Texans Kneel During Anthem After Owner"s "Inmates" Comments, As NFL Viewership Slides

Most players on the Houston Texans team knelt during the national anthem ahead of the team’s Sunday game with the Seattle Seahawks, following controversial comments made by the team’s owner, Bob McNair.

Here is video of the majority of Texans players kneeling during the National Anthem.pic.twitter.com/RnrsgaFO1k

— The Shadow League (@ShadowLeagueTSL) October 29, 2017

The protest came after Texans owner Bob McNair apologized for comparing players protesting during the anthem to “inmates running the prison.”

"I am truly sorry to the players for how this has impacted them and the perception that it has created of me, which could not be further from the truth,” McNair said, according to ESPN, which reported on Friday that McNair said “we can’t have the inmates running the prison,” in reference to players protesting police brutality during the national anthem.  McNair also reportedly told Houston players he wasn’t referring to them in his remarks.

The Texans’ protest comes as some players continue to protest during the anthem, more than a month after Trump launched a twitter attack on demonstrating players.

On Sunday, several San Francisco 49ers players knelt during the anthem on Sunday, two Philadelphia Eagles players reportedly raised their fists, according to The Associated Press, while nearly all players on the Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns linked arms during the anthem as well. 

Also on Sunday, Rev. Jesse Jackson called for NFL players to escalate their "kneeling" protests in the face of criticism from President Trump and league owners.

“The players should escalate their nonviolent protests,” the civil rights leader told The Houston Chronicle on Sunday. “Donald Trump called them ‘sons of bitches.’ (Colin) Kaepernick is not degrading the flag. He’s kneeling to pray, which is in our best tradition. If we had not knelt and prayed nonviolently, where would we be today as a society?”

In the interview, Jackson decided to escalate the controversy and said NFL owners have a “plantation mentality” and believes there should be sanctions against McNair for his comments. Jackson reached out to McNair and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, but hasn’t heard back from either, he told the Chronicle.

“The players are objectified in a sense,” Jackson said. “Mr. McNair is a product of the South. They act like he’s a victim or misunderstood, but those players have made him a wealthy man.”

Jackson did not elaborate how NFL players should escalate their protests.

Meanwhile, according to Nielsen Ratings, NFL viewership has posted a steep decline in recent weeks since the kneeling scandal erupted, which also led several advertisers to pull their funding from the NFL broadcasts.  NFL games averaged 15.1 million viewers through Week 7, according to Nielsen data obtained by Sporting News. That"s down 5.1% from 15.87 million viewers during the same period last season and off 18.7% from 18.35 million viewers during the same period in 2015.

CNBC Viewership Drops To 22 Year Low

It appears that "subdued volatility" is hurting not only bank trading revenues. Two years after CNBC announced that it would no longer rely on Nielsen ratings to measure its daytime audience (just after we reported its viewership had tumbled the most on record), turning to rival Cogent Reports instead, the latest data reveals that the decline for the financial channel has continued, and in the past quarter CNBC delivered 152,000 total daily viewers, its lowest viewership since 1991 for the 28-year-old network.

At the time when CNBC switched away from Nielsen, it complained that the media tracking company failed to track "out of home" viewing in locations such as airports, gyms, restaurants and offices. Well, with all viewers taken into account, the picture, pardon the pun, deteriorated further, and in the past quarter, CNBC delivered its lowest rated quarter since 1991, and in total viewers, had its lowest rated quarter in 22 years, dating back to 1995

And while the reason for CNBC"s ongoing decline is unclear, an unexpected winner has emerged in Fox Business News, which continued its winning streak against CNBC by drawing more viewers for the fourth consecutive quarter, and in the last quarter average 187,000 total viewers across the business day (9:30am-5pm), up 26%, while the same category at CNBC saw a 14% decline to 152,000 total viewers. For the month of September, FBN averaged 195,000 total Business Day viewers, 23% higher than CNBC, which had 158,000 total viewers, which was its second lowest rated month ever.

It may come as a surprise to some, but "Lou Dobbs Tonight" continues to be the top-rated program on business television in both total viewers and in the 25–54-year-old demographic. Furthermore  Dobbs, a longtime CNN anchor before jumping to Fox Business in 2011, has led the way in total viewers on business TV for 57 straight weeks.

