IRRITANT

Bill O'Reilly is an angry, cowardly, pathetic boor. Many have known that for some time.  If you watch O'Reilly on an ordinary evening at 8pm, what you will see is a program that was taped at 5pm. O'Reilly's producers can clean up and retape the rough patches so his angry, over-the-top, childish spasms don't make it

DOES OBAMA BELIEVE HIS OWN MESSAGE

There's an old saying in the investment business that goes like this:  "The reason stockbrokers aren't rich is they don't believe their own BS."  Barack Obama can be a very compelling speaker … at times. He saved his campaign in 2008 with a world-class speech on race. He played the role of "Consoler in Chief"

MITT “EITHER WAY” ROMNEY

A friend of mine who worked for a Senator from Arkansas liked to tell the story about the preacher applying for a job at a church in a small rural community in that state. The church elders, who were charged with making the hiring decision, met with this preacher to ask him his views on

LUNCH WITH PEGGY NOONAN

Peggy Noonan used to write speeches for Reagan and Poppy Bush. Now she writes a weekend piece for Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal (WSJ). She's also on the Sunday morning talk shows from time to time. Noonan likes to convey the impression that she understands style and grace, especially as windows into the larger virtues

RACHEL MADDOW AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

One can tell something about a journalist or TV anchor not only by what they cover, but what they choose not to cover.  Rachel Maddow is rapidly becoming an icon of the left. She is openly gay and passionate about LGBT and women's issues. No complaints about any of that. With Keith Olbermann gone, she

NO TAX DAY

With tax day behind us, you may be discomforted to know that, according to the Treasury Department, approximately 1,500 people will have made over $1 million in 2011, and pay no federal income tax. That's no, as in NOTHING. Indeed, it's possible to make a $100 million in a year and pay no federal or

THE IRRESISTIBLE URGE TO BE STUPID

Did you ever notice how the media coverage of big attention-riveting events tends to follow a familiar pattern? At first, there's a brief pause (which is getting briefer because of social media) when people try to absorb what actually has happened. This is followed by a competition amongst the commentariat to say something relevant, which

IRRITANT

Ron Kessler writes books about the FBI, the CIA and the Secret Service. He's been on TV a bit since the prostitute scandal involving Service agents while on a Presidential trip. Two things come through in his TV interviews. First, he'll mention a dated book of his several times. Second, he's particularly peeved with the

CHECK YOUR ANGER SCORE

In today's first post, I wrote about how hate and anger are greater motivators in politics than love. In view of that fact (let's suppose it is a fact), I thought it might be interesting to measure my own anger level and invite you to do likewise. Below is a list of eighteen names. On

IRRITANT

SEAN HANNITY is trying to paint President Obama as a hypocrite for calling out Rush Limbaugh for his three-day attack on Sandra Fluke, who expressed an opinion on contraception coverage in health care plans … while Obama allowed his campaign to accept a one million dollar contribution from Bill Maher, who had referred to Sarah Palin