Trump is something all together different. In the upcoming election, you have two choices – a Criminal (Hillary) or an Idiot (Donald). I don’t know about you but I would pick an Idiot over a war-mongering bankster supported criminal any day. How far will this deception of Jill Stein’s support for Clinton play out before it crashes? What happens when Hillary’s intent becomes apparent – where will Jill Stein be?
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
Don't vote for Trump; just do what John Kasich tells you - vote Republican, vote Biden. You have the same two choices as before (Corporate Democrat or Corporate Republican) except now they have moved the Overton Window to the right yet again. You can either vote Hard Republican (Biden) or Emerging Fascist (Trump); your choice. Either way, the outcome will not be pretty. As the GOP has just past the edge of fascism, the Corporate Democrat Party is just putting its nose over the fascist line. People are starting to understand the scam and appear to be saying to themselves, “Well, at least Trump is honest in his lies”. The Democrats will tell you they went into Iraq, Libya, or Syria for the sake of humanity, but when Trump said, “To take the oil”; he’s actually telling the truth. As you can’t deny this rare honesty and the polls are slowly favoring Trump, wouldn’t you prefer just a smidgen of honesty in your puppet leader?
The whole thing is a scam and the only purpose of the Democratic Party and its army of minions (e.g. Hartmann) is to ensure a real Progressive never takes power.
2
-
Have you noticed when Corporate Democrats don’t want to discuss policy or intent, they revert back to the old litany of arguments used to distract from the real issues. Sure these issues (Racism, Immigration, Human Rights, gay rights, feminism, etc. etc. etc.) are important, but have you noticed how these are just tools used by Corporate Democrats so they don’t have to discuss real policy and policy for which the Democratic Party actually stands. Hartmann, maybe it’s time you got another dose of Thomas Frank’s philosophy; someone who has broken down and analyzed the Corporate Liberal; someone that understands how these Corporate Liberals think and for whom they work; understands how Bill Clinton actually moved to the right and justifying the move by the treacherous statement, “They have no other place to go”. So Clinton believed Main Street didn’t have anywhere else to go except to vote for the “least” worse party. Well, it may have taken 16 years to build; it may have taken another treacherous, deceptive right wing liberal Obama to push Main Street away from the elite, but surprisingly Clinton’s statement of, “They have no other place to go” turned out to be wrong (Trump). When you give the people the choice of no choice, the choice they actually make could sunrise you; and it did surprise even with the fabricated Russiagate rhetoric as a distraction. C’mon Hartmann; put Thomas Frank on your show; get some honesty back into your production, and treat your audience to a credible narrative.
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
The caller appears not to understand Thomas is a "Liberal". The caller should also understand that "Liberal" is an intentionally vague term and is used for deception. Charles C Koch describes himself as a "Liberal"; if you look at the pieces of Liberal doctrine he selects to back his argument, by definition he is correct. And if you look around the planet, some political parties (Australia) that call themselves "Liberal" are actually conservative and push Neoliberalism. And surely you can’t be ignorant of the multitude of Neoliberal policies pushed by the Democratic Party. So I can easily see how this intentional deception has confused the gullible rubes who may actually equate "Liberal" with "Progressive". And if you look closely, there isn't much difference between "Liberal" and "Austrian-Libertarian" when it comes to economic theory. So when you hear Obama call himself a Liberal and later describe himself as a “Moderate Republican”, there is no contradiction.
So what's all that got to do with Bolivia? Well, if you read the article, “Sphere of Influence: How American Libertarians Are Remaking Latin American Politics”, in The Intercept magazine written by Lee Fang, you will learn the Koch Austrian-Libertarian Atlas Network has had a hand in the overthrow of Bolivia as well as many other Latin American countries. It is no accident that Thomas backs the plutocrats and their CIA coup when it comes to their overthrow of the elected Bolivian government with the pathetic line about term limits. You may remember Thomas also blamed Maduro for the condition of the Venezuelan economy; never once mentioning the ongoing CIA undermining of Venezuela or the Chavez coup of 2002, or even Obama’s declaration that Valenzuela was a threat to US “National Security”. If little Venezuela could be declared a threat to US “National Security”, harsh sanctions could be applied to aggravate the condition of the economy to further undermine the elected government. However, not a word from Thomas about the Koch history in Venezuela and other multinationals (e.g. British Petroleum) that wanted to steal Venezuelan oil.
You can also question Thomas’ criticism of Assange. Never a mention of the integrity and honesty of Assange; all Thomas was able to do was attempt to label him a “hacker” to justify extradition into the US. If the caller is expecting Thomas to be critical of US Empire and its slaughter, theft and torture; the caller will be on the other end of the phone for a long time. Thomas is working for the plutocrats and is part of the establishment; he is a tool of the plutocrats; his job is to convince the last imbeciles on the planet to keep the plutocrats in power and the one party state going indefinitely. It wasn’t long ago Thomas was asking you to back Warren’s Medicare for All plan only to have it recently morph into Medicare for Most. Who knows, tomorrow it may be only Medicare for a Few. So when you realize that Thomas is actually working for the Plutocrats, this show will make a lot more sense. It is my recommendation to the caller that he continue watching “The Greyzone” and “Moderate Rebels” as these are two of the very few outlets that presents the facts.
2
-
2
-
2
-
Hartmann, 02:23“People were figuring out that the Telecommunications Act screwed our media, NAFTA screwed our workers. The things that Bill Clinton did, probably with the best of intentions; hoping for the best, turned out to bite us in the butt”. Does anyone actually still believe this crap? Every time Hartmann needs to raise the compounded betrayal of the American people by the Clintons, he pathetically and repeatedly makes excuses for Bill Clinton’s betrayal of the people and allegiance to Wall Street. Now, this is no accident; Hartmann has to be a shill for the Washington establishment.
As for the “caller”, he is correct. The system has been designed to give a lead-in to the Neoliberals. If Bernie doesn’t get the delegate threshold (1990), there will be a brokered convention and the plutocrats’ Superdelegates will come in to save the plutocracy. Remember, the rule of the Superdelegates being exempt except for a brokered convention, is conveniently only a couple of years old; and was made to appease those who understood the DNC was totally corrupt and were fighting for change.
So now the plutocrats have engineered almost a full field of candidates dedicated to stay to the last and force a brokered convention. It wasn’t long ago when this fact was pointed out to Hartmann, when he said, the last brokered convention was in 1952; there won’t be another one anytime soon. Hartmann was conveniently wrong, but then again, shills for the plutocrats have always been inveterate liars. So just think of this as a comprehensive plutocrat strategy to maintain control and continue the march towards Serfdom. The plutocrats know the rubes wont rebel against the antidemocratic Superdelegates used to steal the election, as most don’t even understand the process. Remember – “It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.” – Mark Twain.
It appears Bloomberg is the plutocrats’ choice. He is currently spending a fortune on Influencers on Social Media to turn the tide. With this Silicon Valley campaign and his Superdelegates, how can he lose? The plutocrats’ minions in this race will ensure the herd won’t be thinned so there are just not enough to go around and now a brokered convention is almost a certainty.
And even if Bloomberg wins the nomination and loses the general election, the plutocrats still win. Bloomberg won’t fundamentally do anything different to what Trump is currently doing, but he will do it with a little more decorum to keep the rubes satisfied; an Obama two point zero if you will. And if Bernie does miraculously make it as Democratic candidate, you can expect some engineered shenanigans from the Democratic Establishment to ensure a Trump victory. As I have always said, the job of the Democratic Establishment is to ensure a real Progressive is never elected president. So for the plutocrats, it’s just a game of – Heads I win, Tails you lose. I’ll make a prediction, an optimal package for the plutocrats would be a one-term Bloomberg and a vice president who would maintain the current foreign and domestic policies while continuing to sell “Identity Politics” to scam the rubes. That person could very well be Hillary.
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
If this show intends to promote Biden as a “viable” candidate and have people accept the fact they need to hold their nose and choke back the vomit while they vote for Biden, you need to be much more creative than just create a “lying” slinging match between Trump and Biden. People are beginning to wake to the fact these two political parties are owned by the same interests and the usual Democrat “Identity Politics” scam used to create the illusion of difference is no longer working. People are beginning to understand the same plutocrats own both the Democratic and Republican establishments no matter how many of Trump's speeches Pelosi tears up in full view of the camera.
So may I suggest you use something other than “lying” to differentiate between the candidates? Even though Biden has some lucid moments that reflect reality, “If I’m elected, nothing will change”, “If you don’t like it, go vote for Trump”, most of this campaign has been under a Biden haze. After all, Biden’s inveterate lying, false boasting, and plagiary that saw him leave his 1988 presidential run in shame, is always going to be pushed in his face no matter how much the mainstream media attempts to avoid acknowledging factual history.
One can only hope one day the US will have the same democratic freedoms as Bolivia whereby, after a Washington coup that saw the ousting of the elected leader Evo Morales and the installation of a fascist corporate regime, the people’s voice finally won and a populist leader in a legitimate election was eventually returned to office. One can only hope one day the US will also have the opportunity to vote for a candidate where they don’t need to hold their nose and choke back the vomit, and who isn’t sold to the people as the “lesser of two evils”.
2
-
But Thomas, you have to understand the Kochs are just one part of this plutocratic structure. The plutocrats’ minions are bipartisan; work behind the scenes; use White House drama to distract, and implement their policies under the cover of darkness. Fred C Koch told his sons, “The whale that spouts first gets harpooned first”, and they have always heeded his message and kept their intent covert. It’s even difficult to find links between the Kochs and their affiliates (e.g. Mises Institute); they are the kings of Dark Money. Maybe it's time you reintroduced Professor Nancy MacLean, the author of "Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America", to your viewers as a reminder and a refresher to the treachery of the plutocrats.
When you mention Facebook, you should also mention The Atlantic Council influences Facebook for its masters; just as the Washington Post is influenced by the CIA and Military contracts Bezos has with the corporate government. It's good to see you finally acknowledge US democracy is a farce. It's good to see you acknowledging both parties work for the plutocrats, the media is owned and controlled to benefit the plutocrats, and the electoral system is controlled by the plutocrats through the Supreme Court. And if you don't want another Trump in office, I'm hoping you may reject future offers to promote the war criminal Hillary again if she should put up her hand. Gone are the days of selecting the lesser evil; the people should be strong enough to select outside of the plutocrats' two party system when they aren't given a viable alternative.
2
-
2
-
2
-
This is just a visit to see how the plutocratic Controlled-Opposition Hartmann is attempting to manipulate his rubes into continuing their support of Biden.
Notice how the Controlled-Opposition Hartmann never mentions Biden’s support for the Iraq War; or the North American Free Trade Agreement; or the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Notice how Hartmann never mentions Biden’s other two failed attempts to run for president. In 1988 Biden failed because of his compulsive lying. Biden was caught lying about his academic achievement; Biden was caught lying about marching in the Civil Rights movement; Biden was even caught plagiarizing everyone from Robert Kennedy to the British politician Neil Kinnock in his 1988 campaign speeches.
Now Hartmann, the Democratic Party and the DNC have been successful in hiding these lies and pushing Biden in front of Bernie. Through a corrupt media, internal political corruption, voter suppression, and rigged electoral process that was exposed by exit polls that exceeded 15% irregularity, Biden has won through the death by a thousand cuts of the democratic process.
So now Hartmann is attempting to sell his audience on Biden using a questionable reference to the name of Kennedy. Notice how Hartmann is expecting you to believe the progeny of Robert Kennedy has the identical values of the man himself. Notice the irony where Biden lost his 1988 presidential run in part by plagiarizing the speeches of Robert F. Kennedy who is the father of the Controlled-Opposition Hartmann’s current guest Kathleen Kennedy Townsend. By Townsend exploiting the history of her father for political gain, it just shows the apple (Townsend) doesn’t always fall near the tree (RFK).
Biden continues to lie today about everything from his involvement in the Iraq War to being arrested while attempting to see Nelson Mandela. It now looks like Hartmann’s masters in Washington have achieved their goal. Trump may be a fool, but he has an army of strategists around him. Trump may only be reading from an Autocue or a piece of paper, but with the help of his strategic army and Biden’s own litany of lies, Trump would be able to annihilate Biden in any debate. Remember, Bernie has been too honorable to attack Biden’s corrupt history and this contributed to his losses.
So by corrupting the electoral process and presenting you with the exceptionally flawed candidate of Joe Biden; Hartmann and the Neoliberal Democratic Establishment have ensured the return of the Neoliberal Trump Administration.
2
-
It’s fascinating listening to Hartmann attempting to railroad Greg Palast while attempting to BS his audience on the “legitimate” need to registering with a party to vote. In other countries, all you need is to be on an electoral roll so they can check who has voted; then you can vote for any candidate on the ballot. Now listen to Hartmann, 06:40 “I think you can actually make a case for closed primaries; being a member of the party and voting in the party’s primaries; it’s like being a member of a club. You have some loyalty to that club; you put some effort into that club; um, into that party.” Have you ever heard such crap? The only purpose for the party on Election Day is to manage the polling station and accurately tabulate the votes – period. There is no “Club”. Oh wait, I could be wrong; this may be the same “Club” George Carlin describes, “It's a big club, and you ain’t in it. You and I are not in the big club. And by the way, it's the same big club they use to beat you over the head with all day long when they tell you what to believe. All day long beating you over the head in their media telling you what to believe, what to think and what to buy. The table is tilted folks. The game is rigged.”
But I digress,
So why does the party require you to register with that party just to vote. I always thought your vote should be anonymous? If the elite knew how you intended to vote, it may change their strategy of manipulating you. Just imagine if a corrupt company that specializes in manipulating the public (e.g. Cambridge Analytica) was able to determine who intended to vote for which party? Just imagine what they could achieve if they had access to these records? Sure, you can register on the day, but how many people are going to be bothered to do that? So this isn’t only voter suppression, it’s also a way for the establishment to know the individual’s vote prior to the election and act accordingly. “It's a big club, and you ain’t in it.” So don’t forget the magic word, “Crossover Ballot” because they will be “Breaking the DNC Law”, if they give you that magic name. I wonder when Hartmann is going to again have his friend Tom Perez on his show.
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
Thomas, you need to explain to your Congressman friend he lives in the Fourth Reich. Even the Third Reich rewrote the law to justify its actions when invading sovereign lands. The Authorization for Use of Military Force was installed domestically in the US to legalize aggression against independent states to benefit and protect the interests of Anglo-American oligarchs. If you have any doubt, may I direct you to General Wesley Clark’s “Seven countries in five years” disclosure on “Democracy Now”. Thomas, why do you and this fool continue with the delusion of checks and balances when you must know the US military is just the muscle behind a vast empire? If you don’t believe me just read Smedley Butler’s book, “War is a Racket” or if you want something more contemporary, read John Perkins’ book, “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man”, but don’t continue with this deceptive establishment BS that perpetually spins facts and justifies War on false premises.
The latest illegal act in Syria was based on the use of chemical weapons. Think about this Thomas; when the US used illegal cluster bombs in Iraq; when Fallujah doctors recommend to potential mothers they don’t conceive because the land is too contaminated with depleted uranium and the chance of birth defects is too high; when Madeline Albright justifies the deaths of half a million Iraqi children through imposed starvation and disease to benefit these same oligarchs; and you and your idiot compadre continue with this farce. The warmongering Clinton Corporate Democrats continue to push for imperial war based on chemical attack lies in London and Syria but have you ever considered presenting the facts in context. You might be paid to promote this garbage but maybe you should consider seeing the world for what it is and more views and respect will come your way.
Notice how Pocan describes the Congress, 07:28 “We are more dysfunctional these days” when he should be explaining how Congress is owned by oligarchs and foreign interests. This type obfuscation and deception is designed to corrupt and this will eventually undermine any democracy. So the next time you refer to the Constitution as justification, just remember Thomas Jefferson’s external influence to the drafting of the Constitution and the author of the Declaration of Independence was a construct by a man who continually molested a young slave; who bore his children and then enslaved his own children, but factual history is rarely taught. Knowing how history has been rewritten, corrupted and idealized over the centuries to manipulate the people, I always wonder who the founders of the Constitution actually were. Surely you can’t believe that “Cherry Tree” crap.
2
-
Thomas, you won’t see the evidence; it gone where inconvenient truths go to die – “national security”. I am starting to see a pattern emerge that explains your intermittent sycophantic allegiance to the Corporate Democrats and the Clintons. Also remember Muller was one of those Cheneyites that sold the American people on Iraqi WMDs but I would suspect only a few of your Maddow addled audience would remember that fact or would want to remember that fact. Why didn’t the DNC allow the FBI to inspect their server? Are all the whistleblowers (Binney, Drake, Kiriakou, McGovern) lying when they tell you this is a scam; when they show the intercontinental transfer rates of the Podesta hack happened locally and probably at the DNC server? This is just another attempt to keep the Republican Democrat pendulum swinging by attempting to maintain credibility in the corrupt oligarchical political system that should have been abandoned years ago.
No, we don’t like Trump; he is a fool, a petulant child, and an abhorrent human being; but then again, so are the Clintons, and Obama if you look closely enough. The key to analyzing is that you have to look and not just take the ranting of someone with a proven agenda. The only reason you can sell Obama and the Clintons is because they create the perception of acceptability and they are able to lie effectively so few can detect and are able to spin the truth to confuse the majority. Obama was an excellent actor and a master of deception; many who refuse or are incapable of critical analysis still believe his rhetoric today. In that sense, I would prefer Trump for at least with this obviously pathetic human being, I can easily see the truth right in front of my eyes.
So the indictment is detailed; remember, the best lies are usually complex and have half-truths and spin mixed in to fool those who superficially analyze the document. And as for the Congressional corporate criminals; these fools sign bills without reading them. Remember the Pelosi statement of "We have to pass the bill before you can see what's in it"; so much for the credibility of Congress, they have been bought and paid for long ago. Remember, there is no extradition treaty with Russia, so these lies will never be dissected in a court of law to expose the liars. This is an excellent scam; the real evidence is locked up due to “national security”; the indictment will never be tested in court, and you can use it as a tool to give credibility to a corrupt and flawed system explaining away the reason why the people rejected Hillary. Creating this scam to target a fabricated messenger and source and never considering once to question the content of the Podesta emails. Never once exposing how Clintons and the DNC kneecapped Bernie Sanders. Yes Thomas, I can see how that could have been awkward for your bosses.
So Thomas, when did you become a part of this oligarchical strategy to resurrect credibility in a corrupt democratic process? Wasn’t it about the time 9 months ago you left RT? Yes, I can see how that could awkward for your credibility. Thomas, when are you moving to CNN or MSNBC?
2
-
2
-
Thomas; why are you so surprised about Washington’s assault on independent nations around the World? Now if some of your viewers can extend past their limited attention span, they may remember it wasn’t long ago you were calling for the overthrow of Maduro in Venezuela, justifying the Bolivian coup and the overthrow of the Morales government, and calling for the prosecution of Julian Assange who exposed crimes against democracy like these along with vicious US imperial war crimes. In your recent narrative, you have clearly shown you can certainly turn the perception of your political views and your morality on a dime for the almighty dollar.
Thomas, surely you understand the Organization of American States is just a tool of Washington; to be used where necessary to capture resources and markets for western plutocrats. Understand that Venezuela has the largest oil reserves on the planet and Bolivia has some of the largest Lithium reserves on the planet; when Washington is involved, this is no coincidence. If you look around the world, most US aggression is due to resources, markets, and hegemony. Just as Trump and Bolton said the intent of their assault on Venezuela was to take their oil, the Bolivian coup has now been renamed the Lithium coup by many. Maybe you should return to an earlier time to understand the real intent of Washington. Revise the killing of Allende by the CIA because of his nationalization of his country’s copper mines and Washington’s installation of Pinochet. Surely you must remember Nixon and Kissinger’s “Make the economy (Chilean) scream” of the early 1980 where Milton Friedman and James Buchanan were sent to do Washington’s dirty work. This current Bolivian coup is just an ongoing extension of the plutocrats’ Monroe Doctrine; surely you can be this ignorant!
So Thomas, have you changed your Imperial direction for the last time or will you swing again to the dark-side if directed by your Washington masters? If Hartmann continues along this path, I wonder if he can ever coax Thomas Frank or even the great Chris Hedges on this show ever again.
2
-
2
-
You need to think long and hard about the implications and consequences of accepting Universal Basic Income. By accepting Universal Basic Income you are implicitly acknowledging and accepting the fact there is no functional place for you in the World economy and you are OK with that fact. By accepting the few dollars thrown at you, you are implicitly accepting the current inequality; the current corruption; and the current Imperial Wars and slaughter to keep the oligarchs in power. By accepting Universal Basic Income you are giving up your right to complain and protest for a fair share and your say in this World.
I have one universal rule – Self confessed Entrepreneurs, Corporate Executives and Politicians manipulate and deceive for a living - period. Consider Facebook and how it infers its services are free. There is an old rule; when you are unsure how a corporation makes its money as it appears to give away its services, just look in the mirror to see the commodity being traded. I would say the same about Universal Basic Income. The cost to you of Universal Basic Income is your future rights in this World. If the oligarchs are giving away money to silence you, don’t ever think it will just stop there. The remnants of social security and other government services would also be on the chopping block as well.
Instead of accepting Universal Basic Income as a bribe to concede the World to the oligarchs, revive Roosevelt’s New Deal. Increase the tax on the oligarchs to that of the post War era (1945); return to the social security and job policies implemented by Eisenhower, and return to the Rule of Law that allowed governments to prosecute corporations and break them up to generate competition. I would go further and strip Corporations of personhood and have them justify their existence as a benefit to humanity otherwise they would be dissolved. Prosecute the oligarchs that have been slowly eroding democracy and prosecute the politicians that have corrupted themselves to allow this subversive treachery to happen. Create an environment where real competition and Unions can flourish. Create a World where Democracy is no longer a word used to illegally invade another country, but an actual mechanism the people can use to have their say. If you accept Universal Basic Income, you will only be implementing a World of Lords and Serfs and once the oligarchs have total control, there is no return.
By accepting Universal Basic Income you will be effectively removing any further justification for a democratic society; how can you honestly say you have the same rights as those who provide your needs for existence with no effort on your behalf. Your mind might be able to justify this for a while, but eventually it would give the oligarchs justification to further disassemble your rights based on the argument of your “contribution to society”; and the final shoe to drop would be the disappearing remnants of democracy itself.
Before I would implement Universal Basic Income to fix a flawed capitalist system, I would consider the flawed capitalist system itself. I would seriously consider a Socialist System as described by Professor Richard Wolff. His worker co-op model would be a more suitable system for the majority than the current capitalist monstrosity as it would bring real democracy into the workplace. It would have the majority select the direction of technology and “progress” and not leave it up to the few at the cost to the many. At least then the majority would have a say in the future of the planet and it wouldn’t be left up to those who are the most effective at exploitation and manipulation.
Might I remind of “The Time Machine” where the Eloi were provided with all their needs by the Morlocks in exchange for some sacrifices as well? And that didn’t work out well for the Eloi. I always believed the World economy should work for all and not just the select few that control the wealth and the direction of progress. The oligarchs have created this World to benefit them and now intent to bribe you to allow their World to continue. Come in Sucker!
2
-
@alwayschanging5821 : You are correct “barely anybody sees it” and I expect the intent behind UBI to be much more insidious. You can see by their control of the political arena, the media, finance, the corporations, and all branches of government; they are intelligent long-term thinkers, and excellent strategists. They have the ability to understand the weaknesses of the majority and use that weakness against them. I never forgot the words from the Chicago criminal Rahm Emanuel, “Never let a Good Crisis go to Waste” as the oligarchs are expert at exploitation; and the oligarchs are expert at creating a crisis and then exploiting that crisis.
So as the real health of the economy diverges rapidly from the lies stated on FOX and MSNBC, the opportunity will soon arise when people will accept crumbs from the table of the oligarchs without question. Combine that desperation with the survival instinct and the usual apathy, ignorance and stupidity of the population and they will be ripe for the picking by the eugenic, psychopathic, oligarchs.
Notice how the oligarchs always act on legislative authority, even if they have to rewrite that legislation themselves. I would have thought the creation of the surveillance state, the militarization of the police, and the legislation that has removed the first and fourth, fifth, and sixth amendments; that some might grow suspicious of these steps to transform the US from a soft-authoritarian state into a totalitarian state, but I was wrong. All this has gone unnoticed by the majority who has been sold the scam of the threat of “terrorism”. And when questions are asked by the few, the majority appears to accept the scam of “National Security” designed to hide the crimes of the oligarchs.
So you must wonder about those too apathetic and stressed to question the system. Those who can’t see the threat and blindly accept whatever may take their fancy on the mainstream media; those who still believe in democracy and the scam of “Left” and “Right” to keep the fools distracted. Anyone who understands the origin of the Clinton’s “Third Way”, the New Democrats and their Oligarch (e.g. Koch) funded Democratic Leadership Council must understand the political scam that confronts them. So you shouldn’t be surprised to discover the Kochs, Paul Ryan, and other oligarchs and their puppets are “considering” Universal Basic Income as a real alternative. The same oligarchs who believe if a person doesn't have the cash for emergency healthcare, they have the "freedom to die"; are going to give you money.
I have always appreciated the political insight of the late, great George Carlin who is not the disillusioned comedian he first appears. He has real insight into the reality of politics and should be taken seriously: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oBo8CJxatQ
This is an old video so just consider how prophetic he was about the future.
And we could discuss further, the World the oligarchs (Kochs) are attempting to create:
https://www.sanders.senate.gov/koch-brothers
We could also discuss the subversive techniques the oligarchs (Kochs) are using to create this world:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eowEmcS75JM
Or we could discuss the origins of this strategy that was spawned just after the New Deal:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAQNzoiMI7s&t=1523s
So you must wonder how anyone can put their hand out for some free cash offered by these capitalist psychopaths and not expect any repercussions. I would expect the oligarchs believe the best time to trap an animal is when it is exhausted, running on Adrenalin and too tired to think.
