Evidence the Left Hates NPR Now, STL Murderer Walks When Attorney Forgets to Show Up to Court, OnlyFans Mom Happy to Provide Free Porn to Her Sons Jr. High Classmates (The Five for 07/23/21)
Hey, welcome to The Five.
Before we begin:
The Tuesday edition is focused on hard news, while Friday is for Culture & Commentary.
On a personal note, my new (partially) work from home job frees up 20+ hours per month, and I’m considering starting a second Substack around career, money and entrepreneurship content. This would require a separate (free) email subscription. Email me at sethtowerhurd@gmail.com or hop into the conversation on The Five’s Discord & let me know your thoughts.
[one]
This week, National Public Radio kicked up a lot of dust with this article: “Outrage as a Business Model: How Ben Shapiro is Using Facebook to Build an Online Empire.”
Rather than cover this one myself (as I lean right), I’m going to turn to one of the best journalists on the left, Matt Taibbi (formerly of Rolling Stone).
Tiaibbi highlights the following points from NPR’s story:
NPR doesn’t accuse Shapiro or his publication The Daily Wire of “publishing falsehoods,” and agrees DW’s stories are fact based and credible.
NPR also notes that Shapiro acknowledges Trump lost the election, denounces the alt right, and does not try to hide opinion editorials as “straight news.”
The main complaint of National Public Radio is that the Daily Wire “[covers] specific stories that bolster the conservative agenda (such as… polarizing ones about race and sexuality issues)… readers still come away from The Daily Wire's content with the impression that Republican politicians can do little wrong and cancel culture is among the nation's greatest threats.”
Now, keep in mind, the following response from Tiaibbi, who was one of the biggest critics of the Republican party for a major media outlet (Rolling Stone) for nearly two decades…and even he’s completely sick of NPR.
From tiaibbi.substack.com:
NPR has not run a piece critical of Democrats since Christ was a boy. Moreover, much like the New York Times editorial page (but somehow worse), the public news leader’s monomaniacal focus on “race and sexuality issues” has become an industry in-joke. For at least a year especially, listening to NPR has been like being pinned in wrestling beyond the three-count. Everything is about race or gender, and you can’t make it stop.
Conservatives have always hated NPR, but in the last year I hear more and more politically progressive people, in the media, talking about the station as a kind of mass torture experiment, one that makes the most patient and sensible people want to drive off the road in anguish.
In other words, Tiaibbi is accusing NPR of being on the left what Daily Wire is for the right…a partisan based news source.
The biggest differences between the two outlets, worth noting:
A). NPR is taxpayer funded, The Daily Wire is a private company.
B). The Daily Wire is branded as a Conservative media outlet. NPR, which is clearly a Leftist media outlet, self-brands as centrist/neutral.
Hundreds of comments on Tiabbi’s Substack, largely from those on the left, expressed disgust for NPR, and often mentioned the decay of the New York Times as well.
It’s worth noting that NPR’s criticism comes just as The Daily Wire launched The Morning Wire, an NPR-ish morning news podcast that may just appeal to those disaffected former NPR listeners on the political left, because Morning Wire is playing news straight down the middle with little commentary.
Tiaibbi pointed out that NPR criticizing The Daily Wire for having “a bigger audience than the Washington Post” is similar to a recent article from The New York Times: “Is The Rise of the Substack Economy Bad for Democracy?” (Substack is not bad for democracy, it’s bad for the NYT’s profit margin).
Rather than blaming newcomers to the media space, legacy outlets like NPR and the New York Times could simply…focus on improving their own product.
But it’s always easier to criticize than build. The irony is the more legacy outlets bend the truth to slander upstarts like the DW and Tiaibbi’s own Substack channel, the anecdotal evidence is that these hit pieces are actually driving readers straight into the arms of startup content creators.
[two]
The family of Randy Moore, who was murdered at age 30, father of 3. Randy’s murderer is now roaming the streets of St. Louis, MO.
Americans have a bad habit of consuming endless amounts of national politics while ignoring what’s happening in our collective backyards.
If you’re reading this in St. Louis…an alleged murderer now has the freedom to walk through your back yard, due to the local prosecutor not showing up for work.
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s office has “essentially abandoned its duty to prosecute those it charges with crimes.”
This according to St. Louis Circuit Judge Jason Sengheiser, who dismissed a murder case Friday after Gardner’s prosecutors failed to appear for multiple hearings on the case.
In that statement, Gardner wrote: "Be assured that as the Circuit Attorney of the City of St. Louis, I am accountable to the public for the actions of the office and remain committed as ever to upholding the highest possible standards and practices of accountability at all levels of this office, particularly the public safety of the residents of the City of St. Louis. As a result, the individual in this case is (sic) custody."
