I write Popular Information, an independent newsletter dedicated to accountability journalism. | judd
@popular
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1. The cypto industry is spending an absolutely INSANE amount of money on the 2024 election
Its main Super PAC, Fairshake, has raised $202 MILLION this cycle
That's more than the primary Super PACs supporting Trump or Harris
The strategy appears to be working
🧵
1. Nex Benedict matters
Nex was a 16-year-old and non-binary
Nex was brutally beaten a high school bathroom in Oklahoma
The school did not call an ambulance or the police
Instead, Nex was suspended
Nex died the next day
IMPORTANT:
@elonmusk
's new policy preventing linking to competitors is in DIRECT VIOLATION of European Union rules.
Penalty can be a fine of up to 20% of Twitter's annual revenue
The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES went on the national TV tonight and bragged that he was so smart he could remember five words in order, and he was not joking even a little bit
Coronavirus exposes all of Trump’s biggest weaknesses:
1. Incompetence
2. Rejection of scientific facts
3. Distrust of expertise
4. Disinterest in long-term planning
5. Embrace of conspiracy theories
6. Paranoia
7. Inability to learn from mistakes
Shut down due to illegal activity:
1. Trump University
2. Trump Foundation
Under criminal investigation:
1. Trump campaign
2. Trump transition
3. Trump inauguration
4. Trump administration
5. Trump Organization
UPDATE: The tweets by
@TwitterSupport
this morning, announcing a new policy banning linking to competing websites, have been deleted.
The policy itself was deleted from Twitter’s website.
I still can't get over the fact that 2 weeks ago Trump's longtime personal lawyer stood up in a federal courtroom and, under oath, said he COMMITTED TWO FELONIES WITH TRUMP and absolutely nothing changed.
Nothing changed for Republicans or Democrats. It's like it never happened
Just a reminder that someone stole George W. Bush's debate prep book (and videotapes!) and sent it to the Gore campaign and they immediately turned all the materials over to the FBI
TRUMP: Creates fake university to scam students, pays $25 million fine for fraud
LEBRON: Creates top-notch public high school for low-income students, pays college tuition for every graduate
Can someone explain to me why Elizabeth Warren’s claim to Native American heritage warrants continued, obsessive coverage by the political media but the fact that at least 12 women accused Trump of sexual assault was forgotten as soon as he was elected?
Roy Moore denies that he lost the U.S. Senate election, even after Alabama's Republican Secretary of State certified his opponent as the winner.
Kind of puts his other denials in perspective.
1. With the coronavirus killing thousands and threatening to tank the global economy, I feel like more people should be talking about the fact that Trump fired the entire pandemic response team two years ago and then didn't replace them
Dear
@elonmusk
I would like to report
@Telsa
for this clear violation of Twitter rules.
These rules are very important and made by you, our benevolent leader.
I trust you will be suspending this account shortly.
All the best.
-- Judd
Somehow the government can produce a virtually unlimited amount of bombs for every possible situation but everyone has to make their own mask out of a t-shirt
1. This is Mika Westwolf, a 22-year-old Indigenous woman
On March 31, she was killed when an alleged white nationalist ran her over on the side of a highway
Her killer is not currently facing any charges for killing Mika
Mika matters
This is her story
🧵
A self-described white supremecist traveled to a black neighborhood and murdered 10 people today, leaving behind a manifesto on the Great Replacement theory — a racist conspiracy theory endorsed repeatedly by Tucker Carlson, the nation’s most-watched political pundit
If the President of the United States suggests shooting political protesters and you decide to keep it secret for two years to help you sell a book, you are part of the problem
BREAKING: The CDC has stopped disclosing the number of Americans tested for coronavirus.
On the left is how the website looked last night. On the right is what it looks like now, with the testing info removed.
The lack of testing is a scandal.
This is the coverup.
1. This photo is fake (photoshopped)
2. The man on the left is Hassan Rouhani, who is still President of Iran
3. It's embarrassing that you are a United States Congressman
Before anyone votes on this tax bill, Trump should release his 2016 taxes so the public can know how much this bill will personally benefit the president.
This is a basic requirement of a functioning democracy.
A 10-year-old girl was raped in
@Jim_Jordan
's home state of Ohio.
Jordan publicly called the story a lie.
