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80 Officers Lose Their Jobs in Oakland; Race Relations: Moving Forward; Helping Abused Animals
Aired July 16, 2010 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: I'm T.J. Holmes, sitting in today for Ali Velshi.
We're coming up on the next hour. That means a new "Rundown." And this is what we have.
We're going to start in Oakland, California. So many cutbacks, the police department, officers have sent out a list of crimes they just don't have time to respond to. So you might not even bother calling.
We'll get into that.
Also, race relations thrust back into the spotlight this week. We've got a back-and-forth. You've seen it play out with the NAACP, the Tea Party movement. We're going to have an intelligent, calm conversation at this hour on where the country is now and where the country is headed.
Also, a business pioneer who has taken the green movement to a whole new higher level. Meet the man behind Patagonia.
That's all coming up.
But, Oakland, we're going to start there. Police officers this week, 80 of them, had to be laid off because of budget issues. The city could not come to an agreement with the police group out there, so they had to lay off 80 officers.
In addition to that, they also sent out a list of crimes including burglary. What was on that list? About 40 different things that, if this happens to you, don't even bother to call, because we can't send a live person out there to respond to you.
Well, a lot of people -- and Oakland, I mean, as small as is the city may be compared to maybe San Francisco or San Jose, it has more crime than both of those cities out there in the Bay area. So this is a place that can use all the police officers it can get its hands on. But they've had to cut back some 80 officers.
Jane Brunner is the Oakland City Council president. And she joins us now.
Ms. Brunner, thank you so much for being here, ma'am. For a lot of people maybe who don't live out in Oakland, put in perspective -- I kind of just gave a general idea there, but put in perspective, how big of a crime problem do you have in your city?
JANE BRUNNER, PRESIDENT, OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL: Oakland has a significant crime problem, and nobody wanted to see us lay off officers.
HOLMES: Explain to people who have been following this story, maybe just tangentially, explain to them why, then, if you have a significant problem, you didn't want to lay off officers, why did you have to?
BRUNNER: You know, like every other city in the nation, we are in trouble economically, and California is. Police and fire are 85 percent of our general fund if you take budget out. That left $28 million for everything else -- senior centers, park and rec, city hall.
We had to cut $30.5 million. We just didn't have the money.
HOLMES: Ma'am, how did those negotiations go between you all, the city, and the police union? I know it really came down to a matter of having the officers contribute to their pension funds, nine percent. It seems like you were able to agree there.
But the police officers wanted you all also to guarantee there would not be more lay-offs for three years. You all said you could only guarantee that for one year.
Tell me, behind the scenes, how close did you really get? Because it sounds like you were really close.
BRUNNER: Well, the negotiations were good. They were really good leadership in the Oakland Police Association, and we did well together. But we couldn't get there. The one to three years was significant.
We know that the '11, '12, we're going to have another $50 million or $60 million deficit. So we could not guarantee even if we wanted to that we would not lay off officers for three years.
HOLMES: Any chance the 80 that were laid off are going to come back? Because it seems like as you go into the next budget year, you might be looking at laying off another 100-plus officers.
BRUNNER: Well, we really hope they come back. And what we're going to do is bring on measures on the November ballot.
Oakland is a little unique. We have a thing called Measure Y which pays for 63 officers, but you have to guarantee you're paying for 739. We're going to put an amendment on for that and we're going to ask for more revenue.
And so, it's up to the Oakland residents, are you willing to pay for your officers? If they pay, we hope we can bring them back. HOLMES: All right. Well, Ms. Brunner, I am going to pick up on that point. We're going to take a quick break. But we're going to pick up on that point you just made about the citizens being asked to now foot the bill one more time.
So you stay there.
Our viewers, stay with us.
Our conversation continues with Ms. Brunner right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Want to return now to our conversation with Ms. Jane Brunner, Oakland City Council president, on the topic of the city having to lay off 80 police officers after the city and the police group could not come to an agreement about moving forward with salaries and pensions and whatnot. So 80 officers off the streets.
Also, police officers, Ms. Brunner, as you know, put out a list of some 44 different violations they will not be able to respond to in person. Those include grand theft, burglary, vandalism, identity theft, embezzlement, extortion, and also sex offenders failing to register.
Ma'am, I guess, what do you say to your citizens and maybe the rest of the country who might be watching and want to visit Oakland? What can you say to them about the safety of your city?
BRUNNER: Well, the chief put that out, and I think it's a question for the chief.
I've lived in Oakland for 40 years. It's a great city. The neighborhoods are terrific. Most of us feel pretty safe here. The crime has gone down.
A lot of that list may stay. Some of that list may go away.
