later, it is our spotlight on podcasts with jeff daley, cohost of the "tangle, alpha, lima" podcast. that come upon host: good mornin. it is saturday. while the nation mourns the victims of the latest school shooting it, many are wondering how to stop the men who carry them out. the average age of school shooters is 18. we are asking you, what is the solution to young men and mass shootings? our phone lines are divided by region. eastern and central time zones, (202) 748-8000. mountain and pacific time zones, (202) 748-8001.

you can send us a text at (202) 748-8003. we are also on social media. you can send us a tweet. welcome to washington journal. before we get to your calls, i want to show you this quote from an article in scientific american by a criminologist. it says this:

here is donald trump speaking at the nra convention in houston yesterday. he was saying that it's mental health and not gun control that is needed to combat mass shootings. >> in the wake of these tragedies, the gun control policies being pushed by the left would have done nothing to prevent the horror that took place. unfortunately, since columbine, we've been afflicted by a contagion of school shootings carried out by deeply people young men. we don't yet know enough about this killing. we know there are many things we must do. we need to drastically change

our approach to mental health. there are always so many warning signs, these mines share the same profile. when people see something on social media or school, they need to say something. school officials and community members need to be recognizing and addressing these alarm bells promptly and aggressively. host: that was donald trump speaking at the nra convention. this is president biden, he spoke and referenced the mass shootings by young men over the last 10 years and called for stricter gun control. >> we have to ask, when in god's name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? when in god's name will we do

what needs to be done? 3448 days, 10 years since i stood up at a high school in connecticut when a gunman massacred 26 people, including 21st graders at sandy hook elementary school. there are been over 900 incidents with gunfire on school grounds. marjory stoneman douglas high school in parkland, florida, santa fe high school in texas, oxford high school in michigan, the list goes on and on and the list grows. movie theaters, houses of worship, we saw 10 days ago at a grocery store in buffalo. i am sick and tired of it. we have to act.

don't tell me we can't have an impact on this carnage. i spent my career as a senator and vice president working to pass common sense gun laws. we won't prevent every tragedy, but we know they have positive impacts. when we passed the assault weapons ban, mass shootings went down. when the law expired, mass shootings tripled. the idea that an 18-year-old kid can walk into a gun store and buy to assault weapons is just wrong. host: that was the president talking about stricter gun laws. we are taking your calls during this first hour. the question is young men and mass shootings, what is the solution. here is an editorial from the wall street journal.

it says this: we want to know what you think about the factors are. we will go to the phones now. we will talk to sandy and ohio. caller: hello.

good morning. i don't think anybody that's 18 should be able to buy a gun until they at least 21 or 25. there is a larger problem. these large capacity weapons, magnified guns should not be allowed to u.s. citizens. u.s. citizens only need a two barrel shotgun or a boat. we like to put a band-aid on these things. why in the world would we have weapons that can tear a child or human beings body up in the united states? the police are outgunned. i know they are going to say they bought these guns, make the gun manufacturers and the nra by those guns back. to me, there is no need for anyone and anyone caught with those guns, five years if you

have it, 10 years if you sell it, 25 years if you hurt somebody. we need to get rid of them. 400 million guns and 300 million people, it doesn't make sense. as far as mental health, other countries have mental health. the one that spoke earlier that we need to focus more on mental health, he might need it, the one past president. host: let's talk to derek in seattle. good morning. caller: good morning. this has nothing to do with guns or anything else. the main think this has to do with is the hate being taught and people are not equal. when you start taking rights away from people, kids are learning from their parents. i have kids. none of them have ever killed

anybody. when you see people out there flying traitorous flags, we don't know what their motivations are. if you're going to ku klux klan meetings and you were talking about people, black people have no power to beat racism. racism comes with power to discriminate. host: do you think this latest school tragedy was motivated by racism? caller: i think it was because racism is throughout the community. just because a person is of one race doesn't mean they don't hate their own people. there are black people who hate their own people. that's why you have gun violence in black neighborhoods. i have been a police officer and i know. a lot of these agencies are not designed to worry about what's going on in the lat community with these kids.

when i was growing up, we had a swimming pool. we had a wreck centers. we had teachers and businesses right there in the neighborhood. people lived in the neighborhood. we don't have a swimming pool, i still live in the same place. host: let's talk next to lewis in illinois. caller: good morning. i'm very upset over this entire situation. good solutions to meet require multi levels to impact. we have to look at guns, we have to look at mental health, we have to look at poverty, we have to look at every single possible level that is causing anger in our community. just to say one is not enough. host: sorry i thought you were

done. north carolina, go ahead. caller: good morning. the reality of this problem has nothing to do with poverty. this has to do with young white men being radicalized. they are doing things like this. we have watched them the last two years. they are running into black churches, right after joy -- george floyd, the watch down the street and shot innocent people. we've watched them go into buffalo and shoot. these are young white radical men who been trained by older radicalized men. this is based on racism. if you want to deal with gun violence, it starts with ammunition.

you should be ensuring the ammunition shouldn't be an access unless you have an insured gun. if the guns are insured like a car is insured, when people are murdered, at least people can get paid for it. this is not about anything but white radicalization and white racism. host: let's take a look at mike lee. he was at the committee hearing. he was talking about the cultural breakdown he sees impacting young men. >> every time one of these tragedies occurs, for far too long, we fail to look back at the root causes of rampage violence. questions involving things like

why, why is our culture producing so many young men who want to murder innocent people. it raises questions like the breakdown of families, isolation from civil society. the contribute factors. they want to crack down on law-abiding americans and licensees who want to follow the law. host: that was senator mike lee. there is an opinion from the washington examiner. he talked about what mike lee said.

we are asking you what your opinion is on that. let's talk to chris in texas. caller: thank you so much for the opportunity. i have a different opinion about what is going on. it has to do with families. family values. how children are being raised. as a parent -- if you look at what recently happened, it starts at the home. the young man shot his grandmother. there is a problem in the family. parents need to step up. it is the people. there are children leaving homes.

why is that? most stable homes, you don't hear of children doing things like this. it is homes that have problems. homes that don't raise their kids well. look at some of the people in society that are running the affairs of this country. how many times have you heard that children went and shot people? host: let's talk next to donald, west virginia. good morning. caller: you have to start by enforcing the laws that are already in place. the buffalo shooter, they had him under a red flag lot last year and he talked his way out of it. as for ghost guns, i'm 60 years old. it's always been illegal to have

a gun without a serial number. criminals don't care about laws. host: next, los angeles. caller: can you hear me? i've got two points to emphasize. number one is the breakdown of the society that was built on a lie. when people start to realize they've been duped, they react with anger. they react with resentment. especially when it's been done to them by those in authority. society is breaking down because now it has to be rebuilt on something that is more solid. the second thing, what would cause someone to kill a child?

these are young people killing children. the reason why something like that happens is because of power. they feel powerless and their sense of self-worth has been degraded. from there, they lose hope. when they feel like there is no way to come out of that, they go into suicidal mode and this is what we get. it's because of a lack of true values and a true foundation that our society is built on. we've got to stop this frivolous and this and build a new society. host: alexandra casio cortez, you can see on this online, she blames congress, toxic masculinity. here is a portion of that.

>> check on the men in your life. seriously. it just feels like there are very few role models and examples of people talking about this in healthy ways. it's a big problem. there are a lot of crises. especially as we try to evolve out of the world that is predatory on women's and, gay, trans people because traditional regressive patriarchal values really create men's identity and

uplifts men's identity in relation to other things, in relation to how women treat them , how much stuff they have, etc. for a long time, we've been taught that trans and non-binary and women aren't less than -- are less than. equality feels like oppression. there are a lot of structures that are having identity crisis right now. there is progress toward equality. there is such a thing as healthy masculinity. it is not rooted in the subjugation of other people. host: take a look at some tweets from congress.

we want to know what you think during this hour about young men and mass shootings. let's talk to patty in new jersey. caller: good morning. i think a lot of this does have to do with mental health. it also has to do with the accessibility to dangerous weapons. we can't deny that. there is a great accessibility. people are angry, they act out in different ways. to compare the gun problem to the opioid crisis where everybody seems to be an agreement to get every pill and drug off the street because it's harming children and their people, yet these weapons of war which are obviously accessible

to everyone, it's like this deniability. i want to save the -- say to all the people who won't take action on these laws, i know there is a lot on the books. we need more to protect our children. i don't know what the answer is. we need to get some of these guns off the street. i don't know why they won't do it. host: next up is greg, calling from colorado. caller: thanks for taking my call. i love your show. you do a great job. i am so glad we are finally seeing something about why is it the young men. has there ever been a mass shooting by women? not that i have ever heard of. these young boys in this country

have too much access to guns like everyone has been saying. 400 million guns for 300 million people. i think the age should be at least 21. the assault rifles, they are assault rifles made to kill people in war, should be illegal. there are too many guns. it is too easy for people to get. it is too easy for them to kill with them. thank you. host: alan is next in tennessee. caller: how are you? you had a couple of people on the show that doesn't make things any better. they holler racism. that's one of the things that we need to stop immediately. we need to stop seeing color. we need to see american

citizens. american citizens will take a boy that is being mistreated at home because the mother is on drugs, the father has disappeared, he will try to nurture that child. that's what we need to do. gun control laws, we have so many on the books now. nobody knows what they are. the biggest problem -- personally, the biggest are these x boxes with all the killing and tactical stuff they have on them. why do we need that? host: there is also the idea of social media. take a look at this quote from -- we should can't question how

platforms have become breeding grounds for teenage boys to become indoctrinated into white supremacy and violent misogyny. i wonder what you think about that. we are taking your calls up until 8:00 eastern. let's go next to ray in texas.

