it would be the right thing to do given what they're saying about the other guy. don't you think? that's "hardball" for now, thank you for being with us. "the ed show" with ed schultz starts right now. good evening americans. welcome to "the ed show" from new york. 92 days before the 2012 election. republicans are calling harry reid a dirty liar and mitt romney is using america's heroes to tell a real dirty lie in ohio. >> another horrific massmereder in ohio. this is "the ed show." let's get to work. >> i'm not going to respond to a dirty liar. >> the hits keep coming from senator harry reid. leader pelosi and the white house. tonight, congressman john gar ami amindy on mitt romney's never-ending tax nightmare. >> any effort to impede the right of our military members

overseas or here domestically voting would be an extraordinary violation. >> mitt romney is hiding behind the military to suppress the vote in ohio. former ohio governor ted strickland has the latest. >> and the president comes out for renewing the assault weapons ban in the wake of the massacre in wisconsin. mark of the southern poverty law center says his group has been tracking the alleged white spremmest for ten years. mark joins me tonight. good to have you with us. thanks for watching. good to be back with you. republicans have a new public enemy number one and his name is harry reid. the senate majority leader started a firestorm in washington last week when he said he had a source that told him mitt romney didn't pay any taxes for ten years. the chairman of the republican party kept the fire burning on the talking heads. >> i'm not going to respond to a dirty liar who hasn't filed a single page of tax returns

himself, complains about people with money but lives in the ritz-carlton here down the street. if that's on the agenda, i'm not going to go there. >> across the airwaves, republicans could not contain their outrage over what harry reid said. >> what he did on the floor of the senate is so out of bounds, i think he's lying about his statement. >> this is obama's modus operandi. and romney isn't divorced. hopefully his vice presidential candidate won't be divorced. it's always dirty politics. >> harry reid doesn't have any evidence, either. >> even the members of the main stream media were in disbelief over the allegations coming from the senate majority leader. >> harry reid doubled down on this. he went on the floor of the senate and said, well, you know, it's out there that he hasn't paid ten years. its orlany out there because harry reid said it two days ago without any evidence whatsoever. >> i take it from your answer you're not going to repudiate the charge. >> if chicago wanted reid to

stop, he would stop, but they don't. >> if republicans hoped a full force push back on harry reid would shut him up, they rur pistaken. they called the republican noise makers a bunch of cowards and henchmen for romney. liberals, are they fighting good enough now? reid weighs in saying the whole controversy would end very quickly if mitt romney would just release his income tax returns just like everybody else who returns for president. today marked the fifth time he reiterated his initial charges. he refuses to slow down and the president's top advisers are not asking reid to hit the brakes. >> as governor romney's father pioneered the release of tax returns when he ran for president, gave out 12 yearoffs tax returns because he said one year can be misleading. what is it he's hiding. >> i have never seen anyone jump through more hoops to say, a, he's lying, and not put out a

document to prove what the real truth is. >> only senator reid knows hisource, and i would refer you to that. >> there's a big reason why no one in the democratic party is telling him to reveal his source or keep his mouth shut. here's why. >> at the end of the day, you come to a point where you basically give a little more and move forward. he's got to do that. two years is not enough, obviously. >> that was top republican strategist ed rowlands. after all of the debate, members of the republican party are still calling on mitt romney to release more tax returns. mitt romney is the only person who can actually prove harry reid is wrong. all he needs to do is release his tax returns. they're calling harry reid a liar. isn't that dirty politics? what's the truth? we don't know if reid has told any lies, do we? if the gop needs a reminder about telling lies for political gain, they should watch this vid videotape. >> we should not have a

government program that determines who is going to pull the flplug on grandma. >> senator grassley's lie on death panels, almost killed the health care reform bill in america and cost many members of congress their jobs. it was an outright lie. and here is governor rick scott of florida talking about the stimulus package. >> she clearly believes in obama care, she believes in the stimulus and it's not created one private sector job. >> they created up to 1.3 million jobs according to the congressional budget office, but governor rick scott lied and the republicans kept the lie going. on the day mitt romney continued to openly lie about president obama's jobs report. >> we listened to him over the last several months. and there was nothing new. >> nothing new except an entire bill called the american jobs act. it would create nearly 2 million jobs, but republicans continue