But if your house gets burglarized, there's still a way to report it to the police. And if there's a way, there's information about people who have come into your house. The police still plan to respond to that.
What they're not going to do is have someone, if a robber has left two hours earlier, come out and just talk to you. They're going to have you call up or do it through the Internet.
HOLMES: And ma'am, is that the way -- and, you know, you talk about how long you've lived there. Just as a citizen, step away from being a city representative. But how disheartening is that as a citizen to know that police officers are aren't going to come to your -- I don't even want to say rescue, but just come help you, listen to you, fill out a report, look around your house, that they're not even going to come respond anymore?
BRUNNER: Well, we need them to respond to the really important crimes. I mean, I think everyone is going to feel it.
HOLMES: If my house is burglarized, I think that's pretty important.
BRUNNER: I think it's very important. I have had my house burglarized myself. I do want to put a report in. But I have to say, about 20 years ago we only put reports in, and we didn't have police come to our house.
We are in bad economic times, and we can't fool ourselves that the cities are going to continue at the same level. You know, I always say the federal government gets to print money, the state gets to steal it. They took $42 million of our redevelopment money.
But we have to live within our budget. We're in trouble in cities.
HOLMES: Well, ma'am, what do you say to people as well -- because you just hit the nail on the head there, and everybody knows we are in tough economic times. And California has been, a lot of people would say, disproportionately affected by what's happened in the economy. But you're, once again, about to go back and ask for more tax money from people who are already suffering to try to pay and make up the budget.
Is that fair to do or even expect of your citizens, to try to give more that they don't even have?
BRUNNER: Well, everyone is hurting. And we are not a rich city economically. But we also have a lot of people who do have money in this city.
I look back as a resident myself. I'm willing to pay. I want police protection. I would like to have 800 officers. We even could use more.
I personally am willing to pay, and that's a decision each person is going to have to make.
HOLMES: But you say you're willing to do so. Everybody would love to do so, but some people just can't. They're scrapping as it is. You understand that as well?
BRUNNER: I absolutely understand it. There are people who are unemployed, who are working at low-paying jobs. It is hard to put money in.
We're going to put two ballot initiatives on. Originally, we were talking about a ballot initiative for public safety which would be $1.00 a day for a single family house, less than a cup of coffee. We're not going to even put that $50 million ballot measure on. We're going to put one on much less.
HOLMES: All right. Well, Ms. Brunner, again, we are pulling for you. I spent several years out there in the Bay area. I love Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose, the whole Bay area. Certainly pulling for you and your citizens there.
And hopefully we can talk to you again down the road and there's some good news. Maybe those 80 officers will be coming back and maybe you'll be adding some more to the force as well.
But, ma'am, thank you so much for your time today. You enjoy your weekend.
BRUNNER: Thank you for having me.
HOLMES: All right.
Well, we're going to turn now to a story that has really, some would say, gotten out of control this week. There has been really racial story after racial story, if you will, this week.
I know you have seen this, a lot of fiery back-and-forth. A lot of this had to do with the NAACP passing that resolution at their national convention that was essentially calling on Tea Party leaders to repudiate some of the racist elements within the Tea Party.
You also saw Jesse Jackson this week come out and say that Dan Gilbert, the head of the Cleveland Cavaliers, was treating LeBron James like a runaway slave and equated Dan Gilbert to a slave master. You saw Rush Limbaugh, the conservative radio talk show host, call George Steinbrenner, the now deceased head of the New York Yankees, calling him a "cracker who made a lot of African-Americans wealthy."
This has really sparked, once again, a debate about a race in this country and the back-and-forth.
Well, we are trying to have a reasoned debate today, and this comes at a time where we just saw Tea Party leader Mark Williams -- he's the head of Tea Party Express -- wrote a very controversial and what he called a satirical blog that was racially charged. It was a letter satirically written, he says, from Ben Jealous to Abraham Lincoln. Not even going to let you hear a word of that, but let me just assure you, it was some stuff that really had people worked up this week.
So, we are trying to not get people worked out and talk about, what in the world is going on and where we're supposed to go from here.
Let me bring in these two gentlemen that I have up here on the screen with me.
First, I have on my left there Jelani Cobb. He is author and associate professor at Spelman College. And also, Joe Feagin, who is an author and professor at Texas A&M.
Gentlemen, thank you both for being here.
Jelani, let me start with you. Did we learn anything in all of these happening this week? Did we learn anything about ourselves as a country in black/white race relations? Did we learn anything that we didn't already know about ourselves?
JELANI COBB, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, SPELMAN COLLEGE: Well, no, I don't think we learned anything new. It's unfortunate this is a lesson that has to be learned again and again and again.
