Stephen Colbert never really got over election night 2016. The “comedian” performed a live show on the night of the Clinton vs. Trump presidential election where he very publicly melted down as Hillary Clinton lost. Four years ago this week, he still hadn’t recovered. Being interviewed for the August 13, 2018 New York Times event TimesTalk, the Late Show host recounted that he didn’t even prepare for a Trump win:
We had four shows we knew that were possible: Mrs. Clinton wins and we know it, Looks like she’s going to win but we’re not sure, Donald Trump could win but we won’t know until the next day, and he’s definitely won. We had these [first] three, we had material for these three.
Asked about preparing jokes for a potential Trump win, he explained:
I’m not saying it’s impossible, if that happens it’s like I’m hosting a show in a slaughterhouse
Like emotionally, people are going to be so raw, that I don’t know what joke--its so disastrous, in my opinion, that I’m not sure I could dance on the edge of that volcano, anyway. Let’s just let the lava flow over us if that happens and we’ll improvise, we’ll see what happens.
[Our writers] didn’t want to write it….There was just no scenario in our head where that led to chuckles.
Want to see Colbert’s meltdown on the Showtime program? Here he is on November 9, 2016:
But right now, the election is too close to call and too terrifying to contemplate. The huge story is that Trump has outperformed expectations in early results. This one is a nail biter and a passport grabber. It feels like we are trying to avoid the apocalypse and half the country is voting for the asteroid.
Later, talking to Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, Colbert sputtered: “What the fuck is happening?!” Also this: “If Trump wins, how about bursting into tears and yelling ‘fuck’ for the next 45 minutes?”
For more examples from our weekly flashback series, which we call NewsBusters Time Machine, go here.
The New York Times’ Alan Rappeport and Tiffany Hsu devoted 1,500 words to dismissing conservative concerns over potential IRS overreach, after news the agency is hiring 87,000 new agents, at least some of whom will carry firearms. The headline on the front of the Business section Friday read “Right-Wing Fury at I.R.S. Overhaul.” The online headline was more specific: “More Money for I.R.S. Spurs Conspiracy Theories of ‘Shadow Army.’”
Typically, conservative concerns and predictions were dismissed by the paper as “conspiracy theories.” The Times has a history of bolstering the IRS and catching GOP tax cheats, in the name of fighting income inequality. As for empathy for taxpayers unfairly victimized by overzealous IRS audits? Never a priority.
It has been called President Biden’s “shadow army,” described as a strike force to shake down small businesses with assault rifles and likened to a militia of auditors on search-and-destroy missions.
A decades-long Republican antipathy toward the Internal Revenue Service has reached a new level of enmity with the passage of a Democratic-backed bill that gives the agency $80 billion to beef up its ability to go after tax cheats…
After poormouthing the “beleaguered agency,” the Times mislabeled dire predictions from Republicans, who “have seized on the law to fan unfounded conspiracy theories about the threat that mom-and-pop shops and middle-class Americans will face from an emboldened tax collector.”
The reporters whined “Republicans have embraced the notion that a bigger I.R.S. is poised to be weaponized against them, often distorting facts to make their points….Republicans have amped up their efforts to demonize the I.R.S., including misconstruing how big it will grow and what new employees will be doing.”
After quoting Republican senators Ted Cruz and Chuck Grassley, the Times assured readers.
And despite claims on social media that the I.R.S. hires will be heavily armed, a Treasury official said that just 1 percent of the new employees would be agents working in jobs that require carrying guns.
Eventually they had to deal with the inconvenient fact the IRS really did post a job stressing applicants must be “willing to use deadly force, if necessary.” (The IRS later deleted that line.) Even then, the Times let an IRS spokesman have the last, lame word on the matter.
“The wording change on one web page followed continued misstatements and inaccuracies about I.R.S. employees carrying weapons,” said Khaalid Walls, an I.R.S. spokesman.
To their credit, Rappeport and Hsu admitted:
The I.R.S. has acted inappropriately in the past, including unfairly targeting conservative groups that applied for tax-exempt status during the Obama administration. In 2013, the agency acknowledged that it had been singling out terms such as “Tea Party” and “patriot” as a shortcut for deciding if organizations were engaging in social welfare, which would qualify them for tax-exempt status, or if they might be political organizations….
But the following condescending, trust-the-government explanation was meant to soothe our ears: If you haven’t done anything wrong, why are you worried? In years past, the left would have surely mocked a defense of a government agency that assured citizens that agents won’t use their guns “without good reason.”
John Koskinen, who served as I.R.S. commissioner in the Obama and Trump administrations, said that he thought the attacks on the agency by Republican lawmakers were irresponsible and that he worried that they could lead to violence against members of the agency. He suggested that the only taxpayers who would end up having to pay more were those who were not paying their taxes, and said that agents do not wield their weapons without good reason.
Alex Wagner concluded her first week as MSNBC’s newest primetime host on Friday by alleging that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and others seeking to use public schools to promote “Christian nationalism” at the expense of real history and civics.
During a conversation with Salon’s Kathryn Joyce took aim at the left’s latest boogeyman: Hillsdale College, “And how is Hillsdale -- talk more about the connection between Hillsdale and Ron DeSantis specifically. We know that [Hillsdale President] Larry Arnn is a big fan of Ron DeSantis. But Hillsdale’s actually in some of the Florida laws regarding education. What happened there?”
Joyce reported that Hillsdale was one of the advisors Florida called on to make their civics curriculum “more, quote unquote, ‘patriotic.’”
Making civics curriculum patriotic seems like common sense—the next generation should believe the system they are about to enter into is a good and just one-- but for Joyce it reeks of Christian nationalism, “Hillsdale was also involved in the teacher training. The training of teachers to implement this new civic standards that a lot of them, you know, reportedly, the Miami Herald had amazing reporting on this, felt that this was, you know, promoting Christian nationalism, that this was minimizing slavery and the history of racism in the U.S.”
When it comes to teaching history, there is no prohibition on talking about slavery and racism. What teachers can’t do is teach based off some hard-left understanding of history such as The 1619 Project.
Moving along, Wagner wondered if there was another, unstated goal, “when you hear about all this, this overhaul of the public school curricula, the lessons, the way teachers can teach, there's also a secondary push towards charter schools. Is that fair? Is that the endgame in all of this?”
Joyce agreed that is “part of the goal,” but that “Christian nationalism” is still key, “So, Hillsdale College, back in 2010, started this network of public charters. Public classical education charters around the country, that were teaching a curriculum that is kind of really big on American exceptionalism, Western civilization, the idea that the U.S. was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, which is sort of secularized language for Christian nationalism.”
It is not, but Joyce kept going, “they have grown to have an influence and 53 these schools around the country that are paid for by public tax dollars but are advancing this very private school classical education –“
Wagner interrupted to add Joyce’s two favorite words, “Christian nationalism.” Joyce naturally agreed and warned it isn’t just DeSantis, “Exactly… Governor Bill Lee in Tennessee announced that he wanted to create 50 of these Hillsdale-affiliated charter schools in Tennessee. Other states have, you know, expressed interest in implementing Hillsdale's curricula. So it really has quite a big footprint.”
Better Hillsdale than the New York Times.
This segment was sponsored by Olay.
Here is a transcript for the August 19 show:
MSNBC Alex Wagner Tonight
8/19/2022
9:18 PM ET
ALEX WAGNER: And how is Hillsdale -- talk more about the connection between Hillsdale and Ron DeSantis specifically. We know that Larry Arnn is a big fan of Ron DeSantis. But Hillsdale’s actually in some of the Florida laws regarding education. What happened there?
KATHRYN JOYCE: Yeah. Absolutely. Several years ago, Florida decided to completely overhaul its civic standards, which is basically kind of the overarching framework that civics curriculum would be based on in the state. They wanted to make it more, quote unquote, “patriotic.”
WAGNER: We reported on that on Wednesday.
JOYCE: Absolutely, that was wonderful and so Hillsdale College is one of the organizations that Florida tapped to advise on this project and more recently, and I believe I saw this in your coverage on Wednesday, Hillsdale was also involved in the teacher training. The training of teachers to implement this new civic standards that a lot of them, you know, reportedly, the Miami Herald had amazing reporting on this, felt that this was, you know, promoting Christian nationalism, that this was minimizing slavery and the history of racism in the U.S.
