If the GOP doubles down on fascism & racism, Lincoln's "last, best hope for Earth" will rest in the hands of the European Union and America will become unrecognizable.

The Democratic Party hit its crossroads moment in 2021 when President Biden embraced a progressive vision for America, breaking with Clinton's and Obama's neoliberal centrism.

Even if Senators Sinema and Manchin prevented him from putting them into effect, Biden's hearty support for Bernie Sanders' $3 trillion Build Back Better plan and John Sarbanes' For The People legislation that ends gerrymandering and big money in politics showed his newfound commitment and progressive credentials.

The GOP is hitting their crossroads moment with the election this year and their preparations for the 2024 presidential election. Will they continue to embrace white supremacy, misogyny, and fascism, or go back to just being the party of the rich?

The fate and future of American democracy may hang on the decision they make.

Read more at HartmannReport.com.

-Thom

Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. noted in the landmark 1919 Shenck v. United States case that shouting "Fire!" in a crowded theater does not constitute free speech; the Bill of Rights guarantees that a person's opinion can be expressed, not that there are no limits on what one can do. But consider how this fundamental freedom has been bent by corporations since Santa Clara.

Read more at HartmannReport.com.

-Thom

The Best of the Rest of the News.

— "All Roads Lead to Trump" is the headline at The American Prospect, and it accurately depicts what the January 6th Committee laid out Thursday night.
— A functioning democracy requires the truth, actual news, and honest reporting by the media: Fox "News" did none of those during the Committee hearing. To the contrary, they deceived their viewers.
— Ginni Thomas was far more aggressive at pushing state legislators to overturn the will of their voters and award Trump the presidency than we'd previously known.
— If you want to see how far down the rightwing/fascist rabbit hole the GOP has gone, consider this: the leading Republican candidate for Governor of Michigan was just arrested by the FBI, apparently for participating in the seditious attack on the Capitol.
— Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are trying to both save and expand Social Security.
— When you mention January 6th to a rightwinger or hear mention of it on hate-talk-radio, they'll invariably say, "What about BLM and Antifa burning down cities across America?"
— Global warming is picking up pace so quickly that the glaciers in Antarctica are melting at a rate not seen in over 5,500 years, according to scientists.
— Geeky Science! A glass of beetroot juice a day may help with coronary artery disease.

Read more at HartmannReport.com.

-Thom

Monday's Daily Stack

Video: January 6 Hearings: Second Hearing on Investigation of Capitol Attack.

Bennie Thompson, Zoe Lofgren, BJay Pak, Al Schmidt, Benjamin Ginsberg, Liz Cheney.

Article: "Jan. 6 committee holds second hearing " by Elise Hammond, Aditi Sangal, Mike Hayes, Melissa Macaya and Meg Wagner.

Article: "Bill Stepien" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Bridget Anne Kelly" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Former Attorney General Bill Barr says Trump would not listen when he told him election fraud claims were false" by Brian Schwartz.

Article: "GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson says Trump is 'politically' and 'morally' responsible for January 6" by Cheryl Teh.

Article: "Oil Nations, Prodded by Trump, Reach Deal to Slash Production" by Clifford Krauss.

Article: "List of Gas Prices by Year: Gasoline Prices Over Time [Updated in 2022]" by Matthew Hart.

Article: "Putin makes his imperial pretensions clear" by Ishaan Tharoor.

Article: "China launched the world's first AI-operated 'mother ship,' an unmanned carrier capable of launching dozens of drones" by Alia Shoaib.

Article: "Will the GOP Embrace White Supremacy & Fascism, or Go Back to Being the Party of the Rich?" by Thom Hartmann.

Quote: "Extremism in the Defense of Liberty Is No Vice" - Barry Goldwater.

Article: "Murder and Extremism in the United States in 2021" by ADL.

Article: "Mankind's Last Best Hope" by Rod Reynolds.

Article: "Supreme Court Upholds Controversial Ohio Voter-Purge Law" by Nina Totenberg.

Speech: "Address in Los Angeles at a Dinner of the Democratic Party of California." by John F. Kennedy, November 18, 1961.

Case: "Brown v Board of Education".

Book: "The Illustrious Dunderheads" by Rex Stout.

