08/01/16 08/01/16 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amamy: from pacifica, this i is demomocracy now! mr. trump: i saw h him. he was very emotional and probably looked like a nice guy to me. look at hisis you wife, she had nothining to say. she probably -- maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything to say. you tell me. plenty of people have written that. amy: donald trump under attack -- under fire for attacking the family of your soldier killed in

iraq. days after his father criticized trump at the democratic national convention. we will get the latest. then voting rights advocates have won a number of major victories after court strike down voting restrictions in north carolina, wisconsin, kansas, and taxes. .e will speak to ari berman >> we are heading into the first presidential cycle in 50 years without the full protections of the voting rights act. what that means in practice, eckstein states have new voting restrictions in place for the first presidential cycle. it is urgent to o restore the voting rights act and make it easier to vote in a whole lot of ways, things like early voting and same-day voter registration, automatic voteter registstratio. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman.

a federal appeals court has struck down voting restrictions in north carolina saying they disproportionately affected african americans. in the ruling, the three-judge panel from the fourth circuit wrote -- "the new provisions target african americans with almost surgical precision." the law had been challenged the by the justice department the , north carolina naacp, and other civil rights groups after its passage in 2013 limited the forms of i.d. acceptable at poling places as well as restricting how people could register. as a result, about 5% of the state's registered voters, primarily african-americans, would have been excluded from being able to cast a ballot. this is bob hall, executive director of democracy north carolina, speaking to democracy now! about how the rules affectcted north carolina's presidential primaries earlier this year. that would send a registration, we had over 8000

voters able to use same-day registration. that is, they were not registered but they showed up in early voting and were able to use that provision to vote. it is disproportionately african-american, young people. they want to get rid of that. amy: meanwhile in wisconsin, the u.s. fourth circuit court of appeals overturned similar election laws there, finding they disenfranchised minority voters and were tailored to benefit the republican politicians who enacted them. u.s. district judge james peterson w wrote in his opinion- "the wisconsin experience demonstrates that a preoccupation with mostly phantom election fraud leads to real incidents of disenfranchisement, which undermine rather than enhance confidence in elections, particularly in minority communities." peterson did not overturn a photo i.d. provision for voters in the state, but called the current system for issuing i.d.'s a wretched failure that predominantly affected african

american and latino citizens. on friday, a court also ruled against republican voting laws in kansas, where a county judge said the state must count votes cast by people who registered without providing citizenship documents. those decisions all come a week after a similar ruling against a voter i.d. law in texas. we'll have more on the rulingss after r headlines. in election news, khizr khan, the father of a muslim u.s. soldier died in iraq, are speaking out on donald trump. meanwhile, donald trump has continued to argue that nato has become obsolete. speaking to george stephanopoulos sunday, trump said nato had been unable to stop russia's annexation of crimea last year. e might also said formally recognize russia's takeover of crimea.

mr. trump: he was very emotional and probably looked like a nice guy to me. his wife, if you l look at hiss wife, she was s standing trere d d d nothg to s say. allowed to have anything to say. you tell me. but plenty of people in britain that. amy: some democratic party officials have suggested russia is behind the release of democratic party emails in an effort to help sway the election to trump, but no evidence to back the claim has been provided. in flint, michigan, six more statee employees are facing criminal charges in connection with the lead poisoning of flint hoss -- flint water. the six charged work for the michigan department of health and human services and the michigan department of enenvironmental qualitity, and e accucused ofof having tried to r up the problem of lelead contamination in the city's water once state officials became aware of it. this is michigan attorney general bill schuette. >> some failed to act, others minimized harm done and arrogantly chose to ignore data.

some intentionally altered --ures and covered up covered up significant health risks. two companies committed fraud and were negligent and made a bad situation worse. amy: three other state and city officials also face felony charges in the case. flint's lead poisoning began last year when an unelected emergency manager appointed by michigan gerernor ri s snyder switched the source of the city's drinking water to the corrrrosive flint river. today, the water in flint is still poisoned and unsafe to drink. the former head of booking at fox news says former ceo roger ailes sexually harassed her for two decades. ailes resigned last week amidst multiple claims of sexual harassment. laurie luhn told "new york magazine" that fox news knew about the harassment and helped cover it up. luhn said the harassment amounted to psychological torture and ruined her life. luhn called ailes a predator and

