government investment in scientific research, things all businesses benefit from and need. now, if you choose to work in public service and if you have the chance to work on the great economic challenges still ahead of us, then you will learn -- as i have -- a few of the things that matter in government. don't put politics ahead of economics. polls, opinion polls may tell you what seems popular at the moment. they can show you the political obstacles to change and reform, but they cannot tell you what is the right thing to do, they are not a reliable guide to good economic policy particularly in a crisis when all the options seem terrible to any sensible person. retain a healthy skepticism about the world and a lot of

humility. you should be profoundly skeptical about the easy policy option. be skeptical of those offering excessive conviction on any issue. don't expect people to behave rationally. no that you will off -- know that you will often have to act in many areas where the fog of uncertainty is heavy. this should humble you, but you can't let it paralyze you. in government you need to have a view. you need to know what you are for, not just what you are against. it's not enough to be able to explain the risks in any option. you have to be able to decide and to choose. plan beats no plan. in economic policy your job is to try to relax the political constraints on policy. not simply to resign yourself to

live within them. but still, you have to govern with the knowledge of the possible and to be able to choose among the feasible alternatives and not be caught too long in search of the theoretical ideal. now, in confronting our financial crisis we were fighting two battles. one to save the economy from collapse and one to convince the american people that we were doing the right thing, the fair and the just thing. we won the first of those battles, but we're still fighting the second. at the height of the crisis, president obama made a difficult and a courageous choice. he decided not to alter economic strategy to fit the demands for a more simple and compelling, popular narrative that we nationalize the banks, for example, or let them all burn. he did not let politics get in

the way of doing the right thing, and that made all the difference. so to you, graduates of the class of 2012, you already know that you have to be prepared to take some risks and take some heat. you chose the harder path in graduate school. you chose to learn about power and be conflict among -- and conflict among nations, about incentives and human behavior, about why nations fail and prosper, about hubris and achievement. this is the study of how to think and how to choose and how to lead. and you chose the place where you could learn the craft of how to advance a cause, a cause larger than yourself. you chose sais because you understood to complete teddy roosevelt's quote, that the credit belongs to the man in the

arena who strives value -- valiantly, who errs, who comes short again and again because there is no effort without error and shortcoming, but who does actually strive to do the deeds, who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause. so i look forward to seeing you in the arena, and i wish you the very best. [applause]

[applause] >> another commencement address now. this next one with minnesota representative and former republican presidential candidate michele bachmann. she recently addressed graduates at theregent university in virginia beach, virginia. representative bachmann is an alum of the regent university law school, and she told students that as christians they shouldn't shy away from political problems in society. her speech runs about 20 minutes.

[audio difficulty] >> give them a kiss, give them day off. whatever they need, they deserve

it. i know it was 26 years ago when i became an alumni of this law school, and it was 24 years ago when i sat out where all of you were sitting, trying to keep our two young boys quiet in the heat as my husband received his diploma from dr. robertson as we listened to the commencement speaker. i will assure you as i was sitting out there trying to keep our two young boys quiet, i never in a million years imagined that one day i would be running for president of the united states. so you just never know. but i also want to promise you as you graduate from regent today and you become an alumnus, you will never join a finer club. now, i recognize the dues were a little stiff. i get that. but the benefits will be eternal, and they'll rebound not only to you, but the people that

you serve and touch and minister to in the future. congratulations on one of the finest investment decisions you've ever made, and i don't just mean your newfound earning potential. because your decision to come to regent was, for many of you, an act of sheer obedience just like it was for susan. that's what it was for me too. to the voice of almighty god. but i believe for you coming to regent university was an excellent decision, a life-changing decision. and my purpose here today is to remind you that this day would not have occurred without the prayer and the vision and the work of countless generations who went before you. because there would never have been a regent university, there never would have been this lovely, albeit hot ceremony today had the burning passion of matthew 24:14, doing all for the glory of god, to preach the

gospel of the kingdom and all the world as a witness to the nations had not been the chief motivator even of those who i share this platform with today. let me explain. very briefly, i want to share with you the origin of one of the schools here, it's the building to your left, to my right. it's the regent law school. it began back in the 1970s, and the reason why this law school is here today is because there was an eye doctor. he was from miscoegy, oklahoma. and this eye doctor was a businessman. and he had been burned one too many times by crooked, greedy lawyers. crooked, greedy lawyers. now, i don't mean to be redundant when i say that, but the eye doctor was a christian, a believing man. and he thought to himself, wouldn't the country be better off if we could have christian lawyers that each in oklahoma - but even in oklahoma he couldn't find any

christian lawyers. so he donated money to start what was called the -- [inaudible] school of law which you see now as the regent law school. and i was in college at the time. and i sensed god calling me to law school. that's not unusual. but to a law school based upon a biblical world view. now, that was a problem. i couldn't find one because there wasn't one in the country. this is back in 1977. and then i found out that the school, now regent, would not open until 979. the -- 1979. the school had no accreditation, no faculty, no books, no application forms, and so i waited. and eventually i became the very first student -- susan, does this sound familiar? -- i became the very first student in the first class on the first day of the first year of this law school. and our motto that year, it was a brand new law school, was we

know nothing, and we can prove it. but what we did know how to do is be people of faith, and we were mighty many -- mighty in prayer. not just students, but the faculty also. you see, we studied extremely hard because we were forging a new way to understand the law. you see, we not only learned the black letter law that all students have to learn in the united states. in tandem we also learned what the bible had to say about that particular area of law. down to the most minute technicality. and i want you to know it was the greatest intellectual and spiritual experience of my life. i wouldn't have traded a harvard education for the legal education i received here at regent. and someday you will appreciate that as well. because we prayed our way through navigating this new way of studying law, and we grew

exponentially. i'll tell you why. it's because we were taught here, under the power of the holy spirit. there is no greater presence than the holy spirit. you see, we woke up and entered our classroom, prayed before every classroom meeting, and our watch word was this: we dedicated ourselves to the glory of god and to the advancement of the gospel. in fact, if you look to this direction, the very ministries of cbm and, ultimately, regent university were all borne out of that same insatiable desire to serve the lord on this very geographical site, the ground upon which you are seated today, to the glory of god to advance the gospel. so literally did dr. pat and di di robertson and their fellow

co-laborers take this charge, they saw by faith everything that surrounds you now. they birthed it in prayer before any of this came into existence. and so i say turn your heads right now, look around, consider every building, every program, every person here today is a result of those prayers in faith and in almighty god. see thewell, see the process -- the wealth, see the prosperity, the unparallel building up that continues today with the building of the divinity school and the chapel. you couldn't choose a more beautiful, awe-inspiring visual for the finest university in the world. and let us not indulge ourselves in the supposition that all of this just somehow appeared or came easily without cost. because it didn't. there were years when pat and didi and the children ate a lot of soybeans. not because it was cool, but

because it was cheap! you know, you're just completing that schedule in your life as well. and there are plenty of times when their prayers didn't turn out the way they had hoped either. we understand that too. but just like nehemiah rebuilt the walls in jerusalem and the people were amazed at nehemiah's time how quickly the walls were rebuilt, consider how quickly the lord built this worldwide ministry and university for his glory in the advancement of the gospel. you see, no fluke that we are privileged to sit and stand here today on this hallowed ground. we, the recipient ofs of unpair -- recipients of unparalleled blessings. and as dr. campo gave you this story, it bears repeating. because, you see, it was 405 years ago this week when the very first settlers arrived at the jamestown settlement. they were famous for starting

the settlement, and when they landed as dr. campo told you, they erected a cross, they knelt and prayed, and their prayer was very specific be. they dedicated this north american continent to the glory of god and to the advancement of the gospel. that is our pattern that we are forged from. and it was some years later in 1979 when a virginia farmer, you may know him as george washington, went to new york city. he was sworn in as the first president of this new country. after his swearing in at federal hall which is now wall street, he traveled down to a church which is now located at ground zero. at that church george washington himself prayed and dedicated this nation to the glory of god and to the advancement of the gospel. and 370 years after the first jamestown survivors stood here

coincidentally, again the very same week cbn dedicated the very first satellite earth station to the worldwide problem proclamatf the gospel. that may seem like nothing to you now in a day when we all have smartphones n a day when satellite television is everywhere. but at that time never before in the history of the world in 5,000 years of recorded human history had the gospel been heard around the world. it was in direct fulfillment of the prayers of the jamestown settlers 300 -- 405 years ago this week and occurred here on this campus at cbn university. all praise and thanks and glory to an almighty god. [applause]

