Hi Brian
Sorry to hear about the accident in New York as for the workers Gov. Pataki and Rudy robbed the 9/11 workers from Medical Care benefits and alot more. It's great to hear your involvement in the Medal of Honer Foundation but it would be better to look at those soldiers who could be saved from the Iraq invasion based on lies.  I guess an Honor would be saving the living so we don't have to pray over the dead.

Scott's getting paid big bucks or cover up the crimes of the White House. Americans seem to honor the people who committed corruption while attacking those who are honest. Scott's so called confusions were already told during the Libby investigation. Maybe his next book will let a little more truth out. As for me I'll stick with buying Richard Engel's book of honest information and educate Americans on who the Iraqi people really are.

As for the election it seems the Speaker of the House and Howard Dean are using the Republican criminal play book.  Yes voters don't count, neither does qualification nor experience it's all about who the Senior Democrats can control.  Pelosi had no problem singing woman's rights and qualification when see got her job, yet now it's all about having a Democratic candidate that can follow orders.  I decided it's time for the grapevine to get the word out.  People shouldn't be told who to vote for in a Primary. Republicans denied voters rights and even fixed voting machines.  Democrats yelled how Al Gore had over 1 million more voters then Bush even with the fixed election.  Now Democrats don't care about the voters choice but are picking who they want.  It's time for Americans to take the hold country back from the corrupt Law Makers of both Parties.  Pelosi had watched and helped Bush continue to commit crimes and never drawing up Impeachment Hearing, she just says pray for Bush. Now if that's all we have to do Bush would never leave office as God said use your brain and do something yourself. Reid is working for the White House while giving lip service.  We have watched who's who as Law Makers, Media and White House still lie to the people.  It's time for the people to take this country back. I will not sit back and be silent anymore. I'll fight for my country and the Constitution until the end.

Best to my friends Lisa, Laural, Stephanie, Claudia, Anne and Matt

see you same time same place 6:30pm

Dear Brian,

Happy (traditional) Memorial Day!

I'm sorry to hear about (another) crane collapse in NYC, and about our ailing hero.  Too many sad endings.

I was also very shocked and saddened to hear of Harvey Korman's passing.  I remember watching The Carol Burnett Show as a child; it was one of my parents' favorite programs.  It has to go down as one of the all-time great sketch comedy shows.  Carol Burnett, Tim Conway, Harvey Korman, and Vicki Lawrence were - and still are - comedic geniuses.  His loss is so poignant for me, because he and his castmates are a connection to my childhood, and to my parents.  As he goes, so will others, and then I will only have my memories of a simpler, more innocent time.

Now, for a complete 180....  Reverend Michael Pfleger is an idiot.  (He can take a seat next to Sharon Stone.)  I am sick and tired of (so-called) men of God engaging in hate speech.  I don't know what kind of church Reverend Pfleger was raised in, but according to the teachings I received as a child, his disgusting performance does not qualify as Christ-like behavior.  He should be embarrassed and ashamed.  What's more is that he is the worst kind of bigot - the kind that doesn't even recognize his own misogyny.  Most of the media coverage I saw on the subject leapt quickly from the blatant sexism of the Reverend's remarks to, "Gee, how will this impact Obama?"  Who cares?  The media has the perfect opportunity to open a discussion on sexism and misogyny - as they spoke about race relations, after the Don Imus incident - but, instead, chooses to put a political spin on the story.  IT'S NOT POLITICS, IT'S BIGOTRY.  I think I will leave my TV off for most of the weekend, in protest, except for....

Don't forget - Richard Engel is participating in a panel discussion at Book Expo America in LA tomorrow.  The other authors on the panel are Jon Krakauer, filmmaker Michael Moore, and Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, with Christopher Buckley as MC.  The discussion will be taped and broadcast as part of Book TV on C-SPAN2.  It airs Sunday, June 1st, from 10:00 p.m. - 12:00 midnight.

Stephanie:  Thanks for the link to your shelfari.com shelf.  I currently have three books going simultaneously - Chef Gordon Ramsay's autobiography, Martin Fletcher's "Breaking News," and Joe Scarborough's "Rome Wasn't Burnt in a Day."  Plus, Richard Engel's new book just arrived today.  Three guesses which book gets pushed to the forefront!  Btw, please tell us how that hostage situation worked out.

