TV Shows Suck
Mood:  chatty
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

TV Ratings Down Because Shows Suck

RUSH: You know, the television networks -- I have this story in the stack here -- say that two and a half million fewer people are watching primetime television this season than last. They're all trying to figure it out: "Why is this happening?" They're chalking it up to the early Daylight Savings Time. Early Daylight Savings Time, my rear end! Try, "the shows suck," maybe.

Rush Offers Katie Couric an Interview to Fix CBS' 20-Year, Record-Low Ratings

The interview of the century will boost those Nielsens.

Data Says 2.5 Million Less Watching TV

NEW YORK -- Maybe they're outside in the garden. They could be playing softball. Or perhaps they're just plain bored. In TV's worst spring in recent memory, a startling number of Americans drifted away from television the past two months: More than 2.5 million fewer people were watching ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox than at the same time last year, statistics show.

Everyone has a theory to explain the plummeting ratings: early Daylight Savings Time, more reruns, bad shows, more shows being recorded or downloaded or streamed.

Scariest of all for the networks, however, is the idea that many people are now making their own television schedules. The industry isn't fully equipped to keep track of them, and as a result the networks are scrambling to hold on to the nearly $8.8 billion they collected during last spring's ad-buying season.

"This may be the spring where we see a radical shift in the way the culture thinks of watching TV," said Sarah Bunting, co-founder of the Web site Television Without Pity.

The viewer plunge couldn't have come at a worse time for the networks -- next week they will showcase their fall schedules to advertisers in the annual "up front" presentations.

The networks argue that viewership is changing, not necessarily declining. Some advertisers respond that they are no longer willing to pay full price up front to reach viewers that may not tune in later.

This fall, both sides will be watching what happens with families like Tony Cort's. During prime-time, Cort, his wife and four kids tend to scatter to computers or other activities in different parts of their New Jersey home. (Not during "American Idol" or "Lost," though.) They're definitely watching less TV, said Cort, who runs a Web site for martial arts aficionados.

"I remember when `24' was on, that was something there was a lot of interest and excitement about," he said.

News flash: "24" is still on. Its ratings are down, too, amid a critically savaged season.

More bad news abounds. NBC set a record last month for its least- watched week during the past 20 years, and maybe ever -- then broke it a week later. This is the least popular season ever for CBS' "Survivor." ABC's "Lost" has lost nearly half its live audience -- more than 10 million people -- from the days it was a sensation. "The Sopranos" is ending on HBO, and the response is a collective yawn.

Events like "American Idol" on Fox (which is owned by News Corp.) and "Dancing With the Stars" on ABC (owned by The Walt Disney Co.) are doing the most to prop up the industry. But still, in the six weeks after Daylight Savings Time started in early March, prime-time viewership for the four biggest broadcast networks was down to 37.6 million people, from 40.3 million during the same period in 2006, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Millions of missing viewers could translate into millions of missing dollars for the networks heading into the up-front sales season.

Advertisers don't believe that the drop in viewership is as dramatic as the numbers suggest, but they're no longer willing to spend what they once did in the spring market, said Brad Adgate of Horizon Media, an ad buying firm. Johnson & Johnson and Coca-Cola sat out the spring market last year -- betting they could get lower prices later -- and it's likely other companies will do the same this year, he said.

The early start to Daylight Savings Time has hurt ratings. Prime-time viewership traditionally dips then as people do more things outside, and this year folks had a three-week head start to get into the habit of doing something else. More network reruns during March and April dampened interest, too.

"We let them get out of the habit of watching television a little bit, and it's going to take some time to get these people back in front of their television sets," said David Poltrack, chief researcher for CBS (owned by CBS Corp.).

Strategic decisions to send some popular serial dramas on long hiatuses appeared to backfire. NBC's "Heroes," CBS' "Jericho" and "Lost" lost significant momentum when they returned. Besides HBO's "The Sopranos," there are no lengthy countdowns toward the end of very popular series, unless you count "The King of Queens."

