<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/taylor-swift" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Taylor Swift</a> revealed the surprise gift she received from country singer Kenny Chesney early in her career which she said helped &#8220;fuel my dream,&#8221; and she&#8217;s never forgotten.
As <a href="https://time.com/6342806/person-of-the-year-2023-taylor-swift/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Time magazine&#8217;s</a> &#8220;Person Of The Year&#8221; for 2023, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/taylor-swift-the-eras-tour-film-holds-no-1-spot-at-box-office-surges-well-past-100-million" target="_blank" rel="noopener">33-year-old</a> shared a heartbreak she experienced at age 17 that came after she&#8217;d scored a coveted spot on Chesney&#8217;s tour.
&#8220;This was going to change my career,&#8221; Swift said. &#8220;I was so excited.&#8221;
However, when she arrived home a few weeks later, she saw her mom weeping on the steps and said she thought there had been a family emergency. Through the tears, Swift learned Chesney&#8217;s tour would be sponsored by a beer company, and she was too young to join.
&#8220;I was devastated,&#8221; she added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Time Magazine: We’d like to name you Person of the Yea-
Me: Can I bring my cat. <a href="https://t.co/SOhkYKSTwG">https://t.co/SOhkYKSTwG</a>
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) <a href="https://twitter.com/taylorswift13/status/1732406430857093501?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 6, 2023</a></blockquote>
But then, a few months later, at Swift&#8217;s 18th birthday party, Chesney&#8217;s promoter gave her a card from the country music star that explained how sad he was she wasn&#8217;t able to join the tour, and he wanted to make it up to her. Inside the card, she said, was a check.
&#8220;It was for more money than I&#8217;d ever seen in my life,&#8221; Swift told the outlet. &#8220;I was able to pay my band bonuses. I was able to pay for my tour buses. I was able to fuel my dreams.&#8221;
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Chesney told the reporter Swift&#8217;s story-telling ability is why he gave her the gift all those years ago.
&#8220;She was a writer who had something to say,&#8221; Chesney said. &#8220;That isn&#8217;t something you can fake by writing clichés. You can only live it, then write it as real as possible.&#8221;
And while that heartbreak so many years ago seems far off given her insane popularity now, Swift said she&#8217;s keenly aware &#8220;nothing is permanent.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;ve been raised up and down the flagpole of public opinion so many times in the last 20 years,&#8221; the &#8220;Shake It Off&#8221; hitmaker told the outlet. &#8220;I&#8217;ve been given a tiara, then had it taken away.&#8221;
&#8220;So I&#8217;m very careful to be grateful every second that I get to be doing this at this level, because I&#8217;ve had it taken away from me before,&#8221; she added.
&#8220;There is one thing I&#8217;ve learned: My response to anything that happens, good or bad, is to keep making things,&#8221; Swift continued. &#8220;Keep making art. But I&#8217;ve also learned there&#8217;s no point in actively trying to quote-unquote, &#8216;defeat your enemies.&#8217; Trash takes itself out every single time.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/taylor-swift-named-times-person-of-the-year-for-2023-are-you-not-entertained" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Taylor Swift Named Time&#8217;s &#8216;Person Of The Year&#8217; For 2023: &#8216;Are You Not Entertained?&#8217;</a>

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift Reveals Gift She Received From Country Superstar That Helped ‘Fuel My Dream’

Taylor Swift Reveals Gift She Received From Country Superstar That Helped 'Fuel My Dream'

Celebrities

Country Music

Entertainment

Music Industry

Time Magazine

U.S.

Pop superstar <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/taylor-swift" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Taylor Swift</a> has been named <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/time-magazine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Time Magazine</a>’s Person of the Year for 2023, the publication announced on Wednesday.
The 33-year-old gushed over the honor, telling the <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/taylor-swift-time-magazine-person-of-the-year-rcna128178" target="_blank" rel="noopener">outlet</a>, “This is the proudest and happiest I’ve ever felt, and the most creatively fulfilled and free I’ve ever been. Ultimately, we can convolute it all we want, or try to overcomplicate it, but there’s only one question: Are you not entertained?” 
For almost a century, Time has been picking a person who had the most influence on the world, be it positive or negative. The distinction was initially called “Man of the Year,” and prior to 1999, only four women had been selected.
Swift was also named Person of the Year in 2017, making her one of just a handful of individuals who were selected more than once. She beat out other contenders for this year, including Barbie, Trump prosecutors, King Charles III, Hollywood Strikers, Sam Altman, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Jerome Powell.
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Besides being named to the Time list, Swift was named the Most Intriguing Person of the Year by People Magazine and topped the Forbes list of the world’s most powerful women in media and entertainment.
This was a big year for Swift, who headlined her worldwide Eras Tour. The “Cruel Summer” singer also re-released two albums, “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” and “1989 (Taylor’s Version).” She became Spotify’s most-streamed artist worldwide with 26.1 billion streams since January.
Swift took home a Grammy and 9 MTV Video Music Awards this year. Her net worth crossed the $1 billion threshold thanks to the success of The Eras Tour and the movie version of the concert, which was released in theaters in October. “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” became the highest-grossing concert film of all time in the U.S. and Canada within days of its premiere in theaters and has since raked in more than $250 million.
The singer also began a high-profile romance with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, which has only served to bring more attention to this massively popular celebrity.

Taylor Swift Named Time’s ‘Person Of The Year’ For 2023: ‘Are You Not Entertained?’

Taylor Swift Named Time's 'Person Of The Year' For 2023: 'Are You Not Entertained?'

