Alex Kotch Profile picture
Co-founder and executive director of the OptOut Media Foundation (@optoutnews). Elevating independent media. Investigative reporter, PhD, musician, NC native.
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Aug 31, 2018 4 tweets 2 min read
So it appears that Manafort's associate illegally used a "straw purchaser" to buy $50k worth of Trump inauguration tickets for at least 2, probably 3, pro-Russia Ukrainians. ok, so one Russian in fact.
Aug 31, 2018 4 tweets 4 min read
NEW at @readsludge: Dem @SenatorCarper is sponsoring bills to help w/ the opioid epidemic, but he's received campaign donations from the very companies his state is suing over their role in the crisis. readsludge.com/2018/08/31/vow… @readsludge @SenatorCarper Carper's opponent @KerriHarrisDE tells me Carper should return these donations.

Harris, working w/ @popdemoc, helped @SenWarren write the CARE Act, which would massively fund addiction treatment. Harris tells me opioid epidemic should be treated as public health crisis.
Aug 15, 2018 4 tweets 2 min read
Here's another @Ocasio2018-endorsed progressive who won who, like Rashida Tlaib, doesn't fit into the widespread media narrative that AOC's favored candidates are all losing & socialism is dead, so don't expect many outlets to acknowledge this. @Ocasio2018 So here ya go:
Aug 15, 2018 5 tweets 2 min read
Important race in Minnesota to watch. @IlhanMN off to a good start. @IlhanMN Big update already
Aug 14, 2018 6 tweets 2 min read
Aug 13, 2018 4 tweets 2 min read
Yes! Great news about 9th St. in Park Slope, Brooklyn, where the city is installing *protected* bike lanes on both sides.

Now, do this on EVERY STREET. Someone shouldn't have to die on each street for the city to make that particular street more safe. brooklynpaper.com/stories/41/33/… —The protected lanes are only protected if there are physical barriers between cars & bike lanes, so let's hope they do this.

—Look at how absurd the "existing" arrangement is. Cyclists have to bike with cars swerving through our lane in order to park.

—h/t @sydneyp1234
Aug 10, 2018 5 tweets 3 min read
.@1a Sorry to be the Male Whom Corrects Things but this really does need correction: A guest just now called @RashidaTlaib a "moderate progressive" & said all candidates endorsed by @Ocasio2018 lost on Tues.

Tlaib is a @DemSocialists member & endorsed by AOC & @OurRevolution. @1a @RashidaTlaib @Ocasio2018 @DemSocialists @OurRevolution And another congressional candidate endorsed by AOC and Bernie Sanders also won on Tues.
Aug 3, 2018 5 tweets 5 min read
Please read my latest at @readsludge: Some shady money is playing a role in the Democratic primary for governor in Michigan, which takes place on Tuesday and features a Blue Cross Blue Shield-aligned frontrunner. readsludge.com/2018/08/03/sha… @readsludge .@AbdulElSayed's campaign tells me, “[Whitmer’s] outside group, Build a Better Michigan, is nothing but a shell for dark money PACs, unlimited money from corporate CEOs, and corporations like Blue Cross Blue Shield who have interest in a Whitmer-led Michigan."
Aug 3, 2018 4 tweets 2 min read
Gillibrand endorses the establishment favorite in the Michigan Democratic primary for governor. Whitmer's father is former CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, and the company held her biggest fundraiser of the campaign for her on March 7. This is especially odd, seeing as Whitmer doesn't endorse Medicare for All but Gillibrand is a cosponsor of the Senate's Medicare for All bill. @AbdulElSayed, however, has his own M4A plan, MichCare. michcare-abdulformichigan.com
Jul 31, 2018 4 tweets 4 min read
NEW at @tytinvestigates: I mapped out the numerous rightwing, GOP megadonors who have funded the career of conservative star Ben Shapiro. It's not just Daily Wire funders: tytnetwork.com/2018/07/31/ben… @tytinvestigates Explore this interactive @twittlesis map here: littlesis.org/maps/3266-ben-…
Jul 31, 2018 5 tweets 3 min read
NEW at @readsludge: Recently Republican-aligned Democrats in the N.Y. State Senate are relying on big corporate campaign donations while their progressive challengers take in thousands of small, individual donations. readsludge.com/2018/07/31/bre… @readsludge .@SRachelMay tells me, "We have no interest in taking money from groups that fund the same old politics-as-usual in Albany. We are not accepting money from LLCs or corporate PACs.” readsludge.com/2018/07/31/bre…
Jul 30, 2018 6 tweets 1 min read
When a trade war hurts Koch Industries' bottom line, he'll "work with Dems."

