Hi Brian:

Interesting, it must be nice to just pack up, go away, and not tell anyone where you are.  I don't have that luxury.  Anyway thanks for the link on the Govenor.  I know your blog says he put the Lt. Govenor in charge but according to the link even the Lt. Govenor did not know he was taking time off.  If that is so, did he really put the Lt. Govenor in charge or not?  Needless to say, guy thing or not, there is no way my husband would get away with this with me, maybe the State is ok with it but I wouldn't be.

Thanks for the infomation on the music site.  We all know you have been so busy and we have been the ones to reap the benefits from it, but we really do look forward to your site and suggestions.  I guess you've just spoiled us.

See you on the broadcast tonight

Hi Brain,

I'm glad you're back and hope you had a great Father's Day weekend.

You know, I was looking forward to writing about Lucas Glover winning the US golf tournament. Not that I'm into golf,(especially when the news gets pre-empted), but because he's a great guy and he's from here in Greenville, S.C.

Now, Gov. Mark Sanford has to take off and put a negative spin on things for S.C. again. Let's chalk it up to the fact that he's a republican. It was proably one of the things where he said to his wife, that he needs a break and she said something like not letting the door hit in the butt. I don't know but he may be hanging out at Sullivan's Island. I think they're from that area and have a beach house or something. But lets not worry too much about it. I hope to hear something on Iran. I'll be watching either way, and will be checking out your tie,and checking out the age of the newsroom interns. Leave it to The New York Post to bring up something extremely rediculous.

Have a great evening and we'll see you later.

Vicki

Hi, Brian! Great to have you back today. I hope you had a wonderful Father's Day with your family. Sadly, my hopes for Father's Day were lost...but I wont go into that. I'm sorry, but when President Obama said we all have a hole in our hearts in the shape of our father, he's absolutely right.

I love your post this evening! Very interesting story about the Governor of South Carolina...the first thing I could think of was his wife and how mad she must be with him right now...oh boy. I suppose he'll have to explain that when he gets back home. Thanks for sharing this story, very interesting! You saying “as a guy, you have to admire that.” about the Matthews/Degeneres incident just came to mind. To me, it's still one of the greatest interviews on the Ellen Show, you two had me in stitches (as they say). And why is it that Chris Matthews  pronounces Cheney as Cheeney? It makes me laugh every time! (Also noticed he says “America” like Bush 43)

Still love your music series, Brian! I think it's so great for you to share your love for music with us, and to get us together with these great new artists. It's a wonderful way to get the word out on them, and I'm sure they all appreciate it as much as we do (if not more). Jimmy Fallon has been asking his viewers to let him know of any new, local, musicians that we think should get a spot on his show as his musical guest. What we could do is look into the musicians you tell us of, and then send it in to Jimmy Fallon. Sounds like a nice idea to me! He's already had the Doves on his show, I think I may have told him about them back when you told us about them...can't remember. I spent my Friday night downtown at our new Taubman Art Museum to see the friend I made through my (now former) stepdad's band. It was an all acoustic show with just a few friends and family, and he played some of his great originals along with other classics. He threw in many of Springsteen's songs, along with “Born to Run” for me. Overall, it was a great Friday night! We hadn't seen him in a year and a half but have thankfully kept in touch the entire time. Really, he's like a uncle to me. Could be why his nickname is “Uncle Sethro”. Would love to let you hear his music. He's on my top friends on Myspace, though all of his music isn't on his page.

Look forward to sitting in with you soon!

-Cary

Of course. Can the Governor not get a few days off. His staff new how to contact him. It is really no big deal.

Brian,
OMG! I am one of the "14" you reported on in the medical test results story. I just dealt with this 4 months ago. The problem - I had the test as ordered. The results came back abnormal. No one ever contacted me. It wasn't until I went back for a follow-up 11 months later - and at my questioning that I found out. What followed was a horrific five weeks as I went through more unnecessary testing to find out all was normal in the end. While I am lucky that I had a good outcome, I was outraged by the laisez faire attitude of my physician. He in essence told me that it was up to me to follow-up after I have a test. He was just too busy. This is a complete outrage to me. There should indeed be a mechanism in place that triggers notification by the physician to the patient with an abnormal test results. Maybe it will improve with the advent of EMR/EHR. We will have to wait and see.

Brian:  Finally caught you LIVE tonight!   Your chuckle during the segment on GM's wind noise was histerical!   My FIL drives American is constantly complaining about wind noise.  I drive foreign and have had no wind noise for years.   We have debated wind noise for more than 20 years!

