class. and then northwestern university football players will become the first u.s. student athletes to vote on whether to join a union today. northwestern, this is a real test case and what is possibly something that larger movement for how student athletes potentially could get paid. that's going to do it for "way too early." thanks, gang! that was weak. "morning joe" starts right now. ♪ ♪ couldn't understand why he has to pay for land ♪ ♪ this land belongs to you and me ♪ >> take it cliven. >> i want to tell you one more thing i know about the negro. >> all right. that's enough with the song. all right. let's see. >> oh, my gosh. that's good.

you know, willie, he went out yesterday and wrote a second verse. >> he did. he doubled down. >> he doubled down. >> given the opportunity to explain, he explains in more detail. >> my goodness. >> charming fellow. >> i saw a tweet yesterday that said if you're at home and you're sitting in front of a notebook and it says across the top slavery and on one side pro, on the other side con and you draw a line down the middle, stay away from a microphone. i mean, it's going to be a bad day. well, good morning. it's friday, april 25th. great to have you with us. on set we've got the chairman of deutsch donnie deutsch. we're going to ask him about his active life. and editor of the national journal ron fornier.

>> who doesn't have an active life. >> come on. he was telling us when he grew up he was in a barbershop. >> we call them barbershops in detroit. >> no. we were talking that's where donnie does that. >> that's where he meets friends. >> and ron said i can't remember the last time i did that. in washington adding to this wonderful conversation, we've got pulitzer prize winning columnist and associate editor for "the washington post" and msnbc political analyst eugene robinson. and columnist for bloomberg view, jeffrey goldberg with us. >> get this out of the way. >> mika is coming in a few minutes. you know, she was at the thrive conference last night. this conference is about teaching women mainly to relax and not work so hard and not be so focused.

people that know mika, that's -- we're just hoping she's listening to some of the speakers there. >> yeah. i think she was just emceeing and not participating in that message. she's not capable of it. >> she is. >> i have a question for mika that will require her up. it's an interesting question. i like when i say my questions are interesting. >> of course. >> you are great. at least that's what they tell you at the beauty salon. >> the purpose of all women's conferences or women's initiatives to push women forward on these issues. but there's a flip side the more we continue to do that, the more we are designating classes or issues. you know, when you see the ten most powerful women in businesses, they're still then saying on some level we have to designate ourselves. >> ladies and gentlemen, donnie deutsch. >> destroyed a hundred years of movement. >> it's great having you with us, donnie.

>> i'll drive home safely. do you understand what i'm saying? >> i understand the point you're making. i think we'll wait for mika to rebut that. >> that would be good. >> i thought i'd bring that up now. >> four dudes around the table and one dude in washington and we're probably going to get a woman on the set here. >> i didn't hear what donnie said. i couldn't hear any of that. >> just understand that -- >> you're blessed. >> -- you were blessed by god. the holy spirit was moving through you and blocked your hearing. let's go to willie right now, because he's got a fascinating story at the cliven bundy desk. >> yeah. cliven bundy who two days ago was being called a conservative hero by some has his fortunes upended on o reports he made about african-americans. nevada rancher is refusing to pay the government $1 million in grazing fees. but it spiraled into something

else when he openly questioned whether african-americans are better off as slaves than living off government subsidies. >> he actually wanted a retraction from them. he demanded a retraction. if you say something and they don't get it right, you write a retraction. >> but then video came out of mr. bundy making the exact remarks originally reported by "the new york times." >> i want to tell you one more thing i know about the negro. they didn't have nothing to do. they didn't have nothing for their kids to do. they didn't have nothing for their young girls to do. and because they were basically on government subsidy, so now what do they do? they abort their young children. they put their young men in jail. because they never learned how to pick cotton. and i've often wondered are they better off as slaves, picking cotton and having family life or are they better off having

government subsidy. >> that's under a interstate there as well. he backed off his original remarks. >> that's exactly what i said. i said i'm wondering if they're better off under government subsidy and their young women having the abortions and their young men in jail and their older women and their children are standing, sitting -- >> okay. come on. >> stop. >> come on. i don't want to hear that nonsense. >> what's interesting, though, is the way some people who supported him on the issue of the land grazing including some prominent united states senators ran for the exits yesterday after his comments in "the new york times." >> no doubt about it. gene robinson, there were obviously a lot of politicians. i think this is what's most disappointing. there were a lot that ran to his defense. and the people who were supposed

to be the usual suspects, the people on tv, the people on radio, bloggers were actually the ones like i said yesterday, eric erickson, early on saying excuse me i don't understand anything here but is he actually paying for the right to graze on that land? because it's socialism if you go out there and say everybody owns everything. and glenn beck was very harsh against this guy from the very beginning. but you have prominent united states senators and other prominent officials who actually came out early on and called this guy a hero. >> yeah, they did. and now as willie said, they can't find the exits fast enough. you know, obviously they dropped him like the piece of i won't say that what he is. the guy's a dead beat. you can question how the

government bashed its forces or whatever, but they've been waiting to get this money he owes for a long time. you know, i don't quite understand how people rushed headlong to that fruition. i think it has to do, frankly, with just this sort of anti-big government sort of vibe that he projected. you know, the enemy of my enemy is my friend and so if their enemy is big government and he's the enemy of big government, he's their friend. but he doesn't want them to be their friend anymore. >> exactly. i talked about it yesterday. it's this anti-government nihilism where you reflexively go to somebody standing up against the federal government. it gets a lot of these people in trouble. >> so these same senators would have supported me if i decided to not pay a portion of my

income taxes. >> the great word here is dead beat. and again, i think this is -- jeffrey, i think for the republican party, this is a good warning sign. i think mainstream republicans were very concerned. but some candidates that are so desperate to get the fringe on their side, they've got to be careful. of course the hypocrisy is so thick because nobody stayed off of dwight d. eisenhower's interstate system to these protests. these would be the first people squawking if their medicare benefits were cut by $3 next year, but they're these great anti-government activists. it's pure b.s. >> the first thing they should do is try to vet some of their libertarian heroes for their position on picking cotton. where you come down on that one seems to be -- i mean, the insanity. just listening to him just now i was thinking as a reporter i'm

overwhelmingly attempt to try to fly out there and put a question to him which is, so what do you think of the jews? [ laughter ] >> i have a feeling this is all a part of one big -- >> he's got something to tell you about that. he could tell you one thing about the jew. >> i'm sure he has some thoughts. it's just amazing. i think you guys have pointed out the obvious thing here which is the flight to this guy on the part of mainstream common at a timers and senators. he's a dead beat and a nut, but they should be asking themselves what is it about a guy like that that attracts us to him. that's the question. >> i think it's the enemy of my enemy is my friend. and i talked about it yesterday. there were some making a mistake

rushing to the side of george zimmerman. if you all studied my record and saw i'm for the department of education, i want the money to go back to the states for the elimination of four federal departments. i can't remember them all right now. rick perry and i are brothers on that front. but if i told you guys all of my views, if you went back and looked at my views, your hair would fall out. look what happened. it's unbelievable. it is these extremists have no place in the party and the conservative movement. i think some senators and governors and congressmen have to show a little bit more restraint before embracing these people. >> welfare reform has always been plagued by the republican party as an issue that was supposed to either directly or indirectly have the black face

to not put it delicately. it's been a racially divisive issue. now we have the fact most welfare recipients are white individuals and there are cheats of all colors and classes. if nothing else, maybe we'll get a broader definition of what a welfare cheat is. that's what this guy is. >> one last point, bill o'reilly last night who i don't think anyone would call a flaming liberal saying if you're going to partner up with somebody idea logically, you better know who that person is. he didn't support bundy from the get go. let's move on. the obama administration's efforts to boost the profile in asia facing setbacks this morning. "the new york times" frames it, the president is left watching as outside forces unravel his best laid plans. despite all the pageantry surrounding the visit to tokyo,

they were unable to get a trade deal with japan. meanwhile palestinians fail to create a government with hamas. that's the group and the others in the united states call a terrorist organization. this is a major disappointment to john kerry who has tried to avoid that scenario in a middle east. until ukraine despite repeated warnings to withdraw forces from the border. the kremlin launched its latest round after ukrainian forces am tacked pro-russian separatists at checkpoints in the eastern part of the country. >> jeffrey, bad news on all fronts not only for this administration, but more importantly for this country. the middle east peace process that john kerry's been fighting for so much collapsed with the reuniting of palestinians, the two palestinian groups.

the trade agreement falls through. more problems in ukraine. a bad, bad day for the obama administration. >> right. you know, on -- break them down just for argument's sake. -- you can always go lower. and, you know, john kerry -- >> that's a positive way to look at it. >> i'm totally optimistic. it could always be worse. one of the lessons here, by the way and this holds true for what happened in japan on the trade deal. it holds true for ukraine obviously. what we're learning, we need to learn is again and again is, you know, we think of america as the deciding force in all of these issues. you know, we're -- no matter how powerful we are, we are bystanders. i mean, look. what happened in japan, it's bad for the u.s.

it's bad for japan. but it's about domestic japanese politics as much as anything else. it's a farmer lobby. you know, there's been a confluence of events. we don't seem to be, you know, on top of the ukraine situation. we don't have a mean managing vladimir putin yet. i don't think any president could manage him. you know, on middle east peace, it never was going that well to begin with. so i'm not -- i don't think this is a crashing defeat. this is sort of back to the norm. >> on the question of russia, john kerry said just a few hours ago this quote. let me be clear if russia continues in this direction it will not just be a grave mistake, it will be an expensive mistake. we've been hearing this rhetoric for a long time now. it's not clear putin is caring or listening to it. if he does advance, what does the united states and white house do? >> i think putin probably cares.

