Transcripts For MSNBCW Up WSteve Kornacki 20140810

Humanitarian effort. Now dropping supplies in northern iraq. France is vowing to help with relief efforts, too. Still i. S. I. S. Is showing no signs of backing down. It released this video showing off military equipment it seized. This is day three of this latest u. S. Involvement in iraq. Yesterday before leaving for his vacation on marthas vineyard, the president reiterated his pledge not to send more Ground Troops into iraq but said his strategy for defeating i. S. I. S. Militants is lefrm. First, i dont think were going to solve this problem in weeks, if thats what you mean. I think this is going the take some time. If sometime turns into months, the president will have to turn to congress for permission to pursue his strategy. The war powers act gives him 60 days to do whatever he thinks is necessary without congressional approval. Late friday the white house gave this official notification to congress telling lawmakers about the latest military operation in iraq. Altz for what congress will do when those 60 days are up, well, thats where things can get sticky. Lets flashback to june. I. S. I. S. Was gaining traction in iraq. President obama used the war powers act to send 700 u. S. Troops to iraq in order to protect the u. S. Embassy and International Airport in bagdad and facilities in rah beal. How did Congress Respond . The house passed an amendment to keep the president from using pentagon funds to pay for the military response. It later passed a resolution preventing the president from deploys troops in a does stained military operation in iraq without congressional approval. What will happen when these next 60 days are up. Joining me now to talk about all of that, democratic senator chris coons of del bear, neera tanden, former congressman Patrick Murphy and msnbc exhibitor and the first veteran of the iraq war to also serve in congress and msnbc military analyst and medal of honor recipient retired colonel jack jacobs. Senator kuntz, let me start with you, how much authority and autonomy does president obama have to deal with this promise . I do think the president is appropriately acting to protect american personnel and the american facility in your beal. He is acting to prevent a genocide of the people trapped up on mount sin jar. He did consult with congress and has sent us appropriately under the war powers act notification that American Hill terrace sets is have been deployed into iraq. I do think as you said in the introduction should this go on more than 60 days he will need to consult with congress and im hopeful well have an appropriate, supportive bipartisan and deliberate discussion about what sort of engagement we think is called for, not just to secure our facilities in bagdad and erbil but to push back against i. S. I. S. Patrick, i want to play something president obama said yesterday before going to marthas vineyard. Take a listen. Theres going to have to be an iraqi solution that america and other countries and allies support. That cant happen effectively until you have a legitimate iraqi government. Now, the administration in the past has signaled theyd like to see a change in iraq. Youve been vocal, patrick, about saying Prime Minister nuri almaleki should step down. What will it take for maliki to leave and who will take his place . First its up to the iraqi fooel people. Its not our decision. Who needs to take his place will be a moderate, shia leader, someone who wants to lead in a secular manner, someone who is not going to be just the leader of the shia, but reaches out to the sunnies and kurds up north. The iraqi people need to step up. Thats another reason why when you look at the military solution, the iraqi army has been disbanded. They dont have confidence in maliki because hes shunned the sunni and theyve pretty much left. Senator, before i go to the colonel, senator your reaction to what patrick said and your views on nuri al mali. I agree theres not a strategy without a political solution. The longterm strategy the president articulated for iraq beyond these shortterm measures is to insist on a political solution. Im very hopeful that the iraqis will take action to replace maliki with a Prime Minister more likely someone of his same background, but hopefully someone who is more inclusive, who is more willing to govern, as we had hopes maliki would three years ago in an inclusive way that allows the sunnis and the kurds to have a future. Without that political solution, i think it will be very difficult for the Iraqi Security forces to be successful in the battlefield against i. S. I. S. Colonel jacobs, the president was cautions the American People yesterday that this operation could last a while, could take a little while. And some democrats who were very concerned about mission creep, this is a sign of something larger to come. Do you think this is a leg legitimate concern right now . Probably not right now. We have to first determine what were trying to accomplish there. I think if the concern is were going to use an increasing number of air strikes, no need to worry about that. But that doesnt get us more involved in whats going on there. These weapons are being fired from a great distance. It doesnt necessarily put our aircraft at risk. We can use surface or submarine launch cruise missiles at selected targets. There hasnt been much engagement so far. Knock out a toed how witser. Its not like were engaged here. One thing we have to keep in mind, when the president says no Ground Troops, he means no conventional Ground Troops. I think we would be remiss if we didnt already have special Operations Forces on the ground. And if one of the objectives is to try to assist the kurds from coming off the mountain, for example, thats not going to be accomplished by themselves. Theyll need assistance. Were not sending the Second Armored Division or something to iraq and we shouldnt be concerned about having to do that. Patrick real quickly. Colonel jack is absolutely right. The humanitarian aid effort is different than the military effort. The reason why barack obama is acting so quickly is because we have a clear and present danger to the military folks that are on the ground in erbil and our state Department Assets in that consulate. Thats why we have to defend them, just like benghazi. He doesnt want these republicans busting his chops because he didnt protect these people. Let me bring you into the conversation and ask you the question about the concern among democrats and certainly among a lot of the American People about the possibility of mission creep. Look, i completely appreciate that given how badly the recent war went in iraq, and the American People have made a judgment about that war and that it was a failure, the concerns. But i think very clearly here, this is a very different operation. This is very limited and it is to protect american interests. Obviously our people in erbil, but also the idea that the United States would not respond to a potential genocide of i. S. I. S. , an extreme terrorist group, out there to destroy a helpless religious minority trapped on a mountain when we can do so. I think as progressives we actually should applaud that kind of action. Eventually we didnt act in rwanda and that was a terrible crisis. Here is an area where we can act, we can act decisively, were not using Ground Troops, and i think we should be able to accomplish in our Foreign Policy between a blender like the iraq war and protecting particular people and american interests in erbil. Im going to go around the table and have you answer this one question. What do you see as the end game. Colonel jack . Thats part of the problem, we cant determine what the end game, what the objective is. Ideally theres a reasonable government in bagdad and the iraqi army can control the area and keep the bad guys away. Thats not going to happen overnight. I think what both the administration and other Decision Makers are doing now is trying to focus on the short and intermediate term objective which is to prevent erbil from falling and to do what we can for the people on the mountain. Other than that beyond that, i dont think weve thought. Patrick . I. S. I. S. Was diverted a few months ago away from bagdad. Theyre marching toward erbil. We can stop them through these artillery strikes, fa18 strikes. Until the iraqi army steps up, theyre no much to i. S. I. S. I. S. I. S. Is to the right of al qaeda, theyre dangerous. The idea is a political solution. Its going to take months. Neera . I think the end game ultimately has to be a stop of i. S. I. S. I think everyone is right here, an end to the threat to the governments, across the renal ochblt i also worry about jordan, but obviously in iraq. The way to do that is to stop i. S. I. S. From being able to recruit fighters which is why the instability is so vital to end and why we need a political solution. Senator coons . I agree. Were trying to get in the longer term is to contain and ultimately eliminate isis. Thats going to take significant engagement in syria and iraq. Its going to require a political solution in iraq. I spoke to general petraeus yesterday about the conditions in iraq and said what i hear from my constituents in delaware is we dont want to send one more Young American to die in iraq. He agreed that theres really only a political solution here that reengaging with the sunni tribes, reengages with the curds, with a new inclusive government in bagdad through a political solution that we hope will be achieved here soon is the best next step. The shortterm goal of preventing genocide of the kurds, christians and yazidis is an admirable goal, ap yall goal. Our longtermer term strategy is going to involve a political solution in iraq and strengthening our support for the moderate opposition in syria and strengthening our support for our regional allies in jordan and turkey and making sure over the next months and maybe years we succeed in containing and ultimately removing isis from the battlefield. Thank you to all my guests, senator chris coons who will be back in the next block. Neera tanden, Patrick Murphy and colonel jack jacobs. Thank you everyone. Up next, some very good news from africa. With tums. Relief that neutralizes acid on contact. And goes to work in seconds. Tum, tum tum tum tums and now, try great tasting tums chewy delights. Yummy. Virtually all your important legal matters in just minutes. Now its quicker and easier for you to start your business, protect your family, and launch your dreams. At