there is some government role in this as well. everybody at some point is going to be called to discuss this and to account for what happened. host: we talk a lot about the folks who are signing up and their experience with these websites. here is a front-page story from saturday's "washington post.". >> relieve the last few minutes of this discussion to go live to the u.s. house. members are returning for short speeches and legislative work. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father conroy. the chaplain: let us pray. we give you thanks for giving us another day. prior to the great compromise, benjamin franklin addressed the constitutional convention. we indeed seem to feel our own

want of political wisdom since we have been running about in search of it. in this situation of this assembly, groping as it were in the dark to find political truth, in scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us, have we now forgotten our powerful friend? lord, you are the powerful friend referred to by franklin, and we turn again to you to ask that your wisdom might break through the political dark of these days. bless the members of the people's house and all of congress with the insight and foresight to construct a future of security in our nation's politics, economy, and society. may they as you be especially mindful of those who are poor

and without power. may all that is done today be for your greater honor and glory, amen. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from south carolina, mr. wilson. mr. wilson: everyone, including or guests -- our guests in the gallery. please join in. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek

recognition? mr. burgess: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute. mr. burgess: i thank the speaker. consumers will be able to go online. they'll be able to get a determination of what tax subsidies they are eligible for. they'll be able to see premium net of subsidy and they will be able to sign up. those were the words spoken by the head of the office of consumer information insurance oversight three weeks ago in a committee hearing of the energy and commerce. i had asked for a yes or no answer to the question, will the exchanges be ready on october 1? you heard his answer. in "the new york times" this weekend, a very insightful article from the start, signs of trouble at the health portal. the exchanges have been called excruciatingly embarrassing by no less than the president's press secretary for his first term. he went on to say, i hope some

people are fired. those people who were supposed to be able to make this work. the blame shifting between contractors and agency officials is just beginning. further quoting from the article in the "new york times" this weekend, these are not glitches, said an insurance executive who participated in many conference calls on the federal exchange. the extent of the problem is pretty enormous. at the end of our calls people would say this is just awful. but here's the deal. everyone is required to sign up for this enormously embarrassing glitch that has been foisted upon us by the executive branch. it's time for us to stand down on the individual mandate. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from connecticut seek recognition? >> request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. courtney: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, the worst kept secret in washington, d.c., is there is a majority in the house of representatives to reopen the government today. to reach that grand compromise that father conroy spoke about a few minutes ago.

over 30 house republicans have said that they would join democrats to pass a clean c.r. which the president has said he would sign on the spot. it has already cleared the senate, and we could end the damage that's being inflicted on this country every passing day. day 14 is where we are today. our national guard, our veterans, meals on wheels. the list goes on and on. national institute of health. they are being crippled by this shutdown. and the power is here in this chamber to end it by signing a discharge petition which was filed on saturday morning. if the speaker will open the bill to the floor, then the members should do it. we are elected to represent our people in our district, not to represent the leaders of our caucus. end the shutdown. sign the discharge petition. end the nightmare that this country is going through. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlelady from north carolina, ms. foxx, seek recognition? ms. foxx: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. foxx: thank you, mr.

speaker. 1984 then senator joe biden had to make a choice about whether to support a federal debt limit increase. he said, quote, i must express my protest against continually increasing the debt without taking positive steps to slow its growth. senator biden voted not to raise the debt ceiling. today my philosophy on raising the debt ceiling is very similar to vice president biden's. we can't keep bumping our -- upping our credit limit without taking steps to get our future debt under control. 14 days into this federal government shutdown, and mere days away from exhausting government 16.7 trillion credit limit, the time for bipartisan solutions is now. the united states should always pay its bills, but the president and members of congress are responsible to take steps to reduce those bills for the future. both parties need to be committed to this responsible reality. i yield back, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentlelady yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina, mr. wilson, seek recognition? mr. wilson: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, on january 14 of this year, the president spoke at a press conference saying, quote, i think if you look at the history, getting votes for the debt ceiling is always difficult and budgets in this town are always difficult, end of quote. the federal government has been shut down for two weeks. the president of the united states has a job, it is to govern. because of his lack of leadership, american families are experiencing smaller paychecks, limited or no access to government service, and tremendous uncertainty surrounding their future. although i'm glad the president did finally engage in partial negotiations with house republicans, i find it very disappointing that it took 10 days to do so. especially seeing as he believed our current challenges to be so difficult. our country is headed down a path of insol van hollency,

destroying jobs. over the coming days it is my hope the president will take his responsibilities to negotiation seriously and work with house republicans to reduce spending and reopen the government's doors. in conclusion, god bless our troops. we'll never forget september 11 and the global war on terrorism. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the house -- the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives. sir, pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on october 14, 2013, at 1:25 p.m. that the senate passed senate 812. with best wishes i am, signed sincerely, karen l. haas. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the house will stand in recess subject to the call of the chair. >> we are opening our phone

lines as the house gavels in out and the president gathers a group of congressional leaders of the white house this afternoon on the government shutdown and the debt ceiling. that meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m. eastern erie it we have the phone numbers on the screen because we would like to get your thoughts on the government shutdown. here are the numbers -- this bill is dealing with indian

affairs. there'll be votes at 6:30 eastern. you will see live coverage here on c-span. there is an air of optimism as congressional leaders are gathering with the president today. this afternoon the president said there has been progress in the senate toward resolving a standoff in the nation's that in the -- and the partial government shutdown. vice president joe biden is scheduled to attend. should there be any news that comes out of that meeting we will have it for you here on c- span. our phone calls. first call is frank in ohio on the democrats line. >> hello? hello? >> go ahead.

my comment is that i am a veteran, currently disabled. i watched on c-span a couple of weeks ago when they were voting on federated's benefits. every single democrat voted against us except a handful. every republican voted for us except a handful. memorial andour may not able to get my disability compensation check because of these people in washington, especially the democrats that i will never vote , thank you for your service, and this is the thank you they give me?

a slap in the face. how am i supposed to pay my bills? i think the republican to stand behind the veterans. i hope to god we change every one of them people in washington , especially the democrats. thank you. >> we thank you for calling this afternoon. martin is next in simi valley, california, independence line. i was listening to this man talk right now. it is infuriating. i am an independent, and informed voter. i watch these guys bicker. i must say that i watch democrats on c-span over and over again sticking their finger andhe eye of republicans then in the same breath asked why won't you work with me? why won't you work with me to solve these problems?

