mr. pierce, in new orleans' darkest hour, what did you do?" and i knew that i had to have a response, i'm an actor, so that's what i wanted my response to be. - you gravitate to your-- - and i said this is what i want to respond to, so we did "waiting for godot" right in the heart of the lower ninth ward where it was our ground zero-- - [evan] most devastated - it was sacred ground. it was sacred ground. thousands of people had died. hundreds of people had died, and, i knew that i wanted to respect them. and in the middle of that play, there was the most cathartic moment of my life. when my character stands there, in theidst of the desolation, and he says, "at this place, in this moment in time, "all mankind is us, let us do something "while we ve the chance." it was as if i was stepping out of character, as if i was talking to my family members of the community of new orleans who had come from all different places, in the midst of this disaster, we knew that to honor the people that had lost their lives through no fault of their own. and to r

mr. wendell pierce. [applause]. thank you very much. >> thank you mr. williams. now this is very exciting for me. very unique. as mr. williams said, i am an actor, not an audio guy so i'm already messed up the mic. [laughter] okay, i think i'm going to hold it a little bit here. got. got a screwdriver that would be helpful. thank you. one thing you learn is you always h to make an entrance. okay we are off like gangbusters now. so while i'm sure my parents inc. i was invited because of my charming good looks, i'm sure it has to do with the fact that i wrote this book. i was coming here today and it really struck me. while i have traveled the world for many years, i am a man of the south. i actually never thought of myself that way. coming into nashville i realize it is so similar to new orleans, so similar to other places i grew up, it is a unique demonstration of the american aesthetic that we have in the south. one of gregariousness, one a passion, one of great vision, one of great opinion. it is very unique to have that sort of epiphany and awakening today. it

mr. pierce will be signing books at the signing colonnade on the blast a -- plaza after the session and his books are for sale in the sales area. a portion of those proceed from the book will funds the southern festival only books and humanities tennessee. thank you. ...

mr. pierce what did you do in its darkest hour?ecided i am artist first so i will respond as an artist. i along with the founders of the classical theater of harlem in new york did a production and existential played of 50 years ago about two men in the deserted for eta of nothing with a lack of memory and a sense of who they are looking for an entity to find a purpose and a sense of their own humanity and of who they are and what did they stand for. something outside of themselves. the image of two men in the water abandoned like they're looking at something in the air. classic that it speaks to he metadata a matter where we are a cross time or space from not the occupied paris from where they wrote the play to sarajevo in 1984 where they did in the midst of the balkan wars for so many people who were suffering of violence and the desolation. we always see the ugly as part of human nature with war and violence and san quentin it was riveted from being performed to because the move to the inmates to a place where they could see a v

and literally mrs. piercet boxes of soap and detergent to her son-in-law and daughter, figuring they didn't have that in texas. the first time your dad drove through texas in the studebaker, he stops at a local diner in abilene. he orders chicken fried steak, not knowing if it was chicken fried like a steak or steak fried like a chicken. so he ordered a lone star so it didn't matter. so there's one moment in the diary in 1948, you were 2. maybe 1949. where you were listening to mother goose records. she had just gotten -- >> that's where it all started. >> take that, putin. >> yeah! >>. [ cheers and applause ] >> and you jabbed her in the leg with a knitting needle. >> take that, mother. >> what these diaries give you is an -- if you put an incredibly intelligent -- if you put an incredibly intelligent observant woman at the highest levels of american politics for half century, this is what you get. first impressions of texas politics. she said in 1963 of the john birch society down, which very, in dallas and

and literally mrs. pierce boxes of soap and detergent to her son-in-law and daughter, figuring they didn't have that in texas. the first on your dad drove through texas and the studebaker, he stops at a local diner in abilene and orders chicken fried steak, not knowing if it's chick'n fried like a steak or -- so we ordered lone star so it didn't matter. so there's one moment in the diary in 1948, you are too, maybe 1949, where you are listening to mother goose records. she had just gotten -- >> that's where it all started. [laughter] >> take that, putin. [applause] >> and you jabbed her in the leg with a knitting needle. >> take that, mother. [laughter] >> what these diaries give you come if you put an incredibly intelligent, if you'd been -- put an incredibly absorbent woman, this what you get. you have her first impressions of texas politics. she said in 1963 of the jon birch society, which were very in dallas and houston, big, big forces, the nets will never love him. she saw the about her husband in 1963.

