But we also want to take on new stories in depth. Here are a few potential topics under consideration:
1. The ongoing genocide of Uyghurs in China and how United States corporations may be benefiting from forced labor.
2. The treatment of pharmacy workers and others on the frontlines of the vaccination effort.
3. The impact of the end of the eviction moratorium, which now expires on June 30.
Today, however, we want to hear from you. Are any of these topics of particular interest? Are there other issues you'd like to see Popular Information take on?
You can leave your thoughts in the discussion thread linked below, starting now. I’ll be dropping by to participate in the discussion and answer your questions at 9:30 AM Eastern, for about an hour.
Popular Information will return to your inbox on Monday, April 26.
This is an enormously important issue. We can only help the Uyghers if we have a functioning democracy at home. I am still very interested in who is funding sedition in this country. Funders of Congressmen can always claim other motives but funders of the Oathkeepers are white supremacists and traitors.
The most important and impactful thing you can do, and the reason I subscribe, is to be the primary sources for showing what US companies are doing with their money. We need to fix our own house in order for it to stand up for others. I ask you to not be distracted from the domestic need and to revel in the incredible impact you have had already.
Focus is important. The Coca-Colas of the country want you to get distracted.
Stay on-mission and on-message! Thank you for your incredible work. It is so simple but so important!
We will absolutely stay focused on corporate power. But I also believe we will have the greatest impact by finding new ways to explore these topics, without sacrificing the overall mission. It's a tricky balance, but that's part of why I'm asking for feedback to see where readers are. Thanks!
While it sounds like you are bored by what you have done, a tally of the "likes" here seems to show that your audience is not.
You exploring other angles would be like Michael Jordan quitting basketball to play baseball, which didn't work out so well.
Uyghurs? How are you going do better than Buzzfeed, CNN, WaPo?
Ditto Covid injustice, eviction moratorums, and climate change.
Others aren't going to cite your statistics on those topics (as they don't the 1,000 other bloggers talking about them), but you can be (are already?) the reference on money vs. mouth, which is incredibly impactful.
You have a very strong position with a lot of room to grow in a "niche" (corporate funding compared to their slogans) that is crucial to our future. Citizens United, Climate change/justice, social equality all flow from corporate donations to ower, corporate donations to lawmakers.
Every bit of marketing advice everywhere says to keep growing your niche and be the dominant factor in it. Awareness of corporate donations to lawmakers is THE most important issue in our society today because all government actions flow directly from them (see https://bulletin.represent.us/american-government-isnt-democracy/ )
The more you do in this area, the more you continue to develop and raise awareness, the more impact you will have. Become a generalist, "progressive outrage blogger" and you will lose relevance and be scrapping like hundreds of other Substack side-hustlers.
Your brilliance is bringing simple data to the masses for all to see clearly how we can help as customers of corporations. Keep it up and keep developing your niche. There's a long way to go, like this https://www.sophie-e-hill.com/post/my-little-crony/ for something that you could add
Agree enthusiastically with this. Providing readers with straightforward guidance on actions they can take to address these issues would be a valuable bonus.
PR is important to companies. I used to follow-up with companies on social media after Judd's reports. I never saw a single person join in. Even so, I occasionally received responses from companies. If everyone who received Judd's newsletter 1) shared it every time and 2) bombarded companies he calls out with the facts he provides, you would see action. Judd can't do this alone.
Sleeping Giants does great work, but this level of heavy lifting requires tems of thousands of people to take individual action. If corporations are bombarded via FB, Twitter, Instagram, they will react. Russians are risking their lives to mass protest, but Americans are loathe to simply take action online. I struggle with our passivity, with few exceptions, as a country.
That’s exactly what Sleeping Giants does. (Or used to do?) They mobilize their thousands of members to take individual action by providing scripts to take action online
I think the former co-founder wrote the scripts, but I could be mistaken. I just cut and paste Judd's facts from his newsletter, and include a link or reference to PI. I actually think it's more effective if people write their own intro as long as they include and reference Judd's research.
Important topics: The pernicious rise of Christian Nationalism as a threat to our secular government, and the many bills being passed to promote religion in schools, and the illegal funding of Christian schools with taxpayer dollars. The rash of religion based bills that discriminate and threaten to punish transgender children and adults.
I’m torn. I agree with folks who suggest you stay the course and not dilute your focus, but I am also really concerned about the right’s takeover of media. With the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine, Republicans are seizing control of the narrative and shamelessly using media to promote lies, conspiracies and propaganda. Rupert Murdoch, Steve Bannon, Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, Fox, OANN, Newsmax, Sinclair Broadcasting, conservative talk radio, Facebook, Parker, etc. are poisoning the country. THEY enabled and promoted the Big Lie - and still do! With their outrage politics they enable Qanon, Liam Wood, Mike Lindell (sp?) — and million of dollars in small-dollar donations to the MTGs and Josh Hawleys of the world. They are brainwashing formerly/seemingly reasonable, intelligent people and multiplying their ranks. They are powerful and persuasive and it terrifies me. Who is behind them? Who profits from them? Who supports them with advertising? How do we stop them?
Agree that Disinformation is standing in the way of fixing almost everything else. The money must be coming from somebody in addition to Koch. Murdoch apparently wants to burn down every democracy in the world, but I dunno why. I don't even understand why Koch wants to kill democracy - I thought it was all about tax rates for corporations, but apparently it's more than that.
I agree with knowing who is supporting & promoting the Big Lie is important so we can work against it. History tells us those putting out the big lie are trying to fool the majority to make them afraid and gain power through that fear and when that happens, we lose control to those power mongers. Truth is what we need, which Judd is very good at providing. Keep getting the truth out.
Tell us which corps ARE standing by their promise not to support candidates who supported the insurgency. We WANT to know so we can support them, not just the bad guys.
Have something like this in the works. I don't think just standing by promises is enough but I want to do more to highlight responsible corporate behavior.
When you write this up, please include an email address for the company ombudsman, their twitter handle, or some other way that we can let them know we agree with your findings and are as mad as hell!
Thanks for your great work. Your insights about real responsible corporate behavior and naming corporations would be significant contribution to raising the bar beyond public relations to substance. Also like the idea of contact links - in this case to express buying preferences in support of specific actions.
I’d especially like to know which banks support political candidates who support: voting rights, universal health, and increased minimum wage. My bank offers great service, but I’ll switch as soon as I can figure out an ethical alternative.
Indeed. Strong positive action such as MLB and Will Smiths production must be highlighted as it is my belief that Ga politicians will not be bothered by soft approaches such as newspaper announcements.
I'd also love to have such contact info for the "bad guys" too, so we can put additional pressure on them from regular people. Would sending to their investor relations contract be one effective route?
The genocide and forced labor of the Uyghurs is a Holocaust that doesn’t get enough attention here, so please follow the corporate money to see which American companies benefit. It’s extremely hard to stand up to China, but it must be done. For all those saying you should stick to domestic issues, remember we’re all connected, and we’re talking about American/global corporations here. Also Judd please return to your fantastic Facebook reporting. Facebook is still the evil empire and spreads the disinformation that is at the root of our divisions.
Many Uyghurs are ISIS terrorists. That's why they're in trouble. When the Uyghurs were fighting with ISIS in Syria and Iraq the US and allies were fighting them.
This broad characterization is inaccurate. Whatever small number of Uyghurs might have a connection to ISIS doesn't justify the human rights abuses against an entire community of people.
I don't think China abuses the 'entire' Uyghur community and the abuse claims certainly aren't genocide. There would be evidence of genocide of the entire Uyghur community. The Western Judeo-Christian leadership is probably just abusing Chinese atheists like they do atheists here in the US. Atheists in the West can't discuss the abuses they suffer at the hands of the Judeo-Christian leadership in the US. Not to mention the awful things said about non-believers at many religious pulpits.
