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American Morning

'90-Second Pop'; Discussion with Director of Log Cabin Republicans

Aired October 15, 2004 - 09:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: It is just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. What does the nation's largest organization of gay and lesbian Republicans say about this Mary Cheney issue? We're going to talk to the director of the Log Cabin Republicans about it in just a moment.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Also, if you saw the great movie The Goodfellas," they made their childhood years famous. But what happened afterwards is a whole new story. In a few moments, we'll hear from the real-life children of the mobster Henry Hill, Greg and Gina Hill, upcoming in a moment here. They've got a book out now. They'll talk about keeping their identities sealed to this day.

COLLINS: Yes, amazing story there. I want to check on the stories now in the news, though, first with Kelly Wallace this morning, to the Middle East and Israel.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely.

Good morning to you, Heidi and Bill. Good morning again, everyone.

Beginning in the Middle East, with word Israel may be scaling back its offensive in Gaza for the first time in more than two weeks. The first Israeli troops began to roll out of the area earlier this morning. Israeli officials say the operation could resume if Palestinian militants fire rockets at Israeli settlements.

And on this, the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, thousands of Muslims are turning out for early morning prayers. Hundreds of Israeli police are keeping tight security over today's prayers at the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. More than 100,000 worshipers are expected there.

Our next story about amphibians. Some people may think they're slimy or gross, but many are in danger of becoming extinct. A new report suggests pollution and deforestation are causing a decline in the number of frogs, toads and salamanders. Almost a third of such species now facing extinction. The study can be found in the journal science.

And some space travelers are moving in. An American and two Russians will start docking at the International Space Station around 11:30 tonight. They will finish just past midnight. The American M-1 cosmonaut will live on the station for six months. The other Russian heads back to Earth. That gets you caught up. More now on politics with Bill and Heidi.

HEMMER: Thank you, Kelly.

Patrick Guerriero is the director of the gay Republican group the, Log Cabin Republicans. They have withheld their endorsement of the president to date.

Patrick welcome and good morning to you.

As a starting point, where do you stand on this issue at this point?

PATRICK GUERRIERO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, LOG CABIN REPUBLICANS: John Kerry and John Edwards would be smart to make their case for gay and lesbian fairness by not mentioning Mary Cheney in the days leading up to the November election.

But one thing we ought to really make clear here is that those on the Republican side -- some of them my friends and some of them who happen to work around the president -- who are expressing outrage at the debate comments, really have been outrageous themselves.

I got a flier only a couple of days ago that has been sent to swing states that equate gay and lesbian families with those folks who would want to ban the Bible. The reality is, the type of outrage that is being expressed by some Republicans should be expressed at the themselves. They've decided to use gay families as wedge issues across America in swing states. That is truly outrageous.

HEMMER: Let me just understand, Pat, you have criticism for both sides on this, or is it more heavily toward the Republicans am I hearing?

GUERRIERO: I actually think John Kerry, again, was not wise in referencing Mary Cheney directly, and people, you know, want the politician's children to be protected and out of the public domain.

However the big story in this election is that Karl Rove has decided to strategically use gay and lesbian Americans in a number of swing states.

So many Americans today went to work, pay taxes, love our country, who happen to be gay or lesbian. Many of them are actually serving in our nation's armed forces under the leadership of the commander in chief.

They're insulted by a campaign that has attempted to amend the Constitution. And in too many states we've seen discriminatory amendments that would deny hospital visitation and domestic partnership legislation, including states like Ohio.

HEMMER: OK, Patrick, it's my understanding Republicans are saying they put those fliers out to protest against activist judges, which is what the president talked again about in the debate on Wednesday night. Do you buy that?

GUERRIERO: But if you look at these fliers, the picture on the front is a picture of a law-abiding gay couple that wants to live their life together and take on the responsibilities of doing that, next to a picture of the Bible that says, "Ban the Bible."

These type of tactics are low-ball politics. Usually it's shocking that the Republican National Committee would put its name on that type of flier. The same people who are feigning outrage about what happened in the debate should speak out against that type of political gamesmanship.

The reality is we're a nation at war and we should focus on winning the war on terror.

HEMMER: I want to get to two things here. John Kerry said this in a statement yesterday about this whole matter. I love my daughters. They love their daughter. I was trying to say something positive about the way strong families deal with this issue.

I'll get you reaction on that in a moment. Also listen to Elizabeth Edwards talking about this on a radio interview yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

E. EDWARDS: It makes me really sad that that's Lynne's response. I think that it indicates a certain degree of shame with respect to her daughter's sexual preferences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Now, my understand (ph) is that Republicans are ticked off about a certain degree of shame -- the word she used in that. Have we entered, Patrick, a whole new level of nastiness in this campaign?

GUERRIERO: Bill, I couldn't agree with you more. What this all shows is that we've entered an arena where all the rules of ethical and fair politics have been thrown out the window. It's a sad thing for the country, although I think the American people are smarter than either candidate gives them credit for.

