07/01/15 07/01/15 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! >> there is no one in the administration that is contemplating a federal bailout but we do remain committed to working with puerto rico. amy: is puerto rico americas greece? puerto rico's government says it will miss today's deadline for more than $1 billion payment. we will speak with new york commerce member nydia velazquez one of the few puerto ricans in the house of representatives.

then come abortion, air pollution, lethal injections fair housing -- just some of the supreme court decisions handed down after the court legalized same-sex marriage and upheld obamacare. we will speak with ian millhiser editor and author. then new jersey governor chris christie makes 14. >> america is tired of handwringing and weakness in the oval office. we need to have strength and decision-making and authority back in the oval office, and that is why today i am proud to announce my candidacy for the republican nomination for president of the united states of america. amy: we will look at the record of new jersey governor chris christie with new jersey reporter bob hennelly. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman.

greece has missed a $1.8 billion payment to the international monetary fund as it faces the brink of a financial meltdown. the deadline coincided with the end of greece's international bailout, leaving it without an infusion of the money it needs to meet its obligations. on tuesday, european creditors rejected a last-minute proposal from greek prime minister alexis tsipras for a new financial lifeline. the head of the eurogroup of finance ministers, jeroen dijsselbloem, said a new bailout program could be negotiated, but only if the greek government backs down from its rejection of austerity demands. >> what we can change is the political stance of the greek government that has led to this unfortunate situation. and what we could consider but we will have another conference call tomorrow, is for the talks on a new program. but given the current political position that the greek government is taking, it is very difficult to have constructive

talks. amy: the financial times is reporting the prime minister has made new concessions and a bid to complete an agreement. greece is set to hold a referendum on sunday on whether to accept an austerity package of budget cuts and tax hikes in exchange for new loans. on tuesday, tens of thousands of people rallied in athens in support of a "yes" vote, one day after a similarly sized crowd rallied against the austerity demands. with its missed payment, greece becomes the first developed nation to fall into arrears with the imf, and also for the largest ever amount. meanwhile, a secret report from greece's three main creditors appears to support greek government calls for a major debt relief as part of any new agreement. according to the guardian, documents acknowledge greece would still face an unsustainable level of debt by 2030, even if it agrees to do all the groups austerity demands. talks on a nuclear deal between iran and six world powers have been extended after the two sides failed to complete an agreement by a midnight deadline.

some believe the real deadline is july 9, the last ever president obama to present an agreement to congress before a mandatory review period of 30 days jumps to 60 days. negotiators are also trying to determine the timing of sanctions relief and the scope of tehran's nuclear research. begin at the white house, president obama said he is prepared to walk away from the talks if iran fails to make sufficient concessions. >> there still some hard negotiations to take place, but ultimately, it will be up to the iranians to determine whether or not they meet the requirements that the international community has set forth to be able to fairly and accurately and consistently assess whether or not they have foreclosed the possibility of obtaining a nuclear weapon.

amy: the foreign intelligence surveillance court has reauthorized the bulk collection of u.s. phone records for another 180 days. the program lapsed with the expiration of the patriot act last month, but congress authorized a six-month transition period to move into a new system where telephone companies hold the bulk records. a federal appeals court had declared the bulk collection illegal, but the fisa court decision overrides that ruling. the american civil liberties union now says it will seek a new injunction to block the fisa court's decision. a black church in south carolina has caught fire in the latest in a series of similar incidents. the blaze at the mount zion african methodist church in greeleyville is believed to be the seventh fire at a black church across the south since the charleston massacre less than two weeks ago. at least three fires have been caused by arson. mount zion ame was burned to the ground 20 years ago by members of the ku klux klan.

the kkk has announced a rally for later this month at the south carolina statehouse in support of the confederate flag. there are reports south carolina legislators now have enough votes to push through the flag's removal. counties in a handful of southern states are still refusing to issue marriage licenses to lgbtq couples despite last week's supreme , court ruling. officials in texas, alabama, louisiana, tennessee and kentucky have vowed to reject the court's mandate, citing religious freedom. injunctions have already been filed to force the counties to comply. on tuesday, the county clerk for hood county, texas said she would back down from an initial refusal to offer marriage licenses to lgbtq couples. a florida judge has blocked a law forcing women to wait at least 24 hours to have an abortion, with exceptions only if women can document rape incest, domestic violence or human trafficking. opponents argue such measures burden women who have already made their decision or who live