WAGNER: So Hillsdale’s central to all this. Hillsdale also has some affiliated networks around the country and it looks like when you hear about all this, this overhaul of the public school curricula, the lessons, the way teachers can teach, there's also a secondary push towards charter schools. Is that fair? Is that the endgame in all of this?
I mean we talk about, sort of, the way and which Ron DeSantis has made public education a difficult concept? It's difficult for teachers, it’s difficult for parents, it’s difficult for students and school board members – is the driving goal here to get kids in charter schools?
JOYCE: Well, I mean, that's at least part of the goal. So, Hillsdale College, back in 2010, started this network of public charters. Public classical education charters around the country, that were teaching a curriculum that is kind of really big on American exceptionalism, Western civilization, the idea that the U.S. was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, which is sort of secularized language for Christian nationalism.
And, since then, they have grown to have an influence and 53 these schools around the country that are paid for by public tax dollars but are advancing this very private school classical education –
WAGNER: Christian nationalism.
JOYCE: Exactly. And so, you know, since then, that is become a driving push in a lot of different places. Florida has a number of these schools. Tennessee recently, in the state of the state address in January, Governor Bill Lee in Tennessee announced that he wanted to create 50 of these Hillsdale-affiliated charter schools in Tennessee. Other states have, you know, expressed interest in implementing Hillsdale's curricula. So it really has quite a big footprint.
On Friday's Deadline: White House, MSNBC analyst (and long-ago chairman of the Republican National Committee) Michael Steele dramatically warned that Sen. Chuck Grassley demonstrated the Republican "infection" when he objected to a much more aggressive Internal Revenue Service marching out to audit small businesses.
This was a segment on alleged "misinformation." The screen graphic was "IRS becomes target of GOP misinformation after Dems pass spending bill." They used a (very brief) clip of the Iowa senator on Fox & Friends on August 11 wondering if the IRS was going to have a "strike force" carrying "AK-15s" [sic].
They did not provide the context that the IRS put out an employment notice for agents playing up they should be fit enough to respond in "life-threatening situations" and “Carry a firearm and be willing to use deadly force, if necessary.” The IRS did take that thing down after it caused a ruckus.
This was a "Republicans have a deadly Trump infection" moment.
JOHN HEILEMANN: I ask you, Michael Steele, was there a time in my adult lifetime when Democratic kids coming out of my Northwestern University who went to work as summer interns in Chuck Grassley's office and he was seen as a moderate Republican. Now he's gotten more conservative over time. That’s not conservative. That's someone who has been -- that's Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
Chuck Grassley basically saying -- painting a picture of IRS agents with automatic weapons looking for people who have pass-through income and brandishing them in strike-force fashion. It's like crazy conspiracy theory, paranoia run amok. What happened to Chuck Grassley, and by extension to all of the people who used to be like Chuck Grassley in the Republican party who now talk this way?
MICHAEL STEELE: I liken it to an infection. An infection that could have been stemmed back in 2016 on that stage where 15 Republicans stood next to Donald Trump and refused to shut him down, refused to cauterize the wound he was beginning to open.
Instead, they again saw value to that moment, in two ways. One, we can control this guy because he doesn’t know what he's talking about, and two, the base. The base is feeding off of it gets ‘em stirred up, and we want them to turn out. Chuck Grassley, even though he's stepping down and going on is still now infected by that particular aspect of Republicanism.
Does Steele honestly feel none of Trump's Republican opponents tried to argue with him on the debate stage? If there was an actual Republican on the set, they could joke that Steele's MSNBC buddies Joe and Mika Scarborough were much more encouraging to Donald Trump and refusing to "cauterize his wound." Most of the media promoted Trump heavily, because that's who Team Hillary thought would be easy to beat.
Morning Joe also attacked Grassley on this Fox clip. Steele concluded "Chuck Grassley knows damn well the IRS is not armed with AR-15s coming to someone’s small business. He knows that! But there is no upside in being honest about it."
Michael Steele's latest Democrat echoes about GOP "infections" were brought to you in part by ClearChoice dental implants.
CNN is apparently desperate to convince Americans to stop taking the glass-half-empty view of absurdly high gas prices that declined somewhat. Look on the bright side, says CNN: think of the small gas price dip as a $100-a-month raise instead!
“Next time you stop at a gas station, think of it as a $100-a-month tax cut. Or a maybe $100-a-month raise,” CNN tweeted to its over 59 million followers on Aug. 19. The original CNN Business Senior Writer Chris Isidore’s propaganda piece was headlined: “America just got a $100-a-month raise.” CNN’s tweet was massively ratioed with over a whopping 7,100 comments and only over 980 likes so far. Isidore put a hefty spin on the minor drop in gas prices from $5.02 in June to $3.92: “The steady drop in gas prices over the last few months has turned into an unexpected form of economic stimulus.” In Isidore’s absurd logic, “Since the typical US household uses about 90 gallons of gas a month, the $1.10 drop in prices equals a savings of $98.82.” Yikes.
Newsflash for Isidore: the national average price for a gallon of gas on the day President Joe Biden took office on January 20, 2021 “was approximately $2.39,” which is a sizeable $1.53 less than the Aug. 19 average he's celebrating now.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) fired back at Isidore’s absurd economic take on Twitter: “In the meantime — since truth still matters—gas prices are UP nearly 65% since Biden took office.”
Orwellian.
Next, CNN is going to try to convince you that 2+2=5.
In the meantime — since truth still matters—gas prices are UP nearly 65% since Biden took office. https://t.co/87xwbrKxR2
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) August 19, 2022
Isidore continued spewing propaganda that “[t]he impact of the extra cash could be a substantial boost to an economy that is showing signs of consumers pulling back on purchasing nonessential items, such as clothing, electronics and household goods.” As Republican Communicator Matt Whitlock pointed out: “@chrisidore if your employer slashes your pay $200 but then gives you $100 back are you calling that a raise?"
But, no need to fear too much about reports of recession, Isidore explained. He argued that “lower gas prices could help revive spending” on so-called “nonessentials” like “clothing, electronics and household goods.” Isidore also cited growing cracks in consumer spending on "nonessentials" at major retailers, which undercut his nutty notion that a slight dip in gas prices somehow translates to a supposed $100-a-month raise:
Major retailers including Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT), Best Buy (BBY) and Gap (GPS) are cutting prices on those items after consumers shifted to more spending on food and gas. And that pullback in consumer spending is one reason why many observers are now forecasting a recession, since consumer spending accounts for nearly three-quarters of US economic activity.
An IBD/TIPP poll from Aug. 9 revealed that a "solid majority of Americans —62 percent —" think the U.S. economy is currently in a recession, up from 58 percent in the prior month. It doesn’t appear that the American people aren’t buying the media’s ridiculous efforts to spin themselves silly to paint lipstick on the pig of Biden’s atrocious economy. But Isidore's pro-Biden spin was arguably one of the most insane economic hot takes so far.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact CNN at 404-827-1500 and demand the outlet stop gaslighting the American people on sky high gas prices.
CNN followed through on its threats to dismiss some fervently biased personalities. Brian Stelter's "brand" was too toxically anti-Trump? We review some scraps between Stelter and NewsBusters and laugh at the lefties who are horrified, that Stelter's dismissal is "a win for all the wrong people."
For conservatives, Stelter represented a partisan and liberal viewpoint that journalism must be dedicated to the urgent task of ruining Trump as aggressively as possible, and then suggested that any Trump voters who decried this dramatic tilt in the media were part of a "hate movement" against journalism.
Stelter was naive or shameless enough to claim journalists were "not anti-Trump," but "pro-truth." When Kellyanne Conway referred to his side of the aisle, Stelter acted offended: "I don't have a side of the aisle." That's preposterous.
Who will be next? Jim Acosta should check his e-mail often. Enjoy the podcast below, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
What does a 6-acre Latino blueberry farmer have in common with a powerful multinational solar panel manufacturer? NOTHING, but Telemundo made sure to stick this victim angle on to an activist report on Hispanics working at a solar panel factory in Georgia.
Watch as Vanessa Hauc, Telemundo´s resident climate activist, adds a sob story about a spring freeze to a 4-minute advertorial for South Korean giant Q-Cells’ facility in Georgia:
Noticias Telemundo
08/18/2022
VANESSA HAUC: Every morning, Hector tours his blueberry fields in Georgia. Are these ready to eat?
