Stacy Mitchell

1. The conventional explanations for food deserts—that these places are too poor or too rural to generate enough spending on groceries, or too Black to overcome racist corporate redlining—fail to grapple with a key fact: food deserts didn’t used to exist. theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…

Many media and entertainment conglomerates are looking to consolidate more power and control over what we get to watch. While regulators in Washington are obeying their commands, state attorneys general are filing lawsuits to block illegal deals. x.com/i/status/20345…

4. You can find Senator Warren's full letter here: warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press…

3. Amazon has been telling cities and schools that they can help their local businesses by buying through its platform. But Amazon doesn't disclose the size of the fees it charges these businesses — and how big of a cut of their sales it's pocketing for itself.

1. It's great to see @SenWarren pressing Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on the shady tactics Amazon is using to overcharge schools and cities for everyday supplies — including sham contracts with algorithmic-driven dynamic pricing.

"Around 70 percent of moderates ... said Democrats are “too timid” in taxing the rich, taxing corporations, and cracking down on companies that break the law. A clear majority of moderates said the party is too timid in regulating Big Tech companies." newrepublic.com/article/207435…

"Economists from MIT and the University of Chicago found that American workers in communities that were more exposed to competition from Mexican imports saw a significant shortening of their life spans after NAFTA went into effect in 1994." nytimes.com/2026/03/13/us/…

This captures my feelings about the ticketmaster settlement -- let's see how the states do. thesling.org/the-justice-de…

An Oklahoma fire department turned down $250,000 from Google because they didn't want to betray public trust as Google tries to build a data center in their community. The Rock Volunteer Fire Department fire chief got a standing ovation for speaking out against the data center.

1. A staggeringly corrupt process and a settlement generously described as a slap on the wrist. The Live Nation/Ticketmaster monopoly remains. The government's settlement with Live Nation accomplishes absolutely nothing. New from me in @TheSlingUtah

The Justice Department’s lead lawyer in the Live Nation trial, David Dahlquist, didn’t see the settlement until this morning, even though a term sheet was apparently signed last week. So the lobbyists left the DOJ’s lead litigator out of the loop. Insane.

When someone shows you who they are, believe them. Trump's Justice Department, now run by MAGA lobbyists, has settled a slam-dunk monopoly case against maybe the most hated company in America. How we got to the Ticketmaster/Live Nation settlement, and what might come next. Link below.

Three weeks ago I predicted that state AGs would need to carry on the monopoly lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster when lobbyists forced the feds to settle. That's exactly what's happening: More than two dozen state enforcers say they'll keep pushing for breakup.

Good.

Congressional trustbusting is officially mainstream again: A historic bill to break up the dominant Big Four meatpackers was introduced in the Senate yesterday with 14+ cosponsors — including everyone from Bernie Sanders to Chuck Schumer. If passed, this bill would: 1. Require the dominant meatpackers to divest plants in any cattle or beef market where the concentration of economic power exceeds specified thresholds, and to divest their assets in the chicken and pork lines of business entirely.  2. Force the Brazilian owner of JBS’s U.S. operations — which JBS acquired through graft and corruption of unprecedented scale — to divest its U.S. assets to American-headquartered and -controlled entities. 3. Empower the FTC to shape those divestitures so they strengthen competition, promote the growth of small businesses, and revitalize local food systems. 4. Provide financial support for small and midsize processors, as well as farmers and workers’ cooperatives, to buy the divested plants of the dominant incumbents. 5. Take decisive steps to free the meat and poultry supply chains of exclusionary practices — assuring those new, independent processors that they will have a fair opportunity to compete.   In short, this bill will finally release this critical industry from the grip of the Big Four robber barons. It would enable rural communities take their markets back from these entrenched middlemen who have abused their power to squeeze both ranchers and consumers — and, in the process, it would help make food more affordable for all Americans. Needless to say, all the Big Ag lobbyists are hilariously triggered.

Want to help your city and local schools stop buying from Amazon? Watch our recent webinar featuring people who successfully pushed their local governments to buy from local suppliers instead — plus practical tips for how to do it in your town. youtube.com/watch?v=zIS3fV…

The local hardware store is gone. The family-owned pharmacy is gone. The independent grocery store is gone. This is happening in towns all over Nebraska because our elected leaders work for the corporations that replaced them.

@danielahanley @clairekelloway @CapitolKVD 17/17. And join our newsletter to stay informed about new developments — including states that are passing their own Robinson-Patman laws: ilsr.org/newsletters/

16. Also follow work by @danielahanley @clairekelloway @CapitolKVD

1. Tim Muris, who held top roles at the FTC in the 1970s-80s and 2000s, has teamed up with the Competitive Enterprise Institute on a new effort to discredit and bury the Robinson-Patman Act. Muris has a record of inventing history to support his agenda. Here are a few examples.