"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.
10.11.22
Blue-Anon – MSNBC
- I dunno, these choices sound bad. Can we go with a write-in…?
Okay, when you begin with Mehdi Hasan, you figure things will be a tad hysterical. Now, rope in Molly Jong-Fast and Charlie Sykes, and…well, you are assured of seeing some imbalanced commentary.
In looking at the upcoming election, Hasan sees two – and only two – choices on the ballot. Not to suggest that things sound dire, but Hasan promises only a pair of outcomes, which seem a tad on the dark side.
So these are the two issues on the ballot, according to @MehdiHasan:
— Lie-Able Sources (@LieAbleSources) October 11, 2022
You either vote FOR fascism, or vote against it and thus are FOR a civil war.
Seems like a good time for a third party option! pic.twitter.com/2mDuw7QNRY
Anti-Social Media – POLITICO
- Striving to make "Adam" the male equivalent of Karen.
Right on the heels of his deeply disturbing exposé of House candidate Jennifer-Ruth Greene, Politico scribe Adam Wren now turns his dyspeptic eye on Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita. Wren breaks open the story that the AG has not only shown support for Kanye West, but yesterday, the man dared to "lean into" Columbus Day.
One can only presume that impeachment hearings will soon be scheduled to address these infractions.
Indiana’s attorney general—a day after defending Kanye West’s anti-Semitic tweet—leans in to Columbus Day: https://t.co/xbTw3UXfXS
— Adam Wren (@adamwren) October 10, 2022
Legalized Press-titution – THE NEW YORK TIMES
- We missed the announcement when becoming a fabulist was suddenly acceptable in our leaders.
Let us just recall briefly how not only was every utterance from President Trump considered a lie, but those were assiduously tabulated to build up his totals. Jose Biden's tally in the category of spinning lies comes nowhere close to Trump's – this is because they are not counted and frequently get reclassified with catchy euphemisms.
The New York Times looked into the matter of Biden's frequent lying. That is, they looked for a way to reclassify his lies. Now calling him The Storyteller In Chief, they strain themselves to come up with a new way of describing things; The president is not telling lies, he is "embellishing narratives to weave a political identity."
“Mr. Biden has embraced storytelling as a way of connecting with his audience, often emphasizing the truth of his account by adding, ‘Not a joke!’ in the middle of a story. But Mr. Biden’s folksiness can veer into folklore.”
— Steve Inskeep (@NPRinskeep) October 11, 2022
https://t.co/teO1HWqLZC
Democratic Custodial Services – NBC NEWS
- They may eventually get around to investigating which party she is a member of for their coverage.
The story of Democratic Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez captured on tape uttering some disturbingly hateful racist comments has led to her stepping down from her perch. In covering the story, NBC has been somewhat diligent in their reporting, save for one detail. On the "NBC Nightly News" report and online, they cannot seem to come up with the detail of Martinez being a Democrat, curiously enough.
In comments during a meeting last year, Martinez likened a colleague’s young Black son to an animal and seemed to imply that the county’s progressive district attorney shouldn’t be supported because he might be popular with Black Angelenos. https://t.co/aiGvQfN9U4
— NBCBLK (@NBCBLK) October 11, 2022
Gilded Reframe – VARIOUS OUTLETS
- Somehow this turnaround on an issue that will impact all of humanity is getting light coverage.
Recall another era when a precocious young Swedish pixie was going to save the planet and put all of our calloused and cynical adults in their place in order to save the planet? Greta Thunberg was everywhere, it seemed; from addressing the United Nations to delivering televised lectures and even having murals of her visage erected, there was no escaping her and her lecturing messages.
Well, now, after following the advice of an untrained teenager, Europe is enduring soaring energy prices and freezing, and Greta is coming out now and suggesting that maybe one of her benchmark platform items – opposition to nuclear energy – might have been made in error. Notably, this shift in her stance is not getting blasted across the globe's media outlets with nearly the same…er, amount of energy.
This makes it seem as if basing a nation's energy supply standards on the rantings of a middle schooler might have been a poor decision.....?????? https://t.co/UuUt3CnEXM
— Brad Slager: Armageddon A Bit Sick Of All This! (@MartiniShark) October 11, 2022
