done, historically around the civil rights movement. one of the things that you started off doing, laura, is connecting up the immigration debate to the 14th amendment and showing the breadth and the importance of the 14th amendment, not just african-americans as former slaves, but to everyone in this country. and we need to figure out how to take this dialogue and part of this dialogue and make it accessible to the public. . . to be able to reduce this to a level that people understand in their day-to-day life. and that's really rt of what we're talking about. that's why these books, the research is so important. >> okay, kid. is what we need to do. we need to ask these law school professors to be notified by you when the hearings come up in a house or the senate so that they

can nd their students to pack the hearing rooms. it's an enormous effect when the hearing rooms fill up and they look like this. [applause] >> what happens oftentimes, these debates take place at 1:00 in the middle of the workweek come in the afternoon or 10 a.m. in the morning. and nobody is here. and some of us nerds will watch it later on c-span, but we need to pack the hearing them. so that's number one. you need to tell us, kennan, when this is going to happen. number two, there's no real limit, maybe the rules hav changed somewhat in the judiciary committee, and i'm not aware of them, but we need all of these panelists to put their names on testimony to be submitted for the record. right, mr. conyers? we need the black scholars in the nation to route around this and help make any discussion about amending the 14th

amendment, to weaken it. radio active and make the discussion about improving the 14th amendment and talking about how the courts have weekend the real intention of the framers of the 14th amendment. we need to get people together to put testimony that mr. coleman can sign his name. it's just li we do in the supreme court. we need friends of the court briefs. we need friends of john conyers, you know, testimony. the other things we need to do is t we need to make sure that peop are made aware that the 14th amendment is under assault, and that means the bill of rights is under assault. and if they will go there, they will go to the fourth amendment. if they will go there they could go to the 13th amendment. not likely, but they will go to other amendments. they certainly have repeedly tried to pass amendments that circumscribe the first

amendment. so whatever you can tell us to do, this is the ream team. and so, i want to now open up questions from the audience for the panelists to do we have a microphone? if not, if you say it i will repeat it. yes. no microphone? okay. >> i'm executive director and the government sector of the united states colored toops. to celebrate those of us who served in the civil war, and sisters. and i'm also chair of the d.c. regime. i have been in u.s. court of appeals right now gordon versus biden that started off as gordon versus cheney. to enforce the second section of the 14th amendment.

it is targeted toward five former confederate states, georgia, louisiana, tennessee, arkansas and texas. it is simple. these states award their presidential electors on a winner take all basis. but the is no winner take all state stature. so my -- in those days, without a winner take all stature, north for you not to be subject to an amount of fortune, title ii, reduction of relevance, you most apportion your presidential election in electors on, you know, a proportiol basis. now, my question is this. will the black caucus consider, now i'm playing the dirty cop. i am saying that you're going to

have to choose representation, and argue a regional intent of the framers of the 14th amendment, and say they shall be reduced which is a mandate. i'm playing the bad cop. . .

voting the percentage of your vote. if you do that, obama in the next election you will have 30 presidential electors predicated on the strength of the democratic vote as opposed to zero to 75. >> i think we have to -- the question was directed toward mr. conyers and mr. scott. i will let mr. schmoke comment. we'll go to another question and t members of congress have a few closing remarks. >> mayor, thank you forour writings. i want to say that. >> because i can't speak for the caucus i would like if you have your suit, a draft

of it electronically, to see, we have a civil rights law clinic at the law school if that's the type of matter we could give you some support on. >> thank you. yes? >> my name is qwasi and for number of years this addressing can hunting, what people call racial profiling. this issue about the 14th amendment. i like the panel to respond in this because we were enslaved we weren't, we weren't, we weren't looking to become citizens. we were looking to become free. become liberated. after the war they enacted the 14th amendment. they didn't consult with us and it says, makes us citizens and says we're entitled to certain rights and privileges and then we had the black codes and all that other stuff. we're still dealing with that. the 14th amendment says that we're citizens. i think that is a violation of our human rights to self-determination.

you know, where they said, oh, you're a citizen now, you know. but you will be prosed all this stuff because now you're subject to our authority in perpetuity. that sounds like slavery in continuation. >> what's the question? >> the question is, do you feel the 14th amendment, is a violation of our human right to self-determination? i mean, you know -- >> okay. >> thank you. >> anybody want to take that? >> i think the 14th amendment is an enhancement of the rights, a piecemeal restoration of our rights. i mean, there were some people who wanted to be returned to africa. there were some people who did no want to become citizens but most people wanted to be treated as human beings. and i think the 14th amendment was a very, very significant element in having african-americans treated as human beings and as citizens. it was never, no

constitution and n element of the bill of rghts is an end all, be all to our basic dignity as humanity. they are not self-enforcing. we have to make sure that those laws are enforced. that's why groups like the naacp came together and 90 years together the aclu came together. any other panelists would like to talk? >> i just want to mention, talking about people who were involved in this movement. there was a woman who graduated from howard law hool, named fuel lien murray. pauline murray, outstanding lawyer. eventually became a minister and writer. she was a cofounder of the national organization of women. and to your point, what she suggested was that we amend the constitution further and adopt the u.n. declaration of hum rights as part what she called a human rights amendment. and so there are people that wouldn't say it is in conflict necessarily but in

order to make it clear this is about human rights generally to adopt the u.n. declaration. but that was her proposal. so some people are thinking along those lines. >> kenan, i'm sorry. mr. mack. >> in response to the gentleman's question about whether or not the 14th amendment making african-american citizens violated their right to self-determination, african-americans thought they were citizens. they voted in many northern states, actually voted in southern states until 1830. the exercised the right to citizenship. those rights were taken away and in particular the citizenship of clause of the 14th amendment was designed to overrule the tony's opinion in dred scott which said no rican-americans free or slave could be citizens of the united states. so, from the perspective of black people in the 19th century they bieved they were citizens. they voted.

everything that citizens had done. they had seen some of those rights taken away. and the 14th amendment restored what had been there before. >> mr. conyers? mr. conyers? mr. conyers? well, he won't be available to close out this session. i guess. so, you know, reverend jackson rules you all. before we ask one of the members of congress if they can return, i would like to ask mary francis barry whether or not the human rights framework gives us any help talking about these issues, especially the convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination? >> right. that's right that's an excellent point and is related to the question that was asked.

human rights and civil rights in terms of how we define them are two different things. human rights is a broader concept okay? and in human rights you don't have questions like, does it fit under the 14th amendment, or does itit under title 7. you ask questions about u.n. conventions such as the one to eliminate race discrimination or discrimination against women. and the united states is signatory to these conventions but, does not enforce them and there's a real question how to do it. one of the proposals that i have made as a result on being on the civil rights commission and having it being gutted now and that the civil rights community, the advocacy groups have recommended is that we set up a united states commission on civil and human rights so that the human rights aspect, which is broader, can be taken into account and monitored in this country, including all of those u.n. conventions

that we are signatories to and we haven't done anything about. if you want to work on poverty for example, straight up, nobody says, well you can't do that because the constitution does not outlaw poverty and doesn't say anything about class and it is, we have capitalism and, unless it fits under the 14th amendment, you can't deal with that. student loans. you can't deal with that. that's economic. you know, so that, i think that we should have a human rights approach. but that is not in conflict with what is going on with the 14th amendment. it's just as fuel lien murray says, it is a. it is different approach. >> i want the pan netists want to conclude with. if they have something burning that they want us to think about as we leave? michelle. >> the one thing i would add i actually think this debate

about the 14th amendment creates an opportunity for african-americans, and particularly the latino community to do better coalition-building. it creates an opportunity for the african-american community to say, we are not going to allow, to do to you what h been done to us in the past which is to deny citizenship to your children and to your gandchildren. and we are going to stand with you in solidarity. and i think that, as i described before, i think you know, organizing and movement-build something absoluly critical right now to developing the kind of public consensus and support of equal treatment under the law, meaningful equal treatment under the law that is necessary today. and one of the most important things that we can do is build better coalitions amongst poor people of all colors in the united states and working people of all colors in the united states. and that this debate

