tv News Nation MSNBC May 28, 2014 8:00am-9:01am PDT
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like burma which only a few years ago was a detractable dictatorship, and hostile to the united states. 40 million people. thanks to the enormous courage of the people in that country, and because we took the diplomatic leadership, and we have seen political reforms opening up a once closed society. a movement by burmese leadership away are the the partnership of north korea in favor of engagement with america and the allies. we are now supporting reform, and badly needed national reconciliation through assistance and investment, through coaxing and at times public criticism. progress there could be reversed, but if burma succeeds, we will have gained a new partner without firing a shot. american leadership. in each of the cases, we should not expect the change to happen overnight, because that is why we form alliances not just with the governments, but also with
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ordinary people. for unlike other nations, america is not afraid of the individual empowerment, and we are strengthened by it. we are strengthened by civil society. we are strengthened by a free press. strengthened by thriving entrepreneurs and small business and strengthened by educational exchange and opportunity for all people, and women and girls and that is who we are, and that is what we represent. [ applause ] >> i saw that through a trip to african last year where american assistance has made possible the prospect of an aids-free generation while helping aft africans, themselves, care for their sick. we are helping farmers get their p products to market. to feed populations once
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endangered by famine. we aim to double access to electricity in sub saharan africa so that people are affected by the progress of the global economy. all of this creates new partners and shrinks the space for terror and conflict. now, tragically, no american security operation can eradicate the threat posed by an extremist group like boko haram, the group that kidnapped those girls, and that is why we have to focus not on just rescuing the girls right away, but to help nigerian governance educate the youth. it should be one of the hard-earned e lessons of iraq and afghanistan, and where the military became the strongest advocate for di pelosi a-- diplomacy and influence, they realized it was not an afterthought, something that we
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should do apart from the national security and national defense, because it is part of what makes us strong. now ultimately, the global leadership requires us to see the world as it is, with all of the danger and uncertainty. we have to be prepared for the worst, prepared for every contingency, but american leadership also requires us to see the world as it should be. a place where the aspirations of individual human beings really matters. where hopes and not just fear is governed and where the truth is written into the founding documents can steer the path of history into justice. and we cannot do that without you.
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class of 2014, you have taken this time to prepare on the quiet banks of the hudson. you leave this place to carry forward a legacy that no other military in human history can claim. you do so as part of a team that extends beyond your units or even our armed forces for in the course of your service, you will work as a team with diplomats and development experts. you will get to know allies and train partners, and you will embody what it means for america to lead the world. n next weekly go to normandy to honor the men who stormed the beaches there, and while it is hard for many americans to comprehend the courage and sense of duty that guided those who
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boarded small ships, it is f familiar to you. at west point, you define what it mean s s to be a patriot. three years ago gavin white graduated from this academy. he then served in afghanistan. like the soldiers who came before him, gavin was in a foreign land helping people that he had never met. putting himself in harm's way for the sake of his community and his family, of the folks back home. gavin lost one of his legs in an attack. i met him last year at walter reed. he was wounded, but just as determined as the day that he arrived here at west point.
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>> we have faced trials that were not foreseen and we have seen the visions of how to move forwa forward, by there is something in gavin's character, there is something in the american character that will always triumph. leaving here, you carry with you the respect of your fellow citizens. you will represent a nation with history and hope on our side. your charge now is not only to protect our kcountry, but to do what is right and just.
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as your commander in chief, i know you will. my god bless you. may god bless our men and women in uniform, and may god bless the united states of america. good morning, everyone, i'm tamron hall and this is "newsnation." we begin with president obama laying out the vision of america's role in the world and facing an unrelenting republican criticism of the foreign policy. the president is breaking down his vision for the united states during the commencement speech, and that you just saw delivered at the military academy at west point, and the president ending the remarks essentially wrapping his message around the story of gavin white a cadet who gr graduated three years ago and went on the serve this country in afghanistan where he was wounded and lost one of the legs. today, gavin's sister will walk across the stage, and exchange salutes with him, and the
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president saying that he represents america, its spirit and its ability to continue. we will certain hly have more of this coverage, but i want to play an excerpt of what the president said in a heart felt words regarding the war in afghanistan. we will take a listen. >> four of the service members who stood in the audience when i announced the surge of our forces in afghanistan gave their lives in that effort. a lot more were wounded. i believe america's security demanded those deployments, but i am haunted by those deaths. i am haunted by those wounds. and joining me live now from live from west point is msnbc analyst and medal of honor re p recipient dr. jack jacobs, and also our msnbc analyst.
