Politics
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Joan Rivers' Nickname for First Lady: 'Blackie O'
“We used to have Jackie O,” and “now we have Blackie O!” Joan Rivers proclaimed on the Howard Stern radio show today in her commentary about first lady Michelle Obama’s style. Rivers said she was going to tell the joke onstage, but held back because she knew it could offend African Americans. But it didn’t…
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President Obama Set a Tone, Not an Agenda
President Barack Obama was under pressure to satisfy many different constituencies in his second State of the Union address last night. Some liberals wanted the president to support government-matching 401(k) contributions in order to promote saving; others wanted him to address gay-rights legislation; still others urged a ban on large gun clips, or deep cuts…
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Egypt: Thousands Defy Government Ban
MSNBC is reporting that thousands of Egyptians defied a government ban and rallied in central Cairo Wednesday, seeking to end the 30-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak. Police forces on the streets quickly moved in and used tear gas and beatings to disperse demonstrations. Officials said roughly 860 people were detained after Tuesday’s nationwide demonstrations…
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State of the Union: Obama Reverts to Teaching Again
John Boehner did not cry. Though President Barack Obama twice seemed to attempt to provoke a flood of tears from the notoriously weepy new speaker of the House of Representatives, Boehner remained dry-eyed throughout last night’s State of the Union address. He was not alone in being unmoved by the president’s curiously unmoving remarks. Last…
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Tea Party State of the Union Response Will Air Only on CNN
The Huffington Post is reporting that CNN will be the only cable network to air the “Tea Party response” to tonight’s State of the Union address: “Traditionally, all the networks air the official State of the Union address, followed by the official response from the opposition party. This year, however, there will be a Tea…
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Is Marriage Equality the Right Battle for Gay Families?
In the run-up to the State of the Union Address, LGBT leaders have called upon President Obama to include support for same-sex marriage in this year’s speech. The request makes sense: Last year’s SOTU included a presidential promise to repeal “Don’t ask, don’t tell” by the end of 2010, and — albeit at the 11th…
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From Tucson to Brooklyn: Guns in America
“Annie Christian was a whore always looking for some funbeing good was such a bore, so she bought a gunshe killed John Lennon, shot him down coldshe tried to kill Reagan, everybody say gun control” —Prince, “Annie Christian” (1981) ” … a prayer vigil/press conference at Brookdale Hospital to pray for the 16-year-old girl that…
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George Washington and His Runaway Slave
“I am free now and choose to remain so.” These are the words that haunt the new exhibit, “The President’s House: Freedom and Slavery in Making a New Nation.” Now, directly in front of the famous Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, the President’s House is the first and only federal site designed to memorialize enslaved…
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Broadband Summit: No Escape From Controversy
Over the hum of laptops and the persistent, attention-demanding chirps of a hundred BlackBerrys, the Minority Media & Telecom Council convened its “Broadband and Social Justice Summit” in Washington, D.C., last week, a gathering of industry and government leaders, to discuss how broadband access and adoption can help bridge the digital divide and provide minority…
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Why Obama's Speech Shouldn't Promise Too Much
After his inaugural address; his first State of the Union; his speeches in Philadelphia, Denver, Springfield and Oslo; and the 2004 Democratic convention speech, during which he proclaimed “there’s not a liberal America and a conservative America; there’s the United States of America,” everybody knows that President Barack Obama can give a great speech. If…