The Sunrise Lowdown

Political Flubs & Grits for Grub!!

LOOK OUT FOR THE SNIPER FIRE!: This is why I’ve enjoyed covering politics so much, it’s fun when politicians of all parties get caught saying crazy stuff, especially when it’s caught on tape!  For the past couple of weeks, Barack Obama took heat for his pastor of 20 years mouthed off about America deserving to be attacked on 9/11, and that instead of God Bless America, it should be “God D*** America,” in Pastor Wright’s words. 

Republican John McCain got in some mud awhile back when he said the US might have to remain in Iraq for “100 years,” and the Arizona Senator also took flak when he mused he wasn’t an expert on the US economy.

THE HEAT IS ON HILL NOW: Several times Hillary Clinton said she had a “corkscrew” landing to “avoid sniper fire” during a trip to Bosnia in March 1996 and had to run on the tarmac.  Sen. Clinton also recently said she had to go inside for a welcoming party because of the sniper fire.  Well, comedian Sinbad of all people was quoted in the Washington Post recently as saying nothing like that happened. (Sinbad was part of the group, it was a USO-sponsored trip to the troops)

Now, Sen. Clinton says she “mis-spoke” about the incident.  One would think ducking sniper fire might be a vivid memory, but the pictures from NBC that day show a different story. 

AIRLINES TO YOU; FEND FOR YOURSELF! Did you see a recent court decision that struck down a NY state law requiring airlines to not trap passengers on planes if there’s no way the plane is going to take off.  This came out of the Jet Blue fiasco a couple of years ago where planes sat on the tarmac for up to 10 hours and did not take off because of a storm.  (if I were on that plane, my temper would boil over after hour #1, no less being stuck for 10 hours)  Toilets on the planes backed up and the airline didn’t even give people food or water.  Well, the airline industry fought this law to keep you trapped on a plane and they won!  Apparently the court decided the law must be a federal one and not a state law.  So if you get stuck on a plane for hours on end, just remember, the airline industry went to court to insure you get no water and are in a sea of sewage, trapped in a plane.  Enjoy the friendly skies and don’t even think about asking for peanuts!!!

BEN TANNER GOT US HUNGRY FOR GRITS: during our morning show Wednesday.  He mentioned on air-that our show producer, Covie, tried grits for the first time a couple of months ago.  We should mention she is originally from Illinois, where it’s nearly impossible to find the little white grains of joy anywhere.

LET’S GRIT RIGHT TO THE POINT: For those of us who did not grow up in the south, grits are a foreign concept.  (toss in sweet tea too, you can’t get the stuff up north either)  So, when I arrived in the south around 8 years ago now, it was a culinary delight of new things to try.  My preference on grits, plain with some cheese on top (no butter, I’ll let the cheese handle the artery clogging instead) 

NOW YOUR TURN, WHAT KIND OF TOPPINGS DO YOU PREFER ON GRITS?  For the record, our morning show team preferences are as follows, Lucas=Cheese, Ben=”anything is fine with me”, Hannah=”shrimp”  Click to comments tab to share your favorite or most creative grits topping!!

Greedy Baseballers and Teachers Throwing Down!

WE’LL START WITH GREEDY BASEBALL PLAYERS: Did you see where the Boston Red Sox and Oakland A’s delayed the start of their spring training games Wednesday and almost refused to play.  The reason, the players were mad that their coaches weren’t getting paid a $40,000 “appearance fee” to play a game in Tokyo Japan for the season opener.  Because Major League Baseball doesn’t want to be embarrassed, they quickly opened up their pocketbooks and paid the coaches the same $40,000 each that the players will get to make the trip. 

But here’s the problem, many folks out there don’t make $40,000 in a single year, no less getting to go on a free trip.  The players and coaches are flying first-class, will get to stay in a fancy hotel and get food for free.  And, they’re getting paid their regular salaries to boot!  Still, these baseball players and coaches bellyached for some extra cash.  So the next time you’re staying at work late, hoping to earn some extra overtime, or if you’re clipping coupons to save a quarter here or there, just think of those baseball coaches and players who pocked a quick $40,000 for taking a free trip! 

