Anderson Cooper 360 Returns To Haiti, Update On The American Missionaries, Sarah Palin Keynotes Tea Party Convention, & Who Dat?!

Hi everyone. Sorry about the lack of Friday review. Sometimes you feel like blogging; other times you feel like vegging. But it's a new week, and we find ourselves back in Haiti. I'm not sure if technically one is allowed to be proud of people they've never met, but if it is, I am totally proud of Team 360 right now. I knew they would return to the country. There was never any doubt in my mind (and it should be noted that CNN as an organization never left). But it's still nice to witness the dedication.

Anderson Cooper begins by addressing the question of why he returned, a question he also explored in a blog post. He explains that the people on the ground aren't asking him why he returned, but rather why he ever left. I'm guessing he probably feels guilty about that. He shouldn't. I don't see any other major anchor in the country. Last week, Brian Williams was on The Daily Show talking about the three days he spent in Haiti. Now, I love me some BriWi, but three days? That's your classic parachute in, do the disaster tour, sayonara.

As for the week break, quite frankly CNN would be stupid to let any of their people stay in those conditions for an extended period of time. They are there to perform a job. Getting worn down to the point that you become an infection magnet isn't exactly helpful. But anyway, the video below is Anderson talking about why he returned and some of things he's seen upon his re-arrival:



There was amazing news today. Maybe. Anderson and Sanjay Gupta talk about a 28-year-old man who was allegedly pulled from the rubble alive nearly a month after the quake. I have to say, I'm pretty skeptical about this one. So much so that I didn't feel comfortable tweeting the news. Obviously, if true, the man must have had access to water. Otherwise there's no way in hell he would have survived and even then...it seems a little fishy. We may never know for sure.

From that potential miracle, we move into an Anderson piece that just kind of summarizes what the situation continues to be like on the ground. People are living in the street. Bodies are still being found, and subsequently buried in old graves (if they're lucky). There's heavy equipment being used to clean up, but destruction remains all around. People find new ways to make money, such as a man they come across selling electricity. All in all, improvement has been made, but Haiti remains plunged in misery.

Karl Penhaul then joins us live to talk about the case of the American missionaries charged with kidnapping. Earlier, Anderson noted how much coverage this controversy has been getting and reiterated there is much more to the story of Haiti. I'm glad he said that. Last week I noticed that their post-quake coverage had suddenly become strangely focused, but I didn't want to complain just yet. That's not to say, of course, that they shouldn't cover the missionaries. Karl tells us that the Laura Silsby-led group actually tried to take a whole other group of children before the current group and were stopped. So, yes, they are in big trouble.

Then we bounce back to Idaho to get the angle that Dan Simon has been covering. We learned the other day that the men and women have been separated. Dan was actually able to sit down with Renee Thompson, wife of Paul Thompson, one of the men arrested. We learn that Thompson received an email from Silsby (who he did not know), basically recruiting him for this trip. He went on to recruit four other men himself. Paul's wife claims he was not in the loop on the details, but rather thought he was going to do good with his handyman skills. This is both sad and totally messed up.

Next, we're joined by Frances Robles of the Miami Herald live on-the-ground with Anderson and Sanjay to talk about the fallout from this missionary mess. Apparently, sick kids are now being denied their promised flights out of the country because pilots are freaking out over all the questions they're being asked. I guess suddenly everyone is extra suspicious of those transporting children and no one wants to be arrested for trying to do a good deed. The result? Sick kids become dead kids. There has to be a better way.

The subject of keeping this story in the news also comes up, an issue I depressingly blogged about over a week ago. It's apparent that Anderson is worried about it, and hey, he's seen it before--there's no reason he shouldn't be worried. Frances, on the other hand, is more worried about the staying power of the aid agencies currently lending a hand in Haiti. I guess that will partly be the media's responsibility as well. If the help leaves and no one reports it, well, I don't even want to think out that.

On a silly note, you know that whole "Text 360" thing that I think is pretty stupid? Well, my feelings haven't changed on that, but tonight my girl Vanessa got her text read. So...shout out! That's pretty much all I have to say on that. Below is video of discussion between Anderson, Frances, and Sanjay:



Transitioning now to politics. Can I get a woo hoo? No? Okay. So, as you might have heard, the big Tea Party Convention has taken the country by storm. By storm, people! All 600 of them. I am completely flummoxed by the media's complete newsgasm over a stupid convention that only drew 600 people. Hell, I went to a media reform convention back in 2005 that had well over a thousand attendees. I'm pretty sure CNN didn't even know it existed, even with the attendance of Bill Moyers, Al Franken, and various members of Congress. My point here is WTF is up with the drooling over this convention?

Oh wait, I know what's up. And her name is Sarah Palin: Media Magnet. Ms. Maverick-y gave the keynote, and while she made sure to rag on Obama's use of the teleprompter, she failed to see the irony in using her hand as a crib sheet to remind herself to "lift American spirits." No, I'm not kidding. I wish I were kidding. So, to recap, the favored leader of the conservative movement likes to use her hand as a cheat sheet for hard words like "tax," and predominantly uses Facebook to communicate. Good lord, they're trying to elect a 14-year-old. It's like America is trapped in a scene from a really warped version of Freaky Friday.