that day prophetically filled at cbn. and so i come with this reminder to you today, don't forget this place. don't forget regent, don't forget cbn university. this is an extremely important part of god's history of man kind. this is his faithfulness in action. but i also come to you with a warning on this happy morning. do not forget your first love. do not forget the eternal truths that you learned here. because my heart, as yours may be also, is broken over the current spiritual condition of america. i ran for president of the united states because of what i saw happening to our great country. and i knew the sacrifices and

the prayers and all that had gone on to build up this fabulous nation. and i knew we could not stand idly by and see it pulled down. we needed to act. we needed to stand for it and build it up and pray for it. and so i ran. and, yes, we do have political problems, and i am involved in that process, and i actually thought i had a lot of good answers to those political problems. and we have moral problems as well. [applause] as believers, we cannot shy away from the political problems, and we shouldn't. there's a move to tell christians to get out of politics, don't listen to it. we have moral problems. christians cannot ignore the moral problems. but ultimately the foundation of our problem is spiritual. and it's because even in our nation, even in many of our churches we've diminished the god of the universe by embracing

a philosophy that says we must all coexist. have you seen the bumper sticker that jesus is but one of many ways to god, that as believers we should not offend anyone even in churches? we shouldn't get too out there, we're told. we certainly must not talk about sin or the need for repentance because too many churches today are telling us if we talk about sin or a sin in church, we might offend people. and if we offend people, then maybe they won't come to jesus christ. but we forget that's the point. jesus is the rock of offense. he is the stumbling stone of history. [applause] the law was given, the bible tells us, to show us our sin. let's face it, we're sinners.

and without christ we're eternally separated from god. and even many in the church today are reluctant to say that there is a day of judgment coming. but there is. and there is a literal hell. and without christ that is the future of man. but the good news of the gospel that was contained in the charter here at jamestown is the good and loving god has made a way of escape from sin and from hell. and as the son of god, jesus paid for our sins as the perfect sacrifice, something none of us could possibly do on our own. and when we belief on his -- believe on his name, we are saved! that's the fulfillment of the gospel, proclaimed by god! retold by the prophets, fulfilled in christ and spread across the ages to all people, all nations, tongues and tribes. and we here at regent are the recipients of a big vision given

and born in the heart of an almighty god himself, the treasure of the gospel transferred from the old to the new testament through nations and ages as paul told timothy, faithfully transfer the treasure of the gospel of jesus christ. you see, we've been entrusted with a big vision, with a big commission. it's big. by those who saw into the future never despise small beginnings. that's the fountain of greatness. that one day we would literally be here, the fulfillment, the incarnate, literal fulfillment of their prayers. because, you see, the world thinks that christianity is about being nice, and it's about letting other people win. i'm just saying that's not my view. i don't think that's god's. we are to be on offense with the goel of jesus christ going everywhere and into every man's

world. christianity is a life that's lived by grace and faith before god in his glory and in the political world that i have been called to, i'm concerned and cannot escape from the seriousness of the hour that we live in. i do believe these are urgent, perilous times, and i think it's directly tied to the fact that for too long our nation has neglected a fidelity to the truth of god's word, for loving our neighbor into prayer. we are all called to minister somewhere in some way. you have been called, each one of you, to the arts, to business, to ministry, to politics, to law, all to the glory of god, all for advancement of the gospel. you see, together we are the most beautiful picture of the tapestry of his kingdom and a foreshadowing of eternal life, in the literal kingdom of heaven yet to come. because just as hell is a real place, so, too, be encouraged, beloved, because heaven is also a real place.

and every day i find that the political battles are larger. i get what hell looks like. and d.c. can make the answers very maddening. in fact, kind of like the old saying, the faster we go, the behinder we get. that's because while christians cannot give up on politics, that is not our answer. we do have a moral problem because sin is ugly. it's me first and you not at all. it's sensuality and personal fulfillment. it's redefining basics like the family. i'm here to tell you ask any 3-year-old on the grounds today what the family is. they will be able to tell you. but not the whiz bangs in washington d.c. now even our moral problems are becoming more complex in insoluble because the final reality and the real problem is spiritual. and that's my message for you here today. number one, your presence at regent and your graduation are the literal fulfillment of

generations of fervent prayer. so be grateful for what others have done for you. second, you hold in your future the ability to bless the world with the lifesaving power of jesus christ. don't miss the ticket to that train. that is joy for you throughout your life. and, third, you carry the awesome privilege and responsibility of faithfully living your lives all to the glory of god and the advancement of the gospel as generations of faithful believers did before you. be grateful that this eternal message, doing all for the glory of god and for the advancement of the gospel, is the message of regent university. make that message your own. god bless you all, have a great life. [cheers and applause]

>> next, connecticut governor daniel malloy delivering the commencement address at st. joseph college. the former district attorney for new york and mayor of stanford, connecticut, told the graduating class to be agents of change throughout their lives, and he called upon them to give back to their community. his speech to the class of 2012 runs 12 minutes. >> first and foremost, let me say how proud i am to have received this honorary degree from this institution. i want to assure everyone that i never dreamed that i would receive a degree from a women's college. [laughter] it is great to now be an alumni

of this great organization, this great institution which is st. joseph's. soon to be university of st. joseph. you know, i have to imagine that when the sisters came together and decided to start a new college, one which began conferring degrees in 1932, they must have understood the challenges that they would face. and, of course, to come to birth in the middle of the great depression and to survive that and other challenges that have played themselves out over the last 80 years is a testament to the wisdom of the, of the sisters and the founding and the care for this great institution. i also have to say that i am amazed at the progress of this institution over the last four years. in selecting a new leader in

dr. reid, this college shows an outstanding leader to help transform it for the next generation of users. she has done remarkable work which i admire greatly, including as has been mentioned the establishment of satellite campuses or opportunities to take courses at this institution in faraway places. the decision to move into the university ranks. the decisions that have gotten us here today where we are celebrating the largest graduating class in this institution's history. you are remarkable women giving remarkable leadership to this institution, and you deserve great congratulations. [applause] i would say to the trustees, you better keep her. [laughter] i want to thank the two student

speakers. now, i have to admit that the first speaker made me a little nervous about the repeated references to her age. being ten years older, i thought i was being led out to pasture. [laughter] but thank you for accepting the opportunity to challenge yourself and handling that challenge so beautifully. your comments about what the garnering of a degree can mean and the change of outlook and relationships was really quite poetic. and i want to thank you for showing a little emotion as well. we, too many of us are afraid to do that, and your sharing that with us, i think, made the day a better and brighter day for all of us, and particularly your friends in the class. to the undergraduate speaker, i want to say that i wish i was in the hall when you sang "amazing

grace" this spring. amazing grace, how good thou art that saved a wretch like me. those words and all of the words of that song were written by a man who had been engaged in the slave trade, transporting slaves from africa to other countries to be sold in servitude for the rest of their lives. upon understanding within himself the great, the great lack of morality in that decision in that profession, he changed himself. it was a religious-inspired change. it was a politically-inspired change. but ultimately, it was a personal decision to take a leadership role in seeing that this world would outlaw forever slavery.

i once was blind but now i see. that is the message of that song if you understand it in its full context. now, i have to say to you new graduates or soon-to-be graduates that you have made some empowering decisions to come to this institution, to study as hard as you have studied, to commit yourselves to lifelong learning by garnering these degrees. but there is a challenge that remains out there for you. it's called change. now, you have lived through great change. those of you who are graduating four years after first entering this campus have lived through some of the most difficult times in our nation's history at least economically. ..

you too must continue the process of seeking change. now it's very easy to change at a university or a college because change is what is being taught and it is all about you but when you leave these confines, change will get harder and harder and harder for you to accept and fight that, fight it. fight being comfortable in whatever you do.

fight, when people say that you can't make change or change is beyond the institution with which you assigned yourself. understand there are many experiences out there to be had, many experiences which you can give other people. what i will honestly tell you is that if you remain as open to change for the rest of your lives as you have been on this campus, you will in fact live a great life and you will improve the lives of others. being a change agent in our nation and in our state at this time is what we require of all of our citizens but not all will respond. i have had to make change in my life particularly over the last 16 months as i sought to redirect a state that quite frankly sat on its laurels too long and had not noticed how far behind it was suddenly becoming in competition with other states and other nations. change is hard. we've had a lot of fights

and a lot of elbows have been thrown but ultimately i understood and i hope the state understands that if we don't change our way we will fail to properly educate our young people, we will fail to grow our economy, we will fail to live our lives as well and as fulfilling as we could and ultimately what we will fail to do is to care for the next generations of people who come behind us because we were afraid to make that change. i challenge you to be change agents forever. you undergraduates, particularly those traditional undergraduates of 22 or 21 years of age understand as you sit here there is a probability you will live well into your 80s. many of you will reach 100 years old. so this is a special message for all the graduates today, understand that you must seek out jobs that you find fulfilling. and if you fail to find the job, find another.