2
-
As both parties work for the interests of Wall Street and the plutocrats, the only purpose to push the Democratic establishment is to continue the illusion of democratic choice between the corporate Republicans and the corporate Democrats. So the only purpose for the Democratic War-Room is just another tactic to manipulate the rubes that actually believe the US is a democracy. What these pathetic rubes don’t understand is there is actually a War-Room but it’s not between Democrat and Republican; it is between the Democrat-Republican coalition and the people. The tension between Democrat and Republican is only an illusion created to distract the rubes; and to date has worked very well. The real intent of the Democrat-Republican coalition can best be described by quoting Warren Buffett, “There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.”
So hold your nose and vote for the Alzheimic, plagiarizing, lying, finger-banger molester and rapist, whose 1988 election run for president failed miserably due to Biden’s overt inveterate lying; and always remember the words Biden spoke at a Wall Street seminar promising noting would actually change under a Biden presidency. Now I’m not saying don’t vote for Biden; what I’m saying is when it comes to voting in this designed and engineered fake binary system is; you have No Choice. Both parties are owned lock, stock and barrel by the plutocrats. They want you to ignore the 100 million that don’t vote and hold your nose and again vote for the lesser evil. Aren’t you sick of doing that again and again while the only person who actually tells you the truth is a plutocrat (Buffet)?
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
Before you push the BS that there are no fascists in Ukraine, just read the news headlines from “The Times of Israel” over the past few years:
Kiev renames major street to honor Russian Nazi collaborator - July 7, 2016
Jews gather in Ukrainian city that honors alleged Holocaust perpetrators - November 8, 2016
Ukrainian marchers in Kiev chant ‘Jews out’ - January 3, 2017
Ukraine celebrates Nazi collaborator, bans book critical of pogroms leader - December 27, 2018
Top Nazi hunter blasts visiting Ukraine leader for ignoring Holocaust complicity - January 24, 2019
Grandson of Ukrainian fascist reckons with a legacy of Nazi collaboration - August 31, 2019
Ukraine tells Israel to stay out of debate about honoring Nazi collaborators - January 11, 2020
Ukraine tells Israel not to criticize veneration for Nazi collaborators - January 12, 2020
Hundreds march in Ukraine in annual tribute to Nazi collaborator - January 4, 2021
Ukrainian senior academic proposes renaming city of Uman after Nazi collaborator - March 13, 2021
Hundreds of Ukrainian nationalists march in honor of Nazi collaborator - January 1, 2022
2
-
2
-
2
-
@natetomaszewski2995 : First you need to understand the magnitude of the problem; then you need to recognize who is working for the plutocrats and who is working for the people. Then you need to understand the strategy of the plutocrats and the tactics they employ in every situation. And once you start to recognize these manipulative tactics like "fear", and "empathy", you have a chance of separating the wheat from the chaff and fighting back. I hate to use a CIA-Hollywood "Operation Mockingbird" analogy, but you have to hero-up and work hard. It looks like AOC has got the message and her efforts are paying off. And that's why I like Bernie and believe he and Tulsi are the only non-Wall Street moles in the whole Democratic race. Everyone else appears to be affiliated with the same Corporate-Liberal and Right-Wing plutocrats that have subverted the Democracy. One thing you must understand is there is a 95% correlation between the money spent by the plutocrats and election outcomes; and that must stop. It clearly shows the majority are just lemmings following the plutocrats' corrupt corporate media to their doom. Sadly, the real chance for change came in 2000 with Ralph Nader, but he only got 1 million votes; maybe another chance will present itself again.
The other factor you must remember is the plutocrats' response to a threat. History is littered with CIA assassinations and coups against those who posed a threat to the interests of the plutocrats; and they wouldn't be fazed just because it was the president who was legislating against their interests. Yes, I like Bernie, but I'm also concerned about his safety should he be successful. Most likely the Deep State would tie Bernie in knots and he would spend much of his time finding a way out. If you wish to see an analogy, research Jeremy Corbyn in the UK. Corbyn has been labeled as a Hungarian spy, a Check spy, a Russian asset, an anti-Semitic; the list is endless. And a more honorable, humble, and hard-working man you couldn't find. If you research Corbyn, you may get a glimpse of what is in store for Bernie.
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
“The retraining program was just a joke”! Sorry, retraining programs are just a mechanism to create the illusion of intent; they are all jokes. You can’t tell me when Clinton removed worker’s rights, his approach to retraining was genuine. Hartmann, remember your recent interview with Nancy MacLean; remember how Nancy clearly explained the intent of the Koch brothers; she explained in earnest the real intent of these oligarchs to disable democracy, crush workers' rights and finish the transformation of the government into an entity that only works for the oligarchs. You also explained the Koch strategy implicitly when you recently read the 1980 Libertarian platform on your show.
Now here are three words that will dismantle any preconceptions your viewers may have about the Clintons – Democratic Leadership Council (DLC). Thomas, do you remember the Democratic Party’s “Third Way” introduced in the 1990s. The DLC with Clinton and Gore planned to move to the center, to get into bed with Wall Street, and to accelerate the Neoliberalism we see today. But here’s the killer; guess who funded the DLC. C’mon, I’ll give you two guesses, but it should only take one. That right, the infamous Koch Brothers. And here's the clincher, Neoliberal economics is actually Austrian economics; the economic philosophy of the oligarchs and their sycophantic and well funded Libertarian movement. Austrian economics was imported to the US by the Rockefeller Foundation in the late 1930s and setup at the University of Chicago. Ongoing funding was provided by Wall Street to continue the push to implement this oligarch centric philosophy into the mainstream and here we are today. I'm sure most of you had worked that out for yourselves; this was just for those too busy to connect the dots.
Yes, the Kochs were funding a program to allow Clinton to disable what remained of “progressivism” or what I would like to call the “true left”. You might think; well that was then and a lot of water has passed under the bridge; but wait there more, and it not just a set of Ginsu knives. Yes, this is the same Charles Koch who pushed people to vote for Hillary when the Kochs weren't sure of Trump’s allegiance. You can read about it on the CNN website. They had Pence bought and paid for long before he became vice president, but at the time the Kochs were unsure of Trump. Well that's all history now and I’m sure Trump, like Clinton, hasn’t failed to please the Kochs. Charles Koch has spent his money wisely. But don’t just take my word or Hartmann’s word for these events of history; do your own research before they sterilize the internet. No wonder the oligarchs want to keep this fake left-right pendulum swinging.
2
-
2
-
2
-
We now live in a different World from our grandfathers. We live in a World where only fiat currency exists; where the FED can monetarize all debt allowing a short term spending spree by the oligarchs and corporate leaders. The Western World now lives in a FIRE (finance, insurance, real estate) economy where the old high paying engineering and manufacturing jobs are sent off shore. We live in a short term World where the aggregate customer base is falling away from below. A world where dividends are borrowed money and then more borrowed money to buy back stock and elevate the stock price. The executives have to justify their bonuses somehow.
And don’t look to gold to give some indication of pending inflation. There are a multitude of naked shorts at the COMEX waiting to explode should someone holding a considerable volume demand delivery in gold. So yes, we are living in a financial world waiting to explode; what will be the trigger, the student debt, the risky car loans, a bond market crash forcing interest rates higher, the property bubbles around the planet, a threat to the Petrodollar, possibly the new fraudulent Collateralized Debt Obligations that have replaced the CDOs of earlier years? How much longer can this fraudulent system operate? Your guess is as good as mine. Just make sure you are near a chair when the music stops.
Sadly, Rick Wartzman appears to be living in the days of the New Deal. Those days when all you had to fear was fear itself are long gone never to return. The oligarchs have made sure there are no socialist or union movements left to force the government to change direction like in the day of Roosevelt’s New Deal, the oligarchs have made sure collectivism is now a pejorative and have carefully created a world where it is now every man for himself. The oligarchs have created a world where society no longer has meaning. This divide and conquer individualist strategy has been planned and implemented by the oligarchs and their Libertarian/Austrian Neoconservative minions since the introduction of the New Deal and has been slowly implemented over time until we have what you see today; a failed democracy with an oligarchical fascist government controlling domestic affairs and the oligarchs’ Deep State controlling the Military Industrial Complex and foreign policy. It’s no good voting Democratic; they too are owned by the oligarchs. So what happens next, war?
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
@rittherugger160 Sadly, you can't analyze Thomas' intent and the corruption of the Democratic process in just a few single-syllable words; it actually requires a multi-prong approach to get a comprehensive understanding. If you only remove money from politics, the oligarchs still control both parties and they are still only the two parties allowed to run candidates. Yes, removing money from politics would be a good start, but as I said, that's only looking at one small piece of the Rube Goldberg machine. You need to look at the whole system to understand what is happening and to determine a strategy to confront the Juggernaut. In fact, the oligarchs want us to think simply and use simple ideas to understand a complex problem. They are counting on the apathy, ignorance and stupidity of the majority to never understand the complete machine of deception. They are counting on the people using an emaciated and inadequate mode of communication to ensure they never have the ability to understand. They want the people selecting the lesser of two evils indefinitely.
It's like an oven. If you only observed and understood the operation of each element of an oven; the thermostat, the heating element and the temperature setting dial, you would be none the wiser. You wouldn't understand the thermostat supplied current to the heating element and the amount of current was proportional to the difference between the temperature of the oven and the dial set point, unless you studied the oven as a complete machine. This is what is needed here. Remember the old parable of three blind men trying to describe an elephant.
2
-
2
-
James Michael Campbell : Instead of just saying, "The republikkkon party are Fascisti Nazis white nationalist", I hope you are capable of seeing both parties are filled with fascists. You have the overt fascists of the Republican Party and then you have the Covert fascists of the Democratic Party. Obama, whose administration was selected by Citi Group, had the opportunity to impose justice on the "Too Big to Fail", but instead he applied the principle of "Just Us". You appear to be falling for the "Dog and Pony" show of the democrats and their Identity Politics they use in conjunction with the Republicans to divide and conquer. Consider the Russiagate scam we have heard from Hartmann, Maddow, MSNBC, CNN and nearly all other networks. The Muller inquiry has found no link between Trump and any Russian collusion. Now this hedonistic foolish plutocratic puppet Trump will only be emboldened from this outcome. This scam had its origin in the Clintons' desire to coverup the corrupt electoral and democratic process; the idea that she was defeated by the oafish cretinous, and corrupt Trump; and in perpetuating the profits and reason for existence of the Congressional Military Industrial Complex. Then you have these "Liberal" networks reintroducing their audiences to historical neocons they wish to now brand as acceptable; Bill Kristol, George Bush, Bolton, Abrams etc. These "Liberal" networks injecting neocons and their imperial intent directly into the lounge rooms of the people.
Sorry, but the World isn't as simple as Hartmann and the other "Liberals" scammers would have you believe. It is more complex than the Hollywood, John Wayne Jimmy Stewart , White Hat and Black Hat drivel that exudes from the propagandists. There are multiple layers and dimensions to the scam of keeping the people misinformed and pliable to the whims of the plutocrats. If you have the serious intention to push back against the issues you raised, maybe you need to wake up and smell the roses and learn who your enemies actually are.
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
Hartmann, how many times do I have to tell you this left-right fake dichotomy is just an engineered scam to fool the people? But you aren't a fool, so I would expect you already know this strategy by the oligarchs to scam the voters into accepting the only choice they have; the Republicrats. As I have said many times, there is no Democrat or Republican; there are only the haves and the have-nots. So now your divide and conquer strategy is to push the fear of the Libertarian movement into your audience and quite rightly so; this Libertarian-Austrian movement has well influenced the direction of US politics for decades to benefit the oligarchs and is a threat to any free society that believes in democracy. I never thought I would say anything positive about Koch-Libertarianism, but have you ever noticed how the Koch-Libertarians work both covertly and overtly to subvert democracy and fleece the people. Most people are aware of “Citizens United”, “Money is Free Speech” and the “Right to Work” scams and how the oligarchs have bought influence to embed these scams into law. Whereas the treachery of the Democratic Party was covert for decades; working behind the scenes to advantage their oligarchs while pretending to work for the common man. But as Thomas Frank says, the Corporate Democrats despise the working class so why is Hartmann continuing with this scam when the clear intent of the Democratic is now laid bare for all to see.
Hartmann, you appear to be a smart man; you surely must remember when the Democratic Party formalized its deception of the people, when it openly took Wall Street money. Hartmann, have you ever taken a close look at the Democratic Party; ever taken a close look at the Clintons, especially with respect to their "Third Way". Maybe you should explain to your listeners about the Clinton-Gore engineered Democratic Leadership Council designed to capture a different audience. The Corporate Democrats of the day sold their strategy to the populous as recapturing the middle class, but the actual strategy was to work for the interests of the oligarchs and be reimbursed for doing so. These Corporate Democrats at the time called themselves New Democrats; a fascinating coincidence as when the British Conservatives took over the British Labor Party with the war criminal Blair, they then called themselves New Labor. BUT the best reason to be suspicious of this move is when you begin to look at who financially supported the Clinton’s Democratic Leadership Council. Yes Hartmann, it was your old friends the Kochs; the oligarchs you are now pretending to denigrate. The Kochs; those staunch Libertarian Conservatives whose goals in life are to remove the Electoral commission to allow total corruption of the democratic process, eliminate taxes, privatize state assets and services, remove all regulation except for the protection of the Kochs’ property, and especially remove all regulations protecting the consumer. The list goes on and on but I believe from the description so far, you understand the intent of Kochs.
Hartmann, so why are you now speaking out against Libertarianism when your favorite politicians (Clintons) and the Democratic Party were (and probably still are) being funded by the Kochs? You must admit, it looks a little suspicious. When the oligarchs weren’t sure of Trumps allegiance, do you remember how Charles Koch considered Hillary as an option for his Libertarian base? Sorry Hartmann, this is looking more and more like a stitch up, and the target is the American people. Could your whole life in front of a microphone just be a complete scam?
2
-
Thomas, you appear to be asking questions that may anger your Corporate Democrat base. You can’t ask the question of why actions are legal for US citizens but illegal for those outside the US. Haven’t you heard of US exceptionalism, US indispensability, or the ever sickening, Shiny City on a Hill? Yes, it is clear there are a lot of dispensable people around the World; Iraqis are dispensable, Libyans are dispensable, North Koreans are potentially dispensable. In fact anyone outside the US that pushes back against the interests of the Anglo-American Oligarchs is dispensable.
Given the discrepancy in how people are treated, there does appear to be considerable intrinsic apartheid within the US corporate government and the population; rules that apply to the many with the exemption of the few. Unlike the obvious apartheid of South Africa, US apartheid cannot be categorized on a racial basis; this apartheid is Global and appears to be defined by those who are part of the Anglo-American Empire and those dispensable ones outside. Yes, that does sound like apartheid. So why does this apartheid exist? Is it to give the population of aggressor nations the illusion of superiority while their oligarchs rape and pillage?
Returning to the Russian threats against US democracy; I would ask what democracy? Jimmy Carter certainly doesn’t believe there is democracy in the US; most thinking people don’t believe there is democracy in the US. In fact, most don’t believe the US exports “freedom” and”democracy” to “recalcitrant” nations; it is just scam to delude the imbeciles who can’t accept the reality of aggressive and mercenary imperialism by their oligarchs. So Thomas, you need to be careful nurturing a following of cretins similar to the morons that follow Alex Jones as those who live by the Corporate Democrat (Libtard) will die by the Corporate Democrat.
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
@nzsooz3884 : There is no solution. Even with Warren Buffett saying “There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.”, most are too imbecilic, apathetic, and ignorant to understand the slow class war imposed on them over the last 40 years. A few have woken up to the reality, but then again, too few to mention. The US started as a plutocracy when capitalists fled Britain when it attempted to abolish slavery in the 1700s; Washington became the wealthiest man in America killing Native Americans and selling their land to rich plantation owners to house their new slaves from Africa, and nothing has actually changed since. Rebel, and you will either be slaughtered by the plutocrats' militarized police; and if they fail to quell the discontent, you will have to deal with the plutocrats' Military Industrial and Intelligence Complex. To put it simply; you're screwed. Remember, Obama continued the National Defense Authorization Act (Section 10.21) and removed Posse Comitatus just for this occasion. The US started a plutocracy, extracted wealth from the people to bailout the wealthy and slaughter for profit in the people's name in imperial wars; and it will end as the plutocrats abandon it like rats leaving a sinking ship as the dollar crashes and 401(k)s become worthless. At the end of the day, the plutocrats will discard the empty US husk like you would used toilet tissue.
2
-
Yotn Pez :The people tried changing the rules of the game back in the 1930s; the people's Communist Parties, Socialist Parties, and Union movements forced Roosevelt into the New Deal and since 1933, the plutocrats have been slowly and surely reversing the process. Now with “Communist” being culturally engineered a pejorative, Socialist not far behind, and Unions decimated, the plutocrats are in control and aren't going anywhere in a hurry without blood on the streets. Beware of a state "Constitutional Assembly"; the plutocrats (e.g. Koch) that control many (28@2018) definite state houses and 6@2018 undecided Republican state houses are just waiting to pounce on a state Constitutional Convention to rewrite the Constitution in their favor. Remember, they only need >2/3 to force a Convention. They want the Constitution to read like that of Pinochet's Chile authored by Milton Friedman and James Buchanan. Friedman got the Medal of "Freedom" for his efforts from George W for that betrayal of the Chilean people; ironic, isn't it?
Yes, the Democratic Party is a Trojan horse left by the plutocrats. Unlike the Republicans who are outright belligerent against the working class, the Democrats ran the scam of pretending to work for the majority. Most within the party should now be on the list to be tried, prosecuted, and if found guilty; sentenced for Treason against the American People. I doubt you would have any trouble finding executioners after that verdict.
As for a general strike; that may work, but could also be extremely dangerous. Remember how aggressive the plutocrats can be when they have no alternatives. Take a look at the Wiki page, "List of worker deaths in United States labor disputes" and you will see what I mean. I would much prefer to see a building of a people's movement; call it whatever you like, but it must be a people's movement. Then you might consider the repetition of reclaiming democracy for the people. We have been here before in 1930 and the plutocrats were forced to concede. Some didn't and there was a failed attempted coup by the plutocrats against the Roosevelt administration in 1933. But since then the plutocrats have reversed all the gains that were made and then some. Tools like McCarthyism and a gullible audience worked wonders to crush Socialist movements and Unions. The people were seduced by irrational fear and intentionally shot themselves in the foot. If you return again to Roosevelt's New Deal, what's going to stop the next progeny of plutocrats from using exactly the same strategy to again reverse the new gains made? Now who said doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is insanity by definition? The most important strategy is to ensure another reversal is impossible.
2
-
2
-
Hartmann: “The only way the Republicans have got the White House in 2000 and 2016 with George W Bush and Donald Trump is because of voter suppression” – Wrong. I believe this is what they call Gaslighting – “a person or a group covertly sows seeds of doubt in a targeted individual, making them question their own memory, perception, or judgment, often evoking in them cognitive dissonance and other changes such as low self-esteem”.
This intentional distortion of history should be rectified. Yes, there was voter suppression that caused significant bias in the Bush-Gore and the Trump-Clinton elections, but the reason George W Bush became president was due to a Supreme Court ruling and the intentional obsequious sycophant – Al Gore who “conveniently” failed to question the count. Remember, Al Gore was the co founder with Bill Clinton of the Wall Street and Koch funded Democratic Leadership Council; so Gore just rolling over which was no surprise. As George Carlin said, “It's a big club, and you ain't in it. You and I are not in the big club.” And while we’re quoting George, never forget, “Bipartisan usually means that a larger-than-usual deception is being carried out.”
As for Trump in 2016, the real cause is also very simple; I don’t need to resort to Gaslighting to convince the rubes of those facts. The plutocrats gave the people the choice of the treacherous warmonger, criminal and traitor to the working class – Hillary Clinton, or the Republican who was promising to drain the swamp, maintain social security, and return middle-class jobs. Now, I’m not saying those who voted for Trump weren’t gullible, but I can understand why they voted the way they did; rats in a burning cage will chew through anything to escape the flames. The Democratic Establishment wanted to obfuscate this political reality, especially when it was compounded with the treachery of the Podesta emails exposing the Clinton establishment treachery against Bernie Sanders; so they invented the Russiagate scam that has failed so miserably. The only person who pushed the Russiagate scam harder than Hartmann was Rachael Maddow at MSNBC, and even she hasn’t mentioned Russiagate in weeks. Isn’t it miraculous how these scams are so quickly forgotten once they are shown to be false in the new 24 hour news cycle?
Hartmann may not have won the “Russiagate Obfuscation” award, but I would like to present him with the “Political Gaslighting” award. Yes, there are some excellent Gaslighters in the mainstream media (e.g. Maddow, Chuck Todd, Brian Williams), but I believe they pale into insignificance when compared to the Corporate Liberal “Progressive” Hartmann.
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
That’s a bit of a surprise; I thought Warren’s “Medicare for All” was going to separate healthcare from the corporate world. So if you’re unemployed, are you covered under “Medicare for All”? Is this just another variation of “Access to Healthcare”? I wonder if the next step in Warren’s strategy is to privatize “Medicare for All” and give employer payments directly to the Medical Industrial Complex? Like every scam; the devil’s in the detail. If you go to Warren’s “Medicare for All” webpage and select “I don’t have healthcare right now”, you will be taken to a page that states, “This means practically free health care for you”. So what does “practically free” actually mean? It doesn’t mean “free” otherwise she wouldn’t have used the word “practically”. So how much does “practically” cost? Is it a similar price to “access” in “everyone has the right to access to healthcare”? Now I may be a little too cautious, but after the recent treachery of the Democrat Party and DNC, I believe it’s important to be skeptical until the detail has been explained.
Sure, Warren puts up a convincing front with her rants against Wall Street and the Financial Sector, but still no-one in the executive class has been successfully prosecuted. Warren appears to talk the talk, but that’s about where it stops. Sorry Thomas, but I think of Warren and her narrative as Wall Street’s best offer to the people. If you look at her Wiki page, you will find, “Friends and colleagues of Warren's from her high school days to the early part of her academic career in the 1980s have characterized her as a ‘die-hard conservative’ with a belief in laissez-faire economics and ‘surprisingly anti-consumer views’.”
Can a leopard change its spots? To put it simply, I don’t know. The only observation I have made is one should always be wary of anyone who has been heavily influenced by an ideology or has changed their political affiliation earlier in life. This leads to the next question of being a Wall Street mole running a scam like “Hope & Change” Barack Obama or Bill “Third Way” Clinton. Sure, her policies superficially appear to be better than the more definite Wall Street mole Buttigieg, but one should always be wary.
What I don’t understand is why we haven’t seen Bernie Sanders on Hartmann’s show; after all, in earlier days Bernie used to frequent this show quite often. I wonder what has happened. I would have thought Hartmann couldn’t wait to promote his old acquaintance now that Bernie has a good chance of success. Maybe they’ve had a difference of opinion on some topic; who knows? Personally, I like Bernie.
2
-
2
-
Notice how Hartmann "forgets" the Clintons implemented NAFTA on behalf of the plutocrats in Wall Street, and he expects the rubes that watch this show to forget about this treachery while he redirects your ire toward the Republicans. Sure the Republicans are crooks, but they admit they are crooks. However, the Democrats, who are in bed with the Republicans to serve Wall Street, pretend they are for the working class while they export jobs, take money from fascist donors (Koch), deregulate Wall Street, and crush Social Security. Not only did Schumer help embed "Trump's" (Wall Street) judges in the judiciary, now Biden is continuing that trend right under your nose. So, is Hartmann incompetent, ignorant, or a tool of the plutocrats to keep the rubes distracted while they steal everything that isn't tied down? My money is on the later. Hartmann must think those who take him seriously are cretins with the attention spans of goldfish! Maybe Hartmann is correct?
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
What this book probably won’t explain is how the Democrats use race in their “identity politics” strategy to attract minorities and leverage the emotions of majority empathetic to the cause. Once they have captured the attention of this audience, the Democrats run the emotional scam that works on the primal functions, and in doing so, switches off much of the analytical and critical thinking of their audience. The audience is now primed to be manipulated on issues that go right across the spectrum, not just race. Take for example; when Hillary Clinton was pushing women’s rights in her 2016 campaign, we had Madeline Albright say that “There is a special place in Hell for any woman that doesn’t vote for Hillary Clinton”. This act of contempt from a woman who oversaw the deaths of half a million Iraqi children under 5 years old from starvation and disease appeared to have gone unchallenged. Hillary then went on to hug the war criminal Henry (Heinz) Kissinger and then expected the people to be so ignorant they didn’t realize the message she was sending; well, some did.
The act was an atrocity, but it did give a window through which to view the Democrats’ strategy. How the Democrats continue to push the “identity” narrative to avoid discussing important issues they can’t deliver on because these policies go against their masters (oligarchs) interests. How these oligarchs’ puppets obfuscate their intent and align their scams with the current propaganda spewing from the oligarchs’ corrupt media. It’s not just a few players in on this scam of intentionally selling a policy vacuum; it’s the whole well-paid orchestra playing the game of deception in unison. So next time you are being sold a minority narrative in this bipartisan political con game, don’t accept the obvious simplistic message so conveniently presented to you on a platter by the oligarchs; look a little deeper and find the truth.
Also you should be wary of those who avoid the issues and continually rant about the obvious; Trump is corrupt; Trump should be impeached; Trump’s Wall; Trump’s Shutdown; Inequality; Global Warming; the oligarchs in the White House; and the list of obvious acts by this intentional Clown in the White House goes on and on. All these are issues being imposed on you by oligarchs’ puppets using a corrupt system with which you are against and can do little about. This is pure deception as the oligarchs’ minions are paid to distract. Distract from the fact the Democrats are intentionally working around the edges to give the illusion of action, but intentionally have no real policies for the people. The Democrats’ owners won’t allow them to give you “Medicare for All” or “Free College Tuition” or a “Reversal in the Tax Burden”; that’s not going to happen. But those issues will never be seriously discussed by the oligarchs’ puppets in the Democratic Party and will be avoided where possible by the oligarchs’ paid minions in the media.
Bill Clinton may have been responsible for the introduction of NAFTA, the destruction of Social Security, and the deregulation of the Financial Sector, but Bill showed us something extra; how the Democrats can win for Wall Street where the Republicans only failed. People must learn quickly that the only function of the Democratic Party is to obey their masters and stop the implementation of Progressive policies. And without any chance of the implementation of Progressive policies, there is no real chance of addressing actual “minority” issues like race. And that's just the way the oligarchs want to keep it!
