Roland S. Martin from Creators Syndicate

Romney's Campaign GPS Ignores the Poor for 02/03/2012

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

In the 1,257 GOP debates we've had to sit through, poverty and the poor has rarely come up. So it was no surprise that Mitt Romney would be dismissive of them in an interview this week with CNN's Soledad O'Brien.

If Romney and his fellow Republican candidates haven't bothered to shed much attention on the poor (the same goes for the debate moderators), why should we think the richest guy ...

Updated: Fri Feb 03, 2012

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The Hypocrisy of America's Cuba Policy for 01/27/2012

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

For more than 50 years, the United States has had an embargo against the island of Cuba, all because we supposedly hate communism and believe the nation 90 miles from our border should institute democracy.

As the GOP candidates battle it out for votes in Florida's election on Tuesday, Cuba has come up in a couple of debates, and nearly all of the candidates, except for Rep. Ron Paul, hav ...

Updated: Fri Jan 27, 2012

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So Long to the Party of Family Values for 01/20/2012

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

When someone asks when the Republican Party abandoned its longstanding position as the party of family values, we will all be able to say that it was shortly after 8 p.m. Eastern Standard time on Jan. 19, 2012, in Charleston, S.C.

When the invited audience of 2,300 Republicans stood up and applauded Newt Gingrich's angry and defiant response to the opening question from CNN's John King a ...

Updated: Fri Jan 20, 2012

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Seeing 'Red' Over Hollywood's Treatment of Blacks for 01/13/2012

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Who knew that 70 years after African American pilots had to work hard to overcome the prejudices of whites in the United States Armed Services, and the nation having its first black commander-in-chief, the men known as the Tuskegee Airmen would still be doing battle with an entrenched institution of white power brokers, all based on the color of their skin.

Many of you may have seen the ...

Updated: Fri Jan 13, 2012

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Obama Goes All in With Recess Appointments for 01/06/2012

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Finally.

That's all that needs to be said about President Barack Obama's decision this week to stop playing footsy with GOP U.S. Senators and push through the recess appointments of his head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the National Labor Relations Board.

Republicans are in a tizzy, saying Obama is establishing a bad precedent with the moves. But frankly, they n ...

Updated: Fri Jan 06, 2012

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Enough With the ‘It's Iowa or Bust' Talk for 01/04/2012

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

To the Republican voters in the other 49 states, I sympathize with you. It must be painful to turn on every cable and broadcast network, read the websites and follow the blogs and realize that you mean absolutely nothing when it comes to choosing a GOP nominee for President of the United States. Please, just don't even bother. Iowa has it all under control, and what happens there, and in New Ha ...

Updated: Wed Jan 04, 2012

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Only Students Can Truly End Hazing for 12/16/2011

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

In November 2010, I watched HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" and saw the piece done on the hazing antics at several historically black colleges and fraternities and took to Twitter to share my thoughts on the issue.

Much of the report focused on Southern University, and man, did the floodgates open, as a number of students from the university angrily tweeted me back, cuss ...

Updated: Fri Dec 16, 2011

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Senate GOP Proves It Cares More About Wall Street Than Main Street for 12/09/2011

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Sometimes it's right to just turn off the television out of fear of seeing something that will drive your blood pressure to unacceptable levels.

No, I'm not talking about the trashy "Basketball Wives," any of the "Real Housewives" shows or watching Donald "Chump" Trump play the media like a fiddle with his latest bombastic statements. What really has me hopp ...

Updated: Fri Dec 09, 2011

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Trump as Debate Moderator Is an Absolute Joke for 12/02/2011

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Earlier this week it was reported that former NBA slam-dunk champion Anthony "Spud" Webb was planning to become head coach of Rick Cabaret's New York stripper basketball team.

From the moment I read it, I cracked up laughing, knowing full well that my long-time friend and golf buddy, who also happens to be president of basketball operations for the NBA's Texas development leagu ...

Updated: Fri Dec 02, 2011

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Catholic Church Wrong to Bar Girls as Altar Servants for 11/25/2011

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

If there's one institution that has made a point of desperately trying to keep women in their place, it's organized religion.

Whether it's Christianity, Islam or Judaism, women are readily relegated to secondary roles, their contributions considered insignificant.

In the Catholic Church, it's taken a step further by the refusal to allow women to even become priests. Now, some Cath ...

