Right . That couch is really uncomfortable. I have tried it before. The chairs not comfortable either. Steve, youre our inspiration for todays wheel of misfortune. Were going with sequester siesta. The cuts kick in a week from next friday. Congress is in recess until monday. Remember, the sequester started as a white house proposal. And republicans voted for it. But now, both sides seem more focused on avoiding taking the rap for it than they are trying to stop it. President obama is back from his siesta and back in the bully pulpit. These cuts are not smart. They are not fair. They will hurt our economy. They will add hundreds of thousands to the employment rolls. This is not on abstraction. People will lose their jobs the American People have worked too long, too hard to see their elected officials cause another crisis. It seems like every three months around here theres some manufactured crisis. It sure does. We have a senate insider with us who knows all too well how the senate works or in most cases doesnt work. Former Senate Leader tom daschle and also the author of the u. S. Senate. Welcome. Thank you. On this sleepy siesta day, i want you to try to get obamas mind back on us. If you remember back in the president ial debates he sort of dropped a bomb when he said the sequester will not happen. A couple of his advisers went back and said, well, i think what he meant was, it should not happen. He also tried to shake off the proposal something that congress believed got four pinocchios. This came from the white house. And now according to politico, obama is not really reaching out to Senate Republicans to try and get anything done. My question to you is the sequester that obama actually wants because he thinks republicans will get the blames for the cuts . Or this just a gamble that he didnt think was going to go all the way and as far as it has . Well, i think the president has come to the conclusion that its pretty hard to reach a deal right now. It appears that republican, both in the house and in the senate, are really determined to go through with the sequester. So he sees somewhat of a few ti futility at this point. His only option is to go out in the country, talk about the implications and hope that the pressures that could come from the grassroots could change the kind of environment that hes facing in washington. Right, senator, one of the reasons the white house likes the idea of sequester a year and a half ago, it was weighted towards defense cuts. Theres a sacred cow that the republicans have. It involves the republicans. When you have john mccain out there and Lindsey Graham saying this is absolutely if it goes through, its not universal embraced by republicans in washington. And like you say, to the point it looks like its going to go forward with the sequester. I guess is this a twopart gain by the republicans where they let the sequester go through. And three weeks later we have this continues resolution that comes up and maybe they see an opportunity there with the sequester. They can have their showdown with the president and then get rid of the cuts anyway . Do you see a possibility of that . I think youre going to see some resolution of this after the cuts go into that for a couple days. The republicans have two schools of thoughts. One is deep concern that that has. Part the majority of is reflected by the republicans whats the fuss. Were talking 5 here. Everybody ought to be able to suck it up with a 5 cut, including with the defense department. I think he represents the majority thinking on the republican side right now. Never mind that those 5 cuts in each of the departments are taken much more severely because youve got to focus on certain programs. That isnt 5 across the board on defense. Its 5 that could have a profound effect. Nonetheless, thats how they view it, minimal for what they think is the potential for more for cuts looking forward. Senator, i want to hear your sort of Strategic Thinking how the president is going forward. Hes been dealing with this obstructionist thinking. And now theyve got them thinking let me defend the far right challenge. So need to be standing up to the president no matter what he proposes. So how do you advise the president to deal with this Obstructionist Congress in order to deal with the legislative terms second term . El were, i think every president has to come with a way that he or she feels most comfortable. I think for this president , hes got to find areas for which there is common ground. I think the best example is immigration. I dont think theres any doubt by the end of the year, were going to have a deal on immigration. Unfortunately, those issues are far and few between. Nonetheless, thats the first approach to find an other where they thinks republicans are invested. Its possible that we could see tax reform at some point. I think in addition to that, both sides have to continue to find ways to keep the lines of communication open. Calling them down to the white house, actually maybe even come into the Capitol Building a couple of times. Something unprecedented. Nonetheless, would make the point that he wants to keep those communication options open to him. Senator, its not just a social thing of keeping the lines of communication open. But people are refusing to communicate with him no matter what. So its a different strategy that hes got to approach, dont you think . No question. That presents a framework. But you still have to do what he has been doing. Make your case with the state of the union. He did it it with the something that grainaugural. Thats the only issue hes got. Continue to frame the issue in