[♪ theme music ] >> bill: hey, good morning, good morning. it is monday. monday, august 5th. can you believe it? here we are on the "full court press." hope you had a good weekend and are ready to tackle the big stories of the day as we move into this new week. it's kind of quiet in washington, d.c. these days because the house and senate are both off on their august break.

a five-week break if you can believe it. but they will probably get as much done while they are out of town as they did when they were in town, which was absolutely nothing. and president obama celebrating his 52nd birthday with a big round of golf and then a sleepover at camp david. edward snowden is not a terrorist, he is a whistleblower and in response to what the nsa says is a real terrorist threat, 19 embassies have been shutdown around the world. is this just an attempt to make

the nsa look good in and we'll find out what happens to a-rod today. you'll find out all about it right here next on current tv. at 9 eastern. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. the troops love me. tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. (vo) sharp tongue. >>excuse me? (vo) quick wit. smell like cookies and freedom. (vo) and above all, opinion and attitude. >> really?! this is the kind of stuff they say about something they just pulled freshly from their [bleep]. >> you know what those people are like. >> what could possibly go wrong in eight years of george bush? >> my producer just coughed up a hairball. >>sorry. >>just be grateful current tv doesn't come in "smell-o-vision" >> oh come on!

the sweatshirt is nice and all, but i could use a golden lasso. (vo)only on current tv.

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 cenk off air i don't want the middle 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! [♪ theme music ] >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation, on your radio, and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: president obama celebrating his 52nd birthday over the weekend. mr. president happy birth someday. and hello, everybody. happy monday. monday, august 5th. and here we are on the "full court press," starting off a whole new week. i know nobody is supposed to be in washington, d.c.

this is the month of august. they're taking a five-week break, right? well, maybe if you are a member of congress. the rest of us not so lucky, but the house and senate they are off allegedly working during this five-week vacation. don't you believe it. basically, they are just kicking back and that's kind of what they do when they are in town anyhow. what did i see yesterday, 22 bills maybe they passed this entire year, in seven month's work, and probably half of those were naming post offices or bridges. at any rate we have got it covered. and we'll take your calls at 866-55-press, 866-557-7377.

and if the phone doesn't work for you how about joining us on twitter at bpshow. or on facebook at facebook/billpressshow. the team is all here. good morning, guys. good weekend? >> indeed. >> alicia cruz is on the phones, and siprion bolling is taking care of the video cam this morning. you know what is really nice is -- for washington, d.c., we have gotten down to some really nice temps. it's like maybe 85. >> slept with the windows open the last two nights. >> i was walking over this morning and it was a little bit

cool. >> 62 walking to work this morning. >> this summer we had like a week and a half period where it was insanely hot. >> bill: yeah, and since then it has been down right pleasant. >> i'll take this. >> bill: how about it? oh, well, a big first here in the nation's capitol. friday speaker -- i still call her speaker pelosi. i know. i know. please some day again. former speaker nancy pelosi giving her news conference before she left her for break. a reporter asks her not a very inpertant question, but she is more interested in what he is wearing than what he asks. >> are you worried about how much time is running out for the

immigration reform. >> i'll answer that if you tell us about your glasses. [ laughter ] >> they are google glasses. >> i see. but what are we doing with them right now? >> it's being filmed, but it is also being filmed by those cameras as well. >> no, no. i just wanted to know. >> bill: she has probably seen a demonstration of them before. i don't know about these google glasses. last week's new yorker magazine has a big article about them which a guy who is like -- he is one of the guys that won the lottery so get the glasses. >> i see. okay. >> bill: and talked about -- he got on the subway train with these glasses on, and

everybody -- he -- he's the star, right? everybody is talking about them. oh, my god, what are they like and what are you doing now? >> that's part of the problem for me. because they are so recognizable. >> bill: yeah, i don't want to hear about anybody driving with these glasses, right? watching some video. >> that's trouble. >> bill: i could see even walking, you are in the middle of something, and you just sort of touch like this, there are ways of touching it, where you turn -- so people don't know they are being videotaped. you can't tell -- >> i know. it's so weird. >> but you could be talking to somebody and they just sort of touch like that, and then you are videotaping them.

but we better get used to them because they are coming. >> yeah. >> bill: we have such a lineup today. the new secretary of labor -- i haven't seen anymore anywhere on tv, but we'll be with us this morning, tom perez, to talk about the job numbers that came out on friday. and we'll be lined by lynn sweet, and bishop jean robinson will be here. then we'll jump down to north carolina and talk to jeff messer to auk about moral mondays. but first. >> the president celebrated his 52nd birthday over the weekend. 11 people joined him playing golf saturday before heading to

camp david for the partying. the winning foursome had the privilege of hitching a ride with the president aboard the hospital. the losers has to drive. >> bill: yeah, they had a big -- a seven-hour golf thing saturday. >> yeah. >> bill: out there at an drews. >> normally when i play i play for like $2. and they get a helicopter ride. >> helicopter ride up to camp david. they left from the air force base. >> sure. prince william stepped away from daddy duties to play in a charity polo event. he played well, but admitted his

mind was back on the baby. he heads back to work this week after two weeks of paternity leave. >> work? >> and your booze could be in the mail. patrick doneho, says that being able to ship alcohol is on his wish list to try to raise revenue. a lot of it would come from vineyard visitors. his plan of course needs congressional approval. >> bill: i hope that get that. i think that makes all kind of sense. i don't know how that came about, something to do with prohibition. >> yeah. >> bill: and then on wine -- it depends on what state you are

here. here in washington, d.c. we can get wine shipped to us. >> just above in maryland you can't. >> bill: yeah, it's crazy. all right. here we go 15 minutes after the hour. yes, you probably heard there are reports of chatter, a lot of chatter which has caused -- raised a lot of eyebrows and caused a lot of concerns of a pending terrorist attack with the end of romadone coming. 21 embassies have been shut down in and around and across the middle east. 19 of them will be closed for the entire week. they are not taking any chances. they have moved -- told personnel they will not be

leaving the compound and the embassies will not be open for business. embassies in predominantly muslim countries, the story says this morning, and a brood caution about travel during august that the state department issued on friday. that action by the administration got an overwhe overwhelmingly positive response from people who are normally critical of the administration, starting with lindsey graham. >> it is scary, al qaeda is on the rise in this port of the world, and the nsa is proving its worth yet again, but we need to reevaluate where we're at on a lot of these threats.

if this happens a year from now, the intelligence community will be less capable. >> bill: and senator graham says this is not like benghazi. >> we have learned from benghazi thank god, and the administration is doing this right. >> bill: saxby chambliss climbing on board. >> there has been an awful lot of chatter out there, chatter among terrorists about the planning that is going on very reminiscent of what we saw pre9/11. we didn't take heed on 9/11 the way we should, but here i think it's very important that we take the right kind of planning. >> bill: and finally,

congressman peter king head of the house intelligence committee from new york. he is on board as well. >> this is a wake-up call, al qaeda is in many ways stronger than it was on 9/11. a andal chi da in this area is probably the most deadly of all of the affiliates. >> bill: these 19 embassies are going to be closed for all week. i think the question is, do you think this is real? 866-55-press. and i'm mixed about it, i'll be honest with you. and i'll tell you why. the people that we just heard from. if you have to trot out three members of congress that i trust the least, it would be lindsey graham, and saxby chambliss, and

peter king. if the three of them say it is a great idea, i'm immediately skeptical about the whole thing. and they go full bore. this to me is bush/cheney speak. this is another 9/11. this proves the nsa is doing the right thing. al qaeda is on the rise. you know, and i'm thinking over the weekend, wait a minute, we have been told for the last year or more how much president obama has said this -- how much we have beaten down al qaeda. how many al-qaeda leaders we have killed with these drone strikes and how we have them on the run. now they are saying, no, al qaeda is on the rise.

and is it just a coincidence -- care i race this question -- is it just a coincidence that after nsa has been hammered by a lot of people on capitol hill over this massive spying program, and nsa getting hammered for that, is it just a coincidence that now suddenly, nsa comes out with a whole new terrorist threat, and everybody is rushing to say, see, now this is why we nsa. look, i hope it's for real. look, and there's no doubt, there's still terrorist threats out there, and terrorists who want to do us harm, but i think we have to be a little careful

about just swallowing whole anything any administration tell uses. give us a call at 866-55-press, and let us know what you think. >> announcer: starting live on free speech tv on september 3rdrd. learn more on bill press.com. this is the "bill press show." for true stories. with award winning documentaries that take you inside the headlines. real, gripping, current. documentaries... on current tv.

