c-span: ucla. guest: ucla, yeah. c-span: how long have you done that? guest: i've taught history for 33 years and i've been at ucla since 1981. c-span: why history? guest: you know, i think--i have a theory about people and why they become what they become. i think there are about four basic ways to understand reality or understand the world. one of them is, obviously. through measuring and it, you know, it appeals to people who are--who be--who become scientists of observation and measurement. another one is clearly a religious sensibility. there's also, i think, a poetic and imaginative way of grasping reality. and another is to understand what has gone before--to see what human beings in very different times and different places have created out of this human potential. and there are just people who are naturally curious historically and i'm one of them. c-span: when did you start being curious? guest: i--i was a history major as an undergraduate and i think i was curious before then, though i tended to satisfy my curiosity by reading novels. nineteen

c-span: you did one of the last interviews with john kennedy... >> guest: yeah. c-span: ...in 1963 about--and one of the things you talked about was vietnam. what was the setting for that interview? >> guest: well, the--we were the first of the networks to go to the full half-hour broadcast from 15 minutes. believe it or not, news broadcasts were 15 minutes for quite a number of years until--till that year of 1973--'63. and we went to the half-hour, and in doing so, we--i asked the president for an interview--if he'd sit still for an interview for the network's first half-hour broadcast, which he agreed to do. it was over the labor day weekend, and he was up at hyannis port, so we went up to hyannis port to his summer home and did the interview there. c-span: you say in your book on page 243, 'and i have always believed that if he had lived, he would have withdrawn those advisers from vietnam, although his secretary of state, dean rusk, later wrote he never heard the president mention this possibility.' this is a--that's--particular interview seems to come up in a

c-span: boys or girls? c-span: the middle one is a boy. c-span: had you by chance talk to them about this book? grant. >> c-span: >> i did have copies until last friday. so i shipped to them, but one of them was with me last night, gave a book party. i was embarrassed that she did but it turned out she did a wonderful affair. my daughter was there. the one who lives in washington and she was very excited about it. you're talking about protest, this is a disjointed conversation, but let me mention this. because my children were of college-age, my son, the youngest, was nine years younger than the oldest. he went to stanford after i left the department of defense. but my oldest child was at stanford while i was in the department of defense, and my middle child was in the university as well while i was there. of course, they were all exposed to some degrees to protest in some fashion. so last at this book party we got to talking about protest, in the middle child, kathy, was there last night. and i recalled, and as a matter fact i make in the book, that she had a friend who organized thousands of y

eastern live on c-span. you are watching c-span, created as a public service by the nation ' s cable companies. here is a look at our schedule. up next, president obama and president medvedev at a joint press conference in moscow. that is a look at topics to be discussed with russian leaders this week. later, senator-elect al franken.

c-span: did you. >> guest: i think i was close to him. pan: there was a time in the book where you talk about he kissed you for the first time. >> guest: in the hospital. c-span: that you remember. >> guest: when i had typhoid fever. this--and this is a national characteristic, i think, of the irish, this poetic, mercurial, flamboyant race. we don't go around saying, 'i love you. 'the word 'love' was something that was reserved for god or babies, 'i love you darling,' it --you talk to babies or maybe horses that win. but not for--not for personal relationship. i used to think when iwas a kid when people said, 'i love you,' that was only for something on the screen at the limerick cinema. we never heard it. i never heard a mother saying, 'i love you,' to her child. and my brother malachy once had an experience. he was nine. he--i think this may have changed the course of his life somehow emotionally. he was in the kitchen, he was nine years old, and he said to my mother--he was overwhelmed for some reason, and he said to my mother, 'ma'am,

caller: thank you for c-span. you had an interview with vice president cheney. i thought he treated you terribly. was it not the time -- you ask him a very pointed question. his reply was, "so?" in hindsight, it is probably a lot easier to understand what he meant now than he did then. guest: it was about a year ago. i was traveling with vice- president dick cheney. we had gone to iraq and then we had an interview set up. i asked him about a poll, saying that 2/3 of americans did not believe the iraq war was worth the sacrifice. and he looked at me and said, "so?" that interview got a lot of attention. i think, particularly coming at the end of the bush administration, having the vice president say that was quite stunning. host: let me move on to afghanistan. "the washington post" have a major story. thousands of fan out in afghanistan. the south in crucial test for revised u.s. strategy. this is an area of the helmand region. there is a band of fertile land that produces some of the largest poppy crops in afghanistan. can you tell us more about the strategy? gu