We have two narratives to consider if we want to understand the issue. We can't neglect either or we risk being wrong. It would be nice to give voice to both narratives and let them clash. Below is one example of an opposing narrative: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-04/09/c_139869006.htm
While all three of these are important stories, I subscribe to support an ongoing focus on corporate payments to candidates that are actively working to undermine our democracy. We need to keep the pressure on corporations to be accountable and to keep the public informed. Thank you for all the good reporting you have done to date.
A good example is Sirota's Daily Poster article today on Yemen. I consider Daily Poster a "competitor" to Popular Information.
Of course Yemen is a problem, but it is hard to see how Poster's jumping from topic to topic moves the needle by enabling action. Instead, it's outrage media without enabling popular follow-up.
By keeping its focus on the key behind-the-$cenes mechanism of corporate funding, Pop Info shows acts vs words and enables us to mobilize easily, like not buying a complicit company's products.
Look what Pop Info has done so far with so few resources. I can't think of any other news organization that has had such an impact in so little time with so little money. Pop Info is a game-changer.
Yes! And please share information as to how we can address the issue of big moneyed special interests influencing our elections, which then influences our policies. Americans need to remember that we are a self-governing nation and push to amend the Constitution so that we may again regulate campaign contributions and expenditures. There is much activity in this effort that needs to be reported!
It would be handy if contact information were included so that letters/calls/emails went directly to the desk of corporate decision makers rather than the “mail room”
Hold your nose and buy one share of stock in every corporation that offends you. That will make you an “investor” with access to the corporation’s Investor Relations staff. They also will mail you their annual report and proxy materials for their annual meetings, which you can attend in person (eventually, when things start happening in person again). There are shareholder advocacy groups that specialize in holding corporations accountable; join them. If corporate boards start to realize that their past practices of donating to EVERYONE, just to hedge their bets, won’t work anymore, perhaps they will insist on a more thoughtful approach to corporate contributions and support.
So many provocative suggestions here. If you're going to take a "next step", please consider providing some guidance for readers interested in moving the needle toward ethical and equitable corporate behavior.
Companies respond to social media pressure. They all actively monitor their brand reputation online. Stii, few people take the information provided by Judd to directly confront these corporations where they are most vulnerable. As I noted earlier, massive PI reader pressure - via social media - using the facts provided by Judd - would result in action.
I'm 1 person with almost no SM footprints and corporations almost always respond. Contact information isn't necessary, just @ the companies on Instagram, Twitter etc with the facts provided by Judd. It's not difficult, it just takes collective action.
It's simple to create a Twitter account. And you don't have to use your real name, in case you are worried about anonymity. (If you want to be really careful, create a new email address on gmail, and use that to create your Twitter account.)
I've been Tweeting since the Orange Menace was elected, and while it's not my favorite thing to do, it's pretty easy to do exactly as hw said.
Type the name of the company into the SEARCH box, and you can pretty easily find the correct Twitter handle (address), which starts with @. Then copy and paste Judd's info and your opinion.
It's your way to protest, and to support other protesting patriots, without having to leave your couch!
A lot of the current mess is attributable to the Citizens United decision. Delving into that decision, the current imbalance on the Supreme Court, and the toxicity of some members of Congress who ought to have their political careers cut short before they can advance to a level where they can do more damage than just whatever they can accomplish as gadflies (Jim Jordan...) might help us achieve a legislative solution to Citizens United while the D’s have at least some control of both houses of Congress.
There are only 2 ways to reverse a Supreme Court decision. One is to have the court reconsider the decision. That is extremely unlikely with the current court stacked with corporatist judges. The other is an amendment to the Constitution. Americans have passed amendments which we have done seven or eight times in the past.
There are ways to legislatively bypass or negate those decisions, though. For example, one way to negate Citizens United is to require full transparency in real time for all political or charitable contributions. Based on what I remember about the decision, this was what John Roberts expected to happen, except that McConnell got in the way. No more dark money. Think about it; if you contribute to a candidate or a PAC or a Super-PAC, your contributions becomes part of the public record before the end of the next business day.
The same legislative end-around would work for the Shelby County decision that essentially gutted the Voting Rights Act. Simply amend the Act to require pre-clearance for ALL changes to voting laws.
So much to do, so little time... Given the scale of your operation (!), I would agree with others suggesting you to retain a clear focus. Your work is raising awareness of the corrupt relationship between corporations and politics. A great many problems flow from that and it seems to be your real strength/USP. However, doesn't the discussion become more interesting and meaningful if we also ask why corporations donate to political parties in the first place and how this whole system works? Obviously this is not novel, but without analyzing how this legally-sanctioned corruption works, the discussion about corporate positions on specific events/positions can seem naive. It's been striking how incredibly reluctant corporates are stop donating. Their fear of losing the control (they think) it affords them is palpable. Similarly, the GOP hissy fits in response are incredibly revealing of what goes on under our noses every day. So my two cents' would be stick to informing people and promoting critical thinking about the whole relationship between corporations and politics, who 'owns' whom, whether it's just a revolving door, and how this arrangement actively prevents policies (and politics) which are in the interests of - and are probably supported by - the vast majority of Americans. Thanks for the great work you're doing!
I believe a focus on specific corporate donations is a very strategic "edge of the wedge" issue that will engender the broader dialogue you correctly prescribe.
I can think of no other publication that puts out the basic-but-hidden-facts of behavior like Pop Info. Our best chance of real change is for more people to see that behavior and talk about it, question it, and envision a society without it.
Definitely. I agree it's a way into the wider issues and I'm sure that's the intention. Just looking ahead I guess and you wouldn't want to lose the wood for the the trees, etc.
Well one problem is that many Democratic leaders also accept money from corporations. While small dollar donors are rising in prominence in both parties, John Roberts opened a door to corporate and dark money that is unlikely to be closed for decades.
It's not the gunmakers, it's disinformation and demand. No other country has fetishized guns as Americans have done. It's a deep cultural sickness that shows no sign of waning. There are more guns than people, and now Ron Desantis has weaponized vehicles in Florida.
No, DeSantis signed the first law, the rest are following his lead. Apparently whichever GOP governor kills the most constituents will capture the GOP presidential primary in 2024.
I'd love to see more attention paid to financial conflicts of interest of sitting lawmakers. (E.g. remember Kelly Loeffler's race - not nearly enough attention focused on her financial conflicts, including in her case actions she'd taken as a lawmaker to benefit companies she owned significant stock in.)
Seems like this area is in line with your "follow the money" approach, and could benefit from similar data-centric work.
legislation being passed in multiple states to suppress the teaching of the history of racism, sexism et al in our public schools. the impact of slavery, jim crow, maltrearment of women needs to be openly presented to young people.
More information on or stories on: 1) corporate welfare - especially for oil and gas, farm and tech companies 2) how much each US Rep and Senator was worth when they took office and how much they are worth now or when they left office - with a sub story on how hard it is to get that information 3) the downsizing of the IRS and estimate of how much that has cost the US since the late 80's. 4) how hard it is to get a copy of police camera recording, even for an auto accident.
Please stay on the stories regarding the corrupt relationship between corporations and politics, the ongoing political actions of those elected officials who enabled and promoted the Big Lie - and still do, and the outcomes of the prosecutions of the January 6 US Capitol insurrectionists and their enablers.
I would like to see more information on the voter suppression laws and the new terror laws passed in FL that give immunity to running down protestors with automobiles. The GOP has gone so far off the rails that they are normalizing taking away the right to vote and the right to protest.
I like all of your proposed topics, but I'd be curious to read your takes/thoughts on statehood for Puerto Rico and/or Washington, D.C., and expansion of the Supreme Court (which I understand is likely to never happen).
