MR. KOJO NNAMDIFrom WAMU 88.5 at American University in Washington welcome to "The Kojo Nnamdi Show," connecting your neighborhood with the world. It's Your Turn. Your Turn to set the agenda here with your calls to 800-433-8850 or your emails sent to kojo@wamu.org. You can start the conversation early and often, 800-433-8850.

MR. KOJO NNAMDICare to comment on Michele Bachmann deciding not to run for reelection in the U.S. Congress? Why do you think she does it? What do you think the effect will be, 800-433-8850? Political intrigue in both Maryland and Virginia. Did Virginia Republicans nominate people too conservative for the commonwealth in that convention that was held a couple of weekends ago? Are Maryland democrats headed for a showcase showdown?

MR. KOJO NNAMDIBlair Lee writing in the Gazette newspaper notes that the top line contenders for the Democratic slots for governor and lieutenant governor in Maryland all hail from either Prince George's or Montgomery County. Is there space for another contender? Most of the governors of Maryland during the last two decades have been from Baltimore. What do you think is going on? What do you think should go on, 800-433-8850?

MR. KOJO NNAMDIAnd if you want something a little more complicated, we've seen some interesting new developments in Syria over the past week. The European Union has moved to lift the prohibition on arming the rebels in Syria. That has prompted a strong rebuke from Russia. Russia has been supplying arms to the regime of Bashar al-Assad. But Russia says these are legitimate transfers to a foreign -- to a sovereign country. Is that hypocrisy?

MR. KOJO NNAMDIMeanwhile, some pressure is building here in Washington for some sort of no-fly zone which sounds rather innocuous. But some people say it's really a euphemism that would really signal a dangerous escalation of our involvement. What is your view, 800-433-8850, or you can send email to kojo@wamu.org. Let's start with Nichole in Washington, D.C. Nichole, you're on the air. Go ahead, please.

NICHOLESure. I just wanted to comment. Earlier they had the later report about Senator McCain going over to Syria because of his interest in getting something done in Syria. And I'm just struck by the lack of voice of the politicians about the Congo where millions of people have died since this has been going on, really since the 1990s. Although it's been going on, some would say, since the 1960s.

NICHOLEAnd I just don't know what says one area is more valuable than the other at the number of lives who are killed, raped and maimed. And I just think that it would be something that I would love to hear a little more about. I know your show has done segments on the Congo conflict but I just think it's a real shame when we're trying to get the United States involved in yet another war.

NNAMDIWell, you raise an interesting question, Nichole. If you're suggesting that at some point we may want to do a broadcast on how foreign policy priorities are set by different countries such as the United States, by different groups of countries such as the European Union or the Africa Union, I think that would be a fascinating conversation, because foreign policy priorities are set. They are mapped out. We don't just -- although it sometimes may seem like it, stumble into these situations.

NNAMDIThese situations are established priorities. And if you want to know what's the distinction between oh, Mali and the Congo, or the Congo and the Middle East, I think that would be a good conversation to have.

NICHOLEYeah, it's unsettling. And the other thing is whether or not, we need to be honest, what exactly can we do. It's one thing to stop a conflict, it's another thing to be there to pick up the pieces afterward and help countries we build. And that tends to be a much more complicated task.

NNAMDIAnd I think that's what is causing so much of the controversy frankly over Syria because it is a complicated issue. And people want to know exactly what's going to happen if we happen to go in there. In the words of former Secretary of State Colin Powell when he was head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and that is if you break it it's yours. What are you going to do to put it back together? But thank you very much for your call. It's Your Turn. You too can call us, 800-433-8850.

NNAMDIEarlier this month the federal judge gave the green light to the D.C. school system to close 15 schools, dismissing a lawsuit that claimed the closures would violate the civil rights of a student. The crux of that argument, 2700 students would be affected. All but two affected children would be black or Hispanic, according to the Washington Post. Similar arguments are being thrown around in Chicago where Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to shut down 50 public schools. Though that fight is primarily being seen as another showdown with that city's teacher's union.

NNAMDIOn last week's Politics Hour we talked with Jamie Raskin who represented the parents who were challenging the school closures in D.C. He's also a state senator in Maryland and a professor of law at American University. We asked him about the idea about the role race and racism might be playing in the closures, at least from the perspective of the parents and activists challenging them. Here's what he had to say.

SENATOR JAMIE RASKINSo the question from a constitutional perspective is whether this is enough to violate equal protection. And, you know, the Supreme Court's position is that you generally need to see a purpose, that the purpose is a racially discriminatory one. And that was the position that the judge in this case took, that there was no purpose in -- no discriminatory purpose evident and how could the city, you know, an African American-governed city essentially be charged with racism.

