the 24th, and on this memorial day weekend, it is fighting season on all fronts for the commander in chief. ♪ >> wonderful people of oklahoma. they have suffered mightily. the new laughter will come, new songs will be sung. we have to make decisions based not on fear, but on hard-earned wisdom. homegrown extremists. this is the future of terrorism. to say military tactic is legal or effective is not to say it's wise or moral. a free press is essential for our democracy. victory will be measured in parents taking their kids to school, immigrants coming to our shores, a citizen shouting her concerns at a president. i'll keep fighting to end those foolish across the board budget cuts, the sequester, which is threatening our readiness. even in our military, we've seen how the misconduct of some threaten the trust and discipline that makes our military strong. never forget that honor like

character is what you do when nobody a looking. we are just one hour from the start of the memorial day weekend, and this holiday honoring our fallen troops coming at a moment the commander in chief has described as a crossroads in the war on terror. and a day after the president delivered a major speech reframing the rules of engagement in combatting terrorism, he welcomed a new class into the fighting forces. delivering the commencement address at the naval academy in annapolis and demanding of graduates much more than just their tactical skills. >> we need your honor. that inner compass that guides you not when the path is ease cisy and obvious, but when it's hard and uncertain. more than physical courage, we need your moral courage. the strength to do what's right,

especially when it's unpopular. >> the issue of trust was clearly foremost in the president's mind as he lamented the erosion of faith in public institutions. and he made clear that everyone plays a role in restoring that trust. >> institutions do not fail in a vacuum. institutions are made up of people. and we've seen how the actions of a few can undermine the integrity of those institutions. and if we want to restore the trust that the american people deserve to have in their institutions, all of us have to do our part. >> and while the president referenced political corruption, the financial crisis, and even the irs scandal, there was one issue that he wanted to take on directly with those entering the armed services. >> we must acknowledge that even here, even in our military we've seen how the misconduct of some can have effects that ripple far

and wide. those who commit sexual assault are not only committing a crime, they threaten the trust and discipline that makes our military strong. that's why we have to be determined to stop these crimes because they've got no place in the greatest military on earth. >> that issue, of course, has become a major concern in the wake of several recent incidents, including some involving military officials who were supposed to be in charge of preventing sexual assaults. and by several, i mean 26,000. the number of members of the military who suffered sexual assault in the last year. according to a pentagon study. let's get right to our panel now. with us from washington is msnbc political analyst and soon to be msnbc host, karen finney. and dana milbank, columnist for the "washington post." karen, i want to get to the sexual assault issue in a moment, but the president's speech today comes four years

after his first address at the naval academy. at a time when the challenges facing our military are very different. narrower focus on counterterrorism. a pledge for greater transparency. but are those moves, do you think, coming fast enough to satisfy what is a war-weary public in this country? >> you know, it's interesting, martin, you have the fighting season up behind you. it's also the fighting season, as you know, in afghanistan. i think as we see casualties, we are going to be reminded just how war weary we are as a nation. i think it's been a good thing that the president has tried to take some of these things on more directly because they do challenge our values. some don't. some i think are pretty straightforward. i think on this issue of drones versus boots on the ground, i think a lot of the challenges we face these days, particularly when we're talking about a counterterrorism, counterinsurgency strategy, is very different. it's not about, you know, this kind of surrender and a big signing ceremony at the end of a

war. it is much more precarious than that. and i think the challenges we are facing are much more complicated and, therefore, i think it is for the president to be more transparent because i think we need to all understand the complexities of the challenges that we're facing. >> indeed, we do. now, dana, the president devoted the bulk of his speech today to the issue of trust. and you have been very critical of his administration recently. a column this week accusing the government of criminalizing reporters comes to mind. has the president gone any distance, do you think, to restoring your trust? >> well, i think so. i mean, my criticism has been largely on that issue of snooping in reporters' phone records and what the justice department has been doing. the president articulated exactly what he should this week, that we should not be prosecuting or calling criminals reporters who are just doing their jobs. now, that needs to be backed up

