by british prime minster david cameron. later democratic presidential candidate bernie sanders talks about the current delegate count and his campaign moving forward at a news conference in washington. >> this week on "q&a," "democracy now" host an executive producer amy goodman. she talks about some of the stories over the past 20 years. >> amy goodman, 20 years of "democracy now." you say going to where the silence is is your motto. >> unfortunately the corporate media leaves such a gap to cover the majority of people in this country and around the world.

when you turn to a network, they have the small circle of pundits who knows so little about so much, explaining the world to us and getting it so wrong. the idea of "democracy now" starting 20 years ago, it really hasn't changed. bringing out the voices of people at the grassroots in the united states and around the world. they very much represent the majority of people. i think people who are concerned deeply about war and peace about growing in equality in this country, about climate change, the state of the planet or not a fringe minority. not even a silent majority. but the silenced majority silenced by the corporate immediate, which is why we have to take it back. >> 20 years ago end of february we had you as a guest on our morning show. here's a clip four days after you started "democracy now."

>> got to ask about this piece. why liberals find talk radio so threatening. you're a talk show host and not a conservative. >> that's right. we just started a show this week called "democracy now," which is the only grassroot daily election show. bringing the voice of the grassroot into the national political discourse. i haven't read the article. i find talk radio -- i don't get to hear a lot of talk radio because i'm doing a lot myself. lot of of what we're hearing about what i'm reading is a lot of hatemongerring >> chaste -- what's the difference between "democracy now," than what it was like back 20 years ago? >> first of all, we were on nine community radio stations in 1996. when you invited me on, we

started washington d.c. at the pacific radio station. i thought you gotten the wrong number. that was the first time i was ever invited on television. it was four days after our first broadcast february 19 1996. it was really remarkable but in a sense, the mission has been changed. that was 20 years ago nine stations. now we're broadcasting in over 1400 not only community radio stations but public radio stations npr stations on public access tv stations around the country on pbs tv stations around the country and also all over the world. we broadcast on television and radio in sweden and japan and south africa throughout latin america. our headlines are translated into spanish for the spanish speaking u.s. audience as well as people around the planet. i think the growth from nine station to 1400, it's a

testament to the hunger for independent voices. people on the ground who are deeply involved in their community, not having the pundits on describing experiences they often don't know about but people themselves. that's just plain old hard work. i want to just pay tribute to all the remarkable producers and journalists and videographers who worked at "democracy now." it's that digging everyday to bring people to global audience. who are seeking in their own words, there is nothing more powerful. at the time we started on pacifica. it's instructive to look at the history. founded in 1949 berkeley, california, lou hill came out and said, there's got to be a

media outlet. that's not run by corporations that profit from war but run by journalist and artist. that's how pacifica was born. not run by corporations but nothing to tell and everything to sale that are raising our children today. so the first station was cpa in berkeley second station kpsk in 1959 wbai1960 went on the air. 1977wpfw in washington. 1970 kpsp in houston. that station only station in the country, that was blown off the air by the klu klux klan. it was only months into weeks and into its operation, when klan strapped dynamite to the

transmitter and blew it up. i think he blew it up in the middle. they got back on their feet and rebuilt the translator. the klan strapped 15 times of the dynamite and blew up again. finally go back on the air january 1971. pbs was returning -- i can't remember if it was the grand dragon. he said it was his proudest act. i think that's because he understood how dangerous independent media can be. dangerous because it allows people to speak for themselves. when you hear someone speaking from their own experience whether it is palestinian child or israeli grandmother whether

it's iraqi uncle when asked in afghanistan, whether it's a child in the south bronx or in ferguson, missouri. that breaks down stereotypes and caricatures that fuel the hate group. i think the media can be the greatest force for peace on earth instead all too often it's a weapon of war. that's why we have to take it back. >> here you are in 2008 at the republican national convention in minnesota. >> do not arrest me! >> stay right there. back up. >> you're under arrest. don't do it.

