(oscar) you see those pair like every five minutes. >>you there comes the cops slowly, you see'em? >>these are some good ass kids none of them gang bang. this is where they live at, they ride here around the block. it's ghetto as [bleep] man. they just trying to make it. these kids learn that [bleep] out here on the streets-- the gang banging and stuff. it's a belief system. you can change a belief system you can instill hope, re-divert their path, all that. look at me, i been on probation or parole since i was 9 years old. finally got that tail off me. >>you seeing l.a. through my eyes. (man) hey joe? >>what's up? (man) do that remind of something? >>[laughing] hell yeah. barbwire? (man) yeah. tell me what it remind you of. >>the only thing missing is prison guard on a tower with a gun on you. i'm still in the city that damn

near killed me, damn near killed my family. there's the bus, check this out. that's the one i'm catching. i get really happy when i walk on the bus and it's kind of crowded but i see a seat to sit on especially on the window side so i can just stick out the window and whether it's traffic or just buildings or trees or whatever-- those are things that i didn't get to see in prison for so long and i appreciate those things. even the very air that i breathe, it's something that's a blessing everyday. i have no complaints because if i did... it'd mean that i don't appreciate freedom.

>> michael: this is "the war room," i'm michael shure. coming up so far the president's cabinet picks have been treated with criticism, and in one case outright venom. so you'll forgive him if he starts knocking these out a couple at a time. [♪ theme music ♪] >> michael: today president obama called his cabinet together for its first meeting of his second term. they should get ready for serious budget battles. chuck hagel has health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius flanked the president. their agencies are two of the hardest hit by the $85 billion

rolling off of the chopping block. >> obama: it is an area of deep concern. i think everybody knows where i stand on this issue. we're going to try to minimize the impact on american families but it's not the right way for us to go about deficit reduction. >> he told his cabinet he'll keep reaching out to republicans for some support. house republicans countered with a spending bill that would keep the government open through the end of the 2013 fiscal year. the $982 billion deal would give pentagon leeway to absorb the sequester cuts and let republicans say they have the military's back. depending on the reaction from democrats it could be a way to award the march 27th deadline. march 27th is yet another deadline. does the booms day clock ever stop ticking in washington?

well it looks like president obama's newest cabinet nominees might energize en enenvironmentalist enenvironmentalists, today he gamed gina mccarthy. she makes over for lisa jackson, and when it came to picking someone to replace secretary of energy steven chu, the president stayed the course and went another ion advertise. earnist moniz, he served in the clinton administration. >> they are going to making sure we're investing in american energy, that we're doing everything we can to combat the threat of climate change that we're create jobs and economic opportunity in the first place. >> michael: some are unhappy

with his pick because of his favorable view on frac-ing. joining me now is kate sheppard who joins us from washington, d.c. kate, thanks for being here. how are environmental groups reacting to the pick of gina mccarthy for epa? >> environmental groups are really excited to have gina mccarthy at the head of the epa. all of the best things in terms of regulations have come out of her office of air and radiation, she is behind new greenhouse emission rules and her office has been working on rules for old power plants as well and i think that she'll be a tough leader of the epa going forward. >> michael: tell me about her confirmation process. you say all of these great things about her as a environmentalist, that makes me think the republicans aren't going to want her.

>> she is an interesting case. republicans in congress have not been as enthusiastic about the president's regulatory agenda. they tried to withhold her nomination when she was being considered as a deputy. i think she'll clear through. she has a proven record of working in a bipartisan way. she worked under mitt romney when he was governor of massachusetts, and she has a really clear his his -- history of working across party lines. >> michael: that's encouraging. what do these appointments then reveal about the president's second term energy and environmental agenda. >> i think his pick of mccarthy show he is serious about

greenhouse gas. the pick of the energy department is maybe not quite as important. the criticism that he has supported nuclear and natural gas is well-taken but the department of energy doesn't actually have any control over natural gas, so i don't think that will be a big deal. but the question is -- and he really just falls under the rest of obama's policy on energy. renewables and more natural gas production. >> michael: and that's such a good point too. you think oh my god of course the department of energy would want somebody who is against or for whatever it is we want but they don't have a lot of oversight into natural gas, and i think that's something we tend to forget. let's talk about the next few weeks or months these

