. >> next, jay wexler examines the more obscure clauses of the u.s. constitution scattered among the better known amendments throughout the 8,000-word document. this is about 40 minutes. [inaudible conversations] >> good evening. thank you for coming out to support your local independent. my name is evan, and i'm the events director here at the brookline booksmith. i hope you guys will pick up one or our calendars. we've got some great readings lined up with john hodgeman and larry doyle next week and a night of staff recommendations later in the month. also you may have noticed we're filming tonight, um, so if you could, please, make sure to turn off all cell phones and things like that, any drum machines you may have on your person. [laughter] you can follow all of our events through our web site, brookline booksmith.com where you can also purchase thousands of e-books through google editions. as we move into a presidential election year, you can be sure to hear a lot about our founding fathers, what they believed, what they said, what they meant to

. >>> next, jay wexler examines the constitution scattered among the better known amendments throughout the 8,000 word document. this is about 40 minutes. >> good evening and thank you for coming to support your local independence. my name is evin and i'm the yvette director here at the brookline book smith. i hope he will pick up on a hour calendars. we have great reading signed up with john and larry baliles next week. and michael owls well as the night of staff recommendations leader in the month. also, you may have noticed we are filming tonight. so if you could please make sure to turn off all sell phones and things like that, any machines you may have. you can follow all of our defense through the web site, brooklinebooksmith.com or you can purchase bugle editions. as we move into the presidential year you can be sure to hear a lot of butter were founding fathers, but they believed, but they said, what they meant to say, and certain parts of the constitution will doubtlessly be quoted again and again. tonight is not about any of that nonsense. it's about the other nonsense. becaus

joining me tonight is robert wexler, former congressman from florida's 19th district. mr. wexler, good to have you with us tonight on "the ed show." i know you're also an attorney. and i want to go right to the money here with mitt romney. will mitt romney's failure to disclose financial information, is this a real potential problem? and i ask this under two laws that have been passed. one of them, the ethics and government act, and also, the false statements accountability act, which really goes at people if they do not fully disclose. what about all this? >> well, ed, thank you for having me. and i wouldn't pretend to be a legal expert on this matter, but, certainly, if there is a discrepancy between the tax returns and the financial disclosure forms, that would certainly pose a very serious question. both a legal question and also, most undoubtedly, a political question in terms of why was this the discrepancy presented the way it was, and was something being hidden for some reason? >> how quickly do you think the romney camp has to clean this up? >> well, assuming that

because to night we have the pleasure to welcome back jay wexler professor of law at bostonmo university. in his first book he explored the division for lack of a division of church and state with the strange and humorous road trip. in his new book "the odd clauses" he examines the foundation of the u.s. constitution through this strange and rarely cited provisionsr from the state's control of intoxicating liquor ads to the ability tos allow private citizens to fight pirates for personal gain. to seek out the antiquateda specific and the odd he shot -- dead new-line on the g constitution in all its, glory so please join me to give a big welcome to professor jay wexler. [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you for coming out in the rain to this terrific bookstore book he begins here filming so please keep your hackling to a minimum of. [laughter] and i was on the booktv one time it was a event in new mexico that i thought went pretty well then a couple weekse later the event was on tv so itunes did and pretty nervous because although on calst of -- television a couple times not in a s

let me say a few words about robert wexler. former seven-term congressman from florida, deeply involved in questions about middle east peace, was recognized as one of the 50 most effective legislators. if we will see if he is one of the 50 most effective ngo directors pretty soon. he retired from congress to do this job that he's taking on. this is a defining challenge for him as it is in my view for the united states. jeffrey goldberg, who has written so much on these issues and covers all the terrain -- i of written much about it. participants in the media, there's hardly an issue that draws out more of us, an energetic five and sometimes a toxic saliva, then this is tru toxic and an energetic vibe as. as this topic. robert wexler. >> thank you very much to keep steve and everyone atlantic. it is truly a privilege and honor for all of us at the abraham center for middle east peace to be associated with the lantern. two years ago i left a job i truly did love, actually, in the u.s. congress. i did so to join an extraordinary m

sunday night, jay wexler on understanding our constitution by looking at the odd closet. book tv every weekend on c-span to. -- c-span-2. >> mr. speaker, the president of the united states. >> tuesday night, president obama delivers his state of the union address. live coverage begins at 8:00 p.m. eastern, including the president's speech, republican response by indiana governor mitch daniels, and your phone calls. on c-span-2, watch the president's speech along with tweets from members of congress. throughout the night, go online for live video and to add your comments using facebook and twitter at c-span.org >> welcome to las vegas and the consumer electronics show, 2012. every year about a hundred and 40,000 people and 3000 companies large and small attend this show to look at the latest and newest in electronics. for the next several weeks on "the communicator's," we are going to show you some of the interviews we did. we talk with policy makers, and we also look at some of the new, developing technology that is out there. first up, we are going to start off this week

much like ann wexler, is correct? so highly sensitive to how is it you get representation and make it genuine into the system? and how is it that you convey what's going on in the white house to the american public? fred mcclure worked on capitol hill for senator tower. worked in the congressional liaison for presidents reagan and bush. in that role, i actually checked and this man only weighs 110 pounds. this is all battle garb. congressional liaison people have to know the congress, know well on both sides what it is they want and how it is they make decisions and how it is you can work with them. convey that information back to the white house and, yet, participate in trying to sell what the white house is trying to get sold on capitol hill. this is difficult work. there is no punching the clock. just because of the nature of the work. bobby, why don't you go first. >> thank you, chuck. my legal name is barbara. the only time my parents ever used it is when they were angry at me. please refer to me as bobbie today.

and saturday, 11:15, jay wexler on understanding our constitution by looking at the odd closet. booktv every weekend on c-span 2. >>> president obama campaigned in new york last night and wrapped up the night with an event in the apollo theater in harlem. that's next on c-span. on this morning's washington journal, gop presidential candidate rick santorum and michael cranish of the ""boston globe"" who co-authored "the real romney." washington journal is live at the top of the hour. >> some will say we're reactionary. others will say we stand for socialism. there will be an inevitable prize to both. there's time for a change and so on and so on. we'll hear all of those things and many more. we will hear nothing we have not heard before. >> as presidents campaign for president, 14 men who ran for the office and lost. go to our website, c-spa c-span.org/thecontenders. >> let them stand on the status quo while we seek to refresh the american spirit. let the opposition collect their $10 million in secret money from the privileged few, and let us find one million ordinary americans w

and sunday night at 8:15, jay we canler on understanding our -- wexler on understanding our constitution by looking at the odd clauses. booktv, everything weekend on c-span2. >> up next, historian george daughan recounts the naval battles between america and britain during the war of 1812. he examines how the american navy, a fleet of only 20 ships, outmaneuvered their opponent and supported the u.s. army's ground forces. this is just over an hour. >> good evening. my name's dan, i'm the owner of water street bookstore. thank you all for coming out tonight as we continue the celebration of our 20th anniversary with a reprieve of george daughan's appearance here for his first book, "if by sea." when he first came here, it was a revelation to all of us to have someone of george's caliber talking about the birth of the american navy. and now he's gone on to write a book called "1812:2 the navy's war." the tactic that the navy used to fight off the royal navy. george is an eminent historian, he holds a ph.d. in american history and government from harvard university and is a recipient of the

my thanks to the atlantic and to dan abraham and bob wexler for organizing this event.anny has been a friend for many, many years. he is one of the most ardent and persistent advocates for peace in the middle east. and i commend him for that encourage him to continue. i was pleased with some reservations, which will explain in a moment, to accept his invitation to speak here this evening. he served with great distinction in the house of representatives for many years. i know that danny is like to have them as we all are. i was, at first, reluctant to accept danny's invitation to come here. i thought the atlantic, the abraham center for middle east, people who spend their lives studying this issue -- and i have always been somewhat intimidated being asked to speak an audience in which all or most of the members know about the subject and i do. >> but then i reflected on my first days in the u.s. senate. i entered the senate under unusual circumstances. i was serving as a federal district court judge in my home state of maine when one of maine's senators, ed muskie, was a

and sunday night at 8:15, jay wexler on understanding our constitution by looking at the odd clauses. booktv, every weekend on c-span2. >> now, a discussion about the state of the economy and how cities are affected. we'll hear from siemens corporation see grow eric spiegel -- ceo eric spiegel and pollster joel benenson. from the u.s. conference of mayors' winter meeting, this is an hour and a half. [inaudible conversations] >> yeah, absolutely. okay. can i have your attention, please? i just want to remind everyone that the discussion about this winter meeting, um, doesn't exactly happen in this room, but it also happens online. so i invite you all when tweeting to use our hash tag, uscm winter, when posting tweets. it's a great way to see what others are saying and to bring the conversation beyond capitol hill to the hotel. also we are asking mayors to sit down with our film crew for a few minutes during this meeting to talk about what happens when we invest in cities, the impact of congressional budget cuts and the measures you have taken to help create jobs. we want to share them

my thanks to the atlantic and to dan abraham and bob wexler for organizing this event.ny has been a friend for many, many years. he is one of the most ardent and persistent advocates for peace in the middle east. and i commend him for that encourage him to continue. i was pleased with some reservations, which will explain in a moment, to accept his invitation to speak here this evening. he served with great distinction in the house of representatives for many years. i know that danny is like to have them as we all are. i was, at first, reluctant to accept danny's invitation to come here. i thought the atlantic, the abraham center for middle east, people who spend their lives studying this issue -- and i have always been somewhat intimidated being asked to speak an audience in which all or most of the members know about the subject and i do. but then i reflected on my first days in the u.s. senate. i entered the senate under unusual circumstances. i was serving as a federal district court judge in my home state of maine when one of maine's centers was appointed the secre

hay wexler on understanding our constitution. >> the house on wednesday blocked president obama's requestincrease the debt limit by more than $1 trillion. under a deal worked out last summer, the president can raise the debt by $2 trillion and two stages. if this is the second stage. it goes into affect unless the house votes to disapprove. the resolution was never adopted in the senate. this is a little less than the two hours. madam speaker. i rise today as a proud primary sponsor of the subject resolution that is before the desk. madam speaker, i'd like to start my conversation with a few numbers. 15.2 trillion dollars. that is the size of our national debt. we as a nation are borrowing at the rate of $58,000 per second. that is approximately $45,000 for each man, woman, and child in america. this type of debt is not sustainable. madam speaker, this resolution is offered today to send a message to the nation and to the world -- >> madam speaker, the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is correct. the house is not in order. the house will be in order. members a

then jay wexler on understanding the constitution by looking at "the odd clauses." a little history ahead of the gop primary including changes in party affiliation, race issues, and the impact of evangelical voters. >> let me introduce you to our next guest. santorum just suggested that the race has been shaken up. through the lens of today's south carolina voters, give us a snapshot of how important social conservatism is in that state today and how the news from the gingrich campaign may play into that community? guest: it seems to me that it's pretty important for your viewers to recognize south carolina is a relatively diverse states we have a significant part of the party in the upstate of evangelical conservatives. as santorum's careful answer says, they will be distressed to learn some things we have known for a long time. former speaker gingrich's personal life has been messy, i think is the world, which may distress from the people he's trying to appeal to. former governor romney seems to be holding on to his support. we think the base of that is down in th