American Morning
Boycotting Obama's commencement speech
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/05/15/intv.toates.art.jpg caption="CNN's Kiran Chetry speaks to a Notre Dame senior who is boycotting graduation over President Obama's speech."]
(CNN) - President Obama this weekend will become the ninth sitting U.S. president to deliver the commencement speech at the University of Notre Dame, but none of the others has touched off the firestorm of Obama's appearance.
At issue is the president's pro-choice abortion belief, which runs counter to the Catholic Church's official pro-life stance, and his support for federal funding of stem-cell research.
One person who was supposed to be going to commencement but is not is Notre Dame senior Emily Toates. She feels so strongly about the university's decision to invite the president in spite of his views on abortion, she's organized a group to boycott her own graduation. Toates spoke to Kiran Chetry on CNN’s “American Morning” Friday.
Kiran Chetry: The president will deliver the commencement address. He got an honorary degree from the school. You feel so strongly about that situation that you're not going to attend your graduation? Tell us more about why?
Emily Toates: Well, I was really sad to hear that the university invited President Obama to speak. While it's an honor to have the president come, Obama's stance on certain life issues go against the Catholic teachings. I do not feel comfortable going and celebrating him as the university hands him an honorary degree, in a sense honoring his policies. I didn’t feel comfortable going and standing there and standing beside that – clapping while we did that.
Chetry: How is it shaking down at your school? How many students are supporting this move and how many are against it?
Toates: Well it's a difficult situation. This has caused a bit of division on the campus. But it also has created a lot of... discussion on these issues. I think there's a few camps - there's those strongly against it, those strongly for it, but there’s a lot of people in the middle that really aren't sure how they feel about this. Maybe they disagree with Obama on certain issues but don't really understand how this impacts him giving a speech on campus. So this has created a lot of opportunity for discussion, education. I'm working with "ND Response" and we’ve used this as an opportunity to discus these issues, brought some great speakers to campus, to really talk about this and why this matters.
Airline industry's 'dirty little secret'
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/05/15/carroll.pilotpay.art.jpg caption="CNN's Jason Carroll reports the average starting salary for a regional pilot is $18,168 a year."]
One former member of the National Transportation Safety Board called it the airline industry's "dirty little secret." Well, it's not a secret anymore.
The issue – how much regional pilots are paid to fly. According to an aviation consulting firm, the starting salary is $18,168 a year. Compare that to a janitor's salary at $21,000 or a New York City cab driver with just a few years experience $22,000.
The issue is coming into focus during hearings in Washington DC into the crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407.
The plane's first officer, Rebecca Shaw made less than $24,000 dollars a year. Shaw lived with her parents in Seattle, but worked out of Newark. She commuted across the country overnight before the doomed flight and investigators have asked – did that prevent her from getting needed sleep?
An end to 911 call replays?
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/05/15/costello.911calls.art.jpg caption="A lawmaker in Ohio wants to ban broadcasters from playing 911 calls."]
From CNN's Ronni Berke and Carol Costello
There is no doubt that broadcasting 911 calls on TV exposes operators who make mistakes while handling emergency calls. There are hundreds of examples, like the call CNN aired in 2005 – A frantic parent called 911 to report her violent children were out of control. Here’s how the call went:
Caller: "I just got home from work. They were physically fighting with each other. And they're 12 and almost 14 and the 12 year old is completely out of control. I can't... I physically... she's as big as I am.... I can't control her."
911 Dispatcher: "OK. Did you want us to come over and shoot her?"
The 911 operator later apologized for what he called “a joke.” He was also reprimanded by his superiors, but was allowed to stay on the job.
The question today? Was it really necessary to for the public to hear his faux pas on TV?
Ohio State Senator, Republican Thomas Patton, has the answer to that question. He says, “no.” He feels so strongly about it he’s introduced a bill in the Ohio legislature that would prohibit "radio, television and the internet..." from "playing a recording of" 911 calls.
The bill would allow broadcasters to "read(ing) a transcript..." of the calls. But, if broadcasters violate the law, they’re subject to a 10-thousand dollar fine. Patton says he got the idea from law enforcement officers. They told him airing audio of 911 calls makes people afraid to call 911 to report crime because they fear the bad guy will recognize their voice.
Wingnuts of the Week
Editor’s note: John P. Avlon is the author of Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics and writes a weekly column for The Daily Beast. Previously, he served as Chief Speechwriter for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and was a columnist and associate editor for The New York Sun.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/05/15/limbaugh.sykes.art.jpg caption= "Conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh (L) and comedian Wanda Sykes (R)."]
The Wingnut of the Week segment got a great response in its opening edition. There were comments from all over the Web, including defenders of respective wingnut Representatives Bachman or McKinney who applauded one selection while condemning the other. We’re encouraging these debates and centrists are used to such complaints – liberals think we’re conservative and conservatives think we’re liberal. Independents don’t walk in lockstep with any party-line; they make up their own mind.
Others sought to clarify the terminology – saying that “wingnut” should refer only to folks on the far-right, while “moonbat” properly refers to the loony-left. I appreciate the efforts at Noah Webster-like netroot accuracy, but for me and many others in the moderate majority, a wingnut on one side equals a wingnut on the other.
