I couldn't believe my ears when I heard on the radio this morning that the firefighters were in the hearing room.  Your Godfather II analogy is perfect.  Very funny and very sad too.

37,000 in Dallas and I'm still wondering why the main media isn't covering the Tea Parties. Are all of you that Obama-ridden?

Good Evening Mr.Williams, Another fine broadcast this evening! Always wonderful to see Richard on the broadcast! I loved his "Making A Difference" segment this evening on the war veterans who made the wooden toy for the children in Afghanistan. It was such a sweet and happy segment!
Now on to the broadcast. First of all I will begin with Richard's "Making A Difference" report from Denver,Colorado and Kabul,Afghanistan. The war veterans of the Holly Creek Retirement Center are doing such a wonderful thing making the wooden toys for the needy children in Afghanistan. It was amazing to learn they produced 180,000 thousand handmade toys for the children. The wooden cars were really nice and seeing the faces of the young boys at the school reaching for the toys from the soldiers was heartwarming and makes one smile. The boys ages 7-16 years of age seemed so excited to see the soldiers even pushing Richard a little to get to the soldiers. As Richard said with a smile they are really excited.
Excellent Reporting Richard!!
PLEASE STAY EXTRA SAFE AND WELL ALWAYS!

The report by Mr.Pete Williams on the confirmation hearings for Judge Sonia Sotomayor were quite humorous. The Senate did cover serious issues especially her view on abortion. But her recalling of her memory of a "Perry Mason" episode and how it inspired her was funny. Even though she couldn't remember the episode she did recall the lines of conversation with the Districy Attorney which did have much meaning. Nice to know Mr.Pete Williams did know the name of the episode! Good Job!

On another note the report by Mr.Bazell about testing to see if one will be at risk for having alzheimers showed how people seemed not to react badly to the news. If one has prior knowledge of possibly contracting the disease one can be just accepting of the outcome. It is a terrible disease and one always hopes for a cure someday.

Nice to see the space shuttle Endeavour finally launch after six attempts.
I liked the " off air" comments you linked to this post Mr.Williams. Very humorous!

The passing of Darrel Powers at the age of 86yrs old who served our country so bravely during World War II certainly was a realy hero. So very humble about bravery of serving in the military. A true brave and dedicated soldier and hero. We Salute and Remember him with Honor.

Thank You for the broadcast Mr.Williams. Always wonderful to see you Richard! Great Reporting as Always! 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!
XOXO

Hi Brian,

Dr. Nancy's interview with President Obama was funny when she asked him about his smoking problem. He looked a little guilty. If he has one or two here and there...I can imagine how difficult it is for him. He may not have smoked in quite awhile. But he was keeping it close to his vest (the info, not the smokes).

Al Franken's comment was funny too. If Judge Sotomayer had brought up the Perry Mason episode with Sen. Graham, he would have been serious about which episode it was. You can tell that old Lindsey is the one with an anger management problem. He has some other issues as well. I did see the New Haven firefighters at the hearing today. I still don't know how to feel about the ruling that Judge Sotomayer made concerning the case.

It's great to know the space shuttle lifted off. Hopefully everything will go well. And it is refreshing that they would use such innocent language yet be so talented and brave. There's one sewing co. in the nearby area who sewed some of the layers for earlier versions of the space suits. I think it was from 40 yrs. ago, and they found one tucked away in a closet. I think they're bringing it out this weekend for a charity event.

As for Bob Bazell's report on Alzheimers, I'd like to know if I stood a greater chance of getting it. It would be empowering and a person could do a lot of planning in advance.

I may have seen my personal favorite of "Making a Difference" tonight. Richard Engel's report on the handmade toys from veterans going to the kids in Afghanistan was amazingly beautiful. It's hard to believe they had really never seen a toy before. You could see it in the way they reacted though. All kids deserve toys, even us older kids.

Brian, I hope you're having a great week. Was that a new striped tie? I loved the colors. Hope you a nice evening and we'll see you tomorrow night.

Vicki

Brian,  On the nightly news tonight you featured a clip of Al Franken questioning Justice Sotomayer.  Was there anything news worthy in that exchange? Franken appears to be starting out just as I feared a comic!

I grew up in Minnesota at a time when Hubert Humphrey was a giant in the senate and orator par none.  Eugene McCarthy was the junior senator and he was no slouch either.  

If today's clip is any indication, Franken couldn't zip up their pants.  

j

Good evening, Brian.

I love that you included this post from the Daily Kos, as mentioned on Countdown with Keith Olberman last night. They were lucky enough to get on Keith's good side, and now have ended up on your own blog! Out of all the old movies I have seen and love, I haven't seen Annie Hall, but after watching the clip -- what a brilliant comparison! Besides of course the New Haven firefighters in the hearing room today, the hearings weren't really all that interesting, but I did enjoy watching brand new Senator Al Franken question Judge Sotomayor. I thought he did a great job with his questioning, and brought a little much needed laughter to the scene, as he's well known for. As many of the late night shows have said, and probably all longtime fans of Saturday Night Live were thinking, I could not help but expect him to burst out with "Live from New York, it's Saturday night!"

