Today, instead of writing on a new topic, I want to hear from you. We are five months into a pandemic and 75 days away from the presidential election.
What's on your mind? What topics would you like to see Popular Information cover in the coming weeks?
You can leave your answers to those questions (or anything else) in the discussion thread linked below, starting now. I’ll be dropping by to participate in the discussion and answer your questions at 10:30 AM Eastern, for about an hour.
These occasional discussions are usually only available to paid subscribers, but I’m making this one accessible to the entire community. Please be kind to each other.
PROGRAMMING NOTE:The Popular Information team is taking next week off. Popular Information will return to your inbox on Monday, August 31.
UPDATE (11:30AM): I’m jumping off the chat but please feel free to continue the discussion!
Everyone talks about Trump and the dangers of Trump, but rarely does anyone talk about the Republican Party's consistent and uniform support of Trump. For me, the issue is the power-wielding, reckless and lawless Republican Party. They enable Trump, they support him, they enact his policies. The GOP is the Party of Trump. It would be good to write about Trump's Republican support in Congress, through an analysis of Congressional voting records. A lot of what Trump does is bluster to manipulate public perception, but under the hood, it's a lot worse.
You should look into two pieces of info on the subject of support for him, both from different sources and though he’s not the forefront owner of each or either movement, the gop seemed to have found their village idiot to distract so they can carry out their agenda. One is an article written by journalist Jennifer Cohn. It was a research that took her months to collect. Her research goes back to 1980’s and starts with Betsy devos’ husband as president of the cnp. Google Jennifer Cohn/cnp for that. The other is a youtube video of Nancy McClain on Bill mahers show, where she’s done 10 years of research and followed the processes of the gop changing amendments in the constitution. Each of these is to bring religion into our government.
Jennifer Cohn has also done a lot on corruption and opacity in the voting machine industry and on our inability to audit our elections. It is extremely important material, but she seems to be a voice crying in the wilderness. Every time I have double-checked a shocking piece of information that she has revealed, it has turned out to be accurate, even when she challenged the estimable Pro Publica on an undisclosed appearance of conflict of interest. At a time when rigged elections are front and center, it baffles me that her work has remained obscure.
The GOP isn't owned by Trump, the GOP has created Trump as the endgame solution for their 'Southern Strategy' beginning forty years ago. Now they didn't throw a lever and catch a bolt of lightening but they've been creating the space for a racist, sexist, xenophobic homophobe since the Nixon years and Trump is the key who fits.
Said another way, Trump is the natural evolution of the racist, sexist, xenophobic homophobic positioning they have been peddling for years. They do this because the vast majority of people don't actually support their policies. So they fight culture wars to manipulate people. My point was that in all of the focus on Trump's antics, we have lost the bigger picture - Trump is a part of the fabric of GOP culture and it's a lot worse than it appears.
We seem to ignore the fact that the Postal Service was created in Article One of the Constitution. It makes no mention of having to make a profit or break even. Regular mail is a critical service which should be expanded. Also, we lag the world in train service, yet we are talking about cutting service on many routes to 3 days a week. That will be euthanasia for Amtrak. Our roads, airports, and other infrastructure are considered vital to our commerce and well being. It's time we took rail seriously too. Europe, China, and Japan have led the way. The technology is out there. All we have to do is learn from it, and do it.
'd like to see PI pool its resources with one or two other investigative journalists and bring this Russian Bounty on American Soldiers issue to a head. It seems to have fallen off the radar for some reason - I don't know why except that journos keep chasing the newest "laser pointer" of the day, not unlike a cat.
"...journos keep chasing the newest 'laser pointer' of the day, not unlike a cat." Devastatingly accurate, and thank you for putting it so well and memorably!
The other day a long-distance friend complained about having to endure her doctor's waiting room because Fox News is always playing. Until then, I thought it was just my local dentist and doctor who always seem to have Fox News playing.
I began to wonder why. Is this a thing? Maybe the patients or the receptionists just happen to prefer Fox News. (My friend and I live in different parts of Florida.) Or, maybe Fox offers an incentive? If so, it's pretty savvy--a professional office would add some authority and respectability to any news station featured there.
And then my next thought was "I wonder if Judd Legum knows".
As someone who works in a doctor's office, I constantly am changing the channel off Fox. I've found that those patients who are willing to get up and change it feel entitled to watch exactly what they want. Doing work while trying to tune out Trump yelling over a helicopter is not ideal but I have to wait until the patients leave in order to not appear bias.
Can you just put a channel blocker on the TV or keep the remote at the front desk? Or maybe just tune it to one of those channels that play easy-listening music and place a sign under the TV stating the channel can't be changed. Enough with entitled people acting as if they're the only ones who count.
good grief, I hate to wait for my car service because Fox news is always on...I have complained about it to Lexus when they ask about my service at my dealership, but to no avail.
It creates an impression that the backbone of America--the workers who come to work every day in important, visible support roles--just all happen to prefer Fox.
I make it a point to ask the staff, and if necessary the manager, to change the channel if Fox News is on wherever I go. Most will. If they don’t, I leave and ask them to tell their manager why I left
I have run into this in two of my health care providers. First thing I do when I arrive, if it is on, I request that it be changed to a different channel. They always comply!
I went to a dermatologist who had a program with "medical panel" playing on it's television. It was conservative and very slanted in its opinion. When I met w/the dermatologist, he started saying things that reflected his bias against our area's influx of immigrants & refugees. This clinic served a lot of elderly folk who probably accepted the programming & doctor's opinions without question. I never went back and let the doctor know why.
If you don’t like or want to listen to “Fox News” and that is what is always on in their office, why not just find another provider for the service you seek? Or you could just IGNORE the TV the relatively short time you will be there.
The capitulation of the Senate Republicans under Trump has been terrifying. Which companies are the biggest supporters of Mitch McConnell and which ones support his opponent, Mrs. McGrath?
Thanks! I’d imagine there are smaller donations (<$5000) from corporate PACs that are non-stories... many of these PACs donate to multiple candidates. But if there are any that really stick out it would be great to know.
You know what scares me is not just that McConnell is the incumbent candidate, but that he's the most senior Senator in the country. Can voters in Kentucky be persuaded to let go of the power and influence he commands? McGrath has more of an uphill climb than any other challenger this year.
Enjoy your break. You certainly deserve it. My main concern is the November election and achieving results that are recognized as legitimate. I also want to be sure that the BLM momentum is not lost and genuine systemic anti-racist reforms are put in place, especially in the criminal justice system.
I’m most concerned about the damage trump can do, if he loses, between Nov 3rd and the end of his term. And if there was a Civil War, would the military support him or the citizens and the constitution.
Please continue your important work. The USPS situation must be scrutinized and exposed DAILY until the election-especially in blue states and cities with active protests.
QAnon must also be outed and exposed-bot generated or GOP fringe generated. GOP must be exposed to be complicit with QAnon! Silence=complicit.
Last evening I listened as former President Obama voiced my deepest fears, that our democracy is in peril if trump gets elected again. Is it possible to detail how much damage has been and continues to be done to the institutions of our Federal Government?
I like Popular Information & am sorry I cannot donate. This is my second attempt to contact you. I am a senior citizen living in South America & am on a fixed income or I would be happy to donate. I like the topics you chose to publish! Thanks, Anna Rayne-Levi
Can you do an expose on how the Covid 19 statistics may be skewed now that DHS has taken them over from CDC? I suspect foul play here. Thanks for your amazing reporting!
Just wanted to send a note of Thanks. The Popular Information team really is setting a much needed higher standard for responsible journalism and I am extremely proud to be a supporter and follwer.
