mr. brown: i failed to just reference -- i was hopeful i could have nathanial hoops participate in the legislative process on the floor on this debate. the presiding officer: without objection. the senator from connecticut. mr. lieberman: i was going to reserve the right to object on senator brown's motion because the aforementioned mr. hoops, i'm proud to say, got his start on capitol hill in my office, and i was just looking for an opportunity to say that. mr. president, we have about 20 minutes until the vote on the motion occurs, and obviously we're all here together, senator collins, senator brown, senator gillibrand, senator tester and i to urge members to vote for cloture to take this measure up. it would be a ray of light, warm light if we pass this measure, this cloture vote overwhelmingly, and then we could go on to debate it. some people may have amendments. obviously, i presume they will that they want to offer. i hope that in considering amendments that our colleagues will -- will

mr. brown: i thank the presiding officer. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the pending amendments be set aside. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: i ask unanimous consent to call up amendment 1478. the presiding officer: is there objection? if none, so ordered. the clerk will report. mr. brown: i ask unanimous consent the reading of amendment 1478 be dispensed with. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the amendment by number. the clerk: the senator from ohio, mr. brown, proposes amendment numbered 1478 to amendment numbered 1470. mr. brown: i ask unanimous consent the amendment be dispensed with, the reading. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the pending amendment be set aside. the presiding officer: is there objection? hearing none, so ordered. mr. brown: i ask unanimous consent to call up my amendment 1481. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from ohio, mr. brown, for himself and mr. merkley proposes

police haven't caught the person is possible for the robbery and mrs. brownays the rest of her family doesn't want to risk her being in such a vulnerable circumstance again she along with her daughters ashes may be moving in with her son. it's hard for me to make change but everyone is that it's probably the best for everybody. once the stolen belongings are processed the police chief's plans on personally returning the remains to mrs. brown monday afternoon. >> and 85 year-old woman remains in critical condition after a fire broke out in her apartment building in suburban early this morning the fire began on the first floor of the seven story building on valley lake drive near, the unidentified victim suffered second-degree burns on her chest and is now will loyola university medical center and firefighters say the blaze went to the fourth floor. if you want to get married before a judge in cook county on saturday your going to have to head downtown to the county building, county suburban courthouse are closing in due to budget cuts on the weekends. marriage

mr. brown: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. mr. brown: thank you, mr. president. i've enjoyed the back-and-forth between the chairman and the senator from oklahoma. the senator from oklahoma has raised some very valid points. i originally asked for a 90-day reporting and it was changed out of committee to the 30-day period. and obviously i'm happy to work with the senator from oklahoma and the chairman and the ranking member to determine if in fact there is some guidance necessary to ethics and, sure, we're happy to do it. this needs to not only be done in the proper manner but obviously implemented in a way that everybody can comply and not be caught, you know, short in that type of situation. so i'm looking forward in speaking to the chairman that we will certainly take those valid points into consideration, any guidance we need to put in for the record, or letters of guidance to the ethics as to what our legislative intent it and i'm happy to do that. and i look forward

at this point mr. brown has his daughter and there's been no communication for several days now with the family. >> no one knows how brown is doing, how the 2-year-old is doing? >> his attorney says the 2-year-old is doing well, transitioning well with the new family. but again, no communication with her previous family. >> wow, extraordinary case. george, thanks so much for bringing that to us. appreciate it. >> thank you. >>> joran van der sloot, who is on trial in peru says he needs more time to think about his plea. >> translator: i want to use my right to plea to sincere confession but do not agree to all the aggravating factors the prosecutor is charging me with. >> inside the trial when we come right back. what's going on? we ordered a gift online and we really need to do something with it... i'm just not sure what... what is it? oh just return it. returning gifts is easier than ever with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat

. >>> a typo from mr. brown. the measure is identicaled to the one brown filed in december except he corrected an error where two numbers were trance posed. it will increase taxes on california's wealthiest. we will have more on the state of the state of address which he will deliver tomorrow. >>> man's best friend fragile, loyal, and leading the way to a new treatment with spinal cord injuries. and marianne, some of the video is heartbreaking, but the end result holds promise. >> yes, it does. often small breeds spontaneously rupture a disk in their back, and they need up needing a doggy wheelchair or have to drag their back legs, but if this drug works, not only could it help thousands of pets but it could open the door for people with spinal cord injuries to improve their mobility. >> this dog has spinal cord damage and struggles to wuk. scientists here at san francisco are working on an experimental drug to be tested on dogs known to have spinal cord chainjuries like this. >> if we started to treat the animal

and president obama slaps new sanctions on iran over its tonic ambitions mr brown threatens to close off a key well supply route in the persian gulf. have any new year to you wherever you are you watching r t live from moscow i'm marina joshie welcome to the program now the world is welcoming twenty twelve with mass celebrations and final works all over the globe south america has already seen twenty eleven off while north america next in line with huge festivities to be held along the east coast first hundreds of thousands of packed new york's times square for a symbolic ball dropping at midnight this trail you was among the first countries to open those doors to the new year with glittering fireworks lightning the skies over sydney harbor. japan the two koreas and china picked up the baton russia has also met two thousand and twelve with a bang thousands of people gathered in moscow's red square to toast the new year and watch magnificent fireworks over the kremlin millions of revelers also gathered in cities all over europe for the countdown to midnight. with sell of.

and president obama slaps new sanctions on iran over its tonic ambitions mr brown threatens to close off a key world supply route in the persian gulf.

i am not asking mr. browncause your on this program during poverty week -- i am not asking this just to brown- nose or because you are on this program during party week. how often do you get asked about poverty and the poor in america? >> certainly not often enough. we certainly talk about poor people and get asked about what happens to people who do not have insurance in america. what about health disparities? how do our poorest kids fare with early childhood programs? what about their child care situations? what about the food they are eating and the neighborhoods they live in and the air they breathe? those are parts of the conversations that i have done a pretty regular basis. it is certainly part of the mission that we take pretty seriously and that the administration takes pretty seriously. what is happening to the most vulnerable, the least able to help themselves throughout our region say? it is health care, essential human services, help for poor families, getting people back to work, a whole series o

. >> well, mr. brown, you have just written a book. >> oh, yes. >> it is called "beating the odds: eddie brown's investing and life strategies." where did your life begin? >> well, it began in a small town in florida, rural florida 13 miles from orlando, apopka. so i was born to a 13-year-old unwed mother in abject poverty. so what this book -- >> what year? >> i was born 1940. >> racist times? >> so it was during a time of segregation, so imagine this, i always say people cannot control the hand that they have been dealt at birth. so if someone had looked at my hand -- unwed 13-year-old mother, abject poverty, to running water, no he can terrorist, and to come there that to building a very successful management firm is really what the book is about. and also it's about building this successful business and how i went about it over the last 28 years. >> mr. brown, what are two or three things that happened in your life that's changed the course of your life? >> well, you know, i always look at it as kind

other words this is exactly what critics always said, it is a tax on energy, to give people like mr. brown mr. ability to spend. >> james. >> a rehit, really, to eli manning, you recall at the end of the summer before the nfl season began he said that he was an elite quarterback and some people expressed skepticism including the moderator of the program and i gave him the hit and i thought he showed

mr. brown spoke to members of labor unions who were rallying for more jobs. >>> and the oldest senate building in annapolis may be emto at this for a while. the william s james building will be half open. arrested -- a rusted pipe burst leaving two floors flooded. the first two floors will be opened but the third and fourth floor could be closed for a few days. >>> and a new poll out shows mitt romney nationally in the race to win the gop nomination. ab romney hold a 2-1 advantage over the closest competitors with 35% of all republican support. newt gingrich ron paul and ricksantorum is behind. newt gingrich is at 17% with the closest and dropped 13 percentage points in the last month. >>> and in myrtle beach romney was among five remaining candidates who took to the stage. most heated argument was between santorum and romney who debated over inaccuracies in ads by super pacts. >> there's been so many attacks that they have been outrageous and inaccurate and shown to be inaccurate. that's the n

mr. brown: thank you. as you know, people are coming down requesting amendments be brought up, and since i don't see any democrats offering any, i'd obviously defer to senator paul. he has an amendment. the presiding officer: the senator from kentucky. mr. paul: madam president, i ask unanimous consent to set aside the pending amendment and call up amendment number 1490. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. lieberman: reserving the right to object. mr. lieberman: i have no objection. to the filing of the amendment. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from kentucky, mr. paul, proposes amendment numbered 1490 to amendment numbered 1470. mr. paul: i ask unanimous consent the reading of the amendment be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. paul: this amendment will address some of the situations that are concerning the american people. i think the ability to serve in the senate is a great honor. the ability to serve in t

