Sue's Daily Stack, The Thom Hartmann Program 05/08/26

Your daily homework - links to everything discussed on today's show

Friday’s Daily Stack

Hour One: How Rightwing Billionaires Created a Faux Movement and Used It to Rob America Blind
Article: “How Rightwing Billionaires Created a Faux Movement and Used It to Rob America Blind“ by Thom Hartmann.
Article: “Inside a MAGA influencer’s turn against the right-wing machine“ by Drew Harwell.
Article: “X algorithm changed in July to boost right-wing accounts, study finds“ by Gintaras Radauskas.
Article: “The Heritage Foundation“ by Wikipedia.
Site: “openstates.org“.
Article: “Powell Memorandum: Attack On American Free Enterprise System“ by Scholarly Commons.
Site: “vote.org“.
Article: “U.S. says Russia funded media company that paid right-wing influencers millions for videos“ by Stefan Becket, Melissa Quinn.
Article: “6 Billionaire Fortunes Bankrolling Project 2025“ by Joe Fassler.
Article: “Musk Apparently Acknowledges Baby With Ashley St. Clair—And Demands Custody Over Transgender Concerns“ by Antonio Pequeño IV.
Article: “The political effects of X’s feed algorithm“ by Germain Gauthier, Roland Hodler, Philine Widmer & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya.
Article: “Fox News settles blockbuster defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems“ by David Folkenflik, Mary Yang.
Article: “How Russian operatives covertly hired U.S. influencers to create viral videos“ by Shannon Bond, Jude Joffe-Block, Caitlin Thompson.
Article: “Measuring the Income Gap from 1975 to 2023“ by Carter C. Price.
Article: “Rumors of secret GOP payments to influencers now confirmed by ex-insider: expert“ by Travis Gettys.
Article: “NEW STUDY: Nearly $80 Trillion Redistributed from the Bottom 90% to the Top 1% Since 1975“ by Bernie Sanders.
Article: “Former MAGA Influencer Describes the Exact Platform Where Political Operatives Pay for Posts — and the Loophole That Keeps It Hidden“ by Olamide Oloro.
Site: “Talkers Magazine“.
Article: “Thom Hartmann“ by Talkers Magazine.

Article: “Country Joe and the Fish“ by Wikipedia.
Video: Organizers of the Mayday Protests of 1971.
Article: “World Press Freedom Day“(3 May) by UNESCO.
Article: “RSF World Press Freedom Index 2026“ (USA 64th) by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
Article: “Schatz Leads Group of 9 Senators In Introducing Resolution Commemorating World Press Freedom Day“ by Brian Schatz (D-Hawai’i).

Is America Becoming a Giant With a Limp?
Article: “China Sees a ‘Giant With a Limp’ as U.S. Drains Weapons on Iran War“ by David Pierson and Berry Wang.

Did Trump and Hegseth Lie About Crushing Iran?
Article: “Leaked CIA Analysis Shows Trump and Hegseth ‘Lied Through Their Teeth’ About Iran War, Says Murphy“ by Jessica Corbett.
Article: “USS Maine (ACR-1)“ by Wikipedia.
Article: “Robert McNamara“ by Wikipedia.
Article: “The Real Tonkin Gulf Deception Wasn’t by Lyndon Johnson“ (Robert McNamara) by Gareth Porter.
Article: “Nixon’s ‘Secret Plan’ That Never Was“ by Godfrey Sperling.
Article: “The Korean War: On What Legal Basis Did Truman Act?“ by Louis Fisher.

