Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Gays in the Military; Keeping Stimulus Program Working
Aired February 02, 2010 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. It's the seat that ended up center stage in a scandal and I'm talking about senate seat -- that senate seat from Illinois that opened up when Barack Obama became president. Today voters across the state are picking a Democrat and a Republican to face off later this year to fill that seat. They're also picking party nominees for governor. It seems like just yesterday that we were hearing the now former governor of Illinois defend his good name from allegations that he tried to sell the seat to the highest bidder.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROD BLAGOJEVICH, FORMER GOVERNOR OF ILLINOIS: If I was some guilty crook, I'd be cowering in some office in some corner in a fetal position hiding. I'm asserting my innocence because I know it to be true. And there's something bigger at stake and what I said before, that is my daughters, my little girls need to know that their father is not the guy some of these people are saying he is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And then there was Senator Roland Burris. Remember he said basically the same thing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ROLAND BURRIS (D), ILLINOIS: I ask you today to stop the rush to judgment. You know the Roland. I've done nothing wrong and I have absolutely nothing to hide.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROLAND BURRIS (D), ILLINOIS: ... today to stop the rush to judgment. You know the real Roland, I've done nothing wrong and I have absolutely nothing to hide.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Senator Burris not wanting a full term. We'll follow the race nonetheless. There's always a lot of interesting corruption within Chicago politics.
Well, $3.8 trillion is a pretty big number to try to make sense of. Well, the president's money men are on Capitol Hill this hour trying to sell his proposed budget. The president's budget director Peter Orszag and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, well, they're going to have to convince some pretty skeptical members of two Senate committees.
Meanwhile in New Hampshire, the president pitching a $30 billion plan to jump start small businesses, including incentives for banks to lend to small businesses.
A fiery crash on a freezing night. The commuter plane had stalled, then dove into a house. 50 people died in suburban Buffalo.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All I could see was fire. Fire and explosions. That's all we could see. And then we saw the woman from the house where she fell to the ground and she actually didn't have any shoes on. And you just don't know what to do. You're kind of just stunned. And you just - you want to help and we tried to get close to the house, we couldn't get there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, now it's been nearly a year since that fatal crash and there's so much that needs to be changed. Our Allan Chernoff monitoring today's NTSB hearings. Allan, what will we hear from them today?
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the NTSB is looking at the lessons of this crash and tragically this crash brought out so many problems with aviation safety in our nation. Right now, it's going to be looking at the issue of pilot fatigue, pilot experience, pilot training, all of those were major issues contributing to this crash it appeared. And the NTSB will be putting out its final report on the crash right after the meeting. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, in the meantime the FAA tried to do a lot to improve air safety since the crash.
CHERNOFF: They have been working on this. The head of the FAA has put out a call to action. He has demanded that all the airlines improve their training, have mentoring. They have had a committee looking into this issue of fatigue because it is a problem for every airline and pilots tell us they're all fighting fatigue.
But so far at least in regards to fatigue, nothing has actually been put into place, concrete steps, to require that people get more rest, but there are a lot of ideas on the table and everybody is very much aware of this very issue.
PHILLIPS: All right, we'll be following it with you. Allan, thanks so much.
And no scan, no fly. That's the rule now at London's Heathrow Airport. New body scanners are now in place at gates there and you know the ones that can actually see through your clothes. It's the response the Christmas day attack in Detroit. Not everyone is going to have to go through the scanners but if you're picked and you say no, well, you don't get to fly. New marching orders for the U.S. military. Today on Capitol Hill defense secretary Robert Gates discussing lifting the ban on gays serving in the armed forces. It's the first major step in that direction since the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy ignited a firestorm some 17 years ago. So what is life like being gay in today's military?
CNN's Ted Rowlands has that point of view.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Three active members of the U.S. military, all gay, all possibly risking their careers talking to us. That's why we're not showing their faces. An army sergeant with 10 years of service, who has done a tour of Iraq, a female Army MP who's been in for five years and has also been to Iraq and a Navy sailor who joined a year and a half ago.
