Monday, March 28, 2016

American Elections 1 - Tips for International Followers - Where can you find the truth?

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International interest in the American election is intense, and no wonder with all the debate and discussion on policies that may influence our international relations.  However, if international readers understand the implications of what you learn about the election, you may not be so concerned about the outcome.


Here in the colonies, if you are a citizen of the Midwestern United States, the Rust Belt around the Great Lakes, the South or Southwest, and even the Pacific Northwest, the odds are you are not paying much attention to the current presidential election.

In this day and age of constant 24-7 bombardment of the mind by the television news channels and the Internet news sources (???) most folks in those regions of the nation long ago learned to ignore the media and senseless babble spewing forth from the media.


Now do not get confused, these people are very aware.  Yes, they follow the actions of government and politicians in the American scene.  However, when it comes to politicians running for office, and news media coverage of said events, well that is quite another story.

The truth is the majority of people in the USA long ago turned off the television news and stopped reading the newspapers recognizing that journalism lost it's way and is corrupted.  Since the news media will never tell you the truth, ask yourself why very few cable news or commentary shows get over three million viewers, and TV network news shows only get six to eight million viewers.


There are 322 million people in America and less than 10%, below thirty million, watch the nightly network and cable news.  Newspaper readers are but a fraction of the television viewers.  So to understand politics and election coverage by the media in America first understand that ninety percent of all Americans refuse to watch the same television seen by all international viewers.

Long ago people realized our news media stopped being a reliable source of news in America.  Unfortunately, television and the Internet are the only sources for the world to get news on America, and neither one is considered a reliable news source by the vast majority of Americans.



One last note on the reliability of elections, I have been directly involved in thirty-two campaigns over the years and most polls in America are biased.  The easiest thing in the world is to manipulate a poll to give you the results you seek so the special interest behind the poll can control the results they will discover.

Typical Americans give polls little credibility as they know the polls serve a far greater purpose in generating advertising revenue for the media outlet than providing valuable information on election results.


Moreover, and the pollsters know this, no poll regarding the general election in November from the match ups of Clinton and Trump to the mood of Democrats and Republicans can be accurate as Americans do not ever start thinking about the decision until after the political conventions and after the end of summer.

Friday, February 12, 2016

Congressional Black Caucus PAC Endorses Clinton - Black Vote Hijacked Again

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W.E.B DuBois - Booker T. Washington -.Malcolm X - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Since when did a group of just 30 older black politicians get the authority to speak for the 42.3 million Afro-American blacks in America?

“We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.”
                                              Martin Luther King, Jr.

Based on the news media exposure for this CBC special interest group, you would think that blacks controlled election outcomes in American presidential elections when in truth they represent just 13.2% of our total population.

“We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”
                                                Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Congressional Black Caucus in Washington has never had a white member and only two Republican members in its history.  By liberal standards, that makes them racist.

“I believe that all men, black, brown, and white, are brothers.”
                                               
W. E. B. Du Bois

They claimed they endorsed Hillary Clinton because of the work by the Clinton family over the decades on behalf of minorities in America.


From this point on, the facts get fuzzy.

 “I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.”
                       
 Booker T. Washington, Up From Slavery: An Autobiography

Bill Clinton was the president who took three actions that nearly destroyed the black community when he passed a major criminal reform program, the NAFTA trade program, and the Regulatory Reform regulations for the stock market.

“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.”
                                               
Booker T. Washington    

The crime program filled the prisons with new criminals, the vast majority who were black.

NAFTA wiped out the blue-collar manufacturing base in America and opened the floodgates for the corporate flight to offshore islands and foreign nations to avoid high labor costs and taxes in America.


As for the financial regulatory reform, well it turned our stock and financial markets over to the criminals who drove us into the worst recession in our history, wiping out any chance to get financial backing from the credit markets, and burying the public in housing debt.

                                                Martin Luther King, Jr.