>> why the confrontation? >> well, this was the first day of the republican convention of 2008. we had just flown in from denver. that was the democratic convenience. there was major protest there against war. we came into st. paul. before the night of the convention, it was a beautiful blue sky day, 10,000 people marched for peace. they were led by men and women in uniform. they were taking great risks. they were soldiers who returned home who felt that war was no the the answer. thousands of people. we covered that protest. then, i went to the convention floor. we were covering the convention floor. i was interviewing. i remember people from alaska. this is the sarah palin john mccain convention.

i get a call on the cell phone he said come quickly. 7th and jackson. nicole has been arrested. nicole salazar were two reporters who when we finished covering the protest, they went to the public access tv where we were broadcasting from to digitized tape. i said they were in the tv station. they seen there was a protest outside. they had gone down stairs to cover it. he said they've been bloodied by the police and arrested. we got to 7th and jackson. i saw this line of riot police that you were just showing. i went up to them -- i had all my credentials on. i had the top security clearance credentials. i was on the floor of the convention. i said, i want to speak to your commanding officer. you got a part of that. two of our reporters has been arrested. they're inside in this parking

lot area they need to have them released. that's why i was standing there. it was minutes before they pulled me through the police line, pushed me against the car pulled my arms behind my back slapped the handcuffs on and pushed me to the ground. they charged me with interfering with a peace officer. only there was a peace officer in the vicinity. i'm still looking for my advantage point on the ground for shareef and nicole. i saw saw shareef. we were saying, we're junior journalist. the secret service came over and ripped the incredible-- credentialed around our neck. i said nicole what happened. how did you get arrested? she said we were in the tv studio. we saw right outside riot police

protesters. we ran down with our video camera and microphone to start recording. they would not have been doing their job if they stayed in the tv studio. they're in this parking lot. she was against parked cars. riot police came at her. this is a contained area. they were shouting on your face. they were saying, she had to move. she said where. she's against parked cars. she didn't know what hit her from behind her and in front of her. they took her down. first thing they did was take the battery out of her camera and if you want to know what they wanted to stop happening. the recording. they had their boot in her back and face in the ground and they started to ground her. which means her face was being dragged. shareef was telling them to calm down. they punch him twice in the chest and they take him down. his arm is bleeding.

they face -- i'm taken to the police garage where they directed agents to put the protesters in. spa sha reef and nicole were -- shareef and nicole was taken to jail. there were hundreds of people calling and faxing and e-mailing the authorities to have us released. a number of hours later, we were ultimately released, first me and shareef and nicole. i was brought back to the convention center. it was over for the night. i was brought into the nbc spy box and i was being interviewed. when that was finished. nbc reporter said i don't get it, why was i arrested? he said, why were you covering the protest. i didn't graduate arrested in the sky box. it's our job to get in the sky box to get into the corporate suite who's sponsoring these celebrations of democracy. the republicans and the democrats. also to be on the convention

floor and to be the delegates and get out into the street where the uninvited guests are. they were thousands of them. they had something important to say. it's our job to get it all. democracy is a messy thing. we shouldn't have to get a record when we put things on the record that's what happened to us at the the convention. we would later sue the st. paul and the minneapolis police wells the secret service. interestingly, the only reason we knew it was secret service who pulled our credentials, when i turned to police officer, said this is outrageous. he said it wasn't us, it was the secret service. we sued, the secret service wanted to be separated from the law enforcement. they didn't want to be known that they were there and they did this. there's all levels of authority at these what are called special national security events. we felt it was very critical to

send a message. journalist must be protect. all illegal arrests should not happen. ultimate it will took a number of years. we wanted a fix figure settlement. when we got out, it was right before the next convention. we felt, where do we hold the news conference announcing that the settlement has been made? we just come from st. paul the settlement, negotiation. when we went to a large gathering of police and protesters, we went to the park. this was in the middle of occupy wall street. we thought a lot of police and they'll hear. you cannot simply arrest journalist because they don't want -- because you don't want them to see. you don't want the public to see what's going on. we live in a democracy and journalism is extremely

