Nepotism In Congress, Glenn Beck Decides To Do His Weeping Outside For A Change, And An Update From Pakistan

Hi everyone. Since I neglected to blog Friday's show, I have deprived you of my overall thoughts on the 360 kids New Orleans coverage (you poor, poor things!). Obviously this cannot stand! Don't worry, the matter will be rectified, well, now. Honestly, I'm a little torn. As a hard news junkie, my first instinct is to deem it shallow. Soledad O'Brien had a good look at the trailer situation, but there really wasn't that much honesty-keeping going on.

As I stated before, the lack of focus on the levees was rather ridiculous. Harry Shearer implies (in the comments) that further coverage on this issue was bumped. If true, that's a pretty big shame. It means they shirked their journalistic integrity for good video.

Bumpings like that wouldn't bother me much if I had confidence they would address the subject later. I do not. One thing that's always driven me crazy about this show is that they seem incapable of covering stories like Katrina's aftermath unless they are physically broadcasting from the region. Highlighting charity work or the city's restaurant situation is absolutely warranted and it is news. In fact, it seems like the most appropriate coverage to air while actually in the region. I just wish it didn't feel like a competition for airtime: accountability versus human interest.

Speaking of human interest, if they were going that route, where were the follow-ups with the people they met five years ago? Herbert Gettridge? Ms. Connie? The Kearneys? I think Dr. Henderson might have been the only one we got. For what it's worth, Tom Foreman caught up with the Kearneys, though I'm not sure when exactly this aired. In this podcast, Anderson Cooper says he keeps in contact with them by texting. Even if 360 couldn't fit them in the show, it seems like the perfect subject to blog/tweet about, don't you think? C'mon Silver Fox, you can't possibly be too busy to type a 140 character update.

Anyway. Like I said, I'm torn. It was good coverage--much of it enjoyable to watch. But as always, I would have liked to see more investigation. So, those are my thoughts. Your mileage may vary. Now let's zip back to the present day and churn out a few bullet point, mmkay?

• Why won't Anderson operate the Magic Wall live? This dude will dodge bullets and swim with sharks, but he cowers in the face of multi-touch technology? Yeah, that sounds about right.

• Admittedly, I was a little suspicious as to the origin of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation story. Right wing meme? Doesn't sound like it. That wouldn't necessary make it a non story anyway--it would just make me wonder the context. It looks like Representative Eddie Johnson has committed some stone-cold nepotism--a very big no-no. Our anchor's interview with Muriel Cooper, the senior media manager for the CBC Foundation is below.
  

• Anderson: "If multiple kids who are relatives of members of the CBC are signing off on this, I mean, it's pretty gutsy for a kid to lie like that. I would assume that they must have asked their family member who is in the CBC or who works for the congresswoman, you know, what should I do here? I'm assuming somebody told them, yes, just go ahead and say you're not a family member." Though he's probably right, you know what they say about people who assume. Let's just stick with the facts.

• Overall I thought our anchor did a nice job with that interview.

• This is possibly neither here nor there, but the presence of Melanie Sloan instantly upped this story's newsy cred.
  

• While I am pondering as to why this nepotism thing was the lede, I'm glad it's getting the coverage--even if some think it's not a big deal. This kind of crap is the root of the beltway rot. Keep it in context and I'll be a happy camper.
  

• Anderson: "Two men on a United Airlines flight from Chicago taken into custody after landing in Amsterdam. Who they are, what they tried to get on board and what authorities say they believe they were up to is raising some pretty chilling questions." Gotta say, I am decidedly unchilled. Look, we know terrorists want to commit terror. If we've gotten to the point where we catch them during a dry run and not when they're lighting their crotches on fire, I say go us! We don't even know what happened yet (and NBC News actually implied this is probably nothing). I'm going to wait a couple days to pay this story mind--if it's even still a story.

