Rick Claypool
@rickclaypool.bsky.social
writing weird sad stories, foraging wild fungi, researching terrible things corporations do
"Trump dwarfs his predecessors in the number of ultra-rich in his second White House, report shows" Thomas Beaumont for @apnews.com with research via Doug Pasternak at @publiccitizen.bsky.social
Trump dwarfs his predecessors in the number of ultra-rich in his second White House, report shows
The number of people worth more than $100 million whom President Donald Trump has appointed to his administration is more than four times the combined total of the three previous presidents.
apnews.com
TOADSTONES (2022, Malarkey Books) would bring this troubled nation together
Jordan S. Carroll 🌹@jordanscarroll.bsky.social · 3w agoThe US should have a national book we all read every summer. America Reads.
Ok so "Win for America" is a super PAC that is literally being fueled by gambling losses – losses that are now being weaponized against our democracy to expand these corporations’ pool of potential marks. For the public and for our democracy, that’s a lose-lose.
Reuters Legal@legal.reuters.com · 3w agoDraftKings, FanDuel and other online sports betting companies have ramped up election spending on the U.S. midterms to at least $72 million so far, the latest campaign election data shows, as prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket bring fresh scrutiny — and competition — to online betting.
Corporate Political Spending in 2026 Midterms Shatters All-Time Record: Today's #BradCast Guest: @rickclaypool.bsky.social of @publiccitizen.bsky.social; Also: Amazon and gig workers on SNAP and Medicaid skyrockets; Primary elections results from AZ... FULL STORY, LISTEN: bradblog.com?p=18216
Corporate Political Spending in 2026 Midterms Shatters All-Time Record: ‘BradCast’ 7/22/2026
Guest: Rick Claypool of Public Citizen; Also: Number of Amazon and gig workers on SNAP and Medicaid skyrockets; Primary elections results from AZ...
bradblog.com
"The Trump DOJ’s grotesque retreat from corporate crime enforcement leaves Americans increasingly vulnerable to tainted food, workplace exploitation, environmental destruction, widespread ripoffs, and all-around illegal corporate predation."
Letting Fraudsters Run Wild, Trump Justice Department Abandons Corporate Crime Enforcement
"The Trump DOJ’s grotesque retreat from corporate crime enforcement leaves Americans increasingly vulnerable to tainted food, workplace exploitation, environmental destruction, widespread ripoffs, and all-around illegal corporate predation."
commondreams.org
$517 million in corporate money and it's only July. This is exactly what happens when billionaires and corporations are allowed to bankroll our elections. The people should decide our future, not whoever can write the biggest check.
Rick Claypool@rickclaypool.bsky.social · 2mo agoNEW @publiccitizen.bsky.social report: Corporations have already spent $517 million on the 2026 midterms. That's more corporate money than any previous election cycle -- and nearly 1/3 of all corporate political spending since Citizens United www.citizen.org/article/corp...
Silicon Valley really showing itself to be nothing more than Phillip Morris in a grey hoodie, buying the laws it wants so that it can continue its predation.
Rick Claypool@rickclaypool.bsky.social · 2mo agoThe spending coincides with the rise of *corporate supremacist super PACs.* These are set up not to advance either major party or any candidate, but solely to push the interests of specific corporate sectors. Crypto, AI & online betting super PACs are driving the trend
The midterms are a battle between the privileged and the oligarchs against the rest of us. The time to stand up and fight is now before it is too late.
Rick Claypool@rickclaypool.bsky.social · 2mo agoNEW @publiccitizen.bsky.social report: Corporations have already spent $517 million on the 2026 midterms. That's more corporate money than any previous election cycle -- and nearly 1/3 of all corporate political spending since Citizens United www.citizen.org/article/corp...
"If the current, broken campaign finance system remains unchallenged—and corporate spending is allowed to drown out the voices of real voters and real people—these corporate campaigns will keep multiplying."
'A Disaster for Democracy': Report Shows Surging Corporate Spending in 2026 Elections
The US Supreme Court's ruling has opened the floodgates for corporate supremacists to pour millions into elections, drowning out the voices of real voters.
commondreams.org
NEW @publiccitizen.bsky.social report: Corporations have already spent $517 million on the 2026 midterms. That's more corporate money than any previous election cycle -- and nearly 1/3 of all corporate political spending since Citizens United www.citizen.org/article/corp...
What an outrage. Proud to have contributed in a small way to the @publiccitizen.bsky.social research the Post's story is based on
The Washington Post@washingtonpost.com · 3mo agoMore than half of the publicly identified donors to President Trump’s White House ballroom project have won new or expanded federal contracts worth more than $50 billion, according to a report from a government watchdog group.
I’m running for Congress! ❤️✌🏻
onekade@onekade.bsky.social · 6mo agoMy buddy Alexis Goldstein is running for Congress. She is not only a badass who will fight for the people of Maryland and the United States; she is a financial expert who can and will go toe to toe with the rich assholes intent on amassing more wealth. secure.actblue.com/donate/alexi...
cointelegraph asked me about crypto and AI super PACs and I kind of unloaded 😂https://www.tradingview.com/news/cointelegraph:ab6436d34094b:0-crypto-and-ai-could-be-dirty-words-on-2026-midterm-campaign-trail/
happy 100th birthday David Attenborogh!!!
