Today, however, I want to hear from you. What's on your mind? What topics should be on Popular Information's radar? You can leave your thoughts in the discussion thread linked below, starting now. I’ll be dropping by later today to answer any questions.
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Why is DeJoy still left free reign to sabotage USPS? Lots of groups have been agitating for the last 3+ years for Biden to appoint Board of Governors who will oust the saboteur. Why is Biden foot dragging?
Hi Judd. You and your team are the best. My newest evil billionaire villain obsession is Jeffrey Yass. He basically just bought Trump. I’m wondering if he’s a christofascist or what his motives are. I’ve Googled him but don’t find much about his history and what his ultimate goals for destroying the U.S. are. Would love for you to do a deep dive on him
I am insanely worried about the ongoing impact of dark money on politics. (Bad actors funneling $9 billion to Trump using the cover of buying his wonky network. But others are on that story, so) Let's keep looking at the 20-30 groups with misleading names funding political candidates who only want to destroy. Your work is powerful when you expose people and companies who ignore & misuse our laws. The verified details you pull together us are crucial. Too many of the powerful have one (or no) rules for themselves while actively trying to use rules to crush everyone else.
By saying the economy is good, Democrats don't speak to the majority of us who are living paycheck to paycheck, dealing with rising costs of housing and food. I want "us" to say, "We understand your extra stress and pain, the rising stock market means nothing to you. Give us a chance to help us turn things around, until our infrastructure and green economy benefits get to your neighborhood. We'll strengthen our national safety net and resume the payments that lifted so many children out of poverty." Etc. [Obviously "tax billionaires" and "take back the dysfunctional House" are implied by this.] The Democrats are (mostly) the party of science and let us be the party of speaking more of the truth. A key step in turning the political landscape around.
It appears right-wing efforts are already under way to smear Pete Buttigieg and the Biden administration as a whole for the Baltimore bridge incident. Without knowing the full story, though, I'd be willing to bet this has a lot to do with deregulation by the Trump administration and/or inadequate safety standards fueled by corporate greed.
Hello Judd. I sent a separate email to you on this but for all to see, I'll post it here as well. The media is starting to run stories about facility fees being imposed by hospitals in order to pass along to insurers or the patient in order to recover the operational costs hospitals or other provider facilities incur. This is worth a look in terms of communication to patients (there is a NY State regulation on this), the patient's response (Wall St Journal 3/26/24) and the implication to health care costs overall. Patients may see these fees as a "surprise billing," which is a whole different area in the cost of health care in the USA.
I want to know why Kamala Harris is so invisible to me. I hold to my pre-electronic media days, reading my local newspapers and skimming headlines of big city newspapers and left leaning organizations (ahem). I never see anything about Kamala, I mean, never. It is as though she was an embarrassment to the Democratic establishment. So who is she? What vision does she have for America? When Biden wins, there is a very good chance she will be president, so let's hear her talk. Can you get an interview with Harris for your readers? We could supply the questions - you really have a great group of intelligent and informed readers here. I am tired of the unchecked misogyny swirling around our vice president. Let's hear from Harris.
So, what's the backstory to Israel's new project to purge U.S. college campuses, organizing firings and casting all pro-Palestinian campus writings and postings as 'antisemitic' ?
I recall years ago jokes about naming Israel our 51st state. Now the reverse seems to be happening.
What’s the best way to help swing states deliver for Democrats? I live in Illinois which is predominantly blue. I feel I want to do something for states that might need support. Even if a little bit.
Hi Judd, fellow Hoya Lawya. Wondering if you could spend time debunking the myth that Black voters, especially Black men, are flocking towards Trump. Although it appears completely false, this type of sentiment can be a self fulfilling prophecy in that enough people can be swayed to impact the election, even if not a majority of Black men voters.
Some coverage of the 15-minute cities conspiracy theories would be nice, New Urbanism and transit issues get undercovered in the mainstream. I’d also love some more coverage of housing, because the housing parts of Biden’s budget request also got buried and need some exposure. And NASA’s also getting less money than inflation would dictate, which means worse Earth science overall and thus climate science. Other than that, still more coverage of environmental economics is needed, in my view.
Friends of mine are trying to register for sociology courses at Florida state colleges and finding sociology courses have been eliminated. Offered in their place is a new course in Florida Civic Literacy. SB266, passed and enacted this year by Gov DeSantis bans sociology from being required by schools for any non-sociology majors. I can connect you with Florida sociology professors and their faculty senate representatives who would be willing to talk about how the ban threatens FL universities' standing within the American Association of Universities, how it forces pre-med students to pay independently for sociology credits to get the training they need for material on the MCAT, how schools in the 28 school State College System are eliminating sociology courses to pro-actively comply with the statehouse.
Armstrong Williams, the new owner of the Baltimore Sun, wrote two recent columns denigrating Biden and his administration. Yesterday’s column criticized US policy toward Ukraine. I urge all local readers to write letters to the editor in response. And Judd, please keep reporting on this ownership group’s conflict of interest.
Hey Judd. I'd really like to know all the various groups involved in all the anti-trans narratives and legislation. I've seen a couple of YouTube videos about different communities involved in anti-trans narratives and legislation, but I feel the groups and communities involved with these efforts have a much larger scope than most people realize.
Democrats, up and down ballot, every single one, need to remind voters that "elections have consequences" making the Supreme Court itself an issue for voters to consider. And remind voters it's not just abortion on the ballot, but every federal judge and every regulatory agency. They should also impeach the judge in Texas and after winning control of the House, launch investigations into Jared, Ivanka, and also the other House members and Senators who were complicit in J6. Remember, the SC ruled Trump can't be kept off the ballot in Colorado because it was a national election, but also ruled that dude in New Mexico could be kept off the ballot because it wasn't a national election. Time to kick Jordan, Green, Cruz, Hawley, Graham, and others to the curb.