to say that president obama has no jobs plan. in fact, it seems like the only time republicans have told the truth in the last two years is when mitch mcconnell senate leader said this. >> our top political priority over the next two years should be to deny president obama a second term. >> republicans can continue to call harry reid a dirty liar. the senate leader made it clear he's not going to stay silent. instead of drawing more attention to senator reid's comments, maybe it's time for republicans to take a long look in the mirror and see what dirty politics is really all about and what it looks like. you get to be the judge in 92 days. get your cell phones out. i want to know what you think. tonight's question, is harry reid telling the truth about his source? text a for yes, text b for no to 622639. you can leave a comment at our blog. we'll bring you the results later in the show, and keep in mind how often if you're a news consumer do you hear commentators over there, some

people say, a lot of americans think, i was talking to some people the other day. and we're in the news culture in america where we could pass it off on anybody, but all of a sudden, the republicans are all bent out of shape. they have just got to have the source. well, harry reid is a senate majority leader who has been around a long time. if you understand business, especially in the accounting world, there's a lot of people who like to get close to senators and they say things. i think harry reid is telling the truth. i don't think mitt romney's paid any taxes in the last ten years, and this is a story the republicans don't want out there at all because if it gets out there, there's going to be this big clamor across america, yeah, now it's about tax fairness and the wealthy need to pay their fair share and there shouldn't be be these tax havens and loopholes. i'm joined by john from california. appreciate your time, congressman.

do you have a problem with what senator harry reid has said as of late? what do you make of it? >> i think harry reid is on to it. what is really important is that we understand how romney views tax policy. those tax returns will tell us exactly how he views tax policy. we need to know that because after all, he wants to be president. he will sign tax bills. are those the tax bills that will send jobs offshore? hide money, avoid taxes, use every loophole possible? or even increase those loopholes? it's really important for the american public to understand what is in romney's heart and mind as it goes to taxes. the tax returns will tell us exactly that. >> house democratic leader nancy pelosi said this about senator reid to the huffington pest. harry reid made a statement that is true. somebody told him, it's a fact. why shouldn't we believe harry reid? i mean, he has said it. is it on the onus now of

mr. governor romney to prove he has paid his taxes? >> absolutely the case. the issue before him is not harry reid. we're talking about a man who wants to be the next president. show us your taxes so we can see how you look at tax policy. are you all for reducing your taxes at every conceivable way even though you're a multimillionaire? that's not good tax policy for america. we need to understand this man and those tax returns will tell us what is on his mind with regard to tax policy, which is the number one issue in this campaign. tax policy. >> and congressman, 61% by ppp polling, 61% of independent voters want to see the tax returns. gallup numbers, 54% of americans want to see romney returns. is this something that the democrats are going to ride all the way to the election? >> well, we certainly ought to ride it because this is about the guy that wants to be president. we need to go.

americans need to know what is he all about? where does he hide his money? we know he has secret accounts in the bahamas and switzerland. what's that all about? how much money is he stashing away. how uch in tax income is he avoided. this is into the really heart and mind of a guy who wants to be president. show us your stuff, mr. romney. tell us about yourself so we can make a decision about who we wand as president. >> great to have you with us. let's turn now to tom perriello. president and ceo of the center for american progress. tom, your thoughts on this. are republicans making a mistake by continuing to take on harry reid? >> the first thing you learn as a candidate is the vote belongs to the american people. no one is entitled to that position. mitt romney is asking the american people to hire him as president and commander in chief, and going into that job interview, saying you, my future employer, are not entitled to know about my past.

that is just not the kind of arrogance that the american voters are looking for. and here's a guy who, from what we already know, has proposed a $2,000 increase in taxes on middle class families. that's an analysis from a group he called an independent third party set of analysts. increase taxes on the middle class while he gives himself a $4.5 million tax kickback. so i think the american voters are deciding who they want to hire for president for the next four years. and they're entitled to know what they want to know. and the american people are asking this question. what were you up to with the secret accounts? why is it that you're hiding this when every other president in the modern era has been willing to do this? >> here is what donald trump said, an extremely credible source has called my office and told me that barack obama's birth certificate is a fraud. is he suggesting that maybe mitt romney should produce fraudulent tax returns as a jaded way of

