[♪ theme music ♪] >> bill: hey good morning, everybody, happy friday. it is friday april 5th, and this is the "full court press" right here on current tv coming to you live all across this great land of ours from our studio in capitol hill in washington, d.c. just down the street from the united states capitol building where we keep our eye on what is going on in our capitol, not

much these days with everybody out of town. we'll give you a chance to comment on it at 866-55-press. we also invite you to follow us of course on twitter @bpshow and on facebook at facebook/billpressshow. president obama back in the white house came in late last night after a two-day fund-raising swing through the san francisco bay area the big news up in connecticut yesterday, governor daniel malloy signed into law the toughest gun safety laws in the nation. it covers the waterfront passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, it includes expanding connecticut's existing ban on assault weapons, a ban on high-capacity magazines,

includes a background check on every purchase of a gun, and includes money for mental health. if the connecticut legislature can do it, why can't the congress. that question and more right here on current tv. 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 to doing anyway. staying in tough with everything that is 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 monday to thursday at 6 eastern

alright, in 15 minutes we're 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. >> 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: broadcasting across the nation, on your radio, and on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: president obama says that california attorney general pamela harris is not only the toughest attorney general in the nation, she's also the best looking, and you know what, damn straight she is. have you seen any of those other guys. what is wrong with that? he is right. fellow, everybody, good morning, what do you say? it happens to be a friday.

♪ hallelujah ♪ >> bill: yes indeed. it is friday april 5th. ♪ hallelujah ♪ >> bill: our favorite day around the "bill press show." it seems like it's welcome. it's raining here in washington, d.c., but wherever you are, hoping you are starting off to have a good day, a good friday and going into a good weekend. thank you for riding us into the weekend, as we bring you the little bit of news of what is going on at the white house today. >> there is stuff going on in washington, the nationals are off to their best start in five years, they have won five games in a row. >> bill: peter you were at the game yesterday in >> i was. >> bill: it must have been like

40 degrees. >> it was like mid-40s. it was not baseball weather, and it was a 4:00 game, which is weird, so towards the end of the game it got really cold out. so i can't imagine -- joe said he went to the game the other night, and he said it was damn cold. >> bill: i'm a fair-weather golfer and baseball fan. >> i'm glad i went. i'm not going to go to another baseball game until the weather warms up. >> bill: but they are off to a great start as we are here. we invite your comments. of course this is a conversation in the morning, not just a 1-way street. so give us a call at 866-55-press. like to hear from our old timers and new timers first timers,

866-557-7377. on twitter follow us @bpshow. as well as facebook facebook/billpressshow is where you find us there. and peter will be standing buy to snare your comments as they come in. peter ogburn and dan henning the team here this morning. >> happy friday. >> bill: and our newest member alicia cruz on the phones this morning, alicia nice to see you. and monty python is on -- >> that's a good nickname. i like that. >> bill: monty python has got the camera this morning. siprion has the day off -- >> siprion is on his way -- >> bill: oh, that's right. he had that important assignment before he got here this morning. >> all i can tell you is i know

siprion was at the baseball game last night. and when i last saw him there were two open bottles of champagne -- >> bill: oh, not. well there was a lot to celebrate. >> siprion was clearly in a celebrating mood. >> bill: all right. we'll get the full story when he shows up. sad news yesterday, the passing of a guy who really made a mark. i can't believe roger ebert, he is failment -- a film critic but he changed the way people look at movies and of course mr. siskel -- gene siskel yeah. >> bill: but it was ebert who was the star. >> he was clearly the star. >> bill: and president obama put out a statement about -- i mean when does that happen for a film

critic? >> yeah. yeah. >> bill: like never before. and he could really make or break a movie. the two of them siskel and ebert. here for example he was talking about "saving private ryan". >> to me it reveals what war is really all about, and it is brutal. this is not a movie for younger children for sure. war is about thinking about something that is as important enough to kill for. something that doesn't come easy to the people in this film or for most of us i'm sure. >> it's exactly what you said. smart guy, knew what he was talking about, and at the end of the day he boils it down to one thing, good or bad. thumbs up or thumbs down.

>> bill: absolutely. and what is incredible is how he carried on despite the cancer despite the operations. i mean he was kept alive with a feeding tube for years and was still writing and doing columns. >> he couldn't eat for several years. >> bill: yeah, and just kept going. and he was also -- i didn't realize -- but i saw yesterday, he was a flaming lefty. >> oh, yeah. oh, yeah. >> bill: "think progress" put out yesterday a list of his liberal pronouncements. >> oh, yeah. he put out a statement on wednesday before he died and he said he was taking a leave of presence, and his last published wores were "i'll see you at the movies", which was just so perfect. >> bill: absolutely.

glenn [ inaudible ] is going to be joining us from "politico." laura bassett will be joining us from "huffington post," and we will take a look at the job numbers. always big news. and really big news for legalization of marijuana. that's where we're start, but first -- >> on this friday overhead lines making news bracketology comes to an end this weekend. number one louisville facing number 9 wichita state, michigan faces syracuse and the winner of those place for the championship in monday in atlanta. monday night. and team press i believe i still have two of my final four

intact -- >> bill: oh, stop it. but all three of us are going to win because louisville is going to do it. >> right. spring has come to washington, and it was planting day at the white house yesterday, the hill reports the first lady was joined by about 30 children from around the country for the annual planting of the white house garden they nut wheat, spend -- spin natch and other vel tables but no beets. beets is the only vegetable the family won't eat. >> bill: i love beets. >> yeah. >> facebook is taking over your smartphone.

