it happened in the united states of america. you have disparate economies in the united states of america that are bound together monetarily. missouri and washington state are as different as germany and greece. what is it that keeps the united states together? you had a great depression here in the 1930's. things were awful. and yet, i do not believe there were any political movements to get rid of the deficit states from the united states, like there are in europe and portugal and spain and everywhere else that happens to be in deficit. the reason is, the federal- state, especially after 1929 plays the role of the regulator of surplus and deficit recycling around the land. let me give you a simple example. we are in seattle. boeing is sponsoring the lectures. when boeing goes to washington to give a contract for the next generation jet or whatever, they may get it. they do get it. but there are some things attached. like for instance, we want a factory that builds the wings are the engines in tennessee or missouri or arizona.

these united states of america. we pray that each person casting a vote does so with a pure mind, heart, and soul seeking the very best and the highest good for the people of this great nation, economic stability, moral integrity, and the ability to lead the world as a true example of freedom and fairness. we pray for the president, that he may be strengthened daily by your grace, that he may constantly remember his calling as both a leader for and a servant of the people and that we, the citizens of these united states, those who have elected him might be his ever constant source of encouragement as he seeks to fulfill his duties and obligations. and finally, lord, we ask you to inspire all those who have been entrusted to elected office, that they may search deep within their hearts and find the way to work with one another and with the president for the good of this country, the world, and the children who come after us. amen. >> amen. please remain standing as the columbus police honor guard now presents the col

the people of the united states of america. as i watched other presidents address crises, the way that they were able to address them and resolve them with presidential leadership -- and that's why we elect presidents, to lead -- they did it by calling the leaders of both parties to the white house and sit around the table and do the negotiations and the discussions and they are sometimes concessions have to be made, compromises have to be made. so what did the president of the united states just do? well, he kind of made fun, he made a couple of jokes, laughed about how people are going to be here for new year's, sent a message of confrontation to the republicans, i believe he said if they think they're going to do that, then they've got another thought coming. i guess i have to wonder, and i think the american people have to wonder whether the president really wants this issue resolved or is it to his short-term political benefit for us to go over the cliff? i can assure the president of the united states, i can assure him th

it happened in the united states of america. you have disparate economies in the united states of america that are bound together monetarily. missouri and washington state are as different as germany and greece. what is it that keeps the united states together? you had a great depression here in the 1930's. things were awful. and yet, i do not believe there were any political movements to get rid of the deficit states from the united states, like there are in europe and portugal and spain and everywhere else that happens to be in deficit. the reason is, the federal- state, especially after 1929 plays the role of the regulator of surplus and deficit recycling around the land. let me give you a simple example. we are in seattle. boeing is sponsoring the lectures. when boeing goes to washington to give a contract for the next generation jet or whatever, they may get it. they do get it. but there are some things attached. like for instance, we want a factory that builds the wings are the engines in tennessee or missouri or arizona.

s to say of the freedom of the united states of america because if they go over the fiscal cliff it could be tragically catastrophic for every citizen of the world not just the united states of america which is likely to be instantly plunged into a severe recession ok so since you're saying every citizen in the world is going to be affected what's your outlook for the fate of russia for example and other bric countries well of course russia or other bric countries emerging markets they do have automatic stabilisers for one thing the russian government doesn't spend remotely as much as a proportion of g.d.p. as the united states of america they could actually borrow a little bit more to try to cushion things certainly there are energy exports that russia can manage to make which you keep it going but nonetheless if american consumers stop buying then that's going to cause the rest of the world cup to cold because it's going to be much more difficult for exports in russia in india and china and brazil in poland where i am today to find a marketplace for their goods because the world's bigge

