terribly wrong that this pipeline is going over their land. it's a story i think that needs to be told. that's "the ed show." "politicsnation" with reverend al sharpton starts right now. good evening, rev. good evening, ed. and thanks to you for tuning in. i'm live tonight from jackson, mississippi. tonight's lead, breaking news in the chris christie bridge scandal. it's been the biggest mystery in this whole story. why did the christie administration shut down access lanes to the world's busiest bridge, causing massive traffic delays for emergency vehicles and children on school buses? tonight the democratic mayor at the center of it all, the mayor whose town was overrun by traffic during those four days in september, and who begged for help from the state while it was going on. tonight that mayor says it was

all because of political retribution. in an interview with "the bergen record" newspaper, mayor mark sokolich links the bridge closure to his refusal to endorse governor christie for reelection. the report says, quote, governor christie's administration orchestrated an extensive campaign over two years that involved gifts to ft. lee, including port authority-funded shuttle buses, snowplowing, pothole repair, and emergency radios to convince the boro's mayor to endorse the governor during his reelection campaign. mayor mark sokolich said today in his most recent comments to date on the bridge scandal, when he refused to offer his endorsement, he says he was

punished by paralyzing traffic jams at 2 bridge that were ordered by christie's appointees at the port authority. during five days last september. the mayor has not given us this level of detail before. in fact, he at times seemed uncertain that the endorsement issue led to political payback. >> i don't recall a specific request to endorse, but, you know, the events that led up to all of this i guess you can interpret to be somehow attracting me to endorse. i didn't want to endorse for several reasons, not the least of which is i'm a democrat. >> tonight the chris christie administration accused the mayor of contradictory statements. but it's clear that with his comments in the new interview, the ft. lee mayor leaves no doubt that he thinks political payback explains the mystery of the lane closures.

joining me now are clarence page and e.j. dionne. thank you both for being here. >> good to be with you. >> e.j., this is a heavy, heavy change here. what do you make of this latest reporting? >> well, i think it's clearly a big deal. up to now, mayor sokolich has been very reluctant to reach this conclusion. he told rachel maddow that he didn't think he was important enough in terms of an endorsement or a nonendorsement to warrant the attention that the bridge closure, you know, represented. but this finally clears up, as you said earlier, a mystery. because we still -- we didn't know until this point that there had been this previous relationship with sokolich. i mean, he got a kind of local government gift basket there from the port authority shuttle buses, the snowplowing and the like. he also said something

interesting. he brought david wildstein in the story and had david wildstein tell him i've been told to be nice to you. so this creates a kind of linkage we didn't have before in terms of motivation. so it kind of advances the story. and while the christie folks said the mayor absolutely contradicted himself, i don't think the contradiction is absolute. but i think we're going to be -- i think the governor's office is going to have to sort of respond further to this. because you finally got a link to why the bridge closure happened. >> now, clarence, as e.j. said, the governor's office is saying this is contradictory. but this is the most we've heard from this mayor. and whether or not it appears it does not go with some of what he said in the past, it is clearly more extensive. and if these specific gifts were given, is this a big deal and hard to explain for the governor's people?

>> well, it certainly tightens the screw you could see on a key part of this entire narrative, which is a linkage between the mayor's endorsement or potential endorsement and governor christie's efforts to try to elicit it and the lane closures on the bridge. it's not the kind of thing that you call a smoking gun, and there are some inconsistencies here. why is the mayor copping out now with this detail, why wasn't he more explicit before about the relationship that he had had with the governor's office and the governor's people. but it's not a direct contradiction as far as we can tell. and it does expand on the story and does provide that kind of linkage. i think for those of us who are from outside the new york-new jersey area, the big question is how does this affect chris christie's national image and potential presidential prospects. and certainly the answer is not good.

