2:59 a.m. in turkey. they're still out there. the protestors going. they live in a democracy. we live in a democracy. they're angry with their government. we should be just as angry with our government. all right. we're done for today. bye-bye. >> john: thank you turk. donald trump called edward snowden a grandstander which is kind of like donald trump calling edward snowden mr. stupid hair. but this case has allowed us to see john boehner siding with diane fine stripe against -- feinstein with against michael moore and glenn beck. we'll talk about it with congressman keith for exampleison. snowden said the country that most aligns with his values is iceland. an icelandic member of parliament who helped release the wikileaks video has offered support but it is not all that easy to seek asylum there. we'll speak live with her. and plan b is now available to

any woman of any age over the counter and some conservatives are upset that this is no longer a country where a teenage girl's life is automatically ruined when they become pregnant. we'll discuss that with the greatest political comedy panel in history. today is it is the birthday of the late jacques cousteau and gene wilder whoa is still alive call your agent gene, get back in the game. this is "viewpoint." >> john: i'm john fuglesang. this is "viewpoint." thank you so much for joining us tonight. our polarized political world is splitting again over the government surveillance programs revealed by edward snowden. and snowden himself. while president obama insists that every member of congress was briefed on the national

security agency's telephone records, surveillance and the massive internet monitoring program known as prism some members of congress, including representative keith ellison of minnesota, my guest in a few moments, say they knew almost nothing about it. as for weather americans need to be kept in the dark about those programs and their impositions on everyone's privacy so long as they keep us safe, white house press secretary jay carney outlined the president's position. >> he believes that we must strike a balance between our security interests and our desire for privacy. he believes, as commander in chief, that the oversight structures that are in place to ensure that there is the proper review of the kinds of programs that we have in place authorized by congress, through the patriot

act and fisa do strike that balance. >> john: and the latest pew research center poll suggests that in most cases the public agrees. 62% of adults agreed federal government should investigate possible terror threats even if it includes un-americans privacy. 34% should not investigate possible terror threats if privacy interests were at stake. when asked if the nsa's controversial phone call tracking was acceptable to investigate terrorism 50% agreed it was. 41% said no. just 45% said they support -- sorry, 56%. 45% said they supported the government's prism program to monitor e-mails to prevent terror attacks. for more, we're honored to be joined by representative keith for exampleison democrat of minnesota and cochair of the professional caucus. good evening. welcome back to "viewpoint." >> thanks, john, for having me. >> john: to paraphrase the

committee, keith for exampleison, what did you know about the nsa's surveillance programs and when did you know it? >> well, nothing. and i can tell you that to say that congress was briefed is to engage, in my view, in basically somewhat disingenuous conversation. maybe some committee members of the intelligence committee knew. otherwise, what they do is they say well, there might be be something of interest that you might want to come look at. they don't tell you what it is. they don't tell you what it's about. they tell you it is classified. you can't bring any recording materials. you can't take any notes out of there. you can't bring any staff. they don't really tell what you it is they want you to look at. so, the whole notice thing is really a problem. because you know, i can -- i would invite any member of the community to come with me -- if a member of congress is extremely busy, we are flying from one thing to the next all day long.

in order -- so to make the kind of inquiry, you need some notice as to what they're offering to show you and so you know, the fact is very few people can avail themselves of that unless they have some idea. people tend not to know. that's why members of congress, i believe my colleagues and i many of whom, very surprised by what they learned about the breadth of this program. i can tell you that until the news broke that literally millions of americans were having their telephone records captured by the government and the duration of those calls, the call from, the call to, was a surprise. and i can tell you that a lot of members of congress who would agree that was very much a surprise. >> john: for those of us who have never been in congress, sir, is that how the culture works? the white house will tell you there is a debriefing, they won't be too specific about it and whoever shows up, shows up and that counts as transparency? >> well, you know what, if that's what they gave us, i would be happy. but it is worse than that.

