Dear Brian,

Could the media please stop referring to the war in Afghanistan as the "forgotten war"?  Our military has already participated in that war; it was fought in Korea.  As the daughter of a Korean War vet, it bothers me when I hear that term assigned to our current conflict.  It's like my father's war is being forgotten all over again.  And by the way, exactly whom has "forgotten" Afghanistan?  The policymakers within the Bush administration?  The bean counters at the media outlets, who chose to sink more resources into covering Iraq?  Then-Senator Obama, who couldn't be bothered to convene committee meetings on the topic, because he was too busy campaigning for the presidency?  Despite judgments to the contrary, the public - and certainly our military families - have not forgotten Afghanistan!  To say that is to say that we have forgotten 9/11 and Osama bin Laden.  It's disrespectful to our service members who have served or are serving, and it's disrespectful to veterans of the Korean War.  Just stop!
 

I couldn't even finish watching the video on the death of the Rocky Mountain news---I started to cry.  I'm one of those people who is so excited to fly to Rancho Mirage, CA from Charlotte, NC for my BHRT doctor's appointment because it means I will get to read four daily newspapers while traveling--The Charlotte Observer, the Dallas Morning News, and when I reach the Coachella Valley, both the Desert Sun and The LA Times. Last week I commented that our Charlotte Observer, once a very proud newspaper, has been reduced to nearly a pamphlet.  I love the Internet and I think technology is great, but I am afraid for the future for the newspaper industry. Have a great weekend, everyone, spring is coming!

Hi, Brian.

I love picking up the paper in the morning and reading it, and I hope we'll all be able to do that for years to come. Right now I'm on very low internet where I'm at, so I'll have to watch your inserted video when I get back home, because I do care. I do like "change", just not all at once. We need to keep our newspaper going!

I was about to ask the same of you, hope you have a great weekend. And of course we will join you tonight, and every night at 6:30!

Enjoy your Friday night broadcast, and have a safe and happy weekend! (that goes for everyone else who may read this.)


Thank you for the weekend wish.




Take Care,
-Cary

NOT A LOVE NOTE: Just heard you attempt to justify another lug to Citigroup. If you wrote this, shame.
You also read it, double shame.  Disgusting. When will you stop protecting the b..ds who run Citigroup and tell the truth. You should resign as new anchor and take the honest job of PR head for Citigroup!

Hey, Brian! I got a good laugh from the "Pay As You Go" report tonight, that is just too funny! So sweet to see that report on the peanut sniffing dog story, as you said it's just another reason to love dogs! I'm SO glad to finally have my chocolate lab, Charlie Brown, back with us. Feels like a part of you is missing when you're not around him, partly because he is my shadow.



Thank you for the great broadcast tonight! Looking forward to your "We The People" special next week.


You have a good weekend, too!

-Cary

I am heartbroken by what is happening to newspapers and not just because I used to work for one and my husband still does. I subscribe to the New Haven Register and New York Times and read the Hartford Courant and Connecticut Post online.  The Courant, Register and Times are in trouble. Should either Connecticut paper close, they would leave a major metropolitan area with no newspaper.  That would be unimaginable just a few years ago.   The communities they serve would be the poorer for it.

Re. your "Making A Difference" segment tonight on the church in Chicago.  I'm not a religious person but Jim (the pastor) came across your screen in a way i've rarely seen in almost 40 years.  Someone needs to take that congregation to D.C. so they can be heard by everyone who has contributed to the mess we find ourselves in.  That would be "making a difference."  

Good Evening Mr.Williams, Another fine broadcast this evening. Always wonderful to see Richard on the broadcast!! PLEASE STAY EXTRA,EXTRA SAFE RICHARD!! Now on to the broadcast. First of all Richard's report from Kabul,Afghanistan really exhibited how tough it will be for the US troops being deployed to the region. The terrain is not made to handle the type of huge vehicles the troops need to use and seeing the one vehicle stuck in the mud up to Richard's waist proves it is going to be extremely difficult. Mainly in southern Afghanistan the troops face most likely fierce battles against the Taliban with rockets and IED's. Which is very scary to think about them facing. Survival for them is hard and the soldier making a stove out of scrap metal shows they are using anything they can find. The temperatures and the snowfall just brings more misery. One really hopes that someday the Taliban didn't exist anymore.
EXCELLENT REPORTING AS ALWAYS RICHARD!!
PLEASE STAY EXTRA,EXTRA SAFE ALWAYS!!
Regarding the report by Savannah Guthrie concerning President Obama's statement about troop withdrawal from Iraq by August 31,2010 and all troops by the end of 2011 is good news. Leaving some forces is the region is understandable,but it will be great to see them all come home.