the united states of america. it was 22 years ago when we passed the morons with -- the ah disabilities act and we stayed that a disability should not disqualify you or limit you in terms of your opportunity as an american. some thought it was obvious. but what woo was also obvious ws there is discrimination taking place all across this great land. in passing the americans with disabilities act, we stepped forward as a nation sms was there fear and concern? of course. i can recall going to green county in rural illinois and walking into city hall and they said, does this mean we have to build a new restroom for the disabled in the answer was, yes. and curb cuts and other changes that seemed so superficial to many but mean literally whether or not a disabled person can be part of america. what we did 22 years ago, though, wasn't really novel, because if you look at the course of american history, i think we have distinguished ourselves in successive generations by expanding the reach of freedom and opportunity. thi

states of america is can. seen a national conversation about the rising tide of violence the rising tide of gun violence specifically and reform as it relates to the gun industry i think the gun lobby is so strong we just have a position of silence all and there's no anti-gun lobby i mean mark in the united states you are one thousand nine hundred percent more likely one thousand and a half times more likely to be killed by a mass shooter than in any of the other developed countries of the world that have roughly equivalent income levels of the united states comparing apples to apples and and and the one thing that you find that the major difference between those countries and us is that we're wildly more unequal than they were back in the fifty's in the sixty's in the seventy's when we were when our equality looked like europe we were having these kind of mass shootings you know well let me first of all it's kind of ironic this seems to be this one issue out of the entire constitution seems to be the one issu

s to say of the freedom of the united states of america because if they go over the fiscal cliff it could be tragically catastrophic for every citizen of the world not just the united states of america which is likely to be instantly plunged into a severe recession patrick young the co-author of the gathering storm. the consumer boom in russia is back in two thousand and twelve russians have been borrowing more than ever now in turn consumer spending has pushed retail sales growth close to double digits domestic factors have become the main driver of russia's growth this year despite harsh economic environment but this may drastically slow down chief economist at renesas capital in russia and c.i.s. car of analyzes the changing environment. you can see a very significant slowdown from the first half of the year towards the second half of the year and i think there are two key that are driving the slowdown number one the consumption spending that was driving really good performance in the first half has started to slow down a little bit and also the very very strong borrowing by consumers

of delaware, but with the united states of america. if one state can monopolize the headlines for so long -- it is an indication there's something wrong with the world, right? it is like saying, oh, this snowflake cause the it lathrop -- the avalanche. this snowflake is to blame. even if you remove the snowflake. the avalanche would have happened. , greece has always flirted with indulgence. -- with debt implosions. we have defaulted a number times over the last century. done it again last march. if it were another part of the -- were not part of the eurozone, it would not have been in the headlines. it would be growing back again now. with all its malignancies and corruption, all the rubbish in our country. it has not been enough to stop the recovery from happened. we have done this before. we did it in the 1970's, the 1960's, the 1930's. when you lock yourself into a kind of gold standard -- let me or you a little bit with a history on the eurozone and the euro crisis. this is inimately connected with the story i have been telling to

remember the beginning of the united states of america. the economy of the southern northern states was very very different and evey today, the economy in montana im very different from the economy and lower manhattan. and we found a way to deal with that and to regulate it. the same is true in europe in the same is true in china and the same is true in india and brazil. india. same is the same is true and brazil. this country deals with gaps between the rich and poor, agriculture, and earthen industrialize an evolving in much the same way that we're going to have to on the global stage for a the problem has been solved and can be solved. >> host: good afternoon, we have a caller from new york city. >> caller: hello, i'm so happy you're taking my call. my question is this fiscal cliff that we are approaching. if president obama allows it to happen, what kind of catastrophe are you talking about? i'm kind of concerned? so negatively will this affect the industry? how bad will it really be out there on wall street and main street? >> guest:

the united states of america has limited funding. i would strongly urge us to use the $480 million being spent on the congo, instead being used to help to people in united states of america who are in need of help, or help reduce the deficit that was testified to be the greatest national security threat to the united states of america. it is a matter of priorities. i appreciate the very noble -- i emphasize the word noble -- effort to help people who are in harm's also way in various parts of the world. my colleague from florida mentioned somalia. certainly in vietnam we tried to do the noble things. we're in a different financial reality. in the absence of a national security interest in the congo, i am afraid that sequestration will force us to retract even though we may wish to the contrary. i yield back the remainder of my time. >> a couple of questions. sequestration is not only obama's, but also our responsibility. i believe we voted for it. >> i did not vote for it. >> we talked about this whole issue. it has been suggested th

