at american university. "washington journal" is next. >> good morning, it's friday, april 27, 2012. the house will be in early today with a number of legislative measures including one of them wants to loans. our program is only two hours today. you will need to the grand prize winner of c-span's studentcam competition and learn more about his documentary which is on japan in ameri -- japanese- american internment camps in world war ii and. a corruptbehind i practices case regarding walmart. whethera debate on

interest ratestu going down, is it helping or hurting? our phone lines are open. good friday morning to you. here's a headline from the washington post after the fed announcement this week on its decision to hold the line on its economic policies, one of them being low short-term interest rates. he is on the line with us this morning. guest: good morning.

the fed is intending to continue to support the economic recovery, but not do anything more that would either beat it up or slow it down. the fact that it could raise rates or take steps to slow down the economic recovery and the effort to contain inflation, but inflation does not seem to be worrisome at this time. and take new steps like buying mortgage bonds, but they are worried that could cause inflation. the fed is in a wait-and-see mode with ongoing operations to help the economy, but not doing anything more in any direction. host: there is a debate that seems to be growing a bit louder about the pluses and minuses about this for average citizens. would you give us the argument

on both sides? guest: one thing to understand is that the fed acts in a relatively indirect way from the average person. it works through the taxing system and creates money out of thin air, which is then went down at lower interest rates. it has been proven that can create jobs and it could reduce employment if it worked in the opposite direction. the argument for most liberal economists on the left is the fed has powers to do more but is not doing it. the fed could take additional steps to try to bring down unemployment more when unemployment is already high. there are arguments from conservatives and right-wing that the fed has already done too much and has cut interest rates and kept them low for a long time and that is creating a bubble in the housing market and in dotcom stocks and this time

in the bond market and that it will pop. there's no evidence either of these things will happen immediately. those are the arguments from both sides. host: you talked about how the fed does not affect directly the interest rates that consumers might pay, but where are some of the positives on low-interest rates for consumers? does it mean lower mortgage rates? does it mean lower rates on car loans when the fed has its interest-rate policy? guest: the fed has a direct effect on interest rate people pay, it affects unemployment a little more indirectly. other factors as well have helped interest rates to remain low. automobile loans are low. all kinds of rates that companies pay to borrow money are very low. but people who rely on fixed

income accounts, they have stocks in cds or money-market accounts, or retirees, people who save a lot of money and invest in the stock market, they are getting paid to 0.5% or very low rates. in general, economists think a low interest rate is overall a good for the economy. >> there was one dissenter of a fed president from richmond bank. tell us more about his argument. guest: he generally feels the fed has done too much in the direction of taking steps to help the economy, because that always creates risk of rising prices or inflation. if inflation occurs, it often its average people first with higher food prices and gas prices. inflation is around 2% right now

or a little less, not out of control. that has been pushed up mainly higher by gas prices, which are now coming down. inflation does not seem to be an urgent problem right now, but he is worried that if the fed continues on this path that it's been on for years, that when inflation gets out of control, it's. hard to it's host: thanks for giving us the two sides to the argument. it is holding the line on interest rates until late 2014. he is a washington post financial reporter. thanks for your time. guest: thanks. host: lots of deadlines came out of this and lots of debate. there's a piece that paul krugman, the liberal progressive columnist wrote over the weekend.

would like to hear what you think about this. here's german bernanke first. >> the view of the committee is that would be very reckless.

the federal reserve has spent 30 years building up credibility for low and stable inflation which has proved extremely valuable in that we have been able to take a strong accommodative action in the last four or five years to support the economy without leading to destabilization of inflation. to risk that asset for what i think would be quite tentative and perhaps doubtful gains on the real side would be an unwise thing to do. host: that was the fed chairman ben bernanke. would like to know if it is helping or hurting in your personal finances. has it given you access to more capital as a small-business owner? if you are savor in retirement or otherwise, are you concerned of the returns you are getting on your investments? let's hear whether you think the

interest rate policy will help or hurt your personal economy and the overall economy. ie is on . caller: the fed is unconstitutional. only congress can print money. ben bernanke says it's a federal agency. the 12 reserve banks are all privately owned. include the inflation rate for gas and food. you get 0.5% interest for savings accounts. the tarp money from the u.s. fed, 100% went to foreign banks. it cannot be audited and is not open to freedom of information act. i wish, susan, you have a program where they would stick to the facts of this, because the u.s. has to abolish this.

people don't understand that state and local governments can abolish the feds if the federal government refuses to do so. please have a program on that really goes into this. thank you very much. host: thanks for your call from new jersey. and you can post a comment on facebook and it take part in a poll we have on facebook.com. but here's one from william, who sees it as a plus and minus. next up is a call from schenectady, new york, pamela is a democrat there. caller: hello. the federal reserve has to be more transparent. you guessed that a little while ago about inflation, inflation is through the roof. i don't know if he has bought a loaf of bread recently, but it's over $4. people like me on a fixed income, we cannot afford to buy

groceries or medicine. they really have to end the fed and go back to the gold standard. that's why i'm supporting ron paul. i wish you would have him as a guest. host: we have had him as a guest and have heard his arguments and seen his hearings on capitol hill. if we have heard this point of view on this. you think the fed does not measure inflation correctly? caller: exactly. they are sending all the money overseas. our dollar is not worth anything anymore. host: thanks, pamela. --re's this post on twitter you can send us a tweet to join in our discussion about the way the fed oppose low-interest rates have affected your family household and whether you think it's helping or hurting your own situation and also the overall u.s. economy. in yesterday's wall street journal, there was this piece that was the lead on the opinion

page -- that was yesterday and in the wall street journal. next is a call from bethesda, good morning. caller: i wanted to tell you that when the economy tanked, i am an architect and i found very little work. so i wrote it turkish cookbook, but i did not have any money to pay for it. with the lower interest rates we were able to reduce our mortgage and we got $20,000 of which i used to pay to print a book and now i am selling it, so it kept me afloat. host: sold the low-interest rate has been a plus for your family's personal economy? caller: absolutely, because it did not increase our mortgage, but we got. some free got host: as an architect, you are expecting people to pay for your projects.

