Sue's Daily Stack, The Thom Hartmann Program 10/28/25
Your daily homework - links to everything discussed on today's show
Tuesday’s Daily Stack
Hour One: Is the Assault on Democracy Stronger than We Think — and Nearing Permanent Control?
Article: “Is the Assault on Democracy Stronger than We Think - and Nearing Permanent Control?“ by Thom Hartmann.
Article: “Fourteen Steps to Tyranny: How Autocratic Breakthrough Happens — And How We Can Stop It“ by Thom Hartmann.
Article: “The GOP’s Silent Coup: How Republicans are Secretly Rewriting the Constitution“ by Thom Hartmann.
Article: “TRUMP LOST. Vote Suppression Won“ by Greg Palast.
Article: “We Watched Others Fall: Now the Edge Is Beneath Our Feet“ by Thom Hartmann.
Article: “Orbán How Viktor Orbán Conquered the Heritage Foundation“ by Casey Michel.
Article: “Trump Administration To Monitor Key Elections in Democrat-Led States. Here’s What To Know“ by Richard Hall.
Article: “How Russia’s secret service took control of the country’s top office“ by Steve Cannane.
Book: How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky, Daniel Ziblatt.
Book: The Last American President: A Broken Man, a Corrupt Party, and a World on the Brink by Thom Hartmann.
Article: “Tech Billionaires ‘Don’t Believe in Democracy,’ Says ‘Gilded Rage’ Author“ by Meredith Wolf Schizer.
Article: “Harvard professor offers a grim assessment of American democracy under Trump“ by Dave Davies .
Article: “ICE and CBP Are Secretly Tracking Us Using Stingrays“ by Bobby Hodgson.
Article: “Unhinged: James Carville Melts Down on Psaki’s Show - Rants That Trump “Hates the United States,” Urges Americans to “Be Scared” and “Lose Hope” While Psaki Nods in Agreement“ by Jim Hoft.
Article: “Ice obtains access to Israeli-made spyware that can hack phones and encrypted apps“ by Stephanie Kirchgaessner.
Site: “Project 2025“.
Article: “Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan leaves Paramount for massive new film and TV deal“ by Tom Murray.
Article: “Larry Ellison: Billionaire Trump ally who will soon reshape US news media“ by William D Cohan.
Site: Indivisible.
Site: 50501.
Article: “Thousands without power as fall storm brings strong wind, rain to Oregon“ by Michaela Bourgeois.
Article: “US state governors launch alliance to bolster coordination on public health“ by Siddhi Mahatole.
Article: “Governors Public Health Alliance“ by Wikipedia.
Article: “Maps Show Which States Give More to Federal Government Than They Get Back“ by Dan Gooding.
Bernie nails fascism - as Trump and the GOP scramble to deflect blame from those that are hungry and the largest health care premium hike in history. Will it work?
Post: “This year, Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill gave:
Google an $18 billion tax break.
Amazon a $16 billion tax break.
Microsoft a $12 billion tax break.
Facebook an $11 billion tax break.
Now, they’re writing checks to Trump for his $300 million ballroom.
Gee, I wonder why?“ by Bernie Sanders.
Article: “Federal workers must now ‘clearly’ show support for Trump on year-end reviews: report“ by Robert Davis.
Article: “Phil Scott“ by Wikipedia.
Article: “Vermont may join lawsuit after SNAP benefit pause“ by Ben Breen.
Article: “Timothy Mellon is Trump’s $130 million mystery military donor: NYT“ by Annie Nova, Dan Mangan.
Article: “‘Catastrophic’: Trump admin accused of hiding ‘biggest premium hike in history’“ by Brad Reed.
Video: Ontario launches $75 million ad campaign using the words of Ronald Reagan to argue against tariffs..
Video: Amazing Grace - Save America Movement (w/ Rev. Barber).
Article: “Climate Change Amplifies Hurricane Melissa’s Threat to Jamaica“ by Aayushi Gour.
Maple Syrup Alert! Canada is preparing to declare America as guilty of human rights abuses - How will Trump handle this? More tariffs? War mongering?