a way that will deflect ultimately on congress that his predecessors did. Bill clinton did, harry truman did it, Ronald Reagan did it. Senator, im glad to hear you that think an immigration deal will happen by the end of the year. An area where they have more trouble finding common ground. Chuck hagel has faced a really ugly confirmation battle. Republicans have used an unprecedented filibuster to at least slow down that confirmation. You said on filibusters that filibusters abused terribly today, especially on nominations. Filibusters against nominees create a Chilling Effect that keeps top talent from even accepting nominations. Is it time for a more comprehensive filibuster reform . Unfortunately, ive come to that conclusion. The filibuster was used in the past but used very rarely. But its now used as an everyday matter of course. We had 130 some motions in congress. You cant run a country that way. You cant run a government. Especially with regard to the white house when you have a limited amount of time for each of these members to serve in a cabinet or highlevel positionfr a year or sometimes even two years is unacceptable. Were going to have to revisit the filibuster in nominations and hopefully theyll do it before this congress. I agree with you, the 60vote senate, especially as it relates to executive Branch Nominations is really troubling. A longterm precedent there. But i wonder if theres a separate issue as it relates to cabinet nominees. You were up to hhs in 2009. You look at the questioning that chuck hagel has faced, specifically from ted cruz, in his confirmation for the defense secretary job. Re real scurrilous stuff here. Are you worried beyond the filibuster about the treatment of nominees and the treatment of prospective nominees and how that might have a Chilling Effect in the future . No question. Ive talked to many people who have contemplated offering themselves in faires capacities. And a lot of them ask the question, is it worth it . Can i really survive this incredible mine field that one has to endure to get through the nominating process. Its becoming more and more crass, more confrontational. And let respectful. I dont think this is the message we want to send not only in this country, but around the world who use us many in respects as their model to make their own judgments about government. So its not just the audience at home that weve got to be concerned about. Its worldwide. Former senator tom daschle. Thanks for joining us. Straight ahead, beat the press. A new report paints president obama as a master media manipulator. Good for him. But is that bad for america . The cycle rolls on. Tdd 18003452550 you shouldve seen me today. Tdd 18003452550 when the spx crossed above its 50day moving average, tdd 18003452550 i saw the trend. Tdd 18003452550 it looked really strong. Tdd 18003452550 and i jumped right on it. 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Tdd 18003452550 trade up to 6 months commissionfree tdd 18003452550 with a 50,000 deposit. Tdd 18003452550 call 18005400078 tdd 18003452550 and open an account, tdd 18003452550 now with no trade minimums. President obama celebrate this weekend by playing golf with tiger woods. Obama took a threeday golf vacation to flap while the first lady took their daughters to colorado to ski. You know you have a good marriage when you say, honey, go have a weekend with tiger woods. Stop by hooters and have some wings. The other night, i came home an hour late and my wife as a little miffed. She said, its not that you did it, its that you didnt tell me. Fair enough. The same dynamic, i think, is going on in washington on sunday. The president played golf with tiger woods. Sending the White House Press in rage. They werent mad that the president was on the links with the greatest golfer of all times. They were mad they werent told about it. They learned about it from a golf digest reporter. Why didnt you just tell us. The transparency and accuracy that they thought they deserved is not being delivered. The president is happy at keeping them at arms length. Were it a facebook relationship, everyone would say its complicated. By the way, like us on facebook. Howard fineman. Hes here to explain whats really going on. Howard, this is part of a classic white house versus press corps battle, right . First of all, i think the lead so far is that toure likes hooters. Thats the main story there. That is the main story. Anyway, two thumbs up. Yeah, this is a this say typical washington battle where the most trivial thing generates the most discussion. While ignoring the more serious story behind and above it, that nobody bothers to look at which is not only whether the president is doing his job, but whether the press is doing its job. I just wrote a piece on the Huffington Post where the kicker of it was, lets make sure that the reporters, namely us, make sure were worthy of the access were not getting. And i dont think we are. Interesting condemnation of the White House Press corps, howard, i like it. Im not limiting it to the white house. Hes condemning us, too. Yeah. Us, too . Did we just get dissed and i didnt realize it . Look, howard, i think part of the different dynamic here is we have this sort of pop culture president who is comfortable with and able to take his message to the view, also to David Letterman on and on and is able to use twitter in an interesting and innovative way. So he doesnt need to deal with the traditional hard news media in the way weve typically done . Well, i dont buy that explanation partly because you used the word also. Its not that he also has done Google Hangouts and reddit and