franken: mr. president, i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. franken: further, i ask to be able to speak for up to 20 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. franken: and i would request that my staffer, ed shelby, be allowed to come to the floor. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. franken: thank you. thank you, mr. president. i rise today to speak about reopening the government. we're now five days into a government shutdown that should never have happened. minnesotans do not want a government shutdown. they want us to do our jobs. not refight the same old political battles over and over again. with each day of shutdown i hear more and more reports about how it is affecting minnesotans, as i'm sure the presiding officer hears about it affecting the people of maine. minnesotans seeking basic government services are being turned away, hundreds of people go to the minneapolis social security office each day to get social security cards, from the first day of the shutdown acco

. >>> for more now on our new nbc news "wall street journal" poll, we're joined by bob franken in d.c. thanks for being here. >> good morning. >> let's talk about some of the poll numbers. president obama's approval ratings now at an all-time low. so what do you think the biggest reasons are for this and what needs to happen for his numbers to stop falling? >> i think what needs to happen is that his signature policy achievement of his administration, that is to say b obama care, rights itself. i think this is a reaction to his roller coaster ride in the polls. it was probably much higher, in fact i know it was much hire after he put the republicans in their place in the recent budget negotiations. but he's had a real up and down second term and now i think he's on a downward roll. >> another interesting finding from the poll, 63% of those polled want to replace their own member of congress, that's the highest percentage ever recorded. so do you think that means that we'll see a lot of turnover in 2014? >> well, it could mean that if it was sustained. i think however that people are s

. >>> joining me now is bob franken. bob, good to see you. >> good morning. i will avoid any smart aleck comments about the president's weight. >> you're a heavy weight, so that's a good segue for us. >> that's it, i'm going on a diet. >> i mean that in a political pundit accepts. so let's talk about this supposed deal in the works. senate republicans are working on a bipartisan deal to end the shutdown and raise the debt ceiling, but tim huelskamp called republicans working on that plant the surrender caucus. so how is this likely to play out in the house? >> well, that's a real good question. and the answer is we don't know. this could be a real test of the extremists in the minds of many people, hard liners, who are not getting anything out of this. if they still have the clout, it means the speaker john boehner will have to dweel with the democrats which will antagonize the tea party members even more. so this could be a real drama playing out before all of this is done. remember now, we still have to get this past the senate. >> right. when it comes to t

. >>> new for some perspective, we're joined by bob franken on the phone. good morning. so i want to get right to it. what it republicans gain from this fight and what did they lose? >> well, they gained the face of defeat. i think if we hear the term braveheart anymore times, i think a lot of time will start throwing their shoes at them. they fought the good fight says speaker john boehner and they lost. they lost in embarrassing fashion. and now the question is will they learn their lessons and perhaps not engage in such disastrous brinksmanship, or will it toughen their resolve and make it a bigger crisis when it comes up again in a new months. >> boehner seems surprisingly unscath unscathed. do you think he'll pay a political price for this? >> it depends on what the political price is. if all of this has so embarrassed the congressional republicans that they lose control of the house, he would lose his speaker ship. but as long as the present lineup is in place, it looks like that he was able to show that he's quite the survivor. >> and to another key figure senator

for that we are joined by syndicated columnist bob franken who has all his hair.rning, bob. >> good morning. hearing a lot of baldfaced lies recently. >> let's talk about that because the government shutdown is delaying death benefits of fallen soldiers, and many say this is downright shameful yet both sides keep pointing the finger. when is this going to end, bob? >> well, there is some legislation which will probably pass which should restore it. it should be pointed out that some private charitable groups have come in and tried to fill the void financially, but it is a stark example of the way that this political gamesmanship affects real lives. this is shameful to use the word that many others are using. >> absolutely. so how far does the stock market and all these other things have to go? the stock market has plummeted. we've seen it day after day. how far does that have to go before lawmakers decide to open the government? i mean, is that really the only way we can get things done when americans feel it in their wallets? >> well, the only way that we can get

