[applause] is a commentator for national public radio's morning edition. he has written noert "new york times", the los angeles times and several magazines. his work has won the spirit of the west award as well as the colorado book award. the book, house of rain, is craig's latest book. please help me welcome craig childs. . >> hello. i come to you from out of the desert. i'm coming to you from a landscape where once you get an eye for things, 3 grains of sand out of place draw your attention, where everything is brought to bear, where everything is hinged to a story, every drop of rain leaving a dimple in the ground. stories are everywhere out in this landscape. when you walk down into the bottom of the narrow canyons made of sandstone and you put your hands on the sand stone faces and the smooth shallow scallops that look like champagne glasses, you can feel the shape of the last flood that came through. every place in the desert is a story. every place is a passage way. it's really hard to walk very far in the desert for me because there are so many sto

a web programmer for national public radio build the site. >> we have about 150 cases in our database. >> stories on victims and suspects up available to all. now they are moving to boston. bad news today for families like that of homicide victim amber kent allegedly killed by her best friend on pcp. >> i read other people's comments. for me it is like she is not forgotten. there are other victims that are not forgotten. >> it has become a source for police or defense attorneys. >> the information there is usually pretty accurate. >> she is talking to a lot of people that somebody else is not getting too. >> their offices wherever they sit down with a laptop. today they launched a $40,000 fund-raising campaign for stipends or in terms to keep some of the side going. >> there are so many families in d.c. who need a place to feel like their loved ones are remembered. >> next on abc 7 news, young illegal immigrants lined up around the nation for a chance for a temporary amnesty. what it will do for millions of people. >> storm watch and what you need to know about the latest round of rai

begin this evening with a closer look at one of this country's most well known media outlets national public radio for years and years and p.r. news and programs have been funded in part by the government and in part by listeners those who call in and pledge money and those who give big donations as well but more and more recently it's common to hear the names of sponsors mentioned on n.p.r. and it turns out there are actually certain programs sponsored entirely by one company and that may or may not influence the content of the program so we're going to look tonight at the financial program planet money hosted by adam davidson when you click to listen you're likely to hear this. support for planet money comes from ally bank and p.r. keeps people in the know so doe's ally customers can talk to a real person any time of day or night learn more at ally bank dot com so who exactly is ally bank well it turns out among other things the company has spent quite a bit of money lobbying against the creation of what is now the consumer financial protection bureau so maybe it will come in no surprise then th

mara liasson, national political correspondent of national public radio. olumnist charles krauthammer. casey hunt, national political reporter for the "associated press." and steve hayes for "weekly standard." mara, a big night. everyone says the speech of his political career but this probably is. >> that has the added benefit of being true. this is the biggest speech of his political career. the table is well set for him by paul ryan last night. now he has to pick up the ball. make the case for himself. sounds like he will do personal talking about his family and his faith. he is also going to make i think the most powerful argument, effective arguement that the republicans can make against barack obama, which is he was inspireded and exciting but he has been disappointing and it's okay to vote for a change and give somebody else a chance. >> bret: we're told by the campaign officials that he will talk about his religion, his faith. wove in through the speech. a lot of personal talk in this speech. >> i think the personal part is really important. the onl

mara liasson, national political correspondent of national public radio.cated columnist charles krauthammer. juan williams, columnist with the hill. bill kristol editor of sandusky. one of thsand --"weekly standar" one of the biggest speeches is ann romney tonight, wife of mitt romney. we just received excerpts. i will read some of this. she will say tonight i want to talk to you about love. it read somewhere that mitt and i have a storybook marriage. well, in the storybooks i read there were never long, long rainy winter afternoons in a house with five boys screaming at once and the storybooks never had chapters called m.s. with breast cancer. storybook marriage? no. what we have a real marriage. she ends by saying i can't tell you what will happen in the next four years but i can stand here as a wife and mother and grandmother and american. ing may a solid commitment this man will not fail, this man will not let us down. this man will it up america. that is just some of the excerpts released by the romney campaign. your thoughts about this? the poshes of

