-- trade is a global challenge. trade has global consequences. in our closely connected world prosperity is not a zero-sum game. while the cause of a rising global middle class is vital to our long-term economic and national security, our power our power is grounded in the strength here at home of our own middle-class. what gain is there for united states and secret trade deals that fast-track and export american jobs and undermined wages for american workers? trade deals but actually raise standards for workers and the environment are trade deals that are good for the united states. trade deals that lowers standards for workers and the environment are trade deals that are bad for the united states of america. this is not a call for protectionism. i have led trade allegations all -- trade delegations all around

the world. but it is a call for fair competition. the kind of competition that is consistent with our most deeply held american values and the cause we share. the national interests of the people of the united states is not measured by the bottom line profits of multinational corporations however large. no nation ever offshore it its way to greatness. -- no nation ever offshoreever offshored its way into greatness. to rebuild the american dream, we must stop making it easier to ship american jobs abroad and start making better investments to grow our economy and build up our own country here at home. one such investment is a cyber security. a new domain that is an emerging opportunity and an emerging challenge to every facet of our society. for centuries, nationstates sought to protect themselves from attacks by land and sea and later by air.

now in this information age, we must defend ourselves and our economy by attacks carried out over the internet. last year, global cyber attacks jumped by nearly 50%. stolen intellectual property and other opportunities lost to cybercrime could cost us as many as 200,000 american jobs annually. our critical infrastructure remains extremely vulnerable to hackers. nuclear power plants, public transportation, air-traffic control, even the electric grid itself all in danger of being shut down with a few lines of malicious code. the harm would extend far beyond just the loss of personal data. it could grind our national and our economies to a halt.

-- and our metro economies to a halt. we must have a comprehensive new agenda for cyber security that protects every level of our society. to accomplish this goal, we must punish the skills of american -- we must harness the skills of american engineers and scholars from silicon valley to fort meade in order to secure our networks and we must empower our national guard with a new mission. a mission of protecting our cyber networks here in the homeland on a state-by-state level. i have seen this firsthand, as doug mentioned, a group charged by act of congress to work with the secretary of defense and the secretary of homeland security. i advocated for a new national initiative to recruit and to equip and to train up cyber units in every state. these are highly paid skills highly sought after in the private sector and therefore very difficult to compete with

in the public sector. the quickest and most cost effective way i believe to stand up to this needed capacity is in the citizen-soldier context of every state's national guard. furthermore, national guard cyber units are best suited under our constitution for the home admission of collaborating -- for the homeland mission of collaborating with public and private sector partners to protect vital networks. for security. it is a national security imperative. it requires a long-term commitment against the cause -- to advance the cause. all of us should take some pride in that. inspired by the millennium development goals, the u.s. and partnership with the global community has cut extreme

poverty and child deaths in half over the last 25 years. that is one of the greatest measurable leaps ever achieved in austerity and health. -- in human prosperity and health. and yet still, or than one -- more than billion people in one asia and africa and here in our own have us there in america live on less than $1.29. all of them vulnerable to the scourge of extreme poverty and violent extremism. is it any surprise that in liberia, a country with just one medical school and meager hospital supplies that more than 10,000 people are infected with ebola? is it any surprise that in hunt -- in honduras, a country with the highest mortal rate and most brutal drug trafficking that thousands of people have fled for their lives here to our hemisphere? our leadership and collaboration

with other nations is essential. to be successful, we must involve more americans from all walks of life. scientists and students and entrepreneurs and security experts and business executives and urban planners, we must better integrate our development and military teams and troubled hotspots and ensuring that we are tailoring our assistance to get things done within the local culture and local place. we must support local businesses that support our values in our values in emerging markets. particularly u.s. id and the -- particularly usaid and the state department.

end extreme poverty and preventable child and maternal deaths within the next 15 years. by protecting the dignity of human lives in fragile states, where not only building the next generation of political and economic leaders, but we're also reducing the threat of being drawn into more costly conflicts in the decades to come. as james mattis, the former commander of the u.s. central command, put it bluntly "if you , don't fund the state department fully, and i need to buy more ammunition." development, defense, diplomacy, they all stand together as equal an essential part to our national security, or at least they should. there also critical to reducing -- they are also critical to reducing threats and what might be the most volatile and dangerous area of the world today in the middle east.

over the last several years, i have had the opportunity to talk with scores of patriotic americans who have given their energies and talents in this troubled region of our world in service of our country. i agree with the noted national security experts conclusions on our core national interest in the middle east. to protect our allies and prevent regional war and to provide humanitarian assistance, to prevent terrorist safe havens and to prevent nuclear proliferation, indeed a nuclear armed iran, is one of the most immediate threats that we face. i believe that negotiations are the best way to avoid iran from reaching a nuclear weapon, even to avoid greater conflict in the

region and the best way to stop widespread nuclear proliferation across the middle east. it was for this purpose the u.s. force a partnership, including russia and china, to apply the strongest set of sanctions iran has ever faced. those sanctions brought iran to the negotiating table. it cuts off pathways to a weapon and its ability to a bomb, congress would be wise to support it. on the other hand, if iran is found to be cheating, it's leaders must know we stand ready to his to do the full array of sanctions that decimated their economy. but no threat probably better illustrates the unintended consequences of a mindless rush to war and a lack of understanding than the emergence of i since. containing, degrading and

defeating ices will require an integrated approach. an approach focused on military power and political solutions. the invasion of iraq along with the disbandment of the iraqi army and military will be remembered as one of the most tragic, deceitful, and costly blunders in u.s. history. we are still paying the price of a war pursued under false pretenses and acquiesced to in the words of dr. king -- by the appalling silence of the good. in confronting isis, we must avoid mission creep, that is true. and we must be mindful that american boots on the ground can be counterproductive to our desired come. we would be successful integrating isis if the number of militants taken off the

battlefield is exceeded by the number of new recruits replacing them. but we must also ensure that our partners have what they need to contain, degrade, and ultimately wear down and defeat isis. in partnership with other nations in the region and around the world, we must counter isis propaganda and use our own communication tools more effectively. we must do more to amplify credible and local voices in the region to reveal isis for what it is. a gang of murderous thugs who perverted the name of one of the world's great religions. and we must make every effort to encourage the iraqi government to govern more inclusively as they train up the new army with committed leadership. addressing threats like isis will require a new relationship and better intelligence.

and this is true in every other theater of engagement as well. there is no substitute for human relationships and the work of patriotic americans in foreign service and national security agencies. to succeed in the world of rapid change, we must adapt our national security institution to better anticipate these vast emerging threats. recognize there's a real message to be learned from that tragedy in benghazi. namely we need to know in advance is likely to take power once a dictator is toppled and not after. twitter and facebook are no such -- are no substitute for personal relationships and human intelligence. we must recruit and retain a new generation of talented american diplomats and foreign service officers. we must give them the tools they need to identify and engage with

a new generation of leaders from different walks of life and often very hostile environments where we elect to start ties where we lack relationships. that was the work, wasn't it? that was what ambassador chris stevens was about. he gave his life reaching out to those emerging from the rubble of qaddafi's leadership. in remembering him, his grieving father said, "he died doing what he loved most. working to build ridges of understanding and mutual respect between the people of the u.s. and the people of the middle east. chris was successful as he embodied the traits that have always endeared america to the world. commitment to democratic birds -- democratic present bowls and respect for others regardless of race, religion, or culture."

