Politics
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Julian Bond: Why I Likened the Tea Party to the Taliban
When retired NAACP leader Julian Bond said the Tea Party was “the Taliban wing of American politics” on MSNBC earlier this month, some people were not happy. But the long-time civil rights warrior writes on the Trice Edny News Wire that even a Republican agrees with his statement. One source is a study conducted for the…
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Obama: Oklahoma Will Bounce Back With Our Help
On Sunday, President Obama toured the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, an area hardest hit by the tornadoes last week, before delivering remarks and asking Americans to donate recovery funds, reports CNN. Funeral homes and churches were busy with services nearly a week after the devastating storm, which killed 24 people, injured more than 375 others…
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Did Blacks Start the Trend of Heckling Obama?
After President Obama was heckled during his speech on counterterrorism Thursday, some people wondered how many times these types of interruptions have happened to the POTUS. The Huffington Post‘s Earl Ofari Hutchinson writes that the trend began with black protestors but has carried on thanks to the heightened American fringe culture, like the Tea Party,…
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Tavis Smiley: White House Pressured Sponsors to Pull Support
On Friday, television and radio host Tavis Smiley celebrated the 10th anniversary of his Tavis Smiley show on PBS and defended his right to critique President Obama, reports Lynn Elber of the Associated Press (via the Huffington Post). According to Elber, Smiley says freedom of speech hasn’t come without its price and that sponsors have been…
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Time for a Moratorium on School Suspensions?
(The Root) — A sociologist presenting at a strategy session at the NAACP Leadership 500 Summit in Naples, Fla., on Friday proposed a radical change to school discipline policies that she said would improve educational outcomes, in particular for black and Latino children, who are subjected to disproportionately harsh punishments. “We need to look at…
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Obama: Sexual Assault Threatens Military Trust
On Friday, President Obama used his U.S. Naval Academy commencement speech to decry sexual assault in the military, writes USA Today. “Those who commit sexual assault are not only committing a crime, they threaten the trust and discipline that makes our military strong,” Obama said during commencement services at the U.S. Naval Academy. Obama…
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Obama: We Must Define the War on Terror or It Will Define Us
On Thursday, President Obama delivered a major speech at the Natonal Defense University in Washington, D.C., on the changing face of the war on terror, repairing U.S. relations with the Muslim community, his efforts to close Guantánamo Bay and the necessity for drones, reports NBC News. “We must define the nature and scope of this…
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Look: President Obama's 'Foxy' 1979 Prom Photos
President Obama’s senior-prom photos from high school have surfaced, thanks to classmate Kelli Allman (née McCormack), and Time reveals that his outfit was fantastic. Time also got ahold of some choice pages from Allman’s yearbook, in which a young “Barry” Obama spits major 1979 game, writing to Allman, “You are extremely sweet and foxy.” Barry spent his days…
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Obama at Morehouse: Try Another Listen
(The Root) — As I suspect is the case with many African-American voters who hoped against hope that Barack Obama’s presidency would bring about a sea change in the condition of our people, I’ve been disappointed with what he has been able to accomplish. I give him full credit for the considerable achievements of his…