SENATOR JAMIE RASKINBut, you know, it reminds me to a certain extent of what we dealt with on the death penalty in Maryland, where we -- ten people were given the death penalty since the death penalty was reinstated in the 1970s. And all of their victims were white despite the fact that 80 percent of the victims of homicide in this state are African American or Hispanic. So it's not that any particular person had a racist motivation. But if you look at the operation of the whole system, it places the burden on people based on race.

SENATOR JAMIE RASKINAnd I think that's exactly what's going on with these school closings across the country. They're saying we need to save money and redistribute the resources to other schools, but it's always certain neighborhoods and certain communities that have to pay the price.

NNAMDIThat's Jamie Raskin. He was the attorney representing the Empower DC group in that lawsuit against school closings in the District of Columbia. But this is Your Turn. You're the ones doing the talking, setting the agenda. What's your opinion about all of that? Give us a call at 800-433-8850. We move on to Ray in Alexandria, Va. Ray, you're on the air. Go ahead, please.

RAYHello, Kojo. I have a comment regarding to the Syrian conflict.

NNAMDIYes.

RAYAnd first I want to be clear that, so the people of Syria are going through hardship. They're dying daily and I'm not supporting Assad's regime in any way. But at the same time I want to say diffraction, the opposition -- the opposition is fragmented. They are not solid. It's very hard to recognize the different groups that are playing -- you know, fighting against Assad.

RAYAnd I think that at this time if U.S. gets in it's going to be supporting the group of people that we really don't know what is their agenda and they are not united. And it's just going to harm and it's going to, you know, harm us. Getting there -- you know, sending troops is not going to be a wise thing. We are bogged down in Iraq, in Afghanistan and the same thing in here.

RAYAnd, you know, supporting people that we really don't know what is their agenda is just going to be, you know, unwise.

NNAMDIRay, allow me to cut to the chase here because if you had a clear picture of who the opposition groups in Syria were, would it change your mind? That's my first question.

RAYThe first question is yes. At this point if the opposition was absolutely united then I could've had, you know, this idea that the big fraction of the Syrian people are against Assad and they know exactly what they want. And maybe in that case, you know, it's going to help them in some way what the wise thing is. Still I'm not sure about, you know, direct intervention but helping them in some way, maybe yes.

NNAMDIHere is my second question for you. Is it your fear that because we don't know exactly who the opposition elements all are, that it may turn out that the most organized group among the opposition happens to be radical Islamists or associated with radical Islamists? Is that your fear?

RAYThat is my fear. I believe actually there are radical elements in there. If you look at -- you know, if you try to gather the news from different sources, you're going to be amazed by some of these radical statements or by the videos of some of these people that you're going to see online. It doesn't mean Assad is right. Definitely is not but at the same time you're going to -- I've seen videos of a teenager beheading a soldier there. I mean, this is unjustified.

RAYI got to see videos of, you know, a guy who at meeting that he's eating the organs of one of the soldiers that he killed. And...

NNAMDISo you are saying that you have no problem with the removal of the Bashar al-Assad government. Your fear is about what will replace it?

RAYNo. That is not what I want to say, but I want to say that the people of Syria, they are the ones who eventually should make their future. And there is no regime change is going to be easy. I'm not going to say that, you know, Assad is a legitimate, you know, ruler. Definitely he's not, but I want to ask you the question, do you know what's going to happen to the people of Syria after Assad, you know, is gone.

NNAMDII have...

RAYCould you be sure that...

NNAMDI...oh, I have no idea. That's why it's Your Turn. You're the one answering the questions today. I get to ask them.

RAYWell, I'm going to say -- I know what I'm going to say because any time that you're not sure about your move, it's better that you think twice.

NNAMDIOkay.

RAYAny time that you want to make any move -- and this is a chess rule -- any time you want to make a move, but you're not going to stay clear of (unintelligible) ...

NNAMDIOkay. Okay. Thank you very much...

RAYAnd right now, just my heart goes for the people I got to see in Syria that are dying. Plus, I have a feeling that this conflict goes on and we provide the rebels with more, you know, weapons, this is not going to be the end of the violation (unintelligible) .

NNAMDIOkay. Ray, before you go -- and we have a lot of other callers on the line who I'm going to ask to stay on the line because we will get to all of your calls -- one last question for you, Ray. What do you think we've learned from Iraq and Afghanistan when it comes to this debate we're having about Syria?