On another note the report by Mr.Bazell about peanut allergies and the dog who is being trained to sniff out peanuts helping the little girl from getting sick was a really good piece. The program will certainly help all those school children with peanut allergies and I think it is a great service. Nice piece!

The "Making A Difference" segment about the church that gives away all the donations to people in need was very inspirational. Saving on things for the church to help others is defintely the right idea! Great segment!

Thank You for the broadcast Mr.Williams. Have a wonderful weekend! Always great to see you Richard! Peace to You and to All!

Lots of Love to Laurel,Jackie,Stephanie,Claudia,Celine,Anna,Lori,Cary and Matt!
Be Well Always!
Stay Extra Safe and Well Richard! Excellent Reporting as Always!
See You on Rachel Maddow's Show this evening!
XOXO

Brian,

How can so many institutions including those of finance and the auto industries continue to be bailed out from their economic woes when such a vital resource like the Rocky Mountain News is allowed to fail?  This and other major newspapers help keep the world in check and cause action and reaction to and for freedom of democracy.      

Jim

Mr. Williams,

I just finished watching your appearance on the Daily Show from February 26th and have come to one conclusion.  PLEASE BEGIN A COMMENTARY SEGMENT ON THE NIGHTLY NEWS!  I'm only 30, but I remember watching the newscast and seeing John Chancellor's commentaries when I was little.  The point you made to John Stewart about taking up monkey legislation deserves a much broader audience.  Like Stewart said, you're king of the hill right now and have the stage to call Congress out on wasting time with the "Monkey-bite Bill" and others.  Pick one of your blogs a week to read on air or a totally new topic, but PLEASE HELP FED-UP CITIZENS OF THIS COUNTRY!

Interesting story on the church that gives everything away. Question is the pastor subsidized by a church district or does he have another job to support himself?

           BRIAN,
 I HAVE BEEN WATCHING LOCAL COVERAGE OF OUR ILL FATED
NEWSPAPER ALL DAY AND MONTHS. I FIND THE NATIONAL
COVERAGE OF THIS EVENT JUST TO OVERWELMING AND JUST
PLAIN DISGUSTED WITH THIS HAPPENING IN AMERICA. I FOUND YOUR COVERAGE WAS DONE VERY WELL..
             THANK YOU

Friends don't let friends Twitter and drive!  
-You know it happens.  I can see it now:  
"Lori is driving."
"Lori just ran off the road."  


I can't imagine being forced to pay to use the restroom on an airplane.  They'd better be sparkling clean if they're going to charge me!  Somehow I doubt they would be sparkling though.  

I loved the story on the peanut sniffing dog.  Truly a best friend in every sense of the word.  If only my dogs were so useful.  They're really just good at sniffing out dirty diapers lately. Not so helpful.  

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Newspapers seem to be tied directly into two groups - users of mass transit and retired people. Car commuters can't read on the way to work, and reading the paper at your desk is a sign of goofing off. With no afternoon press, no time to read while driving, no quiet time during the day, we've lost our newspapers. It's our own fault, like so many loses. But I'm still hoping that all of us compulsive readers and writers will continue our passion in some way.

Rocky Mountain Canary...

Dear Mr.Williams-Your comment re:Michelle Obama's dress was snide,snarky & inappropriate.I was able to see for myself that the dress was sleeveless; why did you feel need to point that out? You're a fashion reporter now? Would similar comments be appropriate re:a man's outfit?
WaPo had comments on same topic few days ago. What's with "inside beltway" demeaning comments about MsObama?

