Gonzales Lying Again, Obama Versus Clinton, Murder Suspects, Raw Politics, Anesthesia Awareness, And Planet In Peril (Thursday's Show)
Hi everybody. We're kicking it off with some coverage of everybody's favorite amnesiac and truth-challenged Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales. In an Anderson Cooper piece we learn that the AG has had a no good, very bad day. Actually, he's had a whole string of those lately, but 360 apparently only wants us to know about some of them. The coverage has been very sporadic, is what I'm saying. Okay, so remember that whole late night visit to John Ashcroft's bed that Gonzales made about the NSA spying program? Well, on Tuesday Gonzales testified that the visit wasn't about the NSA program at all, but rather other intelligence stuff, which leaves one to wonder if he just admitted to another secret spying program. But actually that's neither here nor there right now because he was totally lying. Today FBI Director Mueller testified that the visit was about the NSA program. This is a big deal because (as Jeffrey Toobin mentions later) months ago Gonzales testified there was no controversy about the program. Obviously if he had to pressure a drugged man to sign off on it, uh, there was some controversy.
Plus the fact that he also testified that the gang of eight senators weren't briefed on the NSA program, when in reality the AP has obtained a memo that proves they were (which 360 never even mentions in this piece). So, yeah, massive perjury. And that's not even all he's lied about. Gonzales testified he didn't talk to his aides about attorney-gate, but aide Monica Goodling testified he did. And remember, the majority of the words coming out of this man's mouth have been some version of "I don't recall," so there's a good possibility that literally everything he's actually said has been a lie. As you might imagine, Democrats are fuming and want a prosecutor to investigate him for perjury. For their part, the Republicans are disgusted with Gonzales too, but they're apparently a bunch of cowards and won't stand behind the Democrats. Especially Arlen Specter. Lord, that guy rolls over more than my dog. If I may put on a tin-foil hat for a second, I'm starting to think Gonzales is trying to get indicted or something and then Bush can just pardon it all away. I don't know. But the arrogance is maddening. Oh and BTW, since this blog is coming at you from the future, I can tell you that according to Tony Snow the testimony that you think you heard is not the testimony that actually occurred. Because Gonzales and Mueller didn't actually contradict each other at all. Up is down. Black is white. Don't think about it too hard. Not thinking is double plus good!
For discussion on the recent blatant lying we're joined by Jeffrey Toobin. Anderson wonders how bad this is for Gonzales. Toobin acknowledges that he's supposed to be jaded, but he's shocked. Shocked, he tells you! Oh Toobin. Steamrolling over the law and truth-avoidance are not the exception with these guys; they're the rule. You've got to know that by now. Hell, at this point I anticipate it. And guess what. He's lied about other stuff that we don't even know yet. But when it comes out, please don't tell me you're shocked. Anyway, then he goes through everything Anderson's piece and I have already covered. Anderson then asks if there's actual work going on at Justice. Toobin says yes, but anything involving Congress is dead on arrival because their leader has no credibility. Man, the morale there must suck. Anderson points out that Bush is still (unbelievably) sticking by the AG. Toobin notes that now the number three guy is going to have to decide whether or not to appoint a special prosecutor. Hmm, a former Scalia clerk. What's he going to choose? What's he going to choose? But who knows? Maybe I'll get my chance to be shocked.
Transitioning now to a John King piece on the continuing dust-up between Obama and Clinton since the YouTube debate. And there's a little part of me that thinks CNN is all over this just so they can keep talking about the debate. Anyway, Obama leveled a recent hard punch, calling Clinton "Bush/Cheney-lite." Oooh! And then Clinton's all, I thought you weren't going to campaign dirty. Then she calls him naive. But when asked directly if he's too inexperienced to be president, she hedges. So, you know, they're not beating the crap out of each other here. After his piece John tells us that Obama is trying to show that Clinton is not change and Clinton is trying to turn Obama into just another politician. Eh, Whatever. It's early, people. We then have a Randi Kaye piece on the suspects that allegedly killed that Connecticut family. Honestly, I don't really care. The crime was horrible and I hope they get the justice they deserve, but I don't need to know the details.
On now to some "Raw Politics" with Tom Foreman. First up we learn that John Edwards is all about tax reform these days, but the good kind-not like what the conservatives talk about. Tom also tells us something about Bush and Prime Minister Gordon Brown at Camp David, but I am way too disturbed by the graphic of them playing volleyball to know what he said. Seriously 360, some people have to try to sleep after this. I'm still in therapy over the Larry King in a bikini thing. Anyway, we next learn that Rove got a subpoena for attorney-gate. I'd give you guys a "yay!" but, yeah, we all know he's slithering out of this one somehow. Finally, we learn that Chris Dodd has had his MySpace picture "Simpson"- ized. Ha! Chris Dodd is actually one of my MySpace friends. No, I'm not kidding. I made the page as a joke because someone asked me to, but then actual people I knew started finding it and now they get mad at me because I never go on it. Anyway, one day I saw Chris Dodd there waiting to be friended and so I just had to. For the hilarity. I had planned to friend them all (Republican and Democrat), but, well, I never remember to go there. Poor lonely Chris Dodd.