and mara liasson, national political correspondent of national public radio.look at the polls a you saw paul ryan's performance. start with the interview. your thoughts? >> paul ryan is a fresh exciting face. the republican of the future. you can see why the party has been energized since romney put him on the ticket. he is responsible for a small bump. you call it really small, but a bump toward romney in the last few weeks. >> bret: which candidate do you trust to do a better job handling medicare? >> the thing that is interesting about that, democrats rejoiced when paul ryan was put on the ticket. they thought they had a juicy target because he wants to partially privatize medicare. they ran and attacked about it a lot. they ran ads. lo and behold it hasn't hurt the romney ticket. to neutralize the traditional historical advantage on the issue is an achievement. >> talking to romney folks they said if we can through the election play medicare to a draw, we're winning. >> this suggests in a poll that oversamples democrats, as many do, including the fox poll

mara liasson of national public radio. and bill kristol, editor of the "weekly standard."s is an exciting moment for the republican party faithful who gathered here and waited an extra long time for the kickoff. what is the significance of what we're listening to and watching behind us, snarl >> first, a lot of pent-up enthusiasm. people had to hold this for 24 hours because of the delay. second, this is the fun part. everybody gets to out the the largest state and all their other attributes. this is where it gets started. [ inaudible ] the real effect here is people want to hear ann romney. she will be the warm and fuzzy to soften up the argument. and then we get the hammer, chris christie. >> stand by for a minute. take a listen to the state of florida cast its vote. >> madam chair, i ask that we take a moment of silence for those that have been affected by isaac, the storm, as well as those who will potentially be impacted by the storm. [ moment of silence ] >> madam chair, florida is the sunshine state. well, most times. [ laughter ] i am lieutenant governor jennifer g

according to national public radio an alabama delegate objected saying in light of the akin controversyt sends the wrong signal to women. given the gender gap romney appears to be facing in th election not to mention another three days of his own message getting up staged by something else, it raises some big questions. john king is here at the magic wall to break it down for us. john? >> if you look back in time, remember, george w. bush won twice, ronald reagan won. george h.w. bush won with the conservative republican platform. so republicans would say the platform does not determine who wins the election. however, mitt romney does have that gender gap you just mentioned. i want to do a little bit of history here. could the todd akin problem potentially be a mitt romney problem? yes if they don't put it to rest. yes, if it begins to affect him among moderate suburban women. let me show you exactly what i an. if you want to go back in time, this is the state of colorado. these are national exit polls from the last two presidential elections. this is nationally. john mccain actually wo

one where he specifically talks only about how much he loves national public radio. but the hey girl thing has spread even beyond ryan gosling. wisconsin congressman paul ryan has been the subject of a hey girl fan site since roughly april on the fan site, he is shown saying funny things about the budget while looking cute. but now that paul ryan is not just a congressman from wisconsin, now that he is the presumptive nominee for vice president, now paul ryan's hey girl meme has gone a whole new direction. as in hey girl, you're pretty fine, but fertilized eggs should have more rights than you. xo, paul ryan. or hey girl, got birth control? not for long. xo, paul ryan. or hey girl, i'm the last choice you'll ever be allowed to make, xo, paul ryan. or this one, hey girl, i'm from the 1970s, but my ideas about your body are from the 1950s. xoxo paul ryan. hey girl, you'll love my choices for your body. xoxo, paul ryan. the folks behind the new hey girl paul ryan website made themselves known at a campaign event for congressman ryan today in colorado. they made themselv

and mara liasson, national political correspondent of national public radio.ok at the polls and you saw paul ryan's performance. start with the interview. your thoughts? >> paul ryan is a fresh exciting face. the republican of the future. you can see why the party has been energized since romney put him on the ticket. he is responsible for a small bump. you call it really small, but a bump toward romney in the last few weeks. >> bret: which candidate do you trust to do a better job handling medicare? >> the thing that is interesting about that, democrats rejoiced when paul ryan was put on the ticket. they thought they had a juicy target because he wants to partially privatize medicare. they ran and attacked about it a lot. they ran ads. lo and behold it hasn't hurt the romney ticket. to neutralize the traditional historical advantage on the issue is an achievement. >> talking to romney folks they said if we can through the election play medicare to a draw, we're winning. >> this suggests in a poll that oversamples democrats, as many do, including the fox poll

