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Faces of Recession; Operation Santa
Aired December 14, 2008 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, everyone.
We begin with a bizarre incident today in Baghdad. President Bush had to duck, not once, but twice when a pair of men's shoes came whizzing towards his head.
Mr. Bush was speaking at a news conference with the Iraqi prime minister. He had just spoken about the recent agreement that would end the U.S. military presence in Iraq when the shoes started flying.
Well, the shoe thrower yelled in Arabic, "This is a farewell, dog." Afterwards the president downplayed the incident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So what if the guy threw a shoe at me? I consider it an important step in -- on the road towards an Iraq that can sustain itself, govern itself and defend itself.
But let me talk about the guy throwing the shoe. It is one way to gain attention. It's like going to a political rally and having people yell at you. It's like driving down the street and have people not gesturing with all five fingers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Boy, you could call that some fancy presidential spin. Arabs might -- they might see it differently.
In the Middle East, the soles of the shoes hitting the body is considered a deep insult. You may recall, these images from 2003 of Iraqis stomping on the toppled statue of Saddam Hussein and hitting it with their shoes.
CNN senior editor of Arab affairs, Octavia Nasr, spoke about the significance just a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SENIOR EDITOR, ARAB AFFAIRS: Because it's President Bush, it is -- it makes it really 100 times more significant than just throwing a shoe at just anybody. And again, because it's a reporter who was there to cover the press conference it also makes it more significant.
It's definitely something that will play very highly on Arab media and many people will be taking this and basically echoing their frustration of the Bush administration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, the man who threw the shoes was taken into custody and we'll bring you more information about him as it becomes available.
But right now we want to talk about the security risks that this posed to the president.
CNN's security analyst, Mike Brooks, is here to explain how the Secret Service reacted to this attack against the president.
As we looked at that video...
MIKE BROOKS, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Yes.
LEMON: ... the president was pretty nimble. He ducked.
I'll tell you what he did a good job.
LEMON: Twice. Yes, he did a good job.
The response appeared to be slow in this, in this case. Let's go to the video, Mike, tell us about it.
BROOKS: Sure. You know what I really don't see it as being that slow. There's one, it happened in split seconds. You -- see the detail leader right here. That's the Secret Service detail leader. He came over to the president and said are you OK, and he waved them of.
You know that detail leader is off to the side, because when you have a presidential press conference...
LEMON: That was pretty slow right -- that was pretty close.
BROOKS: Yes, that's -- that was real close. And then you see the second one. And you see, Mr. Maliki tried to -- tried to neck it off -- and you see the detail leader coming in. Now he is the one who is basically there all the time.
LEMON: And then who's this guy?
BROOKS: Those are Secret Service that came out of the back room also.
LEMON: OK.
BROOKS: Because if something was of a deadly nature would have happened, someone took a shot, there's something else happened, they would take him out and there's always a safe room that they take them to.
LEMON: OK.
BROOKS: They would take the president to. But you know I -- the position of the Secret Service agent detail leader -- you know, they're not going to be standing up here on the side of the podium with him. They're off to the side. So you see him coming in here. And it was not -- it didn't take that long, because keep in mind...
LEMON: And the president waved him off. Did you see that?
BROOKS: Yes, he just went like...
LEMON: Yes. OK.
BROOKS: ... and he waved him off. Because keep in mind, Don, this -- everybody here has been through magnetometers. Everybody -- there's no deadly weapons in this room and they made sure of that. This is one of the most secure rooms in the world when this happen.
But it would be the same if some photographer took his camera and threw it at the president. Now all of the people who hold press credentials they have been vetted by the Secret Service. They've run through every intelligence database that you can think of.
LEMON: Yes, we're going to talk more about that. How can this happen? Not exactly something you're expecting to happen if you -- you know if everyone has gone through...
BROOKS: Not at all.
LEMON: ... metal objects. Who would think a shoe?
BROOKS: Exactly.
LEMON: We'll talk more about that.
BROOKS: Absolutely.
LEMON: Our security analyst, Mike Brooks, thank you for that, Mike.
BROOKS: Sure, Don.
LEMON: Now we want to go to Chicago where everyone wants to know if Illinois Governor Blagojevich is stepping down or not. Well, it depends on whom you ask.
CNN's Brianna Keilar has been sorting through the conflicting information and who the governor has been talking to today.
Brianna, will he or won't he step down?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that is the question, Don. And really it's a report from "The Chicago Sun-Times" really reverberating throughout political circles in Illinois. A report that said the governor would be making a move or considering making a move early this week.
