Politics
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Some of Us Are Not Convinced Y’all’s President Won’t Start a Nuclear War
Let select members of the Tropicana Jong-il administration tell it, we needn’t worry about the threat of looming nuclear war. During an appearance on ABC’s This Week, national security adviser H.R. McMaster was asked whether or not the United States was any closer to war with North Korea than it had been in recent memory.…
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Under Obama, Blackness Grew Belligerent. Under Trump, the KKK Grows a Face
The last week has seen images of the Ku Klux Klan grip news coverage on Charlottesville, Va. However, they weren’t the images of old: that hooded, grotesque interpretation of mythical Southern-gent chivalry, who lynched and brandished fire in faceless anonymity. The new Klan had a face. To understand why, we need to talk about belligerence.…
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‘Black’ Surrogates Take to Social Media to Tap-Dance for Trump’s White Supremacist Bullshit
President Donald Trump defended white supremacists in George Wallace fashion yesterday at Trump Tower in New York City, and like clockwork, his black surrogates took to social media to step and fetch for him. It doesn’t matter that a white supremacist is being held on a second-degree murder charge after, law-enforcement officials say, he rammed…
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Ala. Mayoral Candidate Randall Woodfin Is a Sign of the Growing Progressive Movement in the South
Randall Woodfin believes any political revolution that takes off across the nation starts in cities like his hometown of Birmingham, Ala., where he is running as a progressive candidate for mayor. Sure, Donald Trump literally encouraged local police to abuse people in their custody, but the people with real power to ensure that doesn’t happen…
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Watch: The Making of Auntie Maxine
Some might say that Maxine Waters’ career in politics was a prophecy. In high school, Waters was named most likely to be the speaker of the House of Representatives. The rest is history. Politically, she got her start in 1976 with the California Assembly. There, she led a seven-year fight for legislation that would remove…
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Why I Participated in That Hot-Mess Panel With Omarosa at NABJ Last Week
“It’s gonna be a shit show. Why are you participating in a shit show?” “It’s not gonna be a shit show.” “It’s totally gonna be a shit show, and I specifically remember you saying last year you want to AVOID shit shows.” This was pretty much the exchange between me and The Root’s editor-in-chief, Danielle…
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Civil Asset Forfeiture Seems to Target Poor Black and Brown People. Why Is That?
We’ve discussed civil asset forfeiture before. This is the practice that allows law enforcement to take your cash, cars, home and any other property away from you if you are suspected of a crime. No conviction is necessary, and you don’t even have to be a drug dealer to be a target. Last month, U.S.…
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Black Unemployment Hits Historic Low. Should Trump Get Credit or Are We Getting Played?
One thing that happens in a new relationship is that you start getting confused about who gets credit for what. Was I this good a salsa dancer with my ex? He (or she) totally cries during This Is Us, just like I do! Did I always like shrimp and grits, or does new bae just…
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Kim Jong Un Is Showing Us That Trump Is the Real Crazy Man
With each advancement that North Korea makes in its nuclear-weapons program, Donald Trump responds with predictable petulance. He warned that North Korea would face “fire and fury like the world has never seen” after learning it had produced a miniaturized warhead that can fit inside its missiles. In the past, U.S. leaders usually exercised calm…
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How Russia Used Racism to Hack White Voters
It’s easy to blame Russian President Vladimir Putin and the various intelligence agencies he oversees for the political discord hemorrhaging Washington, D.C., and the rest of the country. The intelligence community determined (pdf) in January that the Kremlin deployed a bevy of tactics to sway public opinion in favor of Donald Trump. Recent reports found…