Public Citizen · [email protected]

June 19, 2021 at 7:16 PM

Juneteenth

Some quick history: Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862. It said that all enslaved people in Confederate states were to be freed as of January 1, 1863. But it was not until over two years later that Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered on Apri…

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June 18, 2021 at 6:27 PM

just expand Medicare already

After yesterday’s Supreme Court decision NOT to dismantle the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare), even Ted Cruz seems to have given up. Senator Cruz complained about the decision, but he did not call for repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Neither did extremists like Senator Josh Hawley (you…

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June 16, 2021 at 5:56 PM

insurrection is good for business?

After murderous adherents of Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6 with the express intention of overturning the 2020 election, many corporations announced changes to their political spending. Some companies pledged to stop — though perhaps only temporarily — contributing to Republ…

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June 15, 2021 at 2:41 PM

a direct challenge

Support Public Citizen A longtime Public Citizen benefactor has challenged us to bring in 50 new Sustainers TODAY. Sustainers are people who take their support of Public Citizen to the next level by setting up a recurring donation every month. Here’s the deal: Become a Sustainer by making yo…

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June 14, 2021 at 5:00 PM

actual member of Congress actually suggests altering Earth's orbit to solve climate change

Climate change is real. Human activity — namely, our dependence on fossil fuels — is largely responsible for it. And if we don’t take immediate steps to stop it, our continuation as a species could be in peril. But — rather than doing everything in their considerable power to help move us awa…

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June 11, 2021 at 2:52 PM

Mitch McConnell goes full Jim Crow

Perhaps democracy seems like a given. After all, it has been the system (a flawed system, a work in progress, to be sure) here in the United States for over 200 years. But ours is the only democracy in the world today to have survived for that long, which is barely more than a blip in the ove…

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June 10, 2021 at 6:58 PM

you're invited

Here’s something you already know: It’s been a rough year, but things are looking up. Here’s something you may not be aware of: Public Citizen’s annual gala is coming up in just two weeks — on Thursday, June 24, at 7:00 p.m. (EDT). What do they have to do with each other? For one thing,…

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June 9, 2021 at 6:20 PM

FDA's credibility ruined with approval of ineffective Alzheimer's treatment

On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new medication for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. But — as Public Citizen has noted — there is nowhere near enough evidence that the drug, aducanumab, is effective. In fact, geriatric experts and the FDA’s own independent advisory …

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June 8, 2021 at 5:14 PM

waging war against the very foundation of our democracy

All eyes are on Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Over the weekend, Senator Manchin published an op-ed citing a dedication to “bipartisan compromise” for his refusal to support the For the People Act (H.R.1/S.1) — a commonsense and popular bill in Congress to protect voting rights and stren…

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June 7, 2021 at 7:37 PM

Joe Manchin and the fate of our democracy

All eyes are on Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Over the weekend, Senator Manchin published an op-ed citing a dedication to “bipartisan compromise” for his refusal to support the For the People Act (H.R.1/S.1) — a commonsense and popular bill in Congress to protect voting rights and stren…

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June 6, 2021 at 8:22 PM

Trump resumes rallies

Yesterday, Donald Trump held a massive rally in North Carolina. All indications are that Trump intends to resume these grotesque events — both to bask in the adoration of his enthralled MAGA masses as well as to incite their entrenched prejudices and hatreds. Here are just a few things Trump …

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  Robert · [email protected]

June 3, 2021 at 6:16 PM

one other thing

One other thing, in case you missed my note yesterday (copied below): The Trumpist governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, is threatening to defund the State Legislature in a juvenile act of retaliation after Democrats fought back when Republicans tried to pass a racist, anti-democratic voter suppressi…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

June 2, 2021 at 6:12 PM

what happened in Texas

Did you hear about what just happened in Texas? This past Sunday, Democrats in the Texas Legislature took a stand to defend democracy from Trumpist Republicans. All across America, Republican governors and state legislatures are, in essence, carrying out a slow-motion coup d’etat engineered t…

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May 29, 2021 at 3:22 PM

the filibuster actually impedes bipartisanship

On January 6, violent insurrectionists laid siege to the United States Capitol in an attempt to overturn the presidential election. The racist, militant mob was out for blood. And not just that of Democrats. Had they found Vice President Mike Pence, they may well have assassinated him. Bu…

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May 28, 2021 at 3:12 PM

eating itself alive

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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  Robert · [email protected]

May 27, 2021 at 8:21 PM

want to make sure you know

Support Public Citizen I want to make sure you know about this: A longtime Public Citizen benefactor has offered to donate $250 for each person who joins our popular Sustainers program as a monthly donor TODAY. Set up your monthly donation to become a Sustainer now. Or — if a monthly donatio…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

May 27, 2021 at 2:51 PM

here's something new

Support Public Citizen Well, this hasn’t happened before. A longtime Public Citizen benefactor has offered to donate $250 for each person who joins our popular Sustainers program as a monthly donor TODAY. Sustainers are people who take their support of Public Citizen to the next level by setti…

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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

May 26, 2021 at 6:19 PM

grand jury will consider criminal evidence against Trump

Last night — as first reported by The Washington Post — news broke that investigators in New York have convened a special grand jury to consider evidence of criminal activity by Donald Trump. This suggests that the Manhattan District Attorney’s office believes it has sufficient evidence to find…

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May 25, 2021 at 5:55 PM

one year ago today

George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police one year ago today. For many, the killing of George Floyd was yet another in a seemingly unending series of extrajudicial death sentences carried out by law enforcement against people of color. For others, Floyd’s death helped make plain the rea…

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May 24, 2021 at 9:25 PM

hold nursing homes accountable

The numbers are staggering: Nursing home residents and staff have accounted for more than 20% of America’s coronavirus deaths even though they make up less than 1% of the entire U.S. population. There have been countless stories about horrifying levels of dysfunction and disregard at nursing …

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May 22, 2021 at 1:31 PM

pure spite and racial resentment

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 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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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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  Public Citizen · [email protected]

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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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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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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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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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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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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