With the supermajority and a Republican governor ruling Tennessee, we have so many issues that a deep dive from you could shed more light on. I would be most interested in digging deeper on vouchers and charter schools, which, from what I've read, are wildly unpopular with most local districts and with the public here in Tennessee (and everywhere else, I would hope). Specifically, I would like to see your team shed light on the shady dealings of the GOP to push this voucher agenda. Here's a great resource that will probably unfortunately not be widely viewed: https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2024/03/25/private-school-voucher-esa-history-timeline-tennessee-bill-lee/
COVID: still killing 1,000 Americans a week, still causing a million Long COVID cases every month, and now researchers tell us that even a "mild" case is likely to cause some long-term brain & heart damage. But instead of requiring effective measures like better ventilation or air purifiers or testing or N95 masks, public officials are just doubling-down on their "Mission Accomplished" narrative, and journalists are giving them a pass on it.
Two trends that I find genuinely terrifying are the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), and, separately, the depth of violence and destruction online communities have on children and teens.
With the NAR, The Atlantic has reported on their philosophies and how intertwined they are in government (e.g., Speaker Mike Johnson has their flag outside his office), but I am specifically curious in how they may use wording/expressions to signal to one another. For example, Big Spring School District in PA used the expression "Operation Lost Sheep Committee" to look at why families are choosing cyber schools. It occurred to me that this may account for what I have previously thought of quirky or odd may be very intentional.
With online communities, the Southern Poverty Law Center and Vox have reported on how the incel movement is directly connected to mass shootings, with seeking recruitment of boys as young as 8. The Washington Post has talked about how shockingly young children are targeted for sex- and harm-related blackmail through online connections but as nearly as I can tell schools are not taking on these topics to raise awareness for families and build resiliency skills in kids. I'm also curious if these acts of violence are primarily targeting white/caucasian teens for recruitment or if they cross cultural lines.
Thank you for all that you do with your investigative reporting.
Could you please discuss why the former extremely popular front-runner in the last two presidential elections for the Dem candidate, Senator Bernie Sanders, is not urgently being put forward as the obvious truly electable replacement for Biden whose ratings continue to tank, especially given his active cynical participation in the Israeli genocidal bombing and starvation onslaught against the Palestinian people in blatent violation with US and international law?
We of course remember the dirty tricks and smear campaign initiated by the corporate AIPAC funded so-called leadership in these two instances to disloyaly sabotage the popular Dem voters' choice for Sanders.
But arguably today, their insistance on promoting and failing to convince the growing millions of progressive voters who reject Biden and refuse to support a de facto mass murderer who additionaly doesn't hesitate to isolate the US on the world stage on the said issue begs the question : Do they even care if Trump wins by default ?
To sum up : In my humble opinion Bernie Sanders - straight-shooter, proven track record for standing up for the common good, brilliant orator, chair of the HELP commission, extremely popular with the disgruntled progressive youth fed up with "gas-lighting corporate Dem self-serving "leaders" - is the obvious "elephant in the room" electable winner of the 2024 presidential elections.
Your work is incredible. Keep the reporting up on money in politics. I’m also wondering if you can help dissect the work of some of Biden’s incredible appointees, specifically Lina M. Khan and Lauren McFerran. Some great policy and historic lawsuits occurring but not much coverage and not simple to digest.
There seems to be two sorts of banks in this world: The ones that answer to regulatory rules, and the ones set up for Billionaires to launder money. I hope you keep this article in mind: https://ips-dc.org/billionaire-enabler-states/
“Trusts are key to this story. These financial vehicles facilitate tax avoidance and evasion and help to entrench the status and fortune of wealthy elites.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) made a splash in October 2021 with the publication of the Pandora Papers, a trove of documents that highlight how the world’s wealthy elites use trusts to evade taxation and hide often-illicit wealth from the public. One of the greatest revelations from the Pandora Papers was that the U.S. has become a major global tax haven.”
I would really love to see more light shed on what is gluing the GOP to Russia. The World Congress of Families certainly seems to have deep and strong ties with their outspoken hateful discrimination against the lgbtq community to both the GOP and Russia. Every GOP committee member in the House seems to have connections to anti-lgbtq organizations. It’s no wonder a southern state like Oklahoma actively promotes the hate of lgbtq youth like Nex Benedict and May even cover up her murder at the hands of her classmates.
“The World Congress of Families (WCF) was formed in 1997 in a meeting in Russia between American academic and Reagan appointee to the National Commission on Children, Allan Carlson, and the Russian intellectuals Anatoly Antonov and Viktor Medkov.
Though its origins are in the American Christian Right, the WCF has built a web of influence in different countries, providing a point of networking for global anti-LGBT forces and working as a political power broker as an anti-LGBT group in its own right. Its legacy includes the mainstreaming of the so-called “natural family” doctrine, one that has been used to curtail LGBT and reproductive rights across the world.“
In 2016 WCF rebranded with an umbrella organization called International Organization for the Family
Though there is much written on these organizations, it is not getting into the MSM how strong they have grown, their tactics to influence, and a general awareness which could increase resistance to their brainwashing efforts that come right out if Putin’s playbook.
I’m guessing Jeff Sharlet might have written about them.
And why is it so difficult to hold Mike Flynn accountable for the creepy stuff he’s doing to our democracy?
