most are betting he's just trying to put some heat on the heat to spend more money on improving their roster. and speaking of money, bob dylan pulled in some big bucks just across the street from us. his original hand-written manuscript of "like a rolling stone" just pulled in more than $2 million, a new world record. now, hit our favorite song. i'm krystal ball. it is another super tuesday right here on "the cycle," including a few run-offs thrown in to keep it interesting. we're watching contests in eight states, with a major focus on two races that politically speaking are really polar opposites. we've got new york's 13th congressional district and mississippi's gop senate primary run-off. senator thad cochran and congressman charles rangel each are the third-longest serving lawmakers in their respective chambers. and these guys have been winning primaries since carter was president. dallas was the number one tv

show, and cincinnati had the big red machine. >> nice. >> if you are too young to remember that, you are too young to remember these classics. primary day, 1970. charles rangel in harlem, peace sign, tie, and all pure '70s. got to love that. and primary day 1978 in mississippi. then-congressman cochran won without needing a run-off that time. now cochran is stuck in a very close run-off against tea party backed state senator chris mcdamage. while in new york, rangel is facing a very crowded democratic field. redistricting and a slim thousand-vote margin that won him the primaries two years ago. it could be his 23rd term in office. as "usa today" puts it, both are fighting for their political lives among constituencies that no longer appear to value their long congressional tenures. cnbc chief washington correspondent john harwood is at a polling station in hattiesburg, mississippi.

the mississippi mud was expected to fly today. we had pro-mcdaniel tea party backed poll watchers planning to man the polls. the local naacp chapter feared that would lead to voter intimidation and suppression. what have you seen there on the ground? >> well, poll workers here at this polling station in a neighborhood center in hattiesburg tell me they have not seen any mcdaniel poll watchers. maybe that's not surprising because there haven't been many african-american voters here. really, the focus of the mcdaniel campaign is on democrats who the cochran campaign is trying to turn out under mississippi's open primary laws, any democrat or independent, so long as they didn't vote in the democratic primary on june the 3rd, is eligible to vote in this race. cochran allies don't expect a huge number of democrats or african-american democrats. and in mississippi, which is totally racially polarized by party, most democrats are

african-american. they don't expect a whole lot of those to show up, but they're playing with small margins here. only 300,000 people or so showed up for the first primary. there was a couple thousand votes separating the two. and just a little push among unconventional groups to expand the electorate could make a big difference. >> going to be fascinating to watch. cnbc's john harwood making his "cycle" debut. thanks for coming on. now to a man who's certainly no stranger to the show. we have howard fineman, editorial director at "the huffington post" media group. john was just talking there about this cochran campaign strategy of reaching out in particular to african-american democratic voters. i wanted to put on the screen an ad that ran in a newspaper that is in a largely african-american area arguing for thad cochran, saying he funded 20 free clinics, he funded s.n.a.n., otherwise known as food stamps, and the ag bill, stuff that republicans these days are not

typically running on but trying to make the appeal that he's the moderate sort of person that african-american democrats should get behind. it's a pretty interesting tactic. do you think it's going to have any effect in the primary tonight? >> well, certainly the former governor of the state thinks so. and the rest of the republican establishment there and around the country thinks so. they've poured a tremendous amount of money here in at the end for thad cochran. they're looking for any port in the storm. it was very close in the first round. i think anybody who tries to predict this flat out right now is crazy. i think it's going to be extremely close. and cochran's looking for anything he can get, knowing there's a risk that mcdaniel will use that strategy against him. >> could be a backlash. >> but it's tricky for mcdaniel because, as john harwood was saying, most of the voters to whom cochran's appealing on the democratic side are

african-american. mcdaniel has to be careful -- had to be careful in what he said about that. >> but the whole situation, as krystal noted, as john noted, it just strikes me as fairly ugly and strange. on the one side, we have cochran sort of appealing to black voters, who he hasn't really been reaching out to before now, now that he's fighting for his electoral life. now he's reaching out to them. and we have this army of volunteer poll watchers coming out to, you know, attend these black polling sights and make sure the vote is legitimate, quote/unquote. this is taking me back to the '60s and, you know, times when things were not at all like they're supposed to be these days. >> well, it's kind of ironic because the republicans don't want to reinstitute the portion of the voting rights act that gave the federal government power to look at voting practices like this.