it is one of those little laptop jobs that you can take along with you. c-span on line and i can plug in and find out the c-span schedule. what about somebody like me? what would you tell me, if i had never touched a computer, how would i get started and why should i have one? >> the first thing i tell everybody is to figure out what you want to do with it. the idea that i just want to become computer literate is good for the hype and ad campaign but it is not good for you. you are busy. you are smart about what you know. you do not necessarily want to take up a new career list that is your copy. the first thing is what you want to do with it. you want to log on to america online because they aren't on- line service with a lot of information including a section for c-span. you are probably traveling to and you want something portable. and watch you get that -- once you get that, he looked up price and power -- you look at price and power. one thing people do not think about is the ease of use. how quickly after you turn it on can you get into productive work wit

caller: thank you for c-span. it came to me, the name of a flat health care, like the flat tax. host: how does that work?

on c-span. youan also listen on c-span radio or down lot -- download the podcast. >> the white house briefing is coming up in about 20 minutes. until then, and look at items in the news and conversations with c-span callers from this morning's "washington journal." financial times this morning. in this story, the first batch of iou's to be issued by california has been printed and will be sent out today and thus arnold schwarzenegger manages to strike a last-minute budget deal with state government. many other states find themselves strapped for cash this year. we want to talk to you about your views on that. let me introduce you to lisa, senior staff editor for smart money.com. yesterday filed a story with the headline about six states getting residents with big tax hikes." thank you for being here. >> thank you. >> how many states find themselves in economic crisis or difficult times this year? guest: the majority. 47 states have the fiscal year 2010 projected shortfalls in their budget. i would s

you will be ample to watch on c- span, c-span.org, and c-span radio. we would like to hear from you on her confirmation hearings. you can see the numbers on your screen. republicans, 202-737-0001. democrats, 202-737-0002. independents, 202-628-0205. please allow 30 days between your calls and you can send us a tweet. a couple of articles about sonia sotomayor's hearings. this is "the washington times" this morning. that is on their front page. on the inside of "the wall street journal" this morning is this article. that is from inside "the wall street journal" this morning. and this is in the politico. "it is just the kind of told the republican party needs." now we want to hear from you and what you like to hear from the hearings. steven, a democrat in dallas, you are first this morning. caller: m on the air? hello? host: and this is from "in new york times" this morning. this goes through the schedule. host: let's go to houston, independent. what do you think? caller: i hope she holds the administration accountable for crimes against humanity. we have

caller: think you c-span. here in indiana, tif the state budget did the past, the governor was going to start shutting down things like the lottery in casinos -- and casinos that make money for the state and people, and i just do not understand that. i was raised in indiana in an auto town. we had general motors and chrysler there. we had delco all over the city. delco started taking jobs away from kokomo and at least 70's. the auto industry started taking our jobs away and long time ago. manufacturing has made this country the power that we have starting in the 1950's. it employed thousands of people at the big companies, and we started losing taxes ever since. we started losing taxes ever since the company started going overseas. we have a company that when eight reopens -- when it re- opened it started bussing the legal people. -- illegal people. guest: if the state has to shut down because they do not have the budget in place, all kinds of things will happen. that is the same. otherwise, as he pointed out,

caller: @ thank you for c-span. -- thank you for c-span.ith major lending -- host: with all the bailout -- dan? caller: with all the bailout is, why cit now? we had a problem bailing out the auto companies. why the trouble with the auto workers but no trouble building out the big financial industries? where is the difference? why the trouble with one and not the other? guest: that is an excellent question. and what you see is there is certainly a lot of debate about whether or not to help cit group. but the key is -- you have to think financially, what happens in the financial system, but also politically. one of the key elements is the word small business. small businesses a major part of the economy and also a major constituency in washington. the fact is, the battle over small business is a big part of the political battle in washington right now. so you will hear critics of the administration saying they are not doing enough for small business, and you will also see democrats in congress and the ministration talk about what they are doi

you can also e-mail us and that e-mail address is c-span rather -- you can also twitter us. the twitter feed is just c-span wj and e-mail address is journal at c-span.org. caller: good morning. i'm a small business owner and i hire a lot -- some individuals. they seem to be legal. i don't really ask for documentation. if this is in place, that would affect my business. and i do support illegal immigrants and i do hire them. and they're really good people. they're here to work. and a lot of people call the republican line showing their racism. but i think it's illegal immigrants are good people. host: and i want to mention that scott was calling from maryland. do you hear that from business owners? guest: the thing is just to clarify a little bit of the procedure that currently all employers are required to verify status of their employees through an i-9 process. e verify takes that one step further so i think that the thing that is problematic, he mentioned it, he was a small business. we know through independent studies and also through the government's own research on e-ver