caller: yes, and i'm starting to get a little more work, so i'm hopeful of things are picking up. host: how is your bookselling? caller: very well, thank god. host: this is from the internet on the u.s. economy. ons is what the fed's policy interest rates has been -- this week the fed announced it would hold the line on interest rates until late 2014. we're talking with you about the

effects of that on your own family. now call from lake placid, florida, richard is an independent. caller: good morning. it's a pretty day. the fed should be abolished as soon as possible. their currency is terrible. they lie to us on a regular basis especially about inflation. they cut food and fuel from inflation. what everybody consumes in this country every day is food and fuel. when they first configure the consumer price index, they don't figure that in there. inflation is probably averaging somewhere between probably 12% and 16% yearly, at least. also, the fed lied to us about unemployment. probably the biggest lie there are telling my now is they are trying to cover up the fact

that we have catastrophic economic failure going on in your. when that hits the united states, we could have a total collapse of our economy. -- economic failure going on in europe. host: these are your critiques of the fed. what do you think about its low- interest rate policy? caller: the low interest rate policy, when the fiat money is terrible to begin with, it created to the housing market collapsed. they pumped low-interest money into the financial institutions and then they loaned out the money to people that could not pay it back and expected the people to pay back their bills to cover for that. they wrapped up in a package and sold it to wall street and all over the world. when it started to sting, the government went to fannie mae

and said that they will buy these, that the taxpayer, that is us. that's why we have the housing market and the other stuff. this is the history of the fed all the way back to its creation in 1913. they were behind the great depression. they were behind a savings and loans of the 1980's, the late 1980's. if people follow the history and, they will find nothing but corruption and failure. peaks and valleys. destabilizing monetary system, that is what the fed does. host: on the other side, we showed you paul krugman's colorado. there was-- his column, there was a response to that in the business insider magazine. this was published on the 25th of this week, also.

next is a call from cleveland. good morning to mark,.,. caller: good morning. a nice day we seem to be having in cleveland for change. i just want to echo exactly what your last caller said, what your first caller said as well. people are finally starting to wake up to the fact that congress should be printing money. catalyzed president who did that and what happened to him and where this all comes from. people are starting to what the history channel. they are starting to learn the history of the united states. we have been doing things for a long time under false decedent. people are getting educated by

tv of all things and it is really great. i don't think this low-interest rate thing that is going on now -- it is just a fiat. fix it again, tony. host: the former head of the fdic is part of this debate. here's a piece that she contributed to cnn money with the headline -- we're talking with you about your personal view of the fed's low interest rate and how it's affected or family income. do you think it's helping or hurting? lakewood, washington, halle, a republican. caller: thanks for taking my call. i was going to question whether

or not the low interest rates have hurt my family, because it is just me. now that i look back at the past few years since the crash in 2008 if i go back to that date and look at how much stuff has been stolen from me, i would be taken to court by people i would grant from and i complained they were not fixing things when i was paying exuberant rent and they would not fix the windows or the doors and then they would sue me when i don't pay them. when i have a problem or gets sick or something because they're not fixing it. that seems to stem from what is happening to families like mine. single people who have not yet bought their first home and are having to buy from people who got sucked into the bubble. if they stop looking at bubbles, then we could actually fix this

problem by just setting one interest rate permanently at a lower number like maybe five percent or even 8% if we make it a general across the board member so it covers everybody. then people like me can actually afford to buy a house. i have a small community credit union and i have a wonderful relationship with them and it's because they're not getting money from the fed like bank of america who took money from me and i had to go to my small bank and savings bank is stealing from me, how can we cover this problem? if our federal government stops giving to the big banks and start putting into the banks that we use, are small community credit unions, we will not have a global collapse or a crisis. we can do a 6% rate for 7% rate for everybody and have a perfect number. thanks for taking my call. host: two people mentioned housing market. the story in the papers today

-- from twitter, this comment from bob -- our next comment is from st. louis, this is william, a democrat. caller: good morning. g, with thewonderin

high interest rates on car loans, because my credit went down and i'm paying a 33% on car loans. if they could find a way to lower the rate to where we could afford it. i am on ssi disability. i cannot even afford insurance because they want me to pay half of what they give me back for just insurance. with this election thing, if they would let obama do what he could do, we could see the country go forward. but everybody is against what he's doing. of all the presidents i have ever seen, i have never heard them talk about one man the way they talked about him. if it is not fair for the president, for people to come on and say what we need to do is get him out of office, he needs to pack up and be ready to go. they have not even talked to 90% of the african americans.

we will come out and vote in full force and obama probably will be reelected. host: thanks so much. he mentioned car loans. this is the front page of the detroit free press -- we're talking about the fed's lower interest-rate policy. they announced they will hold the line on it until the end of 2014. we wonder what that means to your own family economy, has it been a good thing or bad thing, by giving you lower interest on your savings for perhaps access to credit at a lower rate, what has been the effect on new? next is fairfax, virginia, lynn, a democrat. caller: the low interest rates has helped me tremendously. i was able to refinance my house to 3.5%. i used that money to open a new

business and then i applied for another small business loan to open a daycare center. the obama administration has helped me tremendously in terms of streamlining small business loans and having credit available to people with good credit and people that want to open small businesses. in my personal example, it helped me. quite a me host: thanks for sharing. now this tweet -- next up is a call from allentown, pennsylvania, tom. , an tom caller: regarding whether the lower interest rates from a retired standpoint, it is like a double-edged sword to the extent you have money

invested in savings or cds, you are receiving low interest returns, obviously. but to the extent you have an ira or bond mutual fund, there is an inverse relationship, low- interest rates are good for bond mutual fund returns. so it is sort of like a double- edged sword. from that sword host: how has that affected your family finances? caller: like that said, i do have quite a bit of my retirement investment in bond mutual funds right now, so my returns are pretty good, actually. but to the extent i have some money in cds, they are very nominal, but that is more for an emergency fund usage that i set that up. host: thanks. sounds like pluses and minuses in his family situation. benny on facebook has posted this -- -- veni

and on the fed's ability to affect the overall economy, there was a similar statement from another view. the next call is columbia, maryland, an independent, al. caller: good morning. i believe the best policy would iered have a multi tea interest rate policy regardless of whether it is through the fed or somewhere else. certain clauses of industrial investment should have a lower interest rate. the available funds for expansion for wall street and

these guys like that would be a higher interest-rate, because we don't want to have fictitious capital gains created through the buying and selling of fictitious capital gains. it is a vicious circle, which is precisely what is going on. i think the best way to tame the fed would be to bring back the glass eagle firewall that says there must be a stipulation and there cannot be both kinds of banking institutions at the same time, you have to be one or the other. the this makes sense? host: thank you, al. on facebook, john thomas wri tes -- our next call is from boulder city, louisiana, john is a republican -- bosier city.

