well kind of a loner show where you'll get the real headlines with none of the mercy for the live out of washington d.c. now tonight we're going to speak with u.s. representative keith ellison about a debt deal that may involve cuts to social security and medicare about getting the fixation back on jobs and about a contender in the state was calling him a radical islam that's and you know the prison inmates are now doing the work the public employees in wisconsin did for free that's all thanks to governor walker's bill and we'll speak with one law professor who says the protect ip act is

unconstitutional and aligns the u.s. with oppressive regimes around the world or you have all of that for you and more tonight including a dose of happy hour but first we're not going to do our mainstream mr nigh we're going to do things a little bit differently so we can out time with a congressman congressman now washington it was rumbling last night as word leaked from the white house the president obama would be pushing for a big deal to bring an end to debt negotiations and appease republicans by tying it to budget cuts that deal would include three trillion in cuts one trillion and revenue increases cuts to social security medicare and medicaid also included those long considered off the table by democrats a report say the democratic leadership was stunned a dozen members of the congressional progressive caucus wrote a letter to the president asking him drew fuz cuts to the sake of programs and then the white house started walking back last night's reports the story is really not new it all the president has in fact essentially was written. back when the president delivered his state of the union address and he talked about his openness

to doing things to strengthen social security. benefits. so now the rhetoric is about strengthening social security but for the left is the president already made the final capitulation and why is all of the talk shifted from jobs to deficit when twenty five million americans are lacking full time work joining me from capitol hill is u.s. representative keith ellison of minnesota is the chairman of the congressional progressive caucus and one of the signatories on this letter to the president congressman thank you so much for joining us tonight now i know that you have written a letter to president obama but what was your initial reaction when we heard this last night that the president might be pushing a deal that includes cuts to social security medicare and medicaid. very distressing that he would be open to cuts in those vital programs i am very pleased that he's walked back. position and now is appears to be firmly behind these programs that you know mean so much to people who rely on them you

know it's basically an issue of values where is america with regard to its senior citizens whereas america was regard to people who are sick and ill the poorest americans who depend upon medicaid i believe these are essential programs that make america a better place because the signal that we're all in this thing together in the we're not to let any one of us fall but so but so far i was i was glad to see him walking back when you know with all respect to the president how many times can you allow him to make a statement and then to walk it back to make a statement and then to change his mind it makes you start questioning whether he really hold some of these progressive some of these populist values you could say or whether he just a lot is sometimes in order to get elected and appease people no i think his record shows that he is committed to programs of social uplift light so security and medicare and medicaid but i. i think that in the in the rough tumble difficult

political environment of the washington sometimes you know political expediency can weigh on you and so it's important for people who are committed to these programs to make sure that the president knows that we are not the path of least resistance and that we are firmly committed to making sure that america is a place that honors its seniors in cares for its poorest most unfortunate people but then why right now is the debate on capitol hill focused around the deficit focused on budget cuts instead of something that you try to champion which is jobs that's what was promised when republicans left the house and last november's midterm elections why are democrats letting them win letting them control this debate well let me tell you this you know today nancy pelosi led a informal hearing focusing on the importance of jobs and job creation other caucuses are doing the same thing the congressional progressive caucus is on a twelve state jobs tour we just got back from new york we have

a great one but also detroit milwaukee minneapolis we're going to go in miami on july sixteenth and we're going to philadelphia pittsburgh houston and so we're doing all that we can and i actually want to thank you because you are one of the few news outlets that actually wants to hear about how if we could make jobs the issue we're going to get more taxpayers more people to pay into the coffers of the government so that we can deal with these deficits unless we got more people play in and unless we improve the economy we're going to have this debt this deficit we've got to grow ourselves out of this thing we can't just cut cut cut wood away on the american dream is to wrong direction so thank you for giving us an opportunity to talk about it you're one of the few why i'm just curious you know i think maybe the reason why every one of the few actually allowed to talk about this is because again we go back to that sense of messaging and what you hear from our public. obviously there is a general pace towards taxes in america and so you automatically hear that these

are socialist policies and this is wealth redistribution if you expect the rich to pay for the poor how do you that all of those claims and try to explain to people that this is what needs to happen if we want to increase our revenue you know where i was raised to much is given much is expected you know in my view in any decent society would not let a member of it languish in poverty particularly if they're a senior citizen or a or a child or a person with a disability or this is who is on social security medicare medicaid these are the people who get a perk me from these programs these are not able bodied adults and can go up there and make the wrong way these are people who are aged people who are children people who are a security firm and so in my opinion you know we just have to go back to the basics i know of no code of ethics no court of ethics with christianity judaism.