mr. pierce, in new orleans' darkest hour, what did you do? i wanted to be able to have an answer to that. so i decided i'm an artist first and foremost. i'm going to respond as an artist. and so i, along with the creators, the founders of the classical theater of harlem in new orleans -- in new york did a production of waiting for -- [inaudible] this existential play from 50 years ago that is surreal, distant, about two men in a deserted void of nothingness, a road and a tree and a lack of memory and sense of who they are looking for an entity outside of themself to find purpose, to find a sense of their own humanity. who they are and what do they stand for. waiting for godeau, something outside of themselves. and there was an image of two men in new orleans on a raft in the water abandoned, slightly looking at something in the air that was captured and moved us to do that play. it's a classic play. classic in the sense that it speaks out humanity no matter where we're from across time and space from nazi-occupied paris where mr. samuel becke

mr. pierce, in new orleans' darkest hour, what did you do? i wanted to have an answer to that. decided that i'm an artist first and foremost. i responded as an artist, i with the classical theater of new york did a production of waiting for godo, the play from 50 years ago that is distant, looking for an entity outside of themselves to find purpose, to find a sense of their own humanity, who they are and what do they stand for. waiting for gado, something outside of themselves. and there was an image of two men in new who new orleans in an the water abandoned slightly moving up in the air. paris to 1984 where they did the play in the bulk of wars. people were suffering in the violence, the ugliest part, we always see the ugliest part to san quentin. and then we went to new orleans and realized that in that vast emptiness with miles around where everything was destroyed, hollowed grounds saw what the flood did and how many lives were destroyed and hundreds of people had died, on that hollowed ground, we said, let's do the play here. let's respond to what has happened to our city

mr. pierce. >> thank you mr. chairman. thanks, madam chair for being here.a continuation of the question. do you all sit around as a team and assess the thing that is were within your control leading up to 2008 that you all were doing a bad job of regulating and say, hey, we had internal failures here, we were sitting in the room allowing this, we saw long term capital collapse, we saw the instability, i think greenspan forced the bank to come in and buy the bad assets because he could and trying to save a system. have you all sat around and had that discussion internally as a team that we need to do better? >> that's a set of discussions we have had over many years. lessons learned, exercises about how did this happen and what do we need to do differently so that it doesn't happen again. i have tried to describe in some detail in the testimony how we have changed the process of supervision as well as more broadly our monitoring of financial stability risks in the system outside just the portion that we regulate in order to avoid the problems. >> right. if i

mr. toffee. and even though it doesn't exist, i believe we have a clip. jim? >> my son. >> stephen: oh, father, you've been pierced with a candy cane! stay still. i'll get help. someone, call the donut doctor! >> no, no, son. it's too late for that. my game is over. as our people say, i am out of moves. >> stephen: don't say that, father. you just need to eat. here, i brought you some lemon drops! >> dine! >> stephen: i'm such a fool! i put three of them together, and they disappeared! so sorry. >> it's all right, my son. not even a triple color bomb combo could save me now. where-- where were you? >> stephen: father, i was stuck at the ice cream caves. i was clearing all the jellies, just as you taught me, father! >> did you, did you slide the red ones down? >> stephen: i did. >> good boy. did you slide the blue ones, right? >> stephen: yes! i even got one of those sick combo chain reactions going. i crushed as many as i could, and the gummy fishes tried to help, but it wasn't enough. >> it's okay, son. you've given an old man his final sugar rush. ( laughter ) now, leave me. you must defeat the bubblegum troll b