festival. in 2001 pulitzer prize winning author and columnist george will's spoke at the inaugural national book festival. >> the most common question asked a the columnist is don'tu find hard to come up with come in my case, 125 ideas to you? know, the world and uses or irritates me form often the net and i was simply explode if i didn't have an opportunity to say my piece and 750 words or in this rate 960 approximately, five times every two weeks. ..

watch this at booktv.org. type the author's name and the word book in the search bar at the top of the page. >> for the next three are some book to be, it is coverage of milford pennsylvania's readers and writers pennsylvania. kicking off is andrew. >> good morning everyone. >> of morning. >> thank you for getting up so early to join us for this conversation. i am sean, i am mayor of milford. [applause] very proudly on the board of its produces the milford readers and writers festival.

i am going to introduce our to panelists and then they will each speak for a few minutes. then i will lead with a few questions to engage them in a conversation that will take questions from the audience. admiral on my far left, graduated second in his class of 900 midshipmen at the u.s. naval academy. makes me wonder what the person who came in first is doing today. he served in the u.s. navy for over 30 years including seven deployments and rose to the rank of three-star admiral and deputy chief of operations. he was the director defense of the national security council staff under president bill clinton. he held operational commands including commanding the uss george washington carrier strike group. i then became curious what a carrier strike group was. in this case that involves 30

ships, 100 aircraft and 13000 sailors. this was during combat operations in the persian gulf and the indian ocean 2002. when he was elected to the u.s. house of representatives from a suburban philadelphia district in 2006, he became the highest ranking member of military ever elected to congress. a democrat, he defeated a 22 year incumbent republican in a district that was to make - 1 republican registration. two years later he got reelected with a 20% margin. he ran for the u.s. senate pennsylvania losing narrowly to know incumbent pat toomey in 2010 in the democratic primary 2016. a masters degree in public administration and a phd in political economy from the kennedy school of harvard. he has been teaching on ethics, government and leadership. he is the author walking in your shoes to restore the american dream. he proudly states he has sales in the high two digits.

>> it's that high. >> i suspect that bob and i are the only two people in the room who actually read this book. it is an incredibly detailed analysis of what joe wanted to do in u.s. senate. it was smart, it was sophisticated, it showed a command of how government actually works that i think too many government don't have. i also was struck in this campaign and maybe joe references today about the trust deficit in american politics. something that should be of concern to us. getting to issues beyond partisanship. so, welcome admiral. [applause] 's judge admiral, he's a sick

decatur colonist and perhaps most famous judicial analyst for fox news. [applause] he lectures and actually on the u.s. constitution, the rule of law, civil liberties in wartime, the privacy. he attended princeton and notre dame and was the longest life tenure judge in new jersey. he is an expert on the u.s. constitution, into important decisions he made as a supreme court judge in new jersey that i particularly admire was in one case he found that random dui roadblocks being able to walk the road and say is unconstitutional and in another decision where he found a woman battered by her husband had the

right to civil recourse as well as criminal recourse. [applause] >> host: i know some people have seen this conversation as a right versus left set up. i don't think it is. but you will find out. the judge has disclosed he did not vote for donald trump, instead he voted for the libertarian candidate. [applause] two and a half months ago he became one of the earliest and most prominent conservative voices in the country to express his dissatisfaction with the president trump's nomination a brett kavanaugh to the supreme court. [applause] butts, with all those many accomplishments, one wouldn't think he needs another career.

he is the farmer judge. that is how you referred to it the farmer judge. his farm across the river in sussex county supplies us with fresh vegetables, maple syrup and other products. [applause] they are really expensive but they are good. [laughter] civility in public discourse fascinates me. is this a relic from another era that we won't see again? time has passed where is it an enduring fundamental value in our democracy, something we should cherish, respect and

honor even when we may disagree. today, seek to restore it. that is sort of a broad overarching theme for this discussion. we will see where it goes. with that, we'll hear from the judge and then they admiral. >> thank you shawn. thank you for coming on this beautiful but early sunday morning. i was working at fox one day back when i had my own show. when my producer said there's this congressman from outside of philadelphia who really wants to come on the show and challenge you on your views on the defense department. but, he is a democrat so he might actually think with you who thinks the military is overextended and the wars in afghanistan and iraq are unnecessary. who knows, maybe you will like the guy. so congressman came on the show

