longer faster in the author of the upcoming, wrote, the history of a national obsession, which hits the shelves on tuesday. straight ahead, texas representative sheila jackson lee joins me to discuss the new congress, including the future of her new legislation to fight white supremacy, another hour of velshi begins right now. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> good morning, i'm ali velshi. it's sunday. i'm sorry, it saturday, tomorrow will be sunday. today is saturday, january 21st. two years and a day since president joe biden's integration. we begin with a dire warning for presidents'day, but we have to go back in history for this famous exchange. >> little did i dream you could be so reckless and so cruel. asked to do an injury to that land. let us not assassinate this land further. you've done enough. have you no sense of decency,

sir? >> those famous lines ordered by the lawyer, joseph wells, on june 9th, 1954, effectively marked the end of mccarthy-ism, and the investigations that wisconsin senator joseph mccarthy was conducting as chair of the senate permit cup subcommittee on investigations, created initially to investigate government fraud and waste, but he quickly turned into a political pet project to investigate what mccarthy claimed was communist infiltration at all levels of the government. the origins of the mccarthy investigation could be traced back to the post world war i overmine committee, a subcommittee of the senate judiciary committee, and to the house special committee to investigate communist activities in the united states, aka, the fish committee, formed and chaired by new york representative hamilton fish. the fish committee walked into the famous house on american activities committee, formed in 1938, and chaired by texas representative merchandise. much like mccarthy, 12 years later, on the surface, the house on american activities committee was meant to

investigate kamala communism a post not secrets in america, up into reality, it conducted investigations based mainly on conspiracy and paranoia, including communism in hollywood and recommended the internment of japanese americans in world war ii. flash forward to december 12th, 2016, in the final day of the house select committee on benghazi, led by the south carolina representative, trey galaxy. the end of a seemingly endless investigation undertaken by republicans, which began at least on the surface, as an investigation into the 2012 terror attacks in libya that killed the u.s. ambassador, chris stevens. which immediately turned into a political sideshow meant to inflict political damage on the venn secretary of state, hillary clinton. as a reminder, you don't need to take my word on that. >> everybody thought hillary clinton was unbeatable, right? but we put together a benghazi special committee, a select committee, what her numbers today? her numbers are dropping. >> we're going to have more on

that man and current speaker, kevin mccarthy, in a moment. it's important to note that in addition to extremist political investigations, congressional committees do also do important and historic work, then it's a, feel the watergate committee. the multiple committees investigating iran contra. the committee which investigated the teapot dome scandal, which found corruption within president warden g harding's cabinet. the teapot dome best occasion also read to the revenue act of 1924, which granted congress the right to subpoena and obtain any americans tax records, which has played a central role in the not successful congressional efforts to obtain the tax records of america's twice impeached former president. speaking of which, there is also, of course, the house select committee on the january 6th attack, which disbanded only weeks ago. that era is now over. then the republican-led house is vowing investigations into the investigation of the insurrection. our list cheney and adam kinzinger, former members of the january six committee, and other important committees. republican lawmakers with whom you may disagree on policy, but

whose character and belief in america and democracy have never been in question. instead, important committees are filled with extremists and elections and wires, handlers and conspiracy peddlers of paranoia, including marjorie pick taylor green of georgia, who has a wide rate of bonkers beliefs, from jewish laser spoken wildfire, to pizzagate, to the big lie that the 2020 election was stolen. greene has also promoted several conspiracy theories related to 9/11, which is relevant because now, she sits on the homeland security committee! and many of the 21 republicans who held up kevin mccarthy's eventual election to speaker, embarrassing him on the grand stage, has been rewarded with placement on important committees. in addition to her previous bob natural resources committee, colorado representative lauren boebert, another elections annoying maga republican, was promoted to a wide variety of conspiracy lies and advocated for the removal of the separation of church and state, now it's on the oversight and accountability committee.

