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House Ethics Committee Postpones Waters Hearing
After yesterday recommending a censure of Rep. Charles Rangel, the House ethics committee today postponed indefinitely Rep. Maxine Waters’ ethics hearing. The committee cited “new evidence” as its reason for postponement, though it would not specify what that new evidence included. In July, Waters was accused of improperly securing TARP funds for a bank in…
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Four Loko Hysteria Smacks of Classism
You’re safer today, America! After being threatened with a shutdown by the Food and Drug Administration and after having their product banned by several states, the makers of the caffeinated “alcopop” Four Loko have agreed to remove all of the caffeine from their malt liquor beverage. The hubbub began several weeks ago, when reports emerged…
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Consumer Group: Kardashian Card Dangerous
The Kardashian sisters today came under fire by consumer advocacy groups for the predatory hidden fees of their newly released prepaid debit cards. Called the Kardashian Kard (kute!), the card comes “loaded with hidden fees and weak consumer protections,” according to the Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports. Here’s a sampling of the…
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Pelosi to Again Lead House Dems; Clyburn Is Third
Outgoing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi won a secret vote in the Democratic House Caucus this afternoon to become the next House minority leader. By a vote of 150 to 46, Pelosi defeated just one opponent, Heath Shuler, a centrist representative from North Carolina. Rounding out the House Democratic leadership will be Steny Hoyer,…
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Poll: Majority of Americans Against the Death Penalty
Unless I’m mistaken, this is big news for both the nation at large and African Americans in particular: According to a national poll of 1,500 registered voters conducted by Lake Research Partners, 61 percent of Americans surveyed said they would prefer alternative punishments for murder, such as life without parole, over the death penalty. As…
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Rangel Found Guilty of 11 Ethics Violations
An eight-member House ethics panel today found Rep. Charles B. Rangel of New York guilty of violating 11 House rules. Rangel, who was not present at the ruling, having walked out of panel proceedings yesterday, had been charged with 13 counts of financial and fundraising misconduct. Rangel, who was re-elected to a 20th term Nov.…
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Does Kanye West Need a Therapist?
In a flowery open letter to Kanye West last week, Def Jam founder and media mogul Russell Simmons told the oft-embroiled rapper that “brilliance is not a word that can even begin to describe your ability.” Referencing a few of West’s most recent musical achievements, as well as the renewed controversy surrounding his infamous assertion…
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A Theory About Why Blacks Didn't Vote in 2010
You can tell a lot about a company by how they advertise, and to whom. For instance, it’s no mistake that American Apparel, the go-to hipster uniform if there is one, spends much of its ad bucks on full pages in trendy downtown magazines like Vice and Blackbook. In the same vein, you have to…
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Social Security Isn't Racist
The bipartisan co-chairs of a presidential commission that was convened to cut the budget deficit recommended on Wednesday raising the Social Security retirement age to 68 by 2050 and 69 by 2075. Certain physically taxing jobs would be given a “hardship exception,” according to the commission’s report, but if Congress enacts the retirement extensions, the…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
