By Kenneth J. Cooper
On the verge of default, the U.S. Postal Service has suspended its contributions to employee pensions and is considering layoffs, shutdowns of some rural post offices, and even an end to Saturday delivery. The independent government agency faces a budget deficit of as much as $10 billion this year.

By George E. Curry
Democrats control two of the three institutions that determine federal priorities and laws, but you would never know that by the way Tea Party-inspired Republicans in the House steamrolled President Obama and Senate Democrats in the latest budget showdown designed to cut $38.5 billion from the fiscal year that is already half over.

By Deborah Rudacille
On a rainy morning in early December, the mood in Baltimore’s barber shops and beauty salons is subdued. The day after Baltimore mayor Sheila Dixon was convicted of one misdemeanor count of embezzling about $500 worth of gift cards intended for the city’s needy, her political fate remains uncertain and shop owners and customers seem torn about the verdict.

By Khalil Gibran Muhammad
Everywhere I turn these days I keep seeing or hearing the words, “No More Excuses.” From black self-help book titles to black pundits on CNN, these three words have become the mantra of post-racialism in the Age of President Obama. Whether intended or not, the mantra fuels the belief that because of individual black achievements, we have finally reached the promised land of a color-blind, equal-opportunity America.