According to Yahoo News, a high school in Mississippi cancelled their annual prom rather than allow 18 year old senior Constance McMillen to attend with her girlfriend who is also a student.

School board officials decided it was in their best interest to ruin prom for everyone rather than just Constance and her girlfriend. They have a right to cancel prom for any reason they deem pertinent or disruptive, but the lesson here seems to be that it is okay to discriminate against gays and lesbians now that racial discrimination is supposedly long gone.

The fact is they have no legal right to discriminate and it should not be occurring in a public school. The decision to cancel was a cowardly move that goes to show that this young woman has more courage and strength of mind than all the members of the school board combined.

They thought it fitting to cause and allow two young women to be ostracized because of their decision to cancel prom.  The school board has no backbone or legal leg to stand on so they tried to weasel their way out of being forced to allow Ms. McMillen and girlfriend to attend. They are, in essence, discriminating against all of the students so they can get away with discriminating against one or two.

But that’s nothing new, right? This is Mississippi we’re talking about. The famously conservative yet poverty ridden, non-progressive state, where people still struggle to accept the fact that the south lost the Civil War.  “Prom Night In Mississippi” should ring a few bells for any who had the displeasure of watching history repeat itself. It highlights actor Morgan Freeman’s efforts to integrate the Charleston, MS high school prom. You better believe there was a great amount of resistance from the parents and the school board. Not only was the prom integrated for the first time in decades, some white families still hosted a second, “white only” prom.

Some things change, but other things remain the same. See, you can pretend that you’re not racist just so you can appear to be Christian and god-fearing, but it’s a lot more difficult to pretend that you’re not homophobic while also trying to appear to be Christian and god-fearing.

I’m pretty sure I’ve learned a valuable lesson from this. Religion has once again made its way to the head of the school classroom where it doesn’t belong. I also learned that if you don’t want to allow someone to assert his or her rights, just punish everyone. Fair, right? It’s no wonder Mississippi and its one step behind neighbor Alabama consistently rank lowest among states in education nationwide. This cannot be a farce, but it’s not exactly an epidemic that’s only resigned to the southern half of the United States.

Prejudice and discrimination are prevalent in every state, city school and home. That’s where the fight begins. Perhaps Mississippi and Alabama should consider outsourcing school administrators and teachers as a way to alleviate the gross lack of intelligence and tolerance being spread like wild fire.

Thankfully, Constance has the backing of the ACLUon this issue. According to their website, they have filed a lawsuit against the  high school today, asking the court to reinstate the prom for all students, and to allow Ms. McMillen to wear a tuxedo. The suit contends that the school trampled upon her first amendment rights by denying the use of a tuxedo and entry to the prom.

OXFORD, MS – The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit today against a Mississippi High School that has canceled prom rather than let a lesbian high school student attend the prom with her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo to the event. In papers filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, the ACLU asks the court to reinstate the prom for all students at the school and charges Itawamba County School District officials are violating Constance McMillen’s First Amendment right to freedom of expression.

This isn’t the first time the ACLU has gone up against a flawed school system on behalf of an ostracized gay teen. What’s sad is the job of protector in the school setting should be that of the teachers and administrators. It’s too bad the school board has their heads stuck so far up their asses they don’t realize that they’ve cut off their nose to spite their face.

Last year I wrote a short article on my blog titled Hip Hop & Extreme Islam. The focus was a recruitment video showing members of the Al-Qaeda backed Somalia terror group, Al-Shabaab, and produced by “The As-Sahab Foundation for Islamic Media Production”, which is Al-Qaedas media division. The word “al-shabaab” translates to “the Youth” in Arabic and is more commonly known as The Movement For Warrior Youth.

The propaganda video used rap lyrics and hip hop music to attract and recruit disenchanted Muslim youth from westernized countries to the terror group.

Who Runs As-Sahab?

His American name is Adam Godahn, but he is simply known as “Azzam the American”. He is purportedly the (HJIC) head jihadist in charge of the As-Sahab Foundation for Islamic Media Publication, which uses modern technology to produce “documentary style” videos about Al-Qaeda’s operations, and to recruit militants.  

Watch the video now:

(lyrics)

“Bomb by bomb, blast by blast, only gonna bring back the glorious past.”
 
“Land by land, war by war, only gonna make our black flag soar.”

“The American dream has fallen, Bush is going down like Stalin, the economy is crawlin’, the widows are bawlin’, you dead you be haulin’, while our takbeers (chants of Allah is Great) keep callin’.”

Abu Mansour al-Amriki (Omar Hammami), 26, who can be heard recanting lyrics in the second video is not to be confused with Azzam al-Amriki (Adam Gadahn), 31. They do however share many similarities and have both been featured in al-Shabaab’s recruitment videos. They’re white American men who converted to Islam from Christianity. They’ve both appealed openly to Americans to answer the call for holy war against those they consider to be enemies of radical Islam. Abu Mansour al-Amriki was attracted to the promise of a pure Islamic state in civil war ridden Somalia where he’s currently based. This desire has long been a central component of the ideology behind Al-Qaeda’s relentless attacks and a key reason for the current “holy” war against Americans and non-believers.

The two men are often confused not only because of the similarities surrounding their allegiance to radical Islam, but also because of their adopted aliases, shared country of birth and aim, which is to recruit Islamic extremists and young Muslim American men by any means possible.

So Just Who Is Adam Gadahn? <– Click for story by the NY Post.

