Random News and Notes 4 January
A singular event has taken all the air out of the news cycle so today’s RNN is going to be shorter than normal.
We start with a couple of notes about the raid that snatched former Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro and his wife.
First up is the fact that someone leaked the plans – likely just the fact that the operation was in the offing – to both the New York Times and the Washington Post and neither paper ran the story.
There was a time when this sort of responsible journalism was the norm and not the exception. I suppose it is too much to hope that it stays this way.
Although this next one is another ray of sunshine regarding the American press. The WaPo editorial board is backing the raid. In their lead Sunday editorial, the board calls the raid ‘Major victory for American interests’ and an ‘Important message for tinpot dictators’.
Huh. . .
There is a think piece discussing what this means – at least from this editor’s uninformed position – going forward in the works. Look for it Monday mid-afternoon.
We have a sad-ish sports item to pass along. Most of you know this editor is based in Upstate NY. You might not know that when he was a foosball (foosball is de debill Bobby Boucher) fan he rooted for the Buffalo Bills. Starting in the 70s with Orenthal James Simpson right up until the kneeling started Sundays (and Monday night and the occasional Thursday night) were spent in front of a TV watching the modern gladiators fight it out on the gridiron. Well, the stadium that the Bills called home for 53 years, Highmark Stadium, is hosting its last home game ever.
The Stadium opened in 1973 as Rich stadium. It was the first time a company paid for naming rights. Rich Products made coffee creamer among other dairy-adjacent items and held the naming rights until 1998. When that deal expired, the stadium wore the name of Bills founder and owner Ralph Wilson for several years. Since then, New Era caps and now Highmark Health have had the rights.
Your editor has fond memories of the stadium. He saw his first NFL game there back in 1984 and he saw his last game there in 2015. The new Highmark Stadium opens across the street for next seasons opener.
