Comfort comfortable, i incorrectly stated that i too had been in special forces. That was wrong and i have no excuse. I have Great Respect for those who have served our national in special forces. They and all veterans deserve a department of Veterans Affairs that provide them the care and benefits they have earned. We at v. A. Are working hard to restore trust. And again, i apologize to those who may have been offended by my misstatement. We remain very focused on continuing our progress to better serve veterans. I would be glad to take your questions at this time. Mr. Secretary, dave from the washington post. Hi dave. Have you had time to think about what caused you to burst out like that and what was your motivation . Well dave, as i said my biggest motivation was to connect with the veteran. As all of you know in my First National press conference i gave out my cell phone number and many of you have been kind enough to publish it and repeat if and i it and i get calls from veterans every single day. My whole purpose for this job is to try to connect with veterans and to better serve veterans and that is what i was trying to do. Mr. Secretary [ inaudible question ] with your experience, your service to the military then and now, ho could you possibly say such a thing . I made a mistake and i apologize for it. I was in the army. I went to west point. I was an Army Airborne ranger went to Jungle School and desert warfare school. When i was in the 82nd Airborne Division we were the Rapid Deployment force for the military. Did you realize you had made that mistake as you call it and did you ever think you would be corrected . I was talking to a homeless veteran and i was concerned about getting that homeless veteran, if they were a veteran, the kind of care and services they needed. What i said was not on my mind. I was trying to connect this w them and they had people with them and we had people with them to get them into a home if they were a homeless veteran. [ inaudible question ] i apologized to them. Susan malvo. Susan. [ inaudible question ] well what you try to do when you connect with someone is try to find Common Ground. And with veterans my Common Ground is my veteran experience. And so what i was trying to do is find a way to connect with that veteran. And as i said i made a misstatement and i apologize for that. I have no excuse for it. But if you look at my 61 years of biography, you will never find that ive claimed to be part of special forces. I never claimed that. It was a misstatement and a mistake. [ inaudible question ] the question was did Anyone Around me tell me i had misspoken and the answer is no. Mr. Secretary you stated that 60 people have been fired from the department based on misconduct around the scandal allegations before you were secretary and that was also a misstatement. Are you concerned that this can undermine your ability for your trust . For my 61 years, integrity is one of the foundations of my character. The reason i was a boy scout and went to the west point and into the infantry and the reason i joined proctor and Gamble Company and the reason im here and the reason i want to be here to care for veterans. Integrity and character is part of who i am and i will do better that i dont make mistakes likedy like in los angeles. And if veterans are accepting your apology, do you feel like youve used up your one free pass you had with them to. [ inaudible question ] trust is something that is gained every single day, one veteran at a time. When you get these phone call from the veterans or text messages, they tell me the problem they have. I go away and work on it with a team of people that i have and if i can solve that problem, ive earned one bit of trust. Now i may give up a bit of next day but my job is to work for the veterans every single day, 24 hours a day, seven days a week and get them the benefits they earned. I served with them. Did you ever serve res ig consider resignation . Im here to make the v. A. Work and so the veterans we serve can get the benefits theyve earned. And weve made progress. Wait times are down 18 and the claim backlog is down and great progress made during general shinsekis time when sloan gibson was interim secretary, we trying to get that down. Last question. Im sorry, i cant hear. [ inaudible question ]. You said there were 900 people fired, 60 directly to the scandal and it was a lesser number but there may be a pattern here. And the chairman and i talk on the phone frequently and we had a great relationship and we Work Together to help solve Veterans Issues and i think you saw great unanimity to do what we need to do. We are here to help veterans. Everybody wants that and nobody disputes that. Youve been listening to v. A. Secretary Robert Mcdonald saying he was trying to connect with a homeless veteran when he a homeless veteran when he misstated his service. And the other top story, the Train Derailment in california. More than two dozen people sent to california and nobody has died. And Hallie Jackson is on the scene at oxnard where officials are updating the investigation right now. What happened here . Reporter can you see the News Conference happening behind me and behind that where the train cars derailed. We know before 6 00 this morning there was a produce truck on the tracks here in oxnard. Were learning moments ago that the driver was a 54yearold man from arizonaand traveling southbound and tried to make a right on to a street and instead he turned right on to the railroad tracks. The conductor carrying 50 people was able to see the truck from a distance away and tried to slow done and could not stop in time. That is when the trap hit the truck creating the incredible amth you are seeing that fiery crash. 