your doctor your medical history. and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion. and now celebrex may be available for as little as $4 a month. terms and conditions apply. to learn more, go to celebrex.com. this morning my question, could a free-range chicken decide an election? plus the nfl is eating crow. and hillary clinton, back in iowa again. but first, another brutal slaying of a civilian by the terror group isis. good morning, i'm melissa harris-perry and we begin with breaking news this morning. in response to a new isis video showing the beheading of a british aid worker, this is a

still from the video which shows the murder of david haines. the british foreign and commonwealth office says it believes the video is authentic. the 44-year-old father of two was abducted in syria in 2013. he was working with a french relief agency, a refugee camp. haines is the third western hostage to be beheaded by isis in recent weeks. the first two were american journalists. british prime minister david cameron called the beheading, quote, an act of pure evil and described this morning how the u.k. will respond. >> the murder of david haines at the hands of isil will not lead britain to shirk our responsibility with our allies to deal with the threat that this organization poses. it must strengthen our resolve. >> for more on this story now, we go to nbc's kristen welker at the white house. kristen, prime minister cameron mentioned working with allies to destroy isis. what is president obama's response to this latest horrible

video? >> reporter: well, here is the official response from the white house. president obama condemning this latest beheading in the strongest terms, released a statement late last night which reads in part, quote, we will work with the united kingdom and a broad coalition of nations from the region and around the world to bring the perpetrators of this outrageous act to justice and to degrade and destroy this threat to the people of our countries, the region and the world. melissa, the question now becomes how will this latest beheading impact the international coalition that the united states is trying to build. will it put more pressure on prime minister david cameron to join the united states in a robust military response and in air strikes, for example. this past week one top official from the u.k. said that they would not consider air strikes. a spokesperson for the u.k.'s office said wait a minute, we're not necessarily ruling that out. so where do things stand now? you heard the rage from prime minister david cameron who essentially signalled that this

could push him to ramp up his response. we know that military action is unpopular in the u.k., but this beheading could shift opinions. we've seen that happen here in the united states. of course secretary kerry has been traveling throughout the middle east trying to build up a coalition there. he got ten arab nations to sign onto an agreement essentially pledging some military support, some humanitarian aid, but it's very unlikely that those arab nations are going to commit their armies to this response. that's what the united states wants, that's what military officials say that they need. one more point i'll make, melissa, quickly we're just getting new polling in which shows americans do widely support taking action against isis. 61% according to this latest poll support president obama's decision to take action against isis. 63% have just some or little confidence that his goals will be achieved. i think a big part of that is going to be if the united states can get a robust and broad international coalition to join

in the military steps that they're taking, melissa. >> nbc's kristen welker at the white house. thank you for your reporting this morning. >> reporter: thanks. we're going to continue to follow this developing story throughout the day here on msnbc. but for right now, we're going to turn to news here at home where today political junkies are witnessing the end of an era. iowa senator tom harkin is retiring this year and taking his annual steak fry fund-raiser right along with him. for the last 37 years the steak fry in iowa has been one of the premiere show cases for democrats with their eyes on the presidency. why steak? because nowhere is it more true than in politics that you are what you eat. if you're a candidate trying to let voters know what you're all about, what's on your plate can say as much about you as what's on your platform. let's take president gerald ford and the unfortunate great tamale incident of 1976. the president was in a tough position of fighting to win his party's nomination, and during a swing through texas while on the

campaign trail, president ford stopped for a tour of the alamo. while there, he spotted a plate of tamales and decided to give them a try. now, any experienced tamale eater knows you're supposed to remove the corn husk wrapper first. but ford, being a tamale novice, bit into it, wrapper and all, and then proclaimed it delicious. tamale-gate made national news cementing the image of ford as a feckless leader. although he won the primary, he lost the presidency to jimmy carter. then there was the time john kerry committed what amounts to a cardinal sin in philadelphia. while on a 2003 campaign stop at pat's steak, he asked with his steak with, horrors, swiss cheese. kerry was already battling the perception of being an out of touch elitist and his mistake didn't win him any fans among the city's working class voters. he could have learned a thing or two from working class hero joe biden. the vice president knew how to

speak the native tongue during a 2010 visit to pat's when he ordered his steak as a whiz without. with cheese whiz and without onions. politicians who don't have biden's natural appreciation for customary local fare quickly figure out how to fake it. let's take president obama. his first summer job was scooping ice cream at baskin robbins left him with sore wrists and a dislike for ice cream. you would not know that the way he scarfed it down at stop after stop after stop during his 2012 campaign. given all that, it shouldn't be surprising that two of the can't miss dates on the political calendar both involve food and both take place in iowa. why iowa? because in the presidential primary race, iowa holds the first nominating contest in the country. a strong showing in iowa can give a candidate momentum to go the distance through a long, grueling primary fight. and for iowa voters, a quick drive-by isn't going to cut it.

there is no skipping the food line at those two major political iowa events. one is the iowa state fair where in addition to munching on corn dogs on a stick, presidential hopefuls must pay homage to the sacred butter cow. 1200 pounds of butter sculpted into a life-size bovine work of art. the other one is the event that is happening today for the very last time. senator tom harkin's steak fry, started as a small fund-raiser on a local family farm to raise money for his first congressional campaign. 37 years later, on the eve of his retirement, the steak fry has evolved into a marquee event, attracting thousands of i io iowans and democrats looking to raise their profile. and who's the big attraction in one of the most important states in presidential politics? you guessed it. none other than ms. will she or won't she herself, secretary of

state hillary clinton, who will be appearing along with president bill clinton as senator harkin's guests of honor. it's the first time there have been two clintons in attendance. bill clinton showed up solo in '92, '96 and 2003. but a hillary clinton appearance? well, that's been rarer than the steak. in fact today is the first time mrs. clinton has set foot in iowa in 2,446 days when she left the state with an embarrassing third place showing behind not only senator barack obama, but also senator john edwards. but this time will be different, because while the official word from team hillary is that she's coming to see her old friend, tom harkin, and help raise money for democrats in iowa, she's also returning as the new improved globe-trotting former secretary of state fresh off a book tour how do you like me now could be your candidate in 2016 version of hillary. and if she's going to atone with iowans for her mistakes in the past action she can start with

one food tradition she got right in '07, which is never to fry a steak at the harkin steak fry because in 37 years, the steaks are always cooked only on the grill. joining me now to talk all things iowa politics is someone who has spent a lot of time covering it, nbc news correspondent harry smith. nice to have you this morning. >> that was beautifully done. >> so you went to college in iowa, you have covered this event a million times. just give me literally a flavor of it. who is the best person you've ever seen sort of work the iowa steak fry? >> president clinton. president clinton comes back after he leaves office. he's tanned, he's in a $300 shirt open at the collar, and all the other wannabes are up there very earnestly trying to say pay attention, pay attention. he knocks the ball out of the park and everybody -- they stood in the rain. they stood in the rain to watch

the former president. he's that good. so it's interesting to watch what will happen today because his appearance there is really important. it doesn't overshadow hers -- >> because that's what i wonder. his naturalness, i wonder if it always creates this contrast where no matter how good hillary is, she's just not bill in terms of that retail politics. >> right. and although we saw her on this -- on the stump six years ago. she's taking shots in the bar versus -- was obama drinking, was she drinking? she, i think, started to develop a little more of a common touch the last time around. i think for iowans it's interesting because the "des moines register" has a poll out this morning. she poles at 53%. joe biden is in the teens. elizabeth warren is in the single digits. she starts in a good place there. what she has to do, though, is

show up. and that's what happened six years ago. we were in the drake diner on a cold winter morning. we had an interview with hillary clinton. i went around, i talked to every single person in the place, and i said what's going on here? and they all said, well, she got sheer too late. she got here too late. there was an arrogance about that campaign first time around. we don't need to go. bill didn't go because tom harkin was a favorite son candidate way back in the day so he didn't have to show up there. there was a do we really have to do this? and they got their butts handed to them. >> so has she showed up too early this time? when we look at the polling that tells us she has 43% positives and 41% negatives, fairly evenly split, i keep feeling like the primary problem with hillary clinton as a candidate is that people have simply formed opinions, good ones or bad ones, but there's no learning curve. isn't iowa all about let me

introduce myself to you. don't iowans already have an opinion about hillary clinton? >> they certainly do. on the other hand, you have to go -- you have to go impress the flesh. it's sort of like willie loman in "death of a salesman," attention must be paid. you are so spoiled if you're in iowa or if you're in new hampshire. oh, hey, he's going to be over there on tuesday. let's drive over there, honey. they want to be able to press the flesh. they want to sort of kick the tires on all these candidates. so while there is this giant opinion already, i think you still need to go. i think that was the mistake of six years ago. you know, she's the former first lady, has been a senator. she's a giant rock star. you've still got to show up. >> is it inherently undemocratic that the iowans are kicking the tires for the person i get to choose as president. >> oh, yeah, it couldn't be any more unfair. these two states -- and when you're there, there's nothing more fun.