there is a new family of apps that will get you even more connected where facebook becomes the operating system of the phone itself, so you don't even have to log in you can just update your facebook status and get in touch with your friends as soon as you turn your phone on. mark zuckerberg said today's apps are design not designed around people and he wants to change that. >> bill: is that going to work? >> maybe. i don't know. i'm not a big facebooker the facebook app i have on my phone is not the best out there. so best of luck. >> bill: i'm happy with my iphone and system i have. so therefore mark zuckerberg don't take it personally but

i'm not buying it. i'll tell you what i am buying -- well, no i'm not. but there is unbelievable news about legalization of marijuana today i found very surprising. i just want to be sure you understand, yes, i have smoked pot, marijuana -- [ gasping ] >> stephanie: -- >> bill: i admit i did, i inhaled, in fact i smoked a lot of pot. i don't even more. i don't have anything against it. i just don't. if a friend was over and had a joint, sure -- >> wait a minute, you would, really? >> bill: sure but i don't go out of my way to find it and it's not part of our life and i have nothing against it. but i'm amazed to see how public

support of this has switched. it reminds me how positions have changed on same-sex marriage. more states have recognized same-sex marriage than have recognized pot. last year colorado and washington became the first two states to legalize. it used to be considered like revolutionary if a state accepted medical marijuana, just people who have serious medical problems that could get some relief from smoking pot. that was considered like oh my god, amazing. that's old fashioned now. we're talking about pure legalization of marijuana. you can buy it in the store just

like booze, cigarettes or whatever. so colorado and washington became the first two states. the federal government still has the prohibition against it. it is still illegal at the federal level, so the question remains whether the justice department will still enforce the federal law in colorado and washington. maryland really loosened up the penalties, didn't go as far as pure legalization, but loosened up penalties for possession of pot just a couple of weeks ago, so that gets us to the us in of the day, the latest pew poll shows 52% of americans support pure legalization of pot, think across the board it should be made legal in every state.

45% opposed, but 72% say that federal enforcement of drug laws against marijuana is a total waste of time and money. 72% recognize the war on drugs has been a total bust. we have spent gazillions on this. carol doerty talks about it. >> 52% favor making marijuana legal now, and that's the highest we have seen. >> bill: and this is interesting, they also said so what about the morality. >> a few years ago you had a as many as half americans saying it

was morally wrong. and now people are saying it is not a moral issue at all. >> bill: and it's note. it's not a moral issue at all. and then -- maybe some small slice of american says you can't smoke pot because of their religion. show me that in the bible. and carol also says don't think it's just democrats that smoke pot. >> both republicans and democrats, very rare to get bipartisan agreement that federal enforcement is just not worth the cost. >> bill: i would hope the legislators would see this and say let's just move on and make money on it, and make at it product that you can buy and sell and consume with some

restrictions just like you can't drive while drinking. >> think of the money this country could make if we taxed marijuana. i know that's an old argument -- but really you look at the problems we have in terms of deficit -- >> bill: and look at california. the number 1 cash crop in california, you think grapes right? artichokes? strawberries? huh-uh. it's pot. and we're not making a dime off of it. legalization, what do you think? are you ready for it. 866-55-press, 866-557-7377. ten years ago, only one-third of americans favored legalization today 52%. legalize pot. i'm for it. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

>> she gets the comedians laughing... >> that's hilarious! >> ...and the thinkers thinking. >> okay, so there's wiggle-room in the ten commandments is what you're telling me. >> she's joy behar. >> and current will let me say anything. >> only on current tv.

(vo) this afternoon, current tv is the place for compelling true stories. >> jack, how old are you? >> nine. >> this is what 27 tons of marijuana looks like. (vo) with award winning documentaries that take you inside the headlines, way inside. (vo) from the underworld, to the world of privilege. >> everyone in michael jackson's life was out to use him. (vo) no one brings you more documentaries that are real, gripping, current.

♪ >> announcer: this is the "bill press show," live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: hey, big change in public attitudes towards legalization of marijuana. legalization, we're talking about now. make it clear. legal all the way. that has jumped up from 33 to 52% today. peter what is the world saying?

>> lots of comments. danny says legalize pot to help close the budget debt here in california. wise guy eddie -- >> bill: i'm really disappointed in california lagging behind on same-sex marriage and legalization of pot. it has been on the ballot several times. >> wise guy eddie said i don't smoke pot either but if i did, i would smoke with bill press. and karen said i would rather be around a dope smoker than a drunk any day of the week. >> bill: ike how is it going ike? >> caller: i had some easter egg -- easter weed eggs that would

have blown you away. but on a serious note if they legalize weed you know what one of the big benefits would be? >> bill: go ahead. >> the farmers could grow hemp and we could replace the tobacco industry, the farmers would have something to farm and we would have a sustainable product that we would make clothes with -- all kinds of things. >> bill: absolutely. and there is a whole hemp organization too that is sort of parallel to the pot people. ike good to hear from you. next easter we know where we're heading, right. >> yeah right. i haven't heard they have decent weed down in north carolina. i have heard. >> bill: oh. okay. do you think, it had taken so

long on same-sex marriage it will take that long to legalize pot? let's hope not. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." 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 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 monday to thursday at 6 eastern

