Re: the Biden comment, I just have to say this. Enough is ENOUGH, media people! Joe Biden made an innocent comment, and there are apparently no shortage of people just lying in wait to take offense at an insult he never made. Don't insult our intelligence by making a mountain out of a molehill, we KNOW what he meant to say.

This is going to be a long and bitter enough campaign without the media blowing every comment and percieved insult out of proportion to make sensational headlines. Had you not done it to Howard Dean and derailed his campaign over one "scream" at a campaign rally, HE might be in the White House right now, and we would not be in Iraq. I blame the media for that.....take some responsibility for what you report and do your jobs, please.

I suffered with severe RLS for way to long. I felt your coverage made people like me sound as though we jumped on a band wagon just to have the newest and lastest affliction. I would literaly claw at my legs trying to get relief. I don't know what I would have done without the support of my husband because every doctor I talked to never heard of "THE CREEPY CRAWLIES" until I used the expression. Finally one of them read something about that type of sensation and put me on Requip. I don't care how they marketed it or how much money was brought in because of the way they decided to advertise. For the first time in such a long time I was at peace and able to enjoy my evenings, as well as sleep at night. If you want to interview someone who benifited from Requip I would be more than willing to speak out. No one should have to suffer the way I did. It may seem insignificant to you but for me it gave me as well as my husband a life back. I would love to shake the hand of the person or persons that made it possible for me to live a normal life again. Thank you.

You don't make the news, you just report it. The editorial decisions made by the fine folks of NBC news are entirely appropriate given what is going on in the world.

Vis a vis teenage drivers, I hold my breath every time my kids walk out the door with car keys in hand. From what I see around town, the licensing restrictions are being ignored: kids are talking on cell phones and/or tuning MP3 players, driving after midnight, entertaining the other 6 people in the car, and so on. Right now, I am being lobbied by a child who tells me that driving the hand-me-down vehicle that we gave him is harming his social standing at the high school. Go figure.

Mr. Williams, thank you for taking the time to acknowledge Barbaro's death. Tears shed for the end of his battle do not subtract from tears shed for human losses. I believe that love and respect for all creatures does not diminish our humanity, but magnifies it.

Brian - hope you can find a moment this evening to mention Deborah Orin's passing. I thought she was a great reporter and wrote like a dream, managing to be likable and readable no matter the subject.
thanks.

"You people" are the only ones I trust with the news. Thanks, Brian, for all that you do. You have to discount the few bad apples that vent in this space. I think the gentleman with 31 years of military background has more of a perspective, don't you? Keep it up--your entire team is brilliant!

Oh Brian, let's change that message on the front of your desk to "BUCK up". There is nothing to be said to people like that. Reality is what it is and they just won't admit it no matter what. (And neither will the vice president) If anything your coverage of Iraq is a bit softer than most. I refer you to the Sunday Times (1/28/07) article in the "Week in Review" section: "It Has Unraveled So Quickly" a heartfelt personal review of the situation in Baghdad and how it affects the populace. If you couple that article with today's report from Beirut in the World Blog, it brings on serious thought of: "Whatever can we do to right the situation in that area?" To use the word again, we seem to be BUCKING the tide of history--the larger picture looks so bleak.

I wonder if history has any lessons for us. I tried off the top of my head to think of any societies in which a bunch of warring factions came together to form nation-states. Germany and Italy immediately came to mind but I would have to research what caused them to put away their differences and unite. And how it came about.

There are a bunch of thoughtful people who post on this blog--can anyone add any lessons from history about how to glue this Humpty-Dumpty together again? Yeah, I know it's been going on for 1000 yrs, so it's a real tough nut to crack. And yeah, I know a strong man could do it, but I don't think we want a Saddam II.

Meanwhile Brian, don't let it get to you. There are about--oh, 9 million people who think you're doing OK. And don't forget a democracy isn't a democracy without objectors. Their objections validate the strength of our union.

Take care and BUCK up!