. >> sunday night at 8 on c-span. you can also listen on the satellite radio or download the podcast. >> how is aziz been funded it? >> the u.s. government. >> i do not know. >> not public funding. >> my tax dollars. >> how is c-span funded? 30 years ago america's cable companies started c-span with no government mandate or money. >> welcome to "the communicators." the annual meeting was recently held and in washington, d.c.. attendees had a chance to hear from the commerce secretary. >> when we think about the opportunities and advantages of broadband, i do not think we understand the full potential of it. when we talk about going to doctors' offices, being able to record some of the medical history and having that transmitted to the doctor's office -- haven't all of those medical records in one place, the power of technology, and the power of education. there is a hunger out there for education. people who lived in mort -- in remote parts of the country, they want more education. the walmart technology. they want a teac

if there ever is a contemporary of him, get on c-span as soon as you can. thank god for c-span. host: he said that he spoke to the nation. what did you mean by that? >> he told like keas -- like is -- he told it like it is, pulling no punches. he had such a void. only equal is the late eric sat right. but thank you for c-span, and please, if you can get dan schorr on, he is 92, not going to be around much longer. host: good morning. caller: as a child, i know that the family did not sit down and eat until we have had all sat down and listened to walter cronkite. he was a great reporter and anchor man and did not put his opinion in. he told the news. it wasn't right or left. he just gave the truth. i wish we had more like him today. host: so if news is a ritual back then with your family, has the same thing happened now? caller: iowa c-span and cnn all day. that is what i watch. to me, that is good television. the only things i watch at night are "law and order" and those shows. but my major television watching is c-span. thank you for c-span. host: from pennsylvania. caller: i ad

thank you for c-span. we have no business being in afghanistan in the way we're doing it. if we want to win the minds and hearts of the afghan people, we do need to give them food and shelter and stop bombing the schools for the children. we will have a great loss of our men and women in afghanistan. we are taking the wrong approach. do you know the reason why they will back the taliban? that is because it is the only choice. i have watched programs on free- speech tv and link tv. we have bombed innocent people, innocent women, and children. the steeple are suffering. when is the war going to stop? -- these people are suffering. when are we going to look at ourselves as american people and decide we will not put our tax dollars into killing people? we can win the world economy if we can help other nations instead of killing them. guest: thank you for the powerful point. there have been big mistakes made in this war, no doubt. if you add up all the afghans that have been killed by accidental nato air strikes

you can also download the c-span podcast. >> "washington journal" continues. host: the deputy director of the state fiscal project of the center on budget and policy priorities. thank you for being here. >> thank you. >host: what is at the heart of most of this? guest: the heart of it is the national recession. unlike the federal government, states can not print money or run deficits. if the programs they provide for people are funded by tax revenues. in a recession, people purchase less and sales tax revenues go down. people make less money or lose their jobs, income tax revenue goes down. if states are seeing the largest declines in tax revenues since they can remember. you have to go back to the great depression to see this. it's happening in republican and democrat states. the resources they need have dried up. the irony of that is it is happening just as the recession is driving up people's needs. they need government services more than ever. >> when a state make a decision to increase its sales tax by 1.5% or more, do they work against themselves, because

>> caller: thank you, c-span. thank you for the programming. dr. ferling, it's a pleasure to speak with you. from my readings i've always wondered how close george washington came to losing his career and it seems his selection of nathaniel greene kind of bailed him out in different occasions. i was wondering if you could have some insight as to the personal relationship if they had any or did washington just use nathaniel greene based upon his record. thank you. >> guest: thank you. let me try -- there are two questions. let me try to answer both of those and take the question first of the opposition to washington will if i could. washington made a lot of mistakes in the campaign of 1776 and new york, but i think most people were willing to overlook those mistakes. he was new in command, he was an amateur soldiers. but then in the campaign of 1777, there were more mistakes made by washington at brandywine, and following washington was largely inactive in his efforts to keep the british from advancing and finally taking philadelphia. and at the sam