And I do think there's something that needs to be said, however, about the nature of the discussion with the Tea Party. We've reached a point where it's no longer politely acceptable to say that you are a racist, to kind of proudly espouse racist views. But you now can say things that are racist and then backpedal away, and accuse the person who calls you on it of being racist. And I think that's what we've seen this week, a kind of political jujitsu between the Tea Party and the NAACP.
HOLMES: Mr. Feagin, would you agree with that? And go back to my original question. Do you think we've learned anything about ourselves this week that we didn't already know?
JOE FEAGIN, PROFESSOR, TEXAS A&M: No, I think I agree with him. This is a time I think for us to reflect on the deep levels of racism in the country.
And these levels become exposed in the media and in these public conversations from time to time. But they're lying under the surface.
There's been a lot of talk about us being a post-racial America since President Obama was elected. But things like this, we demonstrate that that's a lie. We're not a post-racial America. We've still got these deep levels of racism.
And for a lot of whites, these racist commentaries are coming out of the backstage, into the front stage. And the NAACP is our, what, oldest civil rights organization in this country? It's certainly one of our most distinguished civil rights organizations. It played a key role in bringing down Jim Crow.
And so when they collectively make a statement about race and racism in this country, America should pay attention, especially white America.
HOLMES: And Jelani, let me ask you on something he just said there, went from the backstage to the front stage. Some people would say, you know, I don't mind you looking me in my face and telling me how you feel about me.
Is that a good thing? Because some things people say, these are just things people have been feeling for some time, and now they're just saying them. Do we need to get them out, first of all? But that's tough. Once it does come out, you're about to spark a whole new flame.
COBB: Well, first off, I believe in free speech. You know, we're a Democratic society. I even believe in the protection of offensive speech.
At the same token, I don't think that we can take speech and just place it in a vacuum as if it doesn't have any relation to any other kind of action. When we see someone like the venerable Congressman John Lewis being called the "N" word, when we see the kind of banners that we saw with President Obama being referred to as a witch doctor, there's not just one thing.
And so we see these kinds of views being voiced, and the concern is that they hearken to a bigger problem, or perhaps they precede violence of some sort. And I think that those are the things we really should be concerned about.
HOLMES: Well, Mr. Feagin, I want to pick up on that point as soon as we take a quick commercial break. But on the point he was just making there -- and some contend that, yes, you see these signs, you see these incidents. And some say they're isolated incidents. Others would say, you know, it might be reflective of how a larger group feels.
We're going to pick up on that point when our conversation continues right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We want to continue our conversation now about where we go from here after a tough week of a lot of racial tension in this country -- black/white racial tension, I should say, after the NAACP passed that resolution calling for Tea Party leaders to repudiate some of the racist elements of the Tea Party movement.
I want to return to Jelani Cobb, and also Joe Feagin, authors and professors, both.
I want to put up a poll here I have, Mr. Feagin, first of all. And a poll we have, ABC/"Washington Post," asking, "Is support for the Tea Party movement based on racial prejudice against Obama?"
Twenty-eight percent said yes, a great deal or a good amount of it was based on racial prejudice. Twenty-one percent said just some, and 43 percent said not at all.
And picking up on the point that Mr. Cobb was making before the break, we're seeing some of these incidents, those signs at some of the rallies, that incident where somebody did spit in the face of an African-American congressman.
Sir, do you think those are isolated incidents? And, of course, you see some crazies in any big group you're going to have. But do you think some of those attitudes are reflective of how a lot of people feel, a greater swath of white people feel about this African- American president?
FEAGIN: Well, I think the NAACP resolution focuses heavily on elements within the Tea Party, racist elements within the Tea Party. They were careful not to call the Tea Party itself racist, but just elements within it. And I think these rather extreme manifestations of white supremacist thinking such as e-mails going around that show Obama as a pimp and Michelle Obama as a prostitute, this kind of vicious racist stuff on signs and e-mails, and even in some of the speeches of some of the activists, is part of the Tea Party movement, but it doesn't dominate the movement.
There are a lot of people in the Tea Party movement who are just anti-government. They're expressing right-wing anti-government wings. They're not particularly racist on these matters.
So, the Tea Party is a mix of people. And we don't want to brand the whole thing as white supremacists. But there are clearly some white supremacists and extreme racists taking advantage of the Tea Party demonstrations and movements and gatherings to sell things like, "Yes, I'm a racist" T-shirts, or to make comments to reporters that are very racist about President Obama.
So I think the movement has provided some housing for some of these white supremacist elements to express themselves. But most of the people in the movement are anti-government people critical of our government actions right now, classical right-wing conservatives.