Gardner’s office issued a revised statement at about 7 p.m. Tuesday confirming Campbell remains at large and that the office has kept Moore’s family informed about the case.
According to NBC 5, not only can Attorney Gardner not be bothered to show up for work, she can’t be bothered to communicate with the victim’s family, as the only updates they received about the case came from homicide detectives.
I start a new job on Monday in the city of St. Louis, which means I’ll be paying the 1% city income tax. Which means I’ll be funding Attorney Gardner, with no option to vote against her in an election.
This is sickening.
I’m covering this in the Friday issue, because this is a culture issue…Attorney Gardner is in office because people ignore their very real local problems in favor of armchair quarterbacking national politics.
I’m asking you to be better than that.
[three]
A very sad post from Reddit made the rounds on social media this week, that I believe points to some larger (disturbing) trends in modern American culture.
Observations:
A). There have always been kids raised by narcissistic parents, but there’s something more going on here.
B). For the most part, whether or not people agree on the damage porn can do to the human brain, the vast majority of Americans do support free speech, including speech they don’t like. There's no group with any amount of influence talking about banning porn or OnlyFans (essentially, a startup to democratize creating porn and selling direct to the consumer).
C). Furthermore, jr. high boys will (for the most part) find access to porn, unless parents and teachers keep pretty close tabs and offer guidance. For a neutral source on why this is so dangerous, The American Bar Association has an excellent report on porn’s devastating effects on children.
D). All those things…are not news. What is noteworthy:
i). this woman understands she is indirectly supplying jr. high students with porn, which would be punishable with a year in jail if the circumstances were just slightly different. And doesn't care.
ii). the idea that “sex work is the same as working in a grocery store” lives at the intersection of a couple of trends—the first being blank slate theory (the idea that people are born with no pre-programmed moral code, so we can make society whatever we want) and the [fill in the blank] positivity movements.
While there’s a valid case to be made that the Moral Majority of the 80’s alongside 90’s suburban culture (i.e. my D.A.R.E. officer hyped up marijuana as a drug you could overdose on—you can’t) and the “Karen” phenomenon of the new Millennium, I suppose a cultural course correction was coming.
But rather than stop at accepting people for who they are (“live and let live”) , the American culture seems to have adopted a policy that any decision made for individuality/personal happiness can’t be a wrong one, regardless of the tangible damage to the lives of others.
It’s old school narcissism with 2020’s sheen, wrapped in this decade’s most clichéd mantra: “live your truth.”
Much of adulthood, and nearly all of parenthood, should be about making sacrifices for the good of others.
If this mom had texted the same photos to jr. high boys, rather than have them discovered by those same boys via Twitter—she’d be a felon right now.
On top of the familial and ethical issues here…this also transforms education. Again, there’s a difference in jr. high students accessing porn (which is harmful), and jr. high students accessing an ongoing stream of illicit photos of the parent of a classmate, which creates a whole new set of problems in a local educational ecosystem.
[four]
A left wing pundit, right wing pundit and sports analyst walk into a bar…and piss of Yahoo.
This week, sports writer Clay Travis criticized tennis pro Naomi Osaka, who regularly refuses to speak to sports media (and was recently fined $15,000 for skipping a required press conference).
Right wing pundit Megyn Kelly commented.
As did left wing British talking head Piers Morgan.
Yahoo responded by running this headline:
The headline leads the reader to believe that Osaka was criticized for her bi-racial ethnicity while posing in swimwear, rather than for her behavior during an event as a professional athlete.
This is the rare occasion when prominent voices on the left, right and “other” (sports journalist) are in agreement on something that’s very non-controversial.
Press conferences are mandated because the events are vital to promoting an event. Osaka skipping out hurts lesser known players, TV viewership and (indirectly) the rank and file workers who depend on fans showing up and caring in order to make a living.
Osaka’s excuse that she’s “too shy” to talk to the media does stand in stark contrast to Naomi’s willingness to participate in positive press to falling all over her with their praise.
Yahoo’s bogus headline highlights two negative trends:
A). The tendency of the elite media to protect “the in crowd” from valid criticism.
B). The phenomenon of writing headlines for social media algorithms and “rage reactions” to drive web traffic…even when those headlines are misleading to the point of stopping just short of a full blown lie.
One final note here. Being “introverted” is a personality trait, not a disability. If you choose a life in the public eye, you’re signing up to talk to the press.
As a radio and TV host and journalist, I’m sure I interviewed hundreds of introverts without knowing it.