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first to you dr. jack, there has been criticism from john mccain and lindsey graham and others regarding taking the troops down, but what is your feeling today at the graduation and it was at 2009 at west point that the president announced a surge, and here we are at this point. >> well sh, the, the whole idea withdrawal was one of the campaign promises, and he promised it again after he took office, and he is intent on carrying it through, and no doubt about the fact that we will have almost nobody there after 2016. in the interim, a lot of critics will say that there is insufficient number to actually guarantee the safety of the mile an hour s -- the safety of the americans who are there and certainly not enough that the
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taliban do not return. there is every expectation that afghanistan no matter who runs it from kabul is not going to be a whole lot better than it is now. and may in fact get worse. but the president's focus today was on the notion that we can't use military force alone in order to ak kccomplish the miss. he is certainly right about that. we have been very, very poor about using our economic instrument of power, about using our diplomatic instrument of power, and very, very bad about integrating all of them, but to say that we are going to use these other instruments and use them effectively is different than actually doing it, and it remains to be seen whether or not we will have the capability to use the other instruments of power effectively in a very dangerous and fragmented world. >> and david, let me bring you into the point, because the president's remarks said that just pause we have the best
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hammer does not mean that every problem is a nail, and he talked about the costs associated both the loss of life as we well know, and the loss regarding how much is spent on these wars here. the president laying out this vision at a time when he has been criticized for the handling of syria, and what is happening with ukraine, and russia, and do you believe that he made an effective argument today? >> well, it was certainly a forcefully put argument for more multilateralism for the costs of unilateral military action. but two things were hugely missing from the speech. one in the context of afghanistan of how that war is doing to end. with us pulling out, it does not mean that the war ends, but it goes on, and you know, we are in large measure responsible for what happens there in the outcome. and so i was looking for some mention of any kind of diplomacy
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or any kind of movement towards the talks with the taliban and all of the other countries surrounding afghanistan and we have heard nothing. >> but isn't that premature with the election of afghan playing out and we don't know whoa will be dealing with in that country, and it is premature to lay out a plan when you don't know who is on the other side of the negotiations? >> well, fair enough, but it is not premature to ensure americans that we will be involved in bringing this conflict to the close. another thing that i thought that was missing was any kind of strategic prioritization, and how much effort are we going to put into resolving the crisis in ukraine as opposed to syria as opposed to north e korea's nuclear program as opposed to the naval clashes in the south is china sea. there is no strategy here, and, you know, i sympathize with the president's plight here which is that there is all of these crises around the world, and there is no overarching single answer to them.
