Adam Serwer

Jamelle at the United States of Jamerica comes up with some more hard data contradicting Andrew Sullivan‘s hasty conclusion that black folks are “the most homophobic ethnic community” in the United States. Much was made about black voters who went for Bush in Ohio in 2004, ostensibly because of the ballot initiative banning gay marriage, […]

Matthew Yglesias tries to answer a question from Raoul Vega about why ships in the Star Trek universe don’t utilize small, one person fighters in battle, like in the Star Wars universe. Vega suggests these ships would be vulnerable to such an attack due to the construction of their weapon systems, which seem more focused […]

It’s sort of funny to watch liberals get all excited about the idea that the VP debate will be some kind of train wreck for Sarah Palin. It won’t, because VP debates aren’t really about finding out which candidate is more qualified, but framing the candidate at the top of the ticket. For all the […]

Sure, we hear a lot about black people supposedly playing the race card, but no one plays it as masterfully as white conservatives: Hewitt: Governor, your candidacy has ignited extreme hostility, even some hatred on the left and in some parts of the media. Are you surprised? And what do you attribute this reaction to? […]

Andrew Sullivan, urging his supporters to donate to efforts to defeat a ballot initiative overturning the California decision allowing gay marriage, goes overboard in his language: There is, alas, no ethnic community as homophobic in America as African-Americans. This is an obnoxious overgeneralization, and it’s more than a little irritating to see someone who brags […]

This isn’t close to being as important as the bailout, and it’s coming about a century too late, but mad props to Republicans Peter King and John McCain for their efforts to posthumously pardon boxer Jack Johnson last Friday: The House resolution, passed by voice, states that Johnson paved the way for black athletes to […]

In John McCain and Sarah Palin‘s parent teacher conference interview with Katie Couric, both candidates implicitly say that they would cross the border into Pakistan to pursue terrorist targets; they just say you shouldn’t talk about it. U.S. forces have engaged in cross-border raids on militants inside Pakistan in recent weeks which have prompted a […]

Nothing says “Country First” like a fervent dedication to do the right thing by it, unless of course someone hurts your feelings. That’s Minority Leader John Boehner‘s explanation for his failure to deliver Republican votes on the bailout bill this afternoon: Republicans said Pelosi may have lost votes with a floor speech they considered too […]

I really shouldn’t be shocked by now at the willingness of conservatives to blame minorities for their problems, beyond all reason. But there’s still something surprising about a sitting member of Congress blaming the credit crisis on people of color, even if it’s Michelle Bachmann. This argument is simply empirically wrong. What caused the crisis […]

There are already ads featuring Obama‘s former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright on the air in Michigan through an independent Republican group. But as McCain‘s numbers seem to slip, it’s easy to wonder whether he will employ the only thing that has really slowed Obama down this year. In the past, McCain said Wright wouldn’t […]