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After Voting Rights Act weakened, Congress considers its next step : Photo Gallery

CBS News journalists on Twitter, Facebook and Google+ verified by ... CBS News journalists on Twitter, Facebook and Google+ verified by ... CBS News journalists on Twitter, Facebook and Google+ verified by	NBC Politics NBC Politics NBC Politics	o-SUPREME-COURT-VOTING-RIGHTS- ... o-SUPREME-COURT-VOTING-RIGHTS- ... o-SUPREME-COURT-VOTING-RIGHTS- ...	National News - The New York Times National News - The New York Times National News - The New York Times
AFTER VOTING RIGHTS ACT WEAKENED, CONGRESS CONSIDERS ITS NEXT STEP ... AFTER VOTING RIGHTS ACT WEAKENED, CONGRESS CONSIDERS ITS NEXT STEP ... After Voting Rights Act weakened, Congress considers its next step	o-VOTING-RIGHTS-ACT-facebook.jpg o-VOTING-RIGHTS-ACT-facebook.jpg o-VOTING-RIGHTS-ACT-facebook.jpg	Harvard University Press Blog : In the News Harvard University Press Blog : In the News Harvard University Press Blog : In the News	Senate reaches deal on weak watered-down gun-control bill without ... Senate reaches deal on weak watered-down gun-control bill without ... Senate reaches deal on weak watered-down gun-control bill without
o-VOTING-RIGHTS-ACT-facebook.jpg o-VOTING-RIGHTS-ACT-facebook.jpg o-VOTING-RIGHTS-ACT-facebook.jpg	r-SUPREME-COURT-VOTING-RIGHTS- ... r-SUPREME-COURT-VOTING-RIGHTS- ... r-SUPREME-COURT-VOTING-RIGHTS- ...	The Great Debate - Part 15 The Great Debate - Part 15 The Great Debate - Part 15	CBS News journalists on Twitter, Facebook and Google+ verified by ... CBS News journalists on Twitter, Facebook and Google+ verified by ... CBS News journalists on Twitter, Facebook and Google+ verified by
Voting Rights Watch | The Nation Voting Rights Watch | The Nation Voting Rights Watch | The Nation	Senate reaches deal on weak watered-down gun-control bill without ... Senate reaches deal on weak watered-down gun-control bill without ... Senate reaches deal on weak watered-down gun-control bill without	Sacramento Bee -- Capitol Alert Sacramento Bee -- Capitol Alert Sacramento Bee -- Capitol Alert	Constitutional Law Prof Blog: Fifteenth Amendment Constitutional Law Prof Blog: Fifteenth Amendment Constitutional Law Prof Blog: Fifteenth Amendment
The History of Romania in Fresco The History of Romania in Fresco The History of Romania in Fresco	AFTER VOTING RIGHTS ACT WEAKENED, CONGRESS CONSIDERS ITS NEXT STEP AFTER VOTING RIGHTS ACT WEAKENED, CONGRESS CONSIDERS ITS NEXT STEP Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., called the court's ruling "stunning" and said he plans on holding hearings in July on the Voting Rights Act. "I'm going to do it in a bipartisan way, I'm going to ask both Republicans and Democrats to ...	KEYC - Mankato News, Weather, Sports - - European court lawyer sides with ... KEYC - Mankato News, Weather, Sports - - European court lawyer sides with ... The Supreme Court says a key provision of the landmark Voting Rights Act cannot be enforced until Congress comes up with a new way of determining which states and localities require close federal monitoring of. ... The hit man next door: Bulger cohort ...	Health Care Overhaul Excludes Some Immigrants Health Care Overhaul Excludes Some Immigrants As Nyhan documents, she re-emerged in 2009 when "she invented the false claim that the health care legislation in Congress would result in seniors being directed to 'end their life sooner.'" Nyhan: "McCaughey's statement was a reference to a provision ...
NY women's agenda derailed in NY over abortion NY women's agenda derailed in NY over abortion The Senate had planned to pass the nine other bills in the act. But Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, moments after the Senate vote, said the Assembly won't consider the nine bills, which address discrimination and abuse without the abortion measure.	Confessions of a Confused but Privileged Right Wing, Liberal, Libertarian Confessions of a Confused but Privileged Right Wing, Liberal, Libertarian To this point, I am “right wing,” “libertarian,” a promoter of “fairy tales” about “capitalism” and its virtues, and not a “very smart guy.” ... After all, that's a well-educated, literate, learned group many of whom have probably even read Foner or ...	