the greatest power we possess as americans is just that. it is the power of our principles. we project that power around the world through our own example of the inclusive society and inclusive economy that we build here at home. the challenges we face today to rebuild the american dream to craft a new policy of engagement and collaboration to refocus our national security strategies on 21st century threats, these challenges are all connected. and their pursuits are all mutually reinforcing of one another. but ultimately, the source of america's global strength is our own prosperity, our own prosperity here at home. our economy isn't money. our economy is people.

all of our people. and only only with a stronger more inclusive economy can we maintain our security. only with a stronger and more inclusive american economy will we succeed. pursue a more effective economy for the cause that we share in lead of a rising middle class free from oppression and fear. in thinking deep the about america's role in the world, i find myself drawing inspiration from the very troubled world that my parents and their generation tamed and the planet that they saved from the brink of nuclear annihilation. my parents were born during the great depression. they are part of that rate -- that great generation of americans who went on to win in

the second world war. my dad flew missions. they raise their children, the six of us. we must remember their success. our strength abroad depends on our strength at home. no fighter jet or true italian -- or troop battalion will keep us as safe as a vibrant economy, strong democracy, and a growing and racing middle-class. by restoring an american economy that works for all of us again we will make ourselves and more prosperous and secure nation. we will give our children a future with more opportunity rather than less. and we will make our planet a healthier, were peaceful, and -- more peaceful and just place

for all of humanity. these are the ambitions of the -- ambitions were the of a truly great people. and this is why i'm turning your president of the united states. thank you all very much. [applause] thank you. >> the governor will take questions. he will take a few questions. we have microphones in the audience. raise your hand if you have a question. this time is not exclusively for questions if you have answers. [laughter]

we would like to hear your answers. yes, sir. >> a few years back i was in baltimore resident. you served as my governor. thank you for your service. you talked earlier about having defense and diplomacy and equal levels. one thing that is unequal is -- is that something you would -- development lacks a cabinet level agency. is that something that you would consider if you were president? fmr. gov. o'malley: yes. that might qualify as an answer. [laughter] yeah, i think that good will be lead to sustainable development. thank you for that. good one.

i thought it would come to the truman project. [laughter] anyone else? >> i'm also a resident of maryland. i actually saw you play in silver spring four years ago. you brought up a new reform national security act to replace the one from 1947. what would be the major tenets of that? what would you change? fmr. gov. o'malley: i think that we had not called the great minds of our country together to this task since 1947 really in a holistic way. threats that we face are different threats.

i think that it is time. i think we shouldn't presuppose the outcome of that understanding and search for a better way to anticipate threats. a better way to maybe take agencies like the defense threat reduction agency or the centers for disease control and try to reimagine how we might create a more robust function when it comes to looking over the horizon so we don't find ourselves outside of the turning radiance of these events. i'm thinking of the pandemic outbreak of ebola in africa. from the lessons i have learned as an executive, 15 years of exec at of service -- executive service and as a governor, it is

important you be able to develop the capacity to anticipate threats before they rise to the level of crises. i don't think we are doing a good job of that. we tend to wait until it seems the options left to us our military options before we focus on the things that need to be done. i also see the need for new alliances in places around the world. i mentioned some of them. the arctic. the south china sea. other areas of pandemic. i believe the national security act of 1947 lasted a good long time. threats are different today. we should get our heads around cyber.

we are sometimes struggling to catch up. >> thanks for being here governor. looking out at the future, what are the things you have done as -- one of the things are done as governor that is intriguing -- thinking about ways we could be talking about externalities to judge progress -- gdp would have indicated it is incredibly short term but don't take into account environmental and social factors that really matter to people's lives. i was wondering if you think this is something worth stirring up or at least starting a conversation at the federal

level. frm. gov. o'malley: absolutely. thank you for noticing. [laughter] sometimes you do these things and you think it is cutting edge and your whole cabinet get into it and he spent a lot of time and in terms of public opinion, sometimes things nobody saw. we looked at the quality of life. the health of the air we breathe. the rivers and streams. the time we spent in traffic when we could be with our families are doing for the things. we put all of these together. it is our hope that over time that genuine progress index will guide the decisions we make on our budget and the capital decisions we make. they're very important causes by the different types of sustainable development and not taking over the lad of the -- land of the chesapeake bay.

developing workforce housing near transit centers so you are able to improve the quality of life and reduce traffic congestion. the genuine progress index on the national scale would also be important. as well as a development tool around the world. as i have talked to people who do a lot of this work, it seems to me that human nature is the same the world over. people want to be able to raise their kids and have them lived -- live to adulthood. they want to feed their kids. they need clean water. there are certain building blocks for that quality of life. as people see even in conflict prone parts of the world they're able to give their kids a better way forward. sacrifice.

in order to make that progress possible. it's a barrel be a tool at the -- i think he could be an incredible tool at the national and international level. thank you for asking that. over here. the whole row. [laughter] >> you mentioned that it is -- you mentioned the russia today is neither an ally or true adversary. you also focused a bit on cyber security. russia has emerged as one of the greatest threats. could you comment a little bit about your view on russia? fmr. gov. o'malley: sure. we have all been reading in the newspaper and watching events of the russian expansion in

ukraine. at the same time in the iran nuclear negotiations, russia was one of those states that was part of that effort. they were involved pretty deeply over a year ago in events in syria. no doubt there remain so. what i was underscoring is in some of these things and china as well, we confront china and other places as in partying -- partnering to scale of solutions in this world. collaboration with china could be the salvation of the planet. where russia is concerned, i'm also very aware of their capacities where cyber is concerned. a little known fact, maryland

has had a national guard mission to estonia for some 20 years or more for nato membership. i visited estonia. met with their head of state and also two of the nato center events for cyber security. estonia is one of the few countries that has actually suffered a full-scale cyber attack and a shutdown. that did not stop the estonians from using technology. instead they upped their defenses. and actually became more efficient and better equipped. get this. they actually vote online. that is how secure they have been able to make their country. this is not the cold war anymore where we were facing opponents that were totally adversarial in

every round. there are shifting interests and alliances. we have to be adaptable and flexible, even as we are firm and understanding our commitments to allies and put in place as we have now with allies that sanctions that show russia that they have a choice to make. they could either harm the economy by harming nations around them, or they could respect the international norms and have a better quality of life and economic life for their people. >> 3:00. i had a question. in my mind i am thinking of the quote that a country that separates its warriors from the cowards --

fmr. gov. o'malley: who said that? >> i don't know, but i will take credit if no one else does. [laughter] you should have just said cicero. >> it reminded me of an experience. in my second tour to iraq, i was reclassified from a tour officer to a civil authorities officer. what i saw was, it is putting the military in the role of nationbuilding without integration of effort for the three d's that you identified. how do you anticipate being able to bring together different diplomatic organizations and defense organizations and a functional way to make sure you have a circumstance where you have military members that are wise in the ways of diplomacy

and development, people within development that understand defense and diplomacy and seeing that really functional integration. i think too often you see those silos that exist with each one of those entities. how do you envision the ability to break down some of those silos and cross work within those agencies to make sure when we go in, we go in ballistic we -- lillian holistically and not as a coalition of cylinders of excellence, but it into operating group of the same mission from the u.s.? fmr. gov. o'malley: terrific question. thanks for what you have done for all of us. the problem you described is not limited to the military a sustainable development. nor diplomacy. it is part of human nature. let me try this one on you. everybody likes a common platform as long as they can maintain their own. that is the way that human nature is.

it seems that since the days of the current the pendulum has , been swinging to specialization and other more cylinders of excellence, silos of excellence. in the old days, governors used to be considered great governors based on how many different departments they could break the big departments into. separate station and specialization. now you see not only in today's topic, but this in health. we look to raise up wellness rather than disease as the focus. you see this in education. you see this on college campuses and ask kids what their focus -- with their majors are. more realizing that it is not the specialization or separation, but integration that

allows us to be effect is as a team. on a football team, there is only so much an individual to do. but when you start acting plays you actually move the ball down the field. i believe that the way to do this is to recognize that problem. i think we have to start in an intentional way. training. drilling. studying. working with each other long before we are displayed to a -- we are deployed to a battlefield. i think we have the ability to do that better than any other. but i think it will take some intention and some conscious effort to say this is the problem. and we can solve that by creating collaborative team. teams trained together, deployed together, and together, work together. that is what i would envision. someone over here. there are still some over here.