important. there's a reason why our profession journalism is only one protected by the u.s. constitution. we supposed to be the check and balance. >> run a clip of man named alex jones, who could probably not think anymore different than you. based in texas he's saying somewhat of the same thing you're say being the corporate media let's run it and get your reaction. >> i got 30 employees and i'm not exaggerating. go to the major stat analytic site. it's dwarfing, msnbc glenn beck. they have all the flash. it's a giant hoax. they know people are looking behind the curtain now that the emperor has no clothes. they are openly announcing internet tracking, internet

taxes, they have called for a banning. that's anybody that questions the official story. the system is losing credibility, it's circling the wagons with government and the mega conform of -- corporations we are kicking their behind in. >> are you worried that somebody is going to kick your hind in and take you out of business? >> i think that corporate media has have to change its ways. they've learned. i don't think -- those with newspapers and with television i don't think it's just they're losing audience because of the internet. they for a long time has been gatekeepers. preventing most people from being heard. this year with this presidential election has shown so much. the shock of those on the network tv stations, when they

see thousands of people coming for example for bernie sanders, bernie sanders is very much expressing the views of people who came to occupy wall street. who are deeply concern about the growing inequality between rich and poor and also who is profit richest people in the world have more wealth than 3.5 billion people than half the planet. this is astounding. when occupy wall street happened, the media hardly paid attention at first. but then, mocked it and then when the police eviscerated the encampment. they represented every issue under the sun. in a sense, it was not so much a

leaderless but a leaderful movement. yes they represented many different issues. people were so frustrated with the direction that this country going. i think that we're seeing these movements on the ground percolating and coming together and coalesce. president obama was elected in 2008. many different movements came together to elect him. first and foremost, i think the peace movement. because i think that's the reason he was a democratic candidate. the difference him and hillary clinton was she was for the war in iraq and he was against the war. then there was environmental movement racial justice economic justice movement, gay and lesbian movement. all of these different movements together. they accomplished something. the first african-american president in this country has ever known, which is absolutely astounding with a country with a

legacy of slavery. when it came to the issues of these different movements ending war, dealing with climate change dealing with the inequality. people i think at that point they felt they'd accomplished something, they were either exhausted. they didn't want to contribute to the racist backlash. like the birther movement, like donald trump was one of the leaders of. the suggestion that president obama, look at what he looks like, he couldn't come from here. it was so ridiculous. not just ridiculous, it was racist and people didn't want to contribute to that backlash. i think there was a fear of criticism. one of his first promises was to close guantanamo, which became such a symbol and he admits recruiting tool for groups like the self-proclaimed islamic state. seven years into his presidency,

still guantanamo. congress has not helped. there are a number of executive actions he could have taken to ensure that the extra outside of the reach of us law but run by the united states prison would be closed. astounding more recently that president obama was in cuba the first president in 88 years to go. he's talking to the cuban president, rule castro. down the road, u.s. is presenting a model, little corner of cuba, the u.s. was lease land. what does it do with it? guantanamo. 91 men still -- it is a very painful lesson what the u.s. has come to represent to the rest of the world. >> what do you think somebody have to do in order to label themselves journalist? as you know, you got very strong

views and there's never any doubt what you think. couldn't anybody in our society say i'm a journalist and i want to credentials and i should have access to everything? >> i think the whole journalism movement and noncitizen journalist movement has been extremely important. for so long the mainstream media didn't go. places on the ground. they had that elite group of pundits. they were missing so much of the story. i think about ferguson. the networks did go to ferguson to their credit. it was after michael brown was killed by darren wilson the police officer. they showed people being tier gassed. they showed the militarization of police. there was not a lot of showing of the political leaders but the people in the crowd. i remember watching cnn one day one of the journalist, was walking along with a protesters,

