CANCEL CULTure: Fox News Attacks Olympic Athlete for Exercising Free Speech

The emergence of a new buzzword in Fox News is always a treasure trove of asininity. And as their embrace of their new and thoroughly contrived concept of “cancel culture” has spread across their airwaves, Fox News has proven that they are the foremost abusers of it.

Fox News, Censorship

Fox News has courageously stood up in opposition to the injustices suffered by esteemed, albeit imaginary, Americans like Dr. Seuss and Mr. Potato Head. Because of Fox, they now represent the class of victims who have been “canceled” by systemic intolerance of cartoon characters and plastic toys.

However, no one is more guilty than Fox News of “canceling” real people who dare to go against the grain of whatever narrative Fox News happens to be espousing. Just ask all of the Republicans censured and cast aside for their perceived disloyalty to Donald Trump. Or check with the American companies that Trump has targeted for boycotts.

Now we can add to those casualties Olympic hopeful Gwen Barry. Upon winning a bronze medal in the recent Olympic trials, Berry took the opportunity to express her commitment to social injustice. That act of free speech earned her a mention at the White House daily press briefing. The Fox News White House correspondent, Peter Doocy, chose to use his privileged position to focus on an issue that he believes far outweighs the other petty concerns of the President of the United States, such as the resurgent COVID pandemic, or the Florida condo catastrophe, or how the pending infrastructure bill will impact the economy and jobs. Nope, Doocy wanted to know about this:

Doocy: This weekend Gwen Berry, who represents the United States as an Olympian on the hammer-throwing events, won a bronze medal at the trials, and then she turned her back on the flag while the anthem played. Does President Biden think that is appropriate behavior for someone who hopes to represent Team USA?”
Psaki: I haven’t spoken to the President specifically about this. But I know he’s incredibly proud to be an American, and has great respect for the anthem, and all that it represents, especially for our men and women serving in uniform all around the world. He would also say, of course, that part of that pride in our country means recognizing there are moments where we as a country haven’t lived up to our highest ideals. And it means respecting the right of people, granted to them in the Constitution, to peacefully protest.

Was it really necessary for Doocy to ask that particular question? Did it advance the public’s knowledge of matters that actually affect them? Didn’t he know that the obvious answer would be a defense of the Constitution? Is he really that stupid? (Don’t answer that).

And if that weren’t enough, Fox News had already addressed this critical subject on their early morning program, Fox and Friends. Co-host Ainsley Earhardt put the question to Republican congressman Dan Crenshaw:

Earhardt: [Berry] turned her back on the flag during the anthem, and she also put a black t-shirt over her face that said “activist athlete.”
Crenshaw: We don’t need anymore activist athletes. She should be removed from the team. The entire point of the Olympic team is to represent the United States of America. That’s the entire point. It’s one thing when these NBA players do it. We’ll just stop watching. But now the Olympic team? And it’s multiple cases of this. They should be removed. That should be the bare minimum requirement, is that you believe in the country representing.

So Crenshaw doesn’t believe we need “anymore activist athletes.” That implies that we have some already and that the quota has met. Which leaves one to wonder exactly how many activist athletes we need? And if we’ve exceeded that need, are the rest just canceled/removed?

Crenshaw makes the bizarre assertion that “The entire point of the Olympic team is to represent the United States of America.” Most people probably thought it has something to do with athletic competitions. And he makes a distinction between the Olympics and the NBA because you don’t have to watch basketball. Does he think that watching the Olympics is legally mandated? Plus, he’s being profoundly disingenuous because he wouldn’t support the free speech of professional athletes either. Just ask Colin Kaepernick. And Fox News can tell you something about their demands on NBA players to Shut Up and Dribble.”

Finally, Crenshaw is asserting that a peaceful gesture of protest amounts to not believing in your country. That’s the opposite of the truth. Wanting to improve your country is an act of patriotism. If Berry didn’t care about America, she wouldn’t have felt compelled to make any statement at all. It’s the protestors who love America. It’s the “love it or leave it” types who refuse to acknowledge the nation’s flaws who really don’t care.