actually creates an important opportunity for us to open up that dialogue and begin that kind of joint organizing work. >> i would like to thank the congressional black caucus for continuing to convene these nds of workshops so that we have a chance to talk about important issues. i would like to thank the staff of, charles ogeltree. hold on one second, professor. i will take care of them. the staff of the judiciary committee, who is here besides you, keenan? i want them to stand up. these people are some of the hardest working, most underpaid people [applause] dean schmoke. >> i've got to go. >> all right. >> we've just been joined by

professor ogeltree. we were about to close out. we were about to thank the panelists. thank you, mary francis berry. please give her applause. [applause] and we, in the last three minutes of our session, and by the way, you were brilliant at the center for american progress last night talking about your book about the beer summit and even further. much deeper issues. you get the last three minutes and then we're going to thank our panelists. >> wow!. >> charles ogeltree. >> i've been in session since 7:00 this morning. this is my 6th. i'm glad to see you before you close, to see my great hero, bill coleman. who has a book coming out. we'll be hosting him in october. a remarkable book about his life in the last eight decades of the civil rights movement and other issues. so hope you get a chance to see it.

and, judge keith leave? i want to say something about him. e reality i'm just happy to talk about some of the issues that are so front and center with what we're doing now. i've got these great scholars and practitioners here. this is rely a challenge. i talked about the criminal justice system, but in terms of civil rights and ken's the historian, in a more unenviable position. we have control of congress. we have control of the white house. we have, you would think a movement that wl address the issue of civil rights. but in reality we don't. i was just in another session and i looked at the constitution and i have it somewhere in my pocket. it was amazing and bill coleman knows this, he didn't write it. he has been with it. go back to the 14th amendment. 15th amendment and 25th amendment. they all talk about one thing, citizenship. it is a throwaway word but

how important is citizenship and we have lt it in so many ways. disenfranchisement with voting. people can't get a job. people are protiled in -- profiled in terms of where they live. the reality if youake a mistake in life you can't get a scholarship. dean schmoke, will tell you that. try to improve your education. health care limitations. every area we took for granted with citizenship is being forfeited in a time of opportunity and time of resources and a time of celebration. and so i was in a session of two weeks ago in boston and they talked about the civil rights era, 1955 to 1968. it started much earlier than that. it started with frederick douglas making noise about slavery. the civil rights movement dealing with issue of jim crow and segregation. in reality as much as we try to confine it to a period or a time the reality people have been making noise about rights and human rights in a

very, very long time. karen. great. how are you. so the final pnt is this. i just, my sense is that, that there needs to be a new effort to talk about civil justice in a much broader context. i hear juan williams on the, see him on the air all the time trng to defend basic rights against people who don't believe that they exist. they shouldn't apply to everyone. and, juan's defending a modest position against people who have an extreme position about what our -- they haven't read it. right? that is the scary thing. they haven't read our constitution. and if we don't pay attention, they will take away some of the most fundamental rights that we have. having said all that. let me just end with this. one of the, ironies here and i'm not asking you o you are going to vote for, irony, no question president obama has over 90% support among african-americans. that is absolutely clear. it is not going down but, if

you look from november 4, 2008, to september 17th, 2010, what is striking about it is that he still has the same level of support for him but in fact, and juan will tell you this and other people tell you on the panel, look at every major election, virginia, new jersey, delaware yesterday, massachusetts, that washington, d.c., we support the president but we're not voting because he is not on the ballot. it becomes interesting that he may in a sense be disenfranchised not have power. we'll say we'll vote for him. he may not be able to run if he doesn't have a congrs and can't accomplish some of those goals. this is a point of urgency. we have so much but so little to show at this critical time. so my sense in terms of civil rights a absolute and unequivocal goal is to get out on the streets, to talk to people about voting and tell them it is important because there are

people who died and who bled and who were tortured and jailed because they stood up so that we could vote and be citizens and now, it is our turn to, time, to do the same thing. so, my urging is very simple. we have to stand up and be cound and we have to talk to our neighbors and talk to our enemies. not just our friend about the fact that, civic engagement is the key to all of this. what damon keith has done with the wonderful exhibit about the 14th amendment. is a reminder, a lot of blood was shed for the 13th, 14th and 15th amendment. we can't take them for granted. if they don't mean as much in 2010, as they did in the 1800s we are all failures. time for us to say thank you what you did for us. believe me. wel stand there and do it for you as well. >> thank you. [applause] mr. scott you came back into the room. if you are a member of the

esteemed house judiciary committee and chairman of the crime subcommittee. is there anything you would like to say in closing? and we should give him a round of applause for all of his work, especially on crack powder cocaine. >> thank you, fred friendly for very exciting conversation and bringing out the important issues. the one of the things we keep dealing with on the federal level and congressional level, i one of the things the simplistic solutions to complex problems. we've talked about the 14th amendment and defining citizenship. if you're not a citizen, your children aren't citizens. well, try to apply that to an 18-year-old child, 18 years from now, a child trying to register to vote? do they have to prove not

only their, find their birth certificate but their parents birth certificate? ar we going back to the grand father clause, if my parents were voters, and grandparents were voters and i can vote? i can't, if i can't prove the parentagend citizenship of my parents? exactly how complicated is that going to get? you go into areas where there are a lot of immigrants. a lot he have people would -- people would be essentially disenfranchised if that simple change took place. we have to be careful. there are a lot of things get rolled back if you don't vote in this election. candidates running on idea that they will repeal health care and they can do it. some say, well we have protection would veto the bill. there are a lot of thgs they can do if they have control of either the house or the senate. they can defund everything. because you have to have a vote in the house and the senate to fund the health care bill. subsidies for purchase.

subsidies for preexisting conditions. insurance. a lot of things, the administration is the thing. all has to be funded. if it is not funded, the program collapses. so, we have to get out to vote. and as, professor ogle tree mentioned, if people wait until two years from now to get ready to vote again, a lot of what we have been able to do in the last two, inhese two years in terms of t lilly lead better act and in terms ofmericorps expansion and stimulus bill to try to save jobs. last couple weeks, we passed it to save teacher jobs. all of the things we've been able to do, health care and all the things we might be able to do will go, will just be sabotaged if people don't get out and vote and elect the right people. 14th amendment, when they start talking about pealing that, really is a wake-up call because, if

you've seen what has happened in these last few elections and kind of people that are getting nominated on one side, we need to get out and vote. anybody that thinks well, we're happy that they vot these extreme people, just think back, 30 years ago when all the democrats were just absolutely delighted that some b-rated actor was so conservative nobody would pay any attention to him. we were just so delighted he got nominated. we didn't know what to do. we had no idea it would serve eight years, pack the supreme court to the point where a lot of decisions are being made today are being made as a result of some of the judges that that he and the people after him appointed. so we have a lot of work to do. laura, thank you for your leadership in this, on this panel. and for all of our panelists for excellent discussion. thank you very much.