So why do minority groups like the CBC play into the hands of dynasties like the Clintons, who have demonstrated they are most likely to benefit financially, not the people they claim to champion.


“The Negro cannot win if he is willing to sacrifice the futures of his children for immediate personal comfort and safety. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
                                                Martin Luther King, Jr. 1929-1968

One claim from the CBC members who spoke was that Hillary's support for protecting Planned Parenthood was a reason to back her.  Well both Hillary and Bernie Sanders support Planned Parenthood, so are they also responsible for the death of 17.4 million black children by abortion, and there is no way all blacks in America support such an aggressive termination effort.

“There is another class of coloured people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs — partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs.”
                                                  
Booker T. Washington

The CBC is concerned only for black issues.  That is contrary to the work by previous black American icons like W. E. B. Du Bois, Booker T. Washington, and Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. who recognized the diversity within the black population and sought the assimilation of all people, all races, and all factions within those people into the American Constitutional system.


“Honest and earnest criticism from those whose interests are most nearly touched,- criticism of writers by readers, of government by those governed, of leaders by those led, - this is the soul of democracy and the safeguard of modern society”
                                                W. E. B. Du Bois, The Soul of Black Folk

No group of 30 elders has the right to speak for millions people of all ages, all economic backgrounds, and all levels of academic achievement.  More than half of all blacks have family incomes of over $50,000.  Graduation from high school has improved to the point that 92% of blacks graduate today compared to 96% of Whites.

“The happiest people are those who do the most for others. The most miserable are those who do the least.”
                                               
 Booker T. Washington, Up from Slavery

In higher education, black graduation rates have improved significantly with many of the top universities and colleges in America showing white and black student graduation rates equal or within 10%.  Today nearly 4.6 million blacks are college graduates.


“Believe in life! Always human beings will progress to greater, broader, and fuller life.”
                                               
W. E. B. Du Bois

There are many black leaders in business, politics, education, health care, and private industry.  Many of them long ago recognized black voters were taken for granted by the Democrats or the black politicians.

“Associate yourself with people of good quality, for it is better to be alone than to be in bad company”
                                               
 Booker T. Washington

Of course, there is a long way to go to achieve racial and criminal justice equality, but that is not a Democrat or Republican problem, it is an American problem, and the sooner we work together the sooner the problem will be resolved.

“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.”
                                                Martin Luther King, Jr.


As for our youth, when did a new generation of Americans ever accept that the current leaders and standard of living was the best they could expect for their generation?  Times change, needs change, opportunities change, and our youth are smart enough to know the future does not have to reflect the problems of the past but the dreams for a better tomorrow.

“I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him.”
                                               
 Booker T. Washington
CBC made a mistake, they had no business endorsing anyone.  A racist and discriminatory organization has no right to tell anyone what to do, who to vote for, and what to think.  Perhaps our youth could solve the many problems we, and they, face if we stopped telling them what to do and let them tell us how to do it.

“Here is the chance for young women and young men of devotion to lift again the banner of humanity and to walk toward a civilization which will be free and intelligent; which will be healthy and unafraid, and build in the world a culture led by black folk and joined by peoples of all colors and all races - without poverty, ignorance and disease!”
                                                W. E. B. Du Bois, A Reader


Imposing your will and wants on anyone else is not American, nor democracy, and not respect for individual rights and freedom.  Polarization and hatred never solved anything and judging others is a slap in the face to Christianity.  Now is the time to get rid of hypocrisy, and get on with solving problems.  Now is the time to listen to the true heroes of America.

                                                Martin Luther King, Jr.

                                                Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Thursday, February 11, 2016

News Media Coverage of 2016 Presidential Election - Fair or Biased? Fox, CNN and MSNBC duke it out for ratings!

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After the first caucus and primary and the stunning results to the prognostications of political pundits what have we learned?

The most dominant and controversial news media story this election season was the Comcast - MSNBC decision to depoliticize their left-leaning, progressive liberal news slant and attempt to compete as a real journalistic news organization.


