Tales of Old and New Media: Two Roger Simons, Fred Thompson and Hats

It seems I’m the subject of a bit of a brouhaha today. The Roger Simon who writes for The Politico cast some aspersions on the way Fred Thompson donned a fire hat on the campaign trail in Iowa and some people thought this was me (casting the aspersions). Others defended me, saying I would never do something like that.

Can’t say. In all honesty, Roger Simon (Politico) is a much more experienced political reporter than I. We’re the same age, but he has been doing it for decades. I spent most of those years as a hack in Hollywood because people told me you made more money writing scripts and detective novels than from journalism. (I was a leftie in those days, but, like many lefties, as you may have noticed, had a strong capitalistic streak.) Anyway, came 9/11 and I ended up doing a little opinion writing of my own and (once in a while) some reporting.

I still make no claim to journalistic expertise, but if there’s one thing I know about it’s hats (see logo above). I bought and tried on many a Borsalino over the years in a vain attempt to brand myself as a detective writer. I’ve even purchased a fair number of Kangols and various fedoras.

So as a tried and true member of the Hat Squad, and having viewed the video, I can say this: I don’t know what the hell the other Roger Simon was talking about.