>> hello. thank you for being here. you touched upon better humans, which i found very human -- a very interesting. fmr. gov. o'malley: human intelligence. i swallowed the second word. we all hope to be better humans one day. [laughter] >> they do started telling us about it for people who want to join the effort. what would you do about that? how would you make that effort to hire good humans safer, practical, and pragmatic? opm could not do it. fmr. gov. o'malley: before who took away their ability? what's that? oh, in general.

we are rushing to catch up to this era of cyber threats and hacks and theft of personal information. in our state, because of the location of nsa, we had a will trained unit that understood cyber security. we brought them in to do red team and blue team that worked through our larger departments. the personnel records and personal information. i could see every state doing that. i think the u.s. needs to do that as well. there are collaborative effort. there doesn't seem to be the urgency of command and control especially in the civilian realm. it seems that we need to do a much better job of bringing in the experts in i.t. at private sector and private contractor work.

from silicon valley to fort meade. in order to do a better job of this, one of the bigger challenges we have faced is in our procurement of i.t. services. boy, are we awful at securing i.t. -- no offense. [laughter] no offense. if you got a gig, great. but we are not terribly good at it. it is the capacity we need a task force to rapidly stack up. -- staff up. this sort of low bid thing that doesn't service very well. when it comes to i take, we need to look at cyber security much more as a service than a procurement. and more leeway in terms of exacting standards and responsiveness and things of that nature rather than falling

victim to the oppression of low bid or let's-cross-hour-angers-and -hope-it-doesn't-happen. we've got some people in the center. >> one more question. fmr. gov. o'malley: who has the best question? [laughter] >> thank you for your support frontline civilians. we appreciate it. i wanted to ask you many of the challenges you mentioned whether it is that ebola crisis or the economy and countering violent extremism, all of these challenges where women could play a vital role in addressing them, i'm wondering if in your vision of national security, there is a way we could elevate

women's role in encountering those challenges and how you might do that. fmr. gov. o'malley: again to the question about integration. -- about immigration. one of the reasons we are such an innovative economy is because of this notion we sometimes take for granted as americans, that full inclusion and full participation makes us better as a nation. it also allows us to develop human solutions to human problems because of a it's that are welcomed around that table. my father was a trial lawyer. he used to tell us that the dinner table i never once lost a case because of impaneled jury of men and women made a decision contrary to what the facts were. he would say he lost them for other reasons. [laughter]

i do believe in military and foreign sustainable development that the perspectives offered by teams of men and women is critically important. i certainly found that, in my service in city government and in state government, particularly when it came to public safety which might seem counterintuitive to some, but not to all of you. so how do we do that? how do we lift up the role of women? i think you lift up the leaders. there's often times much made about firing underperformers. i think you get organizations to change and transform and do the best when you lift up the leaders and celebrate the success of women and men. they are doing incredibly difficult things and doing them with a tremendous amount of

innovation, creativity, and excellence. i think that that is how we do it. we do by lifting up examples of the many strong and effective and creative women out there. let me say in closing that i really appreciate what so many of you have done for our country. you give me a tremendous amount of hope for where our country is headed. as i travel around the nation and i talked to people under 40, i rarely ever meet anyone who want to bash immigrants, want to deny climate change is real for -- or discriminate against gay couples. that tells me the country is moving to a more compassionate and generous and connected place. that is me a lot of hope and

draw a lot of optimism that for the next generation of americans, i mean, that word for an almost becomes antique. there is nothing foreign in our world to there is just one human yearning the world over and and we have as a nation, and as americans, a tremendous responsibility and power in this direction of growth and life on this planet. thank you for leading the way. thanks a lot. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> wow. that was a wonderful discussion

of so many of the problems and issues that the world and country are facing this group is going to be talking about that at this conference. thank you, governor o'malley for sharing your thoughts with us. you have really set the table for a very positive tone for this conference. i know good things will come out of it. i think a lot of the issues you have raised and told us we should be thinking about, we will be thinking and talking about for both of the two days that come. as a token of our appreciation we would like to present you with this harry truman inaugural medal.

i speak for many nsa and look -- i speak for many of us in the room in saying that we look forward to following your presidential campaign with interest. i hope you continue to be a champion for liberal internationalism that tonight's this community -- unites this community. maybe come see two great universities, stanford and the university of california. share your views with them. i think you will be warmly received. so thank you so much for being with us today area did [applause] fmr. gov. o'malley: thank you. it is beautiful. [applause] >> the center for strategic and international studies will hold

a discussion tomorrow. speakers include stephen campus and david ignatius. that is live at 9:00 a.m. eastern on c-span two. >> earlier today, and unmanned rocket taking off from cape canaveral broke apart two minutes after its flight. according to the associated press, the accident is a huge setback for nasa because the space agency's counting on private industry like spacex to transport cargo and eventually astronauts to the space station. today's launch was the second valve attempt in a role to bring supplies to the iss. one of the release test pilots for private commercial space flights spoke back in 2003.

>> i am here to tell you it is the most fabulous ride in the world. writing a rocket motor -- riding a rocket motor pegs the senses. it really does. that rocket motor let off like an angry bull. it's as though someone left the gate open and you are trying to hang on for eight seconds. hanging onto this thing for a minute and a half. it is a thundering, shaking, shuddering kind of experience.

we had a gauge out in front of us. we weren't sure we were able to read the flight controls go from mushy light as you come off the mothership to within about eight seconds you are supersonic. the control forces are so high. you think you are moving the stick, but you are not affecting anything. then you have to transition over to electric trains to control the trajectory. and then in the end again, you are back to flying like an airplane again because this cranky motor wants to adjust the thrust line on you. but the magic -- i really do mean this -- the magic is when you finally turn that motor off because three wonderful things happen. they happen in a blank.

the shaking, shuddering vibrations of that motor, they go away. in the case of spaceshipone, the shrieking sounds of that motor, there is this big nitrous tank that is two feet behind you that is and being itself and it is making all kinds of -- it is like a possessed cat sitting behind you. and then you become instantly weightless. you are strapped in. the tension goes away. you lose your legs. they have no weight. your sense of right side up and upside down no longer matters. you are paying attention to the instruments.