you. let's hear from c-span viewers. first being from halifax, massachusetts. is is chris on the republican line. go ahead, chris. caller: hi. good morning. thank you for taking my call. i was just curious to hear sort of what mar that's view on this, the difference in coverage between sort of presurge, you know, when we were fighting in iraq and taking a lot of casualties and, you know, the media was very critical of the bush administration, critical of the war's efforts. you know, there were a lot of calls for withdrawal at that time. and now i see the coverage and it just sort of seems to be everything is rosey and fine and there's very little critical coverage, you know, of the war. and also the fact nat surge worked and -- that the surge worked and bush's stay the course ended up working. i'll take the answer right there. host: thanks, chris. guest: i think it's more critical than that. i'm proud of the media because the bush administration at the time was saying things were going well. president bush in an interview with me before he left office, i asked h

don't forget, you can go to our c-span web site at c-span.org for archived programs of "the communicators," plus to find out how you can set up for a c-span podcast of this program. thanks for watching. >> and if you'd like to see this program again, we'll show you the "the communicators" with commerce secretary gary locke tonight at 8 eastern here on c-span2. >> how is c-span funded? >> the u.s. government. >> private benefactors. >> i don't know. i think some of it's government-raised. >> it's not public funding -- >> probably donations? >> i'm going to say from me, my tax dollars. >> how is c-span funded? thirty years ago america's cable companies created c-span as a public service. a private business initiative. no government mandate, no government money. [inaudible conversations] >> good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience. we appreciate it very much. we have a wonderful program in store for you this afternoon. i'm janice mathers, vice president of rainbow push coalition based in atlanta, georgia. it is my great honor and privilege to introduce a former colle

thank you very much for calling in and watching c-span. ok to be will be at the harlem book festival next saturday, so please come to see us. hank in texas, democrat, what would you like to ask judge sonia sotomayor? caller: thank you. first of all, i would like to tell the previous caller that i commend her and think she is awesome to be in her 90s, but i also like to tell her that i am a white man from the south and i am 46 years old and i promise you, ma'am, i had nothing to do with what happened with racism in this country. as far as -- what i would like to ask mrs. sonia sotomayor is about immigration and which you would do about that. -- what she would do about that. i would like to know where she stands on my right to bear arms in this country. when people hear it put that way i know that people have a problem with it, but that is in the constitution and something i'm concerned about. thank you very much. host: glen tweets in -- caller: good morning, i have three comments here. i'm very upset that she is a member of la rasa which is

on c-span. you can also listen on c-span radio or download the c-span podcast. >> this is a forum on american presidential succession in the event of an attack. you'll hear about a new report on potential weak points in the process with former homeland security advisor and political policy l -- political policy analysts. it is just over two and one-half hours. >> all right. i think we will get under way. i am norman ornstein of the american enterprise institute. i want to welcome you all to this event on presidential succession which is key to run the release of this report, "the presidency, preserving our institutions," which is the second report of the continuity of government commission. that was created in the aftermath of 9/11, out of the recognition that washington will remain a key target for terrorists and that a key objective is to do as much as possible to disrupt american's institutions of governance. and what flows, unfortunately, from that is that we have an adequate plans in place, and

tonight at 8 on c-span. you can also listen on xmsatellite board, the c-span podcast. this week on prime minister's question, prime minister gordon brown discusses government spending and job loss. also, the unrest by iran following its presidential election. tonight at 9 eastern on c-span. >> now a session on president obama's upcoming trip to russia, the g-eight. the president will address the situation in iran during that cheek-8 meeting and praised ghana as a presidential election during a visit to that country. this is just about an hour. these people of the best in business. >> good morning. as long as we keep our expectations low, we are less likely to be disappointed. while all have been paid -- an advocate to try to improve the russian u.s. relationship, there is a flaw in the logic. we have a new leader, who is president obama, who is ready to adjust some policies from the previous administration. in moscow, we do not have a new leader. we essentially have the same leadership that we had before. to take that further, i don't think we should have any illusions

c-span i think you need to do a little better job. ean everybody has opinions and this young lady need to be on book tv not c-span. excuse me, hold up, let me make my comment. if she so worried about this and worried about that, write a book stating that hey, health care and all this other good stuff, put it out to the people and let them vote on it instead of going through all these changes. if you don't like somebody that's been in office all these years and doing all this crazy stuff put it out there and you sitting there and going on and on. everybody has opinions. put me on let me voice my opinions. host: well, you're on right now and we appreciate it. did you a equestion? caller: yes. host: ok, john, thank you. guest: well all i'll say is i'm really glad to answer even after all these years i think the first time i appeared on c-span was six or zech years ago and i'm still referred to as young lady. i appreciate that. host: this is also another tweet that says bravo. big fan reading your books at town hall how did you approach th

