Jennifer humbug. There is big news on the environmental frown front today. So first bp, the worlds Third Largest oil Company Announced it was going to pay 4. 5 billion in fines and plead guilty to 14 criminal charges connected to, of course, the giant oil spill in the gulf of mexico. Thats number one. Meanwhile, in new york, the president surveyed the damage from hurricane sandy. Of course, which was everybody knows, precipitated by Climate Change. He met storm victims in staten island, one of the areas hardest hit by the storm. 23 of the 43 deaths in the new york region related to hurricane sandy. They were on staten island. Obama during difficult times like this, were reminded that were bound together and we have to look out for each other and a lot of the things that seem petty differences melt away and we focus on what binds us together and that we, as americans, are going to stand with each other in their hour of need. Jennifer in fact, there is new political coalitions emerging following the storm. Leaders like Governor Andrew Cuomo of new york, new york city mayor Michael Bloomberg have both called for federal action on Climate Change to deal with increasingly disastrous weather events. Yesterday, the president weighed in as well saying that while he believes Climate Change is real and human made, he said taking action will require political will on both sides of the aisle. Obama i dont know the what what what either democrats or republicanss are prepared to do at this point. u there is no doubt for us to take on Climate Change in a serious way would involve making some tough political choices. Jennifer now in his first term, of course, the president did take steps to reduce harmful emissions including raising fuel efficiency standards for vehicles and providing capital to Clean Energy Companies to get off the ground. He actually plans to meet with scientists and engineers and lawmakers in the next few weeks to discuss further steps that can be taken to reduce Carbon Emissions in the short term. But there wont be action at the federal level without the cooperation of Congressional Republicans and that is going to be a challenge to put it mildly. The entire house g. O. P. Leadership team, john boehner eric cantor, Kevin Mccarthy and all of the rest, all of them signed a pledge opposing any climate legislation that raises tax revenue. That socalled no climate tax pledge, that tax pledge is backed by the Tea Party Group americans for prosperity and guess who funds americans for prosperity . Yep, the billionaire Koch Brothers who made their fortune from Oil Pipelines and refineries. And who, of course, along with other oil and coal lobbying groups spent 270 million on ads attacking the president this election. Heres the good news though. That pledge opposing any climate legislation that raises taxes probably wont have much of an impact because the president has not even proposed a carbon tax. So there may be still hope. If Congressional Republicans continue to drag their feet though, we might see a lot more action on clean energy at the state level this term. Joining me now to talk about creating a Clean Energy Agenda at the state level is Washington State governorelect, jay inslee. He ran on a platform of bringing clean energy and biotech jobs this to his state. Hes joining us via skype from olympia, washington. Governorelect inslee, congratulations on your win and thank you so much for being here inside the war room. Thanks for the congratulations but congratulations to you because you were i was only the second most forceful advocate for clean energy in washington. You were the first when you came to help me get elected governor. Thank you very much. Jennifer as you know i did it because i so believe in your leadership. And now you goat bring it to the state level. So i want to ask you that. How much do you think can be done at the state level to combat Climate Change and create Clean Energy Jobs . Well, im just a huge optimistic about the ability of my state really leading the world in Technological Development and clean energy and i think its just right in my states wheel house. Weve led technological revolutions and aerospace with boeing. Weve led a revolution in software with microsoft and now we have the siege for a third technological revolution and a whole suite of clean energy and Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency technologies in my state. So i think its exactly what my state was designed to do which is to marry a very strong environmental value system that we have in the state where the were the evergreen state, of course, with an entrepreneurial culture that has valued innovation and has created the policies that are necessary to allow them to blossom and i tell you, it is happening. In fact, i was just walking down the hallway ten minutes ago and one of our Economic Development team members said that he was talking to this cutting edge Transmission Technology company that can do really high capacity transmission to reduce the cost of transmitting clean when were done with this interview, im going to try to get him to open up a spot here in the state. That will be great to be governor of the state of washington. Jennifer it brings me back home. Whats thats what every smart governor is doing to get those products manufactured in your state and put people to work. It is a huge opportunity. Now obviously some of that state level policy is going to require a partnership with the state. Some states have put aside funds to be able to provide lowinterest loans or to be able to provide grants. To get those bills to get those businesses there. Problem for you is that your state actually passed one of those revenue limitations bills