caller: i retired from the air force and a large chunk of my retirement is in an ira five- year cd that i got in 2003. when i retired i took half of my retirement in a lump sum. if i have it in a credit union which has the opportunity -- their policy is if i am 59 and a half, which i was, i can take out any amount any month with no penalty, but the numbers -- the interest on that seediness since 2003 -- and it is a five-year cd, so i rolled over after the five years -- and i will give you some real numbers, i was getting about $2,700 a month in interest every month. as i speak, i am looking at the number, now that's about $1,200. that is because that interest rates that i was getting -- and if my memory serves me, it was nearly 5%, is now in the 2%

category. at my age, i cannot take that money out and locked it up into something that might pay a little bit of interest or a lot more interest because at my age i'm getting to the point where i cannot take any risks with my money. i am reasonably secure, so it is not a big effect other than the dramatic drop in interest. i have paid off all my bills and i have no loans and no debts and my home is paid off and all my toys and everything, because i planned on that and spent the last 10 years of my life just prior to retirement planning and making sure that i had no outstanding debts. host: it seems that even though you have planned, the net effect is you have less discretionary money to spend on things which would then have an effect on the economy? caller: yes, and it has affected my life. but my father said don't develop

a lifestyle of rich and famous until you are rich and famous. i have never been rich and famous, so i managed to keep my lifestyle where i could afford it. i travel a lot in a mortar home and i just filled up my gas tank at $4.50 a gallon. and so, i am cutting back on things that i thought i would able to enjoy during my retirement because of the higher prices and inflation will really put the double whammy to us. that's one example of one citizen. i wish the free-market and the fed would get out of the business of artificially changing things. host: thanks so much. we were looking at the latest cd yields from "usa today" while john was talking. next is a call from philadelphia. is a republican there.

caller: good morning. we cast our votes on tuesday and i voted for ron paul. he supports the abolishment of the federal reserve system. i am not sure if he supports the repeal of glass-stegall. the federal reserve system is the number-one reason we have had deep depressions like every 20 years. the truth will come out soon. i hope we have a conversation about the 2005 federal takeover of banks. host: thanks, howard. from joseph ramirez on twitter -- and here is a dissenting total reserve president, only one of the committee that dissented, and he has been blown dissenter frequently.

here's the story that came out of this. -- the lone the cent dissenter. next up is cleveland.

hello to barbara. good morning. caller: good morning. it seems to me that with the interest rate solo that it's another opportunity for the republican leadership's to oppress the middle class and the poor. i'm talking about the student loan interest rates that they want to double at a time when our interest rates are at the lowest. when they loaned the $7 trillion to the banks, they did it at 0.0 %.1 i believe student loans are all homeland security issue. we cannot have a society if ignorance in america and think that we will be globally competitive. we ought to make it as easy as possible for young people to be educated or anybody, especially

in this global competition. host: thanks, barbara. in the financial times this morning -- the store looks at the political effects of the unemployment rate. when you look at this map, the job growth in the states that are the darkest colors has been less than zero. it's his job growth is slower than the national average in the swing states. the darker the color, the slower the job growth rate in that particular state. next is a call from texas. eli, good morning.

caller: i was calling about the congressman and all that. let me go back to the gentleman -- i was in an accident in 2000 and ended up on social security disability, which i pay for on my own because i make too much money. i lost my 401k and all my savings and now i'm on medicare. we need an amendment to get these congressmen to get rid of their luxurious lifestyle and see how they do on social security onor medicare. host: thank you. jim is on the line next. caller: the fed did not force

one person to buy tech stocks in the '90s or buy a house they could not afford to. the american people are greedy and the chase bubbles. they throw their money around to where ever there emotionalize. then they turn around when the smoke clears and say what happened, in must of been the boogeyman or the republican or the democrats. you can blame anybody on the housing issue. democrats were forcing banks to give loans to people that cannot afford it. it was a primary provision of the community reinvestment act. it was the way they raided the banks in the 1990's. the ridiculous notion that the federal reserve caused this, they could have, but we are the ones who created the policies the fed had to operate with because we vote for people --

politicians who want to increase our spending. the fed is operating in the mess that we created because of the people we vote for in congress. i wish people could see that more. some people were caught between a rock and hard place, but the fed did not force anybody to go crazy on bill states thinking it would never go down. to not see that now is unbelievable. the lady that called about the student loans, go get your student loan, go pay for your college. why force everyone to pay ridiculously low rates? there are so many telegrams and other things given out to help folks, too. republicans did not want a double interest rate it. that is a falsity that the democrats promote. they run on emotions instead of real logic. -- there are so many pell

grants and other things to help folks. thanks so much. running out of time. the new york times -- and from the washington times,

the next round of base closures. and on student loans, they have a story on the front page --

talking to you about interest rates. let's get a couple more facebook comments quickly. our last call is from pueblo, colorado. jan is a republican. welcome. caller: thank you. i'm confused about everyone wanting to go back to the gold standard. there's been such a limited amount of the gold that i think it would impoverish the entire world and would begin a new era

of rootless global exploitation. we will need to get our banks regulated again and get ourselves back on track. it's not always about the interest rates. it is how it is figured out. my kids own a home. 25% of what they make this principle. -- the payment that they make this principle. 75% is interest. my parents own a home but they have the exact reverse ratio. limiting the student loan interest is not going to help anybody. you can pay your student loan 20 years and pay exactly what you owe, you could still 03 times what you actually took out in loans. it's how the interest is done. i think we really need to get our banks regulated. host: thank you. our last voice is from twitter

from jim -- we will let that be the last word. we will take a break. when we come back we will go behind the headlines to the big story on walmart this week, concerns that it might have -- allegations that it might have to bribe mexican officials in order to do business in mexico. avon, a cosmetics company, also in the same situation. next we will go behind the headlines and learn that if the law behind the heart of the story, when it was enacted and why and what and-- how businesses are reacting to it today. we will be right back. >> welcome aboard the water taxi.

beautiful downtown oklahoma city. my name is captain ready. i live in oklahoma. vehicles explore the history and literary culture of oklahoma city, including the works of galileo? at the history of science collection at oklahoma university. >> the most important part of the book was on motions. when the book was published in 1632, the pope was angry that galileo had broken his promise. galileo's enemies joined together and the the result was his trial. this also is a copy that contains his own handwriting. this is like being able to look over his shoulder in the months leading up to his trial. >> may 5 and may 6, a local content vehicle in oklahoma city on c-span 2 and on c-span 3. >> where is the national public radio table?

