politics Google spent ~$150 million on US lobbying over last decade, followed by Facebook at ~$81M, Amazon almost $80M: Federal filings Xeni Jardin
usps They're never going to get rid of the Postal Service because then who would deliver the scorpions? Thom Dunn
late stage capitalism Manhattan: a city of empty luxury condos and overflowing homeless shelters Cory Doctorow
corruption Bernie supporters are the most diverse of any Democratic presidential contender Cory Doctorow
corruption 1 in 14 Trump appointees is a former lobbyist, four times the rate under Obama Cory Doctorow
corruption Hunter Biden's Ukraine gig was corrupt, just not in the way Republican conspiracists claim it was Cory Doctorow
corruption Elizabeth Warren proposes an "excessive lobbying tax" that would fund independent Congressional experts and public participation in policy Cory Doctorow
health Sleuths discover the source of $28m in dark money lobbying in favor of emergency room "surprise bills": private equity firms that own doctors' practices Cory Doctorow
happy mutants Republic of Lies: the rise of conspiratorial thinking and the actual conspiracies that fuel it Cory Doctorow
corruption A loophole in nonprofit law means that corporate lobbying is at least double the official figure Cory Doctorow
media theory The reporter on the NYT's Bernie Sanders beat consistently fails to identify her sources as corporate lobbyists Cory Doctorow
health Prosecutors and federal judges collaborate with corporations to seal evidence of public safety risks, sentencing hundreds of thousands of Americans to death Cory Doctorow
late stage capitalism McDonald's will drop opposition to increases in the federal minimum wage Cory Doctorow
Copyfight The EU hired a company that had been lobbying for the Copyright Directive to make a (completely batshit) video to sell the Copyright Directive Cory Doctorow
eu German data privacy commissioner says Article 13 inevitably leads to filters, which inevitably lead to internet "oligopoly" Cory Doctorow
web theory German Data Privacy Commissioner warns at new Copyright Directive will increase the tech oligopoly, make EU companies dependent on US filter vendors, and subject Europeans to surveillance by US companies Cory Doctorow
trumpism Kleptocracy in America: Russian-style corruption, driven by global oligarchs, enabled by US elites Cory Doctorow
