to help keep the soil healthy. and the coffee delicious. for future generations. all for a smoother tasting cup. green mountain coffee roasters. i'm michael smerconish, live from los angeles, where i did indeed take it to the streets. i'm on the west coast after being on bill histomaher's late program last night. america has a homeless crisis and california has more homeless people than any other state. it is one thing to read about

the crisis and another to see it in person. i went to l.a. skid roy, and i thought the name is politically incorrect but it is the name. and i was absolutely stunned by the conditions i saw. in los angeles, up 12% from last year are homeless and three quarters completely outside without adequate sanitation sparking fierce of a public health crisis and medieval diseases despite $619 million that l.a. officials spent last year it combat the issue. not you meek to los angeles. up the coast in san francisco, the number of homeless has jumped by more than 16% this year. and the question is why? what systemic forces got us to people sleeping on sidewalks? what can be done about it? i sought out an expert, but i also spoke to one of the residents, christopher lewis, who invited me into his tent. i want you to hear his story.

>> i'm homeless. you know, i need help. you know, i wish somebody could help knee get off the streets. >> how did you get here? >> well i wind up here because i lost my home. and i had nowhere to stay. >> how long have you been here? >> two years and a half. >> living on the street? >> living on the streets. >> right behind me in one of these tents. >> i have a tent right here. >> which one is yours? >> this is the place i call home. >> so this is the lock that you use. how secure is that? >> this is not that secure. but as you look at it, it is a small thing. >> so where do you sleep? >> well, i have a mat right here. and i lay it out on the floor. i lay on the floor, and this is my kitchen over here. and this is my table right here. my barbecue pit. and my american flag. you know, honor that.

but other than this, that's all i have. >> tell me a little bit about your background, so that i can understand how you ended up in this position. >> well, i'm seven years american red cross first responder. >> seven years american red cross first responder. 60 in security. and worked nine rows on skid row. >> worked doing what? >> resource for the center here. worked here. for the families. in other words, you were here providing services to people who were homeless. >> yes. >> i lost my job. and i wound up homeless. >> you ended up here. >> yes. >> i wound up being the person that i helped. >> you eat where? >> right here on the curb. i hope people will feed me. i have no job. i collect cans and recycle. >> if you have to use the bathroom -- >> the bathroom, sometimes i

miss , in a bucket and porta potties on the corner and they close at 7:00 at night, we go in a can after that. >> how dangerous is it? >> dangerous at night. >> do people prey on folks who are here? >> they prey on the weak, you know. so sometimes i take in the weak. need to protect them. you know, to keep the bad guys away from them, you know. i try to do what i can. but you know, i need to help myself. >> are you, don't be offended by this, i hope, but are you clean and sober? >> that's the sad thing. i wound up using drugs. i thought the drugs would help me. but it doesn't help me. >> are you still on some form of drug? >> a little bit. not that much. it's scary. >> there's a story today in the l.a. times that talks about how city council is now considering clamping down on areas where homeless people can sleep. sidewalks and streets.

they are contemplating a change of the rules that would limit that. your thoughts are what on that? >> that would be great, because i mean they tell us to take our tent down, 6:00 in the morning -- >> where would you go? >> i don't know where to go. so i have to stay here. or go find a park to sit. in and wait until 9:00 at night and then come back here and put my tent up. >> if there is one thing that you wanted people who are watching this to know about this situation, i've read a great deal about it, i've never seen anything like it, it is hard to believe this is the united states, what would you most want people to know? >> that we're ordinary people. you know, all we need is help. you know, someone, you know, to open the door, give us a key, give us a chance again. >> for housing. >> yes. just a house, you know, some place where we can call home. that's all i need. somewhere i can call home. so i can bring my kids. to be a family again. >> how many kids do you have? >> i have three kids, two boys

and one daughter. >> how are they doing? >> i have a daughter in saint paul, minnesota. i have a son that is in jail now. and i have a younger son that stays in victorville. >> i wish you all good things. >> yeah. >> i hope this turns around. >> i wish it did. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> i brought someone else down to skid row to see it in person, that would be charles kessler, the editor of the claremont review of books, professor of government at claremont mckenya college, and claremont graduate university, he had written this recent "the wall street journal" op-ed on the homeless cities. california's biggest cities have a deaf cation crisis while lawmakers ban plastic straws a far worse kind of waste covers the city streets. >> dr. kessler, it is one thing to read about these condition, it's quite another to come here, and see for yourself. what are you thinking as you see this? >> well, it is really a community, almost a third world

