#powercorruptionandlies — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #powercorruptionandlies, aggregated by home.social.
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#Texas and #Georgia races show voters are finally sick of #MAGA corruption
#JonOssoff and #JamesTalarico are polling well with a #CleanGovernment message
By Amanda Marcotte, August 31, 2026
"What’s getting attention, however, is not bland, consultant-approved talk about the price of groceries. Ossoff has aggressively targeted Trump on the one issue pundits had long assumed voters no longer care about: corruption. He calls the president a 'crook,' describes his cronies as the #MarALargoMafia and bashes the White House as 'the most corrupt administration of all time.' "
#USPol #Elections2026 #TrumpSucks #PowerCorruptionAndLies #MarALargo #TrumpRegrets #MAGA #Corruption #Resistance
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But give them more bonuses! Make sure the #shareholders are happy!
Who are the key figures in the #Sewage crisis, and where are they now?
With anger stoked by #Channel4’ s drama #DirtyBusiness, we look at what has happened to some of the main players
Sandra Laville
Fri 13 Mar 2026"Water companies have been in the public eye for the wrong reasons again recently. #SouthWestWater was in the dock pleading guilty to supplying water unfit for human consumption, while the regulator fined South East Water £22.5m for repeated supply failures that affected more than 280,000 people over three years.
"As the full scale of the sewage pollution scandal has been revealed to the public over the past six years, key figures working for the regulators and the #privatised companies have been heavily criticised. Channel 4’s drama Dirty Business has focused attention on individuals at the heart of the scandal.
"The Guardian examined what some of the main characters are doing today."
[...]
"Sarah Bentley
Bentley was the chief executive of #ThamesWater from September 2020 to June 2023. She joined from Severn Trent and promised an eight-year turnaround for the company, but left with immediate effect after three years following a public outcry over the discharge of #RawSewage into #rivers and missing targets on pollution and sewer flooding."
#UKPol #ThamesWater #PrivitisedWater
#ClimateChange #Drought #WaterPollution #WaterIsLife
#PowerCorruptionAndLies -
Why, indeed!
Why can #GolfCourses stay green during #droughts?
Wendy Hurrelland, Tony Grew, 8/4/2026
"While London's parks are showing the strain of a prolonged drought and high temperatures, some spots in the capital are still sporting pristine green grass.
"School playing fields and golf courses appear partly unaffected by the #HosepipeBan imposed by Thames Water on most of London at the end of July.
"Dulwich College and St Paul's School have come in for criticism for the lushness of their playing fields at a time of concern about the water supply, while London's golf courses are also being eyed with envy by homeowners whose lawns are turning brown."
[...]
"However, Cat Hobbs, director of We Own It, told BBC London: 'Since 1989 (water companies) have extracted £85bn in dividends.
" 'And when you get your water bill through the door, a third of that is going directly out again into shareholders' pockets and into the interest payments on the debts that they're racking up at your expense.
" 'We're all in this rip-off right now and it really has to end because what it means is that we're wasting essential money that could be used to reinvest into the infrastructure to stop leaks and we're wasting water.' "
Read more:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyq5v471ewoArchived version:
https://archive.ph/uPa9U#UKPol #ThamesWater #PrivatizedWater #ClimateChange #Drought #LessGolfCourses #WaterIsLife #PowerCorruptionAndLies
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#ThamesWater 's Legal Showdown: £3 Billion Bailout Battle Unfolds
#England ’s largest water company seeks a financial lifeline amid towering debts and creditor conflicts.
August 10, 2026
"Thames Water's predicament not only highlights its operational fragilities, plagued by outdated infrastructure and rising public dissatisfaction over #pollution incidents and escalating water bills, but also amplifies its strategic importance in serving vast swathes of London and the surrounding regions.
[...]
"The unfolding creditor clash not only underscores the intricate dance between legal, financial, and operational challenges but also places a magnifying glass on the fragile underpinnings of the UK's privatized water industry."
https://londondaily.com/thames-water-s-legal-showdown-3-billion-bailout-battle-unfolds
#WaterIsLife #UKPol #PrivatisedWater #DirtyBusiness #PrivatizedWater #SewagePollution #CimateChange #Drought #Infrastructure #Shareholders #PowerCorruptionAndLies
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Why that's way more than what it costs to remove #Banksy 's art!
