The news desks in Studio 3A, MSNBC's main on-air studio, as seen from the catwalk above.

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From left: Art Monk National Football League Hall of Famer, La Var Arrington, three time Pro-Bowler, Audrey Rowe, Administrator, Food Nutrition Service, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and Masters of Ceremony. Brzezinski holding Zadia Clanton a young 4-H student exercise to demonstrate the importance of the Fuel Up to Play 60 program at the United States Department of Agriculture's 150th Anniversary celebration in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, May 15, 2012. Fuel Up to Play 60 is an in-school nutrition and physical activity program launched by the National Dairy Council and the National Football League, in collaboration with USDA, to combat childhood obesity. USDA photo by Bob Nichols.

 

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Date: 10/23/15 | Location:JFK Library in Boston, MA | Event: Know Your Value Boston

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MSNBC's Chris Matthews is interviewed by The Hill's Bob Cusack about his New York Times bestseller, "Tip and the Gipper - When Politics Worked" at The Hill's Hub at Cityview in Philadelphia, Pa. on Monday, July 25, 2016

Oprah Winfrey makes a special appearance on MORNING JOE's live broadcast from the Ralph Lauren Restaurant in Chicago -- Photo by: Stacie Freudenberg/MSNBC

  

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On May 16, 2013 more than 300 supporters gathered in support of the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation (PDF) as it held its Bal du Printemps Gala at The Plaza Hotel in New York City. Willie Geist, co-anchor of NBC News’ “Today” and co-host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”, was the Master of Ceremonies for the evening. The evening raised $675,000 to benefit PDF’s research programs.

 

Learn more at www.pdf.org/gala.

 

Photo Credit: Janet Charles

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MSNBC's news desks in their main on-air studio at NBC-NY, decorated for convention coverage.

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Mika Brzezinski and Former Congressman Joe Scarborough (R-Fla.) hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” MSNBC were the Masters of Ceremony for the United States Department of Agriculture's 150th Anniversary celebration in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, May 15, 2012. Brzezinski puts her shoes on after exercising to demonstrate the importance of the Fuel Up to Play 60 program. Fuel Up to Play 60 is an in-school nutrition and physical activity program launched by the National Dairy Council and the National Football League, in collaboration with USDA, to combat childhood obesity. USDA photo by Bob Nichols.

 

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NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 26: MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle speaks onstage during the Building Brands People Love: A Fireside Chat with AOLs Tim Armstrong on the Times Center Stage during 2016 Advertising Week New York on September 26, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images for Advertising Week New York)

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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry exits the General Electric Building in New York on September 22, 2014, after appearing on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program to talk about world affairs and the start of annual meetings of the United Nations General Assembly. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry strides in the General Electric Building in New York on September 22, 2014, before appearing on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program to talk about world affairs and the start of annual meetings of the United Nations General Assembly. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

"Here I sit broken hearted

Came to shit, but only farted."

 

---George W. Bush

 

50 million 456 thousand and 2 voters voted for George W. Bush in the year 2000. More Americans loved what he did for the country, the economy, and for bringing us into war, so ... in the year 2004, 62 million 40 thousand 610 voted for him in his re-election (I never once voted for him)

 

So, 112,496,612 American people voted enthusiastically, happily, and with joyful glee, for 8 full years of a Bush administration. America you got what you wanted and I hope that makes you happy :))

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

I for one am not happy with this guy''''''''''''''''s performance. Mr. Bush, If you love war why don''''''''''''''''t you fight in one. It''''''''''''''''s not happy times when you see your friends and comrade''''''''''''''''s arms or legs get blown off. It''''''''''''''''s not a good thing to see people breathe their last breath. Is it good to see someone die ... is it?

 

It''''''''''''''''s never a pretty site when innocent civilians like women and children get blown to smithereens in front of your eyes. There''''''''''''''''s horror in war. There''''''''''''''''s terrible atrocities that occur. This isn''''''''''''''''t Disneyland or some fun day at the beach when guns are firing and bombs blow up in front of your eyes.