they have released their cereal count chock cow a, franken berry.when general mills was called out for pushing it on children, a rep said 60% of the consumption of the monster creerls are by adults, not kids. this year general mills has partnered with target to re-release old boxes, a move clearly designed to appear to nostalgia adults. they're even brpging back fruit brute a cereal discontinued in 1984 but has been taken on a cult following sense it was eaten in that classic movie "pulp feck son -- fiction." playing up the nostalgia angle is a smart move for companies looking to break out of the breakfast cluft -- clutter. >> watch it week nights at 7:00 followed by let's ask america. >>> people who drink would inon a regular basis are heavy handed. that's pay cording to researchers at iowa state and cornell. the standard serving of wine should be 5 ounces but researchers found they poured more than that. you're more likely to pour too much wine if the glass is wide. you're more likely to overpour if you're a white wine drinker and more likely to p

. >> dell franken and bill already whose books were best sellers in 2003. >> yellowstone was deemed to park 1872. actually was first discovered 82 '07 by a man named john coulter part of the lewis and clark expedition and he mustered out of the way home and went back with some travelers said 1870 you looking for india's trade with. it was relatively call for 20 years after but then the trappers came through in the 1820s through the 40's and prospectors in the '60s people began to wonder what was up there. and then convince the government to set it aside. with the first-person accounts one of the mountain men who kept a and the elaborate journals people to visited the parker lee and what they did. in the region of the experiences of the people in the park. with a trapping expedition shopping him some of the natural wonders in the park because they see things. said this is what he said about the geysers a. >> after surveying said natural wonder he conducted be to our spring. the first thing that attracts attention is a whole 15 inches in diameter id which water was boiling slow the about

it's always, oh, i don't know if i want to eat a franken fish because maybe it will give me superpowers>> you do research on butterflies and you know all about their habitat and what could destroy it. do you see risks if one of these fish were to escape and start breeding, what would the consequences may be? >> it's not just how is that salmon going to interact with other salmon. how is it going to interact with its food source or things that feed on it. there are all these tiny details that are hard to study in a lap. >> we heard all of these companies say trust us, we'll take care of you. >> reporter: exactly. >> the deep water horizon, it's fail safe, and then all of a sudden it blows up and they're dumping. >> the transparency is important. >> we don't have that right now. >> reporter: we need to take a break, after we come back, phil, you're going to talk to us about going to mars? >> robots on mars? it was pretty awesome . it was pretty awesome. >> we want to hear what you think about these stories. join the conversation about [[voiceover]] every day, events sweep across our count

edge and the votes came in for john tester, he won by 3600 votes, tim johnson won by 500 votes, al franken beat by 300 votes, maria cant well, we are like the latino vote, we can decide elections and by deciding who votes in the united states senate. >> what's stopping native americans turning out en masse from the reservation? >> once again it is the cultural awareness. we do have -- everything is local, tribal election is 70%, right here in my face. but once again you're dealing with an incredible lack, we don't have the skill set, the education, the resources. the most poverty -- we're three times the rate of poverty in the rest of the country. the unemployment rate on our reservation is 80%. mail-in balloting, you can't do mail-in balloting with regard to native americans. i have an 82 year old mother, if she gets a letter from the government she doesn't read it. >> what's the barrier to that same sort of turnout on election day for general election? >> they think that by voting for the tribal chairman or tribal council can make a difference but the lack of trust for government off the

. >> bob franken, thanks so much.to sigh, as always. >> thank you. >>> top stories coming up, including a family feud. >>> check this out. leaf peepers, people who look at foliage are getting hit by the shutdown. many sights to take in foliage, including the skyline drive are victims of the government impasse. we'll be right back. it's delicious. so now we've turned her toffee into a business. my goal was to take an idea and make it happen. i'm janet long and i formed my toffee company through legalzoom. i never really thought i would make money doing what i love. [ robert ] we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom.com today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. they have the same walk. same grin. and the same beautiful hair. [ female announcer ] with nice 'n easy, get the most natural shade of you. in one step, colorblend formula gives expert highlights and lowlights. for color so true to you, they may think you w

food with no ill effects but jeffrey smith who's written extensively about the dangers of so-called franken foods says this couldn't be further from the truth. when you look at the animal feeding studies are genetically engineered just the american academy of environmental medicine they said there's gastrointestinal problems immune system problems like celebrated aging organ damage reproductive disorders there's massive infant mortality multiple massive tumors early death there are so many things that are going wrong with the animals that are being fed g m o's and now we're seeing those things rising in the u.s. population since g m o's were introduced the current generation of g m o's has nothing to offer feeding the hungry world eradicating poverty so this is just been a public relations and they spent two hundred fifty million dollars over five years trying to convince americans that they needed to accept because it would feed the world i ask farmers all the time what do you think about santa even those farmers that use monsanto seeds often hate monsanto or fear might send more so that's

