Friday, April 29, 2016

Histories Mysteries - St. Clement's Island Maryland, John Wilkes Booth, and the Black Diamond Mystery

History Ceremony Honors Firefighters Remembering those who died in pursuit of John Wilkes Booth.

By Brad Penney

A Memorial Service was held on Sunday, April 24, honoring the soldiers and firefighters who perished the night of April 23, 1865 during the collision of the steamship Massachusetts and the canal barge Black Diamond. Among the casualties in the maritime tragedy were four Alexandria firefighters who were assigned to the Quartermaster Corps in search of John Wilkes Booth, following the assassination of President Lincoln. The Black Diamond was on picket duty on the Potomac, in pursuit of Booth, at the time of the collision, which claimed a total of 87 lives.

The service was held at the St. Clements Island Museum; the collision occurred just one mile off of the island in southern Maryland, where military intelligence expected Booth to undertake a night-time crossing of the Potomac into Virginia.

The Alexandria Fire Department Honor Guard participated in the ceremony, which was attended by a number of city firefighters who laid a wreath at the museum overlooking the site of the collision. The four Alexandria firefighters are buried in the Alexandria National Cemetery at 1450 Wilkes St.

The story of the pursuit of Booth by civilian employees of the Alexandria Fire Department has been largely forgotten and overshadowed by the momentous other events of April 1865, which included the evacuation of Richmond; the surrender of General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox and later General Joseph Johnston in North Carolina; the assassination of President Lincoln; and — the day after Booth was killed at Garrett’s Farm — the sinking of the steamship Sultana on the Mississippi with a loss of 1,800 lives, more casualties than were sustained in the loss of the Titanic.

The Black Diamond was an iron hull steam propeller canal boat (or barge) built in 1842. Before bring chartered by the Quartermaster Corps during the war, the Black Diamond’s normal duties were transporting coal between Washington, D.C. and Alexandria.

The crew of 20 consisted of men from the Alexandria fire department. Unknown to the crew of the Black Diamond, Booth had already crossed the Potomac into Virginia at the time the collision with the Massachusetts occurred.

Plans are currently underway for a monument to be erected on St. Clements Island in honor of the 87 soldiers and firefighters who died in the collision of the Massachusetts and the Black Diamond.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

CPT Twit - The Next Most Powerful Woman in America

Ivanka Trump - Donald Trump's Secret Weapon to Victory

American Elections 9 - Tips for International Followers - The News Media Election Coverage - Who is Paying Attention?

Here in America one would think the news media, with their Constitutional protection, would be a major source of information for the electorate. Unfortunately, educating the public takes a back seat to making money, even for the news media.

As you will note from the following articles, the news media can thank Donald Trump for their most profitable era in modern history, the era of Trump running for president. Ever since Trump, the consummate outsider, joined the race, the Nielsen ratings have virtually shot through the roof.

What used to be boring debates have doubled in viewers, town hall meetings have become national town halls, and the more Trump is featured by the cable news networks, the higher the ratings, and the more the profits.

Fox, CNN, and MSNBC have never had it so good thanks to the unconventional, non-politically correct, rambunctious, and free wheeling style of Donald Trump. Then again, America has never had a billionaire run for president.

Born into wealth and driven to success, Trump is a natural for a people sick and tired of empty promises, broken campaign pledges, and stagnating from intellectual constipation. His refusal to be labelled a conservative or liberal, and seeming disgust for the entire political system, gives him a unique and very dominating presence in the political landscape.

Trump says what he thinks how he thinks it. You may not like what you hear but you will always get the truth. The policies, utterances, and bombastic remarks he peppers the audience with during his gatherings of tens of thousands of people is refreshing in elections which are more often than not guided by polls. The only polls Trump believes are those showing him in front.

People believe Trump will fight for them, for their future, and against all odds and conventional wisdom and maybe, just maybe, a Rocky in their corner is far more important than a babbling politician. Trump has also played the media like no other candidate in our history.

Political reporters and pundits have pronounced his campaign dead over and over and here he is, leading the pack and closing in on the Republican nomination. Here are the latest reports on people following the election campaign. I urge you to play particular attention to the total viewers watching the various cable news shows. Remember, there are about 325 million Americans with 247 million of voting age.

