Today, however, I want to hear from you. What's on your mind? What topics should be on Popular Information's radar? You can leave your thoughts in the discussion thread linked below, starting now. I’ll be dropping by later today to answer any questions.
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President Biden is the best POTUS of my lifetime, and I’m 79 years old. Yet he is being asked to step aside by Democrats because of the lies being told by Trump - Putin’s Puppet- and his minions at ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and even Public TV. The current “Supreme” Court is an illegitimate embarrassment that has declared Trump is above the law and can do any damn thing he pleases. I fear for the future, not only of this country, but for the rest of the World. Russia will take over Ukraine, China will invade Taiwan and North Korea will invade South Korea if Trump is re-elected. And global warming will destroy the world. But, President Biden stutters so he must step down.
Reminds me of the Dems forcing Senator Al Franken out during the beginning of the Me Too movement. Bet they regretted that pretty quickly after the GQP took over.
If you're equating Franken with Menendez and Cuomo, your pursuit of perfect candidates that would satisfy your "high standards' amount to cutting off your nose to spite your face. Yes, we need clear standards, but immature jokes are not even remotely the same as sexual assault or outright bribery. Get a clue.
Not only that but immature jokes made long before he ever sought office. I thought that was about the worst self-defeating railroading job I’d ever seen in politics. But what they are doing to Biden right now is just as bad. Imagine doing a fantastic, bang-up job for four years, and as a reward your employer says, “yeah, you have out-performed our expectations in the four years since we hired you. But you walk and talk slower now and we think it looks bad on us. So you need to be put to pasture so we can feel better about ourselves with a shiny new employee who will likely not perform half as well but makes us look stronger against the guy with 91 felony counts.”
As for Franken, why should he stay deeply involved in politics when he was so mercilessly shafted for something he did years ago while the current RNC presidential candidate actually bragged about assaulting women and getting away with it?
A lotta old guys did that kind of thing. It's a re-education opportunity, not "let's throw the old guy under the bus" time. I mean, hey, we have drunk driving classes, don't we? And that's worse in my book than being a little touchy-feely.
Nice, but I wish he were more visible. I'd love to see him follow around Matt Gaetz, or some of the other horrible GOP, with a camera man asking "I resigned for bad jokes, why are you still here given what you did?"
We (the world) did the same thing in Yugoslavia. Gave the Serbs the idea that all Serbs are bad and irredeemable, so no motivation to do better. Anytime you lambaste a group without considering that humans come in many variations, you lose.
I'm not lambasting a group. I'm calling out specific people who have been alleged (or convicted) of crimes. So, I don't see how the Serb example applies.
I think you are misinterpreting the grave doubts about President Biden. It has nothing to do with his stutter. He cannot reliably finish a thought, and he cannot reliably beat Trump. The DNC - or whoever calls the shots in the Democratic Party - let us down when they did not promote a vigorous primary in the first place and convince Biden to stick to his promise of being a "transitional" president. It's all about Biden's ego now. He essentially said that he alone can "finish the job" he started in office. I disagree.
I completely agree. Biden called for the early debate and he BLEW IT! Anyone that saw it knows he’s not fit now — much less in 4 more years. Look, I’d vote for Biden in a coma before I would vote for Trump. But there’s a whole bunch of people in the middle who will not. And without them, in key swing states, we cannot win. Have we learned nothing from the hubris of RGB? For Biden to state that he is the only one who can beat Trump is self aggrandizing at its worst. Donors are withholding money. He’s damaged beyond repair. He needs to step aside NOW for the good of the country.
Shall we then ignore the fact that he has outperformed every president in this century so far, even if he did it with a shuffling gait and slow speech? I remember my grandfather at 82 taking a whole minute to complete a sentence. But he still had more knowledge and wisdom than me every day of the week. If the guy you have walks and talks slower than four years ago but is still outperforming any other - younger - president of our generation, I fail to see the logic in replacing him. If he were not holding together NATO and making sure Ukraine was supported, and seeing to it that a major port was opened in mere weeks after a massive bridge accident, and getting FEMA support to a storm-ravaged Texas in record time, while also managing to shore up international relations in the Asian Pacific region, I guess I might ask myself if he’s still the man for the job. But all of that has been in the last 2 years - let’s see you or me do that right now, at decades younger than him.
Biden isn't a team of one. I don't understand why people put all the weight on his shoulders. You have to see who is helping him run the country and consider the alternative. I sure don't want another shockingly "white bread" team running things under Trump. And, I don't think anyone else can beat Trump. And by the way, I'm a white senior myself so I know whereof I speak.
I strongly disagree. I am not asking Biden to step away because of any lies, but rather the painfully clear evidence witnessed by my own eyes. Biden cannot successfully communicate. He's an excellent, capable president but a woefully inadequate campaigner at 81. If we go for a brokered convention that would capture so much attention and energy. If we stay with Biden, buckle up for facism.
Oh, another white guy mansplaining…Quelle suprise. Brokered convention is the media’s fever dream and would be a nightmare. You don’t speak for anyone but yourself, stop
using WE. Also this has NOTHING to do with Judd’s ask and reeks of trolling. Bye now.
Since you brought my race into this, does it help that I'm strongly advocating for a BIPOC vpotus to lead the ticket?
I just wish you peace with the reality that our nation as we know it will not survive a second trump presidency, ⅔ of Democratic voters want a different candidate than Biden, and *every* alternative to Biden currently outperforms him in swing states.
You didn’t address my point, which you know to be true, that a brokered convention is only desired by those that want to burn it all down. I am so done with the corporate media creating this narrative after ONE debate and disingenuous internet denizens like you piling on. As you are a white man none of this would affect you the way it would—and already IS AFFECTING—any woman or BIPOC or LGBTQ+ individual.
That's a model, not a poll. Go on 538 and look at the polling which has Biden in a serious hole. You really make huge, unfair assumptions about me. I hope you have a better day.
I actually see the race as being very close between Biden and Trump. Name one person who is polling better against Trump than Biden and I'll hold my peace.
A self-fulfilling prophesy involving mega-donors calling Dems saying no $$ unless they call for Biden to bow out or Biden withdraws. They won the media war and have no viable plan. This is about as smart as the GOP getting their abortion ruling & not knowing what to do when women rebelled.
The VP is the only candidate Dems already voted for who can easily / swiftly move to the top of the ticket, is qualified, vetted & can & access funds raised for the ticket. There are deadlines for getting on state ballots.
• Iowa - For the general election, the deadline is 81 days prior to the election, or on Friday, Aug. 16th
• Ohio moved their date to Sept 1. (It took several tries & a special session.) But the law doesn’t go into effect until Sept 1. Existing law says August 7th. Rest assured the Heritage Foundation & friends are serious about being poised to litigate the election process from ballot access to election certification.
Early this week a mega-donor in my metro area bemoaned not paying enough attention during the primary & her embarrassment. She’s withholding her $$ and endorsed a “blitz primary” with 6 candidates preceded by online social media forums, etc. 🙃 Google ‘blitz primary’ and see what you think. Better yet what the architects of it say.
Ohio and Iowa do not matter at all in this election. Michelle Obama (who won't run) would be a guaranteed win. Kamala has a chance, but Whitmer is probably best. I don't and won't ever understand how the Republicans play the most zero-sum, cutthroat politics ever conceived and we just sheepishly limp to absolute oblivion with a guy no one believes can win this time. He isn't going to win over anyone down the stretch. Another batch of covid won't help at all. The knuckle dragging voters of this country will show they'd rather vote for "wrong and strong" than "weak and right"
Mark, I would agree that he's been a very effective president (I'm 70, BTW). But, even when he did the press conference, unscripted, he was sharp in the beginning, but an hour later, you could definitely see and hear the fatigue. There needs to be someone with *charisma* who can rally America and the Party. Biden is an awful orator and he has never had the real charisma that's needed to beat Trump. There needs to be someone who can clearly articulate the platform, highlight the lies from Trump and MAGA. Biden is NOT that guy, despite how smart he is. Right now, we need someone who is capable but who can also rally people.
I think he needs to step aside and we need to get someone who will be able to get full support of the Party and donors.
Dave - reluctantly, I l agree. Regardless of his health the mainstream media has convinced the population he is too old to serve another term. He will not be able to change people's minds between now and November.
These are possible contenders (other than Kamala): Gavin Newsom, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Gov. JB Pritzker, and Gov. Josh Shapiro. Honestly, I've only seen their names mentioned (most frequently was Gavin Newson, out of this group). Who knows what dirt is buried on any of them that the Republicans can dig up to discredit them....though I wouldn't put it past any of them to fabricate charges.
The GOP did oppo on them when they ran in their states. Only Kamala could easily access the $270M raised for the ticket. If this comes to pass it may not go over really well to toss out an entire primary results. In addition to her qualifications (and she has already been vetted), at least Kamala was on the ticket & people voted for her.
I too support Kamala Harris, but I doubt she can get past the fact she's a woman. So when I vote for Biden, I'm voting for Harris. I want Biden to win so she can be there if anything happens.
I agree. Democrats always looking for a unicorn candidate. They agree on what a unicorn is.
The Black Caucus and Progressive Caucus along with many other voices don’t want to remove Biden. But have said if there is a change they want the VP to lead the ticket. Fox is having a field day. Along the lines of the Democratic Party ‘doesn’t like their primary election results so they’re trying to change results.’
I detest the way the possibility of the VP going to the top of the ticket if Biden withdraws is being referred to as a “coronation”. It reeks. And I’ll admit, I’ll view voting in primaries very differently if we wind up with neither Biden nor Harris on the November ballot.
They're definitely good candidates, but enough to get people out to vote? I'd add but not enough people know him. Governor Roy Cooper of NC. He's been a great governor but not enough people know him. He's been the president of the Democratic Governors Association. Now he's campaigning across the state for Democrats since he's term limited. He was very prominent during covid.