said her duties included luring young female fox employees into one-on-one situations with ailes that she knew could result in harassment. in international news, hundreds of residents of the syrian city of aleppo demonstrated and burned tires sunday to protest the ongoing siege by syrian government forces and their allies. the demonstrtration to p place shortly before rebs s fighti the syrian government began a new offensive to break the siege. the u.n. says about a quarter million civilians are trapped in the rebel-held portion of aleppo and facing a worsening humanitarian situation. rebel-held areas of the city have been surrounded by government forces since last month and subjected to heavy aerial bombardment, including the destruction of a number of hospitals. wikileaks founder julian assange says the group has released information about hillary clinton's campaign. this comes after wikileaks released 20,000 dnc emails,

revevealing how the e democratic party favorered hillary clinton and worked behind the scenes to discredit and defeat bernie sanders. dnc chairwoman debbie wasserman schultz resigned as a result of the leaks. two cacanadians were rearrestedn friday just hohours after the supreme court of british columbia cleared them of terrorism charges. civil liberties groups hailed the ruling that freed john nuttall and amanda korody after a judge declared federal police had entrapped them. it was the first time entrapment has been successfully used a defense in a terrorism prosecution in north america. civil rights groups accuse the fbi of similarly entrapping terrorism m suspects in n the u. but on friday, nuttal and korody were re-arrested on a peace bond, a canadian law that allows authorities to monitor or r detn people whoho it thinks may commt a crime. here in the u.s., the baltimore city council will decide next

month whether to increase the city's minimum wage to $15 an hour. the council's labor committee voted 4-to-0 last week to send the bill to the 15-member council. mayor stephanie rawlings-blake has said she would sign the bill if it reaches her desk. baltimore is the latest jurisdiction nationwide to consider an increase. washington, d.c., seattle, and san francisco have approved increases to $15 an hour. california and new york have approved statewide increases to $15. baltimore workers are presently subject to the state minimum wage, which is $8.75. a judge publicly reprimanded jail officials in louisville, kentucky,, fririday after r thet a woman into h couourtroom witih no pants o on last week. the woman said she was arrested in a county 80 miles away on a bench warrant for not completing a shoplifting intervention course in 2014.

the woman said she had been in jail since sunday -- five days bebefore she a appeareinin the courtroom m of judge a amber wo. and refuseded to give her pants any kind of hygiene projec prods that she needed. >> no pants? >> i in with this on sunday. >> excuse m m >> she reqequested -- >> excuse me?e? is this for real? amy: judge wolf then called officials at the jefferson county jail directly from the courtroom on her phone and reprimanded them. the woman also told wolf other woman in the jail had received similar treatment. in more election news, the

parents of the u.s. soldier who died serving in iraq are denouncing donald trump who attacked them following his speech at the democratic national convention. this is khan speaking thursday night in philadelphia at the dnc. >> donald trump, you're asking americans to trust you with .heir future let me ask you, have you even read the united states constitution? [applause] i will gladly lend you my copy. ,my: that was khzir khan speaking on stage of the dnc beside his wife. their son, u.s. army captain, theposthumously awarded

bronze star. and sunday was the first anniversary of the murder of mexican journalist ruben espinosa. on july 31, 2015, espinosa was killed by gunmen in an apartment in mexicico city, alonongside hn rights activist nadia vera and three other women. no one has been charged in their murders. it's widely believed espinosa and vevera were targeteded as a reresult of their work in the southern state of veracruz. this is ruben's sister, alma espinosa, speaking sunday. >> my brotherer ruben was a photojournalist. he was a verery humane person. we are assssisting -- they b both sufferered harassms. we also wantnt them to invnveste thisis apart frorom him, they he killed m many journalilists in e state of vereracruz. so many have died anand no one

papays attention. they are killing them and no one does anything. amy: and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. voting rights advocates have won a number of major victories that could reshape the november election. over the past 10 days, a series of court rulings have struck down new voting restrictions in north carolina, wisconsin, kansas and texas. , on friday, a u.s. appeals court struck down a north carolina law that required voters to show photo identificatition scaled back eay , voting, ended out of precinct voting, and prevented residents from registering to vote on election day. in a remarkable judgment, the three-judge panel found north carolina's law targeted african-americans "with almost surgical precision." the judge found that the legislators wrote the law after requesting data that showed african-americans disproportionately used early voting in both 2008 and 2012. judge diana motz wrote -- "we cannot ignore the recent

