David Moore

A burgeoning hit in London's West End follows the fraught dynamics in a Warner Brothers boardroom as they negotiate a "Blood Sugar" B-side for the "Coneheads" soundtrack

Israel is deliberately starving Palestinians, UN rights expert says Exclusive: UN special rapporteur on the right to food Michael Fakhri says denial of food is war crime and constitutes ‘a situation of genocide’

The deliberate starvation of Gaza was predicted 18 months ago by the top UN expert on the right to food. This is not unexpected, our political leaders knew this what they were backing
@michaelfakhri.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/world/2024/f...

Senate votes on Israel arms sales v. pro-Israel cash Polygraph | Newsletter n°312 | 1 Aug 2025

The 16 Democratic senators above took four times more money from pro-Israel groups than the 17 Democratic senators who voted for all five of Sanders’ resolutions.

www.stephensemler.com/p/senate-vot...

Congressional Leaders Warning of ‘Insider Trading’ Could Have Banned Officials From Stock Trading Banning members of Congress and government officials from trading stocks is highly popular, even among many rank and file lawmakers—but not among the congressional leaders who control which bills adva...

More than 7 years of news attention devoured by members of Congress refusing to cut themselves off from stock trading. Huge public cynicism grew.

The Anti-Corruption Act was introduced by progressives in August 2018; House Dems could have passed it and campaigned against corruption. They would not.

Who Owns the Media Who owns the 35 most powerful media companies in America? Learn how these giants came to dominate the U.S. media landscape through mergers, acquisition and manipulation. Free Press rates their ability to defend democracy during a time of authoritarianism.

If you've ever wondered who owns the media, this Media Capitulation Index is a must read.

Free Press rates the independence of 35 Big Tech companies then analyzes their ability to defend democracy at a time of domestic and international authoritarianism.

https://www.freepress.net/who-owns-media

A Burkhard Bilger panoramic intro

www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

screen grab of tweets by conservative economists shown in a segment about Trump firing the BLS commissioner, on "All in with Chris Hayes," airing Aug. 1, 2025.

Two former commissioners of labor statistics (Scott Winship, now at free-market AEI; and William Beach) were willing to tweet out against Trump's firing of BLS chief. So did self-described conservative Oren Cass.

Wonder what it would take for state chambers of commerce to call their GOP senators.

The Window Unit Wanderer Salutations, weary travelers! Camoot here. I created my travel blog, The Window Unit Wanderer, to inspire solo travelers who want to follow their wanderlust to wherever the window unit blows. Here are...

TODAY: (a little late whoops) Amy Chu with some pleasantly cool vacation destinations you may not have considered! “Despite the throngs of tourists, however, nothing rivals the roaring air at the public library.” flaminghydra.com/688cf10a1a5c...

The Pleasure of Your Company Over westward steelworks sizzling like diner flattop griddles the setting star’s glare pours through arches of summer flowers and falls as bloodsplatter across the first few rows of waiting guests. “...

ALSO TODAY: Some lovely short fiction from @csmcgowan.bsky.social. “Preparing to marry him to a stranger at the less-good beach, which contains no memories, she has been sick with a feeling of false return, familiar dreams running at half-speed” flaminghydra.com/the-pleasure...

TikTok Billionaire Donates Millions to Trump as He Repeatedly Delays Ban Jeff Yass, co-founder of ByteDance investor Susquehanna International Group, made his largest ever political donations to Trump’s MAGA Inc. super PAC in the first half of the year, per a new FEC filin...

TikTok investor Jeff Yass gave Trump's super PAC $16 million while the president flouts the law mandating a sale. It was the megadonor's first known donation to Trump and his largest reported contribution. Here's what's at stake:

TikTok Billionaire Donates Millions to Trump as He Repeatedly Delays Ban Jeff Yass, co-founder of ByteDance investor Susquehanna International Group, made his largest ever political donations to Trump’s MAGA Inc. super PAC in the first half of the year, per a new FEC filin...

NEW: Here's the timeline of TikTok investor Jeff Yass:

- making huge donations to Trump's super PAC
- Trump extending TikTok's deadline three times

Yass just personally has $34 billion at stake or so. Free story by @donnydonny.bsky.social

TikTok Billionaire Donates Millions to Trump as He Repeatedly Delays Ban Jeff Yass, co-founder of ByteDance investor Susquehanna International Group, made his largest ever political donations to Trump’s MAGA Inc. super PAC in the first half of the year, per a new FEC filin...