looking at it, but who benefits from another round of birther talk? >> i'll tell you, what people are asking is what does it mean for them at the kitchen table. what does it mean for my family, trying to pay my bills, and they know mitt romney has proposed packing the buck to the middle class. >> isn't this the worst possible time that the republicans could have a wealthy to the till guy running for president because if he has all of these shelters, it's going to open up a whole pandora's box of conversation in america about tax fairness. he can't win on this. wealthy people can't win on this. do you think there's people behind romney saying hey, look, you cannot release your taxes or is this just mitt romney? >> well, you know, for the first election of my lifetime, we're not having a debate about how big or small government should be or how fair the economy should be, and mitt romney is not the poster child for that debate. the working and middle class has been getting it harder and harder over the last generation

and a half. here we finally have a conversation, the great recession has really woken up the elites in both parties, to just how challenging this economy is right now. i think president obama and the democrats have heard that cry from main streets across america. mitt romney is doubling down on the strategies that got us into it. when you have a guy who is not willing to release his own taxes, who has put out a tax proposal that hits the middle class with a tax increase while giving people like himself a $4.5 million tax cut, that's not what main street is looking for right now. even if it makes wall street happy. >> the best thing the republicans have right now is to call harry reid a dirty liar, and a guy who made a living boxing early in his life is ready to go another round. i'm loving it. tom, thank you for joining us tonight. remember to answer tonight's question at the bottom of the screen. share your thoughts on twitter at ed show and on facebook. coming up, the romney campaign says president obama is trying to take away early voting privileges from members of the

military in ohio? the problem, that's a lie. former governor ted strickland has the story. he's next with us on "the ed show." we're right back. thanks to our explorer card. then, the united club. my mother was so wrong about you. next, we get priority boarding on our flight i booked with miles. all because of the card. and me. okay, what's the plan? plan? mm-hmm. we're on vacation. this is no plan. really? [ male announcer ] the united mileageplus explorer card. the mileage card with special perks on united. get it and you're in. humans -- even when we cross our t's and dot our i's, we still run into problems. namely, other humans. which is why, at liberty mutual insurance, auto policies come with new car replacement and accident forgiveness if you qualify. see what else comes standard at libertymutual.com.

liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

coming up, mitt romney, john casic, and fox news are hiding behind the military to try to suppress the vote in ohio. the president makes news on gun control following the second mass murder in two weeks. we'll tell you how far he's willing to go to stop the violence. and later, astronomer derrick pitts on one of the greatest accomplishments in history of space exploration. paid for by the american taxpayer. share your thoughts with us on facebook and on twitter using the hash tag "ed show." we're coming right back.

this is new york state. we built the first railway, the first trade route to the west, the greatest empires. then, some said, we lost our edge. well today, there's a new new york state. one that's working to attract businesses and create jobs. a place where innovation meets determination... and businesses lead the world. the new new york works for business. find out how it can work for yours at thenewny.com. that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8.

any effort to impede the right of our military members overseas or here domestically in voting would be an extraordinary violation of the trust that we should have for those who serve so valiantly. >> once again, mitt romney doesn't have the facts. you see, ohio is a must-win for mitt romney. and with president obama ahead in the polls, the romney campaign, what are they doing? getting desperate. romney is accusing the president of taking away early voting privileges from members of the united states military in ohio. but that's not what really is happening here at all. the obama campaign is suing the state of ohio over it's restrictive early voting law. the campaign is seeking to extend voting time for everybody in ohio. all ohioans including military voters. in other words, the obama

campaign wants servicemen and women to keep their early voting privileges and offer those privileges to all voters in the state of ohio. you won't know that by watching fox news. >> if president obama gets his way, the special voting rights of some of america's finest will be eliminated. >> really? governor john casic signed the republican backed legislation reducing early voting privileges with the exception of service members, obama campaign adviser david acxelrod is calling out romney and the fox news tactics. >> what that lawsuit called for is not to deprive the military of the right to vote on the final weekend of the campaign. of course they should have that right. what that suit is about is whether the rest of ohio should have the same right. and i think it's shameful that governor romney would hide behind our servicemen and women. >> i'm joined by ted strickland of ohio, and currently an obama