♪ >> announcer: this is the "bill press show," live on your radio, and current tv. >> bill: hey, you got it. thirty-three minutes after the hour now on a big friday morning, april 5th. this is the "full court press" here coming to you live from our nation's capitol. and brought to you today by the international association of ironworkers. the sky is the limit for them

and you can find out more about their good work under president water wise. the new bay bridge in san francisco, the new tower up at the world trade center all good work of the ironworkers. their website, current.com ironworkers.org. by the way we're talking about legalization of marijuana. chris matthews okay -- >> oh, geez. >> chris matthews hardball he is just losing it. he had andrea mitchell on yesterday. and she is talking about the big voices of america -- i think that's the title -- close to that -- the event that former secretary of state hillary clinton hosted a couple of days ago, vice president joe biden spoke. and andrea mitchell pointing out

he was received as a real hero there. chris matthews why is this a problem in america? >> joe biden has real credit with these women, and he walked into her home court -- >> is that [ inaudible ] the idea of wife beater? is that something that women really worry about in >> yes, the violence against women act -- >> in the home? in the home? >> yes, the domestic violence act -- >> bill: what women really worry about this stuff? in their own house? what planet does he live on right? >> he certainly doesn't live in reality. >> bill: the stories of this are terrifying, and you read them all the time. yes, even today, chris matthews.

>> remember, we had this whole talk about the violence against women act. >> bill: yeah and chris doesn't even know it is a problem. more comments peter? >> yes, on twitter @bpshow, fred says america could figure that 40 years of a drug war resulted in more users. >> bill: just say no. >> mr. john john says a department of weed would have put this country in a deficit-free condition by now. and my favorite comment from tm weed to the people in order to form a new perfect union. >> bill: stacey is calling from

illinois. stacey what do you say? >> caller: hi, i have more of a question, if legalization happens, what happens to all of the drug dealers? they lose a lot of money, each state gets $400 billion, but you take away from the drug dealers -- >> bill: i don't have any sympathy for the drug dealers, stacey. they are making it under the table, not paying taxes on it, or tributing to the economy at all. they are just putting that money in their pockets, and unfortunately i think a lot of them are selling to kids who should not be buying it. if they want to go legit and get a license to sell it or whatever, then fine. but, yeah, i guess the same question is what happened after prohibition. what happened to the people that were bootlegging? well, maybe they went out of business? >> i'm curious to know what you

think, on why you think these numbers of people who want to see it decriminalized have gotten so big so fast. more people have tried it and realize it is not as harmful as some people make it out to be? >> bill: i think it's because you can't lie to the people and get away with it too long. and all of the lies about the harm that marijuana, people realized they were not true. it was just a pack of lies. and i think you are right, growing up, more people tried it. clearly it's a generational thing. i mean i do remember when i -- i ran for office in california and the twice -- well, i went -- i -- i thought about doing it once -- but pulled out, and then i went all the way one time on the ballot but the first time i remember i got the question from a reporter, have

you ever -- have you ever smoked pot? and he said i'll give you a couple of days, you know, to get back to me. and i said i don't need a couple of days, the answer is yes. he said what! he couldn't believe that i would admit it. because all of these other old farts on the ballot needed a week to fashion their answers so they could lie about it somehow. so i think it's a generational thing, and maybe a lot of it is the same as with same-sex marriage, like rob portman did, because his son came out of the closet. people realized i know somebody who smoked pot. my brother did. my sister did. my uncle does or whatever. jim good morning. >> caller: good morning, bill i smoked, i don't anymore, and

here is your main reason against legalization -- i'm for it. i'm all for it. but here is the problem. thc because of how it interacted with the body stays there forever. and you can be straight as an arrow, smoked a joint a week ago, not at all under the influence, if they test you, you are going to be positive for thc, and you will be considered under the influence. a woman in arizona hit a construction worker they tested here, she came up hot on thc, and she said that was a week ago, and she had witnesses that verified it, but they still didn't believer. >> bill: but if you recognize it is only thc, it could be as long

ago as a week. >> caller: that's exactly the point, bill, i don't think they have developed a methodology to test. we get random drug tests they could pull me in and have me go for drug tests. if thc shows up that's it. i'm done. and it may have been two, three weeks ago, i have heard it will stay in your system for up to 30 days. >> bill: wow, i didn't know that. obviously that's a serious issue, but i think there are ways that they could adjust -- i -- i think the way they respond to or treat or the action they take in response to a drug test recognizing that one element. >> yeah, they recognize thc in your system as opposed to drugs, cocaine or heroin or whatever. >> bill: right and i think on

the spot they can tell whether you ought to be driving or not. >> yeah. yeah. >> bill: jim is out in davenport, iowa. >> caller: hey bill i'm an rn and the latest research indicates there is no harm but also is very beneficial. marijuana -- >> bill: beneficial for what? >> caller: for everybody. it's a vas sew dilator, it cleans out your blood system and i listened to pbs on a news hour and it talked about how tumors have receptors for marijuana, and it finds to the tumor, and it causes the tumor

to shrink. >> bill: really? woe. i want to know what that phase is -- >> vasodilator. whereas tobacco is a vasorestricter. >> bill: and pot is the opposite. >> it causes those vessels to open up. >> bill: no wonder i felt so good. jim, i appreciate that. officer, i'm just using my vaso dilator. yes, i am high yes, i had two joints before i decided to walk down the street here officer but it's just my vasodilator at

work. don't you love it? the problem on poverty, 1 out of 50 americans are living in property. what can we do about it?% >> announcer: radio meets television, the "bill press show." now on current tv. 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.