He has a one million dollar bounty on his head courtesy of the US government. He’s also the first American to be charged with treason since World War II. He appeared in a video that surfaced this past Sunday where he urged Muslims in America to carry out terrorist attacks. 

Adam Gadahn Not Really In Custody?

Conflicting reports surfaced over the weekend about Gadahn’s supposed capture and arrest in Pakistan over. The conflict was due to inconsistencies among Pakistani officials on who exactly they have in custody.

Although two officers and a government official identified the man as Adam, a different official said the suspect is American with the alias Abu Yahya Majadin al-Adam. This alias is also know to have been used by Adam Gadahn.

The name similarities may have caused initial confusion, but reports of his arrest and identity remain unconfirmed at present time. In fact, he is not believed to be in custody, but another American is, according to officials.

FRANKS: In this country, we had slavery for God knows how long.  And now we look back on it and we say “How brave were they? What was the matter with them?  You know, I can’t believe, you know, four million slaves.  This is incredible.”  And we’re right, we’re right. We should look back on that with criticism.  It is a crushing mark on America’s soul.  And yet today, half of all black children are aborted.  Half of all black children are aborted.  Far more of the African American community is being devastated by the policies of today than were being devastated by the policies of slavery.  And I think, What does it take to get us to wake up?

The excerpt beings around the 6:15 mark:

1. Read the quote.

2. Watch the video.

3. Read my reaction to both.

4. Set aside 5 minutes of your time.

5. That’s how long it will take you to read my reaction. Bookmark and come back to read the remainder if you can’t get through it all in one sitting.

My Reaction To Trent Franks Statements

Is it open season on black women and someone just forgot to let a “sister” know? Historically young, black, male rappers and hip-hop artists declared open season on black women years ago. They have been richly rewarded for their contribution to the denigration of black women ever since. It’s gotten so bad that young black girls feel as though they can not rely on black men to tell them they are beautiful, wanted and protected. We have cats like John Mayer saying out loud how his penis truly feels about black women, in particular. His reproductive organ is like the Klu Klux Klan when it comes to sexually attracting the black woman. There’s nothing wrong with having a preference, but there is something wrong with equating it to a racist, terrorist organization that preyed on and killed innocent people for generations just because the color of their skin was different. Now we have a congressmen trying his hardest to be racially divisive while discussing a controversial issue that affects women of all races. Let it be known just what kind of idiot we’re dealing with here. Here’s an example of one of his prior initiativesas a government representative.

The ironic part about this is I was one of the few Members of Congress that was willing, if I could come up with a way to prove that Barack Obama was not born in this country, I was willing to go into a lawsuit. I don’t know of any other Member of Congress who was willing to do that, because I wanted to make sure that we were protecting both the Constitution and, quite frankly, I was terrified of this guy.

We’re dealing with an original ”birther”, and one who rejected the legitimacy of President Barack Obama’s citizenship and his eligibility to become President, prior to the election.

This leads me to the primary purpose of this curse filled rant. What in the hell does abortion have to do with slavery anyway? More specifically, a woman can choose to have an abortion, but what woman in her right mind would choose the institution of slavery if given the choice? Do African-Americans have more abortions? The short answer is yes. The long answer is that both Hispanic and black women obtain abortions at rates three to five times higher, respectively, than non-Hispanic and white women. Although abortion rates have fallen off over the last few years, a great disparity still exists and there are many reasons to explain the disparity. I’ll provide two for now and many more all throught the remainder of this post.

• Lack of access to contraceptives and birth control
• Very restrictive sex education being taught in American schools

What’s most striking  is how pro-lifers and anti-abortionists don’t try all that hard to make the argument as to why black women and their unplanned babies would be better served while working and living under forced servitude. Their argument against abortion is fielded strictly to imply that abortion is bad and its access must be restricted, especially to black women because all they do is ”murder murder murder, kill kill kill” these poor little black zygotes. They systematically ignore the reasons why women turn to abortion instead of considering alternatives. High rates of poverty, discrimination in employment and housing, disparities in health care, preventative health care and access to quality health care are just a few of the problems not addressed.

Is it the anti-abortion movements intent to maintain the unequal conditions their ancestors successfully implemented back in the slavery days where there existed no such thing as choice or free will for women, of any color?
While I’m on the subject of women let me state for the sake of stating shit that Abortion is a Woman’s Issue. Period. Until this is realized, rabid conservatives like Trent Franks will continue to polarize the issue and make it “The Black Woman’s Holocaust” in an attempt to draw cheers and support from ignorant whites, blacks and angst filled pro-lifers with their single-minded agenda.

What pisses me off are the tactics employed. The anti-abortion/pro-life/white Conservative majority’s manipulation with regard to the black community and the vilification of planned parenthood’s 21st century focus on birth control, contraception and sex education. Some unfair criticisms used to depict black women as the biggest profiteers of  public aid and welfare assistance are now being used in the abortion debate.  But, which is it? Black women and their gang of children are either on welfare, sucking up tax dollars while breaking the government piggy bank or we are having so many abortions and killing so many of our unborn that the government needs to exact complete control over our reproductive rights for our own sake.

Trent Franks wants me to believe that he knows my body and the life I lead better than I do. Black women may as well do Mr. Franks a favor and surrender ourselves to the nearest plantation to begin working the fields immediately. Not only would welfare suddenly disappear, but the abortion rate would be cut in half. Come to think of it, it would be perfect timing to begin the crusade against white women having abortions. For one, they’ll need plenty of new slave masters to oversee the new crop of black babies born into slavery.