caller: hello. we need to stop criminalizing our police. we need to start criminalizing criminals. we don't put enough punishment on our criminals to be able to help people understand what is going on with our young men. host: ok. earl is next in florida. caller: good morning. there is no solution because the american mentality, if you look at america based on its mentality of society with rights and independence, there is no end to this reality that

american society is about any solution. i listen to what the solution is . less guns, more guns, mental health, the bottom line is other societies have had the same problems. they did what they needed to do. they got rid of guns. in australia, in england, they got rid of the guns. people say people kill people, the bottom line is if -- i'm a retired firefighter. we just don't say it can't use smoke and can't do this and you can't cook, we put smoke detectors in the house because it would solve a problem. they know the problem.

the solution is going to change ideas in america. they value the constitution more than the bible. they are bumper sticker christians. they believe they are christians because they wear a cross on their neck. it doesn't do -- they don't do anything jesus said. host: let's talk to karen next in virginia. caller: i just wanted to remind people -- i have two sons. in the 90's when videogames first came out, there was a big issue with mortal kombat. i don't know if it was dick cheney, they were trying to ban those games for young men. that didn't work. as result of that, you have videogames out here for young men to play all day long. fortnite is very graphic. you get a prize for killing

people on the street. you get a prize for choking out women. you get points for creating carnage. we wonder where does this start. i know people who have kids and they are playing the same games with them. you can't monitor mental illness. your child has a disease that causes them to look three different ways. you can't control that by saying it's because i was a bad parent. what we can do is we can prevent access. there's no reason why you can get up here and an 18-year-old can buy an ar-15. there's a reason why you can't buy a hand grenade. we know it causes mass carnage. when we sit appear and we listen to politicians --

host: there is an article in the new york post.

we want to know what you think about that. what is the solution? joni is from california. guest: how are you? i've listened to a lot of people. there are some good points. young men do have a problem right now. it goes back to the home and all that. it is people being aware, mothers being aware that there may be a problem. i remember a few months ago, a woman turned in her son because he was doing very strange things on social media. he was going to do something. awareness is number one. the guns, i totally believe in

owning a gun. my family has guns. these assault weapons -- i don't understand why anyone buys them whatever age you are. if they have a mental health problem get them help. they will go to one place and then buy a gun and still go shoot somebody. red flag laws, i don't get why they don't have background checks. it's a combination of everything. there is a breakdown in our society. everybody has to look at all the factors. i really appreciate you having me on. i hope they look at everything, not just the cause and the effect. thank you. host: i played that earlier.

the headline, check on the men in your life. congress still can't get their blank together on gun legislation. victor is next in florida. caller: we have in my education, the 3rs. in public schools, the first thing they put in rid limit, a drug that affects children. are you still there? host: go ahead. caller: in middle school, they give them education and issue rubbers. they are going to get the football coach and it's called

the riot squad. the problem is what we are turned out. i'm 74 years old. i knew what it was when the teacher said grab your ankles. they were going to take that paddle and wear me out. the children we are turning out, they are messed up. they've been fed it ritalin. i'm trying to say, it's not the gun it, it's the public education system and the children. host: let's talk to curt in pennsylvania. good morning. caller: good morning. it's not guns, it's a state of mind. what we have to do as a nation a step back as a society and take a deep wrath and look at the hypocrisy of how we treat human life.

how we treat children, we place a lot of value on children. we don't protect them enough. one thing leads into another. they look for a weapon. it happens to be a gun at this time. we don't place enough value on human life. when you kill children in the womb because they are inconvenient, what's the next step. you can chill -- kill children at any point. host: let's talk to everett in colorado. good morning. caller: good morning. i wish everybody my deepest sympathy trying to understand this whole episode.

i can imagine the grief that is going on down there. i served in the military. you were taught safety when you went off to basic training. it doesn't matter what weapon it is, befriend each other as comrades. there is no safety classes in high school like i remember. i think video games that are extremely violent need to be studied. i have a friend, an older man and he's been playing these games forever. i can see a difference in him by playing these videogames. he's not a violent man. they are constantly shooting up everything. it's a level of -- i don't know

what else to say. i think it's videogames. host: let's go next to steve in massachusetts. caller: good morning. thanks for taking my call. i've been thinking about this exact thing recently. over the last 50 years, my father was a high school dropout at age 16. i ended up -- dad was always home. i went to boston college. i graduated in 1973. we had a father as a role model. society has changed. 50 years ago, colleges were roughly 9% women. today it is 60% women. i'm not against that.

in the process, we have disenfranchised young men. not everybody is made for college. i had a guidance counselor saying colleges is not for everybody. one more thing on education, boys are different than girls. i've become a big proponent of vocational education. boys seem to be doers. although they are suited for college as well. it was always that way. we have seen since lbj 25% single parenthood in the african-american community to 75% single parenthood in the african-american community. the white committee has gone from 6% to 25%. a lot of things in society we are not looking at. it's deal with it.

as far as gun control, the anger is still there. if they don't have guns, they can kill with a motor vehicle. it would be just as easy to take a motor vehicle and kill kids if that's the case. we are in a tough lace. my main concern is i think these kids did not do well in high school. they are frustrated, no future other than a fast feud -- food job. inner cities, these kids are growing up in a family that is stuck on welfare. they have no money. 98% of the gun violence in this country is committed by males. one more thing i found interesting, 70% of suicides are white males.

we have a lot of problems. we've gone with gun control. i don't think that's going to solve anything. that would solve something it, you have to abolish the second member. the guns will still be there. host: let's hear from kevin next. caller: i think there are three problems. one is our education system. it is teaching our kids that we are all going to die. global warming is going to kill us all. that's one strike. then you've got aoc who are promoting we are all going to die. don't put anything she says on the air. she is not very smart. congress. global warming.

they're always saying if we don't do something we are all going to die. kids are seeing that. do we even have a future? we've got the media telling us we're are all going to die. i think these kids are coming out of school thinking they have no future. that's my comment. host: joe is calling from massachusetts. caller: hello. i think it's great that the media is demonizing all young men.

you let them live in a fantasy world where anything is real. you demonize all young men and think they should be transgender's or unicorns. you wonder why they go crazy. you've got to stop saying -- they just want to shoot people and kill and do drugs or whatever. tell them they've got no future, they are holding everybody down, what do you think is going to happen. it's always white people are bad. it's getting ridiculous. equal justice, everybody on january 6 is locked up. it's just ridiculous. stop the race baiting.

host: greg abbott yesterday afternoon talked about receiving inaccurate information about the initial police response at the elementary school shooting. >> i was misled. i am livid about what happened. i was on this very stage two days ago. i was telling the public information that had been told to me in a room a few yards behind where we are right now. i wrote down notes in detail about what everybody in that room told me. when i came out here on this stage and told the public what happened, it was a recitation of what people in that room told me , whether it be law enforcement,

whatever the case may be. because everybody has learned, the information i was given turned out to be inaccurate. i am livid about that. my expectation is the law enforcement leaders that are leading the investigation, which includes the rangers and the fbi, they get to the bottom of every fact with absolute certainty. there are people who deserve answers the most. those are the families whose lives have been destroyed. they need answers. it is inexcusable that they may have suffered from any inaccurate information. it is imperative that the leaders of the investigations about what happened get them to

the very second of exactly what happened with accuracy and explain it to the public. most importantly, the victims who have been devastated. host: we are asking you the question, young men and mass shootings, what is the solution? we've got about 15 minutes on this question. we will hear from fred in new york. caller: i don't think it's videogames. i was very young, put in a foster home. that was something i went through. the foster home i was in adopted me. the biggest thing about that is the most interaction i had in my life was playing video games with my parents. i'm 50.

i've played video games since i was 11 years old. the most interaction i had with my parents. today, i play video games with my son, call of duty, battlefield. taking guns away from people who have a spotless record is not a good idea. host: what do you think is the solution? caller: in my mind, from what i've gone through with adoption, feeling lonely and taken away from the people you want to be with, no one is talking about the reason. there is always a reason. in my mind, you don't just kill your grandmother. there's a reason. find the reason. taking things away from people and punishing other people for what people do, i don't think

that's right. host: james is up next from texas. caller: i just wanted to talk to you today. the solution -- we talked about the guns. assault rifles are on the list. we're not talking about the armor. they can get body armor almost anywhere. the agent should be 21 or 25. they should be able to get body armor. nobody talks about that. they can do almost anything. they really shouldn't be able to get body armor. they feel like they can walk in and do anything they want. if you eliminate the body armor, it's going to slow them down. a ban on assault rifles will help.

we need to do something like that. there have been too many red flags. there is not enough mental health. there are a lot of people who have been involved with the police before. they are going to let you go. i don't know why they couldn't stop him before. host: let's talk to dan in massachusetts. caller: good morning. thank you for having me on. i've got a different perspective on this. i think what we've seen here in the last few years with covid and everything, there is a war in america. it's on americans.

look at our kids. i have one kid in college, another in the middle of high school. there is a war on kids from birth to 18. host: in what way? caller: their minds are being corrupted and the public school system. it's been corrupted in a way to empower kids, to think that -- they've empowered them to try to think how other people think and they're putting a guilty mark on people because they think they know how they think. they label people racist by some arbitrary means. just because they met some

checkpoint in school. i went through it. the only reason i found out so much about what was going on, it was my kids first year in college from home. we have dinner at the dinner table. through these conversations, i could not get where she was coming from. she was all black lives matter crazy. it took me forever to finally figure out how she was indoctrinated into this to think her own parents were racist. here's another. this is a huge point. our government is out of control. i think we've seen with the last president -- i don't care who he was. he was a civilian elected

official. our government attacks the person the american people put into the presidency. we all watched it. our own government is out of control. what happens in world history is when you have big powerful strong authoritarian governments, they will not give up their power. they assume more power. it's about time we open our eyes . our government is marching forward. host: let's check in on social media and take a look at some tweets.

