Transcripts For CURRENT Full Court Press 20130814

Give us a call at 86655press, join us online at on twitter at bpshow, and of course, be our friend on facebook at facebook billpressshow. Give you a a kind of a little glimpse of how busy things are today. President obamas big day yesterday, it was a rainy day in Marthas Vineyard. He picked up lunch and then he and the first lady went out for dinner, and played a little basketball in the afternoon. And i hope he got a long nap in. The department of justice filed a to blocked the merger of two more air lines. The department of justice said this is just one merger too far. Will it fly in found out on current tv. At 9 eastern. Im a slutty bob hope. The troops love me. Tv and radio talk show host Stephanie Miller rounds out currents morning news block. Youre welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. vo sharp tongue. Excuse me . vo quick wit. And yes, president obama does smell like cookies and freedom. vo and above all, opinion and attitude. Really . this is the kind of stuff they say about something they just pulled freshly from their [bleep]. You know what those people are like. What could possibly go wrong in eight years of george bush . My producer just coughed up a hairball. Sorry. Just be grateful current tv doesnt come in smellovision oh come on the sweatshirt is nice and all, but i could use a golden lasso. vo only on current tv. Cenk off air alright in 15 minutes were going to do the young turks i think the number 1 thing than viewers like about the young turks is that were honest. They know that im not bsing them for some hidden agenda, actually supporting one party or the other. When the democrats are wrong, they know im going to be the first one to call them out. Unacceptable is how washington continues to screw the middle class over. Cenk off air i dont want the middle class taking the brunt of the spending cuts and all the different programs that wind up hurting the middle class. Cenk on air you got to go to the local level, the state level and we have to fight hard to make sure they cant buy our politics anymore. Cenk off air and they can question if im right about that. But i think the audience gets that, i actually mean it. Cenk on air 3 trillion dollars in spending cuts narrator uniquely progressive and always topical, the Worlds Largest online news show is on current tv. Cenk off air and i think the audience gets, this guys to best of his abilities is trying to look out for us. Only on current tv [ theme music ] announcer broadcasting across the nation, on your radio, and on current tv, this is the bill press show. Bill the department of justice says no, no, no to the planned merger between American Airlines and usair. Is this good for consumers . Good morning, everybody. What do you say . Hello, hello. Great to see you today. Here we go. Launching the full court press this wednesday morning on your local progressive talk radio station, good morning, and welcome all of you radio listeners. Launching also on current tv the day before the curtain comes down on current tv here. And if you are watching us on current, thank you for joining us as well. Good to have you with us whether you are listening or watching, and to tackle the big stories of the day to the extent that anything ever happens in august. We have got it covered from our studio on capitol hill in washington, d. C. Well tell you what is going on, thats our job. Tell us what you think about it all. 86655press. You are not shy, never have been, so dont be today. Give us a call at 8665577377, and certainly if you dont have time for the call, just shoot us a quick tweet on twitter at bpshow, and on facebook at facebook billpressshow. Mommy look who the cat dragged in, back from a couple of days off, peter ogburn here. Hey, hey, hey. Here with this morning with dan henning. Good morning. Dan henning fly a little later this morning, peter will be here to pick up the load. It right be a little heavier. Woe. Woe. Because theres more people in the room. Yeah, well let that one slide. And alicia cruz on the phones. And siprion bolling as always. Zip rei dont know brought the nats through tonight four in a row. It got a little scary last night because of the rain delay. I got in late last night, my flight was delayed, so i was listening to it in the car on the way home. But it all turned out well. Bill they beat the giants. They beat the giants. Bill they are a tough team. It is interesting, in the Washington Post this morning, just to show you what washington is like in august, the transcript was released by the university of virginia yesterday, back on august 11th in the oval office, Richard Nixon and hr haulederman talking business in the oval office. And nixon says anything else knew . Hallederman, no. And then there is a long pause, and nixon says august is a really dull month. He said i was looking at the news last night, everything was dull, the only thing was [ inaudible ] was hitting. 500. And nixon says, well, the world needs a day off. There it is the month of august. I love it. Bill yeah, but it wasnt a day off for the people in new jersey. It was primary day in new jersey. And as expected, the major of newark, cory booker slams it out, wins with 61 of the vote. And he said last night, were moving forward. I want to make sure you know if i am your u. S. Senator, the direction will not be right or left, it will be with going forward. Bill forward and he is the next United States senator from new jersey, no doubt about it. Uhhuh. Bill so frank hult the congressman from new jersey got 20 , i think. And he was the closest one. So it was squeaker. Bill yeah. Coming up bob cusack from the hill will be here as a friend of bill in the last hour. We will wake her up early, Maxine Waters from california joins us a little bit later on the program, and corey dade from the root as well. And Edward Snowden speaks out about the media. But first announcer this is the full court press. Overhead lines making news on this wednesday. The [ inaudible ] campaign had to pay off at Marthas Vineyard yesterday as president obama continued his vacation. He had fried shrimp, oysters, onion rings, and french fries for lunch, and then went to play basketball to work it off afterward. Chickens are more productive than some members of congress. Thats according to john lewis who talked about inaction on the hill with yahoo news. He said growing up on the farm taught him a lot of things, one of them is chickens can lay eggs. Bill that is a classic story. I have heard him tell that story many times. And when he was a kid he used to practice preaching to chickens in the yard. Nice. Bill yeah, he is a preacher too. And he has a very, very funny story, and he always ends by comparing the members of congress to chickens. The quarterback of washingtons nfl team graces the cover of gq magazine. And Robert Griffin the third, better known as rg3 revealed he has never tasted alcohol. He says when he retires and has nothing to do but sit in his big house all day, thats when hell have his first drink with his wife. Bill hard to believe he didnt even have a beer in or a glass of champagne at his wedding . Come on. I think you can loosen up a little bit. Yeah, i would agree with that. Bill all right. Rg3, i dont know. I believe that as much as i believe that broccoli is president obamas favorite food. Not that he doesnt eat broccoli, but to go to a restaurant and say i want to broccoli, thats all i want. Main course, broccoli. I dont know. So interesting where he start this morning. Start and get your comments on the New York Times yesterday had a little interview with Edward Snowden. The first time he has spoken out since he left and wasnt a full interview, but they did get him some comments on the media. The first time he has spoken out since he left the airport, and is in his temporary new digs somewhere in russia, we dont even know where. But anyway he was asked, the basic question and interesting question, why did he go to the guardian . Why go to a british newspaper . Why go to you know, not a worldwide known publication . Why not go to the New York Times . Why not abc news, or nbc news, or wall street journal or whatever. And Edward Snowden said theres a very good reason why he did because he doesnt trust the us media, and he thinks they have not been doing their job, especially since september 11th. Wasnt a long interview, as i said. Here is the first line of basically a paragraph response, quote, Edward Snowden, what he thinks about the media, he says after 9 11 many of the most Important News outlets in america advocated their role as a check to power. The journalistic responsibility to challenge the exests of government, and they did so for fear of being seen as unpatriotic, and punished in the market during a period of heightened nationalism. You know what, whatever you think about Edward Snowden, i think he is absolutely right on in those comments, in fact, dare i say it, you have heard me make the same point here on this program many times how disappointed i have been in the media. Lets go back to those days after september 11th. Clearly we were struck. We had a right to strike back, and a right to find out what was going on, but in this fervor of patriotism, socalled, and nationally. At the time, there is a lot of stuff that happened that should never have happened, and the main stream media was afraid of being too critical of some of the things the government was doing at the time because of being accused of being unpatriotic. What about the patriot act . Members of congress didnt do their job. But the media didnt do its job either. And the patriot act was all of this stuff that the fbi could never have gotten through congress at any other time, because it really did infringe on our liberties, and they took it up in front of the senate and congress, and basically told them, you either pass this or you are on the side of osama bin laden. But the media didnt expose this for really what it was at the time, and then you move on to the war in iraq, and, again, i i mean, i sound like a broken record, repeating some of the stuff that snowden is saying, but at the time, all of that talk about all of the lies we heard from the bush administration, it was the job at the people at that White House Briefing to kick the tires and challenge the assertions, and get us the truth, and they never did. They never challenged weapons of mass destruction, to point out we didnt find out there werent any until we invaded the country. Yeah, it was too late. Bill everybody repeated this Mushroom Cloud crap from condy rice, as if it were true. And colin powell talked about this mobile missile launchers that they have he even had a drawing of them, that they could move ash the country, the whole thing. And didnt exist. And there were voices at the time, there were former un inspectors at the time, who were saying we havent seen any evidence of weapons of mass destruction, and the media didnt do its job. And it isnt today. How do we know what the nsa is up to, we didnt fine out from the Washington Post or the New York Times. Right . Uhhuh. Bill so i dont blame him for not trusting the American Media, and i think that it gets back to the question about and i have been in this debate with with many friends, well if he really thought was something was wrong with what nsa was doing, then he should not have blown the whistle, he just should have gone through the proper channels. Yeah. Now, imagine what reception snowden would have got if he had gone to the nsa leadership, or if he had gone to the cia or the white house. Thank you very much, we appreciate your concern. Here have a seat in the back of this unmarked car. Bill yeah. Or imagine if he had gone to a lot of the main stream media. They wouldnt have touched it. So i got to tell you, when i see my colleagues in the media not doing their job and too often it is because just as he said they are afraid of being painted as antiamerican as unpatriotic, or as antithe current president of the United States, and so they just or they are afraid of maybe not getting invited to the next Cocktail Party at the white house, or not invited on air force one, his comment about the media by Edward Snowden i think is right on. Your comments . 