It does depend on who you speak with. Obviously, some people here who want him to resign are hoping that it will happen. Lisa Madigan one of those people, the state attorney general, here's what she said on "Meet the Press" today. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LISA MADIGAN, ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL: In addition to the fact he was allegedly attempting to sell a U.S. Senate seat, gained campaign contributions for signing laws, refusing to provide Medicaid reimbursement to a significant children's hospital here in Chicago, get an editorial writer at the Trib fired.
There is also this serious concern that absolutely everything that he does from here on out is going to be tainted.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
MADIGAN: It's going to be illegitimate. And so we think it is absolutely obvious that he is incapable of governing and the best thing to do is move aside.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: But I have been e-mailing, Don, back and forth with the governor's spokesperson, Lucio Guerrero. And he said, I can tell you that is not true. He is not resigning tomorrow."
I wanted to ask him is may be going to temporarily step aside, step down. You know some sort of take action. And he said I know of no event or action the governor is doing today or tomorrow.
Meantime, Blagojevich, again, spent several hours at the office of a high profile criminal defense attorney here in Chicago, Don.
LEMON: Yes. Absolutely a guy who has represented a lot of high- profile people and including a rapper, a very famous rapper.
OK. Thank you very much for that, Brianna Keilar.
At the heart of the Blagojevich scandal is whether Barack Obama or his staff, or his staff was involved in anyway. The president-elect has flatly stated that there is no connection. Now he is getting the benefit of the doubt from someone you might think is an unlikely source, his former rival for the White House, Senator John McCain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I don't know all of the details of the relationship between President-elect Obama's campaign or his people and the governor of Illinois. But I have some confidence that all of the information will come out. It always does, it seems to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And CNN, of course, has a team of correspondents, producers, and camera people stationed in Chicago, also in Springfield, Illinois to get you the very latest. We'll bring you the information on this growing scandal as we get it.
We'll take a closer look at the Blagojevich scandal and what we might see tomorrow. Tonight at 11:00 p.m. Eastern we'll going to tell you what you might see tomorrow and how we're covering the story.
A big story that is still hanging out there this weekend. A possible emergency loan of billions of your tax dollars to the U.S. auto industry. The White House will only say it is looking at all options and getting input from many experts.
One possibility on the table is tapping into the TARP fund, the $700 billion bailout to Wall Street, and carving out a slice for the big three car companies. But a White House source tells CNN no decision is imminent.
Senate Republicans shot down a $14 billion loan package last week leaving the White House at a last resort if there is to be a bailout this year.
While automakers wait to see what happens, tough decisions are being made that affect a lot of auto workers.
Cynthia Wilson of affiliate WSMV reports on one GM plant in Springhill, Tennessee where workers will have a much longer holiday break than they wanted.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CYNTHIA WILSON, WSMV REPORTER: GM Says they'll be scaling back but the UAW says that's just semantics.
MIKE HERRON, UAW LOCAL 1853: We're going to be going to what I call a cold shutdown.
WILSON: Workers at Springhill plant will be unemployed for more than a month while GM cuts back on production in North America.
HERRON: And I would suspect that there's probably going to be nearly 2,000 that will be impacted during this brief shutdown.
WILSON: The company's plan to cut first quarter production by 250,000 vehicles, means as many as 2,000 of the more than 3400 employees at the Springhill plant could be out of work for all of January and the first week of February.
HERRON: There'll be a tremendous hit to the state of Tennessee on unemployment. You'll see a tremendous spike in the unemployment.
WILSON: The company says declining car sales and the sputtering economy are the reasons for the temporary shutdown that will happen in Springhill and nearly two dozen other plants in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
HERRON: Yes, that's exactly right.
WILSON: Today, the chairman of UAW Local 1853 shook hands with union members. There is sure to be a lot of hand wringing as bailout plans continue to collapse. And January's temporary layoffs looms.
(END VIDEOTAPE) LEMON: Cynthia Wilson of our affiliate WSMV reporting.
Automakers are desperately waiting for a lifeline while thousands of workers in all sorts of industries are losing their livelihoods. And the news could get much, much worse unfortunately.
Let's talk about this deepening recession with Poppy Harlow of CNNMoney.com.
Poppy, how long does the White House have before they have to act on this?
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Well, really the White House doesn't have the set amount of time, Don, in which they have to work. The question this weekend and, of course, early tomorrow morning, is will GM, Chrysler and Ford -- really GM and Chrysler -- get an 11th-hour lifeline from the White House.
Tony Fratto, the White House spokesperson saying no news on Sunday. We're going to the take the time we need to review their books and to get it right. But GM has said, and listen to these numbers, it needs $4 billion by the end of December to avoid Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which is a restructuring of the company.
Chrysler said it will need about $4 billion in the early, early days of 2009. The White House, a lot of people say they could come out this week but they may not. The treasury, however, working with the Bush administration, the treasury said, Don, on Friday, it said, quote, "They will stand ready to prevent an imminent failure until Congress acts."