now we're turning on this street and that street. in the middle of the protesters, were a backdrop. they were the scenery to a traffic report. what about handing the mic to them. it is that going behind the scenes and truly talking to people on the ground. so often you'll have the network calling us and saying, who is this person and who is this person. amazing movement that has reshaped america like the black lives matter movement. three african-american women who coined this term, black lives matter. who deeply committed to racial justice in this country. make sure that the microphone open up in the way that black lives matter movement has grabbed attention. they're not waiting for the

networks to come to them. they went to martin o'malley's rally. they're going to bernie sanders rallies. they went to hillary clinton rally and they interrupted. it wasn't just the republicans it was the democrats saying how you addressing our issues. they changed the shape of presidential politics 2016. >> what would you say to some republicans say that all the coverage that corporate media are giving donald trump is really because they want to elect hillary clinton. by giving him a lot of coverage there's no way he can be elected? >> there is no question that msnbc, cnn, and fox have become trump tv. there's no question. that's a very good he can be question for what reason they've done this. certainly the statistics show that. it's not just the networks.

it's the newspapers what the washington post from march 6 to 7th, had 16 anti-sanders articles. the "new york times" had a piece look -- had a piece looking at his record and-in congress. then it was changed by an editor to be an editor's piece. the public editor of the nugget new york times -- i remember the one donald trump was in his white house south. one of his florida residences with all the american flags behind him. he held a news conference for an hour where he showed trump steaks trump water, trump magazines. all the different trump

products. it went on for an hour. we can hold it all night. but networks stayed with it. what weren't they showing. hillary clinton had given her speech that night. they recorded it and they played it afterwards. then you go the next week two weeks later, i think it was super tuesday three, it was with illinois missouri, this was very contested five states. she had won three of them. but it wasn't clear she won her home state and win missouri. it looked neck and neck with sanders. she gave a speech for not wanting to be there. that was a day rubio pulled out. that was kasich, that was ohio. they showed his speech. they showed ted cruz of course and they usually show all the concession features. they said that donald trump was holting a -- holding a news conference again.

they kept showing the empty podium. they were waiting and they were looking for something. finally they showed it. they soak about -- spoke about half an hour. where was bernie sanders. huffington post did a piece, saying where was bernie sanders he was giving a speech to thousands in phoenix. it started before donald trump. they never showed bernie sanders at all that night at a point when it was divided 3-2. ultimately he would lose missouri and illinois. where was this candidate? the networks just brought you the others but particularly, the kendall center did a report in 2016, he got 23 times for coverage than bernie sanders. the networks make these decisions. he doesn't need to go to every community. he's being channeled into everyone's home. that has to be challenged.

it's also why we need independent media. >> go back to motivation. take the corporate media and why they do what they do. go back to the republicans who think the corporate media is trying to get hillary clinton elected by covering trump so much. >> i don't know if it's about getting hillary clinton elected. i think -- going way back, i was on msnbc, i remember it was very much at the beginning, i was saying bernie sanders right before we went to commercial, you can't be serious. well that's because they're not in communities understanding people enormous frustration. you don't feel it in the hallowed halls of the network studios. >> why not? >> they're not in touch. >> they're making lots of money

>> they are. i think the reason that you don't have a questioning of how money is drowning politics, drowning our democracy is because these networks are making so much money. especially in an election year. hands down. the less coverage they do, the more politicians need to pay money for their ads. they're furnishing whole studios and they're getting money from the ads. that's a huge problem. i think campaigns shouldn't have to raise money for cash. they should have allotted time on television. tv time is so expensive. these politicians wouldn't have to raise this kind of money which puts them in the pocket of the corporations and the super pac's. >> back to "democracy now," how of an organization is it? >> well, we started nine

stations. now we're 1400 stations. our staff is a staff based in new york city. about 25 full time people. then volunteers, interns fellows and we've been doing this for 20 years. it is just been astounding the growth. working with stations all over the country and because we're in a lot of public television and radio stations, we do a lot of fundraising. >> nonprofit. >> nonprofit. >> how much is a year? >> i don't know the exact budget. it is to cover the news all other the world. to maintain the staff. i don't know the exact budget. >> is it going to be $6 million or $7 million. >> yes. >> where do you get it? >> large part of it is listeners and viewers. some foundations. >> nonprofit. >> this is nonprofit.