World

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ukrainian</a> President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/volodymyr-zelensky" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Volodymyr Zelensky</a> has been named <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/time-magazine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Time</a> Magazine’s Person of the Year.
After gaining international prominence in February as the Russian military <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ukraine-russia-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invaded</a> Ukraine, Zelensky has been revered among Western lawmakers as he leads the war-torn nation, which many officials initially predicted would succumb to its neighbor within the first weeks of the invasion. Time Magazine <a href="https://time.com/person-of-the-year-2022-volodymyr-zelensky/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> Zelensky’s efficacy in rallying international support using “the weapon of information.”
“Most of the people around him were armed with assault rifles, but this was his weapon, a late-model iPhone that Zelensky has used to wage the biggest land war of the information age,” Time Magazine reporter Simon Shuster said of the president. “His skill at addressing the world through that phone — in his nightly speeches on social media, in his endless calls with foreign leaders and supporters — has been as critical as the number of tanks in his army.”
Member states of NATO sent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nato-takes-unprecedented-action-to-respond-to-russia-putins-objectives-not-limited-to-ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">thousands of troops</a> to neighboring eastern European countries immediately after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion, raising the specter of a worldwide geopolitical conflict. The United States has sent more than $9.8 billion in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-sending-5-5-billion-more-in-aid-to-ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">civilian and military assistance</a> to Ukraine over the past several months. USAID Administrator Samantha Power remarked earlier this year that as the “assault on Ukraine’s public services continues, the United States is rushing in with financial support to help the government keep the lights on, provide essential services to innocent citizens and pay the health care workers who are providing lifesaving support on the frontlines.”
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Zelensky has appeared on the cover of multiple prominent Western magazines and hosted several <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pelosi-makes-surprise-visit-to-kyiv" target="_blank" rel="noopener">diplomats</a> and celebrities in Kyiv. American actor Sean Penn, for example, loaned his Oscar trophy to the commander-in-chief last month.
“He has granted interviews to talk-show hosts and journalists and held live chats with students at Stanford, Harvard, and Yale. He has leveraged the fame of entertainment superstars to amplify his calls for international support,” Shuster continued. “Jessica Chastain and Ben Stiller visited his fortified compound. Liev Schreiber agreed to become an ambassador for Ukraine’s official fundraising platform.”
Time Magazine <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/time-magazine-person-of-the-year-finalists-include-desantis-cheney-musk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed over</a> Person of the Year nominees such as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. Elon Musk, the entrepreneur who leads SpaceX, Tesla, and Twitter, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-named-times-person-of-the-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earned</a> the distinction last year.
Among other sea changes in the global balance of power stemming from the invasion, Zelensky <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-ukraine-applies-for-nato-membership" target="_blank" rel="noopener">submitted</a> an expedited application for Ukraine to become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Geopolitical pressures from the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, both of which are significant producers of food and energy, have reverberated across the planet, worsening supply chain and inflationary pressures. Developing nations have been particularly impacted, with farmers in nations such as Greece, Peru, and Sri Lanka launching <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/experts-warn-of-impending-global-food-shortage-that-could-lead-to-social-unrest-riots" target="_blank" rel="noopener">demonstrations</a> in major cities, pushing the government of the latter nation to flee abroad.
Putin <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/vladimir-putin-set-to-claim-wide-swaths-of-ukraine-after-sham-referenda" target="_blank" rel="noopener">annexed</a> the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine after residents voted to join his nation in September. Local Ukrainian officials <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/vladimir-putin-set-to-claim-wide-swaths-of-ukraine-after-sham-referenda" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the election was coerced by Russian soldiers, with results in each region appearing strikingly lopsided in Russia&#8217;s favor.

Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Named Time’s Person Of The Year

Volodymyr Zelensky Named Time's Person Of The Year

Media

Ukraine

Ukraine-Russia War

Volodymyr Zelensky

Time Magazine announced on Monday that finalists had been selected for its 2022 Person of the Year, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), outgoing Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), and Twitter CEO Elon Musk.
Other finalists listed in the <a href="https://www.today.com/news/time-2022-person-of-the-year-shortlist-rcna60072" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcement</a> — revealed by the &#8220;TODAY&#8221; show on Monday — included Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The winner will be revealed on &#8220;TODAY&#8221; during Wednesday&#8217;s broadcast.
DeSantis was re-elected as Florida&#8217;s governor in November and has been widely speculated to be a GOP alternative to former President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. The governor became well-known for his attacks against COVID pandemic restrictions and his criticisms of the Biden administration.
The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/desantis-holds-massive-lead-over-trump-in-2024-matchup-poll-shows" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that DeSantis holds a 20-point lead over Trump for the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential primary, according to a new poll from Marquette University Law School.
<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus?utm_campaign=dwplus&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_source=dwsite&amp;cid=dwplus&amp;mid=z&amp;xid=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus?utm_campaign=dwplus&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_source=dwsite&amp;cid=dwplus&amp;mid=z&amp;xid=0" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-15826">TIRED OF THE LEGACY MEDIA&#8217;S BIAS CONTROLLING THE NARRATIVE AND OBSCURING THE TRUTH? JOIN US AND SAVE 30%.</a>
The poll found that DeSantis has gained ground on President Joe Biden, moving from being down nine points at the start of 2022 to being tied with the president now, 42-42. Trump trails Biden by 10 points, a gap that grew by two points since the start of 2022.
Cheney&#8217;s notoriety has increased in mainstream media over her opposition to Trump and involvement in the House committee to investigate the events of January 6, 2021. Despite her acclaim among some of those on the Left, Cheney was soundly defeated during her party&#8217;s August primary by Harriet Hageman. Hageman would go on to win Wyoming&#8217;s only House seat in November.
The congresswoman later chose to endorse multiple Democrats in the days ahead of the midterm elections. Some rumors have also swirled regarding Cheney announcing a future <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/liz-cheney-says-shes-thinking-about-presidential-run-after-gop-primary-loss" target="_blank" rel="noopener">presidential run</a> in 2024.
“I will be doing whatever it takes to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office,” Cheney said about a potential run.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
BREAKING: Liz Cheney says she is thinking about running for president, telling <a href="https://twitter.com/SavannahGuthrie?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SavannahGuthrie</a>: “That&#39;s a decision I&#39;m going to make in the coming months&#8230; It is something I’m thinking about.”
&mdash; TODAY (@TODAYshow) <a href="https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/1559862465114030080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 17, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The decision “is something I’m thinking about and I’ll make a decision in the coming months,&#8221; she added in an August interview.
Musk, Time&#8217;s Person of the Year in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-named-times-person-of-the-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2021</a>, would become one of the only people to win in consecutive years. The Tesla and SpaceX leader added Twitter to his resume this year in a $44 billion deal to recreate the Big Tech giant as a free speech platform.
His leadership has not been without controversy. Musk laid off about half of the company&#8217;s workers shortly after his purchase.
In addition, Musk&#8217;s recent launch of the &#8220;Twitter Files&#8221; revealed the company&#8217;s role in suppressing Hunter Biden&#8217;s laptop prior to the 2020 presidential election. He has promised to release additional &#8220;files&#8221; that further point out past company censorship.
Among other finalists, Zelensky was nominated for his leadership following an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/united-nations-call-on-russia-to-pay-ukraine-war-reparations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invasion</a> of Ukraine by Russia in February. Despite being under-resourced and outnumbered, his nation has continued to push back the Kremlin&#8217;s attacks and garner world support to defend itself.

