Politics
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Why Is FBI Going After Assata Shakur Now?
(The Root) — The FBI’s recent addition to its Most Wanted Terrorists list has reopened long-dormant wounds from America’s racial past. Assata Shakur’s (formerly Joanne Chesimard) distinction of being the first woman on that list evokes the triumphant and tragic legacy of the black power movement. It was during an era whose high point, between…
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Slight Drama Over Obama's Morehouse Commencement Speech
The Washington Post reports that Morehouse College’s president is working to quell a controversy over what role a vocal Obama critic will play at the May 19 graduation ceremony, where the president is scheduled to deliver an address. Morehouse College President John S. Wilson, who headed the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges…
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More Women Want Arms Like Michelle Obama's
Ever since she became first lady, Michelle Obama has been a beacon of fashion and style for many women, with her dresses and gowns becoming must-have items. Her bangs are such a success, at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Barack Obama jokingly said that he was going to adopt the look himself to boost his…
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John McCain Calls for Obama to Act in Syria
On Sunday’s Meet the Press, Sen. John McCain took on Syria and encouraged President Barack Obama to take action in the troubled country, reports NBC News. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, urged the president to begin identifying a strategy to secure Syria’s stockpiles of chemical weapons should the…
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Fighting Felon Disenfranchisement and Winning
In a victory for voters’ rights, felon-disenfranchisement laws are being overturned in Deleware, and NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous writes on the Huffington Post that it’s high time for the rest of the country to follow suit. The amendment, passed at the urging of the Delaware NAACP, allows people with nonviolent felony convictions…
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Obama's Remarks on Bush: 'He Is a Good Man'
President Obama had nothing but praise for his Republican predecessor at Thursday’s dedication of the President George W. Bush Presidential Library in Dallas. Thanking Bush for his courage, humor and leadership in a speech that we’d say could almost be labeled “gushing,” Obama said without qualification, “He is a good man.” Full transcript of the…
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Mean Obama? Nice Obama? Neither Will Beat a Stubborn GOP
Writing at the Huffington Post, Keith Boykin takes on what he says are “delusional and contradictory” notions about how the president could be more effective. Sunday’s New York Times op-ed page featured an astonishing piece from columnist Maureen Dowd arguing that gun background checks would have passed in the U.S. Senate if President Obama had…
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Chicago Teen's Journey to the White House
(The Root) — When President Obama announced the first-ever White House Science Fair back in 2009, he said, “If you win the NCAA championship, you come to the White House. Well, if you’re a young person and you’ve produced the best experiment or design, the best hardware or software, you ought to be recognized for that achievement,…
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How Boston Bomber's Citizenship Application May Affect Immigration Bill
Tamerlan Tsarnaev applied for United States citizenship, but his application was delayed by Homeland Security because the FBI had investigated him, reports the New York Times. The handling of Mr. Tsarnaev’s application could be crucial for the Obama administration in the Senate debate that began this week over a bipartisan bill, which the president supports,…