THE WEEK IN WHOPPERS
diary of disinformation and the delusional
THIS CLAIM
We have reduced heating and electricity bills so folks have more money in their pocket. — Vice President Harris, Wednesday
We say: Electric costs have soared 24%, fuel oil 69% and natural gas 53% since President Biden and Veep Harris took office. If Harris is referring to the $4.5 billion in federal handouts (an average $35 per US household) Washington OK’d last year via the Home Energy Assistance Program, it doesn’t come close to offsetting the dramatic spikes in energy costs under Biden. Who does Harris think she’s kidding?
[Gov. DeSantis] says that slavery . . . should not be taught to Florida schoolchildren. — MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell, Feb. 17
THIS CHARGE
We say: What? There isn’t a shred of truth in Mitchell’s claim. Black history, including slavery, is required as part of Florida’s public-school curriculum, and Gov. Ron DeSantis supports that. Mitchell herself later backtracked, claiming her words were “imprecise.” Yet she then claimed DeSantis nonetheless opposes a kind of black studies that provides a “broader” understanding of slavery. Uh, sorry: That only piles more lies onto the first one.
THIS COLUMN
Why Cancel Culture Is Good For Democracy
Rolling Stone, Monday
We say: Ernest Owens is either clueless about cancel culture or intentionally misleading, based on this Rolling Stone excerpt from his book on the subject. He claims the practice is meant to hold people accountable for what they say. Yet it’s one thing to criticize someone’s statements and quite another to, say, have Antifa goons physically silence them. Or have liberal mobs get folks fired or disinvited from key appearances. Let’s be honest: There’s no way chilling speech is “good for democracy.”
THIS TWEET
We say: Talk about cancel culture and chilling speech! Olbermann is so miffed House Speaker Kevin McCarthy gave Capitol-riot surveillance footage to Fox News host Tucker Carlson that he actually wants government to shut down the network (and to hell with the First Amendment). Yet how in the world does McCarthy’s move create a “national-security threat”?