Article: “BREAKING: Canada Set To Condemn Trump’s “Human Rights Abuses” At Home And Abroad.“ by Dean Blundell.
Article: “Republicans scramble to shift blame from Trump for food assistance disruption“ by Alexander Willis.
Law: “Hatch Act“ by U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC).
Article: “Senate won’t touch filibuster to end shutdown, Thune says“ by Jordain Carney.
Article: “Higher Obamacare Prices Become Public in a Dozen States“ by Reed Abelson and Margot Sanger-Katz.
Article: “Slotkin and Peters join letter to demand window-shopping ahead of ACA open enrollment period“ by Katherine Dailey.
Video: China just proved it can cripple the US military in days. Now Trump is furious (Rare earth minerals).
Article: “Rare Earths and the F-35: Untangling Fact, Speculation, and Spin“ by Rare Earth Exchanges.
Article: “7 Powerful Insights on Rare Earths Nuclear Industry“ by Rare Earth Exchanges.
Article: “Rare-earth element“ by Wikipedia.
Article: “Cobalt miner Jervois in rescue deal to better compete with China“ by Ernest Scheyder, Eric Onstad.
Article: “Why America is a “flawed democracy“ by The Economist. “A democracy index created by EIU, our sister company, demoted America from a “full democracy” to a “flawed” one in 2016. It has kept that status ever since.”
Article: “2022 Kansas abortion referendum“ by Wikipedia.
Article: “Murder of George Tiller“ by Wikipedia.
Article: “Texas State fires professor accused of trying to incite political violence in video“ by Ayden Runnels.
Article: “Kamala Harris attacks Donald Trump in biggest speech since US election loss“ by Sky News.
Article: “Is Halloween a federal holiday? More on Halloween origins, how spooky holiday has evolved“ by Mariyam Muhammad.
Video: Trump’s predictable bad faith on election security gives his opponents an advantage.
Article: “Tracking the presidency“ by The Economist.
Site: Free Speech TV polls & surveys.
Hour Two: I met Chávez and Maduro. I know drugs are not the reason Trump wants war with Venezuela
- Greg Palast, Investigative reporter-Guardian & New York Times / Author - “The Best Democracy Money Can Buy“ / Catch his latest film, “All Washed Away”, (about Katrina 20 yrs later AND the Kerr County, TX Flood AND Trump’s plan to shut down FEMA in December.) The film is available on Greg’s substack, his website or on YouTube. (You can watch Greg’s film, Vigilantes Inc: America’s New Vote Suppression Hitmen, (narrated by Rosario Dawson and produced by Martin Sheen). @gregpalast.bsky.social Substack
Article: “US kills 14 in strikes on alleged Pacific drug boats“ by W.G. Dunlop.
Article: “Venezuela claims capture of CIA group, accuses U.S. of plotting ‘false flag’ attack“ by Antonio María Delgado.
Article: “I met Chávez and Maduro. I know drugs are not the reason Trump wants war with Venezuela“ by Greg Palast.
Article: “destruction of the Maine“ by Britannica.
Article: “Gulf of Tonkin incident“ by Wikipedia.
Article: “Hugo Chávez“ by Wikipedia.
Article: “‘The Assassination of Hugo Chavez’ Download the Film for Free“ by Greg Palast.
Video: Rubio says US tracked drug boats ‘very carefully’ before strikes.
Article: “2002 Venezuelan coup attempt“ by Wikipedia.
Article: “Bay of Pigs Invasion“ by Wikipedia.
Article: “Nicolás Maduro“ by Wikipedia.
Article: “Ireland signs extradition treaty with UAE in effort to catch Kinahan cartel“ by Jude Webber, Simeon Kerr .
Article: “The Real Target of Trump’s War on Drug Boats“ by Jonathan Blitzer.
Article: “The ‘Donroe Doctrine’: This is Trump’s neocolonial plan for Latin America“ by Ben Norton.
Article: “The Impact of the New US Oil Tariffs on Venezuela “ by Luisa Palacios.
Tweet: “In 2024, Trump flat out admits that he wants Venezuela to collapse so he can take their oil. Keep that in mind as he sends 4,000+ troops and a bunch of warships to their coastline. [video]” by Fifty Shades of Whey .
