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Really, Pat Buchanan?
THE ROOT recently ran a story about why failed, racist Republican politician turned commentator, Pat Buchanan—the devil we know—is better than the devil we don’t. Adam Serwer argued: His rants, while offensive, aren’t persuasive to anyone who doesn’t already agree with him. But they discredit the notion that the Republican Party has entirely moved on…
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Does Gitmo Have Room for One More?
From Black Spin: “Don’t you hate it when some fool tweaks raw racial sores and the First Amendment just to get attention? Allow me to introduce you to the latest, and one of the most offensive perpetrators: Michael Hunt. Hunt, a black man, walked into a Los Angeles City Council meeting and refused to remove…
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Bending Toward Justice
Ben Jealous is an odd fit for the position of race leader. He’s not a civil rights icon. He’s not a trailblazing elected official. Hell, he’s not even a netroots pioneer. But most of all, he’s not a very good preacher—his oratory is more strained than inspired, loaded with colloquialisms that sound dutiful rather than…
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Double-Edged Steele
RNC Chair Michael Steele’s antics are a lot easier to explain if you consider the possibility that he’s a double agent working for President Barack Obama—ponder this… A few months back, CNN reported that Confederate President Jefferson Davis’ house slave, William Jackson, was an agent for the Union army. Davis spoke with his generals openly…
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Why Did Sotomayor Need to Explain "Wise Latina"?
I think I felt my head shrink while listening to Sotomayor interpret her “wise Latina” remark to the Senate. In fact, I think a couple of teeth fell out my mouth and a bone snapped while Sotomayor explained, in detail, how her Puerto Rican-ness wouldn’t trump her fidelity to law. Baby, it was painful. The…
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No Empathy Debate for Regina Benjamin
When Hurricane Katrina flooded much of the Gulf Coast in 2005, Dr. Regina Benjamin’s rural health clinic in a south Alabama shrimping village was just one of the casualties, but despite all the chaos, the doctor’s patients didn’t suffer without medical care. Benjamin set up shop on the stage at the Bayou La Batre Community…
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The Free Republic's Attack on Malia Obama
So… I’m walking home from my morning workout in Fort Greene Park, sipping on some coconut water, and the racist attack against 11-year-old Malia Obama stood up in my mind and demanded attention. When I heard about the remarks at the Free Republic a few days ago, you know, the ghetto street trash/abortion crazy, I…
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Studying War Some More
The Hurt Locker is not a great war film. It doesn’t glorify combat or condemn battle. It does not try to explain why conflict exists. It does not salute the dead or mourn their deaths. It’s an explosive and honest rendering of what happens in war zones. The film, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, focuses on…
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Philly Swim Club Says No to Black Kids
So the Valley Swim Club on the outskirts of Philly is livid. A group of black and Latino summer campers showed up at their pool for a nice refreshing swim. However, the Valley Swim Club doesn’t want black or Latino children from the Creative Steps Day Camp in Northeast Philly in their pool. [Even if…
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Hung?
Ahem. In case you didn’t notice, the cold-blooded killers behind two of the worst, most shocking shooting rampages in recent times—Jiverly Wong, responsible for the lives of 13 at an immigrant services center in Binghamton, N.Y., and Seung-Hui Cho, who took down 32 at Virginia Tech—had something in common. And let’s not forget Haiyang Zhu,…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