the united states of america has limited funding. mr. chairman that being the case to have significant influence over where the money goes, i would strongly urge us to use that $480 million being spent on the congo according to mr. vs. testimony instead to help people in the united states of america who need the help or reduce the deficit that admiral mullen testified in the same chair is the national -- greatest national-security threat so it is a matter of priorities. i appreciate the very noble, i emphasize noble effort to help people who are in harm's way and various parts of the world. a mentioned somalia, mogadishu, a vietnam we tried to be noble. we are in a different reality. with the national security interest in the congo i am afraid the castration will force us to retract even though we wish you the contrary. i a remainder back the rest of my time. >> >> if i recall-- recall sequestration is our responsibility. we all voted for that. >> i did not vote for it. >> i do not believe high-yield -- i a yielded two you. >> with that

in the united states of america. and that's the way it is tonight thursday december twenty seventh two thousand and twelve for more information on any of the stories we covered this at our website the tom hartman dot com free speech or an r t dot com and if you missed any of the night's show you can now watch it in h.d. on hulu at hulu dot com slash the big picture also check out our two you tube channels or links of thom hartmann dot com also thom hartmann dot com check out all the different ways you can send us your feedback and don't forget democracy is not a spectator sport it begins with you get out there get active tag you're it. more news today violence is once again flared up. these are the images seen from the streets of canada. giant corporations rule the day.

that orphanage with no support system while there are families in the united states of america thapt to make -- thapt to make them part of their family. and i'd like to close by saying that i continue to appreciate the great leadership on all these adoption issues senator landrieu has shown and look forward to working with her and others as we try to help right this tragic wrong. and i would be glad to yield to my good friend from louisiana. the presiding officer: the senator from louisiana. ms. landrieu: thank you, mr. president. i am proud to join my friend, the senator from missouri, on the floor to add voice to this travesty that has recently occurred. the senator from missouri described the situation accurately, that a country that claims to be a powerful nation on the earth has decided to take powerful action against the weakest, most vulnerable individuals on the earth. and those are children without families. it makes no sense whatsoever for the country of russia to take the action that they did, because they're in a disagreement with us here in america, and maybe others arou

are bought and default andrew and the full faith and credit of the united states of america, that is not how you run a great country. so i put forward a very clear principle. i will not negotiate around the debt ceiling. we are not going play the same game that we saw happen in 2011. which was usually destructive. it hurt our economy, provided more uncertainty to the business community than anything else that happened. i am not alone in this. if you go to wall street, including talking to a whole bunch of folks who spends a lot of money trying to beat me, they will say it would be disastrous for us to use the debt ceiling as something to try to win political points on capitol hill. so we're not going to do that. and which is why i think part of what i hope over the next couple days we see is a recognition there's a way to go ahead and get spending cuts they have been fighting for. they can get meaningful spending cuts that would amount to dollars trillion in spending cuts over the last couple years. -- $2trillion. it is changed they get a little over a trillion dollars in revenue. th

states of america is can. seen a national conversation about the rising tide of violence the rising tide of gun violence specifically and reform as it relates to the gun industry i think the gun lobby is so strong we just have a position of silent all and there's no anti-gun lobby i mean mark in the united states you are one thousand nine hundred percent more likely one thousand and a half times more likely to be killed by a mass shooter than in any of the other developed countries of the world that have roughly equivalent income levels of the united states comparing apples to apples and and and the one thing that you find that the major difference between those countries and us is that we're wildly more unequal than they were back in the fifty's in the sixty's in the seventy's when we were when our equality looked like europe we were having these kind of mass shootings you know well let me first of all it's kind of ironic this seems to be this one issue out of the entire constitution seems to be the one issue

