along with jack reed. of thee both members armed services committee. at 4:00 p.m., it is dr. fauci and israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. also kevin mccarthy and representative elijah cummings. the sunday network tv cop shows are on c-span radio and they are brought to you as a public service by the networks and c-span. noon --oadcast again at rebroadcasts begin at noon. and listen to them across the country on xm satellite radio. you can listen online at c-span.org. c-span's 2015 student camp

competition is underway. cam competition is underway. thete a documentary on topic, "the three branches and you." videos need to include c-span programming and must be submitted by january 20, 2015. go to student-cam.org for more information. >> "washington journal" continues. host: you're looking at a live scene outside of st. matthew's .,thedral in washington, d.c as members of the supreme court gather for the traditional red mass. it appears to be justice stephen breyer, will be among those in attendance, also justice kennedy. joining us on the phone is adam liptak.

the headline this morning, the supreme work's new robust session could define the legacy of the chief justice. let me ask you first about this mass, this tradition, and what transpires. guest: it's a long-standing tradition where several of them gather for blessings and encouragement at the start of a new term. it is a long-standing catholic tradition to bless those responsible for the administration of justice. there are not a few people who think it is an odd juxtaposition to see this kind of tension between church and state, which some people think you might want to keep separate. religious freedom and the status of jerusalem, among the cases that the hype is expected to take up ash that the high high is -- that the

court is expected to take up this season. guest: the status of jerusalem foreign contested policy. it is a clash between two branches of government. the first amendment to the u.s. constitution, freedom of speech. also another issue in this digital age. guest: the court is looking at whether an estranged husband who, in the persona of a rap star, puts really violent rap lyrics seeming to threaten his wife, whether that is protected by the first amendment or not. this will require the justices, who are not particularly savvy about either popular culture or technology, to make sense of rap lyrics posted on facebook. host: let me ask about the headline you have, that this

could be a defining legacy for to -- for chief justice roberts. how so? guest: the court has not accepted the case on same-sex marriage, but it is very likely to do so and to decide this term . if the court upholds the right to same-sex marriage, as most people think it will, that is going to define the legacy of the roberts court, some say in the same way that the war in -- the warren court was decided in its decisions of a different issue, the rights of african-americans. lurking behind that is a second serious challenge to the affordable care act. chief justice roberts cast the thative vote to uphold law, president obama's signature legislative achievement, a couple years ago, and now we will see whether he is prepared to do so again, should the court take that second case of the affordable care act. host: it is often hard to tell who some of the justices are from the back of their heads.

justice anthony kennedy, appointed by ronald reagan, continues to play a key role in this court, does he not? guest: he often casts the decisive vote. he was in the majority in every single 5-4 case last term. if history is any guide, he will more often side with his conservative colleagues than his liberal ones. host: what are the other big cases you think we should keep an eye on htis year? -- an eye on this year? guest: the hobby lobby case said heldcorporations closely by religious families could deny coverage contraceptive to employees. religiousrs have liberty rights behind bars? the question is whether an arkansas inmate and wants to grow a beard -- an arkansas

inmate who wants to grow a beard can grow a beard or whether security concerns override that religious liberty. host: speculation continues over whether ruth bader ginsburg will step down. how is her health? what has she been telling you and your colleagues? guest: she has been telling everybody all summer long that she is not going anywhere. her health seems to be good. she is in tip top mental shape. she loves the job. she thinks two things, one, that it is unlikely the president could get some unconfirmed to replace her who would be in a similar place on the ideological spectrum, that he can't get, in her words, someone as good as her. second, she seems to think that a democrat, hillary clinton, i suppose, will win in 2016 and get to a point whomever she point whomevero ap she wants. her legal acumen is beyond

dispute. it is not as clear that her political instincts will turn out to be correct. headline this morning, the legacy of chief justice john roberts. vinyl question before we let you go -- final western before we let you go. what is his interaction with his colleagues -- final question before we let you go. what is his interaction like with his colleagues? guest: unlike chief justice erger, he seems to do the job of presenting cases that their private conferences fairly and making assignments fairly. although there are deep disagreements on the court about how to come out on cases, part of the chief justice's job that is distinctly his, he seems to do to the satisfaction of his colleagues. host: adam liptak of "the new york times," thank you for being with us. as the chief justice releases the audio the same week, we have

that friday afternoons on c-span radio. our file -- phone lines are open. 202 is the area code. republicans. -3880 for democrats. we will get to your calls in just a few moments. and weekend on c-span 2 c-span 3, we focus on boulder, colorado, as we continue our cities tour. here is a portion. we are always asked what exactly is the chautauqua. a chautauqua is a retreat, generally in a beautiful place, ichment, enlightenment, entertainment, and coming together. it started in far western new

york on lake chautauqua. thatement grew out of place and that time and really spread across the country, coming to boulder in 1898. interestingly, the texas board of higher education came to colorado looking for a place to establish a summer mountain .etreat for teacher training they found a willing participant in the city of boulder and boulder residents, who already had established the university theolorado here and loved idea of bringing more intellectual stimulation and entertainment to the community. so, interesting public-private partnership of the city, this group from texas, and a railroad that would transport, at the time, texans between texas and boulder, colorado. it was very much intended to

serve the local community. that was part of a quid pro quo. locals and for the the economic benefit for the community of having visitors, at the time summer-only, now year-round. host: a look at boulder, colorado, and all of our cities tour's programs are available online at c-span.org/localcontent. check it out this weekend on c-span 2 and c-span 3. the front page of "the richmond times dispatch." and from "the dallas morning news." some political stories, front page of "the chicago tribune." senator durbin is up for reelection. the editorial board this past week, along with his challenger. moines sunday

register." open phones for the next 20 minutes. good morning. caller: good morning, thank you for taking my call. i'd like to talk about opportunity cost and how the patriot act is an example of government enlargement. i think on your program, it was reported when he started in -- when it started in '02, it was less than $10 billion. billion. like $70 payrolllions of on the -- 5 million spies on the payroll. mining.n people data

i want to compare this with the number of farmers who pay taxes, the bureau of labor statistics has less than 8000 -- 800,000 americans who pay taxes while they farm. host: another headline this morning, "a robust docket could define chief justice robert's legacy." we talked to adam liptak a few minutes ago. the justices are arriving for the traditional red mass in advance of the first monday in october, when the new term officially gets underway. next is brenda joining us from houston. good morning, democrats line. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i guess i am a democrat, and i am african american. i want to go on record regarding the illegal immigration. -- i watched your program yesterday, the hispanic caucus, on the president not

legalizing. act of they were angry with him. i got angry with them. this black president hasn't done anything for his own people. he has, and i don't want to get off subject here, but how dare the sus -- that his panics -- how dare the hispanics break the law in coming here to america. they are breaking the law. host: turning the election into a sports event. it's already over, folks. bye, harry. referring to harry reid. showing the steely resolve of the british leader, prime minister david cameron. next is lewis joining us from baltimore. good morning. independent line. caller: thank you for taking my call.