arizona representative paul gosar, who was censured and removed from the oversight and natural resources committee two years ago, after posing threats to democratic lawmakers on social media, is now back on both of those committees. a pennsylvania representative, scott perry, a far-right head of the freedom caucus, whose name you may recall as being the subject of the january six investigations, it's now also a member of oversight. he keeps his seat on foreign affairs. even george santos, the new york representative who nobody really knows anything real, given he has lied about nearly everything, from how his mother died to his work history to his wealth to his relation to his college athletic career, even his name, he now sits on two committees. the small business committee and the science, space, and technology committee. if you think committees and simon stop matter, what needs look no further, to know more than extremist mccarthy of the past. to see how much damage can be done by an extremist mccarthy of the present. joining me now is the democratic representative,

sheila jackson lee of texas. she is a senior member of the judiciary committee. she is a member of the homeland security and budget committees. congresswoman, good to see you again. thank you for joining us this morning. >> a pleasure to be with. you could. morning >> on that crazy night of the 15th ballot, that finally elected kevin mccarthy, you and i spoke because there was an image in one of those many ballots of you going up to matt gates and having a conversation with him. and i think a lot of people didn't know the context of that, but you have served with math gaetz on committees, and you mentioned to me that night that you don't agree with math gaetz on a lot of stuff, but when you're on a committee together, gonna work together. tell me a little about the context of that. >> first of all, it's good to be with you. i want to start off by saying america is better than this. all the shenanigans that are going on, the american people do not deserve. that evening, we were already into our 15th, 14th round, and i wanted to know when it was going to end.

frankly, i said to you before, we even if it chatted about working together on legislation. if we could only keep that tone, as opposed to what we might receive to get with these very strange appointments to very important committees, the idea was, they are in a majority, slim as it is we. held our majority. 212 votes for our democratic leader. they had confusion. what's going to happen coming forward? now that we see the committee assignments, the fact that george santos even has a committee, i'm concerned what of where we're going. i'm also concerned whether or not extremist theories and beliefs are going to be the governing mantra of this new majority. that will be dangerous to the american people. as i've said, we are better than this. >> i want to talk about extremist mantra beliefs in the second, because you've got legislation to deal with some of that. step that for a second. you said george santos is even on the committee. for most americans, them, i think we elected to congress,

you mean committees. but you actually get access to information in committees, in many cases, that is that public or before the public gets it. in some cases, there are security classifications you have to have, and you have to give undertakings to tell people some of the things you learned. murray's me with a guy like george santos, including on that science and technology that committee. we don't know who he associates with, where he gets his money, and he will have access to information the public doesn't have. will have access to you're absolutely right. we don't know who he associates with, and we don't know who he is. anything in the united states congress, members are, by their very election, open to classified information. meaning that we have large meeting where we have a skiff and we are provided, no matter what committee were, on classified information regarding the security of this nation, the state of the ukraine war, and many other things. we are sworn. we take an oath to not expose that and not endanger our

intelligence operatives in the field, by endanger our united states military. we are interested with the leadership from the american people. and our question is, yes, we are elected. you have to be 25 years old. there's a sense of integrity for the institution, and over the centuries, i think most members have held that as very near and dear. i do. i do, because it is so important. what is going to happen with someone, and let me just say this, velshi. among the homeland security committee. i want to ground zero in the midst of the recovery, not rescue, it pierces my heart. and my question would be, someone would have information for such catastrophic incidences, who has indicated that his own mother had passed away or had suffered injuries in ground zero, i think for all those americans, those firefighters, and police and

other first responders who lost their life, how can you do that? and that is the question of, can you trust someone with the values of american, values of america, the information that is given to you as a member of congress? >> they say no press is bad press. if somebody doesn't know about this bill you have introduced to fight white supremacy, fox is talking about a lot. lauren boebert is tweeting about it. lauren boebert accuses you of making a mockery of the first amendment. can you tell us, in your own words, what is you are proposing? you actually proposed this bill last summer as well. >> absolutely. in the last congress, oh -- oh my tenure, i have been a proponent of fighting against hate crimes for all americans, no matter who you are. if somebody in these last years that i've seen the horrible, ugly head raise, in terms of el paso, walmart, buffalo, mother emmanuel, and many others. again, america is better than