called tabor saying any new taxes, for example, require 2 3 vote of the legislature or a vote of the people to pass. Do you think thats going to limit you in getting your Clean Energy Agenda passed . Not really. Ill tell you why. The bulk of the things we have proposed really do not involve specific appropriations. Let me give you an example of the kind of things that we want to accomplish. We want to move existing research we have tremendous advanced physics labs at the university of washington biofuels and Aerospace Labs at Washington State university. We want to accelerate the rate and take some of the r d and commercialize that technology. We have some artificial restrictions in my state on their ability to take that r d and move it into commercial activity. We want to strip away those regulations right now that slow that down. That frankly doesnt take additional taxpayer dollars. It is simply things that make sense. We want to allow a Financing Mechanism for Small Businesses to be able to finance Energy Efficiency and eventually Renewable Energy setting up financing systems through our existing utilities and eventually through our system through our county and local governments. These are kind of things that really accelerate the pace of development that dont involve necessary taxpayer dollars. Now, there are some things we have proposed that are very focused on commercial activity. We have proposed a targeted r d tax credit for companies that have very high r d expenditures that are prerenew companies, a credit against b. O. Tax. There are some implications of that but theyre not huge. Were not going to allow our fiscal challenges to slow down the growth of this opportunity curve. Its huge and its happening all over my state. Weve got the worlds most durable solar panel made anywhere on the planet today is made in marysville, washington. Little Company Called silicon energy. Largest manufacturer of silicon substrates for solar panels is in moses lake, washington. Were these companies that have great growth potential. We wont let the fiscal challenge slow us down. Jennifer it is interesting because you had a couple of things happening at the same time speaking of the fiscal challenges like the passage of that tabor bill. When there were two other progressive Ballot Initiatives passed. You had legalizing gay marriage and marijuana which both also passed. Do you see that the marijuana passage might be an opportunity under the regulatory scheme to raise revenue for some of your other priorities . It is. There are some very significant projections under the initiative that did pass. Now, were going to have to have some serious discussions with the administration about this. Im hopeful we will succeed in convincing the administration to respect federalism here and allow a local decision with local impacts to move forward. I think this would be Perfect Moment for the federal government to honor our decision and colorados voters decision to allow us to move forward with a new policy in this regard. And it will have very significant revenue implications. There are estimates from the tens of millions to the hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue that can be generated and then used in our schools. Weve got a very severe School Funding shortage in my state thats really demanding of new revenues new availability of resources one way or another. So we hope we succeed that the administration will be convinced to respect the will of washington and colorado voters if that happens, it will help us in revenue and wouldnt be such a bad thing if some of that ends up in research in new advanced lithium ion batteries that you have helped in a tremendous leader on in your success of michigan and it is interesting weve got folks here that have led some of the smart grid technologies that can be married with ion. Weve got a new Battery Storage company in spokane, washington called demand Energy Management that has a copper battery that has some great future as well. So taking some of the money from Recreational Use of marijuana and using some of that for new technologies to reduce Climate Change would be a sweet thing. Jennifer just so that everybody understands, the Marijuana Initiative in your state was not a medical marijuana issue. It was legalizing Recreational Use of marijuana and regulating it like states do with alcohol and states that regulate alcohol get some revenue from that. So huge opportunity certainly for Washington State. Just quickly, have you had an opportunity to talk to the president or anybody in washington about whether, in fact, theyll be enforcing the federal law in washington . I have not. Governor has had some preliminary discussions with the department. They have not as far as we know, made any particular decisions. I think thats a good sign. We want the federal government to take some time and think about this and i hope that they will conclude that because this is something with such local impacts that theyll allow the local state to make their own decisions. I do think thats consistent with what we have done for a long time in this country and a federal system to allow the states to be incubators of democracy, to try new policies out. And see what happens. And you know this is going to be a first time experiment in colorado and washington. Rest of the country can learn from that. Without any Huge National so were going to be talking to everybody we can in d. C. About this. Jennifer it is going to be very interesting. Governorelect, jay inslee of Washington State. Creative potentially Revenue Solutions and certainly a big plate full of Clean Energy Jobs. Really appreciate you coming inside the war room. Thanks for your leadership and lets