1. Documented how the failure to enforce antitrust laws has allowed Ticketmaster to attach massive fees to tickets to live events.
2. Exposed how a former Koch Industries executive fired dozens of left-leaning tenured faculty from a public university in Kansas, fulfilling a vision right-wing billionaire Charles Koch has pursued for decades.
3. Revealed that Nike, after embracing anti-Trump figures like Colin Kaepernick to sell shoes, donated $25,000 to the Republican Governors Association (RGA), an organization currently seeking to install pro-Trump extremists in powerful positions across the country.
Today, however, I want to hear from you. What's on your mind? What topics would you like Popular Information to take on next?
You can leave your thoughts in the discussion thread linked below, starting now. I’ll be dropping by later today to answer as many of your questions as I can.
Popular Information is 100% reader-supported. If you haven't already, you can support this work by upgrading to a paid subscription.
I think it would almost be more difficult to research, but can you report on companies that are actually doing good and I'd want to support? I've completely changed my consumer habits based on your research, so thank you for all you do.
I want to figure out a way to do this without feeling like I'm doing PR for various companies. Most companies are a mix of good and bad. But it's an important question I'd like to explore.
Yeah it's getting tougher and tougher to decide how to vote with my dollars. There are LOTS of places I don't go, but a list of places I should go to would be awesome. Maybe a cross reference of their political donations/footing and their stance on things like climate, sustainability and employee treatment...
I completely agree and rely on the research and insights you give us. It seems that a second entity might emerge, something like chop wood carry water to list companies to support and companies to not support and how to be in touch with them . It would be great if we could have mass action directed by a knowledgeable, organized person or group. I would subscribe in a heartbeat
Action of the day Alert. A specific action to influence an individual/corporate entity working toward fairness/equity/justice. Name, address, phone, email...and suggested core message.
Mobilize thousands!
I am in my seventies but I can wield a keyboard...and would set aside time every day to take action.
Action of the day Alert. A specific action to influence an individual/corporate entity working toward fairness/equity/justice. Name, address, phone, email...and suggested core message.
Mobilize thousands!
I am in my seventies but I can wield a keyboard...and would set aside time every day to take action.
I think it is wrong for any business or organization to contribute to political agendas. Any money should come from individuals and there should be caps on how much they can contribute.
We can boycott a grocery chain, we can boycott products, but if we have to chisel down boycotting suppliers and manufacturers and then to farmers when does it end?
Let's stop the practice of using big money in politics and get back to the individuals.
Nice concept, but SCOTUS' Citizen's United decision effectively sabotaged our American democracy. We've got a long way to go to fully regain peoples' power via the ballot box.
Right now what is concerning me most is that seemingly all media are forecasting the results of the election. It is a great disservice to voters. Between the polls and the billions of dollars flowing in to support election deniers and incompetent candidates, our so-called democracy veers further and further away from “we the people.”
Frankly, I think a law should be passed to not allow the political (that absurdly autocorrected to plotical… hmmm plot… ical… somehow seems more correct!) BS abundant in today’s political ads especially like Marco Rubio’s ads… sickening!!
Since the explosion of cable, then internet nnws, recovering any sense of fairness in our information streams is one of the most critical issues of our times. There's good reason Alex Jones' cesspool of propaganda is titled 'Info Wars.'
I could not disagree more. Politics is the application of the will of “We the People”. In you are not involved in politics then someone else is making decisions about you for you. You either have a seat at the table, or you are on the menu.
Agreed, even the right-leaning media is all doom and gloom. If they could use those seconds and minutes to talk about the Biden Administration's accomplishments and The Supreme Court's
extreme/authoritative decisions, we'd be better off.
I agree,if the bought and sold supreme Court in a 5 to 4 decision never ruled the way they did in Rie v Wade fifty years ago think of all the people who would be alive.
Oh you mean the present court. I see, the 5 to 4 decisions liberals made were ALL correct but the 5 to 4 decision s the conservatives made were ALL wrong.
Alive? That’s all you git? Unwanted, born into intense poverty, in foster care their entire lives, never adopted. Lived a life of crime, sexually abused, on the streets… you only see what you want to see… but not reality for too many. Abortion should be safe and legal. Otherwise, force MANDATORY VASECTOMIES ON ALL MALES OVER 12. And no more boner pills.
She lost because of the thousands of voters who were removed from voter roles by the SoS. I wish I had a link to reference it, but Greg Palast reported on it.
She allege voter suppression which the facts support based on # of people removed from voting rolls. She didn't ask to find xxx # of votes or organize an insurrection. She created an organization to encourage and register more to vote (vs asking extremists to get their guns and sit outside of voting locations intimidating voters which is illegal!)
Is it possible to find out what's going on within the military with regards to "dangerous elements" like General Mike Flynn's brother Charles (another general) and other MAGATs still being on active duty? Are the MAGAT types being quietly mustered out?
A grave concern. And in police forces as well (which have been armed with military equipment).
But I can tell you, the military will actively squelch this information in the name of "national security." Getting in behind the scenes will be tough.
Just watched Frontline doc on Mike Flynn and his "followers" - the all-in christo-nationalists Trump supporters. It's scary how military are trained to be JSOC, Intelligence and infiltrating Middle East Islamic empires, playing THEIR game. But when they come back to USA they hold tight to their training, start their own militias, have been so indoctrinated in military that they can't revert to being civilian. THIS is a big part of the problem with so-called fringe groups, hate groups' proliferation. How can the military train, brainwash them for intelligence efforts, then do NOTHING to repatriate them to civilian life. THIS IS A GIANT DISCONNECT. We're reaping what we sowed to "save" Iraq, Afghanistan, et al from the "heathen infidels", only to see our own homegrown "heathen infidels" like Flynn, Stone, Proud Boys, Oathkeepers, 3 Percenters, etc. rise to threaten democracy right here. The military training has a lot to answer for.
Judd, do you have the resources to take a dive into the brainwashing of and by the military that allows no room for return to civil society for these young people? It scares me to my core!
I watched the Frontline episode about Michael Flynn after reading your comment. He and his family have started a dangerous grassroots Christian nationalist cult. I don’t know that the military is to blame entirely; his mother instilled their family political and religious ideology. Certainly, the military built on that bedrock. For Judd, who is funding their movement? Frontline only touched on it, looks like mostly dark money.
Leah, good point about the influence of Flynn's mother on the heavy dose of religion on their upbringing. She obviously inculcated a deep faith that was more than just religious as she dragged them to rallies, Catholic indoctrination marches. I didn't include that because I was gobsmacked by the outsized mental gymnastics that the military performed on their brains, without a corresponding retraining after their military work was done. Our DOD has some explanations due to civilians as well as former military who can't quit the mental and emotional training to return to "civil" society. They've created monsters of some, without the rewind back to being human. Robotic killers and agents who have no capacity to unlearn on their own, now turn to fringe groups of like minded killers and avengers in America!
Now the troll who approached with insults makes a big fuss about other "people" sending HIM civil texts. If only he could find it in his heart to maybe emulate their behavior, instead of whining when someone responds to him in kind eh?
I think it's a compliment when people send civil texts. I never "made a fuss" about it.
Please stop embarrassing yourself, explain why I'm wrong and I will take it to heart but hurling what you believe are insults but I take as a compliment does not help solve any problems. Unless you truly believe that the only way to solve what you consider a problem is to get all citizens who don't agree with you to leave.
"Please , try to use a little common sense when it comes to the men and women who protect your right to write such diatribe."
There was no diatribe from me you nit. Only you, who it appears never served anyway. Now intercourse yourself. You don't rate a civil reply from me with your disingenuous BS!
Adam, all I said is you misread what was written then. And if course you did it again. I answered you trying to help you but all you can do is write what you think is an insult. When it comes from some like you it's actually a compliment. So thank you sir, have a safe day.
I see and agree that he is comical. It's all "I know I am but what are you?" That bloody loser tries to play the part of the victor, but he knows he's been beaten like the bad dog he is.
That one claims to engage "civil" discourse but that is NOT how the miscreant approached me. He came in with insults, insinuations, distortions and misplaced RW hyperbole. Dismiss that troll.
If you bothered to read what I wrote, which it's obvious you didn't, I said numerous people on both sides sent ME civil texts. I know it's hard for people who think there correct and everyone else is wrong to really read what was written but it would help you to stop embarrassing yourself.
Sorry, but Master Sergeant Aune did ask me to answer him. I know when someone uses logic and facts it disturbs you but that is not my problem.
You would be amazed how many likes and civil questions I receive daily from both sides. Educated people know that if all people, from all sides, do not communicate then both parties win and we lose.
So you want military people of 25 or 30 years experience "mustered" out because they have a different opinion from you. If that happens don't you think ALL of them would be recalled to active duty, and yes they ALL can be recalled, it's military law, when the next Republican is elected president. And then ALL the wokegenerals would be mustered out to the next Democrat wins. Then it starts all over.
Do you know high military officers almost to a person refuse to vote because they want to remain no political.
Please , try to use a little common sense when it comes to the men and women who protect your right to write such diatribe.
