60 minutes

What an episode this past Sunday! If you’re a Republican Yankee fan, you probably wouldn’t have like it. But me? I loved every story. I liked it so much I’m going to give you a synopsis and links to watch each of the three stories.

Story 1—Nightmare at Guantanamo. Story about a German national who was picked up after 9/11 in Pakistan. He was brought to Afghanistan, then Guantanamo and held for five years. There was a letter in his file from US intelligence saying there was no connection to Al Qaeda and he was no threat to the United States. After that letter he was held another 3.5 years.

He gives credible information about being tortured. It’s credible because it’s detailed and consistent with what other prisoners have claimed as standard practice there. It’s torture because…well, check it out and see if you think you’d consider it torture if it was being done to you.

Even after his release and never being found to have done anything wrong, he is not allowed in the United States, as he is considered an enemy combatant.

The way this administration is abusing power under the guise of protecting us is disgusting. I would like it if our representatives in the House and Senate would apply a little more pressure to bring some kind of accountability into play. Watch the full story here.


Story 2—Al Gore; the earth’s PR man. He’s won a Nobel Prize and an Oscar for his film about the environmental peril into which we’ve put the Earth. He’s put his money where his mouth is, too. All of his money from the movie and the Nobel Prize—and some of his own—have contributed to what will be a $300 million ad buy to raise awareness and spur action on global warming. I haven’t seen the movie yet. I really need to. Maybe you do, too.

60 Minutes Story on Al Gore.
Al Gore’s movie, An Inconvenient Truth.
The We Campaign, by the Alliance for Climate Protection.

Story 3—Bill James: Baseball stat guru. The guy has changed the way teams evaluate a player’s worth. He is the godfather of modern baseball statistical analysis. He doesn’t aim to replace scouts or create a formula for team chemistry, just provide a better way to look at how to judge a player’s performance. He was a free agent guru who published his analysis annually in an increasingly popular Bill James Baseball Abstract before the Red Sox hired him to be a staff consultant. Smart move. Smart guy. (Why they needed Bob Costas to say this is beyond me.)

Watch the Bill James story here.