The reality is that Mrs. Edwards went over the line. I think the vice president and Lynne Cheney have been very clear that they love their daughter. They've recognized her publicly.

John Kerry can make his case without referencing the vice president's daughter. And the president and Karl Rove should stop attacking gay families on the campaign trail.

HEMMER: Patrick, really interesting, your perspective. Thanks for coming in today. I can tell you there is high interest -- almost 2,000 e-mails already today. We've never been at that level before.

Patrick Guerriero, Log Cabin Republicans' executive director in D.C. Thank you. (WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: From the Corleones to the Sopranos, Hollywood has long been associated and fascinated with mob family values. The movie "Goodfellas" told the story of a Mafia turncoat by the name of Henry Hill. In 1980, he entered the witness protection program, took his wife and two kids with him. Now his son and daughter have written a book about their story. It's Called "On the Run, a Mafia Childhood."

Earlier today on AMERICAN MORNING, I talked with Gregg and Gina Hill who were still wearing disguises more than 20 years later.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Why do you still believe that you need to hide your identity in public?

GREGG HILL: It's one of the legacies of having Henry Hill as a father. You have to understand, he was a rat who put dozens of mobsters in jail. And our philosophy is there is just no statute of limitations on revenge. Even today, we take our security very seriously.

HEMMER: So, Gina, do you think you're living in some sort of danger if you were you to go public with your real appearance?

GINA HILL: Oh, absolutely. When we entered the Witness Protection Program in 1980, we took it very seriously even though we were children. And we live to that today. We're private citizens. We're not -- people don't know who we are other than our family and our spouses.

HEMMER: Take me to that day when you went into the Witness Protection Program. What was that all about? I mean, you're essentially dismissing your entire identity and starting a new life.

GREGG HILL: It was something that was almost a concept impossible to grasp. It was May of 1980. Our father had already been arrested on drug charges, and the feds picked him up as a material witness to the Lufthansa robbery.

They took Gina and I down to FBI headquarters in Brooklyn. I thought we were going to see our father and our father was going to wind up going to jail or they were going to work out a deal. We were told in that room that we were entering the Witness Protection Program, something we had never heard of. And from that moment on, our lives changed.

GINA HILL: We had an hour to pack. And the agents gave us green garbage bags and said, please, in an hour be ready to go.

HEMMER: When did you realize your father was a criminal? Was it that day, or did you have an idea before that.

GINA HILL: We had an idea. GREGG HILL: Well, I think Gina, who is younger than I am, was a little more sheltered. We always knew our father wasn't legitimate. Our parents tried to shelter us from most of his activities, but it was hard to ignore when there were Hefty bags filled with marijuana, cocaine, guns and hit-men were in our living room.

GINA HILL: And when you're visiting your father in, you know, Louisburg Penitentiary, you had to know he did something that wasn't good. And if my mother got specific with us at all, she fell back on the gambling charge...

HEMMER: Yes.

GINA HILL: ... something to that nature.

HEMMER: Today, when you look back, do you consider yourselves fortunate because you're still here?

GREGG HILL: Absolutely.

GINA HILL: Absolutely.

GREGG HILL: I think we're very lucky. This could have turned out rather badly. You know, it's ironic, the Witness Protection Program did a good job of protecting us from the mob. But ultimately they couldn't protect us from our father, who continued to put our lives in jeopardy.

HEMMER: But your dad kept blowing his own cover, right?

GINA HILL: Absolutely.

GREGG HILL: He did.

HEMMER: Which had to be precarious, right?

GINA HILL: Oh, absolutely. And he's very lucky that is he alive. Very lucky. And that is precisely why we just don't share that same philosophy.

HEMMER: Give our viewers a sense of what your relationship is like with your dad today.

GREGG HILL: I would say we don't have a relationship with our father. Our father has gone back to being Henry Hill. In fact, I don't know that he ever changed from being Henry Hill. The Witness Protection Program gave him a change of address, but he continued to commit the same crimes that he did before the program. So, we have no contact. On occasion...

GINA HILL: I will hear from him on occasion.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: She started her makeup at 4:00 a.m. He started at 2:00 a.m.. COLLINS: Hours. Hours.

HEMMER: They don't look too bad, though, huh?

COLLINS: No, you never would have known, that's for sure.

Still to come this morning, how would you like it if a sewage department had nicer TVs than you and you were paying for it? Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business" on that.

HEMMER: Also, ever the entrepreneur, Martha Stewart may have found a way to make money off of her prison stay. "90-Second Pop" has a crack at that when we continue after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Well, it's "90-Second Pop" for a Friday with our AMERICAN MORNING idols. Sarah Bernard, contributing editor for "New York" magazine.

Sarah, good morning.

SARAH BERNARD, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: Good morning.

COLLINS: B.J. Sigesmund, staff editor for "US Weekly."

Hey, B.J.

B.J. SIGESMUND, STAFF EDITOR, "US WEEKLY": Good morning.

