People to watch who may shift the US 2016 campaign

[Publicus]

Who anyway besides MSNBC reports and comments on anything Fox does or says....and vice versa.....

You've got to be kidding. Try Mediaite and The Daily Beast just for starters. They have tons of stories on Fox News and in great detail. There are 4 stories about Fox right now on the main page of Mediaite, including the lead.

http://www.mediaite.com/

Your cite is a story in media distinctly separate from Fox reporting the story of Huckabee just as nearly every news organization is doing. That's all. No one takes seriously anything Fox says to report it as valid or viable -- trusted -- news.

My god.

You might find a few that disagree with your assessment in this article. Somebody must believe them since millions tune in each day to watch them.

FOX News is the Most-Watched Cable News Channel Among Total Viewers and Adults 25-54 for the 13th Consecutive Year

Article and numbers here: http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/12/31/fox-news-is-the-most-watched-cable-news-channel-among-total-viewers-and-adults-25-54-for-the-13th-consecutive-year/344939/

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

...or this one from a progressive liberal source that you will find completely honest and forthright:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fox News Dominates Cable News Ratings In 2014, MSNBC Tumbles

Article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/cable-news-ratings/

What did I say, what didn't I say....what I do say...

I said Fox has the oldest viewing audience in the Neilson ratings, average age 67. Which for instance means some Fox viewers are ten years older than than 67, some are younger etc.

You guys always, every time Fox comes up, trot out the Neilson tv ratings data. It is predictable and I know this. So.......

As I had posted some time ago, the sleazebag Robert Murdoch who owns Fox also owns the company that provides the Neilson company with its ratings hardware technology.You guys ignored it. So here it is again....

Fox News Caught In Massive Nielsen Ratings Fraud

. .

It has recently been discovered that the Wegener Corporation, the manufacturer of the set-top devices that Nielsen uses, has a long association with Rupert Murdoch and the News Corporation, the parent of Fox News.

The connection to Murdoch’s covert operations and his history of unlawful corporate espionage cannot be dismissed. Nielsen must investigate their equipment providers and perform intensive examinations of the devices they place in viewers’ homes.

http://www.newscorpse.com/ncWP/?p=1608

[BoneRanger]

FOX & MSNBC are fundamentally undermining democracy by distorting the information voters need to make informed decisions that should be based on solid information.

Not news, but programing to promote a point of view.

They repeat the lies and distortion over and over to promote the corporate media product and management views.

The birth of this philosophy began in 1985 when right wing Rupert Murdoch took over some news station in Washington DC and began his war on jpurnalism and democrats.

Journalists that formerly covered legitimate news were ordered from the top to carry right wing propaganda. It really took off when Rupert hired Republican strategist to run FOX News.

Years later, MSNBC management adopted that model.

[Boon Mee]

Jeffrey Epstein. Watch that name come forth as someone who can derail the Hildebeast's chances of POTUS.

Mr. Epstein is the world's more infamous pedeophile at this time with the news of Prince Andrew' taste for underage girls has come out. It seems Mr. Epstein is also good friends with Bubba Clinton and we all know how that boy digs the chicks!

... there is a joker in the deck: Epstein is a voyeur, and his various residences were equipped with secret cameras and video recorders. Reportedly the Palm Beach police are in possession of a vast trove of photographs and videos of Epstein’s guests engaging in various acts with his underage girls. Are there any of Bill Clinton that could come tumbling out between now and November 2016? Undoubtedly Hillary has asked Bill that question; I assume he said No. Do you think Hillary can trust Bill to tell the truth about this? No, I don’t either. It’s one more worry to add to Hillary’s list."