[cheers] you guys are still here. that's good. i could not remember where we landed on that. >> this weekend on c-span, the 98th annual white house correspondents' dinner. president obama and late-night talk-show host jimmy kimmel headline the event before an audience of celebrities, journalists, and the white house press corps. coverage starts with the but copperopolis 6:30. what the entire dinner only on c-span. you can sync up your experience on line. find a celebrity guest list, highlights a pass dinners, and social media post. the white house correspondents' dinner, live saturday at 6:30 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> "washington journal" continues. >> christopher matthews is a reporter at dow jones newswires.

we asked him to take us behind the headlines to tell us about the law that's getting a lot of press coverage this weekend. the foreign corrupt practices act, because wal-mart is involved in an allegation about violating it. thanks for being here. guest: glad to be here. host: these are some headlines from the morning papers before we get into this. first, from mexico --

and a related story in the new york times -- i'm sorry, the wall street journal -- o.k. so pleaded a companies that are household names in the u.s., both have allegations of violating this law. what is the history of this law and what is the intent of congress had in passing it? guest: it is a law that has been on the books for a while, passed in 1977 in the wake of the watergate scandal. it came out that corporate

treasurers have been giving money directly to the committee to reelect president nixon and the sec started wondering, well, they had these funds and they're going right to the president, so where else are these funds going? they discovered that the slush funds were being used to pay for -- to pay foreign officials overseas as well. that's the background. carter pushed through the foreign corrupt practices act in 1977, makes it illegal for a company or person to pay anything of value to a foreign official or foreign government. it also has provisions that require companies to keep accurate books and records so they cannot mask the aside payments. there are minor exceptions for facilitation payments, which are small pavements to officials for routine business services. like getting electricity going, water going. that is a lot. it is a fairly simple law in the

states, but in the enforcement it can be complicated. host: a question of the heart of this, why would the american justice system care if a company was making bribes? in another sovereign bribes guest: i think that is a fair question to ask. i think there's a couple things. one, barbour is not a victimless crime. i think the world bank estimated that $1 trillion was lost to bribery in the last year. and so, while the victims are not in the u.s., the bribes to affect people in the countries where they're being paid. i think congress recognized that. i think they also recognized that it is bad for america's image abroad to be running around the world paying bribes. host: i would like to show our audience this chart from the blog that looks at the largest

penalties under the foreign corrupt practices act -- the new york times in a sidebar stories said the foreign corrupt practices act was really enforced or discussed for much of its history and today it strikes fear throughout the executives offices of companies with overseas operations. tell us about the enforcement history. guest: right after it was passed, there were some big cases in major companies like lockheed martin, general electric. then the law kind of remained dormant about 30 years. a few things happened around 2006/2007 that got enforcement increased. , a justice department major party guy came in there and beat the drums for more resources. he also had some wind at his back. the sarbanes oxley act really

required companies to take a look at control of their accounting practices and when this started taking a look, this all there were unaccounted for funds that may have been going to foreign officials. in the past five years the enforcement has wrapped up to an unprecedented levels. host: we will open up our phone lines for discussion with you. walmart has been in the headlines for the past weeks since the times broke the story. here's the charlie savage piece that mentioned the law we are -- the law that you're talking about. please join us in the conversation. quote from twitter --

question, as the republican-run justice department, they have a different track record about this particular law that you have been able to determine? guest: i don't think that's a fair criticism. the uptick will started on president bush' watched and has continued unabated in to president obama's administration. in terms of enforcement, it's been a fairly non-partisan issue. host: our first question comes from baton rouge, louisiana, tyrone is an independent. good morning. caller: >> good morning. i want to thank mr. mathews for his honesty about saying it is bipartisan. i think both parties engaged in this. i have two questions. usually the penalty is they pay a fine. do they keep on doing what they are doing after that and expand

their business? second, are you familiar -- is there any way we can find out about the federal reserve, because i always wondered who these people are. we can find out these companies and usually they just pay a penalty, but the federal reserve does criminal things all the time. you being with the dow jones, i thought you might know who these people are and can you put a fingertip on them? guest: the first part of your question, yes, they do pay fines. a lot of times or almost always one corp. -- the justice department also requires a lot of remedial steps they have to go through and check their internal controls, they have to fire people involved with this and really clean house. if they don't, and the justice department finds out they don't, then the next time around it will be even more severe.

so it is not just pay a fine and business is back to usual in principle. the second question, i cannot speak to that. this is not really deal with the fed, but it is an interesting question. host: let's listen to walmart's vice president, released a statement about walmart's handling of its internal investigation into bribery in its mexican division. >> we believe it is also important to keep a few things in context. the allegations in the new york times story about the decisions made in bentonville are more than six years old. six months ago, we launched an aggressive investigation under the auspices and supervision of the audit committee of the board of directors into the issues contained in the article. we are working quickly to determine what happened and are committed to getting to the bottom of this matter. number three, we are continuing to cooperate with federal law enforcement authorities.

the audit committee of the board has overseen the investigation and has comprised entirely of independent directors who are assisted by outside legal advisers and forensic accountants. the audit committee has been briefed on this matter on a regular basis and they have instructed the company to use whatever resources necessary to conduct an independent investigation. host: that is walmart's reaction. so here's a viewer on twitter -- where will this investigation and the charges actually lead? is there the possibility of a criminal prosecution? guest: there's a possibility. i think that one of the bigger criticisms of enforcement has been the have not gone after high-level executives at some of these major companies. siemens paid $800,000,000.90 of their executives are in jail,

that was to settle bribery charges. the justice department says they have got more serious about going after individuals and they have shown this to some degree. -- pai 800 million. they will be looking hard at the executives and will be thinking strongly about charging them. host: in addition to criminal proceedings, what are some of the other enforcement mechanisms or tools that the federal government has? to enforce has? guest: the laws don't enforced by the justice department and the a seasec. the sec and forces pretty large penalties. they require companies to the scourg -- discorge large

amounts of profits. liability for these companies when this thing comes along. there's a lot of risk involved when one of these investigations gets going. it's not just the justice department. host: on twitter -- guest: right. that's a fair criticism. people have gone to jail for violating, last year the longest ever sentence was handed out, eight years to a gentleman in florida. i guess the biggest name prosecution was a former head of was jack's family, he recently sentenced to jail. for the most part, a lot of people being sentenced to jail time are not executives at major companies. there are reasons for that. it's very hard to prosecute executives of the major companies. they have lots of resources.

they will lawyer up and make it difficult. it would be really interesting to see whether they pursue executives at walmart. from the story in the times, it looks like there could be some liabilities for these guys. host: the next question for chris matthews comes from chicago, bernie is a democrat. caller: i just want to say this is really a comedy act you've got going right now. what you have to do is go look and see how walmart got into chicago, how they paid off every black minister that they had money falling out of their pockets, they paid off the radio stations in chicago. there's no difference to this. i understand this is going on in new york right now. what they did is they eliminated union-paved gross restores. they did not create jobs. they lowered to the living standard of the people and it is no different.

i just don't understand how you don't cover that. guest: scpa only applies to bribes paid to foreign officials. there are domestic bribery laws that are enforced. one of the larger criticisms of the u.s. anti-corruption apparatus is maybe we don't do enough to go after domestic bribery. we actually fell in transparency international, a corruption group that ranks companies are perceived corruption. we drop in the rankings last year and a large part of that was because of domestic enforcement. some would say that is a fair criticism. host: talking about enforcement, this is from the wall street journal in its financial blog.

