I will light myself on fire if I have to go through another 4-year news cycle like this.
And before the Dems come for my take, here’s your periodic reminder: something does not stop being tyrannical/autocratic/etc simply because you like it.
Also just to reiterate: I am vaccinated, will have no problem getting boosters, talked skeptical family members into getting the vaccine, think you all (just about, barring consultation w/ your dr) should too, and am broadly okay w/ corporate vaccine mandates.
This is still bad.
People on this website act like Trump led an army into the Capitol on horseback on January 6th and successfully stole the election as you all tweet from your political prisoner camps. Touch grass.
Anyway, football is on, so signing off.
But using the power of the state to compel tens of millions of people to do something they don’t want to do - even if you like the idea of them doing it! - should give anyone pause.
Tyranny isn’t something else because you like it.
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She’s trending so brief🧵thread🧵chronically the times that @JoyAnnReid used her platform to push unfounded vaccine fears because she didn’t like the guy in the Oval Office.
Starting with this interview in August 2020 (there are plenty more⤵️)
But to stay on this one for a second: in August 2020, @JoyAnnReid had a doctor on to say that she wouldn’t advise her patients to take the vaccine *even if* the head of the FDA signed off on it before clinical trials were complete.
What happened to trust the science?
And this was far from the only time this happened.
A few weeks later, in early September, she doubled down, endorsing an article titled “Trump’s vaccine can’t be trusted.”
You may remember that the vaccine (which Reid now firmly endorses) rolled out under Trump.
Few topics create as much hypocrisy as executive use of power.
Quick🧵comparing how the press has covered Biden’s vaccine mandate announcement vs. Trump’s threat to override governors on houses of worship.
Spot the difference? ⤵️
Back in May 2020, President Trump said he would override governors who wouldn’t allow houses of worship to open. Yesterday, President Biden said he would do the same about governors who wouldn’t enforce a vaccine mandate.
Can you spot the difference in how @CNN covered it?
Honestly, this could’ve been a thread just dedicated to @CNN.
Can you spot a difference in tone when it comes to who supports each approach?
We’ve got to talk about the Rolling Stone invermectin article. Turns out the story about rural hospitals so flooded with ODs that they couldn’t treat other patients was made up, entirely invented.
A lot of people took the bait, and I’ve got the screenshots.⤵️
First, for context, here’s the original piece from @RollingStone and the follow up from the actual hospital saying the story was BS and that the one (one!) person the story quotes doesn’t work at that hospital anymore (and hasn’t in months).
But it wasn’t just a single story out in the ether. Plenty of other places picked up the story, too, with no additional sourcing or research.
It's cynical, but I think Biden's speech was pretty well-calibrated for what Americans actually care about. Three-quarters of Americans want out of Afghanistan. Things have gotten tough this week but Biden is sticking with that.
If you're holding your breath for the American people to actually care about what this'll mean for women and girls in Afghanistan - or translators and others who served with US soldiers - I've got some bad news for you.
The human cost will be enormous and avoidable. The political consequences of that? Probably nil. I suspect Biden's speech will be a comfort for a lot of people.