50+ Messages / Page

  Public Citizen · [email protected]
January 6, 2021 at 9:02 PM

Trump incites seditious violence at U.S. Capitol building

This is a dark, dark day for America. Earlier today, I went to the White House to see the rally that Trump had instigated with his false claims about the election. I saw thousands and thousands of people who have been fooled by Trump’s lies. They truly believe the election was stolen from Tru…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
January 5, 2021 at 7:54 PM

we're calling for an investigation

“There’s nothing wrong with saying, you know, that you’ve recalculated.” “I just want to find 11,780 votes.” “There’s no way I lost Georgia.” “So tell me, Brad, what are we going to do? We won the election, and it’s not fair to take it away from us like this.” Those are just a few things …
  Robert Weissman · [email protected]
January 1, 2021 at 4:11 AM

thank you, and happy New Year

Support Public Citizen Public Citizen is nothing — nothing — without supporters like you. For my team and me, it is an absolute privilege to work with you and on your behalf as we tackle some of the most important issues facing our country. With everything on the line — from cleaning up the me…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
January 1, 2021 at 2:35 AM

Do you remember where I parked the time machine?

Support Public Citizen I don’t know. I just don’t know. If another 117 Public Citizen supporters like you donate before midnight, this will be our best day of the entire year. But donations have really slowed down — right when we are so close to something so extraordinary. And the clock ju…
  Cinderella · [email protected]
January 1, 2021 at 1:06 AM

I seem to have misplaced a shoe

Support Public Citizen After midnight, I turn into a pumpkin. Or something. Here’s what else happens after midnight: Anything you donate to Public Citizen WON’T be matched two-for-one. They’ll still be grateful for your support at a later date, of course. But why miss out on your contrib…
  Weissman · [email protected]
December 31, 2020 at 11:59 PM

3 things

Support Public Citizen ONE: Many people contributed — and are still contributing — to political campaigns this year, perhaps to an unprecedented degree. TWO: The coronavirus pandemic has caused financial strain (or worse) for millions of Americans. THREE: Whenever we’re up against a critica…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 31, 2020 at 10:12 PM

all of this is true

Support Public Citizen All of this is true: Many people contributed — and are still contributing — to political campaigns this year, perhaps to an unprecedented degree. The coronavirus pandemic has caused financial strain (or worse) for millions of Americans. Whenever we’re up against a crit…
  President's Office · [email protected]
December 31, 2020 at 8:35 PM

time to go?

Support Public Citizen It’s game time, team! We need 537 people to donate before tonight’s midnight deadline. Anything you contribute right now will be 2X matched. That means for every dollar you contribute, Public Citizen gets an additional two dollars to power all the work we’re doing toge…
  Robert · [email protected]
December 31, 2020 at 7:06 PM

not the least bit surprised

Support Public Citizen Just want to say how much I appreciate all the responses to my previous message. I’m not the least bit surprised to see that Public Citizen supporters still value transparency and candor. The reality is that with so many other organizations and political entities sending…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 31, 2020 at 5:20 PM

if you think we email too much

Support Public Citizen I know you’re getting a lot of emails today from organizations like Public Citizen. Let me explain what’s going on. If — after reading through this note — you still think it’s too much, at least we’ll both know where things stand. This is a “peek behind the curtain” that…
  PC HQ · [email protected]
December 31, 2020 at 4:08 PM

BOOM!

Support Public Citizen Public Citizen supporters are the best! The response to my note this morning has been explosive. It’s copied below in case you missed it (I know you’re getting a lot of emails today). Let’s keep this going! - Robert ****** Last night — when informed about the red…
  Robert Weissman, Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 31, 2020 at 2:26 PM

it took me by surprise too

Support Public Citizen Last night — when informed about the reduced pace of donations compared to last year — the sponsors of Public Citizen’s December Matching Gift Campaign authorized doubling the match. This unexpected but welcome news means that ANYTHING YOU DONATE BEFORE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT WI…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 31, 2020 at 3:32 AM

it's so weird

Support Public Citizen It always happens. We’re up against a critical fundraising deadline, and then THIS WEIRD THING HAPPENS WHERE ALMOST EVERYONE SEEMS TO ASSUME THAT EVERYONE ELSE WILL DONATE AND HARDLY ANYBODY ACTUALLY DOES. Sure enough — with not even two hours left before tonight’s deadl…
  Robert · [email protected]
December 31, 2020 at 12:04 AM