There also are technical reasons that this apparent diminished interest in television may be overstated.

This year, for the first time, Nielsen is measuring viewership in the estimated 17 percent of homes with digital video recorders -- but it only counts them in the ratings of a specific show if they watch it within 24 hours of the original air time.

If you recorded "Desperate Housewives" this spring and watched it two days later, you're not counted in the show's ratings. And you're not counted by Nielsen under any circumstances if you downloaded a show on iTunes and watched it on your iPod or cell phone, or streamed an episode from a network Web site.

Since last year's Nielsen sample contained no DVR homes and this year's sample does, logic dictates that fewer Nielsen families are watching TV live this year, deflating ratings.

"People are not consuming less television, they're watching it in different ways, and the measurements haven't caught up," said Alan Wurtzel, chief research executive at NBC (owned by General Electric Co.).

The numbers can be significant. When "The Office" aired on NBC on April 5, Nielsen said there were 5.8 million people watching. Add in the people who recorded the episode and watched it within the next week, and viewership swelled to 7.6 million, a 32 percent increase, Nielsen said.

"The Sopranos" is another interesting case study. For its first four episodes this season, the show averaged 7.4 million viewers for its weekly Sunday night premiere, down from 8.9 million at the same point its last season.

But HBO shows each new episode eight times a week. Between the multiple plays and DVR viewing, each episode this spring gets 11.1 million viewers, down from 13 million last year. And these figures don't count people who watch on demand.

Numbers for "The Sopranos" may be down because people can watch whenever they want. They may not be as interested in the show as they used to be -- or it could be a combination of both.

Television has made billions based on how many people watch a show at its regular time. That idea may already be obsolete. So should the industry use DVR viewing when setting ad rates? If so, how quickly must people watch the shows -- within two days? A week? What about people who watch shows on their cell phones or on network Web sites, which Nielsen doesn't measure yet? Later this month Nielsen will begin measuring how many people watch commercials. Should those be used to compute advertising costs?

Right now, none of those questions have answers.

However, "if we continue to do business assuming people will watch television as they always have," said NBC's Wurtzel, "it's a dead-end game."

Breitbart.com ~ Associated Press - David Bauder ** Data Says 2.5 Million Less Watching TV

Gas prices
Mood:  silly
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

Gas station owner told to raise prices 

MERRILL, Wis. -- A service station that offered discounted gas to senior citizens and people supporting youth sports has been ordered by the state to raise its prices. Center City BP owner Raj Bhandari has been offering senior citizens a 2 cent per gallon price break and discount cards that let sports boosters pay 3 cents less per gallon.

But the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection says those deals are too good: They violate Wisconsin's Unfair Sales Act, which requires stations to sell gas for about 9.2 percent more than the wholesale price.

Bhandari said he received a letter from the state auditor in late April saying the state would sue him if he did not raise his prices. The state could penalize him for each discounted gallon he sold, with the fine determined by a judge.

Bhandari, who bought the station in May 2006, said he worries customers will think he stopped the discounts because he wants to make more money. About 10 percent of his customers had used the discount cards.

Dale Van Camp of Merrill said he bought a $50 card to support the local youth hockey program. It would have saved him about $100 per year on gas, he said.

Information from: Wausau Daily Herald
Yahoo News ~ Associated Press ** Gas station owner told to raise prices

Funny, I thought the Demented-crat party was supposed to be the party for the little guy and anti-big oil and all that.

(D) Jim Doyle -- Wisconsin governor. Also of note: Vetoed concealed carry. Has 'proposed' legislation taxing oil companies.

The state of Wisconsin is dictating the price and guess who takes the hit... the consumer and the station owner trying to benefit the community and his customers. Oh the wonders of government meddling in the free market.

Enviro-tards
Mood:  spacey
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

Children 'bad for planet'

Parents have been told to take the environment into account when having children.

