Sorry Rick, but yesterday's 'business' is not finished. Poor Miss California is still getting a bashing this morning. I personally couldn't care less what anybody's sexual preference is ... but leave it in the bedroom, for Goodness sake! Perez Hilton was way off the wall when he said that this is a political issue. Sex is a personal issue and has nothing whatsoever to do with politics. I have known and associated with several gay/lesbians over the years and had many as very good friends. The thing that I really don't care for about the 'movement' is that they are constantly 'in your face' about it. I've never seen straight people having parades in celebration of their sexual preference. On the subject of 'gay marriage', I really don't think the word marriage should be used. There is no reason in the world that gays cannot have a 'civil union' with all the same benefits accorded them as a man and a woman in marriage. People like Hilton should put a sock in it.

Given that these wealthy took the land from the peasants in the first place, the answer is yes.

rick, I work for a mortgage negotiation company. A real one. I am told over and over that the reason the bank/lenders are so slow to help homeowners is they are understaffed! What? There are so many professionals out of work, how about using some of that bailout money to hire some help! It seems to be a catch 22 for the homeowners losing their houses. What is the answer?

It's very SAD, I think the Nations need to help the people...everybody live in the Earth with the same rigth and the same responsablity...

Since when is a General not responsible for what happens within her command. If she saw or knew that somebody was doing soemthing that was against the law, why didn't she not speak up, why didn't she stop it. Why did she wait until somebody else spoke up. A General leads.

Rick,

Thank you for not standing for the BS. Rick I heard this from a retired white Irish guy. Many years ago, the Police Fire and Prison departments use to have a special test for white men in their desk when a white applicant came to apply.

For the blacks and other minorities it was a different test with no results. These test would be altered or destroyed. These guys are part of the old boys network and will pay a price. Tell these white racist guys the worse is yet to come down on them.

Dear Rick,
My problem is that I am so fed up with people saying that the Holocaust happened in "Polish " death camps. Yes some of the camps were in Poland but it wasn't the Polish who did the killing and it wasn't only the Jewish who died there.Why doesn't anyone ever mention how many thousands of Polish people died in the camps or how many risked their own lives hiding Jewish families so they might live. If we are to remember history lets remember it ALL!!

Where ever you go, the story is the same. The rich stay rich and the poor stay poorer. I don't know where human morality has gone. But whatever happened to the saying love thy neighbor. Obvoiusly there is a huge divide between the "haves" and the "have nots." The "haves" have way too much whereas the "have nots" just don't have. This shouldn't happen in a democracy.

Rick do not stop at Brazil, check out Champas Mexico. The government for years were removing natives from their own land to make room for retiring rich Americans or Europeons and they have started to rebel and kill these intruders. It has gotten so bad it is not safe for anglos to visit there even.

Pilots in training have to think fast. A mid air stall for a single engine aircraft is part of the course to teach the pilot how to recover from tragedy.

Miss CA: While I too disagree with her position, I would like to address something that I don't think is being addressed. She said, "It is great that we live in a country where people can choose between same-sex and opposite-sex marriage". First of all, in 46 states one CANNOT choose that. Secondly, she went on to say that she does not believe in same-sex marriage.

Which is it?
Are you proud of a country that opens up equal options for all? Or do you want to limit those options? She cannot celebrate openness and then be against it at the same time. That is why she sounded contradictory, ignorant, and why her response disappointed me. She wanted to have it both ways!

Miss California has the right to express her opinion. I commend her for her courage and honesty.

I do not think that peoples posesions should be taken away, unles gotten by ill gains, ie: Madoff and Co., but I do believe in fair share of taxation, and if write offs are allowed for some then should be allowed for all or everyone pays the same percentage of their income to support their government. No favors for wealthy or poor. Equality should be equal.

Rick:

I have a brother that is a fireman in a major northern city. He has first hand knowledge that some white test takers do manage to get their hands on a copy of an examine in order to study. Minorites probably need to do a better job of networking with the white firemen in order to get
higher scores.

Sorry, Rick, I don't know what type of Gov. they have in Brazil which is why I answered in the way I did. But I do think the People should have a right to be heard and speak about their injustices without fear of reprisals. Do they stil fear " disappearing"? I know I would, and it may influence their actions.

Geez Rick, we have the have and the have-nots right here in good ole USA!