with more serious action. he's talked about a shield law that would protect journalists from doing their job. this isn't just journalistic whining if there is no freedom to reporters to go about their business. well, there's not free expression in this country to defend all the other rights. i think it's a very significant thing. certainly the president is saying the right words now. hopefully that is backed up with action. >> right. dana, still, the problem is they're not -- the congressional republicans actually opposed any idea of a shield law. >> well, of course, if we decided that opposition by congressional republicans would be the limiting factor, we could all pack up our bags and go home here because they're going to oppose everything that's done here. there's the potential for some bipartisan support. they tried tois before. it seemed at least in the senate that they could get this sort of thing to happen. and maybe people will on the republican side will be aware of what the dangers are now that they've seen this. >> well, especially given that one fox news reporter appears to

have -- >> exactly. one of their own. >> exactly. karen, the president was pointed in his remarks on sexual assault in the military. i mean, i watched that speech and he was absolutely clear saying it only takes the actions of a few to erode trust in the institution. but when you've got 26,000 reported assaults in the last year, plus many others who never report what's happening, that feels to me like a very serious problem. >> well, it is a very serious problem, and i think as we heard secretary hagel speak to this earlier this week, it's not actually just a problem, it is a cultural issue. right? i mean, there is something in the culture that is letting this continue to happen. you know, we just had the recent scandal with videocameras in bathrooms at the military academy, you know, at west point. i mean, clearly there is a bigger problem here that needs to be dealt with in a systemic way. i think, again, this is a place where the president said the right things. i think he's absolutely right in

terms of the trust factor that we need to be able to have that people in the military need to be able to have of one another. but the kinds of changes, it's not just about training. it's about really understanding what kinds of cultural changes need to happen. particularly because rape is not about sex. it's about power and control. we know in the military those issues are very complicated for people. >> indeed, they are. karen finney, and the great dan a. milbank, forever welcomed on this broadcast, even if keenan thompson says you have a girl's name. >> thank you, i appreciate that. next, a bridge under water in washington state that is not supposed to look like that. aging infrastructure and an economy looking for a boost collide. that's straight ahead. [ male announcer ] need help keeping your digestive balance in sync?

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tonight, i propose a fix it first program to put people to work as soon as possible on our most urgent repairs. like the nearly 70,000 structurally deficient bridges aross the country. >> in his state of the union address, the president referred to this nation's crumbling infrastructure, and an thursday night, we got a vivid example of what he was talking about. this bridge over the skagit river in washington state collapsed after an oversized truck laden with drilling equipment took out several overhead trusses. while the truck made it to the other side in one piece, the two

vehicles behind it were unceremoniously dumped into the water below. by some miracle, the three people in those other vehicles were not killed. in fact, they weren't even seriously injured. we should note, though, that the federal highway administration lists this bridge as, "functionally obsolete." this is hardly the first time an accident like this has highlighted the nation's aging infrastructure. remember the minnesota bridge that collapsed into the mississippi river back in 2007? 13 people lost their lives when that happened. joining us now is representative peter welsh, democrat of vermont. congressman, i'm sorry, but this is not a surprise. this is what you get, is it not, when you have one party in washington with nothing on the agenda except destroying government and never spending a cent on things that are essential? >> well, you're right about that. and, in fact, you know, the sequester is going to take about $1 billion out of the highway

fund that could be used to repair our highways and repair those bridges. the other thing that's really so troublesome is that it's not as though bridges, you know, 70,000 bridges, are just in red states or blue states. i mean, this is a challenge for all of us in america, and it's an area where there should be an ability on the part of congress to actually work together despite our differences. >> okay. well to your point, sir, public investment in construction and infrastructure is now lower than at any point in the last 20 years. so i have to ask you, sir, how many more bridges have to collapse before you and your counterparts get together in washington and actually do something about this problem? >> well, you know, i can't answer that one. we've had -- >> so how many do we need? do we need -- do we need 20 more bridges to collapse? 50 more? 100 more?

before someone wakes up in congress and says, you know what, we actually ought to repair the, you know, the broken infrastructure in this country? >> right. well, see, i think we've got to break the ideological gridlock that is largely on the republican side. there is a dedication to just cutting no matter what. and there are areas where you have to spend money to maintain what you have and to build the infrastructure that you need. and, in fact, we're in lockdown mentality in congress where the dominant wing in the republican party in the house thinks that the only thing that will work is austerity and the austerity is the path to prosperity. this is the case where austerity is the path to bridges not only crumbling but falling down. and we've really got to get through this. the -- this is an opportunity. that's the aspect of this that i find so troublesome. if we took on the challenge of rebuilding our infrastructure with the cheap money we have,

