[ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> hey. good morning, everybody. what do you say? good to see you today. here we are on current tv with the full-court press. welcome to the program. i am bill press, liberal and proud of it. we are taking a look at all of the big stories of the day, telling you what's going on here in our nation's capitol, around the country, around the globe, taking your calls as we always do, every morning. how about this? the jury has spoken on john edwards. they say he is a louse. he is a bad father. he is a cheater.

he is a bad husband. he is a jerk. but, they say, he is not a criminal. they couldn't findthat he broke any laws. why did the justice department waste so much time and money bringing this case in the first place? we will get into that and a whole lot more. you bet. but first, we can't get started without the latest. today's current news update from jacki schechner in los angeles. hello, jacki. >> good morning, bill. good morning, everyone. happy friday. how is your to do list coming? me neither. but president obama is forging ahead with his to do list for congress. today, he will focus on the next step, setting up a veteran's job corps. he will be at the honeywell facilities. he will spend the rest of the day at campaign events in minneapolis and championships. monster.com released what it called the veterans talent index which surveyed veterans looking for jobs and the employers looking to hire them. the market is particularly

difficult for veterans who are 18 to 24, compete with their peers in a tight job market and they have an extra few years of education or more civilian experience. at the same time, many veterans are having difficulty explaining how their military experience translates for civilian work. this shows up in the numbers. 75% of veterans think that their skills -- are confident their skills will translate. but only 39% of employers think vets are actually thoroughly prepared to compete for civilian jobs. president obama's solutions to some of these challenges include setting up an opportunity for service members to earn certfications for high-pa demand manufacturing jobs focusing on machinists logistics and engineering cred kencials. his initiative is called "we can't wait." it will help thousands get licenses and certifications and asking the department of defense

to set up a task force focusing on industries that have identified the skills for more skilled workers. we are back after the break. stay with us. ♪ wojcicki give gavin a hands on look at google's glasses. >>that's facinating. for the energy to keep you going. who wouldn't want to be a part of that? payday. the sweet taste of energy.

you've heard bill's views, now let's hear yours. politically direct means no b.s. just telling you what's going on in politics today.

>>at the only on-line forum with a direct line to bill press. >>it's something i've been waiting for a long time. >>join the debate now. [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> broadcasting across the nation, on your radio and on current tv. this is the bill press show. >> george bush is back in the white house. thank god, he was only there for one day. what do you say, everybody? guess what? it is friday. ♪ alleluia. >> how about it? it is friday june 1st. ♪ alleluia. >> our favorite day around the full court press. ♪ alleluia. >> and yours, too, i bet, heading to the end of the week. it's been just about a perfect

week actually. monday was a holiday. i had tuesday off. so wednesday, thursday. i can make it. i can make it through three days every week. >> not bad. >> good to be with you. thank you for joining us as we head into this first weekend in june. can you believe we are already in june 2012? good to see you today. you are looking good and i know you are ready to take he will the issues of the day. there is a lot going on. yeah, more questions about russia blocking any attempt to really do what's necessary to get assad out of pour in syria. john edwards, the jury saying yesterday, he may be a jerk, but he is not a criminal. he is a sinner but he didn't break any laws. and in wisconsin, things are heating up, and everybody is wondering, well, well wait a minute. president obama is in minneapolis today. why doesn't he just bounce over to wisconsin while he is at it?

we've got lots to talk about. of course, we will take your calls at 866-55-press. 866-557-7377. get ready to join the conversation on a lot of important issues today that you are going to want to talk about. you are going to want to say hello to our team here peter ogburn, as always, leading the pack. hello, peter. >> happy friday. >> dan henning, still out to deutscheland. >> in a ditch somewhere in germany. >> stevie lee webb filling in today. >> good morning, bill. nice to be here. >> good to have you with us and of course sip ran boulding, we couldn't miss him, our great videographer. it was late yesterday afternoon when the jury announced they had reached a verdict. they came out. they had a verdict on one count. not guilty. but they had deadlocked on the other five. and the judge said, oh no, you

don't. you go back to work, dudes. they went back for an hour. they came back and said, uh-uh. we are not going to resolve it. so it was deadlocked. john edwards then walks out of the courtroom a freeman man. but he does admitted he did some wrong. >> while i do not believe i did anything illegal or ever thought i was doing anything illegal i did an awful awful lot that was wrong. >> wrong. wrong. i sinned. reminds me of jimmy swag arrested -- swwagard. >> i sinned against you, lord. >> those southerners. >> they know how to apologize. >> when they get caught. yeah. and john edwards says yeah, but, you know, there is still -- god has still got some plans for me. >> i don't think god is through with me. i really believe he thinks there is still some good things i can

do. >> sorry. >> bill, can't tell what you have going on there. i did friday -- it's friday. we have had cocktails in the studio before. it's early for you. >> no. i was just getting my drink for the day ready here. >> the t.v. show comes at the end. >> john edwards, god is not through with me yet. you bet he is not through with you yet, you louse. >> seriously. >> he has some hell fire ready for you. >> 0, dear. >> the eternal flames. >> anyhow you know the whole thing. we will talk with aid degree freeman. -- -- it was the stupidest move by to go after john edwards. clearly, clearly cheated on his wife, cheated on his family. he is a cad, but, you know, he