i don't see any negotiation coming from the democrats sign at all. that is my comment. thank you. you are next in southport maine, republican caller. >> i am so disgusted with our president. i have never seen the president get on national television and create havoc and despair and tell people that the stark -- that the stock market is going to crash. this idiot that we have as a , the man does not know what he is doing. this is what happens when you put a man in a position that does not know how to hold a public office. the democrats don't want to shut down. advantage of every

crisis we can, that's good policy. president --seen a i thought this president was going to do something. peoplegoing to bring together and get things done. this is the thanks that the president it's for people. when we made a mistake, we had better get this out -- this president should be totally impeached. have a nice day. thank you. >> thank you for your call. just a reminder to all of our callers to try to stay away from the name-calling as we continue to take our calls this afternoon. both sides sounding optimistic .s congressional leaders

there is a chance we could default. here's what the president had to say this afternoon. >> we are willing to set aside a sum of their partisan concerns in order to do what is right for the country. we stand a good chance of the faulting. the faulting would have a potentially devastating effect on our economy. whawhether it is small as is pe not getting paid on time, we have had a damming effect because of the shutdown. that damage would be rightly if we make sure the government is paying his bills. the spirit that is shown by all of these outstanding volunteers is going to carry over in the meeting with leadership this afternoon. they can solve this problem

today. differencemean the is between democrats and republicans go away. that is what elections are for. between elections we're supposed to be governing and we are not supposed to be hurting the very people who sent us to represent us -- sent us to her present them. i hope that spirit holds true during the course of discussions today and over the next several days. mena is collins of involved in the negotiations over the debt ceiling and the government shutdown. she had this to say -- a democrat from california, your thoughts? >> they are talking and talking and talking.

the increasing of the debt limit without any condition for the public, the public knows exactly [indiscernible] public, the public knows exactly what position each person is in. >> joyce's calling up next. >> i have been watching c-span for days and days. i am one of those people that they are talking about that -- with the insurance. i have to pay out-of-pocket for at least two years for my fees.ne and my doctor's i have back problems. right now i have the insurance. right now i think it is a great thisance to have read really helps a lot of people.

i think that god is going to step in and help everybody bless everybodyry -- for that says obama is not doing a good job i think he is doing what he can do. he can only do so much. for theant to thank him ones that have all the money. thank you. to columbia, missouri on the republicans line. >> i am from columbia, mississippi. i am from the south. >> that is my mistake, i am so sorry. >> that's all right. is ourwould like to say president, since he has been into office, has done nothing

for this country other than to split us, make racial activity come back in full force, and as far as what is going on in washington now this president wants a blank check. country,hold in this anybody that runs a business or household knows that if you have a budget you have to stay in that budget. do not go in the red. this is where our country is now. , whichernment is too big is against the constitution to buy insurance we do not want. we did not even have a chance to vote on if we wanted it or not. i think that instead of arguing about -- the senate arguing about, work with me, work with

me, i think what needs to be taken up the senate -- forget about the debt ceiling. just close the doors on that. president of the united states, get somebody in there that will work with the not dominate and enforce his wheel on the people of the united states -- enforce his will on the people of the united states. >> the senate gaveled in at 2:00 this afternoon with both leaders, mitch mcconnell and majority leader harry reid, both expressing optimism as they plan to attend a meeting with the president this afternoon. that meeting is getting underway at 3:00 at the white house. looking at some of your remarks -- theyook.com/c-span, will vote to impeach him. if you want to save this country from the tea public and taliban

-- truman said -- if you cannot convince them, confuse them. that is from facebook.com/c- span. andelcome your thoughts comments. mark is in franklin new hampshire on the democrat's line. >> the elderly gentleman that called an earlier, i feel for him. the democrats wanted to go to shut down with republicans, they have tried 18 times in the past six months. they said, let's sit down.

he will enforce the shutdown and make the democrats -- they want to open this, they want to pay for that. >> thank you for your call, and thank you for your comments. --ority leader harry reid ending a two-week partial government shutdown as president obama called congressional leaders to the white house for an end to the impasse. we are getting closer, harry reid told reporters come after he met with mitch mcconnell. the two came to the floor during opening remarks in the senate today, here's what they had to say expressing optimism toward

settling the impasse toward the government shutdown. >> negotiations continue between the republican leader and me. i am very optimistic that we will reach an agreement that is reasonable in nature this week. we will begin long-term negotiations to put our country on sound fiscal footing. i deeply appreciate my friend, minority leader, for his diligence effort -- for his diligent efforts to come to an agreement. >> let me just echo the remarks of my friend harry reid. we have had a -- an opportunity to have some very constructive can -- very constructive exchanges and views about how to move forward. those discussions continue and i share his optimism that we are going to get a result that is going to be acceptable to both

sides. >> both of those men heading into the meeting this afternoon with the president, beginning at 3 p.m. eastern as we continue with your phone calls. laura is calling from sanford, michigan on our independence line. -- on our independence line. line.our independent >> i think the rate -- i think the representatives need to go in as people and represent us the way they are supposed to. if they cannot do that they need to have their paychecks cut, they need to be ousted out of there. to get all new representatives into the house so we can go on and live like we used to. we have so many people without food and what do they do you go -- what do they do? they cut checks. -- money we send over she's

overseas should be here taking care of the people who do not have food. i think it is time these men grow up and quit being children. >> next, a republican collar from illinois, it is jerry. untilas a republican about 10 days ago prettied up i have been a republican. now i do not know what i am. when i vote republican, i do not vote for 25 dirty people -- 25 or 30 people to run a wing of the republican party. if they feels -- if they feel that strongly about their police, let them start their own national party. let us republicans get back to being republicans. that is all i have to say. thank you. last -- you you are are our last caller. >> i would like to let everyone know that the president does not

appropriate money and i would appreciate -- i love c-span to death. i have been watching c-span ever since 1979. , you do not respect let the people know that the president does not appropriate money. he only does the mandate part, right? if you all would let the people know that it is congress that passes the bills, which we know has control of the house, the senate cannot do anything without the house. the house and the senate has to get together on these bills and see the president sign it. mostly who is responsible for the trillions of dollars in debt is the republicans. all of that money paid off.

we got clear of most of the damage of the bush era's. all the tea party, just know you are human beings first. you are human beings first. when ms. reid knocks at your door, god forbid, maybe obamacare, the affordable care act, can help all of you all. have a good day. >> thank you for calling in. thank you for your calls and participation. president obama meeting with congressional leaders this afternoon at the white house. that meeting is set to begin in half an hour. if there is any news at all from that meeting we will certainly pass it onto you. as you can see the president and vice president joe biden will be there, senator mitch mcconnell, majority leader harry reid, and speaker john bane are all taking part in that meeting this afternoon. on friday the family research council held its voters summit in washington dc. among the speakers were mike

lee, ted cruz, and rand paul. this portion from the all-day summit is just under two hours. [applause] >> good morning. welcome everyone. welcome to the eighth annual values voter summit. the government may be shut down but the values voter summit is open and we are ready to do business. you may have noticed that it is really not a shutdown. it is a slowdown. some have asked what is a slowdown. just think of it this way, it is like being and a perpetual tsa line. nobody seems to be moving but you still have to and your pockets.- empty your

