the first president than the 43rd doesn't doesn't have a lot to worry about. they left the white house fully believing that they had given it their all and they continue to do so much in texas as well. >> thank you. >> hello. i just wanted to start out and say how much i respect you. thank you. >> alltel grade you said so. >> oh i love him. anyway, what i wanted to say in this primary season, a big issue is terrorism and donald trump and muslims and all that. my brother just joined the marines and nothing makes me angrier than seeing our troops in iran and the whole thing, it makes me angry. i feel like i look like a heartless conservative but i have the utmost respect for our armed forces. what i wanted to ask you is how do we defeat these people that t we deserve to die. that is their belief. that is their religion. how can we defeat and get rid of this threat. a >> well i'm not commander-in-chief but what i learned from president bush and what i think is important thing to keep in mind, and it's not necessarily how president obama likes to talk about things, but there is good and evil in the world. calling it out for what it is allows you to then figure out how to defeat it. defeating an ideology is difficult. they don't want our territory. they want our loop way of life. i also think that our military is well-equipped as well as we provide them the resources they need to do things like travis mills did, to sign up in 2006 d which believe me, who would sign up for the army in 2006 during the middle of the worst part of the iraq war. that is somebody who is a patriot. one of the things we need to remember is that they don't only need a help when we returned but they need our help now. we have an election coming up that i think will help us clarify some things going forward. >> we are huge fans of yours. back in 2006, we went to washington for reagan's funeral and i took my two little boys. my youngest was actually on speed c-span. >> and now you're on c-span. wow. we just want you to know that we think you are great and very respected. i just want to know, you watch the news and you see what's looking like possibly a choice between trump and clinton. i'm thinking i'm about to write in a person or a candidate because i'm not in a vote for your there one of them. but we respect you so much and your character, it's just nice to see. be why could you not be our firstir woman president? [applause]. >> do you think i could pass a background check? >> thank you. if you're in a room of people though often ask, how can we fix washington.ises all ask, who in the room once run for president and nobody raises their hand. the people who do run for office, i admire them because it's difficult and it doesn't matter what side of the isle you are on, it is such an undertaking. condoleezza rice describes it this way. in way. in 2004 she was the national security adviser. the president of the united states has always had a national security adviser with them wherever they go. she had to be on the campaignst trail with him a lot. she always says that the days were just ridiculous. you get up at six in the morning for a briefing and then you'd beyond the road and you'd have breakfast and lunch and you have to give a speech speech in a thing and an interview with bill o'reilly and then you have to do another dinner and at the end of the night they'd have a team meeting to talk about the next day. president bush would just be raring to go and she was exhausted. for some people running for office and being out front steals their energy and for some it defeats them. i'm in the latter category. but thanks for asking. >> , graduate student at georgia state university studying anthropology and i'm wondering if you have any advice. >> are you going to try to dig up the readings for msnbc? kidding. >> maybe [applause]. are you g you said i could make a joke in this church. >> i'm actually doing my thesis on the production of information. i'm wondering if you have any information on how to stay truthful to the information that we put out while being influenced by media corporations including fox news, cnn. >> what i think, do you plan onou being a journalist as well? i started in journalism too. i was public affair reporting in graduate school heard : ed working in media and i was was like wow, i didn't know bias existed. it was against republicans. the -- it was 1994 and that is when the republicans lost the nation. and left ask went back to denver, colorado and did what every good student that has graduated from grad school does. >> >> is a great year in this d.c. book a little verse that sense fear not and they took the chance and i went to washington d.c. all the things that happened in moving back to the justice department had said to what i do know it all adds up that i cannot be responsible , like to be in c charge for everybody believing you can do is be true to yourself and you know, what is fair and what is not.ell keep that in mind because you cannot be responsible for would anybody else says or does your light shines a bright you will do an amazing job i am glad you chose that course. >> can i quote you for my thesis? >> yes. [laughter] [applause] >> last question this is a lot of pressure. >> in today's world whistle y funded candidates to congress to tinker added is freezing out the regular person if you can't put in 1 million of your own money will leverage the political process to keep the younger people out of the process? >> it is a great question financing political campaigns is a big topic the supreme court ruled