the view and so forth. Hes not doing the New York Times or the Washington Post or the Huffington Post or anyone else. Or the cycle. Or the cycle. How dare he. Hes using the available technology. And hes using the social media kill th skill that they began to develop that his First Campaign to essentially do a workaround of whats left of the Washington Press corps. Its true that the Washington Press corps, in general and the white house in particular dont have the clout that they used to have. The president isnt required to deal with them the way he used to be to get his message out to the country. Through facebook, through twitter, through reddit, through the white house website, through youtube. They can get to the American People on their own. And this is the First Administration to fully do that. And i dont think the press corps, what used to be called the National Press corps, has figured out how to deal with it yet. I think thats the interesting point. The idea that the president wants favorable coverage and is going to exert his influence to try to get that and so to the safer outlets if he doesnt need to go through the White House Press corps. To me, thats not news. Robert carroll has an interesting antidote in his book about lbj and power. He talks about lbj held up the merger of a newspaper in texas and forced them to he extracted a written pledge that they would not cover him unfavorably at all for the rest of his time in the white house. An actual written pledge. So it doesnt seem like the white house, this particular dynamic with the white house and the press is really new. No, it isnt. And i love it when you quote robert kayro. It makes us old guys feel good. And its the masterpiece of press manipulation by lyndon johnson. So, no, its not new. Obama is using the latest technology. He can call him for the fact that the president does not like to go before the press in unstructured situation where is he might be asked uncomfortable questions. Thats true. And we can blame him for it. And we can criticize him for it. But i think at least the point i was trying make in Huffington Post. Its our obligation as reporters and news organizations not to whine about that but to dig, instead of whine. You know, ask the questions repeatedly, if they dont answer, highlight the fact theyre not answering the questions. Do the digging that makes for pointed questions that its difficult to ignore. As opposed to merely wanting access so you can stand around and watch the president play golf. You know, howard, ive got to give john cook credit for this. The Story Society that sparked the whole conversation was in politico. Politico talking about how obama is trying to avoid tough situations. And john cook pointed out that politico did actually get a oneonone interview with george w. Bush in 2008. Among the tough questions that were asked, all right, mr. President , who does the better impression, will ferrell of you ordain that kavi of your father . Mr. President , i know ugoing to hate this, but im hoping that we may twist your arm and talk about baseball. And mr. President , you and the first lady appeared in an American Idol charity show. Idol gives back. Who is going to win . There were more serious questions mixed in there. I covered congress for a little while. And my experience was the worst place to Cover Congress and know whats going on was at official press conference or hanging around in an official event or one oneonone interviews with congressional leaders because theyre going to give you the spin that they thought about. Theres a lot of reporting to be done without the access that this politico piece is demanding. Right. But i would also say, ive watched over the years, as succeeding administrations take more and more territory. And more and more sort of power for themselves, to determine the rules and the rights of the conversation. Even reporters asking simple questions, simple direct factual questions of lowranking administration officials, have a hard time getting answers. I know this in the Huffington Post. We have a big bureau now. We have a lot of reporters throughout digging all the time. Its hard to get answers to simple questions because this white house does try to control the flow of information. But what that means you have to do, youre not going to get it out of the administration for the most part. You got to go to the hill to get it there. You got go to kay street to get it there. You got to go to Court Records to get it there. You got to get it there first and then confront them with it to get any information out of it. Thats sort of the way its always worked. Its harder now its harder now that any white house feels rightly that it can pretty much communicate at will directly with the American People, without having to go through either the television networks. Or cable networks. The major newspapers and major websites. News websites. They dont do it. And its going to be very rare that they will in the future. And i guarantee you that whatever the next administration is like, its going to be even more down this road than the Obama Administration already is. Well, and, howard, yeah, i just want to bring it back to transparency a little bit. I dont care about the golf game at all. I think thats much ado about nothing and kind of a distraction. But the transparency issue is sort of amplified because it was such a huge part of his 2008 campaign promise. That this was going to be a of course Transparent Administration, as opposed to sort of the last one. And just last thursday, president obama, in a gchat setting said that this is the most Transparent Administration in