YOU’VE HEAD ABOUT PLAYGROUND SCHOOL FIGHTS, HOW ABOUT TEACHER FIGHTS? Did you see the story we had the other day about 2 Richland One School teachers who got into a fight during school hours?  Yes, we can’t make this stuff up.  Here is the exact script from our Thursday morning show:

OFFICIALS SAY TAWANA HORTON AND CAMBRELLA PICKNEY STARTED FIGHTING FRIDAY IN THE EIGHTH GRADE HALLWAY AT SAINT ANDREWS MIDDLE SCHOOL.

      OFFICIALS SAY THE WOMEN HAVE ADMITTED TO AN "ONGOING PERSONAL DISPUTE."

   BOTH OF THE WOMEN STILL WORK FOR RICHLAND DISTRICT ONE, BUT DISTRICT OFFICIALS WON'T TALK ABOUT ANY SPECIFIC PUNISHMENT FOR THE TWO.

IS THERE A DOUBLE STANDARD HERE? Think about it, if a kid gets in trouble at school doing something like making threats or bringing a weapon, the schools not only tell the media who that kid is, but they’ll also reveal their punishment.

But in this case, Richland One won’t say what will happen to these two teachers, other than telling us that they’re still on the public payroll.

IF YOU GOT INTO A PHYSICAL FIGHT WITH A CO-WORKER IN THE WORKPLACE, WOULD YOU STILL BE ON THE PAYROLL?    I'll simply pose this question and stay away from giving any editorial comments here.

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN, SHOULD THE FIGHTING TEACHERS GET THE BOOT, OR JUST GET SENT TO DETENTION, TIME OUT OR LOSE THEIR PLAYGROUND PRIVLIDGES? Click on the comments tab below.

Storm Damage Gawkers & Political Hawkers

LET’S CLOG UP TRAFFIC AND LOOK AT STORM DAMAGE?  I was part of our Storm Team coverage this past Sunday, showing the aftermath in Elgin.  One of the things I was most struck by in this small town was the amount of people out and about, all driving around to look at the storm damage.  How do I know they were out to look at things?  Perhaps it was the fact that there were a ton of folks with cameras in their hands, while trying to drive at the same time!

IT LOOKED DARN NEAR LIKE RUSH HOUR: Sunday afternoon in Elgin, there were so many lookie-loos!  The volunteer fire chief in town told me during our 10am morning show that folks even showed up once the storm blew over, just to check things out.  Some folks, with apparently too much time on their hands even came from Columbia to survey the scene.  The fire chief says many of these out of towners simply got in the way of the legitimate debris clearing and search operation that was going on.  It also caused an unnecessary dangerous situation on Sunday where utility crews were trying to put back power poles while numerous cars, including all those folks trying to drive with cameras in their hands, were driving around them.

WE DID SEE SOME GOOD MOMENTS IN ELGIN: The Pastor of the Good Aim Baptist church told me they’ve received numerous offers of help, since the storm damaged their building.  Several area churches have even offered their space.  Pastor Willie Simons tells me they even had some folks driving by stop off and donate money for the church.  One person even gave them a case of bottled water, simply saying they might need it while working to clear some of the debris.

TV CAN BE DECIEVING WHEN IT COMES TO STORM DAMAGE: I have often been to storm damaged sites and it’s only our nature to try to find the most damaged or visual spot. (TV is a visual medium and you want to see the best pictures)

Often with tornadoes, they strike in small spots and leave other nearby areas untouched.  In the case of Elgin, there were about 5 different spots that took hits, while the vast majority of the town and its homes did not suffer damage.  Often in the flurry of showing damage we forget to point out that a town overall in good shape, with the exception of some isolated areas.  Still, this storm was interesting in that it affected 20 counties from one side of the state to the other.  It was encouraging to see so many SCDOT and utility crews out working on Sunday and Monday clearing fallen trees and trying to get things back to normal for folks.  But once again, it makes things a heck of a lot easier if folks are not getting in the way of the crews trying to do their work.

HEY, HOW ABOUT THE OLYMPICS IN SOUTH CAROLINA?  Did you see there's trouble in Beijing with the air quality?  Yes, apparently the air pollution in the area is high enough to get the International Olympic Committee worried, even saying it could affect athletes.   Here's the complete story.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23682873/

How about South Carolina hosts the Olympics instead of China?  Heck, we have a big stadium in Columbia that could host the track and field games.  USC has the Colonial Center and the old Carolina Coliseum, they could host a few things?  Stuff like the rowing and other water events could be held on the coast.  Come on Olympic big shots, South Carolina could show the world some love! 