community, plopped down in the middle of los angeles. i mean if you go five blocks that way, you're in a normal area. but this is a world unto itself, essentially, skid row. >> why do a majority of the nation's homeless live in california? >> well, it's not just the weather. it's also because california has very liberal city governments that have been very permissive in allowing people to do things, to live on the streets, and to do things which are technically illegal, but the police are not allowed to enforce the laws against pan handling, against vagrancy, public urination, public deaf cadeaf catiodefecat >> five million new dollars on top of what is being spent in los angeles, the next ten years, including a new tax in los angeles, but, the homeless problem is getting worse, not

better, the more money we throw at it. >> what's the alternative? >> there is no silver bullet to solve the problem. but one thing is the police have to be allowed to enforce the law. the ninth circuit and other courts, liberal courts, essentially, have prevented them from doing so. and, but the truth is the city council in los angeles, and san francisco, and in other, these are the most liberal cities, among the most liberal in america, prevent -- many homeless advocates, as they're called, actually like the problem of hope homelessness to be in your face, because it is a reminder, a rebuke to people, a reminder that america is an unjust society from that point of view. >> what i hear you telling me essentially is that so many other things in our society today, this comes down to an ideological divide. if there is a conservative solution to this, i would love to hear it. >> it is an ideological issue but it is not just that anymore, many liberal, many good-hearted

liberals who support as many good-hearted conservatives do, programs for the home aless are tired of the ineffectiveness of it all and more and more homeless are very aggressive in the attitude to nonhomeless people who are living in the neighborhood or passing by. >> take a look at what is behind me. we are at the back of the union rescue mission. this represents, as sad as it is, it is also the privatization of public spaces. >> yes. >> it's illegal in los angeles to camp on the streets because the streets, the old theory, which is still law, is that this is public property. it belongs to everyone. which means you should have the right to pass by here, and not have to step over homeless people, or step over feces on street, or maneuver around tents. but the reality is, the police are not allowed to enforce those laws. >> lead story of today's l.a. times, city revisits limits to

sidewalk sleeping. i know you're familiar with this story, what do you make of it? >> well, it shows you that even liberals in los angeles county are getting tired of the homeless problem, and they want something to be done about it, and what they're trying to do is find a middle way so that they don't enforce the laws everywhere, but they prohibit tent encampments next to schools, next to public parks and a few places like that. >> final time i have to challenge you on, this when you use the word liberal, if this is a progressive problem, give me the conservative solution. i don't care which ideological label it falls under, i just want to know that we can do better than this. >> yes, we can do better than this. part of this has to do with, i mean there are a lot of people on the streets who are mentally ill these days, there has to be some rein, institutionlization those who are roaming the streets and accosting people.

>> and the courts won't allow this if you're not a danger to yourself or to someone else. >> this too is a judicially mandated situation. trump judges, more conservative judges more reasonable liberal judges may i think begin to roll back some of these early precedents. but you also need to make housing more affordable, right i mean los angeles and san francisco, especially san francisco one of the most expensive cities in the world, to live, and local environmental regulations, and permitting processes and so forth, make it very expensive to build new houses, and it is partly an economic problem, homelessness, although it is also i think much more than an economic problem, it's a drug problem, it's a family breakdown problem, it is, you know, it has many causes, and so resist a single solution. >> i don't have the answer. i've seen enough to know that the status quo is not working. >> it is not working. that's for sure. it is getting worse. >> what your thoughts? tweet me at smerconish or go to my facebook page. i will read some responses throughout the course of this

program. from twitter, smerconish, thank you for highlighting the homeless problems in downtown l.a., as an l.a. native, this problem worsens daily. it worsens despite increased taxes to quote-unquote help the homeless. i don't want to be repetitive, steve, i can only say this, first of all, two things, one, to see it is quite different than to be in my case 3,000 miles away and just reading about it. nothing prepared me for that which i saw on skid row yesterday in los angeles. and secondly, i think that dr. kessler's right to some extent, that the best of intentions to help the folks who find themselves in this predicament may have worsened their plight. i also want to say that i recognize that housing and the escalating property value, especially in san francisco, have eradicated what would have been low income housing heretofore, and all of these factors, plus some of that which he described have created really an untenable situation. now, l.a. politicians, as you heard us discuss, are considering a newly-proposed restriction that could bar