Agree. However, we have entered into very unprecedented times with no prior experience in this matter. Polls - if you believe them - show Biden loosing. But is it due to this age, or has the destructive potency of religion, self-righeousness and loathing of the other reached such a dangerous level? Those who are dishonorable (MAGAs) never repent and never reform.
That's not making the point you think it makes. You think the point is "polls are unreliable" but take it to mean "democratic candidates underperform polling levels" and then you will realize the hot water we are in.
The only thing is: campaign people in battleground states are facing zero energy, zero engagement. They can’t get volunteers!!! The campaign will not exist without volunteers. That’s beyond serious.
While I agree with everything you say, we need to meet the moment.
Mark, as someone from the younger side of the voter base I have to disagree with you completely. This isn't about his stutter, it's about his clearly rapidly degrading mind. The man looks like he doesn't know where he is half the time. Biden's recent performances have been an embarrassment to this country and if he actually cares about the fate of the country he will step down. On top of his current condition, he has enabled and encouraged the ongoing genocide in Palestine, swept the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic under the rug and declared that he "ended it," and hasn't followed through on many of the big promises that matter most to people in my age bracket (such as student debt relief). I don't mean to be rude, but it's a bit baffling that you think he's been "the best POTUS of your lifetime."
Liz - sorry, but you are misinformed. I don't blame you, I blame the "main-stream-media." They have failed their responsibility to inform us with facts instead of fiction. You need to find a better source of information. Unfortunately, I don't have any good suggestions. Mark
Which part specifically am I misinformed about? I watched the debate footage and came to my own conclusions. Unless you're saying the debate footage itself was somehow falsified, I don't feel that I've been misinformed about Biden's lucidity.
I do second your distrust of mainstream media outlets and try to get most of my information from independent journalists like Popular Information here.
Kate, your hostility and derision all across this comment section is neither necessary nor productive. What you write off as "talking points" are big-ticket issues that are genuinely important to me. I have firm opinions about the current state of the world and my voice is just as important as everyone else's here-- isn't that what democracy is all about?
Perhaps it's more convenient for you to write others off as "trolls" instead of acknowledging people may have thoughts and feelings different from your own, but it's not a particularly helpful response.
Liz—you can take your self righteousness after what you posted and pack it up. I will not sit idly by while trolls come in to stir division using rumor and in innuendo and fever dreams. While the pundits keep babbling and lying it is becoming clear as to why they want Biden to drop out: https://x.com/bobcesca_go/status/1813596462665924778?s=61&t=yhYiX46kUQXLskUKRjXsFw
You do great work. I would like to see an investigation into the Trump “shooting.” Why won’t he release the medical reports and why did the SS bungle this so badly. Something doesn’t smell right to a lot of us.
Agreed!! We are just taking Donald's "word" for it? No. I want an investigation into the possibility that the "assassination attempt" was staged. There are too many questions --from the foreshadowing by Nick Fuentes and others, to the glaring error of not securing the roof, to the fact that the gunman was spotted and ignored, to the perfect stagecraft by donald. Not to mention the email blast he sent out before the rally ("all hell will break loose") and the perfect timing to give him the hero's welcome and the "touched by an angel" crap. He went golfing Sunday. I have a lot of questions. I'm not one for conspiracy theories in general. But this was trump country and the roof was left to the local law enforcement and--oops!!- now trump is a hero/martyr? No.
You don’t know if that bullet hit tfg or one of the spectators, and wasn’t it convenient for the NYT to have such a high powered camera trained on that side of the stage. 😡
The only way Dems win against Trump (regardless who runs) is to keep the focus on how unsuitable he is. More talk about shooting is a distraction. More fights over the Dem candidate is a dangerous distraction.
So, do anything that keeps the focus on how Trump and Vance are personally unfit, how their Project 2025 dangerous to the country OR what else more Trump could take away.
And we all need to unify and focus all out messaging on these points.
OTOH, to nick the ear and miss the head intentionally is ridiculously low probability unless the shooter is a seasoned sniper. He wasn't.
If there's a conspiracy, it not coming from Trump's camp. It would be coming from never-Trumpers who figured they could get their party back. But then, what's in it for the shooter? Any evidence of a huge cash payout (that he'd know he'd never live to spend)?
This was just another Keystone Kops episode. Incompetence rules the roost with all these people.
I am anti-conspiracy but let me hop on this wagon for a second. The shooter seems so "disposable" like something out of a good spy novel. If he was part of a conspiracy there would need to be influences driving him to do what he did. A Manchurian Candidate kind of grooming, doncha think? (A great conspiracy movie, btw.)
He was prob told he’d be fine or a 72 Virgin type of zealot. Whatever. Just chalk it up to Trump collateral damage. Like all the rest of the dead and wounded- and us.
It's been a tough slog this week. Keeping up with the fascists is exhausting, and it's almost impossible for me to engage anymore. I don't know how you do it, but I am really glad you do. I share your work with as many people as I can.
Thank you for fighting the good fight so consistently and so well.
I'm ridin' with Biden. But, boy, Democrats! Give us your best read on the path to victory in November. Thank you for your phenomenal reporting. You are a treasure!
Why aren't any prominent Democratic politicians making a public argument against the orange traitor and his plan to implement project 2025? That's what I'm wondering.
They are ... Biden has spoken out about it publicly numerous times, and others have too, but the corporate-owned media don't provide them with a microphone.
P.S. The response is dishonest goalpost moving. And as I've said elsewhere, "There something deeply wrong with people who kneejerk attack the Democrats for vile actions perpetrated by others. " ... and then "*those people* need to try harder". What the hell is celeste doing? A lot less than they are, you can be sure.
That isn't enough. They can hold press conferences, more town halls, and get the word out otherwise. It takes a great effort. Those people need to try harder.
I do the same, but in the red town I live in, I'm careful not to incite the kind of rhetoric they do. I have also reached #57 in newly register voters, a mission I have given myself.
Celeste has been trying to get unregistered women (who come into the abortion clinic where she works) registered to vote and open a discussion as to why it is so important, that's "what the hell Celeste has been doing".
Thank you for getting the facts out. I would like more on how Trump actually did what he said he would in his first term and why Project 2025 is so alarming. Finally why are the Epstein files not front and center? It seems that the NY Times is more focused on destroying Biden then getting to the truth on Epstein and Project 2025. It would be nice if you could help guide them.
Am increasingly interested in the disappearing subject of a half year of Israel's organizing mass starvation, mass dehydration and mass bombing/shooting/killing/wounding tens of thousands of people young and old in Gaza, now some in the West Bank, with little to no ongoing reporting or discussion.
I mean, who does that? Oh yeah -- the blank check from our taxes.
Seriously, how does the public silencing mechanism work?
Just want to start by thanking you for the work you do. Truly amazing reporting. Vance is now, officially the next true threat. He's pro Russian, Anti abortion, anti-immigration, buys into the big lie, doesn't believe in climate change ... where to stop ??? Should Trump win he would be next in line. Very far right conspiracy theorist. Very dangerous.
Yes. Add his ties to Peter Thiel and the Christian Nationalists. Also, I heard Musk was pushing him hard, & now he’s donating massive amounts of money to a Trump PAC. Why?
It didn't "pass"; it was a Supreme Court decision. There's nothing that "we" could have done to prevent it. I did my bit by voting against the Republican Presidents who appointed Kennedy, Roberts, Scalia, Alito, and Thomas, but I can't prevent other Americans from voting for Republicans.
"In a member briefing video, one of Ziklag’s spiritual advisers outlined a plan to “deliver swing states” by using an anti-transgender message to motivate conservative voters who are exhausted with Trump.
But Ziklag is not a political organization: It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity, the same legal designation as the United Way or Boys and Girls Club. Such organizations do not have to publicly disclose their funders, and donations are tax deductible. In exchange, they are “absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office,” according to the IRS."
Hello. We seem to get used to the fact that millions are required to finance election campaigns. We understand that these funds go towards, ads, billboards and the like. But given the oceans of cash injected into the election process on a quasi permanent basis, it would be interesting to do a journalistic "deep dive" to discover who is actually pocketing all that money, no ?
Stated otherwise, if we rightly want to get big and dark money out of politics given the unbridled power of the "donors" to literally "buy" our elections, should we also not know where their money - and the hard earned campaign donations of the grass-roots donors as well - is actually going ?
Wouln't that be a blast if we learned that the multibillionaires were themselves at the alpha and omega receiving end of their own "donations" ! Basically weaponizing their money power to gain political power at no financial cost to themselves !
Looking forward to finding out more about that one !
I am VERY concerned about the fact that next week Trump will begin receiving classified information from our government. What can be done to stop this if anything? It seems like a terrible and dangerous idea. In a related note, what has happened to all the documents Trump is thought to still be keeping? I find it so hard to wrap my mind around the idea of this criminal, corrupt man being given the power to govern our country.
Thank you, Judd. My questions are "Why are top Democrats so convinced that Biiden should step down? What do they know that hasn't been shared with voters?"
It seems to me that they are playing onto the hands of the GOP.
Just looking back on what Popular Information has published recently is more than we can process. Looking at the overall view, we can see how the Republicans unify behind each other no matter how outrageous--criminal, irrational, inhumane, revolting their acts and positions. The ability of Democrats to criticize is a key component of how our Founding Fathers argued and examined what became this government that the world envies and aspires to emulate (or trash).
I trust Judd and team to come up with information that our country is better off for when known.
Found examples most of us would never have known about: remember Nex Benedict (beaten and murdered in OK highschool for being trans)? Mika Westwood (indigenous woman run over walking along a highway in Montana by a young drug addicted White Nationalist woman)? Even, for exposing the self-serving agenda of Bari Weiss and her financial success in her bogus The Free Press, in which others with petty grievances can try to trash others.
