With House Republicans reportedly putting the finishing touches on a compromise deal, the GOP healthcare plan is officially back from the dead.

But don't get your hopes up - the new Trumpcare is just as bad as the old Trumpcare.

In fact - it might even be worse.

As part of a deal meant to coincide with Donald Trump's 100th day in office, the Freedom Caucus and a more moderate group of House Republicans known as the "Tuesday Group" are putting the finishing touches on a new GOP healthcare plan.

This new Republican healthcare plan would theoretically have an easier time passing the House than the old Obamacare replacement plan - but it would be a disaster for sick Americans.

Not only would it let states opt of rules that require insurance companies to cover vital services like hospital visits, it would also let them opt out rules that prevent insurance companies from jacking up premiums on people with pre-existing conditions.

This seems to be one of the only policies of Obamacare that most people agreed on is a good thing. Someone who's diagnosed with cancer shouldn't be priced out of the insurance market. And yet, here the Republicans are considering trashing it, in order to please the House Freedom Caucus, rather than 190 something Democrats.

How does this make any sense?

-Thom

(What do you think? Tell us here.)

Tonight on The Big Picture on RT TV at 7pm and 10:30pm... Is this the death of Whistleblower-based Journalism? (check your local listings for stations or stream at RT or Free Speech TV, and catch past shows on Youtube)

Friday's Daily Stack 

Article: "Two Santa Clauses or How The Republican Party Has Conned America for Thirty Years" by Thom Hartmann.

Article: "How the Chained CPI Affects Social Security Payments" by Emily Brandon.

Clip: "Paul Weyrich - "I don't want everybody to vote" (Goo Goo)".

Speech: "Great Society" by Wikipedia.

Article: "New Deal" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Georgia special election: Ossoff eyes runoff after narrowly missing outright win" by Ben Jacobs.

Article: "Georgia hit with lawsuit challenging registration deadline for congressional run-off" by Kira Lerner.

Article: "When you swallow sewage at the Shore, thank Trump" by NJ.com.

Article: "Seth: The spiritual teacher that started the "New Age"" by Jane Roberts.

Article: "Carlos Castaneda" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Conversations with God" by Neale Donald Walsch.

Book: "The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight: Revised and Updated: The Fate of the World and What We Can Do Before It's Too Late" by Thom Hartmann

Article: "Operation Paperclip" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Project MKUltra" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Establishment Rages at Bernie Sanders for Insisting Being a Democrat Isn't Enough" by Michael Sainato.

Book: Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell.

Article: "Venezuela seizes GM plant as crisis escalates" by Kim Hjelmgaard and Nathan Bomey.

Article: "Venezuela hit by more violent anti-government protests" by Andres Schipani.

Site: Center for Economic and Policy Research (C.E.P.R.) (Dr. Mark Weisbrot).

Article: "Trump and his aides sow confusion by sending mixed signals on foreign affairs" by David Nakamura and Karen DeYoung.

Article: "They Will Steal It!" by Thom Hartmann.

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

Book: What's the Matter with Kansas? by Thomas Frank.

Video: The Wrecking Crew, by Thomas Frank.

Case: "Buckley v. Valeo", 1976

Case: "First National Bank Of Boston V. Bellotti", 1978

Quote: "Less government in business and more business in government" - Warren Harding.

Article: "Preamble to the Constitution of the United States".

Hour Two: How to Stop the Brown Shirt "Pundits" on the Right
- Bryan Pruitt, RedState    

Article: "UC Berkeley cancels 'alt-right' speaker Milo Yiannopoulos as thousands protest" by Julia Carrie Wong.

Article: "Ann Coulter rejects Berkeley's new invite; GOP students threaten to sue college" by William Wan.

Article: "Anatomy of an anti-war "riot"" by Alex Rubinstein.

Tweet: "Berkeley Campus On Lockdown After Loose Pages From 'Wall Street Journal' Found On Park Bench http://trib.al/3lB4FPb" by The Onion.

Video: The Great Debate: Thom Hartmann vs Michael Medved (1/10).

 

How You Can Connect & Engage!
- Nuchhi Currier, Woman's National Democratic Club (WNDC)    

Event: DC, April 24, 2017: "CONNECT & ENGAGE: An Evening of Progressive Activism Training and Networking".

 

Video: Trump: Knock The Crap Out Of Them, I'll Pay For Lawsuits.

Video: Donald Trump: I may pay legal fees for man who punched protester - video.