too far away from clinics to make repeated visits affordable. the law was due to take effect today and will remain on hold as a court challenge proceeds. a group tied to the islamic state has launched attacks a military sites in egypt's sinai desert, killing dozens. the strikes by group calling itself the province of sinai hit several targets at once. the egyptian military has to played fighter jets to the area. the u.n. is expected to add yemen to the list of the world's worst humanitarian crises, raising the pressure on the saudi government to halt a deadly military campaign and blockade. the news comes as aid officials warn parts of yemen are on the brink of famine amid internal fighting and a continued saudi-led air campaign. u.n. aid chief stephen o'brien says 80% of yemen's 25 million people need aid and the health system faces imminent collapse. the warning comes days after ceasefire talks between yemen's warring factions broke down in geneva. at the security council, u.n. special envoy ismail ahmed

renewed calls for a humanitarian truce. >> both sides showed signs of engagement, there is emerging, ground upon which we can achieve a cease-fire coupled with the withdrawal of combatants. while we pursue sustainable longtime cessation of violence i call on all parties to agree to humanitarian truce. we should not forget yemeni are leaving under dire conditions and it pains me to witness this ongoing suffering. amy: in some of yemen's latest violence, 17 civilians were reportedly killed and dozens wounded today when houthi rebels fired on the southern port city of aden. more than 1000 prisoners including al qaeda members, also escaped a prison in the city of taiz amid clashes between rival forces. the obama administration is lifting restrictions on military aid to the of a military imposed

on the regime's crackdown on arab spring protesters in 2011. announcing the decision, the state department said" what we do not think the human rights situation in bahrain is adequate, we believe it is important to recognize that the government of all rain has made some meaningful progress in human rights reforms and reconciliations. in response, human rights watch said the move was occurring in the absence of any real or meaningful political reform. u.s. and brazil have announced a joint pledges on the use of renewable energy. president obama unveiled the goals during a white house meeting with brazilian president dilma rousseff. >> both of our nations are setting goals on clean energy be on howard euro power, the united states and brazil and to increase the share of electricity for renewable energy to 20% by the year 2030. these are very ambitious goals and their tripling for the united states and more than

double brazil's current output. amy: rousseff's visit to washington was her first since cancelling her trip last year following the disclosure of nsa spying. leaks from edward snowden showed the u.s. spied on her personal communications as well as on brazil's state-run oil company, petrobras. on tuesday, rousseff said she believes president obama's assurances that the spying has stopped. >> the changes particularly due to the fact that president obama and the u.s. government has stated on several occasions that they would no longer engage in intrusive acts of spying on currently countries. i believe president obama. and furthermore, he told me, you know, if he needed, should he ever need nonpublic information about brazil, he would just pick up the phone and call me. amy: new satellite data shows the earth's largest underground aquifers are losing water at troubling rates. a nasa study finds 21 of the world's 37 largest aquifers have provided more water than has been replaced, putting them at a sustainability tipping point. researchers say the water

reserves have been depleted by human activity including agriculture, population growth and mining. new jersey governor chris christie has entered the race for the republican presidential nomination. >> america is tired of handwringing and indecisiveness and weakness in the oval office. we need to have strength and decision-making and authority back in the oval office. and that is why today i am proud to announce my candidacy for the republican nomination for president of the united states of america. amy: outside his kickoff event a group of new jersey residents gathered in protest. >> and protesting christie as president. he is ruined new jersey, he will ruin the united states. ps taken so much mining -- money. he is giving it to his corporate buddies. we are practically broke. amy: we'll have more on christie's presidential run later in the broadcast.

the justice department has concluded the police response to unrest last year in ferguson missouri, was inconsistent and violated free-speech rights, criticizing the use of tear gas without warning and calls for an end to the use of police dogs on crowds. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now! democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. juan: welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. we begin today's show in puerto rico, the u.s. territory that could be on the verge of following greece in defaulting on its debt. puerto rico's government says it will miss today's deadline for a $1 billion tenant on a debt of more than $73 billion. in an interview with the new york times, puerto rican governor alejandro garcia padilla admitted -- "the debt is not payable. there is no other option.

