issued this order "a crime will not be charged to an individual who is requested or compelled to engage in the behavior that results in the public display of majijuana". that trick that hakeem jeffery showed us... >>they take something out, now its in public display, the handcuffs go on, these young men are run through the system. (vo)it's no longer allowed and never should have been. which means that if many of the stories we heard are true, "searched me found a bag of weed" "he took it out of my back pocket" "they didn't recover it from my hand, they recovered it from my cigarette pack" (vo)most of the people we met should never have been arrested. once again we asked the nypd to talk to us and again they declined. it wasn't surprising; if we'd learned anything, it's that america's marijuana laws are a conflicted, unequally enforced mess,

where one state's entrepreneur is the federal government's felon. and the ground is always shifting. >>so what's going to happen? >>we are going to see this issue fought out in the court of public opinion. it is in periods like this that we really see change happen. (vo)if recent history is any indication, it seems impossible to predict exactly what kind of change we can expect.

[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> bill: hey, good morning everybody. great to see you this morning. it is the -- it's tuesday match 12th first of all. this is the "full court press." we're coming to you live coast to coast from our studio in capitol hill in washington d.c. and booming out to you all across this great land of ours on current tv. on what's going to turn out to be a very busy day here in our nation's capital and around the globe. in rome, of course, five hours from now the cardinals will cast their first votes to elect the new pope.

here in washington, d.c., president obama begins the first of four days of salesmanship to try to get a balanced approach to fixing our budget problems. he will come up to capitol hill today, just down the street from our studio, to meet with senate democrats. tomorrow, he will be back up on capitol hill to meet with senate republicans. he's got a big sales job to do there. meanwhile, paul ryan is releasing the 2014 budget today for house republicans. it is a nonstarter. paul ryan bases his entire budget on repealing obamacare. doesn't he remember he and mitt romney tried that last november and the american people soundly rejected it. this budget is going nowhere. up in new york city, a judge has said that michael bloomberg's attempt to ban 16 ounce sodas is wrong. will not work. he has overturned that ban.

that and a whole lot more this morning on current tv. billy zane stars in barabbas. coming in march to reelz. to find reelz in your area, go to reelz.com

you know who is coming on to me now? you know the kind of guys that do reverse mortgage commercials? those types are coming on to me all the time now. (vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers thinking. >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying. you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney. (vo) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say

anything. what the hell were they thinking? >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: and the dow racks up its fifth consecutive new record in a row. five days in a row. five new highs for the dow. what do you say folks? obama economy is booming! good morning! great to see you this morning on this tuesday march 12. welcome to the "full court press." coming to you live on your local progressive talk radio station on sirius x.m. this hour only

and on current tv, of course, of course, of course, great to have you with us this morning. whether you are watching or listening in your car at home, at the office already or at the gym, wherever. good to be able to bring you up to date on the news of the day and take your calls and get your comments. your calls welcome at 1-866-55-press. that is our toll free number. you may want to talk about what president obama is going to be telling senate democrats today. he will be up on capitol hill selling a reasonable balanced approach to solving our fiscal problems. you can also reach us, remember, on twitter at bpshow. and give us the name of your candidate for pope. yep, the conclave, they have a big mass this morning and then the cardinals match into the sistine chapel. they close the doors and by 11:00 a.m. east coast time, they

will be casting their first ballot. it is unlikely to be a first ballot pope -- papal pick. seem to be too many candidates. it may take several ballots. we'll know when we see the black smoke or the white smoke. doubt it will be today. i think they take no more than four votes a day, i read. >> is that right? >> bill: yeah, then they go home. >> i saw yesterday the last pope took two days. the pope before that took three days. so it is not going to be a one-day procedure. >> bill: besides they go to rome. they want to have a little time in rome. they don't want to turn around and come back. >> might be slowing things down a little bit. >> bill: few more good meals before they leave rome and go back to their homes. also on facebook facebook.com/billpressshow. give us your comments on the news of the day. we'll cover it all. our entire team here, peter ogborn and dan henning hello

hello, hello. >> good morning. >> bill: phil backert has the phones and cyprian bowlding keeps us looking good on the video cam. our videographer. we reported yesterday like everybody else did that it looked like "the view" losing joy behar of her own volition. might also be losing elisabeth hasselbeck because she was being fired. turns out it is not true. as barbara walters told the world yesterday. we just love elisabeth. >> the truth is we love elisabeth. she's just a wonderful person. but beyond that, we value and appreciate her point of view. it is important to us because elisabeth helps give the show perspective and balance. believe me, she's tougher than she looks. to take the kind of guff we give her. we have no plans for elisabeth to leave the show.

>> bill: so we're stuck with her. i still say -- it is good to have a conservative voice on the show. with they could do a lot better than elisabeth hasselbeck. >> she didn't slam the door on the rumors. shed kind of leave it open and say as of now we have no plans to replace elisabeth. so, you know it wouldn't be the first time someone out and out lied about the future of somebody on the show. >> bill: no. >> believe it or not, it happens in media. >> bill: really? big day today and we will cover it all. igor volsky will be here as he is every tuesday from think progress. great organization, part of the center for american progress. we'll also have reporters from "buzzfeed" and "huffington post." and big news out of new york city bad news for mayor michael bloomberg. but first -- >> this is the "full court press." >> other headlines making news on this tuesday senator clair

mcclass kill is not happy with a tsa screening she got at the airport yesterday. the missouri democrat took to twitter to complain about a private, aggressive pat-down she got which she called very uncomfortable. she has complained about the tsa in the past. the hill knows she ripped into the agency in a hearing in the senate in 2011 calling what they do love pats. she let them know again yesterday. >> bill: you know, get over it these politicians have complained about being treated like everybody else at the airport. >> exactly. >> bill: ya know. hello! welcome to the crowd. just shut up. >> it is outrageous. everybody gets treated like that every now and then and it is because of rules put into place by politicians. >> bill: don't you know who i am? yeah, get in line! >> add this to ridiculous things celebrities say and look for.

actress jennifer love hewitt let everyone know she think her most valuable asset is, her chest. the hollywood star in an interview promoting requesting the client list" on lifetime was asked by "usa today" if she would insure her breasts and she said absolutely. they guessed they would be worth $2.5 million each. >> each? >> $5 million total. >> bill: that says a lot about her. she says the most valuable part about her is her breasts. of. >> what about your brain and your acting job? >> bill: she doesn't have one obviously. >> in sports, march madness is getting underway. all eyes are on the big east conference tournament starting today for the last time in its current form as the catholic seven are splitting off at the end of the season to form their own conference. this comes after many years of big rivalries between syracuse, georgetown u-conn, louisville and seton hall among others.

seton hall faces usf and rutgers takes on depaul. >> bill: do i have to do my bracket? >> a couple of weeks. coming soon. >> bill: coming up? >> now it is the conference tournament. >> bill: didn't i win last year? >> i don't think you did. >> bill: get outta here! cyprian, didn't i win last year? >> you might have. >> bill: at least i did pretty well. >> you know what? you did. you did the best of us. >> bill: there you go. >> none of us had one person left. >> bill: i won among this crowd. >> yeah. >> bill: out of this bunch of losers, i was the winner. >> we'll pull the tape. >> bill: okay. no doubt who the big winner and loser was yesterday in new york city. what happened there has ripple effects around the country because one of the things we talk about a lot even as liberals and as progressives is government can go too far. and it often does. and we always have to be, you

know on our guard against that. and step in. and we think, we talked about it when it was first proposed, that mayor michael bloomberg of new york is the classic politician who tends to go too far in terms of the nanny state. we know that it was you know, six months ago or whatever that he announced his latest. he's the guy who got rid of msg in the restaurants he stopped smoking in bars, stopped smoking in restaurants started there. stop smoking even in front of restaurants and bars. you have to be so many feet away from them. and he's the guy who forced the fast food places to put the calorie count on the menus on and on and on. he's the classic mr. nanny state. but the latest step is when he said no more 16 ounce sodas. can't sell a 16 ounce soda.

in certain -- in restaurants and in delis or on food carts but you could still buy them and sell them at convenience stores. at any rate, that ban was supposed -- it has been very controversial. that ban was supposed to take effect today. today was going to be the beginning of no more 16 ounce drinks in new york city. guess what. it ain't gonna happen because a judge yesterday ruled against the ban in language that was very, very colorful and ridiculing mayor michael bloomberg. the headline in the "new york post" this morning headline writers are having a field day with this morning. >> i'm sure. >> bill: the headline on the "new york post" is "judge cans nanny's ban on big sweet sodas." judge cans nanny's ban on big sweet sodas. the judge ruling that this new eatic by mayor bloomberg. he called it arbitrary and

capricious unworkable and unenforceable. by the way it is a $200 fine if somebody was caught selling one of these 16 -- over 16 ounce. you could have 16 ounces but no more. so no more big gulps. but that's the problem. part of the problem with the ban was you couldn't serve them in restaurants or on food carts which are proliferating in new york city. but you could still sell them in convenience stores. hello! >> which is insane! that's just an insane -- that you wouldn't include that if you're talking about drinks where people buy fountain drinks. most of the time, those come from convenience stores. >> bill: also in terms of being unenforceable think about the army of special soda police you would have to have in a city the size of new york, right? to enforce this and to watch and check out what they were selling and what they weren't right?

