Public Citizen · [email protected]

May 21, 2021 at 5:06 PM

we can, and must, vaccinate the world

“The nonprofit advocacy group Public Citizen estimates that a $25 billion governmentwide initiative would produce around eight billion doses of mRNA vaccine, or enough to vaccinate half the planet. That’s far less than the trillions that could be lost if the economy contracts further as the pande…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

May 19, 2021 at 6:19 PM

the most craven Republican in Congress?

Is this the most craven of all the Trump sycophants in Congress? He is the top Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives. He has been one of Trump’s most dependable apologists and enablers. He shamelessly perpetuates the Big Lie that Donald Trump won the 2020 election. He led the 14…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

May 18, 2021 at 5:13 PM

a secret I'm going to share with you

Support Public Citizen Donald Trump has retreated to Mar-a-Lago and is banished from Facebook and Twitter. The Republican Party seems to be eating itself alive. Here in the U.S., we are at long last getting a handle on the COVID-19 crisis. The Biden administration is advancing some progressi…

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May 17, 2021 at 2:41 PM

it's happening again right now

Support Public Citizen Donald Trump has retreated to Mar-a-Lago and is banished from Facebook and Twitter. The Republican Party seems to be eating itself alive. Here in the U.S., we are at long last getting a handle on the COVID-19 crisis. The Biden administration is advancing some progressi…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

May 14, 2021 at 5:13 PM

AOC attacked by Trump cultist in Congress

Real quick ... On Wednesday, Marjorie Taylor Greene — the QAnon believing, assassination promoting, insurrection supporting, white-supremacist, Trump-bootlicking lunatic elected to Congress last fall from the state of Georgia — accosted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez just outside the main chambe…

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May 13, 2021 at 5:26 PM

one plain and sinister purpose

Our democracy is in peril. Republican legislators in 47 states are pushing reactionary, racist voter suppression laws that could leave us with a democracy in name only. Just this week, for example, Arizona’s Trumpist governor signed a bill into law that will make it harder to vote by mail. …

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May 12, 2021 at 3:12 PM

take your pick: keep the filibuster or save our democracy

Our democracy is in peril. Republican legislators in 47 states are pushing reactionary, racist voter suppression laws that could leave us with a democracy in name only. Just yesterday, for example, Arizona’s Trumpist governor signed a bill into law that will make it harder to vote by mail. …

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May 11, 2021 at 12:37 PM

Senate hearing TODAY on landmark democracy law

The For the People Act would protect voting rights, end partisan gerrymandering, and stop billionaires from buying elections. Also known as H.R.1, the For the People Act has already passed in the House of Representatives. Now it has to pass in the Senate, too. The Senate Rules Committee is …

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May 7, 2021 at 3:07 PM

nobody is safe until everyone is safe

On Wednesday, the Biden administration announced its support for temporarily waiving intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines. To put that in plain English: The U.S. government is joining the push for sharing how to make vaccines with the whole world. I’m proud to say that Pu…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

May 5, 2021 at 8:14 PM

has Trump changed his spots?

An external review board set up by Facebook has upheld the company’s decision to suspend Donald Trump’s account. We think this was the right call. But the story is not over. Content moderation decisions are difficult, but Trump violated Facebook’s rules over and over again. And Trump’s viol…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

May 4, 2021 at 6:42 PM

this pandemic may never really end

Yesterday, news broke that public health experts doubt we will achieve herd immunity from COVID-19 here in the United States. That means this pandemic may never really end. And much of the blame for that falls squarely on “conservative” media “personalities” like Tucker Carlson of Fox “News” …

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

May 3, 2021 at 4:41 PM

a nationwide day of action to defend democracy

Our democracy — our country — is at a crossroads. We can choose to construct a true democracy and set out on a path to the transformational change our country so desperately needs. Or ... We can stand aside and let the forces of reactionism, corporatism, racism, and fascism tear apart our d…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

April 30, 2021 at 7:43 PM

another one?!

Support Public Citizen Wow. Thanks to hundreds and hundreds of Public Citizen supporters all across America, we locked in the full $25,000 in dollar-for-dollar matching funds I’ve been telling you about (see my earlier note, copied below in case you missed it). But wait, there’s more! Anothe…

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  Robert · [email protected]

April 30, 2021 at 5:05 PM

quick update

Support Public Citizen Quick update: Based on current giving levels, the next 45 people who donate will put us over the top and lock in the full $25,000 in dollar-for-dollar matching funds I’ve been telling you about (see my earlier note, copied below in case you missed it). 45 may sound like …

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

April 30, 2021 at 1:22 PM

once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary

Support Public Citizen Midnight. Less than 15 hours from now. And we are still $6,126 short of earning the full $25,000 in dollar-for-dollar matching funds I’ve been telling you about (see my earlier note, copied below in case you missed it). Please donate to Public Citizen right now if you …

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

April 29, 2021 at 11:04 PM

a tripod with only two legs?