we're nonprofit news organization. maybe a station a week or every week or two. it's picking up "democracy now." it's absolutely amazing. it turned the population of people who view public gigs -- television on its head. it is a young, diverse audience. people committed to hearing voices like theirs and not like theirs. but where else do you get than television and radio? >> here are two people you know well. david goodman and a man that's also on the cover of your book. dennis let's watch them. >> i have to say one of the most surprising things and most moving thing that happens again and again when we go and speak in rural areas and places that

are traditionally conservative areas. like salt lake city, it's soldiers and their families come up and speak with us. many of them thank us. we're bringing a viewpoint that they are not getting. many of them just come to express their sense of what's going on. >> there's a lot going on in the country. you have to get out there and cover it. which is what we try to do with "democracy now." which is part of offer goal. at its heart are the wonderful constellation of community media institutions that broadcast "democracy now" with whom our work would not be possible. >> you don't say much about do. isn't dennis moynihan your husband? >> no, he is married. he lives in denver >> i wonder why is that stated somewhere on the internet. >> somewhere on the internet. i said universities and colleges

in particular, you got a double, triple and quadruple check everything that you see on the internet. david is my brother, a great journalist, he lives in vermont. dennis is my colleague at "democracy now" who's been there since 2000. he lives in denver, colorado with his wife and he is really helped to build ta -- "democracy now" to what it is now. we're about to embark on 100-city tour. we'll be doing the broadcast from wherever we are. we'll start in ithaca, new york and move on to ohio state university. then we're moving ton st. louis and kansas city and we'll be in los angeles at the los angeles times book festival. c-span covers these festivals so well. we'll be doing fundraisers. we'll be moving on to san

francisco to the san francisco city arts and lecture series. going on to washington state new mexico houston texas louisiana, new orleans, atlanta, new york. >> what drives you? >> the deep commitment that independent media is the oxygen of a democracy. it's essential. building those empower -- holding those in power accountable. we're not there to serve some kind of corporate agenda. when we cover war and peace we're not brought to you by the weapon manufacture. when we cover climate change, we're not brought to you by the oil, gas and coal company. but by individuals. by who are deeply committed to getting independent information. so they can make up their own minds. they don't have to agree with what they hear.

deeply believe in a forum for free speech. >> there's a fella name john weird. do you know him? gri know what he did. >> this is back in 1991 and it's on youtube. got a clip of him talking about when he interrupted the dan rather evening news show. it's a longer clip. the whole thing is available. it's interesting thing to watch. let's watch a little bit of this when he talks about him that he does interrupt the evening news show back in 1991. >> you walk down hall. in the middle of the war and gulf, there were all of these people around. we stroll down the hall with our fake i.d.'s and we waited for the show so to to start. dan rather said good evening.

what happened was, my face popped into the screen for about three seconds. john ease head going -- we were -- >> dan rather reporting. we'll take a break for commercial. thank you very much. >> i want to apologize to you for the way the broadcast came on the air tonight. there was some rude people here. they tried to stage a demonstration. our apologies for the way it began. we'll continue after this these messages. >> this is such a powerful movement which we document in our book "democracy now," 20 years covering the movements change america. the movement fighting aids.

