The law gave millions of Americans denied the right to vote because of the color of their skin the right to cast their ballot in an election.

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1 FIFTY years ago this month, what then President Lyndon B. Johnson described as one of the most monumental laws in the entire history of American freedom, the Voting Rights Act was passed by the U.S. Congress. The law gave millions of Americans denied the right to vote because of the color of their skin the right to cast their ballot in an election. It ended discrimination in voting. President Johnson also said the law was meant to correct a clear and simple wrong. In a recent article, Jim Rutenberg, chief political correspondent for The New York Times Magazine, wrote about efforts to roll back certain strong provisions of the Voting Rights Act. The article started a national discussion, including a letter to the editor from President Barack Obama. 1 / 6

2 Unfortunately, since the law was passed, efforts had been made by the Republican-controlled Congress to weaken the law. Evidently, for reasons of politics. The new voters are most likely to become Democrats. They rolled back early voting, eliminated same-day registration, disqualified ballots filed outside home precincts and created new demands for photo ID at polling places. Let me cite part of President Obama s letter:...but as Rutenberg chronicles, from the moment the ink was dry on the Voting Rights Act, there has been a concentrated effort to undermine this historic law and turn back the clock on its progress. His article puts the recent push to restrict Americans voting rights in its proper context. These efforts are not a sign that we have moved past the shameful history that led to the Voting Rights Act. Too often, they are rooted in that history. They remind us that progress does not come easy, but that it must be vigorously defended and built upon for ourselves and future generations......i am where I am today only because men and women like Rosanell Eaton refused to accept anything less than a full measure of equality. Their efforts made our country a better place. It is now up to us to continue those efforts. 2 / 6

3 Congress must restore the Voting Rights Act. Our state leaders and legislatures must make it easier not harder for more Americans to have their voices heard. Above all, we must exercise our right as citizens to vote, for the truth is that too often we disenfranchise ourselves. In closing his letter, the President said,...we the People have the awesome power to make our union more perfect. Let us resist any further effort to weaken the Voting Rights Act. *** Condolence We extend our deepest sympathies to the grieving Fil-Am Dacayanan family of Hamilton, N.J. You have read in this issue s headline about the death of the family s elder of two sons, 26-year-old Nico Jon, in a car accident last Sunday somewhere in South Jersey. 3 / 6

4 *** The politics of Donald Trump Unlike traditional politicians, Donald Trump, the front runner Republican presidential candidate, says what he feels the way it is. He is a no-nonsense man who calls a spade a spade. This trait seems to endear him to voters. Trump has claimed his biggest polling lead yet, with 24% of support among Republicans and Independents who lean Republican in a most recent poll conducted by ABC News and The Washington Post. There is a sector of progressives who branded Donald Trump as the rudest man in America. He is, therefore, not in the mood to be politically correct or PC. 4 / 6

5 In recent exchanges with a television commentator, he was reported as having said, I ve been challenged by so many people, and I don t frankly have time for total political correctness. And to be honest with you, this country doesn t have time either. We will see how far Donald Trump s political journey will reach this time. *** Good bye! Parting. Let me share with readers some lines from The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson (1960) : My life closed twice before its close It yet remains to see If immortality unveil A third event to me. 5 / 6

6 So huge, so hopeless to conceive As these that twice befell. Parting is all we know of heaven, And all we need of hell. Familiar parting lines from Shakespeare s Romeo and Juliet : Good night. Good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, That I shall say good night till it be morrow. Good bye to a friend who made a decision to move to the West Coast. All the best. God bless. mcaball241@aol.com 6 / 6