. onight, senator dianne feinstein sits down to us to talk about the saudi crisis and kavanaugh and why she is seeking a fifth term. mail pipe bombs rock the wrld as mid terms approach and last-minute scramble for votes. one journalist scathing critique who changed the world while preserving the status quo. hello. welcome. we begin with the u.s.e sen race. senator dianne feinstein is the longest female senator and seeking another term. feinstein raent made headlines for hur role in the kavanaugh supreme court hearings. now in the wake of journalist

khashogs khashoggi'eath she joins three other senators in a letter to president trump on tuesday denouncing his handling o the saudi crisis. at 85 years old she says she has much to accomplish with climate change and gun safety still on her agenda. as part of our election verage, kqed politics scott schaefer sat down with dianne feinstein earlier and we want to give full disclosure. senator feinstein and her husband are past donors to kqed. >> senator feinstein, thanks for coming in. you are asking the voters for another six-year term. what would you like to do with your time? >> i want to be conservative and helpful to our state, our nation and california, today, is either the fifth or sixth largest economic power on earth. so i would like to see tt economic power properly delivered to make the world better place for people.

are you onhe intelligence committee. you're privy to all kinds of information about things that are happening wour and our alli. i want to ask youbout saudi arabia, the apparent murder of khashog o has put attention saudi arabia. what do you think the u.s. should do with regard to punishin or responding to what has happened? >> well, i can telat you wh i won't do. i will not vote for saudi arm es s i'm concerned about how they are conducting the war i yemen. school buses they have hit and children they have killed and p i'm really ssed that this was enabled by thear my to take place and it had to have been that way. i think we all know enoughf the sto now to know that this just didn't happen. planned. people were sent to carry it out. this is not anyone'sway, let alone the american way. >> so you don't buy the president's line we can't give

up 110 billio dollar armsdeal? >> no. that's not what we stand for. we are not a country that resolves around arm sales. we are a country that revolves around american values and human rights values. and that is what has made this country so desirable all over the world. it's not arm sales. it's what we are as a people and what we believe and it's our sense of what is right and what isd wrong, ahe ability to fight for right. and righ now, we ha a fight for right with saudi arabia. >> i want to ask you brett kavanaugh hearings. you're the rankuing dog an inin ou got a letter from christine blasey ford and criticism for holding onto it longer than the -- >> i would probably do it differently. erhe le in three places said this is whnfirmation. n i talked to her, she was

not in shape to comed. forw let me say that. that was my judgment. it was not a short phone call. and i agreed to keep it confidential. she didn't want -- what all changed is when she came forward and when she agreed to tesanfy then i gave it to the committee. >> what would you do differently? >> well, it's a very question, scott. it took this woman a long time and this testimony was not easy for her. so terrible things happen to women and this woman wasld 15 yearshen it happened. >> do you have any regrets about the way it was handled? >> no. hi to handle it that way. and i think i know how it came out and i learned lesson there because i believe it came out from another colleague and that was a surprise. >> a colleague, another senator? >> yes. >> can you you say who? >> no. i would never do that.

i hope i. wro >> yeah. i want to ask you about your re-election. you're 85 yes old and this week, joe biden, who i think is 75, said that if he runs for president in 2020, age is a irrelevant issue and ber sanders said the same thing. i think he is 77 or will be soon. do you think it's a relevant issue in this race? >> sure. it'sio consider if people want somebody younger, they have somebody younger. i really believe that mize history has given me certain abilities to do certain things and if people don't agree with that, then vote another way. but my health is good. i can go the distance. i enjoy it. and a good part of my life is wrapped around helping pele. it's just for me, there is satisfaction and can i tell you individual stories, but it makes my life worthwhile too and i can give to

people. >> you were mayor of san francisco for many years. >> yes, si. >> and there is a measure on a san francisco ballot, measure c would tax the wealthiest companies in san francisco andr ge about 350 million dollars a year for homeletness. ceo of sales force is for it a the mayor and others are against. what is your position? >> i'm for it. >> why? >> because we have to help. we don't have a choice. when you seeoone lying, and i just do a sidewalkth sleeping nothing, that is not the united states of america. and particularly if they happen to be an addict, an alcoholic or medically ill. >> the measure says it will cost jobs and it will influxtoo much money, that they don't have a plan for -- >> look. i'm going to vote for virtually plan.t any homeless i just am.