I'm just going to tell you

Support Public Citizen I’m just going to tell you exactly what is going on: We are 216 donations short of where we were on this day, December 30, last year.* If we don’t at least keep pace with last year, there will be critical work — not only to clean up the mess that was the Trump administra…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 30, 2020 at 9:59 PM

yes, they really did it

Support Public Citizen This is surprising even to me. With tomorrow’s deadline looming, the sponsors of Public Citizen’s Year-End Matching Gift Campaign — alarmed at the slow pace of donations — have just authorized doubling the match! Starting right now, ALL CONTRIBUTIONS WILL BE MATCHED TWO-…
  Robert · [email protected]
December 30, 2020 at 8:19 PM

does this tie go with this shirt?

Support Public Citizen Forgive my whimsical subject line, but I need to talk to you about the idea of one thing matching another thing. Right now, anything you contribute to Public Citizen’s critical December fund drive will be matched dollar-for-dollar. And if becoming a monthly donor is righ…
  President's Office, Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 30, 2020 at 6:06 PM

the situation in Georgia

Support Public Citizen Wanted to make sure you saw my earlier message (copied below) about the situation in Georgia. It’s really good news, so please give it a quick look. - Robert ****** There was truly good news last week for anyone who still believes in democracy. Since it happened on C…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 30, 2020 at 2:46 PM

we just helped protect voting in Georgia

Support Public Citizen There was truly good news last week for anyone who still believes in democracy. Since it happened on Christmas Eve — and the media was busy covering (1) Donald Trump’s petulant refusal to sign the coronavirus relief bill that Congress had finally passed and (2) his absurd …
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 30, 2020 at 12:51 AM

what if you got a peek behind the curtain?

Support Public Citizen You’re probably getting a lot of emails right now from organizations like Public Citizen. Let me explain what’s going on. If — after reading through this note — you still think it’s too much, at least we’ll both know where things stand. This is a “peek behind the curtain…
  Robert · [email protected]
December 29, 2020 at 10:20 PM

I thought you'd want to know

Support Public Citizen Since you are part of this shared project called Public Citizen, I thought you’d want to know that donations are picking up. Let’s keep this going! If you haven’t had a moment to make a year-end donation already, please do it now. Remember, anything you chip in today w…
  Robert Weissman, Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 29, 2020 at 7:07 PM

this is how we make Biden be more progressive

Support Public Citizen There is relief, to be sure, in knowing that Donald Trump will soon be out of the White House. But the disposal of the most corrupt, callous, and incompetent administration in generations — and arguably in all of American history — will not by itself repair the damage of t…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 29, 2020 at 4:26 PM

this is our duty to you

Support Public Citizen We hear something a lot: “Public Citizen punches above its weight.” We do. Proudly. And not by accident. That means we get more done than we should be able to given our size. And it means that Public Citizen is more effective than other organizations with similar…
  Robert Weissman, Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 28, 2020 at 11:30 PM

XL

Support Public Citizen Despite the subject line, this email is not about what size T-shirt I wear. Rather, XL is 40 in Roman numerals. That’s how many more donations we need today just to keep pace with how we did on this day, December 28, one year ago. I know 40 may sound like a piece of ca…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 28, 2020 at 7:28 PM

a perfect storm

Support Public Citizen I know you get a lot of emails at this time of year from organizations like Public Citizen. Give me just a minute to explain what’s going on. If — after reading through this note — you still think it’s too much, at least we’ll both know where things stand. This is a “p…
  Robert · [email protected]
December 28, 2020 at 2:51 PM

what are we going to do?