[laughter] and imagine, i said now my dad will call me the national public radio, don't you think? [laughter] but, anyway -- >> i'm going to interrupt there because i made this mistake, i always do which is when i'm listening to wendell stories or reading his book, i lose track of time,nd i've done it again. we're going to wrap up now. wen, we've run out of time. sorry i didn't want leave time for questions, i'm a bad moderator. thanks so much for coming and sharing these stories with us, and it's a terrific book. >> thank you so much. [applause] thank you. >> booktv has over 150,000 twitter followers. follow booktv on twitter to get publishing news, scheduling updates, author information and talk directly with authors during our live programming. twitter.com/booktv. >> in just a moment on booktv, david lampo argues that support for gay rights by the political right is in accordance with conservative ideologies of limited government. the author contends that social conservatives that refute this are being hypocritical. the event from the cato institute in washington, d.c. is about

would like to suggest that this underfunded and quite often much maligned network, pbs and national public radio, nevertheless producing the best children, the best science, the best nature, the best parts, the best public affairs, and then told the best history on the dial. that's a pretty good record. [applause] >> almost at a time. with some regret this institution has a cathedral to the first amendment. at a time when newspapers are struggling so mightily and in the broadcast on traditional broadcast outlets have also suffered during the downturn, part of that is the digital transmission and part is the economy. let's focus for a moment on newspapers. what does look at newspapers as a source for material, however board is it in your view, printed or digital, they continue to survive? >> it is essential to the survival of our republic. it is important for our survival. i can tell you, when we began to the publicity, you'd go through a bit cute as city. filled, the size of a football stadium. ego by ten years later. the tumbleweeds were going through, this is terrifying. we now rely on an inte

merrow began his career as an education reporter with the national public radio in 1974 with the weeklyrogram, options in education. joining dr. merrow are two people familiar speaking in front of you, delaware governor jack markell and nevada governor brian sandoval. also joining the panel is dr. dr.edie hirsh, professor emeritus of education and humanities at the university of virginia. please join me in welcoming them all. [applause] >> thank you very much, denise. um, i would just say a quick word about my three panelists. e.d. her jr., called don, is an american hero -- e.d. hirsh. i'm not going to say any more because he's getting an award later on. you'll hear lots of great stuff ant him. [laughter] but i would say, you know, journalists by definition don't have any friends, but we keep lists of people we would like to be friends with. [laughter] and he's on my list. [laughter] brian sandoval, republican governor of nevada, he's probably tired of hearing the term "rising star," because every article about him, and there are lots of articles, always say "rising star." he's almost

just recently national public radio reported that republican superpacs and other outside groups including karl rove, the koch brothers, and tom donahue of the u.s. chamber of commerce, supposedly independent, plan to spend combined $1 billion before election day. that's right. the american people need to understand that. $1 billion. unless we think that this is just about republicans, democrats are trying to play, too. it doesn't matter who's playing. it's wrong. according to the center for responsive politics, as of august 1, that's today, 705 groups have organized as superpacs and have reported receipts of over $318 million in independent expenditures already of more than $167 million in the 2012 election cycle. that's as of today. and here we are, they've got 97 more days to raise more money, to spend more money and to do all of that under cover. i want to put it into stark contrast. because just a couple of weeks ago, just two weeks ago, the number stood at 678. today it's 705. who knows what it will be next week. with receipts of $281 million, but now those receipts are $318 million.

it all stems from a radio interview last month when company president dan cathy took a public stance on same-sex marriage saying, quote, we're inviting god's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say, we know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage. the comments set off weeks of angry reactions on both sides, culminating yesterday on chick-fil-a appreciation day. the event was backed by former presidential candidate mick huckabee and organized through facebook. minnesota congresswoman michele bachmann tweeted a photo. the effects from the debate may not be over yet. mayors from major cities like boston and chicago have said chick-fil-a's business won't be welcome because of the comments. >>> now nbc news is confirming president obama has authorized secretive aid to syrian rebels battling bashar al assad's regime. the intelligence finding allows the cia and other agencies to give support to rebel factions. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel reports from inside syria. >> reporter: at 11:00 a.m., attack helicopters circle the sky over the city. from a rooftop we hear their assault begin. it sounds like artillery and strafin