That train wreck all came to us via a Randi Kaye piece, by the way. After covering the convention, I figure she deserves the credit. For discussion, we're next joined by Mary Matalin. Um, yeah, I don't think so. Even Anderson looks downright thrilled to be having this conversation. Yes, yes, I'm sure it'd be the same with a Democrat, but whatev.

Finally tonight,...who dat???!!! Yes, the New Orleans Saints won the Superbowl, which just so happens to have been the most-watched television program evah! In full disclosure, I should note that I neither like nor understand the game of football. But! My heart was totally rooting for New Orleans. I just, you know, didn't actually watch any of it. Hey man, ABC had Modern Family on. Don't judge me. Anyway! James Carville and Mary Matalin then join us to gloat. They're decked out in their Saints gear too. They're being, dare I say, almost enjoyable? Now see, why can't they be like this all the time? I mean, c'mon, is that whole politics thing really that necessary?

The "shot" tonight is a weatherman freaking the eff out over snowmageddon. SnOMG! Good times.

The show was pretty good. Obviously, they just got there and haven't had much time to really zero in on specific stories (besides the missionaries). As Anderson noted earlier, it's going to get harder to keep the reports fresh and find new angles. I tend to hang onto stories forever. (Wanna do a follow up on Katrina? I'll watch.) But most viewers aren't like me. Again, I really admire that Team 360 is back.

American Missionaries Charged With Kidnapping, Corporate Greed, And Tea Party Movement's First Convention (Yay?)

Hi everyone. We're beginning tonight with the news that those American missionaries arrested in Haiti have just been charged with kidnapping. This story keeps getting stranger and stranger. It seems a villain has officially been cast, and her name is Laura Silsby. Anderson Cooper informs us that they have an EXCLUSIVE with two people who have interacted with Silsby and believe she's not as innocent as she claims.

We're then joined by phone with David Louis of Compassion For All Orphanage and Richard Pickett, who just legally adopted children from Haiti. The conversation starts with David...and it is excruciating. One of those pulling-teeth interviews where Anderson really makes his big bucks. David tells us Silsby offered to take some of their orphans, but when our anchor tries to confirm that David then told her she couldn't do that without permission from the government, he suddenly clams up and paints himself as uninvolved in any of that. And...then he's gone. Well, thanks for playing.

But we still have Richard via satellite and he's a much easier conversation. He tells us that Silsby actually called his wife while they were in the process of adopting and offered to get the kids out of the country. Obviously, the couple was like, um, no. Because that would be crazy and illegal. Richard also says that this woman would go from orphanage to orphanage, trying to get people to give her kids, and when they refused, she would freak out and cry. He speculates she wanted the kids for fund-raising purposes. So...wow.

We then go live to Haiti to talk to Karl Penhaul about the brochure he's holding. A brochure of LIES! This is sad, awesome, and a tinge comical all rolled into one. So anyway, the brochure is what the Americans were giving out regarding their plans for the children. Karl then proceeds to (slightly dramatically) tick off the untruths one by one. No, the kids they took are not orphans. No, they don't even have an orphanage built. No, they did not have permission from the government to take them. No, they do not have a working website! Lies, lies, lies! Calling a spade a spade. Loves it.

For the other angle of the story, we flip back to Idaho to further explore this Silsby character with Dan Simon. Apparently, the missionary was having quite a time of it recently. Single mom. Recently foreclosed home. Can't pay the bills. Sad, actually. But weird too. It seems she's run her business poorly. Also? A couple of years ago she hired her 24-year-old nanny to set up an orphanage. I mean, WTF? Then she just strolls into the church, meets with the pastor, and is all, hey, who wants to go help Haiti orphans?

I feel bad for the other people arrested with her because it feels like they were probably sucked up in something that's way over their heads. They trusted this woman, and it looks like that's going to be a mistake. My theory on Silsby herself? I'm thinking some sort of mental illness/acute breakdown that led to some very poor decisions, and maybe even believing things that weren't true. What a mess. In related bad news, there's a new estimated quake death toll: 212,000. There are no words.

Transitioning now to Jeffrey Toobin talking about people I want to strangle. Perhaps I should be more specific. Today, Bank of America and two former top executives were charged with defrauding the government. But it's only a civil suit. Not one of the douchebags who got us into our financial mess has gone to prison. Let's list a couple of them for old time's sake, shall we? We're shown a picture of Richard Fuld of Lehman Brothers and Joseph Cassano of AIG fame. As for Bank of America (which, by the way, is teh evil), they're paying for their douches' legal fees, and since we bailed them out, guess who's really paying for the defense. Awesome.

