Who's sowing confusion?
Add U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, to those who talk the talk but don't want to walk the walk.
In June, she sent a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) demanding that everyone in airports wear a mask. Earlier this year, she also promised to offer an amendment to future coronavirus legislation that would prohibit federal funds from going to states that didn't adopt a statewide mask requirement.
Airports and airlines, she said, had created a "patchwork of rules" which she said "have only sowed confusion among passengers." The FAA, she said, should "issue clear, nationwide, mandatory mask requirements for all aviation employees and travelers."
Last week, though, recent photos obtained by host Tucker Carlson of Fox News showed Feinstein not wearing a mask as she walked through a private terminal at Washington, D.C.'s Dulles Airport. A pilot with a mask on walked in front of her, carrying a bag and a small dog.
The 87-year-old senator fits squarely in the demographic of senior citizens, who are said to be much more vulnerable to the virus than younger people.
Political theater
The Democratic governor of Pennsylvania and a Democratic state representative aren't responding to questions about the incident, but the two were caught on an open mic joking about the "political theater" of wearing masks recently.
Meanwhile, everyday Pennsylvanians have been living under harsh coronavirus restrictions, some of which were ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge last month.
Preparing to take part in a news conference in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf told state Rep. Wendy Ullman he would be removing his mask while speaking. Ullman then walked toward Wolf and responded, "I will as well, just, I'm waiting so that we can do a little political theater."
Wolf replied, "OK," the two laughed, and then she added, "So that's it's on camera."
A video of the hypocritical incident has been circulating online since.
Jondavid Longo, the mayor of Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, didn't see the "political theater" as something to laugh about.
"The destruction of the livelihoods of millions of Pennsylvanians is no laughing matter," he said, "and we don't find this entertaining."
A Twitter user was similarly peeved.
"Rules for thee, but not for me," the poster said.
You're outta here
In these days where conservatives are "canceled" for saying, tweeting or writing something innocuous, it's nice to see someone on the other side receive consequences for actually doing something distasteful.
A South Carolina sports writer was fired last week after tweeting that South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott was an "Uncle Tom" after he said President Donald Trump "misspoke" in the words he used in condemning a white supremacist group during the first presidential debate with Democrat Joe Biden.
Fred Gerteiny tweeted, "Thanks Uncle Tom," after seeing Scott's words.
"After reviewing the incident," the station said in a statement, "the network released sports reporter, Fred Gerteiny, as a result of a racially insensitive comment. News 12 Networks has a zero tolerance policy for racism or improper conduct based on race, and prides itself on being an objective and unbiased multi-platform news company."
The reporter later apologized in a tweet to Scott, his colleagues "and anyone else I may have offended with this deeply offensive tweet."
Devil he knows
Black Entertainment Television co-owner Robert Johnson says he's not "endorsing anybody" and isn't on the same page with President Donald Trump on every issue, but he says he'll be supporting the president in the election because "I will take the devil I know over the devil I don't know any time of the week."
It is important, he said, to "know who will be pulling the levers of economic growth." Americans, he said, would be "better off" with a president who is understood rather than gamble on replacing him with someone whose decisions cannot be predicted "at such a critical time."
Johnson said, "speaking as business person," he wants to know what to anticipate.
"I would rather know what I'm going to deal with in the White House," he said. "I'm going to know what regulatory decisions they're going to make, what fiscal policy decisions, what monetary policy decisions they're going to make - than to be taking a chance, particularly with the turbulence of a pandemic "