• Did you hear? This weekend former shock jock Glenn Beck decided to get all Jesus-y up in D.C. and restore America's virginity. Or something like that. What is there to say about Beck, really? He's either a man who legitimately needs psychological help...or he's a soulless cynic who is a master at exploiting the fears of a group of people who rightly or wrongly feel disenfranchised. Pick your poison!
  

• I don't even understand this rally. Restoring America's honor? Where did it go? Who took it? (I have a guess!) Beck seems to think his little gathering is going to change history. You know, just like all those protesters totally stopped the Iraq war from happening. Oh, wait.
  

• Though I like Matt Taibbi, the debate between him and Dana Loesch was fairly irrelevant. If you like Beck, you will think Dana destroyed Matt. If you don't, flip it around. You get the picture. FYI, Loesch is from St. Louis. So proud!

• I can't believe that they spent the whole first part of that segment arguing about whether or not the rally was political and no one mentioned that the whole thing was organized through a charity and therefore they had to be mindful of their tax exempt status. Also, as Matt said, of course it was political.

• Taibbi: "This is like one of those things when you see your crazy uncle taking his pants off at Thanksgiving. You don't know whether to laugh or cry. It's so incredibly offensive, this whole business." Ha! This is pretty much where I am right now with politics. It's like, oh look, more people being crazy.
  

• Anderson: "Dana, I should just point out, just for accuracy's sake, Dr. Alveda King, she's not an actual doctor. It's an honorary degree." It's kind of funny that after all that, this is what he decides to call out. But ok, I'll take it. Annnnnd cue the tea party hysterics. Segment below:

• Claustrophobics leave the room. Gary Tuchman's piece is scary. Those poor Chilean miners. I cannot imagine being down there for months. They're basically entombed in rock.

• As for the reenactment, with these kind of things I'm always conscious of the fact that it's TV. The leader guy's all, "I'll be the last one," and I'm like, um, yeah, there's a camera person behind you. Poor camera person--never counted. Heh.
  

• Sanjay Gupta continues to bring us great reporting from Pakistan. Horrible situation. His piece is below:

• That'll do it. Show wasn't bad.
  

In Katrina's Wake: Live From New Orleans Day Two

Hi everyone. The bullet points might be a bit all over the place tonight. I did some channel flipping during the broadcast because my St. Louis Cardinals decided to play 13 innings...and then break my heart. No, no, it's fine. Anyway. The 360 kids are continuing their stint in New Orleans for the Hurricane Katrina anniversary, tonight coming at us from Musicians' Village in the Upper Ninth Ward. Let's get the party started, shall we?

• I liked the recap of all the official's bungles, but it seems odd to call out Ray Nagin for becoming a disaster consultant and not note that Michael Brown became one not long after the hurricane--especially when they have him on for an interview.

• I'm not sure I've ever seen that Blanco whisper clip. Dude!

• I remember that Soledad O'Brien clip well. I watched that interview live. I can still remember her saying (paraphrased), "But it's Friday. It's Friday."

• As for the Brown interview itself, my feelings are pretty meh. I'm not sure if "false premise" is the right phrasing here, but the whole thing just seemed off. The theme Anderson Cooper was apparently pushing involved learning from one's mistakes. You know Brownie's biggest mistake? Accepting the position in the first place. That man had no business heading FEMA. Period. All of his excuses about context were just that--excuses. For Pete's sake, New Orleans was drowning and he was emailing about his wardrobe. Everything Brownie said tonight was meaningless. It felt like nothing more than an opportunity for him to work on rebuilding his reputation, and Anderson pretty much let him.
  

• Our anchor: "Well, I thought it was interesting to hear Michael Brown say that he didn't believe what he was saying as he said it, that, basically, these were talking points that he was giving, but he wasn't really given -- technically, they may have been accurate, but he wasn't really giving the full picture. And he just said he didn't believe it when he said it -- pretty interesting stuff." Not really. Infuriating? Yes. But interesting? This was pretty much standard operating procedure
  

• I felt like Tom Foreman's piece on the levees was way too short and way too shallow. New Orleans flooded because the levees failed. That's a fact. It's kind of a huge part of the story, and I would have hoped that they'd focus on it a bit more.