crow about this. We had a victory for clean energy at the ballot box last week in the state of washington. Lets make that a National Success ultimately. Jennifer all righty. Sounds great to me. Thanks jay. Thank you. Jennifer coming heres to high ideas. Washington state may be the first to legalize marijuana but i doubt it is the last. Well talk about that after the break. Plus, there are many challenges facing our returning veterans. But one is tick particularly disturbing. Later, what does the fiscal cliff have to do with childhood hunger . Well explain as we continue with our weeklong series, feeding the need. Its the war room on a thursday vo cenk uygur is many things. Oh really . Tax cuts dont create jobs. The golden years as the conservatives call them, we had the highest tax rates, and the highest amount of growth, and the highest amount of jobs. Those are facts. If you ever raise taxes on the rich, youre going to destroy our economy. Not true [ forsythe ] we dont just come up here for the view up in alaska. Its the cleanest, clearest water. We find the best sweetest crab for red lobster that we can find. [ male announcer ] hurry in to red lobsters crabfest the only time of year you can savor 5 succulent crab entrees all under 20 dollars. Like a halfpound of tender snow crab paired with savory grilled shrimp, just 12. 99. Or our hearty crab and roasted garlic seafood bake. [ forsythe ] if i wouldnt put it on my table at home, i wouldnt bring it in. My names jon forsythe and i sea food differently. Right by those who gave their lives to for this country nearly 70 years ago. These High School Boys and girls are having a hop at the local soda fountain. Innocently they dance innocent of a new and deadly menace lurking behind closed doors. Marijuana. The burning weed. Jennifer thats a clip from the 1936 movie reifer matness. People thought marijuana was a menace to society and today it is actually legal in 16 states and the District Of Columbia for medicinal use. And voters in Washington State and colorado just approved measures to legalize it for Recreational Use. But heres the run. Possession of marijuana remains a federal crime under 21 u. S. Code section 844 putting those states and their citizens at odds with the federal government and federal Law Enforcement. Mother jones reporter Josh Harkinson has been all over the story, joining me now. Welcome back inside the war room. Glad to be here, jennifer. Jennifer glad to you have back to talk about an issue thats evolving obviously. The people may be ahead of the laws on this. Smoking pot and the view of it was once considered a scourge. Whats happened . I think started in 1996 when california voters passed prop 215 which was this really looselyworded ballot measure that made medical marijuana legal and the following year, about 400,000 californians got these medical pot cards which really you could get for anything like hangnail or writers cramp. I got one for writers cramp myself. Jennifer wow. So it basically was essentially legal. Jennifer did you do that as an experiment as a reporter or did you do it because you did have writers cramp . I did it as an experiment to demonstrate how easy it was. The idea here is that really it is essentially legal in many of the states so it is not too much of an additional step to say hey, lets legalize it. Jennifer now youve got full legalization in colorado and washington. In colorado, more people voted to legalize pot than voted for the president in washington, it was about the same. So are you going to see now the federal government clamping down on dispensaries because it is a federal crime still in washington and colorado like they did here in oakland . I think it is an open question. The situation the politics of this have evolved since then. I think when prop 19 in california failed, the federal government felt emboldened to crack down on the industry here. But now that voters in two states have voted to fully legalize recreational pot the politics of political calculation changes a little bit. It is still an open question but i think that they have reason to be cautious this time. Jennifer what has the president said about it . Does he support it . The president has been mum on the subject and you can really only divine what he think through the actions of say the department of justice. Jennifer or the biographers that have been written about him. Right. And thats the funny thing about this issue because while as you mentioned, more voters approved of legalizing pot than voted for obama in colorado, it is still sort of an underthe table under the rug issue so people dont want to step up to it. Jennifer since we dont know where hes going to go with it, we can only look at the Economic Impact where there has been medicinal legalization. Has there been an Economic Impact . Has there been plus or minus as a result of states who have legalized it for medicinal use . It has been a gigantic impact. Marijuana in california is a billion dollar a year industry. And states get tax revenue from this. The city of oakland had banked its entire Economic Future on it. Jennifer what would they get . Do you know the numbers . It would be many tens of millions a year. If their plans had been allow to the continue but the federal government cracked down on their efforts. Jennifer i know that in we just spoke with governorelect jay inslee of Washington State who did not support the ballot proposal there but of course, now that the citizens have spoken, he will accept their judgment. And the studies there show that washington might take in as much as 530 million per year which he could apply to priorities. Do you see that same rationale being espoused in colorado, in other states that