Native American Sues NBC Over Harassment: 'They Are Very Creative Racists'

Why do the lily white folks at NBC hate people of color?

A Native American NBC studio technician was tormented about his ethnicity by cruel colleagues, who strung up an Indian doll on a noose and called it his "long-lost daughter," he claims in a lawsuit.

Faruq "Peter" Wells -- who worked on the "Today" show, "Dr. Oz" and "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" -- endured the abuse after returning from a vacation and eventually quit his job when NBC's Human Resources Department told him to ignore the problem, the court papers charge.

The worst indignity came when one co-worker pelted him with the doll and barked, "Here's your long-lost daughter!" the papers say.

Wells said his horror story began on June 14, 2009 -- within an hour of returning from an Arizona vacation to his desk at the Peacock Network.

Colleague Rich Citelli told him to look over at the desk of co-worker Evelyn Cordero -- and he saw a "dark-skinned female doll adorned in traditional Native American clothing," says the suit, which will be filed in Manhattan Supreme Court today.

Citelli then showed him despicable cellphone images of the doll strung up in Christmas lights with a Post-it note that read, "Baby Wells," the documents allege.

"I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I was extremely upset. I felt I was made to be a laughingstock," Wells told The Post.

"I went right to my supervisors and showed them the picture and said, 'What is this?' Wells said. "One said to me, 'I told her not to put it up.' I asked, 'Who is she?' He said, 'Evelyn [Cordero].' I was shocked because I didn't expect that from her," Wells said.

Hours later, the suit claims, a still-reeling Wells became the butt of sleazy jokes.

"Hey, Pete, do you have any illegitimate children?" Cordero asked, the court papers say.

Cordero then put the doll on his workspace and said, "Look, it's got your DNA, skin color and you both have the same hair. It's braided just like yours," the suit charges.

Wells' lawyer, Matthew Blit, said, "They are very creative racists. Unfortunately, I've seen some horrific cases, and this is definitely one of them."

Could you imagine if this happened at Fox?

Heh: NBC Employees Upset Over Cut in Psychotherapy Benefits

Lord knows the star-studded lineup at MSNBC sure needs the help. Now they might have to dip into their own pocket.

Their new bosses are driving NBC staffers crazy. Since Comcast took over the network from General Electric earlier this year, some staffers are complaining that their new health insurance doesn't offer the same level of benefits for psychotherapy. Though GE employees were offered Aetna and United Healthcare, Comcast's Magellan Behavioral health insurance doesn't offer the same coverage, staffers say.

C'mon folks, it's time for shared sacrifice. You would think NBC is saving a bundle now that Keith Olbermann has gone into hiding, but apparently he must have driven so many people nuts the residual effects are still ongoing.

Smart Move: NBC Dumps Olbermann From Football Coverage

Ever since NBC picked up coverage of Sunday Night Football several years ago I've held steadfast to the famed Olbermann Rule, whereby any pregame, halftime or postgame coverage on that network was studiously avoided due to the presence of the evil clown.

Well, now it appears it may be safe to watch. Expect a sudden surge in viewership at the network now that the loathsome, detestable liberal hack will no longer foul your television screen.

I’m told that NBC News officials requested the move, citing Olbermann’s weekday commitment to MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann. During the 2009 NFL season, Olbermann periodically did not appear on Friday editions of Countdown.

Network television sources confirmed to me that Olbermann’s departure from FNIA was not due to any conflict with cast or production crew members. I was also given no indication that Olbermann’s politics had anything to do with the move.

Olbermann has hosted Countdown since 2003 and had served in varying capacities on FNIA since 2007.

I'm sure the tools at NBC News are really eager to have the low-rated moron on five nights a week so they can be pummeled in the ratings on a regular basis.

Expect the most fired man in television to fob off some story about how busy he is with other duties and spin his departure favorably. He's done that pretty much everywhere else he's been dumped.

NBC Douchebag Matt Lauer Caught Cheating

Looks like the human Chia Pet was getting his freak on while up in Canada during the Olympics and now his wife has sent him packing. What a guy.

Matt Lauer is the latest celebrity to be accused of cheating on his wife.

The "Today" show host and his wife, Annette, have split amid accusations of infidelity in their 12-year marriage, the National Enquirer reports.

The couple has reportedly been living apart for more than two months since she accused Lauer of cheating on her during his coverage of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in February.