HOLMES: Well -- go ahead, Mr. Cobb. I was about to bring you back in, but go ahead. It sounds like you had a point you wanted to make.
COBB: Yes. I would like to say that I agree with Professor Feagin. I think that it's a broad, complex movement that has roots in a number of different places in American history, the populist movement of the 19th century, and so on.
However, for African-American politicians and leaders, we've long had a tradition in which we've been forced to repudiate people whom we may just be tangentially connected to. So, even if there's just a small racist element within the Tea Party, I think that the even- handed approach to this would require that they would denounce that as well.
We saw President Obama during the campaign being asked to denounce some of the more inflammatory rhetoric of Louis Farrakhan, which he did, which there's maybe a dozen other leaders you can mention who have been called upon to do that same thing. And he has no organizational affiliation with Louis Farrakhan. Certainly someone who has an actual organizational tie to someone who holds these views should do the same.
HOLMES: Well, Gentlemen, do we put too much responsibility in the hands of -- and too much credibility in the hands of so-called leaders? I know you all have probably seen this. This is Mark Williams, the Tea Party Express, this guy who put out the satirical letter from Ben Jealous to Abraham Lincoln. I don't know if you all read that thing, but it is, quite frankly, just unbelievable when you read some of the things you see in there.
But also, we saw Jesse Jackson this week come out and call Dan Gilbert, the head of the Cleveland Cavaliers -- said he was acting like a slave master. Now, if Jesse Jackson believes that, that's fine. If Mark Williams has those attitudes, that's fine. But when they get elevated, when these so-called leaders who seem to be using language and saying things that aren't bringing us together, but tearing us apart, where does the responsibility lie with us, each individual citizen, to reject what we may be hearing? It seems like those are the loudest voices out there.
Mr. Feagin?
FEAGIN: Well, I think there's a key point here that there aren't two sides to racism. There's only one side to racism, and that's anti-racism.
And what we need in this country is for the Tea Party leaders to call out this racism, to condemn it, and to eradicate it from their movement. The racism in the movement is destroying whatever political messages they want to get across. And so I think there's only one point of view on racism, and that is this country is rooted deeply in it and we need to get rid of it.
HOLMES: Go ahead. You wrap this up for me, Mr. Cobb.
COBB: Well, I think that -- you know, I agree with what Professor Feagin is saying. I think that the only thing that disturbs me is the kind of careless way in which we've used this false equanimity, as if the NAACP is at fault for pointing out things that have been going on for well over a year within the Tea Party, but somehow or another, you're wrong for raising the point.
I think that these things have to be confronted. That's the only way that we ended slavery, the only way we ended Jim Crow and segregation, and the only way that we will get rid of the remaining relics and aspects of racism in this society.
HOLMES: Are we just once again, guys, going through more growing pains right now?
COBB: We hope so.
HOLMES: Are these just growing pains once again? And a lot of people, younger generation, you know what? The first thing they thought when they heard Jesse Jackson's comments, they're, like, ,what is he talking about? The younger generation.
But there's an older generation, a lot of people who thought the same thing Jesse Jackson thought. But are these just growing pains that are going to get us to where, Mr. Feagin?
FEAGIN: Well, I think we're on the road to a multiracial democracy. We're becoming a much more diverse society. And I think that's part of the anger in some parts of the Tea Party movement against immigrants, for example.
Yes, we're on track to becoming a country that's highly diverse, where no group is the majority in the country. And we clearly have to work against discrimination of all kinds, racial and ethnic discrimination in society. And I agree, we need to condemn this racism and eradicate it.
HOLMES: And Mr. Cobb, he made a point that I think you have talked about once before, not having a majority party -- race in this country anymore. You talked about there are a lot of people, white people, who are uncomfortable with that, no longer being the majority or no longer being in power, even, in some ways.
How big of a group do you think it is? What percentage of white people do you think feel that way? This was a comment you made to us I believe sometime last year.
COBB: Well, I'm not sure we can actually put a number on what percentage of people it is. And I don't want to diminish the fact that 50 or 51 million white Americans voted for an African-American presidential candidate in 2008. That's not anything to be glossed over.
I think that marks us as moving in a significant direction, but there's always been kind of forces of reaction. Everything that we've achieved in this society has moved us closer toward being truly democratic, has been achieved over the opposition of voices of people who wanted to keep us right where we were. So, in some ways, yes, these are growing pains, and they indicate that we are moving forward.
HOLMES: Well, you know what? That's all we can hope for. And sometimes growth can be painful and it can be ugly.
Mr. Feagin, Mr. Cobb, Gentlemen, appreciate you both. Thanks so much. Always good to talk to you. You guys have a good weekend.