you think the world has gone. the headline is "ram tv." if television is a drug, then c-span is the antidote -- the network to watch when you want to come down. the programs are shot in color, but might as well be in black and white. there are no commercials. the almost total lack of editing and super sluggish camerawork creates a world as flat and inept as a mid-level bureaucrats' desktop. the sets are non-existent. the polyester hosts makes brokaw seem like flynn. and the classical music played during breaks reminds you of untitled cassettes tapes. >> what comes around goes around. >> exactly. what got you there? >> i turned on c-span -- my job was to comment on the media in a monthly fashion for this magazine. it is now a dead and gone fashion magazine. i turned on c-span -- i turned and cable television and as i ran through the channel there was only one which visually did not resemble the others, and that was c-span. it went slow. they spoke loudly, it spoke softly. it fascinated me. it was like coming across a buddhist at a holy-roller church service. here was c-span si

thank you to court viewers at c- span and. the u.s.-russia relations talk -- thank you for each of the viewers at c-span. the question today is whether we are facing in the beginning or things will continue very much as business as usual. the advantage of being in a think tank and not in the government is that in the government today a lot of our colleagues are scrambling redding last-minute menace. we can take a 30,000 foot view. -- our colleagues are scrambling writing last-minute memos. hopefully the first panel will reflect that balance. arms control is at the heart of the u.s.-soviet relationship and now the u.s.-russia relationship. the second part of the panel, are on a leading expert on arms control will speak, but we will start with someone who has the lifetime of experience and a bird's eye view of this relationship, as well as other strategic relationships. fritz ermath was a director of national security programs at the nixon center. he was senior director in a ronald reagan's national security council and the chairman of t

caller: you know, i'm an after i had listener of c-span. this is the most educational p educational program on tv. you can hear how uneducated a lot of people are. it is just very educational. i wish c-span was on 24 hours a day. what she's saying, if you can't dot time, don't dot crime. it seems like anybody could understand that. and president obama, he don't bring no idiots around him. all these people have degrees he's a smart man. i don't disagree with anything she said because the way she deliberately explained everything is just a gray, great drama. great television. host: thank you very much, c-span is on 24 hours. peter, anything else? >> i want to repeat that you can watch all of the judge sotomayor hearings on c-span.org. in the middle of the page, it says hearings bin at 9:30. can you control each of the cameras you would like to watch also on the far right-hand side. today is the day senators will wrap up their 20-minute round of questions for judge sotomayor. . . >> joining us inside of the hearing room is one member of the ju

on c-span. youlso listen on satellite radio or download the podcast. >> how is he's been funded? >> the u.s. government. >> i do not know. some of it is government-raised? >> it is not public funding. >> probably donations. >> for me, from my tax dollars. >> 30 years ago america's cable companies created c-span as a public service, a private business initiative. no government mandate, no government money. "washington journal" continues. host: joining us now is paul keckley, executive director of the deloitte center for health solutions. the center just recently completed the 2009 survey of health care consumers. what are some of the key findings? guest: well, three major areas. one is that people are responding to the economic realities with the lady cares, making changes in doctors, insurance plans and hospitals. -- with delayed the care. there's clear evidence that the behavior has changed as result of the economy. second, this nineis -- this is not homogenous market. people are behaving in a vari

thank you for c-span. was wondering if you believe the war in afghanistan is a war we can end war is the objective to capture osama bin laden and the al qaeda leadership still? do you think that they are in pakistan? are they still in afghanistan? and what kind of commitment from the defense department and the obama administration over the next 10 years? guest: our goal in afghanistan is to ensure that it does not become a haven for groups like al qaeda, terrorist groups with global reach, and to ensure that afghanistan does not become a threat to the other countries in the region. those are your short-term goals that you really need to accomplish we would -- need to accomplish. we would like to get a society in a place where the citizens would have a different -- decent life. i think given the troops we put in now, we are close to 70,000, 68,000 by the time all of gotten in there. we will see if that begins to turn the situation around. we have afghan election coming up in august. we will see how that goe