NEW: Billionaire TikTok investor Jeff Yass gave $16 million to Trump’s super PAC in the first half of the year. Trump delayed TikTok’s ban three times while Yass’s firm kept its stake in ByteDance. readsludge.com/2025/08/01/t...

Tom Lehrer Adjourns The musical satirist Tom Lehrer died at 97 last month, and though he claimed to have stoked rumors of his premature death to “cut down on his junk mail,” it still felt like it came too soon. By his ow...

TODAY: @littlewow.online on the recently departed musician and satirist Tom Lehrer. “Now, as the American empire continues to crumble under the weight of a new brand of fascism, Tom Lehrer’s music continues to provide some insight.” flaminghydra.com/tom-lehrer-a...

Senate Panel Advances Stock Trading Ban for Lawmakers, With Trump Exemption In a contentious hearing, a Senate committee narrowly voted to advance a bill that would ban lawmakers from trading or owning stocks, digital assets, and other investments.

New: we took a look at the Senate bill banning lawmakers' stock trading from Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Democrats.

While its rules on stock trading for Congress are strong, it's silent on stock trades and crypto ownership for nearly all executive branch officials, as compared with previous bills.

AIPAC Gives Millions in PAC Donations to House Allies, Senators in 2026 Races The lobbying group’s PAC donated six-figure sums to dozens of lawmakers in the first half of this year, as it pushes for billions of dollars in military aid for Israel.

More than half of Senate Dems voted for this week's Sanders resolutions to block sale of specific offensive weapons to Israel, a new high.

Two who voted nay are the top two Dem Senate recipients of AIPAC PAC donations so far this cycle: @corybooker.com and @markwarner.bsky.social, both up in 2026.

Democrats Could Have Passed Democracy Bills in 2009 In May, former House speaker Nancy Pelosi sent a letter to the editor of the New York Times Opinion section. In the brief missive, Rep. Pelosi pointed to four legislative reforms to reinforce American...

Democrats had the House & Senate seats in 2009 to pass Rep. Zoe Lofgren's bill, intro'd in the two previous Congresses, banning partisan gerrymandering.

For 'unclear' reasons, the redistricting bill was not introduced when Dems briefly had 60 Senate votes. House Dems let it languish after that too.

AIPAC-Funded Reps Propose Bill to Block Financial Aid at Colleges Boycotting Israel A new bill from Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) and Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) would strip federal aid to universities that engage in the BDS movement or limit involvement with Israeli institutions.

A brand-new bill punishing campus protests of Israel's war in Gaza—introduced by Rep. Virginia Foxx (R) and Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D)—aligns with the Trump administration's assault on academic freedom. Latest @sludge.bsky.social

Corporate Clients of Top Democratic Firm Oppose the Democratic Agenda Bully Pulpit International touts its reputation rehab and policy change services for companies like McDonald’s, Uber, and Walmart.

DNC reformers labored, since 2016's Electoral College loss, to open up the DNC's budget to review by DNC members and boost accountability. Internal party efforts were squelched by leaders like Anita Dunn.

Payees like Bully Pulpit (@bpigroup.bsky.social) work at cross-purposes for corporate clients:

The Democratic Consultants Getting Rich off the Harris Campaign Here are the top recipients of the campaign's billion dollars of spending.

Democrats' 2028 hopefuls are jockeying over the party being slow to adapt to digital alternative media.

Remember, the Biden-then-Harris campaign spent *$1.6 billion* on media, sticking with an old playbook. It went to little-known consulting firms that had huge corporate clients like Uber & PhRMA:

Screengrab from the People's Budget (2011) section on millionaire tax rates proposal, adding new top rates, as well as a progressive estate tax and more tax reforms. The proposal was floated by the Congressional Progressive Caucus and updates, and tweaked, in subsequent years.

Texas State Rep. James Talarico is popping up on social media feeds with a takedown of billionaires.

In 2011, after the Tea Party wave, progressives proposed taxing millionaires and billionaires; but they're frozen out of committee leadership and party spending arms.

thebrick.house/billionaire-...