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2015/01/could-jeffrey-epstein-doom-hillarys-presidential-hopes.php

[Traveler19491]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

<snip>

I agree with your assessment of the election debacle, but I would have to disagree with your claim that there's no other way to do it. While you are correct in that we (America) have to stick with the current system due to that Constitution thingy, I believe that altering the funding mechanism, and term limits, would go a long way to resolving the mess we've managed to make of things. IMHO, there needs to be a Constitutional amendment stipulating that all elections, regardless of local, state, or Federal, are to be publicly funded. It is my feeling that the funding should be by tax, requiring every citizen of legal voting age to pay an annual Federal tax, with no exceptions, which would be place in a fund that would be equally distributed to all candidates. No outside funds would be permitted, not even from the candidate's own pocket. Each candidate would be free to spend the funds as he/she chose, but once the funds were gone, that's it. Spend it all on the primaries, fine, but you're out of luck for the election cycle. Save it for the election cycle, and you may be lame during the primaries, but it's all up to you. That puts everyone on an even footing, and opens up elections to any citizen qualified...not just the uber-wealthy and connected. Additionally, any individual elected to any office is term limited to one six year term; then he/she goes home. No more career politicians, bought and paid for by multi-national corporations, unions, special interest groups, or rich individuals. That would also free them from fund raising (the average Congress person spends four to six hours a day raising money), and give them much more time to focus on the legitimate business of running the country. Since worrying about re-election is no longer a concern, they can vote their conscience, and not worry about offending donors. This system is, of course, not perfect, but I think something like this would go a long way to resolving a lot of the election problems we face.

" It is my feeling that the funding should be by tax, requiring every citizen of legal voting age to pay an annual Federal tax, with no exceptions, "

Besides your theory being ridiculous, it has also been ruled unconstitutional in accordance with "that constitution thingy".

In earlier days, paying to vote was called a Poll Tax. It was thrown out in the 1960s by the Supreme Court.

You're going to have to come up with a better source to raise your funds than a voting tax on the citizens.

And then you make this little suggestion, also throwing aside "that constitution thingy".

"Additionally, any individual elected to any office is term limited to one six year term; then he/she goes home."

Would you propose all elected officials be elected on the first Tuesday of November every six years or would you stagger the elections, to maybe one sixth of all elected officialdom each year being elected and installed into office? If once every six years, how do you handle the office shuttle on the changeover period in January? Do the outgoing incumbents have to vacate their offices before the end of their terms or can the incoming politicians share the quarters for a month or so?

The other small problem is how to get the incumbents to be responsible to their constituents unless they have to face re-election every few years. Would you require them to punch a time clock or sign an attendance register to make certain they aren't playing golf all the time? Hold their pay if they don't put their time in?

It would seem your theory might have a few loopholes but you and yours on this forum can probably solve that with a little brainstorming.

Does your six year requirement also apply to the States or are they permitted to run their own lives?

Give it some thought and get back to us. I look forward to your input.

Thanks for your appraisal of my suggested "improvements" on the existing system. I would disagree with your characterization of my suggestion vis-a-vis a campaign tax being ridiculous, however, not being a Constitutional scholar (and my reference to "that Constitutional thingy" was a poor attempt at levity) I can't speak knowledgeably on whether or not taxing the public to support a national campaign fund would pass Supreme Court muster...it was just a suggestion. But it should be noted that this would not be considered a "poll tax", which you correctly observed was thrown out by the Supreme Court as that was a direct tax on an individual's right to vote. This would not be a tax on voting, but a tax to support a fund that would serve to provide each taxpayer/voter with an equal voice in the election process, eliminating a currently unbalanced system that favors the "haves" to the disadvantage of the average citizen, much the same as the poll tax favored the whites and disadvantaged African Americans. I'm sure that you are aware that we currently pay for the election process (voting equipment, registrars, and all of the personnel and equipment used to support each and every election) out of tax revenues, so I suspect that a campaign fund tax would not be unconstitutional, anymore than using the tax revenues from religious pacifists to support the military, in violation of their religious beliefs, is unconstitutional, or using a pro-lifer's taxes to pay for health insurance for government workers that provides abortion coverage is unconstitutional. The tax would be going to pay for a system, not for a vote.