on q&a d sunday night at 8:00 on c-span. you can also listen on xm satellite radio or download the c-span podcast. >> a discussion now on president obama's up coming trip to russia, the g-8 summit and ghana. nuclear disarmament will be the issue in talks with russian president. the president will reportedly address the situation in iran during the g-8 meeting and he's expected to praise ghana's recent peaceful presidential election during his visit to that country. the center for a strategic and international studies is the host of this event. it's just over an hour. >> good morning. today we're going to do this a little bit differently because we've got a big trip with a lot of issues and so we're going to do it in waves. we're going to start out with the moscow summit and i have here our two senior russia scholars. and you have their bios in front of you but i will tell you, they're the business in the -- best in the business. with that i'll let it go to sara or andy. >> good morning. well, i think as long as we keep our expec

thank you for c-span and letting people voice their opinion. this is devastating here. everything, property taxes going up. there are no jobs. it is awful. almost like a depression. seems more like a depression than a recession. i don't foresee anything getting any better. the person that called from florida talking about what obama has not done, he forgot about the last eight years of bush that cosmos of our problems. one thing, obama said when he got elected, he was going to start from the bottom up. all they have done is sent out a few checks of $250. you could hardly make a car payment with that. it's really bad. the talk about transferring prisoners from california to michigan to try to save jobs. that's how bad it is here. it seems like we got a lot of our priorities in the wrong places. if we don't stop spending all this money in different countries and now start spending it on our own people is what many to do. this is my opinion for a long time. thank you for letting me speak. host: edward montgomery will be with us. he's helping the white house direct recovery

caller: good morning, thank you for c-span. my question is more of a three-point comment. we are all talking about how much health care will cost and cost is one of the considerations. but any cost are going to be flowed through corporation -- sorry, i am nervous. any costs will be flowed through corporations to individuals. so that's one thing that taxes, whether they are taxes or how that cost is flowed through the actual individual. another cost/consideration is time. and i know when i go to a doctor, i already have to sit in an office and wait a couple of hours to be seen by the doctor. if we have universal coverage we will be spending more time waiting in the office. and be spending more time waiting our turn to be called to the office. and my third point is relational. the president commented on his program on abc a week ago, that seniors may have reason to be concerned, because he said in talking about hip replacements or other things like that, these high-cost procedures, they may be sent home with a pill. and i am just barely into my senior years,

you think the world has gone since this. the headline on it is "rahm tv." if television is a plug in drug, then c-spanis the antidote, the network to watch when you want to come down. the programs are shot in color but might as well be in black and white there are no commercials. the almost total lack of editing and super sluggish camera work, create a world as flat as a desk top. the sets when used are non-sets. the earnest, polyestered host make brokaw seem like errol flin, the classical music played during the breaks reminds you. >> i have never had a chance to talk to you about this? >> what got you there? >> i turned on c-span, my job was to comment on the media in a monthly fashion for mirabella magazine. right. a now dead and gone magazine. i turned on one channel which did not resem bell others. that was c-span. it fascinated me. >> once we did. we saw it in some sense they are both much less dramatic than we might imagine and some what -- how emtit chambers of congress really are. i didn't bring this up to ask you -- it's always fun to hear somebody feedback what you were seeing. >> you war w

c-span schedule. what about somebody like me? what would you tell me if i had never touched a computer, how would i get started and figuring outy should even have one? >> the first thing i tell everybody, and i write this and i also say it personally to people is to figure out what you want to do with it. in other words, the idea that i just want to work a computer and i want to become "computer literate" is good for the hype and ad campaign of the computer industry but it's not good for you. because you're busy. you're smart about what you know. and you don't necessarily want to pick up a second career unless it's your hobby. the first thing is what i do want to do with it. in your case i think you said you wanted to write some probably and wanted to be able to log onto america online which is an online service with a lot of information including now a section for c-span. and you are probably traveling to some extent so you wanted something portable. so once you get that figured out, then i think what you need to do is go for the best combinat

you. >> how c-span funded? >> donations? i have no idea. >> government? >> it gets its funding through the taxes. >> federal funding? >> policies been funded? 30 years ago, america's cable companies created c-span as a public service, a private business initiative, no government mandates, no government money. >> the minnesota supreme court today unanimously ruled that democrat al franken won that state senate race. his opponent, and norm coleman, made a statement from his home in st. paul. we will follow his comments with senator elect frank and speaking to reporters in minneapolis. this is 30 minutes. >> my wife is in rome. she joined up with a group of folks from the cathedral of st. paul in february when we thought that this was long it decided. she is there praying. i am sure she is at peace with the decision. i decided conversation with al franken, congratulating him on his victory. i told him it is the best job that he will ever have. will the government of laws, not men and women. the supreme court has spoken. i respect its decision. i will abide b