Anyway, then Tom shows us that he has "Simpson"- ized Anderson and Anderson reveals a "Simpson"- ized Tom. They're okay, I guess. Anderson actually doesn't seem hugely enthused about the whole thing, but that's okay because Tom is enthused enough for the both of them. And then some. Seriously, who made the special brownies? Tonight's "What Were They Thinking?" is an SUV that tries to allude the cops and ends up crashing into a wall and bursting into flames. But the cop then finds the burning SUV and pulls the guy out. Yay, happy ending. But the best part is when they run video of this local reporter who basically reenacts the cop's part. And what's hilarious is that the whole time I'm watching it I'm thinking how the guy is like a local news Rick Sanchez, only to have Erica say, "Giving Rick Sanchez a run for his money. " Bwah! Okay, Erica's awesome stock just went way up. Except Rick Sanchez totally would have done that with the car on fire.
Next up we have a David Mattingly piece on anesthesia awareness, which is when you awaken during surgery and feel everything. Ugh, I can't even imagine. Having major surgery can be horrible enough, especially with complications. Trust me, I know. We learn that a 2004 study found that one to two out of every 1,000 people has this happen, which is crazy. Victims advocate groups say this can all be fixed if hospitals would just use a machine that monitors brain activity. Right now they're used by only 17 percent of general anesthesia surgeries. And, you know, it's not like any of this is new. I've seen a ton of stories on anesthesia awareness over the years and how these monitors could help, but still we're only at 17 percent? Unacceptable . After this we have a repeat of a Drew Griffin piece on dog fighting. Michael Vick sucks. That is all.
Transitioning now to a Sanjay Gupta piece from China and our latest edition of "Planet in Peril." Sanjay takes us to a village of 400 people where 28 have died of cancer. We meet a woman who thinks her husband died from cancer that was caused by the water they use to irrigate their fields. Sanjay then shows us the river and we meet an environmental lawyer who blames it on an ore mine. Man, I really have to respect the lawyer because talk about an uphill battle. People can barely fight that kind of stuff here (Erin Brockovich, anyone?) and we're talking about China. They've got their work cut out for them. The Shot tonight is a dog loose on a runway, but we're not really shown it because massive technical difficulties take away Erica. This apparently frazzles the normally quick-witted Anderson because after some incomplete sentences he basically tells us to watch The Shot on our iPhone. All those "i" gadgets! Yeah, he means iPod or even iTunes, but me thinks he's got iPhone on the brain because he wants one. The show was better tonight. It's nice to see the HUGE Gonzales scandal making it onto the broadcast, but leaves one to wonder where it's been. But hey, at least they didn't lead with the Connecticut family again. B
Plus the fact that he also testified that the gang of eight senators weren't briefed on the NSA program, when in reality the AP has obtained a memo that proves they were (which 360 never even mentions in this piece). So, yeah, massive perjury. And that's not even all he's lied about. Gonzales testified he didn't talk to his aides about attorney-gate, but aide Monica Goodling testified he did. And remember, the majority of the words coming out of this man's mouth have been some version of "I don't recall," so there's a good possibility that literally everything he's actually said has been a lie. As you might imagine, Democrats are fuming and want a prosecutor to investigate him for perjury. For their part, the Republicans are disgusted with Gonzales too, but they're apparently a bunch of cowards and won't stand behind the Democrats. Especially Arlen Specter. Lord, that guy rolls over more than my dog. If I may put on a tin-foil hat for a second, I'm starting to think Gonzales is trying to get indicted or something and then Bush can just pardon it all away. I don't know. But the arrogance is maddening. Oh and BTW, since this blog is coming at you from the future, I can tell you that according to Tony Snow the testimony that you think you heard is not the testimony that actually occurred. Because Gonzales and Mueller didn't actually contradict each other at all. Up is down. Black is white. Don't think about it too hard. Not thinking is double plus good!
For discussion on the recent blatant lying we're joined by Jeffrey Toobin. Anderson wonders how bad this is for Gonzales. Toobin acknowledges that he's supposed to be jaded, but he's shocked. Shocked, he tells you! Oh Toobin. Steamrolling over the law and truth-avoidance are not the exception with these guys; they're the rule. You've got to know that by now. Hell, at this point I anticipate it. And guess what. He's lied about other stuff that we don't even know yet. But when it comes out, please don't tell me you're shocked. Anyway, then he goes through everything Anderson's piece and I have already covered. Anderson then asks if there's actual work going on at Justice. Toobin says yes, but anything involving Congress is dead on arrival because their leader has no credibility. Man, the morale there must suck. Anderson points out that Bush is still (unbelievably) sticking by the AG. Toobin notes that now the number three guy is going to have to decide whether or not to appoint a special prosecutor. Hmm, a former Scalia clerk. What's he going to choose? What's he going to choose? But who knows? Maybe I'll get my chance to be shocked.