did not -- there was no law broken here i mean he did not committee a federal crime. a federal crime. it was a total waste of time and money to pursue this trial. and god knows the most stupid thing the justice department could ever do would be to go back and try to trialy the trial again. forget it. they blew it. go after some real crimes. anyhow, we will get into that a little bit later. we have a lot coming up. congresswoman, jackie spear, a good friend from california will join us and we will talk to the head of netroots nation about the big con fab they have and laura setrakian will join us from the middle east to talk about the latest in syria but first: >> this is the full court press. >> here is what's making news. this ought to serve me right for all of my gloating. the streak is over for the san

antonio spurs. >> oh. >> yeah, the oklahoma city thunder broke their 20-game winning streak and destroyed them. 102 to 82 last night. >> oh, my god. >> brings the series to two games to 1. the spurs are up. the sireries picks up saturday evening in oklahoma. this is the first time the spurs have lost in the playoffs. >> that's right? yeah, in the playoffs. but 20 in a row. right? >> 20 games in a row. >> man. >> pretty good. >> they had to lose at some point. >> yeah. >> in the final chapter of the history-making space drama, the space x cargo ship completed it's flight to the international space station with a splash off of the jaja starting routine missions this year. the dragon capsule will be shipped to space x's mcgregor, texas, facility for post-flight processing. >> that's a hugely successful mission. i still must say

>> if i am going to take this puppy into space right? i don't want to land in the middle of the pacific. >> no. no. >> i would rather like land at midway or 0 hair oro 'hare or or jfk. >> if they can pinpoint the falling capsule from the sky to land on a runway, more happy to them. >> orbit t they land in the ocean. i am waiting until they have landings. >> is barack obama kenyan? >> a campaign to get the arizona state is not a mythical beast before allowing his name on the presidential ballot. this comes after arizona secretary of state ken bennett

citing allegations the birth certificate is a fraud threatened to take the incumbent off of the ballot in arizona. the left action group wrote last week that there has never been a conclusive dna test stating he is not a unicorn if he is or may be a unicorn, he is not constitutional constitutionally qualified i love it. >> if barack obama is al kenyan mitt romney may be a unicorn. >> arizona deserves it. >> there you go. >> laughing stock of the nation. don't you owe us one more? no? >> that's it. >> did i lose count? >> nba, space and unicorns. i got it covered. >> you mean i have to take it from here? >> your turn now, bud --dy. i am done. >> i am ready, man. i am ready because i am -- this is what has my fires burning this morning. all right. look. you hear about the nanny state. right? the nanny state does exist.

yes, it does. it's called new york city. and the big nanny is michael bloomberg. and to a certain extent, i like some of the stuff that michael bloomberg has done. i mean, look. he started. michael bloomberg is determined. i am healthy and damn it, i am going to make sure everybody else is healthy. that's his sort of m.o. >> that's how he approaches life. and as long as i am mayor, i am going to make sure that nobody does anything wrong or anything that could hurt them or anything that could make them fat or give them pleasure. he started out with depressed. okay -- cigarettes. he said no cigarettes in the restaurant. i think they were already not allowed in the restaurant but michael bloomberg said no smoking in bars. everybody said, this could never happen. it could never, never, never. bars would lose all of the

business. baloney. they are doing fine. i can tell you that. i go to new york often enough. then michael bloomberg said you can't smoke in the bar, in flonlt of the bar. you have to be a certain distance away. then he banned trans fats in foods in restaurantsof the bar. you have to be a certain distance away. then he banned trans fats in foods in restaurants. i am okay with that. i am down with that. by the way, last time carol and i were in new york, we went walking through central park. you walk as you enter the park, there are signs everywhere that say, "no smoking in the park." in that whole, dambn big huge parks, as big as many american cities. i am fine with that. i am down with that. he said you have to have the cal occur count on menus in restaurants. i like that. i like to know how many calories in what i am ordering. i am okay with that. i think this time, i know as a liberal, i am supposed to like the latest michael bloomberg nanny state move. i think this time, it's just getting silly.

michael bloomberg announcing they are going to ban the sale of big sugary drinks in new york city. no more big gulp. one of these. those watching current tv can see, this is the biggest damb gulp i ever saw. peter, this is yours. you brought it in. this is how many ounces? >> it's i think 44 ounces. >> 44 ounces. >> 38 or 44. >> it's called a bubba keg. i have never seen a bubba keg before. i admit. i don't any more but i have bought big gulps. right? at 7-11. when i was doing talk radio in l.a., i would -- i would -- and three hours on a saturday and sunday afternoon, i would stop at 7-11 every day on the way to the studio, pick up a big gulp.