Jack - I'm a retired Master Sgt. You seem to think this is about a difference of opinion, but what I'm talking about is people who hold extremist militaristic anti-American views who are in the military and on the police force. I encounter many of them in and after military service. We have no business training and harboring these anti-Americans in our military and police force. The "high military officers ... (who) refuse to vote" to remain apolitical are concerned about these extremists' anti-American political beliefs and the fact that the extremists don't share the military's apolitical philosophy. Please read about the issue before foisting your assumptions on others. Thanks!
Well said Christopher- as a former DOD mid level manager- we never discussed politics & all took an oath to the Constitution. I had top secret clearance & it upsets me so much all the preferential treatment TRUMP et al are getting. I’d have been fired before sundown if I took secret Intel & immediately prosecuted. These folks are cocky - is it because they know they are above the law?
I can assure you I'm real. And yes, ignoring someone who voted for Biden but only because he was the lesser if two evils us the best way to fix the country's problems.
Let's all ignore everyone who has a different opinion, that way nothing can be fixed and our grandchildren will I herit our problems.
Yes, the woke generals are extreme and very very dangerous to our country but "mustering" them out will just cause a tit for that. As for reading about the issue before I foster assumptions on others, you may want to look in the mirror. You have no idea what I have read. What I have taught. To whom I have spoken. You just assumed because if your liberal views that I'm an idiot who knows not what I speak of. I can assure you you are wrong sir
Just your use of the term "woke" as a pejorative says all anyone needs to know about you Jack. The term "woke" actually refers to being aware as in being aware of one's history and the history of one's country, warts and all. It's about accurate history, not the whitewashed kind. It's about things that you clearly don't understand. Perhaps you should toddle on over to some other forum that would welcome your extremist point of view.
I can't use woke but you can use all the insulting words you want. And no, woke, does not mean what you said. It means no birders, ket EVERONE in, no questions asked. It means both my high school granddaughters have to have men in their locker rooms. It means using the rest rooms with men. It means my seventh grade granddaughter asking my daughter what anal sex is because she was taught it in SEVENTH grade.
That's what woke really means, not your ignorant explanation.
Just a point… children need to be taught about sex at an early age BECAUSE THAT IS WHEN ABUSE STARTS. Too many kids have been sexualized for YEARS before they are taught anything about it. And if your 7th grader had not heard of anal sex by the time she was 12-13?!?! Insane. Especially TODAY. Has she started her period? Do you know? Don’t be a great- grandfather soon!! No more abortions!
You engage in dishonest hyperbole time and again. Therefore I have no more consideration to waste upon you with your insincere and extremist malarkey. Do humanity a favor and top yourself. Otherwise, consider yourself on "ignore."
Woke (/ˈwoʊk/ WOHK) is an English adjective meaning "alert to racial prejudice and discrimination" that originated in African-American Vernacular English (AAVE). Beginning in the 2010s, it came to encompass a broader awareness of social inequalities such as sexism, and has also been used as shorthand for American Left ideas involving identity politics and social justice, such as the notion of white privilege and slavery reparations for African Americans.
The phrase stay woke had emerged in AAVE by the 1930s, in some contexts referring to an awareness of the social and political issues affecting African Americans. The phrase was uttered in a recording by Lead Belly and later by Erykah Badu. Following the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014, the phrase was popularised by Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists seeking to raise awareness about police shootings of African Americans. After seeing use on Black Twitter, the term woke became an Internet meme and was increasingly used by white people, often to signal their support for BLM, which some commentators have criticised as cultural appropriation. Mainly associated with the millennial generation, the term spread internationally and was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2017.
The terms woke capitalism and woke-washing were coined to describe companies who signal support for progressive causes as a substitute for genuine change. By 2020, parts of the political center and right wing in several Western countries were using the term woke, often in an ironic way, as an insult for various progressive or leftist movements and ideologies perceived as overzealous, performative, or insincere. In turn, some commentators came to consider it an offensive term with negative associations to those who promote political ideas involving identity and race.
Read any of his posts and your question will be answered Ann. He's a professional troll. But if you try to pin him down, he'll wriggle and squirm and try to convince you that somehow you misunderstood what he wrote. In a word, gaslight you.
Wow. Aren't you the insulting one Jack? I merely asked a question. I did not state a desire. You may wish to try reading for comprehension. However, to directly address your assertion, my common sense tells me that supporting a traitor is a lot more than "a difference of opinion" there Jack. I was a Marine for 6 years and I have a right to my views, one of which being that MAGATs have no place in the military period, because their loyalty lies not with the Constitution but with a con man. Surely you would not want the country put at risk of an actual coup, because of some people who believe that a free and fair election should be overthrown. That would make you a traitor too.
You're right. He never replied to what was actually said anyway, then he built a strawman of what was not said, to have something to react to. He's been outmanned, outgunned and outdone. What's more is he knows it although he can't admit it. He'll just keep wriggling. Futilely and furiously. But as you suggest, he is now on "ignore" since he has nothing useful to say. Perhaps he'll go away.
I'm insulting? Sono marine is for that matter any military person who voted for President Trump has any right to be in the military. So when the next Republican is elected president, and if you are half as smart as you think you are you know it will happen, dies that mean EVERY military person who voted for the previous Democrat has to be thrown out? And if no, why? Because people who voted democratic like you live our country but people like me who vote for the BEST candidate no matter the party are to stupid to know what we're doing.
Maybe you should talk to family members, I bet there is at least one "stupid" person in your family who voted for the best candidate not just the ultra liberals like you..
Continually chalking dangerous extremism up to “difference of opinion” is nonsense.
If you drive & think a Porsche is the most beautiful car in the world & I drive & think a Ferrari is the most beautiful car in the world, that’s a difference of opinion. We can hash out views on performance, quality, style, etc. Then we both drive away in our nice cars.
If you think a Porsche is the most beautiful car in the world & that anyone not driving one is a bad person & should be captured, tortured, forced to say a Porsche is best, give up my Ferrari or else face murder, then you are an extremist. You want me to not only erase my opinion but to face harsh consequences for having a difference of opinion.
See how difference of opinions vs extremism views work?
What these rogue ex military groups want is conforming, by any means necessary, violence to minimize, disenfranchise, remove the rights from or legally eradicate those who don’t agree with them.
We must do sobering to de-program former military so they can be stable & empowered here, to live in peace with disagreement instead of recreate a pseudo-military life where they act like the very “extremists” they fought. We hardly prepare young people to go into the service. The least we can do is help them adapt when they finally come out of it!
You could comment on the despicable treatment of John Fetterman after his debate by the so-called mainstream media, which largely ignored most of the outrageous things Oz said -- such as having local elected officials decide whether or not a woman can control her own body.
& MSM clearly supports Walker who clearly has visible neurological problems & Trump who has alleged dementia. MSM really went after Fetterman -- ruthlessly. Seems MSM moguls are Rs & want R rule. They are so biased when for most debates they claimed GOP candidates won & the extremest GOP candidates were unprepared & horrible. Mehmet OZ has unlimited cash from wife's millionaire family too & that is never mentioned.
Indeed. But even on this forum, we have those would claim otherwise. MSM does promote a skewed POV even as the talking heads claim to be fair and balanced. You can't be fair when you balance nonsense against sense (or things that actually happened) as though both are equal in meaning and import.
What’s happening at the US Post Office? Its role in elections is vital. I have not heard anything about the controversial postmaster general DeJoy for quite some time.
Thanks so much for your answer, Judd. It would be interesting to see how the changes on the board plays out in Nov. and Dec. There are so many key flash-points involving the US Postal Service. For example, the article also made the point that not only is it important for elections, but now also for reproductive rights. The Postal Service also offers a chance to see how the government might address environmental policies (electric trucks). Then there's the issue of what possible privatization might bring. So, what's going on at the Post Office other than the new Ruth Bader Ginsburg stamp?
I'd like to see some deeper insights into the failure of our current election system. Many people are moving to support versions of Ranked Choice Voting. And the election system is obviously under control of the two major parties ... by laws that those parties wrote and enacted.
We can't get an open competition among multiple candidates, and it's apparently very hard for independent and very small party candidates to get on the ballot. And good candidates are excluded from debates within the two major parties. The two major parties even control who will appear on the presidential debates and actively disinclude qualified candidates, and bias time toward the party favorite.
I observe this, but my version is pretty random and undocumented. I'd love to see a deep dive into the troubles with our plurality election system, how good candidates get "primaried," and political party control of redistricting, plus term limits, and how poorly qualified candidates get elected because their rich owners pay to win the election. etc.
Alaska is using RCV. Nevada is voting on a midterm ballot referendum on implementing RCV. In Indiana, Republicans have outlawed the right to petition for a ballot initiative. Florida has outlawed RCV. Pretty un-democratic and very authoritarian.
Another second on this one. I'm a long time independent who always voted for the best candidate regardless of party. That doesn't work anymore because the two parties are so bent on not working together for the good of the people. Ranked choice voting seems like a good possibility to help -- but I haven't researched it yet. Need to because that's on our ballot this go around.
