Jason Lemon

12/29/2024

NEW from me, I did an EXCLUSIVE interview for Newsweek with Marianne Williamson on her bid to be the new DNC chair, her views on Donald Trump and why she thinks Elon Musk's political influence is "terrifying."

Check it out:

Democrats "must become a phenomenon," the progressive leader told Newsweek.

09/04/2024

NEW from me, I did an EXCLUSIVE interview for Newsweek with Florida's Democratic Senate candidate Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, in which we discussed Venezuela, immigration and her opponent, incumbent Republican Senator Rick Scott, in depth.

"What we're seeing in these past few weeks is that Maduro is refusing to recognize the results of that election. He has been targeting the opposition. He has been making threats of imprisoning Edmundo González and María Corina Machado. We know for a fact that many Venezuelans have already been imprisoned for speaking out. I have family, actually, in Venezuela—have very good friends that live in Venezuela and there's this extended family member who is a journalist who is extremely worried and scared," Mucarsel-Powell told me.

The Florida Democrat slammed progressives backing socialist policies as "completely ignorant."

08/21/2024

I've been SO EXCITED to be on my Newsweek colleague H. Alan Scott podcast, The Parting Shot, with Newsweek senior editor Jenni Fink this week to discuss the Democratic National Convention (DNC).

It's been really enjoyable debriefing with both of them, and discussing our various takes on the speakers, the vibes and even a little bit of drama!

Check out the first two DNC episodes at the link below, and check back daily this week for our reactions.

Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott delivers your weekly dose of pop culture with the Parting Shot. Every Friday you’ll get celebrity interviews, award show coverage, and the rundown on exactly what to watch, read, and listen to in culture. Consider the Parting Shot podcast your one stop shop for everythin...

08/16/2024

NEW from ME. I did an EXCLUSIVE interview with Lucas Kunce, who is running for Senate against incumbent Senator Josh Hawley in Missouri.

"We are really trying to take power back from politicians like Josh Hawley, who want to control us and take our power away," Kunce told Newsweek. "He wants to control us in the bedroom, the doctor's office, the workplace. He was a right-to-work guy, anti-union. He won't protect IVF or contraception."

The Missouri Senate candidate says his opponent is a "typical country club" Republican who wants to "control" state voters.

08/13/2024

NEW from me! I did an EXCLUSIVE interview with Senator Bernie Sanders on why he thinks Democrats should focus on working class issues and what Kamala Harris should do to win.

"I was on a television show the other day. What I said is, 'If the Republicans and Trump want to attack Harris and Walz for cutting the cost of prescription drugs in half, which is what I think our poll says is widely popular, I'll help pay for that ad.'

Can you see the ad? 'Harris and Walz want to reduce prescription drug costs by 50 percent! Vote for Donald Trump!' I don't think so. And I think if the next ad is that 'Harris and Walz want to increase the minimum wage in this country to a living wage. Vote for Trump.' I don't think so. So Republicans want to put those ads on the air, I'll help pay for them, and I think they would be absolutely counterproductive to their interests."

https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-bernie-sanders-how-kamala-harris-can-win-1937601

06/08/2024

NEW EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Libertarian presidential candidate Chase Oliver may be a long shot, but he sees himself as having one key advantage over former President Donald Trump and incumbent President Joe Biden—his age.

The 38-year-old Georgia native is less than half the age of both of the dominant candidates, as Trump is 77 and Biden is 81. Even when broadening the field to include fellow third-party contenders Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (70), Jill Stein (74) and Cornel West (71), Oliver is still decades younger—a fact he's hoping can boost his campaign with millennial and Gen Z voters.

"It's time for our generation to really rise up," he told Newsweek in an exclusive interview.

https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-chase-oliver-trump-biden-nato-genocide-1909886 Newsweek

The Libertarian presidential candidate describes Trump and Biden as "authoritarians" and "terrible choices" for America.

12/22/2023

NEW EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: I spoke with Congressman Dean Phillips about his Democratic presidential primary run and his vision for universal basic income (UBI), Medicare for All and legalizing ma*****na at the federal level.

"People in their 80s do not see things, have not lived things, have not experienced things that younger generations have," Phillips said, explaining why he thinks Biden opposes policy ideas that polls show to be popular.

Biden's challenger for the Democratic nomination wants to immediately legalize ma*****na and push through Medicare for All.

11/18/2023

NEW EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: I talked with Jill Stein about her 2024 presidential ambitions, the U.S. response to Israel-Gaza war, her fears about the growing risk nuclear war and why she thinks Democrats and Republicans have failed the American people.

"It's just, it's shameful. And shame on our misleaders for conducting these war crimes, this genocide that's going on in Gaza right now and in Palestine," Stein told me in regards to Israel's invasion of Gaza.

"It's not rocket science how to fix this. I think we need to be complying with international law and human rights, and just put diplomacy first, not our weapons and the profits of the weapons. profiteers."

https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-jill-stein-trump-israel-why-democrats-are-scared-1844766 Newsweek

The 2024 presidential hopeful told Newsweek that it's a "badge of honor" when Democrats blame her for Trump's 2016 election win.

04/22/2023

NEW: Pastors for Trump Preacher Wants God to 'Take Over the Government'

"We want God to be in control of everything! We want believers to be the ones writing the laws! Yes! Guilty as charged," Sean Feucht said

"We want God to be in control of everything. We want believers to be the ones writing the laws," evangelical Christian preacher Sean Feucht said.