On another matter of honesty pertaining to the prisoners. Americans are too honest. The enemies, Taliban and Al Qaeda are given a lot of information as they were prior to the war in Iraq as politicians and the U.S. Media debated and discussed it and when America should go into Iraq and Afghanistan. Why is the West so stupid? These people are intelligent ones. Then why do they also have to release such information as President Obama did? It was not necessary. This has not helped the Marines and others who are fighting the Talibans and Al Qaeda. Note how many of the Marines have been killed in iraq and in Afghanistan. Sadly, there will be more. It is time to cease these types of conversation and feeding these enemies with classified information such as interrogation of those U.S. enemies who were captured. The Talibans and Al Qaeda are not our friends – not the friends of the West. They are listening to CNN and other U.S. Channels too and use this against the U.S.

Jean

Rick,
Where have you been. I'm a retired Fire Fighter in Michigan. The law suite from the New Haven Fire fighters has been a long time comming. since the middle 1980's, there have been a number of fire Departments that have had to reduce their qualification requirements to allow minority people the opportunity to pass their tests, from entrance exams to promotional exams. Grand Rapids, MI was one that had to freeze their hiring for several years, because tow minorities could not pass their entrance exam. They had to rewrite everything (by court order) which in turn lowered the standards for service. This created a serious life safety conceren to the rest of the Fire Fighters, including minorities that did pass earlier tests. Check it out. The same thing has been going on for years in the police departments across the nation.

about torture, before you get all huffy puffy about how it was right to do what we did, ask the Vietnam vet who spent years in torture prisons if torture is ok, then you will find the true answer to whether torture is justified! Whats good for them is good for us or visa-versa! Had we figured out how to run our cars on something besides oil and kept our noses out of the middle east 9/11 would have never happened, let us not forget this very important fact!

Regarding the firefighters discrimination lawsuite: This may suprise some folks, but it is not uncommon for some white civil servants to be given access to answer sheets for tests in order to have an unfair advantage- in other words, some are allowed to cheat. It happens with police, corrections, AND firefighter promotion exams. It is a dirty little secret that no one wants to address. It is easier for some to believe that whites are simply smarter than everyone else. Absurd.

This is a very deep social issue in Brazil. It is not easy to analyze and/or judge what is going on there. I am Brazilian, and I had the opportunity to see and hear, in person, some interesting situations, while I was still living in Brazil (prior to 2000), and every year when I go there on vacation... Among the landless people, government workers and land owners, you will find (as you can find everywhere in the world) people with good and serious intention, hard workers, also excellent plans and ideas to help that “ugly” situation. But, you will also find corruption, fraud and greediness. Did you know that many of the pieces of land already evenly distributed by the government’s program, among the landless people, were already sold by them for “some money”? The program’s goal is to give them a chance to have a decent life, to develop the land and make it their source of income. Instead, some of them receive the land and sell it immediately and illegally, usually much cheaper than it is worth, probably trying to become a “greedy new-born real estate agent with a quick and easy income”… One more work for the government: to watch what is happening after the distribution of the land… Sad… Of course this is not a dominant situation, but it happens, and often, and it makes us to think over and over about what is fair or it is not fair… As I said in the beginning, it is a very complicated issue to analyze… By the way, today is the anniversary of Brazil. The land was officially discovered on 04/22/1500. Perfect day to discuss its distribution!

I saw the video, which is what brought me to your blog in the first place. The shootout was so palpable, I felt it could've happened on our own farmland. At Starbucks last night I took the time to smell some Brazilian coffee beans, with the new knowledge that half of Brazil's land does not belong to the people.

It hurts me to know this because I often think the HAVEs do not realize the impact of their decision to caretake for other people. I wish the HAVE NOTs didn't have to resort to violence in order to explain that their freedom and growth is being encroached upon by this invisible wall.

I want Brazil to prosper, I want both the HAVEs and HAVE NOTs to feel satisfied with their opportunities and that they are meeting their families needs to the best ability possible. It is difficult to live under a king and succeed, which is why Americans liberated themselves in the first place. It would be wise for Brazil to open up their lands to the creative visions of the people. At least asking for their thoughts might be a start.

I can't believe how socialist our country and our citizens views are becoming... it’s the end of self reliance/ambition/hard work/initiative and independence and I could go on and on. I hate to see your views try to promote more on the class warfare that is going on in America today. I believe that at least in America, if you have the drive and ambition you can do anything. I am a self made man, I was the first in my family to graduate from college and I put myself through college working 3 part time jobs. I have two sons and I hope that I have instilled in them to not depend on the Government or others for handouts but make your own life and success.

I believe Abraham Lincoln said it best – "You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence. You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves."