86655press, lets talk about it this wednesday morning on the full court press. Announcer live on free speech tv on september 3rdrd. Visit freespeech. Org to learn more. This is the bill press show. Did anyone tell the pilgrims they should selfdeport . No, they said make us a turkey and make it fast. laughter . She gets the comedians laughing. Thats the best thats hilarious. And the thinkers thinking. Okay, so there is wiggle room in the Ten Commandments is what youre telling me. Shes joy behar. Ya, i consider you jewtalian. Okay, whatever you want. Who plays kafka . Who saw kafka . Who ever saw kafka . laughter . Asking the tough questions. Chris brown, i mean you wouldnt let one of your daughters go out with him. Absolutely not. You would rather deal with ahmadinejad then me . Absolutely singing i take lipitor, thats it. Are you improving your lips . laughter . When shes talking, you never know where the conversation is going to go. It looks like Anthony Wiener is throwing his hat in the ring. His what in the ring . His hat. Always outspoken, joy behar. And the best part is that current will let me say anything. What the hell were they thinking . Only on current tv. Announcer connect with the bill press show on twitter. Follow us at bpshow, and tweet using the hashtag, watching bp. This is the bill press show. Bill here we go, talking about Edward Snowdens comments on the American Media. Pretty critical on the main stream media, if you will. By the way we mentioned at the top of the hour, cory booker winning the primary in new jersey yesterday. And bill deblazeo is now leading the back for the mayor of new york city over christine quinn, and Bill Thompson, and Anthony Weiner, who has fallin to fourth place. See, the boost from the bill press show has put him on top. Christine quinn was invited to come on the show. She declined. She will change her mind after seeing that poll. Edward snowden saying that the United States media is not doing his job. Hairy pop says i remember what was done to helen thomas by her peers. She would wellknown for asking really tough questions. Bill yeah, she was booed and put in the back row, and they raised so much hell they put her back in the front row. And Edward Snowden could have gone to outlets including you, bill, before going overseas. Bill thats a good point, but maybe didnt know who we are. And the guardian has that good reach too. Andre is calling from columbus, ohio. Good morning. Caller i agree with him. And i just wanted to say, i heard in canada, the media and the news outlets have to report true and accurate news. If they dont they can lose their license. I wish Something Like that could be passed here in america. Bill i never heard about that, and i dont know how you enforce that either i have never heard about that in canada. Caller i saw something on 60 minutes, and where i seen it at. Bill im check it out. If that were the case in this country, i agree i think a lot of people would lose their license. Lena good morning. Caller good morning. I disagree with snoweden. I think the media has not been tough enough on him. Earlier he said he joined the service because of what happened in 9 11, so mr. Snoweden, which is it. Bill do you think what he is saying about the American Media is wrong . Thats the issue here. Do you think the American Media doing its job . Caller the American Media is basically corporately owned. Bill then it sounds like you agree with snowden. Caller no, i dont. Bill well, if they are corporately owned, do you think they are being honest and asking tough questions . Caller it just depends. Bill no, i think the answer is no. Announcer this is the bill press show. You must be high. I think the number one thing that viewers like about the young turks is that were honest. I think the audience gets that i actually mean it. Youre putting out there something that youre proud of. Journalists want the the story and they want the right story and the want the true story. You can say anything here. I spent a couple of hours with a hooker. Your mistake was writing a check. She never cashed it the war room. Compared to other countries with tighter gun safety laws, our death toll is just staggering. The young turks. The top bankers who funneled all the money to the drug lords, no sentence. Theres just no justice in that. Viewpoint. Carl rove said today that mitt romney is a lock to win next pope. Hes garunteeing it. Joy behar say anything. Is the bottom line then that no white person should ever, ever, ever use the n word . Yes only on current tv. Announcer starting live on free speech tv on september 3rdrd. Learn more on billpressshow. Com. This is the bill press show. Bill it is wednesday august 14th, good to have you with us here on the full court press. I want to tell you about the Justice Departments action against the airline latest airline proposed Airline Merger, and also continue our conversation on the news of the day, and Edward Snowdens comments on the media here on the full court press. Remember your call is welcome at 86655press, but first i have been telling you and warning you about Identity Theft and telling you that it is everywhere, here is a story out of kansas city, a woman conducted of mail fraud and aggravated Identity Theft, using phony paystubs and other falsefied information to obtain bank contracts, apartments and cars. She defrauded at least 11 landlords, and three car dealerships. Got to be protected or you could be a victim yourself. I am with lifelock ultimate. Even monitors your bank accounts, but of course lifelock services cant protect you or your bank account if you are not a member. You can fix that by visiting lifelock. Com or calls, and mention press 10, and you can get 10 off of your membership. The number to call is 18003565967. Peter . Yeah, if you want to join in this conversation, sheila says, well, i disagree with snowedens actions, i do agree that all media is lacking, not just for the United States. There is no more true reporting. Which i dont necessarily agree with. Bill no no true, but there are too many people that are afraid of being branded or painted as being unpatriotic, without doing their due diligence, and our job is to not just take everything people tell us as the gospel truth, but to challenge it. And one other point, dr. Johnson says i agree the u. S. Media outlets dont do their job. It has become more entertainment than actual news, which is bill another good point. Absolutely. Bill kevin in chicago. Caller hey, bill, how are you doing . Bill great, thank you. Bill what liberal media . Come on, lets face it. Continually repeat the lies over and over again, and get somebody like Rush Limbaugh with the daily rail about the liberal media. If we would have had a liberal media we would have found all of this stuff out. Alec was here last week in chicago, the first day, thursday, didnt even didnt even get a blip on the 10 00 news, bill. Not a blip. You had a mass protest downtown chick, and not a blip. Bill ill give you another one, kevin, i learned from a friend of mine, there is a big conference in washington happening right now of drones drone manufacturers from all over. There are 6,000 people there, and with all of what we are doing with drones, do you think theres any Media Attention about these drone manufacturers here in town . Zip . Zero. Caller you are the liberal media, bill, and you just informed us. Snowden was right on, and the problem is, is he embarrassed the United States, and the people of this country cant handle the fact when they have to face the reality that their government is this corrupt organization that will do and say anything to get what they want. Bill got it kevin. Yeah, absolutely. Appreciate hearing from you. Again, if we depended on the Washington Post, New York Times, or whatever the media, we would have never known about nsa. Mother jones does a great job. They really do. They are not part of the establishment media, but they cant find out everything. You know . They cant do it all. Susan from kirkland, illinois. Caller hi, i think snoweden had the right to tell the truth. I have to admit im a progressive, but i watch fox news every day just to observe a train wreck. Bill it is good to know what the enemy is saying. Caller its very simple if there is a d after somebodys name, you can trust them, and if theres an r, i think they are full of crap. And fox news is like the national enquirer, and they are kind of on the same level, so i dont but its entertaining, i like how bill oh riley thinks he is popular and has so many good ratings, and i think most people watch that just to irritate themselves. I really do. Bill i watch fox news partly just to see how they inflate issues and make up things that are not like stories that they will they will take any little thing and think they are turn it into the latest antiobama scandal, crisis. I think its funny sometimes. I did something i havent done in a very, very long time. I was flying back last night on jet blue. And you can watch tv on your flight. So i watched some of Sean Hannitys show bill oh, my god. And it was just the dumbest issue, and then i realized that i was getting looks from people next to me. And i realized oh, crap, they think and i wanted to say i promise im just watching for the train wreck, but it is a total bogus issue. Bill remember acorn . Yeah. Bill still, and that organization doesnt even exist anymore, and they are still talk about it on fox news. Something else that bares to mention here, doing our job as the liberal media, and this is me, the number one critic of eric holder, two days in a row we has done things that made sense. Two days ago he gave the speech in San Francisco, where he said this maximum minimum sentencing we have been practicing is really making maters worse not better, and were going to stop forcing it at the federal level. Good for him on that issue, and yesterday the department of justice said no, were going to stand up, were going to court. Were going to try to block this latest merger in the airlines, and, you know, as we have seen lately, the airlines, rather than compete in the marketplace, they just gobble up another airline, which enables them, of course, to cancel flights not i dont mean cancel flights, but cancel lines and reduce service to certain cities, put fewer flights in the air, and of course, raise prices, and raise fees, and you have to pay for just about everything its not just the base price of getting a flight. Bill yeah, no more. So what is interesting is that after they allowed and didnt say anything, though, about the merger of delta and northwest, or united and continental, on this one they stood up and said basically this is a bridge too far, we are not were going to fight this. Joe alioto, im just curious because there was a famous joe alioto i double checked it. This guy is an attorney in hawaii. Bill okay. Well could be. His son, joe alioto, who i knew as an attorney in San Francisco, could have moved to hawaii, any way joe alioto is an attorney who has been representing consumers fighting the airlines for years and years. He said boy, were