And, whatever happened to the judicial nomination of the extraordinary Adeel Mangi? At the Senate hearing, Ted Cruz and other horrid hate mongers accused Mangi of being supprtive of someone with whom he had no interest or connection.
Now, that Judd Legum is listened to and invited to appear on cable news, your Popular Information is reaching many more people. Thank you for exposing Sinclair Broadcasting in detail. Thank you for revealing how crime is down, not up, in our major cities "run by Democrats." Continue to do the work you are doing.
The Postal Service. A backbone of the US information dissemination for a large portion of our citizenry, and in the hands of, from what I've read, someone that would like to have the contract with USPS to deliver the mail. Very scary! The Postal Service is so very basic to all of our lives, it is taken for granted in our lives, yet no one seems to be paying attention to Mr. DeJoy and his plans. Please inform us of the details! BTW, you and your crew have been doing a great job, getting information out there, being used as a basis for many large new outlets and their stories, etc. Keep it up!
I would like a deep dive into what drives the “liberal” main stream media to keep bashing Biden. Maybe that’s too obvious. Is it simply click bait for $ for is something else at work.
I agree. Mainstream media seems to mostly negatively report on Biden and positively report on Trump. Why? For advertising dollars? Are previously reputable reporters being paid or threatened? Are there any reputable mainstream reporters anymore? The biased report is a disservice to the public.
It all comes down to the profits. The writers have to have jobs and they have to follow the positions the owners take. Pride, honesty, honor have fallen by the wayside for profits.
Yes, this! They have all certainly turned on Biden (MSNBC for starters!) They have ignored some the biggest stories of our lifetimes:
- Epstein files
- The first ex-President to become a convicted felon
- Drumpf's installed judge dismissing the classified documents case
- Our Supreme Court giving the presidency King-like powers and immunity
And instead they keep focusing on the "Biden is too old" BS. In addition, they are spreading lies about top Dems asking Biden to step down. What is going on?
I love it when you give us specific information about corporate duplicity. Then I know which ones to boycott. At least I can do my tiny bit that way, and by sharing your information.
What rate has the Biden administration been appointing judges compared to Trump?
Detailed discussion of Trump Schedule F policy that would try to reclassify thousands of federal workers as political appointees, which could enable mass dismissals of those who do not support Trump!
You guys do great work. Please look into the John Deere happenings. That company is being destroyed from within. Record profits, stock buy backs, now down sizing, moving jobs off shore. Tragic.
That’s really sad to hear. My dad worked for Deere for 40 years. They were a great company and they took good care of him and my family. What’s happening there?
the new CEO has turned the company aware from its long time stakeholder philosophy into a shareholder philosophy. To make the cuts, the current CEO and management hired a head hunter consulting company to analyze and orchestrate the cuts. Could not be men enough to do it themselves. In the history of Deere, they weathered these times as a company putting people over profit.
They are moving some production to mexico. The company posted tremendous profits and what did they do? Stock buy backs. Management is still pissed about the new union contract and also pissed at many of the salaried people that were supportive of the union members on the strike. They saw the first contract as a piece of BS and felt they deserved better. Now management is making them all pay. To put it mildly, this is the Jack Welch approach he did while at GE. And where is GE today? It used to be a leader in almost every area and is now just a shell of itself, but Jack? He walked off with a boat load. He got a raise every time he cut jobs. Watch and see how this JD management team will get big rewards when this is done.
Agreed, this is really sad. I grew up with John Deere among so many others, and the government has-especially since Reagan-been so passive in allowing corporations to export jobs while boosting profits and parachutes. It's no wonder the US manufacturing base has disappeared. :(
After the debate, I said to my daughter that Biden would step aside, because it's the right thing. I still think he will but he's running out of time. Also, I feel like all of our local news stations *and* all of the big media like the NY Times are failing us terribly. Trump plans to implement the Project 2025 plans like eliminating the department of education and NOAA. I live in Florida and we are in hurricane season. How is this not being told to all of the Florida Republicans who plan to vote a straight R ticket?
Biden won't because it was never the right thing. Every party in history that bypassed their incumbent lost ... and they didn't wait until July or August to do it.
P.S. Talking about the crazies at the RNC has nothing to do with my comment about your resigned attitude. It also has nothing to do with whether Biden is going to lose ... of course the crazies at the RNC are brainwashed, or fellow grifters, but their vote was always going to be for Trump, and they are a small fraction of the population, so your comment is a complete failure as an argument that Biden is "going to lose anyway". He may well lose, but you haven't offered an argument to that effect. And your "He's probably going to lose anyway" was a complete change of subject, which was Biden dropping out being (not) the right thing. And then you go on to nonsense about "America as we knew it" being gone, which sounds a whole lot like the MAGA complaint. Your fantasy America never existed--this is the land of slavery, Jim Crow, the "mudsill" theory, revival meetings, snake oil, the know-nothing party, Tammany Hall, Huey Long, the Gilded Age ... I could write reams about American grift and nutbaggery, but it would be wasted on someone who is clearly not a rational thinker.
Sorry but did you see the crazies at the RNC? They were crying over him. Before he got up there, they had a wrestler who lost his job because he made racist comments and Kid Rock, changing the words to his song to praise Trump. It was like that scene in Succession when "the eldest boy" raps about his father. Surreal. America as we knew it is gone. It's just gone.
I think I read that Trump is head of the Russian Mafia in the U.S., either that or their "bag man" for moneylaundering. I suppose the latter is more likely. That weasel can't manage his way out of a paper bag without declaring bankruptcy and scampering off with other people's cash.
Thanks for your work. What about digging deep into all of the election deniers who are running to supervise elections? If we can't protect the integrity of the votes at their source, our democracy is doomed.
Regardless of what happens in November (or perhaps because of what is likely to happen in November), it’s time for the Dems to do something about the USPS while they have control of most of the government. Hasn’t enough time passed that we can replace Louis DeJoy and appoint someone who will run USPS as the government SERVICE the constitution requires it to be? Mail is slow, or disappears. (One of my friends mailed her tax payment and someone at USPS tried to cash the check! The USPS IG is investigating.) Apps don’t work. Blue mailboxes are removed and aren’t replaced.
The USPS is a disgrace. We can’t let other events distract us from problems that affect all of us every day. What can be done to fix it?
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree… instead of being addicted to painkillers, he’s addicted to $ and the perceived power that looks like is being promised to him. He’s somebody’s corporate go doggy now. Sickening and sad.
Two things that I've not seen covered much of any place thus far;
A. How has Orban's model 'worked out' for Hungary? Not that well, actually-- and that model, without the guardrails imposed by the EU, could be a lot more damaging here. To prevent "talent" from fleeing (and gutting the economy, thus reducing the griftable cash flow to the kleptocrat class) other measures COULD be imposed here because there's no EU to prevent it by holding the purse strings.
B. The H5N1 situation has got us sleepwalking right into another pandemic. Without eliminating that virus from the bovine reservoir in N America, it's only a matter of 'when' not 'if'-- and this has been one of my own MASSIVE concerns in the short term with a MAGA coup. The deliberate undermining of public health from the right over the past five years is making the task nearly impossible due to the lack of cooperation from red states and those on the ground in them. Yes, of course, science denialism is a huge problem in the longer term pretty much in every aspect of everyone's life and future-- but this is quite urgent.
Tax exempt churches. If text-exempt organizations are not allowed to be political, why do they get away with it? Why isn’t their tax exemption taken away?
And while I’m ranting, add to your list of topics taxation of social security benefits (and SS issues, generally). Removing the contribution cap would go a long way toward fixing SS, would make the system more equitable, and would offset the cost of eliminating the tax on benefits that Reagan introduced.
I agree, and sooner the better!!! Everybody knows poor people have short lives, while rich people live longer. So it's fair they should pay on their whole earnings, no caps. They are ripping off the rest of us enough already.
Thanks for all your hard work! I have several questions: WHY didnt the democrats use the actual primaries to find a replacement if they were so concerned w/Biden's age!? what do they expect to gain from performing internal squabbles out in public??
Is the donor class pulling strings to replace Biden because he doesn't fully support some agenda? If the Dems genuinely believe Biden needs to be replaced, why didn't they choose the replacement already? Practically, how could it be anyone other than Kamala at this late date?
Lastly, why is the corporate media inflaming this issue, when Trump has made it clear that he will ruin or even jail journalists if he becomes president again?? This is all so disturbing.
It's Nov 6, 2024 and Trump just defeated Kamala Harris in the election. This makes my note to you on July 18 even more crucial. Kamala won 223 electoral votes even though her campaign was like 105 days, compared to Trump campaigning for 4 straight years (as soon as he left the White House). If Kamala had more time to campaign, she could've reached 270!
So again: WHY DIDN'T THE DEMS ACTUALLY USE THE PRIMARIES TO REPLACE BIDEN IF THEY HAD ISSUES WITH HIS AGE? Had Kamala started during the primary season, we would likely be facing a very different political reality!
I'm down to your column, Joyce Vance (sorry that is her last name now) & Steven Beschloss. All the rest, including the media, are hysterical & adolescent, in its presentations. My blood pressure cannot handle it.. always want you to expose Louis DeJoy though.... thank you for keeping an even keel in these wild times
Thank you for all the work you do. Good journalism is sadly becoming more and more scarce, at a time we need it the most.
I’d love to see some in-depth reporting on why people will believe Republican lies but not Democrats when they tell the truth. A very recent example: Vance claiming auto workers are worse off when Biden has done a lot for the industry and workers. Seems like this is just the latest example. Maybe it’s part of a broader question of how differently the ‘’major’’ media cover Biden and Trump. The conventional wisdom is that Trump brings more clicks and eyeballs to a home page, but is that really true?
