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WHOA: Trump Calls for Countries to BAN Twitter and Facebook
Remember when the Republican party under Donald Trump completely abandoned even pretending to care about policy, and instead became all about cultural issues and claiming to defend free speech? That was always complete nonsense, but it has now come completely to a head with former President Trump cheering Nigeria for banning Twitter and suggesting that more countries do it too. He added that countries need to start banning Facebook as well, as both sites banned the former president following the events of January 6th. This suggestion completely violates the principle of Republicans being all about free speech, as Twitter and Facebook are speech platforms. This also violates the long-standing Republican principle of promoting free markets and lax regulation of businesses. But now that Trump has been banned from virtually every social media site, the right has had to reshape its arguments, even if it makes them look like total hypocrites in the process.
Trump said in a statement that later made its rounds on social media: “Congratulations to the country of Nigeria, who just banned Twitter because they banned their President. More COUNTRIES should ban Twitter and Facebook for not allowing free and open speech — all voices should be heard.” Completely lost in this conversation are the free speech rights of these private companies, which now Republicans are trying to bring to an end. Also, if Republicans were correct on their theories about markets, they wouldn’t need to ban Twitter and Facebook to come up with a solution. They could try to consolidate behind one or two right-wing social media sites that would allow them to post whatever they want. The problem is, that’s a lot easier said than done, and since they can’t compete in the marketplace, the right’s new approach is to try to silence its opposition.
Anti-Vaccine Nut Goes Completely Off the Rails
We're continuing to follow the truly malignant growth of the coronavirus anti-vaccine movement. There is a viral video of a hearing out of Ohio about a bill that would ban any Ohio business or school from mandating coronavirus vaccination. The clips almost look like they’re from a satirical show, like an SNL skit making fun of Judge Judy or something, but sadly it’s real. Sherri Tenpenny, who is an osteopathic physician (DO). While there are plenty of reasonable DOs, there is also tons of nuttery in the osteopathic world, including quack chiropractors and anti vaccine nuts. Tenpenny told the committee that we shouldn't live in fear about COVID itself, while also spreading insane fake fears about the vaccines. It then truly went off the rails when Tenpenny claimed there is metal in the vaccine that causes forks to stick to people’s foreheads. She knows this because she saw videos of it on the internet. Tenpenny also promotes conspiracy theories about 5G cell phone networks being in some way connected to the virus or the vaccines. This should be shocking stuff, especially coming from a medical professional. But claims like these are so commonplace in the United States now, that it’s really not much of a surprise.
From yesterday’s show:
Milo: Dogs No Longer Bark at Me Since I Stopped Being Gay
Right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos has been trying to generate headlines after falling off the map a few years ago. Milo’s claim to fame was that he was a gay conservative, so he would claim that typical left-wing attacks don’t work on him. Now, Yiannopoulos is trying to rebrand and claims that he has stopped being gay. Whether this means he’s no longer attracted to men or if he’s just no longer having romantic relationships with men remains unclear. But Milo is doubling down on the claim and trying to get press about it. He recently went on TruNews and told story about how dogs used to bark at him while he was living as an openly gay person. But he says that now, after becoming “ex-gay,” dogs don’t have any issue with him anymore. If Milo was looking for a sign of approval from God over his decision, this really would be a curious one. But apparently, God works in mysterious ways including through dog barks. It doesn’t appear like Milo’s rebranding effort is working, but we’ll continue to follow it and he’s welcome on the show anytime.
--More on the show:
--Coronavirus cases are now down more than 94% in the United States, with deaths down more than 88%
--Despite COVID cases and deaths being down overall, unvaccinated areas are seeing an increase in hospitalizations, exactly as we've been led to expect
--President Joe Biden ends infrastructure negotiations with obstructionist Republicans, putting the possibility of passing the bill via budget reconciliation in focus, if he can get support from all 50 Senate Democrats
--Steven Brandenburg, the anti-vaccine pharmacist who tampered with 500 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, has been sentenced to three years in prison
--Fox News refuses to run a Meidas Touch ad in which police officers condemn the January 6 Trump rioters, despite their stated support of police
--Republican Senator Lindsey Graham admits the real reason why he and others want to look at the "lab leak" COVID theory, which is that they feel it will "vindicate" Donald Trump's handling of the pandemic
--Voicemail caller asks why the Trumpist Q types aren't considered terrorists by law enforcement
--On the Bonus Show: Jeff Bezos is going to space for a few minutes, study of whales going forward despite concern for whales, COVID whistleblower running against Matt Gaetz, much more...
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