i want to bring in roland martin and paul callan to talk more about this, you know, fill in the adjective, shocking, surprising, bizarre, news conference held on behalf of the two attorneys. have you ever in your career, paul callan, heard of this happening? they said they haven't been in contact with their client, so done. >> it's utterly and completely bizarre. usually the lawyer says to the judge is there's a missing witness in the case, mr. green. all right? the lawyer hasn't been paid. and therefore, he's withdrawing from the case and i'm betting in this case because he started a website, he's raising money, he's never even met with these lawyers so i don't think they're being paid. and i think as a result of that, they're dropping out of the case, waiting for the big gun to come in to represent zimmerman. >> so you think's a big -- >> i think you'll see somebody well known probably step in to the case and assume representation at some point in the very, very near future. i don't know who that is, but that's what it's looking like to me. >> when i was in orlando a couple of weeks ago

joining me is roland martin, john cafferty and matthew delmont. roland, let me start with you.r some people say he was a pioneer by bringing white kids and black kids to dance together and for people to see that on television around the country, that he helped break down barriers. true or overstated? >> i think that's a part of it, but also it was the acts. the ability to book the various artists on the show. also you have to add allen fried and ed sullivan as well because they allowed them to showcase their music to the rest of the country. that was huge because for so long black artists had to be pushed aside and could only sell their wares to african-americans as opposed to the broader audience. >> and so to someone who was on television at the time and watched as the industry changed, how much credit does dick clark get? >> i think he gets a lot of credit. if you remember this country in 1955, it was a heavily segregated nation. the segregation was even more insipid than it is today because it was below the radar and more powerful than it is now. black artists, people like

but he told roland martin that he texted george zimmerman today, did not get a reply, but texted him saying, i think you're making bad decisions. we also have, i think, some tape ready to go on the lawyers today, talking about what they think george zimmerman's current state of mind is. they think he may be in some way mentally incapacitated at this point. let's listen to that. >> shaken babies. when you -- you can't shake me, i'm too fat. but if you get me on the ground, you can accomplish the same thing, which is to smack my brain around inside my skull. that would put any reasonable person in reasonable fear of serious physical injury. and under florida law, that entitles you to use any force including deadly force to defend yourself. >> okay. that was not the clip i was looking for. we have so many clips from this news conference, but there is one i'm going to try to find here, where he talks about -- the lawyer talks about his state of mind, zimmerman's state of mind, and they think he's got posttraumatic stress syndrome and he's in a condition where they do not trust his judgme

cnn contributors will cain and roland martin are here to discuss.will be the nastiest campaign ever. even nastier than 2008. seriously, will? >> no. not seriously. i want to read you something. i might have read it to you before. you have to hear this again. these are quotes from one campaign to another on a prior election in this country. one camp called the other a hideous character which has neither the force or firmness of a man nor gentleness of a woman. the competitor said his campaign was son of a half breed and a low life. every generation thinks the one behind it is taking the world to hell in hand basket and every campaign season thinks the one that follows it is the worst ever. >> i no know that's history. that doesn't make nasty campaigns right. it doesn't make it easier for voters to make a decision. why don't we ever change, roland martin? >> because voters like it. voters don't mice nasty campaigns and votese evoters li single time. voters say we don't like all of the partisan bickering in washington, d.c. even though voters are the o

we'll talk with roland martin and will cain about that. we begin this morning with a collision of politics and faith and a catholic lawmaker about to get his knuckles rapped by dozens of catholic priests. paul ryan is about to speak at georgetown university, that's a catholic institution. faculty and administrators say they are upset with ryan for his misuse of catholic teaching in defending his budget cuts. in a letter signed by more th90 professors and administrators at georgetown say ryan's faith is not a free pass to dismantle government programs and abandon the poor." >> welcome. >> thanks, carol. >> you are not protesting ryan speaking at georgetown? >> no. we're simply saying what catholic bishops have said. paul ryan's budget fails a basic moral test. asking our seniors and working class americans who live paycheck to paycheck to pay for the tax breaks for the super wealthy and not asking defense department to share in that sake nice isn't just unfair, it's unmoral and unchristian. >> let me tell our viewers what paul ryan said abo