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
Do Republicans Believe in Democracy? A Good Question, but where is Hartmann’s reference to his “The Intercept” interview of 2015? Maybe I need to quote Carter directly from the interview with Hartmann, “It violates the essence of what made America a great country in its political system. Now it’s just an oligarchy, with unlimited political bribery being the essence of getting the nominations for president or to elect the president. And the same thing applies to governors and U.S. senators and congress members. So now we’ve just seen a complete subversion of our political system as a payoff to major contributors, who want and expect and sometimes get favors for themselves after the election’s over. … The incumbents, Democrats and Republicans, look upon this unlimited money as a great benefit to themselves. Somebody’s who’s already in Congress has a lot more to sell to an avid contributor than somebody who’s just a challenger.”
Yes, this was in 2015 when Obama was in the Oval Office, so I question Hartmann’s link between only Republicans and antidemocratic intent. Now if Hartmann wasn’t being paid to keep the status quo Plutocracy going, he might have mentioned this fact. All you have to do is change one word in the title and the question would then be relevant: Do Republicrats Believe in Democracy? There is one simple answer to this now unambiguous question – NO. You have to admit one fact about Republicans; at least you know who your enemy is. The Democrats are far more deceptive. They pretend to give the working class an option for hope, but that “Hop and Change” then disappears like smoke in the wind. So as we watch Hartmann treat his viewers as ignorant cretins with the attention span of goldfish, maybe you should reflect on the “Ten Rules of Hate” Matt Taibbi listed as the strategy the Plutocrats use to manipulate the rubes within the population.
1. There are only two political ideologies - Democrat and Republican. The binary option is the simplest and always the easiest to sell. Give the voters a limited and simple contrast.
2. These two ideologies must always be in permanent conflict to distract from the real agenda.
3. Hate the puppet politicians, not institutions. You must ensure the people distract themselves by continuously throwing their rotten tomatoes at the Republicrat puppet provided; the last thing you want is for the people to start questioning the system.
4. Everything is someone else’s fault. People are more willing to accept propaganda if it does not implicate them.
5. Nothing is everyone’s fault. The corollary is also true.
6. Root, don’t think. Ensure the voters react to politics the same way they react to sports. Create an environment that only stimulates their reptilian brain functions and switches off their Cerebral Cortex.
7. No switching teams. Keep the two allowable political factions separated; the old divide-and-conquer strategy.
8. The other side is literally Hitler. Once you have the people under your control, use hyperbole to secure your position.
9. In the fight against Hitler, everything is permitted.
10. Feel Superior. If you can convince the people into believing they are right and superior in their false choices, you will ensure the perpetuation of the status quo.
2
-
2
-
I’m always amazed how ubiquitous controlled opposition is within all branches of media, Hollywood, and politics. Take for example, when Pocan id defending Nancy Pelosi, 01:15 “they are going to try everything; they are going to go after Nancy Pelosi, they always do. But at the end of the day, people are way, way smarter than Republicans think they are”. True progressives, I have some news for you; Pelosi does not have your interests at heart; she has been well reimbursed ($110M) by Wall Street for her treachery, and that will only continue. It’s interesting how Pocan can consider Pelosi as the choice of the people in the same breath he was discussing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Nancy ("We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.") Pelosi is just a minion of the oligarchs just as Pocan is looking more and more to be.
Sorry Hartmann, Pocan appears to be just another stooge of Wall Street. He comments about the Republican tax bill that transfers trillions onto the debt of the American people, but that is obvious for everyone to see. He talks about the corruption and the removal of social security as if it was just the Republicans; what about the Clinton attack on social security; what about the Clintons’ job export through NAFTA; and what about the Democratic Leadership Council where the Clintons and Gore used oligarchs’ (Koch) money to throw the American people under the bus in their “Third Way” strategy to align with Wall Street? Yes, Pocan is looking more and more like controlled opposition.
So we hear Pocan running the tired old strategy of pitting Democrat against Republican with him saying, 01:31“People are way smarter than the Republican operatives”. For a start, people are not smarter than the Republican operatives or the Corporate Democratic operatives that manipulate and fool them daily. How many still believe in Obama’s “Hope and Changed” promised where the only hope that came to fruition was the hope the oligarchs had that noting would change during the Obama administration. We hear Pocan considering Pence as an alternative to Trump when Pence is owned lock, stock, and barrel by the Koch Brothers. I believe it may be better to have a fool masquerading as president than a know fascist in the oval office. In reality, politicians like Pocan are just the same as those you would find in the Republican Party except they have to put a lot more effort in differentiating themselves from their counterparts to hide the similarities.
So Hartmann and Pocan are just inviting you to again register at Hotel California; you can check out but you can never leave. You will be captured by the “lesser of two evils” rhetoric and you will stay on this ride for the rest of your lives.
2
-
2
-
Remember, it was Clinton who began the dissolution of Social Security, passed NAFTA, and completed the Deregulation of Wall Street. It was also Clinton who removed the 1934 “Communications Act” to intentionally deregulate media ownership from which the current 6 company consolidation came into being. These jobs were given to Bill because he was able to charm the “Left” rubes into voting for this Koch funded Clinton Democratic Leadership Council confidence trick. It was the perfect scam; the rubes never suspected a Democrat would screw them; and you must admit Clinton carried out the orders from the plutocrats very effectively. The poor rubes didn’t understand they were being screwed until it was too late; and some of the more gullible still don’t understand the treachery of the plutocrat funded Clinton-Gore “Third Way” Democrats.
Sure, Right Wing media pumping out misinformation to benefit the plutocrats has been nothing more than overt propaganda and those with at least half a brain have been laughing at it for decades. But the Left Wing media is a whole different ballpark. The Left Wing media aligns itself with the corrupt Democratic Party that creates the illusion of difference while promoting US imperialism, corporatism, and screwing of the common man. All this deception occurs behind the curtain of such deceptive strategies as the Democratic “Identity Politics”; which is one of their more effective divide-and-conquer strategies. The "Left" Wing media is a significantly more dangerous beast than the laughable Right Wing media. I call it "Left" Wing but if you look closely, you will find the screwing of the American people is a bipartisan strategy of the only two parties allowed to compete in this democratic farce by the plutocrats.
Yes, the two parties from which you must choose have been created by the plutocrats to give the illusion of choice and maintain their control; just as the Left and Right Wing media also promote the illusion of choice while manipulating the rubes. But if you can get past the obvious exploitative and deceptive political soap opera used by both facets of media to distract and misdirect, you will see they both promote Imperialism, Corporatism and Wall Street above all else.
2
-
2
-
With respect to your first caller; I would not take seriously what Allan Nairn said about Venezuela. On January 30, on Democracy Now, Allan Nairn said, “For example, there was just a catastrophic monetary policy that they adopted for quite a few years, where Venezuela, on what they said were anti-imperialist, revolutionary grounds, they essentially adopted the monetary policies proposed by the U.S. right-wing politician Ron Paul, and they kept the currency exchange rate fixed, with catastrophic consequences, creating this massive gap between the official exchange rate and the black market. And that ended up benefiting rich people, who had—who were able to—it helped them to buy imports. But it completely disrupted the rest of the economy.” https://www.democracynow.org/2019/1/30/a_war_for_oil_bolton_pushes
From my readings, I have found much of this to be correct except for the statement that Maduro would take economic advice from Ron Paul. Maduro would surely remember the conflict between Chavez and Koch Industries; this is the reason for much of the contemporary conflict. I would hope Maduro would also understand the firm alliance between the Koch minion Ron Paul and the Kochs; so why would Maduro take financial advice from his opponents? Maduro would have seen Ron Paul ranting against Venezuela ever since Chavez ejected the Kochs from Venezuelan oil. Maduro would certainly understand how the Kochs with the aid of Washington and their institutions like the Atlas Network have been undermining “Socialist” governments in Latin America for years. Maduro certainly doesn’t appear to be a “leader” like a Trump or a Bush; he doesn’t appear to be a stupid man. Maduro would also understand how the US oligarchs used their political libertarian puppet Milton Friedman and the Chicago School to restructure the Chilean economy under Pinochet to benefit Wall Street, ITT, and the local oligarchs; for which Friedman received the Medal of Freedom; but that’s another story.
Just because a “journalist” has won awards from the establishment in no-way reflects his credibility. Just look at how the great Chris Hedges winces when he is introduced as a Pulitzer Prize winner after he was forced out of the oligarchs' New York Times for opposing the illegal Iraq War. Chris understands that medals from the media establishment of the Fourth Reich only reflect your compliance, not your allegiance to the people. By the way, it’s been a long time since I saw Chris on Hartmann?
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
Thomas, it is true that Republicans are all these things and you were factual about their subtle clandestine operation about how they deceive the people. Yes, the Republicans are working for Wall Street but what are you trying to say, Democrat Politicians don’t work for Wall Street. If you are implying Hillary didn’t create her wealth from Wall Street favors, or funding from Wall Street donors, you too are deceiving the people. The only difference is the Democratic Party has fooled many people who actually believe the party stands for Main Street. Really Thomas, have you ever wondered why the people can never vote against the Oligarchs; why they can never vote for "another" foreign policy. Apart from the domestic minority issues that are used to divert attention, have you ever wondered why most other policies are bipartisan. Paraphrasing George Carlin: Bipartisan means that Thomas, you interviewed Chris Hedges; he clearly stated that the “feel your pain” deceptive rhetoric sold to the people is truly unforgivable. While there is a majority of the population that believes this deception, whether through stupidity, ignorance, or apathy, Wall Street and their puppets win and Main Street will eventually become Serf Street.
1
-
We will give the public very few conclusions. We can’t comment on whether the war was legal because we know that it was not. We have ensured that the conclusions we will give shall not be able to be used against anyone involved in the deception. This should keep the majority of the morons happy until apathy and dementia removes it from their memory. Just ensure to retain the narrative of the historical deception during that period.
Chilcot must be glad that the inquiry is over so that he can dedicate more of his time as a Privy Councillor. What does “privy” mean? I shall have to look that up.
Why did they spend huge sums of money producing a whitewash? All I heard was weasel words and the usual government spiel, “we have made a mistake, we have put systems into place to correct the problem, and it we will attempt to ensure that it never happens again”. That makes me want to puke! If you remove the weasel words, the only conclusion was that Tony Blair led Britain into Iraq war based on flawed intelligence. Every puppet that pushed their country to war on that day appears to have been presented with flawed intelligence. I guess they are hoping the Goebbels strategy will be effective, “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it”. It is a shame that so many intelligence officers were stating that the politicians were either deliberately misreading the information that was presented or that they removed any intelligence that didn’t fit their narrative. If anyone is in doubt about the clear intent to invade Iraq, they should listen to General Wesley Clarke comment of the entire Middle East strategy. Just YouTube “7 countries in 5 years” and remember that the timing is critical. The events that Clarke is describing happened 10 days after 911. In future, governments will need to ensure that they do a better job of filtering out the honest and brave and only use sycophantic sleaze in MI6, the CIA, other intelligence institutions, and as military leaders.
One of the first rules of politics is never having an inquiry unless you know the facts to be presented prior to the start of the inquiry. One should also have considered the public response to these facts. I am not exactly sure for whom Western governments are working, but if the reality of the world was presented to the population, maybe the people would acquiesce. Wouldn’t this be better than living in a false democracy; but then again, maybe not. Apart from mostly corporate manipulators, Brits voted to leave the EU. Notice the 75.3% remain vote from the City of London. After the unpredictable BREXIT result, future corporate government puppets cannot take any further risk of people voting against the interests of corporate governments.
1
-
1
-
Infrastructure is only one small facet of the systemic decline of Empire. Everyone needs to understand that Thomas is correct - the people are being bled dry. Look at wealth inequality, the corrupt branches of government, corporate socialism, too big to fail and TARP, the FED bailing out European Banks, military spending, etc. etc. All thinking people have gone through similar lists so many times it is pathetic. From Carter and Princeton University we know that America is no longer a functional democracy and government policy does not reflect the will of the people. The sad thing is that when the military will be needed it will no longer be able to be funded. At the same time, all the devastation, aggression, and butchery that have been imperially imposed on other nations by these criminals will eventually come home to roost. This may start in years or decades but it will start, and the American people will have to fend for themselves. The criminals will probably use this future threat to extract the last dollar from as far forward in time that can be reached by debt. By then I expect the criminals and their wealth will be in secure locations watching the devastation they caused start to unfold. It is the sad old tale of the criminals bolting with the booty and the apathetic and ignorant rubes wondering what happened.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
I understand what you are saying but I think Neoliberalism was a corporate policy conceived at the time of Roosevelt’s New Deal. If you plot the maximum tax rate over time you will see a decline from the 91% of Roosevelt to the tax rates implement by Reagan and Bush junior. Neoliberalism was created as a deception and was a strategy of wealth extraction from the population. In the 1970s you may remember the Lima Resolution. Under GATT, this was sold to the masses as a strategy to improve the quality of life in the third world. National governments planned to reduce domestic manufacturing and transfer the manufacturing to less fortunate nations. It was sold to the masses as an exercise in human rights but was actually a transfer of labor to nations with lower labor costs. Globalism was one of the mechanisms that the corporate world used to achieve this goal. As we moved into the time of Reagan and Thatcher, the Neoliberals utilized the Trickle Down economic strategy. The corporatists actually expected the masses to believe that if all the wealth was pushed to the top, it would trickle down and benefit all. Reagan, Don Regan, and the Oligarchs must still be laughing in their grave over that one. We are now in the last stages of the Neoliberal wealth transfer.
Wall Street legislation (e.g. Glass Steagall) was removed by Clinton and this allowed the financial sector to shift most of the risk to the masses. We all know how that worked out. In the final stages we are watching asset price bubbles created by the private Federal Reserve, enrich only the Oligarchs. This is only a brief skeletal analysis of Neoliberalism and many important parts of the corporate have been neglected, but it should give some idea of the sequence of the deception to date. What amazes me is why more
don’t understand how they are getting screwed. They will probably wake up when the monetary inflation transitions into price inflation and they then realize that their wealth or purchasing power has been stolen. By then, the corporatists should be well into the last stages of the imperial expansion
phase and all will be using the last of the US taxpayer's wealth paying for the military budget to plunder foreign nations. You cannot blame the masses for their ignorance in this deception; the corporatists own the media, they own all branches of government, and what they don't own, they will soon acquire. Corporatists have now decimated the union movement and have destroyed any political influence the masses ever possessed. Not a pretty sight, but then again, the outcome of ignorance never is.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
Hartmann just gave an example of the deception of the false two party system. He said, 00.27 “The far left, in my mind . . . “
“In my mind” denotes subjectivity and is a perfect example of how left, right, liberal, progressive, conservative, socialist, etc. etc means different things to different people. Remember Orwell’s definition of a liberal, “a power worshiper without power”. It is in the Oligarch’s interest to destroy education and language. Just remember, there is no Left or Right; Democrat or Republican; Progressive or Conservative, there are only the haves and the have nots. So why do these false Leftists pretend to support the working people; it’s all a top down induced illusion. The “Trump” administration initially pushed for peace with Russia but that didn’t fit the Oligarchs plan so they created a narrative of Russian hacking with no evidence just to emotionally compensate these liberal fools when Wikileaks told the truth and aided in costing Clinton the election. Whatever happened to the “left” that rejected war, supported union movements and pushed for the interests of the workers of America? These new corporatist leftists are an abomination to the name “left”; they support the imperial and corporate interests of the Oligarchs and except for Stephen Cohen, Hartmann is nowhere to be found. Remember Orwell, “War against a foreign country only happens when the moneyed classes think they are going to make a profit from it.” Anyone else who promotes war and doesn't have money in the game should look around as they are being played like a fiddle. C'mon folks, there are enough fools unconsciously working for the interests of the Oligarchs - wake up!
1
-
As you say Thomas, 04:33 “It raises some interesting questions. All this meanness and mudslinging going on in politics, how do you discuss this with your kids? Actually I think it may be a great opportunity to talk about bullying in the schoolyard, bullying in school; this is what is happening in the White House; it’s a bad example; don’t do it”.
Thomas, what are you saying? Why are you attempting to mollycoddle the next generation of voters? Why are you attempting to hide reality from the next generation? How do you expect them to learn? Remember, the oligarchs mollycoddle the current voters by creating an illusionary world through their media outlets and through what their puppet politicians say; why do you want to propagate this process?
Parents should explain to their children that the US was founded on slavery and genocide by oligarchs of that day and since the late 1800s the Anglo-American Empire has embarked on butchery and theft around the globe in the interests of contemporary oligarchs. Parents should explain to their children how they fund the wars through their tax dollars and the US’s innate ability to print dollars and have the descendants of these taxpayers pay off that debt.
Parents may also wish to give specific examples of US atrocities throughout the world such as the Hillary backer Madeline Albright. You must remember her; she clearly stated, "There is a special place in hell for those women who don't support Hillary Clinton". You may wish to explain to your children why she was responsible for the deaths of half a million Iraqi children under five years old by disease and starvation through sanctions. Parents should give particular attention to her response when she was asked about the cost of the half a million young lives when she said, “It was worth it”. Remember parents, nothing like the actions of a political psychopath to give your children nightmares.
There are many examples of atrocities both domestic and international in the historical actions of the Anglo-American Empire. It shouldn’t be difficult for parents to select a factual part of history to teach their children. I wouldn’t depend on sanctioned corporate fascist state history books to deliver the truth; I would be looking for those history books that are more elusive. Maybe start with Smedley Butler’s “War is a Racket” as this encompasses some of the rise of US imperialism.
And if you wish to understand how corporate America mollycoddles the American public, may I suggest an honest history book from the Harvard historian Kevin Kruse, “One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Created Christian America”. If you wish to raise intelligent, questioning, and responsible adults instead of the current swarms of Corporate Democratic Party supporting Useless Idiots of Empire, I suggest you ditch the state history books and go digging.
1
-
Crowley stated, 02:40 (Part 1/2) “We didn’t do a good enough job communicating who we are and what we stand for in the last election”. I would have to disagree; the DNC told its constituents exactly what it stood for; just read the Podesta emails. Through these emails the DNC clearly stated that no one other than oligarch sanctioned candidates may apply. Take a look at the legal defense by the DNC in California, “We don't owe anyone a fair primary process”. Thomas, you can talk to deceivers like Crowley all you like, but the facts are now obvious to even the greatest fool. Did you notice how Crowley doesn’t discuss the problems with the Democratic Party but rants against Trump? Sure Trump is just one of the oligarch puppets the same as the Democratic candidates and Crowley should realize by now, most have awoke to that fact. I was even expecting some Russia-gate rant to follow Crowley’s rant. You have to give Crowley the credit of being persistent; he knows he is selling dog turds, the public knows he is selling dog turds, and he just keeps on selling.
Crowley stated that, 03:45 (Part 1/2) “But I do think that the Democrats have stood for the working man, for unions, for those who are struggling to make ends meet”. If you believe that, I have a bridge over the East River I will sell you cheap. Yes folks, Crowley is just hoping no one looks behind the curtain to see the oligarchs feeding dollars to the DNC the RNC and all branches of government. We all know the system is totally corrupt. Thomas, shouldn’t you acknowledge this corruption or isn’t it part of your job description? Don’t you think it’s time to come clean with what is left of your viewers?
So the oligarchs have allowed the Democrats to offer the serfs a “better” deal just to give the Democratic Party a chance of again taking the puppet role off the Republicans. They have even allowed Schumer and Pelosi to sell this farce. How much have the oligarchs allowed the Democrats to offer the workers? Probably just enough to push the pendulum the other way and give the Democrats the opportunity to extract their fair share of wealth from the taxpayer while in power. Remember, the New Deal was an anomaly created by left wing parties and the union movement and it was the motivator for the oligarchs to push through the twenty second amendment so they would never lose control again. Do you really expect the oligarchs that own the Democratic Party will allow any effective “better deal” to come into play? This is more pathetic than Trump lying when he promised to return jobs to the US.
C’mon Thomas, the people are well past the time when they would give any credibility to what came out of a politician’s mouth. Don’t you realize people are sick of the old hopeful false promises and platitudes that follow politicians like a bad smell? You get some understanding of Crowley when he continues to refer to Patriotism, Nationalism, and the Constitution; Crowley must know the Bill of Rights and the rest of the Constitution are long gone. You get some understanding of the Democratic Party when you see Neocons like Wolfowitz and Bolton on CNN and MSNBC. It’s time to wake up and smell the roses.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
Thomas, why do you persist to infer Obama is presenting his own agenda for what he believes is in the best interests of the American people? Obama and almost all politicians are puppets of the establishment. They will say anything to acquire the position, after which they are told what to sell to the American people by the establishment. The only time you see a politician for what they really are is when the teleprompter fails. Thomas, it is an insult and offense to any thinking person when you imply Obama is speaking his own mind, let alone ever working for Main Street. Thomas, do you ever get sick of continuing with this deception? Remember, politicians are paid by the establishment to take the slings and arrows of the exploited while the Oligarchs rake in the wealth.
As for the Eisenhower Republicans, they are an anomaly. Remember
the Koch, free market, libertarian John Birch Society labelled Eisenhower a
communist. Eisenhower, the president that created the Interstate highway system
to boost the profits of Detroit was called a communist by the early Neo-Liberal interests
that now run American establishment politics.
1
-
Horace, the answer to your question of why are the democrats allowing the corporate government to trample over the people’s rights is very simple. There is negligible difference between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Sure, the Democrats are allowed the more politically sensitive minority issues to manage, but this gives them false legitimacy and is just a dog and pony show to the real question: Why do both allowable parties have the same policies except for those policies that don’t affect the power and wealth of the Oligarchs; that is, deregulation, foreign policy, environmental, etc. Why are the policies that directly affect the Oligarchs the same; the answer is simple; because both parties are owned by the corporate sector.
Horace, I am sure you are aware that Wall Street funds (bets on) both sides in the political race and I would have thought the election of Tom Perez as chair or the deceptional placement of Keith Ellison in the token powerless position of vice chair would have confirmed you no longer live in a democracy. Just remember Horace, the Republican Cartel will rob you by putting a gun in your mouth, they will look you in the eyes and demand money or they will kill you. The Democratic Cartel will approach you with a smile and start a friendly conversation while one of their members sneak up behind you and steals your wallet. The Democrat Cartel will leave you ignorant of their intent and wondering where you left your wallet. Horace, what you have to come to grips with is both Cartels work for Wall Street – don’t ever forget that.
1
-
1
-
Correct, the FED is not the only problem but central banks are a significant contributor to covert wealth transfer in the Western world. Originally the founding fathers limited taxation but the 16th amendment allowed the government to tax rent seeking enterprises and capital gain. A workers wages were not significantly taxed, but when the privately owned and controlled US Federal Reserve was created, everything changed. None of the stock in the Federal Reserve is owned or controlled by the government. Have you ever wondered why significant personal taxation and the Fed were created simultaneously? Have you ever wondered why, if you look up “US Tax Rates history” on the net, it will be difficult to find tax rates prior to 1913? Consider the quote from Mayer Amschel Rothschild, “Permit me to issue and control the money of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws”. The historical Oligarchs knew and understood how much power the control of a Nation’s money supply actually gave. The Oligarchs of today have a more sophisticated understanding of how to control populations through Crowd Psychology. If you can control the Crowd, you can control the Government; especially when you control the media. Have you ever wondered why there is currently political instability in Brazil, South Africa, and India? Have you ever wondered about the recent aggression against Russia (Operation Anaconda 2016) and China? The BRICS are attempting to create an independent monetary system outside of Oligarchical control. The West cannot allow this to occur, especially now with US Debt at such levels. This could destabilize the US dollar or Petrodollar. Everyone should have a sound understanding of the mechanisms of the Petrodollar. The BRICS have created financial institutions in competition to the IMF and World Bank. As J. D. Rockefeller said “Competition is a Sin” and now the Petrodollar is threatened by increased competition. The Oligarchs will not accept competition and this may give some understanding of some of the current conflicts in the world. With a little time and discriminatory effort, the evidence supporting these facts can be easily sourced on the net.
1
-
Thomas, I will always support your effort to combat the covert and deceptive Wall Street interests embedded in the Libertarian economic philosophy. The Libertarian movement originated in the crucible of opposition to Roosevelt’s New Deal and has been festering and expanding ever since. HOWEVER, I take exception to the comparison of indebtedness between the end of WW2 and the present day. For instance, there is a considerable difference in integrity between the federal decision makers then and now. In those days the president (Eisenhower) was warning of the Military Industrial Complex in his farewell address; these days the decision makers (Oligarchs) along with their puppets (Republicrats) are the Military Industrial Intelligence and Financial and Banking Industrial complex. Have you forgotten the Princeton Statistical Study that had shown there was no correlation between the will of the public and government policy. There was an expected high correlation between the will of the Military Industrial Intelligence and Financial and Banking Industrial complex and government policy; the government had to be working for someone. You need to remember Jimmy Carter’s recent
statement (I believe it was originally in Der Spiegel) saying that there was no
democracy in the US and the nation was run by Oligarchs.
No Thomas, you can’t expect the same recovery as the ones in charge of the economy are not working for the people. It may take some time for the voting majority to work this out. By the time they do; it will be far too late. Corporate America using the Republicrat puppets (Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama,. . .) will have picked the people clean. Take a close look at the
graph of Federal Government Debt since the start of WW2. Look at the shape of the peaks both in 1946 and 2013. The debt generated during WW2 was only a spike; straight up with an instant decay. The debt generated in 2013/2014 has risen with a momentarily plateaued and is predicted to rise well through 2030.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Federal_Debt_Held_by_the_Public_1790-2013.png
Thomas, the days of the Petrodollar are coming to an end. Oil-rich nations buying US debt will no longer be able to prop up the value of the US dollar.
This will eliminate the ability of the US to run a negative balance of payments
and it can no longer exist as a debtor nation.
Don’t expect the Oligarchs to be concerned about the Federal Debt; it is the responsibility of the voters and their descendants to rectify this problem. By the time the debt starts to destroy what is left of the current standard of living, the Oligarchs and their minions would have insulated themselves from any responsibility; hell, you probably won’t be able to find a voter that has the slightest understanding of the cause of the impending disaster.
