biloxi had other issues. 90, beach boulevard, we called it. in doing so, all of the water and sewer which had been located in the right of way just north of the highway, well, the highway got moved as far north as possible for obvious reasons, so then they had to move all the water to sewer. they had complications, federal issues about what the federal government would allow them to do. so they were a little slower than other communities right after katrina. then you mentioned the recession. then the oil spill, while it wasn't an environmental disaster for mississippi's gulf coast because we were cleaning up the oil we got every day when it got here, it was a huge economic disaster because it crushed our tourism business. and biloxi is a wonderful world class destination resort and it paid the price. >> are you surprised that it made the comeback there with all you talked about there, sounds like a lot for one city to take? >> i'm not surprised at all. i watched the people of mississippi after katrina, and th

ask the folks in gulfport, biloxi, people in california where the fires completely wiped out their homes. ask the people at ground zero. how long are you ready? i don't want y'all to become sicko like me and think about it all the time. my challenge to is this: think about the risk wherever you live and work. how prepared are you to deal with that risk? it doesn't have to be -- i know in washington the first thought is the biggest risk is terrorists. how many were here on 9/11? i wasn't. i heard the stories from people trying to get from their area just to get across the bridges. trying to get to mcclane. you didn't have to be at 9/11. it could have been a dirty bomb, some guy at 495 that has driven too long and taking out a substation. and the black out in '03 or '04 where it was a squirrel that took it out. all it has to be. everything thinks that, though fema, which owns no planes, trains, or automobiles, that the dhs will be there in a new york minute. there are 300 plus million people in this country. and there are a fine night number of firefighters and team members and d-mats and

folks in florida, folks in new orleans, folks in biloxi, the fires completely wiped out their homes. ask the people at ground zero. how long now your ready? qaeda one you all to become sick and think about it all the time, but my challenge to you is this. think about the risk wherever you live, or every worker and how prepared you are to deal with that risk? i know in washington the first spot is the biggest risk is a terrorist incident. how many of you were here on september 11? how was it, but i heard the stories about people trying to get from this area across the bridges. some people trying to get to the plane and it's taking them eight or ten hours. he didn't have to be september 11th. dirty bomb, some guy that has just given away too long and takes out a substation. happens to be just the right substation. a blackout in of three your four. it was a squirrel or something that took it out. all it has to be. everybody thinks about that, fema which owns no planes, trains or automobiles de mardi test will be there in new york minute. their 300 plus million people. there is a finite

host:avid is a republican in biloxi, mississippi. caller: i hope i can articulate this fairly well. it sounds like a of a good common sense ideas, but how do you implement that with a congress and president that is bought and paid for by the bankers? good common sense is not going to ram through the house or oval office. how will you implement this when you know there is not common sense there and they will not listen to the people? guest: i appreciate your observation. we showed up in whington in december. by may, congressman connie mack was introducing this bill into the house. we have already gotten almost 45 co-sponsors. we have seen it introduced this past month in the senate. when we get it to folks concerned about solving the problem, this becomes something of interest. i am not quite as cynical. i think this is something more members of congress will support. it gets us to balance. that has to be our objective as voters. we want the members of congre to support bills that will give us to balance. that is the only time you stop adding tdebt. st: some folks who align themselve

thought, we watched across the country as he responded, and he rebuild, and we saw when we're in biloxi, those of us who couldn't attend, the coast of mississippi in the face of what was then one of the worst natural disasters in american history, hurricane katrina. governor barbour took the lead early to help his fellow mississippians, to rebuild and recover, to take what was a time when people were down and out and say, we can rebuild, we will. and he went out to the people of mississippi and did just that. under his leadership, mississippi experienced the largest increase in net new jobs since 1999 him and the largest increase personal income since 1998. he also initiate the most comprehensive overhaul of workforce training and develop programs in the state's history, and increased funding by record levels for public education, from k-12 through community colleges, to states and universities. with that on behalf of national governors association, i want to thank you, governor barbour for your dedication, for your leadership. we are all proud, and i'm sure you are of the legacy that y

host: david is a republican in biloxi, mississippi.aller: i hope i can articulate this fairly well. it sounds like a of a good common sense ideas, but how do you implement that with a congress and president that is bought and paid for by the bankers? good common sense is not going to ram through the house or oval office. how will you implement this when you know there is not common sense there and they will not listen to the people? guest: i appreciate your observation. we showed up in washington in december. by may, congressman connie mack was introducing this bill into the house. we have already gotten almost 45 co-sponsors. we have seen it introduced this past month in the senate. when we get it to folks concerned about solving the problem, this becomes something of interest. i am not quite as cynical. i think this is something more members of congress will support. it gets us to balance. that has to be our objective as voters. we want the members of congress to support bills that will give us to balance. that is the only time you s

host: biloxi, mississippi, on our republican line. caller: gerald ford was one of the kindest president we ever had, a real gentleman. his wife was like jimmy carter's brother, he drank and talked to much. that is why -- that is what i remember of her. host: more pictures from ""the washington "and this is from 1973. mrs. ford was determined that americans know her husband as a president with integrity. boston, massachusetts, democrats line. caller: good morning. we wanted to say how much we applaud and respect betty ford for her work in addiction and for being able to show the importance of bringing support services into addiction programs. we have not invested in addiction programs in this country as we should. we don't allow the proper funding for support services. this is something that betty ford was a pioneer, not just in opening the betty ford center, she also was a pioneer in being able to have treatment that was specifically for women apart from men's addictions. this is a very important thing to have individualized treatment