captioning provided by the first amendment center, funded by the freedom forum. welcome to speaking freely, a weekly conversation about free expression in america. i'm ken paulson. our guest today is one of america's best-known journalists and authors, carl bernstein. great to have you here. good to be here. you know, i've read quite a bit about you, and there's been a great deal written. what i've enjoyed reading particularly is the descriptions of woodward and bernstein, who they are in the history of journalism, and one of my favorites, especially considering some of your rock critic roots, is, the city paper in washington described you as the lennon and mccartney of journalism. would that make you paul or john? um, interesting. i think john. that's a good choice. are you surprised that-- i mean, it was an extraordinary story, tremendous impact, obviously, but 30 years on, it is absolutely what you are best known for and it's what people want to talk to you about. has it surprised you the staying power of that whole episode? not really. i think that its impact

captioning provided by the first amendment center, funded by the freedom forum. welcome to a special edition of speaking freely exploring how protest and the first amendment came into play during the civil rights and antiwar movements. i'm ken paulson. my cohost today is john seigenthaler, a highly respected journalist who also served as special assistant to attorney general robert f. kennedy during the civil rights movement. after retiring from newspapers, john went on to found the first amendment center. john and i are delighted to welcome a pulitzer prize-winning author and journalist whose recent book, called the children, focuses on the work of courageous young people in the civil rights movement, and whose earlier book, the best and the brightest, was the definitive study of american policy in vietnam. david halberstam. [applause] i have to ask the first and most basic question. you graduate from harvard in 1956. five. '55. with great distinction. no, i was a terrible student. [laughter] i was in the bottom third of my class. that was the heart of my questi

merritt, you have got to understand here that there is a difference between a freedom of speech forum that father morris offers him up against sebelius. >> sure. >> and sebelius basically bloviating heir extreme views as far as the catholic church is concerned to a catholic audience. >> let's be clear first of all. her support of dr. tyrell is absolutely reprehensible. i think conservatives and many liberals would agree with you on that. there is also, i think, a double standard at work here. see, when conservatives find out about a creationist being fired from a local university they cry foul. governor casey in 1992 pro-life being told he can't come and be a a part of the democratic national convention they scream and holler and shout give him a chance to speak and let him talk. so i think there is a double standard here. >> bill: the difference is the two things you mentioned are both secular and if this were a secular institution i don't care whether kathleen sebelius talks or not. it doesn't matter to me. >> i will give you something real quick too. nobody is mentioning about the

merritt, you have got to understand here that there is a difference between a freedom of speech forumfather morris offers him up against sebelius. >> sure. >> and sebelius basically bloviating heir extreme views as far as the catholic church is concerned to a catholic audience. >> let's be clear first of all. her support of dr. tyrell is absolutely reprehensible. i think conservatives and many liberals would agree with you on that. there is also, i think, a double standard at work here. see, when conservatives find out about a creationist being fired from a local university they cry foul. governor casey in 1992 pro-life being told he can't come and be a a part of the democratic national convention they scream and holler and shout give him a chance to speak and let him talk. so i think there is a double standard here. >> bill: the difference is the two things you mentioned are both secular and if this were a secular institution i don't care whether kathleen sebelius talks or not. it doesn't matter to me. >> i will give you something real quick too. nobody is mentioning about the fact t

they monitor and freedom reports in china, a forum to discuss among experts on religion, law, and humanights in china. he's interviewed by media outlets around the world and testified at u.s. congressional hearings, including the one on chen guangcheng, the china mission, and there was, again, his cell phone and translation and contacts made that very important connection to chen guangcheng on may 3rd. we'll hear from one who served two jail sentences for more than 18 years for pro-democracy work. he was forced into exile in 1999 but continued to fight for freedom in china. in 1998, he was the head of the chinese democracy coalition, an organization for many groups. he's president of the foundation and the au democracy alliance. he's written numerous articles and regularly speaks about human rights and democracy in china including broadcasts radio free asia. i first met him when he was released briefly in 1994 in january of 1994. he was such a highly prized human rights advocate that china thought if they released one, they would procure olympics 2000. when that didn't happen, he was re

