According to the Huffington Post, The Joy Behar show is “on a roll.” In the Land of Huffpo, a roll is apparently defined as finishing fourth in its 9 pm time slot with an average of just 417,000 viewers per night.
Joy Behar brings her viewers intelligent conversation and cleavage. OK, cleavage.
According to the Huffington Post, The Joy Behar show is “on a roll.” In the Land of Huffpo, a roll is apparently defined as finishing fourth in its 9 pm time slot with an average of just 417,000 viewers per night.
Not to burst Behar’s bubble or diminish the importance of finishing in the all important number four spot, but TVbyTheNumbers.com recently took “the first 50 days of ratings for Headline News’ The Behar Show and compared them to the final 50 days of the show she replaced, Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell. So far, Joy’s done no better in the ratings.”
Is it just us or was “Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell” a show you found by accident when there were no good infomercials on?
Behar topped her average ratings only three times during the 50 day period. Her featured guests on those nights were Martin Short, Levi Johnson and Roseanne Barr – a gay icon and two celebrities everyone thought were dead.
Jeffrey Immelt, General Electric’s (GE) CEO attacked other business leaders in a speech at West Point. Immelt neglected to mention, however, that he took home $14,100,000 in compensation last year.
Jeff Immelt hates greedy, overpaid executives. Unless their name is Jeff Immelt.
Jeffrey Immelt, General Electric’s (GE) CEO attacked other business leaders in a speech at West Point, saying that his generation “had succumbed to ‘meanness and greed’ that had harmed the US economy and increased the gap between the rich and the poor.”
Immelt neglected to mention, however, that he took home $14,100,000 in compensation last year. Guess he was talking about all those other greedy execs.
“We are at the end of a difficult generation of business leadership … tough-mindedness, a good trait, was replaced by meanness and greed, both terrible traits,” Immelt said, “Rewards became perverted. The richest people made the most mistakes with the least accountability.”
Immelt’s didn’t stop there. According to the Financial Times, he also linked bad leadership to growing inequality.
“The bottom 25 per cent of the American population is poorer than they were 25 years ago. That is just wrong,” he said. “Ethically, leaders do share a common responsibility to narrow the gap between the weak and the strong.”
Two problems with Immelt’s attack. First, he’s one of the highest paid U.S. executives. And second, although GE took $80 billion in TARP funds, Immelt somehow used his connections to the Obama administration to get GE exempted from executive pay cuts that hit similar firms.
Here’s how Business Week spells out Immelt’s 2008 income:
TOTAL COMPENSATION in 2008
Total Annual Cash Compensation $3,300,000
Total Short Term Compensation $3,300,000
Other Long Term Compensation $7,233,137
Total Calculated Compensation $14,096,603
Contributing to Immelt’s pot calling the kettle black syndrome, the non-greedy CEO somehow got GE and himself exempted from pay restricitions imposed on other companies by Obama’s pay czar.
Just a quick note that we have added a new link to the horizontal navigation menu above, called Discussion. There are so many great discussions going on but with the number of articles we put out a day, they can get “lost.” This new page will help you see what’s hot. And to keep in the conversations, be sure to “Subscribe to Comments” the the articles in which you post to get instant email reminders of new comments.
Hardball host Chris Matthews educates Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter on how to be even more leftist, assuming such a thing is possible.
Hardball host Chris Matthews educates Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter on how to be even more leftist, assuming such a thing is possible.
Sounding like a wannabe Mussolini, Matthews bemoans the fact that the trains don’t run on time and that we spend all our money on defense rather than upgrading our rail system.
“You know, I don’t understand why this country is so far behind other countries,” Matthews complained. “If you go, if you’re lucky enough to get to Europe, you know my kids talk about getting through the Chunnel, under the English Channel, in a couple of minutes. These kids studying overseas in their third year. The Europeans seem to have fast trains that go 300 miles and hour and we’re chugging along with Amtrak and Acela and we’re still flying around short distances. First you, Mr. Mayor. You’re on the Amtrak route. Why can’t this federal government use the power of the, the workforce we have out there, put ‘em all to work and build a train system in this country or fast rail so we can – and this sounds so pathetic – catch up to Europe and Japan! Why don’t we do that? Catch up to the other major countries?”
“I hate to sound like a lefty” Matthews said “But the fact is we’re spending all this money on our defense programs – McDonnell-Douglas, Boeing…Why can’t we do what other major powers do? Build a modern society. Instead of fighting all the wars supposedly for everybody else?”
At this point Granholm, apparently mesmerized by the brilliance of Matthews discourse and perhaps experiencing her own leg tingle, exclaimed to Matthews “You should run for office!”
Chris Matthews doesn’t want to sound like a lefty? Sorry, Chris, but that train already left the station.
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday shows that 23% of the nation’s voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-two percent (42%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -19.