you're standing in a little park pavilion with 12 people listening to whomever in those early, early days. and you think nobody else gets this. it's really unfair. although it's interesting. i had a great conversation with jennifer jacobs, who's the chief political reporter now at the "des moines register." and she said iowa actually is the purplest of purple states. there's no real way to know one way or the other. you go out west and you have the most conservative people in the state. i mean it is as conservative as it gets. you get into des moines, it changes. iowa city, cedar rapids, the cities along the mississippi river, that's a whole other deal. so you really have this super purple state in a way unlike new hampshire. it maybe really is that sort of ultimate test. >> stick with us, we're going to go to iowa for a moment just because, hey, maybe somebody will fry me or actually grill me a steak. so up next we're going to go live to indianola.

the scene of the legendary hark insteak fry. he check? [thinking] i'm still working. he's retired. i hope he's saving. i hope he saved enough. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. whether you're just starting your 401(k) or you are ready for retirement, we'll help you get there. i am so noh my gosh...now, it's not even funny. driver 1 you ready? yeah! go! [sfx] roaring altima engine woah! ahhhha! we told people they were riding nissan's most advanced altima race car. we lied... about the race car part. altima, with 270 horsepower and active understeer control. how did you?...what!

i don't even, i'm speechless. innovation that excites. [guy] i know what you're you're thinking beneful. [announcer]beneful has wholesome grains,real beef,even accents of spinach,carrots and peas. [guy] you love it so much. yes you do. but it's good for you, too. [announcer] healthful. flavorful. beneful. from purina. virtually all your important legal matters in just minutes. now it's quicker and easier for you to start your business, protect your family, and launch your dreams. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side.

for over 60,000 extra curricular activities help provide a sense of identity and a path to success. joining the soccer team. getting help with math. going to prom. i want to learn to swim. it's hard to feel normal, when you can't do the normal things. to help, sleep train is collecting donations for the extra activities that, for most kids, are a normal part of growing up. not everyone can be a foster parent... but anyone can help a foster child.

have we just learned, nbc's harry smith has 8,000 iowa stories, but presidential hopefuls and the hawk eye state. today hillary clinton might be hoping to give her iowa story a better ending. joining us live is msnbc political correspondent kasie hunt. i would like to remind us that iowa is 75% vowels but 100% awesome. can hillary buy enough vowels from iowa to rewrite her political story? >> reporter: i'm not sure that the clintons necessarily feel that iowa is 100% awesome. it certainly was not where hillary clinton was when she

left here last time. more than almost 2500 days ago, she called that experience excruciating. this is her first visit back since she left after coming in third in those iowa caucuses. so here today is the last tom harkin steak fry. she will be joined by a number of congressional candidates, the gubernatorial candidate, other speakers here at the steak fry. president bill clinton will speak last. they're expecting over 5,000 people, which is a pretty significant crowd, especially in what's a pretty off year. but her challenge here is going to be to prove that she can be more accessible than she was when she was here last time. even the harkins will acknowledge -- i spoke to ruth harkin just on friday, and she said that this is going to be a big moment for hillary clinton. and the question is going to be how does she use it. is she just going stand up there and talk about senator tom harkin, talk about congressman bruce braley who's running for senate or is she going to give us some sense of where she might take the country in the event of

a presidential run. >> so what happens once this is over? i mean if this is the last harkin steak fry, is there -- who will rush into the power vacuum that will be left in iowa in this moment? >> reporter: you know, that's a good question, melissa. it's not 100% clear and to a certain extent it depends on what happens in the senate race. if congressman bruce braley is able to pull it out, he could potentially step up and take over this event, but either way, this is a real sort of end of an era and they're kicking it off -- and they're concluding it with a pretty big headliner. >> absolutely. thank you, kasie hunt, for joining us from iowa, and have fun. have a steak for us. >> reporter: will do. >> now, we're still going to need to get at why there's a free-range chicken that might determine control of the u.s. senate. my panel comes in next. [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. ♪

she can print amazing things, right from her computer. [ whirring ] [ train whistle blows ] she makes trains that are friends with trees. ♪ my mom works at ge. ♪ my mom works at ge. when folks think about wthey think salmon and energy. but the energy bp produces up here creates something else as well: jobs all over america. engineering and innovation jobs. advanced safety systems & technology. shipping and manufacturing. across the united states, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. when we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. that's not a coincidence. it's one more part of our commitment to america.

to fill your viagra prescription online? go to viagra.com to find out about viagra home delivery. millions of men have some degree of erectile dysfunction. talk to your doctor, if viagra is right for you, you can fill your prescription at your pharmacy, or check out viagra home delivery and get started at viagra.com ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain, it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. viagra home delivery. a convenient way to have prescription viagra shipped straight to you.

go to viagra.com to get started. what shall we do for dinner? pizza! with a little help, it's easy to whip up a great meal on a week night. pepperoni on your side... more pepperoni. cheers! pillsbury pizza crust. make dinner pop >> you know, the old adage about

the person that says i don't know if i'm going to vote for that person, he's only been to my house twice. you've got to the out and get in front of people. i think that's one of the reasons barack obama defeated hillary clinton last time. >> what's your advice to her this time? >> retail politics. she's wonderful. hillary is a wonderful person and she's got a great persona about her. but she just -- i think once she gets out and just starts being herself, i think she'll be fine. >> why didn't that happen? do you think too many people were -- >> handlers. handlers, you know. you've got this, you have to worry about that. i think sometimes your handlers can make you into somebody you're not. >> that was nbc's chuck todd talking with senator tom harkin about hillary clinton's history with iowa politics. still, here is nbc news correspondent harry smith and joining us at the table is msnbc political analyst karen finney. also christina bell tony, ed tor in chief for roll ball and matt

morrison, with working america, a group that engaminges working class voters. so is hillary likeable enough for iowa? >> she is likeable enough. when i was at the dnc during the 2008 cycle, i think there's a couple of things that happened. number one, president obama's team went in with a strategy. they were very meticulous about the iowa caucuses. they didn't take anything for granted because, remember, he knew that if he as an african-american could win iowa, that would set him on a path that would be, you know, unstoppable almost, right? and i think with hillary's team, you know, remember their whole message was i'm in it to win it. and i think what people, particularly in iowa needed to see is i'm here to do the hard work, which is how she ran her senate campaign which i worked with her on. >> every county in the state. >> all 62 counties, i can tell you. but also we put extra time on

her schedule so that she could stay for like an hour afterwards and just shake hands and talk to people. so i think part of it, obama to his credit, his team kind of came out of nowhere, because nobody saw really, they were pretty much under the radar in terms of how effectively they were organizing. and i do think that the hillary campaign made some assumptions that like you were talking berler, people already know her, they already like her, there's the bill clinton effect -- >> and the obama campaign was also 100 miles ahead of everybody with social media. >> but i'm also wondering, christina, is this just part of the front runner problem in general, right? so in the end had senator obama, a freshman senator, african-american, gone there and lost, he would have lost nothing, right? >> that's right. >> so he could literally leave it all on the court because the expectations were low enough that overperforming was almost the only thing that could happen whereas for hillary clinton, losing could mean everything and it did ultimately.

>> that's all true but there's also a human element here. the obama campaign staff that worked that campaign, and i was out in iowa and talked to them from the very beginning in 2007, they were true believers. they wanted this man to be president. they weren't trying to topple the big gorilla of hillary clinton. a lot of the staffers that worked for her, great, hard-working people but a lot of people went to work for her because they wanted to work for the next president, whereas the obama people believed in him. that authenticity came across at every single level. interaction with the press, interaction with the voters, interaction with the candidate and what they allowed him to do. >> it was fascinating to me when my producers first presented me with the bio of the work you do. he studies working class white voters. wait a minute, are you allowed to say that? but that idea, that those voters are so key, whatever their purpleness, right, but still that notion of authenticity, sort of iowa capacity, all of that. so what do you see in these

potential candidates that will resonate with these voters? >> absolutely. i would certainly say if you look back at 2008, that's something of a once in a lifetime phenomenon but also tells you a lot about the value of retail politics when you get face to face, door to door. you talk to people in their living rooms. i think that what we're hearing from harry and what we're hearing from karen and what we heard from christina is all about saying, hey, if you go out and talk to a voter, whether you're talking to iowans in des moines, we're talking to 1,000 of them a week in des moines and we're hearing pretty clearly what they want to know about is the economy. and it's those issues that are driving their vote choice. >> is it possible to talk to a candidate and then like them less after having engaged with them? no, i'm serious. is it possible that there are some candidates who actually do better in front of the big crowd but once they come to your living room you're like, no, actually i don't want to vote for you. >> that's possible but you made a really good point that one on

