Return to Transcripts main page
Rick's List
Son Sues Mom Over Facebook; Virginia Governor Recognizes, Celebrates Confederate History Month; Air Testing Continues as Rescuers Remain on Standby for All-Clear in WV Mine Explosion
Aired April 07, 2010 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: You know what? He could be the first American since 2001 to be on the CIA's kill or be captured list.
Here's what else we have got for you
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON (voice-over): Here's what's making THE LIST.
He runs the company at the center of the West Virginia mine disaster.
DON BLANKENSHIP, CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT & CEO, MASSEY ENERGY: All the people who are very knowledgeable of mining had concluded that the mine was safe to operate. And these violations and the efforts on the ventilation are efforts to improve it.
LEMON: We're learning about the man, the company, his politics, from his tweets? Don Blankenship, he's on our list today.
So is Roland Martin. I will ask him about Virginia's Confederate History Month. Is that really what you think it is?
KARI WATKINS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OKLAHOMA CITY MEMORIAL: And as I looked at 250 or so high school students, I could just see this blank stare.
LEMON: A bloody chapter in America's recent history. Why haven't students been learning about the terror that took place in their own backyard, and what's being done to change that?
And her teenage son sued her for violating his privacy on Facebook?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're within your legal rights to monitor your child. It's crazy to me that we are even having this interview.
LEMON: My, how times have changed.
Tiger's not the only one with secrets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A caddy does more than just carry the golf bag. LEMON: Spend nearly five decades on these greens, you will pick up a few yourself. Carl Jackson, a lifetime of caddy wisdom on THE LIST from Augusta.
The lists you want to know about. Who's most intriguing? Who's making news on Twitter. Your national conversation starts now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: And again, everyone, I'm Don Lemon. Rick is off today.
Topping THE LIST right now: the attempt to rescue four miners trapped since Monday's explosion in a West Virginia coal mine. The governor and mining officials say they will be back out at the bottom of the hour to give us a live update.
Meantime, rescuers have been drilling holes into the mine to vent poisonous gases. And, when that's done, they plan to send in people to hunt for those miners. Take a look at their game plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN STRICKLIN, ADMINISTRATOR FOR COAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH, U.S. MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION: Our intent is, naturally, the rescue teams are going to come from the outside in. And we would expect one group to focus on the area where we have three unaccounted miners, as well as go to this rescue chamber, and the other group of rescue teams to go where we think one miner is unaccounted for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: We know every single second counts.
We want to go now to the ground. Brooke Baldwin is in Naoma, West Virginia.
Brooke, are they getting any closer to getting into this mine to find these guys?
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Don, I'm happy to tell you that finally some type of progress this afternoon. We are hearing from the vice president of surface operations for Massey Energy, who owns this mine. They are finally testing the air quality levels from deep inside the mine.
You mentioned the holes they are drilling, and they are right now in the process of drilling multiple holes, five holes in total, about 1,100 feet deep into the earth's surface. They bring these massive exhaust fans, so they basically exhume some of this poisonous air, so that, then, they can test the levels, see if they're safe, and then send in those 30 rescuers who are ready, willing, and able to roll in the mine and go grab those guys.
Now, that's one part of the story. Of course, the dangerous nature of mining, that it's an each and everyday lifestyle for so many people in West Virginia, and, in fact, when I was coming in this morning, I sort of got lucky and happened upon this young man, this 19-year-old, fresh out of his overnight shift, nine hours in a coal mine, not just a mile from where this explosion happened.
And it was fascinating, really, Don, to hear his story, because he says it's a way of life. He loves his job. He's a contractual employee, so he says he's hoping, despite the news here at Upper Big Branch, despite all of this, he's hoping that Massey will hire him, so he can make a big $26 an hour.
Fascinating conversation. Here's just a portion of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSHUA MITCHELL, MINER: If you don't work in the coal mines, you don't got a job, not in West Virginia.
BALDWIN: Would you -- if there was another job around, would you take it, or would you rather be a coal miner?
MITCHELL: I would not take it, no other job. As soon as Massey orders me in and I quit contracting, I will be making $8, $10. I get my black hat, I will make $26.
BALDWIN: So, hopefully, if you're lucky, Massey will hire you?
MITCHELL: Yes.
BALDWIN: What do you think of Massey Energy?
MITCHELL: I think they're a great place to work. And I hope they give me my shot. It's dangerous. And I don't know. You take a chance every day, but you can get killed going down the road here. You can get in your vehicle and drive down the road and die. Ain't no different when you go underground. If your time to die, you're going to die.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So, there you have it, 19-year-old Joshua Mitchell, Don.
Final note: You mentioned at the top of the hour we should be hearing from some of the -- the governor, some of the mining officials in about half-an-hour, assuming this thing starts on time. Getting some kind of progress report, because the big question is, once they test these methane levels, once they determine it's in fact safe to go in, when can that happen, when can these rescuers go in, and then, if, in fact, these four missing miners are alive, Don.
LEMON: And that's what they do. You heard him. That's what they do to put food on their tables there.
Thank you very much, Brooke.
Hey, Brooke, we will check back if we get some new information. We want to talk now about the top man at Massey Energy. He's defending his company's record. Massey has racked up numerous safety violations, 100 against this one mine. And that's so far this year, seven in the last month for ventilation problems. So, why was Massey still sending people into the mine?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLANKENSHIP: I think the reason it was operating is that all the people who are very knowledgeable of mining, whether they be with the federal government, the state government, or Massey, had concluded that the mine was safe to operate.
And these violations and the efforts on the ventilation are efforts to improve it. And I think that everyone involved thought that we had proper ventilation. And, of course, I don't know for 100 percent sure what happened yet. So, I can't speculate on it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: You know, we're checking into all aspects of this story, including this one. We're going to check his Twitter account for some insight into Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship.
But, first, I want to give you a little bit of background -- 59- year-old Blankenship is a certified public accountant, or CPA, as we call him. He's been chairman and chief executive officer of Massey Energy since 2000. He's also on the board of directors of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Blankenship's a well-known political contributor, probably best known for spending $3 million to defeat a West Virginia appeals court judge he expected to vote against his company in a lawsuit.
Now, check out this. These are some of his recent tweets. Here's a list of 22 senators he says who support higher taxes, higher electric bills, and fewer American jobs. He's putting all of this out on his Twitter account.
Another one says: "America doesn't need green jobs, but red, white, and blue ones." Then he tweets: "Senator Lindsey Graham says there's a carbon problem. Wrong. There's a Graham problem. His carbon tax is a nightmare."
And then "U.N. climate chief resigns," he says. "The climate isn't changing, but the climate of the debate is."
Blankenship's tweets -- and we're looking at his background. And we showed you our Brooke Baldwin on the ground there.
More coming up. We expect, as I said at the beginning of this, West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin and safety crews to update the media at the bottom of the hour on the rescue operation that Brooke is standing by for. When that briefing happens, we will listen in and we will let you know what happens from there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was his friend that called me and told me about all this that prompted me to even actually start, you know, really going through his Facebook to see what was going on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Yes. A 16-year-old sues his mom, asking a judge to make her get out of his business on Facebook. Huh? I would like to tell that to my mom and see what happens. That's ahead.
And, in America, now on the CIA's kill or be captured list, that's next on our LIST here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Hello, everyone. Thanks for tuning in. Don Lemon in today for Rick Sanchez.
I want to show you something that is truly extraordinary right now. The United States government has approved an assassination or capture of a United States citizen. Here he is, American-born Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, believed to be living in Yemen. Al-Awlaki's sermons have been found on the computers of at least a dozen terror suspects in the United States and also in Britain, and he admits to having advised Army Major Nidal Hasan, charged in the killings at Fort Hood.
Now, this is a fascinating story. And we have reported on it before. But, right now, I take you to this report by CNN's Paula Newton.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): CNN has obtained a new audio message from the American born fugitive in which he urges all Muslims to wage jihad against America.
ANWAR AL-AWLAKI, MUSLIM CLERIC: With the American invasion of Iraq and continued U.S. aggression against Muslims, I could not reconcile between living in the U.S. and being a Muslim. And I eventually came to the conclusion that jihad against America is binding upon myself just as it is binding on every other able Muslim.
NEWTON: Sources have told CNN they are confident the voice on the recording is Awlaki. And the recording that runs for more than 12 minutes long, his voice is measured and clear. He takes on the cadence of a preacher, telling Muslims America is evil, and delivering this provocative message to Muslim Americans.
AWLAKI: To the Muslims in America I have this to say. How can you conscience allow you to live in peaceful co-existence with a nation that is responsible for the tyranny and crimes committed against your own brothers and sisters? How can you have your loyalty to a government that is leading the war against Islam and Muslims.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: And, once again, sources confirm to CNN that the U.S. government has targeted this American for assassination or capture.
A U.S. official tells CNN -- quote -- "We would be remiss if we didn't find ways to pursue someone who is a serious threat to this country."
You know all those reenactments, those war reenactments, Civil War? Here's a question. Has Virginia's governor really declared April Confederate History Month? And is it really what you think it is? That's ahead on THE LIST.
