>>politically direct means no bs, cutting through the clutter. >>bill press and stephanie miller, current's new morning news block. weekdays six to noon. ♪ ♪ >> had a iey. good morning. it's friday, march theirth. can you believe it? welcome to full court plex ready to tilt left for the next three hours. here is the biggest outrage of the day. we know the big oil companies are making the highest profits they have ever made in history. $137,000,000,000 last year. so president obama says, it's time to cut the subsidyies we have been giving these oil companies since 1918, came up yesterday in the senate.

senate republicans, every one of them voted -- i'm sorry except for olymme i can't snow, every one of them voted no, to stand up for the big oil companies rather than american taxpayers and the middle class of this country. what an outrage. they ought to be ashamed of themselves. that's one the topics we'll talk this morning. out to los angeles for this current tv news update from jacki schechter. >> good morning, bill. here is what's current. sources tell the associatesay paul ryan is set to endorse mitt romney later today. it rounds out an interesting trifecta. first the support of marco rubio of florida, a tea party darling. yesterday, he got the support of george h.w. bush more of an old-school republican. with ryan support, he would have the backing of a new guard in the republican party. whether or not this is helpful with voters is yet to be seen. the "new york times" has an

article about how voters in ohio want romney to get real. they want more passion. they want more personal stories. they want a hug. no. they actually just want him to be more human, the same as going for voters across the midwest. next up for the republican party is tuesday's primary in wisconsin but local voteers are very much focused on local politics. the democrats in the state now have the requisite number of signatures signatures to recall scott walker. there is a meeting today that will make it official. and what's going to happen then as they attempt to unseat him, the primary will be on may 8th, the election on june 5th. president obama on the campaign trail today. he will be up in vermont in date. it's a day trip for him. he will be back in dc tonight. you know who is in dc? bill press. he has avery friedman. join us in chat current.com/billpress. bell see you then.

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as i understand it in radio they can't see you, so this is big for me. >>tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's new morning news block. >>it's completely inappropriate for television. >>sharp tongue, quick wit and about all, politically direct. >>politically direct to me means no bs, the real thing, cutting through the clutter.

my show is the most important show in the world. ♪ >> broadcasting across the nation, on your radio and on current tv. this is the bill press show. >> senate republicans stand up for big oil. and against the american people. what do you say? hello, everybody. and welcome. welcome to the full-court press this beautiful friday. >> hallelujah. >> yes indeed it is friday, march 30th. and we love fridays around the bill press show. what do you say? >> hallelujah yaw. >> you got it. you got it. indeed, we are coming to you

live over sirius xm, your progressive radio station and on current tv. good to have you with us today. lots and lots to talk about as we head into the weekend. so it's great to see. thank you for joining us. we want to hear from you as to what all of the issues mean to you, of course, here in our radio factory and t.v. factory and book factory on capitol hill in washington, d.c. so, give us a holler. join the conversation any time at 866-55-press. one of the great advantages of radio and television is we can take you take your calls and make you part of the program. we love that. we love that. the whole team, peter ogburn. >> happy friday. nice to see you. we made it through the week. >> dan henning. >> good morning, bill. >> behind the cameras are our video, siprian bolding there. it's on the camera only for the one time there. >> just enough to say hello. >> a little wave. good to see you, guys.

you won't believe this but i just -- i just got word from david, the president of current tv. they are going to give us another week. wow. >> we haven't brought too much dishonor. >> passed one week. it's a week at a time. no, actually, it's probably a day at a time. we are not sure about that. so i told you guys yesterday -- >> actually, i didn't think about you guys at all yesterday. >> when you live in washington you have to be ready for everybody everything because anybody with any cause comes to washington, in front of the white house or in front of the capitol. yesterday, i am doing my little power walk and i go down the capitol. i like to walk down the mall as far as i can get, depending upon how much time i have and i am going down by the capitol and i see this guy. he's got a tee shirt, and it says, "circumcision. yes give my consent. and i thought t i don't know

where that guy is coming from, you know. but that's kind of strange. and then i get down in front of the capitol. there is a whole big demonstration against circumcision and a big -- i love the capitol building and, you know, i don't have any big feelings about this issue, i guess, but in front of the capitol, across the front of the capitol, our capitol, on the west side of the capitol across the entire lawn is this huge banner that says: a foreskin is not a birth defect. and i thought, oh, no. >> thought they were going to bring a picture of it there? >> no pictures unfortunately. >> if there was a picture, it would have fit right in there at congress. >> i don't know. i just thought it was a little maybe not fitting for the united states capitol. but on the other hand, why not? it's an issue that some people feel very passionately about. obviously, i saw it yesterday.

>> i feel passionately being it but i don't know i would want a big sign on the u.s. capitol. >> or wear a tee shirt that says that either. so what's up? we've we've got lots and lots and lots to talk about. senator byron dorgan former studio. i wish he were still there. we are also going to be joined by sandra fluke. i think that's how we pronounce her name. we've said it fluke, but she is the now famous georgetown student who stood up for women's rights and was attacked mercy mercilessly by rush limbaugh. unfortunately, he is still on the area and avery friedman our legal guru is here to take a look at the latest on the trayvon martin case. let's get right to it but first. >> the full court press. >> bill, what would you do with over a half a billion dollars? >> ask me saturday. >> yeah. tonight's mega millions jackpont is workth an estimated

$540 million. it's the lottery largest jackpot in history to seeday as more tickets are purchased, the drawing at 11:00 o'clock eastern tonight. lump sum payment options, current value, $390 million. >> now, here is -- yeah, but here is what gets me. this is counter-intuitive because the bigger the prize, the less of a chance you've god to win. >> yeah. >> but the bigger the prize, the more people who buy tickets. right? so the idiots like went out yesterday and today to buy ticket tickets, they have less of a chance to sayhan say if when it was like 50 million. >> but it's half a billion, it's worth playing. when it's the one or $2 million it's chump change. >> i don't know anythingone who would go out and buy tickets for today. there it is. >> but here, i am, ma'amn, a dollar and a dream.