And that’s precisely what’s wrong with the attitude of Crenshaw, Fox News, and their audience. The same people who are offended by a woman of color peacefully protesting by turning her back to the flag, have actually defended violent protestors who used the flag as a weapon against police officers at Trump’s January 6th insurrection.

The Crenshaws and Foxists of the world wear blinders that keep them satisfied with America as it is. Don’t bother to resolve problems or help those who are not enjoying the full spectrum of the nation’s benefits. And to hell with anyone who thinks we can do better. Contrary to what Fox News and Crenshaw believe, that is not the true spirit of America.

NOTE: Twitter recently suspended the News Corpse account after 11 years without giving a reason. So if anyone wants to tweet articles from my website, please feel free to do so often and repeatedly. Also, Be sure to visit and follow News Corpse on Instagram. Thanks for your support.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Trump Goes Totally Bonkers Berating Bill Barr Over the ‘Bullsh–‘ Bombshell

Donald Trump’s wrath is as predictable as the sun setting in the west. And on Sunday night the sun set on Trump whining petulantly about reports that his Attorney Genuflect, Bill Barr, confessed that “We realized from the beginning it was just bullsh–.” He was talking about the “Big Lie” that the 2020 presidential election was rife with fraud and had been stolen from Trump, Never mind that Barr was an active participant in that campaign of self-serving and evidence-free lies. And now, his futile attempt to rehabilitate his shattered reputation has triggered his former boss.

William Barr, Donald Trump

Trump issued a statement (posted below) lambasting “RINO former Attorney General Bill Barr” because he “failed to investigate election fraud, and really let down the American people.” Trump cited as an example Barr’s neglect to do anything about “the scam that took place in Georgia of ballot stuffing on camera.” Which, of course, never happened, and for which no video exists.

Trump also wondered why, “If there was no fraud, why are Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and other States spending so much time and effort on exposing the fraud?” The all-too-apparent answer is that it’s only delusional and ultra-partisan Republicans wasting time on such nonsense. And they have, to date, exposed precisely nothing. Although Trump and his disgraced attorney, Rudy Giuliani, have lost some sixty court cases attempting to materialize his phantom claims of fraud.

Whereupon, Trump itemized a list of alleged voting irregularities that he says “we already know,” but that share the distinctive characteristic of being utterly fictional. They include the purging of “101,789 “obsolete” voters” who, by definition didn’t vote at all; “Thousands of ballots ‘wheeled in through the back door'” that exist only in his warped imagination; “Illegal alien votes” that occurred in tiny numbers and most often inadvertently; “Election law changes” that supposedly violated some imaginary clause in the Constitution; And, as Trump says “much more.” And all of it flagrantly false.

Trump implied that Barr is lying now because he previously praised Trump in his pro forma resignation letter. However, Trump doesn’t entertain the possibility that Barr is telling the truth now and was lying back then to beat a hasty retreat from a sinking ship. Either way, Barr cannot be considered trustworthy. And the same goes for GOP Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, who Trump chastises as a “spineless RINO.”

Trump sets up his conclusion by expressing his “disappointment in every sense of the word” for the man he hired to lead the Justice Department into disrepute. Plus, Trump demonstrates that he has no idea what the job of Attorney General entails. Suggesting that he thinks the AG represents him personally, and is subject to attorney/client privilege, Trump complains that Barr “shouldn’t be speaking about the President.” Then Trump alleges that Barr, who was the most conflicted and partisan AG in modern history, had actually been working to quash the investigations that Trump wanted him to pursue when, in fact, Barr was the driving force behind such probes.

Trump finally closes saying that “Bill Barr’s weakness helped facilitate the cover-up of the Crime of the Century, the Rigged 2020 Presidential Election.” Which is actually true, but not for any of the reasons that Trump thinks it is. Barr was a proponent of the “Big Lie” that triggered Trump’s insurrection on Capitol Hill on January 6th. He advanced Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in defiance of the will of the people. And despite Trump’s infantile whining and insults, he and Barr will go down in history together as traitors to their nation and to democracy.

NOTE: Twitter recently suspended the News Corpse account after 11 years without giving a reason. So if anyone wants to tweet articles from my website, please feel free to do so often and repeatedly. Also, Be sure to visit and follow News Corpse on Instagram. Thanks for your support.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.