Plus, this -- it certainly looks like Republicans are pulling out all the stops. It's a real hit parade, center stage today, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Tim Pawlenty, all at the same event. So, what's the big draw? Why? What's going on? Jessica Yellin knows.
Jessica, what's going on? Wait a minute. Don't answer that. I will get your answer after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: It is about that time right now, time to check the list for the most intriguing person in the news today.
He knows what it's like to face death underground because he used to be a miner. Here's how we describe or he described that kind of work, a dungeon, he says, of impending danger. That's a quote. He toiled in the mines for more than seven years, just like his grandfather and his dad. Then he got out and he headed to law school.
He told his granddad he wanted to stand up for workers' rights, and Richard Trumka has done just that. He is president of the AFL- CIO. He represents 56 American unions and some 11.5 million people. That's a lot of people. So, today, he is speaking at Harvard University -- tonight, I should say. The topic? Why working people are angry and why politicians should listen. Richard Trumka, today's most intriguing person.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARI WATKINS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OKLAHOMA CITY MEMORIAL: And then, as I looked up to 250 or so high school students, I could just see this blank stare, like I was almost speaking a foreign language. I mean, they had no idea what I was talking about when I mentioned the Oklahoma City bombing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: They had no idea what the Oklahoma City bombing is? It was a terror plot that rocked the nation, one Oklahomans famously promised that they would always remember. So, why haven't their students been learning about the terror, that terror plot in their own backyard? We're going to try to find out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: I have got a fascinating moment to show you in just a few minutes. There's something about to happen while we're on the air, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, sharing the same stage at the same time, two rising Republican stars, Sarah Palin, no introduction needed, and Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.
Now, let's come right out and say it. They're the darlings of the GOP Tea Party wing. Have you heard Michele Bachmann before? Have you heard her? In case you haven't, she pulls no punches.
Here's a small taste from a radio interview. Listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), MINNESOTA: I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax, because we need to fight back. Thomas Jefferson told us having a revolution every now and then is a good thing. We the people are going to have to fight back hard if we're not going to lose our country.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
LEMON: All right, so, Michele Bachmann, Sarah Palin appearing live together, also there in Minnesota, Governor Tim Pawlenty, a likely presidential candidate, a star-studded moment in Minneapolis. It's our jumping point to get to Jessica Yellin.
But let me tell you about these pictures. These are -- those were live pictures that are coming from the Convention Center, the Minneapolis Convention Center, a fund-raiser held for Michele Bachmann. And so they're all going to be talking tonight.
Are these two women that we're talking about the face of the Republican Party right now?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, Don, there's a lot of faces of the Republican Party right now, and that's one of the phenomenon we're seeing, people to compete to become the dominant face, but this is what you get every -- for every party that's out of the White House.
And Bachmann and Palin really do speak for the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party, the social conservatives, and they do it very effectively. They're also media darlings. But, no, there are other faces out there, Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, and you cannot say that they are the only Republicans that are dominant right now.
LEMON: But they speak for, as you said, the conservative wing of the Republican Party.
YELLIN: Yes.
LEMON: Sarah Palin has spoken at a number of Tea Party events. We have carried them live here. Is that causing any sort of consternation with the Republican Party, that it may be fractured because the conservative wing obviously has probably the loudest voice right now and because of the Tea Partiers? There's an association there with Sarah Palin and that.
YELLIN: Right.
Well, there is -- the fact is that the media pays a lot of attention to them, because they say such mediagenic -- they are mediagenic, first of all, attractive, and they say such noteworthy, some would say outrageous, things sometimes.
Their supporters think they just speak truth to power and are authentic. So we give them a lot of attention. And some establishment Republicans do not like that and think that it's a misrepresentation of the vast majority of Republicans. But that's why we're clear that they represent some, not all. And they are fascinating.
LEMON: OK. I think it's fair to say that there's a -- maybe a leadership vacuum in the Republican Party, especially now that you see the problems that the RNC chairman is having, Michael Steele.
YELLIN: Yes. Right.
LEMON: Are these women maybe filling it?
YELLIN: You know, Michael -- it's different, because they're public figures. Michael Steele is -- he should be doing the job of managing the Republican operations privately, raising money, getting candidates, getting -- targeting voters, and really getting donors involved and invested.
And he is taking such a public stand that some people are increasingly agitated that he's not doing the private role. And, as you know, our own Alex Castellanos, speaking to Wolf Blitzer yesterday, was among the first to sort of lean forward and suggest that maybe Michael Steele needs to think about another job. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX CASTELLANOS, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Chairman Steele, I think, has lost the support of two important constituencies in the Republican Party. One is our most successful candidates, our leaders on the Hill, in the House and Senate. They're the people who have won elections and who have the responsibility of carrying our party into the next election.