Transitioning now to a John King piece on the continuing dust-up between Obama and Clinton since the YouTube debate. And there's a little part of me that thinks CNN is all over this just so they can keep talking about the debate. Anyway, Obama leveled a recent hard punch, calling Clinton "Bush/Cheney-lite." Oooh! And then Clinton's all, I thought you weren't going to campaign dirty. Then she calls him naive. But when asked directly if he's too inexperienced to be president, she hedges. So, you know, they're not beating the crap out of each other here. After his piece John tells us that Obama is trying to show that Clinton is not change and Clinton is trying to turn Obama into just another politician. Eh, Whatever. It's early, people. We then have a Randi Kaye piece on the suspects that allegedly killed that Connecticut family. Honestly, I don't really care. The crime was horrible and I hope they get the justice they deserve, but I don't need to know the details.
On now to some "Raw Politics" with Tom Foreman. First up we learn that John Edwards is all about tax reform these days, but the good kind-not like what the conservatives talk about. Tom also tells us something about Bush and Prime Minister Gordon Brown at Camp David, but I am way too disturbed by the graphic of them playing volleyball to know what he said. Seriously 360, some people have to try to sleep after this. I'm still in therapy over the Larry King in a bikini thing. Anyway, we next learn that Rove got a subpoena for attorney-gate. I'd give you guys a "yay!" but, yeah, we all know he's slithering out of this one somehow. Finally, we learn that Chris Dodd has had his MySpace picture "Simpson"- ized. Ha! Chris Dodd is actually one of my MySpace friends. No, I'm not kidding. I made the page as a joke because someone asked me to, but then actual people I knew started finding it and now they get mad at me because I never go on it. Anyway, one day I saw Chris Dodd there waiting to be friended and so I just had to. For the hilarity. I had planned to friend them all (Republican and Democrat), but, well, I never remember to go there. Poor lonely Chris Dodd.
Anyway, then Tom shows us that he has "Simpson"- ized Anderson and Anderson reveals a "Simpson"- ized Tom. They're okay, I guess. Anderson actually doesn't seem hugely enthused about the whole thing, but that's okay because Tom is enthused enough for the both of them. And then some. Seriously, who made the special brownies? Tonight's "What Were They Thinking?" is an SUV that tries to allude the cops and ends up crashing into a wall and bursting into flames. But the cop then finds the burning SUV and pulls the guy out. Yay, happy ending. But the best part is when they run video of this local reporter who basically reenacts the cop's part. And what's hilarious is that the whole time I'm watching it I'm thinking how the guy is like a local news Rick Sanchez, only to have Erica say, "Giving Rick Sanchez a run for his money. " Bwah! Okay, Erica's awesome stock just went way up. Except Rick Sanchez totally would have done that with the car on fire.
Next up we have a David Mattingly piece on anesthesia awareness, which is when you awaken during surgery and feel everything. Ugh, I can't even imagine. Having major surgery can be horrible enough, especially with complications. Trust me, I know. We learn that a 2004 study found that one to two out of every 1,000 people has this happen, which is crazy. Victims advocate groups say this can all be fixed if hospitals would just use a machine that monitors brain activity. Right now they're used by only 17 percent of general anesthesia surgeries. And, you know, it's not like any of this is new. I've seen a ton of stories on anesthesia awareness over the years and how these monitors could help, but still we're only at 17 percent? Unacceptable . After this we have a repeat of a Drew Griffin piece on dog fighting. Michael Vick sucks. That is all.
Transitioning now to a Sanjay Gupta piece from China and our latest edition of "Planet in Peril." Sanjay takes us to a village of 400 people where 28 have died of cancer. We meet a woman who thinks her husband died from cancer that was caused by the water they use to irrigate their fields. Sanjay then shows us the river and we meet an environmental lawyer who blames it on an ore mine. Man, I really have to respect the lawyer because talk about an uphill battle. People can barely fight that kind of stuff here (Erin Brockovich, anyone?) and we're talking about China. They've got their work cut out for them. The Shot tonight is a dog loose on a runway, but we're not really shown it because massive technical difficulties take away Erica. This apparently frazzles the normally quick-witted Anderson because after some incomplete sentences he basically tells us to watch The Shot on our iPhone. All those "i" gadgets! Yeah, he means iPod or even iTunes, but me thinks he's got iPhone on the brain because he wants one. The show was better tonight. It's nice to see the HUGE Gonzales scandal making it onto the broadcast, but leaves one to wonder where it's been. But hey, at least they didn't lead with the Connecticut family again. B
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