tv Erin Burnett Out Front CNN January 7, 2014 8:00pm-9:01pm PST
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next, president obama publicly bashed by a member of his own cabinet. new details of a shocking new memoir. plus, growing outrage after police shoot and kill a mentally ill teenager in front of his parents. >> i know it happened. i was there. i watched them shoot my son in cold blood in front of me. >> was it necessary force or murder? and a disturbing video of a boy in diapers being used to educate the people of nebraska?
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>> you throwing a fit right now, little [ bleep ]? [ bleep ] you. you ain't talking that [ bleep ] now. [ bleep ] you, too. >> let's go "outfront." good evening. i'm don lemon. in for erin burnett. tonight, the president "doesn't believe in his own strategy 679" that's one part of a scathing new critique of president obama from a former member of his own cabinet. in a new memoir, former secretary of defense bob gates slams the president's leadership commitment to the war in afghanistan. we're just getting the details tonight about what's in this bomb shell of a book. jim sciutto has the excerpts and they are unbelievable. the president doesn't believe in his own strategy. sometimes he did not give the
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administration information about strategies for military in war because he says the white house and the administration did not know what to do with it. here's jim sciutto's report. >> reporter: in his new book titled "duty", the former secretary of defense delivers a scathing critique of the white house. on afghanistan, "the new york times" and washington post report gates writes that by early 2010, he concluded the president "doesn't believe in his own strategy and doesn't consider the war to be his. for him, it's all about getting out." the papers report that gates, who served under presidents bush and obama, grew concerned about the president changing course and the president was "skeptical if not outright convinced it would fail." he never doubted obama's support for the troops, only his support for their mission. the book is not set for release until january 14th, but late today both papers published detailed stories about its content.
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gates is especially hard on obama's advisers the papers report calling joe biden a man of integrity but arguing he's been wrong on every foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades. at times, gates is more flattering of obama, praising him for making decisions opposed by advisers or that would be unpopular with fellow democrats. that's something gates hinted applied to the president's war-making decisions to cnn john king in 2012. >> i think the reality is there's an acknowledgement on people's part around the world that this president is willing to use military force when our needs require it. >> reporter: he called the the raid that killed osama bin laden despite gate's own doubts one of the most courageous decisions i had ever witnessed in the white house. on his former colleague, hillary clinton, gates makes a potentially damaging charge to a
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2016 potential run. saying hilary told the president that the surge in iraq had been political because she was facing obama in the iowa primary. the white house is pushing back hard particularly at one of the charges in the book. this from a spokesperson for the national security council on the record saying that the president disagrees with secretary gates' assessment from his leadership in the balkans in the senate to his efforts to end the war in iraq. joe biden has been one of the leading statesman in his time and has helped advance america's leadership in the world. world. president obama relies on his good council every day. we have heard pushback from inside the pentagon. a senior military official telling barbara starr reaction with dismay saying if secretary gates was in uniform he would have had the obligation to resign. you're getting pushback from some of gates own colleagues. >> controversial is an understatement. jim sciutto, thank you very much for that. joining me now is chief
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political analyst gloria borger. i have so many questions for all of you. david, i'll start with you. bob gates worked for every president since nixon. with the exception of president clinton. he served under democrats and republicans. he's savvy. he knows what he's doing. the question is, why? >> why does he share his views at the end of his career? >> why is he releasing this now? >> people do tend to share their views. they are free to speak. they have messages they want people to hear. i think his message on afghanistan is especially important. because remember the afghanistan surge was the signature barack obama foreign policy of 2008. he campaigned on it. the bush administration was careful about overinvesting in afghanistan and candidate obama slammed the bush administration for that, promised deployment of troops to afghanistan. some wondered was that a way of looking strong on defense or did
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he mean it? and now it looks like the answer is it was a cynical politics. he didn't really mean it. >> but wouldn't it have been more effective to do it at the time, better for the administration, better for everyone all around instead of at the end of his career? he said he sat there in meetings seething sometimes and it took everything not to get up from the table or not to give people in the room a piece of his mind. how do you know he didn't? >> people argued for policy in administrations and lose the fights and then afterwards maybe this should be a universal role thawómmht+h"oes it it. but people do it now. that's a convention that people say here's what i thought at the time. now i'm free to speak about the fights i won and the fights i lost. >> paul, were you surprised to see this kind of criticism about a sitting president from a former member of his cabinet? he says he was talking about don't ask, don't tell. then other things that the president did. he said, i thought that the