people from sitting or sleeping on streets and sidewalks. and that's why today's survey question at my web site is as follows. should people have the right to sleep on public streets? go to smerconish.com, and answer that question. still to come, this presidential elector, from colorado, had his vote canceled, when he crossed out hillary clinton, who won the state, and wrote in john kasich. and now, a federal court ruling says he should have been allowed to vote how he pleased. what might this mean for 2020? and with all of the blaet about whether the economy is, gaelt about whether the economy is headed into a recession, could one of the most accurate indicators be the rv sales market? i'll explain. >> plus, i'm here fresh from doing last night's realtime with bill hamer on hbo. i'll show you some interesting moments. ♪ ♪ rocking the stage ♪ and we never gonna stop ♪ all strength, no sweat. ♪ just in case you forgot ♪ all strength. ♪ no sweat secret. all strength. no sweat.

male announcer: it's a familiar feeling. the first chill in the summer air, each day shorter than than last, the crops are done growing, and the antlers are too, your groups are getting smaller. and they'd better, because your tag just came in the mail. this is what you live for. it's your season. so head to bass pro shops and cabela's for the fall hunting classic sale and event. it's your chance to gear up at big savings. your adventure starts here. so chantix can help you quit slow turkey.rkey. along with support, chantix is proven to help you quit. with chantix you can keep smoking at first and ease into quitting so when the day arrives, you'll be more ready to kiss cigarettes goodbye.

when you try to quit smoking, with or without chantix, you may have nicotine withdrawal symptoms. stop chantix and get help right away if you have changes in behavior or thinking, aggression, hostility, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts or actions, seizures, new or worse heart or blood vessel problems, sleepwalking, or life-threatening allergic and skin reactions. decrease alcohol use. use caution driving or operating machinery. tell your doctor if you've had mental health problems. the most common side effect is nausea. talk to your doctor about chantix. carl, i appreciate the invite here. as my broker, what am i paying you to manage my money? it's racquetball time. (thumps) ugh! carl, does your firm offer a satisfaction guarantee? like schwab does. guarantee? (splash) carl, can you remind me what you've invested my money in? it's complicated. are you asking enough questions about the way your wealth is being managed? if not, talk to schwab. a modern approach to wealth management.

keep being you. and ask your doctor about biktarvy. biktarvy is a complete one-pill, once-a-day treatment used for hiv in certain adults. it's not a cure, but with one small pill, biktarvy fights hiv with three different medicines to help you get to undetectable. that means the amount of virus is so low it can't be measured in lab tests. serious side effects can occur, including kidney problems and kidney failure. rare, life-threatening side effects include a build-up of lactic acid and liver problems. do not take biktarvy if you take dofetilide or rifampin. tell your doctor about all the medicines and supplements you take, if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or if you have kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis. if you have hepatitis b,

do not stop taking biktarvy without talking to your doctor. common side effects were diarrhea, nausea, and headache. if you're hiv-positive, keep loving who you are, inside and out. ask your doctor if biktarvy is right for you. did the way that america choose its presidents just change? this week a federal appeals court ruled that members of the le electoral college may vote for somebody other than the popular vote weather and the case is on this ballot, which michael crossed out hillary clinton who won the state and deserved his state and wrote in gop ohio

governor john kasich. colorado secretary of state replaced him with another elector who then voted for clinton, and the case went to court. in a split ruling, the three-judge u.s. court of appeals for the tenth circuit in denver found, quote, the text of the constitution makes clear that states do not have the constitutional authority to interfere with presidential electors who per their constitutional right to vote for the president and vice president candidates of their choice. for now, the ruling applies only to colorado and five other states in the tenth circuit. but it could have nationalism cations. in 2016, president trump won't states with 306 electoral votes, clinton 232, but the actual electoral college vote was 304 to 227, with seven electors detecting. that's the most ever. and joining me now, the colorado elector whose ballot was at the center of the case, michael baca, now a high schoolteacher in las vegas. michael, people probably interested to know, how did you get to be an elector?

