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Tag: freedom
Mike Johnson

Mainstream Media Ignore Johnson's Record As Ultra-Right Ideologue

Several mainstream media outlets ignored the anti-LGBTQ history of Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), the new Speaker of the House. Johnson was the fourth member up for the role, after Reps. Steve Scalise (R-LA), Jim Jordan (R-OH), and Tom Emmer (R-MN) all failed to secure it following the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) more than 20 days ago.

Johnson is a four-term representative and constitutional lawyer who worked to overturn the results of the 2020 election by leading an amicus brief in a Texas lawsuit that would have delayed the electoral vote in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. He also voted not to certify the election results in Congress.

Johnson has a long history of anti-LGBTQ and anti-abortion extremism, including working as senior legal counsel for the extreme anti-LGBTQ legal group Alliance Defending Freedom. (The group was formerly known as the Alliance Defense Fund.)

Since entering Congress, Johnson has introduced a federal version of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, which would eliminate federal funding for libraries, schools, and other organizations that discussed aspects of gay and trans identities. In July, he argued against parents having access to gender-affirming care for their children, falsely claiming it constituted “abuse and physical harm.” As a member of the Louisiana legislature, he introduced a bill that could have permitted de facto discrimination against gay couples, including allowing landlords to deny rental applications or employers to fire someone in a same-sex relationship. A recent CNN report reveals that Johnson wrote op-eds in which he called homosexuality a “inherently unnatural” and “dangerous lifestyle,” and called for the criminalization of gay sex.

Johnson has also co-sponsored a bill that would ban abortion nationwide and sued Kentucky for religious discrimination on behalf of Ark Encounter, a creationist theme park. But major U.S. news outlets largely ignored Johnson’s record of anti-LGBTQ and anti-abortion positions following his nomination as the GOP House speaker-designate.

Here's a rundown of mainstream media coverage leading up to today's vote:

  • At least two stories in The Wall Street Journal failed to mention Johnson’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election or his anti-LGBTQ and anti-abortion positions, instead noting obliquely that he is “known for conservative stances on cultural issues and spending.” A podcast from the Journal also failed to include any of that information.
  • One article from The New York Times also failed to include any of those details.
  • Another Timespiece included Johnson’s role in attempting to overturn the 2020 election. The piece referred to him twice as a “social conservative,” and informed readers that he had “sponsored legislation that would effectively bar the discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity at any institution serving children younger than 10 that receives federal funds.” The story didn’t mention Johnson’s anti-abortion positions or his anti-same-sex marriage stance, but did mention Emmer’s support for marriage equality.
  • An Associated Press article mentioned Johnson’s work to reverse the 2020 election but didn’t include his anti-LGBTQ or anti-abortion stances. Instead, AP characterized Johnson as “deeply religious … with a fiery belief system.” Another AP article included Emmer’s support for federal same-sex marriage equality, but failed to mention Johnson’s opposition to it.
  • One Washington Poststory mentioned Johnson’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, but failed to mention his opposition to marriage equality. The story did mention Emmer’s vote to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and therefore enshrine federal marriage rights for same-sex couples. The Post referred to Johnson as having a “staunchly conservative streak” but didn’t make his anti-LGBTQ positions explicit.
  • A Washington Postanalysis and listicle both mentioned Johnson’s role in attempting to overturn the 2020 election as well as his anti-LGBTQ and anti-abortion stances.
  • A USA Todaystory noted that Johnson didn’t vote to certify the 2020 election but failed to mention his authoring of the Texas amicus brief or his anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ positions.

Mainstream outlets have focused much of their attention on the backroom drama engulfing the House Republican Caucus. That’s understandable enough, but it’s a disservice to readers to exclude Johnson’s well-documented history of pushing extreme anti-LGBTQ and anti-abortion policies and laws.

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

Trump’s Got ‘Ameritude’ — 3 Girls Perform Bizarre Pro-Trump Song About Crushing Our Enemies

Trump’s Got ‘Ameritude’ — 3 Girls Perform Bizarre Pro-Trump Song About Crushing Our Enemies

Donald Trump did it again – and he didn’t have to open his mouth.