evidence that, because of race, the legislature enacted one of the largest restrictions of the franchise in modern north carolina history." meanwhile in wisconsin, a federal judge has struck down a string of wisconsin voting restrictions passed by the republican-led legislature and signed by governor scott walker. u.s. district judge james peterson wrote that the objective of the law was to "suppress the reliably democratic vote of milwaukee's african americans." a week earlier, the u.s. court of appeals for the fifth circuit struck down a texas law which has been described as the nation's most restrictive voter-i.d. law. in a 9-to-6 ruling, the court found the law has "a discriminatory effect on minorities' voting rights." joining us now is ari berman. he is a senior contributing writer for the nation where he covers voting rights. his book "give us the ballot: , the modern struggle for voting rights in america," will be out in paperback tomorrow. berman's recent piece for the nation is called, "the country's worst anti-votining law was just struck down in north carolina."

ari, welcome back to democracy now! explain what happened there first. what's the decision in north cacarolina, my opinion, was the biggest victory y for voting rights since the supreme court gutted the voting rights act in 2013. it was a significant because north carolina passed the country's worst voting restrictions. they did not just require strict voter id, they cut back on early voting, eliminated same-day voter registration and out of precinct voting, eliminated crew registration for 16-year-old and 17-year-olds and just a month after the supreme court guttedd the vovoting rights a act and jn roberts said that voting discrimination was larargely a thing of the past. both what nortrth carolina did d when they did it made this ruling so significant. it was really remarkable to see the fourth circuit use such want language in describing what north carolina did.

that they did target black voters with almost surgical precision. this was not about stopping voter fraud. this was about voter suppression and s suppressing blalack votes. amy: explain exactly how it worked.. how the e law worked. >> it t worked in n a bunch of . first off, the law said you had to show strict forms of government issued id, excluding government ids that african-americans were most like a have. they cut back on the ability to show up and register to vote before the election, which is critically important in a state like north carolina which has a very diverse demographic. they eliminated the ability to vote anywhere in your county. people who work along shift, they can go and vote after their jobs as opposed to having to go back to their home area. they eliminated crew registration for 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds. all of these reforms that north carolina implemented, the state

got rid of. what was fascinating, the court laid out a very coherent narrative. they said beginning in two thousand, north carolina adopted these reforms like early votingg and send a a registration. as a result, voter participation increased d dramatically. it went from 37 fooooter turnout to 12. most important, the disparity between black and white voters was eliminated. black voter registration increased over white registration and turnout in 2008 and 2012. it w was that very moment that north carolina legegislature decicided to go after r all of e different voting methods used by african-americans. the fourth circuit basically said, this was not a coincidence. the legislature new what had increased black turnout and those were t very voting methods the legislalature decidd to eliminate. amy: can you explain more about sunday voting? >> it is historically called

souls to the polls. african-americanan churches tell the constitituents to go vote. it is an important day. north carolina eliminated one of two days of sunday voting. the legislature said the -- thee fourth cirircuit said the legislature had data showing sunday voting was used more in african-american commununities y democratatic voters, and that is why they eliminated this. the e fourth circuit's of the elimination of sunday voting was the closest thing to a smoking gun that you will ever find an modern times. this is amazing language for a court to use. this is not language that is from 1965, it is the fact that voter suppression is going on right now in the united states and their 2015. amy: can you move from north carolina to wisconsin? >> is remarkable to see there were two dececision striking don butter suppression within hours of each other, describing similar things.