COLLINS: And Jessica Shaw from "Entertainment Weekly."

Thanks for being here, guys. B.J., I want to start with you. You know, and they said it wouldn't last. Nicky Hilton has been married for two months, right?

SIGESMUND: Right.

COLLINS: And now she's filed for an annulment.

SIGESMUND: Yes. Let's just make sure everyone knows exactly which Hilton heiress we're talking about.

COLLINS: I was going to say, who she is, yes.

SIGESMUND: This is the one with dark hair and without a sex tape. This is what...

COLLINS: Oh.

JESSICA SHAW, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY": This was supposed to make her life sensible.

BERNARD: Wow!

COLLINS: I was going to say, I...

SIGESMUND: She seems more sensible. But she's also the one who got married Britney-style to money manager Todd Meister just two months ago.

COLLINS: And here she has blonde hair, just...

SIGESMUND: Yes, that was Paris just now.

COLLINS: She was in pink, I believe.

SIGESMUND: There is her husband, Todd, who she married in a Las Vegas wedding at 2:00 a.m. on August 15. Now, her family at the time said, this is not -- there she is on left.

COLLINS: Right.

SIGESMUND: This is with -- this is very confusing.

COLLINS: I know. Left in pink

SIGESMUND: There she is on the left with blond hair again.

BERNARD: Yes.

COLLINS: Blond.

SIGESMUND: So, her family said, no, this is not a Britney-style wedding. We love Todd. He's been a family friend. They've known each other for years and years. But as we reported this week in "Us Weekly," it's over. They're getting an annulment.

BERNARD: Do you know why I think it's going to be over? Because this weekend coming up she is celebrating her 21st birthday at the Hard Rock in Vegas.

(CROSSTALK)

BERNARD: So, you know, another wedding opportunity!

SHAW: And they could have renewed their vows!

BERNARD: Annul that.

SHAW: They were in Vegas again. I don't know, I think that the kiss of death was that Nicky said that Paris planned the wedding. Do you really want Paris to plan your wedding?

COLLINS: No. All right, let's talk about Martha Stewart now, if we can, Sarah. I mean, she's going to possibly write, you know, diaries from behind bars.

BERNARD: That's right.

COLLINS: What are we going to learn from this type of book?

BERNARD: This is so genius. Well, actually, Martha said that she was going to do this a while ago. So she, in fact, had her lawyers pitch a prison diary-type memoir at the Frankfurt book fair at the beginning of October, just a couple days before she started her sentence.

Now, she basically had said that she's going to kind of do like a -- like her diary during her five months. But she also might go back even farther and talk about other things in her life.

COLLINS: Yes, she had said she was going to talk about the legal process and how to go through all of that.

BERNARD: That's right. So it's unclear. And now people are saying that she might get up to $5 million for this. Apparently Crown, which is a division of Random House, is already interested.

COLLINS: So 5 million?

BERNARD: That's right. But we're not exactly sure. But this is so Martha. I mean, I was thinking, do we really expect her to just chill out for five months?

BERNARD: Right. But am I alone in this? I really would be interested to read Martha's memoirs.

SHAW: I'm dying to read this book, absolutely.

SIGESMUND: I want to know what it's like to go from a life of privilege to prison bars. Now, I want to know what this woman feels every day in prison.

SHAW: Well, I don't want to read the before. I don't want to -- it's like the whole Bill Clinton memoir. I want to know the juicy stuff. I want to know life in prison. I want to know what she was eating, what she was cooking, how she was cleaning, you know.

BERNARD: She's got to fill out the whole book, so I don't know.

COLLINS: Guys, thank you so much for your time, as always. Sarah, B.J. and Jessica, thanks -- Bill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: All right, Heidi. In a moment here, does the sewer system deserve its own virtual mansion? Andy's "Minding Your Business." He's got a case of taxpayer outrage, after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: All right, some folks in Cleveland think their new sewage building is a little too extravagant. Is it? That, and a check of the market.

Back to Andy on this. Good morning. ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning.

I get all the big stories. Yes.

All right, I heard that, Jack, thank you.

Let's take a look at the Dow. We've got a little bit of a rally, going up 48 points there. Retail sales up 1.5 percent in September. That's why stocks are moving to the north. But I've got some stocks moving to the south. We talked about Netflix, talking about problems there. That stock is down 41 percent this morning. Ouch. AIG down another 4 percent. We talked about the insurance scandal that Eliot Spitzer's investigating that company, and he's investigating Marshall McClennan (ph). That stock is down $7.30 to $27. A $40 stock just two days ago.

This is part of our continuing series. Remember Will Rogers said, I don't do jokes, I just watch the government report the facts. We continue on this. And to this, we turn to northeast Ohio's regional sewer, no that's not Serwer, regional sewer district. They have a new headquarters building -- welcome to Cleveland -- a new headquarters building that cost $18 million.

OK, there it is.