One big question that a lot of people see we could get a short-term life line, just a bit of that TARP money until we see the new Congress and Senate instated on January 6th, because, Don, we know there will be seven more Democrats in that Senate, possibly nine, so that could turn things around.
LEMON: Like a bridge sort of loan? Yes.
HARLOW: Yes, exactly just that.
LEMON: OK. You know what, Poppy. We were talking last week. I think last week you had the November, the final November numbers.
HARLOW: Yes.
LEMON: They were a record. The first week of December, something like 43,000, second week, 73,000.
HARLOW: Yes.
LEMON: Are we on tap or on the road to another...
HARLOW: Yes.
LEMON: ... record for December? HARLOW: It looks that way, Don. What we heard when we look at all the numbers this week -- more than -- about 70,000 job cuts this week. We heard from Bank of America. Look at those massive job cuts. Sony, 3M, beer maker Anheuser-Busch, I mean these are across the board. This is not just focused on the financial or the housing sector.
This is across the board cuts. That's last week alone, folks. The week before, 43,000 job cuts. You add it up, Don, more than 115,000 Americans have lost their jobs going into just the first two weeks of December. That's in the midst of the holiday season.
And then that piece right before we started talking, about those auto workers getting those temporary cuts, Don. And that's not even factored in here. So we are on track, yes, for record what we saw in November. 533,000 job cuts. Highest since 1974.
Don, some economists say we could see 600,000 in December.
LEMON: Are you joining us later, Poppy, tonight?
HARLOW: I'm not, Don.
LEMON: You can't tonight?
HARLOW: I actually a life...
LEMON: OK.
HARLOW: ... and I have some plans, I'm sorry about that.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: No, I just want to -- we want see if there's going to be any movement on this bailout and also with the job numbers.
HARLOW: If there is you bet I'll be joining you.
LEMON: Yes. And we'll -- definitely we'll have it covered. Just wondering if you were. Thank you, Poppy. Thanks for coming in for us.
A life and death search in Utah right now where at least one person may be trapped by an avalanche.
Also across the Great Plains and all the way to New England, wicked weather blanketing the country. Our Karen Maginnis has your frigid forecast.
And we want to know, of course, what is on your mind? Log on to Twitter, to Facebook, to iReport or MySpace.com and tell us what you're are thinking. Also are worried about anything with the economy, with holidays coming up? Your questions to Dr. Gloria. We're going to take them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: Search-and-rescue teams are out in force in the Utah mountains after two massive avalanches. The avalanches happened south of Salt Lake City in a ski resort area.
Searchers rescued at least two people and are searching for anymore that may have been trapped here. The area has gotten more than a foot of snow over the past couple days.
Winter may not officially be here yet, but try telling that to people across the U.S. tonight facing lots of snow, no power and dangerously cold temperatures. The snow is falling and the mercury is plunging in Colorado especially around the Denver area.
Up to 5 inches of snow fell in some spots. And there have been highway closings across that state. Forecasters say it'll stay cold with highs in the single digits.
And check out this iReport from Tim Gooding just outside Fargo, North Dakota. Blizzards are raging across the eastern part of state tonight knocking out power to the town of Buffalo.
Authorities are starting up a generator at the town's community center and planning to bring people there. Highways are closed. Some areas have gotten more than a foot of snow. And the wind chill, get this, makes it feel like 40 below.
Can you imagine? Yikes.
Well, tree trunks, tree branches all over the place. Look at that. That is amazing video. The results of a massive ice storm that coated New England, hundreds of thousands of people are still in the dark and in the cold tonight.
President Bush has declared a state of emergency in some parts of Massachusetts and New Hampshire and it could be another two days before some people get their power back. Federal agencies are working on relief efforts right now.
Let's turn to Karen Maginnis in the CNN Severe Weather Center to find out about this huge storm.
All part of one big system or is it a number of storms, Karen?
(WEATHER REPORT)
LEMON: All right. So hunker down for this week. It's going to be, going to be a bad one.
MAGINNIS: Yes, it feels like winter.
LEMON: Thank you, Karen Maginnis.
It was the last thing people were expecting to happen at their company office party. Tall Grass Distribution in Vancouver, Canada was hosting a holiday party for employees when a 61-year-old man who had been recently laid off walked in and began firing a gun. One man identified by Canadian news reports as the company CEO was killed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONSTABLE TIM FANNING, VANCOUVER POLICE: Very, very tragic day for this business and the family of the victim. At a time of year when there is supposed to be a lot of joy and people, you know, sharing the joy of the season at a Christmas party that there's hundreds going on around the city right now, I' sure -- you know, just a tremendous shock for everybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Suspect Eric Kilkpatrick -- Kirkpatrick, I should say, was taken into custody two hours after the shooting after talking on the phone with police negotiators.