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? ♪ >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: by the way, this

poll -- before i jump into it, it's twenty-five minutes after the hour. it's monday august 5th. the "full court press" and we're talking about the -- the administration keeping 19 embassies across the middle east closed for the entire week, to respond to what the nsa is saying is a potential terrorist threat. worth noting that word of this potential threat is linked to a phone call that was intercepted between alsaw with - - -- -- al-zaheri. it has nothing to do with nsa's massive spy data-collection program on american phone calls, so they can't claim that this

proves collecting all of our phone calls was a good idea because this is what they discovered. i just want to warn you, don't buy into that. peter? >> we're on twitter at bpshow. with nsa hater says the chatter is a sham to feed to the nsa. sam says watch fahrenheit 9/11. the fear mongers seem like they are at it again. >> bill: absolutely. it has total echos of those days. and don says maybe this is just edward snowden getting back at the u.s. he hacked the servers and planted these emails and chatter. >> bill: who knows. it's like peter and the wolf, right? we have been through this so many times. kim is calling from california. >> caller: hey, smartest man in

the world. how are you doing? >> i think she's talking to you. >> caller: oh, peter you too. i know your wife refers to you as eye candy. >> hey now. >> caller: it's like the previous person said. they must have got it from snowden. because they just can't to increase their defense. every single day they are trying to scare the crap out of us. >> bill: i think it's a way to try to build up nsa. >> caller: yeah, and i'm not buying it at all. not 1% at all. >> bill: all right. we teal talk more about this, get your take. we have been warned. here it is after -- i don't know a couple of years of saying we're knocking al qaeda down, now we're told it is on the

rise, and we really need the nsa to be spying on us. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." (vo) current tv gets the conversation started weekdays at 9 eastern. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. the troops love me. tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. (vo) sharp tongue. >>excuse me? (vo) quick wit. >> and yes, president obama does smell like cookies and freedom. (vo) and above all, opinion and attitude. >> really?! this is the kind of stuff they say about something they just pulled freshly from their [bleep]. >> you know what those people are like. >> what could possibly go wrong in eight years of george bush? >> my producer just coughed up a hairball. >>sorry. >>just be grateful current tv doesn't come in "smell-o-vision" >> oh come on!

the sweatshirt is nice and all, but i could use a golden lasso. (vo)only on current tv.

♪ >> announcer: get social with bill press, like us at facebook/billpressshow, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: all right. here we go, thirty-three minutes after the hour on a monday, august 5th. lots going on here on the "full court press." good to have you with us this morning, coming to you live from our nation's capitol, and remember next week august 15th

is our last day on current tv. you can find us online and on free speech tv. and we'll continue everything on the radio. it's the current tv side shifting to free speech tv, you can go to freespeech.org, and they will have all of the information out there. that starts. radio, again, nothing changes right on through. but there will be a break on august 15th, but we'll pick back up on free speech tv on september 3rdrd. be ready for us when we will get. back to some comments -- more comments about this nsa people saying that -- this proves we need nsa, and nsa is doing a

good job, the closure of these 19 embassies if you buy that as a legitimate threat, and also some other news story today. but first, a whole lot of stories lately about continuing cases of identity theft, here is one out of iowa. an iowa woman has been charged with identity theft after using the indication of her ex-husband to open lines of credit and purchase merchandise online. that carries a prison term of up to five years. just one more case of how far identity thieves will go. you should be protected against identity theft as i am, with like lock ultimate. but it can't protect you or your

bank account if you are not a member. so visit lifelike.com or give them a call at 1-800-356-5967 for like life ultimate, 1-800-356-5967. peter? >> we're taking commenting on twitter at bpshow, where jeff messer who we'll be talking to a little bit later on, he tweeted, he said maybe the nsa just picked up a call of anthony weiner role playing with a stranger. al qaeda on the rise does sound a little dirty.

>> bill: yeah. we'll be talking with jeff a little bit later on the program about moral months in north carolina. lisa is calling from houston. >> caller: hi, bill lindsey graham and the other republicans are not using this rise of al qaeda as approval to the president, it's to use it as a knock on him. i know you have been against nsa, but to out and out call this man a liar -- >> bill: i didn't. >> caller: you said you don't believe him. we're sitting up here with a threat -- >> bill: no, lisa, i said i don't believe for a second, lindsey graham, saxby chambliss, and peter king.

i don't believe anything those three people say. >> caller: but those three people didn't have the power to close the embassies. >> bill: but these were the guys out there talking about it yesterday. >> caller: it was a lot of people. the sunday shows are not the only thing you have to listen to. >> bill: i'm grant that. adam schiff also made the point that this does not prove that nsa spying program on americans and getting all of our phone records is still to be justified, because there's no connection between the two. >> caller: but here is my thing about you guys against all of this security. sign a promissory note saying you will be responsible, and

we'll stop the nsa. he is making the best decisions that he can. some of you need to say, let's get away with all of this stuff and we'll sign promissory notes saying if something happens we're willing to help him shoulder that responsibility. >> bill: hey, lisa, this is not a knock on president obama. it's a question of this whole national security apparatus, which they -- they are out there no matter who is in the white house. and they are the ones that want us to give them all the freakin' money in the world and trust what they say. and i think it's our job to kick the tires and question everything they say. and after 9/11, they want us to throw our freedoms out the window, give them all the money we can, and then trust them on

everything they say. and i don't. and especially when they interested to out -- by the way i haven't heard president obama say a peep about this whole thing. maybe he was busy celebrating over the weekend, but he didn't come on tele-i having and saying here is what this is. instead you have lindsey graham, saxby chambliss, and peter king out there. and if you want to put three messengers out there -- if lindsey graham says it's raining outside, i would believe that the sun is shining. all right. we have to mention the other big story of the morning is, a-rod. we talked a little bit about this on friday, and on friday, the word was that he was going to be suspended for life. that was the end of his career.

suddenly it has changed over the weekend, and it looks like this is in fact the real deal -- everybody is reporting this this morning, of course, "new york times," somebody leaked this, that what he is going to get is suspended for the rest of this year, and next season. wouldn't be able to play until 2015 but will be able to continue to play while he appeals the decision. yesterday at a news -- down at the minority lead league team h playing for he said he was playing for the yankees tonight. >> reporter: [ inaudible ]? >> yeah, i'm flying to chicago.

>> bill: he said he is looking forward to joining up with his peop teammates. >> i'm excited to play tonight and even more on monday. i can't wait to see my teammates. i feel can i help us win, and i haven't seen a lot of my brothers for a long time. >> bill: so you are the sports guys i'm not. why are they -- what changed here in pressure from fans? pressure from him? pressure from his attorney? pressure from the union? >> it sounds like the union is helping him out a lot. >> bill: you talk about a union in this country that is strong -- >> yeah. it is amazing how -- on friday it was -- they wanted to give him a lifetime ban. they wanted to send a message

that if you dope. that's really bad. but if you interfere with our investigation that will get you banned. and the union made a very strong case that this is the biggest star in the game -- >> bill: so his appeal -- >> their message is that it would be bad for baseball to send him away. >> bill: i want to just show that i'm not only sceptical about the united states government, i'm sceptical about this decision too. because i think -- i think we have reached the point where you can just assume that anybody in professional sports is taking performance-enhancing drugs. i think as a society, almost, we accept that. >> i certainly don't think it carries the stigma that it did even five years ago. >> bill: we have almost all agreed that everybody in cycling is doing it. that has -- since lance

armstrong, right, and all of those other stories. >> right. >> bill: i don't know about p profession football, but look at -- from barrying bonds on. >> there is nobody in baseball that you can tell me they are taking performance enhancing drugs, and i would say, oh, i don't believe that. >> bill: yeah, i question this whole thing as well, and we'll find out the full story. the announcement will come on a-rod today. and we'll more to talk about that tomorrow, i'm sure. reid wilson joining us in the next segment to cover news of the day with us. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪

current tv is the place for true stories. with award winning documentaries that take you inside the headlines. real, gripping, current. documentaries... on current tv. you know who is coming on to me now? you know the kind of guys that do reverse mortgage commercials? those types are coming on to me all the time now. (vo) she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers thinking. >>ok, so there's wiggle room in the ten commandments, that's what you're saying. you would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. >>absolutely. >> and so would mitt romney. (vo) she's joy behar. >>and the best part is that current will let me say anything. what the hell were they thinking?

♪ >> announcer: the "bill press show" is joining free speech tv, starting september 3rdrd. find out how to watch at billpressshow.com. >> bill: 12 minutes before the top of the hour on a monday morning august 5th. the "full court press" coming to you live from our nation's capitol. kind of quiet here in the nation's capitol with all members of congress, the house and the senate out for their five-week break. but some of them are still on top of it with team press here and reid wilson, his last week at the national journal hot line, where he is editor in chief. >> how are you doing, bill?

>> bill: how do we get one of these five-week breaks here. >> let me come to the defense of congress here -- i know, it's not popular -- but when they go home they do these townhall meetings, they go around to parts of their district they don't get to see on a normal weekend break or something like that. and when they do, if they hold these meetings this month, i think you'll start to see a lot of people talking about immigration reform. remember how bad the healthcare townhall meetings were for democrats in 2009. now you will see house republicans dealing with the same thing on immigration reform. and it's going to be a lot of pressure on them from conservative activists, especially to do the most conservative possible thing, which will be killing the bill.

>> bill: i wouldn't have such a problem with a five-week break, if they accomplished something while they were in town. >> well, there's a good point too. >> bill: but on the townhalls, the thing about the -- the obamacare town halls, right, we know were organized by freedom works, and by the koch brothers, americans for prosperity. so it does take that kind of organization. these are not spontaneous uprisings. who is going to be organizing on immigration reform? >> we're starting to see some of the same groups getting active at least in the debate, freedom works and heritage action and those sort of groups are getting active too. every now and then as i'm

reading through the newspapers that i search every morning, i'll come across a reference to something, tom cotton just had a big one where immigration was the dominant discussion point. there is sort of only one thing on people's minds at the moment and that is immigration reform. that is the people that go to these townhall meetings. >> bill: right. will there be like organizing for america, the offshoot of the obama campaign volunteers. will there be any effort on their part? >> a lot of their early organizing efforts have not yielded big crowds. there have been some embarrassing stories for them, but i think you can expect groups like la razza, and aclu, and there are a couple of big

groups that are being run by conservative republican activists, more the karl rove set. one of the chief strategists behind the pro-immigration reform is the director of the national [ inaudible ] under john coren. >> bill: and this is sort of a fortaste, when they come back from this five weeks, right, they are going to have a hell of a -- they kicked everything down the road, right? they are going to have a hell of a busy agenda when they come back on issues on the farm bill, the debt ceiling, where they haven't done any ability to come together. >> and the other appropriations bills, the end of the fiscal year is october 1st. they just tried to pass the

transportation and housing and urban development, they lumped it together and called it the thud bill, and it landed with a thud, because it didn't have enough support in the house. so there is no more road to kick cans down. i don't think immigration reform is going to be pass the house this year at least, i just don't see how they have time. >> bill: and they passed a farm bill in the house with no money in it for food stamps. are they going to take another bite of that? >> oh, yeah. the farm bill is going to come back up in the house, the food stamp side is supposed to come back up in the house. and this is sort of the typical example of how d.c. doesn't work. the idea of putting a farm

subsidy's bill together with a nutrition package guarantees this urban and rural vote in both houses of congress. that's hot it has worked for the last 30 years -- last 40 years, really, and now the idea of splitting those two in half, it might make good politicians for republicans, but it's not good legislative politics. >> bill: reid wilson, it is so great having you on the show all of these weeks. we look forward to talking to you at your new post at the "washington post." >> sounds good, bill. i can't wait. >> bill: all right. talk to you soon. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪ 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! ç]

we have a big big hour and the iq will go way up. (vo) current tv gets the converstion started weekdays at 9am eastern. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are.

>> the troops love me. (vo) tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >> you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. just be grateful current tv does not come in smellivision. the sweatshirt is nice and all, but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv. current tv is the place for true stories. with award winning documentaries that take you inside the headlines. real, gripping, current. documentaries... 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: wayne says the lovers of nsa are once again trying to scare us with the be very afraid talk. barbara says i'm glad, bill, you are following your gut feeling. for years of -- for those of us paying attention, have been sceptical. and melanie miller is so excited she's going to be able to continue to watch us on free

speech tv. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

[♪ theme music ] >> bill: good monday morning, everybody. good to see you this morning. thank you for joining us here on the "full court press" this monday morning, august 5th. hope you had a good weekend and are redy to tackle the big stories of the day. it is kind of quiet in washington, d.c., because the house and senate are off for the

next five weeks. but that's okay, because they will get done as much out of town as they did while they were in town, which is absolutely nothing. meanwhile, interesting that a republican in the congress has said that edward snowden is a whistleblower, not a terrorist, and that members of congress wouldn't know what nsa is up to if snowden hadn't spilled the beans because they would never have learned from nsa itself. meanwhile in response to what nsa says is a realtor ris threat, president obama, the obama administration have ordered 19 embassies closed in the middle east.

he is getting praised by republican members of congress for doing so. what do you think? is this an attempt to justify the nsa, or is it the real thing in we'll talk about that here on current tv. 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?

we have a big, big hour and the iq will go way up. (vo) current tv gets the conversation started weekdays at 9 eastern. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. the troops love me. tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. (vo) sharp tongue. >>excuse me? (vo) quick wit. >> and yes, president obama does smell like cookies and freedom. (vo) and above all, opinion and attitude. >> really?! this is the kind of stuff they say about something they just pulled freshly from their [bleep]. >> you know what those people are like. >> what could possibly go wrong in eight years of george bush? >> my producer just coughed up a hairball. >>sorry. >>just be grateful current tv doesn't come in "smell-o-vision" >> oh come on!

the sweatshirt is nice and all, but i could use a golden lasso. (vo)only on current tv. [♪ theme music ] >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation, on your radio, and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: we are on high alert, 19 embassies across the middle east are closed because, we are told, of a terrorist threat. good morning, everybody. things pretty quiet here in washington, d.c. with the house and the senate off on their august break, but we are here, and it's good to see you this monday morning, august 5th.

we got it covered whether it's happening in news out of washington, around the country, or around the globe, we'll tell you about it, and give you a chance to join the conversation at 866-55-press, and so much news to slog through this morning that we can't do it on our own. we need to bring in a real pro and good friend, the washington burrow chief for the chicago sun times, lynn sweet. hello, lynn. >> good morning. >> bill: good morning. how many people are in your bureau? >> i'm it. [ laughter ] >> bill: all right. she has all of washington covered here for the chicago sun times. and our regular team are here.

peter ogburn, and dan henning. and alicia cruz has the phones covers. >> who is on drums? >> caller: siprion bolling has got it. we'll coming to you from our progressive radiation and on current tv. we go away on august 15th, and went we'll come back on free speak tv. lynn, yoni mansell, who won the heisman trophy last year, and suddenly as espn reports, he is suspected of cashing in on his autograph. >> this originally came out of a curiosity as to how there were so many johnny mansell items

authenticated by the top authentication companies, and the next thing we knew the nca was talking to some of the particulars involved. >> bill: i guess it is not cool to be selling your autograph. >> the kinds of sports stories i like are the ones that are -- >> bill: cheaters? >> no, those behind the bat and ball and how they do what they do. but why can't a sports figure do what he or she wants to do with his own signature? >> bill: because he is a college player and is not supposed to be getting paid to play, right? >> i fall under the category that the amount of money the school makes off of his name and he can't make -- they use him to

sell tickets and all this stuff, and he doesn't get any. so why not? >> i understand there are rules. my issue with collegiate sport is there are so much emphasis on boys sports. so i could go off on that one -- >> bill: huh oh. >> but in all seriousness, ncaa has a bunch of rules to operate under and he not snagged. >> they could sit him down. if the ncaa find out he did this and broke rules, they'll tim him not to play. >> and it was a short-term gain and long-term loss, because he would probably be nfl bound.