the plentiful labor that's available, and the need that is great, it would obviously strengthen our economy. but there is a view among my republican colleagues in the tea party wing of the party that if you have to spend a nickel then that's a waste of money. and obviously a nickel not spent repairing a bridge today is a dollar spent trying to repair it tomorrow. >> well, we know now through reading a thesarus that austerity in america today is actually a word called sequestration. i'd like you to listen to what the president said about the issue. take a listen. >> and i'll keep fighting to end those foolish across the board budget cuts known as the sequester which is threatening our readiness. >> i'm sorry to put this to you, again, mr. welsh, but because of sequestration, over 100,000 workers are being forced to take today off with no pay. could you please explain to our

viewers, can you explain to our viewers how does putting people out of work help our economy recover? >> well, it's dumb and it's stupid. in fact, we have been creating stupids at about 200,000 a month. and the decline in employment, significant component of it is, is about 1.2 million job difference in public sector employment. the bottom line is the sequester is dumb. 100% of congress was against it yet it went into effect. i voted against it because the across the board approach doesn't allow you to make any distinction or use judgment where you can make cuts and where you can't. in fact, there's another element here, too. that's very tough. in vermont some of the head start workers, some of the meals on wheels folks, and our national guard people who are going to be getting their paycheck whacked because congress can't do its job. so this is not a good way to manage. it makes no sense whatsoever.

and it is going to be a continuing if drip, drip, drip kind of drag on our economy. it's very unwise. it also has an impact on this highway bill that we have. it's about $1 billion. it's really squeezed out of that budget when we're desperately in need of spending more. not less. >> sequestration, dumb and stupid. thank you, congressman. >> thank you. coming up, a shocking crime in london that has a city on edge. we'll have new details on the jittery state of affairs in london. just ahead. we're here at the famous tapia brothers produce stand where we've switched their fruits and veggies with produce from walmart. it's a fresh-over. that's great. tastes like you just picked them. so far, it's about the best strawberry i've had this year. walmart works directly with growers to get you the best-quality produce they've ever had. all this produce is from walmart. oh, my gosh. i'm shocked. [ laughs ]

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it's been a frantic 48 hours in london with nerves on edge after a bloody attack on a soldier in broad daylight. and today, a commercial airliner from pakistan diverted after a disturbance. british police arrested two men on suspicion of endangerment of

an aircraft. after the plane was diverted to land at stansted just north of london. the spokesman for pakistan international airlines said they threatened to blow up the plane then claimed they were joking. no laughing matter, after the shocking and brutal murder of a london soldier, hacked to death in broad daylight earlier in the week. two men are under arrest on suspicion of murder. another under arrest for conspiracy to murder as a police investigation is ongoing. for more now, let's join my colleague nbc's duncan gollistani from london. i want to get to the plane incident in a moment. i wonder if you could bring us up to date on the latest regard to the death of this young soldi soldier. >> yes, hi martin. today the family of soldier lee rigby spoke publicly for the fir time since he was killed on wednesday during an incredibly emotional news conference, they spoke of how proud they were of

the 25-year-old who was a bandsman and has served in afghanistan. but they said their hearts have been ripped apart. they also touched upon the question that so many are asking here. how had this young man served in afghanistan only to be killed in the uk? apparently because he was a soldier. britain security services are also facing questions about whether they could have done more after it emerged the suspected killers were known to intelligence officers because of their past links to islamist groups. the concern here is that these were so-called lone wolves, people who are not necessarily part of a wider organization like al qaeda, but rather they plan their own attacks. intelligence officers say that would make it much harder to investigate. martin? >> and to this airliner that was diverted en route from pakistan to the uk. we're being told this is being handled as a criminal matter

rather than as an incident of terror. is that right? >> yeah. that's right. so what happened, fighter jets were scrambled to intercept the flight. it was diverted to an isolated runway at a different airport to the one where it was meant to land. police then boarded. they arrested two british passengers on suspicion of endangering the aircraft. a passenger told pakistani tv that during the flight, the passengers who were speaking urdu had tried to move toward the cockpit. nbc news speaking to a high ranking official at the airline was told a threat was made, but it was made out of anger. it's not thought the incident was, therefore, terror related and rather it is being treated as a criminal offense. but it does underline this is an incredibly anxious time. earlier on a subway station not far from here was closed during rush hour. something that happens all too often. but for a brief time people were

asking, is this once again something terror related? >> very, very disturbing 48 hours. thank you so much, duncan. next, all the president's men, his delicate relationship with the state takes center stage in today's top lines. when is somebody going to go on the record in this story? you guys are about to write a story that says the former attorney general, the highest ranking law enforcement officer in this country is a crook. just be sure you're right. [ male announcer ] house rule number 53. big time taste should fit in a little time cup. new single serve cafe collections from maxwell house now available for use in the keurig k-cup brewer.