Your strategic and effective Facebook revelations are truly impressive and what drew me to your column. For the next 75 days, though, any revelations, strategies, suggestions for voting and getting out the vote would be most welcome.
Did you know that an amendment to dissolve the EC passed the house in 1969? It passed the House, but was filibustered in the Senate. It's altogether possible that it could happen again.
Can you follow the money surrounding the pushing of the use of Chloroquine as well as the purchase of large quantities by the federal and state governments? Is there any connection to the large purchases the federal government has been making of unproven COVID-19 vaccines? Who are the big shareholders in the pharmaceutical companies who profit from this?
I've written on this a few times but I agree its a major scandal. Was certainly related to the Kodak debacle. And I want to figure out if its still being used by the VA.
I think that insider trading needs to be further analyzed. There has been a sharp decrease in insider trading prosecutions under this administration. Additionally, the consequences of insider trading are far less than many blue collar crimes. The average sentence of insider trading is 18 months, where the average sentencing for theft is 111 months. The average theft is under $2k. That means many of the "looters" during the protests will face more time in jail than anybody involved in Kodak. When people get so angry at looting, I wonder if it is because the news does not report white collar crimes like insider trading in the same light that they report theft.
Would like to know why there are still qanon accounts in twitter after they banned them in July. Specifically @qanon76 with over 550k followers.
Also about the post office. Even though Dejoy has halted his harmful policies, seems he has already inflected enough damage that the election is going to be a mess because he is refusing to replace and /or reinstall boxes and sorters he’s already removed. Can confess remedy this? .
Definitely need some deep info on Qanon. Now that Trump has endorsed and praised them, THere is going to be lots of misinformation spread, a la Comet pizza in 2016–where normally rational people truly believed HRC and John Podesta we’re running a child sex ring out of an innocent pizza place in DC and came and used Gun fire to bust in. Question, why can’t we get CNN, MSNBC, ABC news, NBC news and CBS news broadcast trump press conferences, or anytime he speaks, on a delayed basis, to fight this disinformation/lie campaign? Is there a real leader of Qanon? Are they offshoots of another group like Boogaloo boys, KKK.... should we hold our members of Congress to account if they support Qanon?
I live in the Bible Belt and am increasingly concerned over QAnon becoming more mainstream and accepted as facts. You absolutely cannot reason with this mindset.
I'm most concerned right now about election day proper: are there wacky militias of unmasked intimidators coming to scare voters? Who ultimately is paid to run the machines and do the counts? Will lobbyists pressure the Senate & Supreme court to approve a Trumpian claim of success if it all comes down to mail-in ballot count? I'm hoping that your wonderful track record of shaming the money handlers will stymie some of that evil. Thank you for your work.
I agree: "shaming the money handlers" is how PI gets results. Cheaters and hypocrites should quail when they hear those two words: Popular Information. Or these two words: Judd Legum. Go get 'em, Judd! You pose truth to power most effectively.
I would like to know more about intelligence fusion centers, recently exposed in the Blue Leaks data dump, and the demand of the Black Lives Matters movement to defund the police. Why are police departments putting resources into monitoring First Amendment protected speech and organizing? How has this monitoring over time affected citizen's rights to have oversight over civilian law enforcement? How come a military that hasn't won a war in 80 years keeps expanding overseas, developing war-making technology and tactics from counter-insurgence military campaigns that they then import into policing? Defense contracting has become a self-perpetuating doomsday machine. What are the connections between the current government and the social media companies that have led to the recent de-platforming on Facebook of citizens who were organizing towards anti-fascism?
When I first learned about Foucault's Boomerang - the idea that imperial adventures are just a dress rehearsal for domestic repression - it made sense of a lot of the things I saw at Occupy and Standing Rock.
We've heard a lot about Foreign election interference and attacks on America (although I hope the US Intel community shares even more information before election day), but can you cover more about the possible Domestic election interference individuals and groups (who may be collaborating with Foreign elements) to disrupt our Democratic processes and institutions? I realize that may be a very delicate topic. But I see broadly the wealthy American special interests who may seek to profit on the demise of America's Democracy and our okay with an American Autocrat. For example, Koch Industries' 50-year long quest to privatize the postal service and how that aligns with the mail-ballots during the ongoing pandemic.
There is also a very straight forward (or rather somewhat straight forward) place to start which is to look at payment processors for micro-donations during elections. Are they set-up in a way that only allows donations from the country having its elections? Are they ensuring that only 'real people' are donating and not 'bots' with digital credit cards? What precautions are campaigns taking to ensure they aren't taking foreign donations?
We saw this with the Brexit referendum when the Vote Leave campaign was asked to refund all the foreign micro-donations they had received. When it comes to large sums of money and bigger donation the media seems more willing to cover these scandals and/or able too but what is really falling through the cracks are micro-donations.
Enjoy your time away. I keep wishing someone would tie the plastic crisis to the oil industry, since plastic is made from petrochemicals, correct? As a consumer, I get tired of being guilt-tripped about using plastic containers when it's hard to find anything else. If we just stopped making plastic, it would be better than trying to dispose of it responsibly. But of course that cuts the producers' profits. I recall hearing this discussed a hundred years ago during the Carter administration.
Let's take a look at where people are coming together to run elections, respond to climate challenges (floods, fires). produce PPE , help immigrants,, take care of children and old people. Basically where people are joining forces and how they are being successful.
Would love to hear more about people who are stepping up to work the elections this year. I was a first time poll worker this month. Between it being the municipality's first election with electronic poll books, and me being the youngest person there by far, it was an adventure.
I want to know if anybody is organizing for the possibility that we will have to take to the streets if he actually steals the election as he is openly threatening to do. If that happens there should be something in place akin to The Lincoln Project for a one stop information booth to organize and inform the majority of this nation that will fight not to lose our democracy.
Frankly I like your focus on how employers are victimizing workers, especially so now in coronavirus time. I also like that sometimes your reporting leads to changes in practice.
Judd, I am reading about Qanon and Trump's compliments to the group. I understand they have a belief in organized government sponsored pedophilia, but what else? Also, play it out. What harm (besides emotional and psychological to the adherents) could a digital group like this do? They can stay in their groups and regurgitate their ideas, but when does that cross the line and what does it look like? How does a social studies teacher combat this group when they are not visible to me? Can you show us what they look like? (i.e. facebook pages, rallies, manifestos, etc.) Right now they are in a lot of pieces, how do they make themselves whole, or is it death by a thousand cuts? What agency is following them? (FBI, SPLC, etc)
And not to be flip, but why don't smart people connect on the conspiracy theory that FB is ruining this country - death by a million "likes"?
Also, The Atlantic has a series of very good articles laying out the history, current status, etc
You might think of Qanon as self inflicted fascism, particularly if you agree that fascism requires that the very nature of truth be called into question
I live in the Bible Belt and am increasingly concerned at how QAnon has become mainstream and accepted as fact. I agree with Michael on The Atlantic articles. They are very informative.
In a class I took last Spring titled "Global Fake News", we listened to a podcast from Reply All that I found was helpful in understanding a bit more about this QAnon, as well as being a pretty enjoyable listen -> https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all/n8homa/122-the-qanon-code
Would love to hear and learn more about efforts to save local news and sustain unbiased, factual reporting so Americans can hold government accountable. It seems that so many hometown newspapers are closing shop and being swallowed up by conservative and right-wing influenced private monies likely to give us even more 'Fox News' style journalism. How can we make sure that some news entities still support reporting factual information?
There are quite a few efforts. But ultimately local news needs a new business model since classifieds and local ads were essentially replaced by the internet.
In 2014, I attended a "Jeffersonian Dinner" with eleven other people, including the grandson of William Randolph Hearst, the former President of CBS News, Pulitzer Prize winning journalists and others. I was there to discuss a model capable of radically improving US journalism. You can learn more about it at www.bit.ly/RADCollab.