caller: thank you for c-span.question is, with everything going on now in the economy, being on a down slope, it is hard to trust people with your money. people tend to be greedy, especially major company owners. it seems like the banks are failing. there are too many issues to deal with. i have nothing else i can say. host: the next telephone call is from maryland on the republican line. caller: yes, i have a couple of commons. i have an accounting background and want to know why the fed reserve has never been audited. i would also like to know why the accounting system is allowed assets and trading and the end market -- blackmarket entities. this is basically a shell game with pension money. guest: to the first part, those questions about transparency are serious ones. members of congress will be asking them as a look at changing the way the fed interest with the rest of the system. on the financial shell game, a dealer with taxpayer money -- it is definitely controversial. the overwhelming necessity of getting

c-span funded? 30 years ago, america's cable companies created the c-span as a public service. no government mandate or money. " >> you are watching c-span, created as a public service by the nation's cable company. up next, "washington journal

c-span radio and on the web at c-span.org. you can also watch every ear of the proceedings weeknights on c-span2 and on the weekend on c-span. tomorrow morning the first half-hour of the hearing will be simulcast on c-span treen c-span beginning at 9:30 eastern. >> you are watching public affairs programming on c-span2 pick up created by america's cable tv companies, offered is a public service. the third day of the confirmation hearings for supreme court nominee judge sonia sotomayor will air in its entirety and a half hour. before that it look at her nomination with wade henderson, head of the leadership conference on civil rights. >> i gave a very-- variant of my speech to a variety of different groups. most often to groups of women lawyers or to groups most particularly, of young latino lawyers and students. asthma i speech made clear in one of my quotes that you reference, i was trying to inspire them to believe that their life experiences with enrich the legal system, because different life experiences and backgrounds all th

thank you for c-span. my question is really more of a three-point comment. we are all talking about how much healthcare will cost and cost is one of the consideratio considerations. but any costs will be flowed through corporations -- i'm nervous -- any costs will be flowed through corporations to individuals, so that is one thing. whether they are taxes or however that cost is flowed through to the actual individual. another cost consideration is time. i know that when i go to a doctor i already have to sit in an office and wait a couple of hours usually to be seen by the doctor. so, if we have universal coverage we are going to spend more time waiting in the office. we will spend more time waiting or turn to even be called to the office. the third point i want to make is relational. the president even commented in his program on abc a week or so ago that seniors may have reason to be concerned because he said when talking about hip replacements or other things like that, these really high-cost procedures, that they may be sent home with a pill. and i am ju

you. let's hear from c-span viewers. first being from halifax, massachusetts. this is chris on the republican line. go ahead, chris. caller: hi. good morning. thank you for taking my call. i was just curious to hear sort of what mar that's view on this, the difference in coverage between sort of presurge, you know, when we were fighting in iraq and taking a lot of casualties and, you know, the media was very critical of the bush administration, critical of the war's efforts. you know, there were a lot of calls for withdrawal at that time. and now i see the coverage and it just sort of seems to be everything is rosey and fine and there's very little critical coverage, you know, of the war. and also the fact nat surge worked and -- that the surge worked and bush's stay the course ended up working. i'll take the answer right there. host: thanks, chris. guest: i think it's more critical than that. i'm proud of the media because the bush administration at the time was saying things were going well. president bush in an interview with me before he left office, i asked

you. it is nice to be up and listening to c-span. when you are on your way to russia and the president is thinking that we have -- that russia has the economic problems and military problems that we have. so does europe, so do we. you go back to world war ii, we all had the same. a full war, the zero consumer spending. all three seem to be interested in consumer spending to get them to finance everything. in the war, they had consumer spending to finance nothing. maybe now they need to compromise, maybe half consumer spending, have government spending on the very things that obama says we need, and they would be pretty much the same things that the russians need. reporters like yourself and the whole media never bring up the previous subject, we had no appointment -- a dozen across your mind as you are with him that you should be thinking of the world war ii example and thinking in general terms? host: john, pickup paul krugman's piece in "the new york times," because he talks about the 1937 example and that it was the jobs program th