i would love to have an easier option. this is not politics, this is math." during a televised address monday, garcia padilla announced his plans to restructure the debt. >> the goal would be to achieve a negotiated moratorium with the bondholders to postpone for a number of years the debt payments in a way so we could use that money in these years to pay the debt and invest here in puerto rico to create jobs and accelerate the economy. juan: the retired u.s. bankruptcy judge who oversaw detroit's bankruptcy has now been retained by puerto rico. but the island cannot legally file for bankruptcy because it is a commonwealth. garcia padilla called for this to change. >> it is the moment for us to speak as one voice to demand concrete action from washington, action from washington now action so they finish approving

the changes to chapter nine and so that puerto rico can count on the same protection that other jurisdictions have. juan: garcia padilla has already tried to generate more government revenue with a sales tax increase to 11.5% that goes into effect today. he said he would also form a financial team to try and obtain a moratorium on repayments for several years. the team would develop an economic reform plan that would require legislative approval. amy: all of this comes as puerto rico's unemployment is more than twice the u.s. national rate and its poverty level is nearly double that of the poorest u.s. state. meanwhile, puerto rico's health-care system may also be on the verge of collapse. more than 2 million people, roughly 6% of puerto rico's population, rely on medicare medicare advantage or medicaid to pay for their health care. but the center for medicaid and medicare services is set to implement an 11% cut in medicare advantage reimbursements for puerto rico, costing the island's health-care system an estimated $500 million

well, for more, we are joined by congressmember nydia velázquez, who has served in the house of representatives since 1993. she is the first puerto rican woman to be elected to congress, and is the former the chair of the congressional hispanic caucus. welcome to democracy now! juan, you wrote a piece today in "the new york daily news." juan: i began in my column with an old headline familiar to an older generation, obama to puerto rico dropdead. which is a take off on old headline when gerald ford told new york city during a financial crisis 40 years ago that ford to new york dropdead. because the obama administration is basically saying there is nobel out. one thing i tried to show in my column is there is a historical

context to this. it has been 117 years since the united states took over puerto rico during the spanish-american war come occupy the country. and we have seen decade after decade them american company's take huge amounts of profit out of the island. for the first 50 years, joseph sugar barons with their plantations. the next 50 years, it was the pharmaceutical in the textile companies. using puerto rico is a tax haven, making it the biggest work source of profit. now you have the hedge funds and the banks peddling all of this debt to puerto rico for the last few decades. now the manning payment before anything else in the puerto rican people are an afterthought -- now demanding payment for anything else in the puerto rican people are an afterthought. now they basically want to say this is your problem, these financial issues are your problem. amy: congressmember nydia velazquez is puerto rico

america's greece? >> well, to some extent, yes. if the bondholders are not willing to come to the table and negotiate an agreement with the puerto rican government, puerto rico could default. and so my message to the bondholders and hedge funds is that it is not business as usual. they need to come to the table. puerto rico can not, as part of the united states and the federal government, cannot allow for situation like this to go on. puerto rico cannot turn the lights off in the puerto rican community. this is a time for the federal government to assume its responsibility. they cannot continue to turn their face the other way while all these corporations can to puerto rico, ripped profits, and didn't create the type of

infrastructure that was needed in order to get economic growth, long-lasting economic growth. and that is the reality of the people of puerto rico are facing today. section 936 that provided tax reference for american corporations to come and do business in puerto rico, and basically, there was no oversight mechanism to make sure that the promises that were made , happened. and it didn't happen. there was not the type of investment that produced the type of economic growth that was required. amy: what are the companies? >> pharma, the manufacturing sector -- they are gone. juan: and they are gone after the republicans encumbers illuminated section 936 benefit which i think ended in 2006. rodrigo has been in a population decline and economic collapse

since then. >> basically it started 10 years ago. 2006. and then the housing bust that in puerto rico proceeded the housing bust here in the united states. coupled with the collapse of the banking sector in puerto rico that has not really recovered. juan: i want to ask about the role of congress and the white house. white house spokesman josh earnest said monday that the u.s. is not considering a bailout for puerto rico. this is what he said. what's there is no one in the administration that is contemplating a federal bailout of puerto rico. but we do remain committed to working with puerto rico and their leaders as they address the serious challenges, serious financial challenges, that are currently plaguing the commonwealth of puerto rico. the treasury department and other administration officials had been engaged with puerto

rico to try to help them get access to all available and existing federal resources, and the treasury department, over the last year or two, has shared its expertise with local officials in puerto rico. juan: that was white house spokesman josh earnest. what can the obama administration duke - do? the health-care system is related to exactly what the financial crisis occurring now. >> it is ironic that candidate obama came to puerto rico to campaign and said that one of the first issues he wanted to address was the equal treatment of puerto ricans when he comes -- when it comes to access to health care. we passed the affordable care act for all americans including the people of puerto rico. but when it comes to the funding, puerto rico medicare gets only 60% of the