after the motor is burned out, there is nothing much you can do to effectively trajectory of the vehicle that you are on. but then you get to look out the window. my god, there's this the you you have never appreciated or never seen before. from mojave, if you have ever been to mojave, it is one of the most dreary, disappointing godforsaken races in the world. but the view from mojave is spectacular. there is san francisco to the north. baja mexico to the south. you have the pacific ocean. you have the sierra nevada mountains. you have weather patterns. of course, there is the black

void of space. separating these two probable extreme and this does is this blue light. that is the atmosphere. it's the first time you get to sort of appreciate that you are now in space in a spaceship. it sounds kind of cool to say -- what did you do this weekend? i cut the grass. oh, well i went to space in a spaceship. [laughter] you've worked to actually -- pretty hard physically just to get there. so everything your body feels is wow.

and everything you see with your eyes, because they are so much more dynamic that any camera or video, as you take in this this the, is wow. >> monday night on the communicators, we visited microsoft's washington, d.c. office to hear about their lobbying goals. we talk with fred humphries jeanette wing, and michael lewis kautsky. >> i'm hopeful that at some point congress will take on high skilled immigration because h1b is still very important. i don't know the exact number, but one we have some of the innovators that are here, the researchers that are here, we have people from all over the world that make contributions at microsoft for our scientists and engineers. and it is for other companies as well. there is still a need good when you look at that from a job perspective. >> the application of project

premonition is actually to collect mosquitoes that have bitten people to determine what kind of viruses might be around what kind of diseases might be around, through taking the blood samples of the mosquitoes and figuring out the genetic code of some of the constituents of their blood. >> the ms of this research project was around what we would be able to do with data that is freely available in the environment today. one of the things we noticed is that there are a lot of aircraft tying around -- flying around in the united states that could be considered sensors. they have data on them. they are providing information. it is relatively freely available. it is provided by the faa. there are companies that use

that information to provide information to the community about what airplanes are doing. so we decided to take that information and see if we could use that to help us predict a more accurate winds aloft forecast. what the win is doing in terms of speed and direction at various altitudes above the surface of the earth. next a visit to microsoft's washington, d.c. office monday night at 8:00 eastern on the communicators on c-span2. >> c-span gives you the best access to congress. lies -- live coverage of the house and news conferences bringing you events that shape public policy. every morning, "washington journal" is live with elected officials, policymakers and journalists and your comments by phone, facebook and twitter. c-span, created by america's cable companies and brought to you as a public service by your

local satellite or cable for matter. >> secretary of state john kerry spoke about the human rights report and highlighted new assessments that were added to it including human trafficking and corruption. there were other state department officials who took questions from reporters. this is 40 minutes. secretary kerry: i promised the rock -- the dock no mistakes.

thank you very much for being here as we release our country reports on human rights practices for it when he for people -- in 2014. this is a great team effort that literally works all year long collecting extraordinary information, sensitizing it and putting together what i consider one of the best reports that the department puts out. and it reflects a vast amount of objective research that has a uniquely valuable resource for anybody in the world who cares about justice and law. the message at the heart of the report is that countries do best when their citizens fully enjoy the rights and freedoms to which they are entitled. this is not just an expression of hope. of these reports. truth truth

-- we live in a world where access to knowledge and change are absolutely essential. in such a narrow, no country can fulfill its potential if it's people are held back, or more so, if they are beaten down by the russian. we understand that some governments may take issue with these reports, including such extreme cases like north korea or syria. but also some governments with whom we work closely male subject. but i want to say something about that game i think it is important. the discomfort that these reports sometimes cause does more to reinforce than undermine the value incredibility of these reports. truth cannot successfully be

evaded or dented or defeated not of her time. it can be changed. the truth wins out. so my advice to any leader of -- leader that is upset by these findings is to examine them and look at the progress of the country and recognize that the way to alter what the world thinks and the way to change these judgments is to alter what is happening in these countries. that that is the advice that we also give to ourselves. there is nothing sanctimonious in this, zero arrogance, and we cannot help but have humility when we have seen what we have seen in the last year in terms of racial discord and undressed. -- and unrest. so we approach this great self-awareness, but we also understand that when human rights is the issue every

country, including the united states has room to improve. in the past, global respect always begins at home. these reports can actually give government and added incentive to the rights and dignity of the citizens and eclipse the -- and also equips interested observers with an arsenal of facts. within these within these pages are the stories of imprisoned pro-democracy activists, journalists, jailed simply for telling the truth, members of religious minorities persecuted for practicing their faith civil society leaders harassed for daring to speak up and young women and girls who because of their gender are denied an education, kidnapped her views.

there are other stories because these reports actually have improved over time. we do a better job of examining and making judgments about what is happening in places and frankly, reports have become more comprehensive each year as a result. traditional principles of free speech, religious liberty, and equal protection remain at the center of our policy, but we have gradually expanded our reporting to include human trafficking, internet freedom on the rights of persons with disabilities, and the lg bti community and have begun to highlight the profoundly harmful impact that corruption and poor governance have on human rights. no person anywhere should have to pay a a bribe to open a business or get a drivers license or have their day in court or sell a basket of fruit on the street. corruption is a threat to society at large on only because of the larceny in terms of the values and principles of people helped to organize their lives

by, because of the cynicism that impedes which matters because -- that it feeds. and that matters because when trust in government is lost other more harmful forces always try to fill the vacuum. in this connection no development has been more disturbing than the emergence of such groups as al qaeda, how -- bo boko haram al-shabaab. the litany of human rights crimes for which these terrorists are responsible has become all too familiar and no less shocking. murder, torture, rape religious persecution, slavery, and more. make no mistake of the world came before the world community -- the world community has an absolute obligation to confront and defeat these groups and coercive measures are obviously an essential part of that effort. at the same time we must understand that the terrorist presence does not give authorities license to use

violence indiscriminately. we cannot rescue by distraction. -- we cannot rescue a village from dash or boko haram by destroying it. terrorism obviously is not a legitimate excuse to lock up political opponents, diminish the rights of civil society or pen a false label on activists who are engaged in peaceful dissent. practices of this type are not only unjust. they played rectally into the hands of terrorists. when the pathways to nonviolent change are close the road to extremism becomes more inviting. given the suffering we have seen it is unacceptable. terrorism is a grave threat. -- terrorism is a grave threat to human rights. complex are another -- conflicts are another. we have only to turn to the 2014 country reports of such nations as the central african republic, iraq, libya, somalia, south

sudan, sudan, and ukraine which has been victimized by its russian neighbor. today an estimated 230 million people live in areas of overt strife. we are experiencing a crisis of our food security, the number of refugees has reached a record level. unicef called 2141 of the most -- 2014 one of the most disastrous years ever for children. in yemen and in yemen and elsewhere conflict and civil strife have grown worse. the persistence of terrible bloodshed is a challenge to all of us. to strengthen our institutions and political will so that we can do a better job of deterring aggression, holding accountable those who commit atrocities, identifying potential crises ahead of time, and stopping outbreaks of violence before they begin. finally it is working and some