>> now, e.j., let me go back to the article and something you said. in "the bergen record" article, mayor sokolich said christie's aides would strongly hint that he should endorse. here is one example. quote, sokolich said matt mowers would meet with him and tell him about other democrats who endorsed christie. what do you think? sokolich said mowers asked him. this is clearly saying the discussion of the endorsement was on the table by an operative of christie, and he was even telling him of other democratic mayors who had endorsed the governor. >> right. i think clarence pointed to an important question that obviously governor christie's people are going to press, which is why was he so reluctant to say what he said today earlier, and why did he say it now? and i suspect mayor sokolich is going to be asked that, and he is going to have to explain it.

because from this account, the linkage between what the port authority had done for him and the desire for endorsement is pretty clear. and so, again, you have -- there have been all kinds of stories and speculation about why the bridge was closed. if this proves to be a kind of definitive account, then we finally know, which is why i think you're going to see the governor's office pressing hard to try to figure out any way they can to undercut what mayor sokolich said. >> but e.j., when you -- well, let me go to you, clarence, on this. when you look at the bergen record's story, mayor sokolich even says he was given a tour of the 9/11 memorial. >> right. >> quote, sokolich and his cousins were given a personal tour of the 9/11 memorial plaza

by wildstein, then the port authority's director of interstate capital projects. "i've been told to be nice to you", sokolich remembers wildstein saying during that tour. the tour was before the memorial was even open, and wildstein is the key figure asking for immunity in this case. now this is certainly not something you can say is normal procedures for giving a mayor who was not considered on the radar that the governor said. >> right. and i would think also not an episode that would be easily forgotten. quite the opposite. that's pretty dramatic. the port authority, the world trade center is a port authority property. here mayor sokolich getting an exclusive tour of the memorial before its completion, and he has some out of town relatives as i recall from the story. and, you know, the kind of thing that, again, one wonders why he waited until now to go into this

details so far as his earlier relationship with chris christie's people. but even so, it is the kind of an effort, especially that line, "i've been told to be nice to you." this is shaping up like one of those nod and a wink new jersey politics story that we chicagoans love to see. >> you know, reverend -- >> e.j., let me go back to you. go ahead. >> oh, what i wanted to say, if the question for mayor sokolich is why are you only saying this now, the question for governor christie is he seemed to suggest in everything he said that wildstein wasn't on his radar -- i mean, that mayor sokolich wasn't on his radar. so those two questions. there are two questions and they go both ways. and i think the mayor -- the governor, rather, is going to have to explain why was all this nice stuff done for mayor sokolich, assuming that is all

true. and he seems to have been a pretty straight forward guy up to now, the mayor. >> certainly -- it certainly begs a lot for both sides to explain. but there is one theory in the article's that is new, but one theory already being floated that maybe investigators have now gone back over the last couple of years and are asking about these certain unusual gifts, which has brought the mayor to where he is coming forward, linking it or maybe it is occurring to him that maybe some of these things came together. we are in the middle now of people being investigated and being sharpened in their memories. >> no, i think that's right. and you wonder what kind of conversations has mayor sokolich had with the mayor of hoboken, who is obviously kind of first broke part of this story open. so it is very possible he has

looked back and said wait a minute, this may be -- there may have been more going on here than i thought. nonetheless, if you do get all those favors out of the port authority, you would think he would notice that as mayor and might even be grateful, though not grateful enough to endorse chris christie. >> another part of this that has to be looked at, clarence, is "the new york times" reported recently that christie's reelection campaign was extremely focused on winning big to set the stage for 2016. it kept a list of top 100 swing towns that could bolster christie's argument he would be electable nationally. it called them mini ohios or mini floridas. it kept color-coded dossiers on the mayors. does this focus on mayors touch on the question of motive and

whether the lane closings was all about punishing the mayor of ft. lee when he didn't agree to endorse? >> it certainly provides circumstantial evidence of a political quid pro quo, even though we aren't talking about direct cash that makes such a sexy expose. there is a question here about favors and targeting certain areas of the state. here we're talking about a couple of democratic mayors whose endorsements for a republican incumbent governor certainly would carry a lot of weight. and we also are talking about areas of the state that have a lot of swing voters. and that was certainly impressed republicans around the rest of the country. and we're also talking about the old political balance, which is reward your friends, punish your enemies. >> yeah. >> so if the mayor went from the old friends to new enemies list, that would be a possible motive for the lane closures.

