What is the meaning of last week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency? Certainly it is a setback for the environmental movement. A court bought and paid for by the billionaire class did industrial polluters a favor by eviscerating the ability of EPA to regulate greenhouse gases. There’s more.

In an Amicus Curiae brief in the case, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal, Bernie Sanders, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Elizabeth Warren weighed in:

“Almost everything about these cases—the theories, the arguments, and even many of the parties and amici curiae—is an industrial product manufactured in an effort to return to an era free from oversight by the government.”

Resistance to the power of money will be difficult, yet we must. Begin by arming yourself with knowledge and read the entire brief. It will take about ten minutes.

While you are at it, the brief mentions two important authors regarding the influence of money in our politics: Jane Mayer, author of Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right, and Nancy MacLean, author of Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America. Take a deep dive and read these two books. The radical right has been preparing for this day for decades. Isn’t it time we armed ourselves with knowledge and got ready for battle?