let's get to work!the ed show" live from new york. let's get to work!"the ed show" york. let's get to work! >> it's about the economy. >> it's about obamacare. >> obamacare is not the answer. >> can republicans continue to ride the anti-obamacare wave through november? ♪ >> excitement. the enthusiasm is on the part of republicans whether it's to kill obamacare or against the president. >> the heart of obamacare -- >> obamacare is not the answer. >> i don't like obamacare. >> nowhere does it say congress has the right to federalize health care. >> many people are being harmed. >> at the end of the day the obamacare vote is a huge thing. >> this monstrosity. >> obamacare is not the answer. >> good to have you with us tonight. folks, thanks for watching. you know, if somebody tells you something or if you have something written down, which are you you more inclined to believe? tonight we have both. we have what people tell us that

is happening in their lives and we also have numbers to go along with it. let's start with this number. 5 million people. that's right. 5 million. tonight we have have proof that americans are sick and tired of the attacks on obamacare because this is how many people have signed up. i felt this over the weekend down in florida. i did a focus group at the state of florida and i asked the group of folks that we were kind enough to work with down there and they were kind enough to work with us. if obamacare would affect how people vote and they told me across the board, no, the jury is still out. that was the consensus of this mix of americans. now, in the coming weeks, we are going to bring you more on our focus group because the answers were more than interesting. but, meanwhile, there is new polling in michigan which shows that people aren't buying republican lives in obamacare. the republican funded group americans for prosperity. oh, yeah. americans for prosperity. remember that name.

the super pac are slamming obamacare in the state of michigan and injecting it into a very hotly senate race between congressman peters and the republican lind-land. republican super pacs are throwing major cash into this rap race. they believe they can get this seat in michigan. in february americans for prosperity started running this story and tells the story of julie boonestra. she claims she suffered due to the affordable care act. it turns out there are holes in this story. >> my name is julie boonestra. five years ago i was diagnosed with leukemia. i findship find out i only have a 20% chance of surviving. i found this wonderful doctor and a great health care plan. i was doing fairly well. fighting the cancer and the

leukemia and i received the letter my insurance was cancelled because of obamacare. now the out of pocket costs are so high it's unaffordable. if i do not receive my indication i will die. i believed the prepares. i thought i could keep my health insurance plan. congressman peters your decision to vote for obamacare jeopardized my health. it is time to listen to me and the other american citizens out there who are hurting. this is serious. it's not a game. congressman peters, obamacare is not the answer. >> well, let's take a look at boonestra's allegations against obama care. first, i think the ad implies that she lost her doctor. second, she claims the out-of-pocket costs are so high, it's unaffordable. well, "the washington post" thoroughly checked out her claims and let's take a look at the facts they come up with.

boonestra was able to keep our doctor under obamacare. americans for prosperity, they turned around and have confirmed this fact. boonestra told the detroit news under obamacare or premiums had been cut from $1,100 a month to $571 a month. that's quite a savings. overall boonestras as old plan cost her $200,000 a year and before copays and out of pocket expenses. her obamacare plan is just under $12,000 a year. this includes copays and out-of-pocket expenses and amounts to over $1,200 a year in savings. i'd say the claim that obamacare is unaffordable is a flat out lie. she has been used. to be fair, boonstra's old insurance policy was cancelled. let's be fair. her insurance policy was cancelled. that is because it didn't meet

the federal standards which is set up by obamacare. you know what she had? junk insurance. now, about having a hard time signing up through the exchange, completely valid. no question about it. she and a lot of other americans have gone down that road. there is no excuse for health care.gov not working from day one but those problems have been solved and all of that is in the rearview mirror. it's a different day when it comes to health care america and the website has come a long way. how do i know? because fox news doesn't do the stories on the website any more and about as best proof you can find because they are always looking for the negative on the president. americans with prosperity provided us with a statement not long ago and it read despite the claims of tv personalities or self-appointed fact checkers, obamacare has made julie boonstra's fight with leukemia

harder. they attacked her for speaking out. those who continue to these attacks and pretend to know more about julie's life and circumstances than she does should be ashamed. well, it sounds to me like tv personalities, whoever they are talking about, are getting a lecture from americans for prosperity. you bastards, don't talk to me about cancer and women. don't do that, that's not good. my wife has walked the walk and we know what it's all about. we should point out that julie preexisting condition she will never get dropped. lifetime limits, they will spend whatever they have to spend to make sure that she will keep her health. what about the cost? the savings is quite clear. so it seems to me that americans for prosperity has hoodwinked this cancer patient and put her in an ad that is an absolute lie. no matter what they say, the ad is blatantly dishonest. they can't fight facts.