 

When are Americans going to wake up and realize that war is not some glamorous thing? Korea, Viet Nam, and Iraq lay waste to a lot of men, women, and children. Let''''''''''''''''s stop pretending for just a moment that war is some "necessary" and "good" thing.

 

For the 112 million plus people out there I really hope he made your day, week, year, and years.

 

As for the man himself, George W. Bush not only doesn''''''''''''''''t haven''''''''''''''''t any intellectual curiosity, but he dislikes to read and really hates to be bothered.

 

John Woodward made a great point about him when he said, "Bush is a man who hates to do his homework and abhors difficult tasks. He''''''''''''''''s a man that likes to have nothing happen as opposed to making something happen. " The guy disdains work. He will go down as the "Do Nothing" President.

 

4 Major things did occur on his watch according to MSNBC''''''''''''''''s Rachel Maddow:

 

1. (2001) 9/11 Tragedy (3,000 plus Americans died)

2. (2003) Iraq War (4,200 American soldiers dead and 151,000 Iraqi civilians dead)

3. (2005) Katrina Disaster (New Orleans floods and Bush takes note 5 days later)

4. (2008) Financial Crisis (foreclosures, Stock Market fall, Auto Industry collapse, and bank bailouts)

 

Maybe I spoke too soon about Bush not wanting to do work. His last few days in office he has been working very busily according to Rolling Stone magazine''''''''''''''''s Tim Dickinson:

 

By Tim Dickinson / Rolling Stone

 

<b>Bush''''''''''''''''s Final F.U.</b>

 

The administration is rushing to enact a host of last-minute regulations that will screw America for years to come

 

With president-elect Barack Obama already taking command of the financial crisis, it''''''''''''''''s tempting to think that regime change in America is a done deal. But if George Bush has his way, the country will be ruled by his slash-and-burn ideology for a long time to come.

 

In its final days, the administration is rushing to implement a sweeping array of "midnight regulations" — de facto laws issued by the executive branch — designed to lock in Bush''''''''''''''''s legacy. Under the last- minute rules, which can be extremely difficult to overturn, loaded firearms would be allowed in national parks, uranium mining would be permitted near the Grand Canyon and many injured consumers would no longer be able to sue negligent manufacturers in state courts. Other rules would gut the Endangered Species Act, open millions of acres of wild lands to mining, restrict access to birth control and put local cops to work spying for the federal government.

 

"It''''''''''''''''s what we''''''''''''''''ve seen for Bush''''''''''''''''s whole tenure, only accelerated," says Gary Bass, executive director of the nonpartisan group OMB Watch. "They''''''''''''''''re using regulation to cement their deregulatory mind-set, which puts corporate interests above public interests."

 

While every modern president has implemented last-minute regulations, Bush is rolling them out at a record pace — nearly twice as many as Clinton, and five times more than Reagan. "The administration is handing out final favors to its friends," says Véronique de Rugy, a scholar at George Mason University who has tracked six decades of midnight regulations. "They couldn''''''''''''''''t do it earlier — there would have been too many political repercussions. But with the Republicans having lost seats in Congress and the presidency changing parties, Bush has nothing left to lose."

 

The most jaw-dropping of Bush''''''''''''''''s rule changes is his effort to eviscerate the Endangered Species Act. Under a rule submitted in November, federal agencies would no longer be required to have government scientists assess the impact on imperiled species before giving the go-ahead to logging, mining, drilling, highway building or other development. The rule would also prohibit federal agencies from taking climate change into account in weighing the impact of projects that increase greenhouse emissions — effectively dooming polar bears to death-by-global-warming. According to Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club, "They''''''''''''''''ve taken the single biggest threat to wildlife and said, ''''''''''''''''We''''''''''''''''re going to pretend it doesn''''''''''''''''t exist, for regulatory purposes.''''''''''''''''"