Time Magazine Person Of The Year Finalists Include DeSantis, Cheney, Musk

Elon Musk

Liz Cheney

Ron DeSantis

Bestselling <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/shop/products/johnny-the-walrus">children’s author</a> and Daily Wire host <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/author/matt-walsh">Matt Walsh</a> ripped into Time Magazine after the news site published an article featuring <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/lgbtq">LGBTQ</a> children’s cartoonist and writer Maia Kobabe.
Time’s interview <a href="https://time.com/6210087/gender-queer-book-ban-maia-kobabe/?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=editorial&amp;utm_term=entertainment_books&amp;linkId=179532743">piece</a> with Kobabe, the writer of the sexually explicit children’s book “Gender Queer,” referred to the biological woman by made-up pronouns “e/em/eir.” During Thursday’s episode of “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/2ep-1014-preferred-pronoun-nonsense-reaches-a-whole-new-level-of-insanity">The Matt Walsh Show</a>,” the host mocked Time’s decision to go along with Kobabe’s preferred pronouns, and discussed the deeper issues at stake with the promotion of the controversial author’s memoir.
“What does it mean to be an e-em-eir? What is that?” Walsh asked. “Nobody can tell us. Nobody can explain it because it&#8217;s simply nonsense. … It is a made up word which symbolizes nothing. Nothing, that is, other than the overwhelming narcissism of the individual who uses it.”
“That&#8217;s what all of these pronouns really mean,” he added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Can you please try this tweet again but in English this time? <a href="https://t.co/1bk7HQb51n">https://t.co/1bk7HQb51n</a>
&mdash; Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1565176692284575746?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Kobabe’s “Gender Queer” memoir <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/parents-battle-school-boards-over-graphic-content-in-gender-queer">caused outrage</a> among parents and conservative lawmakers because it features sexually explicit topics and what some call pornographic illustrations. The memoir is aimed at children aged 12 to 18 and won multiple awards in 2020.
On Tuesday, a lawsuit seeking to restrict children’s access to Kobabe’s book was <a href="https://www.wric.com/news/virginia-news/judge-dismisses-vb-delegates-lawsuit-against-barnes-noble-over-books-pulled-from-vbcps/">dismissed</a> in a Virginia court.
Walsh described one example from the memoir that tells of a conversation the author has about vaginal discharge. The book then illustrates the author’s finger covered in the discharge, Walsh said.
“They&#8217;re putting these in schools for little kids to read and what I just described to you is one of the less graphic moments of the book,” the Daily Wire host remarked, adding, “And when normal, decent people object to this sort of content being used to educate children, the Left cries out in horror, claiming censorship and fascism.”
He then called on his listeners to stand up to the woke leftists who insist on sexually explicit material being available to children, arguing that “there is no neutral ground anymore.”
“Are you going to tolerate literal pornography being taught as literature to children in school, or are you going to finally draw the line and say, ‘no more, I&#8217;ve had enough. This is it’?” asked Walsh.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="&#039;Preferred Pronoun&#039; Nonsense Reaches A Whole New Level Of Insanity | Ep. 1014" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/W0KQUSceYSc?start=495&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Matt Walsh

Matt Walsh Blasts Time Magazine For Using Made-Up Pronouns, Promoting Sexually Explicit Children’s Literature

Matt Walsh Blasts Time Magazine For Using Made-Up Pronouns, Promoting Explicit Children’s Literature