islam buddhist hindu or really just being a moral person that says that it's ok to just ignore him neglect the most vulnerable people in our society only talks about seniors these are people who blazed the past for us young folks these are people who fought in world war two the ones who defeated our country they're the ones who built our country that we could have stayed that year thanks for all you do for us but we're not there for you grandma grandpa i think that's repugnant and so that's that's where i'm coming from and i hope a lot of people agree with me on this point and thing is of course is that it's not just seniors it's the entire middle class right now especially when you look here fact that corporate profits are reaching record highs that corporate executives are having have record bonuses right now while the middle class is shrinking is it really just about getting back to basics or do you think that we're going to need something bigger and we need some type of a social upheaval of the new brzezinski even so. and yesterday that he thinks there might be some type of a social unrest or class warfare to get people to pay attention again i think

getting back to basics is getting to something bigger i mean think about a simple idea that america should work for people who work for a living that's not asking too much unfortunately it doesn't work right now for people who work for a living our wages have been flat and stagnant for thirty years while bonuses have been just getting bigger and bigger right now the corporate community is sitting on two trillion dollars in cash which way they refuse to invest in putting americans back to work it's all the fact is is that look it's a basic idea that we're all in this thing together that older lady may not be my mom which is somebody that we have to take care of her and we've got to get america back to work we've got more people working there we got more people pay in taxes more people paid into the coffers we reduced the deficit deuced a bit but we've got to have a mind to create and build this there's no shortage of work in america to do we

this is the american society of civil engineers says we have literally trillions of dollars in maintenance live needs to be done on our roads and our bridges on our water treatment plants and our sewage treatment plants and all kinds of infrastructure people need to work we've got to get those carpenters up the bridge we've got to get those submit poor's off the bench we've got to get those people those electricians those folks working those sheet metal workers back to work in then get those of pritish it programs so we can bring young people along and have a future for them to now congressman i couldn't agree with you more on all of this but then if that's the case how do you tell people or how do you explain to them why it is that a president of the united states why it is the democratic party is allowing the republican party to forget about jobs to to hold entire entire u.s. economy hostage over discussion about raising the debt ceiling while they refuse they put their foot down. and say absolutely no to raising any taxes especially if

it comes to those corporations that are doing so well you know we're two thirds of american corporations don't pay any taxes including the biggest one of the country g.e. that's a shame they are should they should be embarrassed for that but let me just answer the question what we we're going to us in the progressive caucus are going to the american people and we're saying lift up your voices let your congressmen know and women know where you're coming from let's tell your story that's where we did this speak out tour in the cities that are already mentioned because we want people to raise their voices and demand a better future republicans wrote in the congress of the majority because they said they would do something about jobs it's not for them to honor the commitment that commitment is to be honored it needs to be honored. i congressman i want to thank you very much for joining us tonight of course and we have to let you go i know you have a vote to get here but you know i hope that some of this comes to fruition but unfortunately these days it seems like having your voice heard is often too often tied to having a lot of money as well thanks so much thank you and thank you for what you do. now

we had to change our format tonight for the congressman so he could make a vote so now we're going to go back to our mainstream miss and take a look at whether this is a mainstream media mr. right now i know that some of you out there might be getting sick of me or railing against the mainstream media for covering the casey anthony trial nonstop but believe me when they did they stop treating it like the biggest news in the world while ignoring all of the real issues then all stop pointing out how wrong in this guide and loathsome they are but unfortunately today's not that day as casey anthony awaited her sentencing the mainstream media once again decided to spend hours discussing how long her hair was how many helicopters were hovering above the courthouse inside a very long haired casey anthony possibly having cover air for the past two years and sam was will some of you. one year you know orange county jail.