this. this is a bill that amends, the assisting hate crimes bill, that includes race, ethnicity, and religion. we remember the tree of life, which generated from the theories of the hatefulness against migrants or immigrants. white supremacy is not a bill dealing with white people at all. it is to say that whoever you are, and i've heard from a hispanic speaker at a press conference i had said that white supremacy is not only supported were pushed by white people, the idea is if this white supremacy by is, if it motivates a murderous, dangerous crime, then you are held responsible through that, through that espousing of a white supremacy bias. that happens in university of virginia, charlottesville, where jews shalt not replace us. it has happened in the lives of muslims. it happened in buffalo. by the way, to white people were killed at the buffalo

grocery store, under the auspices of perpetrated white supremacy. the man wanted to create a race war. i think it is important that we be fair to the american people. they listen to us. i am really stunned that fox would, in all that remedial work that they need to do to make themselves credible, that they would take on the sensitive question of race and white supremacy. it is vial. and director wray said it was vile, and said it was the largest part of domestic terrorism. white supremacy. he said it more than once, and i set it in the house and that is what i said. i will not accept that it is about speech. is absolutely not about speech. you could be a white supremacist. the first amendment protects your association and -- you can speak about your views of white supremacy. you cannot be part of a planning and conspiracy that winds up in the death of fellow americans or others. that is a crime. by the way, i've heard your

analysis before. as you well know, crime needs to be proven by way of intent. >> that's. right >> it is not an automatic labeling of caucasian communities, of the caucasian community or white people. i just think you provoke people, you create pathways of violence that upset, if you will, if you do, a disservice to members legislation done with good intent. there is a hate crime, according to the brookings institute, done on the hour, every hour, in the united states. i was stunned by that revelation. and most of them are around race. i was stunned by that revelation. i'm only trying to protect the american people, to provide a safety mechanism for prosecutors and law enforcement to keep us and our children safe, and our schools, in our neighborhood, in our places of worship, and in our general communities. as this bill is introduced, by the way, we do what we call

something technical, a markup. a bill always gets additions, amendments, in order to make it better. i believe this bill is a reflection of the leadership of this nation in law enforcement, and appointed in particular by the former president of the united states. it is not an attack on free speech. i hold the constitution deer. you can speak all eat want and you can wear your membership card that you are a white supremacist. i have no authority, no legislation, to interfere with that. but this does protect the american people. >> congresswoman jackson-lee, i am always honored to accept our invitations and talk to us, including that night when you -- i didn't realize you are watching our stuff otherwise. i'm honored by that. to thank you, as always, for your time. >> thank you so very much for having me. >> the democratic representative, sheila jackson lee of texas. still ahead on velshi, ukraine to set to receive an unprecedented amount of new weapons systems from western allies. it does not include something

that zelenskyy has been desperately pleading for, battle tanks. but not the battle things they want in particular. i will talk to -- the former president of estonia, the largest voices warning of russian aggression. we've got today's meeting of the velshi banned book club, featuring the award-winning children's book, a big moon cake for little star, by gracelyn. in just 19 pages, the stunning illustrations, this book explores mother daughter relationships and celebrates chinese heritage. it's impossible to overstate the power of a book like this could have in children's lives, and not just for chinese children who deserve to see themselves as the main character. but for all children. this is velshi. this is velshi (einstein) i got what i paid for. not so smart. (cecily) nah, you're still a genius. but, there is a smarter way to save. (einstein) oh?! (cecily) switch to verizon! for a limited time, get welcome unlimited for just $25/line. (einstein) $25?! (cecily) and it's guaranteed for 3 years! (einstein) brilliant! (cecily) well, you would know. (einstein) i'm switching! (cecily) i think the bike's probably faster. (vo) now is the best time to switch to verizon. for just $25 a line. guaranteed for 3 years. the savings that last.