guest: i'm not sure you can sure you can take too much from that. there is a dedicated team of about 20 prosecutors there. it used to be five prosecutors. it has expanded. fcpa turned into a big business for law firms. a lot of these guys are going into private practice and making a lot of money representing people dealing with enforcement actions. host: here's the point of view from gary on twitter --

guest: that is another criticism you hear frequently. if we do not do it, the chinese or the russians will. china and russia have cut similar laws on the books. it will remain to be seen how they enforce them. one argument that would be made to counter that is bribery is not good for business. i was at the world bank last week. siemens had this bribery scandal, cleaned house, and they posted their strongest earnings in recent history. bribery is not efficient. you are losing money down the supply chain. that is not to say that certainly the russians, the chinese, and others might fill the void that we are stepping out of.

host: here is another scott -- septic -- skeptic. guest: that is it fair criticism. the differences you are paying directly for a business advantage, a contract, where as lobbying perhaps is more difficult to make that connection, but that is a criticism that is out there. host: fort laramie, florida. caller: i have a question and a comment. how does it directly affect americans if companies like walmart are making bribes in foreign countries? you basically answered this earlier. you said if we do not do it, the chinese and the russians well. it puts us on a level playing field. i understand when you say brides

are bad for business -- brides are bad for business. guest: i think that is a difficult question for the justice department to answer sometimes. when they go to trial, they often have to prove it is a victim -- there is a victim. the victim as often overseas. the intent of congress was to project a good image of america and abroad, and that was one of the larger reasons for the law. to the level-playing field, d >> have been against foreign companies, saw a lot -- there have been suits against foreign companies. the law applies to those that list on u.s. exchanges.

host: this quarter from this question from twitter. guest: i was not around in 1977. this came out of the watergate scandal. after it was revealed that the funds were going to the committee, the sec started and realize that the treasury's were being used as slush funds around the world. i cannot imagine companies were happy. host: birmingham, alabama. kathy is a democrat. caller: i am so glad you brought this up. wal-mart has been a thorn in my side for years. i saw a shell on the show on --

show on msnbc of all the plants they have in china. they had a woman who is 10-year- old brother was working at one of these plants. when i came down here to alabama, i could not believe this so-called union. they start workers at $7 an hour. what kind of union is that? wal-mart is supposed to be an american institution, but what really irks me is that i am on social security, and i have to shop at walmart because they are the cheapest place around, and they are not doing right by the people of this country, and by

the people of china. guest: i think one of the reasons this case has said so much attention is because it is walmart. they have labored and environmental issues. i spoke to a former federal prosecutors this week. the case does not that different than other cases the justice department sees all of the time. the reason it has generated so much attention is because this is walmart in the extensive documentation in the "new york times " of story. host: i am going back to a february article in the "the wall street journal."

host: some on capitol tell have been receptive to the argument, -- capitol hill have been receptive to the argument, including democrats. guest: the chamber has lobbied on this for two years and it is a serious issue for them. they argue that it is bad for american business. it is hurting u.s. companies. they would argue they are not trying to weaken a law. they want to know, for example, what is the definition of a foreign official? the justice department brings a lot of cases where the ford official as an official at a state-owned -- for an official at a state-owned company.

they want clarification. it will be interesting to see how this case effects the push. it cannot be good for the chamber's push. host: help us understand what would be behind this -- amending the spca is a potentially delicate undertaking -- f p ca -- fcpa is a potentially delicate undertaking. supporting the amendments to change it would be better for public images. host: -- guest: the ngo community is up in arms about this. they have been vocal about the chamber's polish, and the justice department has not been receptive as well. the democrats face a lot of pressure.

if they are trying to appease business constituencies without angering people that are generally democratic supporters. host: american hero on the twitter has this thought -- but guest: a i think that is accurate. the real victims are the people in this -- guest: i think that is accurate. the real victims are the people in these countries. countries are facing not only prosecution in the u.s., but they are being investigated in the pace -- place where they paid the bribe. host: new york. michael. democrat. caller: the company that everyone models themselves after it is apple. apple has to be the worst

offender. the only thing is they're so powerful they know they're not going to get caught. the company is the largest in the world now. the stock went from two dollars a share, to $600 a share. it is owned by the wealthiest people in america. these companies see apple make all of their products in china, a communist country run by maybe one dozen individuals, and the worst part is in america, where they should be making the parts and they have to follow laws, they did not make anything. millions of americans are out of work. tens of thousands of veterans are coming home out of work, and they continue to do business this way. it is a shame, and someone

should say something. there is complete silence about apple. what do you think about that situation? >> apple has not disclosed -- guest: apple has not disclosed any fcpa allegation. i am sure they have laws on the books about complying with a lot. -- with the law. we do not know of any scrutiny of apple under this law. there have been investigations of some tech companies. hp is under investigation. i'm sure they're aware of the law and the department of justice is looking at their competitors. host: you just underscored the chamber put the argument of defining the official, but how do you do that with the change

in culture from country-to- country? guest: it says a foreign official or the instrumentality of a foreign government. what the chamber wants is -- certainly, in the some of the country's the company that is controlled is controlled by the government. the chamber wants to know what percentage of voters it is required? bofa have to have power on the board is -- do they have to have the power on the board? prosecutors like flexibility. they like to be able to charge people for a wide range of things. it will be interesting to see how that shakes out. the justice department is working on guidance, which should be out in the next few months. it so -- host: emma rich -- is

in domestic policy for bribes called incentives? guest: there certainly are. host: gary, in new jersey. independent. caller: 5 heard the word bad -- i have heard the word law mentioned many times. the people vote for the people that make these laws. they do not in force 90% of them. the people have been enriched by the 1%. why don't people get smart and vote the incumbents out? if we vote them out of office,

maybe we will get somebody to represent us. this is ridiculous. i cannot understand how we come up with all of this corruption, and it stems from your representatives, whether it is the house or the senate. they're all the same. they are completely corrupt. both them all out. host: a thank you. a question on competitiveness -- do other companies we would do business with, especially western european countries have similar lots -- laws on their books? guest: europe has been a success story. there is an anti-bribery treaty on the books. in order to join, if you have to sign up. europe has gotten serious. the u.k. passed a stringent

anti-bribery law that went into effect last year. the germans have gotten very serious about investigating this stuff. a lot of this has come from the international community and the u.s. brow-beating them. host: there is this deal -- vie host: we are talking about the foreign corrupt practices act. next is a call from vermont. democrat. caller: corruption eliminates the competition, basically. so, for the biggest in the industry, it behooves them to get -- to start corruption, and have all of a little guys become corrupt also.

