c-span: right out here at walter reed hospital? >> guest: right near it. c-span: i didn't expect to get out of this kind of a trauma. i mean, there are some -- drama. i mean, there are some personal stories in here that are pairly dramatic. were you surprised about the competition going on to find this -- >> guest: by be the time i started to write the book, i knew there was a story. and i write books for myself. i read fiction for fun. and i like -- i wouldn't write a book unless i thought there was a story, because the if you just have chapter after chapter of a textbook, for me, it's not something i would pick up and read just because i wanted to read it. so that's what appealed to me, was that there was, there was a drama there. it was competition. it showed all of the strengths and weaknesses of the search for scientific data -- c-span: what book is this for you? >> guest: besides my -- well, it depends on whether you count noncommercial or commercial books. i guess commercial, fourth. c-span: how long have you worked for "the new york times"? >> gues

when you found out the conditions the veterans were living in this walter reed were substandard.ou jumped in there. there was two committees that immediately went to work there. you changed the culture almost on a dime. thanks changed almost immediately. why can't we do a surge like that for the paperwork backlogs for the benefits? >> one of the reasons things changed almost immediately i fired the commander of the hospital, the surgeon general of the army and the secretary general of the army. [cheers and applause] that got people's attention. part of the problem in washington is the unwillingness to hold individuals accountable for performance. i tried to do that. [cheers and applause] i notice in the headlines in the last day or so that there's more trouble with the air force nuclear program. i fired both the air force chief of staff and the air force secretary for their unwillingness to tackle problems in the nuclear program. so you have to -- whether it's veteran as fairs or any place else. it's not just at the top. you have to be willing to hold people accountable and show

while you were here in washington, you visited walter reed. how did you first get involved?invited me to iraq in the early days of the occupation, august or september of 2003. and the soldiers loved drew carey, love blondes with big boobs. >> thanks for cleaning that up. >> you're welcome. i kind of went in as an adventurer, almost like a tourist, going let's see what this is all about. i immediately realized i was seeing things i could barely describe. i barely met any active military and i quickly learned that the government and the military are two different entities. growing up in new jersey, the only guy i knew was a caterer. i got to see the sunni triangle from a black hawk perspective. you can't as a comedian find a better crowd. >> when you go to walter reed, what kind of experience? >> that's a little different. in the field, you have guys that need a laugh, you're trying to tell jokes while they're active duty. but you go to the hospitals and, you know, there's a different thing. sure we can go in and make jokes. i find the military likes to tell their story. somet

my attitude was in the case of walter reed and the nuclear issue which is back in front of us when i fired the chief of staff and secretary of the air force, identify them for not knowing about a problem in the first place. i fired some because once they knew about it didn't take it seriously enough. that is the kind of accountability i think needs to be exercised in washington. >> how did you feel about losing general stanley mcchrystal? >> at first i felt he committed a terrible error. i say so in the book. giving access to this report. general stanley mcchrystal is one of the most effective combat generals we have had since world war ii as commander in afghanistan and as commander of the joint special operations unit in iraq and afghanistan. he did a lot of damage to our enemies and people who were killing our troops but the world of politics and the media was a new battle space for general stanley mcchrystal and he was a brand new second lieutenant in that realm. as effective as he was in the command position he stepped out of line in some of his interviews but i felt when the re

a lot of. >> guest: i know people -- my attitude was, in the case of both walter reed and the nuclear issue -- which is back in front of us when i fired both the chiefs of staff and the secretary of air force -- i didn't fire them for not knowing about the problem. i fired them because once they knew about it, they didn't take it seriously enough. that's the kind of accountability needs to be exercised more frequently in washington. >> host: since you brought up the issue of firing, how did you feel about losing stanley mcchrystal. >> guest: at first -- i felt he committed a terrible error, and i sayso in the book. giving access to this reporter, and mcchrystal is probably one of to the most effective combat generals we have had since world war ii. both as commander in afghanistan and as commander of the joint special operations unit in iraq and afghanistan. he did a lot of damage to our enemies and people who were killing our troops. but the world of politics and the media was a new battle space for general mcchrystal. and he was a brand new second lieutenant in that realm, and as ef

mentioned, i served, i had the honor of serving on the veteran affairs committee, and when you tour walter reed and bethesda and brooke army medical, you understand the sacrifices that our military makes and their families right alongside of them. we must never take that for granted, we must always keep them this our prayers. just recently, this morning, three americans -- two of them military -- were killed in a plane accident in afghanistan of

