Politics

At least one U.S. soldier in uniform opened fire on troops at Fort Hood, Tex., Thursday, killing at least 12 people and wounding more than 31 others, officials said. Officials said two other soldiers suspected of being involved in the shooting were in custody. The shooting occurred at a processing center and nearby theater where…

In the past decade alone, 880,000 African Americans died because they did not have access to meaningful health care. For people of color, life is, on average, shorter. Illness is more prevalent, and disability is more common. We live in a system that provides limited opportunities for communities of color to access health services, with…

One of the eleven bodies discovered in Cleveland rapist Anthony Sowell’s home has been identified. It is that of 52-year old Toni Carmichael, a woman who was last seen on November 10, 2008. From CNN: In the missing persons report, Carmichael’s mother, Barbara, told police her daughter was addicted to crack and had previously disappeared…

Conventional wisdom has it that some of the president’s 2008 campaign luster has worn off with Independent voters—thus the GOP sweep that took place yesterday in New Jersey, Virginia and almost in New York’s 23rd district. I’m not sure that I agree with that assessment, as Tuesday’s election results should not be confused with the…

Before there were tea partiers, there were nurses. Angry nurses disrupting Sen. Max Baucus’ health care reform meetings back in the politically halcyon days of spring. Their complaint was simple: Democrats refused to even discuss proposals for single-payer, universal coverage. But unlike the deference that anti-reform zealots won this summer, all the nurses got for…

Anthony Sowell, a Cleveland man who had already served fifteen years for raping and assaulting a woman, apparently used his freedom to kill at least five more women and bury them about his home and property. He was arrested Saturday after police—who were there to serve him an arrest and search warrant—discovered the bodies of…

As our discussion veered from how the quest for filthy lucre overtook evading communist sensors as an overarching concern for some Chinese filmmakers, to a lament for the folkways that get lost in the name of economic progress in countries around the world, I was again reminded why I love, love, love my Sojourner’s Book…

On June 8, Archer Mapp’s mortgage payment doubled. Wachovia, his bank, took twice what they had regularly debited from his bank account. It wasn’t because his adjustable-rate mortgage reset. Mapp, who lives in Washington, has steady, full-time employment. For 13 years, he and his family have lived in a Capitol Hill row house. Before June,…

It’s hard being a black Republican these days. That’s one reason why I admire Sophia Nelson. She reps a small-government, Jack Kemp-inspired brand of Republicanism that emphasizes the imperative of fostering entrepreneurship in communities of color. If you’ve ever caught her appearances on CNN or MSNBC, you know she’s a far more credible spokesperson for…

This week the voters in the state of Maine will go to the polls to decide on a gay marriage referendum that is widely considered a test case for the rest of the nation. This vote is so important that Californians who successfully organized in support of Proposition 8, and thus outlawed gay marriage there,…