it's a solid example truly how the republican superpac americans for prosperity are trying to buy a senate seat with lies in the state of michigan. americans for prosperity has even created a new version of the head. leaving out the unaffordable lie. you see, folks, this is what we are going to get between now and november. this is how republicans play the game. but this time, they got caught and it's seriously backfiring on them. how do i know? a new poll out. gary peters should not be leading the poll with the money spent against him. a new poll out monday shows gary peters has a three-point lead over land. and democrats, i believe, need to keep this example in mind heading right into the mid terms. democrats, don't turn on obamacare because all you're going to do is support the lies that are out there by the super

pacs and don't run away from something that is really good. here is how i break it down. the democrats seem to be having somewhat of a confidence problem when it comes to health care in america right now. they know whats and how good it is but they are not sure how they are going to talk about it. the numbers. the numbers, the numbers don't lie. the fact of the matter is by the end of this month, there will be 6 million people who have signed up. i said 5 million by march 1st. gosh. i apologize. i missed it by 16 days. so the bottom line is the next four months, april, may, june, july, the democrats are going to have four more months of numbers because you see in august when they go home and do town halls, they better have it figured out how they want to explain how wonderful the affordable health care act really is. so the democrats will have more numbers and then they will have almost a year of positive things

happening in the health care arena. there will be lives that have been saved. there will be expenses that have been brought down. and there will be americans who will never be denied. i think it's pretty easy to sell that to anybody because that really affects people. and it affects the bottom line for the insurance industry too. i don't see any of those commercials complaining about obamacare, do you? get your cell phones out. tonight's question. should americans for prosperity be ashamed about their lies about obamacare? text a for yes and b to no to 676222 and you can always go to our blog and we will bring you the results later on in the show. i want to make it very clear. that at no time on this broadcast did we ever attack julie and her fight with leukemia. we attacked and will continue to attack the lies that are being put out there in the marketplace by americans for prosperity. this is how they play the game.

they use people and they lie. for more, let me bring in wendall potter, senior analyst for the center for public integrity. good to have you with us. >> thanks for having me. >> do you think obamacare has made julie boonstra's life harder? >> i do not. i think maybe americans for prosperity has made her life harder. keep in mind that statement does not address the facts in this case at all and certainly didn't address what "the washington post" and other media have found out about this case. and i think that is very telling. i wouldn't be here today myself had it not been -- i can't speak to her illness. she certainly is, i suspect, a legitimate leukemia patient. >> no doubt. >> but i am here because of another leukemia patient ad and the role i played several years ago when a corporate executive got between a 17-year-old young woman fighting for her life but

he decided to overrule the decision that was made by her doctors at ucla medical center. she died five days before christmas because the insurance companies said it did not think this guy worked there didn't think that it was the medically appropriate procedure for her. and when she died, i made a decision that i was going to find some new way to earning a living because i just couldn't keep doing that any more. obamacare is helping a lot of people, ed. a lot of people, it's saving lives. i've met many people who told me they are certain they are alive today because of that law. and it makes a lot of the practices of insurance companies unlawful. it provides a way for people to get care that never had the chance to buy coverage in the past. so it's here and it's here to stay. >> the dishonesty in these ads is abound, isn't it? >> it absolutely is. they are making facts up and misleading people as you said to get them to appear in ads like

this. it's really, quite frankly, despicable and it's all for political gains. >> what is the insurance industry going to do at this point? what is your prediction between now and the next four or five months? as i said, that these numbers continue to grow. these stories continue to compile in neighborhoods across america. what is the insurance industry, what is their reaction going to be? >> they will continue to advertise and try to get people to sign up for their plans. you're right. their bottom lines are healthy and they will continue to be because this law is built on republican principles of maintaining the multipayer system that we have in this country. so they are going to be doing well. they are going to be trying to attract the customers that they want and that they need. i think you will see that they will actually applaud some of these ads because many of the executives that i used to work with would like nothing more than to see more republicans elected because there's a chance

