TUESDAY, January 13, 2004

WHERE ARE PEOPLE GETTING THEIR NEWS?

Generally polls bother me.   Polls tell us what the majority wants.  I don't care what the majority wants.  This country is not now and never was supposed to be a democracy.  Bluntly stated .. the masses are asses.  Give me the rule of law over the rule of man any day.

There's a new Pew Research poll out there measuring opinions and attitudes during this election year.  Believe it or not, the polls shows that 29% of Democrats think the media is slanting campaign coverage toward Republicans.  A more enlightened 42% of Republicans think the slant goes the other way. 

Here, though, are some more interesting stats.  Who, for instance, is still watching Peter Jennings, Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw on ABC, CBS and NBC?  Well, 40% of Democrats are, but only 24% of Republicans are.  Where do Republicans get their campaign news?  From Fox News Channel and conservative talk radio. 

And how are the other media forms doing when it comes to providing campaign information to voters?  Newspapers are down by 9% from the 2000 election.  Broadcast news is down 10%.  Local television news is down by 6%, but still high for people who want to see videos of apartment fires.  Newsmagazines are also down, by 5%.  The only medium that is gaining ground is cable news, and that's up by 4%. 

This isn't all good, folks.  While I don't mind seeing Rather, Jennings and Brokaw slip in viewership, it isn't good that people aren't reading newspapers and magazines.  You just cannot get all of the information you need for an informed choice from cable news channels and talk radio.  Twenty percent of Americans under the age of 30 rely on comedy shows for their campaign news.  Comedy shows.  Yeah, John Stewart and Saturday Night Live are funny ... but having some politician take 43% of everything you earn to fund various vote-buying schemes isn't.  Neither is ignorance.  Only 15% of Americans under 30 can tell you which Democratic candidate was (a) an Army general, or (b) House Majority Leader.

This is a constant source of concern for me.  Politics matters.  These young people who are watching comedy shows to get their political news are going to figure out one day that confiscatory tax burdens, asinine government spending programs and the destruction of the concept of individuality aren't all that funny.

HE'S RICH, SO HE MUST BE VERY VERY BAD

I was watching O'Reilly last night as he interviewed some Florida attorney over Rush Limbaugh's situation.  Limbaugh, as you know, is being investigated for something called "doctor shopping."  The attorney mentioned that Rush is suspected of getting duplicate prescriptions from "several dollars near his $24 million dollar Palm Beach mansion."

Now .. why couldn't this attorney just say that Rush may have been shopping for duplicate prescriptions near his Palm Beach home?  Good question, and I'm here to answer it for you.  The attorney used the "$24 million dollar Palm Beach mansion" line because he was attempting to denigrate Rush Limbaugh.  The premise here is to be wealthy is to be evil.  It's part of the catechism of the left.  People with money are automatically suspect.  People with none are candidates for Sainthood.  It's just another element of the continuing class warfare promoted by the left in America.

THE FLAGGOTS ARE AT IT AGAIN?

Flaggots?  That's my name for the extremely small number of throwbacks in Georgia who want to see the Confederate battle emblem returned to the Georgia State Flag.  Last year there were about 16 or so dedicated flaggots.   An increase in beer prices has dropped that number to around seven or so this year. 

Now that the Georgia General Assembly is in session it is time for the flaggots to round up some myrmidons and stage a few protests around the Georgia state capitol.  The flaggots have also come up with something else ... a deck of cards.  You can now get your flaggot cards which depict 52 enemies of the Confederate Flag.

Foul!   The "deck of cards" bit was a part of our noble effort to liberate the country of Iraq from a ruthless, murderous dictator.  Now the flaggots have hijacked this concept to be used to promote their mindless campaign for a return to yester-year.

Maybe by next year these knuckle-draggers will be extinct.

COME ON .. .HAS ANYONE EVER ACTUALLY MADE ANY MONEY THIS WAY?

Every morning while I'm preparing the for show I'm watching Carol Costello on CNN.  Sorry .. but I just can't stand that happy-happy-BS-coffee klatch atmosphere on Fox.  Since I'm watching CNN in the morning I have to endure endless repeats for that AmericaPOS commercial.  In case you haven't seen it, this is a commercial for point-of-sale (POS) credit card terminals.

You've seen the commercial, I'm sure.  Mr. Rich is sitting by his pool in a robe.  He looks at his watch and suddenly realizes it is time to go to the mailbox to get his check.  On the way back to the pool he stops for a minute to wipe a spot off the hood of his Mercedes.  The commercial makes you believe that all you have to do is go cruising around your area, putting these credit card machines into retail outlets, and then lay around your pool collecting your money.

Question:  Do any of you know anyone who has responded to this irritating ad and who actually is making any money?  Come on!  Ask yourself ... if it's all that easy why aren't these people just putting those machines out there themselves?  Why are they running expensive ads trying to convince you that you can become rich tanning your buns by the pool all day? 

Many have said that if you took all of the wealth in America and distributed it equally to every American over the age of 18, within six months most of that money would be right back into the hands of the people who had it in the first place.  People who would fall for this AmericaPOS nonsense are a good example why that adage is true.

READING ASSIGNMENTS

The Wall Street Journal asks whether black voters will back an angry white guy for president.  It's a good article, but the answer is yes.  90% of black voters will vote for the Democrat.  Period.  No question.  Depend on it.

Poor Paul O'Neill.  Here comes his blockbuster allegations .. and nobody outside of the true blue Bush haters don't really seem to care.  Here's another look at O'Neill from Bruce Bartley.

Here's the New York Times wondering where Howard Dean's wife is.  I'm calling a foul on this one.  He's the one running for president, not his wife.  Leave her alone.  If she wants to participate in this campaign, she will.  If she doesn't, that's her choice.

Singing the praises of David Horowitz, the one man who has taken up the challenge to do something about the fact that U.S. colleges and universities are the fountainhead of financing for the radical movement in America.

Here's an e-bay link you might enjoy.  Better hurry.  This one isn't going to last.  Too late. It's gone. But we did rescue the picture. Here's more about this phenomenon. (nsfw if the boss has good eyes)

Some 15-year-old know-it-all is on the verge of getting Ringling Brothers banned from Denver. 

Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Colin Campbell says that every member of the Georgia General Assembly with an IQ above 85 should be required to wear a crash helmet.  That should take about ... oh, say 15 helmets?

GET EMAIL FROM NEAL!

We're all set and ready to start signing people up for the Boortz Blast, Neal's FREE email newsletter launching soon. Each issue will include exclusive content so if you can't get enough of Neal, you've gotta sign up! Also, we will never, ever, ever sell our lists.