But, seriously, how does Trent Franks know so little, yet talk so much? Why doesn’t he understand basic cause and effect?

• Lack of affordable daycare
•  lack of information about emergency contraception
•  lack of self esteem which equates to fewer girls posessing the confidence to say no when a boy asks for sex
•  lack of EQUAL PAY in the workplace. Women STILL make 70 cents for every dollar a man earns.

These scanarios not only put pressure on black women to do what they believe is in their best interest when unplanned pregnancies occur, but it boxes them in and exposes them to additional scrutiny. Abortions already carried with it a stigma of shame and sometimes regret, but its effects are two fold for black women who are criticized for having too many babies and then criticized again for having too many abortions. Which is it? Oh, I know what it is. Black women cannot win for losing.

The Trent Franks of the world help create and maintain social inequality then they turn around and put themselves in a position to morally lecture and judge the very people suffering the ramifications of their own injustices, administered over a time period of hundreds of years.

What we have here is a mostly white (not for long, I fear) anti-abortion movement that is attempting to infiltrate the black community and incite black conservatives, with their heads up their asses, to do everything in their power to exaggerate and disparage black women under the pretense that they really give a fuck about their quality of life. But what’s most obvious is the fact that they only care when it comes to the unborn. They want to make black women the poster child for abortion to fuel the conservative rights attempt to make ban abortion.

The unfair vilification of black women who have had abortions should be considered an insult to all women, everywhere.

These are the same political fuck nuts that don’t want to provide a public option (what’s the point of reform without one), adequate health care, job training, education or any social program they feel unworthy, to minorities because it  dips into their taxes. Corporate welfare is quite alright, but private, individual welfare is simply unacceptable. They’re concerned with women having abortions, but not why they’re having them, or what steps to take to ensure the women who do not have them are receiving all the assistance they need. They’re the kind of politicians that want to cut program funding on one end and shout to the heavens how much they care about the person and the fetus on the other hand. Oddly enough, they care more about fetuses than they do actual human beings. 

I hope this Conservative strategy to get blacks to come out strongly against abortion by promoting it as a way for white feminists and liberals to exterminate the black race FAILS, and miserably so. This entire strategy reeks of fear, institutionalized racism and open divisiveness and I’m afraid that it will work in some respects. I’ve even known black women who seriously claim to be pro-life sneak off to the clinic to take care of an unexpected situation. It happens, but across cultures and not resigned to any single race. 

Anti-Abortion measures are as much a form of BIRTH CONTROL as women who use abortion as a method of BIRTH CONTROL. They are both abusive practices that harm rather than help. There has to be a way to curtail abuse of abortion that does not penalize all women and restrict them from having a choice, as long as it falls within the law.  I am a proponent of abortion reform, but I am a firm believer and supporter in a woman’s right to choose. I am not willing to give up that right just because I would never personally have an abortion.

The truth is that black women have a disproportionate number of abortions, but white women have HALF of ALL abortions. If you want to address an issue that crosses cultures yet attack only one demographic, you’ve got another thing coming.

“Far more of the African American community is being devastated by the policies of today than were being devastated by the policies of slavery.”

What exactly is Mr. Frank trying to say here? According to the Census of 1860, there were around 4 million slaves, which is a far cry above the number of abortions performed every year by black women.

I would love to know where he got the idea that far more Blacks are devastated by today’s policies than were being devastated by the policies of slavery. What a proverbial slap in the face.

There are those who will say that there is credence to Franks’ comments. In fact, Day Gardner, the president of the National Black Pro-Life Union, agrees with him.

“Face it America, he’s right. Abortion has exacted a greater toll on blacks than slavery,” she told LifeNews.com.

“Our country brutally enslaved four million people, denying them their rights, their freedom and many times their lives. Rep. Franks is simply comparing that horrific truth to another horrific truth — which is that abortion has killed more than 17 million black people,” Gardner said.

“Slavery is a terrible stain on the fabric of America that can never be fully washed away,” the black pro-life leader continued. “The stain of abortion is every bit as terrible and even more atrocious than slavery in light of the fact that the victims of abortion are totally helpless–they are unable to run away, unable hide or defend themselves.”

Gardner calls the “devastation of abortion in the black community” a “hard truth” and she says “Franks and other members of Congress stand with us to right this terrible wrong.”

She urged more of her black brothers and sisters “to speak up and stand up to those who would have us believe the lie–that poor, under privileged black children are expendable and worthless.”

Gardner also went further than Franks and said the pro-life movement within the African-American community is ” the underground railroad of our time and Congressman Trent Franks should be revered as a great modern day abolitionist.”

She says that black abortions are worse than the atrocities of slavery because unborn babies are unable to defend themselves. She proceeds to speak about the devastation of abortion while not daring to speak about the devastation of the black community in general which has resulted in more babies born of our wedlock and right into a life of poverty and under privilege. Her stupidity is further exacerbated by the Conservative ideology that favors the unborn baby more than mother who is thought of only as a womb or carrier. She further highlights something I’ve never once heard a liberal say, but I have heard it on enough blogs and forums to know that it is a lie. Underprivileged black children are NOT worthless and expendable, but you wouldn’t know that with the way the justice system hands out ridiculously extensive punishments to black men and women at much higher and stiffer rates than their white counterparts who commit the same crime.