“ Mike Flynn: Duty to Warn
Nevertheless, Mike Flynn and his network immediately started to spread the lies of Russian state security service FSB as a credible source on as many podcasts as possible, including Sandy Hook-denier, negative-billionaire Alex Jones.
Flynn takes credit for predicting the “Black Swan event” in Baltimore and says “a terrorist attack is not off the table.” He says it was a “2nd, 3rd… order consequence” of the ISIS-K attack in Moscow, which Flynn somehow blames on Joe Biden.
I continue to be mystified at the complete boycott on media coverage, law enforcement, and Justice Department action on Mike Flynn and his network. His plans to overthrow the 2024 election are quite clear. He is openly coordinating with actual Russian intelligence services. His operatives are signaling an “extremely bloody” civil war. And he’s about to embark on a 35 city tour to deify himself.“
What is your take on the WPATH files? The collapse of Tavistock and investigation of Mermaids? The change in what Nordic countries now consider prudent to do about gender confusion? It may be unpopular to look at this, and at detransition, but I would hope YOU of all people would dare to. Medicalization of gender confusion is irreversible harm.. Children should be protected from such. Growth blockers blocking the maturation of children's brain development, without which they cannot make mature decisions that will affect the rest of their lives, concerns me.
I'd like to see (less ink spilled) more coverage of how podcasts and YouTube channels, Reddit, etc. can keep intensifying the maddening excess of opinions just because....there's a platform for all of them, most of them unworthy of our time and attention. It's like Oprah's old refrain, you get a car, you get a car.... now EVERYBODY gets a podcast, opinion airing even when unnecessary and undesirable! The blowout of opinions from everyone everywhere all at once is pure excess. Ever wonder why Jon Stewart's podcast went down the drain?
How about a look at the total of how many US(?) bilionaires with obvious ties to DJT are also heavily invested/connected to Xi and the PRC. If lobbying Congress is an historical thing, how about lobbying a President (or a presidential candidate who gets US security briefings) via the lure of cash? Throw in fealty to V Putin and see what your count totals. Seems Citizens United et al may have delivered some trouble to our system.
Keep up the good work!! My question or ask is a look at the airline industry. They cram us into aging planes and make us pay a premium for it. We get searched and dehumanized and continue to pay for it. The industry gets bailouts from the government every time they screw up. Shining a lens on something like that might give the “right” and “left” something to agree on!
1) Yes, we need a deeper investigation into Dejoy, and documentation about whether postal service has suffered in the last five years. Ask non-profits about problems with direct mail. Also, see articles about Leavenworth, KS PO hiding rather than delivering mail. 2) How is it that both Giuliani and pillow guy Mike Lindell are facing huge $ judgments but neither have filed for bankruptcy? Do we need an "explainer" on how federal bankruptcy laws work and what triggers a filing?
Indianapolis, In has a writer named Sheila Kennedy. This am, her column discusses a blog by Dr Chris Lamb who lists biographies for 300 less than savory people who were in Trump's first administration and will serve in a second one. Perhaps you will find interesting topics there.
Public Question: Anomalous Spam Filtering? ... Unsure. ... Worth a Look?
This is prob'ly just an anomaly, but I've been noticing -- since somewhat before the New Year, maybe Thanksgiving at the earliest -- that my spam/junk mail folder [Outlook desktop on Win 10 Pro] was being populated mostly by e-mails from a particular cluster of organizations -- AFT, SEIU, in fact, almost anything and everything to do with labor and Democratic get-out-the-vote and fund-raising.
No question that I subscribe to much more -- or am simply pummeled much more -- by Dems and Dem issues in my e-mail. And no question that the season has generated an avalanche of mailings. But a couple of things have me, as Asimov would have it, not saying "Eureka!" but "Hmmm. That's funny." ... Among them?
1) Some of these e-mails get through. Ballpark? 1 in 5 to 1 in 10.
2) Many of the e-mails being intermittently blocked are from sources I've been receiving e-mails from -- to the same e-mail address -- for years, and, in some cases, more than a decade.
3) My Outlook currently is set to receive e-mail through my work *.edu account, as well as e-mail through my local ISP, and several accounts externally hosted on a still-active domain I used to publish on when I still had to explain to be people what the internet and world wide web are.
4) As for which e-mails? The college's e-mail system obviously has its own filters in place. But that's not where the problem lies. The e-mail that is predominantly affected is the one I used, among other things, when contributing to a couple of Dem and Indy candidates intermittently since 2015.
5) Finally, I have the local client-side filter set to "Low: Move the most obvious junk email to the Junk Email folder." That setting is was set on installation of the program and hasn't been changed since; however, it's very likely that the algorithm used for filtering, which is set by Microsoft, has been updated periodically, though with what frequency these days, I cannot say. When I next have a stretch of time on my hands, I will turn the filter off altogether, but that won't happen until the semester is over.
I've built computers, installed LAN and WAN networks, ran my own Exchange Server for years, blah, blah. The point being, this is not a conspiracy theory, but something that had been a casual observation late last year, but has now shown some consistency in the pattern the dozen times or so that I've bothered to take a look since then.
Well. ... If this doesn't ring any bells for anyone, assuming there are others among us who bother to look at their spam/junk folder periodically, that would be great. On the other hand, if there are others seeing their spam/junk filters with an apparent predilection for tossing the category of e-mails I listed, maybe it's something Popular Info could take a look at.
It's a long and winding thread to untangle, but Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) provide no value to our healthcare system and are unnecessary gatekeepers. A frustration for both patients and providers.
