this morning my question, is beyonce the face of feminism? plus, a new generation of activists speaks out in the wake of ferguson. and, a good laugh for a very serious cause. but first, the president says not so fast. good morning. i'm melissa harris-perry. the media speculation this week over the possible expansion of u.s. air strikes against isis in syria was stoked in part by the

news of surveillance flights over syria and the comments of some key u.s. officials. even though those officials gave no definitive indication president obama was about to approve additional air strikes. >> we it continue to explore all options regarding isil and how best we can assist our partners in that area. >> can they be defeated without addressing that part of the organization which resides in syria? the answer is no. >> so we're actively considering what will be necessary to deal with that threat and we're not going to be restricted by borders. >> so we've heard all of that. object thursday president obama basically told everyone, take a breath. he clearly state d that the responsibility for what happens in syria will not fall on the shoulders of the united states. >> the issue with respect to syria is not simply a military issue, it's also a political issue. this cancer that has developed

is one that they have to be just as invested in defeating as we are. >> the president was also quick to put an end to media speculation without taking all of the proper steps. >> i don't want to put the cart before the horse. we don't have a strategy yet. the suggestion, i guess, has been that we'll start moving forward imminently and somehow congress still out of town will be left in the dark. that's not what's going to happen. >> while president obama is mulling over options for dealing with isis in syria, his statement that the u.s. did not have a strategy on how to deal with the problem yet was met with immediate mockery from some republicans, the likes of senator john mccain, tweeting, we don't have a strategy yet. president obama 8/28/14 #isis is the largest, richest, terrorist group in history.

192,000 dead in #syria. and according to reports speculation over 0 the next moves of the united states have no effect on the continued torture and killing by isis. on thursday new video purported to show the capture and killing of more than 150 soldiers in northern syria in just the last few days. regardless of president obama's approach, britain's prime minister, david cameron, struck a far more dramatic tone yesterday when he revealed how britain will deal with the deteriorating situation in iraq and syria and its potential effect on great britain. >> earlier today the home secretary confirmed the joint terrorism analysis center has increased the threat level in the united kingdom from substantial to severe. this is the first time in three years that the threat to our country has been of this level. >> is severe is the second high of the five potential threat levels in the uk and signifies that an attack is highly likely though there are no specific intelligence suggesting an attack is imminent at this time.

after cameron's announcement the white house and pentagon reiterated the decision not to take immediate action against isis in syria. but with the drumbeat getting louder for a tough response to isis, how much longer can the president ask everyone to wait? at the table karen if iy, msnbc contributor, earl at valley forge military college, and an iraq war veteran and hillary mann leverett at american university. i want to start with you, hillary. does isis pose an immediate threat to u.s. lives or interest either domestically or abroad? >> no, it doesn't. its sights are set on part of saudi arabia, the holiest place in the islamic religion. that's where their sights are set and they're pursuing a carefully crafted, sophisticated strategy to get there and to really take over leadership within the sunni muslim world.

the president, though, saying hold on, looks weak and decisive, is probably doing the right things in terms of hold ing off the bombing. a year ago this weekend i was on a different program, wait a minute, don't go bomb assad's military in syria because they'ressentialessentially. he was correct not to bomb assad's army last year and probably correct not to do so this year because that's exactly what isis wants. they want the united states back in full throttle to send hundreds of thousands of troops back and make this an all-out war with the united states to take over their swath of the middle east. >> your point where we have come over the course of the past year, that's precisely what i was thinking, a year ago we were sitting here talking about the possibility that the president having drawn this sort of bright line about chemical weapons was

going to be forced into being against assad and yet i'm now beginning to hear discourse that we might have a strategic partnership with assad in the context of defeating isis. would that be equally problematic? >> well, the whole situation is getting muddled because we have people saying that we should have supported the insurgency in syria before it became radicaliz radicalized. when you look at the evidence, it was always going to eventually tend to be that way so to even have suggested that red line be there where it be actual intervention is a mistake. it was a mistake. i think the president realized that. unfortunately, the damage is already done. now with this, moving into syria, this conversation whether or not we should have air strikes in syria. there's a lot of problems right now in iraq and we have a full fledged -- the iraqi military are actually starting to make gains against isis with the u.s. advisers, that's the key.

they're not talked about, that are on the ground that are actually supporting those troops that are actually allowing them to make gains, so we can push them back to the syria border and let things happen in syria. >> part of what you both have done is reveal the complexity central to a problem this enormous and yet i wonder, karen, if politics don't allow for much room for that kind of complexity, just looking at the poll data asking, for example, is obama, is president obama tough enough? 54% suggest a, no, the president is not tough enough, and only 36% about right. that notion that there just simply is not enough tough discourse, but then when i talk with folks who are in the know, they keep saying to me, no, this is complicated. you don't want to go david cameroning yourself all over this process. >> that's what we voted for. we said we don't want cowboy diplomacy. we don't want to just send troops in not based on factual,

actual evidence. what i find so interesting, we prefer that the president use tough rhetoric but then not do -- he can't do that either. this president is very thoughtful and laying it out more honestly. the problem is the language. i wouldn't have said cart before the horse. the president is waiting for options from the department of defense 0. that's a better answer. >> there were a ott lot of optics options. vis-a-vis the light colored suit. it does lead me, though, to wonder -- and i guess i'm always wondering this as i watch this particular leader, hillary, whether or not legitimately the strategy or whether the strategy is a kind of public, obfuscation so that there is a set of things going on in the back channels that we just don't know about.

>> i agree with karen, certainly the choice of words, what was very, very problematic but i served in the bush administration, both clinton and bush. i'm not partisan. in the bush administration we forget but after 9/11 it took the administration about a month to come up with plans to attack afghanistan. they also had no strategy even though al qaeda had been attacking us for six years. we knew al qaeda, we knew afghanistan, but we had no strategy. so my concern is that the president, and it's not just the president but it's the entire foreign policy elite and bure 0 okay's have not learned a thing since 9/11. and here we are, we know iraq. we had 150,000 troops in iraq. we were there for years. we bombed that country for a long time. we know the situation and we still don't have a strategy. i actually would question whether the white house spokesman is really being frank with the american public in terms of there being a strategy. if there were a strategy, it would actual ly tell the americn public the hard things they need to hear which is that you don't partner with coalitions with those who have like-minded values.

you deal with countries lake they are, iran and assad, who are the only governments in the region fighting isis. and to have this policy that keeps them in the ground is enormously dedestructive. >> we're going to take a break. you talked more about that advising group and the part we have no strategy is code for we are having internal battles about it. so when we come back, we'll talk more about that but also quite specifically about the human toll and one mother's desperate plea. scratch craig? your choice. what are you doing with that key jake? i'm thinking of scratching your car. well, you should stop thinking that. you're a little too precious with it. don't touch my dart, jake common it's for your own good, you'll thank me later. move out of the way, so you don't get hurt, i mean it. it's gonna happen, might as well be from a friend. jake... step back, jake.