As far as your objection to a six year "shuffle" of offices, and your query about what to do to accommodate the outgoing/incoming officials, what do you think happens every TWO years now, with outgoing/incoming Senators and Representatives? They seem to get along just fine making the transitions. But no, I think the best thing would be to continue having an election every two years, with one third of the offices coming up for election. You would simply begin by having those offices that were normally up for election be elected as they would have been under the existing system, and continue until all 535 offices had been completed. Thereafter, one third of the offices would face election every two years.

No, the states would not be forced to employ the same system. However, were it to show real improvement, I feel that it wouldn't take long for state and local voters to demand similar changes.

Now, how to hold elected representatives accountable to their constituency...the "Congressional Record", published by the Government Printing Office on a daily basis and available to anyone, does a somewhat adequate job of reporting on who was/wasn't present on any given day, and what input they had into that day's business. There are plenty of watchdog groups that monitor the Record, looking for slackers and reporting on them. Additionally, the media love to expose a politician who is spending his time playing and not working. The benefit of my suggested term limits is that it would open the arena to individuals who have a genuine desire to serve, and would provide a level playing field to permit them a realistic chance to be elected, regardless of their resources. There would, of course, have to be some mechanism to weed out the pretenders/wannabes/fruitcakes. Perhaps, as is the case now, a verified number of signatures on an application/petition, high enough to limit potential abuse. Also, by freeing a representative of the need to raise campaign funds, you would free up 1/3 to 1/2 of their daily time, now used for fundraising, that could then be devoted to doing actual work. The good politicians are going to use some of that time to devote to the concerns of their constituents, and to communicating with them.

As I noted, my suggestions are certainly far from perfect, but I genuinely feel that if something along these lines could be employed, we could potentially see some real improvement in our political system, and not the current gridlock generated by nothing more than pure partisanship. Additionally, a system like this would open the field to a real multiple party system, as smaller parties wouldn't be excluded due to the vast disparity in resources. As I said, I'm no expert, but the current system ain't working. The only thing it is doing is to push us farther and farther along to a real plutocracy/oligarchy.

[chuckd]

@ Traveler 19491:

Must go to Loei later today and your post raises some interesting points that will require some research.

Will try and catch up sometime tomorrow.

[BoneRanger]

'People to watch who may shift the US 2016 campaign'

Since FOX has so much impact and is a popular topic on the political discussions here, I submit a foreigner, Rupert Murdoch has more influence on the 2016 campaign than almost anybody else.

His 'war on journalism' has been well documented in the revealing video below with insights into the minds of Murdoch and Roger Ailes.

[bendejo]

FOX & MSNBC are fundamentally undermining democracy by distorting the information voters need to make informed decisions that should be based on solid information.

Not news, but programing to promote a point of view.

They repeat the lies and distortion over and over to promote the corporate media product and management views.

The birth of this philosophy began in 1985 when right wing Rupert Murdoch took over some news station in Washington DC and began his war on jpurnalism and democrats.

Journalists that formerly covered legitimate news were ordered from the top to carry right wing propaganda. It really took off when Rupert hired Republican strategist to run FOX News.

Years later, MSNBC management adopted that model.

After the 2000 election CNN was getting troubled by FN's ratings and it started giving the right-wing iron heel thing a try. Obviously it didn't work, and they got stuck with Nancy Grace as resident nazi for a few years. And CNN just gets worse by the day, if that's still possible.

Once Keith Obermann was speaking of someone who works ar FN:

"... Bill Hemmer, who gave up a career in journalism to work at Fox News..."

You don't see the people who speak on the air at FN move around to other networks, I don't think anyone wants them.

But they have impressive looking females, sometimes it looks like a video catalog for an escort service. Rupert's Rooters?

[chuckd]

"You don't see the people who speak on the air at FN move around to other networks, I don't think anyone wants them. "

Did you ever give any thought to the idea that they might be happy where they are?

[Ulysses G.]

It is nonsense anyway. Both Alisyn Camerota and Sally Kohn moved to CNN in just the last year.

[Boon Mee]

Remember this guys name...

[Publicus]

Jeffrey Epstein. Watch that name come forth as someone who can derail the Hildebeast's chances of POTUS.