I am a card-carrying left-of-center Democratic voter and fan of Popular Information. But, I believe with the eradication of ombudsmen/women among major left-of-center media, like NYT, CNN & WaPo, there is a vast opportunity for hard-hitting investigative journalists to step into the breach. That's what The Intercept did with NYT's massive campaign to demonstrate what it called "Systematic Sexual Violence" committed by Hamas against Israelis during and after the Oct 7 attack. The Intercept called "Bullshit," after its investigation focused on refutations by immediate family members of two girls allegedly raped and murdered. The murders were horrific enough and fully verifiable. But NYT went for more. It made little to no effort to corroborate allegations, eschewing its two-source rule in order to get this salacious story on its front page. Retractions? Nope. Liberal media gets away with this, while complaining bitterly about Fox News's lack of journalistic standards and unmistakable bias. I believe Popular Information is in an excellent position to force standards and integrity on the footless, and often hypocritical, major liberal media.
I've mentioned similar stories previously, but now we're in the final stretches of the Maryland state legislature rolling back protections for children and continuing to charge children as adults automatically for many more crimes than most other states. There has been a big right-wing media push to emphasize youth crime even as it is a very small portion of overall crime in the state, and is declining in many parts of the state. One concerned citizen who reached out to Senator Hayes got a response reading in part "While youth offenders account for less than ten percent of the crimes committed, unfortunately, they have become the largest part of the crime perception problem in Maryland."
Legislators are using public perception of crime to roll back reforms when that perception is based on misleading news stories. Any efforts to clarify the real data and the positive impacts of those reforms would be greatly appreciated. I'd be happy to put you in touch with advocates who have detailed knowledge of this situation.
Hi Judd. I haven’t seen much in your newsletter about anti-semitism on college campuses (and elsewhere) or foreign money influencing college campuses. I saw a graphic recently that shows Qatar has spent upwards of $3B to reach college students here in the US. Is this true? Why is it permitted to happen?
Missing from public comments recently, as far as I know, is the need for legislation to clarify the means, methods, and bounds of the president's pardon power.
It shouldn't be OK, for instance, for someone to deliberately break criminal statutes with the open understanding that the president will pardon him or her. I'm sure there are many other potential abuses of the pardon power.
There are obvious objections to any restrictions to the pardon power. However, many other constitutional requirements have been defined by statutes and case law.
A review of the potential for this approach with a view toward what it would entail and the precedents for this approach may be useful and informative.
Hi Judd, I'd love an in-depth analysis of the real history as to why America has always been so un-critically pro-Israel? Also including a look at whether comparisons can be drawn between the dis-respect of native American land rights and the disrespect for land-rights of the Palestinian people? Thank you!
New Jersey & Ca. are the only two states that require internet literacy to be taught from K-12. With AI advancing at an ever increasing rate, along with the damage from fake news I do not understand why the Democratic party is not making internet literacy an issue. I've yet to speak with anyone on either side of the political fence who does not think that it's obvious that teaching internet literacy is imperative. Why are both parties as quite as mice on this ?
What is the real agenda/motivation behind GOP members who are so against aid to Ukraine?
I think it has something to do with their allegiance to Trump, and his ethically questionable personal relationship with Putin. How can they be so against aid, unless they want Putin to defeat Ukraine.
Recently, a story came out about a suicide of a staff member of a hbcu. She left notes accusing the president of the college of bullying. Supposedly, the college investigated and cleared him. Something feels wrong about this story, like pieces are missing.. I’m curious about historically black colleges and universities. Who runs them? What are the demographics of staff and decision makers? Has that changed in recent years? How do they and will they handle DEI issues and legislation?
I'm torn on the anti-trust lawsuit against Apple by the feds. They clearly benefit and prop up the playing field to their advantage, at the same time they protect their users' personal data more than any other tech company on that scale. Can we have an in-depth article on that? Thank you.
First, thank you for all the great news stories you tirelessly produce.
While there has been a fair amount of coverage of Christian Nationalism, there has been very little when it comes to what is looking a lot like satanic panic 2.0. As both a member of an earth-based minority religion and someone who covers news relevant to Pagan and Pagan-adjacent communities, I have seen an increase rhetoric when it comes to Pagans & Witches.
Any MSM story that involves a Pagan or Witch often uses the term "self-proclaimed witch/pagan" even when the person's belief is not relevant to the news story. Imagine if this was applied to any other religion. While that is nothing new, what is new is the number and level of attacks on belief systems and practitioners of various earth-based religions.
A majority of people might view any earth-based religion as kooky and simply not care how practitioners and their beliefs are portrayed, but those of us who lived through the 90s remember all too well how dangerous the current shift in aggressive rhetoric is. Freedom of religion applies to all belief systems and when one is attacked, all are threatened.
I wonder how an infusion of federal cash to rebuild the bridge in Baltimore can be used to improve the local economy with good-paying jobs, and improve the national infrastructure via significant structural improvements that are available in today’s technology, versus what was in place with the Francis Scott Key bridge.
Why is DeJoy still left free reign to sabotage USPS? Lots of groups have been agitating for the last 3+ years for Biden to appoint Board of Governors who will oust the saboteur. Why is Biden foot dragging?
Hi Judd. You and your team are the best. My newest evil billionaire villain obsession is Jeffrey Yass. He basically just bought Trump. I’m wondering if he’s a christofascist or what his motives are. I’ve Googled him but don’t find much about his history and what his ultimate goals for destroying the U.S. are. Would love for you to do a deep dive on him
I am insanely worried about the ongoing impact of dark money on politics. (Bad actors funneling $9 billion to Trump using the cover of buying his wonky network. But others are on that story, so) Let's keep looking at the 20-30 groups with misleading names funding political candidates who only want to destroy. Your work is powerful when you expose people and companies who ignore & misuse our laws. The verified details you pull together us are crucial. Too many of the powerful have one (or no) rules for themselves while actively trying to use rules to crush everyone else.