wisconsin did not just past the voter id law. radarurpassed under the voting restrictions. they eliminated early voting on nights and weekends when it is most convenient to be able to vote. they made it harder to register to vote and harder to cast an absent the ballot. the court wisconsin struck down these restrictions as well and said that these restrictions were not about stopping "phantom instances of voter fraud" but about suppressing the african-american vote in heavily democratic cities like milwaukee. the fact that we saw decisions in north carolina and wisconsin just hours apart striking down very similar laws and decisions using similar language, was a huge victory for voting rights. amy: talk about the next decision. we have wisconsin and north carolina. what about taxes? -- texas? >> they struruck down that voter id lawaw in texas, thehe strictt

in the country. in texas, you can but with a gun permit, but not a student id. the fifth circuit court of appeals said this discriminated against black and hispanic voters. unlike north carolina, they left the law in place but said those still needout id's to be able to vote, which is about 5% of the electorate. of a showeither be their voter registration card or vote with an affidavit if they don't have the strict forms of id. this is a major victory. at the same time, people have to the abilityill have to vote in texas. the word needs to o get out to these vovoters thahat cannot coy with the law that they're able to vote inin november. that will require a major education campaign because texas has done nothihing to make it ey to vote in that ststate. amy: talkk about elizabeth goal are. > she is someone i wrote abo, notably woman born in jim crow and moved toa

texas thing. she dollars license which was foraccepted as valid id voting and texas. her birth certificate was not id ined to get a voter texas. she basically had t to retain a lawyer to be of to get all of her documentation in louisiana -- to be able to get all of her ation louisiana. it was very emotional to her. for the fifirst time in 60 or se said she is not able to vote in the state off texas in a brbreas her heart. to see people like elizabeth have the right to vote again, to see people in north carolina who battled jimm crow laws be able o vote, it is remarkable. i think this transcends partisan ship. we have been talking about these hurting democratic constituencies, but we have to

step back and think this is not just about parties, this is about the fact that people who have b been voting all of their lives lost the right to vote and now they're able to get the right to vote back. amy: i want to turn to a common of donald trump speaking at a rally earlier this year in new hampshire. donald trump said the voting system is out of control. mr. trump: look, you have to with the security voting system. this voting system is out of control. you have people, and my opinion, that are running many, many times. don't want security. they don't want cards. amy: that was donald trump. >> like with manany of hisis statements, it is s not clear he knew what he wasas talking abou. i think what he was trying to suggest is there is lots of fraud in american selections -- elections and there needs more security. i should say the type of voter fraud people say is most prevalent, voter person nation, it is incredibly rare. you're more likely to be struck by lightning than you are to

impersonate another voter. out of one billion votes, only 31 have been confirmed as voter person nation. as he donald trump fanning the flames. he reach we did something from james woods, a conservative actor, saying if hillary wins, it is because of voter fraud. it is not surprising that the person who question obama'ss citizenship is crying wolf and trying to save he loses in november, , will be b be becaue of nefarious behavior -- even of this kind of fraud is r incrediblyare and state in north carolina and wisconsin a basically said voter fraud is not a problem. this is been a pretext that republicans have used. amy: go to the overall picture right now. talk about who is going to be able to vote in this election. are there other judgments that we are waiting for in courts

around the country? >> it is still an uncertain situation with less than n 100 days until the election, and the first onone in 50 years without the full protectctions of the votiting rightss act, 17 statess have new restrictionons in place for the first time and some states these restrictions have been struck down -- like a north carolina -- but they are on appeal. there are new restrictions thaht arare being challenged i in coun places like ohohio and virginia. there is a lot of activity still going on in the courts. this is by no means settled. once the court decisions happen, people need to know what the laws are in these states. we still have millions of voters impacted by new voting restrictions that need to be helped, people need to be registered to vote and note the laws are and be ready to vote in november. this is still a very unsettled issue that needs a lot more national attention. amy:b, thank you for being with us senior cocontributing writerr , for the nation where he covers voting rights.

his book "give us the ballot: , the modern struggle for voting rights in america," will be out paperback this week. we will link to your article in the nation "the country's worst , anti-voting law was just struck down in north carolina." this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. last week at the democratic convention, there were a number of first. among them, the first person to stand up and described having an abortion herself. aboutl speakith a nun that statement. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. yes, we have just returned from philadelphia, pennsylvania where , we covered the democratic national convention, inside and out, from the streets to thehe convention floor. we are turning now to nuns on the bus, which pulled up at the convention after nearly three weeks on the road. the nuns visited 13 states, hosted conversations with ordinanary americans on bothth s of the political spectrum, in an effort t to bridge t the divide. in philadelphia, they held a "menend the gaps" workshopop, we participants made a human babar graph that dramatically illustrated the gaps in our society. they hosted a hospitality suite at the bus to meet delegates and conventioneers. i sat down in the middle of the convention with sister simone campbell, leader of nuns on the bus, as well as a lawyer and a poet.