one. edwards, what people don't remember is that edwards closed so strong the four years before that he had a residual power. that's why he ends up, you know, obama comes in first. edwards comes in second. hillary comes in third. so that was all that living room work that he had done the four years before, regardless of the cloud of controversy that was about to engulf him. >> he's a punch line now, but he definitely was not at that moment. he had just been the vice presidential candidate. >> but also iowa and new hampshire for the first two contests, that is the expectation. the expectation in iowa is you will come and you will sit in my living room. it may be ten people, it may be five people and you will make time to do that. >> who are these iowans? so let me pause for a second. who are these iowans -- >> if you don't do that, you're in trouble. >> but why do they deserve -- that's fine, but i really do want to ask this. having lived for most of my life

in safe states, either safe blue or safe red states, we're just happy if you run a commercial in a safe state. who are they to expect such attention and petting? >> some of it is just built from tradition. but they take their responsibility very seriously, and the parties did a really big effort to try to include nevada, to try to include south carolina, get them more involved, and they didn't demand as much of those candidates, particularly in nevada, i would say. from what i witnessed in 2008, the questions that iowa voters asked, the attendance, much higher. new hampshire, the exact same thing. they earned this responsibility. they don't look like america and that's a problem. ike if there were a state that was more diverse -- >> because it's been the tradition for so long which was the argument why we wanted to add more states. >> and people were born into it. they're raised with their families taking them to the k caucuses but the other states have to say i'm going to attend seven town hall meetings this month, which a lot of people aren't willing to do in other

states. >> stick with us, because still to come this morning, i am checking a box on my black feminism bucket list. we will have an interview that you will not want to miss, all you colored girls up there. up next, the answer to the question why could a free-range chicken determine control of the u.s. senate. i promise there's an actual answer to that question. what's your favorite kind of cheerios? honey nut. but... chocolate is my other favorite... oh yeah, and frosted! what's your most favorite of all? hmm...the kind i have with you. me too. don't have allergies every night... just on allergy nights. [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] that's why there's new vicks qlearquil for night. the powerfully effective, take it only when you need it, so you can have a good night allergy medicine.

lots of them, right? but when you try to get one by using your travel rewards card miles... those seats mysteriously vanish. why? all the flights you want are blacked out. or they hit you up for some outrageous number of miles. switch to the venture card from capital one. with venture, use your miles on any airline, any flight, any time. no blackout dates. and with every purchase you'll earn unlimited double miles. now we're getting somewhere. what's in your wallet?

everyone is looking for ways while to cut expenses.s unique, now we're getting somewhere. and that's where pg&e's online business energy checkup tool can really help. you can use it to track your actual energy use. find rebates that make equipment upgrades more affordable. even develop a customized energy plan for your company. think of it as a way to take more control over your operating costs. and yet another energy saving opportunity from pg&e. find new ways to save energy and money with pg&e's business energy check-up.

when it comes to politics and poultry in iowa, the most important question is not why did the chicken cross the road, it's what do you do when your neighbor's chicken crosses into your yard? because the wrong response could cost iowa democrat bruce braley a seat in the u.s. senate. picture it. there he was with his wife, carolyn, enjoying a little time away at their vacation home in brooklyn, iowa, taking in the

view of picturesque holiday lake when all of a sudden their peace and quiet is broken by the pitter patter of little chicken feet. four hens belonging to a neighbor had flown the coop and ended up going for a stroll on braley's property. later when the neighbor stopped by to offer up a gift of a dozen of her chicken's eggs, the braleys informed her not only did they not want her eggs but they had filed a formal complaint against her for the wandering chickens. the neighbors built a fence but for braley who was running against joni ernst that's when the feathers started flying because ratting out one's neighbor is not the iowa way. by crying foul, he had given his opponent the perfect political ammunition for an attack. >> after a chicken crossed into his iowa vacation property, braley threatened to sue his neighborhood. a true iowan would have talked to his neighbors but not trial

lawyer bruce braley. >> that is genius. >> it is genius. >> it's genius. >> and it shows, again, you have to know the state that you're running in, whether you're running for congress, you've got to know the district, for senate, you've got to know the state. those are the kinds of cultural cues that people take and say he's not one of us. >> and it's razor-thin, we're talking 49-48. literally a chicken and the chicken controversy could impact this race. >> absolutely. if it weren't for his other problems this year, this might not be as big of a deal but this is someone who has said that trial lawyers are real great, has said that farmers perhaps aren't the best people to be running senate committees and that doesn't help. so when something like this reinforces what people already suspect about you, that's not good. slightly to bring it back to hillary clinton, the clintons are very engaged right now in what's happening at the senate level and that's one of the reasons she is in iowa. she is paying real close

attention to this and i am most listening to what she says about bruce braley. >> and take that, the chicken controversy, let's compare. i want to look for just a moment in case people have forgotten, joni ernst hog commercial. >> i'm joni ernst. i grew up castrating hogs on a farm so when i get to washington, i'll know how to cut pork. >> okay. >> memorable. >> i love that commercial. at the core of my soul for exactly that reason, that it goes to this point. >> i'd like a little bacon now. you know, i have to tell you, i mentioned the 1,000 voters a week that we're talking to right now. joni ernst hasn't broken through with those folks. they have a good sense of who bruce braley is and a good sense of the economic issues that divide the two candidates. she's been all over the map in terms of some of the core economic issues of iowa and that's going to create a challenge for her in terms of

defining who she is. at the end of the day, sheez commercials are really entertaining, they are really entertaining, but it matters what happens in people's pocketbooks. >> and the problem ends up being, because you talk to people on the ground in iowa and the whole braley thing, they say actually the wife went over and talked to the neighbor before this happened and the neighbor said i came and offered these eggs. and the real truth nobody knows, it ends up this stereotype. and the folks in iowa said there is so much outside money right now being spent on both of these campaigns, with caricatures of both of the candidates. and the reality of both of them is still somewhat unknown to the people out there, because all they're being inundated by slam, slam, slam. >> i wund onder if this goes bao iowans taking their political responsibility seriously and maybe even being irritated by a

stereotype that suggests a hog castration or chicken egg controversy would be sufficient to overcome their economic concerns. >> they don't like outsiders telling them what to do. these candidates are both out there constantly campaigning. >> although i just sat in on a focus group of working moms this week from des moines, iowa. it was mixed economic, swing voters, romney voters, obama voters. what they remembered about joni ernst was that commercial. they didn't remember that much about bruce braley. they felt so inundated by the negative ads, but they worked because they remembered exactly the key points. what was most interesting, though, also was -- >> i want you to pause real quick. help the viewers know what it is. >> it's a project being done with moms who shop at walmart from all over the country. they have been doing this project for a little over a year and it's been -- this one specifically was focusing on the

races in iowa and actually there was a group in arkansas, but they have done economic issues, they have done education issues, they have done a range of issues. so this group was specifically talking about what's going on in des moines. and what was interesting was they wanted to know more about what the candidates stood for, they kept saying that. the two things that they kept talking about, though, school violence and isis. so this idea -- which is part of what i think you're seeing ads bringing in the tension and fear that people have of what's going on outside. >> so it's fascinating you say that because living in north carolina right now, there's another big hotly contested senate race going on, the very first question in the senate debate that was on our local pbs channel was an isis question. given that that is on the top of people's agenda and that hillary clinton's most recent job was secretary of state, will that in any way end up emerging as part of her iowa story?

i know we're talking steak fries, but are people going to be worried about -- >> if she should run, i think it depends where we are at that point of the cycle. it's just interesting. they definitely had economic concerns and they wanted to hear more from the candidates about that and education and their child's future, but the idea that this outside stuff was breaking through was really fascinating. and it could be a factor in the 2016 elections, depending upon where we end up. >> that's totally true. just think of how quickly things shift. like the entire primary campaign for the democrats in '08 was run on the iraq war, that she voted for it and obama was against it and the election was about the economy after the crash in september. so things really do shift. >> and in 2012 president obama was able to run as i am the president that made sure osama bin laden is dead but now anyone who worked for him may be and you didn't stop isis. it's hard to say where the narrative will go. >> the democratic sources that i talk to say economic issues again and again and again and again are what people care about, what they're feeling at

home. while they are worried about this, they're still voting on their pocketbooks. >> i'm in agreement with christine avmt we're looking at voters and data coming in from north carolina, kentucky, iowa, from all of these states. despite the recent events, we haven't really seen a shift in what voters are prioritizing in terms of what they're voting on. there are certain segments where security is a greater concern and i think this is certainly going to speak to those voters, but when you're thinking about what's going to happen in the midter midterms, that's the question before the voters right now, we're likely to see the economic issues continue to dominate that decision-making. >> kay hagan going win that senate race? >> i think so. >> okay. you can come back. thank you to my panel, harry smith and christina bellantoni and matt morrison who can come back because he just predicted that win. still to come this morning, the nfl looking more and more beleaguered every day and why the most important thing apple

announced this week was far from a watch or a bigger screen for your phone. w the name of eight princesses. i'm on expert on softball. and tea parties. i'll have more awkward conversations than i'm equipped for, because i'm raising two girls on my own. i'll worry about the economy more than a few times before they're grown. but it's for them, so i've found a way. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. ready to plan for your future? we'll help you get there. "easy like monday morning."s sundays are the warrior's day to unplug and recharge. what if this feeling could last all week? with centurylink as your trusted partner, it can. our visionary cloud infrastructure and global broadband network free you to focus on what matters. with custom communications solutions and dedicated support, your business can shine all week long.