Support Public Citizen As president of Public Citizen, there’s one question I get asked more than any other: “What are we going to do now that Joe Biden will be in the White House?” That’s why I’m sharing the memo below about Public Citizen’s Campaign for a Progressive Presidency. It’s nearl…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 24, 2020 at 8:26 PM

who will Trump pardon next?

Yesterday, Donald Trump issued more pardons to people who do not deserve absolution, including: Roger Stone — Trump whisperer and man with Richard Nixon’s face tattooed on his back — who was convicted of witness tampering and lying to federal agents during the Mueller investigation into how Rus…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 23, 2020 at 2:06 PM

Trump pardons men who massacred Iraqi civilians

Support Public Citizen Sorry, I had intended to give your inbox a break for a few days. But then Donald Trump pardoned four of the men convicted for their roles in the massacre of 14 Iraqi civilians, and I wanted to say something about that. In 2007, employees of the private military contracto…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 22, 2020 at 8:15 PM

our plan for a progressive presidency

Support Public Citizen Such a tremendous response to my message yesterday about Public Citizen’s Campaign for a Progressive Presidency. I’ve copied it below in case you missed it. I know it’s not exactly brief — the challenges before us demand something bold and comprehensive — but please at lea…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 21, 2020 at 9:03 PM

I wasn't kidding

Support Public Citizen A quick “Thank you!” to everyone who responded to my earlier message (copied below) featuring a detailed outline of Public Citizen’s Campaign for a Progressive Presidency. Please do me a favor and at least skim through it so I know you’re up to date on our plans for the co…
  Robert Weissman, Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 21, 2020 at 3:36 PM

the most ambitious email I've ever sent you

Support Public Citizen There is relief, to be sure, in knowing that Donald Trump will soon be out of the White House. But the disposal of the most corrupt, callous, and incompetent administration in generations — and arguably in all of American history — will not by itself repair the damage of t…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 19, 2020 at 2:51 PM

a writhing mass of poisonous serpents

Good grief. Yesterday, the news website Business Insider broke a story reporting that nearly half of the $1.26 billion raised throughout Donald Trump’s failed reelection bid was paid out to a shell company the site says was concocted by Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The shell company (of…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 18, 2020 at 8:24 PM

Trump already bungling vaccine distribution

The Trump administration is once again doing something that is incomprehensibly incompetent and utterly unsurprising at the same time. Let’s go through this step by step: Last week, following emergency FDA approval, a coronavirus vaccine manufactured by Pfizer started being administered natio…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 17, 2020 at 8:07 PM

three things

Support Public Citizen Three things I wanted to share real quick. 1. I know your inbox may already be filling up with emails asking you to support organizations you care about. The simple reality is that nonprofit groups like Public Citizen can’t afford not to be part of this flurry — because …
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 16, 2020 at 9:40 PM

letting you in on a secret

Support Public Citizen So grateful for the response to my message this morning. Please give it a look — it’s copied below — if you haven’t already. Thanks! - Robert ****** This could be my final email to you for some time. Here’s the situation: We’ve reached the time of year when you…
  Robert Weissman, Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 16, 2020 at 3:11 PM

my final email to you

Support Public Citizen This could be my final email to you for some time. Here’s the situation: We’ve reached the time of year when your inbox will soon be overflowing with emails asking you to support organizations you care about. Nonprofit groups like Public Citizen simply can’t afford not…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 11, 2020 at 8:21 PM

remember that time in high school?

Remember back in high school, when that weird sophomore ran for student body president and lost, then whined to the principal that the votes of the entire junior and senior classes should be tossed out for no other reason than more of them voted for Wendy than for him? Of course you don’t remem…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 10, 2020 at 7:53 PM

willfully letting people suffer and die

Yesterday — for the first time throughout this entire pandemic — the U.S. recorded more than 3,000 deaths due to the coronavirus. That’s more than the number of Americans who died at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, which will forever be known as “a date which will live in infamy” because of h…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 9, 2020 at 8:19 PM

a false, and immoral, choice

Yesterday, a 90-year-old British grandmother named Margaret Keenan became the first person in the world to be given a coronavirus vaccine outside of a clinical trial. On the same day, Donald Trump conducted a self-aggrandizing publicity stunt in the form of issuing a ludicrous executive order t…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 7, 2020 at 7:38 PM

will voter suppression determine control of the Senate?