totally, totally unworkable. mayor bloomberg however he insists this is still -- he will not admit he was wrong. he insists this is still the right thing to do. he threw together a news conference apparently, according to what i read this morning, the administration was blindside by this. bloomberg didn't think any judge would dare -- after all he's in his third term as mayor no judge would dare disagree with him. he threw together a news conference right away and said damn it, you know, we're going to keep -- we're going to appeal this and eventually, the courts are going to agree with me! >> we strongly believe that in the end the courts will recognize the board of health's authority to regulate the sale of beverages that have virtually no new traditional value and which, consumed in large quantities are leading to disease and death for thousands of people every year. >> bill: the mayor says you know what? we have a moral obligation to do

this. >> if we're serious about fighting obesity we have to be honest about what causes it and we have to have the courage to tackle it head-on. >> bill: then the mayor turned around and went on david letterman last night. they booked him in a new york second or new york minute, whatever the phrase is. and again he said on david letterman "this is the most serious problem that we've gotta tackle." >> in the meantime this year, 70,000 americans will die from obesity, 5,000 here in new york. gotta do something about it. >> 70,000 americans. >> 70,000 people will die from obesity. >> what would be the statistics of people dying of starvation versus people dying from obesity? >> for the first time in the history of the world more people will die from overeating than undereating this year. >> isn't that remarkable? >> bill: i'm not sure of that, to tell the truth. >> certainly like to see his numbers on it. >> bill: when you look at the population of impoverished

countries, particularly in africa and people dying of hunger, i just -- i'm not sure i trust those numbers. let me put it this way. david letterman contrarian says maybe you're picking on the wrong people here. >> i believe that it's the corporate food industry, not the individual, that is at fault here. [ applause ] >> bill: ah-ha! >> i think that it is incumbent on government to tell people what they're doing to themselves and let people make their own decisions. so our job is to educate. >> bill: let's stop right there. i think bloomberg undercuts his entire argument right there. >> yeah. >> bill: i would agree with that. the government, tell people what's good for you what's bad for you and then let people make their own decisions. that is exactly what bloomberg did not do in new york.

he said no, i will decide how much you can drink. i will decide how big your drink is. i am not going to let you decide whether you will go for that second or for that big gulp. >> tell people what are in the sodas that you're drinking. tell people how bad they are for you. tell people what will happen to your health if you drink 64 ounces of cola every day. it will make you fat and sick and it will make your healthcare costs go way up. that's a very reasonable argument that someone can make. >> bill: right, but that's not the argue bloomberg makes. one other inconsistency with the proposed bloomberg law was it would ban the big gulps for soft drinks but not for milk shakes. so you know, there was all of this -- that's why the judge said arbitrary and capricious. this is an important issue. let's talk about it. was bloomberg right or wrong?

one question. the other is so what is the proper role of government? i support, by the way, the motorcycle helmet rule, right? i support the seatbelt rule. so there are some things i think where it is okay for government to regulate. and to put some rules up. i just think the soda ban is silly and just goes too far. so does the judge. how about you? 1-866-55-press. you know our toll free number. let's get into it. >> announcer: radio meets television. the "bill press show" now on current tv. >>current will let me say anything. (vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers 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.

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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.

>> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: all right mayor michael bloomberg in new york, big setback for the nanny state of bloomberg. by the way, he leaves office at the end of the year. so he thought this was going to be part of his legacy. it looks like his legacy will be fighting this for the rest of the year. 60% of residents of new york city on record as opposed to his ban on drinks larger than -- soda drinks larger than 16 ounces. peter, what's the social media world saying about this? >> we're tweeting at bpshow. one person says i'm with mayor bloomberg. someone has to be the reasonable voice opposing millions of advertising dollars aimed at children. mzotti says why stop at sodas? how about limiting the size of portions served? what about those huge deli

sandwiches in new york? >> bill: if you go to the carnegie deli, baby, right? >> gary killpack says cigarettes have a warning label. maybe you could just add one to sodas and gmos, you should put a warning label on fox news says gary kilpack. we're on twitter at bpshow. >> bill: fox news is probably more dangerous to your health. >> that's not a bad idea. put a warning label on sodas. if you drink this much of sodas you will be putting in this many calories, it will kill you. >> bill: the other problem with the sodas is, stuart, we'll get to you in a second, if people are drinking -- look, i haven't done the survey. my observation is that if people are drinking a big gulp, they're eating crappy food with it. you know what i mean? they're eating junk food and they've got the sodas. stuart is out in st. petersburg, florida. what do you say? >> caller: bill, i think it

is -- it is an overstep of the government telling you how much you should drink. if anything, the high fructose, the corn syrup we have in everything is far worse than a 32 to 64 or 72 ounce soda, you know. i just think it is an overstep of the government and if someone said, one of your people at your blog said the government should be watching everything, if they can't control what they drink then yes they need to be the ones who need to have a little wristband on them so we can pull their hand back. >> bill: stuart, yeah, i'm perfectly okay with the government saying hey here's some things you really ought to be careful about and here's some of the things you probably should not be eating and some of the things you should not be drinking. that's one ping. but bloomberg goes beyond that. bloomberg actually says we're going to send our cops out to enforce this.

going to do the young turks. i think the number one thing that viewers like about the young turks is that we're honest. they know that i'm not bs'ing them with some hidden agenda, actually supporting one party or the other. when the democrats are wrong, they know that i'm going to be the first one to call them out. 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.

>> announcer: this is the "bill press show," live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: 33 minutes after the hour. happy tuesday, march 12. so you really want to know what's going on in our nation's capital? you got two choices. you tune into "full court press" and you log into think progress and when you put them both together on a tuesday morning watch out! igor vom ski is the -- igor volsky is the managing editor of think progress. >> still no special theme song

here. i don't understand it. >> not yet. >> bill: you could bring it in. >> i'll bring in some choices we'll see what people like. >> bill: some russian folk music? >> of course, of course. absolutely. even do the dance here. there's room. [ laughter ] >> bill: you heard it here, first. igor, good to see you. >> good morning. >> bill: scott brown has a new job. >> can you believe it? the man who was watering down financial reform, who was called wall street's favorite senator is now going to work for a law firm that represents goldman sachs. >> bill: big banks. >> big surprise. big banks. and you know, does this mean he close the door on a political career? maybe. if he's going down this way. it will be hard to get elected especially massachusetts. but you know the trouble with a revolving door. he can't lobby legally but he can aid and be a counsel.

>> bill: they do lobby in everything but name. they don't register as a lobbyist for two years or something. >> two, three years. >> bill: but he will be advising the banks on how to avoid any regulation or whatever. what's also, of course, ironic is elizabeth warren beat him. elizabeth warren who is the nemesis of a big bank. now scott brown they're best friends. >> as you remember during the campaign, he used to tout the financial reform and said it wouldn't have passed if it wasn't for me. if i wouldn't have shaped it. elizabeth did nothing. i've done everything. now he's working for the other guys. >> amazing how that panned out. i don't know if that's ironic or poetic, whatever it is. but it's just beautiful. it is so beautifully screwed up. this every man the guy that campaigned in a pickup truck is now lobbying for big banks. >> bill: he went from the red pickup to the black limo. >> yeah.

>> in no time. >> if there was ever a better example of somebody who was in it for the money. i don't know of one. >> bill: for scott brown. today's a big day here in washington. paul ryan is going to release his 2014 budget. the path to prosperity which just proves, igor, how much republicans learned in november 2012 from the shellacking that they got right? >> which is nothing. it is the third path. it is the same path. it is the path he lost on with romney. he's doubled down. you know, before he said we'll balance the budget in some 28 years. now, he's going to balance it in ten years. how is he going to do that? he takes advantage of the changes already in law that increase in tax revenue from the fiscal tax deal. he maintains of course, the medicare savings the $716 billion, remember, first he put them in his budget, then he took them out with romney. then now they're back.

and he takes advantage of more savings that he used to criticize obama for time and time again. they're not real savings. they're phantom savings. these are surely in his budget. so he balances the budget in this way by adopting the policies. by telling the cbo to assume certain revenue growth. they assume it and those numbers add up because they make that assumption complete fantasy. but that's all it is. it is a messaging document. you read the op-ed he had in the "wall street journal" last night, introducing the document. and it's clear. this is just another talking point. it is not a serious -- i would be interested in seeing what the media reception is this time. because before he ran on the v.p. ticket, the whole media treated him as a serious guy with serious ideas. i think a lot of that was really kind of chipped away at in his race and now i think the

overlining story is this is in many ways, a gimmick because he maintains a lot of the obama policies he disagrees with. and that it's -- you know, it is just the way to hit the democrats. >> bill: and as i understand, the heart of it is where he achieves savings is by repealing obamacare. >> yes he repeals obama care but he maintains the medicare savings that he criticized. he kind of picks and chooses and that's how he kind of makes it all stick. >> bill: seriously how realistic is it that obamacare is going to be repealed? >> it is a happy place we're at. you have chris wallace on fox news telling him on sunday, that's not gonna happen, buddy. the law is here to stay. >> bill: so this was one of the central issues in the 2012 campaign. romney promised day one, he was going to repeal obamacare

right? he lost big time. the american people don't want it repealed. now you've got as you reported this week, jan brewer of all people. among republican governors rick scott in florida. who say we like this part -- which is -- probably the key part of obamacare. >> very important part. >> expanding medicaid. and so not to mention that repealing obamacare would never get passed by the senate and president obama would never sign it. so for him to base his entire budget on repealing obamacare is just not real. how can anybody take these republicans seriously? >> it is remarkable to me the lesson they've learned from the election is to move further right, to double down on these policies. they're the same, exact policies. in his budget, he simplifies the tax code into two tax brackets. he cuts the corporate tax to 25%.

he says he'll close the tax holes and tax deductions. that sound familiar. now this is the third iteration. for the last three years he said we're going to identify tax loopholes and we'll close them. that's how we'll make up for the lost revenue as a result of the tax cuts. he's had three years. not a single idea from the republicans, no specifics at all. they told us every year, they'll come out with specifics for tax loopholes and deductions and we're still waiting. the cat's out of the bag at this point, i think. if you keep on doing the same thing and saying you're -- it's going to -- you're going to have some kind of new resolution, it is not happening. >> bill: i think you make a good point it will be interesting to see how the media receives this today and how the media reports it. if they report, i believe if they reported there's anything other than a joke, they're not doing their job. because if the republican house budget is based on the repeal of obama care it is a sick joke. >> that's the starting point.