let's go next to charlie in florida. caller: good morning. this second amendment, no kid that is 18 years old should be allowed to possess an assault rifle. they shouldn't be selling them in the first place. they are for killing it, war. go backo wh it was first enacted. when people bought muskets. if these 18-year-old kids want to come in and buy a gun, sell them a musket. thank you. host: mike is next in california. good morning. caller: you really let some

people go on some wild things, which is always good. i'm trying to get away from that. that's a real struggle. just trying to be in the heads of one of these guys, imagine what their life must've been like, what agony they live through all this time so they wind up with this plan of death by cop with 10 or 12 victims. this guy thinks he wants to die. if i waste a few people, the ship has sailed. i've got to go now. host: what do you think the solution is? caller: i'm just trying -- i wish i knew. loving foster care? people actually being christians instead of -- i'm not judging

people who i don't think fall under my description of what a christian should be. nevertheless, we are doing a lot of damage. these people need it so much help and don't get any. i'm not trying to discount the agony of the victims. i can't imagine. it's beyond my ways. as far as the second amendment, it's wonderful to be in a group. i don't have a group right now. i used to be a basketball player. you can get these tough guys on the move with ar-15's. they don't have any horrible intent. that's just some communion among them.

i understand that. if you don't have anybody, but you still got the gun it, apparently you come up with some horrible things to do with it. there is some rambling for you this morning. host: melanie is also in california. caller: how are you doing this morning? this is a very heavy subject. we spoke to several people that were in the military. every one of them said we should not sell body armor. and why are we selling people these weapons? it makes absolutely no sense. you are allowed to own a gun it. we don't need to own these guns that are going to mow down 50

people, 30 people in seconds. i believe everyone should own a gun. do we need this firepower? we need the body armor? host: dave is next in south carolina. caller: good morning. i don't know if it solution or not. red flag laws would certainly help. if someone walks into a store and says i want three hunter 50 rounds of a mission, you've got to wonder what they are going to do with it. you have a right to buy a gun. if you have to have a military weapon that has a drum magazine for 30 rounds, you have an obligation to tell me what you need that for. you can't just outweigh someone's right to be armed to the teeth to endanger people around them.

it's not a solution. they want to go out in a blaze of glory, there is no glory in chill -- killing children. that's ridiculous. it's a never-ending struggle between the weapons manufacturers and the citizens. they have a right to sell and we have a right to boycott. thank you very much. host: let's talk to joe in california. caller: good and thanks for taking michael. i was in the navy for 30 years. i have a solid solution to this problem. see the movie 2000 mules and understand that the international crime syndicate has overthrown our government and the fbi was involved in new

york and texas events. the media is corrupt. we are being lied to on a daily basis. understand that the government was over thurn by an international to. that's why are gasoline has tripled. that's why the fbi's grooming people to do these horrible things so they can confiscate weapons. dinesh desousa, 2000 mules, proof the election was stolen in the media is lying about it. host: robert will be our last call. caller: your subject is men killing. this ought to be white men killing. when those nine people died in

that church, it was a white fella. columbine, white fellow. sandy hook, white fellow. buffalo, white fellow. when i watched that donald trump rally the other -- i was saddened c-span plated. -- played it. when i see people at a donald trump rally cheering, children are not to bsa donald trump rally. it is teaching children hate. there is one young person named david, he knows what it is all about. that kid ought to run for senate out of florida. host: that is the end of our

first segment. coming up next on washington journal is dr. amy klinger from the school safety network. she discusses the recent mass shooting at the mess -- mass shooting in uvalde, texas. tango alpha lima podcast host jeff daly discusses his podcast and veterans issues on our weekly spotlight on podcasts. we will be right back. ♪ >> book tv, every sunday on c-span2 features leading authors discussing their latest nonfiction books. at 8:00 p.m. eastern, alexander burns and jonathan martin recounts 2020 election with their book "this will not pass." at 9:15, the washington times talks about her book "lockdown"

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not everyone knew they were being recorded. >> johnson's secretaries new. they were tasked with recording -- with transcribing those conversations. he would make sure -- they would make sure the conversations would be -- were being recorded as he would signal to them. >> you will also hear blunt talk. >> i want the number of people assigned to kennedy the day he died and the number of men assigned to me and if they are not less, i want them less right away. >> "presidential recordings" found on c-span's mobile app or wherever you get your podcasts. >> there are a lot of places to get political information, but only from c-span do you get it straight from the source.

no matter where you are from, c-span is america's network. unfiltered, unbiased, word for word. if it happens here or here or anywhere that matters, america is watching on c-span powered by cable. >> "washington journal" continues. host: i'm joined by amy klinger, the founder of educator's school safety network. caller: -- guest: good morning. host: remind us what the educator school safety network is and what do you do? guest: we are a national nonprofit and rework -- we come at school safety from an

educational standpoint. we provide resources, assistance, consulting, and we do research on schools and violence as well. host: when did you get started? guest: we started in 2008. host: we will be taking your calls during this hour for our guest. the lines are split up by educators, parents and students, and law enforcement and all others. here are the numbers. you can start calling now. 202-748-8000 if you are an educator. if you are a parent or student, call us at 202-748-8001. if you are in law enforcement, 202-748-8002. all others, 202-748-8003. you said you do training schools and educators. what is involved in the training? what do you do?

guest: we come from a comprehensive all hazards approach. we do training that deals with response, but we also do training in violence prevention and identifying individuals of concern and providing supports an intervention. -- supports and interventions. we come from and it all hazards perspective, not focusing on one event but focusing on the many hazards and vulnerabilities school space. host: what are some of the other things you deal with besides school shootings? guest: we know right now school shootings are clearly front of mind because of the horrific tragedy, but we know school space an array of other issues, whether it is a noncustodial parent, violence from the community, fights, severe weather events, medical emergencies, self-harm, all

kinds of things that go on in a regular day in a school that have the potential to become dangerous. i think it is important for us to keep in mind that there are a variety of tragedies occur. we are talking today about the most horrific tragedies. if we have a student struck by a school bus because we did not have adequate supervision, that is a tragedy as well. we try to keep the work of school safety every day at the forefront as opposed to when these tragedies occur. host: miguel cardona testified before congress this week and he had a message to lawmakers about the texas school shooting. let's take a look. [video clip] >> i would failing as secretary of education if i did not tell you how ashamed i am that we are

becoming sensitized to the murder of children. i would be feeling you if i did not use this platform to say that students and school leaders are scared. after columbine and sandy hook and parkland and many other massacres, we did our best to look parents in the eyes and assure them we would do everything to protect their babies. after each of these massacres, we have held staff trainings, active shooter drills, we have made our windows is year for law enforcement. we have secured our entrances and perimeters. that is no match for what we are up against. that is no match for -- and those 19.

educators across the country have and would give their lives to protect children, but that is not enough. unless you have gone to a funeral of a child, you will never know. we can do better and we must do better. host: what do you think of that? he says we must do better, what does that look like? guest: i think doing better looks like having critical, difficult conversations and doing the hard work of looking at this issue and the issue of school safety in general from a variety of perspectives, not just one divisive perspective, but looking at prevention and response. looking at hardware and training and how do we provide mental health help and interventions. how do we strengthen our families and society.

it has to do lipservice -- not just lip service, we have to do the hard work of doing a lot of things and doing them well and with fidelity. not just in the moment when everyone is concerned about this particular thing. host: from what we know so far, how would you assess the response from robb elementary school. guest: clearly i am not a law enforcement expert so i don't want to comment on that too much other than to say it would appear based on the information that there were a number of failures on a number of fronts. there will be concerns in terms of looking at what happened with law-enforcement, being able to neutralize the threat with the most vulnerable among us. they will need to be an examination of the access

control and was a door propped open. that is always a problem. we have feelings as a society and families when we have students that are so disconnected it and sewed the synthesized -- and so desensitized. the one thing that will be critical is really to be able to have the difficult conversation and take apart what happened, what were these feelings. what can we do differently rather than trying to be defensive or retreat to a corner. i think we will need to deconstruct what happened in these events and see how we can use that to do better. host: let's take our first call for this segment on the line for all the -- for all others in louisville, kentucky.

good morning, randy. caller: i was listening to everything before. the number one reason i believe days -- it follows back to the parents at the home front. it is how they are being raised and being brought up. i come from a broken home and i have been through a lot, been through foster care and have been through a lot of things. my thought is it does hurt. some people mentally do need help and cannot take the situation. it falls on how they are raised parents -- how they are raised, the parents. 20 years ago, he did not see

this kind of stuff. host: amy, does your organization get involved in that at all, as far as the impact on the parents? guest: we do talk with parents, we do parent forums and try to provide resources for parents. i think the role of parents is critical. clearly, there is the concern about strengthening our families and the role of holding parents and students accountable and developing those relationships and connectedness. that is clearly a piece of what needs to be discussed. i think parents need to not underestimate the power they have for advocacy in working with school boards and collaborating with schools and law enforcement and the community to implement and number of the initiatives that would help. i think parent advocacy is important. what we need to be careful of is

he be thoughtful and strategic about what we are advocating for. one quickfix solution, we are going to put in a metal the tech or have any armed guard or have an app or whatever it may be. one thing is not going to be enough. we are going to continue to have these awful conversations as long as we try to do a quick fix and we don't look at all of the different components. there has been a lot of discussion about that in media interviews i have done. people want to say here is one thing, if he thinks that problem is solved. there is not one thing, there is a whole bunch of things. the question is, do we have the will to do it and can we sustain and devote the time and attention to this issue to work on all the different parts that need to be worked on and can we do it in a collaborative fashion

between the community, the parents, the law enforcement, the school. we have to work collaboratively to solve this. host: joan is next on the educators line. hi, joan. caller: i have a question. what would she suggest if you are working in a school and there are people who are not obeying the protocols. we know what the politics of that can be if you report somebody. when people are getting lax and not doing the things they should do, like keeping doors closed, what would her organization suggest? what can be done about that? host: what do you think? guest: that is a critical question. i have 30 years in public education as an administrator and teacher. it is about teacher leadership

and principal leadership in making this a priority and integrating it into part of what we do every day. these are the daily operating procedures. we take attendance, we have our class, we talk about homework, but we also do things to keep kids safe, to build relationships and establish a positive culture. to be out and about and present, supervising students and being aware of what is going on with them. we worked in providing training on how to do things strategically and intentionally that enhance the safety and enhance the relationships with students. it makes the school a better place, a safer place. we are not running prisons, we are running schools. the good news is that all kinds of eggs we can do. we just have to train people and we don't do enough in training our people.