If these mostly pro-life conservatives truly believe that black children born into a life of poverty deserve better, why do they vote against expanding funding for public education and higher education endeavors? Why do they vote against granting health insurance to children with families who cannot afford it? Why aren’t they be just as visceral about every disadvantaged black child going to school in a safe neighborhood, or having an updated textbook that he can call his own?  She does the same thing Rep. Franks tried to narrowly avoid doing; she does nothing to discount or correct the false statistic he stated, but goes on to further the anti-abortion/pro-life cause by stating that it is worse than anything the evils of slavery produced, and she supports making it into a racial issue by doing nothing in the way of speaking about abortions performed by non-black women.

Day Gardner is quite possibly Trent Franks reincarnated as a stupid black woman. 

Half of all black babies are NOT aborted. Not even half of all abortions are performed on black women. Half of all abortions are performed on white women, and 32% are attributed to black women, which I admit is still a fairly big number.

There is no fairness in health care.

What they don’t want to tell black people is that when it comes to preventative medical treatment and quality health care and insurance, white men are King. To add, anti-abortion activists proudly fight against public funding for birth control, sex education, and access to contraceptives. They don’t just want to take away a woman’s right to choose, they want to prevent her from having access to safe, affordable, birth control when she needs it. What they don’t want to tell the black community is that insurance companies covered Viagra, which is used to treat erectile dysfunction and where reproduction is supposedly the end goal. But the argument that birth control and contraception are not medical conditions, but instead a choice, was a widely accepted view for years. As few as 10 years ago, most insurance companies did not cover birth control or contraception even though most couples need it during the natural course of their relationship.  There are still some insurance companies that do not cover birth control or contraceptive measures. Here’s what Bill O’Reilly had to say.

“Viagra is used to help a medical condition — that’s why it’s covered. Birth control is not a medical condition, it is a choice. Why should I or anybody else have to pay for other people’s choices?”

Apparently, numb nuts, I mean limpus dickus, I mean Bill O’Rielly was unaware that having sex is also a choice.

Pro-lifers and anti-abortion extremists wouldn’t like being compared to the Taliban, now would they? Forcing women to wear a burka of stigma and shame for having an abortion, and desiring them to give up all decision making powers with regard to their body and its reproductive process. But it’s not slavery, it’s morality, right?

Trent Franks can continue to claim that black women account for half of all abortions, but he’d still be lying. He can compare abortion to the evils of slavery and white slave masters mistreatment of black men and women for hundreds of years, but he’d also need to ask himself just how how in the fuck he would know which was better or worse, given his privilege, given the color of his skin, and the fact that it may have been better for HIM, but would Ms. Day rather be alive then or now? I seriously wonder. 

I don’t know what black people, if any, he has ever talked to. The blame and responsibility of devastating the black community he has placed squarely on the shoulders of black women. Even while reading his comments in context I’m lead to believe that he’s ignorantly comparing the rate of black abortions during slavery to the rate of black abortions today, but I know he’s not. He’s trying to say that the black community is more devastated by the government policies legalizing abortion than by government policies that backed and legalized slavery. 

What Trent Franks is trying to have black people believe is that slavery was just a bad job with no pay.

It would be different if Rep. Franks and Co. had ever demonstrated any measure of care and concern about the racial disparities in this country without also blaming those disparities and injustices on those most negatively affected by them, i.e., black women.

On the other hand, when your biggest accomplishment “fighting racism” consists of introducing legislation to prohibit abortions for gender and race reasons then there is absolutely nothing you can say to dismiss what appears to be race baiting to further an extremist cause. This is the same congressman that voted NO on expanding the Children’s Health Insurance Program in January of 2009, and he voted NO on adding 2 to 4 million children to SCHIP eligibility, which is a program designed to cover uninsured children in families where income levels are too high to quality for medicaid, but too low to obtain affordable health insurance for their children.  This is the same congressman who voted No on increasing the minimum wage back in 2007. He’s anti-affirmative-action, and voted NO on $84 million in grants for Black and Hispanic colleges. He’s strongly opposed to a separation of church and state, and he voted NO on prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation. Why am I not surprised that he is against measures to help bring about social equality, but he’s for measures to increase the economic disparity among the classes, while using the race card to highlight what he considers to be worse than slavery; black women having the right to an abortion.

Basically, Trent Franks is staunchly against a woman’s right to choose, but he strongly favors her right and the right of her child to live in poverty. He believes in the right to life, but if that child turns out gay or bisexual he doesn’t want them to have any rights that threaten his own or his views of the “traditional family.”
 
So, let’s see what my life might be light if I was a slave. I could be raped at will because I was the property of my master. I was not allowed to receive an education or learn how to read. To do either could be violent or deadly. Voting was completely out of the question, even for white women who were powerless in that regard. If I were to escape and be caught by the state or government, I would be promptly be returned to my master and who knows what the consequences for that punishment may be. Basically, a slave master had complete and total control over a woman’s body. If you give a man, any man, any race, control of a woman’s body, then sooner or later he will take further advantage of the situation. Now where again is the morality in his assertion that blacks were better off?

The only race that I am aware of that would be better off under slavery in America are white people.

In defense of Franks’ statements, I give you Mr. Enlightened:

“First of all, you need to understand Trent. He is my congressman and a damn great one too. If you know the man, you know what he is saying and a lot of this quote is easily taken out of context. when he says, “How brave were they? What was the matter with them? You know, I can’t believe, you know, four million slaves. This is incredible.” This is in admiration of the slaves for enduring and surviving such a bad reality and criticism of the nation for allowing such atrocities to take place for so long.