in fact, putin mentioned yesterday that there are costs for russia. but, you know, he's willing to bear those costs. so what does he united states do? move forward broader, more sect sectoral sanctions that could hit the gas industry in russia? perhaps. there's not much more you could do. make more slightly threatening from the russian point of view nato forces. and more exercises. but in the end, there's not a lot you can do to putin. you know, these are situations that we're not entirely in control of and no u.s. president would be entirely in control of. on the middle east peace, either you think it's better on balance to have an attempted peace

process going on or you think it's not. ipg it's good to try to get them to talk than to leave it alone. but don't go into it with a lot of expectations. it's only been a few thousand years. >> yeah, it has. by the way, jeffrey says it could get worse. >> it could get worse. that's the new slogan for middle east diplomacy. >> it could get worse. >> it's uplifting. donnie, this one's for you. there are signs that some democratic candidates now are warming up to the idea of running toward rather than away from president obama's health care law. >> i beat cancer. but the insurance company still denied my health insurance just because of a pre-existing condition. i now have health insurance again because of mark begich. because he fought the insurance companies so that we no longer have to. >> now i worry we both could get

hurt if evan jenkins goes to congress. he vowed to repeal black lung benefits. and charge women more for health care. we can't go back to those days. >> okay. so that's in alaska. "the new york times" points out democrats are taking a fix, don't repeal strategy. continue talking about plans to fix and improve the law and highlight the negative consequences for america as if it was outright repealed. no candidate is embracing obamacare more than pennsylvania congresswoman allison schwartz. she paid more than half a million dollars to air this ad in her race for governor. >> i worked with president obama on the affordable care act and getting health coverage to all americans. it was my belief that insurance companies can no longer deny coverage for kids with pre-existing conditions. it's something i'm proud of because it also closed the gap in prescription drug coverage for seniors. tom corbett has decide not to take the medicaid money. as governor i will take the medicaid expansion because

500,000 pennsylvanians need health care coverage. that's exactly the kind of leadership i will bring as your next governor. >> it's not kay hagen in north carolina. what do you make of this move? >> we talked about this last week, and to me you jump in. joe, you used the term 90 miles an hour in the landrieu ad last week. >> very aggressive. >> there are enough anecdotes now, once they went past the 7 million signup mark, you have wind at your back. and push the republicans to basically stay in the corner of no, no, no. you don't embrace it wholeheartedly but you embrace it. it is the party of yes and the way to go. bill clinton is right. jump in head first. >> ron, very interesting, we were talking about this last week. medicaid. governors rejecting medicaid is actually, if you poll it, this

is an area where democrats -- democratic candidates have an advantage. looks like she's going to exploit that. >> one thing we've learned from the last midterm elections. let's go to '94 with bill clinton. when you have an unpopular issue and an unpopular president, there's no way you can run away from that president or that issue. if i'm that candidate, i would rather fight on the issue than on the president. i would much rather right now make my debate over medicaid funding and the advantages that we've already seen with the aca than to try to distance myself from obama. than try to be the anti-obama. because he's unpopular, very unpopular especially in the red states. you have a much better terrain if you go right to the issue. if you try to run 90 miles an hour. >> jeffrey? >> no, i just was both nodding in agreement with what ron just

said. but i was thinking about it in light of that ad which i just saw for the first time on defending children with pre-existing conditions. i was just thinking to myself, that sounds fairly effective. it's not my issue, it's not my area, but i was thinking that would go over maybe not with the hard-core red state ideological opposition of anything obama touches. >> you'll notice from all these ads, they're going specifically to elements of the affordable care act, of obamacare that they know are going to resonate in 30-second ads. also personalizing it with the female jogger talking about her personal experiences. again, none of us know whether that's going to work or not. but i think a lot of us believe that if you're a democrat, if you voted for the affordable care act don't run away from it. run with it.

or else you're going to get picked off. >> if you've got to vote for it on your record, you can't run away from it or you look like a coward. stand up and embrace it. certainly there are some races where you're not going to hear about obamacare and they won't embrace it. it's interesting to see how now over the last couple of months even, this narrative has changed where we say my gosh there's no way you could run on obamacare. run away from it. now we see at least some candidates going. >> in these states where we're seeing the switch, we're also seeing movement in the polls. you know, exactly what came first. but those two things are happening. and democrats are feeling better about their chances. and look, you know, republicans are going to bash the affordable care act. so why should you do it for them? you're going to get bashed on that anyhow, you might as well run with it. and tell these individual stories, these personal stories.

introduce voters to their neighbors who have benefitted from elements of the affordable care act. and i think you might get some traction. >> it's a major branding issue. it's got to not be obamacare. it's the affordable care act. and those are two very distincti distinctive terms. and the quicker the discussion can always eventually be this is the affordable care act versus obamacare, that's a big distinction. if the democrats are smart, the words obamacare will not be in their mouth. >> do you want to take affordable care away from people or not? >> all right. we're going to break. very interesting story on the front of usa today. right now reporting 63,000 bridges in desperate need of repair. and there's a possibility of the transportation trust fund actually running out of money by this fall. this is an area where my party and small government conservatives can even support

infrastructure and keeping our bridges running and keeping our planes safe and in the air and everything else. we'll talk about that later on. we've got more to talk about. from the financial times we've got julian tett, nicolas kristof, and michael hanie, and father kevin o'brien will be here for faith on fridays. coming up next we've got the top stories in the politico playbook. but first here's bill kairns with a look at the forecast. it's going to warm up a bit. >> a little bit. but saturday morning you won't be happy where you live this weekend, joe. two storms on the weather map. one in the ohio valley. the other storm is dipping down through california. the first storm goes up through new england during the night tonight into tomorrow morning with some rainy cold weather. the second storm is the one that will bring our threat of severe weather. let me show you who's getting wet this morning. cincinnati, columbus, bring the umbrella. eventually in pittsburgh. late this afternoon we'll also

see a few strong thunderstorms. d.c. could get a thunderstorm late today. but as far as severe weather goes, we're talking large hail, damaging wind, maybe an isolated tornado. it's from richmond to the raleigh durham area. so a small area and typical severe weather event. now for the big storm over the weekend. saturday night late in the night we may get some large hail, damaging winds. i don't think we're going to get too many tornadoes. at least no big strong tornadoes saturday night. it's as we go into sunday, that will probably be one of our first tornado outbreaks. at this point it looks like a mini outbreak. if you're from houston to dallas all the way through little rock, kansas city, and st. louis. all the major metropolitan areas that have the threat of seeing severe weather. that is sunday afternoon into sunday night. everyone else looks like a decent, decent friday. especially for the mid-atlantic and to the southeast. enjoy your morning and the

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♪ it's time to take a look at the morning papers. let's start from our parade of papers "the washington post." a 10-year-old did her father a big favor yesterday during a take our daughters and sons to work day ceremony at the white house. first lady michelle obama called on charlotte bell who had this to say. >> okay. you right in the front. >> my dad's been out of a job for three years and i wanted to give you his resume. >> oh, how moving. the two spoke briefly while they hugged and the first lady took the resume with her when she left the room. >> more news on the first lady from the topeka capital journal. now mrs. obama is changing the

date she will address seniors in kansas. she was initially scheduled to speak during a graduation for several schools on a saturday in may, but as you may have heard, some students and parents actually complained that she was coming because there would be fewer tickets available for friends and family and security. all these excuses. the first lady will now speak to the students the night before in topeka. she's marking the 60th anniversary of brown versus the board of education. >> that's a great compromise. now you've got the kids who can bring all the family, all the relatives they want. they're not going to have to go through -- yeah, i mean, listen. if my kids have a chance to hear a first lady for graduation, that's great. but this is a perfect compromise. she comes the night before. if people don't want to come, they don't have to come. and it doesn't get in the way of the ceremony. and from my hometown, bubba watson is donating $50,000 for

technology equipment for his childhood elementary school. bubba goes back to northwest florida and he tears up. this guy is like granite. he doesn't cry, but he got a little emotional. how can you not love bubba? he's also donating $35,000 to his high school. watson was emotional during speeches at both schools. he also posed for selfies with the students and bought the entire student body lunch. i've got to say as a two-time masters winner, i'm glad to have him in the fraternity. >> they don't talk about you enough. >> i offended some people down there. i'm not a joiner. you know me. >> was it because you brought chick-fil-a to the champions dinner the year after you won. they didn't like that. >> yeah. >> i thought that was a great call. >> it was better than what fuzzy

suggested. >> new york daily news, a cat cafe is now open in new york city. what's happening here? >> i've got a new place to go. >> my gosh. are you going to buy cats and try to pick up women? >> when in rome, man. look at that. i'm a marketer. i see an opportunity. >> purina is hosting a pop-up cafe. to have a coffee and spend time with kittens. they're all eligible for adoption. >> that's wonderful. >> okay. that's nice. these are cats that -- i thought people were bringing their cats from home and meeting other people with cats. this is actually a little better. this is nice. these are cats in need. >> actually, are not allowing a certain politico reporter to go up there. because he would get 15 cats. >> oh, mr. gavin. >> exactly. this weekend' parade magazine, actor bryan cranston talks about

breaking away from the role of walter white and playing lbj in the broadway play "all the way." i've got to go see that. and also scientist in the few film version of "godzilla." >> did you know anything about that? >> i heard great things about the lbj play. >> you haven't seen it yet? >> i haven't i hear it's fantastic. >> the oregonian, the verdict on the health care website is in and it's not good. a technological advisory committee says they should switch to a federal exchange. switching to a federal program would cost about $5 million, however, trying to fix the oregon exchange would cost more than $78 million. that brings us to politico's playbook where we've got john harris. >> good morning, willie. >> so a republican running for u.s. senate in oregon has released a political ad which shows why she could be a serious challenger to the incumbent

there. >> i was 21 weeks pregnant. i had an ultrasound. my ob doctor called me and said there's something wrong with your baby's spine and we needed to look at terminating the pregnancy. the world stopped. dr. wehby was the first person that gave us hope. she was the first person that said, congratulations, you're having a daughter. dr. wehby was going to open her back and reconstruct my daughter's entire lower spine. she just hugged me and kissed my forehead and she said, it's going to be okay, sweetheart. i've got her. and i'm going to see you in a couple hours. i gave her the most precious thing i had. i trusted her. we have a 12-year-old today because of dr. wehby. dr. wehby would make an incredible senator. she will always do the right thing. she will act with integrity. all of washington needs to be full with people like dr. wehby.