in the united states of america. and that's the way it is thursday december twenty seventh two thousand and twelve for more information on any of the stories we covered this is at our website at tom hartman dot com free speech dot org and r.t. dot com and if you missed any of the night show you can now watch it in h.d. on hulu hulu dot com slash the big picture also check out our two you tube channels or links to thom hartmann dot com also it's on martin dot com check out all the different ways you can send us your feedback and don't forget democracy is not a spectator sport it begins with you get active tag you're it. well going into the future this month high tech means good health whether it be the latest laser cutters or lifesaving heart valves russian innovators are working hard to keep you healthy person company it's been a winding road from car simulators to cutting edge training systems brothers it's been a lifetime of work along the mysteries of the skull check it all out on technology update we've got the f

of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under;oh b?÷ god indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. pngeddle thank you for joining us today. our one and only meeting in november. so this is thanksgiving, that's coming up. so just to remind you that usually on[/g;a50e thanksgiving week is generally the -- where you scheduled the second meeting and we don't have the second meeting. so for all of you that are anxious tokñ?ñ? get to a second meeting, i'm sorry. we won't be able to have a meeting in november. item a, approval of board minutes for the regular meetings of june 12, 2012, june 26 2012 octo is there aú÷ qzñ?ñ? motion? >> move adoption of they( >> i second. >> any corrections? roll call please. >> thank you. ms. lee, y-ñ?ñ?es. ms. wong, yes. ms. feuer, ms. -- dr. murase, yes. >> that's five ayes. >> item b preparations to the boi ?ñ?rd of education the superintendent report tonightfjñ?ñ? or his thoughts. superintendent craza. >> that's listening and watching on tv. because this is the only meeting6÷ñ?ñ? in nove

how many people can find the on the map that is not the united states of america? the fact that we do not have people who are prepared to go into the intelligence agencies. we are robbing ourselves of talent in the national security infrastructure. most importantly, it is a tragedy people will not be prepared for good jobs. it is a tragedy people cannot serve it into the armed forces or the foreign service for the intelligence agencies. but the united states is held together by a great national creed. not by ethnicity, not by blood, not by religion. our national creed is an aspirational narratives that it does not matter where you came from, it matters where you are going. you can do great things. the only way that is true is if you have access to a high quality education. if it ever becomes the case as it is increasingly now, i can look a year is a code and tell whether you are going to get a good education, then the social fabric of this country has no chance to hold together. we will be put one against the other, those of our people and those who are not. kosor

of delaware, but with the united states of america. if one state can monopolize the headlines for so long -- it is an indication there's something wrong with the world, right? it is like saying, oh, this snowflake cause the it lathrop -- the avalanche. this snowflake is to blame. even if you remove the snowflake. , greece has always flirted with indulgence. we have defaulted a number times over the last century. if it were another part of the eurozone, it would not have been in the headlines. it would be growing back again now. with all its malignancies and corruption, all the rubbish in our country. it has not been enough to stop the recovery from happened. we have done this before. we did it in the 1970's, the 1960's, the 1930's. when you lock yourself into a kind of gold standard -- let me or you a little bit with a history on the eurozone and the euro crisis. when the global minotaur was happening, america was single- handedly responsible for generating enough demand for germany, to be the exporter, to not have to worry about who w

of delaware, but with the united states of america. if one state can monopolize the headlines for so long -- it is an indication there's something wrong with the world, right? it is like saying, oh, this snowflake cause the it lathrop -- the avalanche. this snowflake is to blame. even if you remove the snowflake. , greece has always flirted with indulgence. we have defaulted a number times over the last century. if it were another part of the eurozone, it would not have been in the headlines. it would be growing back again now. with all its malignancies and corruption, all the rubbish in our country. it has not been enough to stop the recovery from happened. we have done this before. we did it in the 1970's, the 1960's, the 1930's. when you lock yourself into a kind of gold standard -- let me or you a little bit with a history on the eurozone and the euro crisis. when the global minotaur was happening, america was single- handedly responsible for generating enough demand for germany, to be the exporter, to not have to worry about who w

