A Very Interesting Day: NOW, Van Hollen - Edwards Debate, Newseum Commemoration of 50 Years Since the Voting Rights Act

Today there were some very interesting activites.

First, the Maryland Chapter of NOW (National Organization for Women) held its annual meeting. There was a report about work on bills in the Maryland General Assembly this session and then election of new officers. It was a good meeting.

Then Maryland NOW held what was probably the first debate between candidates for the Maryland seat in the U.S. Senate, Chris Van Hollen and Donna Edwards. It was very interesting. 

Things got a little nasty at one point when Edwards said, as she had before but not with Van Hollen sitting close by, that she would protect Social Security while Van Hollen had been willing to compromise on it in Congress. Van Hollen replied that he had always protected Social Security and gave details to prove his point.

This evening, at the Newseum there was a program put on by Moment magazine and the Newseum to commemorate the 50th anniversary of passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The moderator was Steve Roberts and the panel included Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, former Congressman Barney Frank, Julian Bond, and others. 

They talked about memories of their roles in the Civil Rights movement in the early 1960's and concluded with a moving statement by Julian Bond about what the right to vote meant to freed slaves in the 1800's and what it means today. As a result of the gutting of the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court the ability of Americans to vote is more difficult rather than less so, and this is the opposite of what we should be seeking.

The Newseum and Moment magazine did a terrific job.