will discuss the resignation of defense secretary chuck hagel. shore will talk about hunger and america. reviewr their exhaustive , the grand jury deliberated over two days, making their final decision. they determined that no probable cause exists to file any charges and officer wilson -- against officer wilson. host: that was the st. louis prosecuting attorney announcing thatision in the case rocked ferguson, missouri. sparkedy's decision more violence in ferguson. protests are expected in cities

across the country today. we are asking for your thoughts on race relations in america. democrats, (202) 585-3880. republicans, (202) 585-3881. independents, (202) 585-3882. outside the u.s., (202) 585-3883 . you can also catch up with us on all of your favorite social media pages, twitter, facebook, or e-mail. a very good tuesday morning to you. jurydecision by the grand leading the front pages of most every newspaper. we will start with the "st. louis post-dispatch." wilson."es for there is a picture of a burning police car set on fire in

ferguson. the story breaking it down by the decision and the protests. the decision happening later in the evening and the protests taking place throughout the night. >here is the "new york times." fury boils over. the front page of "the boston globe." here is the front page of "the chicago sun-times." two stories, the decision and the protests. here is the front page story of "usa today."

the grand jury weighed evidence and testimony before concluding that there was no probable cause to indict darren wilson. on the story of the protests and the reaction overnight, here is one of the latest stories from the associated press. john belmar said that a dozen businesses were burning after protests turned violent. two police cruisers were also burned and there were about 150 shots fired over the night. the protests were much worse than the worst nights in august. police did not fire a shot during the protests on monday night. some other news from governor jay nixon's office.

he ordered additional national guardsmen to august. -- two ferguson. president obama responded to the grand jury decision yesterday. he called for the protesters to refrain from violence. [video clip] >> we are a nation built on the rule of law. to accept that this decision was the grand jury's to make. there are americans who agree and americans who are deeply disappointed and even angry. it is an understandable reaction. i joined michael's parents and asking anyone who protests this decision to do so peacefully. let me repeat. michael's father's words.

hurting others or destroying property is not the answer. no matter what the grand jury decides, i do not want my son's death to be in vain. i wanted to lead to credible , changepositive change that makes the st. louis region better for everyone. michael brown's parents have lost more than anyone. we should be honoring their wishes. i also appeal to the law enforcement officials in ferguson and the region to show care and restraint in managing peaceful protests that may occur. our police officers put their lives on the line for us every single day. you have a tough job to do to maintain public safety and hold accountable those who break the law.

as they do their jobs in the coming days, they need to work with the community, not against the community to distinguish the handful of people who may use the grand jury's decision as an touse for violence, distinguish them from the vast majority who just want their voices heard around legitimate in terms of how communities and law enforcement interact. some reaction coming from members of congress after the decision was announced. here is john conyers from michigan. the underlying issues are complex. a tweet from janice hahn from california. a tweet from tim scott.

republican steve stockman from texas. those are just a few of the reactions from members of congress last night. we will have those through the first hour of "washington journal" today. what the decision means to the state of race relations in america. we are getting your thoughts and comments. we will start with a bill on -- jim calling in from oklahoma. caller: good morning. of me give you an example how white people and people of color are treated differently. nevada, wey ranch in

had a bunch of white rednecks pointing semi-automatics and automatic weapons. we have them on video pointing them at federal law enforcement officials trying to enforce the laws against a squatter. nothing happened. using the video to identify those people, bring them to justice, take their weapons away, and put them in prison? if they would have been black, there would have been a massacre. folks in st. black louis protesting and they bring out the national guard. that is a travesty. people were living in a police state if you are a person of color. i am white. i am irish and english. host: where does the country go from here? we have got to stop letting the right wingers make

the law. they are empowering police. they are militarizing the police. we are supposed to live under a citizen's police force. i could give you a half a dozen examples. in. the little town i live the prosecutor in the ferguson case should not have been presenting the case to the grand jury. he acted more like a defense attorney for the cop. he is an advocate for the victim. the victim is a dead black man. he did not care. do everything he could to keep that cop from being indicted. host: we are taking your calls and comments and your tweets. steve harrison writes in. one other tweet.

a few more front pages. "redeye."ne from go to flushing, new york. caller: good morning. that cash up -- upset by the prosecuting attorney. outas trying to sort fiction from the fact, but what is trying to is searching through social media. it,e had properly done

maybe the ryan or might be a little bit calm down -- riot may be a little bit calmed down. i also do not agree with the timing. no concern. police fact the tried to block the street was a bad idea. thing of organizing this thing is a disaster. is that of the matter police brutality is all over the place. behaving like in some developing countries. the picture i saw of officer -- it is nonsense. let's go to david on the

republican line. caller: how are you? i am a white guy. hair.yes, blonde i have been locked up in my life, tackled by the cops. something i would never do is charge a cop and try to grab his gun. if he shot me, i would expect to be shot. why not have common sense segregation? have 75% of the police officers be black in a 75% black town. why would any white kid want to become a cop today? job, if you do your

,o your job, defend your life you might be up for murder and go to prison. if we had an all-black police force, would black people be skipping down the lane? do black people kill other black people? do they kill whites? of course they do. ferguson is a city in northern st. louis county. it is the ninth most segregated metro area in america. the police chief and mayor are white. one city council member and one school board member are black.

three of the 53 police officers are black. arrested people were versus 33 white people who were arrested. we are talking about the decision last night in the case of officer darren wilson. we are asking viewers what it means for race relations. manuel is waiting in north carolina. caller: good morning. i don't think this has anything to do with race relations in america. how did the cop get away with killing this gentleman?

they have stun guns or something. he had to shoot that young man all that many times and he is afraid for his life and he is a police man? he was afraid, why didn't he stay in his car. if he is afraid for his life, why is he on the police force? if he is afraid for his life of a young man who has no weapon. it has to do with black people and police relations. have a lot of racist cops. point blank, that is it. racist cops. the: how do you improve trust between communities and police forces? caller: we are voting. believe it. we are voting.

people are not voting. if black people would vote, they would have some say so. officer wilson's legal troubles are not over yet. this is according to "usa today." the grand jury's decision not to indict him will not end the legal issues he is facing. it is the last word from the criminal courts, but he could face civil rights charges brought by the justice department or a civil wrongful death lawsuit filed by brown's parents. for -- wilson could be sued for wrongful death. in a civil trial, they could seek monetary damages as well. we will watch what happens on the legal front. let's go to joe in rockville,

new york. morning.ood couple of things. if you break it down, it is not a comic it did issue. the young man robs the convenience store and is walking down the middle of the street. stop,r wilson asks him to he starts wrestling for the gun, reaches inside the car, the gun discharges shooting his hand, he backs up, officer wilson is able to exit his car, he instructs them to get on the ground. if michael brown got on the ground, he would have been taken to the hospital, his hand would have been treated, and he would have been arrested for petty theft and resisting arrest. that would have been it. he was intent on killing that man. he was intent on getting the gun from officer wilson and terminating his life. if he had complied with the

officer's instructions, it would have been over. he would be alive today. the st. louis prosecuting attorney talked a little bit last night about what the grand jury went through and separating the fact from the fiction in what happened in those few minutes. here is a bit of what he had to say. [video clip] >> witnesses to the shooting made statements inconsistent with other statements they made and also conflicting with physical evidence. some were completely refuted by the physical evidence. before the results of the private autopsy were released, witnesses on social media, during interviews with the media , and during questioning with law-enforcement claimed they saw officer wilson stand over michael brown and fire many rounds into his back. others claim that officer wilson shot mr. brown in the back as he

was running away. however, once the autopsy findings were released, we learned that michael browned had not sustained anyone to the michael brown -- to the back of his body. witnesses adjusted their stories in subsequent statements. did notn admitted they witness the event at all, but repeated what they had heard in the neighborhood. fortunately for the integrity of our investigation, almost all initial witness interviews, including those of officer wilson were recorded. the "st. louis post-dispatch" showing some of the photos released in the medical exam of officer darren wilson and the hours after that incident happened. journal" notest its story on the indictment that would likely factored was the law on the use of force in

missouri. officernsidered more friendly than that of other states according to legal experts. we are taking your calls. we want to know your reaction to that decision last night and what it means to race relations in america. david isn't also, oklahoma. caller: good morning. i'm getting ready to leave to go teach for the 31st year. u.s. history. i think last night is another example of how historically illiterate we are as a nation and that we need to continue to educate. the key to race relations in the future is more education.

race relations have improved, but there is still so far to go and that was demonstrated last night. host: what are you going to say to your students today? the school where i currently teaches 95% hispanic. we have been talking about it. what i found in my career is that minorities tend to have general mistrust of the police. who are white tend to have a trust of the system. have who ist who i a minority predicted the outcome of last night's ruling. that will be the discussion.