we are getting from our own roland martin here a family statement from trayvon martin's family attorneying him moments ago, we are hopeful that this announcement will be followed by another of an arrest. the family is trying to be patient and have faith in the system the best they can. we need to have an arrest. we just think they've got enough evidence, and that is the family statement from the attorney, ben crump. do you have any sense there whether or not people find this as a move from the state attorney that will help or hurt bringing those charges forward, the chances of charges coming forward? >> reporter: i think people just don't know at this point, suzanne. it has greatly sort of changed the dynamic. there were a lot of people that felt this was a critical week. today they thought actually might have been a critical day. . there was a rumor going around, i know city officials had heard and it was on the street, that there could be a decision today. well, now we know through this statement it doesn't mean there cannot be a decision today but we know it's a decision not going to

let me get quick reaction from roland martin who has been watching this case unfold dramatically.is charged say with manslaughter, how will that play? how do you think that will affect the family? i know you've been close to the family. what's going to be the reaction? >> reporter: remember, first and foremost, wolf, the family made it perfectly clear that they wanted to see him charged and so they were not specific as to whether or not it was first-degree murder or second-degree murder or even manslaughter. they felt he should have been charged and including attorney ben crump and there was probable cause to arrest him. i talked to crump 30 minutes ago and they had not gotten word about a specific charge and may made it perfectly clear that the family were happy to hear justice is moving forward. and the civil rights leaders have been monitoring this case, as well. again, the most important thing from them is simply that he be charged and arrested and if this goes before a jury and the judge ask have all of the facts come out to find out what took place on the night their son tra

it's roland martin. >> in the gay community, that means something different. >> roland martin joins ourlsang is with us and will cain. someone tweeted me i should say that you are a conservative. if people haven't figured that out, will is a conservative voice here in america. >> let me talk and you'll figure it out. >> "starting point" this morning. this afternoon 1:30 eastern we expect to see george zimmerman facing a judge for the first time. here's a look at his new mug shot. it was taken last night at the seminole county jail, which is where he spent the night. zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder. 46 days after he shot and killed trayvon martin in what his folks have claimed was self-defense. >> we did not come to this decision lightly. this case is like a lot of difficult cases we have handled for years here in our circuit and we made this decision in the same manner. let me emphasize that we do not prosecute by public pressure or by petition. we prosecute based on the facts of any given case as well as the laws of the state of florida. >> those are the words from the s

i want to bring in roland martin joining us from new york. you actually -- he spoke to the attorney of trayvon martin's family, and give us a sense of how they're responding to this. >> again, what the ben crump said is that the family is very cautious and are patient when it comes to this particular case here. they believe that he should be arrested, george zimmerman should be arrested. that there's probable cause to arrest him right now. and so they certainly, you know, once this news came down and talking to other attorneys though, they said they did not want this to go to a grand jury because you put it in a grand jury's hands and all of a sudden if they come back with no indictment then you're left with what? and so to what we just heard from martin, one of the issues here is does this give the special prosecutor more time to actually review the evidence, do interviews, to make the proper call? if you go to a grand jury, then it could go either way. so according to ben crump, he says they believe there should be an arrest and that the fam

as we were telling roland martin we are concerned about this because how does this impact the prosecution going forward? if he is charged, is he going to face the charges or is he going to flee? >> am i hearing you correctly that you are hearing that he is not in florida? is that what you just said? >> we heard he is not in the state of florida. >> where are you getting that from? >> we picked that up from the press conference. they know where they are thinking but they are not sure. >> if he is out of the state of florida or if it is a danger that he is going to leave the country this would cause the prosecutor to move quickly. she has to go to court and get an arrest warrant and you want to grab him while he is grabable. this is an important that prosecutor would be looking at if he is available. >> remember he has not been arrested so it is not like he has to be in contact with authorities. he is not under any watch. >> not wearing an ankle bracelet. >> until a warrant is issued by the court he is flee to go where he wants. >> if george zimmerman, wherever he is, if he is watching toni