I think MSM attacks Biden and the democrats because they do not fear retaliation if the dems win. they KNOW that the conservatives will retaliate against them if they win.
What is going on with the msm “journalists”? NBC/MSNBC in particular, seems to be Biden bashing so much that they have sound like they’ve forgotten the fascist fighting lessons they’ve presented just weeks ago. Are the msm network owners GOP donors?
Thanks to you and your staff for all you do! I believe the best coverage now is on Project 2025 and those that have been building this for 50 years in Hermitage Foundation. Who are these people behind this theory? Scariest thing out there right now to me and there is so much to pick from! Thanks!
My pet Kvetch is about the fact that forces of the dark-side are waging psychological warfare against the working people of this world, the very fact that when arguing any controversial matter presently, the presentation of FACTS doesn't make any difference to those who support the official story about whatever it is.
Some people ask why Trump picked Vance. Based on he latter's speech last night, I'd say it is because he is willing to lie blatantly in support of Trump. How many lies did you identify? Perhaps you could summarize them for the public.
Research into the best ways to help in the lead up to the election. Do phone banks actually work? Are there stats? What swing state could I travel to and register voters. Etc. I’m having a hard time finding this info- at least clearly laid out.
There is so much unsubstantiated nonsense around this assassination attempt, and so many in the media not even asking the questions everyone seems to be filling in with misinfo. Help us parse this out, investigate the conspiracy theories.
There are 66,615 PREGNANT RAPE VICTIMS that DO NOT have ACCESS to GYN doctors. (JAMA, JOURNAL OF AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION)
Heather Cox Richardson posted this about a MONTH AGO. She has the URL.
SO they are ALL STILL PREGNANT, and are being forced to birth their rapist's babies😡
Since SCOTUS 6 overturned Roe girls/women
(some as young as 10 years old) have been SUFFERING, and some have DIED. Even if these females had access to doctors they have made it ILLEGAL for doctors to treat them.
Once SCOTUS 6 got away with this 2 YEARS ago, they have recklessly forged ahead and have denied other rights.
AOC is taking Thomas and Alito on and proposing they be impeached.
Article III Sec 1 of US CONSTITUTION:
"...judges shall hold their offices DURING GOOD BEHAVIOR."
There IS an answer, someone just has to USE IT.
There are 66,615 rapists that have gotten away with it.
No one has the right to demand anything about girls/women.
Legislators have gotten away with this also😡
Alito used Sir Matthew Hale 1600s WITCH TRIAL "JUDGE" as a reference in his "decision". There is an article in an ORLANDO paper that explains this.
You are doing GREAT WORK exposing things that others want hidden.These victims are unsupported. NO ONE that is Condemning them is coming forth to help them through pregnancy, pay doctor/hospital bills, and help raise the children for 18 years.
Assuming NONE of the legislators or people in Congress have had to deal with this issue in their own families.
How can people NOT SEE how utterly unnecessary
all of this is.
Ruining girls/ women's lives because they have some fantasy that there ARE INNOCENT BABIES that need saving.
There are NO BABIES to save by killing the mother.
A BABY is a BABY when it is BORN, and then it is the PARENT'S BABY.
Surreal that men think they can play God and "decide" when "life" starts.
It is CRUEL and BARBARIC and MUST STOP NOW.
SCOTUS 6 needs to RESTORE ROE (and Affirmative Action), and RESIGN. NOW.
I agree with those who want info on the “shooting”. The timing was impeccable, then no press conferences from a doctor or anyone. The fist pump picture, he yells “fight” and now that’s all you hear at the RNC-fight fight fight. I don’t buy it.
I’d like to hear a report on the aftermath of Trump’s last reign in respect to LGBTQ+ issues. Specifically how long it’s taken to undo his damage and what is still left undone, to highlight the decades of work that was undone in just his 4 years in office and how his rhetoric has stirred a national republican offensive against all things LGBTQ+. Also, how has this backlash affected how people live (trans families moving states, changes to Pride, etc). People need to hear the real life realities of what the last Trump presidency started to fully understand the dangers of another one possibly coming.
I’d like more clarity re “Biden should step aside” … is this wishful thinking from those who know that’s not realistic? Is it even doable? What would that look like in reality … Harris for President and add a VP etc etc. And if it’s not realistically possible why are some dem leaders causing angst and chaos.
OR is this slanted reporting around some honest conversations that’s intended to portray dem chaos?
Judd - love what you do which is why I'm a paid subscriber (though I still very much disagree with your decision to call Hamas 'militants' instead of 'terrorists.' If Hamas isn't a terrorist organization, then there is no such thing). Okay, I would love to see continuing efforts to investigate corruption and influences on Supreme Court justices and on federal judges with lifetime appointments. I know ProPublica has a lot more resources than PopularInfo, but you and your team do unique and amazing work so that is an area of interest for me. I wonder if we've been missing for a long time how much corruption there might be amongst federal judges with lifetime appointments, since we've only recently really learned about the obscenity that is Clarence Thomas and to a lesser degree Samuel Alito. And might I mention John Roberts whose wife is hired by every big firm in DC and paid millions of dollars as a headhunter, which is a definite conflict of interest for her husband. For the lower courts, I would really like to understand how it is possible that our judicial system allows a judge to stay on a case where the defendant appointed her (I am of course speaking of Aileen Cannon). I realize this probalby hasn't even occurred before, but still. I never hear any legal analysts even frame it that way. It's not just that she made some rulings that favored Trump from the beginning, but the JUDGE was APPOINTED by the DEFENDANT. Oy. Another topic - defense department contracts with companies run by people who have exercised their voices via very powerful platforms, taken highly partisan and ideological positions, and expressed beliefs and opinions that are against the U.S. Constitution, and are sometimes significantly bigoted against various groups of Americans. Of course talking here about Elon Musk. It's one thing for him to be able to own some of the assets he owns, and run a private sector car company, but the idea that he has companies with government contracts and has received a great deal of public money over the years is something I think few people know about and I feel pretty uninformed about it. When he threatened to turn off the internet in Ukraine via his StarLink satellites, I felt sick to my stomach. Someone like that shouldn't have contracts with the US Government and especially the Defense Dept. Thanks.
Thank you for your good work. Could you do a current roundup on ownership of the major media? After your Sinclair story, It occurs to me that Musk and Murdoch have their wealth from foreign sources. Is that unusual?
I would like to know more about the issues of having another candidate if Biden does step down. What is the process for choosing another candidate, what happens to his campaign and campaign funds.
This is a very good point. I don't think there is time and I think it is part of Trump's ploy to push this in the media and get Dems to fight each other and not be united behind one candidate. There is no one who else who could get enough people behind them and get on as many ballots -- and Republicans have vowed to fight any change of candidate in court (to delay, destroy, etc.). It would be a total mess and hand the election to Trump. People need to stop pushing this idea. It won't work.
President Biden is the best POTUS of my lifetime, and I’m 79 years old. Yet he is being asked to step aside by Democrats because of the lies being told by Trump - Putin’s Puppet- and his minions at ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and even Public TV. The current “Supreme” Court is an illegitimate embarrassment that has declared Trump is above the law and can do any damn thing he pleases. I fear for the future, not only of this country, but for the rest of the World. Russia will take over Ukraine, China will invade Taiwan and North Korea will invade South Korea if Trump is re-elected. And global warming will destroy the world. But, President Biden stutters so he must step down.
Reminds me of the Dems forcing Senator Al Franken out during the beginning of the Me Too movement. Bet they regretted that pretty quickly after the GQP took over.
I love Franken, but Dems should have high standards and he needed to step down. Same with Menendez and Cuomo..
The questions are:
1) why hasn't Franken remained more active in politics as an influencer and
2) why are the GOP not only expected to fall below the standards, but do so without it even being a story?
If you're equating Franken with Menendez and Cuomo, your pursuit of perfect candidates that would satisfy your "high standards' amount to cutting off your nose to spite your face. Yes, we need clear standards, but immature jokes are not even remotely the same as sexual assault or outright bribery. Get a clue.
Not only that but immature jokes made long before he ever sought office. I thought that was about the worst self-defeating railroading job I’d ever seen in politics. But what they are doing to Biden right now is just as bad. Imagine doing a fantastic, bang-up job for four years, and as a reward your employer says, “yeah, you have out-performed our expectations in the four years since we hired you. But you walk and talk slower now and we think it looks bad on us. So you need to be put to pasture so we can feel better about ourselves with a shiny new employee who will likely not perform half as well but makes us look stronger against the guy with 91 felony counts.”
As for Franken, why should he stay deeply involved in politics when he was so mercilessly shafted for something he did years ago while the current RNC presidential candidate actually bragged about assaulting women and getting away with it?
First, I'm not equating the severity if their actions only that they fell below n acceptable standard and the party was right to cut ties.
As for Franken, I love him, but 7 diff women accused him of inappropriate physical contact. It was more than immature jokes. He had to go.
A lotta old guys did that kind of thing. It's a re-education opportunity, not "let's throw the old guy under the bus" time. I mean, hey, we have drunk driving classes, don't we? And that's worse in my book than being a little touchy-feely.
Absolutely it's a reeducation opportunity. But that doesn't mean no consequences. Lots of drunk drivers face more than a class.
IMO, one consequence should be losing high elected office.
Actually, Franken is staying involved. He has the Midwest PAC.
And he has a great podcast.
Nice, but I wish he were more visible. I'd love to see him follow around Matt Gaetz, or some of the other horrible GOP, with a camera man asking "I resigned for bad jokes, why are you still here given what you did?"