>> "viewpoint" digs deep into >> has the time finally come for real immigration reform? >> with a distinctly satirical point of view. if you believe in state's rights but still believe in the drug war you must be high. >> only on current tv. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show," live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: 13 minutes before the

top of the hour. and glen frisch from "politico" joins us at the top of the next hour. the numbers from the census bureau has resurfaced in light of the sequester. which will cut help to those who need it. 1 in 6 americans living below the poverty line. not a lot of attention to those people on the part of the legislators, but the center for american progress is all over it. they have a program called half in ten. melissa is their director, she joining us on our news line this morning. hi, melissa, good morning. >> good morning. >> bill: so are these numbers as

bad as the census bureau reports? >> yes, unfortunately. actually the poverty line is pretty low. it's about $23,000 for a family of four. so if you look at economic security twice the poverty line you are looking at more like one in three americans who are struggling to make it in this economy. >> bill: so you ta like 46,000 is still pretty tight of course, right -- >> right. so there's about 50 million americans living below the official poverty line in this country, and that's about $23,000 a year for a family of four, but there are also families right above that line that are not captured in that number that are being hurt by the sequester and other cuts

coming down the line. >> bill: so it is more than one out of six? >> it's more than one out of six americans who are struggling economically in this country, that's for sure. there are one out of six americans who are below the poverty line. and you are seeing all this economic insecurity and programs we know are working, 600,000 women and children potentially losing their new tradition benefits it's not all happening in a snap second so it can be hard to track, but slowly over the course of the year these effects are trickling

through communities across the community. >> bill: lyndon johnson launched a war on poverty. i remember it being a primary issue. paul wellstone did that too, the great late paul wellstone. i don't see anybody making this the number one issue today in either party. >> right. there are some initiatives the president has put forward in his state of the union. increase in minimum wage universal pre-k program. but generally speaking one of the principles that needed to be listed up, is cutting poverty and the federal deficit are not mutually exclusive. the center for american progress

published a budget that lifted 24 million people out of poverty. >> bill: is there any legislation on that report? is there any effort to get sock congress to do something about it. >> that's what half and ten is about. it's partnership between the center for american progress and leadership to cut poverty in half in ten years. so to that end we are sending information, educating the public about the effects of these cuts, putting forth a pro-active agenda. and what changes do we actually need to make, and what investments and reforms would lift more people into the middle class. >> bill: i'm sure you can find out about that at

americanprogress americanprogress americanprogress.org. >> and the you can go to the half in ten website. at americanprogress.org you can find all of our reports and policy recommendations. >> bill: give us the site again if you don't mind. >> www.halfinten.org. >> bill: okay. >> we'll tweet out a link by the way. >> bill: well, good for you for keeping this issue alive, and making more people aware of it. because it should not be the hidden issue i think it has been for too long, and maybe with the help of all of the people you are reaching we can get some action out of this congress. we can't get action on anything else, so maybe we can get to the at attention of poverty.

thank you so much for your time this morning. the poverty and prosperity program at the great center for american progress. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪ or skin sores from diabetes. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, and swelling of hands, legs, and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who've had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. ask your doctor about lyrica today. it's specific treatment for diabetic nerve pain.

>> she gets the comedians laughing... >> that's hilarious! >> ...and the thinkers thinking.

>> okay, so there's wiggle-room in the ten commandments is what you're telling me. >> she's joy behar. >> and current will let me say anything. >> only on current tv. ♪ >> announcer: taking your emails on any topic at anytime. this is the "bill press show," live on your radio, and current tv. >> bill: again glen from "politico" the top of the next hour, and one of the things we'll be talking about is bill

nelson from florida now has always flipped on same-sex marriage, and he has -- the latest member of the senate to now support marriage equality. that leaves six democrats who still oppose. got to keep the pressure on them. hey, we have been talking about the marijuana -- legalization of marijuana. glenda says oh great, just reading that my creep governor indiana has signed a bill increasing punishment on marijuana charges. and robert says talk about poverty, the sequester and cutting benefits reminds me of reminiscing with a black man about christmas parades, he said that santa claus was always out

of candy by the time he got to his end of the street. that's a good way to put it.

