"Riffed from the Headlines" is 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. (For a VIP discount, drop SLAGER in the signup form.)
12.02.21
Low Octane Gas Lighting – MSNBC
In a panel discussing the emergence of the omicron mutation, John Heilemann had some critical words for Republicans, stating that the GOP wants Covid to stick around. Yes, people who always leap at the chance to tell us to shut down and submit to government control with every new variant are not the ones rooting for Covid, it is the Republicans who want to move on with living their lives.
- "If people follow Fauci, there's a likelier chance that Covid will go away. And if Covid goes away, it's bad for Republicans. The political math on this, it's not hard to figure out."
Let's take a look, John, at all the times we have followed Dr. Fauci over the span of the past couple of years.
- We need to flatten the curve to reopen the country.
- We need to shut down.
- We need a vaccine.
- We need 50% vaccinated.
- We need to get to the end of summer.
- We need 75% vaccinated.
Now, please explain after all those times he has moved the goalposts, while we, to this day, still contend with Covid, that we still need to listen to the man to get past Covid.
Gilded Reframe – THE NEW YORK TIMES
We covered here how the Washington Post was going through a rewrite of much of their Russian Collusion coverage as a result of the Steele Dossier becoming widely discredited. The New York Times is finally coming around but taking a different approach. After years of reliance on the document today, the paper makes the announcement that the dossier was never a big deal to begin with concerning the Russia-Trump story.
In a lengthy explainer, we are told that the Steele Dossier was just a tangential aspect of the larger story, a nothing-burger trivial detail concerning Trump allegedly using Russia to get dirt on Hillary. To sell this, we have to ignore that the whole investigation stemmed from the dossier being developed by the Hillary campaign and that the Australian diplomat Alexander Downer who sparked the investigation, was a longtime foreign bundler for the Clintons.
We also have to ignore that this trivial document that supposedly meant little was relied upon for years, referenced across the media landscape, and led to countless reports with "bombshell" accusations toward Donald Trump.
New explainer: It’s become clear that the Steele Dossier was unreliable & unworthy of the attention it received. But it was also a largely tangential distraction from the actual Russia investigation, despite misleading attempts to conflate them. https://t.co/iowj7izfYK
— Charlie Savage (@charlie_savage) December 1, 2021
Both Kinds of Standards – THE NEW YORKER
- Are we to assume Biden is the second-coming?
The current abortion decision has the media all aflame with indignation, and it gets even better when they attempt to lapse into religious lectures, a topic on which they are clearly out of their element.
Susan Glasser attempted a dose of theistic condescension but then displayed her own ignorance on such matters of the faith.
Reminder that, per @pew 85 percent of church-going white evangelicals supported notable sinner Donald Trump in 2020.
— Susan Glasser (@sbg1) December 1, 2021
The Trump-majority Supreme Court on the brink of ending Roe v Wade is a key reason why.
We then have to assume that Joe Biden is the opposite of the Trump description. This means that Joe is NOT a sinner – the man who supports abortion in direct violation of the teachings of his Catholic faith.
Anti-Social Media – CNN
CNN has taken a completely hands-off approach toward Chris Cuomo, something that has been evident going back to last year. But the whole reason he has found himself suspended currently may not be entirely due to the new evidence presented by the New York attorney general. It could very well be that he is being looked at by more powerful executives.
The recent acquisition by Warner-Discovery Media means that, unlike the permissive CNN, Cuomo could be responsible for violating the standards and practices of his new overlords.
Chris Cuomo’s Fate May Now Hinge on the Standards of CNN Parent Co. Warner-Discovery https://t.co/iQETN1gpv8
— RedState (@RedState) December 2, 2021
Blue-Anon – THE NEW YORK TIMES
Ever on the hunt for those dastardly conspiracy nuts online, The New York Times may have spotted the latest subversive effort to deliver their deeply dangerous messaging. Now, it is being recorded that sites desiring to spread misinformation are using a dangerous tactic – they are luring people with cute animals.
- "Western Journal, a right-wing publication that has published unproven claims about the benefits of using hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19, and spread falsehoods about fraud in the 2020 presidential election, owns Liftable Animals, a popular Facebook page. Liftable Animals posts stories from Western Journal's main website alongside stories about golden retrievers and giraffes."
''Trump really won, meet me at the Capitol on January 6...'' https://t.co/PpARhUej9a pic.twitter.com/oxFADLlcKT
— Brad Slager - Incontinent On Another Continent (@MartiniShark) December 2, 2021
Artisanally-Crafted Narratives – ROLLING STONE
A bit lost in the wash of the holiday last week was this "bombshell" from Rolling Stone that supposedly blew the lid off the January 6 events…or not. By the sound of things, they really hit on a volatile aspect of the Capitol riots, with some anonymously-sourced intel showing organizers used burner phones to contact key figures in the White House.
Only there are a number of problems with this report. First, the FBI has already declared there had been no orchestration behind the riot, so this would mean Rolling Stone discovered key evidence the Feds overlooked. Second is that word – evidence. The article does not really supply any. Maybe some figures affiliated with The March For Trump used such phones, but to do what? We never really are told.
There is some concrete reporting of actual phone call details eventually detailed. The organizers cited were organizing nationwide tours for Trump. In one confirmed call, they reached Eric and Lara Trump directly — in order to discuss where to park a bus…at one of the Trump hotels…in Las Vegas…last Christmas.
Then, there is this revealing sentence, nestled deep in the exposé, that completely inspires anyone reading to quietly close their laptop and go fix a drink:
- "There was no evidence the Kremers and the other rally organizers encouraged or planned violence in the group-text messages reviewed by Rolling Stone."
Presentation Paradox – THE NEW YORK TIMES
- This is called burying the lede.
The press is all in a fluster over the new reports about Donald Trump…that are over a year old. The thing that has them hot and bothered is that the man who is no longer president may have tested positive for Covid at an earlier date than previously revealed, and as a result, he may have been a spreader of the virus – super or otherwise.
New York Times White House correspondent Michael Shear describes a personal story, following one encounter he had with the then-president.
Hours after he received the call from Meadows informing him of a positive test, Trump came to the back of AF1 without a mask and talked with reporters for about 10 minutes. I was wearing a mask, but still got COVID, testing positive several days later. https://t.co/NJLINb6cLN
— Michael D. Shear (@shearm) December 1, 2021
What Mike here may not fully realize is that his testimonial is actually a perfect example of the fallibility of the masks he and his ilk in the press have been mandating everyone adhere to wearing with an almost religious furor.