On Media

Where politics meets the press

2016 election coverage keeps shattering cable news ratings records

For the first time since it launched in 1996, Fox News was the most-watched channel in all of cable TV last quarter, topping ESPN, which had NFL and college football playoff games; AMC, which televises the ratings juggernaut "The Walking Dead"; and TBS, which aired college basketball games and a number of high-profile comedy shows.

The 2016 election is proving to be a powerful force for Fox News, CNN and MSNBC, and all three of them are major beneficiaries of the chaos, drama and uncertainty that has surrounded the Republican and (to a lesser extent) Democratic campaigns.

To be certain, the nonstop onslaught of primary debates and town halls helped boost the ratings of the channels, but they were not necessarily the root cause of the ratings surge. In prime time last quarter, CNN had 12 debates and town halls, MSNBC had six, and Fox News had three, but Fox News still managed to top all of cable (and, of course, cable news) in total and demo viewers for the quarter, in both prime time and total day. In other words, the debates and town halls helped, but people were tuning in even without them.

CNN's staggering ratings rise, however, is also worth noting, as the channel saw its best quarterly ratings in total day since 2009 and in prime time since the 2008 election. Compared to the first quarter of 2015, CNN was up 165 percent in prime-time total viewers and 143 percent in the core news demographic of adults ages 25 to 54. Fox News was up 38 percent and 60 percent in those metrics, respectively, compared to last year, while MSNBC, with its still in-progress transition to emphasize breaking news, was up 66 percent and 71 percent.

The numbers for the first quarter of 2016, per Nielsen:

Prime time: Fox News, 2.37 million total viewers, 483,000 adults 25-54. CNN, 1.42 million total viewers, 455,000 adults 25-54. MSNBC, 888,000 total viewers, 226,000 adults 25-54.

Total day: Fox News, 1.35 million total viewers, 271,000 adults 25-54. CNN, 732,000 total viewers, 217,000 adults 25-54. MSNBC, 502,000 total viewers, 131,000 adults 25-54.

Fox and CNN Boast Historic Quarter; Fox Leads Basic Cable in Primetime and Total Day Viewership

by Mediaite Staff | 4:15 pm, March 29th, 2016

The first quarter of 2016 proved to be a historic ratings bonanza for both CNN and Fox News. For the first time in its history, Fox News beat out every other basic cable network for the highest primetime and total day viewership for the quarter. Meanwhile, CNN had its most-watched quarter in total day in seven years and best primetime since 2008.

For the first quarter of the year Fox netted 1,351,000 in total viewers and 271,000 in the demographic of adults aged 25-54 — a record-breaking quarter for total day. In primetime, it was Fox’s highest rated quarter since 2012, averaging 2,373,000 in total and 483,000 in demo. The historic quarter comes after 14 years as the most-watched cable news channel.

CNN narrowed the gap with Fox News to the closest it’s been in seven years. The news network took in 732,000 total viewers and 217,000 in demo for today day; in primetime, it averaged 1,419,000 total viewers and 455,000 in demo. No doubt the non-stop (ratings rich) political theater has helped CNN accomplish this. CNN had 12 debates and town halls, while MSNBC had 6 and Fox had just 3.

During the quarter, Fox snagged the top 14 cable news programs in total viewers and nine of the top 10 programs in the coveted 25-54 demographic. The O’Reilly Factor remains the top program in cable news, earning its highest-rated quarter since 2012 in both total (3,416,000) and demo (598,000). The Kelly File had its most-watched quarter in total viewers since its 2013 launch (2,516,000); it also took in 492,000 in demo. CNN notched two of the top 20 cable news programs, with Anderson Cooper 360 at #16 with 1,063,000 in total and 321,000 in demo; Erin Burnett Outfront at #20 with 843,000 in total and 253,000 in demo.

The midday America’s Newsroom, co-anchored by Bill Hemmer and Martha MacCallum earned its highest-rated quarter ever in total viewers with 1,621,000, while in March the mid-afternoon news show Shepard Smith Reporting had its highest-rated month in both total viewers (1,502,000) and the demo (248,000) since it was launched in Oct. 2013.

In addition to the strong showings from the primetime shows, individual telecasts related to election events drew record viewerships. The Mar. 3 GOP debate was the second-highest-rated telecast in the network’s history — second only to the GOP debate the network aired in August. The Mar. 15 primary night coverage, co-anchored by Bret Baier and Megyn Kelly, gave Fox the highest-rated primary night in cable news history.

