Category: Opinion

Bill Lewis: Is this what’s really going on?

… every biz.) But watching “Feud” got me to thinking about the current climate of abject hatred from many in the entertainment industry aimed toward one Donald Trump. Of late, there hasn’t been a day that goes by that some actor, actress, songster, …

Sidewinder: A truly conservative approach to solving Canada’s problems

In general terms, being politically conservative means exercising caution when considering change, following traditional ways, and having a practical and ethical social conscience. It has always annoyed me that the NDP and its predecessor, the CCF, portray themselves as the only political party with a social conscience, something that is remarkably inaccurate and misleading.

Storms bring out the best and worst in us

A private snowplow makes its way along Rosser Avenue during the storm on Tuesday. Kerry Auriat says that he heard funny stories of people complaining to the city of a lack of snow removal at 8 a.m. that day – even though the storm was far from complete.

The truth about “Judge” Judy’s make-believe court

In this April 18, 2007 file photo, Judge Judy Sheindlin is shown at a party held by CNN celebrating Larry King’s fifty years of broadcasting in New York. After serving as a judge for more than 20 years in California’s court system, Joseph A. Wapner embarked on a career in the entertainment industry and what turned out to be a 12-year stint as the presiding “judge” on “The People’s Court.”

‘Good Fight’ puts value in another subscription

One needn’t always perk up at the words “But wait, there’s more!” which is why it might have seemed, only nine months ago, as if we’d had our fill of the fictional Chicago law firms, courtrooms and political squabbles seen in seven seasons of Robert and Michelle King’s hit CBS drama The Good Wife. Even the most faithful watchers were ready to move on.

Handmade: Outlet store helps cut the cost of sewing

Sean Jonna had only had the doors to his fabric outlet open two weeks when employees from two competitors began shopping at the store after learning about it through word-of-mouth from customers where they worked. Handmade: Outlet store helps cut the cost of sewing Sean Jonna had only had the doors to his fabric outlet open two weeks when employees from two competitors began shopping at the store after learning about it through word-of-mouth from customers where they worked.

Zootopia’ win sparks political dialogue again during Oscars

Co-directors Byron Howard and Rich Moore and producer Clark Spencer accept Best Animated Feature Film for ‘Zootopia’ onstage during the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 26, 2017 in Hollywood, California. Co-directors Byron Howard and Rich Moore and producer Clark Spencer accept Best Animated Feature Film for ‘Zootopia’ onstage during the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on Actors Riz Ahmed and Felicity Jones speak onstage during the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 26, 2017 in Hollywood, California.

Kim Jong-nam attack reveals true nature of North Korea

In an episode that evokes memories of Cold War era spy sagas, Kim Jong Nam – the half-brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un – appears to have been assassinated on February 13 at Kuala Lumpur’s airport in Malaysia. Reports indicate that two female agents , with probable connections to North Korea’s security services, poisoned the estranged sibling with lethal toxins.

Rubin: Why grow up when you can play with trains?

For the volunteer crew at mammoth Chi-Town Station in Commerce Township, adulthood is optional when the tracks are full. Rubin: Why grow up when you can play with trains? For the volunteer crew at mammoth Chi-Town Station in Commerce Township, adulthood is optional when the tracks are full.

NBC News Joins The ‘Fake News’ Parade

In the avalanche of “Fake News” stories over the past seven days – led by the mass media hysteria in the wake of President Trump using most reporters as punching bags during his solo news conference at the White House – none can top the ridiculous new gold standard of fake news posted Saturday by NBC News. “Trump Always Calls Out Chicago, but City Closest to Mar-a-Lago Had Comparable Crime Rate in 2015″was the oversized headline on a “news” story written by someone named Corky Siemaszko.

Trump’s two-year presidency

My “good” prediction is based on the Law of the Pendulum. Enough Americans, including most independent voters, will be so ready to shed Donald Trump and his little shop of horrors that the 2018 midterm elections are all but certain to be a landslide – no, make that a mudslide – sweep of the House and Senate.