They all argue that despite that's going on in the world, including two wars, now is the time to change 'don't ask, don't tell." And listen to what they say about living a lie.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am terrified that somebody in my chain of command is going to find out. There's always that pressure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I agree, it is a near constant thing because you're almost always putting up some sort of a front, that band of brothers that everybody talks about, I'm kind of that brother with the secret and yet it does wear on you.
ROWLANDS: Why do this interview?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Belonging to an institution doesn't mean you can't tell it when it's broken, which is giving voice (INAUDIBLE) up here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I truly think it is the best thing for the military, all the services and the best thing for this country for this law to be repealed.
ROWLANDS: Why now? Why do we need to deal with this now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is a problem now. I think that our deployed soldiers deserve to have their full rights.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders are in the military now. People know about it. And the people who are against it who don't want to take a shower with us, that stuff already happens. It's not going to change.
ROWLANDS: Do you find that people through the process of elimination figure you are gay?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been aware of people who knew that I was gay and never really felt like I was threatened. I never felt like I had to keep watching over my shoulder for, you know, the witch hunters to come after me with their torches and pitchforks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would say everybody in my group where I work, they all know that I'm gay. You know, if I can be open with them, I would be able to trust them more and they would know that they could trust me because I trust them with something so important.
ROWLANDS: Would you all come out right away if 'don't ask, don't tell' was lifted?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wouldn't go out to everybody saying, hey, I'm gay. But, you know, the people that were important to me, if they're important to me, they'll know. I'm not going to hang a rainbow flag in my office but I'm definitely having a coming out party.
ROWLANDS: All three say they are pleased and surprised that the president mentioned repealing 'don't ask, don't tell' in his State of the Union address. They're hoping that actually leads to a change so they can stop living a lie.
Ted Rowlands, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: At the bottom of the hour, they served in war and today they serve in Congress. Two combat vets answer the big question - how important is sexual orientation when the bullets starting flying. We want to know what you think about changing the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy in the military. Send us your feedback to cnn.com/kyra and we'll have some of your responses coming up in our hour.
Too poor to care for his kids. A Haitian father trying to get them a better life.
That's right. He didn't want to make that choice, but he chose to give them away. The little girl is now the center of a child trafficking investigation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: So we are waiting for word from a hearing in Haiti that's supposed to start this hour. It's about those 10 American missionaries accused of trafficking children. They're still in jail, 33 kids in limbo. You'll see that they weren't all orphans, either. Some were just handed over by their parents who wanted their kids to have a better life. A pretty heart breaking decision. CNN's Karl Penhaul talked to some of the parents.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Family photos taken before a desperate father gave away his baby daughters. Lelly Laurentus says he handed over four-year-old Soria (ph) and five-year- old Leila to a group of American Baptists last week. The Americans are now in a Haitian jail accused of trafficking 33 Haitian babies and children.
Laurentus, whose story is echoed by other parents in this village says he was too poor to care for his kids after the quake. He hope the Americans would offer his girls a brighter future.
LELLY LAURENTUS, GAVE 2 DAUGHTERS TO MISSIONARIES (through translator): I put them on the bus with the Americans with my own hands. I played with them up until the last minute. Then I kissed them both goodbye and told them don't forget daddy, he said.
PENHAUL: Laurentus who said he earns $1 a day fixing computers shows us around his quake-damaged home.
He finds the grubby bear his little Soria called Tejong (ph). He packed nothing for his kids. He said the Americans promised to give the children schooling, a safe home in the Dominican Republic, new clothes and soft toys.
LAURENTUS (through translator): I was crying because I didn't know when I would see them again, but it's OK if I suffer, but at their age, Soria and Leila should not suffer. They can't go hungry, he said.
PENHAUL: In the grassy square, villagers say 21 of the 33 children taken by the Americans were from here. They say at least 14 had one or both parents.
In a weekend jailhouse interview, the Americans told CNN they believed all the children they attempted to bus into the Dominican Republic were orphans or had been abandoned.
LAURA STILSBY, NEW LIFE CHILDREN'S REFUGE: We believe that we've been charged very falsely with trafficking, which of course that is the furthest possible extreme.
PENHAUL: In a temporary refuge for the rescued children in (INAUDIBLE), a 10-year-old (INAUDIBLE) Poulime plays alone on a swing, hoping her mom will change her mind and come fetch her.