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news out of the philippines. on wednesday, the nobel peace prize winner and the friend of our show, maria ressa, was acquitted of trumped up tax evasion charges she faced in manila. she could've faced up to 34 years in jail if convicted.

for those of you who are familiar with maria, she is a journalist term freedom farther who has battled threats to democracy across the globe for more than three decades. she's been an outspoken critic of authoritarian governments who have popped up around the world, including in her home country of the philippines. but her refusal to back down in the face of these violent regimes does come with a cost. maria has been arrested and jailed multiple times back home for her critiques of the government. maria has pierced ten arrest warrants and faced veil ten times in less than two year, especially, he she ran afoul of the country's former president, rodrigo duerte, when the new site she founded, rappler, post a series of stories of disinformation campaigns tied to his administration. after her legal victory, she tweeted,, quote, thank you to so, so many in the philippines and around the world who helped this hold the line. it may take time, but that's when. truth wins, justice wins. we create the world we want, now in for the next generation.

we create the world we want. maria has joined me multiple times on this show, where she has spoken out for freedom of the press in spite of being targeted. last month, she had this to say about why she continues to fight. >> time is running out! i mean, right now, we have rolled back the number of democracies globally to 1989 levels. 60% of the world now lives under autocracy. we either elect illiberal leaders undemocratically, the way hitler was, -- don't change. we fall off the cliff. just based on a number of elections the 2024, we don't have much time. >> we do not have much time. despite being in a text evasion suit, maria's freedom is uncertain. she is currently out on bail as she appeals a six-year prison sentence handed down in 2024 a liable conviction. her fight is far from over, this week's acquittal was a small victory for truth and justice. maria, if you are watching, continue your hard work we.

appreciate everything you're doing. right after the break, ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy's plea for more funding and military aid seems to have paid off. western allies are set to send new weapons systems, except for one key piece of equipment. i will speak with the former president of estonia, a country that shares a border with russia, about how this might change the tide of the war. he tide of the war

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an increased risk of guillain-barré syndrome was observed after getting shingrix. fainting can also happen. the most common side effects are pain, redness and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, tiredness, headache, shivering, fever, and upset stomach. ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingrix today. it's been exactly one month since ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy stood before a joint session of congress to plead for more military aid for his homeland. it now appears, the country's western allies are heeding his call. several countries this week pledged an unprecedented amount of new security assistance package for ukraine. here's a look at what some of these countries are committing. denmark pledged to send howitzer artillery systems and additional training for ukraine's military. estonia will send howitzer artillery systems, other artillery ammunition, and

emptied anti tank or a night launchers. latvia tends to send singer air defense systems and 17 helicopters, machine guns with ammo, and unmanned aerial vehicles, basically drones. lithuania has pledged l 70 anti aircraft guns with ammunition, m eight helicopters, and 40 million euros in cash. poland says it will transfer six, transfer at anti aircraft guns, more howitzers, and very types of ammunition. sweden has pledged an archer artillery systems, tv 90 armored vehicle and portable anti-tank missiles. the uk is pledging challenger two tanks, princeton anti-tank munitions, eight 90 self repelled guns, and armored and protective vehicles. and the united states has pledged 59 bradley fighting vehicles, 90 strike or combat vehicles, 53 mine resistant ambush protected vehicles, 350 humvee armored vehicles, and hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition. i bet a lot of process. the bottom line, the ukraine's military is finally getting a massive boost it needs. however, ukraine isn't getting one particular thing asked for.

powerful german made leopard to battle tanks. one of these. more than one of them is what they want. leopards were -- if they were deployed in ukraine, it would provide a significant upgrade to ukraine's capabilities on the ground. defense leadership, 54 nations, part of the ukraine's defense contact group, met yesterday at the ramstein air base in germany to discuss what additional aid ukraine might need. after suffer hours of deliberations, germany would not agree to commit it's leopard to. sterman ease primarily worried russia will fuel that move as an escalation in the conflict, placing germany front and center on the kremlin's radar. meanwhile, reuters is reporting to the ukraine will begin training its troops to use the leopard 2 tanks in poland, while it awaits a final decision from germany. during that meeting, u.s. defense secretary lloyd austin pledged commitment from the u.s. and nato to help ukraine militarily defeat russia. >> this is a decisive decade for the world. and this is of the sites of moment for ukraine struggle to defend itself.

