July 7th Here the topics for this week's, post-holiday blog: voting rights; meditation anyone?; Cuba; "tighten up" D.C.; sounds of the universe; five Democrats; Greek debt.

Your vote. A major voting rights decision was lost amid the flurry of headline news about the Supreme Court's last few, eagerly awaited decisions. KS and AZ had challenged an earlier (2013) decision about whether or not the state could require proof of citizenship for people registering to vote using the standard issue federal form. The Supreme Court said it would not hear the appeal, thus affirming the decision of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals (located in Denver) that such proof could not be required. No need to get your birth certificate out of the safety deposit box.
     In one of its last decisions, the Court affirmed the AZ law which established an independent redistricting commission to draw the state's US House congressional districts. The 5 member commission has 2 Democrats, 2 Republicans, and 1 independent member. CA, which also has an independent commission, with 53 congressional districts (vs. 9 in AZ) was also an interested party. It now seems less likely that the CA commission setup will be challenged.

Congressional relaxation. You need not worry about the hectic work pace of your representatives and senators because, in addition to their normal 4-days-a-week schedule, there is now a relaxation and reflection movement afoot on Capitol Hill. Sadly, these sessions are only for elected officials and staff, so there will be no chance to drop by, relax with, and chat-up your "people."

South of the Border.......  At present a small, quiet storm is brewing over the Straits of Florida. By announcing that the US and Cuba will reopen their long-shuttered embassies, President Obama added one more piece of tinder to the flames with which the Republican presidential candidates now have to talk about/around. Weren't same sex marriage, the Confederate flag, African American church burnings, and Obama-care enough?

July 4th in D.C.  Perhaps you are old enough to remember some of the lyrics for "Tighten Up," Archie Bell and the Drell's "one hit wonder,." It came to mind while reading how the nation's capital was preparing for the July 4th holiday. Add to that the doleful comment by a former CIA official regarding the prospect of a terrorist holiday incident in the US and you have enough to considerably dampen your holiday spirit. Sadly it seems we are learning to live like the Israelis, Pakistanis, Iraqis, et. al. with that ever present cloud of worry.

Sound. One of the joys of the PBS New Hour programming is their wide diversity. On Thursday, July 2nd, there was a segment that covered, would you believe, sounds of the universe. Grateful Dead drummer, Mickey Hart, talked about how he visualizes, creates, and then plays distinctive primal sounds. His use of visual images from the Hubble telescope's look back to the big bang are simply spectacular.  So, too, are the investigations by neuroscientists into the brain's reaction to his sounds.

Now there are the big five -- Democrats, that is. Former Navy Secretary, US Senator and ex-Marine Jim Webb tossed his hat in the ring last week. His campaign theme revolved around what he called the need to remember and work towards "the American Trifecta — opportunity, fairness, and security."

The 11 "other" declared Democratic candidates get little, if any, press; in fact, most voters are unaware that 16 have declared their desire for the office. In alphabetical order here are the five major Democratic candidates:

• Lincoln Chafee (former Republican, Independent, now Democrat) 
• Hillary Clinton (you know her)
• Martin O'Malley (former democratic MD governor) 
• Senator Bernie Sanders (I, NH)  
• James Webb (former Democratic VA senator, ex-Marine)

Over the July 4th holiday, Senator Sanders drew impressive crowds in IA. Other candidates, of all stripes/parties will be visiting IA and the other early primary states. Among Democrats, it appears there is indeed a hunger for someone other than Hillary.

Greece's debt. This linked article discusses Greece's looming national insolvency problems. One wonders, though, what problems might be found if some US areas were similarly investigated. After all, the Government Accounting Office has found that  social security and disability checks continue to be mailed to deceased recipients.
    This past week I received a "hacked" email from a former student saying that he was stranded, "cashless," in Cyprus where the ATMs were all empty due to Greece's financial crisis. A quick check with a former colleague confirmed that she, too, had received the former student's plea for cash.
     Good news: virtually instantaneous internet communication with friends. Bad news: all the scams associated with the internet.

I hope you had a safe, "firecracker" of a 4th! Thanks for reading.