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i ask you to please release my child. as a mother i ask for justice to be merciful and not punish my son for matters he has no

control over. >> shirley sotloff being the mother mother. her son, steven, abducted more than a year ago but was seen last week in the video to show the beheading of fellow american journalist james foley. the lives of both journalists and aid workers are put in jeopardy by isis' campaign to expand its swath of iraq and syria, so, too, are the lives of the everyday people that cross their path n. a new report they document war crimes being committed by isis in syria. on wednesday the chairman of the panel investigating possible war crimes in syria had this to say. >> isis the commission as you can read in the report indicates that members of isis have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity including acts

of torture, murder, and forcible displacement. >> so, earl, however complicated the politics and the military strategy are here, add on top of it the personal horror of seeing americans in these circumstances. it's no wonder the advisers are talking about what ought to happen oocht one thing i've said this continually, isis will not be successful. their success will lead to their failure. the problem is whether or not it will sustain in a movement that will be dispersed, how many people will be killed before this happens. nobody wants them to succeed. they want to manipulate isis and gain control with saudi arabia, with the funnelsing of money and pulling the strings within the region to maintain iacross iran. how to reduce on a humanitarian

level. i think forcing the issue with the advisers and getting iraqi military mobilized and working through and pushing it up to the syrian border, syria is a whole different thing. it is a whole different situation other than iraq with isil. >> as you make this point about the kind of enormity and potential growing enormity of that humanitarian crisis and yet, karen, the politics of it sometimes one life or two lives can take on heightened meaning even over and above that kind of enormous suffering, i want to listen to a moment prime minister cameron being talked about being shocked and sickened by what we saw in the context of the beheading of the american journalist. >> we've all been shocked and sickened by the barbaric murder of american journalist james foley. and by the voice of what increasingly seems to have been a british terrorist recorded on that video. it was clear evidence, not that any more was needed, that this

is not some foreign conflict thousands of miles from home that we can hope to ignore. >> they got real personal for the british and now we're starting to sea a different tone. >> and for a lot of people here in america, particularly people who knew james foley, right? and i think that is part of the politics here, again, on the one hand nobody wants boots on the ground, part of the political calculation in whatever decision gets made. at the same time seeing that you have people tune in and say, wait, what's going -- tune in in a way i don't think they had in terms of what's really going on over there and the potential of danger and it raises then the questions that you started with about, well, is there a danger to the united states? i do think that -- >> it's not unlike the ebola crisis there was massive human suffering and death, sort of in the american public and when it comes to atlanta in the body of an american citizen, wait a minute, what's going on, and it changes the world. >> and had anybody thought before this of the fact that there are over 1,000 british citizens fighting with isis.

100 american citizens fighting with isis. >> that changes the calculation for people. >> that we really put our head in the sand hear that isis has support. it has thousands of people from the united states and europe and probably about 4,000 saudis. a saudi newspaper did a poll in saudi arabia of saudi public opinion. they found 92% of saudis believe isis confirms to their view of islamic values and law. so we have our head in the sand that somehow this makes no sense, everybody hates them. we can recruit our sunni autocracies. >> you are saying the very expansion is is the thing that will lady to its demise because nobody likes them. >> i isis are not muslims. what they do, eye are not muslims in the true sense of the word.

when you talk to the actual people saudis and kuwaitis, and i have a large population in military college i access all the time. when they see this and what's happening and see it in america through seeing what's there, they actually said these are not muslims. this is not what we -- they may have a sentiment. >> in terms of who we talk to, when you look at public opinion that saudi arabia has beheaded as a state, it's quite different. >> actually having like a sentiment to feel for it as oppose ed d to fighting for it actually going and cutting someone's head off -- >> 4,000 saudis go on their feet and fight. >> so this is -- it's fascinating this eidea what is the basis and i do think it's important, again, we'll listen to cameron again one more second talking about the british citizens who will are there. let's listen one more moment. >> the first isil-inspired terrorist acts on the continent of europe have already taken place. we now believe that at least 500

people who traveled from britain to fight in syria and potentially iraq. >> so whatever the fighting may be whether to support isis or isil on the ground in that region of the world, british and american passports, that's the thing that makes me wonder if there's a threat. those passports allow to you move around the globe in a very different way. >> to the extent that we support governments like the saudi government, that saudis themselves and isil have as their target. their target is to bring down the saudi government, bring down the other gulf autocracy. that we are spending $60 billion in weapons systems, isis has us in their sight. remember, the execution of foley happened not just because they were looking to kill an american but when we started bombing them in iraq. it's a very deliberate, sophisticated military strategy. >> one thing to keep in mind here, exact ly what you are

talking about, the level of complexity and trying to understand the various relationships this person who is actually your enemy is your friend when had it comes to this fight over here. and the fact -- i think the game changer is that these groups now can control their own message. that created a whole new ball game, isis/isil, whatever, they put it out on the web and that's what we're talking about. >> very powerful through the context of social media. it changes whether or not we should think of them as a state -- >> and what people see. >> there is a state crisis going on. it is the other international crisis confronting the president right now. the growing tensirussia and ukr. no, i'll get it! let me get it. ah uh, i don't want you to pay for this. it's not happening, honey. let her get it. she got her safe driving bonus check from allstate last week. and it's her treat. what about a tip? here's one...get an allstate agent. nice! switch today and get two safe driving bonus checks a year for driving safely. only from allstate. call 866-788-0900 now. hold on man, is th

