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CNN Gaslights on Biden’s Border, Bloomberg Blesses Blackouts, and Clean Up On Aisle (D)

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  May 17, 2023
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

05.17.23

Democrat Custodial Services – WASHINGTON POST

There is so much revealed here that we need to set things up correctly. On Tuesday, the Senate held a bailout oversight hearing, and Greg Becker, the head of the failed Silicon Valley Bank, was on the witness stand. Freshman Senator John Fetterman was questioning the CEO, and it was a deeply uncomfortable session watching him struggle through his line of inquiry.

Washing Post's Jeff Stein was covering this exchange, and curiously, he offered up a rather clean and surprisingly cogent delivery from Fetterman:

Shouldn't you have a working requirement after we bail out your bank? Republicans seem to be more preoccupied with SNAP requirements for hungry people than protecting taxpayers who have to bail out these banks.

When Stein began getting a flood of questions about this discrepancy in the quality of the presented syntax, he eventually got around to correcting the record – and deleting his tweet. However, he gave a rather curious explanation of things.

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So much to untruck here:

  1. Stein does not watch the actual hearings.
  2. Jeff is clearly content to take fed content from Democrat offices.
  3. He has no words of concern over Fetterman's inability to string coherent sentences together.
  4. He has no words of criticism for the senator's office altering the official transcript in such a stark fashion.

Reporting on the Mirror – FOX NEWS

Remember when The Drudge Report used to be a vital news service? Not much has been heard from them since the original namesake aggregator sold his eponymous site, but today, they blared out what was dubbed "A worldwide exclusive." Citing sources inside of Fox News, it was reported that a wholesale change of its primetime lineup was in the works.

It is said that Sean Hannity will be moving to Tucker's old 8 pm slot, with Jesse Waters and "Gutfeld!" rounding out the night. A short time after the breaking news, The Epoch Times came out with its own announcement that a Fox insider stated they have yet to make any firm decision on the nighttime schedule.

Presentation Paradox – BLOOMBERG

While patently ridiculous in all manner of reporting, we have to note that Bloomberg has done one thing novel in this article; for once, this is an environmental report where they do not automatically come up with dire news but find a positive spin on things!

In a report on the environmental initiatives in South Africa, it was found the county is well ahead of projected greenhouse emission targets, lowering its national output at an impressive rate. Now, before celebrating too energetically in Al Gore-approved fashion, there are some details behind their achievement:

Regular breakdowns of the coal-fired power plants that supply more than 80% of South Africa's electricity mean that less carbon dioxide is being pumped into the atmosphere and daily rotational cuts of more than 10 hours a day are further limiting emissions from factories.

Really, we're doing this? We are going to find a way of celebrating the country because its electrical grid is essentially broken?

Hoax & Change – NBC NEWS

First, a quick reminder; the royal pariah Prince Harry and his wife cannot tolerate being in the public eye. Allegedly.

Now, we cut to New York City, where the un-royal couple attended a posh gala. That was only the start of the publicity generated by the handlers of the supposedly fame-averse duo. Next, their PR handlers sent out a wildly hyperbolic press release about something the couple endured following the event. NBC News dutifully blasted the headline accordingly, absent any actual analysis of what was in the details:

'This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers,' a spokesperson for the couple said in a statement. They added that the 'near catastrophic car chase' came 'at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi.'

For the record, no pedestrians were struck, no collisions occurred, and no property damage took place. No injuries were incurred by anyone. A police spokesperson relayed what transpired.

There were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests in regard.

We…see now. Ah, perhaps Catastrophic is the name of a ritzy Manhattan eatery, and they passed by during their…um…experience?

Low Octane Gas Lighting – CNN

  • We are trying to imagine the reaction had this been Fox News.

It seems we are on a string of reminders today. This time, we ask you to recall how the media complex insists on a regular basis that it is only Fox News that lies and delivers false information.

We bring up that little nugget as we now go to the CNN newsroom, where they are covering the shenanigans at the southern border. Jim Sciutto suffered under CNN's new policy of bringing on more Republicans when he spoke with Representative Nicole Malliotakis of New York. As he discussed the current situation, Sciutto tried to deflect on a matter by suggesting crossings under Biden were essentially at the same level as during the Trump years before quickly shifting the topic, but Malliotakis was having none of that. She calmly brought up the numbers, which show there has been a massive increase in illegals coming into the country for the past three years.

Has Chris Licht fired his fact-checkers, or does Daniel Dale still work there? If so, maybe he can get on this detail?

Race to the Bottom – LOS ANGELES TIMES

It is perhaps the best example of just what a consummate failure we have seen with DEI programs. The LA Times delivers a long study on what took place between the founders of a racial-healing enterprise and how it led to failure. 

It was five years ago when two black men were arrested for using a bathroom at a Starbucks, leading to a national dialogue on race. Two women who had been at the location – one black, the other white – began discussing what transpired, sent a notice on social media, and it exploded in viral fashion.

The two ladies became friends and began an anti-racism outfit to battle social ills, eventually building up to become a DEI training organization for corporate teaching. They were successful for years, but then the black founder began to say her white partner had too much of a voice on the topic. More and more, a division between them emerged, they contested over aspects of their organization, battled over their social media account, and by last year, the entire enterprise was dissolved, and the two intimate friends went separate ways.

At the beginning of their venture, the pair worked with this goal in mind, according to Michelle Saahene: "To create a national movement to desegregate the public conversation about race."

Today, she sounds like none of their stated goals were achieved. Or even achievable.

'This is what happens when white women insert themselves into what should be Black-led organizations,' Saahene, who is Black and 36, said recently. 'White supremacy and emotional abuse get masked under kindness.'

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