With markets hitting new record ignoring natural disasters like Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, and rising tensions with North Korea, FBN closed out the month of September with its 11th monthly win over CNBC. Curiously, CNBC remains the only business channel showing yearly declines, while all other networks have double-digit gains across the board for the year, notably down 14% in Business Day viewers over their performance last year, with 177,000 total viewers. 

We"ll leave it up to readers to come up with the reasons behind CNBC"s chronic decline.

Sean Hannity Takes "Abrupt Vacation" Amid Advertiser Boycott

Is Fox News about to lose its last remaining "old school" anchor holdout? 

According to Philly.com, Hannity is taking "a couple days off amid a growing advertiser boycott" over Hannity"s pursuit of the Seth Rich story - an parallel to Bill O"Reilly"s final days - and so far, seven advertisers are said to have pulled out of Hannity’s show. 

Cars.com was the first advertiser to announce it was pulling ads, telling Buzzfeed News on Wednesday afternoon that “we’ve been watching closely and have recently made the decision to pull our advertising from Hannity.” It was followed by exercise bike company Peloton (which just closed a $325M Series E round financing), Leesa Sleep; mattress retailer Casper, insurance company USAA; home security equipment maker Ring and Crowne Plaza Hotels, all of which announced they would be redirecting their ad buys from Hannity’s shows.

Meanwhile, the Five host Kimberly Guilfoyle, who has confirmed speaking to the White House about potentially replacing press secretary Sean Spicer, will be filling in on Hannity on Thursday and Friday.

Kimberly Guilfoyle

Preempting speculation about a possible permanent departure, Hannity announced on Twitter the vacation was his annual Memorial Day getaway, and said "Uh oh My ANNUAL Memorial Day long weekend starts NOW. Destroy Trump/Conservative media breathless coverage starts! Did Hannity do last show?"

Uh oh My ANNUAL Memorial Day long weekend starts NOW. Destroy Trump/Conservative media breathless coverage starts! Did Hannity do last show?

— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) May 25, 2017

According to Philly.com, it is unclear if Hannity will still host his syndicated radio show on Thursday and Friday, which airs at 6 p.m. in Philadelphia on 1210 WPHT.

In any case, as noted above, so far the timeline of events surrounding Hannity is strikingly similar to how events unfolded for former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, who following a New York Times report that revealed O’Reilly paid five former Fox News personalities $13 million to settle claims of sexual and verbal harassment, took an abrupt vacation amid a growing exodus of advertisers from his show. Despite assurances from the network that the vacation was pre planed, Fox News fired O’Reilly eight days later.

In interviews with Philly.com, Fox News contributor Julie Roginsky slammed the network, calling it “really egregious” to allow Hannity, Gingrich and others to discuss the death of Seth Rich.  “We know the facts. Wikileaks was in collaboration with the Russians,” Roginsky said.“How do we know this? Because the entire intelligence community said that the Russians were the ones who hacked into these emails. This is not in dispute.”

Well, actualy it is because 5 months later the so called entire intelligence community hasn"t presented one schred of evidence yet as Ron Paul has repeatedly, patiently, and lofically pointed out.

What is not in dispute, however, is that if Hannity were to also leave Fox - the last of the original anchor line-up that boosted Fox News to the top of the ratings charts - the Nielsen chart of Rupert Murdoch"s organization, already in tailspin, will move from the upper left to the bottom right, to quote Gartman, as traditional viewers continue to bail for alternative outlets.

Alex Jones' InfoWars Offered White House Credentials

Things sure are changing in the White House press corps. According to a video posted on Wednesday, radio show host Alex Jones’s website Infowars, which has been accused of being "conspiracy theory and alt-right" by much of the established media, has been offered White House press credentials.

In the clip Jones explains:

Here’s the deal, I know I get White House credentials, we’ve already been offered them, we’re going to get them, but I’ve just got to spend the money to send somebody there. I want to make sure it’s even worth it. I don’t want to just sit there up there like ‘m in the media, look our people are there.’ People don’t understand this paradigm, we’re devolving in a good way, power from the federal government back to the people, back from the centralized MSM to the people, just like Trump said in his speech.

