The geniuses at Third Way want us to build a big tent for billionaires, AI companies and Israel diehards while we exile the populists and streamers millions are listening to for. Got it 👍

As Antitrust Becomes a Frontline Battleground for Democracy, Are States Ready? Trump is turning antitrust enforcement into an authoritarian corruption racket. State AGs are stepping up to fill the void – but they'll need more firepower to sustain the fight.

Trump is waving through major mergers and media takeovers for allies who stump up cash and destroy critical newsrooms.

States have the power to take over these cases, but most have just a few antitrust lawyers. Some have zero.

We should probably fix that 👇

As Antitrust Becomes a Frontline Battleground for Democracy, Are States Ready? Trump is turning antitrust enforcement into an authoritarian corruption racket. State AGs are stepping up to fill the void – but they'll need more firepower to sustain the fight.

Merger approvals were in the background when ABC suspended Kimmel, CBS axed Colbert and Paramount appointed Bari Weiss. Now, the Ellisons want to take over CNN.

State AGs have the power to frustrate this slide toward authoritarianism – but can they meet the moment? 👇

AOC Says Corporate Power Poses Major National Security Threats. She's Not Alone. On both sides of the aisle, and both sides of the Atlantic, alarm bells are ringing: Unchecked corporate power is now not just an economic issue, but a national security threat.

"[These companies] function essentially as states – states that operate outside of any meaningful democratic control," Duss says.

"They need to be brought under control, and we need politicians to have the courage to do that."

More 👇 libertyandpower.substack.com/p/aoc-says-c...

She points to corporate efforts to pave the way for unrestricted data transfers to Russia and China – and Big Pharma's years long effort to block generic covid vaccines treatments.

In the intervening time, new global variants emerged from the countries trying to get access.

“You drill three questions in and it’s clear they can’t think beyond the talking points. To me, that was really disturbing.”

Beth Baltzan, a Senior Advisor for Trade and Investment under President Biden, said she's been in trade negotiations where it's clear that a whole bunch of her negotiating partners are just reading from the same multinational supplied talking points.

The Pentagon itself has warned that it has become "increasingly reliant on a small number of contractors for critical defense capabilities," which risks raising costs, limiting supply, stifling innovation and delaying timelines.

In Ukraine, superpowers are courting Musk like a de facto head of state for Stalink acces. It's “absurd,” says @mattduss.bsky.social “No one voted for Musk.”

A NATO official described it as "very uncomfortable" that one man's decisions can have such an impact on the battlefield.

Senator @chrismurphyct.bsky.social pointed to Trump's decision to give in to Big Tech lobbying and green light the sale of advanced AI chips to developers in China.

“Trump has put the fate of our national security in the hands of profit-hungry billionaires and mega-corporations,” he said.

AOC Says Corporate Power Poses Major National Security Threats. She's Not Alone. On both sides of the aisle, and both sides of the Atlantic, alarm bells are ringing: Unchecked corporate power is now not just an economic issue, but a national security threat.

AOC was totally justified in bringing this up in Munich – there are just so many examples of corporate agendas chipping away national security interests 🧵

libertyandpower.substack.com/p/aoc-says-c...

Pro-tip: If you want people to very easily understand why you're voting hell to the fuck no on funding, call it something ear-catching, focused on harms caused, and accurate: #MAGAMurderBill
No Money for Murder
No Funding for Fascism
No Payouts for Pedophiles

Imagine having leaders who believe their job isn't running for office merely for the sake of having their name plate on a door but actually enacting an agenda.

Why Elizabeth Warren Declared War on Abundance Billionaires In a fiery speech, Warren warned the Abundance agenda has been captured by Big-Tech and billionaires—and is hollowing out Democrats’ economic message when voters want a fight.

Warren’s Abundance attack caught many off guard because she's exposing a hidden DC power play:

The rapid proliferation of billionaire-backed advocacy groups now rallying under the ‘Abundance’ banner to push a deregulatory agenda – one that threatens the populist economic platform Dems need to win👇

Why Elizabeth Warren Declared War on Abundance Billionaires In a fiery speech, Warren warned the Abundance agenda has been captured by Big-Tech and billionaires—and is hollowing out Democrats’ economic message when voters want a fight.

Full piece: libertyandpower.substack.com/p/why-elizab...

The ever-quotable @anatosaurus.bsky.social on the electoral promise of Abundance 👇

Why did Bush admin embed reporters in Iraq? To narrow aperture of frame: make reporting be how war was fought & not questioning motives & legitimacy of it. And to have reporters become dependent on troops for safety & therefore unable to have objectivity.

If you're hungry for way more, here's my full breakdown of some of what I raise below.
www.weekendreading.net/p/bringing-a...

The appropriate Democratic response is that the president is out of control.

You don’t need to repeat his Maduro talking points. Stop being pussies.

Bombing another country and kidnapping its leader would also be wrong with Congressional approval. The outrage, and call for impeachment, should be over the evil and illegal outcome not merely the failure to follow the prescribed process.

This is a very good read, and worth sharing with anyone you know who is preparing a run for office in 2026.

Bringing a Survey to a Gun Fight “Pollingism” Has Failed Democrats and Voters. Here’s Why, and What to Do Instead.

More from the amazing @anatosaurus.bsky.social here on what Dems can learn from Trump and the GOP on winning attention and shifting the debate: www.weekendreading.net/p/bringing-a...

I imagine if you keep saying first and foremost that you’re the best, it sounds like you’re not going to do big, necessary things to make life better for people as well.

These insights are consistent with the research that @waytowinus.bsky.social conducted on the missing Biden voters from 2020 who didn't show up in 2024 -- they don't want Democrats to be more "moderate," they want candidates who will fight for them and prioritize their issues.

In my county Dems and the GOP have been losing voter registration as people are increasingly registering independent. These folks are not centrists or moderates! They are angry at a political system that doesn't care about them, and they are insulted when we try to serve them centrist pablum.

They’re exasperated that the party hasn’t been listening.

Celinda Lake blames (1) the influence of corporate-aligned donors (2) that moderation feels safe and instinctive for many leaders (3) failure to understand (and compete with) the appeal of right-wing populism.

You’re right, although I think they do care about policy – just maybe not in the same way policy wonks do.

They want policy that’s big, immediately impactful, and fits the scale of their struggles (which is not to say that we can’t pursue other slower burning policy change as well).

This is a truly excellent analysis of a major problem plaguing Democratic strategy 👇

It didn’t make this piece, but they did not have nice things to say about the consultant class (despite technically being a part of it!)

7 Hard Lessons Democrats Must Learn in 2026 Democratic pollsters say economic populism is the party’s clearest path forward. What follows is their blunt, unfiltered thoughts on how to pull it off – and why Democrats keep sabotaging themselves.

The pollsters all mentioned this as a mistake for the campaign - after being attacked for “price controls” the campaign abandoned the messaging after a week or so and saw support drop too.

But it was still popular. They had made Republicans attack them on a popular policy - which is what you want!