One Thing I’m Sure Of…

Fox News is 'rattled' and wants to 'sideline' Tucker Carlson until 2024: report https://t.co/gNUk3H3qVy

— Raw Story (@RawStory) April 27, 2023

 I have no idea why Fox canceled Tucker and, outside the people who make these decisions there, neither does anybody else.

Carlson’s current contract runs through December 2024, and as of now three sources familiar with the matter told Breitbart News that executives at the network are trying to keep Carlson on contract and not release him until after the 2024 election," the conservative outlet wrote. "The shocking decision to cancel Carlson’s top-rated weeknight program came just days after the network shut down its top-rated weekend program with host Dan Bongino." 

The Breitbart report says that the narrative that Fox News put forth is untrue, but notes that there will likely be disparagement clauses that keep Carlson and any other former Fox hosts from speaking ill of the conservative news network. The article quotes anonymous sources in part, it says, "because Fox News and the broader Murdoch empire are known for their ruthlessness against anyone who speaks the truth about what is actually happening there." 

“As of right now, the plan remains the same: pay out Carlson’s contract and keep him on the sidelines through the 2024 elections,” a source close to Fox News senior executives purportedly told Breitbart News. “They knew they would take a beating for this but everyone — and I mean everyone — is pretty rattled. They weren’t expecting the blowback to be this bad. Hate to say it but it’s clear that Rupert has lost a step or two.”

Including all the reporters who think they do. Maybe some of them will be proven right, but for now, nobody knows nothin’ reliable.

Not that it really matters…

.@nytmike: “There was a thought that Dominion was playing for an extremely dramatic moment at the trial—you were going to have Tucker Carlson on the stand being questioned about these highly inflammatory messages that he had sent, some of which had not become public yet.” pic.twitter.com/ol5GwPvYHZ

— All In with Chris Hayes (@allinwithchris) April 28, 2023

There was a “thought.” And those messages still haven’t been made public. So…maybe. But the people who know aren’t talking. And this version depends on the testimony/texts being so scurrilous that reality will beggar imagination. And probably disappoint. Color me skeptical of a story that depends so much on imagination (“Can you imagine how bad they must be?”).

While we’re on the topic of “nobody knows”:

Also my daughter played the Glow Worm in our local church production of James & the Giant Peach. Is that a male role or female role

— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) April 28, 2023

The story of “why” SBISD canceled the field trip rests entirely on the speculation of one parent in the ABC-13 article. She didn’t know why either, because the district hasn’t explained (and yes, they should have). So yes, the action follows a complaint at a board meeting, but is there a causal connection? Frankly, (and yes, I’m throwing shade), most lawyers would know better than to leap to that conclusion.

I learned a lot, being a lawyer, about causal analysis. This one is of the “trees move and make the wind blow” variety. I’m inclined to blame the Board for this embarrassment; but nobody covered themselves in glory here. Including everyone who thinks this is of vital importance.

And I’m kinda surprised how quickly this became a national story. Even my brother in Chicago heard about it.