On Monday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said that four "Skype seats" would be made available to some journalists who are outside of a 50-mile radius of Washington, D.C.. It is not known when the Skype seats will be deployed during daily press briefings.

He contined:

“[Trump]) keeps saying CNN is fake, and I"m not going to any of your fake news. What’s CNN doing in the front row, when [White House press secretary Sean] Spicer keeps going to them? And then the reporter yesterday goes, “Oh, maybe Trump wasn’t even elected. That’s why you say there’s fraud.” So they’re like little kids up there. These aren’t real journalists. Meanwhile, it’s just crazy, you should see Breitbart and Drudge, and also just reporters that are known to tell the truth from mainstream, whatever, promoted and put up at the front of those briefings, to bring up real questions, not just a battle where they’re just attacking with fricking lies"

Jones, a supporter of President Trump, is the owner and operator of popular web sites Infowars.com and PrisonPlanet.com. He is also the author of "9-11 Descent Into Tyranny" and "The Answer to 1984 is 1776." 

The White House has not confirmed Jones" statement.

Meanwhile, members of the press on the opposite ideological spectrum were quick to mock the announcement, starting with Salon which said "Truthers in the briefing room: Alex Jones claims Infowars has been offered White House credentials. Donald Trump has long been cozy with the notorious conspiracy theorist, and now it seems to be paying off"

Trump and Jones have a relationship going back a long time. Despite being notorious for claiming that major American tragedies were actually part of sinister government-orchestrated conspiracies — including the Oklahoma City bombings, the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the Sandy Hook elementary school shootings and the Boston Marathon bombing — Trump has appeared on Jones’ show, even saying, “Your reputation is amazing. I will not let you down.”

Trump has also adopted many of Jones’ own beliefs when they’re politically convenient for him, such as his current claim that he would have won the popular vote had it not been for undocumented immigrants.

One thing is certain: should InfoWars have a presence during the daily boring White House pressers, it will certainly boost their Nielsen ratings overnight, something which to the ad-savvy president is surely first and foremost on his mind.

Trump Boasts Inauguration TV Ratings, Asks Why Protesters Didn't Vote, Praises CIA

Those wondering if Trump would change his tweeting ways now that he is president - and has not just one, his personal @realDonaldTrump account, but two including the official @POTUS username - got an answer in three parts this morning, when Trump greeted Sunday morning with three tweets addressing three distinct media newslines over the weekend.

In his first tweet at around 7:35am Sunday, Trump said he had a “great” meeting at CIA headquarters on Saturday, and appearing to seek a restoration of cordial relations, said the CIA had amazing people, not forgetting to note that he got "long standing ovations."

“Had a great meeting at CIA Headquarters yesterday, packed house, paid great respect to Wall, long standing ovations, amazing people. WIN!”

Had a great meeting at CIA Headquarters yesterday, packed house, paid great respect to Wall, long standing ovations, amazing people. WIN!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 22, 2017

In remarks at CIA HQ on Saturday, Trump blasted the media, accusing news networks of lying about the size of his inauguration crowd, a topic that would later dominate one of the most bizarre White House press briefings.   “Honestly it looked like a million and half people, whatever it was it was. But it went all the way back to the Washington Monument ... and by mistake I get this network and it showed an empty field, and it said we drew 250,000 people. Now that"s not bad, but it"s a lie," Trump said.

Trump also blamed the “dishonest” media for reports of a “feud” with the intelligence community. “I have a running war with the media,” Trump said. “They are among the most dishonest human beings on earth. And they sort of made it sound like I had a feud with the intelligence community. And just want to let you know that the reason you’re the No. 1 stop is exactly the opposite.”

After Trump"s remarks Former CIA Director John Brennan was reportedly "deeply saddened." Former CIA deputy chief of staff Nick Shapiro said Brennan believes that Trump "should be ashamed of himself" for his "display of self-aggrandizement." “Former CIA director Brennan is deeply saddened and angered at Donald Trump"s despicable display of self-aggrandizement in front of CIA"s Memorial Wall of Agency heroes. Brennan says that Trump should be ashamed of himself,” Shapiro said in a pair of tweets.