28 people were hospitalized and 23 treated at the scene and 24 people critical and fighting for their lives and 13 people are still in the emergency room going through treatment. Metro link is here on scene. This is now an ntsb investigation, a fullgo team has traveled here to Southern California to conduct the investigation and figure out what happened. We know three of the four passenger cars on this train had been recently within the last few years updated with safety features to absorb the energy in a crash like this and impact like this. There was one car that did not have the upgraded safety features but it was in the middle. Officials think this could have been worse if the train cars had not been updated. Those measures were put in place after a deadly 2005 crash in glendale and after another crash in chatsworth with a commuter train collided with a freight train. So we are continuing to monitor the updates but for now it is a while before the trains get cleared. Cranes have to come in and lift the three cars that have been derailed back up and put them back upright so trains can get back to normal here. Hallie jackson from l. A. Thank you for that update. Well take a quick break here and bring you new developments in the fight to fund Homeland Security. It is a busy afternoon in the cycle. Please stay with us. Curling up in bed with a Favorite Book is nice. But i think women would rather curl up with their favorite man. But heres the thing about half of men over 40 have some degree of erectile dysfunction. Well, viagra helps guys with ed get and keep an erection. And remember, you only take it when you need it. Ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. Do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. Side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach and abnormal vision. To avoid longterm injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. Stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. Ask your doctor about viagra. Welcome back. And now to developing political news. First how we got here. As you know another Government Shutdown is looming just three days away. The major sticking point, believe it or not, is Homeland Security security money at a time when we are seeing heightened calls for terrorist attacks in the u. S. They dont want to see the executive action for immigration and now the filibuster four times, the latest coming last night. And here is what will happen without funding. 195,000 Homeland Security staff would still work and not get paid. 30,000 staff would be furloughed. And breaking news this hour that Mitch Mcconnell will offer a way out. A temporary band aid that could fund through september. It would come through a separate vote. So lets dig into this with Ben Dominique from the heartland institute. This morning it seemed like it could be bad news but the latest developments seem it could be better. I think Mitch Mcconnell is doing a good job of giving the American People what they want proving that the president can govern and he cannot. The leadership has promised the base over and over again, next time well fight this fight you want us to fight and this is another example of them proving they are not willing to do that. I think this was an example where you had the kind of toxic nature around this decision and the executive action. You had the injunction from the federal court against it taking place and you had, i think, an opportunity where the base really felt like things are going our way and we are going to get a fight on this subject and instead mcconnell is not just conceding everythingly in kicking the can to september but filling the tree with amendments so democrats in the senate wont have to vote on everything put in there. You think they should go forward with shutting down the dhs. I should say i oppose the existence of dhs. I think i. C. E. Should not be at dhs. And i think it is the off spring of the bureaucracy. But republicans have given their base an indication they would be willing to fight on this. They did so explicitly before the last election and to go through the process that theyve gone through in this it is going to hurt their standing and the question is what are Republican Leaders willing to do to fightish and they said they and they said they wouldnt have Government Shutdowns. Theyve given away their leverage. They said they will not be willing to fight and 41 can fight fiscal policy. And you keep using the word fight and that accurately reflects a way a lot of the base republicans feel. And yet, what is the fight over . This is a simple story. It is a fight to stop the president s new immigration program. Which, right now, has been stopped. Now, i get because we all get politics is about symbolism and standing up and democrats can remember how frustrated they were not standing up to various bush proposal but can you speak to the logic. How do you fight something that is currently suspended by the federal sports. This is more about the optics about the situation. This is Republican Leaders saying republicans are the problem and kicking this back over to the house and saying hey, if you guys want to be whackos about this well let you. But we are not going to lead in the way we promised our base that we would. Over and over again, the leadership we can run things. If you dont have people pushing us to shut down the government