Rose Woodland, Tracy Byrnes, Monica Crowley
xfdfw AMERICAN-NIGHTLY-SCOR-00
<Show: AMERICAN NIGHTLY SCOREBOARD>
<Date: November 24, 2009>
ADVERTISEMENT
<Time: 19:00:00>
<Tran: 112401cb.225>
<Type: Show>
<Head: American Nightly Scoreboard for November 24, 2009 - Part
2>
<Sect: News; Financial>
<Byline: David Asman, Woody Johnson, Jeff Birnbaum, Doug Schoen,
Rebecca Rose Woodland, Tracy Byrnes, Monica Crowley>
<Guest: Jeffrey Schwartz, Tom Scott, Matt Brinckerhoff, Hakeem
Jeffries, Tamara Holder, Peter Guber>
<Spec: Politics; Economy>
But here of course what we're talking about is forced, compulsory seizures of properties that will be given to a private developer.ASMAN: And how many of those property dos you represent or do you think are out there?
BRINCKERHOFF: I represent about 22 percent of the southern three blocks of the footprint, about 10 property owners and condominium owners and tenants who live in that area and have lived in that area for years and who liked the area the way it was and have no desire to move, nor should they have to by government compulsion.
ASMAN: By the way, do we have pictures of that footprint, producer? The picture from the Google map?
All right, Rebecca, bottom line is, I don't believe we do. We can't show it. All right, we don't. But the fact is, in addition to the empty space, and there's a lot of empty space in these lots, there are also a lot of individuals who want to stay there.
And they are being forced not for the sake of some government project, but this is a wealthy private developer who wants a little more property. Aren't their rights as property owners more important or at least as important as his?
REBECCA ROSE WOODLAND, FOX BUSINESS CONTRIBUTOR: You know what happened here, the court of appeals of the state of New York, which is our highest court in the state, six to one, six judges to one decided that the property and the eminent domain possibility for the state -- it's not going to Brett Ratner. It is going to a state corporation, if you want to say, and then that corporation is then going to give it to Brett Ratner.
They decided that corporation had made a decision that the property was not being as useful as it could be for the state of New York and that decision was going to stand. So eminent domain is going to take that property and going to...
ASMAN: The person benefiting is a wealthy developer who wants to build a stadium.
WOODLAND: Well, you know what, but the state says and now the court says all the people will benefit because of the money and influx in the public use.
ASMAN: Do you believe that Matt?
BRINCKERHOFF: Well, there are two things. This is exactly what they said in Kelo, and we now know just a week ago...
ASMAN: Kelo is the Supreme Court decision that affected the people in New London, Connecticut.
BRINCKERHOFF: Right. Just week ago it was all over the press. They showed the vacant lots the weeds the feral cats that have now replaced what was a vibrant community. And the reason those properties were taken is to create jobs and economic stimulus for the Pfizer corporation.
Pfizer has announced that they are leaving, and the state officials are sitting there saying well, it didn't turn out the way we wanted. And that's exactly what we are concerned is going to happen here.
WOODLAND: Yes, but here I don't know that Brett Ratner is going to give up. The Nets are going to go to Brooklyn, and they are going to build some residential and office towers too. So that where...
ASMAN: Let's talk to somebody with political skin in the game. Assemblyman Jeffries what is do you think about all of this?
HAKEEM JEFFRIES, ASSEMBLYMAN: Well, you know, eminent domain is extraordinary government power, and it should only really be used in limited circumstances. It should only be used when there's a clear public benefit or absolute public use.
But in this particular instance what we're not seizing property of private home owners or businesses for purposes of creating a public school or a public hospital or a public roadway. We're seizing to it benefit a private developer who is bringing a basketball arena.
And when you look at sports arenas all across the country, it is just not clear. The evidence doesn't really exist that the economic development benefits that some may claim will result from the presence of the arena will actually ever be brought to bear in our community.
ASMAN: You're saying the court is dead wrong.