Well, disturbing as it is these stories are becoming really a tragic trend. People pushed to their limits, committing desperate acts. And a lot of times their friends and their loved ones they don't even know that they're suffering.
So tonight, clinical psychologist, Dr. Gloria Morrow, she will join me right here on the air, live. She will answer your questions live in real-time about some of your concerns. And you may not want to share, you may not feel comfortable sharing it with someone because you're private or what have you, if you can send us a question anonymously, we'll get some answers for you, get some help.
So we want know what's on your mind tonight. Make sure you log on to Twitter, to Facebook, to MySpace, iReport. You get your time on the couch today with Dr. Gloria Morrow.
Unbelievable video out of Baghdad. Check this out.
That's right, everyone, watch out. Someone threw a shoe at President Bush during a press conference today. But how could this happen? More questions, more answers, from CNN security analyst, Mike Brooks, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. Let's go back now to our big story. It is out of Baghdad where an Iraqi reporter tried to hit President Bush with his shoes.
Now this was the president's fourth and final visit to Iraq and done under very tight security and ultra-secrecy.
How tight was it? I don't know from that. We'll see.
Well, yet as another conference with the prime minister was going on, the reporter jumped to his feet, yelled, "This is a farewell, dog," and then hurled both the shoes at President Bush. The president ducked twice and was not hit. He later downplayed the incident saying it was simply a way to get attention and the thrower was taken into custody. We haven't learned too much more about him.
Do you know what is this -- this is a final -- Mike Brooks is our CNN security analyst here.
So what does this mean? This is a -- dog -- you ever heard of that? It's -- this is a farewell, dog? Isn't it?
BROOKS: Yes, this is farewell, you dog. You know, I don't think this means like hey, dog.
LEMON: Yes.
BROOKS: I don't think - I don't think it was D-A-W-G, too. No, not at all. Definitely not.
LEMON: It was something else. OK So let's talk about this, Mike. When you look at this guy, we talked earlier.
BROOKS: Yes.
LEMON: Who's expecting a shoe? Because this people they go...
BROOKS: No one.
LEMON: ... through a metal detectors, much probably like an airport all of that, but...
BROOKS: Oh even, even more than an airport.
LEMON: OK.
BROOKS: You go through -- when the Secret Service mags, everybody, goes through the magnetometers, when you go into a secure press conference like this, all these people who are there, also, Don, have been through background checks. They have been vetted.
LEMON: Yes.
BROOKS: You know? So these are now just somebody who can just walk into the room. And you know, the thing with this -- yes, you can run them through every kind of intelligence database you can, because that predicts what their behavior has been in the past. But you cannot predict their future behavior such as this.
LEMON: OK, so when you look at this, what are you saying? Obviously, I mean, the president, he sees it coming. He's pretty -- he's pretty nimble, right?
BROOKS: He has his days...
LEMON: And he's -- he was smiling there.
BROOKS: ... around baseball teams, you know? (LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Yes.
BROOKS: He used to duck in baseball.
LEMON: Yes.
BROOKS: But -- oh yes, you know, and then you see the detail leader right here, come up to him. And say, are you OK? And then you see other agents in the back here. And then they took him down right back here.
LEMON: This is another reporter, though, here. That's not...
BROOKS: Yes. That's another reporter. Yes.
LEMON: But that guy, as we understand -- OK.
BROOKS: Yes, he comes in and they take him to the ground. And -- I'm sure they will be talking to him at great length.
LEMON: Yes. Real quick before we talk what happens to this guy. How much -- wow -- how much danger was the president in?
BROOKS: I don't think it was much danger at all.
LEMON: You don't?
BROOKS: No. There was -- we know one thing. There was no weapons in this room at all. And you know, it was -- it would be the same, as I said earlier, if someone had taken a camera and thrown it at the president. You can't predict the behavior of some people.
LEMON: Hang on. Can you back this up, Roger? Can we do it in real time and let this play out because I want to see the chaos after the president.
BROOKS: Yes.
LEMON: And I want people to be able to hear and let Mike Brooks look at it.
BROOKS: If they had thought, if the Secret Service had thought that he was in danger at that time...
LEMON: Let's listen. Let's listen.
BROOKS: Right.
LEMON: All right. So then we...
(CROSSTALK)
BROOKS: If they thought that he had been in any kind of danger, you would have seen the detail leader -- Don, you would have seen him come up and he would have protected the president, and probably would have taken him out the back door. Because as I said, if there was a threat...
LEMON: OK.
BROOKS: ... if there is an attempt on the president, they always have a secure room that will either go there and shelter him place, or get him out and evacuate him from that scene.
