then at 10:45, former chief economist at the world bank, nobel prize winner on why growing economic divisions are bad for our economy in "the price of inequality," part of book tv this weekend on c-span2. >> the international aids conference is being held in washington this week. we will hear from former first lady laura bush. this part of the conference is one hour. [applause] >> good afternoon, i am helene gail, a delay pleasure to open this section of the conference. throughout this conference, hiv

aids is taken over women has taken over 50% of people living with aids. the multiple cultural, social, economic, and biological factors that put especially young women and girls that disproportionate risk for hiv have been explored. in keeping with the theme of this concert --, we're looking at tangible solutions beginning to turn the tide for this epidemic and get all of us new hope. whether access to treatment and its dual treatment and prevention impact, pre exposure prophylactics, or increasing rates of circumcisions for partners, we now have no biological tools that will help prevent and treat infections among women. so too, are weakening evidence

to tackle the social and economic factors that underpin the risk of hiv for women and girls. we know more about how to tackle discrimination, engage men and boys to change their attitude and behavior as, empower girls and women to negotiate safer sex behavior is and link them to economic tools that enhance their self-esteem and values. all of these will have profound effects on girls and women in this epidemic. another key ingredient to success is leadership. we know that. just as a chevy has taken a disproportionate impact on women throughout the world, women and women's leadership is key to shifting that reality. it is in that light that i am delighted that we have such an incredible panel of women leaders with a range of experience as leaders in this

fight. without further delay, let me start this important session. first, i would like to begin with a word for nobel prize laureate and newly elected member of the burmese parliament. unfortunately, she could not be with us today. she agreed to address us in this session had her schedule permits it. she sends her sincere regrets but for one reason that i think most of us would be happy with. after her 2010 release from seven years of house arrest, she was recently elected to parliament. [applause] that body is now in session so she cannot be here with us. she graciously agreed to send a video since she could not be

with us in person. for those of you who were at the red ribbon award ceremony yesterday, you know her remarks were a very special part of that event. in a moment, we will share with you a brief message from that address. before i do, let me say a few words about our commitment to the aids issue which is long standing and deeply felt. in an earlier and brief period of freedom from the tension, she addressed the 2000 international aids conference in durban, south africa, calling for compassion and an end to stigma and social exclusion, then a major issue in her country. on the first day of her recent release, she went to her party headquarters to reopen her office and for the per first public event workable could see her, she went to the hiv aids center run by her supporters. this was a powerful message to her people and those living with hiv that their champion was

again free and would work hard to improve their situation. she is a global icon for democracy and human rights. she is also, in heard dignified and quiet way, a powerful aids advocates. she is also an example of what the traditions of women in leadership. while never giving up her decade-long struggle for democracy and human rights and her country, she has maintained a deep adherence to nonviolence, to dialogue, and caring and kindness. let's watch video. >> our people need to understand what hov really is. we need to understand that it is not something that we need to be afraid of. people who contract hiv do not need to be does communicate it.

they are not a danger to society at large. once this message is out, we will be able to base activities on the natural compassion of human beings and, of course, as the great majority of people in burma are behind this, there's a special emphasis on the value of compassion. based on this and based on wide community education, i hope we will be able to become one of the innovative societies where we approach the problem as human beings, as intelligent, caring human beings. in this way, we will be able to handle not just the issue of hiv aids but issues related to

those who are subjected to particular suffering, particular discrimination. i wish your conference very well. i wish and i am sure my which will be granted, that you may come up with new ideas and new ways with which we will be able to approach the issue of hiv aids and make those suffering from hiv aids happier and safer and our world, thank you. [applause] >> now is my pleasure to introduce to our next speaker, mrs. laura bush. laura bush hardly needs an introduction but she definitely deserves one. as the first lady of the united states from 2001-2009, she was

universally admired for her approachable style and her straightforward and gracious leadership in that role. she was then and continues to be actively involved in issues of national and global concern with a particular emphasis on education, health care, and human rights. during her eight years as first lady of the united states of america, mrs. bush traveled to all 50 states and more than 75 countries in support of president bush paused life- saving global health initiatives including the president's valeria the initiative. she visited africa, asia, and the americas to help raise global awareness of hiv aids. now as the chair of the women's initiative at the george w. bush institute, mrs. bush continues her work on global health care innovations, and powering women

in emerging democracies, education reform, and supporting the women and men who serve in america's military. in september, 2011, the bush institute, the u.s. government, una, and the susan g. komen for the care announced $85 million red rivet initiatives, a partnership to leverage our resources to combat cervical and breast cancer in developing nations. my organization care at the honor of having mrs. bush as the keynote speaker at our annual conference a couple of years ago. she was introduced them by her twin daughters, barbara and jenna, who gave one of the most touching introductions i have ever heard. they painted a fuller picture of their mother and reminded all of us of the multiple roles women balance every day in ways that are truly remarkable.