it is saying there is a letter that may be from a committee chair that says there is a document of a classified nature that you can go and look at. it is available for you to review. that's basically the notice that you get. now, again, you start from 8:00 in the morning before that, actually 5:00 is when my day starts moving fast. so if somebody says there's a syria classified briefing, i'm like i better go to that. or if there's something on fisa, i better go to that. but you're not given that much information. so in the course of a very -- and it is not like a live briefing. it is like you can go sit in a room and pour through documentation. i will tell you that a lot of the documentation is very jargon-laden. so if you've ever talked with someone in the intelligence community, every other word, you have to ask them what does that mean? what do you mean by that? how are you using that word? >> john: i'm sorry to interrupt. i think that's the murkiness at

the heart of what we're talking about. as you know, sir the white house insists the programs are league. do you agree with that? even if they are legal shouldn't they be limited in scope? even if it would limit their effectiveness? >> i believe section 215 of the patriot act is of questionable constitutionality. i voted against the patriot act because i feared just what we're living through right now. but i think there's also an argument that it is legal. congress did pass it. it has not been overturned by the supreme court yet. not some of the more worrisome sections. you can argue that it is legal. i think that the government has to have a reasonable basis to search and to seize the private effects of americans. and they gotta have some reason to do so. and if they don't have some reasonable -- mixed up in some illegal or criminal activity, the government should leave you

alone. i think that's a simple proposition. you know what they're doing is turning it on its head. if you have nothing to hide, why are you worried about somebody looking -- snooping on you? it is exactly the opposite. the fact is you should leave me alone unless you have some reasonable basis to intrude upon my freedom. this is what we have to insist on. you made the point there is polling data out there. you know, i would be kind of -- i would be curious to know what the bill of rights would show on a poll. i mean, the reality is fundamental rights are not up for popular approval. that's why they're fundamental rights. that's why they're constitutional rights because they're not up for popular approval. they are your rights. they protect your right to privacy or your right to a trial or your right to say what you want to say. and no one else gets to say it's okay for you to have those

things. you get them because you're a citizen of this country. >> john: absolutely. i would wager if ask youd american people in these polls would they be willing to let their phone records and computer records be reviewed by the government but perhaps some day the government something they could find could be used against you. president obama did campaign, as you know, against some of the security measures he now says are necessary to protect this country. is he being a hypocrite as a senator, he did support patriot act, too. is he being hypocritical? >> well, let me tell you. my perspective on this thing is this. when you're a member of congress, it is your job to debate the hard issues, balance national security and privacy. and to look on both sides of these things. when you're the president or an executive branch law enforcement person, it is your job to make sure nothing bad happens. so he's really -- he was playing two different roles that required two different points of emphasis. so to say he's a hypocrite, you

know, i can see why somebody would -- might suggest that. but i would ultimately have to not agree because i think that any executive branch member is always going to walk up to the line and sometimes you know, walk over it. that's why we have congressional oversight. judicial oversight. that's why we have checks and balances because you know, we do want policing when it's done the right way, to be aggressive. because we want to be safe. >> john: of course. >> congress has a duty and obligation to say -- to pull back on those reins. congress has a responsibility to say wait a minute. we got this thing called the fourth amendment. we got this other thing you know, other rights to privacy and due process and transparency. and congress needs to pull the reins back. i believe that the provision of the patriot act which says that the fbi can gather up, you know, all tangible objects and you

know that's pretty broad. >> john: right. >> maybe, just maybe we can get some bipartisan support for limiting that provision of the law and the other ones that are invoked here. right now is an opportune moment. i hope the american public -- that which is focused on privacy and transparency, will not stop about this because i think this may be a moment in time when we can actually put restrictions on. >> john: considering the amount of surveillance already in place, did the boston bombing demonstrate that we might need even more robust monitoring programs than those the nsa is using today? >> well, no. and here's why. look, if we just use the information that we legitimately obtain, we can protect people. the russians told us that mr. tsarnaev was a person of interest and sort of a problem. i mean the reality is we had reason to know that this guy was an issue. and also, you look at this guy.