SWITCHING GEARS, WHAT’S GOING ON WITH NY/NJ POLITICIANS?  If the antics of now former NY Governor Elliot Spitzer aren’t enough for you, there’s more coming out of the Northeast.  Did you hear the news that now the new Governor of New York, David Paterson told the NY Daily news that he had a little action on the side while he and his wife were having a tough time in their marriage from 1999 to 2001.  But the Paterson household is fair and balanced; Mrs. Paterson says she had an affair too during that time period.   This news comes on top of the new revelations about former NJ Governor Jim McGreevy and the claims that he and the former Mrs. McGreevy decided to invite another fellow into some bedroom activity.  McGreevy’s former wife disputes the claims.  The McGreevy’s are in a bitter court battle following their divorce.

DOES A POLITICIAN HAVING AN AFFAIR OR OTHER PAST RELATIONSHIP ISSUES AFFECT YOUR VOTE?  Let me know, click on the comments tab below.

One for the "oops file" DWI in front of the Sheriff!

WHEN PRESENTING 2 HOURS OF NEWS DAILY, every now and then there’s a story or two that really sticks out to me.  Because we are entrusted to presents the facts and then move on, there’s no time to really dwell too much on the interesting or unusual stories of the day on TV.  That’s where the internet comes in handy.

THERE ARE A FEW THINGS YOU SHOULD NOT ATTEMPT TO DO IN LIFE 1- Taunting a tiger, captive or otherwise, 2- Taunting any creature or person bigger than you for that matter, 3- Living in South Carolina and asking what a Gamecock or sweet tea is (I knew both prior to moving here, just helpful advice to others) 4- Telling your buddy, “hey, let’s get a real close look at that tornado.” 5- Saying to an Army Special Forces member, “hey, nice beret, Frenchie.” 6- Admitting that you think Michael Jackson’s recent work is somehow better than any of his early 80’s stuff. 7- Actually letting Michael Jackson babysit your kids. 8- Going out to get the mail and forget to wear pants (actually happened to a high profile athlete once) 9-Taking a trip to Las Vegas with the entire contents of your bank account. and finally…10- Shaking Howie Mandel’s hand on Deal or No Deal!

ADD ANOTHER THING NOT TO ATTEMPT IN LIFE, DWI: How many times do we report on bad things happening when folks make bad decision with alcohol and their cars?  Well, we had a story this morning that can be filed in the “hand caught in the cookie jar.”  The Richland County Sheriff says a woman ran right through a stop sign and then almost crashed right into him.  DWI is dumb enough, almost running into the sheriff takes the grand prize.  I don’t know if Sheriff Leon Lott has to fill in a time card, or if he has to work Saturday’s, but in this case, the Sheriff followed the car, pulled over the female driver and then called in the Highway Patrol to take care of things.  A sheriff’s spokesperson, Kim Wright told WIS News 10 the female driver was “so intoxicated, she could not even stand up, (Sheriff Lott) had to physically pull her out of her car.”

GOOD JOB SHERIFF LOTT: for helping our roads stay safe.  Imagine if a woman who couldn’t even walk was behind the wheel for too long, no doubt it could have had a tragic ending.  Click on the comments section below and let me know what you think of this situation, and if you’ve witnessed drunken drivers firsthand. 

Support Your Columbia & New York City Firefighters!!

LET’S GIVE THE FDNY A WARM WELCOME THIS WEEKEND: Yes, some of the proud and brave folks from the NYC Fire Department are in Columbia this weekend to play a charity hockey game against Columbia’s own Fire Department hockey team.  Yes, you read that right, the Columbia Fire Department has a hockey team!  Due to a previous engagement which I will be emceeing a charitable event, I can not attend the game but it sure is a good deal to support. If you buy a ticket in advance from the Columbia Inferno, the team will donate $5.00 to the MDA. 

GAME TIME FOR CFD VS FDNY IS 5pm SATURDAY at the Carolina Coliseum.

YOU CAN LAND YOURSELF A COLUMBIA FIRE DEPARTMENT JERSEY: the folks at Firehouse Subs popped for jerseys for the Columbia Fire Department and they’ll be auctioned off after the game on Saturday.  And if you feel like hanging out with some firefighters and consuming BBQ, they’ll have a gathering that starts around 7pm at 300 Senate Street!