the fast food chain received publicity when caffey told a radio station he supports traditional marriage. >> i think we're inviting god's judgment on our nationhen we shake our fist at him and say, we know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage. >> reporter: according to the student newspaper chick-fil-a is still under contract with the university this academic year. more than 580 students and staff signed the online petition, but some people still support chick-fil-a. >> i'm hungry and it's there. i don't see a problem with just eating there once in a while. >> reporter: students tell me more people will sign the online petition once school starts at the end of the month. at the university of maryland, i'm shomari stone, news 4. >>> federal prosecutors are working to keep the man who tried to kill president reagan from getting freedom. attorneys asked the court to deny john hinckley's request for more privileges including more time alone in public. he's currently staying at the mental health hospital in d.c. he wants to live with his mother in the williamsburg, virginia, area, but only has visitation rights for the time being. >>>

public opposition to gay marriage. a chicken sandwich has become a symbol. it began in june when chick-fil-a president dan kathy appeared on a radio show. >> god's judgment on our nation we say better than you as to what constitutes a marriage. >> reporter: some mayors said chick-fil-a would not be welcome in their cities. >> there is just no place for them in the city. >> reporter: even the muppets have joined the opposition, the jim henson company dropping out of a deal to join the chain and donating the money they already received from the chain to a gay rights group. other city leaders say a businessman's personal views are irrelevant. >> you don't want to ask political believes before you issue a permit. >> reporter: experts say this shows the risk of speaking out. >> it is difficult enough to attract customers that the last thing a brand wants to do is get on one side or the other of a controversial topic like this. >> reporter: as a fast food chain becomes a battle ground in the culture wars. >>> coming up tonight the loss of an american who had lived a larger than average american life. i stepped on the machine, and it showed me the pressure points on my feet

which are challenged and national network newscasts which are challenged and public broadcasting which is constantly under attack, what about the influence of cable, talk radio, television, advocate is i, adversarial talk and conversation? >> yeah, yeah. so the 24-hour news cycle certainly puts a premium on extremist rhetoric. because you can repeat it over and over again, and it's titillating in its own way. and it also puts a premium on what's easy to do which is horse race coverage. so whatever you say it's not the content, whatever a politician says, it's not the content of what they say, it's, okay, they said it in order to get some political advantage, and that just goes over and over again, and it's pretty simple to do in itself. but we advocate for -- so that's what we'd call horse race coverage, narrow political coverage. there is broader political coverage which is still strategic and exciting which something like "meet the press" and "60 minutes" do, and they sell -- they get really good audiences. it's harder to do, but it's so much better, and it would put journalists in so much better a light. so that's -- i'm not -- it's not hopeless. the good

public radio audiences. our lunches are also featured on our member produced weekly pot shots from the national press club available on itunes. you can also follow the action on twitter, using hash tag and pcs lunch. after a gas speech concludes we will have a q&a and i will ask as many questions as time permits. now are they to introduce her head table gas and i ask each of you to stand up wreathlaying as your name is announced. from your right, peter foster, u.s. editor of the daily telegraph of london. jima missouri, gorman health group, marsh apperson, senior associate in the bed in an bed monoceros ipds. sylvia smith, features editor for state ms. aarp bulletin. jane watch out, general assignment reporter, nbc report. john wood gosen, chairman of the board and president of the u.s. tennis association. alison fitzgerald, freelance journalist, chairwoman of the speakers committee. i am going to skip our speaker for a moment. donna wineland was shy, reporter for "usa today," 2009 national press club member and organizer of today's luncheon. david hagerty, first vice president usda. kevin went think on the u.s. na

public radio audiences. luncheons featured in our weekly podcast and the national press club available for free download on itunes. follow the action on twitter using the hash tag and pc lunch. after her leisure clues we will have q&a and alaska's many questions as time permits. it's time to introduce her head table guests in our political season and a presence they had table does not imply or signify an endorsement of the speaker. i ask each of you at the head table to stand up recently is your name is announced. from your break, can molesting a is on the air. u.s. awa channel nine. leslie sage commits senior editor physical sciences for nature, also membership committee chair. thank you for your work this past year. anymore is come executive editor and anchor the federal driver at a news radio, member of our speakers committee. don larrabee. i'm so glad don could join us today. the former president of the national press club from 1973 and winner of the cosgrove award this year and a great friend of all of us members of the press club. don, thank you are a match. [applause] and applauses actually welcome for tha

