Jake Tapper taps out on big story . . . again

Earlier this year, CNN's Jake Tapper embarked on a book-promo joyride for a tome he co-authored about the juiciest yarn of his journo life, and somehow, he "missed" the whole gull-darn thing.

This might be the inaugural instance in the annals of ink-stained wretches where a guy monetizes a scoop he flat-out ignored when it was staring him in the face. Now that's journalism of a different color.

If that were you or me (minus the sweet royalties, naturally), wouldn't we pause and ponder: If we'd glimpsed the cognitive creaks in a sitting U.S. president's noggin and failed to link the dots, might we hustle a tad harder next time?

That's the rest of us mere mortals. But not our boy Jake, which probably accounts for yet another "Jake take" yesterday, when he roped in colleague Kaitlan Collins to dissect a Gaza peace deal on his show.

For the full scoop on the deal's big reveal from President Trump, swing by Matt Margolis's dispatch, where he unpacks the boss's Truth Social post. In it, Trump declared, "I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan…This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace."

Trump's laying it out plain: This is phase one of the grand scheme, but it's kicking off right now, with both sides on the hook to deliver on the basics. You know, like how actual peace deals tend to operate, baby steps toward not lobbing more rockets.

As Collins laid out the White House's "officially released" details for Tapper and his viewers: 20 points of accord, including a hostage-prisoner swap and a ceasefire, plus sundry other negotiated goodies, she noted it was premature to chase down every player's hot takes point by point.

Tapper, meanwhile, possesses this rare gift for contorting like a circus freak to sidestep the headline in plain sight, opting instead to reshape it into his preferred funhouse mirror version. He lobbed at Collins: "Obviously, blessed are the peacemakers, indeed, BUT it is worth pointing out, this is a ceasefire deal, right? This is not a larger peace deal about a Palestinian state of any sort, and who gets to rule a Palestinian state, and Israel gets security guarantees, how, and all that. That is still TBD (to be determined), right?"

The humorless Collins, ever the straight shooter, reined him in with a gentle course correction: "Yes, but. The 'yes but' part of that is that yes, this is the first phase of this deal, where the two key parts of that was a ceasefire and the release of the hostages, and also the release of Palestinian prisoners that are being held in Israel…"

Collins was politely nudging Tapper that, Trump antipathy aside, this is legit good news. Better yet, it's a bona fide peace deal by the dictionary's lights: The boom-boom stops, the body count freezes.

One has to wonder if Tapper's got a single soul in his orbit who could whisper, "Hey, champ, when you clock in daily, the pro move is to, y'know, excel at the gig?" In his world, perhaps a kindly editor, or a magic 8-ball, might remind him that the gig isn't about fumbling yarns, but spotting 'em square and serving 'em straight.

Maybe he needs to take up coding, if that's a thing anymore.

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Former DNI James Clapper has "lawyered up" and is upset as a waterboarded cat

James "not wittingly" Clapper

The Russia Collusion saga just got a fresh twist, and it’s got some big players sweating, James Clapper, for one. 

Obama's old Director of National Intelligence, got tossed a hot potato by CNN's Kaitlan Collins about the current DNI Tulsi Gabbard, calling for a criminal probe into that whole Russia Collusion clusterfrack. You know, the one we've been yelling about forever.

As we said earlier, Gabbard's not messing around. She's kicked this over to the DOJ, and they've spun up a full-on Strike Force to dig into it. That’s the kind of language that makes you sit up straight; sounds like they’re finally ready to throw some punches. 

Now, I get it, we’re all a bit cynical after years of "will anything actually come of this?" But this feels like they’re gearing up for real. Sure, statute of limitations might tie their hands on some counts, and time's a cruel beast when it comes to building a case. But that announcement? It’s got the right vibe, like they're ready to flip every stone and see who's still got dirt on their hands.

So, Collins [no relation to RINO Susan Collins] corners Clapper on CNN, asking if he’s sweating bullets over the Trump admin maybe coming for him. His response is pure gold:

"Well, certainly I do. You know, after eight and a half years of this, and I don't know of an intelligence product that was more scrutinized, more investigated than that product was by numerous people...You know, it's very disconcerting. It really is. And I take seriously when the President of the United States accuses me of being a participant in a treasonous conspiracy, which is ridiculous."

Cue an adult diaper commercial.

Clapper’s out here calling it "untrue," but you can almost hear his knees knocking. Collins pushes harder, like, "What’s your move if they come for you? Got a plan?" 

And Clapper says: "I'll lawyer up, I suppose. I already have."

C'mon man, this dude’s been lawyered up since he bounced from government in 2017. That’s not the talk of a guy chilling by the pool. That’s a guy who's been sleeping with one eye open for years. Folks on X are eating this up, saying Clapper sounds like he's about to jump out of his skin. Also, it's probably not the best move to be yapping on CNN about it. Most lawyers would be like, "Yo, zip it, even if you think you’re clean." 

Rookie mistake, Jimbo.

