Common Sense | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2024
The newsletter is back. More on that in a bit, but first:
THE MONUMENTALLY SUCCESSFUL TWEET GOES TO…
https://twitter.com/SenLouiseLucas/status/1773074064082440453
Yeah, we know it’s X, we know.
Anybody could see that yesterday’s series of flowery tweets—er, sorry, X posts—from Ted Leonsis would lead to this outcome. Talk about running back with your tail between your legs.
And Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin continues to be dunked on. No Washington Commanders stadium, no FBI HQ, and now no basketball arena whose nearby Metro station doesn’t even support the capacity.
As Common Sense Entertainment Vice President Eugene Obah observes:
“Losing Capital One Arena in DC would accelerate the demise of Chinatown, which needs the shot in the arm that it had over ten years ago. In fact, I had almost at times compared that entire 7th St. corridor to Times Square—getting that vibrancy will be a massive “W” for DC and the greater region. Quite candidly, though, with all the “L’s” Youngkin has taken in not being able to close these deals, just imagine if he ran the country? Mercifully, that will not happen this cycle—nor should it ever.”
FROM CSE VP EUGENE OBAH: IT’S BEEN A MINUTE…
It has been a minute, indeed.
This edition of the Common Sense newsletter will be a COMBINED edition of last month and this month as we were busier than anticipated—in a good way—as we brought Fit To Speak: From The Archives back to our YouTube channel for the second season in late February (also, to make up for the absence of the newsletter in February, we’re providing the entirety of this newsletter gratis, though, of course, you are welcome to subscribe to this page and directly support our team of independent content creators).
Initially, the show was to be on once a month through the end of May. That will still happen for the final two editions of the program for the season on April 26 and May 31. But given the significant developments that occurred since airing our special report on missing broadcast media professional and Maryland alum Terrence Woods, we threw out the rule book, as it were, for Archives, and produced three back-to-back shows, one with Crime Redefined hosts Mehul Anjaria and Dion Mitchell, who are crowdfunding and leading an independent investigation as to his disappearance, and two with Terrence’s father, Terrence Woods Sr.—which you can watch here and here—both of which represent the first extended sit-down televised (well, YouTube-ized) interview since our special report aired.
It is clear that our coverage has resonated with the public—each show has set franchise viewership and engagement records—and it is also clear that we are among the few outlets that are providing this story the visibility and fervor it deserves.
One of the biggest things that we wish to emphasize—and a real point of difference—is that we are not merely regurgitating things that have been put out there: this time, there are major developments, and there is now a real plan to investigate what happened to Terrence. We have had several folks step up to lend their help and expertise, and some have also helped us provide a greater window into Terrence’s character.
But we strongly believe that even more has to be done to provide the Woods family the closure they justly deserve. And in my judgment, it is imperative especially given the major developments that Terrence Sr. mentioned on the show, most notably in Part 2 in which he alleges that a conversation that was had between him and a friend of Terrence’s was such that Simon Gee, the producer on-set the day Terrence disappeared, allegedly has information pertaining to his disappearance, but would allegedly provide said information in exchange for $100,000.
Similar to a certain degree to the Kim Mulkey hullabaloo—of which her protestations are doing more to draw interest to The Washington Post’s eventual story than to repel it—as I mentioned on the show, we could not ascertain as to the authenticity of social media accounts that bear Simon’s name to invite him to comment, we did invite the other individual who Terrence Sr. spoke with to respond to and confirm or challenge his claims about the conversation, which, as emphasized on the program, are his claims.
This person did respond to us—but did not want us to use their statement on the show.
In general, because I do provide commentary on here and on most editions of Fit To Speak, just as a trial judge has to examine the credibility and motives of witnesses, the credibility and motives of those invited to speak on our program always have to be scrutinized. The father of a missing son recounting his experiences across the over five years has nothing to gain by lying to me. And let us suppose for a second that he is lying…it would be the perfect opportunity for anyone, even if they had to be anonymous, of which my team would examine on a case-by-case basis, to loudly proclaim on the program that he is lying.
But I do not believe he is. As a matter of fact, his notes and recollections—and, just as an aside, his home—are meticulous. But do watch and judge for yourself.
Also—again, just in general—what people don’t say is sometimes louder than what people say. Those, like Mulkey, who generally protest much before stories are published or interviews are aired more often than not have something to hide—indeed, if Mulkey truly has nothing to hide, she would absolutely welcome The Post’s story. But it has become cool among some soreheads over the last few years, to borrow parlance from a radio consultant friend of mine, to make fun of the media and to stick it to journalists when said sorehead’s knowledge of how the media industry works could be written on a postage stamp. And when you see that a lot of these soreheads get their news from luminary outlets like Breitbart and FOX, it is very easy to dismiss them. And just to add—these people are not free speech champions; they are only chumps champions for the speech that they like.
While I have been clear that we are not here to accuse anyone of wrongdoing as it pertains to Terrence’s case, we do believe that that the public interest must be served above all else. If—and it’s a big if—there are bad actors out there responsible for anything nefarious as it pertains to Terrence’s disappearance, I promise you that we will do anything and everything in our capacity to assist Terrence Sr. in holding any individual, corporation or government entity responsible for their actions and/or inaction in this case.
Ultimately, YOU can make a difference.
SO LONG, FAREWELL…
Two establishments—one of which we featured on Damn That’s Good, which returns later this year for a second season—have shuttered. District Chophouse in the Penn Quarter neighborhood (you can watch the segment here), and Town Hall, which was among the diviest of dives. What will be in the latter’s place?
As Eugene Obah explains:
“Local businesses are the fabric of our communities, and it is sad to see places like these go—particularly in these cases as District Chophouse was around 28 years and Town Hall was around for 75 years—the longevity has to be respected. While I applaud the evolution of College Park, which has become a far more appealing college town that is matching the elite reputation of the University of Maryland, it is also important that the character and local businesses are preserved. A world of cookie-cutter chains is not a world I want to be in.”
HELLO AGAIN, XFL (sort of)!
The new-look XFL (now UFL as a result of the USFL-XFL merger) returns on Saturday. Will this finally crack the spring football code? We will be discussing this on the April edition of Archives, and be on the lookout Friday for a write-up on this Substack page.
THANKS FOR READING!
Back with a new newsletter in late April. We promise.
We will not be silenced.