Article: "American Nazism and Madison Square Garden" by Adam Foreman.

Article: "Biden pledges to make EVs more affordable in State of the Union address" by Erika Giovanetti .

Article: "Benito Mussolini" by Wikipedia.

Article: "You Can’t Run on Defending Democracy if Democracy Is Broken" by Jacob Rosenberg.

Article: "Facebook's 2018 algorithm change boosted local GOP groups, research finds" by Brandy Zadrozny.

Article: "Facebook's 2018 efforts to boost revenue elevated Republican claims even at 'hyperlocal' levels" by Hunter.

Article: "Fact Sheet: President Biden to Sign Historic Executive Order to Advance Effective, Accountable Policing and Strengthen Public Safety" by White House.

Article: "January 6 prime-time hearing watched by more than 20 million" by Brian Stelter.

Site: Ronald Reagan Legacy Project.

Article: "A group of Spanish radio stations are being sold to a new democratic Latino group" by Tim Padgett.

Article: "iHeartMedia" (Clear Channel) by Wikipedia.

Article: "Shell reports a record $9.1 billion profit." by Stanley Reed.

Article: "Exxon profits surge despite $3.4B hit from Russian exit" by Cathy Busswitz.

Article: "As US oil booms, Congress lifts 40-year oil export ban" by Charlotte Raab.

Bill: "H.R.7688 - Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act" by Rep. Schrier, Kim [D-WA-8].

Bill: "H.R.7736 - Price Gouging Prevention Act of 2022" by Rep. Schakowsky, Janice D. [D-IL-9] .

Hour Three: The Social Security Expansion Act
- Alex Lawson, Executive Director - Social Security Works / Strengthen Social Security

Video: Senate Hearing on Social Security Solvency and Benefits.

Video: Alex Lawson testimony at Senate Budget hearing on expanding Social Security, June 9, 2022.

Article: "Rick Scott's '11 Point Plan to Rescue America' is so insane it's basically a gift to the Democrats " by Jeffrey C. Billman.

Article: "‘Ugly middle school breakup:’ Orlando columnist explains fight between Disney, DeSantis" by Scott Maxwell.

Article: "The 31 people arrested in Idaho have ties to a White nationalist group and planned to riot at a Pride event, police say. Here's what we know" by Elizabeth Wolfe.

Article: "Historian lays out the far right’s violent game plan for 'overturning democracy'" by Alex Henderson.

Article: "Charlottesville car attack" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Richard Hofstadter" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Brad Little" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Janice McGeachin" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Idaho lawmakers hear pitch to absorb three-fourths of Oregon".

Article: "The JFK QAnon Cult Is Heading Back to Dallas for Another ‘Second Coming’" by David Gilbert.

Article: "Half a century later, Watergate remains that crazy thing we can’t forget" by Michael Granberry.

Article: "Watergate scandal" by Wikipedia.

Book: Watergate: The Hidden History: Nixon, The Mafia, and The CIA by Lamar Waldron.

Article: "Employment Guidance for the District of Columbia National Guard" by Christopher C Miller, 4 January 2021.

Article: "Christopher C. Miller" by Wikipedia.

Tuesday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 12-3pm ET

Poll Shows Lula Has Lead Over Bolsonaro - Could He Win? I'll be asking Guillaume Long PhD, Senior Policy Analyst - Center for Economic Policy and Research (CEPR) in Washington, DC. / Previously held several cabinet positions in the government of Ecuador and most recently served as Ecuador’s permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva. Ph.D. in International Politics from the University of London.

Plus, Dr. Chris Jones PhD, Democratic Candidate for Governor of Arkansas / Son of two preachers / attended Morehouse College on a NASA Scholarship for physics and math / studied at MIT to become a nuclear engineer and earn a Ph.D. in urban planning / most recently ran the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub

And, the best of the rest of the news along with your calls right here on...

The Thom Hartmann Program, Occupying The Media 3 hours a day 5 days a week for "we the people"

And don't forget...Democracy is NOT a spectator sport...it begins with you...

Can Social Security Expansion Act Prove GOP Hates The Poor? Featuring Alex Lawson

Big Money Bribes Are Killing the Planet

Canada Is Warning Of Collapse Of American Democracy?