Security Team Shuffle Suggests Cautious Period Ahead

President Obama's picks to head Defense and the CIA mostly suggest continuity of policy but also point to possible debates with Congress over military spending and the direction of the war in Afghanistan.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/04/28/135798476/security-team-shuffle-suggests-cautious-period-ahead?ft=1&f=1014

bill clinton newt gingrich sarah palin al sharpton bill oreilly

How Allen's Time In Iraq May Serve Him In Afghanistan

Marine Lt. Gen. John Allen has been selected to replace Gen. David Petraeus in Afghanistan. Allen is a low-key officer, who gained fame within military circles for his work in Iraq. He was an architect of "The Sunni Awakening" movement, which brought together tribal leaders to fight al-Qaida and support the Iraqi government. It was an important step in turning around the Iraq war.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/04/28/135812722/lt-gen-allen-selected-to-replace-petraeus?ft=1&f=1003

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Open Thread (Balloon-juice.com)

I kind of like the Royal Wedding- the pageantry of it all is kind of fun, and it all seems kind of harmless given that they have no real authority. It is certainly no worse than our unofficial American royalty of Paris Hilton and the various political dynasties that pop up from time to time. [...] Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/83724803?client_source=feed&format=rss

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It's not about Obama's birth, it's about his race

Editor's note: Sherrilyn Ifill is a professor at the University of Maryland School of Law.

Baltimore, Maryland (CNN) -- I will not click on the link to view the long form of President Obama's birth certificate. I will not participate in this final humiliation -- in the president's reluctant acquiescence in this ongoing smear.

The release of the president's long-form certificate proving his birth in Hawaii will not stop the attempts to discredit his leadership. The so-called "birther" movement veils a much more basic challenge to Obama's legitimacy. And yes, that challenge has a great deal to do with his race.

This is not new. Black leaders always have had to prove their "legitimacy" and their allegiance to America. The way to smear the NAACP in the '40s, and leaders like the Rev. Martin Luther King in the '60s, was to suggest that they were Communists working against America.

Opinion: Conspiracy theories die hard

Thurgood Marshall spent a good portion of his confirmation hearing for a position on the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals refuting charges that he was a Communist. Frederick Douglass pushed President Lincoln to allow blacks to serve in the Union Army as a way of proving to whites that blacks were worthy of citizenship.

Source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_allpolitics/~3/Q0M9Iq6cP1E/index.html

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China pushes back after U.S. criticism on rights (Reuters)

BEIJING (Reuters) - China pushed back against U.S. criticism of its human rights situation on Friday following talks on the issue, saying that the Chinese people were "most qualified" to talk on the topic and defending the detention of artist Ai Weiwei. Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/83623508?client_source=feed&format=rss

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