COBB: Thank you.
HOLMES: Well, you're going to meet another one of our CNN Heroes coming up. This hero is rescuing many of these abused animals, abandoned animals, and rescuing them from certain death.
There she is. You're going to meet her and that little guy next. Well, it's a big guy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, there is a little strip of land outside of Houston, Texas. They call it the Corridor of Cruelty. It's a place where abused animals are left to die.
The numbers across the U.S. for animal abuse, heartbreaking. And what's more, it's probably a whole lot worse than we even see.
Estimates that five to seven million animals go to shelters; five in 10 dogs were euthanized; seven in 10 cats; 823 cases of abuse reported; so many others not reported; and thousands estimated killed by dogfighting, which, of course, brings in millions of dollars.
But this week's CNN Hero has a heart to change some of that in that Corridor of Cruelty. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBORAH HOFFMAN, CNN HERO: This is what I'm going to do the rest of my life. When I'm 85, I'll be on my laptop trying to save an animal from my rocking chair.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, that is Deborah Hoffman. She is one of our CNN Heroes. And she brought Wiley (ph) along with her.
Ms. Hoffman, hello, dear lady. Thank you for being here.
Why did this come to your attention in the first place, this Corridor of Cruelty?
HOFFMAN: Well, several years ago I was involved in the rescue of two Dalmatians that were living in the area, so that's how I ended up out there originally and got involved with rescuing them.
HOLMES: Now, you got involved in rescuing. It's one thing to rescue one or two, or a couple here or there every now and again. But you've turned this into something much more. What did you turn it into?
HOFFMAN: Well, I ended up forming my own rescue group, which I never had a plan to do. It was never on the horizon. I never wanted to do that. But it just was the natural progression of things so we could help more animals. Not only is our rescue group helping animals. But we've worked with 26 other local, some statewide rescue groups that have helped our animals from the corridor.
HOLMES: Now, how many have you been able to help, so far?
HOFFMAN: We've relocated 180 strays from the corridor. And that includes seven cats, also.
HOLMES: Now, are these all just strays, or do you ever hook up any of these animals with any original owners? Are these, for the most part all, just all strays you're dealing with?
HOFFMAN: These are all strays. Most of them we believe are dumped in the area or they come from homes that maybe get overwhelmed with the number of animals that are multiplying in their backyards and they break free and they end up scrounging around in the area for food.
HOLMES: How are you able to fund your effort? And how are you able to take care of all these animals? I assume you need some kind of staff and you need some kind of -- some vets out there to help with some of the medical issues?
HOFFMAN: Well, we are a non-profit organization. And we do get by only on donations. And people have been incredibly generous. Ever since I sent out my first plea for action in 2008, and it just created like a tidal wave of people caring and wanting to get involved, from supporting with money, to getting involved, to helping with our feeding stations. We have 18 feeding stations out there, trying to keep some of these dogs alive until we can get them in to rescue.
HOLMES: Now, this one in particular you have here who is so well-behaved quite frankly, this is one of the dogs you were able to rescue. You said this is Wiley. What was his story and what's going to happen to Wiley now?
HOFFMAN: Well, I've actually had Wiley about a year and a half at the house. When I first saw him in the corridor, he was laying down outside of a junk yard fence and I thought he was dead. From the street, I could practically count every rib on his body.
But when I got out of the car with a bowl of food, he actually got up and hobbled towards me. And he wasn't walking on one of his paws. It turns out we had a frozen old injury which with therapy he was able to use it again. But this poor guy has stage 2 heart murmur, and he also has pulmonary hypertension and regular hypertension.
So, he's on a lot of medications. He's a special needs foster. We'd like to find him a home.
HOLMES: You said -- you think you will find him a home?
HOFFMAN: We'd like to, yes.
HOLMES: We'd like to. All right. Well, tell us, before I let you go here, where can people find out more about your organization? I assume you might have a Web site as well, if people want to check it out or, like you said, help out a little bit.
HOFFMAN: We sure do. You go to www.corridorrescue.org, and there's a volunteer form on there. People can contact us that way.
HOLMES: All right. Well, Deborah Hoffman and Wiley, thank you both for being here. Ma'am, again, you're one of our CNN heroes. Great work you guys do -- work that a lot of people out there wouldn't be willing to do but needs to be done. Thank you so much for taking the time out. And you have a good weekend.
HOFFMAN: Thank you.
HOLMES: All right. You can check out the CNN heroes on Facebook, on Twitter as well. Do you know someone maybe as well who should be a CNN hero, you can nominate them. Go to CNNHeroes.com. Nominations close is coming up, August 1st. So, get them in before August 1st.
