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Press Helps Biden Remember Hamas, Forbes Forgets About Elon's Jet, and Did the NYT Censor a Book Ban?

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  Feb 08, 2024
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

02.08.24

Both Kinds of Standards – THE NEW YORK TIMES

In a long (almost book-length) piece on the perils librarians face, Elizabeth Williamson covers the plights facing America's librarians. This trends anywhere from the melodramatic to the hysterical. Seriously, we are told librarians and "their allies are fighting to preserve access to their collections and keep themselves out of jail, or worse."

This is a lengthy treatise about the scourge of removing books, basically defending those with harshly objectionable sexual content, but there is something very notable missing.

No mention – outraged or otherwise – was made of leftist teachers who remove "To Kill a Mocking Bird" or how the Dr. Seuss classic "And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street" has all but disappeared. Also notably avoided was the recent news (covered here previously) of how the Biden administration pressured Amazon to hide and otherwise remove books it found objectionable.

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Anti-Social Media – BUSINESS INSIDER

Business Insider is really proud of itself. It has just doxxed the individual behind the anonymous Wall Street influencer account "Litquidity." The outlet dug into specifics and had a number of sources who confirmed things for the outlet. The precious part is, in exposing the anonymous account holder, it relied on some anonymous sources, which it doesn't reveal.

One glaring omission is seen throughout this report. At no point is there any real valid reason given for exposing this individual, but it is all presented as a deeply important exposé. We can rank this one at the same level as the B.I. report from last month on plagiarism supposedly committed by Bill Ackman's wife, Neri Oxman.

Presentation Paradox – DALLAS MORNING NEWS

Here is a lesson in framing always employed by the press. When the Senate border bill was killed off by vote, the GOP was instantly blamed. The DMN follows suit here, invoking Senator Ted Cruz and using his image to display how Texan politicians wanted a border law but killed off this Senate bill. What is ignored is important. Wanting a law is one thing – it does not mean you support any garbage legislation that follows your request.

As Senator Cruz stated, this bill was trash, but the House bill, H.R.2, passed months ago, is valid and worthy of a vote. Additionally, as the Republicans are cited in this piece as being culpable, it goes on to quote another politician who was even more vociferous in opposition to the legislation. Yet, this state DEMOCRAT is not highlighted as prominently.

Both Kinds of Standards – FORBES

  • We are certain it is because her plane is prettier.

Recall last year when there was a social media uproar regarding an account tracking Elon Musk's private jet flights. Many in the press were unsupportive of his calls for privacy. But now the same individual is cited as doing the same type of tracking regarding Taylor Swift's plane, and the reaction by some outlets is notable, including Forbes.

Democratic Custodial Services – VARIOUS OUTLETS

  • When Joe has no notecards, he can rely on the press to fill in the blanks.

After the announcement that President Biden would not partake in the annual tradition of the Super Bowl interview, many speculated this was a case of handlers wanting to shield him from displaying his mental/verbal/content flubs. Joe has spent the bulk of this week displaying that such speculation was right on the mark.

In a presser regarding developments with the Israel-Hamas War, he was painfully trying to explain things and needed a reporter to jump in and give him the name of a topic he struggled with – Hamas.

In response to the numerous times Biden claims to have had conversations with world leaders years after those names passed away, the press pool has been less than diligent in demanding answers. Reuters White House correspondent Jeff Mason displays this tendency. He details how Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about the latest episode, and her dismissive explanation is just swallowed and digested blithely. No follow-ups or further exploration is considered.

DNC PR Firm – CHRIS CILLIZZA

  • Has he been living in a cabin without internet access?!

It almost seems like Chris Cillizza has been demanding attention after his first year off on his own. Or maybe he has been delivering this insipid level of commentary all the while and was just not being heard.

Whichever the case, he almost has become required reading once again, if not for the reasons he expects. In his latest, Chris makes the daft announcement that the media is not doing enough to alert the public to the dangers of a looming Donald Trump reelection. Yes…he actually said this.

There is no way this was a serious post. Ignoring... He actually tries to say that the press has been IGNORING possible threats of a Donald Trump presidency. The months of claims that our democracy is imperiled, the weeks of persistent Nazi-Hitler accusations, the claims that Trump will be jailing opponents and executing them – those examples stand as "ignoring" the man.

This man…we swear…

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"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.