Ledger Update, Smearing Obama, Race Versus Gender, And Huckabee's Money Woes (Wednesday's Show)
Hi everyone. We begin tonight again with the tragic death of actor Health Ledger. A live shot reveals a makeshift memorial has sprung up outside Ledger's apartment. Anderson Cooper then throws it to Jason Carroll, who is apparently still on the celebrity death stakeout. Of note in the information he gives us is that the initial autopsy was inconclusive. We also see video of poor Michelle Williams getting swarmed by cameras. Disgusting. She may be a celebrity, but she didn't sign up for this. The rest of Carroll's report is basically stuff that was reported yesterday, though now they have it in pointless timeline form. Because we really need to know what time the masseuse arrived.
They then talk about some of the rumors swirling around his death and how there actually weren't pills strewn about as some had claimed. Jason tells us that "many erroneous reports were out earlier when this story broke." Well, maybe if people would freakin chill out and worry more about facts than being first, this wouldn't happen. I mean, according to In Touch, Ledger's family learned of his death on the news. That's unacceptable. After Jason, we're joined by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who explains that an inconclusive autopsy means they've looked into obvious causes of death and didn't find anything, so will have to look further. Okay, that was actual medical expertise. But what follows is just a bunch of speculation. Really, people. Stop.
Transitioning now to politics and we get our usual rundown of what's up with the candidate's on the campaign trail. And it's getting rough out there, folks. At least, according to CNN. Funny story. See, CNNer Jessica Yellin asked Bill Clinton about charges that he's been campaigning for his wife by making appeals based on race and gender. According to Anderson, Clinton then gave her a "piece of his mind," by calling out the media on his perception that they'd rather cover the horse race than the issues. Says Clinton: "And what they care about is not going to be in the news coverage tonight, because you don't care about it. What you care about is this, and the Obama people know that." So, to break this down, Clinton calls out the media for not covering issues. Media gets indignant. Media centers story on Clinton's response to the horse race question. Oh, irony.
Next up, we have a Candy Crowley piece on some really nasty smear emails that are going around about Obama. If you haven't gotten one of them already, you probably will. I just got one about a week ago. The emails contain a whole lot of crap that isn't true. Like how he's a Muslim and swore into the senate on a Koran--stuff that plays into terrorism fears. I'm actually a little surprised to see the media doing a story about this. Their coverage regarding the issues might be fairly poor, but maybe they're going to come through on the fact-checking. Anyway, if you get the Obama email, don't just let it go. You can't stop it, but you can maybe stop a few people from sending it further (or at least get them factual information) if you 'reply all' with a link to snopes.com or factcheck.org, who have both tackled the smear. Interestingly enough, the email I got actually said it had been checked by snopes.com and found to be true. I guess they're counting on the fact that most people will take their word for it, and unfortunately, I bet most do.
In Tonight's "What Were They Thinking?" we learn that it's perhaps best not to leave a phone message when you're feeling like a Ms. Crankypants. Okay, so, we all know that when you're a kid one of the best things about winter is the possibility of a snow day. Last week a snowstorm hit Fairfax County, Virginia, but school remained in session. None too pleased to have a snow day opportunity snatched away from him, one of the high school seniors called up the school system's chief operating officer to ask what was the what. But head guy wasn't in and the senior had to leave a message. This is where the story takes a turn. Because his message was returned, but not by head guy, but by head guy's wife, who left her own message. And boy was she angry! "Don't you ever call here again!" she screams. And where has her husband been lately? Apparently dealing with "snotty-nose little brats." Yikes. That message was then, of course, promptly put on the Internets. And here we are. Anderson warns us that "whatever you can say, it's going to end up on the Internet." Then he laments to Erica Hill: "If only everyone else was on TV, and had learned the hard way, as we know." And exactly what are you referring to there, Mr. Cooper? A certain Loveline episode perhaps? Or maybe this. Hey, at least you didn't volunteer to be tasered.
Right before going to commercial, Anderson teases the upcoming story on race and gender, noting that the prior Randi Kaye piece caused a little commotion on The View. "We're digging deeper -- coming up," says Anderson. Um, I don't think The View and deeper are two things that go together. That set is strictly for your shallow swimming. By the way, why is it that though I've never seen an episode of that show, I always know what's going on there? It's kinda disturbing. Anyway, apparently Randi Kaye's piece on the black woman voter touched a nerve. Many people thought it was demeaning to black women to even ask the question of whether race or gender played a bigger role in their electoral decisions. Whoopi Goldberg told her View co-hosts she was "pissed" off about the situation. Can you say "pissed" on morning network television? I guess you can if you're Whoopi Goldberg. They're just happy that's all she said. It's gotten so crazy that people are even calling Oprah a traitor against her gender for her Obama support. Huh? Roland Martin, on the other hand, thinks the question was legit. Of course, as far as I can tell, Roland Martin is not a woman. What a mess. Uh, vote Edwards?
