Public Citizen · [email protected]

March 23, 2021 at 4:41 PM

another shooting

Yesterday, a man killed 10 people at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, with what has been described as an AR-15-style assault rifle. Some things to consider as we lament yet another firearm tragedy in a country where the gun homicide rate is 25 times that of other rich countries: One week…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

March 22, 2021 at 6:27 PM

fire Postmaster General Louis DeJoy

“Get used to me.” That’s what Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told Congress last month during a hearing into unprecedented service cuts and mail delays under his leadership of the United States Postal Service. DeJoy is a Republican mega-donor who has given over $2 million to the Trump campaign…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

March 20, 2021 at 3:11 PM

What's next in this series: 141 ... 135 ... ?

Support Public Citizen In January there were 141. In February there were 135. But so far this month, there are only ... 52. I’m talking about people who have taken their support of Public Citizen to the next level by joining our Sustainers program as a monthly donor. Sustainers are incredi…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

March 18, 2021 at 8:46 PM

the killings near Atlanta

Today we continue to mourn the killing of eight people near Atlanta, Georgia, on Tuesday night. That six of the victims were Asian women is no coincidence. Discrimination and violence against Asians in the United States traces back to their first entry into the country. Some of our nation’s…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

March 17, 2021 at 7:02 PM

don't let Comcast take over the entire Internet

The Trump administration did so much damage that we have to undo. For example, the Trump gang gave corporate giants like Comcast and Verizon the power to unilaterally restrict Internet access and content for millions upon millions of Americans. The guiding principle of “net neutrality” — whic…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

March 16, 2021 at 8:33 PM

more racist bile from a senator

“I knew those are people that love this country, that truly respect law enforcement, would never do anything to break the law, so I wasn’t concerned.” That’s Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, describing — just last week, on right-wing talk radio — how he felt when thousands of violent pro-Trump…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

March 15, 2021 at 6:45 PM

tell them to share the vaccine

A quick, direct action to take today: Tell Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson to share their coronavirus vaccine recipes and know-how with the rest of the world. None of these companies can make enough doses on their own to inoculate everyone on Earth anywhere near fast enough. Ther…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

March 12, 2021 at 3:51 PM

but senator, you voted the *other* way

I’ll keep this brief so I don’t get too snarky. On Wednesday — just hours after passage of the American Rescue Plan — Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi touted how the historic COVID relief legislation would help restaurant owners in the Magnolia State. Except Wicker — like every other Repub…

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March 11, 2021 at 7:12 PM

365 days and counting

One year ago today — on March 11, 2020 — the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. And, of course, the coronavirus had already started doing damage before that. In the United States alone, more than half a million lives have been lost so far, millions have been thrown…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

March 10, 2021 at 9:04 PM

not even one of them did the right thing

Moments ago, the United States House of Representatives passed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan for COVID relief. Once President Biden signs the bill into law, the American people will get more desperately needed help. And the federal government will, at last, provide the scale of resou…

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  Robert · [email protected]

February 26, 2021 at 8:43 PM

it only scratches the surface

Support Public Citizen It happens every February. Because this is the shortest month of the year, we don't see the uptick in online donations we can rely on in the closing days of any other month. So we are looking at a shortfall that could hinder our work for the rest of the year. If you ca…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

February 26, 2021 at 3:27 PM

wait, we did what already?

Support Public Citizen I wanted to give you a few examples of the many ways you and Public Citizen are making a difference. This is all just from this month. And it only scratches the surface of the good work we’re doing together: We are working behind the scenes in Congress to win passage of …

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

February 24, 2021 at 8:12 PM

will Senate block Native American nominee for Biden's Cabinet?