not long ago one citizen united with the super pac money but in my opinion itself funding means you inherited a lot of money we worked very hard and you earned it did he will spend it on the campaign to get yourself elected however i would submit from being from a family that did not inherit a lot of money is harder to be the person to pick up the phone and ask somebody for a donation another reason i don't want to but prophesy a kid asked for anything. i don't think we're in danger not yet because what have we learned from this b campaign?pl money doesn't buy anything. one of the people he talked about has spent the least amount of money of all of them the personal as beenso the most has had the fewest results.i think we wi getting the answer to yourt question isn't fully answered yes to have to wait and see in the future butic because of these great o things and social media and who is on your phone and i think we're at risk of anybody buying and election. they give so much. happy valentine's day. [applause]gn her [inaudible conversations] >> with u.s. army was looking for a place to build the plant to reduce aircraft but they thought we would need date picked long beach because just tips the way we have a wonderful airport founded 19231 of the first that had a takeoff planting and takeoff different directions so they can use the military planes there. said douglas went into full production mode turning out planes 24/7. and it needed a lot of people to work and then went to were the women for the first time were brought out of the house and brought into the work force douglas was employing 45,000 people per day in the long beach area. and about 40 percent of those were women >> the port of long beach was established 1911. we are a little over 104 years old and from that time it started donna were fanned was the lumber port some growing lumber for the growing region and in 1940 we have a naval station and the shipyard they were here until the early '90s and unfortunately to the base closure process the naval complex shut down we could take an old federal facility at that time one of our modern container terminals but where we are today 104 years later on the most modern sustainable marine container terminal in the world. historian douglas brinkley. booktv live from tucson. [inaudible conversations] >> good morning. welcome to the tucson festival of books the world's greatest book festival. [applause] and the executive director and sponsor of the session the western national national parks association as part of the national park service the purpose is to educate visitors about history culture and recreational opportunitiestional parks i of the 12 western states as a publisher of books we proudly sponsored the tucson festival of books to address literacy in our community. national parks represent the very best of our heritage and the most important aspects of history and culture. you were in partnership with national p brown vs. board of education in topeka kansas even the channel islands off california and the little bighorn battlefield in montana. 2016 is the hundredth anniversary i encourage you to take your kids to national parks and expose them to the best america has to offer. [applause] with the as you are here please visit the experience in the pavilion we are very proud to present our special guest today todd douglas brinkley back. with that i will introduce our moderator. [applause] >> yes i am bill blockbuster i host the daily talk-show end you can listen to the program live anywhere in the world by going to blockbuster show.com i hope he will check it out i am soh excited to be here at the tucson festival of books to discuss with david brinkleyna so you're taxed a nationkes this all nation, tax-deductible donation really makes this possible because it is a free event so do encourage you to visit the student union ballroom or go to the s web site and your gift will make a tremendous donation and make a difference.way this w first to want to mention the way this will work. i want to allow plenty of time for your questions and least for 20 minutes after though one-on-one with professor douglas at the institute for public policy a cbs news contributor and presidential historian and a contributing editor at "vanity fair". "the chicago tribune" doug him the new pass muster stephen ambrose called him the best of a new generation of americans and historians. seve they have been selected as the year times a notable books of the year. so the great delusion and his newest book is called rightful heritage that is released in conjunction this week with the tucson festival of books. it is a follow-up to the best selling project with that outdoor explorations 234 million acres professor douglas brinkley. let's begin with this being the centennial of the national park service to tryst to envision what the national park system would be like without the advocacy of the two president roosevelt's? >> we're thrilled to be in tucson.ed to be i am watching my book your festival because it is about arizona and the beautiful places here and places that fbi -- fdr is preserving andhe to get to but a lot of that wildlife from the bighorn sheep me are all protected. service talk about the national park service in 1872 with unisys s. grant not the centennial in that sense but the revolution of national parks and publicly as preservation to kick off with the presidency of theodore roosevelt 1901 through 1909. and our heirlooms with those places called the tetons or the olympics that this is what defines america to create