RAYI'm so sorry. I believe that unfortunately we have a very, very bad memory -- short memory. And also at the time we are not learning any lessons. You know, going to Iraq, that was not the right war. It proved that, you know, we -- yes, we got rid of a dictator but what was the price? What did the Iraqi people pay for it?

RAYIn Afghanistan instead of just going after, you know, the people who caused damage to us, we went there and escalating the war and, you know, start searching for ten years for something that maybe if it had been targeted more and we not been involving and bogging down ourselves in Iraq, definitely was coming to some conclusion much faster.

NNAMDIAnd so...

RAYSo because of the same reason and because of what is going on in Libya, you know, our people -- our ambassador being killed in Libya, why we liberated that country. I was just going to say that, you know, what happened there? And there is (unintelligible) Syria...

NNAMDIOkay, Ray. Thank you very much, Ray. I do have to move on. But I guess I was trying to see the extent to which our experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq influence our ongoing debate over what's happening in Syria. Ray, thank you very much for your call. I move on now to Robert in Washington, D.C. Robert, you're on the air. Go ahead, please. It's your turn.

ROBERTHi, Kojo. Thank you. My comment was on Michele Bachman's resignation. I think that's great news for the Republican Party as well as for American Muslims. Michele Bachman engaged in all sorts of conspiracy theories with the American Muslim community, and even accused former secretary Clinton's advisor Huma Abedin as being part of a covert group associated with the Muslim Brotherhood to infiltrate the American government.

ROBERTI think Michele Bachman's resignation offers the Republican Party to shy away, back off from such conspiracy-minded theories such as tea party rhetoric. And also it's just a good opportunity for American Muslims to better politically engage.

NNAMDIWell, what do you say to people who say the Republican Party is now not most influenced by its members of congress, it's most influenced by its grassroots movement, one of which is the tea party with which Michele Bachman is closely associated? What if one of the reasons for her resignation is to be able to organize more effectively in the tea party movement? Others say the Republican Party is more affected by some radio and television talk show hosts than it is by members of the U.S. Congress. What about if she gets into that business?

ROBERTWell, I think that she has no expectation of leaving American politics. And, you know, bigoted opinions should be pushed to the margins of society. Everyone has the right to free speech but we also have the right to not listen. So I hope Americans can just act as better informed consumers of political information.

NNAMDIOkay. Thank you very much for your call, Robert. We're going to take a short break. If you have already called, stay on the line because it's Your Turn. You are the one setting the agenda. If you haven't called yet, now is the time, 800-433-88500. If you want to talk about Syria, the school closings in the District of Columbia and Chicago, political intrigue in Maryland and Virginia or Facebook and the pressure that it has gotten from women activists to do something about postings on Facebook, 800-433-8850. I'm Kojo Nnamdi.

NNAMDIWelcome back. It's Your Turn. We're taking your comments on the issues of the day, which you can do by calling 800-433-8850, sending us a Tweet at kojoshow, email to kojo@wamu.org or simply going to our website kojoshow.org. We got an email from Beth in D.C. "Here's my complaint of the week, Kojo," says Beth.

NNAMDI"On the story of the Justice Department's subpoenas of phone records from some news organizations, the coverage has been all about imagined violations of the rights of the free press. Very little has been reported on the substance of the central issue, which was the very serious leak of classified national security information. It seems that someone employed by FOX News may have leaked classified information that was of a critical nature. Could we please have more coverage about that and a little less about the motives of Eric Holder?"

NNAMDIThere's been a lot of coverage, in my view, Beth. And if someone employed by FOX News published a story -- reported a story based on classified information, that is not considered a leak. The leaker would be the person who gave James Rosen of FOX news that information. Yet somehow or the other the Justice Department seems to have concluded that a reporter who reports a story based on a leak is now just as guilty of violations of national security as the person who leaked the information. And that is what people in the news media are really upset about at this point.

NNAMDIBut on to you, because here is Michael in Woodbridge, Va. Michael, your turn.

MICHAELHi, Kojo. I would like to know how to find out the information about the Affordable Care Act in regards to how much more, the same or less, in premiums people will pay for their health insurance, how much it's going to add or reduce the deficit and how much additional in taxes people are going to have to pay. Originally when the bill had passed it was supposed to reduce or keep the same of premiums. It was supposed to be deficit neutral or even perhaps reduce the deficit. And it's supposed to increase the amount of people covered.

MICHAELAnd it appears today that the information from the congressional budget office isn't -- was not accurate as presented at the time the bill passed. And how do we find out this information because I hear a lot of different things.