I think all these things could happen (Supreme Court expansion seems the biggest reach) but it would likely take more Democrats in the Senate than there are right now.
What about a Follow the Money story on Manchin and/or Dem leadership (Schumer), as it will be on their watch if federal voting rights and DC statehood can’t pass, democracy crumbles....
Vaccine resistance in the US. Are there organized, politically motivated efforts to discourage covid vaccinations in the US to sabotage the Biden administrations efforts to pull us out of trump's covid quagmire. Part of trump deadender resistance to peaceful transfer of authority based on election results.
4M doses a day avail now even with J&J on pause, supply is outstripping demand. trump's beastie boys will go berserk again as vaccinations are mandated beginning with military and US employees and contractors
Yes, Fox News has energized the omnipresent anti-vaxx movement. We now have far left players joining far-right extremists to cast doubt on Covid vaccines. The idea the vaccines cause autism is an idiotic trope fostered by Robert Kennedy, etc and flamed by Russian disinformation campaigns going back decades.
I love your work and I am sure whatever you choose will be excellent. But I am alarmed by the assassinations of environmental activists across the globe, especially in Colombia, and how American government is turning a blind eye and how corporations are benefiting from this campaign of terror against people (often Indigenous) who are struggling to protect their planet and their basic human rights.
The dreadful Republicans have raised immigration as another wedge issue - instead of doing anything about, they get the citizenry all enraged. I'd like to see a series of in-depth articles on the situation in Latin America and how the immigration problem is actually created by the United States. For instance, US corporations are investing heavily in resource extraction in Guatemala, to the point of proposing 20% of the entire country be mined for minerals. This is the source of the unrest and people are fleeing for their lives and arriving at our border. I'd like to see you attack the immigration issue and reveal the heart of the Republican hypocrisy.
There are too many issues that entertainment industry, oops, I mean the US media, is not delving into. Your style of journalism is a direct and sorely needed requirement of a free press in a democracy. We need more subscribers and a bigger staff!
I feel this one important aspect to cover and beware of, is the continuing right-wing , white supremacist ideas being propagated by Fox/Lachlan Murdoch and Tucker Carlson. ( in conjunction with voting rights restrictions)! They strike at the heart of democracy!
I think that someone needs to revisit - perhaps in conjunction with your topics 1 and 2 - the Trump administration’s (and Republican governors’) forcing of a largely immigrant workforce to work in unsafe meatpacking plant conditions last year. Not formally slave labor, but the overall economics of work today lead to it being compelled labor. The stories could be compelling if done, and they could create public outcry to support pro-union efforts if done right.
Yep. But the integrated ugliness of using the Defense Production Act to force the plants to stay open and to immunize owners from unsafe conditions, and the lack of OSHA enforcement, and the powerless immigrant workforce, has never been fully explored. It may not be the right fit for you guys, but someone needs to do it - and the Chinese tie via owning Smithfield where the first breakout occurred was triggered by your Uighur topic. In any case, you guys do excellent work and I thank you for all your efforts.
another topic for you guys to consider, especially in light of your recent comments re the subsidies to Fox News from people who don't watch it: pushing for "a la carte" rules for cable and streaming programming, so that (a) consumers can pay for only what they want, and (b) each programming service has to stand on its own bottom, making things like advertiser boycotts an effective way to deal with content that (like certain shows these days) has jumped the shark into being not merely contrarian but dangerous. (At present, for a service like ESPN or Fox News, where sub fees are high, (a) 80% or more of revenue comes from fees, and only 20% from advertising, as you mentioned in your earlier piece), and (b) the reason sub fees are so high is that in order for cable distributors to get the right to carry local broadcast stations -- including, in the case of Fox stations, NFL football telecasts -- the distributors have to agree to (i) carry tied cable channels, (ii) make them available to all subscribers, and (iii) pay high fees to the programmer for the ability to do so. John McCain and Kevin Martin (GWB's last FCC chairman) hated this system and always pushed for a la carte, but never won on the regulatory front. A lawsuit was filed in 2007 to undo the tying arrangements on antitrust grounds (Brantley v. NBC Universal), but it was dismissed in 2011 on grounds that i think are crazy -- that damage to consumers (in the form of higher prices and bloated bundles) wasn't antitrust injury, but that "antitrust injury" would require the foreclosure of competitors (i.e., an independent competitor not being able to get carriage because all of the available slots were used up by tied channels). The antitrust bill that is in front of Congress might be a forum to revisit this issue and give consumers a right to challenge such tying arrangements, even if the tying is done at the wholesale level rather than the retail level. and a change could be both pro-consumer (old folks who aren't able to negotiate the world of streaming but want to stick with cable could cut their bills) and pro-democracy (channels like Fox News could still be carried, but viewers could vote with their channel choices in a way that could make them subject to public opinion instead of immune from it.
Elite criminal impunity. I almost don't care about the trespass tourists, shaman man or the shit-smearers. I care about the aggravated assaulters, the attempted murders & the murders. But they are mostly weak-minded pawns.
Who I really care about are the conspirators, the planners, the promoters, the logicians & the funders.
They are the drivers. They are the brains. They are the ones who need to be exposed. They are the ones who need to be fined and sued into bankruptcy. They are ones who need to be imprisoned for years. If they are not exposed, and most importantly if they are not punished severely, they will just keep doing it, and they will learn from their mistakes, they will recruit more of their ilk with evidence that there really are no consequences, and improve their effectiveness until they succeed.
Agree! Conspiracies that defraud tens of thousands of people are equally criminal as physical criminals (for lack of a better term). Legal system and policing needs to address modern crimes
Thanks so much for your hard work, you’re really making a difference! I’m interested in defunding FOX, removing from channel package. Also, Mitch McConnell, what behind the scene shenanigans are in his toolbox?
1. The Climate Emergency: people and companies actually changing in response to the threat of global heating versus greenwashing
2. The Covid pandemic: are we really over the worst? What will life look like in a years time? How do we stop the next pandemic e.g. does everyone need to adopt a vegan diet?
3. White Christian Nationalism: do the more frantic efforts of right-wing extremists and their sympathisers to cling to power mean the influence of white Christian nationalists is diminishing? Will it get worse before it gets better?
The increasing influence of religion in government, the Supreme Court and new legislation is a big concern for me. To the point that some states are tying medical help and decisions based on Christian biases. Whether trans or women’s right to choose, religion and laws passed supporting them that interfere in those personal decisions is dangerous. Mainstream media headlines it briefly but doesn’t dive in. I want to see the disappearing separation of state called out more. This will rankle many but the far right religious zealots are the root of many of our problems in this country.
Judd, I appreciate your posts, especially the details about the hypocrisy of our elected congress members and corporations. Your stats and figures are much more compelling than just the stories. I would like to see more criticism of Democratic leaders who also tell one story but then sell out.
I'd also like to see those congress members who supported the insurrection get more exposure and be forced to resign. Ted Cruz, Rick Scott, Josh Hawley. they seem to be showing impudence again. Thanks for all your great work.
Stay focused on your main topics. Exposing corporate donations going to despicable politicians seems to be effective and elucidating. A related issue are the dark bribes of publishing contracts, speaking fees and right wing Koch brother sponsored jobs Republicans, and ultra conservative democrats, seem to get for towing the line by obstructing progress with their votes and influence. It can’t be hard to connect these dots that appear to be a straight line path.
As a former Columbus, Ohio resident, I am well aware of the problems faced by groups that police consider “other” and therefore not worthy of protection. This includes women and LGBTQ people, as well as people who just look like “hippies” (and therefore must be high on drugs...). My son (who is white) still lives in Columbus and has learned never to call 911, even when someone needs medical assistance, because the EMTs always are accompanied by police who are more likely to blame the victim than offer assistance. (No one who knows Columbus is surprised by current news reports of yet another shooting.) We need a better system than a unitary response system that victimizes people who call for help. Police are NOT trained to help, they are trained to ENFORCE the law, so they focus on spotting violations. Policing attracts people who are enticed by the power they will gain from the uniform - and the gun. (The power imbalance carries into their personal lives, too; many police spouses are abused and it can be extraordinarily difficult to escape or even find help.) Once, when a worried friend called 911 to help my son, Columbus police sent the SWAT team with a tank. I am painfully aware that the only thing that saved my son that day was his white skin.