Article: "Why is Jason Chaffetz leaving Congress? There are a bunch of conspiracies swirling around" by Matthew Sheffield.

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

Article: "Three-Fifths Compromise" by Wikipedia.

Event: Seattle. April 29: "IRE Volunteer Service Fair ".

Article: "Bernie Sanders and Tom Perez rally red and swing state liberals to 'fight back'" by Lauren Gambino.

Article: "Democratic unity tour draws crowd in Louisville" by Chris Williams.

Article: "Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Donald Trump's 'armada' now heading for North Korea after initially going the wrong way" by Charlotte England.

Article: "Vedas" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Bhagavad Gita" by Wikipedia.

Video: Oscar Brown Jr. - Watermelon Man.

 

Talk Media News Segment:
- Patrick Gavin 

Article: "Health care push unswayed by Trump's 100th day, White House says" by Justin Duckham .

Article: "TrumpCare 3.0: GOP's Zombie Healthcare Plan Keeps Getting Worse" by Deirdre Fulton.

Article: "White House pressures GOP leaders on Obamacare showdown next week" by Rachael Bade, Josh Dawsey, Adam Cancryn.

Article: "Trump Says Mystery Health Care Bill Has 'Gotten Really, Really Good'" by Matt Shuham.

Article: "Freedom Caucus" by Wikipedia.

Tweet: "In Steve Bannon's office, called the war room, hangs a whiteboard with every promise Trump made on the campaign: http://nyer.cm/RkgSuo1 " by The New Yorker.

Article: "The First Week: Trump's Assault On River Protection" by Amy Souers Kober.

Article: "Trump: 'I've done more than anybody' in first 100 days" by Nikita Vladimirov.

Article: "Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR): First 100 Days" by Shmoop.

Site: "Goats for the old Goat".

Book: Loving What You Do: The Elements of a Great Working Life by Ellen Ratner.

Hour Three: The UK General Election...Corbyn's Vilification & Labour's Possible Fight
- Professor Kenneth Surin, Counterpunch/Duke University    

Article: "The UK General Election, Corbyn's Vilification and Labour's Possible Fight" by Kenneth Surin.

Article: "Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Rupert Murdoch" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Jeremy Corbyn" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Journalistic Representations of Jeremy Corbyn in the British Press" by LSE.

 

Article: "Kansas election: Republicans mull narrow win in deep red state" by BBC.

Article: "Georgia special election: Ossoff eyes runoff after narrowly missing outright win" by Ben Jacobs.

Site: Wolf PAC

Article: "Republican success opens door to amending U.S. Constitution".

Site: Move to Amend

Site: Public Citizen

Article: "Constitution of the United States", article 5 (amendments, convention).

Movie: "Wall Street (1987 film)".

Movie: "Back to the Future".

Case: "Marbury v. Madison", 1803 (judicial review)

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..."

Book: "The Fourth Turning" by William Strauss, Neil Howe.

Book: "The Crash of 2016: The Plot to Destroy America--and What We Can Do to Stop It" by Thom Hartmann

Book, site: "Web of Debt", Ellen Brown.

Article: "Will He or Won't He? Hatch Keeps Utah in Suspense" by Bridget Bowman.

Article: "U.S. Reveals Death Toll From Airstrikes Outside War Zones" by Charlie Savage, Scott Shane.

Article: "Trump Admin Ups Drone Strikes, Tolerates More Civilian Deaths: U.S. Officials" by Ken Dilanian, Hans Nichols And Courtney Kube.

Article: "Donald Trump: "There has to be some form of punishment" for women who have abortions" by Emily Crockett.

Article: "Fairness Doctrine" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Talking Back To Talk Radio - Fairness, Democracy, and Profits" by Thom Hartmann.

Article: "Air America (radio network)" by Wikipedia.

Book: Road to Air America: Breaking the Right Wing Stranglehold on Our Nation's Airwaves by Sheldon Drobny.

Site: Free Speech TV

Documentary: Who Killed the Electric Car?.

Article: "The First Iraq War Was Also Sold to the Public Based on a Pack of Lies" by Joshua Holland.

Article: "HHS pick Tom Price made 'brazen' stock trades while his committee was under scrutiny" by Marisa Taylor, Christina Jewett.

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

 

I'll be talking with actress/activist Alyssa Reiner of Cool Effect about the launch of "Ton of Reasons," a new carbon reduction campaign.

 

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...