where do you go? >> bill: it won't happen. 1-866-55-press. your comments on the issues we're talking about here with igor volsky, managing editor of think progress. jeb bush, so we've gone from scott brown to paul ryan to jeb bush. got himself in a little trouble this week but clearly having pulled off all five of the full monti or the full ginsburg film on the sunday talk shows. he's about 2016. >> he has this book that reads very much like a campaign book. he wrote it last year. as he will be the first to tell you. >> bill: you've been reading his book? >> yeah, well i think it's -- >> bill: do you get paid for reading that crap? >> hazard pay. >> bill: i mean i know you've got a job where you have to keep on top of this stuff but to read that book. >> parts of it are well

researched, i have to say. in some ways, it is an interesting read. >> i'm sure it's an interesting read. >> i'll admit. but he's out with his book he wrote last year. he decided that the way he's going to try to kind of explore this option of running is he's going to be the go-to guy on immigration, the go-to republican guy. what he didn't realize is after the election, marco rubio wanted to be the go-to republican guy on immigration. by that point had publicly committed to a road to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants. so by the time jeb bush's book came out -- >> bill: which is against -- >> say that it's vital absolutely vital is the quote that we don't include a path because if we include a path, it is rewarding lawbreaking and a society that rewards lawbreaking simply can't stand. he's out with this book that says no path. just give them permanent residency. but no path. no citizenship.

and it came out last week on tuesday and you just saw him struggle to reconcile these two positions. >> bill: party had change and marco rubio had taken the leadership and here's jeb bush. now he insists he did not flip-flop. >> right. so then he says i'm fine. i'm for a path. the way he tries to explain it, here's the funny part. it shows he doesn't understand the way the media works these days. he says well, you know, i wrote the book last year. i didn't realize that the republican consensus would have changed. of course if i would have written it this year, i would have echoed what the republican consensus is. then he says well, it is really marco rubio's fault because when i was writing the book last year he hadn't committed to a path either. it is all him. i don't know. >> bill: what a way to start a presidential campaign. all right. we've got jeb bush and paul ryan and scott brown. we've got igor volsky and your

calls at 1-866-55-press. lots going on here on the "full court press" this tuesday morning. >> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv. this is the "bill press show." not only does senator rubio just care about rich people but somehow he thinks raising the minimum wage is a bad idea for the middle class. but we do care about them, right? vo: the war room tonight at 6 eastern

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and call them at 1-800-356-5967 for lifelock ultimate. peter ogborn? >> quick follow-up to a story igor and i talked about last week about ashley judd running for senate in kentucky against mitch mcconnell. sources have said she is seriously thinking about it and she's made up her mind she's going to do it. she hasn't made that official yet but some sources say she's going to. however, on a conference call, the democratic senatorial campaign committee was not exactly embracing her with open arms. didn't shut the door on it but their executive director guy cecil said she is one in a handful of quality candidates in kentucky. she's only one of them. he brought up the name of the secretary of state allison

lundergan grimes. while she didn't shut the door on ashley judd, he didn't say we would love to have her in. he said they have a deep bench in kentucky. so they haven't exactly embraced her. >> afraid she's going to nationalize it and cause problems for the democrats in kentucky who run a little bit to the right of this administration. >> yeah. that's a real fear of theirs. so he's just saying we're not committing to ashley judd. she's one of the names out there. she might be the candidate but we're not there yet. >> bill: i think that's smart to go slow on that. there's a big story here about healthcare workers that you've been reporting on, igor. but first kathleen's on the line from chicago. hey, kathleen. >> good morning. i haven't talked to you in awhile mr. press. >> bill: i'm glad you called. >> caller: let me say this before i get interrupted. i see why the republicans dislike this president. we have a smart president.

this man knows what he's doing. he knows how to do it. he would go et this country back on his feet if these republicans can work with it. why would they take his ideas and store them in the cabinet and put them on the shelf so they can use them for further notice. now it is coming out that paul rand is stealing our president's ideas. if the media would trace them around and do them like they do this president the united states would realize that the republicans are lost. >> bill: i think they're lost when they look at this budget. that's a point igor just made that paul ryan is stealing the president's ideas. >> balancing his budget with the balanced policies. >> bill: includes the ideas they slammed before. >> medicare cuts are back. ryan said they would devastate the country during the election. >> bill: paul krugman had a very good column in "the new york times" yesterday showing -- look, we do have a

big debt and deficit but in fact, that's been going down. and in large part because of president obama's policies, right. >> particularly the medicare spending has really, i think -- the cbo is off some $3 billion if not more that in the new update that they released awhile back, the projection decreased because of the cost of growth decreased partly because of the affordable care act, the one he wants to repeal. >> bill: this headline leads into this headline that caught my attention on think progress. the fastest growing job in america pays less than $10 per hour. what is the fastest job in america? >> home health aides, the folks who help senior citizens, the disabled. help them with their care at home. come in full time, part-time. feed them and of course, everything else that goes along with that kind of thing. >> bill: extremely important. >> extremely important will be more important as the point of care under the affordable care act as we expand access to

healthcare. and because of a loophole in labor law they're often paid below minimum wage. they're paid below $10 and even less. and you have this ironic situation where these health aides who provide healthcare services often don't receive healthcare coverage and even though they work full time, many of them, some 40% rely on public assistance and medicaid, oned for a stamps to get by. a lot of these folks some 40% are minorities. they're mostly of course, women. many, many of them are immigrants. 53% of home healthcare workers are minorities in total they're undervalued, underpaid. so there's a push in congress to close this loophole to make sure they're properly compensated because you work a full-time job. this is hard work.

oftentimes family members who do this. you lift your patient you spend so much time with them. it is physically rigorous. it is not easy. and they have to have many, many clients to kind of make ends meet. >> bill: well, you know what the answer is? unionize. >> that's right. >> bill: organize, unionize and then they would be better paid and have better benefits as well. igor we never exhaust the limits here but we certainly covered a lot of territory. thank you so much for coming in. thinkprogress.org. make sure you make that your home page. igor, good to see you. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

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>> announcer: this is the "bill press show" live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: okay, so on the big gulp, bruce makes a good point. on the rare occasions i can afford to take my family to a movie theatre i always get the largest size drink and then we share it. >> we do the same thing. we get a big diet coke and share it. >> bill: good way to save some dough. robert points out mayor bloomberg's trying to do the right thing the wrong way. with the anti-government mindset of many people today good point, even if the local government says don't people are determined to do. exactly. they'll go just the opposite. all right. hey, stay with us. two more good hours coming up on the "full court press."

[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> bill: what do you say friends and neighbors? good morning, good morning. good to see you this morning and welcome to the "full court press" here on current tv. coming to you live from our nation's capital and our studio here on capitol hill. ready to take your calls about the issues of the day at 1-866-55-press. give us a call. tell us what you think about what's going on. it's a busy day. busy week here. president obama today begins his four-day sales pitch to members of congress to try to get a

balanced approach to settling our deficit problems. he'll be coming up to capitol hill this morning to talk to the senate democrats this afternoon. actually to talk to the senate democratic caucus. tomorrow he will be back up on the hill to talk to the senate republican caucus. he will talk to house republicans and democrats later in the week. meanwhile, paul ryan, unveils his budget today. he's calling it a path to prosperity. it is really looking in the rear-view mirror. it is just like his last two budgets. neither which went anywhere. this budget is totally based on the repeal of obamacare which we know is not going to happen. after two years of obamacare the american people like it. they don't want to see it repealed. it is not going to happen. the cardinals in rome, march into the sistine cham very shortly. just four hours. they'll cast their first votes for the new pope. a new york judge said michael

bloomberg's soda ban isn't going to happen. all of that and more right here on current tv. support the drug war you must be high. cenk uygur: i think the number one thing viewers like about the young turks is that we're honest. i think the audience gets that i actually mean it. michael shure: this show is about being up to date so a lot of my work happens by doing the things that i am given to doing anyway. joy behar: you can say anything here. jerry springer: i spent a couple of hours with a hooker joy behar: your mistake was writing a check jerry springer: she never cashed it (vo) the day's events. four very unique points of view. tonight starting at 6 eastern. build a ground-breaking car. good. now build a time machine. go here, find someone who can build a futuristic dash board display. bring future guy back. watch him build a tft display like nothing you've ever seen. get him to explain exactly what that is. the thin film transistor display... [ male announcer ] mmm, maybe not. just show it. customize the dash give it park assist. the fuel efficiency flower thing. send future guy home his work here is done.

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you know who is coming on to me now? you know the kind of guys that do reverse mortgage commercials? those types are coming on to me all the time now. (vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers thinking. >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying. you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney. (vo) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say

anything. what the hell were they thinking? >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv. this is the "bill press show." >> bill: for the fifth day in a row the dow scores a new record high. something's working. hey, good morning everybody. what do you say? great to see you. on a tuesday march 12. this is the "full court press." and we are coming to you live from our nation's capital and our studio on capitol hill, just down the street from the united states capitol building which will be a busy place today indeed. coming to you live all the way

across this great land of ours on your local progressive talk radio station and of course on current tv. whether you're watching or listening, good to you have with us today. we look forward to hearing from you. 1-866-55-press is the toll free number. tell us what these issues mean to you. you can do so by phone or on twitter at bpshow. that's our handle at bpshow. on facebook, facebook.com/billpressshow. here in the studio, of course, our regular team, peter ogborn and dan henning. >> hey hey. >> good morning. >> bill: good mornings guys. tuesday. phil backert's got the phones. cyprian bowlding has the video cams. we need somebody to help us sort throughout issues of the day. we've got it in sabrina who covers issues for "the huffington post." here as a "friend of bill." >> thanks for having me. >> bill: everything good? >> yes. >> bill: everything good at

huff po? >> we're trying to keep on top of all of this news that you mentioned. >> bill: keeps us all hopping all day long. not to mention electing a new pope. my god right? and the big conclave. the cardinals i think are at the vatican. big mass has started over there. they march into the sistine chapel. to their assigned seats. and they stoke up the stove and 11:00 this morning east coast time is when they take their first vote. we'll see if joe biden makes it on the first ballot. >> he's my pick. >> pope joe. i like that. >> bill: i like that, too. >> i just saw the story in the economist this morning so if history is any indication, the way these waves come and how they name the popes and how they select their names the next pope will be named pope leo. >> bill: it is up to the pope.