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agreements with the obama white house were good for only as long as they were politically convenient. that's a pretty big statement. >> it is. bob gates, remarkable public servant, a terrific career. i can't wait to read this book. i would really rather these types of books come after the president's term is over. i do think when you serve a president, you do owe him or one day we hope her the highest duty of loyalty, which is to speak your mind while you're there. not when you're gone. and this guy did great service to our country. i don't want to run him down. i don't know him personally, but i'm an admirer. i do think perhaps -- i haven't read the book, of course, but in the reviews, several people including "the new york times" reviewer suggested that he's working through some emotional scars of his own. he went through hell helping lead our country through difficult wars. i'm glad that the president
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expressed skepticism and doubt about his own war policy. that's what i want. i have friends and relatives in the military. i want my commander-in-chief to have a lot of skepticism and doubt about what's going on in a war instead of just blindly and pig headedly sending more soldiers into combat. >> did i hear you nodding, gloria? >> yeah, i do agree with paul. i think it's probably better, but probably not as marketable if you wait until after a president is out of office. but in reading what i've head of this book, and again, i obviously haven't read the whole thing, but i read excerpts of it and the pieces about it. the thing that strikes me is that bob gates was the secretary of defense who says that he didn't mind that policy was being driven by white house and this is known to be a very controlling white house. he said, that's okay. the policy was driven by the white house. but what seemed to have really
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annoyed him time and time again was the suspicion of the military that he said ran rampant within the white house. and so here's a man clearly defending his commanders, a great belief in the people who work for him at the department of defense and he believes that they were being treated badly and that they were greeted always with a kind of skepticism, which as paul points out, is sometimes very healthy, but i think gates is saying sort of went beyond the pale. so i think what you're seeing is somebody who has a lot of emotion about the way his people were treated. >> he talks about going up against -- exactly what you're talking about. one point they had disagreement, don't give the white house staff and national security staff too much information on the military options. that's not good for national security, gloria.
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>> it may not be, but it was a reality. i recall during the whole run up to the surge that the president had these meetings and meetings and meetings which gates describes as very frustrating. and i think you saw this kind of conflict play out. there's always a conflict between the military and the political people. we understand that. but i think the basis of it is that he didn't feel that there was a kind of a mutual respect that everybody deserves when you're trying to make decisions in the best interest of the american public. >> also talking about hillary clinton and the president saying, hey, listen, i didn't like the surge in 2007 and doing in front of bob gates because i was going to face you in a primary in iowa, which was interesting. bob gates saying i was shocked that they did that in front of me. more to talk about. we appreciate it. that's it for now. still to come, tens of millions of americans enduring major delays on roads and runways.
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freezing temperatures reporting in all 50 states. plus a story we have been following for months takes a tragic turn. a girl who says she was raped, bullied and forced out of her town attempts suicide. and a former miss venezuela gunned down in the middle of the street. [ male announcer ] this is joe woods' first day of work. and his new boss told him two things -- cook what you love, and save your money.
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reported in all 50 states, shattering at least 45 cold weather records. the arctic chill is also being blamed on at least 16 deaths. and with relief still a day away, tens of millions of americans will have to endure even more delays on the roadways, runways and the rails. ted rowlands is live in chicago with more on the bone-chilling weather for us. >> reporter: stuck in the snow on a train after more than 14 hours amtrak passengers, many who started their journey in california, finally arrived in chicago. not by train, but by bus. >> i can't feel my butt because it's not there anymore. just sitting for literally 26 hours is awful. >> reporter: more than 500 people on three trains were stranded overnight because of blowing snow and ice. they were fed and kept warm, but -- >> 300 people on a train, everybody using the same facilities. it gets a little gross. >> the worst part was not knowing when we were going to get here. >> reporter: the same continues to play out in airports.