#ThamesWater gave finance chief a £1m signing-on fee
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9d841yexe0o
#UKPol #PowerCorruptionAndLies #PrivatizedWater #PrivatisedWater #Shareholders #DirtyBusiness
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Heh. I was going to post about all the #PowerCorruptionAndLies surrounding #ChuckEdwards last night, but I ran out of steam. Looks like I didn't need to, after all! More this, please...!
North Carolina Republican Drops Re-election Bid After #Ethics Rebuke
Chuck Edwards made the announcement after the House Ethics Committee recommended he be censured for “persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct” toward two female staff members.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/05/us/politics/chuck-edwards-north-carolina.html
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#SamAltman and others at #OpenAI are trying wicked hard to convince folks that they're all about saving #Nature... Buying #JackieAndShadow's home and now this... Um, sorry Sam and friends. It doesn't make up for the #NoisePollution, #WaterPollution, pollution from #EnergyConsumption , etc. for the #AIHouseOfCards... But folks are seeing right through that!
#OpenAI flew influencers to a #NatureResort to fix its image. The internet called it #greenwashing.
OpenAI flew a group of influencers to a $2,000-a-night wellness resort to warm up the public mood around #AI. Days before a reported $500bn #Datacentre deal, the internet called it greenwashing, and the creators got the backlash.
August 4, 2026
"The event, branded 'Summer Camp,' ran at Wildflower Farms, a resort in New York’s #HudsonValley where rooms can top $2,000 a night, Business Insider reported. Creators posted farm-to-table dinners under bistro lights, a beekeeping session, and classes on OpenAI’s tools. They went home with branded canvas bags and jars of honey.
"The videos were soft-focus and lighthearted. The comments were not. Across TikTok, Reddit, X and Instagram, people called the trip 'dystopian' and accused OpenAI of greenwashing. One commenter told TechCrunch the issue was timing: '#TheWorldIsOnFire. It’s not a great time to brag about your $5,000-a-night suite.' "
Read more:
https://thenextweb.com/news/openai-summer-camp-influencer-retreat-greenwashing-backlash#NoDatacenters #TheWorldIsBurning #USPol #AISucks #BigPower #BigData #ResistDataCenters #PowerCorruptionAndLies #AIDatacenters
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Well, this narrows down the #DemocraticParty #Senate Candidates for me. Would I vote for #JanetMills? Absolutely not! Maine DNC better not appoint her. Grrrrr...
#JayME #datacenter developer sought to give Janet Mills ‘cover’ for key veto, emails show
Emails obtained by the BDN show a developer solicited local letters of support to give Gov. Janet Mills “cover” for her veto of a statewide #DataCenterBan.
By Daniel O'Connor
Published on: July 6, 2026"Emails obtained by the BDN show a developer solicited local letters of support to give Gov. Janet Mills 'cover' for her veto of a statewide data center ban.
"Gov. Janet Mills’ office worked closely with the developer behind a stalled Jay data center project who solicited local letters of support that would give her 'cover' to veto a statewide data center ban, according to emails obtained by the Bangor Daily News.
"The April veto killed what would have been the first statewide ban on new data centers in the country that would have lasted until late 2027, a politically risky move for Mills that came days before she ended her Democratic U.S. Senate primary. Her office had been laying the groundwork to protect the Jay project for weeks before she announced the decision.
"Emails obtained in a public records request from the town of Jay show Mills had concerns about the ban’s effect on the project since at least late March, more than a month before she killed the measure. The project her veto was meant to protect has since stalled anyway, with its would-be operator pulling out in June and prompting criticism of Mills from progressive backers of the ban.
"#TonyMcDonald, a real estate developer with the Portland-based #BoulosCompany leading the project, solicited support for the veto from Jay officials and, later, a labor union with a stake in the project. The emails show that Mills had doubts about the bill over the Jay project since at least late March, more than a month before she ultimately killed it."
Read more:
https://themainemonitor.org/jay-data-center-developer-cover-mills-veto/#DatacenterMoratorium #USPol #MainePol #NoJanetMills #DammitJanetMills #PowerCorruptionAndLies #NoDatacenters #ResistDatacenters #Boulos
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More of this, please...!