if you can see that program at 7:00 tonight on c-span. -- you can see that program at 7:00 tonight on c-span. walter, great funeral service will be tonight at 8:20. -- walter congkrit's take funeral service will be tonight at 8:20 p.m. caller: when i was 12 years old we had a john deere dealers and agricultural department would take the 12 year olds and teach them how to drive tractors. we would help the local farmers that way. we would go in there and they would get volunteers. they would go out and work the bales of hay. that is where we got our money. they have it now where the child labor laws would not allow -- that was a growing experience. we volunteered to go do it. we got to spend the money for that summer. the farmers and everyone was satisfied. host: fresno, california. this is our independent line. caller: i would like to dispel rumors about the fact that they are saying that there are jobs that the americans will not do. the truth of the matter is, there just is not enough field jobs to support the number of people that are crossing the border from any country. we have al

kickoff event was hear on c-span -- was here on c- span. at a certain point, you start getting into all kinds of different meetings. senate finance is having a meeting. the house is having a meeting. if they wanted those to be on c- span, i would welcome that. i do not think there are a lot of secrets going on in there. the last question with respect to tarp, let me take a look at what exactly they say we have not provided. i think we have provided much greater transparency than existed prior to our administration coming in. it is a big program. i do not know what exactly has been requested. i will find out and i will have an answer for you. >> he said the recent bank problems indicate there has been no sense of remorse on wall street for risky behavior, so we have not seen a change in culture. do you think that you're ministration needs to be taking a harder line with wall street? would you consider going a step further and supporting a fee on risky activities that go beyond traditional lending? >> we were on the verge of a complete financial meltdown. the reason

kickoff event was hear on c-span -- was here on c- span. at a certain point, you start getting into all kinds of different meetings. senate finance is having a meeting. the house is having a meeting. if they wanted those to be on c- span, i would welcome that. i do not think there are a lot of secrets going on in there. the last question with respect to tarp, let me take a look at what exactly they say we have not provided. i think we have provided much greater transparency than existed prior to our administration coming in. it is a big program. i do not know what exactly has been requested. i will find out and i will have an answer for you. >> he said the recent bank problems indicate there has been no sense of remorse on wall street for risky behavior, so we have not seen a change in culture. do you think that you're ministration needs to be taking a harder line with wall street? would you consider going a step further and supporting a fee on risky activities that go beyond traditional lending? >> we were on the verge of a complete financial meltdown. the reason

caller: thank you for c-span. i want to comment on housing.n a small town, this is here where we belong to is running for senate -- i say 20% of the housing is for sale -- where roy blunt is running. most of the businesses there, like a casket factory that employs 400 people, all went to mexico. host: ok, thank you for your call. david from atlanta, georgia. caller: how are you doing? i think the greatest source of that turnaround -- male men like myself in this areas where they are building new homes -- mailmen. if you talked a realtor, they will always give you a positive perspective to drive sales. for me personally, i see all of the new starts -- people are starting to buy them up. but the other factor is, the only way the house and market will turn is to keep the illegals in our country. the housing market is largely based on how many people come into this country legally and illegally. as long as they must be factored into that equation, we will always have problems. host: of another financial store, also in "the wall street journal." ch

for the next few weeks you can watch international programming during the 9:00 hour on c-span. at c-span.org you can find a video archive of past prime ministers questions. you are watching c-span, a public service provided by the nation's cable industry. coming up, president obama cost remarks at the 100th anniversary of the naacp founding. ball's aldrin, on the 40th anniversary of the moon landing and the current space program. later, on "q&a," wall lost bird talks about his -- walt mossberg talks about technology. tomorrow, in commemoration of the 48 anniversary of the first moon landing, a group of apollo astronauts gathered to share their thoughts about that day. among them, buzz aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon. live it 12:30 on c-span 3. up next, president obama's remarks at the 100th anniversary of the naacp founding. he talks about personal responsibility in the african- american community and the relevance of the naacp. this is just over 35 minutes and took >> what an extraordinary night, after an extraordinary week, after an extraordinary 100 years of the na

. >> caller: hi, thank you for c-span. your previous e-mail kind of stole my question -- >> host: i'm sorry. >> caller: tulsa, oklahoma, and many of my colleagues do believe that the founding of the nation and george washington was prove den cial. so i'll go with a question, do you believe that -- what was, what was president washington's position on slavery, and did he believe that eventually that it would be taken care of before civil war? >> host: thank you very much. >> guest: i'm glad you asked that question. i cut a response short just before the break on the question of slavery. i think before the revolutionary war washington didn't give very much thought to, to slavery at all. he was a slave owner, and a number of his slaves were growing -- the number of his slaves were growing. there's no indication in any of his writings that he ever considered the morality of slavery, but when washington came home from the revolutionary war, it was clear that he had changed his outlook. and i think the change comes about for two