>> is that the whole team? the pool? >> this is my $5. >> i will pay you back on monday. >> all right. uh-uh. yes get any contributions here from you or siprian or dan. this is bill and carol. we are heading for the stars. >> if you are not here on monday, we know that you have won? >> this is from at a time market. all you people out there don't buy a ticket today. i got it. >> katie curric is heading back to morning television for one week, the former nbc today's shove left six years ago and former cbs evening news host is set to fill in for robin roberts on good morning america. she will be alongside george instead of no liststephanopolis. >> happy birthday to the democrat from alaska turned 50.

he will have a poker-themed party. he likes playing with family and friends. >> not putting money on it. >> he does not expect the game to be rigged in his favor. his strategy is to lose so everyone feels sorry for him and buys him presents. >> is it not a big thing, casino birthday parties? my family in delaware they do this all the time. yeah, they set it all up and we get chips. it's not real money and prizes. ante up. >> not me. i just buy mega millions. >> for suckers. the game of chance where i have the least opportunity to win. >> i will take my chances on 1 out of 176 million. >> perfect. >> but poker is for suckers. >> exactly. all right. yeah, i will tell you speaking of suckers we are all suckers if you watch what the congress did yesterday. i mean so congress is going now

to out for a two-week break. they ought to go out and hang their head in shame after what they did yesterday on three fronts, but let me tell you first of all, what will yesterday shows is don't tell me there is no differences. i hear this all the time. it drives me freaking crazy. don't tell me there is no difference between the two parties. yesterday proved the difference between the two parties and yesterday showed who stands for what or who stands for whom. let me just say three things: number one, the house votes for a highway bill. okay? now, we know usually we've talked about this this week. in the past, i mean this is like the engine of economic growth in this country is to keep our roads in good shape and our bridges in good shape, our infrastructure to move the goods from one place to another. >> that's so vitaly important. and in the past, when i worked in the california legislature, when i -- and here in the

congress congress, it's always been a bi-partisan thing, that's one thing that republicans and democrats could agree on. it was always you have got to plan ahead like five or six years. this year, the best they could get out of the senate was a two-year bill. even that is kind of squeezing it in. but they got it out with 74 votes out of there the senate. and they got it out as we pointed out, jim inhowefe most right-wing senator and barbara boxer probably the most liberal of the united states senators. she says that proudly and i would say it proudly or maybe bernie sanders is to her left but she is there. god love her. anyhow, the two of them pushed this through and they get the two-year thing and it goes over to the house and what did the house do yesterday? the house republicans? 90 days. they say that these are pro-business republicans. b.s. you can't -- if you are a big corporation, you are a big

construction company you can't make plans. these projects take some of them two years. these projects, rebuilding a road, building a new road, fixing a bridge, i mean it can take months and months and months. if not years. the best the house republicans could agree on is 90 days? and as ray lahood pointed out transportation secretary pointed out on this program two days ago, the problem is that john boehner is a februariless lead-- feckless leader who has no control over the tea partyers in his own caucus. here is secretary lahood. >> unfortunately, they have this 40 to 50 very, very conservative, do-nothing republicans who came to washington to do nothing and that's what they've done who are holding up the bill. and so again speaker boehner can't, with his leadership get his troops together. he doesn't want to pass a bill with democrats because that

would be embarrassing to him, and he can't pass it as long as he's got these 40 to 50 en trenchtants. >> he refuses to do the right thing, bring the bill to the floor. democrats would have voted for a 2-year bill. we would veryrather have than that this 90-day mickey mouse one. no. 2, they passed the republican budget yesterday. it is a paul ryan budget which is even worse this year than last year. and what does it do? the paul ryan budget it slices medicaid. i mean basically destroys medicaid with the big cuts in medicaid. it destroys and ends medicare as we know it. it drastically cuts food stamps and every other program that helps the poor or the middle class. it gives a huge big tax break. in addition to the bush tax cuts

for the wealthy, even more gives an even bigger tax cut to the wealthiest people in this country. and bonjohn boehner says this is the vision of what the republican party is all about. yeah. for sure. they are going to have to run on this. they are going to have to run on this in, in november. this is a party that's, for the second year in a row, stood up and said, we want to get rid of medicare. we want to go ahead ritd of medicaid. we want to cut every program for the poor and give even fatter tax cuts to the wealthiest of americans. nancy pelosi yesterday pointed out how totally, totally wrong this budget is. >> it's a big day for big oil and wealthy people and the rest of that. and that's who they are here to serve. >> republican party again showing who they stand for. they don't stand for working-class americans. they don't stand for middle-class americans. if some?you don't believe it, here is number 3. president obama out in the rose garden yesterday morning challenging the senate saying

