Get your headphones on and listen up to our latest episode. This one is about Former President Bill Clinton’s speech at WTAMU. The transcript for this episode can be found below.

Transcript

Maria: On April 24, former President Bill Clinton spoke at West Texas A&M University, an event that captured the attention of students, faculty and community members.

Brandy Roberts, student body president says the Distinguished Lecture Series donated $100,000 to the Flight 93 memorial on behalf of WTAMU.

Roberts: This donation will aid in finishing the memorial and once completed the West Texas A&M University student body will be honored with a plaque on the memorial visitor’s center. In response to this generous donation Bill Clinton has volunteered his time to be with us today.

Maria: Dr. James Calvi, chair of the Distinguished Lecture Committee introduced Clinton and explained his initiative to raise money for the Flight 93 memorial.

Calvi: Last year along with former president George W.  Bush and current speaker of the house John Boehner, President Clinton teamed up to raise money for a memorial for the heroes of United flight 93 which crashed in Shanksville Pennsylvania on Sept 11. 2001.

Maria: Clinton compared what happened in Flight 93, to the Alamo and the battle for Texas independence.

Clinton: It was one of those relatively rare examples in human history when the people that gave you the state that you now treasure made a deliberate collective decision to give their lives for a larger objective. Everybody that goes to battle risks their life, but they knew in advance they were going to perish.

Maria: Flight 93 was targeted to hit the Capitol, which Clinton says is the symbol of the United States freedom and history. He says the difference between the battle for Texas Independence and Flight 93 is that the people on Flight 93 were just ordinary men and women that didn’t sign on for battle.

Clinton: They didn’t know in advance that on that day it might be their last day. And they had to decide in an instant whether they were going to derail that plane knowing that the chances were more than 90 percent that the plane will crash and they will be killed.

Maria: However, he says these people made the same decisions than the Texans in the Alamo.

Clinton: They weren’t professional soldiers and they didn’t have any time to think about it. They instinctively knew this is what they had to do. I don’t know about you, but I think that deserves a National Memorial.

Maria: During his speech, Clinton announced the National Park Foundation matched the $100,000 dollars donated by WTAMU. Clinton also spoke about the current issues the U.S. is facing.

Clinton: I personally think we also are on an unsustainable development track because of the way we produce and consume energy and local resources cannot be sustained.

Maria: He says climate change is real and unavoidable and that the U. S needs to change the way it consumes energy.

Clinton:  For 15 years I have been saying this is the best way to create a good economy and create new jobs if you do it in a smart way.

Maria: He says Texas has been a leader in wind energy development, an area that needs further exploration.

Clinton: Number one is free once you pay for the windmill, and number two it is clean. Oh and there is the matter of the third: For every billion dollars you spend on a coal fire plant you get 870 jobs, for every billion dollars you spend on wind energy, if the windmills and the blades are made in America you get 3,300 jobs.

Maria: Clinton says the U.S is a rich country with huge assets.

Clinton: Don’t let people tell you America’s best days are behind. Every single challenge we have is fixable, but requires reform.

Maria: For The Prairie, I am Maria Molina.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download