Tune in tonight: A harrowing chronicle of UT sniper horror

The compassionate red-haired stranger who risked gunfire to lay beside and comfort shooting victim Claire Wilson before help arrived in ‘Tower,’ the PBS documentary which chronicles the University of Texas-Austin sniper horror in August of 1966 via a mix of animation and archival footage. The compassionate red-haired stranger who risked gunfire to lay beside and comfort shooting victim Claire Wilson before help arrived in ‘Tower,’ the PBS documentary which chronicles the University of ‘Tower’s’ animated depiction of the pregnant Claire Wilson and her boyfriend Tom Eckman before she was wounded and he was fatally shot during the University of Texas-Austin sniper horror August 1, 1966.

Maya Angelou embraced San Antonio’s diversity

Maya Angelou in Sonoma, Calif., which she called home during the late ’70s and early ’80s. Her multi-faceted life, which took her from Missouri to Georgia to Europe and even to the Alamo City, is depicted in the fascinating PBS documentary “And Still I Rise.”

Three weeks and counting down on Trump

My “good” prediction is based on the Law of the Pendulum. Enough Americans, including most independent voters, will be so ready to shed Donald Trump and his little shop of horrors that the 2018 midterm elections are all but certain to be a landslide — no make that a mudslide — sweep of the House and Senate.

Three weeks and counting down: Kathleen Parker

My “good” prediction is based on the Law of the Pendulum. Enough Americans, including most independent voters, will be so ready to shed Donald Trump and his little shop of horrors that the 2018 midterm elections are all but certain to be a landslide — no make that a mudslide — sweep of the House and Senate.

Greed should not drive your career goals

Greed should not drive your career goals The principal asked students what kind of car they wanted to drive or whether they want their own boat. Check out this story on ydr.com: http://on-ydr.co/2kX39mX Imagine a world without your automobile mechanic or your dental hygienist.

Today in History

On Feb. 9, 1942, the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff held its first formal meeting to coordinate military strategy during World War II. Daylight-saving “War Time” went into effect in the United States, with clocks moved one hour forward.

Major Media Remain in Denial

Since Donald Trump’s election, the major media have been trying to figure out what they did wrong, given their fawning coverage of Hillary Clinton and their anti-Donald Trump stories. Didn’t they help twice elect Barack Obama? Why didn’t the formula work this time? Mostly the media blame voters, talk radio and Fox News, never themselves.

Hollywood Chooses Sides in 24: Legacy, and Chooses Poorly

Here’s a crazy idea – I know it seems kind of nuts, but if you are trying to make me watch your show or see your movie, perhaps it might be better not to disrespect patriotic Americans like me. Sure, it’s hard to believe that the industry that brought us virile superhunk Michael Cera and sexy ultrahottie Lena Dunham could make bad decisions.

Riots in the Streets—the New Normal?

… MAD KING & HIS HANDLERS GO BYE BYE” [Emphasis hers] – Filmmaker Lexi Alexander, according to FoxNews Entertainment (2/2/17), defended the Berkley riot on Twitter “telling her followers to ‘punch Nazis,’ ‘riot when your college invites a Nazi,’ and …

Trump’s Continuing War on His Own Credibility

Asked about Melissa McCarthy’s portrayal of him on “Saturday Night Live,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer had some advice for the actress: “Dial it back.” May I suggest the president adopt that phrase as his administration motto? So far, Donald Trump has made it a practice to obliterate every known limit and pump up every grievance.

Franken makes weird sense as a 2020 presidential candidate

Ever since Donald Trump won the 2016 election, people have been asking me who Democrats could – and/or should – put up against him when, presumably, he seeks re-election in 2020. Why? Because the way Trump won was by casting himself as the ultimate outsider to a political system that lots and lots of Americans – in both parties – hate.