we need to train people and help them understand the rationale. we need to look at what we are doing and does it make sense. what can we do with fidelity? how can we all understand and make a commitment and have a consensus on these are critical things. what are some of the things that are nonnegotiable? what are some of the things that are an expectation of you being in this school? those are conversations that need to take place between the different stakeholders in the school. i think there is a lot that can be done. a lot cart with the conversation of what are we doing and why? what are the expectations and what are we going to commit to in response to these ongoing fears? host: let's talk to bill in florida on our students and parents line. caller: good morning.

like everybody, i have been disturbed by these school shootings. to me, i have become very apprehensive about going into any public group, any large group. i dropped a membership at a theater after 20 years because they would not say they have and they armed person in the auditorium. number two, i would normally go to religious services -- i would not go to church services because the church does not have somebody armed. when you look at what has become public information about the

shooting in texas, you have a person who was 12 minutes outside disarming -- 12 minutes discharging a firearm. there was not a single weapon available that could have stopped this individual. there was no weapon inside the school. host: amy, your thoughts on that and also the idea of arming teachers. where do you stand on that? guest: let's take the easier one first. . we need to think about safety and security from the layer perspective. we have our first line of defense which is often a buzzer system or a screening system, a single point of entry in which people enter the school.

those ideas are not filled proof. then we have the person screening the visitor. then we have our second line of defense. then we have everybody else in the school. being able to have systems in place to support something that does not look right or something that is suspicious. being able to monitor what was going on outside of the school and inside the school. these different layers, they involve integration of technology and integration of a security if and an educational respect of, the way we do business every day in schools. it is that integration of various levels. one of the things concerning to me is we hear people coming up with simplistic solutions of we

have one armed guard and everything will be fine. no, one armed guard is part of a conference a system. it is one part of a larger system. if no one does those things and we have a discrepancy between what we have written down and what we actually do, that is one of the most dangerous aspects. one of the biggest problems we see and we work with schools is they have things formalized. here is what we say we do and here is what we really do. we have to close that gap and use the policies and procedures and equipment we have and use them more effectively and beef those up as people with confidence and capabilities. in terms of the arming teachers situation, that always comes up. there are so many things we can

do that are beyond that, that would be much more effective than arming teachers. arming teachers is an example of where you solve one problem, potentially, and you have created other liability and safety concerns. it is not the easy fix people want to think it is. oftentimes the discussion about arming teachers is trying to avoid the more difficult conversations about how did we get here to begin with? how do we prevent needing an armed teacher? how do we work in a safe setting to provide positive relationship-based culture? we think there are lots of things we can do that can have a more positive benefit. let's start with the things we all agree on. nobody wants kids dying and is

schools. what are the most effective means to prevent this tragedy that nobody ever wants to see again? host: let's talk to elroy in california, calling on our educators line. hi, elroy. caller: hi. host: go ahead. caller: okay. do i have one minute to make my statement? or less? host: let's. go ahead. -- less. go ahead. caller: we are leaving -- we are living in evil times and bible prophecy shows we are moving towards a one world government. the world has two collapse and then we will have a one world order government.

we are at the end of our dispensation almost. host: i don't think this is relevant to the tragedy of safety in schools. we will go to sam in sylvania on our line for all others -- in pens -- in pennsylvania on our line for all others. caller: they you for taking my call. the lady being interviewed mentioned the layers of defense. now we have a situation here as well as others where all of the layers failed. my suggestion is, and i don't know if people have this fourth before, i am an army veteran. i do carry all of the time. i would volunteer my look school to be there.

the main thing is you don't have to pay me. you can run me through the police department checks. i will be there to protect the children. i would like to propose that there are a lot of retirees out there that are in law enforcement or the military that would gladly -- people volunteered to be school crossing guards. i will be there with my weapon to protect those children. i will die to protect those children. i would like to see something like that inc. in the all other measures -- that inc. in all the other measures. thank you for bringing this up on this venue. this is horrible. host: go ahead, amy. any reaction? guest: sure.

i think every school is always looking for people who are interested in helping out and volunteering and being part. that involvement in being part of the solution is really important. i think it takes a level of commitment, but i think any school and administrator is always going to be welcoming of someone who wants to help. the energy right now and the people -- the energy people have right now of wanting to put positive energy into this, i think we need to capitalize on this. we need to sustain it. this will not be done in a week or two weeks for a month. this is an ongoing problem. there are a lot of things we can do. you have to dedicate the time and resources and attention. make it a priority and come at this and come at this in a

variety of ways. community involvement is a critical piece. host: the publication education week has been tracked school shootings and this article talks about that there have been 27 school shootings this year. there have been 119 shootings since 2018 in total since education week again tracking incidents. the highest number occurred last year. there were 10 shootings in 2020. what do you think is happening? why are there so many school shootings and why does the phenomenon seemed to be increasing? guest: our research in 2013 -- started in 2013 shows there is an increase of threats, not only violent incidents. we track all sorts of events that occur in schools and we

have seen the increase in violent, aggressive behavior and fights and those sorts of things. in general, you have an increase in violence and shootings, especially when you look at the nature of how you are defying a school shooting. whether it is happening in a neighborhood and spilled over or criminal activity in a school that involved a weapon. whether it is this sort of random attack we are looking at or a targeted attack. violence in schools can take a variety of forms both from the people within and the people coming from the outside. i think we also have to acknowledge the hard truth that violent crime has increased everywhere, not just in our schools. we have an increasingly violent society. if you are horrified by what you

saw in texas, you should be horrified by what is happening in society. schools are getting a rush schools are a reflection of society -- schools are a reflection of society. kids being killed in their neighborhood is equally tragic. people being killed walking down the street. we have to look at this as school problem and there are lots of things we have to do, but we have to acknowledge we have an increasingly violent and disconnected society. we don't create the individuals that come to us. so it's important have the larger picture of what are we going to do in general in a society creating this violence. host: let's talk to steve in west virginia on the students

and parents line. caller: i did not watch this whole program, just a little bit of it. we have a bunch of smart superintendents, teachers, senate, and congress. but guns don't kill people. the way i look at it, there is a simple way to fix it -- to fix it. my grandson is in grade school. he has to buzz the door to get into the school. it is simple. [indiscernible] all you have to do is lock some

things down. they make doors that open from the inside but not the outside. host: go ahead, amy. your reaction to that. common sense, keep the doors locked. guest: i understand that sentiment, that frustration. the area i will disagree is it is not that simple. it is difficult for schools to be able to afford and purchase some of the things he is talking about. those armed individuals cost money. a buzzer system cost money. clearly we need to dedicate resources to it. we need to dedicate time and attention to it. we need to look at law-enforcement solutions and mental health solutions. we need to look at facility solutions and education solutions. educators need to have a voice in that conversation. i agree with that. i disagree that it is simple if

it was simple, we would have solved it. there were armed guards at many school shootings and they occurred anyway. there were security systems at sandy hook that were reached -- that were breached. it is difficult to be one of those cops or those teachers or those students and create a solution yourself without any support. i think it is important for us to understand it will take difficult conversations people are not going to want to hear and talk about with a collaborative approach. not sitting back and saying somebody should have done this or this would easily fix it, it is not that easy. i wish it were. host: i wonder what you think about how to make training effective, but at the same time, not terrifying for young kids.

some of these active shooter exercises can scare little kids. guest: absolutely. that is one of the things we are dedicated to in organization. we are education focused. we come to school safety from an educator and child centered viewpoint as opposed to law enforcement. that is not a knock on law enforcement, but i come to it as a school educator. it sounds counterintuitive, but stick with me. a heavy emphasis on daily think we ever do as an active shooter drill and everybody gets fearful and realizes there is the potential for violence. a heavy emphasis on active shooter only can make a school less safe because you have not dealt with the other aspects. you have not dealt with other

ways to respond to events. yet not dealt with is under engagement and supervision and policies and procedures, looking at the vulnerabilities in your facility. while you have done is scare people at couple times a year by making them hide in the classroom. that by itself is not going to do anything. i think any overemphasis on active shooter alone without dealing with these other makes the school less safe. if you are in a school and say we have got it all figured out, that does not make your school safer. what makes your school safer is dealing with the other aspects of it. not just once a month hiding in the corner. i think it is important to not allow this tragedy to drive us back only looking at active shooter and not the other components that contributed to

that violence in the first place. host: let's go to silver spring, maryland. richard is on our line for parents and students. caller: good morning. i would like to start by saying thank you for addressing these important issues. everything she just set up to this point, i totally agree with it. these schools are failing in that we are not helping our children enough. it is just hiding and at the corner and pretending there is nothing we can do about it there are so many other ways that our children are being influenced by the wrongdoing of those that want to hurt our children. you have a law that has so many

influences on the kids and bringing marijuana into the schools. the kids are already being misguided. they said is okay to vaped, it is not as strong as marijuana. but next thing you know they all smoked marijuana because there is nothing stopping them. no, you have to do patrol and have active body in the school that checks parking lots, that checks entry points and is able to talk to the kids, that has open communication with the kids. one county officer that is in charge of the school, that is good. all schools need medical -- need metal the tech spirit -- need

metal detectors. there are other factors that are derived from a getting our children -- from misguiding our children. host: let's get a response. guest: the discussion of connectedness and relationship building is really important. the one thing we see oftentimes these violent attackers have in common is they don't feel any sense of connected. -- a sense of connectedness. they feel they have been victimized and they are striking back. people don't commit violence in places they feel value feel connected to. that lack of connectedness is a school problem and a family problem and a societal problem. we need to work harder to establish relationships to get

