Genocide by Corporate Oligarchy

In this week’s Gaslit Nation, Andrea and Kyiv-based journalist Terrell Starr discuss how American corporate oligarchs act like authoritarian regimes. It’s a lot like Trump, Kushner, and their real estate buddy Steve Witkoff’s plan to sell out Ukraine to Russia. Once again we’re reminding you that the war against oligarchy here at home is global. 

Amazon, one of the 37 donors who helped bankroll Trump’s illegal and unnecessary ballroom, was exposed in an investigation by Rolling Stone for possibly causing a cancer cluster near one of its data centers in Oregon, an allegation the company denies, because they know, under Kremlin-backed mass-murdering Trump, escalating a war for oil in Venezuela, they will get away with it. This is the same Jeff Bezos who celebrated in the White House with Trump, Kushner, and the Saudis who murdered Washington Post writer and Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi. Democracy doesn’t just die in darkness; it dies under cheap gold fixtures and chandeliers. We also discuss why both Trump and Putin need a war in Venezuela to distract from their corruption at home, how oligarch ownership of the press continues to hollow it out, and how much more Americans can take of this abuse and gaslighting.

And yet, amid all this lawlessness, democracy defenders around the world are fighting back. Bolsonaro’s escape plan got foiled as he faces 27 years in prison, New Yorkers joined other American cities and towns in shutting down Trump’s gestapo, and MAGA continue to be punished for voting for him–with a recent poll showing one in four Trump voters are disappointed or regret their vote.

Join us for Gaslit Nation’s bonus show out Thursday as we debate whether America is ready for a woman president–and how to stop Kushner and Ivanka from winning the MAGA succession war to install Ivanka with the help of their dictator friends. To listen and join our community of supporters, be sure to subscribe at the Truth-teller ($5/month level) or higher. Thank you to everyone who supports our independent journalism. Your support keeps us going and gives us the freedom to tell the truth. 

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Show Notes:

Article that Terrell references in the episode: ‘What’s the Big Deal?’ Ask Trump Voters on Russia Hacking Report https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/07/us/russia-hacking-election-trump-voters.html?unlocked_article_code=1.5k8.LzM3.Aqyb_HChdz9L&smid=url-share

"In his book Berlin: the Downfall 1945, Beevor described how Russian soldiers would gang rape not just German women but the starving and emaciated survivors of concentration camps and slave-labour factories." https://bsky.app/profile/andreachalupa.bsky.social/post/3m6ubnaxavk2h

“This exposé is breathtaking. Witkoff and Kushner do not just have conflicts of interest - thy are deeply woven into a web of Russian influence peddling by "investments". Money, personal ties and geopolitics have become indistinguishable.” https://bsky.app/profile/joerglau.bsky.social/post/3m6yvn5n6g22i

Rolling Stone investigation into Amazon data center in Oregon polluting water, leading to mysterious cancers and miscarriages https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/data-center-water-pollution-amazon-oregon-1235466613/

“According to the US Coast Guard, the year prior to Trump changing our policy to summary execution, only 21% of the vessels interdicted by them off the coast of Venezuela suspected of trafficking drugs had drugs on board. The other 79% had nothing. But now we just kill them all.” https://bsky.app/profile/ronfilipkowski.bsky.social/post/3m6zh6tznsk27

Make Money Not War: Trump’s Real Plan for Peace in Ukraine The Kremlin pitched the White House on peace through business. To Europe’s dismay, the president and his envoy are on board. https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/russia-u-s-peace-business-ties-4db9b290

Not A Bad Week For Ukraine Truth, Democracy and Corruption, Possible High Command Changes, Are European Gloves Coming Off? https://phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/weekend-update-161-not-a-bad-week?r=1tgexa&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true

Jared Kushner’s double life Kushner has resumed his role as a top Trump foreign policy advisor while expanding his business partnership with the Saudi government. https://popular.info/p/jared-kushners-double-life