Gender Pronouns

LGBTQ

The Daily Wire

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis was included as one of Time magazine&#8217;s &#8220;100 Most Influential People&#8221; list released on Monday.
DeSantis was included among a wide array of leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and recently confirmed Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Time&#8217;s list of influential celebrities, politicians, activists, and other leaders is divided into six categories—artists, innovators, titans, leaders, icons, and pioneers.
&#8220;Despite relentless criticism, Governor Ron DeSantis kept schools open, ensured Florida&#8217;s economy remained open for business, and allowed individuals to determine their own risk tolerance,&#8221; former Florida Republican Gov. Jeb Bush wrote in his description of DeSantis.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
NEW: <a href="https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GovRonDeSantis</a> named one of Time’s 100 most influential people of 2022.
Blurb written by former FL Gov Jeb Bush. <a href="https://t.co/JkBu50vian">pic.twitter.com/JkBu50vian</a>
&mdash; Jay O&#39;Brien (@jayobtv) <a href="https://twitter.com/jayobtv/status/1528740216458162178?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;His approach works. It&#8217;s one that has allowed Florida to emerge from the pandemic as a national model of personal freedom, economic growth, environmental protection, and education excellence,&#8221; he added.
The <a href="https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2022/6177679/ron-desantis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">description</a> noted that DeSantis does not fit in with Washington&#8217;s elite, but his results have led to a surge of influence felt far beyond Florida&#8217;s borders.
&#8220;While the Beltway crowd may not like his style, it&#8217;s his record that will become his legacy,&#8221; the governor&#8217;s profile concluded.
Florida’s job rate more than doubled that of the nation while generating the largest budget surplus in the state&#8217;s history, <a href="https://flvoicenews.com/desantis-lands-on-times-100-most-influential-people-of-2022-list/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> Florida&#8217;s Voice. &#8220;Florida had 0.7% job growth while the U.S. at large had .3%. Florida is also now registering almost 45% of the nation&#8217;s market share for international tourism,&#8221; the outlet noted.
&#8220;Governor DeSantis announced Florida will have $20 billion in reserves, making it the largest budget surplus in the state’s history,&#8221; the report added.
The honor comes as DeSantis announced on Monday the launch of the Florida Hometown Heroes Housing Program to help Floridians in more than 50 critical professions purchase their first home.
The new initiative will be available to state law enforcement officers, firefighters, educators, healthcare professionals, childcare employees, and active military or veterans as part of the $100 million program.
“In Florida, we value the contributions of our police, firefighters, teachers, and nurses,” DeSantis <a href="https://www.flgov.com/2022/05/23/governor-ron-desantis-announces-launch-of-florida-hometown-heroes-housing-program/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Monday.
The new effort is one of many that has directly confronted issues arising during the Biden administration with state-level answers.
For example, after some Democrats pushed the defund the police movement, DeSantis led an effort to provide financial bonuses to law enforcement officers.
The governor has also become known for his efforts to increase education transparency, including a recent Parental Rights in Education bill that those on the Left inaccurately labeled the &#8220;Don&#8217;t Say Gay&#8221; bill. The legislation bans instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten to third grade.
In addition to DeSantis, Ukraine&#8217;s Zelensky garnered a glowing profile from President Joe Biden.
The president <a href="https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2022/6177690/volodymyr-zelensky/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote,</a> &#8220;the people of Ukraine have a leader worthy of their bravery and resilience, as citizens across the country—shopkeepers and soldiers, tailors and truck drivers—fight for their homes and their freedom.”
“The nations of the free world, inspired by the example of President Zelensky, are more united, more determined, more purposeful than at any point in our recent memory,” Biden added.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Named To Times ‘100 Most Influential People’ List

Florida GOP Governor Ron DeSantis Named To Times ‘100 Most Influential People’ List

Florida

TIME Magazine misleadingly fact-checked Georgia&#8217;s Republican secretary of state on Monday when he noted that Stacey Abrams did not concede Georgia&#8217;s 2018 gubernatorial race.
&#8220;My viewpoint is that we took a hit to the confidence in the election process going back to 2018 with Stacey Abrams. She did not concede defeat,&#8221; Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said in an <a href="https://time.com/5958086/brad-raffensperger-georgia-election-law/">interview</a> with TIME published on Monday.
The suggestion that Abrams could have contributed to Georgia&#8217;s election confidence problem appeared to ruffle the feathers of the left-leaning news magazine, which added an asterisk and a lengthy note attempting to discredit Raffensperger&#8217;s statement.
&#8220;Stacey Abrams said in 2018 that she acknowledged governor Brian Kemp would be certified as the election’s winner,&#8221; read the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210426204324/https://time.com/5958086/brad-raffensperger-georgia-election-law/">original</a> fact-check note. (In the same speech when Abrams made those remarks, Abrams <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2018/nov/17/this-is-not-a-concession-speech-stacey-abrams-announces-lawsuit-georgia-election-video">also stated</a>: &#8220;Let&#8217;s be clear, this is not a speech of concession.&#8221;)
Raffensperger&#8217;s communications director told The Daily Wire that after he complained, TIME edited the fact-check note to acknowledge that Abrams has reminded the public numerous times since 2018 that she has not conceded the race.
&#8220;Stacey Abrams said in 2018 that she acknowledged governor Brian Kemp would be certified as the election’s winner but has said repeatedly that she did not concede,&#8221; read the edited sentence.
The rest of TIME&#8217;s fact-check note remained the same, citing Abrams&#8217;s remarks at a Senate Judiciary Committee <a href="https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/jim-crow-2021-the-latest-assault-on-the-right-to-vote">hearing</a> earlier this month during which she agreed that her Republican opponent won but said it was under unfair rules.
“As I have always said, I acknowledged at the very beginning that Brian Kemp won under the rules that were in place,” Abrams told the committee. “What I object to are rules that permitted thousands of Georgia voters to be denied their participation in this election and had their votes cast out.”
Raffensperger has also <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-runs-the-stacey-abrams-playbook-11607295416">accused</a> Abrams of &#8220;collecting hundreds of millions of dollars from donors convinced the election had been stolen from her.&#8221;
Georgia has suffered a crisis of election confidence over the last several years, the state&#8217;s election system weathering attacks from both Democrats and Republicans for a slew of reasons.
Republican Governor Brian Kemp, Abrams&#8217;s former opponent, was Georgia&#8217;s secretary of state at the time of the 2018 election. In that role, he oversaw a massive voter roll purge of hundreds of thousands of Georgians who had moved away, died, or skipped too many elections. Kemp argued the move was to protect the election from fraud.
Last year in the wake of the presidential election, Raffensperger said he came under pressure from fellow Republicans as they scrambled to find a way to reverse former President Donald Trump&#8217;s narrow defeat in the former Republican stronghold. The secretary of state said he even received death threats as Georgia conducted a recount in November.
Last month, Kemp signed a new voting law that prompted an immediate outcry from critics who declared the law “Jim Crow 2.0.” Democrats condemned the law as severely restricting voting access, especially for voters of color, while President Joe Biden called the law an “atrocity” and said that his Justice Department is reviewing it.
Raffensperger has defended the law, arguing that it expands rather than restricts voting access. For example, the bill does away with ballot signature verification, which Raffensperger said is “very subjective,” instead requiring voters to present some form of government photo ID.