and upon that if you fail to find that, find another. life, although long, is far too short to continue to do things which you do not find fulfilling and i will warn you, that if you decide to live a life that is less fulfilling than the one that you are capable of, slowly but surely you will become embittered by that experience. slowly but surely, you will become resistant to change. slowly but surely, the brightness of this day, and this accomplishment, will diminish and potentially disappear. you have accepted a remarkable challenge, to get your degrees at this institution. you're happy, you're bright, and you're ready to take on the world. when you reach your 80s and your 90s and your 100s, let no day be less bright than

that one. let no opportunity go on appreciated as you appreciate this degree. i wish i was in your seat. i wish i was receiving for the first time my first degree. i wish i could look as long into the future as you are capable of doing. because if i was with you, sitting there, i would know that you, my classmates, will make the difference in this state and in this nation. final thought, you're all busy and going to be very busy for a long, long time and in your chosen profession, perhaps in raising a family or helping to raise someone else's family. i understand that. but here's one last piece, piece of advice. pursuant to this institution's history and its founding, do not, do not forget to seek out ways to repay the debt that you now

must recognize. you don't have to pay it to the institution. you don't have to come back and be a member of the faculty. i do want you to donate. i do want you to do that. but this is how you pay it back. not only do you go to work bright and happy and ready for change and make that change, but in your own communities reach out, understand that many of you receive the benefit of, mentoring relationship, a friendship or support. be a coach. be a mentor. serve on a board or a commission in your community. find a way to give back because i'm going to honestly tell you, as someone who detroited much of his life to giving back, besides my marriage to my wife and raising of our three sons, the most satisfying experiences in my life have been when i, went beyond myself and beyond my family, to make our

community a stronger and better place. we must measure ourselves not by our personal success, and i'm sure that, much personal success will be lived by the individuals sitting before me, but we must consistent with st. joseph's mission give back, raise up, make stronger and if you do that too you will live a great life. god bless you, congratulations. thank you very much. [applause] >> florida congressman allen west delivered the commencement address at northwood university in west palm beach. he spoke about the value of education and patriotism during his 20-minute address. [applause] >> thank you. thank you dr. prady for your kind words of introduction.

doctor, to my dear friends yvonne boyce and dr. tom dorita. members of the northwood faculty and staff and board of trustees and representatives from the florida board of governors. i can not thank you enough for inviting me today to join you on what is your most important day. it is a real privilege to be here at northwood because northwood is a school that gets what too few of my colleagues leagues in washington -- colleagues in washington, d.c. understand. that is the private sector, led by people such as yourselves which is the engine of the american economy and only free market, free enterprise system and society like the one northwood prepared its students to thrive in, has the ability to advance the cause of humanity. those of us who spend a little too much time in washington have a tendency to forget at the end of the day all government can do is transfer wealth from one

person to another. and it reminds me of a simple joke. a tourist in washington, d.c. notices two government workers doing some, something rather odd in front after national monument. one dig as hole and the other fills it with dirt. the tourist can't help it and he walks over and asks them what on earth are you two gentlemen doing? you don't understand the first one said. normally there are three of us. i dig the hole, bill sticks in the tree, and george here puts in the dirt. but just because bill called in sick today, does not mean we shouldn't still work. it was milton friedman, the great economist who once quipped, if government were in charge of the sahara desert, it would not be too long before it would be out of sand. government takes wealth, from one part of the economy and gives it to another and perhaps you read the french economist, who said in his

essay, the law, he turned that as legal plunder, based upon misconceived philanthropy and misplaced benevolence. that is all that government seems capable of doing. it takes private enterprise to create wealth, to move the ball down the field toward a higher quality of life for all citizens. and that's what entrepreneurs are all about. in fact, the word entrepreneurship comes from the french word, to undertake. to take a risk, to create and more importantly, to innovate. new solutions, to age-old problems that make us better off and the world a better place. and part of the free market is risk and true innovators recognize the means by which they mitigate this risk but it is when the public sector, when government creates unpredictable risk, our

private sector suffers from the state of uncertainty. what northwood does, doctor, is prepare its students to be members of the productive sector and more and more studies are showing it is the new businesses that some of you all out there right now will create and will start, that are going to put the almost 23 million unemployed, underemployed, or discouraged american workers back to work. you all are the next generation of job creators and i want to thank you for allowing me to join you here today. and to the parents in the audience and family, and friends, i say, congratulations. your sons and daughters have earned the right to be called members of the class of 2012. and this class truly does have a lot to be proud of. to the graduates who are about to walk across this incredible stage, you don't need to be told what

accomplishment this is. you remember all of those late nights that you spent studying. the weekends at the library while some of your friends were perhaps at the beach. the years spent working toward one single goal, to make it here today. and tomorrow, you can proudly state, i am a graduate of northwood university. [applause] but that is not all that you have to be proud of. you also represent the next generations of business leaders, for here in florida, and all across the world. and you know it is truly an honor to be a representative from this great state. florida's a state unlike any other. we boast cultural diversity, sand and sun. vibrant cities like fort

lauderdale, boca raton, west palm beach. natural wonders like the everglades and hubs of science and innovation like scripps, max planck, torrey pines and the florida space coast. but today our state, our country, and the world, gains another great resource. it is each and everyone of you. today, you joined the ranks of great americans and other international students that this university and this state has produced and the pride that you feel today should not be something fleeting. i would encourage you to hold it close and truly let it animate your every action because this day is about more than just entering a rat race. it's about accepting the challenge to do something meaningful with your life. because you would not be here if you did not believe there were big things to be had in each and everyone of your futures. so take the pride you feel today. take it with you tomorrow.

take it with you for all the subsequent days that you will enjoy. take pride in the career you earned the right to have. take pride in the person you have earned the right to be. and let me tell you one thing, that i believe that there is nothing that once you set your sights to achieve, that you can not achieve. because my story is very simple. back 51 years ago, when i was born in the inner city of atlanta, georgia, not too many people would have believed i would be standing here before you today but my parents believed in the quality of an education because that gave you the equality of opportunity that america affords, and that that education opens the doors to economic freedom, and truly to individual liberty. as opposed to a dependency and a sense of collective subjugation. when i was elected i became the first black republican, member of congress from this

state in over 130 years. one could say that the chances for me to do that were not in my favor yet, here i am before you, a eminer about of the house of representatives, appointed to the armed services committee, appointed to the small business committees and given this great privilege and honor to address you here today. [applause] there is an important lesson to be learned in this simple story that you see standing before you. it's that the world does a great disservice to its young people when it tells them they haven't yet earned a right to make a difference. when it says the problems that we're facing, should be left to those who made them, and that you should the wait your turn. i tell you, graduates, never feel that you need to wait your turn to make an impact and be an influence in this

world, in your communities, or wherever you return. if you ever need a reminder, of the ability to do great things, right here and right now. i served 22 years in the united states military and you think about those young men, those navy s.e.a.l.s a year ago stood down the very face of evil in our time. they looked them in the eye and they eliminated them. but many of those young men were probably no older than some of you sitting right here before us today. that is a testimony to what you can achieve, whatever greatness because one day you will have the opportunity to do something fantastic and great for this incredible nation that we live in or whatever you reside and call home. which brings me to another point, that taking pride in yourself is good. being proud of your success and your achievements.

