if not to michael eric dyson. remember to answer tonights question at the bottom of your screen and do share your thoughts on twitter at ed show and facebook. i do want to know what you think. and coming up, our commander in chief handled being commander of teens. president obama talks about his life as a dad. stay ahead. baby, you can see her halo. beyonce gave a very generous gift to hundreds of strangers for christmas. [ male announcer ] the new new york is open. open to innovation. open to ambition. open to bold ideas. that's why new york has a new plan -- dozens of tax free zones all across the state. move here, expand here, or start a new business here and pay no taxes for ten years... we're new york. if there's something that creates more jobs, and grows more businesses... we're open to it. start a tax-free business at startup-ny.com. >>> time now for the trenders. you can find the show at twitter -- on twitter at ed show and find me on twitter. the ed show social media nation has decided and is we are repo

michael eric dyson, i want to ask you about nelson oh mandela.ry that i opened up with tonight was the striking workers yesterday in 130 cities. would nelson mandela have been out with those workers? >> absolutely. this was a man who to the chagrin of many people, even refused to renounce, you know, the taking up of arms against, you f know, the incredible inequality going on there, even though he counselled peace and progressive. he would have been out there with our workers, because he understood the workers are the backbone of any society. if we can't treat them with respect and dignity and grace, then the society itself is built upon a lie. and will not last long. >> michael eric dyson, great to have you on "the ed show." have a great weekend. appreciate your time. thank you. >>> coming up, the opportunity gap. it's widening. the numbers show it. and republicans seem to be pushing more americans over the edge with their policies. >>> plus, the georgia insurance commissioner makes a wrong turn in his obama care analogy, and lands in tonight's

michael eric dyson, i have to ask you. i just have two words to say. "duck dynasty." you know, it's a -- if it sounds like a duck and it quacks like a duck, it's a duck. what we should be doing is ducking out and trying to avoid, you know, all senses and sorts of bigotry. i saw your interview there with john fugelsang. and, you know, he said at the end where he says, well, he left some room for improvement. but the reality is that all of us, whether it's about race or class or ethnicity or gender or sexuality, we have got to come to grips in 2013 with the fact that this is a multiracial, multicultural nation of all sorts of people. >> yeah. >> and until we make room for everybody, nobody really stands. >> but he did say that he thought that black people were happy before -- you know, before the civil rights movement. basically, that's where he came from. >> you know what, if happy means you're an forced into a disagreeable position because you're trying to undermine the culture, a lot of black happiness was subversive. it was smiling in the face of white people to und

. >> joining our discussion now, michael eric dyson, professor of sociology. and by phone, ms.ke us back to that time when nelson mandela was in prison. he was unknown to the world when he went into prison but he gained his worldwide fame there. how did that happen? >> caller: i think that his movement never stopped putting him out there, putting the beliefs out there. and when i went in 1995, i couldn't get into the prison, but i went and looked over to where he was. i went to a little township, you know, the blacks were separated and segregated many miles from the main town, and i went to one of them, and i saw these kids, you know, singing in a circle, and i walked up to them, and i said what are you singing? and they said oh, we're singing for nelson mandela to be released, and they named all the other political prisoners. so somehow in south africa, the black majority and those who were their comrades, black and white, kept his name alive so that the young people were still singing songs of freedom and wanting them to be released. >> michael eric dyson, just generally your

. >>> we're joined by matthew dowd, michael eric dyson, james carville and mary matalin.ou all for being here. matthew, it was interesting. it does seem like on both sides, you have a real, real deep desire to avoid any kind of government shutdown any time soon. >> well, when a disaster happens, in the aftermath of a disaster, which happened this summer, when everybody lost in the middle of it. president obama, congress, everybody. they understand they can't go through it again. my fear is we'll have a temporary fix. we'll get through it. better than not doing it. but we're not going to have a long-term fix for the problem we associate with washington. you have a general public that doesn't trust anybody in washington, d.c. >> you saw those senators, mary, who believe something will get done. still some resistance among some republicans to any kind of accommodation now to the democrats on spending. are you confident that a deal in the senate will get through the house? >> the reason that the house is where they are, positioned where they are, is because half of them have

michael eric dyson with us tonight. georgetown university professor and msnbc political analyst. nio, "ring of fire" radio host. great to have you with us tonight. michael, you first. what is a & e network saying here, what statement are they making by reversing this decision? >>el with, as you brilliantly articulated ed, what they are saying is that black people and gay people don't count. they don't matter to the bottom line. they don't figure in our calculations about what we think is offensive. and as a result of the cracker barrel crowd, that crowd that said, look, we are disgusted with you for removing the items of phil robertson and "duck dynasty." we are moreover disgusted with the fact african-american and latino and other ethnic minorities, along with gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual people have come together to say this is an outrage. and as a result of that, they have turned this into a matter of free speech. the irony, of course, they don't want more speech to counteract their negative, vicious, offensive and vitt tree olic speech. so they're mad at the fact we

