Troops hanging out in the DC metro today, displaying assault rifles, doing absolutely nothing
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Troops hanging out in the DC metro today, displaying assault rifles, doing absolutely nothing
The substance of my argument was the original poster should have disclosed that the information was from the CEO of Beehiiv and the info was misleading. Thats it.
All users of Instagram help them make money. Posters drive people to the app to see the content, and while they are there they view ads.
It’s not a straightforward question but I’ve been doing this kind of work for awhile and make the best judgments that I can.
Yes, it is. Do you have any qualms supporting the politics and tactics of the owners of Instagram?
Watching videos on YouTube is how YouTube makes money. So if you watch videos there, you are supporting them.
I’m not saying ghost is bad. I’m saying the search for purity is illusory. Have you watched a YouTube video? Hard to think of a platform that does more to promote extremist views
I would just ask you to consider what happens if reactionary publications get to be hosted on networked platforms that can facilitate growth and progressive publications have to be individually siloed
It’s like having an email account where the CEO of Google is your personal tech support
Does open source software require Ghost to promote Quilette to drum up business
I don’t think there is anything wrong with being on ghost. But I also don’t think me being on Substack, which I have been since 2018, makes me morally corrupt.
Ghost has actively promoted Quilette to drum up business. If you can find a pure space in the capitalist system, go for it. Ghost isn’t it though.
It’s all part of the same ecosystem. Ghost.org itself promotes Quilette. They’ve been a featured publication on the Ghost website. When you pay Ghost money, you support the ecosystem and theoretically help Quilette.
Ghost hosts Quilette. I don’t get it. www.thenation.com/article/arch...
Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and to spend their money how they wish. I am running a progressive, investigative news outlet. I employ three people, offer health care and a 401K, and produce impactful work. I take my responsibility seriously.
There is an email that goes out automatically but it sometimes gets stuck in spam filters
Perfect example. People cite Ghost all the time as a “pure” alternative. But one of the largest sites on Ghost is Quilette, which has published race science. www.thenation.com/article/arch...
I don’t agree with all of their decisions but I also don’t think there are better alternatives. I run my own business. If and when a better alternative for me emerges I will move. Most the alternatives people suggest are much worse, both for writers and the world.
You may want to disclose that this was written not by a user of Substack, but by the CEO of Beehiiv, a Substack competitor. It is also highly misleading. Substack is pushing people to subscribe directly to publications and NOT through the Apple.
Anyone else notice a pattern in the government officials Trump is firing?
Been on vacation for awhile and I’m not in a huge rush to get back to work but I do miss my job
All truly self-confident people wear hats declaring they are “RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING.”
Ah yes, Stephen Miller and the Trump administration are famously popular in DC, except among elderly white hippies
Trump is turning the 250th anniversary of America's independence into A PROMOTIONAL EVENT FOR THE UFC. It's a massive payoff for UFC CEO Dana White, who leveraged the UFC to rally support for Trump among young men.
6. Subscribe to Popular Information for more original reporting that holds powerful corporations accountable. No paywalls. No corporate overlords. No BS. popular.info/subscribe
5. Many of these companies released public statements in support of abortion rights for their employees after Roe was overturned. We name more names in today's Popular Information:
4. A 70-page PDF filed by RAGA with the IRS last week reveals the corporations backing the legal attacks on abortion rights with large donations: Coachella (Anschutz Corp): 100K United Healthcare: 125K Pfizer: 50K Cigna: 50K CVS: 85K AirBnB: 25K Zillow: 25K DoorDash: 125K GrubHub: 25K
3. Since then RAGA members have pushes to restrict the ability of pharmacies to dispense abortion pills, eliminate privacy protections for people who receive reproductive healthcare, and preempt blue state "shield laws" that protect doctors
2. In a fundraising email sent the day Roe was overturned in 2022, the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) pledged: "Every donation will help Republican Attorneys General combat the Democrats' pro-abortion agenda and stand tall for life."
