Portside

This week the Supreme Court will hear one of the most important cases in our generation, Shelby County v. Holder. At issue is Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which requires all or parts of 16 “covered” states with long histories and contemporary records of voting discrimination to seek approval from the federal government for voting changes.

The White House released a report Sunday emphasizing the ways in which the cuts will hurt the middle class, but although important entitlement programs such as Medicaid, Social Security, and food stamps are exempt from sequestration, many programs for low-income families are on the chopping block. Here are 12 of them:

Membership has plummeted and once-powerful groups have lost clout as conservative governments oppose worker activism.

Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis successfully tapped into the wrath of frustrated members and took on Mayor Rahm Emanuel last September when she led the city's first teachers strike in 25 years. On Tuesday, a group of union members said Lewis didn't leverage the strike to get enough from the district — including a guarantee not to close schools — and announced a slate of candidates that will try to unseat Lewis and her team in a regular election set for May

On Wednesday, February 27, 2013, the Court will hear argument in one of the most significant cases of the current term, Shelby County v. Holder, a constitutional challenge to key provisions of Congress’s 2006 reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The preclearance provisions being challenged are viewed as the heart of the Voting Rights Act and are credited with the enormous gains in the enfranchisement of black and other minority citizens.

Contrary to some political rhetoric of late, wage stagnation for American workers and rising inequality is not due to lack of effort; the broad middle class has increased its productivity, upgraded its educational attainment, and worked more hours. Rather it is due to certain policies that have weakened the bargaining position of low- and middle-wage workers. Among these policies is the refusal to set a the minimum wage at an enforceable 50 percent of the average wage.

Thousands of Palestinian prisoners are refusing food for one day in protest at the death of a fellow detainee, Arafat Jaradat. Palestinians said an autopsy performed on Sunday revealed signs of torture. Mr Jaradat's death comes after a week of violent clashes between the Israeli army and Palestinian youths over the continued detention of four hunger strikers. The number of inmates on open-ended hunger strike had climbed to 11 from four.

Of the five documentaries nominated for the Academy Awards on Thursday, no film hits Washington more directly than “The Invisible War,” which looks at sexual assault in the U.S. military. It didn't win the Oscar Sunday night.