Enforcement-Only Immigration Hearing In House Interrupted By Protesters Enforcement-Only Immigration Hearing In House Interrupted By Protesters The House Judiciary Committee was meeting to consider the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act, by Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C. It would empower state and local officials to enforce federal immigration laws, make passport and visa fraud into aggravated ...	AP News in Brief at 5:58 am EDT AP News in Brief at 5:58 am EDT At least one protester was killed in Sao Paulo state when a car rammed into a crowd of demonstrators, after the driver apparently became enraged about being unable to drive along a street. In Rio de ... More appeared likely to come on board, putting ...
New Jersey Herald - AP News in Brief at 5:58 am EDT New Jersey Herald - AP News in Brief at 5:58 am EDT At least one protester was killed in Sao Paulo state when a car rammed into a crowd of demonstrators, after the driver apparently became enraged about being unable to drive along a street. In Rio de ... More appeared likely to come on board, putting ...	Four Ways Obama's Syria Gambit Could End Four Ways Obama's Syria Gambit Could End After Mogadishu, Clinton resisted calls to intervene in the wars in the Balkans. He also faced strong resistance from Russia, which viewed the region as its traditional area of influence. Clinton pushed a series of U.N. missions led by a mix of ...	Lil Wayne steps on American flag [VIDEO] Lil Wayne steps on American flag [VIDEO] Lil Wayne steps on American flag [VIDEO]. By Taylor Bigler 2:28 PM ... Transgender first-grader wins civil rights suit after girls' bathroom ban ... Transgender first-grader wins civil rights suit after girls' bathroom ban ... Lil Wayne: 'I didn't step ...	The one place in the world where the U.S. Congress is loved: Europe The one place in the world where the U.S. Congress is loved: Europe Gallup on Friday revealed that only 10 percent of Americans approved of Congress, the lowest number ever recorded. But take a trip across the Atlantic, and you'll find something different. Here at the seat of the European Parliament, on France's border ...
The Cornyn Con The Cornyn Con Even before it was released, Cornyn's amendment was derided by Gang-of-8 skeptics as a relatively insignificant change that would mainly give Republicans cover to vote for an amnesty bill. ('See, we improved the border provisions.') But Washington ...	Homeless, Poor Covered Under Affordable Care Act, But Many Don't Know It Homeless, Poor Covered Under Affordable Care Act, But Many Don't Know It Christopher Mack, a lead community outreach worker for a health clinic in the heart of Los Angeles' Skid Row, squats next to her. He softly tells her to calm down, to breathe, to remember to see her case worker in the morning about housing. He also ...	Little kid wants to meet Iron Man, gets Robert Downey Jr. instead [PHOTO] Little kid wants to meet Iron Man, gets Robert Downey Jr. instead [PHOTO] It is almost as bad as seeing Santa Claus — who is totally real, in case you are reading this right now, Jaxson – in jeans and a T-shirt. Denno's mother told People magazine that he was happy and smiling once Downey started talking to him, but this is ...	Six big problems with the immigration bill from someone who has actually read it Six big problems with the immigration bill from someone who has actually read it Former New York lieutenant governor Betsy McCaughey bets “you can't find five members of Congress who have read” the Senate “Gang of Eight” immigration bill. The former Democrat is experienced at reading large bills the Congress seems inclined to ...
Immigration opponents' arguments are really poor Immigration opponents' arguments are really poor Moreover, which is better — Obama with no meaningful border-security legislation (and deciding by executive order to grant legal status to certain groups) or Obama with a ton of border-security measures and oversight by Congress? The argument that ...