For one, new cannot be supported by advertisements. News on TV was supposed to be free of adverts in exchange for using our airwaves for free. What happened to those rules.
How do you square this proposal to build and rely on a unified, ad-supported hometown journalism model under one company, when a handful of major publishers eating up existing newsrooms is already the problem? Maybe my question doesn't make sense, I'm just eager to learn more.
Radio broadcasting began, c. 1923-34, subsidized by sales tax on home receivers. (Think? $100 fed.tax on each smartphone = funding 1,000,000 blogs $10,000 each. Annually.)
Anyway, govt funding (public taxes) support for local newspapers. Also govt support of blogs, podcasts, news&opinion, PBS, NPR, Postal Service, railroads, in a word: communications. Or, 'electrifications.' These are utilities, in essence, as justifies public funding and oversight audit, and forecloses private monopoly.
They shouldn't have to do 'pledge drives.' Their support should come out of our taxes; a done deal. (Necessary support, that is, and reviewable.)
This boomer was 10yo, rode the bus home from school, walked in the house and there was tv!
The last gen who remember life before tv.
But the cost...
Do the math. Total taxes is less than imagined. But, AND in each case compare to DoD taxes, in units of F-35 waste.
All my 'utilities' including new business model newspapers everywhere, (simply buy the newsprint and ink for them?), and PBS, Amtrak, USPS, and so forth I estimate around $100 billion.
$10,000 donation to 1,000,000 blogs is equal to 2 F-35s.
I would like to see more national coverage of the Derecho storm that tore through Iowa and Illinois on August 9. It had sustained winds between 85 and 140 mph according to recent measurements - that is up to the speed of an F3 tornado - and traveled for hundreds of miles doing damage over a 50 mile wide swath the whole way. It got mentioned then dropped. It has done over 4 Billion dollars in damage in Iowa to corn crops, homes, businesses, and infrastructure while people were left without power (some still don't have power or potable drinking water) for a week or more. Cedar Rapids, a metro area of 150,000 people is still in desperate condition. the president was in Iowa one day, did NOT tour the area and promised help claiming he approved the full amount of federal aid asked for. As of yet, he has NOT. One highway patrolman told me it was like having 100 F2 tornadoes lined up a half mile apart causing damage 50 miles wide and running west to east for 250 miles. The destruction here is unimaginable and the long term effects are yet to be known. There was coverage for a few hours, then nothing. Iowans would like to have the storm receive the same ongoing coverage that hurricanes get - the damage is MORE than comparable - and also political ramifications of the late request for aid by our Governor and the failure of our president to approve in timely fashion the much needed federal assistance...all while claiming that he did. We are lucky to be here. This storms most likely related to climate change and it ,most likely will not be the last.
The key is that FEMA has become ineffective in addressing disasters. At first it was blatantly politically motivated - Puerto Rico still hasn't recovered - but what this indicates is that it has just become so poorly managed that it can't even address red area needs.
That is very true, but here in Iowa it goes a bit deeper. Our republican governor waited 5 days to file a disaster relief request, the president claimed he had already signed in full but he had not. There are multiple failures with FEMA at the fore as you correctly state. My belief is that the lack of response relates to the faded media coverage related to a storm that is every bit as devastating as damage done by hurricanes but apparently isn't as glamorous. As I see it, the best way to kickstart a better relief response is to put it back in front of the public. I would be delighted to read a comprehensive investigation of just how FEMA figures in to the storm related problem Iowa currently faces.
Another contributing factor is Trump's ability to hijack the media by Tweet combined with his inability to focus or hold a thought for more than a day means that the headlines and reporting move on just as quickly as he does.
Here is an update from Iowa. Our Governor asked for 3.99 Billion in relief for 27 counties. So far 21 days out only ONE COUNTY has received full aid. The rest have not. Our so-called governor said - the day right after appearing at the RNC where she praised the president for everything he's done for Iowa - that full federal aid most likely will not come. We are hurting; our corn crop is 60% destroyed, homes and businesses in the 26 counties which will not receive Federal aid may be left unrepaired, there is still an incredible amount of tree and limb damage that needs removal...all this while the Trump inspired COVID-19 response in Iowa has lead to horrific increases in cases while schools are being forced by our governor to reopen in person. I asked Judd to do a story, but honestly, I feel like I should rescind that request. It is simply too dangerous to send anyone here. Your likelihood of getting sick is the greatest in the nation right now, and in three of our counties, it is greater than anywhere in the world. Iowa is not safe.
I watched the weather reports very closely the past couple weeks... yet your info was news to me. But then I’m in Central FL and we pretty much have swivelhead from the conga line of storms lately...
Thank you for all your deeply researched articles and hard work! Please tell me how the Trump/Kushner family can end up in prison after they all are booted from the White House. Do you foresee charges being filed against them?
If Trump is not reelected I think we will learn a lot of disturbing things about his conduct in office that haven't been disclosed yet. Whether or not those things will result in criminal charges is anyone's guess. Another potential source of criminal liability is Trump's hush money payments prior to the 2016 election.
Ex-presidents live comfortably and, most likely, Trump will too. My guess is he will eventually go abroad for both business and personal reasons, probably Eastern Europe [Russia].
If he is re-elected would the statute of limitations run out on those particular charges? I think that if Trump and his lawyers think it is likely he will be charged and convicted on state charges (I'm sure he will give himself a blanket pardon on the federal level on the way out) then he may have decided he has nothing to lose by doubling down on voter suppression.
Climate Change, Climate Change, Climate Change. Humans are creating the 6th Mass Extinction, which will bring untold devastation to humanity and no one seems to acting like it is happening.
I appreciate and count on your careful investigative reporting. In these days, more than ever, we need in-depth stories which are not shallow and scatter shot like too much of the news we are offered. Keep on!
I would like to see a heavy focus on the continuing out in the open voter suppression tactics implemented and supported by this Administration and Republicans including the post office fiasco . Along with a focus on what Democrats are doing in response , which is usually not enough . It’s the only way, along with Russian interference, that Biden could lose . Thank you for the great investigating and reporting .
The advertising and PR industries just released a little diversity data (under pressure from activist groups including the 600 and Stop the PRess) and it's awful. At the executive level of these companies charged with influencing consumer behavior there is virtually no diversity. There are a few unknowns here worth digging into: 1. What the numbers are within the companies that haven't reported (probably even worse than those that have); 2. What the real numbers are within the companies who have reported (these companies are notorious spin masters and, well, filthy liars) and 3. What the client base/revenue streams look like (so many of these companies are OK working for ICE and Saudi Arabia because the contracts are big but present themselves as do-gooders).
I live in North Carolina. With all the conversation around mail-in voting, I am surprised that I don't hear any reporting about what happened here in the last election with the Mark Harris camp manipulating mail-in ballots. I followed your coverage of that very closely and was impressed with your reporting on it (it is actually how I found Popular Information). I would like to see some reporting on what steps have been taken to tighten things up so that sort of thing doesn't happen again.
I know, right? Every time I hear the President talk about harvesting absentee ballots, I just think "Isn't this something that Republicans are accused of doing?"
I suspect this is exactly why we don't hear anything about it. Republicans won't bring it up because they are the ones who were guilty, and Democrats won't bring it up because they are afraid it proves the point that mail-in ballots are vulnerable to fraud. So everyone pretends it didn't happen.
Many concerning things but I am most concerned about voting - in terms of suppression, mail sorting equipment, vote counting, vote hacking, and early and election day harassment/intimidation of voters. How are local and state leaders ensuring none of this happens? Are they even addressing it?