. >> like the franken cucumbers. >> are they dangerous? >> i don't think so, but it's hard to know and would be nice to know if people had a choice. >> you like local? >> i love local. >> you like farmer's markets. >> i like them. >> you like organ snick. >> i do. >> the local, organic, fresh farmer's markets supporting the local farmers. >> exactly. >> do we know for sure that their stuff is safe? >> it's likely to be safely mostly because the scale is smaller and if it's going to affect people and make them sick, it won't make as many people sick. >> uh. >> it's the industrial farming that has large anelmals together and feeding them antibiotics. >> and hormones. >> generating antibiotic resistant bacteria. that is where the problem is now. >> you work closely with the american cancer society? >> i have in the past. >> they ask your advisor what kinds of nutrition? >> in the past. >> okay. >> i am sure you have thoughts on it, too. >> i do and i think people eating a diet mostly plant based will be protective against cancer to the extent

we were looking live at the senate floor and al franken was presiding. >> that says it all, isn't that perfect? >> how perfect is that, is it comedy or tragedy? >> it's probably both. look, what you eluded to, greg, is exactly right. the polls are showing both parties sinking, the republicans in fairness, quicker than the democrats, but it would be a mistake to read the polls as an endorsement of president obama and his strategy. indeed, his numbers are relatively close to record lows. bottom line, the american people are sick and tired of what's going on, and it is both comedy and strategy. >> yeah, let's look at the next polling data here, because there's two aspects of looking at this, the gallup poll, the direction the nation is headed. look at these numbers, 32% are satisfied, 67% -- >> were, were. >> 18% are satisfied. >> excuse me, i've got that wrong. 18% are satisfied. do we have the trend lines? because that really speaks volumes about this. there they are, headed in the wrong direction. pat? >> yeah. let me just say the american people, we've really had a sudden rage, that 3

countries are expected to take part in saturday's march demanding a permanent boycott of what they call franken foods and. this international protest m a brought around two million people together they blame the g.m. john for polluting the environment and falsifying safety reports the company insists it's playing a key role in feeding the world's rapidly growing population with jeffrey smith who's written extensively about the dangers of g.m. foods begs to differ. when you look at the animal feeding studies of genetically engineered foods the american academy of environmental medicine they said there's gastrointestinal problems immune system problems excel aerated aging organ damage reproductive disorders there's massive infant mortality multiple massive tumors early death there are so many things that are going wrong with the animals that are being fed g m o's and now we're seeing those things rising in the u.s. population seems geos were introduced the current generation of g m o's has nothing to offer feeding the hungry world or about a kid in poverty so this is just been a public relations

the government officials to tell you if you are under surveillance so that in fact my senator al franken recently commented and a c.n.n. op ed and i'm going to paraphrase what he said was that if you basically he if we told the american people what the n.s.a. was doing that congress could face federal charges for leaking information to get back to to whistleblowing do you believe people can fight back their way to know what is going on and to govern the process what needs to happen to make them actually start pushing well you know in the united states who are presumed to have equal access to the courts and equal access to due process of the law. if you can afford it and so you know the way that our i don't call it the justice system the way our legal system works it's a for profit enterprise and so you know here i went to the majority of the largest local and national associated firms law firms and i laid down my case for them about this hostile abuse and they looked at me and in fact the i took this to the state attorney general and at that time the deputy state attorney general looked