that some of the consumer protection could be rolled out if democrats are, indeed, in control of washington. >> this midterm is very important when it comes to the survivability of obamacare, the affordable care act. >> absolutely. >> because of the protections that could be rolled back ichri. >> the president would veto a lot between now and when he got out of office and this would play into 2016. >> the midterms are extraordinarily important. >> mr. potter, thank you for being here tonight and thank you for your commitment what you've done to people in the health care field. i want to bring in nyu professor bob sacrum. you have written a piece how the democrats should handle health care on the road back home in getting the message across. your reaction to the dishonest ads that are unfolding in front of our eyes. >> it's the same thing actually they had been doing from the beginnings. from beginning they want to turn

obamacare into obama scare and we just moved on. the americans possess prosperity ad is a -- i think it's good to call them out on these lies. you did it brilliantly today. i think the other thing democrats have to do is stop being wimpy and miscalculating this and get off the defensive and go on the offensive. they have to say, look, congressional republicans have voted 51 times to get insurance companies deny coverage for preexisting conditions. 51 times to let them cancel your insurance policy when you need it most and when you're sick and 51 times to kick the kids up to the age of 26 on which their parents snucioinsurance policie. what republicans are trying to do is have this amorphous creatingion called obamacare and never discuss the specifics. i think democrats can make real progress by holding republicans responsible for their specific

details. >> the proof is in the details and you don't have to dig far to get to the positives surrounding this. money talks on this. so there is going to be a calculation by everybody running how much effort do i put into obamacare when there is so much negative out there and are the people going to know who i really am and what i stand for. what about that? >> if you don't tell them or you try to cut and run and pretend somehow you're against it or you changed your mind, you know, voters are going to in the end vote for the real republican not the made up republican. in 1994 when bill clinton was in trouble and i wrote this in the daily beast. when clinton was in trouble a lot of democrats ran away from him. and you know what? a lot of them lost. it was people who stood up for their belief and their record and people like ted kennedy in massachusetts and had the toughest race of his life against mitt romney and chuck

r robb in virginia and they did well in that election and didn't walk away from their beliefs. history suggests what democrats ought to do is stand up for what they believe in and the best way to win. cutting and running isn't the best way to way and being defensive isn't the best way to win. look. obamacare is an issue in this election. i think your voters in that focus group in florida are right. right now, the jury is out. they are not sure what they are going to do. republicans are going to try to push them on this issue but democrats have all of the high cards here. because the details which you're right are not very deep, are the heart of the matter and democrats have to campaign on that. >> i see that some democrats are fixated on running home saying they are running home on fixing on obamacare. i think that just plays into the negative that -- one of the reasons they have had held 50 some odd votes in the house they want to fix it and supported by somebody who says i want to go back and fix it. what does that do? >> what i mean by a purely defensive posture. i don't want to replace it, i want to fix it. no, take your opponent and say,

this guy voted to say that the insurance companies could cut off your insurance when you're really sick and when you have cancer and your kids have a terrible disease. i think you hold them responsible for that. the same kind of fight we ought to make on the minimum wage and unemployment compensation. we ought to hold these folks responsible for the positions they have taken and not let them operate at the surface level where they say we don't want the government interfering with your health care which is not happening at all. all of the government is doing is preventing insurance companies from interfering with your health care. >> bob, great to have you with us and excellent analysis. thanks. >> remember to answer tonight's question at the bottom of the screen and share your thoughts with urs on facebook and on twitter. we want to 234know what you thi. bad trade deals are in cities where manufacturing provides the economy's backbone.

i went to lorraine, ohio, to talk to frustrated workers about the city's once booming steel industry. more on that is coming up. first, mary landrieu. trenders is next. stay with us. ♪ no two people have the same financial goals. pnc works with you to understand yours and help plan for your retirement. visit a branch or call now for your personal retirement review. are you still sleeping? just wanted to check and make sure that we were on schedule.

the first technology of its kind... mom and dad, i have great news. is now providing answers families need. siemens. answers.

i feel like my lips are going to, like, wash it off. these fit nicely. [ female announcer ] crest 3d white whitestrips keep the whitening ingredient in place, guaranteeing professional level results. crest whitestrips. the way to whiten.

guaranteeing professional level results. so i tri guaranteeing professional level results. ed depend so i and it made the difference between hearing about my daughter's gym meet, and being there. yeah! nailed it! unlike the bargain brand, depend gives you new fit-flex®, our best protection. it's a smooth and comfortable fit with more lycra strands. hi sweetie! get your free sample at depend.com. . time for the trenders. social media action. here is where you can find it and i appreciate you being a part of the ed team. can you catch me on the radio 127 on monday through friday noon to three. we have decided we are reporting here are today's top trenders. voted on by you. >> show me the money. >> the number three trender.

