Tag: GOP anti-science

Tucker Carlson Tells Fox Viewers to Call the Cops if They See Kids Wearing Masks Outdoors

The Fox News star implored his loyal viewers to openly harass and mock anyone they see wearing a face mask outdoors because “it’s repulsive.”

Raging against face masks on Monday night, Fox News host Tucker Carlson told his viewers they should openly harass anyone they see wearing masks outside and go so far as to call the police or social services on the parents of any children with masks on.

Carlson, who was a proponent of mask-wearing to help stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic as recently as last March, has since become a fierce critic of face masks and other COVID-19 restrictions, guidelines, and mitigation efforts.

In this vein, and with the Biden administration set to further relax guidance on mask-wearing as coronavirus cases and deaths decrease nationwide as more Americans get vaccinated, Carlson opened up his top-rated Fox News primetime show on Monday night by blasting “neurotic” liberals who have been faithfully wearing face masks amid a deadly pandemic. Continue reading.

DFL Party Statement on Senate GOP’s Decision to Oust Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry Commissioner

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin released the following statement on Minnesota Senate Republicans’ decision to fire Nancy Leppink, Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry Commissioner, during the middle of a pandemic:

“Senate Republicans are once again jeopardizing the health and safety of Minnesotans by playing politics during the middle of a pandemic. Minnesota is faced with the extremely difficult task of getting folks safely back to work as quickly as possible, and Senate Republicans’ surprise decision to fire our state’s Labor and Industry Commissioner will make that so much harder.

“Now more than ever, we need strong voices for the health and safety of working people at the decision-making table. Unfortunately, Republicans fired one of the best advocates for the well-being of working Minnesotans out there. This desperate ambush shows that Republicans would rather score political points than help Minnesotans stay safe and recover from the impact of COVID-19.”

The dangerous conservative campaign against expertise

Washington Post logoIt is perhaps inevitable that a problem as large and complex as covid-19 should result in a pandemic of motivated reasoning. It is a human tendency to interpret disasters as confirmation of our existing beliefs. So the coronavirus outbreak proves the need for a border wall. Or it demonstrates the urgency of Medicare-for-all. Or it resulted, in the words of Franklin Graham, from “a world that has turned its back on God.”

Not every argument is strained or spurious. The pandemic has given our health-care system an X-ray, revealing disturbing racial inequities that need to be understood and addressed. But on the whole, we are right to be wary of people who claim great tragedies as the confirmation of pet theories and previous prophesies. The convenience of an argument is often inversely proportional to its credibility.

Motivated reasoning is usually just tiresome. At its worst, it can be dangerous. Sometimes drawing the wrong lesson badly obscures a right and necessary lesson. Sometimes the interpretation of a crisis is so dramatically mistaken, so ludicrous and imprudent, that it can worsen the crisis itself. Continue reading.

Trump Adviser Compares Climate Scientists To Nazis, ISIS

William Happer Credit: Screengrab

Trump is preparing a panel to attack climate science headed by William Happer, who has compared climate scientists to Nazis, mass murderers, and members of the terrorist group ISIS.

The Washington Post reports that Happer, who is already a senior director in Trump’s National Security Council, is preparing the panel to attack research that has determined climate change is a national security threat.

“The initiative represents the Trump administration’s most recent attempt to question the findings of federal scientists,” the Post notes.

View the complete February 20 article by Oliver Willis with The American Independent on the National Website here.