so we have an additional irony here in that the thad cochran side wants observers in there and to make sure people aren't intimidated. that's piling irony on irony as he desperately tries to win another term. >> that's a great point, especially on the legislative backdrop. just for the record, you were speaking to toure there. now it's ari. >> oh, i'm sorry. >> it happens a lot. we get confused all the time at parties. >> just two really smart sounding guys. i'm sorry. >> well played. >> i wanted to get your read on another big race today, of course up here near midtown in harlem where you have charlie rangel defending his seat. we all know he's been in trouble over previous ethics violations, was pushed out of his chairmanship of ways and means a few years back and still holding on. although, last time he squeaked it out by just 1,000 votes. i was at a couple polling places today. i want to read a couple quotes

from voters. candice said, look, it's time for a change for my generation. she's 30. she said, rangel's a fool, he doesn't help us get affordable housing, but he has three apartments. that's a grassroots kind of ground-level view of the ethics issues. i talked to another gentleman, charles, 80 years old, who told me, rangel's been around so long, i think this is his last hurrah, i trust him. two views from the ground there. your thoughts on that race, whether rangel holds on, and the nature of the opposition to him, someone who msnbc viewers will recognize who's a long-time leader of the congressional black caucus, has his fans, but also has many detractors. >> well, i think it's interesting that the governor of the state, andrew cuomo, and former president bill clinton are sticking with him. i think that's interesting and not insignificant. i'm amazed at the conventional wisdom as of this minute is rangel is going to hold on. i'm not amazed because i think

it's wrong. i'm just amazed at his durability. i guess the thinking is that his main opponent came within a thousand votes last time but may have missed the chance. i mean, i'll be astonished if rangel survives, but it looks like right now he's going to. i'm just amazed given the tenor in the country, not just in harlem and that newly redrawn district. but all around the country. the attitude toward incumbents in general. for him to be able to hang on there would really be astonishing. >> i want to hit on that very point, actually. obviously all of these races are local. you know, voters care about different issues there. demographic shifts going on. what seems to be a broader trend that you just pointed to is a real frustration among incumbents, folks that have been serving for so long and to the comment ari just read, very disconnected from the voters back home.

they only go home when it's politically sufficient for them or when they're campaigning. when you look at recent polling, 72% of voters think their representative does not deserve re-election. we know congress has a low approval rating, but 7% was the most recent that gallup showed, the lowest it's ever been. yet, it seems like these incumbents continue to squeeze through. what gives? >> well, what gives is the way the districts are drawn. what gives is that money still matters. what gives is incumbency by and large has been a blessing for people who are already in office. this year the level of antagonism toward washington in general, in the congress in particular, i think is unrivalled in a generation. but still, even in those situations, most members get re-elected. it's an earthquake when we're talking about 10%. that's an earthquake. and i sure have the feeling that

there are going to be a tremendous number of surprises come fall. people you think who would have survived are not going to. people in strange places are going to find the ground dropping out from under them. i've rarely seen a situation where people are this sort of dismissive. it's not just that they're angry. they're contempt use in a way. it's funny because economic confidence is back up. people are working hard. the economy is slowly doing well. it's almost as though people are saying, we're working our butts off, we've dealt with the recession, we're getting on with our lives, you know, we're trying to make things work, and you people up in washington just don't get the message. and you're not pulling your weight. and i think that's a very dangerous situation for incumbents to be in. >> yeah, and yet as you so rightly point out, you would still, even in this toxic climate, rather be an incumbent than challenger. howard fineman, always great to

have your insights. >> thank you. up next, president obama considering air strikes, kerry holding high-level talks. the impact of iraq's conflict here and around the world as "the cycle" rolls on for tuesday, june 24th. ups is a global company, but most of our employees live in the same communities that we serve. people here know that our operations have an impact locally. we're using more natural gas vehicles than ever before. the trucks are reliable, that's good for business. but they also reduce emissions, and that's good for everyone. it makes me feel very good about the future of our company. ♪ the summer of this.mmer. the summer that summers from here on will be compared to. where memories will be forged into the sand.