We (the world) did the same thing in Yugoslavia. Gave the Serbs the idea that all Serbs are bad and irredeemable, so no motivation to do better. Anytime you lambaste a group without considering that humans come in many variations, you lose.
I'm not lambasting a group. I'm calling out specific people who have been alleged (or convicted) of crimes. So, I don't see how the Serb example applies.
Exactly.
Yes exactly!
I think you are misinterpreting the grave doubts about President Biden. It has nothing to do with his stutter. He cannot reliably finish a thought, and he cannot reliably beat Trump. The DNC - or whoever calls the shots in the Democratic Party - let us down when they did not promote a vigorous primary in the first place and convince Biden to stick to his promise of being a "transitional" president. It's all about Biden's ego now. He essentially said that he alone can "finish the job" he started in office. I disagree.
I completely agree. Biden called for the early debate and he BLEW IT! Anyone that saw it knows he’s not fit now — much less in 4 more years. Look, I’d vote for Biden in a coma before I would vote for Trump. But there’s a whole bunch of people in the middle who will not. And without them, in key swing states, we cannot win. Have we learned nothing from the hubris of RGB? For Biden to state that he is the only one who can beat Trump is self aggrandizing at its worst. Donors are withholding money. He’s damaged beyond repair. He needs to step aside NOW for the good of the country.
Shall we then ignore the fact that he has outperformed every president in this century so far, even if he did it with a shuffling gait and slow speech? I remember my grandfather at 82 taking a whole minute to complete a sentence. But he still had more knowledge and wisdom than me every day of the week. If the guy you have walks and talks slower than four years ago but is still outperforming any other - younger - president of our generation, I fail to see the logic in replacing him. If he were not holding together NATO and making sure Ukraine was supported, and seeing to it that a major port was opened in mere weeks after a massive bridge accident, and getting FEMA support to a storm-ravaged Texas in record time, while also managing to shore up international relations in the Asian Pacific region, I guess I might ask myself if he’s still the man for the job. But all of that has been in the last 2 years - let’s see you or me do that right now, at decades younger than him.
Nope!
Biden isn't a team of one. I don't understand why people put all the weight on his shoulders. You have to see who is helping him run the country and consider the alternative. I sure don't want another shockingly "white bread" team running things under Trump. And, I don't think anyone else can beat Trump. And by the way, I'm a white senior myself so I know whereof I speak.
I strongly disagree. I am not asking Biden to step away because of any lies, but rather the painfully clear evidence witnessed by my own eyes. Biden cannot successfully communicate. He's an excellent, capable president but a woefully inadequate campaigner at 81. If we go for a brokered convention that would capture so much attention and energy. If we stay with Biden, buckle up for facism.
Oh, another white guy mansplaining…Quelle suprise. Brokered convention is the media’s fever dream and would be a nightmare. You don’t speak for anyone but yourself, stop
using WE. Also this has NOTHING to do with Judd’s ask and reeks of trolling. Bye now.
Since you brought my race into this, does it help that I'm strongly advocating for a BIPOC vpotus to lead the ticket?
I just wish you peace with the reality that our nation as we know it will not survive a second trump presidency, ⅔ of Democratic voters want a different candidate than Biden, and *every* alternative to Biden currently outperforms him in swing states.
You didn’t address my point, which you know to be true, that a brokered convention is only desired by those that want to burn it all down. I am so done with the corporate media creating this narrative after ONE debate and disingenuous internet denizens like you piling on. As you are a white man none of this would affect you the way it would—and already IS AFFECTING—any woman or BIPOC or LGBTQ+ individual.
Since you are so into polls why don’t you check this out: https://x.com/bobcesca_go/status/1813596462665924778?s=61&t=yhYiX46kUQXLskUKRjXsFw
Again, Adam Schiff is not part of the corporate media.
He’s worse, he’s a backstabbing opportunist.
That's a model, not a poll. Go on 538 and look at the polling which has Biden in a serious hole. You really make huge, unfair assumptions about me. I hope you have a better day.
I actually see the race as being very close between Biden and Trump. Name one person who is polling better against Trump than Biden and I'll hold my peace.
Here’s another link to 538: https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2024-election-forecast/
THAT IS 538!
A self-fulfilling prophesy involving mega-donors calling Dems saying no $$ unless they call for Biden to bow out or Biden withdraws. They won the media war and have no viable plan. This is about as smart as the GOP getting their abortion ruling & not knowing what to do when women rebelled.
The VP is the only candidate Dems already voted for who can easily / swiftly move to the top of the ticket, is qualified, vetted & can & access funds raised for the ticket. There are deadlines for getting on state ballots.
• Iowa - For the general election, the deadline is 81 days prior to the election, or on Friday, Aug. 16th
• Ohio moved their date to Sept 1. (It took several tries & a special session.) But the law doesn’t go into effect until Sept 1. Existing law says August 7th. Rest assured the Heritage Foundation & friends are serious about being poised to litigate the election process from ballot access to election certification.
Early this week a mega-donor in my metro area bemoaned not paying enough attention during the primary & her embarrassment. She’s withholding her $$ and endorsed a “blitz primary” with 6 candidates preceded by online social media forums, etc. 🙃 Google ‘blitz primary’ and see what you think. Better yet what the architects of it say.
Ohio and Iowa do not matter at all in this election. Michelle Obama (who won't run) would be a guaranteed win. Kamala has a chance, but Whitmer is probably best. I don't and won't ever understand how the Republicans play the most zero-sum, cutthroat politics ever conceived and we just sheepishly limp to absolute oblivion with a guy no one believes can win this time. He isn't going to win over anyone down the stretch. Another batch of covid won't help at all. The knuckle dragging voters of this country will show they'd rather vote for "wrong and strong" than "weak and right"
The age related issues were already out there during the primaries.
I that’s strategy for Dems to adopt. Save time and resources. Don’t worry about getting on state ballots. Maybe cancel primaries also.
The last time the Dem ‘leadership’ and $$ created a division that wasn’t nearly as public, trump got elected.
Mark, I would agree that he's been a very effective president (I'm 70, BTW). But, even when he did the press conference, unscripted, he was sharp in the beginning, but an hour later, you could definitely see and hear the fatigue. There needs to be someone with *charisma* who can rally America and the Party. Biden is an awful orator and he has never had the real charisma that's needed to beat Trump. There needs to be someone who can clearly articulate the platform, highlight the lies from Trump and MAGA. Biden is NOT that guy, despite how smart he is. Right now, we need someone who is capable but who can also rally people.
I think he needs to step aside and we need to get someone who will be able to get full support of the Party and donors.
Dave - reluctantly, I l agree. Regardless of his health the mainstream media has convinced the population he is too old to serve another term. He will not be able to change people's minds between now and November.
Really?? https://x.com/bobcesca_go/status/1813596462665924778?s=61&t=yhYiX46kUQXLskUKRjXsFw
HE BEAT TRUMP ALREADY! These trolls are really getting lazy…
Who then?
These are possible contenders (other than Kamala): Gavin Newsom, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Gov. JB Pritzker, and Gov. Josh Shapiro. Honestly, I've only seen their names mentioned (most frequently was Gavin Newson, out of this group). Who knows what dirt is buried on any of them that the Republicans can dig up to discredit them....though I wouldn't put it past any of them to fabricate charges.
The GOP did oppo on them when they ran in their states. Only Kamala could easily access the $270M raised for the ticket. If this comes to pass it may not go over really well to toss out an entire primary results. In addition to her qualifications (and she has already been vetted), at least Kamala was on the ticket & people voted for her.
I too support Kamala Harris, but I doubt she can get past the fact she's a woman. So when I vote for Biden, I'm voting for Harris. I want Biden to win so she can be there if anything happens.
I agree. Democrats always looking for a unicorn candidate. They agree on what a unicorn is.
The Black Caucus and Progressive Caucus along with many other voices don’t want to remove Biden. But have said if there is a change they want the VP to lead the ticket. Fox is having a field day. Along the lines of the Democratic Party ‘doesn’t like their primary election results so they’re trying to change results.’
I detest the way the possibility of the VP going to the top of the ticket if Biden withdraws is being referred to as a “coronation”. It reeks. And I’ll admit, I’ll view voting in primaries very differently if we wind up with neither Biden nor Harris on the November ballot.
They're definitely good candidates, but enough to get people out to vote? I'd add but not enough people know him. Governor Roy Cooper of NC. He's been a great governor but not enough people know him. He's been the president of the Democratic Governors Association. Now he's campaigning across the state for Democrats since he's term limited. He was very prominent during covid.
It’s crazy, I don’t know where duty, honor, family, and God went in this country. It seems it was just erased and we are much poorer now!
Agree. However, we have entered into very unprecedented times with no prior experience in this matter. Polls - if you believe them - show Biden loosing. But is it due to this age, or has the destructive potency of religion, self-righeousness and loathing of the other reached such a dangerous level? Those who are dishonorable (MAGAs) never repent and never reform.
Polls showed Hillary winning…so…
That's not making the point you think it makes. You think the point is "polls are unreliable" but take it to mean "democratic candidates underperform polling levels" and then you will realize the hot water we are in.
🙄
100%.
https://x.com/bobcesca_go/status/1813596462665924778?s=61&t=yhYiX46kUQXLskUKRjXsFw
Sounds like you might have what Biden has…?
The only thing is: campaign people in battleground states are facing zero energy, zero engagement. They can’t get volunteers!!! The campaign will not exist without volunteers. That’s beyond serious.
While I agree with everything you say, we need to meet the moment.
Mark, as someone from the younger side of the voter base I have to disagree with you completely. This isn't about his stutter, it's about his clearly rapidly degrading mind. The man looks like he doesn't know where he is half the time. Biden's recent performances have been an embarrassment to this country and if he actually cares about the fate of the country he will step down. On top of his current condition, he has enabled and encouraged the ongoing genocide in Palestine, swept the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic under the rug and declared that he "ended it," and hasn't followed through on many of the big promises that matter most to people in my age bracket (such as student debt relief). I don't mean to be rude, but it's a bit baffling that you think he's been "the best POTUS of your lifetime."
Liz - sorry, but you are misinformed. I don't blame you, I blame the "main-stream-media." They have failed their responsibility to inform us with facts instead of fiction. You need to find a better source of information. Unfortunately, I don't have any good suggestions. Mark
Which part specifically am I misinformed about? I watched the debate footage and came to my own conclusions. Unless you're saying the debate footage itself was somehow falsified, I don't feel that I've been misinformed about Biden's lucidity.
I do second your distrust of mainstream media outlets and try to get most of my information from independent journalists like Popular Information here.
Actually it's not Biden's fault about student loans, it's Republicans and their cronies.
Oh look, another troll with talking points…🙄 hope Putin in paying you well. Bye now!
Kate, your hostility and derision all across this comment section is neither necessary nor productive. What you write off as "talking points" are big-ticket issues that are genuinely important to me. I have firm opinions about the current state of the world and my voice is just as important as everyone else's here-- isn't that what democracy is all about?
Perhaps it's more convenient for you to write others off as "trolls" instead of acknowledging people may have thoughts and feelings different from your own, but it's not a particularly helpful response.
Liz—you can take your self righteousness after what you posted and pack it up. I will not sit idly by while trolls come in to stir division using rumor and in innuendo and fever dreams. While the pundits keep babbling and lying it is becoming clear as to why they want Biden to drop out: https://x.com/bobcesca_go/status/1813596462665924778?s=61&t=yhYiX46kUQXLskUKRjXsFw
Kate, Adam Schiff, who you may respect, also is encouraging Biden to aside.
No, he can take a leap too—I have zero respect for him.
You do great work. I would like to see an investigation into the Trump “shooting.” Why won’t he release the medical reports and why did the SS bungle this so badly. Something doesn’t smell right to a lot of us.
Agreed!! We are just taking Donald's "word" for it? No. I want an investigation into the possibility that the "assassination attempt" was staged. There are too many questions --from the foreshadowing by Nick Fuentes and others, to the glaring error of not securing the roof, to the fact that the gunman was spotted and ignored, to the perfect stagecraft by donald. Not to mention the email blast he sent out before the rally ("all hell will break loose") and the perfect timing to give him the hero's welcome and the "touched by an angel" crap. He went golfing Sunday. I have a lot of questions. I'm not one for conspiracy theories in general. But this was trump country and the roof was left to the local law enforcement and--oops!!- now trump is a hero/martyr? No.
Classic WWF move - minor self-inflicted cut when no one is watching
The NYT has a photo of the bullet physically streaking past.
You don’t know if that bullet hit tfg or one of the spectators, and wasn’t it convenient for the NYT to have such a high powered camera trained on that side of the stage. 😡
I disagree about more reporting on the shooting.
The only way Dems win against Trump (regardless who runs) is to keep the focus on how unsuitable he is. More talk about shooting is a distraction. More fights over the Dem candidate is a dangerous distraction.
So, do anything that keeps the focus on how Trump and Vance are personally unfit, how their Project 2025 dangerous to the country OR what else more Trump could take away.
And we all need to unify and focus all out messaging on these points.
Excellent work. Keep it up!
OTOH, to nick the ear and miss the head intentionally is ridiculously low probability unless the shooter is a seasoned sniper. He wasn't.
If there's a conspiracy, it not coming from Trump's camp. It would be coming from never-Trumpers who figured they could get their party back. But then, what's in it for the shooter? Any evidence of a huge cash payout (that he'd know he'd never live to spend)?
This was just another Keystone Kops episode. Incompetence rules the roost with all these people.
Why would it? It was to use his word RIGGED. Right before the RNC?? He played GOLF the next day. WHEN IS TJIS GOING TO END??
I am anti-conspiracy but let me hop on this wagon for a second. The shooter seems so "disposable" like something out of a good spy novel. If he was part of a conspiracy there would need to be influences driving him to do what he did. A Manchurian Candidate kind of grooming, doncha think? (A great conspiracy movie, btw.)
He was prob told he’d be fine or a 72 Virgin type of zealot. Whatever. Just chalk it up to Trump collateral damage. Like all the rest of the dead and wounded- and us.
Yeah and those of us who walk around with a knot in our stomach at the thought of whatever is going to happen in November.
It's been a tough slog this week. Keeping up with the fascists is exhausting, and it's almost impossible for me to engage anymore. I don't know how you do it, but I am really glad you do. I share your work with as many people as I can.
Thank you for fighting the good fight so consistently and so well.
I'm ridin' with Biden. But, boy, Democrats! Give us your best read on the path to victory in November. Thank you for your phenomenal reporting. You are a treasure!
Why aren't any prominent Democratic politicians making a public argument against the orange traitor and his plan to implement project 2025? That's what I'm wondering.
They are ... Biden has spoken out about it publicly numerous times, and others have too, but the corporate-owned media don't provide them with a microphone.
P.S. The response is dishonest goalpost moving. And as I've said elsewhere, "There something deeply wrong with people who kneejerk attack the Democrats for vile actions perpetrated by others. " ... and then "*those people* need to try harder". What the hell is celeste doing? A lot less than they are, you can be sure.
That isn't enough. They can hold press conferences, more town halls, and get the word out otherwise. It takes a great effort. Those people need to try harder.
I'm having yard signs made so my neighbors will know.
I do the same, but in the red town I live in, I'm careful not to incite the kind of rhetoric they do. I have also reached #57 in newly register voters, a mission I have given myself.
I don't have a yard, but I am with you on that.
Celeste has been trying to get unregistered women (who come into the abortion clinic where she works) registered to vote and open a discussion as to why it is so important, that's "what the hell Celeste has been doing".
Thank you for getting the facts out. I would like more on how Trump actually did what he said he would in his first term and why Project 2025 is so alarming. Finally why are the Epstein files not front and center? It seems that the NY Times is more focused on destroying Biden then getting to the truth on Epstein and Project 2025. It would be nice if you could help guide them.
Am increasingly interested in the disappearing subject of a half year of Israel's organizing mass starvation, mass dehydration and mass bombing/shooting/killing/wounding tens of thousands of people young and old in Gaza, now some in the West Bank, with little to no ongoing reporting or discussion.
I mean, who does that? Oh yeah -- the blank check from our taxes.
Seriously, how does the public silencing mechanism work?
Just want to start by thanking you for the work you do. Truly amazing reporting. Vance is now, officially the next true threat. He's pro Russian, Anti abortion, anti-immigration, buys into the big lie, doesn't believe in climate change ... where to stop ??? Should Trump win he would be next in line. Very far right conspiracy theorist. Very dangerous.
Yes. Add his ties to Peter Thiel and the Christian Nationalists. Also, I heard Musk was pushing him hard, & now he’s donating massive amounts of money to a Trump PAC. Why?
To lower his taxes, and because he hates his trans daughter.
Didn’t know she was Trans.
Neither did I, but then I don't go around digging into other people's problems if they aren't family or friends.
https://www.thepinknews.com/2024/07/17/who-is-elon-musks-trans-daughter-vivian-jenna-wilson/
Forty-five million bucks a month.
Totally legal.
I hate citizens united, we should have never let it pass. Wonder what Dubya thinks about it now!
It didn't "pass"; it was a Supreme Court decision. There's nothing that "we" could have done to prevent it. I did my bit by voting against the Republican Presidents who appointed Kennedy, Roberts, Scalia, Alito, and Thomas, but I can't prevent other Americans from voting for Republicans.
Have you heard of Ziklag? ProPublica article link:
https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-ziklag-secret-christian-charity-2024-election?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=majorinvestigations&utm_content=river
excerpt:
"In a member briefing video, one of Ziklag’s spiritual advisers outlined a plan to “deliver swing states” by using an anti-transgender message to motivate conservative voters who are exhausted with Trump.
But Ziklag is not a political organization: It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity, the same legal designation as the United Way or Boys and Girls Club. Such organizations do not have to publicly disclose their funders, and donations are tax deductible. In exchange, they are “absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office,” according to the IRS."
Posted this one too—we definitely need to keep spreading the word!
Hello. We seem to get used to the fact that millions are required to finance election campaigns. We understand that these funds go towards, ads, billboards and the like. But given the oceans of cash injected into the election process on a quasi permanent basis, it would be interesting to do a journalistic "deep dive" to discover who is actually pocketing all that money, no ?
Stated otherwise, if we rightly want to get big and dark money out of politics given the unbridled power of the "donors" to literally "buy" our elections, should we also not know where their money - and the hard earned campaign donations of the grass-roots donors as well - is actually going ?
Wouln't that be a blast if we learned that the multibillionaires were themselves at the alpha and omega receiving end of their own "donations" ! Basically weaponizing their money power to gain political power at no financial cost to themselves !
Looking forward to finding out more about that one !
I am VERY concerned about the fact that next week Trump will begin receiving classified information from our government. What can be done to stop this if anything? It seems like a terrible and dangerous idea. In a related note, what has happened to all the documents Trump is thought to still be keeping? I find it so hard to wrap my mind around the idea of this criminal, corrupt man being given the power to govern our country.
Better start reading Cody. We are closer to a fascist country than most people believe!
Thank you, Judd. My questions are "Why are top Democrats so convinced that Biiden should step down? What do they know that hasn't been shared with voters?"
It seems to me that they are playing onto the hands of the GOP.
Agree -- and I'm no longer as trusting of all these anonymous sources pushed by the mainstream media.
It’s all BS backbiting, and sorry to say mostly being pushed by Obama-bros, as Rick Wilson has said.