-- it is worth asking and some people do ask this question. why do we care? why do we do this? why do we issue this report? why do we americans care whether the rights of others are respected? well in an interconnected world injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, and there can be no doubt that they will -- that our citizens will do better and they will feel safer in a world where the values that we cherish are widely upheld. but there is also an even deeper reason for why we care. because when human rights tragedies are supplanted by human rights victories, the very idea progress becomes less rhetorical. and much more real. what do i mean by that? consider a couple of questions. first, is there more hopeful

measure of civilizations advance than the abolition of slavery the enfranchisement of women the end of apartheid, the fall of the berlin wall and the broadening recognition of minority rights everywhere in the world? is there a more meaningful agenda for the future than the shrinking of bigotry, the curtailment of conflict, the defeat of terrorism, the prevention of genocide, and a full of commitment to the right send the dignity of every man, woman, and child? so why do we care? we care because respect for human rights provides the truest mirror that we have of ourselves , the most objective test of how we have, over the centuries and half are we still have to go. it is a yardstick it would -- by which we can measure life itself. i realize that is placing a lot of weight on what is after all just a report. but i think the description

fits. and i hope it will inspire us, people here and around the world, between this year and next, to take more steps hopefully giant steps in the direction of greater justice whiter decency, and peace. so i thank you for coming together. i know you will have some questions. i will leave this in his hands to further make a statement and then to answer your questions on specific countries. so assistant secretary of state, tamil and now scape. -- tom malinowski.

asst. secretary malinowski: before i take your questions let me talk about the 2014 report and highlight some of the major developments that we have documented in this past year. as the secretary emphasized, the human rights reports demonstrates america's commitment to human rights and their tool in their own right in the advancement of those rights. they cover 199 countries and entities. they strive to provide a comprehensive review of conditions around the world. they are also the most widely read documents that we put out at the state department every single year. i think that reminds us that, what america says about human rights around the world, just the words matter greatly.

despite all the problems that the reports describe, i want to start by noting that people working for democracy and human rights around the world made many advances in the last year and in recent months. part of a larger movement that is manifesting itself across africa and in many parts of the world. in ukraine peaceful protests help citizens reclaim their country's countries traditions for the freedom of speech and political choice. afghanistan and indonesia all the candidates before the. this year human rights and human rights activist. we saw two more elections in which people asserted their right to choose in sri lanka.

when you scan the headlines from syria to north korea to south sudan, it is clear that overall, 2014 was a tough year for human rights and human rights activists. we highlight many specific cases in the reports and more have developed this year. for example, the disappearance of a zimbabwean civil society activists who has been missing for 100 days now. the u.s. encourages the zimbabwean government to messy get this. one of the notable trends this year was the brutality of nonstate actors. these groups did not emerge from nothing. violent extremism in nigeria was exacerbated i the actions and in some ways the inaction of the previous government. in syria the rise was fueled by

the horrific abuses in iraq and marginalized -- many in the sunni community felt marginalized the they were being ignored by the government in baghdad. as president obama noted many of our biggest national security challenges come from the biggest human rights failures. so our response to terrorist groups must be consistent with human rights, too. which leads us to another troubling trend that the report has identified, the misapplication of counterterrorism laws to stifle criticism and restrict space for civil society. for example, in saudi arabia, peaceful internet activist raif badawi was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 100 lashes. egypt has used a real threat of terrorism to justify the prosecution of nonviolent

demonstrators. bahrain has a interest in protecting its people against violent groups yet it's government has focused much of -- much of its energy on stifling peaceful critics. last year in china one who promoted moderation and reconciliation among ethnic groups was sentenced to life in prison. we ask partner governments to make many contributions in the fight against groups like dies h. but amongst the most important contributions that we ask for is to set an example in their own societies that grievances can be addressed through peaceful democratic politics so as not to feed into terrorist propaganda that violence is the only answer. russia's aggression in the ukraine is another example of human rights crises sparking first-order challenges to our national security. our 2014 reports highlight the abuses associated in the territory russian backed

separatist control in crimea. meanwhile, even as russia denies being involved in the conflict it continues to detain ukrainians on russian soil. many are aware that russia is holding a ukrainian pilot and parliament member. all should be returned. the russian government's efforts to abolish domestic discussion of its intervention in ukraine is one example of how its behavior abroad mirrors and reinforces the persecution of the russian people -- the persecution the russian people face at home. there has been no progress in identifying those ultimately responsible for past murders of journalists, activists, and now with the killing of boris in sweat.

another prominent trend with the use of technology to control the flow of information, last year, gmail sites traffic in china reduced to zero when chinese authorities prevented mainland users from accessing. yet in turkey, government authorities blocked youtube and twitter for several days in the lead up to elections. in cuba, while the government -- government is committed to internet access, the majority of the population, some that will be working with us -- the connection between corruption, human rights abuses and authoritarian governments this is evident in many places. venezuela is one of the countries we highlighted in this context in this report. in china while the government crackdown on corruption, it also

convicted civil society activists associated with the new citizens movement in retribution for their public campaign to expose official corruption including several incidents. china has now introduced draft laws to call into question its commitment to opening its path to the world that has supported the transformation over the past three decades. we expressed our very serious concerns about these draft laws this week. and we will continue to do so. these are all very tough issues. there is no single approach or remedy and change -- approach for remedy and change. sometimes it takes a long time. but we must press for change because our hope for peace and security and prosperity depend on respect for human rights. these reports may clear that this is the standard toward which we must strive and to which we will be held.

and in that spirit, i welcome your questions. >> we have time for just a few of them. >> why was the report so late this year? the conspiracy theories are fast and furious out there. i heard three of them myself here in one of them had something to do with trade promotion authority or the strategic and economic dialogue yesterday or the china or iran talks. secondly i am wondering if you your office, has any problem or sees any disparity between what the report says about iran and cuba and the administration's engagement with oath of them that are presumably coming to fruition pretty soon. asst. secretary malinowski: got it, thanks. first, on the delay, at the outset of this process, we

decided, the secretary and i decided that we wanted to release the reports at a time when we would both be here to do it and that is admittedly not a requirement. but it is something that we felt was important to demonstrate our commitment, his commitment, to this issue. so what happened was, with that in mind, we scheduled it for a date first back in march and his travel schedule changed. we scheduled it for another date. it changed. at one point, i canceled the date we had because i decided i wanted to go to burundi to deal with the crisis there. each time, well, it was no big deal because we will do it next week. and in the secretary had his injury, which also obviously affected his ability to come down here and to do it. the result was a delay that was far longer than any of us wanted. none of us were happy with it. but i think it is fairly clear

given what is happening this weekend where the secretary's going next week, that it had nothing to do with some of the issues you mentioned. if you want an alternative conspiracy theory, i will suggest it was actually a devious plot to build interest and anticipation in the report so that you all will cover it. and matt come i think you promised us wall-to-wall coverage. >> well, i didn't -- asst. secretary malinowski: can i hold you? >> i promised everyone wall-to-wall coverage. asst. secretary malinowski: on cuba and iran, one of our saying sears that engagement is not the same as endorsement. with respect to cuba, i think that is -- that should be crystal clear, that our opening to cuba -- and i have spoken about this many times -- was designed because we felt that the new policy is better suited to promoting human rights in

cuba than the old policy. as you will know, the opening was associated closely with the release of over 50 political prisoners in cuba. the situation needs to get far better before any of us can say that we are where we want to be. but we want to feel that what we have done is to take the cuban government -- take away the cuban government's ability to say that the problems on the island are the fault of the united states and the embargo and >> what about iran? tom malinowski: the nuclear talks, the purpose as we have explained many times, is to deal with the nuclear issue. it is not to deal with the human rights issue. it is a separate concern. we have made it absolutely clear