2012 campaign co-chair. grade to have you with us tonight. you know, this is -- >> good to be with you. >> you bet. this is one of those stories where two sides are saying different things, and who is the public going to believe? in the meantime, you have 15 military groups agreeing with mitt romney. is he winning the messaging war on this? >> well, let me say, ed, fox news and mitt romney should really hang their heads in shame, in shame. because they are hiding behind our military. making false accusations. the cleveland plain dealer has analyzed the romney claim and has said it's absolutely false. this is the truth. early voting in ohio had been permitted in the past on the weekend leading to the november election. and the republicans are trying to restrict that weekend voting for everyone except the military. now, 93,000 ohians voted in the

last weekend of voting in the last presidential election. this is a blatant attempt to keep ohioans from exercising their right to vote on those days leading up to november 6th. it has nothing to do with depriving the military of their right to vote. contrary, the obama and the ohio democratic party believes that all ohioans military and nonmilitary should be able to register their votes during that weekend before the november election. but for mitt romney to imply that the president is trying to keep our military men and women from voting during that period of time is a shameful accusation. he ought to hang his head in shame. you know, there are a lot of things we do in politics, a lot of accusations we make. but the military should not be used as a political football. and that's exactly what mitt romney is doing in this case. >> governor strickland, do you think mitt romney has all the

facts? do you think he is willfully going out saying something that is totally incorrect and knows it? >> well, if he has the facts and he continues to say what he is saying, then he is a dishonest person. if he doesn't have the facts, then he should hold his staff accountable for not briefing him appropriately. but the accusations they're making are absolutely, totally false. the president, all of us, want our service men and women to be able to vote during that weekend. we want all ohioans to be able to vote in that weekend period of time. and for mitt romney to imply otherwise is just a dishonest act. and by now, he should know the truth, ed. this has been discussed. he should know the truth by now, and he should recant what he has accused the president of doing now that he has the truth. >> there are some military veteran organizations like vote

vets, they're saying that obviously romney is doing the wrong thing and misstating the situation. >> that's right. >> what kind of impact, what does this mean for the law on election day? what does it mean to voters? >> well, i think it means that as is the case in many states, the republicans are trying to take measures that will limit the ability of americans to freely cast their votes. we're seeing voter suppression take place all across the country. and it's happening here in ohio, of course. >> what does that mean for president obama's ground game? >> well, it means we've got to get our people out to vote early, as early as possible. and we need to inform people of their rights, and we need to pursue this court case. the federal court will have a hearing on this matter, i think, on august 15th.

and it is my hope that the court will protect the people's right to vote during that three-day period leading up to november 6th. >> that of course would be acting on the obama campaign lawsuit is what you're talking about there. okay, that's coming up on august 15th. >> absolutely. but ed, what really bothers me, ed, is a blatant attempt on the part of the romney campaign to imply that the president would try to deprive our service men and women of their ability to vote during that period of time. it is absolutely false. it's reprehensible. mitt romney should know better. if he doesn't know better, he should get educated. >> we're going to follow up on the 15 military groups that are agreeing with romney and find out why they're agreeing with romney if they have it so wrong. former governor ted strickland of ohio, great to have you with

us. coming up, harry reid claims mitt romney didn't pay any taxes for ten years. meanwhile, republicans are calling him oo dirty liar. the panel will weigh in on reid versus romney next. and tragedy in wisconsin. as a paefrl community tries to pick up the pieces, we're learning more about the man who killed six people in a sikh temple. mark potack will join me, stay tuned. you're watching "the ed show" on msnbc. [ donovan ] i hit a wall.

and i thought "i can't do this, it's just too hard." then there was a moment. when i decided to find a way to keep going. go for olympic gold and go to college too. [ male announcer ] every day we help students earn their bachelor's or master's degree for tomorrow's careers. this is your moment. let nothing stand in your way. devry university, proud to support the education of our u.s. olympic team. devry university, proud to support the education those surprising little still make you tnotice. there are a million reasons why. but your erectile dysfunction that could be a question of blood flow. cialis for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure.