history. And i dont know if they think thats because going on twitter somehow counts on transparency, it doesnt. When you look back over the first term and when you look at how this administration has invoked the Espionage Program and the drone program. The lack of access to the president. Do you really think he can make a fair case that this has been the most Transparent Administration in history . Well, on one level probably, yes. Theyve showed us a lot what they want to show us. So its transparent in the sense by sheer volume, theres a lot of information out there. You mean in terms of leaks and that sort of thing . No, not in terms of leaks. They do put stuff out on the internet. They put a lot of information out there. They complain with some justification that a lot of the National Press corps doesnt Pay Attention to that stuff out there. Thats true. But most of it is not where the news is. The news is in the things that they dont put out there for the most part. And on that, they really do feel, this goes back to the campaign, having seen it at the beginning. They wanted to control their own narrative. They did it better than george bush did it before him. Or bill clinton, god knows, had done it before that. They won without, for the most part, having to reveal what they didnt want to reveal. Or tell stories they didnt want to tell. Dont forget, this say president who basically wrote his own campaign biography, years before he ever ran for office. Yes, he did. Hes used to controlling the narrative. And that is the mantra of this white house. And they have done it better in a more focused fashion than any administration ive ever seen. And at this point, ive seen a lot of them. Someone who is quite good at the twitter. Howard fineman, thank you for stopping by. Thank you toure. Up next, is china coming for us, and are they just one click away . Mine was earned in djibouti, africa, 2004. The battle of bataan, 1942. [ all ] fort benning, georgia, in 1999. [ male announcer ] usaa Auto Insurance is often handed down from generation to generation because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaas commitment to serve the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. Begin your legacy. Get an autoinsurance quote. Usaa. We know what it means to serve. The end. Lovely read susan. But isnt it time to turn the page on your cup of joe . Gevalia, or a cup of johan, is like losing yourself in a great book. May i read something . Yes, please. Of course. A rich, never bitter taste cup after cup. Net weight 340 grams. [ sighs ] [ chuckles ] [ announcer ] always rich, never bitter. Gevalia. [ announcer ] always rich, never bitter. The people of bp made a commitment to the gulf. , and every day since, weve worked hard to keep it. Today, the beaches and gulf are open for everyone to enjoy. Weve shared what weve learned, so we can all produce energy more safely. Bps also committed to america. We support nearly twohundredfifty thousand jobs and invest more here than anywhere else. Were working to fuel america for generations to come. Our commitment has never been stronger. The collective result of these kinds of attacks could be a cyberpearl harbor. We cannot look back years from now and wonder why we did nothing if the face of real threats to our security and our economy. Today, u. S. Security firm report is putting a face on the growing cybersecurity threat. The chinese military. According tie report since 2006, hackers tied to the military and based on this Office Building in shanghai have stolen information from 450 companies. 115 of them in the united states. Including contracts and major businesses. Today, china fired back at the foreign ministry, dismissing the claims as groundless and pointing out theyve been cyberattacked too. This afternoon spokesman jay carney said the white house has repeatedly discussed cyberhackings with chinese officials. The white house keeps urging congress to pass legislation to protect us, but how do you fight a nameless, faceless enemy in a cubicle world away . Lets spin. I think the message i take out of this, guys, is that technology is moving so fast. Its really hard to keep up with it. In terms of Foreign Policy and national security. Whether its cyberthreats or drones. When you have these kind of covert attacks, i think its even more important to increase Accountability Measures and get some legislation codified. Look, stutsman is a perfect example. I love the fact that we may or may not have, but probably did, crash Irans Nuclear program computer. I like that. I like drone technology, for the most part, for going after terrorist threats in al qaeda. But its really hard when other people get the same kind of technology that we have. Its really hard for us to wag a finger and say, cant do Something Like that. When were kind of doing a lot of the same things without much accountability. Well, im not sure its sort of like writing down our program is going to change what other people use their sort of cybertechnology. And theres a lot of countries, russia, singapore, north korea, using the same cyber. Exactly. China engages in massive amounts of cyber espionage. We know in that the way is government is structured, the National Government is controlling that there. Theres no way of this happening without it coming from the chinese government. This company, mandiant, that released this report, they generally pointed to china for every problem theyve come across. Im urging a tiny bit of caution, china has become this boogieman saying they did something wrong, be it the company, be it it cyber warfare, and everybody is going for it. Part of the problem for