I am disgusted to learn that Saddam Hussein's Glock will be put on display at the George W. Bush Presidential Library in Texas, as some kind of war trophy.  Perhaps a more fitting display would be a gallery of the names, faces, and biographies of the 4,321 (thus far) service men and women who have given their lives in the war in Iraq - an unnecessary war, whose justification was based on erroneous "intelligence".  Our military has done everything that has been asked of it.  If its members are going to lay down their lives, it should be for legitimate reasons, and not because our president wanted to establish a democratic state in the Middle East, and figured Iraq was both an easy sell, and easy pickings.  What a scumbag.

Laurel

Hi, Brian.

That is so awful about the poor dog in the cargo hold. I can imagine how helpless a dog-lover like you must have felt, and especially how scared and helpless the dog was on that long flight. Poor guy, I could never do that to my dog, especially since he's a big guy. I'm not quite sure how traveling with a dog usually goes for across country flights, but I hope he got home happily on ground.

I've been forgetting to mention our stop at the Air and Space museum over the 4th of July weekend. My Papa showed me the B-29 his brother, Bobby, flew in during World War Two, and went down in after it was shot down by the Japanese. The B-29 is such an incredible airplane. I couldn't believe how enormous it was, and how fully armed they were. For that small Japanese plane to have shot it down, it was hard to believe. I'm sure the plane wasn't too fun to fly in, it had to be incredibly loud...but it sure was beautiful and powerful.

Thanks for sharing Terence Trent D'Arby's version of "Who's Loving You". I think my favorite performance of the night was Stevie Wonder...you just can't say anything negative about Stevie Wonder, it left me speechless.

I'm looking forward to your Making A Difference report. I know that whenever you say it's gonna be great, it's gonna be great!

Hope you enjoyed the little mention of my love for the B-29 Enola Gay, I know how you love aviation. I also loved the Boeing 307 Stratoliner Clipper Flying Cloud, what a gorgeous plane!


See you soon,
-Cary

Oh poor buddy!  You think this doggy's Mom or Dad would have had the forethought to go to the vet and get a doggy tranquilzer!  I'd rather drive than put my best friend through something like this!

On another note, I hope you are done with the MJ reports.  Let the guy (regardless of what you think of him) rest in peace.

Again, I forgot to mention your Edward R. Murrow award. That was another thing I've been meaning to bring up. Congratulations, Brian! During our visit to the Newseum I learned quite a bit about Edward R. Murrow, but I would love to learn so much more. All I know is that it's the most prestigious award out there, and you very much deserve it! What a great honor receiving that award must be.

Again, congratulations! You deserve it!
-Cary

Brain,

Just in case I don't get to comment after the broadcast, I want you to know that you and NBC could never do or say anything that would turn me against you. I've always been proud of the fact that no matter how many hits you take, you come back even stronger. And you don't have to post the negative comments, but you do. I'm so proud of you. I will always find a way to watch NBC.

I can't get that song out of my head now, "Who's Loving You." I'd like to get a copy by the original, Smokey Robinson, since he wrote it, but then hear young Michael's version again, and the others. I think it's good to have different renditions of a great song.

I'm sorry about the dog in the cargo area. Hopefully it's doing better. And I hope you can recover from your jet leg soon, also your colleagues, and Lester. God, I can't believe I wrote those things before about him. I was  reacting like a stupid teenager because we couldn't follow him on Twitter. Lester, again I'm so sorry.

I'm getting ready for the broadcast and hopefully people will stop commenting about how much they hate your coverage of Michael. Thay can always tune into another broadcast for a few min.

Anyway... I'll see you later. Have a great evening.

Vicki

Laurel is right on.  Putting that gun in the Presidential Library is beyond disgusting. And don't forget Bush's additional war motives of revenge for the attempt on his father's life, his just wanting to one-up his dad who chose not to invade Iraq and also gaining control of the oil reserves for Mobil and Exxon.  It is so like him to have that gun and now to want to put it in his library.  

Brian - Please, not another word ever about Michael Jackson.  Not even when they announce the cause of death or arrest doctors or resolve custody of the children.  Let interested folks get that information on the celebrity entertainment programs or Dateline. Or let MSNBC preempt one of their inside prison shows to provide more coverage.   No one should miss hearing it from you.  Let’s get refocused on the important news while we are waging two wars with 130,000 troops still in Iraq and with missiles being fired by N Korea and nuclear weapons being ready in Iran within three years.  I know you had to cover this celebrity "news" story to the point you did, and you did a balanced job of it...but enough!  Think of the money spent by NBC over the last week on the Jackson story and how that could have otherwise employed several foreign correspondents.  

I hear the USSA has 32 Czars now. They've got enough to hold their own NasCzar race. turn left, turn left, turn left, turn left... Be sure to check out this little video from Rolling Stone.
http://www.rollingstone.com/videos/player/28915625

Good Evening Mr.Williams, Great to see you made it back to New York safe and sound. The flight on the plane hearing the dog barking must have been heartwrenching. The poor doggie in the cargo hold probably scared and wanting to be with his or her owner. Knowing you are a dog lover Mr.Williams I can understand how much this bothered you. It would bother me too! I hope the doggie was safe and sound upon arrival and reunited with his or her owner. Hopefully, after calming down alittle very happy to see them!
Now on to the broadcast. First of all the report by Mr.Todd concerning President Obama's trip to Italy for the G-8 Summit. It appears Iran was one of the main topics and their nuclear ambitions. Giving Iran until September for an answer and if nothing is stated take further actions is a tough statement which could lead to real progress. Seeing the world leaders touring the devastated area of L-Aquila which was hit hard by an earthquake certainly would give them all an idea of the massive destruction. It is good to know there was an evacuation plan in place if something happened. Much to rebuild in the city and it will take many years.
The report by Mr.Fletcher from L'Aquila showed how many people are living in tents and have no homes to go back to yet. Seeing Mr.Fletcher tour the buildings escorted by a member of the fire department makes it clear the area is unsafe. Even having a tremor while Mr.Fletcher was there in the town. It was nice the couple had a nice wedding although they are living in a tent right now hopefully they will have a new home by November.
So very, very sad to see the five soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan returned to Dover Air Force Base. Such brave and dedicated soldiers. My thoughts and prayers go out to all their families.