This whole mess is about to get wild. I’m betting we’ll see more big names scrambling for legal cover faster than you can say "subpoena." And those whistleblowers Gabbard’s talking about? If they’ve got the goods, it could be the spark this case needs to light up.

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Compromised News Network's Kaitlan Collins deletes her post promoting alleged murderer Luigi Mangione's defense fund

The CNN Jim Acosta replacement and chief White House 'correspondent' Kaitlin "Lips" Collins likely deleted a social media post after getting mucho blowback for promoting a defense fund for a scumcrumpet who was seen on video shooting Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare.

In the post on X, "Lips" showed a link to a website launched by defense lawyers for Mangione. He faces charges of first-degree murder in furtherance of an act of terrorism, stalking along with other state and federal charges in Pennsylvania and New York, where the crime occurred. The shooting of Thompson, a husband and father of two young children, took place in Manhattan last year on December 4.

Brian Thompson being shot in the back by a coward

Mangione, a smug, 26-year-old comes from a wealthy Maryland family. He was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, PA., on Dec. 9 after a multi-state manhunt.

Following his arrest, immoral followers donated over $300,000 for his legal defense, mainly due to their hatred of American big business, the health care industry, and the fact that he's a fairly good-looking alleged murderer.

Collins’ post garnered criticism from a number of users on X, including The Spectator contributing editor Stephen L. Miller who posted on X: "Real bottom of the barrel stuff. Even for @kaitlancollins,"

He also called Collins out for deleting the post with “no explanation,” saying, “guess it wasn’t White House correspondent related.”

Smug thug pose

WMAL host Larry O’Connor also had something to say about  the situation. He said that  [Collins] “used her considerable platform to promote a link for the defense fund of a cold-blooded killer.”

Yeah, but he's cute when he's angry, right?

Brian Thompson's wife and children

“She has not yet apologized nor has she posted anything else in 24 hours,” he added.

New York Times best-selling author Jack Posobiec  shared his take on Collins’ X post.

“CNN’s Kaitlan Collins promotes Luigi Mangione’s legal defense fund after Mangione [was] shown on video murdering a man in cold blood,” he posted Saturday.

Some folks on X have also suggested Collins should lose her press credentials and access to the White House.

Anyway, I call what Collins did "doing a Kamala."

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CNN's Lemon accused of hating women and sending threatening texts to female colleagues

Not so dandy but happily gay Don Lemon of CNN fame has gotten into hot water this year for making a derogatory comment about women. This seems to be his habit because this wasn't the first time he's said things that are clearly misogynistic.

A bombshell report in Variety Wednesday made serious allegations about Lemon's past like his sending threatening text messages to women he believes he is tougher than, and he has repeatedly shown misogynistic and "diva-like" behavior that would make Dylan Mulvaney proud. Of course, CNN downplayed the claims, calling them "patently false anecdotes."

In 2008, "The Lemon" co-anchored CNN's weekend show "Live From" alongside Kyra Phillips, where he had what Variety called "concerning" antipathy with his female colleague.

"For months, tensions between the pair kept mounting. On more than one occasion, a ‘Live From’ producer and a newsroom supervisor had to pull Lemon off the air during a commercial break because of the anchor’s provocative antics," Variety’s Tatiana Siegel reported.

"While Phillips was on assignment in Iraq — a high-profile gig that Lemon coveted — he vented his disappointment at being passed over by tearing up pictures and notes on top of and inside Phillips’ desk in the news pod they shared, according to two sources who worked there at the time. When she returned from Iraq, things only got weirder," Siegel continued. "One night while dining with members of the news team, she received the first of two threatening text messages from an unknown number on her flip phone that warned, ‘Now you’ve crossed the line, and you’re going to pay for it.’"

Phillips was "was visibly rattled and quickly enlisted CNN’s higher ups to identify the sender," according to Variety. And who could blame her? What did the threat mean by 'pay for it'? It sounded ominous and very serious.

"Remarkably, the texts were traced back to Lemon, according to those same sources. A human resources investigation was launched, and while the findings were never disclosed to the growing pool of staffers who were aware of the situation, Lemon was abruptly pulled from his co-anchor duties with Phillips and moved to the weekends. It was a demotion by any objective measure and understood to be some kind of disciplinary action," Siegel wrote.

But the Compromised News Network took the side of Lemon.

A CNN spokesperson provided the outlet with the following comment: "Don says the alleged incident never occurred and that he was never notified of any investigation. CNN cannot corroborate the alleged events from 15 years ago."

Possibly fearing for her life, Phillips, who now works for ABC News, declined to provide Variety with a comment. 

Lemon was not paired with female co-anchors again until his demotion in 2022, when CNN's CEO Chris Licht removed him from primetime and made him the focus of the newly launched "CNN This Morning" alongside Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins. Lemon's ratings at the time were lower than whale poop, and that's at the bottom of the ocean.

In February, Lemon infuriated female staffers after he said that former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley was "past her prime" at age 51. He swore it was true and suggested to his female colleagues to "google it."

The dumbest dude in the news then attempted a mea culpa during the network's morning editorial call the following morning after his comments were widely condemned as sexist, but it didn’t go over like a fart in a crowded elevator.