>> bill: just for the record i give away my signature for free. >> good to know. >> caller: and you are not in your uniform? >> right. am team the bad news babes crushed the congressional women's team -- i can't remember the score, but crushed is a good word. >> bill: yeah, i like that. lynn is here as a friend of bill this entire hour, and then the new secretary of labor will be joining us in studio. in the next hour, we're going to down ashville to learn more about the moral mondays, and

then we'll be joined by bishop from new hampshire. but first -- >> gay athlete- be welcome at next year's winter olympics in russia. an olympic official said athletes and visitors will not be subject to the new anti-gay law. because the olympics are such a major internation ale event, russia needs to be as polite and tolerant as possible. >> bill: yeah nice to know. >> jay-z wants president obama to induct him into the hall of fame. he said it would be cool if he was the one to do it, because

quote, he owes me a couple. >> we're talking about the rock and roll hall of fame. so why would we put him in the rock and roll hall of fame? >> bill: because he wants to be there, i don't know. >> the "boston globe" will soon have a new owner after having been owned by the "new york times" for the last 20 years. the owner of the red sox signed a deal for $70 million. which is just a little bit less than it sold for in 2003 for $1.1 billion. >> bill: chicago supporting two daily papers, right? >> yes, we are fortunate enough to have two papers, and it's a very tight business to be in.

and we're still here every day. >> bill: all right. thank you, dan. here we go. another thing about chicago i have to ask you. you have a lot of pride in chicago. do you feel particular pride looking at what is happening in the new york mayor's race? it kind of makes chicago look sane right? >> well, they not only have a flawed character, weiner and his wife, who has connections to hillary clinton, and whoever is the mayor of new york becomes one of america's mayors. and just the stature gap, none of them have the stature of mayor bloomberg, or mayor giuliani. >> bill: absolutely. and it's kind of a circus --

>> kind of. >> bill: well, yeah. the "new york times" says that bill dee -- deblazio is benefiting the most. and he is the one true progressive. >> certainly there is a window for other people to rise up. the whole point about these mega mayors in america. they have -- they are leaders for municipal policy, pioneering ideas, best practicing if they can make it work. so for all of the mayor's

bravado, there is so much pressure on these cities that have to work with balanced budgets, and unlike the federal government they can't run up deficits, and people know about the services they are getting. >> bill: and they have to perform. they have to deliver. they have to make digs. >> and people can call them. you can't get to most of your federal officials, but having said all of this, to bring it back to the whole circus run, anthony weiner, it's amazing. >> bill: thank god chicago didn't have anything comparable to that. we are back almost in 9/11 period today with this terror threat, this washing, 19 embassies closed. am i being wrong in being a

little skeptical about the fact that last week everybody is beating up on nsa, and then sudden i will we have a terror threat and everybody is saying this proves we need the nsa. >> well, i think this is a complicated world, and it's not an issue of either/or, the issue is getting the right balance. because we need electronic intelligence and human intelligence. you need these tools. the issue is how much secrecy is right? what do people get to know, and when it comes to domestic collection of intelligence, where should the boundaries be. so, you know, i think the terror threats we're having now dramatize that we're still in a very dangerous time, but even the critics of the nsa program

understand that we still need to be vigilant. >> bill: yeah, bluedly. adam schiff pointed out yesterday, this in no way came from the domestic spying program of the nsa, that he and others have been critical about. we need to continue to gather evidence in the areas that we really need it, but that doesn't mean tracking every phone call. >> i understand the importance of trying to collect everything. let's look at the boston bombing situation. we had information on -- on -- i cannot pronounce his name -- >> bill: right. >> but russia then cooperated

and it was still hard to connect the dots. we have a flag on this guy. human intelligence. maybe there was phone calls, information -- >> bill: and emails and the whole thing. >> right. i'm saying i understand why you need to collect all of the data, but even at the end you node to be able to take action in it. >> bill: before we take a break, president obama celebrated his 52nd birth on saturday -- >> sunday. he started on saturday with the golf game. >> bill: right. and then went to camp david -- kind of a low-key birthday. i remember bill clinton -- >> bill clinton's 50th was a big

event. i got about four or five, including mrs. obama sent me an email. >> wait, i thought i was special. >> bill: yeah, sign the president's birthday card. generally how is he doing? >> he is doing okay. but the white house did put out a list of who the golfed with. three friends from oxsidental college, and some friends from hawaii. >> bill: i think the full list, and this was written by lynn

seat. >> check your source. >> bill: greg norm -- >> greg is a friend from hawaii. marty nesbitt is the man that obama has designated to start thinking about the library. >> bill: [ inaudible ]. >> friend from occidental. two more chicago friends and hawaii friends. >> bill: [ inaudible ] delaney and marvin nicholson. >> yeah. >> bill: that is interesting. just good friends. >> and i should explain now,

because this came up two years ago, there still is a lack of females in obama's campaign. >> bill: there it is. there it be. we'll be right back on the "full court press." >> announcer: the "bill press show" is moving to free speech tv. you can follow us on twitter at @. this is the "bill press show." headlines. real, gripping, current. documentaries... on current tv.

>> did anyone tell the pilgrims they should self-deport? >> no, they said "make us a turkey and make it fast". >> (laughter). >> she gets the comedians laughing. >> that's the best! >> that's hilarious. >> ... and the thinkers thinking. >> okay, so there is wiggle room in the ten commandments is what you're telling me. >> she's joy behar. >> ya, i consider you jew-talian. >> okay, whatever you want. >> who plays kafka? >> who saw kafka? >> who ever saw kafka? >> (laughter). >> asking the tough questions. >> chris brown, i mean you wouldn't let one of your daughters go out with him. >> absolutely not. >> you would rather deal with ahmadinejad then me? >> absolutely! >> (singing) >> i take lipitor, thats it. >> are you improving your lips?

>> (laughter). >> when she's talking, you never know where the conversation is going to go. >> it looks like anthony wiener is throwing his hat in the ring. >> his what in the ring? >> always outspoken, 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: here we are, twenty-six opinions after the hour. lynn suite from the chicago sun times is here as a friend of

bill this hour. we will be joined by the new secretary of labor in the next segment, talk about the job numbers that came out on friday. lynn, you have written a very interesting column about the dream act and how the white house was -- it was a little tricky the first meeting they had with some young people that would benefit from the dream act, right? >> yeah. it was a revelation from the chief of staff for mrs. obama. she was then the chief of the office of public engagement, and back in 2010 when it was going through as its own measure, they wanted to reach out to them. and then they realized you have to be cleared in to the white

house, so they can't let them in. all of that could of flagged to the secret service their -- >> bill: that they were not here. >> which meant they would not have been cleared in. that could give a reasonable fear that maybe it would flag something to the immigration authorities and jeopardize them. so what the white house did was meet with them -- the term is off campus in order to still see them. and i thought that was a pretty interesting slice of history. >> bill: how embarrassing would it have been if these young people showed up to the white house for a meeting and then the were waiting to round them up afterwards. >> but probably they wouldn't have let them in. >> bill: yeah. so they met off campus. very interesting. with that we'll take another

break. >> announcer: stephanie miller. this is the "bill press show." ♪ but still support the drug war >> "viewpoint" digs deep into the issues of the day. >> do you think there is any chance we'll ever hear the president even say the word "carbon tax"? >> with an opened 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) >> cutting throught the clutter of today's top stories. >> this is the savior of the republican party? i mean really? >> ... with a unique perspective. >> teddy rosevelt was a weak asmatic kid who never played sports until he was a grown up. >> (laughter) >> ... and lots of fancy buzz words. >> family values, speding, liberty, economic freedom, hard-working moms, crushing debt, cute little puppies. if wayne lapierre can make up stuff that sounds logical while making no sense... hey, so can i. once again friends, this is live tv and sometimes these things

happen. >> watch the show. >> only on current tv.

♪ >> announcer: live on free speech tv, beginning september 3rdrd. learn all of the details on "bill press show".com. >> bill: it is monday august 5th. we're coming to you coast-to-coast on your local progressive talk radio station, and on current tv. he has only been on the job for

ten days, our new labor secretary. it's great to see you. >> it's a pleasure to be here. >> congratulations. >> thank you so much. >> bill: and we're joined as well by lynn sweet. the new jobs numbers came out on friday, and the unemployment rate down from 7.6 to 7.4%. what does this say about our economy and jobs and how we're doing? >> i think it says the economy is sploely and steadily heading in the right direction. you see the lowest unemployment rate since december of 2008. 2.3 million jobs created in the last year. 7.3 million jobs created in the last 41 months, so you see that slow and steady growth. the auto industry, i thought was

particularly promising. since june of 2009 there have been 336,000 auto jobs created. the auto industry is on track to sell more cars this year than in quite sometime. july was the second highest total of car sales. but for the millions of americans who are out of work, it's not fast enough. and the president has said repeatedly we must pick up the growth. and that's why his grand plan is to grow the economy by the middle out. by investing in our infrastructure. we must pick up the pace. >> bill: we have a lot of questions. mark wants to know what would

the rate look like if he did not have the sequester? >> the rate would look much better. look at government jobs. last month government jobs grew by roughly a thousand, but over the last year, has been a loss of 30,000 government jobs. in local government we're seeing a little bit of a turn around, but the sequester is the wrong thing at the wrong time. when you have to speed up, you hit the accelerator, not the break. the sequester is the break at the wrong time. the department of defense hit particularly hard by the sequester, so the president is working hard to change that, but it takes two to contain go. >> bill: plus it's just starting.

the sequester kicked in march 1st, so it is going to get worse. >> absolutely. and if you are trying to grow gdp, you need to put money in people's pockets. if you are working four days out of five you don't have the money to spend, and as a result, you will slow the rate of growth and we have already seen that. this is not the time for this ill-advised austerity measures. >> lynn? >> i have heard president obama's speeches in the last few weeks. they outline proposals, interesting programs to create jobs, but the what he has still not done is explain how he can get the house republicans to come to the bargaining table.

and the speeches don't address what can be done in the very short-term short of an election in 2014. do you have any ideas on when congress comes back in five weeks, how you could break the gridlock. >> well, the president is taking his case directly to the american people. we have seen a number of examples of the common sense caucus doing the right things. when the violence against women act came up to congress earlier this year, you saw the violation of the hester rule. we have had immigration reform that passed in the senate in bipartisan fashion. >> right. but you are outlining what we all know are the issues. one thing i heard is that cabinet members will be asks to also hit the road.

do you know what your assignment is yet? >> i am going out, because the -- people ask what is the most important thing for the department of labor? it's jobs jobs and more jobs. and we're talking about the president's plan to grow the economy from the middle out. so we're going out there to talk about skills and skill development. we have worked very hard with the business community. in the state of maryland we worked hard to create demand-driven work force policies. and the plan that the obama administration has put forward is a plan to do a demand-driven economic system in the work force context that pivots ash the work of community colleges, to help people who need to up

skill. >> where are you going to be deployed? >> across the country. >> bill: stay tuned, i guess. >> we will be out and about throughout this month, north, south, east, and west. >> bill: you mentioned immigration reform, which i was furious about, because i think it is a job's bill. if you look at health care reform, or obamacare, that is a jobs bill too. they are one in the same, aren't say? >> oh, absolutely. the health industry have been immune to the recession. you look at the numbers --

>> bill: because of more people coming in and getting health care? >> absolutely. and now we're ensuring that people have access to preventative care. we're maybing sure that if you have a preexisting condition, it's no longer a potential death sentence for you. you look at this myth about, oh, employers are going to no longer hire people, or they are going to reduce their hours, that is a myth. and the data bares out that that is simply not the case. the independent congressional budget office has come out with figures that demonstrate that the passive of immigration reform will stimulate growth, and ensure that the social security will become solvent for

another two years. >> bill: if we could get rid of the sequester, we would really be in business, right? >> if you are talking to a college student who says i have a few options, what are the two best areas of growth by the time i'm done with college, what would you say? >> i would say that the health industry is an area of growth. it has been very immune to the economy in terms of the recession, and another area in professional and business you look at the sectors, over 600,000 jobs have been created there. that's the business and professional community. some of the financialal services sectors you are seeing growth there again. i think the future is getting brighter for our young people,

but it's not getting brighter at a fast enough clip, and that is why the president is out there taking his case correctly to the american people. >> before you were labor secretary, you were overseeing civil rights department. what do you think the meeting last week accomplished? >> i think i was very important. the president and the attorney general made a clear statement that voting rights are a fundamental right in our country, and while the supreme court issued a ruling that was very much a setback, but we'll continue to deploy our tools to the biggest extent possible. and i want to app claude

congressman brenner and lewis, who have been working together to address the recent decision in the shelby county case. every time this act has been reauthorized it has been done under a republican president. so i think we can do this again, and the president clearly said he's in it for the long haul. but in the meantime, there are many tools in the arsenal of the department of justice, and they will deploy them if they dictate. >> bill: across this land today, we with hearing the chant, isn't survive on $7.25.

employees were going off on one-day strikes industry after industry after industry, talking about the min mull wage. what is the case now with the minimum age, and is 9 bucks really enough? >> i'm opt -- optimistic it can be raised. the opportunity gap that exists across this country for so many millions of people, those wrungs between the padders feel wider and wider. and study after study has demonstrated if you raise the minimum wage, you are not going to be losing jobs. talk to the ceo of costco, he

has a very, very loyal work force, because he pays them a decent wage. and nobody who works a 40 hour a week job should live in poverty. >> bill: absolutely. well, you are the right man for the right job at the right time, i think so. >> thank you, bill. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪

current tv, it's been all building up to this. >>bill shares his views, now it's your turn. >>i know you're going to want to weigh in on these issues. >>connect with "full court press with bill press" at facebook.com/billpressshow and on twitter at bpshow. >>i believe people are hungry for it. john fugelsang: if you believe in states rights but still support the drug war you must be high. cenk uygur: i think the number one thing viewers like about the young turks is that we're

honest. i think the audience gets that i actually mean it. michael shure: this show is about being up to date so a lot of my work happens by doing the things that i am given to doing anyway. joy behar: you can say anything here. jerry springer: i spent a couple of hours with a hooker joy behar: your mistake was writing a check jerry springer: she never cashed it (vo) the day's events. four very unique points of view. tonight starting at 6 eastern. ♪ >> announcer: like politics?

then like the "bill press show" on facebook. this is the "bill press show." >> bill: eleven minutes before the top of the hour here on the "full court press" this monday morning. back with lynn sweet who is a friend of bill. lynn, i think -- you know, my take away from that interview with secretary tom perez, is now i understand why republicans blocked his confirmation for so long. because he's good. >> he is good -- frankly in terms of messaging i think he got the middle class out frame, immigration. >> bill: and he has a great background. >> any obama cabinet member is going to be on board with the obama agenda. you don't pick people who aren't. that's why some of these fights seem futile. do you think you are going to

get a cabinet member who is not backing the immigration reform, who is not for talking about the good points of obamacare? >> bill: no. and the point is too it generally has been the case where a president is able to pick the member of his team, everybody knows that the president is going to pick members who are team players. hello! >> well, what is interesting, and it would be great some day to have a -- the republicans had no problems in confirming secretary prisger. and no complaints. >> bill: you know why? she was from chicago. they were afraid of her. [ laughter ] >> but in all seriousness, republicans could -- you could find something objectionable about any appointees.

that's why i think it's sometimes crazy, do you really think at some point a president is not going to fill out his cabinet. and having somebody sympathy to labor as a labor secretary, anyone can see that a democratic president is going to do that. >> bill: yes. on friday they voted for the 40th time, 40th time, to repeal obamacare. i mean doesn't this get to the point where it's down right silly? >> it's silly, because boehner said a few weeks ago that one of their jobs was to pass bills and repeal bills as well.

i don't know where you get to the point that you are so ineffective that you can't even repeal something. it all elements to 40 days to try to stop the bill. so i don't know why just for your own good you what to dramatize that you can't get something done that you want to try to do? bowl you like to go to your boss and say, i tried 40 times to get something, and i couldn't get it done. you explain where it's good for the republicans instead of just saying this was a bad part of the bill and we approved it. the obama administration was very open to it. this is not going to be a

prescandal alert, but there will be problems. figure out what needs fixing in a big complicated thing. 50 states, not all of them are going to be -- you have to fix the glitches. a little known fact -- >> bill: you'll have to save that for the next time you are back, which we won't be too long from now. >> you'll never what it was. okay. thanks for having me. >> bill: thank for coming in. see you soon. and i'll be back to tell you what the president is up to today. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪ (vo) current tv gets the

conversation started weekdays at 9 eastern. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. the troops love me. tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. (vo) sharp tongue. >>excuse me? (vo) quick wit. >> and yes, president obama does smell like cookies and freedom. (vo) and above all, opinion and attitude. >> really?! this is the kind of stuff they say about something they just pulled freshly from their [bleep]. >> you know what those people are like. >> what could possibly go wrong in eight years of george bush? >> my producer just coughed up a hairball. >>sorry. >>just be grateful current tv doesn't come in "smell-o-vision" >> oh come on! the sweatshirt is nice and all, but i could use a golden lasso. (vo)only on current tv.