country, thisis my is my city. i grew up in san francisco. peoe weren't homeless. a lot of people looked at it, well, this will last for five years and then it will pass. it it's gotten worse. it's involved more families, more youngsters. think it's been about my math is right, 30 years since you've been mayor of san francisco. >> that's about right.on >> i'mring the city now is so different. and especially the eonomy. tech industry is to prevalent now. i'm wondering like what do you see as the upside and the downside of those changes? jobs. upside is and the upside is producing a whole w generational competive work force based on new instruments, which is technology, which didn't exist those 30 years ago. and it's kindin of faing to

watch. history is going to show uset r it's worthwhile or not. >> what do you see as the down side? >> to be very candid, i don't see tech as very civically involved and i think they have be. and i think the ceos, like, when i was mayor, the ceos of the big inbanks, i could go and ask them to help with any civic t,use. cross my hea never got a no. >> why do you think ceos today are in the tech industry are less receptive to that? >> i can't -- i don't undersnd it, to be honest with you. it's a much more reserved world, sort of a world apart to some extent to mt wi some of the tech leaders and i guess they are like any other group of people. there's some that want to be helpful and there's some that don't. >> senator dianne feinstein, thank you so much for coming in. >> thank you, scott. >> thank you. >> thank you.

now continuing with politics. more than a dozen pipe bombs were mail to prominent democrats and critics of president trump, including several california recipients. today, suspicious packages were found in sacrament and burlingame addressed to harris and tom stier. a flora suspect now in custody. president trump is reportedly considering shutting down the u.s./mexico border in response to the caravan from honduras. more on key house races with bar ea volunteers campaigning in the centralll . joining us to discuss all of these issues is hoover institution fellowie lo chen and shawn walsh, a republican strategy gift. back.to have all of you we learning more about the pipe bomb scare and the suspect. many targets are democrats and some them the sharpest critics of president trump and

in california as we are learning today. how is this affecting thel one on capill? >> to the extent it's making the tone more civil it's a temporary change. i think our politics have become very coarse and the level of discourse is not what it's been at points in the , st. obvious this situation a few issues to highlight. one is how remarkably quickly nt law enforce was able to n ande out what was going a lot of this capacity was developed-9 po1 our ability to get to the bottom of these sorts of things has improved dramatically the last several years. i think politicians have tried to stay above this and try to take the tone and elevate it. but politics in the u.s. has become such that it'sry difficult to stay there. unfortunately, see this last a few days and then it's back to business as usual. >> the fact we are still seeing inflammatory language in response to the bombs the president about call for unity but then shortly thereafter he posts twee attacking the media

and saying the pipe bombs are slowing down republican momentum so republicans get out and vote. what impact will this have on t run-up to the midterm election? >> i don't know the impact on the elections but as lonnie said, where this will be a temporary break. remember after the shootingba o theball field a year ago it was like this is horrible, people opening fire on membe congress. we all -- everybody is like this is terrible for about, what? a week? so i don't know how it affects the mid tatms. i think at this point of the game, around a week before election day everybody is locked in their ositions'ost of races own a few percentage points of people who are undecided or in the middle so i don't know if affects that at all. >> looking ahead, shawn, whatak will it to press the reset button and bring the hostile its down and stop this inflageatory langu and diciveness? >> what they did is criticize

president trump and a lot of republicans just rolled their eyes. nearly a dozen fire bombings and republican campaign offices across the untry, graffiti, including the mr. mccarthy's own office that had stones thrown throught re. it's an ugly period and continue to be. democrats are really aoss the oard doing the same thing and everybody needs to grow up, they realldo. >> i think the president should be held to a higher standard. he is the president. he representing all of us. i think he should be representing us at the highest level possible. he should be setting the tone here. >> i agree, joe. ident's n the pr rhetoric but when the democratic t,tablishment says it's a resistance movemet in their face and anti-maxy or care a se kerosene maxine. they wll do bad things to administration staff and members of the congress on both sides of

the aisle. this stuff is out of control and i think because of the social media dynamic. people just can't turn it off. all daylo , it's hate, hate, ha . >> we are seeing that some of that around the carav, right? there has been social media comments how maybe george soros backed it and claim that middle easte easterners areart of the pact. the white house is also planning to send additional u.s. troops r to assist iner security operations. lonnie, does this amount to stoking american anxieties about immigration? something we saw worked to his advantage, presidenttrump's advantage in 2016. is that strategy now working for him alsoing into the midterms? >> immigration has beenan issue

