we all exist in the context, michael. >> we do. >> given that, that is all we have to do. rape will continue our coverage right now. take it away, ali. >> you have two speech, amazing and intentionally amazing, no matter what you do. michael steele today is giving us labor day stuff. he has probably got a whiskey snifter there. >> i mean, somebody accused him of having bourbon in his cup, ali, i am going to investigate myself. >> all morning, michael is leaning it over, checking out, i'm with you, michael. it is labor day. you guys deserve a break. >> i am just a woman, ali, at work trying to do my part.

>> i love you both. we will see you tomorrow. i hope you have an amazing afternoon. check "velshi" starts now. good morning. it is saturday, august 31st. it is 66 days until election day. this morning, i've got georgia on my mind, a state crucial to understanding how this election is playing out both in that state and nationally. for decades, georgia, a decidedly red state did not get much attention in presidential politics. it was won easily by republicans like bob dole in 1996 to donald trump in 2016. in 2020, joe biden broke that streak, winning georgia by a tiny 0.2% margin. now, this election cycle, georgia is back in place. it is a swing state. it is back as a target of trump mischief.

what we are seeing now in georgia is a cross-section between the presidential race at large from the creeping threats of trumpism, that are laying the groundwork for post election denial and chaos, to the starkly different tactics we are seeing on the ground from the two different presidential campaigns. after narrowly losing georgia to joe biden in 2020, you will remember, donald trump was caught on a recorded phone call begging the state's top elections official, brad roethlisberger, to find him enough u-boats votes to overturn the election. that phone call is not a central piece of evidence in the ongoing georgia election fraud case intro is giving off election interference vibes to his campaign in georgia this year. during a dizzying, digression filled rally there earlier this month, trump bashed a popular republican governor, brian kemp, for not overturning the results of the 2020 election and blamed kemp for his ongoing legal troubles in the state. there are some georgia

republicans who are being singled out for praise by donald trump. at a rally earlier in the state earlier this month, he called up three georgia election board members by name, because it is really likely the president would know those people's names, saying that they are on fire and fighting like pit bulls. those three pit bulls all questioned the results of the 2020 election when trump lost, and they are now behind a new set of rules for this election cycle, that things design to allow local officials to undermine the state's vote counting process. the new rules aim to change the roles of local election supervisors, county level election supervisors, a job that going back a century was simply to count votes and report the numbers to the state. that is it. under the new system, designed by trump's pit bulls on the state election board, those local officials must now conduct a quote, reasonable inquiry before certifying their results and sending them to the state. the question of what counts as a reasonable inquiry is left

intentionally vague, given those local at the authorities brought for search supposedly irregularities and refused to certify results by the november 12th deadline. election is november 5th, they both have to be certified by georgia on november 12th. democrats have sued to stop the new rules, arguing that they go well beyond the board's authority in the state republican secretary of state, brad roethlisberger, the same guy that refused to find trump some extra votes when he lost the election the first time, has spoken out against these new rules thing quote, activists seeking to impose last-minute changes in election procedures outside of a legislative process undermine voter confidence and burden election workers. an attorney with the public rights project, a local group that spoke out against the new rules, put it more bluntly quote, the motivation by the rules is to give election officials wide discretion not to certify election results. now, if you are wondering what

local officials in georgia might do with this wide discretion, keep in mind that 19 election board members in nine georgia counties have challenged the certification of the election results since 2020. i spoke to a member of the georgia state election board on thursday night, and she outlined a key concern. >> what we are concerned about is, this is an endless request for more and more documents that have nothing to do with the certification process, because that is what this rule blesses. it says that in the individual board member, not even the superintendent, they can just ask for more and more documents and just keep pushing, and questioning, and undermining public confidence in the process itself and the results. >> and remember, this is just november 5th to november 12th. if they keep on asking for more