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>> well, he points out in ukraine with russia in the remarks, the president said that our ability to shape world opinion helped to isolate russia right away and because of the leadership of america, the world immediately condemned their actions and going back to the multilateral action and not doing it alone and not being the new world order. >> right. but one would have liked a little bit more directions as to how important, you know, what are the strategic priorities here? how important is it that the united states go up gaiagainst russia and ukraine for example, and we didn't hear any of that, and i missed it. >> colonel, let me bring you back in, our colleague mark murray pointed nout the tweet, crazy to think that today's west point graduates were all of 9 years old when the iraq war started. as we watched them salute and receive their diplomas, they were 9 years old, and the president pointed out that when he announced the surge in afghanistan, some of the cadet s
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in that audience today, three of them have gone on the lose their lives fighting in a war once called the forgotten war, and now the longest war that this country has faced. >> yeah. and it is hanging heavily over these cadets of all of the ranks from the ones who are graduating right now to the brand new cadets who just came in this year. their intary lientire lives than remember, for all of it the united states has been at war, and they have selected to wear the cloth of the nation to make a contribution to the defense of the republican in that environment, and so it is dislocating to them to enter an army that is operating in a fragmented way. this is good news and bad news. they are going to have to adjust and we are using the military might in ways that kit can be in a pinpoint way where it is much more effective, but the structure of the army is going to change dramatically as a
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result of our focus on small operations in protecting the smaller groups of people across the world. in training local militias to train themselves and so on, and one of the interesting things about what the president said today that we are going to work in partnership, and we are going to focus the attention on a wide variety of threats and not just use the military might willy-nilly brings up a significant point brought up a moment ago, it is one thing to say that we are going to do that, but it is something else again to have priorities and more significantly, i'm less concerned about the president's not talking about what the priorities are in public, an indeed, i would like to see all politicians say absolutely nothing about what we are going to do in public, but there is some concern among people that we all speak to in washington that the national command authority has also not given any
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priorities to his planners in private. that concerns everyone. >> colonel jack, thank you for joining us, and i know it is an emotional day for you to be there with the young cadets who all look up to you and admire you and i have seen them come into the studio to interact with you, and they are walking essentially with a great man and they know it when they are in these door and so, david, it is also great to have your insight today watching those incredible young men and women. and also, coming up, the breaking news of the death of author and poet maya angelou. i will talk about her influence and amazing legacy. thy. that's why i'm so excited about these new milk-bone brushing chews. whoa, i'm not the only one. it's a brilliant new way to take care of his teeth. clinically proven as effective as brushing. ok, here you go. have you ever seen a dog brush his own teeth? the twist and nub design cleans all the way down to the gum line,
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12 brands. more hotels than anyone else in the world. save up to 25% and earn bonus points when you book at wyndhamrewards.com. but when we put something in the ground, feed it, and care for it, don't we grow something more? we grow big celebrations, and personal victories. we grow new beginnings, and better endings. grand gestures, and perfect quiet. we grow escape, bragging rights, happier happy hours. so let's gro something greater with miracle-gro. what will you grow? share your story at miraclegro.com. tributes are pouring in for renowned poet and civil rights activist angemaya angelou.
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her son released this statement moments ago saying that her family is extremely grateful that hers ascension was not belabored by a loss of acuity or come p comprehension. our family is extremely appreciative of the time we had with her, and she is looking down upon us with love. her last tweet came five days ago and it says "listen to yourself, and in that quietude, you might hear the voice of g god." we have a look back at her incredible life. >> ladies and gentlemen, maya angelou. >> reporter: the best selling author and prolific poet. >> i wrote this piece for every human being on earth. >> reporter: and so much more. maya angelou was an activist, educator and three-time grammy winner and nominated for
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pulitzer, tony and emmy for the role in the ground-breaking tv mini series "roots." but angelou's place on the world stage did not come easy. her life's struggles fueled her work. >> you can stumble and fail and yet somehow miraculously rise and go on. >> reporter: born in st. louis, missouri, in 1928, her childhood was marked bisexuy seis ex sexu traumatized she refused to speak for six years. it was a tale she told in her first book "i know why the caged bird sings." and then she starred on proodway and she was committed to bridging differences from malcolm x to martin luther king. >> i want to see kindness and justice. >> reporter: she made poetry
