successful multiethnic country in world history, and we have a long way to go, but i look at progress being made at i think a very rapid rate. and i look forward to the country my kids and grandkids get to live in. when i go back when i was being taught in school it was all martin luther king, jr., and i think there's been in recent generations, recent decades incredible breakthroughs there. i'm really looking forward to a country as we continue to move forward. >> thanks for being with us this morning. >> it's fun to be here on set. >> glad to have you back here in person. >> and it is open floor on washington journal, your chance to weigh in on political stories, making news you're following as well. following the story on the infrastructure package on capitol hill, this is politico's headline this morning in the print edition of politico. bipartisan deal has no chance on wednesday is their headline.

senate republicans revolted on monday against opening debate on infrastructure. and while a bipartisan bill was still being written, lining up in opposition to a squeeze play by majority leader chuck schumer. schumer and senate democrats need at least ten republicans who agree to advance a still unwritten bill to spend nearly $600 billion on roads, bridges and broadband during a vote expected on wednesday. but both republican republicans and the gop lawmakers working on the bipartisan infrastructure package carried the same warning for schumer. quote, he's not going to get 60, let's put it that way said minority whip john thune. one story we're obviously following the senate in today over on c-span 2. also over on c-span 2 and getting under way shortly, our coverage is live now but it's the blue origin launch live in west texas and some video we're seeing from the coverage. that launch of the blue origin spacecraft is set for 9:00

eastern. we will look in and watch that launch if we are able when 9:00 comes around. but it's open forum and your chance to dictate the conversation a little bit. 202-748-8000 is the line for democrats. 202-748-8001 for republicans. go ahead, mary. >> caller: okay, my major concern was what i seen yesterday, which was what going on at the border. we're told, you know, as american people, as citizens that we can't do anything pretty much unless the government tells us to do it because of the

virus. but yet when i looked at that picture of those people coming into our country that we do not know who's vaccinated. we don't know what their medical status is. and i don't understand that. why are we letting people into our country during a time when our virus now is seeming to get worse? and we don't know where these people are going. we don't know if they may be spreading the virus because we don't know where they're going. and i just think out of everything that's going on, i mean i was a democrat that changed to republican because i liked what president trump did when he was in office. but what i see on that border really scares me. and then when i heard yesterday they're trying to sneak into the

infrastructure bill. what is going on? what is wrong with these people? >> to steve in south carolina. republican line. steve go ahead. steve, mute your volume on your set there. go ahead with your comment. >> caller: done, okay. i guess one of my main concerns is the infrastructure discussions that are going on right now. i can totally agree with a targeted package for our infrastructure. i think that's the way to go. i think basically the government is getting out of control on these amounts. when you start talking trillions, i don't think they understand what trillions really means and how hard it is to control that kind of money. i think most of the packages or the laws coming through need a much more targeted way of going.

north dakota, when you tar target a specific issue making sure that, okay, if we're talking infrastructure, we're talking infrastructure. if we're talking border, we talk border. and when you're talking money you need definitely more targeted so we can control the amount of money that we are spending. and that's pretty much where i'm coming from today. >> okay, steve. oak park, illinois. next up on this open forum, jennifer. hello, there. >> hello, good morning. >> good morning. >> i just want to start off saying i love your suit today. so i wanted to talk about womens issues and basically the idea of how a lot of men and specifically republicans don't know how the woman body works and they were saying an iud gives you an abortion every time

you have sex, which i find ridiculous. and the idea that they're always saying, you know, we have to help the women and children here in america, that's actually not true. they won't pass the era, you know, the sexual assault is insane in the military. it's like three times what it is in the nation and no one does anything. and also i think that's tied to the fact that elderly men from a completely different generation where let's face it sexism was insane. you had to have a man sign to get an apartment if you could get an apartment, if they'd even let you. and the fact that some 87-year-old people are running the country and make decisions that can last my whole lifetime is insane because no one alive today would want their

grandparents who are 80 years old to make decisions for their life. >> jennifer, do you think we have an 80-plus-year-old president. do you think the biden administration is taking womens issues seriously? >> so, no. actually, i kind of -- people were calling in saying what he was doing. and i am glad that someone democrat is on. i mean they're completely ignoring -- they won't even pass gillibrand's -- she's been working on that bill for ten years, and these men keep saying, oh, well we're going to train, we're going to have classes. and it's like how would you -- how would you make people in the military -- they're supposed to be honorable. why do they need classes to just be human beings, to not be violent, to not be rapists? you know, like it's ridiculous. just like the police. they keep saying we need

