Blog: Wild World of Politics
Dick Brennan
What a year!
2012. What a year it was. And what a finish to one of the busiest and newsiest years ever. Over the summer, I was in Breezy Point, stunned by what Mother Nature had conjured up: a twister touched down and tore through a beach club. Little did we know that this would be made truly [...]
Heroes in the face of horror
I’ve now covered the two worst mass shootings in American history. The massacre in Newtown comes just five-and-a-half years after a student at Virginia Tech shot and killed 32 people on campus. The Newtown shooting is much closer to home, and involves the unimaginable death of 20 elementary school children. We did speak to some [...]
Holidays out of hand
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Time to make like the Griswolds from “Christmas Vacation” and trot out the holiday decorations. Back in the day it was simple: put a wreath on the door, and if you wanted to get really fancy, string some lights along the windows. That’s the way we did [...]
Something about Hillary
Hillary for mayor? As unusual as that sounds, it apparently has a nice ring to it for Mayor Bloomberg. A report says Bloomberg called the Secretary of State recently and encouraged her to run for mayor. Mrs. Clinton was not interested. She might have her eyes on the White House, and perhaps considers that job [...]
The ‘new normal’ after Sandy
Last February I participated in a “polar plunge” into the ocean at Beach 99th Street in Rockaway Beach. I remember thinking how beautiful the boardwalk looked, even in the height of winter. The ocean looked mean, and felt (at 38 degrees) even worse. But this beach town in the city still had a warm majesty [...]
Get global warming in check
One of the great misunderstandings of our time is wrapped up in the issue of global warming. Is the earth warming? Of that there is no question. Why? I have no idea. I’m not smart enough to tell you if this is just something that happens in cycles, or if it’s all about man’s carbon [...]
Sandy should have taught us something
One of the frustrations that any reporter will always admit is that it’s hard to describe for people the extent of a disaster, even if you have a camera to document it. Now for the first time in the city — the city where I grew up and the city where I’ve always worked — [...]
A political pause for charity
Election day is now less than two weeks away. Hard to believe it’s almost here. We have had three debates, but my favorite face-off was less about looking for votes, and more about going for laughs. I’m talking about this year’s Al Smith dinner, which I was fortunate enough to cover. It’s always the most [...]
A question of facts
We’ve heard so many complaints through the years that presidential debates were more like “joint appearances” where the candidates did not get the chance to mix things up. Things have changed. But are we better off than we were four, eight, 12 or 20 years ago? After watching the second debate between former Governor Mitt [...]
What a racket
In life the great dreads, it is said, are death and taxes. Add to that a trip to the NYPD pound. This week, I got out of work and noticed my car was not where I parked it. This of course leaves two options: it was either stolen or towed. Given the proximity of the [...]