Kiran Chetry continues her "360 Bulletin" duties, and the piece of inane information I'm pulling out for you tonight is that Heinz is going to revamp their ketchup packets. Life changing news, I know. They're going to be bigger now. And dippable! But I don't deal with change well, so we'll see how this goes. Although, if they could remove all metal from the packets, that would we good. Have you ever tossed a fast food bag in the microwave, not realizing one of those little buggers was in there, and then watched the whole thing light up like Fourth of July? Um, yeah...me neither.

Tea Party time! It seems the movement is all growed up and got themselves a convention. One wonders what their numbers are compared to conventions held on the Left (yes, they have them too!), generally not significantly covered by the media. Centrist dude John Avlon is here again for discussion. I guess 360 has like adopted him now? Meh. I suppose they figure one middle-ly pundit is less work than two partisan ones. Efficient!

John draws the distinction between the crazies and those who have legitimate concerns about the nation's fiscal health. Anderson notes that critics want to know where all this populist outrage was during the Bush years (I think he's talking about me!). John then concedes that a lot of the anger is a reaction to the Obama administration. Hm, I wonder why that would be. Anyway! My only real beef with this segment is that there is no mention of the astroturfing done of the movement. Yes, there is genuine anger. There's also been big bucks making sure it's incited. Also? Dick Armey is mentioned, which now always makes me giggle. Because I'm 12.

On now to a Randi Kaye piece in which we meet Bob Porto, Tea Party activist. So what's his story? Nothing out of the ordinary these days: Business disappeared, bank wants the money back on his home loan, now he's ticked. But I still don't understand what he's protesting. You think liberals aren't outraged about this stuff? The problem is, all I hear is slogans from these people. Big government bad! Freedom good! Let's take our country back! From what though? Says Bob: "We want to instill the fact that the Founding Fathers gave us values, and in those values were the basic foundations that created the greatness that America has experienced." What does that even mean?! Yes, values good!

The only specific we get is that Bob does not like regulations. Like salmonella in your food, do you Bob? Big fan of lead? Do any of these people realize that if we would have had better financial regulations set up (and enforced) years ago, it's very possible none of this mess would have happened? So again, Bob seems like a nice guy and sincere and everything, but I still have no idea what his deal is, other than to be just ticked off that life has screwed him over. Yeah, Bob, join the club. It sucks. Of course, it's very possible Bob was much more detailed during taping and the problem lies with the piece, though I suspect not. Activism is awesome. But there's a difference between getting involved in your government, and simply opposing everything it does.

The "shot" tonight is bye-bye pandas. Tai Shan and Mei Lan are being returned to China. Aw. For those that think our anchor might naturally find the animals adorable (they are!), don't be fooled! Anderson is on record as a panda hater. And when I say "on record," I mean he might have mumbled something not completely complimentary about pandas once and I totally blogged it. The Silver Fox gets by with nothing on my watch!

I thought the show was pretty good again. Ratings haven't been so hot lately though. Hopefully they'll hold strong and not give into the urge to go tabloid. That'll do it.

James Arthur Ray Finally Arrested, More On The Christian Missionaries In Haiti, The Latest Politics, And Anderson Cooper Disses Snooki (ZOMG!)

Hi everyone. Am I the only person who flipped over to CNN a few minutes early and had the bejeezus scared out of them by an Avatared Larry King? I mean, good God! It was made all the more jarring because I had just been watching Rachel Maddow, who was torturing us with demon sheep. Yes, demon sheep. Why is the news trying to TERRIFY me?!

We kick things off with the totally awesome news that douchebag snake oil salesman James Arthur Ray has been arrested. Woo hoo! (I was going to switch to 'asshat,' but then I thought, no, 'douchebag' is still working for me here.) You will remember Ray as the self help guru who held sweat lodges that resulted in the deaths of three of his followers. Gary Tuchman has been on the case for us since day one, and he now joins us live to report that Ray has been charged with three counts of manslaughter.

For those of us following the story, most of what come next we've already heard, and even seen, such as an interview clip that's played of former Ray employee Melinda Martin. In these sweat lodges, people became very ill to the point that they were passing out and hallucinating. And Ray did nothing to help, either during or after--hence my name-calling. Anderson Cooper notes that he would have thought that after the deaths Ray would have at least stopped holding his seminars. Clearly our anchor is overlooking the whole douchebag aspect.

The seminars actually were stopped eventually. Gary retells the story of when he and his team went to a one of the seminars in Colorado. They tried to get in, but Ray's people were like, no, we're on to you Mr. Newsman. They were not, however, on to Mr. Newsman's non recognizable producer Ismael Estrada, who proceeded to crash said seminar and ask Ray directly how he could hold the event when people just died. Suffice it to say, Ismael was not given a warm welcome--actually he was booed out. But a week later, the seminars stopped. I like that story.

Next up, we're joined by sweat lodge participant Beverly Bunn by phone and Jeffrey Toobin in the studio. Beverly is stoked that Ray is finally being held to account. Anderson reads us an excerpt from an interview the guru did with "New York" magazine in which he details everything he did to help the sick victims. Beverly calls BS on all of it. She tells us that the medical doctor on scene wasn't even an employee, but rather just another sweat lodge participant. Wow. Obviously, Ray's defense is going to be that this was all just a terrible accident, but things are looking pretty bad for him. This guy needs to go down.