states of america is pursuing julian in such a way that a sovereign nation considered it a great enough to grant him asylum british authorities have warned assad that he cannot leave the embassy and actually travel to ecuador because they will arrest him if he tries. the u.s. is rubbing its hands that the sons will eventually have to step foot outside be around them to sweden for questioning for an alleged sexual assault and potentially extradited to america to face trial for really think the production of what we queue leaks has released is just one percent of what washington classifies in a given year last year washington classified ninety two million documents that's a quarter of a million documents every day clearly the balance is way off on the side of extreme secrecy apart from a personal fight for freedom of thought and has sparked a conversation with much wider implications in fact for the global population about whether we want to live in an era of truth change there and seen the rule of law or whether america will continue down this coast of acting as a rogue nation in terms o

of the united states of america, barack obama. ♪ ♪ >> merry christmas, everybody. michelle told me to be brief because she wants to hear music. thank you for that generous introduction and for your dedication to protecting our natural resources. i want to thank the whole national park foundation and the national park service team for helping to put on this beautiful production. let's give a big hand to kneel patrick harris and this evening's performers for putting on a fantastic show. and i want to thank all of you for joining us in this tradition. >> we have been lighting the national christmas tree for 90 years now, in times of war and peace, triumph and tragedy, we've always come together to rejoice in the christmas miracle. but our tree has been having a hard time recently. this is our third one. our long standing tree was lost in a storm. and then its replacement didn't take hold. goes to show nobody's job is safe here in washington. but i feel good about this one. it was planted just days before hurricane sandy and it made it through the storm in one piece. n

and we want to wipe out the united states of america. we will go after the saturday people come in the jews. but after that we go back to the sunday people, the christians. in my book or try to send your message. you have to make. many americans say well, the issue of iran from israel. why should we care? bonito you something. it is in your backyard because if iran becomes nuclear, is a threat to the american people. look at the linkage between america and iran, and hezbollah and al qaeda. what is the connection between hezbollah and iran and venezuela? ways their weekly flights flying from tehran to nicaragua. the history to the shared values, the american value, israeli values to which you represent. if you ignore the threat coming from iran, it will come to the show with the united states and tomorrow we're going to remember the incident in the attack of 9/11. al qaeda decided to attack new york city. they could do with the capability and can share with you with all due respect to our intelligence into her security systems if al qaeda

states of america safer stronger place for our children to learn and to grow so we here at r.t. want to take the time to take a critical look at gun laws in the u.s. and ask what can be done to curb gun violence in the country to do that i was joined earlier by jim soko yack and kevin powell kevin is the author of the book barack obama ronald reagan and the ghost of dr king blogs and essays i started off by asking jim who is pro guns what solution could curb the gun violence here's his response. twenty years virtually all of the. democratic national convention which might as well be. called target rich environment. victims of mass shootings. the common denominator in all the. data. not talking about the numerous. things that if. it is the be pointed out two hundred. back. of. him i want to go ahead and stop you right there i can't help but to bring up two instances where that theory just doesn't hold water first is for her to wear major nidal hassan kill three people and hold on the me finish and i mean that was on a military base kill those people that had weapons to defend the

power in the united states of america? >> but this puzzles me. the fcc tried to do essentially the same thing four years ago, as you know, in the last year of the bush administration. and the senate went on record against it. you passed a strong resolution to say, "this far and no further." why would president obama's fcc chairman, try to do now what the republicans couldn't do then? >> that is a very good question, bill. and i don't have the answer. and it's not only that the senate passed a strong resolution. there were public hearings. and there was the opportunity for the public to give input into this decision making process. and huge numbers of people said, "wait a second, we do not need more media consolidation in america." senate came on record. so why the obama administration is doing something that the bush administration failed to do is beyond my understanding. and we're going to do everything we can to prevent it from happening. >> you may remember that back in 2007, your then senatorial colleague, barack obama