Bests to all including the people of Iran!  May they peace and happiness in their political debates and changes in their world.

Good Evening Mr.Williams, Another great broadcast this evening! Nice to know that Governor Mark Sanford is okay. Always wonderful to see Richard on the broadcast! Great to see you on New York Richard! Now on to the broadcast. First of all Richard's report on the crisis in Iran certainly has become a movement against the system of government which seems to be gaining strength each day. The young 27year old philosophy student named Neda who was shot by the militia has become a symbol of this terrible struggle. She was an innocent victim just walking down the sidewalk and seeing the video of her dying in the arms of her teacher is heartbreaking. So many women students under the age of 33years old appear to be the new vision of Iran holding promise for a new kind of future. Seeing all the candlelight vigils for Neda really brings to mind what she represents to the people of Iran and even in other countries. She is the "Angel of Iran" and it is sad the mosques would not allow a memorial for her. Simply a quick burial for someone so young who lives on in spirit for a nation in crisis. So very tragic and heartbreaking.
Excellent Reporting Richard!
Always wonderful to see you!
The "What Works" segment by Natalie Morales about the "Veterans Air Lift Command" was really nice. All those volunteer pilots flying the wounded soldiers home to their families and saving them the cost and hassle of travel by commercial airline is wonderful. What a great program to help our brave men and women in uniform. I agree with you Mr.Williams, "we can never do enough for them".
Regarding weather it is incredible to learn it has rained in New York 17 out of 21 days and 5 degrees cooler than normal. It has been quite hot down here in Georgia!
Enjoyed the "Making A Difference" segment by Mr.Cowan. All those dogs once strays are now making great surfing strides while raising alot of money. I liked seeing all the different breeds surf along the water. Fun to watch!

Thank You for the broadcast Mr.Williams. I hope you had a wonderful and Happy Father's Day on Sunday! 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! Enjoyed seeing you on Morning Joe and the Today Show this morning! Look forward to your reports tomorrow!
Excellent as Always!
XOXO  

Good evening, Brian! You looked happy to be back at work (or happy to be back from a great weekend). Happy to have you back for a brand new week!

Great reporting from Richard Engel, as usual. He's been doing a great job on all of his reporting on Iran. I always appreciate his reporting and insight.

On Robert Bazell's report tonight, I had to have a few tests done on my stomach and gallbladder about a month ago, and it did take a very long time to receive the results...today actually was my follow-up appointment. It's a serious matter, and I can understand how this can happen with doctors who have an overload of patients.

What's happening to the Voting Rights Act, to me is a big positive step in my opinion. It shows just how far we have come since it was signed back in '64. It's a huge sign of the times, that the Voting Rights Act is no longer really needed. Speaking of signing things, I watched President Obama sign the Tobacco Legislation this afternoon, and I really think it's fantastic. I think it's about time, and I believe and hope that it will make a difference with the number of young people who smoke as well as young people like myself who remember growing up hiding cigarettes from their parents (in this case, mom). My mom recently had started smoking again after having been off of them for nearly six years, and she has more recently quick smoking all together.

It's funny, I was just talking about the American car companies with my dad on Saturday. I was saying that how it seems like they have really been making some great cars lately, and now to hear there is actual proof of it is a relief. It's great to hear that!

I don't know about you, but it's snowing here in Roanoke. Okay...that was a joke. It's HOT, but I'm really not complaining...it's been way too gorgeous to complain. Strange to hear the famously damp Seattle has given all of it's rain to New York lately, but it's nice to see it's sharing. Hopefully it'll dry up soon for a nice blue sky soon!

I have to say, as a photographer (or really just someone who loves taking pictures, and  photography) I am sad to hear about the end of Kodachrome. Don't get me wrong here, I love technology, and it really fascinates me how quickly now things have been changing. But why can't we just have the best of both worlds!? I've always wanted to have one of those old Kodak cameras Jacques Lowe used for taking pictures of the Kennedys. There's something about it that I just love, especially being a big fan of black and white photography. He's one of my favorites among many, I wish I could have taken some of the pictures he took of the Kennedys. Oh, and I love Paul Simon (or Simon and Garfunkel)!

And of course, I loved tonight's “What Works” and (who couldn't!) the “Making A Difference” report tonight. Both were great stories, and both were great stories to leave us with on the start of the week.

Again, I'm sorry for this long post.

Hope you have a great night. See you tomorrow evening!
Take care,
-Cary

Brian - The problem I have with this governor is that his staff knows where he is, but his wife doesn't - isn't there something strange about that???

