Y’all, I really am starting to wonder if state Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) is as old as he claims to be. His information on the state website says he was born in 1961. It also says he has five children, so he has to be at least 5 years old. But I found this actual footage of Bulso and Republican leadership at the zoo, and it only fuels my speculation that he is a literal baby. Look at how oblivious to danger he is, how without concern for consequences. Just a fresh set of eyes on a brand-new world, naively believing he has no reason to be concerned. (An aside: Which is funnier? When Popeye insists he can’t be treated this way because he’s a taxpayer, or when the alligator rubs Popeye’s belly and puts him to sleep? I can’t decide. They’re both so great.)
Anyway, Bulso wants to require all kids in the state to watch this video called “Meet Baby Olivia.” Fellow lawmakers including Reps. Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville) and Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) have already tried to explain to him the ways in which this video isn’t medically accurate (though if some people's sperm can cause a huge flash of light when it hits an egg, we should wait to outlaw IVF until after the Fourth of July, because I have an idea for how we can improve Nashville’s fireworks show), so I’m not going to sit here and do that again.
Bill to allow abortion exceptions in fatal fetal anomalies quietly tabled
What I want to do instead is talk about the ways that this video is obviously part of a grift, so that perhaps Bulso can learn to be a little more critical when approached with opportunities to promote such grifts.
Let’s first look at the website itself: babyolivia.liveaction.org. Who made this website? Who is it telling us this story? I scroll around a little and I find “Produced & Created by Live Action,” but when I click on “about” to find out more about Live Action, all I find is more about their Baby Olivia Project. No, “more” is an overstatement. I find out pretty much the same thing I found on the homepage. When the people who make something aren’t clear about who they are, you should have suspicions about the thing they’ve made. Red flag one.
OK then, I can at least see who reviewed the video and verified the information. First up, David Bolender, from the Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy department of the Medical College of Wisconsin. Cool. That’s a lot of identifying information. I should be able to find him. Hmm. The Baby Olivia site doesn’t indicate that he’s emeritus (i.e., retired). It’s not a red flag, but it feels a little weird after not discovering information about Live Action itself. Just like, maybe these folks have a habit of smudging the details? I’m giving this a pink flag.
Both Dr. Tara Sander Lee and Dr. Katrina Furth are designated as Charlotte Lozier. Maybe I’m a dumbass, but I assumed this was a hospital. Just like how people call RUSH University Medical Center “Chicago Rush,” I thought maybe Charlotte Lozier was a Lozier hospital over in Charlotte. But no, it’s a research institute — “America’s #1 source for science, data, and medical research on the value of human life.” I don’t know why they didn’t say “Charlotte Lozier Institute,” but whatever. I don’t think that’s intentional obfuscation.
But Donna Harrison at “(AAPLOG)” is both of these scenarios. It’s not at all clear what AAPLOG is. For the record, it’s the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and Donna Harrison isn’t leading it anymore. Now she’s an “associate scholar” at the Charlotte Lozier Institute. The Institute says Harrison is still also with AAPLOG, but I couldn’t confirm that via AAPLOG’s site. This, though, is also a red flag for me. Why not spell out what AAPLOG is? If Harrison is still with AAPLOG, why isn’t she on their site? Why doesn’t the Olivia site just say she’s also with Charlotte Lozier?
There’s Jeffrey Barrows, “DO, MA, (Ethics) Senior VP Bioethics and Public Policy.” I’ll let that sink in for a moment. OK, where is he the "Senior VP of Bioethics and Public Policy"? He has to be vice president of some place. Why isn’t it listed here? I found him at the Christian Medical & Dental Associations website. He seems like your typical conservative Christian do-gooder. CMDA seems similar to all the other groups mentioned so far, so why would you leave its name off the Olivia website? Seems hinky. I give it another pink flag.
And then there’s Michelle Cretella, M.D., "Executive Director of the American College of Pediatricians." Whew, that sounds legit. I’m certain we’re in no danger of learning that Gino Bulso is promoting a website that got a seal of approval from a hate group. Let’s just assume all is well. Go about our days. Watch some more Popeye videos. Ignore all the red flags waving furiously nearby.
The Brentwood Republican says a century ago 'we had a consensus on sexual morality.' We didn't.
Damn it. My fingers slipped and I Googled the American College of Pediatricians. I found a story about a researcher who was alarmed to find his work used by the American College of Pediatricians to lie about gay people. I found an open letter from the head of the National Institutes of Health complaining that the group had distorted their research. I found a story about how the guy who was for a long time the only person in the American College of Pediatricians uses the confusion between it and the American Academy of Pediatrics to support anti-gay nonsense. And here they are on the Southern Poverty Law Center site as an extremist group.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!
Gino Bulso is out here trying to force public schools to show kids propaganda endorsed by a hate group?
I had other points to make. I was going to get into the video some. But you know what? No. We have fucking Nazis marching openly in the streets, and Gino Bulso is all, You know, maybe I could help right-wing extremists get their message into our schools.
When people don’t tell you who they are — e.g., the folks behind Baby Olivia and their supporters — that’s a red flag. And when people do tell you who they are, believe them. So since we’ve caught Bulso advocating for a group supported by extremists, then I think it’s just wise to assume that Bulso supports extremists. Otherwise, why this video? Why this group? Cartoons about how conception and early development happen aren’t new. (Despite Live Action claiming this is a “never before seen look at human life in the womb,” this is just computer animation, and such animations are all over YouTube.) So why is Bulso trying to steer Tennessee kids’ eyes to this video?
Gino Bulso, what a disgrace. Get off the side of the extremists and get on the side of decency.
(House Bill 2435/Senate Bill 2767 is set for a House vote and Senate Education Committee consideration this week.)