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more than 3,000 flights were cancelled today, including a third of the flights here at chicago's o'hare. across the country, stranded passengers are sleeping on cots waiting to find out when they can finally get home. this guy spent two days stuck at laguardia trying to get to chicago. >> my flight got cancelled twice and i was not even informed. >> reporter: on the road things were just as bad in many areas. in illinois hundreds of people stranded in vehicles had to be rescued. some freeways including a portion of interstate 65 in indiana were completely closed for hours because of unsafe conditions. >> the main roads are great. the back roads are still slippery. i have my baby in the back. i'm trying to go slow. >> reporter: things are getting much better around the midwest. we're into the single digits and quite frankly feels pretty balmy. >> balmy, thank you very much for that, ted.
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you're gets used to it. that's what that means. now to an update on a story we've been following for you. sad news regarding daisy coleman, the young woman who says she was raped two years ago. according to her mother has been hospitalized after trying to kill herself. her story made national headlines last year after it was revealed chargers against the older boy from a prominent political family were quickly dropped. we have more on what may have led to this young woman's attempted suicide. we want to warn you. some of the images you're about to see may be offensive. >> reporter: it was a united rallying cry, supporters clutching daisies and chanting in missouri for daisy colemafy but as the media spotlight dimmed, bullying intensified for the teenage rape victim. her mother tells cnn her daughter tried to kill herself after cyber bullies attacked her on facebook. the 16-year-old is now in the
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hospital. not sure if she's going to make it. last fall daisy told cnn that bullying has been a constant struggle. >> you hear it it so often that you're all these different things, you start to believe it. and i really did start to hate myself. >> reporter: this traces back to what she says happened two years ago. just 14 at the time, she and a 13-year-old friend say they were raped by two high school boys after a night of drinking. charges against the boys were dismissed. the local prosecutors saying daisy refused to testify. but daisy's family calls that a lie saying the real reason is political power. one of the accused, matt barnett, his grandfather is a former state representative. daisy and her family were run out of maryville, a stark example, they say, of victim blaming. online anonymous picked up the
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girl's cause and the ensuing social media frenzy helped reopen the case, led by a new special prosecutor. daisy's cousin said the review of the case brought her hope. >> i know she's been so much happier just in the past week knowing that people really believe her and are supporting her. >> reporter: daisy said she was ready to move forward in the new case. >> are you feeling now better about yourself? more ready to fight this? are you ready to testify and are you ready for what this will mean? >> i have developed a lot thicker of a skin, so i do believe i am ready. >> reporter: that was last fall. last week friends posted these gruesome images on a facebook page saying they came from the second young victim. someone broke into her parent's car and left behind mutilated rabbits. page has said her recovery has been a struggle. >> i have started having a lot
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>> reporter: the special prosecutor says a final report in the girl's case is nearly done. daisy coleman's mother hope it is it will bring the family justice and that her daughter will survive to hear it. >> still to come, a shocking story out of north carolina. just 70 seconds after a police officer arrived on the scene a teenager was shot and hilled. plus dennis rodman explodes during an interview with cnn. what did chris cuomo ask the former nba star that made him say this? >> no, no, no, i'm saying to you, i don't give a [ bleep ] what you think. look at these guys, look at them! on the u.s.s. saratoga in 1982. [ male announcer ] once it's earned, usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection.
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grab your popcorn because this is an unbelievable one. dennis rodman currently on his fourth visit to north korea angrily defending his trip in an interview with chris cuomo. tomorrow, rodman and six other nba vet reins will play an exhibition game to celebrate the 31st birthday of kim jong-un. a trip that the nba and u.s. have openly denounced. here is part of rodman's interview on cnn's "new day requests. >> no one ever asked anyone in the world why we have olympics and we have struggles around the world. but when the olympics are around, there's no problems. it's all about the game.