 

Bush is also implementing other environmental rules that will cater to the interests of many of his biggest benefactors:

 

BIG COAL In early December, the administration finalized a rule that allows the industry to dump waste from mountaintop mining into neighboring streams and valleys, a practice opposed by the governors of both Tennessee and Kentucky. "This makes it legal to use the most harmful coal-mining technology available," says Allen Hershkowitz, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council. A separate rule also relaxes air-pollution standards near national parks, allowing Big Coal to build plants next to some of America''''''''''''''''s most spectacular vistas — even though nine of 10 EPA regional administrators dissented from the rule or criticized it in writing. "They''''''''''''''''re willing to sacrifice the laws that protect our national parks in order to build as many new coal plants as possible," says Mark Wenzler, director of clean-air programs for the National Parks Conservation Association. "This is the last gasp of Bush and Cheney''''''''''''''''s disastrous policy, and they''''''''''''''''ve proven there''''''''''''''''s no line they won''''''''''''''''t cross."

 

BIG OIL In a rule that becomes effective just three days before Obama takes office, the administration has opened up nearly 2 million acres of mountainous lands in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming for the mining of oil shale — an energy-intensive process that also drains precious water resources. "The administration has admitted that it has no idea how much of Colorado''''''''''''''''s water supply would be required to develop oil shale, no idea where the power would come from and no idea whether the technology is even viable," says Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado. What''''''''''''''''s more, Bush is slashing the royalties that Big Oil pays for oil-shale mining from 12.5 percent to five percent. "A pittance," says Salazar.

 

BIG AGRICULTURE Factory farms are getting two major Christmas presents from Bush this year. Circumventing the Clean Water Act, the administration has approved last-minute regulations that will allow animal waste from factory farms to seep, unmonitored, into America''''''''''''''''s waterways. The regulation leaves it up to the farms themselves to decide whether their pollution is dangerous enough to require them to apply for a permit. "It''''''''''''''''s the fox guarding the henhouse — all too literally," says Pope. The water rule goes into effect December 22nd, and a related rule in the works would exempt factory farms from reporting air pollution from animal waste.

 

BIG CHEMICAL In October, two weeks after consulting with industry lobbyists, the White House exempted more than 100 major polluters from monitoring their emissions of lead, a deadly neurotoxin. Seemingly hellbent on a more toxic future, the administration will also allow industry to treat 3 billion pounds of hazardous waste as "recycling" each year, and to burn another 200 million pounds of hazardous waste reclassified as "fuel," increasing cancer-causing air pollution. The rule change is a reward to unrepentant polluters: Nearly 90 percent of the factories that will be permitted to burn toxic waste have already been cited for violating existing environmental protections.

 

Environmental rollbacks may take center stage in Bush''''''''''''''''s final deregulatory push, but the administration is also promulgating a bevy of rules that will strip workers of labor protections, violate civil liberties, and block access to health care for women and the poor. Among the worst abuses:

 

LABOR Under Bush, the Labor Department issued only one major workplace-safety rule in eight years — and that was under a court order. But now the Labor Department is finalizing a rule openly opposed by Obama that would hamper the government''''''''''''''''s ability to protect workers from exposure to toxic chemicals. Bypassing federal agencies, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao developed the rule in secret, relying on a report that has been withheld from the public. Under the last-minute changes, federal agencies would be expected to gather unnecessary data on workplace exposure and jump through more bureaucratic hurdles, adding years to an already cumbersome regulatory process.

 

In another last-minute shift, the administration has rewritten rules to make it harder for workers to take time off for serious medical conditions under the Family and Medical Leave Act. In addition, the administration has upped the number of hours that long-haul truckers can be on the road. The new rule — nearly identical to one struck down by a federal appeals court last year — allows trucking companies to put their drivers behind the wheel for 11 hours a day, with only 34 hours of downtime between hauls. The move is virtually certain to kill more motorists: Large-truck crashes already kill 4,800 drivers and injure another 76,000 every year.

 

HEALTH CARE In late August, the administration proposed a new regulation ostensibly aimed at preventing pharmacy and clinic workers from being forced to participate in abortions. But the wording of the new rule is so vague as to allow providers to deny any treatment that anyone in their practice finds objectionable — including contraception, family planning and artificial insemination. Thirteen state attorneys general protested the regulation, saying it "completely obliterates the rights of patients to legal and medically necessary health care services."