bravery of young people who were facing the calamity recently hillary clinton was congratulating nancy reagan, eulogizing her. it was badly president reagan did not mention aids in his first term and until his seventh year. the epidemic was raging. then you understand when you have a media that covers power and the powerful and the president was not addressing aids. people on the ground and their communities were dying. the young population taken down. why? if they could put center stage this epidemic and how it was

happening and putting money into research to deal with it. you had people like john weir. it happen happened on pbs. they said we will discuss this issue. they were taking -- they understood how powerful media is to get out a message. they took it into their own hands. >> just another clip of john weir. ma what is it about -- what is it about some people that would go and interrupt a newscast like this? where did that start in life? let's watch this. >> it turned out that, as a matter of fact, my father works for television. my father works for nbc tv. which was a rival network. he's retired now. for 35 years, his job was basically to be -- basically the

vice president. he is in charge of follow-ups. wherever anything went wrong, they called my father. it was john leap into the tv station studio. he took it personally. my mother's father, ran a radio station in denver, my brother is a video editor, he edited the olympics in barcelona. he violated the family temple. >> whether you agree or disagree, watching the overwhelm thing on youtube -- whole thing on youtube is interesting. listen to that family. this man for some reason, was quite willing to break all the codes. >> i don't think it was for some reason or other. it was because this community was being desperated needed.

his friends were dying. this was nothing compared to that. what was something was letting this country know. when they saw millions of dollars and billions of dollars being put into war, to kill people but not to save people here who are suffering from this epidemic not being talked about. he decided to take action himself. it's very important to be able to -- whether you agree or not, hear why people do something. i think about a young marine who served two tours of duty in iraq. he came back to the united states and he ended up being on the front lines of protest in oakland at occupy oakland. here was this former soldier and there are many veterans and

former soldiers who have been part of the occupy movement. he got shot in the head by a bean bag projectile of the oakland police. they almost killed him. went unconscious. people around him didn't know him went to pick him up. they were hit with a blash grenade. the group that went to save him right in front of the police. horrific story. but scott just stood by his values when he regained consciousness, ultimately came out of the hospital. he was part in 2012 of the anti-nato summit in chicago. this is very interesting what happened. scores of soldiers marched and they threw they are metals back like what happened back in the early 1970's with john kerry when he came back from vietnam war. they did the same, throwing

their medals back. these soldiers in 2012, two of the reporters that came with -- "democracy now" was there to do a number of shows -- two of the reporters, the great cinemaing toker for and another was jane. he went back to syria after covering the event. he was one who deeply believed in hearing people's voices on the ground that -- he covered war. he felt that the people of syria voices were not being heard. he was held hostage here libya. he wept back to cover the people

on the ground who were the victim of war. he ultimately would face the ultimate penalty for what he did. he was beheaded by isis. his family, i just interviewed with his close friend, it's very interesting to follow independent journalist to see the paths they take. >> if you had the responsibility of being president of the united states and you were facing what the last two presidents faced what you have done differently? when it came to the war? iraq war afghanistan war. >> not go to war. >> what would you go about protecting the american people? >> i think what was shown at the time with hussein did not have

weapons of mass destruction. he asked what do you say to those who say that this invasion of iraq would ultimately lead to formation of isis. he said, that is true. >> if you go back to the 9/11 situation, you were on the scene down there. was a happenstance that you were that close? >> they were the closest national broadcast to ground zero. september 11, 2001 was election day in new york. it was primary day. we were doing broadcast that day. we broadcast them at 9:00, now we broadcast live at 8:00 a.m. then at 9:00 at 8:47, first plane hit the first tower of the world trade center, we were just

down the street. we were within the evacuation. 9:03 the second plane hit. connection between terror and america hit. the president in chile died in the tower. sadly u.s. back, kissinger back in chile. he would take control 17-year reign, killed thousands of chileans and other latin americans. we just continue to broadcast september 11 2001. the fire house was opened up. it was a decommissioned fire house. they are providing water to people and phones. we were just interviewing people as they came in through the day and broadcast to whoever was taking our broadcast. then we stayed inside the fire