what do we have to do to continue to make progress so that minorities gain a trust in the system? we are a long way away. host: if you stats from the pew few stepsenter -- a from the pew research center. we are showing our viewers some stats. it sounds like that does not surprise you. think if you study the modern civil rights movement and

go back into the early 1900's, back into the late years of america's treatment of minorities has not been positive. those statistics are very accurate. the only way to turn that around is for there to be education and to continue to educate police forces. host: on what? on the history of relationships? to educate want people on? the history? caller: yes. the history of race relations in america. african american history is american history. the history of hispanics in america is american history. you look at that history and it is not a great chapter in american history.

i think you have to teach, here is where the frustration last night stems from. if it had been reversed, where in african belize -- american police officer shot a white , i think whites in america would have thought there would be a fair trial and a fair hearing. even if it was fair the last few believedost minorities that this was not a just system. we are taking your comments and your thoughts this morning and we want to know your thoughts on what the ferguson decision means for race

relations in america moving forward. in davido bring jackson, a white house reporter for "usa today. good morning. we want to get the white house reaction to the ferguson decision last night. spoke.sident was he expected to speak? is he expected to travel to ferguson? guest: in terms of traveling, they will see how things play out. the secret service would be leery about going down there. someone asked him about it and he did not rule it out, but he said he would have to wait and see how things played out. he spoke for about nine minutes. it was a carefully written, carefully planned address. avoiding --cannot weter of waiting area host:

have seen headlines about protests around the country in the wake of the decision. how is the situation out senator whitehouse? -- outside white house? the time i left, there were about 200-300 people, holding candles, chanting, protesting the fact that the police officer was not indicted. no justice, no peace, don't shoot, things like that. there was also a very heavy police presence. what do we know about the travel schedules for the president's top justice's surrogates? probably a better chance of the attorney general going to ferguson than the president.

the federal investigation is ongoing. it would not shock me if we saw officials go down there as well. host: i want to talk about the other big story that happened yesterday morning before the decision came out. chuck hagel announced resignation from the department of defense. was this expected? guest: i think pretty much. you look over the last couple weeks, you see that he is talking about the things he has done and it sounds like someone on the way out. canceled a trip to vietnam last month. people were talking about the future with the administration. it is something we have been looking for for several weeks. host: was he pushed out from the white house? the white house suggests

that he was. the pentagon said, no. i think there was a lot of mutual frustration. they didn't felix the secretary was up to the job, quite frankly -- feel like the secretary was up to the job, quite frankly. there was a lot of finger-pointing going on. the white house said president obama has been bringing all of in and asking if they plan to stay for the rest of his presidency. host: who could replace him? what is the timing? michele flournoy emerges. she is highly regarded on the hill and is considered to be

more aggressive against the islamic state. she was the runner-up for the post several years ago. there is a man named ashton carter. he is also in the mix. we will get a decision next week. host: we appreciate your time. guest: thank you. host: about a half hour left on this first segment. we want to get to your calls and comments. what it means for race relations in the country. greg is in michigan. caller: thank you. you're welcome. i was watching some of the coverage on cbs and listening to some of your coverage. why is nobody referring to these people as rioters or rioting? you had a teacher on. why wouldn't you question their

decision-making when all the evidence is going to be released? wouldn't you say come a we have to look at the evidence ourselves? wouldn't that be logical? thank you. host: to your point about violence in ferguson, here is the st. louis county police department. here is a report. that is still under investigation. the police chief out there saying he heard close to 150 shots fired last night in ferguson, according to that ap report. show you some images, as well, that we have collected. let's go to maine.

caller: hi. am i ready? host: go ahead. caller: i'm so sorry for the and io the brown family wish that everybody would have gone by their wishes. whyn't understand african-americans always have to ,urn up people's businesses like an l.a., with rodney king and all that. they destroyed watts. it is nothing but gang bangers. to some of the gang members turn their life around, i don't know. last night was just ridiculous and it was unnecessary to so many innocent people. people getting hurt over people that were involved in the mishap. host: frustration stemming from the research from the pew center , looking into the fact that the

vast majority of blacks view the criminal justice system as unfair and being targeted by police. how do you change that perception? caller: i don't know. i don't know. if everybody listened to the autopsy report and what you had , he was not never shot in the back. they don't listen to the truth. host: up next, herbert in georgia. good morning. caller: good morning. i have been retired one year. my father was a police officer. my brother was also. let me to you something my father told me. they could not a white person.

him evenot even arrest if he was committing a felony. you could not never arrest a white person. you need to get to the truth of the matter. anybody from 55 on down understand segregation. i have a conscience. that is what america needs. we need to have a consciousness of human life. black officers do not kill unarmed white people. [indiscernible] we need to have relations between the officers. [indiscernible] understand a relationship of how a person's character is. host: do you think things are

getting better or worse? you talk about the history in your own family and people meeting to learn history. are we getting better? caller: it is getting more divided. we have a division between republicans, democrats. most of the republicans are 75% white. understando [indiscernible] we need to condemn -- stop demonizing with empty racist language. [indiscernible] we need to condemn that. host: over the course of history and where america is going, the

subject of president obama's comments. here is a bit more of what he had to say. [video clip] >> it is enormous progress in race relations over the course of the past several decades. i have witnessed that in my own progressto deny that is to deny america's capacity for change. what is also true is that there are still problems and communities of color are not just making these problems up. separating that from this particular decision, there are issues in which the law too often feels as if it is being applied in a discriminatory fashion. , don't think that is the norm i don't think that is true for the majority of communities or the vast majority of law enforcement officials.

these are real issues and we have to not deny them or try to tap some down. we need to understand them and figure out how we make more progress. host: if you more tweets from members of congress. tweets frome members of congress. john lewis, congressman charlie wrangle. rangel.les wr steve israel. your comments and reaction and we will show you a few more headlines. here is another missouri paper.

police cars vandalized, gunshots in the streets. that is the front page of "the missourian." "the seattle times." butts go to gregory in north carolina. caller: yes, sir. say to mything to black brothers and sisters. washat happened in ferguson nothing short of an riot. it was a riot.

unfortunately, i think you can ask any educated person and this may sound racist -- you can person- ask any educated of the black community has some serious problems and i think the answer that you give it is yes, they do. and at any other society they have serious problems, but they really have some very serious problems. are there problems in race relations in north carolina? i don't think so. it is still somewhat the old south here. it is not too bad. host: do you think some of the from theon stems mistrust of the police and the justice system? how do you build that trust? i think the way that you

start is by obeying the law. that is the bottom line. we can't have our police officers trying to do their job and have the potential of being killed. it can't happen. i'm sorry that it happened. it was a riot. , i never last night once heard the word riot. that is what it was. host: we will go to ronald in tennessee. good morning. caller: good morning. [indiscernible] one of the things we have all takeed, the press

instances and highlights certain things to sensationalize them. it may be a simple case of the person being in the wrong place at the wrong time. maybe the person who are shot by police was in the wrong place at the wrong time. the young black man walks to a , the policeman had no knowledge of the crime. he walks down the street, gets in an argument, he winds up dead. colorado whoan in walked into a movie theater, , walksa bunch of people away in handcuffs.

that infuriates black americans and anyone focused on racial inequality in america. to ask you about the press. how would you like to see the coverage change? do you think there should be less members of the press in ferguson? if you think the coverage was about right? caller: it was just about right, but it is sensationalism. [indiscernible] if there is something that is potentially could explode into a large media coverage, what happens is that spills over to the community.

the community gets enraged without knowing all of the facts of the situation. there are many instances where police boss own humanity causes them to react in certain situations that it really should not have to be that way. aren't they trained? don't they have weapons of nonviolence to just attain people? -- detain people? there is always the fallback of a police officer feeling like as life is in danger and so he took action. the "usa today" story. events are scheduled in dozens

of city from coast-to-coast. it could become a days long series of protests. one of those is scheduled in sanford, florida expected to mark -- march to the local county courthouse. that was the site of the shooting of trayvon martin by george zimmerman. let's go to bill. caller: good morning. the bottom line to all of this is this. how was this young man trained? was he trained to respect authority? the answer to that is no. host: you mean upbringing and parenting? caller: how was he raised? was he raised to disrespect authority? that is pretty obvious. were events leading up to this and the other guy was wrong.

the police officer did have a description of the person. he was disrespectful. how tragic it, was, yes it was, he did not respect is that authority like his kindergarten teacher, third grade teacher, his coach and football. he did not respect authority. both sides have a point. the result was a travesty. but this young man was not trained. penalized needs to be , the parents need to do community service for not training this person to assimilate within normal civilized society. a statement from michael .rown's family we ask that you channel your frustration in ways that will make a positive change.