this contact group will not slow down. we're going to continue to dig deep, based upon the progress we've made today, i am confident ukraine's partners, from around the globe, are determined to meet this moment. >> after a quick break, we will discuss all the latest developments with two must elvis. the former president of estonia, a key ally. stay with. us stay with. us switch to a king suite- or book a silent retreat. silent retreat? oh! hold up! earn big with chase freedom unlimited with no annual fee. how do you cashback? research shows people remember ads with a catchy song. so to help you remember that liberty mutual customizes your home insurance, here's a little number you'll never forget. did you know that liberty mutual custo— ♪liberty mutual♪ ♪ only pay for what you need♪ ♪only pay for what you need♪ ♪ custom home insurance created for you all♪ ♪now the song is done♪ ♪back to living in your wall♪ they're just gonna live in there?

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relieving nasal congestion and sinus pressure by reducing swelling in the sinuses. try vicks sinex. joining me now is toomas ilvas,

the former president of estonia. he served in 2006 2016. he is currently a distinguished visiting fellow at stanford university's hoover institution. president ilvas, good to see you again. thank you for joining. us look, we enjoy talking to q just for your perspective. as the former president of estonia. this past week, the estonian have been part of a group of countries that have taken some very strong positions on what the ukrainians have been asking for. they are taking the view that gives the ukrainians what they need in short order, and it could actually change the outcome of the war. >> well, estonia has actually been at the forefront all along. this week, we decided to actually give 1.1% of our entire gdp to ukraine, which is as much as some countries devote to their own defense.

i was going to say one thing on this whole issue of germans giving tenth. the issue is not so much that the germans don't want to give tanks, is that they have end user agreements with 12 countries that also have these tanks. what they are not doing is allowing the 12 other countries to give leopards to the ukrainians. so, it's not merely a matter of germany saying we are not going to donate our leopard tanks to ukraine, we are not giving permission to the other countries too give their leopards, and a whole host of countries, most notably finland and poland, we have large numbers of leopard tanks, want to give their leopard tanks to ukraine, but they need, according to law, and the agreements they've signed, to get german permission, which

they have not received. on top of that, the germans said they will not give permission unless the u.s. also sends there thanks to -- they are tanks to ukraine, the abrams tank of the united states has no logistical support in europe. on top of that, the german defense minister says there is no connection between the german, germans giving leopard tanks and the need for the u.s.. the messaging is completely, well, completely not understandable. that is the problem we face. >> one of the things that the germans are struggling with, which the estonians are not struggling with and the polls are not struggling with, the idea that this thing, they give these leopard battle takes over, that is going to be the thing that lets russia say, see? this is a nato war.

we told you this was nato who was equipping the ukrainians. i don't think there's any question about where most of the military backing is coming from, in terms of the material, the arms, ammunition, things like that. explain that one to me. it's not something that the estonians and a lot of other nato allies, particularly former soviet republic, struggle with. >> we don't struggle with it because it's russia that has invaded the independent crush of ukraine. what difference does it make, who's giving the ukrainian assistance, when ukraine as an independent country has been invaded by some other country? the fact that russia has invaded this country i -- gives no say whatsoever over who can assist the country they have invaded? it's silly logic, which, unfortunately, germany seems to be agreeing to. >> what happens here? is there a distinction between

one thing zelenskyy has been saying, some version of can you will figure out how much you can give us and what you can do, and give it to us now, because it could change the outcome of the war? for some people, they think the war will go on longer if the west takes its time with this thing. there's a chance that russia could wear the ukrainians down. there several times the size of ukraine. they've got a lot of people. it's got a lot more soldiers left, but they've got a lot of people they can keep on conscripting. does this change the outcome of the war for western nations and nato nations to accelerate the speed of which they provide arms to ukraine? >> the russians can keep adding more and more weapons and troops to the board. the point is that if the ukrainians get all of these weapons now, they can, in fact, and, one hopes, the war and when. whereas the drip, drip, drip approach means the russians keep adding, they get a little bit from the west, and the russians at more. maybe the idea is to end the