Trent is 100% standing up for the black people of this country. The Democrat party in concert with Planned Parenthood have directly targeted the black community for excess abortions. There is video out there that shows the true racism of the founder of Planned Parenthood wanting do diminish the black population via abortion. This ‘IS’ why the abortion rate is so much higher in the black community than others. All disguised in the mantra of “Choice”.

And although the life of a slave was very harsh and unfair, they did not violently have their bodies ripped apart or their brains sucked out before they could take their first breath.” 

Really, for real? I’ve watched the video and I’ve read all about Margaret Sanger and you know something, you still don’t get to tell women what to do with their bodies and pretend you’re simply doing them a favor, asshole. Regardless of the controversy surrounding Sanger’s intentions of the day, she worked closely with poor women who were in desperate need of medical care and education because they were performing self-induced abortions and harming themselves and their reproductive organs in the process. Her persistent determination is what helped to bring about the Birth Control Movement in America.

Summary

For those who don’t see the problem with Franks’ remarks, let me reiterate what I’ve been saying all along. As a black American, woman, even I do not get to talk about things being worse than slavery. Where the hell would I get off making such a comparative assumption about anything of the sort? My ancestors were used as chattel. They were kidnapped, traded, bought and sold by their Black African brothers and sold across the seas. Millions of them died during the middle passage to illness and disease we can not fathom today. They were whipped, lynched, maimed raped and killed as punishment for disobeying their masters or attempting to escape. 

Franks’ ancestors did not experience any of those things, although that doesn’t discount their vast experiences in this great country of ours. And although every American lives with the legacy that slavery left behind, nobody feels its longstanding effects as visibly and invisibly as some of slavery’s living descendants. This is not to say that being any other minority or being a white man or woman in America has been easy. It certainly has not. Indentured servants from all over Europe made up a large portion of early immigrants to America during a time when slavery was at its peak. What sucks is when people make racially insensitive comments and then retort with “get over it” because slavery is over, yet they know what they’ve just said is not only insensitive, but’s racially inflammatory. If you can demand I “shut up and get the hell over it” I can demand you utilize “common fucking decency when it comes to comparing who in history has had it worse.”

People whine that blacks whine too damn much about slavery and its aftermath, but then you have douche bags like Trent Franks whining about black women having abortions and then comparing it to slavery, as if the other 68% of abortions are had by the boogey woman and her girls from down the way.

Slavery is a sensitive subject that must be handled with respect. Educated blacks fully understand that White American’s role in the Atlantic slave trade mutually coincided with those of Black Africans on the interior and exteriors of Africa’s gold coast, Muslims, Arabs and White Europeans.

Push whatever political view that gets your blood pumping, but leave slavery the hell out of it, especially when you’re blatantly spouting misinformation just to get people to believe in something. I’ll stick to believing in the truth and leave the blatant lies to desperate extremists.

In conclusion, I’m not going to go out of my way and call Franks an idiot, I’m going to just go ahead and say that I believe Trent Franks is an idiot. Did I also mention that Franks is an idiot of idiotic proportions? Just to be crystal clear, Trent Franks picture, which can be viewed on his wikipedia page, can also be found in the dictionary under the word IDIOT.

In summary, Trent Franks, Republican congressman from Arizona, is a bone headed IDIOT, with really great intentions according to his friends in the cause, none of which happen to be black, coincidentally, except for Day Gardner who is really a white guy in black face ala Whoopie Goldberg in The Associate.

To be honest, Day Gardner is a former Miss Delaware who praised former Miss California Carie Prejean’scomments about same-sex marriage.  If she really gavea fuck about the plight of black women within the black community, she’d be doing everything within the power she’s been given by the conservative right, to do something about the troubling disparities within the rates of infant morality amount black, Hispanic and white women.  The US has the highest infant mortality rate among black women, while also touting “the greatest heath care system in the world”. This is just another hypocritical discrepancy among a ever growing list of many.  One thing is certain; the Congressman has his eyes completely shut to almost every issue related to abortion and birth control in this country except for the actual medical procedure itself.

Here is a man who decided to have children at the age of 53 by way of a donor egg and surrogate, according to Wikipedia, instead of adopting one of the millions of black babies already without a family in this country. It’s his God given right, to that I’ll concede, but he’s a hypocrite in my book with a serious lack of actual morality.

Although we strongly support the important reforms made by the Senate-passed health reform package, including a strong public option would improve both its substance and the public’s perception of it,” Bennet wrote to Reid in a letter cosigned by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).

Saying Americans don’t want health care reform with a public option is like saying we don’t want private schools without a public school option. It makes little sense. Odds are, even if you don’t want it, you’ll make good use of it when it’s implemented, just like other Americans who desperately need it. Three months ago I wrote a blog called 20 Things To Consider About Healthcare Reformwith the intention of bringing to light some of the most glaring detractors that stand in the way of health care reform from my limited point of view. I’m talking about true health care reform. I won’t consider it true reform unless it includes a public option. With the unregulated flow of false information clogging the political grapevine, most people are too far gone to understand that even with a public option the majority of health care provisions will remain under private ownership. Private insurers will retain their stock and those against the public option can opt to stay with their current insurance providers. Insurance companies may even feel compelled to raise costs while lowering premiums for the sake of competition, which points to the root of the problem. The majority of Americans that stand to benefit from a public option are the working and middle class. Republicans in general seem to have great disdain at being painted as poor or working class even when their particular demographic suggests so. It’s not that there are no poor or uninsured Republicans, they simply won’t admit to it. As if considering oneself Republican immediately raises you above the social bar. It speaks to an imaginary wealth that only comes with conservative inclusion into its elite “good old boys” club. There is a false sense of singular importance among [some] working and middle class Republicans that trickles down from [some] of the self-serving, corporate interests that pollute the disgruntled, extreme, conservative upper class, i.e., Palin & Co. 