Support Public Citizen We’re two-thirds of the way there. But that’s kind of like building a tripod that only has two legs. Here’s what I’m talking about: A Public Citizen supporter in Virginia named Michael challenged us to raise $25,000 before the end of the month — that’s midnight tomorro…

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  Robert · [email protected]

April 29, 2021 at 3:19 PM

did you hear about this guy in Virginia?

Support Public Citizen Thanks to everyone who responded to my note yesterday. I’ve copied it below in case you missed it. Please take a look if you haven’t already. And please donate today if you can. A Public Citizen supporter in Virginia named Michael will match your contribution dollar-…

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  Robert · [email protected]

April 28, 2021 at 10:17 PM

not the most important thing any of us has to worry about right now

Support Public Citizen Just wanted to make sure you saw my earlier message (copied below in case you missed it). Really hoping you can help us make the most of this dollar-for-dollar matching offer before it expires. Donate now. Thank you! - Robert ***** Maybe it’s the fact that as mor…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

April 28, 2021 at 4:48 PM

maybe?

Support Public Citizen Maybe it’s the fact that as more and more Americans get vaccinated, we’re understandably focusing on, and planning for, getting back to our lives.* Or maybe it’s the election — and the attempt to overturn it by Donald Trump and his adherents within the Republican Party, in…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

April 27, 2021 at 2:22 PM

this is so dangerous

Right now, Republican legislatures in many states are actively maneuvering to criminalize protest. In fact, some 81 bills criminalizing protest have been introduced in 34 states over just the first four months of this year. Let’s be absolutely clear: These Republican legislators are attempt…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

April 23, 2021 at 7:05 PM

700,000 Americans with no voice

Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that would make Washington, D.C., a state. This means we are closer than ever to at last remedying one of the more outrageous injustices in the ongoing experiment in democracy that is the United States of America. But the fate of…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

April 22, 2021 at 8:30 PM

unlike so many global injustices, this one is easily solved

I got my coronavirus vaccine shot last week. The vaccine is a scientific miracle, really. But by and large it’s a miracle that only benefits people in rich countries. The vaccination rate in the United States is 7 times higher than in Asia. And about 60 times higher than in Africa. Sixty …

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  Bret, Public Citizen · [email protected]

April 22, 2021 at 5:25 PM

AIG is fueling the climate crisis

harming frontline communities and accelerating the climate crisis ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ …

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

April 21, 2021 at 4:14 PM

pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act

I think it’s important to remember the initial statement by Minneapolis police after one of them killed George Floyd on May 25, 2020. For starters, the statement is titled, absurdly, “Man Dies After Medical Incident During Police Interaction.” Then there’s this line: “Officers were able to …

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

April 20, 2021 at 11:57 PM

guilty of killing George Floyd

Just hours ago, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd. Nothing will bring George Floyd back to his family or his community. And there should be nothing to celebrate in a jury doing its job in finding Derek Chauvin guilty of the crime the whole w…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

April 20, 2021 at 8:05 PM

raise the damn corporate tax rate

Four years ago, Donald Trump and congressional Republicans — with Senator Mitch McConnell leading the charge — rammed through a regressive tax law that overwhelmingly benefited billionaires and Big Business. Officially named the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017,” it should have been called the “R…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

April 17, 2021 at 3:21 PM

Medicare for All

You know the basic realities by now: Every other wealthy nation provides some form of guaranteed universal health care. The United States is alone in subjecting its people to an outdated and inhumane for-profit health care “system.” We spend more per capita on health care than the citizens …

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

April 16, 2021 at 8:52 PM

expand the Supreme Court

Yesterday, Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts introduced a bill to add four seats to the United States Supreme Court. He noted that Mitch McConnell and Republicans stole seats on the Supreme Court. First they refused to even consider President Obama’s nominee when Justice Antonin Scalia died …

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

April 15, 2021 at 8:57 PM

a sick double standard in policing

“Congress itself is the target on the 6th. ... Stop the Steal’s propensity to attract white supremacists, militia members, and others who actively promote violence may lead to a significantly dangerous situation for law enforcement and the general public alike.” According to a just-completed in…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

