In the news… The Lies They Tell
Ted Cruz and other republicans grilled the CEO of Netflix over their merger with Warner Bros. The theme of the questioning was a concern that Netflix is going to force their “woke ideology” onto Warner Bros content. They accused Netflix and their CEO of creating content that nobody wants to watch.
“The overwhelming majority of your stuff right now is woke, and it’s not reflective of what the American people want to see,” said Senate Republican Eric Schmitt.
Which is a weird thing to say about the largest and most successful streaming platform in the world. Netflix is not just some schlub off the street scrapping to get by, throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks. Netflix is the pioneer of the streaming industry and maintains the largest subscriber base with over 300 million subscribers. That’s 100 million more than Amazon, 170 million more than Disney, and 250 million more than Apple TV. If the public doesn’t want to see what Netflix is producing they sure do have a weird way of showing it. All of those paying subscribers is the reason that Netflix finds itself in a position to pay all cash for Warner Bros, one of the OG entertainment juggernauts.
Saying that Netflix makes content that nobody wants to watch is like saying that Apple makes phones that nobody likes, or Amazon provides convenience that no one wants. As per usual, facts and data don’t matter, even if they tell a much different story then the lies being spewed on capital hill.
But why lie and say something that you know is untrue and easily disproven? Why not tell the truth?
“Netflix, you make content that me and my colleagues don’t want to watch because we lack depth, intelligence, curiosity, empathy, and compassion. We’re not interested in learning anything new, and we certainly don’t want our beliefs questioned with facts and information.”
It’s just so amazing how the party of ‘freedom’ and deregulation is also the party telling companies what kind of content they can and can’t create.
Republican Senator Ted Cruz asked, “How are people at home… feel even remotely confident that if this merger happens, the combined entity would not simply be a propaganda outlet pushing one particular political view with much greater market power than you have now?”
Fair point Ted Cruz. We don’t want one media entity getting too big and controlling the narrative. Problem is, the very reason that you and your colleagues are intent on killing the deal is so that it can fall into the hands of Paramount. An organization with close ties to Donald Trump and right leaning ideology.
The nefarious nature of their actions is sickening but is also to be expected. None of these men have any integrity. We have a congress made up of low IQ and EQ children who grew up being picked last at recess, and now that they have some power they will do and say whatever it takes to keep it. Instead of wondering why no one ever wanted them on their team, they’ve made careers based on lies about themselves and others in the hopes of never being left out again.
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The normalization of online gambling is something that I can’t get past (Russell Crowe does a great job of explaining the issue, and many others, on this episode of Joe Rogan). And it’s something that a lot of people, young men in particular, are getting caught up in. A lot of times without a clear way out.
I read this article Who Calls 1-800-GAMBLER? the other day, and these two statistics in particular stood out to me.
- Since Ohio legalized sports betting in 2023 calls to the states gambling help hotline have increased by 314%
- Since 2022 the number of callers who say they want to commit suicide has doubled
The governor of Ohio now says that he should have never passed the legislation legalizing sports betting, and if congress could drum up a majority to overturn it that he would support it.
Too little too late Mike DeWine. I appreciate the honesty and ability to admit that you were wrong, but why are we constantly put in a position where one of our “representatives” does something that harms our communities instead of benefitting it? If Mike DeWine, and every other governor and legislator, didn’t see this coming than they are clearly unfit for office and need to be removed. These are life and death decisions that these people are making and getting wrong on a daily basis because they seemingly only ever consider one thing: money.
How much money is this going to put into my campaign funds? How much money can we make on taxes? Taxes is the only reason that broke states started legalizing marijuana. They saw it as a lifeline to their failing leadership and inability to balance a budget. Sports betting is no different. Now instead of your brother’s friend collecting the vig, it’s your local government.
Responding to an investigation about out of control spending and under age sports betting, the president of the Sports Betting Alliance said that through limits and age verifications “they are committed to responsible gambling.” What I would give to be able to lie through my teeth like that and sleep at night.
Sports betting has quickly become a $20+ billion annual industry. Which to even call it an industry feels absurd, because like so many of the billion dollar industries we see today, sports betting is providing no good or service. They are simply capitalizing on an innate human trait to take risk.
They are not committed to responsible gambling, because responsible gambling has never been an achievable long term strategy for anyone who gambles regularly, and responsible gambling has surely been thrown out the window by the ease at which anyone can place multiple bets by just picking up their phone. They are only committed to getting people addicted to gambling, because that’s what’s good for business. And our government, those trustee leaders we’ve ‘elected,’ has given them full access to do just that.