omar the underwear bomber, his father called in and said my son is radicalizing. i mean, look, we just got to use the legitimately democratically-on be tained information we have to make sure we protect the public to. say that we've got to go mess with folks who have nothing whatsoever to do with terrorism or criminal behavior and disrupt them and intrude upon their privacy in order to get the bad guys, i don't buy it at all. here's the other thing. let's say on saturday and wednesday night you go to an area of town which is a known prostitution hangout. it so happens that that's where maybe your grandmother lives. she wants to live in the old neighborhood. you can't get her out. that's where she lives. now, somebody monitoring your phone records calling to that address and driving in that area might pick you up thinking you're doing something wrong

when you're doing nothing but see, your family member. this is the problem with this kind of surveillance. that's why we need real police looking at real people doing real things and enforcing the law based on behavior, not just, you know, dragnet kind of things. >> john: exactly. switching away from the slippery slope for a second the senate, as you know, voted 82-15 today to send the comprehensive immigration bill to the floor. senate conservatives said even if the bill ultimately passes that chamber, it will never make it through the house in its current form. are you optimistic that an immigration bill that you and other progressives could support will become law this year? >> yes, i am. and let me tell you why. because i believe that kids, parents, folks all over this country, americans who may have been in this country for 14, 15 generations are all convinced we've got to have immigration reform. and we're not going to let congress or some members of it who don't want immigration

reform to screw it up for everybody. i believe that we're not going to allow them to simply avoid the issue here. we're going to -- we're going to hold our elected officials accountable to make sure they pass an immigration bill. there's no doubt challenges are all over the place. steve king of iowa put a poison pill on the homeland security bill just last week. trying to say that we should treat dreamers the same way we do people who are undocumented criminals in our country. all of the government has done under president obama is prioritize these people, these students who have done everything right to not be prosecuted. and that's within their discretion to do that. but still we've got folks like steve king and others who don't really want to see immigration bill because they believe everything is amnesty. they think we're going to literally deport 11 million people which is ridiculous. and so my point is you know, i believe in americans who are not going to back down.

i'm going to tell you this. if americans who want immigration reform think that they can just chill out and i are allow folks in congress to handle it. they're mistaken. activism is more necessary right now to make sure we get a good bill. >> john: you're right. it is not amnesty. they're confusing president obama with president reagan. you posted a tweet that set off a firestorm i want to ask you about. a tweet on the federal food starch system with is a misquoted statistic which you quickly corrected. your post was met with an absolute storm of bigoted vitriol concentrated on michelle malkin's rather disgusting site. as the sole muslim in the u.s. congress, are you finding you've become a special target for cultural bigotry? >> well, you know, these people don't bother me at all. you know, i just keep on plowing ahead. i'm concerned about little kids, people who need food assistance getting it. it is true that about 76% of all

families that get food stamps can tell you they're a senior or child or someone with a disability. i made a mistake and said 75% of recipients are children. you know what? i see how i made that mistake but when i corrected it, that wasn't good enough for some of the critics. why? because they don't believe in taking care of people who are food insecure at all. so they're offended by -- when i stand up for the program and they want to pounce on any little thing to try to discredit. it is really not about me or me being a muslim. it is about saying -- me saying i believe our government has a responsibility to the poor. >> john: absolutely. i do want to ask you because michelle malkin's site didn't run your correction. you do acknowledge you're the only member of all of congress who gets this kind of bigotry based on religion, right? >> well, yeah, it's true. but you know what? the american people, i've been re-elected every single time i'm

o i've been on the ballot. last time i got 75% of the vote. my district might have like 1.5% muslims in it. there are a whole lot of lutherans and methodists and jews and catholics who think i'm doing an okay job so i'm not going to worry myself about the detractors. i've always got the detractors. if you don't have any detractors, you're probably not doing much. >> john: i've seen your constituents gather around you. you're right. you're pretty popular in that state. thank you for all of your work on the farm program and for head start. congressional progressive cochair, keith for exampleison democrat of minnesota. thank you for sharing your expertise this evening. >> thanks, john. >> john: i come talk to a member of the icelandic parliament that the chances snowden could be granted asylum. 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 anything. what the hell were they thinking? (vo) later tonight current tv is the place for i felt like my feet were going to sleep. it progressed from there to burning... to like 1,000 bees that were just stinging my feet. [ female announcer ] it's known