• The piece from Soledad O'Brien on the formaldehyde-y FEMA trailers was unbelievable. FEMA told them how to pass?! WTF? And now the people are sick. Shocker!

• Sad that Dr. Greg Henderson felt he needed to leave the city. I remember him well.

• You have to laugh at how General Russel Honore made Anderson and Doug Brinkley look like miniature people. I want to put them in my pocket!
  

• Dragonflies saved the city from disease carrying mosquitoes? Who knew?

• Our anchor is really stuck on this "lessons" thing, huh? I know the locals effed up too, but here's a lesson for us all: don't elect people who don't believe in government. They tend not to be too concerned in making sure it works.

• I liked Anderson talking to charter school students Otis Holmes, Jovan Guss, Jazmine Sylve, and David Leblanc. I'll try to add the video later if they post it. Posted!
  

• Below is our anchor's interview with Ellis Marsalis and Harry Connick, Jr. regarding the Center for Music.

• That'll do it. I'm going to save any further comments for tomorrow.

• This bullet point contains a Cards' win. Hey, it's my bullet point--I can put what I want.
  

In Katrina's Wake: Live From New Orleans

Hi everyone. Did you miss me? For those of you wondering just where your blogger has been, this is what happened: the world done gone crazy!! Terror babies! Obama's religion! Muslims who want to exercise their constitutionally protected freedom of religion! Clutch. Your. Pearls. People.

Um, yeah.

So I was all, EFF THAT! You know who also made his escape from Crazy Town? Anderson Cooper, that's who. But tonight the Silver Fox has resumed his rightful place on our television screens. And oh! It's called sunscreen, son. Well, at least I guess this means he had some vacay fun. I swear, he doesn't wear a helmet when biking, doesn't satisfactorily protect against UV rays--what are we going to do with this anchor?! Next we'll probably hear about him doing something really crazy, like swimming with sharks without a cage. Oh, wait.

With the five year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina looming, the 360 kids have made their way down to New Orleans for some follow up coverage. Tonight's broadcast comes at us from George Washington Carver High, where residents hope to build a so-called Ninth Ward Field of Dreams--a community track and football field. I think this is a good place to get the bullet points rolling (oh yes, they're back!). Away we go:

• Whoops. An apparently unforeseen kink in the new graphics package is that our anchor's face gets covered if he moves an inch. And he's a mover!

• The look back at Hurricane Katrina was very well-done. The majority of those clips I remember like they were yesterday. Anderson Cooper rightly got a lot of attention for his reporting, but I cannot put into words the impact of Jeanne Meserve's report that aired on NewsNight that Monday night. I will never forget that. I'll be doing my own retrospective in blog form at some point, but I'm not sure exactly when. Look back! The CNN segment is below:

• If we're being honest here, going from that great segment to discussion with James Carville and Julia Reed was a pretty big letdown. I'm done with the professional talkers. I want to see reporting and I want to hear from everyday people. Kthxbai.

• Washboard Chaz! But I forgot to look and see if he still has his little bell. Thinking about Anderson ringing it still makes me laugh. One of the last times Chaz was on, I was chatting with other viewers and we were placing bets regarding when in the broadcast our anchor would finally ring that bell. You could just tell he wanted to soo bad. Because all men are 12 inside. If I recall, Anderson held strong until the very end. Hey man, a bell must be rung.

• Gary Tuchman had a piece on Sarah Palin and I was like, why Gary, why?! It's okay, I still love you. Palin is a job hazard.
  

• Then we had political discussion with Ed Rollins and James Carville. Yay? Actually, if we must have the pundit from the right and pundit from the left formula, can we lock in Ed here? So. Much. Better. Than. Erickson.

