This is Townhall's daily VIP feature, where we will focus coverage on the deeply flawed aspects of journalism in the nation. We'll look to bring accountability to the mishaps, misdeeds, manipulations, malpractice, and manufactured narratives in the mainstream media.
06.23.21 (Update)
Presentation Paradox – PUBLIC BROADCASTING SERVICE
- The fluid fervency of The Founders.
While appearing in a segment on MSNBC with Nicolle Wallace on "Deadline: White House," Yamiche Alcindor was following the media line in showing support for the "For The People Act," explaining how the GOP voting against the federal takeover of elections ran counter to the intentions of the Founding Fathers.
PBS’s @Yamiche on HR1: "This is going to be a debate about whether or not we want America to be the place that the Founders — flawed as they may have been — the Founders wanted it to be." pic.twitter.com/TX1a06MDXb
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) June 22, 2021
Some would say that if the Founders had such intentions for the nation, maybe they would have crafted such legislation from the start. But you have to appreciate the self-created escape clause Alcindor makes for herself. She relies on words not spoken by the Founding Fathers to support her position, but in calling them "flawed" she can excuse away their actual spoken words when those run contrary to her claims in the future.
Pounce Of Prevention – The Bulwark
The Admiral on the floundering flagship known as The Bulwark, Charlie Sykes, has a rather unique hot take on the Critical Race Theory (CRT) imbroglio. Seeing the rash of people on the Right opposing this scholastic framework, Sykes, of course, has to lash out...at the people occupying the space where he claims to reside.
Chaz thinks he hit upon a grand example, suggesting the banning of CRT is foolhardy and asks why there is not also a call to ban Marxism from school curriculums? This really means one of two things are in play; either Sykes is unaware that there is no organized push to install Marxism in all schools, or he is in favor of that political system being taught to elementary students.
If we are banning this sort of thing, why stop there? If CRT derives from Marxism, why not ban Marxism too? (Or would that smack too obviously of censorship, cancel culture, and the attack on free speech?) https://t.co/m2D7gALwSf
— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) June 21, 2021
Prose And Contradictions – WASHINGTON POST
It seems that it is a difficult job Jenn Rubin has been charged with. Not the writing of her column (she appears to put little in the way of effort toward that task), but in keeping things straight as far as supposedly being a conservative columnist. Jenny read a recent New York Times piece on AG Merrick Garland announcing he would not be launching any new probes into the corruption of the DOJ during the Trump years. This lone move set off Rubin.
Garland Says Watchdog Is Best Positioned to Review Trump-Era Justice Dept., Not Him .. this is nuts. If he hasn't the guts to do the job of cleaning house he should step down. He can't ignore illegality and unethical conduct https://t.co/ljfmi4WneB
— Jennifer 'pro-voting' Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) June 23, 2021
If only Rubin had read her own paper; more specifically, her own column. In her zeal to burn Garland for not being anti-Trump, she forgot that mere months ago she raved about the Garland appointment, because – he was anti-Trump.
Garland is proving himself to be among Biden’s best picks. That spells bad news for White supremacists, opponents of criminal justice reform and Republican senators who have propounded the Big Lie that the election was stolen.https://t.co/nHnKtf59Ht
— Jennifer 'pro-voting' Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) February 22, 2021
It seems she did not read The Times piece either. Garland's decision was not because of lax enforcement, it was because the DOJ is actively looking into things.
- "The department's independent inspector general was already investigating related issues, including aggressive leak hunts and attempts to overturn the election."
Presentation Paradox – THE DAILY BEAST
The Beast has a BREAKING exclusive regarding something the man who is not in office may have said, two years ago, which amounted to nothing happening. This is the scorching hot level of journalism we can expect from the press corps that has no interest in covering Joe Biden.
In 2019, Trump became testy when he saw the way he was being portrayed on Saturday Night Live, so he asked some people on staff if anything could be done about it. This landmark report derives from information, "According to two people familiar with the matter."
The Daily Beast suggests that this shocking level of questions, "underscored just how much Trump wanted to use the full weight and power of the U.S. government to punish his personal enemies." This sure enough sounds serious, and that is an accurate assessment; it sounds serious in the way they present it, but then the report goes on to deliver something else entirely; banal reality. In the end these anonymous sources deliver what amounted to be idle conversation, which very quickly was dispatched.
- "To those who heard it, Trump's inquiries into what federal regulations could be used to bust the likes of Kimmel and SNL were more nuisance than constitutional crisis. 'It was more annoying than alarming, to be honest with you,' one of these sources recalled."
We can understand what is at play. "Donald Trump once asked his staff annoying questions!" does not make for the same kind of gripping headline.
According to two people familiar with the matter, Trump asked advisers and lawyers in early 2019 about what the FCC, the court system, and the DOJ could do to probe or mitigate SNL, Jimmy Kimmel, and other late-night comedy mischief-makers https://t.co/6EH5e3chr0
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) June 23, 2021
Reporting On The Mirror – NEW YORK MAGAZINE
- Trump's antagonism of the press has led to journalists being banned from parties!
The city of New York has been trying to get the rest of the country to really care about their mayoral race, which just concluded. As the results came in last night, the expected celebratory events would play out, but then we come to learn that something truly disturbing played out; some journalists were not allowed to go into the party for the Eric Adams post-election bash!
David Freedlander, who had gained entry at one point, was escorted out of the festivities.