and we went back and forth on a couple of issues we agreed on some disagreed on others in the show proceeded on. two days later i received in the mail a handwritten note on congressional letterhead thanking me for putting him on the show. now, i have interviewed tens of thousands of people, only one has repeatedly sent thank you notes. of course, we had the admiral back on and i started calling him admiral instead of congressman. i don't know if this is a ruse to get free publicity to the fox audience or what, but we became dear friends, notwithstanding the disagreement on political issues and an agreement on many. this is probably the most appropriate week to be talking about why people who disagree don't have to hate each other. why was there such hatred and

animosity visited on both sides on thursday we saw the senate judiciary sink to the lowest of low depths on both sides. a little bit about myself, i was a life tenure judge in new jersey. life tenure. in the federal system your appointed by the senate and confirmed by the senate you have the job for life. in new jersey appointed by the governor, confirmed by the state senate for seven years. if reappointed and reconfirmed before the end of senate then you have it for life. i received both my appointments by two moderate republicans, the governor tom kane who is an icon in new jersey gave me my first appointment, and governor christine todd whitman gave me my second. after eight years i was tired of being poor. someone said to me judge, you make a hundred thousand dollars a year. i said i can live on a hundred

thousand dollars a year, i don't want to die on it. i said that at a press conference held in my chambers announcing that i was retiring. c-span wasn't there but somebody was there and there's clips of this one-liner all over the place. i got a phone call of cnbc who said i saw that one-liner in the press conference. i'm thinking were about to cover this wacky trial in los angeles. i think the judge there's a little loony, maybe i'll put my own judge on their to second guessing. have you ever heard of judge lance ito? [laughter] so, like a lot of lawyers in television that's how i got my start. then i went from cnbc to fox. i have been at fox for 20 years which is two and half times as long as i was to life tenure judge. i said to someone last night, i'm still alive so obviously i didn't serve my full term.

i comment on the constitution, on the long, sometimes laws that have nothing to do with the constitution like the bill crosby case the other day. we are on for about two hours straight in the afternoon of his sentencing. i explained economics 101. i know that i am not the typical fox personality with respect to my political views. i am the ron paul or the and randall fox. i believe in the primacy of the individual over the state. these views stem from a couple of basic principles that the admiral and i have discussed many times on air, and off. the first of the principles is called the natural law. the natural law teaches that our rights come from our humanity and not from the government.

this is not novel to americans. this is articulated by aristotle and codified by aquinas and articulated again by john locked and picked up by thomas jefferson when he wrote that all men are created equal and endowed by their creator by certain inalienable rights including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happyness. these are not just jefferson's musings. this is the wedding of the country to the concept of natural rights at our birth on july 4, 1776. so, the natural law teaches that your right to think as you wish and say what you think to publish your thoughts and develop your personality, i tell bill o'reilly many times he should be thankful that's a natural right. that's a story for another time. your right to worship or not to worship, your right to travel or not to travel, your right to petition the government. going down the bill of rights. in that quintessential right, you're right to be left alone from the government in the fourth amendment, these are all

natural rights. these are not just a theory, if ardent rights are natural and they come from our humanity, then they can't be taken away by the majority. they can only be taken away if we surrender our rights by violating someone else's. so a bank robber surrenders his right to be free by wrapping a bank if a jury convicts them but the legislator cannot take away his rights because he doesn't like him. anymore than the legislator can take away my privacy by enacting the law that lets the national security administration listen to everything i say on my phone. that is a profound violation of fundamental liberties. >> when i speak a lot in forms like this and i spoke to 2,002,000 construction company owners in atlantic city on friday.

place to start off by saying i want everybody to turn their blackberries and iphones because i want the government to hear everything i'm about to say even though we take it for granted, without a search warrant everywhere it is when it is with me and it captures every conversation i want to hear in every keystroke that i type, john locke once said if our rights are natural than here's what they need, if all the world but one were of one mind on an issue, the world would have no more right to silence the one than the one would had he the power to silence the rest of the world that's what natural rights mean they can't be taken away by

the majority by the congress they can only be taken away by interfering with someone else's rights. with that as a baseline you'll find that the admiral and i agree on many things. we may not agree for the same reason. i know that i'm talking to an expert on the government, an expert on defense and intelligence. i also know i'm talking to someone with a very big heart who understands human nature and who understands human liberty. one of my favorite presidents is thomas jefferson, fought as he was. he had a great series of waiters that he and john adams wrote to each other shortly before they die. jefferson was adams vice president. they didn't speak.