as they did, i want to present to you a woman leader of great depth and accomplishment as i have noted but a woman was also a wife, and mother, and a friend to all of us in this room who fight for equality and dignity for women all over the world. mrs. laura bush. [applause] >> thank you all. thank you so much. thank you very much. thanks to everyone here. i'm very happy to be with you today in this conference. i am glad you are meeting in our beautiful capital city and i hope you have enjoyed your time in washington. i am especially glad that would mark the progress that has been made and look forward to an even greater response to hiv aids. thank you, helene, you're the

perfect moderator for a session on leadership in the age response to women. thank you for your leadership of care and thank you for your life-saving work. we have just heard from a leader that i admire very much from burma. her courage and persistence is an example for women and men worldwide. when i thought about what i want to say about women in today's session, i thought of the many women, some of whom i know and some of whom i will never know, who came before us and to let us in our response to the pandemic disease. i thought of my own mother-in- law, barbara bush. well my father-in-law was president during those early days, when people thought you could catch aids from touching somebody, barbara bush cradled hiv-positive babies and hud

people with aids. she met with families lost loved ones to date and she visited the aids memorial quilt that was on the mall than like it is now. her graceful example challenge to all americans to confront hiv aids with care and compassion rather than fear and judgment. when you look around the world, you see that women are in the forefront of like changing progress. in afghanistan, under the taliban, women went underground literacy centers risking their own lives to teach women and girls to read. in burma, despite years of oppression, women remain steadfast in their dissent, inspiring the world with their bravery and courage in the face of brutality. and women have been central in the fight against aids, a

disease that one newspaper compared to the black death of the middle ages. 10 years ago, hiv aids raged out of control. worldwide, more than 22 million men, women, and children have died from aids and 15,000 people were infected every day. in 2002, experts estimate that the aids pandemic could double in the next five years to 80 million people infected with the virus. health professionals and leaders around the world knew that dramatic action was necessary to address this crisis. in june, 2002, my husband, president bush, spoke to a crowd in the rose garden. he said the global devastation of hiv aids staggers the imagination and shocks the

conscience. that day he announced a $500 million initiative to combat aids by treating hiv infected women with anti-retro viral drugs to stop transmission of the virus between mothers and their babies. six months later, in his 2003 state of the union address, president bush announced the president's emergency plan for eight relief, the largest international health initiative ever directed at a single disease. [applause] members of congress stood solidly with president bush and thunderous applause echoed throughout the u.s. capitol when he announced this historic amendment. sitting with me in the gallery of the capital that evening was a ugandan doctors to help president bush and his senior

advisers develop the program. the doctor smiled and repeated relief. -- radiated of relief. he knew the toll of aids. the doctor remembered the faces of the patients he could have saved if he had had madison. on a cold january evening, thousands of miles from his home, he knew that the outcome would be different for future patients. pepfar committed $15 billion over five years to prevent new infeions, to treat those already infected with aids, and to care with children who were orphaned by parents who had died of aids. in a pediatric clinic in botswana, that year, president bush and i saw firsthand the

devastating toll of aids. and that pediatric clinic, my daughter barbara and i met a mother who brought her little girl for treatment. she dressed her little daughter like an angel, in love lavender and white dress to meet the american president. this precious little child lay on the examining table so frail and sick. her mother's last hope was to make her beautiful. today, with access to anti retroviruss, that little girl would have another chance. three weeks ago, we returned to botswana and saw that same pediatric clinic and now has so few patients that they are looking for a new use for the facility. [applause] barbara, our daughter, was so

