Trump's Market Manipulation

President Trump has been accused of manipulating markets, particularly through announcements related to the Iran conflict, which coincided with suspicious trading patterns that suggest insider trading. Critics argue that these actions may have allowed certain individuals to profit from advance knowledge of his decisions.

This video from Iran is about the Insider Trading.  
I can't find the video, but hope you can see it at this link:
https://bsky.app/profile/trixie57.bsky.social/post/3mjs33bjujk2e



"Throughout US President Donald Trump's second term in office, traders have been betting millions of dollars just before he makes major announcements.  The BBC has examined trade volume data on several financial markets and matched them to some of the president's most significant market-moving statements.
It found a consistent pattern of spikes just hours, or sometimes minutes, before a social media post or media interview was made public.  Some analysts say it bears the hallmarks of illegal insider trading, whereby bets are made by people based on information that is not available to the general public." - The insider trading suspicions looming over Trump's presidency - BBC.  (This articles cites examples.)

"But the criticisms of Trump's two Truth Social posts aren't just limited to his partisan opponents.  We can't have senior public officials — including the president — talking about stock prices and where to buy or to sell at the same time as they are making and announcing decisions that have a dramatic impact on stock prices," says Richard Painter, a law professor at the University of Minnesota, who previously served as the chief ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush.  Falling gasoline prices helped keep inflation in check last month. If anyone in the Bush administration had made similar public statements urging people to buy or sell stocks, Painter added, "that person probably would [have been] fired."  - Why some are accusing Trump of manipulating stock markets - NPR

In a post on X, Schiff delivered sharp criticism of Trump, saying that the likely reason for "Trump's Truth Social lies" about the situation in Iran on Friday was "market manipulation." He added that Trump's insiders "must have made billions" from the trade. Schiff then criticized Trump as being "incompetent" or "delusional." - Peter Schiff alleges market manipulation as $760 million bet draws scrutiny—Iran parliamentary speaker calls oil futures, treasuries 'house of cards' - MSN

As a recent analysis by economist and Nobel laureate Paul Krugman argues, there’s evidence that insiders are profiting off the war in Iran. On Monday, for example, Trump reversed his weekend commitment to deliver painful retribution on the Iranian people if the country failed to open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours. At 7:05am on Monday morning, however, Trump chickened out, issuing a five-day pause on hostilities via a post on Truth Social.  The price of crude oil, which had flailed upward for weeks as shipments from the Persian Gulf slowed to a trickle, plummeted immediately, from around $112 a barrel before the announcement to a low of $97 by 11:00am.  However, about 15 minutes before Trump’s post, CNBC reported, there was a massive increase in the amount of S&P 500 e-Mini futures trading on the market, right before their price skyrocketed from around $6,500 to around $6,700. Someone also got incredibly lucky playing the oil market, with West Texas Intermediate May futures seeing a massive spike in trading activity at the exact same time — a sign that someone had shed theirs before the price experienced a major drop.  “The story would be baffling,” Krugman wrote, “except that there’s an obvious explanation: somebody close to Trump knew what he was about to do, and exploited that inside information to make huge, instant profits.  In any normal world, Krugman explained, this would be more than enough cause for treason.  “I’d very much like to know exactly who was making those trades yesterday morning,” the famed economist wrote. “I’m sure we’ll find out once Kash Patel’s FBI carries out its careful, no-holds-barred investigation.” - Evidence Grows That Trump Is Using the War in Iran to Manipulate Markets - Futurism

THIS ONE IS KEY!!!
Someone keeps making perfectly-timed bets right before the President speaks. The victims are your pension, your 401(k), and the country I took an oath to defend. The SEC has the authority to subpoena trading records on U.S. exchanges. They should use it. The CFTC has the authority to investigate regulated prediction-market platforms and to demand account-level data. They should use it. The Department of Justice has the authority to open a criminal probe into whether material nonpublic information is being passed from inside the White House to people who are then trading on it. They should use it — and they should do it publicly, so the American people can see their institutions still function. Every state Attorney General with jurisdiction over a pension fund that got torched in these episodes should be filing civil actions to recover what was taken from their beneficiaries. Every inspector general inside the federal government who still has a spine should be asking, today, who in their agency had foreknowledge of these announcements and what communications they had in the hours before. And Democrats need to make it clear, do it now, or we will do it when we have the power to.  - This Isn't Trading. It's Theft from Your Retirement. - Adam Kinzinger





Some thoughts... 