In a historic move, President Biden has nominated Rep. Deb Haaland to run the Department of the Interior. Haaland — whose roots in her home state of New Mexico go back 35 generations — would be the first Native American to serve in a presidential Cabinet. But some senators who are in the pock…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

February 23, 2021 at 4:06 PM

death toll exceeds TEN Vietnam Wars

Sometime yesterday, the official count of coronavirus-related deaths in the U.S. surpassed 500,000. We’ve been besieged by this pandemic — and the Trump administration’s cravenly incompetent response to it — for a year. To make sure we aren’t numb to the magnitude of the suffering and loss, h…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

February 22, 2021 at 8:33 PM

Biden can just make it go away

At a town hall last week, President Biden was asked about taking executive action to cancel up to $50,000 of federal student loan debt for millions of Americans. Biden replied, “I will not make that happen.” That was disappointing. But it doesn’t have to be — and we can’t let it be — the en…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

February 20, 2021 at 3:52 PM

eliminate the filibuster

Here’s the truth about the filibuster: The filibuster originated by accident. The word does not even appear in the Constitution. The Framers (imperfect though they were) never intended for the Senate to be rendered essentially dysfunctional by a minority of its members. For many decades, the …

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

February 19, 2021 at 7:23 PM

Don't Ted on Me

This week, unprecedented winter storms have left millions of people in Texas without electricity, heat, and water as parts of the state saw record low temperatures. As reported yesterday by Forbes, the state’s entire electrical grid came within minutes of total catastrophic failure that would h…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

February 17, 2021 at 4:27 PM

Trump is still subject to investigation and prosecution

There are so many political cowards among Senate Republicans — along with those supportive of, or at least deferential to, the white-supremacist “politics” personified by Donald Trump — that they were able to manufacture a “not guilty” verdict in Trump’s second impeachment trial. Notwithstandin…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

February 16, 2021 at 3:21 PM

at the scene of the crime

So many folks have already added their names in support of Public Citizen’s message to the 43 senators who voted “not guilty” in Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial. See my note from yesterday (copied below in case you missed it) for more details. And be sure to add your name, too! - Ro…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

February 15, 2021 at 7:41 PM

these 43 cowards

The United States Senate was not just the jury in the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump. Senators themselves were among the targets of the attack he provoked and the trial was conducted at the scene of the crime. Yet 43 senators — all Republicans — CHOSE to disregard the obvious truth …

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

February 13, 2021 at 2:02 PM

do this *before* the Senate votes

The Senate is expected to vote TODAY in its impeachment trial of Donald Trump. This vote is about more than Trump himself. This vote is about the viability of democracy in America. If the Senate does not convict Trump, it will in effect be licensing the use (or at least the threat) of viole…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

February 11, 2021 at 9:04 PM

will Mitch McConnell fail yet another test?

Yesterday was the first full day of Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial in the United States Senate. What anyone following along saw and heard was a stunning distillation of Trump’s inflammatory actions leading up to the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6: Trump conceive…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

February 10, 2021 at 3:32 PM

the powerful video so many of us are talking about

The impeachment trial of Donald Trump began yesterday with a powerful video — which includes footage not widely seen before — showing how Trump’s insurrection unfolded on January 6: We see Trump inciting the mob at his rally near the White House. We see that mob storming first the Capitol gro…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

February 9, 2021 at 9:35 PM

Donald Trump is guilty

As I write this, the Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump is underway. Whatever unfounded arguments distractions Trump’s ever-changing legal “team” trots out — from the absurd contention that he can’t be convicted because he’s no longer in office, to the foolish allegation that the First …

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

February 8, 2021 at 9:14 PM

this is no time to pinch pennies

As we speak, Congress is working to pass President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, a broad coronavirus relief package that includes another round of payments from the federal government to help hard-hit Americans. Unfortunately, the “austerity” crowd — you know, the people who say the government …

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

February 6, 2021 at 7:32 PM

was it really only one month ago?