as long as that hill has a ramp. ( laughter ) if-- i think it's very polite of the united states. if year going to create certain disabilities within your country, well... ( laughter ) might as well have some standard treatment for said injuries. so, unassailable and uniifying, this proposal could not be matched. former republican party leader and world war ii veteran bob dole came out of retirement to personally endorse this probably. even current senate rifles main and john kerry put aside their differences for it. >> senator mccain. >> thank you very much, mr. secretary. >> jon: huh? a little good-natured ribbing. i'm sure senator kerry had a good comeback. "what you just saw was senator mccain referring not to me with my current title the right honorable senator from the great state of... massachusetts, but senator mccain has referred to me way title prospectus, mr. secretary, references senator mccain's obstinnence with regard to susan rice, which may result in my ascension to the cabinet position held by such luminaries throughout history as siewrd, achison, vance, and, of c

i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america... and to the republic for which it stands... one nation, under god... indivisible, with liberty... and justice for all. our disabled veterans pledged to sacrifice life and limb to ensure our way of life. now, they deserve our support. find out how you can help disabled veterans in your community. visit dav.org. of the united states of america... and to the republic for which it stands... one nation, under god... indivisible, with liberty... and justice for all. our disabled veterans pledged to sacrifice life and limb to ensure our way of life. now, they deserve our support. find out how you can help disabled veterans in your community. visit dav.org. think again. the spot you missed could be a killer. that spot on your skin could be skin cancer. if you're a man over 50, you're in a group most likely to develop skin cancer, including melanoma, the kind that kills one person every hour. that's why your best shot is to check for a spot. it's easy -- follow through and check your skin. go t

the united states of america. from 1998-20038 african nations fought on congolese soil. the united nations estimates that as many as 900,000 congolese have been newly displaced since fighting reignited earlier this year. just a few weeks ago, this was temporarily controlled by the .23 militia an this is just the latest in a large group of armed groups. the world is reminded that instability in this region has yet to be addressed. in the face of this violence, the people remain committed to helping the neighbors in building their communities. and not only provide humanitarian assistance the development. doctors and nurses rushed to the hospital, anticipating the overcrowded hospital. many of the same care givers were still at the hospital five days later. this is located across the street from the congolese army headquarters which was seized .nd occupied iby m23 they stayed on the airways. either from the frontlines or on the fighting as a spread across the region. i am inspired by the resilience and determination

we're the united states of america. and we've come together as a country, whether the disaster has been in california or on the east coast or in southern states or in the west. we come together, and that's what we're trying to do here. and i would defy any senator who is worried about us coming together to help these people, go to one of the homes -- go to one of the homes on long island, go to one of the homes in the devastation, go to one of the businesses where you have a couple that spent their whole life building up their business, hoping to have something to leave to their children and now they're looking at rubble. come on ... these are real people. this is the united states of america. madam president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: stphaot quorum cal: quorum call: mr. leahy: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: madam president, i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding off

weapons in the united states of america. and we've got to do something about that. yes, we've got to get people to get involved in the way they did here in l.a. with a gun buyback program. very successful program. would have been even more successful if we hadn't run out of money. there were people waiting in line for hours to give up these guns including assault weapons, a grenade launcher. you saw that automatic weapon with a silencer. these are weapons that don't really have any purpose except to kill and to kill a lot of people. it's not just gun buyback programs. assault weapons ban on a federal level. we need to eliminate the t.r. amendment, which makes it very, very difficult to have background checks that work. it requires that we destroy background checks after 24 hours. >> right. >> it doesn't force the states to participate in the background check system. there are many things that we could do to really toughen our laws or make it tougher for people who buy guns legally and then sell them to people who can't buy g

the balloting will proceed to president of the united states of america. will the presidential teller obtain the ballots from the secretary of state, which believe you have, and pass went to each elector -- one to each elector? please mark your ballots for president and the united states in writing with the name of the candidate. please be sure to sign your ballot. what the balloting begins. -- let the balloting began -- begin.. >> would the presidential teller of mary jo shepherd now collect the ballots from the electors? the secretary might need assistance, she needs it. mr. secretary. >> boats have been cast on december 17, 2012. all 15 votes were for mitt romney as president of the united states of america. >> , very much. -- thank you very much. [applause] the electoral college votes have been taken for president of the united states. the results are now in. the floor is now open for nomination for vice president of the united states. i would like to recognize at this time james proctor of the first district for the purpose of nominating paul ryan for

