Arizona congressman to interior?
Rep. Raul M. Grijalva may be emerging as a top contender to be Barack Obama’s secretary of the interior.
Marine general may head National Security Council
President-elect Barack Obama is close to landing James L. Jones, the well-known retired Marine Corps general, as his national security adviser, sources said.
Russia Hopes For Better Relations With Obama
U.S.-Russia relations are at a low point, following Russia's invasion of Georgia in August. Some analysts, however, say the Kremlin is hoping things will improve when President-elect Barack Obama moves into the White House in January.
Would You Hire Hillary? Open Thread
Filed under: BlackSpin, Elections, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Politics, News
What do you think? Vote and comment below.
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Would You Hire Hillary? Open Thread
Filed under: BlackSpin, Elections, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Politics, News
More in BV News
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Tom Daschle Expected To Head HHS
There are indications that President-elect Barack Obama has chosen former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle to head the Department of Health and Human Services. The transition team won't confirm that.
Eric Holder Could Be Obama’s Top Justice Pick
President-elect Barack Obama's top choice for U.S. attorney general seems to be Eric Holder. Holder was the No. 2 official in the Justice Department under President Clinton. The Obama team says no final decision has been made.
Obama Picks Holder and the Vultures Start Circling
Filed under: BlackSpin, Barack Obama, News
Whodini once said that "the freaks come out at night." But in the case of President-elect Obama's cabinet picks, they'll probably be out closer to noon every day.Case in point: on Tuesday news outlets reported that Washington lawyer and former deputy Attorney General in the Clinton administration Eric Holder would be Obama's choice for Attorney General when he takes office in January and the nation's first African-American to hold the spot.
Now, of course Holder should be held to proper scrutiny and vetting and the media should do its due diligence when looking this guy over. But it didn't take an entire day before conservatives (whom I thought were supposed to be regrouping after they got their gnads handed to them on election day) decided to blast the cybersphere with all sorts of distraction about Holder.
I can hardly wait until Matt Drudge goes on the attack. ...
Position: Attorney general
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During his time in the Clinton White House only two controversies attached themselves to Holder, the first when he was originally appointed had to do with his opposition to the death penalty. Despite his opposition, he pledged to uphold the law as it concerned the issue, which he did.
The second was during the closing days of Clinton's tenure when the president pardoned Marc Rich, a commodities trader and Democratic contributor who fled the United States while being prosecuted for tax evasion and illegal oil deals with Iran. Clinton pardoned him on his last day in office in 2001.
Holder came into the picture when Rich's lawyer, Jack Quinn phoned Holder trying to test the possibility of getting a pardon. Later, he arranged a call between the White House and Holder asking for his opinion of the matter, which was neutral but leaned toward support of Clinton granting the pardon -- although the decision ultimately lay with the president.
In later testimony, Holder said that he was neutral in the matter, but the then Republican-led House of Representatives which was reviewing dozens of Clinton pardons had an influence on Rich's pardon. But that was it, he was not reprimanded or punished by any law enforcement agency or governmental entity. He instead went into private practice.
Now, all this makes me wonder why conservatives couldn't give the same scrutiny to disgraced Attorney General Alberto Gonzales who was alleged to have perjured himself before a Congressional hearing and wound up resigning in 2007 over the mess he made in the Justice Department after seven U.S. attorneys were fired for no reason. This controversy was the beginning of several including his gross misinterpretation of the constitutional writ of habeas corpus and the National Security Administration's eavesdropping controversy.
Perhaps the standards by which someone can screw up the most airtight legal organization in the world should be what we measure any new Attorney General nominees. Or maybe it's the opposite: maybe conservatives can let the vetting and selection process go through and then allow him to perform before he gets chided.
Rest assured, this is only the beginning.
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The History Maker: How Barack Obama made Ann Nixon Cooper a legend
When Barack Obama spoke on election night, he made famous a woman named Ann Nixon Cooper, a 106 year old Atlanta resident who now compares Obama to Dr. King.