Mr. Epstein is the world's more infamous pedeophile at this time with the news of Prince Andrew' taste for underage girls has come out. It seems Mr. Epstein is also good friends with Bubba Clinton and we all know how that boy digs the chicks!

... there is a joker in the deck: Epstein is a voyeur, and his various residences were equipped with secret cameras and video recorders. Reportedly the Palm Beach police are in possession of a vast trove of photographs and videos of Epstein’s guests engaging in various acts with his underage girls. Are there any of Bill Clinton that could come tumbling out between now and November 2016? Undoubtedly Hillary has asked Bill that question; I assume he said No. Do you think Hillary can trust Bill to tell the truth about this? No, I don’t either. It’s one more worry to add to Hillary’s list."

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2015/01/could-jeffrey-epstein-doom-hillarys-presidential-hopes.php

White trash.

[bendejo]

It is nonsense anyway. Both Alisyn Camerota and Sally Kohn moved to CNN in just the last year.

Didn't know that.

The least that can be said for the Fat Man is he runs a tight ship. I think some regional tv stations in the US do a better job than CNN. Pathetic!

[bendejo]

Alisyn Camerota

Hey, she used to be on Saturday mornings?

I thought she was hot stuff, wouldn't minding running into her when she had a few drinks in her.

Never saw her name written before.

[Boon Mee]

Billionaire Sex Offender's Phone Book Contained E-Mail Addresses, 21 Phone Numbers For Bill Clinton

Now that Prince Andrew has found himself ensnared in the sleazy sex slave story of wealthy degenerate Jeffrey Epstein, Bill Clinton can’t be too far behind.

Buh bye, Hillary!

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/bill-clinton/bill-clinton-and-jeffrey-epstein-908671

[BoneRanger]

Billionaire Sex Offender's Phone Book Contained E-Mail Addresses, 21 Phone Numbers For Bill Clinton

Now that Prince Andrew has found himself ensnared in the sleazy sex slave story of wealthy degenerate Jeffrey Epstein, Bill Clinton can’t be too far behind.

Buh bye, Hillary!

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/bill-clinton/bill-clinton-and-jeffrey-epstein-908671

"Billionaire Sex Offender's Phone Book Contained E-Mail Addresses, 21 Phone Numbers For Bill Clinton"

Looks like a legitimate news source

Lets see. What else is in their headlines:

"Black Jesus Handing Out Funny Money"

"Man Arrested For Lewd Act With Stuffed Animal"

"Drunken Zombie Santa Terrifies Teenagers"

"Naked Man Took Catnap On Dog Bed"

"Al Sharpton Secret FBI Agent"

"Idaho Cops Confront Super Hero"

"Jersey Cops On The Hunt For Breast Pump Thief"

"Police Hunt Vandal Who Has Difficulty Spelling"

"Iowa Man Arrested For Assaulting Woman With Chicken Sandwich"

"WallMart Shopper Hid Cows Tongue In His Trousers"

"Duo Targeted In Daylight Cookie Jacking Attempt"

Edited January 5, 2015 by BoneRanger

[Boon Mee]

The U.K. tabloids have been running wild with the story of Prince Andrew allegedly abusing an underage girl procured for him by billionaire and convicted pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein, but Monday, The Smoking Gun managed to tie former president Bill Clinton into the scandal. The allegation isn’t (yet) quite as damning as Clinton’s other sex scandals, but it doesn’t look good.

Epstein, who paid teenage girls for naked massages at his Palm Beach, Florida mansion, is a convicted sex offender whose circle of powerful friends has included financiers, celebrities, politicians, and scientists.

In fact, Epstein, 61, has maintained many of these relationships even after pleading guilty in 2008 to a felony charge stemming from a lengthy probe of his lewd interaction with scores of underage girls, many of whom were recruited while they were students at a Palm Beach high school.

…

While Clinton was never deposed [in a civil suit against Epstein], lawyers obtained Epstein’s computerized phone directory, which included “e-mail addresses for Clinton along with 21 phone numbers for him, including those for his assistant (Doug Band),” according to a court filing.

http://twitchy.com/2015/01/05/report-sex-offender-jeffrey-epstein-had-21-different-numbers-for-reaching-bill-clinton/

Heh...