>> i'm going to have to leave it there. we'll be certainly following this, clarence page and e.j. dionne. thank you for your time this evening. >> thank you. >> good to be with you. ahead, george zimmerman's celebrity boxing match will be the public outage over the fight stop it before round one? also, a dramatic day in the murder trial that re-ignited the debate about stand your ground. emotional testimony from teenagers in the car with jordan davis when he was shot and killed. >> i tried to pull him down, but when i pulled him down, he just fell into my lap. when i reached and touched him, blood appeared on my fingers. and a new low for the gop's impeachment hysteria. stay with us.

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[ male announcer ] bob's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack, be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. seven months after the george zimmerman verdict, self-defense and stand your ground are again at the center of a florida murder trial. in november of 2012, michael dunn opened fire on an suv full of teenagers parked at a gas

station after an argument about loud music. one of those teens, jordan davis, was killed. today dramatic testimony from the three teens who were in the car with jordan davis when he died. >> what happened to jordan davis as tommy storns was backing up? did he stay silent? >> i tried to pull him down. but when i put him down, he just fell into my lap. >> how did you first learn that jordan davis had been shot? >> when tommy began to call our names, me and leland replied, but jordan didn't. we found out jordan was hit, that's when everybody went into panic. >> did you touch anything that led you to believe he had been shot? >> yes. >> what? >> when i reached -- when i reached and touched him, blood appeared on my fingers. >> if you met jordan and know jordan, he had a big heart like this. you know you can get a vibe of what type of person he was.

>> some emotional testimony for the jury today. meantime, the cases on both sides are starting to take shape. the defense claimed jordan davis, who was 17 years old, had a gun. but the prosecution points out that a gun was never found. >> jordan davis threatened michael dunn with a shotgun barrel sticking out of the window or a lead pipe. whatever it was that is a deadly weapon. jordan davis, the only thing he had on his person was a cell phone and a pocket knife. and both of those things were in his pockets when he was shot and killed. >> a teenager is dead. an older manson trial. at the heart of this case is the question we've heard too many times before. was it self-defense or was it murder?

joining me now are former prosecutors faith jenkins and paul butler. thank you for being here. >> thank you. >> good to be here. >> faith, how do you think the three young men did today in their testimony? >> reverend, i thought they presented themselves very well. they're all relatively young men. they experienced something very traumatic by seeing their friend shot and killed right before their very eyes, assy said in the suv that night. and they came into court today and they told their side of the story. now the defense here is trying to play these kids up that they were some kind of thugs and threatening and had a gun in the car, and then they present themselves today and they just came across as very young and sort of just telling exactly what happened, how it was, and what struck me, one of the witnesses said today, one of those young men said the first time he ever saw a real gun in real life was when michael dunn,

the defendant, pulled out his and pointed it at their suv. >> now, when you have the gun charge or the accusation of a gun being alleged by the defense, paul, saying that in fact jordan had a gun, and no one has ever come up with the gun, no gun has ever been found, how important is that to the prosecution and how harmful is that to the defense that a gun has never been found? >> well, reverend, the defense says that there was a gun, and there is never going to be a gun found because we all know there was no gun. the problem for the defense is that the defendant shot a child, an unarmed child in cold blood. and then he engages in all these activities that we call consciousness of guilt. he flees the scene. how do you shoot a car ten times

and then drive away, you go to a bed and breakfast, and you order pizza? i mean, the jurors were going to wonder what was he thinking? and if he takes the stand, he is in big trouble, because if he doesn't have a good explanation for that, and there is not a good explanation for that, those jurors are going to think he is lying to them. and if it's one thing that jurors don't like it's being lied to. >> now, faith, the prosecutor's case, and paul laid out a lot of it. but the prosecution case says they say no gun or weapons were ever found in the teens' car. the defendant, michael dunn, left the scene. he never called 911. and they say he wasn't being threatened, and he did check into a bed and breakfast, eat pizza, and was arrested the next morning. yet you have this stand your