Another issue is with all these PACs and big money that are party related. There are multiple PACS on both sides funneling money in to get their candidates elected. It's like who can pay the most to get elected -- not who has the best candidate or platform. Both sides are literally working to buy their seats in congress.
A little discussed aspect of the abortion debate is the outcome of unwanted pregnancies among women who are unable financially or emotionally to care for a child. Amy Comey Barrett would have you believe that we can adopt ourselves out of this dilemma. We can't. Some of these pregnant women are already unhoused or in precarious circumstances. Their poor nutrition and/or mental health will add to the problems of their children. Caring for a child with special needs is extremely taxing, especially if there are other children in the home. There are tens of thousands of children already languishing in foster care, and this will only add to the burden. Plus, of course, we stubbornly refuse to address the problem of adults and children already without a roof over their heads. And then there are the Church and other institutions, religious and otherwise, where child abuse is tolerated. We are not a child-friendly society, and adding to the population of dependent children is going to exacerbate the problem. Outlawing abortion is just the beginning of the problem for the "unborn."
Eighty thousand is a huge number! And that's just food. In the rural food bank where I sometimes volunteer, we give food to the equivalent number of our population every time, and we were told it is acceptable not to check eligibility, because almost every person in that area qualifies. There are already a lot of very needy people in our nation, and an unintended pregnancy has huge ramifications.
GOP want women pregnant & in the kitchen to use an old expression. some GOP said they fear college educated women. If you control women's reproduction-- you control women. & if women are jailed for felony murder- they can't vote. GOP are going after contraceptives next & suffrage won't be far behind. they aren't hiding it. people are so radicalized -- GOP know they will not lose a vote.
Report on what is happening to local governments. Election deniers trying to change makeup of local governments.
As an example - Alachua County Florida, previously targeted by DeSantis, is now swamped by dark money tied to him and his associates, themselves tied to recent "ghost candidate" schemes. Local newspaper headline: "Series of mailers, Facebook posts make blatantly false claims about opponents." See "save Our Vote Alachua" on FB.
I appreciate the calling out of corporate and individual behavior that is inconsistent with stated positions tremendously. Please do this for people and organizations on both sides of the aisle so that you build a position of neutrality and increased credibility.
I am curious as to how our elected representatives have increased their net worth over the years that they have been in office. It seems to me that with publicly available records you might be able to track the growth and see if they have used insider information and special deals to increase net worth. I am amazed at how most of these people start at a modest net worth yet end up as multimillionaires by the time they leave office. Maybe you could research one person from each party each week and share their "secrets to success".
I’d like my buddy Judd to take a swing at income inequality and how wealth may be taxed. I’d also like to see ss, Medicare , state and sales tax treated as taxes. Someone making 60 k lives on the edge.
I would really like to know how many members of congress have a history of using "insider trading" to buy & sell stocks. It seems like both parties might have a problem with that and are self-serving when it comes to not passing ethics laws to prevent it. If I knew who was doing this and making money while so many Americans are having a tough time it would definitely be something that would affect the way I vote. Keep up the great work!
Schools segregation and private schools funded with public money. Tracing the spread of the “1776 curriculum” developed by Hillsdale College (Michigan)
Oct 27, 2022·edited Oct 27, 2022Liked by Judd Legum
Your "How anonymous donors are dominating the 2022 midterm elections" was the clearest, best description. It terrifies me. I've shared it. Thanks for doing what you are doing.
Some of us know that the MSM is owned by 5 corporations (I think that's the right number) but maybe folks should be reminded that's true. Especially as we go to the elections...? MSM is controlled by Republican interests.
In the case of Moore v. Harper that is now before the Supreme Court, what exactly is behind it? Obviously it’s a power grab, but who is Timothy K. Moore? What larger businesses or organizations are behind him? And thank you for your in-depth and informative reporting!
I feel like a broken record always congratulating you for your reporting. The only thing more that I would appreciate are links where we, the relatively involved, could contact these companies to express our complaints (similar to how the WSJ has the market links). I believe that PI's goals are similar to those of ProPublica - reporting to effectuate change - these contact links could provide us with the tools to raise our hands to the companies that we mostly have no choice but to rely on for certain commodities and services.
Please look into the influence that the media is having by raising the level of expectation regarding the outcome of the midterm election. Is it herd mentality or is there an underlying design being pushed in order to influence the outcome. The predictive quality of polls is dubious and yet the media continue to hang onto them.
Keep up the good work. My view is that our nation's most significant weakness is our shared inability to reflect on the character of our culture. Do we prefer evidence based reasoning or superstitious thinking? Why or why not? Should America strive to be a nation of vertical power or a nation of horizontal collaboration? We have no venues for chatting thoughtfully with one another about the character of our culture. If any of your readers have examples of such activity, it would be wonderful to learn of them. I'm hoping maybe our church can one day begin sponsoring serious conversations about what works in our nation's culture and what doesn't. -Steve Johnson
In a similar story, UNC did something similar as in Kansas - now 16 out of 24 trustees are republican. Universities in Louisiana and Wisconsin are also choking out progressive voices - is this all slow and steady and flying under the radar of stakeholders? UNC has not upheld tenure of progressive faculty - but it may be just the tip of the iceberg in higher Ed.
Every time I read your column, I tell all my friends to boycott that company. Here's what I think would be more effective: give us an email address, preferably of a high ranking employee at the end of the article. I know it's more work for you, but I think it may have more of an effect.
Thanks for all you do!
I also like Susan's idea so that we can support businesses that are doing good.
As an example I no longer purchase items from Home Depot or other companies exposed on your site due to their monetary support of "election denier" politicians. Not certain that it is having any effect on their bottom line but in my mind, it is the least I can do to deprive them of my $10,000+ per year, to now be spent on their competition. The end result being a $20,000+/year effect as 10k from HD to their competitors 10K+ income stream. My $10k re-direction has a end result of $20k impact.
When I determine what suppliers to use on my proposed and possible upcoming 2MM green solar powered geothermal development project.... I know where my expenditures will be directed. I won't and can't afford the risk of investment without the assurance of the protections guaranteed by the Constitution, local laws with the protection of legitimate insurance companies to protect my investments. These factors are in the mix in regards to decision of time and effort into doing something worthwhile. If there are no rules and might makes right...whats the point.
We need to find a way to decide where our money needs to go to keep the Trump's, corruption, and predators of this new world... out of the game.
I also boycott Home Depot but it was because they knowingly sold LG appliances with KNOWN PROBLEMS and then refused to help when new appliances broke down. Tens of thousands of $s paid.
The loss of just us 2 customers doesn't register on their "concern over profit meter" but if we were 10,000 in number and promised to advertise their misdeeds to the rest of the nation? 10k persons *$10k = 100MM. That might gets someones attention...maybe?
Kroger and Albertsons are set to merge soon, thus consolidating a lot of power in the grocery world. This is almost certain to result in exploitation of customers/employees and price gouging. You’ve done a very good job of staying on top of them in the past so I hope you can keep an eye on this merger.
Came here to say the same thing. CA AG Bonta is trying to stop a $4B investor payout until the FTC investigates the merger. It is insane how much they made off the pandemic with increased WIC/SNAP/CalFresh and other benefit programs, and now they're fully ripping us off every time we need mayo.
As to a topic that I don't think gets treated enough in the media, why isn't there a light shown on the large religious groups and their utter failure to address the decay of honesty and integrity?
There are political leaders openly lying and performing for their base, and the supposed moral leaders are remaining silent. Worse, they're turning their heads.
Meanwhile, no one is holding the religious groups to account.
Their tax exemption needs to be removed. They shouldn’t be preaching politics from the pulpit and they do it all the time. Holding them accountable is making sure they follow the rules of their nonprofit status. If their money was taxed they may straighten up and shut their mouths
Can you provide research on those companies who's leadership is visually behaving in a most democratically supportive role and identify their variables of motivation to do so?
If we know which companies to support, with our dollars, those businesses could become role models for change for the companies that will be losing us as customers... thus affecting their bottom line profits, shareholders dividends, personal reputations.
Money, wealth, power, perceived value and prestige drives companies behavior.
When Ted Cruz got booed at Yankee stadium...he could care less because it didn't have any affect on his separate income stream sources...but had it been tied to his income stream...it would have had a greater affect. Money... and the power it brings determines peoples behavior nowadays due to the times we are living in.
Money drives politics...elects the politicians and forces all others ie. voters, the purchasing public, to conform.
While we as "The People" still have the funds available to continue to "feed the machine" that keeps us under their control, we should try to exercise that power in a more directed manner to support companies that have effective leadership which is more in line with our country's democratic morality?
A lot of this information is not publicly available. But as I said previously in the conversation I want to explore companies that are behaving in the most democratically supportive role. If you look at our January 6 accountability index, the first two categories are companies who stuck to their pledges. I'm not endorsing those companies but those are the facts. https://popular.info/p/the-january-6-corporate-accountability
Hopefully we can find some methodology through which we can definitively redirect the nations consumers' payments away from the bad actors and support those that are at least attempting to make the conscious decision to do everything they can to support the democracy that semi protected their access to free markets, a semi safe transportation infrastructure, along with a financial network, which allowed them to thrive, reasonably fairly... to date.