reimbursement rate that the average state debts in -- state gets in the u.s., and 70% of reimbursement for medicaid. we're talking about a poor economy. order rico could not absorb the difference. this after puerto ricans in puerto rico pay the same taxes to medicare and social security. so they could start by addressing this issue that will take half $1 billion from -- $500 million from the corporations money to be able to continue to provide access to care to the puerto rican people in the island of puerto rico. juan: what could congress do right now? >> i believe the government has -- the federal government has the legal authority to address this issue, that we don't have to fix it legislatively. amy: so you are joining with

others now. do you feel betrayed by president obama? >> i feel every administration that comes to the white house basically continues to treat puerto ricans a second-class citizens, and that is not right. when puerto ricans come to war and participate in any conflict on behalf of this country, they go as american citizens. it's just not right. veterans in puerto rico do not get the same quality health care the veterans here in the united states. juan: you have also said you would like to see some of the republican presidential candidates put on the spot on this issue what to do about puerto rico, specially senator marco rubio in florida who has a huge -- fastest-growing oregon population in the country. >> i think marco rubio is going

to be hearing producing from the puerto rican community in central florida. there is no way a candidate could aspire to get the nomination without winning florida or to win the presidency without winning florida. and you cannot win florida without central florida, where we have a large concentration of puerto ricans. the fact we -- that puerto rico do not have the legal authority to use bankruptcy law was not -- a decision that was made by the congress. we did not address that issue at all when we passed the bankruptcy law. so we have legislation that has been filed by the commissioner in the house of representatives. chuck schumer is prepared to

introduce the legislation. we need republican support. amy: speaking a presidential candidates, i want to ask you about the man who supposedly is number two in the republican presidential polls now, donald trump. nbc universal has fired the real estate developer after he made derogatory comments about mexicans when he announced his bid for the republican presidential nomination. this is part of what trump said. >> when mexico sends its people they're not sending their best. they're not sending you. they're not sending you. they're sending people that have lots of problems and they're bringing those problems with us. they're bringing drugs. they are bringing crime. they are rapists. and some, i assume, are good people. amy: trump later stood by his statements. on he sued univision for ending tuesday, its contract to broadcast the miss usa pageant.

mexico has refused to send a contestant. the two cohost of the miss usa pageant, one of them thomas roberts of msnbc, have pulled out. your response? >> well, shame on donald trump. i think you showed he is not serious about running for president. because you cannot win in this country with this type of rhetoric. he could win the nomination of the republican party but when you look at all of the battleground states that you need to win, though states, the swing votes in those states, a great portion of that are represented by hispanic voters. so when you move to the extreme right during the primary, it is going to be very difficult then to move to the center to be able to not only to appeal to

hispanic voters, but independent voters. they care deeply about having responsible people at the helm of the white house. juan: i would like to ask you about another issue you have been involved with, oscar lopez rivera -- oscar lopez rivera who is been in jail on sedition charges. you joined thousands of supporters earlier this month for march calling on president obama to release oscar lopez rivera in prison. he was convicted in 1981 on federal charges of seditious conspiracy conspiring to oppose , u.s. authority over puerto rico by force. he was also accused of being a member of the faln, the armed forces of national liberation, which claimed responsibility for more than 100 bombings to call attention to the colonial case of puerto rico. in 1999, president bill clinton commuted the sentences of 16 members of the faln but lopez

refused to accept the deal because it did not include two fellow activists who have since been released. in a rare video recording from prison, oscar lopez rivera said the charges against him were strictly political. >> i think the fact i was charged with seditious conspiracy to overthrow the government of the united states picks for itself, but the charge in reference to puerto ricans has always been for u.s. political purposes. because back to 1930 six the first time a group of puerto ricans were put in prison by using the seditious conspiracy charge. this has always been strictly political charge against publicans. juan: that was oscar lopez rivera speaking from prison. could you talk about the importance of this case, both on the island and puerto ricans in the u.s.? >> as you know, because of the unique little situation between puerto rico and the united states, the puerto rican family is divided in puerto rico on

party lines regarding statehood commonwealth, and independence. and so this is the one issue that has united the puerto rican community both in the island of puerto rico and the mainland. every political party, every sector, every faction in puerto rico has rallied together to ask president obama to do the right thing in the name of reconciliation to pardon and release oscar lopez. and given the difficult situation that puerto rico is going through, it would be a great action by this president to once and for all send the son of puerto rico home. amy: he could have taken the deal earlier under clinton and been out, but he stood up for two other prisoners who remain in jail -- and they are out. >> it shows the humanity of