>> hey, good morning, mr. smerconish. thank you for having me today. so i became an elector just by actively participating in the political process. i went to my caucus, my house district in colorado, and then i just never said no to an opportunity, and i was approached by a group, to become an elector. i said yes. and then during that time, between march to april, all the way to november 8, 2016, i did study and review of what my job would be. so i would be prepared if i became an elect fer secretary clinton won colorado as she did. >> and is this a dangerous precedent that very few people could overturn the will of the maority? >> it's not a precedent. people have been able to do this for as long as our country has existed. all you need to do is read article 2, the amendment, and if you want independent behind the law, read the federal papers, and specifically, the 68th federalist paper and you would see that electors are not bound

by state laws. this is, we live in a republican democracy, so we are a republic. >> hamilton actually, chi put a quote on the screen, i want everybody to see, this let's talk about the history of this, this is alexander hamilton, the process of election affords a moral certainty that the office of president will never fall to the lot of any plan who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications. was that your motivation? >> absolutely. donald trump is a denialist and in this time and day we can't have someone like that as our president. >> and you know that the national popular vote initiative has taken hold in a number of states, i can put on the screen, those which have bought on so far. including by the way colorado. it occurs to me, and i think the secretary of state of colorado sees it the same way, that the success you had in the tenth circuit could jeopardize the national popular vote, because if colorado says we're going to go along with the popular vote, and then there's a michael baca,

who is an elector, you could overturn that desire, by colorado residents. >> so had we been successful if we did in in 2000, we would have overturned the election to al gore. i mean electors can do this. this is not, this is not new, just because it hasn't been used this way, and that is a fear, and that's why i do believe that we should have one person, one vote, you know, people, many people believe that we live in a democracy, and closer to a direct democracy, and that's not true, we live in a republic, we like representatives to cast ballots and be our voices so if we want to change the system, and i personally believe we do, as well as equal citizens, the lawyers who are representing me, believe that we should have one person, one vote, and that's really the only way to avoid issues like this, because if you had someone with a lot more experience than i was, they could have been probably more successful. >> so the supreme court of the united states, i'm sure, will now be asked to take up this measure. what do you anticipate knowing the composition of the court?

>> i absolutely hope that the supreme court does take up this case. and i believe that my lawyers have argued this case, with that knowledge, that the supreme court is in a 5-4 split against my world view, and so we have an original interpretation of the constitution, i had just read the text of article two, i read the text of the 12th amendment, and the federalist 68th and from there, needed the, me the regular layman, was able to learn something that it took the state, a response from the tenth circuit for the state to understand. >> i think at a minimum, it is going to cause a lot of interest in the process by which someone gets to do that which you did, which is to become an elector for their particular state. that will now be almost as significant as being a delegate to a national party nominating convention. you get the final word. >> well, again, i thank you for having me on here. i just want to remind the american people that we do not elect a president via popular vote. had we did, al gore would have

been become the president. secretary clinton would have become the president. we have an electoral college system. if you want it to change, you need to get out and knock on doors and get out and vote and young people protesting, civil disobedience is a lost art and i appreciate you for having me on here. >> thank you, michael. i'm sure the supreme court will want to have something to say before 2020. still to come, why do some people think recreational vehicles hold the key to prognosticating our economic future. and when president trump looked to the heavens and referred to himself as the chosen one, who was his intended audience? i have an idea. all her life that i should fix it. and now it reminds me of her. i'm just glad i never fixed it. listen, you don't need to go anywhere dad. meet christine, she's going to help you around the house. the best home to be in is your own. from personal care and memory care, to help around the house, home instead offers personalized in-home services

for your loved ones. home instead senior care. to us, it's personal. our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy! whoo-hoo! great-tasting ensure. with nine grams of protein and twenty-six vitamins and minerals. ensure, for strength and energy. sleep number 360 smart bed. you can adjust your comfort on both sides - your sleep number setting. can it help us fall asleep faster? yes, by gently warming your feet. but can it help keep us asleep? absolutely, it intelligently senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both effortlessly comfortable. so you can really promise better sleep. not promise... prove. and now, all beds are on sale! save 50% on the sleep number 360

limited edition smart bed. plus 0% interest for 24 months and free home delivery. ends saturday hey! i live on my own now! i've got xfinity, because i like to live life in the fast lane. unlike my parents. you rambling about xfinity again? you're so cute when you get excited...

anyways... i've got their app right here, i can troubleshoot. i can schedule a time for them to call me back, it's great! you have our number programmed in? ya i don't even know your phone anymore... excuse me?! what? i don't know your phone number. aw well. he doesn't know our phone number! you have our fax number, obviously... today's xfinity service. simple. easy. awesome. i'll pass.