HÉCTOR BUITRAGO: These are ready to eat, yes of course
HAUC: He has 3,200 plants on six acres of land, and each year he harvests more than 30,000 pounds. But 2 years ago…
BUITRAGO: Everything was in bloom, totally flowered and ready for them to become fruit. And then the frost fell at the precise moment when they were flowering and turned-, totally destroyed the plants…
HAUC: You lost everything.
BUITRAGO: …the flowers. 90% was lost. That's a lot.
HAUC: Temperatures dropped to 27 degrees in the middle of spring.
BUITRAGO: There is an imbalance, climate wise.
HAUC: Just 2 hours from the farm, they’re betting on a solution. This is where Q-Cells’ solar panel factory, the largest in the hemisphere, is located.
…
Solar energy is the cheapest and fastest growing source of electricity in the country. In the last decade, its price has been reduced by 70%. It is now even cheaper than polluting fuels such as oil and coal. Something that fills Hector with hope.
“Solar energy is the cheapest and fastest growing source of electricity in the country. In the last decade its price has been reduced by 70%. It is now even cheaper than polluting fuels such as oil and coal. Something that fills Hector (the blueberry farmer) with hope”.
Hope for what? Hauc did not bother to elaborate, quickly moving on to her advertorial for the Korean energy giant's Georgia plant, where “much of its workforce is Latino”, as a cure-all for whatever ails our heroic blueberry farmer.
Hauc´s promo included a sales pitch from Georgia Democrat senator Jon Ossof, who “as the youngest in the Senate… is leading in the fight against the climate crisis, but he also knows that investing in solar energy is good for the planet and for the economy”- never mind that the technology remains out of reach for millions of Americans struggling with inflation costing an additional $700 a month on average.
Hauc spoke about the importance of solar energy in combating global warming, yet the report failed to include the harsh realities of the extent to which unrecyclable solar panels actually POLLUTE the environment, or of the real estate required to put up massive solar farms as the one seen in the report. Telemundo’s viewers also remain unaware of the fact that lithium and cobalt, two critical elements needed to produce the batteries for storing solar power, are mostly mined by children in Africa.
But of course, such truth-telling would make Hauc´s ´Planet Earth´ more like Planet Hell, not good for Hauc´s ROI.
Let advertisers like Pfizer know the bias they enable in stories like this one. Call them out here.
Press on expand to view the complete transcript of the segment mentioned above.
JULIO VAQUEIRO: Let's talk about solar energy, one of the sources that can generate- that can stop the climate emergency. Georgia is home to the largest solar panel factory in the Western Hemisphere, and much of its workforce is Latino. In Planeta Tierra (Planet Earth), Vanessa Hauc visited that place.
VANESSA HAUC: Every morning, Hector tours his blueberry fields in Georgia.
Are these ready to eat?
HÉCTOR BUITRAGO: These are ready to pick, yes of course
HAUC: He has 3,200 plants on six acres of land, and each year he produces more than 30,000 pounds. But 2 years ago…
BUITRAGO: Everything was in bloom, totally flowered and ready for them to become fruit. And then the frost fell at the precise moment when it was flowering and turned- totally destroyed the plants…
HAUC: You lost everything.
BUITRAGO: …the flowers. 90% was lost. That's a lot.
HAUC: Temperatures dropped to 27 degrees in the middle of spring.
BUITRAGO: There is an imbalance, climate wise.
HAUC: Just 2 hours from the farm, they’re betting on a solution. This is where Q-Cells’ solar panel factory, the largest in the hemisphere, is located. It operates seven days a week, 24 hours a day, producing more than 13,000 solar panels a day. Each panel is made up of 32 photovoltaic cells that are printed in 3D technology.
MIRIAM HERNANDEZ: There goes what is the wire below and above so that everything connects and can absorb the power of the sun.
ENRIQUE : Here
HAUC: Enrique is in charge of quality control.
ENRIQUE: Here we are making sure that everything is fine. Here we can see the cells that are broken or if the glass is scratched.
HAUC: Finally, they go through a sunlight simulator to ensure they can transform sunlight into energy.
ALAN RODRIGUEZ: Using solar energy for me is something important, it's something that motivates me day after day.
HAUC: The state is the eighth largest producer of solar energy in the country. But it hopes to become a leader in clean energy solutions, electric vehicles and solar panels.
JON OSSOFF (D-GA): Georgia should lead the country in renewable energy innovation and manufacturing.
HAUC: As the youngest in the Senate, John Ossoff is leading in the fight against the climate crisis. But he also knows that investing in solar energy is good for the planet and for the economy.
OSSOFF: It's also about lowering energy bills and making our economy more efficient now, and helping to create jobs.
HAUC: Jobs that pay up to 21% more than average jobs.
JOSÉ ACEVEDO: The best thing is that as the sun shines we can then capture the energy that is produced with the solar panels, with a battery. And eventually the battery uses the accumulated energy and can provide energy when the sun is not there.
HAUC: The sun is an infinite source of energy. In just one hour, our sun is able to produce the energy needed to meet the needs of humanity for more than a year. A solar farm like this in Georgia is capable of generating electricity for 1200 homes in a day. Solar energy is the cheapest and fastest growing source of electricity in the country. In the last decade its price has been reduced by 70%. It is now even cheaper than polluting fuels such as oil and coal. Something that fills Hector with hope.
BUITRAGO: If we humans don´t act, if we do not do our part to help the system, then in the future, our children, the grandchildren of the grandchildren will be suffering a lot.
HAUC: In Georgia, Vanessa Hauc, Noticias Telemundo
On Friday, ABC’s Good Morning America and GMA3 promoted a new policy from Minneapolis Public Schools that, in the event of layoffs, non-white teachers would be saved (regardless of the performance) and white teachers would be laid off, no matter their tenure status or performance.
And, on the latter’s show, the president and vice president of the teacher’s union lashed out at the blowback as “suspect” thanks to “the MAGA media” even though they believe the policy to cut down white teachers for no other reason besides being born white “doesn’t go far enough.”
Good Morning America set the table with fill-in co-host and chief White House correspondent Cecilia Vega stating this in a tease: “Teacher uproar. One school district's controversial move to lay off white teachers before minority ones regardless of tenure. Could the policy's attempt to correct past discrimination cause even more? What both sides are saying this morning.”
Vega set up correspondent Ike Ejiochi’s piece by adding that the language was done as part of “[a] new city contract with the teachers union says that, in the event of layoffs, white teachers could be let go, regardless of seniority in order to keep minority teachers in the classroom.”
Ejiochi fretted that “[t]he efforts to diversify teachers in Minnesota” that were “ramping up” but hit a snag as “critics say that the policy's effort to diversify — well, the policy's effort to actually reverse discrimination could actually be discriminatory.”
According to the school district, they insist the policy of laying off white teachers was done to both “remedy the continuing effects of past discrimination” and “support the recruitment and retention of teachers from underrepresented groups.”
After a brief soundbite of Upper Midwest Law Center’s James Dickey pointing out the fact that the Supreme Court hasn’t looked kindly to such blatant discrimination, Ejiochi turned things back to the positive with gaslighting from a far-left university professor and two Black teachers (click “expand”):
EJIOCHI: Special interest groups say, in 2020, students of color and Native Americans made up 35 percent of Minnesota's K through 12 population, but only four percent of the more than 63,000 teachers in the state were people of color.
METRO STATE UNIVERSITY’s PAUL SPIES: But in Minneapolis, there's that gap between the diversity of students and the diversity or lack of diversity of their teacher. This is not about trying to pit one racial group of teachers against another. [SCREEN WIPE] This is about serving students the best.
EJIOCHI: Several black educators in Minneapolis in agreement with the contract.
LINDSEY WEST: When they see somebody who looks like me and maybe looks like them, they feel a greater sense of connection and belonging in that community.
“FORMER EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT PROFESSIONAL” TRA CARTER: I would say that we would first have to start hiring more educational professionals of color and start hiring more licensed teachers of all colors.
Over on GMA3, co-host Amy Robach began her interview by lobbing a softball at Minneapolis Federations of Teachers President Greta Callahan to “explain further why both the school district and the teacher's union felt that this was an important and necessary change.”
Callahan immediately made her far-left, pro-indoctrination mindset known as she insisted such a policy to stiff white people like herself would be in keeping with their “our number one priority” of doing “what is best for students” and ensuring there are “people in front of them who...they can...see themselves in.”