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poroshenko called an emergency meeting of the national security defense council and dismissed claims by the kremlin that russian soldiers were volunteering and helping the separatists after sacrificing their vacations. this latest round comes just two days after ukraine's president first met with russian president vladimir putin. thursday president obama said there would be no u.s. military intervention to solve this problem but he did hint at further sanctions against russia the he was adamant about who is at fault for this ongoing crisis. >> the separatists are backed, trained, armed, financed by russia. through this process we've seen deep russian involvement in everything that they've done. >> joining my panel now is a senior fellow at the atlantic council's program on transatlantic relations and from washington, d.c., i'm joined by an associate professor of

international affairs at the school. i want to ask whether or not you see this situation between ukraine and russia specifically with putin, is it just sort of stagnant or the possibility of an escalation? >> well, it is an escalation and i've always maintained that putin is going to bite off any piece he can and so that's what exactly he's doing. maybe the large, full-scale invasion, the way we used to look at it is not something that he's going to do but he's certainly trying to destabilize as many parts of the border between russia and ukraine as he can because, let's face it, annexation of crimea in march actually does not make any sense if there is at least no part of either ukrainian part that is somewhat connected to the russian land. crimea is not technically connected to russia

geographically and i think that's what he's doing. i think that another part of his calculation is that the more sanctions pushing in, they're really getting very, very nervous and we know they're getting very nervous but the military elites, the other part, they are actually pushing for nationalists, and what not and i think putin knows very being very well that in order to maintain his position in power, he needs to maintain his position in power, he needs the power forces, and that's why in some ways he began this kind of escalation, this incursion are or this movement that seems to be much more open than it was before. you put something on the table i'm going to ask you, adrian, about, asking for sanctions.

>> we urge the united states to freeze all russian exits until russia pulls back its forces, its military and stops the supply of russian-led gorillas. >> that's the ukraine prime minister, not the president. i wonder whether or not sanctions are, in fact, the sort of thing that will stop putin. >> the first measure is to go deeper into sectoral sanctions and you can't think what the broader context is. we don't really know what putin's final end game is and that makes him exceptionally dangerous. we don't know how far he will go. will i go to kiev, take half the country, start trouble in the baltics, russian majority population centers like narva

and estonia. will he start a new conflict in moldova and try to link that up. so we have a lot of -- he can escalate and open in a lot of places, and i think we have to show -- the west has it to show and the united states has to show some degree of firmness and response. economic sanctions, blocking russia out of the world financial markets, out of swift, out of money transactions will have a deep effect. secondly, a military aid direct ly to ukraine in terms of technology so that they can resist better and, third, putin has not sent in his full forces. he's conducting a kind of new type of limited war and i don't think he's ready to escalate to occupy ukraine. i think we have to send in signals to prevent him advancing. >> part of the media and always feeling a little bit outside of

it, this sum aemer a civilian aircraft went down in the context of this battle between putin and ukraine and honestly the fact there was so little cost to putin as a result of the downing of a civilian airliner feels to me like, come on now, are we seriously now going to claim there's going to be sort of an effective set of sanctions against this leader? >> and president obama, not that i would agree to use force, but president obama preemptively almost immediately and repeatedly has taken force off the table and has said we're essentially going to rely on sanctions. sanctions which have not affected russian calculations and we have no basis to believe they will affect russian calculations. what we do know about sanctions is it will be extremely count counterproductive for us. it will accelerate the replacement of the dollar as the world's reserve currency. we've seen russia and china coming closer together.

the increase in the chinese currency is more accepted internationally and the idea to take force off the table and to say we're going to rely on sanctions is not going to affect putin but it will affect us. it will send us and our european allies into recession. >> nina, i want to come back to you for a moment. i really do respect the way you've helped me think through putin and what he cares about here. and i guess it goes back to what adrian was saying. so what is this end game? are we clear enough about it to be able to start to set barriers about wherever we think he's trying to end? >> i actually completely agree. i think that sanctions -- they may work. they may not work but as we've discussed on your program for so long, i think this kind of incursive war that putin is fighting, this war tally models or fits those sanctions that the west has against him.

so the sanctions go very piecemeal. his incursion goes piecemeal and let's see and try since he's not ready, and i agree with adrian, he's not ready to take over because russia is already choking and it's going to really, really choke on much larger ukraine if he tries to take over but let's see how further sanctions go. putin is a great adjuster. he adjusts to the new realities and then he sort of pushes back and sees how far he can go with that. and so i think this asymmetrical goes in symmetrical ways. let's do more sanctions just as he said. blanket sanctions maybe. maybe russians would look back at his own leadership, their own leadership, wait a minute. that's not what we settled for this kind of war, and now actually russian soldiers come from ukraine in body bags so there are questions for this president that are not entirely

in his favor. >> nina in washington, d.c., thank you. and also here in new york, thank you to earl catagnus, hillary mann leverett. i will undoubtedly have you back to talk about this situation. karen is sticking around. coming up for a change there's actually something to cheer about. good news. for over a decade, doctors have been prescribing nexium to patients just like you.

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start shopping online from a list of top-rated providers. visit angieslist.com today. president obama's historic victories in 2008 and 2012 were due in large part by the votes of young people n. 200866% of those under age 30 voted for obama. making the disparity between young voters and other age groups larger than any other election since exit polling back in 1972. in 2012 only 60% of those younger than 30 voted for the president. it was a smaller percentage but according to the pew research center, they may have been a larger factor in the victory. but the most important political work of young people may happen far from the ballot box. take ferguson, missouri. in moments of racial unrest we have come to expect veteran civil rights leaders like reverend al sharpton and jesse jackson lending support to

communities, but today the work of organizing those communities is increasingly being shouldered by a new generation of activists, the dreamers, the undocumented young people whose grassroots activism at the state level led to successfully convincing the president to take action in 2012 in the form of deferred action for childhood arrivals or daca that has stemmed deportations. the dream defenders awake in the death of trayvon martin. the dream defenders led a month log sit-in in florida's capital to protest the state's stand your ground law and many of us got to see the work of philip agnew for the first time. the plaque youth project initially formed because of the inequity of youth of color in the political scientist kathy cohen, they have provided intellectual leadership, analysis, and most recently they helped lead the national moment

of silence vigil on august 14 in chicago in honor of michael brown. the black youth project like the dream defenders were also on the ground in ferguson and have now launched a new campaign to address policing in their communities. joining us now in the studio are karen finney, msnbc contributor, and former dnc communications director. nancy giles, writer and contributor to cbs news sunday morning. mychal who has a no story in the magazine's issue on the fight for racial justice, a new generation takes on the struggle, and joining us from chicago is charlene caruthers of the black youth project who just returned from ferguson. nice to have you this morning. >> thanks for having me. >> help to us understand the black youth project and how it sees its larger goals. >> that's the great question. it emerged out of the black youth project and we are a