Joan

Hi Brian I've been listening to some of your music. Now I'm old school it has to hit a spot to stay. I'll keep listening as you up date the list. You know me I'd stuck on ColdPlay and the other record Lucky. I met to say thanks for putting ColdPlay in the Graduation clip, yes I was dancing for about one minute.

Spelling isn't a strong point for Buchanan/Brimelow's 2009 National Conference. It would be nice if these guys has spelled Conference correctly on their Banner.

Goldman Sachs came out the winner as they are using taxpayers bailout money for big bonuses. You have to get it to them as they have been robbing the US Treasury since 2000 and the big pay off came when CEO Hank Paulson became US Treasury Secretary to make sure the mission was complete. I'm sure the GOP and some Democrats will get their fair share of the bonus money for their cooperation.

Congrads to Pakistan Cricket Team for beating Sri Lanka to win.

Neda is now the name for Iranian's to march to freedom. The Iran people thanked the US for not getting involved yet the GOP thinks differently. One Republican Law Makers said the Iran conflict was like the conflict Republicans are having as they fight for Freedom. Strange Group these Republican Law Makers. I guess education is very important as President Obama understands the Middle East culture and Govenment, while the GOP is just saying anything and hope Obama listens to them so he will make a mistake. Yes Rush Limbaugh truly is the Leader of the Republican Party as we see Law Makers doing the best they can to get Obama and the US to fail.

As Law Makers say the American citizens love the current Health plan and don't want it to change, I wonder. The Health insurance companies testified that if clients have a medical problem their removed and not insured. Now if I have this right, Health Insurance Companies only insure healthy people until they get sick then drop them. I guess our Law Makers must me getting alot of kick back money from the Health Insurance Companies because their comments are complete lies and now it's on video. Just think the richest country in the World can't give health care to it's citizens but will welcome Foreign guest at no charge.

I read a comment about Hillary and her surgery and one person said she should be working not recovering. Cheney had several heart surgeries, AG Ashcrof had surgery and even President Bush had to recovery from minor medical problems and we all wished them a speedy recover. Yet with Hillary should just get back to work. That comment showed just how sick our country has become with it's division. Lessons not learned as what you give you get back 7 times as Senator Ensign has found out. The phase " Do unto others as you'd have others do unto you" has been lost over the years.

Have a great day all

Hi Again Brian:

Hope you had a wonderful Father's Day with your family

I know this is my second post but had to tell you that as usual you have had a wonderful broadcast tonight with most reports on the happier side of life.

It was wonderful to see Richard with you and fron the reports it appears Iran is in such turmoil.  It is very sad that the government is stating there will be no challenge to the election but it is hard to believe that the government is condoning their people being killed in cold blood because they do not agree with them and are trying to get their message out through their demonstrations.  The death of Neda was horrible and senseless.  She was not even part of the demonstrations but was nontheless killed in cold blood and the government does nothing.  They would not even let people mourn her death because they were afraid she would be seen as a martyr.  In the eyes of the Iranian people as well as others, she is a martyr.  I do not know if any of the demonstrations would be able to change things in Iran but the people should be allowed to voice their opinions and mourn those that were killed because of those opinions.  The Iranian government needs to realize with 2/3's of the population now is under the age of 33 and there will soon be change coming.

It is amazing to believe that so mnay doctors cannot get time enough to tell patients that they have serious and abnormal test results.  There has to be some way to get this information to their patients, either through dictating a letter that one of their staff could send out or utilizing an medical assistant to call the patients.  Someone needs to come up with some sort of solution. This information needs to be given to patients as soon as possible.  

Very good news for the auto makers.  It's about time they are doing what is necessary to put out a quality product similar to those that the foreign makers have out there.  Buyers like my husband and I are happy to see this.  While we are Ford truck people all the way when it came to buying our family car (my SUV) we ended up purchasing a Toyota for not only the cost, but the quality and service records.  It is a step in the right direction to get people to take a second look at the US autos.

Your "What Works" segement was very heart warming. The people who give of their time and planes at no cost to the Wounded Airlift Command people in order to be able to travel without cost and the hassel of traveling through our airport systems because of their special needs is fabulous.  Getting these vets home to be with family and friends is the best medicine they could get.  What big hearts these pilots and plane owners have to give of their time and planes for these vets.  And yes, Brian, you are right, "we can never do enough" compared to what they have sacrificed for us.

Oh wonderful more fees to fly.  It wasn't long ago the airlines were complaing that flight travel was down and people were saying they can't afford to fly, the cost is too high.  Well if they don't stop all these extra fees pretty soon the airlines will be back in the same boat.  They are making it very costly to fly and most of us, you know the middle class and the poor will not be flying very much.  Then we'll hear the airlines complaining again.