>> you can buy diet coke but you can't buy the real stuff. here is the way it works. bloomberg says, so, no more drinks no more sugary soft drinks any more than 16 ounces. and if you sell something over 16 ounces, you have got to pay a fine. so, if you have a soft drink with sugar 16 ounces is fine. more than 16 ounces, prohibited. a diet soft drink? you can buy any size you want. a bottled soft drink? get a bottle, not a fountain coke 16 ounces is okay. any container over 16 ounces, those bigger bottles that sometimes that's all they sell no. no. prohibited. sugar in coffee or tea? any size is okay. unsweetened. if your got sugar in it over 16 ounces, no. no. sugar or tea. >> wow. >> coffee or tea.

latte or cap chino, any size. fruit juice, any sizepacuno, any size. fruit juice, any size. fruit scrut 16 ounces only. i am not saying these things are healthy for you but it just seems to me for the government to say, you can't sell this. you can't sell this. you can't sell this, you know, i would make a couple of observations hear about the difference with cigarettes. you know cigarettes, you can harm other people. other people can get cancer by breathing your smoke knob is going to get cautionernobody is going to get cautioner -- cancer if you are sitting by them with a 32 ounce drink. you may be doing something stupid for yourself but you are not affecting the health of others. the other thing is, it's just kind of i am practical. you go to the movies did he have

i am you go to the movies. you want the 32 ounce. you can't buy it. you can buy 216 ounces -- two 16 ounces. there is an easy way around this thing what is the point, i guess? i know as a liberal, i am supposed to love this. i think this time, bloomberg has gone over the line. enough is enough. enough is enough. 866-55-press. you tell me what you think. you know what? you know damn well this is coming to a city near you. or your city or a city near you. it's not going to stop in new york if bloomberg. it has to go to the board of health. they have to approve it. but he's been successful so far. what's next? eating a big mac is not good for you. anything that has a double patty? right? it's not good for you. so no more quarter pounder with cheese? right? no more big mac or no more -- no

more french fries. they are not good for you. >> only five french fries. if you want more than 5, you have to pay. >> how about twinkies? they are not good for you. i would never buy them. but you can't even sell them in new york. you can't sell any drink with sugar in it over 16 ounces. is this big brother office is this nanny going too far? 866-55-press. i think even us liberals have to stand up at one time and say all right. come on. this is just silly. >> this is the bill press show. >> we're not through just yet, mr. vice president. >> they're swimming against the tides.

jennifer granholm is politically direct on current tv. >>the dominoes are starting to fall. (vo) granholm is live in the war room. >> what should women be doing? >> electing women to office. (vo) she's a political trailblazer. >>republicans of course didn't let facts get in the way of spin. >>do it, for america. [ ♪ theme music ♪ ]

>> heard around the country and seen on current tv, this is the bill press show. >> 25 minutes after the hour. happy friday. so michael bloomberg says, when i am calling on the board of health to ban the sale of any drink over -- any sugary drink over 16 ounces, he says i am not taking anybody's rights away. >> we are not taking away anybody's rights at all to do anything. all we are doing is forcing you to recognize that you're drinking an enormous amount of sugar. >> drinking an enormous amount of sugar, and michael bloomberg says all we are doing is educating the public. >> all we are doing here is educating. if you want to order 32 ounces of soda in a restaurant that we supervise, the restaurant must give you two 16 ounce glasses. and what's likely to happen is

you will drink one and not the other. >> i don't know about that. you know, i was just thinking: what about alcohol? okay? >> think about that. >> right? they could say, okay. you can have one beer. >> that's it. >> they are places that sell bigger beers. >> there are places that sell bigger beers. there are places that sell -- i mean, bigger drinks, period. right? >>. >> you can't have in a tall glass any more. right? or maybe they will limit the amount of gin in each gin and tonic, you know. bloomberg let them loose man. no telling where he is going. joe is calling from in atlanta. what do you think, joe? >> well, sir number one, i think you have got a great show. no. 2, i agree with you and the big brother aspects of this, but, you know, in new york, we got rid of all smoking. you can't smoke anywhere inside in new york city. >> that's all for the bedtter.

>> right. but, you know, you do -- you do impact other people's health by smoking in those buildings, joe. isn't that a difference? >> yes. >> that's a difference. however, if you look at the quality and quantity of sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, we are really poisoning ourselves. i don't think it's so bad. i agree the big brother aspect of this is troubling, but, hey you know, i don't think it's a that big a deal. am normally, i am okay with this stuff. motorcycle helmets? you bet. seatbelts? you bet. but at some point, i guess, people have to have the right to do dumb things. and i think this is it. if you are dumb enough to buy 36

ounces, go for it. >> this is the bill press show. ♪

we have a big, big hour and the i.q. will go way up. how are you ever going to solve the problem if you don't look at all of the pieces? >>tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >>you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. >>sharp tongue, quick whit and above all, politically direct. >>you just think there is no low

they won't go to. oh, no. if al gore's watching today... ♪ ♪ >> this is the full court press live on your radio and on current tv. >> 33 minutes after the hour on a friday june 1st. here it is, the full court press on current tv. your local progressive talk radio station and this hour on sirius xm, all the way across the great land of ours from our radio studio here t.v. steward yes and book factory on capitol hill. we will get back to your calls about mayor michael bloomberg and his latest on the health crusade, banning the sale of any

sugary drink in new york over 16 ounces, but on the global scale, on the international front nothing more sirerious than the situation in syria and nothing more complex and nothing more puzzling photo bam a administration, which wants to do the right thing but doesn't want to have to send military aid in, either in the form of bombing, airstrikes or boots on the ground or even arming the opposition. the pressure is building on them to do so. what's really going on over there? what are the chances getting assad to step down for answers on the ground, we go on the ground to duebai for abc news and bloomberg. good to talk to you, lara. >> i'm sorry. you are not in studio with us again this morning anyhow but we understand. you have got your job.

