Scandal-scarred CNN has seen its viewership nosedive by a staggering 90 percent both overall and in the critical demographic coveted by advertisers in the first week of the new year as compared to last year.
The once-proud leader in cable news averaged just 548,000 viewers during the week of January 3, a precipitous drop from the nearly 2.7 million viewers for the same week in 2021, according to the most recent ratings.
Those numbers were supercharged by the the left-leaning network's coverage of the January 6 Capitol Riot, which resulted in CNN having its most-watched day since Ted Turner launched the news outlet in 1980.
However, on the one-year anniversary of the insurrection, viewers chose right-wing rival Fox as it topped ratings for coverage of the event.
CNN also saw an 86 percent decline in the much-desirable 25-to-54 demographic, with a paltry 113,000 tuned in last week, compared to the 822,000 CNN averaged a year ago.
MSNBC will suffer the same decline if they keep the same prime time hosts.
Jim
________________________
"If you can't be a good example, then you'll have to be a horrible warning" -Catherine Aird
January 13, 2022, 01:22 PM
wcb6092
Stewart Rhodes Arrested While On Phone With Lawyer Who Subpoenaed Him
National File can exclusively confirm that Oath Keepers founder and leader Stewart Rhodes was arrested within the last hour at his home in Texas. The arrested happened this morning while Rhodes was speaking to January 6 defense attorney Jon Moseley, who had just secured Rhodes as a witness in an upcoming trial against fellow Oath Keeper Kelly Meggs. According to Moseley, he had recently secured Rhodes as a witness in the upcoming January 6 trial of Oath Keeper Kelly Meggs.
Moseley had also subpoenaed Ray Epps and John Sullivan for this trial.
“He completely confirmed the innocence of my client and all the Oath Keepers” said Moseley, “He wanted to come testify at the trial on April 19.”
Then, the police called.
As the two discussed specifics, and Rhodes revealed that he was granted an extension while he considered whether to speak before the January 6 select committee, he received a call from police.
Officers were gathered outside, and he was asked to come out with his hands raised, Moseley relayed to National File.
Rhodes then merged the phone calls, connecting Virginia-based Moseley with the Texas police. Moseley said he acted as an impartial voice, encouraging Rhodes to “get dressed” and surrender while also urging the police to show restraint with other people in the home.
“Typically when a January 6 defendant is arrested, they put everyone in the house in handcuffs,” Moseley told National File. “Apparently there was a person sick with COVID in the home.”
It is not clear what Rhodes was arrested for, or if it was related to January 6.
While the indictment will reportedly be unsealed later today, the Washington Post and New York Times have reported that he is charged with “seditious conspiracy.”
According to Moseley, Rhodes was renting space at the residence where he was arrested, and has been unable to raise money as allegations swirl that he worked with the federal government on January 6, 2021.
Moseley suggested the timing was significant.
“This is too fast for them to put this together and then arrest him, unless they’ve had an indictment sitting under seal,” said Moseley.
“Even then, it’s too fast.”
Moseley’s remark about timing is particularly noteworthy considering the recent buzz created by the revelation that he had subpoenaed Epps, Sullivan, and Rhodes.
After the news broke, Ted Cruz appeared on Tucker Carlson Tonight and raised questions about whether Epps works for the federal government.
Shortly after that interview, a member of the January 6 select committee claimed that it had interviewed Epps privately. Per the committee, the mysterious Arizonan said that he was not working for the federal government or any of its agencies. This satisfied fact checkers.
Now, over a year since the events of January 6, 2021, Rhodes has been arrested.
It is not clear if he has secured legal representation in Texas at this time.
_________________________ "Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it." Mark Twain
January 13, 2022, 03:12 PM
flashguy
I'm wondering about Fox News. My cable company doesn't seem to be providing it any more--the schedule appears in the Guide but going to the channel is just a black screen with no audio. It's been that way for about 2 weeks. Prior to that the channel had a lot of pixelation and halts.
flashguy
Texan by choice, not accident of birth
January 13, 2022, 10:45 PM
erj_pilot
^^^^^^ If you have a set-top cable box, reset it by unplugging it for a good half hour, then plug it back in. Before I cut the cable cord, I had to do that to my cable box 2-3 times a month.