she remember how everybody ran in those days? there were no tickets. everybody ran for president. who finished first became president, who finished second became vice president. keith mentioned that in the modern era? hillary, i need you to cover that funeral for me. [laughter] hillary, i need a cup of tea. [laughter] and then of course jefferson defeated adams four years later. they became friends 20 years after they left public life. the letters back and forth from boston to charlottesville virginia, are very illuminating. they died by the way on the same day, on the 50th anniversary of the declaration of independence. adams, who did not know that jefferson had already died, there is no e-mail his last

words were, dm, jefferson lives. but, of course jefferson to for two hours before but word had it made its way to boston. one of the last letters jefferson wrote had a warning. i'm sorry to say think it has come to pass. the warning was, in the long march of history, government will increase in liberty will decrease. why was there such a contentio contentious, bitter battle on thursday? why does this battle continue? because government is too big. the supreme court has too much power. and everything is at stake when you have nine unelected judges telling people how to live. so, with that the good admiral, my good friend and whom i love. [applause]

>> thank you. i used to be on fox a lot was on sean hannity eight or nine times. but i went on purposely in the one i most enjoy, was you. if you define enjoyment as john f. kennedy does, being forced to apply all your faculties towards excellence, that's what he did to me. i love going on his show, radio or television didn't matter. there is always a civil discourse in a ferocious debate. it's an honor. sean, you are a friend in the depths of that friendship i can only express by midrash that i think speaks to him. there these two men who left israel, went into a foreign country, these two friends. one was arrested as a spy. his friend agreed to stay in jail instead and if he didn't return he would be the one on the scaffold. the friend was late coming back. but they were just about to pull

the news and he called out, stop, i have returned. his friend replied to him no, that's okay, i will hang instead. then, these two friends argue over who should hang, each argue for himself so loudly that the king heard it and asked him to come before. he listen to these two friends and finally said, i will forgive you both under one condition, that you make me your third friend. sean has been a third friend for quite some time. >> in my the other guy who is quick to hang in your place? [laughter] >> actually, he almost did. he stood up for me against the whole democratic establishment as i was running and stood out when i needed help in that one area. but that's what our nation needs today.

i entered politics in 2005. i left the navy after my daughter got the same type of brain cancer john mccain and ted kennedy passed away from. but, she survived. my payback was to go into politics. i have been an independent as i believe military people should be. i became a democrat because i wanted to work on healthcare. i said to my wife the night before, we are going to make it tomorrow. yet, i knew it was going to be harsh. i also knew that people like james madison had actually warned us what would happen in this new democracy. as he wrote and said, don't forget, that faction is sewn into the nature of man. hamilton argued for moderation but he to anticipated the democracy was about to let out of torque of angry passions.

even of the immortals says he mentioned, adams, jefferson in the 1800 were ferocious and low-level's ability to one another. abraham lincoln actually called the suffers utterly lawless and the unkindness of devils. madison and hamilton were not wrong in arguing for prudence or moderation in the debate. they fear it would harm what they called the public good. i was a sense that if we argue well and disagree well, we might live comfortably with one another despite having different visions. the lack of civility in their view would eventually degrade and corrupt democracy. because it would impair this collective entity of where we have all come together.

the first democracy, "we the people". but, i think madison come above any forefathers actually identified with the greatest sources of the lack of civility today. when he actually said, it would come from people who choose different leaders. these leaders are contending for their own power, not the leadership in cooperation on the common good. i don't blame the american people today for the lack or level of civility. i believe it is actually a crisis of leadership. a failure to be accountable to people's needs and wants. it began well before these last two years.

when i entered politics in 2005, people wanted to know who i was. there is a dichotomy in their mind, this military admiral who is a democrat? running in the 2 - 1 republican district. shortly thereafter is the people's jobs are being lost, as homes were being abandoned, as education opportunities for their children was being lost in the great recession, i could see the dna was changing. they wanted to know if i knew what they were going through. that is when i saw the difference of what madison warned us about. power holders and true leaders. one stark illustration of that is a particular night in 2008, lehman brothers had just collapsed. hank paulson, treasury secretary for the present president bush phoned all the democrats and we are in our districts.

