FOR THOSE WHO ARE UNFAMILIAR WITH WHAT HAPPENED... HERE's A SUMMARY FROM BERT PETERSON OF THE AMERICAN THINKER
In interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell asked,
[W]hat does Governor Ron DeSantis not know about black history and the black experience when he says that slavery and the aftermath of slavery should not be taught to Florida schoolchildren?
In fact, DeSantis never said any such thing. In January, however, his administration blocked the teaching of a course on Black history that it said was historically inaccurate and violated state law.
After receiving criticism for her falsely premised question, Mitchell issued not an apology, but a "postscript," saying she had been "imprecise" in her question. "Governor DeSantis," she said, "is not opposed to teaching the fact of slavery in schools; therefore the premise of my question was false and defamatory, and I sincerely apologize."
Well, actually, I kind of made up that last part. (And I apologize — but not sincerely.)
What Mitchell actually said was this:
Governor DeSantis is not opposed to teaching the fact of slavery in schools, but ...
"But"? "But" what? Is he or isn't he?
... but he has opposed the teaching of an African American studies curriculum as well as the use of some authors and source materials that historians and teachers say makes it all but impossible for students to understand the broader historic and political context behind slavery and its aftermath in the years since.
Aha! So what Mitchell is saying is that, unless students have this course, it will be all but impossible for them to understand the "broader historic and political context behind slavery and its aftermath."
How do we know this? Because "historians and teachers" say so.
Really? Apparently, not all of them do, or Mitchell would have said so. So if it wasn't "all," then she should have made that clear by saying "some historians." But if she says that, then the justification for her "imprecision" disappears. So instead, she presents viewers with another "imprecision."