When the party with the least members not only threatens to, but through alternate means carries out the obstruction of highly important legislative measures filtering through Congress, then there are serious problems. Where there’s a threat to filibuster a reform bill of this magnitude, then it should be done in the standard way. Legislatures have every right to endorse the plan they believe works in the best interest of their constituents. However, we already know the public option is supported by the majority of the house, the majority of the senate, the President of the United States and a majority of his constituents. So what’s the problem?

There exists an incredible lack of bipartisanship in Washington. Another issue of concern is the Republican use and abuse of the filibuster in ways never before seen. A filibuster is an effective way to obstruct or prevent a vote from occurring on what is normally considered an important or standard piece of legislation. They threatened to filibuster the health care bill unless certain aspects were revised, removed or reinstated. In response, Democrats should exert their power by way of a process known as reconciliation, which is a severely restrictive means of circumventing a filibuster. It only requires a simple majority to pass, however that could cause some key things to remain out of the bill, such as requiring insurers to accept people with pre-existing conditions. In essence, it would shut out the minority party – Republicans - but it would likely invoke increased negative reaction.

Sadly, fewer and fewer politicians care more about the will of the people than they do about maintaining their jobs. There is a broad range of corporate money and power that comes along with politicking which makes each vote a political opportunity rather than a show of strength and leadership on behalf of ones constituents. 

And then there are statements like this, which are all too common now.

“There is absolutely no moral imperative for the gov’t to provide health care to its citizens.”

I beg to differ. They just don’t want all Americanas to have health care. They’re more okay with giving government handouts to small to large corporations than giving it back to the people that are supposed to effect the greatest change and progress. Obama stated that if you like your health insurance, you can keep it. Health care reform isn’t about whether or not conservatives like or even love their health insurance anyway. Every single year there are thousands of people who have paid their insurance premiums yet are denied medical coverage for any number of reasons. Insurance premiums are set to rise across the board this year, 2010, and it’s already happening, yet competition is bad? Some people are seeing their private insurance premiums rise up to 33% increases yet their typical response is to express anger at the government instead of the insurance companies.

The majority of Americans are not wealthy. Not even the majority of Republicans are wealthy. They’re hard working middle class Americans just like their Democrat and Independent counterparts. Sadly, many Americans are living paycheck to paycheck and cannot afford insurance, but there is great resistance on the part of Republicans and a few Democrats (In Name Only) to extend provisions to all. It doesn’t help that insurance companies have an unofficial army of regular, unpaid citizens who passionately lobby on their behalf. Politicians from both sides do the same thing except they’re paid quite well for their efforts on the hill. What’s worse are conservative talking points generated by miscreants like Limbaugh and Beck whose arguments against health care reform and a public option begin to spread like fire through the conservative ranks, thus creating a whole new crop of unfounded fear. The arguments the conservative working and middle class make against a public option are a result of irrational fear and crass political tactics aimed at spreading lies and misinformation such as the dreaded death panels. 

To get the public option reinstated, Democrats will have to have to rely on sheer mental will power, an imposing show of strength and leadership that goes beyond just the idea of hope and change and capitalizes off of the massive support from the American people who have entrusted them to actually implement that hope while keeping the change.  The party that shows the least amount of courage receives the least amount of respect. And If there’s one thing Republicans have that Democrats do not, it’s a potent and virile base that respects the party line way more than the party politician. With that said, there’s nowhere for the Democratic party to go but up, however they must grow a pair of cajones first. If they fail, health care reform dies.

image courtesy of aidsconnect.net

A fresh breath of cynicism is sometimes useful, but not in relation to granting American’s their civil liberties. With that said, I strongly agree with the president’s state of the union address regarding DADT, but only with the understanding that there exists no timeline on promises made. Unlike many others, I didn’t expect the important gay rights issues to be served with the first course, but perhaps, in politics, there should be a timeline if multiple promises are made in conjunction with vying to hold the highest office in the land. Consider that Democrats insisted Bush present a timeline when he initiated talk of withdrawing soldiers from Iraq. Therein lies somewhat of a precedent set by Obama’s own party. Politicians, no matter how smooth talking, acting, or walking are often held accountable for [insert cause here] on a [insert criteria here] basis based on what they say they can do, but that accountability doesn’t reach beyond the walls surrounding Capitol Hill. Any accountability to ‘we the people’  manifests itself at the polls; when it comes time to vote.