Whenever there's a boom in the stock market, media voices often talk about how happy they must be on Wall Street.  It's true somebody is making money.  But when some are making money, others are losing.  The losers are the ones not in the loop.  Insider trading means there's not an even playing field.  Honestly, it seems like trading stocks is legalized gambling and the house always wins.  Plus, the house is cheating.  Remember what they did to Martha Stewart for insider trading?  Seems like time for some others to face the music.

Also, trump has certainly declared one thing, only to do a 180 a short time later.  He does it over and over to the point that Iran no longer believes much of what he says.  They are reluctant to negotiate because the negotiator in chief is not a man of his word, so to speak.  How can they negotiate with a man who lies constantly?  The world is absolutely baffled that the US has become so chaotic.  I'm baffled, too.  Pardon my language but seriously, WTF?

 Again, Iran is having fun dogging the administration with viral videos.  This is another good one - 



WHO TO CONTACT

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) primarily investigate insider trading in the United States. The SEC focuses on civil enforcement, while the DOJ handles criminal prosecutions.

Want to write to the top people in the SEC?

CHAIRMAN
Paul S. Atkins

COMMISSIONER
Hester M. Peirce

COMMISSIONER
Mark T. Uyeda

SEC Headquarters
100 F Street, NE
Washington, DC 20549


Want to write to the top people in the CFTC?
CFTC Headquarters
Michael S. Selig, Chairman
Three Lafayette Centre
1155 21st Street, NW
Washington, DC 20581


Want to write to the top people in the DOJ?

ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL
Todd Blanche (Pam Bondi is gone)

DOJ Headquarters
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington DC 20530

Our lawmakers need to put pressure on the SEC and DOJ.


Use the pull down PAGES tab on the menu bar at the top for links to many more contacts.


Kash Patel Needs to Go

Kash Patel is showing over and over he is not steady enough to be heading up the FBI (was he ever?).  The Atlantic broke a story April 17 with plenty of receipts showing just how irresponsible he is.  

The article starts by describing how he just last week incorrectly typed in his password, got locked out of his computer, then instead of talking to tech, he freaked out, telling people around him he'd been fired.  Based on his outburst, people all around him assumed he really had been fired and the news spread.  The White House soon began getting calls asking who his replacement was.

From there, the article describes the many reasons Patel thought he could have been fired - most having to do with his heavy drinking.  White House sources say replacement options are already being discussed.  The article was backed by MANY sources.  

Here are some snippets from the article -

"They said that the problems with his conduct go well beyond what has been previously known, and include both conspicuous inebriation and unexplained absences."

"They said that he is known to drink to the point of obvious intoxication..."  "Early in his tenure, meetings and briefings had to be rescheduled for later in the day as a result of his alcohol-fueled nights, six current and former officials and others familiar with Patel’s schedule told me."

"On multiple occasions in the past year, members of his security detail had difficulty waking Patel because he was seemingly intoxicated, according to information supplied to Justice Department and White House officials. A request for “breaching equipment”—normally used by SWAT and hostage-rescue teams to quickly gain entry into buildings—was made last year because Patel had been unreachable behind locked doors, according to multiple people familiar with the request."

"Several current and former officials told me that Patel is often away or unreachable, delaying time-sensitive decisions needed to advance investigations. On several occasions, an official told me, Patel’s delays resulted in normally unflappable agents “losing their shit.”


Patel chugging beer with the US Olympic Hockey team in late February



Today, it was announced that Patel is suing The Atlantic for defamation - $250 million.  The Atlantic has the receipts and is standing by the article.  See ya in court.  

We have way too many irresponsible, unqualified people in powerful positions in our government,  We need to demand these people be fired.  Call them out!

Meanwhile, Iran is dogging Patel with another viral video that tells the story better than I wrote it - 



READ MORE 

The FBI Director Is MIA - The Atlantic. Kash Patel has alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences.

FBI director's leadership questioned after partying with the US men's hockey team - NPR. The optics of an FBI director swigging beer and partying have deepened concerns about Patel and whether he has the temperament to lead the nation's premier law enforcement agency. On top of that, his trip to Italy adds to questions about Patel's travel as FBI director on a taxpayer-funded jet. FBI directors are required to fly on U.S. government aircraft because of the secure communication systems, but critics question Patel's use of a government jet for what appears to be personal travel.


FBI Director Kash Patel sues The Atlantic for article that alleged excessive drinking - APNews. FBI Director Kash Patel hit The Atlantic magazine with a $250 million defamation lawsuit on Monday, claiming an article that talked about mismanagement at the agency and his alleged excessive drinking was false and a “malicious hit piece.” The Atlantic said it stood by its reporting and would vigorously defend against the “meritless lawsuit.”

