A Commentary vs a News Piece Defined

​There is a fine line between a news story and an op-ed piece. As we were taught in Journalism 101, the definitions of journalism center on its role as the systematic investigation, verification, and dissemination of information regarding contemporary affairs. Academics view it as an active practice, a democratic pillar, and an evolving institution that supplies society with fact-based, relevant news

An editorial, analysis or Op-Ed piece is a media piece, typically a newspaper or magazine article, that expresses the opinion of the publication's editors, publisher, or owner rather than an objective news report. It reflects an institution's or writer’s stance on current events or societal issues.

The problem with today’s Main Stream Media, or is is LAME Stream Media, is that most “journalists” have blurred the difference in those definitions. They have made the distinction opaque.

For those of us who write blogs, or commentaries, we understand the difference. We are sharing an OPINION on a current news story, NOT the news itself. For me, I share the highlights of the article and share my own opinion on it.

Most media outlets, Left and Right, no longer make that distinction. In years past, news outlets would separate a news story from an opinion piece. A newspaper would have a section dedicated to opinions, while reporters would report only the news.

TV anchors would segregate the news story, and then, indicate that the next piece was an opinion or commentary, breaking it out from the the nightly news. 

And over time, cable news which began with this premise, as well, by reporting the news during the day and sharing opinions at night, began to blur the differences. You can’t really tell the difference any longer. 

Over the years, this breach of journalistic integrity has also pervaded even 60 Minutes, 20/20 and other news magazine shows.

My commentaries are not reporting news but rather, my opinion. Your opinions are welcomed and are yours. I will not denigrate, comment, nor criticize them. 

Thank you for your years of readership and loyalty.

When a Journalist Finds Out It Is NOT About HIM

​When 60 Minutes debuted back on September 24, 1968, Mike Wallace and Harry Reasoner, who were highly respected seasoned journalists with impeccable credentials, were the first hosts. Don Hewitt was the creator and its first executive producer. 

No one knew where their political leanings lay nor who they voted for. It was truly a modicum of journalist integrity.

In recent years, no one could make the same claim with a straight face and not see how biased the news magazine had become.

This became evident over the last few weeks, as Bari Weiss, Editor-In-Chief of CBS News since October, 2025, has moved CBS News to a more unbiased, centrist news organization, by not renewing contracts of those “journalists” who have allowed their own political views to filter into their reporting.

It finally erupted last week when Ms Weiss fired 60 Minutes correspondents Sharyn Alfonso and Cecilia Vega, along with executive producer Tanya Simon and other producers last week.

Subsequently, during a staff meeting with new executive producer Nick Bilton, Scott Pelley, on Monday during a meet-and-greet with staffers, called out the boss’s lack of TV experience, challenging his vision and telling him he would “never be welcomed here.”

“What did he accomplish?” one CBS source said of Pelley’s explosive attack. “He embarrassed the company and the leadership.”

Another witness agreed that Pelley’s tactics were “problematic,” noting that the correspondent should have met with Weiss or Bilton to at least hear them out.

“That grandstanding thing is insane. It’s third-grade, playground bullying stuff,” the source said. “This is not the way you conduct yourself.”

And yesterday, newly appointed 60 Minutes executive producer Nick Bilton blasted Pelley in informing him he was fired “for cause, effective immediately.”

“[Y]ou hijacked my first meeting with staff to disparage me, my qualifications, and my intentions with remarkable incivility and contempt,” Bilton wrote, referring to Monday’s heated face-off between the journo and his boss.

Had Pelley privately disagreed with Weiss and Bilton with the moves being made, rather than being so vocal in his apparent abusive tirade in the presence of others, the outcome may have been different. But he left no latitude by management for any other response.

This morning, CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss addressed the firing of Scott Pelley during a staff meeting Wednesday morning, telling employees that the network had no choice but to part ways with the veteran correspondent following his public confrontation with management.

“The foundation [of trust and mutual respect] was broken,” Weiss said during the network’s daily 9AM editorial call.

“Despite our attempts to engage with Scott Pelley and to find a way back, unfortunately we weren’t able to do so, and so we had to part ways,” Weiss told staff.

CBS News president Tom Cibrowski echoed Weiss’s remarks, calling Pelley “an integral part of ‘60 Minutes,’ the ‘CBS Evening News’ and this entire news organization for decades.”

Pelley’s whiny response? “I have been in combat in Afghanistan. I have been in combat in Iraq. I have been in the war zone in Ukraine multiple times, risking my life and the happiness of my family because of my devotion to the broadcast.”

Hey Scott… you received a check for that work. Your self-pity-party alligator tears don’t work with people who make less than you, and who do much harder work, including your colleagues.

Pelley’s remarks also sparked widespread mockery on social media, where critics derided what they viewed as his self-importance and rejected comparisons between journalists and military personnel.

Perhaps, he will learn there are consequences when one takes on his boss in a public setting. It never would be tolerated in another private industry.

Journalists, generally, should learn that they are there to REPORT the story, rather than to be PART OF the story. A lesson Scott Pelley learned the hard way, when he thought he was more important than the company he worked for.

It Is Time to End the Islamic Regime

​Today is June 1 and three full months have elapsed since the start of Operation Epic Fury. Since April 8, there has been a ceasefire in place in order to come to terms with ending the war, by negotiating a means for the Islamic Republic to save face and return to a semblance of normalcy in the world.

But did Iran or its IRGC faction do any of that?

No… Instead it used this time to deceive, delay and commit Taqiyya to advance its stated goals: to destroy Israel, the US, and any nation which  aligns with them.

It was revealed that Iran has dug out a majority of the entrances to its underground middle bases that were buried by joint US-Israeli strikes during the height of the war, satellite images show. 

A recent probe of eighteen missile facilities hit during the war shows that at least 50 out of 69 tunnel entrances have been reopened since the cease-fire went into effect in April.

The fast work indicates that Iran would be poised to fire a lot more long-range missiles across the Middle East if the war restarts amid tense peace negotiations. 

Satellite images captured the rigorous work Tehran has accomplished in just seven weeks across various missile bases, with digging equipment and large trucks seen excavating the tunnel entrances.

Iran has already started rebuilding its military capabilities, including restarting its drone production and replacing destroyed missile launchers, according to US intelligence.

This is what the current Iran government has focused its energies doing, along with the massacre and executions of those who dared to protest its illegitimate, occupying  regime. Not peace.

It is apparent that the occupying forces of Iran and its barbaric henchmen are not interested in any peace agreement. And the countries of Pakistan and Turkey were either duped into believing this was Iran!s intentions or they were complicit in aiding and abetting Iran’s deceit.

The longer the US and Israel take to eliminate the Islamic Regime, the IRGC, and all of the weaponry available to them, the harder it will be to bring a legitimate, peace-loving government back to the forefront in Iran. It is time to end their existence. NOW!

Then, we may bear witness to a long-lasting Middle East peace, with many more countries signing on to the Abraham Accords.

What One Woman’s Goal Could Achieve For All

​Tomorrow is the sixty-second Israel Day Parade, which began in 1964 to celebrate the bind between American Jewishness and the State of Israel.

The parade was launched to achieve a few specific goals:

• Community Solidarity: Modeled after other ethnic pride parades in Manhattan, it was designed as a highly visible, public display of support and celebration for Israel.
• Global Unity: It provides a platform to celebrate the spirit of the Israeli people and honor Jewish heritage in New York.
• Historical Commemoration: It serves as an annual tribute to the creation of the State of Israel, which was established in 1948.

It is now enjoyed by many Americans, Christians and Jews alike, to foster better relations by people of all faiths. And this year, a brave Muslim activist, who has devoted her life to promoting religious freedom and denouncing violent extremism is vowing to lead the first Muslim group ever to march in the Israel on Fifth Parade in spite of threats to “wear a bulletproof vest.,”  Anila Ali, a Pakistan native turned fearless DC-based civil rights activist.

The 58-year-old powerhouse founder of the American Muslim & Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council said she plans to march with a few dozen Muslim supporters, including an imam and children, despite a barrage of intimidation tactics from “nefarious forces” for daring to show solidarity with Israel. 

For her and her supporters, this is a display what religious harmony can bring when hate, by a extreme few, is silenced by those who would rather live in peace and with respect for others of different beliefs.

Showing up now in the wake of unprecedented anti-Semitism in the Big Apple sends a strong message, said Ali, who added she’s been targeted by the Islamic regime for her interfaith work, which has included taking groups of Muslims, including the first Pakistani delegation, to Israel. 

“I want to show I’m a proud Muslim. I try not to think about the threat, but about what we’re doing, standing with Israel’s right to exist,” Ali said in the wake of accusations of being an “Islamonazi” and a “grifter” cashing in on Jewish money.

Ali, who has lived in the US for 30 years and found support in the Jewish community after 9/11, blasted Mayor Zohran Mamdani for being a no-show at the Sunday parade, the first ever mayor to skip the festivities since its 1962 inception. 

She called out the “dangerous” Democratic socialist for “empowering radicals” who target the Jewish community.

Perhaps other Muslims will find the courage to support Jewish issues, as Anila Ali and her group have. The City, the Country and the World  would be better off than what a small, radicalized minority constantly tries to wield.

And this may be the first step in achieving the peace and respect we all yearn to enjoy.

The Mets Won’t Repeat History This Year

​On May 30, 2024, the Mets’ record was 23 and 33. And they went on to play in the National League Championship Series against the Dodgers. And lost in the seventh game.

This year, with a different cast of characters (decidedly so), as of this morning, exactly two years later, they are 24 and 33. Could this portend into another rally to gain entry into the playoffs again?

Only in our dreams, Mets Fans.

This team may have more talent man for man than the 2024 team. But for most of them, they signed last off-season for a big paycheck.

The 2024 team came together because they were hungry, had mostly played together for several years, and learned to overlook the quirkiness of each other. This team, from the start of Spring Training, had no such history or personality traits.