he said, if we do not act and you could hear the timber in his voice within the next few weeks, we will have a recession that is worse than the great depression. we came back in on monday night we huddled together the democratic caucus because we were the majority party would have to begin the appropriations bill to do what became known as tarp. i have never forgotten the first three or four congress members who stood up to speak a spear by ourselves after tarp had been explained. to a person they said almost the same thing, don't touch it. they caused it. and we do not want to be held accountable. that is the difference between power holders and true leaders. i'm a sailor, all i could think of was the american ship, how

much do you need to keep it from sinking? or is there a better way and you can convince me. but, they only cared about saving themselves not the shepherd the crew that they were of service to. powerbrokers are one that madison warned us about. that will substitute their own needs for power herself brandeis meant true leaders, they are able to identify the needs and wants, even when they are changing suddenly. and being able to identify them to raise up to higher aspiration to a collective expectation and turn it into a purposeful action. my belief is that these basic

needs when they are fulfilled, jobs in the american dream and things are going well for quite some time, a home, prospects for your future children, and all of the sudden the ape comes on fulfilled, that's when mutual animosity that madison and hamilton warned us about is at its greatest. last time i have seen such were read of such as i have felt during the recession was in the great depression. back then, whether you agree or don't agree, there was -- most noted by man who stood alongside the tracks as his body, the body of franklin delano roosevelt was placed in a kaufman came on the train from warm springs to hyde park. the man in the casket came close to him on the train tracks.

he began to weep uncontrollably. after the train had gone by the journalist went up to him and said, you must have known him. and he said, no. no. but he knew me. to me, that more than anything, is what this country doesn't have. i was hoping you would open up with the movie "to kill a mockingbird". it is in that scene which is so lacking in causing such concern were scout said you cannot know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. that were lack of that is what

we have today and powerbrokers. they substitute their needs and wants for those of the people they are supposed to serve. treating them as though they are just objects almost on the people know that from both sides. i am most taken by the rhetoric they use to hold the position. that it doesn't corroborate for the common good. i don't mind ferocious debates, we will have it here. but ones that separate america the 1% from the 99%. the true believers than those who just believe differently. the makers from the takers. when i kicked off my last campaign i publish that book, walking any issues for the american dream. i literally walked 422 miles across the state step-by-step.

every day held an open town hall and went to see prisoners in correction centers come i went to see social workers, laborers and others. to a person they almost all seem to say, i just don't trust the leadership anymore. that is as sean said our greatest deficit here in america. i will never forget the gentleman who came out of a car dealership as i was walking through a rural county and he ran out, i was on my flight jacket. he identified me and said admirabladmiral, i'm a republici love what you are doing. i will never forget that i was walking across this nation because i want them to know that i knew them to get captain who

doesn't just know the deck of the ship but he goes into the mess hall and talks with the crew. but i would know them. my party, my party's leadership called and said stop. stop the walking to back the fundraising. i thought the sinks that was out there was more important to let them know that i knew. and they saw to know the nominee and supplied 8 million. but, it was well worth the experience. i say that because the lack of civility today i came to understand was because of the crisis of leadership that we have. we have powerbrokers, fdr would've never sat in that democratic caucus worried about his job. he knew how to use power correctly.

people want to trust again. they want leadership that's accountable to them. the story that evokes most of my mind is when i learned on an aircraft carrier. there's 5000 sailors and average ages 19 and a half. the pilot gets into a plane as they are about to launch, engines roaring dislike rodeo as they're about to open the gate. all of a sudden i call in and say shut down the plane. we needed you 16 instead of an f-18. no pilot will ever turn off the engine if your engines are working, hersheypark had nothing over it. but when they tell them, they wait until the youngest 19 and a

half years old goes out and on hooks the plane. then, that young american walks in front of that plane looks up at the pilot and gives a very simple signal and then doesn't move. that pilot has opened up his or her canopy turning off the engines and got safely on deck. and that sailor has said everything our people are yearning for. go ahead, you can trust me, not for my word or my rhetoric but from id. because i'm going to stand right here and if i made a mistake and that plane suddenly starts going overboard with you to your death, i'm going overboard with you. to my home. they want to trust again. to have accountable leadership for which we do not have.

for years i believe. so all in with what john mccain when he used to call every so often during his senate race some one time said, i saw you on television, still too long. [laughter] [applause] >> thank you both. how do we reestablish this ability when it works? we see it in their eyes of trump

of oregon and hungry, arrogant and tricky to our take, the philistines and no very likely brazil, these aggressive roots saying profoundly insensitive things at times. >> the voters usually get what they deserve although there encouraging him to seek that again but if the people would reward rudeness by voting for the rude people or showing up at their rallies and supporting them there is no sanction for. this type of behavior ought to be resisted by the force of public opinion, not by law. you can't enact a law that says everybody has to be civil, but