the thinking behind that is congress, or world bodies will legislate, and make tighter and tighter regulations and rules. what happens, and this happened in the banking industry, is that the liberals strangle the little guy. then, what happens -- all these rules strangle the little guy. the big guys then gobbled them up. it is a wise investment for the big guy to have this corruption because it puts the little guy out of business. guest: that is an interesting point. it is one the justice department mix. bribery is antithetical. you are not competing on the bride's -- on your goods and services. webber pays the most, gets a contract. i think small and medium-sized

companies are put at a disadvantage sometimes with complying with the fcpa, because it can be very expensive to do so. you have to have robust legal counsel, auditors, accountants, and sometimes those are costs that cannot afford. host: this comment from the and on twitter. host: let me conclude with where we started, the walmart case -- the outcome will determine the policy debate. how do you expect this to be watched in this town? guest: it will be interesting. it is on everyone's radar, but these things take a long time to investigate. two years or more. it will stay in the spotlight. the chamber's porsche will lie dormant for the time being.

i do not think it had a realistic chance in an election year anyway. this certainly is distracted from that. sec on enforcement will continue unabated. this is just an example of how serious they are. walmart faces a protracted haul. they will have to investigate this, it will cost them millions, and they might pay a huge fine host: thank you, christopher matthews, with this look behind the headlines. guest: thank you for having me. host: we are going to wrap up our studentcam competition, and we are pleased to introduce to you the young man who is our national brand prior lease water. -- grand prize winner. his name is matthew. when asked people around the country about the u.s.

constitution, for them to learn more about it, and tell us about one provision that interested them, and effected their lives. matthew, who is of japanese- american heritage, chose the concentration camp for his documentary. we will show you his documentary. he will be about eight minutes long. we hope you will stay with us to watch the work of this young man. you will meet him in a conversation with senator from hawaii, who as a japanese american lawmaker talks about his own field. let's begin with the documentary, "the constitution and the camps." >> this year's studentcam competition asked kids around the country part of the constitution was important and why.

here is "the constitution and the camps." [captioning performed by national captioning institute] ♪ >> neither the army nor the war relocation authority relished the idea, so the military and civilian agencies alike, determined to do the job democracy should with real consideration for the people involved i knew that if i did not tell my story, -- involved. >> i knew if i did not tell my story, my four nieces and three children would not hear what actually happened to us. we were shocked to see covered army trucks and soldiers with bayonets on their rifles. i could not get over the notion that we were going to be taken away and shot.

i could not believe what i saw. shoulders worst situated at strategic points. the area was encased in steel wire fencing, topped by three rows of wire. derricks were laid out in regimented form along the terrain. did not, citizens, because it is illegal to in prison -- they did not call a citizens because it is illegal to imprison citizens without due process. >> but they did in prison u.s. citizens without due process, over 110,000 of them. these citizens were uprooted from their home, taken away from their businesses, and sent to places like this. one of these citizens was my

great uncle. uncle john was a dental student in california at the beginning of world war two. he was rounded up, along with all other japanese americans, and sent to an internment camp. i traveled to the relocation camp to learn more about my uncle's experience. the camp is over 200 miles away from los angeles. there were 10 camps like this in remote locations where japanese-americans were confined. two months after the attack on pearl harbor, president roosevelt issued executive order 9066, which authorize the removal of japanese americans from their homes, more than two- thirds of them who were

american-born u.s. citizens. they brought with them only what they could carry from their homes. i wanted to understand how this happened to "john, and i wanted to learn what protect us from this happening again. experts have tried to explain why this took place. >> after the attack on pearl harbor, to not let anyone tell you there was not a lot of fear on the west coast. -- west coast. a japanese submarine was sighted off of santa barbara. there was fear that the japanese would also attack the west coast. the urging for the detention of the japanese came from the civilians, saying we do not have time to find out whether any of these people individually are big -- any of these individuals

are disloyal. >> by 1944, one of the most interesting things was there had never been a basis for holding these people, and at the time, the man in charge knew there was no basis. he had been told that by j. edgar hoover. he told them the fbi does not want these people moved, we know who the spies are, and they are not it. >> the due process clause of the fifth amendment is supposed to balance the right of the people. substantive due process requires that the government lives up to high standards if it tries to take away fundamental rights like life, liberty, or property. procedural due process means the government cannot take away your rights without an adequate

notice and a hearing before a neutral judge. the government took people to court who resisted, but those trials did not provide procedural due process because the company did not present its evidence fairly. one example is a citizen who is about my uncle's age when he was arrested. he argued that it was illegal to imprisoned him in the camps. >> in 1942, fred boldly opposed the forced internment of japanese-americans during world war two. after being convicted for failing to report for relocation, he took his case all the way to the supreme court. the high court ruled against him. 39 years later, he had his

conviction overturned in federal court, and powering thousands of americans, and gave him what he wanted most of all, the chance to feel like an american once again. >> he fought back and stood up for his constitutional rights. his daughter has educated. -- has dedicated her life to educating people about her father's legacy. >> the japanese americans had to be put into internment camps without any due process. there was no hearings. there were no trials. >> my father would want students to now it was a horrible experience. he thought it was in on just act, and his question was am i

an american, or am i not? >> i finished my trip by visiting the memorial site that committed the lives of the liberties that were lost their. the japanese characters say this is a monument to console the souls of the dead. for the living, it is a reminder that the constitution -- we all need to be protected of our civil liberties for the time the government decides to set them aside. after two years in the camps, my uncle served in the army and became a successful dentist. fred korematsu receive the medal of freedom for his lifelong commitment to constitutional rights. these stories remind us how vital due process is for protecting our freedom. >> go to studentcam.org to watch

all of the winning videos, and continue the conversation on facebook and twitter. host: our congratulations to matthew shimura, our national grand prize winner. altogether, stevens won more than $50,000. next, you will need matthew meet matthew shimura. we taped interview with him. also involved in the interview is senator daniel inouye. here's the into the right now. winner,udentcam's 2012 matthew shimura and senator daniel inouye, welcome.

let me begin with you, matthew, and how you came to the topic of japanese internment camps, and finding that part of the constitution that applies to that part of u.s. history? guest: i came to the topic after learning about my great uncle, and learning about him more to my family, i started researching the japanese internment through a number of books, and i became interested in the topic. host: those fed saw your documentary can see the long list of research that you went through -- articles, c-span's video library. he did a lot of research. how much time did you spend on it? guest: i think spent over 100 hours doing the whole thing by

research in many books like "looking like the enemy," and looking at supreme court cases and c-span footage of supreme court justices as well as talking to one of the lawyers who represented fred korematsu. host: were people willing to talk to you to be part of your documentary? guest: people were really nice about letting me interview them, and especially the daughter of fred korematsu, karen, who had a lot to say about her father's legacy, which included standing up for our rights, and making sure we stand up when things are not right. host: what part of the constitution applies to that part of our history?

