The pick is in.

Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan is Mitt Romney's choice for running mate on the 2012 Republican presidential ticket.

The official word, which began leaking overnight, came early this morning from the Romney campaign via a smartphone app and a news release.
Romney Picks Wisconsin's Ryan To Be His Running Mate On GOP Ticket

Rep. Mike Turzai: Voter ID will help Mitt Romney, GOP win Pennsylvania | theGrio

Rep. Mike Turzai: Voter ID will help Mitt Romney, GOP win Pennsylvania | theGrio: "Pennsylvania state

House Republican Mike Turzai got very candid in a speech to the state’s Republican committee. He said that newly passed voter ID laws would allow Mitt Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania. Politics PA reports Republicans cheered, but his remarks hit a nerve with critics of this kind of legislation, who considered Turzai’s claim an admission that the laws are an obvious effort to suppress Democratic voters.

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'via Blog this'

African-Americans And The GOP | On Point with Tom Ashbrook

Discussion today at 1100.


African-Americans And The GOP | On Point with Tom Ashbrook: "President Obama was buoyed into office with the help of 95 percent of black voters.  For the GOP, attracting black voters has been a struggle.   And the Republican candidates can’t seem to get on message. Rick Perry, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have all had to make the case that their words, their actions, were not racist.

And their message of conservative values and small government doesn’t seem to be gaining any traction among African Americans."

'via Blog this'

Justice Department Report Details Wide Range Of Abuses By New Orleans Police Department

Justice Department Report Details Wide Range Of Abuses By New Orleans Police Department: "Long before Hurricane Katrina laid bare New Orleans’ deep social wounds, the relationship between the city’s police force and its black citizens had been deeply troubled.

The city’s African American residents have long complained of frequent abuses at the hands of police. Katrina only intensified the sense of grievance, given the prosecution of several police officers that shot unarmed civilians, sometimes fatally."

Why health care reform matters–audio

By Melissa Harris-PerryMarketplace, Thursday, March 17, 2011

Listen to this Story

Next week is the one-year anniversary of the landmark health care legislation. But the fight over health care policy continues.

Commentator Melissa Harris-Perry says the debate is still missing one critical element.

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MELISSA HARRIS-PERRY: The fights are about budgets, government authority, and ideology. Surprisingly absent from the rhetoric and positioning is any serious conversation about the actual state of American health.

Just listening to the politics, one might easily conclude that most Americans enjoy good health, reasonable access to care, and multiple options for high-quality treatment of illness and injury. That's not the case.

White House Launches Black History Month Initiatives | Political News and Opinion for African-Americans on Politic365

White House Launches Black History Month Initiatives | Political News and Opinion for African-Americans on Politic365: "“During National African American History Month, we recognize the extraordinary achievements of African Americans and their essential role in shaping the story of America,” President Obama wrote in his National African American Heritage Month proclamation. “In honor of their courage and contributions, let us resolve to carry forward together the promise of America for our children.”"

Haley Barbour's Account Of Civil Rights Era In Mississippi Assailed By NAACP, Historians

Haley Barbour's Account Of Civil Rights Era In Mississippi Assailed By NAACP, Historians: "In his interview with The Weekly Standard, Barbour heaps praise on the pro-segregation Citizens Council, which he credits with integrating the Yazoo City public schools without any violence.

'Because the business community wouldn't stand for it,' he said. 'You heard of the Citizens Councils? Up north they think it was like the KKK. Where I come from it was an organization of town leaders. In Yazoo City they passed a resolution that said anybody who started a chapter of the Klan would get their ass run out of town. If you had a job, you'd lose it. If you had a store, they'd see nobody shopped there. We didn't have a problem with the Klan in Yazoo City.'"

There is a name for this??

Newly Elected Republicans Welcomed in CBC

What’s the deal with Tim Scott.

Rep.-elect Allen West (R-FL) has announced his intention to join the CBC as one of two new Black Republicans elected this year; but, Rep.-elect Tim Scott (R-SC) has opted to reject the invitation which is open to all incoming African American Members of Congress.

As expected, the 42-Member Congressional Black Caucus elected Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver (D-MO) as its Chair for the upcoming 112th Congress which starts in January.  The vote was by acclamation and confirmed Cleaver’s new role as the 22^nd Chair of the CBC, which was founded in 1969. Currently, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) serves as the Chair of the CBC for the 111^th Congress and will maintain that role until January 2011.