1
-
"Corporate privatization is the future with the Oligarchs moving from a manufacturing to a rent-seeker economy."
That's the workings of the invisible hand...
I am sure there is a significant dose of sarcasm and skepticism in your comment and rightly so. Would it surprise you if this current economic has been slowly created ever since Roosevelt’s New Deal. The creation of this labor exploitative system accelerated with Reagan and successive administrations have watched as Wall Street hammered in the last of the coffin nails. I am sure you are aware the current system is no delusive market free hand; it has been engineered ever since Smedley Butler exposed the Oligarch’s attempt to overthrow the US government in 1933. But that is another discussion in the the understanding of real State History.
"Isn't it also ironic, that an Austrian Nobel-prize-winner guru, I don't remember if it was Hayek or whoever, has written, that a totally free market tends to destroy itself?"
Both Hayek and Friedman won Nobel Prizes in Economics; Hayek in 1974 and Friedman in 1976. This is almost irrelevant when you consider three important points:
1) Economics is not a science; it can never be used for an accurate prediction and at best, can only be used to predict a trend – even that is questionable. Professor Steve Keen’s book “Debunking Economics” accurately discussed the limits of Economics. At best, Economics should be considered as one of the social sciences where anything outside of a statistical analysis is a waste of time. Professor Keen’s
version of economics has shown promise with differential calculus applied to his fundamental economic models. His solutions of the differential equations that consider the acceleration of debt have lead to some reasonable results when predicting inherent market instability but there are still questions. Original economic theories predict none of this; they only give generalized statements and have no evidence or deductive proof.
2) Consider the idea of the Nobel Prize in Economics. I have little understanding of the work and achievement necessary to win a real Nobel Prize in one of the physical sciences but reading about Richard Feynman’s work in Quantum Electrodynamics has shown it is well beyond my understanding. You cannot compare that to a political Nobel Prize such as Economics or Peace. You can give a “Wall Street financed” Nobel Prize to Hayek or Friedman the same way you give a Nobel Peace Prize to “Predator Drone, Kill List” Obama.
3) You will notice that both Hayek and Friedman originate from the University of Chicago and the Chicago school of economics. This institution is directly funded by Wall Street to develop the type of Economic Philosophies that benefit the Oligarchs. This is the “intellectual” origin of Libertarian Economics. Some of the criminal puppet elite and useful international puppets also have their origins in the University of Chicago (John Ashcroft, Jon Corzine, Barack Obama, Ahmed Chalabi, James Comey, Zalmay Khalilzad, Paul Wolfowitz, David Rockefeller, and many others).
As for totally free markets destroying themselves, Adam Smith wrote that the only way for any markets to work is if those participating in these markets are moral human beings. In December, 2013, the Guardian published a article “Without morality, the market economy will destroy itself” that covers the concepts. As you can see, with the real human condition any market, let alone a free market, doesn’t stand a chance. In my opinion, free markets are incompatible with the nature and the present state of evolution of human beings; free markets will only create an environment where psychopaths and sociopaths can dominate until the system fails.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
Thomas, you are correct; the reason that reality TV shows carefully scripts personalities is to utilize Edward Bernays philosophy of “Public Opinion”, which is, “In place of thoughts it has impulses, habits, and emotions.” The reason that actors, professional or not, go into politics for the same reason – to stimulate the emotions of the stupid and ignorant. Oligarchs are bombarding these people with news from a controlled and compromised media. Combine this with actor candidates that only stimulate the masses’ fear and greed; and you have to ask what type of a Democracy exists. Combine this with Superdelegates, brokered conventions, committees that change rules, Corporate and foreign owned Congress and Senate, and a Supreme Courts that install presidents; do you really expect a democracy to function? Thomas, have you ever considered a benevolent dictatorship. That usually works under these circumstances; at least for a while. Maybe you should do a show on Edward Bernays' "Propaganda" and let people know part the machine that is controlling them.
1
-
1
-
1
-
+luvcheney1 - I assume that you are human and not just a Neo-Liberal Libertarian response bot. Even if I am responding to a bot, I would still like to put this response forward for all the Neo-Liberal Libertarian Wall Street supporting shills. Wall Street
introduced globalism to free up capital and to exploit where they could around the planet. They targeted disadvantaged populations and leveraged domestic wages on the wages of the foreign workers. In an Ayn Rand capitalist system, there is always someone losing so they will never run out of people to exploit. Wall Street usual argument is that they are transforming the subsistence existence into one of employment and opportunity. These captains of spin never discuss the suicide nets around the buildings where these abused individuals now serve their time. That’s assuming that these buildings don’t catch fire or fall down. The small middle class that sometimes develops is only a small fraction of the original population. Now that the reality of this ongoing exploitation is
returning to U.S. shores, people are starting to wise up when they are told that they must compete with these workers and the cost of doing business in this worker hellhole. Did you ever wonder why the average workers discretionary income is almost stagnant and the Oligarch minion’s (CEO’s) discretionary income is growing exponentially? That money has to come from somewhere. If you
ever get a chance look at the ratio of growth between average workers and CEO’s income since globalization was introduced. The CEO is being well paid for their betrayal of the working class. With your simple minded argument, you should either fit into this category or are you just some imbecile that follows that one dimensional, tunnel visioned, Libertarian sect. If you are a sect member maybe you should look at the fascist origins of the, so called, libertarian movement before you drink the Jonestown Kool-Aid. I don’t have time to give you a history lesson so I will give you some topics in increasing chronological order you may wish to research: Roosevelt’s New Deal, National Association of Manufacturers, Reverend James Fifield, How Corporate America Invented Christian America by Kevin Kruse, and the ever fascist deceitful Liberty League of America. If you are not just a Wall Street stooge and would really like to understand the subversive deceitfulness of the Ayn Rand capitalists, you should have an attempt at researching the list. If you can get out of your incestuous group and look at reality, you may wish to fill in the vast gaps of political and economic history that will show that there is no such thing as a free market. You will find that the monopolists understood capitalism and played the gullible and the corrupt to their advantage. - J. D. Rockefeller - “Competition is a Sin”. Never use the argument that if the government did not interfere, there would not be monopolists. Monopolies abhor a power vacuum. There have been many private armies in the U.S. that have shot and killed innocent women and children when their husbands wanted to strike for a better life. If you really want to get an understanding of what Wall Street is capable of, read Smedley Butler’s War is a Racket where the General admits that he was just a killing machine for Wall Street. If you continue to research Butler, he gives insight into the 1933 fascist coup attempted by some of the treacherous Oligarchs at that time. Finally, in this Ayn Rand capitalist system, the population can be summarized as the 0.1% utilizes the 5% to control the 95%. I doubt that you would be part of the 0.1%. You are either part of the 5% or just a libertarian sect member unwittingly selling out your fellow American.
1
-
1
-
1
-
Sorry, this story doesn’t pass the smell test. Congressman Nolan said, “I have great
confidence in the American public to make good voting choices about critical public
policy issues, if they are given all the facts; given all the information”. What can I cay; apart from the conditional clauses at the end of the statement, this is the standard opening BS line for politician ass smoke blowing. Consider the statement where he acknowledged that only five members of congress knew of the U. S. Supplied weapons. The real crime against the American people is that Congress was not fully aware of actions in American foreign policy. The U. S. Funding of the Mujahedin is incidental to the crime against the American people. As for the missing 28 pages; look at the
911 Commission. It was given an unrealistic timeline; it was underfunded; it didn’t include any acknowledgement or information on the collapse building 7; it was initially headed by Kissinger who was later replaced by an establishment politician, and many of the more reputable members called it a sham and that it was set up to fail. If the report failed to include building 7, how much credibility would you give to these 28 pages? There could be any number of coercive and political reasons for publicizing the existence of the 28 pages. I would be far angrier knowing that these 28 pages, for which the American taxpayers have paid, are being denied to the same people on the BS claim of national security. This is a clear attack against American democracy. I would appreciate more information on the timing of the release of the existence of the 28 pages. Who released the existence of these pages and exactly when was it released? Who classified it and why was it classified it as a threat to national security? Every time you hear national security, you know the disclosure is intended to protect the establishment or one of their minion’s asses. If the people do have some intellect and morals as Nolan inferred, when will the people ask the probing questions and learn to attack the root cause. Have you ever heard of the saying, "If you believe in nothing, you will fall for anything".
1
-
1
-
1
-
Thomas, you don't have to look too far for a real life experiment on a much larger scale. America started it run of prosperity when Roosevelt expanded the highest tax rate from 25% to 63% just before the New Deal. The maximum tax rates were extended again in 1936 to 79%, 81% in 1941, 88% in 1942, 94% in 1944, 91% in 1946 after the war, and remained at 91% until the assassination of Kennedy. This was when America was a creditor nation, had real wealth and not the paper wealth and deficit spending it relies on today.
The maximum tax rate was dropped to 70% in 1964 and remained there until 1982 when the puppet Reagan under the control of Merrill Lynch's chairman and CEO, Don Regan who was given the position by Reagan of the 66th United States Secretary of the Treasury, started the decay process. Regan stayed on as White House Chief of Staff from 1985 to 1987 just to ensure his strategy was successful. It was successful; the Reagan administration nearly tripled government debt and transformed the US from a creditor nation with a $0 Balance of Trade to a deficit nation with a Balance of Trade of -$10 Billion per month. Today, the Balance of Trade stands at -$40 Billion per month.
In the last days of Don Regan’s presidency, tax rates plummeted to 28% and this could be defined as a flat tax which everyone except those earning under $30K paid. Since then, the maximum tax rate has fluctuated between 35% and 40% a long way from the days of prosperity. Some damage was done by previous administrations and corporations as globalization has allowed a select few to transfer dollars and industry off-shore, but Don Regan’s puppet can be attributed with much of the destruction of the US economy.
1
-
Here we go again with this false left-right paradigm garbage. Thomas needs to convey the fact the candidates usually running are intentionally the only ones the establishment will accept as their puppets. Oligarchs, like the markets, crave stability, predictability and control. Trump appears to be a miscalculation and that concerns the Oligarchs. Has Thomas ever mentioned the fact that the Koch brothers are pushing Republicans to vote for Clinton? Thomas, I would not be too concerned about Trump. If Trump was elected independent of the will of the Oligarchs, and was found to be working for the people’s interests, circumstances would rapidly change. As people now accept Trump for all his faults, it may be difficult to leverage (blackmail) him into participating in Washington’s style of "Democracy". If Trump could not be convinced to be a puppet in the Oligarch's team, he may receive the same fate as JFK or RFK. When are people going to wake up and make an effort to understand what is going on instead of believing all this left-right, Democrat-Republican garbage. Thomas, I still don’t know for whom you are working?
1
-
What voters should be concerned about is the compounded deception within the democratic system. Yes, electronic voting machines are a concern especially when the software is unavailable for an independent audit. Yes, voter fraud by global removal of candidates by name is of concern. BUT there is one thing that overshadows a compromised election process that is far more insidious – voting for two puppets that are controlled by the same Oligarchical structure. I believe George Carlin said it best,
“Forget the politicians. The politicians are put there to give you the idea you have freedom of choice. You don't. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land, they own and control the corporations that've long since bought and paid for, the senate, the congress, the state houses, the city halls, they got the judges in their back pocket, and they own all the big media companies so they control just about all of the news and the information you get to hear. They got you by the balls. They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying to get what they want. Well,
we know what they want. They want more for themselves and less for everybody else. But I'll tell you what they don't want. They don't want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don't want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. They're not interested in that. That doesn't help them.”
Thomas fails to accept the reality so eloquently expressed by George and continues down the road of the “Lesser of two evils”. Why pick the lesser of two evils when both have the same puppet masters. This is not rhetorical; I would like to know why? I would like to ask Thomas what he expects to change when Hillary wins the election. Sure, there may be some temporary reprieve in Neoliberal policy to bribe some of the “Useful Idiots of Empire”, buy in the long term economic hardship and overseas imperial conflict will return as Clinton ramps up the Wall Street mechanisms that support the expanding aggression of Empire and income and wealth inequality.
1
-
You are right, there is no immediate solution. The Oligarchs created this structure over centuries. Have you ever wondered why the US flag is so similar to the flag of the British East India Company? Some state historians will tell you it is coincidence but research a little further and you will find the truth. Do you realize that Jamestown was an investment in the New Land by European Oligarchs using the London Company. One thing I will give the Oligarchs; they are transgenerational thinkers. This system was not built in one day and it will not be disassembled in one day.
The first step is to recognize the problem and that you have achieved. The next step is far more difficult and time consuming - change the mind of the majority. No one can do this alone; it is a collective responsibility. Notice how the Wall Street shills on YouTube and elsewhere conflate collectivism and communism; this is their strategy of divide and conquer. One needs to create collectives, get involved in politics, and educate others if you want to break the Owners' (Oligarchs') hold over the population. You may not see change; your
grandchild may not see change, but it will come.
You must admit, Bernie was as close as ever to an honest politician for the people. If we can wake people from the Oligarch's media deception, next time someone like Bernie may win decisively. Sure, the Oligarchs could easily introduce electronic voting nationally and totally corrupt the democratic process, but I doubt that; people are getting too edgy. However, if you back the Oligarchs into a corner, they may switch to a complete Totalitarian Dictatorship, but one has to try.
Also, Thomas choosing the lesser of two evils is another tactic upon which the Oligarch's depend to affect their strategy. Now that any credible candidate with a chance of winning has been eliminated, who are you going to vote for Hillary or Trump? If you pick one, the Oligarchs win. I am not saying that you shouldn’t vote in this election because that must eventually be up to the individual and their choice of a world in which they may wish to raise children. Anyway, consider what George Carlin had to say on the topic of voting,
“Everybody complains about politicians. Everybody says, “They suck”.But where do people think these politicians come from? They don’t fall out of the sky. They don’t pass through a membrane from another reality. No, they come from American homes, American families, American schools, American churches, American businesses, and they’re elected by American voters. This is the best
we can do, folks. It’s what our system produces: Garbage in, garbage out. I have solved this political dilemma in a very direct way: I don’t vote. On Election Day, I stay home. I firmly believe that if you vote, you have no right to complain. Now, some people like to twist that around. They say, “If you don’t vote, you have no right to complain”, but where’s the logic in that? If you vote, and you elect dishonest, incompetent politicians, and they get into office and screw everything up, you are responsible for what they have done. You voted them in. You caused the problem. You have no right to complain. I, on the other hand, who did not vote — who did not even leave the house on Election Day — am in no way responsible for that these politicians have done and have every right to complain about the mess that you created. That I didn’t have anything to do with.”
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
Thom, I hope that people are not taking you seriously with any recommendation that one should vote for Hillary. Do you really want to entrust America's future to "I came, I saw, He died" Hillary and her war mongering Wall Street, Whitewater family. Anyway, if the FBI starts working for the people, Hillary may not be around for the election. I believe that people are getting past that Left-Right paradigm and are starting to think more independently. The term “Republicrats” always wakes me up from that false paradigm. If Clinton beats Bernie in the primaries, please consider Trump. He may be a deceitful, incompetent, narcissist that runs on thought bubbles, but that has been the characteristics required for success in the American corporate world for decades. Cruz is a corrupt delusional that is married to Goldman Sachs and Hillary is a war criminal owned by Wall Street. After Sanders, the alternatives go downhill rapidly.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
The caller is mistaken, Trump doesn’t appoint his cabinet members; Trump is lucky if he can wipe his own ass. Just like most of Obama’s administration was selected by Citi Group (look it up), Trump’s administration was selected by the Oligarchs behind the “Trump” administration. Might I suggest you look at Mercer or possibly Adelson? Why do these Progressives/Liberals get it so wrong – all the time? Trump is a puppet; Hillary would have been a puppet; Obama was a puppet; and if you couldn’t see that Bush junior was a puppet, there must be something fundamentally wrong with you. The trick isn’t
remembering the positions within the administration; the trick is working out which of the executive staff have direct links to the Oligarchs and their agendas. Remember Nixon’s resignation letter was addressed to Kissinger. Most would currently know by now Pence is a puppet of Charles and David Koch.
Trump has been the perfect vector for the Oligarchs to take control. Prior to the election, many avoided Hillary because of her criminal warmonger past and many looked at Trump as the cleanest dirty shirt in the hamper. Remember, the Oligarchs bet on both possible outcomes in US federal elections. If you are in any doubt, consider the Oligarch positioning of Tom Perez with just enough margin not to be suspicious. These liberal-progressive cretins are playing checkers while the Oligarchs are playing multidimensional chess.
As for Russia bashing, not only is there no evidence; have you considered the US involvement in other nation’s electoral processes throughout history. If your memory is starting to fail you, might I suggest you research the CIA overthrow of the elected leader of Iran in 1953 where there is overwhelming evidence to show this act was to benefit Anglo-American oil companies. For something more recent, you could also look at the US overthrow of the elected government in Ukraine where Nuland admits the US spent 5 billion to facilitate the coup. If you have trouble finding this obvious evidence on YouTube,
might I suggest you research her discussion with Pratt that clearly indicates her intent to install a Western puppet Ukraine leader in her own words. That should be enough evidence to show Western lies and hypocrisy to any new-age intellectually challenged progressive idiot.
Thomas, why do you continue to conflate the DNC with the ideals of a real leftist? A real leftist is pro-union and anti-Imperialistic; the cretinous progressives and liberals of today accept the lies that support the Oligarch’s push for war. Are these new-age liberal-progressive cretins for real? Maybe they only absorb mindless rhetoric because they can’t read and the tools to carry out independent research elude them. No wonder Trump is president; with cretins like this pretending to be on the left of politics, most thinking
people had only a limited choice.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
@nil981 : And take a look at Biden. In his 1988 run for president, he told an audience he had attended law school at Syracuse University on a "full academic scholarship", that he had been "named the outstanding student in the political science department" as an undergraduate at the University of Delaware, and that he had graduated from Delaware with "three undergraduate degrees". When confronted with the lies, Biden later admitted that these claims were "inaccurate." Biden was exposed as a plagiarist in a school paper and again in his political career when he plagiarized John Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, and even the British Neil Kinnock.
So after his exposure as an inveterate liar and plagiarist caused him to drop out of the 1988 presidential run, he takes advantage of the dysfunctional memory, corrupted media, and short attention span of the people, and again runs for president. You may want to blame some of this on his oncoming dementia, but most likely he is just another psychopath running for the role of puppet president. At least when Trump lied, he actually exposed some truths. Like when he said in a CIA speech about Iraq, that the US should have taken the oil and may get a second chance. Or when he openly admitted the US was attempting to install their puppet Guiado in Venezuela because they wanted to access Venezuelan oil. Even Bolton followed by saying that he couldn't wait for US oil companies to profit from Venezuelan oil.
This tells you that psychopaths make up most of the US government and one should listen carefully when a foolish psychopath begins to explain the intentions of US plutocrats and their imperial militarism to use the CIA and US military to overthrow governments and kill for profit. Even Elon Musk said about the US government & CIA on Bolivia, "We'll coup whoever we want; deal with it". Again, a perfect corporate psychopath.
1
-
Hartmann; you've got the question wrong. There is no such thing as democracy in the US; just listen to your guest Greg Palast when he discusses how both sides of politics screw the people and intentionally corrupt elections. Just listen to Jimmy Carter when he tells you, "The US is an Oligarchy". Hartmann, your question should have been, "Can the Democratic Party Survive After Trump?" Without a boogeyman, some of the more intelligent liberal rubes may start directing their attention to the corruption of the Democratic Party itself. You know; those dangerous individuals who may have asked to see the content of the Podesta emails; they could really screw up future plans of the DNC and Democratic Party to screw their constituents.
The question you should be asking is, “What is the next deceptive scam to be used by the Democratic Establishment.” Now Trump is exiting stage right and "Russiagate" was a complete flop, but it did work to label both Jill Stein and Sanders as traitors when the mainstream media called them "Russian Assets". And throughout history, the oligarchs have pushed propaganda down the throats of their gullible rubes to either distract or convince these poor cretins to believe the lies “their” government and intelligence agencies tell them. If you want an interesting piece of history; even much of the Cold War was a scam. If you read Princeton history Professor, Kevin M Kruse's book, "One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America", you will see the oligarchs feared Washington (Eisenhower) much more than they feared the Soviets. Yes, the oligarchs feared the president who warned the people of the threat of the oligarchs' "Military Industrial Complex" in his outgoing speech, far more than the fabricated Soviet threat. This so easily explains the inverted "Missile Gap" and so much more.
So the big question isn't about the convenient fool Trump; it's about what scam will the Democratic Establishment create ow that Trump is dwindling to induce fear into its gullible, ignorant, and yet receptive rubes; rubes ready and receptive for their next round of brainwashing? And keep them running back to the bosom of covert treachery – the Democratic Establishment.
And remember Hartmann, you even interviewed Professor Kevin M Kruse on you show once, but sadly (or conveniently) you asked him all the wrong questions. When you select a guest that could spill the beans on the farce of US democracy, the crimes of Empire, and especially the treachery of the Democratic Party, you tend to have a preplanned avoidance strategy in place before you start the interview.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
Given the intent of the GOP, yes it would gut Social Security given the opportunity. But remember, it was Clinton that actually screwed Social Security. Sure, Reagan started the process, but ONLY the treachery of someone then trusted by the people (Clinton) was capable of screwing his constituents and passing legislation to strip much of Social Security. And that goes to many other screwing as well (NAFTA, Deregulation, etc. etc.) but we're heading off topic now and I'm quite sure Hartmann doesn't want his audience remembering these facts.
And don't expect anything different from Biden. Just Google the two words "Biden" & "Social Security" and you will get a litany of truthful quotes from Biden about how he wants to crush Social Security. And when Biden told Wall Street, "If I'm elected, nothing would change", I don't believe Biden was talking about Social Security. When are these fools going to learn that US politics isn't about demo0cracy; it's about the oligarchs using all branches of government to screw the people as covertly and discretely as possible. Understand, the Democrats politicize their "Identity Politics" to divide-and-conquer and give the people the illusion someone is on their side. Suckers!
1
-
1
-
It was interesting to hear Messina say, 08:40 “So that the movement made in your party, whether it be Obama, Clinton, what have you; all of those when the one percent got richer, was that OK? Were you against what they were doing?” Yes Thomas, I understand this was just part of a partisan rebuttal on behalf of Messina, but within the rebuttal lies the truth. Do you see how awkward it is when you fail to criticize the Corporate Democrats and then Messina exposes the Corporate Democrats as Wall Street puppets. If you believe yourself to be a progressive and not a Limousine Corporate Liberal Democrat, why don’t you just acknowledge what you believe the Corporate Democrats to be instead of continually avoiding the issue? Your rebuttal of, 08:50 “I’m simply saying that the tax policy we had before Reagan came in with these obscene and absurd ideas that if you give more money to rich people somehow it is going to make poor people less poor is nonsense”, was evasive and understandably so.
Thomas, do you see how your refusal to call out the Corporate Democrats dilutes your “Progressive” arguments. It’s sad to watch you argue a narrative that is covertly opposed by the Corporate Democrats. I agree with all of what you said; the US prospered with a 91 percent top tax rate and Supply Side Economics was a total deception and farce by Wall Street, but your argument falls short when you fail to implicate the Corporate Democrats.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
@ArmenianBishop : If you want to understand the intent of the Anglo-American Empire (to force the World to accept US Imperialism); and the lie that the US "Makes the World Safe for Democracy", may I suggest you read "War is a Racket" by Major General Smedley Butler (USMC). Here is just a small excerpt:
"I spent thirty-three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle-man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.
I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it. Like all the members of the military profession, I never had a thought of my own until I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service.
I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested.
During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents."
Pay special attention to, " Like all the members of the military profession, I never had a thought of my own until I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service."
And even then many remained willingly brainwashed their whole lives and never question US Imperialism.
1
-
1
-
@ArmenianBishop : But I will say you are more honest than most. Many liberals appear to be so ashamed of the atrocities of the Empire, they willingly lie and hide behind the delusions of "Shining City on the Hill". The standard Clinton-Liberal refuses to openly acknowledge Empire, even when they hear the war criminal Clinton openly say, "We Came, We Saw, He died". Even when the war criminal Albright, after slaughtering half a million Iraqi children, then promotes Clinton in her run for president. So by just acknowledging Empire, you still deserve more respect than that sleazy liberal scum that hides behind the propaganda, lies, and deception from the mainstream media and Hollywood. It's just sad that you now attempted to justify Empire.
1
-
1
-
1
-
If you're expecting Biden to save Social Security, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I can sell you cheap. YouTube is filled with old videos where Biden is saying he's going to destroy Social Security. On Bernie Sanders' YouTube site, Bernie has a video labeled, "Biden's Record on Social Security", may I suggest you watch and learn. Avoid being mesmerized by the current Biden spectacle and watch some of these videos. And while you're stimulating your hippocampus, just remember Clinton who deregulated Wall Street, destroyed Social Security, and exported jobs (NAFTA) to make the plutocrats even richer while promising it would improve the US labor market for workers.
Remember Obama and his "Hope & Change" that resulted in, "I hope these rubes don't realize there's not going to be any change before my term is up". All Obama did was make Bush's temporary tax cuts for the wealthy permanent, sold the idea of drinking leaded water to the residents of Flint, and start seven more wars.
Remember Trump who said, "Drain the Swamp" only to refill it till it overflowed and added a few more Goldman Sachs crocodiles (e.g. Mnuchin) along the way.
Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. Now how does that work for multiple times? How stupid does one have to be?
1
-
1
-
There are sociopaths and psychopaths on both sides of this political farce. Remember when Hillary said about Gaddafi, “We came, we saw, he died”; remember Madeline Albright who promoted Hillary in 2016 and said, “There is a special place in hell for women who don’t vote for Hillary”. And it was the same Madeline Albright who, after killing half a million Iraqi children through starvation and disease, said “It was worth it”. Yes, Albright was a true Democrat Liberal; a real monster of evil who knew how to weaponize the emotions of the gullible. It was Obama who said, after John Kiriakou was jailed for exposing the US Torture Program, “We tortured some folks”. Obama needed to make it memorably “folksy” so the superficial liberal rubes would accept war crimes without question. Then Obama went on to install a confirmed torturer as the head of the CIA.