I believe it is imperative to keep the high beam on the state of our country. No one else mediawise gets anywhere close to your coverage. Ie the GOP, fringe groups that threaten our lives like Oath Keepers, Foreign relations, Putin, China. The real picture of the state of immigration, the two America's, ie the rich one and the poor one, women's issues jobs, reproductive, farmers, big pharma, expansion of Supreme Court, agree about health care, race issues are problematic every day. The divide of rural and urban in politics, and yes even what goes on in the Democratic Party arena. How many hands are in their pockets.
And pretty please. My great question has been for over 2 years. There has to be a money trail. There had to be tax consequences...
Who the hell paid off Brent Kavanaugh's debts and how does he remain seated on the court because impartiality is certainly affected by who is in your wallet and the keeper of your secrets is reminder of how you react.
Can't seem to ever be available for your drop by to chats.
I appreciate your expertise and in-depth, follow-the-money coverage. While the topics you suggest are painfully important, as are topics suggested by other readers, I would suggest that you are in the best position to know which topic(s) are the best fits for your expertise and investigation capacity. Clearly, you do compelling and highly important data analysis from public information -- which topics will you be best able to investigate through this kind of analysis? Which are most likely to remain less-analyzed and below-the-radar without your investigation?
All kinds of good journalists are working on a number of issues: choose the ones where, by virtue of your particular talents and resources and passion, you can make the biggest impact.
As part of your pharmacy workers research, consider how CVS's monopolistic/monopsonistic hold on the market not only boxes pharmacists into situations that are restrictive, but how there is virtually no recourse for consumers to either shop elsewhere, or get their shots/other Rx needs, fulfilled elsewhere.
Don't forget that with all the unchallenged mergers CVS and other healthcare giants have succeeded in accomplishing, it's not just their hold over pharmacy, but also over the cost of healthcare insurance, retail and hospital supply chains, healthcare labor forces, all of which impacts clinical protocols, including what Rx docs are allowed to prescribe off the formularies, and at what cost.
In essence: because healthcare is so regulated and monopolized, we can't boycott/express preferences over the corporate giants currently in charge of what gets put into our bodies, who puts it there, and at what cost and under what conditions. They have made themselves inevitable in our lives. They are currently impervious to any consumer pushback.
Three good sources for this: Matt Stoller's substack newsletter BIG, Olivia Webb's newsletter Acute Condition (also on substack), and the Open Market Institute. I have also written about it, but it is not my main focus and I am no longer an antitrust reporter. However, here's a recent post of my own:
I would stay focused locally, continue on corporate giving and any efforts legally to stop corporations from being treated like people which allows them to give in the first place. Other topics, gerrymandering, biggest corporations contributing to climate change in the US and government spending and oversight would all be interesting
Strongly support the focus on the Uyghurs and the ongoing genocide. If America ignores it, we are on the wrong side of history --it would be like ignoring the 1930s in Germany, or Rwanda in the 90s. President Biden will likely acknowledge the genocide of the Armenians on April 24th, one which was recognized by very few in the moment. We can learn from the past.
I definitely want to see reporting about the impact of the end of the eviction moratorium. I have a pit in my stomach that it will unfortunately disproportionately impact Black and brown communities the most.
Has its hour come? Go full bore on the subject of your great April 20 piece: the mass insanity of the gun industry in the US. E.g., >39 million guns sold to civilians in 2020; more than 120 civilian-owned firearms for every 100 Americans. (Thanks for asking!)
Your newsletter key topics are uniquely strategic because we can vote, donate to opposition or boycott... in other words your topics are relevant and differentiated from other news we receive. The question to ask is “what can our readers do with this information”. It’s your USP
The MOST enduring legacy of a president is his judicial appointments, especially the lifetime appointments of younger federal judges. Our former president's impact was massive and may well be fraught with incompetence and financial entanglements. Any effect you can have by raising legitimate questions would be valuable for our democracy.
Elections have consequences. The Koch Brothers funded a 30 year effort to create a bulwark against changing demographics and the Federalist society groomed the conservative judges the McConnell used to pack the courts. The only question is why Justice Kennedy suddenly resigned, opening the door to Kavanaugh and how deeply his son's involvement with Trump Inc. played a role.
As a retired environmental scientist, I view global warming as a critical existential danger. For more than twenty years, I observed environmental changes that might appear nonthreatening in isolation, but the cumulative effects that I and other field scientists observed are alarming. Despite my fears regarding future environmental catastrophes, I consider the erosion of democratic values an even more iminent problem. The previous commentor mentioned the importance of focusing on money in politics. I concur with his assessment, but perhaps broaden your inquiries into other matters that undermine democractic government; such as institutional racism, immigration policies, and the structure of our republic.
Your follow up and persistence on stories is very valuable. Follow up on corporate pledges to not donate. Please also follow up on whether politicians have returned/donated tainted contributions as promised (think Kevin McCarthy and Fruman/Parnas).
The China story sound interesting to me because it's a human rights story but also a story that directly affects American capitolism, which ties directly into American politics
Misinformation. How can we solve problems without shared experience? Network TV once allowed us to share the moon landings and the civil rights marches. We didn't agree then but we shared some base of information. Now people making less than $15 and hour have to pay a $100 a month for internet and cable TV or over $50 a month for a phone. Missinformation is very cheap or free. Gossip is truth shared more easily!
Your work in raising awareness of the corrupt relationship between corporations and politics is awesome. I wonder what, precisely, all that money in secret off-shore accounts is used for? Surely it is not for 'regular or legal' business expenses. Is it ALL for bribes, lobbying, purchasing distressed assets on the cheap? Why have millions/billions in secret off-shore accounts? Is there something I'm missing? What's the value of having those accounts? It must be more than just tax avoidance... right?
I'd like to see a "follow the money" approach to White Supremacist groups, like the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, etc.
This is an enormously important issue. We can only help the Uyghers if we have a functioning democracy at home. I am still very interested in who is funding sedition in this country. Funders of Congressmen can always claim other motives but funders of the Oathkeepers are white supremacists and traitors.
Great topic
Agree
Me too
The most important and impactful thing you can do, and the reason I subscribe, is to be the primary sources for showing what US companies are doing with their money. We need to fix our own house in order for it to stand up for others. I ask you to not be distracted from the domestic need and to revel in the incredible impact you have had already.
Focus is important. The Coca-Colas of the country want you to get distracted.
Stay on-mission and on-message! Thank you for your incredible work. It is so simple but so important!
We will absolutely stay focused on corporate power. But I also believe we will have the greatest impact by finding new ways to explore these topics, without sacrificing the overall mission. It's a tricky balance, but that's part of why I'm asking for feedback to see where readers are. Thanks!
While it sounds like you are bored by what you have done, a tally of the "likes" here seems to show that your audience is not.
You exploring other angles would be like Michael Jordan quitting basketball to play baseball, which didn't work out so well.
Uyghurs? How are you going do better than Buzzfeed, CNN, WaPo?
Ditto Covid injustice, eviction moratorums, and climate change.
Others aren't going to cite your statistics on those topics (as they don't the 1,000 other bloggers talking about them), but you can be (are already?) the reference on money vs. mouth, which is incredibly impactful.
You have a very strong position with a lot of room to grow in a "niche" (corporate funding compared to their slogans) that is crucial to our future. Citizens United, Climate change/justice, social equality all flow from corporate donations to ower, corporate donations to lawmakers.
