Proudly lying and providing the immediate evidence of their lies.

Each morning I wake and scan the news. The motivation is to learn. What is happening? Where? Why?

Over the years, as news organizations have consolidated, shed costs such as editors and experienced journalists, shrunk in size and revenue, moved to an ideological worldview outside the mainstream, enforced conformity of thinking, and pursued a business model based on transitory clicks for advertisers rather than reader respect and support, the nature of the scan has evolved.

Many more heterogenous sites, many more experts, bloggers, etc. Pick one mainstream paper and you basically have them all. In very significant epistemic ways, the New York Times is the BBC is NPR is the Washington Post is the Guardian. All mere aspects of one another with an extraordinarily high correlation of story selection and "reporting."

Tis a pity given their grand history and former importance.

But what I increasingly come across in my morning scan is just bald-faced lying. Take this clip from CBS.

Astonishingly dishonest that so many journalists have tried to make this into an anti-science statement when it was the exact opposite https://t.co/biSYmXkIdL

— Rich Lowry (@RichLowry) July 17, 2020

Kayleigh McEnany is the newish White House Press Secretary. She comes across as brighter and more knowledgeable than the White House Press collectively. They have been immensely frustrated with her capacity to present Trump's message in a fashion that is clear and simultaneously, and almost unavoidably, makes the press appear mendacious and malicious.

In this case, CBS is presenting their longed for gotcha moment. She said "The science should not stand in the way of this. [Reopening schools]."

I look at it and think "That doesn't sound like her. Is it worth seeing if this is true?"

Well, I didn't have to do much research. All I had to do was play the 1:12 minute video.

Yes, she had a speech error when she said, "The science should not stand in the way of this" at the 25 second mark of the video. But if you have the attention span of more than a gnat and listen to the remaining 47 seconds it is very clear that this is not what she meant. The exact opposite in fact.

Everyone else in the Western world is doing it. Our peer nations are doing it . . . . The science is clear . . . . the JAMA Pediatric Study . . . . Science is on our side . . . . Follow the science . . . . Open the schools . . . . Our schools are extremely important . . . They are essential.

The utter mendacity and triviality of the mainstream media is on open display.

She made an argument - Schools should open.

She advanced supporting evidence - Peer nations are opening schools, scientific research supports and recommends opening.

She championed the scientific approach.

She affirmed the value and importance of education.

All things that most citizens would want to hear and would support.

And what does CBS forefront? An error of speech. A gotcha moment. They are flat out lying to our faces and, astonishingly, are including the very evidence that they are lying. Somehow they either didn't notice that the second half of the brief video invalidated their claim or they simply did not care. The more this happens, the more it appears to be deliberate lying.