Month: June 2026

Leave a comment Posted on Father's Day

Celebrating Life and Fatherhood

Last Tuesday morning, I needed milk and bananas at my local market so I went into to my car and—nothing.  No power at all.  Dead.  Immediately all my plans for the day went up in smoke because I had to call the Auto Club to jumpstart my battery which was replaced only six months ago.

I took my wife’s car and went to Ralphs.  Oddly, instead of going through the self-checkout as I always do, I chose the one with a cashier.  “How’s your day going?” she asked me as she robotically scanned my items without making eye contact.  (How many times that day would she press the play button on that question?)

Within milliseconds, two possible responses appeared “Terminator”-like: “fine” which was false but a quick way to curtail conversation or tell her the truth.

“Well, my car didn’t start so that’s no good,” I revealed. 

“Oh, I’m sorry.”  Her sympathy for me transformed this inconsequential exchange into something philosophical.  She wasn’t expecting an honest answer from a customer and I wasn’t expecting what I said next.

“But you know what?  My car didn’t start this morning, but I did.  And me starting is more important.”

She looked at me for the first time with her eyes widening and said, “You know, that’s right.  That’s a real good way to look at it.” 

I can’t explain how I came up with those words, but they flowed quickly out of me as if some other force took over my body, just as I can’t explain why I went to her instead of the self-checkout.

Suddenly, the black cloud was lifted and I felt much better exiting the market.  Today is a day worth living.

*          *          *

As I grow older, each significant day on the calendar rises in importance because the weight of a birthday or Christmas magnifies due to the decrease in future days to come.

I’m looking forward to spending this Father’s Day with my two sons.  It will be my 28th as a father; I only had 15 with my dad before he passed away.

I don’t need gifts, cards or a fancy restaurant meal.  Just the boys.  We’re going out to see a movie and I will barbeque burgers, maybe play catch.  That’s enough.

My last column about Father’s Day was four years ago when my wife and I were about to become empty nesters, our two sons leaving within a three-month period.  Our oldest, 22, got hired by Goldman Sachs in Salt Lake City so was moving out within days; our youngest, 17, was moving to San Luis Obispo to attend Cal Poly. 

That Father’s Day breakfast at Lucky’s in Montecito was bittersweet so we had our waitress memorialize the moment with a photo, an item to go into the Crosby time capsule of our family.

Suddenly, four years have passed.  Last year, Ben returned to Los Angeles for a new job and a new life, getting married to our delightful daughter-in-law Azriel.  Max graduated last week and has moved back home.  We are no longer empty nesters—happily. 

One life lesson I’ve learned is that the stage in life one is living cannot be comprehended until one is in a later stage; living longer provides one with reflection on the past.

Everyone has a birthday, it’s not something that you control, it just happens to a person.  But being a parent is an intentional act.  Making a decision to bring new life into the world is a remarkable choice.  My life would not be as worthwhile without fatherhood.

1 Comment Posted on Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Iran, John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts

Time to Celebrate America’s 250th birthday—Sanity Returns to the Kennedy Center

A minor miracle occurred in the early morning on June 13th—Trump’s name was removed from the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.   A judge ruled that the name change was illegal and therefore anything related to the venue had to expunge his name.

For once, Trump did not get his way.

Hundreds of people began gathering around to see this event including thousands via YouTube, applauding yellow-vested construction dudes as if they were members of Springsteen’s E-Street Band.  One worker even entertained the crowd pretending to fall off the rickety scaffolding that took longer to erect than an ADU.  The drip-drip process of removing 18 letters tortured the spectators.

Ever since he put his name on the memorial for the fallen president back in December, the complex has lost money. Consequently, Trump decided to use renovations as the reason for the closure, thereby avoiding the appearance of his name being associated with a financial failure.

Once the crew began removing the letters the entire work area was shielded behind curtains as if to conceal what was happening.  Why?  So that the man would not be embarrassed by the spectacle?  How apropos, the concealment of removing the letters symbolizing the concealment of how much damage this president has done in grifting for his family’s fortunes.

Underscoring the man’s enormous insecurities about himself, he forces those who work for him to proclaim their undying devotion to their king.

They all say it—Cabinet members, press secretaries, MAGA pundits—as if brainwashed like Stepford wives.  Eerily, the wording is exactly the same no matter who’s speaking. 

“President T is the greatest champion for [fill in the cause] of any president in American history.”  

But when journalists pose challenging questions to him, he avoids answering them, lashing out at reporters—”you’re stupid, you’re the worst person in the world.”

