The following is an excerpt from OpinionJournal’s “Best of the Web” at WSJ written by the editor, James Taranto.
Problem and Solution
“NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio Calls for the End of Garbage by 2030”–headline, New York Observer, April 22
“A Variety of Trash Washes Up on NJ Beach”–headline, Associated Press, April 26
Bottom Story of the Day
“Michigan Governor Rick Snyder Could Be Next Republican to Enter 2016 Race”–headline, Guardian (London), April 25
If Only There Were a Central Network for Comedy
On Saturday in Baltimore, “There was a gigantic peaceful march for Freddie Gray,” a black man who was killed while in police custody, notes Reason’s Jesse Walker. “And then, in the evening, things got more violent, with some of the demonstrators throwing rocks and bottles at cops and smashing the windows of businesses and cars.”
Meanwhile on CNN, pundit Errol Louis was “explaining why his network wasn’t interrupting its White House Correspondents’ Dinner coverage to show viewers what was happening”:
“You can find a live feed if you actually want to watch what’s going on,” Louis says, then gives a very brief sketch of “what I’m seeing on Twitter.” His conclusion: “You can find out what you want to find out. And, you know, something else is going on—the most powerful man in the world is gonna tell some jokes. . . .
“We don’t control a lot of this stuff. We sort of make our best choices, and we’ll—we’ll catch up. People will be informed. . . . They’ll find out all of what happened in the streets of Baltimore by this time tomorrow.”
When CNN debuted in 1980, Associated Press TV writer Peter Boyer reported that there was widespread speculation that “in 15 years or less,” ABC, CBS and NBC would all abandon entertainment programming to become news-only networks.
Who’d have thought the reverse would happen?
For more “Best of the Web” click here and look for the “Best of the Web Today” link in the middle column below “Today’s Columnists.”