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people love to do one thing, sports. >> dennis, i agree. >> this is what we are trying to do. >> i agree. sports are powerful. the olympics are powerful. the men that you have around you are great ambassador for the game and for the country they represent, but you also know you don't go and celebrate countries that are offensive to human rights. they get excluded from the olympics. >> you can continue to talk about the different activities that take place here. we have activities that take -- there are activities that take place all over the world. we are using basketball as a bridge for cultural exchange. and that's all about communication. we're not here to deal with the politics. >> dennis, let me end on this. you do have a relationship with this man. you said it many times. we have seen it it demonstrated for whatever reason. are you going to take an opportunity to speak up for the family of kenneth bay and to say let us know why this man is being held, that this is wrong,
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that he is sick. if you can help, dennis, will you take the opportunity? >> the one thing about politics, kenneth bay did one thing -- if you understand. i got it. if you understand what kenny bay did, do you understand what he did? >> what did he do? you tell me. >> you tell me why is he held captive? >> they haven't released any charges. they haven't released any reason. >> let me do this. i would love to speak on this. >> go ahead. >> you've got ten guys here, ten guys here that have left their families, left their families to help this country in a sports venture. you've got ten guys, all these guys here.
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does anyone understand that? >> we do. and we appreciate that and we wish them well with the cultural exchange. >> look at these guys. look at them.bwh4) i continue -- don't care what you think. look at them! >> don't put it on them. don't use them as an excuse for the behavior you're putting on yourself. >> they came here. >> you just basically were saying kenneth bay did something wrong. we don't know what the charges are. don't use these guys as a shield. >> listen. >> ain't no shield. d really, really? i'm going to tell you one thing, people around the world, around the world i'm going to do one thing. you're a guy behind a mike right now. we are the guys here doing the thing. we have to go back to america and take the abuse. do you have to take the abuse that we're going to take? do you, sir?
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let me know, are you goink6çrj take that? guess what, one day, one day this door is going to open. >> still to come, questions swirling around the shooting death of a teen in north carolina. did a police officer shoot to kill just 70 seconds after arriving on the scene? plus a disturbing video posted online by a police union. did they cross the line by showing this video to the public? ♪ led to the one jobhing you always wanted. at university of phoenix,
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welcome back to the second half of "outfront." a virginia state senator is introducing new mental health legislation. trying to prevent tragedies like the one he experienced seven weeks ago when he was stabbed by his own son who later killed himself. the night before his son was evaluated by mental health professionals but no psychiatric bed was available and he couldn't be held under emergency custody for more than six hours. that's according to state law. so he was released. legislation would create a psychiatric bed registry and expand time frames for holding the mentally ill. former miss venezuela and her estranged husband were shot dead in what appears to be a highway robbery in central venezuela. their car broke down and were on
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the side of the road when they were attacked by armed robbers. their 5-year-old daughter was shot in the leg and survived the attack. officials tell cnn they have five people who are being interrogated and she was crowned miss venezuela in 2004 and lived in miami. a disappointment for lindsey vonn. just 31 days before the winter olympics the defending downhill skiing champion announced on facebook she will not compete. she seemed to be making a comeback after having acl surgery on her right knee a year ago, but she aggravated the injury back in november. vonn says the "reality has sunk in that my knee is just too unstable to compete at this level" and she is devastated. she'll have surgery soon to prep for a run at the championships in vale. a narrow but significant victory for democrats many washington in a political fight they hope will set the tone for
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this midterm election year. but the showdown over extending long-term unemployment benefits to 1.3 million americans is far from over. brianna keilar is at the white house for you. >> reporter: president obama pressured congress to extend long-term unemployment benefits for 1.3 million americans. >> this is not an abstraction, these are not statistics. these are your neighbors, your friends, your family members. it could at some point be any of us. >> reporter: from the east room of the white house with the back drof of unemployed americans, obama rejected the republican argument that unemployment benefits take away motivation to work. >> i can't name a time when i met an american who would rather have an unemployment check than the pride of having a job. >> on this vote, the yeahs are 60. the yeahs are 36. >> reporter: the senate roted to take up a hill that would resort the long-term benefits, which