>> she is the republican candidate for senator there. a lot of people saying perhaps now because of the affordable care act that jeff merkley thought to be a safe incumbent there could be threatened. >> that's pretty much a stretch of the polls we've seen at politico still show the incumbent well ahead by double digits. but i would still, i think you're right to draw attention to this ad and this candidate. because she is conveying strength in areas where republicans have been weak. that the party is seen as too old, too white, too male, and too unable to speak to values voters who don't happen to agree with traditional conservative social values. and i just think this is a brilliant ad. because it shows an attractive woman candidate, younger candidate speaking not in partisan terms, but in sort of very human values terms to oregon voters. it really works well. it also shows how politics is

all about innovation. it used to be if you're a challenger, you can't be too negative as a challenger or too heavy handed in your ads. that's how you got all these cliche scare ads. this is a totally different approach. and i think it's rightly getting a lot of attention. >> it's a good ad. she's still got a fight, joe. and merkley still up double digits. >> republicans are now talking about the possibility of beating senator merkley. oregon is such a fascinating state. last time i was campaigning there with lindsey graham and others, i was shocked when i went out there and saw republicans controlled the state house, republicans i think at the time controlled the senate and it is not as ideological of a state. it's a divided state ideological state. federal republicans are starting to think they've got a shot in oregon because merkley is one of the more liberal members of the

senate. of course the obamacare problems there. they think with this candidate might make a difference. >> i'm curious what you think is the best way for them to go after merkley. >> what's the best play? i think especially in light of the fact that obamacare -- all the health care problems that they've had. i think i would run -- if i was a republican i would go straight there especially with this candidate. what about you? >> i think that's right. i think there is a libertarian strain out there. it is a place -- i think it's going to be awfully hard for republicans to beat merkley, but you can't rule out that possibility. and that is a very effective ad. it really jumps out at you. >> strong ad. i mean, very appealing candidate. it's hard to argue with that. >> if the republicans can expand the board is bit, if you start actually making democrats look at a state like oregon and nobody's suggesting that's going to happen this morning, but if

they can move in this direction, can this candidate with the obamacare exchange problems -- the oregon exchange problems and actually get democrats not just focused like a laser focused on arkansas, louisiana. expand that map. that's bad for the democratic party, good for republicans. they need to figure out how to do that if they want to win the senate. i've got a feeling they're not going to win every red state they think they're going to win. >> right. and as you say, it's unlikely that merkley would lose. but the fact we're talking about it and people in oregon are talking about a challenge for a progressive guy in oregon it is news. john harris with a look at the playbook, thanks. >> thanks, guys. coming up, the verdict is in. michael pineda is sitting out. >> he's an artist. would you do this to van gogh? >> he has pine tar on his neck as we speak. >> that's not to grip the baseball. >> oh, my. what? >> coming up next on "morning joe." ♪

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♪ all right. yankees pitcher michael pineda now facing a ten-game suspension from the pine tar incident.

suspending him for holding a substance on his person. today he said he's not going to appeal the suspension. he's eligible to come back may 6th. pineda said he was going to -- that is terrible cheating. >> come on. you're phoning it in. come on. >> he should have called gaylord perry. he had this vaseline up here. go to the hat. it's a clear substance. the ump can't see it. >> were you with me when mike was telling my the phil story? the ump comes out to the mound and he asks for his glove. he gives him his glove. the ump pulls out a long piece of paper and opens it up and the note says, you're getting close. >> that's so good.

so pineda is out ten games and nobody's arguing with it including him or the yankees. the most decorated olympian in history back in the pool. michael phelps officially returned to competitive swimming competing last night in arizona. he had the best final time. he and ryan lochte went 1-2. phelps finished less than a second behind lochte. a lot of people asking is he coming back to the 2016 olympics. >> i have an idea. we should all have swim caps one day. coming up next, julian tett will join us with mika's must reads. don't go away. ♪ ♪

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shot of the white house. beautiful spring day. so donnie asked a question here. let's do this steady cam here. donnie, what do you want to know? >> what age do i get to hike my pants up this high? >> you're about a year away. >> there's an official age when you get to walk around like this. >> you're about a year away in your velour track suit. >> right below the nipples is where it is. >> that's our must-read op-ed. with us now assistant editor -- i'm sorry. assistant editor and columnist for the financial times julian tett. we've got a lot to talk about this morning. we're going to talk about the ukraine. we're going to talk about the middle east. we're going to talk about the trade pact that collapsed. but you want to talk about one thing, and that is -- and this breaks my heart. mika's not here yet we're getting the sugar wars. >> exactly. i watched a stunning documentary

last night which has katie couric and other people involved in called "fed up" that talks about sugar. people have been saying for awhile that sugar is the next tobacco. i think it really is going to be. >> is it really? >> is this is a pro-sugar documentary? >> put those doughnuts away. i think the issue -- the main point simply is for the last 20 years the american health administration has been telling people the wrong message. it's not about cutting out fat or watching calories. it's about watching sugar intake. because as the food companies have taken out fat from foods and marketed them to people as being healthy, they've put in a whole bunch more sugar. and leaving aside that question of what katie couric is talking about to do with educating kids. from a corporate perspective it's fascinating. you have a lot of parallels right now with the tobacco industry. >> i'm going to have to put two scoops in my capn' crunch.

if sugar kills you, i'm in big trouble. i've gotten away from red meat, a lot of stuff, but sugar i need it. >> i went back last night, looked in my refrigerate and saw a jar of pasta sauce. six grams of sugar just in that. >> you got to eat pasta sauce. it's going to be better for you. >> yeah. >> can i point out one thing. i was coming home late last night from something in connecticut, pulled into mcdonald's. i'm not on the payroll. right now you can get a free big mac. if you order one, you get a second one. and i got a tumbler of dr pepper. >> wait a minute. >> okay. how much -- >> are you talking about in connecticut? >> buy one get one free big mac. i think it's a national promotion. i said i'd like a big mac. she said you get a free one. i said i don't need it. she said take it it's free. >> did you eat it?

>> no. >> those heartland feel good stories we don't hear. >> i'm not even kidding. that happened last night. >> i'll have ten big macs. >> and only cost you the price of five. >> my kids will eat for two or three days. i won't have a cook anything. >> get the big dr pepper. >> what time did you get a big mac? >> it was about 10:00. >> that is nuts. >> it's an important story about sugar. >> i went to dunkin' donuts this weekend. buy one mets ticket get another one free. did you see that? >> is that true? >> no, that's true. or actually it wasn't buy one mets ticket. i think they were giving away mets tickets. with doughnuts. i'm kidding. hold on. it reminded me before the hurricanes were great. buy a whopper and get a free ticket. >> the point is you have a bunch of powerful companies that

discovered every trick in the book to push more food down people's throats. and the irony was when the health care campaign -- >> that makes me hungry. >> when the health campaign in america a few years ago, they had to find a new way to sell consumers products. so it was under this label of healthy tacking out the fat but putting in the sugar. >> how much pressure are those companies under? take mcdonald's as an example, they're still making at lot of money. are they feeling pressure to move away? >> they're still making a lot of money partly because of course our growth markets these days are the developing countries. and obesity rates are rising there. >> willie, i took a picture of it with mr. met. buy one ticket, get one free. at dunkin' donuts. what's surprising about that the mets are selling out. the fact they would do that, it doesn't make sense. i read it's like 50,000 a night at shea. >> let's go to t.j. the met fan. you thagt i was joking.

>> i thought that was a total joke. >> speaking of not good signs, the obama administration getting hammered on three fronts right now. you can't put it all on his doorstep. let's talk mainly about what's going on with the trade pact, the pacific rim trade pact that fell through last night. >> this was a disappointment because basically president obama was keen to have some big takeaways to come out of this trip to asia. he was steering a cautious line the last couple days in terms of signaling support for the japanese in their clash with the chinese over the islands. but at the same time wanting to not stir up more regional tension. because a japan/china conflict right now is a serious issue. but he needed something to take back to washington showing he actually made progress. and unfortunately the japanese because their agricultural

sector weren't playing ball. so not only did they not make an agreement on the trade side, they actually agreed to not even talk about it because it's too sensitive. and that's bad news. >> before we go, you know what might help the mets? >> what's that? >> i was reading the box scores yesterday. five of their eight starting position players were hitting .200 or below. isn't that amazing? so in the history of baseball -- >> what you're telling me, there's a consistency there. >> i think they have bigger problems than -- i don't think it's a promotion thing. >> maybe not. all right, julian, very good. thanks for bringing the depressing news on the sugar wars. >> thank you. >> my gosh. am i going to have to give up sweet tea? is that bad? >> give up. >> it's tea. it's good for you. still ahead, she exchanged the hollywood hills for a life-changing adventure to uganda. comedian, author, and journalist jane busseman.

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♪ coming up next at the top of the hour, very excited about this. "new york times" nicolas kristof is going to be here. he's written some great stuff about what's going on in ukraine and neighboring states.

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cadmium, mercury, lead. all on the periodic table. all inside these, too. now the last thing we want is for all that to mix with water. so recycle. you'll keep your planet clean, t-m-y-k. ♪ welcome back to "morning joe." joining us in washington we have the moderator of "meet the press" david gregory. and here on set, me as well as the columnist for "the new york times" nick kristof. >> me. >> i just showed up out of nowhere. >> that's a beautiful dress, by the way. >> tell us about thrive, mika. >> thrive, yes. >> you guys meditating?

>> no, it's more than that. but arianna and i have this event going on all day today. we started last night. packed audience. and we're going to have julianne moore today and katie couric talking about that movie "fed up" you were talking about. a lot of other interesting speakers including my mom who sculpted those with a chain saw and a chisel and an ax those trees you see on set. she has a book out "the lure of the forest." and she's going to speak today about what makes her thrive. >> it's a remarkable event. david gregory, you know, when we think about thriving which of course arianna huffington is all about unplugging and relaxing and being more laid back. who do we think of? mika brzezinski. right? the most laid back, chilled woman going, right? >> no, no, no. >> i see room for that in mika.

it's all about cultivating a little quiet, a little time in her life with some reflection. no, i think that's critically important. joseph, why are you laughing? >> because -- >> i think that's important. >> because as they said on good friday as they were taunting jesus, he could save others but he can't save himself. so here we have mika telling all of these women how to unplug and relax and we -- >> arianna is my life coach and we're doing it live on stage. we're going to be in bed today. we're starting the show in bed. >> is she married? >> nick kristof, i bet you're glad you came today. >> it will be intimate. what is wrong with you? pull your pants up. >> we're going to stop this now. i have been asking for nick kristof -- let's stop this now. >> take it off set. >> we've got a grownup here. and david's watching down in

washington, d.c., wondering how long he has to hear about donnie deutsch. so front page of ft and "the new york times," everybody talking about russia moving to the border of the ukraine. you have written some fascinating op-eds. >> i love them. help people connect. >> not only about ukraine but i thought even more chilling, the next ukraine. we're not doing enough in this country to send the signals. b and your relatives and febs want us to send. >> i think there's real frustration in both ukraine and moldova that people feel so aligned with the west. they want to become a part of europe. and they feel a little bit disappointed that they're not getting more. and there are things we can do. you know, we can provide more economic support for ukraine. we can provide non-lethal support for ukraine. just fuel for their tanks.

we could stipulate there would be banking sanctions on russia if it were to move in. we could provide moral support which we -- i think we can do a lot more with the bully pulpit. just pointing out that putin is cheering for every russian-speaking person as long as they're not in russia. >> david gregory, one of nick's more chilling lines was somebody that came up and talked about the west said if you let us down here, we will never forgive you. >> yeah. and i guess a question i've had as i've read your work and have been tracking this story is how does the obama administration say to these countries we want to support you. we want you to be welcomed in the west, but at the same time send a much more forward-leaning message to vladimir putin that, look. we'll talk about crimea later, but this has to stop here. it cannot go any further. >> all right. go ahead, nick, real quick.