She then insisted the move was something teachers are “extremely proud of...but it also doesn’t go far enough” and rather was “one tiny, minuscule step” toward a proper education system.
Robach went to Vice President Marsha Howard with a question about why the language agreed to in March was in the news months later.
Howard said it was “very suspect” and then also showed her venom for conservatives and parents: “[N]ow it's coming out because some Minnesotan website decided to put it out there and the MAGA media picked it up and they were waiting for mainstream media to run with this story.”
Adding “[i]t’s a non-story,” Howard took a shot at Robach: “So I ask y'all why? Why is this a story?”
Robach countered that ABC has “been reporting on and talking about a teacher shortage” before pivoting back to showing them sympathy (click “expand”):
ROBACH: And I want to follow up, Greta, because you mentioned the discrepancy in representation. The numbers are — are undeniable. The school district reports 65 percent of students in the past year are people of color while just 30 percent of the teaching staff are people of color so obviously, the intent is to reconcile those numbers, but critics are saying it's discrimination. It’s unconstitutional. Are you concerned — this doesn't go into effect until spring 2023. How are you concerned that litigation may undo what you-all have decided?
CALLAHAN: Our concern is what is best for students. Right now we have kids who are sitting in lunchrooms being supervised because they don't have enough teachers in front of them to teach them. Our concern is what is best for them and that's why we went on strike for recruitment and retention of educators who represent our students and smaller class sizes and more mental health support and higher pay because those are the things will ensure our students have the education they deserve and right now, they are not receiving that, so no, that is not one of my concerns at all whatsoever and we welcome any challenge to it.
ROBACH: All right, that was a very strong statement. Marsha, you're a teacher and educator. What do you say to the critics that say this treats the long-time more senior teachers unfairly?
HOWARD: I've been teaching for about 24 years and I started in a school that was over 60 percent black and for many, many of my students, I am the only educator that they had in 12 years that looked like me...[T]he part that is the issue is that our students deserve to have intellectual and academia being represented by people who are under-represented. African Americans, indigenous folks, people of color. They need to...[F]rankly, in this district, they not [sic] paying us enough...[F]olks need to come off some money. Billionaires need to start giving what they're supposed to be giving to this state in order to fund education so that we can get some parity and actually attract people to this profession again.
Callahan closed by doubling down on how only giving job stability to non-white teachers was only the beginning, warning that “it doesn't go far enough” and “we need to continue to take this further.”
Instead of show skepticism or horror, Robach gushed over their radicalism: “What you both are saying I know is resonating with so many people watching. We appreciate your passion. We appreciate your purpose and your time for being with us today to clarify all of that, to take on that controversy[.]”
This liberal media-endorsed racism and showcasing of deranged leftists was made possible thanks to the backing of advertisers such as Flonase (on GMA3) and Honda (on GMA). Follow the links to see their contact information at the MRC’s Conservatives Fight Back page.
To see the relevant transcripts from August 19, click here and here.
He's a liberal, but Elie Honig has established himself as CNN's leading legal iconoclast. He has a history, as we recently described it, of "throwing cold water on the fever dreams of the left."
Honig was back at it on this morning's New Day, tearing into Stacey Abrams and Fulton County DA Fani Willis regarding Willis' investigation into possible 2020 election interference, and Abrams' comments on it.
Honig began by reacting to a clip of Abrams' interview with Erin Burnett on her CNN show of last night. Abrams, commenting on Willis' subpoena of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp—Abrams's opponent in this November's gubernatorial election—sided with Willis.
Abrams said:
"I know that this has been a meticulous and very thoughtful investigation and that he is not the only Republican who has tried to skirt his responsibility to provide information."
Honig exploded in response:
ELIE HONIG: So, I did a double take when I heard that last night on Erin Burnett's show. And Stacey Abrams said the same thing later in the show—she said it twice: 'this is a meticulous investigation by the DA's office.'
How on earth would Stacey Abrams know that? Stacey Abrams is a civilian, no different than any of us. She's not a public official, she not part of the prosecutor's office. So, there's two possibilities here. One, which I hope it's not--it better not be--is she's being briefed on this behind the scenes by the prosecutor's office. That would be wildly inappropriate, all sorts of crossed wires, politics and prosecution.
The other is, she made it up!
There's sort of a middle ground here, where she's rooting for this investigation. And let's keep in mind: Brian Kemp, her upcoming opponent in the gubernatorial race, has received a subpoena. He's now in a battle with Fani Willis.
And to me, this sort of underscores it. There are real political problems going on here. And we're starting to see politics infect this investigation. Not long ago, a judge in Georgia disqualified Fani Willis from one of her subpoenas. He said, you have a political conflict interest. He said something along the lines of, 'I don't know what you were thinking.'
She had done a fundraiser for the political opponent of someone who she had subpoenaed.
Honig also rejected Willis's argument that Kemp was stalling the process, pointing out that Willis took a year-and-a-half to seat a grand jury, not doing so until close to the election, whereas Kemp had only been served with the subpoena three weeks ago.
When co-host Brianna Keilar and analyst Errol Louis took over, you would normally have expected them to rise to the defense of Willis and Abrams. But amazingly, they didn't. Keilar questioned the "legitimacy" of Willis' investigation, suggesting it has become "politicized."
Louis acknowledged that "Kemp has a point," and that the "integrity" of Willis' investigation "has to be questioned." He concluded by suggesting that Willis has "bitten off more than she can chew."
Even the show's producer got into the spirit, displaying a chyron reading, "Is Georgia Election Probe Being Politicized as Midterms Loom?"
What might have precipitated this sudden onset of objectivity from Keilar and Louis, whose views, normally, are reliably liberal? Might they have heard the glass shattering as Brian Stelter was sent packing yesterday? Are they making a last-ditch display of evenhandedness, hoping to avoid being next up on CNN honcho Chris Licht's chopping block?
Note: panelist Alexis Hoag didn't have an opportunity to respond to Honig's take. But judging from her facial expressions, it would appear that she was less than enthused. Not surprising, considering that Hoag, a professor at the Brooklyn Law School, is an advocate of, and teaches a seminar in, "prison abolition."
On CNN's New Day, Elie Honig's legal iconoclasm was sponsored in part by Sleep Number, Bayer, maker of Astepro, Skechers, Whole Foods, and Carvana.
Here's the transcript.
CNN
New Day
8/10/22
6:10 am EDT
JOHN BERMAN: I want to bring up a different investigation. This is in Georgia, where the Fulton County DA, Fani Willis, is looking into Donald Trump, and people associated with their efforts to overturn the election results in Georgia.
The Georgia Governor, Brian Kemp, has been subpoenaed to appear before this grand jury. He's fighting that subpoena. He doesn't want do it because he says at this point, this investigation is political, and it's pretty close to his reelection battle. His I opponent, Stacey Abrams, talked about this last night. Let's listen to what she said.
STACEY ABRAMS: If you look at the emails that have been released about the back-and-forth, and having dealt with the Kemp administration, I would actually put my faith more in the Fulton County DA's office. I know that this has been a meticulous and very thoughtful investigation, and that he is not the only Republican who's tried to skirt his responsibility to provide to information.
BERMAN: Elie?
ELIE HONIG: So, I did a double take when I heard that last night on Erin Burnett's show. And Stacey Abrams said the same thing later in the show—she said it twice: 'this is a meticulous investigation by the DA's office.'
How on earth would Stacey Abrams know that? Stacey Abrams is a civilian, no different than any of us. She's not a public official, she not part of the prosecutor's office. So, there's two possibilities here. One, which I hope it's not--it better not be--is she's being briefed on this behind the scenes by the prosecutor's office. That would be wildly inappropriate, all sorts of crossed wires, politics and prosecution.
The other is, she made it up!
There's sort of a middle ground here, where she's rooting for this investigation. And let's keep in mind: Brian Kemp, her upcoming opponent in the gubernatorial race, has received a subpoena. He's now in a battle with Fani Willis.
And to me, this sort of underscores it. There are real political problems going on here. And we're starting to see politics infect this investigation. Not long ago, a judge in Georgia disqualified Fani Willis from one of her subpoenas. He said, you have a political conflict interest. He said something along the lines of, 'I don't know what you were thinking.'
She had done a fundraiser for the political opponent of someone who she had subpoenaed.
