Townhall's daily VIP feature with coverage on the deeply flawed aspects of journalism in the nation. We'll look to bring accountability to the mishaps, malaprops, misdeeds, manipulations, malpractice, and manufactured narratives in mainstream media.
07.15.21
Both Kinds Of Standards – CNN
- Maybe Chris Cillizza needs to start reading his own tweets.
As the Texas Democrats continue with their Flee-ibuster and deliver to D.C., the last thing that town needs – more politicians – two things are emerging. One, these dolts only continue to embarrass themselves, and second, the press continues to undermine themselves as they support these children during their field trip.
Eddie Zipperer notes that Chris Cillizza, in his warm appraisal of the TX-Dem snit-trip, had previously taken a more stern approach to the idea of politicians running away from their duties.
Cillizza on 2019 Oregon GOP walkout vs Cillizza on 2021 Texas Dem walkout: pic.twitter.com/YQvkGzYJ1L
— Eddie Zipperer (@EddieZipperer) July 14, 2021
This is a shocking dose of hypocrisy from Mr. Cillizza. He has previously assured us of the completely balanced and unbiased stance taken by those in the media.
Um…yea https://t.co/XRBOrPoaUp pic.twitter.com/st5Gkfqs33
— Brad Slager - In Trouble More Than Pres. Biden (@MartiniShark) July 15, 2021
Gilded Reframe – REUTERS
Recall throughout 2020 when we were told to shutter in our basements out of fear of spreading contagion, but the press saw no problem whatsoever when thousands were protesting shoulder-to-shoulder for Black Lives Matter?
Well, it turns out there is a dividing line with their permissiveness. When Cubans are fighting for basic services while being attacked by government forces, it turns out that they are being really risky by not double-masking before they are carried off to nondescript jail cells.
Protests in #Cuba will increase the risk of COVID-19 transmission because of an already high level of cases and the more contagious Delta variant, health officials said on Wednesday.
— Sarah Marsh (@reuterssarah) July 14, 2021
https://t.co/bLUfHaSc5U
Blue-anon – CNN
CNN is all in a bluster about the shocking-breaking-exclusive bombshell that Gen. Mark Milley was prepared to fight back against any attempt that President Trump would make to use the military to remain in power. What they describe as a "chilling implication" arrives from an upcoming book, "I Alone Can Fix This," and it describes the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff preparing for a showdown with the president.
- "America's top military officer feared Donald Trump would try to order the armed forces to stage a coup is not how close the nation came to a post-election disaster last year. Mark Milley was so shaken by Trump's refusal to concede defeat that he feared he might attempt a coup or other illegal gambit to stay in power."
Um...this is all concerning what Gen. Milley worried about might transpire?
- "In the end, Trump did not seek to turn the military on the American people or stage the most alarming showdown in living memory between a modern commander-in-chief and top military brass. But that seasoned military officers thought it was a real possibility and hatched a plan for rolling resignations to thwart Trump's autocratic impulses underscores the ex-President's extraordinary instability."
Er, no – what it underscores is the press having a pathological inability to self-analyze that they are still wholly affected by derangement, even as the man they obsess over has no political office.
Stealth Story Evolution – NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO
- All of a sudden, the word "nepotism" carries zero import for the media.
Quick refresher. Recall over the past four years that the press was in full-throat outrage that Donald Trump, Jr. had too much influence, that Ivanka Trump did not deserve to have an administrative office, and that her husband was unqualified to have any national position? Well, all of a sudden, journalists have declared that it is unseemly to be critical of the benefits a family member of the president may enjoy.
In responding to a Fox News headline about Hunter Biden, David Folkenflik of NPR – you know, the news source that proudly announced it would refuse to cover the laptop scandal – shows that those four years of familial outrage are all but a memory.
Yes, Fox News White House reporter Peter Doocy, son of Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy, at a network overseen by Lachlan Murdoch, son of founder Rupert Murdoch, is interested in Hunter Biden on the principle that nepotism is bad.
— David Folkenflik (@davidfolkenflik) July 15, 2021
Just as Fox did under the last administration. https://t.co/cnmt8LaS1S
Low Octane Gas Lighting – THE ATLANTIC
Hot on the heels of the news that The Atlantic had surging subscriptions last year and still found a way to lose tens of millions of dollars, that same outlet provides us with a peek as to why that happens.
The always reliable David Frum offers up this ill-thought-out think piece on the rise in fascistic violence in the country as a result of Donald Trump. Now, do not concern yourself with informing Mr. Frum that there has not been widespread violence seen as a result of the Capitol riot. He will ignore that reality, just like he ignores all of the widespread mob violence seen last year.
"What the United States did not have before 2020 was a large national movement willing to justify mob violence to claim political power. Now it does," @davidfrum writes: https://t.co/B1cenXzl4x
— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) July 13, 2021
Prose & Contradiction – CNN
The Britney Spears melodrama continues to play out in the courts and press. Bemoaning this second aspect is A.J. Willingham, who writes at length about the obsessive media attention on the likes of Spears, calling it "the cruelest celebrity gossip era," describing a media machine that was overly attentive to these celebrities.
Case in point, the CNN "Reliable Sources" newsletter today, dedicating no fewer than TEN PARAGRAPHS to the Britney soap opera.
Hello from CNN DC — I'm up next on @TheLeadCNN with @jaketapper pic.twitter.com/oqIm23PXzS
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) July 14, 2021
Former NSYNC member Lance Bass says he hopes Britney Spears will be "free soon"
— CNN (@CNN) July 13, 2021
"As far as I know, yes. I think she could easily pick the people that will help her with her own affairs. She is smart enough. She's 40 years old. Let's let her live her life" https://t.co/kluKQQIwM2 pic.twitter.com/1ttUemwRxi
Madonna says Britney Spears' conservatorship is '"a violation to human rights." https://t.co/H6rmteyic9 pic.twitter.com/rIDWSqDYDb
— CNN (@CNN) July 9, 2021
Britney Spears' father, Jamie Spears, states in a new court filing that he and other family members have received death threats as a result of the legal battle surrounding the singer's nearly 13-year conservatorship https://t.co/ZX8qOcObWG
— CNN (@CNN) July 9, 2021
…and so on.
