Technical Snafu

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Dear Viewers,

As luck would have it ...we had a technical problem last night and I hope you did not notice it. It also occurred in the worst possible segment for it to happen (of course!!) Here is what happened: for those of you who watched, you will recall that John Ellsworth was on our show. His son Justin was killed in action on November 13 in Iraq. John was on the show to talk about the dispute he is having with Yahoo — he wants his son's email and Yahoo thus far says no (see below for some e mails on the topic...and yes, randomly grabbed from the show account.) No sooner had I started the interview, that I lost all audio from John. I could not hear what he was saying about the dispute with Yahoo. Fortunately, he had much too say which gave the technical people lots of time to figure out the problem and fix it and fortunately I had done much research for the segment so I knew approximately what he would say. I was terrified we would not get the problem fixed — but terrified only because this is the last person in the world I would want to have a problem with — his son had just been killed!!! Why couldn't it happen during one of our reporters hits? Our reporters are used to things like this.....As for John Ellsworth, I just don't know what to say to someone who has just lost a family member. I feel so bad for them and words are so inadequate.

On a lighter note, I was happy to see Major Thole on our show. He flew the F/A 22 Raptor that I "chased" in an F-16 last summer. Like the pilot of my F-16, Major Thole is extremely nice, very confidant and very competent. He is also the one who gave me my "training" for being a passenger in the F-16 (althought I had also flown in one with the Thunderbirds a year earlier.) During the training, Major Thole explained that he would be flying the Raptor next to our F-16 at more than 500 mph but that he would not be very close. I raised my hand and asked, "how close?" He said, "not very....about 5 feet." I responded, "I would like you to know that you and I have a very different definition of what is "not close." But, despite the speed, the "closeness," I was never nervous because the pilots have a contagious sense of confidence.
As for the Raptor, I know there are arguments about how practical it is to have it in our military and whether we need it...and I will leave that for others to debate....but I will note this: I don't know if I have ever been so amazed before in my life. It is hard to believe a plane could be so different...so magnificent....and the Raptor is.

E-mail No. 1

Why is it necessary to consistantly refer to Dr. Corbin as "The Dentist"? I never heard Scott Peterson referred to as "The Salesman"
Dr. Jeff Just
An overly sensitive dentist

ANSWER: I understand your point...

E-mail No. 2

The good dentist won't be performing any more root canals for a long
long time.——He is a dead duck——merry Xmas Greta-

Johnny Las Vegas

E-mail No. 3

One of the main reasons for John Ellsworth not to have access to his son's emails is that it violates the privacy of other people who wrote emails with the expectation that their communication would be private.

He is wrong in seeking the emails. Why does he need them? He Justin wanted his father to have his emails he would have sent copies to him.

Shelley Davis

E-mail No. 4

I don't think Justin's email should be turned over to his family. He
may have written personal things to other he would not want his family
to see. His family should have saved the emails he wrote to them.
If they did not, I assume their own email server could provide them
with the mail addressed to them.

Cynthia

E-mail No. 5

Greta:
Your interviews of the former San Quentin inmates bordered on racism and homophobia. Last night both former inmates were black and tonight you interviewed a gay man who was the blackest person I have ever seen. How about some fairness and balance next time and interview a white guy?
Jim Greene
San Francisco

E-mail No. 6

Greta,

All the father had to do is log in with his son's user ID and password,
and there are ways of getting this this info. FACT: Any Email program
i.e. MS OUTLOOK, can be configured to receive email from any server. Or
in Yahoo's case, go to their webpage and find a webmail link. The PC he
used to retrieve his mail from might have the passwords stored in a
cookie on the hard drive and can be retrieved.

If he was close to his son, He should at least know the USer ID, then
using the password retrieval feature, he could get the password, they
usually ask for personal info to verify it is the person, info his dad
should have....I am always retrieving passwords, I have so many myself..

If the account was suspended after he passed away, then that is another
matter. I hope Yahoo does the Patriotic thing and slide on their rules
for this poor family.

