Haiti One Year Later, Interview With Retracted Autism Study Author Andrew Wakefield, And Anderson Cooper Asks A Question About False Equivalency

Hi everyone. Sorry I've been scarce since my New Year's Eve post. There's just been so much AC360 to digest! Our anchor has been playing the role of place-holder for the apparently DANGEROUS Piers Morgan. Double dose of Anderson Cooper? I'm not complaining. The lighter hour is a nice change of pace, though not exactly something I'd want to view every day.

Tonight, for example, could only be classified as a train wreck. Ted Nugent and Roseanne Barr? If someone took a picture of me when I learned that guest list I'm pretty sure it would look like I was sucking a lemon...and that was before they started screaming at each other. Did I mention that the measured, reasonable Cornell Belcher was trapped sitting between them the whole time? I almost organized a rescue mission. I suppose our CNN friends would argue it was good teevee. I'd argue it was a perfect example of what makes cable news so horrible to watch, and it showcased our anchor's weakness when it comes to moderating combative guests. I guess you can't win them all. We did, however, get a good interview with Sean Penn regarding Haiti, which is posted below:



Though Anderson brought us a bit of fail when it came to Nugent vs. Roseanne, he was on his total A game to report on the British Medical Journal's accusation that Andrew Wakefield's 1998 autism study was fraudulent. Wakefield Skyped into the show--apparently from his lair--to defend himself. Anderson: "Sir, I'm not here to let you pitch your book." Oh snap!



You know Sanjay had to get in on the action too. You go, Dr. Gupta:



Afterward, there was discussion with Seth Mnookin, author of "Panic Virus."



Frequenters of this here blog space know that perhaps my biggest pet peeve when it comes to news is the perpetration of false equivalency. Tonight something amazing happened: Anderson Cooper signaled that he understands my pain, well, so to speak. Unfortunately, CNN has a nasty (and puzzling) habit of not posting the entire video of their segments, so the good part got cut out of the discussion above. But we still have the transcript, so I block-quoted that bad boy out:

COOPER: Has the media played a role in perpetuating this? Because you see in a lot of TV shows, you know, on this subject, several sides represented. You have the people who believe the vaccines cause autism and the people who don't. And it seems to give equal credence, you know.

Or you have a famous person, you know, like Jenny McCarthy, and nothing against her personally, but you know, who is going to get a lot of attention. Has that made the problem worse? Has that given the -- this side more credence?

MNOOKIN: I think absolutely. And an example I use is there are people who believe the earth is flat. Most people obviously do not, but if you had one person who believed the earth is flat and one person who said, "No, it's actually round," and they were discussing the issue together, it would seem that the consensus was split 50/50.

So here you have a situation in which you have millions of doctors, public health officials, all coming down on one side, and then Andrew Wakefield and a very small number of people who are associated with him, a miniscule number of people, saying, "No, this is what's actually going on." But because we can't present millions of points of view or millions of people, it ends up sounding -- there's this false equivalency. It ends up sounding on the one hand, on the other hand, when there really is only one hand in this case.

COOPER: Do you agree with that, there is only one hand in this?

GUPTA: Yes, and I mean, the one thing I would say with the earth, flat earth, round thing, is we know the answer to that now.

One of the things that again has made this discussion so difficult is that, at the end of the discussion, no matter how much you disagree with the other person, if they come back to you and say, "So what does cause it?" We still don't have that great answer. It could be some environmental unknown with a genetic predisposition. Who knows? But that, in part, has made this difficult.

Also, you know, just as a parent, I can tell you, it's so deeply personal. And that also, despite what's happened today, I think many parents who are dealing with this right now are still believing this, despite all the evidence to the contrary.

Yes, yes, yes! I'm am not ashamed to say I audibly squeed a little when he brought this up, and then remained giddy for a good five minutes afterward. And you're damn right the media played a part in this. One of the reasons I disliked Larry King's show was that he continually gave credence to people like Jenny McCarthy. It's not responsible. So, Anderson Cooper, we now know you're aware of the problem of false equivalency, but do you understand that it can apply to any subject, especially politics? Global warming, death panels...etc. When it comes to factual support, both sides are not always equal; in fact they seldom are. Treating them as such in of itself results in bias. Some day all journalists will understand this...and Jay Rosen and I will smile.

Christine O'Donnell Plays Victim Card, More Dirty Politics, & Interview With Sean Penn Regarding A Cholera Outbreak In Haiti

Hello readers! It seems I am just full of blog fail. Sorry people. Distractions have abounded. I'm going to be honest upfront and say that this may very well be the only full post this week. There's some extra work I need to do and then...World Series! I'll try to make the bullet points extra awesome for you to savor. Away we go:

• Poor Christine O'Donnell. Damn the media and their tendency to do things like ask questions and comment on past statements. Sexist! I can barely play my tiny violin through my tears, y'all. I mean, it's so hard to be a white Christian woman these days. Am I right?

• Ok, so yeah, we've heard this song and dance before. In fact, I think Sarah Palin made this role a sensation. She actually had a teeny part of a leg to stand on. O'Donnell? Not so much.

• The 360 kids did a very nice job at showing that it was actually Republicans who started all the criticism. Plus, um, Christine O'Donnell has said a lot of stupid shit. Well done.

• As I said last week on Twitter, I am loving 360's use of montages (tonight's showed O'Donnell's hypocrisy on constitutional knowledge). They've used them on occasion throughout the years, and pretty much every single time I've given out cookies, noted the similarity to the Daily Show, and encouraged them to keep it up. Now suddenly they're doing them every night, so...yay!

• Anderson Cooper: "So, there's no doubt that liberal media outlets had a field day with Christine O'Donnell's past controversial comments about everything from evolution to witchcraft." Probably being biased here, but the phrase "liberal media outlets" sets my teeth on edge. Though perhaps not true, it feels like he doesn't speak this way when the situation is reversed. Anybody? Also, one wonders if he would characterize Fox News as a conservative media outlet.

• Our anchor: "Now, if you look up the definition of sexism in Merriam-Webster's dictionary, there's actually a couple of them." It seems 360's love affair with dictionary.com is officially over. Yeah, that was neither here nor there, but it's the little things that amuse.

• The 'Keeping Them Honest' segment can be watched below. They did an excellent job holding a candidate accountable...who probably has no chance of winning. Le sigh. Kinda wish the energy would be spent on closer races.
  