But, more importantly, he's lost the support of a lot of our major donors.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: So, what do you want Michael Steele to do?
CASTELLANOS: I think what you're going to see is you're going to see some of the members of the Republican Executive Committee, three from each state, the two national committee people and the party chairman, are going to need to have a little come to Obama meeting or come to Jesus meeting -- a lot of people think it's the same thing in this town -- and either come to terms with Chairman Steele on what he's going to do and conduct himself through the next election, or else take a different direction.
And I think, sometimes, a change in leadership would be a good thing.
BLITZER: You want him to resign?
CASTELLANOS: I think that's up to them. I think a change in direction now at this point would do the party good.
BLITZER: So, you want Steele to resign?
CASTELLANOS: I think a change in direction now --
BLITZER: For the good of the party?
CASTELLANOS: -- for the good of the party would be good. And, again, it's not about one person, but without that financial support -- look, you're -- we're not going to be as successful as we need to be for the country.
And that's important for all of us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: So, Wolf pushed him hard, you could see, to call for him to resign. He wasn't explicit, but it is enough that Steele is doing some damage control today, and fighting hard to keep his job -- so far, no signs that everyone is aggressively, actively calling -- pushing for him to be voted out right now.
LEMON: Yes, you're right. I just read something that came from our political post, says he is connecting today with the only people who have the power to oust him as chairman, and those are the people of the -- 168 members of the RNC.
So, Jessica, you get anything, make sure you let us know.
YELLIN: We will.
LEMON: Hey, can we take the folks back there -- thank you, Jessica.
Let's take the folks back and look at the live pictures. As soon as Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann start to speak -- again, this is the Convention Center in Minneapolis, the Minneapolis Convention Center, a fund-raiser for Michele Bachmann to be held there. And Sarah Palin is going to speak. Also, Tim Pawlenty, you heard them mention his name as I was talking there.
So, we will get back to them as soon as that happens. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're within your legal rights to monitor your child. It's crazy to me that we are even having this interview.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: "Mom, I'm going to have to sue you." Yes, right. Well, that happened. A son asks a court to tell his mother to leave him alone because of what she allegedly did on his Facebook page. That is ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have watched it at least 10 times, and every time, it's just as shocking as the first. To see someone walk out with your belongings is unbelievable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Look at that. Can you believe what they're doing? You're going to see some video of someone kicking in a little bit. Look at him kick. He really wants to get in. There it is right there. Why? You won't be so impressed with him when you find out why he's doing it. That's next, too.
You want to be on the show, call this number, 1-877-4CNN-TOUR, 1- 877-4CNN-TOUR. You can be on. Call the number, will you?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Want to update you on the situation, that mine situation, those workers who are trapped. We expect West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin and safety crews to update the media at any moment now, at any moment now.
You saw our Brooke Baldwin is on the ground, so we're standing by. And we will get it to you. So, when that briefing happens, we will listen in, and we will let you know what happens. But, man, we are certainly praying for those workers. Hopefully, they're still alive down in that mine, and they will get to them.
We will update you.
Baseball, you know, that great American pastime, it always gives a warm and fuzzy feeling, doesn't it? Time for today's list of best video, AKA "Fotos Del Dia.
LEMON: I love that music.
All right, first off, Austin, Texas: Gone in 20 minutes. That's how long the homeowner was away, but it took two not-so-delicate thieves just 10 minutes to rob the house. They kicked in the door, donkey-style, and they went to work.
Let me show you them kicking in the door. Anyway, they went to work. Why did this house have a security camera in the first place where you can see everything? Because it had been hit before. And get this -- there's the kick right there -- they're installing two more cameras now, hoping to catch a getaway car if thieves hit again. Let's just hope the thieves don't hit again.
Let's go to Brazil, shall we? There we go, a dash of pepper for a salty tongue. One soccer player got a red card for an overaggressive tackle. The response was more aggressive, still -- teammates called out the refs, the ref called the police, and the police used their pepper spray. After that incident, six players and the coach, well, they called it a day, resigning in protest over the whole thing.
Oh, boy, let's go to California now. The Angels in Anaheim should have wings. But the crowd wore something much warmer on Tuesday night. Most of the 45,000-plus fans donned fleece. Their goal was a new -- a new record. Can you say Guinness record? A new record for the most people wearing fleece blankets at the same time. Are there any Snuggies in there? Guinness sent a recorder to certify. The previous record was 17,759 Cleveland Cavalier fans. They set on it March 5th. The record's been broken.
That's some crazy music.
All right, talk about a beached whale. It's a baby that made it all the way to the beach at the Hamptons and we'll tell you how it is doing straight ahead.
