Cautiously Optimistic News From The Gulf, An Update From Haiti, And More Puppies!!! (Seriously, There Should Always Be Puppies)

Hi everyone. This blog post actually contains kinda-sorta-almost good news! I know, I'm shocked too. There is no more oil leaking into the Gulf! But--and there's always a but--as Anderson Cooper says, no one down there is celebrating just yet. We still don't if this latest operation is going to work, and even if it does, it will only really mark the ending of the first phase of the disaster. This is going to go on a long, long time and will probably eventually involve some repercussions we may not have even thought of yet. For now though, let's savor the good news. And hey, let's savor the bullet points as well:

• Anderson during Chad Myers' explainer: "We should caution the information we have often is a little bit old because BP doesn't put out real-time information." Then adding, "... until BP narrates this stuff in real time, which we have been suggesting they do now for more than two months, and they said they were going to do about two weeks ago, which they still haven't done, we don't know what is happening in real time." The passive aggressiveness cracks me up. Oh BP, why won't you take the Silver Fox's suggestions?

• I'm going to run over a lot of this coverage because I'm tired, but I'll put the video below. After Chad, we had discussion with Douglas Brinkley, Billy Nungesser, and Ed Markey. I completely forgot about the existence of Douglas Brinkley! Where's he been lately?

• Ed Henry joined us to talk about Obama and the question he apparently shouted at him. Is that behavior fitting of a WHCA president?!
  

• We had James Carville as well (obviously), and he launched into an odd battle analogy that I actually thought was never going to end. He and Patrick Fitzgerald should start an analogy club.

• It was good to see Robert Young on the show to give a different opinion on the berms. As I have noted previously, the show has been a little one-sided on this issue. I demand all of those angles that Anderson frequently promises! Don't short me on any of those 360 degrees, dudes. As to who is right, hell if I know. Anderson says they'll continue to follow it, and I'm going to hold them to that. More context is needed. Like, what is "a lot of scientists" (roughly) and how does that number compare to those scientists who support the berms (if there are any)?
  

• Anderson to Young: "Do you think this is a case of, you know, politicians basically wanting to be seen doing something, the governor, local officials, and therefore pushing this berm project, even though you're saying the science isn't really there?" This might be just me, but all the previously coverage with Nungesser and Jindal (basically unopposed in their viewpoints) makes this feel off. Nungesser especially is practically a show contributor at this point, and now Anderson is suddenly going to jump back five steps and refer to "politicians," as if he's disconnected and objective? Like I said, it feels off. But that doesn't speak to a problem with tonight; it speaks to too much emphasis on one viewpoint previously.

• Gary Tuchman joined us live from Haiti with the great news that Prime Minister Jean- Max Bellerive has decided to let 154 NGOs bring their supplies into the country immediately and deal with the customs paperwork later. Woo! You see 360, this is why I yell at you when you use your airtime for stupid stories. Look at what an important difference you can make! Okay, in fairness it probably wasn't all 360. Anderson tells us some guy named Bill Clinton has been working on the issue too, so there's that. Video below.

• Randi Kaye updated her piece from last night and we are brought even more puppy adorableness! At one point she was holding two of the little critters at once, and I don't think I've ever seen her look so happy. Aw. Double the cute! Apparently hundreds of people all over the country called and emailed about the animals that 360 featured last night, which is great.
  

• Thing is though, you probably don't have to look much further than your own city to find an animal in desperate need of adoption. Though what's happening in the Gulf is more acute and pronounced, the bad economy is hurting people (and pets) everywhere. I wonder if there's any way to cover this overall story. They'd need a better angle than just "this is really sad." But there's probably one of those special week-long series in there somewhere. I can see it now: The Big 360 Interview: Bob Barker! (Actually, he'd make more sense than some of the people they've had.)

• Find more info at the Facebook group Gulf Coast Dogs and Cats and the Louisiana SPCA.
  

• Is it just my imagination or did they promo "Text 360" at least twice and then never even follow through? I think it's stupid in the first place; that kinda makes it worse.

• The show was fairly good, though if we're going to be honest, I zoned out for a good portion of the beginning of the broadcast.

• Congrats to 360 and especially Gary Tuchman on their Emmy nomination!
  

• This bullet point contains gratuitous adorableness courtesy of the Louisiana SPCA's Twitter account:

Back Live In The Gulf, A Pointless Tea Party Debate, More Haiti Coverage, And Puppies!