JEFFRIES: I think the court unfortunately was wrong in this decision.
WOODLAND: The court says not only are they bringing the arena but they're bringing residential properties, office space, they're bringing jobs, they're bringing commerce. The court says the public use specifics doesn't have to be just for the entire public use of the property, but public benefit. That's the court's decision.
ASMAN: Now, Matt you have argued a case in front of the Supreme Court of the United States in the past. Will this be taken -- this is the court of appeals. Will the next step be the U.S. Supreme Court?
BRINCKERHOFF: No, it won't in this case, because we first started in federal court and our federal fifth amendment claims have already been adjudicated, and these claims were brought under the New York state constitution.
ASMAN: So it's not an issue now?
BRINCKERHOFF: Not under the federal constitution. Our public use claims are finished. They have not yet taken the properties, and we will defend the actual taking of those properties. And we also intend...
ASMAN: How?
BRINCKERHOFF: Because of this. This is the problem. What the court said today is that it was ruling based on the record as it existed three years ago. And what we now know over the course of the last two months is that the arena itself would be a net money loser to the city of New York. This is an independent budget office report -- a $250 million loser.
We know that all of the other properties, the residential properties, the condominiums and the high-rises, are contingent on there being a market, which nobody knows if it will exist.
All we know we're getting is an arena and 12 to 14 acres of parking lots. And that's why we believe it will just like...
ASMAN: Well, we have not heard the last of this. Matt I'm sure we'll see you here again if you're kind enough to come back. Matt Brinckerhoff - - I think I got it right that time, thank you very much.
BRINCKERHOFF: You did.
ASMAN: Rebecca Rose Woodland and Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, thank you very much for being here. Appreciate it.
Coming up on deck Sarah Palin visiting new political hotspot. What makes the villages so attractive to political heavyweights like Palin and Mike Huckabee?
And what do you think about the Copenhagen summit on climate control? Is that summit a buy, a sell, or a hold? Text your answer to 369249, your answers coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASMAN: Navy Seals facing charges instead of getting a commendation. That story tops tonight's Two Minute Drill. Here to weigh in FOX News contributor Monica Crowley, Tamara Holder, our own Tracy Byrnes, and New York Jets owner Woody Johnson has been kind enough to stick around for us.
Well, three Navy Seals facing charges after capturing one of the most wanted, a terrible guy, a terrorist in Iraq. His name is Ahmad Hasheem Abed. He is the alleged mastermind behind that 2004 murder of the four Blackwater security guards in Fallujah. Remember that?
He told investigators, get this, he was punched by his captors and got a bloody lip as a result. Well, now the three Navy Seals face a military court-martial on assault charges instead of being commended for their efforts.
Monica, I can't think of anything worse.
MONICA CROWLEY, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: This is beyond outrageous, David. And one of the things that Al-Qaeda instructs their terrorist to go out into the west to commit jihad, acts of war against the west. One of the things that they instruct them to do is claim torture, claim abuse. So this guy a bloody lip. Big deal, big deal.
ASMAN: And going through court-martial of these guys. What do you think Woody?
WOODY JOHNSON, OWNER, NEW YORK JETS: The article I read on it, they didn't go through all of it. The guy could have done it to himself in the jail because he could have gone into the shower and did it.
ASMAN: But even if he got a bloody lip as a result of wrestling with these guys, does that deserve a court-martial?
JOHNSON: They talk about the data, the falsified testimony. And really that's what gets you in the government. It's not what you did, it's what you said you did under oath.
ASMAN: The cover up rather than the incident.
TAMARA HOLDER, ATTORNEY: I'm a criminal defense attorney, so I see these allegations all the time.
There are two problems here. The first, like you said, the making of the false statements. What did our soldiers do? What did they report? Did they lie? Maybe they just should have been straight up from the very beginning. I always tell my clients don't say anything, but if you're going to say something, tell the truth, because they'll find out.
