Donald Trump does best among people who have less access to reliable news outlets. Go figure.

Courtesy of Politico: 

President Donald Trump’s attacks on the mainstream media may be rooted in statistical reality: An extensive review of subscription data and election results shows that Trump outperformed the previous Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, in counties with the lowest numbers of news subscribers, but didn't do nearly as well in areas with heavier circulation. 

POLITICO’s findings — which put Trump’s escalating attacks on the media in a new context — were drawn from a comparison of election results and subscription information from the Alliance for Audited Media, an industry group that verifies print and digital circulation for advertisers. The findings cover more than 1,000 mainstream news publications in more than 2,900 counties out of 3,100 nationwide from every state except Alaska, which does not hold elections at the county level. 

The results show a clear correlation between low subscription rates and Trump’s success in the 2016 election, both against Hillary Clinton and when compared to Romney in 2012. Those links were statistically significant even when accounting for other factors that likely influenced voter choices, such as college education and employment, suggesting that the decline of local media sources by itself may have played a role in the election results. 

That gives new force to the widely voiced concerns of news-industry professionals and academicians about Trump’s ability to make bold assertions about crime rates, unemployment and other verifiable facts without any independent checks. Those concerns, which initially were raised during the campaign, were largely based on anecdotes and observations. POLITICO’s analysis suggests that Trump did, indeed, do worse overall in places where independent media could check his claims.

And as we know Trump also outperforms in places where the local news comes from Sinclair Broadcasting, and where Fox News is the favorite cable news outlet.

We always wonder how Trump can continue to simply make shit up all the time, and not have it destroy his credibility.

The answer is that people don't know that he is making it up unless a reliable news outlet fact checks him.

Which of course is also why there are so many attacks on the established mainstream media, and accusations of "fake news" directed at respected newspapers like the Washington Post and the New York Times.

So long as there are Americans isolated from fact based news reporting there will be a Donald Trump to take advantage of their ignorance.

If we want to help this country perhaps it's time to start buying our friends and family their own subscriptions to some of that "liberal" news media.

New Quinnipiac poll shows that the flushing sound you hear are Donald Trump's approval numbers.

Courtesy of Quinnipiac: 

The president is losing support among independent voters and groups which are important parts of his base. Approval ratings are:

• Negative 29 - 63 percent among independent voters, down from a negative 38 - 56 percent April 19;
• A split among white voters with no college degree, as 47 percent approve and 46 percent disapprove, compared to a 57 - 38 percent approval April 19;
• White men go from a 53 - 41 percent approval April 19 to a split today with 48 percent approving and 46 percent disapproving. 

American voters' opinions of several of Trump's personal qualities are down:

• 61 - 33 percent that he is not honest, compared to 58 - 37 percent April 19; 
• 56 - 41 percent that he does not have good leadership skills, little change; 
• 59 - 38 percent that he does not care about average Americans, compared to 57 - 42 percent April 19; 
• 66 - 29 percent that he is not level-headed, compared to 63 - 33 percent last month; 
• 62 - 35 percent that he is a strong person, little change; 
• 56 - 41 percent that he is intelligent, compared to 58 - 38 percent; 
• 64 - 32 percent that he does not share their values, compared to 61 - 35 percent. 

"There is no way to spin or sugarcoat these sagging numbers," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. 

"The erosion of white men, white voters without college degrees and independent voters, the declaration by voters that President Donald Trump's first 100 days were mainly a failure and deepening concerns about Trump's honesty, intelligence and level headedness are red flags that the administration simply can't brush away," Malloy added. 

Keep in mind this poll was taken BEFORE Trump fired James Comey.

Just imagine how much lower they will be in the next poll.

The only problem I have with these numbers is that I know Trump cares more about his popularity than perhaps any other president before him, and it frightens me to think what he might do to raise his numbers among his ignorant base in response.

Remember, the last time his numbers were this low he dropped the biggest non-nuclear bomb we have on Afghanistan.

By the way this tidbit of information was also the result of this Quinnipiac poll.

