businessman, is very much in fair play, is fair game, because mitt romney has said that is essentially why he is running for president. also they're looking to some polls, including the latest nbc wall street journal polls which says 80% have a positive view, 19% has a negative view. but you're right, obama has to walk a fine line because he doesn't want to alienate anyone further. some have felt alienated by the president. >> enjoy your holiday weekend. dylan ratigan is here to take us further. how are you, sir? >> hi, craig. thank you so much. have a wonderful weekend, all right? >> sure thing.

>> the show starts right now. a lovely friday afternoon to you. nice to be seeing you. my name is, of course, dylan ratigan and i thank you for joining us on this friday before memorial weekend. happy summer-ish. it is time to reflect, of course, on the men and women who stand on the front lines on all of our behalves in defense of our security. those who cannot be here at home, those who will never return home, the fathers, the mothers, the sons, the daughters, all of those whose families cannot wait for them to come home. it is also our time to honor our veterans in a way that goes beyond saying thanks. it's a time to conjure a new mission for a huge post-war period in america, making sure that our veterans never have to fight over oil or energy independence, let alone food sustainability ever again. true independence is true security. as american families hit the road this long weekend, they, of

course, feeling one of the symptoms of our unsustainable lifestyle. high gas prices, nine out of ten americans that are driving will do so by car. that's 31 million of us, and we're paying $3.68 a gallon on average, many paying much more than that. the real cost when you add in the cost of our wars, the cost of our environmental damages. it's actually $10 higher than what we're paying at the pump. unfortunately, for too long talking about energy sustainability has simply been the road less traveled. we'll get to that this hour and a new mission to align with those most interested in maybing it happen for us. but first we go to nbc's mike vacara who is reporting from rockville, maryland in the traditional fashion of any congressional correspondent, white house correspondent, any prestigious and esteemed nbc employee wearing the traditional gash. hello, mike. >> hi, dylan.

i can't hear you because of the traffic. you'll have to speak up when you ask a question. look at this. the unemployment is low. it's not that people don't have jobs to drive to or drive home from this time of day. everybody took the day off. the traffic is exceptionally light here. the peak of the traffic on friday is usually earlier in the day. dylan, this is what aaa says the price of gas is. i know you'll have your interpretation of it, i know you just heard it. we just heard your very forceful presentation. $3.67 a gallon, if you can believe it. it's actually lower than it was a year ago, and the result is, part of the upshot is, that at least a record number of people will be traveling 50 miles from their home this memorial day weekend, and 90% of them will be driving. they won't be going as far as normal, as calculated by aaa, but 34.8 million americans

traveling, 31 million of whom will be in their automobiles. the price of has gone down. just a month ago a year ago it was higher. gas prices peaked sooner this year. it's now settling in. people are getting back in their cars as evidenced by the travel plans this weekend, dylan. >> all right. listen, joining us to interpret the vibe, the cultural vibrations, the sentiment, the actual sensation among the electorate as we head to the summer. our memorial day panel. you're sort of a vibed master in your own right, toure, from the music world. you are on the vanguard of the vibe, if you will.

>> the rolling stones. >> there is a video that goes with that, isn't there? >> so if you were to sort of interpret the sensation, if you will, of going into yet another summer, school is getting out, there has been a lot of strife and debate and all the rest of this for a long time, how would you read the sort of vibe tea leaves to the presidential aspirins, both the incumbent and the challanger. >> the economic numbers keep getting a little bit better. >> is that how people feel or is that a number? >> that is a number that people feel based on that, right? and people will partly vote for the presidency based on what are the gas prices at. that's a little bit from reality because -- >> but it reflects how you feel. >> it reflects how we feel. the president doesn't do a lot of things we will judge him on,

all right? the job numbers keep getting a little bit better. we keep getting positive news for the president, and we keep getting this tin ear from mitt romney. doesn't understand the slrks e ibe, so i would say the vibe continues to go, the new cycle continues to favor the president. >> over here? do you agree with that? >> i think vibes matter, and i think the vibe that we see from memorial day to labor day is all about your personal pocketbook and your feelings. most political news does not break through in this period. most people are not junkies, and until you get back to the general election in september, you have this sort of freeze. i do think, in all seriousness, toure was right.