zerlina maxwell, professor michael eric dyson.hanks to both of you. >>> coming up, health care saboteurs beware. time is running out. and do nothing is not a plan. we'll bring in a democratic member of congress when we come back. ♪ i remember the day my doctor said i had diabetes. there's a lot i had to do... ... watch my diet. stay active. start insulin... today, i learned there's something i don't have to do anymore. my doctor said that with novolog® flexpen, i don't have to use a syringe and a vial... or carry a cooler. flexpen® comes prefilled with fast-acting insulin used to help control high blood sugar when you eat. dial the exact does. inject by pushing a button. no drawing from a vial. you should eat a meal within 5 to 10 minutes after injecting novolog® (insulin aspart [rdna origin] injection). do not use if your blood sugar is too low, or if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause symptoms such as sweating, shakiness, confusion, and headache. severe low

annette and michael eric dyson, thank you for joining us on "the ed show."te it. >>> coming up, conservatives continue their war on christmas, and santa is the newest target. [ female announcer ] we eased your back pain... ♪ ready or not. [ female announcer ] ...so you can be up there. here i come! [ female announcer ] ...down there, around there... and under there for him. tylenol® provides strong pain relief and won't irritate your stomach the way aleve® or even advil® can. but for everything we do, we know you do so much more. tylenol®. but for everything we do, we know you do so much more. before using her new bank of america credit card, which rewards her for responsibly managing her card balance. before receiving $25 toward her balance each quarter for making more than her minimum payment on time each month. tracey got the bankamericard better balance rewards credit card, which fits nicely with everything else in life she has to balance. that's the benefit of responsibility. apply online or visit a bank of america near you. (ding, ding) how long have i

. >> excuse me, what planet is michael eric dyson living on.live in a white pressroom cyst culture criticized phil robertson for saying african-americans in the jim crow segregation era happy and singing. >> that's not what phil robertson said. he said what he saw. he was relating what he saw because he said he worked in the field with them because he was basically white trash as he described himself he got to know folks. he was recounting his observations. >> his comments were very over the top. >> white supremacist that was seriously over the top. >> that's part of the race baiting culture, isn't it? dyson and maybe someone said sharpton and jackson you have got to keep it going. keep the flames going. not to say there is not intolerance and race. not to say there isn't in every culture. our society is probably more pluralistic and open. maybe the exception of brusmtion or france. and yet when i look at this a&e thing and i talked to folks over the last couple of weeks about it. there really a divide in the country, right? it's obvious. becau

joining me today, washington bureau chief at the huffington post ryan grim, michael eric dyson host of "disrupt," karen finney and ari. karen, this is the thing that really puzzles me. republicans are the ones who are facing a challenge in the midterms. they would like to take over the senate, for instance, hold on to the house. why is it there seems to be no political incentive there to let's say support something popular like extending unemployment benefits? >> they've done a great job in their gerrymandered districts especially in the house of convincing voters that really it is better if we don't give barack obama a victory, even if it means you don't get unemployment insurance, that's better for you. i'm not kidding. that is how much vitriol there is against this president. and everything is viewed as a success for the president. if you think about it, these guys are also getting pressured now while they're at home from people saying, hey, we need help. senators and members of congress. and they're still don't seem like there's enough room to budge. >> ari, to karen's point, the l

joining me today, washington bureau chief at the huffington post ryan grim, michael eric dyson host ofkaren, this is the thing that really puzzles me. republicans are the ones who are facing a challenge in the midterms. they would like to take over the senate, for instance, hold on to the house. why is it thereee

michael eric dyson, sgher lena maxwell, thanks for being on "the ed show."coming up, a north dakota local news station keeps it classy. how are things with the new guy? all we do is go out to dinner. that's it? i mean, he picks up the tab every time, which is great...what? he's using you. he probably has a citi thankyou card and gets 2x the points at restaurants. so he's just racking up points with me. some people... ugh! no, i've got it. the citi thankyou preferred card. now earn 2x the points on dining out and entertainment, with no annual fee.to apply, go to citi.com/thankyoucards yep. got all the cozies. [ grandma ] with new fedex one rate, i could fill a box and ship it for one flat rate. so i knit until it was full. you'd be crazy not to. is that nana? [ male announcer ] fedex one rate. simple, flat rate shipping with the reliability of fedex. it's not for colds, it's not for pain, it's just for sleep. because sleep is a beautiful thing™. zzzquil. the non-habit forming sleep-aid from the makers of nyquil®. ♪ the non-habit forming sleep-aid from the mak

people like eric michael dyson and lamont hill want to monopolize the discussion about race.ou named two black guys and threw a white liberal in there. >> i don't want to get letters in an angry font. they don't want you to comment at all about race if you're white. >> that doesn't apply here. there was nothing about rac this cartoon. >> who do you think is complaining and calling it racist? >> all right. break it up or don't break it up. next topic. a texas elementary school has banned christmas trees and the colors red and green a its upcoming winter party. the school in frisco would violate a state law called the merry christmas law which predicts traditional holiday greetings. the school's principal said it's a decision to avoid offending any families. stephen, i bet you applaud this kind of activity. >> not really. you got my boy over there in texas that's going the other way with this. i liked when he was jogging with his dog and shot the coyote. go to extreme measures to turn this around. >> you're saying shoot the principal? >> i never said anything of the sort. >> yo