Mika & Soledad: America's Morning Media Scolds

It all hit at once this morning. On CNN, the insufferable Soledad O’Brien hosted a panel pushing back against the NAACP’s lawsuit opposing New York City’s upcoming ban on the sale of soft drinks larger than 16 ounces. O’Brien was shocked the NAACP would do such a thing. After all, obesity hits blacks and Hispanics at disproportionately high rates.

Without irony, the portly Roland Martin was part of the panel, as was conservative commentator Will Cain. Martin defended minority small business owners, Cain suggested the NAACP’s relationship with Big Soda might have something to do with it.

Here’s Soldad making her primary point:

—

—

What was startling, though, is that the idea of personal freedom was never brought up by anyone on the CNN roundtable.  Apparently, the simple, time-honored concept of human liberty is no longer part of this debate. Or it’s a losing point.

The following hour on MSNBC, utterly joyless “Morning Joe” co-host, Mika Brzezinski, tore into pop star Beyonce for suggestively posing on the cover of “GQ” in a cut-off t-shirt and bikini bottom. Mika was also upset Beyonce’s a spokesperson for Pepsi.  As a role model for so many, Mika thinks it’s wrong for Beyonce to flack “liquid sugar.”

In fairness to Mika, the insufferable Joe Scarborough (who was off today) has assumed the role of the 21st Century’s Joseph Breen when it comes to art.

Below you can watch a rare joint appearance where Soledad and Mika teamed up for a roundable discussion on personal freedom. The guests were Billy and George. After the two men spoke, Mika and Soledad got their licks in:

—

 

—

Anyway…

Where’s the America that used to laugh these smug, fascist prudes off the planet? Is this sanctimonious, liberty-strangling moral preening by our media really going to take hold? Is our culture really morphing this far leftward, where the sense of self-righteous moral superiority that comes with regulating the personal lives of others trumps advocating for personal liberty?

Remember when “Mind your own g***amn business,” was a thang?

What’s funny about Mika is that she’s not above wearing or posing in skirts up to here. But like the stereotypical nun using a yardstick to measure the length of dress hems, Mika apparently believes that she’s in charge of how much thigh will be allowed.  

The best moment in the “Morning Joe” segment, though, came when Mika was off-camera and you could hear her furiously flipping through the pages of “GQ.” When she finally popped her head up it was to scold “GQ” for the number of photos she counted of women in various states of undress.

You can watch the clip below:

—

—

We all know the difference between those sincerely interested in our well-being and some bossy-pants with a superiority complex.  But our culture used to laugh in the face of these people. To push the movie metaphor a little further, remember “Animal House?” Niedermeyer was the fascist bad guy who screamed at people for being fat. Chubby, fun-loving, overeating alcoholic Bluto was the hero.

Now Niedermeyer is among America’s celebrated elite and hosting morning news shows.

Maybe it’s time more of us pushed back before we all become Kevin Bacon:

—

—

 

Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC