Fake news
Six years ago, left-wing media quickly leaped to the conclusion that comments by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin had somehow been responsible for the shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz. It was ridiculous on its face, outrageous in its allegation and in time shooter Jared Lee Loughner, a partisan of left-, not ring-wing causes, was found to be mentally deranged, not politically motivated.
Somehow in the face of the shooting of U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., by a rabid supporter of Democratic causes on Wednesday, The New York Times brought back the allegation.
Justifying the newspaper editorial board's decision not to link last week's incident with ideology, the editorial nevertheless said there was a "clear link" from Palin's rhetoric to Giffords' shooting.
"In 2011, when Jared Lee Loughner opened fire in a supermarket parking lot, grievously wounding Representative Gabby Giffords and killing six people, including a 9-year-old girl, the link to political incitement was clear," the board wrote. "Before the shooting, Sarah Palin's political action committee circulated a map of targeted electoral districts that put Ms. Giffords and 19 other Democrats under stylized cross hairs."
After the editorial was slammed by people of various political persuasions, including one description of "the worst editorial they have run in a decade, the Times issued a correction and made several online edits of the piece. It also included the words: "But in that case [involving Palin] no connection to the shooting was ever established."
Remember when ESPN was for sports?
Last week, its "First Take" co-host Max Kellerman said the NFL had injected "politics [into the game] by playing the national anthem putting pressure on you to stand for it."
In the same commentary, he defended Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman Michael Bennett's comparison of free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick to the late boxer Muhammad Ali. Ali, of course, declined to defend the country during the Vietnam War on religious, moral and ethical principles and faced jail time. Kaepernick declined to stand for the national anthem as a protest for various injustices he believed were being visited on black Americans. He faced no fines, no jail time, only the scorn of many Americans.
Neither Ali and Kaepernick, Kellerman said, "went out looking for a protest."
It's true that neither may have been looking for a protest, but each made the decisions they made knowing full well what might happen if they did what they did.
Many are the reasons ESPN is hemorrhaging viewers, but for anyone to suggest that it becoming another MSNBC has nothing to do with it is ludicrous.
Whip or no whip with your intolerance?
A woman customer at a Starbucks near Charlotte, N.C., got her coffee last week, but she was served up a little derision with it since she was wearing a T-shirt supportive of President Donald Trump.
Kayla Hart said the cashier at the East Boulevard location in Dilworth laughed at her, and her order was labeled with a political message, mocking her support for the president.
"They shouted out 'build a wall,' and shoved a drink at me," she told Fox 46 TV, "and then all the baristas in the back started cracking up laughing."
When customers started staring, Hart said, she just walked out.
"I don't know what politics has to do with getting a cup of coffee," she said, describing herself as a loyal Starbucks customer.
Hart said she immediately emailed the corporate coffee server's customer service department. The news station asked what response she was given.
"We failed to meet this customer's expectations of us," the statement read, "and we have apologized and are working directly with her to make it right. The experience is not consistent with our standards or the welcoming and respectful experience we aim to provide every customer who visits our stores."
The statement also said the store partners would be "using this as a coaching opportunity for the future."
Hart said she also heard from the company and is determining whether she will return.
"This isn't me trying to get people to stop going to Starbucks," she said. I just want it to be put out there so people know this is what's occurring."
Evergreen is ever blue
It's just one college, but it's emblematic of higher education across the country. For the past two decades, employees of Evergreen State College of Olympia, Wash., have given Democrats $10 in donations for every dollar given to Republicans.
Going back to the 1996 election cycle, Evergreen employees have given just over $50,000 to Democrats and just under $5,000 to Republicans, according to data collected by the Center for Responsive Politics.
In the 2016 campaign, employees gave $10,086 to Democrats and $400 to Republicans, all of which went to the presidential campaign of Ben Carson.
Statistics also show college employees gave $16,741 to Democrats in 2008 (when Barack Obama was elected president) and $200 to Republicans, which represents 1.18 percent of all giving. Indeed, Evergreen employees have not given a single dollar to a Republican congressional candidate since 2012.
The upshot, of course, is the donations often are reflected in what's taught in the school, which is hardly a reflection of the electorate.