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Justice Department Sues Arizona Sheriff in Civil Rights Probe

devona walker — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:00:15 -0700

The Justice Department sued Joe Arpaio, sheriff of Arizona's Maricopa County, on Thursday, saying his office has repeatedly declined to hand over documents to federal investigators examining whether his aggressive tactics against illegal immigrants have violated their civil rights, the Washington Post reports.
Arpaio, whose Phoenix area office has drawn widespread attention for his unusual practices, has been the focus of U.S. investigators who have opened criminal and civil investigations of the sheriff and his office.

Obama Calls for Improving Small Business Climate

devona walker — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:53:37 -0700

President Obama cited small businesses as "the primary drivers of job creation" and called on Congress, especially the GOP, to tackle a bill aimed at improving the climate for such enterprises, CNN reports.

In his Friday speech from the White House, which came on the heels of news that private sector jobs had been created for an eighth straight month, Obama said the legislation should be Congress' first order of business when it reconvenes this month. He pleaded with Congress to "put aside partisanship and be the leaders the American people need us to be."

Mexican Shootout Leaves 25 Drug Suspects Dead

devona walker — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:47:31 -0700

CNN reports that a shootout between soldiers and suspected drug dealers in northeast Mexico left 25 of the suspects dead Thursday.
After the fighting ended, soldiers captured a cache of weaponry and 23 vehicles. Two vehicles were reportedly painted to look like military vehicles. It all began when anti-drug forces flying over Ciudad Mier, south of the Rio Grande, allegedly observed armed people in front of a building.
Once they saw they were being observed, the armed people drove off, the military said.

Man Receives 15 Year Sentence For Unweighable (Miniscule) Amount Of Crack

devona walker — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:33:25 -0700

Police found such a small amount of crack cocaine in James V. Taylor’s car that investigators described it as unweighable, according to cnsnews.com.

But it was enough for a 15-year prison sentence in Missouri, where the courts make an enormous distinction between crack and powder cocaine.

Missouri and several other states followed the federal government’s lead in creating such disparities decades ago, but now federal law has changed and prisoner advocates say it’s time for the states to do the same. Most drug cases are prosecuted at the state level.

Tips before buying: Is it better to buy a car new or used?

Eric Volkman — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Are you in the market for a used car? At the moment, it might be better if the answer is “no”. Prices for pre-owned vehicles have reached their highest level in at least seven years, according to auto research company Edmunds. This past July, the average price of a three-year-old car increased more than 10 percent over the same month of 2009. With such soaring costs, it’s now more important than ever to consider whether you need a used car at all, as opposed to buying new or even hanging on to that lovable old jalopy.

Stereotypically 'black' or 'black' by color alone?

Shaka Shaw — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700

As Black viewers, it seems that more often than not, we are forced to accept the lesser of two evils when it comes to Black television characters in mainstream dramas and sitcoms. Either we see the stereotypical Black character who reads as "authentic" to white audiences and "Bamboozled" to Black audiences or we get the Black character who's just...there.

Criminalizing weed is so bad even the cops are against it

Eric Volkman — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The debate over the legalization of marijuana continues, with a black police organization joining the fray despite a recent triple murder related to the sale of the drug.

An African-American police association has endorsed the legalization of marijuana, despite recent high-profile violence linked to trade in the drug. The National Black Police Association said it supported Proposition 19, a California ballot measure that aims to legalize the drug in the state, because current laws have a negative impact on the black community.

Does Size Really Matter? Handling the Size of Your Mate’s Bank Account

DrBoyceWatkins — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Forgive me for being silly, but in my book, “Financial Lovemaking 101,” I enjoy connecting money to the thing that everyone understands from adolescence: Sex. It may seem like a strange relationship, but similar to sex, merging your money with another person means putting something valuable at risk. In fact, your emotional and physical health are more important than your financial health, so the investments we make in love are far more impactful than anything that happens on Wall Street. At the very least, any method of merging important assets with another person must be done with care and caution.

Farrakhan supports building mosque near Ground Zero

Alyssa — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:27:07 -0700

Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan gave his support to the so-called Ground Zero mosque, saying that people of all faiths were killed in the Sept. 11 attacks, the Associated Press reported.

Farrakhan noted that many Muslims were among the dead while speaking to the National Press Club together with a coalition of African-American Muslims. They expressed concern about increasing racism toward minorities.

'When Mega Churchin' Fails' featured on CNN

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:19:00 -0700

TheLoop21.com contributor Stephane Dunn reads from her opinion piece 'When mega churchin' fails.'