Avatar Special Edition; 67 Percent Polled Say They Will Not See It

Cover via Amazon

It is too early for an Avatar re-release? If a recent and current poll is any indication, the answer is "yes."

According to Deadline.com, an unscientific poll of front page readers indicates that a surprising 67 percent will not see Avatar: Special Edition.

While the problem with the poll is it's lack of numerical reporting - one can't tell how many were polled and it could easily be gamed by its design - the results are still is a reflection of how the public feels about an early release, even in Hollywood, which reads Deadline.com.
.
Deadline.com is the website of long-time movie business columnist Nikke Finke. The site really gained traction with her insider accounts of various Hollywood scandals. It has become the go-to online publication for news about the business of hollywood.

Egg Recall : Were Iowa Farms Targets Of Bioterrorism?

The massive egg recall, now into its first full week, involves an estimated 550 million eggs but from just two Iowa Farms, The Wright Egg Company and Hillandale Farms.

According to ABC News, the salmonella bacteria contamination has now sickened 2,000 people, up from just 1,000 people a few days ago. But just how did this happen?

There's still no official answer to that question. The effected eggs were transported and sold under the following major brands: Lucerne, Mountain Dairy, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Albertson, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, James Farms, Glenview, Mountain Dairy, Ralph's, Boomsma's, Lund, Dutch Farms, Kemps and Pacific Coast. That's a very significant portion of the total market of egg retailers.

Given that regulators can't spot a reason for the contamination, the fact that it seems two very key egg farms were impacted, and the resultant giant spread of the contamination, it's only reasonable to speculate if it could have been the work of bioterrorists?

To date, that question has not been widely introduced or discussed at all in the media. And while it may seem far-fetched to some, this blogger discovered a 2004 online document entitled SALMONELLOSIS: Bioterrorism Agent Profiles for Health Care Workers and by the Arizona Department of Health Services.

In it, the section focuses on how the bacteria Salmonella could come to be in the food supply, states that the mortality rate is "slow to moderate," and states that "In a terrorist attack, salmonellosis would most likely occur due to intentional contaminationof food or water supplies."

The document comes under the heading "Bioterrorism & Epidemic Preparedness & Response" on this web page of the Arizona DHS called "Bureau of Epidemiology & Disease Control."

The Arizona DHS defines Bioterrorism as...

Bioterrorism is the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria or other germs (agents) to cause illness or death in people, animals or plants. These agents are typically found in nature, but can be altered to enhance their morbidity rate, resistant to medicines and virulence.

Biological agents can be spread through the air or water or in food. Terrorists may use biological agents because they can be difficult to detect and have incubation periods of several hours to several days.

Salmonellosis is called a "Category B Disease" where it is "moderately easy to disseminate, results in moderate morbidity rates and low mortality rates, and require specific enhancements of CDC's diagnostic capacity and enhanced disease surveillance."

Why Is The Media Avoiding Bioterrorism Talk?

To date, the causes of The Egg Recall have focused allegations that a man named Austin "Jack" DeCoster, the owner of The Wright County Egg company, was a frequent violator of heath and safety regulations. But the problem is the egg recall impacts not one, but two farms. Jack DeCoster only owns one of them.

One listing for Hillandale Farms, as listed online, is headquartered in Pennsylvania and by Gary R Bethel, Orland R Bethel, and Steve Vendemia in 2004. A search for Hillandale Farms Of Iowa at 2128 McCloud Ave. New Hampton, Iowa 50659 641-394-4116, does not return a corporate website. This is the only website for Hillandale Farms at http://www.hillandalefarms.com. The media has not listed the name of the owner of Hillandale Farms.

The website reads:

Hillandale Farms is one of the nations leading supplier of shell eggs. With production facilities in the northeast, midwest and southeast, Hillandale Farms supplies retailers and distributors throughout the eastern half of the United States.