glad to see this, but it took them a long time. Im certainly glad to see that the department of justice has checked in on what has been going on in the Airline Industry for the last just very few years. Bill yeah. So the question is well talk later in the program with some of our guests, whether or not this is a good move on the part of the department of justice or not. I think it is. I think in the end, consumers get the short ebb of the stick here when it comes to the benefits, if there are any, of these airlines these big Airline Mergers. I have even seen service get with all of these mergers, i havent seen service get better or prices go down. So good for good for the department of justice. Airlines vow they are going to try to fight it and try to go ahead with the merger. Its the full court press on wednesday. When we come back, corey dade from the root on maximum minimum sentencing and on the stop and frisk policy in new york city. Announcer this is the bill press show. You know who is coming on to me now . You know the kind of guys that do reverse mortgage commercials . Those types are coming on to me all the time now. Laughing and the thinkers thinking. Ok, so theres wiggle room in the Ten Commandments, thats what youre saying. You would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. Absolutely. And so would mitt romney. vo shes joy behar. And the best part is that current will let me say anything. What the hell were they thinking . Announcer get social with bill press. Like us at facebook billpressshow. This is the bill press show. Bill fifty minutes before the top of the hour. Clinton yates, columnist for the Washington Post joins us here in studio in the next hour of the full court press. Right now the moral mondays protest continue. No longer in the State Capitol down in North Carolina, but moving around the state, because the legislature is out of session, and the most recent protest directed against the suppression of Voting Rights in North Carolina, signed in to law by the governor, raising a lot of attention nationwide, because it is hardly the only state to do so. Corey dade is contributing editor from the root, joining us on the news line this morning. Hey, corey. Good to talk to you. Hi, bill. Bill so what does this mean . It means a lot. We have seen these voting restricted enacted in a number of states over the last few years, but usually they are enacted as individual pieces of legislation. This time what were seeing is all of these different restrictions passed in a single omnibus bill. So the Republicancontrolled Legislature went whole hog here. You have the voter id requirement, of course, which requires photo id of all voters when they go to the polls, but the legislation also goes much further than that. It eliminates sunday voting. It restricted early voting. It stops the sort of preregistration of 16 and 17 year olds in high school. Basically all of the ways in which or many of the ways in which North Carolinaians have some to vote. Early voting, more than half, fully more than half of North Carolina voters voted early in 2012 and in 2008, and while the main, sort of thrust of what a lot of the News Coverage is on how this has a huge effect on the minorities, but also half of the state voted early. So this is a huge problem. Bill of course there must have been massive voter fraud in North Carolina to propel this kind of legislation, right . [ laughter ] well, if you count about 121 problems or suspected fraud issues over the last election cycle out of, you know bill millions of voters. Millions of voters, yes. And by the way none of those were prosecuted. So as the saying goes its a solution in search of a problem. Bill unbelievable. North carolina has the reputation of being one of the most progressive of the southern states, a purple state, moving forward in a lot of areas, very proudly, and mccoury, and this legislature seems to be taking it back to the 19th century. When you look at states, particularly in the south, that have passed these voter restrictions, its not a surprise, because many have been controlled by republican legislatures for a long time. North carolina was sort of the outlier in that. They elected their first woman governor. They followed virginia in electing, barack obama in 2008, but you have a huge influx of people of color as far as population goes. You had actually get this bill, they had 118 gain in the number of gay couples reported in the 2010 census. Thats 118 gain over 2000. So basically, when the Tea Party Wave came in in 2010, thatter revicbly changed the state. Just as the state was teetering toward progressive. The republicans came in and yanked it back, and brought in all of these voting rules that basically brought in a wider electorate. Bill the only thing that is refreshing about it is to see this movement that started in the black churches in North Carolina. The moral mondays movement. The people of North Carolina may be waking up to realize the big mistake that is made, and the people that they have elected and fight and putting some pressure back on the other side. And hopefully they can turn things around. Corey thanks so much for joining us this morning. My pleasure, bill. Bill all right. Corey dade. Theroot. Com. Announcer this is the bill press show. Just be grateful current tv doesnt come in smellovision oh come on the sweatshirt is nice and all, but i could use a golden lasso. vo only on current tv. John fugelsang if you believe in states rights but still support the drug war you must be high. Cenk uygur i think the number one thing viewers like about the young turks is that were honest. I think the audience gets that i actually mean it. Michael shure this show is about being up to date so a lot of my work happens by doing the things that i am given to doing anyway. Joy behar you can say anything here. Jerry springer i spent a couple of hours with a hooker joy behar your mistake was writing a check Jerry Springer she never cashed it vo the days events. Four very unique points of view. Tonight starting at 6 eastern. Current tv is the place for true stories. With Award Winning documentaries that take you inside the headlines. Real, gripping, current. Documentaries. On current tv. Announcer taking your emails own any topic at anytime. This is the bill press show, live on your radio, and current tv. Bill hey, how about it, the next hour, the Wilderness Society out with a new list of places they say are too wild to drill. On the email front, Richard Maxwell says where the hell was our government when all of the big businesses were merging . Strike a point for the people for a change. Yeah, absolutely. Good move by the department of justice. On Edward Snowden, wayne b says with our current profitdriven news media, snoweden, a whistleblower did the right thing, but a whistleblower sitting in a maximum security prison, or a dead whistleblower tell no tails. How true, how true. And natalie from up in massachusetts says, hey, bill, im one of your loyal fans, i get up early every morning to watch your show, and learn so much of what is going on out there. Thanks so much. [ theme music ] bill good morning, good morning. And a happy wednesday. Wednesday august 14th. So good to see you today. Here we go. It is the full court press, coming to you live from washington, d. C. , our nations capitol and our studio on capitol hill in washington, d. C. Looking forward to bringing you up to date on the news, letting you know what is going on, and getting you involved in the conversation. You know as much about these issues as we do. Give us a call at 86655press, express your opinions. On twitter you can join us, just shoot us a note at bp show, and on facebook your comments are welcome at facebook billpressshow. The rainy day president is still on vacation. Rainy day up at Marthas Vineyard yesterday, so he went over to valerie jareds house, got some takeout lunch, took it over to her house, then played basketball in the afternoon, and he and the first lady went out for a romantic dinner for the two of them. The girls are still away at summer camp. But here is washington, d. C. , life went on as usual. The department of justice filing its own lawsuit yesterday to block the planned merger proposed merger of American Airlines and us air. The department of justice saying this is one merger too many. Find out more here on current tv. 1 thing than viewers like about the young turks is that were honest. They know that im not bsing them for some hidden agenda, actually supporting one party or the other. When the democrats are wrong, they know im going to be the first one to call them out. Cenk on air whats unacceptable is how washington continues to screw the middle class over. Cenk off air i dont want the middle class taking the brunt of the spending cuts and all the different programs that wind up hurting the middle class. Cenk on air you got to go to the local level, the state level and we have to fight hard to make sure they cant buy our politics anymore. Cenk off air and they can question if im right about that. But i think the audience gets that, i actually mean it. Cenk on air 3 trillion dollars in spending cuts narrator uniquely progressive and always topical, the Worlds Largest online news show is on current tv. Cenk off air and i think the audience gets, this guys to best of his abilities is trying to look out for us. Only on current tv we have a big, big hour and the iq will go way up. vo current tv gets the conversation started weekdays at 9 eastern. Im a slutty bob hope. The troops love me. Tv and radio talk show host Stephanie Miller rounds out currents morning news block. Youre welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. vo sharp tongue. Excuse me . vo quick wit. And yes, president obama does smell like cookies and freedom. vo and above all, opinion and attitude. Really . this is the kind of stuff they say about something they just pulled freshly from their [bleep]. You know what those people are like. What could possibly go wrong in eight years of george bush . My producer just coughed up a hairball. Sorry. Just be grateful current tv doesnt come in smellovision oh come on the sweatshirt is nice and all, but i could use a golden lasso. vo only on current tv. [ theme music ] announcer broadcasting across the nation, on your radio, and on current tv, this is the bill press show. Bill cory booker is the new democratic nominee for senate in new jersey, and bill deblazeo released the back in new york citys race for may major. Good morning, everybody. The latest environmental news, sports news, business news, everything we have it covered here on the full court press. And its good to see you this morning, welcome to the program as we come to you live from our nations capitol from our studio on capitol hill. Good to see you today. You know, its august, sort of the slowest month of the year here in washington, d. C. It is basically a ghost town, but what is going on here and around the country and globe, were up to date on, and well bring you up to date on and then give you a chance to sound off on it at 86655press, or on twitter at bpshow, and on facebook at facebook billpressshow. Entire team in place here this morning. Everybody is back. Hey. Bill im the next one to take off actually dan takes off friday. Im off next week, but peter ogburn has been off for a couple of days. And hes back. Hey, hey, hey. Dan henning is here, and alicia cruz covering the phones, and siprion bolling keeping us looking good on tv. And we finally got a chance to meet the people who beat me out of the powerball. The 16 employees of ocean county, new jersey got together and bought how many tickets did they buy, do we know . One . Thats all they needed. Bill well, but i imagine they bought a few more than that. 16 of them walk away with about 9 million each. After taxes its 3. 