blogging the beltway

Another hot topic at President Obama’s news conference this week, despite his best efforts to focus on the jobs bill, was solar panel manufacturer Solyndra. Last month the company, which in 2009 received a $535 million federal loan, declared bankruptcy. Yet the president had emphatically lauded Solyndra as a model for government investment in clean…

President Obama again pushed for his jobs bill during a news conference on Thursday, challenging lawmakers who vote against it to explain that decision to American voters. But reporters wanted to know what the president had to say to people who are out of work, foreclosed on or barely above water — particularly those who…

On Wednesday, before attendees of the Take Back the American Dream conference in Washington, D.C., boarded buses for a Capitol Hill rally, they first gathered at the Washington Hilton Hotel for one last pep talk. Their action plan for the day was to call on the U.S. Congress to focus urgently on job creation instead…

On Day 2 of the Take Back the American Dream conference in Washington, D.C., activists first discussed strategies for building a stronger progressive movement in general. Then, finally, they dove into how exactly they would channel their renewed energy. One early session looked at how issues championed by many liberal groups — gay marriage, racial…

As the Occupy Wall Street protest enters its third week, spreading across the country and making headlines globally, much U.S. media coverage has downplayed the movement as unorganized and unserious, lacking leadership and clear demands. But activist and author Van Jones sees the protest as just the beginning. On Monday, speaking before attendees at the…

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ wife is getting him into trouble again. Last October, Virginia Thomas left a bizarre voice mail message for Anita Hill, demanding that she apologize for the sexual harassment accusations Hill brought against her husband … 19 years earlier. A month later, Mrs. Thomas drew negative attention for her post as…

UPDATE 9/26/2011: Senate leaders announced on Monday evening that they have reached an agreement to keep the government running. The resolution funds the federal government through Nov. 18, including $2.65 billion for FEMA that the agency can start using on Saturday. The new amount reduces $1 billion from the House’s proposed figure, instead of offsetting…

When speaking before black audiences, President Obama tends to be more charismatic in his delivery. He just plays the room differently — gripping and galvanizing, with a preacherlike cadence that can sometimes rise to a holler at points of emphasis. That was certainly the case on Saturday night at the annual Phoenix Awards Dinner, the…

As an actress (Ghost Whisperer, CSI), stand-up comedian, author and host of the weekly iTunes podcast “Girl on Guy,” Aisha Tyler wears many hats. You can add activist and advocate to that list. On Saturday as part of the CBCF Annual Legislative Conference, Tyler is hosting the Planned Parenthood forum “African American Women and Reproductive…

At Thursday’s CBCF Annual Legislative Conference panel, “Anatomy of a Revolution” (part of the popular Emerging Leaders Series geared toward students and young professionals), activists illuminated the role that young people have played in various change movements, from Alabama to Egypt. For Aisha C. Moodie-Mills, adviser for LGBT policy and racial justice at the Center…