LEMON: OK. I'm running out of time here. But here's what I want to know, what happens to the guy?
BROOKS: Good question. Here in the United States he would have been arrested. Over there his press credentials are definitely going to be pulled but I'm sure there are going to be some other measures taken against him.
LEMON: OK. Yes.
BROOKS: Unknown at this time.
LEMON: We'll see. Yes. When we find out more about him, we'll definitely bring it to you. Appreciate it.
BROOKS: Don, always a pleasure.
LEMON: Thank you very much. Thank you very much.
BROOKS: Thank you.
LEMON: OK. Let's go back now to the economy.
Jobless in Ohio and facing a bleak Christmas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know what we're going to do. How I'm going to be able to take care of my kids.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That's just one of the stories that moved us this weekend. We had a whole lot of them. Really over the last couple of weeks. We're taking a closer look at families suffering as the holidays approach.
Clinical psychologist Dr. Gloria Morrow will join me live to take your questions. Dr. Gloria answers your questions. So make sure you log on to Twitter, to Facebook, MySpace or iReport.com, tell us what you're thinking and Dr. Gloria Morrow.
Hi, Doctor.
DR. GLORIA MORROW, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Hello.
LEMON: You look wonderful. Yes, every time I see you, you're so calm. I can't -- I got questions myself. I'm going to lay here on the desk and ask you questions.
MORROW: I will be happy to do that.
LEMON: All right.
MORROW: How are you?
LEMON: I'm doing well. We'll see you in just a minute.
MORROW: OK. Thank you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DON LEMON, CNN "NEWSROOM" ANCHOR: Around the country as more and more people lose their jobs, there are many heartbreaking stories. Last month, employers cut 533,000 people from their payrolls. And this week alone, employers cut about 70,000 jobs and that is a conservative estimate.
Lisa Sylvester reports on one Ohio factory worker now facing a very grim future.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tina Stiffler of Mansfield, Ohio has known hard times before but never like this. Friday was her last day at Albeco Uniform Factory. The plant which has been making uniforms for police and fire fighters for a century is shutting down.
Stiffler has five young children and her husband was laid off from his job four months ago.
TINA STIFFLER, LAID-OFF WORKER: I don't know what we're going to do. How I am going to be able to take care of my kids. The ladies that I worked with, I was scared for them because most of them have worked there, their whole life.
SYLVESTER: Stiffler thinks about others even as her own situation is dire. She and her family moved in with their mother-in-law after they couldn't afford to pay their rent. But now her mother-in-law's home is in foreclosure. She has tried to keep her kids shielded from what is going on.
STIFFLER: I can't even buy them winter boots right now because -- every penny I've got has got to go either in groceries or in the gas tank. So I don't -- you know? Right now it's just -- it's so unbelievably hard.
SYLVESTER: She will receive about $115 a week in unemployment, but that's barely enough to pay utilities and the bills keep piling up. Christmas is around the corner, but not for their household.
STIFFLER: They want to go see Santa. And I don't want them not to go see Santa. But at the same time, I don't want to give them false hope. The reality is things, things -- I don't even want to think about Christmas. SYLVESTER: Stiffler says at a time when Congress has bailed out banks, insurance companies and automakers she could really use a bailout.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Well, Tina Stiffler and her family were told by the sheriff's office that they have to be out of their home that they're living now by the end of this week. Best of luck to them.
We are hearing a lot of these stories. Stories just like this over the country. Uncertain times are causing a trickle down effect of worry and stress.
So we carved out some time on the couch for you with Dr. Gloria Morrow, she's a clinical psychologist and a friend of our show. And she joined us -- she's been joining us for a while now and we appreciate it. And every time you join us, we feel, a little bit better about this very bad situation.
Before I get to our first question from viewers, lately are you seeing more people, less people, what's going on?
DR. GLORIA, MORROW, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Yes. I am seeing more people and in fact people are calling to say I can't come because I have lost my job. So I am opening up my pro bono slots so that I can see more people because they need this help more now than ever.
LEMON: And as I understand you're encouraging other health professionals like yourself to do the same.
MORROW: Absolutely.
LEMON: Let's get to our, we had so much response from people who are dealing with this.
Our first question says, "What about the single people at Christmas? It is really depressing to be the only single person at someone's house for Christmas dinner then you have to leave and go home to an empty, cold and lonely house with no tree and no love."
Wow.
MORROW: Yes. Well you know society has built Christmas and holidays around couples and families. So it is a very distressing time for some singles.
But it's also a great time to create new rituals for enjoying the holidays as a single person with other single people. And just doing service and helping families and being a part of support groups where people are in need is a wonderful way to be all right during this holiday season --
LEMON: Yes.