national organization of black 18 to 35-year-old activists committed to achieving freedom and justice for all black people. and, more specifically, we do our work through a black clear and feminist lens. what it means to have civil rights or racial justice in this country oftentimes leave out black women and girls and also leave out black lbgt folks and for us that's nonnegotiable. we emerge out of a deeply traumatic moment and have been organizing and building our base nationwide. >> so i think this is important. i want to pause here just a bit because obviously the deaths of trayvon martin and michael brown have galvanized national attention in critically important ways, but it's also true that in it this moment we have lost reneisha mcbride and others. how thens do the work try to do the intersectional work of both talking about the loss of these young men but also the ways in which police violence affects

young women? >> number one, weigh t try to b reflective of that. i serve as the organizer. i'm black. i'm a woman. i'm a queer person and i have a politic that's reflective of the issues that we face in our story and so for us it's about centering the narrative of those who live on the margins. it means that we don't just talk about theory. it means when we have our leadership we're intentional about having young folks, about having women. we're intentional about having queer folks and leadership and also when we tell the story of the criminalization of black people in this country we don't just talk about men but we recognize, in fact, if any of us are to be free we have 0 to bring those of us who are on the margins to the middle of the story. and talking about it and walking it are oftentimes in conflict but we strive every single day. we work very, very hard to make

sure that shows up in our work. so we talk about reneisha mcbride, we talk about iana and in addition to talking about diallo, mike brown and the young man who just got shot and killed by the chicago police department right here, rashad mcintosh. we tell the full story and we don't limit how we talk about it. >> i want to ask you, i started the conversation here with you with the 2008 and 2012 elections of president obama. i blamed the obama presidency in part for the activism and by blame what i mean is for me part of what i have seen with young people is the disconnect between these deaths and the reality of what full citizenship could be that is present in the presidency himself, in his body, in his family, in sort of what

you all voted to make possible, and then that contrast. so i'm wondering, am i only wholly inaccurate or partially inaccurate in that assessment? >> first, i believe the relationship between black folks and citizenship has always been tenuous at best. when we were first stolen and brought to this land, we were not citizens and not even seen as full human beings. so how that's embodied in president obama, it absolutely shows up. he can't be divorced from that. his reality can't. however, i believe that the rhetoric and the practice don't always line up with that and it shows up just as recent as his statements about the mike brown murder in ferguson. it shows up and you see the contradictions in his words and also in his actions. and, know, i'll never understand what it means to be president of the united states of america, but what i do know is that as the president, as a black man, as a person who has a black family, his position is

reflective after history in this country, right, and a history of what citizenship means for us and it's not full f. never has been full. i hope in my lifetime i'm able to grasp a little bit more of that feeling of being a citizen in this country than my forefathers and my foremothers have. i don't think you're wrong at all. i think it's an experience that's full of contradictions and that's why we do the work that we do and why black liberation organizing is especially essential right now. >> charlene carruthers thank you for joining us and talking about this. we will it continue the conversation after the break. but thank you for joining us from chicago. and did you go and celebrate the all stars? that was a pretty great moment? >> yes, i was celebrating from home. >> yeah, it was nice to have that moment in chicago. thank you for joining us today. >> absolutely. thank you. >> and when we come back, more on the question of how young people are changing this country right now. sure. take your time.

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my guest, mychal denzel smith, has a another story on the fight for racial justice. he writes, quote, we millennials are charged with continuing the fight against a system of racism that has been the defining component of the black american experience for centuries. after black power and after the hip-hop generation and the perception they are apathetic isn't fair but this has been taking place in isolated pockets. why does the movement have to be national? >> i think it has to be national because the problem is international. i think that when you're witnessing make ail brown being killed in st. louis and oscar grant in oakland, it tells you the problem is not fixed just by

addressing it locally. you have to up-end the entire system of racism because to do that in one pocket and not advocate for all would be incomplete. >> i is he appreciate that argument. one of the things i like about how millennials are arguing, the idea philip agnew is not necessarily a household name and charlene caruthers is not someone everyone sees. it feels to me it's not necessarily crafting a charismatic sole leader of movement but instead these isolate isolated pockets allow for a local credibility. >> it's like sewing the areas together. one of the biggest things affecting this whole movement

are local laws that have affected how black people are treated and how black people get access to the vote and policed. things like stand your ground started as a florida law. what i love about the na nationality is helping reinforce all politics are local and you have to make sure your vote counts and influence law enforcement and things that affect people. >> you said your vote and getting out there with your vote. if part of what's happening, we think of social movements, the more likely you are to get a social movement but there's another school of thought that says, no, it's when you start to see that something else is possible and it feels to me as though showing up, making your vote count, electing the first

african-american president and nonetheless having young black people dying, for real, the vote is not enough. >> what's the narrative? unreliable voters. so, to me, part of why nationalizing and localizing is so important as a culture, a society we have to have a consciousness raising. we can go back to the l.a. riots, and it's the same story as we saw in ferguson and that's never going to stop we have to stop running away from the conversation. yes, there are local laws but on a national level this is still a problem. one of the things i would love to see in this election and all elections after it, it's not just about having a black man on the ticket but having reliable voters and holding the system accountable time after time after time.

>> the level that can't. the vote is too blunt of an strimt and that's part of what we see with this kind of social and political activism. >> understanding the limitation and not to say it's not important but it is important to inform the candidates running. or defenders fighting youth services which is about the privatization of prisons and juvenile facilities and ensuring that's what the politicians recognize is important for these young people. if you talk about that and you're willing to address that in office is what would win the vote. >> i love your piece.

whether they feed into each other, figuring out how these people are connected back. i look forward to installment number two. that's your homework assignment, mychal. i'm the old lady at the table. coming up next, we'll take a closer look at the politics of respectability and why it will not stop the next ferguson. plus beyonce and nerdism.