lotto loot. >> it's megamillions. >> how rich can you get? >> the jackpot estimated at 400 million dollars. >> dollar, dollar bills y'all. >> someone could become a megamillionaire tonight. >> chances of winning the big money? 1 in 258 million. >> i like those odds. >> 400 million dollars would make for a nice retirement. >> the number two trender. for sure. >> i will not wear rose colored glasses when it comes to russia. this is without question our number one geo political foe. >> mitt romney takes on obama timing. >> against 11 people. >> we stand ready to oppose further sanctions. >> if we stay our ground and we ratchet up the sanctions we can make russia pay an enormous cost. >> clean and unclear, number three. >> the department of state looked at this issue is oil

different from other oil. >> oil that is. black gold. texas tea. >> the keystone pipeline will transport safely the cleanest barrel of oil produced in north america. >> we have heard that one. >> i'm sure it's safe. >> questions surround the safety of tar sands oil. >> the u.s. academy of science, they saw absolutely no material difference between oil sands oil or any of the other oil. >> tar sands are among the dirtiest and carbon intensive fuels. >> this is issue is nothing but a red herring. >> 17% more carbon emissions than regular old crude. >> to create a huge pile called -- carries heavy metals throughout the communities this is very bad for people's health. >> a pin-hole leak can empty 700,000 gallons of crude oil a day. >> the cleanest barrel of oil produced in north america.

>> joining us tonight on "the ed show" is the executive vice president and president of development for transcanada. mr. posteriorbay, appreciate yo time. i want to get to the quality of the oil. is the tar sands oil the cleanest barrel of oil produced in north america? that was the claim made by senator landrieu of louisiana. what is your response to that? >> you know, ed, i think this debate over oil and the relatively dirtiness of oil is far overstated. let's be clear. oil is oil. the state department in any of the several environmental statements they did on the keystone pipeline most notably the final eis came to the conclusion that a barrel of oil from the oil sands is about 16% or 17% more carbon intensive than the average barrel of oil refined in the u.s. i think the important thing to

remember is we are not displacing the average barrel of oil refined in the u.s. we are going to be displacing heavy oil imported out of venezuela and mexico and oil from california all of those oils have basically the exact same chemical composition and the exact same co 2 intensity. >> but isn't that a statement that you would rally around, that it is going to be the cleanest barrel of oil produced in north america? i mean, it's either true or it's false. >> you know, my -- my take this -- and i think, once again, people are missing the bigger picture here when it comes to a barrel of oil. it doesn't matter what kind of oil. on average, about 70% or 80% of the emissions from a barrel of oil don't come from the production, the refining of it. they come from the combustion of that oil is refined products in a car, in a vehicle. if you really want to go after co dunn 2 emissions have have to

go after the tailpipe emissions and splitting atoms over oils that are almost identical i don't think is very productive. >> you have someone in the united states senate who is making a statement, an absolute is the way it comes across and i will have to say you have not confirmed that tonight. you have -- you won't give me a true or false on that. i mean, it is either cleaner than venezuelan oil or it isn't. >> sorry. sorry if i wasn't clear on that. i think it is absolutely identical to venezuelan heavy. it's identical to heavy from california or mexico. >> that would not make it the cleanest. it would be, you know, and exact is what people are looking for in this because the environmental conversation, both with your country in canada and the united states need to be on par. what about the dangers to the environment? is there no more danger to the environment with tar sands oil than any other oil that comes

in? >> no, ed i think we can take a look at the findings from the state department in those environmental impact statements. they looked at everything to do with the oil that is going to be moved by this pipeline and they came to the conclusion to the extent the oil is moving canadian oil sands, oil, there is no -- no difference in terms of leaks in pipelines, no impact on the environmental. they took a look at this issue exhaustively and found no issue whatsoever. >> they did not address water and the aquifer being exposed to the risk and got a lot of americans who are very concerned. i know one keystone pipeline over the top. they are saying why do another one? can you guarantee that there will be no health risks with a pipeline going over the aquifer? >> ed, i would disagree with that first comment of yours. the state department did, in fact, look at specifically the issue of oil spills over the