Suspicions allegedly arose when Matt not only stood his wife up on Valentine's Day, but also chose to remain in Vancouver for an extended period of time after the "Today" show crew wrapped production and returned to New York.

The 52-year-old married man reportedly "went wild" with colleagues at nightspots and caught the eye of two good-looking Canadian broadcasters.

The stooges at NBC are standing by their man. Maybe he and Tiki Barber can start double-dating.

According to a "Today" show insider, Matt is trying to keep the split on the "down low" because his NBC bosses are pressuring him to maintain his image as a solid family man to appeal to his largely female audience.

Oh My: NBC Celebrates Black History Month By Serving Fried Chicken

I assume watermelon is on the dessert menu. You have to figure this will earn NBC a special "Worst People in the World" from Keith Uberdork.

So who at NBC thought it would be a good idea for the special today to be, among other things, fried chicken, “in honor of Black History Month”?

Because, spoiler alert – it wasn’t a good idea at all. And now NBCU employee Questlove is bringing it to the attention of his 1 million plus Twitter followers.

Could you imagine the media meltdown if Fox did something so stupid?

Prediction: Rush Limbaugh will mention this tomorrow and NBC will call him racist for mentioning Black History Month and fried chicken in the same breath.

NBC: Anyone Complaining About Obama's Speech to Kids is Too Stupid to Raise Children

You can just taste the arrogance and sneering condescension. How dare people speak out and organize without getting their marching orders from antique media relics like Andrea Mitchell and Chris Matthews!

Via Jim Treacher.

More here.

NBC Hires Bush Daughter

She's kept a very low profile in recent years and I must say the last network that you'd think of hiring a Bush--or any Republican for that matter--is NBC.

You can imagine Keith Olbermann's head exploding right about now.

NBC's "Today" show has hired someone with White House experience as a new correspondent — former first daughter Jenna Hager.

The daughter of former President George W. Bush will contribute stories about once a month on issues like education to television's top-rated morning news show, said Jim Bell, its executive producer.

Hager, a 27-year-old teacher in Baltimore, said she has always wanted to be a teacher and a writer, and has already authored two books. But she was intrigued by the idea of getting into television when Bell contacted her.

"It wasn't something I'd always dreamed to do," she said. "But I think one of the most important things in life is to be open-minded and to be open-minded for change."

Flying Pig Alert! NBC Goofs On Obama and His TelePrompter

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Still, them lamely gush about his soaring rhetoric, unable to grasp the fact his rhetoric would drown if it weren't for this crutch.

I wonder if the folks at The Today Show will be Worst People in the World tonight?

Brian Williams Bows to King Obama

Lifted off Drudge. A snippet off of video, but would anyone really doubt why an NBC hack is bowing to his boss, especially someone who buys food for him?

Here's the video:



Thanks to Gateway Pundit for the link!

'Where In the World Is Luke Russert?'

Could be a couple of factors at work here. First, he may just have bitten off too much in the aftermath of his father's death while at the same time the suits at NBC probably expected too much from a college-age kid.

One other possibility: He's ashamed of the mess that NBC and MSNBC have become since his father died, considering they've become a de facto adjunct of the Obama press office.

SOME hardworking folks at NBC and MSNBC -- who work long hours for little pay -- are wondering, "Where in the world is Luke Russert?"

One insider sniped, "He was hired last year to be the youth correspondent -- he got a great contract and was supposed to cover youth issues, blog and bring in young viewers, but he's been MIA for a while. It's like, 'Well, that's what you get for nepotism.' "

Russert, 23, was hired at the network on July 31 as a correspondent-at-large, after his beloved father, Washington bureau chief and moderator of "Meet the Press" Tim Russert, died last summer.

Luke was highly visible during the presidential campaign, but disappeared after the inauguration. He was raked over the coals when news of an "Inaugural Party Hosted by Luke Russert" at preppy DC nightclub the Rookery was announced. The party had a $95 cover and a "cheesy" invite with Russert posing as Uncle Sam in the "I Want You" pose. It also violated NBC's ethics policies and forced the network to issue a statement noting it was not an NBC event. Russert quickly had his image deleted from the fliers.

The insider sniped, "He hasn't even updated his blog which he's paid a lot to do and just got on Twitter. Some youth correspondent!"