Anna:  Thanks for the link to Richard's upcoming radio interview.  I will listen online.

Jackie:  Luther Vandross's "Dance With My Father" came on the radio today, and I thought of you.  I guess a lot of us who post here could relate to that song.  On another subject, here's a link to a story I know you'll be interested in:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/29/obamas.first.campaign/index.html

Lisa:  How's the book going?  :-)

Lots of love to all!!!  XOXO

P.S. - My snarky comment of the day:  How much fuel did Tom Costello waste, traversing the country, in order to drive home the point that the high cost of fuel is restrictive to most?  Snark, snark.  :-)

I'm shocked you'd show that "what goes into a gallon of gas" story. Wouldn't that 73% that's going into other countries treasuries go a long way toward paying our debt off? What's with these democrats? Even they understand the more money the government has the more there is to buy people's self respect. CBS had a story last week that these "new speculators" were college endowment funds and state pension funds buying up as much oil in a day as China. Ya don't think there's any chance these two arms of the democrat party could be trying to bring misery to America on purpose to win an election do you? Oh of course not. Democrats are the good people, and really care about me. Look forward to watching the circus on c-span tomorrow.

Brian, Too early here to see the NN, but I am curious, without meaning to sound snide, how many other crane accidents have there been in say the last 2 years anywhere in the country? 2 accidents of this type that close together seem odd, but I don't have any stats to base that feeling on.

Found out something neat at my local library, if I recommend that they buy RE's book I get to be the first to read it! So I shall be able to join the book discussion after all. (Second in line will be the nice lady who helped me with this info. Her husband is a Marine currently stationed there, and when I pointed out that Richard has been there 5 years she was most interested in reading it!) The other book I asked about was Scott McClellan's and we were all amused to discover that they had only ordered one copy!

Laurel, here is something to think about, which is more ingrained, and therefore harder to eliminate, racism or misogyny. I have my own answer, but I want to hear others first, particularly Jackie. Men, (Dave from Tn I'm talking to you) your thoughts are welcome too

Lisa 5 days

Laural: Thank you I really did Dance with my Father on my wedding day and he could really get down. smile
Now to your article about Senator Obama. I guess it comes from listening and watching yet not being fooled by words and looks. Obama is from Chicago and he is just as corrupt as his friend Rezko.  He is a wolf in sheep's clothing and more people will see him for who he really is. I'm so glad my Father taught me not to believe a Chameleon like Obama and some others. I was so glad my kids just didn't buy the fake Rock Star lies. My son told me he was put off by Oprah's remarks as if just being black is enough for a black person's vote. Thanks so much I downloaded the information and passed it on.

It is all about YOU, Brian Williams. Too man Benefits, what YOU saw out YOUR apartment window today, the indignity of having to take a floor seat during a meeting.

You have no idea of your inflated sense of self.

Hope the censors will consider a harsh remark.

The standoff ended (the one up the road from me from last night) just like you'd hope it would: the hostages were let go without incident; no one got shot; no one got hurt; and the gunman was taken into custody.  It ended in the wee hours of this morning.

This weekend is the Maine Democratic Convention.  Sounds like it will be an interesting affair there as they nominate & elect delegates for Denver.  I'm happy to see so many 18 year olds in the process.  They are the future, and seeing them so interested in how the system works warms my heart.  

So I'm still trying to figure this out: Why did Michigan & Florida insist on having their primaries so early and why is the National Committee being so nasty about it?  Aren't rules written to be bent and broken?  At least, that's what politics seems to be about in their era.

The "reverends" who keep showing up and making news are neither reverent nor Christian.  They have apparently forgotten that church and state are separate.  Jesus didn't get into politics and He didn't slander and make fun of people.  Preach the word, people; leave the politics and parodies to the politicians and comedians!

Another crane goes down?  If I were living in NYC, I'd be demanding that all cranes come down.  Construction be damned.  They aren't supposed to fall from the sky.  
I am sure that in this case, politics and the love of money is killing innocent people.