A great "Making A Difference" story.  This is really a two fold story.  The people who saved these dogs and how the dogs are now being able to save people in need is wonderful.  It is such a great thing Lowes is doing with these competitions to let these dogs and their owners raise money to help those families that need help through the Modest Means organization.  It was so much fun to see these dogs on surf boards and truly making a difference for people.  Another great way to end your broadcast.

Thanks again for a great blog and broadcast. Looking forward to tomorrow's blog and broadcast

I'm sorry I've been away from the blog.  Truth is, I'm in mourning.  I'M IN NBC NIGHTLY NEWS WITHDRAWAL.  Since the DTV conversion, my NBC affiliate has vanished from my converter box.  Nothing.  I've reprogrammed it and still nothing.  Not even pixilated noise.  How will I ever survive?  

So hello to all you regulars, and I suppose I can still read Brian's daily missives and then watch online, but by then, its stale news I could read in my shrinking paper the following morning.  Oh, whatever will I do?

Does Brian Williams have a conscience?  Yet again, Brian and the Nightly News producers have allowed GlaxoSmithKline to sponsor a "Making A Difference" segment about rescued animals.  Tonight's segment was about surfers who rescued abandoned dogs, taught them to surf, and then displayed their dogs' surfing skills in exhibitions for charity.  The segment was sponsored by Breathe Right Strips--a Glaxo product.  Doesn't Brian (and the Nightly News producers) get it?  Glaxo is one of the world's largest utilizers of animal testing.  They test virtually all their products on animals.  The Glaxo labs are filled with animals--including dogs--who are suffering just so that we can have a new contact lens solution or a skin cream that will make wrinkles disappear.  Allowing Glaxo to sponsor segments about rescued animals is like some sort of sick joke.

Incredibly, this is the fifth time in the past seven months that Glaxo has been permitted to sponsor a MAD segment about rescued or trained animals.  A May 13 MAD segment highlighted Lori Stevens and her organization Patriot Paws, which trains dogs to assist disabled veterans.  An April 27 MAD segment was about Deborah Wilson's Arizona ranch for animals who can no longer be cared for by their owners.  Last Jan. 2, Nightly News aired a MAD segment about Jon Wehrenberg's "Pilots 'N Paws" organization, which flies dogs from crowded animal shelters to other less crowded shelters where they can more easily be adopted.  And last Nov. 21, a MAD segment told us about Lorita Lindemann, who rescues former race horses and keeps them from being euthanized and turned into dog food.  All of these MAD segments were sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline products.

Over the years, Glaxo has killed far more animals than the people in these MAD segments have rescued or trained.  Brian Williams claims to love animals.  He has introduced many a segment by saying, "For those of us who love dogs..."  But Brian knows that Glaxo tests their products on animals.  He knows that there are thousands and thousands of dogs who have endured permanent physical and psychological damage as a result of Glaxo's product testing.  Yet he continues to allow Glaxo to sponsor these segments.  If Brian really loved animals, he would use his authority as the Nightly News Managing Editor to insist that Glaxo (or any other company that tests products on animals) be prohibited from sponsoring Nightly News segments.  At the very least, they should be banned from sponsoring segments about animals.  But he hasn't done this.  Because for Brian, the Glaxo sponsorship money is far more important than any moral issues associated with the way they treat animals.  Shame on Brian Williams.  I wonder how he sleeps at night.  And when he counts sheep, do they have electrodes attached to their heads?

On the June 13 Nightly News, Lisa Myers reported on the Obama administration's practice of awarding ambassadorships to people who had contributed large sums to the Obama presidential campaign.  The examples Myers cited were Louis Susman (appointed as ambassador to Great Britain), who had donated $400,000 to the Obama campaign; Charles Rivkin (France), who had donated $800,000; and John Roos (Japan), who had donated $500,000.  First of all, it's obvious why Nightly News aired this report.  In recent weeks, NBC News has been harshly criticized for their soft and compliant coverage of Pres. Obama.  This was especially obvious when Brian Williams tossed softball questions at the President during his "Inside The Obama White House" special.  So in light of this criticism, the NBC News producers scrambled to find a story that could be considered critical of the Obama administration.  Hence the story on ambassadorships.

