Donald Trump's Twitter rampages might be the best thing to ever happen to Neil Gorsuch's Supreme Court hopes.

The White House denies it, but according to Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal, Gorsuch told him in a private meeting that he's "disheartened" by Donald Trump's attacks on the judiciary.

Blumenthal told the story of what happened during an appearance on CNN.

"I said to Judge Gorsuch that I find the attacks on the judiciary absolutely abhorrent and unacceptable and I asked him to express his criticism and to condemn these kinds of public attacks on an independent judiciary. and at that point after some back-and-forth he did say that he found them to be disheartening and demoralizing".

Former New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte - who's helping Trump move Gorsuch through the confirmation process - seemed to confirm Gorsuch's remarks in a statement she released this morning.

Ayotte said that "[Gorsuch] finds any criticism of a judge's integrity and independence disheartening and demoralizing."

Hearing stuff like this is probably reassuring to a lot of liberals.

The idea that Trump's Supreme Court pick will stick up to him when Trump gets out of control sounds a lot better than the rubber stamp a lot of them probably expected.

But are Democrats being played?

Is all this "Gorsuch getting disheartened" talk actually just a way for Republicans to normalize someone who's in reality a very dangerous ideologue?

-Thom

(What do you think? Tell us here.)

Tonight on The Big Picture on RT TV at 7pm and 10:30pm... Is Trump About to Come For You & Your Pot? (check your local listings for stations or stream at RT or Free Speech TV, and catch past shows on Youtube)

Monday's Daily Stack 

Article: "CNN's Kate Bolduan Shuts Down Trump's Voter Fraud Expert Kris Kobach" by Matt Wilstein.

Site: The Best Democracy Money Can Buy.

Video: The Best Democracy Money Can Buy.

Article: "The GOP's Stealth War Against Voters" (Crosscheck) by Greg Palast, August 24, 2016.

Law: "Help America Vote Act" (2002).

Article: "Trump claims 3-5M illegal ballots cost him popular vote, cites no evidence" by CBS News.

Article: "Illegal Voting Gets Texas Woman 8 Years in Prison, and Certain Deportation" by Michael Wines.

Article: "The White House Put Stephen Miller On Four Sunday Shows To Dodge, Lie, And Attack The Media" by Nina Mast & Cristina L�pez G.

Article: "Oath of office of the President of the United States" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Constitution of the United States" Article 1.

Article: "Constitution of the United States", article 3 section 2. "... the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make..."

Article: "Impeachment in the United States" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Stephen Miller Calls "media And The Whole World" Opponents Of Trump Administration" by The Intellectualist.

Article: "Trump aide Steve Bannon calls mainstream media 'opposition party'" by Lauren Gambino.

Quote: "A Republic, if you can keep it." - Benjamin Franklin.

 

Article: "D.C. is disregarding the sanctity of life. Congress must act." by Jason Chaffetz and Jim DeMint.

Article: "House Moving to Block DC 'Death With Dignity' Law" by AP.

 

Article: "Michael T. Flynn" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Official: Flynn Discussed Sanctions With Russians Before Taking Office" by Ken Dilanian.

Law: "Logan Act", 1799 - forbids unauthorized citizens from negotiating with foreign governments having a dispute with the U.S.

Article: "Big lie" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Gerrymandering" by Wikipedia.

Tweet: "Kobach is peddling the "voter fraud" Big Lie on CNN in preparation for nationwide voter purges, the only way the GOP can hold power in 2018." by Thom Hartmann.

Site: Our Revolution

Site: Indivisible.

Site: Progressive Democrats of America

Site: MoveOn.org

Article: ""Do your job": Jason Chaffetz town hall overrun with constituents demanding he investigate Trump" by Matthew Rozsa.

Article: "Dutch Minister Ditches Election Software Over Hacking Fears" by Phil Muncaster.

Article: "€54m voting machines scrapped for €9 each" by Paul Melia and Luke Byrne.

Article: "'We all have this suspicion - he lies a lot': Al Franken suggests some GOP senators worry about Trump's mental health" by Maxwell Tani.

Article: ""We'll destroy his career": Trump offers help after sheriff complains about Texas lawmaker who wants to restrict civil asset forfeiture" by Sophia Tesfaye.

Article: "Treaty of Versailles" by Wikipedia (28 June 1919, at the end of World War I).

Book: "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany" by William L. Shirer.

Video: FDR - Lesson on the Use of Propaganda.

Article: "Illegal Voting Gets Texas Woman 8 Years in Prison, and Certain Deportation" by Michael Wines.

