Thirty years ago, love was never having to say you're sorry. If you think Hollywood was rather simplistic about this subject back then, consider the industry clueless today. Love is mysterious, often felt most intensely at the quietest moments, in small acts of kindness and sacrifice. Love deepens over years of shared experiences and trials, which is why love is built, not arranged. Those who build lasting, loving marriages serve as role models for their children. But children have an alternative source of information, too. They could be learning about romance from "reality" TV. From the boffo-ratings disaster of Fox's... continue reading
For several years now politicians of both parties have been falling all over themselves to support yet another government entitlement: paying a hefty slice of prescription drug costs for senior citizens in the Medicare program. Creeping socialized health care is a reality because no one is doing a thing to stop it. It does not matter that the average senior citizen pays only $650 a year on his or her prescriptions. It does not matter that the current Medicare program's share of our economy is already expected to double between now and 2035. It does not matter that senior citizens... continue reading
Just how bizarre has the state of the youth culture become? Try this. When basketball star Allen Iverson was indicted for busting down doors and threatening people with guns, one ESPN radio show spent time debating the prospect that all the negative headlines might be a boost to his image with the kiddies. It is bad enough thinking of poor black kids in the inner cities aspiring to the dead ends of the "thug life." But it's worse because it is simply inexcusable, when the bad-boy worship comes from the suburbs where kids lack the desperation of poverty and are... continue reading
Life if full of surprises. Here's one. Who ever imagined that Larry Klayman would be the darling of National Public Radio? In the Clinton years, Klayman and his Judicial Watch litigation machine were the media's Exhibit A for the Keystone Kops of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy, obsessive haters who were trying to frustrate Bill Clinton as he brilliantly went about "doing the work of the American people." Most of the time, the validity of his lawsuits and discovery processes was irrelevant. He was to be ignored, period. But he could not be ignored: more poignantly he was to be portrayed... continue reading
Earlier this month, Phil Donahue went before a gathering of television critics to flack his new MSNBC prime-time program, and the Hollywood Reporter's Scott Collins, at least, was impressed. "Donahue," wrote Collins, "sounds ready to reinvent himself from yacht-tripping retiree to left-wing firebrand." I'm confident that Donahue will make that transition with ease. After all, he seamlessly segued from left-wing firebrand to yacht-tripping retiree in 1996, when he ended his long-running daytime talk show. Since then, his highest-profile political activity has been to stump for Ralph Nader. The presumably tanned, rested, and ready Donahue certainly seems eager to spout in... continue reading
The White House announced that George W. Bush would march to Wall Street and call for a hard line on corporate crooks. The President's critics in the news media responded typically by following the Clintonite Democrats and manufacturing a lose-lose scenario. The first order of business was to attack Bush as out of touch with everyday Americans, with polls asking if the president is "more interested in protecting the interest of ordinary Americans, or is he more interested in protecting the interests of large corporations?" Do you remember any polls in Democrat administrations where a similar question was asked? Oh,... continue reading
Early last month, USA Network president Doug Herzog defended television's permissive attitude toward raunchy content. "Anybody who wants to be contemporary has to keep up with the times," he said. Once in a while you run across a comment that crystallizes a way of thinking, and Herzog's is a beauty. For the past thirty years, staying "contemporary" has resulted in the gradual disappearance of standards on television. Some network executives might have opposed this mindset back when the sound of a flushing toilet on "All in the Family" was enough to startle viewers. Today it's conventional wisdom, so much so... continue reading
The struggle over the confirmation of federal judges is usually the very definition of an insider Washington story. Editors and reporters can't get excited unless it's a Supreme Court pick, and a juicy Clarence Thomas "scandal." But the reality of what lesser federal judges can do struck home when a panel from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals declared the Pledge of Allegiance was unconstitutional. A semi-retired Nixon appointee and a Jimmy Carter appointee found that the words "under God" are not to be uttered in schools because one child was emotionally injured by having to listen to them, according... continue reading
It was a good idea, and for a while, it was well executed, but all that was several years before the recent demise of "Politically Incorrect." In July 1993, Bill Maher's brainchild debuted on the Comedy Central cable network with the guiding premise that politics was too much fun to be left to the professionals. The show has now been canceled, another flop for the professional left. I'm sure that to many, it sounded like a recipe for a flop from the outset to have Maher, a standup comedian by trade, moderate a political discussion among guests drawn largely from... continue reading
It looks like Campaign 2004 is starting to heat up with Al Gore acting rested, ready, and ridiculous again. In Tennessee, Senor Stiff had a new pitch, telling old supporters he had erred in allowing himself to be too programmed by pollsters and consultants in the campaign. He promises a much different race if he runs in 2004 because this time he'd "just let it rip." How quintessentially Clintonian. After working in an administration that paid untold millions of dollars to pollsters and consultants to package itself, Gore now blames the pollsters and consultants for their undue influence. Gore's anti-Bush... continue reading