Here were the rest of the choices.

Quinnipiac asked people what word first came to mind when they thought about Trump. https://t.co/ks0UauOs9O pic.twitter.com/HQ3bYWhD16

— Philip Bump (@pbump) May 10, 2017

I am having such a hard time understanding how ANYBODY comes up with "strong" or "leader" when describing this incompetent lying idiot.

It appears that Rachel Maddow is currently the queen of cable news.

Courtesy of Yahoo News:

MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” finished the Week of March 27 as the most-watched show in cable news among the key demographic of adults age 25-54. 

“The Rachel Maddow Show” averaged 2.70 million total viewers and 624,000 viewers among the demo last week, while O’Reilly averaged 2.69 million total viewers and 537,000 in the demo. Maddow has now beaten Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor” for three straight weeks, as the MSNBC host continues to gain popularity. 

Maddow has been on fire and has now topped O’Reilly every week since she revealed President Trump’s 2005 tax return on March 14. Typically, O’Reilly has the No. 1 show among all of cable news on a regular basis.

And people thought that Trump tax return show was a flop. Hah!

And lets face it if O'Reilly continues to lose advertisers at the current pace he might no longer be on cable news for Rachel to compete against.

Gee, wouldn't that be just a non-terrible thing to happen?

P.S. This is for all of those Maddow haters out there. Sucks to be you.

Good news for the Democrats going into the 2016 elections cycle, not such good news for Republicans.

Courtesy of Politico:

 More than 60 percent of the American public has an unfavorable opinion of the Republican Party, an increase from last fall and the highest that the party’s negative rating has been since 1992. 

Sixty-two percent of Americans have an unfavorable impression of the GOP compared to 33 percent who view the party favorably, according to a Pew Research Center study released Thursday. That’s a more negative image of the party than in October, when there was a split of 58 percent unfavorable to 37 percent favorable.

American opinion of the Democratic Party, meanwhile, stayed about the same: 45 percent view the party favorably and 50 percent unfavorably. That leaves a quarter of the public with a negative view of both parties, an increase from past presidential election years. 

Pew found that the falling image of the GOP mostly came from people who identified as Republican, 68 percent of whom had a favorable view of their own party versus 79 percent in October. 

In contrast, 88 percent of Democrats have a favorable view of their own party. And more independents – 37 percent to 28 percent – have a favorable image of the Democratic Party compared to the GOP. 

Of course none of this means a damn thing if we do not get ourselves out to the polls in November.

I sometimes worry that if Liberals think we have this thing in the bag that they will suddenly get complacent, and complacency is EXACTLY how the Republicans beat us in elections.

Yes by all means turn out to vote for Hillary in November, but don't forget to also vote for the Democrats running down ballot. And two years from now get off your asses and vote in the midterms as well.

Because folks THAT is how we make this country more progressive.

We don't need a revolution, we just need people on the Left to take this whole democracy thing a little more seriously.

How much do Alaskans like Barack Obama? Enough to make him our top Google search that's how much.

Source

What did I tell ya?

The man needs to move up here where he is loved and respected.

Of course the fact that he needs to avoid Wasilla goes without saying.

The Young Turks track the waning influence of Sarah Palin.

The Young Turks did a good job here, except that they failed to point out that the majority of Palin's Facebook likes are bought and paid for. Other than that this is quite well done.

Today we learn more about the news reporter who said "fuck it" and quit her job to run her cannabis club.

The news outlet Vice caught up with the now infamous Charlo Greene, to ask her a few questions.

Here are a few of her answers.

When did she start her business of selling marijuana?:

Charlo Greene: We purchased a business license on 4/20/2014!

When did she first start using weed in her personal life?:

I’m Alaskan. Alaskans smoke weed. (I have to say that there is a part of me that wants to argue with this, but I really can't say that she's wrong.) It just is what it is. But I first tried it when I was in high school, and I didn’t like it at all, so I quit completely and I just drank like, a ton, which is also a really big issue here in Alaska. It got to the point when I was in college that I’d been drinking so much I ended up not even going to class, I failed out of an entire semester and I took a really heavy course load. Out of seven classes, I failed all of them, except for gym, and that’s only because he felt sorry for me. 

