i doubt there are very many people out there with ben stein matt's ability to live a life of longhouse logic. the versatility of this band and his genius for writing fiction and nonfiction about society and economics and about grand strategy we can't all go out and pursue ideas in quite the way ben has. but i think the bunkhouse logic was very important in our approach here. he was a goad -- at goal to set for yourself the task of doing that which sooner or later simply has to be done. ben gave us encouragement. we have got a lot of encouragement along the way. one of the ways this book opens, as i said myself as a young person i am literally becoming a teenager in the opening pages of this book that i digress to the age of 10, which is when a couple of things happen. happened. first time it ended to the family business which is our farm at gettysburg and second i received a family bible. third i get an accordion folder for the short stories that i plan to write that here. i always wanted to be a novelist. now thanks to the record of, presidential records keeping and we are here to at

ben stein suggests it's also a good time of ridding ourselves of bitter ones. >> 'tis the season to be jolly, lo, ho, ho. however for many of us it's also the season to clean out our homes and throw out old unneeded icky stuff. also the season to give gifts, so naturally i have an idea or two. why don't we all clean out our homes inside our hearts and heads of some things that are really heavy and take up a lot of space. resentments and grudges and anger. why don't we throw away our bad feelings of anything that we feel angry about because he or she belittled us, toss away our remembered hurts and aches of people who did not treat us right. they're just people after all, they're made up of all the things ha make people maddening, just the same as you and i are. you'll be amazed how much sunnier and roomier it is in your head and heart if you just get rid of everything that's blocking the light. it isn't even heavy lifting of then comes the best part as gift to everyone in your life, give the gift of forgiveness. it's a great gift. forgive the people that treated you mean on the job, fo

ben stein was a lawyer and an advocate. i have met charlie so many times and people love him. i think he got 80% of the district voteless last year. -- a vote this last year. i think he is very humble. i think he might have been overextended with some of these things. he may have had too many staff members. host: we appreciate your time. that is all we have time for tonight. thanks for your calls. if you missed any coverage of charlie rangel today, go to c- span.org. >> in a few minutes, a hearing on the repealing of the don't ask, don't tell policy. and in a few hours, an extension of the bush era tax cuts. and the center of a house representative charlie rangel rears just before 5:30 a.m. eastern. the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, admiral mike malone testified on capitol hill today. -- mike mullen testified on capitol hill today. >> good morning everybody. of the committee meets this morning to receive testimony on the department comprehensive review of the repeal of don't ask, don't tell. we will hear from secretary gates and chairman of the joint chiefs, admiral m