sister of social service and a executive director of network lobby for catholic social justice. i asked her about the caravan and why she took it to the democratic national convention. >> we are on the road to discover the real reasons why there's such income and wealth disparity in our nation. we are heartbroken at the fact that people can work full-time for minimum wage and not feel to support their families. what we know is that policies made this problem, some policies can change it. dr.e not as great as stiglitz, but we have seven simple policies that we think could make change e and the one that we lead with h is a changen tax policy. everyone should pay their fair share and invest in our nation. that is what we're on the road to say, that we're in this together. let's make this work. amy: you are a group of nuns. talk about the significance of this. >> we as catholic sisters are used to being in community.

and i believe one of the problems of our time is that hyper individualism, so what happens on the bus i is, well, e are nine on the bus right now and the nine of us s get off and we a are alreadydy communities o everyone i is welcomed an everyone is welcome whether you agree with our politics or not. if you commit to do your part to mend the gaps, you get to sign our buzz. our hope is like creating community, we will see the needs of others and be willing to engage in the hard work of change. amy: what do you think of what has happened to the democratic convention so far? it is been somewhat hopeful and somewhat discouraging. i was touched by the mothers of the movement. i think the issue of race is so vibrant and our society, that worries me about that approach is it is just about -- by talking about race, we usually think of folks who are people of color.

what worries me i is those who walk arounund in white skin like us, i think the real issue is that we in white skin have to worry about how to extend village to everyone, that we are not -- i am privileged. we have to figure out how to extend it to everyone. i did not feel challenge in the convention. but on the other hand, i it waso important to lift up the issue because i will say we were at the republican convention and there were hardly any people of color there. that issue was not discussed at all. at the heart of the center of our nation. and there was so much fear at the republican convention that it just drove people apart. in some ways, the democrats have been real refreshing to me, but i hunger for more. amy: donald trump said his favorite book is the bible. your response? >> i wanted to say, can you give seene quote from it and what happened. it is sad. the guy really wants to be the center of attention. always try

to do the right thing or stir up mischief. it is really not helpful. amy: on wednesday, the president addressedice america the democratic convention in philadelphia, sharing her personal story of having an abortion. >> i am a fourth generation texan. texas women are tough. we are approach challenges with clear eyes and full hearts. to succeed in life, all we need are the tools, the trust, and the chance to chart our own path. i was fortunate enough to have these things when i found out i was pregnant years ago. i wanted a family, but it was the wrong time. i made the decision that was best for me, to have an abortion and get compassionate care at a clinic in my own community.

later, my husband and i are parents to two incredible children. my story is not unique. about one in three american women have abortions by the age of 45, and the majority are mothers just trying to take care of the families they are ready have. you see, it is not as simple as bad girls s get abortions anandd gigirls have families. we are t the same women at different times in our lives, each making decisions that are best for us. succeed,, families to we start by empowering women. give us accurate information and access to health care. keep politicians out of our business when we are not ready to parent, and support us when we are. that is what gives our families

the best chance to get ahead and stay ahead. and that is what hillary clinton has spent decades fighting for. donald trump -- he is different. he said women who have abortions like me should be punished. he calls women pigs and says breast-feeding is disgusting. now some people think he doesn't really mean any of that. but look at who he picked for vp. mike pence led the charge to defund planned parenthood, push to let hospitals turn a woman away if she needs anan abortiono save her life, and signed the bill with some of the most courageous abortion restrictions in the country. he has even said he can't wait to send roe vs wade into the ash

heap of history. together, donald trump and mike pence have united to form the againisogyny great ticket. amy: that was ilyse hogue. our guest today is sister simone campbell. sister simone campbell has led a caravan of nuns for the last three weeks as they travel across the country. she is executive director of network lobby for catholic social justice. talkinge that ilyse about her own experience of abortion is the first time a woman addressed that from a convention floor. >> that's true. as far as i know, that's true. i think what was touching and compelling was her speaking of her reality and saying that it is not the bad girls, it is all women that have this struggle. looking at the abortion issue that is so divisive in our attempting tois

be divisive in our nation, the thing that we need to face is that women choose abortion often or most often because they don't have economic options. i think the shock of our nation is that we claim to be -- some claim to be pro-life, but they are really only pro-birth. they don't do what is necessary to support women in carrying a baby to term with providing maternity leave or, you know, parental leave, providing reasonable cost childcare. the litany goes on and on. if we were really serious about being pro-life, we would not look just at birirth. from my perspective, i don't think it is a good policy to outlaw a abortion. i ththink let's focus on economc development for women and economic opportunity. that is what really mamakes the change. in the last 10 years, abortion in all of the population has gone down except in the lowest