8 million each. Bill thats all . Yeah. Bill id take it. Absolutely. Bill damn right. Is it really worth playing at that point . Bill can you imagine the odds of those people working as Public Employees for a country, to be able to get a net worth of 3. 8 million. Its the classic great story. One of the guys was going to retire last year. He planned on retiring, and he realized he just couldnt do it money wise, so he stuck around, and now he has won the lottery. Bill these are the kind of people that should win the lottery. There are a couple of great stories. Barbara, her father was a state senator who carried the legislation or at least was a big supporter of the legislation that created the lottery in new jersey and then she ends up winning. When i called my sister, she said, oh, my gosh, barb, dad is just smiling down. She said it is his lottery. I call bs. The fish is in. Bill and then the classic character, this guy with this long, long beard, its like that show, duck dynasty, boy, he has got the look and he talks like it. Were a happy bunch of group. Were very happy, happy, happy, as some of my friends would say. Bill yeah, man, you bet. Wilderness society is out with some warnings about social areas of the country where people would like to drill for oil. Clinton yates joining us a little bit later. And in the next hour, Congress Woman Maxine Waters. But first announcer this is the full court press. Michelle obama is releasing a rap album. She will not be singing on it, but does make some video cameo appearances. Titled songs for a healthier america. The album promotes the lets move program. A couple of titles include you are what you eat, and veggie love. Veggie love. Is that like reggie love. Yeah, spelled luv. Bill i say give me some love, i dont mean give me some veggies. Give me some broccoli love. When alvan green the guy who won senate in North Carolina without even complaining and he got trounced by jim demint, of course, but he was arrested for trespassing. He seemed disoriented when he was picked up by cops. No word if he was on anything, but he was in jail for a couple of days at least. Bill he is still mourning his loss. He was an entertaining guy. Trouble at chipolte. They are occasionally serves convention meat in some restaurants, but alert customers when they do so. The news did not effect the companys stock price yesterday, it is in fact, still up 74 over the last year. Bill they are a good chain, i must say, i think. They are. And they have a good mission. And as much as they expand, it is going to be tougher and tougher to keep that mission up. They are just making it too experience. Bill their service is good, and quality of their food is good. You know what i have become a big fan of . Burrito bowl. People think they are eating healthy, because they say it is all organically raised you basically you are just as well off eating a big mac. Bill really . Absolutely. Oh, yeah. It aint health food. Bill all right. Here we go. Thirteen minutes after the hour. Well save the burrito talk for later. The Wilderness Society, a great organization, is out with a new report called too wild to drill, talking about areas of the United States which are threatened, but which we should really come together to say hey, no, no, no. This is out of bounds. You can drill for oil somewhere else, but not in these areas of the country. The senior counsel and director joins us on our news line this morning. Hey, good morning, good to talk to you. Good morning. Thanks for having me. Bill so well us about the areas. Where are they, and what is going on with them. They are 12 areas that range from california to virginia with a concentration in the rocky mountains, colorado, utah, new mexico, wyoming. And they are beautiful places and also places that are important for communities that depend on them staying beautiful and clean, and provide drinking water, home for wildlife. Without them we would have our great song where the deer and the antelope play, but they would be much more scenic areas. These belong to all of us. You may know chipolte, but it came from colorado. And these lands are yours. Bill and there are 12 of them that you identify in eight different states. Yes. Bill i have the list in front of me just so people understand, and these may be places you have visited or places you hope to visit some day, so run through the list, Arches National park in utah, Arctic National Wildlife Rescue in alaska, greater dinosaur in colorado, George Washington national forest, right here in virginia. Los padres, the red desert in wyoming, thompson divide in colorado, and the Wyoming Range in wyoming. Are these places that Oil Companies have proposed drilling or want to drill . Yes, these are all places either in or around them for the National Parks that have had an ongoing history of oil and Gas Companies either trying to get leases and getting leases and trying to drill in these places. These are real threats. Bill and are they being well, let me ask you this we do allow drilling on some public lands already, dont we . Yes, and right now the oil and gas industry has 38 million acres of our public land under lease. Thats the size of california. So they are not doing badly with our public lands, but we have a lot that they can still lease and drill, but these should not be. Bill what is the so what the general mission of the Wilderness Society, this gets right it to, doesnt it . That there are just some places that are too special to be developed. Right. We want to protect wilderness and inspire americans to protect our natural lands. Bill is there any indication the interior department is considering drilling i mean these are like the holy of holies, right . The most sacred of places. Is there anication the interior department is considering opening these places up to drilling . Yes, there are leases in and around most of these places already. Some were fighting drilling permit by drilling permit. Some there are existing leases all around. Some like arches park, there were leases issued there and in canyonlands. And court cases were necessary to put those on hold, but they are still out there, and they can still be issued, and every quarter the oil and gas industry gets another chance to buy leases on our public lands. Its every quarter, so every quarter we have places like these that are threatened that we have to monitor and we need to protect until the department of interior can make some more formal decisions to protect them. Bill so people around the country, as you say, these are ours, no matter where you leave. These are part of our precious heritage. And people want to save these most sacred beautiful lands, how can that help out . They can go to our website, wilderness. Org, and we have a petition you can sign to protect these lands, and see beautiful photos of all 12 of these places, so you might also want to go visit them after you sign our petition. Bill i have to ask you a quick question on a related topic. Has the Wilderness Society taken any position on the first marine wilderness on the west coast which would be in drakes bay, california. Where an oyster operation there, when that lease expires, they have to shut down and let it return to wilderness. Have you aware of that . I am somewhat familiar with it, but we have not been actively involved in that one. Bill okay. I happen to live there, and i would encourage you to support that effort. Please take a good look at that, i ask you as a resident of that area. Well do. Bill all right, nata thanks for joining us. And its very true. I feel really strongly about that. There are just some places you just set aside, and just say, developers, Oil Companies, mining companies, stay the hell out of here. Well be right back. Announcer follow us on twitter at bpshow. This is the bill press show. c] did anyone tell the pilgrims they should selfdeport . No, they said make us a turkey and make it fast. laughter . She gets the comedians laughing. Thats the best thats hilarious. And the thinkers thinking. Okay, so there is wiggle room in the Ten Commandments is what youre telling me. Shes joy behar. Ya, i consider you jewtalian. Okay, whatever you want. Who plays kafka . Who saw kafka . Who ever saw kafka . laughter . Asking the tough questions. Chris brown, i mean you wouldnt let one of your daughters go out with him. Absolutely not. You would rather deal with ahmadinejad then me . Absolutely singing i take lipitor, thats it. Are you improving your lips . laughter . When shes talking, you never know where the conversation is going to go. It looks like Anthony Wiener is throwing his hat in the ring. His what in the ring . His hat. Always outspoken, joy behar. And the best part is that current will let me say anything. What the hell were they thinking . Only on current tv. Announcer this is the bill press show. Bill Clinton Yates, columnist for the Washington Post, good friend of the program, joins us here in studio in the next segment. Take a look at some of the political news of the day. The big story out of new york and new jersey. New jersey, cory booker just blowing it blowing the field away last night in new jersey. This was the primary for the senate race to fill the seat of the late frank lautenberg, mayor of newark new jersey easily winning, cory booker. Rush hult was in third place, not second place, but the second place was frank palone, who got 25 . So 57 down to 25 . I mean, cory booker, the next United States senator from new jersey. The three of them combined forces, they still wouldnt come anywhere close. Bill right. It is a blue state. The former mayor of bogata, new jersey has run twice unsuccessfully before for the republican nomination for governor. They finally gave it to him last night, and he will be the big loser. In new york city a lot more interesting, the latest poll in the mayors race there was a big debate last night, by the way, and they didnt spend the entire evening talking about Anthony Weiners weaner. But a poll out yesterday, and bill deblazio, who has been on our show several times, no doubt the the best liberal in the race, i think. The most progressive, certainly candidate of all, he is now on top with 30 . Christine quinn, the speaker of the city council there is in second place. She has been out front all the way up until this time. She is now in second place at 24 . Former controller, Bill Thompson is at 22 , and Anthony Weiner has fallin down to 10 in the poll. And i think the people of new york have just said, you know what, this is an embarrassment. We gave him a second chance. Were not going to give him a third chance, particularly since we have other alternatives. Yeah, there was a moment when it looked like Anthony Weiner might survive this most resent scandal, but these poll numbers dont give him much hope. Bill but we still have almost a month to go before the primary. Bill deblazio up on top. Announcer this is the bill press show. vo current tv gets the conversation started weekdays at 9 eastern. Im a slutty bob hope. The troops love me. Tv and radio talk show host Stephanie Miller rounds out currents morning news block. Youre welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. vo sharp tongue. Excuse me . vo quick wit. And yes, president obama does smell like cookies and freedom. vo and above all, opinion and attitude. Really . this is the kind of stuff they say about something they just pulled freshly from their [bleep]. You know what those people are like. What could possibly go wrong in eight years of george bush . My producer just coughed up a hairball. Sorry. Just be grateful current tv doesnt come in smellovision oh come on the sweatshirt is nice and all, but i could use a golden lasso. vo only on current tv. Announcer like politics . Then like the bill press show on facebook. This is the bill press show. Bill hey, you bet it is. It is thirtythree minutes after the hour on the full court press. Were coming to you live from our nations capitol. We are brought to you today by the united steelworkers, and their colorful and outspoken president. The united steelworkers representing over 1. 