appointments how will they change the dynamics or will they of the keystone pipeline decision? >> that will be interesting to watch. the epa will get to weigh in on this new environmental impact statement that came out last week, so it will be something to watch what epa says about that ies. the department of energy doesn't have a huge say in it either. it really comes down to the state and what obama say. these nominations set the tone but i don't think they will decide the ultimate faith of the key stone pipeline. >> michael: kate sheppard "mother jones" thank so much for being in "the war room" today. we'll have more on the keystone debate in the next segment with actress, daryl hannah. she is the executive producer of the new documentary, "greedy lying bastards." the film exposes the money behind the climate change industry. and we're looking at real tough

talk from the obama administration on iran. the american/israel committee makes its hard line clear. biden told the packed crowd that the u.s. will always stand by israel. >> president obama is not [ inaudible ]. [ applause ] >> we are not looking for war, we are looking and ready -- ready to negotiate peacefully, but all option including military force are on the table. >> michael: we'll hear more on the middle east in the coming weeks. george w. bush didn't visit israel until his final year in office. noted. one of israel's biggestal lyes in the u.s. is sheldon adleson. according to the center for responsive politics he spent

more than $90 million trying to help republicans in the last election. he lost that bet and now his company could be in hot water with federal regulators. the company's sec filing indicated likely violations related to bribery law. they put out a news release titled . . . it calls the wyoming times coverage of the reporting inflammatory and defamatory. we'll be watching how this further influences adelson's political spending. coming up there is a saying -- they are saying you believe in something, and then there is going to the mat for it. daryl hannah has proven herself an environmental lead words and

deeds. and why is the sports world so far behind the curve when it comes to the lbgt movement. and the message of hate continues. we'll take you behind the scenes of an exclusive current tv documentary. it's monday night in "the war room," and we are just getting started. billy zane stars in barabbas. coming in march to reelz. to find reelz in your area, go to reelz.com

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>> if you believe in state's rights but still support the drug war you must be high. >> "viewpoint" digs deep into the issues of the day. >> do you think that there is

any chance we'll see this president even say the words "carbon tax"? >> with an open mind... >> has the time finally come for real immigration reform? >> ...and a distinctly satirical point of view. >> but you mentioned "great leadership" so i want to talk about donald rumsfeld. >> (laughter). >> watch the show. >> only on current tv. >> michael: as we mentioned earlier the president debuted his new environmental team today. he honored earnest moniz and gene. but before those two can even think about their policy agendas, they'll have to deal with the massive sequester cuts to their department. the energy department is being slashed by 5%. the renewable energy program and the office of science will see the biggest cuts. and over at the epa, their

budget will be slashed by over $500 billion. americans for prosperity told members, quote . . . this fight to obliterate environmental regulations for the financial benefit of the koches thoem themselves -- themselves. and the koches are already pushing the keystone pipeline. they stan to benefit from the pipelines. and there are signs the koches might come out on top this time too. a state department report out friday gave the pipeline a positive review, and said the project would not make much of a difference to climate change

because the tar sands would be developed anyhow. joining me now is daryl hannah. she is the executive producer of the new documentary, "greedy lying bastards." she comes to us from new york. daryl i'm so happy to welcome you inside "the war room." >> thank you. >> michael: your film looks at money from donors like the koch bothers. are they doing and how effective has it been? >> well, i mean it's obviously been effective enough to have still some didn't iota of doubt amongst people. i have heard from a few of the conservative pundits which you would expect though, that they still believe the climate crisis isn't in fact happening, and weather is just changing. it's like people still believe in flat earth, so whatever what can you say? but nevertheless not only have

they been financing to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, misinformation about climate change, but also disinformation about the clean energy sector. so people are very confused about if we really do have solutions available us to that we can shift to which obviously we do. the rest of the world is obviously way ahead of us in terms of development. china's wind power just surpassed nuclear power. >> michael: that's not a headline you read very often. i want to take a look at a clip from your film dirty -- "greedy lying bastards." here is a clip of "greedy lying