the big 5 oil companies have had tax breaks for a long time and made a lot of money last year. isn't it time to take away their subsidy subsidies, their tax breaks? the president says is the senate has a clear choice to make. >> today, members of congress have a simple choice to make. they can stand with the big oil companies, or they can stand with the american people. >> so who do you -- who are they going to stand with? and the president points out. look, if you look at these oil companies, you know, they are zapping you once because they are making you pay their taxes with these tax subsidyies. we are the ones who pay. the oil companies don't. no. 2, they are zapping you at the pump. >> like hitting the american people twice. you are already paying a premium at the pump right now. and on top of that, congress up until this point, thought it was a good idea to send billions of

dollars more in tax dollars soto the oil industry. >> so what happens? comes up for a vote. every single cranrepublican with the exception of olymmepia snow votes for the bill oil companies and against the american people. and even some democrats did, too, though democrats come from the oil-producing areas like mary landrieu and out in alaska. what a total outrage and disgrace. $137,000,000,000 last year is what they made last year, up 75% over 2010. they have had these subsidyies since 1918. and we are continuing their subsidy subsidies when the senate won't go along with a tax cut for the middle class won't go along with a payroll tax cut won't go along with extending unemployment benefits but they will give the big oil companies a great big huge fat tax break. it is out raterageoutrageous.

don't tell me there is no difference between the two parties. we see yesterday who republicans stand for and who the crats stand for -- democrats stand for. you tell me 866-55-press. it's pretty clear. democrats stand for working-class americans. republicans stand for big oil. ♪ >> this is the bill press show. no other television show does that. we're keeping it real.

>>i'm a political junkie. this show is my fix. [[vo]]this former two-term governor is ... ♪

>> 25 minutes after the hour. so what are the oil companies doing? this is full-court press here on national syndicated progressive talk radio and on current tv. what are the oil companies doing with their money? i have to tell you, all of those profits, they are not spending it. they are not spending it on new production or looking for new sources. no, they only spent less than 10% of their profits last year on new production according to think progress. but they spent $65.7 million, $65.7 million $65.7 million lobbying, lobbying here in washington to keep their tax cuts. sud subsidies. >> hi, a friend of mine works for an oil company.

the oil companies spend on lobbyists, republicans and whatever some democrats. we are paying for their lobbyists. it's disgusting. >> as i just pointed out they spent $65 million, the big 5 last year lobbying, and we give them $2,000,000,000 a year in subsidies. by the way, do you know what rate exxon -- and i have to tell you, at the whitehouse briefing yesterday, ed henry said from fox news said to jay carney, you know tion the ownil companies say they pay 41% in taxes. and, you know, i wanted to shout out loud: b.s that's not true. i looked it up. exxon last year paid 17.6%. >> when romney says to that girl, if you want something free, go with the other guy, he is giving free subsidies from the oil companies. >> absolutely, wayne. good to here from you. from new jersey, hi, bill. welcome to the program. >> how are you doing?

>> hey bill. good. >> i just wanted to say i am from new jersey. this area, i am out in orangetown which is between philadelphia and the city. our gas is actually kind of cheap in consideration. it's about 20, $0.30 cheaper than the national average. >> uh-huh. >> you know i heard you say that since 1918, these companies have been subsidized? >> yeah. >> is that correct? >> yes. >> so, you know going back almost 100 years, i can understand the intent to do that before. >> right. >> nowadays, they are making what was that figure? how many billions. >> 137 billion last year, the top 5 in profit. profit. >> profits. i think it's time. i think they made their cabbage. it's time they start reinvesting in our infrastructure and everything else. >> absolutely. bill, you are so right. >> that's the crux of the president's argument. let's take that money and invest it in renewable energy.

>> this is the bill press show. the ted conference held here every year in southern california is an event designed to bring the brightest minds in the world together to share their most powerful, influential and creative ideas. the speakers share a common goal, making the world a better, smarter place through innovation, technology and the power of big ideas. in ted speaker dr. jonathan haidt's book, he argues that all human beings share a few basic moral values. caring, fairness, loyalty, respect, purity and liberty, are intrinsically important to most humans.

but how those values get expressed can vary extensively across cultures and other social groups. haidt looked at american liberals and consevatives and found that they too shared the same values. but liberals tended to value care and fairness a little more than the others, but was less concerned about purity. conservatives weighted the values a little more evenly, ranking fairness as the least important. haidt believed that despite the issues we may differ on, we're all mostly trying to do the right thing. scion: what moves you.

♪♪ >> the bill press show on your favorite radio stations and now on current tv. this is the bill press show. welcome to the spin room. >> happy friday. welcome back to the full-court press, this friday march 30th, coming to you live from our nation's capitol 33 minutes after the hour. a lot of big legal items in the news this week. both the trayvon martin case and the supreme court's debate over health care, of course. we want to get goesinto those with our legal expert avery

friedman, which we will in a second. first into the spin room yesterday, three meet state governors lined up yesterday in defense of pink slime. man, everybody, there are even people who will defend george zimmerman and people who didwill defend pink slime. they deserve to be in the same category. sam brownback and terri bran steady from iowa and rick perry from texas says there is nothing wrong with this pink slime. >> whether you work in the industry or not, this ishysteria we are seeing is going to affect everyone to some degree reacting to nothing more than media reports and social media rumors. >> that's all it is. it's just rumors. then all three governors wolfed down burgers yesterday prepared by the pink slime people.

