One wonders why Cindy Hyde-Smith, winner of the U.S. Senate contest in Mississippi, was so bold in her racism. Earlier this month she told a crowd at a campaign event that if a favorite supporter invited her to “a public hanging,” she “would be on the front row.” Amazingly, she said this in 2018 in … [Read more…]
“I do not belong to an unorganized political party. I’m a Democrat.” This old statement by Will Rogers continues to be true. Currently, the Democrats are waging an unfortunate fight over which Democrat will be speaker of the House, now that they have regained control. Winning the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives by … [Read more…]
About half of eligible voters turn out in the United States. That places us 29th out of 32 developed democratic nations in the proportion of people who vote. If we truly wanted more people to vote we would do what democracies with high rates of voter participation do. In these nations, all citizens are automatically … [Read more…]
As the college basketball season is getting underway this month, much of the sports world—or at least the basketball part of it—is concerned about scandals in the game. Earlier this year, a report of the FBI’s investigation into college basketball corruption revealed possible NCAA rules violations by more than 20 top men’s teams. There were … [Read more…]
Rick Scott Accuses Democrats of Trying to Thwart GOP’s Successful Voter Suppression By Andy Borowitz 11 November 18 In a hastily called press conference on Thursday evening, Florida Governor Rick Scott accused Democrats of nefariously plotting to undo the Republican Party’s highly successful voter-suppression effort. “As Republicans, we have worked tirelessly to intimidate, discourage, and … [Read more…]
Voter suppression was at high tide this week—working furiously to elect Republicans. The brazen methods were virtually breathtaking, but there was one bright spot on the voter suppression front. Florida voters abolished their felon disenfranchisement law, enabling a large segment of their population to vote (in future elections). State legislatures established felon disenfranchisement laws after the … [Read more…]
Excerpts from an op-ed by a former journalist, David Tate, in today’s Roanoke Times newspaper. I remember watching and waiting [in 2004] for the expected explosion to shake the morning calm. After all, this morning was the first time in this country’s history that the people of Afghanistan were voting in a free and arguably … [Read more…]
Except for the period of Reconstruction, Black voter suppression has been a constant in elections in the United States. Back around 1900, black voter suppression took the form of terrorism (e.g., Ku Klux Klan), poll taxes, the grandfather clause, bogus literacy tests, and felony disenfranchisement. Felony disenfranchisement is the state taking away the right of … [Read more…]
By Leonard Pitts Jr., Tribune Content Agency on Oct 24, 2018 I have a question for white people. I will preface it with an excerpt from a recent email sent by a reader named James. He wrote: “It is the blacks who are by far the most racist of all people as they can’t seem … [Read more…]