I’m afraid a return to “normalcy” means keeping the status quo. I want my country to change its entire premise. I want high taxes on the rich to pay for services for the poor. I want high taxes on corporations to pay for global warming recovery and I want fossil fuels to play the smallest role in energy that they can. I want to change policing in this country forever. I am genuinely afraid of the police and freeze up a bit every time I see a cop. But I’m not sure the current politicians don’t have the imagination to make this vision come true. And before someone says “run for office yourself” I should note that as an ex-stripper I don’t think it’s feasible.
How scared were you when you stepped on stage for your 1st performance as a stripper? How did you handle the negative comments (if there were any) about what you did/do? That's what you'll be facing WHEN you run for office, except, possibly, more intense. You've already been through that fire and came out the other side stronger and more sure of yourself. Just hire smart, competent people to help run your campaign. The only way to find out if it can be done is to do it. Also, I just googled 'strippers that ran for office' and there are some great stories about others that have done it. Blessings Hon - this old lady in Montana KNOWS you can do this!
My morning always starts with you Judd! Your reporting has been nothing short of amazing. The expose's of Facebook have been really eye opening. Now, when I read Facebook's claims about misinformation and their 'amazing' fact checking, I know it is simply more misinformation. One cannot delete a Facebook account, (despite their claims that you can) but I have deleted all that I can, and will never use them again and warn others when possible.
It always comes down to the money. Is Trump really a failed businessman? Be nice to know if that were true, oh say, about October?
Thank you for all of the powerful work you do. I'd love to see a story on charges that would stick for trump and his family as/after he leaves office, particularly relating to how they've profited off of the pandemic. But first, have a fantastic week off!
Election facts: What % of eligible voters are actually registered? Of those what % actually votes? Breakdown by age, sex and race. How many states have early voting and for how long? Just would like to understand better the entire process from a statistical viewpoint.
Postal Service by the numbers: How many workers? How many post offices? What should a cost of a letter be to break even? What do they charge to delivery a package for Amazon? should it be more? Congress controls the post office but won't let it make changes to be more efficient. I still think it is amazing that someone will come to my house and pick up a letter and deliver it across the country for $0.55.
Judd, really admire your work and hope you have a restful week off! This is maybe from left field, but I’d love to see some reporting on municipal finances. What happens to cities and states that are bankrupted after coronavirus? Are states being assisted in equitable fashion by the federal gov’t?
My biggest concern is trump losing and starting a civil war. Living in a red state, I’ve heard many people say that if trump loses, there’s going to be a civil war. They would be part of it. trump has torn this country apart. He’s turned citizens against one another. I hope and pray it doesn’t happen, but I see the signs.
School reopenings K-College maybe after y’all’s break there will be more data. Also how has lack of State Tax Revenue/Federal Bail Out for States has effected state services and COVID-19 responses across the country. Keep up the good work!!!!
I am deeply grateful for your in depth investigations. Your making a significant difference and it's up to all of us to make those changes lasting. Thank you for your help with making us advocates for the good.
Your work is always on point. So as a big fan (and political junkie), i would like to see two things (my wish list) for the next 60 days:
a) Voting - no about obstruction necessarily but about how voting works. It seems evident for us how to vote. But it is not for the average non-political person.
b) Healthcare and how it is being dismantle in front of our eyes and we are ignoring it because we are so distracted with the noise.
Of course there are going to be many things to cover and it would be nice to cover all but realistically, tangible issues have real impact on election day.
Voting will absolutely be a focus. And I want to cover health care too! Honestly there are too many things to cover so I try to pick topics where I feel I can add the most value.
I would like to know affiliation of the business owners who make the voting machines and the software for them. How is this safeguarded? I had heard that one party or even the president's family owns them. Can the software be checked independently. How easy can they be hacked. Couldn't the software be changed so that 2% of all votes go to a particular party? That would be enough to change the election, and certainly could have had an effect in 2016.
First off, and I think I’ve mentioned this a few times, your approach and coverage is a refreshing and important departure from the typical newsfeed (you go deep).
One issue I’ve been following closely is electronic and mobile balloting. It’s such an obvious solution, we rely on mobile tech for so much (personal health, banking, nuclear arsenal) and yet the forces standing against it are strong. Some politicians, organizations and lobbyists - even some universities and research labs have maligned solutions without even testing them. My guess is there are nefarious forces behind these people - funding and encouraging and rewarding them.
I mean, interference with the postal system is one thing - that’s already a broken institution that barely works. Mobile balloting is something else entirely when is comes to expanding access, increasing participation and reducing fraud.
I barely trust in-person electronic voting machines. I can't imagine a world in which we could roll out an internet-based voting system that would achieve broad popular trust with the current system by which the government contracts technical work.
Popular Information might be interested to dig into that tech contractor licensing system, though it's been written and talked about at length. It is that system that we have to thank for things like the budget and timeline challenges of the ACA portal ("insurance marketplace").
Though I fear incompetence, an even bigger threat is state-sanctioned meddling. If Russia and China can carry out months-long online misinformation campaigns without even being noticed, imagine what they could do given a voting system to hack on.
The math is simple on this one: There is no democracy without broad participation in elections. There is no broad participation without access. And access is decreasing. Aaron, our personal health, finances, nuclear arsenal are all networked - elections are among the last holdouts. Why? Not because of security concerns (we can monitor, detect and audit) - that's a story you've been told by the forces that don't want people to vote.
Judd, you keep me sane. In a world where Qanon is gaining traction and Larua Loomer wins an election, we need the truth now more than ever. I want to learn more about it, but it's so ridiculous and stupid, I cannot in good faith ask you to research this and write more about it. Please don't feed into this garbage. Keep challenging the administration on all of their misdeeds and lawlessness and keep fighting the good fight. You are incredible and your work is having a massive impact! Love POPULAR INFORMATION!!!
You do a great job shedding light on the way corporate America funds the right and benefits financially from it. One thing that would be interesting to have more light shown on are all the financial benefits, positions of influence etc that prominent figures on the right enjoy. I am thinking of people who have wide influence eg. fox media figures and people like that.
Great reporting. Keep us informed on the Trump plan reported by Newsweek and MSNBC concerning protesting election results using Congress, etc. to stay in power.
Everyone talks about Trump and the dangers of Trump, but rarely does anyone talk about the Republican Party's consistent and uniform support of Trump. For me, the issue is the power-wielding, reckless and lawless Republican Party. They enable Trump, they support him, they enact his policies. The GOP is the Party of Trump. It would be good to write about Trump's Republican support in Congress, through an analysis of Congressional voting records. A lot of what Trump does is bluster to manipulate public perception, but under the hood, it's a lot worse.
You should look into two pieces of info on the subject of support for him, both from different sources and though he’s not the forefront owner of each or either movement, the gop seemed to have found their village idiot to distract so they can carry out their agenda. One is an article written by journalist Jennifer Cohn. It was a research that took her months to collect. Her research goes back to 1980’s and starts with Betsy devos’ husband as president of the cnp. Google Jennifer Cohn/cnp for that. The other is a youtube video of Nancy McClain on Bill mahers show, where she’s done 10 years of research and followed the processes of the gop changing amendments in the constitution. Each of these is to bring religion into our government.
Jennifer Cohn has also done a lot on corruption and opacity in the voting machine industry and on our inability to audit our elections. It is extremely important material, but she seems to be a voice crying in the wilderness. Every time I have double-checked a shocking piece of information that she has revealed, it has turned out to be accurate, even when she challenged the estimable Pro Publica on an undisclosed appearance of conflict of interest. At a time when rigged elections are front and center, it baffles me that her work has remained obscure.