Article: “President Trump Job Approval“ by RealClear Polling.
Article: “Fred Rogers“ (Mister Rogers) by Wikipedia.
Article: “10 Of The Craziest Things Americans Believe“ by lolwot.
Article: “13 Crazy Things People Believe (That Are Still Shockingly Popular Today)“ by Andriy Nurzhynskyy.
Quote: “You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.“ - attributed to Abraham Lincoln.
Article: “‘Food security timebomb’: a visual guide to the Gulf fertiliser blockade“ by Joanna Partridge.
Article: “What to expect from the Trump-Xi summit“ by Spencer Feingold, Miriam Schive.
Article: “Trump shelved ‘Project Freedom’ after Saudis refused use of bases and airspace“ by Patrick Wintour.
Article: “Hezbollah, Hamas, and More: Iran’s Terror Network Around the Globe“ by AJC.
Article: “Who are the two Gaza flotilla activists abducted by Israel?“ by Al Jazeera Staff.
Article: “Will Iran be at the World Cup? FIFA and Donald Trump’s stance explained“ by Filipe Guedes.
Substack: “Retired Analyst Mike“.
Article: “U.S. intelligence says Iran can outlast Trump’s Hormuz blockade for months“ by Warren P. Strobel, John Hudson, Ellen Nakashima.
Article: “NBC News: Iran steps up efforts to remove weapons from underground storage facilities, sources say“ by NEWS.am.
Article: “Merrick Garland“ by Wikipedia.
Article: “Merrick Garland Net Worth 2026: The $20M Inheritance & Law Firm“ by PoliticianNetWorth.com.
Article: “Jack Smith (lawyer)“ by Wikipedia.
Article: “The U.S. debt now exceeds the country’s GDP. Should we worry?“ by Aimee Picchi.
Article: “National debt of Japan“ by Wikipedia.
Movie: “The Wizard of Oz“.
Article: “Sovereign immunity“ by Wikipedia.
Article: “Supreme Court says Trump has absolute immunity for core acts only“ by Nina Totenberg.
Article: “Senate Republicans include $1 billion for Trump ballroom in spending package“ by Alexander Willis.
Article: “Donald J. Trump Presidential Library“ by Wikipedia.

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Hour Two: Trump Rips 27,000 Children From Their Parents
Article: “Revealed: The Trump administration arrested the parents of at least 27,000 kids in seven months“ by Maanvi Singh, Will Craft.

Article: “How ICE agents detained one US citizen three times“ by Billal Rahman.
Article: “Kavanaugh stop“ by Wikipedia.
Article: “Brett Kavanaugh“ by Wikipedia.

Why Is Bezos’s Paper Crusading Against Taxing Billionaires?
Article: “‘Are Readers Meant to Take This Seriously?’: Economist Refutes Latest Attack on Wealth Tax by Bezos’ Washington Post“ by Stephen Prager.

Could Carrying Extra Weight Be Shrinking Your Brain?
Article: “Carrying Extra Weight For Years Linked To Faster Cognitive Decline“ by StudyFinds Analysis.

Article: “Lighthouse and naval vessel urban legend“ by Wikipedia.
Bible: “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.“ - Proverbs 11:14.
Article: “U.S. Murder Rate By Year: Trend Chart (2026)“ by ConsumerShield.
Article: “Understanding the Iran-Contra Affairs“ (1981 - 1986) by Brown University.
Article: “United States incarceration rate“ by Wikipedia.
Article: “Lead–crime hypothesis“ by Wikipedia.