Every bit of marketing advice everywhere says to keep growing your niche and be the dominant factor in it. Awareness of corporate donations to lawmakers is THE most important issue in our society today because all government actions flow directly from them (see https://bulletin.represent.us/american-government-isnt-democracy/ )
The more you do in this area, the more you continue to develop and raise awareness, the more impact you will have. Become a generalist, "progressive outrage blogger" and you will lose relevance and be scrapping like hundreds of other Substack side-hustlers.
Your brilliance is bringing simple data to the masses for all to see clearly how we can help as customers of corporations. Keep it up and keep developing your niche. There's a long way to go, like this https://www.sophie-e-hill.com/post/my-little-crony/ for something that you could add
I suspect you'll find some overlap if you investigate who's supporting right wing media.
Yes. Would definitely want to know who is funding right wing media and disinformation
Agree enthusiastically with this. Providing readers with straightforward guidance on actions they can take to address these issues would be a valuable bonus.
PR is important to companies. I used to follow-up with companies on social media after Judd's reports. I never saw a single person join in. Even so, I occasionally received responses from companies. If everyone who received Judd's newsletter 1) shared it every time and 2) bombarded companies he calls out with the facts he provides, you would see action. Judd can't do this alone.
Sleeping Giants is an organization that has done things like this in the past. I wonder if a partnership could be forged
Sleeping Giants does great work, but this level of heavy lifting requires tems of thousands of people to take individual action. If corporations are bombarded via FB, Twitter, Instagram, they will react. Russians are risking their lives to mass protest, but Americans are loathe to simply take action online. I struggle with our passivity, with few exceptions, as a country.
That’s exactly what Sleeping Giants does. (Or used to do?) They mobilize their thousands of members to take individual action by providing scripts to take action online
I think the former co-founder wrote the scripts, but I could be mistaken. I just cut and paste Judd's facts from his newsletter, and include a link or reference to PI. I actually think it's more effective if people write their own intro as long as they include and reference Judd's research.
Sleeping Giants has a complicated history, though. The female co-founder was treated so badly she left. So I have mixed feelings about them.
YES!!! to all the above, recognize your audience and you will grow by word of mouth and social media.
Important topics: The pernicious rise of Christian Nationalism as a threat to our secular government, and the many bills being passed to promote religion in schools, and the illegal funding of Christian schools with taxpayer dollars. The rash of religion based bills that discriminate and threaten to punish transgender children and adults.
Christian nationalism is a real threat to science and education. We need a more active separation of church and state.
I’m torn. I agree with folks who suggest you stay the course and not dilute your focus, but I am also really concerned about the right’s takeover of media. With the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine, Republicans are seizing control of the narrative and shamelessly using media to promote lies, conspiracies and propaganda. Rupert Murdoch, Steve Bannon, Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, Fox, OANN, Newsmax, Sinclair Broadcasting, conservative talk radio, Facebook, Parker, etc. are poisoning the country. THEY enabled and promoted the Big Lie - and still do! With their outrage politics they enable Qanon, Liam Wood, Mike Lindell (sp?) — and million of dollars in small-dollar donations to the MTGs and Josh Hawleys of the world. They are brainwashing formerly/seemingly reasonable, intelligent people and multiplying their ranks. They are powerful and persuasive and it terrifies me. Who is behind them? Who profits from them? Who supports them with advertising? How do we stop them?
Out the corporate funding and you will go a long way to solving the problem. It's always, "follow the money."
Agree that Disinformation is standing in the way of fixing almost everything else. The money must be coming from somebody in addition to Koch. Murdoch apparently wants to burn down every democracy in the world, but I dunno why. I don't even understand why Koch wants to kill democracy - I thought it was all about tax rates for corporations, but apparently it's more than that.
Wholeheartedly agree with this suggestion.
I agree with knowing who is supporting & promoting the Big Lie is important so we can work against it. History tells us those putting out the big lie are trying to fool the majority to make them afraid and gain power through that fear and when that happens, we lose control to those power mongers. Truth is what we need, which Judd is very good at providing. Keep getting the truth out.
Tell us which corps ARE standing by their promise not to support candidates who supported the insurgency. We WANT to know so we can support them, not just the bad guys.
Have something like this in the works. I don't think just standing by promises is enough but I want to do more to highlight responsible corporate behavior.
When you write this up, please include an email address for the company ombudsman, their twitter handle, or some other way that we can let them know we agree with your findings and are as mad as hell!
great idea
Thanks for your great work. Your insights about real responsible corporate behavior and naming corporations would be significant contribution to raising the bar beyond public relations to substance. Also like the idea of contact links - in this case to express buying preferences in support of specific actions.
I’d especially like to know which banks support political candidates who support: voting rights, universal health, and increased minimum wage. My bank offers great service, but I’ll switch as soon as I can figure out an ethical alternative.
Indeed. Strong positive action such as MLB and Will Smiths production must be highlighted as it is my belief that Ga politicians will not be bothered by soft approaches such as newspaper announcements.
I'd also love to have such contact info for the "bad guys" too, so we can put additional pressure on them from regular people. Would sending to their investor relations contract be one effective route?
The genocide and forced labor of the Uyghurs is a Holocaust that doesn’t get enough attention here, so please follow the corporate money to see which American companies benefit. It’s extremely hard to stand up to China, but it must be done. For all those saying you should stick to domestic issues, remember we’re all connected, and we’re talking about American/global corporations here. Also Judd please return to your fantastic Facebook reporting. Facebook is still the evil empire and spreads the disinformation that is at the root of our divisions.
Yes- we are a global world now and if we ignore that we become more vulnerable.
I agree. This is a very worthy topic that needs more in depth coverage
Agree that much more coverage is needed of the Uyghur genocide and the US/companies effectively ignoring it.
Many Uyghurs are ISIS terrorists. That's why they're in trouble. When the Uyghurs were fighting with ISIS in Syria and Iraq the US and allies were fighting them.
This broad characterization is inaccurate. Whatever small number of Uyghurs might have a connection to ISIS doesn't justify the human rights abuses against an entire community of people.
I don't think China abuses the 'entire' Uyghur community and the abuse claims certainly aren't genocide. There would be evidence of genocide of the entire Uyghur community. The Western Judeo-Christian leadership is probably just abusing Chinese atheists like they do atheists here in the US. Atheists in the West can't discuss the abuses they suffer at the hands of the Judeo-Christian leadership in the US. Not to mention the awful things said about non-believers at many religious pulpits.
We have two narratives to consider if we want to understand the issue. We can't neglect either or we risk being wrong. It would be nice to give voice to both narratives and let them clash. Below is one example of an opposing narrative: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-04/09/c_139869006.htm
https://thegrayzone.com/2019/12/21/china-detaining-millions-uyghurs-problems-claims-us-ngo-researcher/
While all three of these are important stories, I subscribe to support an ongoing focus on corporate payments to candidates that are actively working to undermine our democracy. We need to keep the pressure on corporations to be accountable and to keep the public informed. Thank you for all the good reporting you have done to date.
A good example is Sirota's Daily Poster article today on Yemen. I consider Daily Poster a "competitor" to Popular Information.
Of course Yemen is a problem, but it is hard to see how Poster's jumping from topic to topic moves the needle by enabling action. Instead, it's outrage media without enabling popular follow-up.
By keeping its focus on the key behind-the-$cenes mechanism of corporate funding, Pop Info shows acts vs words and enables us to mobilize easily, like not buying a complicit company's products.
Look what Pop Info has done so far with so few resources. I can't think of any other news organization that has had such an impact in so little time with so little money. Pop Info is a game-changer.