And now when it comes to Brian Kemp, Kemp's argument is, you the DA have politicized this by waiting so long. And the fact is--the DA shot back hard--but the reality is the DA took a year-and-a-half, from January -- this tape, the Raffenspger tape came out in January of 2021 -- until this summer to seat a grand jury. A couple months before that election.
Now, Fani Willis says, you're the one stalling, Brian Kemp. He got subpoenaed three weeks ago! So, who's more to blame here, the year-and-a-half delay, or the three-week resistance?
BRIANNA KEILAR: That comes down to, this investigation, is the legitimacy of it threatened here? Is it politicized? Whatever the outcome, are there going to be questions around it?
ERROL LOUIS: Well, there're going to be questions. I mean, it's grinding to a halt, frankly. And this is, look, this is part of what comes from having elected prosecutors, right? I mean, there are other systems around the world where they don't do it this way.
But for Fani Willis to go to a fundraiser, which is what an elected official does, that's sort of her night job. Meanwhile, the day job is now going to be sort of imperiled, in part because the integrity of it can't -- I mean, it has to be questioned. So, look, Brian Kemp has a point. Some of this could be negotiated. One would hope that all of these public servants, who, after all, the taxpayers are funding their salaries, that they would sit down with a bunch of lawyers, and they would say, look, this is what we'll do, this is what we're not going to do. This is what we'll talk about, what information do need? Maybe we'll do written interrogatories.
But you've got to make sure that the investigation, which is more important than any of these individual officials, is done properly. You know, there's something really serious here. This fake electors scheme, the president's lawyer being deposed, the sitting governor being subpoenaed. It's really, really serious stuff.
I think Fani Willis may have bitren off more than she could chew.
Major tech companies, including TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent shared details for the first time about their algorithms with the Chinese Communist Party, as the CCP demanded more user data information from companies–including “non-public” data.
China’s internet giants, from Tencent Holdings Ltd. to Alibaba to ByteDance Ltd., shared “details of their prized algorithms” with the CCP in an unprecedented move. China crafted those requirements allegedly to curb data abuse that “may end up compromising closely guarded corporate secrets,” Bloomberg News reported.
Bloomberg News reported the publicly available algorithm list merely has short descriptions of how the algorithms work, and the “product and use cases” where they apply. It is unclear if more information was shared to regulators in private. ByteDance, for example, said that its algorithm utilizes a user’s likes and dislikes to recommend content on apps including TikTok’s Chinese counterpart, Douyin. The CCP holds a board seat and financial stake in ByteDance.
But CCP regulations also require “non-public” data to be shared, including whether data contains “sensitive biometric or identity information,” according to Bloomberg News.
This news follows the revelation in June that Chinese ByteDance employees had direct access to U.S. TikTok user data. Following the report, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted on June 17, “Is TikTok destroying civilization? … Or perhaps social media in general.”
While the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) only requires “basic information” from Chinese tech companies right now, Bloomberg News wrote, the rules may change in the future.
“No one has ever had access to such [algorithm] details before,” Zhai Wei, an executive director of the Competition Law Research Center at East China University of Political Science and Law in Shanghai, reportedly said. “Tech companies’ algorithms are the key business secrets that represent their competencies.”
China has tightened its regulations on tech giants. China passed regulations in March requiring internet companies to disclose algorithms that determine the content visible to platform users, Bloomberg noted.
“The information provided by the companies to the CAC are much more detailed than what was published for sure, and that involves some business secrets, which is not possible to be released to the public,” Zhai reportedly said.
The U.S. House of Representatives’ Chief Administrative Officer Catherine Szpindor just issued a “cyber advisory” on TikTok, labeling the app “high-risk” because of China’s access to users’ personal data on the platform, Federal Communications Commission commissioner Brendan Carr tweeted Wednesday.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency and an equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
What a country! If you’re a famous leftist celebrity, you can gun down a woman on a movie set and then whine that Donald Trump and his supporters made you wet yourself.
That’s what Alec Baldwin is doing. This week a number of law-enforcement agencies confirmed what anybody familiar with revolvers already knew: Baldwin actually pulled the trigger of the gun that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set of “Rust” last year. But as Yahoo puts it, what Baldwin is worried about is “potential violence carried out against him by followers of Donald Trump.”
Baldwin took aim at Trump during a recent CNN interview. “Baldwin said he ‘feared for my life’ after Trump told his supporters that the actor ‘probably shot [Hutchins] on purpose.’”
Ready for some high test woe-is-Alec sniveling?
Here was Trump, who instructed people to commit acts of violence, and he was pointing the finger at me and saying I was responsible for the death. 1000% percent I am nervous that a bunch of people who were instructed by the former president to go to the Capitol, who killed a law enforcement officer … you don’t think, that I think to myself, that some of those people are going to come and kill me.
Except of course that Trump – who’s said many, many awful and stupid things over the years – didn’t instruct people to commit acts of violence. And Alec Baldwin did commit an act of violence, inadvertently or not.
What Trump said in an interview last November is: “He’s a cuckoo-bird, he’s a nutjob. And usually, when there’s somebody like that, you know, in my opinion, he had something to do with it.”
It’s just another thing Trump said. Baldwin, because he did a long-running and very unflattering Trump impression – and because he’s an egomaniac – saw a chance to try to make somebody look worse than him in the whole, sordid tragedy. He may or may not be charged with a crime for killing Hutchins, but he’s facing a wrongful death lawsuit from her widower and son.
This battle of the buffoons is beside the point. Baldwin deserves sympathy in the same degree he’s shown courage, compassion and accountability since the shooting. That is, none.
Dirty Jobs star Mike Rowe slammed the “quiet quitting” trend that is becoming increasingly popular among workers.
“Quiet quitting” is a recent viral TikTok trend that stresses spending more time with family and doing the bare minimum at work, according to NPR.
“The idea of quietly quitting, I'm sure, is very appealing to a lot of people, because they don’t have to step up and do it publicly,” Rowe said on Fox News host Brian Kilmeade’s Aug. 17 podcast. “You don’t have to risk being ostracized or shamed.”
Kilmeade played one clip from a TikTok influencer explaining the meaning of the trend:
“I’m hearing people talk about the term: ‘quiet quitting.’” What that means is people are not going above and beyond anymore. They're not chasing hustle culture at work. They’re just doing the required minimum. Essentially, they’re doing what they’re getting paid to do. Why does quiet quitting have such a negative connotation, though? Sure sounds a lot to me like creating work-life balance for yourself.”
Rowe argued that work isn’t to blame for young people feeling aimless in their careers, and that poor mindset is a far greater culprit: “We have associated drudgery with work. All work,” Rowe said. “We’ve made work the proximate cause of our collective unhappiness. We believe today that job satisfaction has something to do with the job, and it really doesn’t.”
Rowe emphasized that people should reflect on what work means to them. “Have you taken the time to think about your relationship with work?” he asked. “Have you made it the enemy?”
“If it were the case that job satisfaction is all about the job, then all garbage men would be equally miserable, all Wall Street types would be equally optimistic. It’s laughable,” Rowe said. “Job satisfaction has something to do with the job, but a whole lot more to do with the person.”
Rowe also said that the “quiet quitting” trend and the work-from-home debate are closely connected. Both the “quiet quitting” crowd and those who favor working from home want to have more control “over what I wear, or how I sit, or how long my break is,” Rowe said.
But the problem with that mindset, according to Rowe, is that “you’re not an entrepreneur. If you want to be an entrepreneur, if you want to assume the risk that comes with creating a business, if you want to set your own hours, that’s all well and good, but if you’re going to accept a paycheck, then you’ve made it a bargain. You’ve made a different kind of deal with yourself and with your employer.”
“You don’t have to stick with that deal for the rest of your life,” Rowe said. “But you’ve made that deal.”
An April Gallup poll found that a dismal 32 percent of full- and part-time employees say they feel engaged at work. In 2020, 36 percent of employees told Gallup that they felt engaged in their workplace.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact ABC News at 818-460-7477, CBS News at 212-975-3247 and NBC News at 212-664-6192 and demand they report on the disturbing trend among American workers who are disconnecting and “quietly quitting” their jobs.
As children start to head back to school, America is facing a teacher shortage and the Friday installment of MSNBC Reports knows who to blame: conservatives.
Host Lindsey Reiser introduced the segment, “As students return to class for the new year, schools are having a tough time finding enough teachers, especially amid growing cultural fights. NBC’s Antonia Hylton returned to South Lake, Texas, where the school week just began. Antonia, what’d you hear from teachers?”