[applause] the president's barricades may have prevented vacationing families from touring our nation's parks, he may have used them to keep our veterans from visiting the memorials that there courage and sacrifice inspired. to tryused his barricade to keep our voices down in america. it is time that we let him know the he is not going to keep voice of the american family from being heard in our nation today. [applause] we start ourt values voter summit by removing these barricades. the best thing to do is to remove these barricades off the stage to show them that nothing is going to keep us back. the second thing we need to remove is the eric hayden of

obamacare. you, are you ready? take them away. are you ready to let your voice be heard here in our nation's capital? that do not convince me. are you ready for your voice to be heard here in our nation's capital? [applause] over the next 48 hours, you are going to hear some of the conservative movement, greatest leaders and thinkers. i have no doubt you will be inspired, you will be informed, you may be entertained at times. anythingat more than

you will be engaged in doing the work necessary to turn this country back to its founding principles. those principles that were so clearly articulated by the founding fathers in these words, "we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed . they don't have our consent to take our freedoms and liberties. that message will be sent this week. [applause] ofow have the privilege

officially calling the to any 13 values voter summit -- the 2013 values voter summit into session. i cannot think of a better leadoff to this year's value voter summit than our first speaker. that wass leadership instrumental in finally getting the republican leadership to challenge the leadership by simply doing the will of the people, to stop this train wreck we know is obamacare. you have seen him in the news , saying if the president cannot follow his lob and the people should not fund it. mike lee has spent his career as an attorney, defending the basic liberties of americans and the tireless advocates of constitutional principles. today he fights to preserve america's propounding --

america's founding document. thatan early age he has a he has acquired a deep respect for the constitution. his father served as the solicitor general under ronald reagan and would often discuss there is aspects of the constitutional doctrine around the kitchen table. the average family discussion. what a great example of family time well spent. please help me in welcoming the first speaker for the 2013 values voter summit, senator mike lee of utah. [applause] >> thank you very much and thanks to all of you. it is great to be here, it is a

privilege to be with you right here today. i want to start this morning to start this morning by telling you a story i first heard from a man named imo filaments -- named imo phillips. he told a story about how he was walking across a bridge late one night. there were no automobile traffic on that bridge. there was no one on the bridge at all. he was able to walk on the middle of the bridge. it was a bridge that stretched over a long river. it was high enough so that anybody who fell off that bridge would not have survived the impact. he saw a man standing on the outside of the guard rail as if getting ready to jump. he knew east on the height of the bridge at the man would not survive the fall. he surmised that the man was contemplating ending his life. determined not to allow this to happen he stuck that he stopped and engage the men in

conversation. he asked first if you as a believer and believed in god. the man said, "yes." he said, "me, too. are you a christian?" "yes." "me, too." "what denomination are you?" "well, i'm a baptist." "me, too! northern baptist or southern baptist?" [laughter] "northern baptist." "me, too. northern conservative baptist or northern liberal baptist?" "northern conservative baptist." "me, too!" northern conservative baptist great lakes region, or northern conservative baptist eastern region?" he said, "northern conservative baptist great lakes region." "northern conservative baptist great lakes region council of 1879, or northern conservative baptist great lakes region council of 1912?" he said, "northern conservative baptist great lakes region council of 1912." i said, "die, heretic!" and i pushed him off. [laughter] that should be a reminder to us all. we have to remember it is far more important to keep our eyes fixed on potential conservative converts than finding heretics.

the principles that unite us are the supposed that help position us to win the hearts and the minds of voters across this great land. too often we stop thinking about the things that matter the most. we get caught in the thick of things. so caught up we stopped thinking big and often stop thinking at all. like 17 jillion dollars of debt. widespread government dysfunction. obamacare and much more. i want to tell you a story about my boys. 18 years old. james and john. they are good boys. they go to church. they read their scriptures. 4.0 students. on this day we were listening to

the radio in my car. they were listening to a song we have heard many times. a song i had not listened to very carefully in the past. all of they said in, i started listening to the words. i realize these words were not necessarily good. there were not any words of any god fearing father would want his voice hearing. i pointed it out to them. this is a raunchy song. this is terrible. my son john, without batting an eye, said, "dad, it is not bad if you do not think about it." [laughter] i thought, my son john must be advising the president of the united states. [laughter] [applause] $17 trillion debt is not bad, but only if you do not think about it.

if you do think about it, that is horrible. the very best argument against obamacare is the president's conduct during the first 10 days of the shutdown. look at what has happened. he is using the power of the federal government to win a political argument. what happens when we turn over some of the most private and intimate decisions in our lives? when will that be used as a tool against us? you must stop it and defund it. we cannot accept it. [applause]

ted cruz and others who have stood with us -- [cheers and applause] by the way, i see my friend with us this morning. thank you, sir, for sending a great son to washington. [applause] ted cruz and i have been criticized for our actions in the attempt to defund obamacare. we make no apologies. we stand with the people. [applause]

you all are here today because you are thinking about it. our party, my party, the republican party is at its best when we think. unfortunately, some people succumb to the notion that we cannot inc. deeply in the middle of big battles -- think deeply in the middle of the data. this is exactly what we should be doing. we should do it today and every day. when we stop and come back home to being the party of big ideas, good things happen. the bigger our ideas, the more we succeed. ronald reagan, a conservative revolution. george w. bush compassion. they all showed in their time that it is the ideas and the principles rather than the

personalities or interest groups that unified the republican party and propelled it to electoral success and governing success. lately it seems you have not had nearly enough of either. some say it is because we need better candidates. some say it is the cousin we need a better message. others say it is a dispute about tactics and strategy or even about technology. certainly those things all play a part. to my mind, what the party of ideas is really missing is ideas. for too long, republicans have put off the difficult task of developing a principle -- conservative reform agenda -- to meet many of the new challenges of the 21st century. there a many reasons why this is so. the biggest of all is that conservatives often fall into a trap. a trap that involves defining

ourselves by what we are against. against big government, debt, higher taxes, more regulations, and obamacare. we are against to that. perhaps we have invested nearly as much time and energy communicating what we as conservatives are for. i'm talking more than the policies we advocate for. conservatism is not about the bills we want to pass. it is about the nation that we want to be. for conservatives, politics is far more than a means. it is an end. what conservatives are really for is not an agenda for government. it is a vision of society, a view of the world we want to build together. that is a word. it is essential. it is too often overlooked.

it is part of what we as conservatives believe. we are all committed to principles of individual liberty, individual rights, and personal responsibility. the very reason we fight for individual freedom is the strength, the vitality, and the values of communities that free individuals for them. to bigernative government is not just small government. the ultimate alternative to big government is a thriving, flourishing nation of cooperative communities where your success depends on the quality of your service. ,t is a free enterprise economy where everyone works for everyone else, competing to see who can figure out the best way to help the most people. it is a voluntary civil society where free individuals come together, involuntarily, to meet each others needs, to fill in the gaps, and to make sure that

no one gets left behind. this occurs among individuals in communities, not as a result of a government mandate. www.c-span.or www.c-span.or[applause] despite what people may think, conservatism has never been a vision of isolated atomized loners. ours is a vision of husbands and wives, parents and children, neighbors and neighborhoods, volunteers and congregations, bosses and employees, associations, and friends. we don't simply want smaller government. that is necessary but not enough . we want stronger neighborhoods and more baroque immunities. we understand what liberals do not.