Yes! And please share information as to how we can address the issue of big moneyed special interests influencing our elections, which then influences our policies. Americans need to remember that we are a self-governing nation and push to amend the Constitution so that we may again regulate campaign contributions and expenditures. There is much activity in this effort that needs to be reported!
It would be handy if contact information were included so that letters/calls/emails went directly to the desk of corporate decision makers rather than the “mail room”
Hold your nose and buy one share of stock in every corporation that offends you. That will make you an “investor” with access to the corporation’s Investor Relations staff. They also will mail you their annual report and proxy materials for their annual meetings, which you can attend in person (eventually, when things start happening in person again). There are shareholder advocacy groups that specialize in holding corporations accountable; join them. If corporate boards start to realize that their past practices of donating to EVERYONE, just to hedge their bets, won’t work anymore, perhaps they will insist on a more thoughtful approach to corporate contributions and support.
So many provocative suggestions here. If you're going to take a "next step", please consider providing some guidance for readers interested in moving the needle toward ethical and equitable corporate behavior.
Companies respond to social media pressure. They all actively monitor their brand reputation online. Stii, few people take the information provided by Judd to directly confront these corporations where they are most vulnerable. As I noted earlier, massive PI reader pressure - via social media - using the facts provided by Judd - would result in action.
My media page (really tiny) or their’s, if so, again, contact info would be handy for those of us who are too lazy to find that for themselves
I'm 1 person with almost no SM footprints and corporations almost always respond. Contact information isn't necessary, just @ the companies on Instagram, Twitter etc with the facts provided by Judd. It's not difficult, it just takes collective action.
It's simple to create a Twitter account. And you don't have to use your real name, in case you are worried about anonymity. (If you want to be really careful, create a new email address on gmail, and use that to create your Twitter account.)
I've been Tweeting since the Orange Menace was elected, and while it's not my favorite thing to do, it's pretty easy to do exactly as hw said.
Type the name of the company into the SEARCH box, and you can pretty easily find the correct Twitter handle (address), which starts with @. Then copy and paste Judd's info and your opinion.
It's your way to protest, and to support other protesting patriots, without having to leave your couch!
A lot of the current mess is attributable to the Citizens United decision. Delving into that decision, the current imbalance on the Supreme Court, and the toxicity of some members of Congress who ought to have their political careers cut short before they can advance to a level where they can do more damage than just whatever they can accomplish as gadflies (Jim Jordan...) might help us achieve a legislative solution to Citizens United while the D’s have at least some control of both houses of Congress.
There are only 2 ways to reverse a Supreme Court decision. One is to have the court reconsider the decision. That is extremely unlikely with the current court stacked with corporatist judges. The other is an amendment to the Constitution. Americans have passed amendments which we have done seven or eight times in the past.
There are ways to legislatively bypass or negate those decisions, though. For example, one way to negate Citizens United is to require full transparency in real time for all political or charitable contributions. Based on what I remember about the decision, this was what John Roberts expected to happen, except that McConnell got in the way. No more dark money. Think about it; if you contribute to a candidate or a PAC or a Super-PAC, your contributions becomes part of the public record before the end of the next business day.
The same legislative end-around would work for the Shelby County decision that essentially gutted the Voting Rights Act. Simply amend the Act to require pre-clearance for ALL changes to voting laws.
Sorry - we have passed amendments to reverse bad rulings 7 or 8 times - depending on who is counting.
Take that a step further and look at all corporations who are using their money to undermine and undercut social justice reform.
Yes!
Gerrymandering and voter suppression are the top issues - progress on every other issue begins and ends there. Keep up the great work!
Absolutely correct, Neil!
All of these subjects are worth covering but environmental issues are at the top of my list because they affect everyone and everything.
Agreed. We have a good relationship with HEATED and will continue to collaborate with them on environmental and climate topics.
I’ve joined HEATED because of your joint work. Good call.
Please stick with the underserved focus on corp accountability, esp big tech and anyone undermining democracy and climate progress.
Great work!
So much to do, so little time... Given the scale of your operation (!), I would agree with others suggesting you to retain a clear focus. Your work is raising awareness of the corrupt relationship between corporations and politics. A great many problems flow from that and it seems to be your real strength/USP. However, doesn't the discussion become more interesting and meaningful if we also ask why corporations donate to political parties in the first place and how this whole system works? Obviously this is not novel, but without analyzing how this legally-sanctioned corruption works, the discussion about corporate positions on specific events/positions can seem naive. It's been striking how incredibly reluctant corporates are stop donating. Their fear of losing the control (they think) it affords them is palpable. Similarly, the GOP hissy fits in response are incredibly revealing of what goes on under our noses every day. So my two cents' would be stick to informing people and promoting critical thinking about the whole relationship between corporations and politics, who 'owns' whom, whether it's just a revolving door, and how this arrangement actively prevents policies (and politics) which are in the interests of - and are probably supported by - the vast majority of Americans. Thanks for the great work you're doing!
I believe a focus on specific corporate donations is a very strategic "edge of the wedge" issue that will engender the broader dialogue you correctly prescribe.
I can think of no other publication that puts out the basic-but-hidden-facts of behavior like Pop Info. Our best chance of real change is for more people to see that behavior and talk about it, question it, and envision a society without it.
Pop Info is set up to be a real game-changer.
And I definitely think the detail is good and a big reason these efforts are effective.
Definitely. I agree it's a way into the wider issues and I'm sure that's the intention. Just looking ahead I guess and you wouldn't want to lose the wood for the the trees, etc.
Well one problem is that many Democratic leaders also accept money from corporations. While small dollar donors are rising in prominence in both parties, John Roberts opened a door to corporate and dark money that is unlikely to be closed for decades.
Could not agree more
Guns. Follow the guns. And the money. How are gunmakers stacking the lawmakers in their favour?
It's not the gunmakers, it's disinformation and demand. No other country has fetishized guns as Americans have done. It's a deep cultural sickness that shows no sign of waning. There are more guns than people, and now Ron Desantis has weaponized vehicles in Florida.
No I think you mean Oklahoma has weaponized vehicles. State-level Republicans are making it easier to run over protesters: https://www.vox.com/2021/4/25/22367019/gop-laws-oklahoma-iowa-florida-floyd-blm-protests-police
No, DeSantis signed the first law, the rest are following his lead. Apparently whichever GOP governor kills the most constituents will capture the GOP presidential primary in 2024.
I'd love to see more attention paid to financial conflicts of interest of sitting lawmakers. (E.g. remember Kelly Loeffler's race - not nearly enough attention focused on her financial conflicts, including in her case actions she'd taken as a lawmaker to benefit companies she owned significant stock in.)
Seems like this area is in line with your "follow the money" approach, and could benefit from similar data-centric work.
Keep up the good work!
This is a great suggestion, and very on brand for Judd!
legislation being passed in multiple states to suppress the teaching of the history of racism, sexism et al in our public schools. the impact of slavery, jim crow, maltrearment of women needs to be openly presented to young people.
More information on or stories on: 1) corporate welfare - especially for oil and gas, farm and tech companies 2) how much each US Rep and Senator was worth when they took office and how much they are worth now or when they left office - with a sub story on how hard it is to get that information 3) the downsizing of the IRS and estimate of how much that has cost the US since the late 80's. 4) how hard it is to get a copy of police camera recording, even for an auto accident.
Wow. Those are all great ideas!
Please stay on the stories regarding the corrupt relationship between corporations and politics, the ongoing political actions of those elected officials who enabled and promoted the Big Lie - and still do, and the outcomes of the prosecutions of the January 6 US Capitol insurrectionists and their enablers.
Who benefits from gun proliferation and how can we do something about it
I would like to see more information on the voter suppression laws and the new terror laws passed in FL that give immunity to running down protestors with automobiles. The GOP has gone so far off the rails that they are normalizing taking away the right to vote and the right to protest.