>> if you believe in state's rights but still support the drug war you must be high.

>> "viewpoint" digs deep into the issues of the day. >> do you think that there is any chance we'll see this president even say the words "carbon tax"? >> with an open mind... >> has the time finally come for real immigration reform? >> ...and a distinctly satirical point of view. >> but you mentioned "great leadership" so i want to talk about donald rumsfeld. >> (laughter). >> watch the show. >> only on current tv. current tv is the place for true stories. with award winning documentaries that take you inside the headlines. real, gripping, current. documentaries... on current tv. ♪

>> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: we're going to north carolina to talk moral mondays with jeff messer. then we'll be joined in studio by bishop gene robinson. president obama today, a pretty kick back day, maybe still recovering from his birthday weekend. he gets a lady briefing at 9:45, then meeting with seniored a voez -- senior advisors.

[♪ theme music ] >> bill: good morning. good morning. it is monday, august 5th. great to see you today. welcome to the "full court press," coming to you live on current tv, all the way across this great land of ours, startling right here in washington, d.c., our nation's capitol and our studio on capitol hill just down the street from the united states capitol building. things quite of kind of quiet today, because the house and

senate are off on their full five-week vacation break. well, they say it is a work break, but it really is a vacation break. but that's okay, because they will probably get as much down when they are out of town as they got dope when they were in town, which was nothing. justin amash over the weekend yesterday on the sunday shows, said that edward snowden is not a terrorist, he is a whistleblower, and members of congress wouldn't know what nsa is up to if it weren't for the fact that edward snowden told us all about it. meanwhile, president obama has ordered 19 american embassies across the middle east to remain closed all week long, winning praise from republican members

of congress. and we should know today whether a-rod gets suspended for life or just the next season and a half. we'll tell you more on current tv. 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?

we have a big, big hour and the iq will go way up. (vo) current tv gets the conversation started weekdays at 9 eastern. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. the troops love me. tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. (vo) sharp tongue. >>excuse me? (vo) quick wit. >> and yes, president obama does smell like cookies and freedom. (vo) and above all, opinion and attitude. >> really?! this is the kind of stuff they say about something they just pulled freshly from their [bleep]. >> you know what those people are like. >> what could possibly go wrong in eight years of george bush? >> my producer just coughed up a hairball. >>sorry. >>just be grateful current tv doesn't come in "smell-o-vision" >> oh come on!

the sweatshirt is nice and all, but i could use a golden lasso. (vo)only on current tv. [♪ theme music ] >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation, on your radio, and on current tv. this is the "bill press show." >> bill: president obama celebrating his 52nd birthday over the weekend. mr. president, happy birthday, and to all of you, welcome to the "full court press." here we go on a great monday morning, august 5th. good to have you with us, we are coming to you live on your local progressive talk radio station from our inflation's capitol,

washington, d.c., in our studio on capitol hill and booming out to you live on current tv. at least for another ten days or so, august 15th, peter last day? yes, the last day on current tv then we'll be moving over to free speech tv. check it out at freespeech.org. and you'll be able to get us online, or on your tv set on the dish cable network -- >> the dish network. >> bill: dish network or direct tv. on your satellite dish. that's coming up starting on september 3rd, but everything continues on your progressive talk radio station all the way through with your chance to comment and join the

conversation by phone at 866-55-press, always look forward to hearing from you and getting you on the air. you can send us your twitter comments and we'll be watching those as well at bp show. and on facebook at facebook/billpressshow. here we go the team in place. peter ogburn and dan henning. >> hey, hey, hey. >> caller: and alicia cruz on phones and siprion bolling. there is a lot of people complaining that on jeopardy, young thomas hurley got a raw deal the other night, and it seems like it to me. here is -- the answer was the

emancipation proclamation. he got it right but misspelled the word. >> let's go to thomas hurley, he had $9,600, and he wrote down what is the emancipation -- well, because he misspelled it badly -- you put a p in there, proclamation, that's unfortunate, the judges are ruling against you, so it is costing you $3,000. he actually put an extra t in. so maybe alex trebek should have lost some money. >> oh, stop it. >> bill: i think it's crummy. >> this is jeopardy! >> it is not a spelling

contest -- >> it was wrong. >> no, when you look on the screen the way he wrote it out it was painfully obvious -- >> no, he wrote a t at the wrong place. >> bill: what do you think he did mean? >> i don't know -- e-ma know -- e-man-sep-tationing isn't right. even if he had got it right, we didn't bet enough money, so he still would have come in third. >> bill: but it's $3,000 he lost. it's not a spelling bee -- >> you can start cutting corners now. >> bill: he is not cutting

corners. he got it right. if you say emancipation proclamation and you believe out an i or put in an extra t you are still saying the same thing. you are not saying constitution, magna carta -- there's only one answer there could have been. >> one point for bill. >> bill: eleven minutes after the hour. we'll disqualify peter here. one of my favorite places in the world to go is ashville, north caroli carolina. we're going there at the top of the hour, and then the bishop along in studio a little bit later. >> a quick check on overhead lines. on this monday we should be

hearing about suspension from majority leader today, as many as 15 players could be punished. alex rodriguez expected to get the harshest of punishments however, rumors indicate it will not be a lifetime suspension. >> bill: and a-rod it looks like this year and neck year? >> uh-huh. gay athletes will be welcome at next year's winter olympics in russia. according to abc news an official there says gay athletes and visitors will not be subject to russia's new anti-gay laws. because the olympics are a major international event russia needs

to be as polite and tolerant as possible. >> bill: yeah, then the athletes go home and they crack down again. >> and happy birthday to president obama celebrating with friends over the weekend. interest how it worked out, the winning foursome of the morning match had the privilege of hitching a ride with the hospital on the -- with the president in the helicopter. the losers had to drive. >> bill: in raleigh at the state capitol they are having moral mondays, and today it moves to ashville, north carolina. and there on the scene

broadcasting live from mountain moral mondays will be ashville's 880 the revolution talk show host jeff messer, and we join him this morning. how are you? >> i'm fantastic. how are you do? >> we're doing great. listen, what is going on in north carolina. they had the democratic convention, and what is going on now? >> we made such great leaps forward in 2008 in north carolina helping to elect the president and we kind of fell asleep at the wheel. there were a lot of tea party folks that came into power. there is a gentlemen art pope, who put a lot of money into it, and basically started

putting -- it's not even conservative anymore. i -- i am hesitant to call these people republicans now. because the republican is so far in the rare mirror of the mirror, they can't see them anymore, and even the tea party if you look what they say they stand for, they are choking on the dust of this group as they are driving faster faster further right towards rashism. and they got a full imagine your -- majority in january. and they began rapidly passing laws that go after every individual in this state who isn't a white old rich man.