china it monitors china it monitors the report of religious freedom in china and provides the forum forscussing experts on dissident law and human rights in china. pastor who is interviewed by media outlets around the world and instead fight in just congressional and. i know parenthetically that when mr. wolf and i were in china on one of our many chips, we contacted bob fu who helped arrange for us to meet with house church leaders, and we in a very keeping the way, we were heading to tiananmen square to unfurl a banner that said human rights. and within an hour our embassy as ensure bob fu's phone was tapped, were contacted to say, wolf and smith will be deported immediately if that happens. here's a man who's being watched and yet speaks at and has incredible contacts inside of china. sophie richardson, doctor bridges and is a china human rights director, human rights watch and graduate university of virginia as a hopkins program and oberlin college. doctor richardson is the author of numerous articles on domestic chinese political reform, democratization and human rights in cambodia

after their work in 1982, chinese monitors report religious freedom in china, and provides a forum foriscussion among experts on religion, law, and human rights in china. pastor bob fu is interviewed by media outlets around the world, and has testified in the u.s. hearings, including the one on chen guangcheng, which mr. chen, used bob fu's cell phone, and made a very important connection with chen guangcheng on may 3. we will bear then hear from here from mei shunping, who served more than 13 years in jail for pro-democracy work. he continued to advocate rights in china. in 1998, mr. mei shunping was made part of the chinese democracy association. and the agent asian democracy alliance. he regularly speaks about human rights in china, including broadcast via radio. i would know parenthetically that i first met mei shunping when he was released very briefly in 1994 in january of 1994. he was such a highly prized nice advocate that china sought one dissident. when that didn't happen, he was really arrested and brutally beaten and tortured until he was close to death. this is a truly rem

multiple bronze stars for his efforts and sacrifices that he made in those forums defending america and standing up for all the freedoms and the beliefs that we all hold dear in america coast to coast. so i'm hon tored to be a son of such a distinguished individual in our armed services and though i never did wear the uniform, i carry with me the commitment that he passed on to my 11 older brothers and sisters that you always stand with our military. you always stand with our veterans, madam speaker. and that's why i join you today and tonight and come down here on the floor to discuss this important issue because as we face the national debt crisis that we all know on both sides of the aisle is real, $15.7 trillion of national debt is clearly unsustainable. and we have to have a conversation, an open and honest conversation with all the hardworking taxpayers of america and say here in washington, d.c., we are going to try to get our act together. and to make the common sense decisions when it comes to our fiscal house. and in that conversation, and as we go forward, as we did last week with sequestration and reconcili

the united states in 2002, founded chinaaid association which reports on religious freedom in china and provides a forumfor discussion among experts on human rights in china. pastor fu is frequently interviewed by media outlets around world and testified at u.s. congressional hearings. i know that when mr. wolf and i were in china on one of many trips we contacted bob fu who helped arrange us to be with house church leaders and in a very kidding way that we were heading to tiananmen square unfurled a banner that said human-rights. within an hour our embassy were contacted to say wolf and smith will be deported immediately. here is that man being watched and yet speaks out and has incredible contact inside china. dr. richardson is the chinese human rights director of human rights watch. graduate of university of virginia, in oberlin college. dr. richardson is author of numerous articles on to the political reform, democratization and human rights in cambodia and china, hong kong and the philippines. she has testified before the european parliament and u.s. senate and house. she provided commentary to the

forum for free speech. it is not a free for all. there are rules. take your free speech and your soap box and go elsewhere. and finally freedom is not free.nitiative, my head says otherwise. it's doubtful the law can with stand scrutiny and just as well. it's important to remember that many died to preserve the right for free speech, even the offensive. that's all for "hardball," "politicsnation" starts right now. >> welcome to "politicsnation" i'm al sharpton. tonight's lead, president obama is raising the intensity of his campaign to a whole new level and going into full attack mode, making his most direct case for reelection and calling out willard mitt romney by name. not once, not twice, but over and over and over in a speech in iowa. >> the world view that governor romney gained from his experience explained something. it explained why the last time he visited these very same fairgrounds, he famously declared that