You Should Worry About Kash Patel Running the FBI - Politico. On paper, there is no way to justify Patel’s ascension. He spent a few years as a federal prosecutor focused on national security and was an aide in Congress and the first Trump administration on intelligence and national security issues. Even setting aside the decidedly mixed and often controversial results of that work (more on that below), Patel has no experience managing anything remotely like the FBI’s sprawling bureaucracy — 35,000 employees, 55 field offices throughout the country and more than 60 offices overseas.  What he does have is years spent endorsing Trump’s conspiracy theories and railing against many of Trump’s perceived enemies in the “deep state” — often in deeply unserious appearances on Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast, on other conservative media outlets and on the campaign trail.

White House officials ‘openly discuss’ firing Kash Patel as FBI chief threatens to sue over report about ‘excessive drinking’- The Independent. “People close to the director have said that he himself has expressed that he believes that he is about to be fired or that is imminent,” Fitzpatrick also told CNN Friday. “This is widely, widely discussed, I think, within Washington, behind closed doors. In fact, there are senior administration officials who are openly discussing who will be the next FBI director.”


Also, this is interesting... The Four Things Nobody In Washington Will Tell You About The Kash Patel Story - Jack Hopkins.  Note:  This is not a reputed source, such as an established magazine or news agency.  But it's a short interesting read.  And yes, I will take his advice and watch the Sunday shows a bit more carefully in the next few weeks.  Also, I agree with him that plans are probably already in place to oust Kash.  

WHO TO CONTACT

The FBI is overseen by several congressional committees. In the Senate, the main one is the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. This committee reviews the FBI's budget, programs, and selected investigations.

I am focusing on the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Here are the members.  Pick out some senators you want to contact. Contact info for all Senators can be found HERE.  




You can also contact the committee directly:

U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
211 Hart Senate Office Building 
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-1700 

- or contact FBI Headquarters! - 

FBI Headquarters
935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20535-0001
(202) 324-3000


R.I.P. Direct File Tax Program

The IRS shut down its free tax filing program known as Direct File.  Direct file was a government-run program established under former President Joe Biden that allowed eligible taxpayers to file federal returns online at no cost.  FREE.  

Note:  This super basic tax program is geared towards those who would be filing a simple form.  It's not for those who make mega/maga bucks who would want an accountant to help them find a bunch of loopholes to avoid paying taxes.  It would help people who have to budget to put food on their table and gas in their cars.  It would help the people that lawmakers don't seem to care about.  

I have legally used the tax laws to my benefit and to the benefit of my company, my investors and my employees. I mean, honestly, I have brilliantly - I have brilliantly used those laws.  ~ donald trump




Intuit, maker of TurboTax, reported a record $3.9 million in federal lobbying expenditures in 2025 and has spent $53.8 million since 2004, the year after the Free File group was formed. Intuit’s lobbying surged in 2025, with a record more than $1.2 million spent in the first three months, its largest quarterly spending ever. The company also donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration.


H&R Block spent nearly $3.2 million in lobbying in 2025 for the second straight year and has spent $49.7 million since 2004.

Both companies relied heavily on “revolving door” lobbyists, people who previously worked in government before moving into the lobbying industry.

Section 112207 of the House Ways and Means Committee’s portion of the reconciliation bill eliminated Direct File.  Instead, the bill established a “public-private partnership between the IRS and private sector tax preparation services,” effectively outsourcing the program to the private companies that have been lobbying against it. 


READ MORE 

How a new IRS program’s demise fits with Trump’s predatory economy - MS Now. One month before the start of Donald Trump’s second term, Intuit, the parent company of TurboTax, announced a $1 million contribution to his inauguration committee. At the time, the company told Politico the donation was “part of our decades-long commitment to bipartisan advocacy.”  But that long-time “bipartisan advocacy” was done with a goal in mind. As Politico reported: “Intuit has numerous interests in Washington that would incentive it to gain favor with the incoming Trump administration. It has spent more than two decades lobbying against the IRS making it easier to file people’s taxes online.”

GOP Moves to Kill Direct File Following Intuit’s Lobbying Surge - Sludge.   Their reconciliation bill eliminates the free program and will push taxpayers back to a system to be developed with profit-driven tax prep companies.

Intuit, Owner of TurboTax, Wins Battle Against America’s Taxpayers - The American Prospect  The successful IRS free tax filing program is being wound down, thanks in large part to Intuit’s copious spending in Washington.

IRS Officially Kills Direct File, a 'Failed' Program That Offered Millions Free Tax Prep - Money  The IRS Direct File program — a free, federally funded tax filing service — will not be available for the 2026 tax season, the agency informed state officials last week.  "I think that we have better alternatives," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters at the White House Wednesday. "It wasn't used very much, and we think that the private sector can do a better job."