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that a united iraq is a stronger iraq, and our policy is to respect the territorial integrity of iraq as a whole. and president mirzani knows that. he's opposed to president maliki as some others are. it's up to iraqis to decide

their future leadership. >> secretary of state kerry today tried to convince the powerful leader of the iraqi kurds to work toward a unified government. the sunni kurds are one of iraq's three major ethnic groups along with shia arabs, who dominate the government, and the sunni arabs, many of whom are fighting alongside isis. iraqi prime minister nuri al maliki has left the sunnis and kurds out of government circles. the kurds have reacted by creating a largely autonomous region in the north. they say it a new iraq, and they want independence. nbc's ayman mohyeldin is in iraq. do you expect any movement after today's meeting? >> well, if there's going to be any movement, it's certainly going to happen in closed doors, and it's going to be very private. there's a lot of power sharing that takes place here in iraq. the way the constitution is set up. and more importantly, this country recently had elections. it's time for the presideime mir

maliki to try and form a government. that's one of the issues secretary of state john kerry alluded to. constitutionally speaking, it could drag on for several more weeks. that's time iraq simply doesn't have. it's also one of the reasons why secretary of state kerry came to the region and tried to move this process along. in order to get the kurds and the sunni arabs into government again under the leadership of prime minister maliki, that is going to be a very tough sell. and as you mentioned, the kurds, they are power broke whers it comes to any kind of national iraqi government. they have the presidency. they also have the foreign ministry. these are important portfolios here in the country. for them to be able to sit back at the table under prime minister nuri al maliki, that's going to be a tough sell. they want him to step aside and give another person a chance. but it's really all about the kind of power broking and deals that happen in closed quarters. what kind of positioning can be

offered to the kurds and sunni arab communities? what key positions can be offered to them to try to bring them into the fold? i think that's always going to be the tough sell. as we have seen iraqi leadership do in the past, they failed at trying to get all these people sitting around the table and sharing power equally among them. >> always great reporting from ayman mohyeldin. thank you very much. let's bring in democratic congressman peter welch, who nervous on the national security subcommittee, and the director of the middle east center at the london school of economics. congressman, there is a fundamental question at the bottom of all this. can american military forces, great as our military is, can they be used to shape iraq and perhaps the broader middle east? for at least 30 years, we've been using our military to try to shape the middle east. it generally does not work. can we use our military to shape iraq? >> my view is no. this is an iraqi political problem, and it can't be solved

by the american military. maliki is no longer being considered a scapegoat. he's the problem. he was given an enormous opportunity by our american military to rebuild iraq. he had the table set for him. what he decided to do was govern in an intensity sectarian way where he created the them anity of the sunnis that had to be part of the government. now we're seeing the manifestation of that being played out, and he's a discredited leader, and in my view, there can be no future in iraq or any prospect of success with maliki at the helm. and should we turn our air force into the maliki air force to try to make up for his failures? my strong view, no. >> yeah, the question s can you possibly put these pieces back together. the best case scenario for iraq is devo lugs of power from the center of baghdad to local shia sunni arabs and kurdish communities. the worst is splintering of the country to three separate

entities. is it necessarily a disaster for the u.s. if iraq is, in fact, partitioned, divided into three separate entities, or is there a way for us to support stability in a partitioned iraq. >> well, it's a disaster for everyone. it's a disaster for iraq. it's a disaster for its neighbors. and it's also a disaster for the united states of america. remember, the conservatives made iraq a showcase for how you promote democracy. not just in iraq but in the neighborhood. what we are witnessing in iraq, really, is the disintegration of the state before our eyes. i doubt it very much whether the iraqi state could be rescued or saved. in fact, for your viewers, the insurgent groups, not just isis, the islamic state, control now between 40% and 45% of the iraqi territory. the big story is that really the disintegration of the iraqi