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cool in the movies. >> i'm a woman phenomenally. >> reporter: and only the second poet asked to compose an inaugural poem. >> on this day, you may have the grace to look out and say simply, very simply, with hope, good morning. >> reporter: her flphilosophy i when you get, give. when you learn, teach. so she treated the world as her classroom. >> note let it shine ♪ ♪ everywhere i go, i am going to let it shine ♪ ♪ yes, america, ♪ let it shine >> oprah called her a mother. >> and she has ip spired countless lives. >> reporter: she turned early turmoil into triumph. >> look heaven ward and speak the word aloud, peace. we look at the world and speak
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the word aloud, peace. we look at ourselves and then into each other, and speak the word aloud, peace, my brother, peace, my sister. peace, my soul. peace. >> reporter: rehema ellis, nbc news, new york. and joining me now is poet and professor sonya sanchez, and it is honor the talk to you any day, but to hear your words and thoughts today on the passing of dr. angelou is egs especially m important and what did she mean to you? >> oh, my dear, sister. it is so good to hear your voice. i mean, the earth has been tied with her spirit tongue, my dear sister. this woman who was a dear friend, and this woman who would correct me when i needed to be corrected, right. >> ah, yes. >> and this woman who would say
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simply, sonia, are you sure that you really want to say that? this woman, and toni morrison said that we died and that may be the meaning of life, but we do language, and that may be the measure of our lives and how our dear sister maya did language, did she not? >> yes. >> how on many levels she crossed cities that you said in that documentary said, and she healed us. she documented what i call our bones, right? and she heard the trumpeteers of death called segregation, and racism, and colonialism ands se away from the graveyards of our own birth and isn't that amaz g amazing. >> yes. >> and simply her prose and poetry is what i call an ancestry of bones and eyelashes of guts and transformed
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boulevard or alleyway of where our faces morph into the oceans of change and where we hear the sound of rhythm on our teeth, because when she spoke, could you hear the rhythm of the read and the way she spoke, and the sound of beauty on the breath, and her poems exploded from the knee veins and the eyes and tongue, and her tongue embroidered always with pyramids. she made us see ourselves in this pyramids, and not just in slums. >> absolutely. >> i loved her. before i went to california five days ago, i said, i'm going to call sister maya to let her know that i am traveling and then i said, i will call her when i get back home. so when i got the news this morning from msnbc, i got up out of bed and said, i woke up this morning with my eyes on maya. woke up this morning with my
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eyes on maya. woke up this morning with my eyes on maya, going to love, going to resist, going to love just like her. >> ah, gosh. >> yes. >> oh. professor sanchez, i said, you know, i learned my power as a woman reading the words of dr. angelou, and then when my travels took me to temple university and i discovered you, it took my life in a direction of power and strength that i didn't know existed. but when we as black women identify with dr. angelou and yourself, and we see the people who don't look like us, and aren't the complexion and haven't traveled the jour isny relate to the her in the same way, what does that mean? what does that speak to the power of her words and how she was able to deliver them? >> well, you know, my dear sister, it is the power of words. you know, we, no, it does not
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matter if you are black, brown, green, purple, blue, but when you hear her poetry and read the prose, you identified with her situation, and you know, with what she was about with the love. sister maya like many of us started out initially talking and elevating ourselves as african-american people, but her words touched everybody. in japan, it is said that the words of the soul reside in a spirit called cultidama or the spirit of words and the act of speak i speaking words has the power to change the world, and therefore you speak the words and you know that going to temple and my classes that we had everybody in the classroom, and black, white, green, purple, brown, blue, whatever, and these people in one classroom learned to live together, and our dear sister maya taught us how to live together in peace and beauty and she said that i am speaking to everyone, and listen to what i am saying, and listen, if you open up the ears and listen, and i will talk the about what it
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means to be human, what it means to be human and what it means to be human and i am forever indebted to that sister, that woman, and to the great, great woman who walked on this earth with me and others. >> ah. >> professor sanchez, in your grief, we are here with you and thank you for all that you have done awakening us and for being with us in the midst of all of your pain. we thank dr. angelou. >> thank you, my dear. >> thank you, and we will be right back. >> thank you, and thank you. >> thank you. we will be right back. wondering? that, my friends, is everything. and with the quicksilver card from capital one, you earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on everything you purchase. not just "everything at the hardware store." not "everything, until you hit your cash back limit." quicksilver can earn you unlimited 1.5% cash back on everything you could possibly imagine.
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say it with me -- everything. one more time, everything! and with that in mind... what's in your wallet? and with that in mind... teacher layoffs. and a 60 billion dollar budget deficit. that's what john perez faced when he became speaker of the california assembly. so he partnered with governor brown to pass three balanced budgets, on time. for the first time in thirty years. today, the deficits are gone and we've invested an additional 2 billion dollars in education.
