Monthly Archives: August 2012

By now, everyone — especially the New York Police Department — knows that six years of spying on Muslim neighborhoods, eavesdropping and monitoring mosques didn’t generate a single lead or trigger a single terrorism investigation. That was all admitted in court testimony earlier this month.

What Colorlines‘ Seth Freed Wessler is wondering about is why the city is still intent on keeping such a close eye on the community’s every move — from religious practices to conversations. He concludes that, against all the evidence, the NYPD is holding on to the idea that Muslims are up to no good:

But more than a week after the acknowledgement, the city seems as convinced as ever that public safety relies on police regularly watching and documenting the movements, religious practices, conversations, name changes and student activities of New York’s

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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DAILY GUIDANCE AND PRESS SCHEDULE FOR
FRIDAY, AUGUST 31, 2012

In the morning, the President will depart the White House en route Fort Bliss, Texas. The departure from the South Lawn and arrival at Biggs Army Airfield are open press. 

The President last traveled to Fort Bliss on August 31, 2010. On the two-year anniversary of the end of our combat mission in Iraq, the President will have a roundtable discussion with service-members and military families and speak to troops at Fort Bliss, focusing on how part of ending wars responsibly demands standing by those who have served. The roundtable with service-members and military families will be closed press. The President’s remarks to troops will be open to pre-credentialed media. 

In the evening, the President will return to Washington, DC.  The

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Check the Vote 2012

Will you vote this year? Wait, can you?

Get the latest news on changing voter laws, election strategies and more, on The Root.

Not registered to vote yet? Time is running out!

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Cruel Summer, G.O.O.D. Music Compilation
Sept. 18

Kanye West. Pusha T. John Legend. Estelle. Big Sean. Common. Q-Tip. Kid Cudi. 2 Chainz. Teyana Taylor?

There’s not a lot to say about what is probably the most anticipated album of the year that hasn’t already been said. Slated to be released on September 18, the record’s title is something of a misnomer (okay, that’s been said), but nevermind that. Is the most meticulous curator of all things artistic at the helm of another masterpiece or a murky project for his lofty ambitions? Can 2 Chainz, proud to be incessant in his unwitting, and coexist with Common’s ever-cerebral and always critical flow?

Brandy, Two Eleven (RCA)

Oct. 16

I looked around the room at the folks with whom I watched the BET Awards this past year, and while the real tears were yet to come, a few were tearing

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In the case of another missing African-American girl whom you may not have heard much about, News One reports that a family acquaintance who did yard work for the family of 15-year-old South Carolina cheerleader Gabrielle Swainson — and who reportedly participated in the searches for her as a way to direct suspicion elsewhere — has been arrested and charged with kidnapping. The suspect is described as being “completely uncooperative” in helping to locate the teen.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott called 52-year-old Freddie Grant a “career criminal” in announcing the arrest, according to WACH Fox News in Columbia, S.C. …

Swainson’s mother, Elvia Swainson, said she went to work at 3:30 a.m. on Aug. 18 and left her sleeping daughter at their home. When she returned at 7:30 a.m., the teen was missing and the

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(The Root) — Allen Pinkett, a former star halfback and current radio analyst for Notre Dame, was sincere Wednesday when he said the Fighting Irish need “a few bad citizens” on their roster in order to succeed at the highest levels of college football.

“I mean, that’s how Ohio State used to win all the time,” Pinkett said Wednesday in a radio interview. “They would have two or three guys that were criminals. That just adds to the chemistry of the team … You can’t have a football team full of choirboys. You get your butt kicked if you have a team full of choirboys, so you’ve gotta have a little bit of edge.”

Not surprisingly, that was followed by a swift rebuttal from Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbick and a suspension for Pinkett. Swarbick said

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(The Root) — Thursday at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., The Root’s Keli Goff caught up with Florida’s lieutenant governor, Jennifer Carroll. During the discussion, when Goff asked her about controversy over recent changes in Florida’s voting laws, which critics say disproportionately affect minorities, Carroll characterized current regulations as generous. She touted the fact that the state has eight days of early voting (which was reduced from 12 under a 2011 law) and said, “The process has really opened up in the state of Florida — I can’t speak to other states — to have more opportunities to have access to vote.”

What do you think of the lieutenant governor’s remarks about voter access in Florida? See the interview below.

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