>> the pope gets a pick. >> bill: he gets to pick his name. there's been a lot of speculation about what kind of a pope the world needs or the catholic church needs at this time. father thomas reese is a good friend of the program. good friend of mine. who is reporting for the national catholic reporter at the vatican. told us yesterday they need -- somebody is not necessarily the brainiest but maybe the best public leader. >> the last two papacies, we elected the smartest man in the room. brilliant theologians. maybe it is time to elect someone who listens to everyone else. >> seems like an oxymoron, brilliant theologians. >> bill: careful. i have my degree. >> i know. whoops. i'll just show myself out. >> bill: okay.

who knows where this is going. i think -- i honestly think they're making it a little bit too much of it. i guess ourselves included. i find it funny that the anchors of the -- of our big networks, right, are all in rome reporting on this. scott pelley and diane sawyer, brian williams are there on the roof of the vatican like this is the most important thing going on in the world today. >> the media make too much of an issue. i've never heard of that before. >> it is kind of great to watch them be like okay, so we're expecting a news announcement and the smoke. it is going to be probably days. it certainly won't be today or it is unlikely it will be today. >> bill: so we've got sabrina is here for this hour with us. we'll be joined by ruby kramer from "buzzfeed" a little bit later this hour. next hour, will dobson from slate. we've got a full line-up today. we'll get into the news of the day. but first...

>> this is the "full court press." >> other headlines making news on this tuesday yesterday we and many others ran with a report in "us weekly" that elisabeth halls beck, the lone conservative voice on "the view" on abc is getting fired. that's not true apparently. cohost barbara walters announcing hasselbeck wasn't going anywhere. show provides a great balance for the program. >> bill: according to barbara walters. >> i imagine what she says goes at "the view" but she didn't slam the door shut on getting rid of elisabeth. >> bill: i just don't think she's the best representative of a conservative voice that they could find. >> one senator is getting a not so good reputation among his colleagues. senator -- >> only one? >> heller from nevada has been labeled an office squatter. meredith shiner reporting this story that the senate is going through its biannual office

lottery where senior senators may choose whatever office they want to work in. they can kick junior senators out if they think they have a better office. a nevada republican has a nicer office than most junior senators because he took it over from john ensen after his resignation and heller's staff has made it difficult for other senate staffers to come and tour the office to see if they want it for their boss. they won't set schedule appointments and won't let them in the door. >> that could get ugly. >> worse than college dorms. >> the worst one was they got into a bickering fight with saxby chambliss' office staffers and apparently some heated debates. >> bill: i don't like this idea you can poach on someone else's office. hey, this looks pretty cool. get out. no. >> it really is like a fraternity. >> yep. and what you like on facebook may reveal more about you to

others than you might think or want. "usa today" reporting this morning on a new study university of cambridge has put out where researchers were able to accurately predict people's qualities and traits including race age i.q., sexuality personality, substance abuse and political views using their facebook preferences alone. companies or even people with ill intentions can find this data and use it to their advantage. so think twice before clicking "like" on a page. >> that seems pretty obvious though. >> bill: you put all of that information on facebook. isn't that what it's all about? >> they came up with an algorithm that pulls out the data instantaneously. >> it seems like a pretty simple algorithm. it doesn't seem that scientific. >> you can ask the university of cambridge. >> what do they know?

>> bill: thank you dan. indeed. all right. sabrina, you've covered the waterfront here for "huffington post." we're now in our second week of the sequester. how bad is it? >> well, i think it's very interesting. you're seeing very different stories. if you're looking at sort of the inside the beltway media we're obsessed with the politicking around it. everyone talks about was the white house exaggerating the impacts? did we have to cancel the tours? was it necessary? it seems petty. what do republicans want to do? to replace the sequester or are they comfortable keeping it in place. if you look at local media coverage, it is completely -- it is not completely different in that they're saying the sky is falling and serving terrible but they're looking at some of the real impacts. you have everything from, you know, disaster relief being affected after there was a tornado in atlanta. there are parks which are having to cut back funding and that

impacts, you know, sort of preservation as well as security, you know, arizona's already talked about furloughing border security and you know, the georgia department of labor is grappling with how do we cut unemployment benefits by 11% this month starting this month itself. so they're actually dealing with these impacts or talking about them and they are fairly immediate. meals on wheels, people have talked about a lot of local counties are struggling with the fact they won't be able to provide those services in the same capacity. and you know, when public housing gets affected, it doesn't mean people will be evicted tomorrow but if they have less money to dole out then that sort of does push tenants who can't make payments on the fence. and so i think that's kind of what's happening. it doesn't necessarily mean that everything is as bad as some people predicted it would be. but i don't know that those predictions were ever for the

day after. this is something that takes time. >> bill: wouldn't you agree that the chances of getting rid of the sequester because there's some hope, right that congress will act to resolve the budget problem and get rid of the sequester at the same time. but wouldn't you agree they're not going to get rid of the sequester until the cuts get so painful that the american people are just screaming out loud? >> it is a gamble that the administration took. the president has continued to say that you know, the combination of spending cuts and revenue raisers. that will mean closing tax loopholes and ending tax breaks to oil and gas companies implementing the buffett rule. that's been his sort of mandate since especially election and democrats have followed that cue. but republicans don't feel the pressure to cave on tax again when they just did two months ago. but if the impacts are felt and are much more severe in the

coming months, certainly the administration can point to that and say you know, they were unwilling to compromise back by march 1st and look, here we are doing what the consequences the american people are suffering. there will be more pressure on republicans. it is a gamble because they have until about september to do that. the end of the fiscal year, that's the first $85 billion in cuts. i think that's sort of the window, i think that democrats have to really win this battle. by then, if it's not as bad or if it's kind of just set in, it will be a lot harder to force republicans into new tax reforms. >> bill: you think it will take what? a month or two months before -- >> the summer is probably a safe bet because travel is one of the first things people know. it is, of course, accurate that tsa, you know, employees will be furloughed. the air-traffic control tower will be -- of some them will have already been shut down in

some cities and local areas. that's something that as security lines get longer, delays on the runway, especially in the summer when you're already facing that anyway, more than the usual then that's when some people will start -- >> bill: the first time. >> i think they'll start realizing it. one of the blows quote-unquote to the administration, the i.r.s. said we're not going to furlough our employees until after tax season so people get their refunds on time. what i mean by blow is it is good for the american people to get their refunds on time but that's -- that would have been an immediate consequence. >> bill: on another issue sabrina siddiqui is in studio with us. she's with "huffington post," huffingtonpost.com. rand paul shook things up with his filibuster on drones. he got the answer he wanted from eric holder. john brennan has been confirmed as a c.i.a. director. does the drones issue go away?

>> you know, that's what i think is an interesting piece of that filibuster. some was good and some was not so good in terms of the outcome in the sense that it's rare a talking filibuster is successful. it is rare that the person actually gets, in this case, looking for a question to be answered. did they devote a lot of time to answering it? of course not. no one ever thought that the white house -- the president was going to personally call rand paul or the white house to get detailed explanation when they've been so secret about this program. at the same time the unfortunate part is it became partisan when it is not a partisan issue. so many times, you had rand paul talk about on the floor how this is not a partisan issue. it is a concern of both democrats and republicans. only senator ron wyden was willing to join the filibuster when it comes to democrats. dig durbin asked a couple of questions. he was defending the administration and their rationale. this has been a thing that progressives, for the most part or liberals have been targeting have been asking questions about and because democrats were quiet

and not willing to buck their president's nominee or use that forum to express these concerns, it became something where you had all of these republicans standing up with rand paul when all of the republicans except for rand paul agree with the president's policy are comfortable with it. maybe senator ted cruz is willing to join rand paul in legislation since then. the legislation isn't going to go anywhere in terms of just the way the program is operated. the concept is targeting americans on u.s. soil. again, it seemed like the republican issue and it's not. now that it's over, it will be interesting to see if any attention remains focused on it. i think if democrats join the debate, there could have been a real policy discussion about an unpopular -- an unpopular policy really. >> bill: yeah and a growing use of drones both overseas and just beginning in this country by many government agencies including local agencies and local police departments and i don't think the issue is going

away at all. and the administration has promised they're going to come forward with some guidelines and some policy on the use of drones. 20 minutes after the hour now here on the "full court press". sabrina siddiqui in the studio with us covering issues facing the congress. your calls welcome. join the conversation at 1-866-55-press. >> announcer: radio meets television. the "bill press show." now on current tv. (vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers 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.