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last night a crowd of 20,000 filled the stadium at the university for an emotional service. janet napolitano spoke and so did richard martinez whose son was killed and he called for stricter gun laws in the wake of the tragedy. >> if you agree that the people in washington should hear that not one more person should have to die, because of this ridiculous situation, then when i raise my hand, i want you to shout so loud that they are going the hear you. not one more! not one more! >> well, more vigils are planned today and tomorrow across the university of california system for victims and for the victims. and meanwhile, as we learn more about the shooter elliot rodger, a war of words is heating up between a film critic and hollywood heavyweights seth rowgan and another critic who linked rodgers' mineset to young
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men in certain movies writing, quote, how many students write frat boys fantasies like "neighbors" and feel shut out of college life that should be full of fun and sex and pleasure and how many young men raised on the comedies written by this man where the guy always gets his girl constantly erode them? well, rogan wrote back and said, i find your article more ribly insulting and misinformed. how could you dare imply that me getting girls in a movies inspired such a tragedy. and late yesterday afternoon, there was a response. >> it asks all of us bear asking what happens to the having a
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narrow range of stories that we go back to, and the reason that i weighed in on this at all is because of the youtube video, and the extraordinary hollywood-like value and context of which it screamed. as a film critic, what i wanted to do was to think about what echos we heard from the larger culture. >> well, joining me now is vanity fair's digital direction mike hogan, and we have heard hollywood criticized for the violence in the movies after shootings in the past, but this is a particular back and forth focus canning in on the comedies, and you know, the nerds who end up in the end winning it all. which takes this to a different look of questioning hollywood's role of pop culture and some of the violence, and what is your take here? >> well, apart from anything else, it shows the danger of writing think piece s s in the immediate aftermath of an atrocity and tragic for a lot of people. you can certainly understand seth rogen and judd apotak saying, wait, don't bring us
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into this, because it is a difficult connection to make between a tragedy of this kind, and atrocity of this kind and comedies that are geared towards making people laugh, and in fact, seth rogen, and judd s saying if you are going to point to people producing sexist content in hollywood, they would be lower on the list at least when they make a frat boy movie, it is poking fun at the frat boy movies, and there are a lot better examples around hollywood. >> and this not new of blaming hollywood after a shooting, because when you look at the movies and the games and a character who is going to mow down all of the bad guys with an a ksh ak-47, but it is stimulating a young mind that is maybe not develop and desensitizes them, and sarah silverman came out in defense and said it is way easier to blame art than a fundamental lack of mental health education, and gun control legislation.
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is it easier to blame art? >> well, people are looking at this in different ways. >> and it is the answer that you don't want to have it happen again. >> and yes, people are upset and emotional, and they want to look for the reason for this to happen, and obviously, the mental health issue is problematic, and gun control is super upsetting to a lot of people, and not a way to fix it at the moment, but there is something to be said about the culture and theof sexism in our culture, and yes, there are bad behaviors and attitudes that are in our culture and to the extent that it was written that there is ob jek tification of women, and we don't have enough women-centric stories and ob jek tifying women, even in the silly comedies, okay, make sense, but
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singling out those two films, you can see why the guys get defensive and say, hey, leave us out of it. >> yeah, leave us out of it, and with that said, regarding her explanation, and that is the killer here having this highly produced glamorized video and linking it back to fillges, what do you make of that? >> well, and his father as a director was shooting second unit stuff for "hunger games" and so clearly some hollywood connection with this kid, and he is inside of the belly of the beast at some level, so it is not completely, you know, unrealistic to say that there is a relationship between hollywood's value system and this kid's value system, but i think that also, it is worth remembering that this kid was clearly troubled and has more to do with that than probably with the value system. >> and as i pointed out by one of the colleagues on "morning joe" millions of kids watch these movies, and they don't do that. >> yes, it is worth keeping in mind at least. >> thank you, mike. appreciate it. and the first lady slams the
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house republicans, and jumps into a legislative battle over school lunches. >> the last thing that we can afford to do right now is to play politics with the kids' health. >> and the first lady says that the school nutrition standards are working, and that i say that the new rules increase costs and reduce participation, and up next is new reaction to the food fight. etter choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap. ♪ don't just visit hawaii. visit tripadvisor hawaii.