that diabetes damages nerves. lyrica is fda approved to treat diabetic nerve pain. lyrica is not for everyone. it may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing rash, hives, blisters, changes in eyesight including blurry vision, muscle pain with fever tired feeling, 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 have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. having less pain is -- it's a wonderful feeling. [ female announcer ] ask your doctor about lyrica today. it's specific treatment for diabetic nerve pain. cenk off air alright in 15 minutes we're going to do the young turks! i think the number 1 thing than viewers like about the young turks is that were honest. they know that i'm not bsing them for some hidden agenda, actually supporting one party or the other. when the

democrats are wrong, they know i'm going to be the first one to call them out. cenk on air>> what's unacceptable is how washington continues to screw the middle class over. cenk off air class taking the brunt of the spending cuts and all the different programs that wind up hurting the middle class. cenk on air you got to go to the local level, the state level and we have to fight hard to make sure they can't buy our politics anymore. cenk off air and they can question if i'm right about that. but i think the audience gets that, i actually mean it. cenk on air 3 trillion dollars in spending cuts! narrator uniquely progressive and always topical the worlds largest online news show is on current tv. cenk off air and i think the audience gets, "this guys to best of his abilities is trying to look out for us." only on current tv! >> john: somewhere in hong kong tonight edward snowden contemplates his future. the 29-year-old now fired booz

allen employee used the sane nim to leak the prism intelligence and later revealed himself, his own identity to warn us all about the mighty power of the nsa. >> the nsa specifically targets the communications of everyone. it ingests them by default. any analyst at any time can target anyone. any selector, anywhere. i sit at my desk, certainly have the authority to wiretap anyone from you or your accountant to a federal judge to even the president if i had a personal e-mail. >> john: speaker of the house john boehner and others contend that traitor is the more appropriate nickname for the former analyst. now the u.s. is on the verge of pressing criminal charges against mr. snowden. and he faces stiff odds finding a country willing to go to battle with the u.s. over extradition. joining me now is an icelandic member of parliament and privacy rights campaigner who has been a staunch supporter of bradley

manning and now the elusive edward snowden. >> thank you for having me. >> john: you said you feel duty bound to help and advise mr. snowden. why is that and have you had any contact with him yet? >> i have not been able to contact him but i have sent out the message if he needs any help then, you know, i'm willing to do my best to help him. when we heard just after "the guardian" interview with him that he was considering moving to iceland the institute would sign material, me and my executive director went on a mission to find out if there is anything we can do now. we do have a case, a very special case of rescuing an american that was put in prison in japan that happened to be the chess master bobby fischer.

he had a long history with iceland. there was a profound respect for his work as a chess master. after the cold war battle between him in 1972. i'm not sure about the exact details of how we manage to get him out of the japanese prison. he was imprisoned for allegedly playing chess in the wrong country. but there were many other reasons why. and we felt that we couldn't just let this man sit in prison in japan knowing that he was old. he was having some problems. so the icelandic parliament got it together to give him an icelandic passport and citizenship. we got him out of the prison in japan. >> john: that gesture had a great influence on people. it led iceland to be seen as a haven for those seeking asylum. that's partially why mr. snowden

said iceland is the country that most aligns with his values. he told "the washington post" he would seek asile frum any countries that believe in free speech and oppose the victimization of privacy. how does he qualify under international law? >> well, this is very tricky and that is why i'm hoping if he's going to have legal advice from some legal team to hear from anybody that is getting ready to re-present in that field. what is the best path. because he is obviously in hong kong and he needs to get out of hong kong. >> john: right. >> i'm not sure how he's going to get out of hong kong without chance of being extradited to the united states. even if we would somehow manage to support him so he could come and get a political refugee there -- >> john: he would have to be

able to appear on icelandic soil to apply -- >> not necessarily because bobby fischer did not appear on icelandic soil before he got his citizenship. i have to dig deeper into it. i'm not currently in iceland. i'm based in san francisco right now. but i'm headed back home tomorrow. so i will have much better scope in the next couple of days. we'll be speaking to the people that manage to get bobby phisher to iceland. but i think it is also very important that we stop here for a second and think about the impact and why there are people all over the world that feel that what snowden did is of tremendous importance. not only to the u.s. people but to every single individual in this world that uses phones, that uses social media, all of us are now targets of nsa and their methods. i think is of great concern.