And the brilliant POBO, David Stearns, showed he was such an egomaniac that he let the heart and soul of the team leave without a care for the fan base. Now, he gets to wallow in the disaster HE created.

The owner, Steve Cohen, gets to see half the stadium empty on most nights. Yes, there are games which 30,000 or more may show up, but it is tied to a give-away or a special event. Like today, when Bobby Valentine and Lee Mazzilli are honored as the latest Mets Hall of Fame inductees.

Boy Genius Stearns is hoping, by bringing up the future now, that these rookies will help remove the stink on this club that Stearns himself created. But he knows they are too young to really gel, at least this year, as a team. And Steve Cohen knows he is paying a hefty price at $370MM for a team in a rebuilding mode.

Not a good look for a savvy businessman, is it?

And for those of us who have been loyal, long-suffering fans, apparently this is our penance for everything and anything we have ever done. And we get it. 

So, we will continue to watch and root for the boys in Orange and Blue, much like the fans of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who were loyal to the core for their “Bums”, until they were deserted for Los Angeles. Because that is in our DNA. As true Orange and Blue fans.

All we can do each night as we watch the disaster Stearns created and cheer with all our might and as loud as we can, LETS GO METS!

Mamdani Shows His Ugly Anti-Semitic Character

​Yesterday, DSA Mayor Zohran Mamdani, an avowed Communist, revealed again his anti-Semitic attitude by claiming he will NOT attend the annual Israel Day Parade on Sunday. A tradition which every New York City mayor has attended annually since it was first held 1964.

Why? Because he disagrees with the Jewish state’s government.

First of all, you don’t have to support the Israeli government to attend. After all, Senator Schmuck Schumer has attended in the past. And he doesn’t support Israel, either.

The celebration along Fifth Avenue draws tens of thousands of revelers annually, including local community groups and students. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch will, instead, serve as an honorary Grand Marshall this year.

The top cop, who is Jewish, pointed to herself during the briefing when a reporter asked if anyone would be representing the Mamdani administration at the parade.

“It is the mayor’s decision not to march, and it is my decision to march proudly,” she said.

But some members of the Jewish community weren’t convinced by Mamdani’s reason for ditching the event, pointing out it is a celebration of religious identity and comes at a time when anti-Semitism continues to roil the City.

And considering that there are about ONE MILLION Jews living in New York City and over TWO MILLION Jews living in the New York Metro area, the largest number of Jews outside Israel, it is actually an insult to almost 15% of the City’s residents.

Rabbi Marc Schneier, president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, had a blunt message for the Democratic Socialists of America darling  and said recently, “The mayor was elected to lead all of us. He has decided that some of us are not worth his time. That is his right. It is also our right to remember it.”

Mamdani’s snub stands in sharp contrast with his predecessors and comes after he happily joined other festivities this year, including the Lunar New Year Parade honoring Asian citizens, the Pragwah Parade honoring Indians and other Hindus, and the St Patrick’s Day Parade honoring the Irish. But his hatred for citizens who profess Judaism is actually abominable and appalling.

Let’s keep this in mind what a bigot he truly is.

What Happens When Patience Is Lost

​Patience is the mark of a person which some have seen as weakness. But patience, or forbearance, is one of the Gifts God gives to a person, like Wisdom and Grace, to battle through tough obstacles.

President Trump has displayed much patience since the ceasefire began on April 8, after about six weeks of unremitting bombardment of the IRGC and the Iran regime. And it has been extended several times since then.

And in spite of the dalliances and delays by Iran to finalize a “peace agreement”, the President has displayed extraordinary patience, ignoring both world opinion and from critics in this country. Oh, and the continued gnat-like annoyance of Iran.

It continues to poke and prod, as if the bear will ignore and try to swat the pest away. But like the bear, Trump may lose patience and finally explode with a vengeance. And it will be too late to calm his resolve.

The IRGC taunts the US by insisting Iran has won the war, by planting mines in the Strait of Hormuz, and then claiming “foul” when the US destroys the boats, and now attacks Kuwait because that country hosts US assets. 

But the time is growing short for the IRGC and its goons. The ceasefire will soon come to an end at Iran’s peril. And world opinion has started to turn against Iran because it has denied its oil from those countries which critically rely on it.

The regime recently reopened its internet to the people. It hopes that by doing so, it can win the people over to its side. But it is probably too late. The economy is in disarray, the military is not getting paid, and inflation is out of control, making the cost of food, gas and other essential services, like heat and electricity, prohibitive.

Even patience, which is a virtue, can be worn out by those who persist in abnormal and inhumane behavior. Patience is finally lost when expectations for immediacy collides with reality.

The reality is that the IRGC will not budge from its unrealistic position of keeping it nuclear dust and control of the strait. And continuing the elimination of those who oppose their barbaric, demonic actions within the country.

The clock is at fifteen seconds to midnight. And Trump’s patience is approaching the terminal.

Be prepared for explosions to rock Iran soon.