parks and monuments preserving the american landscape tr us a number of mechanisms and to go through congress to get a national park created like crater lake in oregon or in colorado or others but he loved executive power more than any other president started to sign executive orders did so by the equities act lung of john masius of iowa in with livestock rand so you have to go to the land commission everybody was nice. but lacy came up with the antiquities act and for scientific reasons he can set aside for the heritage of americans thought to be for for dinosaur bones of paleontologist and the europeans were coming to steal the artifacts people were the elite -- utilizing and victimizing or the rare art objects so what was meant for maybe something smaller. that the roosevelt came to arizona and it was a territory he stood on the lip of the grand canyon and surrounded by the roughriders in many of them hail from arizona and new mexico and brazil legendary group of in goes to the grand canyon and says do not touch it leave the grand canyon alone. [applause] at that moment he went to do a similar thing in california with the redwood trees they would name them to commercialize it like george was the name and he started to rip the signs offhe to say this is the cathedral you are desecrating the groves. he was driving a the conservation. congress said it would mine the grand canyon. but they did not want it as a national park so the roosevelt took that antiquities act and when asked in into go to the courts that was legal that is girl classy version. [laughter] and that begins the revolution in conservation. so i wrote the first bookd john mere, back in that period of time but i recognize the big player becomes franklingn roosevelt who was president 32 through 45 who is enamored with a distant relative in the door oversaw the marriage of eleanor and fdr but this is the centennial of the national park service woodrow wilson as say activist secretary of interior they got together there would say sublet at berkeley not just having had national park but u.s. army redding in a coherent system. to make it the park system but the big game changervelt becomes coming in the midst of the t great depression after we have nothing to fear but fear itself in what they want to see was into a national park it at that point all the consolidation of all national monuments and military battles to be stripped away from other agencies it is about american heritage. he sta to save the modern national park system in started to hire unemployed men gave them $1 a headache to work in places like arizona to build visitor centers and planting 3 billion trees around the plate in the southwest and that is where my book picks up of the tree are really in how he uses these people to buildbu incredible structures to do heavy duty preservation of national heritage.hat they w it was early on to both of the roosevelts.did not we almost sitting get thewa grand canyon national park. they would use all of the plumes that had pretty much a trip in some of these birds to extinction. >> the reason you need a federal government and not state laws is because birds all have state boundaries you could have been very protective lot massachusetts of their land in florida to be shot and killed there is no protection. so species were eradicated and theodore roosevelt last ly - - has the last recorded document of the passenger pigeon now all it is extinct it died in 1913 in the cincinnati zoo. extinc so this species is what concerned theodore roosevelt a great deal in the same for franklin l. the mechanism he had people say the reason they slaughtered all the birds because they would have come years ago for a public lecture where a nabob it. just like the pictures of a buffalo in florida to come with semi-automatic weapons so we're just decimating species locally now there is a remnant survival to drivet them not a florida. said he said let's go to the indian river and declare a federal bird reserve. that became the birth of the u.s. fish and wildlife but it has established 51 federal bird reservations of for executive power off to the louisiana and key west and all over so the yukon delta for west virginia is still there today. he said let's streamline but the ducks were slaughtered out of existence because there was no water stop it if fdr says we will make the bird reservations a national priority, when you are hungry the birds are a he priority? if you can build reservoirs bird to create the bird fly away those migratory spots are hotels for birds are they can recoup will help the of water supply for area so in the drought years they have a reservoir of so it was huge he created a duck stamp to make the hunters pay a fee to buy the land at the back of the book you will blow your mind how many national preferences fdr saved to protect the vanishing bird species to repopulate with swans and geese and ducks. like in texas that never liked to the federal government now the gulf is where you go to see them whooping crane fdr did that he went fishing and recognize the bird rich environment sign the executive order to save it on end on in every state to save the bird life in thee enviable life in arizona. >> you mentioned the dust bowl of those in oklahoma in the central states that had to leave the great migration but he mentioned the impact on wildlife. >> it is devastating by the time franklin roosevelt is president big agriculture took everything with station deforestation dealing with an american stripped bare by the extraction but they did not care to say