house for the next day. we were in the evacuation zone. if we went outside, ifs afraid that the police would force us out. but it was critical to keep on broadcasting because what was being projected to the rest of the world, the reaction was very different from what was happening on the ground. people screaming into parks holding candles comforting each other. it was not a cry for war. it was a little sticker that said, our grief is not a cry for war. i think that much more expressed the sentiment. we were interviewing people saying we should be sending nurses and doctors into afghanistan, not soldiers. manuel how the world would respond. what happened on

september 11th was horrific. we'll never know how many people died. those who go uncounted in life go uncounted in death. there were undocumented folks. >> as we watch isis grow, you suggest that wasn't caused by us? >> i think it is -- many people physical including -- feel, including those like tony blair, you are seeing a growth of a force that came out of the destabilization. sadaam hussein was not a threat to the united states. how did he stay in power force so long, this tyrant who was oppressing his own people. remember that handshake of donald rumsfeld, as if u.s. was

providing financial support to sadaam hussein. for a long time, the u.s. was supporting iraq and sadaam hussein. they turn against sadaam hussein, he didn't have weapons of mass destruction, why weren't we waiting for the u.n. weapon inspector saying wait, let us do our work. but president bush was intent on attacking iraq from almost the minute, give a day or two, after september 11th. you hear his national security, his national security czar and others saying, he was talking about iraq when we understood full well this wasn't coming from there. another issue that is a kind of sacred cow with the media that must be challenged.

the rule that it has played over the years. if you ask most people, who was in those planes that wept went into the world trade center, you would think it was iraqis. this team of 19 hijackers were from saudi arabia. what did president bush do at the time? he's on the truman balcony smoking a cigar with the ambassador. >> what's the motive of george w. bush? relationship to the saudis. >> they were on intent at the time on attacking iraq. there's a joke of a little by saying to his father, what's our oil going under their sand >> what's the movie. do you really want to go to war? you want to see americans killed

over there? what's the reason? >> it's a very good question why president george w. bush why vice president cheney, why secretary of defense donald rumsfeld, why they committed so many innocent live in this country. think about the soldiers who wept in deeply committed. why were they sent to iraq. that is a very serious question. one of the people who signed up to be in the military who wasn't was edward snowden. one the great whistleblowers of our time. he ended up having -- his leg were broken in training. he didn't go into the military. ended up working for the nasa. had a deep commitment to the united states and ended up showing it in a different way. >> from your perspective why do you think -- was don rumsfeld

and george w. bush, were they evil people? >> when you look at the actions they engaged in, were they evil actions committing so many lives leading to loss of not only american lives but lives in iraq and afghanistan, it's horrific. >> why do you think -- what motivated them to do it? that's the question that never been answered? obviously you were against it from the beginning. you demonstrated before it started. what's the reason? >> that was a matter of saying what would be the reason after the september 11th attacks when harmed so seriously, we would attack a country who had nothing to do with the september 11th attacks. i do not know why they were so intent on taking out sadaam houston from iraq. there are many dictators in the

world. except the countries that we target are so often have precious resources that u.s. wants to control for example like oil. i think it's more complicated than that. all we can judge is the academics they took. >> in a democracy your leaders are chosen by the people. he was reelected in 2004. the public must not have been unhappy. >> that's another interesting issue, our election. when we started "democracy now" in 1996, end of 1995 i was in haiti. why was it that people covering these team, people would go to the poles risk their lives. but in the united states, many countries in the world, the vast majority of people vote. in the united states, most people do not vote or it's like 50% or slightly higher. this is a very serious issue

when we look at why people don't vote. i think there are many obstacles from their past and there's a question of whether they feel there's a real choice. we have to look at why people are elected with 25% of the vote, which is something like along the lines what george w. bush was elected by. >> what happened when amy goodman says, it's i'm to quit? how does "democracy now" continue? >> c-span the is a -- "democracy now" is a group of deeply committed of people. "democracy now" is much bigger than me. >> but still, you're the one that can conceived. you're the one who hosted it. >> i'm the founding host of "democracy now" but it will continue. there is a new generation of journalists and reporters who are deeply committed to independent media. we are part of an independent