the president set off a fire storm this week when he described himself as the chosen one but who was his intended audience? here is the moment when he was talking about fixing the trade imbalance with china and note how he looks to the sky. >> somebody had to do it. i am the chosen one. somebody had to do it. so i'm taking on china. i'm taking on china on trade. and you know what, we're winning. >> keep in mind, this followed the recent demand that israel not admit representatives tlaib and omar, and is calling anyone who votes democratic disloyal to israel and tweeted a quote from a conservative radio host and conspiracy theorist wayne allen root who said this on his news max show. >> this is the greatest president for jews and for israel in the history of the world. not just america. trump's the best president for israel in the history of the world. and the jewish people love him like he is the king of israel. they love him like he is the

second coming of god. >> trump's tweet, king of israel, the trending topic of the day on twitter and the chosen one line, so what is this all about? perhaps it's not just about cultivating support among jews under 2% of the u.s. population and according to gallup 26% of american jews approved of trump in 2018, perhaps it is all about solidifying his base among evangelical christians. joining me to discuss is peter, a lifelong christian evangelical, a never trumper conservative, who wrote quote the deepening crisis in evangelical christianity for the atlantic, where he is a contributing editor. you also wrote the book, the death of politics, how to heal our frayed republic, after trump. so peter, is this about politics or prophecy? >> well, i think it's about several things. i think above all it's about donald trump's narcistic personality disorder, and his need to compare himself to jesus, and you know, claiming to

be the chosen one. beyond that, i think that this is about politics and more specifically i agree with you, it is politics aimed at his evangelical base. that is for him, his electoral firewall. the president decided a long time ago, the only way he is going to win this election is with a base turnout election. there is no way that he can appeal to the middle. so he's got to hit these notes, cultural notes, culture war notes, that are going to appeal to a lot of evangelicals and i think that is what he was doing in this case. >> in other words, all of these recent commens that he's made, pertaining to israel and jews are really about evan gel cal christians. >> i would say so, look, i don't think he is under any delusion that he is going to be able to win a large percentage of the jewish vote which you pointed out is a fraction of the american electorate, when he is thinking about politically, he

is thinking about his base, and we see that all the time, whether it's gun owners, whether it's the appeals of white nationalism, whether it's this kinds of appeal to israel, i should say by the way, i'm a very strong supporter of israel, and i think that democrats that he had in mind particularly representative omar and tlaib have said some really aprecious things related to israel, but donald trump being donald trump, he took what could have been a real critique, and a genuine criticism, and turned it into a wreckless charge, which is that if you vote democratic, that you're therefore anti-semitic. so that's always what he is trying to do. he is trying to inflame the public. trying to inflame the body politic. and to create this acrimony and the anger because for him ang sert fuel that will drive his people to the polls and he does have some understanding that for a lot of the evangelical christians, israel, for a complicated set of reasons, history, prophecy, the end times, and also the belief that

israel is a beacon in a region of oppression, israel has a special place for a lot of christians and i think that's what he is trying to appeal to here. >> the recent polling data, i think we can put it on the screen shows his standing among evangelical christians remaining quite high in comparison. 73% of white evangelicals as compared to 41%. something that occurs to me, peter, should there be a supreme court vacancy and let me say i'm clear i hope will is not a supreme court vacancy based on death or incapas tation, i don't want this to be in poor taste, that would be of critical importance to evangelicals and i can't help but wonder whether the president will disregard all that was said by republicans in the merrick garland instance with president obama and make an appointment at any time they have the opportunity. >> i can guarantee you that he is going to disregard the position of the republicans as it related to judge garland. this is going to be hypocrisy on

that score. and if there is a supreme court appointment, and i agree with you, i really hope there is not, for the reasons that you described, but if there is, it will become a huge issue, understandably huge issue, because the court has so much influence in american life, and that's exactly the kind of thing that donald trump would want, because that is the sort of issue that would turn out voters. mitch mcconnell understood that, with the situation with president obama, garland, in 2016, he would not allow that appointment to go forward, because he knew that would be fuel to energize the republican base, and they felt like they could hold him off, and if trump won, they would get a court appointment, that would be a huge deal, because the supreme court is for a lot of republicans voters almost pretty much in comparison among issue,

first among equals among the issues, so mcconnell made the correct political calculation. i don't think he acted honorably in that situation but i think he made the correct political calculation, and i can guarantee, as i said, that if there is a supreme court opening, that trump and mcconnell are going to push for it before the 2020 election, for political reasons, as well as wanting to get another person on the court. >> peter, thank you so much, as always, for your contribution. >> you bet. thanks for having me on. let's check in on your tweets and facebook comments. what do we have? from twitter, smerconish, trump is the chosen one. he was elected. >> i think looking to the sky, the moment that i saw, do we have that video? i mean keep in mine, he is talking about trade with china, and inexplicably looks to the sky as he says i am the chosen one, and i think with peter's work on my brain, here it is, look up, there, i am the chosen one -- >> but le to do it.

