On Thursday afternoon, CNN fill-in host Boris Sanchez cued up frequent guest Dr. Peter Hotez to trash the conservative majority on the Supreme Court for its ruling that New York cannot discriminate against houses of worship in its anti-pandemic restrictions, with the Baylor College of Medicine professor declaring that the ruling is "absolutely crazy" and "devalues human lives."
CNN Supreme Court analyst Joan Biskupic even managed to label the five-justice majority of the court as "far right" in her response to the ruling.
At 12:11 p.m., Sanchez brought up the issue and led his guest on in suggesting that the ruling was wrongheaded. He did not tell the audience that New York limited church attendance to 10 people, not, as in other states, allowing church attendance at 25 percent of capacity or something:
I want to pivot, sir, to the Supreme Court's ruling overnight. They blocked New York's coronavirus restrictions limiting attendance at churches, synagogues and other places of worship. I know that a lot of folks that I have discussed this with -- they're asking about religious freedom and how certain officials are appearing to prioritize commerce over worship. But correct me if I'm wrong -- there are specific reasons why going in a church, a synagogue or a mosque can be problematic compared to going to, say, a liquor store as Justice Gorsuch alluded to.
Dr. Hotez immediately tore into the decision:
Yeah, it's absolutely crazy. This is not about religious freedom -- this is not about civil liberties -- this is about all hands on deck to save lives over the next few months until we get everybody vaccinated. ... I can say with firmness and clarity that human life is not cheap. And that Supreme Court ruling did just that -- it devalues human lives and makes it really tough for our health care providers to provide the best care possible to lower mortality rates.
After Dr. Hotez called for keeping the restrictions a few more months until the vaccine is widely available, Sanchez jumped back in to agree: "Yeah, and to that point, practically, there is a difference between sitting in the same area huddled with a group of -- a large group of people over a large amount of time versus walking into a space that's restricted for a very short amount of time and then walking out."
Hotez seconded that emotion: "I don't know what kind of liquor store Judge Gorsuch is just going to. But the last time I was in wonder, when hundreds of people are singing or chanting or talking to each other without face masks. This is what we need to halt.'
Across the country, many churches are meeting with social distancing, and with masks. CNN doesn't sound like they know what's going on at churches.
CNN also failed to discuss their own "devaluing human lives" by suggesting left-wing protests aren't public health problems. They put on doctors who say "social justice" gets an exemption.
In the previous hour, as Biskupic was brought on to discuss the ruling, she put a "far right" label on more than half of the Supreme Court:
But it clearly is now a court controlled by a five-justice majority without Chief Justice John Roberts, which is a very new development for this court. Five justices on the far right saying, "No, the overriding free exercise concerns are what's important here, and we're not going to defer to local officials, and it's time to stop what the majority believes is a nationwide trend against religious services."
It shouldn't come as surprising that the Cuomo News Network is going to dislike overruling the governor of New York.
The afternoon's CNN Newsroom show was sponsored in part by Mazda. Their contact information is linked.