Meet all 37 White House ballroom donors funding the $300 million build, including Silicon Valley tech giants, crypto bros and the Lutnicks https://fortune.com/2025/10/26/37-white-house-ballroom-donors-funding-300-million-build-tech-ceos-trump/

“This is what it looks like when billionaires own the media.” https://x.com/DarrigoMelanie/status/1995566687249465706

Trump Envoy Has Financial Ties With Former Adviser to Putin’s ‘Money Man’ Now Leading Kremlin Peace Talks: Steve Witkoff’s real-estate empire is bankrolled by a former adviser to Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund and a key architect of Moscow’s Ukraine negotiations https://bylinetimes.com/2025/12/01/trump-envoy-has-financial-ties-with-former-adviser-to-putins-money-man-now-leading-kremlin-peace-talks/

Dictatorship-era army officers and supporters rally in Argentina in latest sign of political shift https://apnews.com/article/argentina-military-junta-dictatorship-javier-milei-plaza-de-mayo-6122d6d7541141badaf78522efd42fd9

Layoff announcements surged last month: The worst October in 22 years https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/economy/job-layoff-announcements-challenger

 A year on from Trump’s victory, resistance is everywhere https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/nov/09/trump-resistance-is-everywhere?CMP=share_btn_url

Ivanka Trump Sat in Vladimir Putin’s Chair and Spun Around When at Kremlin, President’s Former Associate Says https://www.newsweek.com/ivanka-putin-chair-spun-kremlin-931754

Ivanka Trump Was In Contact With A Russian Who Offered A Trump-Putin Meeting: Her contact said a meeting between Trump and Putin could expedite a Trump tower in Moscow. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/anthonycormier/ivanka-trump-putin-moscow-meeting-michael-cohen-tower

Admiral Overseeing Caribbean Mission to Retire after One Year in Role https://news.usni.org/2025/10/16/admiral-overseeing-caribbean-mission-to-retire-after-one-year-in-role

“Prospera Honduras is a Zone for Employment & Economic Development (ZEDE) backed by Peter Thiel. Trump plans to pardon the former Honduran president who championed ZEDES b4 his drug trafficking conviction. Honduras current outgoing president has tried to eliminate ZEDES, an obstacle for Prospera.” https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:we7sidyj3b5or2r7trtpfzt7/post/3m6ungpja622f

Terrell Starr Substack:
https://terrellstarr.substack.com/

Andrea Chalupa (00:09):

Welcome to Gasland Nation. I am your host, Andrea Chalupa, a journalist and filmmaker and the writer and producer of the journalistic thriller, Mr. Jones, the story that Kremlin doesn't want you to see -- so be sure to watch it.

(00:23):

And this is Gaslit Nation, a show about corruption in America and rising autocracy worldwide. We are your number one news source for confronting and winning World War III, which is well underway. Today we're going to talk about how we fight Kremlin-backed oligarchy and corporate greed in the US, and how American corporations behave a lot like authoritarian dictatorships, mass murdering people like it's their right. And we are looking at you, Jeff Bezos. Today I'm joined by my dear friend Terrell Starr, a journalist from Detroit, Michigan, who is now based in Ukraine, a battleground of the global war of fascism for its democracy. As we've long warned on Gaslit Nation, Ukraine is a laboratory of Kremlin aggression.

(01:13):

It's the same disinformation, weaponized corruption, buying off politicians, engineering culture wars to divide and conquer all of those active measures. Those dark arts were carried out in Ukraine by Trump's longtime friend and neighbor, Paul Manafort, Republican operative to help bring a Kremlin candidate Viktor Yanukovych to power. And he is of course the Ukrainian Trump. Yanukovych was famous for loving gold and enriching his family at the expense of Ukrainian taxpayers. He was eventually overthrown, and there's a long list of signs that Trump should be worried, a Gaslit Nation listener on at Monday's Salon, a listener by the name of Josh, set my soul on fire with this list of exciting signs that we should all pay attention to. I'm going to just include some of them here. 16% of Trump voters regret their vote according to recent poll, Mar-a-Lago. Was Bolsonaro going to become like a lounge singer there? I want to play a clip and you decide.