Hylton listed three reasons for the crunch, “Well Lindsey, teachers in South Lake and across Texas are exhausted right now after dealing with pandemic, after dealing with new laws that restrict the way that they can deal with racism and history in their classrooms and dealing with stagnant salaries.”
Of the three things Hylton mentioned, only one would be the focus of the subsequent video report. Those wanting a report on how COVID and salaries have impacted teachers would have to go elsewhere for this was a partisan hit job.
In the report, Hylton introduced Adam Burns, who “loved his job as a middle school technology teacher in South Lake’s Carroll school system, but after members of a conservative political action committee won the majority of seats on the school board and Texas passed laws on how teachers could address racism in the classroom, Adam and his wife Brandy, who’s black, thought of their 11-year-old son.”
What being a technology teacher has to do with discussions about race was never addressed, but Hylton asked Burns, “Did you feel like you could be true to yourself and stay in this job?” to which Burns answers “No, not at all.”
Later in the segment, Hylton explained, “Given exhaustion and stress from the COVID pandemic, one survey finds as many as 55% of America's educators are considering leaving the profession.”
Again, there was no elaboration on this point which was an act of journalistic malpractice considering COVID hit blue states and blue school districts as well, but Hylton immediately dived back into the idea of red state culture warriors, “In South Lake, Texas, NBC News has covered extensively conflicts and an active federal civil rights investigation into the treatment of minority and LGBTQ children in the Carroll district. Ninety-three out of 577 teachers left that district last year.”
Hylton then expanded the conversation by bringing on Algebra teacher Kim Ross and Spanish teacher Tim Hamilton. Hamilton refused to take a demotion after posting a picture of himself with a Black Lives Matter mask and “about his beliefs on Facebook” whereas Ross quit because “Part of what we saw and what was happening that made us go, ‘I don't think I can do this anymore. At least for now.’”
Algebra would appear to have even less to do with race than technology, but Hylton ignored that and then read some polling data from the Texas State Teachers Association in a voiceover, “A new survey found 70% of Texas teachers are considering leaving the profession entirely. The highest number recorded since the survey began in 1980.”
TSTA President Ovidia Molina blamed conservative politicians and parents, “Educators are feeling less support, not just from the elected officials who we felt for a long time, but also seeing an increase of lack of support from our parents because of all the political rhetoric that is being thrown around about who we are.”
The remainder of the segment focused mostly on the effects a shortage would have on remaining teachers, mainly in larger class sizes and workloads never getting to a serious discussion about COVID or salaries.
This segment was sponsored by Verizon.
Here is a transcript for the August 19 show:
MSNBC Reports
8/19/2022
11:51 AM ET
LINDSEY REISER: As students return to class for the new year, schools are having a tough time finding enough teachers, especially amid growing cultural fights. NBC’s Antonia Hylton returned to South Lake, Texas, where the school week just began. Antonia, what’d you hear from teachers?
ANTONIA HYLTON: Well Lindsey, teachers in South Lake and across Texas are exhausted right now after dealing with pandemic, after dealing with new laws that restrict the way that they can deal with racism and history in their classrooms and dealing with stagnant salaries.
Many of them tell me that they, frankly, aren’t paid enough to deal with all the challenges that have been thrown their way in recent years and now a large number of them are looking at leaving the profession. One survey finding that 70% of Texas teachers are looking for a way out. Take a look.
For seven years Adam Burns loved his job as a middle school technology teacher in South Lake’s Carroll school system, but after members of a conservative political action committee won the majority of seats on the school board and Texas passed laws on how teachers could address racism in the classroom, Adam and his wife Brandy, who’s black, thought of their 11-year-old son.
Did you feel like you could be true to yourself and stay in this job?
ADAM BURNS: No, not at all.
HYLTON: Adam quit in July but says Carroll Schools haven’t found his replacement and his contract requires him to stay until they do.
BURNS My message to other teachers would be true to be true yourself. For the district, I would say it's time to start listening to the people that you employ.
HYLTON: Given exhaustion and stress from the COVID pandemic, one survey finds as many as 55% of America's educators are considering leaving the profession. In South Lake, Texas, NBC News has covered extensively conflicts and an active federal civil rights investigation into the treatment of minority and LGBTQ children in the Carroll district. Ninety-three out of 577 teachers left that district last year.
KIM ROSS: Here's three teachers that--.
TIM HAMILTON: Three really good teachers.
ROSS: Amazing teachers.
HAMILTON: I mean—I mean—kids loved us and kids learned from us.
HYLTON: Tim Hamilton taught Spanish for nine years. A group of residents became outraged when he wore a Black Lives Matter mask and posted about his beliefs on Facebook. Administrators demoted him and Tim refused to take the position.
HAMILTON: And the almost decade that I spent in the district, that was worthless, that meant nothing to them.
HYLTON: Carroll Schools did not comment on any personnel matters regarding the teachers we spoke with. Kim Ross quit last spring after teaching algebra for 13 years.
ROSS: Part of what we saw and what was happening that made us go, “I don't think I can do this anymore. At least for now.”
HYLTON: They might fire you for doing this interview.
BURNS: Well, they can't fire me because I quit.
HYLTON: A new survey found 70% of Texas teachers are considering leaving the profession entirely. The highest number recorded since the survey began in 1980. Ovidia Molina is the president of the Texas State Teachers Association.
OVIDIA MOLINA: Educators are feeling less support, not just from the elected officials who we felt for a long time, but also seeing an increase of lack of support from our parents because of all the political rhetoric that is being thrown around about who we are.
Reviews are in for the latest episode of really bad NFL theater, and they are not pretty. On Thursday, the sordid saga of Deshaun Watson took a new twist as the NFL and its players union agreed to fine and suspend Cleveland's serial massage therapist abuser. Instead of closing the curtain on a sorry chapter, the Browns and Watson only prolonged the drama by inciting public outcry.
Watson received an 11-game suspension and $5 million fine. The NFL and the Browns will each pay $1 million to “relevant nonprofit organizations that work to minimize and prevent sexual misconduct and assault.” Watson’s suspension runs from Aug. 30 to Nov. 28. He’ll be eligible to play Dec. 4 against his former team, the Houston Texans.
Robert Griffin III, a former pro quarterback, blasted the NFL, which “had an opportunity to show it had learned from its ugly history on standing up for Women with this Deshaun Watson case and IT FAILED. 11 games and a 5 million dollar fine doesn’t fit what he was accused of doing and found to have done by Judge Sue L. Robinson. Sickening.”
Liam McKeone, who writes for The Big Lead, ripped Watson and the Browns.
Watson, the king of denial, “went in front of reporters and immediately reminded everybody he feels zero remorse about what happened, going as far to say that he only apologized for the people that were ‘triggered’ and not because he felt like he did anything wrong,” McKeone wrote.
Watson isn’t capable of grasping the reality of his own villainy. He thanked the Browns for their support and said he’s sorry “for any pain this situation has caused.” And now he’s off to live his best life and “become the best version of myself on and off the field.”
Browns’ owner Jimmy Haslam also threw gasoline on the fire by confirming that the Browns are the new home for NFL creeps and thugs. In addition to trading for Watson, they previously acquired Kareem Hunt, released by Kansas City for kicking a woman. McKeone blasted away at Haslam:
Haslam told the reporters in attendance that it's important to remember Watson is only 26 years-old. And a hell of a quarterback. Which is the only thing that matters to Haslam, apparently.
Everyone involved already looked terrible here. Haslam made it all the worse by deciding to try and defend his quarterback and his team's actions.
Tony Buzbee, an attorney who represented many of the women who accused Watson of Neanderthal behavior, tore into the NFL commissioner.:
By settling this matter the way he has. Roger Goodell has proven one of two things: either his recent rhetoric was utter baloney, or his bark is much worse than his bite. My belief is that he is nothing more than a paper tiger. The message today to all victims is clear, if you believe you have been sexually assaulted by a powerful person, keep your mouth shut and go away. The NFL has certainly demonstrated that its ownership and the organization don’t care.
To all sexual assault survivors, do not allow this recent ‘punishment’ to deter you. Keep speaking up and speaking out. Your voice matters. You are making a difference. We stand with you.
Stay tuned for more really bad NFL theater in December when Watson returns to the field.