[♪ theme music ♪] >> bill: my fellow americans good morning good morning! it is friday morning april 5th, great to see you this morning, thank you for joining us and welcome to the "full court press," coming to you live all the way across this great land of ours from washington, d.c. our nation's capitol and our studio on capitol hill right here in the heart of the action. normally it is the heart of the

action but with congress out of time and the president having been out of town for the last two days not a lot going on here at our nation's capitol, but we'll bring you up to date on what is going on here around the nation and around the globe, and we invite your tonights at 866-55-press. president obama back in the white house after two days of fund-raising for the democratic congressional campaign committee, and democratic national committee in the san francisco bay area. 52% of americans now say they favor the legalization of marijuana. that's up from 33% only 10 years ago. up in connecticut daniel malloy has signed that package of gun safety laws, which gives connecticut the toughest gun laws in the nation and includes everything we have been asking

for. universal background check, ban on assault weapons, and more funding to help the mentally ill. there you go. lots of that on the agenda right here on current tv. >> jack, how old are you? >> nine. >> this is what 27 tons of marijuana looks like. (vo) with award winning documentaries that take you inside the headlines, way inside. (vo) from the underworld, to the world of privilege. >> everyone in michael jackson's life was out to use him. (vo) no one brings you more documentaries that are real, gripping, current.

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 to doing anyway. staying in tough with everything that is going on politically and putting 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 monday to thursday at 6 eastern alright, in 15 minutes we're 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: broadcasting across the nation on your radio, and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: it's official. governor daniel malloy of connecticut signing the toughest gun-safety laws in the nation. good for connecticut. what do you say? hello, everybody. good to see you today. happy friday and welcome. welcome to our little program called the "full court press" right here on current tv and on your local progressive talk

radio station, so good to have you with us this morning. we open our doors to all of you progressive or conservative, doesn't matter. we take you through the issues of the day, and welcome your comments. it's not just a 1-way street here. it's a good conversation on the issues of the day. a townhall meeting if you will every day. give us a call at 866-55-press and tell us what you think about what is going on, or you can follow us on twitter as many many of you do. @bill press -- right? >> @bpshow. >> bill: a little brain fart there. and on facebook at facebook/billpressshow. and that's why we have an entire team here to back me up. >> yes, sir. >> peter ogburn and dan henning.

the newest member of our team alicia cruz has got the phones and monty has got the phones -- >> i talked to siprion. he woke up. he was surrounded by strange people. it turned out somehow he made it to atlantic city last night. he's racing back here. he'll be here soon. >> bill: that's the problem. when you work on a tv show you cannot sleep in and think you are going to get away with it. >> bill: all right. siprion we'll see you when you get here. my column is up too on our website, and we also send that out to all of our followers on

twitter and facebook my latest column on how white house reporters are getting it wrong. they don't have the sequester is having a real impact on people. oh, yes, it is. it is hurting real people. it is just that most reporters don't live in the real world. the president was out of down but they had the first lady the white house chef, bo, dale hanie, and about 30 kids from all around the country to help the first lady plant the white house garden. sure sign of spring -- >> doesn't feel like it. >> bill: she said you plant it and you eat it. >> you are eating our vegetables? and many of you have gardens of your own? awesome. so you know what to do, right?

are you ready to plant? all right. let's get going. let's do it! >> bill: that was the chef there in the background. >> this is my first year of planting a garden of stuff to eat too, because my oldest is ready to plant now, so we have a whole set of stuff that we're getting ready to grow in our gardens. >> bill: there is one thing that the obama will not plant in their garden -- >> marijuana. >> not marijuana, dan. >> bill: pot -- you don't plant it, it just shows up. officer. but beets. >> yeah, beets. i love beets. we planted some beets.

when we get them i'll bring them in. >> bill: hey, coming up, glen thrush will be joining us from "politico," and we'll be joined by richard fowler a democratic strategy as a friend of bill in the next hour, and laura bassett from huff. but first -- >> announcer: this is the "full court press." >> on this friday a player for the buffalo bills showed just how much he disliked his nfl team's rival. he said while war is nothing to be played with if they were going to bomb someone, please bomb sockburrow massachusetts where the pat reatss -- patriots

play. jerry springer will launch a new tv show. it focuses on the stories you read in supermarket tabloids. and he is still hosting his regular rambunctious tv show as well. he has been hosting the jerry springer show for almost like 25 years. unbelievable. and wichita state has a lot to play for in the ncaa basketball tournament this week. "huffington post" reporting that pizza hut will give every one of the schools free pizza for a day if the shockers win the national title. pizza was founded in wichita, kansas. that's why they are doing this. >> bill: i think they are going it, because they know they are not going to have to give away

much pizza. >> that's right. >> bill: president obama back in the white house after a quick little trip out to the west coast. went to denver first, remember meeting at the denver police academy, talking about gun safety and giving a speak there in denver. congratulating the colorado legislature on passing such tough gun safety measures and then on to the bay area for the last two days he was in san francisco for two fundraisers. and then down to just south of san francisco to atherton california a very wealthy enclave there i know well for two fund raisers. on monday we'll be going up to connecticut to talk about the connecticut gun-safety law signed into law by the governor yesterday, the toughest of any state in the nation so far.

