Ultra Liberal USA TODAY is like CNN in Print
MANASSAS, VA: I never give much thought to USA TODAY. It’s a forgettable paper that brands itself as “The Nation’s News” but rarely ever breaks a big story. On the other hand, it is the newspaper of choice for most hotel chains to the point that one wonders if the Gannett Co. has a deal with hotels similar to the one CNN has with airports.
USA TODAY is nothing if not woke.
You can scan the headlines and quickly see the left-wing bias, the solidarity with Black Lives Matter, and the unabashed hatred of President Donald Trump. As I write on this Juneteenth morning, I wonder if this is a special all-liberal edition. No – yesterday’s was just as woke or woker. (Should that be as wokish? Or as wokeful?)
USA TODAY June 19, 2020 (Photo by Lynn Woolley for WBDaily)
Three front-page stories – and three sojourns into left-wing thought.
I remember USA TODAY as a newspaper of snippets – short, to-the-point rundowns of what the news is. If that was ever the case, the strategy is different now. Today’s TODAY featured just three stories on Page One – two of the above the fold.
The top story was headlined:
“Supreme Court Defends DACA”
This Richard Wolf story seemed to take delight that the new and improved left-wing Supreme Court handed a defeat to President Trump. Wolf used the word “popular” in his first-graph description of DACA:
“A deeply divided Supreme Court blocked the Trump administration Thursday on ending a popular program that allows nearly 650,000 young, undocumented immigrants to live and work in the United Sates without fear of deportation.”
As I’ve mentioned many times, the word “popular,” as used by the left-wing media refers to some government giveaway that is loved by the people getting the benefit but not necessarily popular with the rest of We The People. In this case, it’s popular with a subset of illegal aliens and those that support this particular type of law breaking.
There was no mention in article of the oft-repeated liberal talking point that “No One Is Above the Law.” It’s just fine to be above the law if that fits the purposes of the Left.
Video: Democrats tell us “no one is above law” except illegal immigrants, DACA recipients, protesters who destroy property and loot stores, thugs who take over entire city blocks, and Democrats in general.
This story details, with delight, the betrayal of Chief Justice John Roberts who has become the second Supreme Court justice appointed by a Bush to be a liberal. Roberts, it turns out, is more concerned with political fallout than with the law. He has become “W’s Revenge” on conservatives who have opened their eyes to the disaster that GWB turned out to be.
The second story on Page One is headlined:
“A Juneteenth Like No Other”
This left-wing rant by Nicquel Terry Ellis firmly places a halo atop the heads of all race-based protesters while neatly avoiding any mention of destruction, arson, breaking of windows, looting, and murders that have take place in urban areas since the murder-by-police of George Floyd.
Instead, this article proclaims that Juneteenth is a day for even bigger protests:
“But while historically, Juneteenth has been a day for Black people to celebrate freedom, over time, many viewed it as a day to mobilize and gain the liberties they are denied.”
There is lot to consider in those few lines. First the upper-casing of the word “black” to “Black,” which also follows form in other stories. If I detect a usage of the word “white” as “White,” I’ll let you know.
In my view, Juneteenth is a day to celebrate freedom. It commemorates the Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Lincoln to free the slaves. Note that the Lincoln Memorial in Washington was vandalized during the current race riots — but you’ll have to look it up because Nicquel Terry Ellis forgot to mention it in his/her article.
Ellis open up with a passion-filled story about a Black man (Givionne “Gee” Jordan Jr.) who tried to make peace with cops in Charleston, S.C., but they arrested him for doing that. If this happened as USA TODAY reports it, then the police violated the Constitution – but you have to wonder if Ellis might have omitted some facts.
Ellis also tells us that about 100 in 100,000 Black males will be killed by police during their lives. This is from a study by three universities. (Studies are not news. They come typically from agenda-driven left-wing academics, but I digress.) Compare that statistic to just 39 white males in 100,000 that will die in similar fashion.
Ellis does not offer any stats about how many Black men out of 100,000 commit violent crimes as opposed to how many white men do – because that would not fit the narrative. And no, I did not type this wrong. “Black” is capitalized and “white” is not. So there.
