If you gun large scale begin large scale special forces impact, you are going to have an impact on that country. So what are you doing about the political impact you are having on that country. So follow up. What global warming, that our whole focus is going to change too. Yeah. Were going to lose interest. Yeah. Thats going to come pound it, were going compound it, were not dependent on oil anymore finish. Right. And maybe that is the solution. Yeah. And i was concerned, you know, we need some sort of, somebody who understands the culture right. How do you handle that. Yeah. I mean, its something we, we have were not well versed into what works. Right. You know, whether its helping people with their, you know, their hospitals or right. Or dealing with water problems and right. I think we buy a lot of goodwill with that. Yeah. And we have more, that kind of instead of threatening and intimidating people yeah. You buy goodwill. But thats only one approach. We need somebody, a cultural approach that accommodates that. Yeah, i agr. And the trick is how do you do that without looking like youre starting an empire. We handled that with the cold war. Yeah. We were sort of, we knew that eventually the soviets would collapse. There was an internal right. It was eventually going to happen. Right, right. He was off by a few years, but he basically got it all right. We just need that sort of cultural right, right. Thats a great question. So one more quick thing. So if you had to pick partners or evaluate partners in the middle east, is this either side of the shiite sunni split which is more likely to be able to deal with the west as a coequal interest in the world, or are we dealing with, to some extent it feels at times, people who dont feel they can live on the same planet peacefully with us. Right. So is there how do you parse that . Its very complicated today. We have, as a country, we are not really were trying to avoid taking sides in this sunni shia cold war. But both sides, but because were not doing that, both sides distrust us. You know, when we signed, when we reached this Nuclear Agreement with iran, the saudi arabia and the sunnis immediately felt like we were selling them out. And then when we worked with the saudis in yemen, you know, that upsets the other side. So, you know, we are playing a really difficult balancing game that is im not i dont know how long well be able to sustain it, you know . Well, i think were at the end of our time, and i just really want to thank you. Thanks for having me. This has just been, i think, a really fascinating discussion. [applause] again, thanks to the city of gaithersburg for doing that, and thank all of you for coming here and sitting and listening to this. And if youre interested in book signing, hes going to be signing books in tent a following this event. So thank you all. Thank you. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] in about ten minutes, or the last Panel Discussion live from gaithersburg, maryland, will begin. Its a look at two women who cleared the way for female advancement in journalism and law. At a university or in the western world, not just the united states, if you believe that god created heaven and earth, that god is the source of thou shalt not murder not just reason you are considered a dummy. And that, that foolishness and that truly is foolish, because the deepest people i have ever met have overwhelmingly had a godcentered understanding of the world. That is now taken as a given, that if you believe Something Like that, you are intellectually suspect. So thats whats happened. Host when you hear somebody say im spiritual but not religious [laughter] guest how do you know to ask me such good questions . I have done hours of radio just on that subject. It is, with all respect to people who say it, it is meaningless. It means i contemplate my navel in a sophisticated manner. It doesnt mean anything, im spiritual but not religious. What does it mean . If you have no religion, what do you have . Spirituality . What does spirituality mean . That you believe that flowers are beautiful . That you believe that animals are loving . What does it mean . It doesnt mean anything. I know to the individual making it, it means something. But without religion, without a code religion gives you a code. Religion gives you a set of beliefs. I dont care if you reject them, but at least you have to grapple with them. Remember israel, which is the Founding Group of the old testament, means struggle with god. And i take that seriously as a believer. I do struggle with god. When i see all the suffering in this world, the unjust suffering, when just thinking for a moment forgetting the obvious of your neighbor had pancreatic cancer at 32, but a whole country could north korea which is called north korea which is a human concentration camp, the way people live there and the hundred million of world war ii . I mean, you know, these things bother me. So i understand struggling with god as a believer. But i want the atheists to understand you have to struggle with god too. Its not enough. I was invited, to the great credit, the american atheists, they invited me to their annual convention, which was to their credit. And, to debate their head on gods existence. At one point i looked at the audience who were completely, by the way, decent to me and i cant complain at all, they were just fine. But i said to them at one moment would you raise your hand if you have ever seen a child born or listened to a bach partita or a mozart symphony or seen a van gogh painting or seen a sunset and said, you know, its hard to believe that just happened on its own, maybe there is a god, not one hand went up. And then i looked at them and i said, you know, if i were to ask any religious audience have you ever seen a deformed baby and doubt canned god doubted god, raise your hand, everyone would have raised their hand. We believers struggle more than you