WHO TO CONTACT

Your opinion only matters to our lawmakers if you let them know!  The more people who speak up, the more meaningful our opinions will be.  Don't wait to figure out the perfect thing to say.  Just start!!!  Here are some people you might want to contact:

Intuit Corporate Headquarters
2700 Coast Avenue
Mountain View, CA 94043
650-944-6000

H&R Block Corporate Headquarters
1 Henry And Robert Block Way
Kansas City, Missouri, 64105
800-472-5625 

Scott Bessent

U.S. Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20220
(202) 622-2000



The House Ways and Means Committee
"The Committee on Ways and Means, the oldest tax-writing body in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1789, shapes fiscal legislation including taxes, tariffs, and social service programs. Its notable influence is underscored by numerous members who have risen to prominent national offices, including Presidents and Supreme Court Justices."


The House Ways and Means Committee
1011 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-4404


If you want to contact any of them:

CLICK HERE to go to the Directory of Representatives.  Click on a Rep's name to go to their page.  Their contact info is usually at the bottom of their main page.

7 Dems Who Voted with Republicans to NOT block arm sales to Israel + AIPAC Tracker

40 Senate Democrats voted for Sen. Sanders’ bill to block arms sales to Israel, a 50% increase in Democratic support from the last Senate vote. But in yet another act of failed leadership, Schumer voted against the bill — along with Blumenthal, Coons, Cortez Masto, Fetterman, Gillibrand, and Rosen.  The American people do not want our tax dollars being sent to Netanyahu’s government that massacres innocent people in Lebanon and Iran, covers up a genocide in Gaza, and drags the US deeper into an illegal war. The days of Congress sending blank checks to the Israeli military are over.
If Schumer, Blumenthal, Coons, Cortez Masto, Fetterman, Gillibrand, or Rosen had actually listened to their constituents, there’s no way they would have voted against Sen. Sanders’ bill. Democratic voters want leaders who put their constituents ahead of AIPAC. - Posted April 16 by INDIVISIBLE on Substack




They linked to this April 15 AP article: Senate rejects effort to halt arms sales to Israel, but most Democrats vote to block them.  Here are a few quotes from that article -
  • Bernie Sanders - “It’s clear that Democrats are beginning to listen to the average American who is sick and tired of spending billions of dollars to support Netanyahu’s horrific wars when people in this country can’t afford housing or health care.”
  • Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz - “Under Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government, we’ve seen an expanded war in Lebanon that is putting innocent Lebanese civilians at risk, and ongoing violence against Palestinians and their homes being demolished in the West Bank. All of this has undermined the path forward for peace.”
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in November, 2024.  "The warrants said there was reason to believe Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have used “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid and have intentionally targeted civilians in Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza — charges Israeli officials deny.  The action by the International Criminal Court came as the death toll from Israel’s campaign in Gaza passed 44,000 people, according to local health authorities, who say more than half of those killed were women and children. Their count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants." - AP - Top war-crimes court issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu and others in Israel-Hamas fighting

Opposing the crimes being committed by Netanyahu is not the same as opposing Israel or being anti-semetic.  If a country's leaders are committing crimes, we should not be making monetary contributions to those crimes.  d.t. is committing war crimes and I certainly hope other countries don't support that.  

Politicians Who Get Money From Pro-Israel Lobbies and PACs

THIS AWESOME PAGE - Israel Lobby Tracker - Track AIPAC,  has a great list of who gets what and one look at it and you will understand why the United States gives so much support to Israel, even when they are doing heinous things.  

Warning:  The information may give you indigestion.  Oh Em GEEEEE... We need to get big money out of politics.  

Georgia lawmakers from both parties benefit greatly:  (Click on images to enlarge.)  








WHO TO CONTACT

At the very least, contact the DEMS who voted with Republicans:


Senator Chuck Schumer (New York)
Senate Minority Leader
322 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
202-224-6542

Senator Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut)
503 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-2823

Senator Chris Coons (Delaware) 
218 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5042

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (Nevada)
309 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3542 
(Note: She also caved on the Laken Riley Act and the government shutdown vote.)

Senator John Fetterman (Pennsylvania) 
142 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
202-224-4254
(Note: He also caved on the Laken Riley Act and the government shutdown vote.)

Senator Kristen Gillibrand (New York) 
478 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-4451

Senator Jacky Rosen (Nevada)
713 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-6244   
(Note: She also caved on the Laken Riley Act and the government shutdown vote.)