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expired at the new year. six republicans joined 52 democrats and 2 independents. in the house where republicans are in the majority, they are demanding the 6.4 billion cost be paid for offset with cuts to other government programs. democrats in the white house oppose offsets and republicans say it's all about politics in a midterm election year. >> i have to admit i'm a little surprised at thor if -- fervor with which they are extending after they ignored the issue all of last year. >> why not try to find the middle ground that has been found before. >> on a relatively rare number of occasions, what i would say is that the ideological fight is to be around horse trading over what are emergency benefits for families in need. >> i am unemployed. >> reporter: katherine wrote to the president last month after she was laid off in july from
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her job as a nursing home administrator. >> i was blind sided. >> reporter: next month she's scheduled to shift to long-term unemployment and if congress fails to act, she will lose the weekly check that is keeping her afloat float as she searches for a job. >> i'm spending $42 a week on food which isn't a lot, but i'm also keeping my house at 58 degrees and wearing a hat and coat just because oil is really expensive. i don't buy anything. >> reporter: katherine made a compelling case for unemployment benefits here today at the white house. we should tell you for the first time today harry reid, the top democrat in the senate, is indicating that he may be open to offsetting the costs, which is a demand of house republicans. he said, and this would be a shift, he said that while he's personally opposed to an offset if republicans come to him with a plan, he will take it to senate democrats for a look. >> thank you very much. brianna keilar for us at the
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white house. justified force or murder. tonight the parents of a north carolina teen demanding answers after a police officer tased, shot and killed their son right in front of them. the family called for help after the 18-year-old had been behaving erratically but 70 seconds after the officer arrived, the teen was dead. david mattingly has the story. >> reporter: he was a skinny and obviously talented teen when he pounded out hard rock rhythms on his drum set. but family members say the 18-year-old also struggled with schizophrenia and sunday he became too much for his parents to handle alone. >> could you send abofficer over here? we have a son that has schizophrenia and he's not doing very good. we've got to get him someplace. >> reporter: that was his stepfather calling 911. he told the dispatcher this had happened before and all they wanted was help getting him to
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treatment. >> he wants to fight his mother. he's got a screwdriver. he's not doing good. she's scared to death of him. >> reporter: two officers from two different departments responded and family members say everything seemed under control. officers calmly talked with their son. he wasn't violent. that's when a third officer showed up and ordered him to shoot him with stun guns. seconds later that same officer shot and killed him. >> they murdered our son for no reason. >> reporter: a family friend who had known keith for years shared details with cnn i report describing how the teen fell when he was stunned. how two officers then jumped on top of him and while they held him down, the third officer who ordered the stun guns shot him in the chest and killed him. >> you see this kid? this is my son. this is my flesh and blood that they murdered.
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>> reporter: the teen's family and friends angrily demand action against the officer.iahñ the district attorney promises >> this was uncalled for. and this is not how mental health patients should be treated. >> reporter: a reporter describes keith as a very passionate kid who loved music and basketball more than anything on this earth. his performances on youtube and smiling selfies all just memories now of a life abruptly ended. >> david mattingly joins us now. what's the status on the three officers involved in this incident? >> these officers came from different departments. one was a county deputy and two from local police departments. so far the deputy and one of the police officers have been cleared of not violating any sort of procedure or law by their respective departments. one other officer has been placed on administrative leave and his attorney is saying that once the state has finished with
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its investigation, then everyone will find out that all of these officers were acting appropriately. >> david, thank you. still to come, the money and power behind one of tv's most popular comedy shows. plus, did police cross the line by using this controversial video? >> stop. >> you throwing a fit right now little [ bleep ]. . yea. alright, whenever you get your stuff, run upstairs, get cleaned up for dinner. you leave the house in good shape? yea. yea, of course. ♪ [ sportscaster talking on tv ] last-second field go-- yea, sure ya did. [ male announcer ] introducing at&t digital life. personalized home security and automation. get professionally monitored security for just $29.99 a month. with limited availability in select markets. ♪ with limited availability in select markets. if yand you're talking toevere rheuyour rheumatologistike me, about trying or adding a biologic. this is humira, adalimumab.
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but he's not. ♪ he's an architect with two kids and a mortgage. luckily, he found someone who gave him a fresh perspective on his portfolio. and with some planning and effort, hopefully bob can retire at a more appropriate age. it's not rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. the continuing cycle of violence and thuggery, that's how the police department in omaha described this video.