security forces that were trained by the americans, for the islamic state and its allies, it's been a joyride. this is truly a turning point in the history of modern iraq and the history of the modern middle east as well. >> and fawaz, as you know, there's continued pressure being put on the prime minister of iraq, al maliki, to step aside, not just from the united states, but obviously parties within iraq. they're saying they're going to reform the government as soon as july 1st. but as we see in many cases, for there to be real meaningful change, there has to be a leadership change. do we need to see the prime minister step aside before we can actually make real progress? >> well, you're asking really very important questions. first of all, nuri al maliki is very toxic. he's very toxic not only for the sunni arabs, he's very toxic for the sunni kurds. as you heard today from the president of kurdistan. even he's toxic for some shiite who blame maliki for autocratic,

authoritarian behavior. i think the problem now in iraq goes beyond one particular person. we're talking about the 1st of july, when the parliament meets. the situation has gone too far. when the parliament meets on the 1st of july, probably isis, the islamic states, and sunni groups would control 60% of iraq. the next target is baghdad. and i don't think that the islamic state is capable of taking over baghdad for a variety of reasons. it does not have the numbers. it does not have the weapons. baghdad is a city of 7 million people. you have tens of thousands of militiamen. but the reality is their strategy is to lay siege to baghdad, to starve baghdad, to terrorize baghdad, to deny baghdad basically food and electricity. obviously, now the islamic state and the various islamist sunni groups control most of the border crossings between syria and iraq and between jordan and iraq and this tells you the

gravity of the situation in iraq. the iraqi national project is really, i mean, coming apart before our eyes. >> yeah, and that speaks, of course, to the deep problems there. congressman, at the same time, we have some problems here at home just in how we're figuring out what we want to do in iraq and what the process and limits are for that, whether a new resolution would be needed for air strikes or a greater involvement. and then of course yesterday you have the release for the first time of most of the memo that provides legal authority for part of this battle as well against terrorists, which is the drone attacks we've seen well off the battlefield in places like yemen, somalia, pakistan. i read the whole memo. i think the obama administration was wrong to fight for its secrecy for so long. i think they look silly having said on the one hand it was a secret, on the other hand they wanted credit for the kill list. but speak to us specifically about your view of what we've

learned out of that memo and whether this administration is right to say it has the power to kill americans well off the battlefield, even if they're not officially aligned necessarily with a foreign enemy like the taliban. >> well, i don't think so. i don't agree with that. but i think if the administration is going to use significant military force, it's got to get authorization from congress, and that's essential. and by the way, the real question on force is not the legitimacy at this point. it's the efficacy. will it work? will a standoff air force attack, drones or planes, have any sustainability long-term impact on the situation on the ground? most serious military analysts say no. there are some things the u.s. can and should do. we should be all in on trying to stabilize the satellite states like jordan and lebanon and to some extent turkey that are having an influx of huge number of refugees. secondly, we've got to talk to our allies, saudi arabia and the gulf state, and tell them to

sober up. they are financing an army, the radical sunni conflict. that really has to stop. then beyond that, there's an obvious political situation that has only resolved by the iraqi. >> two of our best guests. congressman welch, and professor. thank you very much. up next, why krystal ball has suddenly become a huge fan of sting, and it has nothing to do with the music of the police. it doesn't operate out of basements or back alleys.

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could help your business didavoid hours of delaynd test caused by slow internet from the phone company? that's enough time to record a memo. idea for sales giveaway. return a call. sign a contract. pick a tie. take a break with mr. duck. practice up for the business trip. fly to florida. win an award. close a deal. hire an intern. and still have time to spare. check your speed. see how fast your internet can be. switch now and add voice and tv for $34.90. comcast business. built for business. breaking news in the cycle. a tornado spotted near indianapolis. let's get right to rafi. >> good afternoon, guys. an intense thunderstorm producing a tornadoes on the ground. there are reports of debris and

damage around the indianapolis area. not downtown. that's right about here. this is the track of the tornado that we saw on the ground around speedway, indiana, in the suburbs north and east of indianapolis. it appears the storm has weakened and perhaps the tornado has lifted over the past few minutes. still, a potentially very dangerous storm now moving to areas northeast of indianapolis. this tornado warning still in effect until about 3:45. you can see the intense storminess around. that's the indianapolis sky cam there. just an ominous looking storm. it has weak and bit, but a very dangerous storm. reports of debris and damage already. as we take a wider view here, another round of potentially severe storms about to roll into downtown indianapolis. so definitely not done just yet. and the severe threat continues through the afternoon. you can see why there's a surge of moisture here. dew points in the 60s and 70s, providing all that fuel for the fire. that extends all the way up to

