Cable News viewers

Cable News race by number of viewers on Tuesday October 26, 2010*

Fox News continues to have many times more viewers than MSNBC and CNN combined as shown below:

FOX News - Bill O’Reilly - 3,734,000
FOX News - Sean Hannity - 2,720,000
FOX News - Greta Van Susteren - 2,296,000
FOX News - Bret Baier - 2,284,000
FOX News - Shepard Smith - 2,244,000
FOX News - Glenn Beck - 2,154,000
MSNBC - Keith Olbermann - 1,190,000
MSNBC - Rachel Maddow - 1,087,000
MSNBC - Lawrence O'Donnell - 1,048,000
MSNBC - Ed Shultz - 724,000
CNN-HN Nancy Grace - 670,000
MSNBC - Chris Matthews - 628,000
CNN - Anderson Cooper - 591,000
CNN - Larry King - 560,000
CNN-HN - Joy Behar - 339,000

*Matt Drudge

Baby chameleon

A baby Yemen chameleon, which has been bred for the first time at the Cotswold Wildlife Park near Burford, Oxfordshire, England and is on display at their Reptile and Amphibian nursery.

Taking cover

A boy takes cover in Fajardo, Puerto Rico from a wave caused by the approach of Hurricane Earl last summer.

Will a Republican replace the last Kennedy in Congress?

The 'Camelot' era on Capitol Hill will come to an end after the November 2 elections.

With Patrick Kennedy not running for re-election a Republican may be poised to replace the last Kennedy in national politics.

Two years ago, it would have been unthinkable that both seats held by Kennedy family members could be won by Republicans.

But Scott Brown's January election to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's former Massachusetts seat paved the way, and now the GOP is hoping Rhode Island state Rep. John J. Loughlin II will give an encore performance in the race for the U.S. House seat held by Patrick J. Kennedy (pictured), the late senator's son, in Tuesday's election.

"What we are finding in Rhode Island is exactly what we found in Massachusetts during Scott Brown's election, and that is extreme voter unrest about the liberal, big-government, agenda that is bankrupting our nation," said Eric Fehrnstrom, the architect of Mr. Brown's win and now a strategist with the Loughlin campaign.

Link

By the way - in case you missed the Patrick Kennedy meltdown on the House floor we reported on last March:



Patrick Kennedy "loses it" on the House floor, as he denounces the press for covering Congressman Eric Massa rather than the current vote that was taking place in the House.

But, wait a minute ... just what was that vote? It was a kooky antiwar resolution by Dennis Kucinich that was never intended (and had no chance) to pass, which is why the press had no interest in covering it.

Will anyone really miss Patrick Kennedy?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
They really should do two things to the House microphones.

1. Attach breathalyzers.

2. Cover them with spittle protectors.

Putin black eyes spark rumors of injury or illness

The sight of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin wearing heavy make-up to hide apparent bruising to his face has sparked rumors of illness, injury or cosmetic surgery.

The famously macho politician, 58, seemed to be wearing heavy make-up when he was photographed with a dark patch around one eye on a visit to Ukraine.
Some suggested Russia's best-known black belt had suffered a judo injury.
But his office denied the mark was a bruise, putting his looks down to a busy schedule and poor lighting.

Link

Someone wants Obama's autograph

Bill Clinton pressured Meek to quit Florida Senate race to aid Crist

Bill Clinton tried to break up the 'Florida triangle' Senate race shown below consisting of Republican Marco Rubio left, Democrat Kendrick Meek center and Independent Charlie Crist right.

Crist is the former Republican who is running as an Independent after he was beaten by Rubio in the primary.

Rubio is running ahead of both Meek and Crist. In order to defeat Rubio, the Democrats wanted Meek to drop out of the race hoping that Meek followers would vote for Crist.

The Democrats aren't really excited about the turncoat Crist but he has the best chance of beating Rubio in a two-man race.

Ironically, it was the same Bill Clinton who campaigned for Meek just 10 days earlier as reported by The Palm Beach Post in the first link below.

The report at the second link details the story of the Bill Clinton effort to remove Kendrick Meek from the race to help Crist defeat Rubio.

A few days before Bill Clinton campaigned for Mr. Meek, Barack Obama also campaigned for Meek as reported in the third link below.

Now the Democrats want Meek out of the race, but he isn't quitting almost guaranteeing a Rubio win.

Link here, here and here.

Queen Elizabeth II in teal and black

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II peers through a window during a tour of the new Coca Cola factory that she officially opened in Lisburn, Northern Ireland.