We’d say that this is like watching a slow motion train wreck, but the motion isn’t all that slow anymore.
Rasmussen tells the tale of Barack Obama’s accelerating decline in popularity:
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday shows that 23% of the nation’s voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-two percent (42%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -19.
Today is the second straight day that Obama’s Approval Index rating has fallen to a new low. Prior to the past two days, the Approval Index had never fallen below -15 during Obama’s time in office.
The 23% who Strongly Approve matches the lowest level of enthusiasm yet recorded. Just 41% of Democrats Strongly Approve while 69% of Republicans Strongly Disapprove. Among voters not affiliated with either major party, 21% Strongly Approve and 49% Strongly Disapprove.
Don’t look now,but the guy who told us he was The One is now The Minus Nineteen.
We’re always told that neutral Switzerland is the world’s most peaceful nation. But opponents of the second amendment don’t want you to know the reason it’s so peaceful is that its citizens are armed to the teeth.
We’re always told that neutral Switzerland is the world’s most peaceful nation. But opponents of the second amendment don’t want you to know the reason it’s so peaceful is that its citizens are armed to the teeth.
The country is crawling with assault rifles. More than 600,000 of them.
All Swiss men aged 21 to 32 men serve in Switzerland’s militia. They’re each issued an M-57 assault rifle and 24 rounds of ammunition which they’re required to keep in their homes.
After fulfilling mandatory military service, Swiss men then serve in something very similar to the U.S. National Guard. They’re issued bolt rifles and are still required to train occasionally. Women aren’t required to own guns, but they’re strongly encouraged to do so.
And you thought Swiss army knives were impressive.
It’s a conundrum. Who do you root for when a ragged band of Somali pirates hijacks an Iranian fishing boat?
Is that a Somali pirate behind those Foster-Grants?
It’s a conundrum. Who do you root for when a ragged band of Somali pirates hijacks an Iranian fishing boat?
Iranian Deputy Managing Director for Maritime Affairs Saeed Izadian said an Axis of Evil fishing boat has been captured in international waters by Somali pirates on Sunday.
“A number of armed men off the coast of Somalia hijacked this Iranian vessel,” Izadian sputtered.
He pegged the number of crewmen held hostage at 29, saying that pirates have not yet demanded a ransom.
Iranian fishermen versus Somali pirates. Vegas oddsmakers say take the fishermen and the points.
The Speaker of the House has danced around the issues since the day she was first elected. So it’s only natural that she should become the inspiration for the hottest dance craze to hit Washington, DC since Lyndon Johnson did the Vietnamese Dance of Death.
The Speaker of the House has danced around the issues since the day she was first elected. So it’s only natural that she should become the inspiration for the hottest dance craze to hit Washington, DC since Lyndon Johnson did the Vietnamese Dance of Death.
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Saturday shows that 25% of the nation’s voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-one percent (41%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -16. That’s the lowest Approval Index rating yet recorded for this President.
Damn you, Rasmussen. Why must you be so accurate? Why must you tell those inconvenient truths? Why must you torment our beloved President day after day with new lows?
Here’s how the accursed pollster reports today’s worsening news for President Obama:
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Saturday shows that 25% of the nation’s voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-one percent (41%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -16. That’s the lowest Approval Index rating yet recorded for this President.
The 25% who Strongly Approve matches the lowest level of enthusiasm yet recorded. That’s partly the result of declining enthusiasm among Democrats. While Democrats continue to offer their approval, just 43% Strongly Approve.
Quick, Mr. President. Time to give another one of those rousing speeches.
Ahhh, yes. Let’s harken back to when Barack Obama was a boy in Indonesia. Surely, he still remembers those carefree days of reading Karl Marx’ Communist Manifesto while sitting under a coconut tree.
One of the designs being considered for Indonesia's "Obama-as-a-boy" statue
Ahhh, yes. Let’s harken back to when Barack Obama was a boy in Indonesia. Surely, he still remembers those carefree days of reading Karl Marx’ Communist Manifesto while sitting under a coconut tree.
ABC’s Jake Tapper gives the tale a decidedly liberal twist on his blog:
A six-and-a-half foot statue of President Obama as a 10-year-old boy has been commissioned in Jakarta, Xinhua reports.
The president spent some of his formative years there as a boy, where he was educated at a school that was decidedly not a madrassa, despite some false reports pushed by conservative news outlets two years ago.
A group called “Friends of Obama” made the announcement today, saying the statue will be inaugurated on December 10 in a playground in the Jakarta suburb Menteng Dalam, where Obama lived from 1967 until 1971 with his mother and stepfather.
“The statue is designed to inspire Indonesian children that they can be anyone they want to be,” said Friends of Obama chairman Ron Muller.
And, of course, Obama Safe School Czar Kevin Jennings was inspired when saw the words “erect” and “boy” in the same sentence.