that regardless of the outcome of the talks, we will continue to speak up and stand up for human rights in iran, that it any sanctions are lifted as a result of a deal, human rights related sanctions will remain in place. >> this report is a one-year snapshot issued every year. i would like you to explain what you see the trends are in cuba and iran, since the president became president in a run in 2013, do you see any discernible improvement in the human rights record? and since the obama administration began the opening to cuba, has there been any improvement there or is it pretty much as it was one year prior? tom malinowski: with respect to iran, i cannot say we has in any

info improvement in the human rights situation in iran. if you read the reports and compare them to previous years you will find the details of what we are concerned about. it involves obviously widespread reports of torture political imprisonment, repression against ethnic and religious minorities, government harassment of journalists and bloggers and activists and so forth. with respect to cuba, i think we did see a fairly dramatic decision by the cuban government to release the vast majority of political prisoners fully had been raising concern about for some time. we have not yet seen a let up in the day-to-day harassment that civil society activists face in cuba. short-term arrests have continued, unfortunately. i am not content -- particularly

surprise about that. we expect it. precisely because the cuban government would be nervous about the implications of the opening, that in that short term they might actually intensify the crackdown. we firmly believe in the long run, for the reasons i've mentioned, this will put us in a much stronger permission -- petition -- position. >> you gave congress the figure recently of, since obama and castro announced the agreement have we seen the numbers of prisoners increase or decrease? tom malinowski: there is a distinction between prisoners who had been convicted short-term we are talking about people picked up for a day or two to prevent them from having a meeting or a rally or doing

other things. what i mentioned to congress and we report the numbers as we get them. was a significant decline earlier this year. i was very cautious in not suggesting that we thought this would necessarily offend, it was simply a fact. in the last few months we have seen an increase from those low numbers. this is a problem that continues. >> thank you, sir. i want to talk about the section that pertains to israel and the west bank. you say figures are very consistent with the commissions of inquiry. you site improvement by both israel and the west bank -- palestinian authority. would you share with us some of

those improvements? tom malinowski: for those details, i would refer you to the report on the commission of inquiry. during the conflict, we made clear from this podium, that we supported israel's right to self-defense. at the same time, we were deeply concerned about the well for -- welfare of civilians and urged authorities to do all they can to protect civilians particularly given the high civilian death toll in gaza. with that said, it is important to look at -- back, it is important to understand what happened, to learn lessons apply those lessons. it is important to do it in a balanced way. it is no secret that we have long felt that balanced approach has not been a hallmark of the human rights council's approach to israel.

our concerns about the report in the process we have made clear for that reason. take you. -- thank you. >> you mentioned been as well as a country you highlight in the report. could you go on to mention specifics? tom malinowski: i mentioned venezuela first of all, in the context of corruption. the reason i mentioned that, is that there -- we often hear from the government of venezuela very strong propaganda directed to the united states and american interests here, blaming the united states for problems. and yet, we have also found that not only are they very high levels of corruption in venezuela, but they often involve people who are part of the government supporters of the government, enjoying the proceeds of their corruption in

the united states. that is one reason why we took action earlier this year in imposing a visa ban, not just against human rights violators but against those responsible for high-level corruption in venezuela. >> thank you. i was wondering if i could ask you, yesterday at the strategic economic dialogue, chinese officials, with regard to the ngo loss and matter of strengthening rule of law in china, they had done it with consultations with other countries but essentially there was nothing to worry about. i'm wondering, when you raise concerns you just mentioned do you feel there is any -- do you feel they are being receptive at all or are you repeating the same over and over again falling on deaf ears? tom malinowski: in my diplomatic career, i don't think i have ever had a meeting in which

people on the other side respond to a brilliant point i have made by saying you know, you're right and we are wrong and we will change what we are doing. i think the chinese side receives a very strong and unified message not just from me or the secretary of state but from people from every agency. on the dangers of this. the reason why it was a unified message is this affect everybody who does business in china. a potentially affect foundations, businesses, cultural exchange, students and educational exchange, in addition to people working on issues like rule of law and human rights. whatever china does, i think it is going to find that moving in this direction will result in a very concerted and unified push.

we will see what happens. we are very concerned about the implications of it, and about the rhetoric of cultural infiltration that the chinese government is using to justify this law domestically, and what that says about china's future development. >> thank you for doing this briefing. you mentioned that the -- this is the most read document at the state department issues. could you give us a number quantify that? and in the section on iran, i notice you don't refer to any american citizens by name, you just call them dual citizens. i'm wondering why that is. tom malinowski: i will have to get you that numbers the first one. i don't know them off the top of my head. it has long been settled.

and it continues to be the most widely read document. on the dual citizens, we generally, and there is not an absolute rule -- but we generally don't mention american citizens by name in this report. we followed this year, the same practice with respect to a few citizens. the same practice as last year. with the exception of jason's case, that is new this year. but we did not name them. i think one reason for that is, the report cannot be a comprehensive listing of people, of individuals detained around the world under these. circumstances. well we try to do is use these stories to illustrate a larger human rights problem. that is the main point of naming them in the first place to talk

about the pattern in iran or others in other countries of detaining people unjustly for reporting stories or peacefully exercising their opinion. >> thank you. on the human rights situation in north korea, what is the united states' destination for the improvement on human rights in north korea? tom malinowski: destination? our destination appears quite far off, but the destination is the people of north korea should enjoy the same rights and freedoms of the people of south korea and every country in the world, who are able to speak their minds and elect leaders, and to travel where they want, and not to be placed in labor camps because of something they have said or thought or because

of who their writeup -- relatives are. that destination seems very difficult to achieve but i think it is very very interesting that in the last several years we have seen inside north korea far greater awareness among the population of what their rights are and how people outside of north korea live. what has sustained in this regime over many years has been its ability to deny people that knowledge. and its ability to do that has eroded considerably in the last few years, and we are doing everything we can to try to get knowledge and information to the people of north korea, so that this trend continues. i think one lesson we have learned from changes in many other countries is that change takes time. but when it comes, it often surprises us and goes very quickly. i think they will come when we see that happen in north korea. >> do you think the north korean

leader will bring -- be brought into international criminal court? tom malinowski: i think the leadership is under more pressure on human rights than it has been in any point in history. that is partly because of the efforts of this administration, and our allies and partners, and japan and south korea and all over the world to support this commission of inquiry and recommendation. and to bring this issue to greater public attention. it is interesting how the north koreans have responded. people used to think they didn't care what we think about their human rights record. that is clearly not true. >> thank you. and thank you to secretary kerry for this report. on bangladesh, do you think the

human rights situation of bangladesh is satisfactory as bangladesh is facing many challenges on democracy and human rights? tom malinowski: further details, i'm sure you will read the chapter, but i can say that since the one-year anniversary of the flawed 2014 elections, we have been in regular contracact, to urge an end to the violence that has disrupted daily life and killed and wounded innocent victims. we have conveyed in strong terms, the objection to the use of violence and emphasize the government's responsibility to allow peaceful political activity and use appropriate levels of force in dealing with threats to live in order. >> -- to law and order. >> the secretary mentioned

countries that might have a problem with this report. i'm wondering on the opposite of that. when you look at a country like egypt, the death sentence of mohamed morsi and some of the other things you have had problems with happened this year. but clearly last year there was a massive crackdown on not just people who had committed crimes, but in general members of the muslim brotherhood. there has been a criticism that the u.s. has not been as forceful as it could be, because it is important relationship with the new government. i'm wondering if you look back on the last year, you had some problems in bahrain. egypt is another issue with a close ally. i'm wondering if you can reflect on the past year and whether these political important national security relationship make it difficult for you to be able to advance human rights in the way that a human rights