Transitioning now to a Karl Penhaul piece that updates us on the American missionaries charged with child trafficking in Haiti. Now the Dominican consulate is saying they warned the group they didn't have the right paperwork. Ruh roh. I feel the tide turning on this story. In fact, now there's a question of whether or not they bribed a police officer. When CNN then attempted to ask them about the newest allegations, they sang hymns instead of answering the questions. There's definitely something wrong here.

Kiran Chetry has the "360 Bulletin" again, because, I guess her bosses don't want her to ever sleep. We're informed that contrary to popular belief, the kids don't Twitter. Actually, weren't we told this, like, three months ago? What evs. (See! I'm still young. Look at me using the slang!) Anyway! Kiran's all, "I'm very uncomfortable around teenagers. I feel like they're just sitting there thinking, 'What is this old bag trying to say to me right now.'" Yes, Kiran. That is EXACTLY what they are thinking when they look at you. Especially the boy teenagers.

Back to Haiti now, and a question that I asked about a week or so ago: What is the Haitian government doing? Like, exactly? For discussion, we're joined by Joe Johns in Port-au-Prince, and Professor Ludovic Comeau, an economics professor at DePaul University and former chief economist of the Haitian Central Bank. The professor points out the government clearly has a public relations problem. Joe actually did some investigating and was told things are quietly happening behind the scenes.

But! The person he talked to was the Haitian Information Minister, who happens to be the same woman who told Anderson there were no uncovered mass graves. So there's that. Bottom line: the government is doing some stuff (inoculations, working with new orphans), but they're broke and can only do so much. The professor thinks other countries should get involved in the rebuilding, which I think should be watched carefully.

From Anderson: "It also seems like over the years there's been a lot of foreign groups that have come in and kind of put their ideas of, well it should work this way, as opposed to kind of a Haitian solution bubbling up or coming from the diaspora." Yes, remember Naomi Klein.

On now to Dana Bash telling us about the little Q & A Obama had with Senate Democrats today. It was live and on television and six senators were chosen to ask questions. The six chosen are all up for re-election, so you can pretty much guess how that went. Look constituents! Look at me fighting for you! I'm got respect for Obama for doing these things.

For discussion, we're joined by David Gergen and that centrist dude John Avlon. Anderson starts by trying to somehow compare this to Bush, saying 43 got flack for his scripted questions and wondering why "not just have actual impromptu questions." Dood, really? Did you not see that hour Obama spent taking questions from Republicans? Because it was AWEsome! If you think Bush would have ever done anything close to that, there's a bridge I'd like to sell you.

But I'm with our anchor on the whole impromptu question thing (the Bush comparison just rubbed me the wrong way). In fact, John brings up Question Time that they have in Britain and proposes we should to that here. Have you ever seen Question Time? It's AMAZING. If they had that here I'd watch it like it was the season finale of Glee. Can we start by doing Bush like they recently did Blair?

The "shot" tonight is the 360 kids once again introducing me to terrifying reality stars that I don't want to meet. This time: Snooki. She apparently has gotten herself a makeover. I would describe the before and after, but it's much more fun to let Anderson do it. He's never seen the Jersey Shore, mind you, just clips from The Soup. It seems even the Silver Fox has a reality show line. Who knew?! Good for him, but please, Anderson, never use the phrase "Kim Kardashian-esque" again.

Kiran (oh yeah, she's there too!) proclaims Snooki very down to earth, which sets off our anchor, who I guess has seen many hot tub scenes. "It's like a Petri dish," he tells us. Adding, " I don't know what that means." Oh, you know exactly what that means! (Pssst. I think you just called her a skank.) "I'm going to be in trouble with 'The Situation,'" says Anderson. I don't know what that is but I'm guessing it's a male person. Which, you know, seriously? Someone goes by the name "The Situation"? And I thought "The Donald" sounded douche-y.

The show was good. I guess Anderson is going to be in another celebrity feud now. After seeing that clip, Snooki just might be more terrifying than demon sheep.

Haiti Orphans, Underpants Bomber Update, Admiral Mullen's Awesomeness On DADT, Visiting A Haitian-American Community, And Joel Osteen Interview

Hi everyone. Tonight Anderson Cooper resumes his position in the anchor chair, no doubt a strange feeling for him. We kick things off with Karl Penhaul updating us on the American missionaries who have been charged with child trafficking, but I unfortunately missed most of what he said. What can I say, interruptions happen. From what I can ascertain, Team Karl was able to talk with the missionaries' interpreters, who believe the Americans did know all the children weren't orphans. It sounds like much of this story is still up in the air.

We next go to Meridian, Idaho, where Dan Simon awaits with the stateside angle of the story. The Americans are from Central Valley Baptist Church and according to Dan, they have no experience running an orphanage. Nor were they registered as a non profit or international adoption agency. This is beginning to look like some sort of negligent situation at best, or even something shady at worst.

