Scroll down to read this post.

 

Readers!

 

The time has come for my annual short Thanksgiving/Christmas fund drive for Behind The Black. I must do this every year in order to make sure I have earned enough money to pay my bills.

 

For this two-week campaign, I am offering a special deal to encourage donations. Donations of $200 will get a free autographed copy of the new paperback edition of Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8, while donations of $250 will get a free autographed copy of the new hardback edition. If you desire a copy, make sure you provide me your address with your donation.

 

As I noted in July, the support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.

 

In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.

 

Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.

 

Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:

 

1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.

 

2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
 

3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:

 

4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
 
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652

 

You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.


A modern journalist, disconnected from reality

First, watch this short youtube clip of NBC anchor Brian Williams on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Fallon expresses his discomfort with President Obama’s activities during the last week (picking the winners in the NCAA finals, traveling to South America) while simultaneously getting us involved in a war in Libya.

Williams, almost as if he is a White House press spokesman, immediately defends Obama.

During Williams’ aggressive effort to defend the actions of the Obama administration, he said two other things that I think are important, though not for the reasons Williams thinks. First, in wrapping up his defense of the Obama administration, he felt it necessary to point out how fair-minded and objective he (Williams) is:

I don’t work for them. I cover them all equally, Democrats and Republicans.

When he said this, I almost lost my dinner. To me, his very defense of Obama on this very clip illustrates how unfairly he covers the two parties. During the Bush administration, one would find it very difficult to locate any clip of Brian Williams ever defending George Bush. Instead, it was attack, attack, attack, something I actually expect from a good journalist. That these attacks go away and are replaced by gentle support when a Democrat is in power demonstrates beyond doubt the bias of this so-called “journalist.”

Williams next summed up his comments by admitting that the White House does have a public relations problem:

They’ve got an appearance issue if you’re [Fallon] saying they do.

It is here that Brian Williams illustrates his complete disconnect from reality. And you only have to glance at the comments for this particular videoclip to see proof. As of 9:30 am today, there are 61 comments, all of which agree with me, that Williams is an incredibly biased reporter who consistently favors the Democratic Party. Or as this comment so nicely puts it:

What the hell. If anyone thinks the media is NOT a bunch of Barry sycophants, just watch this video. Astonishing.

It seems to me that Brian Williams has his own serious “appearance issue,” one that he is completely unaware. Unfortunately, I also think he is as incapable of dealing with this reality as Obama is.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 

The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

3 comments

  • Stu Harris

    I think your headline is hyperbolic, Bob. Williams is not disconnected from reality. On the contrary, he pointed out two factors that are very much reality.

    * The President travels with the full set of communications
    * Canceling the Latin America trip would have been a ridiculous overreaction

    Also, the intervention in Libya is not a war.

  • Chris Kirkendall

    Wow, Stu – WAY TO GO ! ! We can tell you’re on the team ! ! BTW – first time I’ve ever heard it said dropping bombs was “not a war”…

    Seriously, though – gas prices are rising, price of everything’s going up (CPI up), the entire Middle East is in turmoil, there was a triple disaster (earthquake/tsunami/nuclear) in Japan, and the pres has time for… taping his NCAA picks for ESPN, a fundraiser, another WH party, and a trip to Rio. You know darn well people would’ve been upset with Bush or any president for having his priorities out of whack, and rightly so.

    It bothers me quite a bit that Obama went to Brazil & told ’em “We’ll be your biggest customer” (of their oil), after banning all offshore drilling here, but gave $2 BILLION to Brazil for… offshore drilling! And guess what? His bud & supporter, avowed Socialist & anti-U.S. billionaire George Soros, is connected with Petrobras, Brazil’s state-run Oil Co. Anyone smell a rat? Looks like payback for Soros’ support & campaign donations to The One in ’08. It not only smells of corruption, it hurts us economically – we’ll have to turn to even more foreign sources for oil, and many of these countries aren’t particularly friendly to the U.S., to say the least…

    Actually, I’m glad Obama’s doing all this – it’s opening a lot of eyes & damaging his chance for a 2nd term…

  • Obama basically does the same dumb stuff that every US President does.. including bombing other countries.

    Why did people vote for him again? Oh yeah, change. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Readers: the rules for commenting!

 

No registration is required. I welcome all opinions, even those that strongly criticize my commentary.

 

However, name-calling and obscenities will not be tolerated. First time offenders who are new to the site will be warned. Second time offenders or first time offenders who have been here awhile will be suspended for a week. After that, I will ban you. Period.

 

Note also that first time commenters as well as any comment with more than one link will be placed in moderation for my approval. Be patient, I will get to it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *