-- is without equal since the nixon administration and indirect conflict with president obama's often stated goal of making his administration the most transparent in american history. i should say that i was one of the reporters on the watergate story in the early 1970's. i make that comparison with knowledge. there are six components of what i found. an unprecedented number of leak and investigations. the obama administration officials and employees are increasingly afraid to talk to the press. every single journalist i have talked to says that is the case, whether or not they deal with classified information. six government employees and to government contractors, including edward snowden of course, have been prosecuted since 2009 for leaking classified information to the press. that is the most since the 1917 espionage act enacted during world war i to punish people for spying for foreign entities. here we have reporters -- people being prosecuted under that act for talking to reporters. the most cases since 1917, 90 years, when they began under the obama administration. probably

true and the obama administration, like many administrations, focuses a lot on trying to promote free expression and other countries. what you think that the issues catalogue here due to our credibility in other countries? -- i have apacific specific example. obama a case of president communicating to prime minister dogan in turkey -- er turkey. turkey is a strategic ally. they have a deep relationship with the united states. a strategic relationship. so, we had been advocating for some time that president obama speak directly with prime dogan.er er they had a bilateral meeting back in may. i think the day before that took the --the news about i have no idea if that was on the agenda. if president obama had raised that, i think -- the same sort of thing happened with the nsa the statede and policies that president obama , challenginged china on its government- orchestrated hacking surveillance program. what ever you want to call it. i don't hear that stuff anymore. i don't hear it. >> i should add -- i don't know how many here work for the government, did work for the government. the

administration will listen. the fifth issue, the treatment of whistleblowers. president obama has said he supports encouraging and protecting government whistleblowers who reveal bureaucratic abuse. he and his administration have drawn a distinction between bat and revelations to the press about government policies. they punished with investigations and firings. he signed the whistleblower act in 2012, along with a policy aimed at protecting the retaliation of government whistleblowers. the same time, his administration won an appellate court decision that takes away from federal employees and national security positions the right to appeal actions by their agencies which could include retaliation for whistleblowing. the prosecution of some whistleblowers as spies under the 1917 espionage act leaves the president's position unclear. lastly, the international implications. in addition to the threat posed to foreign journalists by nsa surveillance -- they're not supposed to spy on americans, but they can spy on the can and of non-american citizens. the obama administration's pol

so again, the obama administration has no sense of strategic direction.u: now the scandal in the u.s. navy is unfolding and it looks like it will get broader involving the u.s. navy and involving even, at least at this point, one member of the navy enforcement system. so what is going on and how can the navy not conduct greater oversight over itself? and right now i think you have a systemic problem in all the services more important than killing our country's enemies, and because of all the money that has been thrown around in the last dozen years, there has been a get-rich-quick mentality that has even affected contractors in the service, people doing the contracting. this is singapore ship company found successful naval officers were bribed with money, hookers, vacations, these guys were in a position to steer ship where this company from singapore would be able to provide fuel and food and minor repairs and in this, many of them don't take treason seriously anymore and. lou: thank you, colonel. we appreciate you being here. we will have more on the na

the espionage act has created a chilling effect on potential government sources under the obama administration six government employees and two contractors including edward snowden have been charged under the espionage act that's compared to just three such prosecution as an all previous u.s. administrations combined i was joined earlier by both the host and producer of breaking the set abby martin and men well rob lowe they shed some light on this discrepancy and talk a little bit more about the report's findings i started by asking abbie what she thinks have been the most egregious policies set forth by the obama administration why was a little surprised to see this report coming out from the c b j because this is an organization that for the last thirty years has been really focused on war zones and journalist being killed in the line of fire so for them to kind of take initiative on the home front shows you that there's a really unprecedented move a lot of president trends going on with the obama administration. and really you know the thing that's so tragic about it is that he campaign hi

the espionage act has created a chilling effect on potential government sources under the obama administration six government employees and two contractors including edward snowden have been charged under the espionage act that's compared to just three such prosecutions and all previous u.s. administrations combined here to shed some light on that discrepancy and talk a little bit more about the report's findings i'm joined by both the host and producer of breaking the set abby martin and well. thank you guys so much for joining me it's great to have you on so abby the c.p.g. report is saying what you've said on the show thousands of times basically you know the president's crackdown on free speech has been the same if not worse than that of president bush what he stands out as some of the most egregious policies that's been that have been employed by this administration why was a little surprised to see this report coming out from the c.p.g. because this is an organization that for the last thirty years has been really focused on war zones and journalist being killed in the line of fire so fo

in summary, if the obama administration has an aggressive war on leaks and it has information that the news media needs to was accountable for the actions, without equality, and in direct conflict with president obama's often stated goal making things transparent in american history. i'm old enough that i was one of the editors on the watergate story in the early 1970s, so i have made that comparison of knowledge. so there are six components to what i found. first is an unprecedented number of prosecutions, along with the concerns about the nsa surveillance program. the obama administration officials and employees are afraid to talk to the press and every single journalist i've i talk to say that is the case, whether or not they reveal classified information and especially if it involves classified information. to government contractors have been prosecuted since 2009 with weeks of alleged prosecution of the press it has been done under 1917 espionage act during world war i to punish people and we are getting ready to prosecute under that act. and we have this through 1917 through 2009

they host a discussion looking at the obama administration and the press, more specifically a new report by the committee to protect journalists which investigates press freedom conditions during the obama presidency. leonard downie is the journalism professor at arizona state university and former executive editor of the "washington post" to other speakers included senior correspondent for the "washington post." this is live coverage on c-span2. it should start shortly. ♪ ♪ >> hello, welcome in america. i'm managing editor at new america which means i added the new digital magazine weekly walk. i'm actually here to welcome you to this event. the obama administration and the press. if you haven't had a chance to see this report, which i have come it made me want to rename the group that wrote it community protect sources. it's all about protecting sources but those of us have done the job of investigative reporting now, the sources -- if they come to the sources they better speak. so i think your ultimate with the court cases against sources. it's a bleak picture up to and including u.s.

titled, "the obama administration and the press." ny wayst the president obama has ushered in a paralyzing climate of fear for both reporters and their sources. among the cases of details -- six government employees, plus two contractors including edward snowden, have faced felony, the prosecution since 2009 under the 1917 espionage act for leaking classified information to the press, compared with just three inss -- such prosecutions all previous u.s. the ministrations. the department of justice has also sick really subpoenaed and seized associated press reporter's phone logs and e- mails, and new york times reporter james rison was ordered to testify against a former c.i.a. officer who provided the information to him or go to jail. in a report is written by leonard downie, former executive editor of "the washington post." he spoke with dozens of journalists who told him officials are -- "reluctant to discuss even unclassified information." it comes as when greenwald, columnist for britain's guardian newspaper who is based in brazil,

by the obama administration to interfere with voter integrity laws. united states supreme court a few years ago said that voter id laws are perfectly constitutional. after the supreme court said that. and now that the obama administration has been in control, they are trying to prevent us from protecting the ballot box from those tight practices. lou: the integrity of that electoral system is very important to you and worry focusing on right now? >> i am focusing keenly on ensuring that texas remains the number one state in the country protecting jobs and growing jobs, especially with regard to the small business sector in the state of texas. doesn't matter how you slice it and dice it, but for the past decade it has been the state that created more jobs than any other state. we want to make sure that job creation miracle continues and we have to do that by keeping taxes low, keeping government small, keeping regulations out of the way of small businesses in protecting the right to work laws that have helped prevent taxes from going down the pathway o

shear who the obama administration is banking on, the young and the healthy. esident obama believes the old and healthy will finance old. young people typically don't have much medical care. they are young. the hope is that the young fill the obama care covers and take that money to use to pay the big medical bills of the older and the sick. can we counted on the young? will they do this for us? what do you think in the the white house is hoping the young will make up 40% of the new enrollees in the health care exchanges, but getting that many people to sign up, well, i don't think that's so easy. right now the young people are laughing at obama care. yeah, laughing that doesn't help. laughing at the amateur.com web site the federal government put together. web site many of them may think they could create themselves and actually have it work. that's not all. many young are snickering at "saturday night live" spoof at h.h.s. secretary sebelius healthcare.gov. if any young person happened to miss the parody of sebelius. he or she can log and watch it right now a

the obama administration now used it eight times.t's the same law that was used to indictment former army private bradley manning. now known as chelsey manning and also edward snowden. in a report for the committee to protect journalists, former "the washington post" executive editor lynn downey called the obama administration on leaks the most aggressive attempt to control leaks since nixon. all charges but one against drake were dropped. he pleaded guilty to excessive use of government official computer. i spoke to thomas drake about what the future holds for the information leaked to the press and recent trip to moscow to meet nsa leaker thomas snowden. thank you so much for joining us to talk. >> thanks for having me. >> prime minister david cameron, intelligence chiefs here in the u.s., they have said the snowden revelations have been damaging to national security of the u.s. and u.k. why shouldn't american authorities have an interest in protecting national security secrets? >> there is an interest in protecting national securi

and, of course, billion dollar contract from the obama administration.ational review columnist with the exclusive details next. ♪ ♪ lou: on capitol hill today lawmakers took aim at the latest example of over the top agency conferences. in the spotlight now, the department of veterans affairs, the wasteful spending they're proving this is no longer an administration but a national lampoon misadventure in governance. lou: first we found that the general services administration spent 900,000 taxpayer dollars to draw a lavish las vegas conference. those were the good old days, weren't they? then we learned the irs racked up a $50 million bill for their conferences. nothing helps explain tax lot better than star track and gilligan's island. now the department of veterans affairs is embroiled in its own scandal. more than $6 billion on two conferences in orlando and 2011. and, of course, they had to produce a video featuring veterans affairs employees dancing. while the irs prefers that shuffle, folks at the viejo like sister sledge. lawmakers are not happy. >

obama administration says this will all be working as of november 30th. try december 1st. >> thanks. >> good luck. next guest force president obama to stick to his promise. what is he doing? you will find out next. >> warning going out to trick or treaters in one neighborhood. a woman says she will not be handing out children she think are overweight. instead she will send them home with a letter to their parents the letter reads your child is in my opinion moderately obese -- my hope is that you will step up as a parent and ration candy this halloween and not allow your child to continue these unhealthy eating habits. so why is this woman doing this? well, here is what she told a local radio station. >> i just want to send a message to the parents of kids that are really overweight. i think it's really irresponsible of parents to sort of send them out, looking for free candy just because all of the other kids are doing it. >> now you be the judge. is this woman helping neighborhood kids or should she leave their eating habits up to their parents and but b

i think obama administration i think president obama himself questions american exceptionalism but he does not question obama exceptionalism so when he drew a red line in syria that was a different game and i think that's how we got into the situation we're in today ok mark american exceptionalism is it a good thing or a bad thing for the world because it certainly exists well it certainly exists peter but i think one of the most interesting. factors of the idea of american exceptionalism is how very an exceptional this ideology is every imperial power every great power in the world has conceived of themselves and their . use of power on the world stage in moralizing terms as exceptional whether we're talking about the roman empire the british empire the french colonial empire the soviet union or the united states from the cold war on to today. every imperial power seeks to. create a mythology of itself. as a uniquely virtuous actor on the world stage and we can see a bit of a disconnect between the way the rest of the world views this power as characterized by our first guest in lond

hasn't happened that should have happened and i think we're going to have a very long lame duck obama administration but it should happen hopefully in the next administration running what are you the last word twenty seconds go ahead. but david mentioned the u.k. and the usa with democracy in iran in one hundred fifty three and over the years nineteen eighty to eighty eight the chemical was the saddam hussein to use poison gas on the iranians that is the sort of thing you get from american exceptionalism ok an exceptional conversation gentlemen thank you very much many thanks to my guests today in london phoenix and in moscow and thanks to our viewers for watching us here see you next time and remember. these. wealthy british style. markets. come to. find out what's really happening to the global economy with mike's concert for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune into kinds a report. there's a nine story building i noticed that standing on its roof was a man in civilian clothes holding a sniper rifle. to say something in their defense so they can use blank or wooden shells

then when the web site turned out to be a complete disaster, a systems failure, the obama administration tried to hide just how bad it was. it asked the largest health insurer in north dakota not to tell anybody how many people have signed up for insurance through the exchange. the administration telling a state, don't open up. don't tell the people the truth. why not? well, because as of last week only 14 people had been able to sign up for the company's plan. the numbers are so embarrassing for the administration, they have been trying to cover up. and they continue to cover up today when there was testimony and no numbers were given. it's the same reason the administration won't say how many people have signed up nationwide. they know how many people have signed up, but they refuse to tell the american people, the taxpayers, the people who pay the taxes and see their money being wasted by this administration and this government. there are new problems with this health care law every day. now the web site was supposed to be the easy part. but to me, it is just the tip of the iceberg. t

signifies to me that -- as the actual shift we have taken from the bush of ministration to the obama administration. journalist and whistleblowers were getting their threats. we are not going to pursue to you but you had better start doing this. under obama that has become a reality. a people persecuted under the espionage act is unprecedented. this includes people like edward snowden and other folks as well. i want you -- i want to read you one quote. chilling is not strong enough, it is like freezing the whole process. the obama administration may be the worst when it comes to press freedom since the nixon years. >> it is amazing how many reporters came out in this report and talked about how they have never covered a presidency with more secrecy. that is amazing. you mentioned edward snowden. i wanted to talk to you about him because he was the latest whistleblower charged under the espionage act. he is not in the united states and he will not be tried at least not yet. what kind of effect would you say that snowden and the nsa scandal has had on the public's perception of their privacy, the rig

obama administration says this will all be working as of november 30th. try december 1st. >> thanks. >> good luck. next guest force president obama to stick to his promise. what is he doing? you will find out next. ready to run your lines? okay, who helps you focus on your recovery? yo, yo, yo. aflac. wow. [ under his breath ] that was horrible. pays you cash when you're sick or hurt? [ japanese accent ] aflac. love it. [ undehis breath ] hate it. helps you focus on getting back to normal? [ as a southern belle ] aflac. [ as a cowboy ] aflac. [ sassily ] aflac. uh huh. [ under his breath ] i am so fired. you're on in 5, ck. [ male announcer ] when you're sick or hurt, aflac pays you cash. find out more at aflac.com. >> warning going out to trick or treaters in one neighborhood. a woman says she will not be handing out children she think are overweight. instead she will send them home with a letter to their parents the letter reads your child is in my opinion moderately obese -- my hope is that you will step up as a parent and ration candy this halloween an

of the people in the executive branch you know it's interesting to note that back when the obama administration was deciding on whether or not to surge in afghanistan there are some insiders that have written in publications like foreign policy magazine who have noted that obama was planning on withdrawing fully from or at least almost fully from iraq and in order not to be criticized by the military and or nor to seem like still he was a tough guy and a strong leader he decided to do the surge in afghanistan this is always been about politics for the obama administration and that's a sad note that people continue to die on the ground to the country continues to be torn to stretch the corrupt government in afghanistan it's being in a rich again by for just for the political reputation of barack obama needs to stop . michael what about that is that just about reputation because i mean just getting all of this stuff out of afghanistan is costing billions and billions of dollars when just pointed out what about making money well i mean of course the defense companies are very happy with this becau

even john stewart was asking why the obama administration gave a one-year delay to big business but notamerican people. i would tell you, mr. president, if the obama -- if you're the obama white house, when you've lost john stewart, you know things are not going well. the problem don't end with the media or professional comedians. a democrat member of the house, who actually voted for this health care law, called the launch of the exchanges extriewsh aightly -- excruciatingly frustrating. robert gibz, th gibbs, the press former press secretary, said "i hope they fire some people who were in charge of making sure this thing was supposed to work." so the biggest cheerleaders for the president's health care law are now turning against it, the american people do not like it, people are not buying the administration's excuses for why it's failed. well, this is, of course, bad for the president but the american people have even bigger problems and that's what we should really be focused o. the white house is worried about how this looks from a p.r. standpoint but we should also be talking abo

. >> coming up, what last minute change to the obama administration made to the healthcare web site. why did they do it? and did it add to the chaos. congressman trey gowdy is here next. former florida governor jeb bush offering president obama some surprising advice. will it w >>> listen to this one. the member of congress comparing the tea party to kkk. taking heat for latest fundraising detail it. burning cross used as t in tea party. in the caption now you know what the t stands for. calling on democrats to condemn the grayson email. in a statement grayson defending the email saying the tea party is long racist and terms imagery to refer to african-americans and president obama. so now you be the judge. is congressman grayson off his rocker or is this just free speech and political fundraising? go to gretawire.com and vote in our poll. >>> coming up, the obama administration demanding last minute change to the web site did. >>> this is a fight that's been absolutely built by the government. not built by private industry for the consumer. >> we're well into a tech search to fix the

. >> meanwhile, republicans also taking aim at two obama administration over the healthcare website. other issues since they fission went online back on october first. both sides are renewing the fight over the law. >> this is not about blame, it is about accountability. transparency, and fairness for the american public. >> the broken promises are many. >> if we want this law to work, we have to make it right, we have to fix it, not what the republicans have been trying to do, mix and it repeal it. >> al jazeera joins us now live from capitol hill, i think it's been a week since i heard the phrase monkey court, more bickering but any answers? >> no, not the answers that both sides really were looking for. there were four contracting companies that were represented at this hearing, the house energy and commerce hearing, as the committee tries to get to the bottom of what has gone wrong with the healthcare.gov website that is plagued with problems since it opened, the testimony that the lawmakers were hearing today really centered around these glitches that have been experienced all a

funny is that the level of violence in afghanistan now is about what it was prior to the obama administration's surge in two thousand and nine and two thousand and ten and the levels of violence overall in the country went up as the u.s. efforts to stabilize the country and make it secure went up and so this is an indication of what a failure u.s. policy has been and what a failure counterterrorism policy has been. the places that are still unstable are unstable because the insurgency is alive and well and as lynn said we can't defeat it and yet the obama administration seems to be biding its time for a way to get out and say look we look how we won you know that it's just like in vietnam nixon and kissinger were desperate to get out and be able to wave a flag of victory when everyone that just and has eyes and is in so cynical can see the truth and that's that we fail and you want to jump in there in philadelphia go ahead. i just want to say to you guys there is plenty of us the source of security and the source of. the solution but it is actually the instigator of violence and chaos in afghan

insurance. >> reporter: the obama administration is promising to ticks the new health care web site by the end of november. a group of senate democrats is looking for more. >> what i'm proposing is that we extend the period in which people can enroll so we can make sure we get as many people who want health insurance able to enroll and be able to be covered. >> reporter: new hampshire senator jane sheheen is calling the roll-out a disaster. she sent a letter to the president urging him to push back the deadline. many republicans are also frustrated with the launch of healthcare.gov. darrell isa of the reform committee says he may issue subpoenas to the health and human services department. >> so that we can, on half of the american people straighten out as much as can be straightened out, which is above the water, the 90% below the water like an iceberg, the other problems in obama care. >> reporter: contractors pointed to last-minute design changes for the glitches. on wednesday, hhs secretary kathleen is a deal use is scheduled to testify before lawmakers about the problems and wh

funny is that the level of violence in afghanistan now is about what it was prior to the obama administration's surge in two thousand and nine and two thousand and ten and the levels of violence overall in the country went up as the u.s. efforts to stabilize the country and make it secure went up and so this is an indication of what a failure u.s. policy has been and what a failure counterterrorism policy has been. the places that are still unstable are unstable because the insurgency is alive and well and as lynn said we can't defeat it and yet the obama administration seems to be biding its time for a way to get out and say look we. we won you know that it's just like in vietnam nixon and kissinger were desperate to get out and be able to wave a flag of victory when everyone that just and has eyes and is in so cynical can see the truth and that's that we fail lynn you want to jump in there in philadelphia go ahead. i just want to say to you that yes there is plenty of the source of security and a source of is a solution but it is actually there is the gate of violence and chaos in afghanistan

the our own home turf and yet you almost never hear the sort of criticism coming from the obama administration or from any other american administration well i take the idea of the saudis completely turning yes this is a wrong idea but i will correct you on one thing i think there have been public statements made about the saudis certainly their activities in the region for example when they invaded bahrain at the invitation of the leadership of bahrain they brought ten thousand sided troops in there the americans went nuts. and made enormously strong public statements about did they threatened to bomb riyadh they never threatened to bomb riyadh they never even cut diplomatic ties you know expressing your discontent is one thing but again here you are not dealing with a country that is going to be ashamed or afraid of some of the public statements coming out of washington they and i could care less about that they're doing whatever they want in syria these days and even the obama administration despite supposedly preferring the diplomatic track they can do nothing to rein the saudis in i think

surveillance scandal there's so much secrecy going on with the obama administration's counterterrorism policies with the u.n. pressing this we thought it was high time for us also to bring forth the new evidence that we have of potentially unlawful deaths do you think that there's any kind of potential repercussions that we're seeing in this potential warm up between pakistan and the u.s. in light of these two reports you know one thing to note is that the pakistani government itself has obligations for some of the human rights violations that are occurring we not only documented u.s. drone strikes we've documented a cruel nature of the abuses that are occurring by militant groups that are operating in the region and also of pakistani military forces that are conducting attacks sometimes indiscriminately so we're talking about a population in north waziristan that is not only facing u.s. drone strikes but also facing the threats of violence elsewhere and the u.s. government and the pakistani government both have obligations to recognize that harm dignify what's happening to these peopl

and tonight, the liberal national media seems less comfortable with the obama administration. the new york times defending health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius, white placing the blame on the obama care disaster clearly on the president. the washington post featured a front-page article today on the already-failing on the health care co-ops. created by the government to provide competition for the major corporate insurers. even the cbs and nbc anchors reporting the grim news for this administration. that they usually support and shield from such news. >> as we have been reporting this new website unveiled by the obama administration for folks who want to sign up for health insurance coverage, has been a mess from the start. >> she was touted by the first to earn roll in delaware. although obama did say it took a few tries. she said it took her seven hours over 11 days. >> seven hours over 11 days. >> cbs and nbc finally reporting what has become obvious to anyone who watches fox business or fox news. but you may woer where abc's diane sawyer was on the subject.

as we reported last week there are at least half a dozen major controversies inside the obama administration that the president apparently didn't know anything about. today in the "wall street journal" front page headline says obama unaware as u.s. spied on world leaders. and i i believe that's true. while some americans think about mr. obama knew about fast and furious, irs, benghazi, libya, and the nasa spying while they were in -- nsa spying while they were in development. the president does not manage in a microway. he delegates often to incompetent people. most vivid example is the enormous screw up in obama care. that's the president's signature issue and he was apparently totally unaware that the roll out was broken. now, i could be wrong. i could be wrong about this. barack obama may have micromanaged all that stuff i mentioned. it's possible, but i believeimp. last night on "60 minutes," the horror of four americans being murdered in benghazi, libya are was portrayed. lt. colonel andy wood said he warned the obama administration al qaeda was hunting the american ambassador. >> tried

. >> coming up, what last minute change to the obama administration made to the healthcare web site. why did they do it? and did it add to the chaos. congressman trey gowdy is here next. former florida governor jeb bush offering president obama some surprising advice. will it work? president bush's helpful hints coming up. bold has a huge imagination. a playground of innovation, color, and design. showing up where we least expect it. and taking inspiration from our wildest dreams. because kohler doesn't see the world in fixtures and faucets. it reimagines. coloring our lives in ways only bold could do, it's no wonder the world can't wait to see what kohler does next. >>> listen to this one. the member of congress comparing the tea party to kkk. taking heat for latest fundraising detail it. burning cross used as t in tea party. in the caption now you know what the t stands for. calling on democrats to condemn the grayson email. in a statement grayson defending the email saying the tea party is long racist and terms imagery to refer to african-americans and president obama. so now you b

administration will listen. issue, the treatment of whistleblowers. president obama has said he supports encouraging and protecting government whistleblowers who reveal bureaucratic abuse. he and his administration have drawn a distinction between bat and revelations to the press about government policies. they punished with investigations and firings. he signed the whistleblower act in 2012, along with a policy aimed at protecting the retaliation of government whistleblowers. the same time, his administration won an appellate court decision that takes away from federal employees and national security positions the right to appeal actions by their agencies which could include retaliation for whistleblowing. of someecution whistleblowers as spies under the 1917 espionage act leaves the president's position unclear. lastly, the international implications. posedition to the threat to foreign journalists by nsa surveillance -- they're not supposed to supply -- spy on americans, but they can spy on the can and of non-american citizens. administration's policies provide a