So you see in US politics, sociopathy and psychopathy is bipartisan. The only difference is the Republicans will screw you six ways from Sunday, whereas the Democrats will pretend to be your friend while covertly stabbing you in the back. And then saying it wasn’t intentional.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
@tomjohn8733 So many questions and only one lifetime. It would take me an hour to explain the nuances of "Identity Politics". A simple example - one small facet of identity politics is when some element of a minority group (e.g. feminism) is politically weaponized. For example - if you don't like Gina Haspel, it isn't because she was a torturer; it's because she is a woman and therefore you must be a misogynist. Or - if you are critical of Obama because he started 7 wars and destroyed Libya and Syria, then you must be a racist. As I said, Identity politics has many nuances; this is but one example.
As for whether anthropogenic climate change is real - it is. The "right to life - pro choice" is simple. The Republicans needed a way to stay in the political race, so they targeted those whose religion was against abortions. It was purely political by the Republicans; there was nothing moral in their intent. As for the rite to life itself, that's a complex issue. Like anything else, abortions can be abused. And not everyone makes rational choices.
But "as for both parties being similar is like saying we are all human". Now there is an interesting twist. I have found that Darwinian capitalism embraced by both Republicans and Democrats is driven by those in society with psychopathic and sociopathic tendencies. Some estimates show 30% of executives are psychopaths and many others in the high ranks of the corporation show psychopathic tendencies. Psychopaths whose amygdala does not function like others usually exhibit a deficit of empathy; and these anti-human advantages combined with a little Machiavellian cunning allows them to more easily work their way top the top of the heap. These psychopaths have a clear advantage over others, as in a capitalist system emotions can be a hindrance. And it's not just the amygdala (emotion) that is different in psychopaths; the frontal cortex (judgement) is also compromised and physically smaller. In fact, the brain physiology of a psychopath is so different, many psychiatrists consider this physiology to be that of another species of human. So it is definitely possible your statement, "we are all human" is not quite correct. Look it up; it's interesting research.
1
-
@thefrenchareharlequins2743 : Forget about "anti-gun", "social conservatism", and especially "identity politics"; they are just fabrications by the plutocrats’ politicians and mainstream media to trigger a reaction in the population and to exploit primordial emotions. The plutocratic families have spent centuries using compartmentalization to create societal boundaries by molding tribal differences between groups, and then manipulating and exploiting the primordial tribal emotions generated by those differences. The contemporary culture everyone now accepts as "normal" has been slowly engineered over decades by the plutocrats' politicians, their mainstream media, and Hollywood to Divide-and-Conquer to advantage their interests? Adversarial politics is just a stage act and Democrats, Republicans, and others (e.g. Libertarians) all work for the same masters. Today the plutocrats own most leftist groups, the remaining Unions, and even the "Democratic Socialists of America" LMAO. Understand the Austrian-Libertarian plutocrats like Charles Koch are not only the ex-business partners of libertarians (e.g. Ron Paul), the Kochs also funded the Clinton-Gore "Democratic Leadership Council" for the "Third Way" Democratic Party establishment. And now the plutocrats are washing and recycling their Republican stooges into the Democrat fold. Ever notice how many liberals in Ellen's audience cheered when Ellen danced with the war criminal George Bush? Ever notice how many liberals now embrace the FBI after their Cointelpro history of killing leftists and attempting to destroy the left movement? This is all a vast Hollywood production straight out of Edward Bernays' playbook "Propaganda", where the politicians are actors and the mainstream media are the script writers. It's all about manipulating rubes on a vast scale using all their resources. There are those few who know it's all a show and the vast majority that just watches in ignorance and wonder - which one are you? There are even those extremely gullible rubes who still believe in Trump's "Drain the Swamp" or Obama’s "Hope & Change". LMAO
Understand it was the "Rockefeller" Foundation that imported Austrian economics into the US in 1940 when they expatriated von Mises from Europe into Rockefeller's University of Chicago. Given the business history of the Rockefellers, they weren't doing that for the people's benefit.
And never forget Greenspan was the apprentice of Ayn Rand, the author of the Austrian-Libertarian's favorite book "Atlas Shrugged". Few people ever get to learn of the irony that Ayn Rand was on government social security when she died. But don't take my word; make sure you do your own independent research - and that means stay away from corrupt sources that attempt to rewrite history like the Mises Institute. This scam is vast; you have no idea. As George Carlin famously once said, "It's a Big Club, and you ain't in it".
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
Bacevich continues pushing the US plutocrats' fake narrative of the US as a benign influence in the world. Why don't these ignorant fools ever tell the truth? The US is an Empire, owned by the plutocrats, and it uses the threat of sanctions and its military to covertly extract wealth from, and oppress the planet. The US creates the illusion it's the World's policeman, but this policeman is a corrupt and brutal thief and murderer. It pushes US Exceptionalism just as the Nazis pushed Aryan Superiority. There is a reason the US is the wealthiest nation on the planet, and it’s due to its control of other nations' economies. You might remember how Hartman tacitly supported US sanctions against Venezuela in the US plutocrats' grab for the oil. Where the US plutocrats went wrong was in their overt assault on Iraq. Now, that was the historical event that woke many to the reality of US Empire. Watching the psychopath Hillary cackle "We came, we saw, he died", as the Western backed terrorist mercenaries gave a bayonet enema to Gaddafi in Libya also woke many to the brutality of US Imperialism. Watching Madeline Albright saying "It was worth it" to her responsibility in the deaths of half a million Iraqi children in some pathetic hope of getting the Iraqi people to rise up against their leader was just another war crime.
The reality of US Empire is encapsulated in the words of the great Major General Smedley Butler in his book, "War is a Racket" - "War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses. I spent thirty-three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle-man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism."
So compare the insight of Butler to this pathetic excuse for an academic, Bacevich. Get rid of this pathetic imperialist scum; there is nothing more dysfunctional and politically and influentially dangerous that an ignorant academic that has been programmed by a corrupt imperialist state. When looking at the military personnel like Bacevich, one should always remember the words of Kissinger, “Military men are just dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy.”
1
-
1
-
1
-
@TTTzzzz : There is no such thing as "evil", that just a word out of mythology and superstition; a mindless term usually used by those who can't be bothered or are too fearful to analyze reality. Pointing and calling someone "evil" reminds me of someone out of the Salem Witch Trials. These "people" aren't "evil", they are psychopaths and sociopaths; they don't have the same emotions and the response to stimuli as the majority. If you research the brain physiology of the psychopath, you will find psychopaths are a different species of human being with considerable differences in the shape and function of the amygdala and frontal cortex. They are not "evil" just as a parasite or virus isn't "evil"; the psychopath just functions like a psychopath. But the different physiology gives the psychopaths the ability to convincingly lie, cheat, and manipulate the gullible as their morals and humanity now reflect their species; and that's why you will find many of them high in the corporate and political structure. Look at the executive pool of a large corporation near you; many of those would be psychopaths.
And don’t ever consider psychopaths as being fools; they are usually intelligent and strategic; a deadly combination. Consider the politicians for which you vote; many of them would be psychopaths. Consider Obama winning the "Nobel Peace Prize" then setting off to start 7 new wars including the US Naval blockade of Yemen allowing thousands of innocents to starve; or selling military hardware to the Saudis who used it to kill these same innocents. Consider Hillary Clinton when she was asked about the death of Gaddafi, her response was, "We came, we saw, he died" after which she cackled like a witch. So is Hillary evil? No Hillary is a psychopath. Consider Madeline Albright who was responsible for the deaths of half a million Iraqi children under 5 years old by starvation and disease for which her response on 60Minutes was, "It was worth it". Is Madeline Albright evil? No, Albright is just a psychopath. Or when Elon Musk was confronted with his involvement in the CIA Bolivian coup for lithium and responded by, "We will coup whoever we want; deal with it". So please leave the word "evil" where it belongs; in the mystic depths of religion and superstition where few question anything.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
From here on in I would expect to see Hartmann selling whatever residual rubes he has listening to his rhetoric, on the Democratic establishment as a viable alternative. Hartmann is attempting to sell you a twenty year old used car with paint peeling, scratches down the side, flat tires, oil oozing from underneath, and a leaking radiator, as something that will last you and your family for years. The trick to life is not to be able to pick a lemon when you see it as all "viable" political parties in the US are lemons; the trick is to recognize a used car salesman when you see one. And Hartman is a used car salesman attempting to sell you a broken down, rusty, and feculent Democratic Party with a wound-back speedometer, no longer fit for purpose. You could go across the road to the Republican used-car yard, but they just have the save garbage for sale. Both the Republican Used Car dealer and the Democrat Used Car dealer go to the same Plutocrat Auction Yard for their stock. I understand these two used car yards appear to be on only used car yards in town, so maybe it's time you looked somewhere else?
1
-
1
-
1
-
I like trump. He has given the people the opportunity to look at themselves and their nation in some detail if they wish to take the opportunity. Sure, Trump is obviously a puppet for the plutocrats, but because he is so obviously a fool and a petulant child with limited intellect and vocabulary, this shows what the plutocrats think about the morals and intellect of the people. In other words, the Plutocrats are saying, if these morons who vote will accept this stooge, they will accept anyone. One thing should be understood completely, clearly and concisely; the plutocrats want these morons who vote to question and attack the person and NEVER question the system. Don’t you think Hartmann is very good at this psyop?
Just think about it! With the idiot Trump in the White House the Plutocrats and their neocons can go to town. Previous presidents had to be more covert, but the neocons under Trump are open in their intent. You have Bolton clearly saying he wants US oil companies in Venezuela to exploit the oil. If this happened under Obama, the Obama administration would have felt the need to obfuscate the intent with a lot of added “exporting” of freedom and democracy. Possibly even a resurgence of the UN “Responsibility to Protect” doctrine.
It also appears the Trump administration is front running the mainstream media. Long gone are the days when the media would report on the crimes of the US empire, but now, while the mainstream media are doing their best to run the propaganda to cover up imperial intent, you have Bolton, Pompeo, Abrams, and the rest making the propaganda of the mainstream media redundant with their overt false flags and open intent to attack independent nations. Gone are the days of using the fake “Responsibility to Protect” to convince the domestic morons that military action was required, this new Fourth Reich goes straight for the jugular with none of the usual pretense.
Yes, I believe Trump is the healthiest thing that has happened to the US for generations. It is giving the people an unparalleled opportunity to look at themselves, their non-existent democracy, and the criminal acts of the plutocrats’ imperial nation. But sadly there is a deleterious secondary effect; it also gives Hartmann a target with which to sell the plutocrats Two Minutes of Hate to ensure the people only question the puppets and never question the system.
1
-
1
-
@christinev.1018 : Oh boy, have you got it wrong. I support M4A, what I don't support is the plutocracy that has replaced the government. I'm not being critical of M4A, I'm being critical of, what I believe to be puppets like Warren running a scam. What you don't appear to understand is there are plutocratic puppets and minions everywhere, and I don't believe Warren is anything different. My opinion is Warren is a plant, a mole of Wall Street, and mole for the Medical Industrial Complex. Like Obama ("Look forward, don't look back"; "We tortured some folks"), all you hear are words and very little action against the plutocratic criminals. There was a token gesture by Warren to help consumers some time ago, but that's about where it ends. It saddens me to make the prediction; no, the almost certainty, Warren is just another traitor to the people.
Even Bernie is of concern. The way he rolled over and accepted being shafted by the DNC is totally disgusting. Some of those who donated to Bernie's campaign are now attempting to sue the DNC for fraud and if Bernie hadn't rolled over to the Podesta scam, they may have won their law suit. As it stands the corrupt judiciary can easily reject the plaintiff's argument on the basis Bernie has just capitulated. So even more corruption goes unchecked.
Sorry. but the only legitimate (non plutocratic) candidate to date appears to be Tulsi Gabbard. All others have shown some degree of ownership by Wall Street. And even then, it is difficult to get a comprehensive understanding of where Tulsi stands on many issues. Maybe all three are running this capitulation strategy to avoid being propagandized by the plutocrats mainstream media that tends to mesmerize so many of the morons who continually vote for the lesser of two evils; who knows? What I do know is the plutocrat minions and puppets are everywhere; they are the candidates you see on the plutocrats' mainstream media and alternate media; they are the plutocrats' politicians in office and corporate heads that endorse these plutocratic puppets; they are the plutocratic minions and ex-CIA agents you see on all the mainstream media. They are everywhere. The whole scam is to ensure no matter where you turn, you will be facing an agent of the plutocrats. Keep that in mind as the watch this Dog-and-Pony show by Hartmann and the CIA asset Maddow on MSNBC.
1
-
@christinev.1018 And think about the plutocracy itself. The plutocracy is an empire that attacks other countries trying to flee the grasp of these war criminals and plutocratic puppets like Bolton, Pompeo, and Pence. The plutocrats control everything; all branches of government, nearly all the mainstream and much of alternate media, the financial sector, the corporations, and almost everything that controls your every thought. They control everyone in the Republican movement and its affiliates, and they control the Democratic movement as well; apart from apparently a few outliers (e.g. AOC), but give them time. Strategy is what the plutocrats do well. So whatever plutocratic administration eventually gets into the White House, do you actually expect them to deliver a functional M4A; you'd have to be joking? You've already been suckered recently ("Hope and Change"), and you're so eager to fall into the same trap again. So what happens when your promising candidate "fails to deliver" because of some "unforeseen" circumstance. Remember, Obama had control of the house and the senate for his first two years until the majority woke to the "Hope and Change" scam, and nothing happened. Even the Clinton plagiarized Romneycare turned out to be a token gesture to appease the morons who voted. So when are these morons going to wake up to the "FACT" this "democratic" system is a scam? Are you going to continue voting for the "Lesser of Two Evils" for eternity? Will we be having this same conversation about the latest "Hope & Change" candidate in fifty years? I have read some very creative dystopian novels in my day, but no one has ever created anything that depressing.
1
-
What the caller doesn’t appear to understand is the role of “President” is mostly a puppet role designed to convince the rubes they have voted an independent candidate into office. Sure, this doesn’t apply for those already in the Deep State and the agencies of the plutocrats (CIA) like Herbert Walker, but most others you find in this office are just actors playing a designated role. Sometimes they select those with professional acting experience (Reagan, Trump) and sometimes those with innate acting ability are chosen (Obama).
Have you noticed the recent use of the residuals of the Russiagate scam? Propagandists like Rachael Maddow and Hartmann spent months pumping this propaganda into their audiences and now the plutocrats and their minions (Clinton) are now using the residuals of this propaganda against Bernie. This is what happens when you generate BS like Russiagate to hide the Podesta emails or to keep the Trump Derangement Syndrome going to disable any analytical function within the rube brain. Once you start this BS, the plutocrats will continue to use the same propaganda to attack those who are working for the people (Bernie). You may have recently heard the “Intelligence” Agencies saying Putin is helping Bernie; again without no proof and only hearsay. You may have heard Hillary saying that Bernie is just a “Russian Asset”. Yes, these are the same plutocratic puppet (Hillary) and the same “Intelligence” Agencies that "confirmed" Russiagate are now being applied to Bernie. So now the plutocrats are bringing their Russiagate propaganda out of cold storage to again attack their rivals (Bernie). Can you see how dangerous it is to create this BS in the first place; just to smear your opponents while simultaneously propagandizing the rubes to accept the plutocrats’ foreign policy?
So, I’m not really sure what’s going to happen should Bernie make it to inauguration. An honest man in a corrupt system (The Fourth Reich) designed by the psychopathic imperialist plutocrats to manipulate the rubes and to covertly enslave the American people and for that matter, the World. The plutocrats and their minions (Clinton) must be working furiously to ensure Bernie either never gets into office; or if he does, his presidency will be isolated and undermined and made totally ineffective. Maybe that’s where Warren comes in? After all, Bernie is getting old; he has had cardiovascular problems recently; maybe it’s time for a visit from the CIA’s medical staff. During the Church Commission in 1975, it was shown the CIA had a working “Heart Attack Gun”; surely they must have improved the design by now.
1
-
1
-
What is this Andrew Boyle saying, 09:57 “The government (US) is embracing autocrats around the World”, where the key words are “is embracing”? Ever since at least WW2, the US government has not only embraced totalitarian states, it has created totalitarian states. You can start with Roosevelt and the Family of Saud in 1945 after the Yalta Conference, and then Mosaddegh in Iran 1953, and just keep going. And as for “human rights”; this corporate government has slaughtered millions around the world for the almighty dollar. And as for the International Criminal Court, you must understand the US has never been a signatory. Maybe you haven’t heard Bolton’s last rant denigrating the ICC in The Hague. I thought the head of the CIA being a know torturer would have raised some eyebrows, but it didn’t. So what is this conveniently selective “human rights” lawyer working within the Fourth Reich talking about?
Maybe this Brennan Center isn’t all it says it is? You should also be aware the President of the Brennan Center is Michael Waldman, former director of speech-writing for President Bill Clinton. I have read the Brennan Center is dedicated to fight for Democracy, the Rule of Law, and against Poverty; how’s that working out for you? In his first term, Clinton did more to devastate all three than any other president and I’m including Reagan and Bush. Could the Brennan Center be just another layer of Controlled Opposition?
1
-
1
-
1
-
With all the historical intent and evidence of complicity between the Clinton (Podesta Emails), Buttigieg and Shadow Inc., I didn’t think there two clowns would be so obtuse as to deny the obvious. It looks like Hartmann and his cohorts (Jefferson Smith) 04:17 “If there really were fraud going on”, yet again are attempting to appease the angry majority for the DNC's obvious electoral scam in Iowa to benefit the Corporate Democrats. Be very suspicious when a “journalist” (John Nichols) says to you, 04:31 “I don’t think there is conspiracies: I’m not a big believer in those”. Thank God this fool wasn’t working for the Washington Post during the Nixon era. If the errors at the Iowa Caucuses were random mistakes, you would expect them to produce random benefits to all. You will never hear any of these establishment clowns ask, ‘Why does every “mistake” the DNC makes favor the establishment?’ It is clear these two clowns are attempting to give "Plausibility Deniability" to the DNC by attempting to sell Hartmann’s audience on “Convenient Incompetence”.
Stupidity, incompetence, confusion, poor-planning, mistakes & errors – why is it when the plutocrats and their minions are running a scam, they always run the same protection scenario. You will find this strategy used to explain such diverse topics as the Iraq War down to the Iowa Caucuses. It is clear the plutocrats and their minions sell Incompetence and Mistakes to the people in an attempt to give them “Plausible Deniability”; how well it works depends solely on the gullibility and ignorance of the people and how well they’ve been programmed by the plutocrats' media.
Forget these two deceptive clowns and their pathetic attempt at misinformation and spinning reality, I much prefer to quote Charles Pigden, PhD Director of Philosophy Politics and Economics at University of Otago: - “If You Are Not a Conspiracy Theorist Then You Are an Idiot”
1
-
1
-
1
-
US politics is designed by the plutocrats to be a binary choice. They control one party (Republicans) that openly screws the American people and they control another party (Democrats) that pretends to work for the majority against the influence of Wall Street and offers the people fake “Hope and Change”.
When the institutions of a political and media system are so corrupt in whichever direction you look, is it so surprising that people grab at any delusional opportunity to free themselves from this feculent democracy and grab onto any option that may bring about change. Remember, this isn’t the time of Roosevelt where “Socialist” and “Communist” movements existed to work for the interests of the majority and gave the people a voice in the political arena. With the help of the corrupt media and treacherous Hollywood studios, the plutocrats have turned these names into a pejorative in the minds of the people and apart from a failing union movement; the people now have no voice.
If you look back into history, it was these “Socialist”, “Communist” and union movements that had the popular political leverage to bring about the New Deal; it wasn’t the good will of Roosevelt and his Hampton buddies. Remember, it was Roosevelt who later wrote, that by introducing the New Deal he had saved capitalism and it was Roosevelt that helped shaft Henry Wallace; a true man of the people. But history is written by the plutocrats and then filtered to the masses, and most are to apathetic to source the facts for themselves.
The days of Roosevelt and the multiple voices of the people have long gone, and in this fascist system Wall Street is now in total control. If you look back at the actions of the Democratic Party, they enabled this fascist system and promoted its interests. You will find the treachery of Hillary in her well paid speeches to Wall Street now written out of the lexicon. So don’t be too surprised if you see people looking for alternatives in some very strange places when you have a one party state pretending to be a democracy.
But the pundits and facilitators (Hartmann, Pocan, Perez, Pelosi, etc.) of the system will never admit this obvious fact, they continue with the idea of the false choice to keep the status quo. That’s just the way the plutocrats designed it to be in perpetuity.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
You can have the overt racial bigotry that surrounds Trump while being backed by his White Supremacists or you can have the more subtle racism of Joe Biden that’s selectively overlooked by liberals; especially those inflicted with “Trump Derangement Syndrome”. In my opinion, the Trump hate phenomena was created to scare those who were questioning whether they should move away from the war criminal Clinton, back into the camp of the corporate liberals and their Democratic establishment club owned by the plutocrats, but I could be wrong.
These liberals I mention will never acknowledge Biden’s criticism of “If you have trouble in figuring out if you are for me or Trump, then you ain’t Black” or his earlier comment of, "Unless we do something about this, my children are going to grow up in a jungle, the jungle being a racial jungle with tensions having built so high that it is going to explode at some point. We have got to make some move on this." And Biden did do something about it - the 1994 Crime Bill.
Today, Biden’s racism sits well in the company of liberals; they forget about his 1994 Crime bill that expanded the Black prison population more than thrice. They forget about his comments about the ethnic environment in which he wanted his children to be raised. Yes, the bigotry of Biden sits well embedded in, and hidden by, the Democratic establishment’s “Identity Politics” scam used to divide-and-conquer the gullible. Liberals - believe if you will Pelosi’s “Black Lives Matter” performance acting in her Kente-Cloth disguise – but most others don’t.
1
-
Thomas, when you said, 06:44 “Removing human rights and democracy as goals of US foreign policy” as if that was ever the intent of US foreign policy, surely you aren’t going to sell that garbage to your viewers. Thomas, you can’t expect anyone to accept you are so stupid; you want people to actually believe this blatant propaganda. Tillerson may be a treacherous sleaze working for his oligarchs but he is telling the truth for once. The sad part of his statement is he didn’t acknowledge that the farce of human rights and democracy has never been part of US imperial foreign policy; it was only propagandistic deception to sell US imperial wars to the masses. Tillerson has much of the strategy in place to remove this facade from US foreign policy; after all, why pay for a State Department to spread propaganda and deception when you are finally going to tell the truth to the people?
As far as I can see, US foreign policy and the State Department is much like the Democratic Party. It pretends to work for the interest of humanity but behind the scene it is just as involved in ripping off the foreign and domestic people as the Republicans. At least when the republicans’ use their rhetoric to sell you their version of what’s best for you is so obviously spin only a moron would accept it; sadly the Democrats, like the State Department, are a little more sophisticated.
So Thomas, how can you expect the more informed viewers to accept this garbage? Sure, you may have a few CNN-MSNBC viewers with their IQ lower than their shoe size that may lap up this puke like chardonnay, but I’m talking about that percentage of your viewers that can actually think. You know, those viewers that remember the Clinton-Albright sanctions in Iraq that killed half a million children under 5 years old from malnutrition and disease. Thomas, did you ever see Albright’s response, it shows the real intent of the State Department. Albright said, “It was worth it”. Now, doesn’t that look like an effective US foreign policy based on human rights?
And do you remember what Hillary said when the CIA backed mercenaries finally killed Giddafi on camera; her comment was, “We came, we saw, he died”. And now Libya is a failed state run by the CIA mercenary terrorists. In fact, you may be proud to know they have just recently had their first slave auction. Now, doesn’t that look like an effective US foreign policy based on human rights? So when you recall the imperialism for the US oligarchs that appeared to originate around the time of the Spanish-American War, was so eloquently documented by General Smedley Butler in his short book, “War is a Racket”, you must wonder why so many still live in ignorance of US imperialism and the millions around the world the US has killed. Thomas, how does it feel to be a shill for a system that would give Stalin a run for his money?
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
In one voice Hartmann promotes the US coup in Bolivia and in another pushes back against the Monroe Doctrine – can you say hypocrite. What Hartmann does not appear to understand is those currently on the Mexican border are there because of US Imperial intervention in Latin America? Whether it’s a Haitian president that no longer plays ball with Washington and needs to be assassinated, or some country with natural resources that need to be liberated, Hartmann’s CIA will always be on the job. Remember, the CIA either implements a coup to overthrow an elected leader allowing Washington death squads to terrorize the population, or the establishment invokes (Biden-Obama) sanctions on countries (e.g. Venezuela, Lebanon, Syria, etc. etc) that kill hundreds of thousands and then fools and liberal shills like Hartmann are left "wondering" why there are desperate people on the border.
Remember after the Haitian earthquake when the Haitian activist Dahoud Andre said, "The Clinton family, they are crooks, they are thieves, they are liars," After decades of watching the Democrat's propensity to intentionally fail for power and profit, this is no surprise. And then we see Biden border guards whipping colored people on the border as if the US has returned to pre-Civil War days of plantation owners and slaves. Just remember the words of Biden, "If you don't vote for me, then you ain't black", or the about turn of Harris after the election, "Don't come to the US"; and you may begin to appreciate the liberal scam. And the more intelligent Hartmann viewer (oxymoron) may even begin to understand the treachery and manipulation in the whole liberal "Identity Politics" scam.
And after all of this Hartmann will tell you to before the next election - “Vote Blue no Matter Who”; do you ever feel like a sucker?
"Only America Can Solve the Border Crisis" – LMAO
1
-
1
-
1
-
@Geopolitic157 : I will have to agree to disagree about Roosevelt. In my opinion, you are confusing Roosevelt's intent with the actual outcome of the New Deal; maybe you too are falling for the engineered popularity of Roosevelt and the media propaganda of the time. At that time, the Socialist and Communist movements along with unions pushed through their demands that resulted in the New Deal with threats of rebellion. Forget about the state sanctioned history you learned in school, this fact is clear in any credible history book. Remember, state history is written by the victors and forced upon the population; you have to go searching for the truth. And as for the Democratic Party, it has been a scam since inception. It would have been far more credible if it still supported segregation instead of the "Third Way" New democrat Wall Street Liberal scam it is now running. George Keegan showed Liberalism to be a scam in his 1948 memo, “Furthermore, we have about 50% of the world's wealth but only 6.3% of its population . . . .” Maybe if Senator Robert Byrd was still alive he could give you some answers on the real intent of the Democratic Party.