documents, you get past november 12th, you missed the deadline to certify electoral college votes in that state. what is at stake in georgia and its 16 electoral college votes, the orderly counting of ballots and the basic function of democracy is also a big part of donald trump's strategy there. not winning over new voters, but they can chaos and out in the process to lay the groundwork for another big lie. remember, georgia is a swing state, so trump is not the only game in town and kamala harris is running a game there that is not only different from the center plate donald trump is running, it is different from what democrats have done in the past. traditionally, democrats have focused almost solely on georgia's biggest cities, boarding spending time, energy, and money on georgia's rural, red cities. and as you can see from the map, there are lots of very red areas in georgia. in 2020, for instance, biden dominated urban areas in georgia . the big city

and the surrounding suburbs, but did little elsewhere and it was already a winning strategy, but just barely. harris is making a point of not just focusing on traditional democratic strongholds, but also taking her message to rural voters, who rarely get in-person presidential candidates campaigning from either party. harris, along with her running mate, tim walz, just completed a 10 day bus tour across southeastern georgia. it is the vice president's second trip to the state this month and this time, she went to southeast georgia, the two-- with the exception of two counties around savannah, was one of those solidly red areas, previously thought to be unwinnable by democrats. a study in contrast that could apply nationwide. on one side, you democrats trying to win votes by taking their message to people, by all appearances, believing that they can win if they get their voters to understand their messages. on the other side, yup republicans, acting as if their

best shot at winning elections is to sow doubt and chaos and prevent people from voting, making it easier to test the results. for more on this, i am joined by judith brown, associate attorney and of the project, racial justice civil rights project. and a principal at solidarity analytics media, former ceo of the new georgia project and new georgia project action fund. good morning to both of you. thank you for being with us this morning. judith, let's start with you. 66 days away from election day. every time a state makes it more confusing to vote or brings in more rules, georgia says, hold my beer. they are changing rules 66 days out. don't solve anything for anybody. >> yeah. what has happened is, we've come out of a convention, the dnc, everyone is getting, meanwhile, the republicans are like checkmate. you may have the numbers, but we make the rules. not only do

we make the rules at these local election boards and the state election boards, but we also control. that is their game plan. their game plan is to continue with the historic play that started when obama ran, but also to see this discontent and chaos so when we get to certification, perhaps they will miss the deadline. the numbers matter, and where the candidates are going and the work that is being done, the ground, and all the things that have been done to build out infrastructure for progressive voters in the state of georgia-- >> and the way this is cloaked, this new proposal sounds like a good thing. any elected county commissioner can say-- can conduct a reasonable inquiry essay, i got doubts about this. we forget the role of election

officials all across this country. it is a crucial and important role, to count the votes cast, hold those numbers against the number of people registered to vote and who showed up to vote, make sure the numbers all match and certify. that is it for me there is no space for reasonable inquiries. that is a problem. you have state auditing facilities. this does not do anything. >> actually, it does quite a bit. what we saw in previous elections in 2020, and 2022, our republican actors at every level of government, as well as right wing activists attempt to interfere with the will of the people and overturned the results of the elections. they have tried to-- individual counties in georgia sought to not certify elections, and we

have seen that before. this is an attempt to codify those earlier and previous attempts to interfere with the elections. one thing that is absolutely clear, is that the republicans also are clear about the odds in this election and they also know what is at stake in this election, and they are doing everything that they can, including changing laws to make it easier for bad actors to interfere with the will of georgia voters, and they have to be stopped. >> judith, one of the things that we have seen in prior elections in arizona and pennsylvania, particularly in the last midterm elections, is republicans who are so disaffected by donald trump, and the nonsense election deniers are up to, they have come out in support of kamala harris and some democrats. you have a little bit of that happening in georgia as well. >> there are election officials who believe they are doing the