freedom does not mean you are all on your own. freedom means we are all in this together. the value we place on community is based on the value we place on the first and most important human community of them all, the family. [applause] conservatives have argued for years, decades in fact, that families must be at the core, the very center of our worldview on issues likes cool prayer, or the right to life, or traditional marriage, homeschooling, conservatives have said protecting the family is the fit -- is the single most important part of our agenda. and it is. today some critics will say times have changed. some will say we have to change with them. some will say we have to reach out to be on our conservative faith.

they say we have to change the way we think and talk about families. it may surprise you to hear me say this but i think they make a great point. times have changed. we do need to broaden our field. we need to change the way we talk about the family. ultimately the critics have it exactly backwards. the problem is not that conservatives have focused too much on the family, but far too little. [applause] for the rapid changes we have seen in recent years in america have only made family more important, not less. the family is the foundation not only of our society, but also of our economy and culture. our republican form of government as well. the family is indivisible from any other facet of america's history or its destiny.

,risis like divorce fatherlessness, and social isolation, while moral in nature have social and economic consequences in the same way that economic problems like unequal opportunity, stagnant wages, and the spiraling cost of ,ouse and health care education moral threats to family stability and to our national success. working families are bearing the brunt of all of these things. as a result, far too many are falling behind. abraham lincoln explained that the role of government should be for every citizen at every stage of life, something encompassed by the following statement -- he said the purpose is to lift artificial weights from all shoulders. he clears the path of lovable pursuit for all.

lincoln's insight offers an almost perfect distillation of what america and what the republican party is at its best and what they stand for, equal opportunity for all to pursue happiness. this foundational american idea is hanging by a thread american society used to be defined and driven by our yearning desire to rise. we find a new and very unnatural stagnancy, we find the underprivileged trapped in poverty. sometimes for generations. we find a middle class on our treadmill, working harder every simply are to maintain the economic security and social cohesion that were once taken for granted. wethe top of our society

find a political and economic elite that having reached the very highest rungs has held up the ladder behind itself, denying others the chance to even climb from wall street to k street to pennsylvania avenue we find special interest, increasingly insulated by law from the rigors of competition and the consequences of their own mistakes and all of this points to what is an inequality crisis today to my a crisis not of unequal wealth or income, but of an equal opportunity. progressives from the president isdown say that any quality the failure of the free market resulting from insufficient government intervention. we know better. if you look closely you start to notice the opposite is true in

today many artificial weights and obstacles are blocking these paths of lovable pursuit and are themselves dysfunctional government policies. it is government policies that trapped for children in schools, trapped for families in broken neighborhoods, that penalized single parents for getting raises or getting jobs or getting married. it is government policies that inflate costs and limit access to quality schools and health care, that hamstring badly needed innovation and higher parentsn and penalize and their own children. this opportunity crisis is real. it is just as real as the liberals flaw seductive big government proposals to create

their version of opportunity. not enough for us as conservatives to simply oppose liberal ideas. we have to propose conservative for read true victory voters may find their way down the road less traveled. it is long past time for conservatives to take it. bestovement is at its very and we take on big challenges. timereat challenge of our is the challenge of the forgotten family, the honest and noble parents across the country trying to make ends meet in a society, in an economy, and a democracy that seems increasingly rigged by washington against them and against their children. it is time for a new conservative reform agenda that levels the playing field and finally meets the challenges facing working families, to give underprivileged families a chance to work their way into the middle class, to give

families struggling to say in the middle class their fair chance to make a good living and build a good life, to make it easier for couples to start families, for entrepreneurs to start businesses, and for volunteers to start civic and charitable organizations, to help all americans at every step along the path of success to over the common the obstacles that even big government in this town -- the gives even big government in this town a chance for better opportunity. it is time for a new approach to taxes. [applause] also to eliminate tax discrimination against parents and families. [applause] i am working on a bill to design -- on a bill designed to do just that. it is time for a new approach to education, to break up the special interest cartels that

hold back our children and young adults. education is opportunity. government has no business telling students where they can and cannot go to get it. it is time for a more bold approach to transportation. neighborhoods,w new communities, new families, new opportunities. family --rastructure infrastructure money that could be used on those families, congress weighs on special giveaways. rethink ouro dysfunctional welfare system that holds poor families down. and it is time to reform a

corrupt corporate welfare system that props big businesses. we need to find new ways, conservative ways that rely on free enterprise and institutions of civil society to help young , afford a married home, raise and educate their children, and retirement security themselves. our movement has always identified with those americans who have climbed that ladder of success. and we always should. but our ideals demand we identify even more with those americans still on the bottom rungs, where the climbing is harder, more dangerous, and far more lonely. we need to stand up for those

americans that no one else will, for the unborn child in the world -- [applause] for the poor student caught in the failing school, for the reformed father languishing in prison and the fatherless sons facing alone the dangers of the street, for the single mom who

is working two jobs, but still ensnared in big government poverty traps, for the elderly and the disabled, dehumanized by the washington, d.c., government bureaucracy, and for the splintering neighborhoods that desperately need all of these people. these families, these moms and dads, these grandparents and kids, they are waiting for us. they know more government is not the answer. they know government only divides them. they also know too often our party has ignored them. that has to change and it has to change today, it has to change right now, because every hour, every day the government leaves more and more american families behind. it is time for conservatives to remember those forgotten families, in word and in deed, in our hearts, and in our political agenda. it is time to remember the most audacious entrepreneurs are not high-tech people in silicon valley or new york, they are a

young couple in church saying i do. it is time to run for most important investments in our nation's future are not issued on wall street, but they are sleeping in their mother's arms at the maternity unit of the your local hospital. to be truly pro growth and productivity, our agenda must be truly pro family. [applause] that means we have to be pro family not just on some of the issues, but on all of them. i believe if conservatives look a new to the challenges facing the american family, we will quickly discover opportunities to meet, united and undaunted,

the challenges facing our movement, our economy, and our nation, building a new conservative show agenda of reform around these moms and dads and kids about remembering america's values and especially america's forgotten families. it is the path for restoring the greatness of our nation. and if at long last conservatives finally take that road less traveled, it will make all the difference. [applause] thank you for all you do. may almighty god, the god of abraham and isaac and jacob, bless you all, and god bless the united states of america. ["stars and stripes forever" plays]

>> thank you. speaker has recovered from his 21-hour filibuster. but i had to tell him we could only give you 20 minutes. coming to introduce him is the founder and president of the media research center, one of the sponsors of the summit, and for exposing liberal bias by watching countless hours of mainstream media coverage so we do not have to, would you not only welcome, but would you thank brent bozell. >> good morning. how are we doing today?

