Six Easy Things You Can Do Today to Drain the Trump Swamp

Notice how Trump hasn't said anything about "draining the swamp" lately? He claimed to be a champion for the little guy against government corruption. We now know that he is the spearhead for the corruption. He was on the verge of going bust, but thanks to YOUR tax dollars, he's flush. Not only that, but his family is vacuuming up lucrative deals and every time his ICE Gestapo gets sued, we pay in lives, lawyer fees, and settlements.

And don't you worry - it won't end when he dies. Both lawmakers and corporations have seen how much money they can leech out of consumer wallets.

But let's get to the point here. There are EASY things we can do to smack these evildoers right where they are the most tender - in their budgets. The same place where they've been hitting us. 

Here's a list:

1) UNSUBSCRIBE FROM SERVICES CREATED BY BIG TECH COMPANIES LIKE CHATGPT, AMAZON, GOOGLE, MICROSOFT, FACEBOOK, AND APPLE

Do you remember how fast ABC/Disney changed their tune when people protested the Jimmy Kimmel Live shutdown? They didn't do it by picketing or signing a giant online petition. It wasn't a boycott of Disneyworld. Nope.

The shutdown lasted a mere FIVE days because people quit Disney+ hard and fast. Wikipedia: "Due to the high volume of customers cancelling their subscriptions to Disney+ and Hulu in protest, the cancellation pages of both streaming services crashed multiple times in the days following the suspension."

Boycotts are slow. Trashing the cash flow of subscription services in a turbulent market? That gets attention. Services like ChatGPT, Amazon Prime, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and Apple+.

We know some of the names in that list are making you wince. "How can I live without my shows? What about my free delivery?"

Don't sweat it! Do what you can. Keep what you simply cannot live without. Or quit now and resubscribe when you have to. But all of the companies listed above have given millions of dollars to Trumpian madness, and they've made it clear they have no loyalty to the American consumer. So it's time to show them we noticed. For more info, see Prof. Scott Galloway's Resist and Unsubscribe and our blog on alternatives.

Does this have an effect? You bet it does. This isn't a boycott; this is taking money actively out of Trumper pockets. Not only does this hurt their spending power, but it destroys their leverage to borrow money for expansion. You know what all of these companies are doing right now? Buying expensive AI servers like there's no tomorrow.

We know Amazon Prime is addictive for many consumers. A few quick points about breaking this cycle.
  • A lot of other good (or less evil) retailers offer free delivery. Costco is a great example and they are actually worker-friendly and support sustainable wages, unlike Amazon. Target delivers for free if you have one of their free credit cards.
  • Buying local keeps your neighbors employed and prevents the devastating effects of monopolies. We can't mourn the death of small, high-service businesses and do all our buying on Amazon.
  • Is it really free delivery? $140 per year is $12 per month. Do you order enough online to spend $12 a month or $140 a year on delivery fees?
  • Amazon isn't always cheaper. Shop around the next time you are on there. We'd put it at 50% of the time, and a lot of those savings are created by Amazon squeezing the life out of small businesses who have no choice but sacrifice margins for visibility.
  • Let's be honest, a lot of Amazon Prime products are overpriced generic crap. Have you seen some of the Temu-esque brands on Amazon? Telimocy? OPOIRA? Hidalife? MGTGBAO?!? And how is the quality/durability of these products for you? Clearly bottom-of-the-barrel imports.

2) LIKE OUR NEGATIVE REVIEWS OF TRUMP ENABLERS!

Got 15 seconds? You can make an impact. Just like our reviews of these sleazeballs. Believe me, it's a huge help. And when people think about using these companies, they'll be more likely to see the review.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/vEAW8U75PiGkzyYZ7
https://maps.app.goo.gl/EyoouYLtSEpu6evc7
https://maps.app.goo.gl/4Yd56fovGPUePR439
https://maps.app.goo.gl/HnYajGPbm9QNTKGk6

3) WRITE A NEGATIVE REVIEW ABOUT A TRUMP ENABLER OR ICE CONTRACTOR

People deserve to know if the company they're thinking of hiring is a Trump supporter or enabler. 

But not all of us are flying corporate jets to fancy destinations. So we can't boycott those companies. You know who's making millions flying deported ICE detainees to not-so-fancy destinations, getting illegal tax breaks from the White House, and polluting our waterways? Big corporations.

Petitions and boycotts are nice, but to impact these corporate thieves, we must use our consumer voices. Where? Google Maps, Apple Maps, Yelp, Trustpilot, LinkedIn, Wikipedia, Facebook, Reddit, and other similar sites. Who? See #1. Or #2. Or see the links below. Or Google for any hotels near you that are servicing ICE. 