The final story on Page One is headlined:
“Trump’s rally raises COVID-19 alarms”
This took two intrepid USA TODAY reporters to write – perhaps to get twice the left-wing bias and Trump hatred. Here’s a key graph from Ledyard King and Adrianna Rodriguez:
“President Donald Trump’s decision to return to the campaign trail by holding a rally Saturday night in Tulsa, Oklahoma – his first in more than three months – in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic has health experts fearful that the gathering could turn into ground zero for a ‘super spreader’ event.”
Oh so? I didn’t detect any such concern in the Juneteenth article that talked about the holiday being a time to “mobilize.” The hypocrisy in USA TODAY is palpable – but like the girlfriend in “Ticket To Ride” – they don’t care.
There is use here of another word that has become useful to the woke media: “experts.” This is their shorthand way of saying – we are picking and choosing opinions from people we agree with. You know the usual suspects: left-wing professors, left-wing scientists, and Dr. Fauci. Again, it’s the old double standard that a Trump rally will spread COVID-19 while race riots are peaceful protests and the coronavirus wouldn’t dare show up.
Speaking of not showing up, Dr. Fauci was indeed quoted – saying he would not attend the rally.
Moving on to page 6A, USA TODAY devotes an entire page to the DACA decision including a story headlined:
“‘Dreamers’ on decision: ‘We won’”
Alan Gomez writes the stories of the Beautiful Dreamers who fought for the right to be illegal. The term “No One Is Above the Law” is not mentioned. Opposing points of view are not mentioned. The entire article is an emotion-driven account of how happy Dreamers are now that the evil Trump has been put in his place – and how there are 11 million more illegals in the United Sates that must be protected from the evil Trump.
Apparently, law and order refers to Donald Trump – but protesters, rioters, looters, and Dreamers (capitalized) are exempt.
The Op-Ed page carried three columns, the first being an Editorial Board warning:
“Our View: We’re so done with COVID, but COVID isn’t over us”
Don’t blink or you’ll miss something in this key excerpt:
“Americans are ready to back into bars and restaurants, gyms and hair salons; to plop down on crowded beaches; and to attend protests or Trump political rallies, like the one scheduled to be held indoors at an arena in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Saturday.”
Did they really mention “protests?” Well now. But they took every possible swipe at Trump:
“The poor national leadership starts at the top, with President Donald Trump’s premature proclamations that the virus is ‘dying out’ and ‘fading away,’ but the pandemic problem goes beyond him. Too many Americans are too quick to listen to the crackpots and to dismiss the experts who live in the worlds of facts and science.”
There’s those ‘experts” again – presumably the ones who told us not to wear masks, then to wear masks, and so on. The ones who told us to go to events in New York and San Francisco. The experts always know best – just so long as we can crash the economy and elect Biden.
There is a tepid opposing viewpoint written by Adam Brandon of Freedom Works, in which he says an increase in cases was to be expected. Ah, but a column by Ellis Cose fills out the page with a bitter attack on Trump:
“Trump rally spotlights Tulsa race massacre”
Huh? The Trump rally is meant to poke at blacks – I mean Blacks – over riots that took place in Tulsa on May 31, 1921? This was bad stuff to be sure. You can look it up – the story of a young black man named Dick Rowland and how whites reacted badly to a perceived attack on a white girl. Form your own opinion based on the facts, but how does it follow that Trump should not hold a rally in Tulsa?
Here’s the key graph:
“It’s possible that President Donald Trump’s reason for scheduling his let’s-forget-COVID-19 rally in Tulsa this weekend had nothing to do with stirring up racial mischief. It’s possible that the event, as Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt suggested, was conceived simply to celebrate the (certainly premature) reopening of the state. It’s even possible that the originally announced date (June 19th, or Juneteenth – commemorating the emancipation of America’s formerly enslaved) was chosen for some reason other than insulting African Americans.”
This is true Trump hatred. I doubt that Trump and most other Americans know the precise date and details of the unfortunate Tulsa riots of 1921. Furthermore, Trump might well have mentioned Juneteenth is his speech as a great day in the annals of freedom.