By saying the economy is good, Democrats don't speak to the majority of us who are living paycheck to paycheck, dealing with rising costs of housing and food. I want "us" to say, "We understand your extra stress and pain, the rising stock market means nothing to you. Give us a chance to help us turn things around, until our infrastructure and green economy benefits get to your neighborhood. We'll strengthen our national safety net and resume the payments that lifted so many children out of poverty." Etc. [Obviously "tax billionaires" and "take back the dysfunctional House" are implied by this.] The Democrats are (mostly) the party of science and let us be the party of speaking more of the truth. A key step in turning the political landscape around.
It appears right-wing efforts are already under way to smear Pete Buttigieg and the Biden administration as a whole for the Baltimore bridge incident. Without knowing the full story, though, I'd be willing to bet this has a lot to do with deregulation by the Trump administration and/or inadequate safety standards fueled by corporate greed.
Hello Judd. I sent a separate email to you on this but for all to see, I'll post it here as well. The media is starting to run stories about facility fees being imposed by hospitals in order to pass along to insurers or the patient in order to recover the operational costs hospitals or other provider facilities incur. This is worth a look in terms of communication to patients (there is a NY State regulation on this), the patient's response (Wall St Journal 3/26/24) and the implication to health care costs overall. Patients may see these fees as a "surprise billing," which is a whole different area in the cost of health care in the USA.
I want to know why Kamala Harris is so invisible to me. I hold to my pre-electronic media days, reading my local newspapers and skimming headlines of big city newspapers and left leaning organizations (ahem). I never see anything about Kamala, I mean, never. It is as though she was an embarrassment to the Democratic establishment. So who is she? What vision does she have for America? When Biden wins, there is a very good chance she will be president, so let's hear her talk. Can you get an interview with Harris for your readers? We could supply the questions - you really have a great group of intelligent and informed readers here. I am tired of the unchecked misogyny swirling around our vice president. Let's hear from Harris.
So, what's the backstory to Israel's new project to purge U.S. college campuses, organizing firings and casting all pro-Palestinian campus writings and postings as 'antisemitic' ?
I recall years ago jokes about naming Israel our 51st state. Now the reverse seems to be happening.
Any news?
What’s the best way to help swing states deliver for Democrats? I live in Illinois which is predominantly blue. I feel I want to do something for states that might need support. Even if a little bit.
Hi Judd, fellow Hoya Lawya. Wondering if you could spend time debunking the myth that Black voters, especially Black men, are flocking towards Trump. Although it appears completely false, this type of sentiment can be a self fulfilling prophecy in that enough people can be swayed to impact the election, even if not a majority of Black men voters.
Some coverage of the 15-minute cities conspiracy theories would be nice, New Urbanism and transit issues get undercovered in the mainstream. I’d also love some more coverage of housing, because the housing parts of Biden’s budget request also got buried and need some exposure. And NASA’s also getting less money than inflation would dictate, which means worse Earth science overall and thus climate science. Other than that, still more coverage of environmental economics is needed, in my view.
Friends of mine are trying to register for sociology courses at Florida state colleges and finding sociology courses have been eliminated. Offered in their place is a new course in Florida Civic Literacy. SB266, passed and enacted this year by Gov DeSantis bans sociology from being required by schools for any non-sociology majors. I can connect you with Florida sociology professors and their faculty senate representatives who would be willing to talk about how the ban threatens FL universities' standing within the American Association of Universities, how it forces pre-med students to pay independently for sociology credits to get the training they need for material on the MCAT, how schools in the 28 school State College System are eliminating sociology courses to pro-actively comply with the statehouse.
Armstrong Williams, the new owner of the Baltimore Sun, wrote two recent columns denigrating Biden and his administration. Yesterday’s column criticized US policy toward Ukraine. I urge all local readers to write letters to the editor in response. And Judd, please keep reporting on this ownership group’s conflict of interest.
Hey Judd. I'd really like to know all the various groups involved in all the anti-trans narratives and legislation. I've seen a couple of YouTube videos about different communities involved in anti-trans narratives and legislation, but I feel the groups and communities involved with these efforts have a much larger scope than most people realize.
Democrats, up and down ballot, every single one, need to remind voters that "elections have consequences" making the Supreme Court itself an issue for voters to consider. And remind voters it's not just abortion on the ballot, but every federal judge and every regulatory agency. They should also impeach the judge in Texas and after winning control of the House, launch investigations into Jared, Ivanka, and also the other House members and Senators who were complicit in J6. Remember, the SC ruled Trump can't be kept off the ballot in Colorado because it was a national election, but also ruled that dude in New Mexico could be kept off the ballot because it wasn't a national election. Time to kick Jordan, Green, Cruz, Hawley, Graham, and others to the curb.
It’s time to bring up taxation of churches who step outside the separation of Church and State. And while you’re at it, how come the Mormon Church gets to buy up land in Nebraska and Iowa? And the Repugs like Feenstra and Bacon claim China is buying up American resources? https://investigatemidwest.org/2023/11/20/whos-buying-nebraska-corporations-investors-grabbing-giant-chunks-of-nebraska-farmland/
With the supermajority and a Republican governor ruling Tennessee, we have so many issues that a deep dive from you could shed more light on. I would be most interested in digging deeper on vouchers and charter schools, which, from what I've read, are wildly unpopular with most local districts and with the public here in Tennessee (and everywhere else, I would hope). Specifically, I would like to see your team shed light on the shady dealings of the GOP to push this voucher agenda. Here's a great resource that will probably unfortunately not be widely viewed: https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2024/03/25/private-school-voucher-esa-history-timeline-tennessee-bill-lee/
Project 2025
Matt Gaetz and his adopted black son who is just not anywhere to be seen. The Republican Florida party and their pedophile ways. Thank you
COVID: still killing 1,000 Americans a week, still causing a million Long COVID cases every month, and now researchers tell us that even a "mild" case is likely to cause some long-term brain & heart damage. But instead of requiring effective measures like better ventilation or air purifiers or testing or N95 masks, public officials are just doubling-down on their "Mission Accomplished" narrative, and journalists are giving them a pass on it.