YOUR COLUMBIA FIRE DEPARTMENT HOCKEY TEAM EVEN HAS A WEBSITE:

http://www.colafirehockey.com/

JUDGING DANCING WITH THE STARS: I pitched in to help the Unmasking Colon Cancer charitable event last weekend, which raised more than $60,000.  Money raised will go to USC’s research and awareness campaign.  Because we could only judge thigns with either 8-10, I decided to give the eventual winning dance team a 10.8! (Yes, I"m the smart-aleck on the right of the pic)

Don't Eat Cheesecake For Breakfast, But Do Play Dodgeball!

A BIG THANKS TO OUR SUNRISE VIEWERS: Tuesday was the WIS & B-106 tele/radio thon to raise money for the Palmetto Health Children’s hospital.  When completed in May, it will be the first freestanding children’s hospital in the state.  In just two hours during our WIS Sunrise show Tuesday, viewers called in and gave a little more than $7,000.  In my 10+ years in this business and a total of 4 states, it sure seems like the WIS Sunrise viewers are some of the best folks I have encountered.  Your kindness in person along with the generous support during Tuesday’s telethon is evidence of Sunrise viewers being a great group of folks!

YEAH, WE ALL NEED TO BE MORE HEALTHY: I admit to having a sweet tooth and it got the best of me before coming into work today.  Shortly before I leave the house to get to work around 4am, I try to grab a quick snack so I’m not hungry while doing the news from 5 to 7am.  Well, I opened the fridge and saw a big tray with some cheesecake leftover from a weekend gathering.  Yep, I succumbed to temptation and grabbed a slice.  Yummy! 

Only problem, that nutrition mistake was made on the same day in which I interviewed Amy Splittgerber with the SC Eat Smart, Move More group.  Around 6:40 on Sunrise, we talked about the importance of a good diet and exercise.  Well, no news flash here, eating cheesecake for breakfast is not a good idea.  I plead guilty.  (For the record I try to exercise a few times a week, including playing in a weekly hockey league to combat my bad breakfast choice.  In addition, I’ve taken a Lenten resolution of no adult beverages.  So far, so good.)

THIS STAT IS AMAZING AND SCARY AT THE SAME TIME: More than half of the SC population is either overweight or obese.  The Eat Smart, Move More folks say bad diet decisions and people being downright lazy are the big reasons why we’re getting fat.  Obesity rates in SC have more than doubled since just 1990.  

OBESITY RATES FOR KIDS HAVE TRIPLED SINCE 1990 IN SC: That’s even more shocking of a stat.  So kids, put down the Cheetos and grab a football or maybe just play "whack a mole" at the arcade instead of those games where you just sit and look at the screen.

KIDS AREN’T ALLOWED TO HAVE FUN ANYMORE, THAT’S WHY THEY’RE GETTING FAT: (legal disclaimer, my thoughts here) Think about it, when I was a kid, we went outside for recess and threw those little red, rubber balls at each other.  Yes, dodgeball was allowed and encouraged back in the day!  Sure, a welt from one of those red rubber balls wasn’t fun, but we weren’t all a bunch of tubs either! Tag, kickball, touch football and even good 'ol floor hockey were allowed back in the day. 

Back when I was a youth, I wasn’t required by law to wear some silly looking helmet when riding my bike or for those kids who liked to skateboard.  Playground equipment was actually made of steel and we had tire-swings and other stuff that would burn calories!  Now all the playgrounds seem to have wimpy plastic stuff that doesn't look nearly as fun for kids.  I bet they even make kids wear helmets now when playing wiffleball or kickball! 

Ok, safety is important, but there’s no doubt kids are less apt to do physical activity when they’re dressed up like the darn Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz!   I'll tell you what, if I have any say over it, my little 1 year-old Clara isn't going to be dressed up looking like the Pillsbury Doughboy when she goes out to ride her bike or plays any sports.

CLICK THIS SITE FOR MORE INFO FOR HEALTHY EATING AND EXERCISE HABITS… www.eatsmartmovemoresc.org

WHAT OLD-SCHOOL PLAYGROUND GAMES OR THINGS SHOULD KIDS BE ALLOWED TO DO?  Let me know if schools and institutions are getting too soft on kids and thus, letting our kids get too soft around the waistline!