News

The President made his ground-breaking appearance on last night's Tonight Show --- the first sitting President ever to grace this particular gig. He looked great; he sounded great; he was thoughtful; he was clever; he was convincing; and, with the exception of one...

A few minutes ago word reached the major news media outlets that actress Natasha Richardson had died at the age of 45, a few days after suffering head injuries in a skiing accident. Though her movie appearances were generally in out-of-the-way, little-seen films - The...

Claude Brinegar, the second of RN's two Secretaries of Transportation, died yesterday in a nursing home in Palo Alto, California. He was 82. The LA Times published a comprehensive obituary: Claude Brinegar, who as U.S. transportation secretary led an overhaul of the...

Ron Silver died in his sleep on Sunday at his home in Manhattan.  He was 62. When I was named editor of Saturday Review in 1984, one of my first tasks was to liven up that distinguished by moribund institution.  In my search for interesting and unusual reviewers and...

Jon Stewart got a lot of attention last week because of his memorable face off with Jim Cramer.  But he also took an amusing look at some of the gee whiz aspects of the President's schedule (and there do seem to be a lot of them).

("L'Amerique Septentrionale Divisee En Ses Principales Parties ..."  This map of North America, from Pierre Mortier's Atlas Nouveau, was printed in either Amsterdam or Paris in 1692.  It depicts California as an island and and represents six, rather than five, Great...

  Both the Republican Poker Party “Grand Ol’ Gang” and Democratic Poker Party “True Blues” are reproductions from paintings by Andy Thomas.  Mr. Thomas does Civil War, Oil Well and Western Prints.  There is a local art gallery in town, “The Galloping Goose” that has...

(Cross posted from Epic Journey) Orange County, birthplace of Richard Nixon, may be on the cusp of political upheaval. In the Orange County Register, Dena Bunis reports: Orange County Democrats have become so emboldened by how well President Barack Obama did here on...

During recent remarks to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, President Barack Obama waxed a bit defensive in response to mounting criticism that he may be spreading himself, his vision, and his obvious political capital too thin in these early days of his...