The GOP isn't owned by Trump, the GOP has created Trump as the endgame solution for their 'Southern Strategy' beginning forty years ago. Now they didn't throw a lever and catch a bolt of lightening but they've been creating the space for a racist, sexist, xenophobic homophobe since the Nixon years and Trump is the key who fits.
Said another way, Trump is the natural evolution of the racist, sexist, xenophobic homophobic positioning they have been peddling for years. They do this because the vast majority of people don't actually support their policies. So they fight culture wars to manipulate people. My point was that in all of the focus on Trump's antics, we have lost the bigger picture - Trump is a part of the fabric of GOP culture and it's a lot worse than it appears.
We seem to ignore the fact that the Postal Service was created in Article One of the Constitution. It makes no mention of having to make a profit or break even. Regular mail is a critical service which should be expanded. Also, we lag the world in train service, yet we are talking about cutting service on many routes to 3 days a week. That will be euthanasia for Amtrak. Our roads, airports, and other infrastructure are considered vital to our commerce and well being. It's time we took rail seriously too. Europe, China, and Japan have led the way. The technology is out there. All we have to do is learn from it, and do it.
'd like to see PI pool its resources with one or two other investigative journalists and bring this Russian Bounty on American Soldiers issue to a head. It seems to have fallen off the radar for some reason - I don't know why except that journos keep chasing the newest "laser pointer" of the day, not unlike a cat.
"...journos keep chasing the newest 'laser pointer' of the day, not unlike a cat." Devastatingly accurate, and thank you for putting it so well and memorably!
The other day a long-distance friend complained about having to endure her doctor's waiting room because Fox News is always playing. Until then, I thought it was just my local dentist and doctor who always seem to have Fox News playing.
I began to wonder why. Is this a thing? Maybe the patients or the receptionists just happen to prefer Fox News. (My friend and I live in different parts of Florida.) Or, maybe Fox offers an incentive? If so, it's pretty savvy--a professional office would add some authority and respectability to any news station featured there.
And then my next thought was "I wonder if Judd Legum knows".
I don't know but I'd love to find out!
Cool!
I would love to know more about this. Fox News channel is on in many establishments you walk into where I’m from too.
As someone who works in a doctor's office, I constantly am changing the channel off Fox. I've found that those patients who are willing to get up and change it feel entitled to watch exactly what they want. Doing work while trying to tune out Trump yelling over a helicopter is not ideal but I have to wait until the patients leave in order to not appear bias.
It's your office and you are in charge. Do not give them access to the TV.
Can you just put a channel blocker on the TV or keep the remote at the front desk? Or maybe just tune it to one of those channels that play easy-listening music and place a sign under the TV stating the channel can't be changed. Enough with entitled people acting as if they're the only ones who count.
Wow.
good grief, I hate to wait for my car service because Fox news is always on...I have complained about it to Lexus when they ask about my service at my dealership, but to no avail.
It creates an impression that the backbone of America--the workers who come to work every day in important, visible support roles--just all happen to prefer Fox.
Make it unacceptable.
I make it a point to ask the staff, and if necessary the manager, to change the channel if Fox News is on wherever I go. Most will. If they don’t, I leave and ask them to tell their manager why I left
Go somewhere else and let them know.
I have run into this in two of my health care providers. First thing I do when I arrive, if it is on, I request that it be changed to a different channel. They always comply!
I went to a dermatologist who had a program with "medical panel" playing on it's television. It was conservative and very slanted in its opinion. When I met w/the dermatologist, he started saying things that reflected his bias against our area's influx of immigrants & refugees. This clinic served a lot of elderly folk who probably accepted the programming & doctor's opinions without question. I never went back and let the doctor know why.
My employer requires it. It is sickening.
So I wonder if it's purely your employer's personal preference, or...an incentive.
Find another job.
If it were only that easy! Been trying for 4.5 years. Not giving up, though.
You can do it. I'm sending you new and better job vibes. Don't give up!
What difference does it make?
If you don’t like or want to listen to “Fox News” and that is what is always on in their office, why not just find another provider for the service you seek? Or you could just IGNORE the TV the relatively short time you will be there.
Kansas Jack
You're right, if it's about personal preference. That wasn't my question though.
The capitulation of the Senate Republicans under Trump has been terrifying. Which companies are the biggest supporters of Mitch McConnell and which ones support his opponent, Mrs. McGrath?
I'm certainly going to be diving into FEC filings when I get back from my break! Few corporations support non-incumbents.
Thanks! I’d imagine there are smaller donations (<$5000) from corporate PACs that are non-stories... many of these PACs donate to multiple candidates. But if there are any that really stick out it would be great to know.
You know what scares me is not just that McConnell is the incumbent candidate, but that he's the most senior Senator in the country. Can voters in Kentucky be persuaded to let go of the power and influence he commands? McGrath has more of an uphill climb than any other challenger this year.
I've been under the impression, rightly or wrongly, that Amy McGrath's campaign is funded entirely by small-donors, a group I belong to.
Enjoy your break. You certainly deserve it. My main concern is the November election and achieving results that are recognized as legitimate. I also want to be sure that the BLM momentum is not lost and genuine systemic anti-racist reforms are put in place, especially in the criminal justice system.
I’m most concerned about the damage trump can do, if he loses, between Nov 3rd and the end of his term. And if there was a Civil War, would the military support him or the citizens and the constitution.
https://wagingnonviolence.org/2020/08/plan-prevent-trump-election-coup-research/
Please continue your important work. The USPS situation must be scrutinized and exposed DAILY until the election-especially in blue states and cities with active protests.
QAnon must also be outed and exposed-bot generated or GOP fringe generated. GOP must be exposed to be complicit with QAnon! Silence=complicit.
Last evening I listened as former President Obama voiced my deepest fears, that our democracy is in peril if trump gets elected again. Is it possible to detail how much damage has been and continues to be done to the institutions of our Federal Government?
It's definitely not possible in a single newsletter but it will certainly be a continuing theme.
I like Popular Information & am sorry I cannot donate. This is my second attempt to contact you. I am a senior citizen living in South America & am on a fixed income or I would be happy to donate. I like the topics you chose to publish! Thanks, Anna Rayne-Levi
Thanks Anna. And don't worry about it. This newsletter is for everyone.
Can you do an expose on how the Covid 19 statistics may be skewed now that DHS has taken them over from CDC? I suspect foul play here. Thanks for your amazing reporting!
And perhaps they are being manipulated even at the State level?
Just wanted to send a note of Thanks. The Popular Information team really is setting a much needed higher standard for responsible journalism and I am extremely proud to be a supporter and follwer.
Your strategic and effective Facebook revelations are truly impressive and what drew me to your column. For the next 75 days, though, any revelations, strategies, suggestions for voting and getting out the vote would be most welcome.
Why can't we get rid of the ELECTORAL COLLEGE?!
We can, but we need a few more states to get on board.
Did you know that an amendment to dissolve the EC passed the house in 1969? It passed the House, but was filibustered in the Senate. It's altogether possible that it could happen again.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_College_abolition_amendment
Judd is referring to the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which doesn't technically get rid of EC, but is equivalent for practical purposes.
As long as each State has two Senators, it's high unlikely. Small states have a lot of power.
Can you follow the money surrounding the pushing of the use of Chloroquine as well as the purchase of large quantities by the federal and state governments? Is there any connection to the large purchases the federal government has been making of unproven COVID-19 vaccines? Who are the big shareholders in the pharmaceutical companies who profit from this?
I've written on this a few times but I agree its a major scandal. Was certainly related to the Kodak debacle. And I want to figure out if its still being used by the VA.