>> you can see from here the dilemma you are describing. gosh, it is terrible. the world doesn't know what to do about syria. the u.s. position as of yesterday laid out clearly by the ambassador of human rights is no further no intervention unless the u.n. approves it. the u.n. will not approve it unless russia and china get out of the way. this has become a sore point between the u.s. and russia. it's become a global split even the french the europeans really wanting to take some further measure to try to stop the violence in syria. but unless there is a global consensus, there is no way forward. russia is arming the regime. iran is helping them crack down. russia saying at one point if the u.s. goes it alone in syria this is effectively a kind of world warr iii. that's how stark it is. out here you can already feel the violence spilling over the borders into turkey de

destabilizing iran further. these are the kind of consequences that ensue as syria descends further and further into chaos. >> wow. >> i know. >> can you explain to us? i don't understand. what is russia's interest in propping up a guy like assad? >> it's their last castle in the middle east. they were forecastgadaffi alleys. ies. they have specific interests like billions of dollars in weapons sells and a port that is basically their beachhead and their freehand to do whatever they would in syria, a tremendous interest in the middle east. >> that's their one strong ally. they don't want a precedent, we should be over the regime not the sort of thing russians like to endorse. so philosophical, tactical strat

strategic reasons. >> if president obama did decide, you know, like president clinton eventually did in bosnia. right? and to bowing to the political pressure and for the united states, let's say launching airstrikes in syria to take out their air defenses. what would be the consequences or the reaction? >> there are a few tricky bits to that. first of all, a lot of the military installations are deep in civilian areas. >> of course. >> assad's father's strategy. it's harder than it was in libya to pick out the bad guys and their assets and take them down. the other kind of intervention they have explored a buffer zone that turkey might set up to help enable or arm the rebels. it's very difficult because the point is so messny so many sinister ways. they make it hard. the fight has become super hyper local.

there is no coordinated army for the opposition. there is one but it's based in turkey. if you are going to try to help people on the ground, who is who? where are those weapons going? where do they end up? what are going to be the consequences? >> why the specific language out of washington, there was this notion that going in would do more harm than good. also, i heard overnight from some wonderful wonderfully accurate, wonderfully reliable syrian contacts that came out of damascus that if the u.s. or outside force would intervene, it could have a substantial backlash. assad would say we were right. this is israel trying to topple. whatever line or baloney they throw at their constituency, this would be bolt administered by any kind ofstered by any kind of. the strongest argument for the overthrow of the syrian regime is the peaceful protests that are expanding civil

disobedience, the shop keepers in damascus shut down in protest of the massacre. those are the kind of key moments harder for us to see. >> that's why we are watching so closely from the region that really tell you, internally there is going to be more and more pressure to take them out. >> lara setrakia you can follow her on twitter at lara,@lara. do we assume and accept the fact that the kofi annan cease fire is dead? >> i think so. the opposition considers it dead. the regime has completely ignored it. we can't say that it hasn't done anything. maybe the violence would have been worse without it for all we know without some monitors on the ground. the greatest hope right now is some sort of a non-plan 2.0, that there can be a convincing of russia for something greater in terms of pressure on the assad. if russia can be convinced their

interests would be protected and new order. they are the king makers even within syria. there is a feeling that russia is the king maker of whatever comes next. some opposition, the leaders, this isn't libya in so many ways but one of the ways you have intellectual liberals on the ground who could kind of be the core, the backbone of a future government. it wouldn't all necessarily be islamist dominant. the likes of those folks, michelle kelo the famous name of the syrian opposition those type of folks want to see some sort of organized transition where russia does get on board and puts pressure for change they feel assured so you can keep your port, keep some of your interests here it's not going to be the new libya where russians are practically unwelcome. they are kind of neutral parties but they saw a total flip in the gadaffi regime russia had a great place on the ground and the west was kind of out of the

picture. now, in the new libya, the west is favored and russia is neutral to negative because they said gadaffi. actually, it's a lot of circles but these are dynamics relevant to the decisions happening in the region. >> there is a geopolitical geo economic realities which maybe some of us aren't aware of which as to the complexity of the situation and a lot of voices here in the united states see it as so simple which is always just send in the marines. >> yeah. >> your report confirms the fact today that it is not so simple. lara, i so much appreciate your time with us this morning. thank you so much for your good eyes and ears over there. okay. talk talk to you again, soon. lara setrakia covering the middle east, doing a great job with abc and bloomberg. boy, talk about the sublime and the ridiculous or the sirius and the not so sirius. there, the sirius stuff over in syria and what the united states ought to do and we also got this