and going to the mat, we can make things work but this is an early example of how they dont have an alternative strategy or a solution that gets them to an end goal other than democrats will get their way and weve rolled over. And kicking the can down the road. When you dont have the right information, rogsman massey said it is not clear what the impact is because there are a lot of things that are supposedly funded. And it was said the yo lo series of government. And these folks cant afford to go to workweek after week without getting checks and 30,000 furloughed and it seems like politically the Republican Party survived sequester and shutdown and folks are saying we can live like this. This is okay for us. I think in this case first off, i have to say furlough is fun because you get paid not to work. But the fun thing about this particular fight is this is the one thing where mcconnell and the Republican Leadership gave the false indication to the base they were willing to stand up and have steel to the spine on this issue. That is what is damaging. It is saying we are not just going to surrender but start shooting our own soldiers and hand you our muskets too and that is something the base is bound to react to and another aspect of the lack of trust between leadership and the base going forward. Ben domenech thanks for being with us. Good to be with you. And everything fair game in a live town hall here live tomorrow night on msnbc. So tweet us with your questions and watch us tomorrow night here at 8 00 on msnbc. Re you guys doing . Making sure nothing sticks. Otherwise, we gotta scrub all this stuff off. Huh, what . Nobody thought of this before . Whats wrong with people . Dish issues . Not with improved cascade platinum. It powers through. Your toughest, starchy messes. Better than finishs best. The first time. As if your dishes were nonstick. Cascade. Now thats clean. [ female announcer ] hands were made for talking. Feet. Tiptoeing. Better things than the pain stiffness, and joint damage of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. Before you and your rheumatologist decide on a biologic ask if xeljanz is right for you. Xeljanz tofacitinib is a small pill not an injection or infusion, for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. Xeljanz can relieve ra symptoms, and help stop further joint damage. Xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers have happened in patients taking xeljanz. Dont start xeljanz if you have any infection unless ok with your doctor. Tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. Your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz and routinely check certain liver tests. Tell your doctor if you have been to a region where fungal infections are common, and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c or are prone to infections. Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take. One pill, twice daily, xeljanz can reduce ra pain and help stop further joint damage, even without methotrexate. Ask about xeljanz. Good job still running in the morning . Yeah. Getting your vegetables every day . When i can. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] couldve had a v8. Two full servings of vegetables for only 50 delicious calories. President obama just wrapped up a meeting with a key u. S. Ally in the war on terror. Were talking here aboutbabout qatar and this is why we need them. The United States and qatar had a Strong Security relationship. Qatar is a Strong Partner in our coalition to degrade and ultimately defeat isil. The more we can reduce sectarian tensions in the region and isolate violent extremists the more effective we can be. The small arab nation is a big partner against isis but the ties to militants is a big reason for hesitation. They have provided crucial launch zones for Coalition Airstrikes and also offered their bases for the u. S. To train syrian vessels and they were a gobetween with the u. S. And militants. But they have given diplomatic support to the same rebel groups. One example here the past fall the u. S. Treasury Department Said an isis commander received 2 million from an unnamed qatar businessman. And small groups of syrians and iraqis are arming themselves to protect their families. The greatest is a group of syrian christians trained by american volunteers. They trained about 500 men outside of mosul. This is amid news they kidnapped 90 syrian christian this is week in syria. They targeted this region with two dozen airstrikes in the past two days alone. All of that air powner a power and a series of victories say isis is on the run. But Richard Engel said that is not the case. Isis still controlled raqqa and mosul and isis just broke out into labe raw. It is taking over a new country. So if that is defeat of isis or isis on the road to defeat i would hate to think what isis success would look like. Lets get to retired army officer douglas olive ant a director for iraq and senior fellow at the new american foundation. Doug, it is great to have you. Afternoon. Good to have you today. Pleasure. And youre recently back from iraq. I am. And you say it might not happen immediately but the outcome is increasingly clear. What gives you such confidence . The piece is coming together in iraq and the outlook in syria and other places are not so rosie. But with the country Training Forces and training more brigades with the United States assistance and consolidating units from the south and bringing them up to get them into the fight and a series of tactic al tactical defenses in