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Even before Green New Deal, advocates were getting minimal energy industry support

Opponents of the Green New Deal have on average received 24 times more campaign cash from big oil and gas interests than sponsors of the proposal, which aims to slow the American contribution to climate change by remaking the domestic economy and launching an enormous federal public works effort.

An analysis for Fast Company by MapLight, which researches the consequences of the current campaign finance system, found the 90 Democratic sponsors of a non-binding House measure sketching out the idea have received just $37,175 in campaign donations – an average of $413 each – from the 10 largest publicly traded U.S. oil and gas companies since 2017. Meanwhile, the 344 other members cumulatively received 91 times more money. Those 197 Republicans and 145 Democrats took almost $3.4 million from the energy companies, an average of $9,876 per lawmaker.


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The Beautiful Game’s Betrayal

A vibrant soccer ball rests on a lush green field inside an empty stadium, capturing the essence of sports.

The Beautiful Game’s Betrayal

The City of Angels has a year that some might want to forget. A fiery beginning followed by an unjust summer led those who lived in Los Angeles to a mindset of fear and vulnerability.

Even more so, a majority of the city’s sports teams turned their back on the people when they needed them most. Within Carson, Calif., the Major League Soccer side, the Los Angeles Galaxy, just ended their 2024 campaign with a championship. After such a momentous year, the following a turn for the worse. A 2025 season filled with disappointment and an absence of winning was only further tainted by the club’s choice of silence when ICE and federal took to the streets of Los Angeles.

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What Really Guides Lawmakers’ Decisions on Capitol Hill
us a flag on white concrete building

What Really Guides Lawmakers’ Decisions on Capitol Hill

The following article is excerpted from "Citizen’s Handbook for Influencing Elected Officials."

Despite the efforts of high school social studies teachers, parents, journalists, and political scientists, the workings of our government remain a mystery to most Americans. Caricatures, misconceptions, and stereotypes dominate citizens’ views of Congress, contributing to our reluctance to engage in our democracy. In reality, the system works pretty much as we were taught in third grade. Congress is far more like Schoolhouse Rock than House of Cards. When all the details are burned away, legislators generally follow three voices when making a decision. One member of Congress called these voices the “Three H’s”: Heart, Head, and Health—meaning political health.

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Trump isn’t interested in being honorable — he’d rather be feared

President Donald Trump speaks to the media aboard Air Force One en route to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 4, 2026.

(Joe Raedle/Getty Images/TNS)

Trump isn’t interested in being honorable — he’d rather be feared

A decade ago, a famous and successful investor told me that “integrity lowers the cost of capital.” We were talking about Donald Trump at the time, and this Wall Street wizard was explaining why then-candidate Trump had so much trouble borrowing money from domestic capital markets. His point was that the people who knew Trump best had been screwed, cheated or misled by him so many times, they didn’t think he was a good credit risk. If you’re honest and straightforward in business, my friend explained, you earn trust and that trust has real value.

I think about that point often. But never more so than in the last few weeks.

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Why Unlocking Venezuelan Oil Won’t Mean Much for US Energy Prices

A sculpture of a hand holding an oil rig stands outside the headquarters of Venezuela’s national oil company.

Why Unlocking Venezuelan Oil Won’t Mean Much for US Energy Prices

In the wake of U.S. forces’ arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, U.S. President Donald Trump has said the U.S. is taking over Venezuelan oil production.

In addition, the U.S. has blockaded Venezuelan oil exports for a few weeks and seized tankers that reportedly escaped from the blockade.

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