to talk about this with author and entrepreneur tom blair and cnn political analyst roland martin. republican party chair wants the government to investigate president obama's recent trips. they say they amount to campaign stops, but haven't we heard this argument before? roland? >> yes. my goodness, please. i wish reince priebus and all the republicans whining about this to stop being stuck on stupid. seriously. this is what people can't stand. it's an absolute joke. every president, democrat and republican. that's what they do. i can remember in 1984 and '88, actually '88, when vice president george h.w. bush was positioning himself to run for president and ronald reagan, president reagan, took him along various trips. there were photo-ops. it was the same thing, so, please, stop it. this is childish. >> tom blair, obama white house says, quote, when there is political travel, we follow all rules and regulations that all other administrations have followed. >> well, the republicans call it fraud, and i think roland is absolutely right. it's jealousy. i would say though i think ye

that is roland martin's play list and he is the host of roland martin show.. our starting point. people in tulsa, oklahoma breathing a sigh of relief this morning. two suspects in a deadly shooting spree last friday are now in custody. five people shot and three killed and two we were just told have been released from the hospital. the suspects are both white. all of the victims were black. 19-year-old jake england and 32-year-old alvin watts will be arraigned today. police aren't calling it a hate crime but a facebook posting by one suspect suggests this rampage may have been racially motivated. cnn's jason carroll is following developments for us live in tulsa this morning. what are authorities telling us about the possibility of hate crimes charges at this hour? >> reporter: well, there are a couple of things, christine. when you look at whether or not someone is charged with hate crimes, certain criteria have to be met. the crime has to be admitted against a protected class, derogatory or threatening statements have to be used. sometimes investigators wil

roland martin is a cnn contributor who's been following this case closely and been in contact with manye people involved. roland, what is your sense of the feeling out there this evening with these charges finally being filed? >> first of all, a lot of people are surprised that angela corey chose to go second-degree murder. many folks thought if there was going to be a charge, it was going to be manslaughter. a number of people are very pleased that this has gotten to this particular point. remember, the parents said from day one they wanted to see an arrest. and tom, people like me were outraged because the question came up how was this guy never arrested? so that's really what drove lots of the emotion, lots of the attention. not the question of, oh, he should be going to a trial, but simply how was it that he wasn't even arrested? that really was the impetus for so much of the energy and passion across this country and across the world. >> so how do you think the community feels tonight? >> well, first of all, look, i've got more than 200,000 folks on facebook and twitter. a lot of t

couple of people make very very grave misjudgment not necessarily mistakes, bad and the case of roland martin and his remarks whether you think they were or not were taken to be so and he was suspended for a month. here is a brother who could have been on the verge of possibly getting his own show probably still is, since they have now put them back on the air but he could have blown that. he is a journalist but he also has been an author and the same thing charles pelot of "the new york times" made similar comments. we have seen stories that people are judging whether you should get a scholarship in looking at your facebook page. and in the last workshop i was and they were talking about book proposals that publishers are looking at for facebook page. not only to see how many followers you have but then that potentially gives them also reason to mix your proposal. and, we have seen other disasters with bullying on line. i cover a lot of things and diverse issues in higher education and we have done a couple of things around the case of tyler clementi who of course killed himself because his