Having large families should be frowned upon as an environmental misdemeanour in the same way as frequent long-haul flights, driving a big car and failing to reuse plastic bags, says a report to be published today by a green think tank.

The paper by the Optimum Population Trust will say that if couples had two children instead of three they could cut their family's carbon dioxide output by the equivalent of 620 return flights a year between London and New York.

John Guillebaud, co-chairman of OPT and emeritus professor of family planning at University College London, said: "The effect on the planet of having one child less is an order of magnitude greater than all these other things we might do, such as switching off lights.

"The greatest thing anyone in Britain could do to help the future of the planet would be to have one less child."

In his latest comments, the academic says that when couples are planning a family they should be encouraged to think about the environmental consequences.

"The decision to have children should be seen as a very big one and one that should take the environment into account," he added.

Professor Guillebaud says that, as a general guideline, couples should produce no more than two offspring.

The world's population is expected to increase by 2.5 billion to 9.2 billion by 2050. Almost all the growth will take place in developing countries.

The population of developed nations is expected to remain unchanged and would have declined but for migration.

The British fertility rate is 1.7. The EU average is 1.5. Despite this, Professor Guillebaud says rich countries should be the most concerned about family size as their children have higher per capita carbon dioxide emissions.

Full coverage: Climate change in-depth
Australian Sunday Times ~ Sarah-Kate Templeton ** Children 'bad for planet'
Related: Environmentalist calls mankind a 'virus'
Gore sees 'spiritual crisis' in warming
Sheryl Crow: 'We have risen to great heights of arrogance in our refusal to acknowledge that the earth is changing'

Unrelated (Sanity): Prominent climate scientist calls warming fears 'absurd'

Sarkozy Victory
Mood:  sharp
Topic: News

Conservative, Pro-American WINS French Presidency

Just posting the Drudge Report news links pertaining to even more libtard frustration, in the most libtarded region on Earth -- the socialist "utopia" -- France.

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

RÉVOLUTION 

VIOLENT CLASHES AS SARKOZY CELEBRATES VICTORY   
 

DÉFAITE ROYAL

SARKOZY'S VICTORY MESSAGE TO AMERICA: 'YOU CAN COUNT ON FRANCE AS A FRIEND'

Defeated Socialists search for scapegoats

 

Libtard anti-energy plan
Mood:  silly
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

Libiot Dems Ban Power Lines, Complain About Blackouts

RUSH: "East Coast lawmakers banded together yesterday in a bid to short-circuit a federal decision making it easier to build major power lines." Now, why would somebody want to stand in the way of this? We need energy, for crying out loud! "From New York to Virginia, there is a prospect of new high voltage line construction after the Energy Department last week proposed a 'national interest electric transformation corridor.'  A 2005 law gives the government new authority to approve line construction even if state officials object." (A little federalism there.) "Various projects up and down the East Coast have met fierce local resistance... Yesterday, some lawmakers said they try to use the annual federal spending bill for water and energy to bar the government from going forward with the plan... The law establishing the electricity corridor is designed to relieve bottlenecks in the national power grid, decreasing the threat of blackouts like the one that swept from Ohio to New York City in 2003."

Now, when I read this kind of story, it convinces me that we have our share of blithering idiots in this country. We had all these people that were fried, that were roasted, that were mad as hell after that blackout -- and nobody could figure out what had happened and how it could have been stopped and why wasn't power restored quickly. It was a week long I think in some parts of the country; maybe more. So now it's going to happen again, and these same blithering idiots who are stopping progress here with power lines (for who knows why) are going to be the first ones to bellyache and whine and moan about the next blackout! And then they're probably going to end up in a poll: "A majority of Americans think power lines are dangerous." Then we don't do it because a majority of ignorant idiots think we shouldn't have power lines.

Officials unite on blocking power lines

East Coast lawmakers banded together yesterday in a bid to short-circuit a federal decision making it easier to build major power lines.