media movement in this country and around the world. >> back 20 years, where were the different points along the way where you thought this might not work? >> i didn't think that. >> or was there a hiccup? >> i didn't think that from the beginning. we originally began with parka radio. then we wept to independent. we also expanded to division as well. it just continue to grow. i think being out in this country and around the world that hungry for independent voices has -- it's just enormous. that wasn't really something i thought from the beginning. >> what can get in your way now this moment forward? who are are you depend i want on? best sides the money that keeps you going. satellite, dish tv? >> yes, we're on public radio

public television, public access tv stations on both s.a.t. light satellite dish network. then we're around the world. we pioneered a way to -- this was because at the time, the network would spend millions. even in sadaam hussein iraq. we couldn't afford satellites like that. we send broadcast quality video so we can send it to stations all over. now that's common play. >> is that how they get it? >> they did. now we use satellites as well. we use every means necessary to get information out. the internet is also something we have to fight for to remain open and free and not to allow the video companies and any of the corporate networks to rewrite the rules of the

interpret. it was something that was developed with public resources. it's a great equalizer. the way we can talk with each other all over the world. >> somebody might have listened this last hour, amy goodman not different from at the love the united states senators. >> i'm a journalist. >> what is a journalist? >> a journalist is -- i can just say that, what i do, i started as a young person in my -- not in elementary school, junior high school covering what was happening in our school and the principal. i took it to a larger stage. being there and digging deep, going beyond the he said she said. chronically it, it's not a

matter of different perspective. another part is digging deep to get the truth. this issue of holding those in power accountable is essential. i hope we can have a model for people and institutions around the country so often we have documentary makers coming from all over the planet to show a model that isn't media, isn't corporate media. >> in ten years, what do you think you'll be saying about the journalism of this country? >> hopefully independent media will be the course. it will be accepted. it's unusual that you have weapons manufactures, oil company, insurance industries

running the essential check on power. that instead, it would be an outgrowth of a democracy saying, we need independent bodies that are monitoring and holding those in power accountable. >> our guest has a book out called "democracy now," 20 years covering the movement and changing movement. along with her brother david goodman and her friend. thank you very much. >> thank you so much brian. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> for free transcriptstor give us your comments about this program, visit us at q&a.org.

>> if you enjoyed this week's "q&a" interview with amy goodman, here are some other programs. bill press talk about his book "buyer's remorse" how obama let the progressives down. and -- raise owe talk show host, hugh hewitt on his book "the happiest life" you can join us any time on c-span.org. >> c-span "washington journal," live everyday with news and policy issues that impact you. coming up monday morning executive director for national centerrer transgender equality

on reaction of the north carolina bathroom law. craig dunn on tuesday's republican indiana primary and how the cruz-kasich alliance is playing out. be sure to watch "washington journal" monday morning. join the discussion. >> during this week's questions time, british prime minster david cameron acknowledged the anniversary of the hillsborough disaster which killed 96 soccer fans. he answered questions on a refugee crisis anti-semitism and the house of commons. this is about 35 minutes. >> thank you mr. speaker. mr. speaker yesterday marked momentous day for the family and friends of the 96 victims of the hillsborough disaster. their search for justice has been met with obfuscation and

hostility. as i said about the report, it's wrong that the family has to wait for so long and to fight so hard just to get to the truth. i know the whole house will join me in praising their courage and their patience and resolve. they never faulted in the pursuit of the truth. we all owe them a great debt of gratitude. further such meetings later today. >> mims davies. >> i would've very much like to -- comments on the hillsboro along with members on all sides of this house and pay tribute to the dems, their families and be resilient other campaigners who continued to strive for the truth in the pursuit of justice. >> here, here.