Of course, the liberals were shocked and denounced the move, conservative citadel Fox News probably liked the chaos in their competitor, CNN did not like a challenge to their false claim of being the only source of fair and balanced reporting, and the radical mouthpieces of the old MSNBC screamed as they were ushered out the door.


Chris Matthew


Lawrence O’Donnell

In the ensuing months the MSNBC line up went through painful shake ups at the anchor and reporting levels and the results have been interesting to date.  Unfortunately, MSNBC has continued to over-expose the old progressive-liberal anchors, guests, and reporters.


Rachel Maddow


Chris Hayes

People like Chris Matthews, Rachel Maddow, Chris Hayes, and Lawrence O’Donnell continue to trash Republicans in general, Trump in particular, and anyone not agreeing with their leftist views.  The result for the New Hampshire primary, Fox garnered 4.17 million viewers, CNN 2.73 million viewers, and MSNBC 1.75 million viewers.


Overall cable news did quite well since all the major networks were running new shows for the Sweeps period.  The Iowa caucus spectacle still drew higher ratings but a real battle between Fox and CNN is in place, and if MSNBC can continue to improve by eliminating the liberal bias and report more news, they could become a major force.


Brian Williams

More than anything else MSNBC needs continuity.  In order to accommodate their anchor egos the election coverage is broken up between the return of Brian Williams and the revolving door of worn out radicals trashing the latest news developments rather than reporting the news.


A single host with alternating partners could solve the problem but the anchor should have no baggage and most MSNBC anchors have baggage.  The sad news is that there are rising stars at MSNBC, the next generation of anchors and reporters, who are free of the bias in their reporting and entertaining to watch.  They are getting lost in the constantly changing faces of election night coverage.



If I wanted to compete with CNN and eventually Fox here are the rising stars I would push to the forefront at MSNBC, the latest of the new journalists you should check out because of their news sense, journalistic principles, charisma, and camera presence.


Chuck Todd

Chuck Todd and Willie Geist are the most underutilized of all on air personalities.  However, Chuck would be a great news analyst while Willie, effectively buried on the ego driven Morning Joe Show, could be one of those rare anchors who do not take themselves too seriously.


Willie Geist

Potential anchors


Steve Kornaski


Gigi Stone Woods

Reporters


Hallie Jackson


Jane Timm


Kate Snow


Anderson Cooper

Of course CNN has some of the same problem, too many old and worn out anchors and is slow to recognize and promote those fresh voices and faces.  Continuity is also a problem but they do have some underutilized people and new faces.


Erin Burnett

Anderson Cooper remains one of the most unbiased and entertaining anchors on the air and Erin Burnett brings a lot of objectivity to the desk.  Between them, they have helped drive CNN closer to Fox in the ratings.  If they shared the anchor desk throughout the election night broadcast, the results could be interesting.

Here are the rising stars at CNN.

Anchors


Poppy Harlow

Reporters


Brianna Keilar
          

As Variety Magazine reported on the Nielsen survey of the election to date:






February 10, 2016 | 11:23AM PT

Fox News Channel finished on top in both the demo (narrowly over CNN) and total viewers Tuesday as it and the other cable news networks combined for another sizable slice of the viewership pie with coverage of the New Hampshire primary.


Despite going up against all-original sweeps programming on the broadcast networks, Fox News Channel (4.17 million), CNN (2.73 million) and MSNBC (1.75 million) drew 8.65 million viewers during primetime, according to preliminary national estimates from Nielsen. Last night’s tune-in for the cable networks was well above average for a typical Tuesday but couldn’t quite match the record-setting tune-in eight nights earlier for coverage of the surprising results in the Iowa caucuses (10.16 million).


For Fox News, whose Tuesday coverage was anchored by Bret Baier and Megyn Kelly, last night’s average audience represents the second highest ever for a night of primary coverage, behind only its 4.46 million for the Iowa caucuses.