might do this who might see it as an economic boon for states in tough financial situations . I think it is an economic win. One is the sheer amount of tax dollars you get but also the Law Enforcement costs of regulating marijuana, arresting people for possessing it astronomical. There was a study in Washington State that found there are about 240,000 people had been thrown in jail or cited for misdemeanors for possession. Last 25 years. That cost the state about 300 million. Jennifer wow. So do you see in the states that have at least likely like we have seen here in california, loosened up for medicin purposes. Do you see what are known as gonja entrepreneurs cropping up, huge Small Business opportunity . I read about a couple of them based in oakland. They wanted to open essentially walmart of weed like the worlds first integrated marijuana company. They crashed and burned but they were interesting. One was a Morgan Stanley investment banker. Gives you an idea of the kind of crowd this is attracting these days. Jennifer it is very, very interesting development. Certainly, you know, could be considered an opportunity for cashstrapped states. Certainly an opportunity. Last question, do you think that california will try this again . Im sure they will. They kind of broke the ice with prop 19. I think that you know, two four years from now jennifer i assume youll see that wave go across the country as millennials et cetera, gain power. This is what happened with prohibition. The states legalize alcohol first then the federal government followed. Jennifer Josh Harkinson of mother jones thanks for being inside the war room. Up next, sometimes the toughest face you have to look at is the one in mirror. Thats exactly what republicans need to do if they want to be relevant when we think of hunger we often picture people in the third world. Many americans dont realize that the problem exists right here in our own country. Its an issue that ultimately effects each and every one of us. Thats why current is stepping up. By feeding the needy. Feeding the needy. Feeding the needy. Feeding the needy. Feeding the needy. For an entire week well explore hunger, malnutrition even obesity. And offer solutions. So join us here at current tv where together, well feed the needy. Brought to you by basf the chemical company. 15 succeeded in setting their houses on fire. At christmas, there was a lot of driving over the river and through the woods. And a little bit of skidding on the ice and taking out grandmas garage door. So while youre celebrating, allstate will be standing by. Trouble never takes a holiday. Neither should your insurance. Thats allstates stand. Are you in good hands . Jennifer youve probably heard that the Republican Party is looking for a new identity. Theyre looking literally everywhere. At the Republican Governors Association conference in las vegas, Haley Barbour was the most direct. Weve got to give our political organizational activity, you know, a very serious proctology exam. Jennifer lovely. Other republicans in las vegas echoed barbours language. Virginia governor Bob Mcdonnell noted the g. O. P. Needs to figure out what we did right and what we did wrong. How we can improve our tone, hour message our technology, our turnout all the things that are required to win elections. Now, far be it for me to give the republicans advice but i would humbly suggest that rather than giving their organization an uncomfortable exam to change just the tactics perhaps they ought to consider changing their ideas and i would start with their position on freedom. Republican party has a major credibility gap on that issue. Why . Because the republicans are for Free Enterprise but not free individuals. Heres what i mean. Ask you any republican about the partys core values and theyre going to list a bunch of variations on the word freedom. Free enterprise, free markets free trade Economic Freedom freedom from taxation and regulation liberty unchaining the private sector, dont tread on me flags basically get the government out of the way so that private action can flourish. Right . But their freedom only applies to business. Not individuals. So businesses ought to be free from barriers to freely pursue commerce but citizens have to scale barriers to freely exercise their right to cast a vote . People hear a disconnect in your rhetoric. Businesses should be trusted to act without regulation, you say. But women cannot be trusted to make even their own healthcare decisions . Businesses ought to freely crosscountry borders to enjoy the global free market but the tired, the poor, the hungry who yearn to be free, theyre not free to cross our borders. Businesses should be free to make contractual arrangements, of course. But individuals are not free to enter into a marriage contract with whomever they love. The reason why the g. O. P. Is going to continue to lose elections is because they dont seem to understand how individuals hear the word freedom. You cannot bow to the altar of freedom at the same time as you eagerly regulate the most intimate and sacred of individuals personal fears. It is pretty straightforward. And you know what . Heres how the demographic groups that youre worried about losing, heres how they hear that twosided message. We trust business to be free but we dont trust you. Economic freedom without personal freedom is no freedom at all. So republicans as you do your extension soul searching consider this. Maybe your loss was not because of the way that you sold your ideas. Maybe your loss is because of the hypocrisy of the ideas themselves. Up next, of all of the films and documentaries about soldiers and veterans, the one were going to tell you about after the break