• For discussion, we were joined by Paul Begala and Dana Loesch. Oh, yay. Blah, blah, blah. *stabs self in eye*

• Also, Frank Caprio, the Democratic nominee for governor in Rhode Island, does not take kindly to be snubbed by the president. Back in 2008, Lincoln Chafee (a former Republican) endorsed Obama. Chafee is running against Caprio as an Independent, so POTUS has decided not to endorse anyone. Now the Democratic nominee wants Obama to take the endorsement and shove it. Oh my. Personally, I'm torn. Politically probably stupid, but perhaps it shows integrity? Though not my first pick, it's not like Chafee is teh evil or anything. Anyhoo, you know what this apparently needs? More pontificating! Oy.

• Dana on the Paul/Conway debate (context not needed for my point): "And I thought it was weird, the way that it was allowed to go on in this debate, which I also found at the same time, but then I kept waiting for them to get amped up and reach behind their chairs and grab pillows and start girl-fighting because it was just getting right to that line. It was so close." Irony alert! What have we been talking about for a good portion of this show? Help me out here, Paul: "That's sexist, Dana." Ha!
  

• Oh my God, they're still pushing Parker Spitzer. No, not even Nate Silver can save this show.

• Tom Foreman's segment seemed kinda weak. WTF was with all the suspicion about AFSCME? ZOMG, so many letters! Sure, maybe everyone doesn't know the acronym, but it's not like voters can't Google. It pops right up and is very clearly a union. Such mystery! Anyway, that just makes me ponder if they were being balance-y and I subsequently doubt the whole segment when it's very possible I shouldn't. Oh wells. Segment below.
  

• The tornado segment with the Eric Meyers phoner seemed weirdly out of place to me. Cool video though. At least he had a reason for being out in the elements. I'm tired of dumb asses getting on the teevee after doing completely dangerous/idiotic things. But that wasn't the case here.

• Now on to the terrible news that there's been a cholera outbreak in Haiti. Not good. Not good at all. Anderson talked with Sean Penn about the current situation and the status of pledged aid.
  

• Finally tonight, a bit of cable news catnip: hiccup girl arrested for murder! Dun dun dun! Obviously it's horrible that a man lost his life, but I can't help rolling my eyes at the ridiculousness of this Randi Kaye package. "Before a doctor helped to cure her hiccups with acupuncture Jennifer Mee had tried all kinds of remedies. Sugar, peanut butter, vinegar, pickle juice, even breathing in a bag. But it seems the only remedy she needs today is a good, strong defense." Yes, I'm cringing.

• That'll do it, people. The show was okay. They've really been owning their "Keeping Them Honest" brand lately. Also, glad we heard from Sean Penn. I will perhaps be back for a brief post or two before next week, but no promises. As always, catch me on the Twitter.
  

Haiti Six Months Later

Hi everyone. Six months ago an earthquake devastated Haiti. Tonight the 360 kids return to Port-au-Prince to see where the country stands. I've heard Anderson Cooper say more than once previously that he's not one for marking anniversaries, but in the news business, I suppose you take every coverage opportunity you can get. As I noted in January, "significant milestones will bring network coverage." Here we are. To 360's credit, they did a really nice job with keeping on the story for a quite a while. Then? Not so much. The oil disaster happened, and as per usual, they had trouble walking and chewing gum at the same time. I mean, Gary Tuchman was there and we didn't get any coverage. But this is just a little recap of where we've been story-wise. I'm grateful they went back and admire the dedication. So! Let's get on with the bullet points, shall we?

• Anderson Cooper began the show in complete bogglement that customs made them pay taxes on relief supplies they had been asked to bring in with them. This confused me. I mean, obviously, yes, this is an outrage. But we knew this, didn't we? I would understand if the issue was that it's still happening six months later. That's not the vibe I was getting from Anderson though. He clearly seemed to be relaying that this was something new to him. I guess it's possible that it was news to him, since he was not there when it was reported on his show by Soledad O'Brien. Still. Maybe there's a nuance here that I'm not getting. Or maybe our anchor just likes to be perpetually shocked.

• Anderson: "There are more than 1.6 million people still living in camps, like the one behind me, the one that sprouted up six months ago tonight. Those people are all still there. I recognize many of them that we talked to six months ago." That's crazy that he recognizes them. It's like time stands still in Haiti.

• The funny is really hard to find for you people during these broadcasts, but there was a slight chuckle-worthy moment in our anchor's piece when he showed us the the inside of a living structure. "What you don't see on video is just how incredibly hot it is in here," he says, and perhaps thinking this needs some sort of demonstration, wipes his face. Yeah, okay, that's not really funny. I got nothing! The first block of the show is below, including Anderson's piece.
  

• Our anchor talked live with Sean Penn, who continues to be awesome. I know I've been pretty outspoken regarding 360's now comical level of celebrity obsession as of late, but I don't even consider Penn a celeb. He's the real deal. His organization, beattherain.org, has just begun using heavy equipment to clear debris. Penn hits on a several topics, though coordination seems to be one of his primary concerns. He tells us that General Hospital and NGOs don't even know where to get blood. Insanity. Watch the interview below.
  

• Sanjay Gupta's piece was heart-breaking. That poor little girl with hydrocephalus. Gah, 360 why must you show me kids who are going to die? (But the situation needs to be seen.) So, so sad. The fact that hospitals are closing down due to lack of money is outrageous. Hopefully the attention all this "six month" coverage brings can maybe do at least a little good on that front. Maybe. Also? Run, Sanjay, run! Just watch:

• We got an update from Gary Tuchman on little Jenna who has been living with her mother Elizabeth Dowling in Colorado. Things have been a bit rocky. Apparently, Jenna and other former orphans like her are now beginning to act out. Seems like it would be natural, then again, Gary's piece about the Ranch for Kids comes to mind as well (though I think fetal alcohol syndrome might have been more a factor there). Let's hope the kids work though it soon. You can read more about this story from producer Justine Redman, and the video is below.
  

• Randi Kaye pops in to give us some potentially really good news about the oil disaster. They put a new cap on, and though the oil still flows, they hope it will eventually be fully contained. Now, this is BP saying this, so call me cynical, but I'm waiting until I see an improvement with my own eyes before I celebrate.