Albania's Flamingo Revolution: Protests Against Kushner-Trump Luxury Resort Could Bring Down Gov't
"Plans for a luxury resort in an ecologically sensitive area have set off more than a month of protests in #Albania, where thousands have taken to the streets to oppose the #megaproject backed by #IvankaTrump and #JaredKushner. The #FlamingoRevolution — named for its feared impact on #MigratoryBirds — began as an #EnvironmentalProtest but has now turned into anger at the entire political system, threatening to bring down the government of Prime Minister #EdiRama."
http://www.democracynow.org/2026/7/9/albania_protests
#WorldPol #Oligarchy #Nepotism #TrumpSucks #TrumpCrimeFamily #PowerCorruptionAndLies
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Very fine people! #ChildMolesters, #Rapists! Just like #TrumpSucks !!!
At least 33 pardoned #insurrectionists face other criminal charges—but many are now going free [and getting #CashBailouts, apparently!!!]
By Linnaea Honl-Stuenkel, Sophia Barriga Hernandez and Alyssa Meiman
December 18, 2025
Excerpt: "Six of the pardoned January 6th insurrectionists are charged with committing child #SexCrimes, ranging from sexual assault to possession of #ChildPornography. At least five were charged with illegal possession of weapons, including at least two who had a previous #DomesticViolence conviction. Five were arrested or charged with driving while impaired or under the influence. In two of these cases, the defendant’s reckless driving resulted in a fatality. Two were charged with rape."
#USPol #PowerCorruptionAndLies #Hypocrisy #TrumpSucks #January6 #CapitolRioters #Insurrectionists #MAGAts #TrumpIsUnconstitutional
#ImpeachTrump #Corruption #ChildRapists #EpsteinFiles #ReleaseTheEpsteinFiles #PedosOfAFeather -
Pardoned #CapitolRioter Tried to Hush #ChildSexVictim With Promise of #January6 Reparation Money, Police Say
#AndrewJohnson claimed to an alleged #ChildMolestation victim that #Trump’s pardon entitled him to multimillion-dollar reparations.
by Amanda Moore, November 17 2025
"A pardoned January 6 rioter has been charged with #SexCrimes against two children. #AndrewPaulJohnson was arraigned in a Florida court in October on multiple charges, including molesting a child as young as 11 years old, joining a growing list of U.S. Capitol rioters pardoned by President Donald Trump who now face new legal trouble.
"Johnson dangled the prospect that one of the children could receive money because, Johnson claimed, he was entitled to $10 million as part of reparations for his January 6 arrest, according to a police report from a Hernando County Sheriff’s Department detective.
"Those convicted and later pardoned for involvement in the January 6 riot have not been rewarded any reparations, though Trump and January 6 rioters have floated the idea of a compensation fund." [Which now exists!!!]
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2025/11/17/pardoned-jan-6-child-abuse-molestation-andrew-paul-johnson/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/iZSxu#USPol #PowerCorruptionAndLies
#Hypocrisy #TrumpSucks
#Insurrectionists #MAGAts #TrumpIsUnconstitutional
#ImpeachTrump #Corruption #ChildRapists #EpsteinFiles #ReleaseTheEpsteinFiles #PedosOfAFeather -
[Thread] Hypocrisy in Action!!!
Justice Department announces nearly $1.8B fund to compensate #Trump allies in a deal to drop IRS suit
By FATIMA HUSSEIN, ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
Updated 8:49 PM EDT, May 18, 2026WASHINGTON (AP) — "The Trump administration announced Monday the creation of a nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate allies of the Republican president who believe they have been unjustly investigated and prosecuted, an arrangement that Democrats and government watchdogs derided as 'corrupt' and unconstitutional.
"The 'Anti-Weaponization Fund' of $1.776 billion is part of a settlement that resolves President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns. It will allow people who believe they were targeted for prosecution for political purposes, including by the Biden administration Justice Department, to apply for payouts, creating what acting Attorney General Todd Blanche called 'a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress.'
" 'The machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and it is this Department’s intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens again,' [THEN DEFUND ICE & DHS!!!] Blanche said in a statement that made no mention of how investigations and prosecutions of Trump’s political opponents under his watch have exposed the Justice Department to the same claims of politicized law enforcement that he said he opposed."