The Guardian@theguardian.com · 3mo agoSir David Attenborough 'overwhelmed' by 100th birthday greetings – audio
this was awesome (and I'm a little speechless the convo started with a discussion of my corporate crime research)
Public Citizen@publiccitizen.bsky.social · 3mo agoOur Co-President Lisa Gilbert will be speaking to Representative Summer Lee TODAY at 11:30am ET on corporate oversight, government accountability, and the insidious impact of money in American politics. Tune in: fightcorporatepower.substack.com?utm_campaign...
Big Tech companies have spent at least $653 MILLION cozying up to Trump & Congressional Republicans. Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, OpenAI, Oracle, and Palantir have all chosen to align themselves with Trump. We have to choose democracy over oligarchy.
$1.5 million. wow, that'll show him
The Washington Post@washingtonpost.com · 4mo agoElon Musk agreed to pay a $1.5 million fine in a settlement with the SEC over allegations that in 2022 he cost Twitter shareholders $150 million by being late to disclose that he was amassing shares in the social network.
WATCH: The DOJ quietly closed 23,000+ criminal cases in the first six months of the second Trump administration, abandoning hundreds of investigations into terrorism, white-collar crime, drugs and other offenses as it shifted resources to pursue immigration cases. Full story: propub.li/4tHp2Wd
the first issue of Agita, the new magazine of flash horror and sci-fi from @agitapublishing.bsky.social, is live! co-edited and with an intro by yers truly, it's a pretty great collection of three fantastic little tales of BAD SCIENCE! check it out! agitamag.com/issue/issue-...
Issue 1, May 2026 – Agita Magazine
agitamag.com
Every year, across multiple administrations, across both parties, the DOJ has announced over and over again that "individual accountability" is their priority when prosecuting corporate crime. And every year, they failed to prosecute the Sacklers. What a disgrace. www.cnbc.com/2026/04/29/p...
Must-read on how Big Tech execs are pandering to Trump and supporting authoritarianism.
Rick Claypool@rickclaypool.bsky.social · 4mo ago"The dangerous synergies of an authoritarian White House supported and supercharged by Big Tech titans puts on full display the risk of concentrated and excessive corporate and oligarchic power." New from me in @techpolicypress.bsky.social: www.techpolicy.press/dont-trust-t...
Ted Cruz is the #1 lifetime recipient of fossil fuel money in the entire U.S. senate, receiving over $1 million from the oil and gas industry in the 2024 cycle alone Now he's proposed a bill to give the fossil fuel industry lifetime legal immunity from climate lawsuits
Republicans introduce extreme bill to ban lawsuits against Big Oil forever
Shouldn't Democrats... be saying something about this?
heated.world
New report that mentions Scale AI’s influence with the federal government via Kratsios: www.citizen.org/article/big-... bsky.app/profile/rick...
Rick Claypool@rickclaypool.bsky.social · 4mo ago"The dangerous synergies of an authoritarian White House supported and supercharged by Big Tech titans puts on full display the risk of concentrated and excessive corporate and oligarchic power." New from me in @techpolicypress.bsky.social: www.techpolicy.press/dont-trust-t...
"The dangerous synergies of an authoritarian White House supported and supercharged by Big Tech titans puts on full display the risk of concentrated and excessive corporate and oligarchic power." New from me in @techpolicypress.bsky.social: www.techpolicy.press/dont-trust-t...
Don’t Trust Trump? Don’t Trust Big Tech
Public Citizen's Rick Claypool says there are dangerous synergies on display between an authoritarian White House and Big Tech titans.
techpolicy.press
Public Citizen’s Rick Claypool documents how Big Tech firms have engaged in deliberate campaigns to ingratiate themselves with the Trump administration, heaping excessive praise on the President while going along with his unpopular and authoritarian policies.
Don’t Trust Trump? Don’t Trust Big Tech
Public Citizen's Rick Claypool says there are dangerous synergies on display between an authoritarian White House and Big Tech titans.
techpolicy.press
Ahead of the next Mar-a-Lago gala, I talked to a researcher analyzing suspected insider trading on Trump's memecoin and an ethicist who (with a grain of salt) thinks a crackdown on Trump's crypto empires may be coming soon... arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
Investors lost billions on Trump’s memecoin. Another gala won’t fix that.
If Dems take Congress, Trump may face reckoning for “pay-to-play” memecoin galas.
arstechnica.com
#InverteFest starts in two days, on the 24th! This time we'll release our anthology AND our usual art book. Starting on Friday, go out (or in), hunt for invertebrates, share photos, art, poems, facts, anything about inverts! More info here: saimihanma.com/invertefest/
InverteFest
InverteFest
saimihanma.com
Saimi Hanma ⚔️ サイミ@saimihanma.bsky.social · 4mo agoWe'll release the very first #InverteFest Anthology on the first day of #InverteFest, 24 April! It's almost finalized and it looks really good. We have 17 incredible submissions from writer/artist partners, all about invertebrates, and I'm really looking forward to sharing it!
his dark materials was a parable for kids to be openminded and curious. which is more important than any kind of "intelligence" that sam altman and his homunculi ilk value
Paris Marx@parismarx.com · 4mo agoAltman made this declaration at an infrastructure summit hosted by BlackRock. It’s the latest in a long line of outrageous statements he’s made to try to justify the rollout of generative AI and the massive cost to power it. disconnect.blog/make-em-dumb...