I’m researching the psychodynamics that drive conflict between conservative and progressives. It might be good to explain rather than just denigrate the right, who seem in a state of terror at displacement, and the curious phenomenon of progressive policies having mostly majority support not reflected in legislative institutions. Timothy Schenk wrote in the NYT of 7 October of Obama’s lost manuscript that discusses the failure of progressives to control power.
That would put the conflict more between reactionaries and progressives.
But we rarely use the term "reactionary," which refers to people who are reacting against Enlightement principles embodied in the Constitution and therefore anti-American. But we rarely say that. I wonder why?
Good question. Perhaps voters' knowledge of our own history has become so diluted that people would be confused by the term? Words matter though. That's why I am greatly disturbed by credible journalists who continue to give cover to right wing extremists and downright fascists by referring to them as "conservatives."
The book “Laboratories of Autocracy” reveals the groundwork that has been laid over the last few decades -- to where we find ourselves now lacking representation for the majority. Could be reactionary since Obama?
My area of interest is senate malapportionment and the filibuster. The 48 senate Dems and the two Indies represent 40 million more people than the 50 republicans, yet the senate is tied. The filibuster exacerbates the small state advantage, blocking bills that most Americans want. If Dems keep the "majority" in the senate, this should be the first rule change. (Disclosure: Sinema is my senator)
The "smallest" states by population are all democratic controlled, i.e. Rhode Island, Delaware, Vermont etc. If the fillubuster is dismantled then when the republicans take over there will be no way to stop them.
Don't you remember just two years ago the now Senate leader who was the minority leader then begging McConnell not to listen to trump and keep the fillubuster, which he did.
And don't you remember Harry Reid. dropping the fillubuster on thousands of judges and other political appointments but not the Supreme Court but six months later that was changed to the countries determent. If Senator Schumer dies away with it I guarantee you the Republicans will shove thru so much stuff you hate you will rue the day you asked for it.
Many bad and cowardly politicians are afraid of their base because that base believes what the lucrative dis-information feeds them 24/7. The very oxygen that keeps that based agitated is the bile oozing out of the dis-information industry (think Germany 1933 and Joseph Goebbels). Many smart people have insisted to me that there's nothing to be done. Well, nothing was done in 1933 and it didn't end well. I'm sure that Popular Info has some smart readers who aren't willing to accept that from now forward, America will just have to live with millions of voters who are not "well-informed". Accepting that fact is the death sentence to a democratic republic. Any ideas?
The coup attempt of Jan 6th, the flailing attempts to avoid the next one, and the astonishing inability to prosecute the commanding criminals and organizing terrorists who perpetrated it.
I think we need a new way to consider & discuss today's economy. GDP, inflation, supply chain, etc are all valid measures but in the wake of the pandemic and political turmoil and big money interests and SCOTUS BS, what's important. I don't know what that looks like.
I was very impressed with the reporting you did on DeSantis in the’DeSantis' giveaway to the insurance industry’. It showed in detail what corporate dollars are buying. Since the GOP is purportedly pro business, are there examples of legislation enacted for benefit the largest corporations to preclude competition from small and medium size businesses? I’m thinking of companies like Amazon, AT&T, Comcast, Microsoft, Google... More and more it seems the days of small businesses are numbered.
I know it's a hard nut to crack, some laws definitely need to change, but I still want to know where churches really get their money, how they invest, who they donate to, who benefits. Seems to be a perfect money laundering scheme. Dark money hiding in plain sight.
If they get tax breaks because they are supposedly charitable non-profits, they shouldn't oppose audits.
Here's something that strikes home every day - the school nutrition guidelines and whose pockets are getting filled with contracts while supplying the bare minimum which is all sodium heavy, overly processed garbage that does a disservice to the kids they're feeding.
I wrote four congresspeople, including Katie Porter and three for whom I've had a chance to vote in the past five years, from Massachusetts, Colorado and Maryland, asking whether it might be possible to pass a law making what Judge Cannon, the rookie federal judge from Florida, did vis-a-vis Donald Trump illegal. Judge Cannon accepted a case brought by former-president Trump, who had named her to the federal bench very late in his term; she was actually sworn in after he'd lost his bid for re-election. It seems to me that there should be a rule that judges MUST recuse themselves from cases involving the executive who named them to the bench, that anything other than that policy is simply overt corruption. I even went and re-read the entire US Constitution to see whether there is any language that would bar Congress (and the President, who'd have to sign the bill) from passing legislation that would put such a check on a federal judge. There is no such language. I haven't heard from any of the four. Do you have any insight into (1) my legislative idea, and (2) why I haven't heard back. Thanks. Keep up the good work.
I would be interested in learning why 4 Capitol Police officers committed suicide after theJanuary 6 insurrection. I haven’t seen any reporting on that.
I agree with Susan DeVoe's comment. But in addition, it would be good to know who is still supporting Trump himself as well as Lindsey Graham and others facing genuine legal peril because of the Big Lie. Who or what organizations are helping pay their legal fees?
How serious is the Secretary of State problem in the states - re managing the voting system. Best to wait until after 2022 election to analyze who is elected. I’m having difficulty knowing how much is progressive politics hype about danger to democracy and what is real. A recent PBS News Hour report, for example, seemed to me to be pushing local reporters to say the situation is worse than it is. Or, maybe it is worse than many are reporting. I trust the information I receive here. Thanks for your good work.
I would say it's a very serious problem! It's possible that election deniers ultimately don't abuse their authority to the maximum extent possible, but it doesn't seem like that's a risk we should take.
I am getting 20 to 30 requests a day for campaign donations right now and horror stories of GOP spending. I don't know about the rest of you, but commercials do not influence me as to whom I will vote for. And if they do persuade some people, then they shouldn't be allowed to vote. I want to scream ENOUGH!
I'm getting bunches of texts from various democrat groups and it is getting to the point of harassment. 20-30 or more every day! Enough is enough! How did they get my number? Because when you donate online, your number is required or the transaction won't go thru. I'm going to use a fake number from now on.
A deeper dive into Coca Cola seems warranted. They are the world’s biggest polluter and a huge contributor to green house gas emissions yet they are sponsoring COP27? What’s going on? Who are they paying off?
I think it would almost be more difficult to research, but can you report on companies that are actually doing good and I'd want to support? I've completely changed my consumer habits based on your research, so thank you for all you do.
I want to figure out a way to do this without feeling like I'm doing PR for various companies. Most companies are a mix of good and bad. But it's an important question I'd like to explore.
One step we have taken is to continue to keep track of the companies that made pledges after January 6. The companies in the first two categories have kept their pledges thus far: https://popular.info/p/the-january-6-corporate-accountability
Yeah it's getting tougher and tougher to decide how to vote with my dollars. There are LOTS of places I don't go, but a list of places I should go to would be awesome. Maybe a cross reference of their political donations/footing and their stance on things like climate, sustainability and employee treatment...
I completely agree and rely on the research and insights you give us. It seems that a second entity might emerge, something like chop wood carry water to list companies to support and companies to not support and how to be in touch with them . It would be great if we could have mass action directed by a knowledgeable, organized person or group. I would subscribe in a heartbeat
Action of the day Alert. A specific action to influence an individual/corporate entity working toward fairness/equity/justice. Name, address, phone, email...and suggested core message.
Mobilize thousands!
I am in my seventies but I can wield a keyboard...and would set aside time every day to take action.
Action of the day Alert. A specific action to influence an individual/corporate entity working toward fairness/equity/justice. Name, address, phone, email...and suggested core message.
Mobilize thousands!
I am in my seventies but I can wield a keyboard...and would set aside time every day to take action.
Brilliant!
That's why I subscribed to Popular Information! It's extremely important that someone keep track of this. Excellent work!
I think it is wrong for any business or organization to contribute to political agendas. Any money should come from individuals and there should be caps on how much they can contribute.
We can boycott a grocery chain, we can boycott products, but if we have to chisel down boycotting suppliers and manufacturers and then to farmers when does it end?
Let's stop the practice of using big money in politics and get back to the individuals.
Nice concept, but SCOTUS' Citizen's United decision effectively sabotaged our American democracy. We've got a long way to go to fully regain peoples' power via the ballot box.
Really good to know. I already see companies that I can support w my shopping habits.
Patagonia?
Always good to keep a watchful eye on private equity's expanding role in healthcare.
Private equity is buying up everything. This can only be fixed by regulations.
Right now what is concerning me most is that seemingly all media are forecasting the results of the election. It is a great disservice to voters. Between the polls and the billions of dollars flowing in to support election deniers and incompetent candidates, our so-called democracy veers further and further away from “we the people.”
The very first edition of Popular Information I wrote, in July 2018 was headlined "Ignore the polls" https://popular.info/p/1-ignore-the-polls
And I subscribed soon thereafter. Found you first on Twitter
Totally agree. It feels like the constant analyses and poll watching becomes self-fulfilling prophecy.
Frankly, I think a law should be passed to not allow the political (that absurdly autocorrected to plotical… hmmm plot… ical… somehow seems more correct!) BS abundant in today’s political ads especially like Marco Rubio’s ads… sickening!!
