blogging the beltway

With the federal government cracking down hard on Four Loko, the controversial malt liquor drink that’s already been banned in several states, many businesses that once sold the beverage are finding themselves with an unwanted surplus of contraband booze. While most liquor and convenience store owners are simply dumping this orphaned Four Loko down the…

A new report released today confirms what many people already know: old white wealthy Republican voters came out in droves for the 2010 midterm elections; minorities stayed home. It was that simple, and it’s what led to the thumping the Democrats took in the House and Senate. The study, done by nonpartisan, nonprofit research center…

A full twenty days after the close of the midterm elections, California’s attorney general race is still too close to call, but Democratic candidate Kamala Harris appears to have a slight lead. According to California’s secretary of state, Harris is leading Republican Steve Cooley, the LA County district attorney, by half of one percent, with…

The Kardashian sisters today came under fire by consumer advocacy groups for the predatory hidden fees of their newly released prepaid debit cards. Called the Kardashian Kard (kute!), the card comes “loaded with hidden fees and weak consumer protections,” according to the Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports. Here’s a sampling of the…

Unless I’m mistaken, this is big news for both the nation at large and African Americans in particular: According to a national poll of 1,500 registered voters conducted by Lake Research Partners, 61 percent of Americans surveyed said they would prefer alternative punishments for murder, such as life without parole, over the death penalty. As…

You can tell a lot about a company by how they advertise, and to whom. For instance, it’s no mistake that American Apparel, the go-to hipster uniform if there is one, spends much of its ad bucks on full pages in trendy downtown magazines like Vice and Blackbook. In the same vein, you have to…

South Carolina Republican congressman-elect Tim Scott, a member of 2010’s The Root 100, is wasting no time in his chase for congressional glory. Today, the 45-year-old announced that he is running for the Elected Leadership Committee’s freshman position. The committee serves as a gathering place for House Republicans to plan policy and messaging, and this…

A presidential commission convened to cut the budget deficit today recommended raising the Social Security retirement age to 69. Also today, the American Human Development Project released a report showing that, at 71 years, African Americans living in Washington, DC, have the lowest life expectancy of anyone in the United States. In other words, on…

An official in the office of Veterans Affairs today said during a meeting at the White House that the VA is preparing for “leaner times” in the wake of the GOP takeover of the house last Tuesday. Obama’s 2011 budget, which has yet to be approved, calls for more than $60 billion for the VA,…

In a statement released today to The Root, Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said that Republican Congressmen-elects Tim Scott (S.C.) and Allen West (Fla.) are free to join the CBC if they so choose. “Membership in the Congressional Black Caucus has never been restricted to Democrats,” she said. “Should either of the two…