Ted Turner, Media Maven

​Almost forty-six years ago, CNN (Cable News Network) was founded by Ted Turner and launched on June 1, 1980, as the world's first 24-hour all-news television channel. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it revolutionized news broadcasting by offering continuous coverage, starting with around 1.7MM subscribers and growing into a global media staple.

And for years, the voice of CNN was legendary actor, James Earl Jones. He brought an unmistakeable sense of assuredness, with his deep, calm baritone voice as he announced, “This is CNN”, as the logo filled your TV screens.

Turner’s life work included founding Turner Broadcasting System, which housed cable channels TNT, TBS and Cartoon Network, as well as Turner Classic Movies. He also formerly owned the Atlanta Braves and other sports enterprises.

He was known for his brash, outspoken personality and thin mustache; also was a philanthropist, founding the United Nations Foundation; a bison rancher and conservationist; a yacht collector; and a political activist.

“Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgement. He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN,” Mark Thompson, chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide, said in a statement Wednesday.

“Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand, and we will all take a moment today to recognize him and his impact on our lives and the world.”

Turner’s network proved itself during the Persian Gulf War in 1991, when it was the sole US network to broadcast a live, unedited feed from Baghdad as bombs illuminated the sky.

Its live coverage of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Chinese student protests in Tiananmen Square and the space shuttle Challenger explosion further solidified it as a dominant source of world news for Americans.

When Turner sold it in 1996, CNN began a long trek down to wokeness, ultimately becoming as disrespected as MS NOW and other left-leaning media enterprises. Even though the sale of CNN and other properties netted a $7.37BB windfall to him, he later said  it was a regret and the “worst day of my life .”

He had revealed just before his 80th birthday that he had Lewy Body Dementia, a neurological disorder that causes dementia and muscle failure, and was reportedly in a rehab center in early 2025 after a bout of pneumonia.

But, obviously, it finally got to him. He was 87.

Anti-Semitism Rears Its Ugliness Again

​It is Spring and renewal is in the air. Trees and flowers are reborn, plans are starting to be made for summer vacations, and soon enough, warmer weather will be felt, washing away the extreme cold of this past winter. 

Oh… and anti-semitism has made its presence known again on New York streets and campuses.

A hateful mob of keffiyeh-clad anti-Israel protesters flooded the streets near a historic Manhattan synagogue Tuesday night, clashing with cops as they repeatedly shouted “Israel should not exist.”

About one hundred agitators waving Palestinian flags and banging drums swarmed about a half-block from Park East Synagogue, chanting “Palestine will never die” and “Stop the sale of stolen land” during an event promoting real estate in Israel and the West Bank.

Police yelled “step back” as they shoved the unruly crowd onto the sidewalk, video shows, while counter-protesters rallied nearby.

And of course, Mayor Zohran Mamdani has remained silent  on this latest outbreak of anti-semitism, while a buffer zone bill, which prevents protests around religious buildings and institutions, went into effect in April.

But the brazen hatred of anti-semitic demonstrators is emboldened by the obvious anti-semitism of the New York Mayor. And his inaction in this type of protest activities makes the NYPD’s job more difficult, resulting in greater chance for injuries.

If one thinks this Mayor cares about the law,  you are sadly mistaken. His agenda to support pro-Palestine, anti-Israel activities is evident in his actions and his speech. This motivates the rampant anti-semitic fever to gain acceptance by Democrats, Letists and Socialists without regard to any rights for Jewish people and their supporters.

Until he and the DSA are forced to obey the law, this hatred will continue unabated, leading to more wanton violence and potential unnecessary death.

You can count on it.

Recognizing 2026 Is a Mets Disaster

​It has been just six weeks since the start of the 2026 season and the Mets are about to call it a season. This probably is one the earliest times in recent history that it was apparent even to loyal, long-suffering fans that this team has no real hope for a rebound.

The team has had its share of injuries, as some of the most essential players are down. And will be out for quite some time. 

They have won only four of their last ten games, and have won a total of twelve games of the thirty-four they have played. It truly does not bode well for even a .500 season.

Other than the upcoming Yankee series during the next homestand, the 40th anniversary of the 1986 World Series, the Mets Hall of Fame Inductees game and the Carlos Beltran Number retirement game, as it stands right now, the other promotional games are not much to spend a week’s pay to see this team while you enjoy a ten dollar hot dog and a twenty dollar beer. Is it?

I know some people who are already selling tickets to games in their season  packages, just so they don’t have to endure the pain of watching the Team That Stearns Destroyed in person. Instead, they can suffer this debacle from the comfort of their living rooms. And not feel guilty shutting it off.

