Politics

From Reuters: Four Chicago-area cemetery workers were accused on Thursday of digging up hundreds of graves and dumping the remains so the burial plots could be resold, prosecutors said on Thursday. The office manager and three grave diggers at the Burr Oak Cemetery in South suburban Alsip were charged with dismembering a human body, a…

From the Chicago Sun-Times: ” Sen. Roland Burris (D-Illl.) will not run for election in 2010—a not surprising decision given that Burris, appointed by ousted Gov. Blagojevich to fill the seat vacated by Barack Obama had never created a political organization, raised virtually no campaign cash, and faced controversy from the start. Burris’ decision, reported…

Like millions of others, I’m still deeply moved by the wonderfully rich memorial service for Michael Jackson. But I can’t help but wonder whether Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, is doing Michael Jackson, her constituents or black folks a favor when she promises to bring to the floor what will be a controversial resolution deeming Jackson…

From Hip Hop Wired: “Two Chicago men are free after spending twenty years in jail for a crime they did not commit. According to the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, charges were dropped against 42-year old Ronald Kitchen and 50-year old Marvin Reeves. After a re-investigation of the case it was determined that there was a…

From The Retort: “It’s easy to blame the messenger. When it came to CNN’s Black In America this was no exception. Correspondent Soledad O’Brien received her fair share of shame and blame for how the documentary turned out. She was the most visible symbol, the most accessible face and the easiest target. But did she…

Gov. Sarah Palin isn’t using the title “Reverend” yet, but that could be her next move. She’s well on her way to becoming a conservative Rev. Al Sharpton in whiteface. At least she’s not known as “Sarah the Fisherman.” (Unless she forgets to take down the “Gone Fishin’” sticky note on her office door in…

From CNN: “An employee at a New Jersey chocolate processing plant died Wednesday after falling into a vat of hot chocolate, according to a spokesman for the Camden County Prosecutor’s office. Vincent Smith II, 29, was dumping raw chocolate into the vat for melting when he fell in from a nine-foot high platform. He suffered…

During his trip to Ghana, President Barack Obama will deliver a major address celebrating democracy. The speech comes at a time when the president’s efforts to improve America’s image in the world seem to be paying off. But if Obama is to succeed in turning around those negative perceptions of America—the consequences of which Americans…

From Yahoo News: “MOSCOW – President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a preliminary agreement Monday to reduce the world’s two largest nuclear stockpiles by as much as a third, down to the lowest levels of any U.S.-Russia accord, and counter what Obama called “a sense of drift” in the countries’ relations. “We…

America has a love-hate relationship with Gov. Sarah Palin. Ever since she burst onto the scene in August 2008 as the most unlikely vice-presidential nominee, Gov. Palin has been the victim of some of the most elitist, vicious and downright sexist attacks I have ever seen leveled against an American political candidate. Say what you like…