guest: i talked about the due process clause of the fifth amendment, and i talked about procedural and substantive due process. procedural due process means your rights cannot be taken away without a fair judge and a jury, and substantive due process means the government cannot take away your natural rights, life, liberty, property. host: center daniel inouye, what was your reaction when you saw the documentary and the topic matthew shows? guest: it looked very professional, and to think that a young man produced this, it was very prophetic -- impressive. i later learned he was number one of 1200. that makes hawaii very proud.

host: what is the reaction to a ninth grader taking that part of our u.s. history, something that have been many decades ago? guest: obviously, it was not just casual, because his family was involved. i'm certain this matter must have been discussed with his family because you can sense the personal nature of this performance and production. host: is that true, matthew, is this something you and your family discussed before you did the documentary? guest: pardon? host: is the history of the japanese-american internment something you and your family discussed before you had to do this documentary? the call i had to do a lot of

research, -- guest: i had to do a lot of research, and i learned about the japanese memorial, and i was able to see the footsteps of my uncle, and how they lived their lives in the internment camps. host: during the process of this documentary, did your thoughts about the constitution or due process change at all? guest: well, i did not really know about due process and the fifth amendment as much as i did after i did my movie, but by doing the research i learned a lot more about the topic, and i became more informed about what really happened during the world war two period. host: daniel inouye, at this time, where were you? guest: i was a senior in high

school, and about one month later i was shocked to learn that the government of the united states had decided to designate the number 4c to japanese citizens, which simply put means you are an enemy alien, and it meant he were not fit to put on a uniform, for one thing, as we were considered to be disloyal or not trustworthy, and many of us resented that, and we petitioned the president of the united states, and about one year after december 7, we got the word that the doors were open, if you want to volunteer, go ahead. in hawaii, 87% of the eligible men volunteered, which is a

record that has not been touched since that time. however, we have no idea what was happening on the mainland, no idea that executive order 96 to six have been issued because i am from -- 9066 had been issued, because i've learned about the camps after i got to camp shelby for mice training. host: shall become a mississippi. guest: yes. host: at that point, your training to go fight for this country, and you are learning about the japanese-american internment. what was going through your mind? guest: the way it happened was unusual. the mainlanders' came in, we

would ask them where they're from, what your father does, and he has a shop or something like that, and fiction came into being because they looked different. they're much more refined. their english was much better. we got to a point where the senior officer thought maybe there regiment should be disbanded because we could not get together, however one of the gimmicks -- i call it a gimmick because they had social hours and discussion groups that did not work -- they sent invitations to us and to the company, by coincidence, all hawaii people, and when i saw the camp i was shocked, because

it was obvious then with machine-gun towers and rifles this was a concentration camp. host: how did the government justify it at that point? guest: if you study the history of war, you'll find that oftentimes hysteria takes over, especially with the sudden attack on pearl however -- pearl harbor, and pictures of but to most men and women with slanted eyes, so they put us all in one category. i'm happy to say that when the war was over the regiment that i served with was the most decorated unit in the history of the united states, and also had 22 medals of carter, which is

much more than most of the -- medals of honor, which is much more than most divisions, and just recently the president and congress is should the gold medal. host: matthew, what do you make about how the government has acted since then? you talk about it. do you think enough has been done to make up for that part of our history? guest: i think even though the government made a mistake back then, they have done a lot to make things right, especially the clinton administration in 1998, as well as the $20,000 given to each japanese-american family. i think the government has made -- tried to make things right. host: matthew shimura, the plan to keep studying this issue?

what do you think? guest: i want to continue studying this issue, especially in hawaii, because there were some japanese-american internment camps here that were not widely talked about. this is not the first time you have been part of the studentcam contest. for those live never participated and may want to next year, what is your advice for getting involved? guest: my advice for students is choose a topic you are interested in, feel passionate about, do research, write a script and a story, and really try to get your message and your perspective across. host: you are a grand prize winner, that comes with a sum of money. how much did you win, and what do you plan to do with it?

gee, i one $5,000 for myself, and $1,000 for my school. host: where do you want to go to college? guest: i want to go to college on the east coast, maybe film school. host: matthew shimura, thank you for joining us from hawaii. senator daniel inouye, thank you for your time. host: once again, our congratulations to matthew shimura. and, to all of the studentcam entrance, even if she did not win a prize, you learned a lot by doing that, and we watched the video is. the 75 students that one are on our website. we appreciate you taking part in this, and we hope you'll learn more. one of the things the

documentary does it is inspiring to think, learn, or want to know more and we would do that in the spirit of the competition, opening up our phone lines and talking more about that. of internment camps in our history. to do that with us, terumi rafferty-osaki is at american university here. he will talk to us about this time in history. that is my first question for you. is this just a snapshot in time of an unfortunate time in american history, or are there things in our society today we should draw from it? guest: there are definitely things we should draw from the time, especially with the marked notice of arab-americans, for example, and if you see a

movie like "besiege" and the peter king trials, and you understand these things happened. week of this ethnic group and place them in camps with -- we took this as a victim group, and placed them in camps. the fbi was against this process, but it happened by the u.s. government. that is what we need to realize. this happened, and there is a possibility it could happen again. host: join us in our discussion with your questions or comments. you can call us. the numbers are on the screen. we'll also take questions on twitter. what was the intent of fdr when he signed the executive order? guest: it is interesting. when you read executive order 9066, there is no mention of the internment, and there is not

even the word japanese in there. it was bureaucratic -- bureaucratic jargon that gave power to the general. host: were all the japanese- americans the ones in turned? guest: they were the ethnic group targeted. with regard to german-americans and italian-americans, they were sparsely in turn, and this was done more so by the federal government to the process of trying to the who could be a spy. during the hearings, -- vet who could be a spy. people were saying we could not intern people like george marshall. so, the italian, -- joe did not