I DO know Harvey Korman's name.  I used to watch him on reruns with my dad.  One of Dad's favorite movies was "Blazing Saddles".  Just thinking of Korman's laugh makes me smile!

The photos of the "untouched" tribes in Brazil are fascinating to me.  The Amish would probably look advanced to them.  It's like looking at photos from another era in time.

That phrase struck me, Brian: 3 hurricane seasons ago since Katrina.  Can it really be that long? Being so far from Louisiana makes it hard for me to remember how dire it still is down there.  Thank you for sharing Irene & Ed's story.  They might be "ordinary citizens", but its the ordinary among us to accomplish the most - and stories we need to hear!

Jackie, to answer one of your questions from yesterday: I do not appreciate being lied to by the government.  I'm angry about it.  Just another reason why I don't believe what its says.  However, with all the urgent matters in the world, changing Washington is something I leave for more politically-active & impassioned individuals.  I make my changes at the voting booth.

Shall we take a count of how long Laurel can be creative with signing her name?  

I've lost track of who's reading Richard's book, but hope all of you get to enjoy it this weekend!  

Good Evening Mr.Williams, First of all how terrible to learn of another crane collapse in New York. The report by Mr.Holt near the scene of the collapse really showed how awful the destruction to the buildings. Something needs to be down quickly because it seems these collapses are happening far too often lately. Hopefully, there will be a solution soon. The report by Mr.Mullen from China exibited how this earthquake has displaced so many people. The rising lake created by the quake certainly is a threat to the people living in the area. Having to keep moving to higher ground must be so difficult especially since there are so many people and it becomes extremely crowded. I hope their situation improves for the better.
On another note how sad the passing away of Harvey Korman. My parents watched the "Carol Burnett Show" and enjoyed all the skits with him Carol and Tim Conway. Seeing the footage from the shows brought back memories of when I was a child during the seventies and hearing my parents laugh at all those funny shows. He will be missed greatly in the entertainment world.
Finally, the "Making A Difference" segement was inspirational as always. Such great work being done to rebuild those residences in Mississippi destroyed by hurricane Katrina. Good work! Thank you for the broadcast Mr.Williams. Hope you have a wonderful weekend! Peace to you and to all!

Lots of Love to Laurel,Jackie and Stephanie!
Hi to all great ladies on this blog!
Be well always!
Laurel-Great so far! :-)

@ Celine and Laurel:

Well, we got our east coast book signing on MONDAY in NYC!     I hope you 2 make it!   They just added NYC tonight!

Weekend Bests to All!

The NBC corporate propaganda tonight wasn't about politics. It was about gas prices. Your report broke down 100% of the cost of gasoline and never mentioned oil company profits. Not all sales from oil companies are gasoline, but last quarter Exxon-Mobile posted $116.8 billion in revenues with $10.9 billion in profits.  That puts Exxon-Mobile's average profit at 9.3%. On a $3.96 gallon of gas that comes out to 36.9 cents a gallon.  Shouldn't that have been included in NBC's explanation of the cost of a gallon of gas?

Dear Brian and NBC/MSNBC people,
   I have occasionally been awed and slightly but not very nervous when I have previously walked underneath of giant cranes in the Boston area where I live, but in future, I will be careful to keep some distance.  I think Mayor Bloomberg will be good to his word to slow down the apparently sprinting pace of NYC construction if needed to ensure safety of New Yorkers and visitors.
   Regarding your broadcast Friday and the replay videos on MSNBC, I thought it was questionable that you should have accorded a fairly long time to the so-called Father Pleger's rant, who I agree with Inp about, is an idiot.  His screaming parody of Hilary was more offensive than either informative or entertaining.  OK, he was at Obama's church, but Obama was neither there nor approved in any way of what he said.  I'm sure that Obama disapproved even more strongly with the way he said it.
    Do you have to show us every nutcase who's loosely associated with Sen. Obama?  Yes, I know this sort of thing is shocking and "entertaining", but newsworthy it isn't.  I'd prefer to hear what more reasonable people like Chuck Todd have to say.   Not that you can't have some very colorful people on, but, please, spare us the screaming nutcases.  In my case, I turned down the volume control as fast as I could get to it.
    I would appreciate your shortening or eliminating long takes on such people.