Article: “The US warships off Venezuela aren’t there to fight drugs“ by Guillaume Long.
Article: “Trump official admits ‘many’ targeted drug boats lacked capacity to even reach US: report“ by Alexander Willis.
Article: “Venezuela claims it foiled Trump plot to stage ‘false flag’ attack on US warship “ by Alexander Willis.
Article: “Constitution of the United States“ Article 1 Section 5. “Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.”
Article: “What if I can’t pay my taxes?“ by IRS.
Is Corruption the New American Dream — A Nation Rebuilt on the Gospel of the Grift?
Article: “Is Corruption the New American Dream — A Nation Rebuilt on the Gospel of the Grift?“ by Thom Hartmann.
Article: ““Seize the State, Seize the Day” State Capture, Corruption, and Influence in Transition“ by Joel S. Hellman, Geraint Jones, Daniel Kaufmann.
Case: “First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti“.
Article: “Netflix’s Ted Sarandos Says Trump Didn’t Pitch Him on Melania Documentary, Continues to Defend Dave Chappelle “ by Todd Spangler.
Article: “Uganda Sojourn: Confronting the World as It Is“ by Thom Hartmann.
Article: “List of lawbreakers have been announced“ by committed.
Article: “Close Friend of JD Vance Skirts Normal Channels to Take Over Key Health Research“ by Inside Climate News.
Article: “How Russia can shed centuries of corruption“ by Evgeny Gontmakher.
Article: “Corruption: Costs and Mitigating Strategies“ by IMF.
Article: “Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Unit“ by DoJ.
Article: “$130M Pentagon Donor Has Ties to Jeffrey Epstein“ by Allison Gill.
Article: “Anatomy of Two Giant Deals: The U.A.E. Got Chips. The Trump Team Got Crypto Riches.“ by Eric Lipton, David Yaffe-Bellany, Bradley Hope, Tripp Mickle and Paul Mozur.
Article: “Tom Homan Was Said to Have Received $50,000 From Agents. He May Not Have to Return It.“ by Zach Montague.
Case: “Buckley v. Valeo“.
Case: “Citizens United v. FEC“.
Article: “The Bad Guys Are Winning“ by Anne Applebaum.
Article: “The mysterious, violent and unsolved deaths of Putin’s foes and critics“ by Andrew Roth.
Article: “Corruption Perceptions Index: Hungary“ by Transparency International.
Article: “Tim Cook appeals to Trump’s love of gold with a 24-karat base for Apple plaque“ by Kinsey Crowley.
Article: “Corruption is a Global Problem for Development. To Fight It, We All Have a Role to Play“ by Ousmane Diagana, Mouhamadou Diagne.
Article: “Trump Promised To ‘Drain the Swamp.’ He Did the Opposite.“ by John Stossel.
Think ICE Is Bad Now? Today the Border Patrol Is Taking It Over
Article: “Think ICE Is Bad Now? Today the Border Patrol Is Taking It Over“ by Garrett Graff.
Article: “The top Border Patrol official in Chicago has been ordered to appear in court over concerns about agents’ aggressive tactics“ by Graham Hurley.
Article: “Ernst Röhm“ by Wikipedia.
Article: “Pritzker Forms Commission to Document ‘Abuses’ by Federal Agents During Immigration Raids“ by Heather Cherone.
Article: “Illinois Health Benefits Exchange“ by Wikipedia.
Site: Get Covered Illinois.
Site: HealthChoice Illinois.
Article: “Elimination of ‘public option’ threw consumers to the insurance wolves“ by Wendell Potter.
Case: “Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission“ (2010).
Article: “Bribery Unleashed: The Supreme Court’s Wealth-Driven Corruption Crisis“ by Thom Hartmann.
Article: “Cuban Revolution“ by Wikipedia.
Article: “Marco Rubio“ by Wikipedia. “His parents were Cubans who immigrated to the United States in 1956 during the regime of Fulgencio Batista, two and a half years before Fidel Castro ascended to power after the Cuban Revolution.”.