training. you need training to be a non-violent human being? or do you know what i mean? or test that rape kit or don't just be a complete violent jerk. i bar tend. if i punched a customer in the face after he called me, you know, a terrible, terrible swearword or if he grabbed me, i'd get fired. so they're supposed the be the best of us also. >> have you ever had to do that? have you ever had to defend yourself or from a customer calling you an offensive name or assaulting you in some other way? >> oh, my gosh, yeah. i used to work at a bar at 3:00 a.m., and some people turn. they'd be cool and then one drink they'd go destroy the bathroom, they'd try to get behind the bar. they would like yell names. that was crazy. and we had to throw them out,

but we didn't like beat them up, you know. i obviously like most women -- i don't know one woman who hasn't been sexually assaulted, beat up, raped, stopped. i got beat up by two men on the train line. i've been raped and nobody does anything. they don't even go to jail. it's like less than 1%. then our police force have double the domestic violence in the nation. so obviously they have a problem with violence. >> jennifer, appreciate your call this morning and sharing some of your story. you mention the senator kristen gillibrand, her efforts on sexual assault in military. i saw her speak on the floor of the u.s. senate. i think that bill is moving along and i asked our producer to do a little search where that bill stands in the senate. they've not taken it up on the floor as far as i know. but it may be part of the defense authorization measure that will come up before the

senate. i did see her speak last week specifically about that -- about that measure and that issue. thanks for your call this morning. we hear from akron, ohio, next. go ahead. >> caller: hi. 7% of america is vegan or vegetarian. there's 25 million americans, we have republicans who don't want vaccines. three times as many vegans are democrat or independent. we as vegans do not want vaccines which contain lipids from cows and pigs. lipids are animal fats. vaccines contain monkey brain cells, cells from chickens,

sharks, horseshoe crabs, fireflies. whenever someone tries to mandate a vaccine, that person is violating vegans and religion which don't eat cows or pigs such as hindu, muslim, orthodox jew. i know some catholics object to the -- >> well, how do you -- given your reluctance to get vaccinated how do you plan to keep yourself safe especially with the spread of the delta variant of covid? >> caller: well, i believe that i developed immunity in february of last year when i got covid, and everything is fine. >> but have you been tested since then? >> caller: no, i haven't. >> appreciate your call this morning. the story this morning on the january 6th attack. this is the associated press

headline. capitol rioter who breached senate gets eight months for felony. a crane operator from florida who breached the u.s. chamber carrying a trump campaign flag was sentenced monday to eight months behind bar and one that could help the determine of severity of other sentences of hundreds of pending cases. in pronouncing the sentence, u.s. district judge said the 38-year-old had played a role if not as significant as the others in one of the worst episodes in american history. thousands of rioters loyal to then president donald trump stormed the capitol and disrupted the certification of joe biden's election win in a stunning display of public violence. quote, that was not by any stretch of the imagination a protest moss said. heeded it left a stain that will remain on us and the country for

years to come. also a tweet this morning from skat mcfarlen of nbc news about another person arrested in the january 6th attack not guilty plea from defendant andrew griz wauld of pensacola, florida. he's accused of entering the senate gallery in camo jacket and later saying now we know they can do it again, and we will effing do it again. here's pete in hebron, new york. pete on the republican line go ahead. >> yeah, this is pete from new hampshire. >> good morning. >> caller: good morning and thank you for taking my call. the woman from massachusetts was absolutely right. we have people that are in government right now in washington, d.c. who are not critical thinkers. they have no common sense whatsoever. when they have a problem all we

want to do is throw more money at it. and, you know, this so-called infrastructure bill for instance as an example we have -- we have roads and bridges right here in my state in new hampshire, our own state here and they've been red flagged. they're deemed unsafe. we've had bridge collapses in the history of this country in the last 15, 20 years. nothing's being done about it. instead what they want to do is fight and argue over a multi-trillion-dollar bill. and at the end of the day nothing happens. if they pass it that money is not going to go to infrastructure, and if does it's going to be a very small percentage that will go for the repair of roads and bridges and this highway. back eisenhower, back in the day he built the interstate system across this whole entire country in the late 50s. it was designed after the autobahn.

