Politics
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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.…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
From Ben Carson to Donald Trump: Politicians and Their Imaginary Friends
Editor’s note: We revised this post after Sen. Cory Booker’s representatives contacted us to say that T-Bone is a real person. Donald Trump has an imaginary friend named Jim. Ben Carson not only invented a fake friend, but then he stabbed his fake friend in an argument. In this new millennium, it’s become the way…
-
Y’all’s President Has Turned the White House Into The Real Housewives of White Supremacy
I’m beginning to think y’all’s president is a fake-ass Mona Scott-Young. Well, Mona Scott-Young if Mona Scott-Young were a 71-year-old white man with the intellectual curiosity of Cujo (after Cujo was shot dead), and the emotional intelligence of a raging teenager who just gulped the last bottle of Four Loko in North America. Yes, that’s…
-
Dun Dun Dun! Grand Jury Impaneled by Special Counsel in Russia Investigation
Robert Mueller, the special counsel appointed to oversee the investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, has impaneled a grand jury in Washington, D.C., a clear indication that the investigation may, in fact, be yielding fruit and is moving full speed ahead. The Wall Street Journal reports that the grand jury began…