the land of america so to talk about there great depression with walloc street and the stock market crash the big story is what happen to agriculture in rural america and not just the dust bowl with a chronic drought and soymeal eruption and deforestation if it says occupation he would write tree farmer and he grew trees. that is what he did. he believed any country in the world what would happen if you fly over? look at the dominicanpublic you'l republic if you see 80 it was deforested roosevelt said behalf to plant the trees. to do a shelter belts to try to stop the wind from the dust bowl but if you look at the wildlife refugees to work with the federal government as they rebuild their land with workshops to bring bad american landscape back. in the channel islands in the olympics but he has pushed the state parks.rk system and then said get a state park system. birds in if you go to florida pa basically creates the floor the system with the protection of the evergladese pushed was the better flight -- fight that only comes to the final manifestation with that correspondence from a naturalist in florida. and all the time they wanted to save their local species here in arizona was the boyde scouts. . . in the arizonaarizona and california she became known as the apostle of the desert and got these beautiful books of photos, not of ansell adams quality but nature shots like that and was able to insinuate a meeting to the white house because she had been a donor and part of the california new deal movement and roosevelt had her in and a wheelchair. he's is okay. mi we will do a million acres in joshua tree, done. [laughter] some this is like a dream. she had to back off basically. it's not that easy. lawy that's for lawyers to do later.la i am just declaring it. as they said, stalin said about fdr, churchill would go up to you and cozy up and sneak his hand in your pocket to steal a coin, get something little, border definition. come smile at you, greet you, jim both hands into your pocket. that is what he was doing on behalf of protecting these wonderful places in america that we are celebrating our centennial. national grasslands, humans seashores. cape hatteras in north carolina. >> really excited about going to fight the spanish during the spanish war of 1898, excited i going to cuba, but as you talk about he was excited about the wildlife that he would encounter in tropical america. >> zero, yes. when theodore roosevelt went to the spanish-american war and got the rough riders together in san antonio this wonderful old-style hotel, but he then brought these men to tampa bay's three mascots with them. cougar, wildmon online at the gaza coat from new mexico and a dog. here is fdr going in training. whoever theodore roosevelt went, his 1st book was the summer birds of the outer on backs.t book was t he died writing about presence. fdr, you will see all the p bird collection. in those days ornithologists would shoot the bird because there was no dna testing are banning. you would shoot a bird. ea cards step or variations. that whole early essay that fdr wrote ensure that the original, never seen before. see the volcanoes of hawaii because it has been a lifelong fascination. we owe a tremendous amount to theodore and franklin roosevelt for saving our heritage, not plundering our country when they did in so many different ways that it is almost hard to exaggerate the legacy of the to put together. >> you mentioned a woman environmentalist. >> i write a lot as you what i think scholars missed , they had a shared love for an active system, treasured place, sanctified landscape of the hudson valley. fdr was a more prudent is used. pine down golden eagles. more importantly she wrotehe regularly about americanss, working'swounds force lakes, species torch with the audubon movement, try to get progressive laws. pr she was a true equal. a little more into the science of the biology. more pastures called the shirov better better prose writer. and she said about her husband that he has a map mind. map mind, an intellectual. he knew every i gladly rivery river, e just love maps. saving north americans heritage lane you the story. he could have beaten. he washe was a master of it in the master the globe. so he knew where the breakpoints were. wer that map of knowledge that served our countryry exceedingly well.li here we are on the eve of world war ii in 1938 franklin roosevelt signs up with the smithsonian institute and goes to the galapagos to follow the trail of darwin and disappeared for three weeks. theodore roosevelt, uncle theodore you select big elk and grizzly bear. got all sorts of new creatures and documentation about this incredible wage to the galapagos. >> they were great travelersout this they love to travel. it must've been in the genes. you get the travel. that trip almost killed him.eve almo >> here is an interesting factoid for you all he would get terribly sick it. he liked seeing ahead of him. he went to africa and spent a year's can be our state to live for a while hiking through the grand canyon the ceremony on his way from arizona and utah to see rainbow bridge. president h the gopher tortoises. i've written one of the best books about the galapagos pre- darwin. ecuador -- fdr also wanted to have the big bend jointly e run english jointly run the canada.t, he wa echo systems don't know borders. they they cross over the river. you have to refrain from the artificial barriers. the big issue being pushed pushing is called conservation is a basis of world piece. his father's close pal, very post