Russert's last blog, "The Courage To Go Online" was posted Dec. 4, 2008 -- and he started his Twitter account on Feb. 18, which was the date, incidentally, that Luke was last on air, interviewing Bill Clinton for President's Day. His last tweet, "Been on the Road," was on March 31.

Maybe he's still on the road somewhere.

Networks Balk at Another Primetime Obama Egofest

You would think the most overexposed president in history would be satisfied with the nonstop slobbering media coverage and magazine covers. Although in the case of Barack Obama, his vanity knows no limits. Now for the fourth time in his brief presidency he asking the networks to shelve primetime programming during sweeps month so his TelePrompter can congratulate him on how wonderful his first 100 days were.

We interrupt this regularly scheduled broadcast to bring you a special address from President Barack Obama. Again.

For the fourth time since he took office, Obama's camp is asking the major TV networks to set aside their schedules for another of his primetime press conferences, costing them ad dollars.

With rare exceptions, the networks -- ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC -- accommodate such presidential requests, partly out of a sense of duty and partly to avoid getting on the wrong side of the Oval Office.

Getting on the wrong side of the White House wasn't a concern during Bush's presidency. Some of the networks refused to air his primetime pressers for one simple reason: they hated his guts.

Obama's supposed to be such a swell guy, so he wouldn't hold it against network executives trying to make some money if they skip this, right?

But programmers are starting to act peeved at Obama's primetime interruptions -- one a month since January -- because every speech and press conference results in a loss of ad revenue and scheduling problems.

Assuming a 30-second primetime spot runs an average of $150,000, media buyers estimate it costs the broadcast networks a combined $10 million per hour. The economy has already crimped TV ad revenue.

"It's really cutting into them, especially with what's going on with the advertising market," said Brad Adgate, head of research for Horizon Media, a media-buying firm. "I don't think their revenue models anticipated these monthly State of the Unions."

So the networks created this monster and are now concerned about it? Should have thought about that when they built this guy into some god-like figure.

CBS and ABC have lined up new episodes of their comedies, while Fox planned to air a new episode of "Lie to Me."

Quite the quandary for Fox. Either show "Lie to Me" or have Obama lie to us.

In the end, you know they'll all cave and give in to Obama. Fear is a powerful motivator.

Sick of Being Associated With Keith Olbermann, John Madden Retires From NBC

Nah, just kidding about that Olbermann part. But I'm sure he thinks Keithy's a dick anyway.

Anyway, Madden apparently is retiring to, you guessed it, spend more time with his family. Good idea, I guess, now that he's 73 years old.

John Madden, the most recognized analyst in television sports, is calling it quits.

In a statement issued Thursday morning, Madden, who was NBC's No. 1 NFL analyst on the Peacock's Sunday night package, said: "It's time. I'm 73 years old...It's been such a great ride...the NFL has been my life for more than 40 years, it has been my passion - it still is. I appreciate all of the people who are and were such an important part of the most enjoyable, most fun anyone could have...It's still fun and that's what makes it hard and that's why it took me a few months to make a decision."

There was some speculation last season concerning Madden's future when he missed one game. At that time, NBC Sports boss Dick Ebersol said Madden just needed a brief rest.

Coulter Gangsterslaps Matt Lauer

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

She's got much bigger balls than the Chia Pet. She starts off snarky by noting NBC has had to retract stories in the past and then the fun really starts. Poor, delicate Lauer, he's upset by the tone in her book. Oooh.

Enjoy.

Hope, Change and Shameless Merchandising: QVC to Hawk Obama Trinkets at Inaugural

They're not the only ones. Home Shopping Network is also getting in on the act. To be fair, they've done this for previous inaugurals, but of course now there is electricity in the air, so they have to be in DC for the big shindig.

QVC is traveling to Washington to mark President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration this month — and is bringing along plenty of coins, stamps, jewelry and even a small handbag to sell.

The retail network has already sold more than 100,000 items related to Obama's election and sees the inauguration as an opportunity to reach far beyond the group of people regularly interested in political collectibles.

"Frankly, if we were not at the inauguration, we would feel like we were not doing our job," said Doug Rose, vice president of multichannel programming for the retail giant, which is available in 94 million American homes and had sales totaling $7.4 billion in 2007.