Reporter (02:18):

Do you have any comment about Bolsonaro the rep, a former affiliate resident?

Donald Trump (02:21):

So I spoke last night to the gentleman you just referred to, and we're going to be meeting, I believe, in the very near future.

Reporter (02:29):

Sir, are you willing about the president being arrested today?

Donald Trump (02:33):

What?

Reporter (02:33):

Any comment about the former Brazilian president being arrested today?

Donald Trump (02:38):

No, I don't know anything about it.

Reporter (02:40):

Sir, are you hurt? Heard, Mr. President, are you willing? I didn't hear.

Donald Trump (02:44):

Is that what happened?

Reporter (02:45):

Yes. There's a citation, sir.

Donald Trump (02:46):

That's too bad.

Reporter (02:48):

Do you have any thought?

Donald Trump (02:49):

That's too bad. No, I just think it's too bad.

Andrea Chalupa (02:52):

And now, today, Tuesday, election day, Tennessee, a deep red district in Tennessee. The Tennessee 7th District faces a tight election. And I predict Aftyn Behn wins in an upset, but if not, she's got a bright future ahead of her. That race is extremely close, and that itself is a troubling sign for Trump of a blue wave. And yes, he has plans to steal the election. Yes, there's going to be deliberately engineered Republican chaos. There always is every election, but close elections are hard to steal. What do they do? They blew tsunami driven by the rage of their own beaten down, increasingly disillusioned voters. And then I want to throw into the mix, Marjorie Taylor Greene is out because she felt stiffed by Trump that she doesn't get to run for senate. Elise Stefanik is fighting with MAGA Mike Johnson over her bill to try to investigate the Democrats for investigating Trump and Russia.

(03:53):

And then Trump just hosted socialist democratic socialist darling, the wonderful Mamdani , our mayor, in the Oval Office completely fan-girling over him, which undermines his party's efforts to run successfully for governor next year. So that was really funny to see. And then obviously 200 New Yorkers here in Chinatown shut down a Trump ICE Border Patrol, Gestapo kidnapping spree. They were held frozen in place by 200 protestors who were saying, no, not in our city, built by immigrants. And New York City just won a nearly $40 million settlement against Starbucks for their abuse of workers. So there are a lot of wins. There are a lot of wins out there in this hellscape. What are your thoughts on all that, Terrell?

Terrell Starr (04:46):

There are some victories that we can celebrate in the shows that even though our democracy is hanging by a thread, there's a very strong thread and we should not lose hope. And I'm really, really looking forward to the midterms. I think where I'm hopeful that there will a revolt against MAGA, not necessarily from their supporters per se, but more of the fact that it'll bring in new people who will say that we're getting tired of this and so more people are going to come out. So that's what my hope is for. But this guy is a criminal thug and the Trump administration is functioning like a third world country. And our media would be talking about other countries like it would be referring to the Trump administration as a regime. They would be referring to Trump as a strong man, as an autocrat in their regular language, not just for the commentary, not just for the color personalities on their networks, but the mainstream media focus will be discussing him as a criminal.

(05:55):

But we are not doing so because I think too, unfortunately, the mainstream media is absolutely not prepared for this moment. And I think that's a big part of the problem. And so this is a man who continues to pardon and commute sentences of people who incite resurrections against this country. Drug traffickers. You talked about the former president of Brazil, but you just saw the recent news of the President of Honduras, right? I believe he's in president of West Virginia who's a drug trafficker. I I'm really hopeful that there are some victory. I am hopeful that these victories that you just spelled out are a sign that next year, at least the House or the Senate, one of those two chambers is going to change because we need some type of political bulwark against Trump's authoritarian rule