if you see people factoring in gas prices of what it costs to go on vacation, they decide whether they're going down the road to see grandma and grandpa, or they do something else, they go a national park or something else, and as those decisions are made, i think it matters whether a lot of people feel like they have to tighten the belt or not. to toure's point, i think they'll feel better. >> if you'll remember, the vibe changed and it changed extremely dramatically. europe is in a state of -- >> a real vibe problem there. >> there's a real vibe problem. and so, you know, it could change in a moment. and the impact on the economy here would be pretty dramatic, so i don't think we can really say. if it was held today, i think it would favor the president. who knows when we get there. >> we're in the pre-season. romney is not even a couple yet,

he's just one man. he hasn't even chosen a vice president yet. caution with all these numbers. >> at the 92nd street, we did a greedy bastards book event, and one of the things we were talking about, obviously, was our own security. we've been at war 11 years. we have a war in this country that has a black man in prison. we have all these layers of sort of disaster rgs , in a sense. why is it he picks a democratic president rather than a republican candidate despite that a number of people want it over. i think i finally came out as the partisan hack that i actually am and explained the dim difference between the democrats and the republicans. take a listen. >> if we could all get fired up about at least some of the

things i'm talking about, we're more than likely to make -- and i hate to say this because it sounds like i'm uninformed. but we could more likely make the democrats do somewhat of what i want to do. >> vote for your president, vote for the democrats. they'll do a little more that you want. who is in? >> it was a hit last night. as i said, i've come out now as a partisan hack. the slogan for 2012 is woe for us. >> if you care about the financial regulation in this country or the national security state or the way that we prosecute the war on drugs and incarcerate people and just grind people through that process, even for lockup

offenses, r on all those punish punishes. on the other hand, if you care about a woman's right to choose, making decisions about her body or with her doctor, or if you care about winding down the war in iraq, which i think is something that has a clear difference between the last administration and one, there are other issues between it all. >> there are substance in terms of their intent. the republican party said on day one on the president's inauguration that their entire goal was to make sure he got nothing done. only one of the parties held the country hostage and forced the downgrade of our credit and literally, i mean, made it so it was entirely possible we were going to default for no reason other than to prove a political point. so that is a real substantive difference between the parties,

but where you're right and where it's so important wi understand this, is we can't rely on politicians to get it done. there is no magic bullet, no whatever. we have to take control. . that we don't have a power, that we don't have a voice. we can makemake. >> i've known russell for a long time. the idea that democrats will make the art of history bend toward justice, and i think that we have tried to see history in that way. i think especially in the war on drugs issue, that's been an

issue that the republicans have pushed from nixon to reagan to where clinton had to accept their language just to get elected, he had to say, i'm not being out crimed by anybody. he was pulled toward that public stance on that issue because of years of public rule. if we had elected a michael dukakis, perhaps, or walter mon dale, perhaps that whole thing would be different. we are, especially as black people we like justice -- >> are you suggesting black people have a distinct desire for justice as opposed to the rest? >> no, i'm not at all. >> the panel stays up next on this special show. >> we'll document the front lines of war to a bruising battle on the return home. also ahead, setting out our

veterans on a new mission. sustainability, my friends, equals security. >> very heros. plus, a wink and go a prayer. how it could help america's most stealthiest fighters get even stealthier. please stay with us. [ male announcer ] when this hotel added aflac to provide a better benefits package... oahhh! [ male announcer ] it made a big splash with the employees. [ duck yelling ] [ male announcer ] find out more at... [ duck ] aflac! [ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.com. ♪ ha ha! whose non-stop day starts with back pain... and a choice.