Here are some links if you want to contact more who get big money from AIPAC - 


Impeaching A President

I love this sign!  
I wish I could remember where I found this photo
so I could give them credit.

Impeachment Starts in the House of Representatives. A member of the House of Representatives introduces the impeachment resolution.  The speaker of the House directs the US House Committee on the Judiciary to follow up with a hearing to decide whether or not they should move forward. The Judiciary Committee needs a simple majority to approve the impeachment resolution.  Every member of the House casts their vote on whether or not they think the impeachment resolution is sufficient enough to move forward with the process.  If a simple majority agrees to impeach the president, the president is considered impeached.

The case then moves over to the Senate, where a trial will be conducted. This is not a legal trial and will have no ramifications for the accused other than them being removed from office. In the Senate trial, the members of the house will become “managers,” much like prosecutors in a legal trial. They present the evidence. During the trial, the President will be allowed his own counsel to defend him. The trial will be presided over by the US Supreme Court’s Chief Justice. The current Chief Justice of the United States is John Roberts. He previously presided over both of Donald Trump’s two impeachment trials. After listening to all of the evidence and the closing arguments from each side, the Senators retire to deliberate their verdict for however long it takes, then reconvene to vote on whether they believe that the accused civil officer is guilty. Two-thirds of the Senate are needed for the accused to be removed from office. The only penalty they face is being removed from their position. If this individual is the president, the vice president will immediately be sworn in as the president.

Resignation would be in the realm of possibilities if we were dealing with a normal politician.  Still, since most of the things happening these days are things few would have predicted, I might as well give a little reminder.  You may remember, it was Republican senators telling Nixon the jig was up that made him realize he needed to step down.  




Back to impeachment - One of the early steps in the impeachment process takes place in the House Judiciary Committee.  This committee decides whether or not the process continues.  If the vote doesn't pass here, it's dead.  There are 25 Republicans and only 18 Dems on this committee right now, so it will be difficult to get an impeachment process past this step.  I am VERY CURIOUS at these numbers.  

There are 435 congressional districts across each of the 50 U.S. states, and five of the six non-voting delegates from the District of Columbia and the inhabited U.S. territories.  Currently 218 of those are Republicans and 214 of the are Democrats.  These delegates are assigned to committees and one would assume they are spread out fairly evenly.  So why are there 7 more Republicans on the Judiciary committee when this is such an important committee???  Who makes the assignments?  Did they choose to overload some other committee for something they consider more important?  I would love to go down this rabbit hole of research when time permits.  

Side note: As of April 2026, 57 representatives and one non-voting delegate (22 Democrats and 36 Republicans[c]) have announced their retirement, 27 of whom (7 Democrats and 20 Republicans) are retiring to run for other offices. This is the second-most retirements of representatives in a single election cycle in US history behind 1992, which saw 65 retirements in total.

WHO TO CONTACT

Despite the small chance of seeing an impeachment take place with the current Judicial committee split and the lack of ethics or courage around Washington, it's still worthwhile to contact Washington politicians and demand impeachment.  That man has broken our laws, ignored our Constitution and trashed the reputation of our country so many times and yet, he's still there.  So let's annoy and scare the spineless lawmakers who are pretending everything is normal.  

If you prefer not to use the word IMPEACHMENT, you could change the wording to say something like, TRUMP MUST BE STOPPED.  You could encourage them to bring charges or subpoena him.  You could highlight that he is a war criminal and despised by those who used to be his allies.  The point is, let these lawmakers know how despised trump has become and how appalled we are at how he flouts our laws.


Goods Unite Us, Miracle-Gro, Potting Soils (Shop Intentionally)

Today, I'm looking at another shopping research resource, GOODS UNITE US, and another product - potting soil. 

GOODS UNITE US

Site Description:  "We are a dedicated group of data analysts, researchers, and democracy advocates, bringing transparency, accuracy, and accountability to corporate political influence — and giving power back to everyday people."

You can download this as an app, but I prefer researching on my computer browser.  I do, however, have the app on my phone and it has come in handy when I am running errands and have questions.  

For my GOODS UNITE US search example, I decided to check back on Scott's Miracle-Gro.  I checked on this company last summer - in this post,  (Scott's was one of the BIG donors for 47's wasteful and embarrassing birthday parade.) 

I like that right off the bat, GOODS UNITES US shows how the company donates.  (You can click on any image to see it larger.)




They break down the donations.  Do the donations come from the company or employees?


They also show alternative choices.  This might work for some things, but it missed the boat in the Scott's Miracle-Gro example.  They show Toro as the best alternative, but I'm not looking for a mower.  I don't think Toro sells soil or soil enhancements.  I don't even recognize those other companies.  