ground law there in florida. is the fact that this law is in the opinion of many of us so nebulous, does that stand up against all of this evidence that seems very well established by the prosecution? >> stand your ground allows cases like this to go forward because michael dunn argues he doesn't have a duty to retreat. he was being threatened and imminent force was about to be used against him. therefore he was able to open fire on these kids. and that's problem here, because without stand your ground, there is a duty to retreat. he could easily get into his car, back away if he thinks he is being threatened. but he didn't do that here. and that's why he is able to assert this defense. you're going hear it in the jury instructions. he didn't have a duty to retreat. he didn't have a duty to leave. he could meet force with force. the problem here is words are not enough to cause someone to be in reasonable fear for their lives. and so that's why there is the

assertion of a gun here. because he knows that words, cursing at him, a 17-year-old cursing at him is not enough for you to be able to pull out a gun and open fire on a car full of teenagers. >> well, isn't this, paul, the problem withstand your ground? because the defense is arguing that dunn acted in self-defense. they claim jordan davis had a weapon, even though one was not found, that the other teens hid the weapon somewhere, and that the police investigation was flawed. >> reverend, stand your ground is this macho fantasy that real men don't walkway from a fight. it says shoot first, think later and the law has your back. and the george zimmerman verdict sent this message that you can shoot a skinny, unarmed child and walk away from it. but here is the thing. the same prosecutors in that

case as in this case. so they have to win the case. this prosecutor has to send the message that in florida in this jurisdiction it's not open season on young african american children. >> that's right. >> faith, yesterday the prosecution played surveillance video where you can hear the gunshots. watch this. [ gunshots ] >> oh my gosh, somebody is shooting. somebody is shooting on a car. >> now today we heard a witness describing those gunshots in his own 911 call from that night. watch. >> it was like pop-pop-pop-pop-pop. it stopped for a second, and you hear pop-pop-pop-pop-pop. >> now, how important is that pause in the witness' description, faith? >> oh, it's very important. and the prosecutors are going to

use that to argue that the defendant was not in fear. he was infuriated, because he thought that jordan davis had disrespected him that pause is the defendant getting out of his car, aiming his gun at their fleeing suv and continuing shooting. >> faith jenkins and paul butler, thank you both for your time. >> thank you. >> great to be here, reverend. is coming up, will dmx actually get into the ring with george zimmerman? big news tonight on the boxing match that has made a lot of people angry. plus, are republicans going back to the 90s for their plan to impeach president obama?

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they just can't help themselves. one of the key leaders of the phony impeachment of president clinton has just announced his

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for five years, the republicans have denigrated and disrespected this president every way they can. but now it's reached fever pitch, and they have learned all the wrong lessons from their last despicable attempt to destroy a democratic president. the man who led the charge to impeach president clinton now has his sights set on president obama. in 1997, then republican congressman bob barr introduced the first resolution mentioning possible impeachment. now he is running for congress again. >> i was with some folks just recently, and i pulled out of a file in my office the house

resolution, the house resolution that i introduced on november 5th of 1997 that was the very first official inquiry of impeachment filed against bill clinton. and what i did is i took that -- took that document, figuratively, kind of dusted it off. added a little bit of language to it, and darned if it doesn't sound pretty good with barack obama's name in there. >> he wants to dust off the old impeachment resolution and put in barack obama's name instead of bill clinton's? it sounds like a bad joke. but today he said he is serious. >> why even joke about impeachment as you did on that radio show? is that the type of divisive politics you think that we need in washington? >> judge, i don't know what you're talking about. that wasn't a joke. i was asked a question about

impeachment, and i answered it very seriously. >> in 1999, bob barr was one of 13 house floor managers to prosecute the impeachment charges before the senate. if he goes back to capitol hill, he'll join a list of at least 15 of the republicans talking about impeachment. >> we want all tools available to use, including that impeachment. >> so tell me how i can impeach the president of the united states. >> if we were to impeach the president tomorrow, you could probably get the votes in the house of representatives. >> people may be starting to use the i word before too long. >> the i-word meaning impeachment? >> yeah. >> if it continues, could that build up to make a case for possible impeachment? >> all options should be on the table. >> if this sounds like a growing trend, that's because it is. during president obama's first

