Category: OPINION

With a lame duck session of Congress convening next week, everyone is talking about whether the Bush tax cuts should be extended or allowed to expire at the end of this year. Republicans argue that if the cuts are allowed to expire, that amounts to a tax increase.  Democrats want to continue the cuts for […]

Over the last decade, we’ve seen repeated efforts to suppress voter turnout. Unfortunately, this year was no different. On Election Day, Nov. 2, tens of thousands of Marylanders received phone calls telling them that “Governor O’Malley and President Obama have been successful” and to “relax, everything is fine.” The call went on to say that […]

The time: Late 2003 The place: A newsroom in Washington, D.C. The event: A veteran Republican senator dispatches a news release, announcing the authorization of a new, jobs-making project in the state he represents. The upside: News like that will be to the politician’s benefit because the voters like their man in Washington to deliver […]

(NNPA) — For Republicans, the Nov. 2 midterm elections were about 2012, not 2010.  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made that clear in a speech to the Heritage Foundation.  He said, “…The fact is, if our primary legislative goals are to repeal and replace the health spending bill, to end the bailouts, cut spending and […]

The Senate’s Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, was quoted by the National Journal recently as declaring: “The single most important thing want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.” This, to me, is a misguided priority. As the elected public servants of the American people, our challenge and our duty to our […]

For decades the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People fought the good fight against racial discrimination. The organization was instrumental in defeating Jim Crow and discrimination in the workplace; it led the charge in establishing voting rights for all and equal access to quality education. Even now the NAACP does some good work in local […]

Let’s get one thing straight from the outset: D.C. School Chancellor Michelle Rhee fired herself. No surprise that Rhee’s resignation was announced two weeks ago at a press conference staged by outgoing D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty and presumptive mayor and current D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray. “One City,” Mr. Gray’s campaign cry, may take a […]

I will never forget Election Day 2002 – nor will I ever stop fighting to defeat the political forces that would stoop to intimidation or trickery. Back in 2002, I arrived at my local voting place, preparing to vote in the governor’s race.  As I walked toward the school, they handed me this beautiful, glossy […]

A civilized society has to have a strong commitment to equal treatment in the administration of justice even when the topic might be unpopular. One of the roles of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives is to sensitize government officials and others to the problems of the black community and to have the […]