brown. thank you, mr. president. mr. brown: mr. president?ding officer: the senator from massachusetts. mr. brown: thank you, mr. president. i want to thank obviously ranking member collins and chairman lieberman for really doing something very unusual around here, which is to get something out in a very short period of time. having it not only come up, being filed by senator gillibrand, her bill and me with my bill, and then you both working together to move it forward for a hearing, and then that hearing going very well and coming out so quickly is unheard of. i want to thank you for that. i want to thank senator reid for bringing this bill to the floor today as well as, as i said, chairman lieberman, ranking member collins and senator gillibrand. we've worked together to draft a bipartisan version of the stock act, an act that passed homeland security and governmental affairs committee by an overwhelming margin. and that's appropriate because this is -- it isn't a partisan or ideological issue. it's about cleaning up washington. abraham li

governor brown tweeted last night that oakland should have been number one but mr. brownoakland. >>> you might think it feels like march or april outside and so do plants that are starting to bloom. early warm weather could hurt fruit trees. this is not the first time something like this has happened in the bay area. >> this happens around here, not infrequently but this year, it does seem unusual. what will come of that i'm not exactly sure but hopefully they get their fruit earlier. >> terry: an expert points out that blooming is a natural process. you know once it starts there is nothing you can do to stop it. that begs the question. where is the rain? >> it's not in the weekend forecast. we've got cold temperatures in some spots. concord with a little bit of wind. it feels like it's 33 degrees out there. down the road and by the delta, it's in the 50s so winds are working to warm us up today. i'll tell how warm it will come up next. >> terry: warriors travel to l.a. could their newest edition provide a spark? larry beil is here with sports. [ female announcer ] back t

. >> let me just share with you tony, what i think the president said is i agree with mr. brown the tax system is quite unequal the president pointed that out last night he said it is true the wealthiest in this country should not be paying a lower tax rate than those who work for them. >> wait a minute. >> wait it is a simple question of real fairness economic fairness. work hard pay your bills make a living for your families i think the president pointed that out and said we have to make an investment in our future together, we should be able to build our roads, bridges infrastructure and invest in innovation, economy and energy economy, for this nations future and create jobs listen the president is proud to run on his record it is a record of 22 straight months of job growth increase in manufacturing jobs since the late 1990s the greatest increase that we have had and the president wants to build on that record he knows what put us in a ditch he didn't want to focus on that last night what he wants to talk about is how we build in the 21st century for the future and continue

. >> we have the resignation of harry thomas, you know, kwame brown has his own issues, as you know, and mr. butler, trying to have him recalled as well, do you still have faith in the city council and specifically in mr. brown? >> well, i worked closely with the council as a chairman, as you know, and with the exception of vincent orange who wasn't on the council when i was chairman, but certainly has a distinguished record of service prior to that, these are the same members that i worked with, a very talented group of people. i have confidence in them. we work well together and i'm confident that together we can move the city forward. >> mr. mayor, we thank you for coming in. we want to mention once again the one city summit taking place february 11th at the washington convention center. it is open to all d.c. residents. thank you, sir. good to see you this morning. allison. >> thanks, tony. thank you, mr. mayor. >>> more fallout from the harry thomas, jr. scandal. the head of a nonprofit is expected to plead guilty today to a felony charge in connection to the money scheme. marshall ban

thank you gentlemen for joining me tonight. >> pleasure. >> mr. brown, and you loved airplanes. but segregation kept preventing you from flying for the military. and then that all changed. tell us about it. >> it changed largely because of the efforts of the naacp and the black press because in 1925, the military had issued a study that said that blacks didn't have the coordination, the intelligence or the leadership ability to be pilots. when world war ii came about, they wanted blacks to support it. so the black press and naacp said, look. we want people in the best branches of the service, the most glamorous flying. so as a result, they created this program at tuskegee which started in 1941 and eventually trained 1,000 pilots. >> now it's almost incomprehensible, anthony, to even my age and you all are younger than me, that blacks couldn't serve and defend the country. they actually had to fight the enemy abroad and fight segregation in the ranks of the military. that's almost inconceivable today. >> they were ready when they had to go do it so i had