after which they were rushed to the local emergency room. all right. hey, we welcome you back to the program, our own legal gulru avery friedman on our news line this morning. what do you say? >> listen, bill. wasn't that in ghost busters or was that a different kind of slime. >> the bad guy in ghostbusters. >> that's green slime. how are you guys doing? >> green slime, pink slime. >> whatever. >> pretty good. let's start with the trayvon martin case. here is the latest in this back and forth. somehow, people feel -- right? it's not enough that they killed trayvon martin. they have to slime him. here is robert zimmerman, the father of george with the latest charge. >> i never foresaw so much hate coming from the president, congressional black caucus, the

naacp, every organization imagineable is trying to get note right tee or profit from this in some way. but there is so much hate that i have never been involved in hate. george hasn't. it's really unbelievable. >> so much hate coming from the president of the united states? >> yeah. yeah. >> avery, what can you do with these guys? >> you have to respect their freedom of speech faultyirst of all, right or wrong. a lot of people don't understand under our constitactuallies, you have a constitutionally right to be stupid but on the other hand look, this is a father who is hurting for his son. i think we can understand that. but the rhetoric is way out of line. >> yeah. what did the president say? i am not going to comment on an investigation. the investigation is underway but i, certainly as a parent feel for somebody who lost their kid. >> that's exactly what a presidential -- that is what is being presidential. he did it exactly right. but, you know, again again, a father hurting because of what

his son is going through, he is not going to look at the facts. he is going to feel for his son. >> let's look at the facts such as we know them. is it -- here is my word: is it still possible at this late date now to have, you know an investigation of the facts of the case? >> i think so. >> that's the fairest question. and i think it's in serious jeopardize jeopardy. we saw the most recent tapes over the past 24 hours. >> yeah. go ahead. >> i have to tell you something. all i could think is if these, you know, cops are not taking care of -- i have taken care of cops over the decades. believe me. >> sure. >> they needed to push away from the donuts and put on the rubber gloves. you are searching a suspect and you are going through the area where there is alleged blood in bear hands? i mean this was spectacularly bad. it's worsened by the fact that instead of police going out and doing the investigation, media

doing their job, of course. >> yeah. >> is doing it and that's going to be subjected to it will be used for cross examination. it is a mess. >> avery, i have looked at that video 50 times. >> yeah. >> i bet you. right because we heard he got in this fight and he says -- they say, right? that trayvon martin overpowered zimmerman, throws him to the ground he is on top of him beating his head against the sidewalk, brakes his nose, he has blood on his face, blood on the back of his head. >> yeah. >> look at that video. blahhing blood all over his clothes. now they are saying he was given first aid. >> they cleaned him up at the scene. >> before he got at the police station. this was a half an hour later. >> yeah. >> what did he doll have? have plastic surgery. >> you pulled the words right out of my mouth. for those of us that have actually been there in the streets dealing with these kind of matters, i mean when you are hit that hard in the back of the head, it just doesn't evaporate. in fact, if there was first aid on the scene, if there was

anything close to the kind of injury that's being alleged, bill, that man would have been, you know, bandaged up and protected by the time he got to the staytion. but you look at that video and again, it's a been grainy. i think we canall can see that. but even with that, you see nothing. and on top of it, again, when cops are doing the investigation, interviewing and they are touching a particular suspect, you've got gloves because that's going to driveerive evidence. >> listen, they put on gloves at the whitehouse to pat somethingbody down in a suit coming through the security there. so as a civil rights attorney and with all of your experience avery, is this -- could this be, do you think, on the surface it looks like it could be a civil rights crime on the part of george zimmerman? >> what the justice department of course, that's -- >> the justice department generally will examine whether

governmental governmental like a police department engaged in civil rights violations this is private conduct, bill. this thing has got enl blown up all over the place. i don't see the department. they might send community relations people out but not for prosecution. >> okay. so it's impossible so it's not possible for an individual to exitcommit a civil rights crime? is there. >> we have had the call for governmental investigation. >> that's imprecise. do you want people from the justice department calming the community? a civil rights division prosecuting? usually when you see a prosecution, it will be against local government. this is a block watch guy. so you are not going to see a civil rights case coming out of justice. >> if there is a prosecution, it would come out of the state attorney? >> yeah. you would see something like that but it's not going to be civil rights. >> yeah. there is so much to examine there that i hesitate to move on, but i really want to just in

the sake of time. avery friedman is our guest. he is the civil rights attorney. you can find him online at avery --averyfriedman.com. what did you think sitting back and looking at the supreme court for the last three days? how do you read the tea leafveleaves? is health care going to survive? >> no. was that blunt enough? >> yeah. >> you know where i think it winded upturning around and i sort of gave up on anthony kennedy, the swing vote after the first day and i might have been premature on it. if there is any hope left there is a great piece by adam latec on the first page of "the new york times". >> about kennedy, appealing to a justice's notion of liberty. >> there it is. that nails it. we have got this justice who is really the wild card, bill the true wild card and he is not just going to sit there stoic stoicallystoic

stoically. he will think over the next three months where he is going. so i hadmodified that initial view. i originally predicted he was the key, figured he was dead or the issue was dead by the -- after the first day, but on reflection, bill, there is still a chance, but, you know, if you are a betting man, don't bet on the survival, at least of individual mandate. >> let's be honest. how do you assess the perform performance of solicitor general verily? >> he found his game by the end. and without that, any of the substantive parts of health care have about as much chance as sonny crowley owning a toll booth. it's finished. >> he had a bad day the second day. >> man. >> for somebody with so much experience, right? it was like he choked. >> bill, let me tell you something, every one of these guys, including paul clement and don sometimes underestimated the power that's coming from

