History of the United States
The History of the Voting Rights Act: The Origins of the Preclearance Provision
In June, the Supreme Court ruled Section Four of the Voting Rights Act unconstitutional. Depending on who you talk to, the decision either gutted the legislation or deeply diminished its strength. At the center of the Supreme Court’s decision was a formula used to define which states and counties were subject to federal review of […]
CIA Finally Confirms Role in 1953 Iranian Coup
Even though it has long been public knowledge that U.S. and British operatives were behind the 1953 Iranian coup, which overthrew the nation’s then-democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadeq, only yesterday did the CIA officially confirm it. Yes, you did just read that right. Previously classified documents show that the agency carried out the coup “as […]
Confusion around U.S. drone policy in Pakistan runs deep
Confusion around the U.S. drone policy in Pakistan runs deep. That was evident during a Pakistani television station’s interview with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry where he spoke confidently about a soon-to-come downscaling of the program that was quickly walked back by his spokeswoman.
Republicans, Democrats doing electoral calculus in determining support for taxes, healthcare
Conventional wisdom said votes to extend some of the Bush-era tax cuts and to repeal the healthcare reform bill will fall along party lines, and they still may. But with election just months away, elected officials are plugging numbers into a more detailed equation to figure out how to cast their vote.