right thing, that there is integrity in the elections because they know what they have been doing. what the republicans are trying to do is to create chaos. we filed a lawsuit last month, which was about the challenge law, they just put into effect a new challenge law that allows for mass challenges on very flimsy evidence. there is actually no bar for what kind of evidence they would have to have to take voters off the rolls. we have been going with our partners on the ground to those election board meetings to say, do not take people off the rolls. it is too late for this. they are trying these last- minute things, but local elections officials are saying, no. they wrote to the state elections board to say, no, no rule changes. it is too close to the election, we can't implement anything new. >> let's talk about the differences in the campaigns. the harris-walz campaign, doing

unusual things, going into places where they don't necessarily have major wins, or don't win major counties. sort of thing, we have a message . we think we can appeal to this, we think we can keep georgia solidly in the democratic column. it does appear the republican efforts in georgia seem to be all about stopping as many democratic votes as possible. >> that is absolutely what the republican play is here i am excited to see this novel approach, if you will, from national democrats. they are learning. they, i think that with our efforts at the new georgia project, having helped register almost 700,000 young people, people of color, and all 159 of georgia's counties, often times, national operatives that georgia is just atlanta and the harris-walz campaign is showing that is absolutely not the case. not only are there major cities,

augusta, savannah, where the vice president has been two times in the past six months, but we also have what is known as the rural black belt. there are almost two counties in georgia majority african american, majority people of color, most of them are rural. often times, when people talk about trends with rural voters, it is code for white and conservative. georgia completely upends that definition. i am excited to see the harris- walz campaign is learning, and that they are listening, meeting their voters, and there is energy and enthusiasm. because what we are going to need is an energetic, enthusiastic, and determined electorate to overcome the voter suppression laws that have been passed by our republican legislators, signed by the republican governor. these suppressive rules that have been passed by the state election board, and these nuisance lawsuits that have

been filed to of the works, to neutralize the impact of all of those attacks on georgians' boats. we are going to have to see historic levels of participation and the harris- walz campaign apparently gets it. >> and that is built on the backs of work like yours, and judith's, and a number of people who have been working in that state for a very long time to fight voter suppression. thanks to you for doing that. judith round, the executive, and nse ufot founder of the new south super pack. treatment ahead, i promise to dive into the conservative project, project 2025. every single weekend, every single time i am on tv, for that matter. today, we are taking a look at project 2025's plans to wash investigations into far right hate group and shipped fbi resources to instead targeting

groups that practice affirmative action, or dpi. treatment from surging fees to relentless record-breaking heat this summer is proof of concept of the destructive power of climate change. we will talk about what emerging heat waves, even more deadly, and what another donald trump presidency would mean for the climate that is already deeply in crisis. for easier heartburn relief, one beats ten. prilosec otc. one pill. 24 hours. zero heartburn.

what the biggest companies deliver is exceptional customer experience. what makes it possible is unmatched connectivity and 5g solutions from t-mobile for business. t-mobile connects 100,000 delta airlines employees. powers tractor supply stores nationwide

with reliable 5g business internet. and helps red bull revolutionize coverage of live events. this is how business goes further with t-mobile for business. is it possible to count on my thinternet like myss customers count on me? it is with comcast business. keeping you up and running with our 99.9% network reliability. and security that helps outsmart threats to your data. moaire dida twoo? -your data, too. there's even round-the- clock customer support.

so you can be there for your customers. with comcast business, reliability isn't just possible. it's happening. switch to reliable comcast business internet with security and get started for $49.99 a month. plus ask how to get up to a $500 prepaid card. call today! today marks today marks the fourth day of israel's reign on the occupied west bank, a palestinian tele-tory. within the last 24 hour, israeli forces arrested at least 25 officials. among those detained are a journalist, one woman, multiple children, and former prisoners. these arrests happened in the wake of freud's major strike in the west bank of the city of janine me with the israeli military claim it targeted and

killed a senior hamas commander in the strike. the palestinian ministry notes at least 20 people have been killed since israel lost lots of those rates wednesday. on the other side of the palestinian territory, amid ongoing fighting, israel and hamas have agreed to three separate zoned three-day pauses in gaza, beginning sunday, tomorrow. this is an effort to allow more than 640,000 children to get vaccinated against polio, which has largely been eradicated around the world, but has now reappeared in gaza. joining me from tel aviv is nbc's matt bradley. matt, let's start with what is going on in the west bank. israeli military claims, they are targeting strongholds of palestinian armed groups. m2ol■f is going on and w #m