Article: “Says his parents “came to America following Fidel Castro’s takeover” of Cuba.“ by Becky Bowers.
Article: “Are Subscription Cancellations Really the Reason Jimmy Kimmel Is Back?“ by Opheli Garcia Lawler.
Article: “Montgomery bus boycott“ by Wikipedia.
Video: ‘We need to watch out’: Maddow sounds alarm on ICE surveillance as Trump wields new weapon.
Quote: “Give me the man and I will give you the case against him“ - Andrey Vyshinsky.
Article: “Biden signs executive order restricting government’s use of commercial spyware“ by CBS/AP .
Article: “Trump’s united surveillance states of America: How will your data be deployed?“ by Rebecca Gordon.
Article: “Pegasus (spyware)“ by Wikipedia.
Article: “Stingray phone tracker“ by Wikipedia.
Book: The Tyranny of Big Tech by Josh Hawley.
Hour Three: The national redistricting wars has entered a new phase - It use to be your vote mostly counted. Now the Dems are forced to fight fire with fire...
Article: “The national redistricting wars enter a new phase“ by Andrew Solender.
Article: “U.S. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries brings his redistricting push to Illinois“ by Mitchell Armentrout and Tina Sfondeles.
Article: “2025 California Proposition 50“ by Wikipedia.
Book: “The Crash of 2016: The Plot to Destroy America--and What We Can Do to Stop It“ by Thom Hartmann.
Article: “Financial Crisis Gave Candidate Obama A Boost“ by Don Gonyea.
Article: “U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Growth by President“ by Hiranmayi Srinivasan.
This is what happens to scientists in a dictatorship - why Russia Russia arrested 70-year-old Leonid Pshenichnov for backing curbs on Antarctic krill fishing
Article: “Russia arrests Ukrainian biologist for backing curbs on Antarctic krill fishing“ by Karen McVeigh.
Article: “Antarctic krill: how did a paperclip-sized crustacean cause a diplomatic row – and why are they so important?“ by Karen McVeigh.
Article: “USS Gerald R. Ford is Sent to Caribbean as Drug Smuggling War Intensifies“ by The Maritime Executive.
Article: “Trump tells new Japanese prime minister US is an ‘ally at strongest level’“ by AP.
Article: “Trump to meet China’s Xi for the first time in second term as trade deal remains elusive“ by Anniek Bao.
Article: “Ex Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev claims Baltic countries belong to Russia “ by Joshua Askew.
Article: “Taiwan GDP“ by Trading Economics.
Article: “U.S. Debt to China: How Much Is It, and Why? (2025)“ by Custommapposter.
Video: Epstein Ballroom - The Lincoln Project.
Article: “Jack Smith tells Congress he wants to testify publicly“ by Rebecca Beitsch.
Article: “Jim Jordan called out for evading Jan 6 subpoena for 500 days“ by Kelly Rissman.
Article: “Nixon declared Americans deserved to know ‘whether their president is a crook’ – Trump says the opposite“ by Spencer Goidel.
Article: “The motive behind Charlie Kirk’s killing: What we know and don’t know“ by Mike Wendling and Shayan Sardarizadeh.
Article: “White House Reconstruction“ by Wikipedia.
Article: “Trump Says White House’s Lavish New Ballroom Will Be ‘a Little Bigger’ Than Original Plans, With Almost 40% More Guest Capacity“ by Todd Spangler.
Article: “The Reagan Administration’s Approach to Immigration Policy: Changes and Debates“ by USAHistoryTimeline.com.
Article: “Does enumerating undocumented residents in the US census affect congressional apportionment?“ by John Robert Warren, Robert E Warren.
Article: “The Fox News Text Messages Prove the Hosts All Know They’re Craven Liars“ by Matt Ford.
Article: “Here’s who’s getting paid — and who isn’t — during the federal government shutdown“ by Tami Luhby.
Article: “Trump administration won’t tap contingency fund to keep food aid flowing, memo says“ by Kevin Freking.
Article: “Broadview mayor signs executive order setting fixed protest hours outside ICE facility“ by Kade Heather.