Talking Past Each Other: Today's News for May 3rd

Today is another day when the Left and Right are singing from different hymnals. For example, Fox News leads off with a story about May Day protests:

Fox News:

May Day protests: Rioters throw full cans of Pepsi at Oregon police

Portland Police said that they were pelted with full Pepsi cans during violent May Day protests where 25 were arrested.

Before violence broke out in Portland, one protester offered the police a can of Pepsi in a nod to the controversial Kendall Jenner advertisement in which she transformed from a starlet to an activist and used the soda to bring protesters and police together, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The ad drew outrage and Pepsi eventually pulled the plug on the spot before it made it to television after it was accused of appropriating Black Lives Matter protests to sell soda.

Portland police said the protesters turned violent as businesses were being [damaged]. Police said at least one medic was hit by a full Pepsi can, but was not injured in the incident.

Personally, I suspect the protesters were using Pepsi because they were saving their Coke to drink later.

Seriously, the article fails to make clear the purpose of the protests, which was a celebration of International Workers' Day, which Wikipedia describes as:

International Workers' Day, also known as Labour Day in some countries, and often referred to as May Day, is a celebration of labourers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labour movement which occurs every year on May Day (1 May), an ancient European spring festival.

The date was chosen by a pan-national organization of socialist and communist political parties to commemorate the Haymarket affair, which occurred in Chicago on 4 May 1886. The 1904 Sixth Conference of the Second International, called on "all Social Democratic Party organisations and trade unions of all countries to demonstrate energetically on the First of May for the legal establishment of the 8-hour day, for the class demands of the proletariat, and for universal peace."

Basically, these protests were a celebration of socialism and communism, dressed up as some kind of celebration of workers. This is why May Day was a big deal in the old Soviet Union:

(hat tip to American Elephants for the pic)

Having said all that, CNN didn't even cover this story, undoubtedly because violent May Day protests make the Left look bad. Instead, CNN dug up an old story:

CNN:

They hate Obamacare, but Republicans can't bear to kill all of it

As Republicans scramble to tamp down fears that their health care bill would gut protections for sick people, they're running into a chorus of opposition -- from fellow Republicans.

With direct orders from President Donald Trump to fulfill the GOP's years-long promise to repeal Obamacare, House Republican leaders are trying yet again to get the 216 votes they need to pass a bill this week. Thus far, they're failing.

The biggest problem: The legislation would let insurers charge people with pre-existing conditions more for their health care if those people let their insurance lapse at any point.

It is amazing this is even being discussed. If this were fire insurance, this would be the equivalent of discussing whether insurance companies should be required to cover house property damage after the house has already burned down, even if there was no coverage during the actual fire event. Only in politics can you even get a discussion this stupid.

To the Republicans and Democrats supporting this part of the Obamacare stupidity, you get the shark for this:

Finally, in other news...

Rush Limbaugh:

Vice President Calls the Show to Defend the Budget Deal

Every now and then, politicians will let the curtain slip and unveil the TRUTH. Vice President Mike Pence might have done this during an interview with radio personality Rush Limbaugh:

Rush, let me be real clear. The number one priority of President Trump is to rebuild our military, to restore the arsenal of democracy. And I gotta tell you, to get Democrats in Washington, D.C., to agree to a $21 billion increase in a short-term budget bill — and, you know, the president’s calling for the largest increase in military spending since the Reagan administration in the upcoming budget, I think is no small — it’s no small accomplishment. 

Let me repeat that: "The number one priority of President Trump is to rebuild our military, to restore the arsenal of democracy." Before the wall, before tax reform, before repealing Obamacare, they will rebuild the military (not that it was ever actually left to rot). To what end? President Trump has said before that his number one priority was "ISIS". So President Trump's administration will be all about killing Muslims. At least we are clear on that now.

Then again, Trump said on the campaign trail, "My number one priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran." Maybe that fell to number two?

Somewhere, there is some hyperbole in all this "number one priority" talk.