Today's newsletter is an interview with Matt Stoller, author of Goliath: The 100-Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy. I wanted to talk to Matt because his book provides a historical perspective on a topic I frequently cover in Popular Information — the influence of large corporations on our political system.
Since I grew up with Virginia Democrats and a grandmother who had a photo of FDR hanging in the living room, for the first time I get what I heard as a child. My grandfather's on both sides hated the 1% due to the struggles of raising families through the Great Depression. I have a better understanding now. Many Republicans today still think FDR was a blight on the land. Even the non wealthy ones who quizzically have always followed the GOP when they are getting their economic throats cut due to their push for big wealth and business.
Facebook is an example of why our need to communicate has been exploited by greed and control. Facebook is Big Brother in the worst sense as it manipulates good will into making it seem it is good will when it is really attempting mind control.
I have four Millenial kids. My oldest is anti social media period. The youngest is Instagram queen. All four use FB sparingly as do most of their friends. Boomers like me and Gen Xers are the big users. That is who needs to be reached. Judd ought to start a FB page, send out P.I. quotes with dog and cat photos and see what happens... Beat them at their game from the inside.
I live subscriptions like this that give us clear, concise chunks of information that we can focus on without distraction. If I may recommend another such subscriber site on your dime Judd, it would be THE INKWELL by The Nib. It is put together by now out of work editorial cartoonists and today’s strip was about Face Book and Zuck’s evolution into Big Brother. Of course one could also include Google, Murdock, and all the other huge corporations that now seem to have most of Washington by the short and curlies. GOLIATH will be my next read for sure. It’s important to learn or re-learn our history of dealing with big money and the power players behind it.
Since I grew up with Virginia Democrats and a grandmother who had a photo of FDR hanging in the living room, for the first time I get what I heard as a child. My grandfather's on both sides hated the 1% due to the struggles of raising families through the Great Depression. I have a better understanding now. Many Republicans today still think FDR was a blight on the land. Even the non wealthy ones who quizzically have always followed the GOP when they are getting their economic throats cut due to their push for big wealth and business.
Facebook is an example of why our need to communicate has been exploited by greed and control. Facebook is Big Brother in the worst sense as it manipulates good will into making it seem it is good will when it is really attempting mind control.
I have four Millenial kids. My oldest is anti social media period. The youngest is Instagram queen. All four use FB sparingly as do most of their friends. Boomers like me and Gen Xers are the big users. That is who needs to be reached. Judd ought to start a FB page, send out P.I. quotes with dog and cat photos and see what happens... Beat them at their game from the inside.
I like your entire comment except the part about Judd starting a FB page. To me that seems like giving in to the beast
I live subscriptions like this that give us clear, concise chunks of information that we can focus on without distraction. If I may recommend another such subscriber site on your dime Judd, it would be THE INKWELL by The Nib. It is put together by now out of work editorial cartoonists and today’s strip was about Face Book and Zuck’s evolution into Big Brother. Of course one could also include Google, Murdock, and all the other huge corporations that now seem to have most of Washington by the short and curlies. GOLIATH will be my next read for sure. It’s important to learn or re-learn our history of dealing with big money and the power players behind it.
Wonderful! Yet another Subscriber only post that really should be public.
Sometimes people say things that make me want to poke them in the eye.
Terrific article. Did you consider Teddy Roosevelt's destruction of the super-monopolies?
Excellent article!
Excellent interview! Really provocative.
I've just put a hold on the book at my local library.