do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or if you have any allergic reactions such as rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a 30-tablet free trial. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about the cookie-cutter retirement advice ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 you get at some places. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 they say you have to do this, have that, invest here ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 you know what? ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 you can't create a retirement plan based on ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 a predetermined script. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 at charles schwab, we actually take the time to listen - ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 to understand you and your goals... ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 ...so together we can find real-life answers for your ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 real-life retirement. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 talk to chuck ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 and let's write a script based on your life story. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550

the word's hout he hasn't paid any taxes for ten years. let hem prove that he has paid taxes because he hasn't. we already know from one partial tax return that he gave us he has money hidden in bermuda, the cayman islands, and a swiss bank account. >> harry reid getting after it. welcome back to "the ed show." harry reid, he says he's got a guy who tells him that mitt romney didn't pay any taxes for the last ten years. meanwhile, republicans are calling senator reid a dirty liar. for more, let's turn to our panic, lizz winstead with us, contributing writer for the nation, ari berman, who is the author of "herding donkeys" and susan del percio. is harry reid a dirty liar? >> i don't know, but harry reid is playing old school dirty

politics by doing this. his story has been changing, which is amazing. first he said, i can't say for certain. then he gets up on the floor of the united states senate and then makes a claim. then he comes back with another interview and says, oh, well, lots of people are saying that. what is it? this guy, he can't get his story straight, and frankly, it's inappropriate. it goes beyond the pale, especially on the floor of the u.s. senate. >> lizz? >> if we didn't hear throughout the course of this past couple years, ellen west saying, oh, there's 80 communists in the house of representatives. michele bachmann accusing keith ellison and hillary clinton's aide they're part of the muslim brotherho brotherhood, i often wonder if this is one of those things where harry reid finally said, we have been sitting through a political climate where we have heard the president's a muslim, show us the birth certificate. what if i just say -- hold on.

we finally say, we have been asked to prove that the president's not a muslim and all this stuff for so long. why not, and i'm just saying it's a strategy, not right or wrong, put something out there and say prove it. >> i think harry reid is paying jedi mind tricks on romney. the media decided they were done with the tax story even though romney hadn't released much info. now it's back in the news. and harry reid knows every day we're talking about mitt romney's tax returns is a bad day for mitt romney. the onus is on romney to clear it up. susan, it's very easy for romney to clear it up. he releases more tax returns, we'll know what tax rate he paid. but we know there's damning information in the taxes. >> a few things. one is i call out republicans when tay do inappropriate things, too. something is wrong, it's wrong, it's a bipartisan wrong as far as i'm concerned. and the debate about romney's

taxes is a valid one. what harry reid did was not appropriate. >> says he has a source. >> he's -- >> sometimes media people don't reveal their sources. >> i understand, but he said a source he is not certain that it's true. and that's especially the fine line. he -- that source did not confirm to him, prove to him, nor did he say he believed him 100%. >> he went on the senate floor and said he hadn't paid taxes in ten years. he felt strong enough to put it in the record. >> that's based on a investor. we knoent know if he ever saw the taxes. my point is he went on the floor and basically lied because he doesn't know it to be true. >> but that's the game that the republicans have played forever. michele bachmann goes on chris matthews and said we need to investigate congress to root out the un-american activity. >> and that was wrong. >> i'm glad you're calling them out because i didn't hear john boehner, these people had to be pushed. and the first time --

>> is the media being fair to harry reid here? that's the point. it seems to be a double standard on how to handle it. >> there was a story in blumberg news today about bain capital buying a telephone company in italy, not paying any taxes on it, rerouting the money to luxembourg. romney has offshore bank accounts, a huge ira, an enormous amount of money. when there's smoke, there's fire. if he didn't have all these skeletons in the closet, we wouldn't take it as seriously. >> he has us talking about this stuff and not the economy. that's good old fashioned dirty politics at work. >> what if it comes out he hasn't paid taxes in ten years. what reason does harry reid have to lie? president obama is winging this right back into his stump speech. spoke to supporters in connect connecticut in the last few hours and had this to say about

romney's tax plan. >> an independent non-partisan organization crunched the numbers. they determined that governor romney's plan would effectively raise taxes on middle class families with children by an average of $2,000. he would ask the middle class to pay more in taxes so he could give another $250,000 tax cut to people making more than $3 million a year. it's like robin hood in reverse. it's romney-hood. >> romney-hood. that's a good one. ari, how damaging is this to romney's tax proposal and his plan. it keeps the focus on it. and if he were to release his taxes, he would show that clearly he's at advantage with the system and a lot of weblalt people are probably telling him, don't release it. >> susan, this is about the economy. what romney has done in the past tells us about what kind of president he will be. he wants to cut taxes for the welgiest americans and raise

them for other people. he wants to cut taxes for the ultra, ultra wealthy and pay for it by cutting benefits for regular people. >> will you join the chorus of republicans who say he should release more taxes? >> he's releasing two years and that's fine. >> that's it. >> what's the number, five, ten, 12? >> i keep hearing these magic numbers. >> you think two years is enough? >> yes, i do. it's been enough for a lot of people for many, many years. i don't understand -- >> his father? >> that was his father. but what did other people do? >> they said he needed seven or eight years. he couldn't get confirmed for a senate post and he wants to be president of the united states. a guy who would put the nominees to be confirmed by the senate. an incredible double standard he's playing. >> but i think the double standard is everybody who has run for president has released more than two years of taxes. that's just fair. >> john mccain didn't. he released two years. >> he wasn't elected president. >> but it was deemed acceptable.