away from screens and social media and to get into schools that have authentic interactions and authentic communication and relationship building between students and teachers and parents and the community. that sense of connectedness helps us academically and helps to keep our schools safer and helps us to prevent these violent events. it helps the mental health and well-being of everyone in it. . the metal detector issue, i would have to disagree. there is research that indicates there is not a lot of value in medical attackers -- in metal detectors being the only mechanism schools use for safety. if it is one tool in the toolbox, that makes sense. but it cannot be the only tool in the toolbox. we have many places that are

taking on school safety using one tool instead of building an array they can use simultaneously and select as needed to meet the unique needs of their school. we need to build the capacity of educators and families and law enforcement. we need to deal with these things from a variety of respect makes, enable -- a variety of perspectives, being able to make a response. host: edward is next on the educators line. edward? caller: good morning from the state of florida. i am a veteran of the army and an educator. the secret to securing your school is we way -- is the way we used to do it, you secure the

perimeter. i taught at a catholic school in phoenix, arizona. the only way you got in was with a school badge and head to the front door. simply put, maintain and secure your perimeter, just like you do in your home at night, you lock your doors. when you are in your car, you have the doors locked. host: amy, what you think? guest: absolutely, that is the theoretical notion. we support that, you have to confront the reality that in the average high school you have 40 to 50 access points or doors that we need to have for rapid evacuation and to access different areas. now we have kids to open the door for someone else or someone pops the door open for the door is left unlocked or the door

does not latch. in theory, those things are clearly important and those are things we advocate for. we also have to be realistic that we have factors that push back against that. you have parents that don't want to come in the front door. they want to drop off a lunch and so somebody pops that open or the fob does not work or i lost my badge at home. you have all the realities of a daily procedure when you have 1000 kids in his school and 200 teachers and staff. it is more difficult than just an individual locking their doors. you have a lot of people in play and it is a public entity. we could keep students secure and never allow them to move, but i don't know if anybody wants to move in that environment.

we have to do the best we can to have that perimeter security and continue to elevate it and work on that security side of things. again, we have to work on the other things. most schools have seizures in place, but not every school can afford fobs. we work with schools that don't even have doors that unlock your that is an indictment of us that we are not willing to invest in the tangible stuff that can keep kids safe. we are also not willing to invest in the training to figure out what they should be doing and what they can do to respond and prevent. i think there is any investment that needs to be made. host: let's go to west harrison, new york and talk to russ. caller: i agree that we live and a violent society that exploits

violence for it. i see the police being scapegoated for this accident because the shooter is dead. i would like to ask dr. amy, because protocols were not followed and this teacher left the store opened twice, you think this teacher should be prosecuted? on a military base, you secure the web. we have 100 million weapons floating around your there is no way this will be cured this by securing the weapons. they do so much. host: go ahead. guest: i cannot comment on the specifics of who propped the door open, i think that is evolving. i think it is easy to scapegoat one side of things. that is clearly the default we automatically go to when there are these violent incidents. it is not just in these

high-profile incidents. you have things happening in the school every day that are tragic to that individual, an individual who was assaulted and shot and may be one injury or one fatality. that trauma, that problem, that occurs more at a level that does not get the same media attention. this is not about just trying to fix what in texas, this is trying to fix what happened in our schools on a daily basis. we have to acknowledge that people are doing the best they can with what they have been given. we need to increase capabilities and its resources we are dedicating it to. we need to hold people accountable for not following protocols and procedures we are investing in, which we are

counting on them to do to keep kids safe. we need to put it in perspective in terms of we have this belief that these types of events happen every day, these mass shootings. they are statistically rare. that is why we advocate for an all hazards approach because we want kids to be safe and so will every day from all of the different hazards, whether they are acceptance, illness, all of the different things. it is important for us to continue to go back to the all hazards view of school safety. host: britt will be our last call from bultman, missouri on the parents and students line. caller: can you hear me? host: yes, go ahead. caller: have there been studies about the differences of

societies in the 50's and 60's and today? any lessons that may have been earned? -- have been learned? when i grew up, boys were hunters and fishermen and had access to weapons. i did not experience one instance in my grade school years of gun violence or anything like that. we need to get to the causes and society, what is happening today. these other things will go away. you are taking care of a flat, to have to get nails off the road. host: we are running out of time, let's get a response. guest: i would direct you to the

safe school initiative study done by the department of education where they studied school shooters over a significant period of time. they found a number of commonalities. one was a disconnect, a lack of relationships, the feeling they had been wronged or victimized, the inability to take responsibility for what happened to them. we have looked at those things and we need to continue to look at those things. there are common threads that run through it and maybe that is where generational differences come from. there is a desensitization to violence. there are a number of things that have gotten worse over time. i think we are seeing the results of those in these horrific tragedies. host: amy klinger, founder and director of programs for educators school safety network. thank you for being on our

program. guest: thank you. host: still ahead, it is our weekly spotlight on podcasts. tango alpha lima podcast cohost jeff daly discusses the podcast and veteran issues. but first, more open forum calls on our -- but first more open forum calls. we will be right back. >> american history tv, exploring the people and events that tell the american story on "the presidency." a question with -- along with david to trace, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the 18th president's first. leslie gordon on the reconstruction of the south, the causes for the civil war and the legacy of confederate statues. watch american history tv every

weekend and find a full schedule on your program guide or watch anytime on c-span.org. >> c-span has unfiltered coverage of the u.s. response to russia's invasion of ukraine, bringing the latest from the president and other officials, the pentagon, and the state department and congress. we have statements from foreign leaders, all on the c-span network, this is been now free mobile app, and c-span .org/ukraine. you can follow updates on demand or tweets from journalists on the ground. go to c-span.org/ukraine. >> "the weekly podcast" rings over 40 years of audio things from our library. on this episode --

[yelling] >> and that is how the clinton was greeted when he arrived at the vietnam memorial in washington, d.c. bill clinton's first memorial day as president, that is what remember in this episode of c-span's "the weekly." >> find it on c-span now, our free mobile app, or wherever you get your podcast. >> "washington journal" continues. host: welcome back to "washington journal." it is open forum so i will take

your calls on anything he what to talk about policy wise or politics. our phone lines are divided by political affiliation. democrats can call at 202-748-8000. republicans on 202-748-8001. independents, 202-748-8002. some news from wall street journal is that russia gains ground and the u.s. eval's new arms -- the u.s. valves new arms -- vows new arms. ukrainian troops have withdrawn from the latest donbas city to fall to russian forces. the biden administration is expected to announce next week that it will support ukraine with advanced rocket systems,

according to u.s. officials. some other news from the wall street journal, atlanta area grand jury subpoenas officials over pro-trump efforts to overturn 2020 georgia vote. the article says a grand jury has sent out subpoenas in a probe with efforts by donald trump and others to overturn a georgia's 2020 election results. according to state officials, that is the latest sign an investigation is moving forward. what to think about that and everything else happening in the news, we will go to your calls. first is pat in new jersey on the republican line. caller: how are you today? host: good, thanks. caller: i just wanted to say that children are supposed to be safe from the womb to the tomb.

there is no value or respect for life. i believe there is a bigger picture here. science has proven that the benefits of bible reading is very important. a doctor has discovered that reading scripture will shape the choices and transform relationships with the god, yourself, and others. since we have thrown the bible and prayer out of schools, we are reaping the worldly. we need to get back to that. with mental illness, it proves bible reading improves the mental capacity of all people, especially students. host: let's talk to betty in oversight, connecticut, on the democrat line. caller: i want to make a few

points. i am originally from sandy hook. i am 78 now. i grew up there. this school shooting brought back all of those terrible memories. chris murphy is my hero. i met him when he was first going to representative before he became a senator. two quick real points -- two real quick points, they could put a real stop to a lot of this if they do background checks and also if they brought back the assault weapons ban. the republicans have blood on their hands, abbott has blood on his hands. bento -- beto is one of my

heroes. the people who vote for them are part of the problem. even the democrats that are not for gun control have blood on their hands. i have been very upset ever since. i am upset by the shootings. the one in buffalo was terrible. when i heard he had gone in to shoot his grandmother, before he went to school, in sandy hook that guy killed his mother first before he went to the school. i have always been a democrat. they are not perfect, but when these republicans lie and say they are for life, they might be for birth. they are not for life. if they were for life, they

would be doing something about these guns. they would join with the democrats and bring back the assault weapons ban and the assault weapons checks. host: here is the front page of the washington post this morning. amid carnage, a fitful error. -- a faithful -- a fateful error. students called 911 and police did not pursue the killer, an official admits. let's go to linda in southaven, mississippi. caller: good morning. somewhere along the line, people failed this young man. he was not even behind in school. his parents not knowing what he was purchasing.