that voters in california and c around tntry cared about a number of years. the underlying dynamic where america, a lot of america feels that immigration is an issue that represents a feeling of uneasiness. so i think he is channeling that. i tnk certainly there is no question that motivating voters ahead of the midtermn elect is crucially important for both parties. immigration is an issue thatti tes republicans and always has been. and to the extent that the president is using it in that way, ieshink he s it as an republican to boost turnout for the election this november. we can talk about the long-term implications of utiing immig in that way but fundamentally, we can't forget where we are in the election cye and this is an issue that gets people to the polls. >> how is it playing out in the central valley? joe, you were there and talking to people. jeff bennett thefr incumbent the modesto area and his

democratic challenger josh harter. >> folks there aren't tuned into the stuff that is going on washington or even the caravan for that matter. immigration there very personal issue. everybody knows somebody who is affected by it. evethe farmers who m not have a relatively who facing some sort of iismigration ue, that is labor. it's a labor issue, too. and it's very much -- that issue -- that race down there is llsf denham is running and josh carter who spent a few years in the bay area an a venture capitalist bay area harder. if he wins he will support bay area values to the central valley. harter says that deadham has not represented the valley well enough on issues like impra immigration and health care. he is getting a lot of money from the bay area. he has a million dollars from

bayle area pe and hundreds have donated thousandhiof hours to campaign. last weekend when i was there, 369 people cming to canvass for josh harter and many of them were from the bay area because hiere is no race here. they have all of energy as you pointed out. where are they going? barbara lee's district is not in jeopardy. >> what is interesting to me about th race deadham is moderate on immigration issues. so i f theling here that trump is so unpopular in california? that that is even what is going to kill him? >> yes and no. popular isul unp in california but more popular in that district where 43% of the po people approve of what he has been doing. n issues deadham tried but failed. he tried last year again. he supported awa pa to legalization before.d

ha and citizenship and he has failed. ore f voters are enthusiastic than usual, is it showing up in early voting, shawn? >> it is. it is showing up in early votinn not just california but across the country. just entering the studio i talkede to tairman of the california republican party and he said if the vote was held today, the california delegation would retain 13 of the 14 seats anthat is early. we will see. >> early voters are usually white and republican and older. >> there are 3% to 4% higher in their turnout than what than cipate will be in this turnout. i think the republicans have a strong tail wind. tep care they have a strong economy. we had some mistakes again wit hillary clinton coming out and floating a trial balloon and people say should it matter? it does to a lot of republicans.

it's motivating republican voters in these sdricketsdistri come out and also in michigan and new hampshire. >> i think the shape of the election has altered fundamentally the past several weeks. i think republicans were facing serious head winds into thean kagh hearings and i think the last couple of weeks changed it to where the republicans, barring a change are going to have control of the u.s. senate and may pick your missouri and montana and north dakota where the president performed ery well so senate candidates are running ahead. they are defending seats in nevada andy rizona where t are doing very well. on the house side i think a lot of people would beed surprhe democrats won a net of more than 30 seats if even capturingma th rity now. i think that is in question. republicans have definitely come back from that from the last couple of weeks. >> 15 seconds. >> it's not going to be a blue wave. there may be blue tornadoes that hit a few district but the

dynamic has changed. >> all righng we are go to leave it there. i know joe is looking like he rees. we will have to -- >> i will oppose my feelings on twitter! >> we will look for your tweet! thank you. thank you all for joiningus. >> thank you. >> now a critics view ofill an thop philanthropic. author and journalist contends the richrend powerful willing to fight for justice and equality but only if it doesn't threaten their positions at thei top of the soal order. his latest book is winners take all. the charade of changing the pleasure to have you in the studio. >> great to be he. >> in your book you tackle the world of philanthropy.