term in office, the number of news articles mentioning him in impeachment stayed pretty steady, maybe because the right-wingers thought they would beat him in 2012. but after president obama won reelection, impeachment talk exploded. look at that. a huge spike after the election. if they can't beat them, they try to impeach him. it's something they tried to do before and it didn't work back then either. joining me now are angela rye and mark hannah. thank you both for copping on the show tonight. >> thank you, rev. >> thank you, reverend. >> angela, the republican florida general who fought to impeach president clinton now wants to impeach president obama. i mean, has he learned nothing? >> he hasn't learned anything. but here is what we have learned, rev. he needs to have a seat. and it's not a congressional seat. it's probably one of those good

ol' lazy boy chairs. and thing is really good grounds to have another segment. i know you have nice try, we got you. maybe it's time for come on, son, because this is ridiculous. >> bob barr, you know, was one of those that had really pushed hard, harder than anyone else to impeach president clinton. listen to him in 1998 during those house impeachment debates. >> a frontal assault on our constitution. you have the constitution. you have the united states criminal code as violated by this president. and you have the evidence. they support a vote for article 3 of impeachment of william jefferson clinton for obstructing justice in america. >> mark hannah, here is bob barr with that kind of spirit and

energy driving at an impeachment, we may see it again. >> look, i think bob barr is a one-trick pony in this regard, and he kind of admitted himself he was just kind of recycle the old language from the clinton impeachment hearing there is nothing -- i think chuck todd was absolutely right that there was nothing more divisive in our political recent history than the impeachment proceedings for president clinton. but i do think this could backfire in a major way against the republicans. even talk of impeachment could energize and animate democrats who want to come out in 2014 and protect the president. right now the thing that the democrats don't have going for them is that the president's name is not on the ballot in the mid terms. if democrats start to feel like they should come out and support the president, that could backfire majorly against the republicans. >> well, angela, let me be real clear so we all understand.

bob barr's first resolution mentioning impeachment came before the monica lewinsky scandal broke. >> right. >> it accused president clinton of trying to, quote, obstruct, undermine and compromise the legitimate functions and processes of the executive branch. now last year, house republicans used similar language in a resolution aimed at president obama. quote, president obama frequently oversteps the limits placed on executive branch power by the constitution. it's the same language. republicans love strong presidents, except when it's a democrat. >> that's exactly right, rev. you also have to look at our recent history with what they did with attorney general eric holder. they tried to hold him in contempt of congress based on a scandal that really began happening under the george w.

bush years. so, again, to your point, they love for presidents to go rogue and to be maverick candidates like john mccain, but the minute they are democrats, the minute they take a stand, the minute they try to use an executive order because we also know they have been telling that lie about the number of executive orders issued by this president, they go berserk. and part of it is somebody needs to tell them, impeachment is not a word that you can just throw around when you don't like the policies. that's not what you do. you actually engage. you lean into making policies that fit your constituency. so if you don't like something, you work to compromise on it. you don't just fight to get the person out of office because you don't like how they comb their hair, the color of their skin or the fact that they're black in the white house. that's not what you do. >> angela is absolutely right, rev. >> mark? ye >> yes. >> let me show you how they deal with some of policy because house leaders this week said immigration reform won't happen because the president can't be

trusted to enforce the law. listen to this. >> he is feeding more distrust about whether he is committed to the rule of law. listen, there is widespread doubt about whether this administration can be trusted to enforce our laws. and it's going to be difficult to move any immigration legislation until that changes. >> the president's got to demonstrate frankly the country and congress can trust him to implement laws. look what he has done with obamacare. he has selectively enforced that law. >> here is the issue all republicans agree on. we don't trust the president to enforce the law. >> so now you don't pass a law or debate a law that will affect literally millions of people because you don't trust the president to enforce it? i mean, this is unheard of in american politics. >> it's absolutely convenient that the republicans can say this.

