European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 17, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                . Government economic systems not exactly go Andy Rooney i can t get it out of my mind that our free Enterprise system and our system of government need work. They done to need to be replaced but they need to be Fine tuned. There s too much Static. I m not talking of a revolution just a Little repair work. The polls show that president Bush is slipping in popularity because the nation s business Isnit going Well. Bush wants to lower the tax on Money relatively Rich people make in the Stock Market and on business sales capital gains because he thinks that will stimulate the Economy. Democrats say he just wants to help his Rich friends. They suggest some kind of tax rebate for Middle income people instead. I done to know but something has to happen with the Economy. In addition to their dissatisfaction with the Economy most americans weren t Happy with How they saw their lawmakers at work or the system for choosing supreme court judges during the Thomas hearings. We should choose our main officials by election that s Clear but it in t so Clear in a democracy who should pick the people who run our government on a working level. Long ago we decided those people  be elected because voters Don t know enough about them to choose the right ones. That s Why the Constitution leaves a lot of those choices up to the president. He gets to name Cabinet members ambassadors Heads of agencies like the Fri. And Federal judges. That seems like an of idea except that democracy depends on the Complete Independence of a judicial system and How can it be completely Independent when judges depend for their appointment on a politician and if its such a Good system How come there Isnit a great Justice on the supreme court right now so it seems As though we need some adjustment in our system of appointing supreme court justices. Maybe the members of the court ought to choose their own members. At least they must know who the Good judges Are. We d probably get a conservative or a Liberal the Way we do now but wed get the smartest one. Which we Don t get when its a political Choice. And then there a this problem with the Backbone of our government. Congress. There must be some Way we could get better people in there. The theory of our Republican democracy is that the majority of people have the Best idea of what s Good for them but that in specific cases of Laws and choices of action we might take As a nation an informed Bunch of representatives a Congress a is better at making those decisions. After watching some of them on television you question whether this is True. It would be interesting if we had an open National vote on the Senate some year. If All of us voted on All 100 senators would you vote for Teddy Kennedy actually he s been a bad boy but a pretty Good senator. You often decide How you feel about a politician for some Petty reason. I m always shocked to hear someone who seems smart like congressman Les Aspin of Wisconsin chairman of the armed services committee Sav a a nuclear Quot when he Means Quot nuclear a nuclear is the ignoramus pronunciation of  sen. Arlen Specter was billed As a Bright Hotshot former prosecutor from Pennsylvania but he went after Anita Hill like a dumb two bit lawyer playing the losing role in a Matlock episode. Our system seems to have produced an awful lot of mediocrity in Congress. Once elected senators and representatives Are practically immortal in office. Even if a bad congressman is elected by a slight majority in office he does t share any of his Power with the person he barely beat. The barely strongest Power in government is the Only Power. How do we fix these things without disturbing the Basic greatness of our democracy Tribune Miido Servic Esburnett a Back with variety show comedy sketches by Jerry Buck a television writer Carol Burnett is attempting to revive one of televisions most venerable forms a variety. That a right. Variety is Back. And who is More associated with television variety than Carol Burnett. The Carol Burnett show is Back on lbs on Friday nights in the states with music dancing and a mos important of All a comedy sketches. Just like old times when her show ran for 11 years until 1978. A it feels Good a Burnett said. A a lbs made an offer and Here we  for the last two years she had been doing an anthology comedy show at Abc called Caro a company. Since Burnett ended her show 13 years ago variety has been virtually dormant. Not for a Lack of trying. A few had marginal Success while most had no Success at All. Marie Osmond a in a Solo appearance without brother Donny a Susan Anton Dick Chirk Steve Allen Mary Tyler Moore the Nashville Palace and two japanese Rock singers named Pink lady All came a Cropper. Barbara Mandrell had More Success lasting two years but ended the show because of exhaustion. A show that had amazing Success was i Lee Haw. Which went into syndication alter Fred Silverman kicked it Oil is. The last attempt at variety was abcs Dolly. Starring dolls Parton. Which fizzled on sunday Carol burnetts first show quit in 1978. Nights in the 1987-88 season. A i think things run in cycles a Burnett said in her dressing room across from stage 33 at lbs television City. A a we be had sitcoms soap operas reality shows. Maybe the pendulum will swing toward variety. A Quot this building used to jump on Friday nights when All the variety shows were taped. The smothers Brothers Jim Nabors Sonny and Cher Ilen Campbell Bill Cosby. Wed run Back and Forth to each other s shows. And at Abc you had flip Wilson Dean Martin and . It was wonderful. It was like being in a fraternity or  burnetts new show is not a remake of the previous show she said. Quot no More than you would say Bob new Harl is doing his old show when he goes to a new come  she said. Quot i have my style. This is 1991. Why would i go Hack to do something i did in i97s? the form is the same. Ill open by talking to the audience. Well do sketches Mil have music and  Shell do some of her famous movie spoofs. Quot we could do some of the classics Quot she said a one great movie we never did w As . But there Are a lot of contemporary movies like i sch a and Louise that we could  also expects to bring Back some of her famous characters such As the charwoman. But she will be looking for new characters. A variety has t been on for quite a while and this might be the right time a said Perry , who helped put together her first show when he was programming vice president at lbs. He is currently an Independent producer and author of a detective Book series. A a there a nobody better than Carol Burnett at sketch comedy. I think it might just work. Sketch comedy could work. In Muty is Money. Musical variety does no to do  Lafferty traces the decline of variety to a decline in sketch writing and a shortage of performers gifted in sketch comedy. Quot sketch comedy came out of vaudeville Quot he said. Quot it is so difficult to write. The vaudeville comedians were known for it but they used the same sketch and polished it for years. Like Bud Abbott and Lou costello with who s on l Firsta variety on television fell into disrepute for two reasons. You can t Crank out Good sketches All the time. Its not like situation comedy where you have regular characters. Sketch comedy Lias to be out and out funny. Over the years the want ers just  keep up the Quality. Quot the other reason is there weren to that main funny people around. Like Milton Beilic and Carol Burnett and Sid Caesar. Most people on the sitcoms Arentt funny m themselves. I hey in actors saying funny  Burnett said she decided to give up Ami a of pan because its anthology formal was  mount to doing a Pilot every week Quot some ideas were Avo tilt seven minutes some were Worth 3 1  she said. Quot but each one had to be stretched of squeezed into 32 minutes sometimes the a leis had to put two sketches Roget hot Loi a theme show. 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