Tennessee, Tennessee, Tennessee

  Many of you will remember the picture on the right of NBC News political director Tim Russert and his now-famous, low-tech white board.  Early in the evening, Russert predicted the 2000 election would hinge on the outcome in Florida.  And after weeks of recounts and legal challenges, everyone was congratulating Russert for his foresight. There’s … Read more

The Case for Due Process

  In a previous post, I shared The Daily Show host Trevor Noah’s observation you can both support Black Lives Matter AND be pro-police.  I still believe that.  In fact, my pro-police side was affirmed several times over the weekend following the largely unsuccessful terrorist bombing in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City.  (NOTE:  Though this … Read more

Leading from Behind…or Farther Back

  There I go again.  A hopefully provocative headline which will entice you into reading this post.  And you likely thought the subject matter involved United States foreign policy.  If you’re still reading this, it worked. Actually, this post is about philanthropy, a topic which has received considerable attention during the last couple of weeks, … Read more

Emily Litella Revisited

  Imagined transcript for “Weekend Update”: September 17, 2016.  All of the material in italics in this post are documented quotes about President Barack Obama’s country of birth. ANCHOR:  Like all of you, we miss Gilda Radner.  In hopes of recapturing just a smidgen of her comic magic, Saturday Night Live has invited Republican President candidate … Read more

When One Head Is Better…

  I am trying to figure out the moment in time news programs became game shows.  I’m not sure exactly when this transformation took place.  Maybe it was May 11, 2001.  That was the date of Lynn Russell’s last broadcast as the anchor of CNN Headline News.  Russell’s program consisted of a recap of current events … Read more