the antichina xenophobia, needs china to be prosperous for them to be prosperous, right . In Foreign Affairs even after chinas prosperity will remain independent on the rivals, including the united states. China will not get ahead if its rivals do not also prosper. I dont know about the xenophobes. I think thats a little unfair. I think theyre a principal offender, though, and they are a particular threat that we should absolutely be concerned about. But, you know, the question is, why hasnt action been taken on this already. Congress has been working on this for over three years to come up with some sort of legislation to combat cyberattacks. Unfortunately, it actually ends up coming down to progovernment, antigovernment no regulation argument. Businesses are pushing against what would be government regulations. Things like telling them if they have been hacked. Having specific layers of security to protect their customers and their systems. And theres also questions about whether customers should be, for example, able to skew businesses if their data is compromised and the business has been negligent. Also, its familiar to anybody falling to domestic policy in united states. Im not waiting for congress. Im buying gold. Im getting rid of the phone. Yeah. Im getting rid of the computer. Cash is going into shoe boxes. Tomorrow, i will not be on the show, but ill be sending in my comments via carrier pigeon. You have any eyebolt companies youd like to suggest to the viewers . There are certain guests. Im going to sleep on a piefl gold and when the marauders come, im going to fight them off. Now, we know where your gold is going to be. Under your bed. Weve reached the end. Thats what i got from this segment. Weve reached the bed. Debbie downer. I have an exciting announcement to share with you guys in the the cycle at home. You know i get the sweetest tweets sent to me because my political views make me by far the darling of the network. Ive been working on the best of the best tweets i get or the worst of the worst. Were calling it s. E. s tweet bag. Thats right. The First Episode features bravos andy cohen. We had a ton of fun when i crashed his watch what happens set. And the links on the facebook page, so you have no excuses. While youre there, let me know what you think about it. And like us. Up next, 50 years ago today, the feminine mystique hit bookshelves and rocketed women out of that. How far have we come from mad men. Why is it every time a man takes you out for lunch around here, youre the dessert. Thats terrible. Its constant for every corner. [ male announcer ] pearls. Hairbands. And now hot pink toes. Seems tough for a tough dog like duke. But when it has anything to do with gwen, hes putty in her hands. For a love this strong, dukes family only feeds him iams. Compared to other leading brands, it has 50 more animal protein. To help keep his body as strong as a love that can endure anything. Even every fashion trend. Iams. Keep love strong. Prego . but ive been buying ragu for years. [ thinking ] i wonder what other questionable choices ive made . [ club scene music ] [ sigh of relief ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. Choose prego. [ sigh of relief ] chances are, youre not made of money, so dont overpay for motorcycle insurance. Geico, see how much you could save. Heres my question, who are the ladies . Were the ladies. Im not the ladies. Yeah. Youre the ladies. I am not the ladies. Yes, you are, youre the ladies. Youre being unfair. You cant force me to be a lady. Im not forcing you to be a lady. Okay. Im a lady. Shes a lady. Youre a lady. Were the ladies. Im confused. Am i the ladies, too . Yep. Yep. Good, glad we got that settled. Before hbos girls began giving uninsight into the young mind, the feminine mystique by unveiling the unhappiness of housewives, causing them to live away from the kitchen. And now nearly 200 years, new myths do threaten not only women their their entire families. With us professor stephanie koontz, hes the author of a strange stirring. Stephanie, thank you for being with us. My pleasure. Back to last summer, ann marie slaughter published this article in the atlanta take title why women still cant have it all. Basically parked this debate. Pointing out that women have to be super human to balance the job, and the family life. I think were trying to sort that out. You also point out in recent years, married women in particular have actually been leaving the labor force. So what are some of the barriers throughout that still exist for us . Well, weve come such a tremendously long way. Back in 1963, if you wanted a job, you had to go to the help wanted female section of the want ads. If you got a job as a College Educated woman youd earn less than the high school grodropout male. It was never the thought that women could have it all. That was a madison avenue mystique. But the fact that we now have a world where 70 of American Kids grow up in households where at looeft where every member, every adult in the household is at work. And our policymakers and Business Leaders still assume were back in the era of mad men where theres a woman at home to take care of the rest of life. Thats a problem for women but also for men who also want to be at home. I read your the New York Times piece on this. I want to read back the last thing you say which is we must stop seeing work family policy as a womens issue and start seeing it as a human rights issue that affects parent, children, partners, singles and elders. Feminists should certainly support this campaign, but they dont need to own it. I found that fascinating. If i were giving advice to