 

In a rule that went into effect on December 8th, the administration also limited vision and dental care for more than 50 million low-income Americans who rely on Medicaid. "This means the states are going to have to pick up the tab or cut the services at a time when a majority of states are in a deficit situation," says Bass of OMB Watch. "It''''''''''''''''s a horrible time to do this." To make matters worse, the administration has also raised co-payments for Medicaid, forcing families on poverty wages to pay up to 10 percent of the cost for doctor visits and medicine.

 

One study suggests that co-payments could cause Medicaid patients to skip nearly a fifth of all prescription-drug treatments. "People who have nothing are being asked to pay for services they rely upon to live," says Elaine Ryan, vice president of government relations for AARP. "Imposing co-pays on the poorest and sickest people in the United States is cynical and cruel."

 

NATIONAL SECURITY Under midnight regulations, the administration is seeking to lock in the domestic spying it began even before 9/11. One rule under consideration would roll back Watergate-era prohibitions barring state and local law enforcement from spying on Americans and sharing that information with U.S. intelligence agencies.

 

"If the federal government announced tomorrow that it was creating a new domestic intelligence agency of more than 800,000 operatives reporting on even the most mundane everyday activities, Americans would be outraged," says Michael German, a former FBI agent who now serves as national security policy counsel for the ACLU. "This proposed rule change is the final step in creating an America we no longer recognize — an America where everyone is a suspect."

 

John Podesta, the transition chief for the Obama administration, has vowed that the new president will leverage his "executive authority" to fight Bush''''''''''''''''s last-minute rule changes. But according to experts who study midnight regulations, there''''''''''''''''s surprisingly little an incoming executive can do to overturn such rules. The Bush administration succeeded in repealing just three percent of the regulations finalized before Bill Clinton left office in 2001. "Midnight regulations under Bush are being executed early and with great intent," says Bass of OMB Watch. "And that intent is to lock the next administration into these regulations, making it very difficult for Obama to undo what Bush just did."

 

To protect the new rules against repeal, the Bush administration began amping up its last-gasp regulatory process back in May. The goal was to have all new regulations finalized by November 1st, providing enough time to accommodate the 60-day cooling-off period required before major rule changes — those that create an economic impact greater than $100 million — can be implemented.

 

Now, however, the administration has fallen behind schedule — so it''''''''''''''''s gaming the system to push through its rules. In several cases, the Office of Management and Budget has fudged the numbers to classify rules that could have billion-dollar consequences as "non-major" — allowing any changes made through mid-December to take effect in just 30 days, before Obama is inaugurated. The administration''''''''''''''''s determination of what constitutes a major change is not subject to review in court, and the White House knows it: Spokesman Tony Fratto crowed that the 60-day deadline is "irrelevant to our process."

 

Once a rule is published in the Federal Register, the Obama administration will have limited options for expunging it. It can begin the rule-making process anew, crafting Obama rules to replace the Bush rules, but that approach could take years, requiring time-consuming hearings, scientific fact-finding and inevitable legal wrangling. Or, if the new rules contain legal flaws, a judge might allow the Obama administration to revise them more quickly.

 

Bush''''''''''''''''s push to gut the Endangered Species Act, for example, was done in laughable haste, with 15 employees given fewer than 36 hours to review and process more than 200,000 public comments. "The ESA rule is enormously vulnerable to a legal challenge on the basis that there was inadequate public notice and comment," says Pope of the Sierra Club. "The people who did that reviewing will be put on a witness stand, and it will become clear to a judge that this was a complete farce." But even that legal process will take time, during which industry will continue to operate under the Bush rules.

 

The best option for overturning the rules, ironically, may be a gift bestowed on Obama by Newt Gingrich. Known as the Congressional Review Act, it was passed in 1996 to give Congress the option of overriding what GOP leaders viewed at the time as excessive regulation by Bill Clinton. The CRA allows Congress to not only kill a new rule within 60 days, but to do so with a simple, filibuster-immune majority. De Rugy, the George Mason scholar, expects Democrats in the House and Senate to make "very active use of the Congressional Review Act."

