C David Kotok

Retired political, urban affairs and managing editor at The Omaha World-Herald

[C David Kotok @CKotok]

Watched the Omaha Union at Morrison Field Saturday. great atmosphere, engaged fans and outstanding soccer. Looking for some fun? Can’t beat this high level of Soccer at a beautiful stadium.

[C David Kotok @CKotok]

@peterbakernyt @cowellcnd As a embedded reporter in Ramadi, I decided to tell the little stories, ala Ernie Pyle, because there was no way to top John Burns. I knew my limits and his! A giant.

[C David Kotok @CKotok]

@JamesHu27192912 I watched on my dad’s shoulder as his train passed St Joe and he stepped out to wave at the crowd.

[C David Kotok @CKotok]

No fan of Trump but I found the best coverage of Iran war on Fox. All CNN and MS could do was bitch about him not taking Questions and inviting Ds on to trash it.

[Peter Baker @peterbakernyt]

Much of the mourning for the late great @washingtonpost has rightly focused on how democracy dies in darkness at the national level, which is hugely important. But the evisceration of Metro coverage is every bit as devastating because there is no comparable news outlet keeping local governments and institutions honest.

Eight of my 20 years at the Post were spent on Metro, which was the heart and soul of the Post under the legendary @dongrahamdc1. The undertakers now running the paper have all but wiped out the metro staff, leaving just 12 reporters, according to reports, to cover a region of 6.5 million people.

We had twice that many journalists in Fairfax alone back in the day. And it mattered. Reporters are the eyes and ears of the community, keeping tabs on people in power. We were there for every supervisors meeting, every school board meeting. We pored through planning commission documents and campaign filings.

When county officials wasted taxpayer money, raised taxes on overstretched homeowners, gave sweetheart zoning deals to developers who filled their election coffers, we were there. When teachers who sexually abused students were quietly transferred to other schools to do it all over again, we were there.

We were there for the more uplifting stories too, the cops who broke a cold case, the educators who turned around a struggling school, the residents who rallied to help neighbors in trouble, the student athletes who won the big game, the entrepreneurs who started something new.

Our friend @SariHorwitz who has won more Pulitzers than I can count, wrote so movingly online about the Post (https://t.co/lxame7tiSF). To recognize how indispensable local coverage is, you need only look at her holy-shit investigations of a broken child welfare system, rampant police shootings and the corporate-fed opioid crisis, stories that opened eyes and led to change.

Democracy is not just what happens at the White House and the Capitol but in our own backyards. The Post has just turned the lights down at home too.

[Spring-Nuts @SpringNuts_]

Official @springsteen video of Streets of Minneapolis. Powerful. #springsteen #Minneapolis

[C David Kotok @CKotok]

Hawkeye here, cheering for a Husker W utah, as I did 4 Gopher, our oldest, bitterest rival. On you Husker, cheer 4 Hawks v SEC Vandy? Say no, you our out of Big10 family.

[C David Kotok @CKotok]

One last sunset from Puerto Vallarta. Life is good.

[C David Kotok @CKotok]

@Mr_Andrew_Fox Bibi released terrorist who did much worse. He fears a Palestinian Mandela who would unify all factions. A Hebrew speaker who might make a two-state solution inevitable.

[C David Kotok @CKotok]

So the lefties are pissed at the deal. They know how to turn a W into a L. Keep it shut through the holidays and watch the public turn on the Ds. So 8 Dems not up in 26, (not facing AOC primaries) vote to reopen. Well played. Rs face ACA votes.

[C David Kotok @CKotok]

What does an old political reporter do on election day? Kick off the 25/26 ski season in Colorado? Who cares about results when you can enjoy a glorious day in the mountains.

[Elisheva Ysabella Hazan @ysabellahazan]

The People of Israel are one collective soul.
When even one of us returns, the entire soul breathes better.

Welcoming our hostages back to our homeland is a shared breath of relief 🇮🇱

That’s how profoundly we are bound to one another.

[Rick M @Ricktoyou]

@BBGreatMoments

[C David Kotok @CKotok]

@BBGreatMoments Roberto Clemente

[Curtis Houck @CurtisHouck]

CNN’s David Axelrod: “We can go one of two ways in this country. We can, embrace this notion that somehow we're at war and where there'll be more killing and more violence. Or we can learn from this moment. I — you mentioned history. I was a kid when, we went through a period of assassination in the 1960s. I remember when Martin Luther king was killed. Robert Kennedy went onto the streets of Indianapolis. He was a candidate for president at that time and it was very, very dangerous, frankly, for him to be out there. But he insisted on going, and he spoke to the crowd and he finished and I wanted to share this. He finished with a poem by Aeschylus, the ancient Greek poet. And it was, “even in our sleep pain which cannot forget falls drop by, drop upon the heart, until in our own despair, against our will comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.” The question is, have we seen enough to embrace wisdom here and recognize that this is not a path that we want to go as a country? And let's be clear, I heard what those folks said. We've had political assassinations of Democrats and Republicans of the left and the right. This is not something that is exclusive to one or the other, but I will say, if we continue to embrace this notion that if we disagree that we're not only political opponents, but you are an enemy, you are an evil. You want to destroy the country. You want to destroy our way of life. That is a prescription for disaster.”

[Claude Taylor @TrueFactsStated]

"Freddie is looking down and giving y'all a standing ovation. That's spectacular!😍💗 The most INSANE Bohemian Rhapsody Flashmob you will ever see!! With 30 musicians in the STREET of Paris 😍 Cre : Julien Cohen Pianist" / X https://t.co/V4ZWd9n2vk

[C David Kotok @CKotok]

@megynkelly apsolutelyLots are given later. I know Vets who didn’t know the were awarded a bronze star. Takes time, and if you are in hospital, all you know is a purple heart. Never, ever put down a service member who served!

[C David Kotok @CKotok]

From NYT obit: “Pres Nixon made return of POWs priority … a manipulative move to drag out the conflict…” Replace Nixon’s name with Bibi and POWs with hostages. History repeats. So sad that I witness the division from Vietnam to Gaza.

[C David Kotok @CKotok]

@meridiansam I have no problem with your arsenal. I believe in responsible gun ownership. You would have no problem with universal check and delay. We may disagree on Aks and large magazines. Not for repeal of 2nd Amend, but for common sense regs. Agree about the loss of local reporting