Steve Cohen, who is a life-long fan like me, may need to rethink several things going forward. First, he needs to stop criticizing the fans on X. It doesn’t help his image at all. 

Then, he needs to re-evaluate what needs to be addressed as he prepares for next season, since getting a handle on that will give him a leg up to put a better team on the field. And third, he needs to get rid of the “boy wonder”, who still thinks like a small market executive, as he proves he knows very little about evaluating talent.

New York writers, who are generally very knowledgeable, have been too diplomatic by letting Stearns grin-fxxk his way for too long. He actually was seen smiling and laughing during the twelve-game losing streak.

Sadly, the “Cohen promise” of achieving a World Series championship within his first five years will not be realized this year. Or in the next two years, either.

Instead, knowledgeable fans already recognize it is time to blow it all up and  start the rebuilding now. And start it by getting a real general manager, not one so concerned with a fancy title.

And as always: Let’s Go Mets!

New York Tries to Move Closer to Complete Anarchy

Two of ths most notorious killers in both New York and American history could be released soon from life in prison should the woke mob, led by Governor Krazy Kat Hochul and her leftist ideologues in the New York State legislature,  manage to pass their legislation.

These two woke bills, called the Elder Parole Bill and the Fair and Timely Parole Bill, would separately give both Mark David Chapman, John Lennon's assassin, and David Berkowitz, the Son of Sam serial killer, multiple avenues to gain release  from further prison time. Each bill allows ALL prisoners, provided they meet the criteria, the opportunity to walk free.

So could Long Island Railroad massacre gunman Colin Ferguson, who killed six passengers and wounded nineteen in a 1993 shooting. And so many others who committed heinous crimes would be able to benefit from these ill-conceived ideas.

The Elder Parole bill would let violent criminals dodge theirk minimum sentences, regardless of how heinous their crimes, and be granted early parole hearings after they’ve turned fifty-five and served fifteen years of their sentences.

The Fair and Timely Parole bill would require the state parole board to release convicts regardless of the severity of their crimes unless they are a “current” danger to the public.

These amount to "Get Out Of Jail Free" bills, giving leftist ludges, attorneys and parole boards every "legal option" to manipulate the system and overrule the rights of victims and their families, whose sense of justice is now removed.

In addition, every two years, victims’ families would be dragged back to the parole board to fight against the release of their loved one’s killer. This forces them to cruelly revisit the pain they suffered, as if their loss only just occurred once again.

The legislation makes it much easier for jailbirds to be set free provided they’re model prisoners, no matter how bloodthirsty their crime.

Presumptive Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman said he vehemently opposes the bills and accused Hochul of pushing for the release of killers. You know he is not wrong; Krazy Kat has, for years, as every other liberal, Socialist  and Democrat, supported cashless bail, no arrest, and every other leftist ideal which takes away the protections of victims' rights in favor of the accused.

If either or both these bills were to pass, the rights of victims, their sense of justice, and the complete collapse of the criminal justice system would follow.

All to satisfy the leftists' goals to protect the rights of criminals, while sacrificing the protections society in general expects.

The Sick, Dark Sound of Silence in Iran

Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again - Paul Simon

It is baffling how ​people can be so blind to the unwarranted barbarism which is still occurring even after the world has become so aware of the torture and ongoing executions Iranian citizens still endure. Do you not care?

The barbaric Iranian regime reportedly tortured a dad to death for the high crime of using the internet, and abused and executed a twenty-one-year-old karate champ for merely attending a protest.

News of Hesam Alaeddin’s death, a forty-year-old father of two, was reported by Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the last shah of Iran, and spread across shocked posts on social media. Because he used Starlink after February 28.

“The brutal and criminal regime of the Islamic Republic killed Hesam Alaeddin under torture after he was reportedly arrested for using Starlink,” Pahlavi wrote on X on Friday. “For 62 days, this regime has shut down the internet and continues to massacre Iranian people. The world cannot stay silent.”

Outraged posts about Alaeddin’s death spread across social media, with the Independent Persian also reporting on the murder.

That reality includes violence similar to what happened in January, when nearly 40,000 people were killed while participating in protests against the regime.

Stories of ongoing executions have filled the headlines throughout the Iran war, even after the ceasefire with the US started April 7.

Among those also recently executed was Sassan Azadvar Joonqani, a twenty-one-year-old karate champion who was hung until dead Thursday for “effective cooperation with the enemy” and “enmity against God,” Euro news reported.

His "crime" was merely attending a protest in January, where authorities claimed he attacked a police car, though a lawyer assigned to Joonqani argued there was no evidence of that.