situation where mayor bloomberg is at it again, having done, i think, some good things in new york in terms of banning smoking, public health measures. now, he wants to ban the sale of any drink, soft drink with sugar in it over 16 ounces? betty in harlem what do you think about it? >> hi. good morning, bill. >> good morning. >> nice to hear you. i love to watch your show. i am glad you are on. >> back at you. thank you. >> congratulations. yeah, bloomberg is doing a lot of crazy things. this is like the latest stupidest thing i have heard of. he could try, like for instance i am being screened for cancer something very stupid i did like smoke for 30 years. and i have to put up with people's second-hand smoke no matter where i go. why doesn't he try working on something like that where, wherever i go i have to be affected literally because i am

allergic not to cigarettes. and i feel so horrible because i feel guilty for having exposed people to second-hand smoke. >> i have got to say, i think bloomberg has done a lot about cigarettes. i mean, again, last time i was up there, carol and i walked into central park coming out of the metropolitan museum and there are big signs at the entrance of the park you can't smoke in the entire park. >> that's in the park. tricoming to east har let me where i am. i was passing by a guy i usually give religious literature. he smokes in my face. i say would you please take that cigarette out of my face and he said, well excuse yourself. >> well, bloomberg can't be on every street corner, i guess, betty. i appreciate that. the point is, now, look. i am okay with the smoking. look. you can smoke in your own house. you can smoke in your own -- in your own car as far as i am concerned. but in the public places in new york, i am fine with that. but 16 ounce drinks?

sean is up in new york city as well. what do you think, sean? >> well, the only thing bloomberg is doing is going back to the old ways that you received sodas. i was born and raised in new york. >> uh-huh. >> when you went into a restaurant, you ordered an 8 ounce soda. if you wanted another one, you order a second one. why do you need 32 ounces? let's be realistic. americans are greedy. everything is supersized. >> everything is supersized. you can get supersized fries, supersized buggers. bloomberg is just saying no more supersized drinks. what about the fries? >> do you need it? look at the waistline. the kids don't play. the parents give the kids the super sized. they don't play. they don't do anything. they give them that. they don't need it. >> the question sean. is it government's role, then, to decide what you can buy and what you can't? >> is it the restaurant's right

to super size something and put it on the menu and then the parents sit there and say, i want that and put it in front of an 8-year-old? >> well, at some point, sean, it seems to me -- and i say this as a liberal, proud of it. at some point, parents have to take some responsibility, and so do we. i mean i take responsibility. i would not buy -- if i drink any coke at all or soda at all, it's diet. diet pepsi usually in a small can. i wouldn't buy one of those super sized things but i am not sure i want the government to ban me from doing so. i mean i know i don't want government to ban me from doing so 866-55-press. full-court press continues on this friday morning. i want to tell you, also, about a good time at the whitehouse yesterday. >> this is the bill press show.

♪ we're the idea nobody wants to hear. until the truth reveals itself. and there's only one place you'll find us.

on the next gavin newsom show: google's sergey brin and anne wojcicki give gavin a hands on look at google's glasses. >>that's facinating.

[ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> listen and watch the bill press show on your favorite radio station and now on current tv. this is the bill press show. welcome to the pin room. >> hey, 11 minutes before the top. hour. happy friday june 1st. pardon me while i take -- >> that full of energy drink. >> i take another sip from my bubba keg this morning here i didn't, indeed, we will tell you about the big unveiling at the whitehouse yesterday but first, jumping into the spin room mitt

romney goes all the way up to california yesterday to stand in front of the abandoned solendra plant, the abandoned manufacturers who got a clone from the stimulus, from the energy department and they went belly up when china undercut the price of solar panels. probably a bad investment. but we all make some bad investments. mitt romney says, this proves how bad obama is on the economy. >> this is not the kind of building that is built by private enterprise. this is the kind of enterprise, the kind of building that's built with a half a billion dollars of taxpayer money. >> all i have got to say is what a freaking hypocrite mitt romney is. how dare he? what chutzpah, to be stand in front of a plant, a business that sut down and say that proves what obama is all about when his entire business career was buying up plants just like that and shutting them down and putting the people out of work.

>> that's, with obama is like the exception. with mitt romney it was his rule. it was his life. >> that's what he did for a living, was shutting plants down. this is the same guy, remember, who wanted the auto industry to fail, thought we should not have rescued them. yeah. come on, romney. who are you kidding here? so i have got to tell you yesterday was a very very moving ceremony at the -- at the white house. in the east room of the white house when president bush former president bush and first lady laura bush were there for the unveiling of their official port rates. it was first of all a shocker to walk into the east room and to see sitting in the east room all of these old bushies. they were all back for their man in the sentencer second row, karl rove. oh my god. i almost dropped it when i saw him mark mckinnon was in the front

row. i spotted john ashcroft donald rumsfeld colin powell don evans, former commerce secretary. the bush family were all there, though i didn't see jeb. but first daughters were there. the president's sister and niece were there. the president's father and mother, h.w. bush in a wheelchair and barbara bush looking as peppery as always. on the first row. vice president joe biden was there and president obama and michelle obama, the president and first lady and former president bush and laura bush came in. president obama thanking president bush for leaving him one particularly good present. >> george, i will always remember the gathering you hosted for all of the livingly former presidents before i took office, your kind words of couragement plus you left me a good t.v. sports package.