I like all of your proposed topics, but I'd be curious to read your takes/thoughts on statehood for Puerto Rico and/or Washington, D.C., and expansion of the Supreme Court (which I understand is likely to never happen).
I think all these things could happen (Supreme Court expansion seems the biggest reach) but it would likely take more Democrats in the Senate than there are right now.
What about a Follow the Money story on Manchin and/or Dem leadership (Schumer), as it will be on their watch if federal voting rights and DC statehood can’t pass, democracy crumbles....
Vaccine resistance in the US. Are there organized, politically motivated efforts to discourage covid vaccinations in the US to sabotage the Biden administrations efforts to pull us out of trump's covid quagmire. Part of trump deadender resistance to peaceful transfer of authority based on election results.
4M doses a day avail now even with J&J on pause, supply is outstripping demand. trump's beastie boys will go berserk again as vaccinations are mandated beginning with military and US employees and contractors
Yes, Fox News has energized the omnipresent anti-vaxx movement. We now have far left players joining far-right extremists to cast doubt on Covid vaccines. The idea the vaccines cause autism is an idiotic trope fostered by Robert Kennedy, etc and flamed by Russian disinformation campaigns going back decades.
Yes
I love your work and I am sure whatever you choose will be excellent. But I am alarmed by the assassinations of environmental activists across the globe, especially in Colombia, and how American government is turning a blind eye and how corporations are benefiting from this campaign of terror against people (often Indigenous) who are struggling to protect their planet and their basic human rights.
Yes, I agree. Our environmental activists need support.
I just want to thank you both for the wonderful work you do. Shining the light on things people try to keep hidden is a wonderful thing.
Certainly is!
The continuing attempts all over the country to suppress voting rights .
The dreadful Republicans have raised immigration as another wedge issue - instead of doing anything about, they get the citizenry all enraged. I'd like to see a series of in-depth articles on the situation in Latin America and how the immigration problem is actually created by the United States. For instance, US corporations are investing heavily in resource extraction in Guatemala, to the point of proposing 20% of the entire country be mined for minerals. This is the source of the unrest and people are fleeing for their lives and arriving at our border. I'd like to see you attack the immigration issue and reveal the heart of the Republican hypocrisy.
There are too many issues that entertainment industry, oops, I mean the US media, is not delving into. Your style of journalism is a direct and sorely needed requirement of a free press in a democracy. We need more subscribers and a bigger staff!
I feel this one important aspect to cover and beware of, is the continuing right-wing , white supremacist ideas being propagated by Fox/Lachlan Murdoch and Tucker Carlson. ( in conjunction with voting rights restrictions)! They strike at the heart of democracy!
I think that someone needs to revisit - perhaps in conjunction with your topics 1 and 2 - the Trump administration’s (and Republican governors’) forcing of a largely immigrant workforce to work in unsafe meatpacking plant conditions last year. Not formally slave labor, but the overall economics of work today lead to it being compelled labor. The stories could be compelling if done, and they could create public outcry to support pro-union efforts if done right.
Yes, I covered this some at the time but it was likely a key driver of COVID in some areas
Yep. But the integrated ugliness of using the Defense Production Act to force the plants to stay open and to immunize owners from unsafe conditions, and the lack of OSHA enforcement, and the powerless immigrant workforce, has never been fully explored. It may not be the right fit for you guys, but someone needs to do it - and the Chinese tie via owning Smithfield where the first breakout occurred was triggered by your Uighur topic. In any case, you guys do excellent work and I thank you for all your efforts.
another topic for you guys to consider, especially in light of your recent comments re the subsidies to Fox News from people who don't watch it: pushing for "a la carte" rules for cable and streaming programming, so that (a) consumers can pay for only what they want, and (b) each programming service has to stand on its own bottom, making things like advertiser boycotts an effective way to deal with content that (like certain shows these days) has jumped the shark into being not merely contrarian but dangerous. (At present, for a service like ESPN or Fox News, where sub fees are high, (a) 80% or more of revenue comes from fees, and only 20% from advertising, as you mentioned in your earlier piece), and (b) the reason sub fees are so high is that in order for cable distributors to get the right to carry local broadcast stations -- including, in the case of Fox stations, NFL football telecasts -- the distributors have to agree to (i) carry tied cable channels, (ii) make them available to all subscribers, and (iii) pay high fees to the programmer for the ability to do so. John McCain and Kevin Martin (GWB's last FCC chairman) hated this system and always pushed for a la carte, but never won on the regulatory front. A lawsuit was filed in 2007 to undo the tying arrangements on antitrust grounds (Brantley v. NBC Universal), but it was dismissed in 2011 on grounds that i think are crazy -- that damage to consumers (in the form of higher prices and bloated bundles) wasn't antitrust injury, but that "antitrust injury" would require the foreclosure of competitors (i.e., an independent competitor not being able to get carriage because all of the available slots were used up by tied channels). The antitrust bill that is in front of Congress might be a forum to revisit this issue and give consumers a right to challenge such tying arrangements, even if the tying is done at the wholesale level rather than the retail level. and a change could be both pro-consumer (old folks who aren't able to negotiate the world of streaming but want to stick with cable could cut their bills) and pro-democracy (channels like Fox News could still be carried, but viewers could vote with their channel choices in a way that could make them subject to public opinion instead of immune from it.
Elite criminal impunity. I almost don't care about the trespass tourists, shaman man or the shit-smearers. I care about the aggravated assaulters, the attempted murders & the murders. But they are mostly weak-minded pawns.
Who I really care about are the conspirators, the planners, the promoters, the logicians & the funders.
They are the drivers. They are the brains. They are the ones who need to be exposed. They are the ones who need to be fined and sued into bankruptcy. They are ones who need to be imprisoned for years. If they are not exposed, and most importantly if they are not punished severely, they will just keep doing it, and they will learn from their mistakes, they will recruit more of their ilk with evidence that there really are no consequences, and improve their effectiveness until they succeed.
Agree! Conspiracies that defraud tens of thousands of people are equally criminal as physical criminals (for lack of a better term). Legal system and policing needs to address modern crimes
Thanks so much for your hard work, you’re really making a difference! I’m interested in defunding FOX, removing from channel package. Also, Mitch McConnell, what behind the scene shenanigans are in his toolbox?
I would love to see reporting on:
1. The Climate Emergency: people and companies actually changing in response to the threat of global heating versus greenwashing
2. The Covid pandemic: are we really over the worst? What will life look like in a years time? How do we stop the next pandemic e.g. does everyone need to adopt a vegan diet?
3. White Christian Nationalism: do the more frantic efforts of right-wing extremists and their sympathisers to cling to power mean the influence of white Christian nationalists is diminishing? Will it get worse before it gets better?
I too would like to read more about the christofascists
The increasing influence of religion in government, the Supreme Court and new legislation is a big concern for me. To the point that some states are tying medical help and decisions based on Christian biases. Whether trans or women’s right to choose, religion and laws passed supporting them that interfere in those personal decisions is dangerous. Mainstream media headlines it briefly but doesn’t dive in. I want to see the disappearing separation of state called out more. This will rankle many but the far right religious zealots are the root of many of our problems in this country.
Judd, I appreciate your posts, especially the details about the hypocrisy of our elected congress members and corporations. Your stats and figures are much more compelling than just the stories. I would like to see more criticism of Democratic leaders who also tell one story but then sell out.
I'd also like to see those congress members who supported the insurrection get more exposure and be forced to resign. Ted Cruz, Rick Scott, Josh Hawley. they seem to be showing impudence again. Thanks for all your great work.
The top two for me are misinformation and the climate crisis. These have both become existential issues. Thanks for the great work that you do.