is guaranteed to leave a lasting impression. I know it did for me. I felt like this wasnt the life i wanted to come back to. This wasnt the life that i left. I wasnt able to adjust to civilian life. It was just too hard for me. I would wear my uniform like a blanket, like security, not knowing where the next meal was going to come from. It makes it very emotional. It is sad. Thats a sad life. Jennifer thats kori, one of the women featured in the new documentary her war which chronicles the problem of homelessness among female veterans. Did you know that theyre the Fastest Growing homeless population. In fact, last year, their ranks more than doubled. The films director, mimi chakirova spent nearly a month on los angeless skid row reporting on this crisis for the center for investigative reportingss eye files. Tonight were so pleased to be able to welcome mimi inside the war room. Thank you for joining us. Thank you for having me. Jennifer youve gone into it. Youve been embedded there. Why are so many of the Women Homeless . You know, one of the reasons is that when women come back from serving their country many of them have a very difficult time readjusting to civilian life because of what happened to them while they were in the military. There are two other factors. Why women join in the first place. Many of these women join at a very young age. Were talking about 18, 19. Jennifer maybe they had no other options. They had no other options. They joined to serve their country but it is a ticket out of their neighborhoods and poverty. When they return, they dont have resources. Very easy to exhaust those resources and then unravel and end up on the street. And the third factor, which is important to mention is that many women dont even consider themselves veterans. There is this notion jennifer . Really . There is this notion that veterans are older males and women dont even think they qualify. Even though they are veterans, especially the younger women. They dont think they qualify for v. A. Services. Jennifer when you were there and filming, how did you get them to open up to you . I spent a month in los angeles but initially you know, first of all, i was there alone so that helped. I had this notion that i would go down to l. A. And i would find a group of women who are all vets on the street in the same area and this that was very much not the case. It is an invisible population. Women stay hidden because theyre preyed upon. I found an Organization Called new direction which has two residential programs for Women Veterans facing homelessness and addiction and it is the woman who runs this program who is the central character in the film who introduced me to some of them. Jennifer i want to play a clip about renee. She is, herself a former homeless vet who works with these women. Lets play that clip. How you doing . How you doing . Im good. What she had to do to feed her habit and survive on the street. Nice to see you. Actually that was one of my jennifer so how did renee get off the streets . Ironically, renee got off the streets through a client who she was prostituting to feed her habit. In skid row for more than a decade and one of her clients said didnt you serve in the air force . She said yeah, i did. He said you know, you should look into the v. A. , they might be able to help you with a Rehab Program so she enrolled in a Rehab Program and shes been clean for nine years. Jennifer huh. Well, i would imagine that a lot of these veterans suffer from another trauma which female veterans of all stripes seem to suffer from. The pentagon says that one in three female vets has experienced military sexual trauma. What is that . Did you meet women who had experienced that . Yes. Military sexual trauma is actually a term which the v. A. Came up with. The pentagon calls it sexual assault. Military sexual assault. Now, the v. A. Acknowledges one in five Women Veterans has experienced msd military sexual trauma. The pentagon puts the number at one in three but those who are actually Service Providers on the ground and interact with Women Veterans on a daily basis quote a much higher number. 75 . Just to give you an idea, when i was meeting women and interviewing women eight out of ten women who i interviewed had been raped in the military. The majority of them were raped by their supervisors. Jennifer what is the v. A. Doing about that . What is the v. A. Doing about the culture that would allow that to happen . The v. A. Is doing a lot of outreach within the community. With, you know, homeless shelters, with residential programs. But thats not enough. There is also a campaign to end veteran homelessness by 2015 which is very ambitious noble campaign but housing is not the only issue. If you have suffered with this type of trauma and you come back and just to give you an idea, women who have experienced msd are four times more likely to have posttraumatic stress disorder so they came back. Even if you provide a house for them, how could they possibly keep a job when their Mental Health is not in the place jennifer your purpose in uncovering this and choosing this as a topic you as in all investigative reporters you wanted to have some kind of impact. What do you hope this does . First of all, i hope that people are watching something and are aware of something which very few are acknowledging that it exists. Very few people know that this exists. Jennifer if they want to see this documentary, where should they go . They should go to the i files run through the center for investigation. Jennifer it is also on our web site, the link is to our web site as well. But as a documentarist, the purpose is to have some kind of impact. The purpose has changed. The purpose is to