From New York to Virginia, there is a prospect of new high-voltage line construction after the Energy Department last week proposed a "national interest electric transmission corridor."

A 2005 law gives the government new authority to approve line construction even if state officials object. Various projects up and down the East Coast have met fierce local resistance including Dominion Power's plans for a 550-kilovolt power line in Northern Virginia that opponents charge would spoil the beauty of Civil War battlefields.

Yesterday, some lawmakers said they would try to use the annual federal spending bill for water and energy to bar the government from going forward with the plan.

Rep. John Hall, New York Democrat, said his Hudson Valley constituents were "in a fighting mood" and willing to take that fight to Congress.

Blocking the decision through a spending bill would be easier than trying to pass a stand-alone measure. But because it is an annual budget, any such freeze would expire the next year.

The law establishing the electricity corridor is designed to relieve bottlenecks in the national power grid, decreasing the threat of blackouts like the one that swept from Ohio to New York City in 2003.

Critics such as Rep. Michael Arcuri, New York Democrat, who lives about 400 feet from a proposed power line, said the construction would not fix the more important problem of failing local lines.

Rep. Christopher Carney, Pennsylvania Democrat, said a line in his district "is basically a flyover" -- doing nothing for the area while providing power to other parts.

The corridor designations could help private industry obtain permits from state regulators or work in conjunction with regional groups to build new lines. Utilities in New York and other states have accused state authorities of being reluctant to approve new lines, often because of local opposition.

Authorities will hold public meetings on the corridors in San Diego, Arlington and New York City.

After the public comment period ends by July, the law calls for state regulators to try to reach agreements on where to build new lines.

If state authorities do not approve any construction after a year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has the authority to approve a project if the new line is deemed necessary for national power needs.

Washington Times ~ Associated Press ** Officials unite on blocking power lines

Ouch
Mood:  cheeky
Topic: Odd Stuff

Reuters Photo: Naked cyclists take part in a march through central Madrid in this June 10, 2006 file photo. A gang stripped a South African man before supergluing him to an exercise bicycle while they ransacked his house, according to a report Thursday. ↓

Naked man superglued to exercise bike

JOHANNESBURG -- A gang stripped a South African man before supergluing him to an exercise bicycle while they ransacked his house, according to a report Thursday.

SAPA news agency said the attackers, dressed in suits, hijacked a man in his 50s and forced him at gunpoint to take them to his home in Johannesburg.

"The victim was then forced to strip, after which he was superglued to the seat of an exercise bicycle, his hands were superglued, as were his feet and then his mouth was superglued shut," SAPA quoted Mark Stokoe, a spokesman for emergency services Netcare 911, as saying.

The man was rescued about three hours later when his partner arrived home, SAPA said.

South Africa is battling one of the world's highest crime rates which has prompted concerns that violence might mar the 2010 soccer World Cup, which the country is due to host.

A police spokesman could not immediately comment on the report. No one at Netcare 911 could be reached.

Yahoo News ~ Reuters ** Naked man superglued to exercise bike

So, when do we start the 7-day waiting period for superglue?

When you outlaw superglue, only outlaws will have superglue! They can have my superglue when they pry it my fingers!

GOP Debate
Mood:  silly
Now Playing: LIBTARD MEDIA ALERT
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

Teachers gone wild
Mood:  silly
Now Playing: LIBTARD EDUCATION ALERT
Topic: Lib Loser Stories

Teachers gone wild... One teacher accused of selling kid's jacket, another teacher asks girl to wear mermaid outfit

Teacher asks girl to wear mermaid outfit

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. -- A middle school teacher who asked a student to pose for a photograph in a mermaid costume has been reassigned to an adult education program.

Les Leonard, a music teacher with 17 years in the school system, agreed to the transfer from Johnson City's Indian Trail Middle School to a vacant position in adult education that will include testing coordination and possibly some adult teaching.

"I thought it was in the best interests of the school system," Schools Director Richard Bales said.