mr. brown's office is still crunching the numbers, but they tell me they estimate that between 3500 and 4,000dents every year would be eligible and the cost for the act or sat test will be $50. they are looking at $200,000 for the expense of paying for those tests. they think that the actual application cost for schools or vocational schools will vary. they are looking at $100,000 to $200,000. that will come out. reporting live, i'm armando trull. back to you. >> we have more school news. it is moving day tomorrow for some montgomery county public school students. garrett park elementary and 7 loss elementary are moving back to their schools. tomorrow the county school superintendent along with ike and other local leaders will gather at garrett park elementary to celebrate the opening in montgomery county's public school system. >>> we do have a winner. the local winner of the virginia lottery's new year's millionaire raffle has come forward, but his name has not been released yet. the ticket was bought at the 7- eleven. it was one of three million dollar top prizes and the owner says at firs

so apparently this is something that mr. brown, his attorney had been working on for some time shortly after veronica was born. >> fascinating case. this is really just the tip of the iceberg. it has a long way to go before it is resolved, right? >> yeah, again, this case to go to the state supreme court there in south carolina. that could happen in the summer. so right now, veronica is with a new family. brown's attorney says she's transitioning well. but her adoptive family want her back. >> george, thanks for bringing us this story. >>> and in just a few hours, the gop presidential hopefuls will face off in their first of two debates this weekend. they're criss-crossing new hampshire ahead of tuesday's primary. joe johns joins us now from manchester with an update. joe, what are they doing in those final hours before the big match-up tonight? >> reporter: hey, fred. if ever the rest of the field wanted an opportunity to try to bring mitt romney down to size, this would be it. in fact, this is the perfect opportunity. so the fir

. >> mr. brown, we've heard all the testimony today about what people think should happen to you.stand i resisted law enforcement. and me being back there in that room for two weeks, that really got to me. and i know i tested like positive for marijuana. but, that's something i did, like, back in july. and i thought i wasn't going -- would be clean by the time i came to court. >> i know some people might say using a little marijuana isn't like shooting somebody. but at the same time do you understand the significance of that one use of marijuana, what it had on your family, and your life, and, frankly, on the underlying charges that you already had pending against you? >> well, i take full responsibilities for my actions. and i just feel like i let them down, you know. like miss sarah, bob, my mom. i just want to, like, go home and take care of my responsibilities. >> rodrick, do you remember judge bonaventura asking you about taking a drug test? >> yes, ma'am. >> well, do you say you probably should be clean, something like that? >> i probably should. >> so you were trying to put

. >> mr. brown, you have just written a book. beating the odds. investing and less strategy. where did your life began? >> it began in a small town in florida, girl florida 13 miles from orlando, place called a parka. i was born to a 13 year-old unwed mother in abject poverty. >> what year? >> i was born 1940. >> racist *. >> during a time of segregation. so imagine this. i always say people cannot control the hand that they have been dealt at birth. so if someone has lifted my hand , on wed 13 year-old mother, abject poverty during a time of segregation. no running water, no electricity and to come from that to building a very successful investment management firm is really what the book is about. also it's about building this successful business and how i went about it over the last 28 years. >> what are two or three things that happened in your life that have changed the course of your life? >> well, i can always look at it as forts in the road. the first fork, if i had gone down that path things would have been dramatically different than going down the other path. i had

i'm not asking a personal question of you, mr. browncategories here. >> i know you're a professional athlete. i think it's very difficult. you have women walking around practically with their panties on their head going hello. how realistic do you think that is? i've seen a couple of them. >> in terms of the groupies out there. >> for this position to make i'm a vir jij and i make no apolo apologies for it. >> it happens every day. >> literally, in more ways than one. litd rally and figuratively it happens all the time. he's prepped for the challenge associated that. that's probably the biggest hurdle that many athletes have to overcome, not get caught up in the glitz and glamour and pulled down the wrong road. >> do his teammates respect him for this? >> absolutely. >> it seems opposite of how many of them behave. >> a football locker room is a tough locker room to win over. if he has a number of veterans who recognize he doesn't have the best arm but he's improving and they see the genuineness in him and his work ethic is second to no

i'm not asking a personal question, mr. brownes. >> you're a professional athlete. i think it's difficult. you have women walking around practically with their panties on their head going, hello, hello. how realistic is it. >> i've seen a couple of them. >> for him to take this position of i want to be a virgin. >> is this what the political candidates feel like? you hit them with the questions. >> it happens every day. >> literally, in more ways than one. literally and figuretivelily it does happen. he's prepped for the challenge associated with that. that's probably the biggest hurdle that many athletes have to overcome is not get caught up in all the glitz and glamer and be pulled down the wrong road. >> do his teammates respect him? >> absolutely. >> it seems so opposite of how many of them behave. >> a football locker room is a tough locker room to win over. as i was telling charlie before, if he's got a number of the veterans on the team who recognize he doesn't have the best arm but he's improving. they see the genuineness

