Column

By now, you’ve probably heard the news. The Walt Disney Company has announced a definitive mega-deal to merge with Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox, which includes the FX cable channel and – more importantly – the 20th Century Fox motion picture studio. The deal is worth over $50 billion, and is set to close by the end of next year. It does not, however, include the FOX Broadcasting Company, FOX…

There are talkers and doers, sowers of dissatisfaction seeds and agents of lasting change. Much of my column work over the year is dedicated to exposing the worst crapweasels in politics, pop culture, media and the policy arena. But to ring out 2017, I'm raising a toast to some of my favorite bulldogs -- vigilant citizens, independent journalists and bloggers, and dedicated activists who work…

My recent columns have focused on the extremely poor educational outcomes for black students. There's enough blame for all involved to have their fair share. That includes students who are hostile and alien to the educational process and have derelict, uninterested home environments. After all, if there is not someone in the home to ensure that a youngster does his homework, has wholesome meals,…

Let’s run through a short list at the end of the year. ABC - Brian Ross misreports a Trump story, is suspended and forbidden to cover Trump again. CBS - Anchor Charlie Rose fired for sexual misconduct. CNN - Headlines a breaking news Trump story that turns out to be completely wrong. Staffer fired for sexual misconduct.

Matt Damon is having a lousy year, and that has nothing to do with his awkward comments regarding the “MeToo” movement. Damon’s performance in Suburbicon appeared to be a career low, bringing nothing to the role of a Father Knows Best type gone south. That was a revelation compared to his work in Downsizing.

Unless you are spending this time of year at a spiritual retreat cut off from TV, newspapers or internet service you cannot escape the blaring music and the marketers attempting to sell you something they promise will bring you happiness and peace. The many definitions of peace seem inadequate at this or any other time of year.

Before the question, how about a few statistics? The 20th century was mankind's most brutal century. Roughly 16 million people lost their lives during World War I; about 60 million died during World War II. Wars during the 20th century cost an estimated 71 million to 116 million lives. The number of war dead pales in comparison with the number of people who lost their lives at the hands of their…

At the close of 2017, no less than seven prominent male hosts and editors of influential government-sponsored radio and television shows are out of work amid claims of sexual harassment. According to their accusers, the alleged Malevolent Seven are powerful pervs and creeps who've been running wild at NPR and PBS for decades, sponsored and subsidized by taxpayers and corporate donors.

What is the matter with these people? This has been discussed elsewhere, but with more of the same nonsense since the subject of one of the latest presidential tweets will not go away, let’s continue. Here is the now-famous tweet. (Actually, there are now a ton and a half of famous Trump tweets but this is one of the latest:

In the case of this holiday season, content creators are especially getting out of their way to cash into the spirit. So, for this space’s debut edition of Winners & Losers in Entertainment, there are two winners and two losers.

The timing for Comedy Central’s newest faux news special couldn’t be better. The past few days saw ABC News serve up a megaton retraction, followed closely by Reuters and CNN. It’s almost like they knew the channel had a special dubbed Fake News in the offing and wanted to lend a hand.

Capitol Hill's national security priorities are screwier than a Six Flags roller coaster. Instead of immediately shutting down one of America's stupidest visa programs, which helped bring us yet another murder-minded jihadist this week, bipartisan Beltway politicians are pushing to preserve and expand the illegal immigration pipeline. Republicans and Democrats in Congress want a "fix" for the…

I'm approaching my 82nd birthday, and my daughter will occasionally suggest that modernity is perplexing to me because I'm from prehistoric times. As such, it points to one of the unavoidable problems of youth -- namely, the temptation to think that today's behavioral standards have always been. Let's look at a few of the differences between yesteryear and today.

Think of all those liberal media headlines about Roy Moore. Here’s a sample: "Washington Post: Trump, McConnell call on Roy Moore to exit Alabama Senate race ‘if these allegations are true.’" "Washington Post: In Washington, the Republican dam is breaking against Roy Moore."