Why am I having a flashback to the scene in "Doctor Zhivago" where Yuri arrives at the home he and Tanya share with her parents to find that the floorspace in the building has been "re-allocated" by the "residence committee"?

When will ALL realize we are all connected on this planet. Finally
we may be opening our eyes to the BIGGER PICTURE. The FEW
(the haves) control the MANY (have nots)
If we in AMERICA can just rise about the "theater" of Republicans vs Democrats,
etc
and paranoia of the hate speeches
and look at HOW this WORLD works ( all the poor countries)
and find the WILL and COURAGE
to rise about our EGO's, our programmed beliefs.....
we will see
we are at the crossroad
WE CAN
Turn this upside down existence..RIGHT SIDE UP!
THINK PYRAMID
There are MILLIONS of US
vs a handful of THEM.
So why can't people THINK for themselves?
When will we really wake up?
If we could just learn to ask "IS THAT REALLY TRUE?"
STOP listening to the haters.
THEY count on DISTRACTIONS
Keeping us STUCK in bubbles.
Think about it
If we all woke up and united
THINK PYRAMID
Imagine the possibilities...
the power shift!
So simple
The TRUTH WILL SET US FREE!

As long as the gap between the rich and poor continues to increase, the more likelyhood we are to have problems/incidents associated to it. Perhaps, even uprisings such as that in the video.

Murtha Airport, which has about 3 flights a day, is getting$200 million to expand? How can the American people trust a government that would allow this, especially when people are kiiling off themselves and families to make ends meet. This guy needs a wake up call but from who ? Situations like this are creating anti government sentimate all over the country. I support Obama, but not today.

Les, where have you been, this has been going on for many years, its nothing new. While the folks of the greastest generation so to speak came through the Great Depression and WWII, they became the most prosperous generation this country has ever known. Well the baby boomers reaped that situation and never had to work like the previous generations, they had everything given to them and so goes the falling generations. As far as class warfare, the rich have been waging this war for a long time now and just as they are about to win this war the little guy is finally standing up to their greed which by the way has gotten us into this worst economic time that hasnt been seen since the Greatest Generation! The wealthy top 5% have gained more of this countries welth also not seen since the 1920`s which by the way we know how that turned out, well its about to happen to us again no thanks to the rich! I say this because I know its true. For example, both my wife and I make $100,000 together a year, once there was a time when folks making that much money had worries, but thats not the case today. We have 1 1000 square foot home and one car payment and we have nothing to save at the end of the payday thanks to inflation, taxes, and all these bailouts my kid wont even be able to pay for, and yes this all got started in a Republican administration! Then we have the so called tea parties, which were being held mostly by a bunch of cry baby republicans crying over the Bush`s Tax cut for the wealthy was about to expire. A lousy 3% and they had to protest. Taxes for cigerettes is over $4.50 in just taxes for 1 pack, thats the richies way of getting the little guy! I quit smoking because it is unfair to target one group to pay for all the richies programs, I say tax the rich fat guy not the poor lower income guy for all these programs that some rich guy thought of in the first place! Its time the real citizens of this country revolt and take back this country the rightfully belongs to them!

By the way Les, wealth has always worked by trickling up not down period! You give the rich guy all the money and thats where it stays in the rich guys pocket. You give it to the poor guy and he spends it! A rich guy can only spend so much money and when they do it generally never reaches the poor guy, it just went to some other rich guys hand!

Rick, please don't spread a romanticized view of the LWM. They'r not victims. They call themselves "rural workers", but many of them don't even know how to live off the land.

I would like CNN to at least let me speak on what I know is going on. I am under surviellance and I have resisted speaking out on what I know is going on for fear of being accused of mental instability. I believe that I have surviellance chips in my body and the fiber come out my pores and even leave scratches on my sink. I have been doing research on the subject of domestic surveillance operations and stellar wind, NSA wiretapping and the question now is not if these horendous acts are going on but why. I am asking for news coverage of what I feel is happening and I have become unable to function or work. By life is on hold and I realize I could be in danger of being put in a mental facility and that's why I've allowed this to go on two years. I watch Rick Sanchez and I belive that he would want truth to come out and that he believes in rights we all should have under the constitution of the United States. If there is a clause or a reason that everyone evidently thinks that this is legal, I should be able to know why I am a political prisoner and why truth is withheld from me. Please, any help you can offer would be appreciated. I do support President Obama and his administration and have waited patiently as long as I can for some sort of relief. I have called the white house today and left a comment for the president. Before today I have left messages on civil rights committees phones and heard nothing back. I have e-mailed my concerns to the president and heard nothing back. It won't surprize me to hear nothing back after today. I am currently looking into asylum in another counrty like Australia or Canada. I've always loved the United States but I am going crazy with this and getting no help or truth. I can't wait patiently while my rights as a human and a US citizen is abused every minute of every day.