Read more:
https://apnews.com/article/trump-lawsuit-irs-leak-3729de38770b558be01712a143437bf8#USPol #PowerCorruptionAndLies #Hypocrisy #DefundICE #DefundDHS #TrumpIsATaxCheat #TrumpSucks #Insurrectionists #January6 #MAGAts #TrumpIsUnconstitutional #ImpeachTrump #Corruption
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Congress members join protest against #oligarch’s dinner for #Trump thrown by Ellisons
#Paramount #Skydance CEO fetes administration as it weighs $110bn merger with CNN parent #WarnerBros Discovery
Jeremy Barr in Washington
Thu 23 Apr 2026 20.43 EDT"Dozens of protesters, including members of Congress, gathered along the National Mall on Thursday to protest an 'intimate' dinner being held by #ParamountSkydance’s chief executive, #DavidEllison, 'in celebration of the first amendment' and 'honoring the Trump White House and CBS White House correspondents', and attended by Donald Trump.
"Paramount has faced criticism for the dinner, which has been seen by some as illustrative of the cozy relationship between the #Ellisons and the White House – right as the Trump administration is weighing whether to approve the company’s $110bn merger with CNN parent company #WarnerBrosDiscovery ( #WBD ). The dinner comes before Saturday’s White House correspondents’ dinner, which Trump will attend. His defense secretary, #PeteHegseth, is expected to sit at one of the many tables bought by CBS News for the event.
"Earlier Thursday, WBD shareholders voted 'overwhelmingly' to approve the merger, which will still require approval from the Department of Justice and European regulators.
"The US representative Jamie Raskin, who has been vocal in his criticism of the Ellisons’ ownership of CBS News, referred to the event as 'a lavish oligarch’s dinner for Donald Trump'.
" 'We’re gathered here together tonight [because] in the building behind us, David Ellison is hosting a dinner to honor President Trump, a dinner that’s designed to cement the Ellisons to the president in their years-running corrupt merger scheme,' Raskin said."
Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/23/david-ellison-trump-dinner-paramount-skydance-cnnArchived version:
https://archive.ph/hQ6Ku#USPol #PowerCorruptionAndLies #CorporateSuckUps #Oligarchy #Fascism #SilencingDissent #SilencingCriticism #OligarchsDinner #Oligarchs4Dinner #EatTheRich #CharacteristicsOfFascism
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Includes mentions of #JaredKushner!
From the #Seychelles to the #WhiteHouse to #CambridgeAnalytica, #ErikPrince and the #UAE are key parts of the #Trump story
04.08.18 by Wendy Siegelman
"In January 2017 Erik Prince attended a meeting in the #Seychelles with the United Arab Emirate’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the CEO of the #Russian Direct Investment Fund #KirillDmitriev, and George Nader, a former consultant for Erik Prince’s company Blackwater.
"While Erik Prince testified in November 2017 to the House Intelligence Committee that the meeting with Dmitriev was unplanned, news broke last week that Mueller has evidence that Prince’s meeting with Putin’s ally Dmitriev may not have been a chance encounter, contradicting Prince’s sworn testimony. And, according to George Nader, a main purpose of the meeting was to set up a communication channel between the Russian government and the incoming #Trump administration.
"Earlier this year, a seemingly unrelated scandal erupted after a story broke about Trump’s data company Cambridge Analytica harvesting #FacebookData on tens of millions of people. Shortly after that a Channel 4 News investigation revealed undercover film of Cambridge Analytica executives bragging about the dirty tricks they use to influence elections.
"As the Cambridge Analytica scandal was unfolding, I broke the story about a new company Emerdata Limited, created by Cambridge Analytica executives, that in early 2018 added new board members Rebekah and Jennifer Mercer, Cheng Peng, Chun Shun Ko Johnson, who is a business partner of Erik Prince, and Ahmed Al Khatib, a ‘Citizen of Seychelles’."
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Well, I think I was wrong about who is the #Antichrist. It's not #Trump, or #ErikPrince, it's #JaredKushner (who bears a striking resemblance to teenaged Damien in Omen II). 666 Fifth Avenue, eh? Hmmmm...
Jared Kushner’s Real-Estate Firm Sought Money Directly From #Qatar Government Weeks Before Blockade
Jared Kushner's firm made a direct pitch to Qatar’s minister of finance in April 2017 in an attempt to secure investment in a critically distressed asset.