Entertainment

Fox News Shows, Ranked: Who Is Highest-Rated Between Megyn Kelly, Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly (Photos)

Brian Flood,The Wrap

The Top 13 most-watched programs on cable news during the first quarter of 2016 are all on Fox News Channel. Megyn Kelly is one of the network’s biggest stars, but where does she rank among her colleagues when it comes to popularity?

13) The 11 p.m. ET repeat of “The O’Reilly Factor” is watched by more people than any show on CNN or MSNBC.

12) “The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson” averages 1.34 million viewers.

11) “Happening Now” with Jon Scott and Jenna Lee almost cracks the Top 10 programs on cable news.

10) “Shepard Smith Reporting” averages 1.43 million total viewers.

9) “Outnumbered” is an extremely popular show, especially considering the 12 noon ET start time.

8) “Your World” with Neil Cavuto draws 1.58 million viewers despite Donald Trump’s refusal to appear.

7) “America’s Newsroom” with Martha MacCallum and Bill Hemmer averages 1.62 million viewers.

6) “Hannity” has hosted numerous interviews with presidential candidates this election cycle.

5) “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren” cracks the Top 5 most-watched cable news programs.

4) “The Five” is regularly among the most popular shows in all of cable.

3) “Special Report with Bret Baier” is seen by more people than all but two cable news programs.

2) “The Kelly File” is the second-most watched show on Fox News as Megyn Kelly gears up for a broadcast special on FOX.

1.) “The O’Reilly Factor” continues to dominate cable news, averaging 3.41 million total viewers compared to 2.51 for “The Kelly File.”

Thursday, April 21, 2016

CPT Spirits in the Sky - The Prince of Minnesota has Joined the Celestial Band

The World Lost a Priceless Gem Today - A Prince - Known for Legendary Music but a Man with a Spirit for Living and Life that Dwarfed his Musical Contributions

Of all the famous and iconic entertainers, we knew through the years, Prince, a kid not from LA or New York City but from the streets of Minneapolis - St. Paul is among the most mystical, mysterious, and least known of our many great "Spirits in the Sky."

For some time to come a deluge of books, music, television specials, documentaries, and little known facts will be offered to you telling you everything you would ever want to know about this quiet, almost shy, kid from the land of lakes, endless snowfall, and ice sculptures called the Twin Cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.

Ironically, Prince, who brought about a revolution in the music world, shared the same hometown with an earlier revolutionary who rattled the music world, one Bob Dylan.

Prince arrived on the music scene with a new fangled experiment called MTV on television and he was one visionary who knew exactly how to exploit this new method of communication with his mastery not just of the music, but the staging of the video as well.

Stories will tell you of his incredible achievements but perhaps his greatest achievement of all was his faith in God, his determination to follow the strict teachings of the Jehovah's Witness religion, and his silent calling to help everyone he could anonymously.

Unlike so many other successful singers and songwriters, Prince did not collect cars and girls but used his rags to riches success to build a business empire, once again not in the music capitals of LA or NYC but in the Twin Cities. You see, he never forgot his roots.

Prince was the classic Renaissance man, hungry to know everything, to do everything, and to use his gifts to help people, most that never knew him nor knew he was helping them. Countless times, he gave songs from his endless supply of creative genius to struggling artists, with no credit or recognition, part of the mysterious way he operated.

His religion forbids gifts, celebrations, or recognition that glorifies the individual and he stayed true to his belief. Sometimes he seemed rather odd. The few times he ever granted media interviews, he banned the use of tape recorders and forbid the interviewer to take notes. Once an interviewer taped Prince and violated his agreement with Prince on how to use it, and since he allows no direct quotes.

Read about him, watch the videos, and learn his story. He was a Vegan, did not eat meat, did not drink, smoke, or do drugs. He wanted nothing more than to share his gifts with the people and use his gifts to help people.

We will miss many people in our lives and many people will disappear into the ether of the mystical and metaphysical when they die. Very few people served time on Earth fulfilling their mission to the Creator. Prince was one of those few.

You can bet there is a place among the Spirits in the Sky reserved for people like Prince.

His last words to his fans at his last concert this past week were, "If I could I would give you the world!"

You did, Prince, when the world gave you to us.

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