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The N-Word: Lawsuit Exposes Double-Standard Myths
At MSNBC Adam Serwer says that the workplace will likely be the only place impacted by last week’s court ruling that use of the n-word is wrong, even among blacks. Like it or not, he says, the word has become a permanent fixture in America’s nomenclature, with all of its connotations. Earlier this week, a…
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Is the Obama Administration Snooping Through Our Data?
MSNBC‘s Adam Serwer analyzes President Obama’s recent “assurances” on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno that the government isn’t spying on Americans, in light of information revealed by National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden about the agency’s worldwide data-gathering networks. President Obama said the U.S. government is not spying on American citizens during an appearance…
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Is the GOP Trying to Patch the Voting Rights Act?
When Republican members of the House held their first hearing on Thursday to determine what steps to take since the Supreme Court has struck down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, they didn’t seem interested in doing much of anything, Adam Serwer writes at MSNBC. It doesn’t bode well, he writes, since they…
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Rachel Jeantel and Juror B37: 2 Women, 2 Stories
MSNBC‘s Adam Serwer examines the gulf between Rachel Jeantel and juror B37 in George Zimmerman’s second-degree-murder trial, concluding that their “perceptions of the case and the two men involved” mirrors the racial divide in America. Rachel Jeantel’s face lit up when describing how she and Trayvon Martin would sometimes talk on the phone all day.…
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Why Section 3 Could Save the Voting Rights Act
MSNBC‘s Adam Serwer writes that Section 3 of the Voting Rights Act could save the law because it allows the federal government to require jurisdictions with recent records of discrimination to submit their election-law changes for clearance. Voting rights advocates are testing whether a little-used provision of the Voting Rights Act could limit the damage of…
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Chuck Hagel as Defense Secy: Abortion Views Not a Barrier
In a blog entry at Mother Jones, Adam Serwer weighs in on President Obama’s possible selection of the GOP’s Chuck Hagel as a replacement for Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta. The former Nebraska senator has faced criticism from various quarters but likely would not face opposition from abortion groups, even though he has repeatedly voted…
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DOJ Faces Challenge Investigating Trayvon Martin's Death
In a blog entry at Mother Jones, Adam Serwer says that the Justice Department’s top civil rights lawyer, Thomas Perez, who has looked into crimes and police abuses for years, will investigate the Trayvon Martin shooting. Serwer describes it as one of his biggest challenges yet. On Tuesday, city officials from Sanford, Florida, trekked to…
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Amendment to Allow Employers to Block HIV Screening?
In a blog entry at Mother Jones, Adam Serwer assesses Missouri Republican Sen. Roy Blunt’s proposed amendment to the Affordable Care Act, which he says would expand “conscience” exemptions. Further, Serwer says, it could allow employers to discriminate against someone with HIV or AIDS. The Weekly Standard’s John McCormack insists that my piece a few…
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Obama and the Decision to Kill Suspected Terrorists
In a blog entry at Mother Jones, Adam Serwer questions the fairness of an opaque process that allows the Obama administration to kill citizens suspected of terrorism without a trial. In an interview with CBS 60 Minutes’ Scott Pelley, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta revealed more about the secret process the Obama administration uses to…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