Thank you so much for your Thursday story about the Pabians--the elderly couple who drive around the country in their RV.  They seem like very nice people.  Meanwhile, on that broadcast you did not report on a single story from South America, Africa, Europe or eastern Asia.  You did not even mention the ongoing suffering in China or Burma.  But at least we know all about what the Pabians did on their vacation.  How proud you must be.  Keep up the good work.

Why do you people at NBC, such as Matthews, Olberman, Russert, the Pimp Guy, Andrea Mitchell, and others lie so damm much about Hillary and the election?  Andrea Mitchell just now talking about the Michigan primary makes her appear as if she couldn't recognize the truth if it jumped up and bit her in the ass!  You people appear to be nothing but a bunch of Marxist.  Now you're trying to pass off Bamba's buddy the priest as just a visitor to his church.  Bamba knew that guy for 20 years and is on his campaign crew!  You  people at NBC no longer report the news, you make it up with your lies.  You're a disgrace to this country.

Dear Mr. Williams,
I am wondering why no one in the national news industry reports the Democratic nominating process as one that insures that as many people as possible get to have their views represented.  Someone should explain to the American people that proportional representation is more reflective of demographics than winner-take-all, and that the longer the process goes on, the more people get included.  Yes, I know, the pragmatists think it is better for PR purposes to get a horse in the race early.  But isn't it better for everyone in this country if a greater diversity of views are represented and if we all have some time to reflect on the fact of that diversity?  The Democrats' nominating process is far from perfect, but it does have the virtue of allowing every state to count, and every Democrat in that state (and sometimes Republicans and Independents too!) to get a chance to send a delegate to the convention who stands for that person's values and priorities.  Just once, I would like to hear someone in the nightly news stand up for the democratic process as opposed to the politics of pragmatism.  Good heavens, even American Idol uses a watered-down form of proportional representation, at least for the first 10 weeks or so.  

Could you be the anchor who stands up for democratic values in the nominating process?  Once you replaced Tom Brokaw, we switched our news viewing to NBC.  Of course, your fabulous work down here in New Orleans endears you to us as well.  But we think you are far and away the most thoughtful, most articulate, and most intelligent anchor on the television.  Could any of that flattery move you to use phrases like "open process," "more representative of the people's views," or "chance to be heard" when discussing the Democratic nominating situation?

Thanks for listening.  
Dr. Molly Anne Rothenberg
New Orleans, LA

I watched the story this week (was it Thursday or Friday night?) about what goes into the makeup of the price of a gallon of gas. According to the percentages presented, there's no profit for the oil companies? Could the story be redone and include what percentage of the price is profit? Thanks.

It's Saturday, and I've been watching in its entirety
the rules committee meeting. I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (which, by the way, was not even shown to exist when you showed the five states averaging $4 a gallon. This also happened when the Weather Channel began broadcasting...It took a month to get them  to add us to the map.)
When the Mi. primary was held, I had already been contributing my pittances to Obama for a year. We asked party leaders how we could vote for Obama. They told us to mark "uncommitted" and those votes would count for him. I'm very angry when I hear Hilary saying NO votes should count for Obama in Mi. I am a woman, and I'm 58 years old, ready to pursue my second MA, and I have been for  Obama for 4 years!! I am extremely tired of the Clinton's unsavory "win at all costs" strategies, and SHE DOES NOT DESERVE MY VOTE!!! I went into deep depression in '68 when Bobby was assassinated...I had just signed up to work in his campaign...He was the last hope, we felt, after the loss of our other heroes...Now I at last feel that level of hope with Obama. I didn't hit the streets in Chicago in '68, but If the Clinton's somehow steal this nomination, I WILL be on the streets in Denver. P.S. Pleast make sure the U.P. is on your national maps...We are not mighty in number, but we DO make an impact on this world. Thanks. I needed to vent.
Sincerely, Kathleen Conaway, Escanaba, MI

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