The other issue is these prisoner pictures of or torture that we've been dealing with -- now our government is really clamping down on our soldiers and making sure...
ASMAN: If there's any room for slack, isn't this the case?
TRACY BYRNES, FOX BUSINESS CONTRIBUTOR: Heck, yes. These guys did a great thing and we're coming down on them on technicalities. What the heck is wrong with this picture?
CROWLEY: And this is also example of criminalizing war, going down a bad road.
ASMAN: Democrats are drafting a bill to tax stocks called the Let Wall Street Pay for the Restoration of Main Street Act of 2009. I swear that's the title of this bill.
It levees a tax on stock transactions and aims to raise $150 billion each year to pay for new jobs and cut the deficit. That's what it claims, Woody.
JOHNSON: I think this is perhaps dumbest thing I've heard of. Particularly if you want to create jobs and particularly manufacturing jobs, this is a sure way not to do it.
And we're not going to stop at 0.25 percent. Let's say we need another $600 billion. We raise it to 10 percent, won't be any jobs.
ASMAN: Not to mention what's going to happen with Wall Street on this.
HOLDER: Right. And also this $150 billion that they're seeking to make is not going to really affect this $1 trillion dollar deficit anyway, or $12 trillion.
ASMAN: You know what is going to happen. If they collect money they're just going to use it for something else. They're not going pay down the debt.
BYRNES: I would love to see Jaime Diamond get behind something like this. And let's not forget that Jaime Diamond was behind Obama and got him in the White House to begin with.
ASMAN: He's singing a little different tune now.
BYRNES: Clearly. The S P 500 is down 21 percent over the last 10 years. This will do nothing to help market gains.
CROWLEY: This is the way Democrats think. We want to create jobs and stimulate the economy. Oh, let's go with another tax. This is going to be the biggest economic killer and this is just...
BYRNES: They're not taxing just the rich. They're going to hit grandma...
CROWLEY: Everybody -- 60 percent of American people now own stocks.
ASMAN: You guys are getting fired up.
Sarah Palin continuing big book tour making a stop at the Villages. This is a Florida retirement community. The Villages, which gave her the star treatment during the 2008 presidential campaign has also hosted Mike Huckabee. It's seen as barometer of middle America.
So which better represents American voters, the Villages or The New York Times ? Woody Johnson?
JOHNSON: I think wherever Sarah Palin goes she's very popular. I spent a little time touring with her in Florida, and we went to Democrat areas and Republican areas, and she got a very, very good hearing.
ASMAN: Is she smart? Is she getting a raw deal from the media?
JOHNSON: She's getting a terrible deal. She's very smart.
HOLDER: I just don't understand why she's going to these grandma and grandpa communities. What are they going to do for her besides buy her book?
ASMAN: Hold on a minute -- grandma, grandpa, I resemble that remark. I didn't come from the Villages, but they're not that old these folks.
BYRNES: She's getting votes. Those people are going to get out and vote. Those people are mad as heck about this healthcare reform and now they are now voting.
CROWLEY: Tamara don't knock the golf cart until you've tried it.
The villages came out the see her during the campaign 60,000 people strong. She's selling her book.
ASMAN: All right, coming up on deck, President Obama's first state dinner featuring friends from Hollywood. With the president's approval ratings falling, does buyer's remorse extend to the president's base in Tinsel Town? Who better to ask than Peter Guber, a Hollywood legend himself, an a-lister if there ever was one. He's going to be joining us in just a second to tell us what's up.
ASMAN: A big night in Washington this evening as the White House prepares for first state dinner under the Obama administration. While the chefs prepare a meal of potato dumplings, green curried prawns, eggplant salad, pumpkin pie, a whole lot of stuff, the Obamas prepare to greet their guests.
And guess who is coming to dinner? Some of Hollywood's heavy hitters and the biggest Obama donors, the likes of Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Ari Emanuel, a lot more and more and more, and Steven Spielberg has already arrived. Actually Colin Powell is just there too.