>> i think that's exactly the message. crimea has happened. and right now the main point is to prevent the troops from crossing into ukraine and perhaps moldova as well. that is going to happen through some kind of very clear message about banking sanctions as well as support for the ukrainians. >> okay. as "the new york times" frames it, the president is left watching as outside forces unravel his best laid plans despite all the pageantry surrounding a state visit to tokyo. the white house was unable to nail down a trade pact with japan. meanwhile, israel is suspending peace talks in the middle east after palestinian officials announced plans to create a coalition government with hamas, a group the u.s. considers a terrorist organization. it is a major disappointment to secretary of state john kerry who has spent months trying to avoid that very scenario. >> you know, nick, you can take each one of the problems. you can take ukraine, you can

take what's happening in japan, you can take what's happening in the middle east. >> we have a north korean nuclear test soon. >> we may have that soon. you can't lay them all at the president's feet, but critics are going to connect the dots. my gosh. a lot of bad news coming at the same time for the administration. >> there is. i don't think it's fair to blame obama. there's a narrative out there that this is a reflection of presidential weakness. and i think it's true that he muffed syria. but i don't think that is the reason for putin's aggressiveness in ukraine. i don't think that's the reason the middle east is falling apart. >> well, we may have pushed things in the middle east. the bush administration was criticized for several years for not moving faster on the middle east. david gregory, you certainly will remember this. their stance was when they want peace, when we have a willing partner, we will engage. that may be what the obama administration is learning right now. john kerry especially.

>> true. but i think it's hard to fault john kerry for going all out. it was a long shot and it looks like it failed. but i think it's hard to fault somebody for really trying to bring peace. >> and willie, in japan, you have domestic politics. in japan the japanese are not willing to take on the farmers union. >> and the prime minister of japan tried to get this deal in place before the president arrived. couldn't do it because of domestic politics. the president of the united states getting pushback on that deal. they're still optimistic about it. going back to the middle east, you covered the bush white house for years. president obama is not the first and won't be the last president to struggle to bring peace to the middle east. but they were particularly invested at this moment in time. kerry thought he could get some work done. wants to do a coalition government with hamas. >> you know, it was president clinton who said when he was going off to camp david, he got on his helicopter and said to

his aides i'm either going to succeed at this or i'm going to get caught trying. and i'm interviewing tony blair for "meet the press" on sunday. and that is his point as well. you cannot not try. the consequences of this spiraling further out of control and they're dangerous for the region and for the united states' interests there. jeffrey goldberg wrote a piece last night in which he says, you know, this may be a low moment for the middle east, but things can always get worse. so always remember that. and i think that's the feeling. >> yeah. >> kerry worked it and worked it hard. this thing may fall apart, but just the consequences of completely looking away are severe. >> as you know, they could have nukes. >> i know it's bad knew, but it could get worse. >> it could always get worse.

joining us now -- i was going to say speaking of, but i'm going to be nice. from seoul, south korea, nbc news chief white house correspondent and the great political director at nbc news and host of the great "daily rundown" rb chuck todd. >> let me ask you something. i'm confused. is it yesterday where you are? is it tomorrow where you are? is it morning? is it night? >> do you even know at this point? >> i have no idea. i'm pretty sure, though, this is one of those periods of time we're on the same day. we're ending our friday. you're just beginning your friday. is it saturday or friday? see, i'm not sure. >> wow. >> we need to get you home. >> just so you know, you need to come home because in connecticut they're having a buy one big mac, get one free. >> they would never do that. >> there you go. you don't get that here.

>> and at dunkin' donuts you buy one mets ticket, get one free. true story. like the miami hurricanes. people don't remember when they were so bad you could go to a burger king and they gave you a free ticket to a canes football game with every whopper you bought. >> there's nothing wrong with that. community effort. community outreach. >> so chuck, you're obviously in a country that is obsessed for good reason with the ferry disaster that really points to sort of the wild west culture of south korea's regulatory regime there. we obviously are concerned with something that nick kristof brought up. the possibility of a nuke test in north korea. what's the president's focus today? >> well, it has been on -- look. the goal of this trip was similar to the goal of japan. i think we were talking about this yesterday or the day before or tomorrow. and that is part of this is simply just reassuring south

korea and japan a little concern about how much the united states lavishes so much attention on china. so there's always that diplomatic tension that the president has to manage. and then there's been this latest rise of tension between japan and south korea. really more between personally between the two new leaders in the case of abe in tokyo, not necessarily new. but he was there before and then elected back. but there has been almost more personal tension there, almost a rise of nationalism in both countries. so in some ways that is the president's focus is trying to make sure japan and south korea feel good about their relationship with the united states. do what he can as he did in brussels patching things up making sure japan and south korea are having a better relationship. let's be realistic. the president knows in many ways south korea's focus right now is

on the ferry. it's not necessarily on the relationship with the united states. they kind of know that there isn't going to be a lot of big deliverables. you were talking about tpp and i heard willie earlier on the trade deal. and there's this press, my god, they didn't make progress. there was never going to be an announcement of progress on that trade deal. this is an election year. the president can't be touting a trade deal that's going to make the base of his party upset. so this a deliberate almost slow walk of this trade deal. it's going to happen, i think, but not until 2015. >> traveling with the president, chuck caught up with the new ambassador. >> how'd that go? >> she's so great. i'm sure it went great. why don't we look. caroline kennedy. >> well, no. it went -- all right. go ahead. >> i'm just going to show it. chuck asked her -- >> i think you're overplaying it. >> really? >> t.j., can you bring in the sparklers?

here's the exchange. >> chuck asked who she supported in 2016. >> could you see yourself supporting hillary clinton in 2016 if she runs? >> sure. >> would you like to see her run? >> i would like to see her run if that's what she wants to do. >> because the last time you didn't support her, that's why i was curious if this time you wanted her to do it and if this time you would be behind her. >> i just said that. that's great. yeah. >> chuck, you're adorable. you're like, you know, i'm just, you know because last time it didn't go that way. >> look, she was not -- she was not -- look. i think in fairness to her, she was not enthusiastic about the topic. i think some people are misreading that maybe -- i think we should not read her mind and say she's not enthusiastic about hillary clinton again. >> no. we're just talking about you. you're adorable. >> we in the media -- i think she was like hey, she was more annoyed with the question.

let's be realistic. >> that was pretty clear. >> in that moment, you're like, okay then. all right. there's one she doesn't like. good luck with that. >> but, you know, david. chuck brings up a good point about election year politics in japan. that right now they're sort of taking hold, that everything the president is touching a failing. in foreign policy. we just don't really know. and we won't know for quite some time how all this is going to play out when the dust settles. >> obviously she's an intriguing figure. all of these people who were with president obama and now would like to see hillary run, i'd be curious to see how the hillary camp embraces these folks that are with him. i suspect they'll accept their support. i've been curious and maybe chuck can comment. on ukraine, there's been a lot of feeling that as time has gone on without teeing up this next

round of sanctions which could come today, that each day that goes by, putin is drawing some important lessons from this that the west is really a paper tiger. they've had the troops on the border for a period of time. what are you sensing on the president here to really get moving on this? because putin hasn't moved. >> well, i think it is significant that the president said essentially he's going to be on the phone most of today after -- as soon as he's done with his schedule here tonight in seoul. that he's going to be getting on the phone with his european colleagues which in translation means with merkel in germany. to get these next round of sanctions actually in place, because i think -- they do -- you know, this has been now i think we're up to nine days from when the president came to the briefing room late last week and said that he was pessimistic that this deal, that this tentative deal they got in

geneva was going to take hold. that he wasn't confident that the russians would abide by it. and sure enough even by the end of the weekend, that was pretty clear they weren't going to abide by it. as you kept seeing, they kept delaying. the white house didn't want to say when they were going to conclude that putin wasn't going to abide by the agreement. they kept trying, kept trying. then last night with john kerry. today you heard what he said just a few minutes ago. so i think we're within a 12-hour period we're going to announce new sanctions. but that's all they're going to do is just another round of sanctions. again, it goes back to the europeans are not ready to go as far as the united states is. >> you have other in ukraine, you have been talking to people there and surrounding areas. what do ukrainians want from us? what do they expect from us? dr. brzezinski was on last week, a man who's been averse to any military conflict. but suggesting we ask publicly

what kind of defense weapons would the ukrainians like from the united states. what doe they expect? >> they understand that we are not going to send troops into ukraine. and at the end of the day, if there is a armed invasion and -- i mean, russia seems to be laying the groundwork for that. then russia will crush the ukrainian military. so providing more lethal weaponry, i don't think, is going to make that much difference. but what they would really like to see is a lot more economic and financial support. it would be support for their military in non-lethal ways. you know, we supplied meals ready to eat which is almost a little bit insulting. we're handing out sandwiches. >> that's what dr. brzezinski said. you cannot defeat the russians with pancakes. he sounds like a bond villain when he said that. >> but we can support non-lethal support. like fuel.

they ran out of fuel for awhile. >> i think it's quite possible ukraine gets smaller. i think i talked to the ukrainian leadership last week that they let some part of the country fall into russia's orbit. as nick said, they need things like sleeping bags. they need some basic things as well as advanced weaponry if they stand a chance. and where are ground troops going in by nato with contributions by the u.s. going into the baltic states. that's the message that the west wants to send to putin is don't go farther yet. >> all right. before we go to break, you know that secretary kerry is good friends with my dad. they have a lot in common. they have one more thing in common can. >> what's that? >> dogs that don't listen. young out of control dogs that don't listen. this is take your child to work day. look at him. and he doesn't have kids left because they're all grown up. he brought his dog. >> reminds me of rudy giuliani's

first. >> reporter: -- but the dog jumpjum jumped on everybody. didn't listen. >> daisy's worse. she would have knocked the table cloth off the table and probably knocked down the secretary of state. >> we're going to be getting the sound on that. also chuck todd, thank you for being with us. we'll be watching "the daily rundown" later today. and also i'm sure they're going to be talking about this on "the daily rundown," we're going to be talking about it too, where john boehner openly mocks his gop caucus on immigration. probably not a really good move for re-election of the speaker, huh? >> well, maybe that tells you where his head is at about being speaker in 2015. >> i think his head may be at pebble beach. >> david gregory, what do you have coming up on "meet the press" this weekend?