defender, such as yourself looks at these issues. tom malinowski: sure. these are difficult issues. and they require difficult choices. if it was easy, i wouldn't be interested in having this job. it would be really boring. even people who are deeply committed to the defense of human rights around the world often disagree about the best way to do it. as you mentioned, i have been here for one year now. i have been in all the discussions and conversations and involved in virtually all the decisions we have made on those issues. i can tell you that the objective of defending human rights that the secretary just spoke about, they are front and center in everything we had tried to do. look at how we launched our

campaign against isil, by seeking a more inclusive government in iraq and lodging an effort to protect that he is eating people -- yazidi people. look at how we leveraged tpp to leverage human rights in vietnam or used that cuba opening in the ways i just discussed. are prioritized a democratic situation in sri lanka before every engaging. time and time again, i think we have made decisions with that objective in mind, often getting results including the ones i have mentioned. sometimes, it is very difficult because this is not the only interest we have in the world. it is an interest. it is intimately related to national security and prosperity, but not the only one. it would be childish and

unrealistic to suggest it can be or should be only one. with respect to egypt and bahrain, to countries in the middle of a region in turmoil where we had very important interests partnering with government against terrorism. we have still kept this issue front and center among other things. we have not gone back to the exactly the same military relationship we had with egypt before all of this started. we have encouraged very strongly, the release of mohammed's all-time -- and we continue to press for the release of other nonviolent opposition leaders who remain in prison. >> thank you, thank you very much. tom malinowski: thank you everyone.

>> the new congressional directory is a handy guide to the 114th congress, with color photos of every senator and has member. plus bio and contact information and twitter handles. also, district maps, a foldout map of capitol hill and a look at congressional committees, the president's cabinet, federal agencies and state governors. order your copy today. it is $13.95 shipping and handling at c-span.org. >> i'm not one of those who believes in the psychiatric examination of people. i believe that most of these people psycho historians should be on the cat themselves rather than psychoanalyze people they have never met. on the other hand, when i meet people, i don't judge them in

terms of a firm handshake or eye contact. what i tried to do when i meet people's listen to what they say. you don't learn anything when you are talking. you learn a great deal when they are talking. >> one of the many tragedies that richard nixon is he was very self-conscious, not very self-aware. endless ironies. he did have a psychiatrist. he later said he was careful not and think he was analyzing him. but nixon went in because he had psychosomatic illnesses in the 50's, his head hurt and his neck hurt and he couldn't sleep. the doctor gave him mild therapy. even though he wanted to win, he hated psychiatrists. nixon was afraid of looking at himself in a realistic way. one of the reasons, he is write, i don't carry grudges. hello? he was one of the great grad carriers of all-time. he could be very on se --

un-self reflective because his lashing out is what destroyed him. >> evan thomas talks about the inner -- victories and defeat and inner turmoil of richard nixon, the stories associated with our nation's 37th president. tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span's "q&a. " >> coming up next, u.s. resolution's in the aftermath of south carolina's the deadly shooting at a church in charleston. that is followed by president obama delivering the eulogy at friday's funeral services for reverend clementa pinckney. host: we want to welcome you

back. this has been a personal loss for you. guest: the reverend was my cousin on both sides of the family. jack leonard was our great great grandfather. his parents and my parents, grew up across the tobacco and cotton and corn fields from one another. and my brother, senator kent williams, was a colleague of clem, and he serves on the finance committee. they were very close. very close relationship. the stephenson's, howards williams so it was very personal. host: you were in friday in charleston. the president delivering a eulogy. your observations?

guest: i was just moved by the president. i must tell you. you could tell it was not planned. you could tell he was so emotional that he got lost in the moment. but yet thanked amazing grace. -- sang amazing grace. the way the bishops arose up behind him, i found myself sitting behind my brother rising up and singing with them. it was so moving. i think it just really cap shared -- captured a reminder of what churches meant. not just to the black community, but all communities. especially for black people. when this country did not see them as their brethren and treated them as chattel. the church was a place you could go find comfort. it was a place of refuge. the president reminded the

country and all communities, the occurrence of that. i felt it was a profound moment. host: this has led to a new debate over the confederate flag and what it represents. are you surprised at how quickly opinions have changed in fitfully what many call in charleston, the charleston nine? guest: including myself, i have not always been an advocate for the flat coming down, because my attitude was that flag did not come down off apple and cause the terrorists attacks of those nine innocent lives. but we must realize it sends a message. people take symbols and they can do wonderful things or they can do things that lead to terror. it is part of what is necessary for us to heal. we all need to revisit that flag , no matter what it may have meant in the past. on a more historical note, the confederates lost the war.

when you lose the war, you don't usually get the right to continue waving and displaying your relic. they normally end up in a museum. general robert e lee, when asked him if he wanted to be buried in his confederate retaliatory he said no, he said it would be treasonous to be buried in confederate regalia. we lost the war, and we west -- must accept that. so long ago. host: there is a picture in an article by bruce levine on politico.com, showing the history of the confederate flag. his point is this. the confederate flag was always racist. modern-day racists are not distorting the meaning because the south represents the proposal of the continuation of slavery among other issues. guest: it was their economic engine.

obviously it was representative of slavery. no one can argue that. but you would think that 200 plus years removed from that that americans would overcome this stain from human slavery to segregation, to civil rights movement, to what we saw a recently with the terrorist attack on that church. you would think that hearts and minds have enabled to see what that has brought on the country. and yet, that young terrorist reminded us that among young people the young people who are so far removed from this, to harbor those kind of ideas and thoughts and the kinds of terror he wanted to carry out. he denied that they are alone. -- he did not get there alone. you have to wonder what his parents and community poured into his head. there's more. he is not alone. i'm not just talking about the hue of his skin. anyone can pour hatred and

bigotry and superiority and inferiority into their children. we have to look back at ourselves and families and ask ourselves, what do we say to our children when no one else is listening? what example do we set for our children when no one else is around? ultimately, it becomes who we are. when it is reinforced, it can lead to terrorist attacks on any church in the country. i think what it has unleashed is a reckoning of the conscious of america that we do need a conversation about race. i have always said race is something in the past, but for me it doesn't matter how much i have invested in my ideology and what i believe in. when god, through suffering of people, shows us that i am willing to bend in my alley -- ideology. it is a fact that race in america and we need to talk about it. host: our guest is armstrong

williams. our phone lines are open. more from the president's eulogy on behalf of the pastor of the ame baptist church. the crowd, had more than 6000 people in attendance. here is what the president said. president obama: for too long we were blind to the pain that the confederate flag started in our citizens. [applause] it is true, it is true, a flag did not cause these murders. but as people from all walks of life, republicans and democrats now acknowledge, including governor haley -- whose recent eloquence on the subject is worthy of praise. [applause] as we all have to acknowledge

the flag has always represented more than just ancestral p ride. [applause] for for many, black and white, that flag was a reminder of systemic oppression. and racial subjugation. we see that now. removing the flag from the state capital, would not be an act of political correctness. it would not be an insult to the balance of confederate soldiers.

