Last night’s (happy) EXCLUSIVE …

Today’s Buzz ...

From last night’s program:
California family found: And Anderson Cooper was the FIRST to interview them – very shortly after their arrival home!! And this one was truly an exclusive ... as the Dominguez children had just arrived home only a few minutes before the interview began! I was SO glad that Anderson was the first one to talk with them, because there's no one - and I mean NO ONE - who could have done a better job with interviewing them so soon after their ordeal! Thankfully this story has a happy ending, because a lot of people were starting to get worried, and rightly so. I'm sure they'll make the "interview rounds" over the next couple of days, but as I said, it's terrific that AC was first!


Christopher, Alexis and Joshua Dominguez, and their father (Frederick) had been lost in a rugged, mountainous region of Butte County after driving to an area where they planned to find a Christmas tree on Sunday. Obviously, under the circumstances, they weren’t prepared for being separated from their vehicle and spending three days (and nights) outdoors in the cold and the snow.


As for the situation itself, an astute AC360° group member noted this morning that too many Californians (especially in the Bay area and Sacramento area) don’t always appreciate, or prepare for, the potential dangers of travel through mountainous regions. It’s not all sand and surf and sun here! But with the availability of GPS technology, these kinds of situations will hopefully become much less frequent.

But thankfully – this story has a very happy ending – the Dominguez children and their father certainly had some kind of angel looking out for them! Major kudos also to the CHP Rescue Patrol (Steve Ward and Dave White on board the rescue helicopter) and Butte County Search and Rescue incident commander Matt Pearce – excellent job!!



Daily Stat fix: New candidate polls from New Hampshire are out, and right now, they look quite different from Iowa polls. The conventional reasoning is that NH voters are focusing on ‘issues’ rather than ‘charisma’. A side-swipe at Iowans, to be sure. So we’ll see if there’s any significant ‘shift’ in NH numbers after January 3rd!!



Who turned Jeff Toobin into “Scrooge”??: Jeff, John King and Jennifer Donohue (NH Institute is Politics) analyzed the candidates’ “holiday ads” that are airing in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. A unique situation forced upon the campaigns because of the new caucus and primary schedules. But guess what? The cynic in me does understand Jeff’s point about ‘phoniness’. Although I also understand Jennifer’s point that the ads do “say” something about the candidates (i.e. – Mitt and Barack with families, Hillary and Rudy sans families). BTW – Rudy can keep the fruitcake!! And I am appalled that what John King said to end the segment might really still be true: “But likeability matters in politics as much as issues, and these ads will either work or backfire. But it does matter.” Bah Humbug!!



“Rita” Relief: Where do government agencies find people like Michael Gerber? I’m talking about people who can sit for a nationally televised interview and justify the stunning corruption that is so evident within the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. And do it so very calmly and so very convincingly – or least convincingly to themselves. There is nothing that anyone can say at this point – two years later – to reconcile the injustice that Helena Saunders – and all the other Helenas in the state – have had to endure because of the willful negligence of this agency. Randi Kaye, who reported this story, also has a good write-up available at CNN.com.




The “Shot”: Let’s just say that for the sake of “Candy Strand’s” family – she doesn’t end up being electrocuted.



Erica is MIA: Not that I don’t enjoy Randi Kaye doing the “bulletins” – I do – but I guess I was hoping that Erica would have a chance to “spring” the Elf Anchor Video on Mr. Cooper this week!!



Other Notes:

why Anderson won't dance (on camera) ...

There’s been an on-and-off discussion at the AC360° Yahoo group about the opportunities that Anderson has passed up to regale us with his “footwork”. I suspect it may be because he doesn't want to put himself in a similar situation as what David Gregory is about to endure (i.e. - nasty comments) after 'groovin' to Mary J. Blige - although I'm sure that Mr. Cooper isn't quite so, well, lame?? (Apologies to David Gregory) - here’s the link to the video.

If, by any chance, you might be interested in seeing a video replay of the now infamous "Gunmetal Grey" mention by Stage Manager Kevin this past Tuesday evening, you can find it here!!

Anderson's favorite New Year's Eve memory has been posted as an i-Report!!

There are a NUMBER of excellent entries over the past few days on the AC360° blog – check out some (or all) of them:



Update # 1: The Daily Show and The Colbert Report to return on Jan. 7th ....

I don't how they're going to do this, but Jon & Stephen will be back on the air as of January 7th - without their striking writers, if necessary!!

In a joint statement, Stewart and Colbert said: "We would like to return to work with our writers. If we cannot, we would like to express our ambivalence, but without our writers we are unable to express something as nuanced as ambivalence."


Thanks so much for visiting - updates posted as needed - have a terrific day!!

“Justice at last …”

Today's Buzz ...

Tonight on Anderson Cooper 360°:


** From last night’s program:

I was so glad to hear about the two convictions against Warren Jeffs. Based on the initial tone of reporting when the jury started deliberating, I had doubts. But it was refreshing to hear the jurors, who were interviewed live on 360°, repeat over and over again that they kept referring back to the applicable law in reaching their verdicts. It’s also refreshing to see an important example of the justice system working in the manner that it’s suppose to.



