Is it fair to say that we are living in the age of information overload? Throughout my adult life – which is longer than the entire lifetime of most people – my philosophy has always been that you can never have too much information. Under the present day circumstance, with fonts of information everywhere, my theory is being put to the test. My butler, Hudson, has just informed me that our president has put out in a tweet – whatever that is – that the media, and specifically the New York Times, NBC, ABC, CBS and CNN, qualifies as  “the enemy of the American People.” This comes amidst heightened concern over what has been dubbed “fake news.” I believe the press has a responsibility to get things right. Nevertheless, I think the concept of legitimate news organizations trafficking in falsehoods is a bit overblown. I think, rather, that what is going on is a difference of opinion, in many cases. It seems that when Fox is talking about “fake news” it is referring to CNN and CNBC. When CNN and CNBC go on about “fake news,” they are referencing Fox…

As I abide by the Eleventh Commandment and would never speak ill of a fellow Republican, I would simply tell the president that he should let the press be the press and he should concentrate on being the president. He complains about the American press, but I must tell you, on the Continent things are not  any better when it comes to journalists and columnists showing deference toward those who man our governmental offices and institutions. In England, Fleet Street is far more cynical, and mean-spiritedly disrespectful, than the New York Times or the Washington Post. The daily and weekly periodicals in Italy and France are even worse, in my reading experience, although the Germans don’t seem to have the same taste for the jugular in print as they do on the battlefield. So, perhaps our president should console himself with that consideration…

While I do not think the characterization of the media as the enemy of the people is accurate, I do want to commend the president for using the phrase, which references a most excellent play by Henrik Ibsen, which I would commend all of my readers to experience in book form or on the stage …