I am so glad to see Richard Engel (sp) back in the states. It seemed like he was there so long and I was concerned he may have problem adjusting to "vcivilian" life again. I do hope he's do well; he look very well indeed.

The vanishing barns segment played straight to my heart. I grew up on the farm and we recently took down the barn on the homestead because it was looking a bit unsteady, well more than a bit. She was built in 1941 and cost $3000. A tornado did some damage to it in the 90's, but when it was pulled down last year, it didn't go easy. The beams from the top of the roof to the ground were very strong. When the beams gave way, a fire was lit and she went up in a blaze of glory last fall in the plains of South Dakota.

Sometimes I'm slow on puns, but when I get them, I thoroughly enjoy them. I didn't get your joke about "indispensable" double-stick tape until about the third time I glanced at it. I always appreciate your sense of humor, Brian! :)

Welcome back, Brian. About the double-sided tape, it might be a good idea to find out what the college's dorm rules are, first. The college I went to only allowed us to use something called "Plasti-tak" to hang posters, etc. on the walls because it wouldn't leave any permanent marks or holes. And we were only allowed to use thumbtacks on bulletin boards. (But this was in the late 70's--for all I know, things have changed.)

I thoroughly enjoyed Bob Faw's pleasant, nostalgic piece on those crumbling old-fashioned barns and how some states are trying to preserve them. It took me back to family trips we'd take to Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, when I was a kid. We'd leave the interstate for winding, rolling country roads where we'd see a lot of "crooked barns," as I'd call them back then. One such crooked barn in that area, which we visited, was a tourist attraction because gravity acted funny there.

Faw didn't mention this, but the roofs on quite a few were used for advertising--in Missouri we'd see a lot of black roofs painted in white "Meramec Caverns," many of which were many miles away from that natural wonder and tourist trap.

Brian,
I can't believe that the President, three years after the invasion, is still pushing the same old failed argument for "staying the course".The Republican party must really think the American people are complete idiots who won't see through this smoke screen that they are laying out.It's the same old "try to scare voters" tactics.The best thing Republicans can do now is go back on vacation. they've done enough damage to this Country for the past six years.
Couldn't help but notice that the President of Iraq said the violence should be over by the end of next year.What information is that based on? Does this mean American soldiers will continue to have targets on their backs for the next 16 months?Then what?If after 16 months, nothing changes, then what?Another 16 months of staying the course?When is enough, enough!!!!

It-s fun to compare the evening news shows, although not fair. A certain competitor is pushing all buttons, still, I have to say the Tuesday winner is right here: informative, no-bogus, investigative,...

While I like to watch ie. Ms. Logan's flying hair and serious eyebrow wiggling in Afghanistan, I prefered Mrs. Myers investigative RPG-story much more.

I am just going to put it very simply- I want your job! I'm just 14, yet I see what you do every day, and you know so many people and have such great relationships with everybody!!
I read your blog nightly, and I think that you are a talented writer, Brian!

Sorry Brian...I had to check out CBS tonight. Big mistake. I really like Katie...but not in her new role. I will never leave you again!

Thanks to Brian for presenting real questions to W.

Great show Brian!!

In today's speech, President Bush compared Bin Laden to Hitler and Lenin. This is beyond bizarre. I'm beginning to wonder if anyone in the Bush administration knows what a fascist is or exactly who Hitler and Lenin were. As another chronicler pointed out in a quote the other evening, we must remember that Hitler was elected to power, then he started destroying the freedoms German citizens had previously known. Rumsfeld says we must remember our history. I do. President Bush, you would think, would be more careful on who he is using in finding a role model for Bin Laden. Help me here, what is it called when a president signs off on a law approved by Congress and then issues a statement to the effect that he chooses not to enforce the law? Our country is bound together by three words; “Rule of Law”. Last I heard, Present Bush has issued statements (as I believe they are called) on over 800 laws.

This evening I was dismayed to learn that there is a weapon system out there that would protect our troops from the devastating effect of RPG's. This system is already in production and available! Based on the experiences Israel recently went through, that nation is purchasing a number of these systems.

We on the other hand choose to develop a system from scratch. A system that wont be ready until 2011!. What amazes me is that there are actually Army officers who will sit there before a camera and with a straight face, appear on Television and defend this policy. There is not a single member of our armed forces who should be sacrificed simply to protect a relationship the Army has with Raytheon.

Mr. Williams:
As a journalism student, I wonder about a piece you did last week with President Bush. It was your one-on-one chat with Bush down in New Orleans. You were asking him about his summer reading list. Most of that part of the interview was shot from medium range. Then, as Bush often does, he made up a word. He was trying to describe his reading list as eclectic. However, he said "ecalectic." Your team cut to a tight shot of him as he was saying this. From a student's perspective and a viewer's vantage point, I wonder why you all chose to include this. It obviously made him look like a fool. Plus, what did it really add to the story? I felt it showed a clear bias on the part of Nightly's team. Please explain. Thank you.

Thank you for having the web broadcast. I work 2nd Shift so I have missed the evening news until I discovered your service while looking at your site. I'll be honest and tell you that yhat I checked out the others. CBS is offering live broadcast. Unfortunately it didn't work very well. Your site is much better and easier to use..but could you move the time up and have it availiable sooner. Thank you NBC and thank you Brian Williams. You have and always be my favorite news source.

Interesting that only minutes after Bush gives a speech on how we must deny "safe havens" to terrorists Pakistan announces a "peace deal" with Osama bin Laden and the Taliban that includes returning their weapons to them. Will Bush dare to
take on a nuclear armed Pakistan or just ignore the "inconvenient truth"?

the vanishing barns was highly entertaingand satisfying to a eternal optimist,me. its not to often the news leaves me with a smile instead of depression.The psychiartrist that said avoiding the news is comprable to prozac. Give me more.

Brian-

Not that I wouldn't interupt George Bush for a Paris Hilton update, but why were you "forced" to make an on-screen announcement of the surgery before the president had concluded? Because Rumsfeld had shoulder surgery? So what? Cheney shoots somebody and that's next-day news.

I switched over to watch the new CBS Couric program briefly. Feels like a blend of Extra and Dateline...I'll get my news right here, thank you very much!

Great (and infuriating) report tonight from Lisa Myers. Have you guys looked into the armor controversy? My understanding is that Dragonskin armor is the best, yet our troops are forced to wear Interceptor or else forfeit their death benefits. Why? Please look into this.

Bush said nothing new in his speech today. It was just rewording of previous speeches and it appears that no new information will be forthcoming.

"See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda..." George W. Bush

"The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly - it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over." Joseph Goebbels

"Propaganda is to a democracy what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state." Avram Noam Chomsky

Little details keeps coming out of the White House in an effort to support what Bush keeps repeating in his speeches such as quotes from retrieved al-Q documents. Bin Laden knows that documents have been taken in searches and battles and have been examined, in detail, by experts.

Why doesn't the Bush administration release the contents of all the documents? al-Q wrote the thing. The only secrets from the documents aren't being kept from Bin Laden but from the American people.

Again, what's with all the picking and choosing quotes that supports what Bush keeps repeating?

I would like to recommend a book to Brian called "Letting Go: A Parents' Guide to Understanding the College Years" by Karen Levin Coburn and Madge Lawrebce Treeger. It goes year by year through the changes kids go through in college and the parents as well. Gives alot of good guidance for parents.