GOODS UNITE US is good for a super quick look at how a company donates - that's their focus - donations.  There aren't a lot of extra details about the companies they profile.  They don't list the companies different products or what else they might be associated with.  Like most of the resources, they only give you a piece of the story.  I will continue to use GOODS UNITE US, but I will use it along with other resources.

Looking Into Other Potting Soils

Another place GOODS UNITE US falls short is something similar to lots of the resources - the companies they profile is limited.  


On this video, three different Miracle-Gro products, which I'd prefer not to use based on their policies, came in 1st, 3rd, and 4th place.  

In second place was Vigaro, from the Vigaroco company.  GOODS UNITE US didn't have any information on them.  So, if I want to know about their policies, I will need to look to other resources. However, Vigaro is sold exclusively by Home Depot, which I avoid due to their ICE policies.  So that's off my list.

GOODS UNITE US did have Home Depot ratings.  They also had an additional statement about Home Depot - "Based on Goods Unite Us’s independent analysis, this company is one of the top 25 contributors to the group of Senators who flipped the Supreme Court conservative."  Miracle Grow helped flip the ROE decision.  They also helped give the president more power than is right.   I definitely avoid Home Depot.  Sadly, I have a relative I dearly love who works in their corporate office.  As much as I love her, I still won't shop there.

The 5th place soil was Recipe 420 by EB Stone & Son Inc.  That company is not in GOODS UNITE US.  From the EB Stone site - "2016 marked our 100th year as a family owned company. We’ve grown a lot since 1916, when E.B.Stone himself started making fertilizer in San Jose, California. Thank you for buying our products and helping us remain the great company we are today!"  I even searched for info on this company in Open Secrets, another resource I plan to talk more about soon.  All I could find on them was a $5000 donation to a local California representative (a Democrat) in 2016.  The donation is somehow related to the MAKE IT IN AMERICA PAC.   This sounds like a good one, but unfortunately it's only sold in  California, Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and Idaho.

The Soil I Plan to Use This Year

The 6th place soil was Fox Farms Ocean Forest.  That's a company based in California.  There's no info about it on GOODS UNITE US.  There's nothing about the company on Open Secrets.  There's nothing about the founder and CEO, Willy Winer, either.  I did find a cool interview with him on PBS.  It's sold in lots of big box stores, including stores I avoid.  It's also sold at ACE HARDWARE, which based on research I did a while back, is a store that I do use.  So this is my winner!


Ace Hardware is profiled on GOODS UNITE US.  Their donations are minimal and from senior employees, not the company.  They give 55% Republican and 45% Democrat, with trump and Bernie Sanders being the primary recipients.  Since ACE is a franchise, it's helpful to know who the owner is at the ACE you go to.  I happen to know a very good left leaning ACE franchise owner.  It's not close to me, but one of these days, I'll stop by and pick up a bunch of soil.  

SEEDS

Since this post has a garden theme, you might also be interested in this video from THE WOKE GINGER about seed companies.  He tells you 5 seed companies that are some of the good guys out there!!!

EVEN BETTER...  COMPOST!

If you REALLY want to be intentional,  you could have an even better potting soil by learning to compost!!!!   Your food waste and yard debris would be put to good use.  If you are gardening in a small raised bed, this video has an interesting idea - Garden Compost with Thrifted Strainer Pot.  I see those strainer pots at thrift stores all the time.  I might have to try this.


MORE ABOUT SCOTT'S MIRACLE-GRO

THE WOKE GINGER has included additional information about Scott's Miracle-Gro a number of times.  Here's one on TikTok.  Here are some of the video highlights:
  • They gave $250,000 to trump's inauguration.
  • They gave $500,000 to the Make America Great Again Pac
  • They've made big donations to Republicans since 2002.
  • Despite being super conservative they own a cannibis subsidiary.  


WHO TO CONTACT

Even with companies that seem to align closest to our values, we can still have an impact by contacting them and letting them know what we think - what we like and/or how they might improve.  

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company 
Corporate Office
14111 Scottslawn Rd. Marysville, OH 43041
Phone: (937)644-0011
Website: www.scotts.com

FoxFarm Soil and Fertilizer Company
1900 Bendixsen Street,
Samoa, CA 95564
800-436-9327


Disclaimer of Sorts

Companies tend to be a combination of good and bad.  Deciding where to shop and what products to buy is not going to be a black or white decision.  There's a lot of gray with a bit of mud thrown in.   It feels overwhelming but I'm determined to keep learning.  