Also, millions of dollars seized, thousands of people arrested. This is part of an illegal betting ring. What were they betting on? I'll explain in today's "Globe Trekking." That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: And we're doing a bit of "Globe Trekking" today which is going to take us to Asia.
But we have to start with this octopus, first of all, you know Paul, the octopus. You see this thing. You know it because of World Cup. Trust me; it's part of the story here.
You see here, you know, this is the octopus, Paul, that made all the predictions. I think it was undefeated in its predictions that it made in the World Cup matches. Picked the winner, Spain as well. Well, it got this mock World Cup trophy and you see it embraces his trophy and so on and so forth.
Well, a lot of people may have been placing bets on the World Cup based on what Paul did. If you did, don't tell anybody because this didn't really work out as far as World Cup betting for some folks in Asia. When I say some folks, I mean 5,000 folks. They were busted in this drug ring -- excuse me, not a drug ring -- this is a gambling ring.
We have 5,000 people arrested in this thing. Authorities seized some $10 million. You see where t he raids happened -- in China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand as well. They call these gambling dens where about $155 million in bets on World Cup matches were being exchanged illegally. Interpol, the International Police Agency, went through this for some month-long operation.
We want to turn now to Juarez -- turn to Mexico now. We have some pictures to show you here that were taken right after a car bomb took place. This was in the border city. At least three people were killed here. The mayor says this is actually the first time a car bomb has been used in an attack on federal police officers there. Two officers, a paramedic died in this attack.
Before the blast, somebody called the city's emergency center reporting lots of shooting and killing in one of the city's most violent zones. Police got there on the scene. The officer opened the door of a suspicious car and that's when that bomb exploded.
There was a message left there, a graffiti message that was purportedly signed by a Juarez drug cartel.
That is your "Globe Trekking" for today.
Well, coming up: somebody called the grandfather of the green business, the founder of the environmentally-friendly company Patagonia, never really wanted to be the boss at all, until he started a business, revolution. That is in today's "Mission Possible."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: In today's "Mission Possible," a man that never really wanted to be the boss, but he ended up founding the company Patagonia, that you may know, a company that prides itself on being environmentally friendly.
Our friendly Richard Roth profiled him. He joins us now from New York.
Richard, hello to you.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, T.J.
Well, with the recent big oil disaster, a renewed focus on corporations and their devotion or non-devotion to the environment. I traveled out to Ventura, California, recently to talk to one corporate leader who's got a different approach to the environment. You could even tell by the name of one of his themes that he carries about. It's called for his employees and himself: let my people surf.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
YVON CHOUINARD, FOUNDER, PATAGONIA: This is a coal forage, with a blower, you know?
ROTH (voice-over): Fifty years ago, in this very shed, Yvon Chouinard was a blacksmith, hammering out rock climbing gear sometimes covered in soot -- a dirty beginning for a man destined to run a leading clean and green corporation.
CHOUINARD: They call us the coolest company on the planet.
ROTH: He is the founder of Patagonia, the sportswear and outdoor gear retailer. Sales last year were over $300 million.
CHOUINARD: This is a design center here. This is where the most interesting part of the company, for me, anyway.
ROTH: Patagonia's success and image as a retailer come not only from its designs but also its environmental model. In 1996, it took a radical step, converting its cotton clothing line to 100 percent organic because of pesticide concerns.
CHOUINARD: If you go to cotton-growing areas, it's a dead zone out there. There's nothing alive. There's no bugs, no beetles, no weeds. It's just crop dusters are going over your head. I mean, it's -- I said I don't want to be in business if I have to use this product.
ROTH: Chouinard never intended to be a businessman. He made the climbing equipment for him and his friends, selling the surplus to support his passion of mountain climbing, profit-making was secondary.
CHOUINARD: And we always thought businessmen were grease balls. I never wanted to be a businessman.
ROTH: In 1968, he and his friends took a break from work and went on a six-month road trip to the foot of South America. They skied, surfed and climbed their way to the wilderness region of Patagonia. It was not long after that, Chouinard created the clothing company that got its name from the region and tied the firm's image to the environment.
CHOUINARD: I got real concerned about the fate of the planet and figured that the best thing I could do would be to use this company to do some good.
ROTH: Since 1985, Patagonia has pledged 1 percent of sales for environmental causes and has recently formed an alliance with other businesses to do the same. Here at the Ventura, California headquarters, the parking lot is covered by solar panels.
Since the beach is walking distance from the campus, Chouinard doesn't mind if employees take a few hours off from work to go surfing.
CHOUINARD: Oh, yes. There's a big south swell coming middle of next week, a big one.