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>> in his weekly address, president obama calls on senate republicans to allow passage of the campaign finance bill that would require a corporations and other groups to identify themselves in campaign ads. the republican address is by congressman greg walden who averages nancy pelosi to allow an up or down vote on legislation that would cut government spending and stop what he calls tax hikes that are set to take effect on january 1. back in january, in my state of the union address, i warned of the danger posed by a supreme court ruling called citizens united. this decision overturned decades of law and precedent. it gave the special interests the power to spend without limit -- and without public disclosure -- to run ads in order to influence elections. now, as an election approaches, it's not just a theory. we can see for ourselves how

destructive to our democracy this can become. we see it in the flood of deceptive attack ads sponsored by special interests using front groups with misleading names. we don't know who's behind these ads or who's paying for them. even foreign-controlled corporations seeking to influence our democracy are able to spend freely in order to swing an election toward a candidate they prefer. we've tried to fix this with a new law -- one that would simply require that you say who you are and who's paying for your ad. this way, voters are able to make an informed judgment about a group's motivations. anyone running these ads would have to stand by their claims. and foreign-controlled corporations would be restricted from spending money to influence elections, just as they were before the supreme court opened up this loophole. this is common sense. in fact, this is the kind of proposal that democrats and republicans have agreed on for decades. yet, the republican leaders in congress have so far said "no."

they've blocked this bill from even coming up for a vote in the senate. it's politics at its worst. but it's not hard to understand why. over the past two years, we have fought back against the entrenched special interests -- weakening their hold on the levers of power in washington. we have taken a stand against the worst abuses of the financial industry and health insurance companies. we've rolled back tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. and we've restored enforcement of common sense rules to protect clean air and clean water. we have refused to go along with business as usual. now, the special interests want to take congress back, and return to the days when lobbyists wrote the laws. and a partisan minority in congress is hoping their defense of these special interests and the status quo will be rewarded with a flood of negative ads against their opponents. it's a power grab, pure and simple. they're hoping they can ride this wave of unchecked influence all the way to victory.

what is clear is that congress has a responsibility to act. but the truth is, any law will come too late to prevent the damage that has already been done this election season. that is why, any time you see an attack ad by one of these shadowy groups, you should ask yourself, who is paying for this ad? is it the health insurance lobby? the oil industry? the credit card companies? but more than that, you can make sure that the tens of millions of dollars spent on misleading ads do not drown out your voice. because no matter how many ads they run -- no matter how many elections they try to buy -- the power to determine the fate of this country doesn't lie in their hands. it lies in yours. it's up to all of us to defend that most basic american principle of a government of, by, and for the people. what's at stake is not just an election. it's our democracy itself. thank you.

hello, i'm representative greg walden, and i work for the people of oregon's second congressional district. before being sent to congress, like many americans, i worked for myself. my wife and i were small business owners for nearly 22 years. so we know what it's like to sign the front of a payroll check, and scratch out a business plan on the back of a napkin. you know it's this entrepreneurial spirit, unfortunately, that is lost on the powers-that-be in washington, who think that the change comes in the form of 2,000-page monstrosities that transfer money and freedom from the people to the government. americans have had enough of permanent bailouts, government takeovers, and stimulus spending sprees. democrats' job-killing policies have left our small businesses tied up in uncertainty and our economy bogged down by nearly 10 percent unemployment. america is speaking out, and it's time washington started listening. republicans have warned that excessive government spending, along with uncertainty facing small businesses, are hampering

job creation in america, and we've called for bipartisan action this month to address both of these issues. first, republicans want to stop all of the tax hikes that are set to take effect on january 1st. now, for his part, president obama proposes raising taxes on half of small business income in america. but economists, and frankly a growing chorus of democrats in congress, agree with us that raising taxes on anyone in a struggling economy -- especially small businesses -- is the exact wrong thing to do. next, republicans want to cut non-security government spending to 2008 levels, before all of the bailouts, before the government takeovers, and the 'stimulus' spending sprees began. you know american families and small businesses have been making really tough choices over the last couple of years to cut back spending and to adjust to this new economic reality. why should the federal government be any different?

our plan saves taxpayers nearly $100 billion and represents a first step on the path to fiscal sanity so that we can stop piling debt on our kids and grandkids. now, with just days remaining in this legislative session, house republican leader john boehner has informed speaker nancy pelosi that republicans are ready to work together to enact this two-point jobs plan immediately. even as we seek to act quickly, we must also act openly. you know, taxpayers were rightly outraged when democratic leaders tried to short-circuit the rules and rig the final vote to force president obama's government takeover of health care through congress. the american people didn't stand for this power grab then, and they won't stand for it now -- especially with their jobs, their families, and their futures at stake. that's why leader boehner has asked speaker pelosi to assure the american people that she will allow nothing short of a full up-or-down vote on bills to cut spending and stop all of

the looming tax hikes. this way, the will of the people and their elected representatives can be heard. anything less fails our economy and provides further evidence that democrats are more committed to preserving their power than helping our economy. if president obama and washington democrats are truly focused on creating jobs, we should take action immediately to cut government spending and stop all of these impending tax hikes. and if speaker pelosi will allow up-or-down votes on these priorities this month, we can show the american people we're listening and ready to put their best interests those of our constituents -- the people we work for -- first. thank you for your time. >> i think that the real question is, do you have a vision, a positive vision for the direction that the country should head to give specific ideas that can implement that vision?

>> outgoing minnesota gov. tim ty his years as governor. >> monday, on c-span, senator lindsay gramm is the keynote speaker at a forum on terrorism posed by the american enterprise institute. live coverage starts at 12:30 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> every weekend on c-span3, experience american history tv. 48 hours of people and events, telling the american story. here historic speeches and eyewitness accounts of events that shaped our nation. visit museums, historical sites and college campuses as professors and leading historians delve into america's past. american history tv, all weekend, every weekend.

on c-span3. >> he stressed the need for into public discourse. he also cited the global financial crisis as an example of the absence of strong ethical foundations in economic policy. from westminster, london, this is about 50 minutes.

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>> it is my honor to introduce his holiness pope benedict xvi to westminster hall, and through this fine location, to the palace of westminster as a whole. it is the first time that the pontiff has visited this place, a fact that he alone invests today with deep historical significance. it is a measure of the distance we have come and of the dialogue which we have created over the past few decades. in years gone by, it would have been inconceivable, but it can occur in seem entirely natural. this is the oldest structure of its kind in europe in the home

of many memories. it is inevitably associated with trials and condemnation to death, as was the fate of sir thomas more, one of my 156th predecessors as speaker of the house of commons. and of king charles i, long after considered a martyr by many anglicans. yet it would be a mistake to think of westminster hall only in these terms when it has been as much the stage for robust debate as it has been for sheer intolerance. that tradition of debate has roots far deeper than those of contemporary democracy. it was here in 1374, for example, that the notable discussion took place between 3 religious thinkers -- a

franciscan, a dominican, and the benedictine -- on the precise relationship between the papacy and the temporal affairs of their kingdom. suffice to say that no consensus was reached on that occasion. nevertheless, it is right to ask such questions in to deliberate on the merit -- and to deliberate on the merits of such arguments. there is a wide range of views on ethical disputes. as is well known, the house of commons and the house of lords, over decades, have taken positions on social, scientific, and sexual issues which are markedly different

from those of the vatican. it is surely right to have robust but respectful debates within parliament, between our institutions, and throughout civil society. a very difficult past in the turbulent present need not be a barrier -- and a turbulent present need not be a barrier to an enlightened future. those of us privileged to serve society as a selective representatives -- as its elected representatives are rise to be reminded of the relationship between church and state. we are conscious of a healthy tension in this relationship as we seek to do our business. your presence, most holy father, adds to the rich tapestry of the past, and

provides further reason for the many hundreds of thousands of people who come here every year to contemplate the character of this building and what has been witnessed in it. faith is not a relic either in political discourse or in modern society. it is embedded in its fabric. warned of the greeting extended by her majesty yesterday to the -- the warmth of the greeting extended by her majesty as today to the holy father was noticeable. many elected members of parliament, members of the house of lords, and numerous others this -- numerous other distinguished guests, on behalf of everyone here, i warmly welcome you and invite you to address us. [applause]

[applause] >> mr. speaker, thank you for your words of welcome on behalf of this distinguished gathering. as i address you, i am conscious of the privilege afforded me to speak to the british people and their representatives in westminster hall, a building of unique significance in the civil and political history of the people of these islands.