We find her mother in Adrienne Poulime the same mountain village as the other parents. She misses her daughter and cradles her doll. She remembers how the (INAUDIBLE) sobbed as she left last Thursday.
ADRIENNE POULIME, GAVE DAUGHTER TO MISSIONARIES (through translator): I told her to call me once in a while, just so I know how she's doing so I would know if she was fine, she says.
PENHAUL: Benatine's (ph) parents scrape by farming vegetables and bananas. They're the poorest of the poor. Poulime says the only thing she could give Benatine (ph) was her love, even if it meant sending her away.
POULIME (through translator): I told her she should go and I promised one day I would go and see her. After she left, I was very sad, she says. PENHAUL: The Haitian government is now investigating what the Americans plan to do with the children who had no passports and no permission to leave and whether they knowingly committed a crime.
(on camera): Ultimately it's the authorities who will decide whether this is a case of kidnapping or child trafficking, but what it clearly is, is a story about poverty, a place where parents who say they love their children believe the best chance to get them a better life is to send them away.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Kalibas (ph), Haiti.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And there's no rest for the stimulus desk when you've got page after page of project after project. Who has time for sleep? Josh Levs is caffeneited and ready to show you how Uncle Sam is spending your money.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, it's groundhog day and we're expecting at least six more weeks of stimulus. The president wants to keep some of those key stimulus programs going, so he's slipping them into the budget. Congress has to approve it, of course. Some of those programs include more money for Medicaid and infrastructure projects and renewing tax breaks for workers and small businesses.
You've seen the stimulus books on our stimulus desk. A whole forest had to die for all those pages. Among the pages a school in New Hampshire district that's gotten more than $2 million in funding. President Obama is there today too pushing it. Josh Levs at the CNN stimulus desk. So let's talk about where the millions went.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is an interesting one. And obviously we have reason to take a look at Nashville today, right? Because that's where the president is headed. In fact, we're going to zoom into our trustee stimulus map right here. We're going to go in Nashville, New Hampshire and once we're there we're going all the way into the high school where he's going to be speaking. It's called Nashua High School north. I'll get out of the way.
I love this. this is like the ultimate roller coaster ride. So when we go all the way I, that's where the president is going to be speaking today. It's interesting to look at it from the stimulus desk because this specific school, as you said, has gotten more than $2 million. Let's show the screen right here.
I can show you it's actually closer to $3 million that this school has gotten. An interesting program here is to work with at- risk high school students. You can see there, about $2.9 million. And the idea here is they have hired a couple of guidance counselors and they are also paying some teachers to work with students after school.
And that's just part of what's going on state. Why? We have the full statewide figures for you here. New Hampshire has been a beneficiary of the stimulus project. Look at that, $31 million, 79 jobs created, they're saying across the state.
It was just the two there in Nashville. I mean, the idea here is to help schools deal with kids who are in these more troubled situations, at-risk students. This is one of the projects that may, might come up today while the president is right there at the school that has gotten that money and a good example of a time for you to think about what do you think should or should not get stimulus funding.
How should that money be used and how many jobs did it create? We're also taking a look at the big picture as I promised you last hour, Kyra, because New Hampshire just like so much of America has faced a lot of trouble in recent years with rising unemployment.
Let's show you this unemployment figures there. We have this on the screen for you as well. It has doubled. It has doubled over two years. Look at this here. 3.5 percent in December, 2007. Jump ahead one year, 4.3 percent. Then this past December, 7.0 percent. It jumped from 3.5 to 7.0 percent in just those two years. Just like so much of the country, facing rising unemployment, Interesting for a president to be in a state that has seen its own unemployment double over those past two years.
One more thing I wanted to show you here which is how many jobs have been created by the stimulus according to this latest report, which is right here. Basically 1,300. 1,295 jobs have been reported created by the stimulus according to the latest report from recovery.gov. So we have a feeling that the president will be touting that today. The state in which 1,300 jobs have been reported funded by the stimulus.
That's a lot of numbers for you but that's an reality check in advance for some of the things you might be hearing today, as the president highlights the state, Kyra, as an example of what the administration says is a beneficiary of that giant $862 billion package that passed a year ago.
PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks, Josh.
