OPINION
Premium

Proof Jeffrey Toobin Cannot Count to 21 While Wearing Pants

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  Dec 30, 2021
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

"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.

Next week there will be some end-of-the-year category recognition, as well as a listing of the top-worst pundits of 2021. Until then, some stray media shenanigans still can be found.

12.30.21

Gilded Reframe – CNN

  • Mention of Trump's appointees would only ruin things by comparison.

CNN's decent and upright legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin weighed in on Harry Reid's passing by mentioning one of the former Senate leader's accomplishments. The ever-proper Toobin brought up Reid's manipulation of the filibuster standard, and he framed the development of The Nuclear Option in a curiously upbeat manner.

Recommended

Ex-CNN Reporter Does a Face Plant Tweeting About the GOP and the Media Matt Vespa
We Know What Kamala Said to the Teamsters Before She Got Bulldozed by Trump Matt Vespa

We can take this to mean that this was only considered a positive move by Reid, and therefore, it leads to the conclusion that Donald Trump placing three justices on the Supreme Court can only be considered a positive. After all, if Obama placing dozens of judges is impressive, what can be said of Trump and Mitch McConnell using Reid's method to fill more seats? 

Presentation Paradox – WASHINGTON POST

WaPo comes out with a jarring story about a man who died as a result of not getting a hospital bed because so many were occupied by unvaccinated people with Covid. Well, it is a jarring headline. The body of the article tells the fuller story, and we learn details that mitigate the hysteria, starting with the claim of the unvaxxed causing his death coming from his family members. 

The man was actually in a hospital, not waiting for a bed, but the family was looking to have him transferred to a larger facility to be treated better for his sepsis condition. As for the claim that the unvaccinated caused this, not only is the source dubious, but they admit to not really knowing. According to the man's son–

- "The question comes up of: 'Who was in those beds?' If it's people who are unvaccinated with covid, then that's the part where it really hurts."

Stealth Story Evolution – MSNBC

  • Just one more year of this type of coverage should balance things out.

The immediate turnaround of Covid coverage continues, as now Chris Hayes has come forward with an astounding pronouncement about the viral outbreak. The report itself is not what is astounding, but who it is delivering it.

- "The risk went from something we hadn't really dealt with before in our lifetimes, to something that looks more like the flu. The flu can still be dangerous—but we do not reorient our lives around the flu."

Considering that this is the type of thing some were saying last year, and the type of thing some like Chris would screech about spreading disinformation, he only needs to supply this kind of analysis weekly throughout 2022 in order to counter all of the pushback he and others in the press provided.

Reporting on the Mirror – VARIOUS OUTLETS

  • The elites are reporting on their hoarding of medical supplies.

For reasons only the mirror-addicted types in the press could explain, a number of journalists are taking to social media to brag about their purchasing of home Covid test kits by the gross.

Then there is Chris Cillizza, who just a couple of weeks ago declared to the world that he is not someone to listen to on Covid protocols. ("With health anxiety and compulsive behavior, I am a terrible person to be tasked with making these daily calls," he helpfully admitted for us.) Well, maybe he can assuage some of the anxiety with his latest delivery. 

Then there is Washington Post reporter Seung Min Kim getting positively giddy as she gloms onto a clutch of tests for herself. 

The obliviousness of these reporters who have spent months calling the unvaccinated people selfish now displaying to the world how they are stockpiling supplies for themselves like pampered elitists is amazing.

You even get a sense of Yglesias realizing his positional change, as he has been spotted scrubbing his timeline of past posts where he scorched others previously over the practice of hoarding.

Anti-Social Media – DEADSPIN

The reconstituted Deadspin continues falling well short of the past glory the site enjoyed before their massive self-immolation a couple of years ago. The latest ineptitude comes in the form of their end-of-the-year list of the biggest idiots of 2021. Their entry on Sage Steele was clearly a partisan hit on the avowed conservative on-air hostess. However, they initially had to resort to base racism in order to make their hit on the lady. 

Though they deleted and altered the tweet to now read, "Sage Steele, the Candace Owens of ESPN," this had also been the original headline of the entry, and they had to also go back and completely alter that as well, with no attribution or correction noted on the page. However, you can still see the original racist headline in the URL of the page.