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congestion, for it's smog. but there are a lot of people that do ride the bus. and now that the busses are running on natural gas, they don't throw out as much pollution to the earth. so i feel good. i feel like i'm doing my part to help out the environment. from a so-called journalistic jihad on the state,

to those fox news enemies of the state, here are today's top lines. don't press your luck. >> the picture of president obama at his high school prom back in 1979. >> a free press is essential for our democracy. >> back then, obama had to ask a girl for her phone number. he couldn't illegally obtain it through the justice department. >> leak investigations may chill the investigative journalism that holds government accountable. >> president obama by raising a jihad against the press. >> journalists should not be at legal risk for doing their jobs. >> very, very un-american. probably unconstitutional. and even if barely legal. subtly distasteful and counterproducti counterproductive. >> eric holder accused our reporter james rosen of espionage. >> i'm not aware based on publicly available information that any reporter is being investigated. >> fox news correspondent is getting arrested. >> finally you are recognized as the enemies of the state as you've always been. >> we must enforce consequences

for those who break the law and breach their commitment to protect classified information. >> if you're going to go after whistleblowers, you also got to go after those who have had their whistles blown. that is not how i wanted to say that. let's get right to our panel now. my colleague and co-host of "the cycle" krystal ball joins us, and lehigh university professor james peterson. professor, the president continues to say all the right things as far as the press having the freedom to do their job and so on. but are we seeing a little bit of discrepancy here between what he says and then what his administration does in hunting down leakers and so on? >> well, we should probably separate the issue of what the administration is trying to do in terms of national security and looking at leakers who are jeopardizing some of the operations that we really don't have a good, clear sense of the full extent of which they are. and the extent to which the doj has criminalized or attempted to criminalize only of the reporters involved in those processes.

i think july 12th is the deadline he set for this review. >> that's right. >> to mature. i think we need to see exactly what the administration is going to do there. but i would caution folk to do two things. one, freedom of press, we should have zero tolerance for any encroachment upon that for sure. also look at the particular cases. the case with rosen is a complicated one involving north korea and maybe the possible pointing to deeply embedded cia or operatives on the north korean side. and those are the kinds of things that effect national security. and so i would urge people to look deeply into some of these issues, and also obvious lly preserve the fact freedom of press is something we need to have zero tolerance for any encroachment upon. >> right. one of the points republicans make, krystal, is the white house speakser veraciously the good news, but when there are other leaks, they don't like that. that involves some inconsistentsy in terms of its practice. >> certainly.

we should remember that this leak that is being investigated by the doj to the "ap" was one of the ones that republicans said the administration had purposefully leaked and that's why they wanted the investigation of it. they thought the administration had done this intentionally to make themselves look good. >> right. >> so i wouldn't always trust their judgment about which leaks were intentional and which weren't. but i think the point is right. the think the administration does let certain things out that they want to selectively have in the press. >> as all administrations have. >> as all administrations do. another issue that i think we have to separate out here is there is a difference between a leaker and a whistleblower. a whistleblower is osomeone coming out with information they think is damaging and important for the public to know. a leaker is someone who just leaks classified information, i think, from what we know of this particular "ap" story regarding a cia operative and al qaeda plot that was interrupted, that was a clear instance of a leak.

where it was national security importance. it was a huge violation. and it was important that they investigate what's going on there. now, it may have been overbroad what doj has done but it was not apparently illegal what they've done. >> no, indeed. the president, professor, has not always had such an antagonistic relationship with the press. in fact, i'd like to play you something of him speaking just a month ago where he was describing his and the press' respective roles. take a listen to this. >> the fact is, i really do respect the press. i recognize that the press and i have different jobs to do. my job is to be president. your job is to keep me humble. frankly, i think i'm doing my job better. >> professor, of course, he delivers a wonderful line. but do you think the president may have taken for granted his relatively tranquil relationship with the press? >> well, if he did, and, again, i mean, depends on which press you're talking about.