>> well, i want to point out that mr. brown, our pilot was in the accident, too. he did everything he could to get us out of the plane. he helped me out. when i was fumbling with the straps and got me to the surface first. as soon as i got there i asked what happened. he said, we lost an engine. he said, where's my wife and kid. he and i started diving down. the first time i couldn't find anything. quickly came back up, dove down again. by that time i think he had helped my wife get out. she pushed the baby with her last bit of consciousness to me. as i brought him to the surface there she was, too, at the surface almost at exactly the same time. >> there you are in the water. already miraculous you survived the crash and you get another lucky break. some people in the area came over with a boat and rescued you, right? >> people from a parasailing boat raced to the scene as fast as they could get there. they were the first boat there. larry forsyth, retired air canada pilot of vancouver, canada, and tranquility bay resort in honduras dived in to save us. his cousi

mr. speaker, it will be goodbye charlie brown. that's sure, mr. speaker, because this government is more concerned with ceos rather than seniors and families. he has given generous tax cuts to major corporations that are already taking in astronomical amounts of money, and this same government is telling seniors that there is no money left for them to be able to retire with dignity. seniors cannot trust this government. why are they offering more gifts to ceos and slamming the door on seniors and families? why? >> translator: the honorable, mr. speaker, that is completely false. what we will do is protect the retirement system that we have in place for our seniors, and our seniors built this great country. but we have to make sure that this system will be there for future generations. and we are protecting -- and we will protect these future generations and this system. >> the minister saying they're going to do to pensions to what they did to service canada. this government is choosing to spend billions on a misguided prison agenda and tax giveaw

mr. frank brown will get $1,000 to donate to the charity of his choice.ther person who is receiving an award is a 19-year-old berkeley native who has been huge in the local non-violence and violence prevention movement in berkeley. we're live in berkeley. stephanie chuang, jon and laura, back to you. >> thank you. and today people all over the nation and here in the bay area honoring the legacy of dr. martin luther king, jr. by serving others. it's a day when americans are asked to work together to fill dr. king's vision for a better. in oakland volunteers removing invasive plants at the regional shoreline. also at 8:30, habitat for humanity rebuilding together will renovate the bay view opera house in san francisco, that starts at 8:30. at 9:00, volunteers will team up to clean the ulistac natural area in santa clara. at 10:00, urban relief will plant trees in west oakland. >> for the seventh time candlestick park will host an nfc championship game. the giants win over the pack ares pushed it to the stick. season ticket holder get to buy extra tickets, t

mr. chairman. >> senator brown? >> i just simply can't believe we're still having this debate. the job of richard cordray's job is so important. we know what all kinds of people said. the american financial services association, the trade group for consumer lenders said there's a receptivity to learn, it's very refreshing. the american bankers association said the agency approached the bank oversight was pretty good news. the independent community bankers called the process for refining model mortgage forms refreshing. was clear more to the point was a substantial improvement. the cfpb had its banks ought audited by gao which found its bank statements were fairly edited. the acting control of the currency not exactly known for its hostility to banks has said last week that some attempts to regulate the opaque over-the-counter derivatives market might be an overreaction. all of these speak to the focus of this agency and the effectiveness of this agency. that we're still having this debate, and let's lay out some facts before people continue here to play this inside baseball gam

mr. lieberman: thank you, senator brown. the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. lieberman: i thank the chair. i'm pleased to report that i just received notice that within the hour the administration put out the statement of administration policy, the so-called s.a.p. strongly so-called s.a.p. strongly strongly endorsing legislation s. 2038 and appreciate that verg much. it's a very strong statement ofo support for the principles and exactly the kinds of things that senator collins, senator brown, senator gillibrand and senator tester and i have been saying here so as the president said on, in his state of the unionet speech, this bill hits, but can get this bill to his desk the sooner the better, he will sign it as soon as he possibly can. t if there is no one else who wishes to speak at this time i will suggest the absence of a quorum. you are going to find more and more people to recognize the massive opportunities for exchange and trade. if i'm present of the united states one of the things i will do in my first 100 days is to begin an economic initiative of