It's appalling that NBC refuses to print comments on this blog simply because they are critical of Nightly News.  Last Monday, I submitted four comments to this blog.  None of my comments were printed.  I would like to know why.  My comments were directly related to the blog, used appropriate language and did not attack the comments of others.  Considering that NBC News is only able to conduct their business because our country was founded on the principle of freedom of speech, their censorship of this blog is unbelievably hypocritical.  These were my comments:

*On Monday, Brian Williams criticized Sen. Jim Bunning for misspelling Ruth Bader Ginsburg's name.  Talk about nerve!  Nightly News frequently misspells names on the air.  Note to Brian:  Anchors who work in glass studios shouldn't throw dictionaries.

*On Sunday's Nightly News (Feb. 22), a story on the flu vaccine showed flipping calendar pages to indicate the passage of time.  Seven of the twelve calendar pages contained errors.  April was shown to contain only 29 days, September was shown to contain 31 days, and other months were missing certain days while other days appeared twice.  It's shameful that Nightly News can't even show a calendar without making multiple errors.  Remember:  Thirty days has September....

*It was appalling that Nightly News did a "news story" on how well United Airlines cleans their planes (Monday 2/23).  This was nothing more than a two-and-a-half minute infomercial for United.  On Brian's 8/21/08 blog, he also heaped a ton of praise on United.  Why is Nightly News acting as a shill for United Airlines?  Obviously, because United is a regular NBC sponsor.  It's shameful that Nightly News is using their valuable news time to thank their regular sponsors with favorable coverage.  But the best part of Monday's story was that it was sponsored by Detrol LA.  So NBC actually got Pfizer to pay for their sham "news story" that extolled United.  Brilliant.

*Why did Nightly News's coverage of the Oscars (as well as Brian's blog) completely ignore the speeches by Dustin Lance Black and Sean Penn that called for equal rights for all Americans regardless of sexual orientation?  These were the most important speeches of the night, but NBC chose to devote almost all their coverage to the Slumdog kids.  Why?

A relevant analogy would be; Why would you need farmers when you have supermarkets to buy food? Most of the internet content that people read are sourced from the nation's newspapers' writers. The excuse that was given as to the downfall of newspapers and lowered readership subscriptions was that many people are turning to the internet to read their news.
People supposedly are leading faster and busier lives and do not have time to enjoy the luxury of picking up a newspaper and reading it.
The closing of the Rocky Mountain News in Denver is the latest victim of an ongoing trend of the economic decision to eliminate newspapers. Who is to blame?
Poor economic decision making , faulty marketing techniques, or lack thereof, is partly to blame also. To simply say that the internet has stolen readership from the nation's newspapers is an unwarranted excuse.
Computer technology should enhance newspaper readership not eliminate it. The content of internet news reading will suffer because of the declining newspapers and writers that have lost their venue of using their writing skills to submit information to the general public.
Denver is now a one newspaper town, very similar to what happened years ago in Buffalo, New York when the Courier Express ended their publication. Cities such as Philadelphia and San Francisco have been rumored to be on the cutting block also. Newspapers used to bind communities together with a common thread, and now there are fewer of them around.
The sad part is ,is that young writers that are entering the job market will choose other careers that have more job security. Hard print is a permanent record of history and our history will soon be erased if this trend to eliminate it continues.
The internet should be used to supplement the newspaper industry , unfortunately the opposite has happened.
The lack of reliable content on the internet will continue to decrease also as more newspapers close their doors.

Hi Brian,

I just wanted to let you know that you kicked off my weekend in great fashion by catching a replay of your appearance on 'The Daily Show'.  You were off the hook funny, witty, and charming.  The deadpan look you threw at the camera when Jon stated you were telling all American's to make a run on the banks was HILARIOUS.

It's just great to see the funny side of you in conjunction with the outstanding job you do on the real news.  Kudos to you and have a wonderful weekend!

Greg

As a TechSpec I have had the black cloud of fear hanging over my head for too long where print media is concerned and feel hypocritical about its demise.  For too long I pass the wonderful books on my barely a year old and huge book case without so much as disturbing a speck of dust on it.

Armed with this laptop, an iPod Touch, smartphone and sachel filled with chargers and extra batteries I am guilty as charged.  When was the last time I read a book I ask myself?  I do read the techie mag I subscribe to, but the times I have perused a newspaper in the last month totals 3 at the most.  3 because 1-someone's kid's photo was on the front page, 2-the sheriffs report (small town iowa) had a bizarre piece about a citizen reporting "Soldiers in the neighbor's backyard at 3am", 3-to read a funny misprint reported to me by a wacky friend.  I am woefully guilty and my brain is melting from too much 30 minute interval tv program watching.