oscar lopez. he decided to stay because he wanted for all of them to be released from prison. so there is no reason -- there is no valid excuse to keep this man in jail anymore. amy: have you spoken to president obama about it? >> yes. the three members of congress approved and dissent, during the christmas ball or the holiday bowl, we approached president obama, what he said at that point is, well, let me deal with immigration issue, when right before that he had an issued an executive order. it is time for the president to act. this is about justice. this is about humanity. amy: and your assessment of president obama on immigration? >> well, given the fact that we

have to get 60 votes in the senate, he is done every thing he can and we need, you know get a compromise and bring the republicans to the table. you're going to have at least five or seven conservative democrats in the senate that will not support it because of their own self-preservation, so we need to get support from the republicans. and they need to understand that if they don't address the issue of immigration now, they're going to be relegated as a minority party in this country. the growing hispanic population and the growing influence political influence, of the hispanic community cannot be denied. amy: commerce member nydia velazquez, thank you for being with us democrat for new york, , has served in the u.s. house of representatives since 1993. the first puerto rican woman to be elected to congress, and is

the former chair of the congressional hispanic caucus. we will also have a link to juan's comment "the new york daily news." when we come back, supreme court decisions issued this week. then governor chris christie of new jersey enters the presidential race. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: roy brown's, "canción a pedro" [song for pedro.] *** this is democracy now! democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. juan: after historic rulings that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide and upheld a key provision of the affordable care act, this week the supreme court handed down its final rulings for the current term, dealing with abortion access, air pollution, executions and elections. on monday, the court blocked a lower court decision that threatened to leave texas with fewer than 10 abortion clinics. it said clinics do not have to follow requirements forcing them to meet the standards of hospital-style surgery centers that were set to take effect today. in another decision, the court blocked the environmental

protection agency's first national standards to cut emissions of mercury and toxic air pollutants from coal-fired power plants. amy: this week the supreme court also rejected a challenge to the use of a controversial sedative in executions. three oklahoma prisoners had sought a ban on midazolam, which has been tied to several botched or prolonged lethal injections. but a five-to-four majority rejected the inmates' claim that the drug violates a ban on cruel and unusual punishment. for more we go to washington d.c. to ian millhiser a senior , fellow at the center for american progress action fund and the editor of thinkprogress justice. he is the author of, "injustices: the supreme court's history of comforting the comfortable and afflicting the afflicted." first of all, welcome to democracy now! can you overall assess the direction of the court from upholding obamacare and same-sex marriage to this series of lesser-known decisions that they

issued this week, including the issue of legal injection and the death penalty? >> this was a very unusual term. the roberts court is a very conservative court and most terms i wind up pretty depressed this time of year because they just handed down a lot of conservative decisions. the good news is for the most part that did not happen this term. honestly, we got the big marriage equality holding. there were a lot of disasters that did not happen. they could have gutted the affordable care act to america's health care entities -- into tomorrow, that didn't happen. they could've gutted the for housing act, and that did not happen. most of those were five to 4, 1 was a 63 decision. so there were justices who wanted to do some pretty terrible things, but the good news is there were a lot of crises that were averted this term and that of course we have the marriage equality holding which is a huge victory. juan: in terms of -- there some

analyses that have said the surprising outcome of the decisions in this term are resulting from divisions that have occurred among the conservatives while the liberal justices have stayed pretty much united. what is your assessment of that? >> i am one of the analysts who said that. what is interesting about this court is the four liberal justices, even know they are in the minority have largely stuck together. the conservatives -- there's real disagreement about how far they want to take their conservatism and other general approach to the law. chief justice roberts is a reaganite conservatism and he wants to do a lot of conservative things on race and conservative things on campaign finance, but he doesn't in brace the kind of radicalism that you have seen take over the conservative movement in the united states and's president obama got elected. he doesn't believe the court should be used to dismantle the

whole regulatory and welfare state. justice thomas is at the other extreme where he has said he would go back to the world where child labor laws are struck down. what i think a lot of the reason why this case did not go as well for conservatives as they had hoped is they really pushed the envelope this year. they acted like they had five justice thomas is on the court or maybe five justice alitos. what happened is, robert and kennedy said wait a second, that is too far. amy: just interviewed a couple who were plaintiffs in the same-sex marriage case and they are naming their daughter "kennedy." i want to go to the issue of the death penalty, which was so critical this week, the supreme court rejecting the challenge to the use of a controversial sedative in executions. three oklahoma prisoners had sought a ban on the says it -- sedative which has been tied to