society -- you can look around and help individuals. you know when someone is in trouble. thank you. host: let's go next to dennis in cool springs, new york on the independents line. caller: thank you for taking my call. also ms. klinger -- or is it dr. klinger? host: it is dr. klinger. caller: my high school teacher was constantly training with the young men in her class and seemed braced to be ready. they would pick up desks once a month to be able to throw desks

at anyone that came in their door. she was shunned by a lot of teachers. people were leaving doors open to let people in or getting in and out of their car quickly. i think drill is important. some of the other lines here today are extreme on both sides. my son is in law enforcement and he is for a lot of the things the left is calling for but also for the things the right is calling for. you have to come to the table. it is a saturday that a tragedy of all of these young bees being perished. my wife is beside herself as a retired teacher. she cannot imagine what our grandchildren would be going through right about what schooll be like on tuesday. so thank you for taking my call

and thank you for the great job you do. host: stu is next in reno, nevada on the republican line. sue? caller: yes, i will have to say, hi. i will have to say that i have been against these assault weapons but i want to mention, on a package of cigarettes, it says you have to be 21 years old to buy a package of cigarettes. yet they say you can get one of these guns at 18? i'm going to contact every senator, every representative, governors, whatever that if they cannot put 21 years old to be the age stephen by a gun, i will not vote for them. take a look at this article from the wall street journal. as an ra gathered, protesters

say enough is enough. the national rifle association members yesterday repeated their opposition to stronger gun-control measures has processors outraged over the mass shooting at an laundrie school four hours away said it was beyond time for action. the political divide played out on opposite sides of the street in downtown houston as nra members lined up to hear speeches from former president donald trump and other gun rights activists -- advocates while protesters at an adjacent park demanded new solutions. it is open form and i want to know what you think. we move now to bill in waycross, georgia on the democrats line. good morning. caller: good morning. i would like to keep things simple. i wonder sometimes at fowlkes

that would walk -- would want to allow assault weapons in our society. what is the motive? i was in the military. i know what these weapons can do . they are for absolutely nothing but killing. people should see what happens when someone is shot with one of these weapons. they are high velocity, the bullet bounces around, and it is an awful thing to see. i've seen it. i was in vietnam. i do not understand why we don't ban hand grenades. why don't we ban these assault weapons? if we did, it would cut way down. i do not know if it was stop the shootings but i guarantee you -- and i was raised by people in

law enforcement -- i guarantee that you will have very few law enforcement people want to go in and attack someone that has weapons that are way better than the weapons you had. i'm fascinated. in a bad way. why are we the only country in the world that allows civilians to own a military weapon made simply for killing people. thank you, so much. host: maxine is next in new york on the independence line. good morning. -- independents line. good morning. caller: i was so saddened by the last segment. i felt like there were not enough callers that said we are failing our kids. to me, it will take so long to

repair what is going on in society. when you think about it, it is -- it's, there is not enough time for teachers to have sincere discussions with youth in their classroom that they can see that there is something wrong. they have to fill out all of their paperwork, they've got to meet criteria, and it is so unfortunate because these kids are failing. they are failing and we've got parents that have to take on more work because we cannot afford to buy groceries, and gas, and that means kids come home to no one. they are not sitting at the dinner table anymore having discussions. i just wanted to say -- i'm so sad to see what happens, but it will take years and years to turn this around.

we need more families to understand that their kids need attention. thank you so much. host: let's go to the democrats line to greg in texas. hi, greg. caller:. give me some time. i want to comment on something. the reason why black people are speaking about what was going on now, we were afraid to speak up that we would lose our job or get prosecuted for speaking up. now we don't care because we have to go in defense of our people because what is going on now, our people got -- these kids are living through lives, living the life on the go home, living a life and they go to school, living a life in the street. their parents don't know they're doing when they are the streets. can you hear me? host: i can.

their friends don't know what they're doing the street. these kids are living three lives. these black parents are giving these kids everything. they got cars and everything they need. there's people every time i turn around when a tragedy happens, they want to go all the way back to chicago about the crime to justify why some little white kid came out here and shot up something. they always gotta go back to the black people is the reason why the white kids are acting out. host: let's go next to janet in maryland on the republican line. caller: hi. thank you for taking my call. i do not believe it is a black or white thing. democrat or republican thing. it all starts with the family and at home. where are all of the fathers that are taking care of their children? that is my point. america has lost its morals and

lost god. until god's back in our country, it will keep in destroyed. thank you. guest: all right, janet. here's a front page of the new york times this morning. host: please send the police know she pleaded. it says police officials declared waiting to move in was the long decision. police officers held off as they listened to sporadic gunfire from behind the door, ordered by the commander at the scene not to rush the pair of connected classrooms where the gunman locked himself in side and began shooting shortly after 11:30 avenue "it was the wrong decision." that is from the head of the state police, yesterday. let's talk to morgan in reading, pennsylvania on the democrats line. good morning. guest: good morning. thank you for c-span. blood is on the hands of babbitt

for making it easy for this young man to purchase these weapons. blood is on the hands of the goods store -- gun store who sold it to him that did not alert anybody. some guy comes and your store buying killing rifles and all of the ammunition and you do not alert authorities? use your common sense. i do not understand that at all because that is their right. it is right for a woman to have an abortion and they're trying to have that. thank you for c-span. host: sharon is next in southside virginia in the -- on the independent line. looks like we might have lost sharon. let's go to robert in arson ville, illinois on the republican line. caller: hello? go ahead -- hello? host: go ahead.

caller: they say assault weapons. a hammer can be an assault weapon. guns are second amendment right. they shall not be infringed. when you take peoples ability to protect themselves, you take -- then you have defund the police. host: so i have question for you, do you need an assault weapon to defend yourself? can't that be with a lower powered weapon? caller: how are you going to defend yourself against a criminal who does not abide by the law? you've got criminals doing unlawful things, but you are not going to stop them. host: are you saying that if somebody else has an assault rifle then you should have the right to get an assault to defend yourself? caller: look at it this way, see what they done -- when they take

your guns, they have complete power. these people are still afraid that really the gods honest truth about it, people -- in a sitting president. we have criminals in our office, in our justice system that are corrupt that do not follow the law. i have seen it's, ma'am. i've seen it firsthand how the law does not follow the law. the law interprets. host: getting back to the gun control issue, you are still against banning assault rifles, is that right? caller: no, i'm not against banning assault rifles. anything can be assault. i can use a pepper shaker and assault somebody and make it an assault ever shaker. host: jaden is next on the independent line. good morning. caller: good morning. i have thoughts on this as well.

i know that it would be hard to take guns away from everybody. the ones that would hang onto it the most would be criminals. why is there so much shooting nowadays and there wasn't 50 years ago, 100 years ago near as much? some of the things happening now a lot more is there is a lot more violent movies and children see killings happen on tv and also there is pain in children's hearts. young people's hearts, a lot. a lot of that is because of broken homes. fathers and mothers are not stink together to raise the family and teach them the way they should walk and to love people and there is so much pain and hatred.

i believe that god's manual, got is the one that created us, his manual, the word of god, the bible, just has a lot of answers for us. if we follow him and his ways, it is really going to go a lot better. i think that's the best answer. host: mike is next i am maryland on the democrats line. hi, mike. caller: how are you doing? listen, just give me a minute or two. a couple things. one is we were bating for baby jesus and thoughts and prayers to save us. we have to address the technology available to mostly young men in shooting up all of these kids. i recommend seeing a tape of ari melber who cited a great study comparing four english-speaking

first world countries, america, canada, u.k., and australia. it turns out that we have no more not cases as a percent of population than any of the other three countries. but we have way more peeps who get dead from assault rifles. so it has to do with accessibility of the assault rifles. my legal scholar friend advised me that apparently limiting assault rifles would still survive heller and mcdonald. so it is something we should look at. if we will not change the second amendment, at least limit the technology of nut cases. we can't identify all of these not cases but one person has to get through, can get through, and chewed up anybody from parking lots to schools, etc. thanks. host: dale is next in kentucky

on the republican line. hi. caller: yeah. ?" dale? caller: can you hear me? ?" i can come ago -- host: i can come ago ahead. can you meet your tv and just talk on the phone? caller: well, it is. host: go ahead. caller: it started when john kennedy, when they stole the election in chicago, new york and texas, detroit's, and colonel custer of the country came then. they started all this giveaway and they don't want to work, we will give you a check and it has continued on all of these years. i was 25 years old when they stole that election.

host: dale, our light is kind of bad so i will let you go. that will be it for open forum for today's program. coming up next, our weekly spotlight on podcasts. tango alpha lima is the name of the podcast and cohost jeff daly will talk about it and veterans issues. we will be right back. ♪ >> sunday on q&a, elizabeth becker, offer -- author of you don't belong here and winner of the gold book prize tells the story of three moon who reported on the vietnam war during a time when covering war was a male dominated profession. >> there was no vetting like we have now, there was no military censorship, so it was probably the first and last uncensored american war. some had their censorship in the

post and telegraph, but it was for women a gift, because it was only because of the lack of codification, this openness that women could get through what had been the biggest barrier as a war correspondent, that you are not allowed on the field. >> elizabeth becker with her book on c-span's q&a. you can look at the q&a on all of our podcasts on the free c-span now app. ♪ >> c-span shop.org is c-span's online store. browse through our latest collection of c-span products, apparel, books, home to court, and accessory. there is something for every c-span fan. every purchase helps support our nonprofit organization. shop any time c-spanshop.org.

♪ >> be up-to-date in the latest in publishing with book tv is podcast about books with current nonfiction book releases, plus backs -- plus best seller list and trends their interviews. you can find it on our free mobile app or wherever your podcasts. >> there are a lot of places to get political information. only has c-span do you get it straight from the source. no matter where you are from or where you stand on the issues, c-span is america's network. unfiltered, unbiased, word for word. it happens here or here or here or anywhere that matters. america watching on c-span. powered by cable.

>> "washington journal" continues. host: welcome back to "washington journal." my guest is jeff daly, the cohost of the podcast called tango alpha lima. welcome to the program. guest: thank you for having me and bright and early this morning. host: especially for you in los angeles. tell us a little bit about the podcast, why did you started, what is it about? guest: it is tango alpha lima, which is the phonetic alphabet for the american legion. it was started by the american legion as another form of communication to reach out to our more tech savvy members and younger potential members. we are making sure that the relevance of the american legion is being broadcast as well as

continuing to push forward the relevance, having conversations that we typically do not have because we have not had a venue for it. we talk about issues important to all generations, so it has become an important tool to get the message out there. host: and we will take your calls for our guests. we are splitting up our phone lines by veterans, active military, military families, and everybody else. if you are a vet, you can give us a call at (202) 748-8000. if you are active-duty military, it is (202) 748-8001. if you are part of a military family, you can call us on (202) 748-8002. everybody else, (202) 748-8003. tell us about yourself and your military experience. guest: as i say on the show, i am guest: of the michigan -- i

am jeff daly of the michigan daly's. i went off to the marine corps. then i got out, went to college, studied economics, then turned my back on formal education and became any improviser with the second city of chicago and conservatory and moved out to l.a. and reconnected with the veteran community after i got to los angeles. now i'm kind of all in here. host: you mentioned the american legion, the podcast is part of the american legion. tell us about the organization and how you help that's. guest: the american legion is the largest veterans organization in the country and we have done so many different -- have helped in so many different ways. we have programs for everything. my post in particular, we are a

home away from home for veterans so they have a place where they can have camaraderie and really hang out with people who get them. to me, that is the number one benefit of the american legion and i have been preaching that for the past month. i had some health issues and the american legion community really stepped up to support me and gave me a new invigorated reason , the why, why i do what i do and why i do so much on a volunteer basis with this organization because we really help out. other than that, we have the scholarship program, we are really a powerhouse legislatively, we are working now to -- my friend in north carolina, she was pushing to get the honor our past act passed so we are going into action to make

sure service people and veterans are protected from the effects of toxic exposure -- excuse me, toxic exposure. it is getting body armor specifically for women, it is getting on our legislative agenda. we do a lot from the top nationally all the way down to feeding people locally at the local policed -- local area. it's a wide range we held the veterans were also community. our motto is veterans straight thinking america -- strengthening america. it is directly attacking what we served to help and protect. host: you mentioned the toxic exposure bill. remind our viewers about burn pits, what they are, and the effect they have had on vets.