I did tivo and digitally protect Jon Stewart and Brian from the Daily Show out of sheer necessity.  (Would leave my job and family for an internship with either men.)

The move-it (forward to keep up with technology) or lose-it direction of print media corporations is caused by us.  Directly.  We complain that "conflict of interest" issues trouble us when people like Rupert Murdoch own the papers and the network but we lack the vision to realize it is what was done in attempt to save print media and survive the CYBER Movement.

I have seen the enemy and it is I.

Adore and respect you Mr. Williams.  Not since David Brinkley (I cherish my personally autographed copy of his autobiography) have I actually LISTENED TO a broadcast journalist.  You rule.  Carry on, sir.

-Coleen

Brian, You mentioned that Obama is keeping his word on getting the troops out of Iraq. We'll it seems to me that he said the troop would be out of there in six months. Also, the time table that's in place now and that Obama is using is the one that was negotiated by the Bush administration.
Thank you,
Mike

What the heck is happening at the rock? Brian what’s up? How about getting back to news and reporting. What happened to journalistic integrity? Is there no shame? Are you paying any attention at all Brian, hello? Who made the decision that the target market is brain dead? We don’t tune in to here what the latest is on Brittney or Madonna. That’s not, respected journalism, that’s tabloid trash. Who is making these decisions? Can’t be Brian, he has integrity, or does he? Has he sold his soul?

Americans can't pick cotton, without somebody getting screwed.
Americans can't sell cars, without somebody getting screwed.
Americans can't develop a pc operating system, without somebody
getting screwed. Americans can't develop testing and
word processing software, without somebody getting screwed.
Americans can't develop a patient treatment and medication
tracking system, without somebody getting screwed. Americans
can't build an alert system for missing children, without
somebody getting screwed. Americans can't sell real estate,
or stocks and bonds, without somebody getting screwed. Hell,
Americans can't run a bank, or even run for president, without
somebody getting screwed in the bu*t. In America, no job is
finished, until somebody gets screwed.

That's why I don't get anti-American terrorists. Why would
anybody work so hard to screw a country, that works so hard,
to screw itself?

Hey Brian,

I love the newspaper too,I always start with the Comics and then Dear Abby and the horoscopes, and then I am ready to face my day!  It's a real bummer when they bail out.  Sometimes I feel guilty if I don't have time to read the paper, because you feel like you are harming the envirmonment and being wasteful.  Anyways, we are finally going to get some snow today and tonite and I am so excited!  We haven't gotten any all year and Spring is only 3 weeks away, so it's now or never!!!  Bring on the snow~

I stopped reading the paper a few years ago. I got into reading the internet and I found that I could research the article. At that time I listen to ABC. There the nightly news was so far off and they didn't report it correctly. So I came to your nightly news. It is much better.

But I am disapointed with even your news. Like when you Talked to Rick Santelli you had this big smile on your face along with him. I don't think anyone deserve a smile who wantS Obama to fail. That means that America fails. You should have went in depth with that interview. Like what CNN did with there interview. Santelli is a Republican voted for McCain and does not say things in the best interest of the people he is talking to Americans.

I thought it was just me and my opion but I went to a meeting with Edwards Jones my financial advisors. In front of about 250 people they told us to not watch Santelli and CNBC.

Like the interview you did with Bush after Katrina about charters Schools. You did not ask any good guestions. You did't show the three illigal immigrants in the back ground laying grass.

Another reason is I can go to the source and read it myself.

These are some of the reason I think newpapers and nightly news are losing readers and listeners. You don't ask any real guestions. We have to look it up on the net.

I still listen to you but not for the real news in depth. Just a light touch of news.

I saw your story about credit card companies canceling your credit card or lowering your credit limit.  I was one of those people who's card was canceled by American Express last Friday.  I have a 767 credit score and had a $35 balance after getting it down from thousands months ago.  I called and they gave me the run around and basically said "you don't deserve to be our cardholder any more."  I was so upset I just hung up the phone on them.  They said I could re-apply for another card.  You know what?  They can keep their card and their high interest rates.

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