affected by this beautiful child that she resolved to help confront the challenges this little girl faced. today, barbara lead global health corp. and effort to recruit young, smart college graduates to work in the health field in underserved areas. while george was president -- [applause] thank you for clapping for barbara. while george was president, i traveled to africa five times and george and i have returned their together two times since leaving washington. on each visit, i saw the places of aids work women's love to find jobs and care for their families, orphaned children were forced to grow up quickly and provide for themselves and their younger siblings, and i have seen what many call the lazarus effect -- aids patients returning from death's door and

living a vibrant life. [applause] rather than waiting quietly for death, millions who suffer from a chevy are now working -- suffering from hiv are working in their communities. in zambia in 2007, my dog jenna and the toward a center -- my daughter jenna toured a center. the center offered support groups for female victims of violence and promotes hiv prevention campaigns for young people so that the next the zambian generation will be h.i.v.-free. [applause] jenna and i helped pack madison, miss given that, and toiletries -- helped pack

medicine and toiletries for their patients. later, we sat in the brilliant sunshine listening to stories of those being held at the center. two girls wept as they told us how they had contracted aids through sexual violence. afterwards, jenbna walked over to hug them and tell them they were not alone and she was writing a book called "anna's story," about a girl she had met in central america who had suffered as they had. she asked her to write about them. tell our story. by revealing their tragic past, these young women are building a hopeful future for the next generation. i've heard stories in every one of the 12 pepfar countries

during george's eight years in office. when led efforts to confront a judge this. women's -- women led efforts to confront hiv. mothers teaching mothers to prevent the spread of hiv to their unborn children, and women in leadership using their influence to reduce the stigma associated with hiv and to raise awareness for testing and treatment. we know that education, especially for girls, is vital to efforts to stop the spread of hiv. educated girls have lower rates of hiv. they have healthier families and they have higher rates of education for their own children. last december, president bush and i traveled with barbara and jenna to tanzania, zambia, and

ethiopia and we met a woman whose husband was h.i.v.- positive but she did not know it until she had contracted the disease. when he died, she was shunned by her own family. while they allowed her to stay with them, she was not allowed to sit with them or to meet with that. they even gave her her own plates and utensils. out of the mistaken belief that they could catch aids from her. then she was introduced to a faith-based organization that provided education and training for widows and orphans. they taught her how to make beautiful purses, a few of which we bought out of recycled materials so she could support herself and her children. as her finances improve, she moved on her on with her

children and now, she supports the family that once shunned her. extending to them - [applause] her story is a powerful testament to why we must do more to promote the good health of women everywhere. the health of women affects families, communities, and whole country is. healthy mothers make healthy families. when a mother dies, her children are often 10 times more likely to die themselves and are less likely to ever go to school. we have seen the benefits of strong partnerships to fight aids. nearly 7 million people are living with hiv and now because of access to anti retro viral therapy and this new hiv infection has fallen by nearly

20%. the success p ofepfar has given us a proven strategy and resources to confront other health challenges. we added efforts to prevent malaria through the president's malaria initiative and now, because we are seeing women living with aids but dying from cervical cancer, the bush institute has launched the pink ribbon/red ribbon. last fall, the global health summit in washington d.c., president bush announced the institute's new partnerships. the bush institute is partnering on pink ribbon/red ribbon with the united states state department and pepfar with una and susan g. komen for the cure to scream and treat breast and cervical cancer among women in the developing world. [applause] i am so pleased that our

partners, secretary - and my good friend of nancy brinker are here with us today. thank you all for joining us. [applause] we are also happy to have several private sector partners who are supporting this initiative. cervical cancer is the leading cause cancer death in sub- saharan africa and it is a preventable and treatable disease. it is up to five times more common in women whose immune systems are compromised with a check of a. h hiv.

we will bill pepfar platform to screen for breast and cervical cancer. we launched this in zambia last september. when returned last month, president bush and i were thrilled to see their progress. thank ribbons less red ribbon has expanded beyond the capital city and across the country. multiple >> are now screening, diagnosing, and treating women for car cervical cancer. already, more of 14,000 women have been screened. nearly 40% of those women are hiv-positive. nearly 1/3 of all the women screamed tested positive for pre-cancerous or cancer is cervical cells. of those who tested positive, more than 80% could be treated immediately with cryotherapy.