i am so noh my gosh...now, it's not even funny. driver 1 you ready? yeah! go! [sfx] roaring altima engine woah! ahhhha! we told people they were riding nissan's most advanced altima race car. we lied... about the race car part. altima, with 270 horsepower and active understeer control. how did you?...what! i don't even, i'm speechless. innovation that excites. virtually all your important legal matters in just minutes. now it's quicker and easier for you to start your business, protect your family, and launch your dreams. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. this is charlie. his long day of doing it himself starts with back pain... and a choice. take 4 advil in a day or just 2 aleve for all day relief. honey, you did it!

baby laughs! i'm d-a-v-e and i have copd. i'm k-a-t-e and i have copd, but i don't want my breathing problems to get in the way my volunteering. that's why i asked my doctor about b-r-e-o. once-daily breo ellipta helps increase airflow from the lungs for a full 24 hours. and breo helps reduce symptom flare-ups that last several days and require oral steroids, antibiotics, or hospital stay. breo is not for asthma. breo contains a type of medicine that increases risk of death in people with asthma. it is not known if this risk is increased in copd. breo won't replace rescue inhalers for sudden copd symptoms and should not be used more than once a day. breo may increase your risk of pneumonia, thrush, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking breo. ask your doctor about b-r-e-o for copd.

first prescription free at mybreo.com as a former college player, my dad loved football. when i was a kid, he'd pull the chair right up to the front of the tv to watch, so i learned to love the game watching with him. i still love the game. i'm one of the 150 million fans who on any given sunday can be found cheering on their favorite professional football team. y'all saw me last week as i was wrapping up the show as i donned by new orleans cap as i prepared to watch my beloved saints. if you follow me on twitter, you witnessed the agony i experienced during that horrifying overtime loss to the atlanta falcons. i am among the women who make up an estimated 45% of the nfl's fan base. yes, we like to watch. but it might be hard to feel good about watching this weekend in the wake of the league's fumbling of the ray rice domestic abuse scandal,

especially because these two guys are expected to take the field today. san francisco defensive lineman ray mcdonald is scheduled to play today, despite being arrested two weeks ago on charges of physically abusing his fiancee. and for now, greg hardy, the defensive end for the carolina panthers, is expected to play in the team's home opener, even though he was convicted in july of assaulting his former girlfriend and communicating threats. the league says it's waiting to see what happens in his appeal. hardy's ex-girlfriend, nicole holder, said that during an altercation, hardy put his hands around her throat. he looked me in my eyes and he told me he was going to kill me, holder later testified. i was so scared, i wanted to die. when he loosened his grip slightly, i said "just do it. kill me." wednesday, the owner of hardy's team, jerry richardson, was accepting an award for his business and civic contributions and broke down while addressing the issue of domestic violence.

>> when it comes to domestic violen violence, my stance is not one of indifference. i stand firmly against domestic violence, plain and simple. >> but clearly, the nfl's stance on domestic violence is not plain and simple, and neither is the relationship between the league and its fans. we may like to watch, but lately do we really like what we see? we'll have much more on that at the top of the hour. but up next, cash, credit or tap? what if there was a credit card where the reward was that new car smell and the freedom of the open road? a card that gave you that "i'm 16 and just got my first car" feeling. presenting the buypower card from capital one. redeem earnings toward part or even all of a new chevrolet,

buick, gmc or cadillac - with no limits. so every time you use it, you're not just shopping for goods. you're shopping for something great. learn more at buypowercard.com trublcovergirl p!nkrfect blend for each of us blend of rockstar and mama bear. her trublend... light 4 it blends in doesn't build up for a flawless nude look find your trublend at easy breezy beautiful covergirl (yawn)

(ding!) toaster strudel! more fruit in the filling, ya? mmm! ya! warm, flaky, gooey, toaster strudel! now, with more fruit!

this week was the tech event of the year, the unveiling of the next iteration of apple's iphone, the iphone 6 and 6 plus.

hundreds of people were there, 2.4 million tweets were sent at a peak of more than 32,000 tweets per minute. apple didn't just announce a new iphone, but also revealed that a long-rumored smartwatch will finally be a reality. and that apple will get into the payment business with apple pay. technology that will allow iphone 6 users to pay by waving their phone at a special reader rather than swiping a card or handing over cash. controlling the way people pay is potentially big business, and a lot of mouths are watering. amazon got in the game earlier this year with the new card reader for mobile devices which will compete with square, a similar company led by one of twitter's co-founders. the big banks reportedly love apple pay and have already signed on, and it makes sense. they will take a fee on all those apple pay transactions, the same way they do on credit and debit card swipes. and apple will get a cut of those fees.

swipes that already bring in nearly $50 billion a year to u.s. banks. if the banks can replace even more of those no-profit cash transactions with apple pay, all the better for them. joining me now from washington, d.c., is hailey sukayama, a technology reporter for "the washington post." tech companies love this idea of paying by smartphone and so do the bankers. is it any good for us as consumers? >> that's a really good question. i think certainly if you look at the demo that say we had, that we saw in san francisco -- excuse me, in cupertino this week, it is convenient. you know, you don't have to fumble with your purse, take out your wallet, get your card out, swipe it, slide it back in, fumble with the receipt, it all happens in one smooth motion. >> is it possible that i could be accidentally walking past a front counter and pay for somebody else's transaction? >> so the way that this system is set up, you do have to put your thumb or your finger on the fingerprint reader to they not

ka -- authenticate that so that shouldn't happen. >> speaking of things that shouldn't happen, the most recent reporting i've been doing on apple isn't about their great new technology but rather about that icloud breach that allowed for these photographs of celebrities, nude photos, personal photos to become public. is there reason to think, again, for concern for us as consumers that our private card information could get out there the way that these photos of celebrities, like kate upton and others, went out? >> certainly an understandable fear. you know, apple hasn't exactly proven themselves great on cloud security in the past couple of weeks. but with this data, first of all, there are more government regulations, so they're up for a much larger penalty than just consumer sentiment loss in this case if they lose that information. they have also built things into the system so that, for example, the card number that's used in the transaction when you're at the register, when you're tapping to pay, is not actually

linked to your real card number, the one that's printed on your credit card, and shouldn't be linked to your account number either. it's a one-time transaction code. >> some of what you've just told me there, obviously this technology is not brand new. apple often just makes things better, not necessarily creating something completely new. we know that google wallet and others have been using something similar. what is it that makes this better, or is it any better? >> so, what's interesting about this particular system, people have tried to come up with competing systems, there are some retailers are backing, some that backs are banking, some that mobile carriers are backing. what's interesting is as you say apple steps in. they kind of make everyone come in line. they have the banks on board, credit card companies on board, major retailers on board. so sort of with that partnership kind of base between them, you know, this makes them stand a really good chance of making this work. >> when i hear partnership base and you start naming all those

folks, my little -- the legal corn of my brain says, hmm, is this an antitrust violation? >> that's also a really good question. certainly apple stepping into this space, they're primed to be a dominant player. but in terms of actual antitrust violations, i think that's a little bit harder to argue, you know, in a lot of cases or in actually all cases for antitrust violations you need to show consumer harm, price gouging, something like the doj alleged happened with apple's ebook settlement and there's no indication of that happening here in this case. apple also faces still a lot of competition. walmart, for example, said that they will not participate in apple pay. they have their own competing system, currency based on the same sort of open source technology that apple is using here. >> but all of these, it seems to me, whether it's google wallet or whether it's apple pay, they all seem to be based on kind of underlying belief that paying with your credit card is somehow

a broken system that needs to be fixed or revolutionized. i mean you talked about it being sort of just easier, but other than that, is there something wrong with our current credit card system? >> well, we've certainly seen with credit card breaches, you know, a lot this year, that the current payment system is not very secure. there are machines that people can put into the readers to skim your credit cards. we don't have the same sort of chip system in our cards that we see in europe and other places around the world. and so there is something sort of inherently insecure about the way that the u.s. in particular processes payments. so i think people are looking for a technological solution. now, whether smartphones are the way to do that is kind of up for debate. >> in washington, d.c., hailey sukayama, thank you so much for your time this morning. i know my daughter is putting iphone 6 on her christmas list, so thank you. >> she and millions of others. thank you. >> thanks so much. up next, the pile-up taking place right now in the nfl is

happening nowhere near the field. and still ahead, we have black feminist icon, author of "for colored girls" joining us at the table. there is more nerdland at the top of the hour. losing your chex mix too easily? deploy the boring potato chip decoy bag. with a variety of tastes and textures, only chex mix has twenty bags of interesting.