imposing a one thousand dollars fine and a lot of demonstrators in a chilly today you're given specific areas of your part of the border security very high helicopters hovering overhead. don't you feel like the reporters the producers of the channels they need a good shake they need a good slap in the face of they can open their eyes and actually see what they're doing you know you he kind of know the law you're talking about how long it's been since casey anthony cut her hair congress has been deliberating on a defense authorization bill for two thousand and twelve. you know that's the one that it's going to cost us six hundred and forty nine billion dollars if all goes as planned and you heard me six hundred forty nine billion dollars just for fiscal year two thousand and twelve that's not chump change that is in fact eight billion dollars less than your president requested and that's the same president that might be willing to cut social security and medicare and medicaid and here's another

kicker well debating this bill on the hill yesterday lawmakers didn't really get anywhere when it came to making cuts to the defense bill but they did manage to raise spending for military bands so three hundred twenty million military bands listen i'm sure that they play a role to be increase more alba do they really need to raise one programs for schools for hospitals for heating assistance are being cut all over america you got to be kidding me now the other thing i suppose yesterday was a number of amendments by democratic lawmakers to force the president to make a substantial troop withdrawal from afghanistan not just get rid of that surge by summer of two thousand and twelve conveniently right before reelection these are all big things people troop lives war funding versus spending cuts this of facts you and i but that's what the mainstream media chooses to miss all they focus only on one cut and that's casey and he's here.

now still to come tonight the clock is ticking down to an execution in texas tell you why the case is putting international pressure on the rest as you heard those massive protests over union rights a few months ago wisconsin well the unions lost and now the state is using new power to find cheap labor as in free labor one that will. include only military regulations if you don't work to bring justice or accountability. i have every right to know what my government's true if you want to noise i could care less. well i would characterize obama as a charismatic version of american exceptionalism. you know sometimes see a story and it seems so for like sleep you think you understand it and then even

something else you hear see some other part of it and realize that everything is ok you don't i'm sorry welcome to the big picture. says. let's not forget that we are partners. i think iraq is evil and funny well. whatever government says there are concerns safe get ready for freedom.

for fun for. fun. all eyes are on texas tonight as a man is set to be executed unless a last minute stay is ordered from the supreme court so that skin citizen who barely al garcia jr he was sentenced to capital punishment for the rape and murder of a sixteen year old girl but there are some major diplomatic issues in this case that could keep garcia from being executed is he as a mexican citizen we al have the right to seek assistance from the mexican consulate when he was arrested but texas police can inform his rights so now the

obama administration is have to step in they're requesting a stay of execution for ali al based on the fact that under the vienna convention they all have the right to contact the mexican consulate and white house officials say that if we all have been afforded the right to contact lawyers from his own country he probably wouldn't be on death row today current attorney send her back explain to democracy now the importance of following the vienna convention on an international level. that literally could facts and well being of countless americans who find themselves detained in foreign countries at the moment because they realize surely i wouldn't title to be informed of these rights the concierge and the day are entitled under the vienna convention in case they find themselves in trouble and in a foreign country i ask for the you confirm to us consulate and that literally is their lifeline to their families adequate legal representation and it can protect

them from harm. and c that's why obama's attempted to step in to avoid a massive outcry from countries around the world now i should also note that many out there have called on governor rick perry to staley al's execution but perry says that he won't grant their request because he thinks of the court of international justice as well off already in the state of texas so now we else future rests on the supreme court who give the last word on whether or not this prisoner will live or die. in the first person who's been in this situation and that's n.p.r. report. back in two thousand and four texas faced a similar issue with another mexican citizen and in that case then president george w. bush asked for the state to re-evaluate the case of the prisoner was executed later that year back to the case of rielle as the clock ticks down his case gains international attention makers in the sea of rush legislation to keep him from being put to death a lot of people say that it couldn't pass in time so only time is going to tell

what the true facts will be in this capital punishment case of liao and if we could have any effect on u.s. citizens who find themselves in legal trouble abroad. now as promised we'll continue to bring you the latest instances of unnecessary police brutality here in the u.s. and this time let's go to mississippi where madison county sheriff's deputies are on the hunt for an assailant on the fourth of july weekend but they ended up at the wrong house i went after this wrong house there is a peaceful and respectful family party going on and that's when everything went downhill you see despite the fact of the police couldn't find the supposed that assailant nor the woman who reportedly made and i want one call the police decided to stay anyways and as the local station a.b.c. sixteen reports and the cops started using their weapons says people were drinking and dancing and playing music but no one was arguing he says deputies taste at least three people people being disorderly or police.

