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Issue: 727

February 01, 2018

Color of Law

Russia Money Ties to NRA Makes Trump and GOP Look Very Suspicious

By David A. Love, JD Executive Editor

The gun lobby has enabled gun proliferation in America, a land where there are as many firearms as there are people. The U.S. has 4.4 percent of the world population, but 42 percent of the guns. This reality translates into 30,000 gun-related deaths each year, and it should be regarded as a major public health crisis.

Did Russia infiltrate the NRA? Did the NRA launder Russian money for Trump? If the answer to these questions is yes, then the problem of guns…

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Commentary

Black History Month – The Underground Railroad A Poem about Harriet Tubman

By Langston Hughes

Who is the engineer on the Freedom Train? Can a coal-black man drive the Freedom Train? Or am I still a porter on the Freedom Train? Is there ballot boxes on the Freedom Train? Do colored folks vote on the Freedom Train? When it stops in Mississippi, will it be made plain Everybody's got a right to board the Freedom Train?

Note: This is a poem Langston Hughes wrote about the Underground Railroad which Harriet Tubman conducted. Who is the engineer on the Freedom Train? Can a…

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Commentary

S***Hole Countries not a Priority

By Dr. Julianne Malveaux, PhD Editorial Board

He illustrates his disdain every time he opens his mouth. He did not have to compare Haiti to Norway, all he had to do was fail to appoint an ambassador to Brazil, which is home to the largest population of Afro-descendents outside the African continent.

Our 45th President has traipsed over to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, planning to rub elbows with world leaders, repair some relationships, and possibly…

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The African World

Will We Ever Have As Much Money As the Koch Brothers?

By Bill Fletcher, Jr. Editorial Board

It is critically important that we all stop and remember something that should be fundamental for any resistance movement or any movement fighting for justice: the oppressed have never, in history, had more wealth or resources than the oppressor.

On a regular basis, whether through email blasts or through news stories, we–the growing majority in the USA–are exposed to the same story: the political Right…

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Commentary

Showdown for the 2018 Mid-terms and Teachers’ Roles

By Dr. Walter C. Farrell, Jr., PhD, M.S.P.H. Columnist

there has been a re-acknowledgement of the importance of teachers as reflected in recent gubernatorial, state legislative, and U.S. Senate races. The 2017 races for governor in New Jersey and Virginia relied heavily on teachers for the Democrats’ solid wins.

Democrats have to get ready to combat the Republicans data analytics for grassroots door-to-door campaigning in 2018. Republicans have invested a billion dollars in replicating the…

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$130,000

Cartoon

$130,000

By Chuck Siler

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Commentary

Fearful Right-Wingers Pump Money Into The 2018 Elections

By John Funiciello Columnist

The Citizens United case of recent years has allowed unlimited money to be spent in elections, virtually guaranteeing that the oligarchs will win in many places where they previously did not stand a chance. Their belief is that the more money spent, the greater the likelihood that they and their politicians will win and carry out their instructions in the political arena. So far, it has been working well for them.

It’s hard to figure why the oligarchs are fearful of the 2018 elections in which Democrats are expected to make some gains in Congress, because they…

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Commentary

Black History Month – Revisiting Frederick Douglass

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

Reading Frederick Douglass causes us to think in new ways about our nation’s history, affords opportunities to open up discourse about race relations and citizenship and raises awareness of the role slavery and race continue to play in our history and national discourse.

Frederick Douglas is dead. This February during Black History Month Americans across the country will commemorate the bicentennial of his birthday. Last year this time, however,…

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