>> tony blair. really interesting discussion. >> very cool. >> an exclusive with tony blair, i'm sure he'll have a lot to say. >> ahead, patrick murphy is here with the preview of taking the hill. and then michael hainey joins us with a new issue of "gq." up next, after years of covering celebrities in what she calls the golden age of stupid, i'm loving her already, our next guest gave it up to live a more purpose-filled life. jane busseman is standing by. >> i like it. the water's warm. ♪ ♪ [ 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. ♪

♪ 25 past the hour. here with us now comedy writing jane busseman who is author of "a journey to the dark heart of

nameless unspeakable evil." >> it's a great title. and willie geist, you picked this up immediately. there's a sort of inside dealing here. >> almost as large adds the title on the book on the cover is the two thumbs up endorsement from nicolas kristof. >> very needy, nicolas. >> who knew war in uganda could be hilarious. >> that's not an official rating system, but we thought we'd put it on anyway. why not. >> can i ask you a question, why not four thumbs up? >> well, he wanted his name to be almost the same size. >> i got it. >> nick, you were reading this and you felt guilty. you were laughing about uganda. >> this is a book about a humanitarian crisis in northern uganda and i'm giggling as i read it. it's a tribute to what jane did. you know, northern uganda was a humanitarian disaster.

and jane, i mean, you tell the story. you went out there on a romantic quest which was foiled. >> i got this phone call from the independent newspaper and they said, jane, we want you to write a feature for us. i said great. don't take this the wrong way, but we thought you'd be a perfect to do a story on dating out of your league. >> dating out of your league? wasn't that like when you went to a fashion event, what'd they call you? >> they call med somewhat aspirational. >> somewhat aspirational. dating out of your league. >> i threw it back in their faces because i had already come across this peacemaker who as well as being -- trying to stop the war in uganda was also extremely attractive. so i thought this was two birds, one stone. trouble was i told him i was a foreign correspondent. i wasn't. i then had to find a newspaper that would send me.

and i persuaded the times to let me go. >> they didn't check your background. >> you're funny. >> no. >> we should explain your background first. why this was unusual. you wrote for "southpark." you're a comedian. why did you turn your back on it? >> because it was about writing how sane and happy paris hilton and nicole richie was. >> what a great life. >> you can see how happy it made me. i thought i can't kill myself. there's no way i could kill myself that wouldn't upset my mother. so i had some ideas. and then i just came across this story. and i thought aye got to get out there. and the combination, i thought what could go wrong? >> one of the -- you called it the golden age of stupid. i guess you meant paris and nicole and u -- >> the whole thing. >> yeah. tell us about that and what was the tipping point for you or was it the story that took you away? >> a typical day was sent into

an actor like jared leto and then asking an hour about scarlett johansson. it was why when she was more famous than him why she wanted to go out with him is what they wanted. that was a typical work day. >> it was just stupid. >> it was stupid. >> stupid existence. >> so actually you went to uganda and you actually decided to stay there for awhile and hang around. what did you find? >> well, the first thing i found was john wasn't there. that was a big mistake. >> you went for the guy? all the way to uganda and he wasn't there? >> i didn't tell him that was the reason i was going. of course i couldn't read a newspaper at the time. i didn't think this would affect my date/interview. what i found was i was stuck in uganda what i found was the story they were telling about joseph kony was not true. people who were successfully

rescuing the children were being sabotaged by the ugandan government. i thought i've got to write this story. >> tell us about the story. >> for example, in 2002, some went into the bush to speak peace with joseph kony's men. he gave dozens of kids back. when the priests went back to get more kids and how often can you say that in a positive context, when the priests went back they were sabotaged by the ugandan government army who bombed these peace talks. inevitably they didn't want to find those kids because it meant too much in foreign aid. >> actually the church in some ways plays an amazing role there. one of the heroes of the attacks was this italian nun called sister rachal. after kony took more than 200 girls, the police and army wouldn't go after kony. she single handedly went off in the bush, chased kony and 200

soldiers and negotiated the return of more than 100 of these girls. >> that's incredible. >> incredible woman. >> the sister is a phenomenal woman. she's about this tall and really skinny. but of these girls kidnapped, this little nun got 100 back. and the army got one. hillary clinton famously said about this kidnapping there are no easy answers. forgive me. i would not sit next to hillary in mass. >> you're absolutely right. and it's funny, but it's absolutely true what you're saying. the description of it. it's abhorrent. >> so what's the -- what is the situation there today? >> well, i don't know. i'm not on the grounds, but -- >> you're a foreign correspondent though. you've got contacts there. >> when i didn't get john i gave up pretty fast. >> we're giving them military equipment and this is a

violently suppressant government. it'd be like giving u.p.s. a truck and saying it'd be great if you deliver my package. >> jane bussmann. >> by the way in this book not only endorsed by yik kristoff. >> two thumbs up. and despite that i would buy this book. it's fantastic. what a great, great, great story about your life too. dramatic turn that you took just because you wanted to and you felt you had to. thank you. >> thank you. coming up, john boehner mocks his fellow republicans on immigration and why that's a big deal next. and on monday's show, actor ed norton, and aaron schock who has been posing in like bathing suits. >> is he still doing that? >> yeah. showing his abs. now there's a new one.

>> ed norton has a great scene. >> love ed norton. "morning joe" will be right back. and we'll be here at lifelock doing our thing: you do your shop from anywhere thing, offering protection that simple credit score monitoring can't. get lifelock protection and live life free.

but with so much health care noise, i didn't always watch out for myself. with unitedhealthcare, i get personalized information and rewards for addressing my health risks. but she's still gonna give me a heart attack. that's health in numbers.

which will cause me to miss the end of the game. the x1 entertainment operating system lets your watch live tv anywhere. can i watch it in butterfly valley? sure. can i watch it in glimmering lake? yep. here, too. what about the dark castle? you call that defense?! come on! [ female announcer ] watch live tv anywhere. the x1 entertainment operating system, only from xfinity. ♪ that was fun, wasn't it? the softball game? >> it was. >> just days after jeb bush generated headlines about immigration reform, another high-profile republican is not holding back on the issue. house speaker john boehner mocked his colleagues in the house yesterday for failing to support efforts to fix the

system. and here's what he said about republicans at a rotary club meeting. >> here's the attitude. oh, don't make me do this. oh, this is too hard. >> i like this. >> he went on to say, quote, we get elected to make choices. we get elected to solve problems and it's remarkable to me how many of my colleagues just don't want to. they'll take the path of least resistance. i've had every brick and bat and arrow shot at me over this issue just because i wanted to deal with it. >> you know, thomas, there's not really any issue i think that divides establishment republicans from so-called tea party republicans o for, you know, former reagan democrats, whatever you want to call them, than immigration. john boehner does that. he has "the wall street journal" and the establishment on his

side. but boy, the base not there with him. >> don't you want -- for either side to look at this, you want to be the first party that gets there. because you want to be able to say the championed the cause that led the way and not the one that had to drag a horse to water. i think john boehner tries to make a good point and tries to make himself out to be the honest broker here. but he doesn't have the support. there are about 18 people standing in his way. >> and donnie, john boehner not looking like a man right there that's obsessed about his re-election. because this is not a majority position inside the republican party. >> quite opposite. there's a liberation there. you can see where he's going. he's at the point to say what i feel and good for him. >> okay. i'm sure your endorsement of john boehner will carry him over. >> i thought it was funny. but i'm not going to say that. >> that would hurt him as well. >> exactly. i'm sorry. it's hilarious.

>> you shouldn't mock his -- >> they're not that thick skinned. they shouldn't have done it. now taking a look back at pat tillman's unlikely death and how his legacy continues to live on today. more "morning joe" when we return. i'm on expert on softball. and tea parties. i'll have more awkward conversations than i'm equipped for, because i'm raising two girls on my own. i'll worry about the economy

more than a few times before they're grown. but it's for them, so i've found a way. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. ready to plan for your future? we'll help you get there. we cannot let the fans down. don't worry! the united states postal service will get it there on time with priority mail flat rate shipping. our priority has always been saving the day. because our priority... amazing! ...is you! the amazing spider-man 2 delivered by the united states postal service.