for walter reed's shawn bates chad olsen who was texting and his wife nicole said reid's senate will soon hit him during the creation of the witnesses say they never saw anyone touch the four queens captain reeves was considered one of the tampa bay police departments makes a valuable office is in the nineteen eighties and would handle some of the toughest case is being posted situations . i am the reconvened on him more shh shh shh. the key. we do at that. the air the decorated police captain has been charged with shooting and killing a movie goer who was texting in a florida cinema which was showing the hit new war film a lone survivor. at some point a former officer curtis reeves and brandished a gun and shot ten olsen who was texting and his wife nicole said. according to the tesco county sheriff's office reads retired from the tampa police twenty years ago the argument again after all so he asked are reasons he reported him to theater staff for using his phone. we said all see his hand during the altercation. witnesses say they never saw him touch the former police captain. in a

. >> my attitude was in the case of both walter reed and the nuclear issue which is back in front of us, when i fired both chief of staff and secretary of the air force didn't fire them for not knowing about the problem in the first place. i fired them because once they knew about it they didn't take it seriously enough. that is the kind of accountability that i think needs to be exercise more frequently in washington. speeds and she brought up the issue of firing how did you feel about losing stanley mcchrystal? >> well at first, i mean i felt he committed a terrible error and i say so in the book. giving access to this reporter and mcchrystal is probably o

women's shelter where we brought women together, since to do the program, a version of the program at walter reedo i have a larger interest in animals and i am going to agree with you that we should put a lid on the butter. >> i could ride a horse before i could rise a bicycle. and not 4 h club, call me weird, i do not like animals in food prep area. maybe that is just some kind of cuckoos thing, and but when i see a cat licking the roof, it turns me off. i am fine. i can still get on a horse today. i had the best childhood you could imagine but i was really young. my grandfather grew rice. how you grow rice is nothing but mud and water and nothing better for a 5-year-old going around in mud and water. >> he is not an anti hero. he knows what the animals mean to me, they mean nothing to him, they are not allowed anywhere near him and he doesn't know their names but every time we go to the e emergency that, why can't these bastards learn how to cross the street? just has -- the whole animal kingdom. >> reporter: you gave up working and u.s. elections and only work on 4 in elections. explain why yo

. >> last time i went down to walter reed and talk to these guys before we started this campaign, whattheir spirit is not crushed. most of them. some of them i guess succumb to it. but they are just so brave, that is the word. brave. and so that those of us who department have to sacrifice in these wars and haven't had to sacrifice for our country have to do what we can. these machines are unbelievable. >> we followed a guy he was going through a rugged tirain and that's how crazy off road you can get. you can go hunting and camping and play golf. you can elevate yourself to a upright. >> they can carry the little kids in the choir and go to the beach with them. we don't want to ma udlin. but we do it so factor vowers know where it went. o one patriot runs it and no administration costs. >> plenty more a head. a compelling story about a flight that actor james wood took just weeks before the 9/11 terror attack. an unbelievable story. we'll be right back. >>> from america's new's head quarters. happy now year. 2014 is getting off to a cold start in the u.s. northern planes and upper mid

emotional in afghanistan when he visited iraq, when he talked to troops, when he saw wounded troops at walter reed? >> that's not unusual. i don't think i have ever seen a sec def not emotional when they talk about troops. what was surprising, perhaps, and enlighten me, barbara, a sitting president, memoirs are memoirs but they don't usually target your boss as he is still in the office. >> they don't. you have to decide when you do these things, you serve a commander in chief, a sitting commander in chief. there are sources that say that he is very comfortable with it, that is a historian, he wanted to tell his version of events while they were still current and relevant. he presumably doesn't expect to serve in the obama administration again. so he pays no particular price for it. there will be a lot of public discussion about whether this, again, is that act of betrayal. he has got the first amendment right, ashley. he can say as he chooses. that's as it should be. it doesn't mean washington isn't going to talk about it a lot. >> the speaker of the house has his first amendment rights to say an