taking pride in your school, your state and all of your work. that is important. but i have to also say this. to my fellow american graduates that are sitting out there, first and foremost, show that you're proud to be an american. with all that this country has been through in recent years it would be easy to lose sight of how extraordinary a place it is that we call home here. it is the mission of your generation to make sure that that never happens because whatever difficulties we may face, nothing can make away the thing that makes this nation different and that is the enduring american spirit which we all share, which is the essence of american exceptionalism. the events of september the 11th, 2001, wrought karnage and destruction and insured each and everyone of you, the class of 2012, would grow up in a different world, a different one from what

you were born into. for more than a decade, young men and women had been at war with the idea that innocent lives are but pawns in a ploy to end our way of life and that freedom is a lost concept and perhaps a lesser people's resolve would have been exhausted a long time ago. yet the spirit that burns inside our souls will long endure because this nation is a nation of victors. it is not a nation of victims. and that means that we will not see our country turn into some socialist, egalitarian welfare nanny state that will measure our achievement under some guise of fairness. [applause] in our history there have been stories of many men who have stood against insurmountable odds. john paul jones, colonel

joshua chamberlain at little round top, the men at the 101st surrounded at bastogne, but i want to share with you a battle in the korean war at the reservoir and at some point the united states and u.n. troops became completely surrounded, outnumbered. to some the situation appeared hopeless before the forces under major general oliver p. smith, commander of the first marine division, the end was far from near. it was said, when he was asked, do you plan on surrendering, his reply was, we then have the enemy where we want them because we can attack in any direction. the men of the frozen chosen never stopped fighting. in the end, that fire saw them through. and on december 11th of 1950 they did what seemed impossible, escaping certain defeat from the chinese army at that time. think back to the greatest

national tragedy to confront the united states before 9/11, the bombing of pearl harbor. think of how surprised the army of japan must have been with the american response, that the assumptions on which they had depended upon to attack us on the early morning of december the 7th, 1941, had turned out to be so completely wrong. their intention was not just to physically impossiblize the american forces. they wanted to break our spirit of resistance, to take us out of the game before we even started playing. and how could we not be demoralized by such a sudden, and destructive and unthinkable attack. but we were not demoralized. in fact we were mobilized. and they knew that the instant at that first bomb was dropped on hawaii, it would be the end of that imperialist empire and it was even the japanese admiral, yamamoto who sate

stat stated, i fear we have awakened a sleeping giant. the american spirit, young men and women, is one of resilliance. the greatest mistake our enemies ever made to underestimate our resolve. and in these times, of global economic uncertainty you all must exude the highest degree of resolve and commitment to free enterprise principles. because we see this global economic crisis spreading from portugal to italy, to ireland, to greece, and to spain. and those are all examples of failed economic policies. therefore at a time when america is carrying a debt that is heading towards $16 trillion, at a time when our deficits over the past four years have exceeded $1 trillion a piece. at a time when our monetary policy is ill-suited to the realities of the day, at a time when our private sector is groaning under the burden

of ever more onerous tax and regulatory measures, at a time when it seems increasingly like we're headed toward an economically dependent welfare entitlement state, at a time when we hear americans stating that the free market has failed, and we have stymied access of capital to our job creators, i invite you to learn from america's response to pearl harbor, to 9/11, our response to chosen. never be disheartened no matter how up just the circumstances you're faithed with seem to be. never be dissuade from action because you think the odds are totally against you. defying the odds is what defines being an american. you will be an integral part of the economic restoration of our constitutional republic. your education here at northwood will enable you to

take this nation to move away from failed, keynesian economic policies, to true pro-growth, tax and regulatory and monetary policies. so be proud, be proud of your success today. be proud to represent your country, be it in america, wherever you're from, be proud of this great state, be proud of your school, be proud of the place that you are in world. be proud for you are members of the class of 2012. but in closing, i have one simple admonition to give to you from an old soldier, some of you may remember the movie, ""saving private ryan"". at the end of that movie tom hanks's character uttered two words to "private ryan" who was played by matt damon. those two words were, earn this. you have gone through four

rigorous years of education and master's degree. earn this, because today as you sit here, there is a young man, there's a young woman, that on some far distant shores, standing as a watchman on the wall, to protect your freedoms, to protect your liberties, to protect this great democracy that you live in. earn this, in the words of thomas payne, in december of 1776, these are the times which try men's souls. when the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will in this crisis shrink from their duties. but to those who stand, they shall gain the love and admiration of all men and women. as the young lady sang today, you live in the land of the free because america shall

always be the home of the brave. may god bless you all and thank you. [applause] >> next, epa administrator lisa jackson, delivering the come mainsment address at tulane university. she is an alum and a new orleans native and she commended graduates in their efforts redefining new orleans after hurricane katrina. administrator jackson is the first university graduate chosen to deliver a commencement address. this is about 15 minutes. [applause]

>> i finally made it, doctor. good morning tulane and hello class of 2012. [applause] mr. president and the chairman and board of trustees and faculty, administrators and staff and alumni, the parents, the families, the friends and musicians and supporters, my fellow honorees, ruby bridges who the way the crow flies lived about three miles away from me and on your shoulders i stand. peter's brilliant -- [applause] peter's brilliance has already will light our future without a doubt.

laura, well-done. congratulations. [applause] [inaudible] troy, our, our ambassador for the city. thank you all. now it is my honor to be with you this morning. as you heard, or may have heard i'm the first alum of tulane university to be able to address the unified come mainsment and you just heard that i am a native new orleanian. there is really only one thing to say. where you at, green wave. [cheers and applause] how's your mama and them? [laughter] seriously may seem very happy to be able to be your come mainsment speaker and to congratulate you and all of my fellow graduates of this wonderful university.

i'm also glad to see all of you here and surprised that you look so awake. i know some of you made a long process of actually waving good-bye and i'm guessing some of you waved good-bye a few hours ago if not this minute. i will give a public service announcement. i will speak about 10 minutes. mothers down the street, hold your seat of and go get some grits. that is cure for what is ailing you right now. [laughter] now, today i actually also have one more opportunity to fulfill two lifelong dreams. the first of course is to be able to address you, the graduating class of my beloved alma mater, tulane but second, there is something i always wanted to say standing on the floor of the superdome and it is this. hi, mama. i love you.

who dat! [applause] give my mom a shoutout, but we know this would not be possible without the families and classmates and mentors and family and friends over the past few years. we owe them. give them a round of applause. a who dat, give them something. [cheers and applause] now, when it comes to few lane and being the administrator of the environmental protection agency i actually came here in my professional capacity. i could talk about the tulane and the fact that you made environmental study as priority and almost every school in the university offers an environmental major or an environmental focus. or the fact that the school is also taken the american college and university president's climate commitment to help develop solutions to climate change. but, as important as all

those things are i'm mostly glad to be here because this is my home. i grew up in new orleans in the ninth ward. it was a wonderful place. the actor wendell pierce and musician terrence blanchard were my neighbors. my dad was a mailman and he used to take me on his route to visit folks in the cbd. sometimes in the french quarter, who were his customers. i started school here seven years after ruby bridge's his tore wachovia. of a i graduated from st. mary's dominican high school -- [applause] i crossed claiborne avenue and headed down broadway to tulane. . .

no real world, no follow your dreams, no do not be afraid to fail, no never give up. but the real reason is because those words don't measure up to what you accomplish, or do justice to what you already know sitting here. president cowan asked me to talk about me. yeah, that will thrill you. [laughter] though the temptation is very strong, i don't want to bore you with stories of the to land i knew, 1983, almost 30 years ago.

very, very, very different times. indeed. although he pulled me aside afterwards, i want to you about the original tylers beer garden. [applause] >> you'll see. one day you'll be back it with your kids and you will bore them about, you know, your stories, the jazz fest, not telling them what you really did in the french quarter. [laughter] so i will spare you my flashback. it wouldn't be accurate, except for one thing. in my day, choosing to land was pretty simple. a great school with an incredible history and fantastic academic standards. that reputation is why you all know people also refer to harvard as the tulane of the north. [cheers and applause]

tulane is undoubtedly the finest go in the great state of louisiana. [cheers and applause] and, of course, the city of new orleans is unlike any city in the world. you will never find a place to match the food and the music and the spirit and the culture here. know what the place is as much fun as new orleans. i don't think i'd be too far off in saying that some of the people that i would just go with factored bourbon street into the college admission process. not a hard choice to make. you ghana ghana get a great -- get a great education, and a good expense. so for me, 29 years ago, for me, coming to tulane was so. the class of 2012, i know your choice was not so simple. and the 30 years between my college years and yours, the city saw some of the hardest times in its long history. i was here in new orleans a few

days before hurricane katrina hit in 2005. i was here to celebrate my mothers birthday, august 27. it was fortunate that i was around, but as i was able to drive for out of the city. my neighborhood was virtually destroyed. flooding ruined my moms home, the home i grew up in. in the days after the waters receded, my mother went down to the house. but the picture i had in my mind, i can ever erase, is the day in the hot sun of july where she sat on the sidewalk in her wheelchair as catholic charities came and took every item proud of that house. every waterlogged picture. all of her clothes, every piece of furniture, as she saved so hard with my dad to buy. everything. she said, i saw it go been.