Clayton Swisher, Ryan Grim
March 2 2018"The real estate firm tied to the family of presidential son-in-law and top White House adviser Jared Kushner made a direct pitch to #Qatar’s minister of finance in April 2017 in an attempt to secure investment in a critically distressed asset in the company’s portfolio, according to two sources. At the previously unreported meeting, Jared Kushner’s father Charles, who runs Kushner Companies, and Qatari Finance Minister Ali Sharif Al Emadi discussed financing for the Kushners’ signature 666 Fifth Avenue property in New York City."
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2018/03/02/jared-kushner-real-estate-qatar-blockade/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/vefum#USPol #WorldPol#NoWar #InsideTrading #TheBusinessOfWar #JaredKushner #TrumpCrimeFamily #JaredIsTheAntichrist #LittleDamien #TheOmen #PowerCorruptionAndLies
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Was #ErikPrince also whispering in Trump's ear?
UPDATE: #Trump says #Kushner helped convince him to go to war with #Iran
The disclosure highlights Kushner's massive financial conflicts.
By Judd Legum
Excerpt: "Kushner’s largest investor is the Saudi Arabian government, which provided Kushner with $2 billion in funding in 2021. Each year, #SaudiArabia pays Kushner 1.25% of its investment, $25 million, as a 'management fee.' Meaning he has received in excess of $100 million from the Saudi government over the last few years.
Notably, 'Saudi Crown Prince #MohammedBinSalman made multiple private phone calls to Trump in February, advocating a U.S. attack,' according to reporting in the Washington Post.
"Trump’s comments reveal that Kushner used his role in Geneva to push Trump toward the outcome favored by his biggest client. #AffinityPartners also received more than $200 million from the #UAE. According to CNN, behind the scenes, the UAE was also lobbying Trump to strike Iran."
Read more:
https://popular.info/p/update-trump-says-kushner-helped#USPol #WorldPol #NoWar #JaredKushner #TrumpCrimeFamily #PowerCorruptionAndLies
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In today's episode of #PowerCorruptionAndLies...
"Sen. #JohnCornyn, R-Texas, reversed himself on the Senate filibuster Wednesday after years of unflinching support for the 60-vote threshold to pass most bills.
"Now, locked in a competitive Republican runoff for his Senate seat and eyeing President Donald #Trump's endorsement, Cornyn says he'll support 'whatever changes to Senate rules that may prove necessary' to pass the #SAVEAmericaAct, a sweeping election overhaul bill that Trump has called his No. 1 priority."
#SAVEAct #VoterDisenfranchisement #USPol #GOPNazis #Fascism #CharacteristicsOfFascism
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Another Giveaway to #BigOil as #Trump Wrenches Open 13 Million Acres of #Arctic for Drilling
“The Trump administration is trying to take us back in time with its reckless fossil fuels agenda.”
Jake Johnson
Nov 14, 2025#USPol #TrumpLies #ExxonLies #Corporatocracy #CorporateColonialism #Alaska #ArcticWilderness #DrillBabyDrill #WaterIsLife #PowerCorruptionAndLies
#Oiligarchy #FossilFuels #TrumpIsAFossil #TrumpIsAFascist -
#Trump Ripped Over ‘Reckless’ Plan to Drill for Oil Off #California, #Florida
“#DonaldTrump and #DougBurgum are once again trying to sell out our coastal communities and our public waters in favor of #CorporatePolluters’ bottom line.”
Jessica Corbett
Nov 20, 2025“Despite overwhelming bipartisan opposition, Trump and Burgum are moving forward with their reckless plan to serve their ultimate goal of handing over our public lands and waters to #BigOil CEOs,” Blackford continued. “These lease sales are privatization in everything but name—a ‘keep out’ sign is the same whether an area was sold or leased. The Sierra Club will continue to stand with coastal communities and work to stop this reckless plan dead in the water.”
#USPol #TrumpLies #ExxonLies #Corporatocracy #CorporateColonialism #Alaska #California #Florida #DrillBabyDrill #WaterIsLife #PowerCorruptionAndLies #Oiligarchy #BigOil #FossilFuels #TrumpIsAFossil #TrumpIsAFascist
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#Trump to #BigOil Execs: Give Me $1 Billion and I’ll Help You Wreck the Planet
“You won’t read a more important story today,” said one commentator. “Trump is willing to literally destroy the planet for $1 billion.”