allow me also to express my esteem for the parliament which has existed on this site for centuries and which has had such a profound influence on the development of participative government among the nations, especially in the commonwealth and the english- speaking world at large. your common law tradition serves as the basis of legal systems in many parts of the world and your particular vision of the respective rights and duties of the state and the individual, and of the separation of powers, remains an inspiration to many across the globe. as i speak to you in this historic setting, i think of the countless men and women down the centuries who have played their part in the momentous events that have taken place within these walls and have shaped the lives of many generations of britons, and others besides. in particular, i recall the figure of saint thomas more, the great english scholar and

statesman, who is admired by believers and non-believers alike for the integrity with which he followed his conscience, even at the cost of displeasing the sovereign whose good servant he was, because he chose to serve god first. the dilemma which faced more in those difficult times, the perennial question of the relationship between what is owed to caesar and what is owed to god, allows me the opportunity to reflect with you briefly on the proper place of religious belief within the political process. this country's parliamentary tradition owes much to the national instinct for moderation, to the desire to

achieve a genuine balance between the legitimate claims of government and the rights of those subject to it. while decisive steps have been taken at several points in your history to place limits on the exercise of power, the nation's political institutions have been able to evolve with a remarkable degree of stability. in the process, britain has emerged as a pluralist democracy which places great value on freedom of speech, freedom of political affiliation and respect for the rule of law, with a strong sense of the individual's rights and duties, and of the equality of all citizens before the law. while couched in different language, catholic social teaching has much in common with this approach, in its overriding concern to safeguard the unique dignity of every human person, created in the image and likeness of god, and in its emphasis on the duty of civil authority to foster the common good. and yet the fundamental

questions at stake in thomas more's trial continue to present themselves in ever- changing terms as new social conditions emerge. each generation, as it seeks to advance the common good, must ask anew -- what are the requirements that governments may reasonably impose upon citizens, and how far do they extend? by appeal to what authority can moral dilemmas be resolved? these questions take us directly to the ethical foundations of civil discourse. if the moral principles underpinning the democratic process are themselves determined by nothing more solid than social consensus, then the fragility of the process becomes all too evident -- herein lies the real challenge for democracy. . .

to campaign to letters of legislation and upon firm ethical principles and made the country of which this nation may be justly proud. the questions at hand is this, where there is a foundation for political choices to be performed? the catholic tradition maintains their objective, nongoverning right actions. according to this understanding, the role of the religion in political debate is not to supply by non-believers. the political solutions which

will die altogether without religion. but rather to purify and shed light upon the application of religion to the discovery of objective moral principles. this corrective role of religion is not always welcomed. so, partly because religion such as secular and fundamentalism can serve. and distortions of the rich and misgiving to the purifying structure of role within religion. it's a 2-way process. it's correct supplied by rich in soul, you can fall prey to

distortion and take account of the human person. such measures of reason after all, must give rise to the slave trade in the first place and to many other social areas in the total ideaologies and fits the world of reason and faith. of faith, the world of secular religion and of religious belief need one another and should not be afraid to enter into dialogue for the good of the civilization. in this light, i cannot but

voice my concern -- particularly christianity that is takes place in some quarters. even in nations that plays a great emphasis on tolerance. there are those who would advocate religion be silent. at least to the private sector. such as christmas, should be discouraged and offend those of other religions. there are those that argue discrimination and require to act against their conscience. there are varying signs to appreciate all freedom of conscience and freedom of

religion. but also, there is a particular role of religion in the public square. i would invite all of you to seek ways of promote category encourages dialogue between faith and religion at every level of national life. it's already in pride in the extension to me today. in which your government has been engaged with the holy. in the area of peace, there are have been exchanged offering nations in arms trading. regarding human lives, the united kingdom has a concentrated level of democracy. in development, there's been cooperation on fair trade and

final development, particularly to measure immunization and advance market commitment. we look for exploring with the united kingdom new ways to promote environment to the benefit of all. i also note that the present government has committed to the united kingdom to devoting 7.7% by 2018. it's been encouraging to witness the positive signs of a wor worldwide growth. to turn this into affective action calls for fresh thinking. to improve life conditions in many important areas such as food production. clean water.

education, support of families, especially migrants and basic healthcare. the human lives are concerned time is all short. yet it has been witnesses that governments are too big to fail. the human development of those people is no less important. it's an enterprise. worth of retention for this truly too big to fall. between the united kingdom and the holy diety how much progress has been made since the diplomatic relations. i hope and pray that the federation will continue to bear

fruit and be mirrored in a glory acceptance of respect at every level of society between the world of reason and faith. i am convinced that many areas in which the church and the public will authorities can work together for the good of citizens in harmony with parliament and practice of invoking spiritual guidance of all mankind. for such cooperation to be possible, rich including institutions linked to the catholic church need to be free to act in accordance with their own principles and specific convictions based upon faith and sufficient teaching of the church. the religious freedom of

conscience may be guaranteed. the answers looking down from the magnificent ceiling of this hall and which democracy has evolved. to remind us that god is constantly watching over us to guide and protect us. and so the knowledge and the contribution such as religious belief reminds us that god is constantly watching us and can continue to make to the life of this nation. mr. speaker, i thank you once again for this opportunity to briefly to address the distinguished audience.

let me assure and the lord may continue good wishes for you and for the work of both houses of this ancient parliament, thank you and god bless you all. [applause] [applause] >> your holiness, it is my privilege today to thank you on

behalf of everyone here, parliament and nonparliament alike. for your presence at westminister and the way you you have spoken to us about issues that are important and challenging to us all. you spoke with great generosity about the united kingdom and the westminister parliament. for fight of human right and justice. we are enormously grateful for those generous words. spoke, too, about the role of faith in contemporary society. in the house of lords, we much appreciate the religious voices that take part in essentially the political debate.

those religious voices come from the most reverent primates whose fellow of course. and from members of other faiths as well. from jews and muslims, from hindus and from seiks and they take the place who those that do not come from safe play grounds. and it's that diversity of voice that is instills in us that is so essential to parliamentary debate of respect and the a lot to listen to those with divergent views, those which you have spoken of today. for me, perhaps the most

important and longstanding thing i will take from what you said is the need for an ethical foundation as each and every one of us approaches the complexities and the difficult issues facing us as individuals as communities and facing the world today. the seeking of that ethical dimension, the need to have a moral approach based on fundamental values, that is a challenge for each and every one of us. whatever our background and whatever our beliefs.

your holiness, it has been a privilege for us to listen to you today. it has been a truly memorable occasion. we hope your visit to the united kingdom would equally be a memorable event for you. once again our thank and best wishes for the rest of your visit to this country. thank you. [applause]

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>> coming up. congressional leaders commemorate the 9th anniversary of the 911 attacks and a pentagon briefing. tomorrow, washington journal,

reid wilson of the hot line talks about successful senate primary candidates and a look at american ethic, that's live >> every weekend. experience american history tv. saturdays telling the stories by in additional leaders and eyewitness accounts that shaped our history. as top professors dwelve into american's past. all weekend. every weekend on c-span 3. >> on the east side steps of the u.s. capitol, congressional leaders commemorated the 911

terrorists attacks. new york city mayor michael bloomberg. as >> we are especiallily pleased today that the mayor of new york, mayor bloomberg is with us today. please join us today in the star spangled banner. the marines will lead us. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> we will now have the invocation by dr. barry black,

the chaplain of the united states senate. >> let us pray. lord god all mighty, creator and sustainer of the universe. we thank you for this opportunity to honor the memory of september 11, 2001. may our gratitude for you help motivate and strive our unity and develop the awareness of the fragile nature of our lives. lord, teach us to number our days that we may have hearts of wisdom. continue to comfort those for

whom the date september 11th, rekindles a sense of sadness and loss. console those whose lives are imprinted with the shocking images of that season of distress inspire our citizens to incline their hearts to you in prayer and repentance as they remember that righteousness exalts a nation. but that sin is a reproach to any people. in the days to come, do for us and this land we love exceedingly abundantly, above

all that we can ask or imagine, according to your power, working in and through us we pray in your sovereign name. amen. >> amen. >> each year at time, we have the solemn responsibility to remember the hero asks victims of 9/11 and keep faith with the loved one with the fallen. not just today, but every day. for many of us, the time line of that tuesday is committed to our memory. the shock and grief still echoing in our hearts.