have been kind of wrapping up. one of those areas overcome a refugee camp, israelis have said, they have stopped their operations there and there does not seem to be a lot of violence going up there now. i think it was just yesterday israelis said they had received their operations in the con. now, we are seeing continued fighting in geneva. g0j4 climbing now, at least 20 people. the israelis have said all 20 of them are terrorists, as they described them, and military ól" groups have also for the most part describe those people, those 20 who have been killed as militants belonging to some of these groups. this is not just thomas. other groups like palestinian, islamic, and do not. especially janine, not even under the authority of the palestinian authority, it is wy different military groups. the situation is ujstill grl0 extrb]sly violent. >)&ttpda>pqá so not to leave q,rñtheir homes a lot of services have been cut

off, a lot of communications. those living there, it is a ok■% desperate and dire sva÷u)uupáio >> matt, thank you my friend, matt bradley for us in tel aviv here coming up, nearly 60 americans experiencedu;"z yst h felt like 115 degrees, just one factor of climate change with consequences that the u.n. is v warning will quote, come for us all. all. gamechanga! ...while the flexdisc contours to it. so the five blades can get virtually every hair in one stroke. for the ultimate gillette shaving experience. the best a man can get is gillettelabs.

summer is wrapping summer is wrapping up and this year is said to be the most humid summer on record in the united states and likely globally. the most recent heat wave is finally cooling off, but this past week, nearly 60 million americans in at least 10 states experienced heat indices as high as 115 degrees. now, you probably all know this, but a heat index is a term in which we should all get familiar, as heat waves and humidity continued to intensify. also notice relevant

temperature, the heat index is what the temperature feels like to the human body when eric temperature and humidity are combined. to human's human heat temperature mechanism is the act of sweating. high heat regulates our ability to regulate temperature. the heat withstands as the heat rises. humidity makes heat waves more dangerous and torrential rain far more intense. the summer has seen four of the hottest days ever measured in the united states, along with torrential rain and extreme lash flooding that led to states of emergency in connecticut, vermont, north dakota, utah, arizona, michigan, i could go on. of course, the climate crisis is a global emergency, not a domestic one. earlier this summer, the united nations released a report describing the dangers of extreme heat. according to that report, roughly half 1 million people worldwide die from extreme heat every year. that is far more than from any other weather extreme like

hurricanes, floods, or winter weather. united nations secretary-general , antonio gutierrez, said quote, millions of people are facing an extreme heat epidemic, wilting under increasingly deadly heat waves, with temperatures topping 50 degrees celsius around the world. that is 122 degrees fahrenheit, and halfway to boiling. this week, the united nations released two new reports, detailing human-caused climate change is accelerating changes to the ocean from oceanic heat waves to melting ice sheets, while sea levels are rising worldwide, the south pacific islands are bearing the brunt for oceanic changes. sea levels are rising three times as fast there as the rest of the world. low-lying islands are particularly vulnerable to ocean search, to storm surge, ocean acidification. the u.n. secretary-general urged

larger nations to step up to save the south pacific islands, because while they are bearing the brunt of sea level rise now, the impacts of climate change are global. gutierrez said quote, surging seas are coming for us all. the world must look to the pacific and listen to science. if we save the pacific, we also save ourselves, end quote. gutierrez emphasized the importance of top emitters stepping up to tackle the greenhouse gas emissions that they contribute. now and historically. the united states is the second highest greenhouse gas emitter in the world, behind only china. the biden administration has made more progress on climate change than any administration in our history. kamala harris has pledged to continue that progress is elected. meanwhile, donald trump, who has already pledged to drill, baby, drill, continues to spew absolute nonsense about climate change and is doubling down on bogus claims, like apparently quote, windmills are bird cemeteries and in need to pressurize is caused by the use

