Return with us now to the glory days of journalism!

They ran "All the President's Men" on cable few nights ago.

For all of you kids out there, the 1976 movie is the story of how two reporters brought down a crooked president.

And like all big stories, it had a Miami connection!

I've seen the movie a dozen times perhaps, but each time I view it is like the first time.

It still gives me goosebumps!

Robert Redford is impeccable as Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward hot on the trail of the Watergate conspirators.

Here's one of the great scenes in the movie where Woodward learns who Charles Colson is and where he also learns that one needs to have some knowledge of Spanish when calling the three-oh-five.

Oh, another note for all you kids out there. That thing that Woodward is talking into is called a dial telephone.

The Great Python Debate continues

Amidst a lot of fanfare, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission held a little photo op out on the edge of the Everglades last month and announced "a special hunting season targeting Burmese pythons on state lands in South Florida March 8 through April 17."

The story took up some space in newspapers and filled about 2 and a half minutes on evening news shows.

But most experts like Frank J. Mazzotti, an associate professor of wildlife ecology and conservation at the University of Florida, believe that, "eradication of Burmese pythons is no longer an achievable goal."

Mazzotti thinks population control of the invasive reptiles is a more realistic solution.

NYTimes.com has posted a debate between Mazzotti and two other reptile experts on "what should be done to control the pythons’ spread."

And there are a quite a few well-informed reader comments as well.

And a reminder that next Sunday, Animal Planet will air a documentary on Florida's python problem titled "Killer Aliens."

Miami Go Go!

Found this groovy 1960's ad for National Airlines that features shots of hip young things dancing their cares away on what looks to be an Ocean Drive balcony! There are also shots of the Fountainebleau and Eden Roc. It's nice to see that so little has changed since then! ;)

Rick Sanchez makes "The List U Don't Want 2 Be On"

CNN anchor Rick - "I needed a drink to steady my nerves" - Sanchez, has a little feature on his afternoon show called "The List U Don't Want 2 Be On".

I'm just guessing here, but I'd say if you want to be perceived as a serious and credible cable news anchor, then you'd probably want to avoid ending up on, not only a "list," but a cable comedy show that highlights your stupidity.

But that's exctly what happened Monday when Comedy Central's Jon Stewart analyzed Sanchez's weekend performance during CNN's coverage of the Chilean earthquake and the subsequent tsunami warnings.

As Stewart put it, Sanchez reported on the tsunami warning the way a coked-up guy at a party would explain the strength of ants.

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The Uninformant
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And for those of you who just can't get enough of Sanchez making a fool of himself, here's a classic clip of Ricky getting tasered for some unexplained reason.

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Today's News of the Absurd...

....comes to us from California, a state that's about five minutes away from declaring bankruptcy.

A judge in Yolo County, Calif. has sentenced Robert Preston Ferguson to 7 years and 8 months in state prison for stealing a $3.99 bag of Tillamook shredded cheese.

Ferguson was a candidate for a life sentence under California's "three-strikes" law but the DA's office was only asking for 11 years.

In any event, Mr. Ferguson will be cooling his heels in stir for the next 8 years, - at a cost of about $32,000 a year to California taxpayers.

Last month the L.A. Times reported that, "U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy [in a speech to Los Angeles lawyers] criticized California sentencing policies and crowded prisons Wednesday night, calling the influence that unionized prison guards had in passing the three-strikes law "sick." Said Kennedy:

“California now has 185,000 people in prison at $32,500 a year each, ”he said. He then urged voters and officials to compare that expense to what taxpayers spend per pupil in elementary schools. “The three-strikes law sponsor is the correctional officers’ union and that is sick!” Kennedy said of the measure mandating life sentences for third-time criminal offenders.

Rick Sanchez struggles with the metric system

Rick Sanchez, former Channel 7 anchor and now CNN anchor/buffoon made a complete ass of himself this weekend during CNN's coverage of the Chilean earthquake. Actually, he makes an ass of himself everyday, but as Gawker notes, this weekend he was "more assy than usual."



At one point Sanchez interrupts Georgia Institute of Technology professor Kurt L. Frankel to ask, "Nine meters in English is what?"

That must have gone over real big with CNN's international audience since the metric system is the most widely used system of measurement in the world.