The north star here is truth. We tell the truth, even when it offends some of the people who pay us for information. [...] The facts involving Trump are crystal clear, and as news people, we cannot pretend otherwise, as unpopular as that might be with a segment of our readers. There aren’t two sides to facts. People who say the earth is flat don’t get space on our platforms. If that offends them, so be it. --Chris Quinn, Editor of cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer

THIS is the kind of attitude that journalists and editors should have regarding reporting on Trump!

Chris Quinn, the editor of cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer wrote this excellent column explaining to his readers why opinion columns on his platforms are so critical of Donald Trump. His response is a credit to his integrity as a journalist/editor, and should be emulated by others in the mainstream media. Below are some excerpts:

A more-than-occasional arrival in the email these days is a question expressed two ways, one with dripping condescension and the other with courtesy: Why don’t our opinion platforms treat Donald Trump and other politicians exactly the same way. Some phrase it differently, asking why we demean the former president’s supporters in describing his behavior as monstrous, insurrectionist and authoritarian. I feel for those who write. They believe in Trump and want their local news source to recognize what they see in him. The angry writers denounce me for ignoring what they call the Biden family crime syndicate and criminality far beyond that of Trump. They quote news sources of no credibility as proof the mainstream media ignores evidence that Biden, not Trump, is the criminal dictator. The courteous writers don’t go down that road. They politely ask how we can discount the passions and beliefs of the many people who believe in Trump. This is a tough column to write, because I don’t want to demean or insult those who write me in good faith. I’ve started it a half dozen times since November but turned to other topics each time because this needle hard to thread. No matter how I present it, I’ll offend some thoughtful, decent people. The north star here is truth. We tell the truth, even when it offends some of the people who pay us for information. The truth is that Donald Trump undermined faith in our elections in his false bid to retain the presidency. He sparked an insurrection intended to overthrow our government and keep himself in power. No president in our history has done worse. This is not subjective. We all saw it. Plenty of leaders today try to convince the masses we did not see what we saw, but our eyes don’t deceive. (If leaders began a yearslong campaign today to convince us that the Baltimore bridge did not collapse Tuesday morning, would you ever believe them?) Trust your eyes. Trump on Jan. 6 launched the most serious threat to our system of government since the Civil War. You know that. You saw it. The facts involving Trump are crystal clear, and as news people, we cannot pretend otherwise, as unpopular as that might be with a segment of our readers. There aren’t two sides to facts. People who say the earth is flat don’t get space on our platforms. If that offends them, so be it. As for those who equate Trump and Joe Biden, that’s false equivalency. Biden has done nothing remotely close to the egregious, anti-American acts of Trump. We can debate the success and mindset of our current president, as we have about most presidents in our lifetimes, but Biden was never a threat to our democracy. Trump is. He is unique among all American presidents for his efforts to keep power at any cost. Personally, I find it hard to understand how Americans who take pride in our system of government support Trump. All those soldiers who died in World War II were fighting against the kind of regime Trump wants to create on our soil. How do they not see it? [emphasis added]

Nils Lofgren has Novel Idea for Life Story

- “I could never write a book,” E Street/Crazy Horse guitarist says

Nils Lofgren has a novel idea for telling his life story.

Although the E Street Band and Crazy Horse guitarist says he “could never write a book,” he does have stories to tell.

And he plans to tell them without “delv(ing) into some dark chapters of my life that I don’t feel like sharing.”

Speaking to Cleveland.com about the Dec. 10 release of Neil Young and Crazy Horse’s Barn, Lofgren said his redacted autobiography will come in bits and pieces, online, and with music.

“What I am doing is something where I’ll tell a story for 30 minutes and then do a song for you and post those on my website early next year,” he said.

“So that’s my version of the book.”

Young recently said he can’t envision touring until the coronavirus pandemic is under control and Lofgren said Bruce Springsteen is also in wait-and-see mode.

“He’d like to get us out and he’s working on it … we’re hoping, but that’s the most we can do right now,” he said.

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The evidence so impressively stacked up in "The People v. O.J. Simpson" was overwhelming. The conclusion was as obvious as it was inescapable. FX's first "American Crime Story" season would be one incredibly tough act to follow.

Imagine trying to come up with a sophomore season as mesmerizing and grandly realized as the Emmy-winning "People v. O.J. Simpson." Executive producer Ryan Murphy and his team apparently couldn't imagine it, and so we get "The Assassination of Gianni Versace," the terribly uneven second "American Crime Story," premiering at 10 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 17.

Remember how the first season of HBO's "True Detective" had critics and viewers reaching for the superlatives? We couldn't wait for the second season. Here was a show destined to take crime-time storytelling to new heights.

Then, of course, we saw the second season of "True Detective" and realized, in truth, we could have waited. The drop-off between the first and second season of "American Crime Story" is nowhere near as precipitous, but it is dramatic.

Certainly the case is quickly made that "The Assassination of Gianni Versace" pales in comparison with its acclaimed predecessor. Although the nine-part true-crime drama has much to recommend it, starting with the superb work of Darren Criss as serial killer Andrew Cunanan, it lacks any clear sense of what it's trying to say about the characters and the American landscape they populate.

If it seems like it has been a long wait since "The People v. O.J. Simpson" aired in 2016, keep in mind that "Versace" wasn't supposed to be the second season of "American Crime Story." That was going to focus on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, relying heavily on Sheri Fink's book "Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital." That now will be the third season.

"The Assassination of Gianni Versace" doesn't seem rushed so much as fuzzy and uncertain. In fact, give Murphy credit for attempting something completely different in tone, mood, style, look and pace. But where "O.J." was sharply focused and magnificently detailed, "Versace" is ponderous and plodding.

The visual flourishes and grand-opera touches are impressive, yet they often seem overplayed and self-conscious, as if trying to make up for the lack of substance. And there is a decided lack of substance. Indeed, while "O.J." was packed with layers upon layers of expertly arranged information, "Versace" is a story that could have been told in about half the time.

The second season opens in Miami Beach on July 15, 1997, with a seven-minute sequence almost completely devoid of dialogue. Yes, Murphy begins with the murder of international fashion icon Versace (Edgar Ramirez) on the steps of his opulent South Beach residence.

We see Versace getting out of bed, putting on a robe and making his way to a balcony, where he looks for all the world like an emperor surveying his kingdom. We see Cunanan sitting on the beach, checking on the .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol in his knapsack. They are a study in contrasts, and they remain so for the rest of the episodes, which charts the paths to this collision course in reverse.

In this way, we see how the serial killer arrived at the steps of Versace's home. They are mirror images, in a dark and distorted kind of way, as if Cunanan is a fun-house mirror reflection of Versace.

It's an intriguing idea poorly executed. "Versace" makes an ambitious attempt to examine, like "O.J.," the crosscurrents of American culture, but never develops a strong and cohesive overall vision.

There's nothing wrong with the cast, which also includes Penelope Cruz, Ricky Martin, Dascha Polanco, Max Greenfield, Cody Fern, Judith Light and Mike Farrell. And there are many incredibly suspenseful and deeply fascinating stretches. The problem is that fascination is wrapped around frustration in this second "American Crime Story," which is wearisomely lighter on details and slower of pace.

These are just the As.