Inside, we've got wide screen TVs. This is a sewer headquarters, OK. Widescreen TVs. There's a portrait of one George McMoningale (ph), who the building was named after, that cost $18,000. The frame, $950. Other artwork, $22,000.

Here's my favorite part of the building, an indoor waterfall that costs $132,000. And I don't know whether they use the water before it went in or -- yes.

OK, here's the kicker -- we always have a kicker in these government spending stories. Guess what, it appears, according to local news reports, that the sewer district will be raising rates over the next two years.

COLLINS: Oh, boy.

SERWER: Connection?

HEMMER: Hello, Cleveland!

SERWER: Yes.

HEMMER: I wonder what the toilet seats in that building look like, huh?

SERWER: Gold plated.

HEMMER: Pretty nice stuff, yes. Possibly.

(CROSSTALK)

COLLINS: Jack now and the Question of the Day, the massive Question of the Day, we should say.

CAFFERTY: Yes. Is it appropriate for Kerry and Edwards to be talking about the sexuality of Dick Cheney's daughter? 2,000 letters, give or take maybe 100. I mea, far and away, the biggest response we've ever gotten.

Penfield, New York, Diane writes, "Let not get sidetracked by this one passing comment when there's so much more to discuss in the closing days of the election."

Curtis in Grapevine, Texas: "Dick Cheney talks about it, Lynne Cheney talks about it, John Edwards talks about it, why is it when John Kerry talks about it, now becomes a firestorm. This whole story should be about the size of a pimple on an elephant's behind."

And J.R. in Florida, "What do you think the Democratic reaction of obesity instead of being gay was the social issue and Bush used Edwards wife as an example?"

HEMMER: Oh, my gosh!

SERWER: Metaphors abound.

HEMMER: Is that where we've gone?

SERWER: Yes.

CAFFERTY: So J.R. wants to know that.

SERWER: People did care about that issue, I was wrong about that. But you know, what I guess I meant to say, is this going to change anyone's vote? I mean, is it going to change anyone's mind this whole debate? I don't think so.

HEMMER: Thank you, Andy.

And thank you, Jack.

Next hour on CNN -- tomorrow, by the way, is National Boss Day. In honor of that, Daryn and Rick Sanchez have the top five tips for dealing with a nightmare boss, next hour at CNN LIVE TODAY.

We're back in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: On Monday, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra opens its new season and a new home, too, the Time Warner Center, also home to our New York offices here at CNN, quite an extravagant setup, too.

CNN pop culture correspondent Toure shows us that today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Wynton Marsalis says the perfect space for jazz is one where the sound is golden. He worked with architect Rafael Viniolli for six years to create the new home for jazz at Lincoln Center, which consists of three performance spaces in the $128 million dollar Frederick P. Rose Hall.

(on camera): What is this golden sound?

WYNTON MARSALIS, MUSICIAN: The golden sound is when you walk in certain rooms, the sound is dispersed a certain way that is warm. It's not just a clear sound, it's a clear sound. It's like a golden -- like when you walk in somebody's house, it's a golden feeling. It's gold.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And it's also the warmth is almost tactile.

TOURE: This is your dream that you've been working toward for six-plus years. You're in every fabric of this, in the design of it, in the execution of it. I mean, how does it feel personally?

MARSALIS: I walk through it. I love the space, the way it's designed; it's designed for us, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. We feel great sitting in there. But I think more of all the people what they had to put into it to make it be that way.

People will love it when they come in here. All of the musicians, when we get together and talk about places we play, we all want the same thing, golden sound and people around us.

TOURE: And when they start saying this is the house that Wynton built, what are you going to say?

MARSALIS: This is the house of swing. It's not about any one person, because swinging is not about a person; swinging is about people coming together.

TOURE: A group.

MARSALIS: It's the house of swing.

TOURE (voice-over): For CNN, this is Toure, at the house of swing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: The house of swing.

HEMMER: I like it. Great sounds.

SERWER: Beautiful room.

COLLINS: Hey, we're going to Chicago. And when we get there next week, Soledad O'Brien is going to be with us. That's AMERICAN MORNING, on the road in where, everybody?

Chicago, all next week.

HEMMER: So tomorrow's national boss day, right?

COLLINS: yes.

HEMMER: I thought this was a perfect opportunity for Jack to suck up to our boss.

(CROSSTALK)

SERWER: He's here.

There he is.

HEMMER: He's hanging out.

CAFFERTY: What do I have to do to ingratiate myself? Do I have to buy you a cheap gift of some kind?

SERWER: We already got those cards to him, Jack.

COLLINS: Take him for breakfast tomorrow.

CAFFERTY: I'm not taking him for breakfast.

COLLINS: The barbecue joint.

SERWER: It's Saturday.

HEMMER: Happy Boss Day will.

CAFFERTY: Yes, Happy Boss Day.

SERWER: Happy Boss Day, Will.

COLLINS: Tomorrow.

SERWER: Tomorrow.