But the contrivance of this story pales next to its hypocrisy.  Nightly News frequently airs stories solely for the purpose of giving positive news coverage to their regular advertisers and sponsors.  Recent examples include Robert Bazell's May 12 story about Cheerios, a May 5 story about the launch of McDonald's new gourmet coffees, a Feb. 23 story on how spotlessly clean United Airlines keeps their planes and a Jan. 31 pre-Super Bowl story prominently featuring Lifewater, a sponsor of the following day's Super Bowl.  And of course, there is Brian Williams's unforgettable fawning interview with Chrysler executive Jim Press that aired a year-and-a-half ago.  That interview set the all-time gold standard for rewarding advertisers with positive news coverage.

It is unbelievable that NBC has the nerve to accuse the Obama administration of doing what they themselves do for their advertisers on a regular basis.  Offering ambassadorships in exchange for campaign contributions is no different than airing "news stories" that laud the products of high-paying advertisers.  Both practices are corrupt.  Of course the meager six-figure amounts that Susman, Rivkin and Roos donated in exchange for their ambassadorships pale in comparison to the millions of dollars paid by NBC advertisers who were in turn given favorable segments on Nightly News.  Somewhere, an NBC executive is laughing at the Obama administration for accepting so little in exchange for an ambassadorial appointment.  Meanwhile, I wonder if Jim Press is interested in becoming an ambassador.  It's probably less stressful than his current job, Deputy CEO of Chrysler.  I'm sure Brian can use his influence to arrange a meet-and-greet between Mr. Press and President Obama.  And here's an idea: Jim Press could even use some of that Chrysler TARP money to pay for his ambassadorship.  Now that's thinking outside the box.

It is reported that Sanford pulled the same stunt last year when he went to Europe without telling anyone.  We all need our times of rest and reflection, however, when you are the Governor of a state the rules are different.  And, this man actually left his children on Father's Day so he could hike up the Appalachian Trail from Georgia in secret.  At best he appears to be a selfish little man.  At worst, it appears that he seriously needs a consult with a health professional for some in depth  counseling as to his behavior.

Last week, Sean Hannity touted him on his radio show as a possible presidential candidate in 2012.  Fat chance.  

@ Stephanie:  I have 300 channels of cable and only watch CNN.  Everything else I watch on-line after the fact including NN.   Don't worry, you will survive!   If I could only get the rest of my family to live without TV we would be in business.

Also, I read on-line that there are some gizmos that allow for on-line programming to be streamed on your TV set.  Check with Radio Shack and see if your TV is good for that feature.   At least you would have a bigger screen to watch it on.

Take care!

While I think it's great that you're able to stay current with new music (I try to do the same, even in my mid-fifties), I think you should limit it to your own personal enjoyment, rather than using it as yet another vehicle to gain more media exposure. As a network news anchor, I feel you lack sufficient gravitas and are so enamored of your celebrity status that you feel the need to branch out into the entertainment arena (your appearances on "30 Rock", "SNL", "The Daily Show", etc., and now a music blog). I'm not saying it's necessary for you to be a stuffy old curmudgeon, but how do you expect people to trust your news program when you're constantly engaging in self-promotion and cross-promoting other programming on NBC? It makes you look very unserious.

Hi Brian,

I watched your broadcast last night. I'm glad to hear that people are bringing up Neda's name. I was wondering if Ali Arousi is o.k. I hope he's just taking a couple of days off.

Brian, I can understand the concern about Gov. Sanford. Who knows why he did what he did, whatever he did. It seems like I'm always having to explain and apologize for politicians from S.C. And most intelligent people know that their behavior doesn't represent S.C. If someone is so "holier than thou" to write that S.C. should become their own country, well I really feel sorry for a person having such an attitude. I really think the person has an attitude with me, but they need to get over it real soon.

Brian, your lavender and red striped tie was definetely a winner, an 11!

I'll be watching tonight. Have a great day.

Vicki

Gov. Sanford is not doing anything less than any other governor or even the president when he needs to get away. Did the press not know about Camp David and the seclusion and privacy for the president, family and guests?  Mrs. Sanford was not crying and begging for him to be found or have a search party for him; don't you think there was a reason she was so calm?? When the president or other government official make a secret trip overseas do they tell everyone? No, it's kept quiet and only essential people know of the where abouts. No difference!  The next time you and your fellow newsmen or newswomen go on vacation or special assignment please be sure to notify the public in advance of your travel plans and your exact location.  We would hate to think you just left without telling anyone

It’s been fun watching the liberals projectile vomit their bits and pieces of Democrat Governors Jim McGreevy & Eliot Spitzer onto Governor Sanford without any real information.

A short summary on the Republican Governor from South Carolina,

  "When it comes to women, you're a true democrat"  

    Richard Blaine (Casablanca)                        

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