07/04/2021

NEW: Faith groups launch new curriculum in bid to address surge in Christian nationalism

"Pastor Doug Pagitt, the executive director of Vote Common Good, and Amanda Tyler, who leads Christians Against Christian Nationalism, told Newsweek that the political movement has been alive within the U.S. for decades, but that Trump embraced and emboldened Christian nationalists. They said this led to a surge in the movement's visibility and prominence over the past several years.

'January 6 made it clear that those roots had grown very, very deep in the society and were now tied into a whole lot of other movements that were seriously dangerous,' Pagitt said. 'It's kind of been an escalating shift to really now—not to view this only as a problem for the faithful, but a problem for the planet and the country.'

Tyler said the country began seeing 'increasing instances of Christian nationalism' a little over two years ago. She said this included 'increasing violent incidents.' She pointed out that Christian nationalism has ties to white nationalism, emphasizing that these beliefs were used to justify slavery, Jim Crow laws in the South and segregation. These links were apparent during the insurrection, as many of Trump's supporters carried Confederate flags or wore symbols denoting an association with white supremacist beliefs."

Christian nationalism is not just "a problem for the faithful, but a problem for the planet and the country," said pastor Doug Pagitt.

04/23/2021

NEW from me: I recently interviewed Congressman Jamaal Bowman about his first few months in Congress, President Joe Biden and the progressive agenda. Bowman hailed the White House and Congress for being "more progressive than they've ever been," but also said that he's willing to criticize and apply pressure when he sees fit.

On the socialist label, Bowman told me: "Martin Luther King Jr. identified as a socialist, and Fred Hampton identified as a socialist and so does Angela Davis. Whenever I can be mentioned in the same category as them, I'm exactly where I need to be."

Representative Jamaal Bowman, a New York Democrat and member of the Squad, on his first three months in office and why he doesn't mind being called a socialist.

08/06/2020

The eyes of the world turned to Beirut on Tuesday as a massive blast destroyed the Lebanese capital's port.

As the world replayed the video clips of the devastating explosion, captured from nearly every imaginable cinematic angle and range, the death toll rose as the wounded flooded overwhelmed and damaged hospitals. Although the search for survivors continues, the death toll has risen above 130 with more than 4,000 injured from the blast felt across the country.

The blast exacerbates the situation in an already strained country where the economy's continuing collapse and soaring inflation rate have led to empty grocery store shelves and daily power cuts tied to a growing fuel shortage.

"Lebanon is grappling with a crisis upon crisis scenario. A harrowing financial crisis has paralyzed access to deposits, and has led to the closure of businesses and to the crippling of livelihoods and opportunities," Dr. Tamirace Fakhoury, an associate professor of political science and international affairs at the Lebanese American University in Beirut told Newsweek. "People are tired, exhausted and their so-called resilience that is celebrated in books and on the media borders has dissipated."

"We have nothing here, and it keeps getting worse by the day. I have wasted my youth," Mohammad Hijazi told Newsweek.

08/05/2020

"Seventy-five years ago on Thursday, the U.S. became the first—and to this day the only—nation in the world to use a nuclear weapon against a foreign adversary when it dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Decades later, analysts warn that the world must do more to ensure that a nuclear weapon is never used again and say that a 'new arms race' is underway.

Nine nations possess nuclear weapons—the U.S., Russia, the U.K., France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea—according to data compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Of these nations, the U.S. and Russia have by far the highest number, with about 5,800 and 6,185, respectively. China comes in third, with about 320 as of this year.

'The minority of the world's countries resist the international norm to ban and eliminate nuclear weapons,' a spokesperson for the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons told Newsweek. 'All nuclear-armed states are actively threatening the rest of the world by insisting on maintaining weapons of mass murder that would have global consequences.'"

The U.S. became the first, and to this day only, nation in the world to use a nuclear weapon against a foreign adversary on August 6, 1945.

07/20/2020

Just a reminder, it didn't have to be this way ...

"The U.S. and South Korea both reported their first confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus six months ago, on January 20. But now, half a year later, the two countries face dramatically different situations when it comes to their respective outbreaks.

On Sunday, South Korea reported just 26 new confirmed infections, while the U.S. reported 62,198. To put that in perspective, the number of new infections on Sunday was 2,392 times higher in the U.S. than in South Korea. Notably, just four of the cases reported in South Korea on Sunday were from local infections, while the rest were cases of people who had come from abroad."

South Korea now has 13,771 confirmed virus infections, while the U.S. has more than 3.7 million.

06/04/2020

Rebecca J. Kavanagh, a legal media analyst and criminal defense and civil rights attorney, told Newsweek that Jamel Floyd's death "is a reminder that the criminal justice system continues to function with the same indifference to Black lives as it always has, even in the midst of massive protests against police violence and brutality.

"Deaths in jails and prisons are exceptionally common," she said: "an average of two people die in American jails every day."

Jamel Floyd, 35, who was asthmatic, died after he was sprayed with pepper spray in his cell at the Metropolitan Detention Center.

06/03/2020

The FBI on Monday posted to social media a request for photos and videos of individuals provoking violence during the nationwide peaceful demonstrations over the killing of George Floyd last week. But many on Twitter quickly began sharing video clips and photos of police cracking down violently on protesters.
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Asked whether the FBI planned to investigate alleged police brutality, a spokesperson at the bureau's national press office referred Newsweek to the press release on its website. "We do not have any further comment," the person added.

"The FBI is accepting tips and digital media depicting violent encounters surrounding the civil unrest that is happening throughout the country," the bureau wrote.