aquifer and they came to the conclusion in the unlikely event there was a very large scale spill above the aquifer that, at best, it would only move several hundred feet down gradient in the aquifer. it's important for your viewers to understand that aquifers are not giant tanks of underground water. what they are is water saturated rock and gravel. oil moves through these incredibly slowly. a final point. there are thousands of miles of oil pipelines that presently cross the aquifer and none of them are as safe as the keystone pipeline will be and those pipelines have safely delivered billions of barrels of oil. this is not an issue that i think your viewers need to have a great deal of concern over. >> okay. alexander poorbay, appreciate your time on "the ed show." we will have you back. thanks for joining us. coming up the american steel industry is the best in the world but bad trade deals are threatening the great american

industry. more from our series "fighting chance american steel." later an abandoned gas station filled with radioactive material. this is what happens when the oil industry is allowed to operate without regulations. this is a classic example of that. but next, i'm taking your questions. ask ed live is coming up on "the ed show." we are right back. ♪

[ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. ♪ she can print amazing things, right from her computer. [ whirring ] [ train whistle blows ] she makes trains that are friends with trees. ♪ my mom works at ge. ♪ those little cialis tadalafil for daily use my mom works at ge. helps you be ready anytime the moment is right. cialis is also the only daily ed tablet

approved to treat symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or any allergic reactions like 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 free 30-tablet trial.

welcome back to "the ed show." love hearing from our viewers and love the questions. ask ed live. the first question tonight comes from dan. he want to know why is it that democrats only turn out in presidential elections? well, i know that history is not on the side of the democrats in off-year elections but the fact of the matter is in 2006, the democrats took over the house. and bush was in for another two years after that. so that midterm election went very well for the democrats but they were running against an

unpopular war and a very unpopular president. it was in 2008 and 10 and 12 where the jerry make any differencering took place. the presidential election is the proper vote and things a heck of a lot different. when it comes to the house, i think that this can work one of two ways. it's either going to really motivate democrats to come out and do something about it and overcome the y grks erryma. >> do you believe the malaysian flight will eventually be found? i do think that they will get a conclusion on this and find this aircraft. let's just hope that they are pulling a tom hanks and on an island right now grilling seafood. our series fighting chance american steel continues next. stay with us. i'm mary thomas with your market rap. stocks climbing the second straight day and dow adding 88

pins s&p gaining 13 and nasdaq finishing up 53. policy makers began a two day meeting today and expected another round of tapering will than announced tomorrow. permits assigned rose more than 7% for housing. oracle shares are lower following their latest earnings report. that is it for cnbc. first in business worldwide. today i have new campbell's chunky spicy chicken quesadilla soup. she gives me chunky before every game. i'm very souperstitious. haha, that's a good one! haha! [ male announcer ] campbell's chunky soup. it fills you up right.

we are the thinkers. the job jugglers. the up all-nighters.

and the ones who turn ideas into action. we've made our passions our life's work. we strive for the moments where we can say, "i did it!" ♪ we are entrepreneurs who started it all... with a signature. legalzoom has helped start over 1 million businesses, turning dreamers into business owners. and we're here to help start yours. we still run into problems. that's why liberty mutual insurance

offers accident forgiveness if you qualify, and new car replacement, standard with our auto policies. so call liberty mutual at... today. and if you switch, you could save up to $423. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? welcome back to "the ed show." you hear it all the time. politicians in washington, d.c. talk about protecting the middle class. middle class jobs. middle class americans! but when this country enters into bad trade agreements it cuts down to the middle class jobs on main street. tonight in our "part two of our series "fighting chance american

steel." we are taking you to the city of lorraine, ohio. it's a once thriving city built on steel and now lorraine is struggleing in the aftermath of lousy trade agreements. ♪ >> third generation steel worker. and this is what we know in the city of lorraine is steel. we're considered a melting pot. we are so diverse as far as heritage and nationality and steel is lorraine. >> reporter: for more than a hundred years, united states steel has called the city of lorraine, ohio, home. in 1894, the lorraine facility was founded as a rail mill. it became part of u.s. steel corporation in 1901 and in 1903, lorraine steel company produced its first piece of pipe.