But is Hollywood having as much buyer's remorse about President Obama as the rest of America seems to be? Who better to ask than Peter Guber. He is Academy Award-winning producer, sports owner, entertainment analyst, and good friend of Scoreboard we welcome once again. Peter, good to see you. Thanks for being here.
PETER GUBER, PRODUCER: Great to be here with you.
ASMAN: It's great to have you. I'm kind of surprised, frankly, that you're not in D.C. tonight. Why aren't you there?
GUBER: I'm not there. I went to the Clinton first one, his first state dinner. It's quite an event to go to. It's really amazing to be invited to that first state dinner.
I was at Bush's later dinners, but the first one is the one where it's payback time, it's game time, it's all the people that really were heavy hitters for the campaign and came out and supported the president that get paid back.
And very rarely does anybody turn down an invitation. In fact, when you get it, you tell somebody else I can't make to it your event tonight. I have to go to the president's home.
ASMAN: That's the biggest put down of all, I have to see the president.
But the fact is this country has had a lot of buyer's remorse, particularly among the independents, maybe not so much the liberal base. They are going to stay with Obama through thick and thin.
But is there any kind of buyer's remorse in Hollywood now about him?
GUBER: You know, Hollywood -- in Hollywood success has many fathers and failure is an orphan. And the reality is when you get the whiff of something going south, someone, some picture, some record, something else, everybody else kind of moves way. But right now they're operating by the Hollywood homily of the golden rule --he who has the gold makes the rule.
And they think Obama still has the gold. He's hope so anyways, so they follow his rule and they kiss the ring and come.
ASMAN: So they're just sticking by the power?
GUBER: I think this is an event. And Hollywood gleams on events. This is a major global event. The prime minister of India is coming. You have to have your sorry button on the wrong side not to understand this is the place you want to be if you want to be part of the currency whether political or entertainment or American.
ASMAN: All right, now, a little broader though than just the state dinner as we look at President and Mrs. Obama arriving at the party. Everybody looks so good in these things. That's one reason why I do like them. I have to admit I'm not crazy for pomp and circumstance, but people do look good when they go to these things.
But I know there was buyer's remorse about the Clintons. We saw that during this presidential election when Hillary Clinton was still running strong, Obama was sort of the second place the Avis, the kind of wannabe candidate. But a lot of people began dropping away from the Clinton.
So there has been a falloff of those power sources in the past in Hollywood, right?
GUBER: Yes, but you know, the Clintons shot their wad, no pun intended, over the eight years they were there and the years falling when they were still were in the limelight. Everybody wants something new, something fresh. And the idea Obama was the best new thing on the block at that point.
And I think that Hollywood as an institution, not as a geography. Hollywood is more than La Cienega and Wilshire. It stretches all the way to New York. The people in the institution that make the market in entertainment, music, film, television. And I think those folks have traditionally been more Democrat than liberal.
But they're not stupid. They know truthfully that whoever is in power, they've got to kiss the ring. Right now Obama is in power. And truthfully nobody really wants to move away from that wellspring of power and that wellspring of celebrity and the base that he brings.
ASMAN: Even though a good portion of America, particularly the independents, are moving away from obey ma right now.
GUBER: Yes, but you know, these folks have embraced Obama at an early phase in their career and actually feel responsible for helping lift him out of obscurity into the power base he's in, at least creative power base he's in.
I think you're still going to see a great deal of camaraderie and support among the entertainment community. And really there's nobody else on the alternative side to move towards to even offer as an alternative at this point.
ASMAN: All right. We're look at pictures, just so you know, of Steven Spielberg arriving there in Hollywood.
Peter, final question. There are some alternative Hollywood politicians or political operators. One I think of is Andrew Breitbart. We had Jim Caviezel on last week, the actor who sort of represents conservatives.
But are conservatives a constituency at all in Hollywood these days?