NNAMDIAnd there are a lot of different things because a part of it is still part of informed speculation. But we'll be talking next week with Kathleen Sebelius, the Secretary of Health and Human Services. And that's one of the questions that we'll be directing to her. But I suspect that even though we'll be providing -- and she will also be providing a lot of data about what's known as Obama Care or the Affordable Care Act, that there is still going to be some informed and a lot of uninformed speculation about how much ultimately the thing is going to cost.

NNAMDIBut that's where we're going to go for the source of our information. Michael, that's about all I can help you out with at this point. But thank you very much for your call. We move on now to Perry in Brunswick, Md. Perry, your turn.

PERRYHi, Kojo. Thanks for taking my call and thanks for holding this open forum. I called actually about the discussion of the closing of the schools. I'd like to make one brief comment, if I may, before then about the AP, about the press issue or the freedom of the press.

NNAMDISure.

PERRYIt seems to me that leaks have been happening for years. It's a fact of life. Reporters are doing their job by finding out the information. But they really shouldn't be prosecuted for the decision which is made by their editors and publishers, which are to publish it. That's where the problem is there. If there has been sensitive information, not corruption, just victories that have been achieved on the battlefield. It's conceivable to me of how if this had been during World War II, if the fact that the Navajos were using -- the code talkers were supporting our effort and the Japanese had found that out because of a press leak, it would've been disastrous.

PERRYI mean, this kind -- people need to be more balanced. And editors and publishers make the choice as to publish or not so that's where the fault lies.

NNAMDIAnd, you know, before those choices are made to publish, there are invariably a lot of conversations between those editors and publishers and representatives of the government. There may be disagreement during the course of those conversations. There is quite often agreement during the course of those conversations about whether and when to publish that information. And sometimes that information is published ultimately over the objections of the government, but almost never without some input from the government and the justice department itself. But, Perry, it is Your Turn.

PERRYYeah, you're absolutely right. That was the case with Daniel Ellsberg, you know, with the publishing of those papers. But my point is reporters aren't at fault here. The people who make the decisions are the ones that need to be -- if the government's going to take the press to task, the reporters are not the right target.

NNAMDIHey, that's why the news media tend to be all lawyered up when these situations come out.

PERRYSo my comment on the schools is, with all due respect for the court's priorities about there having to be an intent, it's extremely difficult. It's almost a conventional wisdom. It's hard to prove intent. What you have to look at is the impact of decisions that are made. And we have to get away from -- well, in a city governed by African-Americans it's hard to conceive that they would make a decision that would adversely affect their own people. But the way I understand it here and in Chicago, people are being affected who are primarily African-American, primarily Latino and in the poorest communities, the most vulnerable communities. So the effect needs to be looked at. That's all. Thank you very much.

NNAMDIWell, I don't know, but Perry, before you go, if you're looking at the impact -- and I think a lot of people would agree with you -- what there seems to be disagreement about is whether or not the impact is in fact adverse. You have judges -- certainly the one in the case of the District of Columbia who is saying, look I understand that people do not want schools moved out of their communities, but if the students are being sent to better schools that are less segregated, what is the adverse impact?

NNAMDIAnd I suspect that's where there's a lot of disagreement. Of course, those people who say the adverse impact is by losing those schools. We have to go farther away from home in order to get to school. What do you say, Perry?

PERRYWell, as someone who rode a school bus every day for an hour-and-a-half before I got to the elementary school I went to, I can't say I have sympathy for people who say, I want to be able to send my kid to walk to school. I mean, the quality of the education's important. And, I mean, we were the first ones picked up every day -- the second ones picked up every day.

PERRYAnd if we didn't have to -- if we weren't at the bus stop we had to walk across three or four fields to get to the school. But - which would've been quicker than riding on the bus but -- so the judge has a point there. That's -- you know, if it's a better school and it's -- and the teachers are...

NNAMDIWell, clearly this is so difficult to decide because both sides obviously have a point but...

PERRYRight. But neighborhood schools, you know, used to be the calling card of people who opposed busing.

NNAMDIYeah, that's true. That's true.

PERRYOkay.

NNAMDIOkay. Thank you very much for your call. Just complicate it a little bit more for everybody, Perry. You too can complicate matters or just offer your opinion to clear up complicated matters, like the situation in Syria because it's Your Turn to call 800-433-8850 or send email to kojo@wamu.org. Here is T in Lana, Md. T, you're on the air. Go ahead, please.

TGood afternoon, Kojo. I thank you so much for taking my call. A comment to -- I just want to (unintelligible) comment (unintelligible) made about Congo and the Middle East. And I believe, you know, we take part in the Middle East so much that -- and we don't even have so much time about what's going on in the African continent. And I want to know really if we're trying to start this democracy everywhere in the world today or some other (unintelligible) United States, England or anywhere in Europe trying to help.