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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. >> announcer: radio meets television.

the "bill press show." now on current tv. >> bill: 25 minutes after the hour. judge up in new york city shot down mayor bloomberg's ban on sodas larger than 16 ounces. that ban was supposed to take effect today. judge yesterday said mayor bloomberg is dead wrong on the issue. in the next segment we'll be talking with ruby kramer from "buzzfeed" about that big event in new york which has a ripple effect across the country, of course. right now, we're talking issues here impacting our nation's capital with is a breen na siddiqui from "huffington post." she's here as a "friend of bill" the whole hour. peter has been keeping his eye on social media comments. >> we're on twitter at bpshow. on the issue of paul ryan's budget plan which is based on the repeal of obama care, lee says the issue i have with paul ryan is that he's pandering to

his base. if people wanted obamacare repealed, they would have voted him vice president. and eddie gleason says the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over again. the exact same way and expecting a different result. find us on twitter at bpshow. >> bill: sabrina, ron johnson senator from wisconsin was on msnbc yesterday morning. reflecting how important he thought it was that paul ryan -- i mean the cornerstone of his budget is repealing obamacare. here's senator johnson. >> obviously i'm concerned about it. i think it is grossly understated. i think far more americans will lose their employer-sponsored care. they're incentivized. it will lead to rationing. >> bill: blah, blah, blah, blah. my point is it's been in place

for two years. why are they still fighting this battle? >> they clearly think the 34th time is the charm? they've tried to repeal it 33 times unsuccessfully. you know, like we were just talking about or certainly as reflected in the tweets, we just had an election year where republicans thought there was this great opportunity to take down the president based on obamacare first and foremost.% if not the economy. it is one thing in 2010 in midterms when they may have attacked some democrats on the issue. a lot of people didn't know about it. it was new. but even then, i think that you know, people have accepted this as a law of the land whether they like it or not. actually most people have shown in polling especially recently, it is more popular. >> bill: that they like it. gotta stop you there. i can't believe they're still beating this dead horse. we'll be back and we'll talk 16 ounce sodas and more. ain't gonna happen.

>> announcer: this is the "bill press show." going to do the young turks. i think the number one thing that viewers like about the young turks is that we're yeah, but is it this fast? faster! how about this fast? clearasil's faster! this fast?? faster!! woh! that is fast! fix breakouts fast with clearasil ultra. it starts working instantly, sending the max amount of medicine allowed deep into your pores for visibly clearer skin in as little as 12 hours. yeah, it's fast. clearasil, the science of clear skin.

>> we strongly believe that in the end the courts will regulate the sale of beverages that have virtually no nutritional value and when consumed in large quantities are leading to disease and death for thousands of people every year. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: all right. there it is. michael bloomberg 33 minutes after the hour now. michael bloomberg, the mayor of new york yesterday refusing to accept defeat. when a judge ruled that his proposed ban on large sodas in new york city was unconstitutional or -- no, he said -- the judge actually said

it was arbitrary and capricious and he overturned it. so it will not take effect today. michael bloomberg immediately held a news conference to say he will appeal and in the end he would win. so sabrina siddiqui from "huffington post" is in studio with us here as a "friend of bill" this hour. we're joined, sabrina, by ruby kramer from "buzzfeed" on our news line from new york. hi ruby, good morning. >> hey, bill, how are you? >> bill: have you had your big gulp yet this morning? >> no. i'm running behind this morning. >> bill: better get out there. at least you'll know you can buy one today. where this time yesterday, we were not sure. we thought the ban was going to take effect. this judge, by the way made no doubt about what he think about this law. >> no. he used colorful language. he called it arbitrary capricious. he said it would give the health department virtually limitless authority and my favorite, he

said it would create an administrative lev eye thin. you know i think what he was getting at, the implementation of the rule itself was vague. just up until last week, there was confusion over what drinks would qualify and which drinks wouldn't. one issue being a starbucks frappuccino. no one knew whether a 26 ounce frappuccino which would be a venti at starbucks would qualify for the rule. so these were some of the things that i think he was -- he was getting at. >> bill: did anybody talk about -- jump in, sabrina whenever you want, how big a force it would take to enforce this law? the ban, if it went into effect? you would have to have a cop in every restaurant and at every food cart.

ruby? >> yeah, i think that was part of it, too. it wasn't really completely laid out. you know, the one piece of clarity in all of it was that it would be establishments that were rated by the health department. but so then kind of like 7-elevens and supermarkets wouldn't have to worry about it. but again you know, implementation here, they said there would be a $200 fine for people who you know, failed to comply with the rule. how would that be implemented. how would people be find. how would peep be caught in the act of -- i don't know. >> it seemed like there were a lot of ways to get around it as they had drawn it up. the law. >> yes. you can get refills. this rule does not prohibit

refills so you know, you can have as much of your sugary drink if you're willing to pay more. whether or not it accomplishes what mayor bloomberg set out to do in the first place which is limit the intake of so much sugar and ultimately limit obesity in this country. i'm not sure if it gets to the systemic part of that but one thing it said was years ago he spent his own money to stop -- he called it the scourge of pob acco in the city by limiting the places -- it worked. he's done it before. >> bill: he obviously sees that this is going to be his legacy, right? >> yes. >> bill: he had planned for this maybe to be the crowning achievement of his administration. and i don't know. it looks like ruby, to me, his

legacy may be -- he may be just go down as the nanny state right? >> yeah. i don't think he would want to put it that way. >> bill: no, i'm sure he wouldn't. >> this is a really big part of his legacy. he is in his last year of his third and last term. this was a big big blow to him. i mean you saw at the press conference yesterday he got up, you know. he did not look happy. and that's an understatement. and i think he is prepared to fight this. we've seen him fight like i said, the tobacco battle. he just took on basically his own one-man fight in an illinois special election single-handedly taking down a candidate who was -- who had ties to the national rifle association. and another big bloomberg initiative gun control. he single-handedly with his own

money within the super pac, independence u.s.a. pac took on the special election, defeated the candidates and someone else won. he's done it before. i wouldn't be surprised if he continues to somehow fight this even after his term of mayor is done. how that will take form, i'm not sure. >> bill: interesting sabrina for a mayor of the largest city to make -- you understand the importance of -- concern about public health and telling people. i guess the line for all of us to consider is when is the government doing the right thing to warn people about the dangers and then when is the government doing the right thing not just to warn people but to pass laws making it -- controlling it. controlling it basically making it a crime. >> i'm not sure what the situation is in new york with respect to this. but i always thought the appropriate measures for the government to take is school

lunches. that's a topic that's been raised in many states and there are a lot of initiatives trying to sort of look at what children are being fed in our public schools. most of it is garbage. you usually want to start when children are young if you're trying to tackle obesity. certainly, the first lady made childhood obesity her cause. i'm not sure if bloomberg has laid out any initiatives on that or promoted any. that's, to me, the first logical and appropriate space for the government to intervene because it is publicly-funded too. >> bill: ruby, do you know whether school lunches, i can't remember that he's made that a focus. it seems that would be a more appropriate place to start. >> yeah. i think he's proposed -- i'm not quite sure. it may have been something he was doing in his first or second term. i know he hasn't taken it on recently. >> bill: yeah. because then i think people are more comfortable if you're preventing the kids from getting

the drinks rather than preventing yourself from getting one. >> if you look at what bloomberg has done, he's done a lot of good stuff. gun control and as you mention the -- >> bill: the smoking. smoking in restaurants the ban on smoking in bars -- go ahead peter. >> the smoking stuff is practically universal now. he led that fight but when you look at sort of how he governed and when you look at what was next up, we had talked earlier about how he wanted to regulate how loud the music is that you listen to. really and truly. in your own headphones. because it could damage your own hearing. well, you know, he clearly has laid the case that government can interfere in your daily life and tell you thousand live your life. i wonder -- and tell you how to live your life. but i wonder if this has slowed this a little bit. >> i think so. he was stopped in his tracks.

this is a single case where his money really, which he used in a lot of the other battles won't be influenced. at least not yet. but i think you're right. i think you know, corey booker who was mayor -- another mayor new jersey's largest city, newark called bloomberg the chief provocateur of mayors this weekend. i think that's probably accurate. >> bill: wow. before we let you go, i've got to ask you a question about so this is mayor bloomberg's last year, as we said. christine quinn stepping out yesterday, the first person to actually declare for mayor of new york. how do you see her chances? how popular is she? that was certainly the milestone to be the first female mayor and the first openly gay mayor correct? >> yes. it would be -- people are calling it a historic campaign for mayor. you're right about both of those

things. and i think she is a favorite to win. you know, she's well-known in the city. right now she garners about 37% of primary support. according to a survey out last month. but you know, i think her biggest impediment will be people who weren't happy with mayor bloomberg or who tired of him in some way and see her who she is. city council speaker is an extension of his administration. i think that will be her biggest challenge. >> bill: yeah. somehow the mayor of new york, certainly one of the most important position. hey, ruby, good to talk to you again. >> yeah, you, too. >> bill: i look forward to getting you in studio one of these days. >> one day. >> bill: okay, we'll do that. thanks ruby. ruby kramer from buzzfeed.com.

we'll continue the conversation on the issues of the day with sabrina siddiqui from "huffington post" and all of the rest of us here on the "full court press" team. >> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv, this is the "bill press show." doing the things that i am given to doing anyway. staying in tough with everything that is going on politically and putting my own nuance on it. not only does senator rubio just care about rich people but somehow he thinks raising the minimum wage is a bad idea for the middle class. but we do care about them, right? vo: the war room tonight at 6 eastern

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that take you inside the headlines. real, gripping, current. documentaries... on current tv. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: you got it. 13 minutes before the top of the hour. on a tuesday march 12. busy day on capitol hill today.

sabrina siddiqui covers the hill and other things, all things politics for the great "huffington post." peter, what's up on the social network? >> getting a lot of comments on twitter at bpshow about our conversation about the soda ban in new york. one person tweeting in talking about healthcare as it relates to people who treat their bodies like crap. to answer your question, if taxpayers are paying for healthcare costs, they get the right to tell you to stop being stupid. another person saying it is interesting just how much -- >> bill: but there again, it is the difference between telling you to stop being stupid and preventing from you stupid. >> it is interesting how much processing is done to our foods not just with all of the chemicals, some of that stuff can kill you. then dw17176 says sugar is highly addictive. if someone wants to eat themselves to death, it is their right to do it but they should be paying more for insurance. you can find us on twitter at bpshow. >> bill: sabrina big day on

the hill today. streets will be closed. helicopters will be flying. president obama coming up to the hill. good time to stay away from the hill right? >> absolutely. imagine there will be a lot of chaos. he's been trying to meet with -- he met with senate republicans last week. he took a number of them out to differenter. meets with the senate democrats today. meet with senate republicans later this week. part of his sort of charm offensive as people have called it. when it comes to republicans. i think it's interesting. it could go a couple of ways. obviously the democrats, it is a little bit more of talking to him about some of the realities of what sort of concessions he might have to make. what does he have to put on the table they might not particularly like. and of course, talking about strategy and getting a sense of where his party is. >> bill: today, it is the senate democratic caucus. tomorrow i guess is the senate -- so he's going to be up on the hill four days, right?