And I went to Augusta yesterday. You may have heard about Tiger Woods' security detail and what they asked some spectators, among other anecdotes I'll have for you. I saw him close up, and I've got my own story. That's next on THE LIST.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CALLER: Hey, Rick, my name is Lynn from Massachusetts, and I am on the side of the parent 100 percent. It is our duty as parents to protect our children on the Internet. And also the child needs to learn they live in the parents' home.
The parents probably pay the cable and/or connection which allows them to be on the Internet, and therefore they do have a right and a duty to protect the children in this day and age.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
LEMON: All right, thank you for calling the number. We like to get our viewers on the air.
Just in case you haven't heard, there's this little golf tournament that is starting tomorrow, and a guy named Tiger Woods is taking part of it.
Here's the storyline from the Masters in Augusta scene of Tiger Woods, right, Tiger Woods return. Here we go. On Monday we saw him face reporters for the first time since his sex scandal broke. Consensus -- Woods seemed humble, contrite, and open. We've seen a lot of this going on. Hugs for his practice round partner Freddie Couples, a hug for his buddy Mark Omera. And we have seen him acknowledging fans. Sometimes he says he needs to work on that. So he's working on it now. And here we see Tiger awarding a souvenir.
Now, for obvious reasons, Woods is getting some extra security, right? And something caught our eye that we need to pass along to you. Steve Elling of CBSsports.com is reporting on the web that during Monday's practice round, a member of Woods' security detail approached a woman on the course and asked, quote, "Are you the stripper?"
Yes. He asked a woman, I'll repeat, "Are you the stripper?" Well, the report says the guard produced a sheet of photos believed to show Woods' purported mistresses. After comparing the woman to the photos, the guard reportedly told her, quote, "We've got to be extra careful."
By the way, security around Woods is reported to include former members of the FBI. You know, I was there yesterday, I didn't really see much of that. I'm going to tell you about my experience there.
There it is. This is some of the video. I shot this actual video with my own camera. Tiger teeing off there -- I'm not great, but I did it. Here's the interesting thing, you can't take phones in, right? But during the practice round you can take in your camera, your video.
Tiger walked right by us, waved to us, everybody yelling and screaming. If he does anything, puts a tee in the ground, it's like, yay, Tiger! I didn't see all of that security. Maybe they were behind the ropes and we didn't see them, didn't get close enough.
Here's the thing -- this is how they make the money at the Masters. Everything is really cheap there. You can get $2 for a burger, what have you, $1.25 for chips. You know it's really cheap. Can you show this, show this camera? Rob's camera, the jib, the steady. All right, here we go. There we go.
So, this is how they make their money -- $16 for these hats and they go up and up and up. I saw a sweater there for $400, and you get the bag. This year it appears to be more robust than other things to buy things because Tiger's back and this is 2010, sort of considered the year that the scandal hit.
This is the ticket. I wasn't even going to go. It was at an auction, I put my name on the auction, bid the right amount of money, happened to win, and it just happens to be the year that Tiger. I went to check it out, and it's great.
Here's the interesting thing, my friends were laughing at me, I was going to wear something crazy. I said it's the Masters, the first time. The local paper walks up and said we're doing a fashion section, can we take a picture? So that's me, teal green pants, a Bermuda shirt, and a straw hat.
So that's how I went to the Masters, and there were people dressed a lot crazier than I was.
Again, Tiger is big draw there but I didn't see all the security. Tiger is out talking to folks, and here's what most people say -- they don't really care what he's done off the course, they want to see him play golf and that's it. And that's the last word with that. So we'll see after how he's going to qualify.
Thanks for indulging me. Thank you, director. Who is it today? Claude? Claude, thank you for indulging me.
Let's move on to another story now. It started, the outrage, it's really, what, on a factor of ten right now, really 100 percent? One airline charging fees for carrying on bags. Will other airlines follow suit? That's ahead.
Plus, the governor of West Virginia makes a quiet declaration for Confederate history month. But it's turning out to be not so quiet. Is his declaration really what you think it is? Roland Martin certainly is fired up. Are you fired up, Roland? Fired up?
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: You know this.
LEMON: I know it.
MARTIN: You know this.
LEMON: I'm glad I'm not in the same room, because you might punch me in the head or something. So save it.
(LAUGHTER)
We'll be back with Roland Martin.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. So on Wednesday's RICK'S LIST, we have "R&R" where Rick talks to CNN contributor Roland Martin. Today, Roland is in my home state of Louisiana, and that's where we start the "R&R." Roland's live from New Orleans, Nola.
MARTIN: You're right.
LEMON: Happy Confederate history month. You know, you being in Louisiana and --
MARTIN: Please, don't even get me started.