that was a big motivation at walter reed. i won another one last year. i have nine titles.ant ten or 11 and then retire arnold do something else. >> i have a sneaking suspicion you'll do it. thank you for your service. >>> amazing story. >>> if you're looking for a return on hedge fund. find one run by a woman. in the years since the financial crisis hedge funds managed by women outperforming the market, the average 6% to the s&p 4%, .2, while a broad index dropping more than 1%. the reigning miss america, there she is. fox business network and karenina, physical therapist, part of the female panel. you're handling business on fox business. it wasn't just this one report. >> this isn't uncommon. women stay the path longer when it comes to money and they also panic less. this isn't the first time we've seen women come out ahead in the hedge fund world. it has a lot to do with being steady, not gambling, making long-term reports. >> the report did say that. women have a different kind of risk assessment but they also manage fewer dollars. so maybe innate in that there's less

i went to walter reed a couple of times and you go room to room with the soldiers.s with no legs and arm and you go to them and they all wanted to talk about dumb and dumber. not because they are stupid, but they wanted to make me laugh. jim agrees there is a great value in something that does that. i'm glad you are doing that. >> we are so blessed. >> thank you for your patience. >> every single -- >> it's unbelievable. >> a special edition. it's nice to be here. we will see you again tomorrow. stay tuned for your live breaking news here on msnbc. honestly, as much as i love this job, i plan to do a lot more. i needed a new laptop for my pre-med classes, something that runs office and has a keyboard. but i wanted a tablet for me, for stuff like twitter and xbox, so my downtime can be more like uptime. that's why i got a windows 2 in 1 which does both -- works as a laptop and a tablet. so i can manage my crazy life, and also have a life. [ beep ] gotta go. ♪ ♪ when our only job was having fun. well, it's feeling pretty simple again thanks to weight watchers new simp

the heat will visit wounded warrior at walter reed this afternoon.m for doing that. >>> and the national museum of american history is marking the 100th anniversary of one of the most popular exhibitions. the first lady's, by displaying michelle obama inaugural gown the ruby colored gown was designed by jason wu and will be on display at the smithsonian. those are things that we thought you should know. >>> we're moments away from governor chris christie's state of the state address. this is a live look at the new jersey state house. as we told you at the top of the show, this will be one of the most important speeches of christie's career. many will be watching. sources tell nbc he will address christie's delivering the speech before a democrat-controlled senate and assembly which has launched inquiries into the matter. joining me now michael smerconish, an nbc contributor. let's talk about the polling here. nationally, it seemed that people are not tuned into the story. but each and every day, as i watch this, you see drips of information. perhaps

in other words, those that many of us, i know that the president has visited walter reed as have i, those who have lost arms, legs, they receive a medical retirement, and their cost of living was cut under this budget as well. so my ameny would pay for this temporary unemployment insurance for those who are struggling to find work, to give them a transition, to get them back to work, but it would also pay for it to fix and reverse this unfair cut in military retirement benefits to their cost-of-living increase, those who, by the way, have served, many have served multiple tours for our country and have sacrificed a tremendous amount because they moved around, because they have served both, many of them in iraq and afghanistan on behalf of our country. and it would also, in addition to that, give $7 billion to reducing our deficit. and the way i pay for this is to close, to fix an egregious problem in our tax code. it's a problem that was identified by the treasury i.g.. it is, frankly, egregious. this is a problem in our tax code that has allowed illegal immigrants, has allowed people who

so they would have had doctors at walter reed, a bethesda, half of the hospitals in washington. so this river that the medical officers to cared for the president and life would conspired to conceal their role in his murder is absurd on its face and only if that autopsy occurred in dallas this river may not have began. >> host: but oliver stone is a great movie maker but he did the movie called jfk that he made it appear to see young people who did not have a background that perhaps lindsay johnson was involved. i interviewed him about that. in the movie is says for one hour after the assassination the telephones in washington did not work as part of the conspiracy. i said i made one dozen calls from the senate gallery. >> guest: you were part of the conspiracy. [laughter] >> host: i said i will not talk until this is confirmed by called the kennedy aide to the white house and other calls. he said we thought the research that carefully and i said you were not successful. jackie kennedy is 33? >> guest: 30 floor. >> host: we don't have a plan. but did everything was in place over

i've been to walter reed, people lost their limbs in this war. is an indictment to me to think there was a cavalier attitude how we deploy forces, and knowing they make political decisions knowing that people will die and they really don't care. that's a sad, sad state of affairs. >> you were against the war in iraq. >> i was. >> but the surge worked and that was a play in fallujah because the people of iraq stood up and fought with us and took their country back. was it irresponsible the way we left? >> the decision to leave, brian, was a political decision, not one based on strategy or the reality the intelligence was telling us. we knee that if we left, it would be like controlling rods out of a nuclear reactor going wild. that's what we're seeing now. in fallujah, we lost a lot of blood and treasure. my marine corps brothers lost a lot of lives there. they wanted it to win an election, not what's best for the region. now we have a real problem with that being a magnet, if you will, for al-qaeda to come in and do this. >> between the budget as

