Politics Central … NV, SC edition

Weekend Buzz ...

from Friday’s program:

Road Report: John King reported on Republicans campaigning in South Carolina and Candy Crowley reported on Democrats campaigning in Nevada. GOP candidates focused on the economy (and will probably continue to do so in the coming days and weeks) and Democratic candidates reverted back to the familiar theme of change. A summary of the Nevada Caucus results and the GOP South Carolina primary follows.




Bible Belt support: Gary Tuchman reported on the status of evangelical support in South Carolina, the most evangelical of all states. Although their faith is steadfast, they weren’t quite as clear about whom should get their vote in the SC primary. Gary also interviewed SC State Senator Michael Fair, who stated that he was backing John McCain, who turned out to be the primary winner. But as Senator Fair indicated, the “traditional” family values issues were not the only factors he (or other voters) were considering.





This was echoed during Anderson’s live interview with David Gergen and David Brody (Christian Broadcasting Network). Evangelicals in South Carolina also place high priority on national security, which seemed to help solidify McCain’s win.



Wrongly Convicted: Drew Griffin had a report about Tim Masters, convicted of the murder of Peggy Hettrick, a stranger whose body had been dumped in a field that Masters walked through routinely on his way to school. Yes, school – high school. The then 15-year-old was a suspect, even though the only evidence police had was the fact that he didn’t report having seen the body in the field, as he stated that he thought it was a fake – as in a mannequin. Masters was convicted in 1999, twelve years after the murder – with the only additional evidence being various sketches that he had done of the field and the body. In this rush to judgment, Police Investigator Linda Wheeler-Holloway testified that she believed Masters was guilty, due to pressure she felt from others investigators to close the case. The testimony was a key to the conviction. Thankfully, DNA evidence has now proved that Tim Masters had nothing to do with the murder, and is now pointing in the direction of one of Peggy Hettrick’s former boyfriends. Drew was able to announce breaking news at the conclusion of the taped report, saying that lawyers for Masters would be in court on Tuesday to arrange for his release from jail. It wouldn’t surprise me to hear about some kind of lawsuit being filed against Wheeler-Holloway and the Fort Collins Police Department at some point in the future.



Bobby Fischer: As the song goes: “What a long, strange trip it’s been”, and I guess that especially applies to the life (and the passing) of former chess champion Bobby Fischer. It’s too bad that he held such hostility towards the United States government.



Esteban Colberto interviews Lou Dobbs: Well, I included the video clip of the full interview in Friday’s entry – glad to see that 360° also picked up on it and included it as the “Shot” of the day. It was really much too funny – and as Anderson said, Lou enjoyed it all as well. And this is one of those moments when you really have to give credit not only to the comic genius of Stephen Colbert, but also to Jon Stewart for recognizing it, not being intimidated by it and helping to give Stephen a platform from which to, well, soar ... and yes, that's a vague "Colbeagle" reference! ;-)



Saturday’s Political News:

Well, not many surprises – Mitt Romney won the Nevada GOP Caucus, Hillary Clinton won the Nevada Democratic Caucus and John McCain won the South Carolina GOP Primary.



A few observations – I’m wondering how much longer John Edwards will remain in the race? I thought his showing in Nevada would be a little more significant. Same question for Fred Thompson, although he had an otherwise ‘respectable’ percentage in South Carolina. His expectation, though, was much higher. And I understand why – sort of – but I have the little ‘mantra’ from earlier this week still rattling around in my head: “Ambien in shoes”. And perhaps other future candidates can learn from a few “Fred-isms” – for example, don’t tell the world that you really don’t have the ambition to be President of the United States. For example - even if I can’t support Hillary Clinton, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that her desire for this position is permanently attached to every strand of her DNA and that it totally consumes every waking moment of her existence – and has for a very (very) long time. If you don’t really want this job - for the reasons that someone should want it - then we’ll have another George W. Bush-type leader that we’ll have to endure.

One more observation – if Fred Thompson hadn’t been in the race, would Mike Huckabee have given the victory speech last night? It’s water under the bridge, but a possibility – or maybe a probability?? So it’s on to Florida ... and back to SC for Clinton/Obama/Edwards - to campaign for this Saturday’s Democratic Primary.

Am I allowed to say that this is (probably) my favorite shot of the evening??