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i know right? gevalia. welcome back. i'm melissa harris-perry. i want to turn back to earlier this week when had "the new york times" had to go on the defensive after a sunday profile on the life of michael brown when had it drew attention. michael brown 18, due to be buried on monday, was no angel.

the article reported on incidents brown disobeyed his mother, dabbled in drugs and drinking, expressed frustration with his family on social media, fought with a neighbor and tried his hand at producing hip-hop songs or as some have described it, being a teenager. the characterization of brown as a promising but troubled teen smakt of the victim blaming that all too often emerges in the wake of the killing of black youth. the writer has since said he understands the concerns of the critics and has ak knock knowledged it was a poor choice of word. my mind went to someone else who used those same words alongside an honest and unvarnished portrayal of black men that was

not only a good choice but a living tribute. a track from beyonce's self-titled visual album, images of african-american life. her co-stars in the video look unapologetically into the camera. unashamedly baring gold teeth, bling blinged out gold jewelry, tatted up skin. paying homage to those who defy black respectability while inviting recognition and this moment following the killing of michael brown, young african-american men shirt ly acting as guardian inn gels.

reminding us it does not require a dress code. no matter how angelic their acts, how appropriate their attire it has never been armor against violence. the modest layers of dignified clothing worn by enslaved people made them no less vulnerable to being bought, sold, and worked as cattle. the distinguished uniforms worn by the 380,000 african-americans who served during world war ii were no protection against the lynch mobs that awaited them when they returned home. many of the veterans were targeted because of what they wore. in 1922 intellectual father carter g. woodson summarized the dangers that awaited the returning soldiers writing to the reactionary, the uniform on a negro man was like a red flag thrown in the face of a bull. in september of 1957 when

15-year-old elizabeth showed up perfectly pressed and polished for her first day at little rock central high school, her clothes did not deflect the hateful taunts of that angry mob that awaited her. the classic trench coats, that timeless staple of style was no shaeld for congressman john lewis when, as a leader of the student nonviolent communicating community he was beaten by a state trooper as he and 600 others attempted to march across alabama's bridge in march of 1965. the lightweight fabric worn to keep cool during a mississippi sumner 1963. did not deflect the blows to fannie lou when she was clubbed by police after refuse to go leave a white only lunch counter. police attacked a man with dogs as he marched with hundreds of other young people in birmingham during a children's crusade in may of 1963. and on the evening of april 4, 1968, martin luther king jr.

stood on the balcony of memphis' lorraine motel getting ready to go out to dinner. in what the "new york times" described as a silkish looking black suit and white shirt. king's perfect and proper dinner wear provide nod defense against an assassin's bullet. however the styles change over the years, none were invulnerable to reality that has always remained the same. clothing black bodies and black lives in angelic respectability will not save them from those who see their very skin as a sin. joining me now at the table is karen finney, nancy jails, writer and contributor to cbs news sunday morning, mychal denzel smith, contributing writer at thenation.com. and daily beast columnist dean obeidallah. so nice to have you all here. let me ask then, what difference does it make, michael, when we lay the blame for inequality at

the feet or on the backs of these young people and their clothing choices? >> we don't have to take responsibility for anti-black racism, that the country is let off the hook. when you place the responsibility on the victims to correct their behavior, i don't have to respect you until you prove yourself worthy of my respect. i don't have to respect you as a human being existing on the same plane as me and that means we are never going to get to the point where we are actually dealing with what leads to those perceptions of this style of clothing to be thug wear. we're never going to get to the point addressing the fact that hip-hop is a cultural fphenomenn and creative outlet for people. we want to associate it with criminality because of

anti-black racism. >> you know, professor gates was dressed more than appropriately, looked like a professor, and that didn't stop him from being arrested. >> i know no one more post racial and respectable. when i first heard black professor arrested, now you there's a list. there's a group. well, she was probably shouting it at the police but skip? that was one of those moments. >> for african-americans and to your point we're damned if you do, damned if you don't. i've had my door slammed in my face. times when i'm perfectly dressed and the same reaction happens. the combination of skip gates if it can happen to him, dress how

you want. >> the president and the administration september to michael brown's funeral representatives from my brother's keeper and it's not that i think the president himself should have gone and i think that the sending of eric holder the week before was an extremely important move on the part of the administration but it did make me wonder, like, are they not seeing they would have produce add michael brown, a kid who had challenges but finished school and was heading off to college. it could not shield michael brown from that moment. >> i'm kind of without words just looking at the presentation that you made and just seeing that what we wear does not make a difference and how certain

aspects could be co-opted by young white kids who suffer no damage or aren't threatened in any way. the word hoodie informs a j. crew catalog. it made me want to scream. i do understand and i have to echo what karen said. there doesn't seem to be a way to avoid this kind of thing whether someone comes up through the ranks like my brother's keeper or not. black people are targets and it doesn't matter what you wear. i'm a female. because i'm tall, if we were heading in the right place they would look over the shoulder like i was going to mug them so i would have to jangle my keys or sing classical music so that they'd know -- and even that doesn't matter. we'll still not get a cab. >> if you're wearing the black skin, nothing else matters.

i was also thinking of the ways in which americans have difficulty, still have difficulty but post 9/11, we couldn't figure out who the enemy muslims were. there was a discourse among si c sikh americans. for women who vaieil and it doesn't matter what you wear. it is the signal. >> people don't look at me and think arab-muslim. they think a white guy, italian. i'm half eitalian so that's accurate. women have challenges. sisters tell me, some do, some don't. that's their choice and i think that's great.

>> the airport is madness. >> dress white, make your flight. if you dress brown you're never leaving town and that's the reality where everything is obvious. what you said about not want in to discuss race is true. i cite add poll. 80% of people of color want to discuss race now. white america for the great part does not want to have a discussion about race. maybe it's the way of bringing them in as a conversation and not accusation. what else do you do? had. >> it is my favorite part of the ferguson, when young members of the community showed up in themselves as we go out and we're going to stay on this topic. i do want to quote martin king jr. who said i never intend to become adjusted to segregation.

i never intend to adjust myself to economic conditions a that will take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few. to the madness of mill tarrism. i'm convinced now that there is a need for a new organization in our world, the international association for the advancement of the maladjustment. and my sense is that they would sag their pants. up next, the growing calls for justice. michael brown's family is not the only one wanting answers from the police. don't just visit new york.