states of america safer stronger place for our children to learn and to grow so we here at r.t. want to take the time to take a critical look at gun laws here in the u.s. and ask what can be done to curb gun violence in the country to do that i'm joined by jim stokoe yank and kevin powell author of the new book barack obama ronald reagan and the ghost of dr king blogs an essay so jim i'm going to start with you i know that you're going to say that gun control is not the answer but i want to show you a chart before i get your answer i mean this this chart that we're showing right here is a list of just a few of the shooting massacres that we've seen in twenty twelve alone so if gun control isn't the answer what is well what's really and truly on the chart is this shooting back the mass shooting the last twenty years virtually all of the big one at the democratic national convention which might as well be gun free zone have occurred and what we call target rich environment to go where the victims of mass shootings were able to defend the. idea that the common denominator in all th

of the united states of america, barack obama. [applause] ♪ [nutcraker jazz] >> merry christmas, everybody. michelle told me to be brief because she wants to hear music. thank you for that generous introduction and for your dedication to protecting our natural resources. i want to thank the whole national park foundation and the national park service team for helping to put on this beautiful production. let's give a big hand to neil patrick harris and this evening's performers for putting on a fantastic show. and i want to thank all of you for joining us in this tradition. >> we have been lighting the national christmas tree for 90 years now, in times of war and peace, triumph and tragedy, we've always come together to rejoice in the christmas miracle. but our tree has been having a hard time recently. this is our third one. our long standing tree was lost in a storm. and then its replacement didn't take hold. goes to show nobody's job is safe here in washington. [laughter] but i feel good about this one. it was planted just day

related to environmental policies and actions taken in the united states of america. .. issues and the course of civilization in the history of civilization is taking government from small tribes and villages to cities states to nation-states to broader and broader societal groupings because our economy is extended across the borders and our travel extended across the borders and the threats and risks we face came from beyond those borders so it's only natural that over time we will develop stronger global institutions because we face more shared problems with all of those people and if i can add one last thing, remember the united states of america, the>> economy of the southern states in thecamo northern states are y very different and even todaytas the economy in montana's veryeyr different from the economy and lowervero manhattan. very different. we found a way to deal with that and the regulators are the same is true in europe and china and india. same is the same is true and brazil. this country deals with gaps between the rich and poor, agriculture, and earthen in

the united states of america. 20 years ago we passed the americans with disabilities act and reset a disability should not disqualify you for them at you in terms of their opportunity as an american. for some people said this is obvious. everyone knows. it was also obvious was discrimination taking place all across this great land. we remove that barrier to discrimination and in passing the americans with disabilities act can we step forward at the nation. with their fear and concern? i can recall going to greene county in rural illinois and marketing to carrollton and the city hall and they said, does this mean we have to build a new restroom for the disabled quakes the answer was yes and curb cuts and other changes that seem so superficial to many, but bitterly whether or not a disabled person can be part of america. what we did 22 years ago was really novel because if you look at the course of american history, i think we have distinguished ourselves in successive generations by expanding the reach of freedom a

united states of america experienced during the 20th century. this was one of the important moments of our nation's overall history because this was the moment that brought us as a combat ant power into the second world war. they're a bit of a challenge to expose younger people to the subject and to tell them why it was important. for me it was extremely easy, i was raised around a veteran the pearl harbor, an uncle of mine. he has since died. as the generation recedes from living memory and it's important to make this subject accessible to young people in an age when they're bombarded by imagery. it's fascinating for me to consider how 71 years ago you didn't have a situation where people walk around with video cameras in their pockets like today. you don't see coverage like you saw of september 11th. so with just a few sources of information, with a few sources of moving imagery, we were able to piece together what i consider to be the finest pearl harbor documentary to date. >> there's so much more i wish we could talk about and so many thing