Andrea Chalupa (06:52):

Without question. And I think as I've been saying a long time on the show, reality is going to radicalize people. And in terms of the media in crisis, people have to understand mass layoffs across the board. MS Now formerly known as MSNBC is getting hollowed out for a sale. And then on top of that, if you look at the 37 people and corporations that threw money at Trump's unnecessary $300 million ballroom at the White House, it includes groups like Comcast, companies like Comcast, which owns NBC. And of course you have meda, Meta whatever, Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, which is the juggernaut of social media that's brain rotting all of your family members into repeating disinformation that only hurts them. So they continue to vote against their own interests and Microsoft and Google, Amazon and Apple. So our entire social media and giants in mainstream media are pumping money into Trump's White House on top of good journalists being laid off at these media companies across the board. So there's a massive media crisis in America right now, which is why there's this capitulation to Trump and why no one is covering him like the career criminal that he is on a crime spree

Terrell Starr (08:29):

Access. That's really what it comes down to. So we both worked as a journalist for newsrooms at some points of our lives. And one of the things that comes with this job is even though you're reporting, you may be reporting critically on some people, if you decide to just go completely in, there's a sacrifice with that. And we get a lot of our news, the news that we need to hear based on journalists relationships with people. I just think that a lot of these journalists, pretty much white men, white privileged men, and some white privileged women, I genuinely believe that when they are looking at Trump, they look at people in their own families. This man is a complete rogue. And so if you are to say that, it would be suggested that you are, we are being biased or that is color commentary. But everything that this man is doing is rogue. Pete Hegseth committed a war crime. And I dunno if the word war crime fits what's happening with Venezuela because it's an actual war, but it's definitely a crime. We not only have to have a political revolution in our own thinking about how our country is going, but we need to have a revolution in regards to what we expect from our media and what they beat us. Because right now, at the very, very least what they're doing, they're pretty much like those people who do the entertainment with the bulls where they have...

Andrea Chalupa (10:09):

The Matadors.

Terrell Starr (10:10):

Yeah, Matador. They're essentially matadors. And so the guys just charging and just, okay, come on through. You can just come along the do as you want. In many instances, you see stronger media reactions to corruption that's happening in Ukraine or people's displeasure in Ukraine. You see a lot more vigorous reactions from their journalists about their democracy than ours. And that I'll close off by saying that Americans writ large do not appreciate how fragile our democracy is and what we have. And in Ukraine, I see far more people having a greater appreciation for democracy than what most Americans have as what we're seeing right now.

Andrea Chalupa (10:57):

So obviously, yes. I want to touch on what you said about Venezuela. British intelligence, they have declined to continue sharing intelligence with America when it comes to activities in the Caribbean because they don't want to be complicit in war crimes. That is a major red flag. And there was a Navy leader, he resigned because he knew where this was headed.

Terrell Starr (11:24):

Alvin Hosey, Admiral Alvin Hosey,

Andrea Chalupa (11:27):

Alvin Hosey, a black man saw the writing on the wall. He's like, I'm out. I don't want to be a part of this. I don't want to be an accessory to murder. I'm out. Here's my resignation. Very smart. Because now the Pentagon under Pete Hegseth, Karoline Leavitt, Trump, they're throwing some other no name in the military under the bus for being the one pulling the trigger bombing all of these innocent people, mass murdering with our tax dollars, committing war crimes, destroying America, standing in the world even further, because we look like mass murdering lunatics. These could be fishing boats for all we know. I'll link in the show notes to data saying how the drug surge the drug boats coming out of Venezuela or something like 17% of all boats. And here you have the US military under crackhead, Ken Hegseth, drunken Hegseth and Trump serial rapist, Trump trust fund, kid corrupt six times bankrupt trust fund, failed trust fund kid Trump mass murdering out there.