According to a letter in Leonard's personnel file, a female student reported that Leonard asked her to stay after class to pose for a photograph with his guitar. Then he asked her to put on a mermaid costume for a second photograph. She declined.

The letter also revealed that principal Tammy Pearce investigated Leonard and found he had asked at least two other female students to stay after school and put on costumes for photographs.

Information from: Johnson City Press
Yahoo News ~ Associated Press ** Teacher asks girl to wear mermaid outfit

Teacher accused of selling kid's jacket

HILLSBORO, Ore. -- A Hillsboro mother found her daughter's missing winter coat on eBay, and now a teacher at the girl's elementary school faces charges of theft and computer crimes.

Elizabeth Logan, 41, is on paid administrative leave from Jackson Elementary. She denies stealing the coat, saying she got it from a lost-and-found, Cmdr. Chris Skinner said.

The mother searched the school's lost and found for the coat, then decided to turn to eBay for a replacement. After finding a seemingly identical coat, she noticed that the seller was from Hillsboro.

The mother alerted another bidder that the coat might be stolen, and the other bidder relayed the information to the seller, Logan. Skinner said Logan asked the other bidder to outbid the girl's mother.

Logan's salary is nearly $69,000 a year, and she has taught 20 years at two elementary schools. She is to appear in court Friday.

Yahoo News ~ Associated Press ** Teacher accused of selling kid's jacket

Revenue Blow Out
Mood:  chatty
Now Playing: BUSH'S FAULT
Topic: News

Gov't Has Biggest Tax Receipt Month Ever

RUSH: This is from First Trust Portfolios. "The U.S. Treasury Department reported a gusher of tax revenue last week. Tuesday alone, the Treasury received $48.7 billion from individual taxpayers as their final tax payment for 2006, an all-time single-day record, and one-third higher than the same day last year." I don't know about that; I guess it could be. But anyway, "Based on information available through Friday, we estimate federal receipts at about $390 billion in April. This would be the largest tax take for any month in American history, up 25% versus last April, and up 18% versus the previous record high in April 2001. With incomes and profits growing rapidly, the U.S. budget deficit will fall to about $145 billion during the twelve months ending in April. To put this in perspective, the deficit was $455 billion as recently as three years ago (the twelve months through April 2004)," and they're projecting it to be $145 billion at the end of this year.

And not one "thank-you"! Not one "thank-you" from the government! They never thank us for what we pay. You ever get a thank-you note from the government? I don't. I just get another bill.

Revenue Blow Out   

Brian S. Wesbury; Chief Economist
Robert Stein: Senior Economist

The U.S. Treasury Department reported a gusher of tax revenue last week.  Tuesday alone, the Treasury received $48.7 billion from individual taxpayers as their final tax payment for 2006, an all-time single-day record, and one-third higher than the same day last year.

Based on information available through Friday, we estimate federal receipts at about $390 billion in April.  This would be the largest tax take for any month in American history, up 25% versus last April, and up 18% versus the previous record high in April 2001.

With incomes and profits growing rapidly, the U.S. budget deficit will fall to about $145 billion during the twelve months ending in April.  To put this in perspective, the deficit was $455 billion as recently as three years ago (the twelve months through April 2004).

These trends increase our confidence in the lonely forecast we made back in early February that the budget deficit would drop to $115 billion for the 2007 fiscal year, and disappear in Fiscal 2009, possibly before.  In contrast, the Congressional Budget Office estimates a deficit of $177 billion this year, with the White House at $244 billion.  Expect major revisions to these numbers.

Our budget forecasts are based on reasonable projections.  For example, on the revenue side, we have May receipts down 2.6% versus last May.  (Due to calendar quirks some of the April receipts this year would normally have arrived in May.)  Beyond that, we have revenue growing between 8.5 - 9% annually through 2009, consistent with our expectation of a strong economy and also with historical patterns from the expansions of the 1980s and 1990s.  Revenue grew at a 13.2% rate in Fiscal 2005 and 2006, and should grow at a 9.1% rate this year despite temporary "patches" for the Alternative Minimum Tax.  Our projections assume these AMT patches continue, so we are not relying on many more taxpayers being subject to the AMT to generate our revenue numbers.