>> yes, of course. >> the press on the far left and the press on the far right have not been kind to this president. >> this is true. >> but i do believe at this moment if he thought that, he doesn't think that now because folk have been all over him around this. and it's just desserts in some ways because if under your administration this question around how -- and krystal's right. distinguishing between leakers and whistleblowers is important. making distinctions between national security and freedom of the press is important. let me tell you something. i am actually happy that this conversation is happening within this administration, and i know a lot of folk are going to get at me on this, martin, but honestly, this kind of transparency in the aftermath of these things is something i'm not sure we would see under other administrations. so i hope we get it right with the media shield law which, again, scandals are as scandals are. let's focus on the issues. we do need a media shield law and we do need to have this public conversation about the balance between national security and aggressive reporting in journalism. >> intedeed. final question to you, krystal. republicans oppose a shield law. >> yes.

well, and i think that speaks to dr. peterson's point which is that if this was a republican president who was going after leakers in an aggressive way, they would just stonewall. they would say this is national security, this is what we need to do. there would be no dialogue. there would be no openness to change. so the fact that it's happening under this president, under a democratic president, i think means that there will be more transparency and potentially there will be policy and legislative changes. >> let's hope so. krystal ball and professor james peterson. thank you both. both of you have a great memorial day weekend. >> you, too, martin. next, it's apple and the oranges. corporations and banks benefiting in the billions. yes, that's "b," billions. and you guessed it, america's middle class is paying for it. aw this is tragic man, investors just like you

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since 2008, there have been no arrests of any senior wall street executives. >> no arrests. do you see how sad that made the voiceover guy? >> if watching jon stewart's take on wall street last night didn't make you angry, then perhaps reading the front page of today's "new york times" will. there it is in black and white. "banks' lobbyists help in drafting bills on finance." that's right. three years of the president signed that landmark dodd/frank law, wall street has gone right back to regulating itself. which, if past is truly prologue, should work out just fine. joining us now is economist jared bernstein. jared, i don't know about you, but i would have thought that letting wall street regulate itself given what happened in 2007 and 2008, and all that we learned about unscrupulous and fraudulent practices is a bit like letting the drunk driver

decide the legal blood alcohol limit for driving, wouldn't it? >> yeah, i mean, if you go back to the greenspan area, the ethos of the time was that market actors, wall street firms, would self-regulate. that is they would never engage in trades that were so risky that if they went wrong it would cause them large losses and tank the economy. well, of course, that didn't work out very well. and so the spirit of dodd/frank was to replace some of the oversight that had worked so well in this economy for decades after the great depression. and what we see now is the these firms and their lobbyists getting into the mix, literally writing legislation that's undermining the spirit of dodd/frank. >> it's absolutely incredible. now, according to this story in the "times" jared, citigroup, which received nearly half a trillion dollars from taxpayers, more than any other bank, is now writing word for word the laws

that will govern how they do business. how is that possible? >> well, look, one of the things that article -- >> come on, jared, how is that possible? i mean, ordinary people, jared, if they borrow a mortgage and they can't pay it, they lose their house and can't go and get another mortgage. this law, they actually tank the economy and then they write the law. >> i -- i -- look, i share your rage on this. i want to say, if you look at that article, one of the things they say, and this happens to be true. they say this sort of thing happens all the time. that is, a group that advocate for a cause will be involved in crafting the language of certain legislation. what doesn't happen all the time is that they actually undermine the legislation, and what you see here is a republican strategy that is truly undemocratic in the following sense. dodd/frank, just like the affordable care act, are the law of the land. they have been legislative.

what we see republicans doing today is undermining the implementation of legislation by doing precisely what you just described. >> okay. well you speak of legislators. earlier this week, apple ceo tim cook gave evidence before a senate committee. he was toens bostensibly there m how his company shelters billions of dollars overseas yet all we seemed to get was a bunch of senators worshipping at the throne of the man's genius. >> right. i saw that spectacle as well. somehow the fact they all love their ipads and iphones became more important than the fact that apple shelters tens of billions of dollars overseas protecting it from taxes. now, look, here's the thing that came away from that for me, and i think for a lot of other people. in fact, apple is probably not doing anything illegal. cook said they're not employing any gimmicks.