But no – Trump never gets a break from the MSM while Clinton, Obama, and Biden get all the breaks. (It was his personal sex life. How was he to know that he was attending a racist church? So what if he was best friends with racists?) It’s different when you’re a Democrat.
This op-ed is from a true Trump-hating liberal who fails to mention how the Trump economy provided blacks (Blacks) with their best employment numbers in American history. Better than Clinton and better than Obama. But the narrative is the narrative.
The worst of the rest.
The Juneteenth edition of USA TODAY is liberal from start to finish. The NATION’S HEATH section includes stories about Election Day posing “a dangerous confluence” regarding COVID-19 and elderly election workers. The liberal media in general is pushing the idea of voting by mail, and this article fits in nicely by scaring older workers and voters.
There is a story about how Trump is failing to protect workers at meatpacking plants from COVID-19, and another about how Latino groups are mad at the government for looking into whether immigrants might be bringing COVID-19 into our country.
In the MONEY & LIFE section, you’ll read a heartwarming story of how Target and other companies are rushing to provide Juneteenth as a paid holiday. We are told Target is “improving diversity” and is committed to funding racial justice organization [such as Black Lives Matter] to the tune of $10 million.
The story asks the question: “Will Nike, corporate celebrations make a difference?” One supposes they will make a difference if they fund more rioting and looting. Heck, maybe Target will become a target since there’s lots of stuff in there to loot in the name of George Floyd.
Thankfully, the SPORTS section was all about sports. Headlines included:
“New marching orders likely for college bands”
Social distancing and all that… And:
“Tolerance level for football to be tested”
This Christine Brennan column asked the question:
“How many hospitalizations and deaths of players, coaches, staff, administrators, referees, and fans, if they are allowed, will we have to accept to have our football this fall?”
This column opened up with Dr. Fauci THE EXPERT opining, “…football may not happen this year.” Maybe it should and he can stay home or in front of TV camera. Remember, he’s not going to the Trump rally.
The final story on the front of the sports section is this:
“NBA restart would come amid efforts to fight racial inequality”
This is by Mark Medina and Jeff Zillgitt and it’s all about basketball players demanding equality. They’re considering a boycott. I wondered if this were about COVID-19, or the fact that the NBA is short on white (White) players and short on short players. But it appears to be about George Floyd’s unfortunate death in Minneapolis.
With COVID-19 still possessing the power to keep fans away, a boycott might kill the goose that lays the golden egg. But if it’s all about doing the right thing, then just do it. According to this article, the players could do the boycott, or hold protests during the games – but they will do what LeBron James tells them to do. (LeBron, meanwhile does what the Communist Chinese party tells him to do.)
In any case, I’ll find out what they decided from Rush or Tucker since I have never and will never watch an NBA game. Nothing personal – I just don’t have the extra time for the NBA or the NFL, though I may gain some time if the Texas Longhorns bow to the current zeitgeist.)
USA TODAY is pretty much CNN on paper.
If you like CNN and believe that it is fair and balanced, you’ll feel the same way about USA TODAY. It’s loaded with selected facts and statistics and it leaves out anything that doesn’t match up with its anti Trump agenda. Just like CNN.
It’s interesting to note that owner Gannett Co. has fired its CEO Paul Bascobert following a realignment caused by the megamerger with Gatehouse media—owner of the Austin American-Statesman. Gannett is planning to cut $300 million in annual expenditures to make up for the fact that newspapers are dying.
They might try just being fair and balanced. The Epoch Times is – and that paper is growing fast simply by reporting the news without a political agenda. USA TODAY could try that as well — but like CNN, they are mired in left-wing groupthink and motivated by hatred of President Trump.
If I had to guess, USA TODAY will soon be a part of YESTERDAY. It can’t happen too soon.
Lynn Woolley is a Texas-based author, broadcaster, and songwriter.
Follow his podcast at https://www.PlanetLogic.us.
Check out his author’s page at https://www.Amazon.com/author/lynnwoolley. Order books direct from Lynn at https://PlanetLogicPress.Square.Site.
Email Lynn at lwoolley9189@gmail.com.