TBut when something happens in the African continent, they don't have time to do nothing about it. So I just want to put comment on that.

NNAMDIWell, as I said earlier, T, it would be a good conversation to talk about how foreign policy priorities are established by different governments around the world. But since we are here and by the U.S. government in particular, what is seen as strategically more important than other areas, we all know that the Clinton Administration missed, so some extent, what was going on in Rwanda. And, of course, has apologized for that at a later date because their attention was turned elsewhere.

NNAMDIBut I think it's, as I said, a good conversation to have about how priorities are established. Keeping in mind that people in various parts of the world will invariably feel that whatever their situation is should be among the leading priorities of the more powerful nations on the planet to look for solutions. But how those nations themselves establish priorities is a matter of importance and something that people should have a clearer understanding of. So thank you too for your call. On now to Denise in Washington, D.C. Denise, your turn.

DENISEOh hi, Kojo. Thank you for taking my call. I am calling specifically regarding the closure of the schools. And when I say specifically, I am talking about one school in particular, Sharpe Health School, which is a school for special-needs children. And what has taken place, we understand, that these children are moving to River Terrace in Northeast.

DENISENow we have spoken to -- I have spoken to principal, social worker, psychologist. And these are people who are on the floor working with these children for years. And every single one of these professionals are against these moves. One, because every day a -- I shouldn't say every day. Almost every week a child is shuffled to hospital.

NNAMDIYes.

DENISETwo, the quality of the -- we are looking at the quality of the air along River Terrace. I think it's an industrial area.

NNAMDIYes.

DENISEThree, there's so many professionals, principals, social workers, psychologists, special ed. teachers. Even some of the religious providers are against this move. Why the powers at the head are not listening to these people on the floor. Also, there is already a school, which is taking a part of Sharpe building.

NNAMDIAnd when we're talking about Sharpe, it's in Petworth, 4300 13th Street NW?

DENISEYes, yes. And they...

NNAMDIOkay. I'll ask you, Denise, to tell me what have the school administrators been saying to you about why they are closing that school?

DENISEOkay. What they are saying is that they are building a state of the art community for these children. Two, these children are relocating to the neighborhood school, right?

NNAMDIYes.

DENISEAnd when you talk to the principals and social workers from the neighborhood school, these professionals are not prepared to accept these children. And they are telling you outright, we are not prepared to work with these children. And we are looking at -- when we say special, we are looking at children who are in wheelchairs, children who are on oxygen every day.

NNAMDIAges three through twenty-one, is my understanding.

DENISEPardon?

NNAMDIAges three through twenty-one.

DENISEThat's right. Yeah, the population here at Sharpe Health is from three to twenty-one. At the end of the school semester the pre-K children would be relocated. So in the fall, there will be no pre-location -- no...

NNAMDI...pre-K.

DENISE...no pre-K children. My question is, this building -- oh, and another point I should make, I have spoken to the staff -- the whole staff here at Sharpe Health. And what they were saying, the D.C. government has not provided funding for this school in a long time. And they should come and look at the building.

NNAMDIWell, I...

DENISEHowever, the staff, as well as the PT of the school has raised funds to build a playground at the back of the building...

NNAMDIOkay. But here's my point though, Denise, and you make several what sound like very logical good arguments. I have not personally been following the Sharpe Health School issue. What's the next step, or is the decision, as far as you understand, final?

DENISEThe final? No. The decision that's already been made because, you know, just talking to the public and stuff, this building has already been leased out to Bridges Public Charter School. And, I mean, just last month, in January, February, there was some meetings going on with the staff, principal...

NNAMDIBut that's gone now. And, well, it's your understanding that it's been leased to Bridges Charter Health School. I don't know . I will probably have a conversation with our education reporter Kavitha Cardoza about that to see where this is all headed. But thank you very much for your input on this issue. Obviously you are among a group of people who are objecting to the closing of all or part of this school. Before I let you go, Denise, you were saying that no more -- who will no longer be allowed in that school?

DENISEPardon me?

NNAMDIWho will no longer be allowed in the school? Third graders you say?

DENISEThe Pre-K children will be...

NNAMDIPre-K, no longer Pre-K.

DENISEPardon?

NNAMDINo longer Pre-K at the school.

DENISEYeah, Pre-K will be relocated in the fall 2013.

NNAMDIOkay. That's what, I guess, I'll ask Kavitha about. But thank you very much for your call, Denise. On now to Nick in Bethesda, Md. Nick, it is your turn.

