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Receipts

This is the documentation layer. Receipts holds the source files—FOIA dumps, policy drafts, memos, and filings. No commentary. No paraphrasing. Just the raw proof behind the breakdowns.

We didn't make this up. You just weren't supposed to notice.

Every claim, every quote, every contradiction we expose is backed by something more concrete than vibes. Below is your archive. Use it. Cite it. Weaponize it.

The Illusion of Democracy: Tolerance, Rigged Systems, and Authoritarian Drift

  1. Popper, Karl. The Open Society and Its Enemies, 1945. Source of “paradox of tolerance.” Directly quoted.
  2. Shelby County v. Holder, 570 U.S. 529 (2013) Referenced in discussion of voting rights dismantling.
  3. Pew Research Center. “Public Trust in Government: 1958–2023.” Used contextually in critiques of institutional legitimacy.
  4. OpenSecrets.org. Federal campaign finance data. Referenced for Super PAC and dark money influence.
  5. Brennan Center for Justice. Reports on voter suppression laws and election integrity myths. Used for detailed context on election suppression mechanisms.
  6. Levitsky, Steven and Ziblatt, Daniel. How Democracies Die, 2018. Implicit framework for diagnosing democratic backsliding.
  7. Ginsburg, Tom & Huq, Aziz. How to Save a Constitutional Democracy, 2018. Supports the institutional decay and erosion of checks-and-balances argument.
  8. Mounk, Yascha. The People vs. Democracy, 2018. Contextual influence on rising authoritarianism within democratic frameworks.
  9. American Constitution Society. Analysis of judicial imbalance and minority rule.
  10. U.S. Census Bureau / National Archives. Electoral College data and Senate representation imbalance.
  11. Piketty, Thomas. Capital in the Twenty-First Century, 2013. Underlying influence on wealth inequality and systemic rigging analysis.
  12. Gilens, Martin and Page, Benjamin. “Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens.” Perspectives on Politics, 2014. Empirical grounding for the claim that elites, not the public, shape policy outcomes.
  13. The Intercept and ProPublica. Investigative reporting cited indirectly on corporate lobbying and bipartisan stagnation.

Multi-State Operators (MSOs): How to Overpromise, Overextend, and Underdeliver at Scale

  1. Pew Research Center. “Americans overwhelmingly say marijuana should be legal.” 2021. Cited to debunk corporate myth of “mainstreaming marijuana.”
  2. SEC Filings and Investor Decks for:
    • MedMen
    • Acreage Holdings
    • Canopy Growth
    • iAnthus
    • Cresco Labs
    Used to substantiate executive departures, asset write-downs, and revenue failure claims.
  3. MJBizDaily. “Cannabis company layoffs and lawsuits.” Supports specific MSO financial downturns.
  4. New York Times / LA Times / Forbes. Coverage of MSO scandals, MedMen’s collapse, and equity lawsuits.
  5. Illinois Department of Revenue. Data on cannabis tax allocation. Cited in the social equity section showing <3% going to reinvestment programs.
  6. Viola Brands, Cookies, Our Dream (Al Harrington, Berner, etc.). Real companies used as counterexamples for equity-focused or culturally-rooted success.
  7. Cannabis Equity IL Coalition / The Hood Incubator / Supernova Women. Referenced in discussion of equity infrastructure vs. performative diversity.
  8. History references: Prohibition Era: Parallels between rotgut profiteering and MSO market manipulation. Craft Beer Industry Consolidation: Referencing acquisitions by AB InBev, etc.
  9. Environmental and regenerative economic theory: Cited conceptually from thinkers like Kate Raworth (Doughnut Economics) and Vandana Shiva.
  10. Corporate governance structures: Public Benefit Corporations, co-ops, and stakeholder capitalism as alternatives.