>> the president says, and i use it. the president george w. bush took the podium. he got a wild reception from the crowd there. they jumped up and they were shouting. and it sounded like a football game. the president admonished them for being so rowdy. he said there is something sim et trilltrical about my portrait. >> i am pleased it intros a symmetry to the white house collection. it now starts and ends with a george w. >> then he put it out there as a historical and significance to the significance of george washington gilbert stewart's portrait behind discipline. >> in 1814, dolly madison famously saved this portrait of the first george w. >> everybody gets it. >> now michelle if anything happens, there is your man.

>> finally, he said now that his portrait is on the wall, president obama late at night, when he is trying to wrestle with these big decisions can walk around and look up at his portrait and say: what would george do? he was in good form yesterday. ♪ we will be we will be right back. >> this is the bill press show. ♪ hershey's chocolate syrup. stir up a smile.

>> we're not through just yet, mr. vice president. >> they're swimming against the tides. [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> taking your e-mails on any topic at any time, this is the bill press show live on your

radio and current tv. >> okay. lots of comments on twitter on e-mail and facebook. from the e-mail collection on wisconsin, carolyn says: policy president obama, dennis cuss init initch -- kusinich. my family is going to walk door to door for tom barrett. good for you. you are right about that. lucille wegmann echoes: where are our democratic congress people? e-mail your cronies at msnbc. get your progressives to give a second and everybody tell the president to get to wisconsin. absolutely. the president ought to be in wisconsin. he ought to be there this weekend. he is in minneapolis and then chicago. take a look at the map. it ain't that far to madison. get there. >> this is the bill press show.

♪ >> hello everyone. welcome to the full-court press. i am bill press. liberal and proud of it welcoming you to the program and the discussion of the big issues of the day whether it's happening here or in our nation's capitol, around the country, around the globe, we will take your calls at 866-55 press. mitt romney went to california and blamed president obama for the collapse of solendra.

who does he think he is kidding? that was his whole job at bain capital was shutting down companies like solendra. he wanted to let the american auto industry collapse. what a hypocrite. we will get into that and a lot more, but first we check up about the latest current news update from jacki schechner out in los angeles. good morning, jacki. >> good morning, bill. good morning, everyone. the "new york times" reports today in what appears to be the first time the united states has reapedly used cyber weapons instead of military might to astack attack a country's infrastructure, from a book by david sangra based odd interviews with american, european and israeli officials talking about olympic games, a program started by the bush administration and accelerated by president obama uses a computer virus called a worm to sabotage iran's facilities.

if you are into cyber issues and a little technology and modern warfare. the department of justice is telling florida's governor rick stop to stop purging people from the voter roles. the doj sent a letter to the secretary of state in florida ordering them to stop the practice because it hasn't been approved under the voting rights act and it violates the national voter registration act. florida's primary is less than three months away, and the national voter registration act says it can't legally make any changes to its voter roles this soon. as we have been reporting this week, florida has now compiled a list of 180,000 potential non-citizens and local officials have sent out nearly 3,000 letters giving people just 30 days to prove their citizenship or they will be illegal to vote or ineligible, rather to vote. the state is using an outdated driver's license database and a lot of non-citizens.

hundreds are getting caught up in the flawed process. back with more after the break. ♪ ever.

it's go time. >>every weeknight cenk uygur calls out the mainstream media. >>the guys in the middle class the guys in the lower end got screwed again. >>i think you know which one we're talking about. the overwhelming majority of the country says"tax the rich, don't go to war."

>>just wanted to clarify that. ♪ >> broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the bill press show. >> george w. bush returns to the white house. don't panic. it was only for one day. actually, it was a good party. hello, everybody. what do you say? friday june 1st, good to see you today. welcome to the full-court press where we tackle all of the big issues of the day here from our nation's capitol, around the country, and around the globe. worsening, even more and more complex situation in syria. non-seems to know the answer to.

a lot of problems here at home. we will tell you what's going on, get you involved in the conversation by taking your calls at 866-55-press. good to -- good to see you today and good to welcome to the program, you heard a lot about netroots nation. who are they? what are they all about? what issues are they working on? nolan treadway is the political and logistics director of netroots nation. good to see you. >> thank you for coming in. >> looking forward to finding out what's going on and have your big netroots conference nation next weekend. not this weekend but the following weekend in providence rhode island? >> 6 days we will be up in providence kicking it off on thursday. >> great town, by the way. i am sure a lot of exciting things going on. we said good morning to our regular team, of course, peter ogburn. >> hi, there. >> assisted by the capable stevie lee webb.

>> i am finally, regular. >> you are far from regular. >> dan went that way and stevie came this way across the pond. ever our erstwhile videographer, sip ran boulding. hi sip ran cyprian. this was something that i missed along the way. the annual spelling bee, the finals yesterday. they always come up with words that i nerdver heard of. peter you were in a spelling bee? >> i was more than in a spelling bee i was the district champion for sorting carolina seven years running. >> are there more than 1 syllable words. >> i knew how to spell ya 'all. >> here is the final. >> gubtapens, gubtapens.