Florida suspect kills himself as partner surrenders after alleged ‘nightmare’ killing spree

The hunt for a man and woman wanted in a two-state “killing spree” ended at a Georgia motel on Tuesday afternoon when the man fatally shot himself and the woman surrendered to police, according to Florida authorities. William Boyette, 44, killed himself after law enforcement surrounded the West Point, Georgia, motel in which he and 38-year-old Mary Rice were hiding following an alleged week-long crime spree that began in Florida, an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office spokesman tells PEOPLE.

Florida suspect kills himself as partner surrenders after alleged ‘nightmare’ killing spree

The hunt for a man and woman wanted in a two-state “killing spree” ended at a Georgia motel on Tuesday afternoon when the man fatally shot himself and the woman surrendered to police, according to Florida authorities. William Boyette, 44, killed himself after law enforcement surrounded the West Point, Georgia, motel in which he and 38-year-old Mary Rice were hiding following an alleged week-long crime spree that began in Florida, an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office spokesman tells PEOPLE.

Opinion Activism On News Page: GOP Hurries To Slash Oil And Gas Rules

Reason #45986758677984232 that the Credentialed Media has lost trust, as the NY Times publishes what is essentially an activist opinion piece by Eric Lipton on page A1 of the Sunday NY edition. This might as well have been written by the office of Nancy Pelosi The document carried the title “A Roadmap to Repeal,” a concise list of Obama administration environmental regulations that a Koch brothers-backed group was pressing President Trump and Congress to quickly reverse after Inauguration Day.

Opinion Activism On News Page: GOP Hurries To Slash Oil And Gas Rules

Reason #45986758677984232 that the Credentialed Media has lost trust, as the NY Times publishes what is essentially an activist opinion piece by Eric Lipton on page A1 of the Sunday NY edition. This might as well have been written by the office of Nancy Pelosi The document carried the title “A Roadmap to Repeal,” a concise list of Obama administration environmental regulations that a Koch brothers-backed group was pressing President Trump and Congress to quickly reverse after Inauguration Day.

You know what? I was Mary Richards

American actress Mary Tyler Moore sits at a desk in a scene from ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ , Los Angeles, California, 1970. She died Jan. 25. American actress Mary Tyler Moore sits at a desk in a scene from ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ , Los Angeles, California, 1970.

Shepard Smith an island in Fox’s sea of opinion

This Jan. 30, 2017 photo shows Fox News Channel chief news anchor Shepard Smith on The Fox News Deck before his “Shepard Smith Reporting” program, in New York. This Jan. 30, 2017 photo shows Fox News Channel chief news anchor Shepard Smith on The Fox News Deck before his “Shepard Smith Reporting” program, in New York.

Moore a trailblazer who will be missed

… the life she lived. And, it goes without saying that for a few generations of Americans, she is missed as an entertainment figure and as an American woman. Moore, who died last week at the age of 80, burst into the American consciousness in 1961 as …

Super Bowl LI: Hillary Clinton Plots Revenge

Beware: Hillary Clinton loves that you love football – and the fact that Super Bowl LI is on pace to be 2017’s biggest live TV event fits perfectly into her plot to exact revenge on President Trump. Around 140 B.C., corrupt Roman politicians found a way to placate their impoverished citizens into surrendering their inalienable right to voting privileges and political representation – in exchange for discounted entertainment and food.

Can the Caped Crusader ‘bam’ silly studies?

Someone might mistake him for a Pittsburgh Steelers fan in those colors – and thrill his Grandpa Bill – if it weren’t for the fact that a football player usually doesn’t wear a cape and his helmet doesn’t have pointy ears on top. Day in and day out for the past 18 months or so, Owen’s favorite character has been Batman.

Today in History: Jan. 26, 2017

On Jan. 26, 1942, the first American Expeditionary Force to head to Europe during World War II arrived in Belfast, Northern Ireland. In 1784, in a letter to his daughter Sarah, Benjamin Franklin expressed unhappiness over the choice of the bald eagle as the symbol of America, and stated his own preference: the turkey.

