Politics

When I watched President Obama speaking to ABC’s Robin Roberts about his position on same-sex marriage, I didn’t think about it being another moment in history so much as I thought of another historic figure: Bayard Rustin. Rustin, who died in 1987, is remembered as the principal organizer of the March on Washington in 1963.…

President Obama greets a graduate before making the commencement address at Barnard College on May 14 in New York. Obama headed to New York to speak at the Barnard College commencement, appear on The View and attend a campaign fundraiser.

THE WHITE HOUSEOffice of the Press SecretaryFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEDAILY GUIDANCE AND PRESS SCHEDULE FORTUESDAY, MAY 15, 2012In the morning, the President and the Vice President will receive the Presidential Daily Briefing in the Oval Office. This meeting is closed press.Later in the morning, the President will deliver remarks at the National Peace Officers Memorial Service,…

“I never thought I would make it past my 16th birthday. To grow up and have that thought at a young age is unsettling — the thought or feeling of knowing or expecting that today could be my last day on Earth, only because someone hates me for being the person I felt would make…

THE WHITE HOUSEOffice of the Press SecretaryFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEDAILY GUIDANCE AND PRESS SCHEDULE FORMONDAY, MAY 14, 2012In the morning, the President will travel to New York City. The departure from the South Lawn and the arrival at John F. Kennedy International Airport are open press.In New York City, the President will deliver the commencement address…

Amid the sea of statistics I scan each day, one jumped out recently: According to a study, African-American children are four to six times more likely than white children to die from asthma (pdf). That chronic disease, along with other illnesses, is linked to toxins pumped out by coal-fired power plants, and approximately 68 percent…

Some of the ways that we measure the economy just don’t square with our daily reality. Take the unemployment rate, announced to great fanfare each month. A lot of people think it measures the percentage of Americans who don’t have jobs. But that would be too simple. The Bureau of Labor Statistics explains the measurement…

Gara LaMarche says that the president’s evolved view on gay marriage is a reminder that we mustn’t deprive anyone of his or her humanity. Yesterday’s watershed declaration by the President on same-sex marriage made me think about an experience I had with the class I taught this semester to prisoners at Eastern Correctional Facility. It’s…

In almost all cases evolution is a good thing. The fact that I am sitting at a desk typing is evolution — my prehistoric ancestors found relief by banging their hands against a rock. The president’s recent announcement that he has become fully evolved on the issue of marriage equality is another sign that over…