Heard some disturbing things on Hartman's program this week

[Eyeball_Kid]

84. Wow. I've got to jump in here.

Hartmann did, indeed broadcast on Russian TV for a time. My guess is that it was a business decision made at a time when it appeared that Russia was relatively benign, and that his pro-democracy themes, of broadcast within Russia, would benefit those inside Russia in their own quest for a better quality of life. I've been listening to Hartmann for decades. I've never heard him say anything that would engender suspicions that he was anti-democracy or pro-Russian or pro-Putin. Hartmann has been as consistent as the atomic clock in that regard. He's always looked unfavorably toward corporatism, corruption, and the Republican Party. IMO, Hartmann is there to remind us that our own "democracy" has multiple weaknesses... BECAUSE IT DOES. And he's always done what he can to point the way toward more equitable self-governance.

I'm nearly the same age as Hartmann. He's talked about his education, training, and background at irregular times on his broadcasts. I've always seen him as a harder working, (even luckier), more talented, and maybe even more intelligent version of myself. Our educational backgrounds are similar, as are our reasoning abilities and moral sensibilities. Maybe it's just that our vocabularies are similar. In any event, there is no better person, IMO, in public media who can articulate the strengths and weaknesses of our methods of self governance, and what we can do to make it better.

A good question to ask Hartmann is why he left RT when he did. My best guess is that Russia was turning more belligerent and was poisoning its citizens because they opposed Putin, and Hartmann didn't want to be associated with any of it. I appreciate the motivations of some to aggressively identify those who are surreptitiously or visibly enabling authoritarian and fascist movements domestically or internationally. The spread of fascism is real and there are numerous reasons that the fascist movement has taken hold in the US. But, IMO, those who are pointing a finger at Hartmann as another propaganda arm of Putin or the GOP or right wing whackery are barking up the wrong tree.

So there's my "rant" for this morning.