the ohio valley and also kansas has severe thunderstorm watch in effect. a very busy afternoon, and this weather does move into the northeast tomorrow. we'll have to keep a close eye on that. back to you. >> thanks, as always. and now to a topic that may sting for the children of one of the biggest rock stars out there. sting says his six kids won't be inheriting any of his $300 million fortune. it is all going to charity. speaking with u.k.'s daily mail, he said he wants his kids to find their own way to success, much like he did, coming from an impoverished childhood. his comments have sparked a conversation back here in the states about family legacy and what that should buy you, so to speak. guys, i think good for sting and good for the world that he's decided to make this decision. and you know, i honestly until recently hadn't engaged a whole lot in the american political conversation about the estate tax, right. how much should wealthy people,

how much of their estate should be taxed and given to the government when they pass on? one of the big successes of the right and big money in politics has been weakening and lowering the estate tax. if you read the work on inequality, you come to realize actually how important the estate tax is in making sure you don't have these soaring levels of intergenerational inequality. when you are born with a lot already, you are at a massive advantage and that perpetuates through the generations. if you want america to be a merit ok si, if you want it to be a place where people get ahead of their own volition and of their own hard work, i think a high estate tax is really important to being able to realize that vision. >> yeah, even going beyond tax policy or the macro view. if you think about it in what terms of the message it sends, it's like how much money do you need? if you are lucky enough to be

affluent and have more than you need, how do you think about that? a lot of people look at taxes and look at their whatever little bit they might be able to set aside for their children as a little something, not hundreds of millions like sting. but i think -- i mean, abby often says, you know, you can get wisdom from lil' wayne, weezy, baby. >> i don't. >> he famously say the, too much money, it ain't enough money. i disagree with that. that reflects a one percenter view. as much as possible, no matter what, stack it up. >> who are you? >> ari. nice to see you again. when you look at this, the prism we have, and there's definitely a political context to krystal's point, i need as much as possible and anything that is taken away for taxes or whatever, it's me versus them. i would argue ethical burden in a modern economy. it's not just you versus the government. it's when you have more than

enough, enough for your family, enough for your kids, grand kids, then what else do you want to do? the idea that people like sting, like bill gates, like warren buffett have come out and buffett of course famously challenging many other super million naaires and billionaireo do this. we should be giving away to good charities, good causes rather than holding it all for our family forever just because that's the right thing to do. >> i think many people hope that people choose to do that. i actually hear what you're saying, and i think that sounds good. as i said, i hope people choose that route. i actually disagree, though. i think people should have the freedom to do what they like with their money. if they're successful and they have made it on their own, if they want to pass it down to their children, that is their choice. that being said, i totally admire what sting has done. i come from a family where my grandpa was lucky. he did really well in life. he became a very successful businessman. and he said before he made it, he said, you know, if i ever make it in life -- >> there's a cute couple. >> he said, if i ever make it, i'm going to give all my money

towards a passion of mine, finding a cure for cancer. he's had cancer more than twice. he's given pretty much everything he has to finding a cure, to a cancer hospital. they just opened a new wing for children. so i was raised sort of this with mentality of we don't need this money, but that's something my grandpa chose to do. it reminds me of why i'm a republican. relying on individuals like my grandpa and the gates foundation and others that can make a huge difference in society on education, on health, on poverty, et cetera. so i admire what sting did. i think others should do the same thing. >> of course, reject the notion that anybody makes it on their own. there are workers who are educated in public schools, roads we all paid for that got your grandfather's goods or whatever to market. but putting that aside, sting and your grandfather have given an incredible gift to the folks who came after them in their family. the gift of being able to be self-made, of being able to take care of yourself and create your own life and not be burdened by having so much money. because some folks would find