it would simply be -- be an acknowledgment because for which they fought. the cause of slavery was wrong. [applause] host: armstrong williams, the president from friday on the confederate flag and racism in america. your response. guest: it is an important message. i know some people may see it as political. but the president, this is what he believed. he spoke out. it is what many people wanted to hear. but i think with that, with removing the flag, with all that the president spoke about, i don't know if you realize this -- it is one thing for, one thing about our family, with my brothers in the family. is that we would we were. we knew we were dissensions -- descendents. we knew what i family stood for

and what they expected from us. they did not expect us to have children unless we can take care of them. they expected us to get an education. they expected us to respect communities and to achieve. they expected us to carry ourselves like gentlemen. they expected us to embrace the moral center. we all have things we need to pray about. they expected as not to judge people by the hue of years in but the content of your character. they really believed in what martin luther king stood there. because that, many of us became contributing citizens to our society. often times, children grow up in families when they are called worthless. they are called unspeakable names. they go out where those country -- names are reinforced. families must be very conscious of how they communicate to

children. as the president said, the church was it place that made black people feel beautiful that they were special and where they could be somebody. when you instill worthiness in people, self-respect and dignity, very few things, even the blood of racism can alter you from achieving and accomplishing. all of those things must work together in parenting and self respect and discipline and hard work, all of those things will be integrated -- integrated in with the president spoke about. host: yet you come to the table as a critic of the president? guest: i voted for the president. i was very proud of that vote. my mother told me i had no choice. i agree. it was history. i did not want to close my eyes when that day comes and realize when i had a chance that i did not make the right vote. i have no regret. it is not about the president's policy.

it is a country of every president was white. there is no way you will make me believe they were all qualified and the best and brightest. there's no question the president has the intellect and confidence to govern the country. what i come from a certain ideology as a business owner and entrepreneur that i don't necessarily -- even in his policies are entitlement he has a right, that. that is what shaped him. i don't agree. the second time around, i voted my belief system. i voted my pocketbook and what i felt was best to move the country forward. it was not the policies i saw the president in the first term. the without a doubt, i'm proud of the fact i put it for him the first time. host: republican line, with armstrong williams. television talkshow host,. >> good morning. we in america are facing a very

dangerous situation. the incident happened in charleston we look at the physical, what can we see here. this is a spiritual realm. a young man, it is going to happen because there is a devil. we are on the verge of a meltdown. it will affect the whole world. this is a very dangerous situation. on all sides. white races, black races hispanic and so forth. there is a spiritual problem. we better get ready because we are heading towards a great war -- race war. guest: there is an illness infected in the country. you don't know how it will play out. that is why i tell you, i had a chance to go back to my hometown

, where my father is in my grandparents. it was a 2 hour drive. you would have been shocked to see people, black, white, young old along the procession with american flags just waiting -- waving. saying we love you. you would have thought it was the president of the united states. it tells you that americans got the moment. even at the cemetery, there were hundreds of people flooding area to let them know that we were moved. we will be better with our children. we will be better in our communities. better as human beings. if that is the price we have to pay, i want my family member -- i don't want my family member to pay a price. certainly if something can come out of this that is good, then those nine will not be in vain. host: democrats line, good morning. >> good morning.

it is good having you on, it is a great show this morning. i just wanted to make a few comments in regards to the flag. the confederate flag being a perennial atrocity. historically for black people in the world, enslaved through the middle passage and 100 million of us died for slavery. capitalism as a system that supports this, and democracy we live in, needs to be changed.

we are still at the bottom of the totem pole. america is the richest country in the world and has the largest incarcerated rate of african descended people. host: how do you respond? guest: american blacks are not at the bottom of the barrel. what we often see in the media is sometimes the worst portrayal of african-american life. there are so many young people through education and creativity, that make incredible contributions. many of them who are still married to the same spouse, they just are not highlighted. it is the image and stereotypes. the media also has a role. if you continue to believe someone is a criminal, and you don't see good images, the good things they do, those things are reinforced into what people begin to believe.

and in that, while racism does exist, it raises some did not exist, today in america, if he not exist, i would be so bold to say, in terms of the situation people find themselves in, not much would drastically change. it is more than just racism. it is about the choices people make and how they take advantage of opportunity and repair themselves. and how much they're willing to sacrifice for not only themselves but their family. pass on a legacy. often we falter on. host: independent 9 -- line. >> good morning. i want to talk about the confederate flag. the confederate flag was not -- it was a battle flag.

the civil war did not start over slavery. not until 1863. when lincoln brought it in. the flag flying over the southern memorials and stuff, is actually a battle flag. the united states flag flew over slavery. it started slavery under it, all through the years, they had slavery. and even today, the flag is still there and nobody is saying nothing about the united states flag. but yet they are condemning a war memorial flag, that americans died under. the south was still americans. if you read the speech of lincoln, at gettysburg, he

recognized the southern soldiers as much as he recognized the northern soldiers. host: thank you for the call. guest: you know, the failings of our society that they did not realize that in leadership especially moral leadership, that we are treated equal. when you put policies and systems in place that make people unequal and make other people -- feel better than some. this is a long and lasting legacy. they have no done -- no one for themselves to blame for this sickness and sadness we continue to find ourselves in. that is why today, we must realize there is no substitute for morality. there is no substitute for right and wrong. you must understand, slavery was wrong. the place, to place your brothers in title and to rape.

we must be better than our founding brothers. we must be better. we must find a consciousness that we must find that race does not matter unless we allow it to matter. you cannot hate you cannot hate someone based on race whether you think there is good racism are bad racism. we must realize what martin luther king said, a man and a lemon should be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. host: armstrong williams can be heard weekdays on xm channel 126, urban radio, he is also seen in the washington dc area on w dalloway -- wljjla. you began your career working with senator strom thurmond. his son, a state senator is

working to take the flag off of the capital, and irony because of his views on segregation. guest: let me also say i am a proud graduate of a historical black university. south carolina state college. senator thurmond, i was so proud of his eloquence on the legislative floor. in south carolina, where he spoke about the flag. state senator. the profound argument. it is just hard to argue, no matter how the dissenting voices that may want to continue to debate about what the flag really means unfortunately those are done. the conscience of america has been unleashed. if you look at mississippi wasted all across the country,

it is not just the south. everyone is being touched by the massacre. no one can imagine that in the most sacred place in our lives everyone knows on wednesday you will find many -- to find the love and embrace. even for him to say that he almost changed his mind, but his soul is so that, even though he was in the most sacred place, he saw the best of humanity, still it was not enough for him to stop this massacre. and still the families have forgiven him, he has not yet asked for forgiveness. he has shown no remorse. he has not seen -- said he was sorry. what kind of human being is this? host: from new jersey, good morning. >> good morning.

i am so glad to be able to speak. i have always followed him, i'm glad to have the opportunity to talk to you. i want to agree with you on two points. when you talk about the media showing negative images of african-americans, and not all the positive lives many of us have. i also want to mention the part about how important it is for parents and african-americans to really instill self values of self-respect and hard work. i'm concerned too many of our young african-americans embracing the freedoms we had that is wonderful, and how times have changed, and they get to dress how they want and there is less censorship. i'm concerned we are losing those values about how we as african-americans project ourselves. should we have to have, be so

concerned about this? from a freedom standpoint, we shouldn't. but i'm afraid that we are not holding onto the need to say there are positive images. if we don't protect those, the images you see out there is what many, unfortunately quite americans think about african-americans. thank you so much. i appreciate talking to you. host: thank you. guest: i might take it a step further. while we advocate taking the flight down, this country should demand that the music industry take the hate, the bashing of women, the use of the n-word, things that do not promote good values, we should demand through the marketplace that they changed the music, that artist put out that is