war on ukrainian terms as quickly as possible, and the more you drag it out, the more ukrainians die in a war of aggression started by the russians. they are the ones who invaded. they are the ones who are killing ukrainians and killing ukrainian civilians and doing war crimes on this innocent country. by not giving them aid, in a sense, countries are passively participating in the destruction of the ukrainian nation. >> ilvas, good to see you again. thank you for taking us the time to talk to. plus ilvas it's the former president of estonia. today's meeting of the velshi banned book club is in session. we're featuring the award-winning children's book, a big moon cake for little star. despite being 19 pages and mostly illustrations, it's been targeted for a ban. it's a poignant story that seeks to mother daughter

relationships and her -- chinese culture. we are speaking to the author next. what will you change? ♪ will you make something better? ♪ will you create something entirely new? ♪ our dell technologies advisors provide you with the tools and expertise you need to do incredible things. because we believe there's an innovator in all of us.

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for only $19 a month, and we'll send you this st. jude t-shirt. st. jude is only possible because of the people who donate. you're saving children's lives. you're keeping families together during the hardest thing they've ever faced. [ marlo thomas ] please call or go online right now and become a st. jude partner in hope. >> when little star, who is

part young girl and part start, wakes up in the middle of the night, she forgets her mother reminded her not to touch the big moon cake that they made together. it's hanging in the sky to cool, but it's all little stark and think about, so she takes a small bite and heads back to bed. night after night, she does, this until the kick gets to be not a circle anymore, but her mom doesn't get mad. she and little star head off together to make another. that is the plot of grace lin award-winning modern fable, a big man cake for little star. they, the feature of the velshi banned book club. the glossy bath book and it's dunning illustrations ignores things, including a mother daughter relationship rooted in understanding and love. the faces of the moon represented by the moon cake, in a celebration of chinese heritage. a big moon cake for little start was written to honor the moon cake festival, also known

as the mid autumn festival. it's one of the big holidays in chinese culture, and celebrates the day when the moon is set to be the most bright and full. the book is critically acclaimed at is the winner of the prestigious [interpreter] honor. it's also faced calls for ban, one of the many, many titles through from the central york high school in york, pennsylvania, based on what was supposed to be a helpful diversity list. it's not surprising a book written to celebrate chinese culture would be subject to removal. we have seen flagrant examples of this time and time again on the velshi banned book club. after all, the asian community at large has faced and unprecedented uptick of racially charged violence in the wake of covid-19. according to the center for study of hate and extremism, anti asian hate crimes in this country jumped 339% in 2021. a number is conflagrated, us make clear is this thing. the sense of otherness, the danger, the hurt, the exclusion. we featured many titles on the velshi banned book club that deal with racism and sexism, homophobia, and we've highlighted the insidious-ness

of removing access to stories like those. and yet, a big moon cake for little star is the first book we've read about chinese heritage. why? for one, there is an alarming lack of diversity in the literary world. a survey conducted by lee and low books at boston university found that just 7% of publishers identify as asian, south asia, native hawaiian, or pacific islander. you can see it when you walk through the aisles of your local bookstore. scan a library shelves, review assigned reading lists. a literary canon its nearly large enough to represent a population that is nearly doubled in size in the united states between 2000 and 2019. books like a big moon cake for little star that feature nonwhite protagonists and are written by nonwhite authors are necessary. chinese children need to see themselves in the pages of books as the hero, or the main character. chinese parents need to have that special moment before bedtime when they can read their young child a story, a story that celebrates their culture, and makes them not feel like the other.