• Anderson interviewed Bill Clinton, co-chair of the Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission, and, uh, our former president. They talk money, NGOs, and reconstruction.
  

• The broadcast wraps up with a group I have been referring to as "my boys"--Anderson, Gary, Sanjay, and Ivan Watson--talking about what they've seen and how things have changed. Seriously, save the behind-the-sceners--you're pretty much looking at the only reasons I watch CNN at this point. (The network has great international reporters, but I never see them on CNN Domestic, so they're pretty much moot.) Also? As one of my friends noted while watching this segment with me, they could so totally do a calender. For charity, boys! One more bit of irrelevancy: was I the only one wondering about the person (who appeared to be) on the ground holding the microphone and whether or not their arm was getting tired? Just me then? Okay. Despite my total non serious blogging of this segment, I do find all of the perspectives useful in getting a fuller understanding of the overall story. Wasn't trying to belittle. Watch it below:

• Also, watch this report from Ivan (about Michel Corvil, the man he just talked about), who got very little love tonight when it came to getting his stuff on air.

• The broadcast was good. I'm very glad they came back.
  

The Hypocrisy Of George Rekers, Another Crisis Looming In Haiti, And Anderson Cooper Has REALLY Had Enough Of Your Birther Bullshit

Update 5/11/10: I actually don't have anything to say, other than to apologize for being a crappy blogger. Sorry guys. I'm not even feeling the bullet points right now. Allow me to distract you with adorable pictures of puppies. I'll be back soon.

Hi everyone. I actually hadn't planned on blogging tonight. On Fridays I like to use this time to instead get reacquainted with some of my TeeVee shows via the Hulu. But tonight's broadcast was just so good I figured that I could spare a few minutes to drop a handful of bullet points on you. Yes, that's right, I said the show was good. Very good. Great variety of topics and all of them interesting and informative. Cookies for everyone!

• I do need to start off with one criticism though: I want to kill that "breaking news" graphic. I want to kill it with fire.

• Anderson Cooper's pronunciation of "robot" (robutt) is simply too adorable for me to not mention. Sorry Anderson, your speech impediments amuse me greatly and I have no plans of ceasing my gentle mocking any time soon. Know that I do it with love.

• So. Many. Animated. Demonstrations.

• These charges against Transocean sound like they could turn into a big story. Definitely something that needs further investigation.

• It was good to see 360 covering the George Rekers story. Yeah, the piece didn't go indepth, but frankly I was just happy to see the info get out there. Am I reveling in the situation? Yes, yes I am. Call me a horrible person if you must. Schadenfreude, baby! As Wayne Besen said in Randi Kaye's piece, people like Rekers have "helped create anti-gay attitudes and justified discrimination across the country." People like him are the reason that a few months ago some asshole spray painted the word "fag**t" on the house of someone I care about. And helping to deny gays and lesbians from adopting in Florida? Yeah, this guy deserves everything he's getting right now. I love that the Family Research Council is distancing themselves from him. I guess suddenly Tony's not so chatty. George? George who? You stay classy, guys! Randi's piece is below:

• The segment on Haiti made me so sad. It's going to be horrendous if there's a diphtheria outbreak. Nobody should be dying from that in this day and age. It's mind-boggling that they had to search for 11 hours to try to find the sick teen immunoglobulin. Man, Sean Penn is pissed. He has every right to be, in my opinion. I know I rail against celeb guests on this blog a lot, but I don't even consider him to be a celebrity regarding this situation. He's the real deal. Interview with Penn and Sanjay Gupta below:

• After wiping the floor with Cecil Ash, Anderson apparently still wasn't done with demolishing birthers. Tonight he interviewed Lieutenant Colonel Terrence Lakin, though Lakin's attorney, Paul Jensen, did most of the talking. And our anchor did not like that one bit. The result was awesomeness. I love that the train went absolutely careening off the tracks right from the get-go. I was completely cracking up through the whole thing. It's really the only reaction you can have when faced with such enormous stupidity. Even Anderson cracked a frustrated smile at a couple points--probably trying not to bang his head on the desk. Our anchor really brought his A-game. I'm a sucker for a well-researched interviewer who aggressively defends the truth and takes no bullshit. Tonight he was all of that. Even the end was kinda awesome. The attorney was going on and on about, I don't know, something, and in so many words Anderson was just like, "yeah, you're done." Except, you know, politer. Anyway, a summary can't really do the interview justice. You must watch:

• Good piece from Martin Savidge on the situation in Nashville. Hope they continue to follow up.

• I enjoyed the celebration of Wolf Blitzer's 20 years at CNN. Oh Wolfbot, you're really growing on me, aren't you? Jeanne Moos piece below:

• That's it for me. No special bullet point this time. Just kidding! This bullet point contains a secret portal to another dimension. Or candy. Whichever!
  

DA Claims Teaching Sex Ed Could Result In Prison Time, Tea Partiers Form A National Federation, Battling The Rainy Season In Haiti, & Too Big To Fail

Hi everyone. I'm just going to cut right to the chase. Tonight we begin with the news that Scott Southworth, a district attorney in Wisconsin, is warning teachers that they could face prison time if they use a sex ed class that was approved by the state government. A weird bit of trivia that is probably neither here nor there at this point: Scott was a 2007 CNN Hero. So okay then.

Anderson Cooper gives us more details at the Magic Wall, like how the program mandates Orgy Thursdays. I kid! Yeah, this is your standard sex ed class. What's there to say? The DA is Republican, it was passed on a partisan Democratic vote. These stories aren't new. There's always someone out there screeching, "ZOMG, they're teaching our children to have the sex!"

Enter said screecher: we're next joined by Southworth himself. He calls the class "a radical program to sexualize kids." He also says that any sex had by children is illegal because they cannot give consent and teachers could be liable--I guess by encouraging them with their sexy facts. Meh.

Lisa Bloom then joins us to pretty much call BS on all this, and she does it well. She says DA dude has no legal ground to stand on, much less sane ground. Bottom line: no one is saying let's teach kids to have sex, but they do need facts to protect themselves. Then we're shown a teen pregnancy PSA featuring Bristol Palin. I am not kidding.