Accountability is a word that causes the quelling of discontent from all sides when put to action. But the reality is that President Obama has 3 solid years remaining in office and his accountability for unfulfilled promises has not extended beyond Capital Hill. Not yet, at least, and in all fairness I’m not ready to lambaste the president for any perceived shortcomings specifically due to the fact that he still has plenty of time to make good. Whether the next three years are productive or destructive is wholly dependent on the congressional atmosphere, i.e., congress’s political make up, President Obama’s wherewithal and the American people; you know, the ones who voted him into office. We all know that once an official is elected to a position of power all bets are off. There’s a bigger picture they’re exposed to that you or I will never have access to. What this means for the gay community is that we cannot rely on mere words and promises alone to defeat discrimination at the federal level. The longer we allow gay organizations to speak for us and represent us while criticizing their actions, without critiquing our own [in]action, then we remain nothing more than bystanders with opinions. The president can make promises he fully intends to keep, but we don’t help when we bite the hand that intends to feed us without allowing that hand as much room as necessary to put the smack down on those hindering progress. And what of the gay and lesbian organizations who lobby for us? They have their own political infrastructure and agendas to attend to that were implemented long before  Obama started banking on new and old promises.

Gay organizations have been in existence from Republican to Democrat presidents. They haven’t stopped playing to a specific GLBT audience and to a specific brand of politics within that secret world so why all the angst against their pleasure or displeasure with a specific administration? If you don’t agree with their agenda, don’t support their cause. If you never supported their cause to begin with, why place them above any other “non-profit” that purports to have no real political agenda when that logic does not add up? The fact is these organizations are largely government funded and they give voice to reason and common decency on a general level, but beneath the surface they will not bite the hand that feeds them and risk restricting that federal funding. In essence, they refuse to do the very thing Religious organizations that enjoy major government tax breaks proudly do. When we grow weary of sitting around and doing nothing while they work toward their agenda (growing some balls), we call ourselves activists and find our voice, but only when it comes to a cause we deeply care about.

The carnival that makes up the primary branch of GLBT organizations or “Gay, Inc.”, as they’ve been dubbed, has succumbed to a dichotomy that has successfully divided the gay community over multiple issues for many years. The one I feel most strongly for concerns federal marriage equality. Same-sex couple’s and their estates are not federally protected as it relates to domestic partnerships and civil unions under federal law. There exists gay and lesbian lawmakers who do little to lend their powerful voice because they are, in effect, just as complacent as the bulk of us. Case in point; Barney Frank who is arguably one of the most powerful members of congress, would rather we stop complaining federally and start writing our congressmen and women locally and lobbying on a state level instead. Personally, I view Mr. Frank as a waste of political breathing space due largely to his direct role in our economic downfall, but he has provided a good point about just what it takes to get things down in Washington. He is well known in gay political circles as ‘the gay asshole’ that discourages gays from protesting, most notably the 2009 march on Washington. On the other hand, he’s done practically nothing to advance the gay “agenda” from where he’s sitting, and I meanhe has yet to really step up and lobby for gay equality. The good thing about Barney Frank being an openly gay, powerful congressman is… on second thought, I’ll get back to you when I have something positive to write. That’s why I dislike announcements such as “the first openly [insert sexual identifier here] was just hired, yada yada yada, because all it’s a facade. 

The encouragement to lobby strictly statewide speaks to other issues that remain in jeopardy if the fight remains mostly or only at the state level. In particular, federal discrimination will persist as the state by state fight rages on, and at the same time gays and lessbians still won’t be afforded any federal allowances, benefits or protections as it relates to marriage, adoption and employer benefits. This vicious circle is a cycle of regurgitated nothing.

Despite that, it makes little sense to criticize gay organizations for playing politics as usual; until it comes to a cause we hold dear to our hearts. Why do we do nothing the remainder of the time? Because we don’t care about those issues. We’re all guilty of it. What hasn’t happened, but needs to happen, is mass mobilization. We can compare the fight for equality to the fight for civil rights until the cows come home, but we haven’t properly fashioned our movement or borrowed from some of the best sources of political warfare, and unlike those involved in the civil rights movement, we’re fighting against not only a political agenda, but a religious one as well. Think about the fact that most of our opposition is derived from biblical interpretation and religious doctrine.  

Like the civil rights movers and shakers of yesteryear, the gay community must collectively mobilize as a majority to get the message of equality spread and passed federally. Instead of criticizing gay organizations for not being tougher on the president with regard to promises made, we need to criticize them for placating the gay community and not addressing all of the pressing issues of our time which can be met without much of any political fanfare. They’ve done little to reach out to the larger community, specifically gays and lesbians who live, work and thrive in urban enclaves and those who are rightly considered double and triple minorities, i.e., Black/Hispanic/Asian, gay, men and women.

There is a strikingly potent element of cultural diversity that exists and is widely underrepresented within discussions about socio-cultural and socio-economic issues affecting the community.  This is on a national and international level and that lack of representation; the lack of diversity within the most visible voices the community has to offer is noticeable and alarming. This translates into lobbying for LGBTQ initiatives that will rightly impact the community at large, but it also shifts focus from equally important, smaller, wide scale social and economic divides and deprives attention from issues such as violence against gay youth, youth homelessness, same-sex domestic violence, etc., and further widens a VISIBLE gap that exists within the gay community. How can we collectively fight for equal rights when we know for certain that there exists things such as racism within our own gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual communities? We cannot.

