ethics news weekly, this is fred desa desam lasaro, in new delhi. >>> now, a conversation with jim wallace, about his new book, it's called "on god's side." andt's anppea to verce the country's problems by serving the common good. wallace is a religious activist, preacher and editor of "sojourner's magazine." he joins us from new york and our managing editor, kim lawton is with me in the studio. jim, welcome. what is your definition of the common good? >> you know people are asking me what the common good is and what it means to be on god's side. and neither has certain answers, but i think they're the right questions. let me give you my favorite from the book, this i from catholic social teaching. i'll read it right from them. the common good is the whole network of social conditions, which enable humans and groups to flourish. all are responsible for all. so taking a sabbatical to write this book and watching the news at night. and saw we had forgotten this idea of the common good. >> jim, who says what the common good is? >> the common good is found in all of our faith traditions, like

jim wallace live in studio in a couple of minutes.about on the show? i send you funny auto correct things that you then forward to your mother in miami. >> did i forward it to my mother. i should add we did learn this weekend melissa not only makes hot brie but copious amounts of baked goods. >> stephanie: cookies. >> i've never seen one human being bake so many cookies in my entire life. >> stephanie: a little lucy and ethel in the chocolate factory. >> a little aggressive with the cookies. not entirely sure how many people she thought you were having. >> stephanie: i can't buy that many friends. i can barely get these guys that i pay to have my friends to come. >> there were large piles of cookies. >> stephanie: i forgot to bring the extras. she never needs to be auto corrected, jacki schechner in the current news center. >> syria's prime minister is unharmed today after a bomb went off near his convoy in damascus. state tv says the assassination attempt was the latest to target a top official and president bashar assad's regime. an

jim wallace the head of sojourners and john nichols washington correspondent for the "nation" magazine, all with us this morning. what a great line-up! most importantly you're there as well. and anthony weiner just shaking up the political establishment yesterday by saying he's ready to make try. should he get one? but first... >> announcer: this is the "full court press." >> other headlines making news on this thursday, chris christie is coming to the white house correspondents' dinner this month but it is a very interesting to note who is bringing him as a guest. it is the "huffington post." soft an odd couple pairing for the conservative new jersey governor. but he's not not the only new jerseyan they're bringing. "huffington post" bringing john bon jovi and shaquille o'neal. shaq and chris christie and bon joe i -- jovi. guest of abc lavs year. huffington post this year. >> mtv has canceled the reality show buckwild after the death of cast member shaneandy and the producer is not happy. j.c. williams tellingter he is surprised that a network that has no problem with a show about pr

king's speech and the speeches by others. >> we're speaking with jim wallace, photographer, and he has put together this book, "courage of the moment: the civil rights struggle, 1961-1964." thanks so much. >> thank you. >> she marries at the age of 16 d helps teach her husband to be a better reader and writer. of during the civil war, she sneaks supplies to the unionists in the tennessee mountain, but by the time her husband assumes the presidency, she's in poor health. meet eliza johnson, wife of the 17th president, andrew johnson, as we continue our series on first ladies with your questions and comments by phone, facebook and twitter monday night live at 9 eastern on c-span and c-span3. also on c-span radio and c-span.org. ..

. >> john: pastor jim wallace has an expression that on the border there are two signs.s help wanted, the other says keep out and the exploitation of undocumented workers many say is the backbone of our economy. what are you going to do to prevent this exploitation from continuing. >> the devil is in the details. that's why as people are rushing to get this through there are a lot of fine points that need to be clarified before it can go to the senate or the house of representatives as well. that's is to insure that we don't create a new form of slavery. that's these workers aren't coming over here without rights, and if they mess up they're victimized by their employer employer. we see this not just in the agriculture areas. it's happening right now in the undocumented here in new york, for instance. people are exploited every day. that's why it's critical for the human element to get comprehensive reform done. >> john: before i let go, any chance of any meaningful gun legislation reform passing this particular house? >> i think congress is capable when it puts it's min

neutrogena.® >>> here with us now jim wallace who is the other of "on god side what religion forgets and work out. >> i start talking and he gets angry and the pulse goes up. >> not three hours. >> but you say you eat differently, too. >> i listen to the show, what can i say? >> i love it. congratulations. >> mika -- >> so, before we get to your book "on god's side" which is a great, great story about how we can transcend politics. let's talk about hope. we just had a terrible jobs report and there's so many people in america that have lost hope. that, you know, they have their children looking at them as they're in middle school or high school and fathers and mothers sitting at home not able to get a job. where do they find that hope? what do they do to keep pressing forward and keep fighting forward like my dad did so many years ago? >> a lot of people are really hurting, really hurting in this country. we're not focusing on that the way we should. when i began to write this book i took a sabbatical and getting up early and exercising and then having quiet every day. and then readi

rude pundit, eric boehlert as usual and reverend jim wallace live in that chair in hour number three.e've never had him in the studio. >> stephanie: he's going to bless the studio. captain america's underpants. jacki schechner. listen this is not what it sounds like but jacki schechner spent the night at my house for the second weekend in a row. i don't want to start tongues wagging. >> any p

but yesterday, jim wallace from sew journers was here and he joined other faceith leaders.id in front of the capitol yesterday representing the 3300 people who have been shot and killed, gun violence since newtown, connection, december 14th. >> it really is extraordinary and i think that that's important. our faith leaders have really stepped up here. you know doing something on gun trafficking trafficking, making sure criminals can't use straw purchases purchasers before one a washington post report said was responsible for most of the guns that were used in criminal activity in the metropolitan region. this is true in every metropolitan region. the responsible gun dealers, responsible gun owners who, themselves, go through background checks. my goodness. if they do it, so should everyone. that will ensure that we can keep guns out of the hands of people who don't need them. congresswoman donna edwards. down at the whitehouse when the president unveiled his budget congressman keith ellison was with us yesterday talking about the budget. i would like to get your take. we he

leadership conference, gabriel, national latino evangelical coalition, world vision united states, and jim wallace, president and c.e.o. of sojourners. so why have all of these evangelical leaders and why have so many other faith groups come together and say -- said with a unified voice that we have to have comprehensive immigration reform? they say the reason is because of their values, because they believe in the bible and they believe that the stranger among us must be treated as ourselves. in fact, interestingly, some of hem quote i will vit cuss -- livitikus, you should love the stranger as you love yourselves because you have to remember you once were strangers too in the land of egypt. so i thank all of all of these religious leaders, all of these faith communities that have come together and interestingly, i can't recall another time when you've had so religious faith groups, pastors, reverends, rabbis, come together with one voice and say this is the path forward. we all agree. but we have it here. and the nice thing about it is i think we are getting to a point where we are going to agre