all right, ladies and gentlemen, there is a whole lot of talk in washington today, and there is a lot of things being said, a lot of things are not being said, and there are a few things that need to be said. i for one am sick of the whining that is going on in the republican party and from some and from some in themovement. conservative movement itself. just the other day, in the washington post, i read from one folk and serve it up, the strategy to defund the -- needed aare act strategy and if the authors had one, they did not sure when. came another whiner "i think it was very possible for us to delay the implementation for obamacare for a year until ted cruz came along and crashed and burned." this is what they didn't tell you.

until ted cruz came along with mike lee, they had no plan b. they had no plan eight. -- they had no plan a. thinking, has been more blatant in his intellectual dishonesty than senator john mccain. [applause] you.is what he told he said i can tell you in the u.s. senate, we will not repeal and defund obamacare, we will not comment and to think we can is not rational. this is what he does not want you to know. in 2010 tom a when he was campaigning for his life, it will be repealed. that is what he said. repealwe were going to

of on the care was a false premise and we did the american people a great disturbance -- the service. this is what he did not want to share. this is what he said on tuesday wanting the whole world to hear. the funding obamacare is a full's errand, perpetuated by senator tedi.e. cruz, which convinced people that they have to find some way to defend -- defund obamacare. we will regain the senate and the house and when we do we will replace an repeal obamacare. ladies and gentlemen, this is a game and this is a game that some conservatives have been playing since 2009.

use lots of rhetoric, ways -- raise lots of money, get yourself elected, even reelected, and do nothing. it is the height of cynicism, and then the unthinkable happened. ted cruz called them out. [applause] clearly, i'me enough of that game. .merica is threatened this is where we stand. i am so proud of that man. strength, courage, sensible, he had these things and because he had these things and they do not they aree things, trying to destroy him. here is the memo to the ruling class i have got in washington, d c we will not allow that to happen. tell me now, tell me now, will you stand with ted cruz?

[applause] tell me now. does he deserve our gratitude for his magnificent devotion to liberty? does he deserve our prayers for continuing -- tell him now, do we stand with him in his crusade to save america? do not tell me. tell senator ted cruz. ♪ [applause] >> thank you. thank you so very, very much. >> [indiscernible]

>> thank you. i receive that blessing. and let me say to each and every one of you, i am inspired by you. >> we are inspired by you. >> i am invigorated by your passion for this great country. now, as inspired as i am, i will do my very best to speak for less than 21 hours. [laughter] >> [indiscernible] >> but you will know i am wrapping up when i begin to read "the cat in the hat." i'm here with words of encouragement and exultation. -- extrication. -- exhortation.

i want to say two things. number one, these are extraordinary times. these are not typical times. the challenges facing this country are unlike any we have ever seen. you look at our constitution, you look at our bill of rights, this is an administration that seems bound and determined to violate every one of our bill of rights. i do not know if they have yet violated the third amendment, but i expect them to be quartering soldiers in people's homes soon. [laughter] if you look at the bill of rights, if you look at the first amendment, this is an administration that has told servicemen and women that they cannot risk discipline. -- that has told servicemen and women that they cannot share their faith or risk discipline. this is an administration that has reprimanded a person in alaska. for writing in a blog post " there are no atheists in fox holes."

mind you, he was quoting dwight d. eisenhower, who i might note has some passing familiarity with the military. this is an administration that is telling christian companies like hobby lobby and the little sisters of the poor, that they must -- or provide millions of dollars in government fines. the little sisters of the poor is an order of nuns that provides health care to the elderly poor. the federal government is coming after them saying they have to provide abortions as well. we have the second amendment, which no administration in the history of the country has ever come after guns like this administration. now, vice president joe biden -- [laughter] you know the nice thing? you do not need a punch line. [laughter]

you just say his name, people laugh. but vice president joe biden had some advice. he said if anyone is to attacking your home, go outside with a shotgun and shoot both barrels in the air, which is very good advice if it happens you're being attacked by a flock of geese. [laughter] we have seen the fourth and fifth amendment, an administration whose policy and wiretap policies and your e- mails and phone calls, their view is the policy of the american people does not matter to them. and then there is the 10th amendment, an amendment i am sure they have gone and cut out of every copy of the constitution in the library of congress. we have seen an explosion of federal government power, none more important or significant or dangerous than obamacare.

we look at the state of our economy and the last four years are coming has grown on average 0.9% a year. there's one other time since world war ii of four consecutive years of this kind of growth, and that was 1979 to 1982. coming out of the jimmy carter administration, it was the same policies, out-of-control spending and taxes and regulation, and it produced the exact same results. and we have seen a hapless, feckless foreign policy leading from behind, set by a president who does not appreciate the concept of an oxymoron -- [laughter] [applause]

these are extraordinary times. every one of you is here because you love this country, because you love freedom, and you know we cannot keep going down this road much longer. we are nearing the edge of a cliff, and our window to turn things around, my friends, i do not think it is long. i do not think it is 10 years. we have a couple of years to turn this country around, or we go off the cliff to oblivion. throughout the history of the world we have seen great nations rise and fall, and everyone here today is here today because we are not content to allow the united states of america to do anything but continue to rise and remain the greatest country on the face of this earth. [applause]

>> senator cruz, why won't you consider a pathway to citizenship for immigrant families? >> i appreciate that. it is a great thing that people can trust their first amendment right, and i only wish obama administration trusted first amendment rights that much. [applause] but how do we turn things around? the second point i want to say is only the american people can turn this great nation around. only the american people. now, the book of ecclesiastes tells us there is nothing new under the sun. as dire as things are, i want each to remember back to 1978, 1979. those were dark times, with 22% interest rates, double-digit unemployment, gas lines going

round the block, our hostages languishing in iran. the president of the united states said we have to accept malaise. the soviet union cannot be stopped. our foreign policy is detente, and i am pretty sure it is french for "surrender." [laughter] and what were we all told over and over again? there is nothing you can do about it. it cannot be done. the top marginal rate is 70% and it will stay 70% no matter what. the soviet union cannot be defeated. government will always continue to grow come and freedom in america will always recede. what we have seen across this country -- >> [indiscernible] >> thank you for being here. i wish you would participate in the democratic process by

speaking respectfully. it seems that president obama's paid political operatives are out in force today. [applause] and you know why? and you know why? because the men and women in this room scare the living daylights out of them. [applause] in 1980, in a situation every bit as dire as the one we face today, a revolution began across this country,

the reagan revolution, and i am looking at an awful lot of foot soldiers and generals from the reagan revolution, a lot of the men and women in this room bear the scars and understand the power that when the people rise up, ultimately sovereignty resides in one place and one place only in our constitution, and it is with we the people. [applause] and i will suggest a model for how we turn this country around in the next couple of years, and it is the model that we have been following together for the last couple of months to stop that train wreck, that disaster, that nightmare that is obamacare. [applause]