pick your mix. ♪ ♪ ♪ woooooah. ♪ [ male announcer ] you're not just looking for a house. you're looking for a place for your life to happen. zillow. i am so noh my gosh...now,e fit's not even funny.en. driver 1 you ready? yeah! go! [sfx] roaring altima engine woah! ahhhha! we told people they were riding nissan's most advanced altima race car. we lied... about the race car part. altima, with 270 horsepower and active understeer control. how did you?...what! i don't even, i'm speechless.

innovation that excites. yeah! vo: don't just dream of being the hero. make it happen. i can't believe we're missing the game for this. we're not. i've got xlte. vo: it doubles our 4g lte bandwidth in cities nationwide, so be that guy with verizon xlte. now get 1gb of bonus data, and our best pricing ever on the more everything plan. i thought "so what?", but now "cai can't stop playing.rst that's not how it works. i mean it's so simple. it's like my car insurance. i saved 15% in fifteen minutes.

well esurance could have saved you money in half that time. three in a row! sweet! 15 minutes for a quote isn't so sweet. level 2! start with a quote from esurance and you could save money on car insurance in half the time. welcome to the modern world. esurance, backed by allstate. click or call. welcome back. i'm melissa harris-perry and we have a lot to get to this hour, including controversies embroiling the nfl. but first, there's growing outrage over the beheading of another western civilian by the mi tant group isis. last night isis released a video purporting to show the execution of a british aid worker. this is a still from the video which shows the murder of david haines. the british foreign and commonwealth office says it believes the video is authentic. the 44-year-old father of two was abducted in syria in 2013. he was working with a french relief agency in a refugee camp.

haines is the third western hostage to be beheaded by isis in recent weeks. the first two were american journalists. in a statement, president obama called the latest beheading a barbaric murder and promised the u.s. would work with its allies to bring the perpetrators to justice. british prime minister david cameron echoed that sentiment this morning. >> we need to understand we cannot ignore this threat to our security and that of our allies. there is no option of keeping our heads down that would make us safe. the problem would merely get worse as it has done over recent months, not just for us, but for europe and for the world. we cannot just walk on buy if we are to keep this country safe. we have to confront this menace. >> stay with msnbc throughout the day for the latest on this developing story. now we're going to turn to football in america. as you are well aware, today is sunday, and the nfl on any given

sunday wants us focused on football. that's certainly how nfl commissioner, roger goodell, wants it. watch the game, the strategy, the action, pay attention to the running, the throwing, the hitting, you know, the stuff happening on the field and not, say, in the nfl's bank accounts. that's where you'd see that the league makes about $10 billion, with a b, dollars annually. according to cnbc much of that money is thanks to television. the football we watch each weekend is available on tv because four networks, including nbc, pay for it, amounting to $42 billion in total revenue through 2022. now, the league, not the member clubs, but the league has been tax exempt since 1944. other things the commissioner would surely rather have you not thinking about before kickoff today, well, for one, ray rice. the now former baltimore raven running back who knocked his future wife unconscious in a casino elevator in february. he was suspended for two games

for his actions at first and then his team terminated his contract and the league suspended him indefinitely after a second tape of the actual punch surfaced on monday. now the commissioner also probably doesn't want you thinking about the head trauma his players suffer either. the legions of retired players suing the league for allegedly hiding the dangers of concussions or even what the league itself now admits that it expects nearly a third of retired players to develop long-term cognitive problems and that the conditions are likely to emerge at notably younger ages than in the general population. now, if i were commissioner roger goodell, i probably wouldn't want you focusing on the fact that several cheerleaders had to take their teams to court just to get paid a fair wage. the league says cheerleader pay is a team matter. if i were roger goodell, i wouldn't want you focusing on my defense of dan snyder, the washington franchise owner, who wants to keep the team's racially offensive name.

and if i were roger goodell, i wouldn't want you focused on jerry jones, owner of the dallas cowboys, who's now facing a civil lawsuit alleging he sexually assaulted a woman and force her to watch a sex act performed on him. an attorney for jones calls the allegations completely false. and if i'm goodell today, i certainly don't want you thinking about possibly the best player in the league, a former mvp, adrian peterson. the minnesota vikings star was indicted in texas on the charge of injury to a child. his 4-year-old son, who he spanked with a switch. peterson turned himself in on saturday, was booked and released after he posted bail. the vikings deactivated for today's game. his attorney, rusty hardin, issued this statement. quote, adrian is a loving father who used his judgment as a parent to discipline his son. he used the same kind of discipline with his child that he experienced as a child growing up in east texas. it's important to remember that adrian never intended to harm his son and deeply regrets the

unintentional injury. here's what montgomery county district attorney had to say on saturday. >> there is a defense to injury to a child and that is reasonable discipline. obviously parents are entitled to discipline their children as they see fit, except for when that discipline exceeds what the community would say is reasonable. and so a grand jury having indicted this case looked at the injuries that were inflicted upon this child and determined that that discipline was not reasonable. >> the nfl with roger goodell as its leader may be enduring its worst stretch of publicity ever. and while today may be sunday, gameday, the action on the field for this now beleaguered league is hardly the thing capturing anyone's attention. joining me now is jason page, host of "up late with jason page" on nbc sports radio. also msnbc contributor karen finney, former nba player and radio host, eaton thomas, author of "fatherhood, rising to the

ultimate challenge" and -- i'm thinking about my poor husband with the baby that won't sleep and tv host, activist and former nfl quarterback, don mcpherson. thank you so much for all being here today. >> have you got anything else? >> i know, i know. and, oh, yeah, breaking news. so seriously, like how bad is this? you know, major league teams have had problems before but is this particularly bad? >> yes, it is. and what makes it so bad now is everybody is piling on it. and i don't see any way for the nfl -- i don't know how you unravel this at this point. it's like when you go behind the tv and find that big jumbled mess of wires. how are you going to unjumble this mess of wires right now if you're the nfl. i don't know what the answer is. >> do they have to unravel it? karen, part of what i'm wondering is, you know, radio play for r. kelly increased during the time that he was on trial potentially for -- or, you know, allegations for the injury and rape of a child.

you know, chris brown's musical career has not been hurt as a result of what we know about the domestic violence circumstances he had with rihanna. we have seen this week people -- women who themselves are domestic violence survivors wearing ray rice jerseys. do they have to untangle the mess or does it work just as well all jumbled. >> the brand of the nfl is about family, families getting together and watching the sport together. the nfl has been trying specifically to attract women. yes, a few women may have taken ray rice's side, but a lot of women did not and were offended by the way the whole thing has been handled. just from the perspective of the brand of the nfl, this is not what you want because it feeds today sb into that sense of entitlement and violence, which are two issues we've been deal with for a very long time. >> my experience with football is that family narrative. i came to love football because my dad was a high school and college player.

on sundays is when my workaholic dad would sit down and pull that chair up. i'd sit on his lap and learned to love the game. sarmt, my own daughters watch the game on sundays with me. can this unravel the set of things? would it potentially unravel nfl football, or is it just too much emotional attachment? >> i think there's a tremendous amount of emotional attachment that will keep the nfl moving in the direction that it's been going, but mark cuban said this back in march, that the nfl was being hoggish when you talk about that $42 billion in revenue and that was going to create an implosion in the nfl. he thought it was going to happen ten years from now. when i heard him say that, i thought about what's currently in the nfl, which are a lot of players who if you start to scrutinize their behavior and people, when you start to scrutinize their behavior, will not stand up to those family values, will not stand up to what we've been sold in sports in general. this is not just a nfl issue. we've been sold sports builds character and integrity and it sounds like lofty goals about

what sport does. sport does not do those things. that's an illusion. the guys of yesteryear whose lives were not scrutinized. mickey mantle and those guys, we didn't know about those personal lives. you said pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. pay no attention to the coward behind the curtain who's using smoke and mirrors to make himself look grand. >> but sports -- i have a question but let me pause because i mean we know when we look at the data about sports participation that kids are more likely to finish school. we know that girls who are involved in team sports, part of why title ix is so important, less likely to get pregnant out of wedlock. i watch my own daughter who's a seventh grader running on the cross country team, hugely important. >> i know where you're going at this and it makes sense. at the fundamental levels why it was so great for women is because women did not aspire to go to pro sports. if women follow the male model

of sports, that was her fear that was going to happen, women would follow the male model. if sports builds character and integrity, why do we see so many problems the further you go up the food chain in the sports world. >> are sports like hip-hop? in other words, is it destroyed by money? i'm sorry, that was a little -- >> first let me say thank you for having me on the show. i'm a big sglan wfan. >> wow, thank you. >> we have to make sure we understand that everything that happened with ray rice, that doesn't represent the entire nfl, the same way that isis doesn't represent all of islam. the same way the kkk doesn't represent all of christianity or the fundamentalists who are praising what's going on in gaza right now, the murder of, what, 3,000 palestinians, the zionists don't represent all of judaism so we can't extrapolate too far and think this is ray rice. now, there have been other instances as well but we have to also remember that in society as a whole right now, domestic