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this weeb as the grand jury hears evidence, the community has amplified the voices of others who are seeking answers from the police. yesterday more than two weeks after the police shooting of

ford, an unarmed mentally ill man in south los angeles, the los angeles police department released the name of the two officers he involved in the shooting. the appoint of a special prosecutor to investigate the third who was shot and killed by police while holding a bb gun. and in new iberia, west of new orleans, the family of victor white iii is awaiting the final results of the louisiana state police investigation into their son's death. a carer in's report ruled it a suicide saying he shot himself in the front while in the back after police cruiser with his hands cuffed behind his back. the report contradicts the account released by the louisiana state police who said

he shot himself in the back. the family has retained a lawyer. for real? >> a hugh doudini. very talented. >> there just comes a point for me that is just -- because i am willing to acknowledge we have made progress and a lot of what happens is implicit bias and fear rather than atactive attempts to take lives and then, no, that just looks like old-fashioned bad actions. >> lynching with a gun almost. i was at the rallies on staten island last week and i met a young man whose father was a policeman, a black man. and he said that they really do almost brainwash -- he's quoting like his dad, brainwash the cops and they do, whether they're black, his pan ink or white, they do 0 see like black men as

a certain kind of target. >> i want to take that cue from the black youth project. let's look at the dash cam video last week. talking about black men but i want to see a mo, a woman and her four little children and what happened in texas. >> keep walking backwards. put your hands behind your head. >> what is wrong? >> stay in the car. >> my kids. they're 6 and 8-10 and 9. what are you doing? what is going on? who will care for my children? >> she was on politics nation with my colleague talking about the notion of terrifying her children and what she was terrified would happen in that moment. >> i don't understand what's going on but you have to follow

the instructions of these officers because i cannot have the thought of my children seeing me be gunned down in front of them. so that was the thought in my head at the time. >> i mean, for real. >> as someone who is a former white person, we've talked about before on the show, i would never honestly think for a second police were going to shoot me. never in my life. even if they handcuffed me, i would not fear riding to the police station alive. the case in louisiana is insane. the guy was handcuffing -- they pat people down. i used to be a lawyer prosecuting cases. they pat people down before they put him in the police car. are they saying they patted him down and he shot himself. >> in the back and the front apparently. >> it's laughable and alarming. >> i would be so angry. >> for me this is why we can't define justice so narrowly in these instances.

>> right. >> justice needs to be collective. it needs to be proactive and it needs to be about addressing what leads to that moment because there is no justice if that mother has to go through that in front of had her children especially. we do not exist in a world where justice is a prioritized. the only retribution she has is maybe that police officer is removed from duty. that's a singular officer and that does not address the actual problems. >> to me it feels -- that part of it feels so important because this is a continued life experience that shapes us. karen, you are, i know, writing about this. i want to come to you on that. just for a moment because that was the terror of the mother. i want to see what happens in the moments after that when the young boy finally actually gets out of the car. >> gun down. gun down. gun down. come on back here, son. come on back here. you're all right.

>> that's the understanding. >> so the piece that i wrote for msnbc.com actually is starting with an experience i had with my father when i was about 8 or 9 years old and we were pulled over in virginia. my dad, who is african-american, was driving a mercedes, and that was his crime. that was it. we weren't speeding. he was not disobeying any laws. and the officer -- i've talked about this on msnbc before -- called him boy, and said, boy, you got any i.d.? i was sitting in the car just stunned that someone would talk to my father that way, first of all. and then angry because i realized what was really going on and, you know, one of the things i talk about, we all have these stories and we do internalize it and we internalize the lessons and i was sitting there terrified but then sort of relieved because i could hear in my dad's tone, he knew how to handle it. yes, officer.

here's my i.d. he happened to work for the government at the time so he made sure the guy saw that. but, you know, as the situation went on, it was a hot summer night and it went on and on and there was that thought in my head, how is this going to end? >> and it changes forever your relationship to the state. it changes your sense of citizenship. it makes you -- >> that little boy know that he is a threat and he has to disarm himself. >> put up his arms. >> he has to come out like that. >> as was said last week, and we know it may not make any difference, himming out with his hands up. it may not make any difference. thank you to mychal denzel smith. the rest of the panel is sticking around. up next, my letter of the week. mayo, corn dogs...you are so out of here! ahh... the complete balanced nutrition of great tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals. 9 grams of protein... with 30% less sugars than before. ensure, your #1 dr. recommended brand now introduces ensure active.

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already this week sending a scathing letter to a school superintendent in edwardsville, illinois, who not only told his teachers not to discuss ferguson if it comes up in class but to change the subject if it does. but he later went on to send the are letter to parents assuring them that his directive was meant to offer the students clarity not censorship saying, quote, it was not our intent to i go are nor the educational relevance of these events. however, we felt it was important to take the time to calm a potential situation at the high school and to prepare administrators and teachers to a approach this critical issue in an objective, fact-based manner. so it sounds like he just needs a little help with lesson planning around ferguson. since i am already in my full profess orrial mode because the fall semester began, i am more than happy to oblige in this week's letter. dear superintendent ed hightower, it's me, melissa. i know it's not easy helping

teachers help students navigate the emotional charged events that unfolded in ferguson, and it's not like there's a ready-made curriculum for racial justice. one alabama teacher has already shown how misunderstanding how to teach ferguson can go horribly, horribly wrong. but it is crucial that you make the effort because the classroom is exactly the space where young people should be examining their assumptions and exchanging ideas and engaging in democratic deliberation over the complicated questions of race invoked by the events in ferguson. fortunately twitter has already provided teach eers with a grea head start with the ferguson syllabus hash tag. educators around the country are using the hash tag to share resources, readings, topics for discussion, and activities to help students at every grade level. join the meaningful national dialogue about ferguson and, ed, i'd like to add to that list and offer your teachers a few syllabus suggestions of my own. history teachers looking to

spark a dialogue about the complicated relationship of african-americans to their american identity will find an invaluable assist in the words of frederick douglass from his 1852 speech making the case for abolition, what to the slave is the fourth of july? english classes could spend an entire semester reading richard wright's black boy and how wright's reflections of his early life in jim crow south resonate in the lives of michael brown and the protesters in his community. in social studies teachers looking to help students make sense of the activism and response to brown's killing can use pbs' documentary about the murder of emmitt till to get them thinking about how a single death can launch a movement. science teachers may want to consider sharing this historical document with their students. in this 1851 article dr. samuel cartwright, at the time a widely published and well respected doctor, discusses his diskocove

of a mental disorder he claimed caused slaves to run away. after reading the article students could explore the history of scientific racism and how it continues to influence our thinking even today. now some students may already be engaged with hip-hop's music or racialized music. music teachers can help them trace these themes across decades and genres of music by having them listen to and discuss everything from public enemy's fight the power to bill ly holiday's strange fruit. so you see, ed, there's no need for your teach eers to change t subject. what we do as teachers is offer guide posts and space for disagreement. we can teach our students not to be afraid of the unknown and the complicated by confronting the hard topics as well as the easy ones. and now is the time to teach, not hide. sincerely, melissa. oh, yes, and, p.s., nerd lapped, we would love to hear more suggestions for teaching

ferguson so please share your thoughts in the comments on this letter on our webpage, mhpshow.com. lily...she pretty much lives in her favorite princess dress. but once a week i let her play sheriff so i can wash it. i use tide to get out those week old stains and downy to get it fresh and soft. you are free to go. [ dad ] tide and downy together. so factors like diet can negatively impact good bacteria? even if you're healthy and active. phillips digestive health support is a duo-probiotic that helps supplement good bacteria