Lustful solace / Faraway fellowship Reading therapy with Talia Lavin, and Brian Hioe on obstacles to solidarity

TODAY: @swordsjew.bsky.social on reading smutty queer novels in a time of global desperation, " a withdrawal from the world so total that you can’t stop, it feels like gambling, or drinking, or any other compulsion, you read books like you’re chainsmoking." flaminghydra.com/issue-371/#g...

Pressuring Biden to Declare a National Climate Emergency Restraining fossil fuel extraction was indeed among the things that more than 380 environmental groups called on President-elect Biden to do.

More than 170 million Americans are under heat alerts. The planet may soon trigger irreversible "tipping points" of warming and damages.

In 2011, progressives introduced the "People's Budget," which would have invested in clean energy. But they aren't in control of committees or Dem campaign arms.

Powerful Reps Rely on Corporate PACs to Pay Their Committee Taxes Secret pay-to-play systems used by both parties have led to key committees being run by the most corporate PAC-reliant members of Congress.

The Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act was first introduced August 2018 by Sen. Warren, Rep. Jayapal, and progressives.

In addition to banning stock ownership by lawmakers, it would have banned lobbyist fundraising, closed the revolving door, and much more. The bill has never had a hearing.

Congressional Leaders Warning of ‘Insider Trading’ Could Have Banned Officials From Stock Trading Banning members of Congress and government officials from trading stocks is highly popular, even among many rank and file lawmakers—but not among the congressional leaders who control which bills adva...

The HONEST Act advanced from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Unclear if it will get a Senate vote.

House Dems could have passed a ban on lawmakers and officials from trading or owning stocks, but didn't bring up bipartisan bills in 2021-22. The Senate ducked it too:

Library Startup ‘Briet’ Wants to Revolutionize E-Book Sales, Not Licensing Created by a team affiliated with Brick House publishing cooperative, a platform known as Briet is inviting publishers to sell rather than license their e-books to libraries, and several independent p...

A concise and elegant rundown of BRIET, a project to protect digital ownership rights for libraries, from the @flaminghydra.com cooperative

this is so NEATO from @publisherswkly.bsky.social's Nathalie op de Beeck

www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

AIPAC-Funded Reps Propose Bill to Block Financial Aid at Colleges Boycotting Israel A new bill from Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) and Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) would strip federal aid to universities that engage in the BDS movement or limit involvement with Israeli institutions.

NEW: AIPAC-funded Reps. Virginia Foxx and Josh Gottheimer have introduced legislation to block federal student aid to universities engaging in BDS boycotts of Israel. readsludge.com/2025/07/30/a...

screenshot of the three chairs of the Blue Dog Coalition (from its website's about page) in the 119th Congress. Reps. Gluesenkamp Perez (WA), Gonzalez (TX), and Correa (CA).

The leaders of the conservative Blue Dog Coalition could ask their member Rep. Gottheimer about his bill aligning with the Trump admin's crackdown on academic freedom.

That would be Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of #WA03, Vicente Gonzalez of #TX34 & Lou Correa of #CA46.

AIPAC-Funded Reps Propose Bill to Block Financial Aid at Colleges Boycotting Israel A new bill from Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) and Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) would strip federal aid to universities that engage in the BDS movement or limit involvement with Israeli institutions.

New: Reps. Virginia Foxx (R, #NC05) and Josh Gottheimer (D, #NJ05) seek to squash university protests of Israel's war in Gaza by cutting off student aid and other federal funding. By @donnydonny.bsky.social:

Screengrab of parts of Feb. 4, 2025 from Rep. Schakowsky press release, titled, "This FTC Was the Most Effective in Decades Thanks to Lina Khan," summarizing key accomplishments of the Federal Trade Commission during Khan's tenure.

VC Reid Hoffman will ramp up his election spending. He argued former FTC Chair Lina Khan was “waging war on American business.”

Khan's FTC saved Americans billions in junk fees, blocked illegal concentration that raised prices, and applied antitrust review to M&As.

readsludge.com/2024/10/28/w...

Trump Admin Halts a String of Antitrust Cases, Approving Corporate Mergers Trump regulators are waving through multibillion-dollar mergers, according to a new Public Citizen analysis, many for companies that were Trump-Vance inaugural donors.

Trump-led agencies dropped enforcement cases against corporations for harming consumers, knowingly violating the Clean Air Act, retaliating against workers against federal labor law, bribing foreign officials...

See the more than 165 cases in Public Citizen's tracker: