>> michael: hi, folks, i'm michael shure. is it two steps forward and one step back or is it the other way around. when it comes to race in america it doesn't feel like we're always going in the right direction. they've sent in the clowns, literally, and we'll see which way we're moving in today's big news. "the war room" starts now. [ ♪ music ] >> michael: man, is it good to be back in this state. we're going to be here for four more days. stay with us, we have a great week of shows. earlier today here in san francisco attorney general eric holder laid out plans to

alleviate overcrowded prisons and address racism in the justice system. >> as we come together, we need to discuss although incarceration has a significant role to play in our justice system, it can be ineffective and unsustainable. it poses a significant uneconomic burden. it comes with human and moral costs that are impossible to calculate. >> michael: the attorney general. the defendants with drug charges but no ties to large scale drugs organizations will be able to hold draconian mandatory minimum sentences. eric holder comes after one month after 1,000 inmates in california initiated a hunger strike to protest conditions

there. they said, quote, overcrowded prison versus been increasingly president bush. in 1978 the u.s. held over just 300,000 prisoners. in 2009 we reached a high of 716 million prisoners. that is an 800% increase. crime has not increased by prison incarceration has. the u.s. holds 25% of the world's prisoners even though we only have 5% of the world's population. this morning in his speech to the american bar association the attorney general holder acknowledged the racial prejudice inherit into the american justice system. >> let's be honest, it has had an stabilizing affect on communities largely poor and of color. and applied inappropriately

they're ultimately counterproductive. >> michael: racism in the justice system is being talked about from the west coast to the east coast. this morning a federal judge ruled new york's stop and frisk program violates the constitutional rights of minorities. 600 people were stopped in 2011, almost 90% stopped in 2012 were african-american or latino. the u.s. district court did not eliminate the controversial program but insisted on broad reform to protect against this type of discrimination. they said the city's highest officials have turned a blind eye to the evidence of the frisk and stop i in a racial manner: now, we get an unique and in-depth perspective on all of

this with julian bond, he's a friend of the war room, a friend of mine. he joins us today from pensacola, florida, julian, as always thank you for joining us on the show. >> i'm very pleased to be here. thanks for having me. >> michael: always. since we've been doing this series, since we've been talking about race so much, you have been a constant refrain, your voice has, and we appreciate it. let's start with new york. new york's mayor michael bloomberg said if this decision were to stand it would make the city and the whole country a more dangerous place. what are your thoughts on what mayor bloomberg had to say. >> i think this is nonsense, and mayor bloomberg knows better. he has been tied to this policy, he has promoted it, defended it, and it just isn't working. it harasses black men and hispanic men on the street. all of the information we know

about it knows that it's not working. why he clings to it in this way i have no idea. but even if he does appeal it i'm sure another court will say the same thing this judge has done and we'll be rid of this stain of new york city and imagine that mayor bloomberg would say it will affect the whole country if it goes away. that's just absolute nonsense. >> michael: that's absolute new york centricity. the world is new york, and everything else is just. >> aren't you from new york, michael? >> michael: i can't hear you. i can't hear anything that you're saying. but let's take his side for one moment. he said the crime that has gone down in new york has largely benefited the latino and black communities in new york. what do you say to that when he and commission ray kelly face you with those numbers? >> that's absolutely true. the crime going down does

benefit black and hispanic communities because they're the communities that are affected by crime. but to say that the stop and frisk policies are responsible for the decrease in crime are another thing all together. there is no evidence that these things are connected. there is no evidence that stopping black men on the street for no reason other than their black that it decreases crime. the two things don't go together. it's silly. >> michael: if there was racial profiling 90% of people stopped are black, it's largely clear. in july an unarmed african-american man was shot in pensacola, florida. he was shot in his very own driveway. they thought he was a burglar. they said it was due to, quote, officer anxiety. what does this say that men of color risk every day in this

country. >> just because it happened in pensacola, where i'm now, doesn't mean that it doesn't happen in other places. it's a sad commentary on our police forces no matter where they are. this is such a frightening thing to have happen. imagine this, you're sitting in your car, in your driveway in front of your house. you reach down to get a cigarette and you're accosted by three policemen. they tell you to stand up, raise your hands, and you do that as eyewitness testifies. but they fire on you. two of the three shoot at you 15 times. you're shot once in the leg. a friend of mine should be fired for this behavior. not only because they behaved in an awful way, but because they're poor shots. they fired 15 times and he was only shot once. >> michael: that's another reason not to smoke. i would never reach for a cigarette. we're making light of something that is really serious.

>> it is very serious. >> michael: yes, and i think it's important that we talk about these cases. it's florida, the focus of this is not about the state of florida. it's about the country, and police forces who are not showing restraint, and this is again profiling. it's no different than the stop and frisk. i want to circle back to eric holder. what were your initial renouncements on hireactionson n systems. >> it will have a tremendous affect on prison systems. you're going to see the numbers decrease. it's not going to go away. whatever fears people have about this should be abandoned, but this is a great step forward for the united states to get rid of these mandatory minimum sentences which is one of the affects that general holder said today. it's just a wonderful thing to have occur. it's a great idea.

a wonderful thing to have happen, and i'm sure people all over the country are congratulating him. you know, i think this is a legacy by him. he was under such attack by idiotic people earlier this year that had it been me i would have gone away, but he stood his ground. he stood up. he did the right thing, and he's doing the right thing today. >> michael: i don't believe for a second that you would have gone away, either, if it had been you, but you're right, he has weathered a storm, and this is an important part of what he wants to be remembered for. i want to turn to something that sickened me, julian. nobody died, but these are the stories that are upsetting. over the weekend, a rodeo clown donned an obama mask at the missouri state fair. they asked if the audience wanted to see obama run down by a bull. those are the types of systemic

subtle racism. what happened in missouri julian, was overtly racist. when did that become okay? when did it start up again or did it not stop? >> it has never been okay, but it started when barack obama was elected president of the united states. and when he was elected he committed a serious crime of being president while black. and for some people in this country luckily a minority, only a few nit wits and idiots, they have done every word and deed to treat him as if he is he were not a decent person. even people who are allegedly respectful like donald trump. why is he on tv today? why is he considered a serious figure? this guy is a laughing stock. but still this hatred of obama goes on. if you think it doesn't have anything to do with his race, you're not thinking at all.

>> michael: we don't have to address that. it's obviously because of his race. julian, you've been on this program. we've done our march goes on series, part of what we want to do in calling the march goes on is to see how the younger generation takes it forward. your grandchildren, julian bond, interviewed you about your participates in the civil rights program. >> let me ask you a question, jacob, what do you think is your responsibility to maintain freedom in the world? what is it that you have to do? >> i think what i need to do is i need to stand up for what i believe in and actually do what i feel is right, not just say things are wrong because saying things isn't going to get anything done unless you do what you say. >> what about you? >> i feel that my responsibility is to stand up for what i believe in. if i feel that something could change, to do what i can to do it. >> michael: so julian, you need a little work as an interviewer.

i can talk to you about that off the air, but your grandchildren are really impressive. our march goes on series is coming to a close. as we go off the air what words of advice do you have on how to keep the fight of civil rights alive or did your grandchildren sum it up right there? >> it's more than that. they have to learn what happened yesterday and the day before that, and whether it was effective or not, or if so, why so. they have to find out how they can become involved and continuing to fight the good fight, the struggles of yesterday, and as we're approaching the an vary of the march on washington we have to wonder if the goals of the march on washington were met over the past 50 years. the answer to that is no, they were not. we need people not only as young as my grandchildren, they're great kids, weren't they? not only kids as young as my grandchildren, but people as old as you and i are. we need to put our shoulders to

the wheel, ge make sure the figt gets done. >> michael: i don't know what you meant by people as old as you and i, but thank you for coming. i really appreciate it. i'm looking at you, john boehner, politicians are on summer break, and what better place than des moines, really? donnie fowler and my good friend ben mankiewicz will collectively shape their views on that with me. they'll also share them. and ro khama getting ready for the silicon valley house seat. and whether vacationing or campaigning, a book that every lawmaker should have on their summer reading list, a dream

foreclosed. i'll talk to the author about the people she met and the courageous action they have taken to fight the big bank. we're just getting started in "the war room."

>> 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? >> 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. >> michael: the house financial service committees is one of the most powerful committees in washington around overseas the entire economy from stocks and bonds to the banks. they all fall under its jurisdictions. they are known as the cash committee. in the first six months of this year committee members received 9.4 million in donations, more than any other committee by far. not surprisingly a seat on the cash committee is highly sought after. because it's of popularity the committee has grown in size forcing the installation of four tiered rose of seats in the rayburn house office building. the report from "the new york

times" shows freshmen on the committee are cashing in, bringing in large donations from the financial industry for exchange legislation favorable to the financial industry, shocking. andy barr collecting more than 115,000 donations from banks, credit unions and insurance companies this year along. what does wall street get for all these greased palms? representative barr, the distinguished gentleman from kentucky proposed legislation to elimination regulation on banks promised tax breaks on credit unions and proposed roll back of frank dodd regular rations. quote, it is almost like investing in a first-round draft pick for the nba, the nfl, i'll add nhl although he didn't, and

they're hopeful for a return. it's hard to think that money flows freely to washington, but those responsible for regulating the financial industry are the once most susceptible to the washington lobbying. joining us now to talk about all of today's political goings on, two of our favorite, donnie fowler, democratic political strategist, and we had to build a new tier because everybody wanted to be on your economy, and ben mankiewicz, thank you for being with us. the game has changed so much. a freshman has this kind of power. what has happened that allows the freshman congressmen to wield this kind of influence. >> we see more stories about sex than outright robbery in congress. but what you're buying when you're a lobbyist in d.c. is

time and access. 24 hours a day, especially a freshman who faces the toughest selection they'll ever are going to face, their first election. they need money, so the people who had money, which tend to be wealthy corporate interests in this country, will pay for a dinner, breakfast, reception. they get access to that new congressman who is still learning, and they simply say, congressman, here is our side of the thing. the problem with that is not that they don't have a right to tell their story. the problem is people who don't have money can't pay for those dinners, can't pay for 20 lobbyists, and therefore don't get to tell their side of the story. this is what is happening in washington. it is an investment, and the unnamed lobbyist is right. it's corrupting our system, not in a bribery way, but it has corrupted our system.

>> michael: money is not going to come out of washington completely, but it can be done incrementally? listening to donnie it sounds like this is continue to go pollute. i was floored by this story. >> i was really struck by it, too. again, when donnie said you can't--you don't bribe somebody, and you don't bribe somebody overnight, and there are limits to what the pacs can give each member, but this guy raised $150,000 in six months. and $5,000 from a pac might not do it, but $150,000 all from the same industry, that does do it. i get that it's not direct bribery, i'm going to take to you breakfast and you're going to do this, but you give somebody $150,000 in six months, they're going to do whatever they wanted you to do. >> michael: all they would have to do is take me to breakfast and i'd do when they wanted. donnie, the three of us are going to hang out and talk politics, my favorite thing to do.

iowa. you know, we talk about iowa now. but rick santorum was back there again this weekend. does he believe he has a chance? do you believe he has a chance? >> i believe he has a chance in iowa. he won it in 2008. iowa has a few thousand voters who vote in each party's caucus, and iowa is a retail politics state. it's a purest form of grassroots politics. if you are there every month for four years you literally have met everybody who will caucus in the republican party or democratic party meetings. >> michael: getting there early is an important thing. ben, there is iowa democratic news. vice president biden announced a trip this fall. how does the conversation go when joe tells hillary he wants to run for president? >> i don't think it will go well. i really hope that joe biden has

people around him who will let him know that he has ended the distinguished career at the near the pinnacle, and he should shake everybody's hands and go out a winner. i don't want to see joe biden win because i don't sense in anyway, shape or form that america is ready to elect him president. i don't think it has dramatically changed. i don't think eight years with a president who is only popular with 90% of the people who voted for him the first time, and being vice president puts him in a position to be pallettible to enough americans to make a difference. i hope he bows out graciously. >> run for her vice president. v.p. for life. >> michael: julian castro is going from san antonio to iowa as well. i suspect he's campaigning for vice president himself right now. donnie, the war on obamacare just goes on and on. let's listen to what reince

priebus had to say. >> so mr. president, if you want to shut the government down because you want to continue to fund this monstrosity that you admitted is half broken, then go ahead. the fact that it is on the republican party i think it's been from the democratic party it might not be adopting, i don't know why you're adopting that spin. >> michael: is anybody going to believe if this government shuts down that it's not the fault of the republicans. >> the president is begging the republicans to go down this run. this is a no-win position for the republican party but for the rabid base that they do the politicking from. the president is saying, please do this. shut down the government. take heal care away from kids, seniors and take all the good things away from obamacare and

shut the government down while you're doing t go ahead. >> michael: it's one of those situations where i can't see it being anything but a problem for the republicans. but again, they put themselves in places like that all the time. ben, we talked earlier in the show about this missouri rodeo clown who wore a president obama mask. how did this happen, and why do americans think this is okay? >> i legitimately suspect that many people there who were hooting and hollering, whooping it up, let alone who put on the mask, let alone the guy who said who wants to run down president obama dow with a bull. they would look at you legitimately in the eye and answer if asked if they were racist no. they think it's just good fun, and they don't even get sort of the racial stereotypes. at the bea the bare minimum, its

hostile. >> michael: it's hard to say that they're not racist. >> as a member of the missouri rodeo association, i don't think anybody was watching. >> michael: they blew it. you're from the south. is it really two different countries. >> american by birth and southern by the grace of god. i'll go to my grave with that bumper sticker. but this entire country has a history of racism. first of all, missouri is not the south. >> michael: well, don't tell them that. half the state thinks they are. >> this whole country has a history of racism in different ways and in different degrees. the south is not unique in having it. the south did have slavery, but so did the rest of the country. i will say this, the most segregated racially divided democratic party i've ever been a part of working in 15 states over 25 years was the northeast.

and the most segregated city while involved in a presidential campaign was the midwest. i'm not accusing racism, but. >> michael: no, i understand, they always seem to come from one place. ben mankiewicz, thank you for being on the show. donnie fowler, i should stop and say you've been on this show since before i was on this show. it's always a pleasure to sit next to you. we're always smarter about politics once you leave. thank you very much. >> great to be here. >> michael: we'll look at a new book called "a dream foreclosed." a group of homeowners who have taken on big banks. the congresser holding the seat from silicon valley is in for a big fight. stick around. documentaries that take you inside the headlines, way inside.

(vo) from the underworld, to the world of privilege. >> everyone in michael jackson's life was out to use him. documentaries that are real, gripping, current.

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? 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. >> michael: welcome back to the war room. i'm michael shure. it's shaping up to be one of the most interesting intra-party races this cycle, at least on the democratic side. congressman mike honda has represented california and silicon valley for the last 12 years, and highways won by landslides nearly every time. honda has already been endorsed by several democratic juggernauts including barack obama, nancy pelosi, and san francisco mayor ed lee. at first glass honda's seat has been far from vulnerable, but that has not stopped ro khanna from challenging him in

washington. ro khanna has served bomb administration as deputy assistant secretary in the department of commerce, and he has already raised $1.74 million, almost over four times as much as honda. he has endorsements from local tech giants like are a hoo ceo marissa mayer, facebook ceo sheryl sandberg, and napster creator and former facebook president sean parker and many others. in other words, he has sill van valley's elite on his side. joining us now to discuss the future of sill von valley politics is ro khanna. thank you for joining us. he has endorsed you. let's talk about what you want to talk about, then, and tell me why do you why you think you would be a better congressman

than mike honda. >> when mike honda went to washington he had good intentions and he wanted to get things done. but good people can get caught up in a bad system, and special interests are dominating washington. that's why i've taken a pledge not to take any pac money, not to take any lobbyist money, bus that's what is going to break the gridlock in congress and get people to focus more on their communities to have the economic agenda to get things done you've raised a lot of money, you've raised $1.7 million to run from congress. and it's a intra-party race. that's not where the democrats are right now. why did you choose this race? why not wait for retirement. i can't tell you to move to another district but why did you

pick this race? >> first of all i think competition is what makes democracy great. no person is entitled to a seat. that's the foundation of our democracy. thomas jefferson said let's have a new constitution every 12 15 o 20 years, and we can barely get new members of congress. i think competition will benefit the district. and secondly, it is the heart of economic growth and the heart of innovation, and congress has not had a strategy to think about what we need to do to prepare young people for the jobs of the 21st century. how we're going to be competitive, create jobs in this area, and we need to take this to washington. >> michael: when you say that, it does. i think all 435 members think their districts are the most fascinating complex districts, i appreciate you saying that, and i wouldn't argue, silicon valley

is an unique place. but you talk about raising all this money. i want to get back to the money for a second. you said you're not going to do it from lobbyists but isn't the tech sector a special interest in itself, and all this money, doesn't that make it a special interest? >> certainly, but the money comes from a broad base of support. it's a message that congress is broken, and we want people who are not going to take the special interests, and we've had support from educators, from asian americans, from working families, from people in the technology sector, and they're not corporate pacs. it's not that google or facebook pacs are supporting us. they're actually supporting my opponents. but the people supporting us are so frustrated with how broken washington is. they're saying they need to do something to change the culture in washington. you silicon valley being frustrated that the people in washington can't get it right. >> michael: i would agree with that. people are frustrated, and money

people who are frustrated tend to have influence to make more changes. that's just the way it is. but i keep getting back to this intra-party race and what motivated you. you ran against tom lantos at one point, now you're running against mike honda. what is it about california and the primary process that sort of motivates you to go at these people? mike honda, whatever we think of him, i assume he has been your congressman before, and as you're in his district. he is a progressive. he is been right there on nano technology because that's who he represents, what would you do differently from mike honda if you got there. >> first of all its old politics to say that you have to run against someone. we're looking at a mission. we want to help people in the direct figure out how to get prepared for the 21st century. we have a situation in silicon valley.

we're only one in seven people where our engineers are women. we need policies that are going to help more young women to get into science, technology and silicon valley. we have a situation where 120,000 computer science graduates are in need in this country. we need to figure out how to teach programming in school to give people those skills. we have a situation where we still have a tax code from the 1960s that has incentivized companies to go overseas. i would like to debate what are the reforms of the tax policies and let's have a discussion on the issues. what has made our politics so stale is the lack of competition. you think the innovation of silicon valley if we just had google a as a company. don't compete against google. google hasn't had a scandal. let google be there for 15

years. until google has a scandal don't compete. we won't have innovation. competition drives innovation, and as democrats we shouldn't high--we shouldn't shy away from. >> michael: i do hear that. mike honda is on the professional congressional caucus. do you see yourself if you win this race trying to get into that caucus. >> people get at that at different angles. what kind of democrat are you? i say non-flippantly that i'm a no nonsense democrat. what can pass, how can you work across the aisle to get things done. not just have gridlock, and not just have political slogan. a lot of times people will say things in washington. they know there is no chance of passing just to sound good. >> michael: repealing obamacare 40 times. >> an i'm going--people know i'm on planned parenthood, i'm strong believer of a woman's

right to choose. i came out for gay marriage ten years ago. i'm a strong believer of strong gun safety legislation and strong believe that are global warming is an extensio extensiol threat, and it's not just ideals but delivery. >> michael: do you think you would go with the progressive caucus in congress? >> it would be highly premature for me to speculate what caucus and what committees and measure the greats before we've even had the first debate. >> michael: a good way to put it. ro khanna, the people of silicon valley will clearly have a smart debate next fall. ro khanna. coming up, the author of "a

dream foreclosed." we'll look at the impact of fo foreclosure on african american communities. stay with us.