I knew that alcohol, as a vice, wasn’t going to allow me to become the person I was meant to be. So I needed something else to do that maybe wasn’t so harmful, and I picked up smoking weed. I went from failing an entire semester, to the next semester, and every semester after that, being on the Dean’s List. I graduated cum laude... And that’s because I was smoking weed! I sat my ass at home and did what I needed to do, and I never woke up with a hangover because of it, or got behind the wheel and ran over a family or anything because of it.

Wow, to here her tell it marijuana almost gives you super powers.

I have never seen a definitive study that suggests that smoking pot has a less deleterious effect on completing your school work than does alcohol consumption, but I will admit that I have never had to hold anybody's hair back while they vomited bong water.

Did she plan her big exit from KTVA? (Duh!):

Vice: Why did you decide to quit in such an extravagant fashion? 

[Laughs] To draw attention to the issue. You, as a journalist, know that all of us are replaceable. The people aren’t really going to miss you, or me, or any random reporter for the most part. So why not just use the position I was put in to make sure that my next chapter is just wide open for me? 

Can't argue with that logic.

What about that tweet from KTVA that she was fired?

[Laughs] Yeah. [Laughs some more] I saw that. That was stupid.

Her advice  to others thinking of quitting their jobs.

Do it big. If you’re going to quit your job, do it big. Why not? Your job probably sucks, so go ahead and get whatever you can out of it. If your job gives you access to information that might help wherever you’re going to go next, then get that! If you’re just a cog in this massive machine, and you know you’re replaceable, and you’re treated that way. Then replace them. Be brave. Be ballsy. And make sure you’re going to be okay afterwards.

There were a few naysayers yesterday suggesting that Greene had not only damaged her credibility by dropping the F bomb, but that she has also single handedly doomed the entire ordinance.

I have to say that hearing that really made me laugh.

Those people clearly know NOTHING about Alaskans.

We fucking love straight talkers who don't take any shit.

This young woman is right now just about one of the most popular people in our state, and I can guarantee that as new organizations start to cover our attempt to legalize marijuana that you will see that she will be their "go to girl" on getting the story.

Not only is she going to be famous, but once the ordinance passes and her cannabis club opens up she is going to have a line around the damn block.

Welcome to Alaska, where "fuck it" should be our state motto.

How IM will be covering the new Sarah Palin Channel.

Boy if Sarah Palin wanted to make sure that people are still talking about her she certainly found a way to do so last night.

It seems that just about EVERYBODY is talking about her new pay-per-rant web based TV channel.

And in response journalists are signing up for the free first month's subscription in order to adequately cover the lunacy that is sure to emerge from a Sarah Palin without a media filter to make her appear at least slightly sane.

But not I.

If I had a religion it would forbid me from doing anything to contribute to Palin's monetary gain, EVEN if by doing so I could more effectively dissect her lunacy, call her out on her lack of education and intelligence, and generally mock her at will.

No the way I figure it, if Palin says some thing on her silly little channel, to her handful of silly little paint eaters, that is not news.

And if it IS news, then some poor schlub who is being forced to follow it by his editor will write something up, and I will gladly report on THAT.

I also would discourage all of you from signing on even for the free trial.

As somebody already pointed out, those numbers will be used to suggest Palins' level of popularity and even if the majority of them are critics, journalists, and trolls, a subscriber is still a subscriber in Palin's book.

By the way perhaps the most interesting thing about this new endeavor is that Palin called on the "lamestream" media folks to help her with it.

This from the Daily Beast: 

Jonathan Klein, the former president of CNN’s United States operation, and Jeff Gaspin, the former chairman of NBC Universal Television Entertainment, are just the sort of lamestream media elites that Sarah Palin is constantly railing against. 