the attitude of public opinion ought to be we will not tolerate rudeness among us whether is someone at a newspaper stand who doesn't like the color of your skin but wants your two bucks for the newspaper or whether it's the president of the united states or a united states senator storming out of it judiciary committee hearing because they don't like what's happening or another senator accusing everybody of being deceptive, duplicitous and ready to destroy a career because of a political game. i am not a fan of fdr. but in his era the type of behavior that was held last week was almost inconceivable, in part because of his personal dignity. the small organization like the

hotel --dash great institution which i'm happy to supply bibb lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and maple syrup, i think you have an outstanding bill. [applause] the attitude of the people who work there take their cue to the top it's one of the reasons that such a happy and successful place, same thing happens in government the attitude of those below the top take their cue from that. i disagreed with barack obama on just about everything one but it was a gentleman who was civilized who is civil courteous and respectful even to those who disagree. came that close to having them

on my show. you have to be able to have the kind of civil discourse were having today, otherwise the world becomes a shouting match as the senate judiciary committee was the other day. whether you agree with what senator flake did or not i have to agree with him. when anita hill made her charges against thomas george hw bish did the same thing. the enter you 22 people in three days and then those 22 people testify. why didn't senator flake say in public what he wanted. why did he have to do it behind closed doors? because of the animosity that would have been heaped upon him by those who felt frustrated by his courageous and moral and extraordinarily forceful decision.

it shouldn't be that way. he should be able to say what you feel any ought to be able to say it without attacking the other side. hate the sin of the center. it's hard to do that but if your government you need to do that. >> i think the judge is spot on with what he said. several key points, one is personal dignity. people remember george washington after the war was over he asked if he could hand his sword in public back to the continental congress. he wanted them and everyone to know that on like every other error, the great man who had long would not keep a hold of power when king george heard of it he cannot believe it and said probably the greatest man who ever lived lincoln one was so surprised to watch the end of

that movie to where the representative from pennsylvania said as he fell asleep that night and he had brought about the amendment 13th. i read his book too many times is a great book, you should read it. i don't say that lightly at all. but he said the most honest man in washington had to live to get it across astonished at the dignity of this man is necessary to do that. that personal example is something they took from the military. i love politics because i got to see where my sailors had come from. i would have been a better leader had i known that. i would not have brought those principles from the military to politics if i had not been there first. you took care of your people.

the captain of the ship is relieved immediately of the ship goes aground are the crew crimps to harm. in a manner woman who is above accountability cannot be trusted by crew so we relieve them for costs. he must be held accountable. go down to the mess deck since it with people. when i was a congressman and a republican district come if you disagreed on choice, every quarter or whoever wrote in i would asked to come to the office. you had to care. 8:00 o'clock saturday morning at 60 showed up the first day. then, 40 the next time. my second race in an almost 2 - 1 republican district the second congressman to be a democrat since the civil war. i had spent not a dime to in my

second race. i raced three and half million but we won by 20 points nearly because i felt the way between both of us there is dignity. that is what we don't have today. tell me any state why elected person in the state who can have an open town hall, not with police at the front door, not were they call their own people in the last decade? not one. i loved the tea party. i had ten town halls with them. they yell and they screen and at the end they asked for a picture with me. they did not vote for me but i think how that person act in dignity is so important. >> i want to follow up, not because i have a man crush on

the admiral. when congress enacted the bill of rights, the first line of the first amendment everybody knows it. congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech. the most important word there is the. congress should make no law abridging the freedom of speech, recognizing its preexistence before the government because it came from our humanity. when john adams was president they enacted the inalienable act which made it a crime to speak ill of the government. wait a minute, how could the same generation in the same human beings that had written congress should make no law bridging the congress of speech make this a crime because of something most people in government have that the admiral does not. it is called libido -- not that

kind of libido. the lust to dominate. it is that human trait that you must look for and always vote against the admirable has the lust to serve. most people in government has the lust to dominate. as congressman matthew lyons, could not stand the concept of the act. so he decided to confront the president of the united states and sultan. john adams suffered from a problem many suffered from, and expanding waistline. and order to cover that missus adams soda purple robe. he didn't like the way it looks so he had her old gold. he was as wide as he was tall.

you see this purple mountain walking in the mud marsh of prehistoric washington, d.c. they come up to the president says, good morning your pomposity. [laughter] that didn't work. next day he shows up with the press and says good morning your rotunda t. with that congressman lyons was prosecuted under the alien act and was convicted for bringing the government and the president into disrepute for mocking the president's waistline. he was sentenced to two years in a federal prison and then a strange thing happened. if you're from boston, chicago, new orleans hudson county, new jersey you know about this. he ran from reelection from his jail cell. and he want. when he got out he couldn't wait to go back to d.c. and attack

the president again. instead of the short fat john adams it was thomas jefferson and return the 480 acres the federal government had ceased from him for exercising the freedom of speech. there are many examples throughout history people seeking office, praising liberty, acquiring power and constricting liberty. the trait they share in common which the admiral, thanks be to god at his parents and the naval academy lacks is the lust to dominate. the most dangerous trait and you must look for it before you can give that person your support. [applause] >> how are we on time?