the Republican Party and conservatives. It strikes me this might be a good entry point for conservatives to address this kind of policy without making it a profeminist argument. But a profamily argument. Thats right. Everybody should get in on this. Not only people with children. Need for the work family flexibility. But theres more people taking care of aging parents these days than of preschool children. Even if youre single, you have family responsibilities. So it is a human rights issue for individuals that need to do this. It is for our competitiveness as a society because were excluding people by forces them to choose between work and family. And of course for those who need care, both elders and children. Stephanie the feminine mystique seemed to change the world. We didnt realize the world that used to exist before it in a lot of ways. Can you talk about how and why that book changed america . Well, there were a lot of things that were already going on that were drawing women into the workforce. But what you had was this extraordinary set of myths that betty made up a word for. She called it the feminine mystique. That women were so totally different than men that you couldnt treat them as people. That all women, the normal woman renounced as one psychiatrist put it, all aspirations outside the home. Not out of coercion like in the bad days. But because all would come from watching the achievements of her husband. But so feminine mystique, women who actually believed this found themselves unhappy, discontented because they were human beings, something more in their lives. First, they turned it inward saying whats wrong with me . They started taking tranquilizers. They thought they were crazy. Literally, women i interviewed, i thought i was crazy. And she came along, no, youre not created. Society is crazy for not wanting the same aspirations that men have. And one woman told me after the book she flushed her tranquilizers in the toilet. That is amazing. Stephanie, thank you for being with us. Thank you. And straight ahead, a trip to weed country. No thank you. A vietnam vet that escape ptsd with weed and the cop out to catch them all. But, dad, youve got. [ voice of dennis ] allstate. With accident forgiveness, they guarantee your rates wont go up just because of an accident. Smart kid. [ voice of dennis ] indeed. Are you in good hands . Has oats that can help lower cholesterol . And it tastes good . Sure does wow. Its the honey, it makes it taste so. Well, would you look at the time. Whats the rush . Be happy. Be healthy. This is what its like. Paying full price for a hotel room. And this is what its like getting a highend hotel room for 45 off published prices. With travelocitys top secret hotels. Ooo, tingly. From capital one. Boris earns unlimited rewards for his Small Business. Can i get the smith contract, please . Thank you. Thats three new paper shredders. [ boris ] put em on my spark card. [ garth ] boris Small Business earns 2 cash back on every purchase every day. Great businesses deserve unlimited rewards. Read back the chickens testimony, please. Buk, buk, bukka [ male announcer ] get the spark Business Card from capital one and earn unlimited rewards. Choose 2 cash back or double miles on every purchase every day. Told you id get half. Whats in your wallet . Theres nothing more american than a man taking it and producing a product that people want. This is the emerald. That looks like a barn they stand to make millions. Its just a business that cant fail. Or be locked up for years. Uhoh. Its a decades old battle between cops, dealers and growers. Using 21st century science to make the most powerful weed on earth. Every time one of those plants fall, thats money that we dont get. It is a problem, of ep demid proportio proportions. Yeah, im breaking the law on tv. So what . This is weed country, we will never stop this, ever. Oh, well. A New Discovery channel series is shining a u. V. Light on the billiondollar pot industry from organic granola or organized drug cartels. Depending on how who you talk to youll hear recreation use or no use at all. Its creeping into your lives from ballot boxes to backyards. Weed country brings us the stories behind the product. Nathaniel morris is one of them. Hes a grower, using 21st century to raise the most potent stuff on the planet. Nate is one of the stars of weed country which premieres this thursday at 10 00 p. M. On the discovery channel. Nate, i guess for one of your sort of, for lack of a better term, claims to fame, theres a story where a woman whos 3yearold child had been dealing with horrible treatmentresistant epilepsy, was having seizures all the time. Sort in desperation, she turned to you to see if there was anything you could cook up for her for her son. We have a clip from. Well play it and ask you about that. There were days when he had ten seizures in one day. And we down stop them. Bens pediatrician advised several treatments invieweding invasive surgeries, countless pills and huge doses of steroids. When they didnt work, the doctor wanted bens mom to try another round. For one of those rounds i had to sign a paper that said you realize your child up to date on that, what you actually ended up doing for this boy. Did it have any benefit medically and i know obviously that this put you into some legal jeopardy. Can you tell us about what your current status is legally . Absolutely. Unfortunately, i cant dive into too much detail about what actually happens on the show. People are going to have to tune in for that but i can tell you that i have been actively engaged in research and development of high cbd medical