. >> cnn's contributors roland martin and will cain are here to talk about that. >> good morning. >>e zimmerman's brother went on piers morgan and contradicted what the prosecutor had to say. he said that the prosecutor did cave to pressure and it was all about race. what do you say to that, will? >> i have no idea of knowing if that prosecutor caved to pressure. i don't think so. i doubt it. i don't have evidence in front of me and facts in front of me that she has in front of her. there are several surprises as evidence come forward and we see it will be interesting to answer. what did she see what original investigator in the case didn't see? he suggested manslaughter charge? what did she see the original prosecutor didn't see because that original prosecutor decided not to press any charges. as we get to facts and evidence, that will be interesting. she weekend for second-degree murder charge. what does she have factswise to go for a heavy charge? it will be interesting to see when the facts come out. >> roland, you respond. >> bottom line is simple. trayvon martin's family has m

roland martin and also christopher metzler. first, guy, thank you for joining us.rt of what nugent said about the president and his administration. take a listen. >> if barack obama becomes the president in november, again, i will either be dead or in jail by this time next year. our president and attorney general, our vice president, hillary clinton, they're criminals. >> all right, so we want to point out that the romney campaign put out a statement saying the candidate believes everyone needs to be civil. so, first of all, to you, roll land, your first reaction to w nugent's statement. >> pure ignorance, shameful and ridiculous.nugent's statement. >> pure ignorance, shameful and ridiculous. and weaks as paper the romney statement where you don't reference ted nugent. liberals and conservative shoes have the courage to call out supporters who use that kind of language. he should be denounced for those ridiculous comments. >> chris. >> the comments are absolutely offensive. there is no question about that. and i think what candidates have to understand, i'm not su

. >> roland martin the host of "washington watch." >> on tv-one. >> and a host of several thousand otherhings. >> black man have to have multiple jobs in this economy. >> and will cain, columnist at theblaze.com. no surprise to me george zimmerman has launched his own website to try to raise money for his defense i guess. >> and living expenses. >> clearly. he can't work, not going to school anymore, in hiding. i'm not surprised by that at all. are you? >> i guess not. george zimmerman's life totally changed over the last two weeks. regardless of his guilt or innocence i would imagine he's looking for some aid as well. >> trayvon martin's family have been raising funds for a legal defense because they have lawyers as well in this case, so this is not shocking. it happens in many other cases. we see it all the time. >> so on his website he has written this, "on sunday, february 26th, i was involved in a life-altering event which led me to become the subject of intense media coverage. as a result of the incident and subsequent media coverage, i've been forced to leave my home, my school, m

i've gotta go run -- [applause] identify got to go -- i've got to go run and tape a roland martin show so i apologize for leaving, but you've go to go to the press that portrays you the way you are. there are over 200 black newspapers and radio stations who do not stereotype black people, but they can't do it without your sport. [applause] without your support. [applause] .. national action network is here to help you. so of the 53 radio stations, 13 of them happen to be hip-hop. the other media outlets, we have, what do we do about racial profiling and things of that nature, go to website called news1.com which has a very, very wide audience, there is a story on there every week about some racial, some profiling incident. now trayvon is in the news and it's the big thing but the tulsa shootings, okay? are bubbling up below and there are probably four or five other stories over the last three weeks that look at injustice, try to bring a highlight to issues that we should know about and should be foc on and that's what we're doing and that website is syndicated not just throughout all o

alan in orlando he is director of the china center at roland's college and author of chinese international investments in hong kong we go to martin henniker he is an associate director at the tight group and in chicago we have joshua littman he's an associate with the boston consulting group and has done prior research on the chinese currency i gentlemen this is cross-legged means you can jump in anytime you want martin if i go to you in hong kong first the international monetary fund says that china will equal the u.s. economy in two thousand and sixteen but others are even saying that the chinese economy has already surpassed the american one how do you look at it. well yes as you are saying that the most optimistic viewpoint of their time is economy may already be twenty of us and largest in the united states one so we aren't entirely sure where it is but certainly from our point of view the perspective of anyone from the united states and europe is generally a that still china is letting far behind and we think that's clearly not true and apart from the i.m.f. study by the economists really is just now saying was a lie the i.