i need to sit here and watch it go out. the storm close the school for the first time since the civil war. students dispersed to hundreds of college campuses across the country, and didn't come back until the next year. and then two years later, y'all made a decision to come here. and when you did, things were so uncertain. you knew you were coming into an era where there were so many challenges still to face. some of you were here already and grew up here. he went to school, graduate school, so poor. me and you, we knew what was going on. 30 years ago it was a safe decision to come to tulane. i always felt like i made a safe decision. for those of you who were here, the safe decision would have been to go somewhere else to school. others of you who have the courage and compassion to come

here and to help rebuild immediately after the storm, and then for whatever reason you decide to stay for your education. whatever your reasons, i know that all of you understood that using tulane university would place demands on you at other schools would not. you knew it would challenge you to live up to the motto of this place, not for oneself, but for one's own. to be very honest with you, i know how hard a choice it was to come here, because i avoid a similar decision myself. after the storm, i dreamed of coming back and building a new home for my mother, because i'm an environmental not. i thought it should be energy efficient, green. i had a vision. i thought about coming back, and consider what it would be like to spend the next years living

here, helping to bring my kids here, to ask my family to relocate. i almost left my job, but it was my mother who encouraged me to stay in the field i loved so much and continue working in public service. now, a few months later i was making commissioner of the "newsweek" -- of the new jersey department of environmental protection. it was not too long after that president-elect obama called me and asked me to join his cabinet as administered of the epa. and by the way, my mom stuff is being rebuilt by wendell pierce, who is also -- how about that? [applause] and then two years ago when the area was hit by another tragedy, the oil gusher in the gulf, because i didn't come back and i was in a position to help. given my very personal connection, the president made me the lead federal efforts to restore the region after the

spill and after decades of environmental abuse. so my choice turned out to be the right one for me. but see, i'm fascinated because you all made the choice i didn't. you came here. while i ultimately didn't, i know what it means that you did. i know what it means that you stepped up. and i'm proud to see what you have done with the choice you made. you are part of what president howland calls the new tulane, one that is active in rebuilding and reinvigorating new orleans. today, you receive a degree from the first national research institution to include public service in the requirements for graduation. [applause] in the face of disaster -- [applause] in the face of disaster, you came here to serve. you were a national beacon of service.

this service, your service has now redefined tulane, and will for the rest of its history. you changed your world. you changed this world. you change this school. you changed the city, because you came. of course i can't tell you about 30 years ago because you changed it. it means so much to this school, so much to the city, so much to me. if i can tell you one thing today from the new orleans grow and tulane grad, thank you. and have no doubt that what you've done me to great deal to this country in a difficult time. when people see that this city is able to get on its feet again, when they see that they can emerge stronger and with a sense of accomplishment and community and possibility, they see what it takes to rebuild. when they see the school at the heart of new orleans turning out a new generation of leaders and

innovators and public servants, it shines a light on the road ahead of all of us. so that's why i'm not going to lecture you about lessons you'll learn in the so-called real world. the truth is, the real world needs a lecture from you. [applause] so please, go out there and give the world your lecture. don't be shy. don't be a jerk about it last night we are from the south. say please and thank you. no matter how annoying they may be. but know this. you have the best separation -- preparation you can do anywhere. know in your heart that there was no more important thing you could have done than to come here. no better place for you to have

come then here. no better time for you to have been here. no other college, no other city, no other moment in history could have prepared you for your lecture like this one. the choice you made to come here says that you are someone who faces charges and does not run. and there's nothing we need more in these days that people who are ready to face challenges. [applause] let me close by saying that you will not be alone. your members of of a family. many. people who are here, around you, are the same people who will be with you through the course of your life. they have always been here. yes, your family and your friends and your teachers and your mentors. and now your fellow graduates. know where i would rather be at this moment. i'm so happy to celebrate with you today, class of 2012, and i look forward to seeing what you will accomplish in hearing your

stories. i wish you luck. i wish you so much more than luck. thank you very much. congratulations. [cheers and applause] >> the u.s. senate is in today at 2 p.m. eastern. continuing work on what's called the farm bill, setting farm and food programs for the next several years. senators are working on a agreement over a minute. once that is in place they will move ahead with the bill. at 4:30 p.m. senators will turn to a judicial nomination. jpmorgan chase president and ceo jamie dimon will be on capitol hill wednesday to testify before the senate banking committee. senators will ask you about the companies $2 billion trading loss and its impact on the overall economy. he will appear before a house committee the following week. you can watch this week's hearing live at 10 a.m. on c-span.

>> tonight espn president john skipper on the networks expansion to different media platforms. scene in chief national correspondent john king on the way technology has changed cnn. and cox business senior vice president phil meeks and the small business focus on "the communicators" tonight at eight on c-span2. >> pulitzer prize-winning author david mariners travel the globe to research his new book, barack obama, the story. visiting places like kenya and kansas to examine the president's family tree. booktv will give you a preview with exclusive pictures and video. including our trip to kenya with the author in january 2010. join us sunday at 6 p.m. eastern and later as 7:30 p.m. that same night, or phone calls, e-mails and tweets for david maraniss on c-span2's of tv. >> now and look at the use of unmanned aerial drones in the u.s. where they are being used and for what purposes. from this morning's "washington

journal." >> host: and we've all heard about the use and effects of drones being used in faraway battlefields. but what about drones that are being used domestically? harley geithner of the center for democracy and technology joins us now. first if you could help explain how and where these domestic drones are being used these days. >> guest: they are being used in a variety of different places and they're being used in a broad and different ways. of the uses are very, very positive. so for example, tracking wildfires, tracking wildlife, dusting crops, helping police track down fugitives that have recently escaped. but there's also a fair number of concerning uses, such as scouting out property prior to a swat raid, and various other surveillance techniques. where they are being used is the difficult question. they are being used all of the east coast of the united states

in various states around the country. they're being used on the border. the truth is that we don't have a ton of information on that very question come on where and how they are being used. the faa a result, under threat of lawsuit, released a good deal of information on where and how they're being used. but, unfortunately, the purposes of the use of the drones have not been disclosed. people that are using them, institutions that are using them and include about 18 private contractors and about 60 government entities and research facilities. >> host: we will get to all that. i want to point out this from the most recent issue of "time" magazine. it's called the word of the week is cattle drones. flying surveillance devices that monitor ranching practices, finds that if i met a protection agency uses these eyes in the sky for cattle farmers and look for clean water act violation in nebraska and iowa. that's one of the uses that is

going on. have a picture here, this from the daily mail. talking about what some of these domestic drones might look like. that right there is the predator drone, the reaper drone that is used overseas for military operation. down below, this is the dragonfly or x. eight which can carry a payload of about 2.2 pounds. police, border patrol, environmental agencies such as the national ocean and atmospheric administration use them as well. so these are what they look like. talk a little bit about the congress giving agreeing light to domestic producers, how that debate came up and what bill that was in? >> guest: first of what's am glad you showed pictures of what the drones look like. because there's a wide right of drones. people are loosing pictures of predator drones and so much. they can go to be as large as a

carrier jet, a large cargo jet. so there's a huge variety of drones we are talking about. now, what happens, where we are right now in terms of the law is this. on valentine's day, 2012, the faa modernization reform act was signed into law. it had passed the house and senate earlier that month, and that law sets out a series of rules and actions that the faa and the department of transportation must take in order to integrate drones fully into the nation's airspace. by 2015. actually december 2015. at the right now we are taking some of the steps, the faa is taking some of the steps to enact those rules and take those actions. the way that this occurred was the faa has actually been talking with the industry for several years about integrating drones into the airspace. this is really due to the

several factors. first is the relentless advance of technology. in this case, robotics. for the unmanned air systems have become much more sophisticated, much cheaper and much more common over the past decade. and with that has grown a large commercial market and government market for drones. and this is what a great deal of industry pressure on the faa to enact laws that will allow drones to flight in the domestic airspace, and in late or early 2012, there was a bill that's did just that. that was the faa trends in the early drafts of the bill had dates by which a drone should be integrated into the airspace, and then those deadlines became more specific. they became more detailed at the suggestion of industry, as the drafts went on to and then they were passed. they pass without being hit on privacy. even discussion of transparency. there was no study, no report on