"If you’re a leader, you lead the way. Not just on the easy ones; you take the tough ones too…” – MAJ Richard D. Winters (1918-2011), E Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil... Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel." - Isaiah 5:20,24
January 14, 2022, 12:45 AM
flashguy
quote:
Originally posted by erj_pilot: ^^^^^^ If you have a set-top cable box, reset it by unplugging it for a good half hour, then plug it back in. Before I cut the cable cord, I had to do that to my cable box 2-3 times a month.
The box just now began a "Boot" cycle all on its own. We'll see if that makes a difference. (I have my doubts because all other channels are OK.)
flashguy
Texan by choice, not accident of birth
January 14, 2022, 07:21 AM
wcb6092
EXCLUSIVE: Ray Epps’s Attorney Responds to Claims His Client Is an FBI Informant
The attorney for Capitol Hill protest participant Ray Epps, former FBI agent John Blischak, told The Epoch Times on Jan. 12 that his client has been interviewed by federal law enforcers and “unequivocally, he is not an FBI informant.”
Speculation about Epps has gradually built for months, coming to a head when top federal law enforcement officials refused to answer questions about his alleged connections to law enforcement during a Jan. 11 Senate hearing on domestic terrorism. The Democratic-led House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol released a statement following the hearing, claiming to have interviewed Epps and that he’s not a “fed”—but this prompted further questions and criticism.
While The Epoch Times was initially unable to reach Epps for comment, he responded to a text message later on the night of Jan. 11.
“Please refer any questions to our attorney John Blischak,” Epps wrote. “He will be happy to answer your questions, as I’ve been advised not to talk to anyone at this time.”
When reached by phone the next morning, Blischak vigorously denied that Epps is a federal informant.
“He was interviewed by the FBI in Arizona,” he said. “I was present during that interview, and unequivocally, he is not an FBI informant.”
Asked whether Epps is an asset for any government agency—law enforcement, intelligence, or otherwise—Blischak said, “Not to my knowledge.”
Then why didn’t Department of Justice officials deny any connections to Epps?
“Knowing the FBI as I do, they’re not going to comment one way or another,” Blischak said.
Blischak also denied any deals or agreements between Epps and the FBI. He said he’s representing Epps “in the event that he becomes a potential defendant in any action brought as to what happened on Jan. 6, 2021.”
“We’ve been working with the House Committee,” Blischak. “That’s what we’ve been doing.”
The Epoch Times asked whether Epps was under oath during his interview with the Jan. 6 Committee or with the FBI. Blischak didn’t directly answer the question, instead explaining that when FBI agents interview individuals, they typically aren’t under oath.
When asked for a copy of the transcript between Epps and the committee, Blischak said copies will be provided to attorneys of Jan. 6 defendants.
“I can, but I don’t have it. I probably can down the road, but I haven’t made any effort,” he said when The Epoch Times requested a copy. “I first want to get with my client.”
When asked to characterize Epps’s actions on Jan. 5 and 6, Blischak said, “Merely present.”
Video footage shows Epps urging protestors to enter the Capitol on multiple occasions, as well as talking to someone at the initial breach site right before that person began rushing the barricades—raising questions among some about whether Epps told the person to attack.
As to why his client hasn’t been charged, Blischak said, “Because he’s not guilty! He has a good attorney.”
Blischak is a former FBI agent who worked in Cleveland and then Arizona from 1974–85.
His bio says: “In 1975, John W. Blischak embarked on a rewarding nine-year career as an FBI agent with the U.S. Department of Justice, commencing in Cleveland and thereafter transferring to Phoenix. Wanting to seek independence and a challenge, Mr. Blischak, voluntarily left the FBI and commenced a three-year stint as a prosecutor in the Maricopa County [Arizona] Attorney’s Office.”
Since then, Blischak has been handling a variety of criminal matters, from DUI cases to white-collar crime, according to his site.
Blischak downplayed the significance of his past with the FBI.
“There’s no correlation. It’s public record. I can’t lie that I was an FBI agent from ’75-’84, but I do not know that when he retained me, that he knew that,” he said. “In other words, he didn’t retain me because I’m a former FBI agent.”
Richard Booth, an independent researcher of the Oklahoma City bombing, told The Epoch Times that it’s common for FBI agents to transition into private practice for financial reasons. He cited former FBI Deputy Director Weldon Kennedy, who wrote in his memoirs about how many agents struggled to make ends meet when transferred to expensive places such as New York City.
“Many in FBI are lawyers and they’re notoriously underpaid, so not surprised to see one practicing law,” Booth said. “On the other hand, it sure looks suspicious.”