keeping his eye on what the president is up to glen thrush covers the white house for political. hello, glenn, good morning. >> hey, bill how are you doing? >> bill: i'm good. maybe the most con troe-- con trover shall thing the president has said camella harris was the best looking attorney general in the whole country. and she is, isn't she? >> i got a call from eric schneiderman who has a -- a head of hair only rivalled by bill press himself. [ laughter ] >> and really alec baldwiny i

would say. [ laughter ] >> i don't know, i think someone's id is sticking out suddenly. >> bill: yeah. >> very odd and people -- how do i put this? [ laughter ] >> the -- there have been claims internally in the house with that the president of the united states is not exactly a sensitive -- personally sensitive on gender issues. a couple of years ago he called a reporter what was it, sweety? >> bill: oh, yeah. >> and there were some reports a couple of years ago that christina roamer and anita dunn had things to say about that so i think this is worthy of note. >> bill: i know camela harris, and i would share the president's opinion. maybe he shouldn't have said it but i don't know -- i think we have become too sensitive to this too. i'm not just trying to be an

obama defender in all times and places here, but i think it was said in guest, but it is also true. so bfd. >> i think the other thing that this probably speaks to more than anything else is obama's mechanical interactions with other humanoids at times. >> bill: yeah. >> he has this habit -- and i don't want to get too personal, but he will seize on a personal attribute on an individual in his orbit and say things about it over and over again. i for instance do not possess the thick illustrious head of bill press hair, and in my interactions with the president time and time again, has commented about my lack of hair.

>> bill: yeah, the more significant part of the trip, i thought was in two days he did give a speech on guns in colorado, but he's back on the fund-raising trail with his eye on 2014, right? big time? >> yeah, i wouldn't put too much weight on this. there was a big "washington post" story a month or so ago about how he was going to be the democrat democrats savior. and i don't think obama has a history of putting himself out there in a consistent way for other candidates. >> bill: you are right. he does not. >> so i would say this is a nice down payment but i would watch very carefully for what his schedule right be in the future. >> bill: and he didn't say -- at the first event, i believe that part of this is getting nancy pelosi back in as speaker. i think he could like to see the

house come back to democratic control in 2014. >> yeah, i don't think that's going to happen. but it could happen. i think a more intriguing question and one we're more likely to have to answer is what happens if the gap gets narrowed even further. if you have 10, 12 more -- what is the number they are going to hit? 18? >> bill: i don't know, but democrats picked up eight seats this time. and if it gets more narrow then you are saying maybe they are going to have to work together? >> yeah, figuring out what is going on in the republican congress is really funky and it's very hard to figure out whether things will be even next month, but the question i think that is a more realistic one, is if they pick up 8 to 12 more

seats, what does it mean in terms of dynamics and in terms of obama getting things pushed through -- i don't know. it's a good question. >> bill: yeah tomorrow -- monday the president will meet with the connecticut legislator. giving the president a perfect platform to say to the congress if they can do it why can't you? >> yeah, and maryland last night passed the strictest set of measures -- my home state of maryland -- i think the latitude for action nationally is very, very difficult, and the state by state approach is going to be the way to go. we're still mired in these negotiations, in which some are

insisting on no paper trail, despite the fact that you have 90% approval for that nationally. i think the biggest problem for obama is the bottleneck with his own party. i think harry reid is really on some level working against this and the question is how willing will obama be to challenge reid when he has put out -- obama has put out his budget plan, which -- >> bill: why do you think -- harry reid certainly has got a history of being supportive of the nra and against gun-control measures but he has scheduled a vote for this on the floor. you don't believe his conversion is sincere? >> i think harry reid has grown up in a gun culture. i think he is -- i mean, i think it is woven into the fabric of the politics of western states of both parties, and i think he thinks this is something that it

isn't worth expending political capital on. and obama really needs him and has shown in the past a willingness to defer. and one thing i will say, bill is what i have been hearing increasingly, and i wrote about this early on this question of whether obama should have pushed harder on this before he passed to joe biden on this. every day that passes since newtown, the fervor for reform here, i think weakens. and it's a very legitimate question i think now to ask whether or not obama blew it. people have to do tough things sometimes. >> bill: yeah, right and i -- but i'm not going to let congress off of the hook on that. i think there's -- there's still need for them to act, even if

the states have. hey, glenn, i'm not going to say anything about your lack of a good head of air like mine -- >> bald is beautiful. >> in some instances. >> bill: but now i know why he wears that hat all the time. >> keeps the glare off. >> bill: all right. glenn thrush. >> announcer: this is the "full court press" the "bill press show," live on your radio, and on current tv. ♪ the issues of the day. >> has the time finally come for real immigration reform? >> with a distinctly satirical point of view. if you believe in state's rights

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you know who's coming on to me now? you know the kind of guys who do like verse mortgage commercials? those types are coming on to me all the time now. >> she gets the comedians laughing... >> that's hilarious! >> ...and the thinkers thinking. >> okay, so there's wiggle-room in the ten commandments is what you're telling me. >> you would rather deal with ahmadinejad then me. >> absolutely! >> and so would mitt romeny. >> she's joy behar. >> and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking? >> only on current tv. ♪

>> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: twenty-six minutes after the hour. lots going on this friday morning, april 5th. we're coming to you live from our nation's capitol. peter comments on camila harris. >> yeah. >> bill: she is a damn good effective attorney general, and she is also dollment good looking. >> rita says these people need to get a life. nc no mad says this is total bs about barack obama and female insensitively. and don says she is a gorgeous woman. barack obama was dead on with his analogy. >> bill: yeah. people are looking for any excuse to attack obama on anything. he wasn't there when michelle planted the garden.

come on. >> bill -- >> bill: camila harris is strikingly beautiful and one tough prosecutor and law enforcement official. there you go. >> yeah. have you heard of the company -- the company that created angry birds. >> bill: oh, yes. >> their revenues in 2012 -- i have multiple versions. >> bill: so do i. >> in 2012 their revenues doubled and they pulled in $195 million. off of angry birds. >> bill: but it is free. >> you buy premium versions extra levels different versions of it. there's an angry birds movie coming out, there's a tv show, it's an angry birds world, man.