we hear win win make a difference spot leaders yet you say that instead of making the world better, they are enabling inequality. how so? >> it's an amazing thing that we do live in th age where billionaires are giving money away in the city right now. two billionaires are having an rgument the best way to help homeless people and every time you go to mall is there a tote bags that will change the world. every young person i meet on campus has a social media enterprise idea about recycling poop in rwanda.mo th unequal time in america the last hundred years. thast year top 4% of the salaries grew faster in the bottom 98% and all new wealth e very same people who talk about giving back and talk in

silicon valley about disruption and starting companies that are going to save the world, those veryame people are monopolizing progress in america. >> they are arguing ffixes but fixes within the current broken system as opposed toin trto fix the system totally. >> when the winners of our age get interested and involved in socialchange, they change change. they are rarely content to write a check and support organization they think is doing good work. they shape the narrative they write books about their tho theorys ofchange. silicon valley disruption becomes change and highe taxes, not change. >> that doesn't benefit them? >> it hurts them. a charter school they can get nameved on and put their on and mentor a few black kids and boast they got them into stanford is the change they like. equally funded public schools for all and palo alto doesn't

get better schools they are not interested in. telling women to lea you can do that for free. they like that. >> is it a matter of cognitive dissidence or a moral lapse oev intent? >> it's a mix. i found this wonderful email from 2007 among the goldman sachs leadership. they say inhe email we got to pitch this reporter on our gs gives philanthropy. i think they are wanting to make the world a better place. who, therefore, are totally blin to those situations in

which what is good for them actually gerdiverges from what good for the world. facebook is the firs companyn american history to perhaps compromise and tip a federal election, presidential election. there is no accident as far as i see it that these very companies idealistic and talking about making the world better is building a winner take all economy that works for very few people -- th. >> you don't believe marketase philanthropy works. are you arguingor higher taxes? >> yes, among other things. and we should stop being so ashamed of those things. taxes is the price of civilization. i think rich people in this country probably need to a pay lot more than they are saying to get into line with most of the other rich .countri apple has 285 billion dollars

offshore while we have 74999 homeless people in the city of san francisco. the city of san francisco, we are a county. five county area around san francisco, we are a country. you have the ninth highest population of billionaires among countries. and, yet, it's hard to walk down the street without encountering homeless people. >> talk about an issue front and center for e trump administration and alleged killing of jamal khashoggi and put the attention on silicon money.is how is t like what you talk about in your book? >> i have spent the last few years trying to report on the phon idealism of rich people and silicon valley is the epi center of that. never did i come upon a clear example of that phoniness than the fact the revelation recently that billions of dollars in saudi government money has found its way into silicon valley.

they have become one of the biggest players in the valley. they own ata huge of uber and in wag andr d dash and slack where everybody has boring chats all day long. it's hard to think about something that is so quickly pierces the illusion that silicon valley is anything other than a money makingmachine. it doesn't mean it's hitrible. just means that the specialness that tried to cull vat for this notion it's here to make the world better and idealism is phony. this regime in saudi arabia is among the worse on earth. that money is among the dirtit on earth a it is money causing climate change and used to force degradation of women and what is in saudi arabia a kingdom whati looks like if it had conquered a nation state. >> it's notedn for hu rights abuses. >> 48 beheadings in the comuf on

first couple of months of this year. >> do you think they see it as something else? >> if they don't reverse course, silicon valley will known as riyadh west soon. they cannot detect incoming information about their hypocrisy and sompervious to criticism. the reality this khashoggi thing has shiged a on frankly a relationship america should have changed a long time ago. i don't mean to putnly on silicon valley. washington has a corrupt relationship with them and citigroup had a big saudi stake but siliaion valley it's different. >> is this a case a moment of reckoning for silicon valley? some people questioning this relationship betweenth wha are trying to do, innovate and where they are getting that money from? >> a lot of the younger folks who work in these countri and a lot of women and people of color work in these companies and people have a different take

than the silicon valley bro thing are come up with a awareness of power in the world at a lot of that foundi generation didn't and i think they will change these companies for the better. >> verytesting. thank you for joining us. your new book is the winners take all heite charade of changing the world. pleasure to have you. >> thank you so much for having me. or> that will do it for us. as always, more of our coverage, go to kqed.org/newsroom. thank you for joining us.

captioning sponsored by wnet >> sreenivasan: on this edition for sunday, october 28: grief and prayers in pittsburgh after the deadly rampage at a jewish synagogue. the catastrophic human cost of the ongoing war in yemen. and in our signature segment: third world poverty in a first world country. next on pbs newshour w. >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: bernard and irene schwartz. sue and edgar wachenheim iii. seton melvin. the cheryl and philip milstein family. dr. p. roy vagelos and diana t. vagelos. the j.p.b. foundation. rosalind p. walter. baara hope zuckerberg. corporate funding is provided