Any chance of something like fairness doctrine passing? Or truth on political ads?? Ie political ads must be fact checked by 3rd independent source?
We once had a fairness doctrine. The right wing worked to overturn it so Rush could talk unopposed
Can they / is it possible to restart it or something like it? Facts do matter.
Too much money would object.
Since the explosion of cable, then internet nnws, recovering any sense of fairness in our information streams is one of the most critical issues of our times. There's good reason Alex Jones' cesspool of propaganda is titled 'Info Wars.'
I could not disagree more. Politics is the application of the will of “We the People”. In you are not involved in politics then someone else is making decisions about you for you. You either have a seat at the table, or you are on the menu.
Democracy is the will of the people, and it’s being subverted by money.
Agreed, even the right-leaning media is all doom and gloom. If they could use those seconds and minutes to talk about the Biden Administration's accomplishments and The Supreme Court's
extreme/authoritative decisions, we'd be better off.
I agree,if the bought and sold supreme Court in a 5 to 4 decision never ruled the way they did in Rie v Wade fifty years ago think of all the people who would be alive.
Oh you mean the present court. I see, the 5 to 4 decisions liberals made were ALL correct but the 5 to 4 decision s the conservatives made were ALL wrong.
Got it.
Alive? That’s all you git? Unwanted, born into intense poverty, in foster care their entire lives, never adopted. Lived a life of crime, sexually abused, on the streets… you only see what you want to see… but not reality for too many. Abortion should be safe and legal. Otherwise, force MANDATORY VASECTOMIES ON ALL MALES OVER 12. And no more boner pills.
But why does Stacey Abrams constantly deny she lost, I don't understand.
Perhaps because her opponent was the Secretary of State (who ran the election). At least it looks like a conflict of interest.
She lost because of the thousands of voters who were removed from voter roles by the SoS. I wish I had a link to reference it, but Greg Palast reported on it.
*rolls
She allege voter suppression which the facts support based on # of people removed from voting rolls. She didn't ask to find xxx # of votes or organize an insurrection. She created an organization to encourage and register more to vote (vs asking extremists to get their guns and sit outside of voting locations intimidating voters which is illegal!)
Is it possible to find out what's going on within the military with regards to "dangerous elements" like General Mike Flynn's brother Charles (another general) and other MAGATs still being on active duty? Are the MAGAT types being quietly mustered out?
A grave concern. And in police forces as well (which have been armed with military equipment).
But I can tell you, the military will actively squelch this information in the name of "national security." Getting in behind the scenes will be tough.
Agreed. But if there is information out there on this specific topic, I am interested in knowing.
I did a Google search on "investigation of extremists in American military" It provided several excellent sources of info, but about a year old:
Anti-Defamation League https://www.adl.org/blog/extremism-in-the-us-military-problems-and-solutions
Rand Corporation: https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PEA1447-1.html
Center for Strategic and International Studies: https://www.csis.org/analysis/assessing-pentagons-progress-countering-extremism-military
Homeland Security Digital Library: https://www.hsdl.org/c/assessing-extremism-in-the-u-s-military/
DoD's Report on Counter Extremist Activity in DoD, December 2021: https://media.defense.gov/2021/Dec/20/2002912573/-1/-1/0/REPORT-ON-COUNTERING-EXTREMIST-ACTIVITY-WITHIN-THE-DEPARTMENT-OF-DEFENSE.PDF
+1
Just watched Frontline doc on Mike Flynn and his "followers" - the all-in christo-nationalists Trump supporters. It's scary how military are trained to be JSOC, Intelligence and infiltrating Middle East Islamic empires, playing THEIR game. But when they come back to USA they hold tight to their training, start their own militias, have been so indoctrinated in military that they can't revert to being civilian. THIS is a big part of the problem with so-called fringe groups, hate groups' proliferation. How can the military train, brainwash them for intelligence efforts, then do NOTHING to repatriate them to civilian life. THIS IS A GIANT DISCONNECT. We're reaping what we sowed to "save" Iraq, Afghanistan, et al from the "heathen infidels", only to see our own homegrown "heathen infidels" like Flynn, Stone, Proud Boys, Oathkeepers, 3 Percenters, etc. rise to threaten democracy right here. The military training has a lot to answer for.
Judd, do you have the resources to take a dive into the brainwashing of and by the military that allows no room for return to civil society for these young people? It scares me to my core!
I watched the Frontline episode about Michael Flynn after reading your comment. He and his family have started a dangerous grassroots Christian nationalist cult. I don’t know that the military is to blame entirely; his mother instilled their family political and religious ideology. Certainly, the military built on that bedrock. For Judd, who is funding their movement? Frontline only touched on it, looks like mostly dark money.
Leah, good point about the influence of Flynn's mother on the heavy dose of religion on their upbringing. She obviously inculcated a deep faith that was more than just religious as she dragged them to rallies, Catholic indoctrination marches. I didn't include that because I was gobsmacked by the outsized mental gymnastics that the military performed on their brains, without a corresponding retraining after their military work was done. Our DOD has some explanations due to civilians as well as former military who can't quit the mental and emotional training to return to "civil" society. They've created monsters of some, without the rewind back to being human. Robotic killers and agents who have no capacity to unlearn on their own, now turn to fringe groups of like minded killers and avengers in America!
Bloody well said Barbara. Agreed!
Also would like to know.
I don't know how to answer Christine, I'm not sure what you want to know.
No one is asking for your answer, hope that helps
Now the troll who approached with insults makes a big fuss about other "people" sending HIM civil texts. If only he could find it in his heart to maybe emulate their behavior, instead of whining when someone responds to him in kind eh?
Adam
I think it's a compliment when people send civil texts. I never "made a fuss" about it.
Please stop embarrassing yourself, explain why I'm wrong and I will take it to heart but hurling what you believe are insults but I take as a compliment does not help solve any problems. Unless you truly believe that the only way to solve what you consider a problem is to get all citizens who don't agree with you to leave.
Have a safe day
This is how you ended your introduction to me:
"Please , try to use a little common sense when it comes to the men and women who protect your right to write such diatribe."
There was no diatribe from me you nit. Only you, who it appears never served anyway. Now intercourse yourself. You don't rate a civil reply from me with your disingenuous BS!
Adam, all I said is you misread what was written then. And if course you did it again. I answered you trying to help you but all you can do is write what you think is an insult. When it comes from some like you it's actually a compliment. So thank you sir, have a safe day.
I see and agree that he is comical. It's all "I know I am but what are you?" That bloody loser tries to play the part of the victor, but he knows he's been beaten like the bad dog he is.
That one claims to engage "civil" discourse but that is NOT how the miscreant approached me. He came in with insults, insinuations, distortions and misplaced RW hyperbole. Dismiss that troll.
Adam,
If you bothered to read what I wrote, which it's obvious you didn't, I said numerous people on both sides sent ME civil texts. I know it's hard for people who think there correct and everyone else is wrong to really read what was written but it would help you to stop embarrassing yourself.
Sorry, but Master Sergeant Aune did ask me to answer him. I know when someone uses logic and facts it disturbs you but that is not my problem.
You would be amazed how many likes and civil questions I receive daily from both sides. Educated people know that if all people, from all sides, do not communicate then both parties win and we lose.
Have a safe day sir.
So you want military people of 25 or 30 years experience "mustered" out because they have a different opinion from you. If that happens don't you think ALL of them would be recalled to active duty, and yes they ALL can be recalled, it's military law, when the next Republican is elected president. And then ALL the wokegenerals would be mustered out to the next Democrat wins. Then it starts all over.
Do you know high military officers almost to a person refuse to vote because they want to remain no political.
Please , try to use a little common sense when it comes to the men and women who protect your right to write such diatribe.
Jack - I'm a retired Master Sgt. You seem to think this is about a difference of opinion, but what I'm talking about is people who hold extremist militaristic anti-American views who are in the military and on the police force. I encounter many of them in and after military service. We have no business training and harboring these anti-Americans in our military and police force. The "high military officers ... (who) refuse to vote" to remain apolitical are concerned about these extremists' anti-American political beliefs and the fact that the extremists don't share the military's apolitical philosophy. Please read about the issue before foisting your assumptions on others. Thanks!
Well said Christopher- as a former DOD mid level manager- we never discussed politics & all took an oath to the Constitution. I had top secret clearance & it upsets me so much all the preferential treatment TRUMP et al are getting. I’d have been fired before sundown if I took secret Intel & immediately prosecuted. These folks are cocky - is it because they know they are above the law?
Ignore “Jack.” He May or may not be an actual person; in any case, he or it is only here to cause trouble. See Stacy Abram remark above.
I can assure you I'm real. And yes, ignoring someone who voted for Biden but only because he was the lesser if two evils us the best way to fix the country's problems.
Let's all ignore everyone who has a different opinion, that way nothing can be fixed and our grandchildren will I herit our problems.
Great idea.
Yes, the woke generals are extreme and very very dangerous to our country but "mustering" them out will just cause a tit for that. As for reading about the issue before I foster assumptions on others, you may want to look in the mirror. You have no idea what I have read. What I have taught. To whom I have spoken. You just assumed because if your liberal views that I'm an idiot who knows not what I speak of. I can assure you you are wrong sir
Thanks!