Remember to watch the Democratic Debate this coming Monday evening at 8:00 PM EST, followed by a wrap-up on Anderson Cooper 360°, and then the AC360° special: “Race and Politics”, co-anchored with Soledad O’Brien.



And I’ve resisted until now, but I’m succumbing to temptation – even though I’m well aware that they’ve been extraordinarily professional about their relationship:

“Awwww ... how cute!!!”
(In case you haven’t heard, John King & Dana Bash are engaged ...)

Thanks for visiting - hope you had a terrific weekend!

scientology, lies and videotape ...

Today’s Buzz ...
From last night’s program:

Dirty Politics: Wouldn’t it be refreshing if the voters of this country finally took BACK control of the election process, and not let the push pollers, opposition researchers and the myriad of other negative forces, not to mention other types of special interest groups, have so much influence on the outcome of the Presidential election?? Hang up on their calls! Delete their voice messages! Delete their e-mails! Shred (or burn) their brochures and leaflets! Whatever it takes!! Unless there comes a time when the Constitution is outlawed, this is OUR country - and it’s OUR responsibility – no, OUR DUTY – to say “NO MORE LIES!!”






OK – I’m done with today’s fantasy – on to other matters ... :-(

Money Matters: Not that I could ever imagine agreeing with Donald Trump on much of anything, but perhaps Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is juuuust a bit late to the “recession” party? And Tom Foreman is/was correct in predicting many moons ago that the economy would outweigh all other priorities as the election nears. Unless, of course, someone lets loose with a biological WMD in Manhattan.




On the Scientology “Cruise”: See the screen cap below, with Tom Cruise saluting Scientology Chairman David Miscavige. This is one of those “a picture is worth a thousand words” kind of moments ...



And I cheered once again during the video showing Mr. Cooper grilling Scientologist Bruce Wiseman back in 2005 about the practice of psychiatry. You once again note that Wiseman completely avoided answering Anderson’s questions about non-invasive psychiatric treatments. He kept answering the questions as though drugs and electro-shock therapy were the only treatment methods ever used. How such delusional people are able to function in this society sometimes amazes me!



Other brief program notes:

The father who used duct tape to ‘attach’ a football jersey to his young son is in need of some serious mental health help – now! And I applaud the mother for the action she took to protect probably both herself and her son!



The teenager (Michael Six) in Mesa, AZ who fought off a burglar with a baseball bat is certainly one brave dude – take note, all potential criminals!



How unbelievably scary it must have been to be on board the British Airways Boeing 777 that crash landed at Heathrow Aiport? The reports today say that it was due to engine failure ...



But on the flip side - how funny was it to see the Stephen Colbert portrait hanging in the Smithsonian – albeit, in a hallway between two bathrooms – but as the ever-so-astute Anderson Cooper noted, “You know, you got to start somewhere”. I’m sure Stephen appreciates the support! :-)



And now going “off-topic”:

Speaking of Stephen Colbert (aka “Esteban Colberto”), you really do have to watch this video of Thursday night’s Colbert Report interview with Lou Dobbs – it’s hysterical – even Lou had a difficult time not laughing:



tonight on Anderson Cooper 360°:


Thanks so much for visiting on a Friday - in case I don't blog tomorrow, have a terrific weekend!!

Quick Monday Morning Updates …

Today’s Buzz (Part 1) ...

Not only will The Daily Show and The Colbert Report be returning tonight (sans writing staffs), but TCR will have Andrew Sullivan as the guest. That should be interesting ... in a good way ...



Also tonight – Kathy Griffin will be a guest on “Live with Jimmy Kimmel” – wonder if she’ll work in her new “I spent New Year’s Eve with Anderson Cooper” line into her appearance ...




Boy, Mike Huckabee knows how to “work” those late night talk show appearances – last Wednesday, he was on The Tonight Show on the eve of the Iowa Caucuses, and tonight he’s on The Late Show – on the eve of the New Hampshire Primary. Sorry Governor – hope you’re not expecting the same post-appearance political result ...



I forgot that Bill Maher’s return to Real Time on Friday would mean that both the monologue and “New Rules” segments would be on hiatus until the writers’ strike is settled. This week’s guests (so far) are Ben Affleck, George Carlin and Tom Brokaw. If they’re the panelists, I hope they’re prepared to talk - a lot. Bill is scheduled to be a Larry King Live guest – I thought it would be this week, but it looks like sometime next week at this point.



