Hi Lester:

It will be great to see you in for Brian again tonight.  I have been following the twitter reports and saw some of the photo's.  They all seem to be having so much fun doing this and President Obama is definitely doing his part to make this a success.  I am so glad it is Brian doing the reporting on this. I now this is a lot of work for Brian and the crew but we do appreciate it.  It is really wonderful what NBC is doing for us.  

Looking forward to your broadcast tonight.
 

Brian looked so pumped walking next to Obama I thought he was going to kiss his ear lobes. Love is in the air!! The butt kissing is facinating. NBC News has become mere stenographers for Obama and Democrats.

Jay
Odessa Fl.

Hi Lester I'm watched some of the White House tour and who knew Brian and Barack are the same height. We now know Bo Obama is really President Obama's pet I knew that would happen. I look foward to the rest of the tour.

Gen. Petraeus said the US violated the Geneva Convention and the court of law could try terrorist, he also admitted we made mistakes after 9/11 and Gitmo should be closed. Now let's see what the GOP has to say about their General now.

Prince Harry is visiting NYC and with God's blessings I'll be visiting England next year for my vacation. Yes my first visit will be to Kings Cross and to see if there really is a platform 9 3/4. You know I'm a Potter fan and these things are important to me smile. Peaches will be taking me to Paris for a day tour. I know first I have to take this years vacation.

Sad news Lee Iacocca has lost his Chryster pension plan. Just think the man who helped save Chryster in the late 80's is no cut out. Thousands of workers and investors made big bucks from Iacocca's plan over the twenty year span. What a movie that will be when it's made.

To all the NBC staff and my blogger friends have a safe and happy weekend as for me I'm in Hollywood and will be taking a slow walk down Hollywood Blvd. to see the sites and go to the movies/dinner.

I forgot I hope Susan Boyle wins it all I'll be the first to buy her CD.

Good Evening Mr.Holt, Great to see you this evening for the broadcast! First of all the report by Savannah Guthrie concerning the comments made by Justice Sotomayor and the President's comments in the interview with Mr.Williams. In the interview with Mr.Williams discussing the comments by Justice Sotomayor, President Obama spoke about her life experiences and struggles which would help in understanding the struggles of people. Part of the job in making her decisions in the nature of cases would be to listen to people's issues and being able to relate to their day to day lives is certainly an advantage. Also, knowing what CEO's of big companies are thinking will help in many cases. In going before the Senate next week all of her knowledge will be revealed and the right decision will be made.
The report by Mr.Costello concerning the GM filing for bankruptcy and Chrysler being sold to FIAT certainly changes how many people will purchase cars. The Chrysler dealerships selling smaller European cars may have good or bad results.  Whether people will spend the money on these cars only time will tell. One waits for the news Monday concerning GM.

On another note the report by Mr.Sanders from Florida about hurricane season showed many residents really aren't prepared for any major storms. Having the necessary emergency supplies to get through the storm is vital. The switch to HDTV could pose problems for many whose televisions will not work after the switchover. One does need a portable radio to receive the important information is these situations. Hopefully, everyone will have all the proper supplies and be prepared well.

The report by Mr.Alexander concerning Prince Harry's visit to New York certainly showed how people were excited at seeing and meeting him. It was good he visited Ground Zero to pay his respects to the victims of September 11th and visiting wounded soldiers was important too. Especially, since her served in Afghanistan with fellow soldiers. He seems very likeable and friendly to people which is not surprising at all. Very Popular with people!

The "Making A Difference" segment by Mr.Taibbi was another inspirational piece as all these segments. The young man named Chad Bullock has the right idea making all the baseball parks smoke-free. Asking the fans to begin on this campaign was the first step and it seems to be getting a great response. Visiting high schools and speaking with students about the dangers of smoking really will bring to mind how smoking is a dangerous habit and not starting in the first place is good for ones health. It would be great if all the baseball parks were smoke-free and I think Chad Bullock has gotten off to a great start. Very good piece!

I liked the footage of President Obama buying burgers for Mr.Williams and his NBC crew! Very nice!

Looking forward to the Mr.Williams special next week "Inside the Obama White House" I'm sure it will be wonderful!
Watching the last "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" this evening!
Thank You for the broadcast Mr.Holt. See you on the weekend broadcasts! 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,Extra Safe and Well Richard!
XOXO

Hi Lester,

It was nice to see part of Brian's interview with Pres. Obama. I'll defintely tune in on June 2 and 3.
I've also been reading the tweets. They sure have been tweeting about food quite a bit. But it's fun to read.

It's disturbing that so many children are caught in the middle of the gang wars in Chicago. I'm glad to hear that the shootings are down.