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no, that can't happen. that's the thing, you don't know how long it has to last. everyone has retirement questions. so ameriprise created the exclusive.. the new rules increase costs and now you and your ameripise advisor can get the real answers you need. well, knowing gives you confidence. start building your confident retirement today. a food fight is heating nup washington as first lady michelle obama is firing back at the critics of the signature school nutrition program. the first lady took the unusual step into the political fray yesterday by firing back at republican lawmakers attempting to weaken school lunch standards. >> we are now seeing efforts in congress to roll back these new standards and undo the hard work that all of you, all of us have done on behalf of our kids, and, you know, this is unacceptable. it is unacceptable to me not
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just as first lady, but as a mother. in 10 or 20 years, down want to look back with regret and think that we gave up on our kids because we felt like this thing was too hard or too expensive. we owe our kids way more than that. >> the first lady was joined at the white house by school administrators around the country to discuss the benefits of the stricter nutritional guidelines on students. the remarks come after a house subcommittee advanced a gop back measure to allow some schools to waive healthier food standards. the washington post malika harrison joins me now, and let me quickly play the cosponsor of the bill representative robert add adderholt who wrote it with other gopmembers. this is what he said. >> i don't know but on my side,
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i have not heard anything, but what i am hearing from is the lunch lady. >> what are they saying? >> that -- >> well, you are actually the kids a disservice. >> you are doing the kids a disservice by offering healthy foods that the lunch ladies say that the kids don't want it, and if you gave up every time your kids hated green beans, i would have been living on snishgs, because my kids hated green beans. is that the counter really to the initiative? is. >> well, one thing that you are seeing is the waste in the school systems, but there is waste all over, and there is a about americans throwing away one-third of the food, and so that is the way that the white house and the east wing is countering this idea, but they also say, lis said, no, maybe they don't want to eat their apple, but they also think that it is part of this shift, they are starting to target a younger
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kid and then in this way change the palate and the appetites of the young kids early on. it is as if you are 14, 15, 16-year-old, in some ways, you want to toss away the apple and you can't sort of save those kids burk kid ki kids, but at the younger level, they feel like if they can get the food into the calffeterias now, they can change the culture of food in the school systems. >> and while the obesity rates of americans have not changed significantly among kids 2 to 5, the obesity rates dropped 4% in 2004 to 2008 and from 2008 to 2011 up to 8%. people want to know how wanting a healthy lunch for the kids turned into a venomous political debate? >> well, tamron, in many, many
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ways, you have seen in some corners of the first lady has become something of a poster girl for the nanny state. okay. this overarching hand of the federal government, and you have historically seen that school systems have been politically and culturally contested sites all about the states rights and the role of the federal government should be in these school systems, so i think that in many ways, this is being a caught up in that whole e debate that we have had por many, many years. this program goes back to 1946 and started off feeding 7 million, and now it is 30 million kids at this time, and it costs about $12 billion a year each year, and with this fight, one of the things that is interesting also about this is that the first lady has historically been a very bipartisan figure, and you think that going into the midterms some of the democrats might want her out there on the stump, but you wonder if the fact that she is in a middle of a political
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fight deems some of her power as a bipartisan figure. >> i think that some people could ask that, but the counter is that the goal at least is to have a healthier meal for a kid, and that makes it very difficult to make you an unlikable person. >> well, i think that is right, and if you look at what is going to happen with this, it is going to probably have a bill to pass on the house, and doesn't stand a chance on the democratically-controlled senate, but we will see what happens tomorrow. >> and than you for coming on. well, the new york p.d. is stepping up to fight the heroin epidemic, and i will talk to a mother who is fighting to get a life-saving medicine available for addicts. you can find more on "newsnation" about my team at msnbc.com. you want a loan to build a factory in america?
