The next four months will be what future generations ask us about. Be prepared. bit.ly/3nCQQK2
Reclaiming power from those who abuse it often starts with telling the truth. Here are some truths we’ll need to remember in the difficult weeks and months ahead:
Yes, it can sometimes feel as if half the country lives in a bubble of alternative facts assembled for Trump by Fox News. But team reality is a bigger force.
That's the greatest threat that wannabe authoritarians can imagine.
Truth #3: Facebook owns this.
In perhaps the most consequential act of the moral nihilism that pervades tech, Facebook has answered the question of whether it cares more about giving democracy a shot or maximizing profit.
Trump is at war against the press and anyone who dares challenge his alternative facts. When we go to work, as journalists, we are in that fight—not against him or his party, but for the values that he is attacking.
Truth #5: It’s about minority rule
"They’ve never had the support of the people," @AriBerman says of Republicans.
“That’s why they care about the courts. Because they know if they can control the courts, they can lock in white minority rule for decades.” bit.ly/3iIOCF5
Truth # 6: The only thing that can save us is…us.
This imperfect democracy has gone through eras of mass delusion and corrupt leadership before. But it's also been profoundly shaped by collective action for a civic purpose—abolition, organized labor, and civil rights movement.
If you think journalism like Mother Jones’—that calls it like it is, that will look where others don’t—is needed for all that’s ahead, and you’re able to right now, please consider a donation to help reach our ambitious $350,000.
1/ @LelandNally called every name in Jeffrey Epstein’s little black book. Here’s what happened. (CW: Sexual assault.)
2/ First, some background: Epstein’s little black book is a compilation of all of the billionaire's contacts, apparently assembled by his staff.
3/ The book first turned up in a courtroom in 2009 after his longtime butler, Alfredo Rodriguez, tried to sell it to lawyers representing Epstein’s victims for $50,000.
.@EricHolder kicks us off with his take on last night's VP debate: "Pence talked over Kamala, talked over Susan Page…These Republican males just don't seem to get the message."
As @pemalevy writes, "The DOJ has long prohibited its prosecutors from public investigations that may sway the outcome of an election or taint its legitimacy. But under Barr, the Trump administration has decided to break this rule." bit.ly/36MNGgC
August 10, 1993: Justice William Rehnquist, right, administers the oath to defend the Constitution to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, as President Bill Clinton looks on. Ginsburg was the second woman to ever serve on the Supreme Court. bit.ly/2HfZAF9
December 1993: Members of the U.S. Supreme Court pose for a group portrait in Washington bit.ly/2HfZAF9
March 2001: The only two female justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, pose for a portrait in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol Building bit.ly/2HfZAF9
New: Donald Trump’s lawyer demanded that Mother Jones destroy this video. Here it is. bit.ly/3lnMSn8
This 13-minute hot-mic video shows Trump in the wild, figuring out how to contend with a judge who he believed was not on his side (perhaps with the use of a racist attack) and bragging about pressuring a group that had given his business a low rating. bit.ly/2YF3WLG
“I wanted to get this out before the election so people better understand how Trump behaves behind the scenes," says Art Cohen, the lead plaintiff in one of two Trump University class-action lawsuits, who gave a copy of this recording to Mother Jones. bit.ly/2YF3WLG
1/ New York state Attorney General Letitia James just sued to dissolve the NRA for financial misconduct. We've been covering the group's operations for years. Here’s what we’ve dug up.
2/ First up, the NRA's top lawyer for decades once was arrested for murder, then freed over bad police work. bit.ly/3fyeyl5
3/ The NRA has historically lobbied for laws that fail Black gun owners. bit.ly/3fy97CY
1/ Is there a way to massively reduce shootings without ramping up the number of cops and arrests?
Yes, there is. And a unique program in Oakland has shown how it’s done. (Thread.)
2/ In recent years, Oakland has cut shootings in HALF—not by arresting more people, but by investing in social services and helping people build relationships with others in their community. bit.ly/3k17z7Z
3/ Just look at these charts. Here’s how homicide numbers have changed in Oakland over the last 8-9ish years compared to a few other major cities, according to @GiffordsCourage. bit.ly/31cMbUK