Thank you Rick for helping me in advance. Melinad Jones
I follow you on twitter.

injustices everywhere, even in small town clare michigan where two police officers of that town gunned down a blind, cripled, mentally handicapped man with no criminal record what so ever and got away scott free. no charges, no real review no nothing, tragedy to say the least, and oh by the way he was poor. wake up citizens, time to take back this country, we have no room in the world for people like limbaugh, bush, cheney, rove, their all scoundrels of the worst kind.

Restore there rank, Give them back ay, compensate them for there wrongful prosecutions.

no prosecutions for CIA officials who tortured so the President should pardon the grunts who were convicted of torture. The policy must be fair to all who "followed orders"

Seems like latinos have social issues no matter where they are !!

Regarding Complicity and Prosecution of Memo Writers for complicity re: war crimes, see

http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/forumy/2009/04/second-bybee-memo-smoking-gun.php

Rick; There's no " FINE LINE" when you get ORDERS from the White House. Those following orders get persecuted, while Rumsfeld and Cheney sit on their smug butts. IT IS NOT RIGHT and ther should be some justice for those who have been ruined erving their country!

Rick, I wonder if anyone has thought about this whole thing with the torture may be the reason Colin Powell decided not to join the Bush team for a second term? I would be curious to know if he knew about this and when did he know.

Regarding the torture investigations, or not:
Two problems.
1. We drove the Nuremburg trials to hang people who "just followed orders" and relied on the "legal advice" of the administration. Double standard.

2. Moral relativism. We want to "move on." So does your local bank robber and child molester. What a great precedent we are setting! It would be too divisive to punish a crime? Just you wait til criminals start citing this in court appeals. "Yes, I raped your wife, but let's put that behind us and look forward."

WHAT ON EARTH are people thinking????

I would hope my daughter would come talk to me, we have that kind of relationship,but it doesn't always work that way. I would rather prevent another unwanted pregnancy. It definetly should not be used as birthcontrol.

Rick....whatever will you do when you have to turn your sights on Barak Obama? I'm amazed you can come on the air and speak, what with your lips firmly locked on the President's ass.
You continually like to refer to yourself as a "journalist"...yet a journalist must be objective, and that you are not.
I once likened you to Maury and Jerry....that was not fair to them. Pauvich and Springer make no pretense about who they are and where they come from.
No wonder Fox News has better numbers.

Hey right across from the fire, ash reigning down all over us, not such a great earth day. We have been under a yellow cloud for two days. My house smells like a bon fire. I live on the ocean directly across from Barefoot Landing never seen this here before. Really bad.

Dear Rick,

Torture.

I thought it was obvious Donald Rumsfeld knew about the torturing when the photos were released of the prisoners – but it was "Rums the word" as usual while the Bush administration was in the White House. Bush, Cheney and the entire administration acted as though they were above the law. No one is above the law in this country and I hope they are held accountable for EVERY law they broke. Not just the ones surrounding this latest breaking story about torture.

Thank you for your time today.

Robert -Portland, OR

rick, i think the cop was right. he said "leave" and if you dont then you go down. And in the middle of the heat, where there was just a wreck and he's trying to clear traffic and a bunch of rubbernecks i.e. us, i think we should give the cop the benefit of the doubt and just follow orders. What is he was wasting time telling this knucklehead reporter to leave and someone was stuck under the truck that needs his help died? That would really be bad............G

Normally I do not do this, blogging, but was home working and watched part of the show.
Rick, please stop trying to dramatize the news, your emotional reporting is way too much. I think you are getting paid to report the news and let your viewers decide if it is relavant or not.
I can not watch someone who seems to be adding his opinions and shows his emotional reaction opinions to ever story.
It appears more like you trying to instill fear in your reporting.
We went from horses dying to our children dying from the wrong dose of drugs being administered.
No wonder CNN ratings are down!
You just lost me as a viewer!
RT

I am a Brazilian and I have seen so many of these "clashes". I honestly think that the activist of LWM are too radical. They once distroyed YEARS worth of a scientist's research and they expect us to feel bad and sympathize with them? As a Brazilian I know that the seperation between the social classes is VERY large and that this issue has been going on for as long as I can remember so I think that these LWM activist just need to be controlled because violence will not get them very far.