HEMMER: We've got to go. Here's Daryn and Rick at the CNN Center.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired October 15, 2004 - 09:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: It is just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. What does the nation's largest organization of gay and lesbian Republicans say about this Mary Cheney issue? We're going to talk to the director of the Log Cabin Republicans about it in just a moment.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Also, if you saw the great movie The Goodfellas," they made their childhood years famous. But what happened afterwards is a whole new story. In a few moments, we'll hear from the real-life children of the mobster Henry Hill, Greg and Gina Hill, upcoming in a moment here. They've got a book out now. They'll talk about keeping their identities sealed to this day.

COLLINS: Yes, amazing story there. I want to check on the stories now in the news, though, first with Kelly Wallace this morning, to the Middle East and Israel.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely.

Good morning to you, Heidi and Bill. Good morning again, everyone.

Beginning in the Middle East, with word Israel may be scaling back its offensive in Gaza for the first time in more than two weeks. The first Israeli troops began to roll out of the area earlier this morning. Israeli officials say the operation could resume if Palestinian militants fire rockets at Israeli settlements.

And on this, the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, thousands of Muslims are turning out for early morning prayers. Hundreds of Israeli police are keeping tight security over today's prayers at the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. More than 100,000 worshipers are expected there.

Our next story about amphibians. Some people may think they're slimy or gross, but many are in danger of becoming extinct. A new report suggests pollution and deforestation are causing a decline in the number of frogs, toads and salamanders. Almost a third of such species now facing extinction. The study can be found in the journal science.

And some space travelers are moving in. An American and two Russians will start docking at the International Space Station around 11:30 tonight. They will finish just past midnight. The American M-1 cosmonaut will live on the station for six months. The other Russian heads back to Earth. That gets you caught up. More now on politics with Bill and Heidi.

HEMMER: Thank you, Kelly.

Patrick Guerriero is the director of the gay Republican group the, Log Cabin Republicans. They have withheld their endorsement of the president to date.

Patrick welcome and good morning to you.

As a starting point, where do you stand on this issue at this point?

PATRICK GUERRIERO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, LOG CABIN REPUBLICANS: John Kerry and John Edwards would be smart to make their case for gay and lesbian fairness by not mentioning Mary Cheney in the days leading up to the November election.

But one thing we ought to really make clear here is that those on the Republican side -- some of them my friends and some of them who happen to work around the president -- who are expressing outrage at the debate comments, really have been outrageous themselves.

I got a flier only a couple of days ago that has been sent to swing states that equate gay and lesbian families with those folks who would want to ban the Bible. The reality is, the type of outrage that is being expressed by some Republicans should be expressed at the themselves. They've decided to use gay families as wedge issues across America in swing states. That is truly outrageous.

HEMMER: Let me just understand, Pat, you have criticism for both sides on this, or is it more heavily toward the Republicans am I hearing?

GUERRIERO: I actually think John Kerry, again, was not wise in referencing Mary Cheney directly, and people, you know, want the politician's children to be protected and out of the public domain.

However the big story in this election is that Karl Rove has decided to strategically use gay and lesbian Americans in a number of swing states.

So many Americans today went to work, pay taxes, love our country, who happen to be gay or lesbian. Many of them are actually serving in our nation's armed forces under the leadership of the commander in chief.

They're insulted by a campaign that has attempted to amend the Constitution. And in too many states we've seen discriminatory amendments that would deny hospital visitation and domestic partnership legislation, including states like Ohio.

HEMMER: OK, Patrick, it's my understanding Republicans are saying they put those fliers out to protest against activist judges, which is what the president talked again about in the debate on Wednesday night. Do you buy that?

GUERRIERO: But if you look at these fliers, the picture on the front is a picture of a law-abiding gay couple that wants to live their life together and take on the responsibilities of doing that, next to a picture of the Bible that says, "Ban the Bible."

These type of tactics are low-ball politics. Usually it's shocking that the Republican National Committee would put its name on that type of flier. The same people who are feigning outrage about what happened in the debate should speak out against that type of political gamesmanship.

The reality is we're a nation at war and we should focus on winning the war on terror.

HEMMER: I want to get to two things here. John Kerry said this in a statement yesterday about this whole matter. I love my daughters. They love their daughter. I was trying to say something positive about the way strong families deal with this issue.

I'll get you reaction on that in a moment. Also listen to Elizabeth Edwards talking about this on a radio interview yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

E. EDWARDS: It makes me really sad that that's Lynne's response. I think that it indicates a certain degree of shame with respect to her daughter's sexual preferences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Now, my understand (ph) is that Republicans are ticked off about a certain degree of shame -- the word she used in that. Have we entered, Patrick, a whole new level of nastiness in this campaign?

GUERRIERO: Bill, I couldn't agree with you more. What this all shows is that we've entered an arena where all the rules of ethical and fair politics have been thrown out the window. It's a sad thing for the country, although I think the American people are smarter than either candidate gives them credit for.

