The one where we doubt fireworks conspiracies until we can see them for ourselves

[View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter]( July 03, 2020 Hi, Today is July 3, a day for Toms. It is the Christian feast day of Thomas the Apostle, who is the inspiration for the phrase "Doubting Thomas." It is also the 58th birthday of Tom Cruise, a movie star whose screen presence and charisma have only ever been doubted by the Academy, which has never awarded him an Oscar. I hope you, dear reader, have a wonderful long weekend that it is filled with merriment, majesty, and masks. —Ben Dreyfuss [Magnolia Pictures]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [How Real Conspiracies Inspired False Rumors About Flooding Black Communities With Fireworks]( Decades of abuse and disenfranchisement targeting African Americans have nurtured a defensive paranoia. BY ALI BRELAND [Trending] [You aren't the ones who are struggling to breathe.]( BY NATHALIE BAPTISTE [Trump picks the dumbest possible fight with Congress over a must-pass defense bill.]( BY DAN SPINELLI [Let's not forget the time Trump called some of his golf club members “spoiled rich Jewish guys.”]( BY MAX J. ROSENTHAL [Wildland firefighters are risking their mental health.]( BY MARK BETANCOURT [Magnolia Pictures]( [Weekend Reads] [Special Feature]( [How the Coronavirus Spread QAnon]( Right-wing conspiracies and the pandemic created a petri dish for the child-trafficking hoax. BY ALI BRELAND [Fiercely Independent] Support from readers allows Mother Jones to do journalism that doesn't just follow the pack. [Donate]( [Recharge] SOME GOOD NEWS, FOR ONCE [How Persuasive and Persuadable Are You? A New Website Aims to Find Out.]( What better occasion than the Fourth of July, nominally about freedom and independence, to welcome the good news of a truly ambitious publication’s launch in the name of open debate, rigorous critical thinking, and human rights? The arrival of [Persuasion]( is an inspiring addition to public dialogue at a time of heightened false equivalencies, hidden biases, unhidden biases, and the bullying and bigotry particularly pungent on the far right (but not limited to it). The new site aims to persuade. Whatever you think of its [full]( list of core contributors, there are brilliant treasures, namely Sarah Haider, John McWhorter, Thomas Chatterton Williams, Jonathan Haidt, and Garry Kasparov. And the outstanding [Maajid Nawaz]( gives a ringing early endorsement. [Haider]( is especially thoughtful at challenging ideas, institutions, fallacies, and pathologies that harm human rights. Read her. Follow and boost her. [McWhorter]( is profoundly insightful as a linguist and cultural critic, with no aversion to hard debate. Persuasion hopes to avoid the trappings of mere point-scoring, and the decoys of the day, by engaging with bedrock questions about what can produce the most justice and equality. Speaking of justice, David Frum, another Persuasion contributor, is long overdue for history’s judgment. Or did I miss his mea culpa for the harm he helped cause as George W. Bush’s speechwriter? Frum is long on criticism of Trump but short on accountability for Bush. Doesn’t it matter? I’d like to offer persuasion at recharge@motherjones.com, if Frum is open to discussing it, but on balance, Persuasion deserves support for trying to change minds, including those of some of its contributors. The project’s pledge is inspiring. All manifestations of illiberalism, injustice, illogic, and inequality need contesting. Here’s a challenge: Persuasion should offer to waive subscription fees for anyone who asks. Why not? If money shouldn’t be the sole obstacle for those who can’t afford it, how persuasive can the project be? Here’s rooting, but offer it? [It’s worked before](. Above all, let Kasparov know that his [1996 blunder]( against Vishy Anand is forgiven and forgotten. (How could you miss Qxg4? We all slip up, Garry. You are still king, capable of crushing even the great Hikaru and Fabiano.) —Daniel King Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755