Meanwhile, Blischak said he hasn’t issued a demand for a retraction or had any other communications with Revolver News, the site that published the original deep dives into Epps.
“We’ve had discussions. … I personally haven’t been involved in that aspect,” he said.
“They [Revolver] are throwing him against the wall. I know that, and right now I have a meeting [with Epps today]. He’s going to be in my office in about four hours, and I’ll know our future plans after that meeting.”
_________________________ "Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it." Mark Twain
January 14, 2022, 08:35 AM
triggertreat
quote:
Originally posted by wcb6092: EXCLUSIVE: Ray Epps’s Attorney Responds to Claims His Client Is an FBI Informant
If Some is Good, and More is Better.....then Too Much, is Just Enough !! Trump 2024....Save America! "May Almighty God bless the United States of America" - parabellum 7/26/20 Live Free or Die!
The Wyoming Republican Party voted on Saturday to no longer recognize Democrat-allied Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) as a Republican.
“The 31-29 vote Saturday in Buffalo, Wyoming, by the state party central committee followed votes by local GOP officials in about one-third of Wyoming’s 23 counties to no longer recognize Cheney as a Republican,”
January 17, 2022, 11:22 AM
MikeinNC
SDY, what does that mean to her? How will it affect her?
"Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor.” Robert A. Heinlein
“You may beat me, but you will never win.” sigmonkey-2020
“A single round of buckshot to the torso almost always results in an immediate change of behavior.” Chris Baker
January 17, 2022, 05:11 PM
sdy
Mike,
I don't know the answer. In the extreme, they would not let her run in the REP primary for 2022. But I doubt that will actually happen.
The Wyoming primary is on 16 Aug 2022
January 17, 2022, 09:37 PM
Cliff
Joey D 1/17/22
Description
In the third hour of the morning show, Larry O'Connor and Julie Gunlock talked to legal analyst Joe diGenova about the FBI's handling of the Texas hostage situation, the upcoming Senate fight over the filibuster and Virginia school districts fighting Governor Youngkin's executive orders. They also talked to VDOT's Ellen Kamilakas about the snowy road conditions in Virginia and Montgomery County mom Dr. Jennifer Reesman about the county pushing to make schools hybrid.
"All great things are simple, and many can be expressed in single words: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope."
--Sir Winston Churchill
"The world is filled with violence. Because criminals carry guns, we decent law-abiding citizens should also have guns. Otherwise they will win and the decent people will lose."
--James Earl Jones
January 17, 2022, 11:35 PM
preten2b
quote:
Originally posted by MikeinNC: SDY, what does that mean to her? How will it affect her?
I would hope it means she does not get state GOP funds for her campaign. What the RNC might do is another matter, but I would have hoped they would have already planned to exclude her. National Republican Senatorial Committee chair is Rick Scott - FLA.
------------------ The plural of anecdote is not data. -Frank Kotsonis
A judge in the key battleground state of Wisconsin ruled Thursday that ballot drop boxes and ballot harvesting violate state law and cannot be used in the upcoming midterm elections.
Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Michael Bohren determined “there is no statutory authority” to allow for either practice, which became highly controversial in Wisconsin following the state’s razor-thin outcome in the 2020 presidential election. President Joe Biden defeated former President Donald Trump in the state by approximately 20,000 votes.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission, which is under fire for allegedly bending and even openly violating state law to give Biden an edge, authorized the dramatic increase in the use of ballot drop boxes, but Judge Bohren held that the agency lacked lawful authority to do so.
January 18, 2022, 11:11 AM
SIG228
^^^
Maddening that no one will be held accountable and the only consequences for their actions is some finger wagging and telling them they better not do it again.
January 19, 2022, 04:24 PM
c1steve
Can they use the sheriff's office to monitor for extra ballot drop boxes or ballot harvesting?
-c1steve
January 19, 2022, 11:03 PM
dsiets
I'm not seeing this posted but worth watching. James Lankford (R-OK)Steps up to the plate and Points to the fence.
January 23, 2022, 07:07 PM
ersatzknarf
January 24, 2022, 11:36 AM
stickman428
Do you guys think the social media bans could unintentionally end up helping Trump?
A few media outlets (not right leaning outlets) are beginning to wonder if such a scenario is possible because of his rising approval rating.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The price of liberty and even of common humanity is eternal vigilance
