Politics
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Black Businesses Grew at 3 Times the National Rate
Between 2002 and 2007, the number of black-owned businesses in the United States increased by 61 percent to 1.9 million. It was a growth rate more than triple the 18 percent rate for all businesses. Black-owned firms also saw their receipts rise 55 percent to $137.5 billion during those years. It is a great snapshot…
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Finally! Obama Has Given Up Cigarettes
The AP is reporting that with the help of a little gum, President Obama has sworn off cigarettes once and for all. The first lady (who must be so relieved) made the announcement: “Yes, he has,” the first lady told reporters at the White House when asked whether her husband had finally done what millions…
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Documentary to Explore Double Life of Civil Rights Photographer and FBI Informant
He shot some of the most compelling photographs of the civil rights movement, but Ernest Withers was also a paid informant for the FBI. Documents discovered after his death suggest that he was part of the FBI’s official “Ghetto Informant Program.” CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien will tell the story of his secret…
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Egypt Reform Continues: Mubarak Forms Committees
The Associated Press is reporting that President Hosni Mubarak’s regime set up a committee Tuesday to recommend constitutional changes that would relax presidential eligibility rules and impose term limits. Mubarak’s decrees were announced on state television by Vice President Omar Suleiman, who also said that Mubarak had announced the creation of a separate committee to…
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Health Care Rulings: No 'Sputnik Moment'
The decision by the federal district court in Florida that strikes down the new health care law as unconstitutional is just another example of why, despite the urgent call of President Obama, our country may not be ready for a “Sputnik moment.” It was exciting to imagine, during the compelling call to arms in President…
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Obama: Egypt Will Not Go Back to What It Was
The Associated Press is reporting that President Barack Obama said Sunday that Egypt is not going to go back to the way it was before pro-democracy protests took over the country, and played down prospects that the Muslim Brotherhood would play a major role in a new government. “I think that the Muslim Brotherhood is…
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Why I Won't Celebrate Ronald Reagan's 100th Birthday
Like most African Americans old enough to shudder with revulsion when they remember Ronald Reagan’s presidency, I won’t be joining the hagiographical celebration of the late conservative saint’s 100th birthday that is scheduled to take place this weekend. There will simply be too many lies. The celebrations won’t be talking about it, but neither the…
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Where Did Bipartisanship Go?
Despite the spirit of cooperation and the afterglow of recent bipartisan victories by President Barack Obama, some politicians still don’t get it. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is one of them. The Senate majority leader’s decision to avoid reviewing the controversial 2010 health care bill in the Senate stands in contradiction to the political writing on…
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A New Look for Michelle Obama?
Ikram Goldman, the Chicago retailer who has served as Michelle Obama’s unofficial stylist, may have been replaced by White House aide Meredith Koop. The Huffington Post reports: Mrs. O blog has the most detailed account of all — in a post late last month, Mary Tomer wrote: “Mrs. Obama’s repertoire of designers has expanded drastically…