Then, after the rapist was arrested and confessed, Jordan deleted the tweet without any acknowledgment or apology.
Maybe it’s just me but I can’t get past the fact that the FBI Director set up a phony tip line for people to report information about Brett Kavanaugh, then secretly funneled the “relevant” info to the White House, then covered it up for two years AND HE’S STILL THE FBI DIRECTOR
WORTH REPEATING: In 2018, Trump fired the entire US pandemic response team.
These were the experts with decades of experience dealing with precisely the kind of situation we are in today.
Trump did not replace them.
He eliminated the positions.
Last night on Fox News, President Trump said that Saudi Arabia deposited $1 billion in a bank account in exchange for assistance from the U.S. military.
Trump needs to say exactly where this money is and what it’s paying for or admit he was lying.
Sorry, but I'm still not over the fact that three days ago Trump said that Saudi Arabia deposited $1 billion in a bank account in exchange for assistance from the U.S. military
We need to know exactly where the money is or Trump needs to admit he was lying
Is
@Jim_Jordan
going to apologize for linking the murder of an officer in Oakland to Black Lives Matter "rioters" when the man charged is part of the right-wing Boogaloo movement or is he just going to pretend it never happened?
TRUMP: I did it
PELOSI: These troubling allegations must be investigated
TRUMP: No, it was me
PELOSI: This raises more questions and I won't rest until we get to the bottom of it
TRUMP: I broke the law
PELOSI: We will collect all the facts and determine if any law was broken
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned of a "new stage of investigation" if President Trump refused to hand over a whistle-blower complaint reportedly related to whether he pressured Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden's son. She didn't use the word “impeachment."
There is a bill in the Senate that would stop Trump's policy of separating immigrant children from their parents at the border.
There are currently 43 Democratic co-sponsors and ZERO Republicans.
Every single Senator who is not a sponsor needs to confronted about it
Let's go
I still don't understand exactly what Peter Strzok did wrong.
The best I can tell, he doesn't like Trump and said so in private texts.
Is that illegal or unethical?
Warren's dismantling of Bloomberg over his treatment of women was one of the most precise and devastating political attacks I have witnessed in twenty years of following this stuff
Trump is not, in fact, working to increase payments to Americans from $600 to $2000.
If he was, he’d be one the phone with Republicans, demanding that they amend the bill.
Instead, he’s golfing.
Dear Senator Graham:
This is your official government account.
Why are you using it to promote the for-profit business of the President?
Didn’t you swear to preserve and protect the Constitution? Please review Article I, Section 9.
Best,
Judd
1. This is a clarifying moment.
It shows exactly what Facebook is and who Zuckerberg is
Trump is violating Facebook's rules on election misinformation
Zuckerberg's response was to go on Fox News and defend Trump's right to undermine the integrity of the election
REMINDER: In 2018, Trump fired the entire US pandemic response team.
These were the experts with decades of experience dealing with precisely the kind of situation we are in today.
Trump did not replace them.
He eliminated the positions.
Gayle King, CBS: Why do you allow politicians to lie in ads?
Zuckerberg: I believe, in a democracy, people have a right to know what politicians are saying so they can make their own judgments
King: OK, what did you talk about with Trump at the White House
Zuck: That’s private
1. This will be a thread of corporations that plastered their social media accounts with rainbows for Pride Month
➕
How much those corporations donated to anti-LGBTQ politicians since 2021
Follow along if interested.
1.
@elonmusk
told his 175 million followers on this platform that Biden committed "treason" by "secretly" chartering flights to bring 320K "illegal immigrants" to the United States
Let's be clear: EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS CLAIM IS A BRAZEN LIE
Follow along for receipts
🧵
BREAKING: Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has blocked an attempt to pass an extension of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, pointing to the country's growing debt and arguing that any new spending should be offset by cuts to other spending. (via
@thehill
)
OLD: Kids these days are lazy and apathetic and should stop staring at their phones all day
NEW: Kids these days are loud and arrogant and should stop organizing millions of people demanding change on gun policy
1. There were 19 hijackers, not 12
2. There is no evidence tying Soleimani to 9/11
3. Soleimani is a Shiite & the hijackers were Sunnis
4. After 9/11, Soleimani cooperated w/US, providing intelligence against the Taliban
5. Soleimani was a bad guy; Pence's tweet is garbage
Trump falsified his medical report by dictating a letter describing his health to his doctor
This, under normal circumstances, would be a massive scandal that would dominate the political discussion for months
In the Trump era, it faded from public consciousness within hours
Today, Trump retweeted:
1. A Pizzagate conspiracy theorist
2. A Qanon conspiracy theorist
3. A conspiracy theorist who believes the New Zealand massacre was a plot to limit gun rights
He's elevating the most unhinged, deranged voices
By tomorrow we'll forget it even happened
In America, you can be teargassed and shot with rubber bullets for peacefully protesting in front of a church.
