Meddling With The Primal Forces Of Nature

After finally finding time to read the complete four part series in the Washington Post on the vice presidency of Dick Cheney I could only think of one of my all-time favorite moments in motion picture history. The scene is from the motion picture “Network”, written by Paddy Cheyefsky and directed by Sidney Lumet. The characters in the scene are Arthur Jensen (Ned Beatty), CEO of the network’s parent conglomerate, and Howard Beale (Peter Finch) the network’s deranged anchorman. The scene takes place in a darkened corporate conference room, beautifully appointed with a long mahogony conference room table surrounded by large leather chairs each with a green-glass shaded desk lamp sitting in front of it. On one end of the table stands Jensen, on the other end sits Beale.