Moving on now to Tea Party talk (oh how I love the Tea Party talk!) with David Gergen, John Avlon, and Candy Crowley. Before I begin though, remember how I've previously noted that John comes across as a fake person? Well, apparently he's a fake writer too! Okay, okay, that characterization might be a tad unfair of me. Poor attributor would probably be more accurate, assuming the Gawker and Salon accounts are true. What can I say, I'm bemused.

Anyway! It seems that 20 Tea Party groups are banding together and forming themselves a federation. Yay? Truth be told, I think it would be awesome if these people really started their own party. The Republicans would pee themselves. The Democrats would just have to do sit back and watch everyone else implode around them. Of course, they'd probably still find a way to screw that up.

The Gerg brings up some polls that are completely meaningless without context and everyone seems to agree there's a real movement going on here--one that's frustrated with how they've been portrayed in the media. "And fair enough on that, and I include myself on that probably early on," says Anderson. Whoa. That's a significant admission.

We all remember our anchor's (admittedly hilarious) off-handed comment about tea-bagging all those months back. While other anchors devoted whole segments to mocking the term, that was Anderson's one and only mention. Yet for some reason, the Internets made him the poster child for Tea Party dismissiveness. It's not hard to assume what that reason might be, but whatever.

I bring this up, because I've noticed something lately. Suddenly, CNN is all about the Tea Party movement. They've been heavily covering the Tea Party Express national tour, and have been relentlessly promoting this piece from an African American producer, which shows the movement in a mostly positive light.

Personally, I found the piece really annoying, not because of the positiveness, but because it's another example of a member of the media acting like they're not a member of the media. It begins with a summary of what we"often see in the coverage of Tea Party rallies." Well yes, because that's what you people showed us for months and months on end. Hello!

Now I guess CNN is trying to correct what they perceive to be an error. They want to be friends with the Tea Partiers (and they really want their ratings!). They're even reaching out to conservatives to tell them about the awesomeness of their coverage (and how they're pissing off the left in the process).

Perhaps this kind of thing is just business as usual, and perhaps Anderson's comment tonight was just a coincidence. But I have to say, all of it has left a very bad taste in my mouth. Dear CNN, Foxification won't help you, and I really hope you're not stupid enough to think it will.

For the record, as someone who's been watching, I don't disagree with our anchor's comment. Protest movements are generally not given all that much respect by the media. Just ask the anti-war crowd. The Tea Partiers shouldn't feel special. Though I personally find the movement ridiculous (and childish), there's a small part of me that sympathizes with what they're doing (even if I think they're dead wrong).

I remember those days back in 2003 and wonder how different it might have been if the media had listened. Is the Tea Party right about initial dismissiveness from the media? Yep. Do they deserve the amount of coverage they're getting now? Nope. Is the movement all crazy extremists? Nope. Is there an undertone of racism among some members? Yep. Will the media ever report this story with accurate context? To be determined (but probably not).

Transitioning now to a Gary Tuchman piece on the rainy season in Haiti. Well, it's here. And the camp he's reporting from is located on a steep hillside. Not good. The plan is to actually move people out of Port-au-Prince to a safer place they've designated outside the city--a big change for people who've lived there their whole lives. Moving everyone is a huge undertaking. Sunday is the target. Let's hope they succeed.

We then go to Sean Penn live and Anderson asks him about the test run they did today, but no straight answer is given. There's a lot of talk of government and aid organization bureaucracies. Sean also notes that hospitals are being closed because they're running out of money while aid organizations are spending their time evaluating how to spend money. Frustrating. Anderson asks Sean what he's learned so far. "I think that in disaster, over-caution kills people is the likely lesson," he replies.

Now some levity: I've discovered that Anderson has "going to the Magic Wall" body language. I can't really explain it. But as they cut back to him at the anchor desk, something seemed off, and then it hit me: "You're about to go to that frickin' wall again, aren't you?" Plus then I noticed it wasn't live, so yeah, kinda a give-away. The topic is Citigroup execs who testified on Capitol Hill today.

This is followed by an interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin, the author of "Too Big to Fail." It's a decent segment and I'm glad they're giving this stuff some coverage. But I'm wrapping things up because I'm tired.

The "shot" tonight is this bizarre Family Feud clip about Ellen DeGeneres. Apparently, she doesn't like our country very much, which is just as surprising to her as I'm sure it is to you. Seriously, WTF? And yes, all the people clapping is probably the most disturbing thing about that clip.

The show was okay. Weirdly, I actually found the last half better than the first this time. It seems like they're trying to lead with sensational controversies now (sex ed, Confederate month, doctor who posts sign against Obama). They're legitimate stories I suppose, but it feels like a ratings ploy. I'm glad we got some Haiti coverage. That'll do it.

Teen Bullied To Death, Dr. Phil (Why?!), Militia Plot Update, Scientology Investigation Part II, And Sean Penn Interview From Haiti

Hi everybody. Like last night, we begin with what Anderson Cooper refers to as a "short preview" of the Scientology report that will be shown later in the show. I would quibble with his use of the word "short." Our top story, however, is the sad death of Phoebe Prince, a 15-year-old who was viciously bullied for six solid months before ultimately hanging herself in her home. Nine teens have been criminally charged in connection with her death and other students have been expelled.

Anderson takes us to the Magic Wall, and I honestly don't know if I find the show's now predictable use of CNN's overabundance of technology to be bordering on ridiculous or a positive addition to the story. I'll take a page from their playbook and "let you decide." Our anchor notes other teens and pre-teens who have also recently committed suicide due to bullying. To their credit, 360 has very much been on top of this overall story.

In a Gary Tuchman piece, we learn more details of this newest case. Phoebe had just moved to America from Ireland and briefly dated one of those aforementioned nine teens. The other girls were not happy about the relationship, and when it ended, the bullying began. Phoebe received threatening messages and was also harassed in front of others, including faculty members. School administrators were aware of the situation, which leaves everyone wondering why it wasn't stopped. So sad.

For discussion of all this, we're joined by...Dr. Phil. Why 360, why?! In case it's not clear, I am not a fan. I appreciate him being passionate about the subject and bringing awareness and whatnot, but ugh, please get him off my TeeVee screen. Also? Way to think outside-the-box there. Of note as well is the b-roll footage of teens being shown during his segment. To me, the conversation made it unclear as to whether they were the victims or the bullies, though my guess is victims. Not really something to be ambiguous about.

