Politics
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President Obama: 'I'm a Christian by Choice'
Fresh from our “Please read the memo” file, President Barack Obama is a Christian. After addressing several issues, including the Republican economic agenda, at a “backyard chat,” he also answered a number of questions, one of which was why he is a Christian. In response, Obama stated, “I am a Christian by choice.” He told…
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Obama: Democrat Voters Need to 'Buck Up'
President Obama is putting his foot down with Democratic voters, saying it would be “inexcusable” to sit out this election cycle over apathy. In a Rolling Stone interview, the president compares energized Republican voters with apathetic Democratic voters, which could have dire consequences for the country if Republicans regain the House and more control in…
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Who Pays Income Taxes?
It has often been repeated by conservative strategists and pundits like Karl Rove and Sean Hannity that close to half of Americans don’t pay income taxes. But is that true? Well, not exactly. It’s true that 47 percent of American households didn’t owe federal income taxes in 2009, up from 38 percent in 2007, according…
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Drowned Out by the Tea Party Hype: Progressive Voices
Ever wonder when progressives will find their voices again? Well, about 800 gathered in Chicago recently at the Facing Race Conference in Chicago to collaborate and generate ideas for the future at a time when they feel drowned out by conservatives and Tea Partiers. It is a pivotal moment on the nation’s political front. Midterm…
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The NAACP Reaches Out to Gay-Rights Groups
On Sept. 22, Benjamin T. Jealous, the charismatic head of the NAACP, made history. On that Wednesday, Jealous spoke at Manhattan’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center in Greenwich Village to promote the upcoming One Nation Working Together march on Washington, D.C. It was the first time in history that a current NAACP president…
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President Obama: 'Money Without Reform Will Not Fix the Problem'
President Barack Obama sat down with The Today Show’s Matt Lauer to discuss education reform in this country. During the discussion, the president stated, “Money without reform will not fix the problem.” He suggested that a “vigorous reform agenda” — including increased standards, great teachers, reduced bureaucracy and more resources — needs to be deployed…
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The GOP's 'Pledge to America' Is Not Enough
Yes, “A Pledge to America,” by a coalition of Republicans, may help the GOP make a serious play for both houses of Congress in this fall’s midterm elections. Yet if you read the language of the 21-page pledge, you will see a lot of good ideas (including many hijacked from the Tea Party movement that…
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President Obama at U.N. to Avert Renewed Conflict in Sudan
On Day 3 of the his visit to the United Nations, President Barack Obama will focus on Sudan and Southeast Asia. After concentrating on broader international issues during the first two days, Obama will attend a high-level U.N. meeting aimed at ensuring that an upcoming independence referendum for southern Sudan does not spark a new…
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A Sermon for Bishop Eddie Long
“People want truth or nothing at all. People want sincerity, security and nothing false”—Nona Hendryx If we learn nothing else from the biggest and messiest black mega-church scandal ever, it is that truth cannot be silenced, no matter how many refuse to speak it or conspire to hush it up. It will find a way…
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Enough of That Old South Nostalgia!
Students and alumni of that venerable Southern institution Ole Miss are currently reeling at the news that the university has decided to replace its controversial mascot, Colonel Reb, a white-bearded Confederate Army officer, with an as-yet-undetermined new one — a horse, perhaps. To many, abandoning the controversial colonel, who hasn’t been the school’s official mascot…