>> bill: how did the moral mondays movement get started? and who started it? and who is part of it? >> the state's naacp, and william barber were the spear headers of this movement. they were seeing a lot of things coming down the pike. refusing unemployment benefits. removing classroom size limits. eliminating teacher's assistance, and so on and so forth. and the reverend was among the dozen or so who were arrested in the peaceful protest. and they did it for 13 weeks and had almost a thousand people arrested in total over those 13 weeks. and they would just show up and

have a peaceful protest there in raleigh. thousands -- it got up to -- some estimates would say that 2,000 was about the average crowd. and it was just the most effective protest. because they came back every monday. it wasn't like occupy where you can pitch tents. but moral monday. people looked out their windows, and here they same marching in. and republicans decided they are going to have a thankful tuesday. >> bill: oh, god. >> the first time they had 2,000 people. and the next time they had 200 people. and by all accounts half of

those were from staff, half were the media. >> bill: is the legislature still in session now? >> no, thank goodness. they come back on may 14th. they have enough time to impregnate their mistresses and come back next may and start doing it again. >> >> bill: they don't come back to the session until may 2004. >> yes. barring any sort of emergency session, that's when they are planning on coming back to work. >> bill: i guess you can be grateful they are out of town. >> oh, yeah. the great thing is they are all going back to their districts,

and the moral movement is moving out into the districts now. by all estimates we're expecting at least the same number of people. >> bill: and where can you meet up with this group? >> it's downtown in front of the courthouse -- >> caller: oh, yeah. it's going to be a lovely day. i said we have to broadcast the whole show from the middle of the field, and so that's where we're going to be. >> bill: if he didn't give permission for that, we would have raised holy hell. >> everybody is really exciting. we're going to the first to film

the entire top to bottom. we have friends we are collaborating with. they are broadcasting my show, and they are going to be filming the entire thing. we're going to have one of the best days ever. >> bill: that's great. and we're talking with jeff messer, who is host of the jeff messer show. i read a couple of things that moral mondays was going to end when the legislator closed. and that's not the case? >> right. right. the way nay were protesting, obviously that has to end because there's no one there to

hear. but the next phase of moral monday has started. it is starting this ashville, because people look at ashville as -- we may be the first place to deal with the gop. there's a legal fight to sue against the state taking over the water system. everyone is saying i don't think the gop is going to win. we will be the first people to turn back the side against this oppression. so people are looking at ashville to be the leader. >> bill: we love it. don't mess with ashville. great job, jeff. say hello to all of our friends down there. >> i will and seepfully we'll see you soon. i love it.

this is the faith community making a difference in north carolina. >> announcer: follow us on twitters a bpshow. this is the "bill press show." ♪ documentaries... on current tv.

>> did anyone tell the pilgrims they should self-deport? >> no, they said "make us a turkey and make it fast". >> (laughter). >> she gets the comedians laughing. >> that's the best! >> that's hilarious. >> ... and the thinkers thinking. >> okay, so there is wiggle room in the ten commandments is what you're telling me. >> she's joy behar. >> ya, i consider you jew-talian. >> okay, whatever you want. >> who plays kafka? >> who ever saw kafka? >> (laughter). >> asking the tough questions. >> chris brown, i mean you wouldn't let one of your daughters go out with him. >> absolutely not. >> you would rather deal with ahmadinejad then me? >> absolutely! >> (singing) >> i take lipitor, thats it. >> are you improving your lips? >> (laughter). >> when she's talking, you never know where the conversation is going to go. >> it looks like anthony wiener is throwing his hat in the ring. >> his what in the ring? >> his hat. >> always outspoken, 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: bishop gene robinson, the bishop for new hampshire, now at the center for american progress will be in studio with us here in the next segment on the "full court press" this monday morning. peter lots of comments? >> lots of comments. we played the clip of the kid

from jeopardy, and alex said he was wrong because it wasn't spelled right -- >> bill: i hate to quibble here, but he was asked the answer about what -- whatever the slaves were freed and he got the answer right, but misspelled the word. >> he misspelled emancipation proclamation, but on twitter barbara says, jeopardy answers must be pronounced and spelled correctly, that's why it is for smart people. and irish boy says when that kid fills out job applications with a bunch of misspellings, will the potential employer be as forgiving. >> bill: if i'm a teacher and i ask the question -- >> and you are a former teacher. >> bill: i am a former teacher,

and i ask the question or whatever -- right, what was the document that abraham -- that freed the slaves or whatever, and the kid says emancipation proclamation, it is not a spelling bee. >> no. but if you misspell it, you get it wrong. >> rules are rules. >> and i'm not a rules are rules guy, but that kid will continue to spell it wrong for the rest of his life. >> bill: i think you are only saying that because you won a spelling bee. >> well, we don't want to tarnish our reputation with bad

spelling. >> bill: we'll have bishop gene robinson next on the "full court press." >> announcer: this is the "bill press show" ♪ iq will go way up. (vo) current tv gets the conversation started weekdays at 9 eastern. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. the troops love me. tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. (vo) sharp tongue. >>excuse me? (vo) quick wit. >> and yes, president obama does smell like cookies and freedom. (vo) and above all, opinion and attitude. >> really?! this is the kind of stuff they say about something they just pulled freshly from their [bleep]. >> you know what those people are like. >> what could possibly go wrong in eight years of george bush? >> my producer just coughed up a hairball. >>sorry. >>just be grateful current tv doesn't come in "smell-o-vision" >> oh come on!

the sweatshirt is nice and all, but i could use a golden lasso. (vo)only on current tv. if you believe in state's rights but still support the drug war, you must be high. >> i think the number one thing that viewers like about "the young turks" is that we're honest. i think the audience gets that i actually mean it. >> you're putting out there something that you're proud of. journalists want the the story and they want the right story and the want the true story. >> you can say anything here. >> i spent a couple of hours with a hooker. >> your mistake was writing a check. >> she never cashed it! >> the war room. >> compared to other countries our death toll is just staggering. >> the young turks. >> the top bankers who funneled all the money to the drug lords, no sentence. there's just no justice in that. >> viewpoint. >> carl rove said today that mitt romney is a lock to win next pope. he's garunteeing it. >> joy behar: say anything. >> is the bottom line then that no white person should ever, ever, ever use the "n" word? >> yes!

>> only on current tv.

if you believe in state's rights but still support the drug war you must be high. >> "viewpoint" digs deep into the issues of the day. >> do you think there is any chance we'll ever hear the president even say the word "carbon tax"? >> with an opened 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) >> cutting throught the clutter of today's top stories. >> this is the savior of the republican party? >> ... with a unique perspective. >> teddy rosevelt was a weak asmatic kid who never played sports until he was a grown up. >> (laughter) >> ... and lots of fancy buzz words. >> family values, speding, liberty, economic freedom, hard-working moms, crushing debt, cute little puppies. if wayne lapierre can make up stuff that sounds logical while making no sense... hey, so can i. once again friends, this is live tv and sometimes these things

happen. >> watch the show. >> only on current tv. ♪ >> announcer: starting live on free speech tv on september 3rdrd. learn more at billpressshow.com. this is the "bill press show." >> bill: here we go. thirty-three minutes after the hour now. this is the "full court press," and we are coming to you live coast-to-coast on your local progressive talk radio station, and on current tv. i was just talking with jeff messer down in ashville about the moral mondays movement that started in north carolina in the

nation's capitol. and now it is sweeping across the state. protesting some of the extreme right-wing actions taken by the republican-controlled legislator, in what was always considered perhaps the most progressive of the southern states, north carolina. and what a great segue to have one of the real leaders of the faith community in this region, joined by bishop gene robinson. great to see you. >> i'm glad to be here, but i'm awfully nervous, that you are going to give me something to spell. [ laughter ] >> bill: that's how we're going to judge now, not only what you

say, but that you spell every word correctly. >> that's right. >> bill: we wanting to talk about your new book "god believes in love." which is a wonderful book. good to see you bishop, so the pope has stirred things up a little bit lately. flying back from brazil when he was asked about gay priests who may be working in the vatican, and he said, i'm paraphrasing, but if they accept the lord jesus christ, who am i to judge. >> this was huge progress in terms of tone. his two predecessors have talked

about homosexuality as an intrinsic moral evil, so for him to take this more humble tone is significant. although humility seems to be the mark of this pope. i think he is a wonderful spokesman for the faith, and his focus on -- on poverty and -- and the -- the terrible stresses that people are under because of it, that's -- that's exactly what he should be talking about. >> bill: really refreshing, isn't it? >> very much so, and symbolically he'slying that out. he is living in humble meager apartments, and i just think that means a lot. so that part of it is absolutely great, but i -- i have to say, i was a little -- a little amused