LEVS: You got it.
PHILLIPS: Top stories now, what caused the crash of flight 3407. 50 people were killed in the Colgan Airlines crash near Buffalo, New York, last year. The NTSB is wrapping up the investigation this morning. It's actually going to tell us the cause and offer possible new safety recommendations for regional airlines.
You should be able to get your recalled Toyota fixed soon. Apparently, the parts to fix the bad gas pedals should start arriving at dealerships. Millions of cars were recalled. Dealers are expecting to start fixing them this weekend and it won't cost you a dime.
Gilbert Arenas has a message for the kids out there. Don't be like me. Don't bring a gun to the locker room, don't threaten your teammates with it and don't make fun of the situation by pretending to shoot people on the basketball court.
Anyway, he's suspended for the season and could face jail time after pleading guilty to a gun charge but hey, he wrote an apology in the "Washington Post," saying "hopefully youngsters will learn from the serious mistakes I made with guns and not make any of their own.
PHILLIPS: So is your back side killing you? I'm not talking pain, I'm talking your mortality. Don't take this sitting down and don't turn the other cheek, right?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
PHILLIPS: Well, you want to live longer? Just get off your duff. I'm not talking about Homer Simpson's favorite brand of beer, by the way. Listen to the results of this new study focusing on those with a more sedentary life style shall we say, affirming that the opposite of exercise is true. Human couch potatoes generally a dying breed. In fact, the study suggests every hour you watch TV sitting down, you have a greater chance of dying from heart disease.
So if you love that DVR for at least four hours, you'll have an 80 percent greater chance of heart problems compared to someone who only watches the tube for about two hours. For context, the average American TV viewers spends five hours a day watching the small screen.
And to a much more imprecise science, long-term meteorology predicted by a freshly awoken wood chuck. Pennsylvania, here we come.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you Punxsutawney Phil!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And gobbler's knob one and only news dateline of the year is this, the infamous, famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil. America's beloved rodent rousted as usual for his annual prediction. You know, you're a big-time groundhog when you have your own spokesperson now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN HUGHES, PUNXSUTAWNEY PHIL: Phil proclaimed if you want to know next, you must read my text. As the sky shines bright above me, my shadow I see beside me. Six more weeks of winter it will be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, the tradition dates back to 1887, as you know. But this year was the first time the overgrown whistle pig went high tech. He actually texted his prognostication. You've come a long way, baby, but not without controversy or consensus.
Phil's southern cousin (INAUDIBLE) says spring will come early. What's a woman to do but turn to meteorologist Rob Marciano. Help me out.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Why don't we have video of Phil texting this proclamation?
PHILLIPS: Because that will be the second thing that PETA will be really upset about.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Child labor laws or groundhog labor laws in effect.
PHILLIPS: Bingo.
MARCIANO: All right, Kyra. Listen, I want to give you some history of the past five years what's gone down with Phil. Saw his shadow in '06, that means winter held on. No shadow in '07, the past three years including today, it was pretty cloudy there actually, he saw his shadow. That means, six more weeks of winter. I should note that the main climate center in the U.S. has done a study on this and he has less than a 40 percent accuracy rating. So slightly less than ours. Hi, Phil. We'll see you next year, buddy. Nice work today.
Here's what's going on around the rest of the country. We've got a couple of areas of low pressure, both are pretty weak, but the one across the south is causing a little bit of problems in the way of rain yesterday in through Florida, record-breaking amount of rain from Miami north towards Ft. Lauderdale and Hollywood, Florida.
A little bit of breaking out across southern Florida today but more in the way of rainfall across northern Florida. And getting now into the Carolinas. This is where it's becoming a little bit more of an issue because it's running into colder air. Because of that, and you see the white there, that is snow. There's a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain in some spots, especially across the i-81 corridor.
One to three inches of snow potentially here across parts of western Virginia. Now that winter weather advisory has been extended to Washington, D.C. So if you live in D.C. to Baltimore, you're probably going to see some snowfall later on today.
I guess he's coming back. He just will not give way. I mean, he's got a publicist now, he's got spokespeople. Punxsutawney Phil is certainly a forecasting force to be reckoned with, no doubt about that.