ironically we became friends because we shared five months in the hospital at walter reed in adjoining rooms. in the meantime i had gotten to know him better, so it came time his last year after us being 20 years together, he was leading -- leaving the senate, and some of you jen please note the way is get a senate office senior arty. senators get to choose. i was pretty senior, and my staff wanted to look at senator thurman's office. bigger than mine. i had robert kennedy's office, which i had an emotional attachment to. i was walking in the enter rural corridors, and i walk in and i see his secretary, i believe her name was am a, and all the boxes pop up, and i said, is the chair in? she said, you go right in. he was sitting in the exact same spot. he had come in the side door, but this time one leg in the wheelchair, looking out the window to the supreme court. he said, joe, sit down. sit down. truth. he said to me, he said, joe, he said remember the first time you came to see me? and i did not. and he recounted the story. i looked at him and i said, i was a smart young fellow, was

privilege for me of being governor i was able to travel abroad and meet with brave virginia warriors at walter reed and ramstein, germany, hospitals, in the sands of kuwait, and at the bases in kabul and kandahar. we have one of the top national guard units in all of america commanded by general long. and -- [applause] as we sit here comfortably and gather in safety for this speech the soldiers of the 1710 transportation company from emporia, virginia, who i got to meet with while deployed in afghanistan are still there. tonight, we're joined by tabitha rodes, the wife of commander rodney rhodes, and sara talbert, the wife of master sergeant albert talbert on his third deployment in afghanistan. tabitha, sara, the people of virginia thank you for your sacrifice. we commend the leadership of your husbands and all who serve them, serve with them and we pray for your safe return next month. let us recognize you. [applause] i want to thank all of you for the work that you've done to make virginia the most veteran-friendly state in america. we've expanded the wall of honor at the virginia war memorial.

suffered horrible wounds, including those that many of us have had the privilege of visiting in walter reed. so we can pay for and fix the military retirement cuts, as many members on both sides of the aisle have said we have a commitment to do that because we think that that was unfair. what else can we do with this? we can also pay for the bill pending on the floor, the three months of extension of unemployment benefits for american workers who are struggling during this period, who are trying to get back to work. and finally, we can also take the remainder of the savings and afly to the deficit. so again, fix tax abuse where there has been fraud, rampant fraud found by investigations, by requiring a social security number, just like the earned income tax credit, and in return it is a three-for. we can pay for the three-month unemployment extension on this floor, we can fix the unfair cut to military retirees and to our wounded war yes warriors, and wn help reduce our deficit. the presiding officer: the senator's time has expired. mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: the majo

i went to walter reed and bethesda and then you understand the sacrifices that our military makes and their families make alongside of them. we must never take that for granted. we must always support them and keep them in our errors. just this morning, three americans, two of the military, were killed in a plane accident and annas and. -- in afghanistan. i think most of virginia, sailors and a helicopter, three sailors, one is still missing, they do make that sacrifice day in and day out. their family makes it along to them. into an going introduction. i have a paragraph here, but you did a wonderful job. thank you very much. before i made my comments, i thought it might be held for me to hear from all of you. what concerns you? what is on your mind today as these are here? -- as we sit here? what is on your mind? what do you think should be the priority for united it's of america? -- united states of america? >> repealing obamacare. [laughter] >> anyone else? >> cutting taxes. >> anything else? strong on key social issues like light. -- life. >> i am delighted to see one of my forme

before this event, they met with some amazing wounded warriors over at walter reed.to have some of those wounded warriors here in the audience today. honoring our troops -- [ applause ] honoring our troops isn't just something that they do when they come to the white house. it's something they do all year round with their heat home strong initiative. and pat riley, i know has been hugely invested in this. we talked a little bit about this. his incredible admiration for our men and women in uniform. but more concretely, his willingness to do something about how we support them i think is a credit to the entire organization. on top of that, coach spoelstra serves as a member of the nba fit team to encourage healthy habits among young people. i know michelle is thankful for the support that many of the players have given to her let's move initiative. i know all of you are getting ready to embarrass yourself by singing karaoke for shane's education foundation. just leave al green to the pros, people. so -- [ laughter ] so bottom line is, outstanding athletes. outstanding

