Politics
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A Kinder, Gentler Tea Party on Independence Day
The Tea Party is changing tactics. Over the Fourth of July weekend, the Tea Party organized special events that emphasized the U.S. Constitution. Events included festivals, book club meetings and classes to teach party members how to use the one “inviolable” document to defend their beliefs and country, the U.S. Constitution. The Tea Party wants…
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Right-Wingers Aren't the Only Patriots
I love fireworks, cookouts and trips to the park as much as anyone, and will gladly partake in those events on the Fourth of July holiday. But surely there are others like me, who find it strange (ironic? hypocritical? comical?) to celebrate July 4, 1776, as U.S. “Independence Day,” when African Americans’ forefathers and foremothers…
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Foreign Policy: The Racial Repercussions of France's World Cup Failure
Americans cannot easily imagine the consequences of losing in the World Cup. Most of us were happy that the U.S. team managed to get past the group stage into the second round, even though we lost to Ghana. But it’s different for big soccer powers that are accustomed to winning. One of the ugliest aftermaths…
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When It Comes to Experience, Obama and Kagan Are Alike
It seems as if the nation has become captivated by Elena Kagan’s charm and wit as she moves through the nomination process in a style very different from what we saw last year with Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Even the Senators conducting the hearings seem enamored with her. In many ways, she is pulling an Obama…
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The Chronic Goes Mainstream: California NAACP Backs Legalization of Marijuana
The California branch of the NAACP is backing California’s Proposition 19, a ballot initiative that would lead to the legalization of marijuana. Branch president Alice Huffman calls it “A civil rights issue that has consistently stifled the upward mobility of young folks of color.” She added, “This is not a war on the drug lords.…
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Michael Steele Speaks Out Against the Afghan War
Fresh from the “Is he still talking?” file, RNC Chairman Michael Steele has put his foot in his mouth again. What is it this time? Trash talking about President Obama and the war in Afghanistan. Steele blamed Obama for a starting a war that was in place before President Obama took office and that was…
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Incarceration Nation Gets a Reprieve
It’s sometimes dispiriting to try to make sense of the Supreme Court’s choices of which cases it will hear. Some cases that cry out for the court’s consideration are rejected (such as a federal court’s decision that a town’s racial profiling is constitutional, or a federal court’s decision that survivors of one of the worst…
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New Hope for Jamaica
Many in Jamaica are rejoicing at the capture of Christopher “Dudus” Coke, the drug lord who has been extradited to the United States on charges of drug trafficking and gun running. Coke is reputed to be the head of the murderous Shower Posse, which was responsible for more than 1,000 killings in the United States…
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President Obama's New Health Care for Uninsured May Be High
The uninsured with pre-existing conditions will have an opportunity to get health insurance under President Obama’s new health care plan, but at what cost? it seems that the premiums for health coverage for those with pre-existing conditions can be high, depending on the state. Premiums will range from $140 to $900 per month. The range…