Just looking back on what Popular Information has published recently is more than we can process. Looking at the overall view, we can see how the Republicans unify behind each other no matter how outrageous--criminal, irrational, inhumane, revolting their acts and positions. The ability of Democrats to criticize is a key component of how our Founding Fathers argued and examined what became this government that the world envies and aspires to emulate (or trash).
I trust Judd and team to come up with information that our country is better off for when known.
Found examples most of us would never have known about: remember Nex Benedict (beaten and murdered in OK highschool for being trans)? Mika Westwood (indigenous woman run over walking along a highway in Montana by a young drug addicted White Nationalist woman)? Even, for exposing the self-serving agenda of Bari Weiss and her financial success in her bogus The Free Press, in which others with petty grievances can try to trash others.
And, whatever happened to the judicial nomination of the extraordinary Adeel Mangi? At the Senate hearing, Ted Cruz and other horrid hate mongers accused Mangi of being supprtive of someone with whom he had no interest or connection.
Now, that Judd Legum is listened to and invited to appear on cable news, your Popular Information is reaching many more people. Thank you for exposing Sinclair Broadcasting in detail. Thank you for revealing how crime is down, not up, in our major cities "run by Democrats." Continue to do the work you are doing.
The Postal Service. A backbone of the US information dissemination for a large portion of our citizenry, and in the hands of, from what I've read, someone that would like to have the contract with USPS to deliver the mail. Very scary! The Postal Service is so very basic to all of our lives, it is taken for granted in our lives, yet no one seems to be paying attention to Mr. DeJoy and his plans. Please inform us of the details! BTW, you and your crew have been doing a great job, getting information out there, being used as a basis for many large new outlets and their stories, etc. Keep it up!
Thanks for all your great work and love seeing what you and Aaron Rupar are doing together.
I’d love to see more on why we’re not seeing any data from the folks who are insisting Biden steps down.
Bouzy and Lichtman have great data and a background of solid predictions and they’re both saying Biden wins if we can keep our shit together.
Why are we making a monumental switch based on some hunches from some white guys?
I would like a deep dive into what drives the “liberal” main stream media to keep bashing Biden. Maybe that’s too obvious. Is it simply click bait for $ for is something else at work.
I agree. Mainstream media seems to mostly negatively report on Biden and positively report on Trump. Why? For advertising dollars? Are previously reputable reporters being paid or threatened? Are there any reputable mainstream reporters anymore? The biased report is a disservice to the public.
It all comes down to the profits. The writers have to have jobs and they have to follow the positions the owners take. Pride, honesty, honor have fallen by the wayside for profits.
Yes, this! They have all certainly turned on Biden (MSNBC for starters!) They have ignored some the biggest stories of our lifetimes:
- Epstein files
- The first ex-President to become a convicted felon
- Drumpf's installed judge dismissing the classified documents case
- Our Supreme Court giving the presidency King-like powers and immunity
And instead they keep focusing on the "Biden is too old" BS. In addition, they are spreading lies about top Dems asking Biden to step down. What is going on?
I love it when you give us specific information about corporate duplicity. Then I know which ones to boycott. At least I can do my tiny bit that way, and by sharing your information.
Thank you for your essential investigations. What about investigating whether any mainline churches are funding Trump? Southern Baptists e.g.?
Why yes they are!
What rate has the Biden administration been appointing judges compared to Trump?
Detailed discussion of Trump Schedule F policy that would try to reclassify thousands of federal workers as political appointees, which could enable mass dismissals of those who do not support Trump!
You guys do great work. Please look into the John Deere happenings. That company is being destroyed from within. Record profits, stock buy backs, now down sizing, moving jobs off shore. Tragic.
That’s really sad to hear. My dad worked for Deere for 40 years. They were a great company and they took good care of him and my family. What’s happening there?
the new CEO has turned the company aware from its long time stakeholder philosophy into a shareholder philosophy. To make the cuts, the current CEO and management hired a head hunter consulting company to analyze and orchestrate the cuts. Could not be men enough to do it themselves. In the history of Deere, they weathered these times as a company putting people over profit.
They are moving some production to mexico. The company posted tremendous profits and what did they do? Stock buy backs. Management is still pissed about the new union contract and also pissed at many of the salaried people that were supportive of the union members on the strike. They saw the first contract as a piece of BS and felt they deserved better. Now management is making them all pay. To put it mildly, this is the Jack Welch approach he did while at GE. And where is GE today? It used to be a leader in almost every area and is now just a shell of itself, but Jack? He walked off with a boat load. He got a raise every time he cut jobs. Watch and see how this JD management team will get big rewards when this is done.
Agreed, this is really sad. I grew up with John Deere among so many others, and the government has-especially since Reagan-been so passive in allowing corporations to export jobs while boosting profits and parachutes. It's no wonder the US manufacturing base has disappeared. :(
Lord save us from the oligarchs
After the debate, I said to my daughter that Biden would step aside, because it's the right thing. I still think he will but he's running out of time. Also, I feel like all of our local news stations *and* all of the big media like the NY Times are failing us terribly. Trump plans to implement the Project 2025 plans like eliminating the department of education and NOAA. I live in Florida and we are in hurricane season. How is this not being told to all of the Florida Republicans who plan to vote a straight R ticket?
Don’t need to worry about the path of the next hurricane after noaa is defunded; president Trump will just get out his sharpie & show us the way….
Biden won't because it was never the right thing. Every party in history that bypassed their incumbent lost ... and they didn't wait until July or August to do it.
He's probably going to lose anyway. People are brainwashed.
Hey, that's the spirit. :-(
P.S. Talking about the crazies at the RNC has nothing to do with my comment about your resigned attitude. It also has nothing to do with whether Biden is going to lose ... of course the crazies at the RNC are brainwashed, or fellow grifters, but their vote was always going to be for Trump, and they are a small fraction of the population, so your comment is a complete failure as an argument that Biden is "going to lose anyway". He may well lose, but you haven't offered an argument to that effect. And your "He's probably going to lose anyway" was a complete change of subject, which was Biden dropping out being (not) the right thing. And then you go on to nonsense about "America as we knew it" being gone, which sounds a whole lot like the MAGA complaint. Your fantasy America never existed--this is the land of slavery, Jim Crow, the "mudsill" theory, revival meetings, snake oil, the know-nothing party, Tammany Hall, Huey Long, the Gilded Age ... I could write reams about American grift and nutbaggery, but it would be wasted on someone who is clearly not a rational thinker.
Sorry but did you see the crazies at the RNC? They were crying over him. Before he got up there, they had a wrestler who lost his job because he made racist comments and Kid Rock, changing the words to his song to praise Trump. It was like that scene in Succession when "the eldest boy" raps about his father. Surreal. America as we knew it is gone. It's just gone.
I would be interested to see what you can do to catalog the extent of Russian financial influence in the GOP.
I think I read that Trump is head of the Russian Mafia in the U.S., either that or their "bag man" for moneylaundering. I suppose the latter is more likely. That weasel can't manage his way out of a paper bag without declaring bankruptcy and scampering off with other people's cash.
Thanks for your work. What about digging deep into all of the election deniers who are running to supervise elections? If we can't protect the integrity of the votes at their source, our democracy is doomed.
Regardless of what happens in November (or perhaps because of what is likely to happen in November), it’s time for the Dems to do something about the USPS while they have control of most of the government. Hasn’t enough time passed that we can replace Louis DeJoy and appoint someone who will run USPS as the government SERVICE the constitution requires it to be? Mail is slow, or disappears. (One of my friends mailed her tax payment and someone at USPS tried to cash the check! The USPS IG is investigating.) Apps don’t work. Blue mailboxes are removed and aren’t replaced.
The USPS is a disgrace. We can’t let other events distract us from problems that affect all of us every day. What can be done to fix it?
DeJoy can only be replaced by the USPS board of directors but they are mostly right wingers.
Can’t we replace the board?
They can only be terminated for cause: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/02/biden-cannot-fire-usps-louis-dejoy.html
That’s my point. That needs to change.
Look up "only" in the dictionary.
The “only” derives from legislation that was enacted by Congress. Congress should change it.
More about Project2025.
the hypocrisy of a Harvard grad writing a book called “Hillbilly Ellegy”. Vance’s stance against Ukraine & his Russian talking points.
Anything that talks about the impact of Democratic voters “sitting this one out”.
Yale grad. And yes, i enjoyed his book, but I really wonder how much was true and how much was fabricated to serve his goals.
Vance is a bigger threat. He is smart and power hungry.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree… instead of being addicted to painkillers, he’s addicted to $ and the perceived power that looks like is being promised to him. He’s somebody’s corporate go doggy now. Sickening and sad.
Two things that I've not seen covered much of any place thus far;
A. How has Orban's model 'worked out' for Hungary? Not that well, actually-- and that model, without the guardrails imposed by the EU, could be a lot more damaging here. To prevent "talent" from fleeing (and gutting the economy, thus reducing the griftable cash flow to the kleptocrat class) other measures COULD be imposed here because there's no EU to prevent it by holding the purse strings.
B. The H5N1 situation has got us sleepwalking right into another pandemic. Without eliminating that virus from the bovine reservoir in N America, it's only a matter of 'when' not 'if'-- and this has been one of my own MASSIVE concerns in the short term with a MAGA coup. The deliberate undermining of public health from the right over the past five years is making the task nearly impossible due to the lack of cooperation from red states and those on the ground in them. Yes, of course, science denialism is a huge problem in the longer term pretty much in every aspect of everyone's life and future-- but this is quite urgent.
Tax exempt churches. If text-exempt organizations are not allowed to be political, why do they get away with it? Why isn’t their tax exemption taken away?