>> bill: yes, and i don't any stock in that company, so i'm an angry bird. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." compelling true stories. >> jack, how old are you? >> nine. >> this is what 27 tons of marijuana looks like. (vo) with award winning documentaries that take you inside the headlines, way inside. (vo) from the underworld, to the world of privilege. >> everyone in michael jackson's life was out to use him. (vo) no one brings you more documentaries that are real, gripping, current.

♪ >> announcer: chatting with you live at current.com/billpress. this is the "bill press show," live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: thirty-three minutes after the hour here on friday april 5th. we're coming to you live from our nation's capitol and brought to you today by the international association of machinists under president tom

buffenbarker, and for more information about their good work across this country, you can find -- go to their website at goiam.org. good news, siprion bolling is back in the house. >> he is here. >> bill: so we can all relax. >> i was wondering -- >> monty python was doing a good job filling in here -- >> i was wondering why the studio all of a sudden started to smell like stale champagne and cigars, and perfume -- i don't know why -- >> bill: well, the game got over early, so that's the problem with those 4:00 games. [ laughter ] >> bill: we'll get the full story before the end of the morning. maybe he did run up to rutgers there. give mike rice --

>> might have been. >> bill: that's been a big story. i hope you have seen the video. the video which somehow surfaced -- this video has been around for a while, because mike rice was coach there for what? four or five years, dan? >> a couple of years, yeah that sounds right. >> bill: so he has been physically -- not so much physically, but certainly verbally abusing -- calling the players names -- he has a real anger problem. let's face it. and throwing basketball at these guys. >> that's what stuck out to me -- he is throwing a basketball as hard as he can, sometimes when they aren't coming, and sometimes when they are looking. he is hurling them at the players. >> bill: so he was fired but

they new about this back in december, and he was suspended and given a fine and then -- but let to stay on, until the video game out, and once everybody saw the video then they fired him. but the problem is by waiting -- this has come out -- by waiting to fire him until now, because the way his contract reads he ends up with a $100,000 bonus. so he is so abuse toif his players that he is fired and rewarded with a $100,000 golden parachute, so now some people are saying that the athletic director and even the president of rutgers ought to be fired. so there are calls now for the president of rutgers and the athletic director to be fired. the head of the ncaa mike

emert yesterday. >> i saw the video and you find it pretty appalling to say the least. >> bill: and he said they are going to have to review guidelines, and make sure there are certain standards but mike rice does have his defenders. and maybe you are one of them. 866-55-press. in fact if he had a winning record, i bet ya he would have more defenders, right? >> yeah. >> bill: but several former players have stepped forward, and he said, hey, you know, the guy was just doing his job. >> i see a guy that was just passionate about basketball. and sometimes being passionate about something leads you to the point do to things that you don't normally do.

he would just push me around a little bit, or throw a basketball at me but at the same time i knew he sees more in me. >> bill: he sees more in me, and his way of showing that was throwing a basketball at me and you might not be surprised that one of mike rice's big defenders is sean hannity on fox news -- >> oh, god. >> -- who came out and says this is just like those drill sergeants in the marines. >> sports is so competitive today, and he is trying to bring the best out of them put discipline in the team raise their game force them to focus -- push them to become champions, and that takes intensity, like drill sergeants. are we going to fire drill sergeants because they get in the face of cadets? >> bill: so what do you think about this mike rice situation?

should he have been fired or do you give a rat's ass about rutgers basketball. i think this is more interesting, because done imus there is a history there. but i -- i got to tell you, i'm mixed about this case. i honestly am mixed about this. i -- i hate to give sean hannity any props, but, i mean drill sargents in the marines are known for -- of course they are in the marines, they are in the military, but they are known for abusive language and behavior and probably throwing things at people. >> i wouldn't be surprised. yeah. >> bill: right? did mike rice ever -- i didn't see him actually physically hit anybody or -- or -- you know abuse anybody physically. >> yeah --

>> bill: that to me would be over the line. >> he does don't be hand-to-hand and hit anyone. what he does do is something i had happen to me when i was playing basketball in high school, but a sharp finger in the chest or a shove on the back, get out there and do this or dragged around by my jersey -- >> and what is wrong with that? >> i don't know that it brings out the best in people. i'm not saying it is abusive, i just don't know how effective it is. it's not like he is slapping people around. now the basketball thing that's out of line. if you have a player that you invested in and these universities invest in these players, and these players bring the universities a lot of money, and if you have a star basketball player not looking at you and take you take a basketball and hurl as hard as

you can at somebody, you could easily break at least a nose if that thing hits you in the face. it's not something you are supposed to do if you are supposed to lead a group of young men -- >> bill: so you would have fired him? >> yeah. like i said if you are leading these men you can't be acting like that. >> bill: you could have fired him, dan? >> yes absolutely. i think -- based on that video, i think it's inappropriate. >> bill: athletic and president too? >> no, i wouldn't go that far. >> bill: everybody at rutgers because their coach was out of line, all heads have to roll. that's dumb. >> yeah. sports -- there is a whole conversation we have had a