guest: we should start with our previous generation veterans and what they had to deal with with agent orange and welcome home to the vietnam veterans by the way. it is kind of joined with that generation because now we are repeating the same thing. the burn pits over in the middle east, what they were is it is hard to describe because everything was burned in the burn pits. people that were -- so they have these large areas where they would burn things. they meaning we, the united states military. the people that were exposed to those fumes and came home and are having respiratory issues and other issues and we want to make sure that they are taking care of. host: the other issue is mental

illness and mental health and it is mental health awareness month. do you think vets are getting the resources they need? the help they need on that front? guest: i think the resources is one issue and we do need to make them more available. to me, me personally, the birth -- the books issue is the stigma tasked with getting the help. i think we are going a long way to reduce the sigma so the people's are comfortable getting the help they need. one of our program, be the one program, which is why i'm wearing the indie year, because this is indy race weekend, and we are promoting the program which is essentially everyone should be the one for certain -- the one person tell one person so we can save that one life or

bridge that one life and we are having the drivers of part of that campaign and it really is about making people comfortable and normalizing seeking care for mental health is just as important as physical health. host: let's talk to one of our viewers. aubrey is on the line from richmond, virginia and you are a vet? caller: yes. i heard a while ago you said something about [indiscernible] being involved in the legislature. what's the problem with extending the forever g.i. bill to pre-9/11 veterans? guest: i'm not intimately aware of that bill. i'm probably aware of the bill but i'm not aware of the problems of extending it to pre-9/11. i enlisted pre-9/11 and i have

the montgomery g.i. bill. so there are different variations of bills over time. so the g.i. bill has been enacted. it has been available to all veterans. the post 9/11 g.i. bill is -- was designed specifically for that group and i do not know -- i'm sorry i'm not familiar with how it applies to previous generations. host: i want to ask you about the renaming of military bases. this is an opinion piece in the washington post from yesterday, and it is headlined "work to scrub the confederate stain from military bases is off to a good start." it references the george floyd murder by minneapolis police officers and it talks about not only the confederate monuments

but now there are military installations that were named after confederate soldiers. what is your take? guest: my take, and again you have to make sure that we are saying that it is my taken out the american legion's take which i have to make that distinction is i do think having our military bases named after what was essentially an enemy of america is kind of contradictory. we have been trying to move on from these things for a long time and we have such a gap in america between people that we need to do something to bring them together. do i think in the short term we will have more turmoil between americans because of this? yes.

sometimes you have to go through difficult things to create a better environment. it is a difficult thing because there are people involved that really want to honor the battles that were had and not necessarily the ideology. unfortunately, the two are married and we will always have these debates. personally, my personal thing is we should try to move on as much as possible. host: let's talk to another vet, calling from conway, missouri. hi. caller: yes, ma'am. i was in the korean -- they don't call it a war anymore but we talked about mental illness. the shooting down in texas the day before yesterday, no one talks about if he was on some

kind of drug. i have listened for two days and nobody even mentions that. but it has a really -- if he got on the wrong drug, he is really in bad shape and everybody around you. i just wanted to bring that to the listeners. thank you very much. host: any comment on that? guest: like you said, it has not really been brought up, so i just don't have much to comment on. host: john is calling us on our line for vets from missouri. hi, john. caller: yeah. a lot of people never realize what real pain in the world is. it is religion separates everything. i'm telling you this, once all

religions come together, you will never have any problems. you will never have it if you have hope. host: ok, john. jeff, we were talking about mental health with respect to vets and here's an article from wral.com. it says the department of veteran affairs launches $20 million challenge to reduce veteran suicides. i wonder if you talk about that issue on your podcast and what is your take. guest: we have not talked about that specific $20 million thing but we talk about mental health awareness and issues all the time. it's important to distinguish -- not to distinguish but to recognize that mental health and ptsd can happen to, veterans and noncombat veterans. we have far too many women who suffer military sexual trauma,

we have people who -- we hear about people dying in training incidents but we have a lot more people who are in training incidents, so the mental health issues in the military are prevalent. being in the marine corps, i was told to get over it, move on, do what you gotta do. it is tough to rub dirt on the mental health issue and move on. that youth is of -- the ethos of the warrior mentality is great when you're in a situation where the stakes are life-and-death, but when you come home, you kind of need to decompress and seek out that help. host: anthony is next also on the vets line from new jersey. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call.

jeff, my boy, you're doing a tremendous job on the podcast. we all love you and are glad to see you in better health and spirits. keep doing what you're doing. guest: thank you. see that support from the american legions community, that is part of the professional development program the national american legion college in my class and it is good to hear from you. host: it's always good to get that encouragement, jeff. let me ask you about the transition from military life that is very regimented, really a lot of things taking care of for you and you have your job and have your training into civilian life and what your thoughts are on that and how to ease that transition and make it easier for active-duty transitioning to becoming vets. guest: it's funny you should ask. we are right now in the middle of recording a special series, the transition series.

so we have people that know a lot more about that than i do, and that is coming up soon. my own personal journey is i treated transition like a mission. i got myself into college, was in classes within months of getting out, and just focused on getting that done. i'm not sure, in retrospect, if i really holistically prepared myself to get back out. i did not identify with the veteran community. there are people i went to college with that did not know that i was a veteran other than why this person who is several years older than us in classes with us. sometimes it came up and sometimes it did not. i think now there is more resources for that. there is more support for that. there are people dedicated to

that. you will hear about them on our transition series on tangle alpha lima that all this is the brainchild of --tango alpha lima that all of this is the brainchild of henry allen and we put it together with super holly and people that listen to the show no who that is. we line up these guests that help with job issues, with just marketing issues like coming up with an elevator speech about yourself that translate your military experience into a benefit to civilian jobs, which we never think about. veterans thing, especially if you have a job that does not translate into a civilian job, you do not always typically think we are qualified for things, even though all of those experiences are beneficial in the marketplace. the transition series i think

will be a really important series. we have also had mental health series, we have had -- we do these special series where we typically play once a week. it is every tuesday something new drops, but when we have the special series, it is multiple days in a row. one was the 9/11 series which was super popular and if somebody is going to jump in new, i would suggest looking for that series, then look at the upcoming series i think in about a month for the transition. host: we are taking your calls for our guest, jeff daly. if you are a vet, you can call us on (202) 748-8000. if you are in the military, active-duty, (202) 748-8001. military families can call us on (202) 748-8002. everybody else, (202) 748-8003. let's talk to louis who is in san diego, california and is a vets.

hi, lewis. caller: good morning. i wanted to make a comment on transitioning. most important thing you can do is a plan whether getting out of the military or returning, you got a plan. if you are retirement eligible, i believe having a ceremony gives you the closure you need. host: all right. guest: i agree 100% and being there in san diego, he's got a lot of company because it is a big military town and i did not retire so i did not have that ceremony but i think if you spend 20 to 30 years in one environment, then it is really good to have that closure so that you can launch yourself with momentum into this new universe, which is just as complicated and just as exciting. host: richard is calling us on

the line for all others from wyoming. hi, richard. caller: hello. i just have a question. i thought naming military bases after confederate generals was an effort at reconciliation. is that correct or not? host: jeff. guest: i have heard that before, and i think maybe at the time that those were named, that may have been one of the aims of reconciliation. i think as time has moved on, some of those names are being used to divide rather than to come together. frankly, i think we need to look at that and come up with a better -- come up with the best solution possible to try and bridge the gap we have between

americans today. host: on our line for military families is sean from california. caller: good morning, everyone. host: good morning. caller: i am a military brat from a large military family of uncles, brothers, family members. i lived closely next door to one of my aunts and uncles. i actually think this was before the vietnam vet. i know as he gets older, he is having more medical conditions and he lives by himself. he's having a difficult problem with like getting a medical alert, military to assist him. i me rephrase that, the v.a. to assist him with a medical alert so he can continue to live alone. he also has other things. he lost a spouse after over 40 years and he is dealing with

that. i do not see that they are helping him with how to be able to cope with these things and connect with other veterans that may be able to help him. we live in a rural area. can you elaborate on that on the medical perspective and how to help veterans that live independently? they want to continue to live independently but they are afraid and need something like medical alert or assistance with medical alert. thank you very much. host: go ahead. guest: if this person called me, i would get them in touch with a service officer who can act on their behalf. because we are not the v.a., but we do interface with the v.a., so maybe a service officer can

help them figure out what it is, what they are eligible for like this and to get that taking care of for this vietnam veteran. again, welcome home. i think i need to point out the american legion is [indiscernible] that means this is an identified problem as some of the post level can start a process with resolutions they are called to affect the legislative agenda. if this is a problem that does not have a solution currently, and i do not know it does as this is very specific but if it does not have a solution now, we can make that part of our legislative agenda to address that. also, someone interfacing with the american legion service officer, we can have