Moving on now to a Drew Griffin piece that updates us on that Christian militia group called Hutaree. He's stalking Ray Stone, the son of the group's leader, but the guy speeds away in his truck. The real take-away from this report is how authorities broke up the plot. Apparently, other militia members, referred to in the piece as "mainstream militia," thought Hutaree was a little too out there and came forward. Mainstream militia? Wow. You know you're crazy if self-described militia members think the government needs to have a look at you.

Transitioning now to the second installment of the Scientology series. Tonight we meet Jeff Hawkins and Tom Devocht, two former church members who also claim they were abused by leader David Miscavige. Also, Amy Scobee and Steve Hall corroborate Marty Rathbun's charge that Mike Rinder was repeatedly a victim of Miscavige's violence. The church pointed CNN to a BBC interview in which Rinder vigorously denied all allegations. But that was before he quit Scientology. Rinder now claims he lied to the BBC in order to protect his career and membership in the church.

Apparently, Miscavige is the end all and be all of Scientology and if you cross him, your future in the church is not bright--hence all the denials. And there are a lot of denials. Anderson sat down with the ex-wives of some of the men who are now coming forward (including Rathbun). They're all adamant that their husbands were never abused, telling our anchor that they knew "every square inch" of the men's bodies and they had seen no evidence. It's a little creepy if you ask me.

Also, CNN gets letters. See, last night 360 reported that Miscavige had declined to be interviewed for the report. Then today they received a letter from a Scientology lawyer saying that the statement was untrue. Anderson proceeds to play us a clip in which spokesman Tommy Davis tells our anchor that Miscavige is much too important to come on CNN and respond to the charges himself. "Booyah!" says Anderson. Okay, no, but that would have been awesome. Instead he just reiterated that the invitation to Miscavige is still open.

After that big-ass preview last night, where was the part where the ex-wife calls Anderson rude? I wanted to see his response. Dudes, you are making a blogger frustrated. Don't waste show time with an extended preview, teasing us with that little bit of controversy, and then fail to deliver in a timely manner. Just sayin'.

Finally tonight, the subject of Haiti. Anderson hits up the Magic Wall once again, this time throwing down some stats and showing us some scary/depressing video of the mud in the camps. The rains have pretty much arrived and disaster is on the horizon. For an update from on-the-ground, we have a taped interview with Sean Penn of beattherain.org. He paints a rather dire situation. The majority of the camps are simply made of tarps and sticks. There are flood zones all around. Obviously the combination could spell catastrophe.

The discussion also touches on the escalating violence in the camps, particularly sexual violence against women. Still such a horrible situation. For those interested, tonight's Frontline on PBS was focused on the Haiti quake. I haven't had the chance to watch yet myself, but the full video can be found here. The series consistently does excellent reports. It actually aired opposite 360 for me, and I have to say, when I saw Dr. Phil on my TV screen I came really close to ditching our CNN friends for PBS. In fact, if the video wasn't online, I probably would have.

The "shot" tonight is Buddy the black lab playing ball with Theen the baby deer. Cuteness abounds. But the Silver Fox is still very much hung up on the tickled loris from last night, which I suppose I shall link to again, since my sitemeter tells me that is clearly what you people want.

Tonight's show was pretty good. Though I may dislike Dr. Phil, I can't exactly count that as bad journalism, though I do wish they'd get less predictable. One thing I thought I'd share is a message I got from a friend after the show:

I haven't been watching 360. How's the Scientology reports? I was put off by the fact that Anderson said in his blog post that they never drew any conclusions; at that point I figured it was just going to be a bunch of he-said-she-said and I have no patience for that shit.

For the record, I defended 360, stating that without video evidence of abuse, I'm not sure that this is a story they can really take a firm stand on. But I think my friend speaks to a bigger issue in that the viewers have come to expect sometimes mediocre reports that fail to identify the truth. I can only speak for myself, but when Anderson says they're going to let the viewers decide for themselves, it's like nails on a chalkboard to me. Literally I have a visceral reaction, even though I know intellectually that not all stories are the same and sometimes the approach is warranted.

To be clear, I do not want 360 to think for us or force their opinions. But when I hear Anderson say they're going to let us decide for ourselves, I don't hear a network reiterating their objectiveness and respect for viewers (which I'm sure is what he has in mind). Instead, I hear someone telling me that, essentially, they're not going to finish their job. This all goes back to the balance thing, which I've harped on more than enough on this blog. It's a shame if their poor track record with that subject is also hurting quality reports. Anyway, just something I thought I'd put out there. That'll do it.

Two Shows, One Blog Post: Health Care Reform, Homeless In America, Haiti, And Anderson Cooper On Jeopardy!

Hi everyone. Last night when I sat down to do Thursday's blog post I realized that I was so tired I couldn't think coherently. Good rule of thumb is to avoid putting things on the interwebs when you're operating at the capacity of a drunk person. Then on Friday I spent the broadcast flipping back and forth between 360 and "The Devil Wears Prada."

So! What follows is the result of me essentially taking two shows and smooshing them into one, emphasizing the things I want to talk about. It's not a review exactly, but review-ish. If you didn't watch, some of this post probably won't make complete sense to you. Sorry? Consider the videos a consolation prize.

We began both nights on the subject of health care reform. Anderson Cooper has been giving the Magic Wall a little love to show us the current vote count, and it's hard not to laugh at the way he practically leaps out of his anchor chair to rush over there. Don't hurt yourself, man. We're patient people. And while I'm talking about minor shallow things, the phrase "The Big Mo" really needs to be killed dead. Just sayin'.

On Thursday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) dropped their preliminary numbers, which became a focus of that night's coverage. We also got a good piece from Ed Henry about sweetheart deals that have stayed in the final package, despite what Obama promised. Some of my fellow progressives might grumble, but this is called journalism--everyone's feet need to be held to the fire.

My only issue was that there was no focus on what was actually in the bill, something Rachel Maddow had covered a couple days prior. But! Fast forward to Friday and not only were we joined by Sanjay Gupta to explain all that, we also got another piece from Ed that finally FINALLY called out the Republicans for rebuking all of Obama's attempts at bipartisanship. I have no idea why we had to wait so long for this acknowledgment, but better late than never. Nice job.