After Voting Rights Act weakened, Congress considers its next step : Videos

Fixing the Foreclosure Catastrophe - YouTube Fixing the Foreclosure Catastrophe - YouTube While this is a step in the right direction and a clear signal President Obama ... House of ... Duration: 128 seconds     Video type: YouTube     Hosted by: youtube.com on Mon, 24 Oct 2011 20:14:23 -0700

"Currency Wars" China Targeted in Currency ... "Currency Wars" China Targeted in Currency ... China owns over $1 Trillion dollars of US Debt and if they pull their card ... The House has ... Duration: 248 seconds     Video type: YouTube     Hosted by: youtube.com on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 17:30:42 -0700

After Voting Rights Act weakened, Congress considers its next step : Latest News, Information, Answers and Websites

Supreme Court Takes No Action On Voting Rights Act - Huffington Post

Oct 29, 2012 ... Now, opponents of a key part of the Voting Rights Act are asking the high court to finish off that provision. ... But Congress and lower courts that have looked at recent ... The city redrew its district lines in 2006 after new subdivisions and ..... decision on whether they are going to accept these cases next week.

U.S. News | Reuters.co.co.uk

Supreme Court strikes down key part of Voting Rights Act ... a key portion of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965, ruling that Congress used obsolete ... power responsibly after Edward Snowden unveiled its sweeping spying programs. ... Senate backed new border security steps seen as essential to the legislation's fate.

Daily Kos: DE-Sen: Chris Coons (D) Fights For Your Right To Vote

The provision, Section 5 of the act, requires all or part of 16 states with a history of discrimination — most of the affected areas are in the South — to get federal approval before making any changes to their voting ... Coons said key Democrats, including Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Richard Durbin of Illinois, chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights, are discussing possible next steps.

AFTER VOTING RIGHTS ACT WEAKENED, CONGRESS CONSIDERS ITS NEXT STEP ...

After Voting Rights Act weakened, Congress considers its next step. CBS News With its decision to strike down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, the Supreme Court on Tuesday effectively left the fate of a key portion of the ...

"Handmaids Tale"- more powerful in the post 9-11 World?

**Please note that there are some SPOILERS in the details below.

I read "The Handmaids Tale" back in high school as part of my AP-English curriculum and at the time thought it was impossible for anything like that to happen. There is no way that we would let womens rights be destroyed like that. I was almost angry at the ridiculousness of it.

I just re-read the book, and there was no anger but fear this time. I found it absolutely bone chillingly frightening. This dystopian future could easily be ours. Since being written in 1985, many of the steps that lead to that totalitarian society have already slowly been adopted as the norm. And the main fuel for the removal of these freedoms: the president shot and congress machine-gunned down- allegedly by Islamic fanatics.

If youve read the book recently or in the past, do you think that this book has become more relevant in this day and age? Could this be a viable future? Or is it just another fiction book? Whats your opinion?
Also, How do you think it compares to other dystopian future books (1984, Brave New World)? And one last question: do you have any other books youd recommend for reading?

And no this isnt a homework question.
Wow these are all great answers! Itll be hard to pick a "best." Thank you to everybody for your opinions and interpretations about the book!
I think the most powerful realization for me was the fact that this book was written as a wake up call, a warning that if we become too complacent that this could be our future- and in 20 years we havent really changed. Its haunting how people will allow freedoms to be taken away if you do it slowly, piece by piece, especially if its done to protect us. How much power should we give others to decide what is in our best interest?

Answer: I think if you take time to seriously consider the world as it was in 1985, you'd come to the startling conclusion that it was just as possible then as it is now.

The difference 9/11 made is that now a major portion of America is aware of how realistic it might be. We've always teetered on the edge of Freedom and Big Brother.

The good news is that America seems to be set up well enough to maintain that balance. Believe it or not, Nixon was the most powerful president we've ever had, and then the voters made votes to weaken that power and Clinton is the big player that started taking it back and it will probably hit it's culmination in the next president and the cycle continues. Politically we are a pendulum.

Economically it's an entirely different story. If we were to collapse into the type of chaos that could lead to the development of a dystopian society it would be the result of a major economic crash. Like what is going to happen as a result of our country's and citizen's failure to act in response to the current oil crisis. It's huge, and nothing is being done. So I'm pretty sure we're screwed.

The bad news is that from what I've witnessed from world travels the dystopian society that may become a reality would make 1984, Handmaid's Tale, or any of the others seem like escape fiction. We are much more cruel than any of those authors put on paper.

Great question, though. I'm going to toss that into my reread pile.

add--> Sorry, I skipped the central theme of the question. Women's rights - If it matters at all, than women wouldn't lose any more rights than any other historically discriminated against group. The laborers, African Americans, Jews, etc. Society has advanced far enough to discriminate completely equally.
Category: Books & Authors

Balkinization: The Voting Rights Case You Haven't Heard Of

Mar 11, 2013 ... Whether it be Justice Scalia's statement that the Voting Rights Act survives only ... just how the weak the arguments against the Voting Rights Act are. ... In enacting the National Voter Registration Act, Congress used its explicit ..... to heel, or whether the Heller 5 will become the Heller 4 after Obama's next ...