>> and i said to myself immediately, like the recent comments he has made pertaining to israel and jews in particular have nothing to do with that constituency, it has everything to do with solidifying the evangelical base and some notions of the prophecy. i want to know you what think on the survey question of the day. it is smerconish.com. it has to do with homelessness. the situation here in los angeles where the city is now revisiting whether there should be limits placed on people's ability to sleep on public streets, hence the question. so please go vote. at smerconish.com. up ahead, i was on bill maher's realtime panel last night to talk about a lot of things and the question of me too jail came up. i want you to see something else. it is a bit nerve-wracking backstage when you're getting ready to go on because the audience is worked into a lather, i think that's bill's lead writer, the music thumps, maher comes out on stage, well, in my case, i'm standing there saying, what did i get myself into? i will tell you about that in a moment.

do your asthma symptoms ever hold you back? about 50% of people with severe asthma have too many cells called eosinophils in their lungs. eosinophils are a key cause of severe asthma. fasenra is designed to target and remove these cells. fasenra is an add-on injection for people 12 and up with asthma driven by eosinophils. fasenra is not a rescue medicine or for other eosinophilic conditions. fasenra is proven to help prevent severe asthma attacks, improve breathing, and can lower oral steroid use. fasenra may cause allergic reactions. get help right away if you have swelling of your face, mouth, and tongue, or trouble breathing. don't stop your asthma treatments unless your doctor tells you to. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection or your asthma worsens. headache and sore throat may occur. haven't you missed enough? ask an asthma specialist about fasenra. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help.

doprevagen is the number oneild mempharmacist-recommendeding? in my case, i'm standing there you can find it in the vitamin aisle in stores everywhere. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. content on their endless quest, to nowhere.s, run hopelessly in their cage. but perhaps this year, a more exhilarating endeavor awaits. defy the laws of human nature,at the summer of audi sales event. get exceptional offers now. this is rhis life is...of pretty comfortable. rick blomquist thought he had comfort all figured out. but then, he laid on a serta and realized his life was only just sorta comfortable.

i've been living a lie. [laughs] the serta icomfort hybrid mattress. not just sorta comfortable, serta comfortable. get a free motion base upgrade or get up to $900 off select icomfort sets. dy realtime with bill maher last night on hbo, i think it was my fifth appearance and why i'm in los angeles this morning instead of philadelphia. for me the most interesting exchange of the night is about the me too movement and how it has impacted the writer mark hallperson and former senator al franken, one of my co-panelists former senator heidi hetkamp.

>> a good thing to talk about this redemption issue because mark hallpren, remember him. i say case to case, there were accusations he would rub his hard-on to others in the office and then he would ask them out and he denied and al franken, and he said many times, i don't think he did that, but it depends. we need a court, like a redemption court, because like mike hallpern, he has been gone two years and now he has a book out and democratic strategists are having to back pedal, people are saying why are you in his book, mark hallpern, and i'm asking, who decides, what does he, does he never get to come back? >> i will own this. >> yes, you've had him on. >> he re-emerged on my program. my calculus, as one who is privileged to have this

platform, and am i going to extend the invitation to him, was this. has he owned it? and has he been punished? you know that he wrote game change and double down and he lost the deal for what he would have written about the last one, lost the hbo movie that would have been adapted by it, lost all of his gigs, sat out for 500 days and i thought had been punished enough. and if not, then i asked the question, are we advocating the professional death sentence for someone like them, because i'm not comfortable with that. >> right. [ applause ] >> and you said you regretted -- >> yes. >> helping push al out. >> so if it turned into group think, which is what you're talking about, all of a sudden there is a huge litmus test out there, and you're either peer or you're not peer and you can't do any critical thinking, any kind of nuance discussion, and i knew at the time i did it, and i'm not proud to do it, that it was wrong. my parents taught me doing that kind of group think was wrong but we did it because we were in the panic of the moment and i told al that, and ail said,