GUBER: Yes, they are. But a lot of times they're on the cover. They don't really come out in the same way.
ASMAN: Closet conservative.
GUBER: Yes, I think the conservatives do that.
But I think the reality is most of the people the president really vote the person. Over the years -- I've been in this business for 40 years, and at the end of the day they vote the person. I remember all the people voting for Reagan that were really Democrats. They all came out for Reagan.
And I think that the reality is that people do vote the person and the personage for the president a great deal more than they do for the rest of the party regulars, the Senate and House and local constituents.
ASMAN: You raised the issue it. Did you vote for Reagan, Peter?
GUBER: Yes.
ASMAN: You did? Wow, very interesting, a Reagan Democrat.
Peter Guber, great to see you, Peter.
GUBER: Hey, listen, after all, talk about Hollywood, he was Hollywood. And if you ever saw him tell stories, if you'd ever been in a room with him -- I used to meet with him and Fred Ryan, his chief of staff. And he was mesmerizing, he was clever, he was smart. He knew how to embrace even the most ardent person that was opposing him.
ASMAN: Peter Guber, great to see you, Peter. You always surprise us. Thanks for being here. Appreciate it.
GUBER: OK, bye-bye.
ASMAN: Coming up on deck outrage over Adam Lambert's performance at the American Music Awards. Now, is Lambert's deal worse than the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction? Remember that one?
And last chance to vote on Copenhagen summit on climate control --is that a buy, sell or hold? Text your answer to 369249, your answers coming right up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASMAN: It's time for buy, sell or hold. We take names and stories are in the news and treat them as if they're stocks. Would you buy, sell or hold them?
Good Morning America has cancelled a free concert by American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert after this performance at the American Music Awards. ABC says more than 1,500 people called to complain about some stuff that we probably can't show you here. The performance included simulated oral sex, Lambert was kissing another man.
So was this worse than Janet Jackson? Should the government fine ABC as some people say they should?
CROWLEY: I'm going to say they should.
ASMAN: The government should fine ABC?
CROWLEY: Here's where I agree with Adam Lambert. He said women performers have been pushing the envelope for a long time, Madonna kissing Britney Spears, Janet Jackson. They all got fined.
JOHNSON: Sell.
ASMAN: There you go. Sell, sell.
JOHNSON: Yes, I mean, I think the network should make its own rules.
HOLDER: I say hold because he did have rehearsals and they knew what was going on.
ASMAN: I say sell because the network had no idea he was going to go that far. Scoreboard says it's a sell.
All right, quickly, Victoria's secret -- OK, we don't have time for Victoria's secret. We'll do that one tomorrow. The Copenhagen summit on climate control. What do you think, Monica, buy, sell or hold?
CROWLEY: Such a sell. We're getting more and more skeptical science on global warming. Sell.
ASMAN: One sell.
JOHNSON: Sell. It's not going to work. They're trying to legislate for all over the world and different businesses and they simply don't have enough information.
ASMAN: Even though we like --
JOHNSON: We like our boots.
ASMAN: Wide shot. We believe in Tims but we don't believe in his summit.
HOLDER: I'm holding because I have to talk to Al Gore first.
ASMAN: All right I say it's a sell. I believe in my Tims, I don't believe in the summit. At home 95 percent voted sell, three percent buy, two percent hold.
Well, it is fortuitous that we have Woody Johnson here tonight, because tomorrow night -- we're not going show the boots again. I think we've given enough credit to this. Tomorrow night we have the best of all the Playmakers. I'm so fortunate to have worked with you over these past couple of years, Woody. It's just been great, and we've had some magnificent people to join us.
JOHNSON: Yes. We had Kissinger. That's like having Elvis. So it's been a lot of fun.
ASMAN: Well, tomorrow night we'll have the best of Playmakers.
We appreciate it. Thank you ladies for joining us. Thank you for joining us. We'll see you back here later. And until then we'll be keeping score for you.
END
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