there has been discussions in europe. that we need to -- this was before we got this proof that this is much worse than we actually thought. and many of us that are in policymaking in europe and the i.t. business and so forth. there have been discussions about creating a fortress around europe, not to protect ourselves and our citizens against probing from china russia, iran, north korea, but for the -- the u.s. government into our citizen's private data. >> john: do you think mr. snowed-any alternative besides leaking this information and do you know if he's received any legal advice yet? >> i don't know about the legal advice and i clearly wasn't in his position but we have a track record of people, whistle-blowers, trying to inform authorities about wrongdoing and of course, we

have thomas drake who was an nsa whistle-blower and trying to alert from within, you know, how faulty the system was and how dangerous it is to our civil liberties. and to no avail, he was actually -- they were attached to -- they were to persecute him. so i think there is not a very good track record right now within the establishment of the united states. we look at the case of bradley manning, we look at the case of jeremy hammond and the case of brown and various others and the -- the sentencing is so heavy. it is so bizarre, you know, to like what's known is life in prison or even worse depends on where they would extradite him to, where his trial would be. >> john: julian assange applied for asylum. he's remained for nearly a year. could mr. snowden now in a safe

house in hong kong just show up at the icelandic embassy and squat there? >> we don't have an icelandic embassy in hong kong. >> john: you have been a strong supporter of bradley manning. one of the issue has been manning's treatment by the u.s. here's the million dollar question. could snowden argue he has a legitimate fear the u.s. will mistreat, not just prosecute him but outright persecution and could that help him seek asylum? >> i definitely think so. that's a very valid point. and the first -- i mean the only reason that bradley manning was brought out of a situation which is defined as torture, was because of activists looking for and revealing what was happening to him. i think the authorities would have been quite happy to keep him in that condition until the trial started. so if i was snowden, i would be

worried about my treatment and you know, in europe, for example, we don't accept -- at least -- we don't accept citizens are tortured in prison. >> john: always a pleasure to talk to you and benefit from your expertise. >> thank you so much for your program. >> john: have a good evening. up next, we'll be exploring the animal kingdom in nevada. we're talking about drones, not the bunny ranch.

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?

>> john: drone strikes have been in the news and tonight on wtf nevada we look at the newest targets of these flying killer robots, a group that you just can't help but profile because they're always naked and defecating wherever they please. of course, i'm talking about the cast of pawn stars. no it is actually nevada's animal population. later this summer, unmanned aircraft will be tracking the deer and sheep population of nevada. most of these animals will be tracked wandering the state's wilderness refuges although it won't surprise them if they're found in the weirder hotels. there is something to be said about this program. it is a cheaper and more efficient way to keep track of your animal friends. of course, always the danger machines manufactured by the military will devolve into paranoia and could eavesdrop on theer deer so see if they're conspiring to commit a

blood-soaked jihad to avenge the death of bambi's mom. drones should not be used to spy on animals. they were meant for targeting terrorists killing innocent civilians and making potential allies sympathetic to our enemies. using them on animals is just plain inhuman. (vo) first, news and analysis with a washington perspective from an emmy winning insider. >> i know this stuff, and i love it. (vo) followed by humor and politics with a west coast edge. bill press and stephanie miller. >> what a way to start the day.

