"Riffed from the Headlines" is Townhall's daily VIP feature with coverage of 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.
09.07.22
Stealth Story Evolution – WASHINGTON POST
It seems rather clear that WaPo has serious contacts deep within the FBI. Note how many versions of the document trail we have seen presented already. There were specific classified documents sought out, those close to the investigation told WaPo. Then it became a search for nuclear weapons documents; again, this was fed to the Post.
Now, the latest is highly sensitive material on the military defenses and enrichment programs are said to have been what Trump possessed. It was reported these documents are so classified that they could only be known by the president himself and his inner circle – and select newspapers, it would appear.
These documents are SO sensitive the only people who can know of them are the President and select cabinet members…and…the Washington Post. pic.twitter.com/6r3wpAL3Rq
— Brad Slager: Semi-Fascist Practicing to Turn Pro (@MartiniShark) September 7, 2022
Body Checking the Fact-Checkers – WASHINGTON POST
- Sooo…if the FBI was honest in the 1990s, it means they are still honest today?
In response to this latest sieve-like release to the media, WaPo's resident fact expert, Glenn Kessler, looked into the matter. Well…he did not so much as "look into" things as he did speculate on things based on his own experience. From decades ago.
See, Glenn has an investigative background, and it has been his experience that the FBI does not really leak information, with most such releases coming from those being investigated – based on what he saw some 30 years ago. So today's version of the FBI, with Andrew McCabe and Peter Strzok types populating the Bureau, has just as much integrity.
This means that Glenn did not even make an effort to look at his own paper to find out who leaked the details. We'll just take it on faith that Trump and his team have been leaking information that makes him look horrible to the news outlet that has been openly hostile to him for years. Sure, this all tracks.
FWIW, whenever I covered criminal investigations (ie, the insider trading probes of the 1990s), the government didn't leak; defense lawyers did. That's where I got my scoops. One shouldn't assume, as Judge Cannon appears to have done, that leakers are USG (who have rules to folo) pic.twitter.com/kki4nvYqnJ
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) September 6, 2022
Blue-Anon – MSNBC
- Remember when citizens pushing crackpot theories were mocked by the media?
As a result of the Joe Biden speech declaring a large segment of the country enemies of democracy, MSNBC has become untethered from reality this past week. Regular panels have seen guests come on the air and declare all Republicans are domestic terrorists, that we need a civil war, that GOP members need to be silenced, etc. All rather fascist-level suggestions in their stated need to combat fascism. Hmmm…
Adding to the lunacy was Joy Reid, who had as a guest the consistently unhinged Elie Mystal, and she managed to distinguish herself in that warped company. Here, Joy is drawing the line from Trump's FBI raid documents to the spate of CIA spy deaths and captures last year because that is a completely normal leap to make, and then for added measure, she includes a Russian oligarch arrest that occurred because…well, who the hell knows why.
Just @JoyAnnReid having a normal one, suggesting Trump was behind the CIA spies who were compromised and killed over the last year. When you manage to out-crazy even @ElieNYC it is time to pump those brakes, Joy.
— Brad Slager: Semi-Fascist Practicing to Turn Pro (@MartiniShark) September 7, 2022
(Also, how does she have a NYT headline from October 2022?!) pic.twitter.com/mIPto8ejU6
Prose & Contradiction – GENTLEMAN'S QUARTERLY
- Her not being a gentleman is just the first paradox on display.
The always serious and never vainglorious (ahem) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is set to be featured on the cover of GQ magazine. As she poses in her now infamous faked handcuff position, we see in her interview that she is imploring men to get on board with her cause of abortion rights.
First off, who is she to declare who is and is not a man, as she is not a biologist? But we also have to pledge confusion because we have long been lectured that men have no place in offering their views on abortion; "No uterus, no opinion" has been the prevailing message.
Presenting GQ's October cover star: @AOC. The congresswoman opens up on the critical need for men to join the fight for abortion rights, whether she believes she'll ever be president, and much more https://t.co/uwWSexYB8h pic.twitter.com/UqOnSNwZ2y
— GQ Magazine (@GQMagazine) September 7, 2022
Low Octane Gas Lighting – PUBLIC BROADCASTING SERVICE
- Before you accuse Yamiche of misinformation, understand that 'zero' is, in fact, a number.
Yamiche Alcindor, crossover star at PBS and a regular featured gabber on NBC News, was on the midday show "MSNBC Reports" to discuss the midterm elections. Yamiche is not only claiming that abortion – not the economy – is becoming the central topic driving voters this November, but it is also supposedly causing a tide of GOP women to become willing to cross over.
- "I'm hearing from Republican women – especially young Republican women – who are saying they don't want to be part of a generation being told what to do with their body. I've talked to a number of Republican women who are voting for the first time in their lives for Democrats."
This is wishcasting of the highest order. Watch @Yamiche claim she spoke with plenty of GOP women who are switching parties for the first time in their lives over the issue of abortion being turned over to the states. pic.twitter.com/rJeNOY5b8g
— Lie-Able Sources (@LieAbleSources) September 7, 2022
Hoax & Change – USA TODAY
Recently there was a racist incident in college volleyball where a player on the women's team from Duke University said she had absorbed racist comments from the student section while playing against BYU. After a share of expected media outrage, an actual investigation into the matter took place. It turns out that the more they looked to find proof of this hate crime, the less evidence was turned up. The video showed the accused individual was not even seated at one time, no other witnesses have confirmed the episode, and a posted police officer said they heard no such slurs during a time when more were supposed to have been shouted.
At USA Today, columnist Mike Freeman appears very invested in this story. (He had initially declared the player, Rachel Richardson, to be a hero.) Now, as the evidence has failed to turn up anything to corroborate the story, Freeman has taken the position that anyone actually expecting proof that this happened to be in the wrong.
After invoking Q-anon (of course), Freeman declares it to be a conspiracy theory to…suggest there is no evidence. He uses his lengthy defensive column to dredge up everything from Donald Trump, elections deniers, Russian collusion, Covid vaccines, and global warming. All this because people are pointing out there is no proof of a hate-crime allegation. Also, expecting evidence of this sort is also racist.
- "This story is about race and how Black people have to constantly prove we're not criminals or liars. We have to prove, as Richardson does, that we heard what we heard. That we saw what we saw."
Well – yes, she does have to prove it. She is the one making an accusation, so the burden falls on that side. It is not racist to look into a matter and find evidence of wrongdoing.
"In many ways, this story is about race and how Black people have to constantly prove we're not criminals or liars," writes @usatodaysports' @mikefreemanNFL.
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) September 7, 2022
"To many of these people, Richardson's word doesn't mean anything."https://t.co/r4Lk6VgaNj