When immigration restrictions hurt Koch Industries' bottom line, he'll "work with Dems."

Otherwise, Koch is 100% GOP. He can't wish that away. The Kochs & their political network are responsible for installing tons and tons of Republican state and federal lawmakers. The latter have let Trump do whatever he wants, haven't held him accountable in any way, & refuse to subpoena his tax returns.
Jul 25, 2018 4 tweets 2 min read
Woah! How could I be so stupid to miss a GAME SHOW (with pizza!) hosted by Benny Johnson at the TPUSA high school summit? tpusa.com/hslsagenda But seriously, check out today's lineup. They'd make a hell of a cast for a One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Next remake.
Jul 25, 2018 4 tweets 2 min read
lmao holy shit Given the integrity of the Freedom Caucus (for example, Jim Jordan, whom a bunch of college wrestlers allege ignored rampant sexual harassment from the team doctor), I'm sure this is all in good faith.
Jul 22, 2018 4 tweets 2 min read
Amazing: Neo-Confederate hate group launches Russian language section of its website. “As fellow Whites of northern European extraction, we come from the same general gene pool.” al.com/news/index.ssf… Trump, like Putin, is obsessed with nationalism. When Putin came to power he reverted to the Soviet national anthem (and had new lyrics written) and the pre-revolutionary flag. And you know the garbage Trump has been selling about our anthem and flag. cnn.com/2000/WORLD/eur…
Jul 18, 2018 4 tweets 1 min read
Hello John Roberts of Fox News—whom I can't tag because he blocked me when I criticized him for saying nothing when Trump refused to answer a CNN reporter's question & moved on to him—this is how you treat your fellow journalists. Amazing. The guy disrespects a CNN reporter, and the entire field of journalism, by saying nothing when Trump treats the reporter like trash, and then he blocks me after one critical tweet lol. @jonrobertsFOX
Jul 16, 2018 11 tweets 3 min read
Any GOP members of Congress should have to endorse or condemn Trump's statements today in every single interview. Like this:
Jul 16, 2018 5 tweets 2 min read
I am here to report that Sex and the City actresses Sarah Jessica Parker & Kristin Davis both donated to Cynthia Nixon's campaign. Kim Cattrall has not done so. elections.ny.gov:8080/plsql_browser/… Follow me for 24/7 Hollywood news!
Jul 15, 2018 9 tweets 6 min read
Yeah it's a real shame when a clever comedian gets rightwing nutjobs, most of whom support the apartheid situation in Israel/Palestine, to display just how crazy they are, this time by advocating arming toddlers. Imagine thinking "I'm really really not loving this."

"Children under 5 also have elevated levels of a pheromone Blink 182...This allows nerve reflexes to travel along the Cardi B neural pathway to the Wiz Khalifa 40% faster."
Jul 14, 2018 5 tweets 3 min read
This far-right Belgian nationalist spoke at an anti-Muslim hate rally today, the same rally that U.S. @RepGosar spoke at. Dewinter quotes Trump saying, "Europe is losing its culture due to mass immigration," and then says, "Donald Trump is right!" @RepGosar Dutch nationalist Geert Wilders sent in a video speech. This was a white nationalist hate rally and a U.S. congressman flew to London to speak.

The Middle East Forum, which organized the rally, likely paid for him to travel there. I'll be tracking House travel gift reports.
Jul 14, 2018 10 tweets 4 min read
GOP Rep. Paul Gosar (guy who said "I'm a dentist so I know body language") was set to speak at a rally for an anti-Muslim bigot in London along w/ Dutch white nationalist Geert Wilders while Sam Brownback was advocating for the bigot's release from prison. reuters.com/article/us-usa… Gosar is meant to speak at an event today meforum.org/articles/2018/…