Free Republic

Where is the outrage that was manufactured to run Rush Limbaugh off the air? Is it absent because Gumbel is allegedly black? So just picture for a moment, if you will, that you're watching SportsCenter tonight and Dan Patrick says, "The lack of whites in the NBA makes it look like a welfare office." Think that would get buried like Gumbel's comments? For what it's worth, maybe Gumbel should do some research on the emerging face of the GOP.

Some cast aside traditional loyalties... Adam Hunter, an ambitious law student with bright eyes, an easy smile, and plenty of charisma, seems practically destined for politics... a first-year law student at Howard University, a historically black campus with a long record of liberal activism. He has political ambitions of his own -- but not with the Democrats. Instead, Hunter, who as an undergraduate headed Howard's chapter of College Republicans, sees himself as part of a younger generation of African-Americans. He is ready to cast aside traditional loyalties to the Democratic Party and forge his own political identity. ''There's a lot...

There were some eye-opening remarks from Bryant Gumbel on the most recent episode of HBO's Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel. According to a transcript posted by a television columnist named Seth Frelich, Gumbel said the following in his closing monologue last week (emphasis mine): "Finally, tonight, the Winter Games. Count me among those who don’t care about them and won’t watch them ... Because they’re so trying ... Like, try not to be incredulous when someone attempts to link these games to those of the ancient Greeks who never heard of skating or skiing. So try not to laugh when...

Reaction to the Armstrong Williams-Department of Education scandal was swift and furious over the weekend, as I wasn't the only one to make a lot of noise on the issue (LaShawn Barber, Michelle Malkin, Rob Bernard, DC Thornton, Amy Ridenour, Sisu, Nate Livingston, Expertise, Booker Rising, Eduwonk, Wizbang, The American Prospect's Tapped column, Powerline & others too numerous to mention).In the wake of Friday's revelations, Tribune Media Services, who syndicated his column to newspapers nationally, abruptly dropped his column, and most likely, his television show, The Right Side with Armstrong Williams (syndicated on Sinclair stations and aired nationally on cable/satellite...

On CNN Friday morning Bill Hemmer took Williams to task for "ethical questions" over not disclosing his public relations grant. But other "ethical" issues were not raised on CNN, such as: No mention was made on CNN of the frequent interviews of movie and TV stars on major networks, including CNN, where there is no dislosure of paid advertising. For example, major movie distribution firms buy advertisements on the same networks that also air the promotional interviews with such stars - with no disclosure whatsoever. CBS's "60 Minutes" promoted several anti-Bush authors and books, including Richard Clarke's "Against All Enemies"...

It stinks. From USA Today: Seeking to build support among black families for its education reform law, the Bush administration paid a prominent black pundit $240,000 to promote the law on his nationally syndicated television show and to urge other black journalists to do the same. The campaign, part of an effort to promote No Child Left Behind (NCLB), required commentator Armstrong Williams "to regularly comment on NCLB during the course of his broadcasts," and to interview Education Secretary Rod Paige for TV and radio spots that aired during the show in 2004. Williams said Thursday he understands that critics...

Three other cabinet members announced their departures yesterday, virtually ignored in the shadow of Colin Powell's resignation. Their accomplishments, or lack thereof, say a lot about the president's first term and the prospects for his second. When George W. Bush called himself a "compassionate conservative," he invariably pointed to his No Child Left Behind reform plan. As secretary of education, Rod Paige argued valiantly for the premise behind the law: that poor minority children deserve the same skilled teachers and high-quality schools as their affluent counterparts. But beyond the words, Dr. Paige turned out to be politically tone-deaf and a...

BC-Paige-Leaving, 2nd Ld-Writethru,0480 URGENT Education Secretary Rod Paige intends to leave job, official says Eds: ADDS six grafs with possible successor, background AP Photo WX112 By BEN FELLER AP Education Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Education Secretary Rod Paige intends to leave his Cabinet position, a Bush administration official told The Associated Press Friday. "The secretary has been looking at leaving, and he's been in discussion with the White House about the right time to do so," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. A Texan like Bush, Paige, 71, rose to prominence as an award-winning superintendent in...

Education secretary, heard on Fox News.

Kweisi Mfume, President and CEO, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) said today that an invitation to Secretary of Education Rod Paige to speak at an Ohio NAACP dinner was not withdrawn at the request of the NAACP national office. Mfume said: "I found out about this matter on late Friday and I am appalled that something like this has taken place without my knowledge or authorization from my office. There was no directive given by the National NAACP to withdraw an invitation to Secretary Paige. The decision by the Ohio State Conference of the NAACP to...