But, because this is America, where capitalism is the great equalizer between liberals and conservatives alike, a little difference of opinion hasn’t stopped the former governor of Alaska, Republican vice presidential nominee and right-wing political icon from joining forces with two blue-state media entrepreneurs to launch her own subscription-based online TV channel.

That means that at least these two believe that there is money in them thar fake bolt on hills, and they are hoping to get a piece. (Of the action, not Palin.)

Will it actually be successful however? I seriously doubt it.

For example get a load of this: 

“We’ve been talking to the Palins for a while”—since their initial contact last year her with the ex-Guv’s lawyer-agent, Beltway establishment gatekeeper Bob Barnett—“but we really began talking in earnest a few months ago as her timing came together,” Klein said. “She’s got a complicated life. She does have five kids and three of them are at home, and she’s got a handful, running around the country giving speeches.” 

Two of those kids—sexual abstinence advocate and former Dancing with the Stars contestant Bristol, 23, mother of Tripp and the ex-girlfriend of Tripp’s father, Levi Johnston; and middle school student Piper, 13, her mom’s frequent travel companion to all those high-dollar speeches—are also starring on the new channel’s web site. Bristol has her already-established blog on the site while Piper has begun to record her own video commentary. Meanwhile, Sarah’s mother, Scrabble aficionado Sally Heath, will be providing a word of the day, Klein said.

So the question you have to ask is what kind of subscriber is going to be interested in the ghostwritten posts of Bristol Palin, that they can find for free on Brancy's blog, and the video diary entries of the prepubescent Piper Palin?

My guess would be only those the MOST intoxicated from drinking the Palin brand of Kool-aid, and recent SarahPAC filings have shown that number to be dwindling at quite a clip.

Some people are unbelievably slow to learn. Let's call those people Texans.

This courtesy of US News: 

Before, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, launched a 21-hour talk-a-thon on the Senate floor or encouraged the House of Representatives to stand firm in its position to repeal and delay the Affordable Care Act at any cost, he was a candidate. And he made a promise that he wouldn't go to Washington and be part of the establishment. Members of Cruz's own party took him to task for his tactics, referring to it as an "agonizing odyssey." 

Back home in Texas, however, local tea party groups and conservatives are applauding Cruz's efforts. 

Linda and Mike Vickers, who own a ranch in South Texas and hosted Cruz in 2012 when he was still on the campaign trail, are proud to have Cruz representing them, especially in the wake of his giving Washington a big old headache. 

"He is the bravest conservative up there and it is a dirty shame that the rest of them are not the same. These last few weeks resolidified my support for him," Mike Vickers says. "They better watch out because Ted Cruz gets a big thumbs up down here on the border." 

Political scientists observe that Cruz's hard line conservatism can only win him points in Texas, which is considered a Republican stronghold. Democrats haven't managed to win a statewide office there since 1994, making the state the longest-reigning red state in the country. 

"There are undoubtedly some people who are irritated, but that irritation resides in the usual corners among moderates and Democrats," says James Henson, a state politics expert and a professor at the University of Texas. "There is some degree of irritation among the business community here just like in the business community nationally, but that conflict has been present here for the last couple of cycles and won't prevent Cruz's rise."

So for all of us who hoped that Texas would smarten up and give ole Raphael Cruz the heave ho, it looks like that hope is probably premature.

However with more evidence that Texas is starting to turn, if not blue, at least a deep purple politically and with evidence that support for Wendy Davis continues to grow, we may be seeing signs of the last gasps of rock hard conservationism in the Lone Star state.

Perhaps someday soon we will see the day that the majority of Texans are just as embarrassed about electing Ted Cruz, as today's Alaskans are for ever having elected Sarah Palin.

It's official Barack Obama is the first President to win at least 51% of the vote twice in over five decades.

Courtesy of Bloomeberg News:  

Barack Obama is the first president in more than five decades to win at least 51 percent of the national popular vote twice, according to a revised vote count in New York eight weeks after the Nov. 6 election. 