One month ago today, armed insurrectionists — incited by Donald Trump — stormed the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. They literally overran the Capitol. They were, in some cases, just moments away from possibly capturing, torturing, or even executing members of Congress and the Vice …

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

February 5, 2021 at 4:07 PM

Marjorie Taylor Greene must resign

Last night, Marjorie Taylor Greene — the racist seditionist who was elected to the United States House of Representatives last fall — was formally voted off any congressional committees on which she sat. Here’s the thing: Greene has openly, and repeatedly, indicated support for the assassinat…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

February 4, 2021 at 3:22 PM

this rogue agency must be stopped

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency — ICE — is a racist, rogue operation that must be stopped. On Tuesday, ICE deported a man named Paul Pierrilus to Haiti. With no warning, ICE agents came for Pierrilus in the middle of the night, then forcibly put him on a plane to Haiti. …

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

February 3, 2021 at 8:52 PM

she must be expelled from Congress

Marjorie Taylor Greene is a racist, seditionist QAnon lunatic who was elected to Congress last fall from the state of Georgia. In a video rant posted mere months before announcing her candidacy, Greene fantasized about politicians “cowering in fear,” urging her followers to “flood the Capitol b…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

February 2, 2021 at 8:28 PM

a watered down proposal that wouldn't come close to delivering the relief Americans need

Yesterday, Joe Biden met with 10 Republican senators whose primary concern seems to be spending “less” — rather than what we need — in the face of the coronavirus pandemic and resulting economic collapse. Biden’s American Rescue Plan — in recognition of the truly unprecedented crisis facing the…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

January 30, 2021 at 6:36 PM

'earned with the price of blood'

“The only way you get your freedoms back is it’s earned with the price of blood.” That’s what Marjorie Taylor Greene — the deranged Trump adherent just elected to Congress from the state of Georgia — told firearms fanatics one week before Election Day (as first reported yesterday by Mother Jone…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

January 29, 2021 at 3:11 PM

she 'liked' the idea of assassinating Nancy Pelosi

Do you know who Marjorie Taylor Greene is? She is a diehard Trump cultist and a true believer in countless right-wing conspiracy theories who was just elected to the United States House of Representatives. It can be tempting to scoff at Republicans like Greene and assume they won’t be taken s…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

January 28, 2021 at 2:11 PM

urge your senators to convict Trump

On Tuesday, 45 of the 50 Republicans in the United States Senate tried to weasel out of their obligation to conduct an impeachment trial of Donald Trump by endorsing the sham that holding Trump accountable now that he is out of office is somehow unconstitutional (which it is not). Nevermind tha…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

January 26, 2021 at 7:56 PM

Senator, have you no sense of democracy?

At 7:00 p.m. last night, the House of Representatives formally delivered to the Senate its article of impeachment against former President Donald Trump. (A quick aside: Trump always claims to be superlative in everything he does, but in this case he actually IS — Trump is the only president to …

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

January 23, 2021 at 2:42 PM

will we ever know the full depths of Trump's depravity?

Donald Trump was willing to sink even deeper than we already thought to remain in power. As reported by The New York Times last night, Trump was plotting to replace the acting Attorney General (who took over after Bill Barr slithered off) with a MAGA sycophant who was ready and willing to abuse…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

January 22, 2021 at 8:05 PM

Mitch McConnell's outrageous demand

I’ll say this about Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the United States Senate: The man has gall. McConnell spent eight years shamelessly stonewalling any kind of progress during Barack Obama’s entire presidency — largely by weaponizing the filibuster. (Originating by accident, the fil…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

January 21, 2021 at 7:49 PM

l-o-b-b-why?