The reality is that Mrs. Edwards went over the line. I think the vice president and Lynne Cheney have been very clear that they love their daughter. They've recognized her publicly.

John Kerry can make his case without referencing the vice president's daughter. And the president and Karl Rove should stop attacking gay families on the campaign trail.

HEMMER: Patrick, really interesting, your perspective. Thanks for coming in today. I can tell you there is high interest -- almost 2,000 e-mails already today. We've never been at that level before.

Patrick Guerriero, Log Cabin Republicans' executive director in D.C. Thank you. (WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: From the Corleones to the Sopranos, Hollywood has long been associated and fascinated with mob family values. The movie "Goodfellas" told the story of a Mafia turncoat by the name of Henry Hill. In 1980, he entered the witness protection program, took his wife and two kids with him. Now his son and daughter have written a book about their story. It's Called "On the Run, a Mafia Childhood."

Earlier today on AMERICAN MORNING, I talked with Gregg and Gina Hill who were still wearing disguises more than 20 years later.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Why do you still believe that you need to hide your identity in public?

GREGG HILL: It's one of the legacies of having Henry Hill as a father. You have to understand, he was a rat who put dozens of mobsters in jail. And our philosophy is there is just no statute of limitations on revenge. Even today, we take our security very seriously.

HEMMER: So, Gina, do you think you're living in some sort of danger if you were you to go public with your real appearance?

GINA HILL: Oh, absolutely. When we entered the Witness Protection Program in 1980, we took it very seriously even though we were children. And we live to that today. We're private citizens. We're not -- people don't know who we are other than our family and our spouses.

HEMMER: Take me to that day when you went into the Witness Protection Program. What was that all about? I mean, you're essentially dismissing your entire identity and starting a new life.

GREGG HILL: It was something that was almost a concept impossible to grasp. It was May of 1980. Our father had already been arrested on drug charges, and the feds picked him up as a material witness to the Lufthansa robbery.

They took Gina and I down to FBI headquarters in Brooklyn. I thought we were going to see our father and our father was going to wind up going to jail or they were going to work out a deal. We were told in that room that we were entering the Witness Protection Program, something we had never heard of. And from that moment on, our lives changed.

GINA HILL: We had an hour to pack. And the agents gave us green garbage bags and said, please, in an hour be ready to go.

HEMMER: When did you realize your father was a criminal? Was it that day, or did you have an idea before that.

GINA HILL: We had an idea. GREGG HILL: Well, I think Gina, who is younger than I am, was a little more sheltered. We always knew our father wasn't legitimate. Our parents tried to shelter us from most of his activities, but it was hard to ignore when there were Hefty bags filled with marijuana, cocaine, guns and hit-men were in our living room.

GINA HILL: And when you're visiting your father in, you know, Louisburg Penitentiary, you had to know he did something that wasn't good. And if my mother got specific with us at all, she fell back on the gambling charge...

HEMMER: Yes.

GINA HILL: ... something to that nature.

HEMMER: Today, when you look back, do you consider yourselves fortunate because you're still here?

GREGG HILL: Absolutely.

GINA HILL: Absolutely.

GREGG HILL: I think we're very lucky. This could have turned out rather badly. You know, it's ironic, the Witness Protection Program did a good job of protecting us from the mob. But ultimately they couldn't protect us from our father, who continued to put our lives in jeopardy.

HEMMER: But your dad kept blowing his own cover, right?

GINA HILL: Absolutely.

GREGG HILL: He did.

HEMMER: Which had to be precarious, right?

GINA HILL: Oh, absolutely. And he's very lucky that is he alive. Very lucky. And that is precisely why we just don't share that same philosophy.

HEMMER: Give our viewers a sense of what your relationship is like with your dad today.

GREGG HILL: I would say we don't have a relationship with our father. Our father has gone back to being Henry Hill. In fact, I don't know that he ever changed from being Henry Hill. The Witness Protection Program gave him a change of address, but he continued to commit the same crimes that he did before the program. So, we have no contact. On occasion...

GINA HILL: I will hear from him on occasion.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: She started her makeup at 4:00 a.m. He started at 2:00 a.m.. COLLINS: Hours. Hours.

HEMMER: They don't look too bad, though, huh?

COLLINS: No, you never would have known, that's for sure.

Still to come this morning, how would you like it if a sewage department had nicer TVs than you and you were paying for it? Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business" on that.

HEMMER: Also, ever the entrepreneur, Martha Stewart may have found a way to make money off of her prison stay. "90-Second Pop" has a crack at that when we continue after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Well, it's "90-Second Pop" for a Friday with our AMERICAN MORNING idols. Sarah Bernard, contributing editor for "New York" magazine.

Sarah, good morning.

SARAH BERNARD, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: Good morning.

COLLINS: B.J. Sigesmund, staff editor for "US Weekly."

Hey, B.J.

B.J. SIGESMUND, STAFF EDITOR, "US WEEKLY": Good morning.

