American Morning
What’s on Tap – Thursday April 16, 2009
Here are the big stories on the agenda today:
- A happy homecoming. The crew of the Maersk Alabama – the U.S.-flagged cargo ship hijacked by Somali pirates last week – arrived in the United States early Thursday. There were smiles and hugs and “welcome home’s.” Now the crew awaits their skipper, Captain Rich Phillips. He was detoured when the Navy was called to help another ship shake the pirates, but could be in the air any moment.
- President Obama heads to Mexico City today to meet with President Felipe Calderon, before traveling to Trinidad and Tobago for the fifth Summit of the Americas, with the border plagued by drug violence, and U.S. immigration reform on the shelf. Homeland security secretary Janet Napolitano is making her 2nd visit of the month to Mexico. She is meeting with government officials to discuss southwest border violence. We’ll ask her how the U.S. can assist and should respond. We are also continuing our special series “Drug Nation.” Today: Should we legalize pot? Many of you blog watchers say yes and the war on drugs is not working. We look at the pros and cons.
- Impulse Buying… and Selling: Can the personalities of stock traders be behind the wild swings in the markets the past few years? At least one researcher at MIT thinks the way traders react to bubbles and crashes has in part, magnified gains and losses.
- Beer Wars... FULL POST
We Listen!
Here’s your daily recap of the best feedback we got from YOU today. Continue the conversation below. And remember, keep it brief, and keep it clean. Thanks!
On Tax Day 2009, American Morning viewers offered various opinions on the “Tea Parties” being held throughout the country.
- Bill: Please report on the organizers of the "tea parties". If these are the same people who stood silent or cheered while Pres. Bush borrowed and spent us into bad trouble, please point out their intellectual dishonesty
- Mary: The "tea parties" are not a Republican outrage, This is a "grassroots movement" of many kinds of people who are totally fedup with the trash that radical Washington is "dishing out"! It is evident that CNN is "in the tank" for Obama, yesterday, today and tomorrow, but this time people are not going to believe your false reporting on these "tea parties"! I hope that this event gets the message to the baffoons in the White House!!!! We, the people have had it, UP TO OUR EYBALLS!!! We are not going to take it ANYMORE!!! And the Obama Administration think they are going to stop these "tea parties" with more lies on the media? And they call us "radical right", because we are trying to stop corruption? Give me a break – no socialism, no markism, no communism in AMERICA!!!
- Wendy: I noticed that CNN branding "Tea Parties" as a republican project. I'm a Dem and attending today. This is about "Too Big Govt". I was very critical of Pres Bush in the same manner. I' enjoy CNN but seems you now always put every debate in Dems v Repub context. The world is not that simple
- JR: I'm wondering if there are any actions being taken to stop these tea parties from polluting American waterways. I'm concerned about the impact dumping large quantities of tea in the waterways will have on the ecosystem.
How do you feel about the first viewer’s (Bill’s) statement, wondering if the “Tea Party” protestors are the same ones who gave President G.W. Bush carte blanche to “spend us into bad trouble”? Are the “Tea Parties” just the Republican Party’s attempt to rebuild its party or is this truly a “grass roots” movement meant to protest “big government,” as the two center viewers’ (Mary and Wendy) remark? And what about the environmental concerns the last viewer (JR) expresses? Let us know what you think. Did you participate in any “tea parties” today? Share your experiences with us.
War on drugs a total failure, says Rep. Ron Paul
The always outspoken congressman joined us in the 7am ET hour of American Morning today as we continue our week-long special report "Drug Nation."
He says we have it all wrong and that making drugs a crime especially marijuana is a waste of time, money and resources, plus it is a slap to the constitution and personal liberties. But is he trying to get a bill through Congress to actually legalize drugs? Watch the interview
While most of our callers to the amFIX hotline agree with legalizing marijuana, opinions on our blog and Twitterboard were mixed.
We also have interviewed experts who strongly believe that while legalizing all drugs may seem like it would work in theory, the end result would add to the number of people addicted, injured, and killed not to mention the cost of treatment.
There are clearly no easy answers. This will no doubt be on President Obama's agenda as he heads to Mexico Thursday to talk about the drug problems at the border, as well as all the other issues involving countries south of the border.
As always, we want to hear your thoughts on the issue. Follow us on Twitter @amFIX and @kiranchetrycnn.
See you in the morning!
Kiran
Mexico will not become failed narco-state, says former president
Mexico is not in danger of becoming a failed narco-state any time soon.
That’s according to Vicente Fox, the former President of Mexico, who spoke with us on the eve of President Obama’s trip to Mexico city. Watch the interview
Fox dismissed the warnings of a growing number of analysts, saying the worst-case scenario is “far, far, away.”
As for who is to blame for the surge in drug cartel violence, Fox refused to point fingers, saying both sides share responsibility – Mexico, for its role as a producer and trans-shipment point for illegal drugs, the United States for its insatiable appetite.
Romans on Obama, Bernanke and the politics of taxes
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/04/15/obama.economy.georgetown.getty.jpg caption="President Obama speaks on the economy at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, on April 14, 2009."]
The president’s “major speech” on the economy yesterday did not cover new ground. It did not provide any fresh programs for stimulating the economy. Yet there was something new there: the president gave the most exhaustive explanation yet of his plan to reboot the American economy.
There was a lot more there than “glimmers of hope.”
Here’s what I mean. He was speaking directly to the American people, not announcing new plans, but selling what he has already done. He fiercely supported the bank bailouts. He acknowledged more difficult and “unpopular” decisions are ahead. He chastised his critics point by point. And he told American in great detail why he is tackling painful and politically-sensitive problems at the very same time as this financial crisis.
“I want every American to know that each action we take and each policy we pursue is driven by a larger vision of America's future – a future where sustained economic growth creates good jobs and rising incomes; a future where prosperity is fueled not by excessive debt, or reckless speculation, or fleeing profit, but is instead built by skilled, productive workers; by sound investments that will spread opportunity at home and allow this nation to lead the world in the technologies, the innovations, and discoveries that will shape the 21st century. That's the America I see."
It’s a reboot of the American economy. He said it could take many years.
Are you and best buddy in a 'bromance?'
Bromance? On the streets of New York, the term elicited quizzical looks from the several men I approached.
Melvin, a bike messenger with meticulous cornrows and baggy jeans, assumed I was inquiring about something related to homosexuality.
One aspiring writer nervously stammered through our brief chat and made it a point to profess his love for women repeatedly.
Only one young man, a student at Fordham, knew what a bromance was and seemed comfortable enough to profess that he was indeed a bromantic. Why the weirdness? Dudes and feelings are not supposed to mix.
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