(CNSNews.com) - The head of the NAACP says the group's national office did not pressure its Ohio chapter to nix a speaking engagement by Education Secretary Rod Paige last week. "There was no directive given by the National NAACP to withdraw an invitation to Secretary Paige," said Kweisi Mfume, president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, in a statement released over the weekend. Mfume said he found out about the situation late Friday, and "I am appalled that something like this has taken place without my knowledge or authorization from my office." He...

Baltimore, MD -- The national leader of the NAACP says today he will personally apologize to U-S Education Secretary Rod Paige for the withdrawn invitation to speak at the organization's Ohio Dinner. Kweisi Mfume is president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He says he was "appalled" when he found out about the snub on Friday. He says the national organization never ordered the withdrawal. He called the decision by the group's Ohio State Conference wrong. Paige at first was invited to talk about education reforms, but the organization rescinded that on Tuesday because of a...

NAACP Blocks Paige Invitation to Speak Saturday September 11, 2004 2:01 AM CLEVELAND (AP) - The state NAACP has withdrawn a convention speaking invitation to U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige at the request of the group's national office. Paige, who was invited three weeks ago to discuss education reforms, was cut from the weekend program at the request of the national office, Ohio NAACP President Sybil Edwards-McNabb said Thursday. The state meeting of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People opened Friday in Cleveland. Edwards-McNabb said national NAACP leaders told her there was an ``imbalance'' in her slate...

CLEVELAND (AP) - The state NAACP has withdrawn a convention speaking invitation to U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige at the request of the group's national office. Paige, who was invited three weeks ago to discuss education reforms, was cut from the weekend program at the request of the national office, Ohio NAACP President Sybil Edwards-McNabb said Thursday. The state meeting of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was opening Friday in Cleveland. Edwards-McNabb said national NAACP leaders told her there was an "imbalance" in her slate of convention speakers. She said she had invited President Bush and...

Boston (CNSNews.com) - More than five months after Education Secretary Rod Paige compared the National Education Association to a "terrorist organization," the union is still steaming over the remark for which Paige immediately apologized. The union's executive director, John I. Wilson, mentioned Paige's remark during a "Take Back America" rally for liberal activists on Tuesday. The event was organized by the Campaign for America's Future. Wilson encouraged the hundreds of liberals in attendance to join with the NEA and liberal groups such as MoveOn.org and the Campaign for America's Future to organize "house parties" on Sept. 22 with a focus...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has had an admirable and impressive history, but the organization's future seems to be growing bleaker as the days pass. That's because the two men in charge of the association, Chairman Kweisi Mfume and President Julian Bond, are far more concerned with their own political motivations and personal benefit than with the true advancement of the black community. The NAACP recently held its annual convention in Philadelphia, and it was big news that President Bush declined an invitation to speak. After initially suggesting that the problem was merely...

I have a message for the NAACP's Julian Bond and Kweisi Mfume, who have accused black conservatives of being the "puppets" of white people, unable to think for ourselves: You do not own, and you are not the arbiters of, African-American authenticity. I am a lifelong member of the NAACP. I have a great respect for the organization. Its historical leaders, all visionary thinkers, have been responsible for helping to advance the struggle of African-Americans over the past century, making our nation a more equitable and race-blind society. Sadly, the current NAACP leadership has managed to take a proud, effective...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Rod Paige, the nation's first black education secretary, condemned NAACP leaders Thursday for saying some black groups are fronts for white conservatives. "You do not own, and you are not the arbiters of, African-American authenticity," said Paige, who rose from segregated Mississippi to become President Bush's education chief. Paige's comments, in a Wall Street Journal column titled "Naked Partisans," appeared on the same day Bush's challenger, Democrat John Kerry, was speaking at the annual convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Philadelphia. Bush is at odds with the NAACP and has not...

Still Mad at Rod Paige Patty Vaughm and Jeanne Sanchez-Bell wave their signs and shout in support of Mark Cebulski, who's running for a three-year term on the National Education Association executive committee, as potential voters stream past on their way to the polls. Occasionally, as Ms. Vaughm turns, jostling for position amid a throng of contending supporters, people smile when they see the words emblazoned on the back of her bright orange T-shirt: "We are all Terrorists Activists." The words elicit a number of responses—from chuckles and thumbs up to eager grins from delegates who've just purchased shirts and...

WASHINGTON - The National Education Association, the nation's largest union, endorsed Democrat John Kerry (news - web sites) for president Monday, the final touch in its campaign to drive up school spending and reshape the biggest education law in decades. The NEA, a 2.7-million member group composed mainly of teachers, is out to advance its agenda on everything from testing students to halting private-school vouchers. The union is mobilizing its money and forces for Kerry — targeting political staff in 15 swing states, going into schools to rally its members, and joining liberal groups to organize a massive night of...