MORROW: -- as a single person. LEMON: I have to say, and it's also true, your perspective how you look at it because after my family I can't wait to get home by myself.
MORROW: Yes.
LEMON: By myself in my own house. Ok, so I love my family though, but you know I can only take them for a couple hours, altogether. My mom is going to kill me.
"How do we help people that have nothing if states have cut most all social services resources?"
MORROW: Well I think that people need to know that if they are experiencing signs or symptoms of chronic mental illness such as depression and anxiety, they need to go knock on the door of the Department of Mental Health in their area. They have to be seen.
And secondly, if they're not struggling in that kind of way, and they're just going through some emotional times, then they should go to churches and other organizations that provide support groups and don't isolate. This is the worst time of all to isolate.
LEMON: Ok.
This one I found very interesting. And when -- my producer and I were talking because I think it is legitimately known here about it, "Special needs families were already at the back of the bus, so how does one stay sane now that we will get pushed off?"
MORROW: That is such a wonderful question. And I would encourage who ever that person is to definitely rely on your strengths. There have been some wonderful things that you have been able to do to stay healthy. Keep doing that. And do not allow yourself to suffer in silence.
Run to the emergency room, call your Congress people. I think we should be writing in to our Congress people and letting them know the situation. I know they know. But just reminding them that regular ordinary people need to also get services and get help during this time.
LEMON: Oh, thank you so much.
Don't go anywhere because we have some more very personal stories. I'm looking at some that's just coming in. I am going to ask you about this when one woman says she has cancer. I want to get your response on her as well. Ok, doctor, see you in a second.
MORROW: All right.
LEMON: Dear Santa, those are two of the most popular words this time of year after "I want" but for too many families, this holiday season, kids and parents alike, well they are hearing I can't, as in I can't afford to buy gifts, or toys or in some cases food or clothing.
Nationally the United States Post Office sees thousand of letters to Santa. And this year they're seeing ones that sound a lot like this: "Dear Santa, a friend of mine told you that you could help me because you helped my friend last year. I don't want much, but my mom couldn't afford it because she lost her job a while ago and is looking every day."
We want to know what is on your mind tonight in response to this and any of the stories we are doing. Make sure you log on to Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, or IReport.com. Tell us what you are thinking. We'll get it on the air.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Earlier we told you about "Operation Santa," the post office program that lets you be someone else's Santa Claus. This year the post office is seeing a big increase in letters from kids and their parents asking for help.
Letters like this one: "Dear secret Santa. I am writing this letter on behalf of my four children. I am a single mother trying to raise and take care of them the best way I can. But, it is hard. After paying rent, bills and food, there is not enough money left over."
Just imagine the stress of struggling parents at this time of the year. How can they deal with it? Dr. Gloria Morrow came in. And she wrote "Suffer" and she's in I should say, "Suffer in Silence No More." She's a clinical psychologist and she's back to answer some of your questions.
You heard from that mom. And she said, I mean, a mom writing a letter to Santa Claus because she wants to be able to help her children.
MORROW: Yes. It's a very sad thing because we have built so much around buying toys and having things. And some people are just looking for their basic needs to be met. This is a really tough time.
LEMON: When you think about a mom -- you know, obviously a mom who is writing a letter to Santa. Is that more of, is she just getting it out, putting it on paper to get those feelings out.
MORROW: Yes.
LEMON: Because you know, she is an adult?
MORROW: Yes, I think she is just really trying to vent and express herself. And maybe thinking somebody will hear and listen to her condition.
LEMON: Yes. And, in this case the post office actually does help people. So the mother is obviously aware of what she is doing. But I am wondering if it helps to get it out on paper.
Before I get to our last question, I want to go to this one, because I saw this come across. It is from KayKelJoe1991; it's on twitter. And she said "This time last year I was diagnosed with cancer. And no matter what happens this year it won't be nearly as bad."
That's really a question of attitude, right?
MORROW: Yes.
LEMON: That will help out if you have a positive frame of mind.
MORROW: Absolutely. If your thinking is positive, it helps you to overcome anything. You will look at this situation as a temporary condition and not permanent.
So it's very important to have our perspective right so that we can encounter and deal with things in a very positive way.
LEMON: All right. All right, that's a good answer.
Now let's talk about this one. This person can't sleep. "Insomnia. I am stressed over a job, to ensure income, my 3-year-old find coins and says we have money now we can buy food and we can play." Wow, doctor?
MORROW: Yes. Well, the first thing I want to say. I want to normalize some of what people are experiencing right now. We have a tendency to over-pathologize folks and diagnose them. I think right now, we are in a time where people are necessarily going to be stressed out and they're going to have some of the symptoms of insomnia, headaches, can't eat, or eating too much.