CONSUMER REVIEW SITES: Where people go to find good non-fascist businesses. Yelp, BBB.org, Trustpilot, Capterra.
MAP SITES: Where people go to find non-fascist businesses near them. Google Maps, Apple Maps, etc.
BUSINESS NETWORKING: Where people go to find jobs for non-fascist employers or connect with non-fascist colleagues. On LinkedIn, companies do an often-comical job of trying to look clean, green, and employee-friendly.
GENERAL INFORMATION: Facts instead of lies? What a crazy thought. Wikipedia, Reddit. Did you know ANYONE can make a wikipedia account and change the information there?
SOCIAL NETWORKING: Where people go to connect with non-fascist friends and businesses. Facebook.
INVESTING: Where people go to share info on non-fascist investing options. StockTwits.

It's easy and free. This is your voice as an American citizen, and one of the few places where we can share our opinions openly without being moderated. We DO recommend, though, that you stay polite and base it in your personal experience. Make a custom account if you want to keep it separate. 

Example: "I've always liked the hospitality at x, but I was DEEPLY disappointed when they fired a guy for turning away a group of ICE agents who would've been disruptive for other guests. Clearly they would rather curry favor with politicians than serve the American public."

We make sure the enablers are REALLY complicit using sources like established newspapers and Opensecrets.org https://www.opensecrets.org/2024-presidential-race/donald-trump/contributors?id=N00023864
https://www.newsweek.com/american-businesses-supporting-donating-donald-trump-list-2027957 . Don't believe social media, which is often wrong.

Let's follow the money... and call out the manipulators and deceivers. 

And when you do, post on our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/593559503115027 or send it to us on Signal at footstrong.17 ! We'd love to celebrate your successes with you AND like and support your reviews.

Here are a few of our successes:



4) PUT PRESSURE ON CORPORATIONS TO DO THE RIGHT THING

Okay just read this short message from the Alt National Parks Service:

Pressuring politicians isn't the most effective. Pressuring businesses - especially through social media, which has made them much more visible - gets results. In this particular case, defending the Forest Service, ANPS pressured camping-related businesses like REI and Patagonia. "Are you with us or against us?"

If your situation isn't parks-related, find the corporations who are related to your issue. Message other like-minded folks about it so you can apply the most possible pressure. Who are the related businesses? Where can you find like-minded folks? That information is just a quick Google search away.

5) WRITE A LETTER TO THE DC BAR ABOUT CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN ROBERTS

You know who's been very good to the current presidential regime? The Supreme Court's Justice John Roberts. You know who's been very bad to you and your rights? Yep, same guy.

For 16 years, Roberts covered up the millions of dollars his wife was earning from law firms appearing before the Supreme Court. And as you might expect, the oversight and ethical safeguards against this kind of grift are toothless and disused. The full story is brilliantly documented at the Existentialist Republic.

But there is a lever YOU as a citizen can pull. Simply send a letter to the DC Bar Office of Disciplinary Counsel. Citizen outrage has value. When eyes are watching, thieves get wary. When scandal looms, change happens.

Feeling lazy? Do it online right here. Choose the FILE A COMPLAINT option; the lawyer you are reporting is of course Roberts. (Roberts' address can be entered as 1 First St NE, Washington, DC 20543, phone 202-479-3000.) And here's a simple form letter you can customize to your taste:

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has consciously failed to meet the ethical standards of the DC Bar by falsifying 16 years of federal financial disclosure forms to hide his household's conflicts of interest and failing to recuse from 500+ cases where litigants were paying his wife millions of dollars in commissions. All of this was in violation of the DC Rule of Professional Conduct 8.4(c).

6) FIND AND ALERT YOUR NEIGHBORS ABOUT NEARBY ICE FACILITIES

Do you live near one of the Evil Empire's "Alligator Auschwitz" human storage units? Maybe one of their ICE thug spawn points? You probably do. And even if you don't... if you want to make a SERIOUS impact... just look at the map and message the local businesses, HOAs, and community groups about what's in their backyard. It's very easy to print a short message on a bunch of address labels: "WARNING! This isn't a safe area because there's an ICE facility at 100 Maple Street." Or go online and contact them that way.

These things are sprinkled all across our great country, eating your tax money, shattering families, killing citizens, and generating lawsuits against the government we all fund. Here's a map from the Freedom for Immigrants non-profit although you might want to look for even more sources. Don't miss the ICE FIELD OFFICES checkbox on the map.

These locations don't happen by accident. Someone in the community allows it. Who? If you want to make a difference - exposing those people is a huge difference-maker. And the message "You live/work near an ICE facility" is one that gets immediate attention.

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