but more than the majority of people who voted for the president do trust him. the majority of the people that support the president do trust him. the people who have the credibility problem in this country, if you look at favorability numbers or poll numbers are republicans in congress. so for them to point the finger at the president and say we would be willing to collaborate and work cooperatively with the president except for the fact that americans don't trust him, that's just bogus. they trust him and they don't see eye to eye with him maybe, but to say that there is a lack of trust is just disingeneralious on its face. >> well, there is a lack of trust, but lack of trust is the american people towards congress because they can't get anything done. they continue to beat that record. >> yeah. i think both these issues -- >> angela rye, mark hannah, i'm going to have to leave it there. >> thank you, rev. >> thank you both and have a good weekend. >> you too. >> thanks, rev. and ahead, big news about

george zimmerman's so-called celebrity boxing match. signs the public outcry may be having an affect. also, president obama's message to american athletes fighting for civil rights and social justice at the olympic games. stay with us. this is interesting. it says here that a woman's sex drive increases at the age of 80. helps reduce the risk of heart disease. it seems that 80 is the new 18. grannies, bless your heart, you are bringing sexy back! eat up. keep heart-healthy. live long. for a healthy heart, eat the 100% natural whole grain goodness of post shredded wheat. doctors recommend it. [ male announcer ] your heart. it powers your body to walk enough stairs in a lifetime to climb the empire state building. and then climb it again 1,000 times.

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so-called celebrity boxing match with rapper dmx has caused a huge national outcry. thousands of people have spoken out against the idea, signing petitions to stop this thoughtless stunt. and now dmx may be backing away from it too, saying nothing is set in stone. >> dmx, the word is you got a fight coming up. >> i was challenged, i was challenged. i mean, i still haven't really decided if i was going to do it. but if i did do it, whatever money was supposed to go to him would have to go to charity. >> the fact that the money might go to charity wouldn't justify a fight. it's being called a celebrity match. the only reason george zimmerman is famous is because he killed an unarmed teenager. and what has he been doing since his trial ended? he has been pulled over twice

for speeding after a domestic incident with his estranged wife in september, he was questioned by police. in november, he was arrested after a disturbance call where his girlfriend accused him of pointing a gun at her. charges were dropped after she changed her story. he then sold this painting for $100,000 on ebay. and now he is in the middle of a legal fight with the associated press, which claims he copied their photo in a painting he is trying to sell. george zimmerman is free to do what he wants, but that doesn't mean we should treat him like a celebrity. and the pressure is on to keep it that way. joining me now is joe madison. thanks for being here, joe. >> and thank you, reverend. >> we've seen a huge response to this story. now dmx seems to have second thoughts. do you think the public pressure will put a stop to this? >> oh, yes. and i heard your radio show this

morning at drive time afternoon, my drive time morning show. basically the same response. let's understand the root word of celebrity is celebrate. what is there to celebrate when a 17-year-old unarmed person is killed? and he is not famous, he's infamous. so we should not be celebrating a tragedy for both him and quite honestly, trayvon martin's family. you know, this weekend in miami, they are celebrating the life of trayvon martin with a march and a dinner and to raise money to teach and help young people who won't be prone to violence. now, if you're going celebrate anything, let's do that. but here is what is happening. people are absolutely outraged. and i think dmx could do a lot by simply saying he will not be

used, because if this is a popular show, let's say for some reason it gets a lot of viewers, we'll be seeing george zimmerman on tv for a very long time. >> the thing that also concerns me, i think again george zimmerman has the right to do what he want. but what concerns me is defining celebrities in this regard. >> right. >> we have another case now in florida that i just talked about. >> oh, yes. >> if this man is acquitted, does he become a celebrity? does he do a wrestling match? i mean what are we saying now? become celebrity, something to celebrate in this country. what kind of signal are we sending to our children? >> can i repeat something i heard you say on your show this afternoon? we ought to look in the mirror and, and i'm paraphrasing you, i think, and check ourselves. we should check our values. like you said, george zimmerman