NICKHi. Good afternoon, Kojo. Thanks for taking my call. I was actually wondering about the dynamics between what's going on in Syria but then the multiple factions at play against the government and also against each other. And how this could possibly be spilling over into their neighboring country in Iraq and altering the state of affairs within the country.

NNAMDIThat's a question I cannot answer. What do you think?

NICKI think that largely if we're learning from history that the militants and the factions who are fighting the Assad government (unintelligible) also have vested interest within the region and also within the Iraqi government and the populations therein. So it could be something that's very -- that while being a problematic circumstance in Syria could also have regional implications especially within Iraq within the (unintelligible) that are happening.

NNAMDIBecause Nick from where you are sitting, many of these groups -- maybe most, if not all of these groups have cross-national interests is what you're saying?

NICKYes. I very much believe so.

NNAMDITheir interests are regional and not national?

NICKNot only national, but also cross-regional interests, if we were to learn from history within the cultural and regional history.

NNAMDIWell, speaking of national interests, here's an email we got from Jackie Anderson. Tell me what you think of what Jackie says. Jackie writes, "Syrians will not thank us. Iraqis and Afghanis do not thank us. They do not view us as allies. Let them work with people who they view as allies." What do you say?

NICKI believe that this is unfortunately a situation that we have created for ourselves and is quite true in the sense that we as Americans have failed to understand the multiple cultures that are in play in all three regions.

NNAMDIAnd we were fixated on looking at national boundaries?

NICKI believe that within our perception of the Middle East and also the Eurasian region, we are fixated upon national boundaries and less open to looking at these nations as actually compartmentalized, tribal, cultural, and regional forces.

NNAMDIWeird that you should say that. My managing producer and I were talking about that. He was making that point just before the show. We're going to take a short break. When we come back, more of Your Turn. 800-433-8850. It's your turn. Any topic that you'd like to talk about. If the lines are busy, shoot us an email to kojo@wamu.org, or send us a tweet @kojoshow. I'm Kojo Nnamdi.

NNAMDIWelcome back to Your Turn. If you have called, stay on the line. If the lines are busy, send us an email to kojo@wamu.org. One of the issues we have not yet discussed, Facebook has finally bowed to pressure from activists who complained about pages that glorified violence against women. The social network has a system in place to police content across the site, removing content that is overtly racist, or explicit, but activists have long complained that the site allows highly offensive material celebrating violence against women to stay online.

NNAMDIPages with names like violently raping your friend just for laughs. So activists devised a social media strategy designed to pressure Facebook to crack down on this kind of speech by targeting companies that advertise on the service. These companies have no control over where their ads are seen, so activists captured screen shots of advertising appearing on pages with offensive content and tweeted them out. This presumably created financial pressure against Facebook since a number of high profile companies pulled ads citing the offensive materials. What do you think? It's Your Turn. 800-433-8850, or for this one, you might want to shoot us an email to kojo@wamu.org. Here now we go onto Iman in Chantilly, Va. Iman, you're on the air. Go ahead, please.

IMANGood afternoon, Kojo. Thank you for taking my call.

NNAMDIYou're welcome.

IMANI just want to -- it comes to my attention, actually, Chairman Darrell Issa who is talking about Eric Holder as -- it seems to me this is a personal agenda that he has, rather than getting to the bottom of the issue. This Chairman actually -- he personalized something against Eric Holder. And I don't understand why people they don't talk about this issue, basically bringing a lot of stuff about that there is nothing out there. They brought Fast and the Furious up in there. They brought Benghazi [unintelligible. Now he's personalizing against the attorney general, and I don't understand that why he's wasting, you know, the time that he keeps bringing different issues every day.

IMANIt seems to me that he has only one agenda, that he wants to embarrass this administration, and he wants to embarrass Eric Holder. That's all his agenda is.

NNAMDIWell, I suspect Congressman Darrell Issa will say that in Fast and Furious, in Benghazi, and now with the leaks in the Associated Press he saw overstepping by the administration and it is his job to call the administration in general, and the attorney general in particular, to account over it. However, there can be little doubt that there seems to be little love lost between Congressman Issa and Attorney General Eric Holder. But Iman, it is your turn.

IMANWell, I can only tell you that we know that the election is under way, and I think that the game plan is to embarrass the administration so they can use this against the other, you know, against the Democrats. But the bottom line is this. I think Eric Holder can hold himself. I mean, I see last week when him and the Chairman get into each other, and I really believe that sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do as a man, you know. And I believe that Eric Holder is doing a great job, and I think he can handle himself.

NNAMDIYes. Backing down does not seem to be a part of his demeanor on these occasions at all. Iman, thank you very much for your call. We move on now to John in Arlington, Va. John, your turn.