I wish that I could be in N.Y. to see Prince Harry. He might have misbehaved in the past, but he is a character and I think an all around good guy. He's dedicated in many ways.

I'm sorry to hear that Rachel Alexandra won't be racing in the Belmont Stakes. I hope she's o.k. But I will be pulling for Calvin and Mine That Bird. They're both phenomenal. I'll also be watching the French Open. Go Nadal!! NBC Sports does a terrific job.

The "Making A Difference" segment is always inspirational. Chad is making a huge difference in Durham, tobaco central. I'm sure that teens and adults will think twice about tobaco products.

Lester, I know that you and Brian don't make the decisions in what segments to leave in and what to leave out.
I really find it in poor taste for NBC to air a segment on Susan Boyle's "meltdown." It made Stephanie Gosk sound gossipy, even though she usually does nice reporting. I'm sure that some of us were just dying to see ET, Inside Edition reporting from London. Please, NBC leave that to them. When something brings to mind that song by The Eagles, "Dirty Laundry"..."kick um when they're up,kick um when they're down.." then there's a problem.

Lester, have a great weekend and I'll try to catch you and Amy tomorrow morning, but for sure tomorrow night.
Oh, your shirt, suit and tie were nice, 10!

Vicki

Hi, Lester! Thanks for filling in for Brian this evening, and last evening. You must be very busy, too! You always do a great job filling in.

I have been loving following the NBC producers and crew today!

Here are a few of my favorites of the day:

InsideObamaWH Five Guys delivery has the West Wing smelling like burgers and fries. Heavenly. -ANawaz

InsideObamaWH Bo Obama just came in out of the rain! No wet dog here :) -BNurre

InsideObamaWH Just saw Rahm Emanuel briefly on 2nd floor. Asked him if he was having fun w/ us here. "No. But I still love you," he said. -LLeist

InsideObamaWH Rahm isn't even having fun w/ CTodd. They bumped into each other arnd 2p & Rahm joked, "I hate all of you," of course w/ a smile -SDemarest

Also love all of the info and fun facts.


Thank you for the broadcast, Lester.

Have a great weekend!
-Cary

@ Jackie:  It's summer again and you know what that means, you will be travelling around seeing the kids again.  Crossing my fingers for Susan Boyle too.

@ Laurel:  Sorry to learn about the death of your grandma.   Keep the memories of her alive in your heart for ever and ever.

@ The Hug Commenters:  I hug my kids every day.  No one leaves the house without a hug and a kiss from Mom or Dad.  I still do hug all my kid's friends.  

On a final note, please keep Laura Ling reporter for Current TV and her friend Miss Lee  in your thoughts and prayers.   Laura is the sister of Lisa Ling who has done reporting for the Oprah show as well as CNN.  

Apparently Laura and Euna crossed the border into North Korea and are being held captive.   Lisa Ling will be on CNN and NBC next week to talk about the issue.    

I have been following Ann Curry's trip this week to Iran via Twitter.   It has been an interesting journey for her.   She is preparing a one hour program which will air in January about Iran.  

With the current economic state the USA is in, arguments between liberals and conservatives, gay marriage issues, confirmation of Supreme Court justices I think many of us need to pause and be thankful for this great country we live in.

Most of the folks that comment on this blog are female.    Take a moment and reflect on your own life and think about a female's life living in Iran, Iraq, North Korea or many countries on the planet.   I think we can understand Ms. Ling's and Ms. Lee's desire to find the truth and the story.    God keep Ms. Ling and her friend Ms. Lee safe.   Without curious reporters, we may never know the truth!  

Peace, joy and love to all!

Can any Nightly News viewers out there please give me an update on Brian's health?  I heard he has a severely separated shoulder from patting himself on the back over his upcoming "Inside The Obama White House" story.  Any info would be appreciated.

In case anyone missed Nightly News this week, here's a recap:

On Sunday, there was a two-and-a-half minute story about "Britain's Got Talent" contestant Susan Boyle.  The story included a clip of Jay Leno impersonating Boyle, as well as a brief interview with her hairdresser.  Who says Nightly News doesn't dig deep to find the important stories?

On Wednesday, there was Tom Brokaw's seemingly endless four-and-a-half minute saga about the Maryland crab industry.  For a while, I thought I was watching "Masterpiece Theater".  When you take away the commercials, this story accounted for an incredible 20% of the entire broadcast.  Perhaps it would have been helpful if the producers had included an intermission.  Now, Tom Brokaw is an iconic figure in network news.  He is perhaps the best anchor of his generation.  But this story was ridiculous.  It had zero news value.  If this is the best Tom can do these days, maybe he should stay in retirement.  That same night, Chris Jansing did a report about earthquakes.  She told us that California may get a really big earthquake and that very few people are prepared for one.  There--I just said in five seconds what it took Jansing two-minutes-and-twenty-five seconds to say.  But at least she managed to include a gratuitous ten-second clip of Carson Daly in her story.

