Floyd To the Right of Me...

Somedays I just find myself walking around and shaking my head. Today I'm scratching my head as well. Last night's Lunatic Fringe show was, to say the least, that I won't soon forget.

Now, Floyd Cochran and I have worked together for a number of years in various capacities and we don't always agree. Yet, we share a mutual respect for each other and for our individual opinions. Our relationship is a good example of how people can come together for a common cause and work together toward a common goal while vehemently disagreeing in other areas. If you haven't listened to this show - you will hear some of that disagreement. You will also hear Floyd's right-wing side. (sigh)

Floyd to the right of me...Nikki to the left...here we are, stuck in the middle with no one but YOU!

LISTEN HERE

BAD FOR GOP = GOOD FOR FOX

The fledgling GOP seems to be coming completely fragmented. What lies ahead is anyone's guess - but whether or not the Republicans can ever again regain power is looking more and more unlikely. Yet, there are those who benefit greatly from this great divide and FOX News is certainly capitalizing. This analysis appears on Gawker.com.

FULL REPORT HERE

Fox News posted an astonishing 50% jump in profit last quarter amid a disastrous advertising recession, and it's basically the only thing making money in Rupert Murdoch's empire. Why? Because the GOP has cratered.

Fox News' viewership is up 45% over the last year, and it's easy to see why: The ascendancy of a charismatic black Democrat has driven frightened, paranoid, enraged, nativist zealots into the ideological embrace of an outlet that habitually reconfirms everything they already believe. Watching Glenn Beck's spell-binding sermons on Barack Obama's racism is comforting to people who believe that their way of life—namely, one in which fatherly white Christians protect us from danger both internal and external—is under attack. So they do it more frequently. Tuning into Hannity et.al. becomes a life-affirming political act.

But while cable news is niche, politics is mass. The chart above shows GOP party approval in as reported by New York Times/CBS in national polls going back to 2006 and Fox News' total primetime audience, in millions, over the same time period. Fox News can and does thrive with a primetime audience of 2.5 million, many of which are the aforementioned zealots. The Republican Party needs more than that to function electorally. And the aforementioned angry zealotry that's in vogue on Fox News is distasteful to the independent voters that the GOP needs to court.

Unfortunately for Republicans and fortunately for Roger Ailes, a feedback loop has been created: As disaffected conservatives turn increasingly to Fox News, Fox News caters its programming to keep them coming back, turning, for instance, the Tea Parties into a daylong televised festival of rage. But given Fox's well-earned brand identification with the Republican Party, and vice versa, that programming serves to promote a view of Republicans as angry white people who hate Puerto Rican judges. Which turns off independent voters, which further isolates the diehard rejectionist wing of the party, which increases the importance of Fox News in their lives as a reassuring voice telling them to be strong in the face of the barbarian hordes—or, as Glenn Beck puts it, "We surround them."

The more viewers Fox attracts, the more voters the GOP repels. And the more voters the GOP repels, the more viewers Fox attracts. The most important part of the dynamic is that Fox News has no interest in doing anything other than attracting viewers. It will continue to ride this wave of anger and resentment irrespective of what impact it has on the Republican Party until it stops making them money. And yes, Barack Obama's popularity is dropping, and the bloom is beginning to come off the rose. But the GOP hasn't seen a concomitant rise in popularity: Just yesterday it hit the lowest approval rating it has seen in a quarter century, according to the New York Times.

Hal Still In The News

Jersey Journal File Photo

Hate blogger Harold "Hal'' Turner of North Bergen is planning to plead innocent next week when he goes before a Connecticut judge on charges he threatened state lawmakers, his lawyer said.


Turner is also facing unrelated federal charges accusing him of threatening to kill three Chicago-based federal judges.

He's due back in in Hartford Superior Court on Tuesday.

Turner was charged after urging his blog readers to "take up arms" against state Sen. Andrew McDonald and Rep. Michael Lawlor.

Turner was angry over legislation that would have given lay members of Roman Catholic churches more control over their parishes' finances. The bill was withdrawn in March.

There is a chance the hearing could be postponed. Turner is currently in jail without bond in Illinois, where he is accused of threatening to kill three federal judges.

I think the chances of a postponement are pretty darned good given his current situation. Something tells me that Hartford might have to wait a little while.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 30, 2009

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Orozco, Attorney at law
973-735-2683
ARREST OF RADIO HOST HAL TURNER
Chicago, IL –

On June 2, 2009, Hal Turner, sitting in his home in New Jersey, opined on his web site that the recent opinion of three judges in the Seventh Circuit was unconstitutional. That opinion was legally protected free speech pursuant to numerous rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Three weeks later, the FBI executed a search warrant on his home in North Bergen. Nothing illegal was found, yet Mr. Turner was arrested and charged with violating a federal statute which makes it a crime to threaten to assault or injury a judge in retaliation of the performance of their official duties. Mr. Turner never, under any circumstances, meant this communication to be seen as a true threat to these judges.

Since his incarceration Mr. Turner has been subjected to de-humanizing conditions at jail. This is not justice; this is the persecution and mistreatment of Mr. Turner through administrative means. He has been denied medical treatment; he has been denied access to a means to contact his family for weeks, as well as his attorneys; he has been declared a high level threat despite the fact that he has never committed an act of violence, and; had caps on his teeth removed as he was told they could be used as a weapon. Currently Mr. Turner’s blood pressure has reached an alarming number, yet he has received no medical attention. The pleas from his family to the jail have gone unanswered.

At the July 28th, 2009 bond hearing, Magistrate Judge Ashman gave Mr. Turner’s attorneys more time to produce evidence of his prior acts while working as an FBI informant and immediately after which resulted in numerous lives being saved and sophisticated military hardware from being placed into the black market.

First, Hal Turner did more than "opine" that the Judge's rulings were unconstitutional. He said that they should be killed and provided a map to their offices. Whether or not this is protected by the First Amendment is the issue. But, for an attorney to issue such a erroneous and misleading statement flies in the face of all of those following the case. Tell the damned truth and let's go from there.

Secondly - Hal Turner has access to a physician and is not being denied medical attention when necessary. The guards and employees there are, for the most part, highly professional and the last thing that they want is someone dying on their watch.

Yes...his phone calls are being curtailed - largely because of the stunt that he pulled earlier with putting out a recorded message; also because he is considered a high level threat which places him under special administrative measures. Hal cries a lot these days. He is prone to hysteria. That alone will cause his blood-pressure to increase.

Now that it has become public that he worked with the feds - does he or his wife want him sent into the general population? Perhaps they believe he would be better off "socializing?"