So, we can assume that Hillandale Farms is headquatered in Pennsylvania because this website page lists Gary Bethel as the company president, and is in the same design as the other site related to the Iowa location. It reads:

Hillandale Farms remains a family run business. Company president, Gary Bethel, continues to reinforce the core competencies that has enabled the company to grow:

For some reason, someone has an interest in putting out a lot of bad information about Jack DeCoster, and the media, as was the case with The Huffington Post using Associated Press material, has taken the bait hook, line, and sinker. And avoiding any look at Hillandale Farms in the process.

But suppose it's a cover to cause the media to avoid talk of Bioterrorism? There's no question that DeCoster would be the perfect fall person here.

But the reality is there may be more farm owners who have the same issues, it's just that it really looks like someone at some PR firm somewhere was hired to crank out information on DeCoster. Information the Associated Press is distributing without question.

That's fishy.

Stay tuned for more.

Cincinnati Bengals Defense Preview

Image via Wikipedia

Note - This was originally posted at NFL Business Blog, part of the Zennie62 Blog Network.

NFL 2010 CINCINNATI BENGALS PREVIEW - DEFENSE

By Draftnik and Don Stokes contributing writer Southeastern Ohio region-Football Reporters Online

COACHING

Other than the Head football coach I normally do not point out any individual members of a coaching staff of any team that I cover but I believe a special mention should be made to Bengals Defensive Coordinator Mike Zimmer. “Zim” as he is affectingly called by his defensive players became extremely popular from both the visibility of the “HBO Hard Knocks” show and also the sudden passing of his wife in October 2009. The Bengal team defense closed their ranks and played as a cohesive unit for the remainder of the season. This defensive turnaround was completed with no real impact lineman, linebackers or secondary players in their system (No All-pro or pro bowlers from this group). Cincinnati’s defense rose from ranked 19th in the NFL in 2008 to number 6th during the 2009 campaign. In 2010 the Bengals will employ a 4-3 defense (with a 4-4 sprinkle), so they must get maximum effort from their down linemen, which at times was a concern in 2009.

DEFENSIVE LINE

On the Defensive Line starting from the Left side is 7 year vet 6’3 280 Robert Geathers. He started 15 games in 2009 and registered 3.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. The Bengals could use a 7 to 8 sack season from Robert to balance the QB pressure from the left. On the right side a big return to form will be 6’5 275 Antwan Odom who was injured and lost for the year during game 6 with an Achilles tear. Odom was having a fantastic start in 2009 but his unfortunately his season ended in October. Despite the injury Antwan still led all Cincinnati players with 8 sacks (A Bengal record 5 in one game against GB during the season 2nd game) A clean bill of health from Odom should bring double digit sacks from both DE’s. The Defensive End backups are 6’4 292 Jonathan Fanene who had 6 sacks in 2009 from the Left defensive side. On the right side is 4 year vet 6’3 280 Frostee Rucker. He played in 12 games and contributed with 1.5 sacks. Also seeking to contribute is 2010 2nd round pick 6’6 270 Carlos Dunlap a physical specimen from Florida. The Defensive Tackles starters are solid run stoppers who are both similar in size and strength. From the left is 6’3 320 Damota Peko (23 tackles) and the right is 6’3 315 Tank Johnson (29 tackles and 2 sacks). The DT backups are 6’3 308 Orein Harris, 6’1 293 Geno Atkins, 6’2 325 Pat Simms who led the linemen with 34 tackles in ‘09 and 6’2 297 Clinton McDonald.

