Politics

  • There Is No Michelle Effect

    Every time Michelle Obama wears a cardigan, it happens again: a nationwide gush-fest over the way that the first lady is boosting retailer J. Crew (JCG). Michelle Obama Lifts J. Crew! Can Michelle Save the Fashion Retailer? The First Lady Brings J. Crew to London! The Crew Cashes In! The theory that the first lady…

  • Pair of Twins Have Two Different Dads; Octomom's Uterus Threatens Rival

    DN: Obama to Skip Kenya on African Tour, Says ‘You Got a Whole Chapter in the Book’ BBC: Tamil Tiger Leader Killed, Sri Lanka Declares Beef Squashed AJE: The Block is Quite Hot in Somalia Right Now, Rebels Take Another Town WP: Cannes Do: Director Lee Daniels Makes a Splash at Film Festival JTA: Lost…

  • Obama's Slow Go on Cities

    Just before Barack Obama hit 100 days as president, I wrote a piece asking “What Happened to the Office of Urban Policy?” I had closely followed the formation of an Urban Affairs office —wondering if the office, intended to coordinate efforts at the departments of Energy, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Education and the like,…

  • That’s Whassup!

    Never has a president so effortlessly dispatched an adversary as President Obama did last Saturday night, with his single-word “Whassup?” dismissal of RNC Chair Michael Steele and his self-proclaimed “hip-hop makeover.” By the time Steele jumped out of his seat to be “recognized,” the only thing missing from the scene at the White House Correspondents’…

  • 05.15.09 Headlines: Bring the Beat(ings) Back! Obama Revives Gitmo Tribunals

    NO: Radio Black Out: Performance Fee Bill Passes Committee HP: Bring the Beat(ings) Back! Obama to Revive Military Tribunals of Gitmoans AJE: Sri Lankan Gov’t: ‘We’ll Free Tamils from Tigers Provided We Don’t Kill Everyone in the Process’ BBC: South Africa Grants Dalai Lama Visa, Says ‘He’s Cool; He’s Solid.” WP: Brenda’s Got a Baby,…

  • Playing Hardball With Affirmative Action

    If you missed Chris Matthews’ whacked-out tirade against affirmative action last week on his shoutfest Hardball with Chris Matthews, don’t worry. I’m guessing you’ll have plenty of opportunities to hear similar screeds in the weeks leading up to the Supreme Court’s decision in Ricci v. DeStefano, the affirmative action case involving promotions in the New…

  • 05.14.09 Headlines: Limbaugh Turns Over New Leaf on Race, Looks, Returns to Old Leaf

    NO: 9 Dead after Boat Carrying Haitian Immigrants Sinks BET: *Sigh* W. Va. Teen May Get Life for Shooting Pregnant Woman WP: Obama Wants Detainee Abuse Photos Taken Down, at least Not Tagged on Facebook NYT: Boy Scouts Trained to Fight Terror, Patrol Border; Fastest to Make Hitler Youth Quip Wins AA: Lead Diet? Same…

  • Job Hunting With Dad

    Nearly four years ago to the day, I sat in my childhood bedroom moments before my high school graduation imagining the glories of adult life. I aspired to live independent of my parents’ bank accounts and watchful eyes. My life, as I dreamed it, would be filled with a brightly colored wardrobe and overpriced accessories,…

  • Unemployment, the New Bonding Experience

    When Amanda Fulwood accepts her well-deserved sheepskin Sunday at the University of Virginia, I’ll be the proudest father on campus. Since the day my daughter was born, I’ve dreamed of this moment, when I could look through teary eyes at her toothy smile and send her off to find a career and make her way…

  • 05.13.09 Headlines: Finger Snappin' and Incense: FLOTUS Gets Her 'Love Jones' on in East Room

    ABC: Word to Norman Mailer: A ‘White Negro’ Sues Med School for Discrimination NYDN: Sex, Race Not Issues in SCOTUS Pick,Current Court Already Futuristic Like That OEN: Obama’s Education Budget a Mixed Bag for Pre-Post-Black Americans* TDN: RADIOOOOOOOO! Black Radio Stations Protest Fees Bill TWG: And Don’t Call Me George: The Principles and Productivity of…