#SMH Fridays, Week of Aug. 9

Here at Red Alert Politics we spend entirely too much time on the internet and some of the things that we see out there are just absolutely astonishing/mind-blowing/horrifying/disgusting/trendy/weird/insert any adjective here. As such, we have decided to start #SMH Fridays as a way to share those stories with you.

In this weekly series, our staff members will share their favorite “That’s So Internet” story in this post, along with their unfiltered commentary. Here’s last week’s edition for the gist of what it’s all about. Enjoy!

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Ashley Dobson

Yesterday I read some disturbing news: “Nobody in France drinks wine anymore.”

According to an Ifop poll for Entreprise & Prévention, only 12 percent of  the French order a glass of something alcoholic every day.The majority of those are men over the age of 60.

Despite France’s reputation, one in five Frenchmen does not drink at all.

Less than one in two – some 44 per cent – order an alcoholic drink when out and when they do they opt for quality over quantity.

“The consumption of alcohol in French households is increasingly occasional,” Alexis Capital, head of Entreprise & Prévention, told The Telegraph.

The head of a Parisian bar in Montparnasse admitted to the news site that “right now, all I ever serve is Perrier and Coke.”

This simply will not do.

There is a lot to hate on France for — Freedom fries, anyone? — but I have always admired their love for a good bottle of wine.

We must set the world right again and go back to the days when this was the attitude of everyone in France:

 Anthony Hennen

Surprisingly, I’m feeling for Ben Carson.

Carson and I disagree on many, many things, but revelations that he did research with tissue from aborted fetuses shows the low level of political discourse on the campaign trail.

Medical research, ethics, and guidelines, in general, shouldn’t be subject to popular vote. Not that doctors are paragons of virtue — history has shown that to be a fraud again and again — but using human tissue for medical advancement is complicated. The justification for using aborted fetal tissue won’t fit on a bumper sticker or a 40-second sound bite. Concerns from the pro-life camp, and criticism of Carson, is misplaced. If he criticizes the use of fetal tissue, but has used it in the past, of course, jump all over him for that. But give Carson a break on this.

There’s plenty of other things to dislike about the guy.

Ryan James Girdusky

I have a dream that one day I will turn on cable news and hear a political pundit admit that they have no idea what they’re talking about and haven’t for years.

So far the demise of the Donald Trump campaign has been hashed out repeatedly by talking heads on every major cable channel for his comments on Mexican immigration, John McCain, Megyn Kelly, etc…

I would love to hear someone say that as a Washington insider, who lives, breathes, and eats politics, that they are no more in tune the American people than most of the politicians in Congress.

“I have no idea what I am talking about, I clearly stated that the Iraq War would be a glorious victory, and it turned out to be a disaster. I endorsed and supported every free trade agreement that destroyed 5.7 million manufacturing jobs (33 percent) since the year 2000. I was an advocate for increasing legal immigration and supporting amnesty that depressed wages, declined social capital, and would result in the country never electing another Republican president again. I don’t believe in the 1st, 4th, 5th, 9th, or 10th Amendment when it suits my interests and I make up crap as I go along,” would be a wonderful response from most professional talking heads.

Trump isn’t succeeding because he’s a Democratic mole, his rise is a product of talking heads, especially “conservatives,” being out of touch.

His brand isn’t phony D.C. “conservatism”, it’s populism. It’s saying to the average American, “I trust your opinion more than the professional thinking and governing class.”

If other candidates want to gain the 20 to 25 percent of the party who admire Trump, then they should be copying that brand, not fighting it.

Meghan Keenan

Everybody get ready: Queen Bey is featured on the cover of Vogue’s September issue.

For some reason, the fact that Beyonce’s hair is wet inspired at least one writer to write a piece on the “politics of stringy hair,” saying that Beyonce and the Vogue are making a political statement by purposely making her hair look bad.

“Hair that is done…has become somewhat democratized,” the author writes, and has become a symbol “of one’s status, emotionally and economically.”

The piece laments the tools and time required for women to condition, dry and style their hair every day, whereas men can pretty much just wash and go (because, the patriarchy).

She says Beyonce and Vogue are setting a new benchmark that having unkempt hair is OK.

First of all, I doubt that Beyonce (or whoever styled her hair for the Vogue photoshoot) was trying to make it look bad. I’m sure they spent a lot of time making it look that way, actually.

And even if they were trying to make some sort of feminist statement that women shouldn’t have to spend time and money doing their hair, I would like to know why women should have to be made up and wear the designer gowns that Beyonce is rocking in the magazine?

I know Beyonce has made feminist statements in the past, but I still think the whole ‘wet hair’ trend is more of a fashion statement than a political statement.