violence is a serious issue. >> so i'm with you. ray rice doesn't represent the nfl. but the commissioner's decisions post ray rice literally represent the nfl. >> but this is the thing, though. we can't have selective outrage. because domestic violence is not a new issue, you know what i mean? we have to also understand that the statistics right here in our society, one out of four women in society as a whole are victims of domestic violence. that's not a ray rice problem, that's a societal problem. >> right, so i'm on that in the sense that here we are asking how many abusers are going to take the field today. i'm thinking how many abusers are going to walk into the halls of congress tomorrow, how many abusers are going to take to the air waves tonight. that is a truth. >> but i think where you're going is when you talk about professional sports, and i went to ucla and pac-10 football, those boys got everything and anything they wanted. why? because they're a revenue generator for the school. the nfl with the level of

profits that they're making, i think there is a lot of behavior. i agree with you that not -- i think sports does do great things. it did great things for me and does great things for a lot of people, but it's the institution. this is again, i think, the example of an institution trying to protect itself and its profits. i think that's where the tension comes in and maybe there was -- there have been excusing certain behaviors rather than saying, no, we are going to demand more from our players. >> stick with me, we've got more on this. as we go to break, i want to play a clip of vice president joe biden talking to my colleague, tamron hall, earlier this week for the "today" show. >> and then when the video was out there and saw how brutal it was, the ravens did the right thing, fired him immediately. now, you can argue they should have done it sooner, they didn't want it, whatever the reason is, it's happening. e age of knowing what you're made of. why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain...

...it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age... ...of taking action. viagra. talk to your doctor. so what we're looking for is a way to "plus" our accounting firm's mobile plan. and "minus" our expenses. perfect timing. we're offering our best-ever pricing on mobile plans for business. run the numbers on that. well, unlimited talk and text, and ten gigs of data for the five of you would be... one-seventy-five a month. good calculating kyle. good job kyle. you just made partner. our best-ever pricing on mobile share value plans for business. now with a $100 bill credit for every business line you add. like new iams real love deserves real ingredients. purrfect delicacies. some brands use fish processed with gluten, but iams tasty fish recipes are made with 100% real fish filets.

love the iams difference or your money back. my golden years will not just be gold plated. i had 3 different 401(k)s. e*trade offers rollover options and a retirement planning calculator. now i know "when" i'm going to retire. not "if."

for over 60,000 extra curricular activities help provide a sense of identity and a path to success. joining the soccer team. getting help with math. going to prom. i want to learn to swim. it's hard to feel normal, when you can't do the normal things. to help, sleep train is collecting donations for the extra activities that, for most kids, are a normal part of growing up. not everyone can be a foster parent... but anyone can help a foster child.

while the focus is on ray rice right now, he is not the only nfl player to be accused of domestic violence. but unlike rice, some others are expected to take the field today, including for now greg hardy, number 76, a defensive end for the carolina panthers, who was convicted of abugsing ad threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend, nicole holder. the nfl says it is await the outcome of hardy's pending appeal. wednesday the owner of the panthers, jerry richardson, grew emotional while addressing the issue of domestic violence. >> to those who would suggest that we've been too slow to act, i ask that you consider not to be too quick to judge. over the course of our 25 years -- 20 years, we have worked extremely hard to build an organization of integrity.

>> well, the team may have some work to do. an editorial in "the charlotte observer" makes this observation. quote, the reason hardy still plays while star running back ray rice was cut from the baltimore ravens and suspended by the nfl indefinitely, video. there's a video of rice knocking out his girl friend but no video of hardy grabbing holder by the hair and clutching her throat. is that what it takes to get folks to do the right thing? i have been arguing on this show for taking janay rice seriously as a decision-maker, as an adult person within the context of all of this, but the adrian peterson thing takes me to a different place. i recognize it is all still alleged at this point, but -- my capacity to cry about something would occur in the allegations of that child's potential or alleged injuries, and yet there

are so many people defending it as reasonable parenting. >> well, let me say this. there is a place where that comes from and we have to understand where it stems from. during slavery, the slave master would beat the slaves mercilessly with whips, tie them to a tree in front of everybody, and that got passed down in our culture to how we handled our own children. and it's a sickness. it's something we have to rid ourselves of. and this is something -- and before, i can say i'm not fox news, i'm sure they're saying you're trying to blame what adrian peterson did on slavery. it's deeper than that. i'm not blaming it. it's the same thing as the fascination of michael vick and the dogs fighting. there's a reason why that came from. that's the way they used to do us when there was slave acres but we were the dogs. we have to understand where that came from and how we have to rid ourselves of that. now, that being said, my mother was a single parent. i had my mom raised me and my brother by herself. she had to enforce the rules, and she would enforce whatever

way that we would understand it. now, i never looked like the pictures and everybody saw the pictures. they were actually horrendous and he's 4 years old. that's absolutely amazing. but my mother had times where she had to use the paddle. she had to spank me. she had to let me know that, listen, these are the rules. you cannot be disrespectful, you have to learn how to treat women, all of those things and i am thankful for it right now, but there's a difference between discipline and abuse. all discipline is not abuse and abuse has absolutely nothing to do with discipline. >> so i hear you on both a long-term sort of cultural inequities to create patterns of violence and more recent context of practices in our households that lead us to make parenting choices. that said, don, it's also true that racism and patriarchy and beating one's wife were also normative behaviors at one point

and it took us collectively saying, you know what, in our society we're going to say no to that. >> that's right, that's right. i think to etan's point, that's old school parenting, that's old school discipline. my father was the same way. there's a history that comes along with that. however, as each generation progresses, we get better. we learn, we evolve, we start to get out some of those things that did not belong in our culture and our society. that's the problem that i have with what's going on in the nfl. what i meant before about how we're not doing a good enough job raeising and training these young men while they're in school. adrian peterson went to the university of oklahoma, outstanding institution. where was the socialization that taught him if you beat your child like this, it is a crime. so we're not doing a good enough job of raising these guys so they can carry that mantle where we start putting their jersey on young kids. >> all right, so part then, and this could -- so if you're going to make a connection that far back, if you're going back to an

antebellum moment, let me go to a more recent one. we love watching these people hit guys on sundays. we put bumper stickers on our car, bring back our bounty saints. >> she's still feeling it. >> i have a lot of emotions about last week. so we love to watch these guys hit people. so is it surprising then, if we can make a tie back, would it be surprising that they are rewarded for hitting people on sundays that on monday through saturday we might also see hitting? >> yeah, but going back to something etan said a little earlier, it's not every player. >> sure. >> you're still talking about the tiniest percentage of the league that is involved in these things. and i'll go back even further back and say this. as somebody who does a show five hours a day, five days a week, fans don't care. >> they don't. >> i hate to be the one to break

this all to you. >> i know. >> they don't care. i can't count the number of tweets, the number of phone calls that i get from people saying stop talking about it, please. >> you're being politically correct, just tell me who is going to win. yes, right. the saints are going to beat the browns. >> over and over and over. and there's one other thing here that don talked about in the first segment. the implosion, this idea that the nfl is going to implode because of the money and all these different issues. no. what's going to make it implode? i don't see sponsors backing out based on the way the nfl has handled this domestic violence. if sponsors don't back out, the munnize still coming in. the owners are happy. what's the impetus for change? >> i have a potential answer for that. when we come back, i am going to suggest what i think will make the nfl change. it's going to be a surprising answer to you. and also still to come, ntozake shange is coming to nerdland. don't miss it.

they're irresistabowl... completely unbelievabowl... totally delectabowl. real silky smooth or creamy broths. everything she's been waiting for. carefully crafted with real seafood, real veggies, and never any by-products or fillers. wow! being a cat just got more enjoyabowl. fancy feast broths. wow served daily. when folks think about wthey think salmon and energy. but the energy bp produces up here creates something else as well: jobs all over america. engineering and innovation jobs. advanced safety systems & technology. shipping and manufacturing. across the united states, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. when we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. that's not a coincidence. it's one more part of our commitment to america.

while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can ease arthritis symptoms but if you have arthritis, this can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain, so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. and it's not a narcotic.

you and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, like celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions, or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. don't take celebrex if you have bleeding in the stomach or intestine, or had an asthma attack, hives, other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history. and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion. and now celebrex may be available for as little as $4 a month. terms and conditions apply. to learn more, go to celebrex.com.

all right, so some ancient history here. back in 1996 when the new england patriots drafted christian peter, the owner, robert kraft's wife upon finding out about his history of violence against women demanded that he be released. he was the first nfl draft pick ever released before training camp. so here is my answer to your question. what if condoleezza rice became the commissioner of the nfl. would that be the impetus for change? >> are you looking for transparency. >> i'm not so much looking for transparency. i am suggesting that a woman would be -- and condie has very openly said i want to be the commissioner of the nfl. you went to a political place. >> sorry about that. >> the point i think you're getting at is really important, and that is we know that violence against women is underreported.