of nuclear weapons and rising seas are a good thing, because they lead to more oceanfront property. beyond the laughable things that trump continues to say about climate change are really worrying promises to increase oil drilling on public lands and offer tax breaks to oil, gas, and coal producers. truck is responsible for the most extreme rollbacks of environmental policy of any president in history. if you follow the recommendation of roger 2025, will increase u.s. emissions, further weaken environmental policy and regulation, and will dismantle the agencies upon which we rely for information about climate and weather. it is more clear than ever that we need to be bold to curb emissions and continue the transformation of our nation into a leader in sustainable climate solutions. one candidate stands a chance to do that. the other is taking us backward. backward. lions of bacteria growing overnight. crest pro-health helps prevent oral health issues before they start. i'm so much fresher. crest.

progressive makes it easy to save with a quick commercial auto quote online. so you can get back to your monster to-do list. -really? -get a quote at progresivecommercial.com. before before the break, i told

you about frightening, real- time consequences about climate change. joining us is monica medina, former deputy administrator of the national oceanic and atmospheric administration, , former for environmental science and a great addition to our show. there was a place in southern iran, i think in celsius, because i grew up in canada, it hit 82.2 celsius, i assumed that was fahrenheit, because i had never heard of anything like that. that is 180 degrees fahrenheit. until now, i think death valley was the hottest place in the world. that is not supposed to happen. we had a bunch of places in the united states where you got to 150. it was real feel, not the temperature the mercury would measure, but this is where we are headed. and we still have a political candidate at the highest levels who simply won't deal with this, in large part because he

gets lots of money from the fossil fuel industry, but wants to pretend this is not a thing. >> exactly. they promised to take it out of the federal agencies everywhere . you talked about it in your set up for this to me they talked about eliminating noaa. we've had decades of climate delays and denials from the trump administration, we cannot go back. this administrative, the biden -harris administration has invested more money into climate change, and this sunday, they propose protections for laborers because of those extreme heat conditions we sought talked about and we set records here in the u.s., california, phoenix, how many months, months of record-breaking. >> had reports that you could crack an egg on the pavement and it would fry. >> people coming to emergency rooms with keith burns from exposure to pavements. kids, their first week back in school they can go out for recess because it is too hot in ohio. we know we have a problem

here and there is one ticket that is willing and able, and marching straight forward. the other is going to take us right back to where we have been and we just can't afford it. we don't have time. it is a. now. we know that if we don't tackle this crisis in the next five to 10 years, we will set ourselves back. it is jobs. yes, you talked about wind turbines, the biggest job creator in parts of our country is wind turbine maintenance. this is not about just the harms, it is about the benefits. >> it is an economy that we build on. >> absolutely. we see prices going up on things like insurance. one third of the states in this country had insurance companies underwater, losing money. >> by the way, when you talk underwater there are lots of places, people living in new york state who do not think they are particularly close to

walter who cannot get homeowners insurance because of flooding. we talk about flooding. we talk about hurricanes a lot. it is an important stat. more people die from heat around the world than any other climate matter. not everybody has got super air conditioning. it is really a health issue. >> it is a huge health issue. this week, we saw this crazy new vote in new york where mosquito bites are causing a new type of virus and infection that is incredibly dangerous. encephalitis. that makes parents take pause, and they are worried because they don't want to have their kids restricted again. this is what we are up against. there is one ticket taking us forward. the other is not only taking us backward, but going to make us much more at risk. so, the choice is pretty clear. people ask me all the time, what can i do to fight the climate crisis? i am just one person. this year, it is clear, what you can do is vote and bring

