He was an incredibly funny guy.
I first heard him in 1960 when his groundbreaking album, The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, was released. It was so different than anything else. He just told stories. Simple in their concept but hilarious in their deadpan delivery. Even as twelve-year-olds we’d sit, listen and laugh ‘til we cried.
The album would be enjoyed by all ages. It was album of the year, beating out Presley and Sinatra and a lot of others. Here’s one of the reasons why … it may be the funniest eight minutes you spend this morning:
The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart - ‘The Driving Instructor
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Newhart would go on, of course, to a stunningly successful career in standup, radio, television and any other venue where people could fall victim to his very particular and very effective delivery. He was 94 when he died Thursday. Hearing his name will always make me smile.
Summer is supposed to be quiet: it’s supposed to be all BBQs, burgers and bathing suits all the time. But that’s not the way it’s turning out. Let’s get into our regular Buzz routine this way:
Gauze bandages.
I was at the dentist early one morning last week and had one of my teeth pulled. It was a molar, top side, at the back. There was some twisting and turning, yanking and pulling, but at least the good dentist didn’t have to stand on my chest to get a grip strong enough to haul the septuagenarian tooth out of my mouth. When he succeeded, there was blood. Of course, there was blood. Not a lot but enough to make a mess. As a result, I was given a dozen or so gauze pads to use to stem the flow in the hours ahead. No big deal. By that night both the blood and the pain were gone. I’d only used three of my gauze pads. End of story.
Until Monday night when I saw Donald Trump with a similar type of gauze perched on his right ear. Now, I obviously knew about the attempted assassination two nights before that had thankfully failed but a bullet did, we’re told, nick his ear. I had seen pictures of the presidential candidate on Sunday, just hours after the assassination attempt, golfing on one of his courses – no bandage in place that day. Hmm. Then again maybe one of his club champion swings had dislodged whatever first aid was being used on his ear in the immediate hours after the incident.
Cynics of course, and far be it from me to include myself in that group, might argue that the perfectly placed gauze was just there for show.
But then it’s been one of those weeks where “show” was part of the show.
Take MSNBC for example. It is without question the most anti-Trump network out there and they make no bones about it. Especially since CNN, their main competition, has moved closer to the Trump-lane in the last year. MSNBC still covered the Milwaukee-based Republican convention, but while there were tens of thousands of Republicans in attendance, all I assume available as guests, MSNBC seemed to find mainly Democrat guests to talk to through the dozens of hours of coverage.
Then, on Monday, their bosses, perhaps worried about Trump’s revenge, bounced their top-rated morning show, Morning Joe, from the airwaves for fear, it’s said, that the show might not treat the assassination attempt with the reverence it deserved.
But that’s not the best MSNBC story of the week, at least not to me the former TV guy.
MSNBC had the appearance of wall-to-wall convention-based coverage. Even their top-rated evening anchor, Rachel Maddow, was there sitting in front of the convention stage with speakers doing their thing at the podium behind her. But wait, she wasn’t really there, she just looked like she was there. She and her panel were nowhere near Milwaukee, they were hundreds of miles away, a time zone away, in New York, with their mostly liberal Democrat buddies.
Really? Yes, really. And you wonder about trust in media?
Here’s how the NY Times handled this little controversy:
Is Maddow in Milwaukee? No, That’s an LED Screen on MSNBC.
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I mentioned the assassination attempt a few moments ago. There is no doubt that is as close as we have ever come to watching live as a President was shot dead on television.
If Donald Trump hadn’t suddenly turned his head towards an audience member the moment the shooter fired, the outcome could have been very, very different.
It will likely be days, weeks or even longer before we know the full story of what happened that day. So far, it seems clear the prevention arrangements were poorly handled and people are likely to be held accountable.
In the meantime, stories are being written about this moment in time. As often happens, David Frum has one of the best in The Atlantic:
The Gunman and the Would-Be Dictator🔒
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I know I’ve said this for the past two weeks, but could this be the weekend that spells the end for Joe Biden’s presidential run?
One thing is for sure, more than a few senior party members are not holding back with their advice. Step down.
Politico asked Tom Galvin, a former reporter who used to cover Biden, to tell us about a time when Biden was saying things just like those today who are saying he should move on:
Opinion | ‘Poor Son of a B---h’: Biden Once Pitied an Older Politician Reluctant to Leave the Stage
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So where are we in the US presidential race?
Some argue it’s over already, too late for the Democrats to recover. If there’s one thing to be sure of, it’s that the Dems have lots to worry about. In the latest of his regular series for National Newswatch, Bruce Anderson looked at “The Race Next Door”:
Race Next Door #3 - Democrats and The Wall of Worry
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When you see the chaos in Democrat ranks in the US you have to wonder why things have seemed, from the outside anyway, so calm inside the Liberal Party of Canada.
No one thinks they can win again, there are massive questions surrounding leadership, open speculation about who could replace Justin Trudeau, and the list goes on. So why isn’t there an open revolt like the one we are witnessing south of the border?
Such is the question Liberal strategist Scott Reid asked this week in iPolitics:
The quiet caucus
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Enough of politics. Here’s one of those stories that comes along every once and a while, and if you’re like me, you love reading it.
Why? Because it takes you away to another world:
'The real Atlantis' discovered off the coast of Greece
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Then again, you could always read stuff like this.
Another example of our crazy world:
Doomsday dinners: Costco sells 'apocalypse bucket' with food that lasts 25 years
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