legalzoom. Com we put the law on your side. Whos more excited about back to school savthe ladies . Ples . These guys . Or these guys . When you get guaranteed low prices on everything you buy the most, everybody gets excited staples. Make more happen for less. All day and all of the night the kinks all day and all of the night the kinks yoplait. With a smooth and creamy taste your whole family loves. It is so good all the time. Started using gain flings,fe their laundry smells more amazing than ever. Uh honey, isnt that the dogs towel . Hey, mi towel, su towel. More gain scent, plus oxi boost and febreze for 3 big things in one gain fling. Its our best gain ever youve been working like a dog if yall year. E me, but you dont need to camp out til labor day to reward yourself. Mattress discounters labor day sale is on now rest those tired bones on a queen size serta mattress and box spring set. Right now, theyre just 397. Get 48 months interestfree financing on the entire tempurpedic cloud collection. Not to labor the point, but this sale wont last long. Mattress discounters it connects travellers and local hosts, like air b b but started two years ago in kenya. It operates in 30 countries across africa and the middle east and works from a mobile phone. Its an internationally recognized startup outside of Silicon Valley thats received 235,000 in seed funding. This is not the typical way americans typically think of africa. For years americans have had an overly simplistic and pessimistic understanding of the african con tnt. It can be summed up with the three ds, disease, drought and death. A third of the population, totaling more than 300 million people. That rivals china and indian according to a new study. The historic summit in washington, the largest gathering ever of African Leaders in the u. S. Aimed to cast africa in a new light to give americans a real understanding about the opportunities in a diverse set of countries with a growing middle class, to foster deals between american countries and African Leaders and announce an additional 37 billion of public and private investments in africa. This summit reflects the reality that even as africa continues to face great challenges, were also seeing the emerge earnce of a new, mor prosperous africa. Delaware senator chris coons who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on African Affairs points out in a recent op ed that china surpassed the u. S. As africas largest trading partner five years ag goechlt he wroets, quote, the chinese have seen plainly what many u. S. Businesses have not, that six of the worlds ten Fastest Growing economies over the past decade were in sub saharan africa. Since 2000, chinese exports to africa have outpaced american exports at a ratio of three to one. Back here to discuss this is democratic senator chris coons of delaware. Thanks for being here, coming back. I have to ask you, why is china beating us out when it comes to trade with africa . China has been recentlessly focused on the continent of the greatest opportunity in this century. Theyve put dozens and dozens of Foreign Commercial Service officers all over the continent. We have just a handful. Anecdotally i hear they have more promoting chinese business, connecting Chinese Companies located in nairobi alone than we have on the entire continent of 54 countries. The new secretary of commerce has been addressing this issue and has recently led a successful trade mission, stepped up an increased the number of our Foreign Commercial Service workers. Thats one first step we needed to take. Second, we needed to engage on energy as secretary monies has. Last, we needed to bring to the table the central focus that the president was able to bring with this summit. The chinese have hosted summits like the one just concluded here in washington for a decade now. Its long overdue. But i think this african leader summit was a terrific success. As you mentioned in the introduction, tens of billions of dollars of new transactions were announced. New relationships were forged and a new positive focus on the very real Economic Opportunities on the continent of africa was brought to the people of the United States. When i interrupted you there while you were answering, i was going to say ten years ago, 2002, i visited kenya and nairobi. Even then the americans i met there were talking about the chinese and what they were doing, not only in kenya but across the continent of africa. I want to bring up walmart. The ceo of walmart was one of the attendaees on tuesday. Walmart doesnt have the best record in labor standards to say the least. How will we ensure that its responsible to workers and communities, not just investors. A great question, jonathan. One of the key differences to how American Companies have operated and will operate and how our chinese competitors have operated and will operate is our values. When the United States comes to the table and has a conversation, whether its through our embassy supporting the export sales of ge locomotives or power turbines or through export of u. S. Poultry or an expansion of walmart on the continent, we also bring with us American Values in terms of transparency and fighting corruption, promoting democracy and an open press, in terms of other Civil Liberties and civil rights that the United States makes an issue of in the midst of our increased engagement with the continent. One of the real challenges we face is for those heads of state for those african countries that choose not to embrace our view of democracy and human rights, they have with china a ready partner willing to give them Investment Opportunities but ask no difficult questions about tolerance, the open media or democracy. We need to get in this game, jonathan. We need to be accessing the opportunities of the african continent, not just for American Workers and American Companies, but also because there is a real contest of ideas on the continent that i think is the most economic progress in its future for this century. Senator, youre from delaware. What drove you to focus so much attention in your efforts of congress to africa . I was blessed to be given the opportunity of the chair of the committee when i came to the senate four years ago. I also personally had a lifechanging experience at an undergraduate at the university of nairobi. The families i lived with, the places i was able to travel to in ken da, uganda and tanzania in the mid 80s were life changing in terms of opening my eyes to the enormous potential of africa, to the warmth of the people, the strength of the traditions and the opportunities there. And then the time i later spent in 1987 in south africa working for bishop tutu further strengthened my passion for the u. S. Africa engagement. In this particular summit i had the opportunity to bring a number of bell care company ceos to the summit to have a chance to meet with african heads of state and to make the argument to the people i work for, to the citizens of delaware that this is an enormous opportunity for us, both to import african produce through the court of wilmington and to export delaware products from poultry to finished products, chemicals, technology to the continent of africa. Senator chris coons of delaware, thank you for being with us this morning. Thank you. Up next, live to gaza, the latest of the developing peace talks there straight ahead. Y ti. vo the transfers. Well, thats kid number three. vo the copilots. All sitting. Trusting. Waiting. For a safe arrival. Introducing the allnew subaru legacy. Designed to help the driver in you. Care for the passenger in them. The subaru legacy. Its not just a sedan. Its a subaru. Honey, look i got one to land. Uhhuh announcer theres good more. Honey, look at all these smart rewards points verizon just gave me. Ooh, you got a buddy. Im like a statue. I just signed up and, boom, all these points. And theres notsogood more. Youre a big guy. Huh. Oh no. Get the good more with Verizon Smart rewards and rack up points to use towards the things you really want. Now get 50 off all new smartphones. In the nation, the safest feature in your car is you. Add vanishing deductible from nationwide insurance and get 100 off for every year of safe driving. Which for you, shouldnt be a problem. Just another way we put members first, because we dont have shareholders. Join the nation. Nationwide is on your side. A body at rest tends to stay at rest. While a body in motion tends to stay in motion. Staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. But if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. Prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. Because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. Plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. Celebrex can be taken with or without food. And its not a narcotic. You and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. All prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. They all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. This chance increases if you have Heart Disease or risk factors such as high Blood Pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. Nsaids, like celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions, or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. Patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. Dont take celebrex if you have bleeding in the stomach or intestine, or had an asthma attack, hives, other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. Get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. Tell your doctor your medical history. And find an Arthritis Treatment for you. Visit celebrex. Com and ask your doctor about celebrex. For a body in motion. Theres renewed hope this morning that a knew truce could take hold in gaza. Palestinian goethers have agreed to a threeday truce. Its not clear if israel will agree. Meanwhile, the violence continue overnight in gaza with at least 20 air strikes. Gaza Officials Say a 14yearold boy was among three People Killed in those strikes. Nbc news chief global correspondent bill neely is live on the ground in gaza. Reporter yes, jonathan, there are now several reports coming out of cairo that the palestinian delegation have now accepted an egyptian proposal that there should be a new 72hour ceasefire. Remember, the last one ran out on friday morning. Since then there have been many dozens of deaths and dozenses of air strikes from vale and many more rockets fired by palestinians. For the past few days, egyptian intelligence chiefs and they are the negotiators