In his second tweet, showing he has no plans of moving beyond the topic of his inauguration"s popularity, Trump boasted:

“Wow, television ratings just out: 31 million people watched the Inauguration, 11 million more than the very good ratings from 4 years ago!"

Wow, television ratings just out: 31 million people watched the Inauguration, 11 million more than the very good ratings from 4 years ago!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 22, 2017

Bloomberg reported on Saturday that according to Nielsen data, Trump’s ratings were higher than Obama"s second election in 2013, but below the first inauguration in 2009 which drew a national audience of 37.8 million, the second-largest since 1969. Bill Clinton"s first inauguration was also slightly lower. Ronald Reagan’s first inauguration in 1981 holds the audience record at 41.8 million viewers. Inexplicably,  nearly 35 million people watched Jimmy Carter swear the oath of allegiance in 1977.

As noted above, Trump slammed the media for underreporting crowd size for the inauguration, first during a speech at the CIA, and second when his spokesman Sean Spicer chided the press for misreporting the size of Friday"s crowd, calling it “shameful and wrong.”

"This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe,” Sean Spicer said during his first official appearance in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room.

Finally, addressing yesterday"s countrywide women"s protests, Trump raised questions about whether protesters who marched in Washington and around the nation a day earlier voted in the presidential election.

"Watched protests yesterday but was under the impression that we just had an election! Why didn"t these people vote? Celebs hurt cause badly."

Watched protests yesterday but was under the impression that we just had an election! Why didn"t these people vote? Celebs hurt cause badly.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 22, 2017

According to to a review of official and unofficial estimates from the nation"s largest cities and press reports, at least 3 million protesters on Saturday swamped the streets of Washington, D.C. and cities across the world on the first full day of Trump"s presidency. Large turnouts were reported in Boston, New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles as organizers for the main rally and march in Washington, D.C. grappled with huge numbers of demonstrators. Half a million people showed up at the National Mall and nearby streets for the Women"s March on Washington. Both Democratic nominees, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, tweeted in support of the marchers.

At the event in Washington, D.C., a number of Democratic lawmakers and celebrities encouraged demonstrators to take action in the wake of a Trump presidency. After lashing out in a "f-bomb" filled tirade against Trump, Madonna said that she had "thought an awful lot about blowing up the white house", but that in the end she "chose love."

On Sunday morning, Trump on the other hand, chose to tweet, and suggest that either the protesters did not vote, or if they did, that they are ignoring the will of the majority.

Finally, in a follow up, fourth tweet, Trump tried to reconcile with the protesters, stating "Peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy. Even if I don"t always agree, I recognize the rights of people to express their views."

Peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy. Even if I don"t always agree, I recognize the rights of people to express their views.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 22, 2017

50 Years Of Teaching Math In 'Exceptional' America

How America became "exceptional"...

Source: The Burning Platform

*  *  *

Of course, as we noted previously, our system of education is not entirely to blame.  The truth is that young Americans spend far more time consuming media than they do hitting the books, and what passes for “entertainment” these days is rapidly turning their brains to mush.

According to a report put out by Nielsen, this is how much time the average American spends consuming media on various devices each day…

Watching live television: 4 hours, 32 minutes

Watching time-shifted television: 30 minutes

Listening to the radio: 2 hours, 44 minutes

Using a smartphone: 1 hour, 33 minutes

Using Internet on a computer: 1 hour, 6 minutes

When you add it all up, the average American spends more than 10 hours a day plugged into some form of media.

And if you allow anyone to pump “programming” into your mind for 10 hours a day, it is going to have a dramatic impact.

In the end, I truly believe that we all greatly underestimate the influence that the mainstream media has on all of us.  We willingly plug into “the Matrix” for endless hours, but then somehow we still expect “to think for ourselves”.

There are very few of us that can say that we have not been exposed to thousands upon thousands of hours of conditioning.  And all of that garbage can make it very, very difficult to think clearly.

It is not because of a lack of input that we have become so stupid as a society.  The big problem is what we are putting into our minds.

If we continue to put garbage in, we are going to continue to get garbage out, and that is the cold, hard reality of the matter.