Lemon was benched for a few days but continued to anger colleagues when he used the time off to relax on a Miami beach in full view of the paparazzi.

CNN deserves Lemon. They are a media laughingstock with less credibility than China's claim that the spy balloon was privately owned.

"The incident has spotlighted Lemon’s troubling treatment of women and unprofessional antics, dating back nearly two decades. Variety spoke with more than a dozen former and current colleagues who painted a picture of a journalist who flouted rules and cozied up to power all while displaying open hostility to many female co-workers. Each and every time, he appeared to charm his way out of facing any meaningful consequences," Siegel wrote.

Then there was the time that Lemon clashed with Kaitlan Collins live on air and a video made the rounds in February where Lemon refused to let the show go to a commercial break while criticizing Kentucky Republican James Comer, after an interview Collins had just finished with him. 

As Harlow praised Collins for her interviewing skills and said "moving on," Lemon said, "Not moving on," and proceeded to make a speech about having a "shared reality." He also admonished the show's producers to cut the music, so he could speak.

And he still works for CNN.

The incident with Collins came after comments the idiot made about the U.S. men’s national soccer team deserving higher pay than the women’s team because they are "more interesting." Had he said they deserve more money than the women's soccer team because they bring in more revenue, he would have made a convincing argument, but he didn't. Evidently, watching men in shorts and muscular legs running up and down the pitch is more interesting for him than watching women do the same.

Variety reported that Lemon’s colleagues consider him "diva-like," and "a shameless name dropper," who openly dated a much younger male junior employee long before he came out of the closet.

Lemon really does not appear to like women. He called one of his producers 'fat' to her face. He even mocked Nancy Grace on air by mimicking her, Siegel wrote.

Variety also reported that Lemon once suggested former CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien "isn’t Black" in front of multiple staffers when she was selected to host the high-profile documentary series "Black in America."

O’Brien didn’t deny the allegation telling Variety, "Don has long had a habit of saying idiotic and inaccurate things, so it sounds pretty on brand for him."

CNN attacked the messenger, Variety, when asked for comment about the damning report.

"The story, which is riddled with patently false anecdotes and no concrete evidence, is entirely based on unsourced, unsubstantiated, 15-year-old anonymous gossip. It’s amazing and disappointing that Variety would be so reckless," a CNN paid liar told Fox News Digital.

And while it looks as if CNN will never kiss Lemon goodbye, his ratings on "CNN This Morning" managed only 360,000 total viewers last week compared to 1.9 million for "FOX & Friends."

And he still works for CNN.

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Homophobic slurs okay at CNN if you say you're sorry

To err is human, to forgive is only okay if the person who errs is on the left. The Comedy News Network, better known as CNN, forgives Kaitlan Collins, one of their reporters, for tweeting about "fags" and lesbians when she attended college.

But they still refuse to forgive Brett Kavanaugh for something he didn't actually do.

But it isn't just homophobic remarks the left forgives, they even forgive obvious racist behavior such as that displayed by Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia, a Democrat who not only had a photo in his college yearbook page of a KKK person, he also had a person in blackface. One of them was him, he admitted it, but then soon lied and said it wasn't him in either photo. Northam is also the kind, caring liberal who would allow abortions even after the delivery of the baby as long as you make him or her "comfortable" so that the mother and doctor can discuss what to do with "it."

Where's Ralphy?

The left is so busy calling everyone on the right racists, that they don't even see the real racism in their own party, or the homophobia in their Democrat media.

The hypocrisy is that if a Republican did half of what they get away with, he or she would have their careers ruined and be run out of town.

Collins, CNN's White House correspondent, may now understand that what goes on the Internet is there forever.

Collins offended the LGBTQYADDAYADDA community with her intolerant language and when it was recently discovered it bit her on her lily-white butt.

Of course she has apologised for those offensive tweets she posted in college that referenced anti-gay slurs and claims to now regret them. In one post, she called one of her friends a "fag," which is not in reference to a British cigarette, but a homosexual male, and told another person that she wasn't sure if she wanted to "room with a lesbian."

“When I was in college, I used ignorant language in a few tweets to my friends,“ she tweeted Sunday night.” It was immature but it doesn’t represent the way I feel at all. I regret it and apologize.”

Rather than firing her, banishing her from all things CNN, one of their vice presidents, Matt Dornic, went on social media and came riding to her rescue.

I’m a proud gay man. And I am a proud friend of @kaitlancollins. Tho I’m disappointed that she ever used the word (even as an immature college kid), I can say with certainty it doesn’t reflect her feelings toward the LGBTQ community. She’s apologized and I accept that.

— Matt Dornic (@mdornic) October 7, 2018

While being gay is nothing to be proud or ashamed of, I actually agree with Dronic, as I suspect most true conservatives do. But it's the freaking hypocrisy we hate. 

This is how every "cancel" case should be dealt with, not like the left tends to deal with them. Everybody reading this blog knows that they are not perfect and probably said something they find horrible today. But the cancel culture is always on the prowl to ruin lives and this has got to stop.

Agree?

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