join with us in our campaign to ensure that every police officer wears a body camera. that is a statement released by the family. in terms of the details of what specifically happened, the washington post with the detailed graphic on their website, going through minute by what happened. aboutrrative begins at 11:45 a.m. the key moment of the narrative occurring one witnesses say brown punched wilson at his car. witnesses gave conflicting

statements of what happened. wilson was later found to have redness and swelling on his face. two were fired inside the car. looking through the autopsy report, his blood and dna were found in the car, on the outside of the drivers side door, and on the left rear door and on wilson's clothing and gun. the narrative goes on to show what happened next when brown ran and wilson exited his cruiser leading up to the fatal shots that killed michael brown. you can go through that on the washington post website. al has been waiting. caller: you just explained it right there. the evidence. it is black and white.

it is just obvious. you have the ferguson thing and the race relations. first of all, the ferguson thing. do if a 300nybody pound man, does not have to be comes to your, car, kicks your door shut, whatever he did, he had no choice but to defend himself. problem.hy we have a it extends to education. i'm sure that educated people, when the riots rock out, i'm sure they went home. it is the energy to do this is the problem. , that is allsident he did. he had a chance to bring us together. he got us fighting back-and-forth. he got the whites against the blacks, the rich against the poor.

it is not going to ever -- that is the question -- the relationship is got worse in the last six years. host: who do you think can make things better? who is saying the right things on these topics? should bee president out there talking about how we should get together. is there a politician right now or somebody that you look to that you think a lead on these issues? comes up.body really it is definitely not al sharpton. this is another reason we have this problem. i look at the big picture. it is all about education. nobody is going to come out and talk about it. tv, the president was on nobody listened to him anyway. the educated people did. i can assure you. host: another member of congress

is an alabamathis congresswoman. then there is gwen moore. comments from charlie rangel. here are comments from viewers on our twitter page. we have about 10 minutes left in this segment.

we want to get to as many of your calls. let's go to evelyn in birmingham, alabama. hi, good morning. host: go ahead. [indiscernible] as long as they make those decisions, it will always be a riot because it is not fair. they need more black officers anyway. it is a black community. they are going to have those problems. the judicial system is not right for the blacks.

i sat in the courtroom and literally cried. i'm just telling you what i see that is true. i have been there with mine and i saw them. way, then it is that there is always going to be a riot. the judicial process for officer wilson is not over yet. here is a statement on eric holder -- from eric holder on the civil rights investigation, a parallel investigation to what is happening. eric holder said that while the grand jury proceedings have concluded, the justice department investigation remains open.

the attorney general going on to say that though there would be disagreement with the grand jury's decision, it should not lead to violence. decide to participate in demonstrations should remember the wishes of michael brown's parents. it does not honor his memory to engage in violence or looting. it will be important for local law enforcement authorities to respect the rights of demonstrators and de-escalation tensions. that is eric holder in his statement from last night. san diego is up next. georgette. caller: good morning. i have a couple of things to say. violence,f the tolence is not the answer

anger when it comes to a violent death or your anger about something that happens under the law. point, you are showing the police cars being overturned, i get anger, i get anger about that. that ifo want to say is feel that the president's response to last night is inappropriate. that he was ong the television and did not have i contact with the camera. he did not have eye contact with the people he was trying to address.

i think that president obama needs to take responsibility for his stance on this situation. by skirting the eye contact and looking from side to side, he is not making any effect or having .ny true effect host: do you think it would have been more effective if he had looked into the camera? did it seem like he was addressing was the people in the press room than the american people? caller: it just seemed like he was not addressing anyone. when you are on camera and you are dealing with a serious crisis that is going on, the public reaction to a really ,nfortunate, believe you me despite the fact that i'm a republican, i don't think that this is a good or bad situation.

by the way, i am an attorney. i don't know what the grand jury heard. none of us know at the grand jury heard. none of us are in any position to decide whether or not the decision to indict or not was correct. that being said, for the president to come on the publicion to look at the but not look at the public and switches eyes from side to side, he is just not doing his job in terms of influencing the people that he wants to influence. host: some of the testimony the grand jury heard has been .eleased

the prosecuting attorney in that he would ask the court to immediately release all of the evidence in the case, some of the photos from the medical examination of officer wilson also released. you can find that at the "st. louis post-dispatch" website. dan is in georgetown, massachusetts. caller: thank you for having me on. a couple things that really stand out. there were a couple of contractors, white, if that matters, in the neighborhood who saw the whole thing. one have his cell phone on with the audio and it was screaming at the copyright. good with his hands up? shot the cop why he kid with his hands up.

that in a seen long-time fury of his arthritic ngings have varied -- lo frustrating when things got buried. another statement made by the officer was that he looked into the kid eyes and thought he was a demon and it sounded like a major point that the officer thought the kid was a demon and he was scared for his life and shot him. america torting in our truth, justice, it is not that. it is feelings, it is persuasion, it is mob rule.

in salem, we burned witches. now we have a new prerequisite for killing someone. if you think they are a demon, you can kill them. host: some comments from twitter and facebook. to harry and elizabeth,

pennsylvania. caller: good morning. it seems like everybody forgets about the wichita massacre. i would like all your viewers to look this up, especially her previous caller. , butot a prejudiced person it is always woe is me with the blacks. rr, theyhers, ca executed five white people in wichita, kansas. go from here? we bring it forward. how to improve race relations in the country? caller: it is hard to say. everyone should get along. it is always like, no one brings up all the crimes, like that carr brothers and they were

sentenced to death, but their sentences were commuted to life. headlines inore the last few minutes. no indictment in ferguson. over to the "chicago tribune. --e brown tribune" chronicle" has the headline "decision in ferguson sets off wave of anger." york newsday" headline. we will revisit the subject in the last half-hour of our show. next we will announce yesterday chuckouncement from

hagel, his resignation from the pentagon with "military times" pentagon reporter andrew tilghman, and then a discussion about school lunch programs with billy shore, founder of share our strength. we will be right back. ♪ this thanksgiving week, c-span is featuring interviews from retiring members of congress. watch tonight through thursday at 8:00 p.m.. >> i have often said the republicans have a legitimate argument in that they are not being allowed to offer amendments, and they are not being allowed because they filibuster bills. it is one of those chicken and egg things. the best way to get rid of it is

get rid of the filibuster, guaranteeing a minority will be allowed to offer germane to any bill that is on the floor -- germane amendments to the legislation --h reasonable time limit time limits. >> i will not probably qualified to say probably, the most eloquent orator in the congress told me i am not wild about this impeachment, but there are 23 americans serving active prison sentences for having committed perjury. -- justify that and turn a blind eye to the president. he said i cannot do that, and i will always remember henry saying that. >> also on thursday, thanksgiving day, a tour of various native american tribes.

then, at 1:30 p.m., the withdbreaking ceremony former secretaries of state, and supreme court justices clarence sonia, samuel alito, and mayor. that is thanksgiving week. for the complete schedule go to c-span.org. "washington journal" continues. with andrew tilghman is is atary times" he pentagon reporter. how surprised were you by the news yesterday? not surprised. this was under discussion for a few weeks and it was conventional wisdom secretary hagel's days were numbered. host: explain the timing coming just a couple of weeks after the midterm election. guest: the timing did surprise

me. i was not expecting it to happen yesterday. -- after theing on election there was a sense the administration wanted to have a shakeup or at least the appearance of a shakeup of the national security team. the president is coming toward the end of his second term and there is only so much time left. it is hard to get someone to take the job unless you give them a certain amount of time to settle in and get something done. if the president waited another six months, it would be hard to find a successor to take the job at the pentagon for potentially 18 months. right now it looks like the follow-on secretary will have the most two years. host: was this a mutual decision, or was secretary hagel pushed out? intrigued.e was the white house and the secretary portrayed this as mutual. host: who s portraying this as

not mutual? i think the white house was priming the gossip circuit to suggest it was not mutual and the president was not happy with secretary hagel. not from the press, but from the back rooms? important that it reflects the change in how the world looks in obama's second term. when hagel came in, it looks like the main task would be to finish cutting the budget, wrap up the war in afghanistan, and, basically continue obama's core national security policy which is a reluctance to use the military and hagel has antiwar views and was tracking with that. or we have seen with a civil war

itsyria, the rise of isis, is a different situation and the white house is having to go on something of a war footing, and the guy they picked in january, 2013, they are realizing is not a good match for the challenges they are facing today. host: defense secretary chuck hagel spoke at that announcement yesterday, stood beside the president, and spoke after the president made the announcement. here is what chuck hagel had to say about is a competence during his time at the pentagon. [video clip] >> i am immensely proud of who we accomplished during this time. we have prepared ourselves, as the president noted, our allies, and afghan national security forces for successful transition in afghanistan. we bolstered enduring alliances and strengthened emerging partnerships while successfully responding to crises around the world and we have launched important reforms that will prepare this institution for the

challenges facing us in the decades to come. i believe we have said not only , the-- set this department department, and the nation on a course toward prosperity, and if i did not believe that, i would not have done this job. host: that was chuck hagel speaking yesterday about his a congressman's. statements from those in congress who oversee the department -- here is one from john mccain -- yeah, i think that is the alternative view coming from capitol hill, particularly

republicans, and everything has nt, but republicans casting thisin are as the white house has been micromanaging, and chuck hagel was too independent to continue on. it is hard to know what happens in the private conversations between the president and the secretary. we have seen the secretary side with the generals in their slightly more hawkish views towards isis and operations there. host: we should note one other statement on this topic -- this is the chairman of the house armed services committee, buck mckeon, who said thise taking your calls on

topic, the resignation of defense secretary chuck hagel. the phone lines are open. democrats can call (202) 737-0001. republicans (202) 737-0002. .ndependence (202) 628-0205 we start with frank in fort lauderdale, florida, on our line for independents. hi, there. i went to school at george washington university a few years ago, and i also wrote for "cold war times here " one of the things that bothered me was ."en -- times one of the things that bothered me was when someone hearing --ut chuck hagel not being being named secretary of defense, it was that he was just a sergeant and that was not a good choice.