LEMON: -- me being here in Georgia, two states that observe this, and it follows African-American history month as well, so I don't want you to feel excluded.
And I don't want this guy, he doesn't feel excluded either. Governor Bob McDonnell has declared this month Confederate history month for Virginia. I don't want to debate the merits of the proclamation to celebrate whatever you want.
But I went to the Web site just to see what it was about, Roland, and here's what he said. He called the civil war a, quote, "A four- year war between the states for independence." What does that gain him politically by doing this?
MARTIN: OK, first of all, here's the deal, and this is the problem -- Republicans are always talking about how they don't like for folks to brand them as being racist or bigots, and I understand that.
But, the last two Democratic governors, Mark Warner as well as Tim Kaine, did not issue a proclamation. Tim Kaine also said, look, it makes no sense. The two previous Republican governors issued the same proclamation.
And so who are they actually playing to? This is really a recognition, Don, of American terrorists. They were terrorists. These were people who committed treason. No, no, they were terrorists.
LEMON: But, Roland, let me tell you this. I understand what you're saying, and when we talked about this -- listen, I'm a freedom of speech person. I believe people have the right to say and protest what they want. If you start, you know, threatening people if it's hate speech or that kind of thing, that's where you draw the line.
There is a history for this country for confederacy, but should we celebrate it? That is the question?
MARTIN: Don --
LEMON: Before you answer it, before you answer it, he said that what exploration -- "We are going through a period where we need to explore our history, and an exploration of our history can benefit all, that's what he said. An exploration of our history can benefit all.
MARTIN: All right. And I can give you in 30 seconds versus a whole month what it was all about. These were American terrorists. These were individuals who were committing a sin against humanity, who wanted to keep the system of oppression, the degradation and absolute denial of opportunities for African-Americans.
We're celebrating people, and had they won, Don, you and I would not be sitting here right now. You and I would be in the fields right now as property as opposed to being free individuals.
And so that's like somebody saying, oh, we're going to celebrate the Nazi soldiers by saying, well, they were only doing their job as opposed to working in concentration camps. I'm not going to let these folks off the hook. This is a celebration of American terrorists, not freedom of speech. Not the First Amendment. That's what it is.
LEMON: I get your point.
MARTIN: Why do we want to sit here and play around with it?
LEMON: People always say that. We can't predict. We don't have a crystal ball, we don't know what it would have been the other way.
MARTIN: OK, let's start with what they were doing.
LEMON: I think you're probably right in the sense that African- Americans having the same opportunities, but we don't know if we're going to be in the fields, as you said.
MARTIN: Don, Don, Don, had they won -- forget "probably." These folks were defending a system where people who looked like you and me were beaten, were sold, where families were broken up, and their defense was, oh, it's states' rights, we should do what we want to do.
You don't celebrate that. I would never support anyone celebrating a month where we honor Nazi soldiers who killed Jews in concentration camps. There is no difference between that and celebrating the Confederacy where they wanted to maintain a system where people, human beings, were treated like filth, like animals, like property. You don't celebrate that in America.
LEMON: Yes.
MARTIN: We can talk about it in history, but you don't give them an entire month and say, oh, it was just a war about independence.
LEMON: Roland --
MARTIN: No, it was about degradation of a human being.
LEMON: I let you go on because I thought your point is well taken. I think you said it better that time than you did the first time. Thank you for that.
MARTIN: I stated the first time, American terrorists.
LEMON: I said better. I didn't say you were bad. Let's go on, Roland.
MARTIN: I thought I was right the first time.
LEMON: Let's talk about the West Virginia coal miners. The CEO, Don Blankenship, very politically active there, as we look at the bottom of our screen, we are looking at the press conference about to get underway and we're looking at the press conference with Governor Manchin who's going to lead that conference, to find out exactly what's going on.
As we said, it's been very political there. In 2004 Blankenship reportedly spent money attacking a West Virginia state Supreme Court justice and that led to the election of Justice Brent Benjamin, and in 2006 Justice Benjamin voted to overturn a $50 million jury verdict against Massey's company in a business dispute.
So it goes on and on and on. This needs to be looked into. MARTIN: Actually, I think the real issue here is the fact that this company was cited for 56 different violations. And so the real question is, will the state of West Virginia, will the federal government, impose stricter regulation when it comes to these mining companies?
As opposed to a lot of -- these are lives that are at stake every single day. And so I don't know how you can make the correlation between somebody really, you know, putting money in terms of in a particular race in a lawsuit being thrown out.
The real issue is the state of West Virginia going to seriously monitor and regulate these mining companies, because these folks are now dead, 25 dead. The previous mining accident that took place across the country, what happened after we heard about that? Same thing -- lots of different violations as well.