1. Since Roe was overturned, Republican AGs have engaged in aggressive legal campaign to limit abortion not only in their states, but across the nation. These efforts are being financed by major American corporations — including CVS, United HealthCare, Airbnb, and the parent company of Coachella
9. For more in-depth accountability journalism, subscribe to Popular Information. There is no paywall and its free to sign up and you can unsubscribe whenever so what do you have to lose and if I had to bet I would say if you made it this far you will really like it. popular.info/subscribe
8. More FACTS about crime in DC. And the places in the US and around the world where crime is much much worse, in today's Popular Information.
7. In other words, there is no basis to claim that the DC crime data is rigged. One one side are the facts, confirmed by multiple sources. On the other side is a MAGA-friendly police union chief lobbing wild accusations.
6. An independent audit of DC's crime statistics conducted last year, when Pemberton was making similar claims, found there was nothing to substantiate the allegation that crime in DC is significantly higher than the reported numbers.
5. According to the complaint, Pemberton received the video from Project Veritas, a notorious far-right activist group. Previously, Pemberton also admitted to “conduct unbecoming of an officer” when he billed the department for overtime to attend his own court date after being charged with DUI.
4. Pemberton has a checkered history. A complaint filed last year alleged that Pemberton "deceptively edit[ed] videos of the organizers of the so-called ‘J20’ protests… in order to remove footage that would be helpful for the protesters’ defense and obscure the source of the videos."
3. Pemberton has provided NO EVIDENCE to support his claims. He is alleging a systemic conspiracy to manipulate crime data but has provided no documentation, no examples of cases where the alleged misclassification occurred, and no other proof to substantiate his claims.
2. The White House accused people citing DC crime statistics of attempting to "gaslight" the public and claimed that DC crime stats were manipulated. They are pushing an allegation made by in July by Fraternal Order of Police chairman Gregg Pemberton.
1. A lot of people are (correctly) reporting that Trump ordered a federal takeover of the DC police even though violent crime in DC is at 30 year low. How is the Trump administration responding? They claim that DC crime data is rigged! (Sound familiar?) Let's review.
Looking forward to the federal takeover of Tusla, Oklahoma's police department. More in tomorrow's Popular Information. popular.info/subscribe
The 2024 violent crime rates per 100,000 people in Washington, DC (926) and Indianapolis Indiana (878) are very similar. In 2024, you were more likely to experience violent crime in Elkhart, Indiana (995) than DC
Trump has repeatedly called for police brutality in DC as the way to combat crime
Trump: "Every place in the country where you have no cash bail is a disaster." This is a lie. popular.info/p/cash-bail-...
Trump announces he's taking over the DC police department to rescue the city from "crime, bloodshed, and bedlam." Violent crime in DC reached a 30 year low in 2024 and is down sharply again this year.
TRUMP: Violent crime in DC is spiraling out of control so I'm deploying the National Guard REALITY:
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9. More on Wilson's theology and how Hegseth is bringing it to the United States military:
8. Wilson wants to recriminalize homosexuality. He has not specified the specific criminal penalty, but said it could be something less than the death penalty. "The Bible indicates the punishment for homosexuality is death. The Bible also indicates the punishment for homosexuality is exile."
7. Wilson explicitly advocates for "patriarchy." Wilson says, "the wife is to follow the lead of her husband in all things." Regarding sex, Wilson says: "A man penetrates, conquers, colonizes, plants. A woman receives, surrenders, accepts." He has called feminists "small-breasted biddies."
6. Last week, Hegseth announced he was reinstalling a Confederate memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. The memorial was removed in 2003 following criticism that it "glorified the Southern cause and glossed over slavery."
5. Wilson claims that "[s]lave life was to [the slaves] a life of plenty, of simple pleasures, of food, clothes and good medical care." He urges people not to "overlook the benefits of slavery for both blacks and whites."
4. Wilson has sought to recast slavery in the pre-Civil War South as a mutually beneficial relationship in many cases. In a 1996 pamphlet co-written by Wilson, he argued that "[s]lavery as it existed in the South was not an adversarial relationship with pervasive racial animosity."
3. "The Secretary very much appreciates many of Mr. Wilson's writings and teachings," a Pentagon spokesman aid in response to media inquires about Hegseth's post. Beyond repealing women's voting rights, what are Wilson's "writing and teachings"? Let's review.
2. The video is an excerpt from a CNN interview with pastor Doug Wilson. Hegseth is a member of a church that is part of Wilson's network. Hegseth's response — "All of Christ for All of Life" — is a slogan used by Wilson. It mean Christianity should dominate all aspects of life, including gov't.
1. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reposted a video last week advocating repealing women's the right to vote It was a window into Hegseth's extreme Christian Nationalist ideology which he is imposing on 3 million military service members and civilian employees. Let's dig in.
1. This week, the FBI released its comprehensive crime report for 2024, which revealed that both VIOLENT CRIME and PROPERTY CRIME reached their LOWEST LEVELS SINCE THE 1960s This a massive story. But you might not have heard about it, even if you follow the news closely. Here's why.
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6. Americans warped perceptions of crime “warp public opinion in ways that set back policy changes shown to improve public safety.” We are spending billions of dollars constructing detention centers to house immigrants to combat a non-existent crime wave.
5. This does a real disservice to readers. A recent Gallup poll revealed that 64% of Americans believe that crime INCREASED across the country in 2024. In reality crime "was down in all seven categories of crime across all 10 population groups that the FBI measures."
4. The Washington Post re-published a 230 word AP article fabout the FBI crime report. It did not appear in the print edition. On A1, the paper published a story about Trump's threat to federalize DC because crime is out of control. Not mentioned: In 2024, violent crime in D.C. was at a 30 year low
3. Now, back to this week. Where did the New York Times publish its story on the FBI crime report, which showed the largest decrease in murders since data began being collected in 1960? Trick question: the New York Times didn't cover it at all.
2. First, lets go back to September 28, 2021, when the FBI released the same report covering 2020 and it showed the largest increase in murders since data began being collected in 1960. It was FRONT PAGE NEWS in the New York Times and the Washington Post.
1. This week, the FBI released its comprehensive crime report for 2024, which revealed that both VIOLENT CRIME and PROPERTY CRIME reached their LOWEST LEVELS SINCE THE 1960s This a massive story. But you might not have heard about it, even if you follow the news closely. Here's why.
Just got this email informing me that my newsletter is going to reelect Trump for a third term. Sorry about that.
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8. Between April, when the Biden rule was to go into effect, and July, Medicare spent another $2.3 billion on skin substitutes, much of it for products with no backing. More details on this scheme:
7. After 6 months, Medicare adjusts the reimbursement rate to whatever doctors are actually paying. So what do companies like Extremity Care do? They just create a "new" product where they can set the price. Skin substitute companies "have brought more than 100 new versions to market since 2023."
6. Why would doctors use a product that costs so much more and is not proven to be effective. Here is how the grift works: Companies like Extremity Care sell their products to doctors at a discount. But doctors can get reimbursed by Medicare for the full price, and pocket the difference.
5. Coll-e-Derm is not backed by any scientific evidence. Many of the products with scientific backing are much less expensive than those offered by Extremity Care. Oasis wound matrix, a product that has proved effective in scientific research, charges Medicare $75.51 per square inch.
4. Medicare spending on "skin substitutes" went from ~0 in 2014 to $256 million in 2019, and then surged to more than $10 billion in 2024. Medicare now spends more on skin substitutes than "ambulance rides, anesthesia or CT scans." One Extremity Care product, Coll-e-Derm, costs $11,000 per sq inch
3. The Biden rule would preserve Medicare patients' access to "skin substitutes." Under the Biden rule, however, coverage would be limited to products "that are supported by evidence" that they are effective. Extremity Care's products would not qualify.
2. 6 DAYS after receiving Extremity Care's donation, Trump went on Truth Social and blasted the rule that would prevent Medicare from covering Extremity Care's products. The post absurdly claimed the rule would result in 187,286 additional deaths annually.
1. On February 24, Extremity Care LLC, a company that sells very expensive bandages made from placentas, donated $5 MILLION TO TRUMP'S SUPER PAC Days later, Trump froze a pending rule that would BAR MEDICARE FROM COVERING EXTREMITY CARE'S PRODUCTS, which are overpriced & not backed by science.
Classic Trump move. He doesn't want to talk about the poor job numbers that have resulted from his chaotic economic policy so instead he fires the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics to create another spectacle for people to talk about.
Man worth $370 billion says the way to solve poverty is “AI and robotics”
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8. The judge did not immediately rule but asked for additional legal arguments and scheduled another in-person meeting on August 18. Until then, hundreds of detainees will remain in legal limbo.
