THE DAILY NEWSLETTER - FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2021 

Media Winners & Losers

MEDIA WINNER:
The Wall Street Journal
Editorial Board

When the Supreme Court declined to block a new anti-abortion bill in Texas, it launched a flood of criticism from liberals expressing shock and dismay at the ruling. But it's not unusual to hear such views from the left. Those on the right who have spoken up -- and risked angering their audiences in our very siloed partisan media environment -- are more noteworthy. Such is the case with the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal, which published a scathing op-ed denouncing the ruling as a "blunder." 

"The law sets an awful precedent that conservatives should hate," they write, noting the very foreseeable consequences of allowing the law's unique delegation of enforcement to private citizens. "Could California allow private citizens to sue individuals for hate speech? Or New York deputize private lawsuits against gun owners?"

Besides being unlikely to ultimately pass constitutional muster, the WSJ editors argue, the law's extreme limitations (no exceptions for rape or incest; banning abortions earlier than many women realize they are pregnant) give Democrats persuasive talking points in the upcoming 2022 and 2024 elections.

MEDIA LOSER:
Lara Logan

When the hosts of Fox’s Outnumbered discussed a Florida diner refusing to serve supporters of President Joe Biden, the conversation centered mostly on the “rage” the owner feels over Afghanistan. But when it came to Fox Nation host Lara Logan, the conversation took a darkly bizarre turn when she suggested that simply supporting the troops represents grounds for arrest and indefinite detention by the FBI.

“In the time that we live in, for people to stand up and openly say something against the Democratic president or something in favor of the troops, I mean, in this country today that puts you at risk of being arrested and jailed by the FBI,” said Logan.

This is, to put it bluntly, complete garbage. Mediaite's Caleb Howe looked into Logan's claims and found absolutely nothing to back them up.

We're also giving a dis-honorable mention for Logan's Fox News colleagues, who didn't attempt to correct her or push her to clarify. With great power comes great responsibility, and Fox News has a duty to their massive audience to not engage in baseless fear-mongering.

The A-Block

Ida's aftermath

Hurricane Ida has left a path of devastation across an entire swath of the country, causing deadly winds, rain, and flooding from Louisiana up to the northeast.

The ballpark for New York Yankees Double-A affiliate, the Somerset Patriots, was completely flooded (see image), even though it's more than half a mile from the nearest river.

More Yankees news: the team's iconic radio voice John Sterling was rescued from a flood by Spanish play-by-play announcer Rickie Ricardo.

An Ohio man who accosted NBC reporter Shaquille Brewster during a live shot from Gulfport has been arrested

And CNN interviewed a Louisiana man with a creative solution to get the electricity back on. New Orleans resident Larry Jackson told correspondent Brian Todd that he had flagged down a repair crew and offered them homemade jambalaya to fix the downed power pole by his house. 


In Other News...

Tucker Carlson Defends People Who Buy Fake Vaccination Cards: 'Act of Desperation by Decent, Law-Abiding Americans'

'This is Terrible News': CNBC Anchors Shocked By Dismal Jobs Report

‘QAnon Shaman’ Reaches Plea Deal in Capitol Riot Case; His Lawyer Says He Doesn’t Want to Be Called ‘QAnon Shaman’ Anymore

NEW POLL: Most Republicans Support Taking in Refugees From Afghanistan

Must See Clip

"Everybody's got a cell phone"

NBA Hall-of-famer Charles Barkley has never been shy about sharing his opinions, and his recent comments encouraging people to get the Covid vaccine are no exception. 

Co-hosting The Mike Missanelli Show on Philadelphia’s 97.5 The Fanatic, Barkley encouraged other professional athletes to champion the vaccine, and directly addressed some of the unfounded claims pushed by anti-vaxxers. 

“I’ve heard these idiots talk about chips in it and I heard people talking about [the government] wants to follow us around,” Barkley told Missanelli. “They can follow us around anyway! Everybody’s got a cell phone! And first of all, what are you doing that you’re worried about people following you?”

Watch here.

Links We Like

Crises Bring Out the Toddler in Power-Hungry Politicians
- J.D. Tuccille, Reason
Why can’t America fix its Covid-19 testing problems?
- Dylan Scott, Vox
Stop Death Shaming: Mocking the unvaccinated dead does not save lives.
- Elizabeth Bruenig, The Atlantic
It’s time for us to put our money where our mouth is on this “culture of life” so many of us have wanted.
The Values Voter, Twitter

 

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