Paul Butler

Oct 16, 2024 | messenger-inquirer.com | Paul Butler

There he goes again. Barack Obama has reelected himself scolder-in-chief of Black men. His most recent critique is flat-out wrong on the merits, but that’s not the main problem: Obama’s ploy could backfire. Insulting Black men is a bizarre way to try to win their votes.

Oct 13, 2024 | washingtonpost.com | Paul Butler

Democracy Dies in DarknessThe Harris campaign should steer clear of Obama’s instinct for tough loveOctober 13, 2024 at 1:53 p.m. EDTThere he goes again. Barack Obama has reelected himself scolder-in-chief of Black men. His most recent critique is flat-out wrong on the merits, but that’s not the main problem: Obama’s ploy could backfire. Insulting Black men is a bizarre way to try to win their votes.

May 19, 2024 | washingtonpost.com | Paul Butler

Democracy Dies in DarknessThe battle is over, and J. Cole won. The best-selling rapper’s gangsta move was to lay down his sword and apologize. Hip-hop turned 50 years old last year, but it still needs to grow up. Cole’s badass performance of Black masculinity was exactly the sort of adult behavior the industry needs. World newsEssential reporting from around the worldbackTry a different topicSign in or create a free account to save your preferences

Apr 23, 2024 | washingtonpost.com | Paul Butler

Last week, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik offered congressional testimony fiercely committed to one principle: keeping her job. The spectacle of the leader of one of the world’s great universities snitching on some of the school’s professors was both frightening and pathetic. Combating antisemitism at American universities is an urgent objective, but some conservatives are using it as a means to a different end: broader control of U.S. higher education.

Jan 29, 2024 | washingtonpost.com | Paul Butler

Council member Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) says she proposed the bill after the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, which she chairs, “engaged with thousands of residents” to find ways to make the city “safer and more secure.” Pinto’s news release does not mention who, of those thousands, told her that public safety would be advanced by amending the city’s 1985 anti-chokehold law to allow cops to restrict a suspect’s “movement” by putting their hands on his or her neck.