PHILLIPS: All right. And you him away until next year.
MARCIANO: Yes, with pleasure. See you.
PHILLIPS: Thank you, Rob.
Well, gays openly serving in the military. It's going to be one of the hottest debates in Washington. But what's the view from the front lines? We're going to talk to two combat vets now serving in Congress.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: It could be one of the most emotional issues looming on Capitol Hill right now. Defense Secretary Robert Gates discussing lifting the ban on gays openly serving in the military.
Our next two guests are lawmakers, but what really fascinates us is their perspective as combat veterans. Representative Duncan Hunter is a former Marine who served two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. He'd like to see this policy stand as is.
Eric Massa is a Naval Academy graduate and retired Navy commander. He thinks "don't ask, don't tell" should go away. He served during several global conflicts and was even the special assistant to the supreme allied commander of NATO. Gentlemen, good to see you both.
REP. DUNCAN HUNTER (R), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE : Good to be with you.
REP. ERIC MASSA (D), NEW YORK: Good morning.
PHILLIPS: Congressman Hunter, let's start with you. When you were in the military, and I know you have plenty of combat experience, you were in the fight right there in Fallujah, Iraq, when you were active, did anyone come out to you?
HUNTER: No, no. I didn't have any awareness of any homosexuals or transgenders in my units or any other units, for that matter. I was in a combat unit, artillery and infantry. There were no women in it and we didn't have any folks coming out saying that they were homosexuals.
But, you know, this is interesting that we're having this debate right now. They're holding an hour debate in the Senate in the Armed Services Committee on "don't ask, don't tell." They have not dedicated a full hearing to roadside bombs, the number one killer of our...
PHILLIPS: Well, let's -- let's...
HUNTER: ...military over there so we aren't focusing on how to win the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. We're going to focus on changing social policy in the midst of two wars. It's the wrong time for this debate, I think.
PHILLIPS: Well -- wrong time for the debate, but it's going on and has obviously been a very hot button issue, as it is with you.
You said you never knew of anybody that was gay with whom you served. What if someone would have come up to you and come out to you? At that point, would that have changed how you went into battle? Would that have changed how you fought alongside that individual?
Seriously, if you were in the middle of it, a firefighter in Fallujah, and somehow at some point, you discovered that earlier in the morning or later at the day, would you look at that warrior differently at that moment in the heat of battle?
HUNTER: Yes, you know, probably. That would have changed things for me...
PHILLIPS: Why? Why would it have changed things for you?
HUNTER: The interesting thing is, too, this isn't what I feel about homosexuals in the military or homosexuals at all, for that matter. This is about law, this is about law in the United States. Right now, the law exists that we don't have open homosexuality in the military. This isn't about what I think about in the battle...
PHILLIPS: No, it is. It is what -- you served in the military. You're also a member of Congress, you make huge decisions. You're going to be involved with this. It's a decision being talked about right now on the Hill. This could change the face of life for gays in the military.
And so, it is a very important discussion to have. Is it more important than another discussion, I think that's left to everybody's opinion.
I want to continue with you, but Congressman Massa, let me ask you, what about you? Did anybody ever come out to you in the military? Did you serve with any gays in the military?
MASSA: First of all, I think your listeners should understand that Congressman Hunter is a highly decorated combat veteran. I served for 24 years in the military, and my record does not stack up against his many months overseas.
But he and I both come from an ethos for honesty and integrity, our core values of uniform military personnel. And to require men and women to serve under a lie where disingenuousness and dishonesty has to be the call of the day is simply wrong.
For those to say that this impacts combat effectiveness, I ask them to look no farther than our close allies like Israel. Now, no one is going to say that the Israel army is not combat tested or battle scarred, and yet in that Army, which reflects a government and a people of deep cultural and religious beliefs, gays openly serve. As now in England where first it was tested and found to have no impact whatsoever on combat readiness.
And yet in those two services, should those members execute exchange duty with our armed forces, because of our policies, they cannot. I know there's common ground here. I've known Duncan, and I've known him before he joined the Marine Corps. And he and I have absolute beliefs in honesty and integrity in combat units.
