Author: Thom Hartmann

Americans are afraid of the wrong thing. When you ask most Americans what authoritarianism looks like, they will describe jackbooted thugs goosestepping up to their house to drag them away to a concentration camp. That, however, is not authoritarianism: that was Nazi style tyranny, aka totalitarianism, where the government controls every aspect of life including those that are social, religious, and economic, along with a police state that uses terror to rule with absolute power. While the transition from authoritarianism to totalitarianism can happen rapidly (just ask any Chilean alive in late 1973 and early 1974), typically it takes...

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

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

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