Next up, we learn that 360 was barraged with emails after Whoopi's View rant. The problem is that she relayed the story as if they were saying black women were going to decide how to vote based only on race or gender. Not really how it went down, but people interpreting their reporting wrong is not a shocker to me. It seems to happen quite often actually, but by people a little less famous (read: random bloggers) than Ms. Goldberg. If everybody reviewed the show like me there wouldn't be these problems. Heh. Anyway, we're then joined by Paula McClain, co-director of the Center for the Study on Race, Ethnicity and Gender in the Social Sciences, and a professor of political science at Duke, and Faye Wattleton, co-founder and president of the Center for the Advancement of Women. Faye thinks race and gender are important because black women look at issues from the perspective of being a black woman. Paula thinks the question CNN asked was too simplistic and it shouldn't have been an 'either/or' because they experience the issues through a prism of both their race and gender. Basically both of the guests aren't offended necessarily, but just wish CNN would be more nuanced when reporting about this issue. Yeah, good luck with that ladies.
On now to a John King piece on the financial troubles of Huckabee. Huck needs a buck! The magic is fading, people. Disappointing finishes lately have seriously strapped the Huckster's fundraising abilities and now he can't even buy major ads in Florida. And the timing of Fred Thompson dropping out didn't do him any favors. It ain't over until the fat lady sings, but it's looking like an evangelical will be the next to fall.
The Shot tonight is a continuation of last night. You remember that pic from Mars where it looks like there's a dude--or Sasquatch, as Anderson likes to call it/him-- there, right? Well, apparently Sasquatch gets around. We're shown a picture of him at a football game, at the YouTube debate, and even in the 360 studio! Anderson's so dedicated to his work he didn't even notice. Oh, how 360 loves the Photoshop. You might also remember that yesterday Erica told us about her friend Scott Harriott, who is totally into the Big Foot hunting. And guess who's here? It's Scott! He then very seriously starts to explain his craft, but I have to say, Erica and Anderson's faces are priceless. They're not exactly believers. And Scott knows how this game is played: "And I've only got, what, a minute and a half to defend myself, and my hair looks like hell." Ha! Anderson wants to know the difference between a yeti, a Big Foot, and a Sasquatch. "About six inches," says Scott. Bwah! Scott apparently brings the Big Foot knowledge and the funnies.
Hey, 360, what happened to the "Blog from the Back Row"? I know mystery blog person said they needed to work on another show for a couple days, but that was like a week ago. Why you gotta tease us so? And while I'm on the subject of things that have disappeared, is that whole Voice of 360 thing over or what? Just wondering. I mean, I think we've all accepted that the Political Theme Song contest is something we're all just going to pretend never happened, but I thought you were still milking the announcer gag. I personally don't care much about that, but bring back the back row blogger! Please? Oh, also? Remember when 360 featured a local station's dance party Friday as The Shot? Well, they've responded:
The show was okay. B-
They then talk about some of the rumors swirling around his death and how there actually weren't pills strewn about as some had claimed. Jason tells us that "many erroneous reports were out earlier when this story broke." Well, maybe if people would freakin chill out and worry more about facts than being first, this wouldn't happen. I mean, according to In Touch, Ledger's family learned of his death on the news. That's unacceptable. After Jason, we're joined by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who explains that an inconclusive autopsy means they've looked into obvious causes of death and didn't find anything, so will have to look further. Okay, that was actual medical expertise. But what follows is just a bunch of speculation. Really, people. Stop.
Transitioning now to politics and we get our usual rundown of what's up with the candidate's on the campaign trail. And it's getting rough out there, folks. At least, according to CNN. Funny story. See, CNNer Jessica Yellin asked Bill Clinton about charges that he's been campaigning for his wife by making appeals based on race and gender. According to Anderson, Clinton then gave her a "piece of his mind," by calling out the media on his perception that they'd rather cover the horse race than the issues. Says Clinton: "And what they care about is not going to be in the news coverage tonight, because you don't care about it. What you care about is this, and the Obama people know that." So, to break this down, Clinton calls out the media for not covering issues. Media gets indignant. Media centers story on Clinton's response to the horse race question. Oh, irony.
Next up, we have a Candy Crowley piece on some really nasty smear emails that are going around about Obama. If you haven't gotten one of them already, you probably will. I just got one about a week ago. The emails contain a whole lot of crap that isn't true. Like how he's a Muslim and swore into the senate on a Koran--stuff that plays into terrorism fears. I'm actually a little surprised to see the media doing a story about this. Their coverage regarding the issues might be fairly poor, but maybe they're going to come through on the fact-checking. Anyway, if you get the Obama email, don't just let it go. You can't stop it, but you can maybe stop a few people from sending it further (or at least get them factual information) if you 'reply all' with a link to snopes.com or factcheck.org, who have both tackled the smear. Interestingly enough, the email I got actually said it had been checked by snopes.com and found to be true. I guess they're counting on the fact that most people will take their word for it, and unfortunately, I bet most do.
