Politics
-
Emmett J. Rice, Federal Reserve Governor, Dies at 91
Emmett J. Rice, 91, a former World Bank official and member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, and the father of Susan E. Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, died March 10 at his home in Camas, Wash. He had congestive heart failure. Dr. Rice was a pioneering economist, banking official and…
-
Supreme Court Keeps Door Open for Prisoner Civil Rights Claims
Criminal justice has always held a prominent place in the work of civil rights. From the trials of the Scottsboro boys; to the wrongful convictions in Tulia, Texas, in the 1990s; to the NAACP’s recent successful intervention on behalf of the Scott sisters, rooting out injustice in the criminal-justice system has long defined the essence…
-
Presidential Hopeful: 'Don't Condemn Me Because the First Black One Was Bad'
Potential Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain attempted to distance himself from President Obama during a recent interview in New Hampshire. The Union Leader reports on his comments: “But there are some people who will say, ‘I’m not going to vote for another black guy because this one didn’t work out.’ “And my response is, ‘Well,…
-
Former White House Press Secretary: 'This White House of All White Houses' Should Not Make Fun of Boehner's Skin Color
Dana Perino, former White House press secretary for George W. Bush, doesn’t seem to like Barack Obama’s jokes. Speaking at the annual Gridiron Club dinner recently, Obama roasted House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) about his skin color. “I’ve made a few jokes over the years about John’s unusual coloring,” he said. “I used to think…
-
President Obama Pens Letter About Gun Laws
In the aftermath of the January shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, President Obama wants the country to keep talking about the importance of gun laws. Over the weekend, he wrote an op-ed letter to the Arizona Daily Star, the daily newspaper in Rep. Giffords’ congressional district, urging for stronger enforcement of gun laws. President Obama…
-
Gutting Unions Hurts the Black Middle Class
We’re republishing this article, which originally ran on March 10, 2011, in honor of Labor Day. “The Fabulous 14.” That’s what Rozalia Harris and other members of the Milwaukee teachers union call the renegade Democratic state senators who fled Wisconsin on Feb. 17 to stop a vote on a proposed spending plan that includes restrictions…
-
Notorious HIV: The Criminal Prosecution of a Virus
In Texas, a man is serving 35 years in prison for spitting at a police officer. In the state of Washington, a 19-year-old college student sits behind bars on first-degree assault charges for having unprotected sex with his girlfriend. A Georgia woman was sentenced to eight years in prison after consensual sex without a condom,…
-
President Obama Jokes About 'Birther' Debate
Rachel Rose Hartman of Yahoo News is reporting that President Barack Obama made light of the “Birther” debate during his comments at a Democratic fundraiser in Boston. He joked about the fact that people don’t believe that he was born in Hawaii. She reports that the president stated the following: “I think there’s nothing —…
-
GOP Pushes Anti-Union Legislation Through in Wisconsin
MSNBC is reporting that Republicans pushed a provision stripping public employees of their collective bargaining rights through the state Senate Wednesday evening after finding a way to bypass the chamber’s missing Democrats. Republican senators separated the provision from Gov. Scott Walker’s controversial budget bill, removing the requirement that 20 senators be present for a vote…
-
VIDEO: White House Conference Tackles Bullying
On Thursday, President Obama will convene a daylong White House Conference on Preventing Bullying. USA Today reports: It marks the first time a president has brought so much attention to the difficult and sometimes devastating problem. The goal of the conference, according to the White House, is to dispel a commonly held belief that bullying…