provinces and in the north we have the kurds who are essentially encircling the city of mosul and break the supply lines into syria and isolate that city so that no one can get in or out, at least not into isils other trrs. Ss territories. So all of the other indicates are good right now in the attack. And now there is a Nonprofit Group stepping in to say where others cant and the group is called sons of Liberty International and the guy that heads it is matthew van dyke and spent six months under gadhafi and he said it was the killing of his friends that motivated him to step in. They are training christians the ground in iraq and the president said this is not a religious war but is it turning into one, is the question . I dont think it is turning into a religious war but i have no problem with these guys training the christians. Isil has demonstrated as we saw with theizeiddy that they are willing to annialate the small groups inside of iraq and for that matter if it could get to the shia arabs it would attempt to do the same to them. You dont like to throw around words like genocide but it looks like some flavor there of. So is training the christians going to make a big dent in the macro picture in the war against isis, no it does not. But is it important to this community of christians that doesnt get annihilated, it matters to them. Yeah ill all for it. And you mentioned it is a Shia Authority country and under hussein it was a sunni population and they are been marginalized since 2003 and you are arguing a significant portion them are sympathetic and so explain for us in plain english where are the iraqisunnis sympathetic to isis and can this change . I think there is a significant portion of iraq sunnis there are two things going on. First, they enjoy the privileges that they enjoyed under the last regime. And for them to to live as a minority in a minority status inside of iraq is something that is just unacceptable to them. That regime will never be as good as it once what. Think of white south africa or kurds in kosovo. You will never have it quite so good again. Is that a fair comparison . Because we dont think of it that way. Is it that sort of authoritarian, that is what it was like for some of the sunnis under saddam and they will never be brought back to that kind of power . Well certainly and im not saying they were all kplis ant. Many live normal lives and had nothing to do with the renleem and regime and many live their lives and have farming. But they did get a disproportionate amount of attention and services from the government and they will probably never see that again. They dont know they got that because everyone else was deprived and now things are distributed more equitably or perhaps some going perhaps now other groups are more privileged. That is also happening as well. But this is a dynamic that they long for the old days when things were better for them. And that is natural. I mean, they are deprived. Not maybe in absolute terms but relative to what they once enjoyed. One of the best allies are the kurds, they have been tough and strong and loyal and folks are saying this will lead to an independent kurdistan and you say no that will not happen. There are stubborn facts of geography here. The kurds are landlocked. And we have to remember. Do they have a lot of oil in kurdistan. Yes they do. And can they harvest that and get it to market. They have to push it through turkey or south through iraq. At least given that they cant push it west through syria any time soon and east to iran they are under sanctions so it is difficult. So it is essentially north or south and that puts them in an awkward situation given turkey and their turkish minority and their feelings about an independent kurdistan and they are part of iraq and if they want declare independence they have to figure a gentle way to do that to keep relations with bagdad and not taking kirkuk with them. And i know im getting into details here and getting wonky here for you. That is what we appreciate you for. And we are keeping you in the cycle here so what you want to know. As of today, marijuana is legal in alaska. The third state to legalize it. But a ban on public smoking is still strictly enforced. Winter weather is putting the brakes on travel throughout the south. While bitter cold temperatures are crippling much of the east coast. Here dominica davis is tracking it for us. We are still tracking the temperatures. The cold looks like it will ease up but not until next week. Here is what we saw today for the world told keemts. Minus 11 in portland. These are air temperatures not windchills. Minus ten in binghamton. Hartford minus four. All recordbreakers. The latest winter storm warnings and advisories stretching from texas into the carolinas. So this is a brand new system that well be seeing by wednesday. Storm tracker, though is showing a system that is moving over the northeast. It will push up to the northeast, i should say, tonight and tomorrow morning. And guess what . It brings more snow to eastern massachusetts. So by tomorrow we could break the alltime snowiest record in new england with an expected five inches of snow. Tomorrow snowstorm down to the southeast will bring shovable snow which means five inches or more from alabama up to north and south carolina. That is a look at your weather. Youre watching the cycle on msnbc. Well be right back. Great rates for great rides. Geico motorcycle see how much you could save. Why do i take metamucil everyday . Because it helps me skip the bad stuff. Im good. Thats what i like to call, the meta effect. 