that so much would be made of his statement about who am i to judge, when after all he and i follow this man jesus who was constantly saying, judge not that thee be judged, so isn't it funny when the pope is actually acting like a christian. [ laughter ] >> bill: right. in terms of the doctrine of the catholic church towards homosexuality, it can't change anything, did it? >> no, it didn't. and the vatican clarified that immediately after just to make sure there was no doubt about that. basically what they are saying is it's okay to be gay as long

as you never ever ever ever act on that. >> bill: uh-huh. >> and by doing so they -- they sergei and lesbian people in order to be in good standing with the church or with god must never have an intimate relationship, never be married. never do all of those things that we as humans long to do with another person. so that hasn't changed, and it leaves people in a very, very difficult place. >> bill: because if they do act on their sexuality, they are not allowed to go to the sacraments or be ordained or whatever. >> exactly. i think it would be a better

biblical stance if you refused those who are greedy. although it could cut down the number of people significanting can'tly -- >> the churches would be empty. >> exactly. so we're not applying moral law on an equal basis here. >> bill: why is it that so many very conservative christians condemn homosexuality based on the bible. they have to skip anything that jesus said, right? >> right. because jesus didn't say anything about homosexuality. and back in biblical times everyone was assumed to be

heterosexual. it was only about 140 years ago, that someone first deposited the notion that some of us would be attracted to the same-sex. it would be like expecting moses to know that the earth was round rather than flat. you know, we wouldn't impose a later-day learning back into a time in which it was unknown, and similarly this homosexuality, heterosexuality divide was also unknown at those times. >> bill: and there are prescriptions that we laugh at -- >> oh, right. leviticus -- things like you are not awared to wear two kinds of

cloth on your body at the same type. it's called the poliness code in leviticus. and we have thrown all of it out, basically. orthodox jews follow more of it, but not all of us. how can we throw out parts and yet hold on to these two passages in leviticus as if it was written in stone. >> bill: and shell fish -- >> shell fish. >> bill: it's selective reading of scripture, perhaps. >> right. you can't take a verse here or a verse there out of context. and the biblical literalist pick and choose as well. jesus says if you want to be a follower of mine, you must give

up all of your possessions. jerry fallwell, and pat robertson didn't give up all of their property to follow jesus. >> bill: true. in your book "god believes in love," you do talk about same-sex marriage in the sense that there's no talk about that in the scriptures for very good reason, but the pope's comments certainly, he would stop way short of recognizing marriage equality. >> absolutely. you know, it seems to be that the operative question that god has is not who do you love, but do you love? what is the quality of that live and that relationship? it is mutual? is it caring? is it thoughtful and serving of

the other? that's what god, i think is -- is concerned about. not the gender of the two people involved. >> bill: what do you make of this moral monday's movement? >> oh, i am so excited about this. this is a case where people are bringing their faith to the public debate in -- in what i think is -- is a right way. they are motivated by their values, and they see those values being demeaned and undermined by a legislature gone wild, as best as i can tell. and if there is one thing both the old and new testaments speak most passionately about, is we will be judged by how we treat

the most vulnerable. so they are taking to the sleets, in a coalition that is almost broader than anything we have ever seen. they are set aside all kinds of practice to come together and say this has got to stop. >> bill: it is very reminiscent of the civil right's movement. >> yeah, and as we're coming up on the 50th anniversary of the i have a dream speech in washington, it seems appropriate that the march has gone local there in north carolina. the church is very involved, and i'm just so admiring of this public witness, and -- and i don't think it is going to stop. >> bill: i don't think so either. i'm very excited about it too. i want to get down there and

join them. we ought to go together. >> yeah, that sounds great. all right. your comments and questions talking about the pope and his comments on gays and lesbians, or whatever religion related. 866-557-7377. we'll be right back. >> announcer: go mobile with bill press, download podcasts at billpressshow.com. any time anywhere. this is the "bill press show." ♪

♪ >> announcer: connect with the "bill press show" on twitter. follow us at bpshow, and tweet

using the hashtag, watching bp. >> bill: we're visiting here in studio with bishop gene robertson, retired bishop of the state of new hampshire. back to our conversation in just a second. but something you ought to consider very seriously. it could take the difference between life and death. imagine you are in an accident, you are unconscious, and the emts can't get all of the important information they may to know about you. here is what you can do about it. there's a small tag you attach to your key ring or put in your wallet or purse that tells them everything they need to know.

again, literally it could mean the difference between life and death. it is only $10 a year, and you will receive your id kit free. go to emergencylink.com and enter press. enter press at emergencylink.com. so bishop, what is the -- the state today -- how do you feel about the movement towards same-sex marriage in this country? is it moving along at a good clip? >> um, yes. but -- the yes part is we have seen a kind of forward momentum with gay rights in particularly the right to marry that is really unpress dented. we have come farther, faster than almost any other civil rights movement. >> bill: 13 states now.

>> yes, plus the district of columbia. but we have picked the low-hanging fruit. it is on the two coasts. the majority of the states that are left are those that do have an amendment in place. most of those were passed ten to 12 years ago, and i think if they -- if they came up today they probably wouldn't pass. >> i think you are right. >> but the fact of the matter is they are there, and usually it is a pretty high bar to overturn them. so the rest of the states are going to be more difficult on a state by state basis. the strategy is to get a few more states, because we know that the supreme court generally speaking will make a big societal change when a third of

the states have made that change locally. we need a few more states before the supreme court can in their own minds say this is time to make this happen. >> bill: and the first of those constitutional amendments will make it easier to get the third and fourth. >> exactly. it looks like nevada by be the first. >> bill: i'm going to come back to where we started, back to the pope. a change of tone, which is certainly very, very welcome. do you see -- what do your friends in the catholic hierarchy or the church tell you -- do you see any movement towards a real change of acceptance in the lbgt community? >> you know, i'm fairly discouraged about that.

let me tell you a quick story, a few years ago, i did a week-long retreat with 75 gay roman catholic priests. we had to keep it a secret. >> bill: i'll say. >> these are priests from all over america. >> uh-huh. >> by the way it was so much fun. i mean these guys spend 51 weeks a year not being able to be who they are, and for one week they could just let down. and i asked them, i said i know this is not a scientific poll, but how many roman catholic priests do you think are gay? they all agreed that 40% was a safe number. some thought higher, but they all agreed. so we're talking about a

substantial number of men who i think grew up realizing they were gay, and believing if they went into the priesthood and took a vow of celibacy, they would be forced into a moral life. and that it would all go away. and of course it doesn't. our sexuality never goes away. so anyway i wound up telling them because of the link between homophobia and massageny, they wouldn't solve their homosexuality problem until they solved their woman problem. >> bill: good for you. god, i wish you were the pope. >> i wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. >> bill: thank you for coming in today. >> i love being here. >> bill: i'll be back with a

quick parting shot. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪ 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? ç]

(vo) current tv gets the converstion started next. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. the sweatshirt is nice and all, but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv. (cenk) it's go time! it's go time! it's go time! go time. you know what time it is. go time! it's go time. it's go time. what time is it rob? here comes the young turks go time! it's go time. oh is it? oh, then it's go time. anybody? anybody? what time is it? oh, right. it's go time!

♪ >> announcer: the parting shot with bill press. this is the "bill press show." >> bill: hey, just a quick word that, you know, yesterday was the president's 52nd birthday, and what do you give a guy who has everything he already needs, wouldn't it be nice if the gifters finally admitted that the is a citizen. and finally how about if republicans take a week off and stop opposing everything president obama is for just because he is for it, and judge things on its own merit.

happy birthday, mr. president. and we'll see you back here again tomorrow. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

[ ♪ theme ] >> stephanie: all right. hello tv land. comedian kathleen madigan live in studio all three hours. how exciting is that. good morning, juke. >> i have a confession. i'm racked with guilt >> sphanie: uh-oh. >> i missed the spin class over the weekend i had signed up for and i'm beside myself. [ ♪ dramatic ] >> do they charge you for missing it? >> stephanie: yes. >> they do? >> well, that's just money leaving your body. >> i know. i'm beside myself. i feel the need to repent and apologize to everybody i kno