, several botched or prolonged lethal injections. a five to four majority rejected the inmates' claim that the drug violates a ban on cruel and unusual punishment. last april, oklahoma prisoner clayton lockett died of a massive heart attack when his lethal injection with an untested cocktail of lethal drugs was botched. after struggling violently on the gurney, doctors halted the killing 13 minutes in when discovering lockett was still conscious and trying to speak. about 30 minutes later, lockett died of a heart attack when the drugs spread through his body. this is ziva branstetter of "also world" one of 12 media witnesses describing what she , saw. >> the inmate had no last words. about 10 minutes later, they pronounced him unconscious. there was no reaction for about three minutes, then at about the show it's a three minutes after that, he began a very violent reaction, writhing and lifting his shoulders up up off the

gurney, his head off the gurney. he was clenching his job exhaling. he was mumbling phrases that none of us could really here. the only audible word was him and, -- was him saying, "man." this lasted for about three minutes. the position in the execution chamber went over, lifted up the sheet, looked at his right arm. the warden, who is also an execution chamber, said they were going to have to temporarily close the blinds and after that, they never reopen them. amy: ziva branstetter of the tulsa world describing the botched execution of oklahoma prisoner clayton lockett last april. charles warner was originally scheduled to die the same night as lockett, but his execution was postponed until january. then when the state carried out his lethal injection, he took 18 minutes to die -- about twice as long as the average. his final words were, "my body is on fire."

can you talk, ian millhiser about what the court ruled? >> sure. so this case is one of the big disappointments of the term. the court essentially gave super legal status to the death penalty. the way the constitution is supposed to work is a prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. so at the state was to carry out a punishment, if they want to execute someone in this case you look at the method they want to use, determine if it is cruel or unusual. if it is, they can't do it. what the court citizens -- set instead, executing people is of paramount importance. they said the death penalty is constitutional, so there must be a way to execute people. and that means -- and their various reasons why the state was unable to get other drugs that would've been more reliable , if the only methods available to them are drugs that are not reliable and that may lead to the inmate being an extrusion

pain, that is what the state gets to use because the court said that essentially, execution is of paramount importance in this case, it trumps the eighth amendment of the constitution. juan: i would like to ask you about some of the surprising decisions, especially when it comes to redistricting and fair housing. could you talk about those as well? >> especially the fair housing case, two of the more pleasant surprises of this term. chief justice roberts, one issue where he is extraordinarily conservative is race. he has made it his mission on the court to cut back on civil rights laws. he struck down a key portion of the voting rights act. he is famous for his native one that the weight in discrimination on the basis of race is to end discrimination on the basis of racism, that's all there is to it. there was a case this term that sought to really get the federal fair housing act that ends race

discrimination in housing. the law allows what is called disparate impact suits, were you can start to prove discrimination if you show there is bad outcomes or copy has a policy that continually leads to people of color getting the shaft. the court -- most people thought they were going to get rid of this dish it just disparate impact, which would've made a very hard to prove these cases. justice kennedy blinked. it was a five to four decision the fair housing act still gets to live in the form that it has lived for many years. in addition to that, there was this redistricting case which wasn't just about redistricting. it was a very broad theory which if it had succeeded, could have led to the supreme court taking a red pen and randomly crossing out lines in a bunch of states election laws. that was a five to four decision where justice kennedy also crossed over to join the liberals. i suspect the reason why he did is because he realized it would

just throw our next election and chaos if states did not know with election laws were. amy: the issue of abortion? >> this came up, and i think we should not overstate what the supreme court did here, but it is good news for the right. there's a texas law that if it is ultimately upheld by the supreme court is an accidental threat to the right to choose an abortion. this is one of a number of sham health laws were the state in ask a law which if you look at it just on the surface, it appears to be a health regulation. but really what it is it is an attempt to ban abortion by pretending that your regulating health. the supreme court five to four temporarily allow that law to go into effect, probably by's women in texas who seek an abortion about a year. it is likely the sloot -- the supreme court will take this case up probably next to decide whether they will strike down the law. if they uphold the law, then that is terrible news for wrote

the way. if they uphold the only limit on the state's ability to restrict abortion will probably be the creativity of lawmakers to find a way to address a wolf up in sheep's clothing. amy: union fees? >> that is another huge case there deciding next term. the issue here is if you are a union, yet the bargain on behalf of everyone in a bargaining unit . so everyone in the shop, regarded some whether they join the union or not they get the higher wages you bargain for they get the increased benefits you bargain for. and in many cases, the nonmembers also have to reimburse the union for the cost of their share of the bargaining. so no one gets to be a free rider. no one get something for nothing. this is a case about whether nonunion members and public sector unions can get something for nothing, whether they can get all the benefits, get all the higher wages, and yet not

have to pay their share of the bargaining costs. if the supreme court says they don't have to pay their fair share, which i think is likely, it will be a huge blow for public sector unions because there is a lot of workers who are going to say, well, why my going to pay to join the union when i get all of the benefits of being a member for nothing? juan: i want to ask you about the subtitle of your book. why the subtitled and what is the broad strokes of your analysis on the courts historical record? >> the court has a dark history. this is a court that upheld segregation, struck down child labor laws, struck down the minimum wage, a court that said a woman to be sterilized against her will. the modern supreme court under chief justice robert davis citizens united, got the voting rights act. if you go back a few years, we got bush v. gore.