Joonqani was arrested January 8, and was tortured physically and psychologically until he made a confession which led to his execution, according to Euro News.

He was just one of numerous Iranians murdered in a similar fashion.

It is stunning that Leftsts and Democrats scream and shout over President Trump “violating” the UNCONSTITUTIONAL War Powers Act, while ignoring the inhumane torture and brutality of modern-day NAZIS who have overtaken and occupied a peaceful country, hijacked a religion, and blasphemed God by committing murder in His name. And say nothing as they look away.

It is time  for someone, anyone, to defend the Iranians against this despotic, evil regime. Trump and the US are doing it, along with Israel. But the rest of the world remains silent, and like ostriches, keep their heads in the sand, only to remove them to screech and criticize the only two countries trying to remove the regime from continuing this cruelty.

Why? Because it doesn’t fit the protesting countries, the Church and peoples’ agenda. But they ignore the barbarism. They, by their silence, are as guilty as those committing these atrocities. 

As the words of the song of the Sounds of Silence reveals, to paraphrase, ‘fools, you do not know , your silence is like a cancer, which grows’. 

The cancer, which you are  permitting, is growing DARK deep within your hearts. And innocent people continue to be murdered by the satanic regime you continue to support in Iran.

Respect -The Easiest Way to Make a Point

One of the most fascinating concepts you learn as a child, and should be conveyed throughout your life, is respect. Respect your elders, respect your teachers, respect your parents and grandparents. Respect your neighbor.

You may not like them or agree with them. But you were taught to respect them.

A good example: In the Mafia, when a “sit-down” meeting was held between factions which disagreed with each other, the “capo” or the boss would expect each side to make their arguments known, respectfully, without yelling or slamming fists on the table. Once one lost his temper during the meeting, no matter the point being made, he lost his valid argument.

The phrase made most often used, when disagreeing, would be “with all due respect” or “I mean no disrespect”. In a tone which reflected  sincerity. Not yelling or name-calling.

But today, in the “civilized” world of politics, respect is absent. From both sides of the aisle. 

But it is with those on the Left which seems to have lost the ability to convey respect. They feel their arguments have legitimacy because they yell at those with whom they disagree, and are more noticed by a sympathetic media.

But they show no respect for viewpoints other than their own. And that is problematic in a society which expects civility in conversation. But they have watched Democrats in the Congress show contempt for those who oppose them. And have, wrongly, learned this behavior is acceptable.

It isn’t.

It is time for people to tone down their belligerent behavior, take a breath or two, and listen to what others are saying before jumping to scream out and continue to show your lack of respect.

Even in the criminal world of the Mafia, one learns to show respect for his opponents more than those on the Left. Maybe we should have a “Don” show you how you should act.

And learn how to respect each other again.

Another DINO Shows What Democrats Really Are

Crazy kook Representative Rosa DeLauro  was told by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin she was “uninformed” Monday after the Connecticut Democrat completely lost it and suggested he drink weed killer during a heated congressional budget hearing. 

She also was unaware, apparently, that her unacceptable behavior in the Congress was a sign of disrespect for her office. But then, it has been condoned by many Democrat members when speaking to Republicans who testify before the Congress.

DeLauro, the purple-haired ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, argued that Zeldin’s budget proposal “reads like a climate change denier’s manifesto” as she asked the EPA chief to “justify abandoning [the EPA’s] duty to protect Americans” from climate change. 

“Following the law,” he responded. “Section 202 of the Clean Air Act. Where does it say anything about fighting global climate change? Loper Bright. Supreme Court case. Are you familiar with it?” Zeldin asked. 

As she protested, Zeldin continued, “I know you’re upset. You don’t know what Loper Bright is. Do you know what the major policies doctrine is?” Zeldin challenged DeLauro, adding, “You’re a member of Congress, you should know.” 

This back and forth bitter exchange went on  until DeLauro raged, “I don’t have to listen to this BS!”

The  heated debate continued when DeLauro said, “ Glyphosate,” referring to the active ingredient in the pesticide Roundup.

Zeldin advised that if the congresswoman’s cup was filled with glyphosate, she should not drink it. To which DeLauro responded, “Maybe you should try doing that.”

It seems that even in the Congress, Democrats are so filled with hate and extreme TDS, that they actually have no answer when it comes to debate except to demand that Republicans kill themselves.

Congresswoman DeLauro is only the latest who proves this point. This certainly is no longer the Democrat Party of even just thirty years ago.

They are the new DINOs (Democrats In Name Only).