that's false. he said they're following the spirit of the law. that's false. but the problem is that tax avoidance is part of our international tax law, and in fact, if you are an international, if you're a multinational corporation and you're not engaging in that kind of tax avoidance, you have a competitive disadvantage against everybody else who hais. what he was telling us to my ears and the ears of i hope anybody else who's listening, we have to fix that stuff. >> absolutely shocking. jared bernstein, sir. thank you, jared. >> thank you, martin. next we'll head to the white house where a touching ceremony has just ended. then a candid conversation about the president's morehouse moment. >> sometimes i wrote off my own failings as just another example of the world trying to keep a black man down. i had a tendency sometimes to make excuses for me not doing the right thing. hey! did you know that honey nut cheerios

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four little girls who were lost 50 years ago in the bombing of the 16th street baptist church in birmingham, alabama. that heartbreak helped to trigger something and a more just and equal and fair america. >> that was the president this afternoon signing a bill designating the congressional gold medal to commemorate the lives of those four little girls tragically killed in the 16th street baptist church bombing in birmingham, alabama, in 1963. and joining us now from the white house is kristen welker. kristen, can you tell us a bit about the significance of the president signing this bill?

>> reporter: well, incredibly significant, martin. first of all, it is the highest sieve ville civilian honor that awarded. this september marks the 50th anniversary since that tragic day in our nation's history. if you remember the bombing, it not only fueled momentum for the civil rights movement but helped to build support for the 1964 civil rights act. now, today's bill signing was not your typical bill signing. there were family members there of those little girls as well as lawmakers who worked on getting this bill passed. so really a mementos occasion here at the white house. i just want to read the names of those father little girls who were killed to remind everyone. addie may collins, cynthia, and denise mcnair, i should say. another 22 people, martin, were injured on that day. and, again, this is the highest civilian honor. other people who have been awarded the congressional gold medal include jackie robinson and former president ronald

reagan. >> indeed. thank you for highlighting their names. now, as you know, kristen, the president will be traveling to oklahoma on sunday to view the devastation. of course, he'll also be there to comfort families. is he expected to reiterate his commitment to providing whatever funding is necessary for that state's recovery following the tornado? >> reporter: he will, martin. that is going to be one of his key messages when he visits that community on sunday. and i am told that he will tour the damage but also meet privately with the victims. those who are still grieving. he will reiterate that message when he meets with those who have lost their homes, who have lost everything. who are in the process of trying to rebuild. that the federal government will be there to help them every step of the way. i have been speaking to officials here at the white house who are really remarking on the fact that this is really becoming an all too common occurrence. these tragedies. these national tragedies. the president traveling and

taking on that role of consoler in chief. so he will do it again this coming sunday. martin. >> a soul with a good heart. nbc's kristen welker. thank you, kristen. >> reporter: thank you. now to a story we had planned to discuss before that tornado touched down on monday. the president on sunday delivered the commencement address to graduates at the historically black morehouse college in atlanta. indeed, the president's emphatic remarks stirred conversations, even a backlash to what some described as condescending. joining us for his take, professor michael eric dyson of georgetown university. professor, i'd like you to take a listen to one of the things that the president had to say. >> we know that too many young men in our community continue to make bad choices, and i have to say growing up i made quite a few myself. sometimes i wrote off my own failings as just another example of the world trying to keep a black man down. i had a tendency sometimes to

make excuses for me not doing the right thing. but one of the things that all of you have learned over the last four years is there's no longer any room for excuses. >> also in that speech, professor, the president appeared to be relying on the acting white theory that was espoused in the 1980s as you know by dr. john agbu. does that theory in your view do justice to the complexities and challenges that confront young black men today? >> no, it doesn't, martin. i think that, look, we have to have an entire program to talk about the intellectual and the sociological backdrop -- >> sir, i wish we had. >> since we don't, i'll say this. no, it's not complicated enough, not complex enough. when they talk about acting white, it was in the complex where black students were not allowed the same privileges accorded some of their other