Re: The RGA support for Robinson.
Republicans have no moral compass.
Re: Corporate support for the RGA
Money=free speech was one of the worst SCOTUS decisions ever, for politics in this country, because more money obviously equals more speech.
Two trends that I find genuinely terrifying are the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), and, separately, the depth of violence and destruction online communities have on children and teens.
With the NAR, The Atlantic has reported on their philosophies and how intertwined they are in government (e.g., Speaker Mike Johnson has their flag outside his office), but I am specifically curious in how they may use wording/expressions to signal to one another. For example, Big Spring School District in PA used the expression "Operation Lost Sheep Committee" to look at why families are choosing cyber schools. It occurred to me that this may account for what I have previously thought of quirky or odd may be very intentional.
With online communities, the Southern Poverty Law Center and Vox have reported on how the incel movement is directly connected to mass shootings, with seeking recruitment of boys as young as 8. The Washington Post has talked about how shockingly young children are targeted for sex- and harm-related blackmail through online connections but as nearly as I can tell schools are not taking on these topics to raise awareness for families and build resiliency skills in kids. I'm also curious if these acts of violence are primarily targeting white/caucasian teens for recruitment or if they cross cultural lines.
Thank you for all that you do with your investigative reporting.
Hello and thanks for the opportunity to share.
Could you please discuss why the former extremely popular front-runner in the last two presidential elections for the Dem candidate, Senator Bernie Sanders, is not urgently being put forward as the obvious truly electable replacement for Biden whose ratings continue to tank, especially given his active cynical participation in the Israeli genocidal bombing and starvation onslaught against the Palestinian people in blatent violation with US and international law?
We of course remember the dirty tricks and smear campaign initiated by the corporate AIPAC funded so-called leadership in these two instances to disloyaly sabotage the popular Dem voters' choice for Sanders.
But arguably today, their insistance on promoting and failing to convince the growing millions of progressive voters who reject Biden and refuse to support a de facto mass murderer who additionaly doesn't hesitate to isolate the US on the world stage on the said issue begs the question : Do they even care if Trump wins by default ?
To sum up : In my humble opinion Bernie Sanders - straight-shooter, proven track record for standing up for the common good, brilliant orator, chair of the HELP commission, extremely popular with the disgruntled progressive youth fed up with "gas-lighting corporate Dem self-serving "leaders" - is the obvious "elephant in the room" electable winner of the 2024 presidential elections.
So why are the Dems pretending he doesn't exist ?
Thanks for considering my comments.
Your work is incredible. Keep the reporting up on money in politics. I’m also wondering if you can help dissect the work of some of Biden’s incredible appointees, specifically Lina M. Khan and Lauren McFerran. Some great policy and historic lawsuits occurring but not much coverage and not simple to digest.
There seems to be two sorts of banks in this world: The ones that answer to regulatory rules, and the ones set up for Billionaires to launder money. I hope you keep this article in mind: https://ips-dc.org/billionaire-enabler-states/
“Trusts are key to this story. These financial vehicles facilitate tax avoidance and evasion and help to entrench the status and fortune of wealthy elites.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) made a splash in October 2021 with the publication of the Pandora Papers, a trove of documents that highlight how the world’s wealthy elites use trusts to evade taxation and hide often-illicit wealth from the public. One of the greatest revelations from the Pandora Papers was that the U.S. has become a major global tax haven.”
I would really love to see more light shed on what is gluing the GOP to Russia. The World Congress of Families certainly seems to have deep and strong ties with their outspoken hateful discrimination against the lgbtq community to both the GOP and Russia. Every GOP committee member in the House seems to have connections to anti-lgbtq organizations. It’s no wonder a southern state like Oklahoma actively promotes the hate of lgbtq youth like Nex Benedict and May even cover up her murder at the hands of her classmates.
“The World Congress of Families (WCF) was formed in 1997 in a meeting in Russia between American academic and Reagan appointee to the National Commission on Children, Allan Carlson, and the Russian intellectuals Anatoly Antonov and Viktor Medkov.
Though its origins are in the American Christian Right, the WCF has built a web of influence in different countries, providing a point of networking for global anti-LGBT forces and working as a political power broker as an anti-LGBT group in its own right. Its legacy includes the mainstreaming of the so-called “natural family” doctrine, one that has been used to curtail LGBT and reproductive rights across the world.“
https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/world-congress-families
In 2016 WCF rebranded with an umbrella organization called International Organization for the Family
Though there is much written on these organizations, it is not getting into the MSM how strong they have grown, their tactics to influence, and a general awareness which could increase resistance to their brainwashing efforts that come right out if Putin’s playbook.
https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/13522
I’m guessing Jeff Sharlet might have written about them.
And why is it so difficult to hold Mike Flynn accountable for the creepy stuff he’s doing to our democracy?
“ Mike Flynn: Duty to Warn
Nevertheless, Mike Flynn and his network immediately started to spread the lies of Russian state security service FSB as a credible source on as many podcasts as possible, including Sandy Hook-denier, negative-billionaire Alex Jones.