4in1 multihealth metamucil is clinically proven to help you feel less hungry between meals. Experience the meta effect with our multihealth wellness line. I take prilosec otc each morning for my frequent heartburn. Because it gives me. Zero heartburn prilosec otc. The number 1 doctorrecommended frequent heartburn medicine for 9 straight years. One pill each morning. 24 hours. Zero heartburn. Sunday dinners at my house. Its a full day for me, and i love it. But when i started having back pain my sister had to come help. I dont like asking for help. I took tylenol but i had to take six pills to get through the day. So my daughter brought over some aleve. Its just two pills, all day and now, im back aleve. Two pills. All day strong, all day long. And now introducing aleve pm for a better am. Closing arguments will begin soon in the american sniper trial. The prosecution and the defense have each presented duelling doctors, one arguing that ruth was insane and doctors argued that it was a calculated killing for the perfection. And while jurors dont need a motive to make a decision but one question they will grappling with is why did he do it. Deliberations could begin as early as tomorrow. We are live outside of the courthouse in stevensville texas, and charles, there isnt a clear answer here in terms of this case. Reporter not as far as a motive. But the clear question the jury has to decide is about insanity. Was he insane at the time of the killings. In texas you have to have a mental defect or a Mental Illness and not know right from wrong at the time of the incident. Now ralphs attorney is he he was suffering from a psychosis and delirious and having dilutions that pigs were invading the world and they were pig hybrids and out to kill him first. But the state say ralph ran from the police after the killings and he admitted to the killings and continued to run from the police. That showed he did know right from wrong. The case could go to the jury as early as tomorrow. Back to you. Charles had lock in texas. Thank you. And turning to lisa green, author of on your case. And picking up the insanity defense, help us understand what a legal defense, what is the bar to prove to go forward with the insanity defense and convince the jurors that is what was really going on . Just a word about texas before we dive into this case. It is not unheard of for defendants in texas to get an insanity acquittal. Andrea yates who drowned her five children and was acquitted and now institutionalized. And tough bar as charles pointed out. And when you have duelling experts speaking about the issue, you wonder if the defense can get its burden done. It is the defenses burd an to put forth burden to put forth the argument that ralph didnt know what he was doing and you wonder about the prosecution and the pig thing coming from a Television Show and how could someone who didnt know what he was doing that was wrong flee from the police and did ralph say i dont know if im insane as a ploy to buy his way out of a conviction like setting forth the defense argument cynically. Im not saying that is true or not but it seems to be the prosecutions approach and they only need to persuade jurors that the defense hasnt met its burden and hes convicted. So that is where the duelling experts are fascinating. Which one will the jurors believe. And insane or dilution what is the motive . And they dont know that but why is that important . Technically not important in criminal cases but it helps jurors understand what happened . Particularly in a murder case which is so on its face unbelievably, especially here. If the prosecution can persuade jurors that ralph was angry at littlefield and kyle there was suggestion he was angry about not stopping for food on the way. He wasnt hungry. Just generally angry and he shot out of anger, that is a motive that does not aid his insanity defense. If he shot in selfdefense because he erroneously thought they were coming at him, that is the work of someone not a good mental state. The way you lay it out, im not going to ask you in this particular case but the general way you lay it out, goes to the idea that the insanity defense, people roll their eyes and think somebody is trying to get out of having to go to prison for something they did. Generally speaking is the insanity defense a dodge or something appropriate given the amount of folks we have in this country who are mentally ill . I dont know statistically, but it does seem to me there is not a perfect fit so say the least between the way the criminal Justice System operates and the way our Mental Health understanding of what drives people to act operates. So youve got this buy onary binary choice for jurors insanity or prison. Does that aid or find justice for the two families and does it apressury ate the appreciate the right state of mind or for someone clearly disturbed. What is the right outcome and do we have the nuance. And we have the toughest standards around. If you have a lot of severe Mental Illness, you should be dealt with as a Mental Illness. And the standard in texas is much tougher. Can you have mental documents established, im speaking beyond this case and still be criminally liability and the idea you have no sense of right and wrong which is an extreme type of psychosis, legally, im not a doctor but legally in terms of the standard. But what i want to get your thoughts on this is the other piece is of course the idea of these deceased veterans being heroes, being people that a jury can relate