News Flash there Rick, injustices doesn`t only happen to minorities, its time you get over that, Rodney King was a cracked out drunkin bum who refused to listen to the police and he got beat for it, but he did recieve millions which by the way he blew on drugs and partying! The blind cripled mentally retarted WHITE man in clare michigan shot in the back by cops and not even a slap on the hand for the cops, you tell me...................

Wealth and land distribution is a problem in Latin America but I don't see how that injustice is corrected by another probably greater injustice is the answer. In these cases "taking" is a euphemism for "stealing". Goverments have to devise a method of affording the poor with greater capability of climbing out of their situation. It is not a crime to be rich. It is a crime to steal those riches.
Mike Scavo

This reminds me of stories of The Old West land barons against the
farmers or sheep herders.

I THINK OBAMA SHOULD APOINT THE FIRST HISPANIC
JUDGE...

Dear Rick I know you see your self on the monter ever day and just as looking in a mirrow can't you see you are gaining weight don't you thin k you shold do somethig about it befoe it too late as in a Hart attack? that you can;t come back from just have you hart at interested as Dr Sanja about you condition and health what kind of shape are you in we would hate to loose you at such a young age I knwo what it is like to be heavy I only 5' 4' and I use to weith 250 when I stoped looking at the scales so I invented my on deal it call the swreaded wheet cearl diet 3 or 4 time a day and yo will fill full and it's good for yo and yo will loose all that wait in 3 months just 3 month give it a try for your Family do it for your Family not for you but for them and run on the treadmill for 1 hr and do exercise for 1 more her 2 hr total ok we need to keep an intelegent person aroung ok
Erick T Garcia

No the rich should be allowed to keep the land. Lets be serious, Brazil has moved towards a capitalist economy. If you want the lives of the people to improve, allow capitalism to progress like it did in America until you can safely begin diffusing power and protecting people. If you allow the poop to get the land just because the rich have too much, the poor will be unable to effectively run the land even if they can afford to run the land. What you would create is a failed socialist quagmire. in the attempt to help the less fortunate, you will end up screwing them for a longer period of time.

Hey Rick-here's the perfect solution. Let Texas leave the union on the condition it takes John Edwards and Newt Gingrich with them.

If you were to look at all that you have reported in the last 20 minutes.... war, same sex marriage, storms, fires, famine, economic woes, priestly photo scandals, etc., .....has anyone considered we the world are under judgement?

Watched your show today. Don't get the chance to see it often, but seems like every time I do you make a fool of yourself by saying something that reveals your lack of education. Today you said "as Yogi said, curiouser and curiouser". Anyone who has even a high school education knows that it was Alice who said that. Please just report the news, and if you must add color commentary, be sure of what you are saying.

Hi Rick. It is time to open a serious discussion about Marihuana.

I understand why you have to have a blog on all of these online communities but I personally don't have one or visit anyone's. I'm not interested in people doing their laundry or what new trick their dog learned. You get what I mean. What bothers me the most is the fact that all of these people are online writing and they can't even spell or use proper English. My biggest pet peeve is Twitter. Hello, people you don't TWEET, you TWIT!

I'm curious, if Vanessa Williams lost her Miss USA crown in the 1980's for posing nude in Playboy and the current Miss California posed nude as a 17 y/o, isn't precedent already established? Did both women sign a no-nude contract before their respective competitions?

legalizing marijuana would be a great mistake that would haunt us for generations–do you really want your bus driver operating a bus high–or what about the teacher teaching your child–or say –the neighbor who has an arsenal of weapons get high and let loose on the neighborhood–or perhaps the people on your job who WILL NOT tow the line when they are high–always paranoid–been there done that–hell lets just chill–we can do this later–heres one–you may think you are cool when you get high–but what about the people who you kids may visit–and by the way –have you seen people when they are high–red eyes, undo laughter, smelly etc–use your imagination. the sky is the limit if you can think it people will do it

I would like to know how this miss america thing can get so blown out of proportion? the pageant paid for her breast implants....so they have no right to complain about her photos. and by the way, those photos dont show any more or any less than the girls do when they parade around on stage in skimpy bathing suits...come on people.

Hello Rick !! I just wanted to say that once in a while i watch your show and i think your ok but you can do better. What i mean by that is your cool but slightly on the Fake side. Most of the time you act like a Under-cover Republican because every time I've watched your show your mostly critical on Democratic policy's and you also in a smooth little sneaky way criticise President Obama often. So i think you will be more liked if you moved your show to Fox network and join the Small Republican movement.