Daily Kos: Advocates spotlight Voting Rights Act as Supreme Court ...

In December 2011, employing its authority under Section 5 , the federal government blocked legislation in South Carolina to impose a strict photo-voter ID law that the justice department said would disproportionately keep minority voters ... Consider if one or more of these tags fits your diary: Civil Rights, community, Congress, Culture, Economy, Education, Elections, Energy, Environment, Health Care, International, Labor, Law, media, Meta, National Security, Science, ...

Mann & Ornstein "It's Even Worse Than It Looks" | Civil Politics.org

In their previous book The Broken Branch Thomas E. Mann and Norman Ornstein offered an historical overview of the growth of partisanship and the decline of regular order in Congress, concluding that Republicans in their fanatical zeal to recapture Washington ..... Possible reforms include establishing an independent redistricting commission, judicial intervention using the Voting Rights Act, and finding ways to introduce transparency and get citizens more involved.

Is the Voting Rights Act of 1965 still relevant? - Annenberg Classroom

Feb 22, 2013 ... Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act is a provision requires certain states, counties ... But Congress's refusal to amend the statute… means that this Court is the last ... “Some people want to put out of their minds something which is real, which is ... “Section 5 was designed to stay one step ahead of the states.”

Supreme Court Poised to Declare Racism Over | Mother Jones

Feb 27, 2013 ... But when Congress reauthorized the Voting Rights Act—and ... Scalia worried that Section 5, and its unjustifiable discrimination against states, would continue in "perpetuity. .... Ten years after the US-led invasion, Iraqi Kurdistan is thriving. .... You can rest assured neither of them will step down as long as ...

US and World News | NBC 10 Philadelphia

Congress had renewed the act four times, most recently in 2006. ... need federal permission to change their voting laws was outdated — leaving it to Congress to redraw the map. ... speech at Georgetown University, will also announce steps to boost fuel-efficiency standards for heavy vehicles in the United States after 2018.

United States Congress - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Congress has a total of 535 voting members: 435 members in the House of .... unified the nation under federal authority, but weakened the power of states rights. ..... Lobby groups and their members sometimes write legislation and whip bills. ... The usual next step is for the proposal to be passed to a committee for review.

Trust us: A brief history of government spying | The Daily Caller

Prominent Democratic-Republicans refused to use the postal service out of fear that their mail would be intercepted and they would be prosecuted for sedition. Fearing arrest themselves ... The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act was passed in 1978 after it was learned that President Richard Nixon had used federal resources, including the FBI's COINTELPRO, to spy on his political opponents. Among those targeted by ... High court voids key part of Voting Rights Act ...

Moral Vacancy at Georgia Right to Life | RedState

To be clear, members of Congress, congressional staffers, and members of the pro-life lobby have all confirmed to me that the legislation would not get a vote at all on the floor of the House without those two exceptions in the legislation. ... Where is Georgia Right to Life's campaign to persuade? Where is their field work? Where is their coordination on the rape/incest exception with pro-life leaders and the public? The rape/incest exceptions exist because a majority of ...

Democrats promise summer political campaign on immigration | The ...

The protests by and for illegal immigrants could escalate into the next “civil rights” movement, claimed New York Democratic Sen. ... “Why would any member of Congress want to vote for a bill at a time of high unemployment, falling wages, [that would] bring in a huge surge of new labor that can only hurt the poorest among us the most?” he said on CBS's ... Their wages will be impacted adversely. ... Transgender first-grader wins civil rights suit after girls' bathroom ban ...

Google Alert - News | Downloads

After Voting Rights Act weakened, Congress considers its next step. CBS News With its decision to strike down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, the Supreme Court on Tuesday effectively left the fate of a key portion of the ...

DE-Sen: Chris Coons (D) Gets Ready To Fight For The Voting ...

Mar 7, 2013 ... It's something that can be left — left to Congress. ... The State government is not their government, and they are going to ... Even the name of it is wonderful: The Voting Rights Act. Who is ... Huffington Post, 3/6/13 ... “The Supreme Court will consider whether to invalidate the key provision of the Voting Rights ...