for most folks in lorraine, steel is more than just a business. it's their family. it's their community. and it's their way of life. >> lorraine has a long history of steel making and i'm third generation also. both of my grandfathers worked in the mill and retired from the mill. my father worked in the mill. >> steel, as i said before, the history of american steel is the history of the city of lorraine. it's the same thing. one goes hand in hand but we need to look at it not just as history but steel should be our present and it should be our future. you know? the people in lorraine, these guys are resilient. you know? we are hard working people and always have been and we are a people who have made things, you know, with our hands, we are a people who know the meaning of hard work. you know, my family has worked in that mill and my family has been here the same amount of time the steel mill has been here and there is a reason for that. >> lorraine is a big steel down, an auto town, an industrial

town. it's used to be known as ford's second city. ford had a big plant here that closed down about ten years ago. we still have a ford plant located down in avon which is a suburb of lorraine but lorraine was a huge, powerful industrial town in its day and last thing we have is our steel mill and we want to continue to keep that going because the community depends on that tremendously for economic base. >> that way of life came under attack when china flooded the global market with below cost steel. >> your particular industry, the capacity to produce steel in china is expanding significantly. is that accurate? >> it's extraordinary. >> the expansion of the still capacity is stripping its projected demand. >> that is the case. they are the most underpriced market on the globe today and a consequence of oversupply. >> reporter: domestic production took a hit and thousands of

people from ohio were left without jobs. from 2008 to 2012, almost 30% of lorraine residents found themselves liveing below the poverty level. >> you could go down 28 streit when i was a young man. clubs and stories were all over. you know? it was a different academy because people were working. one guy supports probably i don't know the math on that one, but about ten jobs. >> this was a beautiful community and it has, over time, disintegrated. the interest and the development of manufacturing is gone so the basis for american life, the american way is gone with our jobs. so you look around, not only in this organization that we're in and this place that we are in, but look at our community, when we grew up, this is not the

lorraine we grew up. manufacturing is the backbone. >> u.s. steel won the trade case against the chinese dumping. the steel city of lorraine got a second chance. today, lorraine tubular operations employs 700 workers and has an annual production capability of 780,000 net tons of steel pipe. the expansion of horizontal shale drilling in the united states has fueled a strong command for ocgt steel pipe products over the last few years. it should be lorraine, ohio's chance to shine but their way of life is under attack, yet again. this time, thanks to south korean steel. >> we saw this just five or six years ago. in 2008, we saw chinese dumping of steel into the united states.

we found the solution then. we had a tariff put into place to make it so everyone on a level playing field. as soon as that happens american steel started to rebound. most plants were under 30% reduction at that point and almost everybody in lorraine laid off and around the country all mills everybody was laid off with few people skeleton crews. now what we are seeing it's exact same situation just six years later and now korea instead of china. we need to look what we did then and do the same thing. >> reporter: through thick and thin, the steel workers of lorraine, ohio, are proud of what they do and not going down without a fight. >> until we get people saying your family is as important as mine and mine is as important as yours, we are always going to be in this fight. there brother's family is just as important to mine and mine is as important to his and we are in this fight together and it is

a fight. >> we can compete to anybody in the world the quality we have here and we make it best in america. we compete with anybody. playing field give us the opportunity to compete fairly. >> tomorrow night we continue our series here on "the ed show." a phenomenal investment by united states steel corporation over 200 million dollars in the city of lorraine, ohio. they are banking on america. they are banking on american workers. that story tomorrow night. coming up in the oil rich states, a lack of oversight can turn dangerous. bismarck tribune reporter lauren donovan uncovered abandoned building where oil companies have illegally been dumping radioactive waste. she joins me ahead on "the ed show."

this is the first power plant in the country to combine solar and natural gas at the same location. during the day, we generate as much electricity as we can using solar. at night and when it's cloudy, we use more natural gas.

this ensures we can produce clean electricity whenever our customers need it. ♪ mayo? corn dogs? you are so outta here! aah! [ female announcer ] the complete balanced nutrition of great-tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and 9 grams of protein. [ bottle ] ensure®. nutrition in charge™.

business. phil jensen the south dakota state senator wants to put discrimination on the books.

that's right. jensen went one step further than the arizona failed senate bill 1062. he sponsored legislation explicitly allowing merchants to deny services based on sexual orientation. >> love is not on trial here. as a follower of jesus christ i'm commanded to love, to love everyone. that does not mean i must condone the lifestyle choices that certain people choose. the lgbt people want standing ovations, if i may. >> the bill failed. but phil jensen is still standing by the proposed law. he says race and religion should be free game for discrimination as well and that an interview where he professed his love for unpasteurized milk and drug testing welfare recipients jens says the kkk should be able to

run a bakery of bigotry. he wants to dish out discrimination but if he thinks voters will dump the civil rights act for his plate of hate, he can keep on pretending.