(12:34):

It's mass murder. And they're doing it because they're insecure little men who feel a surge of power killing and destroying because they have nothing else to offer the world. They have nothing else to offer the world. These are broken men who have failed upward because of the system that we have in the US that rewards corruption and a certain sort of behaving above the law and getting away with it. If you're white and you're male in America, that is what we have. And so I want to point out, so what's going to happen in Venezuela? Is it going to be a war to distract from all the things that I listed at the top of the show, like Trump, sagging approval numbers, the cost of living crisis in America, especially for his own voters and those independents that anyone needs to win the White House.

(13:18):

He very much could get a war in Venezuela. And guess what? Putin could use a war in Venezuela because we're about to go into what's happening with the Russians. They're losing that war in Ukraine. They are throwing a war chest and they're grabbing bodies from every corner of the planet where they can get bodies into their meat grinder that's barely moved an inch since last spring. And they don't really have much to show for it. They think they're going to, now Putin is declaring he's going to go to war with Europe. You can't even conquer Ukraine.

Terrell Starr (13:50):

Yeah, I want to touch on that. Yeah, because here's the thing with Donbas, what Putin wants is he wants the Ukrainian to completely withdraw from Western Donbas. Cremator slow beyond the most fortified parts of this front. It would take years for the Russians to seriously compete for it. And so they just want the Ukrainians to just leave. Okay, first of all, no one in Ukraine wants that. And so yes, they have to scratch and scrape from across the world in order to get men because they can't tap into their urban centers. If they do that, then Russians will revolt. And it's not because they care about these two conflicts across the world, Pakistan and India. Okay? I shouldn't be surprised by the fact that his constituency is hardcore base is okay with it.

Andrea Chalupa (14:38):

Trump proof and Putin proof American democracy, not he had a Washington Post writer, Jamal Khashoggi murdered. So that son-in-law, of course is Jared Kushner. He is on his way to Moscow along with Trump's real estate buddy, Steve Witkoff, to meet with Putin about a revised plan to end Russia's genocidal invasion of Ukraine. And as they're headed to Russia, Putin is foaming out the mouth threatening war against Europe saying, we're declaring war on Europe. When you're listening to the clip, I'm about to play of Witkoff on Tucker Carlson's show. Keep this in mind, the essential, the Byline Times a wonderful outlet that does some heavy hitting investigation into the Kremlin's overarching war against all of us, especially their financial crimes and how they weaponize corruption and buy off politicians wherever you live. So the Byline Times reports that Steve Witkoff's real estate Empire is bankrolled by a former advisor to Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia's sovereign Wealth Fund, and a key architect of Moscow's Ukraine negotiations. So if you read this article, Witkoff's financial ties with Russians closely linked to the Kremlin, go deep. They go deep. And this is the man who Trump put in charge of his foreign policy, especially selling Ukraine out to Russia. Now, here's a clip of Witkoff and Tucker Carlson's show.

Tucker Carlson (16:15):

What did you think of him?

Steve Witkoff (16:16):

I liked him. Yep. I thought he was straight up with me. Of course, by the way, I've said that. And you can imagine, by the way I say that, I get pilloried. Oh my gosh. You're actually saying it's a word called communication, which many people would say I shouldn't have had because Putin is a bad guy. I don't regard Putin as a bad guy. That is a complicated situation, that war and all the ingredients that led up to it. It's never just one person. So I think we're going to figure it out.

Andrea Chalupa (16:50):

Now. Here's where we are right now with the war and why the Russians are desperate for some sort of end insight over 1.1 million Russian casualties in Putin's disastrous invasion of Ukraine. Remember, they claim that they would take Kyiv in three days. Putin's invasion has been stalled since last spring. The Russians are still only 40 miles outside Donetsk in the east where they were four years ago. The most the Russians are doing basically with this genocidal invasion is terrorizing civilians, lobbying missiles at children, hospitals and kindergartens. So here comes Ivanka Trump's husband, Jared Kushner and their family friend Steve Witkoff, a real estate guy to Putin's rescue.

