"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.
11.30.22
Low Octane Gas Lighting – CNN
- Maybe the notion that CNN is liberal is some cooked-up Republican plot.
On "The Late Show," Stephen Colbert – who apparently has never heard of a GOP politician or conservative pundit – had on as a guest Don Lemon. They began to discuss the changes coming across the CNN enterprise sort of.
On the eve of the announced layoffs at the network, Colbert asked the pundit about the perception that CNN is liberal, and the new management is intending to shift things to the middle. Try to decide which is funnier – Lemon trying to insist that CNN is not a liberal network or Colbert interjecting with a “What?!” before trying to save face.
Delusional, or prevaricating?
— Lie-Able Sources (@LieAbleSources) November 30, 2022
Don Lemon appeared on The Late Show, and as Stephen Colbert asked him about CNN changing from not being too liberal lemon dares suggest the network was not ever liberal.
Colbert responding with "What?!?!?" explains plenty. pic.twitter.com/khEr4MVh6v
Body Checking the Fact-Checkers – CNN
- If this keeps up, Don Lemon may volunteer for inclusion on the layoffs list.
Maybe in an attempt to elide Chris Licht’s dismissals, Don Lemon is branching out into…fact-checking? In a response to a recent tweet from Elon Musk where he declared the “Hands Up/Don’t Shoot” protest slogan was entirely made up, Lemon went on the attack. And…proved Musk correct in the process.
Using the fact-checker dodge of “this needs some context,” Lemon then explains it was not fictional because people did protest with the slogan. He then references a DOJ report (linked to by Musk) that does, in fact, prove Michael Brown did not have his hands raised because he was engaged in attacking the officer. Okay, Don – where is the fiction in Musk’s tweet?
Well, there is none to be shown. All Lemon does is reference another report that stipulated there was systemic racism in the Ferguson police department…and then moves on to another segment.
Reporting on the Mirror – THE NEW YORK TIMES / MSNBC
The MSNBC primetime host Chris Hayes penned an op-ed for The Times in which he does a deep exploration of his personal involvement with Twitter and how he fears the demise of the platform under Elon Musk. I have said on my podcast that the press is filled with proclamations over the past month of all the problems that will arrive on Twitter yet never manage to arrive. It was said to have collapsed by now, was going to unravel on election night, and would see a massive exodus of users. It is still going, no issues emerged on November 8, and the site is seeing a massive influx of new users.
But Hayes insists, “In under a month, almost all of the worst fears have manifested." (Maybe Chris’ nightmares are of the tepid variety?) But fret not for Mr. Hayes, as he has taken matters into his own hands. Chris is making an effort to preserve his Twitter history – by downloading ALL of his past tweets.
- "I didn’t download the archive because I thought Twitter was going to die. Even my gravest fears about Elon Musk’s ownership did not involve him nuking the entire $44 billion property in under a month. But I did not want the sole record of my microblogging output to be owned by a red-pilled billionaire going through a midlife crisis."
I know a Twitter addict when I see one: https://t.co/PQKheu6VZe
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) November 29, 2022
"[Musk] can’t stop himself...deep in the bowels of his own replies...spending inordinate amounts of time looking at what people are saying about him. I can tell you from experience that this is a path to madness."
Artisanally-Crafted Narratives – THE ATLANTIC
It seems that following a crap-hammer victory in an election, the press had to come up with another way of slamming Ron DeSantis. A new theme is emerging: He does not appeal to the establishment swamp dwellers!
CNN recently trotted out this attempt, saying that GOP moneymen are not yet enamored of the standoffish governor. (Note: This is probably due to him sitting on a $200 million war chest.) Now, The Atlantic is also coming forward to suggest DeSantis is not appealing to the right people in Florida, namely Republicans in the state. The laughable aspect is that those used as sources for this hit job are quite laughable. Barbara Comstock and Chris Christie are quoted. (Neither a Floridan.) Then there is an opposing lobbyist giving gruff assessments, and then to completely discredit the piece is one local voice – Rick Wilson.
To round out this idiocy, one other quote is offered that probably sums up the uselessness of this entry.
- "'Ron’s strength as a politician is that he doesn’t give a F__k,' a Republican consultant told The New Yorker. 'Ron’s weakness as a politician is that he doesn’t give a F__k.'"
Your main source is Rick Wilson?!?!?!
— Brad Slager: Polling For Soup (@MartiniShark) November 30, 2022
I see the problem now, I read your tweet as you being serious. That's on me, My mistake! https://t.co/vau88j3p9D
Democratic Custodial Services – WASHINGTON POST
Max Boot has surprised us a bit with a column not dedicated to his turning on Trump and the Republican Party! That said, he might be better off rewriting his same column after all.
Mr. Boot has looked at Jose Biden’s international prospects and comes to a conclusion: Now is the time to start snuggling up to Communist dictators.
Biden has generated a healthy share of perplexed looks when, after spiking our domestic oil production, he went to Venezuela with our wallet open to appeal for their crude imports. Max here is coming to his aid, imploring Biden to get even more affectionate with the country and to do so with Cuba as well. The reasoning? Well, since he has zero hope of finding any support in Florida ever again, he need not worry about appealing to those voters any longer.
- "On Saturday, the White House granted permission to Chevron to begin pumping oil again in Venezuela, with the profits going to pay that country’s creditors. That is the right policy to follow, because it has long been clear that U.S. pressure wasn’t going to overthrow the Maduro regime — any more than it has overthrown the Castro-created regime in Cuba despite a U.S. trade embargo that has now lasted more than 60 years. It’s time for a different approach, without having to worry about the impact on Florida politics."
Just, holy hell, man…
Biden, with no hope of winning Florida in 2024 after the midterm wipeout, is now free to pursue more pragmatic policies towards Cuba and Venezuela, rather than catering to politically potent constituencies of conservative Cuban- and Venezuelan-Americans. https://t.co/vQQRKV01H7
— Max Boot 🇺🇦🇺🇸 (@MaxBoot) November 28, 2022