David Brancecum
Chester, IL

E-mail No. 7

Hi Greta,
I know it’s hard for you to understand why John Ellsworth wants his son’s emails so badly, but when you lose a child you long to read every single thought they ever put to paper. It somehow makes them seem alive again.
I lost my youngest son in 1992. He was killed by an oncoming driver one block from work. It will soon be 13 years and I will never get over losing him. I totally agree with what Sharon Rocha said about closure when she’s lived her life. I said the day my son died that I would call his name on my death bed and I feel sure I will . . . But back to messages, emails, etc. I talked my son’s fiancé into letting me read some of his notes to her in high school. I regretted it because they belonged to them, not to me. In no way did it change my feelings for him (NEVER!) If anything it made my heart melt. But he didn’t write them for me to read.
Before I close I want to tell you that you have no idea what a wonderful thing you’re doing by simply asking, what was your son like? It shows caring and interest and there is nothing a parent likes more than to talk about their children, especially one who has passed on.
I think Yahoo! should give them up.
Sincerely,
Sharon Bowman

E-mail No. 8

Greta,
As the wife of a LtCol in the Air Force and an F-16 pilot for the last 16 years, I was quite disappointed in your report on the new Raptor. I feel like you totally skipped or forgot about the past 20 or so years that the F-16 was the first line of defense for our country and the men who have flown that jet in defense of our nation! It just seemed so one-sided and negative towards "us". First of all, we are all on the same team and second of all, you were slack in leaving out the fact that the F-16, at this point, is still the best Operational War Machine we have and continues to deploy to war zones with the best pilots ever seen to date!!! The F-16 has been coming out on top for quite a few Wars now and you just didn't even mention those facts. Not to mention the fact that about $300 million has been spent on each F-22 and about $25 million on each F-16, so I should hope the Raptor can out perform the Falcon!!! ( Of course it can; or otherwise that sure is a lot of tax payer money wasted!) I just think you should have mentioned more facts about the F-16 and given more credit to a group of guys who have been working very hard and sacrificing a lot for the last couple of decades. Maybe next time you could remember, we are all on the same team and give our guys and our airplane the recognition they so greatly deserve!!!! Also, I hope you treasure that time you spent in the seat of that F-16. You are the first person I've ever seen be so nonchalant about such a coveted prize. The most any of us AF pilot wives have been able to do is have a Taxi-ride (which by the way was very awesome). So you should at least say something to your audience about the experience that was positive and realize what an honor it was to be in that seat!!!
Disappointed in Panama City, FL
Trina

ANSWER: I have said many nice things about the F-16 and the pilots. I did a show on the Thunderbirds who fly the F-16 in their performance ...and I flew with a Thunderbird pilot. I love the F-16...but it is a very different plane than the Raptor. Incidentally, I love the pilots of the F-16 — they are amazing!

E-mail No. 9

Dear Greta

You lucky person. Getting to ride in a F-16 !

I loved that segment! It was great (but not as great as being in the plane)

Al Newberry

Harrison, AR

E-mail No. 10

Good Evening,
I just watched the story about Justin Ellsworth and his father trying to get Justins Yahoo account. I am here to tell you that if I had Justins full name, screenname ( I think its j5ellsworth), birthdate, and zipcode, I can 'crack' the account for Mr. Ellsworth. I am very good at this sort of thing and can guarantee success. It is not right for Yahoo to keep the account of this fallen hero. I can help.
Thank You,
Jeff Downs

E-mail No. 11

Hi Greta
Your guest tonight, the ex-cop, is full of it. I was the Associate Warden in charge of that unit.
He was only there a few days. What would expect from a dirty cop? The truth? He violated his sworn oath and the public trust. There is no more important aspect of a peace officer than public trust.
My my, he had to clean his own cell. Who does think is supposed to do it? The prison
Chaplain.
The place was warm dry, windows were not broken, new heating and air moving equipment had recently been installed and each cell has a warm air vent and exhausted out the cell front.
Bed linens and bath towels are changed weekly and the records are available to confirm proof of that practice. Apparently he was transferred out before the "sheet exchange" or he slept through it.
Richard Allen Davis arrived about 11:00 PM and the prison was locked down for the night. I don't recall the date, but it was during the eclipse of the full moon and he arrived at the height of the eclipse. I was at the prison at that time and commented Davis's crime is so horrendous and Good Lord is so disgusted with him that He will not even let Davis take a last look at a full moon.
Your guest had nothing but lies to say.
Richard A. Nelson
Associate Warden, Retired
Sacramento, CA

ONE FINAL NOTE: I actually tried to find some emails that supported John Ellsworth's quest for the e mails....I could not find any...that does not mean none exist..but rather that I just did not see any...

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