to. Technically the law says you are not supposed to care and figure out the facts of the case and whether these people were murdered, whether they are good or bad. But from your view now watching this case, do you think it matters at all and do you think there is any element here of the fact that these are people i think, it is fair to say, that a lot of jurors can identify with and sympathize with above and beyond just a random person. Can you think of another case with the timing, the Academy Awards and the widow coming out on the red carpet and speaking about her late husband and the jurors returning. If you have ever been on a jury you know jurors take this seriously and when they promise to be unbiased i take them at their word. But im no psychologist, very tough to separate the surrounding cultural and sense of national pride. And emotions. And emotions for this case. Which is why the defense wanted to to put the movie aside, people will sympathize with the heroes. They tried to help someone. Insanity defense the conviction doesnt matter. Just got back from serving on a grand jury and different circumstances but it does give you perspective into the type of things that may be going through the jurors mind. Thank you, lisa green. We appreciate it. And breaking news the president has vetoed the keystone xl pipeline. And Mitch Mcconnell said he will attempt to override the veto no later than next week but it is not expected to get the two thirds majority needed to override the president s veto. Very busy day here and there is more cycle next. We asked people a question how much money do you have in your pocket right now . I have 40 53, 21, do you think the money in your pocket could make an impact on something as big as your retirement . Not a chance. I dont think so. Its hard to imagine how something so small can help with something so big. But if you start putting that towards your retirement every week and let it grow over time, for twenty to thirty years that retirement challenge sfx crowd cheering might not seem so big after all. Its just you and your honey. The setting is perfect. But then erectile dysfunction happens again. You know what . Plenty of guys have this issue not just getting an erection but keeping it. Well, viagra helps guys with ed get and keep an erection. Ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. Do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. Side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach and abnormal vision. To avoid longterm injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. Stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. Ask your doctor if. Viagra is right for you. I need to look for a used car. But i just keep putting it off. Its daunting. What if i make the wrong choice . Its like, if i buy a tshirt and then change my mind i can return it. But a car . You dont reeeaaa eeeeeaaaaaly know until youve driven it a few days. I just want to be sure. As long as people drive cars carmax will be the best way to buy them. In the guest spot today the author of a book i can not stop talking about, one of the best books ive read about the failed war on drugs an im proud to welcome johan harri, a book that may change how you see our societies relationship to drugs. Welcome. Im glad my bribing you paid off. You talk about the overwhelming people who use drugs relationship and medicinally and 90 dont become addicts and 10 do and that is where we focus our attention and that is where the media looks. What is the true source of addiction . Because weve been sold that myth it is the drugs themselves but you say it is much more than that. One of my earliest memories is trying to wake up one of my relatives and not being able to and i realized i had drug addiction in my family and i wanted to do on this journey because there were loads of questions that i couldnt answer and why did the drug war begin 100 years ago and are the alternative uses and what are the causes and going on this journey and what struck me almost everything we think we know on the subject is wrong and youve gone to one that surprised me. If you said to me four years ago when i started writing this book what causes heroin addiction and i would looked at you like you were simple minded it is heroin that causes at diction. We think if all five of us if we used heroin together for 20 days because there are chemical hooks, our body would physically need it and that is what addiction is. And the first thing wrong with that story, if was explained to me if we stepped out of the studio and get hit by a car and break our hip and taken to the hospital and given dia morphine and that is heroin and stronger because it is 100 pure and given it for a long period of time. If what we think about addiction is right, what should happen . These people would leave the hospital as addicts. I didnt know what to do with that when i learned it. Your facial expressions were like mine confusion. A professor in vancouver explained to me the idea of addiction were a series of experiments done in the 20th century and your viewers can view them as realistic. You get a rat and put it in a cage with water and one with cocaine. The rat will prefer the drug water and kill itself. And that the the the theory of addiction. And you talk about portugal that has legalized drugs and something you wouldnt expect. And bruce decided to build a place called rat park. Giving rats something to do. Everything a rat could have. Sex, lovely food and tunnels and the drugged water and the normal water. But in rat park they dont