take advil now and maybe up to four in a day. or choose aleve and two pills for a day free of pain. way to go, coach. ♪ you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. they say, "well, if you wanted a firm bed you can lie on one of those. if you want a soft bed you can lie on one of those." we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. welcome to the sleep number memorial day sale. where you can celebrate our 25-year commitment to a single mission: better sleep for both of you. this is your body there. you can see a little more pressure in the hips. take it up one notch. oh gosh, yes. when you're playing around with that remote, you get that moment where you go, "oh yeah" oh, yeah! ... and it's perfect. they had no idea that when they came to a sleep number store, we were going to diagnose their problems and help them sleep better. and right now, you can save 40% on our innovative sleep number silver edition bed-for a limited time. plus receive special financing on selected beds through memorial day.

once you experience it, there's no going back. wow. hurry in to the sleep number memorial day sale only at the sleep number store, where queen mattresses start at just $699. but last year my daughter was checking up on me. i wasn't eating well. she's a dietitian and she suggested i try boost complete nutritional drink to help get the nutrition i was missing. now i drink it every day, and i love the great taste. [ female announcer ] boost has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to help keep bones strong and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. all with a delicious taste. your favorite patient is here! [ dad ] i choose great taste. i choose boost.

unbelievable. so you come home and you're constantly stressed out because of all this crap. makes me want to lose my fricking mind. it's just like, my god. i would rather be in afghanistan. >> that's sergeant nathan harris transitioning back home to north carolina captured by our specialist camera in the oscar-nominated film "hell and back again." he shaurz a story about how he was injured in afghanistan, and now through this film, the entire world gets to hear it. >> my legs work right now. they just have a cast because there's a metal bar in my knee to my hip holding it together. it don't look bad but it's tore up. >> can i give you a hug? >> oh, yeah. yeah.

thank you. >> i'm so sorry. >> it's okay. it's okay. >> we welcome back to the show as our specialist filmmaker. "hell and back again" appears on monday, may 28. i welcome you to check it out. pbs local listings. what is the experience that you are offering us through your work? >> i've been working as a photo journalist in iraq and afghanistan for a number of years, and even though my images were published, i felt like they weren't able to convey that experience, so i moved into video. in july of 2009, i was put with the company 208 of the marine division. we were dropped 18 kilometres behind energy lines and surrounded by taliban in surg s ents -- insurgents. a dozen had been killed, many

had collapsed and run out of water. i met sergeant harris and that's where we first met. >> in that clip, he said he wanted to be back in afghanistan. why is that? because life is boring now, he wants to be back in afghanistan? >> i rejoined mr. harris six months later, and the marines were coming home to these emotional reunions. and i noticed he wasn't getting off. i said, where is sergeant harris? i learned that he had been hit. i called him up. he was just released from a naval hospital, had been shot, was in severe pain. yet he invited me to his home town in north carolina. he introduced me to his family and friends as, this guy was out there with me. instantly i was accepted into this rural baptist community and

essentially lived with him and his wife ashley during his recovery and saw that coming home from war is actually much more difficult than what happens on the battlefield. it's an entirely new struggle, one that's very personal, one very psychological. and being back in the field is something that is smission is. where at home it's very complex. >> you mentioned his wife ashley. how did -- how was their relationship changed by his experience? and as a corollary, do you have some advice for family members who are accepting someone back in and trying to help them with that readjustment? >> his wife ashley became his full-time caretaker. she had to learn how to cope with this man coming home from war. he had just come back from this world of life and death and blood and guts to one where it seemed like everyone was shopping. that's a very difficult transition. so she had to bear this burden just as much as he did. and so it was a very difficult

job to be there, and so she had this extreme patience. she's like this angel, always there for him no matter what he's going through, she stuck by his side. >> ari? >> they say all war is hell, but there's different kinds of wars and we have wars here that don't have defined military endings and we still have terrorist enemies, wherever they may be. did you feel or pick up in your work and your recording a sense of actual frustration to that aspect of homecoming or it was really more the daily struggles you've been telling us about? >> right, the coming home aspect and having to deal with this transition, it's something that one has to go through very personally. i brought a lot of my own personal experience into this. you come back and you're emotionally numb. it's very difficult to connect with anyone. it's a sense that you've got to go back in where you understand that personal mission where you understand the guy next to you is fighting by your side. and so this transition is