>> don't you want to know why mitt romney has $100 million in an ira? k i do. i want to know how it works because it doesn't work for regular folks. that's a giant thing that exists. i think everybody deserves to know that. >> thanks for joining us tonight. appreciate it. a lot more coming up. stay with us. >> we're treating this as a domestic terrorist type incident. therefore, the fbi has the resources needed to help investigate that. >> an alleged white supremacist is accused of killing six in wisconsin. the southern poverty law center says they have been tracking this guy for ten years. mark potack joins me next. and your tax dollars in action on the surface of mars. coming up, derrick pitts of the franklin institute explains why curiosity's landing on mars was such a huge accomplishment.

♪ i want to go ♪ i want to win [ breathes deeply ] ♪ this is where the dream begins ♪ ♪ i want to grow ♪ i want to try ♪ i can almost touch the sky [ male announcer ] even the planet has an olympic dream. dow is proud to support that dream by helping provide greener, more sustainable solutions from the olympic village to the stadium. solutionism. the new optimism.™ ♪ this dream metamucil uses super hardworking psyllium fiber, which gels to remove unsexy waste and reduce cholesterol. taking psyllium fiber won't make you a model, but you should feel a little more super. metamucil. down with cholesterol.

that bringing you better technology helps make you a better investor. with our revolutionary e-trade 360 dashboard you see exactly where your money is and what it's doing live. our e-trade pro platform offers powerful functionality that's still so usable you'll actually use it. and our mobile apps are the ultimate in wherever whenever investing. no matter what kind of investor you are, you'll find the technology to help you become a better one at e-trade.

i think all of us recognize that these kinds of terrible tragic events are happening with too much regularity. for us not to do some soul searching and to examine additional ways that we can reduce violence. >> president obama earlier today discussing yet another mass shooting. this time, in oak creek, wisconsin. white house spokesman jay carney says the president supports reinstating the assault weapons ban but congress is unlikely to act. authorities say 40-year-old wade michael page opened fire sunday morning at a sikh temple, killed six people. critically wounded three others before police shot him to death. page, an army veteran, was discharged after six years in the military for a drinking

problem. he used a nine millimeter semiautomatic hand gun purchased legally. he also had tied to the white supremacist movement. >> the biggest question we have, is this a hate crime? what did we do wrong? >> today, federal agents searched a north carolina house where page lived looking for clues and a motive. >> we're treating this as a domestic terrorist type incident. and therefore, the fbi has the resources needed to help investigate that. >> a 2009 homeland security report warned us about this type of tragedy. lone wolves embracing violent right wing extremist ideology are the most dangerous domestic terrorism tletd in the united states. at the time, conservatives mocked the report. michelle malkin called it one of the most embarrassingly shoddy pieces of propaganda i'd ever read out of the dhs. tonight, six are dead, three others are fighting for their

lives and a community is left to pick up the pieces. let's turn to mark potack. good to have you with us on "the ed show" this evening. your group has been reported, tracking wade michael page for a decade. tracking him. what does that mean? >> well, basically, what it means is that we noticed him when he joined the white power music scene. in the year 2000, it turns out, he left his native state of colorado on his motorcycle, as he told one interview on a white supremacist website and headed into the music scene. he started to act as lead singer and guitarist for a number of these different hate rock 'n' roll groups. some of them very well known groups. groups like intimidation one and another group called blue eyed devils. what in some ways was most interesting is when in 2005 he started his own group, this

group was called end apathy. and in an interview with white supremacist website, he talked about that end apathy meant. basically, what he was saying is people in the white supremacist world talk a lot but don't act much. he at least wanted to give a name to the band that people should get out and do something. it's worth saying, he didn't specifically talk about violence. >> what do you know about the people he was hanging around with? if he was in a band, he had associated. what do you know about them and what will you find out? >> when we talk about the bands, we're really talking about bands with neonazi believes. these are bands that as a general matter, sing about murdering jews, murdering black people, murdering so-called race mixers and so on. his friends were very much like he was. one of his bandmates and in fact a roommate of his at one point, was a guy who was a member of the confederate hammer skins.