what bothered me -- this person that said it, i could say he is will rogersn's or either. i think hagel did a fairly good job. i am not sure about some of the differences going on. there is a noninterventionist versus interventionist debate going on in american policy, particularly as the mideast is getting more widespread. can you comment on some of that, particular the sergeant remark that person made? sure. i did hear that yesterday. -- ion't think i heard who don't think i heard who made that remark, but i did hear something to the effect of that is you get when you put a sergeant in charge host:. -- charge. firstchuck hagel was the enlisted combat veteran as secretary of defense. guest: he had two purple hearts.

comment, i think that comment was made somewhat in just, and it would also be -- jest and it would also be offensive to some of the crowd with the senior enlisted military. mention, chuck hagel -- i do not want to say he was set up to fail, but he came in at a difficult time, even before the rise of isis and the civil war. decliningdgets were in a way they have not in decades and that limits his power to execute an agenda, and he came in under a president that has had years of tension between this president and the senior pentagon brass that goes back to the surge in afghanistan decision in 2009. the president and his team have always been skeptical of the maneuverings of the senior

military officers and chuck hagel had to balance those two and it is a next remain difficult job. it is not surprising he very much struggled. how: you bring up isis -- central was chuck hagel in crafting a strategy currently being deployed against isis and is the strategy considered to be successful so far? guest: i do not get the sense chuck hagel was that central to that strategy. that strategy was largely driven by a brokering of an agreement between the white house and the pentagon brass. the white house, basically, does not want to put boots on the ground and wants to limit the use of the military in the execution of its foreign-policy as much as policies -- possible. it is a fundamental tenet of this administration. some senior officials want to send troops in there to do what they do, which is execute

military operations. thosek hagel balanced two, but i do not think anyone sees them -- sees him as an author of the strategy. in the last few months, martin dempsey has emerged as the spokesman for this strategy and has been more forceful in articulating what we are doing and why we are doing it. jean from grenada, mississippi. you are on with andrew tilghman from "military times." caller: good morning. you will have to forgive me. i will try to squeeze this and. i practiced law for 36 years and talking for just a couple of minutes is hard. first of all, i admire chuck hagel. familyup in a military and my two sons were officers, and i admire chuck, number one.

number two, if you would allow me, i would like to ask your guest and you your opinion on the following -- my concern, as thatyear-old man, is this, and theheads on tv people they put on to express we have -- i realize freedom of speech and freedom of you cannot yell fire in a crowded theater and get away with it. i am not too sure that the press has the right -- well, they have the responsibility to not do some of the things they are doing. this is my opinion. i guess my question is this -- should we all just shut up and

go to work a little bit of time during the day and not give our opinions? i had a double amputation of a , and iover a year ago have been watching you all since then, as the lady says about the folks cooking the soup. do you all think that we should opinions ando many let the american people get the news and develop their own opinions about chuck. let's let's let -- host: let andrew tilghman jump in and talk about the press coverage on secretary hagel before the announcement and immediately after. guest: i think the press has been relatively fair to secretary hagel. he has had a good relationship.

the worst thing you can say about secretary hagel and the press is he has receded a little bit. his profile for a secretary of defense has been a little lower. donaldlook back at rumsfeld, robert gates, for better or for worse, these were really towering figures that dominated the voice of the building and really dominated the discussions in the national security council. i do not think you have seen that with hagel. icon and my colleagues up in the press room, we talk about this -- i, in my colleagues up in the press room, we talk about how chuck hagel will do a briefing and will basically -- we will basically end up writing what chairman dempsey said because he articulated the current situation a little more forcefully. value not making any judgment, but as we type up a

short story that editor say has to be 12 inches long, we use his quotes instead of the secretary 's and that is different in the past. host: and the secretary's profile is lower. guest: right, and it has receded a little bit. it is unusual. ago, the secretary primarily articulated the policy and the chairman in a supporting role. -- what doesitter the president want to do with the military in the last two years and what is the status of the military, is it in good shape? people,n talking to what extent his resignation signal a reassessment of policy, but to go toward iraq and syria?

-- particularly toward iraq and syria? i do not know. i do not get the sense there will be a massive change in that policy. you mentioned the issue of red as he -- readiness and the condition the military is an, and it is a huge issue. the top brass is always saying ux of aon the cr readiness crisis because of the budget cuts. readiness is such a big, but somewhat nebulous thing. there are not solid metrics to put behind that, but it is a real question as to whether in the next couple of years the is going toeadiness drop. there are a lot of questions about the budget that will have to be resolved this spring, this summer by the new secretary. three-ring circus on capitol hill, and one of them will be the secretary dealing

with this budget issue because we have a two-your sequestration deal that will excite -- expire next fall. the new secretary will be the fourth secretary of defense the secondnt obama, time since harry truman. alicia, clinton, maryland, on our line for democrats. caller: yes, i would like to completely support the caller before talking about the talking heads and the spin doctors. i would also like to caution all of us, the american people, to respect and trust this president, who has put us on another footing in the world. we are seeing much better in the world because of president obama. havenot believe we would

the opportunities we have right now in the foreign relations field if it were not for him and the thought, and, frankly, the love that he puts into the decisions he makes. the oldest strategy of the enemy is to divide and conquer. we must appear as a unified nation regardless of our personal feelings. we will get over them soon. as one to stand strong people or we will fall to these horrible enemies that have reared their heads. these people are not playing. the spin doctors and the people doing these things on television , i believe, is harming us as a nation and we need to be more responsible. thank you. host: alicia with her comments from clinton, maryland. we're taking your comments and questions as we talk to andrew

froman -- andrew tilghman ." -- from "military times." democrats can call (202) 737-0001. publicans can call (202) 737-0002. independents can call, and outside the usa you can call (202) 628-0184. host: keith. he puts theser: people in -- he does not know who he wants in his offices. go.any people come and is it a chess game, a marble game, or does he want to play with his yo-yo and top?

i think when the president select his secretary hagel two years ago he would be a successful secretary. again, the world has changed a lot from the past two years in the -- from the viewpoint of the pentagon and the white house, and when the president sent hagel to the pentagon, he was -- one of the primary qualifications was that the views in share obama's a very cautious use of the military and that he work on scaling back the pentagon budget. those views look very different today. if we look at what has happened and justst six months, the facts on the ground that we are reading about in the middle east, the idea of being very cautious about using the , and cutting the pentagon budget -- it does not

make as much sense. chuck hagela sense, was overcome by events. he was probably a good pick for the moment, but the moment has changed dramatically. in 635huck hagel put days from his confirmation to his resignation. here are some stats from "the -- "theon post, close washington post." forcan see higher averages secretaries of agriculture, the attorney general at 990, and so long down the line. again, the average tenure, 1118 days. chuck hagel, 635. hope, columbia, missouri. good morning. caller: my comment is i have

been watching for years, these races for president and governor, and i agree with the lady from maryland who supports the author gentlemen. we are american citizens and it does not matter what color we are, who the president is. it is true, together we stand, divided we fall. when these people in other countries cs talking about our president, our leaders period, they are laughing at us and that is why in china they saw how we were talking about our president and what he wore. they were watching us criticize our own. -- i grew up as a kid, and i know that when you go into church, no congregation, a pastor will lead the congregation take over the church and do what they want to

do. there is a standard. , on thisrew tilghman issue of bridging divisions -- chuck hagel the only republican member of the president's cabinet, and now on his way out. guest: that is an interesting point. hagel was a republican, but he was an old-school republican and did not have a lot of allies and support in the current party on capitol hill. he was always, sort of, a nominal republican. he expressed some antiwar views when he was a senator. he was supposed to the surge in iraq and gave impassioned thathes opposing the -- occupation. when obama nominated him, republicans always viewed him as of the guy, regardless

party he may have been affiliated with before. it is also worth noting hagel .as obama's third secretary he started out with secretary gates, a carryover from the bush administration, and leon panetta served shortly before obama's reelection. the vast majority of obama's time in office he has had a republican secretary of defense. kim is up next, alabama. our line for republicans. you?r: hi, how are host: good. you are on "the washington journal." caller: now that the secretary of state is gone, i just had a question about who is going to be offered? host: talking about who comes

next. was a topic of conversation yesterday. the name that popped up most was michelle flournoy, a high-ranking pentagon official under the earlier part of obama's administration. she would be the first female secretary of defense, and her name came up an awful lot yesterday. that would be the money you would put a $20 that on at this point. other names would be ashton carter, who also served under obama previously. there was some talk about senator jack reed, but he seems to speak to his hometown paper in rhode island and say he was not interested in the job. i do not know. the administration will have to move quickly, as i said earlier. aat secretary will only have limited amount of time, less than two years, to do the job.