Terrell Starr (17:42):

Yeah, I'll tell you, Steve Witkoff and Kushner, I saw a photo of Rubio, Witkoff and Kushner sitting together. And the first thing I thought, what is, I know what Jared Kushner is doing here. I know why he's there, but just the insanity that this man is at the table discussing war, discussing a very consequential negotiation of peace. What does Jared Kushner know about Ukraine and foreign policy? Period? The same thing that he knew about the Middle East. Nothing, right?

Andrea Chalupa (18:25):

He knows that his wife sat in Putin's chair on her lalaland visit to Moscow when the Trumps were trying to solidify some business deals including Trump Tower, Moscow. And I also want to point out, Jared Kushner even said on the record that he was going to stay out of Trump's second term, that he was going to remain a private investor and not engage in foreign policy like he did before in the first term, just to enrich himself. Continue.

Terrell Starr (18:57):

So that doesn't surprise me. And the Wall Street Journal published a very long, extensive article several days ago outlining the true intentions that we knew all along, which was they wanted to submit business deals. And so this has nothing to do with bringing peace between Russia and Ukraine. This is about cementing their financial interests. And so they have turned the White House into a kleptocracy just like they did in the first term, but they know how to do it better now, and they're more efficient with it. And so these news reports and that clip that you played with Tucker Carlson and Witkoff, it sounds like a man who's capitulating to his boss. He's owned, and he's bought and paid for. That's what it sounds like. He sounds like he's going on American media doing the PR work for the Kremlin, because that's essentially how he functions.

(19:56):

These people are sellouts, they're turn coats and what they're doing. If it's not illegal, it should be. But at the end of the day, the vast majority of the American people, and I want to go back to this, the vast majority I would say, of the American electorate, I would say the ones that voted in 2024, they don't care. And so what does that say about us if they could be bought, if the Trumpers title of this article in the Times was called, What's the Big Deal? All of the listeners, please Google New York Times. What's the big deal? Russia, Hillary Clinton, you'll find this article at the end of the article. The kicker says it all. It was brilliantly written piece for as simple a article as it was at the end. There is some guy from Louisiana at the end that said, you know what? Who cares if Russia interfere so long as it helped to defeat Hillary Clinton?

(21:04):

I'm fine with it. And that, and ladies and gentlemen, Gaslit Nation listeners, that describes a huge chunk of the American electorate. So it doesn't even matter at this point if it's Russia. We care about Russia because it's invading and colonizing and committing genocidal acts against Ukraine, the country that both me and Andrea love. But it also shows that anybody can buy the most powerful country in the world. And besides money, if you add a little flattery to it, then that sinks the deal. So this relationship between Whit and the Kushners and Trump and Russia says a whole lot more about half of the American voting electorate than it says about Russia in my view.

Andrea Chalupa (22:08):

There is a massive equal opportunity ignorance over Russia that got us here without question. And I'm going to link to that article. What's the big deal that you mentioned? The New York Times with that Louisiana Trump voter going, thank you Russia. Thank you Russia for helping Trump. I want to just tell the American people across the political spectrum, this is what is at stake when it comes up to when it comes to the Russians. Anthony Beaver is considered the world leading historian on Russian military tactics, and he has this damning interview in the telegraph that if you are a minister of defense of any democratic nation, you should take this interview and frame it in your office, especially this line. I'm going to read from it now and I'll link to this interview in the show notes. In his book, Berlin, the downfall, 1945, beaver described how Russian soldiers would gang rape not just German women, but the starving and emaciated survivors of concentration camps and slave labor factories.

(23:31):

And he goes on to describe that Russian cruelty is systemic. That cruelty has led to high suicide rates including by Russian soldiers who enter the military and are massively abused and civilians under Russian occupation. And so when Russia is saying, we're going to invade Europe, they mean it. And you might think, but they're failing. They're slipping on banana peels of their own making in Ukraine. How could they possibly think they're going to invade Europe? Because that is how they see themselves. That is their understanding of themselves, and they are a failed state that needs these external enemies in order to distract. And MAGA is very much the same way. And so I want everybody to wake up, especially on the left, because we here at home, we have to fight and we have to win against the corporate greed that is openly killing us and justifying our mass murder and poisoning.

