5 p.m. ET
Brennan Hawkins, the missing 11-year-old Boy Scout, has been found alive and apparently well. What a happy ending!
When a child is missing, the media can be a critical tool in spreading the word and drumming up support for the volunteer effort, but no resource is as powerful nowadays as the Internet. Brennan's family maintained a website with photos and downloadable posters of the missing child, and hundreds of bloggers posted wishes of hope and prayers.
I went to Technorati almost immediately after the news broke, and found that bloggers were already posting the story. From parenting blogs like Blogging Baby to blogs written by concerned moms and dads, like Jenorama, I saw a real outpouring of emotion and support.
The web is also a terrific resource for helpful tips and tools to teach your kids. We have all been out camping or on day trips in the woods. Obviously Brennan was able to survive, thanks in part to Boy Scout training. Websites like "Equipped to Survive" offer some essential information for parents and young campers.
And finally, if your child is missing, there truly is no better resource than The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Their website takes you through the step by step tips of what to do in that traumatic time, and the first and obvious step is to call authorities immediately.
Web links:
- Find Brennan
- KSL TV
- Blogging Baby
- Jenoramama
- Single Mind
- Equipped to Survive
- National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
12 p.m. ET
As predicted, John Bolton didn't get an up or down vote yesterday. The GOP fell six votes shy of the 60-vote requirement.
It's looking like the recess appointment is President Bush's only option if he is serious about getting Bolton into the U.N. Today at noon we'll debate whether or not he should exercise that right over the July 4th holiday.
And we continue to watch the trial of Edgar Ray Killen, accused of murdering three civil rights workers in 1964. After the first day of deliberations the jury came back deadlocked. The judge has ordered them to keep working at a verdict.
I remember a similar case from the Cleveland area, a man by the name of John Demjanjuk who was accused of being a brutal Nazi guard during WWII. He was known as Ivan the Terrible during that war.
When he was arrested and extradited for trial there were mixed reactions. The very sight of him outraged some. I recall being at the airport in Cleveland when he was scheduled to fly to Israel for the trial. A large group of passengers refused to board and be on the same plane with him, and jeered at him as he passed.
But there were others who saw him as old and pitiful and thought the trial was a waste of time at this point in history. I wonder how Killen's community in Mississippi feels about his trial. As you see him sitting there in his wheelchair, falling asleep and gasping for air, you wonder...is justice coming too late? We'll discuss this, as well.
Join us for a great show.
E-mail us:
Maciulis@MSNBC.com