Ahh, those wacky guys at Minnesotans For Global Warming have done it again. They’ve just released a new Christmas Album called “It’s A Climate Gate Christmas”.
Ahh, those wacky guys at Minnesotans For Global Warming have done it again. They’ve just released a new Christmas Album called “It’s A ClimateGate Christmas”.
Damn it. Just as ClimateGate was getting into high gear, along comes a new global warming scandal – NASAgate.
Damn it. Just as ClimateGate was getting into high gear, along comes a new global warming scandal – NASAgate.
Texas Republican Congressman Ted Poe goes off on NASA because they’re following in the footsteps of the CRU and refusing to release their global warming data as requested under a Freedom of Information Act request.
Let’s give Poe credit: This is the first time we’ve heard the term “NASAgate.” But we suspect it won’t be the last.
Neil Cavuto talks to master handyman Glenn Haege about a remarkably stupid new government giveaway called “Cash-for-Caulkers.” Haege explains why a national “weatherization” program will pound more money down a rathole without creating any jobs.
Neil Cavuto talks to master handyman Glenn Haege about a remarkably stupid new government giveaway called “Cash-for-Caulkers.”
Haege explains why a national “weatherization” program will pound more money down a rathole without creating any jobs.
But, then, why should this program be any different?
(Note: We tried and tried and tried to come up with a way to use a “caulk seeker” pun, but failed. Trust us, it wasn’t a sudden a sudden outbreak of maturity that prevented it.)
CEOs and Hollywood stars got their comeuppance last weekend at the annual Kennedy Center Honors. Much to their chagrin, they discovered that George Bush was much warmer and more hospitable than Barack Obama.
Words you never thought you'd hear: "So, George, can you give me some advice on winning over that Hollywood crowd?"
Comeuppance. Yeah, that’s the word we’ve been trying to think of.
CEOs and Hollywood stars got their comeuppance last weekend at the annual Kennedy Center Honors. Much to their chagrin, they discovered that George Bush was much warmer and more hospitable than Barack Obama.
Here’s how Variety, show so-called show biz bible, explains the comeuppance:
The show itself honoring Bruce Springsteen, Robert De Niro and Mel Brooks, among others, was a resounding hit, but the White House seemed to be still traumatized by the incursions of the social-climbing, state dinner-crashing Salahis.
While President Bush in past years shook every celebrity hand and posed for photos with visitors at the White House reception, the Obamas remained aloof, fleeing to their box at the Kennedy Center.
Stunned by recent security breaches, the White House kept guests shivering outside in 30-degree weather, opening the reception 10 minutes late and shuttling guests through 25 minutes of repeated screenings and pat-downs, all of which took place outside.
Several stars grumbled; one suggested to a social secretary that the Obama staff study the Academy Awards for lessons in celebrity management.
The story reaches a sad Hollywood dénouement:
White House staffers maintained a stony distance during this weekend’s events. Rahm Emanuel, the chief of staff, sat with his wife for 20 minutes before Obama’s brief presentation Sunday, and hardly anyone approached him with a greeting, nor did he circulate.
“I never thought I’d miss the Bushes,” said one prominent Hollywood actor, “but this place seemed a lot warmer when they were here.”
It was probably just global warming, but don’t you worry, Hollywood. Barack Obama is over there in Hopenchangen fixing that little problem, too.
And that brings us to Al Gore’s brilliant new poem, Our Choice, which bears a striking resemblence to “A Horse.” Same themes, same images, same style. Which, of course, is completely understandable since Al Gore bears a striking resemblance to the rear end of a horse.
Of course, we realize that “worst song ever written” is subjective. But almost every “worst song” list ever compiled contains America’s “A Horse With No Name” because of its insipid, meaningless lyrics.
And that brings us to Al Gore’s brilliant new poem, Our Choice, which bears a striking resemblence to “A Horse.” Same themes, same images, same style. Which, of course, is completely understandable since Al Gore bears a striking resemblance to the rear end of a horse.
Nevertheless, Gore’s acolytes at Vanity Fair raved about the poem:
“The result is a surprisingly accomplished, nuanced piece of writing. The images Gore conjures in his (untitled) poem turn a neat trick: they are visually specific and emotionally arresting even as they are scientifically accurate.”
Decide for yourself. Listen to “A Horse With No Name” while you read the poem. Six of one, half dozen of another.
“Our Choice”
One thin September soon
A floating continent disappears
In midnight sun
Vapors rise as
Fever settles on an acid sea
Neptune’s bones dissolve
Snow glides from the mountain
Ice fathers floods for a season
A hard rain comes quickly
Then dirt is parched
Kindling is placed in the forest
For the lightning’s celebration
Unknown creatures
Take their leave, unmourned
Horsemen ready their stirrups
Passion seeks heroes and friends
The bell of the city
On the hill is rung
The shepherd cries
The hour of choosing has arrived
Here are your tools
A guy walks into an adult store and says he’d like to buy an inflatable doll. “I need to ask you a few questions first,” the guy behind the counter says. “Male or female?”