(24:33):

But at the same time, we have to keep our eye on their allies. The Russians who bring corrupt politicians like Trump to power -- so that everyone can be lawless, all the elite, all the oligarchy can be lawless and escape any accountability. And again, as the saying goes in Ukraine that I heard when I lived there back in 2005, treat us the people like the shit they grow their money in. So think of the struggle that we're up against as the people here in America as Game of Thrones, while we're busy fighting the oligarch owned disinformation and the mainstream media, the capitulation of the mainstream media fighting Bezos and Tim Cook's Apple and all the money they're giving Trump and Cosing up to that corrupt, lawless family. We also have to think of the white walkers and winter is coming. That's the Russians. They're going to come for us relentlessly because they have nothing else going on over there.

(25:31):

So we have to accept that fact. It's not just that I'm Ukrainian and that Terrell's an honorary Ukrainian, this is the reality that we find ourselves in and we have to fight now like the world famous Ukrainian civil society where we're fighting two wars at the same time. Kremlin invasion, including through corruption and homegrown corruption. And we can do it. We can do both battles. And I want to get Terrell's thoughts on this because for the decades I've studied authoritarianism, when I watch Unleashed corporate greed in America, gleeful under Trump, it reminds me a lot of how authoritarianism operates. Look at Jeff Bezos, owner of Amazon and the Washington Post, one of the richest men in the world. He joined Trump and Kushner's dinner in the White House paid for with our tax dollars, celebrating the Saudis who had Washington post writer and Saudi dissident, Jamal Khashoggi murdered, and there's the owner of the Washington Post dining with them celebrating a murderous regime to show you what happened to the newspaper that broke Watergate.

(26:40):

The Washington Post just published a story with a straight faced headline, Why You May Not Want to Lower Prices as Much as You Think You Do. That's a real headline in the Washington Post. Why you may not want to lower prices as much as you think you do. That is like saying, Hey, why don't you just retire later? Why don't you just work for minimum wage while collecting food stamps? Which is basically what Walmart workers do, which is a form of corporate welfare. We're subsidizing their own workers. That's the tax payers. Instead of forcing the owners of Walmart to pay more in taxes.

Terrell Starr (27:17):

Ben Shapiro wants that. Ben Shapiro thinks we should be working until we're 75 80. Yeah.

Andrea Chalupa (27:23):

I was walking through Times Square the other night and there was Ben Shapiro full length. Do you know how much money you have to have to get a Times Square billboard of yourself? So yeah, Ben Shapiro is like Scrooge McDuck of money. He can say to the rest of us, you keep working until you die. But that's inhumane. So I want to point out this story. I'll link to it. Rolling Stone uncovered that Amazon is also being investigated by independent investigators for a Amazon data center in Oregon that's contributing to a spike of mysterious cancers and miscarriages. Amazon denies this. Of course, when you look at how giant corporations buy corrupt politicians like Trump by funneling money into his inauguration, his $300 million ballroom at the White House, they poison and kill Americans like they expect to get away with it, and they gaslight us with propaganda. This is not different from how authoritarianism works. It's genocide by corporate greed.

Terrell Starr (28:25):

I want to touch on the point about Amazon and Bezos. So a term we don't use enough here in the United States when describing the very nature of politics and money is that it's a oligarchy, but you don't hear media regularly comfortably describing Bezos as an oligarch. Our media refers to people in other countries that quote unquote third world countries or places like Ukraine as having oligarchs, but we don't call Jeff Bezos an oligarch or Elon Musk, an oligarch or Zuckerberg and oligarch, but they are. And the reason why our media is compromised is that they're all in bed with each other. And so I bring that up to say that we're really no, we are not as advanced a democracy as people fragile.

