Opinions

The lead

Fri, 09/24/2021 - 12:00am

Where were you the day Elvis died? If you are younger than 44 you were just a gleam in your daddy’s eye, or your momma’s, but back in the day, those of us in TV news biz used to amuse ourselves by debating the lineup, the order of stories, of the evening broadcasts on the three networks. That’s back when there were just three who carried the prestigious (translate pompous) national and international news, with their 800-pound gorilla anchors Walter Cronkite at the “CBS Evening News,” John Chancellor of “NBC Nightly News,” ABC’s grand experiment with Barbara Walters and Harry Reasoner. They were called 800-pound gorillas because as highly paid anchors they got their way, except for Waters and Reasoner, who didn’t get along at all.

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No, Afghanistan not end of American power

Fri, 09/17/2021 - 12:00am

It’s hard to imagine more humiliating images than what we’ve seen in Afghanistan in recent weeks, from the hasty evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul to the chaotic scenes outside the airport.

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Biden’s words

Fri, 09/17/2021 - 12:00am

“Mistakes were made.” That’s a passive-aggressive phrase that politicians and others have used since time immemorial to deflect blame. Suggesting amorphous “mistakes” implies that others are at fault.