♪ i think that i hope he continues to inspire people. one of the amazing things about the work with the foundation is people do reach out and tell us about, you know, how pat has served as an inspiration somehow in their life. and, you know, so through that he's able to really live on in so many ways. i hope that continues. >> that was marie tillman, the widow of former football player and fallen soldier pat tillman. her interview airs this sunday

on msnbc's "taking the hill" series. joining us now former congressman and host of "taking the hill" patrick murphy. welcome. >> thanks. >> let's talk about the toll the afghanistan war continues to take on our men and women in uniform. and just with scant coverage from here to home. >> we talk about this knuckle head bundy and we lost three american soldiers this week in afghanistan. pretty much no coverage. this week there's a report 40 veterans died prematurely in a phoenix va hospital. there was a secret list, a doctor worked at that hospital and comes forward saying there's a secret list. we had a veteran come in in september say he was bleeding in his urine. said i need to see a doctor. okay, okay, okay. they don't call his family until december three months later. he died in november. this enters 1400 people on a secret waiting list. >> why a secret waiting list?

because they want to make the numbers look better than they are? >> they want to make the numbers look better. there needs to be full accountability. i was talking to jeff miller who's the chairman republican of the house affairs committee. he put out a release yesterday. we have to be all over this. we have a saying in the military, i learned this back in 1993. leave no man behind. and we lost three men in afghanistan this week, you know 1400 veterans on a secret waiting list in the phoenix va. >> 22 suicides a day. >> right. 22 suicides a day. you're right. >> it's stunning. a day. >> this program "taking the hill" is the only veterans show on a major news network. this week it's so powerful. we have marie tillman who lost her husband ten years ago. you know, i just came back from afghanistan when he was killed. >> not everyone knows the story of pat tillman. tell us. >> this guy was a star football player for the arizona cardinals.

he gave up his $6 million contract in the nfl to go make $16,000 a year as an army ranger because our nation was attacked on 9/11 and he wanted to serve. he became an army ranger and unfortunately in the war there was friendly fire and he was killed. he was killed by his own men. there was a clean coverup from our government. they burned his body armor and equipment. they didn't tell his family the truth for over a month. in those ashes of despair of losing an american hero, marie tillman and the foundation have done tremendous work. there's tens of thousands running in what's called pat's run. and there's shadow runs all over the country. i know i'll be in philly running in ours. >> and the foundation has done incredible work. look at what they've done. over 290 military scholars right now. $4.6 million in scholarship

support. 85 different universities attended by people that are impacted by this. so they really have -- the foundation has really turned this tragedy into a positive thing for other families. >> yeah. no doubt. i mean, i was in with marie a couple days ago and i met -- she had one of these tillman scholars on there. this guy was enlisted in the illinois national guard. he's going to get his degree in psychology to help other veterans. >> talking to him a good pit over the past couple years about the veterans backlog. he is burned up about it, very angry. hoping that progress is being made. where do we sit right now with the backlog? the numbers look like an improvement. they're still a disgrace. then we hear about the secret lists and coverups. >> the backlog is definitely decreasing. it started because they put a ton of va veterans on the back.

we're make k progress there and doing electronic benefits as well. but what's happening in phoenix is absolutely criminal. and it was a secret thing that people didn't know about. whoever knew about it or should have known about it better be held accountable. because there's 1400 veterans and 40 of them that were died -- that were killed prematurely because of that criminal negligence that was happening. >> so who does it benefit to deny our veterans? there are american who is are going to watch this and wonder that's just absurd. what does it benefit to actually deny our vets? >> well, part of it, it's about integrity, thomas. and we want to say the standard is yet to be seen by these veteran. 14 to 30 days. the va says we're seeing all our veterans average of 14 days. what they did was had a secret list where a veteran like this guy tom green, 71 years old comes in and says i need to be seen.

i'm bleeding in my urine. they don't see him. they don't give him a thing and they put him on a secret list. they don't try to see him until three months later and in the meantime he dies. >> in phoenix, hospitals cost cutting secret wait list. an elaborate scheme by top-level management to basically cook the books on patient wait time. >> that's incredible. "taking the hill" airs this sunday on msnbc. patrick murphy, thank you for doing that. up next, michael hainey standing by with the latest issue of "gq." you're watching "morning joe." so she could take her dream to the next level. so we talked about her options. her valuable assets were staying. and selling her car wouldn't fly. we helped sydney manage her debt and prioritize her goals, so she could really turn up the volume on her dreams today...and tomorrow.

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my daughter was having a dance thing at her school. they had this big dance. anyway, we all went, all the parents. and everybody's there and everybody's got their phone, every single parent. it was amazing, the kids are dancing and every parent was like this, blocking their vision of their actual child. i went over by the stage and there's people holding ipads in front of their faces. it looked like we're all in the witness protection program. like the kids can't see their parents. and everybody's watching a [ bleep ] movie of something

that's happening ten feet away. the resolution on the kid is unbelievable, if you just look. >> fantastic. i actually really like this issue. i do. here with us now, deputy editor of "gq" magazine, mike chael ha, who is here with the issue of the 15 funniest people. >> julia louis dreyfuss. >> i love her. >> this tells a story. >> this tells a story. >> i think she's clowning around. >> she has an intimate moment with a clown. >> and then -- >> then the look of shame after. >> it was all her idea and, you know, no matter what happens, i think americans are scared by clowns. >> well, she apparently is not. >> she's good.

>> thank you, thank you. >> we had a minor wardrobe malfunction. >> oh, my god, michael haney with a wardrobe malfunction? >> the "gq" editor did not button down his button. big soccer fan, going with our own roger bennett. >> everyone is talking about world cup coming up in june. champions league comes up now in europe. it's our warmup for the world cup. >> they say don't wait for the world cup. >> we have your cheater's guide if you don't know which team to work for. if you've got a different teams -- >> whoever wears the most pine tar. >> whoever puts most spin on the ball. >> so you have the butlers .01%. call it doton abby syndrome,

they want butlers, they are minute with grace and the wherewithal to quickly find six hookers on a mega yacht. >> 30 years ago in britain,there were only a couple hundred butlers, now there's 10,000 guys in training to be butlers. they want to live like downton abbey. >> i don't understand this. >> it opens with he had to go to the funeral for the dog of one of his bosses. >> okay. >> it's funny. >> it's funny ha-ha, not funny -- >> you have a story on the horrible bosses of hollywood. >> adversity builds character. >> that's what we're told. so the 15 funniest people? >> julia dreyfuss, amy schumer and the master of them all --

>> amy schumer in here. most people hoping the so will not take because she is very funny. >> she's chuck schumer's niece. >> no. >> seriously. i'm not kidding. >> no samantha b.? >> not at this moment. >> next week. >> she'll have to be in the next one. >> okay! okay, okay. >> back off! >> kate mckinnon. >> i'll do the interview. >> all right. >> "30 rock," kate mckinnon, shaving her legs. >> and nick krull, who i love. >> nick kristof didn't make the list. >> you can all pick up the issue and you can all argue about it. >> also i'm horrified by this.

you say stop eating steak and start eating this. what is that? >> it's the rise of vegetable cuisine. vej -- vegetables have become the new -- it's an eggplant. don't be scared of that. >> i had a checkup recently, blood test, the doctor said your iron is very, very low, you're not eating enough red meat. >> come on, man. >> can i do the interview with samantha b.? i'm serious. >> kevin hart. how great is that? >> i love that photograph. >> if you talk to jim nelson -- we'll make it happen with the national magazine awards and you will be hosting. >> we're going to be hosting? are greg and carter going to be honored there. >> and hopefully we'll be

talking backstage. >> we should be. i love. >> the latest issue of "gq," the 15 funniest people alive. >> up next, are democrats finally embracing the president's health care law? that's next on "morning joe." ♪ when times go bad, you can't get enough ♪ life with crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis

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who would have thought masterthree cheese lasagna would go with chocolate cake and ceviche? the same guy who thought that small caps and bond funds would go with a merging markets. it's a masterpiece. thanks. clearly you are type e. you made it phil. welcome home. now what's our strategy with the fondue? diversifying your portfolio? e*trade gives you the tools and resources to get it right. are you type e*? ♪ ♪ good morning. it's 8:00 a.m. on the east

coast, 5:00 a.m. on the west coast. take a live look at new york city. are you wearing a baby gap t-shirt? >> you were at a restaurant lately. >> we were at a table, he doesn't wear the jacket. >> he takes the george michael -- >> exactly. >> leather jacket off. and it cuts up here. >> it cuts up here. the guns are out. >> the guns are out and i think the ladies seem to be applauding it. >> that was my take on it. >> i don't know. i think they were making fun of you. >> something was happening. >> he goes like this. >> he's like excuse me, excuse me. is there a vet in the house because these are some sick puppies. >> that is the oldest line. i wish you would stop that.

>> and we have ron fornier as well. and u jueugene robinson is with and mr. sunshine, jeffrey goldberg. and willie has a fascinating story. >> cliven bundy, who just two days ago was -- nevada rancher is refusing to pay the government $1 million in grazing fees, as you know. but his stand against land use and laws spiralled into something different when he openly questioned whether african-americans were better off as slaves than they are today living on what he calls government subsidies. at first he refuted the "times" report which quoted his remarks. >> he actually wanted a retraction. >> he demanded a retraction.

>> if you say something and they don't get it right, you want a retraction. >> then video came out of mr. bundy making the exact remarks. >> the negro didn't have nothing to do, didn't have nothing for the kids to do, nothing for the young girls to do. and because they were basically on government subsidy and so now what do they do? they abort their young children, they put their young men in jail because they never learned how to pick cotton. and i've often wondered were they better off as slaves picking cotton, having a family life and doing things or are they better off on government subsidy? >> an overpass brought to you by dwight d. eisenhower's highway system. >> mr. bundy backed off his remarks. >> that's exactly what i said.

i said i'm wondering if they're better off under government subsidy and their young women are having abortions and their young men are in jail and their older women and children are standing -- >> enough, enough. >> oh, my god. >> stop it. come on. i don't want to hear it. >> what's interesting, though, is the way some people who supported him on the issue of the land grazing, including some very prominent united states senators, not fringe people, ran for the exits yesterday after his comments in the "new york times." >> no doubt about it. gene robinson, there were obviously a lot of politicians. i think this is what's most disappointing, there were a lot of politicians that ran to his defense. the people who are supposed to be the usual suspect, the people on tv, the people on radio, bloggers, prominently conservative bloggers were actually the ones like i said yesterday, eric eriksson, excuse me, maybe i don't understand something here but is he

actually paying for the right to graze on that land? because it's socialism if you're going to go out there and say, hey, everybody owns everything. and glen beck was very harsh against this guy from the very beginning. but you have prominent united states senators and other prominent officials who actually came out early on and called this guy a hero. >> yeah, they did. and now, as will live said, they can't find the exits fast enough. you know, obviously they dropped him like the piece of i won't say what that he is. you know, the guy's a deadbeat. >> he is a deadbeat. >> and you can question, you know, how the government massed its forces or whatever but they've been waiting to get this money that he owes for a long time. he's a scoff law and, you know, i don't quite understand how

people rushed head long to that position. i think it has to do, frankly, with just the sort of anti-big government sort of vibe that he projected. and, you know, the enemy of my enemy is my friend and so if their enemy is big government and he's the enemy of big government, then he's their friend except they don't want him to be their friend anymore. >> exactly. again, i talked about it yesterday, it's this anti-government nihilism where you just reflexively go to somebody standing up against the federal government, it gets a lot of these people in trouble. >> these same senators would have supported me if i decided not to pay a portion of my income taxes. >> the great word here is deadbeat. again, jeffrey, i think for the republican party, this is a good warning sign. i think mainstream republicans were very concerned but for some

candidates that are so desperate to get the fringe on their side, they've got to be careful. of course the hypocrisy is so thick. nobody stayed off of dwight d. eisenhower's interstate system to ride to these protests. we all know these would be the first people squawking if their medicare benefits were cut by $3 next year, but they're these great anti-government activists. it's just pure b.s. >> the first thing they should do is try to vet some of their libertarian heros for their position on picking cotton. where you come down on that one seems to be -- i mean, the insanity. just listening to him just now, i was thinking as a reporter i'm overwhelmingly tempted to fly out there and put a question to him, which is "so what do you think of the jews?"