after that the country just seemed to go to hell when it comes to our infrastructure. instead of spending the money on their pet projects, why don't they put it where it belongs on the bridges and highways? >> pete, just getting word the liftoff of blue origin in west texas now set for about ten minutes from now, so we should be able to show that to you in the next couple of minutes here on c-span. our live continuous coverage is over on our companion network on c-span 2. schumer sets vote on infrastructure but now want to see a bill. >> caller: i have a very big concern and i would like your audience to maybe pursue this please. we've been letting in from the southern border people with

covid since the beginning. you reported it, the major news outlets for reported, hundreds of them and others. and now these people have been notably sent around the country. what i would like to do -- and somebody out there has the power to do it -- is to have the map of where these covid outbreaks are occurring today. and somebody knows in the government where they sent these people from the southern border. and i strongly feel that once you overlay those two maps you're going to see some -- some significant information where the people that were sent out there from the border with the virus are now affecting this area. >> okay, a story here about the u.s. northern border here, the border with canada. canada to open border to fully vaccinated u.s. citizens. "the washington post" reports canada on monday said it will

begin to ease pandemic restrictions at the u.s.-canada border next month allowing u.s. citizens and permanent residents living in the united states who are fully vaccinated with canadian authorized vaccines to enter for nonessential travel without quarantining. the decision which takes effect august 9th follows months of criticism from u.s. lawmakers across the political spectrum, business groups and some travelers over what they said was an overly cautious approach to lifting curves that have split families, battered the tourism sector and up-ended life in close-knit border communities. here is pasqual in san jose, california. go ahead. good morning. >> caller: good morning, bill. i have a couple other things real quick to give other people a chance to get on. but i just want to say first of all i'm a mexican american without a hyphen, don't need a

hyphen because i'm a mexican and i'm american also. and i want to say as a mexican-american i say black lives matter. i also want to point out that a lady called a little while ago while the gentleman was on, and she made a very direct question to him saying can you tell your followers that trump was lying about the results of the election and that his comments were a big lie? he weaseled out of it. he didn't answer the question. and help us out a little bit, bill. don't let the people weasel out like that. help us out. >> thanks for your criticism. i appreciate that. >> caller: thank you. bye. >> take care. ted is next in north carolina. go ahead, ted. >> caller: yes, first off i'd like to speak about what the

racial theory is. the problem with that is if we look at the history of this country it's not in the history books. 629 years we have been a white supremacist country, a country that continues to today practice it. the other thing i'd like to talk about is we the people need a means to remove people from office quicker and from the people of kentucky, mitch mcconnell -- here's a tweet this morning from the japan olympics. sent us news from tokyo organizers there won't root out last minute cancellation of the tokyo olympics. of course organizers said earlier announced fans -- there would be no fans in attendance at the tokyo 2020 olympics.

20748800 is the line for democrats. and it's open on forum and here is william in florida. >> caller: yes, good morning. how are you doing? >> fine, thank you. >> caller: yes. most of our problems started back when jeb bush was in office here in florida where they passed state rights. that was rise of the problems. >> let's go to john lake geneva, wisconsin. john's on the independent line. go ahead. >> caller: good morning. thanks for taking my call. >> sure. >> caller: i want to comment about the infrastructure bill a little bit. i don't believe it should be

separated into two separate entities as the democrats are attempting to do. and also you talked a lot about immigration, and it is a very, very bad situation on the southern border. maybe we should take our infrastructure money and finally complete our border and complete the wall. and then i'd be open to possibly allowing the daca kids and amnesty and anybody that was already here to become legal citizens. but until we have a secure border we really need to stop the flow however we can. because it just is ridiculous, with covid coming across the border and everything right now. thanks for my call. >> thank you for calling. karen is in florida on the republican line. go ahead. >> caller: yes. we've had a big increase here in florida. in fact, they have a hospital

they announced last night because of the number of people there with the -- with the delta variant. i think they call it the delta variant. they're saying that they had so many but anyway they've gone into a crisis. i know clearly that there have been bus loads of illegals -- the illegal children have been -- they're moving them from place to place until they can bring their whole family here and their senior citizens and the cost is enormous. and here we had the virus. we were doing well with the number of people that were vaccinated and the number of people that had the natural immunity, we were doing well. and now they're just flooding the border. it's -- it's outrageous. to me it's a big threat. i've seen a doctor on tv -- >> i'm going to let you go there, karen. we want to take our viewers to

west texas to watch the launch of the blue origin spacecraft. let's look. >> t-minus 16, guidance internal. t-minus 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, command and start, 2, 1. >> and shepherd has cleared the tower on her way to space. you are going to space.

>> oh, my goodness. listen to roar of the engine. >> beautiful burn on that engine, liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen as a propellant. it's nice not just clean in terms of beautifully performing. but what comes out of it, it's steam, right?

>> and to know we've got a crew that is going to space, it just feels different, doesn't it, gary? >> it's totally different. >> all right, you can follow along. of course the speedometer on the bottom left, the altimeter in the middle of the screen there. so far appears to be a nominal flight. all right coming up here on main engine cut off, followed shortly by separation. and at that point after separation we're going to let the astronauts unbuckle and take in the freedoms of zero g. a main engine cut off, a beautiful shot down the new