After looking at your suggestions about this week’s selections, two names stood out as obvious: Wanda Sykes and Rush Limbaugh.
Even with a generous discount for edgy comedy, Wanda Sykes went over the edge with her routine at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. The now infamous standout lines: “I think maybe Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker, but he was so strung out on OxyContin he missed his flight… He hopes the country fails. I hope his kidneys fail.”
If a conservative comedian made the same jokes about some left-wing bloviator, liberals would have been offended. And rightly so – the attacks of September 11th should be self-evidently off limits for humor, especially with the President of the United States an arm’s length away. Americans who disagree with you politically are not terrorists or terrorist sympathizers, let alone the 20th hijacker. Hitting someone’s struggle with substance abuse – or saying you hope their kidneys fail – to a room full of laughter and applause, is at best unkind and at worst an unusually personal political attack. It’s an illustration of how the extremes encourage each other because partisan politics follows the lines of physics – every action creates an equal and opposite reaction.
We Listen!
Thursday’s American Morning viewers continued the controversial torture debate, adding more comment about the Obama administration’s change in policy regarding release of torture pictures.
- Ginger: Did Cheney's interview change President Obama's mind about releasing photos. It was a compelling interview. But either way I applaud the President for deciding not to release the photos. There would be no positive outcome if they were release. The majority of Americans do not care if the terrorists were tortured or not. It is really hard to have sympathy for a terrorist. Downright impossible. If anyone should be persecuted or charged with a crime it should be the people responsible for releasing terrorists from Gitmo so they can just go commit more murders and more destruction. That should be a crime.
- Tvpad: Thank you Dick Cheney for getting out and demanding information revealed that led to America's safety over 7 years along with pics!
- Bill: The "truth-o-meter" on Newt GIngrich saying that congress didn't pass a law making water boarding illegal: It is already illegal. Torture is illegal under civil law, criminal law, and international law. CNN gets a "FALSE" for not mentioning that fact.
- Ed: Mr. Zelicow gave a more easily accepted version than Cheney of Bush Admin. stance on Harsh Interrogation but still gets only half of the root point. Most Americans will agree we need to "do that which is right". At least I think so. We do not torture BECAUSE by taking moral high ground we still have the high ground to take action when another country tortures one of ours. (Hearts & Minds) That is consistent with the experience and stance of Senator John McCain.
- Kirk: This morning I was troubled by the way that you presented Nancy Pelosi's statements about when she was briefed on Bush's Torture Techniques. It seems very odd to me that the CIA's release of a "timeline" somehow in your description shows Ms. Pelosi to be lying. The CIA, being the main culprit in the commission of these crimes, should have a higher bar to prove the truth. The CIA has already obstructed justice in this matter and destroyed videotape evidence of their crimes. They are in the business of lying. Why would you hold their words up as a measure of what is true? Also by their own timeline, Abu Zubaydah had already been water boarded before Ms. Pelosi was briefed, which seems the larger story to me.
- Scott: IF DICK CHENEY SERIOUSLY DOES'NT SEE WATERBOARDING AS TORTURE LETS STRIP HIM,BIND HIM TIGHTLY,AND PROCEED WITH A THOROUGH WATERBOARDING SESSION AND QUESTION HIM ABOUT THE INNER WORKINGS OF HALLIBURTON. I THINK MR. CHENEY MIGHT CHANGE HIS FEELINGS ABOUT WHAT IS OR IS NOT TORURE.
How do you feel about the Obama Administration’s change in policy regarding the release of torture pictures?
How can we avoid salt in our diet?
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/06/20/sanjay.gupta.cnn.jpg caption="CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta answers your questions."]
From Arthur
Birmingham, Alabama
I saw your report earlier in the week the about high salt content in restaurant foods. I end up consuming salty foods at home too! My wife adds it to everything – even to the water she boils our pasta in. What are some alternatives I can suggest?
Answer
Arthur, thanks for writing in! Sodium content is often not something people look for on labels, or consciously think about when preparing their meals. Even many low-fat, low-calorie items have very high levels of sodium. Then, of course, the salt shaker sitting on most kitchen tables doesn’t help the matter. You see we’re all creatures of habit. If a person grows up always adding salt and pepper to each meal, it becomes second nature. Before even tasting a meal, many people add salt to without thinking twice.
Our bodies do need some sodium. It helps regulate your body’s fluid, aids in muscle function. But too much sodium can cause a siren to go off internally. When excess salt flows through your bloodstream, your kidneys get defensive. They release a hormone that triggers blood vessels to contract, which causes your blood pressure to rise. From there it’s a ripple effect on your health. High blood pressure can cause a heart attack or stroke among other conditions. Something as seemingly small as reducing sodium levels in your diet could save your life. In fact, the American Medical Association estimates that 150,000 lives could be saved in the United States annually if people cut their salt intake in half.
There are ways to cut back when cooking at home without losing flavor. Start by getting the salt shaker off the dinner table. As I mentioned earlier, people often add it to meals just because it’s there, not because the food needs it. Keep the shaker in the cabinet, and odds are your whole family will inadvertently use it less.
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