Politics

President Barack Obama issued the first pardons of his presidency today, all for relatively minor offenses. Clearly he’s playing it safe, because six of the nine people didn’t even go to prison. One of them, Georgian Russell Dixon, was caught making moonshine 50 years ago.  The pardoned people are: • James Bernard Banks, Liberty, Utah.…

Sometimes the best political move you can make is to give folks exactly what they say they want. It may seem counterproductive to your best interests at first, only to prove beneficial later. That is why it’s time for President Obama to let the Republicans have their tax cut for the rich. It would be…

As a writer himself, President Obama surely understands the advice a writer friend once gave me: Sometimes you have to drown your own kittens, no matter how cute. The metaphor, while a bit unsettling, makes a key point. However attached one might be to an idea, sometimes you have to hit the delete button for…

Perhaps needing a break from his battles with Republicans, President Barack Obama dropped in on the troops in Afghanistan today. “You will succeed in your mission,” he told more than 3,500 cheering troops in a huge airplane hangar at Bagram Air Field. “We said we were going to break the Taliban’s momentum. That’s what you’re…

Written by Paul Kane and David A. Fahrenthold The House of Representatives on Thursday voted 333-79 to censure Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) for violations of tax and fundraising rules, the first time in nearly 30 years that the House has considered such a severe punishment for one of its own. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)…

By Robin Givhan The world of hat making is relatively small, and within that tiny universe of horsehair and feathers, Rep.-elect Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) is a glorious, bedazzled star. Washington, however, does not cotton to glitter, spangles or bright shiny objects. Thus, the stage was set for a righteous kerfuffle between Technicolor exuberance and humdrum…

The Internet is the most democratic communications network ever created. In a world where our community cannot count on the mainstream media to tell our stories — or on mainstream politicians to advocate for our needs — the Internet has allowed us to organize, speak for ourselves and dismantle political barriers. The Internet did not…

“Speed on before you get peed on.” I found myself thinking about that old lyric from Gang Starr’s “Tha Squeeze” when I read D. Omavi Harshaw’s bit about black America being “urinated on.” But I consider the part about the speed to be more important than the part about getting peed on. Namely, there is…

By a vote of 256-152, the House today approved a $4.6 billion settlement in the Pigford-Cobell lawsuits. The settlement, which passed the Senate on Nov. 9, will now make its way to President Obama, who has long advocated for its passage. The payout is twofold for two separate lawsuits: $3.4 billion will be awarded to…

Don’t look now, but the GOP is pledging to compromise with President Barack Obama during a post-election meeting today. President Obama and Republican leaders in Congress will try to work out their differences, particularly as it relates to taxes. The Associated Press reports, “The American people did not vote for gridlock,” Obama said following the…