in cairo, have been focusing almost entirely on the palestinian delegation trying to get them to agree to get hamas to agree to stop the rocket fire into israel. The reason for that is the israelis walked away from cairo saying they simply werent prepared for the bigger picture, in other words, to continue the peace talks under fire. There would be no negotiations under fire. If these reports are true and the palestinian delegation is about to announce a new threeday ceasefire, then that certainly would be a Building Block towards, first of all renewed talks and, secondly, a slim chance of a longer lasting peace deechlt at the minute, no reaction in israel to these reports. I would imagine the israelis would be extremely skeptical. And in the words of a former u. S. President , they would want to see deeds, not words. If there is Movement Towards a new ceasefire, no one has told the militants because just half an hour ago there were two rockets fired over the israeli town of sterot, obviously serious enough for the iron dome Missile System to be used to intercept them. The possibility that there may be a new ceasefire in the offing. Thank you to nbcs bill neely. Stay safe. After losing two president ial reflexes, the republicans need an autopsy of their autopsy. Well discuss next. Creates Something Else as well jobs all over america. Engineering and innovation jobs. Advanced Safety Systems technology. Shipping and manufacturing. Across the United States, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. When we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. Thats not a coincidence. Its one more part of our commitment to america. Easy like monday morning. S sundays are the warriors day to unplug and recharge. What if this feeling could last all week . With centurylink as your trusted partner, it can. Our visionary Cloud Infrastructure and Global Broadband network free you to focus on what matters. With Custom Communications solutions and dedicated support, your business can shine all week long. Will you be a sound sleeper, or a mouth breather . A mouth breather [ whimpers ] how do you sleep like that . Well, put on a breathe right strip and shut your mouth. Allergy medicines open your nose over time, but add a breathe right strip and pow it instantly opens your nose up to 38 more. So you can breathe and do the one thing you want to do sleep. Add breathe right to your allergy medicine. Shut your mouth and sleep right. Breathe right. Last week began with an objective truth spoken by National Journal Political Writer ron fornier. The moment came during a Frank Exchange with michael meadeham who heads extremely conservative gop candidates. They were discussing the border bill which the republicans were revolting against. Fastest growing voting bloc in this country, the Republican Party hates them. This party cannot be the party of the future beyond november if youre seen as the party of white people. Some people might disagree with that statement. Shawn trendy argued republicans would win nationally if they did a better job at turning out white voters. Forniers statement is pretty much conventional wisdom among gop leaders. The ballyhooed and then ignored gop autopsy said pretty much the same thing, if the Republican Party doesnt broaden its reach to people of color, hispanics in particular, it is doomed as a national party. Lately it seems the words republican and consensus do not go together. Case in point, alabama congressman mo brooks. On monday, laura ingram asked brooks to respond to forniers comments about republicans becoming the party of white people. This is a part of the war on whites thats being launched by the democratic party. The way in which theyre laun launching this war is by claiming that whites hate everybody else. Its part of the strategy that barack obama implemented in 2008 and again in 2012 where he divides us on race, sex, greed, envy, class warfare, all those kinds of things. Its a proposition worthy of a thousand side eyes. Writing in new york magazine, jonathan chaet writed, its a concept as old as racism itself. White reactionaries imagined that abolishing slavery would turn white people into slaves. The concept of white subjugation was transferred into things such as black suffrage and so on. T so here we have a problem basically as old as our country, only now all the people who feel that way belong to just one Political Party. To discuss this, my Washington Post colleague columnist, dana milbank and the reverend joe watkins, republican strategist and former white house aide to george h. W. Bush. I want to begin by asking both of you a question. I want you to answer honestly, are you leading the war on whites, dana . No. As a white person i am besieged, jonathan. Its getting very difficult to make my way about town. At first when i heard that mo brooks made these remarks, i wondered if they were perhaps some mel brooks remarks because it seems so comical to me that people would feel so besieged at this point. After all, what ron fornier and many others were pointing out is just a matter of simple statistics. We are reaching a point in this country where i think the census says 2043, where whites will no longer be the majority. It doesnt mean somebody else will be the majority. It means were no longer a white majority country. Were very close to that now already. Rather than seeing that as some sort of a threat to white people, why not see it as a celebration of what america is and what it was supposed to be . Before i get your response to, are you leading the war on whites, dana, since you brought it up, you wrote something in your column that was beautifully stated. It was the battle cry of the white man, particularly the soirnth white man feeling besieged. I dont share the fear but i understand it. The United States is experiencing a rapid decoupling of race and nationality. Whiteness has less and less to do with being american. Elaborate on that . Whiteness was never supposed to be about being american. When it was all about european immigrants, thats what this country was in a de facto sense, except for the slaves we brought over here. Now, of course, that pattern is continuing except its coming from the rest of the world and people are feeling threatened by that. Really the whole the idea of success in this country is to recognize why does america work well. Well, its because we take the best of cultures from around the world, we dont only assimilate them and mix them into the population. We learn the best aspects of those cultures and make them part of our own. Joe, your reaction . I dont think theres a war on whites. That doesnt help the Republican Party. Theres always going to be a fight for votes and voters. Republicans have to be engaged in that fight. Absolutely right, i agree with what the chairman said. If we dont broaden our reach, if the party doesnt include people that look like america, brown people and black people and gay people and women and young people and independents, we wont be a Majority Party Going Forward. Weve got to broaden our reach, be a more diverse Political Party in order to really be competitive, especially in the 2016 cycle. Ill stick with you here, joe. In preparing the gop autopsy, the drafters of it talked to former House Majority leader dick army who had this great quote. You cant call someone ugly and expect them to go to the prom with you. Weve chased the hispanic voter out of his natural home. Army was the prom nechbt Tea Party Member before he left, so hes had his foot in both camps. Is it because people like dick army arent running for reelection that they are able to speak so freely like this . I think that the speaking that you hear is born of the desire to win. In order for the party to be a bigger tent, its got to be a bigger tent philosophically. It has to be a place that might be fiscal conservatives and social liberals and social moderates, who have a wide variety of understand innings on subject matter. The republicans really have to be a bigger tent, a broader philosophical tent and a broader tent ethnically and racially. Dana, republicans are often saying minority voters want free stuff. I want to show an ad that senator thad cochran ran in an africanamerican newspaper days before this years primary election in mississippi. It says he brought home more than 18 million in federal funds to historically black colleges and universities. It mentions his support for the farm bill and food stamps. Cochran hung up in that primary and ultimately won his runoff, largely thanks to support from africanamerican voters. Dana, whats the difference between free stuff and bacon . Theres a difference between where the person is running for office. The problem with mo brooks and a large number of House Republicans is they only care about white voters because the only threat to them is in the primary where there are white voters. Not black, brown, yellow or red. They dont need to worry about the nation as a whole. So if youre taking a perspective now thad cochran is looking at his state and saying, okay, because we have this open primary, i can bring democratic voters over to help me through. That was a oneoff case. If youre looking at a nationwide election, you cant just appeal to white voters anymore. Youre not going to prevail. Joe . You have to speak if you want my vote. You have to talk to me and my community. By the way, all people arent poor. You talk about food stamps, thats supposed to be black people. Thats not true. There are more white people on food stamps than black people. You have to talk to me in my community and things that matter to me. If im looking the get ahead, to see a more level playing field, talk to me about college, talk to me about employment, the chance to own a business and build some wealth that i can pass on to my family generationally. Talk to me about the things i really care about. Then youll have a chance to get in my ear and get my vote. Joe, is there anybody in the Republican Party to tell people like congressman brooks to cut it out . You have lots of people even people who interviewed him said, you know, perhaps youve gone a little too far. That was laura ingram. When you have laura ingram calling you out, you know youve crossed the line. I want to thank joe watkins and dana milbank, thank you both forgetting up this morning. My personal thoughts on the deadly shooting in ferguson, missouri, next. And startup ny companies will be investing hundreds of millions of dollars in jobs and infrastructure. Thanks to startup ny, businesses can operate tax