cannabis. Cbd is a compound within the plant that doesnt get you high but does alleviate seizures. I am proud to report that we have had quite a bit of success with that. Nate, we just showed a chart of the states that allow medical marijuana, a few other states are experimenting with full decriminalization altogether. I would like to hear you make the case for legalization. Absolutely. I think that the evidence is really ruling in that the medical properties of the plant alone should justify full legalization. I think separate from the medical properties, theres the basic you know, the potential tax revenue and just the failure that trying to stop people from consuming cannabis, it doesnt make sense to continue it anyways. But on a broader level, i think that prohibition in general doesnt work. And its my hope that the realization that cannabis prohibition has failed sparks a broader realization that the entire war on drugs needs to come to an end. I was just going to say, give us some insight into how you became a grower yourself. Whats your background and are you sort of typical of the growers you see in humboldt county . Im not sure im exactly typical. I started growing at a young age. I have always been kind of a science geek, and so, yeah, i started when i was 14, but i didnt really get focused on it until my mid20s. I have a lot of interest in it. You know, im interested in botany and the general science of propagating plants, not just marijuana, but all kinds of plants has always been a fascination of mine. I also have epilepsy, so theres a natural interest in a plant that has the potential to prevent seizures. Since then i have done more research and come across more and more studies that show just an enormous number of illnesses that medical cannabis is capable of treating and thats really pushed me along this path and motivated me to keep going. Does that answer your question . Yes, it does. All right, nate morris. Thanks for that. Up next, the war against the poor and the general according to s. E. Is the president. , and to s. E. Is the president. , accog to s. E. , is the president. Ive always kept my eye on her. But with so much health care noise, i didnt always watch out for myself. With unitedhealthcare, i get personalized information and rewards for addressing my health risks. But shes still going to give me a heart attack. Thats health in numbers. Unitedhealthcare. Today is gonna be an important day for us. You ready . We wanna be our brothers keeper. Whats number two we wanna do . Bring it up to 90 decatherms. How bout ya, joe . Lets go ahead and bring it online. Attention on site, attention on site. Now starting unit nine. Some of the worlds cleanest gas turbines are now powering some of americas biggest cities. Siemens. Answers. As republicans plot a new way forward that acknowledges changing demographics and a messaging problem when it comes to women and minorities, its clear theyre optimistically hoping earnest efforts towards Immigration Reform will help some of their problems. The white houses backup plan was leaked by someone over the weekend and if one wanted to read into the strategy, its plausible that the Obama Administration saw a little too much progress coming out of the Bipartisan Senate gang of eight and theyre worried that republicans like Marco Rubio Might walk away with a little too much credit if meaningful immigration policy is actually passed. As laudable as republican efforts have been to walk a delicate pathway to Immigration Reform fraught with political dangers on every side, they might want to accept now they will never truly enjoy the fruits of their labor. Democrats will make sure they get to bask in all the kudos and republicans are made to look like the begrudging reluctant me toers who merely went along to save face. The real area where republicans could make up some ground is on poverty. For all the attention president obama has given the middle class, his administration hasnt been able to make any inroads in lowering poverty and for all the efforts to malign the evil 1 ers income equality has only widened under obama. We have the largest number of people counted as poor in the 53 years that poverty has been measured. Those tragic numbers come into even starker focus for blacks, hispanics, and women. Although blacks represent 13. 1 of the general population, they accounted for 27. 6 of the poor population in 2011. Hispanics who make up 16. 7 represented 25. 3 of the poor population. 34. 2 of families with a female household where in husband was pretty were poor and 16. 9 were living in extreme poverty. White americans in 2011 had 22 times more wealth than blacks. A gap that nearly doubled in the time since obama has been president. The ratio between white and hispanic wealth is now 15 to 1. Stimulating the economy, expanding welfare programs and government aid has done nothing to lower poverty levels among blacks and hispanics. Its something a few Black Thought leaders have tried to tackle. They say that the Obama Administration has ignored the plight of blacks and the poor in favor of corporate welfare and business interests. This is where conservatives should redirect their attention. A compassionate message combined with empowering and provocative economic policies would be good for the country, good for the poor, and good for the conservative brand. It wasnt that long ago that republicans like jack kemp, newt gingrich, and george w. Bush relentlessly advocated for solving poverty. If republicans are smart they will shake off the dust from the democrats war on women campaign. Martin, its all yours. Its tuesday february 19th, and republican