Article: “Virginia supreme court strikes down new congressional maps in win for Republicans“ by Chris Stein.
Article: “Trump Fires Board Members of Group That Oversees U.S. Science Funding“ by Adam Sella.
Article: “National Science Foundation fires roughly 10% of its workforce“ by Jonathan Lambert.
Quote: “Sound And Fury, Signifying Nothing“ - Macbeth.
Movie: “The Wizard of the Kremlin (film)“.
Article: “Yalta Conference“ by Wikipedia.
Article: “Alabama Republicans Pass Last-Minute Gerrymander in Middle of Election“ by Hafiz Rashid.
Article: “Right-to-work law“ by Wikipedia.
Law: “Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972“.
Law: “Equal Credit Opportunity Act“ (1974).
Article: “Age of consent in the United States“ by Wikipedia.
Article: “Marriage age in the United States“ by Wikipedia.
Law: “Civil Rights Act of 1964“.
Law: “Louisiana V. Callais et al.“ (Louisiana gerrymandering).
Article: “Tennessee Republicans pass new gerrymander following Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Act ruling“ by Samuel Benson.
Article: “14-year-olds to pull overnight shifts as US state moves to roll back child labor laws & combat ‘dirt cheap’ migrant work“ (Florida) by Arshi Qureshi.
Article: “Studies show white women benefit more from DEI than Black people“.
Article: “M&M’s test positive for a surprisingly low level of Lead (but a level still unsafe for kids to consume)!“ by Tamara.
Site: Leaving MAGA.
Article: “Mother’s Day (United States)“ (May 10 2026) by Wikipedia.
Article: “Dean Phillips“ by Wikipedia.
Article: “Dear Abby“ by Wikipedia.
Article: “What 30+ Years of Deportations Show Across 5 Presidents“ by Wendy Selene Pérez.
Article: “Elon Musk Calls South Africa “Racist.” The Data, and History, Tell a Different Story“ by TIME Africa Staff.

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Hour Three: Court Slams Trump Tariffs as Manufacturing Boom Disappears
Article: “Trump Tariffs Ruled Illegal—Again—as Data Shows Promised Manufacturing Boom Is Nonexistent “ by Jake Johnson.

Article: “Ramparts (magazine)“ by Wikipedia.
Article: “The Realist“ by Wikipedia.
Site: Christopher Armitage.
Site: Dean Obeidallah.
Article: “Every Trump Business That Went Bankrupt“ by Owen Chase.
Article: “Modern Monetary Theory“ by Wikipedia.
Article: “Fact Check: Under Donald Trump, Did U.S. Accrue 25% of National Debt?“ by Ewan Palmer.
Article: “Are Republicans Meddling in Democratic Primaries?“ (Lead Left PAC) by Taegan Goddard.
Article: “Republicans Might Be Meddling In A Key Swing District Primary. Democrats Aren’t Sure Why.“ by Kevin Robillard.
Article: “Lead Left PAC“ by FEC.
Book: Greeks & Romans Bearing Gifts: How the Ancients Inspired the Founding Fathers by Carl J. Richard.
Article: “George Washington’s Farewell Address (1796)“ by George Washington. “Respect for its authority, compliance with its laws, acquiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined by the fundamental maxims of true liberty”. “The Constitution which at any time exists, till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all”. “The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge,...”
Article: “The Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection (Continued)“ (Federalist 10) by James Madison.
Article: “The Adams-Jefferson letters : the complete correspondence between Thomas Jefferson and Abigail and John Adams“.
Book: The Theory of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith.
Article: “The Federalist Papers : No. 67“ by Alexander Hamilton. “He has been decorated with attributes superior in dignity and splendor to those of a king of Great Britain. He has been shown to us with the diadem sparkling on his brow and the imperial purple flowing in his train. He has been seated on a throne surrounded with minions and mistresses, giving audience to the envoys of foreign potentates, in all the supercilious pomp of majesty. The images of Asiatic despotism and voluptuousness have scarcely been wanting to crown the exaggerated scene. We have been taught to tremble at the terrific visages of murdering janizaries, and to blush at the unveiled mysteries of a future seraglio.“
Article: “Federalist No. 70“ (unitary executive) by Wikipedia.
Article: “History of immigration to the United States“ by Wikipedia.
Movie: “Gangs of New York“.
Article: “This breakthrough model uses 1,000X less compute“ by Zain Kahn.
Article: “What is Moore’s Law?“ by Max Roser, Hannah Ritchie, and Edouard Mathieu.
Article: “Tennessee approves new congressional map that dissolves majority Black district“ by Caroline Linton.
Article: “Maine Just Delivered a Brutal Wake-Up Call to Democrats. Will It Land?“ by Thom Hartmann.
Article: “No, It’s Not Rahm Emanuel. Graham Platner Is the Future of the Democratic Party “ by Robert Reich.