atheists do. And you think youre the questioning ones. Were the questioning ones. You can watch this and other programs online at booktv. Org. [inaudible conversations] weve been live all day from the seventh annual gaithersburg book festival out here on the city hall grounds. The final author talk begins in a few minutes live. Well be right back. [inaudible conversations] heres a look at some upcoming book fairs and festivals happening around the country. The San Francisco chronicle is hosting the bay area book festival in downtown berkeley, california, on the first weekend of june. Later in june we head to chicago for live coverage of of the 32nd annual printers or row lit fest featuring Seymour Hirsh and sebastian younger. Then in hyde park, new york, its the roosevelt reading festival held at the president ial library and museum. And this years harlem book fair will be held on july 16th. For more information about the book fairs and festivals booktv will be covering and to watch previous festival coverage, click on the book fairs tab on our web site, booktv according. Booktv. Org. Heres a look at some authors recently featured on booktvs after words, our weekly Author Interview program. Don watkins, fellow at the ayn rand institute, argued that measures to alleviate income inequality actually end up hurting low income americans. Peter marks remembered the career of the late aig ceo bob men mow shay who turned the company around during the height of the financial crisis. And aol cofounder steve case told us how emerging technologies are reshaping the internet. In the coming weeks on after words, tamara drought will talk about americas new working class and their potential political power. Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell will discuss how his political philosophy has informed his time in the senate. Also coming up, senator Barbara Boxer of california will look back at her life and career in politics. And this weekend we weigh in on criminal Justice Reform and recall 19 years in prison. You know, what i try to get people to understand is really this book isnt about making excuses for the decisions i made. Its really about explaining what is happening to so many young men and women in communities where we dont talk about child abuse, sexual abuse, Substance Abuse and the things that lead to us taking a path that we take. So i really wanted to be clear that this isnt about making excuses and to blame my mother would be the make an excuse. You know, i dont blame her. Ultimately, i was the person that pulled the trigger or that night. After words with every saturday at 10 p. M. And sunday at 9 p. M. Eastern. You can watch all previous after words programs on our web site, booktv. Org. [inaudible conversations] next up, live from the city hall grounds in gaithersburg, maryland, learn about two women who led the way for others in their field. Good afternoon. This is going to be an exciting panel, and im glad youre here. This is the seventh annual gaithersburg festival. Thank you, cspan, for covering it,ing and thank you to you all who braved the rain and the cold weather with even though were almost in june. Im cheryl kagan, and its my honor to be the senator for gaithersburg and rockville in the state senate. On social media if youre following along at home, young tweet and were also on instagram and facebook, so im delighted to have Marlene Trestman and john norris here. So our country is at the brink of possibly electing a first woman president , and none of that would be possible without some trailblazing women like the two who have been profiled in these wonderful books were going to be talking about today. I had never heard of betsy before reading this book by Marlene Trestman. Youre going to enjoy hearing more about her, about marlene and about betsy. She was a trailblazing lawyer, and you will hear over and over the firstever or the only. Beth is city manager betsy manager lin argued before the Supreme Court more than almost any other woman in the 20th century, she fought for overtime, for fair labor laws, for reasonable pay, against child labor. She also was at the Tennessee Valley authority working to bring jobs and power, electric power to the rural south. She went to work for the Labor Department. She went to nuremberg to help prosecute nazi war criminals. Her story is incredible, and it started in an orphanage. And it started with some real challenges in her life. And her story would have been lost to history if it werent for her protege, Marlene Trestman, who herself is an attorney in baltimore. She worked for three different attorney generals, attorneys general in maryland and actually helped transition our current attorney general, the wonderful brian frosh. Shes done some remarkable work in the community, and this is her first book. Its new, its hot off the press, and so i hope you all purchase both of these books. So id like to maximize our time with our authors. Each of these two are going to talk a little bit about their subjects, talk a little bit about their journey, then ive got some questions, and then well open it up to audience questions. And so without further ado, id like to turn this over to firsttime author Marlene Trestman. Welcome. Thank you, senator kagan. [applause] and its thank you. Thank you. And thank you all for braving the weather as well. Im quite honored to be at the gaithersburg book festival as a firsttime author, even to say that is quite exciting. And to be here in the presence of such wonderful and impressive authors. Betty margolin, ill start off by telling you a little bit about her. Because to read something from my book would be meaningless when so few people have ever heard of this amazing woman. I like to think that weve all heard of and many of us love the notorious rbg. Well, before there was a no to have yous rbg, there was an audacious betty margolin. And she was raised in a jewish orphanage in new orleans where