Yeah, it’s funny to remember the days when Google’s corporate motto was “Don’t be evil.” And yet it seems that a lot of the company’s employees don’t think it’s evil enough. They think Google should be a leader of the Moloch List – companies that lavish time and money on employees to kill their unborn children.
In the antiseptic, NARAL-approved language of The Washington Post, “Google staffers are calling on the tech giant to take greater steps to protect workers’ reproductive health, including by expanding travel benefits for medical services to contractors and halting political donations to antiabortion groups.”
Google gives money to antiabortion groups? Who knew?
Back in June when Roe was overturned, Google “reiterated in a memo to staff that their benefits package allows employees to travel out of state for medical procedures that are unavailable to them, including abortions, and that they can apply for permanent relocation ‘without justification,’” said The Post.
Not enough. Maybe they want fruit baskets or balloons or monogrammed bathrobes.
The Post said more than 650 workers signed demands from the Alphabet Workers Union “that the company create a task force to implement a slew of policy and product changes aimed at addressing abortion-related risks.”
“The move marks the first major organizing campaign at Google in response to the Supreme Court ruling revoking the right to abortion, which sparked backlash among workers in Silicon Valley.”
You know, those salt-of-the-earth laborers with the powered scooters and $14 coffee drinks? They’re organizing for the right to convenient sex. The capitalist exploiters are already shaking so much they can’t keep their monocles on.
I really thought we had moved beyond the lashing out irrationally surrounding Roe’s overturning — I stand corrected.
Pro-abort vandals attacked a Massachusetts pro-life pregnancy center called the Bethlehem House. Abortion activists threatened the pregnancy center and and left demonic spray-painted messages, similar to the messages we've seen across the nation in the recent months.
Virginia Allen of Daly Signal tweeted images of the attack.
BREAKING: Vandals attacked another pro-life center in Massachusetts. They left behind the message: “If abortions aren’t safe, neither are you!” (PC: Shelly Fournier) pic.twitter.com/Q5BTehqpcE
— Virginia Allen (@Virginia_Allen5) August 18, 2022
Pro-aborts spray painted the center’s white benches with “Janes Revenge” and wrote “If Abortions aren’t safe Neither are YOU!” on the sidewalk.
According to Allen’s follow-up tweet, the police are reportedly investigating the situation.
When the Dobbs opinion was leaked and then when Roe was overturned, pro-death activists went rampant across the nation. They burnt down pregnancy centers, smashed windows, graffitied churches and organizations, threatened pro-lifers and even attempted to assassinate a pro-life Supreme Court Justice. The Washington Stand tallied 110 attacks so far with the last one, prior to this week, being back in July. This strike in Massachusetts was a bit of a shock as the attacks have slowed in the recent weeks.
Massachusetts is the home of none other than Massachusetts's own Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren. Let’s walk down memory lane with Warren and her tract record as a pro-abortion activist.
When asked whether she would condemn the violent harassment against SCOTUS justices, Warren slammed her car door in the face of a reporter. She floated the idea of the federal government opening abortion mills inside national parks. She encouraged the shut down of pregnancy centers and wanted to call a Public Health Emergency over Roe’s overturn. Oh, and how could we forget the time she marched up to the Supreme Court to violently shake her pointer finger and nearly give herself a stroke screaming over her desire to kill babies.
It’s no wonder lefties in Mass attacked a pregnancy center, look who their role model is, a lunatic.
This attack and attacks alike need to be condemned by the media but based on it’s promotion of the leftist agenda, I am doubtful that will happen.
Back on Tuesday, Politico’s West Wing Playbook dove into the Biden administration’s ongoing search to find a new spokesperson for First Lady Jill Biden and, naturally, one of the possibilities includes a major cable and broadcast network executive who already has ties to the regime.
Max Tani and Alex Thompson wrote “one name...that has emerged as a possible contender is RICHARD HUDOCK, who led comms for NBC’s Washington outfit for years” and “has since been elevated to a communications vice president for NBC and MSNBC at the networks’ headquarters in New York.”
“Multiple people familiar with the search told West Wing Playbook that Hudock is among the candidates the first lady’s office is taking seriously for the role,” they added.
In addition to the Biden White House looking to bring in someone who’s supposedly been charged with holding them to account, Hudock’s also notable because he’s already a walking conflict of interest.
How? Well, it turns out he’s been the partner of State Department spokesman Ned Price. According to glowing February 2021 profiles of Price in the Daily Beast and People, they wrote that the two had been together for over three years.
The process to find a new lead communications official for Jill Biden stems from the departure of Michael LaRosa, who fled the White House just under a month ago.
As we recall from the Trump years, the liberal media threw conniptions when someone from Fox News joined the previous administration, but don’t look for the liberal media janitors to do the same if Hudock ends up being Jill Biden’s pick.
When Russia attacked Ukraine, “experts” said the country would fall within days.
It hasn't.
One reason is that the Russian military wasn't as effective as people thought.
Another is that Ukrainians surprised the world by courageously defending their country.
A third reason is that volunteers from everywhere stepped in to help.
People with combat experience joined Ukraine's Foreign Legion. Doctors, nurses and others with medical experience are keeping the country's health care system going. Several thousand others do humanitarian work, like distributing food and medicine.
For my video this week, Stossel TV executive producer Maxim Lott went to Ukraine to record them at work.
He rode along with ambulance driver Didrik Gunnestad, a 27-year-old volunteer from Norway. Gunnestad delivered supplies, and then he drove sick people out of dangerous areas.
“It was learning by doing,” he says. Ambulances were desperately needed. “Most things that happen here are done by volunteers, not government officials.”
Tom Palmer, an American with the Atlas Network think tank, raised more than $1 million in aid for Ukraine. He flew it to Poland and then drove some of it into Ukraine himself. He worked with Ukrainian volunteers to find out where aid was most needed.
“It was just astonishing to see this network emerge,” says Palmer. “It wasn't centrally directed ... (Volunteers) solved a lot of micro problems that big hierarchies can't see.”
The volunteers also reduce waste.
“There is a lot of loss (in big charities like the Red Cross),” says Gunnestad. “Not that someone is skimming off the top; it's just the cost of being a big organization.”
Governments are even more bureaucratic.
Poland's government does want to help Ukraine, but its bureaucracy often makes it hard. When Gunnestad and Lott went to a depot where Gunnestad had previously picked up donated goods, they found that the bureaucracy had changed the rules. Now Gunnestad was supposed to write a letter to the Polish government to get supplies. Since they didn't have time to wait, they left empty-handed.
Even the Ukrainian government makes it needlessly hard for volunteers to deliver goods. They force most everyone to wait in long lines at the borders. When Lott and Gunnestad crossed this summer, there were still mile-long lines.
Ambulances, at least, are generally allowed to skip the line.
“But sometimes there's a guard who doesn't like it,” says Gunnestad. “We have had patients almost dying because of guards like that.”
As he drove past the long line of trucks, he sighed and said, “I feel so sorry for the drivers of the trucks. Some could be in line for days, or even a week!”
Many of those truckers are trying to bring in needed supplies, but “they were only allowing 400 Ukrainian trucks per day,” says Palmer. “That's just nothing. Why couldn't they bring in more? If you need to inspect them, get more inspectors!”
The bureaucracy didn't.
“You have maybe seven checkpoints, but only two are open,” complains Gunnestad. “They could at least open all seven.”
Lott notes, “Volunteers can't do everything. They don't supply the military or provide fuel. But they are saving lives.”
For example, Gunnestad's team picks up patients at overburdened hospitals and takes them to less busy facilities.
They also deliver supplies to neglected Ukrainian hospitals. Gunnestad says small hospitals often get nothing from the government or the Red Cross. “We have a chance to help places that's forgotten,” he says.
You can help Gunnestad do this work by donating to his GoFundMe page. It's a way to help Ukrainians without taking the risks that Gunnestad does.
His ambulance has been hit with bullets. Fortunately, no volunteer has been hit.
“I always have been the person who runs into dangerous situations,” he says. “I think this work is so meaningful that I'm willing to die for it.”
The ABC, CBS and NBC evening news shows ignored reporting on a devastating poll that shows the American people are not buying President Joe Biden’s spin on the meaning of a recession.
An IBD/TIPP poll released Aug. 9 found that a “solid majority of Americans — 62% — think the U.S. economy is in a recession, up from 58% a month ago, 53% in June and 48% in May.” This followed news that the U.S. GDP contracted for the second month in a row to meet the technical definition of a recession.