John King joined us both nights to talk health care reform, though you don't have to be a genius to realize that his appearances were mainly just to get in some pimping for his new show (starts Monday!). He had an online dress rehearsal Friday afternoon and I just coincidentally logged onto Twitter at that time, so I thought, what the hell, I'll watch. It wasn't bad. Nothing ground-breaking though. I certainly won't avoid it (like I did with Dobbs) if I happen to have the TV on at that time, but I can't see myself making it a part of my day like I've done with 360.

Thursday night also brought a very nicely done report about a family forced to move into a shelter. As I've previously written on this blog, I believe that one of 360's biggest blunders ever was covering the height of the economic collapse in the same way they covered the election. I don't think they would have lost as many of the regular viewers that I know they have if they had instead covered it from a more human level, which is actually Anderson Cooper's greatest strength.

The piece below is real life. Though they might not be in the exact situation of this family, there are millions of Americans out there who can relate. Unfortunately, this perspective is often lost in between all the punditry. The lack of spoken narration and point of view of the daughter were nice touches, as they made the piece more raw. I hope they produce more reports like this in the future.



It seems 360 is still obsessed with The Dating Game serial killer. On Thursday, Anderson interviewed a woman who was taken by the man when she was a child, but survived due to a tip from a good Samaritan. Admittedly, it was a pretty compelling conversation. A lieutenant also joined them to speak about the recently discovered pictures of girls and women that they've been showing. Though I normally don't like crime stories, this was a good segment. Except! Why do they keep playing that stupid Dating Game footage? It trivializes a story that's important enough to stand on its own.

Sean Penn joined us live from Haiti on Friday and man, he did not look good. He also seemed pretty damn upset, which drives home the point that things are very bad there and about to get much worse. You can't really predict an earthquake, but everyone knows these rains are coming. If God forbid thousands die...there are going to be people that will need to answer for that. Video below.



There were some other things covered both nights, but that's about it for this blog post. Now, onto the fun. Well, perhaps Anderson would quibble with my definition of 'fun'. See, on Thursday the Silver Fox was on the celebrity version of Jeopardy, battling it out with Aisha Tyler and Cheech Marin. Anyone who has been watching Anderson for a while knows that he's actually already a Jeopardy champion. We know this because he never stops telling us. Like fer serious, if the conversation ever comes anywhere near the vicinity of that game show, he will bring it up and he will gloat.

But not anymore! Oh, the Silver Fox goes down in flames! Was he beaten by smarty-pants funny-gal Aisha? Nope. It was Cheech. Yes, that Cheech. Two Ivy Leaguers crushed by a pothead. Loves it. Watching Anderson play was almost painful; not so much because he was all that terrible, but because he takes it so dang seriously and you could tell he was freaking out. He made me feel bad for him! At one point I was even pep talking my TV ("Oh, there you go. You know this one. You covered that story."), which is pretty ridiculous given that: 1) I don't know him 2) He can't hear me anyway 3) It was taped!

That's the power of the Silver Fox for you--you want to trash talk and mock, but you just can't bring yourself to do it. Much. Oh also? I clearly watch 360 way too much (duh) because I knew what category Anderson was going to pick every time he had control of the board. Anyway! Though our anchor took the loss hard, he is not without a sense of humor about himself. That night he had on Cheech to congratulate him, and let's face it, make excuses for his own performance.

Anderson also shows us an email he received from Soledad O'Brien right after the show aired. It says, "Cheech Marin beat you? Seriously, that's sad." Oh snap! That's cold. (And kinda makes me love her more.) Our anchor tries to console himself by noting that he's actually the winner among CNN anchors, though Cheech points out that's damning with faint praise. Plus, Soledad might have come in last when she played, but at least she had some money on the board. The Coop had zippo--tying for second (and third, I guess) with Aisha.

Skip ahead to Friday, and I'm flipping back to 360 from my movie when I find...Erica Hill! ZOMG, did we go back in time? No, we did not. Erica was Skyped in just so that she could have a crack at mocking Anderson's Jeopardy loss as well. Too funny. She brings up our anchor's buzzer excuse and he tries to convince us that he knew much of what Cheech did, but just wasn't fast enough. Likely story. It's okay, Anderson. I still believe you're smart. Anyhoo! Great to see Erica again. I hope his loss isn't keeping the Silver Fox up at night. He won $25,000 for Friends In Deed. No bad there. You can see the convo with Cheech below.



Finally, it's been quite a week for CNN. They hired Erick Erickson and lost Christiane Amanpour to ABC. Not the best trade. I'm not going to go into my opposition to Erickson, but you can read about why he's a bad choice here. As for Christiane, I wish her all the best and bet she'll make This Week great. It's hard to imagine CNN without her. This is a huge loss for them. If they really do lose Anderson to CBS...that would be bad. That would be beyond bad. So, if we're looking at this cynically, things just got pretty good for our anchor regarding where he stands when it comes time to negotiate a new contract. All we can do is wait and see. That'll do it.

Live Update From Haiti, Sean Penn Interview, Radical Muslims, More Hollenbeck, Oscar De La Hoya, & A Child Calls 911 During A Home Invasion

Hi everyone. We're beginning tonight with the subject of Haiti. Today Obama hosted Haitian president Rene Preval at the White House. Anderson Cooper tells us that extreme rains will begin in the country approximately a month from now, putting about 200,000 displaced people in serious jeopardy.

We then go live to Sara Sidner in Port-au-Prince for the situation on the ground. She tells us the people living in tent cities are very concerned about the rainy season and are disgusted that no one has told them where to go. Sara talked to one of the leaders of the commission for reconstruction and basically, Haiti is not ready for this impending second disaster. As for all that pledged money, the government is scheduled to go before the U.N. with their plan at the end of the month. Okay, but the clock is ticking.

Next up, Anderson has an interview with Sean Penn who is currently back from Haiti, though will be returning later this week. Sean co-founded the Jenkins Penn Haitian Relief Organization, which is working to relocate quake survivors to save them from the rains. (You can go to their site beattherain.org to learn more.) They talk a lot about the rain threat, and Sean touches on the prevention of disaster-profiteering.

Rural relocation is also brought up, which you might remember (or, okay, probably not) was a subject stressed by Robert Maguire when he appeared with Anderson on Charlie Rose's Haiti panel. As he did then, our anchor again notes the conflict with that idea--i.e. the city being the center of economic life (not to mention heath care factors).