the first responders who ran in and the ordinary citizen that is charged the cockpit of flight 19. the candlelight vigils and to organize care packages. the compassion of our citizens and our heroes. through our thoughts and prayers, we can heal and in he who blesses us, remind ourselves never again. saint paul wrote, we fix our eyes not on things that are seen, but on things unseen. what is seen pass away. but what is unseen endures.

as long as we live, each september we will mark an anniversary. an anniversary of loss, of the day we saw monuments of power and pride turn to dust. of the day so many we loved were taken from us in almost an instant. a day of fear and anger that's becoming a day of remembering. and shape the day of those that died there, in this nation of liberty, where we have the right to think, speak and pray as we choose, in this nation of law, in this fearless nation, what is unseen endures.

in the heroism of firefighters and ordinary airline passagers that submerged its divisions we saw the proof. we remember that today. but memory is not enough. when we call america a nation of equality, land of opportunity and home for every faith. we also take to willingly, the work of preserving those values and passing them down unharmed. they endure only because we choose that they endure. only because we defend them. live for them. argue for them in a struggle of ideaologies. not just of arms, only because in our conduct on days of

remembering, their memory will endure forever. every day of memory is also a day of work. the work of living up to the ideals that hallow our lives and the lives of those we lost. we gather in this place of national purpose to honor those who lost their lives on 9/11. to show the world we have not forgotten them and me also be united as a people.

the men and women who died that day were targeted by nothing but going on as their everyday lives as americans. that, of course, is the power of their memory. they showed up the heroism that's latent that live and work quietly among us. a heroism that inspired the world after the attack and other places like afghanistan and iraq. in our memories, the men and women of 9/11 and those that have lost their lives since then will always be connected. and looking back, we are humbled once again and those that have

paid in the name of freedom. september 11th will always be a sad day for our nation and when americans draw new resolve to fight and prevail in the struggles that lie ahead. >> like so many other americans, lieutenant colonel karen wagner woke up. barbara edwards packed her suitcase and went to the airport. day that started like every other day and ended like none we have seen. as evening fell after the twin towers fell, congress came and stood together. we sang god bless america. 9 years later, we still pray for

the same. still swear aliegeance to a land that's free. the years that have passed we have thought often about the first responders. the civilians who acted instinctively. we thank the brave volunteers and remember the thousands we lost on the other side of this capitol building, we can see to the other side of the river. we remember seeing smoke that stretched from the horrizen on the heavens. both were daughters of nevada. they touched so many before that terrible day and countless more since then. colonel wagner played guard on

the unlv team. spent the next 17 years in an army uniform at walter reed. she got a desk at the pentagon a month before it was attacked. barbara edwards also came from nevada. she came east to visit relatives. on september 11th. she was flying back to las vegas. her monument bears the phrase. we will never forget written in english, french and german.

neither nevada nor the nation will ever forget them or any of the others we lost. today we stand on this side of river and remember what happened on the other side of river, in new york and pennsylvania. once again we stand together on these steps. they might not be standing without the courage of the american heroes. we know what it is to be thankful. >> each year, we have a special remembrance of those that perished, new york, here in virginia and in pennsylvania. every year, we come together on these steps and across the country to reconnect to the

spirit of unity we felt after the days after that attack. on the clear morning of september 11, 2001. america stood in shock at the terrible tragedy at ground zero. we stood in an of those heros and that evening, memories of congress stood on these steps to sing "god bless america". today and every day, we pray that the passing of time has eased the pain for families of 9/11 tragedy. president lincoln spoke the power to dull the pain of our memories. we pray for comfort for those

that lost so much. they turned their grief to action. we pray for the memory of those we lost. we remember the families and their grief. we are grateful for those who worked to save lives and we rededicate ourselves to the values that make our country great. freedom, equipment and opportunity. -- freedom, equality and opportunity. may god bless their families and may god bless america. it's my opportunity to introduce the mayor of new york. mayor bloomberg. >> madam speaker, thank you. remember, rebuild, that's what we have been doing. i am here to say thank you and

to commit to this country we will not forget our obligation to work with the rest of country to take care of those who came to our aid first as a rescue mention and much too rapidly turning into the recovery mission. we will not forget to educate our children and grandchildren. our freedoms are fragile and the young men and women fighting so we can live the way we want. we will not forget ever. >> thank you. mr. mayor. please join us in a moment of silence to remember september 11th.

[moment of silence] >> farther cock lynn will now lead us in benediction. >> lord, god, the events of 9/11 awakened a sleeping giant. while violence shook the whole earth will uncertainty, this wounded healer learned to spoke softly so scars would never be forgott

forgotten. so blessed are we even to this day. once thought less powerless because pockets were torn and speared were snapped, we hoped for an end. suddenly, on that day, there was silence. people came together. connected like family and heard be still and no that i am good. supreme among the nations, supreme on the earth. refusing to be stirred by lower passions but relying on intelligence, terrorism would be sought out and destroyed. so the giant shed the cloaks of manipulation and hate red to become a blessed dwelling place for hopes and lasting values.

lord, this awakened giant stands here today, representative of free people who realize the stony heard has been removed with its divisive fears. we are blessed to respond with natural hearts to human needs. fully aware that spiritual renewal comes from sacrificial love and free choice. we invite others to acknowledge you as our source of blessing and join today in our song. amen. >> amen. >> thank you. father. as we did on these steps of u.s. capitol 9 years ago, where we gatherd and sang god bless

america. let us join together and call on god to continue to bless america. ♪ ♪ god bless america. land that i love. stand beside her and guide her, with a light from above. on the mountain to the prairie, to the ocean. god bless america, my home sweet home. god bless america, my home sweet home [applause]

>> for me or anyone else considering continues on in public service, i think the real question is, do you have a positive vision for tcitizens.

on a potential presidential run on 8 years as governor, sunday on c-span. judge monday. senate lindsay graham. staff sergeant salvatore giunta. >> white house ceremony scheduled for october 6th. staff sergeant briefs the military. >> this is 30 minutes. >> it's my honor to bring to

you, staff sergeant giunt a, 173 airborne brigade. they are joining us from a, life. the medal of honor will be presented to you in afghanistan. thank you very much for being available to us. and i also before turns this over to questions and to colonel dave, i wanted to say on behalf of all of us here in the pentagon. how broad we are of you and your colleagues and comrades who i know you have honored in your comments. this is an honorme to be able to introduce you. we will begin the questions.

>> okay. staff sergeant, how do you hear me? >> i hear you pretty good, sir. >> we have got you here as i understand you don't have a statement to make. you just want to jump into questions? >> ah, i think that works best, roger. >> okay. >> sergeant, larry from cnn. can you tell us about how that patrol, the events came out of, how it began, what time of day it was? >> what kind of equipment and weapons were you carrying and in lead us up to the point where any other

afghanistan. night afghanistan. on them then backside.