can do what he wants to. dmx can do what he wants to. but for those of white house participate, who add to this, we need to check ourselves and look in the mirror and ask are these our values? and i think that's a very poignant position. >> i think a statement from dmx's spokesman says the boxing match between george zimmerman and dmx is not officially confirmed. no contractor paperwork has been signed or agreed to yet. should we take this as a good sign, joe? >> yes. i think we ought to take it as a good sign. it's stepping back. i heard someone e-mail they made a joke, that maybe what they ought to do is throw a ringer in there and substitute him with merriweather. but they were speaking in humor. the reality is i don't care whether this goes to charity whom. wants that kind of money coming

from once again a person who is not famous, he is infamous. he is not a celebrity because there is nothing he has done about during this whole trial, before the trial. you're not to celebrate someone who kills a 17-year-old unarmed kid. you don't celebrate that, and you certainly don't make a celebrity out of him. so how can you call it a celebrity boxing match? >> and i think that's the point that most disturbed me. a celebrity boxing match. why would we celebrate someone whose only claim to fame. >> that's right. >> no matter what your view is of the case, his only claim to fame is killing an unarmed teenager. >> that's right. >> and now we celebrate it, now we raise him as someone famous that we go and watch him do certain exhibitions and certain things and pay money for it. what are we establishing as the

values among our young people in this society? that's what bothers me. thanks for your time. >> i want to watch him disappear. that's what i want to watch him do. >> well, thanks for your time. i knew you were great on radio. i didn't know you listened to great radio. >> yes, i do, reverend. every chance. >> we'll be right back. .. you turned into a weird "7". when she saw the roof-top pool... you went to: "11" ♪ you two should probably get a room... oh that's right! you already did. at planet earth's number one accomodation site... booking.com booking.yeah!

going for gold and going for

justice at the olympic games. the olympics aren't just about athletics at times. culture, politics, and justice have crept in. at the 1936 games in munich, jesse owens stunned adolf hitler by winning four gold medals, defying nazi theories about the aryan race. he saluted america, overshadowing the german silver medalist who saluted hitler. at the 1968 games in mexico city, tommy smith and john carlos raised their fists in a black power salute. it was a powerful rebuke to ration oppression around the world, including the united states. and today at the sochi games, athletes are standing up against anti-gay hate and discrimination in russia. one dutch snowboarder raised her rainbow glove to the camera after her first qualifying run.

the greece national team wore rainbow gloves as well. and today president obama talked about why he made a point of sending openly gay athletes as part of the american delegation. >> we wanted to make very clear that we do not abide by discrimination in any forms, including discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. that i think is consistent with the spirit of the olympics. it is certainly consistent with american values. and we wanted to make sure that people understand that. >> we honor athletes when they push their bodies to the limit. but we also honor them when they push the world to do the right thing. [ laughter ]

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the dream here in jackson, mississippi. this is a city where heros have fought and died to win the rights we have today. heroes like medgar evers who was assassinated here in jackson in 1963. he was the field secretary for the naacp, gunned down in his own driveway. hero likes the civil rights activists who staged a sit-in. an angry mob powered mustard and ketchup all over them. but the protesters stayed in their seats and changed history. we made a lot of progress here in mississippi, but some are trying to roll back the clock. governor phil bryant has proclaimed february voter registration month. i'm all for it. but he has also signed a voter id law that is unnecessary and wrong. since 2000, there have been 5.7 million votes cast in mississippi. but just 32 convictions on voter

fraud. that's 0.0006%. what a joke. voter id laws here in mississippi and elsewhere aren't necessary. in fact, they're a step backwards as we celebrate the progress we made, we must also protect that progress. and we must do it with all we have. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. have a good weekend. "hardball" starts right now. motive. let's play "hardball." >> good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start with this friday evening report from "the bergen record." quote, governor christie's administration orchestrated an extensive campaign over two years that