Keep a wary eye on the push for a constitutional convention
By MOHAMED HAMALUDIN
At their annual meeting last weekend, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), an organization that brings together Republican lawmakers and corporate lobbyists for common causes, discussed plans to hold a constitutional convention, which would be the first since 1787. Article V of the U.S. Constitution provides for such a gathering once two-thirds of the states agree; proposed amendments must be ratified by three-fourths of the states.
Today, that means that 34 states must agree to hold the convention. The Guardian’s James Lartey reported that 28 already do so. Tom Coburn, a former U.S. senator from Oklahoma who retired from the Senate in 2015 and is now a senior adviser to a group called Convention of States, predicted that it is “three or four years away” and 2.5 million volunteers are on stand-by. Continue reading
America Does Not Need Another Tape to Know Who Trump Is – by Adam Serwer | The Atlantic
America Does Not Need Another Tape to Know Who Trump Is
Adam Serwer | The Atlantic
In 1993, The New York Times published an article headlined “Rap’s Embrace of ‘Nigger’ Fires Bitter Debate”. It’s not a word likely to find its way into headlines today.
Sometime in the past 25 years, using that word became the only proof of racism that much of the country is willing to accept. Today, the dividing line is hard to find, but one pivotal moment came during the O. J. Simpson trial, as Simpson’s defense team fought to get a tape of Los Angeles Police Detective Mark Fuhrman using the word admitted as evidence. Fuhrman had previously denied using the word in the past decade; the defense tracked down a recording of Fuhrman using it in conversation with a scriptwriter who was working on a film about the LAPD. Continue reading →
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