that ridiculous to say, but massive inheritance can be paralyzing to a person and sort of stulting to your soul. i didn't even fully understand that until i saw jamie johnson's documentary that aired on hbo years and years ago. it was called "born rich" where he interviewed the great-great grandchildren of super wealthy folks. nobody in the family has worked at johnson & johnson in generations, but he made an incredible piece. let's watch a little of the end of that. >> i've had the benefit of being rich all my life. and i'll never want for material things. but after working on this movie, i've discovered that what you inherit may not be as valuable as what you earn. >> well said. careful what you wish for there. all right. up next, as the president mulls air strikes in iraq, one of the first fighter pilots sent into iraq in 2003 brings us a closer look at the history of warfare from the air.

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but they don't yet know we're a family. we're right where you need us. at the next job, next adventure or at the next exit

helping you explore super destinations and do everything under the sun. 12 brands. more hotels than anyone else in the world. so wherever you want to be, whatever you want to do, chances are we're already there. save up to 25% and earn bonus points when you book at wyndhamrewards.com. to deal with the unraveling situation in iraq, the administration is considering the possibility of both manned and unmanned drone air strikes. history has shown air superiority can totally change the court of a battle. since 1915 when a gun was first mounted on a plane during world war ii, to u.s. stealth pilots today, they have taken to the high ground. but how does air warfare change

when you take the pilots out of the equation. dan hampton was scrambled to the skies in 9/11, piloted one of the first planes to enter iraqi air space in 2003 and was part of america's exit iraq. he's now chronicling the history of air power in his new book out today called "lords of the sky." such a pleasure to have you at our table. i will say, my brother just graduated the naval academy and is going on to be a fighter pilot. i told him you were on the show. he said he's a hero of mine. so thank you for your service. >> you're quite welcome. >> thank you for being a hero to so many young men and women. >> there's your brother. >> he's so precious. you have an incredible story, though. you were part of leading this invasion into iraq. one of the first planes to cross the border. personally responsible for taking out the escape helicopters for saddam hussein. take us back to that time. help us relive those days. >> well, we were supposed to go in first. we hunt down and kill the surface air missiles that shoot

down. we go in, look attractive, they shoot at us, and if we survive, we get them. it's a crazy job. a lot of fun though. the helicopter thing, that was an absolutelily miserable day. it was overcast, one hole in the cloud. you never, ever fly down through hole in the cloud because everybody shoots through it. but we had to do it because they told us saddam was trying to get away. i used up every piece of self-protection equipment that airplane had that day getting in and out of there. probably one of the worst days i ever had. >> can you tell us about the hairiest air combat story that you've lived through? >> well, we don't dog -- well, i never got to dog fight. the last real dog fight was probably in vietnam. but i went through the fighter weapons school, which is the air force version of top gun school. it's training, but it's really not. that was probably the worst air-to-air experiences i ever had, just because you're fighting -- we're fighting each other. there's nobody better than the u.s. military. >> dan, we referenced drones and

potential for drone strikes in iraq. as you know, the obama administration just released their legal justification for drone strikes. there's been a lot of conversation about the legality of the process around choosing targets and those sorts of things. but you have a view on how effective drone strikes are. >> yeah, you know, drones work fine in low-threat areas can like afghanistan and yemen and places where nobody shoots back. okay. but you put them in an environment where there's an aircraft fire, s.a.m.s., other fighters, and they're not going to survive. that isn't the problem in iraq because there's no air threat, really. the problem in iraq is one of what's a target? this is a civil war. this is not something that's going to be solved by outside forces. this is not going to be solved by our military. this has got to be solved by them. frankly, you know, after ten years and over $8 trillion that we can't account for, i think we've done enough. >> yeah, and do you see the 300

advisers, they've been called, that we're going to be placing on the ground there, is the reason that they're going in to essentially identify targets? is that the thinking there? >> i would hope that they went in to make sure the embassy stays safe. i don't know what they're doing. i would say that's how little conflict called vietnam started to escalate early in the '60s. there's no clear-cut objectives over there. i think the best thing that we could do is to support the kurds in the north. that will unhinge isis and whatever they're trying to do because they don't want to fight the kurds. the bad guys are moving west towards syria because they need food, water, and ammunition. believe me, there's nothing between baghdad and the syrian border. it's like the moon, only it's hot. they can keep it. there's nothing out there. >> so given your expertise here in the air part of these campaigns, do you have the concern that the tactical precision and abilities we have, both with manned and unmanned aircraft, actually end up lulling the u.s. into operations