>> john: joining me now is the greatest panel of nonexperts in the world. thurston is the author of how to be black and the ceo and cofounder of cultivated wit. i read your book. it didn't work. legendary comedian, elayne boosler and founder of tailsofjoy.net and author of "moment of clarity" which is an essential web series on the youtube. >> his book worked for me. >> john: that's great. i don't have that problem. i have to go to iceland and then

they think i'm haitian. edward snowden. she was surprise by all of this. knew nothing about it. did snowden really need to go through all of this much trouble to break up with a hot blond girlfriend? >> clearly yes. i think one of the -- we're going to learn a lot more about him and her and everyone around him. i think there is a condition that should be applied to an organization called the national security agency. if you have a 29-year-old -- you're no longer the national security agency and especially if they're an outsourced junior employee, it is a bit of a blight on the record. >> john: who only got fired today. >> plus he's living with a performance artist who bills herself as a pole dancer. i think most people, the real question is why would he want to break up with her? >> john: exactly right. something for everyone. >> if you're a 29-year-old punker who has the courage to do this, you should work for the nsa. [ laughter ] >> john: lindsey girlfriend

said he left her lost at sea without a compass. you think a compass will direct her toward a reality show? all i've seen all day on the american news media is the images and i feel like bill o'reilly because i'm showing them right now. >> you have to do it. >> she's described as an acrobatic pole dancer. why would she demean herself with going out with somebody who works with military intelligence in. >> we all have to hit rock bottom. >> she didn't know he was in military intelligence. >> he was a man of mystery. >> and to everyone. >> she thought he was a drug dealer. she's so disappointed. >> john: as you watch the news coverage of this story everyone is focusing on is he the hero or is he the traitor. that's taking away from the larger narrative which is our government being heroic or treasonist? >> i liked what he said when asked about the illeaguity. don't focus on my illegal action the mass reaction of the people

seems to have been if i didn't do anything wrong, then it doesn't really bother me that they're collecting all of this data. the problem with that is that we do wrong all the time. i'm going to break five laws when i leave here today, of some which i plan on, going to jaywalk, make a wrong turn, look suspicious. there is an uneven application of investigative powers. we see that in new york city and other urban centers. >> you stop and let them frisk you? part of being black? >> we'll talk after the show. >> john: last night we talked about the slippery slopism. i compared it last night to the seatbelt law. yes, they're to save lives but they can stop you anytime if you're not wearing it. what's in your trunk? aren't we looking at this as a situation where potentially yeah, go ahead and spy on my stuff. the government could find something you've done and choose to use it against you down the road for reasons completely unrelated to terrorism. >> we're creating -- they have essentially created an infrastructure that could be

used for tyranny. you can believe that obama is the best guy in the world and congress is the best people in the world and they're all angels but it could be -- the system could easily be used for tyranny. that should be the discussion and not whether he's a traitor. >> you know, i remember years ago, sitting on politically incorrect and when they passed the patriot act ooh, it is going to lead to this awful stuff. everyone saying don't be so dramatic. here we are. we foresaw it. they only took the point of the phone call to the end point of the phone call and didn't listen to content, a, why bother? what's the difference? who cares who called who if you don't know what was said. what is point a to point b mean and it was verizon. all they got was the first three words anyway. every verizon call drops. they have 100 million taps hearing this. can you hear me yet? call me back. you call me back. i'm 100 million. what are you wearing?% does he like me a lot. that's what they got.

>> here's where i sympathize a little bit. i think we've been training ourselves for this moment. we're talking about the government and tyranny. we offer this freely to facebook and google and instagram and every other service we're wider to and there's far less accountability for them. >> but you're offering. you're offering. >> here's the other twist. so this is a superpower. i think of this as a power up in a video game. you hit the magic code. you've got super strength. you don't unlearn it. no one ever unplays the video game. >> john: every terrorist is throwing down their arms, these laws will still be in place. >> what i'm also saying is we have the technological capacity to do this. we have a public that yearns to be hugged and told by daddy that you're going to be safe and protected. we demand instant answers when something goes wrong. and we get upset. we can't even file our taxes electronically. they're part of the same world. i'm not saying this is good. it is somewhat inevitable. this is part of a larger system.

we're all hyperconnected. >> i think inevitable is the debate. i don't think it is inevitable we should allow this kind of surveillance or this kind of tyranny. i think the technology is inevitable. you're right about we yearn to be hugged and kept safe because that's irrational. twice as many people die in america from peanut allergies each year and we don't give away all of our rights to be protected from peanuts. >> i'm not saying we should. all i'm saying is the legitimate fear of abuse of a system or the fact that the system exists is something -- it is not just a government thing that's happening out there. we are complicit. >> john: this conversation -- >> by al-qaeda are made in factories that make peanuts. >> john: true. on the same conveyer belts. this conversation is so fascinating, i'm going to totally change the subject. plan a is to keep the panel around to talk about plan b. stick around. we'll be right back.

