Month: September 2006

When CBS News announced that Katie Couric was to be the new evening news anchor, I had my reservations. But I have to say I was rather pleased with her initial newscast last night.

Being introduced in a voice over by no less than God himself, Walter Cronkite, the new broadcast showed from the start that it was going to be different from the rest of the pack and set apart from what CBS has done in the past.

Couric showed a bit less of her perky personae in the broadcast debut that had been such a staple of the “Today” show. She was serious when serious was needed and light when the occasion called for light. The new editorial page-style segment and picture features are perhaps a bit gimmicky, but if continued to be done right they could provide a relief from what has become a tiresome format in network news.

Alas, Katie doesn’t yet have the gravitas. Her personality lends itself more to the opening music of “The Devil Wears Prada.” And that’s not really bad — Katie or the song. There is nothing wrong with a little upbeat glamour. And besides gravitas is not necessisarily a congenital trait. After all, Ed Murrow, David Brinkley and Walter Cronkite didn’t start off being the Ed Murrow, David Brinkley and Walter Cronkite that the world came to know.

So I am impressed thus far and we shall see how Katie fares down the line.

Tricky Dick Cheney looks for lawyers to shoot in Marlboro Country.

Veep Cheney is out among the great unwashed these days helping the administration that he runs get out the message that the Iraq war is, to paraphrase Martha Stewart, “a good thing.”

But one could only surmise that Tee Dee is feeling a bit down these days. He has, after all, been the boss of the White House no matter what voters or the Supreme Court who elected Gee Dubya as president said. And sooner or later his role as the most powerful man in the world will eventually come to an end. How it will come to an end is only speculation but here are a few possibilities: 1) Genuine health problems. His is not the best ticker in the world no matter how powerful he is. 2) Fake health problems. Since he has a history heart issues, he can resign at the opportune time and pave the way for the heir apparent to the presidency via a Dubya appointment such as Condi or Karl. 3)He is indicted, faces prison time and resigns. A bit of Agnew Deja Vu.

Ex-presidents get gadzillions to write memoirs or get appointed to all kind of corporate boards. Cheney already has gone the corporate route and why would he want to write a book since he believes so much of his and the administration’s existence should be kept under wraps?

Perhaps our man Tricky Dick will ride off into the sunset with guns a-blazing. Maybe he will become an Old West-style gunslinger and get into barroom shootouts with the first person who slights his legacy or his lesbian daughter. Who knows what the future holds for Veep? After running the world, everything has to be downhill from here on out.

Today I am coming to you live from Allen, Texas. The city of some 70,000 — and about 25 north of Dallas — lies in the vast suburban prairies of North Central Texas. It seems as if the main activity of the city is growth as it had only 10,000 or so people around the late 1980s. One of Allen’s claims to fame is that it was the site of what was believed to be the first train robbery in Texas, which was pulled off by outlaw Sam Bass.

Just what I am doing here (back) in Allen is a subject of a chain of events. At the present time I do not care to get into those events. I will say I am staying once again with my friend Ross and his parrots Gabby and Jake, for how long I am not sure.

Allen is a completely different atmosphere from the funky, coastal, industrial Beaumont where I have lived for the last 15 months. That is not to say either place is bad, merely different.

My task at hand is try to get some sort of life-sustaining gig. It isn’t as easy to do as it once was but it isn’t impossible. With that I bid you a) dew b) a do c) adieu for the moment.