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Maddow Turns Fascist With Elon, While DeSantis Takes Norah O’Donnell to School on Florida Schools

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  Sep 14, 2023
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

09.14.23

Blue-Anon – MSNBC

  • Forcing an industry to partake in a war effort – what does this sound like…?

Rachel Maddow let her authoritarian mask get revealed as she fell prey to the misinformation about Elon Musk and Ukraine. As she spent no time verifying the details, she did spend time scorching Musk for not aiding Ukraine properly, accusing him of taking orders from Putin, and then went on to suggest he be forced to provide Ukraine with his Starlink internet service. She calls it “intervening” that Musk, who has granted the internet to Ukraine on his own, is not facilitating any and all aspects of this conflict, which could escalte into a broader war. She wants to mandate that a private citizen and company partake in a war effort that is not our own.

Pre-WSritten Field Reports – CBS NEWS

  • It really seems unfair when a politician is prepared with the facts like this.

In a sit down interview with Ron DeSantis, Norah O’Donnell had loaded hit-questions ready to fly. Only problem: The Florida Governor was ready for them.

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First, she tried to suggest that the state’s new abortion laws would mean women would go to jail for an illegal termination. She was shut down with the facts.

Then she turned to the schools and the alleged illegality of saying the word “gay.” This too was shot out of the sky with fact-based buckshot. O’Donnell tried vainly to bring up students knowing they are gay at a young age, and DeSantis cooly let her know the rationale behind his standards, as that is not an issue in any capacity with subjects that do not concern sexuality in any capacity.

Low Octane Gas Lighting – ASSOCIATED PRESS

  • Confronting a reporter with the very facts they are busy denying.

While it has been going on for some time, this week especially, the press has been deeply intent on insisting that there is no evidence of wrongdoing by President Biden to justify an impeachment inquiry. Small matter being there are copious levels of evidence, the Associated Press has been full throttle on the “no evidence” front.

That is why it was rather cathartic to see Kevin McCarthy speaking with reporters and when faced with a question from the AP’s Farnoush Amiri he calmly asked her to comment on the laundry list of examples he unfurled off the top of his head, and she was left deflecting, and trying to dismiss those as coming from the testimony of others.

Yeah…about that…

Pathological Media Amnesia – WASHINGTON POST

  • Does this mean the previous impeachment was NOT serious?

It is a trap so many journalists are falling into, trying to exclaim how this inquiry is offensive because impeachment is a grave step to take, all while they forget how flippant they had been about this process when Donald Trump was impeached over a phone call that was inadvertently reported on.

One of these becoming ensnared by this blind spot is WaPo’s Alexandra Petri. She tried to lecture about the severity of the impeachment process as something that needed a very serious approach. The problem is, she was actually rather giddy during the Trump impeachments and can be seen taking a very unserious approach to the process back in those days.

Matching Media Memorandum – VARIOUS OUTLETS

  • This is a jangling of the car keys version of journalism.

Along with the need to insist there is no evidence against Joe Biden, we also see a collective desire to come up with a distraction to report on, in the hopes of diverting the audience. Enter the “Beetlejuice Controversy”!

Apparently, Representative Lauren Boebert was in Colorado and watching a production of the named comedic musical, and she was disruptive enough during a performance that she needed to be escorted from the auditorium. What level of import, interest, or involvement this news item might have to anyone is nonexistent. 

However, this was energetically reported across the news spectrum by The New York Times, CNN, NPR, Washington Post, NBC News, The LA Times, Politico, The AP, ABC News, Newsweek, and numerous others. 

Many are excitedly sharing the dramatic CCTV footage…that shows Boebert walking. From her seat. Through the theater. And even down the street. Walking. Big stuff.

Reporting on the Mirror – THE WRAP

Over at The Wrap, they have some exciting news to share about CNN’s cleverly named morning show, "CNN This Morning;" they have a new set design!!!!

(Our punctuation is meant to raise the non-existent dramatics.)

We are told that this is a “fresh new look.” It is comprised of bricks. Yep. Also, adding to the distinctly un-fresh character, we are told how this is “a CNN New York set design used by several other shows produced by the network.” 

Uh huh. Brickwork, recycled from other sets being used currently at the channel, and reflecting the set design of the previous morning show is supposedly “fresh.” Sorry, we are just not seeing it. But there is one point of sheer amusement behind this distinctly banal choice of set design.

We are told that the purpose behind this renovation was to distance the show from any earmarks of the previous CNN administration:

The morning show’s set design (is) ridding the program of ex-CEO Chris Licht’s changes, marking a distinct departure from the programming decisions of former CEO Chris Licht. One of Licht’s primary programming decisions while helming CNN was to reimagine the network’s morning show, changing the name of the program from “New Day” to “CNN This Morning.” Licht moved Don Lemon from his coveted primetime slot to the new morning program with Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins. The restructured show also included a set design change, which was implemented in November 2022.

"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.