[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 158 (Wednesday, November 10, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S14516]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      OLE MISS HOSTING FIRING LINE

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, Senator Cochran and I are pleased to 
announce that the University of Mississippi, which we fondly refer to 
as Ole Miss, will be hosting the final broadcast of the Emmy-winning 
PBS program ``Firing Line.'' Senator Cochran and I want to join the 
University of Mississippi in congratulating all those affiliated with 
``Firing Line,'' including its host, Mr. William F. Buckley, Jr., and 
its producer, Mr. Warren Steibel, for their outstanding accomplishments 
during 34 years of telecasts. Since 1966, Mr. Buckley and Mr. Steibel 
have given the American public an opportunity to make informed 
decisions on the important topics of the day by bringing all angles of 
an issue to the surface through their lively debates. No public affairs 
program in history has run longer with the same host.
  Firing Line has brought a wide range of topics to the forefront since 
joining the PBS family on May 26, 1971, including ``Separation of 
Church and State,'' ``Is Socialism Dead,'' ``Health Risks in a Nuclear 
Environment,'' and its final topic, ``The Government Should Not Impose 
a Tax on Electronic Commerce.'' These and other topics have been 
debated by Presidents George Bush, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald 
Ford, and Richard Nixon; and prominent figures such as Margaret 
Thatcher, Muhammad Ali, Henry Kissinger, and Bob Dole.
  Mr. President, the past decade has brought many references to the end 
of the millennium. It is a tribute to programs of its kind that 
``Firing Line'' leaves the airways at this historic time. The guests, 
topics, and fervor with which the issues have been approached 
throughout the years on the program define the culture of the day. All 
attitudes and opinions have been expressed and analyzed, reflecting our 
society's nature to embrace conflict and discourse in the name of 
answers and truth. William F. Buckley and Warren Steibel created an 
educational art form that did as much teaching as any other television 
program in memory.
  This final telecast also marks the fourth time that the University of 
Mississippi has hosted the ``Firing Line'' program. This relationship 
began with ``Firing Line's'' first visit to Oxford in 1989, and 
continued with its return in 1992, 1997, and now in 1999. Firing Line 
and Ole Miss have blended well over the years because of their 
commitment to furthering knowledge and challenging individuals to 
constantly expand their thinking. The University of Mississippi's 
growing impact across the world in the realms of politics, economics, 
social issues, technology and leadership make it a fitting backdrop for 
the closure of ``Firing Line's'' award-winning run.

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