QVC will show portions of the parade and conduct interviews with spectators, then air live on the night of Jan. 20 from the Creative Coalition's inaugural ball. Host Leah Williams will be decked out in an inaugural gown.

Obama's inauguration has attracted plenty of interest from TV networks, not only the traditional broadcast and cable news outlets, but specialized venues such as BET and Nickelodeon that don't normally pay attention to live political events.

"We're trying to give the audience a flavor of what the event is like, from the event," Rose said. "We will try to give them a sense of the electricity in the air."

I guess I can now add QVC, HSN, Nickelodeon and BET as channels to avoid that day.

These aren't the only outlets shamelessly cashing in on Obamamania.

NBC is also selling a DVD compilation of Obama speech highlights and NBC News coverage of the campaign.

No word on how much the Obama commemorative barfbag will be selling for.

NBC To Give Jay Leno 10 pm Timeslot

Killing two birds with one shot. Save production costs on some likely bomb programs and go with a known quantity. Can he pull in a sizable enough audience night after night to go up against established network shows in that timeslot?

We'll find out.

NBC is expected to announce Tuesday that it has signed its late-night star Jay Leno to a new contract that will keep him at the network in a new format that will give him the 10 p.m. time period each weeknight for a show similar to the one he has done on NBC’s “Tonight Show” show since 1993.

Five years ago NBC announced that it would give the job of host of that franchise late-night show to Conan O’Brien in May 2010. Since then the network has maneuvered to try to keep Mr. Leno, who continues to be the late-night ratings leader, at the network in some capacity, fearing that he could leave and start a new late-night show on a competitor.

Mr. Leno was known to have suitors, including ABC, the Fox network and the Sony television studio. The new show is expected to be set in Mr. Leno’s longtime studio in Burbank, Calif. Mr. O’Brien will move the “Tonight” show to a new studio on the NBC Universal lot in Universal City, Calif.

No broadcast network has ever before offered the same show in prime time five nights a week. Such so-called “stripped shows” have been a staple of daytime broadcasting.

The offer of a new weeknight show for Mr. Leno at 10 p.m., an idea that NBC executives said Monday came from the NBC chief executive, Jeff Zucker, not only allows NBC to retain Mr. Leno’s services, but also means the network may be able to greatly reduce costs of developing and producing other prime-time shows.

Quagmire! NBC, CNN Cut Hundreds of Jobs

Maybe this wouldn't have happened if they actually reported the news. Instead they sold their soul to the Democratic Party and in effect became adjuncts to the DNC.

Now look where it got them. Redeployed to the unemployment line.

First up is the far left NBC cutting 500 jobs. They throw millions at the moron they have on MSNBC at 8 pm while staffers get pink slips.

TVNewser has learned NBC Universal will be cutting up to 500 jobs in a round of layoffs which are now underway at all levels of the company — television, film and parks. That amounts to about 3% of the workforce. An insider with knowledge of the situation says the cuts are expected to continue into next week.
...
Last month, TVNewser reported the network was offering buyouts to "virtually everyone." If enough employees did not accept the offer, layoffs were to be the next step.

Meanwhile, CNN is lopping off entire units.

CNN, the Cable News Network, announced yesterday that it will cut its entire science, technology, and environment news staff, including Miles O’Brien, its chief technology and environment correspondent, as well as six executive producers. Mediabistro’s TVNewser broke the story.

“We want to integrate environmental, science and technology reporting into the general editorial structure rather than have a stand alone unit,” said CNN spokesperson Barbara Levin. “Now that the bulk of our environmental coverage is being offered through the Planet in Peril franchise, which is produced by the Anderson Cooper 360 program, there is no need for a separate unit.”

There's a lesson to be learned here if they're paying attention: Less environmental hysteria equals fewer people tuning them out.

They'll never listen, of course, which is why they're sinking into the morass.

“It’s disheartening,” said Christy George, who is president of the Society of Environmental Journalists and has worked closely there with Peter Dykstra, CNN’s outgoing executive producer for science and technology. “For the last year or two, television has, in general, been making a commitment to beefing up its environmental coverage.”

If only they realized there's no such thing as global warming and they've been wasting their time and money.

How Convenient: Edited SNL Sketch Omits Barney Frank

Talk about being in the tank for the Democrats. The one time they poke some fun at them and remind the audience who was responsible for the Fannie Mae fiasco, the wimps at NBC succumb to the heat and revise a sketch to omit anything that even remotely implicates Barney Frank.