every other person concerned about this issue with you to the polls. make a plan, make sure they know where they are going to vote and get them out early. it starts soon. hurricane season starts soon too. we know we will be barreling down on this crisis. fire season, we will be barreling down on that as well. the crises will be barreling up like car crashes. you talked about the secretary attorney general of the u.n. he calls this a highway to hell we will be on. we know what it takes to tackle this crisis. this administration, vice president harris in a leadership role, casting the tie-breaking votes that put us on the right path to a more sustainable future, we know what they are going to do. we also know what the other tickets is going to do. they are going to dismantle noaa , my old agency. people think, i will just watch the local news. they don't appreciate that what happens on the local news is all based on-- >> the measurements, the threat analysis forecast, when the

president is not drawing his own sharpies, noaa's information is not necessarily for all of us. >> when he meets his political requirements, think where we will be. that will put millions in harms way when they don't appreciate what is coming for them. this administration has put in new warnings for fire and heat, so people can be ready and we can protect our children, our seniors, anyone with an illness that makes them more vulnerable . the choices are clear, crystal clear. this is a moment for action. this administration has put us on a path to being greenhouse gas emission neutral by 2050, and cut in half hour emissions by 2030. that is real action. we can't do it if we go backwards and it will not happen just because things are already in place. this administration, its policies need to continue. we know that the vice president and governor walz will do that.

>> monica, thank you, always great to see you. former secretary of state for oceans environment and science and former deputy administrator of noaa peer violent far right extremism is on the rise in the united states. you don't need much more evidence than january 6. project 2025, the blueprint for a second trump presidency sees these blueprints as manufacturing wants to sideline guard rails against far right, white nationalist extremism. that is our latest installment inside project 2025. right now through september 3rd, save up to 70% off everything home. yes! end summer with can't-miss surprise flash deals that make your busiest time, your best. all with fast shipping right to your doorstep. shop wayfair's labor day clearance now through september 3rd to score up to 70% off! ♪ wayfair. every style. every home. ♪

we always had dogs, they're like my best buddies. yep, had them my whole life. c'mon bo! so we got him and he is a, an absolute joy. daddy's puppy. once we got on the farmer's dog he just attacks it, it's incredible. they're so tuned into you and they have such, such personality. being without a dog, i don't know, can't imagine it. [laughter] >> woman: why did we choose safelite? we're always working on a project. while loading up our suv, one extra push and... crack! so, we scheduled at safelite.com. we were able to track our technician and knew exactly when he'd arrive. we can keep working! ♪ synth music ♪ >> woman: safelite came to us. >> tech: hi, i'm kendrick. >> woman: with a replacement we could trust. that's service the way we want it. >> vo: schedule free mobile service now at safelite.com. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪

there has been a market rise in far right violent extremism in america. the january 6 insurrection being the largest example. project 2025, the far right blueprint for a second trump presidency would not only protect, but in some cases, amplify this kind of extremism. i talk about project 2025 on every single show. some of its extremist proposals are stated quite directly in explicitly. some are quote. all of the threats in this document are real and they are in fact all tied to donald trump, despite his tireless and dishonest efforts to distance himself from them and from project 2025 as a whole. today, we are going to look at

chapter 17, entitled, the department of justice. project 2025 would take an expert to federal investigation hate groups and far right extremism, dismissing these quotes manufactured extremism. government screwed city of what is currently the nation's top national security threat would allow these groups to thrive and expand. the oath keepers and proud boys, and played a key role in the january 6 insurrection underscore the rising threat of far right violence to our democratic institutions. when many of those insurrectionist were prosecuted, it exposed the trump infiltration of right-wing extremism into the u.s. military. npr found that nearly one in five individuals charged for their involvement in the capital attack had served or were currently serving in the military.