Oh no he didn’t! Al Qaeda leader calls Obama a ‘House Negro’
The No. 2 man in Al-Qaida, Ayman al-Zawahri, launched into an attack on newly elected U.S. President Barack Obama today, calling him a "house negro."
The Buzz: Hillary now a no-go?
Will Clinton be Barack Obama’s secretary of state? The buzz this week has insiders saying the NY senator might reject the job.
Oh Hell No! Al Qaida’s No. 2 Calls Barack Obama a “House Negro”
Filed under: BlackSpin, Barack Obama, Breaking News, Malcolm X
In his latest audio, Ayman al-Zawahiri Al-Qaida's number 2, has the gall to call President-elect Barack Obama "dishonorable" and a "house negro." According to the Associated Press:CAIRO,Egypt (AP) - Al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri insulted Barack Obama in the terror group's first reaction to his election, calling him a demeaning racial term implying that the president-elect is a black American who does the bidding of whites.Clearly this is a cynical attempt to dampen the renewed global optimism about America's role in the world going forward. Al-Qaida operatives know that if there is hope and not simply desperation, it will be harder for Al-Qaida to raise funds and tactical support for its terrorist expeditions.
The message appeared chiefly aimed at persuading Muslims and Arabs that Obama does not represent a change in U.S. policies. Al-Zawahri said in the message, which appeared on militant Web sites Wednesday, that Obama is "the direct opposite of honorable black Americans" like Malcolm X, the 1960s African-American rights leader.
Al-Zawahri also called Obama-along with secretaries of state Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice-"house negroes."
Speaking in Arabic, al-Zawahri uses the term "abeed al-beit," which literally translates as "house slaves." But al-Qaida supplied English subtitles of his speech that included the translation as "house negroes."
The message also includes old footage of speeches by Malcolm X in which he explains the term, saying black slaves who worked in their white masters' house were more servile than those who worked in the fields. Malcolm X used the term to criticize black leaders he accused of not standing up to whites.
The 11-minute 23-second video features the audio message by al-Zawahri, who appears only in a still image, along with other images, including one of Obama wearing a Jewish skullcap as he meets with Jewish leaders. In his speech, al-Zawahri refers to a Nov. 5 U.S. airstrike attack in Afghanistan, meaning the video was made after that date.
Al-Zawahri said Obama's election has not changed American policies he said are aimed at oppressing Muslims and others.
Further, Ayman al-Zawahiri must not fully understand Malcolm X and the spiritual journey he traveled once he returned to the United States from his pilgrimage to Mecca.
True Islam taught me that it takes all of the religious, political, economic, psychological, and racial ingredients, or characteristics, to make the Human Family and the Human Society complete.
Since I learned the truth in Mecca, my dearest friends have come to include all kinds -- some Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, agnostics, and even atheists! I have friends who are called capitalists, Socialists, and Communists! Some of my friends are moderates, conservatives, extremists -- some are even Uncle Toms! My friends today are black, brown, red, yellow, and white!
I said to my Harlem street audiences that only when mankind would submit to the One God who created all -- only then would mankind even approach the "peace" of which so much talk could be heard...but toward which so little action was seen. Adapted from the pamphlet - Malcolm X: Why I Embraced Islam by Yusuf Siddiqui.
So it is hard to understand why al-Zawahiri would believe Malcolm X's views of 'True Islam' would condone blowing up innocent men, women and children just going about their daily lives. How dare al-Zawahiri take an American icon so dear to many of us and attempt to link Malcolm X to al-Qaida. It is disgusting and it reeks of some kind of scrambling, sloppy attempt to grab attention and goodwill away from Barack Obama.
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Obama’s dream team
I was on the phone with an old Clinton friend this afternoon and we picked out President-elect Barack Obama's ideal cabinet. Spoiler alert: Hillary Clinton is Secretary of State.