April 14, 2021 at 7:59 PM

Daunte Wright

On Sunday, a young Black man named Daunte Wright was killed by a white police officer in a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota. This happened just 10 or 15 miles from where George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin last May and from the courthouse where Chauvin is curre…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

April 12, 2021 at 6:04 PM

profiting from the Trump insurrection

Support Public Citizen Some of the most obnoxious — and dangerous — Trumpists in Congress are raking in millions after trying to overturn the election and supporting the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Josh Hawley — perhaps the most fervent agitator in the Senate for overturning the …

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

April 11, 2021 at 10:11 PM

we enjoy it, we take pride in it, and we are good at it

Support Public Citizen Marjorie Taylor Greene — the racist, conspiracy addled, gun fetishizing, assassination promoting, insurrectionist Trump fanatic who was elected to the United States House of Representatives last fall — just revealed that she raised over $3.2 million in the first three months…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

April 10, 2021 at 3:12 PM

Marjorie Taylor Greene

Support Public Citizen Marjorie Taylor Greene — the racist, conspiracy addled, gun fetishizing, assassination promoting, insurrectionist Trump fanatic who was elected to the United States House of Representatives last fall — just revealed that she raised over $3.2 million in the first three months…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

April 9, 2021 at 6:17 PM

supposedly woke corporations

There’s been a lot of talk this week about “woke corporations,” so let’s go through it step by step: Last month, Georgia’s Republican state legislature passed, and its Trumpist governor signed, a massive voter suppression bill that will make it harder for people — especially and intentionally p…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

April 5, 2021 at 9:54 PM

corporations funding voter suppression

$86 million. A new Public Citizen report reveals that Corporate America has spent $86 million in just the past six years bankrolling the almost exclusively Republican state legislators around the country that are pushing some 361 voter suppression bills in all but three states. That includes …

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

April 2, 2021 at 6:19 PM

this law is wrong, the whole day long ... deep in the heart of Texas

Last week it was Georgia. This week it’s Texas. Yesterday, Texas Republicans rammed a voter suppression bill through the state Senate. If passed by the Texas House and signed by Trumpist Governor Greg Abbott — which is likely — this bill would make it significantly harder to vote in the Lon…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

April 1, 2021 at 2:52 PM

charged with two felonies

This is happening in America right now: A representative in the state legislature — a Black woman named Park Cannon — was arrested in the Georgia Capitol last week and has been charged with two felonies. She is facing up to five years in prison. Her supposed “crime”? Knocking on a door in t…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

March 31, 2021 at 8:06 PM

facing up to 5 years in prison

This is happening in America right now: A representative in the state legislature — a Black woman named Park Cannon — was arrested in the Georgia Capitol last week and has been charged with two felonies. She is facing up to five years in prison. Her supposed “crime”? Knocking on a door in t…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

March 30, 2021 at 4:34 PM

well, that's interesting

Support Public Citizen An interesting development here at Public Citizen “headquarters” (which, for the past year, has essentially been my dining room — hopefully we can reopen our offices soon). A longtime benefactor just challenged us to bring in 25 new Sustainers TODAY. Sustainers are peopl…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

March 29, 2021 at 8:44 PM

a direct message to the governor of Georgia

Last Thursday — behind closed doors — Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed into law a cluster of flagrantly anti-democratic, racist voter suppression laws that were rammed through the state legislature by flailing Republicans who have given up on trying to win elections on the merits of any actual …

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

March 27, 2021 at 6:37 PM

what Ted Cruz admitted

This week, the Senate held a pivotal hearing on the For the People Act — the most sweeping, transformative democracy reform in generations (which the House passed earlier this month). To the surprise of exactly no one, Senator Ted Cruz chimed in absurdly: “This bill is the single most dangero…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

March 26, 2021 at 8:15 PM

it is now a crime to share water in America

Last night — behind closed doors — Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed into law a cluster of flagrantly anti-democratic, racist voter suppression laws that were rammed through the state legislature by flailing Republicans who have given up on trying to win elections on the merits of any actual pol…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

March 25, 2021 at 6:06 PM

‘most dangerous bill this committee has ever considered’

Yesterday, the Senate held a pivotal hearing on the For the People Act — the most sweeping, transformative democracy reform in generations (which the House passed earlier this month). To the surprise of exactly no one, Senator Ted Cruz chimed in absurdly: “This bill is the single most dangero…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

March 24, 2021 at 8:08 PM

no IRS audit

I wanted to draw your attention to some infuriating new government data. In 2012 — not even a decade ago — the IRS audited most major American corporations. But by last year, not even 4 out of every 10 corporate giants were audited. And audits of millionaires dropped 72% during the same tim…

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  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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