we have a lot of discussion, senator franken and others have introduced bills in the united states senate to address precisely the questions that you are asking, governor, and we have supported them and we continue to look forward -- as a prosecutor i always want more tools. you know, i see a problem out there and i want to have the tools to fix it. we passed a hate crimes law in 2009 that enables us to work with local law enforcement in much more effective ways to combat hate crimes including but not limited to lgbt motivated violence. so we'd love to have more tools. but, you know, with the tools that we currently have, we're doing as much as we can and i think ruslyn's point about the uptick in the number of complaints we're both receiving, i'm not sure that necessarily reflects, as ruslyn correctly pointed out, that there's an uptick in violence. the doctrine of futility often resulted in less complaints being seen. i think there's a commitment in the federal level to doing our level best on these issues. >> tom, you talk about tools. ruslyn, what kind of tools, part of this is raisin

effect jeffrey smith who's written extensively about what he thinks are the dangers of what he calls franken foods says this couldn't be further from the truth. when you look at the animal feeding studies of genetically engineered foods the american academy of environmental medicine they said there's gastrointestinal problems immune system problems think celebrated aging organ damage reproductive disorders there's massive infant mortality multiple massive tumors early death there are so many things that are going wrong with the animals that are being fed g m o's and now we're seeing those things rising in the u.s. population since g. of those were introduced the current generation of g m o's has nothing to offer feeding the hungry world eradicating poverty so this is just been a public relations ban and they spent two hundred fifty million dollars over five years trying to convince americans that they needed to accept g m o's because it would feed the world i ask farmers all the time what do you think about santa even those farmers that use monsanto seeds often hate monsanto or fear might se

franken: mr. president, i rise today to talk about the costs of the federal government shutdown, including costs that we don't usually talk about, the opportunity costs. the fact is we were paying a huge price for what we are not doing here in washington, while so much of our time and energy are spent on this totally unnecessary shutdown. americans are rightly looking at congress and saying what are you guys doing, why are you hurting people, why are you hurting families, why are you impeding our economic recovery? they are also saying why aren't you working on what we sent you there to do, on creating jobs, on improving our educational system, on addressing our nation's long-term fiscal sustainability? last weekend, i came here to the floor to talk about the effect of this shutdown on individual minnesotans. i receive emails from people who are hurting. let me read from just a few. i'm not going to read them in full because of time. charlotte from duluth writes -- "senator franken, veterans' bene

what's al franken going to do about the fact that my premium just jacked $2,000 next year or my deductible tripled next year. it's reality. >> see, i -- the young and invincible are so important to this equation because they don't -- they would pay into it in theory and then they don't take anything out because they are young and healthy. and i have yet to meet someone who i say i will give you $700 you are age 20. do you buy iphone or insurance? >> you buy the iphone, are you kidding me of course they will. >> do you know anybody who would buy insurance over an iphone? >> who in their right mind would buy it? okay well flip a coin. i could pay a $95 penalty or get my iphone? i'm getting my iphone because i don't think they see the reality of paying a penalty anyway if they are ever going to have to do it. >> even if they should get sick three months later they can get insurance then. >> exactly. so the system was never going to work and these geniuses here in washington, d.c. who decided obama care was a great deal, they didn't figure on something called human nature. and that people are

do you remember this, franken berry, boo-berry and count chocula. it is chock full of marshmallows and sugar. they are so delicious. >> see, i -- we never had them. >> she has soy milk. i have no desire for them. >> you don't? >> no. >> just why? >> sugar-coated and i don't like that stuff. so i don't buy it. so what we were going to ask you, does it bring back childhood memories? i was a child in the 1880s and we ate maize. the first thanksgiving. frank and i were indians and the pilgrims eating maize. that's what we had. >> i'll tell you, the things that bring back childhood memories in terms of cereal, captain crunch and crisp. those were our two favorites. and then in the car going on long trips, my parents always had juicy fruit gum. the smell of juicy fruit always reminds me of being a kid. >> they make it taste like this and i'll have some. matthew? >> who is she? >> i don't know. >> we have a woman in our skype box and we need to -- >> who is she? okay. we just want to make sure we know what's going on here. >> all right. are there any other