2 million active and retired members. You can check out their good work at their website, usw. Org. Some very important decisions this week, first by the Justice Department. Eric holder saying the mandatory minimum sentencing is counterproductive, and they are not going to follow that anymore at the federal level. Up in new york city a federal judge says that their stop, question and frisk policy is racial discrimination, racial profiling, and that has to be changed. And here in washington, d. C. , our city council is considering lowering the penalties on pot. Tying them all together, somehow for us in studio, Clinton Yates, columnist for the Washington Post, good to see you again. Good to see you again, bill. Bill you always overwhelm us with a tshirt. Yeah. I liked charleston it is an interesting place, but watching bail around the country is a long Time Favorite past time of mine. Minor League Baseball is great. It is. My favorite is ashville, which we talked about before. Bill yeah, ashville is a great, great town. Charleston, peters hometown is also a great town. I dont know about baseball. Yeah, interesting history in that place. Downtown charleston as lovely as it is, citizen tered around what used to be the slave market. Yeah, they called it the trade market, and you can certainly interchange a level. And there is a spook level that i will not front about. Its not so much that you can feel it, but when you know where you are and what you are standing on, its spooky. Bill it is. And every time i walk through there even as a white man i grew up there, it never occurred to me until i brought home a black guy who was a friend in college, and i was like this is the market. And he was like wait a minute. Yeah, its crazy. Bill lets talk about pot in dc. What is proposed . Council member tommy rose, and marion berry are trying to decriminalize pot possession up to an ounce. And a couple of other people are talking about trying to fully legalize it as something that could be available for sale for recreational use. My stance is for one, decriminalization, it slows down the disparate arrest of young black men that this would decriminalize up to an ounce. You dont have to be a pot head to know that an ounce of marijuana is a fair amount of product. So if you are decriminalizing all the way up to a ounce, there is no need to go to full legalization, because even somebody and i quoted somebody who is legally licensed to buy marijuana in d. C. , and he is like i have never bought an ounce. So i dont think were ready to go to full legalization, but if you decriminalize, you allow medical and other users to do what they do, and also prevent yourself from throwing a bunch of people in jail and wasting a bunch of money at the same time. An ounce is a lot. Bill it is. You have to be Willie Nelson or snoop dogg, basically. Bill right. If colorado and Washington State have legalized it, why not d. C. . I think d. C. Has bigger problems to solve. The whole congressional backyard thing doesnt help the cause either. There are people fighting for statehood or whatever cause du jour there is in the district, and i think going on a weed crusade is not the best use of resources or manpower in general. Bill you have to pick your battles, basically yeah. Bill where are we with medical marijuana . It is legal. I think there is 10 or 15 people at this point that are licensed, but you have to have either aid, glaucoma, cancer, ms or some other autoimmune disease. There is no chronic pain that will allow you to just walk into a Doctors Office and get a card. Its still pretty strict. Bill were excited because one of the dispenries is going to be right across the street and right across the street from popeyes chicken and duncan doughnuts, which you went to this morning. Now we know why you went there. I still like Old Fashioned doughnuts. Bill this policy of stop and frisk, and the judge said they looked at the numbers. They were rounding up, stopping young blacks and young latinos, right . Yeah. Bill and searching them without a warrant. Do they do that here in the district . To an extent. The reason why this ruling was important, it was very specifically noted point about how not only is this what shameful in regards to obviously its not the right thing to do, but its also a horribly ineffective way of policing. Its a completely inefficient manner of singling people out and stopping them. Its not a sensible way to run a police force, and really appreciated the judges ruling. That ruling and what was written about it was extremely thoughtful, and it was very unfortunate that the brass in new york just sort of lashed out against it, because they wanted to defend what is obviously a racist policy. Bill mayor bloomberg says it has saved lives, and they are going to appeal it. The there were 4. 3 million stops over the last eight years, 83 of them, 83 were young blacks and latinos. Yeah, thats ridiculous. You know, and the willful ignorance of not understanding if you are defending such a policy, you are therefore creating a reason why it is problematic, and you have to be smarter than that. And it is scary that bloomberg has been so vocal as if new york city is suddenly going to turn into gomorrah because they are not stopping young blacks and latinos. Bill yeah, and there were only like 9 of them that were found to have anything worth pursuing. Yeah. Bill so the purported purpose was to find guns, but once they are for exampling and searching, drugs, anything anything goes. Right. Bill without a search warrant. And not to mention the obvious social impact it has on how people feel about Walking Around new york city, which creates a dangerous environment. And its not a good way to operate. Bill yes, and this decision came down the same day that eric holer gave a speech in San Francisco about mandatory minimum sentencing, which has many of the same problems with it. Clinton yates is here from the Washington Post. Lets just tease that and talk about that on the other side of the break here on the partial legalization of pot here, up to an ounce. Is that enough for the district . 86655press, and on stop, question and frisk in new york city. Federal judge saying its wrong. You have got to change it. She didnt say you got to end it. Too bad. But at any rate, talk about that, join us at 86655press. Announcer the bill press show is joining free speech tv starting september 3rdrd. Stay up to date by following us on twitter at bpshow. This is the bill press show. Current tv is the place for true stories. That take you inside the headlines. Real, gripping, current. Documentaries. On current tv. cenk its go time its go time its go time go time. You know what time it is. Go time its go time. Its go time. What time is it rob . Here comes the young turks go time its go time. Oh is it . Oh, then its go time. Anybody . Anybody . What time is it . Oh, right. Its go time announcer this is the bill press show. Bill here we are thirty teen minutes now before the time of the hour on the full court press. The radio show continues. God bless america on all of our great affiliates across the country, but this radio show has been carried on current tv for the last year or so. Tomorrow is our last day on current tv. So we want you to be sure and know, first of all, we continue on the radio. You have that appliance in your house, that is a radio, turn it on, and listen to us on the radio, or if you are used to that tv screen, well be back on tv on free speech tv, but not until september 3rdrd. So you can find out how to find out, free speech tv is on direct tv and the dish network on satellite, or you can stream it from freespeech. Org. So find out all of the options at freespeech. Org, and starting september 3rdrd. Yeah, and again, if you have any questions at all, its freespeech. Org. Thats a great way to find out where and how you can find the show. Check that out. Bill Clinton Yates is here with us from the Washington Post. Peter you have a comment there . Yeah, you were just talking about the to decriminalize less than an ounce. But brook says we must realize that these people have to get pot from somewhere, so whoever is selling it would have to have more than an ounce of inventory. If you are Walking Around with more than an ounce of pot, the person has to have more than that. Bill so what do you do about the dealers . Yeah, the drug dealers are still drug dealers. Bill yeah. I was in california working for jerry brown when this three strikes and you are out law came out, and we argued against it. And as eric holder points out, you end up with too many people in too many prisons staying too long, right . Yeah. Im really impressed with him for talking about it all. I know you have been pretty critical of holder bill i have, but i give him credit on this one. And there has been a lot of criticism on this that i have found to be a little bit unfair. People have said this is too far overreaching for the federal level. That is ridiculous as far as im concerned. If you know its the right thing to do, go ahead and try to do something about it. And for whatever reason this is some many years too late from holder or whomever, and im like, look, you have to start somewhere. Bill yeah, at least they are doing it now. Yeah, the idea is not just changing things in terms of on the federal level, but its changing the mindset to the concept of throwing people in jail is the cure to societys ills. Thats the most important thing here. The point is if you minimize the resources we have to use on house people in correctional facilities, thats more resources we can use to help people from becoming addicts to begin with. And the recidivism is way too high for people as a result of these crippling mandatory sentences. Bill this whole thing to me comes from a generation or so ago, this overreaction to the whole Law Enforcement thing. And we have to show that we are tough on crime. Right . So they passed these laws which took away any flexibility on the part of the judge, any Decision Making on the part of the judge for saying, well, i know what the mandatory sentence is, but in this case, this is a really good kid with a good family, no criminal background at all, just made a mistake here, im not going to lock him up for ten years, and yet they have no option. Right. And black folks will tell you this is what has systematically drained and, you know, basically just i cant even think of the word, debilitated a certain population of the community that have sent away scores of men. And thats very difficult to understand the effect that that had on American Society and specifically on various neighbors where people of color have lived for years. And im glad to see that holder at the very least explained this is absolutely just not what were trying to do as a nation, and i agree with him. Bill oh, yeah. One person who has been on this for years is Congress Woman Maxine Waters, and she is joining us next hour to talk about where we go from here. I mentioned working for jerry brown in california. California has room for 80,000 people in the prisons, which is a huge population, and they