women, part of the reason they don't come forward is they don't think they're going to be believed, so i think we have no idea how bad the numbers really are in professional sports. you know, you were talking about sort of building character, but also i go back to from high school, from college, kids are rewarded for how violent you hit, right? like you're saying, we watch that. you're rewarded for that. so then there's a level of violence and we don't teach people -- how do you deal with that when you're then dealing with a confrontation with your kid or your spouse. i think there's that problem. but i also think that someone like a condoleezza rice or a woman in general is going to be more sensitive and more aware of the fact that this is a much bigger -- >> i've got a full hmm-mm. >> the bigger opportunity that i think the nfl has here is we've talked a lot about punishment. but how about intervention. how about trying to take this family and say, you know what, we're going to help you, ray rice, learn different behaviors. we're going to help you, janay,

understand it's not your fault you got knocked out. >> i don't know that i want the nfl doing that work. it makes me nervous to think of the nfl as being the arbiter -- or actually anyone's employer, nbc universal, i don't know if i want them to be the arbiter. in fact i was irritated that 16 women senators sent a letter to roger goodell saying we need a zero tolerance policy. i get it. but to go to your point about it's everywhere, lady senator people, that's nice you want to have a zero tolerance policy, how about zero tolerance on cutting food aid and voting against reproductive rights because those are precisely the things that put women into the circumstances that then allow the domestic violence to continue. i'm just like are we baptising ourselves and feeling better because the nfl is the violent place. >> this happened with michael vick, my point is the leverage you have. you want to come play again, there's the leverage to say, all right, here's what you would have to do for us to consider

it. >> but it's hypocritical, though. that's selective outrage. look at the alabama federal judge, mark fuller right now. he was accused and he actually did it. he beat his wife in an atlanta hotel last month. you didn't see that on the news. you didn't see that as a big issue. >> and right now, because he's got lifetime tenure -- >> lifetime tenure. >> there's every reason to believe he's staying on the bench. >> you talked about the video before. there was an officer, you're talking about crimes against women. there was an officer in california, daniel -- >> oklahoma, holtclaw. >> not the one abusing all the women, another one who was beating the woman on the side of the highway. >> you can name a lot of stories. >> and you saw videotape of it was my point. but he got paid administration leave, which is a paid va dacat, the same leave darren wilson is on who killed mike brown over a month ago. >> but we make ourselves feel better by having rage about this space, but it is precisely because of what the nfl is to

us. it is precisely because it is the place where we want to bring our kids, wear the jerseys, feel good and get our americana on. the fact that the congress is a mess, we knew that. the fact that the police are kind of a mess, at least some of us already knew that. but we want football to be the place where we can all come together and then suddenly -- >> and that's the piece -- i don't think it's selective rage. for people like myself who have been involved in the prevention of violence against women, this is not selective rage, this is rage that has been going on for a long time. so what's going to be rage for those of us who care about this issue is when this becomes a story about the nfl. this is not a story about the nfl. what happened in that elevator was not an nfl moment. >> no, it's janay rice's moment. >> exactly. that's where the attention needs to be placed and the nfl needs to handle its business. i don't think roger goodell should lose his job. i think he should be kept in place and held accountable for upholding the rules of the nfl. >> you don't want to see condie

rice be the nfl commissioner? when we come back, i'm going to ask whether or not we're being overly rageful about a memo that had some people stressed out. i read it and felt differently. still tol come, the utterly confusing atlanta hawks story. great. this is the last thing i need.) seriously? the last thing you need is some guy giving you a new catalytic converter when all you got is a loose gas cap.

what? it is that simple sometimes. thanks. now let's take this puppy over to midas and get you some of the good 'ol midas touch. hey you know what? i'll drive! and i have no feet... i really didn't think this through. trust the midas touch. for brakes, tires, oil, everything. (whistling)

i got this. [thinking] is it that time? the son picks up the check? [thinking] i'm still working. he's retired.

i hope he's saving. i hope he saved enough. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. whether you're just starting your 401(k) or you are ready for retirement, we'll help you get there. top ten best-selling nba jerseys last season, lebron james and kevin durant. kobe bryant and derrick rose. steven kerr and carmelo anthony. dwyane wade, chris paul, kyrie irving and james harden. notice a theme? all black men. like more than three-quarters of the league's players. and yet one soon-to-be former team owner who has profited thanks to african-american players on the court suggested that the way to even get more profits is to get black fans out

of the stands because in his mind a white fan will buy a black man's jersey but won't sit next to him at the game. so is that racially problematic thinking or just savvy marketing? that's next. i wish... please, please, please, please, please. [ male announcer ] the wish we wish above all...is health. so we quit selling cigarettes in our cvs pharmacies. expanded minuteclinic, for walk-in medical care. and created programs that encourage people to take their medications regularly. introducing cvs health. a new purpose. a new promise... to help all those wishes come true. cvs health. because health is everything. cvs health. this is holly. her long day of outdoor adventure starts with knee pain. and a choice. take 6 tylenol in a day or just 2 aleve for all day relief. onward! ♪

eenie. meenie. miney. go. more adventures await in the seven-passenger lexus gx. see your lexus dealer. cshe is the greatest thing ever. one little smile. one little laugh. honey bunny... (laughter) we would do anything for her. my name is kim bryant and my husband and i made a will on legalzoom. it was really easy to do. (baby noise...laughter)

we created legalzoom to help you take care of the ones you love. go to legalzoom.com today and complete your will in minutes. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. "easy like monday morning."s sundays are the warrior's day to unplug and recharge. what if this feeling could last all week? with centurylink as your trusted partner, it can. our visionary cloud infrastructure and global broadband network free you to focus on what matters. with custom communications solutions and dedicated support, your business can shine all week long. we (cha-ching!) (cha-ching!) many empt(cha-ching!) it felt like we were flushing money away. mom! that's why we switched to charmin ultra mega roll. it's charmin quality and long lasting. with more go's per roll, it pays to use charmin ultra mega roll. charmin ultra mega roll is 75% more absorbent so you can use less with every go.

plus it even lasts longer than the leading thousand sheet brand. for us, mega roll equals mega value. cha-ching! we all go. why not enjoy the go with charmin ultra mega roll? last sunday the owner of the atlanta hawks basketball team, bruce levenson, announced he would sell the team. a sort of penance for sending a certain e-mail back in 2012. levinson's e-mail focused on demographics, specifically how to sell more season tickets, and levenson said he had been told by the primary buyers of season tickets are middle-aged white guys. levenson himself, a middle-aged white guy wrote, quote, i start looking around our arena during the games and notice the following. it's 70% black. the cheerleaders are plaque, the music is hip-hop. at the bars it's 90% black. there are few fathers and sons at the games. we are doing after game concerts to attract more fans and the

concerts are either hip-hop or gospel. and then, my theory the black crowd scared away the whites and there are simply not enough affluent black fans to build a significant season ticket base. the solution, i want some white cheerleaders. and while i don't care what the color of the artist is, i want the music to be music familiar to a 40-year-old white guy, if that's our season tix demo. i have also balked when every fan picked out of the crowd to shoot some shots in the time-out contest is black and i even think that the kiss cam is too black. i know that sounds racist but when i read the whole thing it feels more like a marketing memo. at various points it sounds like he's saying bad things about white atlantans who don't want to sit next to black folks than he is actually about black folks but you read it differently. >> of course. i played for the hawks and shoutout to jeff teague and al

horford, the two hawks that were there when i was there in 2011. i looked at that and it sounded very familiar. i remember hearing integration, a lot of the talk was this is just business. it's just your black face is going to bring down our property value. you can't hide behind the umbrella it's just business right now in 2014, you just can't. you can make the same case saying no slavery. it really wasn't that we thought you were less of a human being and we were able to make you human chattel, it was just business. it was profitable for us to do this and build our country on your backs. so we can't excuse and say that, okay, it's racism in the form of business but we can't say it doesn't have anything to do and is not racism at all. and you have to understand, what he did is the same exact thing that -- from the clippers donald sterling and his wife shelly sterling was saying they don't want black or brown people to move into their apartment complexes which resulted in one of the biggest settlements of discrimination in california history, if not the biggest, so

there's a definite racial component we can't deny. >> but if you're bringing this all the way back to the nba and you read through that memo and what he's saying, he's trying to make money. it's a business, he's trying to make money. what is he supposed to do? the fans don't go to games. you know that. the attendance there is abysmal. he's looking at trying to find ways to bring more people into that arena, spend money when they're in the arena. what would you suggest he do if not make the suggestions he's making? >> he used the example of the washington wizards, who i also played for. when the wizards were winning more, more people came. of course i played there when michael jordan was there but i saw before michael jordan came the attendance was down. so there's different things that happened. right now they're in the playoffs and doing better. things are doing better in atlanta. for him to use the actual example of whitening up the entire arena, the cheerleaders and everything like that is in the form of a racial context.