ROTH: And it's not shocking to see an employee keep a wild animal at your desk.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are you going to do with them?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I raise them, rehabilitate them and release them back into the wild.
ROTH: Chouinard got his start mountain climbing by rappelling for endangered falcon in his youth. And Patagonia continues the tradition with a rehabilitation center for birds of prey on the campus.
CHOUINARD: There's good lessons in business because to train a -- to train a falcon or a hawk, you can't slap them around when they're doing something wrong. It's all positive re-enforcement.
ROTH: Employees sharing the vision that Chouinard created for Patagonia.
ROB BONDURANT, VP, PATAGONIA MARKETING: Everybody that works at this campus truly believes in the mission of the company which is, you know, to build the best product, the cause the least amount of harm, and to use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis -- which is a mouthful. But, at the end of the day, that's really what we're after.
ROTH: And the unconventional Chouinard and his devoted staff believed what's good for the planet is also good for business.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROTH: And, of course, we've all heard of casual Fridays at the workplace. Well, at Patagonia, T.J., it's casual Monday through Friday, and everyone had a smile on their face. You don't see that often when you're in a work environment -- T.J.
HOLMES: That's what we have here at CNN, Richard.
ROTH: Well, that's inside the headquarters. Here out on the street, I guess, you get a lot of looks. It's not casual Fridays in New York at any point.
He's not -- he's not optimistic on the environment though. It's not all sweetness and life there. He's seen a lot and he's not really happy with the way things are going regarding climate change and those matters.
HOLMES: All right. Richard Roth, always good to see you, buddy. You enjoy your weekend. Thanks so much.
All right. Well, it's time for the stakeout. We got our Ed Henry coming up. He's covering what the president said today at the White House, about the oil spill, Air Force One as well. The president was off for a little vacation.
And, of course, if you're going on vacation, the last thing you want to do is take Ed with you. Ed is up next. See you for the stakeout, buddy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Time for the stakeout, it means it's time for our guy. Ed Henry, he's at the White House doing what he does.
Good to see you as always, Ed. I know the president came out and said hello to reporters today. He was out there talking about, of course, the BP oil spill. I know you had a question or two for the president. And the president is being very careful here not to celebrate a little too much.
ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: He is. It's been a pretty rough week for the White House. Politically, because some of the infighting with Democrats on the Hill, are they going to win the November election, they're not going to? They thought it was just kind of a silly, sort of, back-and-forth here inside the White House.
But I talked to a top aide this morning who was telling me, look, it has been a pretty rough week. But yesterday, it got a little bit better. And he was referring to, obviously, the oil no longer flowing, basically. But they're being very careful in saying just a little bit better because they don't know whether this is going to stick.
So, when I asked the president today in the Rose Garden whether he feels like he's turning the corner on this, he's very careful to basically say, look, these are positive signs, but the tests are still going forward. The last thing they want to do is basically put up, you know, a "mission accomplished" banner behind me here, outside the West Wing, like the last administration did on Iraq. They realize there's really no upside in, sort of, you know, ratcheting up expectations right now. That's why the president is walking a fine balance here.
But make no mistake: they know this crisis has been a drag on the administration. The sooner they can get back to talking about jobs and other issues that they know will play in November, the better for this White House.
HOLMES: And you described there how they want to play it publicly. But a little behind-the-scenes, folks who pass by there in the halls of the White House -- was there a huge exhale and a relief to have this thing capped right now and something optimistic to talk about?
HENRY: Definitely a relief. Let me just take you inside the West Wing behind me and give you a sense of what the conversations have been like for the president. A few nights ago, he had some Democratic senators in here.
And Democratic officials familiar with that conversation are telling me, the president said, look, he felt like things were, sort of, picking up for him in the spring after the health care reform signing. All of the sudden it was the Gs, as they call them inside the White House, the Gulf crisis and Greek debt crisis because, you know, the Greek debt crisis sort of spread over here a bit, sort of spooked the markets in the U.S. and around the world. That's maybe slowed down the efforts for an economic recovery.
And then, the Gulf spill. It sort of speaks for itself in terms of how much time the president has had to devote to it here in the West Wing, but also the trips he's taken down there.
And so, there's no doubt it's been on their mind. So they're relieved, but they're being very carefully. They're not popping any champagne corks or anything like that. They know there's a lot more yet to be done.
HOLMES: Yes. And you talked about his trips to the Gulf. It seems like every time he did make a trip, there was some kind of criticism.
And it was -- I believe it was Memorial Day -- correct me if I'm wrong -- when the president went to Chicago, I believe. And that was in the midst of the oil crisis.