have 120,000 stuffed in there. So next we have got to see the states, right . I would totally agree, and if holder is coming from the top down, it has a bit of an effect there. Again, i think its changing the mindset, and there are some conservatives that have said, listen, the Prison Industrial Complex in this country from the government is a huge issue. Theres too many people in jail, period. The goal is to have less people in jail. One way to start is by considering changes mandatory sentencing. Bill that Prison Industrial Complex is a big business too, baby. Nobody talks about that, but were talking about it. Bill Clinton Yates you are out in front on many, many issues. Grateful for you taking the time to be here this morning. Great to be here. Bill all right. Ill be back to talk about what the president is up to today. Announcer this is the bill press show. We have a big big hour and the iq will go way up. vo current tv gets the converstion started weekdays at 9am eastern. Im a slutty bob hope. You are. The troops love me. vo tv and radio talk show host Stephanie Miller rounds out currents morning news block. Youre welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. Just be grateful current tv does not come in smellivision. The sweatshirt is nice and all, but i could use a golden lasso. vo only on current tv. Announcer this is the bill press show. Bill here we go. Nearing the top of the hour here. Bob cusack from the hill here as a friend of bill in the next hour. And well be talking to Maxine Waters. Yesterday the president went out to lunch, played basketball, and then went out to dinner with the first lady last night. There has been a plane crash in birmingham, alabama, its a ups plane. Crashed just outside the fence of the birmingham shuttle for the international airport. Normally it is a just a pilot and copilot on board. There is no information on loss or injury on that. As we learn more well tell you about it on the full court press. [ theme music ] bill wednesday, august 14th, on the full court press. Welcome, welcome, welcome. Great to see you today. Thank you for joining us here as we come to you live from our nations capitol, washington, d. C. Ghost town that it is these days with the president out of town, the Vice President out of town, the senate out of town, and the house out of town. Nobody left but us chickens, but were keeping score here, keeping on top of what is happening across the rest of the nation and globe. And well give you a chance to tell us what it all means to you. You can tell us about it by calling 86655press, joining us on twitter, at bpshow, and on facebook at facebook billpressshow. Another rainy day up in Marthas Vineyard. The president changed his schedule, no golf, instead he picked up some fastfood and went to lunch at Valerie Jarretts house on the island, played basketball in the afternoon, and then he and the first lady went out to dinner, just the two of them, on the southern tip of the island. Yesterday the department of justice took a big step and said they are going to move to try to block the proposed merger when American Airlines and us air. This is one merger too far, they said. Well see how that goes, and tell you about it, right here on current tv. No, they said make us a turkey and make it fast. laughter . She gets the comedians laughing. Thats the best thats hilarious. And the thinkers thinking. Okay, so there is wiggle room in the Ten Commandments is what youre telling me. Shes joy behar. Ya, i consider you jewtalian. Okay, whatever you want. Who plays kafka . Who saw kafka . Who ever saw kafka . laughter . Asking the tough questions. Chris brown, i mean you wouldnt let one of your daughters go out with him. Absolutely not. You would rather deal with ahmadinejad then me . Absolutely singing i take lipitor, thats it. Are you improving your lips . laughter . When shes talking, you never know where the conversation is going to go. It looks like Anthony Wiener is throwing his hat in the ring. His what in the ring . His hat. Always outspoken, joy behar. And the best part is that current will let me say anything. What the hell were they thinking . Only on current tv. We have a big, big hour and the iq will go way up. vo current tv gets the conversation started weekdays at 9 eastern. Im a slutty bob hope. The troops love me. Tv and radio talk show host Stephanie Miller rounds out currents morning news block. Youre welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. vo sharp tongue. Excuse me . vo quick wit. And yes, president obama does smell like cookies and freedom. vo and above all, opinion and really . this is the kind of stuff they say about something they just pulled freshly from their [bleep]. You know what those people are like. What could possibly go wrong in eight years of george bush . My producer just coughed up a hairball. Sorry. Just be grateful current tv doesnt come in smellovision oh come on the sweatshirt is nice and all, but i could use a golden lasso. vo only on current tv. Announcer broadcasting across the nation, on your radio, and on current tv. This is the bill press show. Bill cory booker wins the democratic primary in new jersey, and bill deblazio leads the pack for mayor of new york city. It is the full court press on wednesday august 14th, coming to you live from our nations capitol and bringing you the news of the day, and giving you a chance to comment. Good to have you with us this morning. Thanks for joining us. The team here this morning, everybody is back, peter ogburn and dan henning. Hello, guys. Hey hey hey. Good morning. Bill peter ogburn back from disne disney world. Nothing like going to disney world by yourself with the kids. Bill how many rides did you go on . I went on plenty. What is your favorite . The tower of terror. The disney parks are not a fun vacation if you are a grownup, they wear you out more than getting any relaxation, but it is a clean, fun place to take your kids. And my kids are old enough that he could ride more rides than they used to, and it was fun. Bill bob cusack is here this morning. Good morning. I took my five year old on the tower of terror, and i didnt know how scary it was, and he didnt speak for weeks. [ laughter ] bill i feel guilty, two boys, and when they were little we were living in california, and at los angeles they got their day at disneyland, and carol took them. You didnt go . Bill i didnt go. I was busy. I was busy plus i get sick on rides. I have motion sickness problems stay away from the teacups then. And there is a ride called mission to mars that puts you in a very tight capsule, and for a second i almost lost it. [ laughter ] bill i can look at a farris wheel and get sick. Yeah, it might not be the place for you. Bill alicia cruz is on the phones, and siprion bolling is on the tv. And were coming to you live on your local progressive talk radio station, and tomorrow is the finale for the tv side of the operation, but the radio moves on, because we are a radio show and have been for a long time. Bob, there was a big debate last night, up in new york city. The latest poll, bill deblazio now on top. Christine quinn in second place. And Anthony Weiner has fallin to fourth place. Yeah. Bill but he said last night. It aint about me. I have made mistakes and embarrassed myself and hurt my family. But this campaign is not about me. Its about you. Bill i thought it was interesting last night they didnt spend a lot of time talking about his selfies, right . And he doesnt want to talk about it. And i dont think they want to talk about it, because they are on top of him. They are beating him. Such a compelling figure. Now he is joking that his wife will play a role for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 campaign. Bill i think a lot of people want it to be over with. It is going to be over with soon. And what does he do now . Bill i hate to think about what he does with more time on his hands. Somebody ought to take his cell phone away from him for sure. Yeah. Bill lots to cover here with bob cusack. We will, and the department of justice saying this is one Airline Merger too many. We let three of them go forward. This one were going to stop. Well get into that and other issues of the day, but first announcer this is the full court press. On this wednesday, a new Study Suggests that twitter may be as helpful to political campaigns as Old Fashioned polling. The more a candidate is mentioned on twitter, the better. The atlantic reports they found a direct correlation between the number of twitter comments and the performance in an election. 8 of americans are on it daily. Bill dont you think it would matter how you are mentioned. Was going to say, Anthony Weiner might disagree. But on the other hand, cory booker, and he said if he joins the senate, he is going to be tweeting as much as he does now. And he tweets a lot. Yeah, he does. The hill reports president obama is inviting the team from over 40 years ago on tuesday to the white house because right after they won the super bowl, they never received an invitation from the president to appear at the white house, because that was president nixon and he was a little busy with watergate, and he was a fan of the washington team. Wait, so he really wouldnt have the dolphins on because he wasnt a fan . Uhhuh. 72 dolphins will be there next week. Bill one more nail in nixons coffin. And the lets move campaign app apparently had the day off yesterday. President obama went to the fried food eatery for lunch. He did play basketball to work some of it off. Bill he probably told michelle, hey, im going out to the Produce Market and pick up some fresh vegetables. Onion rings, french fries, milk shakes i know the one thing you dont want to see when you get back from vacation is the scale. No. No. No. Bill exactly. Bob, those of us in the media i just want to start with a sad note. We just learned that a good friend of ours passed away last night, jack jermond, 85. A giant in journalism in this town for a very long time. His wife and i worked together in 1976 wow. He seemed like a really nice guy. But what you saw on television, and baltimore guy, i went to school in baltimore, and a smart guy. Bill yeah, he was at the washington star, and then moved to the baltimore sun. And became nationally known as a member of the mcglocklen group. Hated john mcglocklen. And quit because of it. He would keep them waiting there, and wouldnt start the show, and didnt pay them well, didnt treat them well. But jack loved politics. Was great to travel with and be around, and, you know, his and had a great sense of humor self deprecating sense of humor. He wrote a book called the fat man in the middle seat. Im not sure thats exactly the title yeah. It is a wonderful book. He was funny on air too. Bill oh, yeah. He was a guy who could poke fun of himself and also poke fun of politicians. Bill absolutely. Totally. Didnt give a damn. So remembering him well, and best to alice today too and her family and his family. Lets talk about this merger. It is interesting to me that united merges with continental, and southwest merges are air tran, and delta merges with northwest, and there is not a peep out of justice, and now the biggest of all want to merge, and then the Justice Department says we have had enough. The doj has given the Airline Industry a lot of flexibility on it, because they have been really struggling. But here in a stunning move, they said no more. Thats it. And it really shocked the industry. And in some ways it makes sense. But this was unexpected. The doj has a lot on its plate right now. Bill and united and usair have both said they are going to appeal this. But what does it mean for consumers . Thats going to be the crux of the lawsuit. Eric holder indicating it is going to lead to higher prices for consumers, and thats why they are getting involved. And this i think goes on for a long, long time. And some of the experts say it is going to happen one way or another, but when you have the doj in your way, thats a problem. Bill there was the theory for a long time, bigger is better, but i dont know that these mergers have been good for consumers. I havent seen Airlines Offering Better Service or better deals because of these mergers. There are fewer flights, and were all paying higher prices and more fees for stuff we used to get and take for granted. Yeah, and a couple of years ago there was an effort to charge you for carry on baggage, and schumer said no you are not going to do that. I think you have some more choices in that you dont have to get a meal. But clearly delays are still there. We have seen recent reports that that hasnt improved. And consumers i think most consumers dont understand this and how it effects them, and i think this confusion of this lawsuit with different sides saying Different Things is going to lead to more confusion. Bill i have written a column for your paper, the hill, saying that in this case i think eric holder is doing the right thing. So two days in a row he got something right, and i might have to change my opinion about him. I tell ya, the fire storm around eric holder has died down a bit. It helps that congress is out of town, but bipartisan praise on the pending announcement. The only question is, why didnt this happen earlier . Bill yeah, you said consumers dont know much about the whole business side of the deal, which i would agree. Consumers also dont know a lot about what the fed does. And here we have this full blown issue as to who is going to be the next head of the fed. Have you ever seen anything like this before . No. And the left is very active in this. They are very wary about summers. They worry about summers ties to the bank industry, as well as his reputation for being antiregulation. And yellen, she also was opposed by republicans for her inflation policies. So whoever is picked here, were going to have a bumpy nomination process. And some people are saying it is a whole head fake and he may not pick either one of them. I think yellen right now is the favorite but obama keeps praising summers ever chance he gets. Yeah, but i think summers bothers them, especially when you have someone like Elizabeth Warren who is pressing the case. Bill yesterday bob pointed out that this is really a battle inside the Democratic Party for its the wall street wing of the party, versus the consumer wing of the party, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders on that side, and then over here you have Chuck Schumer right. I think thats a very accurate read. And the problem for the white house is the left is not going to be happy, and Bernie Sanders is not going to go mute if summers is appointed. Bill no. Here we are, the issues of the day. Join the conversation at anytime at 86655press with bob cusack from the hill, the hill. Com. Announcer this is the bill press show. c] if you believe in states rights but still support the drug war, you must be high. I think the number one thing that viewers like about the young turks is that were honest. I think the audience gets that i actually mean it. Youre putting out there something that youre proud of. Journalists want the the story and they want the right story and the want the true story. You can say anything here. I spent a couple of hours with a hooker. Your mistake was writing a check. She never cashed it the war room. Compared to other countries with tighter gun safety laws, our death toll is just staggering. The young turks. The top bankers who funneled all the money to the drug lords, no sentence. Theres just no justice in that. Viewpoint. Carl rove said today that mitt romney is a lock to win next pope. Hes garunteeing it. Joy behar say anything. Is the bottom line then that no white person should ever, ever, ever use the n word . Yes only on current tv. Announcer this is the bill press show. Bill all right. Twentysix minutes after the hour. Congress woman Maxine Waters joining us in the next segment, to talk about eric holder, and the mandatory minimum sentencing. Bob cusack is here from the hill. Good to have you here as always. Looks like cory booker has the inside track. Won the democratic primary yesterday handily. Yeah, and cory booker, who is really a political celebrity, theres no doubt about it and hes heavily favored to win the general election up coming, im fascinated to see when he comes into the senate. If you look at Elizabeth Warren, a star, a political celebrity as well. She doesnt stop and talk to reporters. The first year, al franken, when he came in, same thing. He still doesnt talk to National Media types, only locals. So i kind of thing that cory booker is not going to follow that path, because he has been very successful on the path that he has chosen. Bill Mitch Mcconnell surprised some people yesterday by what he said on the efforts of ted cruz to defund obamacare. Yeah. Matt bevin, who has been pretty good out of the gate, challenging mcconnell, and mcconnell now saying, listen, if you defund obamacare, you are not really defunding obamacare, because the Obama Administration has enough area to spend in other areas, and thats backed up by a Congressional Research service report. However, thats washington speak. Bill sure. So matt bevin if mcconnell continues to go this way he dodged the question before they left town, and now he is basically on the side of john mccain. Thats going to give bevin a big issue. Bill and he is also on the side of karl rove. So it is sort of the establishment of the republicans saying lets act like grownups here. But for Mitch Mcconnell to join that crowd really is significant. We have to take a break here, bob. Congress woman Maxine Waters when we come back. Announcer this is the bill press show. If you believe in states rights but still support the drug war you must be high. Viewpoint digs deep into the issues of the day. Do you think there is any chance well ever hear the president even say the word carbon tax . With an opened mind. Has the time finally come for real Immigration Reform . And a distinctly satirical point of view. But you mentioned great leadership so i want to talk about donald rumsfeld. laughter cutting throught the clutter of todays top stories. This is the savior of the Republican Party . I mean really . With a unique perspective. Teddy rosevelt was a weak asmatic kid who never played sports until he was a grown up. laughter . And lots of fancy buzz words. Family values, speding, liberty, economic freedom, hardworking moms, crushing debt, cute little puppies. If Wayne Lapierre can make up stuff that sounds logical while making no sense. Hey, so can i. Once again friends, this is live tv and sometimes these things happen. Watch the show. Only on current tv. Announcer live on free speech tv beginning september 3rdrd. Learn all of the details on billpressshow. Com. This is the bill press show. Bill it is the full court press coming to you live from our nations capitol, brought to you today by the National Education association. The great men and women of the nea, americas teachers, creating great Public Schools for every student in america, under president dennis van rockel. You bet. Bob cusack from the hill, managing editor, is in studio with us this hour, and we are very pleased to be joined by phone from los angeles. A good friend of mine. At a dinner once i introduced Congress Woman Maxine Waters as hotter than high school love. Congress woman good morning. Good morning, bill. So good to talk to you. How are you doing . Bill i got to tell you, its early on the west coast, we doubly appreciate you being with us this morning. Well, you are certainly welcome. Bill eric holder announced that the department of justice was going to do something about this mandatory minimum sentencing. I have heard you talk about this for so long. This has been your issue. You must have been pleased to hear the department of justice join your fight. I was, absolutely. I have been working on this for about 15 years, and i was very pleased that attorney general holder made the decision that they werent going to even wait to try to go through the legislative process, that they were going to use the powers of the Attorney Generals Office to start to deal with the disparities in sentencing. As you know, because of the bias, the athlete that guyed from an overdose of crack cocaine, Congress Years ago decided to come up with these mandatory minimum sentences for drug trafficking, and they targeted these lowlevel offenders. You know, these victimless crimes, practically. What they did was they ended up in minority communities for the most part and with mandatory minimums at that time, 5 grams of crack cocaine would get you a mandatory sentence of five years. Now that has been since modified somewhat. But the mandatory minimum laws are still on the books, and what tone general holder said is the prosecutors are going to have more discretion, that the way that they charge is going to be absolutely different, and with this discretion, they can start to do some sensible things. First of all, they cannot, you know, apply these mandatory minimum sentences to these lowlevel crimes, and small amounts of drugs that are in the possession of these poor kids and minority mostly, it is going to save a lot of room in the prison system. Because we have overcrowded our federal prisons with these lowlevel crimes. Bill this has really made a difference in the prison population, hasnt it . Both i mean nationwide and in california. Oh, yeah. I would say that over the last 20 years or so, that this sentencing has increased the population by, you know, several hundred percent. I dont have the exact numbers here, but its certainly has bill i see it here in a release from your office, 800 . An increase of 800 over the last what 28 years . Bill the last 28 years. Yeah, about 800 . Thats right. Bill and as you pointed out, a lot of times these are first time offenders, and then they are in prison for five or ten years. What happens to them when they get out. Well, thats it. Their lives are over for the most part. They cant get jobs. They are charged with felonies, and their applications for any job that they may think they are qualified for, if they are qualified, because many of these were young people in college. I know one lady who had twins who were in college, and of course there are several others that bill clinton computed their sentences before he left office, but their lives are basically over unless they get a lot of support. So this is a long time in coming, and while its not a permanent solution, it certainly is a beginning, and as i understand it, there are a couple of bills that are on the senate side that are going to continue to deal with this issue, and im going to have a bill, the one i have been putting in for so many years to get rid of mandatory sentencing all together. Congress woman this is a bipartisan effort in the senate. Will your bill also be bipartisan that you plan yes, yes, we try to absolutely make these kinds of bills bipartisan. It has a better chance of passing, and what we have learned over the year is that many of those from the opposite side of the aisle have come to understand that the criminal Justice System is not fair, and that too many years have been spent with politicians making their citizens believe that they are tough on crime, and they are fighting, you know, for them, and they use it as campaign