Stay focused on your main topics. Exposing corporate donations going to despicable politicians seems to be effective and elucidating. A related issue are the dark bribes of publishing contracts, speaking fees and right wing Koch brother sponsored jobs Republicans, and ultra conservative democrats, seem to get for towing the line by obstructing progress with their votes and influence. It can’t be hard to connect these dots that appear to be a straight line path.
I agree...can you pursue the Conservative Dems or bureaucratic Dems who lack passion and vision and let Trump’s cabal get away with murder?
I like all three and suggest police reform at local levels
I second Penny's comments. Women and women's rights were under attack for the last four years and there has been almost no attention paid.
As a former Columbus, Ohio resident, I am well aware of the problems faced by groups that police consider “other” and therefore not worthy of protection. This includes women and LGBTQ people, as well as people who just look like “hippies” (and therefore must be high on drugs...). My son (who is white) still lives in Columbus and has learned never to call 911, even when someone needs medical assistance, because the EMTs always are accompanied by police who are more likely to blame the victim than offer assistance. (No one who knows Columbus is surprised by current news reports of yet another shooting.) We need a better system than a unitary response system that victimizes people who call for help. Police are NOT trained to help, they are trained to ENFORCE the law, so they focus on spotting violations. Policing attracts people who are enticed by the power they will gain from the uniform - and the gun. (The power imbalance carries into their personal lives, too; many police spouses are abused and it can be extraordinarily difficult to escape or even find help.) Once, when a worried friend called 911 to help my son, Columbus police sent the SWAT team with a tank. I am painfully aware that the only thing that saved my son that day was his white skin.
Agreed wholeheartedly.
I believe it is imperative to keep the high beam on the state of our country. No one else mediawise gets anywhere close to your coverage. Ie the GOP, fringe groups that threaten our lives like Oath Keepers, Foreign relations, Putin, China. The real picture of the state of immigration, the two America's, ie the rich one and the poor one, women's issues jobs, reproductive, farmers, big pharma, expansion of Supreme Court, agree about health care, race issues are problematic every day. The divide of rural and urban in politics, and yes even what goes on in the Democratic Party arena. How many hands are in their pockets.
And pretty please. My great question has been for over 2 years. There has to be a money trail. There had to be tax consequences...
Who the hell paid off Brent Kavanaugh's debts and how does he remain seated on the court because impartiality is certainly affected by who is in your wallet and the keeper of your secrets is reminder of how you react.
Can't seem to ever be available for your drop by to chats.
LoL. Lucky you.
I appreciate your expertise and in-depth, follow-the-money coverage. While the topics you suggest are painfully important, as are topics suggested by other readers, I would suggest that you are in the best position to know which topic(s) are the best fits for your expertise and investigation capacity. Clearly, you do compelling and highly important data analysis from public information -- which topics will you be best able to investigate through this kind of analysis? Which are most likely to remain less-analyzed and below-the-radar without your investigation?
All kinds of good journalists are working on a number of issues: choose the ones where, by virtue of your particular talents and resources and passion, you can make the biggest impact.
As part of your pharmacy workers research, consider how CVS's monopolistic/monopsonistic hold on the market not only boxes pharmacists into situations that are restrictive, but how there is virtually no recourse for consumers to either shop elsewhere, or get their shots/other Rx needs, fulfilled elsewhere.
Don't forget that with all the unchallenged mergers CVS and other healthcare giants have succeeded in accomplishing, it's not just their hold over pharmacy, but also over the cost of healthcare insurance, retail and hospital supply chains, healthcare labor forces, all of which impacts clinical protocols, including what Rx docs are allowed to prescribe off the formularies, and at what cost.
In essence: because healthcare is so regulated and monopolized, we can't boycott/express preferences over the corporate giants currently in charge of what gets put into our bodies, who puts it there, and at what cost and under what conditions. They have made themselves inevitable in our lives. They are currently impervious to any consumer pushback.
Three good sources for this: Matt Stoller's substack newsletter BIG, Olivia Webb's newsletter Acute Condition (also on substack), and the Open Market Institute. I have also written about it, but it is not my main focus and I am no longer an antitrust reporter. However, here's a recent post of my own:
https://documental.substack.com/p/the-borg-is-back-in-healthcare
I would stay focused locally, continue on corporate giving and any efforts legally to stop corporations from being treated like people which allows them to give in the first place. Other topics, gerrymandering, biggest corporations contributing to climate change in the US and government spending and oversight would all be interesting
The upcoming trials of the Insurrectionists and a look at who they are and what would make them do such a thing .
Scott MacFarlane on Twitter is doing a good job reporting on this.
Strongly support the focus on the Uyghurs and the ongoing genocide. If America ignores it, we are on the wrong side of history --it would be like ignoring the 1930s in Germany, or Rwanda in the 90s. President Biden will likely acknowledge the genocide of the Armenians on April 24th, one which was recognized by very few in the moment. We can learn from the past.
I would like to see a piece about the shadow pandemic of Domestic Violence. It was exacerbated during the lockdown and there is very little coverage
I definitely want to see reporting about the impact of the end of the eviction moratorium. I have a pit in my stomach that it will unfortunately disproportionately impact Black and brown communities the most.
Guns and Big Pharma. Especially support given politicians
Has its hour come? Go full bore on the subject of your great April 20 piece: the mass insanity of the gun industry in the US. E.g., >39 million guns sold to civilians in 2020; more than 120 civilian-owned firearms for every 100 Americans. (Thanks for asking!)
Your newsletter key topics are uniquely strategic because we can vote, donate to opposition or boycott... in other words your topics are relevant and differentiated from other news we receive. The question to ask is “what can our readers do with this information”. It’s your USP
The MOST enduring legacy of a president is his judicial appointments, especially the lifetime appointments of younger federal judges. Our former president's impact was massive and may well be fraught with incompetence and financial entanglements. Any effect you can have by raising legitimate questions would be valuable for our democracy.
Elections have consequences. The Koch Brothers funded a 30 year effort to create a bulwark against changing demographics and the Federalist society groomed the conservative judges the McConnell used to pack the courts. The only question is why Justice Kennedy suddenly resigned, opening the door to Kavanaugh and how deeply his son's involvement with Trump Inc. played a role.
As a retired environmental scientist, I view global warming as a critical existential danger. For more than twenty years, I observed environmental changes that might appear nonthreatening in isolation, but the cumulative effects that I and other field scientists observed are alarming. Despite my fears regarding future environmental catastrophes, I consider the erosion of democratic values an even more iminent problem. The previous commentor mentioned the importance of focusing on money in politics. I concur with his assessment, but perhaps broaden your inquiries into other matters that undermine democractic government; such as institutional racism, immigration policies, and the structure of our republic.
Your follow up and persistence on stories is very valuable. Follow up on corporate pledges to not donate. Please also follow up on whether politicians have returned/donated tainted contributions as promised (think Kevin McCarthy and Fruman/Parnas).
Poverty wages to pharmacy workers please! CVS etc not paying a wage their employees can live a healthy life!
After vaccination training wages go up slightly but only for the part time shift they are able to vaccinate.
The China story sound interesting to me because it's a human rights story but also a story that directly affects American capitolism, which ties directly into American politics
Misinformation. How can we solve problems without shared experience? Network TV once allowed us to share the moon landings and the civil rights marches. We didn't agree then but we shared some base of information. Now people making less than $15 and hour have to pay a $100 a month for internet and cable TV or over $50 a month for a phone. Missinformation is very cheap or free. Gossip is truth shared more easily!
Your work in raising awareness of the corrupt relationship between corporations and politics is awesome. I wonder what, precisely, all that money in secret off-shore accounts is used for? Surely it is not for 'regular or legal' business expenses. Is it ALL for bribes, lobbying, purchasing distressed assets on the cheap? Why have millions/billions in secret off-shore accounts? Is there something I'm missing? What's the value of having those accounts? It must be more than just tax avoidance... right?