Elon Musk's Power Play UNVEILED In Devastating Republican Financial Revelations

Republicans get cornered by terrifying financial revelations as reports prove Elon Musk is not only donating massively to Donald Trump but his is also bankrolling more than five other GOP campaigns in key House districts, proving the dangerous power he could hold in government. John Iadarola and Wosny Lambre break it down on The Damage Report.

Interview: 

https://youtu.be/zzSr1q7kxmw?si=TJck9Ijae-F0c3Au

Our Fragile Food System: Journalist says we're 'basically guinea pigs' for a new form of industrialized food (Tonya Mosley; Fresh Air podcast)

Fast Food Nation author Eric Schlosser says mergers and acquisitions have created food oligopolies that are inefficient, barely regulated and sometimes dangerous. His new documentary is Food, Inc. 2.

Interview: 

https://www.npr.org/2024/04/18/1245541903/journalist-says-were-basically-guinea-pigs-for-a-new-form-of-industrialized-food

Thomas' Citizens United Vote Enabled Billionaire Benefactor to Boost Political Power

Since Thomas provided a deciding vote in the 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case, the Crow family's ability to influence federal elections has increased by a factor of almost nine, according to an Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) analysis of campaign finance data...

https://www.commondreams.org/news/clarence-thomas-citizens-united-harlan-crow-political-spending

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse on The Right’s 50-Year Scheme to Capture SCOTUS (Al Franken podcast)

Hint: It involves a lot of dark money.

Interview: 

https://alfranken.com/listen/senator-sheldon-whitehouse-on-the-rights-50-year-scheme-to-capture-scotus

Remunerations Are Speechful, My Friend (Opening Arguments podcast OA640)

Today we bring you another SCOTUS deep dive involving campaign finance. Money is speech, and people with a crapload of money just deserve to speak way more than us pleebs and that’s a great thing that has fantastic results in our political system and I for one welcome our monopoly man overlords.

Interview: 

https://openargs.com/oa640-remunerations-are-speechful-my-friend/

Citizens United, Part 2 (Opening Arguments podcast OA638)

Make sure you listened to part 1, episode 636 before you proceed! It’s part 2 of the long-awaited Citizens United deep-dive. In this one, we finally get to… Citizens United…

Interview: 

https://openargs.com/oa638-citizens-united-part-2/

Robert Reich wants you to take on the system (Vox Conversations podcast)

Vox's Jamil Smith talks with former labor secretary, author, and social media gadfly Robert Reich about how our elected officials have fallen victim to the interests of the wealthy, what the pandemic exposed about our political and economic systems, and his vision of healthy civic education.

Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-d4uh7-f9212b3

How To Overturn Citizens United (Opening Arguments podcast OA487)

All-star Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is at it again! In a Judiciary subcommittee meeting, Whitehouse laid out the groundwork for how a future Supreme Court could overturn Citizens United and Shelby County v. Holder. These are two atrocious decisions that would make even the Andrewest judge lament stare decisis, but today's episode explains how a court could overturn them without doing damage to court legitimacy going forward! (if you're into that kind of thing...)

Before that, Andrew breaks down SCOTUS granting cert in the NYS Rifle & Pistol Assn v Corlett. Then, we tackle a listener email claiming we badly misrepresented defense attorneys in last Tuesday's show.
Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-7tekj-e2525fd

The Catholic Divide: A Church in Conflict over Money and Power (with Katherine Stewart) (The Thinking Atheist podcast)

The Catholic Church is at war with itself. Big Money players have weaponized the church for Christian Nationalism, while others are resisting religious overreach to install a theocracy and discriminate against others. Author/Journalist Katherine Stewart joins us to talk about her New Republic article, "How Big Money is Dividing American Catholicism."

Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-mha67-d86df27

Following The Money Behind The Capitol Insurrection (On Point)

The rally before the attack on the Capitol. Who funded it? How much did they spend? Who are they funding now? We talk dark money and the insurrection.

Interview: 

https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2021/02/05/following-the-money-of-the-capitol-insurrection

Corporate PAC bill: Two Democrats are introducing a bill to ban corporate PACs - Vox

More Democrats are ditching corporate PACs. A new bill would make that mandatory. https://www.vox.com/2019/11/15/20965310/house-democrats-bill-to-ban-corporate-pacs

Article V Conventions (w/Lawrence Lessig) (Opening Arguments podcast OA268)

Today’s episode revisits the topic Andrew discussed briefly in Episode 252: Article V conventions convened for the purpose of proposing amendments to the Constitution. Joining Andrew is Prof. Lawrence Lessig, perhaps the most vocal liberal proponent of such conventions. Andrew, you may recall, was skeptical and concerned about the risks that such conventions could pose.

Join Thomas, Andrew, and Prof. Lessig for a special 70-minute very deep dive and see if either one changes their minds!

After that, it’s time for TTTBE #121 regarding executive orders. As always, remember to follow our Twitter feed (@Openargs) and like our Facebook Page so that you too can play along with #TTTBE!
Interview:
https://openargs.com/oa268-article-v-conventions-w-lawrence-lessig/

Senate Democrats unveiled an anti-corruption companion bill. Mitch McConnell is already blocking it - Vox

All 47 Senate Democrats have signed on to the For the People Act, which the House passed earlier this month...
https://www.vox.com/2019/3/27/18284171/senate-democrats-anti-corruption-hr1-schumer-mcconnell

Intercept Investigation Leads to Record Fines Over Foreign Campaign Contributions - The Intercept

A Jeb Bush Super PAC and a Chinese-owned corporation must pay almost $1 million for funneling foreign money into the 2016 presidential election...
https://theintercept.com/2019/03/11/intercept-investigation-leads-to-record-fines-over-foreign-campaign-contributions/

Here’s how Russian money infiltrates American political campaigns — and why ISIS funding could be next - Raw Story

Money from Russians and other foreign nationals and governments can easily infiltrate American political campaigns thanks to the 2010 Citizens United ruling...
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/02/heres-how-russian-money-infiltrates-american-political-campaigns-via-citizens-united-and-why-isis-funding-could-be-next/

A company run by former Israeli spies reportedly tried to influence a local US election — and courted Trump's campaign - Business Insider

An Israeli private spy company attempted to influence a local US election as part of a larger attempt to infiltrate American politics, according to a report from The New Yorker. They used fake websites, social-media posts, and staged interactions as part of an effort to influence the public perception of specific targets, the report said...
https://www.businessinsider.com/psy-group-mossad-who-courted-trump-conducted-local-election-campaigns-2019-2

Bloomberg Threatens to Drop $500 Million 2020 Carpet Bomb - Vanity Fair

The Democratic billionaire could transform the presidential race—whether he runs or not. ....
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/02/michael-bloomberg-500-million-presidential-campaign#~o

2 millionaire senators introduce plan to make sure Congress is only for the rich - ThinkProgress.org

Let's start this column off with a bold assertion. Paying lawmakers good salaries is one of our country's most important progressive reforms because it means that they don't have to be wealthy to serve. High congressional pay is a safeguard against corruption, not a sign of it. ....
https://thinkprogress.org/rick-scott-seeks-to-make-senate-a-plutocrat-playground-46be0dcd38ed/

Pro-Israel Lobby Caught on Tape Boasting That Its Money Influences Washington - The Intercept

An undercover Al Jazeera investigation informs the conversation about the Israel lobby's influence in Washington kicked off by Rep. Ilhan Omar's tweets...
https://theintercept.com/2019/02/11/ilhan-omar-israel-lobby-documentary/

In less than 5 minutes, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez exposes exactly how and why the government is corrupt - Daily Kos

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez used her five-minute time limit during a House Oversight Committee hearing on Wednesday to very rapidly and thoroughly lay out how broken our system of ethical oversight is in the government. ....
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1833288