LINEBACKERS

In 2009 The Bengal Linebacker play was what would be best described as steady but not spectacular. On the left side 6’2 255 Ray Maualuga who will play the “SAM” (strong side) must continue his growth as an impact NFL linebacker. Maualuga, who had 59 tackles from the LLB position, started 15 games in 2009. Ray had his season cut short in week 15 snapping his fibula. The Bengals were expecting a bit more big plays from their 2009 3rd round pick who was 2009 NFL Defensive Rookie of the year MLB Houston Texans Brian Cushing teammate at USC. MLB was manned by the veteran 6’1 236 Dhani Jones who led the team in tackles (113) and had a career high 3.5 sacks in 2009. The now 10 vet has played with 4 different teams over his career appears to found a home and has now become a solid defender for Cincinnati. At RLB former 1st rounder 6’2 232 Keith Rivers is the incumbent starter. The former USC alum after missing 9 games in 08 played 13 games in 2009 and recorded 72 tackles. The Linebacker backups are 6’5 240 Brandon Johnson who had 58 tackles in 2009. 6’7 268 Michael Johnson, 6’0 236 Abdul Hodge, 6’2 240 Vincent Rey, 6’2 252 Dan Skuta and 6’2 243 Rashad Jeanty.

SECONDARY

With a former All-pro and some possible future ones, other than the wide outs this is the deepest position on the team. Cincinnati’s DB picked 16 passes in ‘09. At the SS position the starter is the former All-pro 6’0 222 Roy Williams. Williams has battled forearm and back injuries the past 2 seasons. He has played but 7 of 32 games since his last pro bowl season in 2007. A return to form by Williams would really give the Bengals a shot in the arm (no pun intended) in the secondary in 2010. At FS is NFL journeyman 5’11 202 Chris Crocker who in 2009 had 38 tackles and 2 INT.

The real Bengal strength is the CB’s. The cornerback tandem of 5’11 195 Leon Hall and 5’11 190 Jonathan Joseph who had similar numbers in 2009 and is considered two of the league’s best. On the right side Hall, who normally drew the toughest assignment against the opponent’s top receiver had 24 pass defended 71 tackles and 6 INT. The left corner is the steady Joseph with 20 pass defended, 69 tackles and 6 INT. Pressure from the pass rush will really make both shine brighter in 2010. A trip to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii awaits both in the near future. The backups are also solid with the return to the NFL of 5’10 188 LCB Adam (Pac man) Jones. Once considered a bright and up and coming star with fantastic talent, Jones (who will also help with the return game) has missed numerous games and an entire season because of suspensions. If Jones can stay clear of these past transgressions the Bengals will get a solid contributor on defense.

If Roy Williams continues his recent injury woes then ball hawk S 6’0 210 Gibril Wilson can take over. Wilson who had 93 tackles for the Dolphins in ’09 and with 13 NFL INT makes Wilson a nice insurance policy. Another backup is last season’s SS starter6’2 224 Chinedum Ndukwe. He had 89 tackles in ’09 starting 12 games. The rest in the defensive backfield are 6’1 193 Morgan Trent, 4th year pro 6’0 197 David Jones, 3rd yr pro 6’3 222 Kyries Herbert, 5’11 202 Rico Murray. Special team ace 5’11 200 Tom Nelson, and rookies 6’2 210 Jeromy Miles, 3rd round pick 6’0 Brandon Ghee and 6’0 184 Johnny Sears rounds out the secondary.

KICK RETURN/PUNTING

The Bengal Punting duties should be taken care of for many years to come. 2009 rookie P Kevin Huber with a 43.2 yard average and 36.3 net is as good as they come in the tough AFC North with the cold windy December months to come. The PR position is in good hands with both Quan Cosby (47 ret 470 yd 11.9 avg) and Adam Jones (4 lifetime punt returns). At KR Bernard Scott (16 ret 504 yds 31.5 avg 1 TD) and Andre Caldwell (29 ret 18.6 avg) who handled kickoffs in ‘09 are the incumbents.

FORECAST

With their recent additions (Owens, Pac man, Bryant etc.) the Bengals are making a strong push for a trip to SB XLV at Dallas. Unfortunately Cincinnati will not sneak up on anyone as they did last season. On their 2010 schedule the Bengals play 6 playoff teams from 2009 (Ravens, Jets, Saints, Colts, Patriots and Chargers) plus the annual 2 game challenge from the Steelers will make it tough. This should test whether Cincinnati is a serious contender or pretender. With the situation Pittsburgh must content with (QB Roethlisberger’s pending 6 game regular season suspension) this should help Cincinnati get off to a good start within the AFC North. A repeat 10-6 record from 2009 is attainable but it will be a reach. This would be enough to bring Marvin Lewis back for 2011 season and beyond. A 6-10 record will surely sign Lewis his walking papers for good.