Sorest winner of all time cannot stop whining

At a White House reception Monday night to discuss his 2017 agenda, Trump devoted the first 10 minutes to rehashing the 2016 campaign. The commander in chief told a bipartisan group of congressional leaders that between 3 million and 5 million illegal votes caused him to lose the popular vote.

Kalter: Cancer couldn’t sideline Erin Andrews

Fox Sports’ celebrated sideline reporter Erin Andrews – who recently suffered through a high-profile peeping Tom lawsuit – has revealed that she also endured a shocking cervical cancer diagnosis, a disease doctors say is extremely preventable but is killing women at higher rates than once expected. “No woman should have cervical cancer invasive enough to get chemotherapy or radiation treatments,” said Dr. Rebecca Perkins, a gynecologist at Boston Medical Center.

Letter: Trump won’t make America great

He will push aside women and children to hog the limelight; will promise anything to get his way and then break his word; will look at complex problems and immediately come up with foolish unworkable solutions. He will state unequivocal lies and insist they are alternative facts; will try to destroy anyone with the audacity to criticize his actions; will bully decent people and adulate ruthless despots; will poison America’s cup of human kindness.

Guest Editorial: Don’t count Kevin O’Leary out

A rich, boastful, trash-talking, businessman-turned-reality-TV-star without a shred of political experience could never be elected to lead a major party in a mature democracy. And even if that happened, he would never, ever be elected to lead that country – voters would simply know better.

Alternative facts? Try blatant falsehoods

At the risk of mirroring the kind of hyperbole that is quickly turning Donald Trump into something akin to the nation’s first living caricature, has any newly-installed president ever sabotaged his own administration as the fledgling 45th president of the United States as done in his first few days? Surely the lowlight of this self-inflicted major surgery was a top aide’s use of the term, “alternative facts,” on a Sunday morning TV talk show to excuse the blatant lies trotted out Saturday by his spokesman who accused the media of under-reporting inauguration crowd sizes.

Juan Williams: Ethics cloud hangs over Trump

Barack Obama Juan Williams: Ethics cloud hangs over Trump Week ahead: Regulators await Trump’s ‘day one’ Ex-Clinton aide: Spicer should have resigned rather than lie MORE told CBS’s “60 Minutes” that he is “proud of the fact with two weeks to go, we are probably the first administration in modern history that has not had a major scandal in the White House.” To his critics, Trump’s failure to divest himself from his global business empire, including deals with foreign governments, is already a scandal.

Cheers and Jeers

… and the senior recreation department for sponsoring the Mayor’s Luncheon, which was a huge success. The entertainment was wonderful and brought the holiday season to life. Food furnished by Spring Creek Barbeque was the best ever. Arlington cares …

Rubin: 84-mpg Elio’s back at Cobo – ” and still far away

Rubin: 84-mpg Elio’s back at Cobo – and still far away Always a show-stopper, the 3-wheeled, tandem-seat torpedo remains a longshot to ever hit the road Check out this story on detroitnews.com: http://detne.ws/2iGk0IC Jerome Vassallo, Elio Motors VP of sales, racks up 80,000 miles per year escorting the Elio prototype to auto shows like the North American International Auto Show. Here, he shows off the Elio E1C, a gasoline-powered vehicle slated to get 84 mpg on the highway with a top speed of more than 100 mph.

Ervolino: With your dog, is a kiss just a kiss?

Ervolino: With your dog, is a kiss just a kiss? Licking isn’t necessarily a doggie sign of affection Check out this story on northjersey.com: http://northjersy.news/2iscZLh There are many reasons to get a dog: You want companionship. You crave unconditional love.

Neil Patrick Harris deliciously vile in Netflix’s

The sinister Count Olaf with his three poor charges who find themselves at his mercy after a fire takes their home and parents in ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ on Netflix. The sinister Count Olaf with his three poor charges who find themselves at his mercy after a fire takes their home and parents in ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ on Netflix.

