The Rich Zeoli Show- Full Show (10/31/22):
3:05pm- According to reporting from The Intercept’s Ken Klippenstein and Lee Fang, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) attempted to “influence tech platforms” via “a formalized process for government officials to directly flag content on Facebook or Instagram and request that it be throttled or suppressed through a special Facebook portal that requires a government or law enforcement email to use.” Klippenstein and Fang write that “disinformation” was not clearly defined in the leaks obtained—though, DHS was planning to target stories regarding the origins of COVID-19 and the Biden Administration’s troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
3:20pm- After voting in Delaware over the weekend, President Joe Biden addressed the home invasion and assault on the husband of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Biden linked election denialism to the violent attack that left Paul Pelosi with a fractured skull. Earlier this month, Hillary Clinton accused Republicans, and the Supreme Court, of conspiring to steal the 2024 Presidential Election. Will Biden remain consistent and condemn members of his own political party?
3:45pm- Should the federal government decide what is, and is not, “disinformation”—ultimately censoring stories that don’t meet their subjective definition?
4:05pm- On Monday, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina—which challenges the constitutionality of race-based admission practices established by Grutter v. Bollinger in 2003. North Carolina Solicitor General Ryan Park argued that “racially diverse schools” offer “educational benefits.” Justice Clarence Thomas seemingly dismissed the validity of that claim, stating: “I don’t put much stock in that because I’ve heard similar arguments in favor of segregation, too.”
4:15pm- In her most recent Wall Street Journal, Allysia Finely explained the hypocrisy of Randi Weingarten and the American Federation of Teachers advocating in favor of race-based college admissions while concurrently condemning school choice for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
4:25pm- According to Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin, the man charged with assaulting Paul Pelosi was in the United States illegally.
4:35pm- While speaking over the weekend, President Joe Biden mistakenly claimed the United States consisted of 54 states.
4:40pm- On Monday, President Joe Biden condemned U.S. oil companies for “excess profits” and using those profits to return cash to shareholders instead of investing in methods to increase oil production. However, as the Wall Street Journal editorial board points out, “current profits follow steep losses in the pandemic” and “the progressive climate lobby and [Biden’s] own Administration’s climate policies have been urging” against new drilling and refining. While running for president, Biden vowed “no more drilling on federal lands…No ability for the oil industry to continue to drill, period” and that under his leadership the country would transition away from fossil fuels.
4:55pm- On Meet the Press, host Chuck Todd blamed online extremism for the assault on Paul Pelosi—seemingly suggesting that social media must do more to censor rhetoric and “apocalyptic language.”
5:05pm- Jennifer Sey—former Levi’s brand President—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss her new book, “Levi’s Unbuttoned: The Woke Mob Took My Job But Gave Me My Voice.” During the pandemic Sey spoke out against pro-longed remote learning for K-12 students—expressing concern over the potential impact on education quality. Because the sentiment was unpopular in corporate America, Sey was forced to leave her job. In the new book, Sey writes that corporate America has embraced “woke capitalism” and has managed to exploit “social-justice politics” and transformed “it into social-justice consumerism.”
“Levi’s Unbuttoned: The Woke Mob Took My Job But Gave Me My Voice” releases on November 15th and is available for pre-order now.
5:40pm- According to NJ.com, residents of Westfield, New Jersey are unhappy over their depiction in Netflix’s new mini-series “The Watcher.”
6:05pm- On Friday, Elon Musk officially purchased Twitter, Inc. for $44 billion. Almost instantaneously, traditional news outlets like the New York Times expressed concern over the purchase—alleging that Musk’s pledge to respect free speech could result in hateful speech becoming widespread on Twitter’s social media platform.
6:45pm- While speaking with Al Sharpton on MSNBC, New York Governor Kathy Hochul called Republicans “master manipulators”—claiming that violent crime is not a problem in Democrat-run states.
6:55pm- Who Won Social Media? + Zeoli’s Final Thought