we at a decent term, but this was really an anomalous term not just in terms of roberts court history, but the supreme court's entire history. for almost all of the supreme court's history, it has been terrible to workers, terrible to women, terrible to racial minorities. and i worry that depending on what happens in the next few presidential elections, it could go back to the worst form it was in many years ago. amy: affirmative-action next term? >> this is a case they have heard now twice. this is a challenge to the university of texas affirmative action program. they came up before the court a few years ago. the court basically gave the program a stay of execution. they sort of upheld the program and said they were not when a strike it down yet, but they were going to send it down to the most conservative court of appeals in the country to look at it again. that court of appeals surprised

everyone by upholding the program and now it is back in front of the supreme court. they surprised us on the fair housing case, so i'm not going to write affirmative-action off entirely but it is going to be a tough road for affirmative-action to survive the second trip to the supreme court. amy: ian millhiser, thank you for being with us senior fellow , at the center for american progress action fund and the editor of thinkprogress justice. author of the book "injustices: , the supreme court's history of comforting the comfortable and afflicting the afflicted." when we come back, governor christie makes 14. we will talk about the newest entrants into the republican presidential race. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. juan: on tuesday, yet another republican candidate announced he is running for president. two-term new jersey governor chris christie formally launched his bid for the gop presidential

nomination, promising "straight talk," and touting his record. >> america is tired of handwringing and indecisiveness and weakness in the oval office. we need to have strength and decision-making and authority back in the oval office. and that is why today i am proud to announce my candidacy for the republican nomination for president of the united states of america. and unlike some people who offer themselves for the presidency in 2016, you're not going to have to wonder whether i can do it or not. in new jersey as governor, i have stood up against economic calamity and unprecedented natural disaster. we have brought ourselves together. you push back that economic calamity and we are recovering from the natural disaster and that is because we have led and work together to do it. juan: in the months ahead christie will work on repairing his battered image after last year's bridgegate lane closure scandal.

critics say the closings were political retribution against a democratic new jersey mayor who refused to endorse christie's re-election campaign. but the governor has denied any knowledge of the closures. meanwhile, christie's approval ratings in his home state have fallen to new lows amid a series of credit downgrades and weak job growth. amy: governor christie now heads out on the campaign trail to new hampshire, where he will hold the first of what is expected to be a series of town hall sessions. well, for more, we're joined now by bob hennelly. he is the political analyst and investigative reporter for wbgo, newark's npr station and a regular contributor to salon. he's also a reporter for cbs money watch. welcome back to democracy now! tell us what you think we should know about governor christie. >> the arche three things. one is that you have a situation where we're not really come out of the great recession in new jersey. the reality is, out of the top five american cities with the most mortgages underwater, where mortgages of at least 25% sometimes higher, higher than

the actual value of the home, three of them are in new jersey. that would be new york, patterson, elizabeth. -- newark, patterson, elizabeth. amy: what are you holding up? >> the star-ledger three full sections of household after hassle that is imploding. this is not really covered by the media because the narrative is that we are in recovery. the reality is money that came through the universal sediments from the banks that did not admit doing long -- wrongdoing that passed money through to the treasury, that money did not find its way to new jersey homeowners. so in places like newark in 2012, 3 children and two adults died in a fire in their home because squatters had moved in smoking crack and set fire to the house. if you walk in the west ward, you will see every other home is abandoned. this is the new jersey that chris christie has presided over. job growth.