well, will you tell that to anyone who asked you and i said absolutely, i will own it and i will own it even if i were in the senate because at some point we as the accuser, we as the judgers, have to make a decision on when is enough is enough. >> hallperns a been my guest on sirius xm radio, not on cnn, and the social media reaction to my hosting him has been vicious at times. we can put up a montage of some of what i get constantly and in contrast to the radio callers who are free to dial in and offer a reaction and almost universally appreciative of hearing his insight on the 2020 race. still to come, the last three recessions were all preceded by a drop in rv sales. what does this bellwether category tell us about the u.s. economy, is it more accurate than the economists?

like you, my hands are everything to me. but i was diagnosed with dupuytren's contracture. and it got to the point where things i took for granted got tougher to do. thought surgery was my only option. turns out i was wrong. so when a hand specialist told me about nonsurgical treatments, it was a total game changer. like you, my hands have a lot more to do. learn more at factsonhand.com today.

to severe plaque psoriasis get clearer. and tremfya® was proven superior to humira® in providing significantly clearer skin. don't use if you're allergic to tremfya®. tremfya® may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya®. get clearer. janssen can help you explore cost support options.

so are we or aren't we heading into a recession? what's one good indicator? what if i told you the sale of rvs, the last three recessions were all preceded by multi-year drops in the number of recreational vehicles shipped to dealers, and according to the

latest statistics, after a 4.1% drop last year, those shipments have fallen about 20% so far in 2019. so why does this happen? and how reliable might this be as an indicator? joining me now is michael hicks from ball state university, where he's an economics professor. professor, i'm so glad you're here. i have a hard time wrapping my head around the yield curve. this one, i think i can understand. how accurate? >> well, good to be with you. yes, we've seen over the past three business cycles, the 90-91 recession, 2001, and then in 2007 to 2000 tl9, good periods rv sales and saw declines in rv sales like we're experiencing right now. and there are other one-year dips that accompanied tax law changes and made it a little bit more difficult to buy them but other than that they have been an accurate predictor of business cycles since the early '80s. >> the rvia, the professional organization, by the way, i know those folks, good people, they

say there is a 2.5% increase for 2020, so my aight this be chang? >> it could be, but the sort of path of the recessions differ. if we're facing a sort of manufacturing-led recession, which is if we're now, that is probably what is happening today, through trade and more difficulties in the supply chain, you might see that rvs hit first. if it's a financial recession, like we saw, starting in 2007, we didn't see a decline in sales until then into 2008, so there is some timing questions here. but through 2020, early 2020, sales are way down. they're off, as you indicated, almost one in five units down. they're going to produce about 400,000 this year. down from over 500,000 in 2017. it is really hard to see a big recovery in 2020. even if they're up from a really bad year in 2019. >> is it a function of demand?

or tariffs? both? neither? >> well, i think it's both. so the tariffs play a significant role in affecting the cost of the supply chain. so assembling a manufactured recreational vehicle is a very labor intensive activity, at the final stages, but being assembled from parts sourced auld over the world, assembled and refined, and with value added throughout the supply chain, in the u.s., and those dealers are certainly signaling big profit decline, they're asking the big, the big rv dealer store, lci, and patrick industries, for a better prices on their products to stay viable. and what that really does at the dealer, it makes it more difficult for trade-ins to be valued as highly and makes it more difficult for the dealer to really haggle with a good price, and i think that causes an actual decline in demand, just because of price. but then also consumers are

feeling pinched, the tariffs are biting, if you believe some of the numbers as much as a thousand dollars a month, out of a household's pocket, so those are certainly affecting the economy, in ways that we've seen in the past. a big bit of uncertainty, and higher costs, are certainly the sorts of things that are going to move people away from buying an rv, which is a big purchase in any household. >> final question. is there anything else in your life that you look at to keep your finger on the pulse of what's going on with the economy? i ask this question of my radio audience. i for example keep an eye on restaurant parking lots. restaurants at different economic levels. and try and compare fine dining with cracker barrel. i'm just curious, is there anything other than the rv industry that you look at and say that's a good bellwether? >> yeah, that's good, although i would say cracker barrel is fine dining in my world. i think, i look at both up