a story that wishful child and parent can relate. there is no easy solution for racism and xenophobia and homophobia and sexism. but there are steps we can take to move the next generation forward. and reading age-appropriate books that celebrate not just christmas, but the moon cake festival, diwali, passover, and -- these are these ways. i could go on, but to be honest, grace lin said it best. books a race bias. they make the uncommon every day, and the mundane exotic. a book makes all cultures universal. and quote. right after a brief break, i am joined by grace lin herself, author and illustrator of a big moon cakes for little star, as well as numerous other children's books. keep walked, faulty. keep walked, faulty. there is a smarter way to save. (einstein) oh?! (cecily) switch to verizon! for a limited time, get welcome unlimited for just $25/line. (einstein) $25?! (cecily) and it's guaranteed for 3 years! (einstein) brilliant! (cecily) well, you would know.

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joined by grace lin, new york times bestselling author for numerous children books, into including today's velshi banned book club, feature a big mooncake for little star, grace, welcome to the show. thank you for being with us. i but have this great scarf that fans of the book get, which has little moon cakes, big man cake for the star on it. so, i want to tell you, i am bringing good big moon take spirit to this conversation. thank you for being with us, a feature of our club. >> thank you! thank you for having me! i have to admit, i am kind of surprised to be a member of this club, or at least, i am

surprised this book is what has made me a member of this club. >> yes. we have some authors who are not, because they understand their subject matter is deliberately provocative and necessary, and there have been others, particularly the children's book realm, who are surprised. really, this book was on the list that was determined to be helpful to teachers. hey, if you are looking for diversity, here is a whole bunch of books you can use. and somebody took that as a reason to take these books out of the curriculum. it was like somebody prepared a list of things you would target. there is nothing in the book that is target worthy. >> exactly. that's how i feel. i feel that's a lot of how a lot of readers feel about this book. there is nothing political about this book except for the fact that the main character is asian and not white. >> let's go back to the beginning. what was your inspiration for writing a big mooncake for little star? >> so, what a big mooncake for

little star was very much inspired by my own daughter, and the moon festival. every year, we celebrate the moon festival, and when she was younger, she had never had a moon kick before. so, i had purchased to boone cakes, because i wasn't sure if he was going to like them or not and i let her try them, and she loved them, and she ate them all up. then, she was really sad that there were no more. so, at the time, she was a toddler. she was three years old. when she realized there was no more, she had the dramatics that only a toddler can have, when she was, like there is no mooncakes more! i will never see another mooncake again! and of course, because of my wonderful parenting skills, i was, like of course you will see another! and i took up my phone and they showed her photos of mooncakes on my phone, and she was scrolling through the mooncake photos, and she sought one that

looked just like the real moon, she said. and when she said that, all of a sudden, the idea for this story came to my head. the idea of the mooncake just being just like the real moon. >> in the introduction, i quoted something you had said that was so, so important. books a race bias. they make the uncommon every day, to make the mundane exotic. books make all cultures universal. on one hand, you've got this great book that a chinese american kids can enjoy, and the asian american kids more broadly, but in fact, there's another message for people who are in parts of those cultures, who can also enjoy it, because it's a universally enjoyable story. >> yes, exactly! i really appreciate your introduction. but one thing i i'm glad you are bringing up now is how yes, these books are so important for those with asian heritage to be able to see themselves, but it's also really important for those not of asian heritage

to see and to share so they can see other cultures, they can see that people that are not white can also be heroes in a book. that people who are not white have their own stories, because that is the only way we are going to realize how human we all are. we each have our own story. we need to appreciate each other's stories. >> it can be a demand problem, because there's lots of asian americans. we touched on how severe the lack of representation is for the asian american community in book publishing and writing these types of books. let's talk about that for a second. how important is it, and you must have heard from people when you wrote the book about, how big a deal is it for a chinese american parent to have a book like this that they can reach their child? >> it's a very big deal. i have been publishing for over 25 years, and all of my books feature asian american or asian characters. i remember when my first book came out in 1999, the ugly