To make the report worse, the “IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index, an early month read on consumer confidence, slipped fourth-tenths [sic] of a point to 38.1, matching June's reading for the lowest since August 2011.”
Despite all of this, the ABC World News Tonight, CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News completely ignored the poll during their Aug. 9, Aug. 10, Aug. 11, Aug. 12, Aug. 15, Aug. 16, Aug. 17 and Aug. 18 broadcasts. That’s literally over a week’s worth of news coverage.
This is just par for the course for the Big Three. The evening networks have been twisting themselves into pretzels on the economy in recent days either by avoiding the admission that the U.S. is in a recession or by legitimizing Biden’s redefinition of the term.
In a more recent example, an Aug. 15 report that The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index “dropped 6 points in August to 49” for its eighth consecutive monthly decline.
“Anything below a 50 is considered negative,” according to CNBC. Fox Business reported that the result marked the “worst stretch for the housing market since the 2008 financial crisis.” NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz said in a statement obtained by CNBC that “‘[t]ighter monetary policy from the Federal Reserve and persistently elevated construction costs have brought on a housing recession.’” All three networks ignored the “‘housing recession’” news during their Aug. 15 broadcasts. [Emphasis added.]
NBC Nightly News, however, decided to cover the “housing recession” during their Aug. 18 broadcasts, just two days after MRC Business called the network out for ignoring the story.
Here was NBC's broadcast on Thursday:
But It appears the Big Three are still doing everything they can to avoid normalizing the “recession” buzzword in an effort to help the Democratic Party limp across the finish line in the November midterm elections. But it appears equally clear that the American people aren’t buying their spin.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact ABC News at 818-460-7477, CBS News at 212-975-3247 and NBC News at 212-664-6192 and hold them to account for ignoring the IBD/TIPP poll showing a majority of Americans believing the U.S. is in a recession.
A district court judge temporarily blocked portions of Florida’s Individual Freedom Act—also known as the Stop WOKE Act—related to private businesses on Thursday on the grounds they violated the First Amendment. CNN’s Don Lemon and Bakari Sellers used the ruling and latter’s Thursday show to argue that the education portions of the bill show that Gov. Ron DeSantis is an anti-intellectual who wants Floridians to be dumber.
After Republican strategist defended the education portion of the law, Lemon tried to shift the conversation to the invalidated private sector portions, “Bill does not mention Critical Race Theory. Its intention was to prevent teaching or training that suggests a person is privileged or oppressed based on their race or color, their sex, or their national origin. The judge says, ‘if Florida truly believes we live in a post-racial society, then let it make its case. But it cannot win the argument by muzzling its opponents.” I mean, go on. What do you think—what do you think-- of that?’”
Sellers did not answer the question, alleging the entire thing to be “kind of silly” because “white privilege is a thing.”
After trying to prove his point by citing the former CEO of WeWork, Sellers, ignoring the present conversation and all the similar ones on CNN in recent times, argued, “If we want to talk about people's place in this country because of who they love or the color of their skin or who they pray to, then we really have to have a honest conversation. We've never dealt with the issue of race.”
Getting back to DeSantis, Sellers declared, “And what Ron DeSantis wants to do in the state of Florida is make us dumber. Ron DeSantis is pushing – it’s not wokeness, it's not white privilege, it's anti-intellectualism. And I've said this before, I'll say it again, not everybody wants to be as anti-intellectual as Ron DeSantis. And the fact of the matter is this: he does not want individuals to feel empowered knowing their real history.”
Later, he insisted that all he wants is to be able to tell the truth, “I don't care if it's called woke, I don't care if it's called white privilege, I don't care what term you want to put on it. I want to be honest about this country's history” while DeSantis lives “in a fairytale land.”
Lemon then turned back to Stewart and asked how the idea of white privilege makes people feel inferior. Stewart replied that it leads to the belief that “they owe something to other students.”
She might as well have not answered, because Lemon either wasn’t listening or didn’t care and just had a Republican on to check a box, because he returned to Sellers, asking “Shouldn't we just be teaching the history of this country, which is, you know, black history is American history?”
Like abortion laws, it is clear media personalities commenting on these laws have not read them. There is nothing in the law that prohibits teachings of “racial discrimination, as well as topics relating to the enactment and enforcement of laws resulting in racial oppression.”
Sellers would argue that black people are treated differently in America, which is an argument that he would be allowed to present under the Florida law. He just couldn’t indoctrinate people by insisting it is true while ignoring Stewart’s point of view.
This segment was sponsored by Select Quote.
Here is a transcript for the August 18 show:
CNN Don Lemon Tonight
8/18/2022
11:31 PM ET:
DON LEMON: Okay. Bakari, let's talk about this, because what -- they call it the Stop Woke Act. Bill does not mention Critical Race Theory. Its intention was to prevent teaching or training that suggests a person is privileged or oppressed based on their race or color, their sex, or their national origin.
The judge says, “if Florida truly believes we live in a post-racial society, then let it make its case. But it cannot win the argument by muzzling its opponents.” I mean, go on. What do you think—what do you think-- of that?
BAKARI SELLERS: I mean, this—this—this-- conversation is kind of silly. First of all, white privilege is a thing. I mean, you can look at Silicon Valley, for example, in a recent example. You have the former founder and CEO of WeWork who ran that company into a ground. They lost $40 billion. But again, he got another $350 million worth of investment. He was able to fail not once but twice in a private venture. That was due to his privilege and being a white man.
You have a privilege that exists in this country by the color of your skin. And look, whether or not we want to actually talk about the honest history of our country or not is something totally different. If we want to talk about people's place in this country because of who they love or the color of their skin or who they pray to, then we really have to have a honest conversation. We've never dealt with the issue of race.
And what Ron DeSantis wants to do in the state of Florida is make us dumber. Ron DeSantis is pushing – it’s not wokeness, it's not white privilege, it's anti-intellectualism.
And I've said this before, I'll say it again, not everybody wants to be as anti-intellectual as Ron DeSantis. And the fact of the matter is this: he does not want individuals to feel empowered knowing their real history.
I believe that I can criticize this country because the blood of my family literally runs through the soil of this country. Whether or not it is my grandfather who's a veteran or whether or not it is my father who was shot in the Civil Rights movement, this is a part of our history. My father went to jail not once, but twice, unjustly.
And so, when you consider all of these things in raising Black children in this America, let's tell the truth. I don't care if it's called woke, I don't care if it's called white privilege, I don't care what term you want to put on it. I want to be honest about this country's history.
And Ron DeSantis lives in Disney, weirdly enough. He’s the governor of Florida. He lives in a fairytale land. He doesn't really live in what America really is.
LEMON: How does it-- Alice, how does, you are saying that it makes people feel inferior. How—how-- exactly does it make people feel inferior?
ALICE STEWART: Well, when part of the teaching and part of the conversation that has been introduced tells a child that simply by the color of your skin, you are inferior or you are unduly privileged, that does make someone feel as though that they owe something to other students.
And—and-- here's the thing. When we're talking about diversity and inclusion and equality, the sheer—the mere-- definition of saying that one race is superior than another, goes, flies in the face of making sure that we have equity in our school system. And that's the—that’s the-- message that he's trying to say, we need to take these teachings out of the curriculum and out of the schools.
LEMON: Shouldn't we just be teaching the history of this country, which is, you know, black history is American history?
SELLERS: But Don, I don't know – I don’t-- but, Don, we’re not -- I don't want a white kid to feel inferior. I don't want a white kid or a black kid or anybody to feel because of the color of their skin they are inferior. That's the point. But what we are talking about is that there are systems in this country who treat people unequally because of the color of their skin. I mean, there are communities -- Jackson, Mississippi is a predominantly black city, doesn't have clean water. Denmark, South Carolina doesn't have clean water.
We have a criminal justice system that we know black—black-- and brown folks are wrongfully and overly incarcerated. We're talking about black women in this country, who are three to four times more likely to die during childbirth than white women. We're talking about black women who are the largest and most booming small business owners but who have the least access to capital.
I mean, this isn't like a figment of my imagination. I don't believe. I mean, these are real life statistics. So, we're talking about systems of oppression. So, I don't want a white kid to feel any type of way other than understanding what the history is and where we're living now.
I firmly believe there's nothing, there's absolutely nothing that is in this country that we can't reimagine. And that's what I want to do, is allow us to reimagine what this country should be.