Wave goodbye to your credibility, folks.

Not every comedy sketch on "Saturday Night Live" has to do with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

It just seems that way recently, as The Ticket has reported here and here and here.

But there's an unusual twist this week over another SNL skit. This one concerns a long, satirical bit about the Washington financial bailout bill including a "President Bush," a House Speaker "Nancy Pelosi" and a Rep. "Barney Frank."

Pelosi introduces a series of alleged "victims" of the Wall Street mess, who include two men clearly unqualified to have any kind of mortgage, a well-to-do couple who speculated in condos and lost all but 10% of their profits and an older couple, Herb and Marion Sandler.

As our blogging colleagues Peter Viles at L.A. Land and Matea Gold Show Tracker have thoroughly documented, the Sandlers actually exist and are prominent supporters of liberal and Democratic causes. They assembled a vast array of subprime loan packages in their Golden West Financial and sold it to Wachovia Bank for $24 billion before the financial bottom fell out.

In the skit, a parody of a C-SPAN news conference replay, the Sandlers express puzzlement over why Pelosi invited them as victims because they're really delighted with their fortune and laughingly see Wachovia Bank as the victim. A graphic beneath the Sandlers says, "People who should be shot."

Monday NBC mysteriously yanked the skit's video from the network's website, fueling online rumors the show was caving to pressures from well-connected Democrats.

The video was later reposted and a spokesman explained "upon review we caught certain elements in the sketch that didn't meet our standards. We took it down and made some minor changes."

In an interview with Gold, the show's executive producer, Lorne Michaels, said the Sandlers were distraught but had not demanded the changes. He noted the "People who should be shot" line was deleted as was a reference to their "corrupt activities."

But a comparison of the two versions shows that actually a little more than that was cut. What also was excised was any mention of the involvement of Massachusetts' Rep. Frank in the Sandler subprime mess.

Frank is the influential chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and an ardent political protector of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which participated in the subprime problem.

In the original skit Sandler addresses Frank, saying, "And thank you Congressman Frank as well as many Republicans for helping block Congressional oversight of our corrupt activities."

To which Frank replies enthusiastically, "Not at all!" All that's gone in the new version, which Show Tracker has posted here.

Once again, here's the original clip.

For shame, NBC, for shame.

Who Will Be Tonight's Ponytail Guy?

As we approach tonight's townhall-style debate with John McCain and Barack Obama with NBC's Tom Brokaw moderating, I have little faith this will be played fairly, if for no other reason these events always have some dubious audience questioners, none more famous than the infamous Ponytail Guy from 1992.

"Ponytail Guy" is the term some in political circles use to refer to Denton Walthall, who asked a question in the second presidential debate in 1992. A domestic mediator who worked with children, Walthall scolded President George H.W. Bush for running a mudslinging, character-based campaign against Bill Clinton in 1992. Referring to voters as "symbolically the children of the future president," he asked how voters could expect the candidates "to meet our needs, the needs in housing and in crime and you name it, as opposed to the wants of your political spin doctors and your political parties. ... Could we cross our hearts? It sounds silly here but could we make a commitment? You know, we're not under oath at this point, but could you make a commitment to the citizens of the U.S. to meet our needs—and we have many—and not yours again?"

It did sound silly: a father-president dandling a nation of children voters on his knee. But instead of challenging the paterfamilias premise, the candidates took his pain seriously. Walthall didn't scold Bush by name, but as the camera shot over his shoulder (showing us his ponytail), Bush could be seen growing annoyed. The question was addressed to all the candidates, but Bush was the candidate running the character-based campaign. He had answered a previous questioner by making the case for why Bill Clinton's character should be an issue. So it was obvious Bush was the target of the Ponytail Guy's criticism.

On Tuesday night, we'll get to hear from some of this campaign's swing voters—the rules of the debate guarantee their participation—as undecided voters pose questions to the candidates in the town-hall debate.

Now considering Tom Brokaw is hosting this event, can we reasonably expect anything to do with NBC is going to be fair to John McCain?

OK, stop laughing. This isn't meant as advance excuse making for John McCain, who by most accounts is more comfortable in this environment, as opposed to Barack Obama, who couldn't remember what he had for lunch if it weren't scripted for him.