I think that insider trading needs to be further analyzed. There has been a sharp decrease in insider trading prosecutions under this administration. Additionally, the consequences of insider trading are far less than many blue collar crimes. The average sentence of insider trading is 18 months, where the average sentencing for theft is 111 months. The average theft is under $2k. That means many of the "looters" during the protests will face more time in jail than anybody involved in Kodak. When people get so angry at looting, I wonder if it is because the news does not report white collar crimes like insider trading in the same light that they report theft.
Thanks for all the hard work, super glad I’m a subscriber to help in the small way that I can. Second, I think you should continue to look at:
- DeJoy’s conflicts as Postmaster General
- Keep tabs that USPS isn’t continuing to hamper the mail
- Continued election tampering from the GOP
- And as always, Facebook’s BS
Have a great vacation !
Would like to know why there are still qanon accounts in twitter after they banned them in July. Specifically @qanon76 with over 550k followers.
Also about the post office. Even though Dejoy has halted his harmful policies, seems he has already inflected enough damage that the election is going to be a mess because he is refusing to replace and /or reinstall boxes and sorters he’s already removed. Can confess remedy this? .
Social media policies are very rarely aggressively enforced, in my experience.
Definitely need some deep info on Qanon. Now that Trump has endorsed and praised them, THere is going to be lots of misinformation spread, a la Comet pizza in 2016–where normally rational people truly believed HRC and John Podesta we’re running a child sex ring out of an innocent pizza place in DC and came and used Gun fire to bust in. Question, why can’t we get CNN, MSNBC, ABC news, NBC news and CBS news broadcast trump press conferences, or anytime he speaks, on a delayed basis, to fight this disinformation/lie campaign? Is there a real leader of Qanon? Are they offshoots of another group like Boogaloo boys, KKK.... should we hold our members of Congress to account if they support Qanon?
Unless you call Jeanine Pirro a bitch... then you get instantly permanently banned by twitter
I live in the Bible Belt and am increasingly concerned over QAnon becoming more mainstream and accepted as facts. You absolutely cannot reason with this mindset.
I'm most concerned right now about election day proper: are there wacky militias of unmasked intimidators coming to scare voters? Who ultimately is paid to run the machines and do the counts? Will lobbyists pressure the Senate & Supreme court to approve a Trumpian claim of success if it all comes down to mail-in ballot count? I'm hoping that your wonderful track record of shaming the money handlers will stymie some of that evil. Thank you for your work.
Hopefully there won't be militias but this is the first election where the RNC will be allowed to have observers because of an expiration of a court order. More details here: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/18/us/Voting-republicans-trump.html
I agree: "shaming the money handlers" is how PI gets results. Cheaters and hypocrites should quail when they hear those two words: Popular Information. Or these two words: Judd Legum. Go get 'em, Judd! You pose truth to power most effectively.
No need for militias. The republicans will do it themselves. https://theintercept.com/2020/04/11/republican-poll-watchers-vote-by-mail-voter-fraud/
I would like to know more about intelligence fusion centers, recently exposed in the Blue Leaks data dump, and the demand of the Black Lives Matters movement to defund the police. Why are police departments putting resources into monitoring First Amendment protected speech and organizing? How has this monitoring over time affected citizen's rights to have oversight over civilian law enforcement? How come a military that hasn't won a war in 80 years keeps expanding overseas, developing war-making technology and tactics from counter-insurgence military campaigns that they then import into policing? Defense contracting has become a self-perpetuating doomsday machine. What are the connections between the current government and the social media companies that have led to the recent de-platforming on Facebook of citizens who were organizing towards anti-fascism?
When I first learned about Foucault's Boomerang - the idea that imperial adventures are just a dress rehearsal for domestic repression - it made sense of a lot of the things I saw at Occupy and Standing Rock.
We've heard a lot about Foreign election interference and attacks on America (although I hope the US Intel community shares even more information before election day), but can you cover more about the possible Domestic election interference individuals and groups (who may be collaborating with Foreign elements) to disrupt our Democratic processes and institutions? I realize that may be a very delicate topic. But I see broadly the wealthy American special interests who may seek to profit on the demise of America's Democracy and our okay with an American Autocrat. For example, Koch Industries' 50-year long quest to privatize the postal service and how that aligns with the mail-ballots during the ongoing pandemic.
There is also a very straight forward (or rather somewhat straight forward) place to start which is to look at payment processors for micro-donations during elections. Are they set-up in a way that only allows donations from the country having its elections? Are they ensuring that only 'real people' are donating and not 'bots' with digital credit cards? What precautions are campaigns taking to ensure they aren't taking foreign donations?
We saw this with the Brexit referendum when the Vote Leave campaign was asked to refund all the foreign micro-donations they had received. When it comes to large sums of money and bigger donation the media seems more willing to cover these scandals and/or able too but what is really falling through the cracks are micro-donations.
Enjoy your time away. I keep wishing someone would tie the plastic crisis to the oil industry, since plastic is made from petrochemicals, correct? As a consumer, I get tired of being guilt-tripped about using plastic containers when it's hard to find anything else. If we just stopped making plastic, it would be better than trying to dispose of it responsibly. But of course that cuts the producers' profits. I recall hearing this discussed a hundred years ago during the Carter administration.
Let's take a look at where people are coming together to run elections, respond to climate challenges (floods, fires). produce PPE , help immigrants,, take care of children and old people. Basically where people are joining forces and how they are being successful.
Highlighting the positive is something I really want to get to more.
Would love to hear more about people who are stepping up to work the elections this year. I was a first time poll worker this month. Between it being the municipality's first election with electronic poll books, and me being the youngest person there by far, it was an adventure.
I want to know if anybody is organizing for the possibility that we will have to take to the streets if he actually steals the election as he is openly threatening to do. If that happens there should be something in place akin to The Lincoln Project for a one stop information booth to organize and inform the majority of this nation that will fight not to lose our democracy.
Yes! https://wagingnonviolence.org/2020/08/plan-prevent-trump-election-coup-research/
Frankly I like your focus on how employers are victimizing workers, especially so now in coronavirus time. I also like that sometimes your reporting leads to changes in practice.
Judd, I am reading about Qanon and Trump's compliments to the group. I understand they have a belief in organized government sponsored pedophilia, but what else? Also, play it out. What harm (besides emotional and psychological to the adherents) could a digital group like this do? They can stay in their groups and regurgitate their ideas, but when does that cross the line and what does it look like? How does a social studies teacher combat this group when they are not visible to me? Can you show us what they look like? (i.e. facebook pages, rallies, manifestos, etc.) Right now they are in a lot of pieces, how do they make themselves whole, or is it death by a thousand cuts? What agency is following them? (FBI, SPLC, etc)
And not to be flip, but why don't smart people connect on the conspiracy theory that FB is ruining this country - death by a million "likes"?
Have a great vacation.
I'm curious if you can find any info on money behind the Q movement and people who are benefitting financially/funding this craziness.
The NYT has a superb article on Qanon:
https://nyti.ms/2C2vumi
Also, The Atlantic has a series of very good articles laying out the history, current status, etc
You might think of Qanon as self inflicted fascism, particularly if you agree that fascism requires that the very nature of truth be called into question
I live in the Bible Belt and am increasingly concerned at how QAnon has become mainstream and accepted as fact. I agree with Michael on The Atlantic articles. They are very informative.
In a class I took last Spring titled "Global Fake News", we listened to a podcast from Reply All that I found was helpful in understanding a bit more about this QAnon, as well as being a pretty enjoyable listen -> https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all/n8homa/122-the-qanon-code
Would love to hear and learn more about efforts to save local news and sustain unbiased, factual reporting so Americans can hold government accountable. It seems that so many hometown newspapers are closing shop and being swallowed up by conservative and right-wing influenced private monies likely to give us even more 'Fox News' style journalism. How can we make sure that some news entities still support reporting factual information?