20%. and you go to donald trump suggesting women should be punished for abortion and his choice of governor pence as is running mate? >> to me, it is horrifying. challenge is for women striving to care for their families, the urgent necessity of being able to feed children means that you're going to make tough choices sometimes. i don't think it is a good choice. failing ouris families. amy: some people might be surprised to hear a nun saying this. >> i know. probably. the fact is, when you visited with parents with families that have had to make these terrible choices, they are not outlaws. they are not bad. they are working in a very stressful situation to make the best choices for their families. nobody likes this choice. debbie says, "oh, i will go have

n at abortion. that will be fun." stop the political organizing on both sides and let's focus onon caring for families.. amy: what is the role of the church and politics? >> pope francis, it is abundantly clear, he says what we need is a healthy engagement because we bring the values of our faith to politics and it is not about a a litmus test on policy. it is about, how do we create committed he? how do we come together and find a way forward together without the violence, without the hate, without the division, without the racism? we can do it. faith is a way to nurse the roots of that commitment. i do this work because of faith, but the glorious thing is, amy, as you know too well, it is the constitution that makes the difference in our -- amy: what is the polling of catholic voters say about positions on issues like

abortion? >> actually, on the issues of abortion, catholic polling is quite -- quite follows the general public. however, what is happening is more catholics are identifying, concerned about the needs for the poor than needs for those who are left out. i think that is going to be thee big story in this election, that pope francis catholics, those catholics started by our current hope, are going g to have a much broader perspective than the culture wars. amy: what difference has pope francis made and what -- where does he stand on nuns and women's ordination in the catholic church? >> that is the piece that many of us wish he would really decide on, our side. but the fact is, what put princess is doing is creating dialogue in our church. ironically, dialogue has been sorely missing. where we are now, it has h priord a lot wit leadership is that i think

the pope says we need healthy politics and we are to be bridges to each other, not walls. that is what we believe in that is why we're doing this meant the gap tour, to be a bridge to those -- amy: explain mend the gaps. >> healing the income and wealth disparity in our nation, healing the democracy gap where people are pushed out of voting, where they can't vote, healing the health care gap, healing the citizenship gap where ourur immigrant population are pushed to the margins because we willfully refuse to fix our broken immigration system and fifinally to heal the gap and housing. our housing stock has not been renewed. what we say is, if we want to be a nation that is great the way both parties want to say it is, we have got to engage these gaps. we have to make change. policy made the mess. policy can fix it.

amy: governor tim kaine of virginia, in 1980 served as the missionary and worked with jazz jesuits in honduras during the killing of many hondurans, a kind of staging ground for the contra war in nicaragugua. what you know about tim kaine then? >> i don't a lot. i do know he talks about working in his small little club low and that he did teach -- pueblo and he did teach young people alternative skills. one of his concerns was teenagers would not get caught up in the cycle of violence, but would have some economic opportunities, some economic skills. i don't know the details of it and how it fit in with the war, but what i do know is now his heart is broken by the violence in honduras, salvador, and guatemala, and those kids on our border are in direct response to that violence.

and i know that violence is in direct response to u.s. policies , so i say, well, hopefully, in his briefings, he will get additional awareness of the challenge of our trade policy as well as the challenge of our military policy. amy: hank johnson, introduced a --olution to stop funding stop all military aid going to honduras right now. this follows the murder of berta caceres, the remarkable indigenous environment list who won the goldman prize among other things. yet he does not have the support from the majority of congress, doesn't the least, not to mention the democrats. hillary clinton was the secretary of state during the honduran coup that led to so much violence, which was ultimately supported by the united states, that coup. can you comment on this? >> i was recently at the carter center in atlanta and met berta caceres' -- one of her