Vote With Your Wallet + Aldi

Yesterday, I talked about my favorite way to continue learning more about shopping intentionally - The Woke Ginger.  Today, I'll dive into another resource -VOTE WITH YOUR WALLET.  



Site Description:  "VWYW is a crowdsourced, peer reviewed database of social responsibility scores for retailers and brands, including: whether they implement Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies, whether they support or discourage unions and labor protections, whether they have environmental and climate responsibility policies, and how they've supported legislation or political movements. You deserve to know how your hard-earned money is being spent."

You can download this as a phone app, but I prefer using it on my computer browser.  There are two links on the left side of the page - RETAILERS and BRANDS.  Click on one of those and then search.

I'm giving an example in this post, but this is just one retailer.  I highly recommend going to this site and exploring.

I clicked on RETAILERS.  There are currently only 16 retailers profiled, but the info you can find on each of those is pretty eye opening.  When you click on RETAILERS you will see a quick score for each of them.  Here's a screenshot of the first 7 retailers on their list.  




I am going to explore ALDI today.  I had thought Aldi was pretty decent and fairly non-political, so some of the things I found out through this site were surprising.  Some good, some not so good.

When you click on ALDI, it takes you to a page that gets more specific about the scores.  


There are links to articles that explain the scores.  The links were eye opening and a few allowed me to discover a number of great resources I had not seen before.  



Here are a few things I learned about Aldi by exploring through this site -
  • Aldi was founded by Karl and Theo Albrecht in Essen, Germany. The brothers both fought for Hitler in WWII. 
  • The Aldi umbrella includes Aldi, Trader Joe’s, Winn Dixie, Bi-Lo, and Harvey’s.
  • In 1960, they separated the company into two divisions: Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd. While the United States operates under Aldi Süd, Trader Joe’s operates under Aldi Nord. 
  • Aldi Süd appears to support DEI while Aldi Nord does not.
  • Today, the Albrecht family is one of Europe’s richest and most secretive with a net worth of $54 billion. The family is still heavily involved in the business, and control of the company is organized in private foundations.
  • The company is anti-union as evidenced in the struggles of Trader Joe’s employees’ attempts to organize. In fact, the Albrecht family has partnered with Elon Musk (SpaceX), Jeff Bezos (Amazon) and Howard Schultz (Starbucks) to take down the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). 
  • Aldi has paid $62 million in various legal and regulatory violations since 2000.
  • Aldi cut nearly 50 tons of plastic from circulation annually just by removing the plastic windows in packaging that enable shoppers to see inside of its private-label brand pasta — and that’s just one product.

READ MORE 

When looking into a company, it's helpful to check more than one source.  I will likely delve into Aldi in other places down the road when I focus on grocery stores, but for today, I think it will be helpful to see this post about Aldi's DEI policy from The Woke Ginger.

That post that illustrates how policies are not always obvious - "I get asked whether Aldi rolled back DEI all the time. Aldi does not give to politics. They quietly removed DEI from their U.S. website earlier this year when Trump pressured companies—but left it on their corporate website based in Europe. BUT, it’s now back on their U.S. website, just without the name “DEI.” Moral of the story: It does not take much to outsmart Trump, plus he has a short memory. "

WHO TO CONTACT

I continue to learn that companies tend to be a combination of good and bad.  As I do the research,  I am constantly reminded just how confusing it can be to shop intentionally.  This is not going to be a black or white issue.  There's a lot of gray with a bit of mud thrown in.   It's overwhelmed but I'm determined to keep learning. 

Even with companies that seem to align closest to our values, we can still have an impact by contacting them and letting them know what we think of their policies.  

I will continue to shop at Aldi's periodically, but I will also contact them about things that I don't like and encourage them to do better.

Aldi's Corporate Office
1200 N Kirk Road
Batavia, IL 60510
(800) 925-6278


Officers:


Jason Hart – CEO, Aldi U.S.
Jason Hart is responsible for overseeing Aldi’s U.S. operations, ensuring the company’s continued growth and success in a competitive marketplace.

Colin McGranahan – Executive Vice President, Aldi U.S.
Colin McGranahan helps guide Aldi’s strategic decisions and supports its commitment to providing high-quality products at affordable prices.

Joan K. Fitzpatrick – Chief Financial Officer
Fitzpatrick manages Aldi’s financial operations, ensuring the company’s solid financial foundation and profitability.

The Woke Ginger (Shop Intentionally)

Figuring out which retail companies best with the things you are currently concerned about can be tricky - a company may do well in one area and fail in another.  

I have a few resources for finding out about various companies.  It's good to look up a company / brand / product in more than one place and then figure out which comes closest to being one of the "good" ones.  

One of my favorite resources about shopping intentionally is THE WOKE GINGER.



