Uncategorized
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Daschle's Out.
Tom Daschle has asked President Barack Obama to take his name out of the running for human services secretary. The fact that that a few of his picks have retreated is either very good or very bad. Either the vetting process is crazy thorough and vigorous, or Obama makes really bad choices. I’m sick of…
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The End of Black History Month
When author and history professor Carter G. Woodson created what would become Black History Month in February 1926, America’s black citizens were on the outside looking in, spectators to the great American drama, subjected to a repression of aspiration and identity so severe that it amounted to domestic apartheid. Lynchings were so common that the…
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Obama Going Prime Time
President Barack Obama sits down for interviews with all of the major television networks on Tuesday. As the economy flags and his stimulus package continues to languish in Congress, Obama will tell America how he plans to “Fix it!” Two weeks out from his inauguration, and two days after his pre-Super Bowl fireside chat with…
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50 Cent vs. Rick Ross
It says a lot that rappers Nas and Jay-Z squashed their beef, given that Jay is rumored to have biblical knowledge of his baby-mama and put it out there for the world to hear. This, probably a punk move on Jay’s part. Leon said it best, but wveryone out there knows the rules: no women,…
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Buy American, or Else
Obama’s stimulus package, the bill he hopes will save the country from an economically dismal future, includes a “Buy American” clause. The clause instructs that U.S. steel, iron, manufacturing goods are to be used in construction work funded by the stimulus package. Well, it makes sense to me. I think. You know, considering it’s our…
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Are Black Republicans Obsolete?
Today, 12 p.m.: Join the washingtonpost.com Live Online discussion on MICHAEL STEELE AND THE GOP’s FUTURE with The Root’s deputy editor Terence Samuel. ***** They are black Republicans… A rapidly disappearing political subculture that seeks legitimacy by asserting that they are something different, something special—the other dark meat. They define themselves—with a quizzical ethos of…
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Rollins’ Road Shows
Sonny Rollins is called “jazz’s greatest living saxophonist” so routinely that it is almost a nickname and probably a curse. Yet his new recording, Road Shows, Vol. 1 (Doxy/Emarcy), is another affirmation of his greatness and may be a sign that the curse is lifting. The recording is a compilation of highlights from Rollins’ live…
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Wilmore's World
Larry Wilmore is the “Senior Black Correspondent” for “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” The joke is that he was the only black correspondent. If you think that’s funny, you’ll enjoy his new collection of essays, “I’d Rather We Got Casinos and Other Black Thoughts” (Hyperion). Wilmore is the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning creator and…
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Hillary Clinton: Every Woman
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton takes a hit Tina Turner-stylee (who famously thanked hell-spawn husband Ike Turner once), thanking Pimpin’ Bill for a “lifetime of all types of experiences.” Say what you want about Hillary, but I have always admired the way she has stood by her man, despite his philandering. Like Dr. Coretta Scott…
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The Rebirth of David Duke
David Duke’s not a big fan of Lt Gov. Michael Steele’s installation as RNC leadership, calling him “Obama Jr.,” and a “servile dog of Israel.” Duke has fallen off in recent years, but raised his head out the sand long enough to make a scene. I think more and more professional racist will goose-step into…