Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Fox News is drumming up hate against single women, particularly if they vote
RAW STORY
Ah, Media Matters is getting under the skin at Fox News again. Fox has been really hammering at young, single women in recent months, pushing the idea—rather unsubtly—that they’re a bunch of no-count sluts who will bring this country down because they’re too busy fucking and not busy being brought to heel with a nice, woman-taming marriage, preferably with oodles of babies to keep your feminine hands from getting idle and then getting into the devil’s work. Media Matters flagged a particularly egregious example.
Transcript:
Ah, Media Matters is getting under the skin at Fox News again. Fox has been really hammering at young, single women in recent months, pushing the idea—rather unsubtly—that they’re a bunch of no-count sluts who will bring this country down because they’re too busy fucking and not busy being brought to heel with a nice, woman-taming marriage, preferably with oodles of babies to keep your feminine hands from getting idle and then getting into the devil’s work. Media Matters flagged a particularly egregious example.
Transcript:
GUILFOYLE: Right, that’s the thing, but when you’re young like that you think – the same reason why young women on juries are not a good idea – they don’t get it. They’re not in that same like, life experience of paying the bills, doing the mortgage, kids, community, crime, education, health care. They’re like healthy and hot and running around without a care in the world.BECKEL: They’ve got every right in the world to be – what do you mean they shouldn’t be on jury duty? They’ve got every right in the world.GUILFOYLE: I didn’t say they shouldn’t be, I just thank and excuse them so they can go back on Tinder or Match.com.
Really, it was the complete package: Accusing
single women of being dumb, implying that they’re bad people because
they have too much sex, and recommending marriage and babies as a way to
bring them to heel. The only thing she forgot was cats. Bimbo or
beleaguered housewives: On Fox News, those are the only two things a
woman can be.
The excuse that the team on The Five brought after getting called out for this nonsense was
that it was all taken out of context. This is a lie. Or, if you want to
be generous, if by “out of context” you mean that they reported that
Guilfoyle was saying they aren’t fit to sit juries without noting that
she was making a larger point about how they’re not fit to vote, either,
okay. But all the coverage I saw understood that she generally was suggesting single women should self-exclude from civic duties altogether.
I have a feeling that single women aren’t
really a good demographic for Fox News, so this can’t really be
understood as a direct attempt to discourage women from voting. (It
would probably backfire anyway.) It’s more trying to encourage their
older, more likely to be married audience to see single women as the
enemy. Basically, you provoke a sexist anxiety in your audience—those
hot young women are running around having fun while poor oppressed you
has a mortgage to pay—and then offer a way to show those bitches what’s
what, by voting Republican. Never mind that the percentage of single
women who really are “running around without a care in the world” was
reduced to a zero after Kim Kardashian got married. Single women are a
diverse group, to say the least, coming in all ages and income levels
(except the very richest, which tends to be male-centric). Some are
mothers, some aren’t.
But even if you are a relatively privileged
young woman who has lots of free time and money for Tinder dating, that
doesn’t mean you don’t have a care in the world. Odds are you’re still
underpaid and you likely live in an expensive city where meeting your
financial obligations is no walk in the park. You’re probably saddled
with student debt and you may be dependent on Obamacare to get health
care if you’re part of the freelance generation. On top of that, you
still have all the same old worries that plague a lot of women, simply
by being women: Subtle sexual discrimination, sexual harassment, even
domestic and sexual violence.
Also, for those people who forget, dating,
even with Tinder, is no walk in the park. It’s just there’s no real
political solution for that, so it’s something of a non sequitur anyway.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Reporter Pens Damning Resignation After Writing Story On GOPer's Threat
TPM
The reporter, Springfield, Illinois bureau chief Dave McKinney, wrote a long letter about how after he co-wrote the story he was put on leave by the Sun-Times. He also described how, when he came back to the paper, he was "advised" not to have his byline on reporting related to the company that Rauner and his business associate argued over.
He noted that he was pulled off his beat and his reporting for that day was "removed inexplicably from the Sun-Times website."
McKinney, in his letter, did note that top members of the Sun-Times defended him against criticism from the Rauner campaign. McKinney also noted that the Sun-Times recently broke a three year no-endorsement policy and backed Rauner. McKinney suggested that there had been a "breach" in the wall between the owners of the paper and the newsroom. He concluded the letter saying that under the circumstances he had to resign.
He wrote, "I’m convinced this newspaper no longer has the backs of reporters like me."
"We reporters have a healthy suspicion of both parties and candidates," McKinney wrote. "It’s our job. It’s regrettable that this issue has emerged in the homestretch of an important election in Illinois, but respectfully, this isn’t about either candidate or the election. It’s about readers and their trust in us. So my decision could not wait. I hate to leave, but I must."
"And so, it is with great sadness today that I tender my immediate resignation from the Sun-Times."
In response, the Rauner campaign said the Sun-Times decision to post the story was "irresponsible" according to CBS's Chicago affiliate. Trover also said that McKinney had "an extraordinary conflict of interest" given that he is married to Democratic political operative Ann Liston.
Read McKinney's full letter, posted to his wordpress blog, here.
Rauner is the Republican candidate trying to defeat Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn (D). The TPM Polltracker finds Rauner with a slim 0.3 point lead over Quinn..................................
The reporter, Springfield, Illinois bureau chief Dave McKinney, wrote a long letter about how after he co-wrote the story he was put on leave by the Sun-Times. He also described how, when he came back to the paper, he was "advised" not to have his byline on reporting related to the company that Rauner and his business associate argued over.
He noted that he was pulled off his beat and his reporting for that day was "removed inexplicably from the Sun-Times website."
McKinney, in his letter, did note that top members of the Sun-Times defended him against criticism from the Rauner campaign. McKinney also noted that the Sun-Times recently broke a three year no-endorsement policy and backed Rauner. McKinney suggested that there had been a "breach" in the wall between the owners of the paper and the newsroom. He concluded the letter saying that under the circumstances he had to resign.
He wrote, "I’m convinced this newspaper no longer has the backs of reporters like me."
"We reporters have a healthy suspicion of both parties and candidates," McKinney wrote. "It’s our job. It’s regrettable that this issue has emerged in the homestretch of an important election in Illinois, but respectfully, this isn’t about either candidate or the election. It’s about readers and their trust in us. So my decision could not wait. I hate to leave, but I must."
"And so, it is with great sadness today that I tender my immediate resignation from the Sun-Times."
In response, the Rauner campaign said the Sun-Times decision to post the story was "irresponsible" according to CBS's Chicago affiliate. Trover also said that McKinney had "an extraordinary conflict of interest" given that he is married to Democratic political operative Ann Liston.
Read McKinney's full letter, posted to his wordpress blog, here.
Rauner is the Republican candidate trying to defeat Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn (D). The TPM Polltracker finds Rauner with a slim 0.3 point lead over Quinn..................................
