. >> i am amy crowley from southern mississippi. my question is i work a lot with, specifically the baptist church at methodist church and politics, and one of the trends i am noticing is a push towards their saying that in politics, especially in the conservative movement, there is so much talk, they're wanting to go to we will just do this action and we don't have to worry about politics, how can we explain to people who have that view that talking gets you nowhere, we need to work with people, our voices are still very important because i agree with you that our voices are powerful, how can we talk with them and tell them if you shut up, no matter what work you are going to do, there are going to be people making it harder and harder. >> excellent point. excellent point. i am doing a lot of thinking about that recently because as i speak to young people, you have to start speaking out. people across the country have to start speaking out. when they start talking about issues, in several races, peter king, the new york congressman

southern accent. this comes from a guy who lives in atlanta, alabama, mississippi and florida and am a southern conservative. but right now we are getting routed in new england, the new west, the pacific northwest, because unpeopled think of the republican party they think of newt gingrich, george w. bush, tom delay, dick armey, guys with texas twang. >> host: what is wrong with that? >> guest: well, ronald reagan and barack obama both have been able to find in the middle of american political liability -- life and maybe it is a western sensibility. i'm not exactly sure what it is, but we just can't be confined in the south. you know, why did ronald reagan at venice summit people in europe? because of the time even though he was right and was proven right and i think he freed about 100 million europeans, there was that cowboys swagger that scare them. even reagan who i ever not saw that in him, but george w. bush had that swagger. the same with delay and it just doesn't translate well in new england. >> host: let's get to the book. i have a million questions. let me process that with this, when you were a y

have you seen movement throughout mississippi that people in the southern part of the state working in the northern part of the state, is that happening in other states as well? >> in mississippi, again, using that that i'm most familiar, i will tell you that when katrina came, for example, and that infusion of capital construction personnel and equipment and companies, contractors all, you know, made that rush. now because of the balanced program that we're doing with our regular program letting a couple with our stimulus funds and having it balanced statewide we're not seeing that migration, but what we are seeing is a better employment picture in every region of our state. and i think from what i've heard from my colleagues, i think that probably throughout america, you've seen a distribution, a balanced distribution of stimulus funds which cuts down on the migration of the work force. it keeps it more regionalized and localized for the use of those people as they work for those contractors. >> that's very interesting. it's very useful. very important to know that. now, as you work

. >> speaking on behalf of a ashto and away from mississippi because you are a southern state, can you speak to the many projects that will come on-line from the state's that are your represented members that may be northern states that the weather didn't permit until now that these contracts, that people be put to work susie's highway contracts? >> well, i think it will insert in a different way. one of our good friends and colleagues shanker president of ashto, from the city pennsylvania, for example was very concerned that he would not be able to get some where the bulk of his projects ready because of just what you said -- the weather and the working conditions restraints than he has that we don't particularly have in the south. but i think he has apprise himself by redoubling his efforts and as have the other foes throughout ashto and northern regions and other climate for you have climate changes and problems. i think we have all been surprised at the efficiency of our staffs, at the hard work that has been put in to put in these jobs on the straight and putting people back to wo

most southerners, i think, they were quite interested in what they called the southwest, what we think of as the southeast, alabama, mississippi, and whenever. i don't think very many people, at least anytime soon, thought of going beyond the mississippi river. they hoped to get to the mississippi river. many of the loyalists argued that one of the great reasons for remaining tied with great britain with the combined power of america and great britain, much more rapidly, the angle americans could sweep to the mississippi river and beyond the mississippi river to the pacific, they didn't stop there. they thought in terms of central america and south america so that the whole western hemisphere, north and south america, would be anglo-american in this end. >> you mentioned this what fox. over the years, i have read that it was largely a diversion, that he wasn't significant. would you expand on that? >> historians debate, there is not a uniform interpretation. i think it grows out of the fact that marion was a cantankerous, independent sort, who didn't always work particularly well with the continental army. when green came in a

southern resistance to enfranchisement. imagine keeping blacks away from the polls. they had not anticipated states like mississippi try to keep blacks out of elected office by changing the rules of the political game. i understand then and i believe more -- believe more firmly today that only overwhelming federal power would have destroyed the jim crow south. more federal power than was contemplated than the original 1965 act was needed. some states in the south were clearly determined to maintain the racial caste system in which whites were entitled to govern. and in 1969 the supreme court expanded the definition of discriminatory voting practices to include devices like county-wide voting that diluted the impact of the black vote. it was the first great turning point in a radical refashioning of the statute but the decision had been forced upon the court by southern racist in which i fully acknowledge. it requires racially suspect jurisdictions they're identified by a statistical trigger this. this event changes in the justice department or the seldom-used district court to submit them for preclearance that is f

today, most southern states have higher registration rates than those outside the region and over 900 blacks hold office, public office in mississippi alone. covered and non-covered states in the south are almost indistinguishable by the measure of african-americans elected to state legislatures. massive disenfranchisement is ancient history, as unlikely to return as segregated water fountains. and yet section 5, the pre-clarence provision was actually street end in 2006. it was always a temporary emergency measure, and thus periodically up for renewal. three years ago, its life was extended for another quarter century. in passing the amendments of 2006 with a barely a day centsing vote, republicans and democrats alike accepted the argument offered by civil rights advocates and including in the house judiciary committee report that discrimination had just become more subtle than it was in 1965. minority voters are still prevented from fully participating in the electoral process, the 2006 statute itself says, rarely in the rich annals of congressional deceit and misconception have for false or foolish words be uttered. well, the ink

southern illinois draws visitors to its garden of the gods. it is the gateway to the shawnee national forest. summer visits to quincy, illinois, feature historic architecture and a lot of enjoyment along the mighty mississippi river. we have our unusual tourist attractions in illinois. near my old hometown of east st. louis, you can see the world's largest ketchup bottle or the two-story outhouse in gaze, illinois, or the home of superman, including a 15-foot superman statue and a six-foot popeye statue in chester, illinois. a lot of photographs have been taken in front of them. every state has these historic, amazing places to visit and those curiosities that draw people from all over the united states and all over the world. illinois offers the international visitor a truly american experience. in fact, in illinois, tourism adds $2.1 million. in 2008, there were about 1.4 million international visitors to my state. these traveler spent $2 billion in all sectors of the economy -- transportation, lodging, food service, entertainment. these intj international visitors generated extra wages for illinois residents. i encourage my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill. i am sorry that it was delayed today.