Outside the Beltway

As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.

Now it all started fifty-three Thanksgivings ago . . .

Forty years ago tonight, the Star Wars universe came to television in a production so bad that it makes Jar Jar Binks seem positively Shakespearean by comparison.

Rest in Peace and Excelsior, Stan Lee!

One of the longest-lasting characters on The Simpsons may not be long for this world, but before we write him off perhaps we ought to stop and think.

Once the iconic American retail store, Sears now faces the possibility that it may end up fading into history.

Should celebrities use their influence in partisan politics?

Just when I thought political humor was dead.

Is political satire even possible in the age of Trump?

One last Kavanaugh Cold Open.

Saturday Night Live inevitably mocked the Ford/Kavanaugh hearing on Thursday in their cold open.

After forty years, a sexual predator finally gets at least some of what he deserves.

New evidence indicates that the same Russian backed bots and trolls that sought to influence the 2016 election are now attempting to exploit the social divisions raised by the N.F.L. players kneeling during the National Anthem.

Lost in all the news about Serena Williams and her arguments with an umpire during last night’s match is the fact that Naomi Osaka represents the face of what appears to be a Japan that is changing for the better.

Recent controversies over rules enforcement have some crying Foul!

The tough guy actor best known for the “Smokey And The Bandit” movies has passed away at the age of 82.

Entertainers work for a living, too.

Author Sam Anderson puts forward a rather strange hypothesis in Politico.

An occasional series makes a return.

The masturbator-harasser is doing stand-up again.

Iconic Broadway legend Neil Simon, who was responsible for hits such as “The Odd Couple, has died at the age of 91.

The Ohio State University Board of Trustees has suspended football coach Urban Meyer for three games over his handling of allegations of domestic violence by an Assistant Coach dating back to 2015.

ESPN won’t air the National Anthem before regular season games this year, but that probably won’t stop the President from ranting about it.

RIP. Queen Of Soul

Omarosa Manigault Newman, who used to be a Trump favorite, is out with a book that makes sensationalistic claims about the Trump Administration. The real story, though, is what she has on tape and how she got it.

The head football coach at the University of Maryland has been suspended after reports of a “toxic environment” that led to the death of a student athlete in June.

The first night of games in the N.F.L. pre-season included some sporadic protests during the National Anthem, and prompted a predictable response from the President.

Make it so!

You might say he body slammed the opposition.

One of the biggest names in Hollywood stands accused of sexual misconduct by a number of women in yet another ground-breaking report by Ronan Farrow.

In the wake of a grievance filed by the union representing players, the N.F.L. has suspended the new National Anthem policy it announced earlier this year. This guarantees even more cynical political exploitation by the President.

The NBA’s best player has moved closer to his business interests, leaving Cleveland devastated a second time.

Was one of the pioneering African-American entertainers a “house Negro”?

ABC is bringing back Roseanne without Roseanne Barr. Whether that will prove to be a success or not remains to be seen.

In a new interview, the President says that he doesn’t believe that N.F.L. players who kneel during the National Anthem have a real issue.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s editorial cartoonist is out after twenty-five years.

The North American delegation has won the right to lose a whole lot of money putting on a soccer tournament.

For the second time in three years, we have a Triple Crown winner.

There have been dynasties in American team sports before. But this one feels different.

Anthony Bourdain was a renowned chef, writer, television host, and storyteller. He also suffered from demons that ultimately caught up with him.

Most Americans disagree with Trump on the N.F.L. National Anthem protests, but Republicans are behind him.

In what seems like an obvious response to the rise of the #MeToo movement and the cultural changes it has brought about, the Miss America pageant is making a major change.

President Trump waded back into the National Anthem debate when he revoked the invitation of the Philadelphia Eagles to come to the White House today.

It may be my favorite Star Wars film since ‘Empire Strikes Back.’

Hours after she unleashed a racist Twitter tirade, Roseanne Barr has had her show canceled by ABC. Of course, ABC knew who it was doing business with well before today.

Conservatives claim to support freedom of speech and freedom of expression, but they’ve utterly failed that test when it comes to their reaction to players who peacefully and respectfully kneel during the National Anthem.

Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has been charged with rape and sexual assault in a New York Court.

Jack Johnson, who was convicted of violating the Mann Act in a case obviously infected with racism, has been pardoned by President Trump.

Does learning that entertainers are bad people retroactively ruin their art?

President Trump’s response to the N.F.L.’s new National Anthem policy is as narrow-minded and divisive as you’d expected it to be.