Jake Johnson
May 09, 2024"Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump made a straightforward offer to some of the top fossil fuel executives in the United States during a dinner at his #MarALago club last month, which marked the hottest April on record.
According to new reporting, Trump pledged to swiftly gut climate regulations put in place by the Biden administration if the oil and gas industry raises $1 billion for his 2024 presidential campaign.
The “remarkably blunt and transactional pitch,” reported by The Washington Post, was Trump’s latest explicit statement of his intention to give the fossil fuel industry free rein to wreck the planet if he wins a second term in power. Executives from #Exxon, #Chevron, #OccidentalPetroleum, and other prominent fossil fuel companies reportedly attended the Mar-a-Lago dinner.
Late last year, Trump said he would be a dictator on the first day of his second term, vowing to use his executive authority to “close the border” and “drill, drill, drill” for the fossil fuels that are driving global temperatures to catastrophic extremes and imperiling hopes for a livable future.
The Post reported Thursday that Trump said a $1 billion investment in his run against Democratic President Joe Biden would be a “deal” for Big Oil “because of the taxation and regulation they would avoid thanks to him.”
“The contrast between the two candidates on climate policy could not be more stark,” the Post noted. “Biden has called #GlobalWarming an ‘existential threat’ and over the last three years, his administration has finalized 100 new #environmental regulations aimed at cutting #AirPollution and #GreenhouseGas emissions, restricting toxic chemicals, and conserving public lands and waters. In comparison, Trump has called #ClimateChange a ‘hoax,’ and his administration weakened or wiped out more than 125 environmental rules and policies over four years.”
Will Bunch, a columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer, wrote in response to the Post‘s reporting that “you won’t read a more important story today.”
“Trump is willing to literally destroy the planet for $1 billion,” Bunch added. "
Read more:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-oil-industry-donations#USPol #TrumpLies #ExxonLies #Corporatocracy #CorporateColonialism #Alaska #California #Florida #WaterIsLife #PowerCorruptionAndLies #Oiligarchy #BigOil #FossilFuels #TrumpIsAFossil #TrumpIsAFascist
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#LiberalElites Kicked the Door Wide Open for #Trump’s Flagrant #Corruption
The president’s corruption is audaciously out in the open, but decades of letting the wealthy play by their own rules enabled him.
Dylan Gyauch-Lewis
November 9 2025Excerpt: "Calls for Democrats to find their way back from the wilderness by forcefully rebuking #corporate influence and corruption, something we at the #RevolvingDoorProject have been urging as the cornerstone of progressive politics for years, are multiplying. Politicians, notably Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff and Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, both Democrats, are emerging as anti-corruption champions. To mount a real anti-corruption agenda, though, Democrats must go farther than just condemning the sundry glad-handing of Trump world. There is no appetite for going back to the halcyon days when everyone knew the legal code was merely a suggestion for corporate titans and the ultra-rich, even as they masqueraded as law-abiding citizens."
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2025/11/09/trump-corruption-graft/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/ycw45#USPol #EstablishmentDemocrats #LiberalElites #FollowTheMoney #PowerCorruptionAndLies #OpenSecrets #TaxTheBillionaires #TaxTheRich
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Yup. It's the same #StrategyGroup! Wow!
Gov. #KristiNoem and the culture of #collusion in #SouthDakota
#FreedomWorksHere escaped legislative oversight but the saga raises larger concerns about the validity of competitive bidding and the stomach of state lawmakers.
By Patrick Lalley, Feb 19, 2024
Excerpt: "The seeds of the contract are found in the hiring of The Strategy Group as a media consultant for #Noem’s re-election campaign in 2022.
"The CEO of that company is #BenYoho, but he’s not the biggest fish in Ohio.
That’s #RexElsass, the founder and chairman of the board, an infamous figure in Ohio politics. We don’t have the time or space to go into Mr. Elsass’ backstory but it’s colorful, controversial and worth more than we’ll give it here.
The Strategy Group is one of a handful of firms doing media work for the big names of #Republican politics, including #Trump, #Pence, several governors and many members of Congress."Archived version:
https://archive.ph/phGkY#USPol #GOP #Corruption #ChristoFascists #StrategyGroup #PowerCorruptionAndLies
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Yup. This is the same company that #KristiNoem is connected with... #StrategyGroup!