free for 10 years. No property tax. No business tax. And no sales tax. Which means more growth for your business, and more jobs. Its not just business as usual. See how new york can help your business grow, at startup. Ny. Gov everybodys excited about thsavings at staples. From the customers, to the staples associates. With guaranteed low prices on comp books, youll flip out now go tell your friends. Staples. Make more happen for less. Woooooah. [ male announcer ] youre not just looking for a house. Youre looking for a place for your life to happen. Zillow. Youre looking for a place for your life to happen. Machines will be sprayed to be made. And making something stronger. Will mean making it lighter. One day, factories will work with the cloud. One day. Is today. For over 19 million people. [ susan ] my promotion allowed me to start investing for my retirement. Transamerica made it easy. [ female announcer ] everyone has a moment when tomorrow becomes real. Transamerica. Transform tomorrow. As you know, i have serious issues with the concept of war on whites. The very idea, this notion that whites are under siege, particularly by black and brown takers, as i have written and said, is worthy of a thousand side eyes. Today the concept feels especially offensive. Ferguson is a suburb outside st. Louis where yesterday Afternoon Police shot and killed Michael Brown. We know very little about what happened. But a woman who says she saw the interaction described the scene to the post distach. She says she saw police try to put the unarmed black teenager into a squad car. She said she saw brown trying to run away with his hands in the air before shots rang out. Earlier reports said michael and a friend were walk manage the middle of the street of the apartment complex where they lived. Thats all we know so far. An investigation into what happened is already under way. Let me say theres a lot we still dont know, and perhaps a reasonable explanation for the shooting may emerge from the investigation. But this is how it feels to me given the news this week. This kaems day after John Crawford, father of two ventured over to the Toy Department of a walmart in beaver creek, ohio. There he reportedly picked up a toy gun and walked with it while talking on the phone with the mother of his children. According to the dayton daily news, two other shoppers became alarmed and called police. Johnson told the paper she heard crawford say its not real before he was shot and killed by police. That case is now being investigated. And this comes one year and one month after George Zimmerman was acquitted of the Second Degree murder of Trayvon Martin. The Neighborhood Watch volunteer thought the unarmed black teen was a real suspicious guy as he told sanford, florida, police. When i first wrote about the killing of Trayvon Martin, i learned about the lessons my mother taught me growing up, how i shouldnt run in public and most definitely not do so with anything in my hands. I was also taught to never, ever leave home without identification, not only in case something happens like an accident, but also in case im stopped by police for any reason. To this day, whether im going on a run or just running to get something out of my car, i never step out of my home without my drivers license, insurance card and my Washington Post Business Card with my partners cell phone number written on it. When youre black and especially m male in america, you have to go to these seemingly overboard extra lengths in the off chance they may save your life. None of these would help me if i were in the shoes of Michael Brown, John Crawford or Trayvon Martin. We dont know if Michael Brown was asked for id yet. But we know the last two of them werent. Perhaps their assailants apparently saw all they needed to know. What frightens me more than anything in the world is that the chances are very high that one day i might be in their shoes and meet their tragic end. The socalled victims of the nonexistent war on whites have absolutely no idea what living under that kind of siege, that kind of very real threat is like. Joining me at the table is michael skol ming, editor and chief for global grind and political director for hiphop producer and activist russell simmons. Michael, yesterday on twitter the conversation that was happening and there was one person in particular who sent out this very simple tweet and she just said i cant bear to remember another name. You know, we are at these junctures where we had a guilty verdict in the killing of renisha mcbride, the unarmed young woman in michigan. We talked about after the fact these young people of color are kishlgsd then our lives matter. When will young people of colors lives matter when they were alive. The police shot an unarmed teenager in broad daylight yesterday in ferguson, missouri. Their job is to protect and serve the community. No longer are they serving the community. Theyre simply waging a war against young people of color, and were seeing the tragedies day after day of death, not just of arrest, but of death. Michael, one thing we do have to point out here n the case of whats happening in ferguson, theres an investigation under way. We still dont know all of the details. But just broadly speaking, generally speaking, just my i had a hard time going to sleep last night, when youre doing this job. You need to get to sleep. But im sitting here thinking, here i am, someone who has never had any kind of interaction with the police other than a speeding ticket. And yet what happened in ferguson, what happened to Wren Nisha Mcbride in new york, what happened to Trayvon Martin hits me right here. I was discussing with my girlfriend. We were discussing how we dont have to have a talk with their son. Last night on twitter people were talking about i have to have the talk. Once again, here we are having a conversation of what parents have to do to tell their children, as you just said, when you leave as a grown man when you leave your house, as a white person i dont have those problems. I have the proif to walk downey street in any town in this country and no Police Officer is going to stop me and ask me for identification. This is happening in new york, happening in missouri, happening in sanford, florida. We as a nation have to stand together, and all of us, and say this is not right. Youre right. We dont know all the details of what happened. We do know a young 18yearold young man was killed and he was unarmed. That we know, and was shot the mother says eight times. Media reports saying ten times. Shot at least eight times and sat on the road for four hours before the body was removed yesterday. Those reports also say, yeah, broad daylight, many, many witnesses. Apparently one report i read says his mother had taken photographs and the police requested that she hand over those photographs and she did. Maybe well get to see some of those photographs maybe from her or other folks. Michael, thank you very much for coming in this morning. Up next, why were there and what will we what you know what . Well be right back. Well be talking about iraq. This guy first roamed the earth over 65 million years ago. Like our van. Yeah. We need to sell it. Hi. Need an appraisal . Yeah. We do. Vo when selling your car, start with a written offer, no strings attached. Carmax. Start here. Honey, look i got one to land. Uhhuh announcer theres good more. Honey, look at all these smart rewards points verizon just gave me. Ooh, you got a buddy. Im like a statue. I just signed up and, boom, all these points. And theres notsogood more. Youre a big guy. Huh. Oh no. Get the good more with Verizon Smart rewards and rack up points to use towards the things you really want. Now get 50 off youre looking at fid oh shot by a kurdish news organization. Tens of thousands of yazidi refugees have been living a life most of us cant imagine. Human rights organizations carried food, water and medical supplies to those in need after they were forced to flee from islamic militants forced them from their home. They are men, women and children desperately hoping for help from anyone. But its already too late for some. According to unicef, scores of yazidis have already died of dehydration just this week, and many more risk a similar fate. President obama, as we know, has ordered food and supplies to continue going to the yazidis, and yesterday he stressed that its going to take more than just the u. S. To aid this humanitarian crisis. I spoke with Prime Minister cameron of the United Kingdom and president hollande of france. Im pleased that both leaders express strong support for our actions and agreed to pro voous vied us with assistance to iraqi civilians suffering so much. Once again, america is proud to act alongside our closest friends and allies. Overnight we learned this has started, a British Military plane made its first drop of aid in northern iraq. Will it be enough . A Human Rights Group working with the Global Community to help those yazidis dieing on mount sinjar. Rachel uning vic joins us now from erbil. Thanks for coming on this morning. Hearing from the president yesterday and earlier this week, are you happy with the Global Response so far . As you said, the situation is really quite horrific. It took a real downward turn over the course of the last week. Approximately 200,000 people have fled and at least 50,000 of those people fled into the mountains. The people who fled into the mountains, mainly yad difficults are the one whose didnt have trance fir to flee into a city. They were quickly trapped there. Air drops are always a last resort. Whats most important is that these people are able to get off the mountain, these men, women and children are able to get to safety. As we continue hearing reports of people dieing of dehydration, without food, without medical services, it is important that this response is beginning. Rachel, has your group been able to get any resources to the families there . We are able to greet the families who have managed to escape from the mountains. We have managed to meet approximately 9,000 people who have fled managed to escape from the mountains and in to syria. I think its really a mark of their desperation that theyre fleeing into syria. We are finding them as soon as they get to syria with major serious dehydration, heat stroke. The vast majority is women and children. About 50 of the people weve met in syria, the yazidis are less than 17 years old. Rachel with the International Rescue committee talking to us from erbil in iraq, thank you very much for