they will want to get confirmed and get underway doing things. i would hope the administration would put a name out in the next week or so. what michelle flournoy -- challenges would she face as the first female head, if confirmed, taking over a military that is 80% male in enlisted ranks? guest: that is a good question. i do not know if it would be as good of an -- as big of an issue as some people might think. michelle flournoy is well-respected. even killed.is we could all see her sailing through the nomination process without too much trouble. mechanics of the pentagon and how it works. i do not think there would be a cause role or political issue because she is a female.

of course, there are some dynamics going on at the pentagon inside of the military community. the services are in the process of integrating women into combat roles. that progress is underway. there is a push to stamp out the military,aults in the so she could be well-suited to speak to those issues. i think she is a safe bet on earning coming up as a nominee. .ost: linda fresno, california, on our line for democrats. caller: good morning. i have some concerns regarding the issues the secretary would face, especially with regard to the middle east. are we missing the vote with understanding -- missing the boat with understanding cultural factors in this part of the world? when gingrich was in the house and he goaded clinton into forth, basis and so

forth,and so understanding islam and how it works -- i think there should be a melding between the secretary of state and the secretary of defense. guest: i think in terms of understanding the region in the middle east, i think there has been an incredible advance in the institutional knowledge inside of the military in the dynamics that they are dealing with. if you look back to 2003, when the iraq invasion originally occurred, you did not hear it international officials talking about sunnis and shia's, as it was considered to be an obscure topic. now it is really defining the policy. while the president is reluctant to use military force, i think the senior military leadership has become more reluctant to put thousands and thousands of boots

on the ground because they have come to realize that these cultural, political dynamics really are complex and cannot be solved with a bunch of 22-year-olds with rifles going pick whooor trying to is the bad guy and who is not. there is been a steep learning curve on his cultural issues and that is been underpinning the policies. arrow, oklahoma. sean is next on the line for independents. me, a: it seemed to couple of colors talked about the president -- callers talked about the president's authority. --n't we supposed to talk challenge authority? socrates said that. i am sure you are a philosopher, mr. tilghman. it seems like you are reading

talking points for the white house. how republicans are obstructionists. you are the only one that is mentioned republicans. host: do you want to talk about "military times" and your publication? guest: sure. we are affiliated with the "usa we are independent and cover the military and more granule detail. host: how long have you been covering military issues? in 2005 went to iraq and have been here in washington for six or seven years. in the process of covering these things in real granular detail au do end up speaking with lot of the people involved in becoming intimately familiar

with the way the decision-makers review some of these things. some of thesew things. with press coverage, there is a lot of courage you can seek out robust spectrum of viewpoints out there regarding the military and the pentagon. host: paul. texas. our line for republicans. we are talking about chuck hagel's resignation yesterday. caller: thank you for taking my call. republican, and i do not agree with the president in most of the decision-making, however as long as he chooses the right the president has kept us safe. as long as he continues to keep

us safe -- i can go to work and come back, nobody is bombing my house. now, you guys, remember, before standardcame in, our and the rest of the world was standing in the rest of the world was very low. the economy is getting better. utin was coming up in the eyes of the world. where hehas put putin belongs. , if youdrew tilghman want to pick up on the challenge of russia. guest: that is a whole separate theater that they are dealing with and, certainly, that has been a big concern. it has been largely overshadowed on the front pages of the newspapers by the issues in iraq isis, but there is

no doubt that tension with russia is the highest it has been since the cold war, and i think the pentagon and the administration are really dealing with, essentially, some internal politics within europe and nato in terms of how to respond to that. it is not only a decision for the united states, but you also have a couple dozen european countries that have to reach some kind of consensus, and that has been a real challenge for both the military and the civilian leadership to try to manage that very large, diverse group of countries and decision-makers, to try to come up with a response to russia. .ussia has been very aggressive i think they have some fighters and bombers coming into portuguese airspace a few weeks ago intercepted by nato aircraft. it is troubling for people

paying close attention. michigan on the line for democrats. jesse, thanks for waiting. guest: --caller: can you hear me? host: sure. caller: my name is jessie and i want to make a comment about chuck hagel. mean tooolicy does not much to me. when you are in other countries fighting for peoples freedom -- you saw what happened down there in missouri. all of the people that go there are fighting for their country, and they could come back here and be shot down by the police and nothing will happen to them.

staying together -- maybe that .s never going to happen america will never change. jesse, we will talk a little bit more about the ferguson decision. we talked about it earlier in the day we will talk about in the last half-hour when they open the phones up, but we want to stick to chuck hagel and the department of defense while we have andrew tilghman for a few more minutes. james is in newman, georgia, on our line for independents. caller: good morning, sir. thank you for taking my call. i would like to ask mr. tilghman , first of all, if chuck hagel is not doing his job, let him resign, and i would like to ask mr. tilghman what he is doing about the camp lejeune

contaminated water question -- water? there has been some questions about the water base at camp lejeune. they have caused some significant health issues for marines and their families that have served their over the years. to be honest, i have not track that in great detail over the past few months, but it is my understanding there has been is arecognition that this problem and the defense department has begun to address somein recognizing that benefits are in order. host: we have talked a little bit about chuck hagel's relationship with the president. i want to get your thoughts about chuck hagel's relationship with the vice president. first, i want to show viewers

the press conference yesterday when he turned to joe biden. [video clip] >> my longtime dear friend, vice president biden, who i have always admired and respected, and both the president and i have earned an awful -- learned an awful lot from the vice president. thank you. the: talk about relationship between those two men. served together and i thought they were relatively close as colleagues, and more recently, their views, at least a couple of years ago, were very similar. , in this, for years administration, has served as a counterpoint to senior officers in the military. joe biden is currently in the internal discussions advocating skepticism toward the military's

plans, reluctance to do the most aggressive military option. joe biden was opposed to the surge in iraq. he has a long tradition of being skeptical of the pentagon in some ways, and i think hagel probably shared that when he came into the secretaries job of couple of years ago, and they were probably very similar minds on many of these issues in the internal national security discussions. pasthas occurred over the few months is a little more unclear, but certainly those two have been close. chris is on the line for republicans. good morning. caller: good morning, gentlemen. i wanted to comment briefly on michele flournoy. you probably know what i am going to say. that ifiewers to know

she is chosen, she is diametrically opposed to any policy chuck hagel would have regarding interventionist policies in the world. she is heralded as someone, gordon to the council on foreign relations, as someone who is a to the hawk -- according council on foreign relations, as someone who is a liberal hawk, and basically get us involved in many more incursions around the world. this is a setup, basically. chuck hagel was not towing the line for those who want to see us get much more involved, and ran.aps syria, even i the writing was very clear. chuck -- host: andrew tilghman, what you make of that reading? guest: i do not know that your caller is too office-based. michele flournoy has lived and worked in washington.

her views are considered centrist. your caller used in the words "liberal hawk." it is hard to know what she would do in office. execute theve to strategy of the administration. the administration has been known to micromanage the policies of the pentagon. if the administration is looking to make a shift toward more aggressive intervention, i'm sure michele flournoy, if she were the secretary, would seek to execute those policies. a few: a few more --host: more calls. joe in florida on the line for democrats. good morning. i want to say secretary of defense chuck hagel did a terrific job, and we should trust the president will make the appropriate decisions and select an appropriate replacement. with regards to speculating who it is going to be, i think the

press should hold back on that and let him make a decision. thank you. host: nate is in texas city, texas. on our line for independents. was mr. hagel's stance on syria, and did he approve of what putin did? guest: i think that secretary hagel really back the administration on the issues in syria, and that was ultimately one of caution. the administration was very reluctant to get involved in the syrian civil war and i never heard secretary hagel push back in any way on that. host: what about the reading of the threat posed by isis? of the quoten made

referring to isis as the jv team . guest: the rise of isis and the caughtit now poses everyone by surprise, including the intelligence community and there has been a lot of discussion as to why and how that happened. that is a pretty big thing not to have identified earlier on. one of the big lessons they came away with is how unreliable foreign military allies can be in the sense that we spend trying to dollars on the iraqi army and spent 10 years training them, -- trillions of dollars from the iraqi army and spent 10 years training them, and ultimately they did not stand up to fight. not a question of isis is so strong, but the iraqi army turned out to be catastrophically weak.

officialsa lot of across the government that made that miscalculation, thinking that if we gave enough money and training to the iraqis they would stand and fight the way the u.s. marines would and that was not the case at all. , pentagonew tilghman reporter with "military times." always appreciate your time. guest: thanks, john. we will look at the issue of hunger in america with the founder and ceo of share our strength. billy shore joins us. then we will open up the phone to take your thoughts on last night's decision in ferguson. first, yesterday president obama awarded the highest civilian to several in washington, d.c.. here is a portion.