All of these are signs that they are in distress. And so I want that person to know if those conditions persist then she should definitely check with her primary care physician. And if she doesn't have one, she should go to an emergency room and ask someone to give her some help.
LEMON: All right, Dr. Morrow, I'm going to end with this, this is one from Twitter. Says, this may be a good time to work and to discover your faith muscle, God/higher power, is my source, not the economy. Watch me thrive. Exclamation point and smiley face. So there are some people with some good attitudes out there.
MORROW: Absolutely.
LEMON: All right, thank you, doctor.
MORROW: Thank you for having me.
LEMON: We have been talking about this.
Going without this year, "Toys for Tots" is having trouble filling its toy chest. More tots in need, fewer toys to give. We'll tell you how you can help out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: A holiday recession might mean a holiday without presents for a lot of children. There is one group that's trying to make sure every needy kid in America has a gift to open.
But getting donations can be a tough sell in these tough times. Photographer Bob Crowley visited the "Toys for Tots" in Boston.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good afternoon, "Toys for Tots."
KAY CARPENTER, TOYS FOR TOTS VOLUNTEER: "Toys for Tots" started by the Marine Corps in 1947.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have any idea of how many toys you collected.
CARPENTER: The Marine Corps Reserves picked it up as something that they would do at Christmas time to distribute toys to needy children.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you bag this?
SGT. DANIEL SAMPSON, U.S. MARINE CORPS: This is the warehouse for the greater Boston "Toys for Tots" program. All of the toys from the local areas and collection points and events come into this facility. They go into the orders and then they go out right from this area.
CARPENTER: The need this year is rather overwhelming.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do have some. Like 31 for the boys.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 46 over 125.
BETTY WHALEN, TOYS FOR TOTS VOLUNTEER: We are at a stand still. We can't fill any more orders. We are down to zip. These bins should be full of the toys in their respective age groups. And as you can see there is absolutely nothing in them.
Normally we would throw the toys in there. But we haven't bothered putting them in there because as soon as they come in we just start bagging them. It's really bad. I have never seen it this bad. I'm sure the economy has a lot to do with it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If we can get them in earlier, some of the people on the waiting list might be able to receive toys.
CARPENTER: I hope that we get enough help that we can fill all of the orders. And right this minute it looks like we're going to be turning people away.
SAMPSON: Every kid deserves a present on Christmas. Just to put that smile on a kid's face that might not have a toy on Christmas. It really makes it worthwhile.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Well there is a happy ending to this story. We found out the Boston "Toys for Tots" program has gotten more last-minute donations. So they can now fill some of those orders.
But volunteers in other cities say they're still hurting. So if you'd like to help, make sure you log on to www.toysfortots.org, toysfortots.org.
And just how many toys and how many tots are we talking about this holiday season? Lieutenant General Pete Osmond, President and the CEO of the Marine toys for Tots foundation; he joins us now.
Thank you, sir. Thank you, good to see you. How is this year's donations compared to last year's?
LT. GEN. PETE OSMOND, RETIRED MARINE TOYS FOR TOTS FOUNDATION: Well, Don its right about in the middle of our campaign this year. Our corporate sponsors have done a particularly good job for us this year realizing that the economy is going to be a challenge.
And they're actually ahead of monetary as well as gifting kind donations. The big question mark out there is the individual American who donates that toy. Buys that toy and drops that in the barrel. That's what we're really counting on.
The demand this year is about 20 percent ahead of last year. So there is a huge requirement out there. And, you know we really are counting on the compassion of the American people to come through once again as they have so many years in the past.
LEMON: Yes.
OSMOND: And they know there's a need this year, so I'm confident -- much as we saw in Boston -- that they'll come true.
LEMON: Well, you know, and I said last year, I should say years past because last year wasn't great either for charitable donations as well. So is it down over the last couple of years as the economy has been going down?
OSMOND: Last year actually we had a very good year. Last year we were able to distribute 16.6 million toys --
LEMON: Great.
OSMOND: -- to 7.5 million children which was a very, very good year. This year as I said, the demand is up and we can just hope and pray that the American people again will answer the call that is out there for these disadvantaged and less fortunate youngsters.
LEMON: Is it all donations from the general public? I mean,do you get toys from other places? How much of the general public is donating, how much does that make up?
OSMOND: That makes up about 75 percent of our intake.
LEMON: Ok.
OSMOND: We do get a large number of gift-in-kind toys from corporations, which really helps us a lot and allows us to supplement the campaigns that take place out.
LEMON: What are you doing -- what are you doing to get more donations?
OSMOND: Well, this year we have had opportunities like this with CNN to again remind people that it is that time of year and that we're counting on them this year. We have done a number of other things with regards to the local campaigns. We've increased the number of campaigns this year from 602 last year to 658 this year.