JOHNHi, Kojo, how you doing?

NNAMDIDoing well.

JOHNI'm concerned about some of the rhetoric about Syria. These guys that think you can have an easy war with no casualties, maybe we can bomb the runways of their airbases and the Damascus Airport. I'm not sure about you, but if somebody bombed the runways at Dover Air Force Base or Washington National, some Americans might consider that an act of war. And in the case of Syria, unlike Libya where Gadhafi, you know, was kind of used by people in the sense that he was unpopular, and even though he made adjustments in his policy, nobody really liked the guy.

JOHNSyria has real friends with really big weapons that could make things very difficult if they decided -- and they already starting to do that. The Israelis bombed this convoy going into Lebanon and nobody reacted too well. They bombed downtown Damascus, and according to the rebels, killed 40 Syrians, and the Russians are going to put in some advanced ground-to-air missiles now.

NNAMDIYeah.

JOHNSo my concern is that the guys that think we can run a war on the cheap with no casualties, really don't quite understand that this is a key interest for the Russians, and they have some pretty good weapons, and it could be tough. Now, luckily our State Department and apparently the Russians and a few other people are trying to get a diplomatic settlement. I certainly hope they make progress and they get this meeting going in Geneva, and maybe there can be a political settlement, although I think the odds are a little against it right now. But it really beats the alternative.

JOHNAnd I just get a little concerned with people like John McCain and some other people that just think, oh, throw in a few weapons, or throw in a few bombs and it will solve the problem. It won't, and it could be a lot...

NNAMDIWhat -- again, I'll put to you, John, the same question I put to an earlier caller. What have we learned, do you think, from our experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan that should instruct us about how we approach Syria?

JOHNWell, we should have learned that when you go into a war and are bogged down there for a long time, you lose popular support, whatever the cost. Even in Afghanistan where we had a real reason for going in. The United States, and a lot of other countries, if you look even in World War II, all the heroics, you find out that really by the end of the war even the British were tired of it. They didn't really want to go on too much more with it. So in democracies, people tend to lose interest, and then bad things tend to happen.

JOHNWe overstate our objectives, and then we have to back off of them, and it doesn't -- it helps the other guys who we're opposed to. So we should have learned that lesson, and if we think we can do a quick and easy activity -- military activity, that was the thing of Iraq, we'll get it all over in three or four weeks and then we can go home. It didn't happen, and I don't think it's worth throwing the dice to see if it will happen in Syria.

NNAMDIOkay, John. Thank you very much for your call. Your turn at 800-433-8850. We go onto Steve in Washington D.C. Steve, your turn.

STEVEHi, Kojo. There's a couple things about the AP stories that just leave me stupefied. The first is, this administration is continuing the process of previous administrations of trying to protect all of their communications under the banner of national security, which is just getting ridiculous. And to me, it's the press's job to uncover these things and to try to keep the government honest, and they're constitutionally protected from illegal wiretaps and being investigated.

STEVEBut what really gets me, and nobody's talking about the fact that the NSA is gathering all the digital communications of every citizen in the country. All our phone calls, all our emails, text messages, and they can go back retroactively and examine any one of our communications. So where's the outrage on that?

NNAMDIWell, I think, Steve, a lot of people believe that the last part of what you talked about, and that is our information being available to all kinds of government agencies in all kinds of ways, that that horse has left the barn, stable, whatever, and that it is difficult, if not impossible to pull it back in at this point. But I'd like to hear how you respond to Rick's email who says, "Is the journalist an accomplice if he asked the source to obtain more information, or perhaps seeks other information knowing that the source is breaking the law?" What do you say, Steve?

STEVEWell, it again goes back to the definition of what national security is. Nowadays they talk about how many rolls of toilet paper the Department of Defense bought as being under the banner of national security.

NNAMDIClassified. That's classified, yes.

STEVEIt's gone way, way too far. And if you don't mind, if I could just briefly say something about Syria.

NNAMDISure.

STEVEA Nobel Laureate recently made a trip to Syria. A peace-prize Nobel Laureate, a woman whose name is slipping me right now. She released her findings and said over there it's not a civil war, it's a proxy war being fought by foreign mercenaries, that Qatar is mainly financing it, and that these foreign mercenaries are going in committing all kinds of atrocities, and under many of them, the banner of al Qaida, and the idea that we would consider for a moment of giving them weapons, we should have learned from Benghazi the reason that...

NNAMDISo you are saying, Steve, that you do not believe that the Syrian government is an autocratic government that represses large numbers of people?

STEVENo. I didn't say that. What I'm saying is...