Jimena Navarrete is Miss Universe 2010; Miss USA Rima Fakih still hot

22-year old Jimena Navarrete is Miss Universe 2010 and represents Mexico. And this blogger has to say, is a real looker, with killer great cheekbones, and lips.

Jimena Navarrete won in what was reported to be an upset, as Miss Ireland, Miss Venezuela or Miss USA was expected to win.

That's too bad, because with all of her cheeky looks, Jimena Navarrete's still not as hot or as sexy as Miss USA Rima Fakih.

Remember Rima Fakih? If not, perhaps this video will remind you:



Rima Fakih had the pole dance scandal and some really baseless and racist views to overcome after she won the crown of Miss USA. She overcame all of that to be a front runner for Miss Universe 2010.

Too bad she didn't win.

Jennifer Ammann blasts Telluride Film Festival on YouTube, Quits

Jennifer and The Telluride Gnome

Something snapped for Jennifer Ammann. After serving as production manager for the Berkeley-based Telluride Film Festival and its Galaxy Theater for 10 years, she not only abruptly quit, but made a frank YouTube video that added up to a kick in the Telluride's executive staff's pants as she went out of the door.

And all of this, just two weeks before The 2010 Telluride Film Festival's Labor Day Weekend launch.

This blogger has only heard good things about The Telluride Film Festival, and thinks positive thoughts about the people involved in it. Thus, something happened to Jennifer Ammann that, in listening to her impassioned speech on the video, may have been related to how well an organization adjusts to a poor economy, and how its staff reacts to those changes.

One thing's for sure: Jennifer Ammann was so into The Telluride Film Festival, her YouTube channel is called telluridegnome "The Gnome's Movie Outtakes," and contains 110 uploaded videos about The Telluride Gnome, which was reportedly stolen from the film festival.

While it's video number 110, uploaded August 14th 2010, that's causing all the buzz, it's interesting to go back through the video collection to learn, to a degree, what was on the mind of Jennifer Ammann. Why not? From the looks of things, video #110 was her last one on Telluride. Here's the first one she made on September 24th 2008. Called The night the Telluride Gnome was kidnapped! it looked like something a couple of drunks made after some film festival love-making:



The rest of the video concerns the "Kidnapped Telluride Gnome" and feature the voice of an unknown white guy with hairy, wrinkled hands. Jennifer Ammann appears in two of the three videos of this theme.

The video set continues and slowly we realize Mark and Jen have taken the Telluride Gnome on trips to various places, like Paris, Miami and Barcelona, and all in some quest to present their film ideas, or just act like fools:



In all of this, the theme seems to be Mark and Jen just fooling around. Take this video:



Digging around for more on The Telluride Gnome, a blog pops up in search called Mark and Jen's Telluride Gnome Productions, a photo of Jennifer Ammann with The Telluride Gnome, and two descriptions, one that reads "THE REAL BEHIND-THE-SCENES OF OUR BIG MOVIE! HERE YOU CAN FIND ALL THE OUTTAKES FROM THE MOVIE AND ALL THE DETAILS OF OUR FILM-MAKING PROCESS..." And another that says "I am the Telluride Gnome, stolen from the Telluride Film Festival by Mark Sgarzi and turned into an international star and beneficent helper to all the children of the world."

Right.

Whatever the case after two years of blogging, Mark and Jen stopped any kind of posting to the blog on February 1, 2010, and without reason.

Then the video everyone's talking about appeared:



One can see what Jennifer's talking about by one look at the Telluride Film Festival's organization. When one looks down the lists of names, a few hundred of them appear.