Without Megyn Kelly, news network’s prime-time lineup is a complete joke

“Kelly will host a daytime news and discussion program, anchor a Sunday-night newsmagazine show and be featured in NBC’s political programming and other big-event coverage, NBC said Tuesday. Kelly, 46, has been the host of Fox’s second-most-watched program, “The Kelly File,” and has been a breakout personality in the cable news landscape … “Kelly’s departure does change the tenor of the network a bit,” Cassino said.

‘The New Celebrity Apprentice’

To no one’s surprise, NBC’s The New Celebrity Apprentice, which was shot many moons ago but made its two-hour premiere Monday night, is very much like the old Celebrity Apprentice — dull and smarmy, a mid-2000s style of reality television that no longer interests anybody but political scientists and op-ed columnists, who will forever be scratching their heads to figure out how such a show could have played a part in making a president. Donald Trump is no longer the host of the show — except, of course, for the nagging appearance of his name in the end credits as one of a handful of executive producers.

Today in History: Jan. 5, 2017

On Jan. 5, 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposed assistance to countries to help them resist Communist aggression in what became known as the Eisenhower Doctrine. In 1905, the National Association of Audubon Societies for the Protection of Wild Birds and Animals was incorporated in New York State.

‘The OA’ and the hypnotic allure of weird TV

We’re more likely to remember the peak TV era for its quantity than its quality, looking back on these years as a period in which there was too much to watch that was pretty good and fairly intriguing, but often got more buzz than it deserved. It’s an embarrassment of riches, and, if and when some networks scale back , I’ll also fondly remember peak TV as a period of weird television.

Today in History: Dec 30, 2016

On Dec. 30, 1916, Grigory Rasputin, the so-called “Mad Monk” who wielded considerable influence with Czar Nicholas II, was killed by a group of Russian noblemen in St. Petersburg. In 1853, the United States and Mexico signed a treaty under which the U.S. agreed to buy some 45,000 square miles of land from Mexico for $10 million in a deal known as the Gadsden Purchase.

Lyons: Trump wishes a Happy thermonuclear New Year

Now that the presidential election is over, will it ever really end? Not if Donald J. Trump and the cable news networks get their way. Having made the election into a pro-wrestling spectacle, the Twitter-addicted president-elect and his ratings-hungry enablers at CNN, Fox News, etc.

Tony Norman: Death didn’t take a holiday in 2016

William Shakespeare got it exactly right four centuries ago when he had newly widowed Gertrude speak these words to her son, the grieving prince of Denmark in “Hamlet”: “Thou know’st ’tis common; all that lives must die, Passing through nature to eternity.” Act I, scene 2, line 72. These are words of wisdom, but not necessarily consolation, in an era when the deaths of people most of us have never met take on disproportionate meaning.

‘War room’ to boost picks

In this April 17, 2013 file photo, Heather Mnuchin, left, and Steven Mnuchin arrive at The Kaleidoscope Ball’s “Designing The Future” at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, recently hired a national finance chairman, scheduled his first fundraiser and is on the cusp of signing a deal with the Republican Party that would enable him to solicit donations of more than $300,000 apiece from supporters.

Opinions

In his upcoming budget proposal, Gov. Scott Walker is proposing to establish a series of sunrise and sunset review commissions that would analyze proposed and existing occupational licenses to see if they are needed, or if they are too restrictive, and we think it is a good proposal that is long overdue. Friday, February 3, 2017 Some might consider our reporting of an affair between two Oneida County sheriff’s department officers to be a bit tawdry, but what’s tawdry is not the reporting but the behavior.

WWE Smackdown Live results

Vaughn Johnson is the overnight sports producer, and also runs the “Squared Circle” blog on Philly.com, which covers the world of professional wrestling in Philadelphia and beyond. He’s interviewed dozens of people from various promotions around the world, including WWE and Ring of Honor, and has covered WrestleMania three times for Philly.com.