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'm given to doing anyway, by 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. i've worn lots of hats, but i've always kept this going. i've been doing politics now for a dozen years. (vo) he's been called the epic politics man. he's michael shure and his arena is the war room. >> these republicans in congress that think the world ends at the atlantic ocean border and

pacific ocean border. the bloggers and the people that are sort of compiling the best of the day. i do a lot of looking at those people as well. 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? >> john: welcome back to "viewpoint." on social media i asked if plan b being available to any girls will encourage promiscuity or responsibility? promiscuity means anybody getting more than you. peter wrote yes because obviously since the dawn of time, teenagers have held off from having sex until a new contraceptive came on the

market. if you have a comment, tweet us or post it on our facebook page. rejoining me now is the power panel, thurston, elayne boosler and lee. yesterday, the obama administration announced they would no longer impose age limits for girls seeking the so-called morning after pill. there are no limits on the pill. you can get it over the counter. this gives young women and more girls control over their bodies and puts parents in the dark over their sexual activity. plan b availability will encourage promise cueit in the same way that emergency rooms encourage accidents. is what linda said true? is that a good analogy? should parents be concerned about this or should they be more grateful that girls in terrible family situations have an option? >> as a nonparent, i feel super qualified to weigh in on this. >> and as a man. >> i think you should all leave and i can talk to the camera for five minutes. all of you get the hell out of here. listen, you have no right. >> it would be a good balance

for all of the men in congress making all of the decisions. >> john: seriously. what's going on with that? >> female panel on jock itch. >> i think all of the sark sarcastic comments are very true. i've known people who have been in an emergency situation. the focus has been on girls but the balance of users is not going to be technically young girls. that was where the controversy lay. this is about control over one's body. it is about a back-up plan, a plan b and it is about emergency contraception when something goes wrong something breaks or something doesn't work. right now, i know people who have had to go to clinics and bear through the protestors and all sorts of harassment. this will preserve some of their own dignity and sense of personal safety and security. >> john: elaine, you're a woman. do you have a opinion. >> how dare you say that. of course i have an opinion. the men are always gone. so they're never a part of the factor and they're never held to

account. how little faith does the right have in the raising of their own daughters if they think just having something on the market is going to make their kids go crazy? raise your children. that's what i say to you. give them some values, raise your children and don't take something off the market that the rest of the population finds useful and needs. >> john: let me ask you this, lee. is the sexuality of young girls really just the cudgel they're using to beat the issue back because they don't want women to have more reproductive freedoms? is it really about young girls at all? >> no. i think it is about men making decisions for women's bodies. that's what it comes down to. imagine, just take a minute and imagine if this was a plan b pill that somehow worked for men. if this was pen taking it to -- men taking it. there would be sports drinks. >> john: guys would be popping it in locker rooms. >> you could get it at the gas station. plan b is not ru-486.

it ends a pregnancy early by taking a pill. plan-b is possible -- it is the day after pill. that's what it is. it prevents a pregnancy in case you may -- you don't have to be pregnant. so now you know, by trying to block it, the right is actually basically proposing a personhood bill for a possibility. >> john: exactly right. it prevents unwanted pregnancy. it prevents single moms and it prevents abortions. so what is the logic behind it? >> because they enjoyed sex. they have to suffer. >> john: is it really that the g.o.p. -- is it that our g.o.p. politicians really don't like women having freedom or is it they know that railing about this is an easy way to hustle conservatives for votes and cash? >> all of that, plus i think they're not following through on their blesser in the market. this is a market-based solution. this is something a private company made. it's gone through all kinds of testing. it is for sale. they should fully support the market determining who and how