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they said they posted the video to educate the public. but critics say posting the video goes too far. we've sensored the bad language, but i want to warn our viewers, the video is still disturbing. cnn's casey wian is "outfront" with this story. >> the video shows the young child with a disturbing pro feign war of words. they seem irritated over a fallen chair. >> you a [ bleep ]. >> stop. >> you throwing a fit right now. [ bleep ] you. >> the child flips his middle finger at the camera. the toddler whose face was shown in the original video exchanges
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at least 35 swear words with the adults in the 1 minute 23 second video. >> that's why you can't fight. >> reporter: hey discuss sexual matters. even apparent gang affiliations. >> so what hood you from blood? >> what hood you from? say my name three times [ bleep ]. >> you a [ bleep ]. >> the video was posted on the website of the omaha, nebraska, police officers association who says we have an obligation to share it to continue to educate the law-abiding public about the terrible cycle of violence and thuggery that some young innocent children find themselves helplessy trapped in.
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>> when you see a child being treated like this who can't defend themselves, unfortunately it's something that as police officers we see all too common. >> reporter: commenters on the website objected to what some saw as racial overtones in posting the video. >> this behavior is going to lead this child down a path that's completely unhealthy. it has nothing to do with race or ethnicity. >> reporter: omaha's chief of police released a statement saying the department has no control over the content of the police union's website. and the chief strongly disagrees with any postings that may cause a divide in our community. casey wian, cnn, los angeles. >> joining me now is mark hill and talk radio host mel robins. she's also a former public defender. i can barely watch that. it's unbelievable. >> it's tough to watch. again, no law was probably broken in that video, but it almost looks like child abuse. >> listen, they said this is an
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example of the thug cycle in omaha that kids are trapped in. what do you say? >> first of all, that's clearly an awful thing that just happened. it's irresponsible. it's bad parenting. it's bad uncling, whatever you want to call it. i'm not sure that i like the way it's framed. video posted on the internet because it sends the wrong message about young, black boys. it criminalizes the toddler. we all agree that's an awful thing that happened, but i'm not sure that posting it it is the right thing to do. >> they could have blurred the kid's identity. you don't like they called it it thug culture. >> no, no. >> in the video, he says, i want you to think i'm thugs in my diaper. >> i think the way they say thug culture is a racial overtone. it prepares the public to imagine this young boy -- >> can i jump in? >> as soon as i finish the thought. someone who isn't even ready for elementary school, to frame him as a thug is dangerous and just
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as irresponsible in the people in video. not defending the behavior on the video, but the way they are responding to it, not okay.9/ç >> go ahead, mel. >> i'm glad, first of all, that we all agree this is deplorable. i think the point that the police are trying to make is that unfortunately this is something that they see a fair amount of. here's the thing that i think everybody is missing that's important about this story. it's not the police that originally posted this. the relatives of this kid took the video. the relative who calls this kid his nephew posted it because he thought it was great. it wasn't until the police then repost something that was already out in the public that everybody gets up in arms. i want to remind everybody this kid was called the "n" word more than ten times in 84 seconds. that's abuse. i wish they could find a law to arrest these people. to me when i hear the word thug, particularly as a former criminal defense attorney, the
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word thug means a violent assassin and those come in all shapes and sizes. they come in latino gangs, they come in irish gangs, they come in italian gangs. what the police are dealing with here is not a color problem, it is a violence problem. >> it's also a culture of violence. i don't mean just among african-americans. it happens among many races. this particular case it happens to be black. they are glorifying thug culture in this video, saying thug in your diaper. >> it's disgusting. and again, when the uncle posted it it, i found that disturbing too. i just didn't find it when the police did it. but it it takes a whole new life when the state does it. >> standby. let's look a little more at this video. >> stop. you throwing a fit right now? [ bleep ]. bo0j
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>> you talking that [ bleep ] now. [ bleep ] you too. >> that's why you can't fight. >> you a [ bleep ]. >> mel, i checked with a clinical psychologist about this. here's what he says. the child's mind is being destroyed by adults in this video and they have exploited him by posting it it online. they are saying both sides are at fault here. but you do point out that the relatives posted it first. i wonder if this was some sort of mental abuse for this child or a psychological abuse, even though police didn't think that anything criminal was happening here. as a former prosecutor, what do you make of it? >> you know, don, here's the thing. garbage in, garbage out. i agree 100% with jeff. the truth is, everybody watching at home, who is sick to their stomach right now and who feels for this poor child that's
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growing up in an environment where the adults around him are acting in a way that's abusive. we have an obligation, i believe as a society, to put politics and political correctness aside and do the right thing and -- >> i don't think it's the right thing. my concern is putting the image and the face of a toddler across the world on the screen -- >> you know what? the uncle already did it. >> why are we defending -- we've already agreed that the uncle is irresponsible and abusive. >> it would be great if somebody will help with the kid 679 >> right, exactly. we should focus this in a different way. i think that's what the police are trying to do, to bring light to something that is happening. if you can help this one little boy, just this one little boy, what is wrong with putting a video up that's already been out there? and shouldn't we be focused
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on -- >> here's the problem, it overstate it is problem. yes, there's a violence problem in omaha and around the country. >> you don't think that happens -- similar things like that happen in many homes? >> i don't think the average family -- >> not the average family -- >> even the average person surrounded by violence -- >> mark, what is the downside of this video being out in the public and having people concerned about this child and having people wake up to the fact that when you speak to a child this such an abusive manner, it's going to have a negative impact. >> you think this is a common occurrence? >> yes. >> i do. i hear people talking to their children like that all the time. >> really? >> yes! >> people talk to their kids all the time, calling them n words. i hear it all the time. >> i find that hard to believe.
