Dueling buffoonery
As we survey the most bewildering stories of the week, let's start off with a quiz. Which of the following two performances was most humiliating for progressives this week?
First, let's start with the president of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten. Watch this if you can:
I know that thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris we've all become somewhat desensitized to people in important positions speaking while having no idea where they're going, or what they're talking about. But this is Harris-style nonsense if I've ever seen it. That was 68 seconds of absolute nothingness wrapped in nothingness. It's fitting that Weingarten is involved with education given that she just did a frighteningly accurate imitation of a high school junior who was just called on to explain a book chapter they didn't read.
But if you think that's embarrassing, behold Weingarten's competition. Here's former DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz going after Ron DeSantis for fighting against illegal immigration:
The eras are different, the people are different, the issues are different, but to say that racism hasn't been a persistent problem in the Democrat Party since its inception is just to be blind to history. Of course, she will get away with it, because the media that wields the power to destroy her reputation is aligned with her politics. But to express frustration that Mexicans and South American natives aren't here to pick your vegetables for you is just next-level offensive.
Trump turns on life
"I'm very pro-choice." Those were the words of former President Donald Trump just over two decades ago.
"I'm the most pro-life president in American history." Those were the words of former President Donald Trump just a few years ago.
So what gives? Well it could be a couple different things. It's the opinion of some that Trump had a conversion on the issue – that his eyes were opened to the humanity of the child in the womb, the intrinsic value on all human life regardless of age or stage of development.
There are others of us who tend to believe that Trump's loyalty is to Trump, not to unborn children, not to principles of any sort. That the former president will attempt to discern what stance is most likely to differentiate and benefit him, then articulate that position, pretending it's what he's always believed. That would explain why the man was capable of articulating 5 different positions on the subject in just 3 days.
But who is right? Well, it appears Trump is intent on answering that question by pivoting on the issue once again. Just a couple years after basking in the cheers of the March for Life throngs in 2020, Trump had turned on those courageous activists, blaming them for disappointing midterm results for Republicans.
And then this week, Trump took it a step further, stripping the dignity away from a generation of pro-life workers and volunteers, claiming that if it hadn't been for his heroism, they would still be "losing." Then, the former president stuck his finger in the eye of pro-life groups around the country by blasting a 6-week abortion ban as too harsh.
The pro-life stalwarts at Susan B. Anthony List have seemingly had enough of the inconsistent blather, and I can't imagine they'll be the last.
NBC candy-coating porn
Speaking of blather, check out the framing of this story from the folks at NBC News.
So here's the truth. Most people just read headlines. Most people will just read the tweet and not click the link to the story to get the details. Very few people will take enough of an interest to look the story up and get a fuller context. I know that, you know that, and NBC News knows that.
That's why you get tweets and headlines like this from those feigning objectivity. That's why the USA Today wrote about Jordan Neely being a "beloved subway performer" without mentioning his assaults on women and serious felonies. And it's why NBC reports this as a "bestselling LGBTQ-themed book" without mentioning it's a book that contains:
- Content on how to swallow semen while performing oral sex
- Content on inserting various items into your rectal cavity
- Content on sexual fetishes, including the consumption of human feces
If the teacher in question had walked through a town park and handed that book out to 11-year-olds, they'd be busted for distributing pornographic material to minors. But instead, they do it in school, under the guise of inclusive curriculum. Maybe that should be mentioned?