, so the italian and german americans were not concerned. -- interned. caller: i would like to know about the due process that was given to the people that died in the attack on december 7, and if the roles were reversed, i believe the japanese would have killed a hundred 10 american citizens. -- hundred 10,000 american citizens. guest: is an interesting question. we have to think about what we do as americans, and as a democracy. two-thirds of the people place in this camp were american

citizens. host: a comment from twitter. i am 72, and i still grieve. what number of people all told were placed into camp? guest: there were 120,000 people. when she says that she still grieves, it is because people lived and died in that camp. you head 1800 people who never saw anything of the barbwire. host: how many are alive, and are there survivor organizations? guest: i do not know, but there are a number of survivor organizations. host: twitter --

host: let me ask about how the story is told in american history. how is it hot in american schools? guest: this is a question that -- taught in american schools? guest: this is a question that comes up often. there are excellent reading materials. when you get to the college level, there are definitely courses that teach this. there are a good number of courses at american university, for example. host: tennessee. tim, an independent. caller: the government is supposed to be a constitutional republic, but in the last 120 years or so, we are democracy, where 51% can inform what the

rest can do. we are supposed to be a constitutional republic with laws, checks and balances. host: why did you make that comment during this discussion? guest: c-span has been talking about the constitution, with the first amendment been one of the most important, as far as i'm concerned, and the fifth and the fourth are the most important. people get it twisted, saying the constitution can protect us. they have the legal marshall lost. that is a lie. when the president says is for the country's well-being, it is a lie, and he wants to take dictatorial power.

host: fdr used executive orders. was there any legal challenge of the time? guest: there definitely was. this is what fred korematsu was. there were " three or four cases. basically -- 3 or four cases. basically, the government had documentation that could have shared with regard to the fact that the fbi said we did not need to do this. by doing so, they did not receive a fair trial at the time. host: so the finding was? guest: fred korematsu was in violation when he did not report on time. another was in violation when he broke curfew. then, the interesting filing under habeas corpus, the court sided with her, and said you cannot incarcerate japanese- americans who are faithful

citizens, but, and this was huge, what happened was you can relocate anywhere except for back home on the west coast where you actually originated from. host: the fifth amendment to the constitution was the basis of this documentary,. here is what it says. host: in the case of the creation of these internment camps, was any aspect of to process followed? guest: no. host: no charges were brought against the people? guest: there were three parts that made this possible. part one was a definite form of

racism, and was brought on by part to a duel, wartime hysteria, and part three digit part to the wall, wartime hysteria, and -- part two, wartime hysteria, and part 3, the executive order. host: on twitter -- host: with a cancer on state property or federal property? guest: they were on -- where the camps on state property or federal property? guest: barack on federal grounds -- they were all on federal grounds. to understand this, they became

the second and third largest cities overnight in arizona when this happened. host: austin, texas. susan is an independent. caller: i grew up in alaska, and that tends to be left out of discussions about world war two, but they were the only state actually invaded by the japanese, and they also moved a lot of the alaskan natives, and it was not for the same reason. did did move almost 1000 -- they did move almost 1000 when the japanese invaded, and it was not a nice part of our history. they did it supposedly for safety reasons, but they were treated very for lee. the camps they relocated to were miserable, and they were not allowed to leave, so they were essentially prisoners.

anyway, i wanted to give a shout out for alaska, because people tend to forget about us. hitchcock's thank you -- host: thank you for your call. host: picked up on the unturned for their own safety theme? gee, this was a euphemism created by the government -- guest: this was a euphemism created by the government at the time. they said did not use the term interment or concentration camps. people were evacuated for their own safety and they were under the protection of the u.s. government. i think the government had acted the way george bush did after

9/11, you would not have [unintelligible] host: from twitter. host: how much coverage of this was there? guest: these were covered by national newspapers, but there was a lot of censorship with regard to the press. for example, pictures taken in the camps as part of government documentation could not be of guard towers, armed guards, or the barbwire defense. the government try to create this apology when they knew it was wrong to incarcerate these individuals -- methodology when they knew it was wrong to incarcerate these individuals.

caller: thank you for taking my call. i studied internment camps when i was in school. it was a harrowing situation for the people that underwent them. these politicians love to point to the constitution, but whenever they want to, they side-stepped the constitution. they kill the bad guy anwar al- awlaki, with a drone attack. he was an american citizen. they did not give him to process. right now, they have this national defence organization act, which allows them to side- stepped the constitution, and incarcerate people indefinitely without a charge. no charge. if you could imagine that, no charge, and no trial. if somebody came anywhere, and

killed everybody in there, i did not care who they were, they would get a trial, but they could do them to whoever they say we can in cars rictus person, no charge, no trial -- interest rate this person, no charge, no trial. -- incarcerate this person, no charge, and no trial. it is terrible, because they want to hold up the constitution, but then they side-stepped around, the same way they did with the japanese americans. >> host: -- host: lancaster, pennsylvania. thank you. guest: it is our duty as citizens to make their it is -- make sure there is justice for all. people have to understand what

the constitution means for us, and then be able to voice our opinions to political leaders. host: react to this tweet from john in north carolina . guest: this is the idea of the war without mercy, and it is kind of like when you start walking down the path where violence begets violence, what is our responsibility as individuals and as a government? should we walked down the same path? host: joe, houston. an independent. caller: there was a man in one of the internment camps in california, and when he got out, he came to austin, texas, worked hard, made a lot of money, but a few acres in the middle of

austin, made a beautiful japanese garden, and donated it to austin, and he donated it because america had been such a wonderful country to live in. we need more people like that. host: thank you. desist from seattle. mike is a democrat to -- this is from seattle. mike is a democrat. caller: i have a comment and question. my comment is that knowing we were in a time of war, i know a lot of people disagreed with the camps, but for the protection of our country, i could see why we would certain people in these camps, but at the same time there should be a way to distinguish who are american citizens and who are here under false pretenses. my other question for the guest

is, you know, i am hawaii in, and nobody ever talks about the effect that pearl harbor had on the hawaiian people. i just want to know if you could comment on that, or answer to anything, because the only thing i ever heard is an apology by the clinton administration, and my family talks about the pain and the loss of our family members. it's called thank you. guest: what i would say about how what -- host: thank you. he called what i would say about coli is all i had a different experience in world war -- hawaii is hawaii had a different experience in world war two. did not incarcerate on hawaii

because they knew it would destroy the economy of hawaii. that is the main reason they did not do so where pearl harbor took place, but did so on the mainland. host: were the young people in the camps able to continue going to school? guest: this is one of the major issues. the camp created their own schools, and what happened was someone in the middle, the younger generation started asking questions like if we are a democratic society, why are we in camps? it became an arena for japanese and caucasian school teachers. it was a really difficult time

for education, and later on they were actually released to go on to american colleges, those that would accept them. host: in 1945, when the executive order was rescinded, how many were able to go back home? guest: what executive order really wanted to do, and what fdr's approach was was to disperse the japanese population and create pockets rather than japanese-american towns and communities. a good number went out to the west coast, but it was not as strong or as vibrant esprit-war -- vibrant. that created a lot of the west coast tensions from the beginng.