alright, in 15 minutes we're going to do the young turks. i think the number one thing that viewers like about the young turks is that we're honest. they know that i'm not bs'ing them with some hidden agenda, actually supporting one party or the other. when the democrats are wrong, they know that i'm going to be the first one to call them out. they can question whether i'm right, but i think that the audience gets that this guy, to the best of his ability, is trying to look

out for us. >> michael: on april 11, 1968, one week after dr. martin luther king jr. was assassinated in memphis, tennessee, president lyndon b johnson signed the fair housing act of 1968. it was the last piece of legislation of the civil rights era. it out lawed discrimination in rent and sales of home. he launched the freedom move to bring it to northern cities. they protested the cities entrenched in housing segregation. by 1968 the fair housing act a

had languished on the floor for two years. after martin luther king jr.'s murder president johnson pushed the law through. >> i do not exaggerate when i say the proudest moments of my presidency have been times such as this when i have signed into law the promises of a century. >> michael: the promises of a century. nearly 50 years later the promise of fair housing still has not been fulfilled. since the start of the financial crisis in 2007 $10 million people have lost their homes due to foreclosure. 10 million people. that's the population o of new york, philadelphia, and washington, d.c. think about that. while this wave of foreclosure has affected all americans. black homeowners are twice as

likely to be forced from their homes as their white counterparts proving once again the march still goes on. joining us from new york to discuss today's struggle for fair housing is laura gottesdiender, author of "a dream foreclosed: black america and the fight for a place to call home." laura, welcome inside "the war room." >> thanks so much for having me. >> michael: this foreclosure crisis was not an accident. banks targeted people of color for subprime loans and then foreclosured in wide stretches. tell us how that happened. >> i would be happy to. you know, i'm glad that you opened with the fact that the fair housing act was passed in 1968, and that was followed by the fair lending act of '77. but the fact of the matter is that housing discrimination is very much alive and well in the united states. it has been incredibly well documented how racial

discrimination was rampant throughout the mortgage industry. really, essentially, a systemic practice of the mortgage industry. the way that one former loan officer in baltimore put it was that wells fargo put bounties on the heads of minority borrowers by providing cash incentives to any of the loan officers who were able to convince these customers to buy these completely unpayable loans. and so it wasn't however just the fact that these loans were unpayable, toxic mortgages that all of the industry knew were toxic, but they represented it to homeowners as if they would be completely fine. you can just refinance in a year or two. the bigger issue is that wall street at the end of the 90s and all through 2000 exploited

racist lending and racial discrimination in housing and property ownership. you open with the fact that i was going to say, you know, the vast majority of the 20th century we saw the federal government red lining communities across the country. result of that these neighborhoods, the african-american neighborhoods were starved for loans. when wall street began peddling the toxic mortgages they were exploiting the fact that the government had been in the process of racial discrimination for a long time. >> michael: laura, quickly tell us what kind of impact had these foreigns had on african-american communities? we know they've been targeted. what has been the affect effect? >> the effect has been there have been million of foreclosures concentrated in these communities of color. the effect, the human toll has been that there has been a mass displacement out of many of

communities, the vast example currently is what is happening in detroit. detroit is the city with the largest african-american homeownership rate in the country going into the crisis. now undergoing the largest municipal bankruptcy in u.s. history, 100,000 homes were foreclosed on. one-third of all african-american homeowners had been forced out of their homes since this crisis began. so what we're seeing is a mass displacement. we're also seeing these foreclosures spiral that are reverberating into other issues. things like school closures that we're seeing in chicago and philadelphia. things like hospitals, senior centers effected. >> michael: there are people who fought the banks and people who won. tell us about bertha garrett in detroit, the city we were just talking about. >> sure, i would be happy to. bertha garrett, when i went to