And so we should have stringent regulations against these companies because lives are at stake every single day.
LEMON: Yes. Roland, thank you. Hey, listen, our folks here are monitoring this press conference, Roland, it looks like it's about to get under way. We're going to continue rolling, and if news breaks, we'll take it.
MARTIN: All right.
LEMON: Let's move on. We'll talk about Tiger Woods as we wait here.
MARTIN: Sure.
LEMON: And again, we're monitoring the press conference going on in West Virginia.
Billy Payne, chairman of the Western Augusta golf club. Let's listen to this, Roland, and then we'll talk about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILLY PAYNE, CHAIRMAN, AUGUSTA NATIONAL GOLF CLUB: It is not simply the degree of his conduct that is so egregious here. It is the fact that he disappointed all of us, and more importantly, our kids and our grandkids. Our hero did not live up to the expectations of the role model we sought for our children.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Tiger's a role model, and according to him, Billy Payne, he let people down.
MARTIN: Don, I'm sitting here, watching this statement. This is a man who is the chairman of a club that practices sexism. There are no women members in this club. For years they were not allowing African-Americans in. How dare Billy Payne tell anybody about letting people down? How does he look his wife and children in the eye? How do the other members look the women in their family in the eye by saying, oh, we love and respect you, but you will not be a member of our club?
LEMON: Yes.
MARTIN: They let people down every single day.
LEMON: Hey, Roland --
MARTIN: And he doesn't have -- he shouldn't chastise anyone.
LEMON: Hey, Roland, we'll have to cut our time short here. I really enjoyed it. Again, I didn't say you were bad the first time, I said you stated it better the second time.
MARTIN: Hey, Don, you might not mind it, but I'm not down with it.
LEMON: Don't take me out of context. I say you stated it better the second time. We've got to run and get to West Virginia. Thank you, Roland.
Governor Joe Manchin -- this isn't Manchin, this is the gentleman from the Upper Branch Mine there, Mr. Strickland, and we'll listen in to him and the governor and see what's happening there.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
KEVIN STRICKLIN, MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION: -- which is also very high, and about three percent of methane, which is not in the explosive range by itself, but when you take into account both hydrogen and CO, it puts it in an area that does make it close if not explosive, as well as 15 percent oxygen.
That sample is being taken from the top of the borehole, and what we are asking the company to do is take a sample it from the bottom of the borehole to make sure there are no concentrations of gas from the top to bottom that's influencing the sample to make sure we are reading the same thing.
In addition, the borehole number two is going in close to hole number one. And a borehole number three is going in close to number two. We had a slight problem at the surface because of these high concentrations of CO that we see coming out of this borehole. It was to the point that it was affecting the drillers. They are standing right next to where the noxious gas is coming out.
And we have asked the company and they have readily agreed to put a two-foot piece of tubing from the exhaust coming out of the surface of the 1.4 to 1.2 percent of CO away from where the people are working.
In addition, we've spent about two hours the state, the company looking at other things we can do. And one of the things that we want to do when we get into the mine or drilling from the surface, is confirm that none of the other refuge chambers have been deployed.
So the company is making arrangements to put boreholes in close to where the other refuge chambers are located at, including the one in the 22 section that we talked about earlier. We hope to get in there before the borehole comes in.
But if for some reason our readings are haywire, we want the opportunity to put cameras in these boreholes to actually look at the location to see if the chambers have been deployed.
The one concern we have when we left the long wall 22 section, we had smoke and high gas concentrations. If we are going to second a rescue team in there, we have to be able to say that it is safe for them to go in there.
They typically would only advance at 1,000-foot increments. We are looking at a about 2,000-foot advance, so we want the air to be clear enough that we can let them go without being in smoke, without being on lifeline, and proceed quickly to the upper end if we have time.
I mean, we are at 48 hours with the rescue alternative. We just can't take any chances of the rescue teams going into an area that could in and of itself cause a problem or an explosion or put them in by smoke concentration, get turned around without being in contact with other members of the team or with people in fresh air.
So we've asked the families to be patient that we want to make sure we don't run them back out. And I'm basically saying to you the same thing that we just discussed with the families.
GOV. JOE MANCHIN (D), WEST VIRGINIA: Let me just say, as Kevin was saying about the families, the families are in agreement that the additional time it is taking to make sure the rescue operation is safe, they agree. They understand.
We also talked very frankly about our best chances right now for that sliver of hope that we have or the miracle is that any of our miners that is aren't accounted for may have gotten into the chamber. And we know if they did, the time -- we are fine within the time envelope that we have to work within. So they understand that.