For Osaka to treat this like a disability does a service to those dealing with true mental and physical obstacles to overcome. Pop star Billie Eilish, soccer pros David Beckham and Tim Howard (USMNT) and Ray Donovan star Dash Mihok all regularly talk to the press while managing Tourette Syndrome (this video of Mihok explaining his struggles with the Tourette’s while acting is worth checking out).
[five]
As always, let’s head into the weekend with a pop culture roundup:
Matt Damon (The Martian, The Departed) is reuniting on screen with Ben Affleck (Gone Girl, Argo) for the first time since their Oscar-winning Good Will Hunting, which the pair co-wrote and starred in. The Last Duel, pairs off Damon against Adam Driver (Star Wars VII, VIII, IX) in the true story of two knights (assumedly) fighting to the death in Medieval Britain.. Releases only in theaters October 15th, which means this is an awards season contender. First trailer here.
During the pandemic, the British children’s cartoon Peppa Pig jumped in popularity from the 50th most popular children’s show to the 2nd. The Wall Street Journal documented the phenomena. Or, just watch this TikTok video to see the “toddler British accent” trend in action.
John Wick is my favorite movie franchise of the modern era, so I’m thrilled that a prequel series is getting a massive $20 million budget for just three episodes. Set in decaying, crime-ridden 1970’s New York City (pretty much exactly the same as modern day NYC, but without smartphones), The Continental will tell the tale of a hotel where assassins congregate.
Community, which ran for a total of six seasons (and was on the verge of being canceled the whole time), is my favorite sitcom. So I about jumped out of my chair when I read that creator Dan Harmon is finally continuing the story of a group of misfits at a jr. college into a movie. If you’re keeping track…a show about college ran six seasons (with the characters still in undergrad the whole time) and now will return as a movie, 7 years after the finale aired, and 13 years after the show debuted, with the characters as freshmen…maybe it’s best not to overthink this one.
MUSIC NEWS: A nearly 50 year old debate has been re-ignited as to whether the opening line of Bruce Springsteen’s classic “Thunder Road” begins with “the screen door slams, Mary’s dress sways” or “The screen door slams, Mary’s dress waves.” Gallons of digital ink have been spilled over this single word variation, which you can read about here, if you care. | Who still buys albums (vs streaming)? Rock and metal fans, apparently, as those two genres are dominating pure album sales (vs. streaming factored in) for 2021. | Kanye West released the first clip of his new album via a Beats headphones commercial starring Sha’Carri Richardson, the Olympic sprinter banned from the summer games after testing positive due to a single marijuana joint after her mother died.
MY PICKS: Adding this bullet point to share a few of the best songs/albums in my current rotation. This week: NEEDTOBREATHE feat. John Foreman (Switchfoot): “Carry Me” [rootsy rock], Chvrches feat Robert Smith (The Cure): “How Not to Drown” [hooky, Scottish electronic emo featuring the original 80’s Brit sad boi), Kate Vargas: “Glorietta to the Holy Place” [country/soul that reminds me of Duffy, Adele], Vic Mensa: “Victory” [hip hop banger that should be on your workout playlist ASAP].
NEW MUSIC: 70’s singer/songwriter Jackson Brown released Downhill from Here, a collection of freshly penned adult contemporary tunes that left a solid impression at first listen. Anberlin released another entry into their “live” albums, aka recordings of live video streams during COVID with As You Found Me, Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes fame remixed her solo debut under the moniker Jaime (Reimagined), including collaborations from Bon Iver and acclaimed Atlanta hip hop duo EARTHGANG. A strong posthumous album from rapper Pop Smoke, Faith, released.
[epilogue]
In March 1813, Louisiana Governor William Claiborne offered a $500 reward for the capture of Jean Laffitte, a French-born pirate ransacking American, Spanish and British ships in the Gulf of Mexico, and then running his own markets along the coast where he sold the captured goods to locals.
Offended, Laffitte offered a $1,000 reward for the capture of the Governor.
Laffitte was eventually captured, but later earned a full pardon for the smuggling and piracy charges when he fought alongside General Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans, when the future President was looking for every roughneck and rifleman he could find, including convicts.
Despite trying to kidnap a Governor, Laffitte was known as a kind pirate, even by those on the ships he plundered. He never held the crews of captured ships for ransom, and was described by one American merchant this way:
I was never…treated with more courtesy and kindness than I was by the dreaded and much abused pirate, Laffite. He was a fine, well-proportioned man, about six feet high, with the bearing and manner of a refined and cultivated gentleman, affable and pleasant.
Until the next one,
-sth