And as for Smedley Butler, I would have to consider your criticism as credible. Yes, in his early days Butler was well aware he was a "Gangster for Wall Street" who operated on three continents, but this appeared to change over time. He appeared to start his career as an ideologue but the reality he saw in what he was asked to do in many countries in the name of Capitalism appeared to change his thinking. So why would Butler wind up fighting for the interests of the people and betrayed the oligarchs of the day instead of aligning himself with the oligarchs and ensuring his half a million volunteers were successful in taking over the government under his direction? Remember, because of his open hostility to US imperialism Butler, was overlooked for the role of Commandant of the Marines Corps. This was no surprise but definitely a disappointment. Do these history books where you get your "facts" comment on the coup to overthrow the Roosevelt administration just after the New Deal? Do they explain how Roosevelt allowed these oligarchs behind the coup to go free without any prosecution for treason? Maybe this may indicate where Roosevelt's true loyalties lay.
So be careful idealizing so-called icons of history lionized by the corporate media of the day. Corporate media has always been a tool to aid the strategy of the oligarchs, “You furnish the pictures and I'll furnish the war.” There are still many questions to history where no facts are available so sometimes you just have to join the dots.
1
-
1
-
@Geopolitic157 : Sadly I see very little hope for the future. Yes, there is a slim hope a real "progressive" could slip through the oligarchs net but what happens then. The establishment would just isolate them and when you have the power to be able to mold public opinion from a majority focused on gossip and reality television, it's not that difficult. We live in a time when speculation and opinion trumps facts. Now I'm not defending Trump but maybe you should consider the depth of deception that surrounds the nation. Yes, Trump is a fool and a clown but he is NOT running the government or policy. Trump is just a puppet, a tool of deception and a target for ridicule. Why do you think a Wrestling Promoter and Game Show Host was selected by the oligarchs? Trump is selling spin, running a scam, and taking orders from the oligarchs just as Obama, Bush and so many others before him. The families that run the Empire are intentionally hidden and we only see their intent through the actions of their puppets and minions. Think about it; Trump can't assemble a sentence without notes or an Autocue. If he ever tries to ad lib, the result is incoherent and reflects the ranting of a petulant child. So how could anyone seriously think Trump, someone whose IQ is less than their shoe size, runs something as complex as the US government? As so many have said before; Trump is just a symptom of a corrupt system and not the cause.
So when you understand how the puppet Trump has been isolated within the administration and is only a mannequin used to sell the oligarchs' message; consider what awaits Sanders should he find himself in the Oval Office. If Sanders actually started working for the people, it would be interesting to watch how the oligarchs attempted to subvert Sanders while maintaining the illusion of democracy, but with the help of their propagandistic media and with the help of an apathetic population focused on gossip and the latest trend, I'm sure they would find a way.
So, by now you must appreciate it is easy to acknowledge that the people do get the government they deserve. But as you said it is more than just the current voters; it's the next and following generations that must be considered. I agree with Chomsky; the two realm threats are Anthropogenic Climate Change and the repercussions of Nuclear War. The West may be able to avoid Nuclear War, but human ignorance, apathy and the oligarchs' blinkered greed will most likely doom future generations on a planet growing more hostile every decade. So with the current oligarchical structure designed to monitor and control the population, what can the average person do? The oligarchs have commissioned their minions to create a Global surveillance system that would put the Stasi to shame; the police have been militarized and the NDAA Section 10.21 has removed the first and sixth amendments. One could continue discussing the rubber-stamp FISA court to override rights and the government's Fusion Centers to coordinate data from the alphabet agencies but as one continues to analyze, more information just becomes redundant. So the Jefferson option "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." can no longer be applied. I'm not sure where to go from here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2gO4DKVpa8&t=10s
1
-
1
-
00:01 “How have the Republicans for the last forty years gotten working class to vote against their economic self interests?”
You expect those who have experienced Bill’s NAFTA, Bill’s destruction of Social Security, Bill’s deregulation of Wall Street and Hillary’s Wall Street double speak to accept this fraudulent question without challenge. It wasn’t the Republicans who were effective at getting some in the voting public to vote for the GOP; it was the treachery of the Democratic Establishment. And even a paid Wall Street shill like youself must admit Obama’s “Hope and Change” followed by a term of complete inaction with a final “Look forward, don’t look back” and “We tortured some folks”, must have been the last straw for many. But Biden won’t have to worry about being exposed as a fraud like Obama, as it looks like the Democrats have lost the Senate. Isn’t that convenient for Biden, as unlike Obama in his first term, Biden can hide now his treachery behind a reasonable and deceptive “It was the Republicans” argument for inaction?
If your viewers are really asking this insipid question that exposes their own political ignorance, all I can say is the given the corruption of the Democratic elite and their forty year oppression of the working class; given that Trump promised “Drain the Swamp”, “No more Wars”, “Bring the Troops Home”, and Bring the Jobs Home” just after Hillary and Obama had made a failed state of Libya with open slave markets; given that the Democratic Establishment has rejected the interests of the people (e.g. Medicare for All) since the Koch funded Clinton-Gore Democratic Leadership council, I can understand why some voters would have selected Trump just on speculation and the off-chance he may have been genuine. People voted for Trump because their options were extremely limited and they took a chance.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
@Temporary Account : I was going to say that maybe it's not that she likes Trump, but that she hated the corruption and hypocrisy of the Democratic establishment. But on reflection, it appears she is just one of those Libertarian rubes embedded in the Austrian-Libertarian cult that switches off their discriminatory skills and blindly watch Ron Paul and read Mises Institute propaganda. The Austrian-Libertarian cult is exactly the same and a mirror image as the Democratic cult; both have been designed to be all-encompassing propaganda machines and it's very hard to break through. One has as much chance of stopping someone in the Libertarian cult from watching the Ron Paul Liberty Report or something similar backed by Charles Koch and the John Birch Society, as one has asking someone embedded in the Democratic cult from listening to MSNBC and Rachael Maddow.
And both Democrats and Republicans have been critical of government. When Clinton was elected, he said, "This is the end of Big Government" and then went on to deregulate, privatize, crush social security and offshore jobs. When the Republicans were elected (Reagan), they said "The Government was the problem", but it meant the same thing. And Clinton just finished what Reagan couldn't.
The plutocrats want to remove the voice of the people and the best way of achieving that is by crushing the people's elected government and building up the plutocrats' private government. That certainly have achieved that goal.
So I can understand your delivery person even if I don't agree with her reasoning, but she should learn how to join the dots. The plutocrats love turmoil and fear; they use it to divide and conquer. The more fear you can create in the minds of the rubes, the narrower their tunnel-vision becomes, the more fearful they become, and the easier they are to control.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
Thomas, I too would like to direct the blame for Neoliberalism towards one person but that is fallacious; Neoliberalism is bipartisan. And always remember, it had very little to do with the hired Hollywood puppet Reagan; it was the plutocrats that actually screwed the American people. Remember, it was Don Reagan of Bear Sterns, the 66th United States Secretary of the Treasury (1981 - 1985) and White House Chief of Staff (1985 - 1987) who was Reagan’s minder. It was Don Regan who made sure that Alzheimer Reagan stuck to the plutocrats' script. The same can’t be said for Thatcher; she knew exactly what she was doing.
And don't forget the Democrat's contribution when they came to power. Bill Clinton and the Democrats “Third Way” did irreparable damage to the labor market, social security, and regulatory environment when they frequented the White House. The Republicans could only dream of the results achieved by the Democratic Party as these policies were sold to the people by the plutocratic puppet Bill Clinton so carefully selected for his ability to manipulate. Yes, the transition did start after the Powell Memorandum with Reagan who started the real transition to Neoliberalism, but the Democratic Party turbocharged the deception using the multitudes that believed the Democrats actually worked for the Main Street.
Thomas, you have to understand with the current and upcoming technologies, the plutocrats don't need to exploit as many people. And you can't just leave the growing lower classes to revolt against the system; so the best option is eugenics. Now don't be surprised; eugenics and selective sterilization have been used widely before in the US. Where do you think the Nazis got the idea for their eugenics program? Yes, eugenics flourished in the US up ‘till the end of WW2 and then this method of herd thinning appeared to go out of fashion as the economy boomed in the 1950s and 60s. If you get a chance, have a look at the 1934 movie “Tomorrow’s Children”; it’s a real eye-opener, and it does explain some of the inherent malleability, acceptance and complacency of the American people.
Today, the plutocrats see the only politically acceptable way to reduce the population is by, what I call economic sterilization. The plutocrats can slaughter a few in their Imperial Wars for profit and a few may die from limited “access” to healthcare, but the most effective way to thin the herd is to destroy their future. Create an economic environment where the young are saturated in debt and incomes are crushed with the labor market so the future is precarious, and you have a formula for reducing the population. Humans are fundamentally driven by instinct, but they will usually not reproduce if they see no future for their progeny.
1
-
Sure, you can have mandatory voting but that's only forcing the people to vote for one of the two oligarch owned puppets on the ballot. Remember the two quotes of the famous politician William M. Tweed, “I don't care who does the electing, so long as I get to do the nominating” and “I don't care a straw for your newspaper articles; my constituents don't know how to read, but they can't help seeing them damned pictures”.
What you need to do is educate the population so they understand the democracy in the US is just a scam. The only candidates allowed in the oligarchs’ race controlled by the oligarchs are owned by the oligarchs. The oligarchs exploit the ignorance and stupidity of the cretins who vote; the fools just swinging from one side to the other, running away from the latest political manipulation intended to herd them in a direction beneficial to the oligarchs’ interests.
Sadly, increasing the participation by mandatory voting may not help and could even aggravate the plight of the American people. All you will be doing is reaching further into the barrel to get an apple when the whole barrel of apples is rotten. Thomas, instead of taking dollars to perpetuate the corrupt system, do your audiences a real favor; teach them about the real atrocity of US politics. It’s not Trumps obvious shortcomings or the psychopathy of the Republican Party, it’s not the treachery of the Democratic Party and the DNC that continually strategizes to betray their constituents; the real treachery of US politics is the system itself. The system owned by the oligarchs, controlled by the oligarchs, and designed to only benefit the oligarchs while maintaining Potemkin normalcy. But the cracks are showing.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
The breaking up of families by the Trump administration is a free kick for the Corporate Democrats. It is sad to see these scammers who continue this fake left-right paradigm to keep the fools amused while both parties screw the American people on behalf of the oligarchs. Sure, the Corporate Democrats will create the illusion they will screw you a little less, but that’s just a ploy to keep you on the continuous swinging political pendulum where ignorance and apathy are the driving forces. Take for example when Hartmann says the billionaire class has effectively won. What Hartmann fails to explain is the richest person on the planet describes himself as a Democrat and many more billionaires in the “elite”, “Hollywood”, and “Silicone Valley” class who consider themselves Democrats. It’s just another example of keep the ignorant fools confused and you can steer them wherever you want.
Notice now Perez rapidly locked into the most recent minority disaster so he doesn’t have to tackle the hard issues. Even Perez went down the MSNBC-Maddow road of “collusion with the Russian government” so he doesn’t have to answer the awkward questions. This Clinton construct has been fabricated to give an easy answer to awkward questions, (How did Trump ever get elected), which is rapidly failing the ongoing scrutiny. Soon this will only be a transient smirk on Maddow’s face very few will understand. The standard tactic of both the Republicans and Corporate Democrats (Republicrats) is - please look over there while we bugger you. So let’s see how many minority issues we can count during Perez’s interview to keep your attention while the real issues go unaddressed. Yes, I heard the obvious children being separated from their parents, and the women’s reproductive rights, going after labor unions, the Muslim ban, voter suppression, and an imbalance in the Supreme Court. Yes, all very important but you need to look past this to the mechanisms the oligarchs implement to disable a democracy. The oligarchs may reduce some of these (Superdelegates) to give the illusion of more democracy, but they have many levers remaining to compromise the will of the people.
And when Perez says, “we have to lead with our values”, notice how these values and other relevant issues are never discussed. Consider the “going after Labor Unions”; how many realize that Clinton (Bill) did much more to shatter the union movement than the Kochs’ “Citizens United” ever did. Hartmann, maybe you should setup a debate between this deceptive scum Perez who continues the extend-and-pretend and Thomas Frank and let’s see some relevant issues put on the table.
If I was to be cynical, I might suggest there is bipartisan deception going on just to keep this divide-and-conquer scam going. Notice how both Democrat and Republican always side with the corporate sector; the same pro oligarch policies introduced by Bush continued through the Obama administration and those oligarch policies introduced in the Obama administration continue into the Trump administration. All Trump is doing is accelerating what the Republicrats started during the Reagan-Thatcher era and these in turn were ongoing through the Clinton, Bush and Obama eras. Yes, the health of children is important but you must get past that as it's a basic propaganda tactic. Have you ever wondered why the propaganda out of Syria always shows children in distress? It’s simple propaganda 101; human beings have great difficulty with the suffering of children. It’s used because it works. If you ever looked at the Syrian footage, you would believe there were no adults in the conflict, only children. Sad when you consider the half a million Iraqi children under five years old who died at the hands of the Clinton beloved Madeline Albright, but you will rarely hear that discussed on the MSM and you will never see any videos of the atrocity on the MSM. It’s time to realize the Republicrat scam for what it is – pure deception while the oligarchs steal your lives.
1
-
1
-
@georgefurman4371 : I agree; the Libertarian movement was founded on breaking up Roosevelt's New Deal. The precursors to the Libertarian movement created institutions like the American Liberty League to disassemble the New Deal. Ever since, institutions like the John Birch society have been pushing Libertarian (Austrian Economics) theories into government and this culminated in Reagan. But also remember how Clinton finished what Reagan started. Also remember, that the heart of Austrian Economics in the US was the Koch Brothers (Now just Charles Koch) and Charles Koch funded the Clinton-Gore "Third Way" Democratic Leadership Council. So behind the scenes, these two treacherous groups work covertly to screw the people. When Pelosi is tearing up Trump's speech and throwing fake barbs at Trump while passing everything on the Trump (Koch) Administration's wish list, you should be asking some serious questions. So be careful with the assumption, "The DNC let's remember is a collaborationist party" as this " collaborationist party" continues to move the Overton window to the right. I much prefer to consider the words of Warren Buffet, "There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning." and if things progress even further, one should listen to the prophetic words of Zbigniew Brzezinski when he discusses what can be done with the rising political awakening of the population, “To put it bluntly: in earlier times, it was easier to control one million people than to physically kill one million people; today, it is infinitely easier to kill one million people than to control one million people.”
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
An interesting caller (Nancy) who makes a valid point, “We know there’s something wrong with this country”; “If we are looking for the guilty, we only need to look in the mirror”.
It’s always so interesting to watch the Hartmann; so obviously one of the minions of the plutocrats. Watching Hartmann is the best way to understand the current strategies of deception the plutocrats who drive US Empire implement on the people. When you hear Hartmann being critical of the Venezuelan economy and not even mentioning Obama’s classification of Venezuela as a "Threat to US National Security", or the sanctions that have been based on that lie and have devastated that country, you know something’s wrong. When the only comment you hear from Hartmann on the recent Bolivian coup is that Morales shouldn’t have attempted to run for another term. Even though this term had been sanctioned by the Bolivian courts, this was the only point pushed by Hartmann. Not the fact that Morales party members had been tarred and feathered; not the fact that Morales’ family members had been threatened and their houses destroyed; not the fact that the OAS (Organization of American States) and the UN, are just tools of US Empire; and not the fact that Morales got the majority of the vote and it was the military that had told Morales to “Leave”.
Of course Hartmann wouldn’t feel responsible for any of this US imperial devastation; he is just another tool of Empire who continues to push US "exceptionalism". Remember, the Third Reich with their Lebensraum and their Aryan superiority also believed they were exceptional. Now Hartmann, working for the interests of the Fourth Reich, continues the work of Goebbels. Wasn't it Hartmann pushing for Clinton after she had just devastated Libya and then her ISIS mercenaries gave Gaddafi a bayonet enema after which a clear cackle of "We came, we saw, he died" came from the mouth of Hartmann's political idol. Yes, Hartmann is truly a tool of Empire and it makes me sad when I see a genuine person (Nancy) with genuine questions about the plutocratic system behind Empire, confessing her genuine thoughts to a minion of the plutocrats.
1
-
1
-
It's an excellent tactic on the part of the Libertarian government. While the people are struggling to survive, give them the opportunity to sacrifice their social security to get a few dollars in the hand now. The Libertarians have learned well to trust in the desperation, apathy, and ignorance of the average person - especially under times of stress. They understand those who are struggling for survival and only think short-term will gladly trade away their futures for a few breadcrumbs now. Those who understand the plutocrats behind the current administration (e.g. Koch), understand that these plutocrats have been attempting to remove Social Security since at least 1980. If you review the original Libertarian platform which David Koch ran on in his 1980 campaign for VP, you will find, “We favor the repeal of the fraudulent, virtually bankrupt, and increasingly oppressive Social Security system. Pending that repeal, participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.” So, you shouldn't be surprised when you see the Koch puppets in the White House pushing this idea. Well, if the current administration fails to carry out Charles Koch's wishes, there are multiple YouTube videos available where Biden said he would annihilate Social Security when given the opportunity to do so.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
Most Democratic candidates have some degree of alignment with the corrupt Party; the only candidates who have a modicum of independence are Bernie Sanders and Tulsi Gabbard. And independent of what Hartmann tells you, Warren is now a tool of the plutocrats. Warren may have racked up some political capital in areas of consumer protection, but now she has been recruited by the plutocrats and is expected to spend that capital in a last ditch effort to nonviolently disable Sanders yet again. If you want to understand what the plutocrats and their minions (Clintons. the DNC, Warren and the rest) have in store for Sanders, just look at the history behind the Jeremy Corbyn campaign. So far Bernie has only been exposed to the anti-Semitic smear and now the sexist smear from Warren, but Corbyn went through all those smears with "Russian asset", "Trotskyite", and "Hungarian spy" thrown in for good measure. Oh wait, I forgot Hillary has already labeled Bernie as a "Russian" asset. If US plutocrats follow the same strategy as those in the UK, you should expect the next attack to be internal. If Bernie looks as though he will win the nomination, I would expect to see some more treachery from within the DNC; possibly a rule change.
What concerns me is if Bernie should win the nomination and then look as though he will win the race. The plutocrats have much to lose if Bernie should win the presidency. Bernie will no longer be susceptible to the subtle negative narratives of the plutocrats' minions, media, and shills (Hartmann); he will be an open target. The gloves will be off. Always remember, the actual function of the Democratic Party ( and Hartmann) is to ensure a real Progressive never wins the presidency.
1
-
Will enough voters show up? Honestly, the corrupt Corporate Democratic and Republican establishment hasn’t given the people a good reason to “show up”. I’m just trying to comprehend the pathetic, scared, gullible, and immoral sleaze that would even show up to participate in this obvious scam. You now have the choice between a petulant, ignorant, corrupt cretin (Trump), or an Alzheimic, lying, plagiarizing, finger-banging corrupt right wing corporate fool (Biden); it's like being asked to choose between syphilis and gonorrhea. Democracy in the US is nothing more than a dying horse on the side of the road with four broken legs and bleeding profusely from a gash in its side; why not just put a bullet between its eyes and move on? Be honest with others and especially yourself and admit this whole thing is an elaborate bipartisan scam to create the illusion of democracy while the plutocrats rob the taxpayer blind and treat the working class as if they were livestock. As Biden told Wall Street, “After I’m elected, nothing will change”; at least Biden was unusually honest in that statement.
Hartmann, I understand you have been tasked to help keep the establishment going; to keep the fools returning to the polling stations year after year to give this corrupt farce the illusion of legitimacy. But there must be a point where even a minion of the plutocrats like the Rhodes Scholar Maddow or yourself must become disgusted at what they are tasked to do; independent of the amount they are being paid.
1
-
1
-
1
-
But sadly, Hartmann isn't telling you the whole truth. . The 1933 against the Roosevelt administration didn't intend to kill Roosevelt, it was intended to sideline Roosevelt into a puppet ceremonial role (much like there is now in the White House), and have an army of 500,000 selective troops run the administration (If you replace the word "troops" with "Wall Street and Military Industrial Complex executives"; that's fundamentally how the government is run now).
And Hartmann was wrong about Roosevelt's intent; Roosevelt was a tool of Wall Street, and just like Obama, Roosevelt was a proficient thespian. Roosevelt betrayed the people when he failed to prosecute the plutocrats that instigated the coup, but he could have done little else as many of those same plutocrats owned Roosevelt. I liken Roosevelt's betrayal of the people and democracy to that of Obama when he said, "Look forward, not back"; when Obama intentionally failed to prosecute the torturers and war criminals of the Bush administration. So always remember – “It’s a Big Club, and you ain’t in it”.
1
-
Jan 6 was "Wall Street Putsch" part 2 :
Unlike January the 6th, the 1933 coup against Roosevelt was real; it wasn't just a couple of FBI informers recruited by the FBI to convince a pack of discontented and manipulated rag-tag rubes from southern states to break in to a government building. Everyone knew these petulant discontents were converging on the Capitol and no actions were carried out to stop them - WHY? Even on the day, the Capitol police acted impotent and only one "insurrectionist" was injured (shot) and sadly died? I wonder why no actions were ever attempted to secure the Capitol building? Maybe a temporary security fence may have helped? But those gullible coerced and delusional rubes were allowed to just storm the building? I wonder why? Like the now defunct "Russiagate", January the 6th was designed to distract the people from the treachery around them. That's why it was played up so much by the media. Like Russiagate was designed to stop people asking questions about the Podesta emails and the Democratic establishment's treachery against Bernie, January the 6th was also designed to distract from the fact the Democratic establishment was screwing Bernie yet again. But conveniently no one remembers the Clinton Democratic Party application (the app) used to screw Bernie in the Iowa primaries; no one remembers how the establishment "convinced" all the contenders to drop out so that Biden could crush Bernie with the help of the media. If you ask me, January the 6th was more successful than Russiagate at covering up the treachery of the Democratic establishment against Bernie. Notice how the 1933 coup is never mentioned in history books or the media. Unlike January the 6th, notice how it was carefully designed to seamlessly merge the 500,000 strong military traitors with government functions and slowly subvert the Roosevelt administration undetected until it was too late. This is a long way from the highly publicized rag-tag team of confused Trump supporters scammed into breaking a few windows. But in the 1933 coup it was intended Roosevelt would stay on as a puppet; similar to the role Biden, Trump, or Obama held during their tenure. As for Hartmann's pathetic excuse (because he didn't want to give them publicity) for Roosevelt's inaction; understand that Hartmann is there to sell you on false hope of the Democratic establishment. Hartmann will never intentionally expose the historical treachery of the Democratic establishment; hence the pathetic attempt to cover up Roosevelt's treachery. Hartmann will never admit the Democratic Party is owned and controlled by Wall Street; and Hartmann willingly sells you on the idea that Manchin is the exception and not the rule. And when it comes time to again vote in the next federal election, Hartmann will be pulling out all stops to ensure you vote for the Democratic establishment and maintain Wall Street's status quo. You should be under no illusions about Hartmann; if an anti Wall Street real progressive was ever successful in a primary bid, Hartmann would be pushing you to vote Republican to maintain the status quo. You may wonder why you never see Chris Hedges on this program and now I hope you understand why; even the moderate Thomas Frank appears unwilling to appear after people have absorbed the truths of "Listen Liberal".
1
-
Thomas, you don’t appear to understand both allowable sides of politics are controlled by the oligarchs and both leaders are just puppets of these oligarchs. Take Clinton for example, when she was giving that Dickensian speech, I’m sure she was well aware she was capable of saying “We came, we saw, he died” as her CIA mercenaries shoved a bayonet up Gaddafi’s rectum and killed him while they dragged his dying body in from of the cameras. Throughout her career Clinton knew on which side her bead was buttered, she worked for the oligarchs’ interests in Wall Street and promoted the oligarchs’ foreign wars of aggression for profit and power.
This can be seen in the embrace Hillary gave the war monger and criminal Kissinger labeled “inexcusable” in the Nation. Even in her recent run for president she had Madeline Albright speak for her at her rallies. Albright; who justified the slaughter half a million Iraqi children in her sanctions of the early nineteen hundreds, and then attempted to pull the women’s vote by saying, “There is a special place in hell for women who don’t vote for Hillary”. And Thomas, you still appear to still wonder why Trump was able to so easily scam the people and win the election?
Thomas, if you wish to work for the interests of the Clintons’ oligarchs, you need to dump Hillary as a source of credibility. You may wish to focus on Obama as his acting talents are far superior to Hillary and some of the more ignorant still believed in Obama right to the end. Apart from a few of these die-hard fools who look at a polarized selective history, Hillary’s contributions to the Corporate Democrat scam do more harm than good. If you wish to grow this ongoing scam deceptively promote Wall Street over Main Street and work for the oligarchs supporting the DNC and the Corporate Democrats, you need a new icon to manipulate the remaining few fools that are still blinded to the reality of the system.
So it’s difficult to see why you argue against the torturer (Haspel) when you appear to promote the warmonger (Clinton) and her child murderer (Albright) with impunity. Just a closing piece of advice; in any further promotion of the Corporate Democrats, please don’t use war criminals like Albright and Clinton as their use-by date expired last Millennium.
1
-
1
-
Hartmann, did I hear you correct; did you agree with the Krugman quote, 01:27 “The way that we bought about progressive democracies across Europe, in South America, in Asia, from Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan; the way we did that was not by force of arms but by way of moral example”. Doesn’t this garbage want to make you heave? Sure the cretins may accept these lies without question but do you want to spend your life manipulating cretins. The only reason for the US involvement in Taiwan was leverage against China; the only reason for the US involvement in South Korea and Japan was to ensure its influence in SE Asia. I never heard you mention anything about the US backed slaughter of a million Indonesians in the transition of Indonesia to a US vassal state. Hartmann, you need to learn the truth from the War Criminal Kissinger who said, “The US has no friends or enemies, only interests’. I’m even amazed how you had the audacity of using the phrase, “bought about progressive democracies” and “South America” in the same sentence. Hartmann you are smarter than that; how much are you getting paid to spin this crap? It won’t be long before I hear Hartmann confirm Venezuela is a serious risk to the “National Security” of the US. At that point, I would be almost convinced Hartmann is working for the interest of the Kochs.