Time Mag

TIME Magazine Fact-Checks Georgia Secretary Of State On Whether Stacey Abrams Conceded Governor’s Race

Brad Raffensperger

Georgia

Media Bias

Stacey Abrams

TIME magazine featured a comment from a left-wing disability activist who dissed Helen Keller as &#8220;just another, despite disabilities, privileged white person.&#8221;
Keller became both deaf and blind at 19 months old, and with the help of teacher Anne Sullivan, learned how to read and speak.
&#8220;[T]o some Black disability rights activists, like Anita Cameron, Helen Keller is not radical at all, &#8216;just another, despite disabilities, privileged white person,&#8217; and yet another example of history telling the story of privileged white Americans,&#8221; TIME <a href="https://time.com/5918660/helen-keller-disability-history/">reported</a> Tuesday.
&#8220;Critics of Helen Keller cite <a href="https://watermark.silverchair.com/enh049.pdf?token=AQECAHi208BE49Ooan9kkhW_Ercy7Dm3ZL_9Cf3qfKAc485ysgAAAqAwggKcBgkqhkiG9w0BBwagggKNMIICiQIBADCCAoIGCSqGSIb3DQEHATAeBglghkgBZQMEAS4wEQQMUSsQ59AKz2ZXbrjcAgEQgIICU07TTx2SYtejzNoGKYM6FJ0KfNVlAlS3AwmPZNuc8u5lAKrhKvyMvSBU66IJFSA2pAciCi8PumTL2Cdy4Z-0DNnC2ZS8ge7sgyF6TX5HsmBFlI7JoVavfZPFEFA6fJ_KFyRa828GLgnDgdIwZtQTfiP3LDEsIDGMa7QayEMxaCfccrw-LedPa3GdeXDuhlLTq5xCplziyjgSNj92NDeJTclzDDj5NQGr0zALuUxmAnVqnKHUN9__smup0WHc30SJltOOyTEtlFLobOCJkKw5LXhQoOiMCNgVOjjCfiy_GYtLyDWK9SSGugH8NPqkNwfcDvh7Q8I2ASNxv8ac-92VVe-xLkJ8g3wVzqQa5yvfPQPxcnPwpKzurc1QtDTnX_7BxF5_EGPUGvNq5xFGmdmKWrfHk8PxykWDtUJwK5ZDJR12vP1aCdJf47yN2zsB5w-1xWqDmGKcQjOE_C9ShebG8yZCrvtWxjU1A-GZADvS8ngjMR8pygFtYFBTtNNfcvgEtRuHD4jhsvLlO7Q676B30vgA8TAEp0wlFhkjNx99fGBgzO8wEt6uQRRHxvRD0P4DKGLte_cAKGKL-VupRUA2_N3fQHkgXI6u8WBvp0lkznMST2KwSdWNG944H4GZgI1Iko5eUegiK0HbUjztZ2x3IDtH3df3sKLmLDIa-pYSIMtNNb01zhfrH0xefquA2rEr1lxoUD3pW5o52sHayDqAfQqcUX18SmCNZBb6rEkw8X_pDAKUC1_E7qM5LvP2GmP_-phjTstWgdk1mpgByJw2qrcbHkc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">her writings</a> that reflected the popularity of now-dated eugenics theories and her friendship with one of the movement’s supporters <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Disability/pdtiNw3QedQC?hl=en&amp;gbpv=1&amp;dq=helen+keller+alexander+graham+bell+eugenics&amp;pg=PA35&amp;printsec=frontcover" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Alexander Graham Bell</a>,&#8221; TIME added. &#8220;The American Foundation for the Blind archivist Helen Selsdon says Keller &#8216;moved away from that position.'&#8221;
The attack on Keller over her race was included in a piece from the magazine, which leans Left politically, that emphasized Keller&#8217;s socialist and radical left-wing leanings as an adult.
If students learn anything about Keller as an adult, TIME said, &#8220;they don’t learn that she co-founded the <a href="https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/facts.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">American Civil Liberties Union</a> in 1920; that she was an early supporter of the <a href="https://www.afb.org/HelenKellerArchive?a=d&amp;d=A-HK01-03-B056-F11-003.1.1&amp;e=-------en-20--1--txt--emma+goldman------3-7-6-5-3-------Keller%2c+Helen-------0-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NAACP,</a> and an <a href="https://www.afb.org/about-afb/history/helen-keller/helen-keller-quotes" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">opponent of lynchings</a>; that she was an early proponent of <a href="https://www.nyu.edu/projects/sanger/articles/keller.php#:~:text=Keller%20continued%20to%20advocate%20for,no%20longer%20a%20radical%20pursuit." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">birth control.</a>&#8221;
&#8220;Some of the reason schools don’t teach much about Keller’s adult life is because she was involved in groups that have been perceived as too radical throughout American history. She was a member of the <a href="https://time.com/5422714/what-is-democratic-socialism/">Socialist Party</a>, and corresponded with <a href="https://time.com/5762312/bernie-sanders-socialism-america/">Eugene Debs</a>, the party’s most prominent member and a <a href="https://cdsun.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/cornell?a=d&amp;d=CDS19261021.2.9" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">five-time presidential candidate</a>,&#8221; the magazine gushed. &#8220;She also read Marx, and her associations with all of these far-left groups landed her on the radar of <a href="https://www.afb.org/HelenKellerArchive?a=d&amp;d=A-HK01-02-B033-F02-012" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the FBI</a>, which monitored her for ties to the Communist Party.&#8221;
Politicos online reacted to the slight against Keller. &#8220;You’ve got to be kidding me,&#8221; said Mary Vought. &#8220;The woke mob is now going after Helen Keller for being white. Never mind the advancements she worked to achieve for those with disabilities.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
You’ve got to be kidding me. The woke mob is now going after Helen Keller for being white. 🙄
Nevermind the advancements she worked to achieve for those with disabilities. 
Via <a href="https://twitter.com/TIME?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TIME</a> <a href="https://t.co/7W2cs2A5nR">pic.twitter.com/7W2cs2A5nR</a>
&mdash; Mary Vought (@MaryVought) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryVought/status/1339566046584446978?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;This is INSANE,&#8221; wrote Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. &#8220;Woke Lefties are now attacking Helen Keller?? As &#8216;just another, despite disabilities, privileged white person&#8217;??&#8221;
&#8220;There are many adjectives one can use to describe the extraordinary Helen Keller,&#8221; he added. &#8220;&#8216;Privileged&#8217; is not one of them.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This is INSANE.
Woke Lefties are now attacking Helen Keller??
As “just another, despite disabilities, privileged white person”??
There are many adjectives one can use to describe the extraordinary Helen Keller.
“Privileged” is not one of them. <a href="https://t.co/VxTMJfRRjx">https://t.co/VxTMJfRRjx</a>
&mdash; Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) <a href="https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1339974817953529858?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Holy s***&#8230; they’re now canceling Helen Keller for being white,&#8221; President Donald Trump&#8217;s eldest son, Don Jr. reacted. &#8220;You can’t make this crap up anymore. You can never be woke enough.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Holy shit&#8230; they’re now canceling Helen Keller for being white. 
You can’t make this crap up anymore. You can never be woke enough <a href="https://t.co/ev6DDOEgyX">https://t.co/ev6DDOEgyX</a>
&mdash; Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) <a href="https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1339743343543128064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Satirical account <a href="https://twitter.com/TitaniaMcGrath">Titania McGrath</a> noted Friday how she &#8220;predicted&#8221; Keller would be &#8220;called out&#8221; by the &#8220;woke&#8221; for having &#8220;white privilege.&#8221;
McGrath is a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-how-a-satirist-hoaxed-the-woke-mainstream-media??utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=dwtwitter">character</a> created by British comedian, political satirist, and author <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Woke-Social-Justice-Titania-McGrath/dp/1472130847">Andrew Doyle</a>, who&#8217;s routinely hoaxed the mainstream media, tricking politically correct news sites and established newspapers into publishing radical and borderline gibberish commentary merely because it pushes the “woke” agenda. McGrath is an “activist,” “healer,” and “radical intersectionalist poet” perpetually pushing “<a href="https://twitter.com/TitaniaMcGrath/status/1204186796835430408">social justice</a>” and calling out the “privileged” for their grave offenses, such as cultural appropriation, or engaging in <a href="https://twitter.com/TitaniaMcGrath/status/1206732509410664449">heteronormative sex</a>.
&#8220;TITANIA’S PREDICTIONS (part 10) On 7 March 2019, I published my book WOKE in which I called out Helen Keller for her white privilege,&#8221; the post from McGrath&#8217;s account said. &#8220;On 15 December 2020, Time Magazine concurred.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
TITANIA’S PREDICTIONS (part 10)
On 7 March 2019, I published my book WOKE in which I called out Helen Keller for her white privilege.
On 15 December 2020, Time Magazine concurred. <a href="https://t.co/wni1htSt5u">pic.twitter.com/wni1htSt5u</a>
&mdash; Titania McGrath (@TitaniaMcGrath) <a href="https://twitter.com/TitaniaMcGrath/status/1339978055075459073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Helen Keller