i do not know how many of you remember that movie "the usual suspects," where they describe the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist. >> senator cruz, why -- >> [indiscernible] >> you know what, i'm curious, is anybody left at the organizing for america headquarters? [applause] i'm actually glad the president told political staff is here instead of actually doing mischief in the country. [applause] in the movie "the usual suspects," the greatest trick the devil ever played was convince the world he did not

exist. the greatest tricked the left has ever played is to convince conservatives we cannot win. [applause] the media will tell us that believing in free-market values, believing in the constitution, believing in freedom, that those are extreme views. it is a lie. if it were not a lie, why do so many democrats, and they are running, for 10 to be conservatives -- pretend to be conservatives? why do so many republicans do the same? [applause] the values each and every one of us are defending our values that every small town, every family, every small business has understood in this country for

centuries. that is what we are defending. that is what we are defending. you know, at this point -- you know what is striking, actually? in the course of this brief speech, we have heard more questions than president obama has allowed in the past year. [applause] in fact, since we have the men and women of the media here, let me make an offer to our president. i would welcome the president, if he wants to get 100 of his most rabid political operatives in a room, i will answer their questions on television as long as he likes.

[cheers] and in exchange, all i would ask, mr. president, is you take not a hundred, but 10 of the men and women in this room and spend 30 minutes answering their questions for the american people. [applause] when the fight for obamacare started, senator mike lee and i began by pitching it in washington. and it was abundantly clear that this was not a strategy that washington was going to embrace.

it was far too risky, and if there is one overarching urge in washington, it is risk aversion. do nothing that has any risk, that it might actually doing anything. -- that it might actually do anything. [laughter] and so this summer mike lee and i took a very different strategy. >> [indiscernible] >> ma'am, i will look forward to in the town hall were going to put together. we tried a different strategy. we said, ok, we will go over their heads. a lot of folks in washington said we will talk to the republican leadership? we went over their heads to the american people. [applause] for much of the month of august and september, mike and i traveled this country speaking to town halls over the country and saying, saying --

how scared is the president? what a statement of fear, what a statement of fear. [applause] they do not want the truth to be heard. they definitely do not want the truth to be heard. as we traveled the country, speaking to the american people, making the case, what we said, i said you know what? i cannot stop obamacare. mike lee cannot stop obamacare. [indiscernible] we have two more, three more, gentlemen, ladies, thank you for your passion, but you should respect the rights of the men and women who are here.

[chanting] it is unfortunate -- it is unfortunate that the administration -- [chanting] >> usa! usa! usa! usa! usa!>> the nice thing is the -- >> you know, the nice thing is the left will always, always, always tell you who they fear. and they fear you. they fear the american people.

the fundamental problem in washington is washington is not listening to america. and what happens? this fight on obamacare, we went to make the case to the american people, and in a matter of a few weeks, over 2 million american sign that petition on dontfundit.com. [applause] it is because of you that the house of representatives has been standing strong, because the house has been listening to the people. [applause] it is because of you that for the past two months the country has engaged in a national debate about the enormous harms obamacare is causing, all the millions of americans who are losing their jobs, being pushed

into part-time work, losing their health insurance. it is because of you that the american people are energized. and we see the obama administration defending positions that are utterly and completely unreasonable. repeatedly, the house has acted to compromise them to fund vital priorities, and repeatedly obama and the press have refused to negotiate. i will note this afternoon, the democrats are feeling the heat. [applause] this afternoon president obama has invited the senate republicans to the white house. so after leaving here, i am going to be going to the white house -- [cheers] i will make a request. if i'm never seen again, please send a search-and-rescue team.

i hope tomorrow morning i do not wake up amidst the syrian rebels. [laughter] but listen, they will talk to us, unlike this administration. you are exactly right. listen, none of us know what is going to happen on this obamacare fight right now. in my view the house of representatives needs to keep doing what it has been doing, which is standing strong. [applause]

and that is the model for every other fight. we need no more washington solutions. we need to go back to the american people. [applause] the media tells us we cannot win. i read in "the new york times" that hillary has already started her second term. [laughter] the media wants america to get up and allow this country to keep sliding off the edge of the cliff, but let me tell you, there are two things i have an abiding faith in. one is a benevolent god who loves each and every one of us. [applause] and number two is the american people who love liberty and opportunity, unlike any nation, any people in the history of this world. [applause]

many of you know my father, rafael cruz. [applause] i am hoping in time i can encourage him not to be such a wallflower. [laughter] when he fled cuba 55 years ago, after being in prison, after being beaten, when he came here seeking freedom, he did it because no nation on earth has allowed so many people to come with nothing and achieve the american dream. [applause] what does it take to win this fight? it takes the men and women in this room. each of you is called to be here. much like esther, you were called for a time such as this.

[applause] for 400 years, every generation of americans has given to their kids and grandkids an opportunity, greater prosperity, a greater future. if we keep going down this road, we will become the first generation not to do that, and every man and woman in this room believes that is utterly and completely unacceptable! [applause] as ronald reagan famously observed, freedom is not passed down in a bloodstream from one generation to the next. every generation has to rise up and defend it, or one day we

will find ourselves answering questions from our children and our children's children -- what was it like when america was free? none of us will ever have to answer that question, because together the american people, we are going to restore that shining city on the hill that is the united states of america. thank you, and god bless you. [applause] ♪

>> thank you, senator cruz. a couple of things i want to mention. if you would like to stand firm in our call to stop obamacare, we will post a phone number on the screen that you can write down and make those calls. you also have all of your congressional phone numbers in your packets. we encourage you to take advantage of that. i must say a couple of quick items before we introduce our next speaker. for those of you who paid full price only to be evicted, we would like to thank you for your donation to the values voter summit. and i do urge you to please restrain from interfering with any of the protesters. we do have security for that. so please, don't you get involved with any of that. or any protesters who are left, we urge you to exercise decorum. this is a place for freedom of speech. i have never understood that those who stand for freedom and

-- rance -- unless you our next speaker is in his first term as senator from the great state of kentucky. we are grateful he would come and share right now. he has proven to be an outspoken champion for constitutional liberties and fiscal responsibility. he serves on the foreign relations, health, education, labor and pensions, small business, and government affairs committees. will you please welcome a senator who represents your values in washington, d.c., rand paul.