[applause] the first lady of zambia is a doctor in obstetrics and gynecology. she is a champion for the pink ribbon/red ribbon efforts throughout her country. since her husband became president of zambia last fall, she has worked to focus national attention on maternal health and mortality. earlier this week, she hosted a conference for africans to discuss aids and cervical cancer. his strong leadership is setting an example for efforts from the first lady and women everywhere. [applause] in our fight against aids, we have learned that any measure of success requires sustained leadership at every level, from

international organizations likeuna to political leaders in each nation and from ministries of health to local community health workers. that is why i am so grateful for everyone in this audience today for your courage and your persistence. you are the proven agents of change are round the world. by working together, we can give hope to mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers, two wives and husbands, and sons and daughters so that they and their families can live a full and productive lives. thank you all very,ery much. [applause]

[applause] >> thank you. ms. bush for this wonderful speech. i am from the bolivian network of people living with hiv and i am delighted to introduce our next speaker. she is the deputy executive director of aids and malaria. she has spent the last 30 years fighting hiv and other communicable diseases as a scientist, strategist, manager,

advocate, and activists. her dedication and leadership have informed the response to the hiv epidemic at the international, regional, national, and community level. she received her ph.d. in clinical from the university of london and was a senior fellow at harvard university school of population and development. she has published numerous journalists, articles, and book chapters. what it is a pleasure to have her on our panel. welcome. [applause] >> thank you. good afternoon. let me first thank the iac for

inviting me to this important panel. as many of you have seen at this conference, there is a first -- a firm commitment that has emerged for all bus to be the generation whose legacy is creating an aids-free generation. the question for us today is -- are we women a part of this te? meet all their. needs we do not want to be 10% of what you do. we needed changinggame because the game of. broken we need to stand up and listen. we still do not have enough tools which are fully of the control of women. 12 years ago, the first major

international conference that focused on hiv prevention for women, i spoke before a similar audience in washington, d.c. and said because of the ferocious speed with which a judge of the epidemic has spread, we, as an international community, must expend our profession options more urgently than before to protect women. here i am referring to all women not because they are part of something but they are women. what i would like to do this afternoon is to reflect on the burden of hiv among women followed by a review of the

progress and the approach that will be needed to turn the tide for women. i would highlight some examples of it -- and keen observations and commitments and accountable it for progress and and i will finish my talk with opportunities for women leaders. briefly u,na released a new report last week showing statistics for women and girls. in 2011, out of 2.5 million new infections globally, an estimated 1.3 million in women and girls. 63% of all young people, 15-24 living with hiv, are young women. every minute, a young woman gets infected with eight. said the hiv is still the leading cause

of death for women of reproductive age. young women 15-24 are twice as likely to be infected with hiv as a young man of the same age. the discrepancy between boys and girls in that age group is particularly stark in south africa, botswana, zambia, and zimbabwe. 65% of new infections among women in kenya are girls before age 35. this holds true of south and eastern african countries. this has become a risk factor for women. 40% of new sections of kenya and swaziland and others, this affects couples with the desire for children.

what can more convince us to develop tools which women can control? these figures tell us that we are failing women and have responsibility for protecting young women. we're clearly not doing that for women in sub-saharan africa. a judge of the prevalence is alarming -- hiv prevalence in many countries is alarming. women and girls run the risk of acquiring a chair. -- acquiring hiv the. . women who use drugs are also

disproportionately affected. we see increasing incidents in two regions of europe and central asia. 35% of women living in the region probably acquire hiv through injecting drugs an additional 50% were probably infected by partners who use drugs. the evidence is not enough . this should help us understand populations of women down to the community level and their vulnerability. we cannot afford to approach the response in women that women are one homogeneous group. they're all going through the same experiences and facing the same infection.

we need a different approach for women according to risk and the window of vulnerability. i don't need to tell you as a. been done we have had signed a break for its rigid director. bruce -- we have had scientific breakthroughs. between 2005-2009, global distribution of medication has tripled from 13.5 million to over 50 million. it is estimated that 41 million users in sub-saharan africa and south asia. secondly, the education of girls is associated with child bearing and marriage and increased

earning potential, all of which mitigate parts of hiv in women. thirdly, and for similar laws especially women's rights that allow women to on property - to own property help them cope with a tidy. community organizing is one of the proven means to reclaim women's property rights so that we do not have to engage in high-risk activities to make ends meet. when forced women's rights and that has proven effective in addressing gender norms that puts women at significant risk. we know these works. however, the translation of