bastards." >> i would like to start off by asking you all to join me in saying carbon dioxide is not a pollutant. >> public debates, on one side you have all of the facts, on the other side you have none. but the folks without the fact are far more effective at convincing the public that this is not a problem than the scientists are in convincing people we need to do something about this. >> michael: so what do they need to do better in order to win this fight? >> well, that's a -- that's a great question. i mean it seems like this would not be a polarizing issue, since it's just about survival and we all need the same thing to survive. we all need fresh water, and

uncontaminated food. but when you have the world's wealthiest corporations, well thinker than any corporation in the history of man kind they have a vested interest obviously in continuing to make their record-breaking profits, they are going to rape and pill pillage the ecosystem. that's what they are going to do. so we have got to eradicate citizens united number one insist that our representatives who are supposed to represent we the people not them the corporations, but we have got to make sure that our voices are heard because they are definitely hearing into the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign finance -- in campaign financing and donations and -- and

support. we in lobbyists, hundreds of lobbyists. we have to make sure they hear from us as well, because if we just sit back and moan about it or think this is our only option, it's just not the case. we need -- we need to insist upon change. fwheed need to insist upon the world as we want it to be. we could be the middle east of solar power. we have that capacity. we have all of the tools at our disposal, just not the political will. >> michael: and that seems to be the real issue is the political will. you have been arrested at least three times for protesting key stone. are you concerned the state department statement issued last week indicates the president will approve the pipeline. >> i have always thought he

would approve the pipeline. they was a very close connection -- in fact during the largest climate rally in history just a few weeks ago, he was off golfing with oil and pipeline executives. we need to let him know that that is not in the best interests of americans. americans have been confused through the millions of dollars that they put into campaigning that this is oil that will bring us energy security. this is oil -- they want this pipeline to go through our country so they can get it accessible to the mobile market. we're already processing that oil in oklahoma but they want to get it to the gulf so it can go for sale on the open market.

canadians have stopped it so far, so they want to use our country. we are a country that can be bought off because of citizens united, because you can give as much money as you want to politicians. that rule is shocking that the supreme court passed that. it was a tight margin but it was passed. everyone should be up in arms about that. that means our government is now bought by corporate interests, so we have to insist that our representatives are representing us and our best interest, which is to protect our life support systems especially during the drought, unprecedented drought in the bread basket of our countries, wildfires, floods super storms. we need to protect what we have. there are resources to survive. >> michael: indeed. >> and this pipeline will also be a conduit to expansion -- further expansion of the tar sands. people say it will be developed

anyway. but it will not be because they don't have a way to get it to the gulf. >> michael: the film is called "greedy lying bastards." it opens in major cities nationwide on march 8th. thank you daryl hannah. >> thank you. >> michael: up next, mitt romney is once again gracing us with his presence. we'll tell you about that after this. ♪ honest. they can question whether i'm right, but i think that the audience gets that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look out for us.

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♪ >> michael: meet the new republican party same as the old republican party. on abc news today, florida

governor jeb bush weighed in on immigration reform. he didn't sound so sensible today when he offered his take on possible pathway to citizenship. >> when it comes to path to citizenship, all right. you fall short of that. you want legal residency but you want people to admit they committed a crime to come here illegally, but you do not want to offer them a path to citizenship. >> michael: that makes the former florida governor look like another out of touch standard barer mitt romney. mitt romney broke his silence this week on an interview on fox news. >> we weren't effective at taking my message primarily to minority voters.