Helen Keller Dissed In TIME Magazine Feature: ‘Just Another … Privileged White Person’

Racism

In an <a href="https://time.com/person-of-the-year-2020-joe-biden-kamala-harris/">article</a> accompanying Time magazine’s selection of former Vice President Joe Biden and his running mate, Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA), as Time’s “Person of the Year,” author Charlotte Alter described the duo as having “offered restoration and renewal in a single ticket” while referring to President Trump as a monster, writing, “Defeating the Minotaur was one thing; finding the way out of the labyrinth is another.&#8221;
The Minotaur was a creature in Greek mythology with the head and tail of a bull and human body who devoured humans.
Alter, the daughter of author Jonathan Alter, who has written books titled, “The Center Holds: Obama and his Enemies,” as well as “His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, A Life,” said of Biden:
<blockquote>They said he was too old, too unsteady, too boring. That his pledge to restore the “soul of the nation” felt like antiquated hokum at a moment when Hurricane Trump was tearing through America, ripping through institutions, chewing up norms and spitting them out.</blockquote>
She quoted Biden, claiming, “I got widely criticized saying that we had to not greet Trump with a clenched fist but with more of an open hand. That we weren’t going to respond to hate with hate.”
As far back as July, Biden <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/joe-biden-calls-donald-trump-the-first-racist-us-president">stated</a> of Trump, “The way he deals with people based on the color of their skin, their national origin, where they’re from, is absolutely sickening&#8230; No sitting president has ever done this. Never, never, never. No Republican president has done this. No Democratic president. We’ve had racists, and they’ve existed, they’ve tried to get elected president. He’s the first one that has.”
At the nationally televised presidential debate between Trump and Biden in late October, Biden gestured to Trump and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0UhBmg5OQU">declared</a>, “Abraham Lincoln here is one of the most racist presidents we’ve in modern history. He pours fuel on every single racist fire. Every single one.”
Alter continued:
<blockquote>To him, it wasn’t about fighting Trump with righteous vengeance, or probing any deeper rot that might have contributed to his ascent. Biden believed most voters simply wanted reconciliation after four years of combat, that they craved decency, dignity, experience and competence. “What I got most criticized for was, I said we had to unite America,” he says. “I never came off that message.”</blockquote>
Alter posited that “experts” felt America has a “chronic condition” of racism, writing:
<blockquote>Yet Trump, many experts argue, is not the aberration Biden describes but rather a symptom of America’s chronic conditions: a legacy of racism and widening inequality that undermines both its ideals and its functioning.</blockquote>
When it was reported just prior to the presidential election that projections showed President Trump winning large swathes of votes in the Upper Midwest, Alter tweeted to her audience, “Keep calm people.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
keep calm people <a href="https://t.co/swiOO962v7">https://t.co/swiOO962v7</a>
&mdash; Charlotte Alter (@CharlotteAlter) <a href="https://twitter.com/CharlotteAlter/status/1321881949254942726?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Statue of Minotaur in front of the University of Guanajuato – GUANAJUATO, MEXICO