Just your use of the term "woke" as a pejorative says all anyone needs to know about you Jack. The term "woke" actually refers to being aware as in being aware of one's history and the history of one's country, warts and all. It's about accurate history, not the whitewashed kind. It's about things that you clearly don't understand. Perhaps you should toddle on over to some other forum that would welcome your extremist point of view.
I can't use woke but you can use all the insulting words you want. And no, woke, does not mean what you said. It means no birders, ket EVERONE in, no questions asked. It means both my high school granddaughters have to have men in their locker rooms. It means using the rest rooms with men. It means my seventh grade granddaughter asking my daughter what anal sex is because she was taught it in SEVENTH grade.
That's what woke really means, not your ignorant explanation.
Thank you for your service
Just a point… children need to be taught about sex at an early age BECAUSE THAT IS WHEN ABUSE STARTS. Too many kids have been sexualized for YEARS before they are taught anything about it. And if your 7th grader had not heard of anal sex by the time she was 12-13?!?! Insane. Especially TODAY. Has she started her period? Do you know? Don’t be a great- grandfather soon!! No more abortions!
You engage in dishonest hyperbole time and again. Therefore I have no more consideration to waste upon you with your insincere and extremist malarkey. Do humanity a favor and top yourself. Otherwise, consider yourself on "ignore."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woke:
Woke (/ˈwoʊk/ WOHK) is an English adjective meaning "alert to racial prejudice and discrimination" that originated in African-American Vernacular English (AAVE). Beginning in the 2010s, it came to encompass a broader awareness of social inequalities such as sexism, and has also been used as shorthand for American Left ideas involving identity politics and social justice, such as the notion of white privilege and slavery reparations for African Americans.
The phrase stay woke had emerged in AAVE by the 1930s, in some contexts referring to an awareness of the social and political issues affecting African Americans. The phrase was uttered in a recording by Lead Belly and later by Erykah Badu. Following the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014, the phrase was popularised by Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists seeking to raise awareness about police shootings of African Americans. After seeing use on Black Twitter, the term woke became an Internet meme and was increasingly used by white people, often to signal their support for BLM, which some commentators have criticised as cultural appropriation. Mainly associated with the millennial generation, the term spread internationally and was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2017.
The terms woke capitalism and woke-washing were coined to describe companies who signal support for progressive causes as a substitute for genuine change. By 2020, parts of the political center and right wing in several Western countries were using the term woke, often in an ironic way, as an insult for various progressive or leftist movements and ideologies perceived as overzealous, performative, or insincere. In turn, some commentators came to consider it an offensive term with negative associations to those who promote political ideas involving identity and race.
Please define 'woke'? In the most basic terms it means awareness of inequality and supporting equality and justice for all regardless of race.
So I take it, you don't believe all men and women are equal nor care for them to be treated as equal since anti-woke?
Read any of his posts and your question will be answered Ann. He's a professional troll. But if you try to pin him down, he'll wriggle and squirm and try to convince you that somehow you misunderstood what he wrote. In a word, gaslight you.
Wow. Aren't you the insulting one Jack? I merely asked a question. I did not state a desire. You may wish to try reading for comprehension. However, to directly address your assertion, my common sense tells me that supporting a traitor is a lot more than "a difference of opinion" there Jack. I was a Marine for 6 years and I have a right to my views, one of which being that MAGATs have no place in the military period, because their loyalty lies not with the Constitution but with a con man. Surely you would not want the country put at risk of an actual coup, because of some people who believe that a free and fair election should be overthrown. That would make you a traitor too.
Ignore him. See above.
You're right. He never replied to what was actually said anyway, then he built a strawman of what was not said, to have something to react to. He's been outmanned, outgunned and outdone. What's more is he knows it although he can't admit it. He'll just keep wriggling. Futilely and furiously. But as you suggest, he is now on "ignore" since he has nothing useful to say. Perhaps he'll go away.
I'm insulting? Sono marine is for that matter any military person who voted for President Trump has any right to be in the military. So when the next Republican is elected president, and if you are half as smart as you think you are you know it will happen, dies that mean EVERY military person who voted for the previous Democrat has to be thrown out? And if no, why? Because people who voted democratic like you live our country but people like me who vote for the BEST candidate no matter the party are to stupid to know what we're doing.
Maybe you should talk to family members, I bet there is at least one "stupid" person in your family who voted for the best candidate not just the ultra liberals like you..
Thank you for your service.
Jack - As was said. Being a traitor is not a “different” opinion.
Continually chalking dangerous extremism up to “difference of opinion” is nonsense.
If you drive & think a Porsche is the most beautiful car in the world & I drive & think a Ferrari is the most beautiful car in the world, that’s a difference of opinion. We can hash out views on performance, quality, style, etc. Then we both drive away in our nice cars.
If you think a Porsche is the most beautiful car in the world & that anyone not driving one is a bad person & should be captured, tortured, forced to say a Porsche is best, give up my Ferrari or else face murder, then you are an extremist. You want me to not only erase my opinion but to face harsh consequences for having a difference of opinion.
See how difference of opinions vs extremism views work?
What these rogue ex military groups want is conforming, by any means necessary, violence to minimize, disenfranchise, remove the rights from or legally eradicate those who don’t agree with them.
We must do sobering to de-program former military so they can be stable & empowered here, to live in peace with disagreement instead of recreate a pseudo-military life where they act like the very “extremists” they fought. We hardly prepare young people to go into the service. The least we can do is help them adapt when they finally come out of it!
Bravo! Very insightful.
Wow! Tiffany. That is taking the bully by the horns and making paste of him. Well said indeed. Agreed! As Christopher Aune exclaimed, "Bravo!"
You could comment on the despicable treatment of John Fetterman after his debate by the so-called mainstream media, which largely ignored most of the outrageous things Oz said -- such as having local elected officials decide whether or not a woman can control her own body.
Right. He said only a woman, her doctor and local politicians should be involved in a woman's health care decisions! WT actual F?
& MSM clearly supports Walker who clearly has visible neurological problems & Trump who has alleged dementia. MSM really went after Fetterman -- ruthlessly. Seems MSM moguls are Rs & want R rule. They are so biased when for most debates they claimed GOP candidates won & the extremest GOP candidates were unprepared & horrible. Mehmet OZ has unlimited cash from wife's millionaire family too & that is never mentioned.
Indeed. But even on this forum, we have those would claim otherwise. MSM does promote a skewed POV even as the talking heads claim to be fair and balanced. You can't be fair when you balance nonsense against sense (or things that actually happened) as though both are equal in meaning and import.
What’s happening at the US Post Office? Its role in elections is vital. I have not heard anything about the controversial postmaster general DeJoy for quite some time.
He's still there. Here's an update from American Prospect: https://prospect.org/politics/dejoys-continued-job-security-depends-on-bidens-next-move/
Thanks so much for your answer, Judd. It would be interesting to see how the changes on the board plays out in Nov. and Dec. There are so many key flash-points involving the US Postal Service. For example, the article also made the point that not only is it important for elections, but now also for reproductive rights. The Postal Service also offers a chance to see how the government might address environmental policies (electric trucks). Then there's the issue of what possible privatization might bring. So, what's going on at the Post Office other than the new Ruth Bader Ginsburg stamp?
Exactly. Wondering the same thing.
I'd like to see some deeper insights into the failure of our current election system. Many people are moving to support versions of Ranked Choice Voting. And the election system is obviously under control of the two major parties ... by laws that those parties wrote and enacted.
We can't get an open competition among multiple candidates, and it's apparently very hard for independent and very small party candidates to get on the ballot. And good candidates are excluded from debates within the two major parties. The two major parties even control who will appear on the presidential debates and actively disinclude qualified candidates, and bias time toward the party favorite.
I observe this, but my version is pretty random and undocumented. I'd love to see a deep dive into the troubles with our plurality election system, how good candidates get "primaried," and political party control of redistricting, plus term limits, and how poorly qualified candidates get elected because their rich owners pay to win the election. etc.
This really would get to the heart of many problems we see with our political system today. I second investing this further.
Yes to ranked voting! I think there are a couple states - or maybe just counties - that are doing this?
Alaska is using RCV. Nevada is voting on a midterm ballot referendum on implementing RCV. In Indiana, Republicans have outlawed the right to petition for a ballot initiative. Florida has outlawed RCV. Pretty un-democratic and very authoritarian.
Another second on this one. I'm a long time independent who always voted for the best candidate regardless of party. That doesn't work anymore because the two parties are so bent on not working together for the good of the people. Ranked choice voting seems like a good possibility to help -- but I haven't researched it yet. Need to because that's on our ballot this go around.
Another issue is with all these PACs and big money that are party related. There are multiple PACS on both sides funneling money in to get their candidates elected. It's like who can pay the most to get elected -- not who has the best candidate or platform. Both sides are literally working to buy their seats in congress.
RCV is the solution that will restore our lost democracy IMHO.
Citizens United is anti-American because it allows money to become an amplifier of certain people's free speech.