When you get to Jennifer's name, it's in a sea of 20 production managers. She looks like a fly in the soup, which is what she's turned out to be after the video.

The video itself is literally a cry out for a time she feels has been lost: one where the Telluride Film Festival wasn't the bureaucracy she describes it to be. "The bureaucratization of this festival has taken all the joy out of working for it," she says. "And I don't see it as a not-for-profit, independent, promoter of film art, any longer."

She goes on to say she's "a woman of principals and refuses to work for people who don't value their employees," then says the Telluride does not value its employees.

That's telling, because Jennifer then says that the production staff is the backbone of the Telluride Film Festival, but its not valued and people are "fired demoted, squeezed, or simply ignored due to cut backs and personal grudges. And now you're taking away breakfast."

Jennifer says that while Telluride execs cut out breakfast, "I'm sure you'll be flying business class."

Wow.

What I make of this, knowing a lot of people, players, and stuff, is that, first, Jennifer's film dreams were attached to the Festival. Second, Telluride Film Festival Co-Director Tom Luddy, who I personally know to be a good guy, made have caught Jennifer on a bad day. Third, whatever cut backs are being made, Jennifer Ammann may reflect an idea from some staffers that their needs have been forgotten, or just plain ignored.

If I were Tom, I'd at least make a phone call to Jennifer to make amends and try to get her back. It would turn a bad story into a good one, and give the feeling that the bureaucracy she complained about wasn't so large that directors lost touch with the staffers who make the film festival work.

Old Spice Man Makes Shirtless Brothers Cool

YouTube ,
Yahoo, Metacafe, DailyMotion, Blip.tv, StupidVideos and Viddler

Another Old Spice Man?  

On Wednesday, August 25th, The San Francisco Chapter of The American Marketing Association announced they were going to hold a meeting called "The Old Spice Phenomenon: A Panel Discussion On The Advertising Genius Behind The Old Spice Re-branding," On Wednesday, August 25th at 6 PM, at BARS+TONE, 1550 Bryant St, 11th Floor, San Francisco.

Thinking the panel might fail to discuss the cultural significance of having an African American man wearing next-to-nothing be a corporate brand symbol, and figuring that because I'm in Georgia and will not return in time for the SF AMA event, this blogger created the video above, and wrote another blog post, thanking Old Spice Man for his historic first.

Remember, there have been black men who have pushed products, but not shirtless and certainly not to so many rave reviews.

Old Spice Man, along with President Obama, make shirtless brothers cool.

And as women of all colors dig Old Spice Man, we can say racial barriers have come down to a dramatically low level in America.

Read my full blog post on this, and tell me what you think...about the milestone, I mean.

Old Spice Man, Thanks For Making Shirtless Brothers Cool

YouTube ,
Yahoo, Metacafe, DailyMotion, Blip.tv, StupidVideos and Viddler

At first, this blogger ignored the whole Old Spice Man deal until a headline article in Ad Age. Still I ignored it.

Then, the San Francisco Chapter of The American Marketing Association announced they were going to hold an entire meeting called "The Old Spice Phenomenon: A Panel Discussion On The Advertising Genius Behind The Old Spice Re-branding," On Wednesday, August 25th at 6 PM, at BARS+TONE, 1550 Bryant St, 11th Floor, San Francisco.

Another Old Spice Man? 

Then it occurred to me the SF AMA panel - and in a New Media world panels are stupid - might just hold an entire conversation without mentioning the historic racial significance of "The Old Spice Phenomenon." So, to keep them on their toes, and make people think, I created the video you see above.

The marketers will focus on the metrics, like the 29 million video views Old Spice Man has gained, or the 80,000 Twitter followers the Old Spice Brand has, or the 106 percent increase in Old Spice sales, but what they miss is the fact that for the first time, America went wild for a brand pushed by a smooth-talking black guy wearing next to nothing.