>> three days. today is senate democrats. tomorrow house republicans. thursday, senate republicans. and he's already met with some senate republicans. i think the republicans is the bigger issue here. he wants to see you know, if he can get any of the rank and file republicans to sort of come to his way of thinking or meet him halfway. he's tried his go around leadership here. you have boehner and mcconnell who said the revenue discussion is closed. you've seen some republicans lindsey graham is one. he's the first one to say tax rate increases could be a part of a grand bargain or should be a part of one. and you know senator mccain has expressed he would be open to it if there were -- if there were entitlement reforms in return for that. so i think that the hope is he can get more to sort of come to his vision or way of thinking in a way that they could influence leadership. even if he doesn't he wants to

prevent a legislation for any ledge stlaition senate democrats put through and then the pressure is on the house. at the same time, it could very well not work. he could actually say or really make the case in a very -- in a much more tangible way republicans are flat-out opposed to any new tax increases. right now, he says it but they can stand and say we're open to closing tax loopholes just not this way. >> bill: it is a real effort in salesmanship on the president's part and reaching out. blunted in many ways by the fact as "the new york times" reports this morning already that john boehner mitch mcconnell, they will not -- they're just not going to negotiate anymore as long as new revenue is part of the negotiations. well, new revenue has to be part of the negotiations. if he can get enough republicans to disagree with their leadership, then that's the makings of a bargain.

>> right. he's trying to also avoid regular order. speaker boehner talked about putting things back through regular order. republican-controlled house, a lot of that, you know, won't necessarily achieve the outcomes that the president wants to field, delay things and be a lot of debate about nothing the two parties can agree on. >> he wants to be able to cut the deals. the speaker said he won't negotiate with him. he'll go negotiate with members of the conference and see how that works out for me. >> bill: going to be tough for them to go against their leader. we'll see. gary is from woodstown new jersey on our news line this morning. hey, gary, good morning. >> caller: good morning. i just wanted to comment on bloomberg's sodas. i just think it is ridiculous. i think government wants too much control of everything in our life. and if that's the case, they should just ban motorcycles too. because people get killed on them. >> bill: we make them wear helmets on motorcycles.

>> helmet doesn't -- that prevents you from dying? >> bill: it can in some cases. >> caller: you know, if i spill my soda, i don't die from drinking the soda either. government has too much control of everything. >> bill: well, gary, i appreciate your call. and i think the reaction of people to the soda ban. you know, it's not an easy issue. i do think there is a role for government here. certainly, the government to tell you what's good for you and what's not good for you and then let you make your own choice. but in some cases i think government has to take the next step which is to require you to take certain -- for example wearing your seatbelt. the safe bumpers they've got on cars now or whatever. i would even argue motorcycle helmets. right? but then the 16 ounce drink i just think it is over the line.

so not smoking in a restaurant, i'm okay with that. i love that! >> well, the smoking impacts other people, too. the whole point is second degree smoke. personal choice is very different from what's going to affect people sitting next to you at the restaurant or close to you. >> that i think is the dividing line between people that are with bloomberg and against bloomberg. >> bill: you're unlikely to get cancer from somebody drinking a 16 ounce drink next to you. >> unlikely to get it yourself. >> bill: sabrina great to see you. follow your good work at huffingtonpost.com. i'll be back to tell you what the president's up to today. in addition to that meeting on the hill. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

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>> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: top of the next hour, will dobson from slate joins us to talk about the move toward democracy around the world. president obama's schedule today, after he and the vice president get their daily briefing at 9:30 this morning they will -- the president will be addressing the members of his export council. then he will be holding a bilateral meeting with the sultan of brunei. he has lunch with him at 1:30 this afternoon. the president will be coming up to capitol hill to meet with senate democrats at the united states capitol. back at the white house later this afternoon. he and the vice president will be meeting with secretary of defense chuck hagel just back from a trip to afghanistan. briefing today with jay carney at 12:30. we'll cover it all. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

>> bill: good morning friends and neighbors. it is tuesday march 12. good to see you today. welcome to the "full court press." right here on current tv. where we tackle the big stories of the day every day and give you a chance to talk about it. tell us what it means to you and to your family at 1-866-55-press. we'll cover what's happening here in our nation's capital around the country around the globe, in rome today. three hours from now. the cardinals will be in the

sistine chapel and will be ready to cast their first vote, the first of four votes i believe they'll have today. often electing the new pope for the catholic church. here in our nation's capital president obama begins a three-day salesmanship session here on capitol hill, be coming up to the capitol each of those three days. today he will be here to meet with senate democrats. tomorrow with the house republicans. and thursday with senate republicans on attempts to forge some kind of a balanced approach to our deficit and debt problems. meanwhile, president -- i mean paul ryan who tried to be vice president, congressman paul ryan, will be unveiling his 2014 budget, he calls the path to prosperity which is a big joke. going nowhere. the heart of his budget is repealing obamacare which ain't

gonna happen. wherever it's happening we'll keep you up to date on it right here on current tv. >> 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.

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you know who is coming on to me now? you know the kind of guys that do reverse mortgage commercials? those types are coming on to me all the time now. (vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers thinking. >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying. you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney. (vo) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say

anything. what the hell were they thinking? >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: yesterday, for the fifth day in a row the dow closed at another record high. hey, don't think obama's economic plan is working. great to see you today. it is tuesday march 12. this is the "full court press." we're coming to you live from our nation's capital in our studio on capitol hill. just down the street from the united states capitol building where president obama will be rolling in about 1:30 this afternoon to meet with senate

democrats to talk budget resolution. busy day here on the hill and a busy day here on the "full court press." lots to cover this morning. in our last hour together. thank you for joining us. we'll be glad to hear from you. happy to hear from you. look forward to hearing from you at 1-866-55-press. that's our toll free number. you can also follow us on twitter. we encourage you to follow us on twitter and give us your comments on twitter at bpshow. or on facebook at facebook.com/billpressshow. as long as there is a current tv, there is a current tv chat room waiting for you to join. you can talk about the issues, debate the issues with your other "full court pressers" as we talk about them on the air. go to current.com and click on chat room and you are in the money. peter ogborn and dan henning leading up team press this morning. >> yes sir. >> good morning. >> happy tuesday. >> bill: phil backert on the phones. cyprian bowlding has the video

cam. good to have you with us and good to welcome back to the studio, will dobson from slate foreign politics and foreign affairs editor, if you please at slate. good morning will. >> nice to see you. >> nice to see you. >> in addition to all of the big events here, of course, in our nation's capital with the president coming up on the hill today, all eyes on rome. our network anks are all there at the vatican because the conclave, i guess it is sort of like underway now. three hours from now the cardinals will have already been seated inside the sistine chapel, the door will have been sealed. they are there for the duration. and at 11:00 east coast time this morning three hours from now, they'll be casting their first vote unlikely that a new pope will be elected on the first ballot. but there are a lot of papal gazers, i guess. father john wook is one of the

observers there who said yesterday, here's kind of what they're look for. >> looking for someone who has executive skills. jesus with an mba. >> bill: jesus with an mba. could run the institution. they're talking about somebody who is outgoing, who can carry the message and you know, go around the world and be unlike benedict xvi a politician. >> right right. >> bill: it is a lot in one person that they're looking for right? >> yeah. very well-rounded pope. >> bill: the front man the brains and the business manager all at the same time. >> and maybe someone without the same sort of geographical background too. the last time we heard a lot about would they finally take someone from south america or from someplace other than, you know, one of a couple of select countries, dare we say even the united states which seems impossible to me but who knows. we have mba programs.

that helps. >> bill: it would be huge to have a pope from africa or latin america. >> it would send a very important message. >> bill: absolutely. 10 minutes after the hour now. will has a new book out. the paperback edition today. "the dictator's learning curve inside the global battle for democracy." we want to find out from you how the movement toward democracy whether it seems to have stalled a little bit. we'll be talking to will dobson here at the top of the hour and taking your calls again at 1-866-55-press. but first... dan has the big stories of the day. >> headlines making news on this tuesday. newt gingrich is upset about the white house canceling tours because of the sequester. so he wants to do something about it. former house speaker suggesting on twitter yesterday that donald trump should fund the tours to

keep them going. trump was asked about it on fox news and he says he likes newt. think it is a great idea. why not. send the white house a check. >> bill: last thing they want is donald trump's money. it is just another gimmick for donald trump. >> it is amazing how conservatives are trying to rally around this as an issue. this is their rallying cry. don't close the white house. >> bill: no, no. you can slash pentagon spending. but as long as you keep those white house tours going. you can keep our aircraft carrier, the harry s. truman in port. you can stop training new people to go to afghanistan to relieve soldiers there who deserve a break and to come home. and you can cut air-traffic controllers and border guards but whatever you do, don't stop the white house tours. >> philadelphia eagles quarterback michael vick who spent 18 months in prison for running a dogfighting ring is out with a new book but he won't

be doing a book tour according to philadelphia magazine, vick has had to cancel signings for his autobiography called finally free at barnes & noble stores in philly and atlanta after he and the stores received multiple threats of violence and threats of property damage. he even getting death threats. >> bill: whoa. >> no book tour. >> bill: not behind him. >> you would think he would have had some redemption by now. put it behind him. >> bill: he served his time. he got another job. another position. >> he's certainly not a hero. but i think he would be able to go out on the road and not get death threats. >> bill: no matter what book, you should be able to talk about it without that kind of violence. >> i firmly believe that. >> bill: there you go. >> our love for asian food is killing forests in china. according to "the huffington post," china is now producing 80 billion disposable wooden