the civil liberties implications of filling the sky with what are essentially flying robots. part of the reason this occurred is because, my impression, many people did not realize that this provision was in the bill. many people on the hill, but also media organizations and civil liberties organizations like the center for democracy and technology. and so that it is in the law. we have a series of deadlines that will fully integrate drones into airspace. >> host: and some of those deadlines that you've listed on, some the papers you read on the subject. 2012, the secretary, the faa must issue guidance regarding the operation of government drones. and about august 14, 2014, the secretary must publish a final rule that will allow small non-government drones to operate in the national airspace system. want to take you to congresswoman lynn woolsey of california on cnn, state of union, talking about some of these writers the issues that

you just brought up. >> well, i have great concern about privacy all over our country, not just because of drones. and our loss of civil rights, civil liberties based on our need of security. i think we're giving up our security in spite of the fact that we are making people more angry at us all over the world, and the very argument that my good colleague, peter king, just gave us is what is in figuring the rest of the world. and i, i, too, would like to hold hands be found all over the world, and i know we have to be strong, but i think we can be strong with domestic and helping them with their policies and with the policy, so we don't need to but so much of our funds into war machines and think that

we're going to make friends and make this a safe world. we aren't going to. we have to -- we can be, have tougher and tougher and tougher machines and equipment and more scary, and we can just destroy our world. not this year. not tomorrow, but soon. >> host: as you saw, congresswoman lynn woolsey was on with republican peter king of new york. we will give you a little bit of what he said indicating his support for the use of domestic drones. >> i think drones are legitimate form of law enforcement. when you don't have an expectation of privacy if you're in the open, talk about crouch, talk about sidewalks, talking about people out of the open. there was the expectation of privacy. the drones are extra and effectiveness for us trying to

spot things that could be happening in a crowd. certainly if a child has been kidnapped or lost but also along the border, that's too. also i would just as far as use of drones, we've not been attacked since september 11 and that's -- >> host: harley geithner, -- which can do more fall into between those two comments? >> guest: i fall on the pro-privacy camp, surrogate although i do agree with representative king that there are many positive uses of drones. he does actually describe the law as it exists today. however, i think that law is outdated i think it's an adequate but i think it must change. a nightmare for civil liberties will be to have a network of drones in the national airspace that monitored everyone that was outside. on a continuous basis merely for generalized security purposes. and then on the commercial side, a network of drones that they

would be able to put you on youtube or stream your footage the moment you step outside of your house. there will be very few laws that stand in the way to do and i don't think that's the world we want to live in. >> host: if your comments or thoughts or questions for mr. geiger, give us a call on the republican line, mike is waiting on the independent line from safety harbor florida. mike, you're on with mr. geithner -- mr. geiger. >> caller: please let me say this all in all my boat will be taken. for small can see how the faa has been positioned by homeland security, they've had over 30,000 of these in the sky over the next 10 years, you do the math of the 4 40 a continuous united states, that's obviously 900, 800, and many, many drones

will be in the sky. just in my town of dallas county, the police, the controversy for the drug task enforcement agency, and the oversteps of the constitution as they have recently done. considering how that every traffic light there is stop lights now. or there's traffic cameras now. there is citizen cameras. there are cameras, you get off the intersection, or the interstate on all the off ramps. there's cameras are there now. we are coming into a police state, all in 1984. at another point i want to make is so basically this doesn't surprise me, and, obviously, it's only going to get worse. they are not going to use this to get criminals but they will get this to spy on everyday americans. that my passport, the last guest you had on lied about afghanistan. we have 10% of the poppy came before the war. now it's over 90%.

>> host: thanks for the culprit let's keep it to the subject at domestic drones right now in this segment. he brings up a number of domestic drones in the sky. do we have a sense of what those numbers are? >> guest: we do not have a sense of what the numbers are now. the 30,000 number that he referenced was actually others as that by the faa. and i believe that it would come included commercial goods as well as government drones. so they project just loosely that there will be 30,000 by 2020. and that is a pretty staggering number when you think about it. he also referenced the availability of traffic cams and cctv and so forth all over the place. i'm glad he brought that up. i would also counter. and with this as well. drones can represent a type of pervasive and constant surveillance that we haven't seen before. they are different from cctv and traffic cams the mostly because of their vantage point. mainly because they can fly. so if you turn a corner and if you enter your fenced in yard, the traficant or the cctv may

not see you anymore. he would take a large network and/or to try to on a continuous basis. that drones are different on the other hand drones, from the air, would be able to track you over a wide area. and, unfortunately, the state of the law is such that to do that the law enforcement does not, in fact, need a warrant, probably. there's a supreme court case called united states versus jones that indicates that might change. but right now is not clear. >> we put up in the earlier. i want you to explain this to viewers. this is a map not of whether drones are, but of large sites come is this correct? you can see it here. >> guest: so this is, i believe this is a map, so are we are i referenced the privacy group called electronic frontier foundation, that is faa under the freedom of information act, and received, yes, this map. they put together this map that

shows where the certificates are. the institutions, with institutions that are located that have drones certificates. so the faa gave out these temporary certificates in large part mostly to government agencies, some research institutions and some defense contractors. these are where they are located. there will be numerous other launch sites. this list will increase and the thoughts will grow much more numerous overtime. at that is what we were able, but what the civil liberties community was able to get out of the faa. again, this does not necessarily tell us the purpose. they didn't tell us how they're all being used but it doesn't tell us how many drones are actually at each of these sites. but those are where the current temporary certifications have been given. >> host: these launch sites, the largest number being in and around the d.c. area. take us through who gets a license, how you apply for a license and what information need to disclose to get a license to do this.

>> guest: so, there's a distinction here between hobbyists and model aircraft and drones, believe it or not. right now, in fact, you can go on amazon.com and you can purchase a drone for yourself, for $300. it's got an hd camera, wi-fi enabled and you can play this without a license. but that staggering in itself, the fact you can buy one of these yourself for 300 bucks online. the restrictions there or that you cannot use it for commercial use. it has to be under 400 feet and has to be away from a privately away from banned aircraft and populates into. you don't need a license for that. however, if you want to use a drone for commercial purposes, you would need a license. and at this time the faa is not granting licenses. those are one of the rulemaking as i mentioned at the outset that the faa will make and that will allow commercial drones to be used. the right now it's mostly government drones and research goes. in order to do that you have to apply online with the faa for

either a certificate of authorization or a special waiver of authorization. the information that you disclose is largely with regard to safety. the entire band is toward safety. there's little in court and to have the drones are being used if and when it comes to privacy. and with this program, the faa is not completely transparent about who is using drones and where. you saw the map earlier. that was as a result of a foia lawsuit. what i would like to see is the faa make a certification program as transparent as what to do currently with smaller graphic if you're to go on the faa's website right now, you could search for the licenses and registrations of small aircraft by putting in the make and model of the name of aircraft owner, et cetera. you cannot do that right now

with drones, with ues. that is something we hope will change as this certification program becomes more permanent in the future. >> host: you just explained -- >> guest: that is one of many terms for drones. they are a model airplane for our and unmanned aerial vehicle. uas, uav are more industry terms. the common term is a drone. >> host: john is waiting on the republican one. you were on with mr. geiger this morning. >> caller: hi. this is, you know, i followed politics for a quarter century now, and i've been a long time watcher of c-span. they are summit issues. this one really, like a previous caller said, you know, that they don't doubt that the issue of drones will one day end up, you

know, the american public won't end up in the sights of some of these drones. and i don't see that. i can see the way the big multinational corporations and the military international machine, however you want to articulate it, if there aren't some protections, we the people, the implementation of drones could be dangers. so that said, what i would request is c-span to do a segment on the article five convention for both conservative groups and -- now talking about the need for federal -- [inaudible] that feature is part of our constitution. it's there because the folks who wrote the constitution had the common sense to know that at some point special interest

would try to take over the enterprise and try to enslave people. were asked if we have a convention today, both right and left could come together -- [inaudible] and discuss some of these very important issues -- [inaudible] >> host: do you a chance to comment. >> guest: so at the outset of the caller said that drones would be used to spot on everyday people, on regular americans. and this relates to what the first caller had said about drones entering us into a police state. in fact, drones are already being used to look at ordinary americans. they are not just the news on the border and their servant not been used overseas. we've are seen at least one arrest in north dakota that made use of action and military grade drone. that individual was suspected of cattle rustling, and he has now appealing his case and it's not looking that great.