After finishing second to CNN in the key news demo of adults 25-54 on the night of the Iowa caucuses, FNC moved to the top spot on Tuesday. It averaged about 992,000 viewers in the age group, with CNN a close second (951,000) and MSNBC (494,000) drawing about half the total of its rivals.

CNN reported that CNN Digital’s traffic surpassed last week’s record-setting audience on the day of the Iowa Caucuses, with more than 7 million unique visitors and 15 million page views on CNNPolitics.com. Nearly 3 million unique users engaged on CNN’s mobile app and there were 13 million unique visitors for CNN Digital overall.


Tuesday night proved to be a big one for Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, who scored huge victories for their respective parties. Next up on the political front are a Democratic debate on Thursday (PBS) and a Republican debate on Saturday (CBS).
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Tuesday, February 02, 2016

The Iowa Caucus - What did we learn?

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Only in America and only in Iowa could you have four different people making victory speeches when only two people won.


First was Marco Rubio stealing every line possible from Trump and Cruz as he profusely thanked the Iowa voters for helping him do the impossible against all odds.  Odd thing is he only finished third but he had a plane to catch to New Hampshire so he was pressed for time.


Then it was the actual GOP winner Ted Cruz and before he was halfway through the victory speech out came Hillary Clinton and the networks cut to her while cutting off Cruz.


Hillary gave a fiery and almost mad speech stealing every line possible from Bernie Sanders while hugging Chelsea and Wild Bill before running off to catch her plane for New Hampshire as if she had enough of the Iowa voters.  Since she was still in a dead heat at the time and no news network predicted she would win, it seemed a bit audacious and bizarre.


Bernie Sanders followed Hillary, although he did not claim a voting victory, but certainly was justified in claiming a great moral victory against the Clinton machine.  By the time all four victory speeches were done there was still just one winner and one dead heat.

What did we learn from the Iowa experience?

In terms of strategy, Cruz was best with his 12,000 volunteers who got him the victory.  Next best was Rubio who targeted just five of the ninety-nine Iowa counties and still managed to finish third breathing down the neck of The Donald.


Trump stunned the news media when he also spoke and gave a gracious and humble three-minute thank you to the Iowa voters, with nary a nasty word uttered.  As of the morning after there were still no nasty Tweets from Trump, an eerie silence.


In the Iowa Caucus only one winner since 1972 then won the presidency, Barack Obama in 2008, not much of a record of success over a forty-four year period.  It was the same with Republicans as just George W. Bush in 2000 won since 1976.


As for the Republican vote, it went like this.

Ted Cruz                    51,666             28%
Donald Trump          45,427             24%
Marco Rubio             43,165             23%


Carson at 9% and Paul at 5% rounded out the top five of the twelve GOP candidates.  No other candidate received more than 3% of the vote.  It is interesting to note that Rand Paul beat all four GOP candidates who were former governors, while two former winners of the Iowa caucus, Huckabee and Santorum, got just 2% and 1% respectively.

Records Broken

The top three GOP finishers all broke the record for the most votes in Iowa GOP caucus history, quite a remarkable feat.


The total Republican vote of 186,295 shattered the previous GOP record of 121,503 while 171,109 Democrats voted, well below the 240,000 Obama drew in 2008.  In fact, this may have been one of few times more Republicans than Democrats voted in the Iowa primary, perhaps not so good a sign for the Democrats in terms of new voter registration and turnout potential this year.


Bernie Sanders won the youth vote, age 17-29, by an astonishing 84% to 14% for Clinton, also a bad sign for the Democrat frontrunner.  Most notable in the GOP race was a significant increase in the Evangelical voters, the Cruz base.  It totaled about 64% of the GOP voters, but Cruz, Trump, and Rubio split the vote evenly.


Cruz and his highly proclaimed Iowa organization delivered as did Rubio and his five-county strategy.  As for Trump, he may need to beef up his ground organization in future primaries but for his first election effort and considering all the anti-Trump media for the past nine months, it was quite respectable.

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