Sean also emphasizes that the U.S. has put a lot of effort into Haiti and it's important that we keep our eye on the ball because all we've accomplished can be undone if we lose focus. He makes the fairly shocking statement that "there is a high likelihood in this next month tens of thousands of people will die." Let's hope he's wrong. As for the question of why he devotes himself to the country, Sean basically says it's because Haiti is only 90 minutes away by plane, but a world away in resources and the comforts we all take for granted. Good interview.

Moving on to a Drew Griffin piece on radical Muslims, which I'm going to skip to save time. But I'll add that despite my problems with Drew, I didn't really have any issues with his report.

Stephanie Elam has the bulletin tonight. Actually, she's had the bulletin for several nights. I'm not really sure where she's come from, but uh, sorry to her for that whole prior ignoring thing. Anyway! Really I'm only mentioning all this so that I can link you to this clip of Patrick Kennedy (which was one of the headlines Stephanie had) opening a can of whoop-ass on the media for their Afghanistan coverage.

Admittedly, I do want to slip him a Valium (simmer down a tad, son!), but he makes a good point. Yes, Congress is filled with idiots who are constantly doing idiotic things. And the media loves to cover the idiotic things. Hearings and debates about important issues? Those tend to get less coverage, which is probably why the public thinks Congress doesn't do anything. I guess that's why I was so pleased with last week's coverage of food safety. Also? Before airing the Kennedy clip, it was noted that lawmakers voted down a measure to end our mission in Afghanistan in 30 days. Here's a question: If the Kennedy clip didn't exist, would we still get that headline? Only 360 can know the answer to that.

Next up, more Homicide in Hollenbeck. In an Anderson piece, we learn about the killing of Gabriel Ayala, a well-known gang member. The twist here is that he was most likely killed by his own gang. A couple years before his death, he and another gang member were charged with the murder of Francisco Sanchez. That other member was convicted of first degree murder, while Gabriel's case fell apart and he walked.

Detective Dwayne Fields thinks that Gabriel's gang probably thought he talked (which he didn't) and he was subsequently killed for being a snitch. And...I'm confused. I don't understand Anderson's laser-like focus on the stop snitchin' thing when it seems pretty clear (despite what he implied the first night of coverage) that "snitchin'" will get you killed. Yes, I realize Gabriel didn't have police protection since he didn't actually go to them, but still.

All I'm saying is the issue is a lot more complicated than what he's painting. If he's so repulsed by the movement (and hey, who wouldn't be?), I wish he'd focus more on the corporate side, which is where investigative journalism can really be of benefit here. Constantly harping on the fact that people won't come forward isn't exactly helping things. Witnesses are probably scared.

This notion is actually echoed in a subsequent interview with boxer Oscar De La Hoya, who grew up near Hollenbeck. He tells us that his parents gave him choices in life and he realized he wanted to be somebody. Now he funds a charter school in East L.A. to help other kids. And about that stop snitchin' thing? "Anderson, it's fear. I grew up with fear in East L.A. I grew up in fear in Hollenbeck. But if we can take away that fear, you know, that's a step in the right direction," says Oscar. Amen.

Moving on now to a Randi Kaye piece on a seven-year-old named Carlos who called 911 when three armed men broke into his home. Here's the piece. Everyone is okay, but the sound of screaming when Carlos is found by the gunman is pretty terrifying.

The "shot" tonight is handled by Stephanie, which is code for upcoming Silver Fox embarrassment. Apparently on Regis & Kelly, Kelly and her husband Mark Consuelos were playing "Newlywed Game" and Mark was asked that if his wife could marry one celebrity, who would it be? Since Mark is a celebrity, he picked himself. But oh, that is not what Kelly said. Ok, we all know what's coming--it's the reason we're watching this clip right now: she picked Anderson! Awkward!

"Maybe you're like her TV husband sometimes. Is that it?" asks Stephanie. But sorry ladies, our anchor doesn't seem to be down with even that. "I don't know about that," he says, looking none too thrilled. Why do I feel like my gender just got extra rejected? Oh, Silver Fox, we only want to love you! Is that so wrong?

The show was good, I thought. Yay to significant Haiti coverage. I think I've kinda given up on trying to understand Anderson's stop snitchin' obsession. They could do some kick ass reporting on those companies who promote the movement if they wanted. Oh wells. That'll do it.

Anderson Cooper 360 Reports Live From Haiti With Coverage Ranging From Orphans To Quarantined Patients (Plus Snowpocalypse!)

Hi everyone. Like last night, we begin this broadcast with Anderson Cooper emphatically trying to portray the importance of the story of Haiti. He concedes it's falling out of the headlines and may seem repetitive, but the story deserves to continue to be told. In essence, he's shaking us all by the shoulders, yelling, "Care, world!"

Our first piece of the night is from our anchor, and it explores the challenge of helping kids who appear to be orphaned. We follow along with workers from Heartland Alliance as they attempt to locate family members of 10-year-old Stephanie Jacques (ph). Unicef does the same for five-year-old Kenzie Charles (ph), currently being treated on the USS Comfort. By a stroke of luck or divine intervention (I'll let you choose), the little boy's parents are located nearby. At least one family is having a good day.

Sanjay Gupta then joins Anderson to talk about the 28-year-old man allegedly pulled from the rubble after a month. He seems to be doing fairly well and is even requesting chocolate. If I hadn't eaten for a month, I think I'd be asking for every food known to man. Of course, he's no doubt not going to be able to eat much for a while.

From Sanjay, we learn that the man actually heard the bulldozers coming and feared he too would be scooped out and tossed in a dump truck like trash. Our doctor also tells us that in terms of emergent cases, things are improving. But the health of Haiti overall is very much up in the air. One wonders what the follow up situation is going to be like--if there is one at all.

Next up, we have a piece from Anderson that gives us a tour of one of the tent cities that have been popping up all over Port-au-Prince, where an estimated 450,000 are now homeless. Anderson explains that initially, people just used sheets to create their living quarters. As time goes on, however, they're beginning to scavenge for materials to make the structures more permanent.

Part of our tour occurs at night, and people are quite pleased to see our anchor, who informs us there might be a bit of drinking going on. Others are cooking and selling food. Team 360 also stumbles upon a very ill woman and subsequently secures her a way to the hospital. Somewhere in another tent city, there is another deathly ill woman with no television crew there to help her. The story of Haiti goes on.