On now to a Joe Johns piece on the difficulties of determining which children in Haiti are orphans. Do they have family members? Are they a street kid versus a child who just lost their parents in the earthquake? Many questions to be answered, a task made even more daunting due to distrust of those wishing to help orphans. This is a crisis that won't be solved any time soon.

Kiran Chetry has the "360 Bulletin" tonight, because apparently they just want to keep us on our toes. Anderson muses that she popped some NoDoz to get through the gig. The CNNers love them the amphetamines. Kidding! So anyway, it's Groundhog Day! Yes, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, which means six more weeks of winter, God damn it. Can I say 'God damn it' when there's a preacher coming up on the show?

Transitioning now to Ed Henry and Dana Bash giving the latest lowdown on the Underpants Bomber. It seems the government has been having super-seekret meetings with bomber dude's family in order to gain his trust and get him to spill the history of his combustible drawers. This is all being officially leaked now because Team Obama is none too pleased with the Republicans talking smack about the terror investigations.

You know, a few years ago the press would have just breathlessly reported the terror meeting stuff without even bothering to think about the timing of the leak. Yay for no BS. Well, at least when it comes to reporting. BS does in fact exist in this story, and it's coming from the Democrats. Many of them are butting up against the administration's policy of trying terror suspects because they'd rather save their political skin than stand up for the rule of law. Lord, sometimes I hate my party almost as much as the Republicans.

On now to coverage of my new military crush: Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. Today he spoke out against "don't ask, don't tell," deeming a repeal "the right thing to do." For more on this, we get an "Insider Briefing" from David Gergen, who was in the Clinton White House during the policy's inception. I have to say, the graphics for this segment are out of control! Kiran's not the only one drinking the Red Bull, apparently.

So okay, according to the Gerg, Clinton announced he was going to end the prohibition against gays in the military and everyone subsequently went craaazeh. The Big Dog then decided on the compromise of DADT and got his inner circle together to given their opinions. Everyone was in support of the compromise, except Al Gore who wanted to go all the way, so to speak. I'm kinda loving Gore right now too.

The Gerg tells us that back then times were different and everyone was against gays openly serving in the military. He assures us that most people in that inner circle--himself included--would have different advice for the president today. This is probably unfair given that I'm not taking any of the politics into account, but the Gerg's statement here annoys me. We're supposed to be happy and relieved that the majority of the group would now do the right thing now that it's easy? Sorry kids, integrity is when you do what's right, even if it's hard.

Next up, we have an Anderson piece in which he goes into a Haitian-American community in Brooklyn. Everyone there knows someone who was lost in the quake. Hopefully they will help keep the media coverage on the ongoing humanitarian disaster.

The "Big 360 Interview" tonight is Pastor Joel Osteen. Before I get into it though, some disclaimers: I'm a Christian, but mega-churches scare me and I don't trust TV pastors. I don't know much about this particular pastor, though his unrelenting smile is a little unnerving and makes me feel like he's hiding something. He doesn't seem like a real person, actually--very plastic. As you can tell, I obviously already have my ticket booked for hell.

Anderson begins by asking a variation of the age-old question of why God lets bad things happen. There's no point in typing Osteen's answer, because there is no answer. My general feeling about things is that sometimes life just really sucks and there is no why. The challenge is learning to be okay with that. Anderson goes on to lament how unfair it is that one's life can be determined by the randomness in which zip code they were born. He also talks about the mystery of why some people survive and others don't.

Sometimes I'll hear other 360 viewers claim that Anderson is personalizing an interview and asking questions for his own benefit, and I'll think they're looking into things way too much. Tonight, however, I would agree with that assessment. I'm not really sure how to classify my feelings about that other than to say it made me a little sad, and I hope a TV preacher is not the only person he's going to with this stuff. As for Osteen, the dude is happy. Or so he seems. Be positive! I like a positive attitude as much as the next guy, but this feels a little too much like "The Secret."

For another take on all this sunshine-y self helpiness, you should read this piece about Barbara Ehrenreich, author of “Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America." Yes, Mr. Osteen is (briefly) mentioned. Maybe this guy is the real deal. But when I think of my pastors, I think of people who visited me for hours in the hospital when I was kid, called me after my car accident, sat with me in the waiting room of the ICU the day my dad died. Between books and TV appearances, when does Joel Osteen have time to do those things?

The "shot" tonight is a dude named Mark Malkoff who decided to get New Yorkers to carry him from one end of Manhattan to the other. Just cuz! To make this all more hilarious, Mark is actually in the studio--and he's being carried by the crew guys who play a game of tag-team hand-off. So, the whole time this guy is just being held while Anderson asks him questions. Awkward!

For those wondering, no, our anchor would not have carried him. He claims it's because he doesn't weigh that much more than Mark, but c'mon, we all know he's packing the guns. I guess the Silver Fox actually isn't one of those nice New Yorkers he likes to talk about. Kidding! Also? I agree about residents of the Big Apple being nicer than their reputation. This Missouri girl got good and lost a couple of years ago in my quest to get back to New Jersey (was staying with a friend) and people were quite helpful. Well, most of them.