Barack Obama did it. So did Donald Trump. And now Joe Biden is doing it too. Each of these presidents required people they appointed to positions in the federal government to wait some number of years after leaving the job before lobbying the very agencies in which they served. In fact, i…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

January 20, 2021 at 5:00 PM

the whole world is counting on you

Joe Biden was just sworn in as the 46th president of the United States. And people everywhere on Earth are breathing a sigh of relief. The experiment in democracy — a work in progress, to be sure — that is America may well not have survived another four years with Donald Trump (and his assort…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

January 19, 2021 at 9:15 PM

it is impossible not to feel a real sadness

Right now, Washington, D.C., is a garrison town. Miles of fencing surround and prohibit people from entering the national Mall. You have to pass through checkpoints to move through downtown. National Guard troops holding large guns are standing guard at corners throughout the city. Humvees and …

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

January 18, 2021 at 2:42 PM

'the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism'

On January 6, 2021, a horde of Donald Trump adherents numbering in the thousands — incited by the president himself — mounted an armed takeover of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. It was the most deliberate attempt to overthrow the government of the United States since the Civil Wa…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

January 16, 2021 at 3:32 PM

disbar and investigate Rudy Giuliani

Our petition for Rudy Giuliani to be disbarred and investigated already has 11,788 signatures. Add your name — let’s get to 15,000! My previous note is copied below in case you missed it. - Robert ****** Donald Trump was not alone in inciting last Wednesday’s armed insurrection at the U…

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  Robert, Public Citizen · [email protected]

January 15, 2021 at 2:11 PM

a message to Corporate America

My note yesterday was quite popular, so I’ve copied it below in case you missed it. - Robert ****** You may have seen stories over the past few days — aside from coverage of Donald Trump being the first president in our nation’s history to be impeached multiple times — about this or that gi…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

January 14, 2021 at 4:07 PM

Corporate America 'takes a stand'

You may have seen stories over the past few days — aside from coverage of Donald Trump being the first president in our nation’s history to be impeached multiple times — about this or that ginormous corporation “taking a stand” after Trump incited a horde of his MAGA adherents to carry out an arm…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

January 13, 2021 at 5:07 PM

urge your representative to vote for impeachment

In a matter of hours, the United States House of Representatives will vote on impeaching Donald Trump for “willful incitement of insurrection.” Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard right now at (202) 224-3121 and urge your representative to vote “yes” on impeaching Donald Trump. If your represen…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

January 12, 2021 at 9:41 PM

Rudy Giuliani must be disbarred and investigated

Donald Trump was not alone in inciting last Wednesday’s armed insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. In a rally just before a MAGA horde stormed the halls of Congress, Trump’s lawyer — disgraced former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani — provoked the mob with a call for “trial by combat.” Then, ju…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

January 11, 2021 at 11:32 PM

Senate must convict Trump right after House impeaches him

Any day now, the United States House of Representatives could impeach Donald Trump for inciting last week’s armed insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. That would make Trump the first president in our nation’s history to be impeached multiple times. But impeachment by the House alone will not for…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

January 8, 2021 at 7:46 PM

what the hell were the police doing?

Over the past year (and longer), we’ve seen police across the country attack — and use brutal, unnecessary force against — Black Lives Matter activists. At Lafayette Park near the White House, militarized law enforcement viciously tear-gassed and cleared a peaceful crowd last summer just so Don…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

January 8, 2021 at 12:34 AM

don't let Trump's Cabinet weasel out of its most consequential duty

After Donald Trump incited an armed insurrection at the U.S. Capitol yesterday — and with CNN just now reporting that Trump is “bent on destruction in his final days” — it is beyond clear that Trump must be removed from office before he does something even worse. Vice President Mike Pence and t…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

January 7, 2021 at 3:07 PM

remove, impeach, and prosecute Trump

Sent this late yesterday, so passing it along again in case you missed it. ****** Today, Donald Trump incited a riot — an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol designed to advance his hapless coup attempt. Trump has conclusively (and repeatedly) demonstrated his unfitness for office. He must not…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

January 6, 2021 at 11:33 PM

we must invoke the 25th amendment without delay

Today, Donald Trump incited a riot — an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol designed to advance his hapless coup attempt. Trump has conclusively (and repeatedly) demonstrated his unfitness for office. He must not be permitted to remain in office even for two more weeks. The risks of more deranged …

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