Barney Frank in the election fight of his life

Congressman Barney Frank, (shown below with his Republican opponent Sean Bielat) father of sub prime mortgage loan fiasco and closely tied to the 2008 U.S. bank bailout, is in a tough re-election battle after 15 terms in office.

Challenging the Massachusetts liberal is Republican Sean Bielat, an Iraq war veteran, and opinion polls suggest Frank has an uncomfortably narrow lead over a political unknown.

Massachusetts has already been the scene of one of the year's biggest upsets, when Republican Scott Brown won a special election for the U.S. Senate seat held for almost five decades by a Democratic Party pillar, the late Edward Kennedy.


"If Barney Frank loses, it would be as significant as Scott Brown's win. You would really begin to see the depths of this anti-government sentiment," said Marc Landy, professor of political science at Boston College.

After a debate Barney Frank sent his latest boyfriend James Ready (shown above with Barney Frank) to heckle his political opponent Sean Bielat.

Link here and here.

Poll: 65% say dump entire Congress and start over!

Rasmussen Reports survey finds that most Americans think it would be better to dump the entire Congress on Election Day!

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 65% of Likely U.S. Voters say if they had the option next week, they would vote to get rid of the entire Congress and start all over again.

Only 20% would opt to keep the entire Congress instead. Fifteen percent (15%) aren’t sure.

Not surprisingly, 82% of Republicans and 78% of unaffiliateds say dump them all.

Even 38% of Democrats in the survey would prefer to dump all of the national lawmakers.

Link

Unusual excuses for playing hooky from work

CareerBuilder released the results of their annual survey on workers playing hooky on Wednesday, including the most creative excuses surveyed employers heard this year.

Listed below are the most unusual excuses from employees wanting a day off:

1. Employee said a chicken attacked his mom.

2. Employee's finger was stuck in a bowling ball.

3. Employee had a hair transplant gone bad.

4. Employee fell asleep at his desk while working and hit his head, causing a neck injury.

5. Employee said a cow broke into her house and she had to wait for the insurance man.

6. Employee's girlfriend threw a Sit 'n Spin through his living room window.

7. Employee's foot was caught in the garbage disposal
.
8. Employee called in sick from a bar at 5 p.m. the night before.

Link

Some rock stars don't age gracefully

Mick Jagger

Ozzy Osbourne

Bob Dylan

Still blaming Bush…

P2P giant LimeWire forced to shut down by court order

A New York judge ordered LimeWire to stop distributing its file-sharing software, agreeing with the plaintiffs that LimeWire's service is used "overwhelmingly for infringement."

The LimeWire site shut down its service Wednesday, displaying only a legal notice (shown below) announcing that that company "is under a court-ordered injunction to stop distributing and supporting its file-sharing software."

The music industry has long held that LimeWire has been involved in music piracy. Did it take this long for the industry to find a sympathetic court?

More here.

Poll two thirds of Americans say country on wrong track

According to a Harris poll Barack Obama heads into the midterm elections at the lowest approval rating since he took office.

President Obama is spending the next week crisscrossing the country in support of Democratic candidates before this year's midterm elections.

While the president may do a great job of energizing the base, he may not be able to convert any Independents who have yet to decide for whom they will vote.

Currently, two-thirds of Americans (67%) have a negative opinion of the job President Obama is doing while just over one-third (37%) have a positive opinion.

This continues the president's downward trend and he is now at the lowest job approval rating of his presidency.

Link

Bill Clinton speaks to sparse crowd of unenthusiastic Democrats

WLS veteran political reporter Bill Cameron said the ‘get out the vote’ rally by Bill Clinton was the most unenthusiastic he has ever witnessed.

From a WLS report at the link below:

Democrats exit Clinton's 'get out the vote' rally as the former president drones on for an hour.

Clinton was an hour late for the Tuesday afternoon rally at the Palmer House and droned on for another hour, sending dozens of the few hundred Democrats in attendance for the exits.

The state's most popular Democrat Lisa Madigan was conspicuously absent as were state party chairman Mike Madigan and Mayor Richard Daley.

The Republicans said the Clinton visit put the Democrats failed tax and spend policies on display again.

Bill Clinton was in Chicago to rally Illinois Democrats behind Pat Quinn for governor and Alexi Giannoulias for Barack Obama's old U.S. Senate seat.

Maybe Quinn and Giannoulias need more help than Clinton can provide as both candidates are trailing in their races.

Link

Have you had your flu shot?