I’m a little surprised that AC360° hasn’t really covered much of the escalating violence and refugee displacement in Kenya due to election opposition. This has been going on for many days now, and I think there’s only been a mention or two in the news bulletins.



I’m also following the surfacing of reports today about the ‘provocation’ of US ships in international waters over the weekend by Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats. No shots were fired (thankfully), but it’s moments like this when I wish we would have the steady ‘hand’ of someone like Joe Biden in a very high place, rather than the trigger-happy Darth Vader and the Texas Cowboy, who are praying (figuratively) for a reason to start bombing Iran. We’ll see if this has any effect in tomorrow’s voting, perhaps?



Thanks so much for visiting - updates posted as needed - hopefully including reviews this evening ~ post-AC360°, TDS and TCR!!

a day for reflection, as well as celebration ...

Today’s Buzz ...

Rescuing Youssif: I hope that some of you were able to watch the special hour that pre-empted AC360° on Monday evening. What a brave little boy. And what a brave family – to risk everything to come to the United States for the kind of treatment that will make dramatically improve the quality of Youssif’s life. He’ll receive the best treatment possible at the Grossman Burn Center – it is truly the best place that he could be. Unfortunately, the decision of whether or not the family returns to Iraq will still loom high and be very difficult. But at least the family has witnessed the compassion and generosity that Americans are capable of offering - first hand.

And if they do decide to return to be with their relatives, we can only hope that whatever security that has been established through the US military ‘surge’ will remain intact and perhaps even improve if the coalition government ever decides to operate as it was envisioned to operate.

You can follow Youssif’s progress here on CNN.com. I didn’t take a lot of screen caps of this special, as much of it was, quite frankly, a little difficult to watch. But here are some that chronicle the more hopeful moments in the hour:





Asia Tsumani – 3rd anniversary: Certainly not an anniversary to celebrate, but it was three years ago today that we were first learning of the devastation in Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India.



It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in modern history, killing over 230,000 people. The rebuilding efforts have, by most accounts, progressed well. Perhaps some New Orleans officials could learn some lessons here??? Memorial services are being held throughout the region – you can read more here.



There was also a recent interesting article about how survivors’ tales passed down by elders in certain affected communities may help to prevent future loss of life, should a similar disaster occur at some point in the future.

Moving on to more positive news and notes: before New Year’s, many people still have additional holidays to celebrate!! For example, today is Boxing Day, and also the start of the Kwanzaa celebration!

Boxing Day is December 26, the day after Christmas, and is celebrated in Great Britain and in most areas settled by the English (the U.S. is the major exception), including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Historians say the holiday developed because servants were required to work on Christmas Day, but took the following day off. As servants prepared to leave to visit their families, their employers would present them with gift boxes.



Kwanzaa is an African-American holiday about the festival of the first harvest of the crops. It begins on December 26, and lasts for seven days. The name Kwanzaa, sometimes spelled Kwanza, comes from a phrase which means "first fruits" in Swahili, an East African language.



I was reading an article about the writers’ strike (which is beginning to have a measureable impact on the Southern California economy), and it’s interesting to note that the one programming genre that broadcasters are ignoring to “fill in” their prime time schedules is – perhaps not surprisingly – NEWS!!

And speaking of news – or at least the fake kind – I was SO happy to see that Stephen Colbert has been named “Celebrity of the Year” by the Associated Press!! It will definitely be interesting to see how The Colbert Report (and The Daily Show) fare without their ultra-talented writing staffs.



Both Gary Tuchman and Randi Kaye have interesting blog entries today – Gary talks about how US troops have actually been in the Persian Gulf region for 18 Christmas holidays, dating back to the first Gulf War. And Randi comments about the tiger attack yesterday at the San Francisco Zoo, and about whether wild animals really should be held in captivity. I haven’t been to a zoo since sixth grade, for the very reasons she cites – I can’t stand to see animals like that in cages, solely for human viewing pleasure. It amounts to sanctioned cruelty – IMHO. You can always check out the AC360° blog – and the CNN.com homepage headlines – via the links on the sidebar!!

And how does Anderson celebrate Christmas? Or at least what did he tell "Entertainment Tonight" that he does to celebrate? Here it is: Christmas looks a lot like any other day to newsman Anderson Cooper. "To be honest, I usually end up working, which is a little pathetic," he confides to ET. And just as honestly - I think it's pathetic that he's being quoted by "Entertainment Tonight" - but that's just (very humbly) IMO. :-(

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

Can we sanction South Carolina? Or at least SC Democrats??