You’d think this person who embraces everything gold would follow the Golden Rule; however, he is the antithesis of it. 

Can you imagine the outrage if President Obama had done any of the things Trump has done?

  • Added his name above John F. Kennedy’s to the Kennedy Center.
  • Hung a giant poster of his likeness covering the Justice Department building.
  • Had his likeness on U.S. passports.
  • Plans to have his face on currency even though Congress in 1866 outlawed living people from appearing on money.
  • Charged taxpayers $1.8 billion to pay off rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6.
  • Tore down the whole east wing of the white house, charging taxpayers $1 billion for a ballroom.
  • Invaded Iran without approval from Congress, then surrendered to most of their demands, leaving Iran the strongest it’s been since the 1979 revolution and America emasculated on the world stage. When J.D. Vance told reporters that the Iranians “promise” not to build nuclear weapons was jaw-dropping in its naivety.

A few days ago when Obama delivered his speech at the inauguration of his presidential museum, it served as a stark reminder that just a decade ago, we had a leader who embodied qualities that any parent would cherish in their own children.

No wonder few are in a celebratory mood to commemorate the semiquincentennial of the United States.   The removal of Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center is a beacon for so many Americans thirsting for the return of sanity, competency and decency to their country.

Leave a comment Posted on 60 Minutes, Bari Weiss, CBS News, David Ellison, Nick Bolton, Scott Pelley

60 Minutes Has Expired

CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” the longest-running primetime program in television history, stands as a testament to the enduring power of broadcast journalism. As one of the few network TV shows I religiously tape and watch, I have been captivated by its content since discovering it as a teenager in the mid-1970s.

The magazine’s signature three-segment format within an hour exemplifies the pinnacle of broadcast journalism. It covers a wide range of topics, including world affairs, politics, travel, sports, and entertainment. Through its stories, I have gained valuable insights into various aspects of life. Even when I initially lacked interest in a particular subject, the reporting made watching the program essential, particularly when reporters posed challenging questions during investigations into instances of mismanagement or corruption. Moreover, “60 Minutes” fosters a sense of community, a show that people share with others.

During my teaching career, I utilized several segments to broaden the knowledge of my English and journalism students about the themes we studied in class.

Therefore, it is deeply concerning that when “60 Minutes” has its 59th-anniversary premiere later this fall, it will be a shadow of its former glory due to managerial changes within CBS News that have permanently compromised its independent operation.

The issue began when the current president criticized CBS News for the editing of an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024. As is his customary behavior, he sued CBS News.

In 2025, right before Skydance acquired Paramount, CBS’s parent company, Shari Redstone paid $16 million to the president to make sure the purchase would be approved.. However, this was only the beginning.

The new management’s objective was to control content within its news division to appease Ellison’s buddy; after all, he needed the FCC to approve the Paramount Skydance acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

CBS News appointed Bari Weiss as its editor-in-chief without any prior broadcast journalism experience. The decision was made to disrupt the newsroom and ensure that content did not negatively portray the president. A notable example of this was the “60 Minutes” report last fall on the mistreatment of detainees in an El Salvadorian prison that the White House used to deport Venezuelan men. Weiss delayed the airing of the report to include comments from the administration.

Last month, Weiss appointed Nick Bilton, another individual without broadcast journalism experience, to lead “60 Minutes.”  Subsequently, he dismissed executive producer Tanya Simon, a veteran of over 30 years, along with other producers and two on-air correspondents.

When Bolton addressed the “60 Minutes” staff on Monday, veteran correspondent Scott Pelley, who has been with CBS since 1989, challenged Bolton, questioning his “slender qualifications” and accusing him of “murdering ’60 Minutes.’”

It is no surprise that Bolton dismissed Pelley.

Here are excerpts from Pelley’s statement:

“For my part, new management has instructed me to inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story. I’ve been told to include assertions that are unverified. I have managed to ignore these instructions or refuse them. Recently, politicians have been invited to choose correspondents for interviews on the broadcast. Giving politicians control over 60 Minutes interviews is not how this is done. Incompetence and unprofessionalism in the new management have wreaked havoc. But now the collapse of values at the top has become untenable. The leadership of 60 Minutes is no longer recognizable. The principles I hold dear are gone, and so I must leave as well.”

Pelley’s courage in speaking out directly to his superiors underscores his passion for safeguarding the free press.

Within a few weeks, CBS has lost its top news show and its top late-night show, and it has canceled CBS Radio after 99 years. What a way to end the legacy of the Tiffany Network, which was a major force in journalism that championed freedom of the press, not freedom of the president.