7. At the hearing, an attorney representing the government said he was "not prepared" to state what court had jurisdiction over legal issues raised by detainees. The attorney also declined to immediately provide a copy of the agreement between the state of Florida and ICE.
6. At a hearing on these issues this week, a federal judge demanded more clarity on "who is running the show" at the Everglades detention camp. He described the current situation as "a bit of a black hole."
5. The plaintiffs also contend that detainees are prevented "from communicating confidentially with legal counsel." The only contact with the outside world that is permitted is "via infrequent access to collect pay phone calls that are monitored and recorded, and last approximately five minutes."
4. But under the Immigration and Nationality Act, immigration detention is a federal matter and, therefore, the exclusive jurisdiction of federal courts. So there is no where for the people detained at the Everglades detention camp to go.
3. When attorneys representing clients being held at the Everglades detention center attempt to contest their confinement in federal court, they are told that the federal court lacks jurisdiction because the facility is being run by the state government.
2. Under the Fifth Amendment, "No person shall be… deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." The plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit filed an emergency motion last Friday arguing the treatment of detainees at the Everglades detention camp violates the constitution.
1. The Everglades detention camp, known as Alligator Alcatraz, has become a LEGAL BLACK HOLE. Hundreds of people are being held at the facility without charges, without access to attorneys, and without the ability to contest their detention in court.
One interesting thing about Trump randomly imposing tariffs on every country on earth for any reason or no reason is that it is illegal
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6. Unanswered questions: What occurred at the Mar-a-Lago spa, and what did Trump know about it? What actions did Trump actually take after learning Epstein had "stolen" underage girls from his club? Why has Trump offered several inconsistent accounts of his relationship with Epstein?
5. Trump Organization attorney Alan Garten told the Washington Post that Trump did not ban Epstein from Mar-a-Lago until 2007. According to a 2020 book, The Grifter’s Club, Epstein was a member of Mar-a-Lago until October 2007.
4. Message pads obtained by investigators from Epstein's Palm Beach mansion and published by Vice News in 2016 indicate that Trump called Epstein at least twice in November 2004.
3. In 2003, according to a Wall Street Journal report, Trump wrote Epstein a birthday message calling him his "pal" and concluded, "may every day be another wonderful secret."
2. Also, Trump called Jeffrey Epstein "a terrific guy" who is "a lot of fun to be with" in an October 2002 New York Magazine article. That was two years after Epstein "hired" 16-year-old Giuffre, who was trafficked and sexually abused by Epstein.
1. DONALD TRUMP'S NEW CLAIMS ABOUT EPSTEIN CONTRADICT HIS PAST STATEMENTS Yesterday, Trump said he kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago shortly after he "stole" 16-year-old Virginia Giuffre from his spa. That was in 2000. But in 2019, Trump's lawyer admitted Epstein remained a member until 2007
Trump claims Epstein "stole" one of Epstein's underage victims, Virginia Giuffre, from Trump's Mar-a-lago spa. Why did Trump use the word "stole," as if he owned Giuffre?
What happened at the Mar-a-Lago spa, exactly? What did Trump know? When did he know it? One person who could answer these questions is Ghislaine Maxwell. That helps explain Trump’s behavior over the last few days.
@juddlegum.bsky.social is spot on: "Journalists at many mainstream media publications insist that their coverage is objective and unbiased. This isn't true. Two of the biggest purveyors of this lie are Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei, the co-founders of Axios." popular.info/p/axios-and-...
When political leaders polarize facts, “neutrality” no longer exists. And it’s a stupid value. Fairness and truthfulness are actual values for a newsroom that promote truth-seeking & diligent reporting. And neither mandate “neutrality,” because that would get in the way popular.info/p/axios-and-...
President Trump has left the door open to pardoning a woman who sexually abused and trafficked underage girls for more than a decade.
"VandeHei and Allen have beliefs, but claim to be objective bc they consider their right-wing beliefs, particularly on economic issues, to constitute fundamental truths." @juddlegum.bsky.social on Axios. Charter said in May it will buy Cox, Axios's owner, for $34.5B popular.info/p/axios-and-...