when you talk about protections for we the people, encouraging away, congress has now started to pay attention. it is belated. it would've been much more helpful in -- if privacy protections have been built in to the faa modernization reform act back in february but, unfortunately, that did not happen. it slipped under the radar. but now, however, congress is paying attention. there are at least one build that was introduced last week that would protect privacy by drones but i don't how good is because the text as of last night had not been made available yet. but it is out there. it's my understanding that there will be other bills coming soon that has the same thing. again don't know how good they are but at least they're paying attention. there's also been at least a couple of letters from members of congress, representatives of barton and markey have been very good on paying attention to this since at least february. they have been asking the faa what protections are built in place. and the civil liberties groups

now that we know this is in place, we are also making suggestions on privacy protections. so for example, the center for democracy and technology, which is where i work, we've issued a legislative proposal that we think would help quite a bit in terms of privacy protection. but the truth is that with, nba action difficult, actually, to protect privacy fully from drones. particularly from commercial drones. what i'd like to see and what i think most people can agree on is a need for a warrant from law enforcement effort to use drones to survey of a particular individual. >> host: right now please don't need to obtain a warrant to target a specific person? >> guest: this is a competition question. generally speaking, no. there was that supreme court case, u.s. versus jones, that happened pretty recently. in that case, all nine justices rejected the government's argument that you have no

expectation of privacy at all in public places. but that was possibly limited to the use of gps being attached to a car. so we're not sure of the application of jones but if you put that case aside, there has been a line of cases have essentially said that no, when you're in a public place, law enforcement does not need a warrant in order to track you via camera. and moreover, law enforcement does not need a warrant if they are flying a surveillance device is above your property. the line has been traditionally thought of as 400 feet but there's no reason why law enforcement could not go beneath 400 feet. so we would like to see the change. would like to see a bill that requires law-enforcement to get a warrant if they're going to try to a particular person to a network of drones being used for general safety purposes the way that much of cctv is being used now, we think law enforcement ought to apply for a special

authorization in order to get that. and they would have to reapply every 30 days but it should be completely transparent. moreover, law enforcement should be prohibited from webvan icing drones. this is separate from the privacy issues in a lot of ways but it is something that people need to be aware of which is that law enforcement is, in fact, in arrested in webvan icing drones to in the united states. there was -- >> host: does that include tiered grass over rubber bullets? >> guest: which are referring to is an inquiry now from montgomery county texas. the sheriff department is interest in putting rubber bullets and tear gas into their drones. and at this point my opinion is that yes, that should be prohibited. i think once we start dehumanizing our lawns with efforts and we turn into something that is being deployed from above on a crowd of people, i think that can be extremely dangerous for civil liberties. certainly tear gas and rubber bullets are better than missiles or real bullets. >> host: you mentioned a letter from congressman ed

markey of massachusetts, a democrat, and joe barton of texas, a republican i have that letter for you. you can find on the website but it is dated april 19, 2012. just to send a summit in addition to benefits, there's also the potential for drone technology to enable in case of an pervasive surveillance without adequate privacy protections. we are writing to express our concerns about the lost potential privacy implications and request information about how the faa is addressing these important matters. that is available online for folks to we will go to robert on the democratic line now from louisiana to you were on with harley geiger from the center for democracy and technology. >> caller: yesterday. i've been watching this program, and i would align myself with other people that have concerns about this. the cameras and so forth. now, there's a lot of arguing about the series of 9/11,

angina, what the motives were for the people who planned this. but since that time, i've seen an erosion of rights of the american people. one by one, and if you look at the patriot act, everyone knows everything in there. the nsa is spying on us. and it looks like to me, if someone, and i'm not suggesting someone is, but it's a we decided that they were to take over this government, for a totalitarian state tomorrow, all the pieces are put in place. i tend to vote against anyone who ever signed to end agreed to the patriot act. we are being set up for a government takeover. >> host: robert from louisiana. we will go to jay on the internet one. >> guest: i would like to respond to something robert said. and talking about the extreme concern with regard to drones and to counter in state and so

forth, a lot of people think that is very kooky, and i do not personal think there is a conspiracy progress toward a totalitarian state. but this is a concern that many people bring up. conspiracy or not, we do not know what the world is going to be like in 20 to 50 years. we do not know. and less privacy protections are built into place now, there's no reason why the world cannot be a darker place during that time. i think that that concern, which i hear very frequently, is a very good reason to build in privacy protections now. we don't know what the government will be like in 20 years or so. >> host: twitter, americans need to take a stand and demand no domestic use of drones. you are not going that far? >> guest: no, i'm not going that far. previously essay, drones can have a lot of beneficial uses and they are being used for a lot of beneficial ways. there's a lot of great private sector uses for drones the cinematography, scouting

wildfires as i said. there's a great deal of great things you can do with drones. however, i think that what we really need to do is build in privacy protections for, in particular, the government use of drones to commercial use is more tricky because you have, in fact a first amendment issue which i can get into if you want me to. >> host: talk about the benefits of drones. this is timothy, aviation attorney riding on the association for unmanned vehicle systems international. one of the industry groups for drones. writes that there are 18,000 massive law enforcement agencies in the united states. but only less than 400 law enforcement aviation units. that's less than 3%. he writes in the unmanned aircraft systems provide an affordable solution to those agencies that need eyes in the sky but don't have the budget or for those agencies that need to supplement their current aviation unit with more cost effective aircraft and enforcement. so a few of those folks are

going in favor of domestic drone used. will go to jay on independent line from st. louis, missouri,. >> caller: thank you for taking my call. first off i'd like to ask your center, is that a private company? are you a contractor. >> guest: no, sir. we are and nonprofit. we are not a contractor. >> caller: to fund your company? i just want to know where your funding comes from. >> guest: we take a 50% in the grants and research money and donated money to donation. and the other 50% comes from private sector sources, including corporate money. so it's about 50/50. >> caller: i understand, you know, i can see where the drones could be good along the border, and further circumstances. but this privatization of america, all these contractors are giving so greedy now they just will more and more and more. and i just these -- i do see this as a take away of the

matter and make it or private, keep funding money to the private sector as the defense contractors when, in fact, if you look at the statistics, the money is causing a lot more for us to support the war in afghanistan with the private contractors. this is just another way of making the military smaller and private companies to get more involved in it, and spend more money and pay off congressmen, senators, get moment in their pocket but i just don't agree with the. i think it is wrong because we have plenty of gentlemen, young men in this country that will serve this country, and i don't know what a contractor in afghanistan is making a year by keeping about their pulling more troops out. but here are as many people in afghanistan as there was before, you can't we just shifted to put more contractors in the? >> guest: i don't have an opinion on the private contractor portion of drone creation here in the united states, but i will say that i would have just as many, if not

more, concerns with the use of military drones, military of drones over the united states as i do about private and civilian law enforcement drones over the united states. john, earlier you had referenced something that somebody had set and talk about law enforcement saying that it provides an eye in sky for law enforcement that needed. and that is certainly true. this is something to think is very important to i hear very frequently that drones are merely like helicopters, in that there really is no different, no difference of helicopters. but a big difference is that, as you suggested, they are a lot cheaper. they can be given to many different parties that would not otherwise be able to afford a helicopter. so the analogy is not, not one shown in one helicopter. it is many drones to one helicopter. and there are various -- very other different characteristics as well. a drunken hover and watch a very

wide area for a long period of time. that helicopters cannot. so yes, it is beneficial in many ways to give this eye in the sky and so forth to a law enforcement agency. but as i said there needs be privacy protections built into the law. >> host: let's go to maryland. mitchell is waiting on the republican line. good morning. >> caller: good morning. how are you? >> host: good. go ahead traffic i don't think there's any public using drones but if you're not into any crickets if you really don't have anything to worry about. if you're an everyday person who just does everything, you know, take your first of and a base the law, you're not going to have any problems. there's going to be more good with the drones keeping people out of crooked stuff. so i feel that, if you don't do anything wrong you don't have anything to worry about. >> guest: so i ask or think that that is actually an argument that i hear very frequently comes to privacy in general. for me, however, privacy is

really about control. the people that have information about you can use that information to make decisions about your life that you may not necessarily want. and it does not necessary come down to whether or not you're actually breaking the law in public. it can come down to whether or not you want pictures of you online, for example. and it's also, there are a great number of lost after the can you say definitively that you have not broken any laws in the past month? so you may very well have things to worry about. and again we don't know what the world is going to be like in 20-50 years but i don't think that your argument conflicts with our calls for legislation that requires a warrant and ortiz drones to surveil a particular individual but if one-fourth as a goodwill to watch individual than they should be able to get a warrant to watch them. the same thing with the generalized surveillance over a wide area where we have called