he is only brought back 72 jobs compared to governor cuomo with over 200%. he just did not understand how to fix the economy. when it came to crunch time, he became distracted with running for president. juan: and new jersey's pension systems? teachers have been in the forefront of -- >> i live in the same town as governor christie and covering him since he was her, county legislator in new jersey. there was a moment, potential moment in 2011 where steve swinney, the democratic senate president and ironworker union leader and speaker oliver came forward. the unions saw the retirement age pushed off. there were going to contribute more. all you to do was fully fund the pension. that was the grand bargain. had he done that, you would've seen something where he would've had something to bring to the nation that he could resolve something that his predecessors had failed to do. but he did not make that payment. amy: talk about how he compares

to other candidates who have entered the presidential race. he is often referred to as one of the, well, more moderate. >> you have to look at how he has governed. the gap between the super wealthy and the working class is only open up more wider. the one area where he is offering something different is the idea he wants to see drug addiction looked at as a public health issue and not a criminal justice matter. we're seeing that move and with senator booker and senator paul coming together. that is something -- as far as urban policy and as far as how he governs, what you see is pretty much how it is. you brutalizes people he doesn't agree with. amy: we mentioned bridgegate. is it fair to say he is scandal-play? for people who don't live near the washington -- george washington bridge, explain what happened in the number of people who have been indicted around him. >> all right, so in a couple of

minutes. it is important to understand back around the time of the september 11 thing he had just -- he was trying to get ramped up for reelection. the restroom is pressure -- amy: a few years ago, not 20001. >> the idea was it we do get democratic mayors to endorse him, he would look back the dream candidate in a blue state getting reelected is a root publican. there were people around him who were pressuring him. there were other mayors who are pressuring. then around september 11, all of a sudden, the port authority -- governor christie as people within the port authority who were political supporters, they came over -- up with this idea that basically shutting down one of the toll lanes as some kind of retribution. subsequently, david wildstein, a close christie confident was

working with the port authority had agreed to plead guilty. you have bill baroni, another confidant of governor christie was working in the port authority, and bridget kelly, a high-level staffer and the administration, will be on trial this summer for their role in it. this is something that chris christie -- amy: this is in 2013. >> and this is something that he denied his staff had any role in it. when e-mails came out and were published to show this internal scandal was going on, he then summarily fired bridget kelly but may no inquiry of her about why she did what she did. this summer you will see a major political show trial which will keep this in the headlines in it will be hard for christie to get away from it. juan: i want to ask you about something governor christie counts a lot, his role in rebuilding the jersey shore after the sandy damage that occurred. i know a new york city it was very, very slow, the rebuilding process.

>> there are people who follow him around, making the point they're not back in their homes. the star-ledger has done a great job reporting on that. years later, people are still totally outside of their homes angela with all kinds of fraud, waste, and abuse by the contractors and insurance companies. it is important to know what governor christie did with the exxon settlement which we cover the last time i was on come the state contemplated getting $9 billion from exxon to make up for environment will damage they had done in the newark bay which was badly hit by sandy. by not signing the settlement and allowing to have exxon be off the hook, they gave up on a plan to put 30,000 acres of wetland and marshlands as buffers to protect the most critical part of new york and new jersey's port. by walking away from that, he left that entire urban area, which i might say is primarily new immigrants, people that live there are primarily low income,

were already hit by sandy and the toxic waste that came out of -- he really should not base running for president on sandy. there's too much of a record out there. amy: there was the politics of it, embracing president obama and a lot is being made of this now by the pundits. and touring with him around hurricane sandy. and basically saying that romney should stay away. >> i think what he did then was -- he is a brilliant politician who sense of figuring out the things that appears to be in the public interest but also in his political interests. that is why his opponents should keep an i on him. you should not count him out. amy: let's talk about health care for a moment. christa gave the keynote at the 2012 republican national convention, drawing loud applause for comedy made about health care. >> mitt romney will tell us the hard truths need to hear to in the debacle of putting the world's greatest health care

system in the hands of federal bureaucrats and putting those bureaucrats between an american citizen and her doctor. amy: derry is talking about health care. i think he did not mention mitt romney stand, though he was chosen to be the keynote until 70 minutes ago, but what about this? and the significance of what he is saying? >> it is important in a governor christie has made war on planned parenthood. he has single-handedly undercut funding their consistently. what is so short sighted about it, he walked away from lanes of dollars of federal money. when it comes to certain ideological things, there's no compromise. chris christie, it is his way or the highway. >>juan: i want to ask you about education. what is been christie's record in terms of the inner city public school system and he is put -- he is had quite a few state controls of a lot of the city school boards. >> that stay control when on a

long time before governor christie. what is happening now, his whole approach has been in his predecessors, too, to impose these rude -- reforms from the outside. the reality is, experts will tell you the way for transformation school districts is through each household. people themselves in their household have to find what you're doing. the whole approach he had created more conflict. they lost a lot of time. what is also important keep in mind, he has flipped on things like common core. he was for it, then he saw something stirring and he flipped on that. he put his finger up in the wind on that. amy: bob hennelly, thank you for being with us political analyst , and investigative reporter for wbgo. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]

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