(29:44):

And so this idea that Bezos would be in a White House and sit along with the men and women who are responsible for killing a journalist while ironically running one of the most powerful media outlets in the world, should come as no surprise because Jeff Bezos didn't buy the Washington Post because he cares about journalism. He bought the Washington Post because he cares about power. Article with the headline that you read about. You don't really want prices to go up again. It's not surprised because like Shapiro, rising prices and food and costs a living don't impact him them. Anytime you ask me these questions, Andrea, I always go back to the American people. How much are we going to take? I think ultimately that's what matters. When I was in Ukraine this summer and when those protests erupted because Zelinsky moved to close the anti-corruption agencies and the people revolted.

(30:44):

Now mind you, we have a history of racism and discrimination, black and white and Latino, et cetera, that makes us a less homogenous, cohesive society then let's say Ukraine. But what it shows is that Americans are taking this, all this stuff happened in the first term. They just are much more efficient with this in the second term. They know how to corral the oligarchs. They know how to will and deal and put up an infrastructure that will survive Trump as a society, regardless of what your political allegiances are. We don't agree that what's happening right now with this kleptocratic oligarchy will not stand. And so until that happens, 2026, 2028, even if a Democrat wins going to run through the same thing again, and you're going to laugh at this. This is an inside joke. America is sick.

Andrea Chalupa (31:51):

Yeah, you decide listeners. Is America Sick Society? Call in 1-800 Gaslit Nation. Terrell and I had the most amazing Thanksgiving dinner where things got heated with my relatives like they always do. I was in the kitchen cleaning up after everyone because I was the slave of Thanksgiving. This year. This a misogynistic holiday that I want to burn to the ground. I'm boycotting Thanksgiving for the rest of my life. I will not allow my two little girls to grow up in Trump's America watching their mom making Thanksgiving dinner while the men watch football. I'm going to burn things down. I'm going toburn things down.

(32:36):

Our discussion continues, and you can get access to that by signing up at the Truth Teller level or higher on Patreon. Discounted annual memberships are available, and you can give the gift of membership. Get bonus shows, invites to exclusive events, all our shows at Free and more@patreon.com slash That's patreon.com/gaslit.

(33:02):

Thank you to everyone who supports the show to help Ukraine with urgently needed humanitarian aid. Join me in donating to Razomfor ukraine@romforukraine.org to support refugees in conflict zones. Donate to Doctors Without borders@doctorswithoutborders.org and to protect critically endangered orangutans already under pressure from the palm oil industry. Donate to the Orangutan project@theorangutanproject.org and check your products for palm oil because it's everywhere.

(33:33):

Gaslit Nation is produced by Andrea Chalupa. Our associate producer is Karlyn Daigle. Our founding production manager is Nicholas Torres. If you like what we do, please leave us a review on iTunes. It helps us reach more listeners. Original music and Gaslit Nation is produced by David Whitehead, Martin Berg, Nick Barr, Damien Arga, and Carlin dle. Our logo design was generously donated by Hamish Smyth of the New York based firm order. Thank you so much, Hamish.

(34:02):

Gaslit Nation would like to thank our supporters at the producer level on Patreon and hire Janz Stri Rasmussen, Katie Ur Ann Bertino, David East Dawn Ter, Debra Ship, Diana Gallagher, DL Sinfield Ice Bear is Defiant. James D. Leonard, Jared Lombardo, Joe Darcy, Kevin Gannon, Kristen Custer, Larry Gusan, Leah Campbell, Leo Chalupa, Lily Wachowski, Marcus j Trent. Mark. Mark, Nicole, spear, Randall Brewer, Sherry Escobar, Todd, Dan, Milo, and Cubby Work for Better Prep for Trouble. Ruth and Harnish and Tanya Chalupa, thank you all so much for your support of the show. We could not make Gaslit Nation without you.