Taking a Shot at McCain
Media reports indicate that a helicopter carrying Senator John McCain–and other members of a Senate delegation–was fired on last week as it flew over the former Russian republic of Georgia.…
The Usual Spin
On a tour of the Pacific Rim, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld offered a cautious assessment when asked if U.S. missile interceptor (recently installed in Alaska) could actually knock down a…
Everybody's All-American
For a college football junkie, kickoff weekend (which ended last night with Florida State’s victory over Miami) is as good as it gets. I’m an NFL fan, too (the New…
Let's Keep Talking (Nuclear Rope-a-Dope, Round #65)
By all accounts, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s weekend diplomatic mission to Iran was a failure. Despite Mr. Annan’s efforts, Tehran has made it very clear that it has no plans…
Tuning Out the Networks
I didn’t watch Katie Couric’s debut last night as anchor of the CBS Evening News. And, from the perspective of news executives and advertisers, I’m part of the problem. Your…
Birds of a Feather
Once upon a time, there was an unwritten rule for reporters who tried to pass off bogus stories on their superiors and the public. Once discovered, these disgraced journalists were…
Mary Mapes: Have We Got a Job for You
In the event her new producing gig at HDNet TV doesn’t work out, we’ve found another potential job for Mary Mapes, the disgraced ex-CBS news staffer who was the driving…
The EU Finally Gets It?
Your humble correspondent never worked for the State Department or the U.N., so I don’t understand the subtleties and complexities of international diplomacy. But I do recognize a stalling tactic…
The Bloom is Off
Drudge is reporting the quick slide of the Katie Couric-helmmed CBS Evening News into third place. According to overnight Nielsen ratings, the Couric broadcast finished in last place on Monday…
Off the Net (and Off the Mark)
On the eve of today’s five-year anniversary of 9-11, the Washington Post offered a predictable–and misleading–article on our (so far) unsuccessful efforts to track down Osama bin Laden. Over the…