being on with us. Much more ahead on the overnight developments in iraq, plus well talk with a man who can help explain what the whole pottery barn rule is. Did you see the video where rand paul walked away from his hamburger . Well talk to the person who may have made that happen coming up. birds chirping softly in background. loud engine sounds what hows it going . Heard you need a ride to school. I know just the thing to help you get going. Power up with new cheerios protein. Tlets get out of here. Roadtrip guys. So esurance is using technology to help them see new york. Should of brought a camera. You are a camera. Bring cash . Kind of like how they use technology to help you make smart choices about your insurance. Nice shot, vika us open, please. Its just how they roll. That was fun man, im exhausted. Esurance. Proud sponsor of the us open. Welcome back. Im Jonathan Capehart in for steve this morning. Weve just learned disturbing details about i. S. I. S. Militants deadly terror across attack. They killed hundreds of yazidis in iraq. Keir simmons is in erbil, iraq, with plor. Reporter good morning. I. S. I. S. Fighters have been bearing down on this city. In part, that was the reason the threat to erbil was part of the reason that president obama decided he had to act. Just this morning from iraqs human rights minister, blood curdling stories. He is saying 500 members of the Yazidi Community have been killed. Hes saying 300 women have been kidnapped, and there are even stories, he says, of i. S. I. S. Burying people alive. Little wonder that wherever i. S. I. S. Goes, civilians flee. Little wonder that there is a sense that this city which is a modern city, has to be protected, that they have to be stopped. On the outskirts of this city, kurdish fighters are battling with i. S. I. S. Who are trying to control the roads to here. The question, of course, is whether or not that battle and whether or not that combined with u. S. Air strikes helps to push back i. S. I. S. , and if it doesnt, what does the west do then . Back to you. Thank you to nbcs keir simmons. Theres a phrase youll hear a lot these days when the discussion of iraq comes up, the pottery barn rule. The rule is pretty simple, you break it, you buy it. We should point out its not really a rule at the pottery barn although it probably is a policy at many china shops. Its also a policy that, according to bob woodward, general colin powell warned president bush about before invading iraq. He wrote in his book plan of attack, he said, quote, youre going to be the proud owner of 25 million people. You will own all their hope, aspirations and problems. Youll own it all. Its a rule that could be haunting president obama more than a decade later. It still appears as if iraqs fate is in his hands. Joining me now is Colin Powells former chief of staff, retired colonel lawrence wilkerson. Colonel, i understand you spoke to secretary powell about that famous quote and his recollection of that conversation with president bush. Give us your interpretation of that conversation as it happened back then. I think the expression if you break it, you own it characterizes at least one major part of secretary powells advice to george w. Bush at that time. He never mentioned pottery barn. That was tom friedman i think in an op ed in the New York Times. It isnt, as you pointed out, pottery barns rule. Its actually against the law to be a rule for any retailer in america, if you check it closely. What powell meant by that was, of course, if you invade, youre going to have to stay and youre going to have to at least for a time look after these 25, 26 million people. Thats what we did obviously. We didnt do it very well. Thats why we are where we are today. Colonel, how much of whats playing out right now in iraq will be blamed on president obama and how much will be blamed on the Bush Administration . I think thats difficult to say unless youre saying are we talking about the American People in terms of blame or historians and history. I think in the long run, historians in history will lay most of the censure at the feet of the george w. Bush administration for first doing what it did, invading iraq in 2003 and second, botching the job so badly. But the American People tend to blame the president in the office when the crisis occurses. I think the immediate blame and censure if it occurs is going to be based on what president obama does, and were waiting to see what that is or will be other than dropping a few bombs. Do you agree with the obama administrations decision to pull all Ground Troops out of iraq . I think that was a smart decision, not only because he was fulfilling his pledge to the American People for which the majority elected him, but also because its untenable for American Forces to be for an extended period of time on the ground anywhere in southwest asia. Believe me. I did this for 31 years in the United States military, everything from planning to stop a russian invasion through iran after their 1979 invasion of afghanistan to the first gulf war and beyond. And it is dangerous for the United States to keep a body of troops on the ground in this region of the world. The proper military strategy is to remain offshore and to influence events with military force if and when, and as a last resort, its necessary. Sort of what president obama is doing right now. The unfortunate thing is the circumstances hes using those forces in quite properly are very bad because of what the Bush Administration did to create those circumstances. Colonel, is there anything that the president isnt doing that you think he should be doing Going Forward this. I think the most important thing hes doing right now and your images previously reminded me of this is what we did in 1991 after the first gulf war and Operation Provide Comfort where we had to provide quite a bit of humanitarian assistance and supplies to kurds in some of those very same mountains. Thats important. We dont need these people being killed by the Islamic State or anyone else for that matter. We need the humanitarian assistance to get in there. We need the french, the british and everyone who is concerned to do something. I might point out that the same situation exists in gaza today, and more people have been killed in gaza by israeli strikes than have been killed so far by the Islamic State in iraq. Id like to see the same kind of humanitarian assistance and help Going Forward there. President obama has a lot on his plate right now. I think thats the most important thing. I wouldnt believe half of what im hearing now, 3,000 people here, 300 here, the person merga doing this, Islamic State forces doing that. Ive heard so much so far that is not accurate, i would be very careful about the reports and what i believed and didnt believe. Remember the propaganda of the first gulf war. We had someone on from el arabiya. The United States has a moral responsibility for what is happening. It was the American Invasion in 2003 that unleashed all these dark forces, that created al qaeda, and the antecedent of i. S. I. S. We have a moral responsibility and only the United States can stop that. Your reaction . Id say id extend that moral responsibility to when we were trading al qaeda and al qaeda alike against the soviets much earlier than that. That said, and moral responsibility is an important factor here, there are also National Interests i would like to bring out, and that is the United States has no business becoming the balancer in the persian gulf by placing massive u. S. Forces on the ground in that region. This has to be worked out with the preponderance of ground force capability being rendered by the iraqis peshmerga. Theres going to be no stability in the region and no longterm security for israel unless iran is participating in it, the most stable country of consequence in southwest asia. So we need to have a new relationship with iran and it needs to be a more positive relationship. That leads to my final question, what do you think it will take to secure iraq and defeat i. S. I. S. . Is it help from iran . I think its going to take help from iran. I think its going to take all the religious groups in the region, sunni, shia, christian, you name it, working together to defeat these bloodthirsty terrorists and working together in a way that politically and otherwise means theres tolerance on the part of the leaders of these people. Maliki, for example, has created part of the problem in iraq by being so intolerant of the sunnis. The Islamic State would not be nearly as powerful as it is right now without very substantial sunni support and very substantial saudi money. Weve got to have political leaders who include everyone in the power structure, not just their religious group. So the group that fights this Islamic State on the ground in iraq and syria and lebanon and elsewhere, has got to be a group whose political leaders are tolerant of all the sects beneath it. Colonel wilkerson, what more can the International Community do . I think one of the aspects of the International Community that could be very positive is the 1. 3, 1. 4 billion muslims in the world who could be far more outspoken in condemning the policies, procedures, techniques and the fighting method of the Islamic State and people like them. I think their support and their rhetoric in terms of that support is very important. In mosques all across the globe we need a consolidation of those interested in peace, interested in trade and Economic Prosperity and stability, and not interested in the kind of caliphate forming forces that the Islamic State represents itself as being. Colonel lawrence wilkerson, former chief of staff to colin powell, thank you very much forgetting up for the show this morning. Thanks for having me on, jonathan. Up next, the star of this weeks biggest viral video. When healthcare gets simpler. When frustration and paperwork decrease. When grandparents get to live at home instead of in a home. So lets do it. Lets simplify healthcare. Lets close the gap between people and care. Fill their bowl with the meaty tastes theyre looking for, with friskies grillers. Tender meaty pieces and crunchy bites. In delicious chicken, beef, turkey, and garden veggie flavors. Friskies grillers. This is bill. His doubleheader day at the park starts with back pain. And a choice. Take 4 advil in a day or just 2 aleve for all day relief. Peanuts peanuts crowd cheers thats why i always choose the fastest intern. R slow. The fastest printer. The fastest lunch. Turkey club. The fastest pencil sharpener. The fastest elevator. The fastest speed dial. The Fastest Office plant. So why wouldnt i choose the fastest wifi . I would. Switch to comcast Business Internet and get the fastest wifi included. Comcast business. Built for business. Now, thats progressive. This week a video of an encounter between undocumented immigrants and two members of congress began making the rounds and quickly went viral. 