mr. john brown, who back in 1859 died along with his six sons for the cause of freedom and against slavery. fast forward a couple of generations, and argentinean doctor went to cuba to fight, also, for freedom. and i think in today's world no matter where you are, what color your skin is, we can all see truth, and we can all see injustice. and here in new york there's a stop and frisk policy that plain bely violates the -- plainly violates the fourth amendment, however, it's only brought against poor black and latino men. and i think whatever your color is, as human beings, as americans we have to stand up for the constitution or for the spirit of the constitution, the declaration of independence that says god gives rights to men, that men cannot take away. and, again, thank you for what you do, and we would really appreciate you to help voice the stop and frisk in new york city against the violation of the fourth amendment. >> guest: well, i've already told carl dicks and cornel west the next time they go up and get arrested at a stop and frisk event in harlem, i'll join them. i've got a

brown jr. [applause] >> mr. mayor, thank you very much. i am just delighted that you were in position to be able to present this to me, and i will work and see if i can win it next year, and i will ask you to stick around. and present it to me next year in your capacity as mayor of san francisco. mayor lee, you have to note that the women of san francisco that you gave an opportunity to in your capacity as head of the department of public works and your capacity as the chief administrative officer for this city, even to this day, persons that you designated to replace you, you have allocated women to positions of importance and side of the mayor's office. i saw them out there, one of your deputies. i don't think they call them deputies any more. every mayor has his impression of what happens in this city, but i am delighted. i am excited working with many of you here on the women's summit, when we did those over at the bus going. -- at the bosconi. when i think of all the other women who headed the maersk summit, i hope that mayor lee will

caller: during the debate, when mr. brown a question about mitt romney's father, he was booed. mitt romney grandfather in 1935 fled this country with his five wives to move to mexico, and basically denounced the country. mitt romney's father was born in mexico. i remember obama was running, it was all this stuff going on about his being a birther and stuff like that. it seems to me that of romney's have a more questionable background. is he a citizen or not? host: before we get the answer, where did you read that information's? caller: i heard it on the right to maddow show. guest: i think barack obama is a citizen and mitt romney is a citizen. you're not responsible for which your grandparents are great grandparents did, obviously. i think it is a non-issue, frankly. host: lisa, an independent, you're next. caller: my comment was about the tax disclosure. i believe that the 20% of unemployed people in this country who have to allow a potential employer to look at their credit report is just as wrong as the people who think t

. >> brown: mr. secretary, welcome. >> good to be with you. >> brown: the president said today we're turning the page on a decade of war. as you look at the changing world situation now, what war or kind of war are you preparing for? >> well, we are at a strategic turning point. the president kind of made the point today and i think it's true. we just ended the war in iraq. we're in a transition course of eventually being able to give the afghans the ability to handle their own security in afghanistan. we just completed the nato mission in libya. we have made significant progress against terrorism, particularly al qaeda. and now we're facing obviously the budget cuts that we have been mandated to do. but it comes at a time when there are a number of other challenges that are out there. this isn't like past drawdowns where the threats kind of went away. we're facing still a series of challenges. we're facing terrorism, we're facing threats from countries like iran, north korea. we're facing threats wit

brown liquor. and he is also been the finalist for the 2006 poetry prize. please, join me in welcoming mr. hill. [applause]. >> i want to read from blood and brown liquor today. this book is about my home town in georgia. it's also where [inaudible] is from. and i started researching the history of [inaudible] and sort of fell into the history of black people there because it was not taught in school. so -- in order to write about the history i had to invent a character to explore this history. the character's name is si loss wright. >> first poem i will read is titled silos write at age 71914. it's about silos follows a fishing riggel in the shallows. he describes the line in his tablet as much pride in that line as a man and his son. he giggles and goes on. the next letters come easy. with this he will have more than a mark to bind. rambling across the page again and again in messy rows along it flows until he goes off the page's edge. he smiles. he's surprised to hear when his mouth opens. that's mine. so, this really lovely book that georgia put together for me has great painting on th