chopsticks a year and the nation's forests can't keep up with demand. a new report states that 20 million 20-year-old trees would be needed every year to cover china's annual chopstick production. officials there are trying to figure out a solution without having to go to completely plastic chop sticks. >> bill: i have two solutions. one is reuse the chopsticks. you can use them over and over again. >> like the flimsy wooden ones that you get in chinese food restaurants with takeout. >> bill: i'm not sure i want to use chopsticks in a restaurant someone else has used but at home like we do. other solution is give them a fork. >> okay. >> there's that. >> bill: i just solved that problem. i found what was fascinating about your book is you visited a lot of countries where thanks

to a lot of sacrifice on the part of a lot of people that dictators have been overthrown. on page two, you make the statement, it is not easy being a dictator today. a lot of them have learned right. they can't get away with what they used to get away with. >> that's right. it's become much more difficult because in the broad measure you know, in the last 40 years democracy has done quite well. we've seen the advance of democracy around the world. and so -- that was really a true statement up to about 2005. and since 2005, we've seen a decline in political pluralism around the world and a dictator comeback, if you will. what i was trying to do with this book was to go out and go to these countries meet people who serve the regime and meet with people trying to up-end the regimes and figure out what are the strategies and tactics that they're using because this is very much a dynamic struggle going on between two sides. the thing we have to recognize is this image of dictators the

thuggish brutes, well, yes there is an element of retaliation and threat and even force in these place but actually, they're quite sophisticated, too. there are a lot of ways they've developed tactics. they've come up with refashioned dictatorship. i wanted to look at what the tactics and strategies were. >> bill: right. so am i wrong or it seems after tunisia and egypt and libya this movement toward democracy seems to have stalled a little bit. look at syria. you talk about a dictator who hasn't adopted new techniques. >> his is really much of a response to what was the beginning of the arab spring. officials ousted egyptian officials hosni mubarak who lament to me why didn't we use violence.

they looked around the region, at that time when i was talking to them, gadhafi was still there. look at what assad is doing in syria. we should have done that. the reality is that didn't work either though because obviously gadhafi found his final days in a drainage pipe and assad while still present he's not running a country like he once was. the very best, he will end up with some rump state holdover, some part of syria but he'll never be the legitimate leader of syria again. so you know, the thing that these regimes understand is they understand is if you wait until the day that people rise up or take the square or assemble, you might have waited too long. you can't -- china can't afford another tiananmen square because it wouldn't be like last time. last time, it was something that they -- when they wanted to declare martial law, they pulled the plug on cnn. screens went dark. then they went about their work. that wouldn't happen now. there would be 1,000 iphones that would capture it. they know that. so they try to be preemptive and

think about ways to keep people -- how do you repress your population without having to blow back in your face? now, there's been some -- you see in the arab springs it has spiraled somewhat. that's the messy business of democratic nation building. >> bill: do you consider egypt a success? >> i think -- >> bill: in terms of toward democracy? newly elected? >> any democratic future for that country requires it going through the steps it's going through today. as unpleasant as the steps are. so mubarak had to go. that happened. they had to move toward elections. that happened. you know, the one thing you don't hear about egypt is you don't hear about the elections having been rigged. i mean they were clean elections. right out of the gate, that's a very impressive thing. now, they have a leader who's acting every bit as autocratic at mubarak did before him but it is different because before, the streets were quiet.

today, the people play a role in their politics. there is an actual give-and-take, negotiations going on between the people and the people in power. that in itself is progress. >> bill: it's different because this guy was elected. >> this guy was elected. >> and this guy was elected. >> bill: what do you do about a country like north korea? >> north korea i sort of -- i talked about that in the book. north korea, no one wants to be the next north korea. there's no nigerian colonel thinking about overthrowing the ruling power and saying you know what? when i do that, i'm then going to be north korea. that's nobody's game plan. you take a place like burma look at burma was more like north korea a couple of years ago. now they're opening up. north korea is the holdout state. they're the exception that proves the rule where they said we would rather be a police state. fall back into a defensive crouch and send the rest of you off because any change is threatening to them. >> bill: you must -- you have to believe that there are forces inside of north korea people

inside north korea who would like to see a change. are there just not enough of them or the security state is too powerful there? >> the security state is to oppressive. they have effectively said okay, look, we're willing to starve our people. we're willing to have massive death camps and they came up with the capability to spined themselves with nuclear weapons. as a result, there's nought outside world can do and they have new compunction to do the worst to their own people. north korea, it is a mafia state. effectively. interesting, the times we've been most effective in trying to produce change it hasn't been sanctions against the economy. because they don't really care about starving their own people has actually been sanctions against specific figures within the regime. because the kim family knows the kim dynasty knows if they can't continue to pay the 20 or 30 top families, the top officials, that's the biggest threat that they can't continue

to give them their mercedes and foreign bank accounts, when the u.s. froze their bank accounts of top officials in macau, that was the one time the north korean regime came back to say okay, we're opening negotiations. let's talk. why are we seeing this bellicose rhetoric right now? some of the sanctions that the united states and u.n. put in place just recently included specific officials. that's what has them more worried than joint military exercises between the united states and south korea which is what they claim. >> bill: the book is "the dictator's learning curve inside the global battle for democracy." will dobson is our guest in studio. what is the role of the united states as these various movements toward democracy take place around the world? should we just -- on the sidelines are in there really huffing them out. your calls welcome too at 1-866-55-press on today's "full court press." >> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv, this is the "bill press show."

i think the number one thing that viewers like about the young turks is that we're 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.

this show is about analyzing criticizing, and holding policy to the fire. are you encouraged by what you heard the president say the other night? is this personal or is it political? a lot of my work happens by doing the things that i am given tough with everything that is going on politically and putting my own nuance on it. not only does senator rubio just care about rich people but somehow he thinks raising the minimum wage is a bad idea for the middle class. but we do care about them, right? vo: the war room tonight at 6 eastern

>> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: from "slate" magazine the politics and foreign affairs editor will dobson in studio with us. you can follow him on twitter at williamjdobson. it is 25 minutes after the hour now. we're talking about his new book well, his paperback edition of his book which came out last year. >> last june. >> bill: "the dictator's learning curve inside the global battle for democracy."

peter, before we get back to this issue couple of calls or comments there? >> one quick story i wanted to mention, we talked a lot about the soda ban being struck down in new york city. there is a new info graphic by how many calories counter.com which we're about to tweet out that shows some fast food items that have 1,000 calories or more in them and some of these are pretty shocking. if you were to get fish and chips at nathan's, that's 1500 calories. let's say you wanted to get a large tuna melt at quizno's, sounds semi healthy. 2,090 calories in that. if you go to outback steakhouse and you get the aussie cheese fries which are fries cheese, bacon, sour cream loaded, 2,140 calories in that dish. >> bill: how much in a 16 ounce drink? >> that i don't have offhand.

it depends on the drink. >> bill: i want to come back to -- this issue keeps coming up in syria. as we see the movements toward democracy, what is the role of the united states? >> yeah, it's interesting. you know. in many cases when you look at -- way to think about it is what do these regimes fear? what are they most worried about. the answer is generally not the united states in fact. if you look at a lot of regimes around the world like china they're not worried about the united states in a military sense particularly. we're one of the largest trading partners. you think about russia, they're not worried about the united states particularly. we require russian support on any diplomatic issue at all. egypt, we give them a billion dollars a year. venezuela, we buy more of their oil than anyone else. in most cases these regimes they seat united states as a partner or someone they're joined to the hip with rather than, you know, a real threat. what they're most concerned about is their own people. the thing one has to watch and

what i was trying to do in the book, when i would go to the places, i was meeting with people who served the regime and much more hopefully, i was meeting with the people trying to throw the regimes. it is these indigs now struggles within the countries that we need to watch and where the regimes are most concerned. the united states can put pressure -- the united states can aid these groups. one group i was talking about that i met with who now are working with groups all around the world were serbs who overthrough milosevic. they learned that madeleine albright had a sticker of theirs on her desk. she was closely following it. they said they put a message back to her saying that's wonderful. we're happy to hear that. please keep it a secret. because as soon as everyone in serbia finds out that you have our sticker we're undermined. we lose our legitimacy. it is important we support them but carefully. >> bill: gotta stop you right there. the dictators of learning curve. >> announcer: this is the "bill

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>> announcer: chatting with you live at current.com/billpress. this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: 33 minutes after the hour now here on march 12, the "full court press." coming to you live from your nation's capital washington, d.c. and our studio here on capitol hill. brought to you today by the international association of sheet metal air rail and transportation workers. giving a fair day's work for a fair day's pay. you bet. under president joseph nigro you can get more information from their web site at

smart-union.org. sheet metal, air rail and transportation workers. so today big day on the hill for a couple of reasons. one as we mentioned president obama will be coming up at 1:30 this afternoon to meet with senate democrats. it is part of a -- three days on the hill for president obama meeting with republicans and democrats to try to get enough votes together get a reasonable, balanced solution to our budget problems and maybe even get rid of the sequester at the same time. it's also a big day because paul ryan is unveiling the latest republican budget. this is the 2014 budget. this is his third budget. and what's interesting about this one first of all, it is deja vu all over again.