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>> yes, people use foul language and the n word, but what we saw is a whole other level. we live in a world about little black boys that are already seen as violent. black boys. >> how come the example is always black? >> are you trying to say this kid isn't black? >> i'm saying the kid is black and this is -- [ all talking at once ] yes, what happened on the video is a problem. we all agree with that. >> no, the family called him a thug in training. they said, say i'm thugging in my diaper. >> police say the thug cycle continues. >> that's what the family is calling him. >> the boy is this big. how can you say he's going to be a thug? >> the family is saying that.
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>> mark, use your common sense for crying out loud. >> i am. go ahead. >> what's going to happen to this kid two years from now when you roll him into kindergarten and all he's been around is adults teaching him to flip off, talking about sexual actions with him. so now all of a sudden a kindergarten keeper is going to have to figure out how to socialize him in a way that's respectable. that's not fair. >> you're disputing an argument that i'm not making. i'm not saying this kid is in a good situation. >> what's wrong with putting the video out there? why? >> you don't see anything irresponsible about putting the face of a toddler on the internet? >> no. >> it's irresponsible and dangerous. >> it's irresponsible for the family for the actions to have happened, for the family to have put the kid in that situation.
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if the family had not put it out there, i may feel different about the police putting it out there. once the police put it out there again, they could have covered the kid's face. but still, i don't see anything wrong with this. this video, regardless of the kid's race, that should be brought to light. that's what we do. we're supposed to be helping kids, not teaching them to go into a cycle of whatever you want to call it. >> helping this kid is a good idea and they've contacted child services to see if this kid can be helped. but they're going see him and other small black boys like thugs. i don't see any redemptive value in putting a video like this out there. >> so for folks that don't have
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experience hearing people talk to kids like, this it's a very powerful and eye opening example of how profound of an impact that adults raising a kid can have. i think that's a very positive thing. it does the opposite in some regard. that maybe instead of looking at young black men as thugs, maybe some them will say whether it's a thug of one color or a different color, maybe they'll say, shoot, maybe -- >> i want to reiterate, this happens to be one of a little black kid. by you've not seen white families or hispanic families talk to your kids like that, didn't i tell you to shut your damn mouth, you little a-hole. >> that's different than what we've seen her. >> it's the same behavior. it doesn't matter the color or race kid. >> i don't want to see a white kid like that either. >> thanks to both of you. we'll be right back. n i-95.
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tomorrow on "outfront," a black female comedienne who auditioned and a finalist for "saturday night live" joins me tomorrow and does a good impression of one of our regulars here on this is piers morgan live. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. tonight i say this is the thing that's making all the trouble right now. the polar vortex. under the wind chill tonight's temperatures could plunge to the lowest yet. not just uncomfortable, it's downright dangerous not just for people. i'll talk to the cue rater of the national zoo who is moving animals inside as we report now. philippe cousteau is here to explain why it's too cold even for some polar bears. plus you heard this from dennis rodman this morning. >> do you understand what kenneth bae did? do you understand what he did? >> what did he do? you tell me. >> to his country. no no no you tell me. you tell me.
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