something that it's hard to understand, and i hope i can share a little bit through this work done. >> well, congratulations, and i think you already have. so we thank you for that, and more importantly, i suspect that a lot of the veterans who either feel they're put on a pedestal because they're being made into a hero or were put into some sort of victim slate who really are missing what you offer, which is a human experience, which is as a dude, as a sister, as a brother, how you doing? and that, ironically, i think is the most missing component in the culture is not the distance it's created of the hero worship and/or the victimization, but just to actually connect with other human beings and do these things. and i think that you've done an incredible job of representing that. so congratulations. thank you guys as well. you're going to stick around and play later. you guys have a wonderful weekend. coming up next here, the accomplishment that would

impress even the most bad ass navy seal, after this. [ groans ] [ marge ] psst. constipated? phillips' caplets use magnesium, an ingredient that works more naturally with your colon than stimulant laxatives, for effective relief of constipation without cramps. thanks. good morning, students. today we're gonna continue...

oh. let's go. from the crack, off the backboard. [ laughs ] dad! [ laughs ] whoo! oh! you're up! oh! oh! so close! now where were we? ok, this one's good for two. score! [ male announcer ] share what you love with who you love. kellogg's frosted flakes. they're gr-r-eat!

have you ever wanted to jump out of a plane without a parachute, just fly around? it's not impossible, but have you ever wanted to jump out of a plane without a parachute and do it a second time? that was pretty much out of the question until jerry connery came on the scene in a squirrel suit, landed safely, no parachute. if you're thinking to yourself, gee, that seems pretty dangerous, you're correct. the only other person to do this did not survive. there you go, there's gary, attempting a stunt that at the time had a 100% fatality rate. gary cut that sucker in half. connery landed on a pile of nearly 120,000 cardboard boxes and walked away unharmed. take a gander. >> it's been an amazing

experience, and it was so comfortable, so soft, my calculations have obviously worked out, and i'm glad they did. >> obviously the man is no amateur. he's done nearly 900 skydives, 440 base jumps, and he's performed stunts in everything from "harry potter" to "die another day" to "batman begins." but can you imagine our navy s.e.a.l.s jumping out of planes? just when they couldn't get any more bad ass. when we turn from the edge of possibility to a leap of faith, we turn to a leap into our future for our veterans. hiring heroes to work for energy and food sustainability so that they never have to fight wars like those that they have in recent years again. a d.r. show special report, straight ahead. ok! who gets occasional constipation,

diarrhea, gas or bloating? get ahead of it! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defend against digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. hit me! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'.

and also to build my career. so i'm not about to always let my frequent bladder urges, or the worry my pipes might leak get in the way of my busy lifestyle. that's why i take care, with vesicare. once-daily vesicare can help control your bladder muscle and is proven to treat overactive bladder with symptoms of frequent urges and leaks day and night. if you have certain stomach or glaucoma problems, or trouble emptying your bladder, do not take vesicare. vesicare may cause allergic reactions that may be serious. if you experience swelling of the face, lips, throat or tongue, stop taking vesicare and get emergency help. tell your doctor right away if you have severe abdominal pain,

or become constipated for three or more days. vesicare may cause blurred vision, so use caution while driving or doing unsafe tasks. common side effects are dry mouth, constipation, and indigestion. i've worked hard to get to where i am... and i've got better places to go than always going to the bathroom. so take charge of your symptoms by talking to your doctor and go to vesicare.com for a free trial offer. like a ramen noodle- every-night budget. she thought allstate car insurance was out of her reach. until she heard about the value plan. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate.