that they otherwise wouldn't be strategically interested in? because there's a political line here very clearly, we're not going to do a ground invasion number two or three on iraq. just like in libya there was a discussion about using nato and having an air war without the ground. but at some point, does that concern you, or do you think that's the right balance? >> no, it concerns me. you cannot win a war from the air, okay. you can lose one without air superiority. and obviously i'm a big advocate of air power. but you're not going to win a war solely from the air. that's something that washington has never quite grasped. they like to use air strikes because instead of sending in 1,000 guys, they're sending in one or two or three, right. it really sucks if it's you that gets shot down 500 miles behind enemy lines. bu but the pentagon and washington all shrug their shoulders. >> any words of advice to my brother and the next generation of pilots? >> yeah, don't screw up. no, my hat's off to him if he gets himself into flight school. he's either got it or he doesn't.

i'm sure he does. >> well, thank you so much for being here. i thank you again for your service, dan hampton. up next, are you living and loving more virtually than authentically? tech-obsessed ex-reality star kim stolls joins us to talk about what happened when she put down her phone and started getting real. sounds kind of scary. it reallye between a morning around the house and getting a little exercise. unlike the bargain brand, depend® gives you fit-flex™ our best protection. it's a smooth and comfortable fit with more lycra® strands. get your free sample at depend.com it's a smooth and comfortable fit with more lycra® strands. touch down... every morning... ten times! not just... now and then. once more on the rise... nuts to the flabby guys! go, you chicken fat, go away! go, you chicken fat, go!

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pictures meant going to somebody's house and probably getting bored. and a selfie was just a slang term in australia. for better or worse, the facebooks, twitters, and instagrams are here to stay. we're also well into the backlash, as even people who use tech constantly liken it more to an addiction than a helpful tool. so how do we balance our online lives with the real world? well, that's a question former reality star and mtv news anchor kim stolls tackles in her new book "unfriending my ex and other things i'll never do." it's how the most tech obsessed can enhance our lives and live them better. welcome. >> thank you very much. >> in addition to the reality star stuff, you also trade equity derivatives. >> that's correct. >> we'll talk about that some other time. >> probably not here. >> let me start with something you say in the book. when thinking about the tech and the devices, they never filled a void, because there actually wasn't a void there for most of human history and civilization. you say instead, they came in and pushed out other real stuff.

tell me about that real stuff that you've tried to get better quai acquainted with. >> i kind of noticed in the last couple of years that, you know, i wasn't able to really self-reflect. there was no introspection. i had spent very little alone time because any time i was alone, i was head down in my phone, texting or tweeting or what have you. and i found that when i did my digital detox, i actually got on the phone with my friends. i actually, you know, kind of saw things around me and absorbed the world that i had been kind of missing for a while. it's not that i -- i mean, yes, it does eat up your time. i definitely am not good at reading full books anymore because i get distracted. writing a full book was very challenging. i'd write like half a paragraph and be like, oh, no, no. i think it's more about the micro. it's more about the fact that every single time i have a conversation with someone or i walk down the street or experience something, i'm not experiencing it fully. i'm not experiencing genuine emotion when somebody tells me a story because i'm always

thinking about what's happening next on my phone. >> you talk about when your wife says, let's have a device-free vacation. you're like, okay, why don't you go to the spa? >> when can i hide and pretends i'm pretend i'm doing something else but text. >> why are you and so many people so addicted? >> i think there's emerging body of research about this. i but i think humans are obsessed with anticipation and mystery, we love that nature of what's coming next. i think every single time that my phone lights up, there's something we all know called dopamine and -- >> we love that feeling, right? >> that is a great feeling. every time we have our phones, we can make that happen for ourselves. when i text you, someone else might, right. >> she will, she'll send you a panda emoji. >> we can control that dopamine

