Civil war after appomattox. I am happy to have professor downs join us. [applause] i am going to talk about something that is overlooked in all kinds of narratives which is the importance of doing nothing. When congress came back in december of 1865 for many people it looked like they dont find a solution to address reconstruction until march of 1867. Despite things like the Freedmans Bureau bill and the 14th amendment, this session can seem like and was critiqued at the time as a donothing session precisely because it didnt determine the end of the war. I want to put that on its head and think about why it was so important for them not to establish terms for the end of the war and why doing nothing turned out to mean so much. I was led to this by contemplating the justly celebrated philosopher Jerome Allen Seinfeld known as jerry who said, doing nothing is not as easy as it looks. You have to be careful because the idea of doing anything could easily lead to doing something which woul
I am happy to have professor downs join us. I am going to talk about something that is overlooked in all kinds of narratives which is the importance of doing nothing. When congress billy hollowak in in december of 1865 came back in december of 1865 for many people it looked like they dont find a solution to address reconstruction until march of 1867. Despite things like the 14th amendment, this session can seem like and was critiqued at the time as a donothing session precisely because it didnt determine the end of the war. That it never established terms for war. But i want to flip that on its head and think about why it was so important for them not to establish terms for the end of the war and why doing nothing turned out to mean so much. I was led to this by contemplating the justly celebrated philosopher Jerome Allen Seinfeld known as jerry who said, doing nothing is not as easy as it looks. You have to be careful because the idea of doing anything could easily lead to doing somet
[captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2013] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] today the House Oversight Committee Examining the ghazi attacks. Then the Foreign Relation Committee holding a confrontation confirmation hearing and a look at schedule changes due to go into effect october 1. Hearinge Oversight Committee hearing testimony. Reviewountability chairman and admiral mike mullen both testified. Hours. Just over two the committee will come to order. The Oversight Committee exists to secure two fundamentals. Americans have the right to know the money washington takes from them is well spent. Americans deserve an effective government that works for them. Our duty is to protect these rights. Our responsibility is to hold government accountable to for what they know is important for how they decide. Our job is to work in partnership with watchdogs to deliver the facts to the American People and bring reform to the bureaucracy. This is our mission. Con
The best thing about a wide ranging News Conference like this could be what is unpredictable. We know what the president said and what jay carney is saying in the Briefing Room and other opportunities to hear from the president. Reporters will go lebanon for ways to pull out some new information or perspective. Certainly we can expect there will be questions about the relationship with russia, the nsa situation what are the extreme or limits what spying in the u. S. Or spying in terms of Data Collection might include. And then things like the domestic agenda. It certainly had been the hope of the white house that before congress had left town in august that an immigration bill might be signed. Well, the senate got that done but not the house. So what can they look forward to in the weeks and months ahead . Can anything on that subject be done . Of course, when congress does get back to town, the president will have to deal with them on issues like the budget, the debt ceiling. The pres
Impeachment proceedings. There is a lot still developing over the course of the night. Claire, before we talk to your former colleagues in the senate, let me ask you how that closing worked for you from adam schiff. Well, he wasnt as emotional as last night. But i can get emotional about the courage card he dealt. Because if youre from a tough state, the conflict between your principles and your polling, the conflict between what you believe in and what the majority of your state is screaming at you about is a very painful process. And what he tried to do tonight was isolate that conflict and put it in the context of a constitutional crisis and the strength of the United States senate to stand tall in history and maintain the equilibrium of the checks and balances in our constitution. And i can tell you it is a hard thing. And im not trying to express sympathy for the republicans. Dont go nuts on me here. I am trying to say those moments, if youre from a red state or blue state, they d