Thanks so much for 'linking' us to these tapes from Apollo 11 -- it's just incredible! I'm still working on listening to all of them as I write to your blog. Some of them are hard to understand, and you have to read the transcripts along with them. But number 3 is so clear, it's almost as if it was recorded yesterday. Besides, I say "gosh" and "golly" in this era. I watched, along with everyone, the launch of the space shuttle endeavor minutes before your broadcast. Forty years later and it still absolutely amazes me. I read a few minutes ago that "several pieces of debris fell off the external fuel tank and at least one hit the orbiter", but I'm hoping this isn't anything they can't fix easily. With everyone, I'm wishing them all a safe trip and a safe return home. I love sharing a Birthday with the anniversary of the first moon landing, July 20th. (To be specific, the 20th anniversary of the first moon landing, July 20th, 1989). It beats sharing a birthday with any celebrity, as far as I'm concerned.

Onto the broadcast: Thank you for another great broadcast tonight, and for remembering a true American hero who deserved so much more recognition that he has received. What a beautiful Making A Difference story. It was so touching, and was a perfect assignment for Richard Engel to report. I want to thank whoever nominated this story, and thank you for choosing it. It'll definitely be one of my favorites for a long time.

Have a great night, and take care.
-Cary

Mr. Williams, you have done some fine reporting but your news today re the passing of Shifty Powers was by far your shining hour!  Your comment re there being no memorial at the Staples Center was spot on!  Mr. Powers was, indeed, a hero and we are all the poorer for his passing without there being coverage of it.  Thank you for reminding us of this fine man!  btw:  You made Tim Russert very proud!

Hi  Brian:

Because of a grandson celebrating his 9th birthday today this response is quite late.  Thank you for a great blog and broadcast again tonight.  I enjoyed your link on the Apollo 11 crew comments.  I didn't get to hear all of it but will finish it tonight.  It was quite enjoyable to hear them while realizing they were on their way to the moon.  The happenings during this mission were quite scary and intense and it will be wonderful to hear their comments as the events took place.  

I know that there is so much more information that needs to be given to the people on the health care issue and what the President's plan really entails.  From what information I have been given and listening to the President's interview with Nancy Snyderman, I think he is on the right track with this plan.  It may actually work but again we do need all the facts first.  He is correct that we all need to take some responsiblity for our own health and we all have to realize that this "can't be a free lunch".  There is a cost but his plan may make us realize and show us that if we take better care of ourselves, maintain preventative options and be a little more responsible for our own well being, the costs may be minimal.  This is the most important issue we have that must be dealt with as soon as possible and I hope Congress works toward this goal.

I will be glad when the confirmation hearings are completed and Judge Sotomayor is confirmed.  I was listening to Morning Joe today and a discussion about the questions being asked of this Judge that were never asked of the many, many, male Judges that have sat on the Supreme Court and it made me wonder why these questions were so important for her but not for them to answer.  I do think that the Judge is holding her own with the memebers of the committee and she is doing a good job in answering all their questions.  I hope its over very soon.

I was extremely happy to hear the report on Alzheimers.  This is such a heartbreaking disease that affects so many, including some in my family.  If this testing can help to indicate if a person is at risk for this disease at an early age, then I am all for it.  With all the technological advantages that we hear of on a daily basis, this knowledge may enable us to obtain treatment early to help prevent the fast growth of this disease as we age.  This could be something that will make a great differnce in people's lives.  Sure it is scary and depressing to hear you may be at risk but once the initial shock is over, you can then move on to fighting it.

Thank you for the wonderful story by Chuck Yeager on Shifty.  He was one of the heros that no one ever heard of.  One of the many, many, men that gave so much for us.  It is sad that it took his death to know of him.

It was so good to hear Richard Engle reporting on the "Making A Difference" story tonight.  What a change from the usual reports from Richard.  What these WWII veterans are doing in making toys for the poor children in Afghanistan is astonishing.  This is not only helping these children, some who have never had a toy before this, but also putting smiles on the faces of the soilders delivering the toys. These veterans gave so much during the war and are stil happily doing more.  Thanks for the great report.

Brian, I need to vent a little here.  I read some of the posts NBC and you have gotten lately that are critical of how and what you report and how you are only interested in ratings.  Well, I'm sorry but who in television doesn't want top ratings????  That's how it works.  Before being so critical of NBC these people need to learn more about how you choose what is to be aired, what efforts you take to make sure the story is truthful and correct and then take a look at the other stations to see how and what they report.  They will then know why NBC and you are given awards for your excellence in what you do.  If they are so unhappy with what they are seeing, they can just change the channel.  Sorry, I hope this does not mean my response will not get posted but I had to say it anyway.

Have a great evening and I will look forward your blog and broadcast tomorrow.

Message (please, no HTML tags. Web addresses will be hyperlinked):