Hi everyone. The 360 kids are really earning those frequent flier miles and then some, leaving Haiti and going straight back to the Gulf. I hope someone is watering Anderson Cooper's plants. Not much else to say, so let's rock and roll:

• Despite being away for a few days, our anchor has not lost any of his ire at BP. Currently the company is engaged in an underwater operation to get this thing fixed once and for all, but as per usual, they haven't exactly been transparent. And this does not sit well with Anderson Cooper, who proceeds to rip them a new one (in his own mostly-polite Silver Fox way) for the next two minutes. I almost had to laugh. I mean, the broadcast just started and BP has already been thoroughly bitch-slapped. But no one can say it's not warranted. Also, in the name of my own transparency, I shall provide you with my notes of these minutes, which are as follows: "AC: Grrr! BP. Transparency!"

• Anderson on the operation: "If it doesn't work, there could be an underwater volcano of oil, with almost no way of stopping it." Um, WHAT?! Well hey, no worries. Because everything has gone swimmingly so far.
  

• Chad Myers showed us something mechanical-y on the Magic Wall, while I pondered whether or not they actually teach you these things in meteorology school.
  

• Billy Nungesser and James Carville joined Anderson to talk about transparency, berms, and other related outrages. I don't really have much to say, except that having a transcript to confirm Carville's quotes is a beautiful thing. A misquote gone prevented!

• You know how 360 has been blessedly shielding us from political stupidity as of late? Yeah, well that ends now. I have only vaguely been following the latest Tea Party-related ridiculousness, but now it is front and center on my TeeVee screen. The controversy: the NAACP passed a resolution condemning racist elements in the Tea Party movement, and the movement is now none too pleased. I have no idea why this is happening now. Again. Haven't we already had this conversation several times?
  

• But this is catnip to cable news and 360 has decided to jump on the bandwagon, bringing us a debate between Tea Party leader Mark Williams and Roland Martin. I gotta say, when they jump, they go all in. How anyone could expect to get anything from these two besides a train wreck is beyond me. Actually, I suspect that might be the point (ratings, baby!). I could go through this mess point by point, but I did that last time they yelled at each other nonsensically. I mean, the guy defending against racism charges once called Obama an "Indonesian Muslim turned welfare thug," so that's where we are as a country right now (so proud!). That point, by the way, was not brought up by our anchor. Anderson actually got metaphorically knocked down early on and never really got back up. If he can't keep control (and with those two I don't know anyone could), I wish they'd stop doing this.

• Gary Tuchman is actually still in Haiti, which makes me happy and a little irked all at once. Why did they have to bring the show back after only two days? Ratings actually improved their second night. But whatever. Gary can hold down the coverage. They just better not do that thing where he's there and then they don't air his stuff. Annoying!

• Anyway. Gary follows up on the customs problems by interviewing Haiti's director of customs, Jean-Jacques Valentin, who blames the charities for not properly filling out paperwork. Says Gary: "Doctors Without Borders says their paperwork was fine. But even if it wasn't, get the cars to them. They're trying to help your people." Word. Gary shows us a whole bunch of equipment just sitting around, and notes that charity groups are afraid to speak out, lest the government become even more uncooperative. You know that stress ball I mentioned last night? I need it.

• Gary also joins us live after his piece. Anderson starts to get his rant on, and then, quite bemusing to me, Gary sorta gets his rant on too. A mini rant! Warranted? Completely. Expected? No. But back to Serious Town, says Gary: "Even if there is a paperwork issue, people here desperately need the help. I mean, there's huge fights going on behind us right now." *Sigh*

• Anderson doing a tease: "Later, also the victims of the oil spill in the Gulf you have not heard about. Family pets given up because their owners here can no longer afford to care for them." Au contraire, Silver Fox. I was tweeting about this issue weeks ago. There's even a Facebook group to provide awareness.
  

• They appear to have recut Sanjay Gupta's piece from last night for rerunning.

• When we cut back to Anderson, he is standing there holding an adorable puppy. It's like being slapped in the face with cute overload. An adorable anchor holding an adorable puppy. Are we being a little manipulated here? Perhaps. Do we care? Hell no! The puppy (named Finnegan) gives Anderson some kisses and he returns the gesture. And now I am dead. I have been murdered by cuteness. It's okay, people. It was a good way to go.
  

• Oh, you want to know why the puppy is there, don't you? In a Randi Kaye report, we learn the sad news that Gulf coast residents are being forced to give up their pets because of the havoc the oil disaster has wreaked on the region's economy. She meets with Ana Zorrilla of the Louisiana SPCA, and together they introduce us to more furry friends that have been given up. So sad. Even worse, they're not at a no-kill shelter. If you want to help, check out the above Facebook link and donate to the Louisiana SPCA. The extreme adorableness and sadness is below:

• The show was fairly good, with the second half definitely being stronger than the first. I'm drawing a blank on what this bullet point can contain. It happens, people!