And to put anybody else in harm's way, they want to make sure the readings we have are something that is confirmed and Joe and all his staff and Kevin and Ron and our staff are on the same page before they send anybody in. So they are working feverishly to make that determination.
QUESTION: Do we have an idea of the timeline now or not?
MANCHIN: Here's what we are going to do. We are going to come back again at 8:30. We are going to miss the 6:00 or 6:30, because it gives them time to do what they have to do to make the decisions and hopefully have the readings. We'll have a better chance of getting those readings at that time, to come down to give you something more concrete. So you are asking about the timeframe before the rescue operation would start. I can't give you that. What we can do, we hope by 8:30 that we have the determination that we have safe enough figures to move or not.
QUESTION: Governor, is it safe to say when you have levels this high that this is a bit of a setback for you all?
MANCHIN: We have been working against all odds from day one. Our family members, all of them know that these are mining families, traditional, they understand what we are talking about. They understand the lethalness of the gases.
You know, to put things in perspective, you have a scenario where we had the Sago disaster. We are talking 14,000. They are extreme highs, unheard of levels --- 50 parts is -- people don't work past the 50. So that gives you a comparison -- 50, 11,000, 14,000.
But we never had chambers. The sliver of hope that we have that someone could have withstood and managed not to get caught in the blast, could somebody have gotten in the chamber. That's the sliver we are hanging on to, whether it is the four that we have that are unaccounted for, or one of the four, all of the four.
The families, they are dealing in real terms and realistically understand. These are tough. It is tough.
QUESTION: What kind of timeline are you looking for as far as putting the camera at one of the bottom of the boreholes?
STRICKLIN: I want to follow-up before I give the answer. I want to follow-up on the governor. The numbers don't surprise me. I mean, we knew what we had when we had the rescue teams underground. We pegged our instruments, so that number doesn't surprise me.
I mean, the only -- and we talked about the sliver of hope. We are hoping that someone had the ability, and we have no way of knowing, as to get to that chamber. That would be the only way any individual could survive. There's no other way that can be done.
The company is looking at how long they think it would take for them to get to these areas to put the boreholes in, so we don't have that information now. That will probably be something we'll have later.
We had a two to three-hour meeting with the company and the state, and that was one of the things on the table that we asked the company to evaluate and see when you can get the boreholes put into the mine.
QUESTION: Was it 300 feet from this hole?
STRICKLIN: The camera can only pick up about -- if we had a cap form, which is probably about 100 feet, that's about as far we can stick a camera in and expect it to see. And we are talking 500 to 600 feet. A good decision was made from where the borehole went in to ventilate the area out. And we have three of them going in. But in addition to that, we think it would be a good idea to put boreholes in close to where the refuge chambers are just to confirm or not confirm that the chambers have been opened or not opened.
QUESTION: The gas was affecting -- really, coming out of the holes. How did that affect your operation?
STRICKLIN: There was a little time delay while we were in the process of putting the tubing on to get it away. It did not delay the fan operation at that time.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
STRICKLIN: They did not. It was in a lower range. The governor talked about 50 parts per million being the limit. If it goes above 50, it would go into alarm. We would not expect anybody to be in greater than 50 parts per million, and that why we decided we had to give them a clean atmosphere to operate in.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
STRICKLIN: Could you repeat that?
The number three hole that's going in close to where the number one hole should be pretty close to the same timeframe. They have apparently a drill, and they call it a hammer drill that actually drills quicker than the other one, and that's the drill they will be using for hole number three.
QUESTION: Can someone explain the convoy of ambulances?
STRICKLIN: I cannot explain the convoy of ambulances. They are not affecting anybody at this mine at this time.
QUESTION: Was this explosion happening one time --
STRICKLIN: Can you repeat the question?
QUESTION: Are you dealing with methane at the entire mine?
STRICKLIN: Methane is continually liberated in a coal mine. So that's something we are aware of and concerned with, and that's the whole intent of putting these boreholes in to try to clear the area out, so we'll limit the chances there could be another explosion.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
STRICKLIN: If we were working in a coal mine, we would not want to work in greater than 50 parts per million of CO, and we would not want to work in less than 19.5 percent oxygen, and we would not want to work in greater than one percent methane.
Hydrogen in a normal mine is zero. So we are dealing with numbers that are way above and beyond what we typically see in a mine, but we are dealing with the situation that is not normal at all, either.
These are typical numbers after an explosion. And you just have to clear the area out, make sure there's not another explosion, the chance of another explosion, make sure there's not another fire that exists, and make sure the oxygen content is enough to allow rescuers to go in and comfortably evaluate the situation without worried about something bad is going to happen to them.