It was good to see Reza Aslan returning to the program – he hasn’t been on in quite awhile. And there aren’t many Middle Eastern analysts that can explain events and relevant background information as precisely as Reza, nor give context as understandably. For example, from last night’s transcript:

COOPER: "Joining me now is Reza Aslan, author of "No God but God".

How did this play internationally? Because, I mean, many Americans found it, you know, satisfaction in seeing the Colombian president -- Columbia's president basically, you know, stick it to Ahmadinejad. But internationally, how did it play?

REZA ASLAN, AUTHOR, "NO GOD BUT GOD": Well, I mean, it played right into Ahmadinejad's hands. I mean, this is exactly what he is so good at doing.

Don't let the, you know, plain clothes and the simple language fool you, Anderson. This guy is very sophisticated in manipulating the media.

And I think that the Columbia address and, particularly the way that Bollinger introduced him which, quite frankly, was inappropriate in many ways, true, yet inappropriate. Really...

COOPER: Why is it inappropriate, because you think it's rude?

ASLAN: Well, for two reasons. One, because it is -- it is rude, and it allowed Ahmadinejad to essentially take the moral high ground by saying, in effect, "In Iran, we don't treat our guests this way."

But secondly, because in referring to him as a dictator, you're giving this man far more credit than he actually deserves. This is a completely powerless person. He's not in charge of the army. He's barely in charge of the budget. He makes no foreign policy decisions whatsoever. He's not part of the intelligence apparatus in Iran. He can't suggest or pass any laws.

He has no power. He's a completely powerless figurehead. And to call him a dictator is really to give him far too much authority.”



And if you have an opportunity, read the book “No God, But God” from Reza – it was highly recommended to me and I agree that it’s well worth the time.


Another book that – maybe surprisingly(??) - seems to be well worth the time is “The Nine” from Jeff Toobin, and we had another very enlightening installment from it last night on the program. I remember the somewhat recent Supreme Court decision about Affirmative Action (and how close the vote was), and what was discussed as far as the future of the Court’s make-up should cause every voter to take notice. The imminent replacement of more than one Justice during the next Presidential term is one of the few “single issue” topics that should serve as at least one measuring tool to determine which candidate should get your vote in November 4, 2008.



I hope that the “Planet in Peril” documentary just completely shreds all of the competition in the ratings, notwithstanding the much greater cause that it serves in so far as providing education and enlightenment of the pressing issues of global warming, species loss, deforestation and overpopulation.



The initial reports last night about Buddhist monks in Myanmar defying government orders against assembly didn’t sound good, and today’s updates about violence against the protesters will probably (or maybe hopefully?) be covered more in depth on tonight’s program, although it already sounds like a full hour!



Thanks for visiting – updates posted as needed – have a terrific day!

"War of Words" ...

Today’s Buzz ...
** tonight on Anderson Cooper 360°:

(I know this is the same as last night's preview, but I think it got pre-empted because of other events. Anderson did specifically mention last night, though, that this segment would air tonight - or at least it would be on the schedule for tonight!)

Before I comment on last night’s program, let me get the not-so-good news out of the way first -

no Emmy wins last night for AC 360° ...
Is this where we say "there's always next year?" Actually, CNN did win one statue last night - for "Outstanding Live Coverage of a Breaking News Story – Long Form" - for their election night coverage, which Anderson co-anchored. The complete list of winners can be found here.

From last night’s program: Until Sunday, I didn’t even know that Iran’s President was scheduled to speak at Columbia University. I knew about the UN speech, which must be allowed, if only due to the fact that we are the home of the United Nations. But to invite him to speak at Columbia, only to have the University president give a less-than-courteous introduction? Therefore, giving Ahmadinejad an even larger platform from which to spread his lies? I agree with last night’s 360° guests – Fawaz Gerges and Karim Sadjadpour – that the “audience” for Ahmadinejad isn’t here in the US – it’s the Muslim countries that are watching how far he can go. And that the animosity expressed within that setting by Peter Bollinger – even as justified as it is – helps to fuel Anti-American sentiment throughout the world.



Anderson also talked with Christiane Amanpour about her upcoming interview with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday’s 360° - I really enjoy listening to AC and CA (no pun intended with the initials) – you know it will be an intelligent, engaging conversation.



There was an update on the Warren Jeffs trial, and last night they appeared to be close to a verdict. This morning’s news is that one juror has been replaced with an alternate, and deliberations have started all over again.



I’m very pleased that Anderson interviewed Jeff Toobin about “The Nine” last night – on the show – and not just at the Union Square Barnes & Noble earlier in the evening. And unless I misunderstood what was said, there should be another interview “installment” tonight.



And I’m such a sucker for a cute bear – so say hello to “Koala Mick”!!!


Update # 1 - Warren Jeffs found guilty on 2 counts

As reported at 4:25 EDT on The Situation Room, Warren Jeffs has been found guilty on both counts of rape as an accomplice; the sentence for each conviction ranges from 5 years to life in prison. I'm sure this will be covered extensively tonight on AC 360° - stay tuned!

Thanks for visiting – updates posted as needed – have a terrific day!