27yearold erica and fellow activist caesar approached the senators at a Campaign Events in iowa. Im erica. I have a question. Im actually a dreamer myself. The incredible video went viral for both what was said by steve king and what wasnt said by rand paul. Senator paul did his best to avoid the encounter altogether to the point that he actually left the table after eating one big bite of his burger. A current phone camera caught him quickly getting up and getting up when she identified herself as a dreamer. Just as the Immigration Reform advocates were circulating this video, their powerful message about who dreamers are and the Republican Opposition they face, the gop was giving their base their own message on immigration. Is a new ad from former massachusetts senator scott brown now running for senate in newspaper snp. Americans go through security before they get on a plane, enter a government building or attend a ball game. Folks who come here illegally, they just walk across the border. Thats wrong. So what else do we expect to see as we make our way through congress ice summer recess when activists both before and against Immigration Reform can confront their members facetoface . Joining me is the woman who spoke with congressman king, dreamer erica andeola, neera tanden, president of the starster for American Progress and raul reyes, a lawyer and columnist with usa today. Erica, whats your takeaway from your conversation with congressman king . What would you have done if he ripped up your daca card . Its a funny story, because when we were there, i wasnt really thinking about it too much. I was just really upset because he had done a speech beforehand and he talked about he talked various times about how proud he was of the vote he had just led, getting rid of daca. I said to myself and i said what will he do if i give him my card . Will he rip it right now . Afterwards i thought about it, i went to iowa and flew with my daca card because in arizona i cant get a drivers license. I would have probably been stuck in iowa for some time. What did you make of senator rand paul taking that quick exit after you introduced yourself as a dreamer . I think for senator right now its very important for him to understand that if he wants to run for president , hes going to have to face the issue. Just the fact that he left, he didnt want to talk to us, just kind of shows that hes afraid right now talking about the issue. To me, its not only that, but just the fact that he was there with steve king just really shows i dont know that he understands that being with king on his president ial campaign, if he does decide hes going to run, its not really going to help him. I hope he learned that from romney, that latinos do care about immigration. Steve king right now is not the best advocate for him to be campaigning with. Real quick, were you scared when he grabbed you when congressman king grabbed your hand . I honestly didnt know what to do. I didnt want to be rude. Im usually very soft spoken. I was trying to be as eloquent as possible with him. But when he grabbed my hand, i really didnt know how to react i kind of went with talking to him instead of doing any other i dont know. I really didnt know what to development he did grab me and held my hand very tightly. I think he wanted me to stop talking. You saw the rest on the video. Incredible video. I want to ask each of you of your takeaway. Raul, let me start with you. I think it sums up two responses were seeing in the gop on immigration. One, rand paul, is just to run away. And the other, on steve king he referenced he kept bringing up the fact that erica speaks english well. He mentioned that she needs to stop being illegal and breaking the laws of this country and he physically grabbed on to her. That sums up a lot of the ugliness and rhetoric. I think what both these politicians they are underestimating the movement of the dreamers. There has been a real shift. Back in 2010, a lot of the Immigration Rights movement, they were acting to sb 10. Now these young people are driving the conversation. Its because of them that we have daca, that 11 states allow undocumented people to get licenses. 20 states allow instate tuition for undocumented people. They are moving this Movement Even at the white house. Its going to be harder and harder for these candidates and congressmen to avoid. Neera . I actually thought it was amazing. The most amazing thing is rand paul who claims to want to reach out to new groups and bring them into the gop would even appear with steve king who has said so many terrible things about immigrants, undocumented immigrants, children. I think what weve learned in this summer is that theres really two republican parties that are at a direct in a direct conflict. Theres the elites who talk about the need to expand their base and reach out to latinos. But you see with this border crisis, the first instinct of the Republican Party is to attack immigrants. The border crisis is really about children crossing the border to avoid death in many instances. And the first instinct you see it in a case like scott brown who sells himself as a moderate, his first instinct is to use this for politics to attack his opponent. I think you really see where the gut is of the Republican Party which is to be frankly anti immigrant. And the idea that theyre going to solve this problem in the next few years when their instincts immediately are to demonize immigrants seems to me far fetched. Erica, congressman king released this statement. He said the incident, quote, perfectly illustrates the leftist model of add tack, personalized, ambush and pray on peoples emotions. Whats your response to that . I think that for us its not about the politics. I can tell you that. I have a very personal, you know, motivation to do this, and my family is still completely undocumented. My mom was literally taken into i. C. E. Last year. My house was raided by i. C. E. My mom can literally be deported by this december because she has to go back and check in with immigration. Its a very personal issue to me. Of course, hes going to put out there that im a left winger, however he wants to put it. Weve heard enough from king on insults. I think to me the reason we do this was to show that were going to defend daca, and especially from steve king. But also to give more courage and encouragement to president obama to also make sure he also acts on his own. Right now he does have the authority to be able to fix immigration without congress because congress hasnt done much. You know, he could possibly extend Something Like daca to people like my parents or like my mom and my older siblings. And i really wanted to show the courage that dreamers have, but also for obama to take more courage than us and be able to ignore what the gop is saying right now, ignore all of what theyre really all about and do something for the Latino Community to be able to get latinos motivated to vote this november. Raul, i know you want to jump in. Well take a quick break. When we come back, what congress can continue to expect on the immigration plight on their summer rezes ses this month. Hundreds of millions of dollars in jobs and infrastructure. Thanks to startup ny, businesses can operate tax free for 10 years. No property tax. No business tax. And no sales tax. Which means more growth for your business, and more jobs. Its not just business as usual. See how new york can help your business grow, at startup. Ny. Gov were back talking about immigration. Rah rulery yez, you wanted jump in. When you asked erica about steve kings response and he referenced her being polarizing and playing to the eye motion and distorting facts, thats supreme irony. Thats all steve king has done particularly on the issue of illegal immigration and the undocumented population. For him to project that on to erica, i was astonished at those comments. Neera, congress is back in their districts this month campaigning and talking with constituents. What do you expect to see in terms of activism and how is activism on Immigration Reform being evolving. I think youll see a lot of people actually ask the kinds of questions erica asked of elected members. Youre seeing Kevin Mccarthy who has only grown in leadership over the last couple of months in the house. The new House Majority leader. Now number two. And hes been asked questions like this all over the last several months because hes in california, and there are dreamers there, and i think throughout the recess, dreamers and others are asking elected representatives in both parties about what theyre going to do on immigration. I think the fact is, what weve seen is that republicans, especially in a lot of districts and in the senate, et cetera, that in the particular races this fall, think theres no support for immigration or for Immigration Reform because they are in kind of conservative districts. Thats why it was so important what erica did, because she gave a voice that steve king doesnt hear every day, and it allows him to get away with his virulent talk because hes not facing dreamers every day. So i think its vital that we create more and more energy and more folks like erica ask their elected representatives why they would turn their backs on people who have been in this country for years and years, who are contributing to our country, why would we turn our back on them . Erica, what does your group have planned for summer recess . Right now most of our focus has been on, one, of course, to defend daka as much as possible from folks like steve king trying to take it away from us. We understand that Immigration Reform is pretty much stuck in congress. Theres not much we can do as we get closer to the elections. Most of our focus has been on pressuring the president. He did promise he would act before the end of the summer. We want to make sure he does what he promised, but at the same time, what he does is as much as he can in terms of his abilities to, for example, expand court action to people who dont qualify for dhaka as well as stopping deportations of folks that are not necessarily high priority for this country and, you