issues, and its just over crowded our prisons, and cost the citizens a lot of money, and it certainly is true with mandatory minimum sentencing. On housing, president obama announced a new housing plan that would phase out fannie and freddie, while congress is out. What do you think of that plan as well as his endorsing the Corker Warner bill in the senate . Well, there is a consensus that we have to reform freddy and fannie. But it must be a a private public kind of partnership, where you still the government involved with some of these subsidies that are needed, and you will also have the private sector involved. So when we talk about getting rid of fannie and freddie, many of us, and particularly democrats are not talking about getting rid of like the 30year mo mortgage, but were talking about reducing the footprint, reducing the role of fannie and freddy, and including the private sector, and he is working very closely with the senate on the Corker Warner plan, but there are some things he is working hard to change, like he does not think it has enough affordability in it. So all of this work is going on. The republicans put their bill through our committee on the house side, all of us all of the democrats oppose that bill. That bill is going nowhere. That is the one that would absolutely wipe out fannie and freddie all together. Its called a pass bill. So that bill is not going to go anywhere. We think that were going to come up with legislation. At some point in time this will be in conference, and when what we come up with, what the senate comes up with, i think well come out with something that will reform fannie and freddie, but also will have democratic principles that will be abided in it. Bill were talking with Maxine Waters from los angeles. Congress woman, august 28th will be the 50th anniversary of the march on washington. Among the speakers will be your friend john lewis, who i think is the only living person left who spoke at the original march on washington. That is a very powerful day. What does it say to you on where we are today . Well, you know, there are big plans to kind of reenact the march on washington that are underway now, and thousands of people will be in washington, d. C. To participate in these activities, including the march that will go from the monument over to the Martin Luther king statute. And john lewis not only spoke, but he put his life on the line. He was beaten on the [ inaudible ] bridge, and of course, john is recognized and honored for the way that he has conducted himself in the struggle for, you know, civil rights. You know, he is one of the biggest proponents of Martin Luther kings nonviolent approach to all of this. So we expect hell be on television, on radio, and all over the place as the 50year anniversary is recognized. Bill here we are with the Supreme Court decision on Voting Rights, and North Carolina passing this legislation suppressing the vote. Its almost like were right back in the soup all over again, Congress Woman. Well, it makes the Supreme Court look awfully foolish, because we have seen in recent elections, where not only did they have long waiting lines, because some states pulled the trick of not having enough polling places to discourage people. We have seen them try to require tougher id thats only issued by the state like North Carolina is trying to do now. North carolina included in its legislation, its recent legislation, doing away with early voting days, requiring government id, and some other issues to discourage voting, and here the Supreme Court is saying, you dont need section 4. Bill yeah. We dont need any oversight. We dont need anybody to bring their legislation to the Justice Department before they pass it even if it is preventing people from voting. It made the Supreme Court look silly. Bill yeah, Congress Woman thank again for joining us this morning. And good luck with this legislation of yours. Thanks Congress Woman. Thank you. Thank you for calling too. I appreciate. Bill there she is, Maxine Waters. Bob cusack with us here from the hill. Well be right back. Announcer this is the bill press show. This show is about analyzing, criticizing, and holding policy to the fire. Are you encouraged by what you heard the president say the other night . Is this personal or is it political . A lot of my work happens by doing the things that i am given to doing anyway. Staying in tough with everything that is going on politically and putting my own nuance on it. Not only does senator rubio just care about rich people but somehow he thinks raising the minimum wage is a bad idea for the middle class. But we do care about them, right . Vo the war room tonight at 6 eastern announcer this is the bill press show. Bill all right. On the issues of the day with bob cusack of the hill here on the full court press. This wednesday morning, back to those stories in just a second here. But first a little reminder about something that is very, very important. Imagine you were unlucky enough to be in an accident and you are knocked unconscious, medical professionals arrive, and they cant get any information out of you, that they might need to save your life. Something you might consider is emergency link id. Its a small id tag that you attach to your key ring and put in your wallet or purse that will tell Emergency Responders everything they might need to know. Something important to carry around all the time, could actually make the difference between life and death. If you sign up for it now, emergency links, its only 10 bucks a year, and youll receive your id kit free. Just 10 bucks a year for this lifesaving service, your id kit free. Sign up and enter the word press at emergencylink. Com. Peter . Yeah, i just had to throw this story in. Because we have talked about Lindsey Graham and his fight for reelection in south carolina. Yet another republican challenger for him. State senator lee bright announced his candidacy yesterday on a conference call, and he referred to Lindsey Graham as a Community Organizer for the Muslim Brotherhood. Bill well, he did just get back from egypt. That was the context. He said he needs to spend more time here, and less time in egypt. Say hello to lee bright, your next senator from south carolina. Bill next i want to see Lindsey Grahams birth certificate. Thats right. Bill speaking of egypt, the Egyptian Government moved in overnight, i guess to crack down on the supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood who have been camped out. It sounded like what happened in turkey not so long ago. What is the latest . The death toll just keeps climbing higher and higher. Last time i looked it was 15 people, but there are a lot of bodies that havent been accounted for yet. Bill bob, this puts the Obama Administration in a tough spot, right . Very much so. Bill because they dont want to cut off aid to egypt right. Bill but they condemn the violence, but the military continue to just open fire on the protesters. Yeah, and the Administration Still hasnt called at it coup, which it was. But this is a mess. I mean for the administration, and, you know, where they go from here, because there are more and more calls from congress to cut off the aid, especially when they are acting like this. Bill yeah, the last time they opened fire they killed 75 people. The military just no effort to subdue them other than just kill them. And theres no easy answer for the administration, its a tough situation of which side you choose. And you have morsi, and the administration trying to work with him, and then obviously there was an uprising. Bill when Congress Comes back from this extended vacation, the big challenge will be the budget stuff, right . It is. And the immigration issue could be pushed aside. And in the house they have a recess scheduled after they come back for a couple of weeks. They only have nine days until the end of the fiscal year, so they might rethink that recess. Bill what the hell would this recess be for . Its a constituent work period, bill. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. [ laughter ] bill by the way, why havent we seen townhalls this month . I think a lot of lawmakers are afraid of them. There are some, but not as many as there used to be. Bill oh, no. August was the time or used to be when they had all of these townhalls, right . Thats right. Bill bob, everybody else is out of town. Im glad you are here. Glad to be here. Bill thanks for coming in today. Its thehill. Com. And ill be back with todays parting shot. Announcer this is the bill press show. They should selfdeport . No, they said make us a turkey and make it fast. laughter . She gets the comedians laughing. Thats the best thats hilarious. And the thinkers thinking. Okay, so there is wiggle room in the Ten Commandments is what youre telling me. Shes joy behar. Ya, i consider you jewtalian. Okay, whatever you want. Who plays kafka . Who saw kafka . Who ever saw kafka . laughter . Asking the tough questions. Chris brown, i mean you wouldnt let one of your daughters go out with him. Absolutely not. You would rather deal with ahmadinejad then me . Absolutely singing i take lipitor, thats it. Are you improving your lips . laughter . When shes talking, you never know where the conversation is going to go. It looks like Anthony Wiener is throwing his hat in the ring. His what in the ring . His hat. Always outspoken, joy behar. And the best part is that current will let me say anything. What the hell were they thinking . Only on current tv. c] iq will go way up. vo current tv gets the converstion started weekdays at 9am eastern. Im a slutty bob hope. You are. The troops love me. vo tv and radio talk show host Stephanie Miller rounds out currents morning news block. Youre welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. Just be grateful current tv does not come in smellivision. The sweatshirt is nice and all, but i could use a golden lasso. vo only on current tv. Current tv is the place for true stories. With Award Winning documentaries that take you inside the headlines. Real, gripping, current. Documentaries. On current tv. Announcer the parting shot with bill press. This is the bill press show. Bill well, we havent heard from Edward Snowden in a while, but he surfaced again yesterday in an interview with the New York Times with some comments about the main stream media. Snowden was asked why did you go to the guardian, an english site and not one of the big american newspapers. For one reason, he said, because the main stream American Media has not been doing its job. And i think snowden is right. You have heard me say the same thing on the full court press. Under gorge bush, reporters never questioned the patriot act, or doubted the assertion of weapons of mass destruction. And today under president obama, most reporters simply accepted nsas massive Domestic Spying Program without kicking the tires to find out the truth, in fact we wouldnt even know what nsa was up to if Edward Snowden hadnt spilled the beaned. So what is the sense of having a free press if reporters dont exercise their freedom of press to ask tough questions. We have got to do that. Thats our job. Come back and see us again tomorrow morning. Announcer this is the bill press show. [ theme ] stephanie all right. Current tv land, hour number one. Carlos will be replacing our jim ward today. Hes out having a a colonoscopy. Camera up the bum. Stephanie okay. And then hot brie in the city in hour number three. Jacki schechner. Im sure thats information jim wanted you to share with the world. Stephanie he doesnt care. Oh, and i just booked you for jackis healthcare corner next hour. Oh, good to know. Ill have my people phone that in