Nothing against Terry Crews, who stars in The Expendables, but the success of Isaiah Mustafa is a triumph for the African American man who doesn't fit the kind of black male stereotype Crews' version of Old Spice man presented and can be summed up in one word: menacing.

The Real Old Spice Man

Instead, Isaiah Mustafa's Old Spice Man is more like a lot of black men in American society (save for the kinda-sorta, maybe fake British-style accent, which he could have done without), well-spoken and apparently intelligent.

Women Dig Old Spice Man

The viral video performance and product movements associated with Old Spice Man are due to women. As Mary Jo Rapini wrote in Health News Digest, many of the women she talks to have a "thing" for the Old Spice Man. Mary Jo Rapini's white; she never mentions The Old Spice Man is black.

 So, from this we can see how dramatically far American Society has come, and that's something to both talk about and celebrate.

Chevron Ecuador Challenge: Steven Donziger Joe Berlinger, Show All Crude Movie Outtakes!

Steven Donziger and Joe Berlinger 

Recently, a judge ordered Crude film director Joe Berlinger to turn over outtakes from his film about alleged pollution by Texaco (now owned by Chevron) in the Amazon of Ecuador.

Chevron reportedly reviewed the outtakes and found a series of conversations by the attorney behind the lawsuit, Steven Donziger, admitting that the case is "nothing more than smoke and mirrors and bulls__t" as well as other statements that ruin the credibility of the case against the American oil company.

But not so fast, says Berlinger and Donziger.

They wildly claim the outtakes submitted to the 2nd Circuit Court in New York City by Chevron, which is seeking more outtakes from the movie Crude are taken "out of context" and distorting their words.

Berlinger wrote in an e-mail statement to Fortune magazine "The footage citations are being taken out of context and not being presented to the court in its entirety, creating numerous false impressions, precisely what we feared when we were first issued the original subpoena,"

Now, my friends Amazon Watch and Steven Donziger publicist Karen Hinton (who would make a great dinner partner) are pissed that I wrote that the Crude outtakes destroy their case.

I stand by my previous blog on this. I believe that the evidence produced from the movie Crude not only wipes out their case, but probably makes them liable in both the U.S. and Ecuador of fraudulent and misleading legal actions against Chevron.

And, what legal issues could Amazon Watch, Rainforest Action Network, and everyone else face if all their rants against Chevron are knowingly false? Right?

Here's my challenge: Prove me, Zennie Abraham, wrong.

Produce all the footage from the movie so that the public can make up their own mind whether the case against Chevron is a sham created by Donziger and Amazon Watch or whether Chevron is taking their words out of context.

And when I write all the footage, I mean all of the outtakes from the movie Crude.

What do Berlinger, Donziger, Hinton, Amazon Watch, Luis Yanza, Pablo Fajardo and their team have to fear? Apparently a great deal because they are continue to prevent the footage from being seen - and letting all of us make up our minds whether they're telling the truth or not.

It's time for Berlinger, Donziger, and Amazon Watch to put up or shut up.

And for Karen Hinton to buy dinner.

(And a side note: I want it known I support the right of filmmakers to protect their film and videos from unnecessary inspection, but only in the case of real politically important, difference-making work, not in the instance of a trial lawyer in the middle of a lawsuit, trying to make billions under the color of helping the poor of a third world country, when he's clearly partnered with its government.  Crude was made during the Chevron Ecuador legal battle, so it looks like what is it: propaganda. My challenge will reveal that...if they take it.)

Piranha 3D Gets A Sequel

Piranha 3D was a movie i enjoyed immensely this past weekend, it really was a genuine throwback to the eighties with some of the goriest sequences that I've ever witnessed on film. Well today comes news that Dimension Films has given the greenlight to move ahead with a sequel. Producer Mark Canton and Dimension is very pleased with the word of mouth that the film has received from audiences and critics, and with the movie costing hardly anything to make a sequel seems like a no brainer.