the altar at the time the global pollution standards less idealistic, less environmentally conservation conscious and much more wonder please the big corporations and that global environmental movement got squelched. we could use it right now. it is a pity. >> will they be thinking if they could see today's conservation policies?ould see t >> i could tell you, theodore roosevelt were alive or fdr there were have brushed off candidates like dandruff. >> the roosevelt are giants. they put public service 1st. making america really truly a special place to live. when they went to africa update on coal mining. got fired because there were letting companies out of seattle do no money blowing up the mountains in alaska because they thought the conservation had gone too far. came back and got the last laugh. came in 2nd and taft finished. so franklin roosevelt, once he got polio the big thing was not to seem like aa weakling. what he could do is build his upper body strength the data might be something for it. horrible sinusitis infections that she would not have when he was at sea. spell your condition and health but all these go upward. he would go all over. the color blue mind. if you live near water features on water is supposed to help clear your mind. so attracted to living on coastal areas and the like. >> salt spray. >> just because that song opens up the sinuses.inuses. >> let's start lining up for questions. i know you have a ton of questions. well we are getting ready i want to ask you about the civilian conservation corps.on i occasionally we hear that could be reinvented. cleanup our national parks. >> it was an extraordinary success.at civilian we something like that today. they have to give the whole paycheck to the parents. the money have you back to your family.r personal hard, hard work but one would get a sense of self-worth they would where uniforms, work is hard jobsd work t on roads and forestry. i don't know if we created leisure ideas of american life. young people want time off. i don't know whether we could militarize conservation. if you co so there are programs, but it has taken on the imagination of the public. talking about nature deficit disorder. i don't know the name of the bushes near him.ow the nam we need to teach natural history in high school or middle school circuit start learning to create new generation of business. the principles became ardent conservationists who led the 60s environmental movement. that is a direct link. rachel carson was working writing pamphlets for the wi i write about carson. it is all going out of these new deal programs.e even even places in maryland they start saying how they bring animals back into the wild. they delivered the famous wildlife conservation committee report.re he hired leopold, darling the great cartoonist and they came up with this amazing wildlife conservation plan.nting to d >> there always wanted to say it's not right and then we don't find them. we treat them terribly. we love our national parks. it is just a fraction of our tax dollars going to thesee wonderful natural resourceses that we all get to share. >> they are the envy of thegr world.internationa >> you know, i hear they have assembled this amount of about almost a billion dollars to elect candidatesmbled who want to completely do away with all rules and regulations. people who were environmentalists, do they have funds and lobbyists? >> good question.ect our land a as you all know, there is a battle. the national parks are not debated as much because congress passed in.passed the a lot of wilderness areas are where national forests, they are going to immediately want to go gouge.n a sagebrush rebellion. the keystone pipeline became a metaphor for the kind of conservative movement belief that we need to open up all these places the federal government's controlling but don't kid yourself, the environmental movement groups are strong. you know one can rattle off a hundred of them.he unfortunately it has become a little bit too partisan.s and john lacey was a republican. ronald reagan, we don't think of 59 wilderness or 50 some wilderness areas. that's how far. so the republican parties, very extreme right and part of it is the federal government is locking up land. this is why fdr came and strong when he did because we had to grow the grasslands back.sslands beca mad cow ranching and just killed all the grasslands. all the top dirt just blowing so the federal government had to keep buffer zones to keep water supplies going so you havean life. >> thank you, sir. >> you have such an amazing grasp. if you could speak to either one today what would you want to ask them? >> i think i would like to ask them both but we should do to get out of this political gridlock.we can >> i agree. [applause]ve >> americans turning on americans. it saddens me when we are at constant war with each other.nk it or terribly dysfunctional and ifu also want to see who fdr would appoint to the supreme court because he appointed a great supreme court justice on conservation. douglas douglas was very ahead of his time. the american west in particular. >> your presidential historian. to the election of 2016. some of your thoughts quickly. have you ever seen anything like we're seeing today? is there historical precedent? >> the point of history is to remind ourselves that our own times are not uniquely oppressive. we have to go lecturing the civil war and you're looking at battle of bull run. thousands of dead on the killing fields of virginia and maryland in the scorched earth of the south and the