these -- from this bench. my mean whatever the spin is, these aren't stupid people. and i heard harry reed saying well, you know, as a general rule, the questions don't tell you anything. i love harry reid but i think the last legal thing he ever was did did was to repossesses a hudson. the comment ators people involved with supreme court analysis and have been there have uniformly said: it's kennedy or not. and i think that's right. there is some thought that maybemaybe -- >> so -- >> john roberts. >> i was going to say. you have given up on roberts entirely? >> i don't want to, bill. you know, there is a legacy here i mean he's got to overcome bush v. gore. he has to overcome citizens united. this might be a chance. and he is one smart son of a gun. let's see if he could use the left next three months and do something right. >> my friend, it's good to talk to you. it's been too long. avery friedman >> civil rights attorney again,

follow him online at averyfreed manual.com. thanks, have a good weekend. come back soon. >> i will see you. >> he tells it like it is. >> that's blunt enough for me. >> for a lawyer these bighe is pretty straightforward. a complement. right? he ought to be given courses in lawyerese. right? you can understand this guy. ♪ >> room meets television: the bill press show now on current tv! ♪ >>bill press and stephanie miller, current's new morning news block. weekdays six to noon. i think its brilliant. >>current tv welcomes two new hosts. news and analysis with a washington perspective from an emmy winning insider. >>i know this stuff and i love it and i try to bring that to

the show. >>and humor and politics with a west coast edge. >>politically direct means no bs, cutting through the clutter. >>bill press and stephanie miller, current's new morning news block. weekdays six to noon.

>>just refreshing to hear. no other television show does that. we're keeping it real. ♪ >> the latest from the world of politics, this is the bill press

show. >> all right. 13 minutes now before the top of the hour. take a look at the whacky world of politics as we go into the weekend today. one more reminder about a way you can earn extra bucks after you meet those bills at the end of the month. do so without leaving your home. i am talking about incomeathome american america's leading work-from-home business doing business in over 80 countries. you can join them no matter your age, education or experience. you can actually do this actually earn money from home from your kitchen table using your own laptop 24/7. no pressure. all you need is a little spare time and take advantage of their one on one coaching that the people from income at home will provide. you can be earning great money at home. if you are sick of living paycheck to paycheck and you are worried about job security or retirement and ready to make money from home, part-time or full-time, income at home is where to go. they are adding my listeners in record numbers and giving away a

thousand bucks to somebody for check can checking them out. visit incomeathome incomeat incomeathome.com. on the political front, rick santorum actually jumping out to california yesterday and again saying, if you want a conservative, it ain't mitt romney. >> i am the only person in this race that brings that legacy of strong strong principle convictions a depth of understanding, experience. we have seen what it is when you have a president with on the job training on national security. >> he wrapped himself in a mantle of ronald reagan. meanwhile, mitt romney got a couple of big endorsements yesterday. first, he got the endorsement of marco rubio from florida. man, i have to tell you, this guy is running so heart for vice president it's obscene. you know you don'trun run for vice president. you just sort of, you have to be kind of cute.

right? you know you don't throw yourself in front of them. you just sort of, you know do a good job and let people let others talk about you. rubio is just hungry for the job. >> and also, wasn't the florida primary several weeks ago now? i mean if he really wanted to show his convictions. >> then? yeah. no. he ishas just endorsed mit rom ney yesterday. he has a new book coming out. i mean come on okay. and the bigger endorsement maybe was from president bush president bush. former -- they are both former but pappy bush, the good one of the bush presidents, relatively speed speeding number 41 endorsing mitt romney yesterday. >> i do think it's time for the party to get behind governor romney. and he was reminding me kenny rogers saying a time when to hold them and a time to fold them. i think it's time for people to go and get behind this good man. >> get behind this good man, and

mitt romney saying he was honor honored to have the president's endorsement. meanwhile on the newt gingrich front, he is running what some people are calling today, a zombie campaign, meaning -- >> his wife looks like a gomzombie? >> i didn't say that. >> okay. >> that's not what they are saying. sometimes he is there and sometimes he is not. just sort of, you know, like he has let most of his staff go again. they walked away last time. he insists he is holding back until tampa. but what's interesting that leaked out is that he met with mitt romney last weekend in louisiana. both he and romney have confirmed that they had a secret meeting. i wonder what that was all about. you know what that was all about. newt was trying to make a deal some kind of a deal. he better make a deal soon because the latest poll shows that newt is now down at 10% among republicans nationwide.

he was once at 37% about a month ago. he is down to 10%. he is blowelow ron paul in the ratings. also, on the political front yesterday, we mentioned the three republican governors showed up, one democrat and two republican governors showed up in support of pink slime yesterday and it was sam brown brownback from kansas who gives us the new slogan for the pink slime makers. >> i hope that dude it's beef catches on because that's what it is. dude, it's beef, which reminds us, of course, of where's the beef, the wendy's commercial. wendyts has a full page ad in "the new york times" that says: where is the pure beef? at wendy's. >> that's where. we have never used pink slime, and we never will. >> that's our promise to you. >> that's wendy's way.