students. so out of resentment, they said, look, we're not going to participate in that same way. this notion of acting white has been overplayed, undertheorized and not been sufficiently in a sophisticated manner dealt with. to use that to beat up on black people i think is wrong. acting white means you don't want to treat people unequally. not acting white means you don't want to be big gotted toward other people. there are a number of ways in which we can cut that. the president unfortunately made a statement that people have then run with. so that if he said that he, as an individual, used the excuse that they're trying to keep a black man down, doesn't mean that they're not trying to keep black men down. it doesn't mean at the same time that that excuse-making is something that is germane to or at least exclusive to african-american men. martin, i teach at a historically white institution. i teach at a predominantly white institution. can i tell you about the excuses i get? people are trying to e-mail me about papers when the grades have been turned in two weeks ago. so the white kids are lazy, disinclined to work, make up

excuses, use drugs, do everything you say black men do. why focus on black men as if they're somehow -- >> sir, i also had to seek many extensions myself. brown men as well as black, as well as white. here's a quote from the great alumnus of morehouse, the class of 1948. dr. martin luther king jr. he said this. "it's all right to tell a man to lift himself by his own bootstraps, but it is a cruel jest to say to a bootless man that he ought to lift himself up by his own bootstraps." now, the president talked about dr. king, but do you think he included enough of the spirit of dr. king in what he was saying? because you can say all kinds of things to young black men and women, but if a child is living in poverty with a single parent and a relative in prison, and all kind of difficult circumstances, it's not always their fault that they're not doing well. >> absolutely right. and let me tell you what. the only person who didn't earn a degree that day was a barack obama. everybody else earned their degrees. he got an honorary degree.

they put in hard work to make sure they were successful. the president is a great man. he gives often great speeches. this, i think, was a bit misplaced. he has a tendency to scold african-american people, the very ones who don't deserve it. if he was at a detention center or at a prison i could see him making that speech. they're at morehouse where they graduated summa cumlaude. and talk to white people about being mediocre. >> professor michael eric dyson. thank you, sir. and we'll be right back. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. 100% vegetable juice, with three of your daily vegetable servings in every little bottle. with her family but it's getting expensive. oh yeah. you know the average dinner out for a family of four costs over 40 bucks? it adds up! let me show you something. walmart has lots of easy to make dinners.

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digital technology, as some have learned, to their cost, can be of paramount forensic value to prosecutors. for example on the day the tsarnaev brothers allegedly murdered a campus police officer and three days after they're suspected of bombing the boston marathon, dzhokhar tsarnaev sent

text messages to a friend saying things like "you better not text me" and "come to my room and take whatever you want." those text messages led the police to recover a backpack full of fireworks that had been allegedly dumped by a friend of one of the suspects and enabled investigators to locate a laptop computer. these are obviously of value to prosecutors as they prepare the case against the surviving tsarnaev brother. so today we also have something of a digital disclosure. this time, though, not by law enforcement, but by the lawyer representing george zimmerman. mr. zimmerman is charged with the fatal shooting of 17-year-old trayvon martin who it turns out wasn't armed with anything more than a bag of skittles and a plastic bottle of iced tea. mr. zimmerman claims he shot mr. martin in self-defense. and so last night, zimmerman's lawyer released text messages that were recovered from his victim's cell phone. they seemingly bear no direct relationship to the events that led up to the teenager's death

and may be ruled inadmissible for the trial. this is some of what they say. on the 18th of february 2011 a text from trayvon martin's phone asks "you got a gun?" on the same day his cell phone received the following message. "you want a bnt 22 revolver?" there's another text that alludes to difficulties he was having at home. "my mom just told me i got to move with my dad" he wrote on november the 22nd 2011. "she just kicked me out." those messages were sent a whole year before trayvon martin was shot on the night of february the 26th 2012. which, therefore, raises this important question. what do they have to do with trayvon martin's death? has this thing got anything to do with the crime? or is this really all about tarnishing that young man's character just in time for the trial? let us know what you think by either tweeting us @bashirlive or by writing your thoughts on our facebook page. we posed the question earlier

this afternoon, and we're already overwhelmed by your response. thank you for watching. have a peaceful memorial day weekend. but don't move. chris matthews and "hardball" is next. true commander. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. actually in new york. let me start tonight with this. president obama showed the guts yesterday to put the terrorism threat in perspective. it is a threat, he said. it is not a threat to american existence, nor is it a strategic threat in the way the soviet union once was. put more sharply, we americans don't have to take an ends justifies the means approach to national security. we can do what works and fits with our values