as our nation starts to draw down the wars overseas, a million veterans will enter civilian life during the next five years, one of the largest post-war periods in this country's certainly recent history and, really, history. so this memorial day weekend, we are focusing on the next mission facing our war heroes. >> we all know our service members and returning veterans are committed to our national security. but that extends beyond the battlefield. after leaving the military, our veterans are putting their skills to work to ensure future generations never again go to war over resources. on the d.r. show, we've been focusing on energy sustainability with general perez. but there's more to it. it also depends on having sustainable food supplies. these two things, sustainable energy and sustainable food, are what the nations are fighting

over. our returning marines know it and they're doing something about it. we checked in with liz for a status report since we first met in washington. first the sustainable energy. they're the ones that gave liz her post-war training and now they're working with other vets from camp pendleton for a clean energy future. >> the skills, the training and the discipline they get in the armed forces traditionally is a good fit for the skills that are needed in this arena. you need somebody who is able to get a job done. >> we're hoping to build this community of what we call energy heroes, people who feel connected to the military, really care about changing the way our nation uses energy. >> we then headed over to the answer innovation center where liz's class of veterans are preparing their pitches and meeting with potential investors. >> i feel it's three times my responsibility to connect veterans with work. you can train all day long, but

if there isn't a job at the end, what's the use? >> then it was my turn. >> i think there is a misunderstanding in america that perceives military training as an exclusively war-based skill set, which is completely wrong, and you guys know that. >> with the veteran population that we have, we have proven that we can take veterans and we can even take civilians to come in and be trained to the level of necessity. but it takes resources to be able to do that. >> the good news? there are financiers waiting to collect. this guy brought people with him to switzerland. >> we don't have direct access to the veterans, so this is a natural link for us. >> a lot of these military vets have a lot of great skills that they've learned through their service activities and also a lot of motivation because green

technology is awfully important even to our national security as well. a lot of our energy is dependent upon foreign sources of oil, and that dependency can be a major cause of conflict. so i think a lot of military vets also know and acknowledge this and are extremely motivated along with the rest of us to define this problem and find alternative sources of energy. >> that's when i met this military couple. he and his wife karen sustain farming, another pillar of national security. they are literally betting the farm on fellow vets. >> if you look at the human sacrifice made by these people, it is better than the 22% unemployment rate, and we'll find the taxpayer spending $1 million, i think we can capitalize on that when they

come home and turn these guys into entrepreneurs. the amount of americans who have asked to volunteer in any war, less than 1%, and they go back and back and back because so few have volunteered. it's going to be those few willing to take the risk in the proo private sector of creating small businesses. >> joining us from san diego, petty officer liz perez. nice to see you on tv, liz. >> nice to see you, dylan. if i was there, i would give you a knuckle for all that you're doing. >> it's not hard to do. all you have to do is show up and talk to you and the folks you're working with and put a camera on it, and all i have to do is get out of the way and let everybody see what you're doing. give us a sense of why you're having so much success, and then we're going to get a little bit into what you've done, but give us a sense of why you think the

energy is so supportive, the collaboration of veterans at camp pendleton, all the veterans that are so many more than on this tv show right now. why do you think the response is so powerful right now? >> definitely the military is embracing it, and the military is a leader in sustainability and that driving force towards clean energy, advancement, technology and then right here in san diego, as i mentioned back in austin, the navy has developed the navy's great green fleet initiative, and that's to advance a biofuel. so as the military is going green, we have veterans that are gearing up and getting trained to be a part of that work force. >> i would never have expected to come out and meet a bunch of marine veterans that you introduce me to and have them explain to me that real men grow their own plants. it was a different interpretation of macho. how has sustainability really found itself to the center of

the security conversation? >> well, just like myself, dylan, a lot of us have spent many times, in fact, on deployment. i'm second gulf war, my father served in the first gulf war, and we came back learning that something kneeledneeded to chan. sustainability equals security. >> to that end, and i shared this with other people. i give a lot of talks, i get to travel around, i have this book tour, things i get to talk about. i had a conversation with you and your veteran group february or march and we talked about formalizing ideas in sort of the venture capital model, how poechl communica people communicate and all this.