>> that's great. >> so if they are playing off of the "where's the beef?" wendy's doesn't want any part of it. steve is calling from the great state of florida, the sunshine state. hi, steve. are we there? all right. steve, you lost your chance to be on national tell vipings and national radio. sion and national radio. we will take a look at some of your e-mails some of your twitter feeds, some of your facebook comments. >> on your radio and on current tv, this is the bill courtpress show. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ radio announcer ] he puts up the shot for the win! ♪ ♪ [ mayhem ] it's march and it's mayhem. and if you've got cut rate insurance

you could be wishing it was february. so get allstate. [ dennis ] dollar for dollar nobody protects you from mayhem like allstate agents. if you have copd like i do you know how hard it can be to breathe and what that feels like. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms by keeping my airways open a full 24 hours. plus, it reduces copd flare-ups. spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that does both. and it's steroid-free. spiriva does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell your doctor if you have kidney problems glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. these may worsen with spiriva. discuss all medicines you take, even eye drops. stop taking spiriva and seek immediate medical help if your breathing suddenly worsens your throat or tongue swells you get hives, vision changes or eye pain, or problems passing urine. other side effects include dry mouth

and constipation. nothing can reverse copd. spiriva helps me breathe better. does breathing with copd weigh you down? ask your doctor if spiriva can help. >>the blood is in the water and the sharks are bipartisan. >>you got a bone to pick with that? ♪

>> taking your arms e-mails on any topic at any time. this is the bill press show live on your radio and current tv. >> for a world view particularly what's happening in the middle east, laurawyer lara satrakian joins us from former senator byron from north dakota. wayne marion says bill, i have been a fan of yours for years. you prove every day that your audience can be informed and entertained without producing anxiety and frustration like my former morning show on msmbc. thanks, wayne. wayne also says, i really like jacki schechter. she delivers the news in a straight, no non-sense way. we all like jacki. thank you, wayne. nobody not everybody is a fan.

frank says reverend jones is absolutely correct. praise the lord for reverend joins jones and the heritage foundation. we are going to win this election and return the country to christianity for that is the only way to save ourselves for the coming of end times. and when that day comes, we will be saved, and all of you christ killers will burn in the lake of fire. >> it's getting warm in here, bill. >> so be warned. >> membrook -- signed by pembroke pines. what i love it is when people are totally insane send e-mails like that and then they actually sign their own name, you know. you would think they would want to crawl under a rock somewhere. all right. beware, you christ killers will burn in the lake of fire

>> this is the bill press show: .

♪ >> good morning. and welcome. welcome to the full court presses this friday morning, march 30th. it's your new morning show on current tv. good to be with you today. thank you so much for joining us. i am bill press tilting left for the next couple of hours with all of you, and we've got lots of stories to cover, but here is one i can't believe this morning. so robert zimmerman, the father of george zimmerman is now speaking out, and he says, i can't believe all of the hate that's coming out of president

obama toward my son. all of the hate? talk about hate, how about calling trayvon martin a drug dealer? how about calling him a thief? how about saying, you know he has assaulted a bus driver. yeah, there has been a lot of hate in this case and all of the hate has been directed by friends of george zimmerman and family of george zimmerman against trayvon martin. >> that's just one of the things we will be talking about this morning. first, let's get the latest. go out to los angeles and say good morning to jacki schechner with this current tv news update. >> hi, bill. good morning. good morning, everyone. here is what's currents. the supreme court is expected to vote on health care reform today, but don't expect to find out about it for another couple of months. why the delay? well, the justices are going to vote in order of seniority and it will take a couple of months to write their opinions in the day ofand age of facebook twitter. u.s.a. says don't expect anything to leak.

the supreme court keeps a secret. the opinions may change over time. so if you ask the question to them: is this your final decision? the answer may be "not necessarily" on the campaign trail, the next primary for the republican candidates is tuesday. dc, maryland and wisconsin but all eyes are on wisconsin where it the ad wars are getting nasty or staying nasty for that matter. interesting that romney and his super p.a.c. the restore our future is out spending everyone this is actually the same trend we are seeing nationwide. and that may be working. a new nbc maris polel has mitt romney up over rick santorum 40% to 33%, seven points' difference. rick santorum needs wisconsin to stay vieable in the race. coming up, bill press has talked about having foreign correspondent lauren satrakian. join us in chat,

current.com/billpress. we will see you there. paperless discount. paid-in-full discount. [yawning] homeowner's discount. safe driver discount. chipmunk family reunion. someone stole the nuts. squirrel jail. justice! countless discounts. now that's progressive. call or click today.

as i understand it in radio they can't see you, so this is big for me. >>tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's new morning news block. >>it's completely inappropriate for television. >>sharp tongue, quick wit and about all, politically direct. >>politically direct to me means no bs, the real thing, cutting

through the clutter. my show is the most important show in the world. ♪ >> broadcasting across the nation, on your radio, and on current t.v. this is the bill press show. >> how about it? the father of george zimmerman says he has never seen so much hate in his life come from a president of the united states. oh, really? how about the hate coming against the family of trayvon martin and trayvon martin himself, from the friends of george zimmerman? you what do you say? hello, everybody. it is friday, march 30th. this is the full court press. welcome welcome. good to see you today, this beautiful friday morning. we are here in our nation's

capitol coming to you all across the country on your local progressive talk radio station of course and now on current tv ending our first week on current tv. we are very excited about it, and they have even given us another week. so what do you know? maybe we are here for longer than we thought. good to see you today. thanks for joining us. we will be glad to take your calls at 8-66-55-press. our toll-free number and we are excited to welcome in the steedudio a friend. program we usually join when she is in dubai or some exciting place, laura satrakian is a former correspond ent for abc news and bloomberg. >> it's fantastic to be here. on week 1, i am honored truly. >> the highest point of the week here our regular team, peter ogburn and siprian, our videographer. >> so peter and dan and siprian and al rockyier, the weather man