But you can literally bust down the doors to the United States Capitol and stroll around while police officers watch.
To review:
1. Kavanaugh's accuser is now on the record: Her name is Christine Blasey Ford
2. Ford has offered a detailed account of sexual assault by Kavanaugh
3. Ford's account corroborated by therapists notes from 2012
4. Ford passed a polygraph test by former FBI agent
Joe Biden won't say whether he will support expanding the Supreme Court and it would be great to know his position but did you know Trump has released NO POLICIES WHATSOEVER FOR HIS 2ND TERM?
Trump's website doesn't have a policy section!
The GOP didn't bother making a platform
BREAKING:
A Florida teacher who worked as a permanent substitute since October was FIRED for posting a video of empty bookshelves at his middle school
He was fired the day after
@RonDeSantisFL
was asked about the viral video by the media and called it a "false narrative"
There is strong evidence emerging that Republicans stole a Congressional seat in North Carolina by destroying, falsifying, and manipulating absentee ballots.
This is an affront to democracy.
They can’t be allowed to get away with it.
Let me just say that suspending travel from Europe for 30 days makes very little sense.
The issue is that the virus is spreading WITHIN THE US, undetected, because we have not created a functional testing system
1. Not a First Amendment issue: A private company deciding to cancel a TV show
2. A First Amendment issue: The President of the United States pressuring a private company to fire someone because he doesn’t like what she said
Why aren’t they firing no talent Samantha Bee for the horrible language used on her low ratings show? A total double standard but that’s O.K., we are Winning, and will be doing so for a long time to come!
Kavanaugh dug up his calendar from 1982 and insisted it proved he only drank beer on the weekends & there is literally an entry showing him drinking beer, on a weekday, w/the same people Ford said were there when she was sexually assaulted
Not sure why this isn’t a bigger deal
12 people were massacred in a mass shooting in Thousand Oaks California on Wednesday.
It was 96 hours ago.
It seems to have been completely disappeared from the public discourse.
That's seriously screwed up.
UPDATE:
@HomeDepot
, one of the largest corporate donors to Republican candidates, is suspending donations to Republicans who objected to the electoral college.
What’s happening in American right now is not a lack of civility but a lack of courage.
All it would take is two Republican Senators to say we aren’t confirming a single judge or passing a single bill until every child is reunited with their parents.
DESANTIS: "There has not been a single book banned in Florida."
MUSK: Oh, thanks informing me
FACT: There are hundreds of books banned in Florida schools and hundreds of thousands unavailable to students pending review
UPDATE: Dow (
@DowNewsroom
), the massive chemical company, tells me it will not donate to any member of Congress that objected to the certification of the presidential vote
This is not a pause. The company won't donate to these Republicans ever again.
"Cancel culture" is something that does not exist but is a very popular concept among people who do terrible things and don't like being held accountable
Congress should immediately convene and pass a resolution condemning Trump's use of military force against peaceful protesters.
Every Democrat and Republican needs to be on record.
The Executive Branch is out of control. This is why Congress exists.
Trump campaign had NO CONTACT with Russia.
OK, Flynn had contact with Russia.
Flynn and Sessions had contact with Russia.
Flynn and Sessions. Also, Don Jr., Manafort and Kushner.
OK: Flynn, Sessions, Don Jr., Manafort, Kushner, Page and Papadopoulos. But THAT'S IT!
(Maybe.)
.
@AOC
media savvy actually makes her a better Congresswoman. She understands how information moves. She doesn't waste her time with bloviating and boilerplate. She digs in and tries to undercover new information.
And she succeeded.
Elizabeth Warren is now running FB ads with a false statement about Mark Zuckerberg and FB endorsing Trump for president, to draw attention to FB's controversial policy allowing politicians to make false statements in ads.