Time Mag ‘Person Of The Year’ Piece Compares Trump To Human-Devouring Monster

2020 Election

Donald Trump

Joe Biden

TIME Magazine faced widespread backlash online after the left-leaning publication selected Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as their &#8220;person of the year,&#8221; which prompted calls even from the political left for the recognition to go to doctors and scientists.
&#8220;Person of the Year is not an award — it is a marker,&#8221; TIME said. &#8220;It is history as it’s written, whether good or bad.&#8221;
Much of the blowback to TIME&#8217;s choice of &#8220;person of the year&#8221; centered around the importance of recognizing those fighting to address the ongoing pandemic, including frontline healthcare workers and scientists working on the development of vaccines. Some on the political left suggested honoring Black Lives Matter activists. Others mockingly cited Biden&#8217;s &#8220;basement&#8221;-based campaign and Harris&#8217;s need to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/12/03/784443227/kamala-harris-drops-out-of-presidential-race">drop out</a> of the Democratic presidential primary early due to lack of support from her own party.
A few examples of the flood of critical responses below:
<ul>
<li>Journalist <a href="https://twitter.com/jenanmoussa/status/1337336195303567360">Jenan Moussa</a>: &#8220;Odd. Feels like it should have been the healthcare workers and the scientists behind the vaccine.&#8221;</li>
<li>Commentator <a href="https://twitter.com/Serrels/status/1337255250013523968">Mark Serrels</a>: &#8220;Scientists who developed vaccines in record shattering time, frontline workers who risked their lives during COVID, Jacinda Adern, BLM activists. This is such a ridiculous, US centric choice.&#8221;</li>
<li>Writer <a href="https://twitter.com/rkylesmith/status/1337245329566134272">Kyle Smith</a>: &#8220;Wow the media are so ready for the Harris Era. Hire a food taster, Uncle Joe, they’re already done with you.&#8221;</li>
<li>Commentator <a href="https://twitter.com/patcondell/status/1337313787557400578">Pat Condell</a>: &#8220;Ha ha. On the credibility scale, this is right up there with Obama’s phoney peace prize. Time magazine is a laughing stock.&#8221;</li>
<li>Journalist <a href="https://twitter.com/CurtisHouck/status/1337245581534703617">Curtis Houck</a>: &#8220;Time doesn&#8217;t care about you, the people. It&#8217;s all about THEM. It&#8217;s all about their circles in D.C., LA, and New York. It&#8217;s all partisanship for them. Cloaked in &#8216;unity&#8217; and &#8216;equality,&#8217; they have nothing but venom for people who aren&#8217;t Democrats or on the side of the mob.&#8221;</li>
<li>Columnist <a href="https://twitter.com/EliLake/status/1337253603942293505">Eli Lake</a>: &#8220;I get that the magazine is trying to seem hip and appeal to zoomers and millennials, but this is such obvious pandering.&#8221;</li>
<li>Economist <a href="https://twitter.com/Brian_Riedl/status/1337247191727935488">Brian Riedl</a>: &#8220;With all due respect, Biden spent much of the year in a basement and won what was a referendum on the other guy. Harris was even less visible as a VP nominee after badly losing the primary. It clearly should have been health care workers, or those working on the COVID vaccine.&#8221;</li>
<li>Writer <a href="https://twitter.com/conor64/status/1337284666781442048">Conor Friedersdorf</a>: &#8220;How are you going to give this to politicians who haven&#8217;t taken office yet in a year when doctors risked their lives on a mass scale and vaccine researchers triumphed with unprecedented speed? The Cult of the Presidency that @GeneHealy wrote about so well is as alive as ever.&#8221;</li>
<li>News anchor <a href="https://twitter.com/Elex_Michaelson/status/1337245039357902848">Elex Michaelson</a>: &#8220;With respect to these politicians, I would have voted for health care workers &amp; other essential workers who&#8217;ve sacrificed greatly to keep us all safe.&#8221;</li>
<li>Commentator <a href="https://twitter.com/JackHillcox/status/1337306526374125575">Jack Hillcox</a>: &#8220;Odd choice considering actual people have developed actual vaccines to the actual global pandemic which is killing millions of people.&#8221;</li>
<li>Commentator <a href="https://twitter.com/FreddieCampion/status/1337246628055379969">Freddie Campion</a>: &#8220;LOL. They spent 7 days building media buzz about this only to turn around and pick two people who haven’t done anything yet.&#8221;</li>
</ul>

Joe Biden Kamala Harris

TIME Faces Backlash Over Selection Of Biden, Harris As ‘Person Of The Year’

