Sometimes it’s fun to see how outrage is created.
Richard Trumka is somebody you’ve never heard of. He works for a federal agency you don’t know about unless your kid’s car seat is recalled — the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Bloomberg showed Trumka some data on January 9th:
· 12% of asthma cases are because of gas stoves
· Gas stoves emit 5X the safe limit for Nitrogen Dioxide, even when they’re off
· The New England Journal of Health asked for the sale of new gas ranges to cease, and Consumer Reports refused to endorse any gas ranges over gas leaks
Then they put a mic in his face.
“Hey, Mr. Trumka. Now that you know these are poison death machines, why don’t you ban them since your job is to keep consumers safe?”
His response?
“This is a hidden hazard. Any option is on the table. Products that can’t be made safe can be banned.”
That’s the full quote. He said products that can’t be made safe can be banned. We still have cigarettes and guns out here, so you know the government will play with its definitions of “safe.” I don’t read that as an imminent threat against gas ranges. Oh, but some people do! Many of your favorites took this as a direct threat…or pretended to.
Fox News reports that the Biden Administration is weighing a nationwide ban on new gas stoves.
At least two fallacies, falsehoods, or leaps have been made already.
- There is no context. The admin is weighing a ban. Remember, the initial statement was about banning products that can’t be made safe. Is Fox deciding that there’s no process to improve safety standards for gas ranges?
- Richard Trumka spoke for CPSC and the Biden Administration. Did they speak with the Administration or the CPSC to clarify the remark? Based on CPSC remarks a day later Fox clearly didn’t ask them.
Now we’ve moved on to the filler sideshows.
We have man-on-the-street interviews to get shocked reactions and to create social media pull quotes.
“Did you know the administration was weighing a potential gas stove ban?”
“Biden personally banned all gas stoves immediately? That’s crazy!”
We have somebody showing us how an egg cooks on a gas stove. I assume she’s going to somebody else’s house for the next segment to do an egg side-by-side with one cooked on electricity.
This is useless filler content. It costs nothing to produce, fills air time, and continues the manufactured concerns about the crisis of the day.
We have a gotcha! Fox News LOVES gotcha moments. They’re not all strong, but they love the format.
Here a person is breaking the story, reacting to the report, or making up the story of a photo of a First Lady cooking on a gas stove. This is only scandalous in a world where Joe Biden has strong feelings about gas stoves and is implementing them. We’ve moved from this being a potential ban to showing how hypocritical this ban is.
I don’t know who or what the person is on screen. The truth isn’t better than what I made up for a gold-chain, tribal tat, Amish-bearded man holding a rasslin’ belt providing political insight.
He’s not rasslin’. If he’s not rasslin’, the only reason to bring the belt is for credibility. But why does a rasslin’ belt give you political credibility? It doesn’t mean you have less credibility, but you damn sure don’t have more.
Of course, the brand himself got involved. He made the face he makes when the guest hits the line they wrote perfectly so he can set up the next act with faux confusion. “Wait. So you’re saying the Democrats are doing bad things?”
Now we’ve moved from “they are considering a ban” to “what hypocrites they are for this ban” to “this is what the ban will do to people you care about.”
Carlson has made an additional two leaps here.
- Something has been done already that will have an impact on many businesses. We’re not just hearing one person’s response to one question. We’re not even hearing an administration’s plan. We hear about a done deal — a law in place.
- That impact will be negative. Not only will it be hard for you at home if you love your gas stove. It won’t just hurt companies. It will ruin many businesses.
That text would still be a lie even if we had a complete ban on gas stoves. Banning gas stoves COULD ruin many businesses. It’s hard to know since natural gas companies created the only economic reports on the topic. I don’t trust Netflix on how much streaming is right, and I don’t trust BP or Tenaska on how safe natural gas is. Apparently Tucker does.
Next are the mole people. They don’t have new thoughts. They don’t have defined personalities apart from basic traits like “Cruel,” “Dim” or, “Hostile.” They regurgitate the sounds others have made, but at a louder volume.
These people watched Fox News, learned there was a story that could drive some money or attention, and hopped on. Aides send them the links to tweet, and they get to add to the outrage.
Forget one or two fallacies like before; now it’s go-for-broke.
- All Democrats want to ban gas stoves. Forget an agency or a person at an agency or any nuance. You voted for a Democrat; you are on board with banning gas stoves.
- It’s to appease Green New Deal fanatics.
- It’s to control every aspect of your life.
- It’s because they can’t help themselves.
- It’s because they don’t cook.
- It’s because they can’t cook.
Remember, we’re talking about consumer safety. No one said this was an environmental issue. Now it’s Democratic overreach because of the Green New Deal and inability to function in a kitchen.
You can watch the timeline and see how it works. Veterans like Ted Cruz knew when Fox News was running their AM hits so that he could be seen at the same time. Tom Cotton got a heads-up during the day from his team so he was ready to go at lunchtime. MTG is less sophisticated. She heard on Twitter or one of those right-wing Twitter clones and then went from there. The guy who got called an Uncle Tom the other day and asked not to be judged for his youth even though he’s the same age as me tagged the President in his response to get his views up because he was a day late.
There were a lot more like this, but you get the point. Once Tucker and the bottom dwellers weigh in, it’s a full-gone panic. Facts are lost.
By the time we get a simple clarification a day later, it’s already too late.
It lets you know that when Richard Trumka spoke in the 1st place, he was talking about finding safer gas stoves and not banning them as a first resort. It shows that the panic caused by the initial reporting was off. While Fox and others have reported on Hoehn-Saric’s response, we’re past that point now. Once the mole people are on board, it always ends the same way.
If you check out the Twitter mentions of Trumka or Hoehn-Sarich, now it’s a full-on shit show.
- Some people think they convinced Biden not to ban gas stoves because of them. “If we hadn’t blown up your scheme, you would have done it.”
- Some people think they’re lying, and the grand un-gassing is upon us.
- Everyone thinks some version of the lies that Fox News told over the previous 24 hours, but now with a conspiracy or prejudice attached.
In one day, a fairly innocuous comment from a random bureaucrat turned into the biggest story in America about how out-of-touch Democrats are forcing their agenda on God-fearing, hard-working Americans.
Those same people will use it as a talking point for the next year to score rally points and to gin up campaign dollars.
They’re vile cretins, every last one.
It was, once again, a lie built upon a foundation of bullshit that took ZERO time to see, but when the only punishment we have is shame and one group doesn’t have any, it’s hard to find fair rules to live by.
At the very least you should keep track. If somebody’s been wrong this many times or is making up stories day after day, why turn to them? Are you looking for facts and data, or do you just want something to be mad about?