what is it about veterans that when they talk about doing something, then you come back two months later and look at all the things that you've done since texas. you go down the list and you've got this swiss guy who has a bunch of money, you've got the one-roof energy project, you have the project for 950 contractors, new fast track courses for veteran start-ups, testified at the capitol will efficiency. i can keep going. what is it about your culture and veteran culture that these conversations lead to lists like this where, in a lot of other parts of american culture, there just isn't that degree of follow-through, quite honestly. >> as a veteran and being able to experience definite regions, particularly in my experience in the middle east and the mediterranean sixth fleet, i think it's my responsibility as a veteran to come home and use

my experience to develop different programs here in the united states. and also to tell our stories. there are several veterans, and i think we feed off of each other. we're excited because through all that tragedy, there's also some good that can come out of that, and what we can do to embrace that and embrace each other and our stories and do something positive. because we understand that, yes, we're that 1%, but at the same token, we're beyond that 1%, because we have the ambition, the determination, and we are strong and capable and can do this. and right now i have at least 17 students as entrepreneurs to the coffman fast track courses and they're ready to get out there and become america's next work force. we're hungry, we're ready, let's do it. >> it's clear, the ball is in our court, and we're ready to catch it. it wasn't, of course, just liz perez. it requires a massive

participation for a project like this and collective cooperation. liz will stay with the expansion of that mission. a visit with our very own corporate colonel on energy. he's in the house matching our veterans. like liz perez with the jobs that can bring all of us the sort of sustainable culture that all of us know is central to our global security, the former boss at shell joins liz and myself to talk about what happens next, after this. if you are one of the millions of men who have used androgel 1%, there's big news. presenting androgel 1.62%. both are used to treat men with low testosterone. androgel 1.62% is from the makers of the number one prescribed testosterone replacement therapy. it raises your testosterone levels, and... is concentrated, so you could use less gel.

and with androgel 1.62%, you can save on your monthly prescription. [ male announcer ] dosing and application sites between these products differ. women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or, signs in a woman which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in acne, possibly due to accidental exposure. men with breast cancer or who have or might have prostate cancer, and women who are, or may become pregnant or are breast feeding should not use androgel. serious side effects include worsening of an enlarged prostate, possible increased risk of prostate cancer, lower sperm count, swelling of ankles, feet, or body, enlarged or painful breasts, problems breathing during sleep, and blood clots in the legs. tell your doctor about your medical conditions and medications, especially insulin, corticosteroids, or medicines to decrease blood clotting. talk to your doctor today about androgel 1.62% so you can use less gel. log on now to androgeloffer.com and you could pay as little as ten dollars a month for androgel 1.62%.

what are you waiting for? this is big news. are you guys okay? yeah. ♪ [ man ] i had a great time. thank you, it was really fun. ♪ [ crash ] i'm going to write down my number, but don't use it. [ laughing ] ♪ [ engine turns over ] [ male announcer ] the all-new subaru impreza®. experience love that lasts. ♪ olaf's pizza palace gets the most rewards of any small business credit card! pizza!!!!!

[ garth ] olaf's small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! put it on my spark card! [ high-pitched ] nice doin' business with you! [ garth ] why settle for less? great businesses deserve the most rewards! awesome!!! [ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one. choose unlimited rewards with 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase, every day! what's in your wallet? or double miles on every purchase, every day! 11 years playing the outfield, and i got no plans to retire. [ female announcer ] aging may slow a dog down, but iams helps keep dogs playing year after year with our age-specific nutrition. and now, even for dogs 11 and older with new iams senior plus. it helps boost the immune response to that of an adult dog and helps fight signs of aging. [ dog ] i'll never be a bench-warmer. [ female announcer ] new iams senior plus. see the iams difference or your money back. [ dog ] i am an iams dog for life.