these still fall short. for example, there is only one cocktail for 71 patients and only one condom is available for any 66 women in sub-saharan africa. we are way behind an education in many countries. progress has been made in developing protective legal frameworks, the commission on hiv reports that the limited enforcement of law to protect women's rights including sexual and reproductive health, gender- based violence, and early marriage. we need programs dedicated for women. while we know there are several things to be done and i mention only a few of them, what needs

to be done now is to extend prevention, a six-month care and support programs dedicated to women, taking their economic and social vulnerability into consideration. it is not because they are a mother, not because they are a worker, or having sex with another woman, or a care giver, or a wife but because we are half of the world's population and we deserve better. [applause] is it fair that most women have contracted hiv today and have not access to a tool that can -- that they can control to protect themselves from the virus? that is the reality we have. agreed with our

choices over the last few years. there are choice about where to invest money, time, and effort. it is that reality that we have to modify and change. i hope that is the reason why we are here in washington, d.c. what brought me here is the uncomfortable knowledge that if we don't have more affordable and effective prevention programs for women, at least part of the reason is that we did not make it a proper priority and it is the most vulnerable women who paid the price for our decisions. we have 8 million people over six months, how many of them are women? in 2011, an estimated 630,000 pregnant women were eligible

for their own health for treatment. even more worrying, fewer than 45% of women known to be living with hiv and low and middle come -- income countries were not even eligible. this is something we can change today. we can all pledged to rapidly move all countries to the b plan, to provide help to mother is living with a cheap way. that will result in less dense but burn us closer to ending new hiv infections in children. [applause] this will significantly expand access to treatment for women in

respect of of their pregnancy. what is even better is this should be available not just because a woman is pregnant which is important but equally important is she is infected, she meets access to treatment. [applause] we can invest strategically and use our funds more efficiently and effectively. we want to achieve better value for money and in said while hold accountable people to force the human rights agenda. since the beginning of 2012, $1 billion -- 1 billion u.s. dollars has been approved for hiv. over the coming 20 months, the global fund will invest over $8

billion in grants, renewals for a chevy aids in -- for hiv aids and malaria. we're looking at this very carefully to transform the response for women. we call for implementing countries and our partners to make sure that global fund request for funding reflect the needs of women. we also: other funding agencies to ensure that real money will address the fundamental problems that make women vulnerable. we can improve retention, care, and access to treatment -- i'm sorry -- and make funds more available for women caregivers. it is widely acknowledged that millions of people are cared for

by their family and community mostly by women. generations of women who have been providing care for their loved ones and for communities are tired. we can change this. it is about time for hiv prevention and treatment and care programs to plan and cost for the fund calculated burden of care by affected women and women living with hiv. [applause] women are at the heart of this complex intersection between prevention, testing, retention and care, support, appellative care, and care of velma -- palliative care, and care of children.

it is very clear from the conference what we have not done the past. from all the data presented here, our legacy of a generation without aids will not happen unless we corrected these fall. ultlines. let's hope this is the last time that its response for women -- they deserve all of this. [applause] what will bring hope for women to start seeing the potential that is becoming a real feeling in this conference that an end to aids is a possibility. ladies and gentlemen, i have met several women during this conference who are excited about

prevention options but are concerned about those who are not pregnant but need treatment. we need to advocate for that. champion, setting targets, and results are three lessons. we need to apply the lessons for women. we must understand that progress is ambitious but it does not happen on a ton. there are leaders and institutions who champion the cause and inspire everyone to believe until success is achieved. i will cite two examples -- the 3x5 initiative and the elimination of new hiv infections among children and keeping the mother is alive. each one of these initiatives as a champion.

they tell the story of how much we can do when we get clear information and apply the leadership necessary to mobilize resources. this is hell lives are saved. we have to apply the lessons of transmitting the aids response for women to an aids-free generation. i'm calling on all men and women, especially those in high places, by the time women are of age, let's make sure that we will have an initiative for women in place. let's find the champions, set the targets, and reinforce all the agencies, a civil society, networks of women living with hiv to do even more and better to protect women for their own sake.

