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5 Things to Know About the Iowa Caucuses
It’s not as if Iowa represents a diverse cross section of America. With a population of just more than 3 million, the state doesn’t even have that many people. And it’s not the only place to have a voting event leading up to a presidential election — while the Iowa Republican caucuses take place this…
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New Year's Resolutions for Obama
With a new year comes a fresh start, and the chance to learn from past mistakes. As his first term in office winds to a close, here are some changes for 2012 that we suggest President Obama check off his list. Get the unemployment rate down to 8 percent: Analysts often reference this factoid: No…
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Who Is ALEC and Why Is It So Powerful?
In the fall of 1980, at a religious-right gathering in Dallas, conservative activist Paul Weyrich griped about fellow Christians who held the notion that all U.S. citizens should vote. “I don’t want everybody to vote,” he said plainly. “Elections are not won by a majority of people; they never have been, from the beginning of…
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Nothing Certain After Kim Jong Il
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il died on Saturday at the age of 69 after “having a heart attack on a train,” according to a state television announcement. Kim, who isolated his country and kept the world on edge with his nuclear-weapons program, suffered a stroke in 2008. Last year he anointed his youngest son,…
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Obama to Congress: Tax Cut or No Vacay
After last-minute negotiating on Thursday night, congressional leaders reached a $1 trillion spending agreement to fund the federal government through 2012. Beating the deadline by just 27 hours, the deal put the brakes on an impending government shutdown. In the “You win some, you lose some” deal, Republicans agreed to drop a tacked-on policy measure…
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Top Moments of the Republican Debate
Seven candidates for the Republican presidential nomination faced off in Sioux City, Iowa, on Thursday night for their final debate before the Iowa caucuses (that’s debate No. 13, for those of you counting). Hosted by Fox News, the high-stakes discussion served as their last chance to make an impression. Here are some of the night’s…
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Obama's Campaign Isn't Worried About 2012
With the start of the primary season now just weeks away, the heated Republican race is monopolizing election news. In an endless string of debates, stump speeches and interviews this year, each GOP contender has jumped to explain why his or her vision for the country is best. And as the economy continues to be…
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Obama Marks End of War in Iraq
As the war in Iraq comes to an end this month, closing out nearly nine years of combat, thousands of service members will finally come home. On Wednesday President Obama and the first lady visited Fort Bragg, N.C., to thank hundreds of newly returned soldiers for their service. “As your commander-in-chief and on behalf of…
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Holder: Don't Take Right to Vote for Granted
It’s no coincidence that Attorney General Eric Holder chose the Lyndon B. Johnson Library in Austin, Texas, as the site of a forceful speech against voter suppression. He referenced the location’s significance right at the top. “In 1965, when President Johnson signed the landmark Voting Rights Act into law, he proclaimed that ‘the right to vote…
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What Will Eric Holder Say on Voting Rights?
Despite growing furor over state laws to restrict voting around the country — legislation that sets severe barriers to voter-registration drives, dramatic cuts to early voting and the permanent disenfranchisement of ex-felons, among other tactics — the Department of Justice hasn’t exactly staked a claim. For months, Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez has insisted that…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