public radio audiences. our luncheons are featured on member produced weekly podcasts from the national press club available on itunes. follow action on twitter using hash tag npc lunch. after our guest speesh concludes, there's a question and answer segment and i'll ask as many questions as time permits. it's time to introduce our guest, and i ask you to stand up briefly as you are announced. from your right, kate michael, k-street kate, associated press. todd, vanity fair. mary miliken, rioters. monica hopkins, nora halburn, americans for the arts. alison fitzgerald, freelance journal and speaker committee chair. skipping the speaker. robert cardin. nina, american for the arts. mark wino. nikki. pam stevens, msnbc. [applause] our guest is an award winning actor, producer, director, and author. he's starred on the big screen, on television, and on broadway. alec baldwin won two emmy awards and number of screen actor guild awards for playing jack on "30 rock," and hosted "saturday night live," a record 16 times, and well-known frequent flier an american airline fan. [laughter] innative of long island, he be

public radio audiences. our luncheons are also featured on our member produced weekly pot gas from the national press club, availablen itunes. you can follow the action on twitter using has tagged in pc lunch. after our guest speech concludes you will have a question and answer segment. i will ask as many questions as time permits. now it's time for me to introduce our head table guest, and se still send up briefly as our name is announced. from your right, washington editor baron. reporter with vaughn buyer. peter blake, editor kipling and. the senior producer cnn. kim dixon, tax correspondent, thompson reuters. jeff shulman, father of irs commissioner. [laughter] maryland, a senior business editor in pr. i'm going to skip our speaker for just a moment. lori russo, managing director of stanton communications and today's was an organizer. political correspondent for bloomberg and past nbc president . washington bureau producer, time warner cable. the vice-president eurasian business coalition. [applause] today's speaker says he prides himself on leading in non-political and non-partisan organization, but in recent d

national journal." here's what akin said on the hike huck radio show today. i'll play it for you. >> i don't know that i'm the only person in publicot-and-mouth disease here. and this was a very, very serious error. on the other hand, there are so many good people in missouri who nominated me. and they understood my heart, try to restore the terrible economic condition that our country's been brought to. . >> would you tell congressman akin like so many other republicans already are apparently that it's over, it's time for him to step down? >> he has two deadlines. till tomorrow and then he can wait till september. if he can't weather the storm at that point, it's going to cost him and his campaign some money. the republicans cannot afford to lose the missouri senate seat. >> against claire mccaskill. >> are you surprised how quickly they seem to be throwing him under the bus. >> romney doesn't want this election to be about social issues. it's got to be about the economy. >> ron, talk about this race in particular. i mean, this is one race that as tom just said, it was crucial, republicans needed to win this if they want a chance

public service by the networks and c-span. reairs begin at 1:00. at 4:00, "face the nation" from cbs. you can listen to the mall on c- span radio on 90.1 fm in the washington, d.c. area, xm satellite radio at channel 119. you can download the app or go online to c-spanradio.org. >> democrats are voting next week and on their final recommendations for a platform in the tree. the republicans start their platform process in tampa. c-span coverage of the party conventions begains philadelphia followed by live coverage of the republican convention in tampa and the democratic national convention live from north carolina starting monday, september 3. "washington journal" continues. host: joining us from minneapolis is the executive director of the american technical education association, sandra krebsbach. thank you for being with us. i want to begin with the front page of the "new york times" that goes to the issue we're talking about. it is focusing on the evolution of with nissan from the mid- 1990s until today. let me read you a portion. companies like apple, dell, hewlett packard rely on a huge asian factories and assert many typ

nation" will talk with dick durbin and former new york city mayor rudy guiliani. the sending network talk shows rearing on c-span radio are brought to you as a public service.n to them all starting at noon eastern on c-span radio. 90.1 fm in the washington area. nationwide on xm satellite radio channel 119. listen on your but. android, or iphone or go online to c-span.org. >> tonight, on the "q&a," walter pincus talks about his various jobs on the journalist, his views on u.s. spending overseas, and his criticisms of the defense department's budget priorities. >> they built a $4 million facility. 40 people. it has -- if you spend $4 million on an elementary school, somebody would raise questions. >> more with walter pincus tonight at 8:00 p.m. on c-span's "q&a." >> "washington journal" continues. host: with the medicare debate front and center, we will continue this discussion this morning with brenda sulick of the national committee to preserve social security and medicare. first off, do you think what we are seeing now is a debate we will see through november or is this attention just a short-term reaction to paul ryan joining the ticket? guest: good morn