release, which is crazy. a lot of what's happening, we have become so addicted to creating that for ourselves that we simply can't stop. >> we love the reaction, if you send a tweet or see something on facebook, i'm pretty funny -- >> that's not always how you feel. >> all too often people go too far because they want to be funny and get that attention. only then when they make that gaffe they are able to take a step back an re-evaluate the situation with social media. >> it wasn't exactly -- it was a very personal real life gaffe but not on twitter. i went through a break-up which is why i started writing the book where i had a facebook chat interaction with an ex, which kind of went to texting and before i knew it we were e-mailing and seeing each other and my girlfriend broke up with me. it's not that i was innocent in this whole thing but social media kind of provided this very slippery slope, this avenue for

me to express all of my most impulsive relatively negative actions. and i think you talk about the gaffes. celebrities and just anyone, i think when you're looking at the screen and not looking into someone's eyes and seeing genuine emotion, it's easy to say cruel things and hide behind that. we all see that. >> yep. >> eye contact, that's key. >> i think it's important. >> tour'e, put that on your tips list. >> how are you? >> thank you so much. this was fun. >> thank you, i appreciate it. on a more serious note, we have a different angle on internet issues, a threat from an ex, what does it mean? cristal has a fascinating case she's going to tell us about that might make it all the way to the high court. t fares! as in the 37 billion transit fares we help collect each year. no? oh, right. you're thinking of the 1.6 million daily customer care interactions xerox handles.

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i'm not going to rest until your body is a mess and soaked in blood from dying from the cuts. how would you feel if your ex-husband posted that about you or graphic profain description of how he would take his revenge on you and murder you? day after day would you be afraid? would you consider it a threat? would you be comforted that it was written in form of bad rap lyrics. those are questions that the supreme court will seek to answer in the case of anthony

eloni sentenced to four years in prison after posting rants on his facebook page. he also had chilling words for a female fbi agent in a kindergarten class. he said his rants should only be considered a true threat in he actually intended harm, which he swears he did not. the supreme court has agreed to consider his appeal and elonis' ex-wife feels since she feels terrorized by the post, they were true threats indeed. the stakes are high, for all women on the internet. life online can frequently feel unsafe for women where violent and sexual threats are common place. as amanda hess details in her ter tisk post why women aren't welcome in the internet. they suffer threats and harassment online. 73% of harassing online incidents were in fact reported by women.

when university of maryland dispatched fake user names into chatrooms they found female user names received 100 threatening messages per day. the current jurs pruns has been a radical free speech libertarianism, complain online and you're likely to face a barraj of attacks that you're stifling free speech. you're not much to get a blank stare and admonishment to stay away from the internet and doesn't eliminate the threat of danger. the top reason women wind up in the emergency room is because of domestic partner violence, it would seem threats against a woman's life deserve to be treated under the law in a serious way. even if all of the threats women endure online are idle, do we want to allow an internet where only half of the population at best feels safe and truly enjoys freedom of expression?

we may recognize many limitations on speech already including criminalizing child pornography and threats to the president and jokes at airports. we have many choices along the spectrum between free speech libertarianism and related fashism. it's time to treat threats primarily directed at women on the internet as seriously as we treat other forms of regulated speech. the victims whose murdered were previewed on the internet and thousands of women terrorized on the internet deserve nothing less. "now" with alex wagner starts now. >> when a crashed hard drive turns far reaching conspiracy, i smell an issa. it's tuesday, june 24th and this is "now." >> clearly you're not pleased to be here.

>> another heated day on the capitol hill over the irs targeting of political groups. >> jennifer o'connor worked as counsel to the irs and supervised data collection during the investigation. >> yes or no, you're a hostile witness. >> yes, you are a term i should have used is noncooperative witness rather than hostile. >> i do not understand how chairman issa was able to rush to issue this subpoena. your connection to this topic is at best a stretch. >> we're not really getting to the bottom of anything. >> it's a continuation of the same char raid. >> what we've seen is a witch hunt emerge. >> i.t. background guy, i've never seen a disk drive that has zero left on it. >> who throws awap a computer anymore. >> a run on a amazon cloud. >> sometimes my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are reaching for the most grandiose