We got our flu shots this year but not at the usual place. Instead of a nearby clinic or at the office of our family doctor, we got our flu shots between the turnips and the cabbage.

Well, not really. Since flu shots were not available this year at the clinic or our family doctor we had no choice but to get them elsewhere.

We ended up at a grocery store. They took us into a room next to the pharmacy which appealed to us more than getting the shots in one of the main isles at Walgreen's or Wal-Mart.

Saddam aide Tariq Aziz given death sentenced

Former Iraqi Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz has been sentenced to hang along with two other Saddam Hussein aides.

This latest verdict marks the third time that Aziz, who served as Foreign Minister from 1983 to 1991, has been found guilty of participating in atrocities.

In 2009, he was ordered imprisoned for 15 years for the 1992 execution of 42 Baghdad wholesalers. He also was given a seven-year sentence for his role in expelling Kurds from Iraq's north.

The Tariq Aziz photo on left was taken eight years ago at the height of the Saddam Hussein regime. Photo on the right shows Aziz as he appears today at age 74.

Saddam Hussein, who was hanged on December 30, 2006 is shown in the lower photo.

The court also placed death sentences on former Interior Minister Saadoun Shaker and Abid Hamoud, the executed dictator's secretary.

Aziz was appointed Deputy Prime Minister when Saddam grabbed power in 1979, a post he held until the U.S.-led invasion of 2003.

Aziz suffers from heart and respiratory problems, high blood pressure and diabetes.

Link

Reports say Reid will steal election if he can’t win it outright

The articles linked to below report on a serious accusation by the campaign attorney for Sharron Angle.

Sharron Angle and Harry Reid are shown above.

The articles report on many crooked enterprises being used by Reid and company in order to steal the election if they have to.

Two days ago, the Democratic Secretary of State announced that voters can be provided "free food" at "voter turnout events."

Harry Reid has been offering free food and, according to other reports, some Democratic allies such as teachers' unions are offering gift cards in return for a vote for Reid.

A person who bribes, offers to bribe, or use and other corrupt means, directly or indirectly, to influence any elector in giving his or her vote or to deter the elector from giving it is guilty of a category D felony.

Link here and here.

A pile of leaves can bring joy to any boy

Has cheating for Harry Reid already started?

Las Vegas TV5 reports that some voters in Boulder City complained on Monday that their ballot had been cast before they went to the polls, raising questions about Clark County's electronic voting machines.

Voter Joyce Ferrara said when they went to vote for Republican Sharron Angle, her Democratic opponent, Sen. Harry Reid's name was already checked.

"Something's not right," Ferrara said. "One person that's a fluke. Two, that's strange. But several within a five minute period of time -- that's wrong."

Clark County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax said there is no voter fraud.

With Harry Reid's name already checked several times in a five minute period of time seems more that a little suspicious!

Maybe Cook County, Illinois should take notice. This is a lot easier than voting dead people.

Link

Report: most say no change or worse change under Obama

A majority of voters in key battleground races say President Obama has either brought no change to Washington or has brought change for the worse.

More striking is the fact that 63 percent of voters under the age of 34 said the president either has not changed Washington or has made it worse.

With voters over the age of 34 the percent would be higher.

Link

Is it safe to put a cell phone in your pocket?

A report at the link below asks:

Is putting a cell phone in your pocket a health risk?

Cell-Phone Safety: What the FCC Didn't Test.

We are a nation grown numb to the seemingly endless fine print that accompanies our purchases.

Sometimes we really should heed the fine print warnings.

Consider the little-noticed bit of legalese that comes in the safety manual for Apple's iPhone 4:

"When using iPhone near your body for voice calls or for wireless data transmission over a cellular network, keep iPhone at least 15 mm (5/8 inch) away from the body, and only use carrying cases, belt clips, or holders that do not have metal parts and that maintain at least 15 mm (5/8 inch) separation between iPhone and the body."

Similar warnings against carrying cellular and smart phones in a closely sewn pocket show up throughout the industry.

The safety manual for Research in Motion's BlackBerry 9000 phone tells users that they may violate Federal Communications Commission (FCC) guidelines for radio-frequency energy exposure by carrying the phone outside a holster and within 0.98 inches (2.5 cm) of their body.


The safety manual of the Motorola W180 phone tells users to always keep the active device one full inch away from their body, if not using a company-approved "clip, holder, holster, case or body harness."

More here.

Debt up $5 Trillion after Pelosi promised no new deficit spending

From a report at the link below:

When Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) gave her inaugural address as speaker of the House in 2007, she vowed there would be “no new deficit spending.” Since that day, the national debt has increased by $5 trillion, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.