Justin Kralemann, aka The Woke Ginger, is a social media influencer from St. Louis.   I have found his videos to be well-researched, informative, fair, and easy to understand.   I highly recommend taking some time and going to one of his accounts to watch a few of his video shorts.  These are definitely a big part of my efforts to shop more intentionally.  They are not the best when you are trying to find info about something specific.  But it's great if you just think of his videos as ongoing learning in small bites.  You never know what topic he might focus on from day to day, so just be open to learning.




Where to Find His Videos

You can find him on:


Important Side Note 

The Woke Ginger is currently involved in a wrongful termination lawsuit.  He was let go after a post he did calling out Enterprise Mobility over its ties to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).  

You can read about that lawsuit here.  (Hoodline St. Louis)


I am including contact information for Enterprise Mobility and Food Outreach Inc in case you care to let either of these folks know what you think.  It's important that people not be silenced or intimidated for sharing information on how companies conduct their business on issues that are important to the public!!! 


WHO TO CONTACT

The more people who speak up, the more meaningful our opinions will be.  Don't wait to figure out the perfect people to contact or the perfect thing to say.  Just start!!!

Food Outreach Inc.
3117 Olive Street
St. Louis, MO 63103 
(314) 652-3663 


Enterprise Mobility
600 Corporate Park Drive
St. Louis, MO 63105
855-266-9565


Shopping Intentionally - Intro




The organizers of No Kings is promoting May Day Strong - A Day of Action.  

What is May Day Strong?

From the May Day Strong site - "This May Day, It’s Workers Over Billionaires.  On May 1, 2026, workers, students, and families rally, march, and take action across the country to demand a nation that puts workers over billionaires, with many refusing business as usual through No School. No Work. No Shopping." 
May Day Strong is a one day event.  It will be easy for me to participate.  I'm retired.  I don't need to worry about missing work or sending kids to school.  I can easily forego shopping.   Not everyone will be able to participate so easily.  The hope is, lots of people will do what they can. 

May 1st falls on a Friday.  Even if you can't miss work or school, let's definitely not shop! Keep in mind, if you go out and spend like crazy the day before or after, it won't much matter.  Try to plan ahead so that businesses will feel a difference.

I plan to go beyond this one day event...

VOTING WITH YOUR WALLET is not new.  Especially in the last year, there have been calls for various boycotts and spending changes.  I've been working to be a more intentional shopper and truthfully, it's been complicated!  I'm not always successful at avoiding companies or brands that don't align with my priorities.  I'm not always up on which company is "good" and which is "bad", and it often seems most companies are a mix of good and bad.   Even when I feel strongly about avoiding a particular company, I've had to make exceptions. It's been hard keeping up with it all, but I am getting better.  If we all make the effort and continue to improve, over time our impact will become more and more significant.  When we impact the financial bottom line of a corporation, we get their attention.  Just ask Disney and Target.

I want to raise my bar on shopping intentionally.  I'm no expert, but I will share what I'm learning.  It's one of the more complicated things I've researched.  In other words, don't expect a one or two post easy summary.

The companies supporting people or actions that are tearing down what we value should not benefit from our money.  It feels so much better to support companies trying to do the right thing.


Meanwhile, there are a couple of no-brainer changes we can all can make to our shopping habits...


The Easiest Tip of All - Buy Less 

If you are lucky enough to have disposable income, maybe this is a time to NOT use that income to "feed the corporate beast".  

Consumerism is rampant.  When we continue spending on things that are not really needs, even while corporations are price gouging, we are telling them that we will tolerate their overblown prices.  If we tolerate overblown prices, the companies will keep them high.  

Remember, during Covid, prices went up due to supply chain disruptions.  Once the supply chain began working fine again, the prices did not come back down.  Companies knew we were still buying at the inflated prices and their profits were great.  They had no reason to lower prices.

When we tolerate price gouging, we make it harder for people whose budgets are strained to the point they have to make choices about things that are absolute necessities.  

Bonus Move - If you have disposable income, consider making donations to organizations that help those in need!!!  Food pantries are struggling.  This page has loads of information on that - Food Insecurity Resources.

The Second Easiest Tip of All - Buy Secondhand

This is easy for me.  I've been on board with the whole Reduce-Reuse-Recycle trend for years and have particularly enjoyed the thrifting aspect of this.  Buying secondhand can sometimes be the smartest way to go.  Many older things were made better than their newer versions.  

In January, 2025, the country's economy began to feel unstable.  I decided I would buy less and save more.   If I wanted something, I would consider second.  I should probably do a separate post on that some day.  It's on my list.
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