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at the u.s. postal service, our priority is...was... and always will be...you. sunday night was the 2014 mtv video music awards show, and our girl, beyonce, won four moon men statues including the michael jackson video vanguard award. the vma version of a lifetime achievement award presented by her husband jay-z who appeared on stage holding the couple's daughter blue ivy. now queen b performed a medley of nearly all of the songs from her latest album. in an epic 16-minute-long performance. one moment in particular stood out. no, not the pole dance that she performed but that was memorable. what happened was just a moment later. take a look. >> feminist, the person who

believes in the social, political, and economic equality of sexes. >> one of the biggest pop stars of our time wearing a leg baring body suit and standing proudly in front of the word feminist seen by 13 million people on n sunday night alone and likely mmm more online since is then. what does it say about feminism and beyonce? joining my panel now is msnbc.com national reporter. so is beyonce the new face of feminism? >> i think this moment was a game changer. beyonce used to be equivocating about fem fichl, yes, but, i'm for equality. here she is with the "f" word. for decades why won't more women call themselves feminists? why is there a stigma about feminism and here she is citing the work of another black feminist using her work in this

display and saying this is something cool. this is something you want to be. i nobel hooks is not a beyonce fan but it's possible beyonce will be a gateway. >> that's an interesting possibility. >> when you put them together there i think one of the first things that then emerged for many feminists, is this the kind of feminism thand what does it mean to sfus. >> being an artist of color and being a female artist, the burden you carry, white guys can bite bat heads and -- but when you're doing all of this and there's a burden of how you represent yourself and what you're saying, it's really tough. what i respect it will open the door, look up the word feminist in the decisionary.

my issue, i think she's an incredible performer and has the eyes of the world on her. i worry a lot of young girls who might look up to her don't see all that means something to them. they don't really hear the bigger message. there's a lot young girls can learn from her and independent women and powerful women and not necessarily as sexualized as -- >> what i love about what happened, as you began to criticize is beyonce, apparent lip -- apparently -- oh, no, you will not. that's not how it goes down in nerd land. nerd land will not criticize queen b. that will not happen. part of what you did is interesting.

here is what i want to suggest, every generation of feminist has come out of regressive popular culture. if you think about, you know, the 1960s they came out of leave it to beaver on television and i think about hip-hop who emerge from a set of truly regressive practices and i wonder if we don't give enough credit to think about critically what they consume. >> also, who cares who calls themselves a feminist? you can be a feminist and she's a billionaire. she's a mother. she is a performer and entertainer and i am a feminist and she's rocking hot. who would not like to have that body? and she's a feminist as much as my dear friend is a feminist and telling her she was too pudgy or quirky. as women we put ourselves in these boxes. wait a second. instead of figuring out what's the right kind of feminist, how about let's just say as women being a feminist there's a wide

range of women who who can be feminist and teach that to our girls. >> and i wonder her fierceness, the very enormity and sort of majesty that is king b is almost too much to aspire to. almost as though her very greatness, who can live up to that because that's a lot? >> but she's a woman who is in control. i mean, feminism is equality. you just tell people it's equality. between the sexes. most people are down with it. i guess the word that's problematic when i read the history of it and people saying it's a dead word, she is saying, i'm in control. it's her songs. it's her dancing. it's her choice of costumes. i think what a great role model for sure. for other women, being a man i'm outside of the club meetings, but in the meetings -- you can have a discussion what's the right feminist?

who is representing us who do we want to be on this platform? >> it's interesting. when you say there is equality and what feminism is slightly different than what i came around to thinking of myself as feminist. i wasn't born thinking that, is when i started thinking of feminism as a question. feminism is the question, what truths are missing here? what a feminist does is to ask about whatever we are looking at. what voices are left out. who isn't at the table? so i have been having these imaginings where instead of behind her are these enormous letters that say feminist that she come out and said be hands up, don't shoot. or said birth control. i mean -- >> thank you, melissa. >> abortion behind beyonce. then she would never sell any more records. i do wonder if it couldn't have been even more political, beyond the "f" word. >> i hope it's a gateway but i also think, look, there are celebrity feminists, senator feminists, waitress feminists, there are secretary or assistant

feminists. room for many feminisms and if we normalize it we create the space to have those conversations about the critique. i agree it's not just call yourself a feminist and go home at the end of the day and you're done. there's a constant process of critiquing. checking her card at the door because she embraces sexuality in performance, you are going to turn away so people. >> that's right. if i can't love beyonce and be feminist, then i'm going to get rid of feminist because i'm going to love beyonce. before we take a break, some good news for women. an important ruling. friday a federal judge threw out new abortion restrictions that would have essentially shuttered more than a dozen clinics in the state. the judge ruled the admitting privileges requirement along with mandating operating standards placed unconstitutional, undue burden on women throughout texas. the state will appeal the ruling and the case could end up before the supreme court. at least two clinics plan to close monday, will remain open for now. don't forget beyonce is from where?

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we've been talking about beyonce's feminist moment at the mtv music video awards and i want to contrast that with what sophia vergara did. she spun slowly on a pedestal while bruce rosenblum gave a speech about the state of the television industry including this bit about diversity. >> our academy is more diverse than ever before both in front of and behind the camera. resulting in greater diversity of story telling. >> so the people had all the feelings about this but, honestly, you know, sofia is performing a certain thing in the way of nicki minaj is -- like, they purposely are embodying and performing a

satirical version of the betty boop oversexualized. i get why it was problematic but they were making fun of the thing that was problematic. >> she was in on the joke and she defend ed it, i show i can e hot and funny at the same time. i think the problem for people is, watch beyonce. she is showing her talent as a writer, performer. she is in control. here you have sofia vergara as a prop, a sexual prop, like a car in an auto show going around and around. she made the choice to do this. if she had power, if she was a powerless woman just cast and thrown up there to do this, which would be crazily off the charts, and don't forget one thing they were doing this to be funny. it was ironic. it didn't play for everyone. >> it was too soon. too soon. you can't have that kind of irony when hollywood is still such an incredibly sexist place. >> i couldn't quite get -- clearly people understood this was satire, right, that they weren't actually -- >> i don't think they've earned the position of satire when had