and mel bourne, we will reflect on this pledge taken here at the washington conference where we have taken a conscious effort never seen before to monitor the trends of infection and access to services for women, to identify countries and communities to be prioritized and intensification of our collective efforts in the aids response for women. i would like to call on the international aids society to assure that each conference we review progress in high-risk countries and develop corrective measures on strategic courses as necessary. [applause] in closing, ladies and gentlemen, there are many men and women here who have this epidemic. for me, the heroes among heroes are the millions of women who

are infected who are taking care of their infected and affected children, husbands, sisters, brothers, and the community at large. with unpaid care. for some, it may be just numbers, for them is their life. they fight and advocate and speak out. they are the ones we should think about when the thought of cutting the funding for aids crosses our minds or the minds of every donor, every government and every philanthropist. they are the ones who should think -- who we should think of not as mothers, care providers, but as people that deserve to be. ladies and gentlemen, they are

the heroes of this world. we need to honor them. there are many more men and women who are calling on them to be champions and said a clear target so that we can say that we have changed the game. i thank you. [applause] >> i think we have five minutes to go. let me bring this home. i also have to be at another session. i work in lagos, nigeria. women have come a long way. we have come from being zero. we have come from being lower than trash. we have come from being seen as

the dregs to becoming an. leaders we had to fight and said at the table. power is not given all the cars. we must fight for that. that is what we have done. this has opened the door for us. this has allowed us to take charge of the fight. i would like to quickly say a big thank-you to gay activists and have opened the the. door [applause] we did not ask to be the face of a chesapeake but we have become 60 percent -- the face of h i v but we have become.

we have grandmothers, mothers, and sisters and those who have to leave school to care for our dying relatives. we have become the girls who are taking charge of our families, yet we did not ask to be leaders and did not ask for aids. who sponsored women's programs ? have the they don't minimum requirements. [inaudible] we have done a great job there. [applause]

how many organizations don't have direct funding? the same grass roots organizations have turned the tide and they're the ones making the changes in our community. [applause] what is happening to our daughters and young girls? what programs to we have four children? is anything being done in my country and other countries? we would like to see more done with young girls with hiv. [applause] we must come back again and talk about this. we must talk about girls pride. vagina pride is the way of girls

and women can't survive. [laughter] [applause] [applause] we must protect this hallowed thing called a vagina. in this age response, we must talk about gender response. [inaudible] i'm a queen of africa and extremely beautiful. we would like to ensure that we have drugs that are available for our babies not just the ones we use when you're pregnant. we must address a woman's. health

we need to be able to do more than make baskets. we need paying jobs and we would like to go to school. [applause] can you please ensure so that our women can go back to school. we want to reduce the level of infections. [applause] we must implement our own programs. women must be the leaders of this fight. we are glad to come here to tell you all these great things but please invest in our programs. this has really worked and must respect the right. i must have a right to sell what i give away free. it must have a right for women who trade in sex and man, too. as i close off, who celebrates

the mother who has children living with hiv? i'm glad my daughter is hiv - -. it is time we spoke up for these women. young girls with hiv have a place in this response. there is a daily struggle that my sister's face and caring for their children. i learned a great deal from them every day. please join me in celebration of women with hiv and are taking care of themselves and their children. [applause] thank you.

[applause] >> thank you. i just want to thank all of our panelists who were with us today - we are running a little bit over. in a short few moments, our last speaker give us a real powerful -- [applause] thank all of you for your participation. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> from yesterday's

international aids conference in washington, former president bill clinton will be on hand to address the aids conference later today. we will have live coverage at 4:25 eastern on c-span 2. of commone tradition law judges not to reply to the press criticism. we get clobbered by the press all the time. i cannot tell you how many wonderful letters i have gotten from "the washington post." they are ripped up and thrown away. you don't send them. you do not respond to criticism. >> supreme court associate justice antonin scalia reflects on 25 years on the bench and interpreting legal documents in his latest book sunday at 8:00 on a cspan pa"q &a," >> today on c-span, former house

speaker newt gingrich will be speaking about conservative leadership at a conference hosted by the clear blue loose institute. live coverage is at 1:00 p.m. eastern. a session also on health -- and state health insurance exchanges. on c-span 3, a look at efforts to improve state education from the center of american progress at 9:30 eastern. in 45 minutes, the conversation on the economy, taxes, and politics. later, the new defense of numbers on americans with disabilities. plus, your calls, e-mails, and tweets on "washington