welcome back. this is the story for the folks who take a shower after work. a dangerous situation is unfolding in north dakota. the state of course is booming with oil. in fact, north dakota is the second largest oil producing state in this country after the

state of texas. it's an antiregulation republican led state with pretty much the mind set of you can drill it, do whatever you want with it. the state also has a massive surplus and a small oil extraction tax, which is added up over the years. north dakota state budget director estimates the general funds surplus will be at $457 million when the two-year budget cycle ends on june 30th of next year. now, what are the by products of all the drilling the several dozens tons of what's known as nets. filter socks. now, these socks are being just thrown away every day. the socks basically are used to capture the solids in waste water used in hydraulic fracking. the socks are a notorious source of radio active material. they concentrate naturally,

occurring radiation from jol ji down in a well hole. north dakota state health department says the filters should not be put in landfills anywhere in the state. instead, they should be handled by certified companies for disposal and hazardous waste sites in other places in the country. that's not happening. oil companies are cutting corners and socks are being dumpled illegally. thousands of pounds were found in a rural property southwest of wyford city just a few weeks g ago. a reporter wrote about the dangerous findings in a gas station in noonan, north dakota. lauren donovan joins us for more on this. good to have you. excellent work, as always. how dangerous is this? >> well, that's a tough question to answer, ed. a part of the problem with the radioactive filter socks in

north dakota is that there are not a lot of good data yet about how radioactive they are. at the present time, north dakota state health department has hired a national laboratory that will be doing a lot of testing on various material. from the oil field. including filter socks. and at the time when that study is concluded, we'll know a lot more about the radio active. we do know they tend to be higher than background and tend to be in some cases, pretty high or hot as it were. >> so, these socks are not supposed to be handled the way they're being handled now. there is a real danger to it. >> yeah. nobody should be around these. people should not be injessing or inhaling. if they touch them, they shouldn't obviously put their hands in their mouth. so, yeah, there is a need for

care. the state health department estimates that about 27 tons of these socks are generated every day in the oil field. it's not known because we don't have any real system for trackinging where they go and how they get there. so, it's not really known how much of this is illegally dumped in the way you described. but we know obviously that some of it is. the state health department thinks that more, most of it is properly handled. so, these incidents, you know, i've only covered two incidents of this severity, so hopefully, that will tell us that most of the time, these are being put where they're supposed to go. >> it would seem to me that state officials would know who's supposed to be handling this stuff. the question begs, are regulation and yore sight basically keeping pace with the

industry in north dakota? >> ed, as you know, you know north dakota very well, too, and you know that 70,000 square miles is the size of north dakota. 15,000 square miles is the size of the oil field. right now, we have about 185 rigs in there. they have hundreds of service companies. we have, i mean, there are more moving parts in oil field than there are in a nest of centipedes. and so, it's i think a very difficult to know exactly which companies are handling all of these products. so, at some point, it might be required that that kind of registration occur. right now, it does not. >> so, what's the reaction of the residents in the heels of this story? this is something that no one knew was taking place. >> well, i can't say that nobody knew this was taking place. the scale of these two incidents

was very surprising. but we know, we found in the past or we've covered in the past that these filter socks, which contain some level of radioactivity, have been found in community dumpsters. they look i don't know if you're showing any pictures. >> yes, we are. doesn't look good. >> well, they aren't pretty, but they look a lot like a butterfly net that a child might pick up and use or a little net that he might want to use to trap min nows or something like that. so, there's a lot of worry that in these sort of community settings and dumpsters, that children might actually play with these. >> so, they shouldn't be left out where the public can interact with them. >> lauren donovan, appreciate

your time tonight. great reporting as all. i think this is really a classic example of what happens when oil gets its way. there's a lack of oversight big time. there should be some regulation on this. it's kind of like cleaning up after work, isn't it? that's the ed show. politics nation starts now. good even, rev. >> and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead, the shame old, shame old gop. exactly one year ago today, the republican national committee released its autopsy on the 2012 debacle. reince priebus said he was tired of a party considered quote, scary and narrow minded, out of touch and full of stuffy old men. but a year later, the party's not getting better. it's getting worse. last year's report talked about building a lasting