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emergency anti-dote that quickly revives those who overdose on heroin. 373,000 users in 2007 has grown to 670,000 users in 2012. as the epidemic grows, more and more families of addicts are pushing for legislation that would expand access to maloxone. this despite opposition from some lawmakers and some medical experts who say making it more widely available provides a false sense of security to drug abusers. joining me chad, who admits to breaking the law providing it to addicts and their families. and michael is in recovery after a 40-bag-a-day habit. chad, let me first start off
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with you here. many people wonder why a drug that would save lives would be blocked, or fought so heavily by even medical personnel. what's the rationale there? >> tamron, the rationale is there's misconception when it comes to drug abuse and addiction. this is falsely put in the criminal justice system for way too long when it belongs in the public health system. this is what is halting all this movement is we need to get people to stop thinking about this as a crime, as these are sick people that need help. >> what's interesting, the governor of maine said he would oppose and threatened to veto a bill making narcan widely available. in march he said, quote, it's an escape, it's an excuse to stay addicted. what do you say to people who believe that? >> they just are extremely misinformed.
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there's no -- there's nothing that's going to stop me -- i'm recovering from heroin addiction myself. there's nothing that made me think it was okay to get high. i'm a drug addict. i get high, that is what i do. having narcan available made no difference. for those who might experiment or become addicted to drugs, narcan is not going to make them decide to use or not use drugs. this will be in place to save people's lives, just like an epi pen is used for people with a reaction. we need to place the value on human life over everything else. >> denise, as i mentioned, your son michael is doing well. you are -- you told me you're in recovery, not from being addicted to heroin, but watching your son go through his struggles, 40 bags a day. why was it so important to fight this battle, to make narcan available and what's your reaction to new york getting onboard? >> i'm one of the lucky ones. my kid is still alive.
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that's not the case with so many. these are not bad kids. these are not good kids. these are our kids. and they deserve a second chance at life. they're teenagers, adolescents. i agree with chad, their brains are hijacked, they're not making a choice to use heroin. at that stage, they're sick. >> do you worry that you have someone they're addicted, they're not focused on recovery, or beating the addiction, having narcan available as a crutch, are you at all concerned about that? >> narcan doesn't even cross their minds. they are in a severe addiction. if we would just get them treatment, maybe there wouldn't be a need for this. but this doesn't cross their minds. they're not making a choice. again, their brain is hijacked. they're sick individuals. and most people don't know, if you administer narcan, guess what happens if you every saved. you're a complete detox,
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complete withdrawal. they are so sick. the users are educated. they're not thinking, oh, i'm going to use. they're using to fulfill a need so they can stay well. >> what's your advice to families going through what you are right now? >> i think the biggest message i can send, the three most dangerous words, not my kid. i'm proof of it, along with hundreds of other families. it happens to everyone. there's so many faces. it doesn't matter. talk to your kids, have a conversation, because the not my kid scenario does not exist. >> chad, do you believe other cities will follow now that the country's largest police department has now gotten onboard here? >> i'm really hoping other cities will follow. because people need to understand the path of addiction. people are going to use until they suffer enough pain to try something different. we're just giving them the opportunity to find recovery here. everybody should be afforded the same chance that i was.
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and denise's son was, and many other have. >> chad, our thoughts are with you as you continue this journey. and of course, to you and your son michael, denise. >> thank you. >> you're a great mom. i can tell that just by sitting beside you. >> thank you. i appreciate it. i'm tamron hall. up next, "andrea mitchell reports" with arizona senator john mccain. (meow mix jingle) right on cue. it's more than just a meal, it's meow mix mealtime. with wholesome ingredients and irresistible taste, it's the only one cats ask for by name. the numbers are impressive. over 400,000 new private sector jobs... making new york state number two in the nation in new private sector job creation... with 10 regional development strategies to fit your business needs. and now it's even better because they've introduced startup new york... with the state creating dozens of tax-free zones where businesses pay no taxes for ten years. become the next business to discover the new new york.
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and believing that life loves us, i have dared to try many things, but daring still, be certain that you do not die without having been something wonderful for humanity. >> marching orders, president obama sets a new path forward for united states foreign policy unveiling a new counterterrorism strategy, and the long-awaited drawdown of american troops from afghanistan. a new prospect of peace for the cadets graduating from west point, he hopes. >> you are the first class to graduate since 9/11 who may not be sent into combat in iraq or afghanistan. >> and spy story, a preview of brian williams' exclusive big interview with nsa leaker edward snowden. why the man the president dismissed as a low-level hacker had a much bigger
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