couple of times on this show when you talk about the masculinity out of this coach, and you got these coaches that run around, come on, boy, what are you some sort of a queer? it's out of line, and if you want to make a statement as a school and say we don't accept that, it's wrong. >> bill: i certainly think he had an anger management problem to say the least. ronda has a comment. what do you say ronda? >> caller: hi, bill good morning. i love your show. my husband loves your show. we all love your show. >> bill: we'll have to come to phoenix to see you one of these days. >> caller: absolutely. i want to say something as a prior member of the military stand point and from a college athlete standpoint. we send our kids to a

university, and when we hand them over to a coach, we expect that coach literally to step in our shoes. >> bill: good point. and show some respect. >> exactly. not so much to mother or father them, but parent them and lead them in the right direction. that behavior on that tape would be considered child abuse if i were to do it to my own son, and i realize these guys are 18, 19, 20 years old but they are still someone's child. and as a mother looking at that tape i would have lost my mind knowing that my child endured that. and for hannity to say that. no way. my second point from the military standpoint drill sergeants do get in your face they yell epithets they make you local to the dining hall

all of that. they do not put their hands on you or throw things on you. and that's from a female standpoint going through basic training. and the last point with regard to the coaches. these guys new this was going on, and i don't know if the guy was disgruntled who released the tape or whatever. they knew what was going on the athletic director new, and so did the president. all of them should be fired. this is unacceptable. >> bill: all right. ronda, very strong argument. yeah, if it was one of my kids and i saw the tape, i would be storming down there right away. i would be first in line. mike rice, he is out. should anybody else be out at rutgers. we'll hear a lot more about this issue here on the "full court press." >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

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this show is about being up to date, staying in touch with everything that is going on politically and putting my own nuance on it. in reality it's not like they actually care. this is purely about political grandstanding.

♪ >> announcer: heard around the country, and seen on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: twelve minutes now before the top of the hour. the pressure mounting to see more heads roll at rutgers after they fired their coach mike rice. so now he walks away with a hundred thousand dollars bonus. calls and comments peter? >> on twitter, part of sean hannity's argument is that the drill instructors do this. linda says when the hell was sean hannity in the military. >> bill: good point.

>> and hairy said if a marine sergeant hit somebody with a rifle as a daily pattern of abuse, we would fire them. >> bill: ronda says verbal abuse, but not throwing objects. but that's right, what does sean hannity know about anything. adrian what do you say? >> caller: he deserves to be fired, but not the president and all of that. the reason he deserves to be fired was the way he spoke to the kids cursing at them and calling them homosexual -- >> bill: yeah, and throwing the basketball. >> caller: yeah, i don't have a problem with that. i didn't see him age their balls at their heads -- >> i saw one coming at their

head. >> bill: i didn't see any coming at their heads. to me it was lower-body kind of stuff. like adrian, i don't have so much of a problem throwing the basketball to tell the truth. >> if you through a basketball at me -- >> bill: if you through one at me i would duck. >> but if i wasn't looking -- this is the coach -- it's abuse because if he hits a kid and this kid turns around and punches the coach, which he should do -- if somebody throws a basketball at me, i'm going hit him. if that happens, you are off the team or whatever, you can't hit your coach, but the coach can hit you. >> bill: i had a boss in los angeles once threw a glass of wine on me. in my face. he was drunk. i didn't punch him. >> all right. that's also not right, but -- >> bill: know -- no i'm not

defending it. matt from madison, wisconsin. >> caller: hey guys i have been a drill sergeant, and the difference between what he was doing and what we do is you motivate. what he was doing was plain and simple bullying. if you watch drill sargents it's a shark tack but it is a lot of sound and furry that turns into nothing. >> bill: do people on the receiving end know that? >> they figure it out. this is a game. that is life and death, there's a difference. i am surprised we haven't heard more audio drops from rip torn's

character on dodge ball. >> bill: that's a good point. mike in madison, wisconsin. i'm overdue for a visit to madison. hey, it's friday. ♪ >> bill: let's start at the bottom and work our way up to the top. we mourn the loss of the great legendary film critic roger ebert. >> to me the movie reveals what war is really about. this is not a movie for younger children for sure. war is about thinking that something is important enough to kill for and justify turning yourself into a killer. something that doesn't come easy to the people in this movie or most of us i'm sure. >> bill: majority leader baseball underway, and hugh darvish of the rangers came damn

close to a perfect game. >> right up the middle! base hit. marvin gonzalez has ruined the perfect game. >> bill: last batter. but for the nats the first opening game, one home run and then here comes another one. >> number 3. >> swing and a high fly ball right field! looking up! and there it goes! he is 2 for 2 with 2 homers the 20-year-old. >> bill: who says that jay leno and jimmy fallon are not good friends. >> announcer: number 2.

♪ i like you, you like me we're okay ♪ ♪ tonight, tonight -- >> bill: they do a good job on this. shaquille o'neal retired his jersey out in los angeles. >> number 1. >> good morning, everyone. [ cheers ] [ applause ] >> can you dig it! >> bill: all right. we can dig it right here on the "full court press." good to have you with us. ♪ >> announcer: radio meets television, the "bill press show," now on current tv.