Flynn takes credit for predicting the “Black Swan event” in Baltimore and says “a terrorist attack is not off the table.” He says it was a “2nd, 3rd… order consequence” of the ISIS-K attack in Moscow, which Flynn somehow blames on Joe Biden.
I continue to be mystified at the complete boycott on media coverage, law enforcement, and Justice Department action on Mike Flynn and his network. His plans to overthrow the 2024 election are quite clear. He is openly coordinating with actual Russian intelligence services. His operatives are signaling an “extremely bloody” civil war. And he’s about to embark on a 35 city tour to deify himself.“
https://www.mind-war.com/p/duty-to-warn-isis-k-in-moscow-vs
What is your take on the WPATH files? The collapse of Tavistock and investigation of Mermaids? The change in what Nordic countries now consider prudent to do about gender confusion? It may be unpopular to look at this, and at detransition, but I would hope YOU of all people would dare to. Medicalization of gender confusion is irreversible harm.. Children should be protected from such. Growth blockers blocking the maturation of children's brain development, without which they cannot make mature decisions that will affect the rest of their lives, concerns me.
I'd like to see (less ink spilled) more coverage of how podcasts and YouTube channels, Reddit, etc. can keep intensifying the maddening excess of opinions just because....there's a platform for all of them, most of them unworthy of our time and attention. It's like Oprah's old refrain, you get a car, you get a car.... now EVERYBODY gets a podcast, opinion airing even when unnecessary and undesirable! The blowout of opinions from everyone everywhere all at once is pure excess. Ever wonder why Jon Stewart's podcast went down the drain?
Continued efforts in Red States to hamper and weaken public education, and privatize it.
How about a look at the total of how many US(?) bilionaires with obvious ties to DJT are also heavily invested/connected to Xi and the PRC. If lobbying Congress is an historical thing, how about lobbying a President (or a presidential candidate who gets US security briefings) via the lure of cash? Throw in fealty to V Putin and see what your count totals. Seems Citizens United et al may have delivered some trouble to our system.
Keep up the good work!! My question or ask is a look at the airline industry. They cram us into aging planes and make us pay a premium for it. We get searched and dehumanized and continue to pay for it. The industry gets bailouts from the government every time they screw up. Shining a lens on something like that might give the “right” and “left” something to agree on!
1) Yes, we need a deeper investigation into Dejoy, and documentation about whether postal service has suffered in the last five years. Ask non-profits about problems with direct mail. Also, see articles about Leavenworth, KS PO hiding rather than delivering mail. 2) How is it that both Giuliani and pillow guy Mike Lindell are facing huge $ judgments but neither have filed for bankruptcy? Do we need an "explainer" on how federal bankruptcy laws work and what triggers a filing?
Indianapolis, In has a writer named Sheila Kennedy. This am, her column discusses a blog by Dr Chris Lamb who lists biographies for 300 less than savory people who were in Trump's first administration and will serve in a second one. Perhaps you will find interesting topics there.
Public Question: Anomalous Spam Filtering? ... Unsure. ... Worth a Look?
This is prob'ly just an anomaly, but I've been noticing -- since somewhat before the New Year, maybe Thanksgiving at the earliest -- that my spam/junk mail folder [Outlook desktop on Win 10 Pro] was being populated mostly by e-mails from a particular cluster of organizations -- AFT, SEIU, in fact, almost anything and everything to do with labor and Democratic get-out-the-vote and fund-raising.
No question that I subscribe to much more -- or am simply pummeled much more -- by Dems and Dem issues in my e-mail. And no question that the season has generated an avalanche of mailings. But a couple of things have me, as Asimov would have it, not saying "Eureka!" but "Hmmm. That's funny." ... Among them?
1) Some of these e-mails get through. Ballpark? 1 in 5 to 1 in 10.
2) Many of the e-mails being intermittently blocked are from sources I've been receiving e-mails from -- to the same e-mail address -- for years, and, in some cases, more than a decade.
3) My Outlook currently is set to receive e-mail through my work *.edu account, as well as e-mail through my local ISP, and several accounts externally hosted on a still-active domain I used to publish on when I still had to explain to be people what the internet and world wide web are.
4) As for which e-mails? The college's e-mail system obviously has its own filters in place. But that's not where the problem lies. The e-mail that is predominantly affected is the one I used, among other things, when contributing to a couple of Dem and Indy candidates intermittently since 2015.
5) Finally, I have the local client-side filter set to "Low: Move the most obvious junk email to the Junk Email folder." That setting is was set on installation of the program and hasn't been changed since; however, it's very likely that the algorithm used for filtering, which is set by Microsoft, has been updated periodically, though with what frequency these days, I cannot say. When I next have a stretch of time on my hands, I will turn the filter off altogether, but that won't happen until the semester is over.
I've built computers, installed LAN and WAN networks, ran my own Exchange Server for years, blah, blah. The point being, this is not a conspiracy theory, but something that had been a casual observation late last year, but has now shown some consistency in the pattern the dozen times or so that I've bothered to take a look since then.
Well. ... If this doesn't ring any bells for anyone, assuming there are others among us who bother to look at their spam/junk folder periodically, that would be great. On the other hand, if there are others seeing their spam/junk filters with an apparent predilection for tossing the category of e-mails I listed, maybe it's something Popular Info could take a look at.
Respectfully ...
It's a long and winding thread to untangle, but Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) provide no value to our healthcare system and are unnecessary gatekeepers. A frustration for both patients and providers.
