– After one month on air, are Heilemann and Halperin maintaining the quality of the name we share? –

It was just about a year ago that I decided – in a rare enlightened moment – that “With All Due Respect” would make a great title for a blog where I could express my opinions about government decisions impacting land use and the environment.  By December 2013, I applied to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a “service mark” to use that name while providing news analysis and commentary on topics of interest to me professionally and personally.  Thanks to Geoff Kelly at ArtVoice, I used the “With All Due Respect” mark in commerce for the first time on January 30, 2014 in a guest essay.

On September 23, 2014, the mark was officially registered in my name by the USPTO.  But, by then, I had entered into an agreement to assign my right and interest in the mark – my “baby” – to an unidentified party for use as the name for a political talk show.  Given the fact that, in return, I was being granted a license to continue using “With All Due Respect” in conjunction with this blog, related articles or commentary in newspapers and publications, books [fiction or non-fiction], and Continuing Legal Education classes or programs, I asked for and was given assurances that the phrase was not going to be diminished – at least, in my eyes – by association with some mindless, hate-filled, right-wing talk show.

On October 6, 2014, Bloomberg Television premiered “With All Due Respect”, co-hosted by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann. Promos for the show promised to provide “the high human drama of politics” and “fun” – in their words, “like a taco bar and a sushi bar, all in one.” [Okay, I’ll admit that I’m just a working-class Western New Yorker who is not exactly certain what that means.]  I have not watched the program – which airs weekdays at 5 PM ET.  Have you?  How are they doing?  Initial reviews were not exactly glowing.  Are they maintaining the quality that I have attempted to provide visitors to this site?  Should I feel comfortable with sharing a name – but otherwise not an affiliation – with the Bloomberg TV show?  PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

With All Due Respect,

 Art Giacalone

P.S.  In case you’re wondering why Bloomberg TV chose the name, With All Due Respect, here’s what the co-hosts told David Carr in a New York Times interview: “Why is the show called “With All Due Respect”? Halperin: In Washington, 80 percent of the time, what they mean when they say that is, I’m about to kick you between the legs. Heilemann: “Due respect” could be a whole lot, or it could be virtually nothing.”  That sounds about right to me.

P.P.S.  I’m told that Bloomberg television is available in WNY through:  DIRECTV (Channels 353, 353 [HD]); DISH Network (203, 203 [HD]); Time Warner Cable (207).