In that speech she also said, "Our new America will provide unlimited opportunity for future generations, not burden them with mountains of debt."

Link

Republicans ahead in early voter turnout

From a report at the link below:

Signs of widespread Republican enthusiasm are apparent in the early-voter data, including in some places with highly competitive statewide races.

Yet at the same time, for Democrats there are promising data in numerous states suggesting that the idea of a devastating turnout gap may be overblown.

The publication surveyed early voting through Saturday in 20 states, and in 14 of the 15 that have voter registration by party, the GOP's early turnout percentage is running ahead of the party's share of statewide voter registration.

As a result, Republicans say they're turning the tables on the Democratic dominance of early voting that paved the way for Obama's victory in 2008 — and that independents' lean toward the GOP this year will do the rest.

Link

Pelosi facing first competitive race of her political career

Supporters of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (pictured) needn't be alarmed. She will probably win re-election to the consternation of true conservatives everywhere.

In this GOP year, Republicans are hoping to knock off a number of the Democrats' most senior lawmakers: Barney Frank, John Dingell, John Spratt and others.

Even with so many trends running in a Republican direction, defeating Pelosi in San Francisco is probably beyond reach.

Even so, Pelosi is in her very first competitive political race.

Link

Adjusting to the light

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera poses with some of the 33 miners rescued from the depths of the San Jose mine.

Report shocker: Unemployment plus underemployment over 17%!

From an article at the link below:

In a report sure to cause consternation at the White House and in the offices of the Democratic Leadership in Congress, “60 Minutes” provided an in-depth report on the realities of the unemployment situation in America today.

When you take into account the underemployed as well as the unemployed, the national rate hits 17% and California a staggering 22%!

According to the report, 1/3 of the unemployed have been out of work for over a year. This hasn’t happened since the Great Depression.

Airing one week before the mid-term elections, this report explains better than anything, exactly what is at stake for our country on November 2.

Link

Is there a dentist in the house?

An artwork by German artist Tobias Marx is displayed at the 4th Beijing International Art Biennale in the National Art Museum of China last month.

Bill Clinton spoke to Biden size crowd

Former President Bill Clinton was in Michigan campaigning for Virgil Bernero.

Bernero is running for governor of Michigan.

The rally led by Bill Clinton was at Renaissance High School in Detroit.

Joe Biden routinely spoke to tiny crowds at Middle School gymnasiums in 2008. Now Bill Clinton is doing it in 1010.

More than 500 people came to the rally, but the gym at Renaissance High School was only about one-third full.

Bernero was joined by all the other statewide candidates at the rally. Their message was clear -- don’t be discouraged by the polls that show them trailing Republicans.

Link

Obama to take his teleprompter to India

Barack Obama will bring a teleprompter to the Central Hall of Parliament for the first time during his India visit next month.

A teleprompter will be in use for the first time ever when Obama addresses Members of Parliament on November eight.

Link

Obama to rent all 570 rooms at Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai

Barack and Michelle will not be bashful about spending money when they go to Mumbai, India on November 6.

The Obama team has booked the entire Taj Mahal Hotel, including all 570 rooms as well as all banquets and restaurants!

The expense of renting the entire Taj Mahal Hotel is said to be a security measure. There will be 30 to 40 secret service agents in Mumbai.

Obama will ride in a convoy of 45 cars, including his Lincoln Continental.

Link

Denver Broncos embarrassed by Raiders

The rout in Denver final score:

Raiders 59 - Broncos 14

For an encore the girls wearing Bronco uniforms will play their next game in London at Wembley Stadium.

Will the Broncos stink up Wembley like they did Mile-Hi Stadium today?

Photo shows young second-year Bronco head coach Josh McDaniels during a happier moment.

Moon flyby

A Boeing 747 flies in front of the moon near Marseille, France.

Janet Napolitano unveils naked body scanners at JFK

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to New York City area travelers: We'll be seeing you!

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is shown above pointing out the virtues of the new naked body scanners at JFK airport. She did not volunteer for a scan.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano hailed the scanners as an important breakthrough for airport security and the fight against terrorism.

Yet when it came to testing the devices, which produce naked X-ray images of passengers, she turned the floor over to some brave volunteers.

Was her reluctance to volunteer because she didn't want her colleagues working the monitors to see a side of her she doesn't really feel comfortable sharing?

She wouldn't be the first government employee to be mocked for something shown on the revealing images.

Link here and here.