it is as bad probably worse than the other two. and to show you how out of touch paul ryan and john boehner and eric cantor and house republicans are this budget, called the path to prosperity according to paul ryan, the heart of it, what makes it all work what it all depends on is repealing obamacare. yes, they are still beating that drum friends. and not just paul ryan. but some republican senators, too. republican senator ron johnson from wisconsin of course. was on msnbc yesterday morning. dan, if we've got that clip. and he just -- mitt romney made

arguments like this but lost so badly. >> obviously i'm concerned about it. i think the concept of obamacare is grossly understated. i think far more americans will lose their employer-sponsored% care because the sen incentives for them to drop the coverage and make their employees eligible for -- it will lead to rationing, lower quality care. here's the basic economic problem with it. >> why will it lead to rationing? >> because it dramatically increases the demand for healthcare. >> bill: they're also going to have death panels. >> he might as well say that. they really might as well say that. >> bill: no, i mean making all of these claims of what obamacare is going to do. they're still doing it. obamacare has been in effect for two years now. okay? not all of it has kicked in. it has been out there for two years. and, as americans learn about it, take advantage of it,

americans love it because it expands our options expands the opportunity for health coverage. and even more and more as we talk last week, more and more republican governors are embracing it. the key -- one of the key parts of obamacare is the expansion of medicaid. nine republican governors rick scott from florida jan brewer from arizona, john kasich from ohio conservative republican governors have signed on to this expansion of medicaid. it makes sense for their states because the federal government, not only are more people covered but the federal government pays 100% of the cost for the first three years. >> obamacare, however you want to look at it, the reform of the healthcare is the law of the land. it saw its day in court. the supreme court ruled it constitutional. you mentioned all of the governors. it is over. it is done with. deal with it. >> bill: the fact that paul ryan still makes it the

centerpiece of his budget shows how totally out of touch and how unrealistic the house republicans are and why you cannot follow them on anything because their budget is a huge, big, fat lie. the one that paul ryan will unveil today. it is a lie because he the repeal of obamacare is never gonna happen. think about, it right. for obamacare to be overturned would take not just a vote of house republicans sure. they can line them up to do that. they did it 33 times in the last two years. how far did they get? so they can do it another 33 times. >> go for it. >> bill: it ain't gonna happen. it will take more than that. it will take first of all getting it through the senate. which they have tried 33 times. it hasn't worked. it won't work this time. more democrats now in the senate

and more republicans who know this would be a bad idea. to repeal obama care. number two, let's say by some vast stretch of the imagination they were able to get it through the senate. do you think president obama will sign it? don't be ridiculous. he will sign to overturn his signature legislative accomplishment. it won't happen. and then even if he were to -- they would have to roll back two years of all of the new regulations, new programs, new procedures, new jobs and the whole thing. it ain't gonna happen. for paul ryan, after trying once trying twice to come up with a third budget and to base the budget on the repeal of obamacare is unbelievably irresponsible. unrealistic. >> dumb. >> bill: dumb. >> it is just dumb. he ran for vice president of the

united states. and he's been on record this whole time as wanting to repeal obamacare. the american people had a chance to vote and they voted against that idea. >> bill: what was mitt romney's pledge? on day one i'm going to repeal obamacare. it's not gonna happen. you notice most other republicans aren't even talking about it now because they know it's not going to happen because it is in place. the american people know it now. they love it. and they don't want to see it repealed. and it is not going to be repealed. so paul ryan, it is just out of the box today. out of the box. it is a total lie. it is a total joke. lee out in las vegas nevada. hey, lee, how are you? >> caller: hi, bill. i want to talk about this joke of a plan that paul ryan is bringing out here. if you looked at it closely paul ryan and the republicans basically are saying to the american people we don't want you to live past 70 years old. if you're poor, we want you to die off.

that's what they're basically telling you with this plan. it is an absolute joke. and the thing that has me even more infuriated, he's got that stupid grin on when he's on fox news. do you see that stupid grin he has on? i mean like it is a joke. like he's playing with people's lives. this is what i'm saying. like he's really serious. about this plan? >> bill: they don't care, lee. they really don't give a damn. it was last week that jay carney shocked me when he called paul ryan the thought person -- >> thought leaders. >> bill: one of the thought leaders of the g.o.p. if he's the thought leader of the g.o.p., they're in worse shape than we thought. at some point they gotta recognize they lost this battle. they lost it. congress passed it. the supreme court upheld it. the american people like it. republican governors now are embracing it. they gotta get off this -- they gotta get off this kick and get off this wagon here about

repealing obamacare. it is not going to happen. john is out in ferndale, washington. hi john. >> caller: good morning, bill. 34, 35 attempts that they've done. >> bill: 33 in the last two years. >> i lose track. the thing that infuriates me the most about paul ryan and like cnn and some of the major news outlets, you know, is what i've learned from you and from ed schultz and rachel maddow is paul ryan wants to repeal obamacare and yet in his calculations for the savings that will happen, he still includes the savings from obamacare in his budget saying you know, he's going to repeal obamacare. as far as like oh, well, we're going to have too many people coming into the system. it will be rationing care. the fact is that if people get preventive care, they're less likely to get really sick and less likely to show up at an

emergency room and it is just total dishonesty and i just -- gosh, i just wish the american people would wake up and smell the coffee. >> bill: i hope that when, john absolutely. i think the media has an obligation today to just treat this as a joke that it is and not take it seriously. the path to prosperity. laugh out loud when paul ryan unveils this today and make a point of how can you -- john, as you point out that famous $716 billion in savings in medicare -- medicare that they were accusing president obama remember during the campaign of cutting $716 billion in medicare benefits which is not true. these are savings. from better procedures and better billing in medicare. and now paul ryan, who had those in his budget last year has put them back in his budget this year at the same time he's taking advantage of the savings while demanding that they repeal the whole program.

so it is internally contradictory. it is just outrageous. again, i hope the media today just says just treats him like the joker that he is. "full court press" on tuesday march 12th. >> announcer: this is the "full court press." the "bill press show." live on your radio and on current tv. >> you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. just be grateful current tv does not come in smellivision. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv.

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>> bill: all right. 13 minutes before the top of the hour. tuesday, march 12. just about two hours from now the cardinals start voting in rome for the new pope. all eyes on the vatican. and all eyes here on our nation's capital where president obama goes up to the hill to talk to senate democrats about our budget problems. and up in new york city, it looks like you will be able to buy a drink bigger than 16 ounces after all. we'll get to that in just a second. peter, we saw we have some comments there on -- we were just talking about. >> a couple leftovers on paul ryan's budget and how he think we should still repeal obamacare. >> paul ryan ought to be elected pope. after all, he needs a miracle to get this budget passed. rusty says obama has already caused insurance premiums to stop rising and they're going even lower and yet eddie munster

still thinks he can repeal it. referring to paul ryan as his doppelganger. we'll get some people who disagree on twitter. mark baker says bill, at least the republicans can put together a budget and do not break the law when submitting it. you can find us -- >> bill: this is not a budget. >> you can find us on bpshow on twitter. >> bill: they can't put a budget together. they can't come up with any of their own ideas. they keep repeating this, we'll repeal obamacare. no wonder they're not winning elections. another issue we haven't talked about yet today is on gun control. and the efforts toward some sensible gun safety measures. when president obama talked about this in his state of the union, if you remember, he quoted a former republican president for a ban on assault weapons, ronald reagan who was very strongly for a ban on assault weapons. "huffington post" reporting

yesterday or this morning i guess is, another yet another republican president very strong on gun control, who would go way beyond banning assault weapons who would ban all handguns, handguns that president being richard nixon. back in may 1972, the day after an assassin shot and paralyzed george wallace the white house tapes, those famous tapes recorded richard nixon as telling his aides in the oval office "i don't know why any individual should have a right to a revolver in his house. why can't we go after handguns, period." then he continued "i know the rifle association will be against it. the gunmakers will be against it. but people should not have

handguns." boom. period. >> pretty clear. >> bill: where richard nixon stood on that issue. isn't it funny how republicans can't even follow their own leaders when it comes to this issue on gun control. and on that other issue of sodas, the headline -- 16 ounce remember michael bloomberg came up with this latest in his health craze the nanny state. to ban the sale of soft drinks over -- sugary soft drinks, not the diet ones, over 16 ounces. it was supposed to go into effect today. and a judge yesterday ruled we've been talking about this morning that that ban he said was the way it was drawn up was arbitrary and capricious and he overruled it. the headline makers are having a field day. the front page of the "new york post" today is "judge cans

nanny's ban on big sweet sodas." i just saw on msnbc they saw "judge cans soda ban." >> the headline writers are the real winner. >> bill: bloomberg yesterday refused to cry uncle. he says he will fight on. >> we strongly believe that in the end, the courts will recognize the board of health's authority to regulate the sale of beverages that have virtually no nutritional value and which consumed in large quantities, are leading to disease and death for thousands of people every year. >> bill: he said that at his news conference. then he went on david letterman to defend his program. david letterman says i think you're picking on the wrong person. >> i believe that it's the corporate food industry, not the individual that is at fault here. [ applause ] >> bill: how about that. >> i think it is incumbent on

government to tell people what they're doing to themselves and let people make their own decisions. >> bill: whoa, stop right there. i think right there michael bloomberg contradicts himself but he does say the way things ought to be. it is government's obligation to tell people what is bad for them right? and what they might do and the harmful effects of certain foods or beverages or whatever or activities and then what did he say? let people make their own decisions. >> yeah. >> bill: that's not what he did with the soda ban. >> he beat up his own argument. >> bill: he defeated his own argument. that would have been a way to go. big setback for michael bloomberg in new york. if you're anywhere in the new york area, go in town today and have yourself at least an 18 ouncer just to celebrate. i'll be back with a parting shot about that paul ryan budget. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

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>> announcer: the parting shot with bill press. this is the "bill press show." >> bill: hey, and on this tuesday, march 12, my parting shot for today if you think republicans learned anything from the last election, think again. up with thing for sure, paul ryan didn't learn a damn thing. he was on the ticket, remember, as mitt romney's vice presidential running mate and what did mitt romney promise to do if elected on day one? repeal obamacare. which americans rejected, of course overwhelmingly. but now paul ryan, chair of the house budget committee is out with -- he will be