[video clip] one of the world's most gifted with a musical style all his own. isis a celebrated -- he celebrated for his creativity and his mastery of a wide range of genres. his results have gained in millions of fans and 25 grammy awards. he has impacted the world through advocacy, especially champing people with disabilities. creating music in the key of life, stevie wonder has brought greater harmony to our nation. [applause]

[laughter] >> well, what an extraordinary group. let's give them all a big round of applause one more time. [applause] we thank all of them for the --ts they have given to us the incredible performances, the incredible innovation, the incredible ideas, the incredible expressions of the human spirit. not only have they made the

world better, but by following their example they make us a little better every single day. we are truly grateful to them and on behalf of michelle and myself, please enjoy the reception and god bless you all. >> "washington journal" continues. billy shore is the founder and ceo of share our strength. define what food insecurity means -- when we say one in five children struggle with hunger, what is the definition of that? guest: it is a great question. it is across the spectrum. when we think of hunger, we think of kids that do not have enough to eat on a regular basis . food and security is more of a social economic ratio, asking families when you think you will not be able to feed your kids in a healthy way or run out of

groceries. there is a measure of very low food security, which is the version closest to hunger. has gone onn what in the economy here we have this tragic situation almost 45 million -- of almost 45 million americans that have lived below the poverty line for almost three years. a large percentage facing hunger. certainly not a surprise issue -- is the cost to intrude beating or is it more of just a poverty issue? povertyt is more of a issue and what happened during the recession in 2007, 2008, 2009. the economy has recovered to a degree, not completely -- certainly the stock market has recovered -- yet you see that number of americans on the snap foodstamp program not coming

down so the economy has not reached the bottom quintile. and: talk about your group what your group looks to promote mark --ngthen question strengthened? when the things we realized seven or eight years ago was there was an opportunity to leverage existing food and nutrition programs that have enormous amounts of bipartisan support and that even in this climate are fully funded. there are programs like the school lunch program, school breakfast program were summer meals that could make -- or summer meals that could make a huge difference and many are underutilized. we launched a campaign to look at the 21 million kids who get a free school lunch, free or reduced price. all 20 one million are eligible

for free breakfast as well. when we started doing the work, only 9 million of the 21 million were getting it, and in the summertime, only 3 million get it. four bought and paid for 21 million. when there is so much bipartisan support, they are actually exempt from sequestration. talk about the: evolution of those programs, particularly under the obama administration. the obama administration has been a huge friend of those programs and thom tillis act has been a huge -- tom ville sack proponent.huge the school lunch program was started in 1946. the breakfast program in 1966.

what the obama administration has helped us to is modernize those programs to reach more kids. host: we are talking with billy shore, founder and ceo of share our strength. is the topic.ica our phone lines are open if you want to talk about these efforts. democrats can call (202) 737-0001. republicans, (202) 737-0002 --(202) 737-0001. a special line for parents and teachers those phone lines are open now. meantime, billy shore, you talk about the schools eligible, but not everyone participates. what are keeping the schools or some of these kids from participating? guest: there are a couple of obstacles and they tend to be

bureaucratic and solvable. this issue is such a solvable problem. if you look at the schools -- schools that have a school lunch program -- kids are already at school at lunchtime. to get a school breakfast, you have to get there really are, and there is a stigma attached for the kids that go early for the free breakfast. one of the things we have done with lots of partners around the country is move school breakfast from the cafeteria to the first ,0 minutes of the first period increasing rates from 45% to close to 90%. k to a program that has existed for a long time and is never been changed. summer is a difficult situation because the schools are closed in the summertime and you have patchwork quilt

of boys and girls club's and recreation departments that will .ost summer feeding sites we are working with capitol hill on legislation that will come up next year, every five years, that renews all of these programs, and we are trying to institute reforms that will make it much easier to feed kids in the summertime. host: you talk about one of the main underlying issues being poverty -- what about information, parents knowing they can make use of these --grams, or indifference parents not getting there in time for the morning breakfast? we found most parents are pretty eager to do the right thing for their kids, particularly since this is affordable. having breakfast in the classroom or a summer meal site found -- one of things we

is governors in particular, democrats and republicans, have really embraced the idea of getting kids involved. they are helping us get information to the parents, but they are also helping us make sure the school districts themselves do what they need to do to make this program successful. host: you talked about governments getting involved -- how much of the cost falls on the federal government, and how much on the state government? guest: i think that is why it is so attractive to state governors -- 100% of the cost of the food is reimbursed by the federal government. that is a school lunch, breakfast, and summer meals program. that has always been the case. governors of both parties have said these funds exist, have bipartisan support, and, by the way, impact are lots of other problems. kids who get breakfast do better in school. they have better attendance rates. that type of thing. we are showing viewers

some stats. about 37 million children participated in the 2012-2013 lunch program. determines free or reduced lunch. you have to have a family of $24,000 for aelow free let's get to calls -- free lunch. billyget to calls with shore. arkansas. dan. thanks for taking my call. i have had five kids that i raised and they all had to go on the free lunch program and it has really helped us a lot. also, at the same time, we have also had to supplement our income with food stamps, which

have been cut back a lot. also, we have to go to food pantries. amight -- i would like to ask question about the food pantries -- is the food donated by the companies, are they tax breaks, and if so, how it the equilibrium between the tax breaks work out with the reduction in food stamps to people? to be quite literal, the food that we get at food centers, often turns out to be a lot of big three products -- bakery products, and if you are diabetic you cannot eat a lot of sugary things and we get things that go bad within three days. the equilibrium -- if the big break onnies get a tax that, i think we could reduce the food pantries around the

country if we could just tax the big-box companies more. host: billy shore. the big do not think companies get a tax break from it. they might get some tax break, but your fundamental point, it is much better for americans struggling to have the resources that come from the food stamp program so they can make their own decisions, purchase nutritious foods and do what is best for their family. many of the pantries are working very hard to make their products more nutritious and they are trying to provide nutrition education. we have a program that many use called cooking matters. in terms of broad system support, it would be better if families had resources through stamp program, but there will always be companies

they fall through the -- that fall through the >>. -- cracks. dan was calling in on the special line for parents and teachers. otherwise, we have lines open for democrats, republicans, and independents. new york. caller: good morning. snap talking about the balance. it was reduced almost by half, and then my rent went up. we used to get $400 a month. now we are getting $195. it is like starvation food. it is very hard to eat well. i do not know why people do not talk about raising the snap balance more. my husband is mentally ill, and i am to.

i'm wondering if there is any way the snap balance is going to go up. great question. in these tight budget times there will be pressure not to balance, butsnap what you are bearing witness to is the benefit does not support a family or a couple through the entire month. we have seen time after time that it only reaches as far as the first two or three weeks of the month and then families have to turn somewhere else. we will have to find ways to increase the support for those families, but the political dynamic, at least in washington, has made that challenging. there are members of congress that have done something called the snap challenge, seeing if they could live for a week on >> governor for massachusetts has been a leader on the

democratic side. i think members of both parties have actually done it. them a first-hand experience and how to live with three dollars. caller: hello? stamps going food don't -- going -- they divide drugs. food stamps -- some have money to buy drugs.

an abuse in the food stamp system. mayoralty of any distribution has existed in the past, when you think about the fact that we have millions of americans. that is 20 million hard-working who lost their jobs and are in different economic circumstances, burnley have no to drug abuse whatsoever. i believe it happens both a small percentage. host: you concentrate on the lunch program in school. programs, fferent here's the chart from the national school lunch program.