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stuff. at. mission. prepared. mountains. helicopters.

in. myself. rto.

didn't know what happening. pushed we were you personally weapons were you

leader. launcher mores. day. perimeter. terrain. in the

of you. can you describe what that was happen. office. through. proud to through. usual, of course.

your recollection to last week as sorry. crazy

everything for their we to enjoy this together. the president had an appearance in virginia.

he took questions from residents of the neighborhood. not once in those 90 minutes was the war in afghanistan, the war in of iraq, the military ever mentioned in this meeting. how do you view this apparent lack of interest with what is happening there? i think for a lack of interest or wariness for the people who did not think about it, i think there are millions americans that really do what the american soldier is going through. i am not doing it right now. i am still a soldier, but at the time, i am still proud i am 173. i am battle hard. they are out there doing it again. at other people do not know,

to remember that are out there every single day giving everything for our country. the you have a reaction to that? do you have a reaction to that? how have you viewed this apparent disinterest on the part of the people here? does. i would call family, call friends, talk to people. those were up -- those who were aware of things and those who aware of banks, it is just how it happens. think that there are there that are

aware of it. you have to keep that in mind. hopefully the people that are aware of it will spread their awareness. hopefully this award will spread the awareness as well to those people. >> i am from nbc news. i want to bring you back to an earlier question. had you spoken to any soldiers who were with you that night? do you still keep in touch with the family members of any of the soldiers who were lost that night? has there been any reaction since the announcement last week? i talked with my squad leader at the time. he gave me a call from afghanistan.

the as one of the soldiers out there doing it again. he told me he was there for me and he was proud of me. he said he was happy for me. hearing him say lot to me. guys are the heroes right now. are out there fighting enemies of the united states while i am is sitting here. bittersweet and speaking to the families of the soldiers were lost that night, i keep in touch with josh vernon's father. is a stand-up guy. i like camelot. we talk off and on. he has expressed his gratitude to me, which, you know, that is

stomach because that is still a loss. jobs am glad we brought back. i wish it could be under different circumstances. and i got married. we just had a reception back in i what this summer. mike to come down. he came down with his brother. always good to see him. >> i am with the christian science monitor. i would like to follow a little bit on an earlier question.

a lot of what we here at the pentagon is that it is a different kind of war. there is a lot of technology. i just wanted to get your take on that. how does it feel to be the only living recipient of such a tremendous honor? what has the reaction been from the soldiers in italy? what i would before, in this job i am only mediocre. i am average. this was a situation that we were put into. do anything have done in that situation.

i was just one of brush stroke in that picture. what i did it was not the first brush stroke in the picture. it was not the last brush stroke in the picture. was not the best. it was just a brush stroke that to complete the picture at this moment in time. it means a lot. it is a huge, huge honor. they know that and i know that. i hope that i can convey to the world how great the average is. you are sitting here talking to so you must think that. think that about them. it means a lot to say that. hopefully, more people will to think about afghanistan or iraq or the men and women who are out there regardless of what they are doing away from their loved ones in a different

improve the country. whether it be helping them learn trades. the american soldier has been everything that the american has asked for. it is important to remember that. >> if we could go back to that night on october 25, you stopped when you talked about going about 100 meters and the enemy engaging you. can you talk now about that engagement? how did it play out? how many enemy were you facing and what weapons were they using against you? it is my understanding that it was over in a matter of minutes. did you make a lot of conscious decisions or were you reacting subconsciously to the point

where it was over with and the coming in? when the ambush happened, i would say there was probably, i people. it goes blurry. that brings me to your second part. not a whole lot of thinking. this is my job. this is my profession. is what i chose to do with life these past six years. everyone else i was with was in the same boat. there was not a whole lot of needed to do. it is something you train and prepare for. to train how you fight. this is something everyone was could happen.

everyone played their part, all their leaders, and conducted trained. you do not know exactly how it is going to go, but at the end, mean, everybody played the role completely. we did not really talk about it. there was no time. all of this happened after the started to pick people up. you're not out of afghanistan. you're just-somebody's. minus some buddies. there was not a whole lot of talking afterwards. everyone had an idea of what had happened, but no one really knew. i do not know what the whole line was doing.

directly be six people i was actively with what they were doing. only know what i was doing because we were playing our peace. that is part of training. >> he made the point a couple of times, you did not do anything any other soldier would not have done. there were other soldiers there. something told you when you were being shot at by the taliban on your left that the real threat was ahead. he went forward towards sgt brennan. you're basically going towards where some of the fire from the taliban and was coming from. at what point did you determine

that the best thing that you could do was go forward on the trail and catch up with the sergeant as opposed to turning to your left to face the immediate threat of the taliban with heavy weapons? because the leader was trying to push forward. hit from a different direction. not from the direction that everyone else was shooting or i was shooting. there is nothing to do up to time. it is something you keep in the of your mind. i felt that i got hit from that direction. , we

forward together. but when we were pushing a forward, we were throwing grenades. the one who shot more else. was more important for him to be playing his part. it was important for him to be shooting rather than moving at that time. need for all four us. up to do anything heroic work to save brennan. in my mind, he was not in trouble. it was better to shoot with a buddy then to shoot alone. there was no fear in my mind. everyone was getting shot at.

everyone was in the same boat. i was out of grenades. the direction was for. that is the direction we were all going. jenny, do you know where you were that night in 2007? in the of 2007? i did not know that the incident had happened that night. i found out the next day. already? you were a couple at that point? >> yes. this was the second deployment that i had known him. you mentioned that you are just an average guy, but once

you get this medal of honor in a few weeks, you will not be the average soldier anymore. you'll be in an elite group. it means that you may not deploy in the future. how do you feel about that? are you disappointed? will you fight against that? the you still want to put yourself in these kinds of situations in the future? right now the future is an open book for us. we are talking sometime in the future -- we will cross that bridge when we come to it. >> had you feel about him deploying again? >> i do not want it to happen. having your husband, your boyfriend, your son, your loved deployed and know that be somewhere know they are without water, without

the days dragged on. you are constantly worried. not want anything to happen to him. while which won him to go back again? him to go back again? >> what is the correct spelling of your name? >> could you say that again? >> had the spell your first name? what do you prefer? >> you can just call me jenny. it is spelled j e n n y. are you from? i am 26-years old.

i am from iowa. >> what you do for a living? >> excuse me? >> what do you do? >> i work as a youth assistant the post. at the gym once a week. i am taking some class is to get into an ultrasound program this fall. a little bit of a lot of things. >> staff sergeant, tell me what your family said when they heard you were picked for this honor? did they react? what did they say to you? parents or prowled. they had expressed that life. my parents or proud.

parents. they are always going to be proud of me. they have expressed that pride to me. do not even had another word for it. i am having trouble articulating how they feel. >> can you tell me what is your most enduring impression of the two deployments she spent in afghanistan? in afghanistan? >> none most enduring impression -- might most enduring impression or the people to continue to work in afghanistan and how they are willing to do something most

people will not do. they are willing to do it again. i guess my most enduring thought is how tough the guys around me really are. >> i have interviewed half a dozen metal of honor recipients. i always ask them the same question. i am going to give you a chance. are you a hero? man that me, every woman in the military, everyone that goes to be on known is a hero. if you think that is a hero, as long as you include everyone with me. you for your time.

i know it is getting late there. thank you again for your service, both of you. we look forward to seeing you at the white house pretty soon. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> sunday on "washington journal," dante chinni on why he thinks the nation is experiencing economic anxiety. then, reid wilson talks to candidates who had gained support from the tea party.

owell.brian p >> kathleen sebelius will talk about the current health care legislation if republicans lose the house in the midterm elections. >> they can do some serious harm to what is now begun which is a major change in the middle of the road. the power is beginning to shift from insurance companies to consumers and back to doctors and their patients. we are announcing this week the major consumer protections, which will finally be in place. we have talked about them for decades. companies will not be able to rescind policies any more. they will no longer be able to say to parents of a child with a

pre-existing condition, "we are not going to cover your child or the treatments that your child needs to get better. "they will not be able to stop the treatments because somebody hits a lifetime cap. those are sometimes life and death situations. we'll have a focus on prevention and wellness which providers or thrilled about. too many people skip cancer screenings and mammograms. they do not get full immunizations for their kids because there are financial barriers. i think what the republicans will be faced with is taking those benefits away. they will have to face their constituents who have their children enrolled on a family plan and say, "that cannot happen any longer." you can see her on news makers

