the browntable
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Travel Prep: Can the G-20 Summit Replace the American Consumer?
It’s encouraging to see that the dynamic between France and the NATO alliance is resuming a military footing. Last week, French troops rejoined the organization, which is currently supporting US-led efforts in Afghanistan—a break with 40 years of policy under president Nicolas Sarkozy’s predecessors. This cooperation with Barack Obama may, however not translate to the…
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FBI Probes Anti-Black Vigilante Killings
Score one for investigative journalism. Back in December, THE ROOT spoke with reporter A.C. Thomspon about his exhaustive piece, published in THE NATION and ProPublica, on the vigilante murders of black New Orleans residents in the wake of Katrina. Thompson’s reporting found, among other things, disturbing signs that local police at least sanctioned, if not…
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Is the Auto Show Over in Detroit?
By now, a Monday morning downer on the front page shouldn’t faze me. But when the White House announced that GM and Chrysler had still not come up with meaningful enough restructuring plans to get tax money, I took it personally. That’s because I’m both black and from the Midwest and, thus, I know a…
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What's the Difference Between an HBCU and a "Huckabee CU?"
Denist Stewart’s piece in THE ROOT today describes the truly difficult and ungainly process of raising coin that is going on at historically black colleges and universities nationwide. Though schools in general, and HBCUs in particular—which tend to have a higher percentage of students on financial aid and suddenly hard-to-obtain loans—are being ravaged by the…
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Mr. Cali, Cali, Cali, Man…
Interesting piece on THE BEAST this morning regarding President Obama’s curt dismissal of marijuana legalization: [T]he usually long-winded president—who famously admitted to his own youthful inhalations—answered with little more than a dismissive “No”…[saying] he doesn’t think legalization is a good strategy to grow our economy. Why not, Mr. President? Is our current strategy appreciably better?…
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Obama Fans on Dakota Flooding Photo-Op
Did President Barack Obama leave his winter coat back home in Chicago? Saying, “I will continue to monitor the situation carefully,” in his weekly radio/web address, the president listed the comprehensive relief efforts set in motion this week by the federal, state, and local agencies charged with responding to natural disaster in and around Fargo,…
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Police State Inc.
Given my recent reaction to police (mis)conduct in the Ryan Moats incident, I found that I enjoyed Ross Douthat’s ‘Conservatives, Crime Policy and the Black Vote’ piece for THE ATLANTIC, particularly his thoughts on prison reform as an example of a shift in policy without a compromise of belief. He states: My preferred approach to…
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Obama's Second Presser Keeps Progressive Pressure On
Barack Obama’s second prime-time news conference as president, held in the East Room of the White House just six weeks after the first, did not provide new, meaty policy prescriptions or one-liners that make for good television. But it did further the sense that, in America, there is a man in charge, and he—to borrow…
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When it Comes to Cancer, Should Black Folks Think Pink?
An article in today’s NEW YORK TIMES suggests that drinkers who turn pink have something serious to be worried about. The phenomenon, known in impolitic circles as “Asian flush,” could actually be a precursor to esophageal cancer: The flushing response, which may be accompanied by nausea and a rapid heartbeat, is caused mainly by an…
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Obama's Organizing Advantage Comes With Its Own Headaches
Amid all of the talk of AIG malfeasance and a pink slip for Timothy Geithner, Democratic organizers have been subtly shilling for President Obama’s budget. Over at MOTHER JONES, David Corn has been consistently asking when and how the Obama administration is going to use its massive grassroots network to flack for this and other…