 

But even this option, it turns out, is fraught with obstacles. First, the CRA requires a separate vote on each individual regulation. Second, the act prohibits reviving any part of a rule that has been squelched. Since Bush''''''''''''''''s rules sometimes contain useful reforms — the move to limit the Family and Medical Leave Act also extends benefits for military families — spiking the rules under the CRA would leave Obama unable to restore or augment those benefits in the future. Whatever Obama does will require him to expend considerable political capital, at a time when America faces two wars and an economic crisis of historic proportions.

 

"It''''''''''''''''s going to be very challenging for Obama," says Bass. "Is he going to want to look forward and begin changing the way government works? Or is he going to look back and fix the problems left by Bush? Either way, it''''''''''''''''s a tough call."

 

Here''''''''''''''''s my final take on the Bush Administration and my final word:

 

<b> Eight Years Sets Us Back Eighty Years </b>

 

Nearly 8 years ago, I made public and proclaimed with all the zest and sincerity I could muster to the American public that a George W. Bush Presidency would have nightmarish proportions. Cataclysmic dimensions. My public comments fell on deaf ears and George W. Bush was elected president in the year 2000.

 

Four years later in 2004, I told the American public with speeches and writings that we were fighting a war that never should have been fought in the first place. Furthermore, I publicly commented on a stock market collapse (always thought the stock market was way over valued and tainted) and a housing market ready to bust. Those comments and words sadly turned prophetic ... and again George W. Bush was elected President for 4 more years.

 

<i>His second election was a record breaker because more Americans voted for him in the 2004 election than any other American President in the history of America.

 

With this statistic that George W. Bush won more votes than any other American president must mean by my guess that Americans love war, love violence, love scandals, love corruption, love to see billionaires make more billions, love human suffering, love to see jobs lost, love to see retirement funds lost, love to see people lose their homes, love to see poverty, love to see entire cities drown, and love to see all sorts of nasty things.

 

Oh, and most Americans are suckers and saps and will vote for you if you tell them if you love God, you are God''''''''''''''''s president, and wrap yourself around an American flag as if patriotism is going to save you from the evils of this world. Sorry, but I underestimated the American public''''''''''''''''s'''''''''''''''' intelligence.</i>

 

I remarked to something that I saw that other pundits failed to see. The Bush Administration, like other Republican administrations in the past (starting with Richard Milhouse Nixon) always wanted the <b> rich to get richer. </b> Nothing more, nothing less. You see, it''''''''''''''''s kind of like a modus operandi to them. A mantra if you will. And for the past 40 years Republican administrations have set up and fixed the game for the rich to get richer at the poor man''''''''''''''''s expense.

 

Sadly, in the past 8 years the chasm between rich and poor, middle class vs. upper class has widened to epidemic proportions. This all could have been avoided if Americans would have listened to me or did their research, and used their common sense.

 

But, instead the American public looked for the easy way out. Believing in George W. Bush who coined the term, "God''''''''''''''''s President" when running in the year 2000. They wanted so hard to believe in this make believe "tooth fairy" that they were sold on the war, the tax budgets to favor the super rich billionaires, and the Bush Doctrine.

 

Just as I warned about the toxic mess that this presidency would have, I had no idea the American people could be fooled this badly. We can call it America''''''''''''''''s lack of intelligence that could be coined in any of the following terms: aphasia, apraxia, agnosia, or anomia, but the real truth is that American''''''''''''''''s want to be followers and the real sickness is that they will believe anything.

 

America, you got your fair warning.

  

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On the 4th floor of NBC's 30 Rock building is the newly refinished Decision 2016 set, installed for election coverage on November 8th, 2016. This view shows the anchor desk, looking towards the satellite desk in the far background over a 100 feet away. Designated Studio 4E', the space is built in an open corner of NBC News' and MSNBC's new 4th floor Operations Center and is being used by both NBC News and MSNBC in daily use and for special purposes such as the election day coverage.

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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry talks about ISIL and world affairs with the team on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program - Mike Barnicle, Willie Geist, Mika Brzezinski, and Joe Scarborough - during an appearance on September 22, 2014, in New York City. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

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