about 16.4% in 2009, tthat number dropping through the but still projecting 14.8% through the national school lunch program. guest: these are reinvestment in schools are you talking about. there has been an investment to reduce that number, the volume has been so enormous that they are not necessarily missing location, host: how displaying people how that happens? guest: a number of students who on a particular has not a teacher enrolled properly so there is a

reinvestment witness to be paid. to roll that back so goes back to the programme. it is more of an accounting issue. host: the independent line. caller: this is a vital program. the conservative just spend dollars on new fighters we did not need. the farmville is a huge giveaway to the corporate france and the wealthy. they have given 84 billion a in the o banks to put stock market. in return, what do they do? cut with food ves stamps for children, families, seniors.

school lunches for children. them in the look at face, aand told you about your cutting their food what you spent millions on fighter jets. guest: are talking about extremely small amount of money compared to others. it is not how affordable-- vulnerable children are. as both to governors about how states had the participation, i said that you left millions of dollars in

be hington which can only used to buy food for your children. the governor did not know he could do this. one of the reasons is because kids do not vote they do not have their voice represented. even though it is a small amount of money is not reachingall the kids that needed. host: lines for teachers and parents. we have a teacher from cleveland. caller: i used to monitor children eating lunch and breakfast. my issue is that accessibility but more quality. because quality of the food is so extremely important.

it becomes difficult for the children to eat because they're getting diabetes and other conditions from the food. the level of waste involved is horrible. because we and the kids eat with their eyes. you cant even distinguish what is the, the meat is it is like t because rubber. very ashamed of ourselves, to give this food upon our children. guest: i'm very glad to give voice to this. the issue of quality and is fundamental as well.

some very encouraging dc, this washington charter school funded by an educator and a chef. to source nows how are itious food, sso they able to serve healthy meals. there is an organisation california called revolution meals. they go round the country helping bring in quality food to schools. stories from our childhood about the quality of food in schools, there is a big effort to improve it. some other chefs have got into this as well.

host: we have heard a lot about childhood obesity. guest: we think of health and obesity as opposite thinks. sometimes in effect the same families, families who do not have the resources or the information they need to make choices for their family. the white house chef has huge allies. the line from republican, good morning john. just want to say i am very surprised at the price of our american people.

this has got part of our lives, the emerging at socialist state is not genetically for modifying our food and increase regulations. billy of the money that is talking about, saying there and blessing to the states the tax dollars, were delivering the tax dollars come from? host: ddo you think this is something i could be solved by private charities? caller: the better question is are we a lawless country now? don't they have the authority the lives of families. the government got out of the

and allowed the business to work. children are going to spend less time in school, they're already indoctrinated to believe anything that state says. host: your perspective on this is very important because is a relatively small amount of money, when you go back to where it came from and the solution is, i'm military saying that the recruits are strong enough. is a fundamental beliefwe cannot have a strong america if we do not have strong and healthy kids. we cannot achieveeconomic growth that we agreed without child health. host: should government giveaway to private charities take care of this?

guest: private charities are good doing what they do, feeling the gap. million up with 46 people who live under the poverty line, we have already tremendous failure on that. are not feeding kids, wwe are not even prepared to take a good job. host: shirley's online for democrats. caller: that morning, i would like to give experience of my grown-up. went through the us about n and tells preparing food and also making enough food out of a small amount. you take a chicken and

you take all the bums out, you more people lot than just serving a piece of chicken. my mother also told me that anything not have else, cooked beans, there is protean in it. that if you get. this should have some cooking know where to get the food. i also need the need to get food stamps issued so they can only buy so much one week. guest: i think what you're talking about is becoming a trend in this country.

snap-ed subprograms of the government can give finance. program called a cooking matters. you s almost exactly what were talking about, different in terms of financial planning. to a grocery shop with mothers and you're able to show them how to make the most of it. you can save a dollar or a buying a d have by whole chicken. making affordable is big part of our cooking program. host: we have a few minutes left. you can also follow the group on twitter.

an line of independence. caller: i am calling about i encountered at work, a present came into my office and said, hey, i just made 60 bucks. because yesterday on my dy was sitting dining table, aand he's at it again $50 i had a dollar snap card. present them ould everything, for credit cheque you ing a wise thing is not a to do, to just give snap cards identification requirements on them.

guest: as we talked about there. -- goes that the girls on on the programme. built you that the electronic which are loaded automatically, the days that are loaded, they are such a in for grocery stores. family of every segment who desperately need this system, i the k those people who sell snap cards that that does not compared to the good that it is doing. waiting and really hurrying into the grocery store. >

>> host: nick from the republican line. caller: the last time i called hold for half an hour. how can anybody be sure they're getting a good meal these days? of the products -- they have vitamine -- when they are made they have so many manufactured ingredients. i got some food a while ago, it a piece of d to be with corn and potatoes. had about a box, it

50 ingredients. a spoonful of potatoes, a corn and some chicken. guest: i think we'll have to responsibility to educate ourselves. and how at whole foods we eat healthy food. not think that built with sugar. we try to do for food matters, transit appeals understand nutrition labels. are t has choices that healthy and affordable. caller: good morning. i have a thought here.

providing food is essential and have also important to follow work specifically in terms of measuring social studies and teaching agriculture basics. to educate the child benefits of better eating, nutrition and make it part of the daily study. to the speaking gentleman earlier, he said gget government out of this. some folks play doctrine.

host: the programme is rolled for all our schools. participated ldren in more than 90,000 schools and residential child care across the country. billy shore is working to programme with his group. larry from beaverton. caller: i go to the store and i see these people would have cards. full with e cards are junk food. guest: wwe need to make sure

that we make a commitment to educate family, parents and children about what the healthy choices for them. tend to buy ilies caloriesin great quantity because they are cheaper than buying protein. what people tend to buy they can afford. now only we have to educate those families but also make affordable the can of healthy food they need. host: what should we do about if corporations like walmart have food drives for employees? a lot of here are states that are looking at raising the minimum wage popov -- apart from the federal government. is even companies understand that it is under interest to have employees which can afford to buy.

our line for on republicans. caller: some food is horrible tasting. high school my they kids they went to, had food foiled. your program is like michelle it is very gramme, limited. thank you. guest: in nebraska, the first lady was very involved. she is a former

teacher she has been hatching about thequality of schools, and the food in them. we appointed at about michelle obama advocacy of healthy food is something that cool to the hunger issue and the obesity issue. learn how he families to cookand eat together the healthier they going to be. host: we have a special line teachers, jeff an independent. caller: i really admire what you are doing. question about this sequestration of the food they not an ow are

i emption -- my experience, you two kids, back to what grew about education, i with a woman who said that these people really need to think about what they are putting on the table. her mother went through the depression that could be something i could be shared with everybody. although, talking about the food the people buy you said the prices. i i have om experience, two kids, i know have been laid for year and a half. he raised this issue of

the programs being under sequestration. at a time when democrats and to agree ns don't seem on anything, and where we have like syria as sudan. this might be the only issue work both parties agree, children are the most vulnerable and the least responsible for this situation find themselves in. strong ot have a american with weak kids. host: you want to talk about how you got involved in this issue? working in the senate.

was this really tragic happening in ethiopia. people s leaves a lot of out it who want to give something back to the community. we thought about this for average americans to get involved, american chefs to get volunteers at food banks, advocates other schools. for the e so many ways hunger issue and for people to get involved. that was a catalyst for starting. a few minutes left, sherry from oklahoma city. our line for democrats. listened to i have

somebody earlier talk about the business of feeding children. wish someone would stop, you at the ople who look then nment objective and they go in and change the situation for their own personal gain. it operates other entities which sometimes earn profit. i wish people would make this

distinction. boards and other programs, elections do matter. how you put in those boards will change the outcome. they have so many physical issues. guest: we cannot think of programs were government has got out of control. i think we would agree that not one of tion is them. this is an opportunity for americans to really think about is the proper government. ready to learn and ready to be number one in the world. this is a really good issue.

host: no kid hungry. thank you very much for coming. next, we will open the phone to speak about ferguson chuck hagel resignation. update on the economy, , becoming grew 3.1 rate. is t's even faster and giving the country's best back-to-back record in more than a decade. visit a client from an estimate 3.0%.

an update on the negotiations with iran over the nuclear to iran supreme leader lashed out against the world powers. in the nuclear issue america and europe got together to get the ir best islamic republic to its knees. but there will not be able to do so. the talks were extended yesterday by seven months. is s morning the institution having a debate on these negotiations. it will be live at 10:30 am. than 100 immigration professors are declaring that the executive action on immigration is constitutional.

