We Listen!

Thursday’s American Morning audience had a plethora of topics for comment. The Binghamton, AL, police chase divided viewers who felt the perpetrator created a volatile situation and got what he deserved. Conversely, police brutality was addressed as an issue, as well as the need for additional police training for such situations.

• R, C.: Thanks for showing the video of the Alabama man being beaten by police after a high speed chase. My nephew was stopped and so badly beaten by Birmingham police that his eardrum burst. After an "internal review" the police found no wrong doing. My nephew was unarmed and was beaten by more than one officer. Someone needs to expose this kind of abuse.
• Glo: Adrenaline! That's what these police officers were working on. This perp tried to kill one of their brothers with his car and put the rest of them in danger by having them chase him. Unless you have lived with a person in the police you cannot understand or judge their actions. My Father was a New York Detective and I can understand.

How do you feel about the sentencing of the police accused of brutality? Was justice served?

Rights of the boy with cancer were deliberated, as viewers weighed personal rights against child safety.

• Dee: I cannot believe the fact that we are wasting government dollars to chase down a family who has made a decision to refuse the treatment. I would better understand if this was a case where the child appeared otherwise neglected, but that's not the case. It seems that money is allotted to situations that don't need it rather than to situations where children are in real danger and are seeking help. If someone could show me that the parents are not competent to make the decision regarding his care, I might side with the state. Otherwise, leave the parents alone. As the guardians of their child they have every right to have the final say. The child's inability to read doesn't negate his ability to understand the situation if it is explained to him.
• Barbara: I wonder if the court has had the benefit of research documenting the long term dangers of chemo. There is plenty of research that shows that while chemo can work in the short run, it is so highly toxic to the body that there is a heightened risk of cancer returning. I'm not opposed to all western medicine, but I'm pretty sure I would not undergo chemo. I understand the parent's position. The father, the only parent we've had the opportunity to listen to, seems like a reasonable person.

Is this a personal medical decision that should be decided by the boy and his family, or should the state intervene in order to protect the health of the child? What would you do?

A backlash against former V.P. Cheney was evidenced by negative reaction to his proposed security / Gitmo speech.

• Tony: WHY is the news media permitting this disgraced former VP to appear and speak on national TV? None of us care to hear him. Who would you rather piss off, Dick Cheney and a few Republican supporters OR 70% of the American people??? You are simply encouraging him to continue his BS in the name of news (that is not creditable).
• Louise: why are all of your commentators continuing to report on Dick Cheney? For 8 years the public never heard from him, now he is everywhere. Stop giving this man a forum. Enough already
• Lisa: Regarding FORMER VP Dick Cheney's speech later this morning, why is anyone still listening to this man? After 8 years of his & G.W. Bush's fascist regime of fear & spying, this man continues to flood the networks spouting his rhetoric of paranoia in order to deliberately undermine the current administration. The Bush/Cheney regime had their time. It's over. They lied, deceived, broke laws, and spit all over our Constitution to get the war that Cheney wanted. He needs to go quietly, along with his paranoia, back to Wyoming, retire, and take some much needed medication! On the other hand, perhaps he can keep right on talking himself into being tried for war crimes – by another country that has the guts to do it... I, for one, will not be watching his speech today. To do so gives him the credibility he & the GOP far-right so brazenly & desperately seek.

How do you feel about former VP Cheney’s media attention of late? What do you think his purpose is in having so many public appearances?  Has the media given him too much attention?