A week from today, early voting starts in the runoff election for both of Georgia’s seats in the United States Senate. With control of the Senate on the line, the entire country is counting on a free and fair election in Georgia. Yet there are still significant impediments to voting in the Pea…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 5, 2020 at 4:32 PM

Trump plans to execute four Black men before he leaves office

Please add your name and join Public Citizen in demanding an immediate halt to executions by the Trump administration. My earlier message is copied below in case you missed it. - Robert ****** A grim but critical message today. Please read, and please take action. Before July of this …
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 4, 2020 at 3:12 PM

Trump scheduling executions before he leaves office

A grim but critical message today. Please read, and please take action. Before July of this year, the federal government had executed only three people in the past half century. But then William Barr — Donald Trump’s sycophantic Attorney General — unilaterally overturned a 17-year ban on th…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 3, 2020 at 9:16 PM

a surprise and a mistake

Joe Biden’s just-formed inaugural committee is accepting donations of up to $500,000 from individuals and $1,000,000 from corporations. This is a surprise and a mistake. The practice of giving corporations and rich people the chance to curry favor with an incoming administration by funding la…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 2, 2020 at 7:45 PM

I beg your pardon?

Yesterday we learned that Donald Trump has considered issuing preemptive pardons to his sons Don Jr. and Eric, his daughter Ivanka, and her husband Jared Kushner. What crimes, exactly, does Trump think his three eldest children and his son-in-law have committed for which they need his protectio…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
December 1, 2020 at 12:02 AM

a 'funny' thing

Support Public Citizen We still need 78 more people to donate today. I know that may not sound like a challenge, but a “funny” thing tends to happen in the closing hours of a make-or-break moment like this: So many people assume someone else will step up that hardly anybody actually does. If…
  Robert · [email protected]
November 30, 2020 at 7:31 PM

a bit of a problem here

Support Public Citizen I’ll be brief: We need at least 153 people to donate before midnight to avoid a budget shortfall. Please see my earlier note — copied below in case you missed it — for more details. And please, if you can, donate right now so that Public Citizen is at full strength as …
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
November 30, 2020 at 3:07 PM

uh oh

Support Public Citizen A bit of a problem here: We usually see a dip in donations around the Thanksgiving holiday. But this year, it was more like a total collapse. And right now, we’re looking at a shortfall in online donations for November of $11,602. If $11,602 doesn’t sound like much f…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
November 27, 2020 at 3:32 PM

tell Biden: no corporate cabinet

We’re hearing this phrase a lot these days: “Personnel is policy.” That’s because Joe Biden has the opportunity — indeed, the responsibility — to make sure his administration puts the needs of everyday Americans before the greed of billionaires and Big Business. Donald Trump stuffed his adm…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
November 25, 2020 at 7:17 PM

she would have vast influence with Biden

Joe Biden is expected to nominate Janet Yellen to be his Treasury Secretary. Her nomination is historic in and of itself as she could become the first female Treasury Secretary in our nation’s history. (Yellen already made history as the first female Federal Reserve chair.) And beyond that, Y…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
November 24, 2020 at 2:32 PM

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos did what?!

Amazon stopped giving its workers hazard pay in June. Even though its frontline workers keep showing up for work so the rest of us can shop safely from home as the coronavirus pandemic surges on. Meanwhile, in the three months after it stopped paying hazard pay to its workforce — July, August…
  Public Citizen · [email protected]
November 23, 2020 at 4:12 PM

grievous, perhaps irreparable, harm to America

Public Citizen is, and always has been, nonpartisan. That means we call out politicians and government officials — Democrats and Republicans alike — who put the greed of billionaires and Big Business before the needs of everyday Americans, the health of our planet, or the preservation of the de…