>> thank you. does anybody have a message that i can carry to the president? >> [indiscernible] >> and i am in a toyota prius. if you need a ride back to the white house, we will take you along. today i want to talk about something that is serious. i want to talk about a war that the mainstream media is ignoring, from boston to zanzibar. there is a worldwide war on christianity. christians are being attacked

around the world, but you will not hear much about it on the evening news, because the answer is not convenient. it does not fit the narrative we have heard about it radical islam. the media describes the killings as sectarian. but the truth is a worldwide war on christians is being waged by fanatical elements of islam. ever since 9/11 commentators have tried to avoid pointing fingers at islam, which is somewhat fair. it is fair to point out most muslims are not committed to violence against christians, but it is not the whole truth. the whole truth is -- and we should not let political correctness stand in the way -- the whole truth is there is a minority of muslims condone the killing of christians, but unfortunately, that minority numbers in the tens of millions. pew research did a poll that

indicated 21% of egyptians, 15% of jordanians -- and many jordanians are friends -- 13% of pakistani muslims find terrorism acceptable, if not laudable. a minority to be sure, but if you add up the numbers in three countries, it is over 40 million muslims sympathizing with violence against christians. this should not be understated. a survey indicated there were 100,000 muslims in britain who fully supported the london subway bombings. 400,000 said they had some sympathy for these bombings. this is not a little problem and will not go away quickly. in syria, there is an ancient christian city called malula, where they still speak aramaic, the language that jesus spoke. they have been christians since the time of christ. they are a small outpost in the

middle east for christians. the town was recently overrun by islamic rebels. rebels swarmed into the town and demanded everyone convert to islam or die. one person stood up and answered them, and he said, i am a christian, and if you want to kill me because i am, do so. these were his last words. sister carmel of damascus said of him, his death is true martyrdom, a death in the hatred of faith. make no mistake, this is about your religion. elsewhere in syria, islamic rebels have filmed beheadings of their captives. they have filmed themselves eating the heart of their enemy. two christian bishops have been kidnapped, and one priest was recently killed. these rebels are allies of the islamic rebels that president obama is now arming.

we are now arming islamic rebels who are allied with al qaeda that attacked us on 9/11. does that make any sense at all? >> no! >> american tax dollars should never be spent to prop up a war on christianity, but that is what is happening now across the globe. as christians, we should fight against any tax dollars funding any persecution of christians. [applause] in zanzibar, a tiny little island off the coast of africa, a priest was recently shot in the head on his way to church by two muslim youths. a message by the muslim renewal said we thank our young men, trained in somalia, for killing the infidel. many more will die.

we will burn homes and churches. weredonesia, three girls headed on the where to -- on the way to their school. there is an element of radical jihad in this. in guinea, christians were killed. in egypt, 82 churches were attacked, leaving hundreds dead and wounded. earlier this year, i forced the senate to vote to defund the muslim brotherhood, and every democrat --

[applause] every democrat voted to continue sending your money to the muslim brotherhood. i can tell you one thing, though, as long as i am in the senate, i will fight against sending any money to the muslim brotherhood. [applause] in cameroon recently, two christians were murdered. in iran, american pastor is detained indefinitely, facing physical and psychological torture. they asked him to renounce his faith, the same thing they asked the person before he was killed. i have introduced a resolution that says we should do everything within our power and our voice, from the white house, from the state department, from our government, to release this

man. [applause] and i will not rest until the pastor is free. across the globe christians are under attack, almost as if we lived in the middle ages or we lived under early pagan roman rule. it is almost as if the disciples of christ is happening again throughout the middle east. this administration does nothing to stop it, and it can be argued they are giving aid and comfort to those who tolerate these crimes. in libya, the country we freed from oppression, the militias that were guarding our ambassador have raided a christian church, rounding up hundreds of christians, accusing them of being missionaries, accusing them of the crime of

having a cross or a bible. many were tortured. in pakistan last week, 75 christians were killed, several hundred were killed in a bombing of a church. a pakistani christian sits on death row for blasphemy. she says it began when she drew water from a muslim well. as she was filling her bowl of water, a crowd formed and chanted, death, death to the christian. she pleaded for her life. she was pelted with stones, punched in the face, and drug through the streets. the local imam interceded, saying you must convert to islam if you don't want to die. the crowd descended on her, beating her with sticks. finally, the police stopped the attackers only to arrest her. she has now been on death row

for the crime of blasphemy. what i say is until this person is freed, not one dollar of u.s. aid should go to pakistan. [applause] many of you have heard of malala, the precocious 14-year- old who was shot in the head by the taliban for the crime of wishing that girls could go to school. she is not a christian, but even so, the radical islamists cannot tolerate this girl who seeks nothing more than an education, nothing more than a right to go to school. if you have not listened to her, pull up one of her youtubes and listen to her. she is amazing. what a bizarre distortion of

religion, someone who would shoot a little girl in her head to make a religious point? where is the rest of islam? why don't they stand up and condemn this? [applause] the urdu poet shakir wrote they insist on examining the firefly in the daylight, the children of our age have grown clever. radical islam will end only when islam begins to police itself. only when islam allows her children to examine the firefly in the daylight, only then will knowledge and enlightenment begin to glow and grow and religious violence will recede. we should all pray for that day to come sooner rather than later. [applause]

we send billions of dollars to egypt, to pakistan. we help new islamic regimes in afghanistan and iraq. obama now sends arms to rebels in syria. in egypt, a crowd burned our flag. i do not know about you, but i have had enough. [applause] i say not one penny more to any country that would burn the american flag. [applause] we must work to ensure that our country, our policies, our tax dollars are on the side of ending this violence rather than encouraging those who retreat it.

-- who perpetrate it. this war on christianity is not just abroad. it came to boston this year just in time for the marathon. two islamic radicals blew up dozens of civilians. i guess they thought somehow killing women and children would make a religious or political point. you might argue, maybe they were not targeting christians, but they certainly did not target a mosque. their motive, if you can perceive one, was not against our government, but against us as a people, a christian people. how someone could believe that killing innocent people could further one's cause is beyond me. shortly after the attack, i met one of the boston policemen who was there, one of the first responders. he described his feelings, his horror, his sadness as he raced to apply tourniquets, and the death and carnage what he saw as he showed up.

he described his anger as he pursued these two islamic radicals through the streets. he described he felt it was justified, the shootout where one of them was killed, but he also said that after the last one, after we captured and disarmed the last bomber, he said he also described a special appreciation for american justice. after the younger bomber was apprehended, he said we did not drag into the street and beat him to death with tire irons. he will get a lawyer, he will get a trial. it is what makes us different from them. [applause] when i talk to our young soldiers -- my wife and i helped build a house for one of our young soldiers -- i asked him what he was fighting for and

what did it mean to fight for your country? they said the essence of what we fought for was our freedom, our bill of rights, our constitution. we have to believe and preserve those, that's what we are here for. that's what we are here to fight for, and that's what arm young men and women have put their lives on the line for. some politicians say this war on christianity means that we must fight a large conventional war against all of radical islam. part of my point is to tell you there is 100 million, this will not be fought with a conventional war. it will require islam to police islam. there will be times and we will have to defend ourselves. we were right to go to war after 9/11. there are times when military action is justified and necessary. i believe we must be willing and able to defend ourselves against the jihadists, but we must also re-examine our policies because military action can and able and

in power radical islam. going into syria could possibly enable al qaeda. it could make things worse. we have to be very clear about that. in egypt, libya, and syria, it is not clear whether the changes of the new regimes will be more friendly or less friendly to america. to me, it does not make any sense to send american arms, american planes, or american troops to aid syrian rebels or the muslim brotherhood, for goodness sakes. we should stop it. [applause] in the future, i see less and less conventional wars. i don't see the possibility of how 100 million radical jihadist are defeated and the have to be contained and we have to defend ourselves. make no mistake, we should actively defend ourselves.