The film has also garnered a lot of attention via a Funny or Die video with stars of the movie asking The Acedemy to nominate the film for Best Picture at the Oscars. Check out the video and check out Piranha in theaters now.

Piranha 3D: For Your Consideration from Piranha 3D

Donald Trump on the Mosque, say what? By Suzannah B. Troy

The New York Post has a big photo that perhaps has been air brushed just a little of Donald Trump chiming in on the Mosque at Ground Zero saying it is wrong.

I wrote this comment and posted on The New York Post website.

Suzannah B. Troy

08/23/2010 6:28 PM

Donald Trump is describing how every community feels about his buildings and at Spring and Varrick a construction worker died. No one wanted that hideous building and Christine Quinn would not even show up to the city council task force meeting on DOB where I did show up and speak about way too many construction deaths. It is believed she did not show up because she did not want to face a massive turn out protesting the Trump build at Spring and Varrick. I am for religious freedom but I do think the mosque build at the WTC is not appropriate and instead of building bridges and healing they are creating far more pain and why would they do that. Also they need to be open about where they intend to get money to build their Mosque.

Here is my previous post on this blog site on The Mosque....

TMZ exclusive on Tiger Woods divorce by Suzannah B. Troy

Harvey Levin says there was a chill in the air at the legal preceding between Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren where they both showed up but did not say a word to each other.  The rest was standard including both being assigned parenting classes!

Tune in to night for more dish from TMZ.   Here is my post on the divorce from early today.

I suggested Tiger Woods consider breaking out officially into the porn industry in my earlier post and on that note TMZ has more on the possible sex tape deal with Heidi Montag and Vivid and it is really interesting....  It involves Heidi and her soon to be ex- Spencer Pratt who wants to make this sex tape deal happen staying at the same hotel....hmmm.   Is it a possible sex tape conspiracy?  Spencer Pratt is not a millionaire and apparently he and perhaps Heidi have decided to take the express track via Vivid.  Watch the Steve Hirsch interview by Harvey Levin.  Sounds like Steve could be talking to Tiger as well.... Check it out....

Remember the Tiger Woods porno spoof tapes.....   Does it seem some days  like all roads leads read to the porn world....? Certainly plenty of Tiger Woods mistresses hailed from there.

Bigoted Erick Erickson Killing CNN's Show Ratings

Image via Wikipedia

CNN's ratings, especially for Rick Sanchez' Rick's List, are already low. So why have Consevative Blogger Erick Erickson, who Firedoglake calls a "Bigot," on a show that's already performing poorly? 

Does this mean that CNN harbors bigots? Logic would indicate that CNN would want to avoid having on a personality so awful people turn the channel, right?

According to TV By The Numbers, Rich Sanchez, who this space views as a good guy, is having a massive ratings problem.

CNN's lost viewers in the Rick's List time slot, where The Situation Room was before it. The viewership has dropped 50 percent in volume in the 25-54 demographic in just one year, from 276,000 viewers to 134,000 viewers for July 2009 vs. July 2010.

With that, why would CNN add the ultimate ratings killer, Erick Erickson? Erickson's mere presence helped foster the ratings failure of CNN's John King USA Show. Many blogs, both liberal and middle of the road, and even The Daily Show, have blasted CNN for having Erickson on. CNN must think such criticism translates into ratings; the logical mind would see that's not the case.

Using CNN as a platform, Erick Erickson has done everything from pretend racial slurs against Democratic Congresspeople never happened, to recently defending Franklin Graham for saying that President Obama was born Muslim.

CNN, which smartly dispatched its under-appreciated CNN iReport Team to Comic Con 2010 to draw a growing group of mainstream Americans who care more about diversity and entertainment, turns around and for some strange and stupid reason feels it has to be a home for angry conservative white guys who cost them ratings: Glenn Beck, Lou Dobbs, and now but in a lesser role, Erick Erickson.

If it's interested in helping to advance the business of parent company Time Warner, CNN needs to give Erick Erickson the boot and emphasize the CNN iReport initiative ASAP.