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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: bentway who wrote (162542)	5/19/2005 12:39:21 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 281500

Fox News in Ratings Free Fall _____________________________ Here's something you won't hear on Fox News -- ratings for the cable news channel have been plummeting since before the November election. According to TV Newser, the number of people watching Fox during prime time in the 25 to 54 age bracket dropped in April for the sixth straight month. TV Newser cited a CNN press release which gave these totals for Fox's primetime audience in the 25 to 54 age bracket: Oct. 04: 1,074,000; Nov. 04: 891,000; Dec. 04: 568,000; Jan. 05: 564,000; Feb. 05: 520,000; March 05: 498,000; April 05: 445,000. That amounts to a decline of 58 percent, with no sign of leveling off. Other cable stations' ratings were also down since the election, but CNN's, for example, appeared to have stabilized last month while Fox's continued to drop. What the press release didn't say is that we can add 629,000 people to those who don't watch Fox. That works out to just over 89,857 people for each of the seven News Hounds who are watching Fox so those people don't have to. Now that we've added another Hound, we should be able to take care of the remaining 445,000 in even less than six months. Fox's plunging ratings should be a warning to those cable stations trying to copy the news channel's conservative Republican slant. People are tired of it. Try something different, like a progressive television show, for a change. newshounds.us

To: bentway who wrote (162542)	5/19/2005 12:49:15 PM
From: Sun Tzu	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 281500

You know how I say in my profile, "Markets can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent"? The same goes for political trends. You may think the factors you cite are enough to end the current trend, but I don't think so. Unemployment is still below what it was in past decades, so it can go on for some time. GM will be bailed out by the government (if in fact it does file) and it will be advertised as an effort for national interest and preserving jobs. People will be "convinced" that their plight, no matter how bad, is their own fault or even better the fault of some enemy of the state and the government is doing the best it can. In fact, why don't you look at the "Red States". Many of those voters have fairly low standard of living. If your reasons were sufficient for a change of mind, then why did they vote for Bush? "Ignorance is strength", and it has nothing to do with lies outside the country. In fact most Americans could not care less what is going on in Iraq or Afghanistan so long as their own small personal sphere is not disturbed.

To: bentway who wrote (162542)	5/19/2005 1:29:24 PM
From: Sun Tzu	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

More on "ignorance is strength"... The statement does not just convey an attempt by the powers-that-be to keep the masses ignorant and build a nation of patsies. Rather it indicates there is strength in blind faith. The True Believers, be they in America or in Lebanon are a force to be reckoned with. Ignorance of the long term consequences of your actions (closely related to "the ends justify the means" mindset) brings the "fortitude" and "strength" (also known as fanatism) to scare the hell out of everyone else and achieve much, which in turn will reinforce the beliefs...except when the consequences catch and exact the price with interest, though sometimes people are not aware of the costs even after the fact (see Blowback for example). Ask yourself, why is it the pro-Bush camp did not re-evaluate the situation when it was proven that the "intelligence" report was an outdated and plagiarized student paper or that the Niger yellow cake saga was...shall we say, less than in order. You would think that people who are planning to engage in war at least want to make sure they are going to war for the right reasons and will get to collect the loot they are due.