mentioned, i served, i had the honor of serving on the veteran affairs committee, and when you tour walter reed and bethesda and brooke army medical, you understand the sacrifices that our military makes and their families right alongside of them. we must never take that for granted, we must always keep them this our prayers. just recently, this morning, three americans -- two of them military -- were killed in a plane accident in afghanistan and off the coast of virginia sailors were in a helicopter, there were another two or, i think, three sailors -- one's still missing. so they do, they make that sacrifice day in and day out, and their family makes it alongside of them. i'm not going to go into the introduction, i have a paragraph here, because you did such a wonderful job, thank you very much. and before i start my comments, i thought it might be helpful for me to hear from all of you as to what concerns you and what's on your mind today as we sit here, january the 10th, 2014. this is the first meeting of the conservative women network, and i just -- what is on your mind? what do you think

i imagine at walter reed today, as they read these excerpts in this book. >> imagine the commander inon. how do you separate the two? how do you separate yourself as commander in chief from your troops and the mission you're putting forward? it just doesn't make sense, doesn't make sense on paper, doesn't make sense on air, doesn't make sense from the president of the united states to hear any of that coming forward in this book. it's shocking. >> yeah. and i was watching one news channel yesterday, you would think that this would be a big story. all about the bridge thing with christie. we'll talk about that in a while. meanwhile, up on capitol hill, they're trying to do something about extending long-term unemployment i think back to two years. >> that was the scariest hand i've ever seen. >> i would agree. >> that one right there? >> yeah. that's a brother of thing. >> but you know what? that's a perfect transition because it's a handout. we're talking about handouts. there are some who say that welfare is a handout, that unemployment insurance, which they're debating now on capito

women's shelter where we brought women together, since to do the program, a version of the program at walter reedi have a larger interest in animals and i am going to agree with you that we should put a lid on the butter. >> i could ride a horse before i could rise a bicycle. and not 4 h club, call me weird, i do not like animals in food prep area. maybe that is just some kind of cuckoos thing, and but when i see a cat licking the roof, it turns me off. i am fine. i can still get on a horse today. i had the best childhood you could imagine but i was really young. my grandfather grew rice. how you grow rice is nothing but mud and water and nothing better for a 5-year-old going around in mud and water. >> he is not an anti hero. he knows what the animals mean to me, they mean nothing to him, they are not allowed anywhere near him and he doesn't know their names but every time we go to the e emergency that, why can't these bastards learn how to cross the street? just has -- the whole animal kingdom. >> reporter: you gave up working and u.s. elections and only work on 4 in elections. explain why you

if you look at the western report on nadal hassan, he was going around walter reed with his car thatwe learn the lessons of ft. hood or boston or we surrender. i don't see evidence of cases being thrown out because of profiling or agents on the ground doing things completely abhorrent to the constitution. yes, i'm not surrendering my rights to the constitution, but there's no need for the new profiling other than to placate high-influencing brotherhood groups in this administration. >> dr. jasser, great to have you here. >> thank you. >>> next up, he came home to find his mom dead. when he called 911, the dispatcher hung up the phone. think she got fired? guess again. >>> and coming up, young investors who turn their dollars into millions. grab your pen and paper, they will show you how to do it, too. >>> you did build that. "the wolf of wall street" tells the true story of jordan bellford whose rise to fame was filled with corruption. >> i was making so much money i didn't know what to do with it. the new question is this, was all this legal? ♪ absolutely not. >> those are all the t

. >> my attitude was in the case of both walter reed and the nuclear issue which is back in front of us, when i fired both chief of staff and secretary of the air force didn't fire them for not knowing about the problem in the first place. i fired them because once they knew about it they didn't take it seriously enough. that is the kind of accountability that i think needs to be exercise more frequently in washington. speeds and she brought up the issue of firing how did you feel about losing stanley mcchrystal? >> well at first, i mean i felt he committed a terrible error and i say so in the book. giving access to this reporter and mcchrystal is probably one of the most effective combat generals we have had since world war ii. both as commander in afghanistan and as commander of the joint special operations unit in iraq and afghanistan. he did a lot of damage to our enemies and the people who were killing our troops. but the world of politics and the media was the new battle space for general mcchrystal and he was, he was a brand-new second lieutenant and that realm. and as effecti