Moving on now to a Karl Penhaul piece for the latest on the saga of the American missionaries. As we learned previously, the group actually tried to take another group of children from a tent city out of Haiti on a bus, and were prevented from doing so by a police officer. Karl finds a woman who says the missionaries offered to take her son and daughter, as her husband had died in the quake and she didn't think she could care for them. Ultimately she did not put her children on the bus.

But Karl also finds a boy who was forced onto the bus by his father. He didn't even know where he was going. An attorney for the group states he was not aware of this attempt to take children. Following Karl's piece, Anderson tells us that the little boy forced on the bus had been given toys by the Americans, but once the scheme failed, they actually asked for the toys back. How very Christian of them.

For a bit of levity, I double-checked this story against the transcript, and it says the missionaries gave the boy "Toyotas." Not quite as impressive as it would have been a few weeks ago.

Transitioning to...Snowpocalypse! SnOMG! And don't forget Snowmageddon. Kinda sad that this latest storm hasn't even happened yet and we've already blown the coolest names. Anyhoo! As you might have heard, there's some snow making it's way to the Big Apple, most of the East Coast, actually.

Chad Myers informs us that some of our CNN friends will be spending the night in a hotel to ensure they're able to deliver their regularly scheduled newsiness. As for my neck of the woods, I woke up, saw snow, heard the schools were closed, and contacted my boss to say I was moving my office day to tomorrow. Then, not three hours later, almost all the snow was gone from the streets. WTF? Snow fail. Was flippin' cold though.

Candy Crowley has the "360 Bulletin" tonight and Anderson makes sure to lavish on the praise regarding her debut broadcast as anchor of State of the Union. Last week she had noted she was a little nauseous about diving in. "No vomiting?" asks Anderson. Thankfully, Candy assures us that she refrained. "I think I might have vomited my debut on 360," says our anchor. TMI, Cooper. TMI.

On now to a Sanjay Gupta piece that takes us inside a tent of patients quarantined for tuberculosis. Yes, he wears a mask. Given how closely the Haitian population is currently living, spreading of TB is a big concern that could potentially have ramifications for us all if it begins to be carried by air travelers out of the country. Scary.

After Sanjay's piece, he discusses the issue with Anderson, who interrupts his own point about sanitation to identify and remove a bug from Sanjay's shirt. Hilariously random. But I'm thankful, since it was, uh, bugging me. Our anchor's about to have PETA on his tail. I mean, if the president couldn't even get away with it...

Next up, Anderson interviews Sean Penn. That's right, I said Sean Penn. Now, normally this is when I would hit DEFCON 5 in terms of needing to snark, but Penn is kinda the real deal and has apparently been working his butt off in Haiti the whole time. He talks about how proud he is of the U.S. military.

Anderson worries about the coming rains and the soon to be nonexistent coverage. He notes the Olympics are airing soon and fears people will get involved with watching that, forgetting about Haiti. I actually didn't think people cared all that much about the Winter Olympics, but was informed by friends that I am mistaken.

Sean thinks the games should be politicized in order to put the focus on Haiti. I can't help but think of the Kashmir quake that happened in October 2005. Remember that? Almost 80,000 people died. Sanjay traveled there that December as winter began to take hold. Everyone wondered what would happen to the homeless as it became bitterly cold.

I don't know the answer to that because Sanjay's reports are the last ones I remember. After that, the story of Kashmir just...disappeared. Haiti is probably an easier story to cover in terms of logistics, but I fear that might not be enough.

Part of Anderson's conversation with Sean is below. Because I was sincere with this celebrity segment, I now feel I must mock someone. (It's like an itch I need to scratch, people!) I believe my douchebag of choice is going to be Dr. Phil. After Katrina, like a lot of celebrities, he showed up in New Orleans looking to help. And hey, if he got some publicity for his show, all the better, right?

I remember I was with my brother watching the news when it was announced Dr. Phil was on his way. With completely sincere horror, I exclaimed, "My God, haven't these people been through enough already?!" Normally it's a line I would deliver with ironic intent, but I totally meant it, which drove my brother to practically fall on the floor laughing. Ah, memories. Seriously, what a douchebag.



Anderson and Sanjay then talk about the children being airlifted out of Haiti due to illness. We also learn that Medicare is paying 110 percent to hospitals in the United States to care for Haitian children. Um, what? Ruh Roh. My initial reaction is cue the outrage of people freaking over their tax dollars being used on Haitian kids. I don't know though. This one could go either way. Will it blow up into a big political thing or will it fall off the radar? Only time will tell. Discussion is below:



Moving on to a clip of Michelle Obama discussing childhood obesity on Larry King. A good topic and all, but are we seriously not going to talk about what's going on with Larry's hair?

Candy then returns with some more headlines, which ultimately leads to she and Anderson bitching about airline pillows and blankets. Bah. Quiet you babies. I've never even been offered one. We then move on to the "shot," which is Donna Brazile and Wolf Blitzer dancing. Sorta! Backing it up a bit, Donna got her groove thing on to the joy over the Saints' recent victory. She then asked the Wolfbot to join in, and he did--in his own special way. It kinda looks like this.

Donna then joins us in a little taped interview where she sings the praises of New Orleans' recovery and deems Anderson a "favorite son." Our anchor adds to the love-fest, name dropping some of his favorite restaurants in the area. "Anderson, next time you want some good Creole gumbo, come to Chez Donna, my house, baby," says Donna. Oh my! I do believe she is flirting. You lead the poor anchor along, but won't allow him to become your boo? Oh Donna. Such a tease!

Back with Candy again, she asks Anderson if he would have accepted a request from Donna to dance. Hmm readers, based on the history of forever, what do we think? Slow dance, probably. Anything else? Yeah, not so much. Candy actually seems a bit frightened of the Wolfbot dancing, as she should be.

Anderson reminds us of weird Blitzer facts: "Wolf loves the music, you know. He was in that band when he was a kid. And he claims he was in the original band called The Monkeys. He had a band that he claims predated the actually Monkees. But I'm not sure I believe him." Unlike Micky Dolenz, our anchor is not a believer. Apparently, there is a trace of doubt in his mind. (Monkee puns! Oh, they should pay me extra for this.)

That'll do it. The show was very good tonight. Keep on truckin', 360. We'll be here.