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When Legal Aid Doesn't Help
Reports from the first few days of argument in the new Supreme Court term suggest that Justice Sonia Sotomayor has settled comfortably into her role on the bench. That’s a good thing because the former prosecutor will be challenged this term to decide some of the most contentious criminal cases to come before the court…
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Former Republican Senator and Charles 'Roc' Dutton Want No More Life in Prison for Teenagers
When he was in high school, he helped burn down a federal building. He shot and killed a cow for fun. He stole. He violated his probation, and one night after a bar fight, he struck a police officer. In his own words, he was a “monster.” If he had received the fullest possible sentence…
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Justice Deferred: Tom Perez In at the Civil Rights Division
After months of Republican blocking behind the scenes, Tom Perez has finally been confirmed as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. The restoration of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department after its virtual decimation during the administration of George W. Bush has been among the highest priorities of Attorney General Eric Holder, and…
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Bad Karma—Awful Team
When a team like the Washington Redskins loses to the team with the two-year worst record in the NFL as they did in Sunday’s embarrassing loss to the Detroit Lions, perhaps it’s time to review a bit more than the game film. In fact, if a group of American Indian activists have their way—Pro-Football, Inc.—the organization that…
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Jimmy Carter's Difficult Truth
One of the prerogatives of advanced age is the right to say things that others can’t or won’t. For many people of advanced age, the decision to speak truth becomes non-negotiable, and elision is replaced by a determined and consistent effort to tell it like it is. This can explain the inappropriate uncle at Thanksgiving…
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This is the President. Get Used to It.
When an outraged Iraqi journalist threw a shoe at President George W. Bush during a visit to Baghdad, the incident was fodder for jokes and snickers. Mostly we laughed at the president’s lightning-quick reaction and the failure of the Secret Service to stop the guy from throwing not one, but two shoes. But even those…
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Obama Schools Republican Members in Speech on Health Reform
Tonight, the President brought the “full Obama” to a joint session of Congress and changed the game on health care reform. It was the speech he should have given three months ago at the beginning of our health care debate, to better frame the issue for the American public. If this speech had come at…
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The Kennedy Strategy
As Congress returns from summer recess and President Obama prepares to address the nation on health care, it’s worth remembering that it’s been barely two weeks since the death of Sen. Edward Kennedy. We’d known that Sen. Kennedy was terminally ill since 2008, when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. But his death still…
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Let's Do it Again…
No sooner did the Supreme Court press office release details about the September 8th formal investiture ceremony of Justice Sonia Sotomayor, than word on the street (Massachusetts Avenue, that is) began to circulate that Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens will resign at the end of the Court’s term next spring. Justice Stevens has apparently…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