So here’s a fun fact: thanks to this article I wrote for @NYMag I have been kicked out of the Eric Adams election night party https://t.co/Ufy0416QAv
— David Freedlander (@freedlander) June 22, 2021
Not alone in his banishment, fellow New York writer Ross Barkan was denied entry entirely, and he seems to have taken it rather hard.
I was just literally told I am "not on the list" for the Eric Adams election night party and only certain media are allowed. Absolutely bizarre.
— Ross Barkan (@RossBarkan) June 22, 2021
The fallout from years of aggressive behavior toward our press corps continues to take victims.
06.23.21 (Original)
Anti-Social Media – THE LINCOLN PROJECT
Laughably, the scam artists at The Lincoln Project have announced that following a four-month-long investigation, they have been cleared of any wrongdoing regarding the fact they allowed known pedophile John Weaver to operate within their ranks. It's a pretty handy result, considering the firm that looked into the matter was composed of Lincoln Project donors.
Not to imply that it was a fixed investigation, but they claim they found no evidence the leadership knew of Weaver's activities, but Steve Schmidt was quoted in January as being apprised of the man's actions last summer. Interesting that after four months of searching, investigators were unable to dig up that nugget of information – from The New York Times.
This is comedically inept-
— Brad Slager - In Trouble More Than Pres. Biden (@MartiniShark) June 23, 2021
The scammer dolts at @ProjectLincoln declare themselves innocent.
The law firm hired to “investigate” their scandal was comprised of donors, and ignored blatant proof they knew of Weaver’s predations.
My takedown at @RedStatehttps://t.co/lb6CLfo8yZ
Stealth Story Evolution – WASHINGTON POST
With the stalemate in Congress rendering the Democrats' attempt to wrest control of voting standards away from the states, there is a new movement on the Left to soften their position on some voting rights provisions. The Washington Post notes that Stacey Abrams, Barack Obama, and even the Biden White House have taken new looks at possibly accepting the idea that voter ID requirements may not be such a morally horrific consideration.
Also changing their position on this matter is the press. For example, nowhere in the WaPo piece is the term Jim Crow ever mentioned.
DNC PR Firm – POLITICO
Following the shine put on Ralph Northam's character recently in The New York Times, Politico goes to work to put some glimmer on the image of departing NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio. Ruby Cramer takes us on a journey with the embattled leader, and he appears as a mystical character of divine empowerment...or something.
- "'Where are we going, what's happening,' he says, his voice pitched and suddenly ethereal. He's the guide in a game. 'We're in a mystical paradise. You turn away and everyone is gone! Come with me to a magical place!' The mayor returns. 'I didn't fully get this piece of the park until the pandemic: these inland trails,' de Blasio says."
We then get even more of the beatific revisionism.
- "The 'spring of Bill,' which then became the 'summer of Bill,' as his City Hall press shop has packaged it to reporters, is perplexing not only because it took so long, too late to change minds, but because it took so very little to make the change."
With that queasiness delivered, go off and enjoy your lunch.
Please tell me there's video of this portion of the interview "We’re in a mystical paradise. You turn away and everyone is gone! Come with me to a magical place!” @rubycramer https://t.co/MuZBACWebB via @politico
— Heath Brown (@heathbrown) June 22, 2021
Prose And Contradiction – CNN
In his newsletter "The Point," Chris Cillizza addresses a new poll result that allegedly shows 33% of Americans believe Joe Biden won as a result of voter fraud. Chris notes this is the exact same number from last month, from January, and from back in November, just after the election. He laments, "One-third of the country simply cannot be reached by facts – no matter how often they are presented by the mainstream media."
Translated – "Why won't these people believe our narrative?!" As he then explores some of the possible reasons behind this tragic figure, Cillizza unintentionally wanders into an answer.
- "The hatred and mistrust of the mainstream media – fueled by Trump – within the Republican base means that if CNN says the sky is blue, the GOP base will argue until their last breath that it is green."
That Chris fails to see that this reflexive contrarianism has been seen in the media and is precisely why the press has been strung up recently by anti-Trump stories like the Lafayette Park IG Report, the Russian Bounty non-scandal, the Wuhan Lab Leak story, etc.
Presentation Paradox – WASHINGTON POST
- Based on the promotional image, we should have seen this coming.
There is still a raging furor about the recent motion picture release, "In The Heights," the Lin Manuel-Miranda musical. There have been weeks of outrage because, as some activist voices have noted, there were not a sufficient number of Black characters in the main cast. The Washington Post weighed in with their disapproval as well, delivering this obtuse explanation of just how racist a cast of minorities actually was to witness.
- "Washington Heights is home to a population of mostly dark-skinned Black Dominicans. 'In the Heights' does make an effort to include Dominican cultural staples while still honoring the diversity that has always shaped the community, but it does so in the palest ways possible, prioritizing the palette of those who make up the minority of the neighborhood's demographics: White and light-skinned Latinxs who use their access to Spanish, as a first or second language, as a distancing mechanism from their Whiteness.'"
The fact that Miranda based the story on his own upbringing had no bearing on things. And just to drive the point home of the movie engaged in whitewashing the cast, they provided the header picture of the writer/composer standing in front of – a white-washed wall.
Subtle as a semi-truck, WaPo.
Why highlight a Black Latino population if your interpretation needed to erase a large portion of the Blackness to tell it, @Jewleesah and @InADash ask in an op-ed. https://t.co/iC1NXJJxSm
— Washington Post Opinions (@PostOpinions) June 22, 2021
