Politics
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South Dakota GOP Wants to Impeach Obama
Claiming that he has repeatedly “violated his oath of office,” Republican South Dakota lawmakers passed a resolution Saturday to impeach President Barack Obama, according to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader. Specifically, the site says, the resolution cites the trade of five Taliban detainees for U.S. Army soldier Bowe Bergdahl, as well as the president’s oft-criticized…
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When It Comes to Voting, Freedom Summer Wasn’t a One-Time Event
In January my father retraced steps he took 50 years ago in Hattiesburg, Miss. As a teenager in 1964, he had locked arms with men and women of goodwill seeking the most sacred and elusive right of citizenship: the vote. Later that year, Mississippi would become the site of the extraordinary Freedom Summer, when students…
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Obama Expands Benefits for Same-Sex Couples
President Barack Obama on Friday granted a number of new federal benefits, including Social Security, to same-sex couples, nearly a year after the Supreme Court struck down a measure prohibiting federal recognition of gay marriage, the Associated Press reports. The provision extends even to couples living in states where same-sex marriage is not legal, the…
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My Brother’s Keeper: Stop Writing Letters, Just Do the Work
Over the past few days my Twitter feed has buzzed about the letter signed by 1,000 women and girls urging President Barack Obama to broaden his My Brother’s Keeper initiative. The letter and subsequent commentaries attack the president, accusing him of any number of sins for not including women and girls in this program. Yes,…
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‘Faith & Freedom’ Are About How We Treat Our Fellow Americans
As an ordained United Methodist Church minister myself, when I speak at home or around the country, I am exceedingly particular about the language I use to express my support for, or opposition to, political or policy positions. I am humble enough to recognize clearly that the voice of God that I hear is sometimes…
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Stripping Teacher Protections Doesn’t Help Children
The AFL-CIO, along with the undersigned civil rights organizations, believes that every child has the right to a high-quality education. Last week the Los Angeles County Court invoked that right, under California’s Constitution, but its decision in Vergara v. California identifies classroom teachers as the one and only problem facing public schools. The ruling unfortunately targets all educators, including…
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5 Things You Should Know About the Koch Brothers—Who Just Gave Black Colleges $25M
You may often hear the words “Koch brothers” during casual flips through tense cable TV talk shows or when a campaign attack ad invades your television screen. But you might also be among that half of all Americans who don’t really know who they are, according to an April Wall Street Journal-NBC poll. But when…
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Obama’s Critics Are Wrong: Right Now Iraq Isn’t a Worst-Case Scenario for the US
All eyes shift again to Iraq … and the sky is falling. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has been out grumpily arguing that President Barack Obama’s 2011 withdrawal from Iraq was a “colossal failure of American security policy.” In other words, he’s saying: Blame Barack; dozing at the diplomatic wheel has led to the current Iraqi…
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Will White Voters in the Black Belt Ever Get Out of Their Own Way?
In the area of the American South informally known as the Black Belt, cross-racial political coalitions should form naturally. After all, the poverty rate in the region hovers around 16.5 percent and cuts across racial lines. Plus, polling has shown that white Southerners hold populist views similar to those of their black neighbors—the majority agreeing that…
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Fla. Gov. Rick Scott Signs Late Term Abortion Bill
In one of the most stringent state laws, abortions will be illegal in Florida at any point during a woman’s pregnancy if a doctor rules that the fetus could survive outside the womb, the Associated Press reports. Gov. Rick Scott signed a measure Friday “that redefines that state’s current third trimester abortion ban,” the AP…