On Thursday, we got a two-minute-and-twenty-second story about the controversial subject of high school students who like to hug each other.  Chris Jansing even got some students to demonstrate the different types of hugs.  Maybe NBC should have attached a "Breaking News" tag to this story.

On Friday, we saw a thirty-second "news story" about Jay Leno's last show, with a pointed reminder about his new show that will be starting in September at 10 PM (9 Central).  Check your local listings.  Then we were treated to another two-minute-and-fifteen-second story about Susan Boyle.  Apparently, she's unraveling a bit due to all the pressure and media scrutiny surrounding her.  And Stephanie Gosk even gave us a solemn update on Boyle's odds of winning, according to London bookies.  This is at least the fifth story Nightly News has done on Boyle in the past six weeks.  (In the same time period, Nightly News has not presented a single story about the conflict in Sri Lanka.)  And also on Friday, we were given three reminders about Brian Williams' upcoming special "Inside The Obama White House".  

Does anybody remember when Nightly News actually presented news, instead of fluff, filler and self-promotion?

Since the moderators of this blog have apparently stopped printing most of my comments, anyone who is interested in reading them can go to my blog, The Nightly Daily.  It's located at www.nightly-daily.blogspot.com.

I found it interesting this week on each of your stories about the GM bankruptcy that your reporters were speaking from a dealership standing next to an enormous SUV of some kind and showing pictures of the lot with more of the same.  Does GM still not realize what will sell and what won’t?  And as far as the questions “will they sell?” and “is this what the American people want?”, we must remember that it was the car companies that made many people believe that they needed an SUV, so lets see them apply the same techniques to creating a desire for at least 35mpg.  Please have the reporters ask “how many vehicles on the lot get 35mpg or more?” as this will begin to tell us if they have begun to realize what they must do.  I drive a 2003 Toyota Echo that gets 39mpg and will take me wherever I need to go.

Lester, we have a group of family and friends gathered here for a beach vacation and as we watched your report on secret service agents we all agreed that you'd make a good one....then we all agreed that you'd make a good president.

Loved watching the President and family the dog seems to have the same friendliness as the family I look forward to seeing the two days  

Although I had a full house this week end and it was
so much fun, I still  had the chance to tune in
to your broadcasts, all excellent, and I agree that
you'd make a good president; and I have always said
so.

Another busy weekend coming up.  A birthday celebration for my husband's aunt in Lexington
who will be 95 (Sunday).  And on Monday, our
grandson will graduate from Middle School, and
the dress code is suit and tie and speaking of which
I especially liked your brown tie you wore Friday
night,.
Have a nice week.
Phyllis

Lester,

Your report on Air France jet crash was riveting.
Such a tragedy  but Paris must be a great assignment.
When I think of that great City I invariably think
of Casablanca and all those famous lines like
"We'll always have Paris.  Here's looking at you, kid
Round up the usual suspects."

I must say you looked like you stepped out of a GQ
magazine.  What is that old song, "You aRe too
marvelous for words."  That said, you are a marvel.

Have a safe trip, lester.

Phyllis

Lester,


By a twist of Fate, President Obama is in a unique
position to open dialogue with the Muslims and
therefore a new political reality in
The Middle East.  A Plus for him is that he is an
eternal optimist but no sap as he said.

I have thousands of books and a copy of The Koran
which does not make me a secret Muslim but an
eclectic reader.  Open books, open minds.

Phyllis

Lester,
Your report from Paris this evening mentioned
Honeywell instruments.on the airplane.  My brother was an engineer
at Honeywell until about two years ago when he
took an early retirement.  About four years ago
there was talk of a merger between Honeywell and
General Electric, but it fell through.  We were
disappointed that it did not happen.  Anyway, I
was riveted by the story last night and will
continue to follow the news on it.  If any anchor
but you had broken the news about Honeywell, I
would have freaked out and broke out in hives and
went out of my mind.  In Journalism, remember use
a word (like out) three times for effect.

Have a nice evening!!!

Warm regards
Phyllis

P.S. Lester  
On Tuesday, coming from a bookstore, I made a wrong
turn on the way to the shopping center and got
lost.  It was scary.  Lucky for me I ended up
where I wanted to be, though it took me about an
hour which reminds me of little book with the
cool title "If you don't know where you are going,
you'll end up somewhere"  So much for selective
memory.
Phyllis

Lester,
A superb speech by the President, and I am
speechless.
Phyllis

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