[BoneRanger]

The U.K. tabloids have been running wild with the story of Prince Andrew allegedly abusing an underage girl procured for him by billionaire and convicted pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein, but Monday, The Smoking Gun managed to tie former president Bill Clinton into the scandal. The allegation isn’t (yet) quite as damning as Clinton’s other sex scandals, but it doesn’t look good.

http://twitchy.com/2015/01/05/report-sex-offender-jeffrey-epstein-had-21-different-numbers-for-reaching-bill-clinton/

Epstein, who paid teenage girls for naked massages at his Palm Beach, Florida mansion, is a convicted sex offender whose circle of powerful friends has included financiers, celebrities, politicians, and scientists.

In fact, Epstein, 61, has maintained many of these relationships even after pleading guilty in 2008 to a felony charge stemming from a lengthy probe of his lewd interaction with scores of underage girls, many of whom were recruited while they were students at a Palm Beach high school.

…

While Clinton was never deposed [in a civil suit against Epstein], lawyers obtained Epstein’s computerized phone directory, which included “e-mail addresses for Clinton along with 21 phone numbers for him, including those for his assistant (Doug Band),” according to a court filing.

Heh...

If you are gullible enough to watch FOX News, then you might be good bait for the conspiracy nut websites too I suppose.

GOOGLE "Epstein Clinton" and all sorts of wacky conspiracy sites pop up.

Here is a good one.

Did you know there have been close to "fifty suspicious deaths of colleagues, advisors and citizens who were about to testify against the Clintons, with the implication that Bill Clinton was behind their untimely demise?"

The guy couldn't get away with a quik BJ in a closet without every detail being revealed but somehow he has had 50 people murdered in cold blood.

[Boon Mee]

Heh...recall how the National Enquirer broke the story about John Edwards mistress? Well, they are all over Bubba now too

[Boon Mee]

Jeffrey Epstein's Society Friends Close Ranks

Despite the pedophile mogul's conviction for soliciting underage prostitution, his circle is standing by their man. Scientists whose research Epstein funded also back the billionaire, writes Alexandra Wolfe.

On the evening of December 2nd, 2010, a handful of America's media and entertainment elite—including TV anchors Katie Couric and George Stephanopoulos, comedienne Chelsea Handler, and director Woody Allen—convened around the dinner table of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. It wasn't just any dining room, but part of a sprawling nine-story townhouse that once housed an entire preparatory school. And it wasn't just any sex offender, but an enigmatic billionaire who had once flown the likes of former President Bill Clinton and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak around the world on his own Boeing 727. Last spring, Epstein completed a 13-month sentence for soliciting prostitution from a minor in Palm Beach. Now he was hosting a party for his close friend, Britain's Prince Andrew, fourth in line to the throne.

When a photo later surfaced of the two men walking in Central Park that weekend, the British press seized on the story, spinning out weeks of headlines about the 16-year relationship between Epstein and Andrew, with salacious details of underage "masseuses" and even a cozy weekend in Balmoral. Members of parliament began calling for Prince Andrew's resignation as Britain's trade envoy, and when another photo surfaced of Andrew and a 17-year-old concubine Epstein had allegedly "loaned" him splashed across the London tabs, even Britain's business secretary wouldn't confirm the royal could keep his role. But the uproar over "The Prince and The Perv"—as the British headlines screamed—mysteriously drowned in the Mid-Atlantic. New Yorkers barely batted an eye about the scandal-mongering across the pond. "A jail sentence doesn't matter anymore," says David Patrick Columbia, founder of New York Social Diary. "The only thing that gets you shunned in New York society is poverty."

Heh...Hillery is hoping & praying this will all blow over. Underage teen prostitutes indeed

Read the rest here: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/04/01/bill-clinton-katie-couric-woody-allen-jeffrey-epsteins-society-friends-close-ranks.html