>> i have one question before we get to questions from the audience, how did we get here? what caused the intense partisanship we are now? what is the role of the media, social media, the vast sums of money in politics. there are number of things different today. what brought us to this? >> there is a great book by james burns written in 1978 called leadership. you do like these liberal democrats i read the book but yale university had a course that was basically not only built around the book i understand but was kind of titled like will we ever have the great man again that great

person again in america? unit he starts off and 78 by saying, where the giants that once ruled the state? now we are in occult personalities. we have magazines called people in every newspaper article you read begins with an anecdote about a person. everybody wants to peer into who is the dog, one other sleeping habits, as though they will find some great insight upon this. i think over time this may not have been a lust for power but it is a lust for celebrity or something, it's pretty heady. i remember when i made admiral

trees saying i may never hear the truth again. people want to please you. the same way with the politician. you can lose your job or your opportunity to be a nominee to say i'm sorry, i'm going to walk across its way. so, we band around things like did he just take the airplane to go to dinner with his wife? we don't get the substance i think anymore. the book he mentioned isn't the book of mine i grew up in a log cabin and now ready to be president. it was one based upon what napoleon once said. which i don't tell my wife, if i were to be in love i would analyze it bit by bit. because you can ask how and why enough. while there is the means of social media or anything else, i think personality and therefore

it has overtaken leadership. how they speak what they see do they integrate worry. so my take on this is an once i get that if they haven't had this last desire to remain a powerholder. i think that's what it is and they tend to forget. how did they ever miss how the people is whatever i had in the military to say my own daughter. but how many congress members went out and had a town hall to explain it and stood up courageously to explain in facts

and figures. i have never seen stupid studies until i had to have it in high school. when that affordable care act that summer was mandated the democratic congress members would come back in several days a week they would walk you through the affordable care act that we had already voted for. because so few were able to defend it because they would not have the courage to go out therefore it's become the most important things in our lives. not family, got her life, but government.

the government was fixated on a procedure that was in the senate judiciary committee because of a widely held perception that this human being with all of his philosophy will tip the scales of he is confirmed on one side or the other. that will make him plus four other justices more powerful than the rest of the government. the government shouldn't have that kind of power. shouldn't take that level of income from us. whether to redistribute or to waste it. you cannot look around this room and find something that is not regulated by the federal government. the federal government, i'm not talking about the town of milford for the state of pennsylvania. aspects of human behavior the amount of pigment and paint echoes on the walls is determined by a bureaucrat.

congress has taken classes in the constitution, stretch them beyond their meeting and acted on those in the courts have accepted it. we should not have a government that is the center of our focus because it becomes the center of our lives. the center of our lives should be those we love and the peace and prosperity we should give them. [applause] >> thank you both. thus go to questions. [applause] >> you mentioned theory. >> there could be renovating

that in the theater unknown we could come in and be exposed to that but a clear one would be with global warming. people have proposed cap and trade, credits away left the free market system help control this. on the price system and all the competition wouldn't allow for it. what is the role of government with things with major externalities? >> please repeat the question. >> there asking what is the role of government in referring to externalities. . .

>> it to me it is not a matter of being too big, he cannot vance our liberties.

unless you call back first because we knew there were missiles there. they should shoot them down. 8 special forces had been ambushed. 4 died immediately. too close for lasers. the guys waited. that young woman thinking she didn't have time to wait because lives were at risk. 3 times 2,000 feet and they picked up their dead and came home. if our government hadn't advanced our liberty to be all that she might be, it wouldn't have worked that night because the rugged individual was given more liberty to do something. that's how i perceive how government ras a role, the problem is it's the executive branch that's push to execute.