like the drugged water. They almost never drink it and never overuse it. And one of the things we learn from rat park is human beings have an inate need to contact with each other because we were traumatized or beaten down that might be gambling or pornography or whatever but in portugal 1 of the population were addicted and every year they got worse and they said well stop having a model that we stop taking addicts and stop cutting them off, do the exact opposite and so they to crack. Partly that was things like rehab, but mostly it was subsidized jobs. If you employee this guy this guy as a mechanic, well pay half his wages. That is just an amazing tactic. Johan hari thank you so much for your time. What he learned from being glued to Russian State Television for a whole week. This is the equivalent of the sugar in one regular can of soda. 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At boeing, one thing never changes. Our passion to make it real. Some fighting in ukraine continues despite a new ceasefire. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin is telling russians that a full war with ukraine is unlikely but such a scenario would be apocalyptic apocalyptic. He took that message to russian tv. You can see nine out of ten russians get most of their news from state tv meaning putins leadership is often judged within his own echo chamber, playing up russian nationalism and ma. Russian state tv a powerful weapon. How swiftly it both dulls the senses and raises your ire. Wow. He just locked himself away for a week watching exclusively russian tv. Hes hear to tell usre to tell us what he learned or unlearned. An honor to have you at the table. You survived. Ive survived. Im still having flashbacks so it is not easy. What did you get out of this week of tv emersion . I gained seven pounds but i also its interesting. Russia seems to be a country that doesnt know what it is in the world, doesnt know what it wants to be in the world. There is a lot of stuff. You turn it on and it is diehard. Home alone is a huge favorite in russia. I love home alone. I can watch that all day long. The other half is propaganda. After a week of this i felt putin was kind of my invisible roommate whispering to me about all the horror that is the decadent west was inflicting on russia. The west is now this progay mecca of wearing speedos. So heres something you wrote in the piece. A friend of mine a man in his 30s, who avoids state controlled tv and goes straight to alternative news sources on the internet warns me in an email your task may prove harmful to your health in general. When you write, ill be fine. I think. Clearly, you survived that. Is there a difference between those who live in russia and you are ingrained there . The people like me friend who are very highly educated live in the cities they never watch russian tv. To them when they heard i was doing this they all cracked up. Are you insane . What kind of drugs are you taking with you . Then i listed these drugs. Then they were shocked i would do this because no one from their cohort would do that. Those people represent 80, 90 of the population. There are two different societies. The one that hates the war in ukraine is still too small to have any real influence on politics. If you had a really election, even a fair election, i would guess that putin would win that election election. My favorite bit, to suffer and to survive this must be the meaning of being russian. It was in the past and will be forever. This is the fantasy being served up each night on channel 1. Please expound, sir. It is very interesting. So theres a lot a lot of the humor is very homophobic. A lot of the humor is about the rich people and little documentaries are about tough men and women living in the arctic and hunting ducks and eating ducks and making love to ducks. Anything with ducks, basically. Ducks, ducks, ducks. And thats the kind of thats the new russia because things are going to get tough economically. Forget about all the expensive foreign cheese and learn to survive off of fowl or whatever you can catch. It used to be a celebration of decadence and wealth. Moscow is one of the most decadent and wealthy cities in the world. Now were going to go into this period of economic turmoil and everyone has to pitch in and help the country. Thats putins speech on new years to the country. Now i enjoyed some of your scription descriptions of your programming. They had a saturday night live ripoff titled saturday night show. What was the weirdest thing that you saw all week . A lot of it was borrowing from the west but not doing it well. Hip hop dancing bears. Miley cyrus kind of did that didnt she . She did. Bad miley cyrus explains 30 of russian television. Seven days of that, you blow your brains out. Too many hip hop dancing bears can be too much of a good thing. Thanks for telling us about your selfinflicted russian tv exka escapades. That does it for us. Its tuesday, february 24th and this is now. This man is the person to whom we have entrusted the care of our veterans. Robert mcdonald was hired on at the va to clean up that mess and it appears now that he has talked his way into a mess of his own. The secretary of veteran affairs is under fire and apologizing. It is an embarrassment for the new secretary. One of the absolute cardinal sins that anybody in the service can do. I made a misstatement. I apologize for that. I think hes the right person in the right place at the right time. I hope we can get past this. My whole purpose in this job is to try to connect with