These are strange multi-racial days. So strange in fact that white people now feel the cold boot of voter disenfranchisement on their necks. Especially in the South. But this is with a catch. A group of white voters is suing Dallas County, Texas under the Voting Rights Act for discriminating against white people in redistricting county offices. But here’s the thing: the county board is majority white and white’s make up only 32 percent of the population. )Hispanics are 39% and blacks are 23%.) So what’s the problem? Not enough people on the board are Republicans. Only one in fact. The county is abridging white peoples’ right to elect Republicans. As the plaintiffs say “Like something out of the bad old days, a southern electoral body plays naked racial politics, intentionally using its power to minimize a dissenting race’s political sway.”
Here’s the story.
French satire community recovers in time to snark on Fox News clowns terrified about Parisian “no go zones”.
About the key facts, there is little dispute. Over the last three months, President Obama’s approval rating has slowly crept upward, notwithstanding a continuing stream of press coverage about the President as weak, detached and increasingly marginalized. The averaged change is still relatively small – a move from the very low 40s to the mid-forties. But the last couple weeks have shown the first examples of net positive popularity in something like a year. And the latest ABC/WaPo poll shows the President at 50% approval.
After twelve months of press analysis of why President Obama is cut off, weak, unpopular and damaging to his party, why is he getting more popular?
AN INTERESTING PARALLEL: MLK was targeted by J. Edgar Hoover, an unsavory character; I was targeted by the equally unsavory B. Hussein Obama
— Dinesh D’Souza (@DineshDSouza) January 19, 2015
Last week I noted two events which threw a wrench into the prevailing narrative about the war the NYPD – or at least key members of the union leadership – has been waging against the city’s mayor. First there was a poll showing the city’s population overwhelmingly opposed calculated displays of contempt like turning backs on the Mayor during officers’ funerals – despite city residents approving of the police department in general. Then there was news about a fiery union meeting in Queens at which Lynch’s critics claimed he’d led them into a dead-end with an ego driven pissing-match with the Mayor that gave short shrift to their actual needs. Now it turns out Lynch’s position is worse than I’d imagined and he’s blinked in his demand for an apology from the Mayor.
As weed goes mainstream, is old school stoner culture getting weeded out?
Since I talked to you last about the upcoming Israeli elections in March there’s been some wobbling in the polls that I wanted to let you know about. As noted earlier, both Likud and Labor have been hovering in the low-20s for the number of Knesset seats they are expected to gain in the election, with Labor holding a very small but seemingly persistent lead. That changed in early January when the numbers flipped. New polls showed Likud holding a comparably thin lead.
We’re hiring a Senior Editor for our DC office. It’s a fast-paced, exciting job that is at the center of our news coverage. If you’re interested or if you know someone who might be, please see the full listing after the jump.