we are focusing on our veterans' transition home, post war and a national security mission that ties directly with the mission they've already been fighting on our behalf. they were the half of the percent that were willing to enroll in our wars where many of us simply would never do that. those people are the same people crazy enough to give us sustainable food and energy, i'm sure of it. two pillars of national security. we first, however, must understand what actual leadership means in the context of actually getting things done in this culture. so while we're in san diego, we had a chance to sit with a retired marine who gave 30 years of service, rose to the rank of colonel, a man who truly knows how to lead. >> from day one, everyone understands you lead by example. that's the hardest thing for people to get, because if you get to the highest levels, power

krupt corrupts. the power of leadership is taking action and putting it into ideas, making people synergize. it's not about me, it's all about the group. i think in the military, specifically in the marine corps a lot, we teach that from day one, and that's something we could use on a national level, and probably internationally right now. >> from a military colonel to a corporate colonel, joining us now, john hoffmeiser, founder of the city of energy. you remember liz? >> hi, john. >> can you believe the list? >> fantastic. fantastic. >> you better be careful, they say they're going to do something, they're going to do it. your thoughts on what happens next in an undertaking like this, knowing that investment in sustainable energy is naturally a disadvantage to an investment in hydrocarbons, because

hydrocarbons are like buying something that always pays me. i invest in sustainable energy, sustainable solar, it doesn't pay me necessarily, but we know it goes beyond the economic returns of owning an oil well. >> i look at the new technology, the innovations of clean tech. i do a lot of clean tech seminars in my out reach, but i'm also linked to traditional energy. we could spend a trillion dollars a year remaking our energy system in this country with private money. not a penny of government support would be needed. a trillion dollars. you know we have the biggest energy system in the world? we also have the oldest energy system in the world and it's getting creeaky. if people knew what they were actually paying to put gasoline in their tank, they're wasting 80% of their money because the internal combustion engine is inherently 20% inefficient. if people realized that, they

would be looking at alternatives so much more rapidly, a whole remake of the automotive system cook right up there on the horizon if we had a few changes in the way in which cars were built. the new fuel efficiency would be great for using less oil, but there's just a whole energy remake if we could ever get our heads around a comprehensive holistic energy plan. >> but if we look at the assets we do have post war america with rosy the riveter with liz perez, right, in this generation, not to mention, again, you go out there, she'll introduce you to a few hundred other folks, and i'm sure they can introduce you to a few thousand more at camp pendleton. you exist. there's the original rosy the riveter. liz introduced me to her. 102 years old, no kidding.

with what we have, what is the next best thing for me totd, the next best thing for liz to do, what can we do to advance the work started in austin this winter? >> i think what liz is doing is getting people excited about energy. i'm trying to do the same thing. energy is short on talent. it's actually short on talent all across the nation. jobs are going begging in places like north carolina examine texch -- and texas right now. liz introduced us to a lot of energy jobs, they're taught how to learn and they know discipline. if you're going to work in energy, you need both. you need to keep learning because the technology is always changing, you need discipline because you cannot take risks in the energy space. >> what are your next steps, liz? what can we do to help? >> well, what we're developing here, our next steps, is developing the first military clean tech hub, and we've acquired about 4,000 square foot of facility that we're looking

to make into more of like an r and d, research and development center for transitioning veterans to come out. and also focusing on start-ups and clean energy sector and cleantech sector. we're looking to renovate, that's the first step, and again, as john mentioned, is to continue to get people excited about t. there is a movement here. there's something changing. a lot of things are going on, things are happening. it's a great energy that we have here, veterans transitioning out, and we're focused and we're determined, yes, that at the end of the day, all of the training has to match to jobs. and this is why i partnered with other companies that as we're done training, whether they're focused on -- whether it's with our firm or other firms, we need to match the veterans, individuals, with the jobs. you can train all day long but if there isn't a job at the end, what good is that? we need companies that's looking for that talent, that's hungry for a trained work force, that's

what we need. there is a gap there and we're trying to bridge that gap. >> you're talking about these open jobs in texas. is there an opportunity whether it's partnering with the navy base and say, we will fund the transitional training. one thing i learned from liz and her fellow veterans is the credentials we give our veterans in the military do not transfer out, so that we invest all this training in petty officer perez or whoever the officer o or enlistee is, but the training does not translate to -- we're a bunch of idiots. and there's basically a 10 to 15% incremental training, perhaps, between whatever the military credential and nobody is filling that gap. >> there are a number of enlightened companies that we need to build upon.