people just. yes it was. just. you know i can't really say i'm surprised the cops show up they can't find who they want to find who it is let loose on whoever was in within arm's reach and of course they're not going to respond when people frantically ask them what's wrong because hey they're cops and these days they usually are like they're above the law so while there are still many unanswered questions surrounding this incident like who was on. actually assaulted who the suspect is innocent party goers and are spending the weekend in jail now of course the share of couldn't be reached for comment after all it was a holiday weekend so there you have it the latest example of police behaving badly can find a person looking for help just tase everyone else who happens to be there. now last week wisconsin's law taking away collective bargaining rights from unions went into effect for the majority the debate for

a long centered around the negative effects on teachers on nurses who came out and thousands to protest earlier this year along with students by their side and now we're seeing a new development you see this law not only took away collective bargaining rights also took away the ability to claim certain work as a union only which governor walker and supporters of this bill sold as an opening for the doors to private sector workers and that is one county has decided to allow prison inmates to fill those voids race in county is now using inmates to do landscaping painting and other basic maintenance that previously had been done by county workers and the kicker is in may don't get paid so how can workers possibly compete with free labor and what happens if other counties in wisconsin start using this method to hear the scotus with me is my calculator journalist and contributing editor for in these times mike thanks so much for joining us tonight really i'm sure you know you and i talked about this when this is all going on in wisconsin of course and everybody is protesting this bill but did you ever expect to go this far

because of course like i said there is the argument that this is going to open the doors for private sector workers that we have to deal with all these public pensions if you think that they were actually going to bring it in maids and have them start doing the work for free yeah i thought they would bring in image this is you would only go i mean it's a big trend across the u.s. you have a lot you know hundreds of thousands of inmates working for free or next to nothing in this country and this really underbids and as you know states getting more and more trouble the term more and more to me we're just not talking sweeping trash you have in me being trained for underwater welding on street projects you have for example all the electronic cables are guided missiles in this country almost all me by prison labor as is almost all the bulletproof vests and they're paid you know next to nothing in most situations the thing is how do you come to terms with that right because i think that one hand. he would probably support the idea that prison inmates can't work off some of their time i think that there are

a lot of people who would be behind that but then when does it become exploitation when they're doing this work for basically next to nothing it was let's first talk about something the amount of prisoners we have in this country we have four percent of the world's population to twenty five percent of its prisoners we have six times as many prisoners as china and six times the rate. so we have all these people who don't need to be joan the first place and we run a massive deficits across something like forty thousand per person for old two point seven million people we have in jail you know running up these massive deficits as a result of all these prisoners so now you see more and more states in order to keep these prisons going you know which often are for profit private prisons keep these prisons going using prison labor for jobs that used to actually be good union jobs support families and help foster communities the irony is that they care i guess right those states are facing budget deficits of their making cuts that they're facing these deficits because of the large prison populations and so they just go to the prisoners to start working for free there but i mean how far do you think people will go if you have prison inmates who are now doing landscaping or

doing certain maintenance i would point you to people start getting upset about that one point you people start getting i guess you could say uncomfortable in communities too well in a lot of communities that they are very uncomfortable about using prison labor i've talked with a number of union officials because a lot of defense contract jobs are now being given to prison labor these used to be high wage jobs so a lot of people are upset about it and a lot of people are upset about the money that's spent to this i've talked with a c.e.o. you who's doing a project on california to shift money from prisons to social workers i mean we can create things that stop the problem of prisons altogether and actually create good jobs in the process for the people you know trying to create employment in communities so it's a lose lose situation you know those prison industry complex and what it does to leverage how many other states you so this is something that happens all across america where it is using wisconsin right now as an example but would you say that in every state prison there is a prison. worker program like this yeah yeah there's in every state in some states they pay people you know twenty three cents an hour in some states they don't pay