This won't have an impact on combat readiness. We've seen that in our allies. Gays have been serving in the military for as long as we've had a military. In fact, any commander who doesn't understand who is or in fact who isn't in their unit is probably kind of disconnected from reality because I can tell you this. The troops all know. By some recent polling, 60 to 70 percent don't care.
This is not a military issue. It is a political issue. And, therefore, it is correct that it's being dealt with where it is, amongst the dozens of hearings that we have on military equipment, roadside bombs, tactics and strategy.
PHILLIPS: So, Congressman Duncan, with that in mind, that ethos that your fellow Congressman mentioned, being gay, does that make you a weaker warrior?
HUNTER: No, but it takes away from the cohesiveness and unity of that unit. It takes away the comfort and ability for those men and women to feel comfortable in extremely close quarters, showering, Fox holes, barracks, living together. We don't let men and women live together in the military, so why would you let, you know, different homosexual men live together, too?
And I think Eric's point...
PHILLIPS: Well, let me ask you this.
HUNTER: ... reinforces this. He says this is not a military issue, it's a political issue. It is a political issue that should not be forced on the military without the military wanting it. This is not for for different ideological groups, this is for the military to decide.
(CROSSTALK)
MASSA: If I could for just a moment...
PHILLIPS: Congressman Massa, let me throw in as Congressman Hunter mentions this cohesive military, you know, general John (INAUDIBLE) came forward, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and wrote in a statement last week, "As a nation build on the principle of equality, we should recognize and welcome change that will build a stronger, more cohesive military," -- as you just mentioned, Congressman Hunter -- "it is time to repeal 'don't ask, don't tell.'"
Congressman Massa, you mentioned the impact worldwide in military. I mean, is there any proof that if you come out and say "I'm gay" whether you're Special Forces or just private first class, is that really going to tear up a cohesive military?
MASSA: I'm far more interested, the military members can shoot fly and sail straight than as to whether or not they are straight. I'm joined by former Admiral Joe Sestak, member of Congress and former Sergeant Major Tim Waltz, member of Congress, and a combat Iraq veteran who's taken a lead on this, also a member of Congress, Pat Murphy. We and many others and the vast majority of Americans believe that it is time to end this incredibly irresponsible, incredibly expensive, hundreds of millions of dollars, 13,000 members of the armed forces ejected. Which by the way means that someone has to take their place and serve even longer tours overseas in hostile environments. I believe...
HUNTER: If I could...
MASSA: ... very strongly it's time to end this policy.
PHILLIPS: Final thought, Congressman Hunter. We've got to go.
HUNTER: Yes, it's one half of one percent of all people that have been discharged in the last nine years. One half of one percent of them have been discharged because they were homosexual. This is not a readiness issue, this is not an impact issue, it's not hurting the military that we're discharging homosexuals. We need to win the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, not talk about pushing social ideology and experimenting with the military while we're in these two conflicts.
PHILLIPS: Representative Duncan Hunter and Representative Eric Massa, great discussion. I thought just the fact that you both have served, I thought, added a lot to this debate and the power of the debate.
MASSA: Just for the record, I think Duncan owes me a beer when we get back in Washington.
PHILLIPS: Okay. Here we go. Beer summit, part two, and we will talk about homosexuality in the military. I hope I can be a part of that.
Gentlemen, appreciate it.
All right. That brings us to today's blog question. We did ask for your thoughts on the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
Eric writes, "I did not join the Air Force in 1996 because of this rule. I didn't want to get kicked out if someone found out that I was gay. I wanted to serve my country but felt shameful so I went to college."
Here's what Christopher writes. "I'm an NCO in the Air Force, and honestly, I would rather not know if the guy working beside me is gay. I think this allows for more of a professional and productive military."
And Brenda writes "It's time that the military change the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy. No one should have to hide their sexual orientation to serve their country."
Remember, we want to hear from you. Just log on to CNN.com/kyra and share your comments with me. I really appreciate you coming in.
Repairing your recalled Toyota. That's about a 30-minute fix. Repairing Toyota's image, that's going to take a little longer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Maybe you've gone to the theater to see "Avatar," -- oh, excuse me, the Oscar-nominatied "Avatar." But has "Avatar" come to see you? Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Stephen Lang and other cast and crew from the flick visited U.S. troops stationed in Dijibouti and Bahrain, signed some autographs, too, and then they all watched the movie together.