know, other things that would really help the undocumented Community Within this country to have relief. Well keep fighting for Immigration Reform. I think if we keep really facing politicians and making sure that people that are undocumented are affected, are the ones really putting their faces out there and getting folks to really say what they believe in front of our faces instead of talking to us as if we or just a number or an abstract face to a lot of them. Go ahead, neera. I think its really important to focus on the president. I think the ads youre seeing in arkansas and in New Hampshire excuse me i almost said massachusetts because thats where scott brown is from. These ads youre seeing in which we have republicans attacking their democratic opponents on the issue of immigration, attacking undocumented, calling them illegal, i do think activists have to focus on those issues as well. If those candidates win running on anti immigrant postures, thats going to affect politics Going Forward that will make republicans less likely to act in the future as well. So i think we really need to focus on both of these issues. We cant give republicans a free ride for their anti immigrant posture and for being a party thats not only held these issues up, but is now campaigning against them. Raul, we just have time for one question. Speaking of republicans and Going Forward, Chris Christie is going to mexico next month. Rand paul is headed to guatemala to do volunteer medical work. The New York Times writes that we are seeing a tug of war between Congressional Republicans who are unleashing ever harsher language and legislation to rein in illegal immigration and Party Leaders with their eyes on the white house determined to build bridges to a crucial constituency that has long been neglected. Are we seeing a growing chasm between Congressional Republicans and efforts to create a National Republican platform . I think this civil war is definitely continuing their party. Perhaps christie is going to mexico and rand paul also to central mexico to show in a sense they do care, maybe ace a way of showing they do care about latin americans. That still is not going to over shadow their actions there. For rand paul, this is a very important moment because it put a spotlight on him, on immigration. Thats what matters to latino voters, is our policies here. For rand paul, although he says he is for Immigration Reform, he did support sb1070. Going forward, unless he wants to see continued encounters from the dreamers, he needs to sort out his immigration policy at home. My thanks to raul reyes, dreamer erica and ola, thank you for your bravery. Neera tanden from the center for American Progress. The reigning nba champions ed made an addition to their ross stephen carriere. Well talk about who that person is and what it means for women on and off the court. Thats next. People in other parts go to work. Thats not a coincidence. Its one more part of our commitment to america. Honey, look i got one to land. Uhhuh announcer theres good more. Honey, look at all these smart rewards points verizon just gave me. Ooh, you got a buddy. Im like a statue. I just signed up and, boom, all these points. And theres notsogood more. Youre a big guy. Huh. Oh no. Get the good more with Verizon Smart rewards and rack up points to use towards the things you really want. Now get 50 off all new smartphone thats why i always choose the fastest intern. R slow. The fastest printer. The fastest lunch. Turkey club. The fastest pencil sharpener. The fastest elevator. The fastest speed dial. The Fastest Office plant. So why wouldnt i choose the fastest wifi . I would. Switch to comcast Business Internet and get the fastest wifi included. Comcast business. Built for business. We chaching chaching many empt chaching it felt like we were flushing money away. Mom thats why we switched to charmin ultra mega roll. Its charmin quality and long lasting. With more gos per roll, it pays to use charmin ultra mega roll. Charmin ultra mega roll is 75 more absorbent so you can use less with every go. Plus it even lasts longer than the leading thousand sheet brand. For us, mega roll equals mega value. Chaching we all go. Why not enjoy the go with charmin ultra mega roll . On tuesday a partnership spanning 18 years broke new ground when the San Antonio Spurs announced that becky hammon would become the first fulltime salaried assistant coach in nba history. Hammon played 16 seasons in the wnba, eight of those with the spurs sister team, the san antonio stars. So this isnt just a big moment for the nba, its a similarly big, if not bigger moment, for the wnba, the only professional Womens League of the four major sports. And yet 18 years since the wnbas inception, the idea of women coaching men leaves some shaking their heads. The day after becky hammon and the spurs made headlines, cbs sports polled a group of ncaa mens basketball coaches asking when they thought a woman would become head coach of a mens d1 team in the next 25 years. 58 said yes, 42 said no. Here is what one coach said an none nomousily. A big part is molding boys into successful men. Obviously a woman cant do that. I just dont see a place for it. Tell that to my mother. This week a new poll showed despite improvements, men and women with a frefrns would rather have a male boss than a female boss. Than so what is it about gender and perceived leadership capability both on and off the court . Women are still seen by many as unable to lead their male counterparts. Thats why Becky Hammons move to the nba is so important because according to her her gender was never part of the equation. Ive got to be perfectly honest. Its never been about the woman thing, its been, shes got a great basketball mind and wed love to have her, we think shed be a great addition to the program. A great basketball mind. Thats what every account of becky hammon and her talent after firnld, one of the best, one of the most gifted women to ever play the game, but that shes also born to coach. Will hammon help forge a new path between the wnba and nba or is this just a special case. How will she be perceived by the thousands of young men and women who watch and play her sport . Joining me to answer these questions are kate feagin columnist and features writer for espn, ritchie add bad dough is an analyst for the Orlando Magic and former head coach of the liberty, Salina Roberts from Sports Illustrated and sue wicks, a former teammate of hammons in the nba. Does hammons new role with the spurs signal a new kind of relationship between the two leagues . Is there any talk of that . First of all, you have to understand, you mentioned becky hammon. She has obviously attained a tremendous heights as a player, as a College Player and as a pro player. So she has a wealth of experience. We brought her into the new york liberty in 99. I had just come over from the nba where i coached the Orlando Magic and i was one year with the boston celtics. It was a new experience for me, but i was able to bring becky hammon into our mold. At 56 its incredible her accomplishments. We know 2,700 points in college is an incredible amount. When she came to us, we were a very good basketball team, and we had sue wicks, we had theresa witherspoon, chrissy robinson. We had a terrific team. Becky came in as an unbelievable shooter, wound up being our instant offense off the bench, but more importantly showing her understanding on how to play the game. You have to go back to the fact that her father was a coach, she grew up in a coachs household. She grew up with the game of basketball. Kate, after the news broke about hammons hiring, you wrote a great personal story about playing with becky. You wrote, quote, about three minutes into the scrimmage during a break in play, hammon walked over and said pretty much the flog, verbatim. It seems like youre most effective a spot shooter. In that split second i found out she scouted my game and processed how i might be most effective and how she could take advantage of my strengths. Translation, in just a few minutes she knew about as much of my game as i knew. From my own basketball knowledge, what is it about hammon that makes her a standout she understands thats for kate. Sorry. Go ahead. I think anybody who plays with her realized almost instantaneously that shes like a coach on the floor. She also had this uncanny ability to decode the xs and os of the game. We would run through a plae play one time. She could tell the center where to go, the forward where to go. That was something i saw in two years playing with her that our coach would come to her and say, what do you think about this . Should we do this . Becky would instantly have an answer and a very good answer. I think we knew back then and that was like eight years ago that she was going to coach when she was done playing, u but we all assumed it would be in Womens College basketball. She played at colorado state. There was a lot of talk about whether she would go back to ft. Collins and be a coach there. It wasnt until probably the last year or so that weve seen the nba step forward and make some really progressive moves especially with women. You see natalie nah cossey with the Los Angeles Clippers being an assistant coach on the Summer League staff. It wasnt until recently that you started thinking can becky hammon as shes working with the spurs and volunteering, could she be the first person to make this move and coach in the nba. Let me bring this to the table and have you guys here answer this question. What is it about hammon that makes her a standout . Im so thrilled number one. Its great to see Ritchie Adubato. Hi, coach. Hello, how are you. Just think about the one thing, think about it. Shes been around great coaches, from colorado state, new york liberty, Ritchie Adubato and her dad and her brother. Shes been always around great coaches. Shes always been a coach. Like kate is saying, when shes on the floor, she coaches shes actually not that talenteded, 56, not that fast. Shes the whole career trying to find that inch, that advantage. Thats what the coach does. They put the people in the right spots. Thats what shes done for herself. They find the advantages. Thats what shes had to do. Thats her mindset. Thats how she sees the world, how can i make an advantage when im 56, little tiny girl . Before we go to break, jump in. What do you think . I think you mentioned a little bit of resistance coming in and coaches anonymously saying things. The coaches are really not her peer group. Its going to be the players that have to deal with her. Most of these player grew up in title 9, sharing facilities with women, hearing from women about their game. This is not foreign to them. It may be foreign to people that didnt grow up with that, shes going to fit in because they respect her, she has proof of concept and telling them how to be on the 234r50r. My panel is staying put. When we come back, well hear with becky hammon herself.  