And while I’m ranting, add to your list of topics taxation of social security benefits (and SS issues, generally). Removing the contribution cap would go a long way toward fixing SS, would make the system more equitable, and would offset the cost of eliminating the tax on benefits that Reagan introduced.
I agree, and sooner the better!!! Everybody knows poor people have short lives, while rich people live longer. So it's fair they should pay on their whole earnings, no caps. They are ripping off the rest of us enough already.
Thanks for all your hard work! I have several questions: WHY didnt the democrats use the actual primaries to find a replacement if they were so concerned w/Biden's age!? what do they expect to gain from performing internal squabbles out in public??
Is the donor class pulling strings to replace Biden because he doesn't fully support some agenda? If the Dems genuinely believe Biden needs to be replaced, why didn't they choose the replacement already? Practically, how could it be anyone other than Kamala at this late date?
Lastly, why is the corporate media inflaming this issue, when Trump has made it clear that he will ruin or even jail journalists if he becomes president again?? This is all so disturbing.
It's Nov 6, 2024 and Trump just defeated Kamala Harris in the election. This makes my note to you on July 18 even more crucial. Kamala won 223 electoral votes even though her campaign was like 105 days, compared to Trump campaigning for 4 straight years (as soon as he left the White House). If Kamala had more time to campaign, she could've reached 270!
So again: WHY DIDN'T THE DEMS ACTUALLY USE THE PRIMARIES TO REPLACE BIDEN IF THEY HAD ISSUES WITH HIS AGE? Had Kamala started during the primary season, we would likely be facing a very different political reality!
I would like a deep dive into Eileen Cannon.
I'm down to your column, Joyce Vance (sorry that is her last name now) & Steven Beschloss. All the rest, including the media, are hysterical & adolescent, in its presentations. My blood pressure cannot handle it.. always want you to expose Louis DeJoy though.... thank you for keeping an even keel in these wild times
Thank you for all the work you do. Good journalism is sadly becoming more and more scarce, at a time we need it the most.
I’d love to see some in-depth reporting on why people will believe Republican lies but not Democrats when they tell the truth. A very recent example: Vance claiming auto workers are worse off when Biden has done a lot for the industry and workers. Seems like this is just the latest example. Maybe it’s part of a broader question of how differently the ‘’major’’ media cover Biden and Trump. The conventional wisdom is that Trump brings more clicks and eyeballs to a home page, but is that really true?
I think MSM attacks Biden and the democrats because they do not fear retaliation if the dems win. they KNOW that the conservatives will retaliate against them if they win.
Self protection........
Judd -- I would like to know what the traitorous supremes are doing this summer. Where are they and what grift are they perpetrating?
What is going on with the msm “journalists”? NBC/MSNBC in particular, seems to be Biden bashing so much that they have sound like they’ve forgotten the fascist fighting lessons they’ve presented just weeks ago. Are the msm network owners GOP donors?
Thanks to you and your staff for all you do! I believe the best coverage now is on Project 2025 and those that have been building this for 50 years in Hermitage Foundation. Who are these people behind this theory? Scariest thing out there right now to me and there is so much to pick from! Thanks!
on the subject of "weighing in"
My pet Kvetch is about the fact that forces of the dark-side are waging psychological warfare against the working people of this world, the very fact that when arguing any controversial matter presently, the presentation of FACTS doesn't make any difference to those who support the official story about whatever it is.
Some people ask why Trump picked Vance. Based on he latter's speech last night, I'd say it is because he is willing to lie blatantly in support of Trump. How many lies did you identify? Perhaps you could summarize them for the public.
Research into the best ways to help in the lead up to the election. Do phone banks actually work? Are there stats? What swing state could I travel to and register voters. Etc. I’m having a hard time finding this info- at least clearly laid out.
Please i,vestigate
Trump shooting
There is so much unsubstantiated nonsense around this assassination attempt, and so many in the media not even asking the questions everyone seems to be filling in with misinfo. Help us parse this out, investigate the conspiracy theories.
There are 66,615 PREGNANT RAPE VICTIMS that DO NOT have ACCESS to GYN doctors. (JAMA, JOURNAL OF AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION)
Heather Cox Richardson posted this about a MONTH AGO. She has the URL.
SO they are ALL STILL PREGNANT, and are being forced to birth their rapist's babies😡
Since SCOTUS 6 overturned Roe girls/women
(some as young as 10 years old) have been SUFFERING, and some have DIED. Even if these females had access to doctors they have made it ILLEGAL for doctors to treat them.
Once SCOTUS 6 got away with this 2 YEARS ago, they have recklessly forged ahead and have denied other rights.
AOC is taking Thomas and Alito on and proposing they be impeached.
Article III Sec 1 of US CONSTITUTION:
"...judges shall hold their offices DURING GOOD BEHAVIOR."
There IS an answer, someone just has to USE IT.
There are 66,615 rapists that have gotten away with it.
No one has the right to demand anything about girls/women.
Legislators have gotten away with this also😡
Alito used Sir Matthew Hale 1600s WITCH TRIAL "JUDGE" as a reference in his "decision". There is an article in an ORLANDO paper that explains this.
You are doing GREAT WORK exposing things that others want hidden.These victims are unsupported. NO ONE that is Condemning them is coming forth to help them through pregnancy, pay doctor/hospital bills, and help raise the children for 18 years.
Assuming NONE of the legislators or people in Congress have had to deal with this issue in their own families.
How can people NOT SEE how utterly unnecessary
all of this is.
Ruining girls/ women's lives because they have some fantasy that there ARE INNOCENT BABIES that need saving.
There are NO BABIES to save by killing the mother.
A BABY is a BABY when it is BORN, and then it is the PARENT'S BABY.
Surreal that men think they can play God and "decide" when "life" starts.
It is CRUEL and BARBARIC and MUST STOP NOW.
SCOTUS 6 needs to RESTORE ROE (and Affirmative Action), and RESIGN. NOW.
🗽🇺🇲🇺🇦
I agree with those who want info on the “shooting”. The timing was impeccable, then no press conferences from a doctor or anyone. The fist pump picture, he yells “fight” and now that’s all you hear at the RNC-fight fight fight. I don’t buy it.
Oh yeah, and if you have time, how about this
https://x.com/TizzyEnt/status/1811141130735735296
I’d like to hear a report on the aftermath of Trump’s last reign in respect to LGBTQ+ issues. Specifically how long it’s taken to undo his damage and what is still left undone, to highlight the decades of work that was undone in just his 4 years in office and how his rhetoric has stirred a national republican offensive against all things LGBTQ+. Also, how has this backlash affected how people live (trans families moving states, changes to Pride, etc). People need to hear the real life realities of what the last Trump presidency started to fully understand the dangers of another one possibly coming.
I’d like more clarity re “Biden should step aside” … is this wishful thinking from those who know that’s not realistic? Is it even doable? What would that look like in reality … Harris for President and add a VP etc etc. And if it’s not realistically possible why are some dem leaders causing angst and chaos.
OR is this slanted reporting around some honest conversations that’s intended to portray dem chaos?
Judd - love what you do which is why I'm a paid subscriber (though I still very much disagree with your decision to call Hamas 'militants' instead of 'terrorists.' If Hamas isn't a terrorist organization, then there is no such thing). Okay, I would love to see continuing efforts to investigate corruption and influences on Supreme Court justices and on federal judges with lifetime appointments. I know ProPublica has a lot more resources than PopularInfo, but you and your team do unique and amazing work so that is an area of interest for me. I wonder if we've been missing for a long time how much corruption there might be amongst federal judges with lifetime appointments, since we've only recently really learned about the obscenity that is Clarence Thomas and to a lesser degree Samuel Alito. And might I mention John Roberts whose wife is hired by every big firm in DC and paid millions of dollars as a headhunter, which is a definite conflict of interest for her husband. For the lower courts, I would really like to understand how it is possible that our judicial system allows a judge to stay on a case where the defendant appointed her (I am of course speaking of Aileen Cannon). I realize this probalby hasn't even occurred before, but still. I never hear any legal analysts even frame it that way. It's not just that she made some rulings that favored Trump from the beginning, but the JUDGE was APPOINTED by the DEFENDANT. Oy. Another topic - defense department contracts with companies run by people who have exercised their voices via very powerful platforms, taken highly partisan and ideological positions, and expressed beliefs and opinions that are against the U.S. Constitution, and are sometimes significantly bigoted against various groups of Americans. Of course talking here about Elon Musk. It's one thing for him to be able to own some of the assets he owns, and run a private sector car company, but the idea that he has companies with government contracts and has received a great deal of public money over the years is something I think few people know about and I feel pretty uninformed about it. When he threatened to turn off the internet in Ukraine via his StarLink satellites, I felt sick to my stomach. Someone like that shouldn't have contracts with the US Government and especially the Defense Dept. Thanks.
Thank you for your good work. Could you do a current roundup on ownership of the major media? After your Sinclair story, It occurs to me that Musk and Murdoch have their wealth from foreign sources. Is that unusual?
I would like to know more about the issues of having another candidate if Biden does step down. What is the process for choosing another candidate, what happens to his campaign and campaign funds.
This is a very good point. I don't think there is time and I think it is part of Trump's ploy to push this in the media and get Dems to fight each other and not be united behind one candidate. There is no one who else who could get enough people behind them and get on as many ballots -- and Republicans have vowed to fight any change of candidate in court (to delay, destroy, etc.). It would be a total mess and hand the election to Trump. People need to stop pushing this idea. It won't work.
How concerned should we be over the possibility that SCOTUS already has it "in the bag" for Trump?
Chief Justice Roberts officiates the Presidential Oath of Office and we all know that man's integrity.
Judd, how about compiling an objective “lessons learned” from COVID for preventive use fighting the next pandemic? Keep up the great reporting!