communication directly with the v.a. so this person can at least have someone to talk to about a comment to figure out what their options are. there are so many options. i learn about new resources every day and i am in deep in the american legion, in the veteran community, so i have a lot of access to a lot of information and there is so much out there. i would believe in my heart and soul that there is a solution out there for this problem. the person just needs some guidance because it is a massive system. no one person can know all of it and it can be intimidating to go into its from the outside trying to get in so i would suggest this person get in touch with a veteran service officer, find a local post, and you can get in there and get the referrals you need. host: regarding sean's question,

there's an article from military.com that says senators from rural states trying to stop wava va hospital closures before they start. these are senators from four states that introduced legislation to dismantle a commission that studies the department of veterans affairs hospital system and making recommendations on consolidation and closures of facilities. let's talk to james calling from washington, d.c. on the line for all others. hi, james. caller: yes, ma'am. you are doing wonderful, thank you mr. jeff. i am a vietnam veteran and i was on the cambodian border and u.s. army 1966 and 1967. my number one issue is the backlog of 300,000 people backlog at veterans appeals. if we have a president that

would resolve this problem in 120 days for all of the veterans, my kids have been going 12 years. there are people going 5, 7, 50, and sometimes 20 and 30 years. the name of the bases are not that important. we can solve some problems and help these veterans and [indiscernible] and i would also like to say i am a regular from south carolina, 64 high school, and out of 21 boys, there were 56 of us, 21 boys, eight of us are vietnam veterans. the number one issue for me is resolving these veteran claims that can be resolved quickly if they have a will and a way. and lord help us in this country. host: all right, james. go ahead, jeff. guest: first of all again,

welcome home. to you and your classmates. that served in vietnam. the backlog is a big issue, we interviewed the secretary of the v.a. last year in convention and this is something that they are working on. they have been trying to hire more people, they have -- there is technology advances as the government goes, technology sometimes is behind the job and there are upgrades being done and i'm not trying to put people off on this because it is just not a great situation. we have people in the appeals process for years and years, that is a serious problem and i agree 100% that it is -- that it

should be a priority. i do know the american legion does support -- it obviously supports reducing and minimizing those appeal wait times and it is getting better but it is still not acceptable. so we still have fighting to do and i would encourage all veterans to reach out to their legislators, to get the funding to upgrade the technology, to hire the people, and we have to have resources to get this job done. host: let's go to blue springs, missouri, our line for military families. elaine, hello. caller: hello. does your group work directly with blind veterans, with the blind veterans association? have you ever had any of the leadership from that blind veterans association on your podcast? and do you have any of their

concerns included in your legislative agenda? guest: i was just a guest for meeting of that audience, and they prefer visually impaired because you don't have to be completely blind to be a part of it. those resources are available. unfortunately, like i said before, the mountain of information available out there does not always efficiently get dispersed. i promised them i would communicate this issue of the visually impaired not being -- that information not being readily available at local post because it is important if you have someone that comes in that is visually impaired that you can connect them to resources.

and there are resources. the v.a. has programs specifically for that community. right now, this is not a problem of a lack of resources or lack of programming. the problem is connecting people to it. that is something that we are working on within our organization, at least on posts that i am familiar with and perhaps your question makes me think that it needs to be taken to a higher level and that is something i will talk about with people. host: let's talk to diane next in florida on our line for military families. hi, diane. caller: hi. thank you very much. he answered most of my questions concerning the military families. i am a widow of a veteran of the gulf war and it's very difficult

to even get survivors benefits. so i say addressing that issue as best as i can. however, i am being stopgap by letters every 45 days that it is under review. i asked if there's anything else i can provide on mental health, but i'm not the only one. there are people that have been trying since the 1980's to get their benefits and i just do not understand why when they have these wonderful computers and all of these people being trained in technology that every 45 days we are told it is still under review. thank you for taking my call. host: i appreciate that call -- jeff, your take. guest: i appreciate that call because it highlights the military spouses that serve in their own very important way and

again, this is another call about wait times that are unacceptably long. unfortunately, i do not have those solutions right here, but this is another reason, this is another part of my why, that these people who serve in different capacities should be a priority and i'm sorry that you have to put up with that and i hope your resource officer is fighting for you every day. unfortunately, in the big bureaucratic system, we have to constantly be fighting. we have to be loud to be heard and you have to be consistent to get your due results. i hope that they are doing that for you and if not i hope you

can find somebody that will do that for you. host: let's take a call from connecticut, edward is calling us on our line for all others. good morning. caller: good morning. and good morning to you, jeff. i'm not sure how to pronounce your last name, i think it is delay? guest: this daily like every day but no i. caller: got you. 10 for but -- 10/four. i want to honor our veterans that lost their lives and spilled her blood so that we could all be freemen and free women from government rule, foreign or domestic, and be a self governed people by all votes. like those people we elect better in the seats of power right now, i believe all of us americans, after we retire, want

to vote on what we pay for with our lives and limbs and blood and tax dollars and time on this earth and the natural resources god gave us all and for our children so they do not have to die in vain from children getting guns because good gun, since laws are not passed. don't get me wrong, i am pro-life. one other thing, the president of the nra i heard him on c-span talk we other day and he said he believes in the power of prayer. i do too, but what he did not say is he believes in the power of politicians. host: let's get a response.

go ahead, jeff. guest: i would say the beginning of that call is probably the most important part. citizens in the united states don't vote enough and the people who do vote, vote, but our voting numbers are not highly -- not high enough. if we are going to be a democracy that does the will of the people, you have to cast a ballot. you have to get -- you have to encourage people who believe as you do to vote. we should be encouraging people who even don't believe you need to vote because voting is our power and the more we ignore that power, the more saturated voting becomes with people who do vote. so they have an increased amount

of power in the system and if you want an equitable system that represents your views, you have to encourage voting. not your views but the majority views of america. i'm not going to touch on the other stuff because i am representing an organization and those are things that would be personal for me. host: on cnn.com, there's an article that says u.s. likely to keep 100,000 troops in europe for the foreseeable future for russian threat. obvious he that is not a, roll as of right now but it is a deployment and we did spend 20 years in iraq and afghanistan and now this. what are your thoughts on that? guest: it is not anything really new to have a presence where there could be a problem that

will erupt at any given time because it helps us with our response. it is likely a nato initiative so that we are prepared and meeting our responsibilities to the other member nations of nato , and it is not a combat rule so i think it is just prudent reparation as potential problems. -- preparation for potential problems. i do not have strong feelings for or against it, other than i think our mission is to always be prepared for any kind of conflict. right now, we have seen from the nation mentioned that aggression is part of the norm for them. so we do have to have a presence and have to have the ability to communicate to that there will be consequence for action and

that we will also protect our allies. host: jane is next on our line for military families from memphis, missouri. all, jane. caller: hi. i'm calling because my husband is retired military and he passed away with asbestos lung cancer, which he obtained when he was in the military. now, we were not always able to go to a military facility because it was -- the closest one was 2.5 hours away. so i'm wondering what they're doing about better access for people who live this far away. 2.5 hours. and with gas prices today, i cannot imagine what it is like for them. however my husband has passed away so i no longer have to deal

with this but there were many times with children at home that we had to cancel appointments because we could not go that far away. thank you for hearing me. host: all right, jeff -- all right, jane. guest: sorry you had to deal with that. that is not acceptable. the thing is now we have things called community care with the v.a. so that if you are too far from a va hospital, they will connect you with someone closer in your community to get you the care you need. it is not just distance, if the v.a. where you are at is inundated with cases and it takes too long for you to get appointments, that is another problem, they will also refer you to community care, so if there's anybody out there, rural, far away where the v.a.

does not have the time to get you any appointment in a timely manner, interrupt what they're saying and ask i would like to be connected to community care. they will -- they have to try to help you get things closer in proximity and better timing. host: robert is next in frostburg, maryland on our line for vets. hi. caller: how are you doing? host: good. caller: my name is robert. i am a disabled vietnam veteran. i reported some veterans at the hospital who had been abused. my congressman said donald got involved and they came down hard on these people who were abusing these veterans. ever since then, i have been

retaliation, a whistleblower, and this is unbelievable. [indiscernible] i can get these people out of my mind. they are hurting. please help me get these people out. i'm so tired of it. [indiscernible] thank you. host: jeff, a lot of emotion there. guest: yeah, welcome home, and thanks for your continued service. the bravery to come out against abuse of your brothers and sisters is admirable, and it is

terrible that somebody would be retaliated against. i would suggest going back to the congressional office and seeing what they can do for you. there are bad people out there and i hope that you have some good people around you that can support you if not, please find a veterans organization close to you. obviously i think i've chosen the american legion bots if there is someone else closer to you, get involved with them so they can support you and also that is a great network to combat some of these things because doing a good thing should not encounter negative consequences. unfortunately, there are bad people out there.

i did not expect to be touched by a call this much, but i'm a little infuriated with the fact that someone could step out with such bravery and do a good thing thing and it was clearly justified. people were being punished for it, and then have retaliation against them really bothers me, and i hope that you can get through this, and for your own sanity, i would also suggest that you find someone to talk to, because if you are feeling like you are at fault at all, if you are feeling like you dude -- you did anything wrong at all, know that you did not and you art, and someone needs to remind you of that. thank you very much. host: jeff daly, cohost of tango alpha lima podcast.

thank you for being on the program and happy memorial day. guest: please everyone, honor our fallen on memorial day. host: that is it. we will be back again tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern time. until then, happy memorial day to everybody and have a great saturday. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2022] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪ >> "washington journal" every day we are taking your calls on the air, live on the news of the day and discuss policy issues that impact you. sunday morning we cannot -- we talk about campaign 2022, the

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debate and events that transpired since the massacre in texas. we will start later today after 1:00 p.m. eastern with a gun safety rally hosted by congressional democrats. participants talk about banning ghost guns, expanding universal background checks, and enacting red flag statutes. then it is the confirmation hearing for the president's choice to serve as the director of the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, explosives. the senate judiciary committee questions the nominee. and then we will show you speeches from the nra convention in houston. former president donald trump is among those addressing attendees and that is coming up today on c-span. and a reminder, all of these programs and more are available for you to watch on the go with c-span now. congressional sessions,

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