Super sexy inflatable Fatima now just $39.95 plus tax
A guy walks into an adult store and says he’d like to buy an inflatable doll.
“I need to ask you a few questions first,” the guy behind the counter says. “Male or female?”
“Female,” the customer says.
“Black or white?” the clerk asks.
“White,” says the customer.
“Christian or Muslim?”
The annoyed customer says, “What the hell does religion have to do with it?”
“Very simple,” the clerk says. “The Muslim one blows itself up.”
Last night Barbara Walters crowned The Most Beautiful First Lady in History as The Most Fascinating Person of 2009. What’s fascinating to us that Walters does not know that Michelle Obama is a democrat.
Last night Barbara Walters crowned The Most Beautiful First Lady in History as The Most Fascinating Person of 2009. What’s fascinating to us that Walters does not know that Michelle Obama is a democrat.
Earlier in the evening she did an interview with Bill O’Reilly and she made a point (watch minute 5:45 in the video above) to O’Reilly that there are no democrats on this list.
But maybe she’s right. To be fair, she didn’t say there were no socialists on the list.
Global warming skeptics have said that meeting the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s harsh emission goals would require a return to life the Stone Age.
Global warming skeptics have said that meeting the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s harsh emission goals would require a return to life in the Stone Age.
This seemed preposterous until we saw a photo of Rajendra Pachauri, Director General of the Energy and Resources Institute and Chairman of the IPCC. Suddenly, it all makes sense.
Pachauri and the Geico caveman. Separated at birth?
Oh, how our hearts go out to Rachel Maddow for her recent loss. Loss of audience, that is.
Would Rachel Maddow's last MSNBC viewer please turn the lights out?
Oh, how our hearts go out to Rachel Maddow for her recent loss. Loss of audience, that is.
The premiere of her program was marked by grand hoopla, which was a bit of a mystery to us. We couldn’t figure out how a failed lesbian radio host (clarification: she is a failed radio host, but we have no reason to assume she is not a successful lesbian) could achieve success by teaming up with a failed cable TV network.
Despite our misgivings, it all seemed to work for a while. MSNBC rode the anti-Bush bandwagon and Maddow rode the pro-bush bandwagon to a modicum of success in 2008.
But those days are long gone. Maddow’s viewers have abandoned her like she’s a girl baby in China.
In the early days, her program regularly and handily topped one million total viewers per night. But recent ratings tell a much different story.
Take, for example, her ratings for the week of November 30-December 4. It happens to be Maddow’s lowest rated week ever:
Date
Total Audience
Fri, Dec 4
643,000
Thur, Dec 3
789,000
Wed, Dec 2
952,000
Tue, Dec 1
924,000
Mon, Nov 30
816,000
Total Viewers
3,924,000
Five days under 1,000,000 total viewers. Three days under 900,000 viewers. Two days under 800,000 viewers. One day under 700,000 viewers.
And the total viewers for the week added up to just 3,924,000 which is Maddow’s fewest total weekly viewers since MSBNC premiered her nightly smarmfest.
Keep up the good work, Rachel. See you back on Air America with a live show real soon.
Ahhh, those wily Democrats. They tried to say that ten years of ObamaCare would cost under a trillion dollars. But then it came out that their numbers were based on ten years of goes-inna and only six years of goes-outta.
Ahhh, those wily Democrats. They tried to say that ten years of ObamaCare would cost under a trillion dollars. But then it came out that their numbers were based on ten years of goes-inna and only six years of goes-outta.
Maybe Montana Democrat Senator Max Baucus was overcome with guilt or maybe he was secretly injected with truth serum – there’s no real way of knowing – but he unexpectedly spilled the beans about ObamaCare.
“Healthcare reform, whether you use a ten-year number or when you start in 2010 or start in 2014, wherever you start at, so it is still either $1 trillion or it’s $2.5 trillion, depending on where you start…”
Expect an angry phone call from the White House today, Senator Baucus.
A British pharmacy has developed a calculator based on the concept of Six Degrees of Separation. Except that this calculator is called Sex Degrees of Separation. It uses highly complex algorithms to determine how many people you’ve slept with directly and indirectly.
No points for lusting in your heart, Mr. President
A British pharmacy has developed a calculator based on the concept of Six Degrees of Separation. Except that this calculator is called Sex Degrees of Separation.
It uses highly complex algorithms to determine how many people you’ve slept with directly and indirectly.
According to Lloyds Pharmacy, the British company that developed the calculator, the average person has slept with about 2,800,000 people directly and indirectly.
We recommend that you take the test fast. Tiger Woods could go online at any minute and overload the damn thing’s circuits.
