0 probably come to a place in our lives where we're faced with a moment where are you going to follow your conscience or not? and i knew it was not going to be popular. i knew what the polls said that day, that 70% of the american public was against the war. you had "the new york times" pushing the war, the editor endorsing the war. even al franken, my good friend, all supported the war. so i really was out on a limb, those that were there with me knew what it felt like. it was not good. and what i've been thinking this week about this is the lesson from this, when the attempt to do this again, whether it is with iran or whatever, just anybody who is listening to this. just don't be afraid. if you think you're right, and you are following your conscience and you know you're right, stand up and say it. and yes you will be alone for a while. but eventually truth will come out. and you will be remembered for being on the right side. it is just that hard place at the beginning. and so if they attempt to do that with iran, that is my position from now on always is, that whatever they're telling me i'm just going to assume it is not true. and they have to prove it to me, as opposed to the other way around, where the press was oh, yeah, whatever they say is true. and maybe some of us will find out some of it is not true later. well, we have lost too many lives as a result of how the media handled that. >> that is called being skeptical, it is healthy, the size of the things they are size to portray is directly in response to the size of what they're trying to sell. i know you took a hit for a long time for doing it. and congratulations on everything since then. thank you for being here tonight. >> thank you rachel, and thank you for your documentary this week. god bless you. >> god bless you back, all right, that does it for us tonight. thank you for joining us on a friday night. "weekends with alex witt" starts now. six days and counting, sextise seeking the truth on the massive budget cuts set to take place in less than a week. what does a butcher shop have to do with impending budget cuss? brace yourself, again. parts of the northeast will get hit by a snowstorm. oscar predictions. who will get the biggest awards? one expert will tell you. let's get to what's happening out there. president obama taking aim at congressional republicans with six days until the painful, across the board budget cuts if no deal can be made. >> are republicans letting cuts to fall on our kids' schools and mental health care to protect corporate loopholes. are they willing to slash military health care and border patrol because they refuse to we saw that happen last week, the real-world effects that could occur, things like fewer air traffic controllers, the national parks have to shut down visitor centers and other agency having to furlough workers and reaches across basic government services. we'll have to wait and see come tuesday, wednesday, thursday, get a sense of the country is that concerned or if they are sitting this here and saying, gosh, seeing this song and dance before. government shutdown in april 2011, the debt ceiling showdown that summer, the fiscal cliff on new year's eve, and this -- i think -- and there will be another fight over government spending by the end of march. we have been seeing this for two years and maybe george will is right. most people saying, gosh, they are sorting it out and we'll ride it out. >> people need to understand that it is going to hit them in that to sort this out and extend spending levels through the end of the fiscal year. >> interesting the next couple of weeks, that's for sure. >> keeps us busy. thank you. >> ahead, democratic congressman john yarmouth on how his district might be affected. a new winter warning for the northeast. the third straight weekend of snow for the region. dylan dr efrpeyer with the fore. >> another storm system making its way to new england. it doesn't look like it will pack as much of a punch as initially thought. temperatures in the boston area are running above freezing. 36 degrees in new york some of that rain is actually going to prevent a whole lot of snowfall accumulation. you can see where the rain is. sitting down across the southeast and several inches of rain are possible in the area. moisture streaming from the gulf computers were infected with malware and no customer data has been affected. these hacks are similar to the ones reported by facebook and apple. >> less than a week until pope benedict 16 steps down. those who will choose the next pope are coming under scrutiny. we have the unfolding drama from anne thompson in rome. >> reporter: good morning, alex. pope benedict is back at work and appointed new bishops for mexico and at the valt ctican, are readying for huge crowds for final public events. in the meantime, many unanswered questions about the historic transition, such as who will lead the church? a week before pope benedict retires and there is still no clear front-runner to can you seed him. however, there is a long shot. new york's greg farruous cardinal timothy dolan. >> i will get anything to get you guys to church. >> reporter: praise in catholic circles to his perno apersona ad h h fightback on the obama plan for contracepti contraception. >> he's a known quantity and man of integrity. known as someone who can communicate the catholic faith positively. >> reporter: here in rome, another cardinal, roger mahoney, retired archbishop of los angeles is under fire for his role for moving and shielding priests. mahoney faces his own deposition after which he will come to the vatican to come for the new pope. this week an italian cardinal told a local newspaper that mahoney should stay home. some american catholics should agree. >> reporter: all cardinals should be held to the highest standard. anyone whose hands are tainted should refrain from voting. >> reporter: cardinals from other countries are also mired in scandal. all cardinals under the age of 80 must vote unless they are seriously ill or prevented from traveling. one fun fact. on february 28, when pope benedict officially retires. they will take away his ring, the symbol of his authority and destroy it. he will also lose his twitter. i'm anne thompson in rome, back to you. alex. are americans suffering apocalypse fatigue? and the oscar pistorius odyssey. how did he get out of jail? what's next for the olympic hero turned murder suspect. dentures are very different to real teeth. they're about 10 times softer and may have surface pores where bacteria can multiply. polident kills 99.99% of odor causing bacteria and helps dissolve stains. that's why i recommend polident. [ male announcer ] cleaner, fresher, brighter every day. email marketing from constant contact reaches people in a place they're checking every day -- their inbox. and it gives you the tools to create custom emails that drive business. it's just one of the ways constant contact can help you grow your small business. sign up for your free trial today at constantcontact.com/try. olay ultra moisture body wash can with more moisturizers than seven bottles of the leading body wash. with ultra moisture your body wash is anything but basic. soft, smooth skin with olay.