in response, the department of defense, under the biden administration, undertook a series of measures following january 6th to address extremist infiltration into the military. project 2025 targets those efforts directly. on page 52, the blueprint calls for the national security council to righteously review the military's responsibility, and move away from prioritizing what it calls nondefense and social matters, social engineering like quote, manufactured extremism, that it says we can our armed forces. on page 160, by the way, not a part of the chapter on national security, or the department of justice, it directs the department of homeland security to reassess its quote, domestic terrorism lines of effort to align with the future republican president, resolutely donald trump's priorities. the blueprint on page 549 calls for a quote, immediate

comprehensive review of all major active fbi investigations and activities, and proposes that the fbi redirect its focus to other threats. okay. so, what are the other threats? rather than domestic violence white nationalist extremism, the threats it would like the fbi to focus on our, affirmative action and diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, the fbi. the plan specifically calls for the department of justice to be reorganized to target entities that practice affirmative action or dei. in other words, today's republican party sees diversity at the top national security threat and plans to treat it as such. you cannot make this stuff up. the doj policing dei . last year, the southern poverty law center added 12 conservative so- called parents rights groups to its list of extremist organizations, warning that certain hate groups have shifted their tactics since the insurrection, arguing operated

under better rights in order to push an antigovernment white nationalist agenda. one of those groups is, you guessed it, mom's for liberty. project 2025 slams the fbi's currency of those groups, accusing the department of justice on page 545 of this document of chilling the free- speech rights of parents. nevermind that those parents are actually attacking the first amendment right that states explicitly that quote, the government should make no law abridging the freedom of speech, to end quote. on page 558 of this document, project 2025 accuses the fbi of harassing protesting parents, who it claims unfairly are being labeled as domestic terrorists, which they are not. experts warn that project 2025 would remove crucial safeguards, protecting our institutions and the public of far right hate groups, allowing them to expand.

joe moore, a former fbi informant who tracked police ties to the warns that domestic extremist groups are being mobilized as quote, front- line shock groups in the event of a contested election. he found that some florida police officers were active klan members, including recruiting other klan members into law enforcement. he wrote his investigation indicates a significant number of police instructors have ties to right-wing militias, militias are illegal in this country, by the way, and white supremacist hate groups, a report that adds to a vast body of evidence showing 28 deadly threat inside u.s. police departments. project 2025's agenda could allow these ties to grow, since on page 557 it calls for eliminating all consent decrees issued by the department of

justice. when the justice department finds evidence of misconduct within state or local government agencies, like a local police department, it issues one of these decrees, a consent decree, which creates and enforces a roadmap to change. consent decrees are urged to curb civil rights abuses against people of color, mentally ill, disabled, things like that. more, who previously served abroad told authorities quote, nothing i witnessed in any of them scares me as much as what we are facing at home now. should we be afraid, with the 2024 election looming and democracy on the ballot, the answer is, yes, we should be very afraid. after a quick break, we will discuss this further with barbara mcquade, former u.s. attorney. attorney. so you can get back to your monster to-do list. -really? -get a quote at progresivecommercial.com. here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need, and the flavor you love. so, here's to now...

now available: boost max! introducing new advil targeted relief. the only topical pain reliever with 4 powerful pain-fighting ingredients that start working on contact to target tough pain at the source. for up to 8 hours of powerful relief. new advil targeted relief. pete g. writes, “my tween wants a new phone. how do i not break the bank?" we gotcha, pete. xfinity mobile was designed to save you money and gives you access to wifi speeds up to a gig. so you get high speeds for low prices. better than getting low speeds for high prices. right, bruce? jealous? yeah, look at that. honestly, someone get a helmet on this guy. get a free unlimited line for a year when you buy one unlimited line. plus, get up to $800 off google pixel 9 phones.

switch today! introducing a revolution in pain relief. absorbine junior pro, the strongest numbing pain relief available. it's the only solution with two max strength anesthetics for fast penetrating relief absorbine junior pro. nothing numbs pain more. before before the break, i told you about the rise of far right extremism in this country and how project 2025 would fight, rather than protect those forces. joining me is cohost of