the confederate hammer skins are part of the larger hammer skin nation. this is, you know, the scariest skin head group out there. really a terrifying and violent group of skin heads who have brought all kinds of havoc across the country. this is not a man on the fringes of the scene. he was very much in the middle of the white power music world. and rubbing shoulders with some of the worst people out there. >> the sikh community has been targeted since 9/11. why? >> well, i think almost entirely by mistake. these are the mistakes at least in my opinion of extremely stupid people. the reality is, three sikhs were murdered right after 9/11, and as far as i understand it, in each case, they were mistaken for muslims. i think that's what's going on here. i don't have anything to prove that. but you know, when you look at white supremacists propaganda as we do every day of the week down

here, you virtually never see writings or other propaganda about evil sikhs. it's all about muslims. as i say, i can't prove it, i feel certain this guy felt he was targeting muslims. he saw people with turbans on their heads, with beards, and you know, that meant wicked foreigners to him. >> the white house said it's in favor of reinstating the assault weapons ban. will that help curb these kinds of attacks? >> apparently in this case, it wouldn't have helped at all. as you reported earlier, you know, this man legally bought a 9 millimeter weapon which is not an assault weapon. you know, would it have helped in denver? i think pretty clearly it seems it would have. so obviously, this is going to help spur conversation on the very issue, on gun control. >> mark potok, thank you for joining us tonight. coming up, it's the most advanced spacecraft ever sent to

another planet. and a shining example of what government can do. astronomer derrick pitts will fill us in on the rover curiosity. stay tuned. okay, here's the plan. you have a plan? first we're gonna check our bags for free, thanks to our explorer card. then, the united club. my mother was so wrong about you. next, we get priority boarding on our flight i booked with miles. all because of the card. and me. okay, what's the plan? plan? mm-hmm. we're on vacation. this is no plan.

really? [ male announcer ] the united mileageplus explorer card. the mileage card with special perks on united. get it and you're in. tonight in our verva, i asked you, is harry reid telling the truth about his source? 97% of you say yes. 3% of you say no. still to come, a big moment for nasa today. astronomer derrick pitts will tell us what nasa hopes to accomplish with the mars curiosity rover. don't forget to listen to my radio show on sirius xm radio monday through friday, noon to 3:00 p.m. follow me on twitter at ed show and like the ed show on facebook. we're coming right back. would you mind if i go ahead of you? instead we had someone go ahead of him and win fifty thousand dollars. congratulations you are our one millionth customer. people don't like to miss out on money that should have been theirs.

that's why at ally we have the raise your rate 2-year cd. you can get a one-time rate increase if our two-year rate goes up. if your bank makes you miss out, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. it's something you're born with. and inspires the things you choose to do. you do what you do... because it matters. at hp we don't just believe in the power of technology. we believe in the power of people when technology works for you. to dream. to create. to work. if you're going to do something. make it matter.

welcome back to "the ed show." i would like to take a moment tonight to say thank you to all of you wonderful americans out there. my wife is battling ovarian cancer and on behalf of my wife

and family, i would like to thank all of you for your outpouring of support, love, and prayers. the power of prayer is very strong. and it's been a rough two weeks for our family, but i want you to know that my wife is a woman of faith. and she is a woman of tremendous strength, and you gave her much strength and really helped in her recovery after the operation. going to be a long recovery with chemotherapy recovericoming. she's going to beat the disease, and with your help, we appreciate it. i can't begin to name the people across the country who have just shown a tremendous outpouring of love and support for our family and wendy. and wendy certainly appreciates it. and there are a lot of people watching this broadcast tonight that have fought cancer and won. and we're going to be one of those families, and my wife is going to win this battle. and we certainly appreciate very much all your support, all your prayers.

