04.17.23
Low Octane Gas Lighting – MSNBC
- Gov. Ron DeSantis signs a law that retroactively threatens the lives of women?
On MSNBC this weekend, they had to go full throttle on the new abortion law that Ron DeSantis "secretly" signed late last week. To underscore just how dire this new legislation is for women, Katie Phang brought on two ladies who had problematic pregnancies and nearly had fatal episodes due to complications when "they were sent home without any help as their doctors feared Florida's abortion law."
The dramatics here are in full effect when you consider that the law has provisions written into it that allow for exemptions when the mother's life is endangered – as have any prior abortion law. It also needs to be pointed out that both women encountered these issues before the law was enacted, considering DeSantis only signed the bill on April 13.
Two women were denied medical care due to Florida's abortion ban https://t.co/pAYXQclxat
— The Katie Phang Show (@katiephangshow) April 17, 2023
Race to the Bottom – MSNBC
- It is almost impressive that you can write a medical law to ONLY affect POC individuals.
Capping off her segment on the abortion law, Phang brought on Florida state politician Shevrin Jones to add to the hysterics. After highlighting a guest who declares that living in Florida is now a "death sentence," Jones was no less calm in his hyperbole.
He gave his assessment of this new legislation – "That's the reality – black women are going to die."
This, despite blaming the law for their condition, in which they very clearly did not die. But according to the hysterics at MSNBC, it is a "reality" that only black women will be fatally affected.
After two women came on to declare they nearly lost their lives due to a complicated pregnancy, due to Florida's new abortion law (which was not true, as it was only signed by Gov. DeSantis days ago) @ShevrinJones hysterically declares that "black women are going to die". pic.twitter.com/nja5IHrhXu
— Lie-Able Sources (@LieAbleSources) April 17, 2023
Artisanally-Crafted Narratives – THE NEW YORK TIMES
Another one of the trends we are seeing this year has been the media's insistence that the Republicans/Conservatives are starting a culture war – when they respond to a new policy being forced onto the culture from the left. From opposing the insertion of CRT in schools, protecting women from males in sports, or even battling over gas stoves, when it is new incursions from the left, those on the right get blamed.
The Times joins this nonsense by weighing in on the Bud Light controversy, suggesting this was manufactured by the right and not a result of forcing trans activism into the national dialogue. To paraphrase the article: "Why do conservatives care so much about this topic we will not shut up about on a daily basis?!"
Defeated on same-sex marriage, the religious right went searching for an issue that would re-energize supporters and donors.
— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 16, 2023
Now, the pace of the campaign against transgender rights has stunned political leaders across the spectrum. https://t.co/TnBF52b1aj
Pre-Written Field Reports – MSNBC
- Telling politicians to stop caring about a topic pushed in the press.
It was with some revealing desperation that we saw the latest environmental freakout delivered in the news cycle.
VIDEO: Rice is to blame for around 10 percent of global emissions of methane, a gas that over two decades, traps about 80 times as much heat as carbon dioxide. Scientists say that if the world wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, rice cannot be ignored. pic.twitter.com/46GgkaGPgK
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) April 16, 2023
So here we are, after years of telling us that cows are killing the planet with their flatulence, the call had gone out for humans to move to a vegetarian diet. Now, we are told that one of the world's leading crops is killing us.
When the communications team for Florida's governor reacted to this idiocy, Mehdi Hasan decided to pipe up and put them in their proper place.
This is how a taxpayer-funded DeSantis press aide spends his time online, while residents of Florida try and recover from historic floods, and his boss’s presidential campaign craters as donors flee. It’s all culture wars, all the time. https://t.co/qzj32KOP93
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) April 17, 2023
Hasan's sanctimony is hilariously ignorant. Not only is he blaming Redfern for starting a culture war, but the genius journalist is oblivious that Florida is one of the few states that grows rice.
Pulitzer Prize Nomination – THE ATLANTIC (Biden Memorial for Frozen Dessert Coverage)
At The Atlantic, the outlet takes on a rather desperate-sounding position. In a move that appears in a position to appease our addled president, we get a column that goes on to suggest that ice cream could be perceived as a health food.
Back in 2018, a Harvard doctoral student named Andres Ardisson Korat was presenting his research on the relationship between dairy foods and chronic disease to his thesis committee. One of his studies had led him to an unusual conclusion: Among diabetics, eating half a cup of ice cream a day was associated with a lower risk of heart problems. Earlier, the department chair, Frank Hu, had instructed Ardisson Korat to do some further digging: Could his research have been led astray by an artifact of chance, or a hidden source of bias, or a computational error? As Ardisson Korat spelled out on the day of his defense, his debunking efforts had been largely futile. The ice-cream signal was robust.
Studies show a mysterious health benefit to ice cream. Scientists don’t want to talk about it, @davidmjohns reports: https://t.co/9Qhu9u2XJD
— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) April 17, 2023
Race to the Bottom – MSNBC
- Well, this seems to be all the reason to make streets illegal.
Pete Buttigieg appears to be on a mission to make every American ignore his every utterance. In a sit-down with Al Sharpton, Secretary Pete managed to come off sounding even more racially imbalanced than the infamous baiting hustler.
Buttigieg actually takes his previous asinine position – that bridges in New York were racist – and takes it to an even more ridiculous conclusion: Our nation's roadways are inherently racist.
Even Sharpton looks dismayed by this comment. (Hard to tell if he found it outrageous or was jealous he had not come up with it first.)
Pete Buttigieg tells Al Sharpton that minorities are more likely to die in car crashes for a variety of reasons including:
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) April 16, 2023
"The way roads are designed and built." pic.twitter.com/9ADW5IFFti
Matching Media Memorandum – SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
- This is a move that seems both inevitable and sadly pathetic.
Joining the full-scale LGBT𝜋 lobbying effort across the media landscape, on SNL this weekend, they introduced a new name joining the show. During the "Weekend Update" portion, they introduced the show's first non-binary cast member!
Lowered from the rafters (for some reason), we then were delivered an arduous segment that was little more than a lecture on trans issues. It serves as a testament to the program over the past few years; maybe placing a priority on finding a funny cast member would be a higher priority at the moment. This is almost painful to behold.
Introducing SNL’s first non-binary cast member, it's @MEATBRICKMOLLY! pic.twitter.com/tSs2snpHvk
— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) April 16, 2023