"sisters-in-law," the author of the book, "attack from within how disinformation is sabotaging america." you're the perfect person to talk to this about, as a u.s. attorney, you actually dealt with bart right extremism and u.s. militias in your home state. many of them were quite active, involved in a plot to kidnap your governor. i want to be clear, under the law, an armed militia that is doing things that feel like enforcement of the law or upholding the law, is not legal in america. you can't actually do that. they are gun clubs, basically. >> exactly right, ali. most states forbid drilling with firearms, parading, and wearing the insignia that suggests you are an law- enforcement officer for obvious reasons. it can cause confusion and create danger. what is different about enforcing it, as you said, our first amendment right to free

association is, if you are a member of a gun club, you're entitled to get together and practice shooting. as a result, the enforcement of those laws has been quite lax. segment let's talk more broadly about this area of the department of justice as it relates to far right extremism. as far as project 2025 goes, it is a little more nuanced and coded than some of the other areas like abortion, that speaks openly about it. there is a sense in here that the government has gone awry in concentrating on far right, violent extremism in america and should be refocused on other things, and it does talk about the ei and affirmative action. sounds nonsensical to me that they would like the fbi involved in stuff like that, but it also seems to ignore what is emerging and has emerged as a national security threat in the country. experts like yourself say, domestic violence extremism is in fact our national security threat. the u.s. department of homeland security has identified domestic extremism as the top threat to our

national security. you get a sense of where this document is coming from, even in this chapter which it uses phrases like, the need to restore the fbi's integrity after the russia hoax. it says, the fbi is completely out of control. i think the only thing that has disparaged the fbi's reputation is lysed by donald trump. if anything, i found this fbi to be a bit on the timid side, in terms of its preparation for january 6, its willingness to search donald trump's mar-a- lago residence. i don't think the fbi needs to be reined in when going after violence extremism. one thing important to note, ali, i think this document probably purposefully ignores is , the fbi is not in the business of enforcing speech. it is in the business of enforcing conduct. when conduct is violent, that is when the fbi gets involved.

it is not enough that you said something unpleasant to your school board member, it is when you are threatening to kill them that the fbi might get involved. >> let's talk broadly about what the dangers are of underestimating or deemphasizing the efforts to deal with real national security. we have seen this in this country before, right? by the nature of what we do, we sometimes tend to be concentrated and put our resources in the last week threat we thought about. some would argue, that did not prepare us as well as we should have been for 9/11. what is the danger here of disregarding, actually and willfully disregarding the thing that is our biggest national security threat? how does this play out for us in 10 or 15 years? >> i think what we would see is political violence. the things we have seen, like you mentioned, the plot to kidnap governor whitmer in my state of michigan. or the violence like the man who attacked nancy pelosi's husband in their home. the man, in response to the mar-

a-lago search, went to his local fbi office in cincinnati with a assault weapon to try to bridge that office and was later killed in a standoff with police. i think if we ignore those kinds of threats, we are doomed to have more of them. one of the reasons we enforce the law, is not only to remove dangerous perpetrators from our streets, but to send a deterrence message that this conduct is against the law and against our national security. if the fbi drugs its shoulders at these things, or enables these things, i think we are going to see more of it. it is a danger to public safety and democracy. >> project 2025 criticizes the military's focus on what it calls nondefense matters, as the military does to make things more fair and equitable. military leaders have objected to this. they have said, it is hard to get people into the military, actually really tough. to keep an active military you have to have workplace, rules, and military leaders have said, these things do not undercut their ability to do what they do in their court mission, that is to defend america.

>> not only does it not harm their ability, it actually assists their ability. i recall when there was a major case on affirmative action for the university of michigan some years ago, one of the most persuasive briefs filed came from the u.s. military that said, diversity, equity, and inclusion was actually upping the readiness of its groups, building camaraderie teamwork, recruiting, and helpful in their mission. this nonsense that somehow dei means that we are no longer the top military we need to be is wrong , and it is dangerous here too barbara, great to talk to you about this, thank you for joining us. barbara mcquade, former united states attorney, cohost of the "sisters in law" podcast. george is back as a swing state after joe biden put it in the democratic column for the first time in two decades and as a focal point of trump political schemes. >>