8 votes

Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of April 24

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Tags: usa, politics, recurring.weekly

This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate topic, but almost all should be posted in here.

This is an inherently political thread; please try to avoid antagonistic arguments and bickering matches. Comment threads that devolve into unproductive arguments may be removed so that the overall topic is able to continue.

9 comments

  1. [4]
    Omnicrola
    (edited )
    Link
    NYT : Tucker Carlson is Leaving Fox news NPR : Fox News ousts Tucker Carlson in stunning move following $787 million settlement From the NYT link: Ugh, good riddance, at least temporarily. I...

    NYT : Tucker Carlson is Leaving Fox news
    NPR : Fox News ousts Tucker Carlson in stunning move following $787 million settlement

    From the NYT link:

    Fox News said Monday that it was parting ways with Tucker Carlson, its most popular prime time host who was also the source of repeated controversies and headaches for the network because of his statements on everything from race relations to L.G.B.T.Q. rights.

    The network made the announcement less than a week after it agreed to pay $787.5 million in a defamation lawsuit in which Mr. Carlson’s show, one of the highest rated on Fox, figured prominently for its role in spreading misinformation after the 2020 election.

    Ugh, good riddance, at least temporarily. I wonder where he'll go next.

    7 votes
    1. [2]
      cfabbro
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      I'm sure OANN is salivating at the bit to nab him, but maybe we'll get lucky and he'll go the Glenn Beck route, thinking he can do it on his own and creating his own media company, so his...

      I'm sure OANN is salivating at the bit to nab him, but maybe we'll get lucky and he'll go the Glenn Beck route, thinking he can do it on his own and creating his own media company, so his viewership similarly plummets.

      3 votes
      1. AugustusFerdinand
        Link Parent
        There have been off and on tweets (and deletes) about invites from Russia Today hiring him. In other news: Tucker Carlson: firing highlights texts unearthed during Fox-Dominion trial Excerpts:

        There have been off and on tweets (and deletes) about invites from Russia Today hiring him.

        In other news:

        Tucker Carlson: firing highlights texts unearthed during Fox-Dominion trial

        Excerpts:

        “You keep telling our viewers that millions of votes were changed by the software. I hope you will prove that very soon,” Carlson wrote to Powell a day later. “You’ve convinced them that Trump will win. If you don’t have conclusive evidence of fraud at that scale, it’s a cruel and reckless thing to keep saying.”

        Addressing Trump’s four years as president, Carlson said: “We’re all pretending we’ve got a lot to show for it, because admitting what a disaster it’s been is too tough to digest. But come on. There really isn’t an upside to Trump.”

        In texts early on the morning of 7 January 2021, a day after the violent assault on the US Capitol, Carlson and his longtime producer, Alex Pfeiffer, bemoaned how the rioters had believed Trump’s election lies. “They take the president literally,” Pfeiffer said. “He is to blame for everything that happened today.” “The problem is a little deeper than that I’d say,” Carlson replied.

        Later, Carlson writes of Trump: “He’s a demonic force, a destroyer. But he’s not going to destroy us. I’ve been thinking about this every day for four years.”

        3 votes
    2. cmccabe
      Link Parent
      Top Kremlin propagandist tells Tucker Carlson he should run for president and 'You are always welcome in Russia and Moscow'...

      Top Kremlin propagandist tells Tucker Carlson he should run for president and 'You are always welcome in Russia and Moscow'
      https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/top-kremlin-propagandist-tells-tucker-192546968.html

      The US Department of State describes Vladimir Solovyov as perhaps "the most energetic Kremlin propagandist around today."

      Solovyov is also, apparently, a Tucker Carlson fan.

      On Telegram, Solovyov says that after he learned that Carlson and his long time cable network, Fox News, were parting ways, he sent him an email.

      "You have our admiration and support in any endeavor you choose for yourself next, be it running for president of the United States (which you should totally do, by the way) or making an independent media project. We'll happily offer you a job if you wish to carry on as a presenter and host!"

      3 votes
  2. [3]
    cmccabe
    Link
    Biden announces reelection bid https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/25/politics/joe-biden-running-2024 Joe Biden has shocked the nation and world by announcing his intent to seek re-election.

    Biden announces reelection bid
    https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/25/politics/joe-biden-running-2024

    Joe Biden has shocked the nation and world by announcing his intent to seek re-election.

    6 votes
    1. [2]
      Quintaire
      Link Parent
      Absolute madness that an 80-year old is the candidate for such a demanding job.

      Absolute madness that an 80-year old is the candidate for such a demanding job.

      3 votes
      1. cmccabe
        Link Parent
        (I originally wrote some pessimistic thoughts about what this illustrates about the state of American democracy... but I deleted them because I'd just be preaching to the choir.)

        (I originally wrote some pessimistic thoughts about what this illustrates about the state of American democracy... but I deleted them because I'd just be preaching to the choir.)

        3 votes
  3. [2]
    skybrian
    Link
    Evolution of Florida vaccine analysis (Your Local Epidemiologist)

    Evolution of Florida vaccine analysis (Your Local Epidemiologist)

    Throughout the drafts, there was a clear evolution of conclusions. Starting with no risk of death to young men to significant risk.

    At its most basic level, science’s goal is to figure out what’s true about reality. It is common practice for scientific analyses to evolve over time. But when that happens, there must be clear methodological reasons for the changes. In this case, the study design, results, and conclusions were altered with no scientific explanation, no transparency, no hypothesis-driven reason provided, and no opportunity for formal peer-review.

    4 votes
    1. rosco
      Link Parent
      This is one of the few parts of Covid I feel personally pretty effected by. I had a few friends in their mid-thirties who were fit as fiddles die of heart failure. Both had covid within 4 weeks of...

      This is one of the few parts of Covid I feel personally pretty effected by. I had a few friends in their mid-thirties who were fit as fiddles die of heart failure. Both had covid within 4 weeks of their deaths. After that I was surprised to see a couple of my more educated, though decidedly contrarian friends jump on the "vaccines are the problem" train when this data surfaced. Thanks for highlighting the revisions, I'm going to send it their way.

      One semi-related side note as we enter "post-covid", even if your symptoms are not particularly strong be mindful of how your body reacts post infection. During my last bout of Covid I picked up palpitations, particularly when sleeping. Had my partner not urged me to visit the cardiologist when my pulse woke her up in the middle of the night and if 2 good friends hadn't just died of heart failure I likely wouldn't have thought much of it. It took a few chest x-rays, which got kicked up to a month long monitor and a diagnostic imaging for them to catch the enlargement. It has since returned mostly to normal and I haven't had a palpitation in about 3 months. The whole ordeal lasted only 6 months and resolved on its own, but I also heavily reduced the amount of stress I was putting on it. My takeaway from the cardiologist was that Covid is having effects we don't totally understand yet and that the recovery period after an infection should be taken seriously. I didn't have any underlying health issues or co-morbidities before the infection and have a pretty high baseline level of fitness. So when someone says "It's just a cold", that's fine but take the recovery seriously, give yourself time to rest before resuming normal activity (1-2 months), and don't be afraid to consult a doctor if you feel off. I prefaced every visit with "This might completely be in my head but..." and it turned out it wasn't. Stay safe!

      4 votes