Summary: Back in episode 47, I had pretty much said what I thought about the Supreme Court’s decision on the Voting Rights Act. Basically, the act was not struck down or gutted, as some have claimed. Rather, the very common sense decision was made that, if states or precincts were going to come under the pre-clearance section – that is, if any and all changes to voting laws must be pre-cleared with the federal government – then the statistics used to determine who is subject to it ought to be updated, rather than being statistics left over from 40 years ago. Well, that’s just too much for some folks. Former President Bill Clinton, for example, had to mar his speech at the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech with misinformation, and frankly, one outright lie. I use that portion dealing with voting rights laws as a springboard to clear the air and get to the truth of the matter. Mentioned links: "Consider This!" Episode 47: A Look at the Supreme Court Rulings; Voting Rights Act, Defense of Marriage Act, and California’s Proposition 8 CLINTON: CONTINUING RACISM MEANS HARDER TO VOTE THAN BUY ASSAULT WEAPON Despite voter ID law, minority turnout up in Georgia You can listen to “Consider This!” on the Blubrry Network if you like. You can find podcasts and save them to your MyCast list, and come back anytime and listen to the latest episodes. Similarly, Player.fm allows you to subscribe to podcasts and play all the latest episodes from your browser. The Stitcher Network is another possibility. Again, you can find podcasts, add them to your favorites, and then either listen to them on the web site, stream them to your smart phone, or to some snazzy GM, Ford, and BMW car. If you do download Stitcher to your phone, please use the promo code “ConsiderThis” to let them know where you heard about it. Of course, you can always subscribe via iTunes as well. And please leave a comment letting them know how you like it. I really appreciate listener ratings on iTunes, which can also lead to having more listeners, and more ratings! Keep the ball rollin’! And if you have some other podcatcher or RSS reader, click here to get the direct feed and paste it wherever you need it. I would love it if you would spread the word about the podcast! Click the Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Digg or LinkedIn icons below (or all of them!) to recommend "Consider This!" to your social media audience. Show Transcript Back in episode 47, I had pretty much said what I thought about the Supreme Court’s decision on the Voting Rights Act. Basically, the act was not struck down or gutted, as some have claimed. Rather, the very common sense decision was made that, if states or precincts were going to come under the pre-clearance section – that is, if any and all changes to voting laws must be pre-cleared with the federal government – then the statistics used to determine who is subject to it ought to be updated, rather than being statistics left over from 40 years ago. Today, some southern states have minority voter participation on par with, or better than, some northern states, and continuing to punish them based on the sins of the past, after they’ve repented, doesn’t sound very just to me. Just update the statistics to reflect today’s reality. It’s that simple. Well, that’s just too much for some folks. Former President Bill Clinton, for example, had to mar his speech at the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech with misinformation, and frankly, one outright lie. I’d like to use that portion dealing with voting rights laws as a springboard. [Click here to watch video.] Y’know, if you’re uninformed about what really happened, unlike you, my well-informed and brilliant listeners, you’d be tempted to applaud for that, as many who attended did. But here are the facts, should anyone need them explained. First, the Supreme Court did not, did not,