And ForwardParty.com is the way.
A little discussed aspect of the abortion debate is the outcome of unwanted pregnancies among women who are unable financially or emotionally to care for a child. Amy Comey Barrett would have you believe that we can adopt ourselves out of this dilemma. We can't. Some of these pregnant women are already unhoused or in precarious circumstances. Their poor nutrition and/or mental health will add to the problems of their children. Caring for a child with special needs is extremely taxing, especially if there are other children in the home. There are tens of thousands of children already languishing in foster care, and this will only add to the burden. Plus, of course, we stubbornly refuse to address the problem of adults and children already without a roof over their heads. And then there are the Church and other institutions, religious and otherwise, where child abuse is tolerated. We are not a child-friendly society, and adding to the population of dependent children is going to exacerbate the problem. Outlawing abortion is just the beginning of the problem for the "unborn."
Agree progwoman! All these red states are abysmal at taking care of
their poor, elderly and the children in
foster care. Our food bank is feeding over 80 thousand, mostly
elderly and children here in Arkansas. PBS did an investigation
when the state cut Medicaid to Work so severely here, people were
dieing because they couldn't get
their medications. Look at Mississippi and Louisiana! If the
GOP takes over the government,
a National ban on abortion will be
one of their primary goals. It will
only get more extreme for the
unwanted babies and children.
Eighty thousand is a huge number! And that's just food. In the rural food bank where I sometimes volunteer, we give food to the equivalent number of our population every time, and we were told it is acceptable not to check eligibility, because almost every person in that area qualifies. There are already a lot of very needy people in our nation, and an unintended pregnancy has huge ramifications.
This is just the primary food bank
here I'm talking about. We have others that provide meals for kids
in school and some charities that
help with living expenses. The state
legislature rules. AR was recently
ranked 4th worst state to live in.
I know 3 'girls' who already have 1
or 2 children with no father. They
never finished high school and
can't get a job. Their parents are
split up and doing their own thing.
SNAPS was just cut here again.
We should be taking all of these
states apart and showing exactly
how they allocate and cut benefits
to their state and fed programs.
Follow the money!
That's why those who support bans support them. It's all a part of their plan.
GOP want women pregnant & in the kitchen to use an old expression. some GOP said they fear college educated women. If you control women's reproduction-- you control women. & if women are jailed for felony murder- they can't vote. GOP are going after contraceptives next & suffrage won't be far behind. they aren't hiding it. people are so radicalized -- GOP know they will not lose a vote.
I've always thought it would be pretty great for someone to make an encyclopedia of politicians, who donated to them, and what policies they vote for.
Basically, an easy way to look up who owns your local Congress person.
Open secrets.org tracks donations to pols. Dark money orgs can’t be tracked tho.
Report on what is happening to local governments. Election deniers trying to change makeup of local governments.
As an example - Alachua County Florida, previously targeted by DeSantis, is now swamped by dark money tied to him and his associates, themselves tied to recent "ghost candidate" schemes. Local newspaper headline: "Series of mailers, Facebook posts make blatantly false claims about opponents." See "save Our Vote Alachua" on FB.
Your exposing the secret roots of dark money in USA politics and the Supreme Court would be great!
Your work is profoundly revealing! Thank you. 🌈
I appreciate the calling out of corporate and individual behavior that is inconsistent with stated positions tremendously. Please do this for people and organizations on both sides of the aisle so that you build a position of neutrality and increased credibility.
I do my best: https://popular.info/p/when-money-is-no-object
https://popular.info/p/powerful-congressman-buying-cannabis
Build a position of neutrality and credibility? As if they aren't already?
If you could point out the Democrats who have engaged in seditious plans to stage a coup, I'm sure he'd be willing to call out THEIR enablers also...
I am curious as to how our elected representatives have increased their net worth over the years that they have been in office. It seems to me that with publicly available records you might be able to track the growth and see if they have used insider information and special deals to increase net worth. I am amazed at how most of these people start at a modest net worth yet end up as multimillionaires by the time they leave office. Maybe you could research one person from each party each week and share their "secrets to success".
A good start would be to ban Congressional stock trading https://popular.info/p/how-to-make-congress-less-corrupt
Yes!
I’d like my buddy Judd to take a swing at income inequality and how wealth may be taxed. I’d also like to see ss, Medicare , state and sales tax treated as taxes. Someone making 60 k lives on the edge.
Someone with 100 m pays shit.
I would really like to know how many members of congress have a history of using "insider trading" to buy & sell stocks. It seems like both parties might have a problem with that and are self-serving when it comes to not passing ethics laws to prevent it. If I knew who was doing this and making money while so many Americans are having a tough time it would definitely be something that would affect the way I vote. Keep up the great work!
Schools segregation and private schools funded with public money. Tracing the spread of the “1776 curriculum” developed by Hillsdale College (Michigan)
Very good point.
Your "How anonymous donors are dominating the 2022 midterm elections" was the clearest, best description. It terrifies me. I've shared it. Thanks for doing what you are doing.
Some of us know that the MSM is owned by 5 corporations (I think that's the right number) but maybe folks should be reminded that's true. Especially as we go to the elections...? MSM is controlled by Republican interests.
In the case of Moore v. Harper that is now before the Supreme Court, what exactly is behind it? Obviously it’s a power grab, but who is Timothy K. Moore? What larger businesses or organizations are behind him? And thank you for your in-depth and informative reporting!
I'm usually full of opinions and suggestions. The fact I have none, demonstrates how damn happy I am with what you do.
I feel like a broken record always congratulating you for your reporting. The only thing more that I would appreciate are links where we, the relatively involved, could contact these companies to express our complaints (similar to how the WSJ has the market links). I believe that PI's goals are similar to those of ProPublica - reporting to effectuate change - these contact links could provide us with the tools to raise our hands to the companies that we mostly have no choice but to rely on for certain commodities and services.
Please look into the influence that the media is having by raising the level of expectation regarding the outcome of the midterm election. Is it herd mentality or is there an underlying design being pushed in order to influence the outcome. The predictive quality of polls is dubious and yet the media continue to hang onto them.
Keep up the good work. My view is that our nation's most significant weakness is our shared inability to reflect on the character of our culture. Do we prefer evidence based reasoning or superstitious thinking? Why or why not? Should America strive to be a nation of vertical power or a nation of horizontal collaboration? We have no venues for chatting thoughtfully with one another about the character of our culture. If any of your readers have examples of such activity, it would be wonderful to learn of them. I'm hoping maybe our church can one day begin sponsoring serious conversations about what works in our nation's culture and what doesn't. -Steve Johnson
I'm interested in the impact of private equity and other investor funded groups on rents.
https://www.propublica.org/article/uline-uihlein-election-denial
That was a great piece.
In a similar story, UNC did something similar as in Kansas - now 16 out of 24 trustees are republican. Universities in Louisiana and Wisconsin are also choking out progressive voices - is this all slow and steady and flying under the radar of stakeholders? UNC has not upheld tenure of progressive faculty - but it may be just the tip of the iceberg in higher Ed.
Every time I read your column, I tell all my friends to boycott that company. Here's what I think would be more effective: give us an email address, preferably of a high ranking employee at the end of the article. I know it's more work for you, but I think it may have more of an effect.
Thanks for all you do!
I also like Susan's idea so that we can support businesses that are doing good.
https://checkmyads.org/
This is a great place to join email campaigns to make a difference in finding disinformation!!
*fighting
As an example I no longer purchase items from Home Depot or other companies exposed on your site due to their monetary support of "election denier" politicians. Not certain that it is having any effect on their bottom line but in my mind, it is the least I can do to deprive them of my $10,000+ per year, to now be spent on their competition. The end result being a $20,000+/year effect as 10k from HD to their competitors 10K+ income stream. My $10k re-direction has a end result of $20k impact.
When I determine what suppliers to use on my proposed and possible upcoming 2MM green solar powered geothermal development project.... I know where my expenditures will be directed. I won't and can't afford the risk of investment without the assurance of the protections guaranteed by the Constitution, local laws with the protection of legitimate insurance companies to protect my investments. These factors are in the mix in regards to decision of time and effort into doing something worthwhile. If there are no rules and might makes right...whats the point.
We need to find a way to decide where our money needs to go to keep the Trump's, corruption, and predators of this new world... out of the game.
I also boycott Home Depot but it was because they knowingly sold LG appliances with KNOWN PROBLEMS and then refused to help when new appliances broke down. Tens of thousands of $s paid.
The loss of just us 2 customers doesn't register on their "concern over profit meter" but if we were 10,000 in number and promised to advertise their misdeeds to the rest of the nation? 10k persons *$10k = 100MM. That might gets someones attention...maybe?
Kroger and Albertsons are set to merge soon, thus consolidating a lot of power in the grocery world. This is almost certain to result in exploitation of customers/employees and price gouging. You’ve done a very good job of staying on top of them in the past so I hope you can keep an eye on this merger.
I've been following it! May write something about it soon but have just been looking for a way to add value to the discussion
Came here to say the same thing. CA AG Bonta is trying to stop a $4B investor payout until the FTC investigates the merger. It is insane how much they made off the pandemic with increased WIC/SNAP/CalFresh and other benefit programs, and now they're fully ripping us off every time we need mayo.