cycle, when you see, obviously i'm an economist, so we're looking at large macroeconomic models. that's what i do for a living. but sort of to influence or to enrich in that data, we look at things like the rv if you see the service sort of change that sort of indicates an crease in supply of workers, that maybe there's hiring slowdown that actually hit hit the data. we were talking here in studio in indianapolis things like the sales for restaurants that are by an interstate because that would be an indicator of maybe people traveling less, and then other things, do you see shorter trains? if you live in the midwest, if you live in the south, you see a lot of trains. if you see trains parked for long periods of time, it's probably due to less demand. there's plenty of small signals

going on in addition to the things that are more complex to understand like the yield curve. >> i think i just swallowed thinking of chicken fried steak, so thank you for that, professor. appreciate your being here. still to come, your best and worst tweets and facebook comments, and did you vote yet at smerconish.com? should people have the right to sleep on public streets? that's a debate here in los angeles. go vote right now. so you don't have to stash antacids here... here... or, here. kick your antacid habit with prilosec otc. one pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn.

rooh, really? 's going on at schwab. "thank you clients"? well, investors business daily did just rank them #1 broker overall and #1 in customer service. and online equity trades are only $4.95? i mean, you can't have low costs and have award-winning service. that's impossible. it's like having your cake, and eating it too. ask your broker if they offer award-winning service, and low costs. how am i going to explain this? if you don't like their answer, ask again at schwab. schwab. a modern approach to wealth management.

you don't need to go anywhere dad, this is your home. the best home to be in is your own. home instead offers personalized in-home services for your loved ones. home instead senior care. to us, it's personal. home instead senior care. that could allow hackers devices into your home.ys and like all doors, they're safer when locked. that's why you need xfinity xfi. with the xfi gateway, devices connected to your homes wifi are protected. which helps keep people outside from accessing your passwords, credit cards and cameras. and people inside from accidentally visiting sites that aren't secure. and if someone trys we'll let you know.

xfi advanced security. if it's connected, it's protected. call, click, or visit a store today. so how'd you vote? survey question at smerconish.com today, should people have the right to sleep on public streets? survey says 62% of 6,343 say no.

33% say yes. tough issue. it really does rent the privatization of public streets if the situation is allowed to continue, but of course you don't want to be callous and you want to do something for folks in that unfortunate position. here's more of the social media reaction. what do we have? why not the obvious question, why don't you get public services like housing, food stamps welfare. why spend millions on these services? where are they? i think they're also taking advantage of those services and are still homeless. the housing is so expensive, particularly in this state. what else came in? smerconish, living in those conditions to see someone still cherishing his flag is both moving and ironic. bless his heart. dave, i thought the same thing. here is a guy who literally invites me into his tent, and he is sleeping on a hard sidewalk, rolls out a mat. hard sidewalk, did you hear what

he said to me. like this is my kitchen area, and there's my grill, and what does he prominently have in that tent? an american flag. one more quickly. hbo, did they let you keep the coffee mug? you know what orlando, i did realtime with bill maher last night, and all i got was a lousy t-shirt. always an interesting experience by the way, and good conversation. hey, make sure you join me for my next american life in column story. i'll be further north in sunnyvale, on september 30. the october 1 show is sold out. thanks for watching. see you next week.

so chantix can help you quit slow turkey.rkey. along with support, chantix is proven to help you quit. with chantix you can keep smoking at first and ease into quitting so when the day arrives, you'll be more ready to kiss cigarettes goodbye. when you try to quit smoking, with or without chantix, you may have nicotine withdrawal symptoms. stop chantix and get help right away if you have changes in behavior or thinking, aggression, hostility, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts or actions, seizures, new or worse heart or blood vessel problems, sleepwalking, or life-threatening allergic and skin reactions. decrease alcohol use. use caution driving or operating machinery. tell your doctor if you've had mental health problems. the most common side effect is nausea. talk to your doctor about chantix.

the first survivor of alzis out there.ase and the alzheimer's association is going to make it happen. but we won't get there without you.

join the fight with the alzheimer's association. good morning to you on this saturday, august 24th, 10:00 a.m. we're so glad to have you here. >> i'm victor blackwell, you are in the cnn news room. world leaders are gathering for the g-7 summit in france this weekend against the backdrop of trove of global crises to deal with. on the list of disputes this year, you've got china's escalating trade tensions, ongoing conflicts with iran, the climate crisis, north korea's nuclear capabilities. there's much more. the big question this morning, can they make any headway on any of those issues? >> president trump arriving in france jus