• Carville on why he hopes Palin will run in 2010: "...it's just there's nobody more compelling than she is in politics. I mean, forget the politics of it. But she's a force. And she keeps doing it. And she's gutsy." Annnnd James perfectly illustrates why I hate punditry as a whole and usually dislike him specifically. She's compelling! She's gutsy! Um, policy stands? Bueller? I'm sure he also wants her to run because he thinks she'll lose, but c'mon.

• Ed believes Palin will run and added that, "I think, Anderson, you and I will spend our time at New York dinner parties arguing with the Manhattanites." I only quote this because as soon as Ed said it I knew what was coming. Ruh-roh! Anderson Cooper is not going to like you messing with his carefully maintained 'everyman' reputation. Cue our anchor: "I can't tell you the last time I was actually invited to a dinner party. But I digress." Oh Silver Fox. So predictable. We believe you're down to earth...but we also know you're a famous millionaire descended from what is basically American royalty. So there's that. But okay, no dinner parties for you. Embrace your dichotomy, Anderson!

• Sanjay Gupta is reporting from Pakistan on the horrible flooding and he checked in from Islamabad tonight. Kudos to CNN for allowing him to go. He's still traveling, so I'm hoping that we'll be getting a lot more coverage later. A sobering tweet from him: "The UN: Pakistan flood destruction greater than the 04 tsunami, 05 Pakistan quake and Haiti quake combined."

• I'm glad Amber Lyon's report on Craigslist got results (officials from 17 states are demanding the adult services section be taken down), but I kinda wish we didn't have to see it again. I know, I know, it's new to many.
  

• Tom Foreman took a (very short) look at the Superdome then and now:

• Anderson had a report in which he talked with Brian Bordainick, the executive director of Ninth Ward Field of Dreams. At only 24-years-old he looks like he himself could be a student at that high school. He explained to Anderson why he thinks the sports fields will lower the crime rate and improve lives.
  

• After the piece, Brian and principal Lee Green joined Anderson live. They've raised $1.4 million for their project, but have $250,000 to go. To help them meet that goal, check out 9thwardfieldofdreams.com.

• That'll do it. The show was pretty good. I would have liked more from New Orleans, but it's only the first day.
  

• This bullet point contains some NOLA food. The CNNers keep tweeting their meals and it's making me jealous. And hungry.
  

Senate Announces Health Care Bill, Palin Continues To Haunt My News Viewing, And Killings At The Canal: The Army Tapes Part Two

Hi everyone. We're kicking things off tonight with big BREAKING NEWS: the Senate has a health care bill! And no member of Congress was harmed in its creation. Yet. The Democrats claim the plan will cover 94 percent of Americans AND cut the federal deficit by $127 billion over 10 years. Impressive. Republicans, you might guess, are already essentially going all Joe Wilson on Democrats, declaring there is no way the $849 billion price tag (over 10 years) won't put us further in the hole. Even Conservadems aren't so sure. CNN just received the 2,000 page bill, so I shall refrain from my bitching about fact-checking. Don't ever say I can't be fair.

But Dana Bash HAS been able to get a little more scoop. She joins us live with the news that the bill will cover pre-existing conditions, contains mandates, and does have a public option of which states can opt-out. I say it sounds pretty good; Dana says the public option part is basically dead on arrival. Bah. Such a Debbie Downer. Ooh! A Dana Downer. As for how they're going to pay for this thing, there'll be a 40 percent tax on high cost insurance plans, a slight Medicare payroll tax increase for families making over $250,000, and a five percent tax on elective cosmetic surgery.

Dana tells us that last item has already been nicknamed "Botax." Punny! "A lot of people are going to be surprised about that, but you won't be able to tell, because, you know, they won't show expressions," says Anderson Cooper. Bwah! He'll be here all night people. Try the veal. Anyhoo! Dana continues to bum me out with regards to abortion funding. Then Candy Crowley comes in and tells us that basically the Democrats are just trying to keep this bad boy moving forward. They're like the little engine that could. They think they can, they think they can.