women and people of color are have so little power. >> that's interesting. >> latina women within the establishment of hollywood, i mean, they skipped a few steps. they have a little consciousness raise to go to in the middle. >> there were two things. one he was giving a boring speech so they were trying to jazz it up. >> we do that on it tv sometimes. the music is coming on, i just want to let you know. and then the other thing, though, i actually have a different take on it. i feel like television of late has been one place where roles for women and women directors and writers have really flourished but by saying that, yeah, you're flourishing but remember your place is this. it was a little chilling like that to me. you've done all this but let's just remember that this is how you're seen. maybe it's just my own blatant bitterness. >> a point about agency and the notion of beyonce speaking for herself in that moment versus sofia not speaking for herself in that moment. >> but she was in on the joke. i don't know if that makes it an equivalent or not. >> she had to agree to do it.

you're not forcing -- >> i have to be careful about choice, though. choice is always within some limited range of options that exist. sometimes we'll hear that about video vixens and video vixens, it's choice. yeah, but choice within a very limited context. >> i agree. i think both of these women, what's interesting, maybe segueing to our previous conversation, yes, she was in on 0 the joke. i think there's a little bit of what bothers me about it is it's hyper sexualizing her and that is a stereotype about latina women. and obviously that was part of the irony and part of the joke. but i agree with aaron. it's a little too soon. she challenges those stereotypes that people have and so why couldn't bill o'reilly -- >> she is doing it. this is part of like the nicki

minaj thing. she is actually mocking all of us in her personal embodiment of the thing that is our angst about african-american women and -- >> and i think that is what makes people uncomfortable. there's the sense should i laugh? should i not laugh? >> do you think most people get it? that's my question. do most people who aren't sitting at the table, who don't have the context -- >> is it the responsibility of the people to get it? >> i don't know and don't turn on the music, i'm just saying i don't know. >> it's time for a commercial. thank you to karen finney and nancy giles who will be allowed back. aaron thank you for being here. dean will stick around longer. we're giving the guy the last word today. up next my friend dean is going to tell us about his special nate of comedy and a the lot of laughter before a very serious cause. and asked for less.

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our guest this morning recently joined forces with other male comedians to highlight the need for men to be part of the push to end violence against women. tuesday night's soldout comedy show benefited breakthrough, a human rights organization that works to make discrimination against women unacceptable. though it was for a serious cause, there were some very funny moments. >> i'm a bald man. balding man. i kind of came out to my family about it last year. and they reacted exactly the way you would react when somebody comes out of the closet. >> i'm doing text support for mom and dad because i'm from the freaking future. >> i was like, yeah, you know, so i'm balding now, i don't know if you noticed. they're like, sweetie, we've known for years.

it was so cute the way you were covering it up. ♪ every time i visit them ♪ i have to fix their damn computer ♪ >> only 50% of marriages work out. that should be what that vow means. 50/50. like, hey, man, you going to be at the party on saturday? >> i don't know, i vow to. >> hopefully, we'll see you there. put you down as a maybe. >> all my life, i've heard people say, you know, black don't crack. it does in the polar vortex. i dare any of the four black people that are in here to go outside with no lotion on your elbows, see if black don't crack, all right. >> my daughter saw a picture of me with hair. from years ago. she goes, daddy, you were handsome. i was so hurt. i felt like i had to hurt her back. i said, well, you were an accident. >> joining me now to discuss the event and the importance of being a male ally, dean obadia.

interesting to hear some of the men being self-deprecating. is that part of how you do the ally, take the male privilege and bring it down a little bit? >> i think -- i don't think we thought it through to that degree, but a lot of the men who became defensive, you can't have that conversation which they need to have about the role men can play. so comedy's a great way. i put this show together. all male comics, for a reason, we want it to be men standing up on stage against violence against women to inspire men in the real world to stand up against violence against women. simply telling your friends, if you're concerned about perhaps they're being abusive, to get involved in organizations. men are just -- and i wasn't until a few years ago, aware of statistics. >> i wonder if we need to take the word "domestic" out of domestic violence. that we would take it more

seriously. >> i think that's a good point. sometimes people do not want to interfere. they feel like, well, it's my neighbor, do i knock on the door? it's my best friend, should i say something? i didn't realize, in new york, there's 700 phone calls a day by women to the nypd about violence against them. or three women are killed every day in this country. or every 15 seconds, women are subject to violence by men they're in relationships with. if women were doing this to men, we'd be going crazy. we'd want terror alerts put out there. when you bring it up to men, they become defensive. again, just like race earlier, it's about having a conversation and not being defensive and telling men who are in general great people where they can play a role in lowering the amount of violence against women. >> i love that you became aware of all of those dramatic and painful statistics and were like, you know what, comedy. that's how we'll address it. >> my eyes are open. i use the skills i've written about for "the daily beast." and my skill set from comedy to

try to bring awareness. overall, i'm an activist. everything i do is trying to change things for the better. >> let me ask you this, as you were bringing together men to do this work, did you get resistance from them? were they generally on board, these male comics? >> these comics were great. there's not too many comics who are horrible. there's a few who did jokes we didn't want to put in the show. men, when you really have a conversation, will talk about it. but if you -- like i tweeted about, you know, all women's stuff. i get so many men going, i've never hit a woman, how dare you bring this up to me. if you're hitting women, you should do something about it. i'm like, no, guys, women aren't hitting themselves. let's be brutally honest. we are doing that. we're in a group. so sure, you can close your eyes to it, but my eyes were open to my work with breakthrough. i refuse to do nothing about it. i must do something after seeing what's going on. >> i appreciate your work as an ally. we appreciate you.

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until every kid has built those life-long eating habits, we'll keep working. the next step in battling isis. the president weighs in on his assessment of the terror threat and reaction to it. plus, one of the key figures in tracking down osama bin laden gives her take on isis and whether they have the capability to strike the u.s. homeland. >> back on track, just weeks after killing a fellow driver. nascar champion tony stewart talks about getting behind the wheel and racing again. >> nothing could be further from the truth. >> and office politics. the reverend al sharpton. what truth is he talking about? and where does it fit in the ferguson, missouri, shooting.