Anyway! Apparently, a bet went down among the 360 kids that producer Diana Miller could not carry Sean Yates. We're then played video of Ms. Diana doing exactly that. You go girl! But oh, that is totally a workman's comp claim waiting to happen. The show was good, though the whole Osteen interview situation was a tad strange. That'll do it.

Americans Accused Of Child Trafficking In Haiti, Obama's Proposed Budget, Update On The Mass Graves In Haiti, And Steve Perry Interviews P. Diddy

Hi everyone. Happy New Week! Anderson Cooper is taking a little well-deserved time off, so it is Wolf Blitzer to the rescue tonight. Recently, the Wolfbot has seen his airtime decreased a bit from his usual million hours per week, so apparently he's going to take it back any way he can, yo! And here we are.

We begin with the odd and disturbing story that 10 American missionaries have been arrested in Haiti on charges of trafficking children into the Dominican Republic. This news leads us into a piece from Karl Penhaul, who is still in Haiti. The Americans claim they thought the children were orphans, but when Karl investigates in the children's home village, he finds that's actually not the case.

He talks with poor parents who say they willingly gave their children to the missionaries after being promised they would receive schooling, food, and toys. Essentially, these parents let go of their children in the hopes that they'd have a better life somewhere else. How sad.

Next up, we go to Dan Simon in Meridian, Idaho, which is the home of Central Valley Baptist Church--the church of the missionaries. Dan speaks live with Pastor Drew Ham and everything seems pretty confused at this point.

Obviously the number one question needing to be answered is whether or not the Americans truly believed the children were orphans. Apparently, at this point they have yet to convince officials. Also? Pastor Ham says Dan's name, like, a zillion times. It's amusing.

From Idaho, Blitzer goes on to interview Georg Willeit of SOS Children's Villages regarding the missionaries' intentions.

Transitioning now to CNN's brand-spanking new anchor, Candy Crowley, talking about Obama's proposed budget. That's right, Ms. Crowley has done got herself a show--John King's old gig on State of the Union to be precise. The ladies are slowly taking over. About time. Watch your back, fellas.

Anyway! So, we got this whole budget thing here, and of course the specifics are framed in terms of 'winners' and 'losers' because, I guess, they must. Who's up. Who's down. Who's ahead. Who's behind. Your beltway media at work. I'm not going to list any of the details myself because none of them made me go, "OMG, really?!" Yay to the increase in pell grants though. Those babies got me through some hard semesters.

New narrative alert! Obama is bankrupting America. (Oh noes!) David Gergen and David Walker discuss. Meh. Yes, the deficit is comically high. But let's not go crazy, mmkay?

Someone named Brooke Baldwin has the "360 Bulletin" tonight. Who dat? Being groomed to replace Erica Hill or just simply subbing? Your guess is as good as mine. But I know how some of you have treated 360 newbies in the past (poor John Roberts). Beee nice. Anybody who makes a My So-Called Life reference is a-okay in my book. (I'm so easily won over.)

On now to a re-airing of Anderson's very disturbing piece on the mass graves. Why? Because they have an update from Joe Johns. And it's actually positive! Well, as positive as an update to a story on mass graves could be. It turns out that Haitian Daniel Rouzier saw our anchor's report and took it upon himself to get two backhoes and a priest to the site. The bodies were then more properly buried, and a bunch of people came out to pray and bless the graves. I hope 360 continues investigating the company and government as to what happened.

Finally tonight, we have Dr. Steve Perry interviewing P. Diddy about connecting with young people in their community. This is one of those segments that seems to come out of nowhere, and you're like, "Well, hello there." And then it feels like it's over before it began. Obviously this is all edited, so it's hard to really make any comment. What I saw was okay, I guess.

I wish Steve would have asked him why everything always has to be about music and fashion and sports and the like (and maybe he did--like I said, edited). Why must celebrities always promote the celebrity lifestyle? Why doesn't P. Diddy make a show about young scientists or something? Yeah, I know, I know. No one would watch. But maybe they would if these people made those kind of careers cool.

The "shot" tonight is a dancing owl. Or perhaps a dancing vulture. I link, you decide.

The show was pretty good. It felt shorter than when they were in Haiti. Hm. Wasting time with teases and whatnot in studio? Maybe it's just me. Anyway! Glad to see Haiti is still getting a big chunk of airtime. That'll do it.

Hey, follow me on Twitter. You know you want to.

Home From Haiti

Hi everyone. As many of us suspected, today Team 360 left Haiti. I am both saddened and relieved. The CNNers have spent two-plus weeks operating in hellish conditions. They surely deserve to see their families, and I hope they're taking the opportunity to get some much needed rest. Their work has been astounding and all involved should be proud.