[ laughter ] >> it's all big oneness. >> he can tell you one thing about that, jeff. he can tell you about the jew. >> i'm sure he has some thoughts. >> it's just amazing. i think you guys have pointed out the obvious thing here, which is that the flight to this guy on the part of mainstream commentators and mainstream senators -- okay, he's a deadbeat and a nut, but they should be asking themselves what is it about a guy like that that attracts us to him? that's the question. >> i think it's the enemy of the enemy is my friend. i talked about it yesterday there are some commentators that made the same mistake rushing to george zimmerman's defense. you can be the small government libertarian. if all of you guys studied my record and saw, you know, i was for the elimination for the department of education, i wanted money to go back to the states. i was for the elimination of four federal departments. i can't remember them all right

now. rick perry and i are brothers on that front. but if i told you guys all of my view, if you went back and studied all my views, they are small government views. your hair would fall out. i whispered to ron fornier before the show and look what happened. these extremists have no place in the party, in the conservative movement and i think senators and some governors and congressmen have to show a little bit more restraint before embracing these people. >> welfare reform has always been played particularly by the republican party as an issue that was supposed to either directly or indirectly conjure up the image of a black face, to not put it very delicately. it's been a racially divisive issue. now we have right in front of us the obvious fact that most welfare recipients are white individuals and there's welfare cheats of all colors and all classes. i think this might get a broader

definition of what a welfare cheat is because that's what this guy is, a welfare cheat. >> he's a deadbeat. >> bill o'reilly came out saying if you're going to partner up with somebody ideologically, you better know who that person is. he didn't support bundy from the get-go. maybe a shot across the bow of some of his colleagues there. >> let's move on. the obama administration's efforts to boost america's profile in asia facing some setbacks this morning. the "new york times" frames it "the president is left watching as outside forces unravel his best laid plans." despite all the pageantry delivers that trip to tokyo, the white house was unable to nail down a trade plan. and it's all a major

disappointment to secretary of state john kerry. and russian forces reportedly within a kilometer of ukraine, despite repeated warnings to o moscow to woo draw its troops from the region. >> jeffrey, bad news on all front, not only for this administration, more importantly for this country. of course the middle east peace process that john kerry has been fighting for so much collapsed with the reuniting of the palestinians, the two palestinian groups. the trade agreement falls through, more problems in ukraine, a bad, bad day for the obama administration. >> right. you know, break them down just for clarity sake. on the middle east peace process, it not entire live

dead. it's mostly dead. what i would say is it seems like a low moment in the middle east but it can always go lower. and, you know, john kerry -- >> that's a positive way to look at it, jeffrey. >> it can always be worse. >> you've seen the middle east. it can always be worse. one of the lessons here, by the way, and this holds true for what happened in japan on the trade deal, it holds true for ukraine obviously, is that what we're learning -- we need to learn this again and again apparently is that we think of america as sort of the deciding force in all of these issues. up know, no matter how powerful we are, we are bystanders. i mean, look, what happened in japan, it's bad for the u.s., it's bad for japan but it's about domestic japanese politics as muching a anything else. we don't seem to be on top of the ukraine situation, we don't have a means of managing

vladimir putin yet but i'm not sure that any president could manage him. and on middle east peace, you know, it never was going that well to begin with. so i'm not, you know, i don't think this is a crashing defeat. this is we're sort of back to the norm. >> willie. >> on the question of russia, john kerry said just a few hours ago, his quote, "let me be clear, if russia continues in this direction, it will not just be a grave mistake, it will be an expensive mistake." we've been hearing this kind of rhetoric for a long time now. it not clear vat mir putin cares about it or -- >> caller: putin probably cares. putin mentioned that there are costs for russia but that he's willing to bear those costs. so what does the united states

do? more toward the broader, more sector sectoral -- make more sort of slightening threaten point of view with u.s. and nato forces. have more exercises or whatever. but in the end there's not a lot you can do to putin. but, you know, as jeff said, these are situations that we're not earnly in control of. either you think it's better on balance to have some attempted peace process going on or you you think it not. i i think it's better than to just kind of leave it alone. but don't go at it with a lot of

expectations. it's only been a few thousand year years. >> yes, it could get worse. >> it's inspriering, right? >> yes, it's uplifting. >> donnie, this one is for you. there are signs some democratic candidates are warming up to the idea of running toward rather than away from president obama's health care law. >> i beat cancer but the insurance companies still denied me health insurance just because of a preexisting condition. i now have health insurance again because of mark begich, because he fought the insurance companies so that we no longer have to. >> now i worry we both could get hurt if evan jenkins goes to congress. he vowed to repeal black lung benefits and is letting insurance companies charge women more for health care. we can't go back to tho no

candidate is embracing obamacare more than allison schwartz. >> i worked with president obama on getting health care to all americans. it was my legislation that said insurance companies can no longer deny coverage for kids with preexisting condition. it's something i'm proud of because it also closed the gap in prescription drug coverage for seniors. tom corbett has decided not to take the medicaid money. as governor,ly take the expansion because thousands of pennsylvanians need the coverage. >> it's not kay haguen in north

carolina. to me you jumped in. you used a term "90 miles an hour" and we saw enough anecdotes now -- once they went past that 7 million signup mark, you have wind at your back and push, push the republicans to basically stay in the corner of no, no, no. once again, you don't embrace it wholeheartedly and, yes, it still needs fixing and it is the party of yes. bill clinton is right, jump in head first. >> ron, very interesting, we were talking about this last week, medicaid. governors rejecting medicaid is actually if you poll it, this is an area where democrats -- democratic candidates may actually have an advantage and it looks like she's going to exploit that in pennsylvania. >> if you step back a bit, one thing we learned from the last several mid-term elections. let's go back to the one in '94

with bill clinton. when you have an unpopular issue that's becoming an issue and an unpopular incumbent president, there's no way to run away from that president or that issue. if i'm the candidate, i would rather fight on the issue than fight on the president. i would much more make the debate over medicaid funding and the advantages we've already seen than try to distance myself from obama, then try to be the anti-obama. he's very unpopular, especially in the red states. >> jeffrey. >> no, i just was both nodding in agreement with what ron just said. i was thinking about it in light of that ad, which i just saw for the first time on defending children with preexisting conditions. i was just thinking to myself that sounds fairly effective. it's not my issue, it's not my area.

but i was thinking that would go over, maybe not with the hard core, red state ideological opposition to anything obama touches, but i thought that sounded like an effective way of going. >> coming up, the catholic church will declare pope john paul ii for canonization. first here's bill karins with a check on the forecast. bill. >> it looks like a decent weekend but the end of it looks like it could be problematic for the central planes. it's raining in indianapolis, rain through much of ohio, and that's heading up to the pittsburgh area shortly. there's the shot of indianapolis. kind of cool, just some light rain around. your forecast will get better as the afternoon progresses. on the west coast, we're have a

storm we're dealing with. so first for today, what a beautiful day. the beth daes by are far you'll have for a long time. we will see showers and storms this afternoon, washington, d.c., richmond, north korea, raleigh area, you may see severe weather, eastern north carolina, southern portions of virginia, maybe an isolated tornado, too. we'll watch that for you later today. and over the weekend, all eyes on the central plains. saturday night, a little bit of severe weather. it will be isolated, mostly in rural areas. butch it's as we go into sunday, this look like our best chance we may have a shot of seeing some strong tornadoes. remember, we haven't had any strong tornadoes this year and

no fatalities. we leave you with a shot of washington, d.c. the three you're watching "morning joe." ♪ ♪ woman: everyone in the nicu -- all the nurses wanted to watch him when he was there 118 days. everything that you thought was important to you changes in light of having a child that needs you every moment.

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♪ ♪ hey, it's time to take a look at the morning papers. let's start with "the washington post." a 10-year-old did her father a big favor during take your sons and daughters to work day.

first lady obama called on charlotte bell, who had this to say. >> okay, you right in the front. >> my dad's been out of a job for three years and i wanted to give you his resumé. >> oh, how moving. the two spoke briefly while they hugged and the first lady took the resumé with her when she left the room. >> more news on the first lady from the topeka capital journal. now mrs. obama is changing the date she will address high school students in kansas. some students and parents complained that she was coming because there would be fewer tickets available for friends and family and security and they had all these excuses. the first lady will now speak to seniors the night before in topeka. the first lady is using the occasion to mark the 60th anniversary of brown versus the board of education. >> that's a great compromise. you have the kids who can bring

all the family and relatives they want, they're not going to have to go through -- listen, if my kids have a chance to hear the first lady for graduation, that's great. but this is a perfect compromise. she comes the night before. if people don't want to come, they don't have to come and it doesn't get in the way of the ceremony. >> bubba watson is giving back to his community following his second win at the masters. he's donating $15,000 for his childhood school for technology. this guy is like granite. he doesn't cry. but he got a little emotional. how can you not love bubba? he's also donating $35,000 to his high school. watson was emotional during speeches at both schools. he also posed for the selfies with the students and bought the entire student body lunches.