i make a lot of purchases for my business. And i get a lot in return with ink plus from chase. Like 50,000 bonus points when i spent 5,000 in the first 3 months after i opened my account. And i earn 5 times the rewards on internet, phone services and at Office Supply stores. With ink plus i can choose how to redeem my points. Travel, gift cards, even cash back. And my rewards points wont expire. So you can make owning a business even more rewarding. Ink from chase. So you can. He looked at me and hes like, sweetie, no, youll never be able to play in the nba, but if youre really, really good, maybe you can get a college scholarship. So im going to have to call him up and say, dad, you never said coaching. That was becky hammon recounting a past conversation between her and her father. To her point, Nancy Lieberman writes of hammons hiring, quote, this is a very important time in the history of the nba and a very important time for women. It opens the door and opens the mind to knowing anything is possible given the opportunity. There are girls whose plans for their future will no longer be restricted to coaching women. Given the nbas viewership is significantly younger than any other sport, nielsen measuring 45 of the nba viewing is younger. Do you think this will change how young girls see their futures in basketball . It reminds men when Violet Palmer came in as the first female referee in the nba. There was resistance but pretty soon shes part of the background, right there with everybody else. Shes just a great nba referee now. I think thats what youll see with becky and the same with violet. Other women came up and they want to be nba referees. I think with beckys position, shes not going to be asked to carry the whole load, shes an assistant coach. I think the barrier being broken is very significant for other young girls looking at her. Richie, you coached hammon for almost her entire career. Which of her skills as a player will best serve her as a coach specifically . First of all, you always win the confidence of players if you have some credentials as a player which obviously she has tremendous credentials. She played right there in san antonio. Im sure a lot of the players have seen her play. Shes been involved in some of the practice sessions. It always helps if youve been an excellent performer yourself. The second thing she has and has always had is tremendous belief and confidence in herself. I can remember the first year we went to the finals and we were playing against the comets for the championship. She was my sixth man instant offense off the bench the whole year. Sue wicks was the other because she gave us hustle, she gave us rebounding, she gave us defense. They were the two that came off the bench that helped us out. Becky was tremendously confident, never thought anybody could stop her. Is one of the best finishers going to the basket in the paint among the trees that ive ever had. And ive had some great ones. Ill have derek harper, Penny Hardaway to name a few. We know m. J. She can finish in the trees. Tremendous confidence. I didnt put her back in in the opening game of the playoffs against the comets in the second half because i thought maybe the pressure was too much for her being a rookie and playing in such a prestigious situation. After the game, i looked at her and said, i was going to put you in in the second half, but i thought there was too much pressure. She said, coach, youre going to understand one thing about me, i thrive on pressure. Any player that can tell you that, that was it. From then on she played as much as you could possibly play. Kate, let me bring you back in the conversation. How do the economics of the eco into this . Our male coaches trying to protect their turf . Yeah, i think when we heard earlier about a male coach in the ncaa level saying women couldnt mold men i think we need to keep in mind a lot of this comes down to job opportunities. When you look at Womens College basketball the numbers across the ncaa coaching women, 48 of those jobs are held by men when you go across the border to the mens side, pretty much 0 of the jobs are held by women. So, were looking at a job market where men hold 75 of the jobs and part of that is because women werent or werent allowed to have the opportunity to coach men. Becky is breaking down that barrier and some is coming from the defensive standpoint and do we want to lose some of our jobs to women . We need to keepi in mind the jo market and a lot of that comes down to economics. Running out of time. I want to get your final thoughts from the tables, too. What should we expec from becky h hammon . Great things. Thank you, david stern, for the greatest feminist of this century. And thank you, coach popovich for seeing her as a basketball mind and not as a woman. I think popovich really set a terrific standard by not talking about her gender when he hired her. A great coach knows when to talk and when to shut up. She knows what to do. Shes been with the team, they respect her, they take what she has to say seriously and popovich has really led, again, the spurs are the most progre Progressive Team in the league and hes shown that, once again. An ideal situation is to join the spurs. They are the premier organization and pop is one of the premier coaches in the league. So, this is an ideal time to join an organization that everybody looks up to. My thanks to kate fagan with espn and what should we know for the week ahead . Our answers after this. Would you consider a 4star hotel thats up to 60 off, you just cant know the name . Just no name . Until you book. Um. Yeah, id do that mom usually throws a gogurt in there. Well moms not here today so were doing things dads way. Which means i get. Two. singing snack time and lunch. singing snack time and lunch. Gogurt because lunch needs some fun. Want to find out what my guests think we should know. Lets start with sue. For all the bird watchers out there. The fall migration is going on. You can go to central park and see the birds coming through and american red star right now perhaps. More importantly, today is my nephews birthday. Happy birthday. Nephew jack. Selena. Last week there was another bit of a barrier broken when cbs announced an allfemale sports talk show. Well find out more details about that. Whether some critics say the view or something more sports oriented. Lets hope its the latter on that part. Raul . Weve been hearing so much about what the president might do on immigration. I think one thing we might see and it could be this week, he could take some actions to end secure communities, which is a real controversial Immigration Enforcement program. They go barging in peoples houses. We could see them take action to end that. This is for pastry plate. Lets close. Thanks to all our dwguests toda and thanks to Steve Kornacki for letting me keep his seat. Melissa harrisperry is up next. The latest on the u. S. Military action in iraq and shell look at the growing Court Battles over americas teachers. All that and more next with melissa. [ female announcer ] its simple physics. A body at rest tends to stay at rest. While a body in motion tends to stay in motion. Staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. But if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. Prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. Because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. Plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. Celebrex can be taken with or without food. And its not a narcotic. You and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. All prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. They all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. This chance increases if you have Heart Disease or risk factors such as high Blood Pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. Nsaids, like celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions, or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. Patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. Dont take celebrex if you have bleeding in the stomach or intestine, or had an asthma attack, hives, other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. Get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. Tell your doctor your medical history. And find an Arthritis Treatment for you. Visit celebrex. Com and ask your doctor about celebrex. For a body in motion. Visit celebrex. Com and ask your doctor about celebrex. Whos more excited about back to School Savings at staples . The moms . Or the dads . With guaranteed low prices on flash drives, its definitely the dads. Staples. Make more happen for less. Cshe is the greatest thing ever. One little smile. One little laugh. Honey bunny. laughter we would do anything for her. My name is kim bryant and my husband and i made a will on legalzoom. It was really easy to do. baby noise. Laughter we created legalzoom to help you take care of the ones you love. Go to legalzoom. Com today and complete your will in minutes. At legalzoom. Com we put the law on your side. Chances are were already there. Or what you want to do, 12 brands. More hotels than anyone else in the world. Like super 8, where every destination is super. For a chance to win one million dollars, visit wyndhamrewards. Com easy like monday morning. S sundays are the warriors day to unplug and recharge. What if this feeling could last all week . With centurylink as your trusted partner, it can. Our visionary Cloud Infrastructure and Global Broadband network free you to focus on what matters. With Custom Communications solutions and dedicated support, your business can shine all week long. This morning, my question. Why is a School Yard Brawl unfolding in the courts . Plus, a u. S. Congressman claims there is a war on whites. And the verdict this week was guilty on all three counts. But, first, president obama explains the latest mission in iraq. Good morn oing, im melissa harrisperry. This morning we begin with the latest where last night the u. S. Military conducted a third air drop of food and water to thousands of civilians by militant extremists. The militaitary