>> right here, and we can go back there. >> hi, i don't know if anybody else in the audience feel like this, i used to watch the news regularly with my husband, good morning, and again at night and reached the point where it feels like it's gone from wrestling to reality show to i don't know what, i'm just so disgusted and unhappy and angry and frustrated that i've been i know a number of my friends feel the same way, we can't watch it because there's no accountability, nothing seems to be too much and we were talking about civility. what can be done? i mean, obviously at the polls but within the leadership on both sides, why aren't people calling out this bad behavior? why are they -- what is the solution from above if we lead from top down, where the

supposed leaders, how can thing changes and how can we restore civility. >> civility in the media or in the government? >> in the government that we see. >> well, i mean, i think we've talked about this before when i compared the government with hotel and wishing that the head of the government had big heartedness and sense of right and wrong that the owner of hotel has, happens to be your mayor. >> i mean, everybody. >> yeah. you know, it gets back to the people in admiral r there people because they want to dominate or they want to serve or enrich their friends, sometimes in civility works and we have a president who was elected by being uncivil during the campaign and continues to be so and is rewarded by the crowds whether it's a cult of

personality, the admiral has suggested or whether he is finding a need and filling it among a class of people who will loudly approve of him. i don't know what you watch on television that you dislike so much but -- [laughter] >> there are a variety of places you can go to including my friends behind you who are very apolitical, pbs, you go to fox, you go to cnn, you have to cut this part out of the tape where you can go to cnn or msnbc because i want my paycheck every week. [laughter] [applause] >> i honestly think -- yeah, this comes in waves, as i said before i know the admiral will agree with me on, this barack obama was a perfect gentleman, there wasn't uncivil bone in his body and presumably whoever whenever it happens replaces

donald trump will not have this attitude that you and a lot of us feel is animating us toward the type of thing that we saw on thursday. but really the voters need to know about the people they're electing. they need to know the attitude, the big heartedness, the lust for power that exists in the mind and heart of the people they are voting for. >> i think it's going take nothing less than a change in the present leadership. getting so tired of watching and i said it on television, mcconnell and reed, just talking about each other. [applause] >> i said this -- everything i've said here, they've got to go. i mean, the leader -- they all have to go. it's not their fault. they need to be relieved for cause. that's just accountability.

it's nothing against them personally. but it's why -- and doesn't take many, to turn around moral ship takes good chief, decent captain, it's why you watch people searching for mccain, flake, are they the ones and you find the media holding them up but yet again i step back and i say, wait a minute, he's not running again, though, you know, what you want and what you need is people who are willing to lose their job over it, kennedy after the bay of pigs as he said, defeat is an orphan, victory has a thousand followers, he took accountability for it. that's what they want and you can see some people running today like that. and it really does, i mean, i

disagree with issues of pat toomey, we had the good debate, good capitalist and i had to pay for it but, you know, you can't find republican's party but disagree with policies, it only will take a few and i'm convinced of that, i'm sorry, i really do think this leadership which is in crisis on both sides and doesn't mean they are not good policies at times but you don't understand how elk county in pennsylvania, their need, it's not too much difference than philadelphia. you have to raise it to common one, i know it's position in fdr because what he did and he can do that and have a policy and i don't mind people who can do that today. >> we've promised the gentleman

right here. >> great deal of our -- [inaudible conversations] >> seems that great part of our current dysfunctional political has been shaped by the media including cable television stations, this power, is it demonstrated by the leaders by some of the cable stations, let's say rupert murdoch at fox and jeff bezos and needs to detrust and dysfunction, what can be be done about that particularly from a libertarian point of view? >> from a libertarian point of view you can vote with remote control. you certainly don't want the government interkeyeding in the free speech of media companies that would be a profound violation of all of our american values, the chief among which is

the freedom of speech. all cable networks divide straight news and opinion. i happen to be on the opinion side on fox rather than straight news of fox. i would imagine that if ratings did not reward behavior, the behavior would change, the names in common, they have a duty to return equity to return interest to shareholders and so all of this has to work. they may like the politics or may not like the politics but they have to turn a profit or they won't have a corporation much longer and what makes that profit the number of people that

watch. >> i do understand your concern, i watch fox and a little of msnbc, that said, i put ourselves in the positions back in martin luther's time, here is this monk that overthrew the -- they were selling pennants for money, that's wrong. the printing press had just come out and the they didn't know how to handle that. and so this monk got ideas across to watch by mass media. well, you know, that's -- i don't complain about the media because it's like a sailor complaining about seas. i mean in it out there -- was and i think that you just have to be more attractive whether

it's debates, i think that's how it is. do i like it, no, i don't. not at all. i mean, i get tired of 20 minutes of watching one and going to the other on both sides because i know like i told my staff you can never use any talking points that comes from the speaker's house because i i knew where they came from. i got the crs's work, it's something that we have to do. understand it's a free media and people have a different viewpoint, just have to be good about trying to find it or change at least some media outlets to be their point of view, i'm sorry, it's not a better answer. >> this woman right here in the center. i'm sorry the people in the center, they are the furthest from the microphone.