And a lot of people said, you know what, how much you would help if you just took your family for vacation for the weekend for Memorial Day to the Gulf instead of Chicago? And now, the president is headed to Maine for vacation.
HENRY: That's right. He's landed.
HOLMES: He's landed there now and a lot of people, I say a lot of people -- should I just say Republicans saying, hey, you should have gone to the Gulf?
HENRY: Well, there's been some Republicans suggesting maybe it's hypocritical for the president and first lady to go down to the region as they have and suggest, look, should vacation, the beaches were open for business. Robert Gibbs got this question a couple days ago at the briefing and said, look, they're going to make their own vacation plans. They're not telling everyone what to do. They're saying the beaches are open for business.
Now, certainly, you're going to get some charge of hypocrisy from Republicans. There's this back and forth all the time. They feel like they're going to make their own family decisions. So, the president, first lady and their kids are up in Maine for the weekend, trying to relax a little bit. He's been working on the spill crisis, the economic crisis, all these very many crises, he's entitled to vacation, like all of us are, I guess.
HOLMES: All right. Well, and we should note as well, the president now possibly has to call you, "Mr. President," because our own Ed Henry was just voted president of the White House Correspondents' Association. I do believe I have that right.
HENRY: That's right.
HOLMES: I think they it shouldn't have to go through a recount, Electoral College, nothing. I mean, everything -- it was a clear winner. Congratulations to you.
HENRY: No recount. It was a -- it was a landslide. But I have to be honest and that was because I was unopposed. So, it's not like --
HOLMES: OK.
HENRY: -- you know, I'm that popular. So --
HOLMES: We missed that detail. We missed that detail. Well, congratulations anyway. It just means you've got some more work to do.
HENRY: Appreciate it. Yes, and talking about vacation -- I mean, I like being on with you, but are you hiding Ali down there? Where's Mr. Velshi?
HOLMES: Ali, I think, is watching right now. And Ali is going to be back next week. Yes, this is still Ali Velshi's show. So, he'll be back with you next week.
HENRY: You know how I know Ali is watching, is my BlackBerry is going off, e-mailing me right now and he's mad at me for mentioning his vacation.
HOLMES: Ed, good to see you as always, buddy. Enjoy your weekend. Talk to you soon, my man.
HENRY: See you.
HOLMES: Well Apple has an issue with the way some of you are holding your new iPhone. And that is teeing us up for a little "Wordplay." That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We turn to our "Wordplay" today. And today, we're playing off the Apple iPhone problem and the "death grip." The death grip is the description for the way people are holding some of these new phones. For some, it blocks off the antenna which leads to drop calls.
Steve Jobs is calling this antenna-gate. And Apple now says they'll give out free cases to the customers to fix this thing. A lot of people, you know exactly how you're holding your phone. But the death grip is kind of like the claw. Do you remember this from pro- wrestling?
Made us think of other famous death grips. This is the Vulcan's death grip, I believe this is the one that Spock used on Captain Kirk. I believe I have that right.
And also, it's part of the world of Warcraft game as well, the death grip.
And it's also an offensive bar game in Australia. Don't go to a bar in Australia and we will leave it there.
Coming up, our "XYZ," one woman's dying wish could spell some trouble for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at the ballot box.
Stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: It's time now for the "XYZ" of it.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid -- he's in a tough battle for reelection in his home state of Nevada, going up against Republican Sharron Engel who's leading in several polls.
Meanwhile, another poll showed 48 percent of Nevadans viewed Senator Reid very unfavorably.
But that was a poll of the living. Reid may also need to be concerned about what the dead think of him. In particular, Charlotte Tidwell McCourt, died July 8th after a long illness, she was 84 years old, leaves behind five children, 20 grandchildren, 65 great- grandchildren. She was married 67 years. Her husband, Patrick.
Charlotte was a Christmas baby, born December 25th of 1925 in Utah, but she lived 40 years, including her final days, in her beloved Nevada.
Her family says she had a dying wish for the people of Nevada: don't vote for Harry Reid. Let me read you the last lines of her published obituary. Quote, "We believe mom would say she was mortified to have taken a large role in the election of Harry Reid to the U.S. Congress. Let the record show Charlotte was displeased with him. Please, in lieu of flowers, vote for another more worthy candidate," end quote.
Charlotte was apparently pretty active in politics in Nevada, had volunteered for Reid for his campaign years ago, felt so strongly about her politics and it meant so much to her family and actually put her political thoughts in the obit. Oftentimes, we know, people on their death beds try to make up for things, make amends for things they did wrong in their lives, Charlotte did the same, for what she considered her political mistake.
Our condolences still to the family of Charlotte as well.
Time now for "THE LIST." And today, it belongs to Don, kind sir.