COLLINS: And Jessica Shaw from "Entertainment Weekly."

Thanks for being here, guys. B.J., I want to start with you. You know, and they said it wouldn't last. Nicky Hilton has been married for two months, right?

SIGESMUND: Right.

COLLINS: And now she's filed for an annulment.

SIGESMUND: Yes. Let's just make sure everyone knows exactly which Hilton heiress we're talking about.

COLLINS: I was going to say, who she is, yes.

SIGESMUND: This is the one with dark hair and without a sex tape. This is what...

COLLINS: Oh.

JESSICA SHAW, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY": This was supposed to make her life sensible.

BERNARD: Wow!

COLLINS: I was going to say, I...

SIGESMUND: She seems more sensible. But she's also the one who got married Britney-style to money manager Todd Meister just two months ago.

COLLINS: And here she has blonde hair, just...

SIGESMUND: Yes, that was Paris just now.

COLLINS: She was in pink, I believe.

SIGESMUND: There is her husband, Todd, who she married in a Las Vegas wedding at 2:00 a.m. on August 15. Now, her family at the time said, this is not -- there she is on left.

COLLINS: Right.

SIGESMUND: This is with -- this is very confusing.

COLLINS: I know. Left in pink

SIGESMUND: There she is on the left with blond hair again.

BERNARD: Yes.

COLLINS: Blond.

SIGESMUND: So, her family said, no, this is not a Britney-style wedding. We love Todd. He's been a family friend. They've known each other for years and years. But as we reported this week in "Us Weekly," it's over. They're getting an annulment.

BERNARD: Do you know why I think it's going to be over? Because this weekend coming up she is celebrating her 21st birthday at the Hard Rock in Vegas.

(CROSSTALK)

BERNARD: So, you know, another wedding opportunity!

SHAW: And they could have renewed their vows!

BERNARD: Annul that.

SHAW: They were in Vegas again. I don't know, I think that the kiss of death was that Nicky said that Paris planned the wedding. Do you really want Paris to plan your wedding?

COLLINS: No. All right, let's talk about Martha Stewart now, if we can, Sarah. I mean, she's going to possibly write, you know, diaries from behind bars.

BERNARD: That's right.

COLLINS: What are we going to learn from this type of book?

BERNARD: This is so genius. Well, actually, Martha said that she was going to do this a while ago. So she, in fact, had her lawyers pitch a prison diary-type memoir at the Frankfurt book fair at the beginning of October, just a couple days before she started her sentence.

Now, she basically had said that she's going to kind of do like a -- like her diary during her five months. But she also might go back even farther and talk about other things in her life.

COLLINS: Yes, she had said she was going to talk about the legal process and how to go through all of that.

BERNARD: That's right. So it's unclear. And now people are saying that she might get up to $5 million for this. Apparently Crown, which is a division of Random House, is already interested.

COLLINS: So 5 million?

BERNARD: That's right. But we're not exactly sure. But this is so Martha. I mean, I was thinking, do we really expect her to just chill out for five months?

BERNARD: Right. But am I alone in this? I really would be interested to read Martha's memoirs.

SHAW: I'm dying to read this book, absolutely.

SIGESMUND: I want to know what it's like to go from a life of privilege to prison bars. Now, I want to know what this woman feels every day in prison.

SHAW: Well, I don't want to read the before. I don't want to -- it's like the whole Bill Clinton memoir. I want to know the juicy stuff. I want to know life in prison. I want to know what she was eating, what she was cooking, how she was cleaning, you know.

BERNARD: She's got to fill out the whole book, so I don't know.

COLLINS: Guys, thank you so much for your time, as always. Sarah, B.J. and Jessica, thanks -- Bill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: All right, Heidi. In a moment here, does the sewer system deserve its own virtual mansion? Andy's "Minding Your Business." He's got a case of taxpayer outrage, after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: All right, some folks in Cleveland think their new sewage building is a little too extravagant. Is it? That, and a check of the market.

Back to Andy on this. Good morning. ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning.

I get all the big stories. Yes.

All right, I heard that, Jack, thank you.

Let's take a look at the Dow. We've got a little bit of a rally, going up 48 points there. Retail sales up 1.5 percent in September. That's why stocks are moving to the north. But I've got some stocks moving to the south. We talked about Netflix, talking about problems there. That stock is down 41 percent this morning. Ouch. AIG down another 4 percent. We talked about the insurance scandal that Eliot Spitzer's investigating that company, and he's investigating Marshall McClennan (ph). That stock is down $7.30 to $27. A $40 stock just two days ago.

This is part of our continuing series. Remember Will Rogers said, I don't do jokes, I just watch the government report the facts. We continue on this. And to this, we turn to northeast Ohio's regional sewer, no that's not Serwer, regional sewer district. They have a new headquarters building -- welcome to Cleveland -- a new headquarters building that cost $18 million.

OK, there it is.

