DeSantis Siezes on Judges, Gutfeld Pounces on Shortness, and WaPo Confounds on Pride Month

I was one of those, early on, saying this criminal investigation was real - and it’s serious - that it must go on, and that certain revelations from the laptop were serious. 

But then he goes on to complain that the charges brought against Hunter were not serious to the extent that an ordinary citizen would not face legal trouble. Pardon us here at Riffed From the Headlines, but…HUH?!

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These are crimes generally not even charged criminally. Meaning: The two cases for willful failure to pay the taxes? Usually wouldn’t be charged because he paid the money back when challenged by the IRS. 

And the gun charge…almost never gets prosecuted on its own. Yes, it’s often added to other charges - but not typically a standalone charge. 

Abrams has thus declared that he has looked over the crimes of Hunter Biden and in the past said these were very serious, but today, after he gets no jail time whatsoever, Dan feels it is a complete bastardization of justice that he was charged at all…over those exact same issues.

Hunter Biden has accepted a plea deal on 2 counts: willful failure to pay federal income tax and possession of a firearm… crimes that most people aren’t charged with! What does this mean for Biden and why is it not enough for republicans? pic.twitter.com/Mw0DQ8SUCQ

— Dan Abrams Live (@danabramslive) June 21, 2023

Pounce of Prevention – WASHINGTON POST

• The solution: The governor should not have performed his assigned duties!

In today’s mentally-impacted Ron DeSantis attempted hit-job, Washington Post scribes Beth Reinhard and Josh Dawsey found the key to the success this dastardly governor has had. He has swung the state supreme court to the conservative side of things to get his agenda passed without challenge. (Enter dramatic “GASP” → here.)

See, what happened was DeSantis had the ever-loving gall to see seats that were vacated and he had the temerity to actually go forward and – and he filled them! TRANSLATION: DeSantis did his job:

For decades, the ambitions of Florida’s Republican governors were stymied by the liberal-leaning state Supreme Court. The hard-right turn was by design. DeSantis seized on the unusual retirement of three liberal justices at once to quickly remake the court.

Here’s the inside story of how DeSantis flipped Florida Supreme Court — and used secret panel of advisers led by Leonard Leo. W/ ⁦@jdawsey1⁩ https://t.co/deSixP9wc7

— Beth Reinhard (@bethreinhard) June 20, 2023

Pulitzer Prize Nomination – THE WRAP

• Doggedly demanding answers from those who dared to tease each other on the air!

It is funny how those in the press who hate Fox News, and watch it in a devoted fashion in order to glean outrage content, need to have the happenings on Fox News explained to them. In this stunted piece from Jeremy Bailey of TheWrap, he saw a segment from "The Five" where Greg Gutfeld actually said something less than complimentary to co-hostess Dana Perino. Turns out he made a crack about Perino’s height because she is all of five feet tall:

Perino had been telling a story in which she was forced off a New York City sidewalk by an apparent homeless person pushing a cart. 

'I agree to everything the little lady says,' Gutfeld said, half-pointing with his thumb to Perino, sitting directly to his right. 'And I’m sorry about the cart.'

The first half of the piece is centered on the insensitivity of this jibe from Greg. Now, Bailey lets on that he understands what good-natured ribbing might be (he noted how the hoasts “often trade witty barbs and banter”), yet this toss-away remark between them was apparently a point of contention, based on this entered sentence in the middle of this report:

TheWrap has reached out to Fox News for comment on Gutfeld’s remark.

Greg Gutfeld Takes ‘The Five’ Baton From Dana Perino With Casual Nod to ‘The Little Lady’ (Video)https://t.co/9KN1fB6pKp

— Ernie Stevens (@ELStevensjr) June 16, 2023

DNC PR Firm – MSNBC

• Clearly, the ratings are worth the outrage.

If you listen to the aftermath of the town hall with Donald Trump on CNN, you would think it had been the worst decision ever made in cable television history. And yet…

There was some notable outrage witnessed when a clip was circulated of the head of MSNBC, Rashida Jones, being heard in an interview with Sarah Fischer of Axios. Jones had been asked about the prospect of her network staging a town hall of their own with Trump, and she did not immediately shoot that concept out of the sky:

Would I say yes? It would be a conversation. I think you’d have to put parameters about how to control the environment. There are lots of ways to do that, whether it’s a live interview, whether it’s a tape interview, or whether it’s a town hall, whether it’s a debate. We still have 505 days left until Election Day. I don’t know that a town hall tomorrow is something that our audience is looking for or any audience, but as you look at the next 505 days, I think you’ll see a lot of that across the portfolio.

This calm and reasonable non-answer from Jones earned unhinged and hyperventilating responses from the likes of Keith Olberman and Occupy Democrats because the concept of a news network hosting a presidential candidate is somehow out of line?

.@RJonesNews on whether she would put Donald Trump on-air in a town hall format: "It would be a conversation. I think you'd have to put parameters about how to control the environment." pic.twitter.com/aJiLDRDLfF

— Axios (@axios) June 19, 2023

Presentation Paradox – WASHINGTON POST

• The response has been wildly successful – and it is not enough...?!

It has been a tough Pride Month for the press, what with the continued downward spiral of Bud Light, the battle lines drawn at Target stores, and then there was that Gallup poll showing more people today oppose trans athletes than two years ago. So it is understandable, we guess, that there might emerge some confusion on the topic from a journalist looking over the topic.

Taylor Telford took a look at the history of corporate support of LGBT𝜋 issues and pride month at the Washington Post and came to a conclusion. She sees:

An environment in which big corporations loudly signaled their support of queer communities during Pride month, rolling out rainbow-plastered products and partnerships with queer advocacy groups. Ads became more diverse and inclusive, with less reliance on stereotypes. Lesbians and transgender people began to appear more frequently.

Telford also had another observation taking place, concluding her article this way:

Though many companies consider queer-focused marketing a meaningful way to expand their brands’ reach…representation is still lagging. Portrayals of bisexual and nonbinary people in ads remain rare. And the bulk of advertising featuring LGBTQ+ people still comes during June.

Now, we do not pretend to know everything about LGBT𝜋 issues, but we do know one thing: one of these opinions about corporate support has to be close to being accurate.

Inclusive ads from Miller Lite to Subaru to Bud Light have gone from trailblazing to commonplace to controversial again. https://t.co/w17wuqvZ7s

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 18, 2023

"Riffed from the Headlines" is Townhall's daily VIP feature with coverage of the deeply flawed aspects of journalism in the nation, where Brad Slager looks to bring accountability to the mishaps, malaprops, misdeeds, manipulations, malpractice, and manufactured narratives in mainstream media.