Anderson Cooper The Journalist

Many apologies if I come across as a bit snarky tonight.  I’m really exhausted.  It’s a good thing I’m not blogging the Heroes show.

Intro

Breaking News

David Letterman the victim of blackmail.

Letterman

David Letterman “dropped a bombshell” during his show’s taping today, reported Randi Kaye.  Letterman admitted that he has been the victim of blackmail, and he further admitted that he’s had sex with members of his show’s staff.  This was a very bold way of defeating blackmail.   Questions still abound whether or not he was having an affair with his new wife.  This is a late-breaking story, so the coverage cut off for a bit.

Keeping Them Honest

Joe Johns reports from Chicago on the beating death of Derrion Albert.  As of this moment, not one person has come forward with information about his death, even though there were dozens of witnesses.  Anderson thinks that this has something to do with the “no snitching” movement, as mentioned in yesterday’s show.

I get really riled up about education, as I myself am a teacher.  In urban school districts, there is an unwritten code of behavior that dictates that students can not share information about crimes they witness.  As an urban teacher myself, I can attest to the verity of this claim.  I have often walked up on fights of all sorts and the hardest thing to do is to get information from anybody, even the kid getting beaten up.

Steve Perry, CNN Education contributor, says that when a kid in an urban school district can’t make it home safely, urgent action needs to be taken.  Steve Perry has activated his pseudo-urban dialect in order to appear authentic.  Epic failure.  Almost as bad as when Anderson Cooper tries to connect with hip hop by saying that he likes a variety of artists, while trying to either justify or ingratiate himself.

The artist, Common, was on the show.  AC asked him why Tyson Beckford would record a video telling kids not to talk to the police.  Common, of course, is not Tyson Beckford.  Common replied by going back to the roots of hip hop, to the time when it was about emancipation and self-improvement.  Common said that kids need to know that they’re being listened to and loved, which sounds great, but is this the best thing he can say?  Fighting war with love sounds great, but the 60′s are over.  We need to think of something a bit more concrete that involves both positive and negatives for all stakeholders.

AC brought parents up.  There’s nothing more comfortable than blaming parents. Teachers, especially, love to blame parents.  Anybody who doesn’t have a real solution loves to blame parents.

AC got off the parent train and brought up Busta Rhymes, who didn’t snitch when his bodyguard was shot.  Perry responded by saying that ignorance has no zip code. What these two things have in common, I just do not know.

This was all a great deal of carping.  Urban education is such an exasperating cause that people find it difficult to do  anything else.  I find it amazing that nobody mentioned the threat of retaliation that runs strong through many urban gangs.  Not snitching becomes a matter of self-preservation.

360 Bulletin

Indonesia earthquakes

Samoan islands picking up the pieces after Tuesday’s tsunami

Ken Lewis is leaving Bank of American with $53 million

Communist China marks 60 years.  Not one person cracks a smile in Tiannamen Square

Breaking News

For some reason, the WWF has been running polar bear commercials on AC360 all week long!  Look how cute they are, though…

Breaking News

Back to Letterman.  Lisa Bloom was on the phone.  Her legal definition of extortion is the threat to reveal embarrassing information and the demand of large sums of money to keep that information secret.  AC said that Letterman did the right thing.  Bloom answered that he did the write thing in terms of the extortion, but not in his personal life (Letterman slept with at least 2 staff members).

Howard Kurtz, of the Washington Post, said that Letterman did the right thing by telling the authorities.

All throughout the segment, they showed Letterman at a restaurant with Madonna.  Maybe she’s one of the staffers in questions.  Go Dave!

Maybe I’m just grumpy, but how is this news?  Sure, it stinks for David Letterman, but there’s not much to be gained by dragging this out into the open.

Breaking News

Nuclear talks with Iran and other nations may lead to inspections.

Candi Crowley, Reza Aslan, and Abbas Milani

Reza pointed out that 8 years of giving the cold shoulder to Iran yielded 8 years of uranium enrichment.  Milani cautioned us not to get too optimistic.  AC asked Crowley about whether or not this is a political win for President Obama.  Crowley answered that right now it’s just talk.

Reza reported that there is room for more talks throughout the year.  Milani thought the big issue was the amount of enrichment occurring in Iran.

Crime and Punishment

David Wells, prosecutor in the original Polanski case, is in the studio with AC and Jeffrey Toobin.  In the film, Wells admitted that he never coached the judge in the case to change Polanski’s verdict.

Wells, who appeared on a documentary about the Polanski case, said that he spoke on the documentary because he never thought it would be shown in the United States.  Toobin couldn’t speak to the “psycho drama” that Wells is trying to elicit, but he did say that Polanski pled guilty, full stop.

toobin

Toobin even questioned whether or not there ever was a plea bargain.

Hero Retrospective

Former CNN Hero, Peter, who started a clinic in Kenya, spoke about how his country plunged into war two weeks after he received the award.  He said that he has received so much support after becoming a CNN hero that he has been able to open an additional clinic.  Some patients walk up to 100 miles for care.

Hero

360 Bulletin

Chris Savoie gave an interivew to CNN from prison.

Elizabeth Smart, kidnapping victim, testifies in the case against Brian Mitchell

Michael Jackson was relatively healthy when he died.

Sarah Palin’s new book, Going Rogue, has a picture of her in a red jacket staring off into what must be the Alaska wilderness, or maybe she’s just squinting to see Russia.

The Shot

New York store owner risks his own life to rescue a boy from a burning apartment.  The apartment is above his store.  He climbed up the fire escape and was in perfect position to receive the boy from a firefighter.

The man, Horia Cretan, found out about the boy from the boy’s grandfather.  Cretan said that he got his first responder skills from watching television.   Riding the rush, Cretan proposed to his girlfriend on Good Morning America.