Twenty-five years later. "We Are the World," part two. Same song, same idea, but different voices.
(SINGING)
PHILLIPS: Yep, more than 75 stars of 2010 have recorded that 1985 charity anthem. Back then you had Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan, Huey Lewis, Stevie Wonder, all singing for Africa. This time you've got Jonas Brothers, Pink, Wyclef Jean, all singing for Haiti.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WHYCLEF JEAN, SINGER/SONGWRITER: I think the end purpose for this is to have Haiti in our minds. Not for now, but when the cameras go out, this song will live on. Keep in mind, when we did this for Africa, it brought a whole other energy to the African nation, so we're hoping this happens for Haiti.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And it's lights out, Colorado Springs. Maybe the headlights on your car can take up the slack. The city is going to cut off about 10,000 streetlights over the next couple of months. Why? To save money. Lots of it. Maybe more than a billion bucks.
So did Toyota sales tank last month? Today, we get a clue about how the company's massive recall is affecting its business, and that's where we go to CNNmoney.com's Poppy Harlow. She's in New York. Poppy, how bad could the numbers be?
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Pretty terrible. They're coming out in a few hours. We're going to get those January sales numbers, and what a lot of analysts are expecting is that Toyota's market share in the U.S. will have fallen to 14.7 percent. That is down from 17 percent last January. If that's the case, that would be the lowest number we have seen for their sales in this country since March of 2006, and it would be down 12 percent from a year ago.
So, the question is why is this happening, why the dramatic fall in market share for this company that has been very popular in the United States? The main reason here, the big driver, is that they stopped selling altogether all of the recalled Toyota models completely. And of course that includes, unfortunately, for Toyota, their best-selling Camay. So, those are what the numbers are expected to look like. We also wanted to ask people here in New York how they're feeling about the recall. We were surprised to find out that almost everyone we spoke with knew about the recall. Here's a little sense of what they were feeling. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it's going to be a lot of cars, and people probably are not going to have the respect for Toyota as they once maybe perhaps had.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My parents have decided they will not be getting another Toyota, ever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Toyota always seemed like a brand that you can trust. It almost makes me feel like it's an American car. That's the way things used to be. The Japanese cars were always cleaner, better, easier to run.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Things happen, they'll fix it. They'll be fine. Things have happened in the automotive business like this all the time. They'll fix it. I'm sure they'll rectify it. It's a great company.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: So a mixed feeling there, Kyra, about Toyota. I bet Toyota's hoping most people feel like that last guy, but as you heard from another woman, her parents won't ever buy a Toyota again so this is a major, major image problem for this massive company, Kyra.
PIHLLIPS: So, take us back. And let's talk about how this all started. It seems like we just started to hear about it the last two weeks but this goes back to accidents, 911 calls, bad times.
HARLOW: You're exactly right. This goes back years.
But when you look at the recent history -- let's take October. October is when Toyota says that it first got the reports of this problem. They spent about the next 90 days looking in-depth at what the problem could be and finding a fix. Then it was just two weeks ago almost exactly that they came out and they told us what the problem was, and then just yesterday they came out publicly, the head of Toyota U.S., to talk about how they're going to fix the problem. It's later this week that customers will get the calls to bring in their recalled cars.
Let's look back over the last ten years, because Toyota, and to be fair, other automakers have had reports of these unintended acceleration. That's the whole problem here. These reports have been coming in over the last ten years. For Toyota specifically, Kyra, there are analysts that say they can tie 19 deaths to this unintended acceleration problem with Toyota over the last ten years. That's a major concern. Toyota this morning on the phone with us wouldn't confirm that number. They said, however, that they are deeply sorry for any concerns that the recalls have cost their customers. There's a lot of analysis at CNNmoney.com and fortune.com, especially this article right here, "Where Toyota Went wrong,"really breaking it down to you. Kyra?
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Poppy.
HARLOW: You got it.
PHILLIPS: Dissent within the ranks of America's weather prognosticating rodentia. What's a Groundhog Day without some controversy?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hi, I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center.
(WEATHER REPORT)
PHILLIPS: All right, Rob, thanks.
