Brendan O'Malley

This past quarter the American economy fell at an annualized rate of 32.9%, the most precipitous drop in the 75-years that data have been recorded – the single biggest loss in any quarter in the history of the United States. In all, 22 million Americans lost their jobs because of the coronavirus – through no fault of their own. This Friday provisions protecting those Americans from hunger and homelessness expired. Millions of our fellow Americans now live in abject fear of being evicted from their apartments or losing their homes. Millions face the terrifying anxiety of not knowing whether they … Read More…

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Only days ago, after asserting that “slavery was a necessary evil,” Tom Cotton was defending himself against charges of being anti-Semitic.  Now, the Arkansas senator has found himself embroiled in yet another controversy after telling The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that “the Holocaust was also a necessary evil.” Appearing earlier today on the Fox News Channel’s morning show Fox and Friends, Cotton justified his remarks, arguing that “absent the Holocaust, Israel would not be a country today.” Claiming that the editors of the newspaper had “taken my words out of context,” Cotton pointed out that “Israel is the only democracy in the … Read More…

Until the coronavirus hit, Trump had not faced a real crisis in the Oval Office. A global pandemic is a doozy of a crisis. Still, it is inconceivable that anyone could possibly have handled the coronavirus any worse.   The fact is that no matter who was president (Hillary Clinton comes to mind) we still would have faced a pandemic in the United States. What we did not have to do is face a completely out-of-control pandemic.  There were the six weeks to two months that Trump assured us that everything was “totally under control.” That our cases would soon … Read More…

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I’m less sad than moved today. From everything I know, Carl Reiner lived an exemplary life, loved by pretty much everyone who knew him, and was an indisputable giant of comedy who leaves behind an astounding body of work. I first met Carl decades ago when he was spending a lot of time with Steve Martin. Carl, had just directed Steve in The Jerk, giving the hit movie its shape and heart. Steve and Carl had come to see Franken and Davis at the Improv in Hollywood. Tom Davis and I had been a comedy team since high school, and … Read More…