oligarchy
A crypto convo: Stop asking me questions like “where does the yield come from”
Regulators and lawmakers eagerly prepare to abdicate any last traces of interest in the wellbeing of everyday Americans as they suck up to the powerful billionaires who will soon be publicly calling the shots.
Tech billionaires are eagerly awaiting Trump’s inauguration, hoping that he will quickly follow through with his promises to slash regulations and directly bolster their bottom lines. Many of them have already been named to various advisory positions throughout the White House, ensuring lockstep coordination between the new administration and powerful venture capitalists, crypto executives, and tech CEOs.
As it happens, I’m not the only person rattling on about the tech oligarchy lately. In his outgoing address, President Biden said:
I want to warn the country of some things that give me great concern. And that’s the dangerous concentration of power in the hands of very few ultra-wealthy people, and the dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left unchecked.
Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.
We see the consequences all across America. And we’ve seen it before, more than a century ago. But the American people stood up to the robber barons back then and busted the trusts. …
Six decades later, I’m equally concerned about the potential rise of a tech-industrial complex that could pose real dangers for our country as well.
Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation enabling the abuse of power. The free press is crumbling. Editors are disappearing. Social media is giving up on fact-checking. The truth is smothered by lies told for power and for profit.
I’ve had more than my share of disagreements with Biden, and wish he’d done a whole lot more and differently to tackle these problems during his tenure, but I do agree with his words here.
GasLit Nation: How to Contain MAGA (And Why the New York Times Wants Trump to Win)
Congratulations, New York Times! Trump is the GOP nominee. Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman and Monique Camarra of the Kremlin File podcast join Andrea to discuss why the New York Times wants Trump to win, with coverage and an editorial board that normalizes his fascism.
The conversation includes a plan to defeat MAGA, the Bannon Strategy and what the Left can learn from it (without turning into a cult!), why we’re glad that Nikki Haley isn’t the GOP nominee either (she uses genocidal rhetoric against LGBTQ+ people!), and where our advantage is in 2024 and how to leverage it to protect democracy this election and beyond.
Fight for your mind! To get inspired to make art and bring your projects across the finish line, join us for the Gaslit Nation LIVE Make Art Workshop on April 11 at 7pm EST – be sure to be subscribed at the Truth-teller level or higher to get your ticket to the event!
Source: GasLit Nation
Read more: GasLit Nation: How to Contain MAGA (And Why the New York Times Wants Trump to Win)GasLit Nation: Can the Reagan Revolution Be Undone?
December 13, 2023
GASLIT NATION WITH ANDREA CHALUPA
The Reagan Revolution and “greed is good” remain in full swing, ushering in a level of wealth inequality that surpasses the Gilded Age.
“Progressives, especially, must recognize that preserving constitutional freedoms depends on winning the fight for economic liberties. Treating them as separate goals will ultimately mean losing out on both,” writes Caroline Fredrickson, the former president of the American Constitution Society, the Democrats’ answer to Leonard Leo’s Federalist Society and his $1.6 billion war chest. You’ve probably never heard of the American Constitution Society, because they haven’t been as effective.
In September, Fredrickson wrote a damning piece for The Atlantic explaining why, taking herself and other Democrats to task for packing our courts with corporate-friendly judges under recent Democratic administrations, including the current one. It seemed enough for Democrats that a judge was a woman, nonwhite, and cared about protecting reproductive healthcare. As a result, for decades, our courts have become a rubber stamp for rolling back regulations and defying antitrust laws. Even the Biden-appointed antitrust Elizabeth Warren protégé Lina Khan, chair of the Federal Trade Commission, has been powerless against the corporate defenders packed on our courts.
Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Jesse Eisinger of ProPublica, author of The Chicken Shit Club: Why the Justice Department Fails to Prosecute Executives, explains that to undo the Reagan Revolution
prioritize appointing judges who will uphold antitrust laws and protect unions. To be true allies to women and nonwhite people, who are harder hit by economic downturns, fight for economic justice as the foundation for social justice. The Democrats need to get clear on that and respond with a robust judicial appointment strategy immediately, while there’s still time.
This week’s bonus show, available for our listeners at the Truth-tell level and higher, will feature questions and comments from our listeners at the Democracy Defender level and higher. Exclusively for our Patroen community at the Truth-teller level and higher, mark your calendars for the January 18th 8pm ET social media workshop to be held over Zoom–on how to kick our Twitter habit and use our social media voices for good in the world in 2024 and beyond–with organizer Rachel Brody of the movement to Replace Jay Jacobs, the disastrous chair of the New York state Democrats who cost us the House. We look forward to seeing you there! Thank you to everyone who supports the show — we could not make Gaslit Nation without you!
To join the conversation and get your questions answered, as well as receive all episodes, including bonus shows, ad-free, sign up at the Democracy Defender level or higher on Patreon.com/Gaslit!
Source: GasLit Nation
Read more: GasLit Nation: Can the Reagan Revolution Be Undone?