Updated: Fri Nov 25, 2011

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Roland's Thanksgiving 2011 House Rules for 11/23/2011

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Anyone who knows me understands that I always enjoy spending time with my mom, dad, three sisters, brother, nine nieces and four nephews.

So in accordance with our desire to always have fun, I routinely come up with my own house rules to keep my radio listeners and Facebook and Twitter followers in stitches. (Check out #RolandsRules to find the reaction on Twitter.)

Now, some of t ...

Updated: Wed Nov 23, 2011

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Yes, Mr. President, Americans Can Be ‘Lazy' for 11/18/2011

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

For all of our talk of Americans being straight shooters who don't mince words and have the freedom of speech to say exactly what's on our minds, we sure punk out when it comes to elected officials speaking the truth.

Case in point: President Barack Obama describing American corporations as being "lazy" in competing globally.

Now, if you hear that word by itself, you wou ...

Updated: Fri Nov 18, 2011

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GOP Debate Ignores Wall Street's Role in Destroying Economy for 11/11/2011

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

All of the post-mortems on the CNBC Republican debate have focused on the sad but hilarious senior moment Gov. Rick Perry suffered when he couldn't remember the third federal agency he wants to eliminate.

There's no doubt that it'll go down in history as one of the most embarrassing debate moments, but what also stood out as perplexing and stunning was the fact that all of the candidates ...

Updated: Fri Nov 11, 2011

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Cain, Conservatives Look Foolish Blaming Scandal on Race for 11/07/2011

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

If you're Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity and yes, even Herman Cain, you must feel pretty stupid for trying to fool the American people by blaming the reporting on sexual harassment complaints against the GOP presidential candidate on his race.

Cain has tried to make his surprising presidential run about anything but race. He has chided other African Americans for blaming their ...

Updated: Mon Nov 07, 2011

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Sex Education Should Be Mandatory in All Schools for 10/28/2011

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

There are few things more ignorant and annoying than whiny parents complaining about a school district teaching their children about sex. How in the world do we say it's okay for schools to teach our children about math, science, history and numerous other subjects yet then get all high and mighty with righteous indignation when biology is taken a step further to focus on sex?

Too many p ...

Updated: Fri Oct 28, 2011

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Cain Better Get Serious If He Wants to Be Taken Seriously for 10/21/2011

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain has vaulted to the top of the Republican presidential field because GOP voters like his plain-spoken talk and his willingness to bring radical change to the U.S. tax code. And in a year when touting a long career in politics isn't a good idea, he's getting points for having no political experience.

It's easy to vault up the ladder, but it's just a ...

Updated: Fri Oct 21, 2011

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Occupy Wall Street Should Be Moral, Not Political, Movement for 10/14/2011

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Whenever there is an uprising among the people of this country in the form of protest and organized dissent — especially with a presidential election 13 months away — the discussion inevitably shifts to what will it all mean for one of the nation's two political parties.

No matter how hard its representatives have tried to suggest that it isn't partisan, the tea party is noth ...

Updated: Fri Oct 14, 2011

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Occupy Wall Street Protesters Are American Patriots for 10/07/2011

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

"An unconditional right to say what one pleases about public affairs is what I consider to be the minimum guarantee of the First Amendment." — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo L. Black, New York Times Company vs. Sullivan, 1964

It's downright disgusting to listen to conservative and Republican lawmakers, presidential candidates, business owners and media commentators use s ...

Updated: Fri Oct 07, 2011

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Herman Cain Denies GOP's Horrible History With Blacks for 09/30/2011

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

You would think that a black man born and raised in Georgia, who was a teenager during the civil rights movement, would understand the transition of African-Americans from voting overwhelmingly Republican to the Democratic Party.

But GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain clearly didn't have the common sense that he often speaks of having when he went on CNN's "The Situation Room&q ...

Updated: Fri Sep 30, 2011

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Poor Republicans Are Invisible to GOP Presidential Contenders for 09/21/2011

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

When the U.S. Census Bureau reported last week that a record number of people are living in poverty, Republicans were quick to attach the figures to President Barack Obama in a desperate attempt to lay the numbers at his feet.

Anyone with common sense knows, however, that someone doesn't just fall into poverty overnight. The genesis of today's poverty statistics lies in this country's de ...

Updated: Wed Sep 21, 2011

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