Perhaps it's evidence of my growing cynicism over the years that I'm not anywhere near as devastated today as I was the day Anderson Cooper officially left New Orleans. Always the last reporter standing, he had been there for a month. Obviously at that point he needed to leave to take care of himself, but there was the general feeling that his departure represented something larger: the beginning of the forgetting.

I suppose I'm simply resigned to the fact that eventually--maybe even soon--Haiti will be forgotten. We all know the lyrics to this song. It's an election year. Politicians will be making ridiculous statements at a greater frequency than usual, and The Best Political Team on Television will be there to cover every moment of idiocy. Somewhere, a celebrity scandal will break, a pretty co-ed will go missing, and Americans will clamor for the details. Viewers will begin to complain about Haiti coverage: "You need to move on from this story. There are important things happening in our own country."

That's not to say all will turn away. Many of those who saw the tragedy unfold with their own eyes will go back. But their visits and pieces will become fewer and farther between, and though they may fight for the coverage, they will be up against a media system & culture that rarely encourages extensive follow-up reporting. Independent journalists will write meticulously researched articles based on months of work. Not many people will read them or know of their existence. Significant milestones will bring network coverage, but for the most part the country will disappear into the background. Like other stories before it, this is how the story of Haiti will play out.

I don't write this to be depressing. Maybe I am wrong. I hope that I am wrong. But this is what I see in my crystal ball. I'm sure the CNNers we've been watching these past weeks will do their best, as will I in my own way. I'm not one to remain quiet when I see important stories bumped out of the headlines by fluffier fare. Of course, blogging an issue can be akin to screaming into a black hole, so there's that. For Haiti's sake, let's hope the world's eyes don't leave for a long time.

At this point, what I most want to express is thank you. Thank you to the entire team who brought the story of Haiti into our living rooms every day. Thank you to the correspondents and reporters, the producers and photojournalists, the fixers/translators and drivers, the coordinators, the engineers, the security personnel. Thank you to those back in New York and Atlanta who worked to get their colleagues reporting to air. And a special thank you to Anderson Cooper, Sanjay Gupta, Gary Tuchman, Ivan Watson, Karl Penhaul, Charlie Moore, Neil Hallsworth, Vlad Duthiers, and Danielle Dellorto for doing what you do.

In prior posts, I have included behind-the-scenes videos of the CNNer's Haiti reporting. Below are some additional segments that might interest you. In the first video, producer Alec Miran shows us the complicated logistics involved in getting coverage of a rescue live on the air. Senior photographer Dave Rust, Charlie Moore, and Anderson Cooper also appear.



The next video follows Chris Lawrence as he attempts to enter Haiti, and then tries to find gas. Gary Tuchman has a cameo.



Karl Penhaul had trouble getting into Haiti as well, which we see in this video. Producer Terence Burke is featured.



In this video, Karl Penhaul and cameraman Jerry Simonson talk with Michael Holmes of Backstory regarding the day they witnessed police officers shoot men over bags of rice.



Finding a bank in Haiti can be difficult. In this next video, Luis Carlos Velez attempts to do just that.



Finally, producer Alec Miran again acts as our guide, this time giving us a tour inside CNN's Haiti operations. We hear from assignment desk producer Samson Desta, engineer Darryl Trimm, Tim Crockett of security, and producer Terence Burke. Anderson, Charlie, Sanjay, Karl, Gary, and Brian Todd are all seen as well.

Anderson Cooper 360 Reports Live From Haiti, Hilarious Stimulus Reporting, Centrists, and Justice Alito's Joe Wilson Moment

Hi everyone. The 360 kids have wrestled control of their broadcast back from Wolf Blitzer and his merry gaggle of pundits. Anderson Cooper is once again coming at us live from Haiti and we start things off by viewing video of people singing and dancing in the street, a sight that occurred just minutes before the show began. We then get a recap of recent Haiti news. Since last we met our heroes, a 16-year-old girl was amazingly pulled out of the rubble alive, and the Haitians performed a distribution of aid gone wrong.

Gary Tuchman and Sanjay Gupta then join Anderson at the live shot for some explainers. From Gary we learn that the rescued girl had been entombed in her bathroom, leaving her unharmed. She had been presumed dead, but then yesterday neighbors heard a sound and French rescuers eventually pulled her out. For the "how" of this seemingly unbelievable story, Sanjay notes that she must have had access to water to be able to survive this long, and even then, it's still amazing. Here's a pretty good write-up of the situation that's worth reading.

From glimmers of hope from the living, we next transition to disrespect of the dead. Those following the coverage know that Anderson has been reporting on the mass graves he and his crew saw with their own eyes, still uncovered weeks after the quake. Raymond Joseph, Haiti's ambassador to the U.S., finally got back to Team 360, speaking with a producer. Anderson relays their conversation. Joseph is not happy with our anchor's prior reporting, and deflects responsibility by noting he is not on the ground and "not God." Was the last part ever actually on the table as a possibility?

