and can it was about a woman in the 1920s on a plantation in the mississippi delta who was putting on her daughter's wedding. and i went, well, dear, whatever, and i started reading it. and she was very concerned because the shepherdess crooks hadn't shown up from memphis, and it was dirt road, and she wasn't sure they were going to get there on time. when i first started reading that novel, i was like, who cares? my god, woman. by the time i finished that novel, i had been in this woman's skin, i'd been in her body, i'd seen the world through her eyes, and i was going, where are the damn shepherdess' crooks? [laughter] .. the story, this idea of getting to someone else's skin, a little bit hesitant. you can tell embarrassment. she says i have to say when i was in college when the war was going on, i protested all the time. very much against this war. i didn't know you guys slept outside. [laughter] we build a small bridge here. quite ordinary people have a very difficult time crossing that bridge because it is a different world and these are two methods of trying to communicate what

i have 300 pages into a book about the lower mississippi delta. i thought this is as far from juarez as i can get. i'm trying, but i can't promise anything, because i think some things have to be written down. you know? and if somebody else has written a book i wrote, or something like it, i wouldn't have written it but as i try to suggest earlier, and i don't want to sound egotistical or significa significant, imagine i can handle, i was raised in a way that both my parents are dead, my father long dead, and i thought if i don't do this i can't face them, you know? i can't explain, i'm not a religious person or spiritual person in that sense. i just thought i'm not going to be able to live wi

he grew up in a shack in a tallahassee county village in the mississippi delta and worked his way out of of security on the playing field but mississippi state. blake was a standout on the state's undistinguished football team for the 1950's and the leading receiver in 1959 was the total of six passes in an era of ground games and strong defense. for a while, blake played football in canada before resettling in the delta as a farmer. some time in the 1960's, he became prosperous, acquiring loans to buy a property while assuming a semblance of importance in greenwood as an officer in eastland's army. like his patrons, blake worked in the background. when the legislature was in session, he could be seen patrolling the halls of the state capital or treating messages after hours with officials in jackson lounges. he did not seek public office. he did not openly support candidates to lead to general public had no idea that blake represented power behind the scenes. yet politicians knew he was one of the most important go to guys in the state. when david boeing, a young adult politician in

delta. traveling in an integrated car in daylight left us tension. i thought the cover of dakness meant the worst of the journey was over, and then i turned and saw the white male occupants of the chevy starring at us. it was open season on civil rights workers. we got on the interstate, and they chased us. this is a pakkard8-cylinder held up at 120 miles per hour. i heard my dad say, you know, you shouldn't speed because you could blow a rod here. [laughter] dad, get out of my brain. [laughter] well, there was a truck in front, and i thought i'm just going to shoot pass the truck, and park in front of him while going because they won't shoot me or us as a truck driver as a witness. the truck driver pulled out and we hovered by the semi for another few hours. the silence and if they had fallen apart, we would not have made it. i shot back up to 125 when i saw the exit. the chevy was a 6 cylinder, so it couldn't make it up the hill. i made it to the exit with no truck or chevy, cut the lights

we were on our way to the mississippi delta. traveling in an integrated car in daylight had left us all a little tense. when we stopped for gas in memphis that evening, i thought that the cover of darkness meant that the worst of the journey was over. then i turned and saw the white male occupants of the chevy staring at us. it was the fall of 1964. open season on civil rights workers. so we got on the interstate, and they chased us. and we were -- the car, this is a packard, eight cylinder, was holding up at 120 miles an hour. and this went on for about 20 minutes, and i just kept hearing my dad say, you know, you shouldn't really speed because you could just blow a rod here. [laughter] dad, get out of my brain. well, there was a semi in front, so i thought i'm just going to shoot past that semi and park right in front of him while still going because they won't shoot me or us with the truck driver as a witness, i hoped. well, it freaked out the truck driver, and he kind of pulled back. so we hovered close to our guardian semi