NNAMDIThat there is no real opposition is what you seem to be saying. That there is no real opposition.

STEVEThere is absolutely opposition, but they're foreign. They're foreign, they're financed foreign. The average citizen in Syria...

NNAMDIBut we have had Syrians in this studio who are members of that opposition.

STEVEYes. And they make up a distinct minority, and this isn't from me, this is from the report released by the Nobel Laureate. There is certainly opposition, and there is...

NNAMDIWell, but there -- Steve, there are reports, and then there are reports. Shouldn't you compare the Nobel Laureate's report with other reports about what's going on there before you come to a conclusion? I'm not saying that her report...

STEVEYes. Absolutely.

NNAMDI...is wrong, but it's one report.

STEVEIt is one report, but it's from -- I'd say a Nobel Laureate's motives would be perhaps the most noble. We've got to balance what we're hearing with the larger interests of -- there's a lot of profit in war, and there's a lot of profit in pain and misery, and right now there's actually peace talks about...

NNAMDIAre you talking about Mairead Maguire who visited with the delegation and criticized the U.S./Israeli agenda in Syria? She is from Northern Ireland.

STEVEYes. Yes.

NNAMDIThat's who you're talking about?

STEVEMairead Maguire. Yes.

NNAMDIOkay. Okay.

STEVEAnd I'd say everybody has a duty to read that report because for me it was a big eye opener. I've been buying the line that I've been reading in the papers and hearing on television, and when I read her story...

NNAMDIBut I think you're right. I think you're right. People ought to read that report and compare it with other reports that they've been getting, which is why we put out the name and who that person is on the air. But I'm afraid, Steve, we're running out of time very quickly, and I want to Megan in Takoma -- Megan in Takoma Park. You're on the air. Go ahead, please.

MEGANHi. Thanks. I actually called the station to find out why you weren't talking to people -- accepting calls about the violence against women stuff, and I was shocked to hear that I was the first person to call in.

NNAMDIAbout that issue. Well...

MEGANYeah. About that issue. So that in and of itself to me is pretty striking that where our priorities seem to be even in a more liberal listening audience. But ….

NNAMDIWell,, it's not a scientific survey. People pick up the phone and call, and we can't say that by the number of people who call on Syria as opposed to the number of people who called on school closing, and the people who call...

MEGANRight.

NNAMDI...on women that the fact that this is the first call on women means there is less interest in that issue. The fact is that to some extent that issue has been, it seems, resolved. But go ahead, please.

MEGANOkay. Well, I guess I -- my perspective is that globally and in the United States and in our neighborhoods, there is a war against women and girls. That the daily casualties in all of those places would -- it dwarfs any casualties in any war going on in the world, and the rhetoric and tone of -- apparently, of some of the stuff on Facebook is reminiscent of skinhead propaganda, you know. And I just ask myself in these situations, and I ask other people to ask themselves, if, instead of women and girls being depicted, what if these acts were being perpetrated against any disenfranchised group other than women and girls.

NNAMDIWell, as we said earlier, Facebook has protections against extremist language having to do with race and other stuff, but apparently not this.

MEGANRight. Right. Right.

NNAMDIBut you would be interested to know, Megan, that on Monday we'll be talking with Laura Bates from the Everyday Sexism Project about the project to enforce Facebook to enforce its standards against offensive language. She helped to steer that initiative. So if you tune into us on Monday, you'll be able to hear her on that broadcast.

MEGANGreat. I'll be there.

NNAMDIOkay. Thank you very much for your call, Megan, and thanks to all of you who participated in this edition of Your Turn. We got a tweet from Jules who said, "Facebook should be ashamed, and the fact that these pages are allowed really showcased the discrimination towards women." So while Megan may have been our first caller, she wasn't the first person who contacted us on this issue. So Megan, thank you very much for your call, and thanks to all of you who participated in this edition of Your Turn.

NNAMDI"The Kojo Nnamdi Show" is produced by Brendan Sweeney, Michael Martinez, Ingalisa Schrobsdorff, Tayla Burney, Kathy Goldgeier, Elizabeth Weinstein and Stephannie Stokes. Our engineer is Toby -- Tobey Schreiner. Stephannie Stokes is pulling double duty today on the phones, but what else did she do? Oh, well, yes, she is a producer on this show. Podcasts of all shows, audio archives, CDs, and free transcripts are available at our website, kojoshow.org. To share questions or comments with us, you can email kojo@wamu.org, join us on Facebook, or send a tweet @kojoshow. Brendan Sweeney is our managing producer. Thank you all for listening. I'm Kojo Nnamdi.