Three cheerleaders (of a sort) stole the spotlight from the presidential candidate with a song about “Ameritude,” opening for him at a rally Wednesday in Pensacola, Florida.

(“Ameritude” is what “President Trump” embodies.)

Featuring dubious patriotic phrases like “our colors don’t run,” this red, white and blue jingoistic junk seems as though it could been written by Trump himself. Its opening line — “Cowardice – Are you serious?” sounds like the sort of thing that would come out of Trump’s mouth.

The ditty takes Americana to its most pandering core, with the youngest performer intermittently shouting “USA!” and “C’mon boys, take ‘em down!” in between lines like “But we have to stand up tall and answer freedom’s call.”

It’s a must-see, in the most horrific fashion.

Even Trump’s audience isn’t buying it. They clap out of obligation, although most look bored in their “Make America Great Again” hats and t-shirts. Trump may have stopped paying people to show up at his rallies now that people are coming for the spectacle, but that doesn’t mean they found his show worth the time.

The video, uploaded by Fox 10 in Phoenix, also features the lamest jump ever recorded in front of a live audience:

Via@BenSmith.

Photo: This is “Ameritude.” Screenshot via Fox 10 Phoenix.

Global Press Freedom Slips To Decade Low

Global Press Freedom Slips To Decade Low

Washington (AFP) – World press freedom has hit its lowest level in a decade after a regression in Egypt, Turkey and Ukraine, and U.S. efforts to curb national security reporting, a watchdog said Thursday.

A report by Freedom House, which has been conducting annual surveys since 1980, found that the share of the world’s population with media rated “free” was 14 percent in 2013, or only one in seven people.

Meanwhile, 44 percent of the world population lived in areas where the media was “not free” and 42 percent in places where press was “partly free,” the Freedom of the Press 2014 report said.

“The overall trends are definitely negative,” said Karin Karlekar, project director of the report.

Karlekar said press freedom is under attack in many regions of the world.

“We saw a real focus on ‘attacking the messenger,'” she told a news conference, including “deliberate targeting of foreign journalists” in many countries.

“In every region of the world last year, we found both governments and private actors attacking reporters, blocking their physical access to newsworthy events, censoring content, and ordering politically motivated firings of journalists,” she said.

Of the 197 countries and territories evaluated in 2013, Freedom House found 63 rated “free,” 68 “partly free” and 66 “not free.”

The top-ranked were the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, and the lowest North Korea, which ranked just behind Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The report expressed concern on use of new technologies by authoritarian governments to filter online content and to monitor the activities of reporters.

“Governments have become more sophisticated in their efforts to crack down, even in the online space,” said Karlekar.

The report ranked countries on a scale of zero to 100, with the lowest numbers representing the best score, and also compiled an aggregate global number to measure press freedom.

The average global score was at its worst since 2004, and the percentage of people living with a free news media fell to its lowest since 1996, the report said.

The population figures are due in part to the impact of China, rated “not free,” and India, “partly free.” Those two countries account for more than a third of the world’s population.

The U.S. remained in the ranks of countries with a “free” press, but fell in global rankings to 30th best, tied with Australia.

The report cited a “limited willingness of high-level (U.S.) government officials to provide access and information to members of the press.”

The report also cited an increase in the United States in the number of information requests denied, and the targeting of journalists in criminal investigations.

Karlekar said the worst countries — which included Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Belarus and Eritrea — were “black holes for freedom of information” with little access and difficult conditions for journalists.

Countries downgraded to “not free” were Libya, South Sudan, Turkey, Ukraine, and Zambia.

Freedom House said China and Russia continued to maintain a tight grip on locally based print and broadcast media, while also attempting to control views in blogs or by foreign news sources. Both countries introduced additional legal measures to penalize online speech in 2013.

The group said journalists were attacked in 2013 in Ukraine, Turkey and Egypt, and to a lesser extent in Brazil, Venezuela, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Jordan, and Uganda.

On the positive side, 11 countries improved their rankings including eight in sub-Saharan Africa. Ivory Coast was upgraded from “not free” to “partly free.”

Photo: NS Newsflash via Flickr