vegetables, i remember i would have asian parents come to my book signings with tears in their eyes, saying, i have looked so long for a book like this. i have wanted so badly to have a book like this to share with my child. and also, just for me to be able to share with people who are not asian, to show, them this is what we are. we are not, i think at the time, the only books that showed asian characters were these, i guess, what we would call classics now? but they always shows china man with a pigtail's, you know. they were very much caricature's. that's not how i see myself. that's not how any of the asian, of my asian friends or family see themselves, and that's why i felt it was very important to have books that show how we see ourselves. >> the thing about kids books is that they can center an asian american child or family in the book without causing any

offense to anyone else. this is a book that non asian kids, as he mentioned, can enjoy. what children white children enjoy it without there being any discomfort, right? you are just seeing someone else centered in a book, as opposed to what in, this country, has typically been white children. >> exactly. this story is a story that i think anyone can enjoy. any child can enjoy this. it's a really sweet story of a mother and a child, and it's the magic of the faces of the moon. i have not run into any child of any race who has not been able to enjoy it because the child's asian. so, i think that this is a book that is very, very strange to have been banned. >> i hope my kids are not watching it, being a weekend morning, probably not. your parenting skills are better than mine, because if i were dealing with a case you get eating up into the cake we baked, i would say, could you just stop eating the -- cake? this relationship with your daughter is central to a big

mooncake for little star. there could be an ending for little scar is scolded for eta mooncake! >> that's true. if that's the reason why it was bans, maybe i would understand it's more, but i am fairly certain that is not the reason why that book has been banned. one of the reasons why little star is not scolded is because of the magic of the story. because every day, we look at the moon, and the moon disappears and comes back. so, in the end, they make another moon cake. that is also why. it's like a game about and her mother play over again, and that is what gives us the faces of the moon. there's a magic in the story too. >> the faces of the moon or the primary storyline in this book. why include? that >> i think because that is something that is universal. i also have this love of, i guess, you can call it, poor kwasi or east? i think that the moon cake is

definitely from the asian heritage. but i think everybody, all kids, i think are always interested in the universal sky, and i think aukus are interested in the faces of the moon. how it changes every night. this kind of tells a story about that, using asian heritage as an inspiration. so, there's no story about the faces of the moon being a moon taken asian heritage. not all. that is something of my own imagination. it is just inspired by my asian heritage. >> you started your career as an illustrator. so, when you come to many books lighter, a big mooncake for little star, what do you start with? the images, the story? both? how does that come to you? >> it depends on the book. usually, it comes with the story first. usually it's the story, only because of an illustrator, we've trained that way. i went to rhode island school of design, and we trained that way.

we have the story, and we drew the picture. so, that is usually how it work. every once in a while, i will have an idea for a, all draw a picture and be like, this is what i want to do a book of! that is my newest book, that's coming out in february. that book was actually done that way. i created an image for children's book week, and i loved the image so much i was like, i really want to do a book about this. so, i, my coauthor, kate mesar and i, worked together to make a story just around the picture. so, that was actually very unique. >> we look forward to having you back, just to talk about books and not the fact of the band. thank you very much, grace, for being there. award-winning author of numerous books, including today's feature, a big mooncake for little star. all that talk of mooncakes got me hungry. i want to get my hands on. one i will have to settle for a flan or a cookie. anyway, that's it for me. thanks for watching. catching back here tomorrow morning for 8 to 10 a.m. eastern on velshi, you can get all your show, never, fear velshi is available as a podcast, except i am wearing a

vest on the podcast. you can listen to the entire show anytime, anywhere, subscribe and listen for free, wherever you get your podcasts. stay right where you are, -- picks up our news coverage right now. right now. >> good morning and welcome i am yamiche on sunday are in washington, d.c. and right now the country stands on the edge of an economic cliff. on thursday the u.s. officially hit the debt ceiling which prompted the treasury department to take, quote, extraordinary measures, mean the government has bought itself sometime but if a solution is not reached by early june the u.s. could default on its payments for the first time ever. all eyes are now on president biden and house republicans to hammer out a deal. president biden is insisting on increasing the borrowing limit with no strings attached. well speaker of the house kevin mccarthy just a few days into his new