that was a real weakness. we did very well with the majority population, but not with minority populations, and that was failing. that was a real mistake. >> michael: stillcom romney says he doesn't back path to citizenship, just like jeb bush. republicans a peace of advice if you want your message to reach everyone, don't shoot the messenger, change the message. joining me now is democratic strategy and syndicated strategist karl frisch. welcome back inside "the war room," karl. >> thanks for having me. >> michael: so karl did the republicans learn anything from romney's defeat? >> no, but it's very clear that they still know their first blockbuster interviewed should always go to fox news. jeb bush has flip flopped. the one trait he should have been copying of his brother, was

the position on immigration reform. i don't think this spells well for any of them. this is a party in crisis. they have no idea what to do. if you look at cpac, the annual gathering of far-right crazies that happens every year, they are having an entire panel discussion about the new leaders and the future of the republican party, and it's going to be filled with people like rick santorum and newt gingrich. >> michael: they should just live under that dilution. >> i'm fine it with. >> michael: yeah. >> i don't mind i that they are basically committing a very slows. california has only elected one republican to their first term statewide, other than arnold schwarzenegger one time, since 1994, and to dig themselves out of that hole they have decided to elect a new state party chairman who was a state

legislature in the '90s. this is a party who is trapped with an identity crisis and i find it historical. >> michael: yeah and it's strange that they not getting that message. let's go back to jeb bush. do you think he is actually positioning himself to attack other republicans in 2016 for being too liberal? >> he could be. but it's not a very good strategy. this is also a governor who said that the party needed to wise up and stop denying science and other things. so i don't think that jeb bush runs for president. i think he likes the attention, but he won't make the run, and if he does, more power to him, and i hope he gets the nomination, because i think after eight years of george w. bush, this country really wants a return to the bush dynasty. >> michael: i think he is going to run. i see him positioning himself to the right of marco rubio on

immigration here, i don't think he would be doing this if he wasn't going to run. but it is interesting. let's go backwards a anymore and go to mitt romney. that romney interview -- he said he would have averted the sequester if he was president. let's take a listen. >> i look at what is happening right now. i wish i were there. it kills me not to be there not to be in the white house doing what needs to be done. >> michael: so karl did he just come out of hiding to push the gop's talking points that the president is to blame for the sequester? >> in fairness -- i doubt that anybody was calling him. i don't think he is the most popular man on earth, but i have no doubt that he would have solved the sequester problem, he would have sold one or two houses and paid for everything. i think ann probably had the checkbook ready.

but this interview was painful as far as watching what romney thinks passes for human emotion and for his calculations and rationalization of what went wrong in the campaign. they have had months to get the story straight that sounded plausible, and they still can't dictate to anybody this the press why they think they lost. >> michael: we have heard from former losing candidates on both sides for years, and i have never heard anyone so out of touch with why he lost. but the conservative group americans for prosperity released a similar statement today they said . . . so in this case did they make pint -- do the democrats risk crying wolf on this one? >> i think that statement is

actually progress. i think their tilt of the head -- tilt of the hat towards any kind of recognition of science that the sun still rises is probably progress. i think it's ludicrous if they this message helps them. all they have to do is look at the polls. when three-quarters of the americans know what is going on here, the response to that kind of polling is not let's just say the opposite. the response is get on your knees and pray for a way out of this, or step up to the table and negotiate. >> michael: yeah, that's true. and they didn't go in that direction. i don't want to let you go before asking you this question. even though romney is not running. we know that. he still won't join members of his campaign team in backing gay marriage. >> i believe that marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman. and that's because i believe the

ideal setting for raising a child is where there's a mother and father in the home. other people have differing views and i respect that. but these are very personal matters. my hope is when we discuss things of this nature we show respect for people who have differing views. >> michael: just like we should have respected the southerners who resisted immigration. >> yeah. i love that. i think he wants extra respect because he has had so many views on the subject. but i respect a religious person not wanting to enter into a gay relationship, i must wish they respected my want to do so. it makes me extremely uncomfortable to hear mitt romney talk about any kind of sex. don't wave it in front of me. i have friends who are straight i just don't want to hear about

it. >> michael: i totally get that karl. okay. karl frisch, democratic strategy. up next here in "the war room" if gay rights are the civil rights issue of this generation someone had better clue in professional sports which now lags behind the military of all places in terms of lbgt acceptance. that store i have next rite here in "the war room." thinking. >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying. (vo) she's joy behar. >>current will let me say anything.