There are quite a few efforts. But ultimately local news needs a new business model since classifieds and local ads were essentially replaced by the internet.
In 2014, I attended a "Jeffersonian Dinner" with eleven other people, including the grandson of William Randolph Hearst, the former President of CBS News, Pulitzer Prize winning journalists and others. I was there to discuss a model capable of radically improving US journalism. You can learn more about it at www.bit.ly/RADCollab.
For one, new cannot be supported by advertisements. News on TV was supposed to be free of adverts in exchange for using our airwaves for free. What happened to those rules.
Your link didn't work. Obviously they did not take your advice
How do you square this proposal to build and rely on a unified, ad-supported hometown journalism model under one company, when a handful of major publishers eating up existing newsrooms is already the problem? Maybe my question doesn't make sense, I'm just eager to learn more.
make that- www.bit.ly/RADcollab - ya gotta watch those inappropriate capitals
Thanks for that contact.....am checking it out. I hope there is some sense of urgency around this need for a "new way forward."
Radio broadcasting began, c. 1923-34, subsidized by sales tax on home receivers. (Think? $100 fed.tax on each smartphone = funding 1,000,000 blogs $10,000 each. Annually.)
Anyway, govt funding (public taxes) support for local newspapers. Also govt support of blogs, podcasts, news&opinion, PBS, NPR, Postal Service, railroads, in a word: communications. Or, 'electrifications.' These are utilities, in essence, as justifies public funding and oversight audit, and forecloses private monopoly.
They shouldn't have to do 'pledge drives.' Their support should come out of our taxes; a done deal. (Necessary support, that is, and reviewable.)
This boomer was 10yo, rode the bus home from school, walked in the house and there was tv!
The last gen who remember life before tv.
But the cost...
Do the math. Total taxes is less than imagined. But, AND in each case compare to DoD taxes, in units of F-35 waste.
All my 'utilities' including new business model newspapers everywhere, (simply buy the newsprint and ink for them?), and PBS, Amtrak, USPS, and so forth I estimate around $100 billion.
$10,000 donation to 1,000,000 blogs is equal to 2 F-35s.
DoD gets $800 Billion. Ffs
I would like to see more national coverage of the Derecho storm that tore through Iowa and Illinois on August 9. It had sustained winds between 85 and 140 mph according to recent measurements - that is up to the speed of an F3 tornado - and traveled for hundreds of miles doing damage over a 50 mile wide swath the whole way. It got mentioned then dropped. It has done over 4 Billion dollars in damage in Iowa to corn crops, homes, businesses, and infrastructure while people were left without power (some still don't have power or potable drinking water) for a week or more. Cedar Rapids, a metro area of 150,000 people is still in desperate condition. the president was in Iowa one day, did NOT tour the area and promised help claiming he approved the full amount of federal aid asked for. As of yet, he has NOT. One highway patrolman told me it was like having 100 F2 tornadoes lined up a half mile apart causing damage 50 miles wide and running west to east for 250 miles. The destruction here is unimaginable and the long term effects are yet to be known. There was coverage for a few hours, then nothing. Iowans would like to have the storm receive the same ongoing coverage that hurricanes get - the damage is MORE than comparable - and also political ramifications of the late request for aid by our Governor and the failure of our president to approve in timely fashion the much needed federal assistance...all while claiming that he did. We are lucky to be here. This storms most likely related to climate change and it ,most likely will not be the last.
I was texting with a friend about this yesterday. It's been a devastating storm.
The key is that FEMA has become ineffective in addressing disasters. At first it was blatantly politically motivated - Puerto Rico still hasn't recovered - but what this indicates is that it has just become so poorly managed that it can't even address red area needs.
That is very true, but here in Iowa it goes a bit deeper. Our republican governor waited 5 days to file a disaster relief request, the president claimed he had already signed in full but he had not. There are multiple failures with FEMA at the fore as you correctly state. My belief is that the lack of response relates to the faded media coverage related to a storm that is every bit as devastating as damage done by hurricanes but apparently isn't as glamorous. As I see it, the best way to kickstart a better relief response is to put it back in front of the public. I would be delighted to read a comprehensive investigation of just how FEMA figures in to the storm related problem Iowa currently faces.
Yes.. our Repug leaders tend to.... LIE!!! There are hundreds in Florida STILL WAITING ON PAYMENTS NOT RECEIVED SINCE MARCH!!!
Another contributing factor is Trump's ability to hijack the media by Tweet combined with his inability to focus or hold a thought for more than a day means that the headlines and reporting move on just as quickly as he does.
Here is an update from Iowa. Our Governor asked for 3.99 Billion in relief for 27 counties. So far 21 days out only ONE COUNTY has received full aid. The rest have not. Our so-called governor said - the day right after appearing at the RNC where she praised the president for everything he's done for Iowa - that full federal aid most likely will not come. We are hurting; our corn crop is 60% destroyed, homes and businesses in the 26 counties which will not receive Federal aid may be left unrepaired, there is still an incredible amount of tree and limb damage that needs removal...all this while the Trump inspired COVID-19 response in Iowa has lead to horrific increases in cases while schools are being forced by our governor to reopen in person. I asked Judd to do a story, but honestly, I feel like I should rescind that request. It is simply too dangerous to send anyone here. Your likelihood of getting sick is the greatest in the nation right now, and in three of our counties, it is greater than anywhere in the world. Iowa is not safe.
I watched the weather reports very closely the past couple weeks... yet your info was news to me. But then I’m in Central FL and we pretty much have swivelhead from the conga line of storms lately...
Thank you for all your deeply researched articles and hard work! Please tell me how the Trump/Kushner family can end up in prison after they all are booted from the White House. Do you foresee charges being filed against them?
If Trump is not reelected I think we will learn a lot of disturbing things about his conduct in office that haven't been disclosed yet. Whether or not those things will result in criminal charges is anyone's guess. Another potential source of criminal liability is Trump's hush money payments prior to the 2016 election.
Ex-presidents live comfortably and, most likely, Trump will too. My guess is he will eventually go abroad for both business and personal reasons, probably Eastern Europe [Russia].
If he is re-elected would the statute of limitations run out on those particular charges? I think that if Trump and his lawyers think it is likely he will be charged and convicted on state charges (I'm sure he will give himself a blanket pardon on the federal level on the way out) then he may have decided he has nothing to lose by doubling down on voter suppression.
Climate Change, Climate Change, Climate Change. Humans are creating the 6th Mass Extinction, which will bring untold devastation to humanity and no one seems to acting like it is happening.
Yes, and also subscribe to heated.world
The catastrophic decline in the insect population may doom us already.
Great reporting. Keep up the good work. The newsletter is worth every penny.
Agreed 100%
I appreciate and count on your careful investigative reporting. In these days, more than ever, we need in-depth stories which are not shallow and scatter shot like too much of the news we are offered. Keep on!
I would like to see a heavy focus on the continuing out in the open voter suppression tactics implemented and supported by this Administration and Republicans including the post office fiasco . Along with a focus on what Democrats are doing in response , which is usually not enough . It’s the only way, along with Russian interference, that Biden could lose . Thank you for the great investigating and reporting .
The advertising and PR industries just released a little diversity data (under pressure from activist groups including the 600 and Stop the PRess) and it's awful. At the executive level of these companies charged with influencing consumer behavior there is virtually no diversity. There are a few unknowns here worth digging into: 1. What the numbers are within the companies that haven't reported (probably even worse than those that have); 2. What the real numbers are within the companies who have reported (these companies are notorious spin masters and, well, filthy liars) and 3. What the client base/revenue streams look like (so many of these companies are OK working for ICE and Saudi Arabia because the contracts are big but present themselves as do-gooders).
