On Tuesday the Senate voted on the USA Freedom Act, legislation designed to give Americans more privacy from the federal government. The bill was a specific attempt to stop the government from collecting phone records, a process that was revealed last year by Edward Snowden, the former government contractor who released classified documents outlining the…

In 2000, Gen. Colin Powell was elected president of the United States. He rode into office on high favorability ratings resulting from his successful stint as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. His core conviction was best captured in his 1996 Republican National Convention speech, in which he proclaimed that a united America…

On Labor Day in Milwaukee, President Barack Obama gave a rousing speech to supporters in which he accused Republicans of playing political games instead of helping American families. When the crowd started to boo, the president leaned on a quip from his 2012 re-election campaign: “Don’t boo. Vote!” It’s a familiar sentiment, particularly in the…

Every so often, an incident symptomatic of deeper issues triggers a release valve for collective despair. The killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., sparked a movement much larger than concerns about the aggressive policing of black men. The marches and protests are a larger commentary about the economic and societal disenfranchisement of black people…

The black electorate is back en vogue. After saving Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran from defeat in the Republican primary just months after propelling Democrat Terry McAuliffe to Virginia’s governorship, black America has demonstrated that it indeed can determine the outcome of elections. More important, perhaps, is the subtext of these results: The black vote is…