senator clinton, senator franken -- >> oh, yeah, she is terrific. >> cory booker is another one of thoseofile democrats. i wonder if you feel there is sort of a model for democrats coming to the senate and being successful when they bring all that star power with them. >> you know, it is interesting to note those that come with star power, they're independent. frankly they're a little progressive. and they're unafraid. and the people you mentioned, think what hillary clinton did. think what this great woman did. she was first lady from arkansas. she moved to new york as elected senator from new york. i still remind her of how much courage that took. elizabeth warren. she had a job that she created for herself in the administration. the republicans wouldn't give that to her. i'll bet today they wish they had. because she fought back. so i think that the profile of those two women and this good man, and for your viewers that may not know this, he is an african-american with stunning credentials. stamford, bachelor's degree, master's degree, tight end on the football team. >> and a good one

he said, i voted for franken roosevelt four times. i want to unravel the great society. a lot of what is going on right now is trying to dismantle things that lyndon johnson did, voting rights, not let medicaid and medicare expand any further into obamacare. i could go on and on. they're trying to roll back the great society. jimmy carter, nixon -- it was nixon who created the apa -- epa. the epa is something like 98% shutdown. the republican party does not like the epa. nixon did endangered species and lean air, water. the conservative movements want to roll back on growth from the 1960's and 1970's right now. what i find unique about what you are asking right now is that the republicans were trying to use the economy to trash the economy to allow our nation to not only lose status in the world, but lose billions of dollars by shutting down the government to score political points and to show a protest against a law like the ffordable health care act. that is rare. ou would find that kind of behavior in the dark days before the civil war in the united states. usually pe

unleashing count chock u la and franken berry, they are only on shelves for a little time, it triggereding. >> i know if i don't get rid of it, i'll just eat it later. >> plan accordingl people have taken to buying boxes and boxes of these monstrously sweet secereals. so happy people don't do this with the mcrib. now you are clued in with the top of the list. >>> now a new movie that will, you. pop culture. hotter than freddy mercury's spandex pants. on the hot list. >> a film about the b

let's try to get al franken out -- >> if president obama has a problem, tell him the truth. day one, he said you're going to be able to keep your insurance policy, period. that is what he said, period. you're going to be able to keep your doctor, period. sean, i got 2,000 e-mails from my readers, listeners, saying they're losing their health insurance policies and losing their doctors and the new insurance policies are costing them more money. the president lied to the american people, period. >> he misrepresented. >> i think one reason president obama has not negotiated, he thinks he has the stronger hand. he says yes, it is unpopular, but the government shutdown is more unpopular. he is looking at polls saying the republicans will get blamed more for the shutdown than democrats. i think what obama sees is a split opposition which i don't think is working to the advantage of the gop. he says a ted cruz faction, he sees a leadership faction at loggerheads right now, using it to his advantage, saying let them fight it out. i don't have to negotiate. >> go ahead. >> in the sho

some members of congress are donating their salaries during the shutdown including senator al frankenating his salary to second harvest heartland which comb battles hunger in minnesota. not north carolina tee party republican congresswoman, renee elmers, the congresswoman supported shutdown but is keeping her pay explaining to a north carolina tv station, i need my paycheck, that's the bottom line. >> meanwhile, some restaurants in washington, d.c. are offering deals to government workers. celebrity chef brian voltaggio from top chef, tweeted his restaurant range is offering government workers a free pizza. he tweeted forgot to mention, members of congress not eligible until you get your shiz together. >> up next, wendy davis is running for governor in texas. the lone star state's cecile richard joins me next. thank you orville and wilbur... ...amelia... neil and buzz: for teaching us that you can't create the future... by clinging to the past. and with that: you're history. instead of looking behind... delta is looking beyond. 80 thousand of us investing billions... in everything fro

norm ornsteen, kate nocera and bob franken.massacre first and just to try to appreciate what we showed john chancellor, that's what americans turning on their televisions, only three or four channels back then, they turned on their televisions that saturday night and they were seeing some equivalent of that no matter what they turned on. can you take us back to the moment and what that represented as a constitutional crisis for the country? >> important point is the constitution survived. it was a crisis, but wheels turn, wheels of justice did turn, nixon was driven from office. the constitution went on. it was -- the atmosphere was a little more hysterical that moment than maybe was warranted. in fact, the court system is pretty strong and even the president cannot defy it. and ultimately chose not to. but it did represent something very big, which was the press had been fairly supine for years and years and years. and 1960s, vietnam and the credibility gap and the perception that the government was lying to the people, the pr