From 2013: Inside The Meltdown At America’s Most #Conservative, Most Christian Political Consulting Firm
#RexElsass built a Republican empire on his faith. But he found himself battling his closest allies over his immortal soul.
" 'It's a cult,' said one Republican operative who was once courted by Elsass and now sees himself as a competitor. 'You take young people who get enamored by driving around in a Bentley, or getting to fly around in a private plane, and stay in sick rooms, and see massive dollars spent on them, but not given to them — and there's a huge difference there — and you're the master in controlling that dynamic. You control the experience and then you get them hooked in, then you get them to do all sorts of things. They start to lose their soul.' "
BY McKay Coppins
BuzzFeed News Reporter
Posted on June 3, 2013"There are at least 40 #Republicans currently in Congress who have worked with the #StrategyGroup, which serves as a campaign and strategy clearing house for the uncompromisingly conservative wing of the congressional caucus that has been at the center of American politics since 2010.
"Though the Strategy Group's ranks have swelled over the past year — as the company expands beyond its advertising roots and into public relations, voter contact, and research — it continues to be defined by its larger-than-life founder. Elsass is a round, loud, cigar-smoking good 'ol boy with a private jet; a worldview rooted, he'll be quick to tell you, in his Christian faith; and a shameless killer instinct that has turned his company into one of the country's most in-demand political consulting firms. The firm had the rare distinction of working, serially, for two presidential candidates last year — Michele Bachmann then #NewtGingrich. Other clients include the great Right hopes of 2016: Senators Rand Paul and #TedCruz. One of the driving forces behind the conservative surge of 2010, when they had more than two dozen #TeaParty clients, the Strategy Group stands poised to ride a similar wave in the upcoming elections."
#USPol #ChristoFascists #KristiNoem #GOP #PowerCorruptionAndLies
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Firm Tied to #KristiNoem Secretly Got Money From $220 Million #DHS Ad #Contracts
The company is run by the husband of Noem’s chief DHS spokesperson and has personal and business ties to Noem and her aides. DHS invoked the “emergency” at the border to skirt competitive bidding rules for the taxpayer-funded campaign.
by Justin Elliott, Joshua Kaplan and Alex Mierjeski
November 14, 2025Excerpt: "No firm has closer ties to Noem’s political operation than the #StrategyGroup. It played a central role in her 2022 South Dakota gubernatorial campaign. Corey Lewandowski, her top adviser at DHS, has worked extensively with the firm. And the company’s CEO is married to Noem’s chief spokesperson at DHS, Tricia McLaughlin.
"The Strategy Group’s ad work is the first known example of money flowing from Noem’s agency to businesses controlled by her allies and friends."
Read more:
https://www.propublica.org/article/kristi-noem-dhs-ad-campaign-strategy-group#USPol #Corruption #RexElsass #BenYoho #ChristoFascism #CharacteristicsOfFascism #PowerCorruptionAndLies
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Some of what I have are screenshots from Seth's IG and Twitter accounts. Some of it is emails obtained by FOIA where Podesta calls for elimination of "leakers", and another is a Vanity Fair article where a Dem big wig calls for "All PANDAS to be shot". (Seth's account was Pandas4Progress)
#SethRich #CorporateDemocrats #PowerCorruptionAndLies #Podesta
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UPDATE: Medicare freeze beneficiary secretly donates $2.5 million to #Trump #ballroom
By Judd Legum
"Earlier this year, Popular Information broke the news that #ExtremityCare – a company that sells bandages to Medicare for thousands of dollars per square inch – donated $5 million to #MAGAInc., President Trump’s super PAC, on February 24. Six days later, Trump blasted a pending Biden administration rule that would have barred Medicare from covering Extremity Care’s products.
"The Biden rule was initially scheduled to take effect in February 2025, but was delayed by the Trump administration until April 13 as part of a blanket regulatory freeze. On April 11, 40 days after Trump’s post, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the rule would be delayed until at least January 1, 2026, allowing Extremity Care to continue charging Medicare for its products.
"As that deadline approaches, Extremity Care has secretly donated $2.5 million toward the construction of a new White House ballroom, a top priority for Trump. The White House publicly released a list of donors last month, but Extremity Care was not included. According to The New York Times, the company was permitted to donate anonymously."