Inside, we've got wide screen TVs. This is a sewer headquarters, OK. Widescreen TVs. There's a portrait of one George McMoningale (ph), who the building was named after, that cost $18,000. The frame, $950. Other artwork, $22,000.

Here's my favorite part of the building, an indoor waterfall that costs $132,000. And I don't know whether they use the water before it went in or -- yes.

OK, here's the kicker -- we always have a kicker in these government spending stories. Guess what, it appears, according to local news reports, that the sewer district will be raising rates over the next two years.

COLLINS: Oh, boy.

SERWER: Connection?

HEMMER: Hello, Cleveland!

SERWER: Yes.

HEMMER: I wonder what the toilet seats in that building look like, huh?

SERWER: Gold plated.

HEMMER: Pretty nice stuff, yes. Possibly.

(CROSSTALK)

COLLINS: Jack now and the Question of the Day, the massive Question of the Day, we should say.

CAFFERTY: Yes. Is it appropriate for Kerry and Edwards to be talking about the sexuality of Dick Cheney's daughter? 2,000 letters, give or take maybe 100. I mea, far and away, the biggest response we've ever gotten.

Penfield, New York, Diane writes, "Let not get sidetracked by this one passing comment when there's so much more to discuss in the closing days of the election."

Curtis in Grapevine, Texas: "Dick Cheney talks about it, Lynne Cheney talks about it, John Edwards talks about it, why is it when John Kerry talks about it, now becomes a firestorm. This whole story should be about the size of a pimple on an elephant's behind."

And J.R. in Florida, "What do you think the Democratic reaction of obesity instead of being gay was the social issue and Bush used Edwards wife as an example?"

HEMMER: Oh, my gosh!

SERWER: Metaphors abound.

HEMMER: Is that where we've gone?

SERWER: Yes.

CAFFERTY: So J.R. wants to know that.

SERWER: People did care about that issue, I was wrong about that. But you know, what I guess I meant to say, is this going to change anyone's vote? I mean, is it going to change anyone's mind this whole debate? I don't think so.

HEMMER: Thank you, Andy.

And thank you, Jack.

Next hour on CNN -- tomorrow, by the way, is National Boss Day. In honor of that, Daryn and Rick Sanchez have the top five tips for dealing with a nightmare boss, next hour at CNN LIVE TODAY.

We're back in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: On Monday, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra opens its new season and a new home, too, the Time Warner Center, also home to our New York offices here at CNN, quite an extravagant setup, too.

CNN pop culture correspondent Toure shows us that today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Wynton Marsalis says the perfect space for jazz is one where the sound is golden. He worked with architect Rafael Viniolli for six years to create the new home for jazz at Lincoln Center, which consists of three performance spaces in the $128 million dollar Frederick P. Rose Hall.

(on camera): What is this golden sound?

WYNTON MARSALIS, MUSICIAN: The golden sound is when you walk in certain rooms, the sound is dispersed a certain way that is warm. It's not just a clear sound, it's a clear sound. It's like a golden -- like when you walk in somebody's house, it's a golden feeling. It's gold.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And it's also the warmth is almost tactile.

TOURE: This is your dream that you've been working toward for six-plus years. You're in every fabric of this, in the design of it, in the execution of it. I mean, how does it feel personally?

MARSALIS: I walk through it. I love the space, the way it's designed; it's designed for us, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. We feel great sitting in there. But I think more of all the people what they had to put into it to make it be that way.

People will love it when they come in here. All of the musicians, when we get together and talk about places we play, we all want the same thing, golden sound and people around us.

TOURE: And when they start saying this is the house that Wynton built, what are you going to say?

MARSALIS: This is the house of swing. It's not about any one person, because swinging is not about a person; swinging is about people coming together.

TOURE: A group.

MARSALIS: It's the house of swing.

TOURE (voice-over): For CNN, this is Toure, at the house of swing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: The house of swing.

HEMMER: I like it. Great sounds.

SERWER: Beautiful room.

COLLINS: Hey, we're going to Chicago. And when we get there next week, Soledad O'Brien is going to be with us. That's AMERICAN MORNING, on the road in where, everybody?

Chicago, all next week.

HEMMER: So tomorrow's national boss day, right?

COLLINS: yes.

HEMMER: I thought this was a perfect opportunity for Jack to suck up to our boss.

(CROSSTALK)

SERWER: He's here.

There he is.

HEMMER: He's hanging out.

CAFFERTY: What do I have to do to ingratiate myself? Do I have to buy you a cheap gift of some kind?

SERWER: We already got those cards to him, Jack.

COLLINS: Take him for breakfast tomorrow.

CAFFERTY: I'm not taking him for breakfast.

COLLINS: The barbecue joint.

SERWER: It's Saturday.

HEMMER: Happy Boss Day will.

CAFFERTY: Yes, Happy Boss Day.

SERWER: Happy Boss Day, Will.

COLLINS: Tomorrow.

SERWER: Tomorrow.

HEMMER: We've got to go. Here's Daryn and Rick at the CNN Center.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com