the worker anything but they do in georgia were prisoners in eight prisons rose up in a prison rebellion last year so it's going on across the nation if you look just at manufacturing there's one hundred and seventy thousand prisoners working in manufacturing in prisons in this country making everything from office chairs the guided missile parts to the solar panels at the u.s. state department so it's a huge problem and it's american workers because you cannot outbid somebody making twenty three cents an hour you can't get somebody that's working for nothing and hours well that's working completely for free so is there any other way to solve this other than i am going to create in our prison population and reforming the entire drug war that we have going on in this country or what i think decrease in the prison population we have in this country is the most important part you take away the prison labor there can't be any body to do that i also think what we need to do is heavily regulate this make sure that union jobs are not being taken away by prison labor you know of prisoners want to grow their own food that's one thing

but make sure that these jobs are being taken away and also they can get specs smart investments keeping people out of prison in the first place now since this law is taking effect i guess that at first so much of what we heard about was that it was going to affect teachers it was going to affect nurses here in the states who how have they been affected if it only went into if it only became law last week so far it's gone well already what's happened is we've seen the number of very qualified people who want to continue working there retired before the law took effect we saw thousands of people do this in the state of wisconsin meet and part of the reason they do that is they were unsure about their pension and everything else so there's been a lot of very experienced people have left the state government already because they're scared of what's happening we're starting to see cuts we're seeing you know already you know people are going about a five thousand dollar wage cut their seen cuts to their health care the pension we're seeing just problems on the work site now where people don't feel like they have a voice. but they don't have protection so you're seeing. and it's a real problem for the government because if somebody can't speak up and say that

you know government money is being wasted because they're afraid of getting fired from their job you can see a lot more wasteful spending so it's going to have a real chilling effect on response and well that's something you know that's i also across the board you can factor into obama's entire war on whistleblowers and of course they're always going to be afraid of them like that but you know i also think that the fact that states across the country are laying off so many state employees is something that never gets brought up when we talk about these jobs numbers that come out every single month right today the jobs numbers were leaked for the month of june and everybody was ecstatic because they were two or three times better there was over one hundred fifty thousand jobs created in the private sector but how many jobs of lost in the public sector of the last few months we've seen hundreds of thousands of jobs lost in the public sector as governor slashed budgets and that's the big thing really holding back this recovery is that now we're seeing government spending being cut so the time when you know government should be the backbone the foundation of good economic recovery it's slowing this proof we've had in private sector jobs so this is a real problem and you are not seeing real solutions we should be taxing the rich

we could be putting types of millionaires we should be eliminating waste for corporate subsidies but instead seeing workers take the cut and children take the cut and at the same time prisons greatly expanded for the for profit prisons coming money and that's you know a good point too of course we're talking to congressman ellison here what happens on a national level but we see other states right now including his home state of minnesota which i didn't get to talk about it they are shut down right now because of a battle over over their deficit and because people don't want to raise taxes on the rich or they don't want to raise taxes on on tobacco and quite the opposite it might just come down to the worker in that case and i wonder if we all get it we're going to see any other states shut down over this type of gridlock you might see states shut down i think what happens in wisconsin and minnesota is going to be telling of what happens throughout the u.s. governor mark dayton is trying to tax the rich he has about seventy percent public support for his plan. how long are people going to suffer a government shutdown and who's going to blink first so i think the democrats are successful this might become a tactic but it's pretty scary out there

a thing that i like too is that people are trying to estimate how much money the state of minnesota has lost at this point because of the shutdown but the people who are supposed to be counting are not working. hard mike thank you so much for joining us here on the show. we have our thursday titian of show and tell just ahead but ninety law professors are urging congress not to pass the protect. they say the measure is equated to censorship and that it's unconstitutional can speak with one of those professors in just a moment. you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else here's some other part of it and realize that everything you say you don't know i'm sorry is a big.