make sure this doesnt happen to more women. The purpose is to learn and to react and change. Change perception. Most importantly. Change perception. Jennifer thats what its all about. Mimi chakirova, thank you so much for joining us inside our war room. Director of her war. Up next, the latest from our series feeding the need how going over the fiscal cliff could mean children going hungry. That story is next and it is one youll only find in the war room. Just put a little bit of yourself in everything you do [ female announcer ] add your own ingredients to hamburger helper for a fresh take on a quick, delicious meal. Its one box with hundreds of possibilities. [ male announcer ] with over 50 delicious choices of green giant vegetables its easy to eat like a giant. And feel like a green giant. Ho ho ho green giant [ voice of dennis ]. Safe driving bonus check . Every six months without an accident, allstate sends a check. Ok. [ voice of dennis ] silence. Are you in good hands . [ forsythe ] we dont just come up here for the view up in alaska. Its the cleanest, clearest water. We find the best sweetest crab for red lobster that we can find. [ male announcer ] hurry in to red lobsters crabfest the only time of year you can savor 5 succulent crab entrees all under 20 dollars. Like a halfpound of tender snow crab paired with savory grilled shrimp, just 12. 99. Or our hearty crab and roasted garlic seafood bake. [ forsythe ] if i wouldnt put it on my table at home, i wouldnt bring it in. My names jon forsythe and i sea food differently. Jennifer speaks truth to power. The bottom line is we need an amendment. Now its your turn. Connect with the war room jennifer granholm. Its a call to arms. Make your voice heard. Jennifer in tonights edition of our series look at hunger in america currently feeding the need. We look at the problem of mothers and children going hungry. If the domestic spending cuts go through, 543 million is scheduled to be slashed from the budget of wic, the women infant and childrens nutrition program. Wic provides checks and vouchers to about nine million new and expect act mothers expectant mothers for nutritious food. Joining me now is mariana chilton, the founder of witnesses to hunger. And shes the director of the center for hungerfree communities. Dr. Chilton joins us from philadelphia where shes an associate professor at drexel universitys school of Public Health. Thanks for coming inside the war room. Thank you so much for having me. Im happy to be here. Jennifer you bet. Lets just take the big picture first. How would the wic Program Change if the 543 million are al ed al whatou iatme fou ieoore eo e th groune gun ell, i think it is most important that wic is not protected if we have to do acrosstheboard cuts. It is not an Entitlement Program. There are four major facts that we have to remember when were thinking about the fiscal cliff and how it affects wic. First one is that one in four very Young Children under the age of 6 is suffering from food insecurity. That means over nine million infants and toddlers and preschoolers are at risk for developmental delay. This makes it a Major Public Health problem which is the second most important fact. We have a Major Public Health crisis happening right now in our country because food insecure children suffer more illnesses. Theyre more likely to be hospitalized and it affects their social and emotional and Cognitive Development as well. Thirdly, i think it is most important we remember that wic is a really important Public Health program. Wic prevents hunger. It reduces hunger. It promoting Child Development and prevents hospitalizations. And fourth, it is so important that we think about 50 of american newborn kids are participating in the wic program. That tells you it has great reach but it also tells you of the magnitude of Child Poverty in our country. When we have 50 of our newborn children participating in wic if there are any cuts to the program that means not only will we have major fiscal cliff we have a major humanitarian crisis on our hands. Jennifer so now wic and snap is the other Food Assistance program otherwise often known as food stamps, the supplemental nutrition assistance program. Whats the difference between the two . Snap is an Entitlement Program and it helps anyone who is eligible to be able to participate. Wic is the most Important Program for pregnant and lactating women and very Young Children under the age of 5. What makes wic stand out is pediatricians are working together to focus on nutrition and it is a marriage of the Public Health community and Food Assistance community. Jennifer so it is more than food. It is more of a holistic approach. You have started something called witnesses to hunger. Witnesses to hunger project. What is the purpose of that and describe it for me. Witnesses to hunger allows very lowincome women to be able to speak out on their own terms. So what were trying to do is make sure that lowincome women who are the true experts on hunger and poverty to be able to speak in the National Dialogue on hunger and poverty and try to break down the stereotypes so many people have about people who are poor. What they do is they speak through their cameras. They take photographs of their children and of the world around them to be able to describe what they want people to see. Whats going on in their lives and what their ideas for change are. It makes it very exciting. It is a way for them to be able to speak up. Jennifer were looking at pictures right now of what you have done, to bring women to washington, d. C. To testify actual women so that these members of Congress Actually see people who are impacted by potentially these kind of cuts. I want to show