Politics
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The 10 Blackest Things President Obama Has Done While in Office
When President Barack Obama found a way to incorporate “folks wanna pop off” at an international press conference Monday to address people with misinformation, it was just the latest confirmation of something many of us have suspected for some time: that the president, fully secured in his second and last term in office, is not…
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When Terrorism Strikes, Black Lives Don’t Seem to Matter as Much
Of terrorism’s many destructive traits, none is more horrifying than its ability to unexpectedly snatch our normalcy from us. Recent attacks in Paris force us into somber, hug-your-loved-ones reflections: imagining the romantic, joyful energy of that city and its inhabitants suddenly shattered by the wholesale violence of others. That cruelty always unwraps the pure evil…
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4 Reasons Why No Sane Black Voter Should Be Voting for Ben Carson
Check the latest polls and see neurosurgeon-turned-wannabe-president Ben Carson surf on a sudden wave of black support. Not that black people are voting anytime soon in the Republican primary. But as Theodore R. Johnson III aptly points out on The Root, Carson’s black ratings look better in fictional, general-election matchups than those of his fellow…
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Ben Carson Is Getting a Surprise Boost From African-American Voters
Ben Carson has had a rough couple of weeks. The intense media scrutiny of his biographical claims—from attempting to stab a relative to receiving a scholarship to West Point—have called into question his personal story of redemption. His assertions that the Egyptian pyramids held grain, that Islam is incompatible with the Constitution and that prison…
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Politics, Lies and a Mixtape? The Unlikely Rise and Probable Fall of Ben Carson
How do you explain a phenomenon like Ben Carson? Even better, how do you explain a phenomenon like Ben Carson in our 24-hour news cycle, which is amped by the media methamphetamine that is social media? When I first started this story Wednesday, it was going to be an in-depth look into how Ben Carson,…
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5 Ways the Tuesday Elections We Missed Ended Up Hurting Black People
You can’t say we didn’t warn you, because we did. And after all that protesting noise all year about the plight of black folks under the boot of racist police, it’s quite sad that no one thought to strike this year’s electoral iron while it was test-run hot. But, in case you didn’t know, this…
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Obama to Announce Plan to Promote Rehabilitation and Reintegration for Former Inmates
President Barack Obama has been tackling criminal-justice reform with a vengeance, and on Monday the president plans to take his efforts a step further, announcing new initiatives to help former offenders successfully reintegrate into society. According to the White House, President Obama plans to announce actions that include access to education grants, an arrest guidance for…
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Boko Haram’s Horrifying Trend: Girls Used as Suicide Bombers
In case you were wondering, the group formerly known as Boko Haram didn’t go away. The vicious band of militant Islamists wrecking West Africa is using women and girls to stage a comeback. To date, there have been 53 female suicide bombers in 2015. “No terrorist group in history has used as many female suicide…
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Flat Taxes and Tithing: How the GOP Candidates Plan to Affect Your Wallet
Bills have a due date. People need jobs. And the government is never shy about taking out its portion before you get your paycheck each month. Wednesday night’s debate in Boulder, Colo., was all about your money, or at least that is what was hoped. Per the usual, the moderators got sidetracked in their lines…
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The Walking Jeb: How Jeb Bush’s Campaign Has Become the Living Dead
One of the best things about adult Halloween is that you have no pretense about what you’re really dressing up for. As a kid, it really mattered that you looked like Lando Calrissian or Donatello or a witch. As an adult, you know it’s all for fun, you’re not fooling anyone, and we all know you aren’t…