>> so this is interesting to me like because in part i always want to think of racism as something that is about policy and actions and power. i want us to stay focused on that. so the donald sterling is such a good point that you bring up. he ends up having to sell the team as a result of words he says, not as a result of the massive housing settlement, which to me is far more important than the words that he says. and so when i look at this memo, i think, yeah, there's some problematic stuff going on here, but i also don't want it to be that a racial analysis equals racism. so even if it comes to a different conclusion, in part because i feel like those are the critiques often leveled at me and others. if you talk about race, then you arin harcinherently race -- or you're race baiting. >> i sort of agree with both perspectives. number one, he's a businessman. he's trying to figure out how am i going to make more money. >> but so too were slave owners.

>> we buy tickets and go to basketball. i mean that is -- that is his business. and i think, you know, there is a racial component to that, there's a reality to that. i would have liked to see him talk about it maybe more from a -- get the data. have the facts. don't just make your own assessment about, you know, too many blacks on the kiss cam and too much rap music. i know plenty of white folks who listen to rap music. >> that's an observable fact. >> actually more white folks do listen to hip-hop. >> not this one. >> well, but look here. so maybe -- maybe both can be true at the same time. maybe it is both that there was a racial analysis, which is not itself inherently racist, but that the solution -- >> yes. >> -- which is the solution to a racial problem is to get rid of the black folks is a deeply problematic racialized solution. >> but the facts don't even support what he's saying. because the fact is that more white people do listen to hip-hop as far as the numbers. >> it seems like he kind of popped off -- here's what i'm

thinking. >> it's not even well capitalized. >> how do we increase ticket sales, can we find more affluent african-americans if that's who's coming. >> but the truth is, here's my real theory. my theory is this guy wanted to sell the team and he saw that don sterling got to sell his team for being racist and he was like i wonder if i got anything i ever wrote that was racist so i can sell my team, because who tells on themselves about an e-mail they sent two years ago. >> he tried selling the team three years ago. >> but he hadn't written the racist e-mail three years ago. >> he looks at how much donald sterling got for the clippers. remember, that team was only evaluated for $500 million and he got $2 billion. i think the hawks are like 425. they'll get more than that. >> punish me for racist, i'd like 2 billion. thank you to my panel, jason page and karen finney, also etan thomas and don mcpherscpherson. up next, i am seriously about to

check a box on my black feminist bucket list. ntozake shange is here. e vanduco when your favorite food starts a fight fight back fast with tums. relief that neutralizes acid on contact... ...and goes to work in seconds. ♪ tum, tum tum tum tums! try great tasting tums chewy delights. yummy. why do we start with a kickoff special? because it's the start of the nfl season, and that's pretty special. get any large two-topping pizza for just $10. add a mega chocolate chip cookie for just $5. better pizza, better football. papa john's.

after ferguson police officer darren wilson shot and killed michael brown, this show took a moment to remember some of the other unarmed black men who have died at the hands of police. what we didn't do, we did not name any black girls or women. girls like iona stanley jones, the 7-year-old shot by police while sleeping on the couch when they raided her home in detroit, michigan, in 2010. women like shawna francis who suffered with mental illness and died in 2012 after being handcuffed and held face down by the police who were responding to her sister's call for help in getting her to the hospital. it is too easy and too common to mark racial suffering only with men's stories.

trayvon, but not renisha. ferguson, but not oklahoma. we must assert. black women matter. and north pole single work of artist rehab more influential for establishing that black women matter than ntozake shange's choreopoem. the first stage in berkeley, california, 1974, this year is the 40th anniversary of "for colored girls" which unflinchingly forces audiences to contend with the brutality, complexity and sheer humanity of black women's lives in their own words. >> because i had convinced myself that colored girls have no right to sorrow. and i lived and loved just that way and kept sorrow on the curb, allegedly for you, but now i know i did it for myself because i just couldn't stand it. i couldn't stand being sorry and colored at the same time. it's so redundant in the modern

world. >> it won an obie award in 1977 and received tony, grammy and emmy nods. it has been staged across the world from college campuses to broadway. it inspired the title of title second book, sister citizen for colored girls who considered politics when being strong isn't enough. and on september 19th, the new york public library center for research and black culture will begin celebrating the 40th anniversary with an exhibition called "i found god in myself." i'm so thrilled to welcome to the table the incomparable author of "for colored girls who considered suicide: when the rainbow is enough." >> well, thank you, melissa. >> this is such an honor. because i remember when the choreopoem opened in richmond. my father had a lot of anxiety about it.

because it displays an unflinching wave of violence that black women experience at the hands of black men. how did you manage with that particular critique? you were telling the race's business? >> well, in the united states census, it's not as if it was a secret. and i think what towards wanting to express my feelings about women in situations where they were in danger. from one apartment building to the next and discovering in every building there was a batterer. and every building i lived in, there was someone who was beating his girlfriend or his wife, and i could hear her screams.

and it disturbed me to the extent that one day i just started writing about that. and that's how i came to write bowilly brown. >> i went back and was reading it this week in the context of preparing to discuss the ray rice and janay rice story. it is brutal, for those who have not seen or read "colored girls." the end of it when the children die is a -- >> right. >> of the abuse. how have you been responding to the rice scandal? >> well, i'm very disturbed with the nfl and with ray rice. because the kind of egregious violence that he manifests on janay rice is activated assault.

and it should be punished by jail, not by a loss of your nfl status. >> it's so key. if she were not his beloved. if this weren't domestic. if he had perpetrated that violence on another man who was a stranger, it would be a very different story. >> right. exactly. >> when i realized that even here in this black feminist space we like to think about as being -- that we had talked about the death of black men without talking about that of black women. >> right. >> i go back to the end of the poem that i found god in myself and i loved her fiercely. why is it so hard for us as black women to love our god inside of ourselves. >> because it's been beat out of us not to be flippant. but we've been told all the time the danger men were in.

and they are in danger. and we can't deny that. but because the men are in danger doesn't mean that we have to bear our vulnerability as a sin. our vulnerability comes because we're human. and the fact that some men take advantage of us when we're into situations is, is fodder for the lackadaisical attitude people take toward battered women. >> almost 40 years later, they're still performing this. why do you think it still carries over four decades? is it because the violence is

still so prevalent that it's a marker for who we are? >> i think it's gotten worse. i know about 30 years ago, i wrote a poem about rape, and the statistics from the fbi said that rapes happen every two minutes and 51 seconds. i rounded that out to three minutes and now it's even worse. rapes occur more frequently than they did 30 years ago. >> i find that -- i find that horrifying. that for 40 years, this play, this has existed telling these stories. and yet, things get worse. >> yes. >> not better. >> but i appreciate the strength and power of your voice and i want you to know it has meant so much to me in my work and i appreciate you being here today. >> oh, thank you. >> thank you for joining us this morning.

i also want to offer one correction. in my introduction to this segment, it was charice francis who died in 2012. it was her sister shawna trying to help her. and we mistakenly reversed those two names in our conversation. that's our show today. thanks to you at home for watching. we're going to be back next saturday at 10:00 a.m. eastern. right now, it's time for a preview of "weekends with alex width." >> we'll have the latest developing news out of iraq. a british aid worker beheaded by isis. also, the reaction to ray rice making his first public appearance since being suspended indefinitely from the nfl. why more aren't speaking up for janay rice. ken burns joins me to profile one of the most important political families in america. plus why the iranian government is obsessed with sex. the author of a new book provides answers. don't go anywhere. i'll be right back.

you pay your auto insurance premium every month on the dot. you're like the poster child for paying on time. and then one day you tap the bumper of a station wagon. no big deal... until your insurance company jacks up your rates. you freak out. what good is having insurance if you get punished for using it? hey insurance companies, news flash. nobody's perfect. for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance.

yeah! vo: don't just dream of being the hero. make it happen. i can't believe we're missing the game for this. we're not. i've got xlte. vo: it doubles our 4g lte bandwidth in cities nationwide, so be that guy with verizon xlte. now get 1gb of bonus data, and our best pricing ever on the more everything plan. smoking with chantix. for 33 years i chose to keep smoking... ...because it was easier to smoke than it was to quit. along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. it's a non-nicotine pill. chantix reduced the urge for me to smoke. it actually caught me by surprise. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these, stop chantix and

see your doctor right away as some could be life threatening. tell your doctor if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, or if you develop new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. i did not know what it was like to be a non-smoker. but i do now. ask your doctor if chantix is right for you.

we must drive back, dismantling and ultimately destroy isil and what it stands for. >> another horror. a british humanitarian worker beheaded. and more threats from isis. can the u.s. and its allies stop the terror group in its tracks overseas before it strikes here? manhunt, killer on the loose somewhere in the northeast. why he has police from three states on the lookout. in iowa, a special, how one event today could be shaping the race for the white house in 2016. >> i looked up at him and mouthed the words, he's just a baby. he's just a baby. he's just -- >> terror at the mall. it happened a year ago. and now it's being depicted in a fascinating new documentary. the stories of survival are riveting and we're going to give you a preview. hey there, everyone. it's