>> michael: >> michael: they are the four big sports leagues, and without question they are home to the elite of the elite in professional sports they have also served as catalysts for important social and economic change, jackie robinson being

the prime example, though there are many others but at no time not the 140-plus years of majority leader, in the 90 years of the nfl and nhf, and the years of any nba has there been an openly gay player amongst their ranks. and it appears that no one is in a great hurry for that to change. this is mike florio talk. >> here is the elephant in the room for the teams, and it shouldn't matter but we have to step aside from the rest of reality and walk into the unique industry that is the nfl. teams want to know whether or not manti te'o is gay.

>> stephanie: and here is nick kasa describing his process. >> they asked you like do you have a girlfriend? are you married? do you like girls? those kinds of things, and it was just kind of weird. >> michael: it is also a violation of laws. how did we get here? we have a president who's support of gay rights has spoken with a casualness and frequency unheard of even ten years ago. our next guest has been on the forefront of sports and civil rights for decades. in 1967 he organized the olympic project for human rights, which culminated with tommie smith and john carlos raising their fists in defiance. he has always been a consultant

for teams in the nfl, nba, and majority leader. welcome back inside "the war room." >> thank you very much. >> michael: take us inside the locker room. what is the attitude like? >> there is an unspoken movement of don't ask don't tell. this does not at all reduce the fact that gays are in sports at every level, but there is this unspoken convention that we don't ask, and you don't tell. >> michael: when jackie robinson broken there was no question that he was black. but it's not the same with homosexuality. >> absolutely not. there was a plan on black players, and they struck a deal

where they shattered the color barrier. but gays are already in the locker room. so i think what you are going to find, a group of gay athletes who finally get fed up, and contact the commissioner ownership, and leaders in their locker room, and say, hey, if don't ask, don't tell is now deemed inappropriate for the battlefield how can we continue this dilution that it is inappropriate for the football field. we are going to step up and say we're football players we also happen to be gay, but that has absolutely nothing to do with our business. and hopefully other players will step up and say hey, we are just like them. i think there will be a group of athletes who step up and say enough is enough. let's get this garbage off of the road. >> michael: we haven't heard from an individual and we

certainly haven't heard from a group of athletes, and it makes sense that that is how it could happen. what if it is an individual. what happens if a guy tells his teammates in the morning meeting. i'm gay. and i want you to know that. >> i have been in locker rooms in all three sports where people were gay. i have been in locker rooms where people knew that they were gay, and they played and practiced and so forth in the same sense that every locker room deals with diversity. the problem is when it becomes a public issue and now questions begin, the cat calls from the stand and all of this stuff that can be a distraction. i think once heterosexuals need to say, hey, it's all right. we have been playing with gay people throughout history. this is not going to change

anything. and i think that once that barrier of secretness is broken i think that the people in the locker room will make the adjustment. i have been in a locker room where there were muslims, and they walked pork chops being on the training table, and they didn't say i'm not going to practice with these pork ate ate -- eaters and other situations agnostics -- people who didn't believe anything, but they went out and played every week, because all that mattered is what uniform you are in when that ball is snapped. >> michael: i hear you say this but also to this last super bowl, you had chris culver saying what he said that he doesn't get into that. it wouldn't be okay in here. so it seems like teaching younger people about this is a

big part -- >> but people come out of a whole different group of bags. when you look at these comments they can be religious, personal pathological, fear sometimes just what i think my peer group wants to hear. but the president wrestles with this, you have states the military, the boy scoutses which are -- are wrestling with it and now you have a 22-year-old who has a gay relative who he is very fond of and you asked him the question and that's what came off of the top of his, but i know chris very well and that's not how he feels. he was responding to what do people want to hear. >> michael: of course. and we want it to start with 22 year old kids. >> absolutely.