the ultimate answer i think is that the rest of islam that is not radical has to police radical islam. [applause] the islamic republics see us as invaders and infidels. they will never accept us through force of arms. somehow, they must be made to understand that they must root out and destroy the sadists and killers amongst them, the ones who distort and contort religion to justify killing of civilians and children. islam needs to remember and re- create the good in their history. for centuries, the middle east was home to cultural and intellectual centers of ancient world. math and science flourished in the middle ages. tolerance and sophistication were the norm at one time in the middle east.

the great medieval position rozzis identified smallpox and measles. a great politician made advances in algebra. there was a enlightenment at one point in the world. islam carried the light of learning and paved the way for our enlightenment. this history needs to be brought back to life again. innovation and muslim communities developed a magnetic compass, pens, and printing. it was said at one time that books were printed in cairo, passed out in baghdad. at one point in time in the middle east, the world was really something that was very amazing. it needs to come back, but they need to figure this out. the policing has to come from them. as late as the 1960's, books were printed in cairo and read in baghdad. there was a time in our history when islam was policing itself.

most muslims describe islam as a peaceful and tolerant religion. at one time, they prized inquiry over the heads of infidels. the scientific method over fanaticism. i believe islam still contains some of the roots of this classical tradition and can return to them. in the meantime, we must defend ourselves. make no mistake, we need to understand the war on christianity is not being waged by a rare anomaly, but by a significant minority that numbers in the millions. christians should be prepared for were but actively seek peace. reagan said we should strive for peace through strength, and i agree. i urge us not to lose sight of either. too often we have lost sight of peace as the goal. the message of the gospels is not war. hopefully, the message of christianity, if listened t, can be part of a peace process.

in the meantime, take action, pray for solution, hold your politicians accountable for standing up and protecting life and standing up against the war on christianity. thank you and may god bless you. [applause] >> you can see all of this coverage at www.c-span.org. postponed ause has meeting with congressional leaders to give them an opportunity to negotiate a settlement. after the announcement, boehner mcconnell'sutes in office. said a said senators deal will not be announced after the the 5:30 vote. our votes onote

judicial nominations, which you can see on c-span [applause] . politico has some specifics on a possible deal. harry reid and mitch mcconnell were discussing a proposal to reopen the government until january 15 and raise the debt limit until february 15. the story says senate democrats are opened to a requirement that those receiving obamacare subsidies are subject to income verification. also the medical device tax is still a point of contention. youill continue to bring updates on c-span, and the c- the senate is live on c-span [applause] . that negotiations

continue between the republican leader and me. i'm optimistic that we will reach an agreement that is reasonable this week. to reopen the government, and beginning long-term negotiations to put our country on a sound fiscal footing. i appreciate my friend, the minority leader, for his efforts to come to an agreement. the rit leader and i will keep members informed as negotiations continue. >> the republican leader. >> let me echo the remarks of my good friend. we have had an opportunity to have some very construct of -- constructive exchanges of views about how to move forward. those discussions continue, and i share his optimism that we are going to get a resolve that will be acceptable. it is day 14 of the

government shutdown, and the nation's our weight limit will be raised on thursday. there is a tweet that say senators say a deal would not be announced until after a 5:30 vote in the senate. month, and opening session of the national press club included a panel of nbc news producers. this is an hour, 10 minutes. good morning. it is an absolute treasure to be here. as you heard, i left columbia full time to move to a new role at the metropolitan museum of art, as the chief digital

officer. and i will tell you what we do there. at the same time i continue to be part of the journalism world and work in journalism and teach a class. tom hoping we can continue have opportunities for us to interact in the journalism sphere. i welcome you all to the met any time you are in the mood for some art and culture. please do,. let me tell you about our session today we wanted to keep this as useful as possible to all of you. a social media wake-up call, and that has to do with the timing because it is so early. it is also a chance for us to take stock of where we are and where we are going. there's so much of buzz and hype about social, and this is a good moment to kind of think through what makes sense for each of us get someour work, to

ideas. i hope you will leave with lots of ideas about the social and mobile world after we are done this morning, but the entire session today has so many different opportunities for you to learn about this changing media landscape. i should say that i still two daily print newspapers. households?r that's great. what is happening in my mind is that we have to think about ways in which we can continue to support the kind of great journalism so many of us in the room have been doing for so many years. but make it fit into the landscape that has changed so much. on of my colleagues coined a term that some of you may have

tradigital journalist. understand the history and values of traditional journalism, but also knows how to use the new schools to connect with our audience in a new way and engage without audiences. social has a lot to do with that. tweet that i can turn off, but we want to encourage you to please tweet #nypc2013. twitter handle. that tells you something about how much twitter is out there. we will talk about other tools and ways in which you can

space.and the media let me tell you a little bit what i am doing and how it connects to what we are talking about. my twitter and -- pages havees changed because it is now about the museum world. part of the point i wanted to make was about branding. i want you to think about your social media presence as a chance for you to reinforce the brand you already are or the brand you want to be known for. being very specific in your bios about who you are, what kind of hasts you do, all of that become more important. think about doing that. your social media becomes part of your brand. people have asked me, what does the chief digital officer do,

and i work with a team that i am obsessed about, video apps, mobile, social, geolocation, web, and more. also the chief this thing officer, and my job is to help the museum get even better at digital then they are, which is digital already, and an example from our facebook page of the emphasis we put on facebook, twitter, and also our instagram feeds. hope you will take the chance to take a look at these and see how the museum is like journalism in the sense we want to connect with audiences, but we want to tell stories, and stories are part of what we do, and we use social as part of that. i want to shout out to a person on twitter, and they are live

streaming to the world and will be streaming from all the sessions. do this,ng a tool to and i hope you will make an action list of things today you want to follow up. amazing is i learned about it from a group of actors danny journalists -- from a group of pakistani journalists. it --ey are using the using it at this conference a couple of years later. what is that? streaming tool that allows you, from your phone, who live stream from anywhere in the world where you have a decent signal. , and an apt you can at maybe we will tweet something out about it.

he doing his live streaming across the world from his phone and how does he do it, and you can chat with him. these follow-up. let me introduce you to our panelists. we have a great group of folks to help you think you -- think through what is happening in social media and how it applies to what you are doing. they can come up and walk pages orome of their they can talk from there. first we have stephanie haberman. she is the social and digital reducer at nbc news. i like her description -- news junkie.eaking she has a website where she has so pleasemation, welcome stephanie. [applause] we also have with us greg