Keep following the money because money is the lifeblood of belief.
Where is Jaime Harrison?
Thank you for your work.
As to a topic that I don't think gets treated enough in the media, why isn't there a light shown on the large religious groups and their utter failure to address the decay of honesty and integrity?
There are political leaders openly lying and performing for their base, and the supposed moral leaders are remaining silent. Worse, they're turning their heads.
Meanwhile, no one is holding the religious groups to account.
This is rotting-out our society.
Their tax exemption needs to be removed. They shouldn’t be preaching politics from the pulpit and they do it all the time. Holding them accountable is making sure they follow the rules of their nonprofit status. If their money was taxed they may straighten up and shut their mouths
Can you provide research on those companies who's leadership is visually behaving in a most democratically supportive role and identify their variables of motivation to do so?
If we know which companies to support, with our dollars, those businesses could become role models for change for the companies that will be losing us as customers... thus affecting their bottom line profits, shareholders dividends, personal reputations.
Money, wealth, power, perceived value and prestige drives companies behavior.
When Ted Cruz got booed at Yankee stadium...he could care less because it didn't have any affect on his separate income stream sources...but had it been tied to his income stream...it would have had a greater affect. Money... and the power it brings determines peoples behavior nowadays due to the times we are living in.
Money drives politics...elects the politicians and forces all others ie. voters, the purchasing public, to conform.
While we as "The People" still have the funds available to continue to "feed the machine" that keeps us under their control, we should try to exercise that power in a more directed manner to support companies that have effective leadership which is more in line with our country's democratic morality?
A lot of this information is not publicly available. But as I said previously in the conversation I want to explore companies that are behaving in the most democratically supportive role. If you look at our January 6 accountability index, the first two categories are companies who stuck to their pledges. I'm not endorsing those companies but those are the facts. https://popular.info/p/the-january-6-corporate-accountability
Thank you Judd...just what I was looking for.
Hopefully we can find some methodology through which we can definitively redirect the nations consumers' payments away from the bad actors and support those that are at least attempting to make the conscious decision to do everything they can to support the democracy that semi protected their access to free markets, a semi safe transportation infrastructure, along with a financial network, which allowed them to thrive, reasonably fairly... to date.
I’m researching the psychodynamics that drive conflict between conservative and progressives. It might be good to explain rather than just denigrate the right, who seem in a state of terror at displacement, and the curious phenomenon of progressive policies having mostly majority support not reflected in legislative institutions. Timothy Schenk wrote in the NYT of 7 October of Obama’s lost manuscript that discusses the failure of progressives to control power.
I don't know much about psychodynamics, admittedly. I'm focusing on uncovering facts. Certainly an interesting topic, however.
Just an informational side note: I think the political drift runs like this ...
right-wing, reactionary, conservative, liberal, progressive, left-wing.
That would put the conflict more between reactionaries and progressives.
But we rarely use the term "reactionary," which refers to people who are reacting against Enlightement principles embodied in the Constitution and therefore anti-American. But we rarely say that. I wonder why?
Good question. Perhaps voters' knowledge of our own history has become so diluted that people would be confused by the term? Words matter though. That's why I am greatly disturbed by credible journalists who continue to give cover to right wing extremists and downright fascists by referring to them as "conservatives."
The book “Laboratories of Autocracy” reveals the groundwork that has been laid over the last few decades -- to where we find ourselves now lacking representation for the majority. Could be reactionary since Obama?
My area of interest is senate malapportionment and the filibuster. The 48 senate Dems and the two Indies represent 40 million more people than the 50 republicans, yet the senate is tied. The filibuster exacerbates the small state advantage, blocking bills that most Americans want. If Dems keep the "majority" in the senate, this should be the first rule change. (Disclosure: Sinema is my senator)
The "smallest" states by population are all democratic controlled, i.e. Rhode Island, Delaware, Vermont etc. If the fillubuster is dismantled then when the republicans take over there will be no way to stop them.
Don't you remember just two years ago the now Senate leader who was the minority leader then begging McConnell not to listen to trump and keep the fillubuster, which he did.
And don't you remember Harry Reid. dropping the fillubuster on thousands of judges and other political appointments but not the Supreme Court but six months later that was changed to the countries determent. If Senator Schumer dies away with it I guarantee you the Republicans will shove thru so much stuff you hate you will rue the day you asked for it.
I was referring to population, but you probably knew that.
Private prisons. Who funds them. How much money they make.
Many bad and cowardly politicians are afraid of their base because that base believes what the lucrative dis-information feeds them 24/7. The very oxygen that keeps that based agitated is the bile oozing out of the dis-information industry (think Germany 1933 and Joseph Goebbels). Many smart people have insisted to me that there's nothing to be done. Well, nothing was done in 1933 and it didn't end well. I'm sure that Popular Info has some smart readers who aren't willing to accept that from now forward, America will just have to live with millions of voters who are not "well-informed". Accepting that fact is the death sentence to a democratic republic. Any ideas?
The coup attempt of Jan 6th, the flailing attempts to avoid the next one, and the astonishing inability to prosecute the commanding criminals and organizing terrorists who perpetrated it.
I think we need a new way to consider & discuss today's economy. GDP, inflation, supply chain, etc are all valid measures but in the wake of the pandemic and political turmoil and big money interests and SCOTUS BS, what's important. I don't know what that looks like.
I was very impressed with the reporting you did on DeSantis in the’DeSantis' giveaway to the insurance industry’. It showed in detail what corporate dollars are buying. Since the GOP is purportedly pro business, are there examples of legislation enacted for benefit the largest corporations to preclude competition from small and medium size businesses? I’m thinking of companies like Amazon, AT&T, Comcast, Microsoft, Google... More and more it seems the days of small businesses are numbered.
I know it's a hard nut to crack, some laws definitely need to change, but I still want to know where churches really get their money, how they invest, who they donate to, who benefits. Seems to be a perfect money laundering scheme. Dark money hiding in plain sight.
If they get tax breaks because they are supposedly charitable non-profits, they shouldn't oppose audits.
Here's something that strikes home every day - the school nutrition guidelines and whose pockets are getting filled with contracts while supplying the bare minimum which is all sodium heavy, overly processed garbage that does a disservice to the kids they're feeding.
I wrote four congresspeople, including Katie Porter and three for whom I've had a chance to vote in the past five years, from Massachusetts, Colorado and Maryland, asking whether it might be possible to pass a law making what Judge Cannon, the rookie federal judge from Florida, did vis-a-vis Donald Trump illegal. Judge Cannon accepted a case brought by former-president Trump, who had named her to the federal bench very late in his term; she was actually sworn in after he'd lost his bid for re-election. It seems to me that there should be a rule that judges MUST recuse themselves from cases involving the executive who named them to the bench, that anything other than that policy is simply overt corruption. I even went and re-read the entire US Constitution to see whether there is any language that would bar Congress (and the President, who'd have to sign the bill) from passing legislation that would put such a check on a federal judge. There is no such language. I haven't heard from any of the four. Do you have any insight into (1) my legislative idea, and (2) why I haven't heard back. Thanks. Keep up the good work.
I would be interested in learning why 4 Capitol Police officers committed suicide after theJanuary 6 insurrection. I haven’t seen any reporting on that.
I agree with Susan DeVoe's comment. But in addition, it would be good to know who is still supporting Trump himself as well as Lindsey Graham and others facing genuine legal peril because of the Big Lie. Who or what organizations are helping pay their legal fees?
How serious is the Secretary of State problem in the states - re managing the voting system. Best to wait until after 2022 election to analyze who is elected. I’m having difficulty knowing how much is progressive politics hype about danger to democracy and what is real. A recent PBS News Hour report, for example, seemed to me to be pushing local reporters to say the situation is worse than it is. Or, maybe it is worse than many are reporting. I trust the information I receive here. Thanks for your good work.
I would say it's a very serious problem! It's possible that election deniers ultimately don't abuse their authority to the maximum extent possible, but it doesn't seem like that's a risk we should take.
What about doing a study contrasting the American lobbying industry with the bans on bribing politicians in other countries?
I still don't understand how it was legal to prevent Obama from seating Merrick Garland on the sUPREME cOURT.
This isn’t a reply so much as a related inquiry- what can be done about it.?
I am getting 20 to 30 requests a day for campaign donations right now and horror stories of GOP spending. I don't know about the rest of you, but commercials do not influence me as to whom I will vote for. And if they do persuade some people, then they shouldn't be allowed to vote. I want to scream ENOUGH!
I'm getting bunches of texts from various democrat groups and it is getting to the point of harassment. 20-30 or more every day! Enough is enough! How did they get my number? Because when you donate online, your number is required or the transaction won't go thru. I'm going to use a fake number from now on.
Track the billions of dollars spent on political advertising. Who is spending. Who is benefiting. Who is profiting.
A deeper dive into Coca Cola seems warranted. They are the world’s biggest polluter and a huge contributor to green house gas emissions yet they are sponsoring COP27? What’s going on? Who are they paying off?