10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. eastern. >> in his weekly address, president obama calls on senate republicans to allow passage of the campaign finance bill which will require corporations to identify themselves in campaign ads. that is followed by the republican response. he says tax hikes are set to take effect on january 1. >> back in january, i warned of the dangers posed by a supreme court ruling called "citizens united."

we all know who are behind these ads and you are paying for them. foreign controlled corporations are able to spend freely in order to swing an election towards a candidate they prefer. we tried to fix this with the new law, one that would simply require you to say who you are and who is paying for your ads. that way boaters can make informed judgments. foreign controlled corporations will be restricted from spending money to influence elections just as they were before the supreme court opened up this loophole. this is common sense.

this is the kind of proposal that democrats and proposal -- democrats and republicans have agreed on for decades. the republicans have blocked this bill from coming up for a vote in the senate. it is not hard to understand why. over the past two years, we have fought back the attempts of the special answers to weaken their hold on washington. we have taken a stand against abuses in the financial industry. we have restored enforcement of common sense rules that protect clean air and clean water. we refuse to go along with business as usual. now, the special interests want to take on the vote. the minority are hoping it there -- hoping they will be awarded with a flood of negative

ads against their opponents. they are hoping they can ride this wave all the way to victory. what is clear is that congress has the responsibility to act. the truth is, any law will probably comes too late to prevent the damage that has already been done this election season. that is why any time you see an attack ad by a shadowy group, you should ask yourself who is paying for the ad. is it the health insurance lobby? the oil industry? the credit-card companies? more than that, you can make sure that the tens of millions of dollars going to those ads do not drown out your voice. no matter how many ads they run or how many of elections they try to buy, the power to determine the fate of this country do -- does not all does not -- does not lie in their hands. it lies in yours. our basic principle is a

government for, and by the people. thank you. >> hello. i am representative greg walden. before being sent to congress, like many americans, i worked for myself. my wife and i were small- business owners for 22 years. we know what is it -- we know it -- we know what it is like to scratch out a business plan. this is lost on the powers to be in washington. they think change comes in the form of a 2000 page monstrosity. americans have had enough of permanent bailouts, to permit takeovers, and stimulus spending sprees. democrats job killing policies have led small businesses tied up in conservancy's and our economy bogged down. america is speaking out. it is time washington started

listening. republicans have warned that excessive government spending along with the uncertainty facing small businesses are hampering job creation in america. we call for bipartisan action this month to address but the these issues. republicans want to stop all of the tax hikes that are set to take effect on january 1. for his part, president obama proposes raising taxes on half of small business income in america. economists and some democrats agree with us that raising taxes on anyone in a struggling economy, especially small businesses, is the wrong thing to do. next, republicans want to cut non security government spending to 2008 spending -- before the bailouts. american families and small businesses have been making tough choices over the last couple of years to cut back spending and to adjust to this

new economic reality. why should the federal government be any different? our plan saves taxpayers mary -- saves taxpayers nearly $100 billion. with just days remaining in this legislative session, house republican leader john boehner has informed speaker nancy pelosi that republicans are ready to work together to enact a two. job plan immediately. we must also act openly. taxpayers were rightly outraged when democratic leaders try to short circuit the rules and forced president obama s takeover of health care through congress. the american people did not stand for this band and they will not stand for it now, especially with their jobs, their families, and their future is at stake. that is why john boehner has asked nancy policy to assure the

american people that she will allow nothing short of a up and down vote. this way, the will of the people and their elected representatives can be heard. anything less fails our economy and provides further evidence that democrats are more committed to preserving their power than helping our economy. if president obama and washington democrats are to be focused on creating jobs, we should take action immediately to cut government spending and stop all of these impending tax hikes. it speaker policy -- pelosi will allow the up and down vote. we can put the people first. thank you for your time. >> if anyone else is considering continuing in public service, the question is do you have a positive vision for the direction the country should have, a specific idea to

implement that vision, and the experience to show you can handle it and get it done. >> tim pawlenty on a potential presidential run, going up in minnesota, and his eight years of governor. that is sunday on c-span. >> william raspberry discussed how the election of president obama as chain civil-rights groups in america. this portion is about 20 minutes. >> actually, jerry pretty much made my speech. but i want to throw a couple things out that maybe can help us get started today. maybe a fe requests i could make of this gathering and a panel to follow. the first is that we all try as

hard as we can to make this a day of discussion, not merely resumption of ancient debate but we've resist temptation to score points off one another but there, times when scoring points is less important than trying to figure out what we need to do. and third, and i hope, jerry, you agree with this, that we consider analyses, our comments and proposals from the point of view of what is best for the coming generations of america's disadvanged minorities. what is going to work best for them? i make these requests not to

insult or offend you but because i have become painfully aware of a dismaying trend that s overtaken all of our in part in discussions from climate change to health care, to of course racial equity. and that is the notion that is enough to separate people into groups, us against them, which means that instead of trying to solve our mutual problems, we concentrated on defeating those we designate as sin. which leads us to exaggerate our differences as a substitute for slot, and to minimize agreements has noconsequence. take our subject today. hardly anyone believes america has reached a post racial

nirvana where racism has been exorcized both from institutions and stuff fromhe hearts of individuals. we know that it's still there. and almost everyone would agee that we do -- what we do as individual minority members and we encourage our children to do matters a great deal. so my humble and perhaps my eve pleased this morning is that it's not that you change your mind about what you believe but that for the next few hours to accept at least a theoretical possibility that those who disagree with you are not on that account stupid or terrible people, but they might actually have a small point.

i don't have much time to get this conversation so let me set the stage with a small story, apocryphal no doubt, that i heard from my ather a lot of years ago. a farmer on horseback was hurrying home to the homestea when the sudden downpour turned into a flash flood, and because he wasn't sure what else to do when he came to the stream of border and his farm, he rode the horse right straight through the stream. well, the situation was worse than he anticipated. and the result was that the horse and rider were both swept down the stream both nearly drowning before they managed to clamor to safety and return to the homestead.

and after that, after that, the farmers couldn't induce the horse to cross the creek even when the flow was just a trickle my dad's replete was that knowledge and experience are useful only if they are tempered by judgment. i make a slightly different point this morning. if you compare tha stream to racism in america, than to many of us, african-americans, are like that horse. we have personal and handed out memories of life limiting raises some are so vivid that recollections of "can't cross your" to mize opportunities so strong they dare not enter the

stream even when it is relatively koln. they stand on the bank perhaps cursing the water, perhaps shrugging up the way things are. they are remembered futility and danger won't let them notice that the water isn't nearly as bad as it used to be. it was bad all right. it was bad. and more than a few of our race drowned in the attempt to cross it. and now you're thinking here comes this old man about to tell us that the stream is dried up. well, no i'm not. i recently attended a two-day conference on the difficulties facing a young black men and the speakers were uniform that racism is alive and well in america. one the scholar reported his findings to throot of difficulties young black men face on the market.

he said three gunmen, a black man, a white man and hispanic all carefully matched for education experience and speech and all of that to a series of employers. it turned of the white applicant generally received the best treatment, the hispanic second best, and the african-american the worst. all three may have been grantd interviews but sometimes the white guy was often a better job than was advertised is sometimes the black guy was offered a lower job than had been advertised. no, the stream is not dry. even when some white people seem to think it is. in my view of the person who remembers that old tv series called "black.white"? you know, the one that had a black-and-white family is reversing roles? remember how frustrated brian,

the black guy, became what bruno, the white guy, refused to see the racism that was so clear to brian if they would walk down the street together, and brian would sense the racism and bruno is like what? both men were frustrated. brenau turned to brough in and said you now, you must be looking for racism. and of course, we are looking for it. we come from a glenn beck r that smart mouthed dr. laura as if we find the magic potion that will finally make white people understand what we've been talking about. we are determined to convince white america o what is a plain as day fact for us.