On the spending side, so far this fiscal year outlays are up less than 3%.  We assume they accelerate to a 4.5 - 5% annual growth rate through 2009.

Our deficit projections show that the US is slightly ahead of the actual 1990s deficit path.  In 1996 - almost six years into recovery - the deficit was still 1.4% of GDP.  The first surplus arrived in 1998.  We expect the deficit to be just under 1% of GDP for Fiscal 2007 (almost six years into the recovery), with surpluses arriving in 2009 or earlier.

As in the 1990s, revenue is being lifted by a productivity-driven surge in incomes, profits, and rising equity prices.  As people earn higher incomes, a larger share of their income gets taxed at higher marginal rates - a tax hike without new legislation.  Those who argued that the tax cuts in 2001-03 would create deficits as far as the eye could see are being proven wrong.  And, unlike the 1990s, the budget will be balanced without the help of a post-Cold War "peace dividend."

Unfortunately, the surpluses we will achieve will not be permanent.  Social Security and Medicare are still problems.  Massive spending cuts or tax hikes (or both!) may hit us in a few decades.  But for the next several years, as long as spending is restrained, revenue growth will continue to surge and the budget picture will improve faster than conventional wisdom believes - this, in turn, will undercut the push by many politicians to hike tax rates back to pre-2001 levels.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This information contains forward-looking statements about various economic trends and strategies. You are cautioned that such forward-looking statements are subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and actual results could be materially different. There are no guarantees associated with any forecast and the opinions stated here are subject to change at any time and are the opinion of the individual strategist. Data comes from the following sources: Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Federal Reserve Board, and Haver Analytics. Data is taken from sources generally believed to be reliable but no guarantee is given to its accuracy.
First Trust Portfolios ~ Brian S. Wesbury, Robert Stein ** Revenue Blow Out

Palestinian peace
Mood:  don't ask
Now Playing: LIBTARD ''PEACE'' ALERT
Topic: Yahoo Chat Stuff

Children at a Hamas rally >>>>>

Top Hamas official:
Kill all Americans
By Etgar Lefkovits

Sheik Ahmad Bahr, acting Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, declared during a Friday sermon at a Sudan mosque that America and Israel will be annihilated and called upon Allah to kill Jews and Americans "to the very Last One." Following are excerpts from the sermon that took place last month, courtesy of MEMRI.

Ahmad Bahr began: "'You will be victorious' on the face of this planet. You are the masters of the world on the face of this planet. Yes, [the Koran says that] 'you will be victorious,' but only 'if you are believers.' Allah willing, 'you will be victorious,' while America and Israel will be annihilated. I guarantee you that the power of belief and faith is greater than the power of America and Israel. They are cowards who are eager for life, while we are eager for death for the sake of Allah. That is why America's nose was rubbed in the mud in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Somalia, and everywhere."

Bahr continued and said that America will be annihilated, while Islam will remain. The Muslims "'will be victorious, if you are believers.' Oh Muslims, I guarantee you that the power of Allah is greater than America, by whom many are blinded today. Some people are blinded by the power of America. We say to them that with the might of Allah, with the might of His Messenger, and with the power of Allah, we are stronger than America and Israel."

The Hamas spokesperson concluded with a prayer, saying: "Oh Allah, vanquish the Jews and their supporters. Oh Allah, count their numbers, and kill them all, down to the very last one. Oh Allah, show them a day of darkness. Oh Allah, who sent down His Book, the mover of the clouds, who defeated the enemies of the Prophet, defeat the Jews and the Americans, and bring us victory over them."

The Jerusalem Post ~ Etgar Lefkovits ** Top Hamas official: Kill all Americans
Related: EURABIA ~ Now Muslims get their own laws in Britain