Considering, however, the relentless media bias directed against McCain this campaign cycle contrasted with the sycophantic, fawning coverage of Barack Obama, who until now has been give a virtual free pass. How exactly is it were only 28 days from election day, this man has been running nonstop for 21 months and only now William Ayers is an issue?

For all the media blather last month about how Sarah Palin wasn't vetted properly, why is it the media never properly vetted Obama?

With that in mind, are we to expect some pre-screened questions by heretofore anonymous audience members aren't going to be designed to sandbag McCain and prop up Obama?

Tuesday's match-up at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., will be moderated by NBC's Tom Brokaw, with the questions to be culled from a group of 100 to 150 uncommitted likely voters in the audience and another one-third to come via the Internet. The Gallup Organization -- as in past debates like this -- has the job of making sure the questioners reflect the demographic makeup of the nation.

Brokaw selects the questions to ask from written queries submitted prior to the debate, according to the "contract."

An audience member will not be allowed to switch questions. Under the deal, the moderator may not ask followups or make comments. The person who asks the question will not be allowed a follow-up either, and his or her microphone will be turned off after the question is read. A camera shot will only be shown of the person asking -- not reacting.

It won't take long to track down those asking questions and their background. How much do you want to wager we'll later find out some of the uncommitted likely voters have a certain partisan preference they failed to disclose?

It's not that difficult to fathom considering Gwen Ifill didn't even disclose to the debate commission she was doing a book about Barack Obama. Are we supposed to believe these uncommitted voters will be held to a higher standard?

Right. And I've got a deal deal for you on Lehman stock.

Michelle Malkin offers a word of caution.

Frankly, those running this show tonight know they're under a microscope, but their bias is just too entrenched. They can't help themselves. We'll probably see some Code Pink plant slip through tonight, the mainstream media will play dumb, instant flash polls will declare Obama a big winner and by the time the fallout hits it will be dismissed as sour grapes from a "desperate" McCain campaign.

I wish I had more faith, but when there hasn't been a conservative even allowed on stage at a debate since 1988, how can one not be pessimistic?

Now for the blast from the past, here's the infamous Ponytail Guy:

Future Members of the Mainstream Media

Really creepy. Reminds me of the Hitler Youth or the kids singing to the Dear Leader in North Korea.

Others would call it child abuse.

H/T LGF.

Bob Owens notes whose behind this effort, including Jeff Zucker, the President of NBC.

Isn't that special?

More at Wizbang and Michelle Malkin.

Here's another group of whackjobs.

'Why a Requiem Mass for a Pet Canary?'

Wow, this guy sounds like a real Class A douchebag. Was probably just jealous Tim Russert achieved fame and respect far beyond anything he could imagine.

FRIENDS and family of Tim Russert are saddened by a piece in Harper's magazine by Lewis Lapham, who characterizes the late host of NBC's "Meet the Press" as a toady of the establishment and asks, "Why a requiem Mass for a pet canary?"

Russert died June 13 of a heart attack at age 58, and soon "the story was being wrapped up in the ribbons of a national tragedy, up there in lights with the death of President Ronald Reagan and the loss of Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer on the field at the Little Bighorn," Lapham writes in the September issue.

Lapham goes into great detail over the subsequent "procession of Washington media celebrities arriving with rush deliveries of op-ed-page solemnity and camera-ready grief."

By June 18, when MSNBC staged a memorial service for Russert at the Kennedy Center, "if I'd thought that the bathos couldn't reach new force levels, it was because I'd failed to account for either the cynicism or the vanity of a fourth estate that regards itself as the light in the window of Western civilization," Latham wails.

While he has only praise for Russert as a person, he states, "His on-air persona was that of an attentive and accommodating headwaiter, as helpless as Charlie Rose in his infatuation with A-list celebrity."

Veteran TV news executive Steve Friedman, who was at NBC News when Russert arrived in 1984 and who served as one of his honorary pallbearers, told Page Six Lapham "is trying to be provocative to get attention."

A search for this dope turned up this paean to the odious Molly Ivins, so you have an idea where the old coot is coming from. And if you want the true essence of moonbattery, check out this interview with the psychotic Bill Moyers.

His crowning journalistic achievement was traveling ahead in time to witness the 2004 GOP Convention.

Classy guy.

Hot Air and Instapundit link. Thanks!