I am a card-carrying left-of-center Democratic voter and fan of Popular Information. But, I believe with the eradication of ombudsmen/women among major left-of-center media, like NYT, CNN & WaPo, there is a vast opportunity for hard-hitting investigative journalists to step into the breach. That's what The Intercept did with NYT's massive campaign to demonstrate what it called "Systematic Sexual Violence" committed by Hamas against Israelis during and after the Oct 7 attack. The Intercept called "Bullshit," after its investigation focused on refutations by immediate family members of two girls allegedly raped and murdered. The murders were horrific enough and fully verifiable. But NYT went for more. It made little to no effort to corroborate allegations, eschewing its two-source rule in order to get this salacious story on its front page. Retractions? Nope. Liberal media gets away with this, while complaining bitterly about Fox News's lack of journalistic standards and unmistakable bias. I believe Popular Information is in an excellent position to force standards and integrity on the footless, and often hypocritical, major liberal media.
I've mentioned similar stories previously, but now we're in the final stretches of the Maryland state legislature rolling back protections for children and continuing to charge children as adults automatically for many more crimes than most other states. There has been a big right-wing media push to emphasize youth crime even as it is a very small portion of overall crime in the state, and is declining in many parts of the state. One concerned citizen who reached out to Senator Hayes got a response reading in part "While youth offenders account for less than ten percent of the crimes committed, unfortunately, they have become the largest part of the crime perception problem in Maryland."
Legislators are using public perception of crime to roll back reforms when that perception is based on misleading news stories. Any efforts to clarify the real data and the positive impacts of those reforms would be greatly appreciated. I'd be happy to put you in touch with advocates who have detailed knowledge of this situation.
Hi Judd. I haven’t seen much in your newsletter about anti-semitism on college campuses (and elsewhere) or foreign money influencing college campuses. I saw a graphic recently that shows Qatar has spent upwards of $3B to reach college students here in the US. Is this true? Why is it permitted to happen?
Missing from public comments recently, as far as I know, is the need for legislation to clarify the means, methods, and bounds of the president's pardon power.
It shouldn't be OK, for instance, for someone to deliberately break criminal statutes with the open understanding that the president will pardon him or her. I'm sure there are many other potential abuses of the pardon power.
There are obvious objections to any restrictions to the pardon power. However, many other constitutional requirements have been defined by statutes and case law.
A review of the potential for this approach with a view toward what it would entail and the precedents for this approach may be useful and informative.
Hi Judd, I'd love an in-depth analysis of the real history as to why America has always been so un-critically pro-Israel? Also including a look at whether comparisons can be drawn between the dis-respect of native American land rights and the disrespect for land-rights of the Palestinian people? Thank you!
https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/85a6747a-5bd8-482d-b59f-47ad4c35c138?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=1077gq
My suggestion to focus on GOP fascism-- & please do articles explaining in simple details what the GOP plan is with Project 2025.
MSM is failing badly "with both sides". DEMS aren't wanting to rewrite the constitution & turn the USA into a sharia GOP version of fake Christianity.
This also needs to be the focus -- the SEVEN MOUNTAIN MANDATE & MAGA MIKE Johnson's theocratic role in it.
Judd, Thanks for the great reporting.
I would like to better understand all about the DOJ charging the seven Chinese Government hackers last week.
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/seven-hackers-associated-chinese-government-charged-computer-intrusions-targeting-perceived
New Jersey & Ca. are the only two states that require internet literacy to be taught from K-12. With AI advancing at an ever increasing rate, along with the damage from fake news I do not understand why the Democratic party is not making internet literacy an issue. I've yet to speak with anyone on either side of the political fence who does not think that it's obvious that teaching internet literacy is imperative. Why are both parties as quite as mice on this ?
What is the real agenda/motivation behind GOP members who are so against aid to Ukraine?
I think it has something to do with their allegiance to Trump, and his ethically questionable personal relationship with Putin. How can they be so against aid, unless they want Putin to defeat Ukraine.
Let’s do a deep dive on Andrew Clyde my rep in GA. There’s a woman running against him and I wanna help her beat him.
Recently, a story came out about a suicide of a staff member of a hbcu. She left notes accusing the president of the college of bullying. Supposedly, the college investigated and cleared him. Something feels wrong about this story, like pieces are missing.. I’m curious about historically black colleges and universities. Who runs them? What are the demographics of staff and decision makers? Has that changed in recent years? How do they and will they handle DEI issues and legislation?
Thanks for all your hard work.
I'm torn on the anti-trust lawsuit against Apple by the feds. They clearly benefit and prop up the playing field to their advantage, at the same time they protect their users' personal data more than any other tech company on that scale. Can we have an in-depth article on that? Thank you.
First, thank you for all the great news stories you tirelessly produce.
While there has been a fair amount of coverage of Christian Nationalism, there has been very little when it comes to what is looking a lot like satanic panic 2.0. As both a member of an earth-based minority religion and someone who covers news relevant to Pagan and Pagan-adjacent communities, I have seen an increase rhetoric when it comes to Pagans & Witches.
Any MSM story that involves a Pagan or Witch often uses the term "self-proclaimed witch/pagan" even when the person's belief is not relevant to the news story. Imagine if this was applied to any other religion. While that is nothing new, what is new is the number and level of attacks on belief systems and practitioners of various earth-based religions.
A majority of people might view any earth-based religion as kooky and simply not care how practitioners and their beliefs are portrayed, but those of us who lived through the 90s remember all too well how dangerous the current shift in aggressive rhetoric is. Freedom of religion applies to all belief systems and when one is attacked, all are threatened.
I wonder how an infusion of federal cash to rebuild the bridge in Baltimore can be used to improve the local economy with good-paying jobs, and improve the national infrastructure via significant structural improvements that are available in today’s technology, versus what was in place with the Francis Scott Key bridge.