a few of the photos from your witnesses to hunger project. One of them here, this is one from crystal who writes with the money food stamps provided, i was able to feed her breakfast that morning. Without it, what would she have eaten . She had cereal, she had milk. She didnt have to go without. In another melissa writes the kids know my food stamps got cut off because when they came home from school today they didnt have their snacks. I really didnt tell them why or anything like that because i dont think they would understand but it affected them. So how can we, as a society make sure that those faces dont get ignored in these abstract, political battles with lots of acronyms . Thank you so much for asking. The first thing we need to do is to break down our stereotypes about people who are participating in the snap program and the wic program. What the women are wanting to do is they may be raising the next president , the next governor. Or a doctor or a lawyer and that they are not what people think of as somehow lazy and sitting at home. These women are working hard. Theyre investing in their children and theyre working hard to break the cycle of poverty. Jennifer really quickly, looking through the pictures, we were surprised to see many werent were pictures of conditions. Barbie submitted this photo of her neighbors neglected kitchen. You never know what goes on behind closed doors. Some people need to know how were living being single moms. How do we make sure, quickly that the solution to hunger isnt just food banks and food stamps that it has to be tackled holistically . Thanks so much for asking. The food is not just about food the way you solve hunger. You have to Pay Attention to safe and Affordable Housing and being able to afford utilities. Hunger doesnt happen in a vacuum. There are more treatments to hunger than just food. You have to Pay Attention to housing, energy, child care subsidies and a whole number of programs. Jennifer dr. Chilton, i know youve done an awful lot. People who want to know more, you can see her witnesses to hunger exhibit project online at witnesses to hunger. Org. Thanks so much for joining us inside the war room. For more stories from our feeding the need series, please go to current. Com currently. Tomorrow night, we travel to the Yosemite Valley for an inspiring look at a food bank who serves seniors. Up next, Brett Ehrlich has a message for all of those people talking about seceding from the union. And that message is that Brett Ehrlich is here to help. Thats next right here on the war room. You see grandma lives waaaay down here and you live way up here. Brian, your cousin, hes a little bit older than you, he lives here, in chicago. And your aunt lisa lives here, in baltimore. Uncle earnie . Waaay out in hawaii. But dont you worry, we will always be together for christmas. [ male announcer ] being together is the best part of the holidays and cheerios is happy to be part of the family. You just ate dallas now lets get some real news. vo first, news and analysis with a washington perspective from an emmy winning insider. You couldnt say it any more powerfully than that. Current tv, on the roll. vo followed by humor and politics with a west coast edge. Ah, thank you. It really is incredible. vo bill press and stephanie miller, currents morning news block. Weekdays six to noon. Jennifer our visit to crazytown tonight takes us as it so often does to florida. John metz, owner of 40 dennys restaurants says that hes going to add a 5 obamacare surcharge to his customers bills and this, of course, comes on the heels of pizza owner papa johns similar obamacare protest adding money cost to his pizzas. Im actually kind of curious to see how this is going to play out. When diners are presented with an oversized bill, theyre going to complain for sure. Theyre just not usually going to complain about the president of the united states. Just sayin. The signatures have been counted and it appears there is scant support for states to leave our union and go their separate ways. But dont worry. Our Brett Ehrlich is still making plans on how to help those states out so shh bretts talking now. Well, america, it was fun while it lasted. But after president obamas victory last week, all 50 states have formally petitioned to secede from the union. [ dramatic ] im not going to try to stop you but the least i can do is help you come up with new flags names and mottos so that youre ready for nationhood. First up, georgia. Everyones always getting you confused with the country georgia so youve gotta change your name. My suggestion, keger stand. Mississippi, write it on everything. I can just see your currency which reads mississippi, we were tired of being last in everything. Having recently legalized marijuana, washingtons new National Anthem will become bob dylans everybody must get stoned. Alabama will also want that anthem and the two nations will go to war only to realize shortly after they were talking about two completely different kinds of getting stoned. Newt gingrich will become south carolinas king and his wife Calista Gingrich will become their National Bird. She flies proudly for she is nonhuman. Texas National Bird will just be the bird. Chris christie will become new jerseys Supreme Leader only to immediately change his title to taco Supreme Leader. Entering the state motor lists pass sipes saying youre now entering the no thin zone. No longer having to distinguish itself from north dakota, south dakota can change its name to nowhere. Godspeed new nations. I know youlls be fine except for alaska which will be overrun by bears. Im done talking now. Jennifer all right. Well someones always in our war room. Check us out online at curr