Rating the Cosmos

Being in a household without kids, I rarely think about the rating code.  This evening I was watching Cosmos, the reboot of Carl Sagan's series with Neil DeGrasse Tyson: pure science and presented with the latest digital graphics.  It is awesome in the true sense of the word.

So why is it given the TV rating of PG?  The sub ratings tell the story.  "V" for violence and "D" for suggestive dialogue.  I suppose nothing is more violent than a super nova (except a hyper nova), but that rather distorts the intent of protecting the innocents from Game of Thrones type brutality.  But "challenging dialogue," usually reserved for talk about sex?

Of course you know the reason this is challenging dialogue.  It challenges the Biblical literalists. Evolution and an earth 4.5 billions years old rather than 6,000 is too much to discuss with the kids.  I wonder how old a child must be before PG does not apply?  Ratings are applied by the network.  How must you be before Fox thinks you must be before you "question everything?"

Facts? Who needs facts when you are talking about the ACA?

If you ever thought that the Kochs’ attack ads weren’t full of egregious lies, take a look as the non-partisan Washington Post Fact Checker debunks some of their recent attacks against Democrats.

Claim in Koch Attack #1: “I found this wonderful doctor and a great health care plan. My insurance was canceled because of Obamacare. Now, the out-of-pocket costs are so high, it’s unaffordable. If I do not receive my medication, I will die.”

Washington Post Fact Check:
FACT #1: “[She] suggested she had lost her ‘wonderful doctor’ when in fact she could keep that doctor in the new plan.”
FACT #2 “Her premiums were cut in half, from $1,100 a month to $571.”

Lie Detector: “One cannot claim that a plan is ‘unaffordable’ when over the course of the year it will provide you with substantial savings.”

Claim in Koch Attack #2: “Our health insurance plan was canceled because of Obamacare...This new plan is not affordable at all. My husband is working a lot more hours just to pay for these new increases.”

Washington Post Fact Check:
FACT: “The family qualified for Medicaid, but she was opposed for philosophical issues… So the family opted for a more expensive plan”

Lie Detector: “It is [the family’s] right to choose a more expensive plan. But it makes her claim of ‘unaffordable’ harder to swallow.”

Claim in Koch Attack #3: “Health care isn’t about politics. It’s about people. And millions of people have lost their health insurance, millions of people can’t see their own doctors, and millions are paying more and getting less.”

Washington Post Fact Check:
FACT #1: Many have not lost their health insurance -- “Many [have been] rolled into new plans, and Obamacare has reduced the number of uninsured.”
FACT #2: People don’t lose doctors because of Obamacare -- “This was true before Obamacare; employers changed plans all the time.”
FACT #3: People aren’t getting less for more -- “Obamacare mandates many new benefits.”

Lie Detector: “Once again Americans for Prosperity makes sweeping claims about the health-care law that lack context or offer a misleading picture.”