she learned powerful lessons in social justice that shaped her into one of the 20th centurys most influential attorneys. Beginning in the 1930s, she earned rare law degrees for a woman from both tulane and yale and went on to leave her mark on some of the biggest issues of her day. She was the only woman on the brilliant legal team that brought and kept fdrs new deal alive. She was the defending the she was defending the constitutionality of the Tennessee Valley authority which was challenged as, basically, socialist by the, by the Power Companies who believed that government had no right in robbing them of their power, literally, over providing power to some of the most impoverished americans in the Tennessee Valley. From there she went to the Labor Department to give birth, essentially, to the brand i new law that had just been enacted, the fair labor standards act of 1938, and she was one of the i few women the few women, she was the only woman from the Labor Department who shepherded that law through the courts. And she was there in the Labor Department as every facet of that law was being challenged. And as we know, much of it continues to be challenged to this day. Her only real time away from the Labor Department was six months when she was compelled to join a brand new and exciting legal pursuit. Justice jackson had stepped down from the Supreme Court to become the u. S. Chief prosecutor for nazi war crimes in nuremberg. Bessie was drawn to this new and exciting challenge, and during those six months in nuremberg, germany be, following world war ii, was credited for drafting the rules under which more than 200 prosecutions were held trials were held, fair trials, of some of the second tier nazis, often the people that youve seen in movies. This is the stuff that the subsequent proceedings were made of. These were the doctors, the judges and the industrialists. She, at the Labor Department when she returned, she when ruth bader was only 12 years old, bessie had already argued and won her first case at the Supreme Court and went on in her career to win 21 of 24 cases that she argued at the Supreme Court all to protect the wage and hour rights of american workers. And she was one of only three women in the 20th century to argue two dozen times at the u. S. Supreme court. She also championed equal pay. She oversaw the strategyings and strategies and personally argued the first appeals in those cases and was a founder of n. O. W. She knew all about the feminine mystique and how to lean in long before those books were ever written. And if you think she had, if you think she was all work and no play, think again. [laughter] bessies penchant for passion sparked a federal investigation and likely cost her a federal judgeship. But the story that i bring to this is a little more personal. I got to know Bessie Margolin. She was a friend and, in many ways, a mentor to me. I was orphaned at age 11 and was a ward of the very same jewell fare agency Jewish Welfare Agency that raised bessie. And because of that, i got to know her during my time in college, law school at gw and into my own legal career with the state of maryland protecting public health. So im thrilled to restore her to her rightful place in history, and im happy when were done to answer any questions you have about the process and more about her. In short, the two things id like you to know about the book are that, one, it really is a tribute to government lawyers and government employees. Many people believe that laws are simply enacted, and the battle is done. And with all due respect to our legislator who is our moderator [laughter] but those in Government Service understand the incremental baby steps that occurred only after a law occur only after a law is passed to put it into action and that no law is ever stronger by its failure to be enforced. So in many ways, i hope that all federal employees, government workers appreciate that Bessie Margolin represents excellence in public service. So thank you very much. [applause] thank you for writing a book about a woman, a hero that a lot of us would never have heard about without your hard work. Marlene is on twitter marlenetrestman if youd like to follow and tweet about her. And john norris. John underscore norris, not as easy to find, but worth finding and worth reading. As much as Bessie Margolin is a new name to a lot of us, mary mcgrory is not. Im not sure how many of you, like me, grew up following mary mcgrorys pithy, incredibly insightful, wellwritten columns in, first, in the washington star and then in the washington post. She was great at educating, enlightening and Holding Accountable our government leaders and others. She also wrote about squirrels and cooking, and she had a whimsical piece, side of her as well. In i just have a very quick personal story because in 2001, the summer of 2001 i was talking to my friend, bob asher, and singing mary mcgrorys praises, and he said, well, you should call her up and introduce yourself. I was in the house of delegates at the time, and she generously invited me to lunch. And i was so nervous because i just didnt know what to say to the awesome mary mcgrory, that i invited a reporter friend to go with me because i thought he could handle the conversation if i got too tongue tied. So i have wonderful memories of having had a lovely lunch with her in july of 2001. And so it was really a treat to read john norris book about mary. John norris is the executive director of the sustainable security and peacebuildinging initiative at the american progress, so thats long enough that i just wanted to read that. Hes been an author as well as a policy guy. He has been published in the washington post, in politico and elsewhere. He, he had to go through 166 boxes of mary mcgrorys papers at the, in the congressional archives at the library of congress and interviewed countless people. He had a lot more resources than marlene had when she w