daughters. we talked about the work she was doing. and when she was working -- what you was working for was tried to protect their indigenous people against the hydroelectric plant their introducing. and what her daughter is saying is that it is love in community that can make the differenen and it is an awareness that our sense of development is not behind her and sense of .evelopment the dislocation, the claiming of land, the pulling apart is the imposition of the u.s.-style development. and she e is begngng that it b e stopped. we are certainly -- we have supported and advocated on capitol hill to say, please, sign on to this hill and make this happen. i look forward to the opportunity to get to the campaign and encourage them to take a similar position. amy: were you had from here? > we're mentioning our people to go out across this nation and

mende in conversation to the gaps. we the people have to be the leaders we have been waiting for. the politicians follow the people because they're doing polling to see what works, so we're stirring the people up so the politicians will hear something new. amy: why do you choose to not wear a habit? >> i am wearing a blue t-shirt because it is our nuns on the bus t-shirt. it is sort of my habit. we want to walk with people and look like them, otherwise we become intimidating and separating. my call as a catholic sister iss to be among the people. that is what we do. amy: sister simone campbell is leader of nuns on the bus, a lawyer and a co-it. -- poet. she's a sister of social service and executive director of network lobby for catholic social justice. when we come back, donald trump under fire for criticizingng the parents of a muslim american

indier who died in iraq 200404. stayay with us..

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. .hzir khan and ghazala trump khzir khan speaking thursday night in philadelphia. >> donald trump, you're asking americans to trust you with their future. , have you even read the united states

constitution? [applause] you my copy. lend [applause] document, look for the words -- look for the words "liberty and equal protection of law." [applause] have you ever been to arlington cemetery? go look at the graves of brave patriots who died defending united states of america. ,ou will see all faiths genders, and ethnicities. nothing.sacrificed

-- no one [applause] problems bylve our building walls. sewing division. amy: that was khzir khan speaking on the dnc stage thursday night, beside his wife ghazala. their son, u.s. army captain humayan was posthumously awarded the bronze star and purple heart after he was killed in 2004 serving in iraq. in response to khan's speech, donald trump date fun of his wife ghazala while speaking sunday on abc. mr. trump: i saw him. he was very emotional and probably looked like a nice guy to me. at hise, if youou look

wife, shshe was standing there. she and ththing to sayay. maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything to say. you tell me, but plenty of people have written that. amy: that was donald trump speakingng on sunday. later, khzir khan responded to trump saying his a "black soul." >> he is a black soul and this is totally unfit for the leadership of this beautiful cocountry come the love and affectioion that we have receivd a friends that our beliefs, our experience in this country had been correct and posositive. the world is receiving us like we have never seen. they have seen the blackness of his character, of his soul. amy: that was khzir khan responding on cnn this weekend to donald trump. we go to san francisco right now where we are joined by executive director of muslim advocates.

welcome to democracy now! can you talk about everythining that has unfolded since thursday and hisen khzir khan wife stood up at the democratic convention and spoke about their son? >> thank you for having me, amy. let me first say i just want to thank mr. and mrs. khan for their extraordinary bravery and for theieir sacrifice. just think about the courage it takes to stand in front of millions of people while you are still grieving the loss of your son who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. we have certainly heard a lot of ignorant and hateful statements during this election cycle, but the attacks by donald trump on faithan family and their

it's a new low, and beyond the limits of human decency. i'm calling on mr. trump to do the right, decent, and honorable thing and to apologize, genuinely apologize to the khan family and to all gold star families. amy: in response, trump's running mate indiana governor mike pence wrote on facebook -- he went on to say, by suspending immigration from countries that have been compromised by terrorism or building our military, defeating isis and his source, and protecting strength on the global stage, we will reduce the likelihood that other american families will face the enduring heartbreak ofof the khn

family. he went on from there. certainly, something different than what donald trump has said. >> that is certainly very, very correct, amy. i think what we have seen year-over-year is when family members of those who have given their lives for our country speak out, sometimes even criticize our nation's leaders, the response by our nation's leaders is to treat them with honor and respect. even at the height of the iraq war, you had goldstar family members like cindy sheehan who are critical of them president bush. i don't recall president bush uttering an attack on her or her family. and that is the kind of honor and respect and character that i think all americans deserve in our commander-in-chief. amy: can you talk about donald trump's comments about mrs. khan? >> there was something really