The report by Kelly O'Donnell about explosives making it past security in federal buildings is just inexusable. Being able to walk around the building with these IED's assembled in a briefcase without being noticed by security is frightening. All these expired qualifications of these guards is incredible while nothing was checked at all. Something needs to be done and as soon as possible.

I liked the 12:34:56 7/8/09 mentioned by you on the broadcast! Every once and a while the numbers line up regarding date and time! It is neat!

Enjoyed the "Making A Difference" segment tonight by Mr.Mott from Waverly,Tennessee. Mr.Pace having the idea for "Music in the Square" is really nice! Bringing people together from the area to listen to wonderful music and spend time together is a great idea. It really seems to have grown to a big event! Nice Piece!

Thank You for the broadcast Mr.Williams! 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!
XOXO
 

Hi.  This is Leslie from Benson, NC.  This is my first entry so bear with me a minute.  I watched the memorial service yesterday and the coverage was great, but at times it seemed to be too much.  There were people camped out at many locations and all the speculating at times seemed to be absurd.  It's a shame that such a gifted person has left us, but many gifted people leave us every day, and they too are someone's parent, son, sibling.  When his daughter spoke at the end of the service, it moved me to tears.  At the end of the day, he was her Daddy, her "world" and now that person is gone. Even though the coverage seemed to take into consideration the privacy these children need to grieve, the media circus that surrounded her Daddy and his family that he tried so hard to protect all his children from had to have been overwhelming for all three of them, and I sincerely hope that they now will be allowed to return to that the normal, albeit sheltered childhood that Michael tried to provide.

Thank you for letting me vent and I hope to become a regular participant.

Hi Brian:

I am so glad you all arrived back safetly but it is absolutely amazing, you at the news desk after the hectic fews days you have just had and bringing us a great broadcast.

Your blog today broke my heart.  Knowing the dog lover you are it must have been heartbreaking to hear that poor dog in the cargo hold during your flight back.  This must have been a very hard flight for you.  I hope you had some good relaxing music like Julee Cruise to listen too.  Thanks for the information on "Who's Loving You".  I will definitely check out D'Arby's version soon.

It will be interesting to see what Iran's reaction will be to the G8's deadline for them to resolve this issue.  Hopefully Iran is listening and will cooperate.  It was sad to see that the city is still in shambles after the first earthquake.  There is so much that still needs to be done to rebuild this City and let the people begin living again.  

I think we have to be somewhat patient about the stimulus money.  I have seen here in our State some people being put to work on some roadway projects and I know that that there will be more to come.  I do think the government needs to tell the people why only 11% of the money promised has been sent out and when the rest will be forthcoming.

Very scary to think that bombs and explosives got by security check points in federal buildings.  Someone needs to get on top of why there are guards with expired qualifications and certifications, guards sleeping on the job, etc.  This is serious.  So many people's lives are at risk because of someone not keeping on top of those handling our security.  

Thanks for the information on bottled water.  I am an 8-10 bottle water drinker a day. It gave me something to think about.  

Brian, I want to thank you and Lester for the wonderful job you did anchoring Michael Jackson's memorial service yesterday.  You both made it such an enjoyable broadcast.  It was nice to hear the other side of Michael's life, the private, real person he was not just the public entertainer.  You and Lester are true professionals and NBC (and us of course) is so lucky to have you both.  

Hope you are having a great evening and getting some rest.  Will look forward to your blog and broadcast tomorrow night.  

How ironic that Brian should yet again proclaim himself to be a dog lover (for the 1,346th time) on the same day that a "Making A Difference" segment was sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline--one of the world's largest utilizers of animal testing.  Brian's right hand may be patting a dog's head, but behind his back his left hand is being greased with all that lucrative Glaxo sponsorship money.  We all know the line from "It's A Wonderful Life"--"Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings."  Well, every time Glaxo sponsors a MAD segment, a poor dog has given its life.

Michael Jackson dies and it’s 24/7 news coverage. Yes he was the king of pop, but he was not a hero. A real American hero dies and not a mention of it in the news.

Ed Freeman

You're a 19-year-old kid. You're critically wounded and dying in the jungle in the Ia Drang Valley , 11-14-1965, LZ X-ray, Vietnam. Your infantry unit is outnumbered 8-1 and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the MediVac helicopters to stop coming in. You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and you know you're not getting out. Your family is half way around the world, 12,000 miles away and you'll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day. Then, over the machine gun noise, you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter and you look up to see an unarmed Huey, but it doesn't seem real because no Medi-Vac markings are on it. Ed Freeman is coming for you. He's not Medi-Vac, so it's not his job, but he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire, after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come. He's coming anyway. And he drops it in and sits there in the machine gun fire as they load 2 or 3 of you on board. Then he flies you up and out, through the gunfire to the doctors and nurses. And he kept coming back, 13 more times, and took about 30 of you and your buddies out, who would never have gotten out. Medal of Honor Recipient Ed Freeman died on Wednesday, June 25th, 2009, at the age of 80, in Boise, ID. May God rest his soul. Medal of Honor Winner Ed Freeman! I must have missed the coverage the media give him!
Roger Hensley
Huber Heights, Ohio

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