Is it not better to let the local people work out these problems, rather than to rush things on them, and try to change their customs overnight? As a matter of fact, if you gentlemen want to take any action, however, if the proponents of this bill are not satisfied…with the enforcement by the governors of the states of the nation…or if the federal government is not satisfied with the enforcement being given to the voting laws of the states to protect the rights of the people to vote, then why do they not enforce the federal statute that is already on the books?”
- US Senator Strom Thurmond, 24 hour 18 minute filibuster in opposition to the 1957 Civil Rights Act (August 28-29, 1957) According to the excerpt, what step should government officials have taken to address their concerns about protecting people’s right to vote?

It is widely assumed that people need to engage in intellectual activities such as solving crossword puzzles or mathematics problems in order to maintain mental sharpness as they age. in fact, however, simply talking to other people—that is, participating in social interaction, which engages many mental and perceptual skills—suffices. evidence to this effect comes from a study showing that the more social contact people report, the better their mental skills. which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the force of the evidence cited? (a) as people grow older, they are often advised to keep exercising their physical and mental capacities in order to maintain or improve them. (b) many medical conditions and treatments that adversely affect a person's mental sharpness also tend to increase that person's social isolation. (c) many people are proficient both in social interactions and in solving mathematical problems. (d) the study did not itself collect data but analyzed data bearing on the issue from prior studies. (e) the tasks evaluating mental sharpness for which data were compiled by the study were more akin to mathematics problems than to conversation.