and the perspective you are bringing from the mississippi delta and south dakota and connecticut, california and communities in between will be critical to today's discussion. i would like to figure out a way to get one of those hats. this is the last time -- i see these guys all the time with those hats and t-shirts. at an end of my remarks i would like to meet with you all. i am from new york. i don't have a hat like this 40 shirt. you represent many regions and areas of expertise and his position in the agriculture supply chain and you represent every sector. as we look at all sectors soviet agriculture industry including the retail sector i have no doubt that this workshop like the previous four will provide an important learning opportunity for all of us and before we get started i would like to thank tom vilsack and his team for hosting us and their partnership been conducting this workshop series. i also want to recognize outstanding efforts of the attorney-general christine varney and the justice department, each workshop i have been impressed with making the vision of these conversa

and the perspective that you are bringing from the mississippi delta and south dakota, from connecticut, californa and communities in between will be critical to today's discussion. i'd really like to figure out a way in which i can get one of those hats. [laughter] this is the last me i'm going to have a chance -- i see these guys all the time with those hats and those big t-shirts said athe end of my remarks if i could meet with you all to discuss a way i can -- i'm from new york. i don't have a hat like that, or a t-shirt like that. [laughter] but you will represent many different regions, areas of expertise and ositions and the agriculture supply chain. and you represent nearly every

and the perspective that you are bringing from the mississippi delta and south dakota, from connecticut, california and communities in between will be critical to today's discussion. i'd really like to figure out a way in which i can get one of those hats. [laughter] this is the last time i'm going to have a chance -- i see these guys all the time with those hats and those big t-shirts said at the end of my remarks if i could meet with you all to discuss a way i can -- i'm from new york. i don't have a hat like that, or a t-shirt like that. [laughter] but you will represent many different regions, areas of expertise and positions and the agriculture supply chain. and you represent nearly every

delta region. i fought for tax relief for our hard-working low- and middle-income arkansas families. and i'm most proud of the refundable child tax credit that i worked with senator olympia snowe on. i've also fought for the certainty for arkansas's farmers and ranchers and small businesses with fair estate tax reforms with senator jon kyl. i'm proud of my work on behalf of arkansas and our nation's seniors, including my work on the prescription drug program for seniors, working with senator baucus and others on the finance committee, the elder justice act that's now law, the first federal law ever enacted to address elder abuse in a comprehensive manner. i was honored to be joined in that effort with senator orrin hatch and herb kohl and the hard work that we put towards that. growing up in a family of infantrymen, i am proud to have fought for arkansas's service members, ve veterans and their families, specifically finding for -- fighting for funding increases for the v.a., as well as the office

river delta. this incident claimed the lives of 11 rig workers, and it marked the start of a massive oil spill that would take more than three months to contain. it's set off a chain reaction of devastating consequences for the people, for the environment, and for the economy of the gulf coast, a region still struggling to recover from hurricanes katrina and rita. the department of justice launched both criminal and civil probes into this matter. we dispatched dozens of top attorneys to the gulf region and members have made multiple trips to the area. for months lawyers and investigators have been working night and day and in close coordination with the local u.s. attorney's officers as well as our colleagues in the state attorney general's office as well. as a result, the united states has filed a civil lawsuit in united states district court in new orleans against nine defendants. the defendants named in the lawsuit include bp exploration and production incorporated, an a darko exploration and p

delta region. i fought for tax relief for our hard-working low- and middle-income arkansas families. and i'm most proud of the refundable child tax credit that i worked with senator olympia snowe on. i've also fought for the certainty for arkansas's farmers and ranchers and small businesses with fair estate tax reforms with senator jon kyl. i'm proud of my work on behalf of arkansas and our nation's seniors, including my work on the prescription drug program for seniors, working with senator baucus and others on the finance committee, the elder justice act that's now law, the first federal law ever enacted to address elder abuse in a comprehensive manner. i was honored to be joined in that effort with senator orrin hatch and herb kohl and the hard work that we put towards that. growing up in a family of infantrymen, i am proud to have fought for arkansas's service members, ve veterans and their families, specifically finding for -- fighting for funding increases for the v.a., as well as the office