Kamala Harris

On Monday, TIME magazine published an article called, “<a href="https://time.com/5857064/defunding-police-superheroes-onscreen/?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=editorial&amp;utm_term=entertainment_movies&amp;linkId=92273219">We&#8217;re Re-examining How We Portray Cops Onscreen. Now It&#8217;s Time to Talk About Superheroes</a>,” in which the author, a staff writer for the magazine, rips into cops and superheroes simultaneously, stating, “What are superheroes except cops with capes who enact justice with their powers?”
Near the beginning of the piece, the author, Eliana Dockterman, argues that onscreen portrayals of police are too often positive, writing, “Legal procedurals and shoot-em-up action movies have long presented a skewed perception of the justice system in America, in which the police are almost always positioned as the good guys. These ‘good cop’ narratives are rarely balanced out with stories of systemic racism in the criminal justice system. The &#8216;bad guys&#8217; they pursue are often people of color, their characters undeveloped beyond their criminality.&#8221;
Dockterman then segues to linking those members of law enforcement with superheroes. “But as we engage in this long overdue conversation about law enforcement, it’s high time we also talk about the most popular characters in film, the ones who decide the parameters of justice and often enact them with violence: superheroes,&#8221; she writes.
She notes that superheroes have become &#8220;icons to more than just our children,&#8221; acknowledging that they are &#8220;beacons of inspiration,&#8221; including among protesters, who have &#8220;dressed as Spider-Man and Batman have turned up at recent Black Lives Matter demonstrations.&#8221;
While this inspiration appears to be positive, in Dockterman&#8217;s view it carries an insidious underlying message: figures there to promote justice, like law enforcement, are generally good.
&#8220;And yet what are superheroes except cops with capes who enact justice with their powers?&#8221; she asks.
Dockterman posits that most superheroes are white and “either function as an extension of a broken U.S. justice system or as vigilantes without any checks on their powers,” then continues, “In fact, real-life police officers sometimes adopt the symbolism of these rogue anti-heroes.”
She goes on to espouse the claim of “systemic racism” within the law enforcement community of the superhero universe, which she suggests has historically featured too many white men and which does not adequately &#8220;reckon with issues of systemic racism—let alone sexism, homophobia, transphobia and other forms of bigotry embedded in the justice system or the inherent biases these superheroes might carry with them as they patrol the streets, or the universe.&#8221;
Dockterman has expressed her feelings about roles being dominated by white men before. In July 2019, <a href="https://time.com/5626544/lashana-lynch-new-james-bond-movie/">writing</a> about the prospect of the new James Bond reportedly being played by a woman, actress Lashana Lynch, Dockterman opined, “Lynch’s ascension signals major progress for a franchise that has long felt trapped in the 20th century. Up until this point, the role of the world’s greatest secret agent has been played exclusively by white men. What’s more, James Bond’s sexism, racism and general recklessness have proven impossible to ignore in the year 2019.&#8221;
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers with the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe"> member</a>.

DC Comics Exhibition: Dawn Of Super Heroes Launches At The o2

TIME Magazine Says Superheroes Are Like Cops And Should Be Reexamined

Law Enforcement

Sexism

Superheroes

Systemic Racism

A Time Magazine senior writer who covers sports has <a href="https://time.com/5770136/football-dangers-children/">written an op-ed</a> in which he decries the idea of parents letting their children watch football, declaring current knowledge of the possibility of brain damage suffered by players should preclude kids from watching the sport.
Sean Gregory writes of the 1980s and early 1990s, when he was growing up, “ … those were more innocent days. Back then, football fans were unaware of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the neurodegenerative disease associated with football brain trauma.”
Gregory has other, more political reasons he cites to buttress the position that his teenage son should not watch the sport, arguing:
<blockquote>But should I be O.K. with his watching the game? Don’t his eyeballs help support an enterprise that we know can damage its participants? This is on top of the laundry list of other reasons to tune out, like the stain of disturbing NFL domestic-violence incidents. Or the apparent blacklisting of a player, Colin Kaepernick, for a peaceful act of protest. Or a sudden dearth of African-American head coaches: three now, as opposed to seven in 2018. Around 60% of the NFL’s players are black. There are no African-American majority owners.</blockquote>
Metaphorically striking his forehead while issuing a mea culpa, he continues, “On Super Bowl Sunday, in what may be America’s foremost annual display of mass hypocrisy, around 100 million people will tune in. As a sportswriter who’s relished the opportunity to park myself in multiple Super Bowl press boxes, I’m even more compromised. Not only have I introduced my son to a problematic game, writing about it is part of my job.”
Gregory quotes Jim Taylor, a Bay Area psychologist, theorizing that in watching football, “you’re gaining enjoyment from other people’s suffering. There’s no doubt about that.”
Gregory also quotes Michael Bennett McNulty, a professor of philosophy at the University of Minnesota, stating, “Without all the individuals supporting the sport, the harms wouldn’t happen. Saying one is complicit is right and justified.”
He quotes his fifth-grade son, who sounds like his father as he says of Colin Kaepernick, “Everyone is allowed to have political views. He might have different political views than the owners, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t have a job. It would be different if he sucked. But he doesn’t suck. He carried a team to the Super Bowl.”
Gregory continues, “Though we could bond in other ways, Will’s deep love of football is now part of his personality. Abandoning the game would not just alter his fall Sunday routine but cause parental resentment my heart couldn’t bear. What I’ve realized, however, is that it’s also not O.K. to simply be spectators. As my son gets older, I have to be better about engaging him in age-appropriate conversations about the reality of the sport. Football may bring us joy, but it’s not unadulterated.”
Gregory contacted psychology professor Ira Hyman, a psychology professor who no longer watches the sport, and asked him if Gregory was a hypocrite. He writes that Hyman laughed, “I’m not going to call you a hypocrite,” prompting Gregory to conclude, “I suspect he’s just being nice.”
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