State election officials submitted a final tally Dec. 31 that added about 400,000 votes, most of them from provisional ballots in the Democratic-stronghold of New York City that were counted late in part because of complications caused by Hurricane Sandy. 

The president nationally won 65.9 million votes -- or 51.1 percent -- against Republican challenger Mitt Romney, who took 60.9 million votes and 47.2 percent of the total cast, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. 

Obama is the first president to achieve the 51 percent mark in two elections since Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower, who did it in 1952 and 1956, and the first Democrat to do so since Franklin D. Roosevelt, who won four consecutive White House races. Roosevelt received 53.4 percent of the vote -- his lowest -- in his last race in 1944.

Does anybody else remember how the pundits kept telling us that in the 2012 election people were just not THAT enthusiastic about the President anymore?

Yeah, I seem to vaguely remember something like that.

And remember THIS is a victory that did not rely on voter suppression, gerrymandering, Supreme Court interference, or hacking into voting machines. In fact it happened DESPITE many of those things

In other words, "Fuck you, Karl Rove!"

The Palin Plunge. A thing of beauty.

Courtesy of Journalism.org:

95% - Drop in news coverage of Sarah Palin from May to December 2011 

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who has repeatedly proven her ability to generate media attention over the past few years, has virtually disappeared from the headlines since her October 5 announcement that she would not seek the presidency in 2012. 

In the early stages of the 2012 campaign—from May through early October—Palin ranked No. 4 in the competition for news coverage among the Republican presidential hopefuls even though she had not entered the race and many observers largely discounted the possibility. In that period, only Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry were the subject of more news coverage. 

 A good chunk of that campaign-related coverage came in May and June, when Palin was the No. 2 and No. 3 Republican newsmaker respectively, registering as a dominant figure in 12% of the campaign stories in each month. (To be a dominant newsmaker, someone must be featured in at least 50% of a story. 

Her coverage dropped in July (a dominant newsmaker in 3% of the stories), August (5%), and September (3%), but she was still capable of generating headlines, most particularly when she would hint about running for the White House. But in the two months since Palin announced she would not seek the presidency, coverage of her has almost vanished. In both October and November, she was a dominant newsmaker in only 1% of the campaign stories.

This is usually where I would add some smart ass comment about "Couldn't happen to a nicer sociopath" or"Interest in Palin is falling off faster than clumps of her hair." But to be honest this is such wonderful news I think I will just let it say everything it needs to with no help from me.

Et Tu Time Magazine?

There is a rumor that Sarah Palin may actually be chosen as Time Magazine's "Person of the Year."

If true I can only assume that Time Warner has decided that it is better to allow their brand to be attached to the catastrophic Sarah Palin, for the short term sideshow style attention they will garner, than to protect their journalistic integrity going forward.

If my sources are correct this will be another love letter to the Grizzled Mama on par with the embarrassing ass kissing delivered by The New York Times.

And if the blurb about her, written by Adam Sorenson no less,  is any indication the article might in fact read like a kind of political soft porn.

For all the talk of a conservative revival this election year, the movement in 2010 has lacked a true leader — a personality big and bold enough to rally the disparate wings of the Republican Party under one flag. Sarah Palin thinks she can fill that role, but she won't get it without a fight. Maternal chieftain of the Mama Grizzlies, the former Alaska governor spent the past year playing queenmaker in a bevy of midterm races, not to mention working on her next blockbuster book and a reality show for TLC. With the power to electrify the base, cow the Establishment, incense the opposition and razz the "lamestream media" with a single tweet, Palin stands alone atop the modern GOP as its most dynamic and divisive figure. And though she continues to play coy about her 2012 intentions, there are many indications that she aspires to put her mojo to use in the next presidential race.

Hang on a second I have to choke back my bile.  Yuck, tastes horrible.

There is an opportunity for you to express your opinion before the final decision is made by going here to vote. But be aware that the publishers, while inviting your participation, do not feel bound by the point of view expressd by those who take the time to vote.