much and when and why. >> john: that's probably the smartest thing i've heard all day. >> they were against the vaccine for hpv that could have stopped cervical cancer because that will cause promiscuity. suddenly the g.o.p. has a political alliance with stds. >> john: rick perry was for that vaccine but against condoms. >> if they could outlaw the female orgasm, they would. >> john: if it is for girls who have sex is it stopping anything? >> it may give a young girl who is at that age so young and so dumb because we all are at that age, it may give her a chance to have her life back. you know, the horrible things happen. i've never talked about my childhood and i'm certainly not giving it up on cable. maybe when the book comes out. but i'm just telling you it really could give you an entire life back. and what always stuns me about the right is their whole thing is about, you know, finance.

they're the party of fiscal responsibility. if you really want to outlaw everything they say they want to outlaw, you want a million babies born to single mothers every single year in this country with no means of support. >> john: they can they can run against that and raise more money. it is a great day when women can pay $50 for plan b if they're date the night before didn't spend $5 for a condom. i will be up next talking about texas and america too.

>> john: every year texas celebrates independence day where they commemorate their independence from mexico. it has become a pep rally for state resident os who thinks teaks needs to secede from america. they need to secede from a.m. radio and high fructose corn syrup. they signed a petition demands the obama white house allow texas to secede. governor rick perry said texas had the right to secede if they wanted to. i love texas. i have family there. i thought it was an awful idea but if they did secede, america should be allowed to keep austin and san antonio and willie nelson. nowadays, rick perry is in the news by trying to bribe american

businesses with low taxes low regulations and taxpayer funds to secede from their own states and move to texas. he's running all of the new commercials and hoping to pilfer enough corporations to help him run for president on job creation in 2016. i would like to tell an original joke about perry running for president. but i forget the third thing. a rick perry candidacy is why i haven't wanted texas to secede. america needs a leader who talks about quitting america. he has a low-wage, right-to-work state that's 50th in high school graduations and first in worker deaths. now, i'm not here to put rick perry down, just to deny him clemency but the great state of texas has had pretty bad p.r. last week, ken emmanuel said i will be honest with you. the republican party doesn't want black people to vote. if they're going to vote 9-1 for democrats. we let it slide. but then, my friends came

ezekiel gilbert. back on christmas eve 2009, he paid $150 for the company of a craig's list escort. her name was la another, she was 23 and her ad did not guarantee sex. just her time. she decided she didn't want sex with mr. gilbert, left his home. her driver picked her up. as they pulled away, mr. gilbert came out and shot her through the neck. she was paralyzed and died from complications seven months later. and last week, because of a texas law that allows people to use deadly force to recover property during a nighttime theft, the jury acquitted this man and he walked free. so what can i say except, as of now, texas you're free to go! go off on your own and become the whitest twangiest most northernmost province of mexico. keep your guns, ban all of the gays. here's puerto rico to become the 50th star so we don't have to change our flag. if this is how you're going to do things, you're on o your own. we'll be happy to finish that

border fence only it will be along your northern border. try crossing it and watch the oklahoma militias go to town on you illegals. i'm kidding. nobody wants texas to leave. if you look at the demographics, texas is our biggest minority majority state. white folks, especially the mean ones are become being a minority. which may be why rick perry is hell bent on cutting public education funds. texas is getting more blue every year. i'm not saying they're going to become a happy clappy gay marriage colony but it appears we can look forward to seeing the people of texas secede from the likes of rick perry. that's our show for tonight. i want to thank my panel thurston the great elayne boosler, comedy goddess and founder of tailsofjoy.net. and lee camp who is author of "moment of clarity." i'm john fuglesang. we're still here on current. good night mom.

>> joy: tonight, liberace's ex-lover, scott thorson alleges he had a romance with michael jackson. liberace and michael jackson i'm guessing they had a thing for sequins. george clooney said there is one part of his body he would like to change. what is it? i'll give you a hint. the same name of my honore author debalzac. plus i'll talk with alec mapa and the very funny steve schirippa. that and more on "say anything."