More blah, blah, blah

Election 2004: Learning from the Loss
Maybe the Republicans were confusing the outcome with a mandate from heaven (more on that later), but as soon as the polls closed their propaganda machinery began repeating the mantra of mandate, using the mass media as an echo chamber. By the next day, Grover Norquist was announcing that America is a "Republican majority country," and you could hear him squelching the urge to say "love it or leave it."

Read more here.

Exhibit Examines Race, Effects on Whites
It's the part of the conversation on race that doesn't usually get talked about —what it means to be white.

Read more on Yahoo! News.

Nas pushes it

"You lay the record down, and then you don't want nobody to hear it," Nas told MTV News. "'Are they going to judge me?' After it's laid, I'm scared, and I don't want the record to come out. I'm like, 'Let's change it.' ... But I say forget it and just let it be out."
Read more in Louisville Scene.

Mos Def, Rockin' Old-School Hip-Hop

Mos Def has always known that it's kinda dangerous -- literally, physically -- to be an MC, but that awareness never kept him from the task of producing sharp, illuminating hip-hop. For the past few years, however, the Brooklyn mike master has been playing it awfully safe. Much to the chagrin of his fans, Mos has been sharpening his skills in every art form but the one he is most known for -- he has been acting, singing and even assembling a big, bad rock-and-roll band.

Read more in the Washington Post.