Take a look at this year's candidates (listed in alphabetical order) and give them your rating — though TIME's editors who choose the actual Person of the Year reserve the right to disagree

Currently Palin is ranked number 10, behind the  Recep Tayyip Erdoga (Prime Minister of Turkey), Lady Gaga, Wiki-Leaks founder Julian Assange, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, Glenn Beck (Isn't it a little redundant to have BOTH Palin and Beck represented in this poll?), Apple's Steve Jobs, President Obama, the Unemployed Americans, and the Chilean Miners.

In my opinion EVERY SINGLE ONE of those listed are more deserving of this honor than Sarah Palin, but it is highly doubtful that any of them will bring the attention, or increased magazine sales, that plastering the grinning visage of the Queen of Mean on their cover will.

Someday in the future when asked exactly when Time Magazine "clubbed the halibut," people will point to the day they chose to sell out and put Snowdrift Snooki on the cover of their magazine, instead of in the comics section where she belongs.

Forget Sarah Palin. The real challenge to President Obama's popularity is Lady Gaga!

From Fox News:

Move aside, John McCain: Lady Gaga is now positioned to be the next big challenger to President Obama. It’s not exactly a race either necessarily chose to enter, but the Facebook pages of the president and the sequined pop phenomenon are deadlocked in a competition to become the first living person to hit the record-busting 10-million fan mark on Facebook.


Wow!  I cannot imagine having 10 million Facebook fans!  That is an unbelievable number of people who are fascinated by these two talented people.

But then who can blame them?  I mean after all one is  the leader of the free world and the other is taking the entertainment industry by storm. (By the way as of this post President Obama has 9,342,840 fans and Lady Gaga is slightly ahead with 9,614,641.)

But this got me thinking.  Lady Gaga and President Obama are the two most popular people on Facebook? But what about Sarah Palin?  After all almost all of Lady Gaga's updates are about concert appearances with a sprinkling of posts about which city she is in and which media event she is doing, and President Obama's page mostly consists of updates about what is going on politically (Boring!), but Sarah Palin spends more time on her Facebook page than an insecure fourteen year old girl!

Palin has probably done more to make Facebook famous than any other celebrity. She  uses it as her main method of communicating to the outside world, and has undoubtedly had more people quote the Facebook rants that her ghostwriter posts than Lady Gaga and Obama combined.  So surely she must be pretty darn close to that ten million mark as well wouldn't you think?

Nope not even close.  As of this posting the supposed "Queen of Facebook" has a comparatively dismal 1,717,781 fans. The most popular Republican in the country has not even broken the 2 million mark.

I don't know about you but learning that made me feel much, much better.  If this is the best hope the Republicans have of defeating President Obama in 2012, than we can all relax.

That is of course unless the GOP somehow recruits Lady Gaga.  Then we are fucked!

Alaskans are so over Palin that not ONE of them has donated to SarahPAC so far in 2010!

From TPM:

Sarah Palin may be uber-popular among the conservative base, her endorsement highly sought after by mid-level candidates -- but she's not doing so well among her fellow Alaskans.


Not one Alaska resident donated to Palin's "SarahPAC" in the first quarter of 2010, according to FEC reports. In the second half of 2009, only 33 donations -- out of some 2,000 totaling $1.4 million -- came from her home state. In the first half of the year, it was 29.

To be fair Alaskans have been exposed to Sarah for much longer than the other people in America. 

At this point we are just waiting for the rest of you to catch up.

Of course NOBODY is as fed up with Sarah and her bullshit as the people who are unlucky enough to live in the Silla with her.

"She took an oath, and she broke it," growled lifetime Wasilla man Jeff Laub, 51, gripping a Miller in his left hand as he leaned against a wall in the Mug-Shot. "Anyone who puts her hand on the Bible and swears an oath ought to keep it. That's that. "She's not getting my vote again."


"She's not even an Alaskan any more," said Wasillan Gerald Rexrode, 69. "She belongs to everyone now. She cashed in her chips and ran.

So much for the myth of Sarah Palin's popularity in Alaska.  Like everything else about her it was a complete fabrication.