[applause.] >> i must admit gubtapens. >> 2000, scripps, national spelling bee. snigda nandapati. i couldn't spell her name. right? or pronounce it. >> it will be a word. >> when you told me how to spell -- i wanted to point out you misspelled it. >> did i? sorry. stupid me. >> is the champion rusty? >> may be. >> get upon it was like get up on out of here and get out of my house, that's how we said it in south carolina. >> do you remember what word you won on?

>> i remember what words i lost on. i had to lose two, duchess and schleack. >> you put a k? >> on the end of shellack. i tell you what. i haven't misspelled it since. >> you were spelling phonetically? >> yeah. >> netroots nation. avery friedman is going to join us in the second half of this hour to talk about john edwards and the somewhat verdict yesterday. it was good enough for him. also congress woman jackie spear joining us in the next hour but first: >> this is the full court press. >> big headlines. >> yes indeed here is what's making news game change leap wireless will sell apple's iphone, the first free paid carrier to over the popular device in the united states. the addition of the iphone brings a big player to the table, the cricket service.

they will over the iphone with a $55 per month wireless plan beginning june 22nd. they will sell the 16 gig iphone 4 s for $499 and the 8 gig iphone 4 for $399. those prices are higher than what other carriers offer but, of course, they offer -- you have to sign a two-year contract. it's not a pre-paid service. >> i thought apple had an exclusive. >> it started out with just at&t. then they give it to verizon. now, they are going to this. this is the pre-paid service plan. you don't pay for what you use. you pay for what you use before you use it. >> did steve jobs would he have approved this? >> probably not. from the who knew file, you won't have buddy roamer to kick around if you knew he was still running for president. the former louisiana governor -- >> running as an independent? >> he was. he announced he is suspending his campaign because of a lack of ballot access he calls it.

rommer began the election cycle and decided to become an outside candidate after failing to qualify and being shut out of the debates and gaining no traction in any of the primaries. >> is he on your agenda? have you invited buddy roamer? >> he didn't make it. >> darn. >> that's why he dropped out. >> he couldn't even get invited to the netroots nation conference. >> couldn't handle the pressure. >> in the final chapter of the history making drama, the test fight for the international space station splashed down yesterday, cleared way for the start of a routine cargo delivery missions later on this year after off loading their environmental samples, the dragon capsule will be shipped to space x's mcgregor, texas's facility for post-flight processing. >> it brought home the trash. that was pretty cool.

>> sanitation. >> right. >> i like the name too. the dragon. first of all, i heard a lot about netroots nation. tell our viewers and our listeners. what is net roots nation all about? an organization? a collection of organizations? >> well, we are an organize but our large focus is our annual convention coming up next week which is sort of like the sib liberal cpak. so it's the largest gathering of liberals and progressive activists throughout the year. this will be our 7th conference throughout the year. we are expecting about 2500, 3,000 people action and, you know, a weekend of panels and trainings and speefrpz and energy and inspiration and networking and fun. >> who are the big -- who are the big draws? providence rhode island? >> providence. >> 7, 8, 9.

>>, thursday, friday saturday. >> 7, 8, 9. who are the big names. >> up the road is elizabeth warren has a big senate race. she is going to join us. >> an hour drive from boston? >> yeah. >>. >> probably taking the train. she will be there. we have new york attorney eric snyderman delivering opening keynote. van jones who is a great barn burner. >> yeah. he will be there we have five u.s. senators, everybody pretty much all of the road island delegation is involved. lots of paul krugman is going to be there talking about, you know, economy for the 99%. >> nobody better than krugman? >> really not. he is special. >> so do you -- outside of the convention, right, or this conference what does netroots nation do? >> we are a small nonprofit.

so the convention is our focus but we also do mentoring of small non-profits that set to improve their social media and online presence. so we will work with a group for about six months and help them sort of get up to speed and be more effective online. >> that's some of the work we do. we do corralling of bloggers and some sort of more nebulous outreach sort of things. we are not -- >> but it's all virtual? right? >> yeah. we are a virtual company. i log in from home every day into the chat room and get to work. >> do you link people to other progressive liberal blogs? >> i mean not in a specific way. a lot of -- we work a lot of people. there is not like an official sort of, you are a member of net roots nation or member blog. it's more open, free-flowing than that but we definitely work with all kinds of online outlets outlets. >> the sign is netroots nation.org.

netrootsnation.org. ? >> yeah. >> what do you think are the, for progressives and liberals first, my impression is that progressives have sort of an edge in the online world. is that -- >> that was definitely largely true. >> or are conservatives catching up? >> i think they are catching up to be fair. we had an early mover add tyrantvantage because we were motivated. our convention came about, the first one was in 2006. that was largely in reaction to bush's re-election. i mean the power of the progressive movement grew through bush's presidency i think: a lot of the conservative side of things saw that and picked up. he specially saw on 2010, you know, that manifested itself in electoral success. >> right. >> what still are the from your

vantage point, if people want to check, right, the progressivei the main progressive blogs, the most important or the best progressive blogs, which ones would you recommend? >> well our convention glue out of daily kos. >> which is still -- >> always the first thing. >> marcos will definitely be there? >> marcos will be there. obviously, that's, you know, a big deal. i always like to receipt atrios, estikon. a little more biting. always graduate. >> atrios? >> atrios is his name but his blog is called eslakan. i have to google. i never spell it right. >> how about fire-dog lake. >> fire-dog lake. david dan is doing a panel on foreclosures up in providence. he has done that for a couple much years.