Hartmann, you must realize the end of an Empire starts the day it is born. Ever since the two colonies funded by the London Company were created on the East Coast to benefit the European oligarchs of the day, the Empire was simultaneously expanding and dying. Ever since the colonists slaughtered in excess of 20 million Native Americans; ever since a slave owner and child molester (Thomas Jefferson) wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”; this from a man who enslaved his own children. Well, I think you get the picture.
Sadly, most Empires start out as either distortions of the truth or outright lies and there is enough to go around. But what is important is how these lies are introduced to the narrative of the nation. The CIA with Hollywood and the media have done an excellent job of deception but recently this has started to falter. This is where I would have to thank Dick Cheney and the other War Criminals woke many to the real intent of American Empire and Exceptionalism. The intent of American Exceptionalism can be easily found in Wolfowitz’s “Project for a New American Century”. Just after the planes hit the towers and apparently the Pentagon, you could hear the doors closing on the American chapter of the Anglo-American Empire. You could hear it in the lies of Colin Powell as he stood before the World holding a vial of something; the lies of Condasleeza Rice and her “Mushroom Cloud”; the copious lies of Cheney that would run my printer out of ink; that was the end of Empire.
So I have to thank those oligarchs behind the curtain who control the tax payer funded military of the Empire for awakening me by watching their military invade a Sovereign Nation for oil, for hegemony, for the Petrodollar, and for the interests of Israel. I would like to thank General Wesley Clark who awakened me to the plan of the oligarchs to invade “Seven Countries in Five Years”, Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and, finishing off, Iran. I see the project isn’t on schedule but it is progressing. So while you listen to deceivers like Hartmann considering the “End of Empire” as a domestic issue, you should consider the tens of millions killed by the US Imperial machine. Hartmann clearly believes in American Exceptionalism and is unconcerned about the involvement of the US in such slaughter. Could Hartmann actually be an Exceptional racist?
1
-
I used to have a lot of time for Amy Goodman. Goodman was once a journalist who exposed the crimes of empire instead of helping to facilitate the crimes. Goodman was a real journalist when she interviewed General Wesley Clark in 2007; now that exposure woke many to the intent and crimes of Empire. When Clark admitted he saw the Pentagon memo showing the Republican and Democrat bipartisan Neocon intent of destroying “Seven Countries in Five Years”, it exposed the whole imperial establishment.
Sadly, the days of a credible Democracy Now and Amy Goodman are now long gone; they have joined their Hartmann counterparts in the bipartisan swamp. Many, once credible journalists have now backslid into the cesspool of imperialism. Both Hartmann and Goodman have indirectly pushed for the ongoing sanctions on Venezuela that have killed at least 40,000 people, and have sent nearly 2 million fleeing the country. Just so the plutocrats and their Empire can acquire the Venezuelan people’s oil and other natural resources. The Empire has already stolen the Venezuelan Oil Company CITGO, and Britain has stolen the gold of the Venezuelan people. And it doesn't stop there; Hartmann and Goodman spent years pushing Russiagate that has now turned out to be a farce. Even the war criminal Hillary had the Iraqi child killer Madeline Albright promote her in the 2016 election campaign. So being a shill of empire isn’t unusual in the US; most understand killing and stealing for profit leads to a successful empire in the short term. It is only now that most realize profits from empire only reside at the top. As the empire fails, we are now watching the plutocrats directly steal the wealth of the people and further expand the inequality. Both Democrat and Republican were complicit in the latest heroic theft from the American taxpayer. As the corruption becomes more apparent, the plutocrats will shift from butchering brown people in far off lands to oppressing their domestic population. Empires implode from within and now the plutocrats are turning their domestic military on the own population to control unrest from oppression, inequality, and servitude. We are now seeing the beginning of the end.
It won’t be long before you realize both Hartmann and Goodman are no different than CNN or MSNBC; just more shills of Empire to propagandize the population to benefit the plutocrats in their final gasps of intent to steal the resources of other nations. I’m expecting to see Hartmann or Goodman emulate the mainstream media and have the war criminals Rumsfeld, Cheney, or Bush on their show any day now. There seems to be a profit in recycling war criminals of empire.
1
-
The big question is why does Hartmann continually parade his fake left credentials in front of his audience by bantering Flat-Earth arguments with this Austrian-Libertarian Koch cretin? If Hartmann would only to bother to go to Bernie’s website and download the 1980 Koch Austrian-Libertarian platform titled “What Do the Koch Brothers Want? “, and present that to his audience, they would understand the real intent of the Washington bipartisan Neoliberal movement: e.g.
“We urge the repeal of federal campaign finance laws, and the immediate abolition of the despotic Federal Election Commission.”
“We favor the abolition of Medicare and Medicaid programs.”
“We oppose any compulsory insurance or tax-supported plan to provide health services, including those which finance abortion services.”
“We also favor the deregulation of the medical insurance industry.”
“We favor the repeal of the fraudulent, virtually bankrupt, and increasingly oppressive Social Security system. Pending that repeal, participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.”
If the audience would only take the time to read the document on Sander’s website, they would be able to predict the response of Charles Sauer without Chucky ever having to open his mouth. And for that matter, they would also be able to predict the same response from Democrats like Pelosi as well "We are all capitalists now". Instead of this mindless repetitive choreographed ranting that only targets the emotions of the mindless rubes in the audience; the audience could get a comprehensive understanding of the Austrian-Libertarian narrative and some understanding of the Republican-Democrat Neoliberalism corporate end game. Instead of playing this Good-Cop/Bad-Cop routine, or as in Hartmann’s and Sauer’s case Bad-Cop / Worse-Cop, maybe Hartmann could interview someone with audience credibility; again, Chris Hedges or Bernie Sanders come to mind.
So why does Hartmann continue with this periodic Sauer charade? Is it only to stimulate and take advantage of the emotionally challenged; those who have long ago lost their analytical skills?
1
-
1
-
@rittherugger160 : I have a problem with a "single agenda point" when it comes to a complex issue. Even if the oligarchs allow Buckley vs. Valeo and Citizens United to be overturned, it is only because they have devised a far more effective mechanism to keep the delusional public voting for their interests in this Democratic farce. You need to understand, even though this Democratic process is a farce, it is still needed by the oligarchs to maintain systemic legitimacy. The oligarchs want to avoid the realization the US is a banana republic for as long as possible. Although with the recent Florida elections and Trump at the helm, it is getting a little difficult to ignore.
"Getting the money out ends the direct control the Oligarchs exercise over congress." I'm not sure what you mean by "direct" control. And how does removing money from politics "end the direct control the Oligarchs exercise over congress"?
So while you are contemplating how "Getting Money out of Politics" ends the control the Oligarchs exercise over congress, maybe you should also contemplate why this persistence exists to maintain "Hope and Change" within the Democratic Party? Have you considered asking the Commission on Presidential Debates to allow a candidate outside of one of the oligarch controlled parties to join the debate? Have you considered asking for the conditions that restrict a third party from entering the race to be lifted? Have you considered asking the super-delegate scam to be removed from politics? Have you considered asking for the Electoral College scam to also be removed? Have you considered asking for the Gerrymandering scam that keeps at least one of the two oligarch parties in power be removed? And I could just keep going infinitum.
Soon you may come to the realization the true function of the Democratic Party is to stop progressive policies from entering the US political arena. Sure, there have been some tokens thrown to the people from time to time, but that was just to keep them interested. Even going back to Roosevelt and his New Deal, Roosevelt was always working for the oligarchs. It was the "left" movements of the day that forced Roosevelt to convince the oligarchs to "give up some of their wealth" otherwise there would have been a revolution. Roosevelt wrote to his brother saying he had saved capitalism. And since that day the oligarchs and their think tanks, foundations and institutions have been working to reverse the "progressive" gains made. Again, getting money out of politics is a good start, but if you think it will “end the direct control the Oligarchs exercise over congress”, you are a blind man trying to describe an elephant.
1
-
1
-
This is just another example of the tit-for-tat clickbait strategy to attract those fools driven by their Limbic system. The idiots in a restaurant wouldn’t serve a Democrat; the idiots in a restaurant wouldn’t serve a Republican. All that proves is those idiots at the restaurants don’t understand the plutocrats divide-and-conquer strategy and are ignorantly enforcing that strategy. Hartmann, I’m not sure why you are using this rhetoric just to fill in air time, but you could be doing so much more with this opportunity. Your opinions are becoming so nebulous and distorted any belief system could fit within their boundary. Why do you insist on walking that fine line where you feel the need to keep some of the actual left onside while catering to the fake establishment left? Why do you have Corporate Democrat guests like Perez who push the fake Russiagate that you apparently now agree with, when you used to interview Thomas Frank who exposes Russiagate as the Clinton-Maddow scam it is?
Hartmann, forget this mindless clickbait; why don’t you bring back Thomas Frank and interview him on how the Democratic Party has screwed the American people? Give the people the fundamental reasons why and how they have been screwed by Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Trump alike. Give them something actually informative for the long term instead of the tit-for-tat clickbait garbage only effective at manipulating cretins and continuing the plutocrats’ divide-and-conquer strategy. Or, won’t your current bosses allow you to go there.
Hartmann, it is so obvious your new job is to help continue the expansion of the Corporate Center Democrats so the plutocrats have a platform on which to stand; occasionally throwing the true left some crumbs in hope to keeping the more ignorant convinced. So if you ever get Thomas Frank to frequent your show again, may I suggest you ask him why he believes Hillary lost to Trump and listen carefully to his explanation? Or is that a bridge too far?
1
-
1
-
@Oggatha Christie : Any democratic solution appears to be off the table as US Democracy has died the death of a thousand cuts. Combine that with the corporate controlled media and all the MSNBC emulators on the internet and you have a populous of misinformed people attempting to vote in a corrupt democratic system. Yes, there may be a chance with Bernie, but never forget the Democratic National Committee pledge Sanders signed requires him to “run and serve as a member of the Democratic Party.” The full extent of this agreement will probably only be understood after taking office.
When it comes to a democratic solution, I believe the plutocrats have all bases covered so alternative strategies must be considered. An aggressive resistance strategy like you see in France with the Yellow Jackets is also off the table. If you look back through history, you will see the plutocrats in the US have slaughtered those who have tried such tactics, and with the new private armies like was seen at Standing Rock, this would be disastrous. Rockefeller’s Ludlow Massacre could happen again tomorrow and with the corrupt media and a scared and gullible population, this could be spun into an acceptable narrative.
The only possible path I see is what Chris Hedges recommends along the lines of obstructive resistance. You probably need to watch a few of his videos to get a comprehensive understanding. Chris appears to believe the only chance to turn this around is to target the good in the community, hope they are the majority, educate them in all ways possible, and have them on the team. Somehow you have to reverse decades of “Identity Politics” used by by the mainstream media and controlled opposition like Hartman to divide and conquer on behalf of the plutocrats. It really comes down to a critical mass; if the majority is too lazy, apathetic, and frightened to recognize and act against corruption, maybe it’s time to emigrate. That’s if you want to live in a democracy. But if you look at the reach of the tentacles of the Kochtopus, I’m not sure where you would go: https://www.atlasnetwork.org/partners/global-directory
The Washington-CIA coup you are now observing now in Venezuela is a result of the Kochtopus.
1
-
1
-
1
-
Jason Berger: I hope you're correct it's their last stand; even though the repercussions are extremely serious, maybe its time; but please consider what the people are up against. The oligarchs have been building up their defenses ever since the end of the last millennium; consider the National Defense Authorization Act section 10.21; consider the ambiguity in legislation of the meaning of "terrorist" where terrorist legislation has already been used to prosecute the Dakota pipeline protestors; consider the creation of "Homeland" Security, the militarization of the police, and the disappearance of the Posse Comitatus Act, and don’t forget the Global “Five Eyes” surveillance system that captures data and stores it in the Utah Data Center.
The oligarchs are currently gutting the US and extracting all the wealth from the people. Remember, the oligarchs own much of the media and control most of cyberspace so you can expect to be lumbered with many still ignorant of the circumstances. Consider the tax cuts that are increasing the national debt with wealth transfer to the oligarchs. Consider the fake Russiagate to justify the current military budget and an ongoing trillion dollar expansion of the nuclear arsenal, and all this wealth is being transferred through the Military Industrial Complex right into the pockets of the shareholders (oligarchs) of those companies so strategically placed in almost every state so as to continue their justification of existence on jobs alone, just to manipulate the people. But don’t expect the oligarchs to remain in this Potemkin husk as the wealth disappears; they and their minions will be looking outside for greener pastures where they can live their life of leisure while they contemplate those left behind in the Mad Max jungle of the oligarchs’ making.
I hope you're correct it's their last stand, but this may be a little more difficult than first thought. Much of their control infrastructure is already in place and now much of the active military has been privatized. So don't expect to see sympathy in the eyes of one of their mercenaries targeting you. When the oligarchs use names like “Homeland” they are referring to their own property and their meaning of “Citizen” can be found in the “Citizens United” legislation that allows oligarchs to buy elections with large political donations. When they say Citizens United they mean Oligarchs United and Main Street is irrelevant.
There will be a time in the future when oligarchs will no longer have to buy elections and the current farce we call democracy will be exposed to all as the scam it is; and no one will be able to deny that fact. At that point in time, the oligarchs will know this is the time for potential domestic rebellion. Since the end of WW2, they have been destroying any institutions citizens can use to coordinate strategy; they have destroyed most socialist movements; they have destroyed the union movements; and they have successfully stigmatized the term “collective” as a pejorative throughout the nation. Consider the fact, they control and monitor all citizen communications, their national network of Fusion Centers in every State are designed to collect intelligence and coordinate responses from police, Homeland Security and most other corporate government agencies.
So for those who are aware, “terrorism” legislation is not designed for the ISIS mercenaries the oligarchs hire to do their bidding in independent lands they wish to control; the term “terrorist” is for those who the oligarchs wish to control domestically; those who may wish to inhibit the acts of the oligarchs because these acts are in conflict with the US Constitution. The question I have is: What trigger are they looking for to activate the final stage? Is this trigger point just around the corner or is it years in the making? When do we see the Fourth Reich on the streets? We have already seen the Fourth Reich on the march in foreign lands (General Wesley Clark – 7 countries in 5 years), but when do we see the Fourth Reich on the march domestically?
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
Hartmann, why don’t you tell your audience how the scam really works? Trump is a puppet; Obama was a puppet; Clinton was a puppet; no matter how far back in history you go, most presidents were puppets of the plutocrats. Sometimes the plutocrats’ stock of puppets runs thin and then they have to recruit the best way they can. Sometimes they put an advertisement in the paper, “Wanted, politician who will do anything” – Nixon; and sometimes they recruit their actors directly from Hollywood – Reagan and Trump. And sometimes the plutocrats recruit those within the family who actually begin to work against their masters' interests – Kennedy. Well we all know happens when you work against the interests of the plutocrats.
As I have said before, yelling at Trump for the decisions of the plutocrats is like yelling at the Ronald MacDonald statue when you get a bad burger. Your impotent screaming may make you feel a little better, but for those who should know better, you know you are yelling in vain. Maybe you might begin to understand the old magician’s distraction strategy while he sleeves the coin he just picked from his pocket and it magically disappears. Those who can see through this deception will understand that nearly all presidential candidates are owned by the plutocrats. Sure there are some anomalies, but the plutocrats political, electoral, and media machines are designed to bypass the will of the people at the ballot box while simultaneously manipulating the emotions and the reasoning of the people who magically still believe there is such a thing as democracy.
Those of you that questioned the intent of Hartmann may have guessed by now he is targeting those that have difficulty processing reality and want simple answers to relatively complex issues. This is why you observe such banal arguments with little real content. The individuals that tend to support Hartmann’s narrative of the establishment have been brainwashed to forget the Real Progressive issues. They have been programmed to forget the “Liberal” Truman administration and the FBI and were designed to oppress the workers on behalf of the plutocrats, to create the McCarthy narrative, and to give “Socialism” and “Unions” a toxic pejorative while dismantling workers’ rights. Like the contemporary National Defense Authorization Act, these aging corrupt institutions were designed with the intent to crush any plutocratic imperial descent; MLK learned this the hard way. Hartmann and the establishment Liberal-Fascist press are now selling these traitorous plutocratic security state entities to the working class as trusted friends.
Hartmann’s job is to detract from the real issues of the day by continually getting his audience to rage at his 1984 “Two Minutes Hate” episodes on Trump that are now more frequent than a bus timetable. Take a look for yourself at the “Video” page of this YouTube channel and look at how many times episodes are designed to induce Trump rage. Notice how these episodes appear to be growing more frequent. You may also have noticed as Hartmann's Russiagate episodes fade into lies, deception, and a strategy of doubling down, Hartmann is changing tack and increasing the frequency of this rage against Trump to distract you from the failing Russiagate narrative. Yes, if you want to understand Hartmann’s strategy a little deeper, may I suggest Orwell’s 1984 is a good place to start; the plutocrats appear to be using this text as an operations manual. You may be surprised how well it parallels what you see on this YouTube channel and what you see in the bipartisan strategy of the plutocrats’ political puppets and their mainstream and alternative media network of deception.
The bottom line to all of this is very simple. The last thing Hartmann wants is for you to realize the function of the Democratic Party and its affiliates (DNC, DCCC, etc.) is to keep Real Progressives out of all branches of government while the plutocrats' Liberal and Republican puppets run the show. You may have wondered why Hartmann isn’t continually pushing AOC or other Real Progressives but continues to waste time creating narratives for his viewers to rage against Trump; I hope now you may begin to see the reason - distraction. Yes, Hartmann appears to be just a small “Controlled Opposition” cog in a vast deception machine helping with his corner of the Dog and Pony Show, but he must play his part. His job is to continue to get you to vote for the lesser of two evils while the questions of political entrapment reside in your unconscious. You accept this illusion by drinking the Freedom, Democracy, and American-Dream Kool-Aid, but those lies and deceptions must be getting a little obvious to many by now. As you watch Hartmann push doubts into your mind about US imperial interests in Venezuela or the intent of Julian Assange when exposing imperial war crimes, you should be asking the big questions about the information you are absorbing and the influences that could affect your ability to process that information. It wasn't long ago when the same establishment asked you to believe in Iraqi soldiers throwing babies out of incubators, or Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction, or a myriad of other lies to justify their imperial attacks on independent sovereign states. All this fades into history when you are confronted with Two Minutes of Trump Hate.
But always remember, Trump is just the current puppet president with an intentional target painted on his head upon which you can hurl your rotten tomatoes; and while you are hurling your rotten tomatoes at this intentionally imbecilic, pathetic, and petulant target, you must also ask, "What am I failing to observe?" You may have to wade through many layers of historical deception and lies to find the truth; you may even have to read such inconvenient documents as the Podesta emails, or you could just vote for the next conveniently placed bipartisan plutocratic puppet on your ballot paper.
1
-
1
-
02:52, "My country has been taken over by the left" - boy, are these people deluded. The Democrats promote imperial wars and interventions, they work for the interests of Wall Street, they sacrifice the American people so the Medical Industrial Complex can make a profit, they (Hillary, "We came, we saw, he died") have turned Libya into a failed state, they recruited and armed terrorists (Operation "Timber Sycamore") to overthrow the legitimate government of Syria, they (Obama) started 5 wars for profit, they (Madeleine Albright) killed half a million Iraqi children through sanctions, they (Obama) have killed 100,000 Venezuelans through sanctions . . . . and the list just keeps going. How can this deluded fool that Hartmann is quoting believe, "My country has been taken over by the left"? That's like saying Hitler was a Marxist or Gandhi was a mass murderer. I've read Marx and he never said anything about "Liebestraum" or killing for profit. The individual Hartmann is quoting need serious help! The poor fool has been pushed so far to the right, they don't know Democratic fascists when they see them!
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
Hartmann would have you believe all will be well when Trump is gone from office. He would like you to forget that Clinton brought in NAFTA; deregulated Wall Street, and stripped much of the social security safety-net away from the people. All with the help of the Koch funded Democratic Leadership Council and the Clinton-Gore "New Democrat" "Third Way". Then we had Obama who refused to prosecute the Iraq war criminals "Don't look back"; failed to prosecute the Banksters that stole trillions from the American people; started nine new imperial wars and continued Bush's imperial wars while trying to sell Obamacare written by lobbyists for the benefit of Wall Street. Maybe it's time the majority learned the makeup of the political stratification in the US.
I would like to start with the name change of Democratic Party to Liberal Democratic Party so as to differentiate them from the Progressive movement. First there are the Neoliberal-Neoconservative Republicans; these have the same political goals as the Neoliberal-Neoconservative Liberal Democrats except the Liberal Democrats feign interest in the working class and use identity politics to differentiate themselves from their bipartisan cohorts in crime. Political differentiation is important as it gives the illusion of choice. Unlike the Liberal Democrats, the Republicans are rather honest in their intent. Neglecting the Trump primary deception, the Republicans don't pretend to consider the working class or the poor; they revel in their attempts to introduce Malthusian-Eugenic Darwinian Capitalism and exploiting those who need a religious crutch, food to eat, and shelter. And secretly the Liberal Democrats are with them all the way to the bank.
Then we have the “Progressive”. The label of “Progressive” has been so badly corrupted I don’t know where to start. Sometimes Hartmann describes himself as progressive while he attempts to sell you Pelosi who is for imperial wars, the interests of Wall Street and is silent on Medicare for All; Hartmann also tries to sell you on individuals such as the Wall Street puppet and Chair of the DNC, Tom Perez. To many, this deception of conflating “Progressive” with “Liberal” should be obvious, but far too many who haven’t been paying attention to current events still believe they are synonyms. Nothing could be further from the truth!
The second most accurate description I have ever heard for a “Liberal” is as a “Political Ratchet”. A Political Ratchet is sometimes known as the “Ratchet Effect on American Politics” and is used to ensure Wall Street always wins. To benefit Wall Street, the Liberal Democrats are in bed with the Republicans to continually move the Overton window to the right. The Liberals may feign outrage at some Republican policy but as the Republicans retreat, the Democrats give a little ground. Yes, this death of a thousand cuts is an excellent strategy to deceive the population over decades. Even Obama admits his policies thirty years ago would have been considered moderate Republican. And the last major role of the Liberal Democrats is to feign progressivism with their Trump rants and feign support of the “Minorities” through their identity politics. The most accurate description I have ever heard for a “Liberal” Democrat is someone feigning as being of the people while conspiring with the Republicans to ensure the Real Progressives never take power.
So I hope you can tell the difference between a Progressive and a Liberal. Examples of Real Progressives are Chris Hedges and Max Blumenthal and examples of Liberals are Nancy Pelosi, Dianne Feinstein, Chuck Schumer, and yes, Hartmann . If you read his work, even Charles Koch describes himself as a “Liberal”. For anyone who believes the Democratic Party has ever been anything different, I suggest you research the demise of the most popular candidate Henry Wallace at the 1944 DNC convention. If you wish to go further into the history of the Democratic Party, may I suggest you read about the alliance between the Democrat William M. (Boss) Tweed and the Rail Robber Barons of the late 1800s.
1
-
1
-
1
-
Notice how, when explaining the historical progress and the demise of US Democracy, Hartmann starts with the Powell Memo in 1971 that was the Republican strategy to subvert US Democracy, and then Hartmann says, 02:40 “Boom, that leads directly to Citizens United and then you got a billionaire oligarch running Fox News Network”; HOLD ON, you have left out the best parts of history. You have only included the Republican criminals, what about the criminals in the Democratic Party? Yes, Hartmann continues his rant with emotive labels such as “Rupert Murdoch” and then “Donald Trump”, and apparently, intentionally misses the contribution to this scam by the party he tells everyone to vote for, the Wall Street owned Democratic Party.
Notice how Hartman leads Thomas Frank over the part of history where Bill Clinton and Al Gore created the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) funded by the Koch Brothers; yes, the same GOP Libertarian Koch Brothers that introduced “Citizens United” to allow the oligarchs to buy the elections. The same Koch brothers that introduced “Money is Free Speech” where one’s voice was only limited by the size of one’s wallet. It’s interesting why Hartmann left out this piece of information especially when his diatribes against the subversive Koch and their Libertarianism are legendary. But as soon the Kochs interact with his Democratic Party and Corporate Democrats, you don’t hear a word. Hartman is neither an ignorant nor stupid man so I can only conclude this deception is intentional.
Notice how Hartman leads Thomas Frank over the part of history where Bill Clinton and Al Gore also created the “Third Way”; the intentional strategy of formally changing the idea of working for the majority and asking Wall Street to fund the Democratic Party; and here’s the killer; to benefit the workers of America.
Notice how Hartmann totally forgets about the deregulation of Wall Street, started by the Reagan administration (Don Regan – Merrill Lynch) and finished by, you guessed it, Bill Clinton.
So Hartmann; did that turn out as expected? As you would expect it didn’t work without the Democratic Party removing its cloak of questionable intent and start formally working for Wall Street. The joke of Wall Street is they could hold out the money just out of reach, and move to the right, and the Democrats would follow them.
Notice this is the same Hartmann who told you to vote for Hillary. I can still see Hillary, the Wall Street employee and sycophant, paid by Wall Street and owned by Wall Street, and Hartmann leading his audience into the same old strategy of “voting for the lesser of two evils”, where no matter the outcome, Wall Street always wins. Sadly, the more intelligent voters that understand the scam become more and more disheartened.
So Hartmann, why the intentional deception; are you working for Wall Street? Are you being paid to keep at least one of the doors of democracy always open for the oligarchs should the Republicans become a complete laughing stock? What’s the scam?