as a two-time masters winner, i'm glad to have him in the fraternity. >> they don't talk about you enough. you think you'd get more respect. >> listen, i offended some people down there. i'm not a joiner. >> is it because you brought chick-fil-a to the champions dinner the year after you won? they didn't like that. >> it was a great call. >> it was better than what fuzzy zeller suggested. come on. >> a cat cafe is open now sunday in new york city. >> i'm sorry? >> what's happening here? >> oh, my gosh. are you going to buy cats and try and pick up women? >> when in rome, man. look at that. i'm a marketer. i see an opportunity. >> purina is hosting a pop-up cafe, gives animal lover as chance to have a complimentary coffee and spend time with kittens. all cats are eligible for

adoption. >> that's wonderful. >> i thought people were bringing their cats from home and meeting other people with cats. this is actually a little better. these are cats that need homes. that's okay. >> actually they are not allowing a certain politico reporter to go up there because he would get 15 cats. >> in this weekend's "parade" magazine, actor brian cranston talks about breaking away from the role of walter white and playing l.b.j. in the play "all the way." i've got to see that. >> what's the word on that "godzilla" movie? >> i heard it's fantastic. >> the verdict on health site is in and it not good. a consultant for cover oregon

says switching to a federal program would cost about $5 million. however, trying to fix the oregon exchange would cost more than $78 million. and that brings us to the politico play book where we've got politico's editor chief john harris in this morning. >> good morning, willie. >> dr. monica webbia, a republican running for u.s. senate in oregon has an ad that shows why she could be a serious competitor to the incumbent. >> i was 21 weeks pregnant, i had an ultrasound. my o.b. doctor called me and said there's something wrong with the baby's spine and we need to talk about terminating your pregnancy. dr. wehby is the first doctor that gave us hope. she was going to open her back and reconstruct my daughter's entire lower spine. she just hugged me and kissed my

forehead and said it's going to be okay, sweetheart. i've got her and i'm going to see you in a couple hours. i gave her the most precious thing i had. i trusted her. we have a 12-year-old today because of dr. wehby. dr. wehby would make anne credible senator. she would always do the right thing. she's full of integrity. >> i'm dr. monica wehby and i approve this message. >> a lot of people are now saying because of the affordable care act that jeff merkley, thought to be a safe incumbent, could be threatened. >> that's a stretch. the polls at politico still show the incumbent still ahead by 20 points. i think you're right to draw attention to this ad and this candidate because she is conveying strength in areas where republicans have been weak, that is the party is seen as too old, too white, too male

and too unable to speak to values voters who don't agree with traditional social values. i think this is a brilliantly innovative ad. it shows an attractive woman candidate, younger candidate, speaking not in partisan terms but in sort of very human values terms to oregon voters. it really works well. it also shows how politics is all about innovation. the conventional wisdom was if you're a challenger, you can't be too negative or heavy handed in your ads. that's how you got all the cliche scare ads. >> john harris, thank you so much. coming up, we're joined by father o'brien for some faith on friday. right back with "morning joe." ♪ ♪

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joining us now on set, we've got father kevin o'brien from georgetown university. father, great to see you. obviously an event here, historical canonization of popes john paul, ii and john the xiv.

>> pope john paul ii, making a powerful return trip home to poland in the year after he became pope. also known for his outreach to other religions, the first pope to advice eight synagogue in rome, the first pop e to visit mosque in syria. and toward the end of his life, the silent suffering while he struggled with parkinsons was a witness to so many elderly and infirmed. and then on the other hand we have john xxiii, who only reigned four four years, and

completely opened up the church in a way it had not in centuries. >> i heard some commentator say this is pope francis's continued efforts to bring a divide in the catholic church together. you have one pope that conservatives in the church don't really care a whole heck of a lot about and also pope john paul ii, the hero. >> when john paul ii died, they moved to make him a saint. when francis was presented with his cause, he asked about john the xxiii and where he was in the process. he was told that he had a -- he was awaiting a second miracle, which is one of the tests to become a saint and pope francis waved it and said this man's a

saint just as john paul ii is in the eyes of the people. so he very carefully and i think very astutely and properly is going to canonize two popes at the same time, which has never been done. and this is pope francis' m.o., it's his way of proceeding, to bring people together, to be a reconciler, those on the left and those are the right, the liberals and conservatives. >> pope john paul ii has been a hero of mine because of what he did fighting against communism. but but you talked about silent suffering before. this is controversy around this election in some quarters because a lot of people suffered silently under the abuse of catholic priests across the globe and his critics say he remained silent while this was going on. >> that's certainly a sin in the church that we continue to reckon with and acknowledging

the pain that has caused. there's no overlooking that. sainthood says no person, man or woman, is perfect. it does not mean we're -- >> what information, father, do we have about pope john paul ii? i hate to sound like howard baker here and make this political, about what information, what records, what did he know and when did we know it? >> that's what historians will help us to uncover in the years ahead. his cause has moved fairly rapidly. we don't have has much information and historians don't have the perspective they've had with other popes. this is something the church will continue to reckon with. >> do you think for abuse survivors and might be silent sufferers that it's the church operating the way it always has, with fast tracking john paul ii and including john paul xxiii,

is this a signal it's just the catholic church operating the way it always does. if you tell us the vie books will tell us whether john xxiii knew or not, isn't that -- >> i think what we do know is under john paul ii the church, and not just in roam, but in local churches started to appreciate and started to respond to the sin of sexual abuse in the church. how it was addressed and was it addressed in the right way we're still coming to terms with. that part of the church's history is stilling written and we're acknowledging it. above all looking forward and trying to make sure this does not happen again in our church and trying to be as transparent as possible. i acknowledge for those victims of abuse, it's a painful time. >> obviously that debate will

continue well into the future. but today we're talking about -- you can tell i'm a baptist because i gave pope john about 12 or 13 different numbers. he was actually pope john xxiii. thank you so much, father kevin o'brien. this weekend catch msnbc's live coverage of the canonization. we'll be right back. [ yodeling plays ]

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we're also talking about netflix. on a lighter note, for the first time ever if you have cable providers rcn, grande communications and atlantic broad band and testiivo, you ca watch netflix like another cable channel. it's interesting. >> a lot of discussion of the sotheby's fight going on with dan lobe. what's the latest going on with that? >> yeah. in fact, dan loeb got a boost from one of the major shareholder services recommending that sotheby's go with dan loeb's choice for a board member. >> is that where you hang out on the weekend? >> southeby's? oh, yeah, sure. i just walk around -- >> with a paddle in your hand?

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this is a situation that demands the best of the best. >> brick mansions.

it's so dangerous, we built a wall around it. no one gets in. now the leader has the mayor and half the city hostage. >> i say we start the bidding at 30 million. >> think can you handle it? >> handler needs handling. you have no intel inside? >> we've got someone who knows brick mansions. >> it's my partner? >> i got a plan to get us in. >> first chance you get, what are you going to do? put a bullet in the back of my head. >> it looks really good. that's a trailer from the film "brick mansions." with us is the co-star from "brick mansions." what attracted you to this project when you read the script? >> this is a project by luke passon.

it's a remake of an old french film called "b-13." i'm a fan of this. so being a fan of it is first my attraction. when i read this character, tremay alexander, how he has taken over for the city and he was a guy pushing the drugs and hustling and yet i think he still has a heart of himself and more like a product of his environment. >> looking at these action sequences, they are amazing. we're seeing examples where you're jumping off the walls and radiator and we're see org actors in the film -- wow, look at that. amazing. good stuff. how many one-take opportunities do they have with the director on this film or was this over and over again? >> david bell, he's the father of par core. we'll be doing scenes, he'll be up there in the roof and pop

down and land on the table, one take. he's a natural what he does. the cool thing is it reminds me of hip hop. hip hop central artestarted in y where we would be on the street corner and spin on our heads. but this has a street culture about it. to me it's like hip hop. it's another thing to see how street art grows into something. it's becoming a world wide sensation. >> you're doing a secret double album. you plan to sell one copy. how does that work? >> we have tooken away the artistic value of music. my idea is that music is art. just like a famous painting, like a famous sculpture -- >> only one person can own it. >> especially something that took six years in the making. >> how do you hope to be able to

craft the fact that it stays individually owned and the music not released and duplicated so that it's given away free of charge? >> let me think about this, right. if you got a mona lisa, there's only one. i can duplicate it and you can have one at my house, your house and his house but the original is still the original. >> paul walker, we need to pay tribute to him. the producers are being very respectful that they lost paul walker to a car accident. >> maybe one of out ten people you work with in this business you actually want to see again. he was one of those guys. he had a great spirit about him, great energy and a great father. he's going to be missed. i took a great liking to him. the beautiful thing about film is it does capture us and we can

always go back and enjoy, you know, the people who we are fans of. i'm a big fan of lucy ball and "i dream of jeannie." those girls are going to stay pretty forever as long as i have those tapes. rest in peace, paul walker. >> "brick mansions" out in film today. coming up, what if anything did we learn today to close out the week? ♪ to do it my way ♪ i got a lock on equities ♪ that's why i'm type e ♪ ♪ that's why i'm tyyyyype eeeee, ♪ ♪ i can do it all from my mobile phone ♪ ♪ that's why i'm tyyyyype eeeee, ♪ ♪ if i need some help i'm not alone ♪ ♪ we're all tyyyyype eeeee, ♪ ♪ we've got a place that we call home ♪ ♪ we're all type e ♪ we cannot let the fans down.

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♪ ♪ >> hey, welcome back to "morning joe." it's time to talk about what we learned today. thomas? >> a lot of good stuff. "gq," 15 funniest people. julia louis dreyfuss and clowns. some people have phobias about clowns but she does not. >> you turn the page and she engages in clown sex. >> followed by clown shame. >> that's not right! >> we've all been there. >> we have. >> donny deutsch, what did you learn today? >> i don't want to know. >> this thing about getting laughed at while having sex but i'm not going to do that. >> no, come on. >> it's a soul questioning moment, isn't it, when the giggling starts? >> i don't know. i got nothing. >> i'm going to thrive. i'm going to get in bed with arianna right now. my phone is going crazy.

>> you're quadruple tasking. look at me, look at me, you have to focus at one thing at a time. i hope arianna teaches you that today. >> we started last night. it's a whole process and i am her work in progress. give me my phone, don't take my phone! it's time to go. the show's over. >> it's way too early, it "morning joe." we would like to thank you for your patience. we know it's not easy. >> drive safely. >> we know it's tough dealing with us every day. drive safely, have a great weekend. we'll see you with "the daily rundown" straight ahead. god bless. heart and soul, the second leg of president obama's far east tour is under way in south korea with an immediate assertion that the u.s. stand shoulder to shoulder with the host country against their northern neighbor's