court of appeals nominees. these are the nominees with majority support. these are nominees that would have been confirmed had theyi gotten an up or down vote. i cannot overstate how the change was to the senate arms and procedures. for the first time in history, senate democrats created an effectual 60-vote threshold for judicial nominees. remember, clarence thomas was hs confirmed with 52 votes and senate democrats filibustered his nomination to be defeated which they didn t because partisan filibusters is not ater ease with majority support were simply not in the accepted playbook. what senate democrats did during george w. bush s presidency, mr. president, changed the senate forever. next up was samuel alito. but chief justice rehnquist andt justice alito is they partisan but but chief justice rehnquist, they overcame that filibuster. what is notable about justice alito if he received fewer than 60 votes for confirmation. he overcame the filibuster because night teen sena
more than two months after being nominated, judge neil gorsuch was approved friday to become the associate justice on the u.s. supreme court. they justice incident antonin scalia a died last year. the so-called nuclear option lowered the voting threshold for supreme court nominees during a key procedural vote here we will show you some of the debates on neil gorsuch and the proposed change. this is about one hour. we have seen impressive credentials, we have reviewed his incredible record, we have heard glowing praise on a nearly daily basis. from students and judges, newspaper editorials, democrats, and republicans. judge gorsuch is independent and he is fair. he is beyond qualified and he will make a stellar addition to the supreme court. hardly anyone in the legal community seems to argue otherwise and yet our democratic app colleagues are poised to block this incredible moment a with the first successful partisan filibuster in american history. it would be a radical m
for war with iran. that argument involves doing whatever it takes to get rid of the current regime and to bring about one that is friendlier. there s also an argument to be made of fervor and of what it is you really want from us and what are you going to give in return? is an argument for that. we are doing neither of these things. it may be possible to resolve whatever differences you have it there ran on the basis of number two. that has not been tried. it may or may not be possible and it is certainly possible to base our attend on the war against this regime. but that thought process has not been entered into. that s the kind of thing i m talking about. this has been an extraordinarily thoughtful exploration and some of the basic questions of our time up war and peace by very thoughtful expert analysts. this is his book, to make and keep peace among ourselves and with all nations. it is available outside for $20, so we encourage all of you to buy one copy if not two.
up next on booktv after words with guest host michael meyers executive director of the new york civil rights coalition. this week jason sokol in his latest book all eyes are upon us. in that the historian argues that while the northeast enjoyed a reputation as a bastion for racial equality in reality blacks were relegated to living in ghettos and working menial jobs until northern leaders challenged citizens to practice what they were preaching. this program contains language that some may find offensive. host: jason it s very difficult to decide where to begin with your book. we are going to make a teaser to the audience. we are going to get to the conflict in a clash between at brooks and joe biden. that s a teaser. let s begin where you you began and that is with some history. this is a history book but the precipice to brown v. board of education and the springfield locale. guest: right. well the sense of history, i do have an argument they are about the way that
[laughter] and it is an oh my.moment and it must have been to maxwell because not only is electricity and magnetism things that can travel like waves but the wave is that the speed of light. and when you craft that you are overwhelmed with and a motion of amazement and how beautiful it all fits together because it s not just symmetric. they are little bits of asymmetry that are necessary for the pieces to fit together that way. and it s not just that maxwell s equations are beautiful but you know what is the light that maxwell s equations describe. whoever said that the universe had to be so beautiful? that s the part that i will never get enough of. thank you everybody. [applause] thank you so much for joining us. our next lecture is going to be on december 9 and it s about earth s orbit and earth orbit along with his sons around the galactic center. it s part of a we will be holding so we invite you december 9. now i m sure that you have further questions. please hold t