disturbing and almost sinister in the way that he questioned why she was standing silently next to her husband during his remarks. it was almost like he was stoking fear and ignorance of islam by implying that she was silent because her husband would not let her speak or because of her faith. has made it clear repeatedly in recent days that her family, her culture, her religion has never stopped her from speaking. i think anyone who saw those remarks as the evening and saw the presentation and attribute to their son would understand why a grieving mother, a mother of -- a gold star mother would just frankly not be able to speak before millions of people. it is really disturbing that mr. so low.uld sink

amy: to blame it on her religion, that she wasn't maybe a loud to speak. >> correct. correct. amy: i want to turn back to a brief exchange between donald trump and one of his supporters earlier this month. i think it was last month. during a town hall in new hampshire. this was the question and donald trump's answer. >> just to make quickly, homeland security and jobs will stop why aren't we putting our retiree -- military retirees on that border or in tsa? get rid of all of these hibee-j abies. we did the veterans to take it. they will do it. mr. trump: and we are looking at that. "and we are looking into that" donald trump said. your response? >> what the american people need today more than ever, amy, is political leaders, especially

those who are running for the highest office in the land, to bring americans together. what makes our country great is that a group of people, diverse in every imaginable way, can come together because of our shared values of freedom, justice, and equality for all. from mr.r response trump should not have been, yeah, we're going to look at that, look and see about how we can discriminate against people. the proper response would of been a response much like one senator mccain had in 2008 when he, too, at a town hall meeting had a member of the audience question the loyalty and the faith of then senator obama and clear the record and to say, look, that is not what our country stands for. amy: farhana khera, can you talk about the donald trump campaign overall and if you can speak as executive director of muslim advocates about how it has affected the muslim community in the united states? >> i would be happy to.

in the last several months, there been a number of frankly outrageous, reckless, and are responsible statements from mr. trump attacking the american muslim community and our loyalty. it started with his statements about how he thinks there needs to be a national registry of american muslims, that american muslims perhaps need to wear special id badges. that there should be a ban on muslims entering the united states. these statements are not just statements out there in the air floating in the air, but they have had a real-life impact on muslim families and their children. mothersrd from so many and fathers over the last several months who have told heart-wrenching stories of their children being bullied at school, taunted -- not just once in a while or once a month, but sometimes several times a week. they have told stories of their young children, as young as eight years old, six years old,

coming home from school and asking their parents if they're going to have to leave the country if donald trump becomes president. that is the message that he has been spending -- sending so many of our young children across the country. it is had a very disturbing impact. i think that is why mr. khan's courage and his statements thursday evening struck such a chord with so many american muslims because i think he spoke for each of us. in just pushing back so eloquently and passionately against the central theme of mr. trump, which is questioning the loyalty of a group of americans, basically calling for disparate treatment of a group of americans, based simply on our faith. because against the core of who we are as americans. amy: i believe the pocket version of the constitution is now become a bestseller. can you tell us a little bit more about the khan's son who was killed in iraq in 2004 as he

told his fellow soldiers to step back from a suspicious vehicle, and then he moved forward and it exploded and killed him? >> i did not h have the honor of knowing humayan khan personally. but from what i have read, he demonstrated everything, i ,hink, we would want in a son in a daughter, frankly, in a fellow soldier. his bravery, his courage -- i want to flag something in particular i read about captain khan. this is when he was in college. he apparently wrote in a college essay "liberty requires vigilance and sacrifice. say "then to beneficiaries of liberty, we must keep it safe from attack." how prescient or those words by captain khan?

it reminds all of us as americans to remember the khan bye of jk capta sticking up against hate and bigotry.y. amy: do you find there iss a spike in attacks on islamic women, muslim women in this country this year? >> yes, there is been a disturbing level, a spike in hate crimes s and attacks, amy. it seems to unfortunately correlate to the right a and ths hateful rhetoric from mr. trump another presidential candidate. ofrting about the end november, early december of last year, we have been tracking an unprecedented level of hate crimes and attacks against individuals as well as against our houses of worship where men, women, and children frequent. it is not just our data, but even by the justice department's own data has shown a disturbing trend. amy: we have to leave it there.

farhana khera, thank you for being with us, executive director for muslim advocates. that does it for our show. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to ú

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