Today’s Buzz ...

• from last night’s program:

Bush as a "bully": Another unsuccessful presidential venture ... I hope that whatever remains of Bush’s base enjoys these irrelevant and annoying attempts to attack those that – heaven forbid – dare to question whatever it is that he may happen to want. As Tom Foreman very methodically reviewed, Bush’s “talking points” in his speech at The Heritage Foundation yesterday lacked, well, foundation ...

Congress has the right, duty and obligation to question a nominee for Attorney General about his interpretations of what is constitutional and what isn’t – including an activity like waterboarding. Suzanne Malveaux reported that the Administration is attempting the same strategy as in the past – framing the debate about Michael Mukasey’s nomination and specifically, his views on torture, as a debate over national security. David Gergen added that the argument lacks merit and the issue boils down to how much unfettered power a President has in a time of war. As so many other similar policy debates have ...

Personally, I didn’t vote for a king or a dictator in 2000 or 2004, but the self-anointed monarch currently living in the White House isn’t making the road any easier for a like-party candidate to follow him into occupancy of that section of DC real estate, at the very least.


Embryo battle: There’s a very fundamental question here that I’m not sure I understand, nor was it answered amidst the significant amount of time spent on this topic. Why – oh why – would Augusta Roman WANT to bear a child by an ex-spouse that she no longer has anything other than a completely antagonistic relationship with?? If she’s concerned about her biological clock, for all the time she’s spent pursuing this ‘case’, couldn’t she have had more eggs harvested and impregnated by anonymous donor sperm at this point?


Jonathan Turley (Constitutional attorney) opined that Ms. Roman has very little chance of convincing the US Supreme Court to hear this case, as the Texas Supreme Court has ruled against her. He cited both the right-to-life/right-to-choose questions this case raises, as well as the contractual issues, namely that both parties (Randy & Augusta Roman) signed one agreeing that any embryos would not be used unless both parties agreed. That’s fairly clear cut to me ...


Chicago Police torture allegations: How outrageous is it that Anthony Holmes and Darrell Cannon spent decades in jail for crimes they didn’t commit, but confessed to after being severely tortured at the hands of former commander John Burge. If you watched “24” this past season, you probably saw what a torture victim looks like when a plastic bag is placed over his head – the ability to breathe is somewhat hampered!! And playing Russian Roulette with a loaded gun is automatically far beyond the torture (or terror) scale. And even though Burge has been found guilty of torture in a civil suit and fired by the Chicago Police Dept., the City must continue to defend him and pay out any judgments in five additional pending civil suits, because he was a City employee at the time of these incidents. Your tax dollars (once again) hard at work ...



Identity Theft: I’m going to admit this upfront – although I feel very bad for the family of Lisa Henson – especially with having to re-live the trauma of her disappearance because Esther Reed stole her identity (among other offenses) – I didn’t really pay all that close attention to this segment. This kind of story just isn’t that compelling (to me). But I wanted to mention it because (and here’s where my guilt kicks in) it gives me the opportunity to post this wonderful picture of Gary Tuchman with beautiful Montana mountains in the background!!!!


Raw Politics: Oh my – well, it’s official – and highly disappointing – but there will be no “Stephen Colbert” on the South Carolina Democratic Primary ballot. What’s interesting, though, is how much “buzz” this little grassroots venture has garnered in such a short time – the story was picked up yesterday on major news services (MSNBC, CNN, CBS, Yahoo, etc.) mere moments after the news broke. And it was the lead item this morning at AOL.com. Not bad for a “failed actor”, as Mr. Colbert has been described by Jon Friedman at MarketWatch. I did enjoy when Tom Foreman made sure to note that Mike Gravel was still on the Primary ballot – certainly a ‘shot’ at the SC Democratic Executive Committee!!


I’m looking forward to Soledad’s interview with Ron Paul tonight. He’s not your typical Republican, by any means. And it’s no fluke that he’s raised over $8 million dollars. Yes, a paltry sum in comparison to “chionophobic” Mitt Romney – much of which has come from his own coffers. What’s “chionophobia”, you ask? Fear of snow. ;-)



tonight on Anderson Cooper 360°:

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