is out in front. >> of course. wrong show. >> the crowds of people watching. >> with all of the crowds. >> i think they are online for coffee, actually. >> lots to talk about. lots to cover with you. there is a lot going on iran syria, a lot of big questions with the white house yesterday that came up i would like to ask you about. byron jorgen forther senator from north dakota has a book out and it's a novel called "blow-up". >> we arethey are so creative these guys. we don't know until they leave? >> he will join us later. >> some other headlines making news on this friday. >> these are the big headlines. >> yeah. >> okay. i am a serious news man. ben affleck's restnext movie role model s after something far too common in politics according to the hollywood reporter hase has

signed to play a politician who gets caught having an affair and has to return to his hometown. >> what a stretch. >> he has to return to his hometown to confront his past. called called nathan decker will likely becomegin filming later this year. >> next thing they will talk about a u.s. senator caught with profit profittitute profittitutes. i don't think so. and then got re-elected. no. never happen. >> if you were hoping for another star wars movie, kiss that dream good by. tmz caught up with director george lucas and asked him if any more any more episodes? he said absolutely not. he is retired, moving away from the business, the company, all of this kind of stuff. there had been talk of three more star wars series coming out from the series that started in 1977. >> the disaster that the three prequells were, i am totally fine with this. >> we have had enough. >> and the quaker oats man is getting a slight makeover. look twice at the 135-year-old

oatmeal brand. next time in your garb storyrocery store you will see the famously plump and gray-haired man, his name is larry. >> i thought that was barbara bush. i had no idea. >> now looking thinner and a little younger. >> still have the hat? >> he will still have the hat. "the wall street journal" -- >> quakers don't wear those hats any more. >> his double chin is gone. he has a haircut, which makes his neck look thinner. >> they are air brushing the guy. >> exactly. exactly. pepsi co wants larry to look thinner and promote a healthier lifestyle which oatmeal can be a part of they took about 5 pounds off. >> how much did that cost. >> a lot of money. >> lots of oatmeal. thank you, dan. so let's start with afghanistan. the latest "new york times" poll: 69% of americans oppose the u.s. role in afghanistan.

how can you continue any kind of an operation? i know we are starting to bring troops home -- when 69% of americans say we don't belong there? >> it compromises the operation and the draw downtown, any kind of phased, calm approach we saw in general pat trayous before he left afghanistan. he was so committed to this calm, coordinated hand-off which is, of course, the ultimate end game for us in afghanistan afghanistan. >> uh-huh. >> and there is just no hiding behind the headlines of the past few months. it's chaos in that country. overnight, we reported associated press picking up, also, the death of nine police officers in afghanistan shot by another fleerpolice officer. one of those killing a brother. you just cannot imagine, especially outside of kabul, how things are falling apart. and -- there was no political day tantdetante that was going to hold down the security. we were starting to engage the taliban as a potential stabilize stabilizing force which sounds

surreal to us. you cannot move afghanistan forward without buying them into any future peace. >> there is no happy ending? >> not unless the after gans find one, themselves and we haven't left them with all of the tools they need for that. hopefully -- i am not -- i am not terribly optimistic that resource wealth is a stabilizeing factor but they do have resources. they have deals coming in, by and large, the chinese have beat us to that game in terms. deals for gold copper, et cetera. but there is business being done. if that trickles down people feel empowered. if they want -- you know what they want. they don't want the taliban. they don't want to return to what they had before. but they are going to have to fight for it because we are increasingly unable to help. >> has president karzai made any progress at all in unifying the country country? >> i don't think so n. >> outside of kabul, he is not a factor? >> he is a factor to his own support base.

for those who think he is stillole the last election and is as much of a dictateor as anybody other he doesn't have the legitimacy to be a force for good. but he has his support base. he's found his accommodations. he has cut his deals, and i mean it's very -- i hate to say it, but it's very similar to what we are seeing in iraq. these are the people we leave behind. and they have their ways of dealing in that game and knowing how to pull certain strings and keep keep themselves in power. >> which is the way they have always done things? right? >> it's just a different set of people at the top. >> and i don't know whether you have been -- were -- let me make it as a question: were you surprised that there was not a public demonstration, i guess, in the wake of the killing of the 17 after gans by this american army? i mean we sort of braced ourselves for it? >> yeah. >> it never came. why?

>> i see it as part of a spectrum that uproar happened with the burning of the koran. so i think in a sense, the outrage, it's not that it spiked but morphed into a low-level dissatisfaction. and the last time i was in kabul, my sense was that people were frustrated with the state of play, the lack of progress, but they weren't blaming us for it. i think that may have changed. and we don't have time on the clock to reverse that impression. >> uh-huh. >> so one of the more heart-breaking elements of this is i is, as i examine and analyze it is that we may leave with a terrible taste in the mouths of ordinary afghans who think we were no better. we liberated the country. they had the sense of gratitude. they want the kind of country we pitched them on but they will have to do much more of the hest heavy lifting. >> isn't it sad? for 10 years. i forget how many lives we have lost in afghanistan, and all of

