Clipper and George Hammond culture of the amenities forum which organized todays event. Im happy to welcome back a. J. Baime if we had them here you in half or so ago from the accidental president. His last book, and this time we have a virtually from his home, and were going to talk about his new book about a 1940 election. Were going back 72 years to another electionyear and you will be amazed at exactly how similar it sound in some ways. Another with a different but in some ways. Whats different is the politicians were all younger than they are today. Thats one big difference. But a. J. , take it away and tell us about the overview of the book. Just a very good read by the way. Very good read. Outstanding. I want to say a couple things first. Thank you so much for having the. The the Commonwealth Club is a wonderful place to be and you are doing this virtual. A lot of people are going to painandsuffering china for myself im just reminding why i fell in love with reading when i was s
Years and one day ago went to the polls to eagerly cast their very first ballot in the november 2, 1920 president ial election. They did not take their vote for granted or believe it did not matter. They fought so hard and endured so much to obtain it. To wait inmen had extraordinarily long time to vote, 144 years after the birth of our democracy. Many other americans had to wait even longer. Last year, i was incredibly of myd to join 17 National Association of secretaries of state colleague on a journey to selma, birmingham, and montgomery, alabama, to share, witness, and try to absorb the historical moment and landmarks that epitomized the devastating struggle and inspiring achievement of the Voting Rights movement. These civil rights struggles and victories help persuade president johnson to sign the Voting Rights act of 1965, finally ensuring Voting Rights for all americans. Thanks to the giants of suffragists in the civil rights movement, we have been granted the opportunity and r
Scapegoated as part of what the president famously called a witch hunt. And now, o man are the president s critics. Among them House Speaker Judiciary Committee chair jerry nadler who had many of the russian hearings. And he said quote this pardon is undeserved, unprincipled and one more stain on President Trumps a rabidly deleting presidency. Subject is abusing his power . Lets get into our prethanksgiving party panel weve got former cia officer, mike baker is here pretty what about diligence . You can say that. Weve also got reason magazine reason. Com editorinchief and former House Press Secretary the one and only Rochelle Ritchie hello everyone. Kennedy lets discuss, mike baker this is clearly an abuse of power. The president has gone mad and has a waning days in the white house. Tell me what happened . The republic is ending this is yet another example. This is a nobrainers far as i am concerned. If you are going to use the president ial pardon power. As offered to the president b
And larryt nbc news norden, the director of the Election Reform Program at the Brennan Center for justice. Just a reminder, if you have questions as we chat, feel free to drop them into the chat below. Voting is on everyones mind at the moment, and with coronavirus, more voters than ever are trying mailin ballots or voting early. Alternatives to our usual voting methods, a lot of people are asking will voting become digital, as well . Thent to kick off conversation by asking, why would we even want online voting . My bias is coming from seattle where we have a robust mailin ballot system, and the process is already quite easy. Im curious what the conversation would look like around, why do we need this kind of technology . I think the appeal is in normas. Is enormous. In theory, it has largely been attempted in this country for military deployed service members. It could be used for people with disabilities who dont have a lot of ease getting to the polls. If we somehow had a robust on
You sit across from your grandmother, you are in complete silence, it is a sacred space. Listen andtes you ask questions. It is just two microphones and you look each other in the eyes. As you know i microphone gives you the license to ask questions you do not normally get to ask. From the beginning of storycorps people thought if i had 40 bits left to live, what i say to this person . At the end of the 40 minutes you get a copy and another stays with us and goes to the American Folklife Center in the library of congress. Your great, great, Great Grandkids can know your grandmother through her voice and story. Because of the nature of what happens in these booths, it started in Grand Central then expanded across the country, we are collecting the wisdom of humanity. We have about 650,000 participate so far. It is the largest collection of human voices so far. We are a Public Service and nonprofit. We are here to serve people. One of the things we are encouraging a thanksgiving, and if