In Tonight's "What Were They Thinking?" we learn that it's perhaps best not to leave a phone message when you're feeling like a Ms. Crankypants. Okay, so, we all know that when you're a kid one of the best things about winter is the possibility of a snow day. Last week a snowstorm hit Fairfax County, Virginia, but school remained in session. None too pleased to have a snow day opportunity snatched away from him, one of the high school seniors called up the school system's chief operating officer to ask what was the what. But head guy wasn't in and the senior had to leave a message. This is where the story takes a turn. Because his message was returned, but not by head guy, but by head guy's wife, who left her own message. And boy was she angry! "Don't you ever call here again!" she screams. And where has her husband been lately? Apparently dealing with "snotty-nose little brats." Yikes. That message was then, of course, promptly put on the Internets. And here we are. Anderson warns us that "whatever you can say, it's going to end up on the Internet." Then he laments to Erica Hill: "If only everyone else was on TV, and had learned the hard way, as we know." And exactly what are you referring to there, Mr. Cooper? A certain Loveline episode perhaps? Or maybe this. Hey, at least you didn't volunteer to be tasered.
Right before going to commercial, Anderson teases the upcoming story on race and gender, noting that the prior Randi Kaye piece caused a little commotion on The View. "We're digging deeper -- coming up," says Anderson. Um, I don't think The View and deeper are two things that go together. That set is strictly for your shallow swimming. By the way, why is it that though I've never seen an episode of that show, I always know what's going on there? It's kinda disturbing. Anyway, apparently Randi Kaye's piece on the black woman voter touched a nerve. Many people thought it was demeaning to black women to even ask the question of whether race or gender played a bigger role in their electoral decisions. Whoopi Goldberg told her View co-hosts she was "pissed" off about the situation. Can you say "pissed" on morning network television? I guess you can if you're Whoopi Goldberg. They're just happy that's all she said. It's gotten so crazy that people are even calling Oprah a traitor against her gender for her Obama support. Huh? Roland Martin, on the other hand, thinks the question was legit. Of course, as far as I can tell, Roland Martin is not a woman. What a mess. Uh, vote Edwards?
Next up, we learn that 360 was barraged with emails after Whoopi's View rant. The problem is that she relayed the story as if they were saying black women were going to decide how to vote based only on race or gender. Not really how it went down, but people interpreting their reporting wrong is not a shocker to me. It seems to happen quite often actually, but by people a little less famous (read: random bloggers) than Ms. Goldberg. If everybody reviewed the show like me there wouldn't be these problems. Heh. Anyway, we're then joined by Paula McClain, co-director of the Center for the Study on Race, Ethnicity and Gender in the Social Sciences, and a professor of political science at Duke, and Faye Wattleton, co-founder and president of the Center for the Advancement of Women. Faye thinks race and gender are important because black women look at issues from the perspective of being a black woman. Paula thinks the question CNN asked was too simplistic and it shouldn't have been an 'either/or' because they experience the issues through a prism of both their race and gender. Basically both of the guests aren't offended necessarily, but just wish CNN would be more nuanced when reporting about this issue. Yeah, good luck with that ladies.
On now to a John King piece on the financial troubles of Huckabee. Huck needs a buck! The magic is fading, people. Disappointing finishes lately have seriously strapped the Huckster's fundraising abilities and now he can't even buy major ads in Florida. And the timing of Fred Thompson dropping out didn't do him any favors. It ain't over until the fat lady sings, but it's looking like an evangelical will be the next to fall.
The Shot tonight is a continuation of last night. You remember that pic from Mars where it looks like there's a dude--or Sasquatch, as Anderson likes to call it/him-- there, right? Well, apparently Sasquatch gets around. We're shown a picture of him at a football game, at the YouTube debate, and even in the 360 studio! Anderson's so dedicated to his work he didn't even notice. Oh, how 360 loves the Photoshop. You might also remember that yesterday Erica told us about her friend Scott Harriott, who is totally into the Big Foot hunting. And guess who's here? It's Scott! He then very seriously starts to explain his craft, but I have to say, Erica and Anderson's faces are priceless. They're not exactly believers. And Scott knows how this game is played: "And I've only got, what, a minute and a half to defend myself, and my hair looks like hell." Ha! Anderson wants to know the difference between a yeti, a Big Foot, and a Sasquatch. "About six inches," says Scott. Bwah! Scott apparently brings the Big Foot knowledge and the funnies.
Hey, 360, what happened to the "Blog from the Back Row"? I know mystery blog person said they needed to work on another show for a couple days, but that was like a week ago. Why you gotta tease us so? And while I'm on the subject of things that have disappeared, is that whole Voice of 360 thing over or what? Just wondering. I mean, I think we've all accepted that the Political Theme Song contest is something we're all just going to pretend never happened, but I thought you were still milking the announcer gag. I personally don't care much about that, but bring back the back row blogger! Please? Oh, also? Remember when 360 featured a local station's dance party Friday as The Shot? Well, they've responded:
The show was okay. B-
posted by eliza at 12:58 AM
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