meet with her a year ago was a 65-year-old grandmother, deeply religion, born in alabama. she and her husband had lived in their home in detroit for 22 years. she became ensnared in a predatory loan when a sleazy mortgage company lied to her and convinced her to take out a secondary loan. and she fought her foreclosure until final lynn when theory convictioher eviction was pendid not leave her home because it would destroy the life she had built, and it would further the collapse of the city she had grown up in at that point. she reached out to anti-foreclosure groups, occupy detroit, and they had a huge eviction blockade on her front

lawn. hundreds of people rallied to stop the city from parking the dumpster that was there to haul all of her things out of her house. meanwhile she went downtown and tried to meet with a representative of her bank, bank of new york mellon when they said we won't meet with you today. she said i'm not leaving. she laid down in front of the office door, effectively using this incredibly strong, non-violence tradition of the civil rights movement said i will not be moved. and we're see eviction blockades happen all across the country, and in men cases such as bertha, they win. >> michael: that's part of the encouraging story. our series is called "the march goes on," and people are still marching, people are still protesting in such a peaceful way. laura gottesdiender, the book is called "a dream foreclosed: black america and the fight for a place to call home." thank you so much for being on the show. coming up, intrepid brett

erlich. he goes to dark places of the internet so we don't have to. that's up on "the war room" next.

(vo) later tonight, current tv is the place for compelling true stories. >> jack, how old are you? >> nine. >> this is what 27 tons of marijuana looks like. (vo) with award winning documentaries that take you inside the headlines, way inside. (vo) from the underworld, to the world of privilege. >> everyone in michael jackson's life was out to use him. (vo) no one brings you more documentaries that are real, gripping, current. >> michael: now it's time for our resident comedian brett erlich just back from his missouri rodeo tour, brett? >> indeed, yeeha, my friends, yeeha.

i'm glad to be back on with you, michael shure. >> michael: better than that other guy. >> i get very touchy when i don't have you around. let's get to the show. here we go. what is in a name i can you? well, if you ask a magistrate in tennessee what is in a name might be blasphemy. >> a tennessee judge has changed a baby boys name from mosiah to martin. she aid only one person has earned that name, messiah, that is jesus. they could not agree on the child's last name. but no one expected the judge to change the child's first name. >> i didn't know you could do that as a judge, by apparently you can. >> michael: so now the kid's name is brett. >> no, the kid's name is martin. but the logic from the point of the magistrate, she needs to know that jesus' name was not

messiah. it was jesus. and. >> michael: great point. >> that's like saying my producer's name is producer, we have a producer who's name is jesus. that's fine. that's amazing to me. moving on, we have an amazing clip from gretchen carlson. apparently there might be a new sport at the olympics. there is one trying to get accepted, and gretchen carlson from "fox and friends" is not happy about it. >> this may be in the olympics. >> this is not your grandfather's pole dancing. >> meaning? >> you can't put a single dollar bill in, and it cannot be done in an erotic manner. that's like a dog without fur. >> oh, the carlsons, they're fantastic people. it was just great. because she said that the greco roman wrestling might be pushed out. baseball might be pushed out.

i'm thinking greco roman wrestling, i think pole dancing is something that people from all nations can get behind. >> michael: and the men's competition will be great. >> i think it should just be guys who are getting off work and they show up, loosening their tie. and here is the next clip. president obama played golf and this photo arose from that. just come on, man. we need to work on our demeanor on the golf course, our etiquette. we need to step it up. here is a picture of fla vladimr putin playing golf. >> michael: i think the president will hear you. he watches "the war room." it looks like he was practicing for the pole dancing competition in that photo. brett erlich, great as always, and thanks for joining us here in "the war room." have a great evening. "the young turks," as great as

they always are, are next. [ ♪ music ]ç]

[ ♪ music ] >> cenk: all right, welcome to "the young turks." last week on current--oh! sad! all right, well, we've got a great show for you, don't get too sad. big news day today. eric holder saying, you know what, the war on drugs, fascinating. we'll get to that in a little bit. of course i've got more on the nsa. turns out snowden was right abou, ande person who ends up pg him right is the head of the