racism abounds. the racism stream hasn't dried up and maybe it never will. the point is this: you become expert at finding what you spend a lot of your time looking for, whether that is mushrooms, gold nuggets, racism or opportunity. yeah, there's racism out there, but there's also unprecedented opportunity. my mind goes back to that frightened course. the neglect and sillier some of our young people see all around them, the disrespect they often receive from copps and clerks and a comex, the low expectations of the world seems to have of them. even the looks the encounter all have convinced them that the

stream between them and a better life is a virtual niagara, and we who know full well that the stream is crossable often add to the dread by talking about how resist the society still is and how poor black kids have a better chance of winding up dead or in prison than educated. just look at the schools. underfunded, poorly maintained, inadequately staffed. who can blame these kids if they fail? we say it's for them, honestly believe in calling attention to the residual racism and on the fairness will help them off by absolvin them of the shade of failure while simultaneously fixing the blame on the enemies over them. and what we fail to see is that

we are reinforcing the self doubt, the fear of the once reaching stream. the danger i believe is that our good intentions may have the effect of discouraging young people. i mean in the literal sense, of taking away their courage to try conservatives sometimes miss the point that there is a genuine dilemma. it seems fundamentally unfair to take kids who have none of the advantages of a growing up middle class and secure and to tell them what they must now coete with the children of privilege. but how helpful is it to take

the same disadvantaged children and reward them not for achievement, but for effort as though they are participants and some academic special olympics? some of us point to the under equipp schools and underprepared teachers that are under educating some of our children as though that is the whole answer. others point to fatherless households or lack of exertion or cultural distractions as though that were the whole answer. well, they're have always been both external and internal barriers to racial progress in america my caution is not to focus exclusively on the al-sayyid barriers and neglect those that are inside of us.

everybody has a favorite martin luther king jr. quote. and no, i'm not going to have a dream this morning. but i do want to call your attention to a quote that i think is largely ignored but serves to make the point i want to make this morning. and he was talking about every kind o issues i'm talking about and he said this. in short, she said, we must work on two fronts. on the one hand, we must continue to resist the system, which is a basic cause of our lagging standards. on te other hand we must work constructively to improve the standards themselves. there must be, and i love this, they're must be the rhythmic alternation between attacking the causes and healing the

effects. why don't they carve that on the somebodies' cornerstone? because that's really says it all. saves you a little time in the because these things tend to grow seven going to cut this a little short. what do we tell our children? what should we tell our children and grandchildren? yes, shield them against the shock of racism. let them know that it's likely that something on told will happen. yes, remind them of battles over come. point out to them that some of us in fact most of us who have achieved some measure of success in this world likely have some

blood on our boots from crossing that not yet dry sream but we've crossed it. tell them that but also told them this, the salient fact of black life in america today is no denial of opportunity. for those who would grass -- grasp it. the new and powerful truth of the situation is simply this: thus treen is croswell -- croswell. it is great good news and it may true for most of us for the first time in the history of this country and we treat it as an inconvenient fact.

what powerful white people -- what ever ey used to think about black boys and girls, corporate america today needs them. but it needs them smart and curious and computer savvy and all the obvious things that so many of our boys and girls are not getting or are not becoming. we are past the day when bustling factories and trade unions made the willingness to work hard sufficient to guarantee a good income. these days you have to know something and be ready to learn a good deal more. i'm not talking of intellectual genius by the way, only the willingness to make these sort of exertion academically that good athletes routinely make physically. we can do it.

some of our young people are making the exertion. i was recently in san diego at the annual conference o the national association of black journalists, and even at a time when journalism is struggling to redefine itself, when jobs are fewer than the business and where there is less emphasis on diversity and when the future of journalism itself is as crowded as it has ever been in my lifetime, these people are doing what they can to retool themselves, they are learning new skills, making new contact, calling on us old heads in the business for help and advice to read an interesting thing that these people they have parents or mentors who understand the importance of being prepared even in the face of and complete opportunity. i am encouraged by parents and

mentors who sacrifice and control and that their children and to try and hard into being twice as good as we used to sy if that's what it takes. and i am deeply distressed by the young people who are not striving hose parents and advisers focus on how unfair ings are and not how possible things are. the result destructively cynical. they think they've given up on white people when in fact they have given up on themselves. they languish on street corners and in prons not because they prefer those but because they doubt that much else is possible. a wise man once sid whether you believe you can succeed or believe you cannot you are right

well, life is still a crystal staircase but success is possible. it is this fact our children must hear from last it take to heart the world they inhabit is suddenly fair. but i thk it is worse now ought to tell them that of the water seven fact reseeded to the point where crossing is possible of what the end with a story of a lady finding herself in the by year and undeserved financial

straits ask he lord to let her win the lottery. she prayed and prayed quite earnestly but when they held a drawing of the end of the week she hadn't won. next monday she is back on her knees. lord, my son may have to drop out of college, the store is threatening to take my flat screen tv and i can see by the paper you let people lss meaty and less wholley than i am to win major jackpots. lord, i need to win the lottery. again, nothing. lord, she said the three weeks, didn't he promise to bare your service if they split their fot against the stone? i am just about stone broke. i need to win the lottery.

and then in the still of her room, she heard this voice. cut me a break. buy a ticket. [laughter] we've gotten very good at making demands or earnest requests to supplications for what we need. we demand that the government imove our schools, employers cut some slack, that white people stop being so racist and it's okay to do that. there's nothing wrong with that. but while we are demanding hat other people do what they ought to do, we need to do what we ought to do. we need to remember for a simple the most influential educational resource is a parent who cares

to read and we need to admit that sometimes parents are the missing ingredients and our children's success. we need to acknowledge the culprits and our children's failure often share our skin color, our zip code, and sometimes our street address. what shall we tell the children? the stream may not be dry, but the stream this crossable. you can make that. we will help you make it if you try. buy a ticket. thank you, jerry. [applause]

>> now, a look at racial discrimination in the united states. this panel is one hour and a half. good morning. thank you for attending the national conference and thanks very much to william raspberry for comments that went out of the traditional marriages and i think that is part of what we are trying to do year-to-date. we want to think outside of the box. but we are still in the box and want to figure out how we got to that box. before i given to introducing a more distinguished panelists of one to tell you a little bit about what we are about today with respect to this panel.

this is civil rights then and now. i didn't come up with that title. consider the ark of civil rights over the span of the nation's history and the evolution of civil rights and what is known as the race problem. when the civil rights commission was established in 57 we didn't have a 1964 civil rights act or title vii things we pretty much take for granted right now there was no 1965 voting rights act. we were only a few years removed from browne v. board of education. i don't think anyone could imagine that we would have at any time within our lifetime, and i was around that time despite my youthful appearance, that we would have an african-american president, black secretaries of state, latino court justice, a couple of black supreme court justices,

black and hispanic and captains of industry, doors open for all, wide open in almost every society. yet despite this latest successes there are considerable disparities that persist. the largest disparities are between possibly whites and asians on the one hand into blacks and hispanics on the other. but the disparities i think are incapable of effective elimination. if you look for example in the appendices to the professor's book, his latest book with respect to race in the age of obama you will see startling disparities of a host of levels including rates of incarceration , educational attainment, income and every facet of poverty measurement

imaginable. so the disparities exist despite more than nominal success and the aim of this panel is to try to get at what was the predicate for her we got here today. what are some of the competing civil rights and quote on quote race problem theories abound today and the evolution of the competing models so we thought we would like to give you an abbreviated introduction to each of the panelists because their accomplishments are too numerous to shoehorn into the limited time that we've got. i like to introduce them and then they will speak separately and then as you are told we will have time for questions and i encourage the audience to pose any questions they may