I live in North Carolina. With all the conversation around mail-in voting, I am surprised that I don't hear any reporting about what happened here in the last election with the Mark Harris camp manipulating mail-in ballots. I followed your coverage of that very closely and was impressed with your reporting on it (it is actually how I found Popular Information). I would like to see some reporting on what steps have been taken to tighten things up so that sort of thing doesn't happen again.
I know, right? Every time I hear the President talk about harvesting absentee ballots, I just think "Isn't this something that Republicans are accused of doing?"
I suspect this is exactly why we don't hear anything about it. Republicans won't bring it up because they are the ones who were guilty, and Democrats won't bring it up because they are afraid it proves the point that mail-in ballots are vulnerable to fraud. So everyone pretends it didn't happen.
Many concerning things but I am most concerned about voting - in terms of suppression, mail sorting equipment, vote counting, vote hacking, and early and election day harassment/intimidation of voters. How are local and state leaders ensuring none of this happens? Are they even addressing it?
I’m afraid a return to “normalcy” means keeping the status quo. I want my country to change its entire premise. I want high taxes on the rich to pay for services for the poor. I want high taxes on corporations to pay for global warming recovery and I want fossil fuels to play the smallest role in energy that they can. I want to change policing in this country forever. I am genuinely afraid of the police and freeze up a bit every time I see a cop. But I’m not sure the current politicians don’t have the imagination to make this vision come true. And before someone says “run for office yourself” I should note that as an ex-stripper I don’t think it’s feasible.
I don't think being an ex-stripper disqualifies you for running for office if that's what you want to do.
I wish I shared your optimism.
How scared were you when you stepped on stage for your 1st performance as a stripper? How did you handle the negative comments (if there were any) about what you did/do? That's what you'll be facing WHEN you run for office, except, possibly, more intense. You've already been through that fire and came out the other side stronger and more sure of yourself. Just hire smart, competent people to help run your campaign. The only way to find out if it can be done is to do it. Also, I just googled 'strippers that ran for office' and there are some great stories about others that have done it. Blessings Hon - this old lady in Montana KNOWS you can do this!
I admire your politics and share them
Absolutely in TODAY’S CULTURE??? An exstripper could be president!!! It can be a huge plus... SERIOUSLY...
*remove the not before sure.
My morning always starts with you Judd! Your reporting has been nothing short of amazing. The expose's of Facebook have been really eye opening. Now, when I read Facebook's claims about misinformation and their 'amazing' fact checking, I know it is simply more misinformation. One cannot delete a Facebook account, (despite their claims that you can) but I have deleted all that I can, and will never use them again and warn others when possible.
It always comes down to the money. Is Trump really a failed businessman? Be nice to know if that were true, oh say, about October?
Thanks again!
Thank you for all of the powerful work you do. I'd love to see a story on charges that would stick for trump and his family as/after he leaves office, particularly relating to how they've profited off of the pandemic. But first, have a fantastic week off!
Election facts: What % of eligible voters are actually registered? Of those what % actually votes? Breakdown by age, sex and race. How many states have early voting and for how long? Just would like to understand better the entire process from a statistical viewpoint.
Postal Service by the numbers: How many workers? How many post offices? What should a cost of a letter be to break even? What do they charge to delivery a package for Amazon? should it be more? Congress controls the post office but won't let it make changes to be more efficient. I still think it is amazing that someone will come to my house and pick up a letter and deliver it across the country for $0.55.
Judd, really admire your work and hope you have a restful week off! This is maybe from left field, but I’d love to see some reporting on municipal finances. What happens to cities and states that are bankrupted after coronavirus? Are states being assisted in equitable fashion by the federal gov’t?
Judd, thank you for all you do.
My biggest concern is trump losing and starting a civil war. Living in a red state, I’ve heard many people say that if trump loses, there’s going to be a civil war. They would be part of it. trump has torn this country apart. He’s turned citizens against one another. I hope and pray it doesn’t happen, but I see the signs.
School reopenings K-College maybe after y’all’s break there will be more data. Also how has lack of State Tax Revenue/Federal Bail Out for States has effected state services and COVID-19 responses across the country. Keep up the good work!!!!
I am deeply grateful for your in depth investigations. Your making a significant difference and it's up to all of us to make those changes lasting. Thank you for your help with making us advocates for the good.
Your work is always on point. So as a big fan (and political junkie), i would like to see two things (my wish list) for the next 60 days:
a) Voting - no about obstruction necessarily but about how voting works. It seems evident for us how to vote. But it is not for the average non-political person.
b) Healthcare and how it is being dismantle in front of our eyes and we are ignoring it because we are so distracted with the noise.
Of course there are going to be many things to cover and it would be nice to cover all but realistically, tangible issues have real impact on election day.
Voting will absolutely be a focus. And I want to cover health care too! Honestly there are too many things to cover so I try to pick topics where I feel I can add the most value.
and election security, yes?
I would like to know affiliation of the business owners who make the voting machines and the software for them. How is this safeguarded? I had heard that one party or even the president's family owns them. Can the software be checked independently. How easy can they be hacked. Couldn't the software be changed so that 2% of all votes go to a particular party? That would be enough to change the election, and certainly could have had an effect in 2016.
First off, and I think I’ve mentioned this a few times, your approach and coverage is a refreshing and important departure from the typical newsfeed (you go deep).
One issue I’ve been following closely is electronic and mobile balloting. It’s such an obvious solution, we rely on mobile tech for so much (personal health, banking, nuclear arsenal) and yet the forces standing against it are strong. Some politicians, organizations and lobbyists - even some universities and research labs have maligned solutions without even testing them. My guess is there are nefarious forces behind these people - funding and encouraging and rewarding them.
I mean, interference with the postal system is one thing - that’s already a broken institution that barely works. Mobile balloting is something else entirely when is comes to expanding access, increasing participation and reducing fraud.
I barely trust in-person electronic voting machines. I can't imagine a world in which we could roll out an internet-based voting system that would achieve broad popular trust with the current system by which the government contracts technical work.
Popular Information might be interested to dig into that tech contractor licensing system, though it's been written and talked about at length. It is that system that we have to thank for things like the budget and timeline challenges of the ACA portal ("insurance marketplace").
Though I fear incompetence, an even bigger threat is state-sanctioned meddling. If Russia and China can carry out months-long online misinformation campaigns without even being noticed, imagine what they could do given a voting system to hack on.
The math is simple on this one: There is no democracy without broad participation in elections. There is no broad participation without access. And access is decreasing. Aaron, our personal health, finances, nuclear arsenal are all networked - elections are among the last holdouts. Why? Not because of security concerns (we can monitor, detect and audit) - that's a story you've been told by the forces that don't want people to vote.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephaniefillion/2020/08/24/if-estonia-figured-out-online-voting-15-years-ago-why-cant-the-us/#7c796a0515ab
Judd, you keep me sane. In a world where Qanon is gaining traction and Larua Loomer wins an election, we need the truth now more than ever. I want to learn more about it, but it's so ridiculous and stupid, I cannot in good faith ask you to research this and write more about it. Please don't feed into this garbage. Keep challenging the administration on all of their misdeeds and lawlessness and keep fighting the good fight. You are incredible and your work is having a massive impact! Love POPULAR INFORMATION!!!
You do a great job shedding light on the way corporate America funds the right and benefits financially from it. One thing that would be interesting to have more light shown on are all the financial benefits, positions of influence etc that prominent figures on the right enjoy. I am thinking of people who have wide influence eg. fox media figures and people like that.
Enjoy your well-earned vacation. And stay away from this even if you think you can't. We need you at your best!
Great reporting. Keep us informed on the Trump plan reported by Newsweek and MSNBC concerning protesting election results using Congress, etc. to stay in power.