for law enforcement to obtain an authorization to do that. if there's a good reason for law-enforcement to do that then they should be able to get that authorization. >> host: let's go to cincinnati, ohio. frank is waiting on the democratic line. go ahead. you are on with harley geiger. >> caller: hello, thank you. i would like, this is a technology is kind of terminator style technology. it's very frightening to me. i was wondering, what's the legalities of shooting one of these things down with the electromagnetic pulse work on something like that? is that something that would be a viable in this case? >> guest: so, believe it or not this comes up pretty frequently when it comes to the use of drones. that is the idea of shooting down. you see that sentiment expressed very friendly and online news articles to almost every major publication that talks about drones. recently, some fox news

commentators, charles, judge napolitano, discussed shooting drones. charleswood square as saying the first people to shoot down one of these things going to be a folk hero. that prompted a response from the associations among the international -- the big trade association. >> host: and we have that response. we can read for you now. this is the association writing back in response to that. to advocate for people to shoot down any -- >> guest: right. so this is a very real, a very

real topic of discussion. and the fact it is already happened. and, i believe it was in texas, there was a group of hunters that shot down a drone of an animal rights group in that it has already happened. this is almost certainly illegal, and i actually don't recommend. there is a country that sometimes people reference called self-help in property law where you could take action into your own hands, and abate the nuisance. however, that is generally illegal if it is likely to involve a breach of the peace, and the gunshot in the air would certainly involve a breach of the peace. so is almost certainly illegal. however, this, the fact we're talking about this and the fact that this comes up really quite frequently shows the extent to which americans care about their privacy when it comes to drones. the people are actively considering, and frequently considering actually shooting down a drone from the air in order to protect their privacy. that should indicate to the industry and lawmakers that

there's a very real concern here. and you read auvsi's response to discussion about shooting down drones. auvsi is right and have been very careful to note that there are many positive uses for drones. but what they are responsibly that and what with the industry's response typically leaves out is that yes, there are positive uses but there's also very real potential for abuse. and that is what people are concerned about their privacy when it comes to drones. >> host: we have a less than 10 minutes left with harley geiger of the center for democracy and technology. we will go to nick on the independent line from fairfax, virginia, this morning. you are on the air, nick. >> caller: thanks for taking my call. i was going to use can't speak a little about the privacy issue to one of the callers mentioned not having any concern about the drones and lets you done something wrong. a funny center comes to mind anytime like an aerial -- they

would catch a couple of ladies in the neighborhood perhaps sunbathing. there's a commercial encroachment of potential personal privacy. and then there's also a misconception of what the drones are going to be. you mentioned earlier that their several different variety of drones. but there are also very, very tiny drones that are going to be smaller than the palm of your hand. i did sector has got several of those in design. if anyone wants to check the website, kickstart ago and just search drones can you can find tons of private companies making very easy to fly models of what i going to be the drones that we're talking about. >> host: how easy is this for the general public to get a drone today? >> guest: iceman early in the program you can get on amazon right now and purchase one, 300 does the it has a high-definition camera, you can control from her eye that or iphone. so is already very evil and will only get easier.

nick, you're from fairfax, virginia. you're probably unaware that they fairfax county police department is very interested in purchasing a to i think that they may already have, in fact, if they've been in the news recently about how they will certainly be using fairfax county. something that i want to say before we run out of time is this. i've heard from several other callers that they will vote against the use of drones, that they're concerned about it if they want to do things about the best thing you can do is to interact with your local police department and your elected officials. that will make the biggest difference. commenting to a blog post by shooting down a drone, calling into radio or television programs. these things perhaps may help to generate public awareness, but really what needs to change is the law. nec and interaction with the governments and telling them your concerns, and the protection you want built into place to mitigate those concerned. and an example of that being

somewhat successfully is to get up at the seattle police department evidently had purchased a drone. the city government, i don't think knew about the only found out about it through the media after the freedom of information act lawsuit we talked about earlier, this outraged many people in seattle. and they have since petitioned the, to do something about it. the seattle police department has issued an apology and a the first city to start considering privacy protections. so we can work, but you have to take that action. you have to interact with your government officials and tell them no, i want my privacy protected. and here ways that i wanted to be protected. >> host: let's go to annapolis, maryland. the republican line this one. go ahead. you were on "washington journal." >> caller: this morning, the previous caller had a point we said if you have anything to hide, you don't really have to worry. there's part of me that believes that there but i also have seen that we should kind of commune,

think very carefully about invitations. because you're just a very good point about we don't know what the world looks like in 20 years from now. one of the things that i think we can always look it is history, you know? and when government starts alienating rights of freedom, you know, i think we should also pay close attention to the. because when you look at nazi germany when hitler was democratically elected, he started eliminating rights. and nobody at the time thought that he would start a world war, and exterminated 6 million jews and millions of other people on top of that ever killed in these wars. because i think that, you know, the biggest terrorist of all during that time was actually the german government. and they did it in a very

systematically, over time, you know, and it didn't alarm people until it was too late. >> host: are there any precedents the congress can look to as the circumnavigate the privacy issue on this specific subject? >> guest: president, i'm not sure which are referring to, but there are several legislative suggestions that are out there. i mention one for the center of democracy and technology, the aclu has would also. so the civil liberties groups are perfectly willing to work with congress to come up with a set of guidelines for law enforcement, a set of requirements for the private sector. >> host: looking back to the patriot activates. are you hopeful that congress going to work with you guys on these issues? >> guest: some members of congress just. but whether or not enough members of congress will take action and view privacy as a party for them, i think is a tried to indicate earlier is largely up to the american people, it is up to them to make

it a priority for the legislative official. something the last caller mentioned on the government, it's not just the government. it is also the private sector. so they're probably going to be a lot more commercial and recreational drones, even in government custody of course the difference is government drones could potentially put you in jail. something i want to mention before, again before we run out of time is that when we talk about drones, we are not just talking about the use of a high-definition camera. it is important to know that they are, that they bring in, can bring in a lot of other technologies as a the are just the platform for phrase types of sensors. and so drones can be, and, in fact, at least urged date has been ousted already with a right of sensors including facial recognition, thermal imaging cameras, open wi-fi sniffers, audiovisual sensors so it can pick up conversations and so forth. all this is already happening as

we talk about drones. it's important not just think of them as a regular video camera. they can also be used together much more intimate information about you. >> host: to talk about the commercial uses. drones will make the paparazzi obsolete. we will go one more call on this segment. spoke in washington mary on the democratic line. thanks for calling in. >> caller: yeah, hello. my big question is, what's, continue this government act of 1993, under the homeland security act, that a lot of these drones be distributed in the united states originally okayed by the u.s. government. but once the government gets the okay then the people get the okay, and then it goes forward. i don't see how the government could even allowed such a thing to take place due to the fact

that this country is -- it's not government isn't it is patriotism that our country is based on. and with all that is going on, more and more it seems like the government has the right to disband the people, but the people are losing their right to defend the government, and these drones make the people even more scared to stand up to voice their opinions but because i've had friends of mine that have been monitored by government drones to do their standing up and during political actions in different cities in the united states. and you don't hear about on the news. >> host: want to get your final thoughts on this subject. >> guest: so, the chilling of free speech and the chilling of democratic action is one reason why privacy protection should be built into place for drones. so the maxim if you have nothing to hide come to nothing worry about is really going to open up

the door to a rather dark age of surveillance around the world. that, if that is the way we live. so again, i urge callers to engage with their government on this specific issue. because is not a matter of if but we now know, it is a matter of win. the deadlines are set into place educating us rather fast. >> host: harley geiger of the center for democracy and technology, thanks so much for joining us here. >> guest: thank you for having me. >> tonight, espn president john skipper on the networks expansion to different media platforms. cnn chief national correspondent john keane on the ways technology has changed cnn. and cox business senior vice president phil meeks and their small business focus on the committee getters tonight at 8 p.m. on c-span2. >> pulitzer prize-winning author traveled the globe to research his new book, barack obama, the

story. is in places like kenya and kansas to examine the president's family tree. ote will give you a preview with exclusive pictures and video, including our trip to kenya with the author in january 2010. join us sunday at 6 p.m. eastern, and later at 7:30 that same night. your phone calls, venus and for david maraniss on c-span2's booktv. >> the u.s. senate is about to gavel in come it into new work today on the farm bill which sets farm and food programs for the next several years. and senators are working on agreement over amendments for that bill. once that is a place they will move ahead with it. at 4:30 p.m. senators will turn to the nomination of andrew david horowitz, to be a u.s. circuit court judge for the ninth circuit based in seven cisco. with a vote on that nomination scheduled for 5:30.