and dr. stan hope from the mayo clinic saved my wife's life. and i am deeply indebted. my wife, my family, all of us. you know, when cancer strikes your family and your spouse, it just stops you. i mean, it stops you right in your tracks. you don't know what time of day it is. you don't know -- the only thing that matters is getting better. and when you get e-mails and text messages and phone messages from people that you haven't heard from for a long time, telling their story of survival, it means a lot. i just want to say thank you tonight. wenldy wants to say thank you. it's about wendy. it's about her return to good health and she will do it. thank you for your prayers. [ male announcer ] it's a golden opportunity...

to drive a car filled with as much advanced technology as the world around it. with the available lexus enform app suite, you can use opentable to make restaurant reservations... search with bing... and listen to pandora. presenting the 2013 lexus gs, rx and the all-new es, the leading edge of the leading edge. during the golden opportunity sales event, get great values on some of our newest models. this is the pursuit of perfection.

humans -- sometimes life trips us up. and sometimes, we trip ourselves up, but that's okay. at liberty mutual insurance we can "untrip" you as you go through your life with personalized policies

and discounts when you need them most. just call... and speak with a licensed representative about saving on your policy when you get married, move into a new house... [crash!] or add a car to your policy. don't forget to ask about saving up to 10% when you combine your auto and home insurance with liberty mutual. security, coverage, and savings. all the things humans need to make our beautifully imperfect world a little less imperfect. call... and lock in your rate for 12 months. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

it's good. touchdown confirmed. we're safe on mars. >> yeah! >> welcome back to "the ed show." those rur nasa engineers in mission control finding out the curiosity rover safely landing on mars. it's the largest and most advanced spacecraft ever sent to another planet. the rover weighs 2,000 pounds. it's equipped with 20-inch wheels, 17 cameras, lab instruments, and even a laser to zap rocks so they can be studied.

the $2.5 billion mission involved 5,000 people from 37 states. and ten years of work. after traveling 350 million miles in eight months, these pictures were snapped of curiosity last night as it approached the martian surface. nasa described the landing as, quote, seven minutes of terror. it involved a parachute, rocket boosters, and finally, a crane to lower the rover onto mars. after a tense seven minutes, curiosity sent back its first pictures of the martian surface. nasa says it expects more hig high-defcolor pictures later in the week. the curiosity's success is a shining example of american greatness. it just goes to show what you can accomplish in this country with a well-funded government backed program. joining me tonight is derrick pitts, chief astronomer at the

franklin institute in philadelphia, and designated by nasa as an astrobiology ambassador. derrick, great to have you with us tonight. exciting times for nasa and america and the future of space exploration, no question about it. but how big a deal is this? what does this really mean? >> ed, what i think this means is that it shows that nasa is still pushing hard in its efforts to completely identify and describe everything we can about the solar system with an ambisching program that uses equipment that is cutting edge and works extraordinarily well. >> what's the ultimate goal here? what do we want to find out? what are they looking for? >> in this particular case, what's being looked for, what the exploration is about on mars with this particular rover is they're really looking to find possible environments, places that might have been an

environment where organic materials may have existed that would identify a location where life may have developed at one time. or might be the kind of environment where life could develop on mars still today. >> tell us about what you think the seven minutes were like that the nasa engineers referred to and the risk involved in all of this. >> oh, talk about a risky endeavor. this was the most hair-raising, nail-biting entry situation that has ever been devised, but it's exactly what needed to be done for this kind of spacecraft coming in. it was seven minutes of terror in two ways. it takes 14 minutes for a signal to get from mars to earth. the first seven minutes of terror were the spacecraft coming in through the atmosphere, having to deploy the parachute, set off the retro rockets, get rid of the heat shield, the back shield, all of those kinds of things with split-second precision, and it all had to be done absolutely accurately or else there could have been disaster. that's the first seven minutes. the second seven minutes was

having to wait seven minutes until they got the signal from mars to know that the spacecraft was on the surface safely. >> what did you think when you saw the engineers celebrating? i mean, ten years is a long time to be working on a project and to have it go right. >> yes, i was elated for them that the work that they had put into this, the effort they had put into this had paid off so well. this is a perfect example of impeccable engineering, ingenuity, confidence on their part that this could actually be done. all of the parts and pieces had been tested, but the integrated system had never been tested before. and you've got to imagine, ed, that these guys really had some nerve to believe that this could work. but it's their confidence as engineers knowing what they're doing and the belief of the group they work with, that made it possible for this to happen. >> and quickly, why did they pick the gale crater? >> they picked gale crater because it's the most likely place where they might be able to find organics in