Through Anderson, we learn that the producer went on to ask if Joseph had spoken to the Haitian government...and then eventually the ambassador just hung up. Allow me to do my best Stephanie Tanner impression: How rude! So, that avenue got them nowhere. But Anderson was also able to personally speak with Marie Laurence Jocelyn Lassegue, the Haitian Communications Minister. When our anchor confronts her about the mass graves, she actually flat out denies what he's telling her. Wow. "Yes. I have seen it with my own eyes," says Anderson. And he's shared it with CNN's worldwide audience. Her ignorance is rather astounding.

Anderson then moves the focus onto CNE, the state-run company in charge of dumping the bodies. Jocelyn-Lassegue states they're doing a good job. Really now? In the end, she claims she'll look into things, so I guess all we can do is wait and see. I think it's great the way Team 360 is pursuing this. It's smart to go after the company. Good reporting. On a related note, I guess Anderson is in a feud with Joseph now. Think this much more important story will get as much press as the Lohan spat? You already know the answer to that.

Moving on now to a Sanjay piece on Haiti's newborns. We're introduced to an infant who is seven weeks premature. If he was in the states, he'd be in an incubator. Instead, he is in a hot tent, flies buzzing around his tiny body. Whether or not he will survive is an unanswered question. There is also a growing concern that the women giving birth are now vulnerable to trafficking and abuse. Hopefully these fears will go unfounded.

Following Sanjay's piece, Anderson talks with Dr. Jane Aronson, pediatrician, about Haiti's orphans. She contends that excepting those children already set to go home to a new family, adoption is actually not the best thing for Haiti's kids right now. You can read Dr. Aronson's journal from Haiti here.

Transitioning now back to the states, and Tom Foreman has taken Ali Velshi's place at the stimulus desk. The binder fort has been demolished to make way for a binder skyscraper that is taller than Tom. Okay, now I think they're trying to get on The Daily Show. Anyway! Tom gives us a little preview of some stimulus projects, but we're going to have to wait until a later segment to find out if they're truly stimulus-y. Oh, cliffhanger!

Moving on to Anderson interviewing John Avalon, centrist guy pundit. Honestly, I don't even really believe in centrists/independents. To me they seem like they're either 1) Simply not that politically informed/engaged. 2) In denial. Or 3) Are lying in order to appear neutral/because they believe the label will give them more credibility when they argue their true secret ideology. Pick a side you wusses! I realize that centrist doesn't exactly equate to an "undecided" in an election, but while watching this segment, a friend reminded me of a fantastic quote from David Sedaris regarding the 2008 race:

To put them in perspective, I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat. “Can I interest you in the chicken?” she asks. “Or would you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broken glass in it?”

To be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked.

I mean, really, what’s to be confused about?

To be clear, I don't think everyone falls in neat little political packages and a Democrat could never vote for a Republican (and vice versa). That would be insane. But why WHY is the magical center always deemed the best place to be? From my vantage point, the center seems to be the place where good legislation goes to die. Yes, both parties contain annoying partisans. That does not make them equal. Please stop trying to balance everything. And how has Obama governed too far to the left? Was it the universal healthcare? Gay marriage equality? The "left" was never even on the table. In conclusion, I have to say, John Avalon looks like a political Ken doll. Not even like a real person. Perfect for punditry.

On now to Jeffrey Toobin talking about Supreme Court Justice Alito's little Joe Wilson moment. While Obama talked about (and kinda dissed) a recent decision, the justice mouthed the words "not true." Toobin goes on to explain that there might be some bad blood in the relationship because Obama didn't vote for Alito's confirmation. And during a courtesy call Obama had with the court, Alito was the only justice missing. Oh no he di int! Then there's the whole issue of the Lilly Ledbetter Act being the first bill Obama signed into law, which overruled one of Alito's decisions. So, yeah, they're not BFFs. You can read more from Toobin here, and Anderson urges you to read his book as well, which is nice of him.

Back to Tom, to fill us in on those stimulus projects he mentioned earlier. I'm not really going to go into this, but I didn't understand the hand-wringing over the high speed train. Tom did a pretty nice job explaining, I guess I'm just baffled that there's an issue regarding the infrastructure. This is what Obama campaigned on. He never promised the infrastructure would be cheap or fast.

Next up, we have a Randi Kaye piece that is quite amusing. Randi's done a fine job. My mocking is directed at Senators McCain and Coburn, both who have their boxers in a twist over stimulus money going to a Napa Valley wine train. Or is it? Dubbing the project the "stimulus waste express," the senators are playing on images of hoity-toity rich people eating their fancy-pants lunch as they travel in style (on our tax dollars--ZOMG!). Except, well, the money isn't actually for the train. It's for raising the train tracks to complete a massive flood control project. Research fail! That's embarrassing.

We wrap of the hour with Karl Penhaul and Ivan Watson discussing a food distribution that went bad, as well as the efforts to restart the power grid. As always, the Haiti coverage was great, but I think they also did a good job tonight balancing in the other stories. I thought the stimulus reporting was better, though I still don't understand why they insist on the pointless previews that just waste time. I don't want to go to Tom just to hear Tom tell me what he's going to talk about later, you know? Anyway, that'll do it.