they focused on two major provisions of the action, one shield parents of legal permanent residents and allow them to have a work permit. shield er would immigrants who entered legally as children. the program could go up to 4 and a half-million people. event life en to the consistent radio, it all begins at 5:30 pm eastern. those as on the latest headlines on c-span radio. >> washington journal continues. half-hour of t washington journal, we discuss and we ask for your thoughts on the ferguson position. you can answer the question as the grand jury decision.

no indictment, then anger. the system has failed us again, one resident says. over to the front page of the oakland tribune, ferguson erupts. our phone lines are open. democrats: (202) 737-0002 independents: (202) 628-0205 republicans: (202) 737-0001 of can answer the question what this means.

let's start with deborah. spoke with other attorneys, they mentioned how grand jury whole process was around the events. the prosecutor bob mcculloch should have cross-examine the testimony of the officer. the first ening to segment earlier, talking about how the president is to blame not make eye d contact. demonstrating and protesting, burning and looting things anyway. do o think that has to anything with it.

everybody has agreed that this was a highly unusual process and that the officer was like a defendant -- he was treated like a victim instead of a defendant. host: i saw to show you a few other headlines on the news. the 's the front page of wall street journal, iran negotiate a nuclear deal. deal with iran will be extended seven months. negotiators failed on monday for the second time this year. diplomats say they needed until to end of june, 2015 finalise the terms.

that story also in the front page of other newspapers. of tory that made a love headlines this year on the scandal at the va. the phoenix hospital -- whistleblowers said dying while were waiting list. -- had been on at aadministrative leave. the v8 will not tolerate that we depend on employees. we should boat veterans first and are not the va. some of the other stories making headlines today.

ritchie is up next, : from a line for a on republicans. caller: as a republican tthat i want is to have food. my doctor has me on a high protein food. for ybody is different, example my son cannot eat hazelnuts and nuts. next, independent from illinois. about the am calling ferguson case. the past 40 years we told

obama was elected president, racism would be over with. there has been proven wrong. the supporters have been bullied by them. right to be the scared because there is so much and people hate tthe police to begin with. they say it is okay to go get ide but then you can shot while walking. this is violence, they forgot happened in the 60's when

martin luther king died. spoke about esident last night from the warehouse in the wake of the grand jury decision. [video] >> i have witnessed this change in my own wife. deny the progress is to deny americans capacity to change. there s also true is that still problemsaand communities are separating that from this particular issue. issues where the law too often feels like it is acting in a discriminant refashion.

i do not think that is the norm. true not believe that is the majority of communities, but these are real issues. we should try to dampen down and not the night. and to understand them and figure out how we make more progress. host: we asked the question about how we make more progress between the relationships of police officers. uganda as a question or bring any other topic. we spoke about secretary of state hagel resignation. let's go to melissa, from cincinnati in a ohio. caller: i don't think the problem will ever be solved as long as we have eric holder.

they are the troublemakers, on tv and say don't make any trouble, and then they make all the trouble you want. host: how do the president and the attorney general do that? caller: they do that in all kinds of ways. are as been getting on tv little notes, you know, don't cause trouble but if you do, don't cost too much. i listen to black radio stations and they preach hate for policemen and why people all day.

write on out twitter page. gus, from florida. an independent. caller: : in regards for this the prosecutor starting of by saying that the officer came up on michael brown. the officer told him to get to the curb. confrontation at the car was brought out that the michael by the throat. where he was shooting, michael was running away.

right bicep n the and turnaround, the officer went on from there. the caller: said that there was a white instruction worker. there was another caller said 27 was a police officer for years in detroit. he said the fbi trains them to have a circular shooting to kill. going off, he said he was taught to kill the enemy. is michael brown and enemy? ost: you brought police

militarisation. what are some steps that you think police departments around this country could take? need to stop -- an 87% of the traffic stops were for nonwhite. how many white fit the same way as the true blacks? you are never going to do it. not until -- after armageddon. in ferguson, in 2013 483 people arrested were black, and

36% were white. on our line for democrats. caller: i want to know why the officer did not have a taser. is no reason for fire not have the guy does a gun. all this race stuff, i am hispanic american. of this racism crap. -- a race is two on two caskets together go fast. caller: i am a christian and i believe the bible says.

destroy it and steal. obama is causing a lot of problems. when he a statement became president, hhe said america will never be the same. when he was e, re-elected, he said america will never fight another war again while he was in the white house. i see that he is causing the problem. whoever is leading him, there is people behind the scene a leading him. host: cory booker from new quoted martin luther

king. "my heart goes out to michael brown's family". more voices on the decision of michael brown case. "violent erupts", another front-page. colorado, o ernie in line for independence. caller: lethal force was not necessary, yyou could have used a taser. said to the t we needed the

military here at home like we have a broad. giving all this military equipment to police forces. they know they don't get how responsible most of the time for shooting people. far as economic wise, they are always fine with paying the fines. is to be released. it doesn't matter by race. should allow more people that were used to hear about. civilians across america.

from the ther story washington times, has been -- house el to benghazi press on lingering questions. republicans are not satisfied to the conclusions. the american people still have far too many questions about what happened that night. be aker bain said this would the definitive report on the attacker left for america instead. robert from memphis, tennessee. caller: tthere are some things that were wrong with this. the prosecutor acted more like the defence attorney.

the products are many different things that could not be corroborated. statements have been beginning of t the the problem there were contractors who were on the eyewitnesses are to what happened. they were recorded, hearing that the man has his hands up. prosecutor never mentioned that. had it or now if he not. of your people earlier fully not that you trained properly.

in new york city sodomised a gay man with a broomhandle. the police shot a man standing his apartment five times. he had a telephone in his hand. how are you trained for that? host: robert brings up the the attorney talked about trying to identifying which statements were correct. but mcculloch there were major convocations for the grand jury were many statements made to the media and investigators surely after the killing and contradicted by the evidence.

they said he stood behind brown and shut them several times. let's go to delphi from st petersburg. caller: another person before said satan comes down, and he said obama is the problem. thing -- the police, he killed brown. he cannot be on the witness to tell a lie by the and the fficer so-called jury, they can say whatever they want.

nikolai they can tell the truth, they can be both. this young man cannot be on the trial. host: what you want to see after the grand -- word uld you want want see this go? caller: the jury does not want to look at what this police officer did wrong. when he had his hands up while would you want issued? even trialled for that. one brown raised his hands.

of t: trust in a state misery is poor. cindy from illinois. cindy, good morning. i have three questions. there is a lot of rage from the black community and that is understandable, my question is to look underneath that. what are the statistics of white police officers killing a black youth compared to a black officer killing white youth or minorities? other thing, what percentage does occur across

united states from policeman over the encounters that they had? the other point i want to make, local area, our high school has meant us in the school and they have a lot of deans ant principals and that are african-american and pastors in high school. to t is something that needs at. we actually pay good role models for black and white children and other minorities in the school, and youth re attention to the rather than reacting to this rage. read you some they said blacks were

treated less fairly than white. 551% of hispanics hold about you to. they also said that the court to black or nfair hispanics. are the real statistics on the number of killings from black officers and four white officers over number of encounters -- in the olice encounters united states. a lot of this is emotional and it is understandable. to st louis. go i live about eight minutes from

ferguson. caller: we have a problem which needs to be addressed. bob mcculloch should've stepped down. only have gain, we the account that darren wilson is saying. the, he y is setting in has nobody to cross-examine him. you just need to have things and say them like they were open. believe there would have a better perspective that was going on. and people would have trusted it more. i got arrested for sitting in the front step with my 6 pound ran on because the puppy the sidewalk.

i mean, itching arrested for something like that you not bothering anyone. and then ferguson. host: some duck as have already been released of the grand jury deliberations. there are photos as well there were showing to the grand jury. caller: minor injuries to officer darren wilson. i do not even realise he had injuries. host: are you going to those documents? to believe people should go that the verything grand jury says. caller: i believe it should be the pen case to see what proceedings were like. he would have had an opportunityto be cross examined to like everybody else.

i would not have the opportunities that he had. they were never invited into side of to tell their whatever bob mcculloch wanted, that is what he got. host: this is from the st louis dispatch website. examination for darren wilson after the shooting of michael brown. our from california in line for independence. want to be brief. i honestly don't understand racial issues. [inaudible] one man was choked to death in new york. is to be done, police

departments need to be how they treat e people. for a cop to get to the street, that it is rude. what to me, regardless happens to hi, he should've called for backup. michael brown should not have been in the top of his head. it is proven that he had his hands up.

frederick to a few minutes there. caller: i am a blackmail and live in america. i went to school and learned about black history. states and a lot that has happens to black men in america as a whole. so there are a lot of good white people out there, and there are a lot of good and patient black people out there. so a lot of people do not understand or do not want to try to understand because they have never been suppressed and they have never had to deal with the fear of a cop pulling up behind them and worried about if they are going to get killed on their way to work or get killed on their way to school. this is something people