>> michael: last week chris kluwe, and brendan ayanbadejo wrote a brief . . . strong words from them obviously, but the star power -- is the star power enough, do you need tom brady, peyton manning, to come out and say those things? >> i don't think there's any question. i'm not big on gays coming out. i'm big on heterosexuals coming out and saying we play with these men, and it has absolutely nothing to do with business. those are two of my heros. i'm so proud that there is somebody in the league who will step up and say you know what, let's get this garbage off of

the road, because it has absolutely nothing to do with business. >> jamal: harry edward i hope a lot of people are listening to your words on the subject. thank you for coming in. >> thank you. >> michael: up next the clueku klux klan even the name is weird. but who are they today? a new current tv documentary seeks to find out. in brookside chocolate a world of remarkable tastes comes together. rich, dark chocolate meets sweetened

soft centers flavored with exotic fruit juices, like pomegranate goji with raspberry, and acai with blueberry. it's chocolate like you've never experienced it before. and it comes from a place called brookside. discover brookside.

♪ >> michael: this weekend representative john lewis of georgia lead a group of congressmen on a civil rights pill gra midge to alabama. he was one of the civil rights activists who road buss in the south to challenge local enforcement of segregation. in alabama the police failed to protect the riders and beat them with pipes and baseball

bats. on saturday the current police chief, ken murphy publicly apologized to lewis and offered his police badge as a offer of reconciliation. >> michael: five decades later some parts of the south have clearly made strides to disavow their racist history, but there are still places where racism is on blatant public display. christof putzel investigated one such place, in his documentary, show downin klantown. he joins us tonight to talk abc his visit to the headquarters of the kkk. welcome to "the war room,"

krzysztof. >> thank you. >> michael: what kind of power do they wield in harrison arkansas? >> it's more they are holding the town's reputation hostage. when people think of harrison they think of the national headquarters of the kkk. so there are a lot of people of color who are even too scared to stop in the town. nobody moves to the town. it's almost entirely white, and that population is not changing. so i would say it's more of their influence. >> michael: do they have influence beyond this town? >> yeah, in the sense where there's -- it's where the national headquarters is and they use it as their spot to send out all of their material around the world. they sell a lot of different

merchandise. but the influence is not what it used to be. >> michael: you found the area has been magnet for white supremacists. there s there concern that these groups are now joining forces. >> there certainly in. billy roeper has been known to be a skin head for years, and now that he has moved there, it raises a lot of alarm bells. but the klan are no longer wearing the hoods. they do it once a year. so they are trying to control billy roeper we were having a interview with him, and they wanted to cover him up. >> michael: the kkk has always been about a lot of the items and hoods. i want to play a clip.

>> only inferior white women date outside of their race. don't be a racial mixing slut. >> wow. we have actually sent thousands of them overseas. >> michael: what is it somebody these people -- when you talk to them on and off camera that they are so fearful of the races mixing? >> when you are having these conversations it feels like you are in another era. yeah, it certainly feels a little outdated, but they really believe that. i had conversations with lots of people who really believe that it's the worst sin that you can do is mix races. it's worse than murder -- they say they would disown their kids absolutely without question if they married a black man or woman. they think this is the highest sin above all.

>> michael: how do the young people there feel about their town's reputation? has the kkk been successful recruiting young members? >> not so much the people of harrison. they are the first ones to admit that their parents grandparents are still racist but the kids from what we saw when we visited a high school there, they have got the internet they are on tv. they are -- not so much. they are not really buying it. but that do hate that they have that reputation. when their high school plays somewhere else and they say they are from harrison arkansas, people look at them like they are the klan. >> michael: that's encouraging that they don't want that. >> yes. >> michael: what did you hope to achieve in making this document try? >> a lot of people believe that now we have a black president that racism is a deadish glue this country, and nothing could be further from the truth.

racism is still alive and well and there are still people out there who are promoting it, and it's still there. so we have made a lot of progress, but there's still a long way to go. >> michael: christof putzel from vanguard thanks so much. the documentary airs tonight. a quick break and then brett ehrlich will bring us something not nearly as important as what we just talked about.

♪ >> michael: when it comes to mending relations with a strange country like north korea you want to choose abappropriate surrogate, and obviously there is no one more appropriate to report than brett ehrlich, so everyone, just calm down. brett is talk now. ♪ >> ever since the korean war ended our relations with north korea have been a