the -- whatever. and all of the money how ever many, i meant to say and all of the money that we've spent, that we are -- we pull out and people basically say, goodbye. good riddance. i wish they had never come in the first place >>? >> >>? >> i actually move toward tears when i think of the american families who have lost people and the afghan families and the iraqi families who lost people. this isn't a judgment on my part as to how any of these policies were conceived or executed. it's a basic -- it's a basic reality of the politics of that region. and i know i am scoping it large, but i stare at these countries all day long and you see the various forces. it's not a quack myer, but it-- a quagmier but it's messy and the rules in whisper are fundamentally different in iranq and afghanistan from what we anticipate. we are so good at going in and so bad at preparing for day 2

and now we are on day last after a decade in afghanistan and we haven't mastered the cress gauging ches game of that country well enough to stabilize it, to keep iran from doing what they do on their turf, to out-in vest the chinese. we don't -- somehow process the sophistication and subtlety of these environ]ments. then we are at a loss and we have poured everything into the outcome. >> here we are with 69% opposing it. lara setrakian in studio with us. usually joining us by skype actually from the middle east. it happens to be in washington. you can follow her on twitterat twitter @lara. >> that's easy enough. she is foreign correspondent for bloomberg and abc news. you mentioned the last time you were in kabul. what is it like to travel in the middle east as a woman? it must be tough? it's tough for you? right? >> you learn how to keep your head down. i call it putting my hand on the

volume of me. you just kind of nothing that you duck for cover but try to keep a low profile, especially wheren you are going to somewhere like kabul and sad e arabia. by virility to you of my face, i tend to waveblending into a crowd. >> do you have to wear a veil? >> i have to cover my body in saudi arabia. i am christian. if you are notn-muslim, you don't have to cover your hair, but i often do out of an ape bund answer of caution. >> i thought all women did. all women do not. >> it was the king's decree a few years back if you are non-muslim, you don't have to, which was a kind of -- >> in other arab countries? >> i would cover my head in iran. it's amazing, especially in a place like egypt that has tendrend the ed islamist throughout this generation. he job description women who don't cover their heads are seen as har lots so i am very conscious of short sleeves or

low highcuts, or i am very -- so i tend to dress to the place to protect myself e serbostensibly. >> right. >> i have learned being a woman in the middle east gives you access to women's stories in a way you wouldn't have if you were a man. i can go to the women's starbucks section and sit with women who wouldn't want a male presence in the room. i have stopped seeing anything as a liability, just a work-around. >> did i hear you sawy the women's section of the starbucks? >> yeah. >> so really? >> yes. >> the coffee 1407 is divided in two? >> yeah. as an american woman traveling through saudi arabia that affairs youarts affords you some protection. it's hard to digest the reality. >> i can't believe starbucks would even do that. >> how about the american hotels that don't let women in the gym? i that sounds like a vendetta. i can't exercise. >> very personal. >> exactly. >> wow. or the pool or whatever? >> it's more that you don't have

access to these things and neither do saudi women is why i am tracking closely where the saudi women, whether they go to the olympics. >> the "new york times" this morning has an interesting piece about president obama being on the horns of a dilemma, in a sense one he created when it comes to iran because we want to put as much pressure on them as we cannot to go into -- not to go nuclear weapons and yet at the same time, we don't want to sound like john mccain does or mitt romney does or rick santorum. we are going to bomb them tomorrow. what do we do? >> we try to bring down the temperature because even the war talk is helping the regime in tehran. it's unifying people in iran against the possibility of an invasion. iranians are very proud and wonderful people. they don't want to be attacked. they don't want, nor do they want this relationship with the u.s. i mean obviously beyond its

support supporters, a lot of people want a better relationship with the united states. but if they feel threatened if they feel like sanctions are making it hard to put food on the table, they are going to blame the regament but they will also -- regime but they will blame washington. >> the war talk is not helpful. are the sanctions helpful? >> we will known on april 13th. we will know based on whether iran, at the negotiating table, the start of the nuclear talks, whether they soften their stanchion because they won't soften in public. they have to save face and they need to stir up their support supporters. but if all of this pressure makes them more plyiable or creates some sort of quantum solution like we saw a few years back. >> close enough to talk? >> exactly. >> thilapril 13th? >> the key date. >> lara setrakian in the studio with us covering -- with the time we have got a lot of territory. we will take your calls at

866-55-press. we will be right back. >> this is the bill press show. ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] introducing new nature valley protein bars. 100% natural ingredients like roasted peanuts... is on the new news network. >>jennifer granholm joins current tv. this former two term governor is politically direct.

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♪

shot with bill press, this is the bill press show. >> yes, on this friday march 30th, my parting shodt, did you hear ied yesterday was be kind to oil companies day, president obama's proposal to end subsidies for big oil companies since havethat have been around since 1918? why? because they don't need the money any more and we do. they don't need the help because they are awash in profits. last year, in fact, the big 5 oil companies reported the highest profits ever $137,000,000,000, up 75% from

2010. yet they paid very little in taxes. exxon mobile, for example, paid only 17.6% in taxes. largely because of $2 billion in annual subsidies from you and me. back in 1918, oil companies may have needed those tax breaks. they certainly don't need them today. that money is money we could have invest in wind, solar, electric batteries and other renewable sources of energy. everybody agrees with that except republican senators who voted yesterday against president obama and for exxonmobil. so now we know who the two parties stand for at least. democrats standing up for the american people. republicans, once again, standing up for big oil. well, that's my parting shot for today. man, i've got everything i need to go into the weekend. i have got my megamillions pick and i got my three glasses of scotch. have a good one. see you back here on monday.

>> the bill press show.