[inaudible conversations] >> is that better? okay. okay. when i met you last night you said there were going things i agree with you on, judge, and you were right. i don't agree that the states should have all of the power because we see the gerrymandering that is started and controlled at the state level which changes our federal government. we would have no transportation system across this country. we would have no education or very poor education in many of the state which is are still are not up to par, so i feel the federal government has to be responsible for the social programs and the movement of our population as far as transportation is concerned, roadways, et cetera, because we cannot -- the states alone, we are united states of america,

the states should not be making the rules for their own boundaries. there are certain things that they are better at but on the standpoint of the national picture i think we need to have the federal government make sure that we are educating our children that we can drive on roads and we have infrastructure, that said, i'd like to also address your remark about the people who show up at the uncivil rallies and how these people are going to support this uncivilty that we are going to have. i say that from the top level where we have citizens united funding the government, the construction of candidates and manipulation of big money in our political system, that is what

-- we can't vote for people because who we respect because we don't get them. when the admiral says that he was told to stop where funding was going, stop walking across pennsylvania, this is exactly the problem, the parties themselves raising money, the senators, congress people have to spend hours and hours of fundraising hours in the day and that's all they are interested in because they have to get reelected. the money is biggest problem in federal government and for having good people be able to fulfill their civic duty if they so -- if they want to become elected officials. we need to have money out of politics or it has to be a better way to fund good people to be our leaders and i don't see that the libertarian side is addressing that, it's nice to see, you know, we are all

individuals and we are going to run a country, 300 million population is each one will decide what's going to happen, no, i'm a -- we would have no civil rights laws, we would have no -- women would still be struggling, we wouldn't even have the vote. [laughter] >> we need to get big money out of politics, we need to be able -- the federal government must give us health care, education, infrastructure and -- and the big money and the lobbyists have to go. [applause] >> thank god for the first amendment. [laughter] >> i am so sorry we are over time, i no e we could spend the entire day here, i want to thank judge napolitano and i hope that

-- i know that in the past president trump has commented that you might be a good supreme court candidate, he says you're good about the legal laws and things. [laughter] >> in the next week i hope you pay attention to your phone. [laughter] but tend your farming too because we neat lettuce and admiral, lots of us are eager to see what the future holds for you. i know the judge thought that you would do well representing pennsylvania in the u.s. senate but i think it's also time for me to maybe send you a map showing you how to walk from philadelphia to iowa. [laughter]

[applause] >> final comment before we close. >> well, this is american meeting at which people can speak their minds and do so with civility, respect, sincerity and affection and i'm deeply grateful for having been asked to play a role. my thanks go to my boyhood friend who is the mayor of this great town. [applause] >> sean, i want to thank you and i know what i said, you're fantastic, judge, i'd love to do it again because i do think that we should be having more time to get into the discourse upon the issue of -- because it is a good book, a great title, what is it again, do you remember -- [laughter] >> suicide pack the radical

expansion of presidential power and its threat to our civil liberties. >> and it is an interesting read because there's good argument why he believes. i have a another point of view, they can work well together. and but i do think that debate is century's old and is part of the basis of the arguments as we go forward in this country for the good of we the people. thank you. [applause] >> thank you to all of you for coming today. i know that the pop-up bookstore in the tent newton, new jersey, they actually do not have any of judge napolitano's books right here but i'm pretty sure they'll take orders for you and i'm going to walk the judge and the

admiral over to the tent and i know they'll be able to greet people and maybe some of you can continue these conversations over there. thanks to steve and everybody here at the theater making this work and the festival this afternoon. there are a number of different programs including here the women's panel here, the series on the second floor, in the meeting center, at noon we have john leland, happiness is the choice you make, after that tim, in bed with gorbadall. [laughter] >> i'm not asking anyone to visualize. [laughter] >> but writings and thoughts on sexuality, story of his own relationships in life and then duncan hannah will be

interviewed and talking about his book 20th century dairies chronicles of the 70's and other programs as well, so, again, thank you very much and hopefully we will see you in the tent. [applause] >> you're watching book tv on c-span2 and this is coverage of the milford readers and writers festival in pennsylvania held last month. >> how is everybody this morning? is anyone as tired as i am? [laughter] >> as we are? it's been a last couple of couple days? [applause] >> you will have an even better time, i hope that you were looking toward the session as much as i am. first of all, i should introduce myself formally.