Politics
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NAACP Should Let Allen West Speak
Writing for the Hill, The Root contributing editor David Swerdlick says the NAACP is wrong to shut down the congressman over his recent accusations about communism. Instead, he argues, members should listen to West and challenge him where they disagree. As the Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers reported last Friday, in the wake of West’s comments,…
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LA Riots Revisited: Now Can We Get Along?
In 1992 four of the Los Angeles Police Department officers who brutally beat Rodney Glen King during a traffic stop were acquitted, and the anger over the perception of injustice set off the Los Angeles riots. Twenty years later The Root asked African-American attorneys, scholars and elected officials to reflect on the nation’s most memorable…
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Barack Obama Is the Cool One; So What?
He makes three-pointers, sings Al Green tunes and has been deemed more likable overall than Mitt Romney. Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post asks whether it will actually make a difference at the polls. Here’s a fundamental fact of the 2012 presidential race: President Obama is cool. Mitt Romney isn’t. At first glance, the coolness…
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Watch This: Obama Slow-Jams the News
On Tuesday night’s Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, the president joined the NBC host in “slow-jamming” the news. “I want to slow-jam the news,” Fallon said, introducing the segment, “but I’m not the only one.” Obama then popped out from behind the curtain to join the host onstage. Check out his number on student-loan programs…
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Obama's Day, April 25: Visiting the University of Iowa
THE WHITE HOUSEOffice of the Press SecretaryFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEDAILY GUIDANCE AND PRESS SCHEDULE FORWEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 2012 In the morning, the President will depart Denver, Colorado en route Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The departure from Buckley Air Force Base and arrival at Eastern Iowa Airport are open press. In the afternoon, the President will visit the…
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Maybe Election 2012 Isn't About the Economy After All
In his column for the Washington Post, Eugene Robinson says that overseas events, more than economic concerns, could decide the outcome of the race for the White House. But it might be more pertinent to ask, for example, what the North Korean news agency meant Monday with its threat to reduce parts of Seoul to…
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NAACP Hotline Puts the Focus on Voting
NAACP President and CEO Ben Jealous was joined by radio host Tom Joyner, American Urban Radio Networks Program Operations President Jerry Lopes and others on Tuesday to unveil a joint phone initiative to empower potential voters. 1-866-MY-VOTE-1 is a hotline that provides information on voter registration, polling locations and tools to report incidents at polling…
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Obama's Day, April 24: Visiting UNC Chapel Hill
THE WHITE HOUSEOffice of the Press SecretaryFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEDAILY GUIDANCE AND PRESS SCHEDULE FORTUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2012In the morning, the President will honor the 2012 National Teacher of the Year and finalists at the White House, thanking them for their hard work and dedication each and every day in the classroom. This event in the…
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GOP Rhetoric Is Delusional and Over the Top
In his most recent column, the Washington Post‘s Eugene Robinson says that right-wing commentary from rocker Ted Nugent and Florida Rep. Allen West is a special kind of poison that we can’t ignore. Believe me, I would prefer not to dignify the ravings of Nugent or West by commenting on them. Nugent seems to be…
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Lawmakers Fight Money in Politics
In the two years since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling that corporate and union political contributions have First Amendment protection, there’s also been a steadily growing, although somewhat ragtag, movement to overturn it. The controversial 2010 decision unleashed a flood of now unlimited corporate money in elections. Super PACs (political…