Notice how Thomas Frank hints at the scam by saying, 03:10 “You have got to have a second political party if you want to do that; you have to have a party that opposes it if you want to reverse it”, to the query about why the actions of the Reagan era haven’t been reversed. And Thomas Frank is correct when he said, 03:35 “Everything you have said is exactly true”, but what Frank apparently overlooks is the contributions by the Clinton, Gore, the “Third Way” and the Kochs. I have been watching Hartmann for long enough to understand that something is on the nose; but the avoidance and failure to clarify history by Frank disappoints and saddens me.
So when I heard Thomas Frank avoid Obama’s complicity in the Wall Street scam, my heart sank. I would expect the Corporate Democrat Hartmann to distort the facts for his masters on Wall Street but I thought Frank was different. I’ve never heard Hartmann admit the Obama administration was selected by Citi Group, but I heard those words come out of Thomas Frank’s mouth when he wasn’t around Hartmann. Guess I was wrong about Frank; he is apparently part of the deception. I can’t watch anymore of this video, too depressing. I guess people get the democratic processes and the governments they deserve.
1
-
At last, Hartmann gives a somewhat accurate account of history. The only parts where Hartmann got it wrong was the 1933 against the Roosevelt administration didn't intend to kill Roosevelt, it was intended to sideline Roosevelt into a puppet ceremonial role (much like there is now in the White House), and have an army of 500,000 selective troops run the administration (If you replace the word "troops" with "Wall Street and Military Industrial Complex executives"; that's fundamentally how the government is run now).
And Hartmann was wrong about Roosevelt's intent; Roosevelt was a tool of Wall Street, and just like Obama, Roosevelt was a proficient thespian. Roosevelt betrayed the people when he failed to prosecute the plutocrats that instigated the coup, but he could have done little else as many of those plutocrats owned Roosevelt. I liken Roosevelt's betrayal of the people and democracy to that of Obama when he said, "Look forward, not back"; when Obama intentionally failed to prosecute the torturers and war criminals of the Bush administration. So always remember – “It’s a Big Club, and you ain’t in it”.
1
-
1
-
@josephmcnair5543 : Even the communication fails because people have their own definition of the meaning of words. If you look at the history of the word “Liberal”, it has changed many times over the years. Today, the term Liberal is so liberal, and political groups who profess to be “Liberal” have such a broad political spectrum, the term has lost all meaning. This broad “Liberal” approach and being “be all things to all people” is usually designed to attract the populous to a set of vague doctrines. But somehow I suspect that was the intent all the time by individuals such as the minion Hartmann. You can find a definition of Liberal that describes Martin Luther King, just as you can find a definition of Liberal that describes Charles Koch. A Progressive may unwittingly believe they are a Liberal, but that only shows their ignorance of the intentional corruption of the meaning of the word. In other countries like Britain and Australia, the “Liberals” fall on the Conservative side of politics and follow doctrine very similar to that of Libertarians. You may believe you understand the meaning of Liberal, but that is a delusion in isolation; remember most on Wall Street (e.g. Lloyd Blankfein) call themselves Liberals when they would be better described Libertarians. Maybe read a little Orwell, he is excellent at exposing the insidiousness of the intentional corruption of the meaning of words.
As for Libertarians, that’s a whole different animal. There are three main types of Libertarian in this world; the wealthy Libertarian (Charles Koch) who gains advantage from Austrian economics; the Libertarian minion (Tom Woods – Mises Institute) who is recruited to promote the Austrian-Libertarian doctrine, and the army of rubes (e.g. Tea Party) that unwittingly and blindly follow the “Freedom, Liberty, Prosperity” garbage the Libertarian minions promote. Don’t just look at both David Koch and Bill Clinton both having tickets on Epstein’s Lolita Express; take a close look at the Clinton-Gore “New Way” Democratic Leadership Council funded by Charles Koch and promoted as a "Liberal" entity. Liberalism is a scam designed to be so nebulous it must create conflict between the poor rubes that latch onto and fiercely protect their own personal definitions of the word. This is why it’s so easy for “Liberals” to support US imperialism; this is why it’s easy for Madeline Albright to kill half a million Iraqi children in the late 1990s by sanctions, for which she has no remorse “It was worth it”, and still be able to promote Hillary’s 2016 campaign.
This is what happens when you base your reality on lies. The plutocrats and their Hollywood minions have been corrupting actual history for years. Forget that crap you learned in school and grab yourself a copy of Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History of the United States”. As for the founding fathers, maybe you should read Zinn's book and delve into the Federalist Papers to see what was really going on. Research actual history and you will soon realize you have been sold a scam and there is no difference between the founding fathers and contemporary plutocrats; it’s just that you have either accepted the lies taught to you in school or you like the fairytale and have intentionally blinded yourself to the truth. You appear to have no trouble accepting George Washington slaughtering Native Americans and stealing their land, but throw up your hands in disgust at the smallest personal infraction. Yes; that definitely a “Liberal”.
1
-
Yotn Pez : If you follow the same old failed simplistic strategy (Vote Blue no matter Who), I'll bet you the farm you're having this same conversation in 10 years under deteriorating circumstances; just as you probably had this same conversation 10 years ago. Bush jr. (Cheney) and Obama have set the road for the future in ways you can't even imagine. Mindless speculation, simplistic clichés, and anachronistic platitudes aren't going to prepare you for what is to come. If the people underestimate and fail to recognize their real enemies, and fail to organize, the majority is doomed. Much of the US will resemble the favelas of Brazil in 10 years. Think of this day as the slow start of a Malthusian Eugenics program using the Rahm Emanuel strategy of “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before.” Through his writings, Roosevelt certainly gave the impression he want to save the system, but remember he had had the Communist, Socialist, and Union movements to use as leverage against the plutocrats. Due to the stupidity, ignorance, engineered fear (e.g. McCarthyism, Russiagate), and apathy of the population; those very useful tools for political change no longer exist. Understand the current system floats on a sea of corruption, as that has always been the Mission Statement of the United States. According to extraordinary gentlemen like Major General Smedley Butler, the good old days were exactly like today; nothing has changed in 100 years. Unlike the erratic and directionless fools of today, Butler understood the plutocrats were psychopathic, strategic, and very intelligent; and what strategic intellect they lacked was recruited to fill the role. What has changed today is the character of the people as the "extraordinary" are very thin on the ground. Those fools of today underestimate their enemy and all that remains is a dying mafia empire, a nation of cretins, the plutocrats positioning themselves using predetermined strategies, and a road to serfdom for the majority; while a few screaming rubes on Google and Facebook who have embedded in their ignorance, only some inclination of what is to come.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
@bipolarbear9917 I would be hesitant to dismiss John Kasich's comments too quickly. Unlike Bernie and his pushing of Russiagate, John Kasich has shown his honesty and his commitment to democracy and the people time and time again. Just being ostracized by the corrupt media should give some idea of Kasich's integrity. Unlike Bernie, John Kasich is definitely a rare commodity - an honest politician with a track record to prove it. Kasich has battled corporate monopolies and corruption his whole life to the point where he had a bullet pass through his house just missing his head. If that ever happened to Bernie, you wouldn't see him for dust. Knowing the consequences of exposing the lies of Empire, Kasich went to Syria along with Gabbard to find the facts; you would never see that level of integrity from Bernie. The best you could expect from Bernie would be some off-the-cuff comment criticizing Putin to keep the Clinton-Democratic wolves at bay. The most favorable thing I could say about Bernie is he is politically flexible like so many others (e.g. The Squad).
Reforming the electoral system is a nice idea, but the plutocrats are in charge and they aren't going to shoot themselves in the foot. From Gerrymandering to Superdelegates; the whole system has been carefully designed so it can be manipulated by the plutocrats; and they aren't going to change something that works so well anytime soon. If you read the Federalist Papers, you will understand the “Founding Fathers” never intended for the US to be a “democracy”; and it has been ruled by plutocratic families ever since. The stories you are told about the original Constitution and democracy are just Disney folk tales. Over the years, these plutocratic families have coordinated their puppets (politicians) in Washington to get the outcomes they desired. This fake democracy is a useful tool of the plutocrats as it gives the illusion of freedom and democracy. Understand that slaves are much more easily controlled if they are under the illusion they are free. So it’s now the job of the people to make this illusory democracy real.
Just after we saw the Clinton “Shadow” App that compromised the Iowa primaries for Sanders, we watched as the Democratic establishment coordinated with their primary candidates to remove themselves from the race (2020) just so Biden would beat Sanders. At the time the establishment appeared to be unsure of Sanders motives and intent, but history has shown they had nothing to worry about. Over the decades, the Democratic establishment has carefully designed the system to filter out real progressives and either eject them from the party or just relocate them into an area where they can do no harm. The Democratic establishment has also designed the system to control the narrative and along with the corrupted media, filter that narrative to only pass what it deems "acceptable" speech. Anything other than "acceptable" speech is severely criticized by the establishment media and the culprits are usually ostracized. This is a coordinated network designed to keep real progressives out of the race independent of which voting system is in place, and independent of the will of the people.
If you wish to understand this scam a little further may I seriously suggest you read, "A People's History of the United States", by the great historian Howard Zinn. And if you wish to learn more about the unwinding of Roosevelt's New Deal and how the plutocrats crushed the fledgling democracy after WW2, may I suggest, "One Nation Under God; How Corporate America Invented Christian America", by Princeton history professor Kevin M. Kruse. I'm just speculating, but it may not be too long before Howard Zinn's book is banned.
1
-
1
-
What Hartmann doesn’t appear to understand about Murdoch is he is one of those plutocrats who moves politicians around as if they were pawns on a chessboard. Murdoch uses his vast media network to create the political landscape that best suits his ideological interests. He has removed prime ministers and installed presidents with the help of the weak minded rubes that believe everything that’s printed.
Sure, Trump was a grifter, a liar, and a petulant fool who was able to create fear in the weak minded. Trump was hated, not for his giving tax breaks to the wealthy as Obama did that and not a word was said; not for creating an administration out of Wall Street executives as Obama’s administration was selected by Citi Group; not for putting children in cages as Obama built those cages, but Trump was hated by those weak, pathetic liberals for his demeanor. The affliction of these weak minded cretins was soon named “Trump Derangement Syndrome” and it was real! “Trump Derangement Syndrome” removed the ability to reason from these poor fools and all they could do once afflicted was babble nonsense in one syllable words.
Understand Trump was just another in a long line of presidential puppets of the plutocrats. Trump didn’t have the acting or coercive skills required to manipulate the majority of the rubes like Obama. When Obama scammed the rubes by promising “Hope & Change” most actually believed this grifter, but when Trump promised “Drain the Swamp” very few believed him. So I can understand Trump being a one term president; he didn’t have the skills necessary to manipulate, and that’s fatal for a politician. And in that way especially, I’m going to miss trump.
If you asked Obama or Biden why the US invaded Iraq; they will give you some garbage about WMDs or some other proven fabrication of the time. But Trump is so stupid he blurts out the truth without even a second thought, “To take the oil”. And he even qualifies further by saying, “To the victor go the spoils”. You won’t hear that level of misplaced honesty from the rest of the lying sleaze in government or the mainstream media; and for that alone, he will be missed.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
Thomas, here you go again. Bush didn’t lie. To lie, you must be aware of what you are saying is false. Without Cheney, Bush would have had a hard time knowing what day it was. So it’s not rational to accuse an ignoramus of lying when they don’t understand their own intent.
As for Oprah, she would make an excellent president but not for the reasons you might think. The primary role of a puppet president is to manipulate their moron base and I believe Oprah would do that well. In fact, being involved in the entertainment industry and being able to act should be prerequisites for the role of puppet president. One of the most successful presidents was an accomplished actor and he knew how to manipulate his base (Reagan). Reagan was selected by the oligarchs to sell Supply-Side economics to the fools and they bought it hook, line and sinker. So when Reagan said on behalf of his oligarch masters, if we push all the wealth to the top and it will trickle down, no one questioned his statement.
Thomas, you assume the president uses their intellect to make decisions – wrong. The role of president is ceremonial as the real decisions are made within the Deep State. So yes, Oprah would make an excellent president. She has the ability to hold an audience of fools for an extended period of time and convince them they are super intelligent and have the world at their feet. What else do you need in a president other than to convince delusional people they are exceptional and live in an indispensable nation? When you have attained this level of self delusion, state propaganda filtered through a corrupt media works much more effectively.
So Thomas, you say Americans want an outsider – that’s not possible. Sure the Corporate Democrats may be more Main street friendly than the Corporate Republicans but neither side will ever allow an outsider. The system is setup not to allow an outsider into the race; you of all people should understand that fact. And even if an outsider slipped through the impenetrable filter they could only achieve two terms of damage to the oligarchs. And if they were too much of an impending threat, there is also the JFK option. So if Oprah were elected, she certainly wouldn’t be working for the people.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
Hartmann, why do you continue to distort American history and tell these rubes tall tales about the founding fathers and the Constitution? Christopher Columbus and his family were slave traders. George Washington was the richest man in America; his wealth came from killing the natives and selling their land so plantation owners could profit from slave labor. One of the authors of the Declaration of Independence (Jefferson) fathered children with his teenage slave and then sold his children into slavery. Can’t you just taste the irony of Jefferson’s “freedom”? The founding fathers hated democracy, as it diluted their control of the country. The Constitution was written in a closed room by the few; intentionally to keep the majority from having any input into the document. Since then the transgenerational families of plutocrats have sold the Constitution to the people as being owned by the people when it was an ambiguous document designed to control the majority. Yes, the scam of the Democratic Republic has been used to keep the many under control. You may have noticed it's a Democratic Republic and not a Democracy; this is to ensure the plutocrats can always maintain control by controlling the judiciary. Maybe it’s time you threw away your state (Carnegie, Rockefeller) textbooks and started reading some factual history (e.g. Zinn).
And now you are attempting to convince your rubes into believing the US was once a democracy. I must admit, there were times when the people's voice grew strong during the FDR administration, but that was due to the strong populist groups like the Socialist and Communist factions along with a strong union movement. Well, the plutocrats have devastated any movement that gave the people a strong voice using the Red Scare and episodes of McCarthyism that still exist today (Russiagate). The plutocrats did such a good job at creating pejoratives of these words; even today many shake in fear when they are spoken in earnest. Understand the plutocrats hate any system that limits their ability to exploit. They invaded the Soviet Union in a vain attempt to stop the Bolsheviks in 1918 and then created the FBI the same year to stop any similar thoughts in the US. Sure, the FBI does have legitimate duties to give it plausible deniability, but its prime function is to protect the interests of the plutocrats within the US (domestic capital). Yes, the plutocrats have all their bases covered and have programmed their rubes well to ensure their exploitation. They have programmed them so well, the majority still believes what the plutocrats' propaganda media tells them - the US is a democracy and they are free. So, sit back and listen to the selective engineered untruths of Hartmann, and grow a little more ignorant every day.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
@mitchellsmith4601 :Unless someone is totally consistent, I never use someone's history to predict their current actions. At best, Hartmann is just a hired mouthpiece that just reads a script and sells the narrative he is given; but most likely a paid tool for the Democratic establishment who benefits greatly for the deception. As I said before, there are many paid establishment shills on YouTube and you have to look carefully to detect the more treacherous.
If you have been watching Hartmann for 10 years, you ,might ask the question why the move from RT? Why do we no longer see Chris Hedges on this show? Even Thomas Frank appears to now avoid Hartmann? Hartmann has now transformed into Rachael Maddow; spewing the plutocrats' narrative on domestic and foreign policy.
And I can't believe you can't see the complicity between the Democratic and Republican establishments; they are all funded by the same plutocrats. For example, the Kochs that Hartmann pretends to criticize, funded the Clinton's "Third Way" and the Democratic Leadership Council. The only two allowed parties are in bed with the plutocrats and they bounce the rubes, who take them seriously, off each other to keep them distracted. Haven't you ever noticed how policy never changes when the administration changes?
Maybe you should look outside your Hartmann library for the answer; after all, only reading propaganda from one propagandist isn't going to give you a broad political spectrum. Maybe start with the illusive Thomas Frank and he will explain how both parties screw their constituents. Maybe listen to a bit of Chomsky and let him explain the similarity and how the Democratic establishment engineers it's differences to manipulate the rubes. Even Obama admits he is a moderate Republican. As I said, the job of the Democratic Party is to create the illusion of difference to convince the rubes the Party works for their interests; and to ensure a real Progressive never sits in the Oval Office.
It's just one big scam and you appear to have fallen for it completely. Luckily, many are now wakening to the scam and as they do, Bernie is rising in the polls. Take a look at your precious MSNBC and watch them avoid the rise of Bernie at all costs. It will be interesting to watch the transition where they HAVE to interview Bernie should he be the Democratic candidate.
So I'm not using some personal anecdotes or the propaganda of a propagandist to push my point; I'm using indisputable facts. Maybe you should ask the question of why Hartmann used to have Bernie on every week when Bernie never had a chance, but now Bernie is ahead in the polls, Hartmann avoids him like the plague. It appears "Vote Blue No Matter Who" only applies when a candidate of the plutocrats is in the lead.
And to keep you bouncing between the Democratic and Republican establishments, the plutocrats use certain tools. Fear is one of the best rube motivators of all; just look at how compliant the populous was to the NDAA after 911. And the Democratic establishment has made a career of manipulating their rubes with fear and Trump plays his role well. Trump isn't the cunningly brilliant fascist you see before you; he is a moron, a fool; Trump is nothing more than the establishment's malevolent Court Jester. Notice how the current Democratic establishment pushes the idea that "Bernie can't Win" and we need to remove the fascist from the White House, as they attempt to extract the voters from Bernie with fear. Yes, fear is a great motivator, so as Bernie rises in the polls, expect to see the "Fear" campaign go into overdrive. Have a look at Hartmann's videos, he has certainly played his part inducing fear into his rubes.
1
-
@mitchellsmith4601 : When Hartmann criticizes "Third Way", it is usually just a one-liner and designed to be quickly forgotten. Remember, Hartmann has to admit to facts in the public domain, and then attempts to disqualify them if possible. For example, consider the recent Bolivian coup. Hartmann's justification for US intervention through the OAS was that Morales shouldn't have attempted to run for another term even though the courts had approved it. There was no mention of members of the Bolivian government being tarred and feathered; there was no mention of Morales' family being threatened and assaulted and having their houses burned; and there was no mention Morales had to flee to Mexico when the military shoved a gun in his face. As I said before, Hartmann could just be a mouthpiece repeating the plutocrats narrative to his rubes like so many others on YouTube, but maybe he is something else?
So, may I suggest you take Hartmann's history books with a grain of salt. Remember, the most effective strategies the plutocrats have of making the people continually repeat mistakes is to corrupt history or make them forget that history. This is why Rockefeller and Carnegie institutions are involved in education; this is why history books are accredited by interested parties. You should understand that lies, omission, and obfuscation is a global package by the plutocrats and their minions. If you want to read accurate history, put Hartmann's book in the bathroom for toilet tissue and read Zinn. The only reason the plutocrats' covert totalitarian system even exists is because of the induced ignorance of the population.
So please continue you intent and vote for Bernie. And while you are doing so, just watch Hartmann to see what he does. If Bernie continues to win as expected, watch what Hartmann does. Will he be forced to include Bernie in one of his shows or will he hold the MSNBC line and keep Bernie at arms length until he is forced to cover Bernie. I'll make a prediction - The McKinsey & Rhodes scholar Buttigieg appears to be failing; even the lying Warren is falling by the wayside, and the next tier plutocrat candidate Bloomberg is now rapidly buying votes and paying for the DNC to change its rules so he can run effectively. There could be some point in the mid-term future where Hartmann even starts to promote the plutocrats' candidate Bloomberg; sacrificing his remaining meager audience for the plutocrats' cause.
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
coolmodelguy: I agree with your views and would also like to live in such a world. I have been fighting Neoliberalism and would like to return to at least a Roosevelt New Deal World. Before the New Deal, the Depression had created many effective socialist movements and a strong union movement and this allowed a change of policy. Sadly this is not possible today. Unlike in Roosevelt's day where his administration was effectively forced to introduce the New Deal due to the power of these movements threatening a mass rebellion, no such networks and affiliations exist today.
Today few Labor unions and no viable socialist movements exist, so the American worker has NO leverage and that then was the result of devious and clever strategies by the oligarchs. Today we see these oligarchical strategies continuing but in complex and convoluted ways. It wasn't the fascist Republicans that screwed the American people; it was the Democratic Party in the 1990s that screwed the American people. Yes, the party continually promoted by Hartmann as the lesser of two evils and the “only” alternative, is the real enemy of the American people. I listen to the subtext in Hartmann's narrative and see a duplicitous traitor to the American people. The last time he had Thomas Frank on the program I was expecting Frank to call him out, but I forgot Frank was there to sell a book and he allowed himself to be guided away from the more controversial contradictions in his narrative.
If you make a narrative too simple, it doesn't give the less able more understanding; it usually creates a platform by which a duplicitous presenter can introduce a simplistic narrative that pushes his intended deception without question. Alex Jones is an excellent, if overt example of this strategy. For some reason when they wish to propagate propaganda, those with an oligarch agenda pride themselves in collecting gullible fools; as a multitude of fools easily deceived and militant behind a covert agenda may stop others from thinking.
What you have done in your narrative is replicate Hartmann's strategy by highlighting the stories you can without ever questioning the Democratic Party. For this strategy to exist, only the Republican Party is a target; never the Democrats. This is why Hartmann's minority narrative exists; this is why Hartmann's tax narrative exists; this is why Hartmann's health narrative exists; and this is why Hartmann's income and wage inequality narrative exists. Yes, all these issues are real but like Trump, they are just the symptom and Not the Cause; the cause (Republicrats) Hartmann will never discuss. These issues are selected because Hartmann never has to discuss the problem you originally pointed out, “not a word on real methodologies for breaking the two party hold, or the corporate lock on both parties”. Here you were honest in your assessment even if you were directing it at me instead of the real culprit – Hartmann.
So it is my hope you will stop making excuses for duplicitous traitors so obviously working for the interests of the oligarchs. The oligarchs, who have created the Neoliberal World you apparently, hate so much. I hope you may wake to the fact that Trump, like nearly all before him, is just a puppet of the oligarchs and Hartmann is most probably paid to convince you to direct your rage at the intended target (Trump) instead of those who created this Neoliberal World (Republicrat Oligarchs). It’s just another example of using a shiny bauble to redirect the attention of many away from the real threat. May I suggest you reread Orwell’s 1984 and pay special attention to “Two Minutes Hate”; I am sure this will enlighten you. Read the whole book and see if you can correlate strategies, tactics, and events with those of today.
It concerns me when you create excuses for duplicitous traitors like Hartmann, “Hartman is supporting the best of what he knows” – Wrong. Hartmann always attempts to present himself as a smart man and in many ways I believe he actually is intelligent; so please don’t construct unacceptable excuses for Hartmann for reasons you, yourself probably only understand. You should also understand it makes my skin crawl to see Hartmann’s name on the same page as Chris Hedges and given Hedges genuinely fights for your apparent cause, “breaking the two party hold”, you may wish to ask why Hedges hasn’t been on Hartmann’s show for such a long time. To understand what Hartmann actually should be doing, you should view the latest Hedges’ “On Contact” with Nick Brana who is the founder and chief executive director of Movement for a People's Party. Isn’t that what you wanted, a Peoples’ Party? Hartmann will continually push the Democratic Party down your throat as the only alternative. I’ve never found any traitorous bias in Hedges’ show.
You have seen Hartmann’s strategy of allowing the questionable and simplistic to go unchecked. You have seen Hartmann give simplistic answers to complex issues and in doing so, leave out many relevant points to bias a discussion. So learn from Hartmann’s treachery and be careful creating a simplistic narrative so the fools of society can pretend they understand; a simple narrative is often used to manipulate these fools as they are always looking for easy simplistic answers when reality is exceedingly complex and designed to confuse. So those who are too lazy or apathetic to find the real truth usually vote based on biased input, and in doing so, do a considerable disservice to democracy. When it comes to the modern World of Neoliberalism, some of the concepts may appear easy to understand but there are layers of deception and spin many will have difficulty understanding; so they might as well get started now. To put it simply; today’s Democracy is just Sleaze manipulating Morons.
1
-
1
-
Thomas, why do you continue to push this partisan garbage designed to divide-and-conquer, when the crimes of Empire are bipartisan?
Read “The Guardian” article of August 31, 2012:
“Obama's justice department grants final immunity to Bush's CIA torturers”
Pay special attention to the first two paragraphs:
“The Obama administration's aggressive, full-scale whitewashing of the "war on terror" crimes committed by Bush officials is now complete. Thursday, Attorney General Eric Holder announced the closing without charges of the only two cases under investigation relating to the US torture program: one that resulted in the 2002 death of an Afghan detainee at a secret CIA prison near Kabul, and the other the 2003 death of an Iraqi citizen while in CIA custody at Abu Ghraib. This decision, says the New York Times Friday, "eliminat[es] the last possibility that any criminal charges will be brought as a result of the brutal interrogations carried out by the CIA".
“To see what a farce this is, it is worthwhile briefly to review the timeline of how Obama officials acted to shield Bush torturers from all accountability. During his 2008 campaign for president, Obama repeatedly vowed that, while he opposed "partisan witch-hunts", he would instruct his attorney general to "immediately review" the evidence of criminality in these torture programs because "nobody is above the law." Yet, almost immediately after winning the 2008 election, Obama, before he was even inaugurated, made clear that he was opposed to any such investigations, citing what he called "a belief that we need to look forward as opposed to looking backwards".
So, whether it is domestic politics or crimes of Empire, the plutocrats and their plutocratic political and media minions just cycle the argument between Democrat and Republican to distract the mindless rubes that follow each party fighting each other so they never come to realize who the real enemy is. It’s amazing there is anyone left who is that stupid and ignorant who continues to fall for this scam. Whether it is lead in the water, corruption in the education process, or a barrage of propaganda from the mainstream media; when it comes to the ability of the plutocrats to create a nation of Hollywood-MSNBC-consumerist cretins that believe nothing but lies, they have done an excellent job.
It makes one wonder; when living memory of these contemporary war crimes has passed, will history be rewritten like it has so many times before. Will this be just another distortion of reality like Washington's "Prisoner of War" narrative by Hartmann to maintain the illusion of American exceptionalism? I can only quote from CIA Director William Casey, "We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false"
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1