Article: "Republicans push bill to split up 'nutty 9th Circuit'" by Barnini Chakraborty.

Hour Two: Ordinary Americans carried out inhumane acts for Trump...
- Professor Chris Edelson J.D., American University    

Book: Power without Constraint: The Post 9/11 Presidency and National Security by Chris Edelson.

Article: "Ordinary Americans carried out inhumane acts for Trump" by Chris Edelson.

Book: Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust by Daniel Jonah Goldhagen.

Article: "Steve Bannon Cited Italian Thinker Who Inspired Fascists" by Jason Horowitz.

Book: "They Thought They Were Free" by Milton Mayer.

Article: "They Thought They Were Free" (book review, Nov. 6, 2005) by Thom Hartmann.

Article: "Reichstag fire", 27 February 1933 by Wikipedia.

Article: "Court Refuses to Reinstate Travel Ban, Dealing Trump Another Legal Loss" by Adam Liptak.

Article: "Transcript: Trump On The Couch... (w/Guest: Dr. Justin Frank) - 6 December '16" by Thom Hartmann.

Video: Trump on the Couch w/Dr. Justin Frank, MD.

Book: Bush on the Couch Rev Ed: Inside the Mind of the President by Justin A. Frank, M.D.

Book: Obama on the Couch by Justin A. Frank, M.D.

 

Book: "The Prophet's Way" by Thom Hartmann

Site: United Church of Christ.

Site: Unitarian Universalists.

Article: "Godwin's law" by Wikipedia.

Book: "Rebooting the American Dream: 11 Ways to Rebuild Our Country" by Thom Hartmann (read online)

Book: "Rebooting the American Dream: 11 Ways to Rebuild Our Country" by Thom Hartmann

Article: "Moscow Denies Russia Mulling Giving Snowden as 'Gift' to Trump".

Article: "Jack Kevorkian" by Wikipedia.

 

Talk Media News Segment:
- TRNS_HOST_TRNS 

Article: "Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump Discuss U.S.-Canada Trade" by Ian Austen.

Article: "North American Free Trade Agreement" (NAFTA) by Wikipedia

Article: "Trump's fourth week begins amid Flynn controversy" by Justin Duckham.

Article: "Did Flynn violate the Logan Act?" by Bryan Renbaum.

Article: "Trump's stance on Flynn remains elusive" by TMN.

Article: "Standing Rock Sioux Ask Court to Halt Dakota Access Pipeline Construction" by James Hill, Dean Schabner.

Article: "Tribes fighting the Dakota Access pipeline lose bid to immediately pause construction" by James Hill, Audrey Taylor.

Article: "Pentagon strongly condemns North Korea missile test" by Idrees Ali.

Article: "North Korea calls missile test launch a success; Trump reaffirms support for Japan" by Loree Lewis.

Article: "Senate expected to confirm Mnuchin as Treasury secretary" by David Lawder.

Article: "Warren, Democrats train attacks on Labor nominee Puzder" by Jim Puzzanghera.

Site: "Goats for the old Goat".

Hour Three: Make Valentine's Day a Day of #RevolutionaryLove & Resistance
- Eve Ensler, One Billion Rising/V-Day  

Article: "The Women's March heralds a renaissance of resistance" by Eve Ensler.

Event: Feb 14, NYC: "Artistic UpRISING/Revolutionary Love at Wash Sq Park".

Article: "Stephen Bannon, Trump campaign CEO, faced domestic violence charge in 1996" by Kurtis Lee.

Article: "Labor Secretary pick Andrew Puzder was accused of beating his wife" by Christopher Brennan.

Article: "Documenting Trump's Abuse Of Women" by Jane Mayer.

Twitter: "#periodsforpence".

Article: "Senate Republicans silence Elizabeth Warren over letter on Jeff Sessions" (includes 1986 letter by Coretta Scott King) by David Smith.

Article: "Putin approves legal change that decriminalises some domestic violence" by Shaun Walker.

Article: "Sharia Law" by Wikipedia.

Article: "How Did the Oroville Dam Crisis Get So Dire?" by David A. Graham.

Article: "Oroville Dam crisis: No word from Trump; FEMA helping".

Article: "1033 program" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Protesters Grill Democratic Senator About His Vote for Trump's CIA Chief" by Lee Fang.

Article: "Ayaan Hirsi Ali" by Wikipedia.

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

 

We'll have the latest news and information...everything you need to know to win the water cooler wars...

 

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...