We wanted to better cover the communities across the nation.
LEMON: Wow.
OSMOND: And we do conduct "Toys for Tots" campaigns in all 50 states.
LEMON: Lt. General Pete Osmond, President and CEO of Marine "Toys for Tots" foundation. "Toys for Tots" run by our men and woman in uniform of the U.S. Marines. We appreciate it, happy holidays to you.
OSMOND: Thank you, sir.
LEMON: All right, www. -- what is it -- toysfortots.org; toysfortots.org. Ok.
Well, it's one of the questions everyone is wondering about; embattled Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I can't presume to know what was in the mind of the Governor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think at the very least he's having some sort kind of a mental breakdown.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Clearly something's wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Even "Saturday Night Live" has an opinion on this, make sure you stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: "Blago" wants a "bailout;" well not really but leave it to "Saturday Night Live" to combine the two. They spoof the Illinois Governor in a skit in which Blagojevich played by Jayson Sadacos (ph) appeared on Capitol Hill asking for a bailout. He gets some though question in return and give some, shall we say, very wrong answers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor, let me ask you, are you retarded?
JAYSON SADACOS, SNL ACTOR: First of all, Senator, the correct term is developmentally challenged. And yes, I am mildly developmentally challenged. So obviously it is not affecting my performance as governor. But I can see I'm wasting my time here. You know what, I think I'll just head over to the Supreme Court and see if any of those guys are easier to deal with instead of you stupid [bleep].
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right.
On a very serious note, though, the governor's mental capacity is one of the things I covered Friday in Chicago when I talked to Jesse Jackson Jr. who is caught up in the middle of the scandal himself. Here's part of my exclusive interview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JESSE JACKSON JR., (D) ILLINOIS: That the Governor not only cannot perform his functions under the constitution of the state of Illinois but has clearly violated a number of statutes under our state statutes and potentially federal statutes. And there may be a capacity issue.
LEMON: What do you mean?
JACKSON JR.: A capacity as in mental capacity to complete the job. That he cannot function under the direct --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Of course, the governor is innocent until proven guilty, sane until proven otherwise. But even TV's Dr. Phil is weighing in. He wouldn't talk about this case specifically but tonight he tells me or last night I should say, he told me, if someone actually did the things Rod Blagojevich is accused of doing, then mental stability is a legitimate concern.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. PHIL MCGRAW, HOST "DR. PHIL": We have to speak about this hypothetically because these are allegations and we don't know that the governor is guilty of any of the things of which he is accused.
But I can tell you this if a person has done this kind of thing, if what we believe -- if the allegations are believed to be true, then you have to assume that you're dealing with somebody that is very anti-social in their mental adjustment, meaning that they have very little ability to have a conscience. They don't feel remorse and they just believe that they are completely and utterly above the law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right. We're going to take a closer look, really go in depth to this Blagojevich scandal. What you might see tomorrow. What is -- what are people saying on the ground in Springfield and in Illinois?
We're going to talk to some people who are very close to the situation and know all about it. See if we can get some new information for you.
Plus, can the human eye help redesign solar power? We'll introduce you to a professor with an innovative vision.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: It is one of Mother Nature's most complex creations and a college professor is trying to reinvent it. He didn't accomplish his original goal but he still came up with something pretty eye opening.
Our Kyra Phillips has tonight's "Edge of Discovery."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're looking at a work of art designed by Mother Nature that an ambitious professor is trying to re- create. It's the human retina.
PROF. ANDREW BARRON, RICE UNIVERSITY PROFFESOR: In this case, we were looking very specifically at a medical application where a device would be small enough to obviously to fit in the human eye.
PHILLIPS: Professor Andrew Barron's nanotechnology team at Rice University was trying to develop an artificial retina when they ran into a problem.
BARRON: Well, if we don't solve that problem, all we've got is a solar cell.
PHILLIPS: Eureka, solar power.
BARRON: The retina is an extremely efficient designed for capturing photons and photons are essentially light.
PHILLIPS: Now Barron is growing nano-sized forests of light absorbing rods modeled after those amazing light absorbing rods of the retina.
BARRON: What we've got is a model of a nano-tube.
PHILLIPS: What's the big deal? Well, this is the typical solar power panel, you know those bulky squares you see on rooftops.
BARRON: It's very brittle, it shatters very heavily when you tough it.
PHILLIPS: Compare that to the Barron solar cell, made of flexible nano-tubes, 1,000 times thinner than a human hair. The challenge of getting the Barron solar cells from this scale to this will take time. After all, Andrew Barron is not Mother Nature.
Kyra Phillips, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: I'm Don Lemon and I'll see you right back here tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, 7:00 Pacific. We'll see you then.