i met the energy collaborative committee. it's cleantech, it's traditional energy, and there are probably three or four energy companies represented one way or another on this committee. and we talked about this specifically. and what we have to do is find how to connect in a communicating way the people who are interested in work to the companies that are looking for people to come work for them. that's not a hard process in this day and age of social networking. we just have to get the web-enabled activity going. that to me would be another next step, is to get the web-enabled activity to get the people where the jobs are. >> perhaps we could have a meeting on television to get liz and other folks together and actually talk about it. >> come to one of my collaborative meetings. you would meet people who do this for a living. >> it would be great to meet you, john. at the end of the day, my motivation as a female veteran and as a mother are my children. samantha and ethan.

i do this every day for them because i want them to live in a better place. that's what we're trying to create. coming back home, i see whait it's like and things do not change. >> i dare them to stand in your way, liz, i dare them! they won't do it. liz perez, john hoffmeister. we'll take a break. this just a small chapter of a multiple undertaking in this country as all of us, ceos, veterans, shareholders, it doesn't matter, to equate sustainability with the realization that we have the answer in our hands, we simply have to organize ourselves to do it, and that, i'm quite glad to say, is happening. thank you, john. thank you, liz. >> thank you, dylan, for everything. >> thank you. ♪ america, america, may god shed

his grace on you ♪ ♪ to hold success, enormous extra strength bayer advanced aspirin. in fact, in a recent survey, 95% of people who tried it agreed that it relieved their headache fast. visit fastreliefchallenge.com today for a special trial offer.

toure once again. hosting the last five minutes of the dylan ratigan show. to turn the tables on the one and only, my favorite guest, to understand a little bit more how sustainability equals security. dylan, what i'm interested in, because a lot of ideas rise into

your brain and you get very passionate about them. what is the epiphany that made this rise to the top of your brain and say, this is what we have to do the show about and tell america all about? >> i've been doing this show three years, two national road shows, all the stuff with banks, and you start to realize there is just two categories of things. there are things that are outrages that we can't do anything about. the banks are screwed up, tax codes totally crazy, all these things, right? a black man is out of control, picket. those are the things we have to raise awareness to. i thought i was going to fix them. terrible idea. but you can help people become more aware of it. but there are other things we can do things about. you don't have to argue with the government about it, you don't have to do anything. those are things like best practices in our schools, best practices in our hospitals, 5% in the hospital, go down the

list. but if you look at everything, what is the one thing that kills the most birds with one stone? america has trained, invested millions, billions of dollars into training young men and women to be the best in the world at scaling and working together on missions to do things, in this case whether it's getting supplies to afghanistan, whether it's humanitarian issues, kicking doors down at war, we've trained these people. simultaneously, why are we doing all this? oh, it's because there's global insecurity around food and energy. there is food and energy insecurity in the middle east. why are we going to war? connect the dots, right? now you have all these veterans coming home, largest post war moment in recent history. they all want to solve this problem and yet nobody is going to the veterans and saying, i

respect your skill. i respect your training and i respect that what you have been trained to do is provide national security. people think you've been trained for war, but you've been trained to provide for national security. >> so if there is another way to provide national security, that's what we should do. >> and those are the guys. >> and that is planting gardens and providing energy around the world? >> yes, global deployment of sustainable food and energy practices on a customized basis around the world. >> is this really going to end war globally, making sure everybody has -- >> i have no idea. who am i to say. i could never answer that question. i could simply say if you look at the history of war that they are much more difficult for conflict to emerge, it's much more difficult to convince a young man to take up a gun, to risk their own life, to go out in search of predatory instincts in the face of an abundant

supply of food and energy. it's very difficult. if you can get on the internet, if you can turn the lights on, if you can eat, if you can enjoy that level of stability, very difficult to go to war. >> i have to say, once again you have used your show for something bigger than just listen to me but to promote a really smart idea. >> thanks. >> i like that. now, coming up right now, "hardball" is up next. >> rebirth of a notion. birtherrism is back. let's play some "hardball." good evening. i'm michael smir -- smerconish and filling in for chris matthews. donald trump is at it again claiming falsely that president obama admitted to a book publisheat