Well, have you seen "The Hurt Locker"? Some folks call it the "Platoon" of the Iraq war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 45 seconds. You have 45 seconds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go! everybody get back!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go, go, go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Yep, pretty intense stuff. And the Academy apparently loved it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, you're not in Kansas anymore, you're on Pandora.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: The Oscar nominees announced this morning and not surprisingly, "Avatar" in the thick of things, garnering nine nominations along with "The Hurt Locker."
CNN's Kareen Wynter is in Los Angeles with the rest of the Oscar rundown. No surprises, I guess, until at least the ceremony March 7th, right?
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: That's right. You talk about "Avatar" and "The Hurt Locker." It's such a David-and- Goliath pairing. "Avatar" -- it is the highest, so far, higest- grossing film in history. More than $2 billion in ticket sales going up against the little film that could, this war-themed film, "The Hurt Locker" that cost about $11 million to make and actually lost money in its theatrical release. Now it stands around $16 million worldwide. It's very interesting this pairing and how it will shape up award night.
Another thing that's worth noting, a little drama playing out here with the exes, battle of the exes. You have James Cameron's "Avatar" as well as Katherine Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker." Now, Katherine's having a little momentum going into this. She's fresh off the Director's Guild win over the weekend, so, again another interesting thing to watch here, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Kareen. See you later.
Well, yes, Jeopardy, how appropriate. Some TSA employees' jobs might be in jeopardy now, thanks to the board game they allegedly came up with, a board game maybe based on you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Hey, I'll take inappropriate behavior for 100, Alex. TSA employees in Orlando under investigation now. They're accused of making passengers, you know those people they're paid to protect, game pieces in their own board game. A game based on disrespect. Chris Trenkman (ph) from WKMG reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS TRANKMAN (ph), WKMG-TV CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Passengers who have heard about this TSA investigation are wondering whether these security officials should have access to even more intrusive scanning technology.
(voice-over): Rick and Sue McGrath just flew into Orlando from Pittsburgh and were shocked to hear the TSA employees might be making fun of passengers for their own entertainment.
RICK MCGRATH, PASSENGER: That's kind of rude and it's, you know, they need maybe a little more supervision.
SUE MCGRATH, PASSENGER: Expect someone in that position to go look at their articles and then wait till their back is turned and then say what was she using that for? Yes, that would bother me.
TRANKMAN: This is the photograph of the suspected board that resembles a Jeopardy game where the categories include gays, lesbians and African-Americans.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's not appropriate and those individuals should be dealt with and taken care of.
TRANKMAN: The TSA issued a statement saying it's taking the allegations seriously, and its Orlando air marshal's office is cooperating with the investigation. But with the TSA set to start using see-through scanners, some travelers question whether security employees might use those for some kind of inappropriate game.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If they have got access to that kind of stuff x-rays you, they don't need to be playing games.
UNIDENTFIED FEMALE: How much they have so much free time they can do it?
TRANKMAN: The TSA won't comment on how this game was played or who was involved. They say that is part of their ongoing investigation.
At Orlando International Airport, Chris Trankman, Local 6.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Just before the top of the hour. A quick look at the top stories.
What caused the crash of Flight 3407? Fifty people were killed in that Colgan Airlines crash near Buffalo, New York, last year. The NTSB is wrapping up the investigation this morning. They'll tell us about the cause and offer possible new safely recommendations for regional airlines.
And you should be able to get your recalled Toyota fixed pretty soon. Parts should start arriving at dealerships. Millions of cars were recalled. Dealers are expected to start fixing them this weekend, and it won't even cost you a dime.
Gilbert Arenas has a message for the kids out there. "Don't be like me." Like don't bring a gun to the locker room, don't threaten your teammates with it and don't make fun of the situation by pretending to shoot people on the basketball court. That was brilliant.
He's suspended for the season and could face jail time after pleading guilty to a gun charge. He actually wrote an apology to "The Washington Post" as well saying, quote, "hopefully youngsters will learn from the serious mistakes I made with guns and not make any of their own."
Thanks for joining us, everybody. We'll see you back here tomorrow morning, 9:00 a.m. Eastern. Betty Nguyen in for Tony Harris.