>> huffington post? >> yeah, huff post, talking points memo. >> yeah. >> those sorts of things. it's interesting the way netroots has material as the internet has come of age. >> a huge presence there. >> yeah. >> by the way, current.com? >> of course. >> current is a great website. it keeps getting better and better. the pace as they have for our show, you know current.com/billpress has video now every day of the show and -- . >> a lot more rish offerings. >> what other sites, peter, do you -- >> he hit a lot of them. think progress is a great one we go to. >> absolutely. how can we forget that? >> and media matters. >> of course yeah. >> so when you add those together, look, i am trying to get the picture here? >> of course we have drudge which is still like the 500 pound gorilla.

i have to admit i check out grudge but for links to other sites. right? i mean i use it to link to msnbc or politico or some of the other things. how do you rate politico? do you rate politico right or left? >> well, i think they are, you know, standard bearers for the status quo which puts them a little on the right. >> right of center? >> you know, the horse race stuff there is just so depressing. you read there, you read their stuff, and it's empty, you know of any sort of policy. it's just he said/she said stuff. >> where do you tut daily beast? >> to the right of that, i think. daily beast. i'm sorry. >> daily caller? >> right. >> definitely to the right. daily beast? >> you know, i don't read that as frequently but i think they do some good work. it's sort of hit and miss, you know. you have different outlets of course i forgot to mention glen

greenwald on slate is indispensable. he won't be in providence but an amazing voice for progressive, you know. >> yeah, i wanted to kind of run down that list because i think that, you know, some of us have really been fighting to get more and more outlets on probationive talk radio. and now, we finally have a progressive talk network which is current tv? >>. >>. >> yeah. >> and, you know, we are growing and growing and getting word out there about current tv. you have six new hours of programming with current tv in the morning with my show and stephi miller's show but the online presence is huge and has been huge for a while. mention again daily kos, fire-dog lake, talking points memo media matters and slate

and i am sure there are some we are going to kick ourselves we haven't mentioned there. and on the other side, you have drudge, daily caller. >> red state. >> of course. i think progressives have a huge, huge power and presence online. >> yeah. i think we for reasons i don't understand, it seems like the right sort of goes toward radio and the left goes toward blogs andom. maybe that will change as the nature of the internet changes because it will move toward more video and visual content as opposed to writing, so that will be interesting to see how it manifests itself. but, it didn't seem like, as i was watching the blogs come out they were sort of, you know something to push back on the right, right-wing, you know, media. >> and more and more people getting the news and getting good information from the blogs

nolan treadway our guest in studio, political and logistics director of netroots nation, building up to a great big conference in providence rhode island next week. this question of what blogs you check with blogs you recommend, which blogs you think are the best and worthwhile, all part of our conversation here with nolan treadway. give us a call at 866-55-press. we will be right back. >> heard around the country and seen on current tv, this is the bill press show. ♪ we're not good enough for you. must be supermodels? what do you model gloves? brad, eat a snickers. why? 'cause you get a little angry when you're hungry. better? [ male announcer ] you're not you when you're hungry™. better. [ male announcer ] snickers satisfies. on the next gavin newsom show: google's sergey brin and anne wojcicki give gavin a hands on look at google's glasses. >>that's facinating. so, you guys grew up together. yes, since third grade... what are you

lookin' at? not looking at i anything... we're not good enough for you. must be supermodels? what do you model gloves? brad, eat a snickers. why? 'cause you get a little angry when you're hungry. better? [ male announcer ] you're not you when you're hungry™. better. [ male announcer ] snickers satisfies.

the bundler. let's say you need home and auto insurance. you give us your information once, online... [ whirring and beeping ] [ ding! ] and we give you a discount on both. sort of like two in one. how did you guys think of that? it just came to us. what? bundling and saving made easy. now, that's progressive. call or click today. 1cccm00605

eyen a hi . v

ews, now it's your turn. >>i know you're going to want to weigh in on these issues. >>connect with "full court press with bill press" at facebook.com/billpressshow

and on twitter at bpshow. >>i believe people are hungry for it. [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> the parting shot with bill press, this is the bill press show. >> okay. on this friday, june 1st, my parting shot for today, brought to you by sherwin-williams, yeah, make the most of your color with the very best paint. just ask sherwin-williams in greensboro north carolina, the jury had enough.

they were tired of jumping through hoops. they wanted to go home for the weekend, threw in the towel, found john edwards not guilty on one count. too bad. they should have found him guilty on all counts? not john edwards. the prosecutor. the damn trial was a sham from the very beginning a total waste of time and money. nobody denies that john edwards is a closeolossal jerk, everybody agrees he was a bad husband and father. it was horrible behavior on his part but there was never any frail crime. the prosecutor couldn't prove it. the jury couldn't find it. yeah i would like to hear eric holder explain why did you and i have to pay for this mess? my parting shot for today, folks: secretary of labor, hilda solis will be in studio to talk about the job numbers on monday. have a great weekend. >> this is the bill press show.