Next up, 360 continues to force us to watch Sarah Palin's every move. Her latest book-pimping visit was to Fox News' Hannity. Oh, do not want! After that clip, we cut to a pre-recorded discussion with James Carville and Ralph Reed, apparently, already in progress. It seems we missed something quiet HILarious, because the guys are cracking the hell up. I guess it will remain a mystery. Also? Why is Ralph so orange? I swear, I can't ever look at that guy without thinking of Jon Stewart pondering if he sleeps in a vegetable crisper. Oh, and then there's that whole Abramoff thing. Seriously, why again is this guy still allowed to be on the TeeVee?

So anyway, James gives Palin all these compliments, which leads Anderson to ask the following: "Are you intentionally saying good things about her, so that the Republicans will keep her around as much as possible? Is there some sort of secret strategy on your part?" ZOMG, the super-secret code has been breached! Anderson is on to the Democrat's diabolical plan. All joking aside, I know many a liberal who would love for her to be the Republican nominee for 2012. Ralph notes that Palin energizes the grass roots and gets out the vote, so we shouldn't be laughing too much. Point taken.

Transitioning now to part two of the special series"Killings at the Canal: The Army Tapes" with correspondent Abbie Boudreau. This segment mostly focuses on the interrogation and confession of Sergeant Michael Leahy, which we see on the tapes. For background, check out my previous post. It's really fascinating to see the actual interrogation. Sergeant Leahy initially claims to have shot one Iraqi, but even though he admits to firing two shots, it takes quite a bit of coaxing for him to explain why the second shot occurred.

Apparently, he shot a second Iraqi as well, but this man did not immediately die, and instead fell to the ground gurgling. Sergeant John Hatley then delivered the fatal bullet. Leahy was hesitating and being vague because he did not want to point fingers at another soldier. In another segment of tape, an interrogator talks about the potential public relations mess. Kinda makes you wonder how often the Army abandons their own people in order to avoid controversy. I'm not saying that's what I believe happened here, but it's something to think about.

In this segment we also meet Leahy's wife, Jamie. The couple were married in a civil ceremony, but they had planned to have a wedding with the works later. That never happened because Leahy is now serving a 20 year sentence at Fort Leavenworth. Following her piece, Abbie joins us to talk about the wives of the men now serving time. Kim Hatley is remaining strong for her son who is now fighting in Afghanistan. But Johanna Mayo is legally blind with three young children. She depended on her husband for everything. So sad for all involved. According to Abbie, no one ever reported the four Iraqis missing. You can watch more here.

Abbie then sticks around for more discussion and were joined by former Army Staff Sergeant David Bellavia and former military psychologist Larry James. There's a lot of talk about interrogation methods. Then David makes the point that as a soldier, you're forced to live in the moment. Basically he's saying they don't have the luxury of extensively weighing consequences. Larry agrees with David, concluding that the men were caught up in the "fog of war." But he also notes that there are thousands of soldiers out there right now dealing with the same tough circumstances as the men in the piece, and they're doing so without breaking the law. Good discussion.

Moving on now to Gary Tuchman live to preview his reporting that is, unfortunately, coming up in the next hour. Bummer. Because I won't be watching. Gary Tuchman should never be relegated to hour two. Just sayin'. Anyway, of note in the "360 Bulletin" is the news that a federal judge has ruled that "gross negligence" of the Army Corps of Engineers led to the flooding of New Orleans. Pretty big. Is it weird that the first thing (person, actually) I thought of was Harry Shearer? The show should have him and Ivor Van Heerden on to talk about the story. Look at me, I could be a booker. Yeah, I know, not that easy.

Pretty much the rest of the hour is Obama's press conference live from South Korea. The show was fairly good, though I still do not understand the Palin obsession. I hope Abbie's special gets a lot of viewers when it's aired over the weekend. It deserves them and let's face it, CNN's shows aren't doing too hot in that area right now. Tonight I was surprised to learn that two of my long-time 360-watching friends have pretty much tuned out. And no Jon Klein, the fact that you don't do opinion has nothing to do with it.