We must provide a positive and reinforcing message to the country and to our legislatures that says we will collectively support the president’s efforts to strike down “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” and will work with him to accomplish this long awaited goal. I won’t get into my thoughts about health care and the president’s shortcomings so far because that is certainly an issue for another day, but we shouldn’t support the hijacking of our own message of equality and unity by joining conservative dissent and dissent from within our own ranks about the granting of rights. There is nothing stopping us from putting a positive spin on a negative situation while also expressly showing how much we care about this issue and will support the only president besides Clinton to give credibility to equal rights for gays. If he can accomplish this without bending over backwards for the church, he’ll rank in a class all by himself, as presidents go. 

 
image by Unwanted__by_DetrimentalMemories

We are moving swiftly so that more Americans can see our government in action as it reviews this landmark case, said Ainsworth around one week after the start of the trial, which last Wednesday concluded witness testimonies    
                                                           – source ChristianPost

Two filmmakers from Los Angeles, John Ireland and John Ainsworth, have posted a series of videos on YouTube depicting the Prop 8 trial, which is currently in recess. They used first hand notes from bloggers and writers who witnessed the trial live to re-create the transcripts. They plan to record the entire court drama for availability to the general public via YouTube and their website MariageTrial.com. There you will find actual attorney and witness photos including the actors who portrayed them. Full text of the transcript is available.

What makes the video broadcasts so significant is their contrast to a ruling brought down by the Supreme Court of the United States prior to the start of court proceedings. They ruled that the trial could not be streamed live to YouTube and other courtrooms throughout the country. What this meant was no video originating directly from the courtroom could be broadcast, which makes the availability of the reenactment videos all the more significant. The trial hasn’t received as much media coverage in other parts of the country as it has in California, however it is bound to go before the U.S. Supreme Court at some point and it’s impact will greatly effect gays and lesbians everywhere. It is the first trial in any U.S. federal court where the argument for same sex marriage is being heard.

Watch the first series of episodes below.
Many more will follow.

Day 1 Chapter 1

Day 1 Chapter 2

Day 1 Chapter 3

I greatly appreciate the efforts of everyone involved in re-creating the prop 8 trial.

www.hacer.org

“If you don’t like your health coverage or don’t have any insurance, you will have a chance to take part in what we’re calling a Health Insurance Exchange. … You will have your choice of a number of plans that offer a few different packages, but every plan would offer an affordable, basic package. And one of these options needs to be a public option that will give people a broader range of choices and inject competition into the health care market so that force waste out of the system and keep the insurance companies honest. … What I am trying to do – and what a public option will help do – is put affordable health care within reach for millions of Americans. And to help ensure that everyone can afford the cost of a health care option in our Exchange, we need to provide assistance to families who need it. That way, there will be no reason at all for anyone to remain uninsured. … But what I refuse to do is simply create a system where insurance companies have more customers on Uncle Sam’s dime, but still fail to meet their responsibilities.” -Obama’s speech to the American Medical Association, 6/15/09

1) Not one person in the White House, Democratic Caucus or otherwise has given clear-cut examples of the numerous tragedies and personal loss that have resulted from our current health care system or the glaring lack of care for so many Americans. Florida congressman Alan Grayson is the exception.

2) Republicans present a doomsday scenario to the public that’s not only harmful, but also patently false. They have loudly proclaimed that Death Panels will send their aging grandmothers off to their graves. They also claim that faceless bureaucrats will deny them much needed medical care. They failed to mention to their fledgling audience that Medicare already provides pretty damn good universal health care to Americans aged 65 and older.

3) Democrats are being let off the hook. Allowed to remain anonymous if they join in filibustering the health care bill. Democratic leadership is not stepping the fuck up and shooting down Republican scare tactics that work.

4) Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t take 60 votes to pass a bill. It takes 50 senators voting yes and the Vice President’s attendance in case of a tie to pass a bill. 60 senators voting yes are needed to cease the debate on the floor and bring the matter to a vote. The Democrats need 60 votes to prevent a filibuster. I say, if that means bending over backwards so the Republican (minority) can get rid of the public option, let them filibuster until the cows come home, then pass the bill anyway.

5) Republicans are presenting us with data sheets showing how detrimental it would be to our country and economy if the senate were to pass the health reform bill. Where are the Democrats with their fact sheets and data projections and plethora of real life examples to show how unfair the current health care system has become?

6) What frustrates most Independents in support of the measure is that the Democratic Caucus is handling this in the same manner they’ve handled other important matters that have come across the senate. Clearly, congress is dysfunctional. When the party with the least members can obstruct highly important measures and the strategy actually works, then there’s a major problem. When it comes to filibustering a bill of this magnitude, it should be done in the standard filibustering way. Legislatures have every right to endorse the plan they believe works in the best interest of their constituents. However, we already know the public option is supported by the majority of the house, narrowly, and the majority of the senate, narrowly, the President of the United States and a majority of his constituents. So what’s the problem?

7) A few rogue Democrat senators get to secretly express their dissatisfaction with the bill by privately threatening to join with Republicans in the filibuster, yet they do not have to go public so the voters may never know which of the Democrats are taking part. Meaning, not only do they get to not support the bill that the majority of their voters support, we don’t get the privilege of knowing who exactly they are because they can do this secretly. Again I say, what gives?

8 ) Most Americans are fucking fed up. They don’t trust the government yet Democrats are supporting secrecy within the ranks. The same kind of political hogwash that should have been kicked out of the White House along with the Bush administration. The Democrats seem to be more concerned with catering to a few centrist and Independent Democrats then to the people who got them elected; us.

9) Corporate extremism, and capitalistic excess is doing more damage to this country than anything else. There is no mandate to follow, no rule of thumb. The American people are competing with wealthy, corporate lobbyists so in turn our legislatures get to pick and choose who their “true” constituents they will represent that day/week/month/year depending on the issues and whatever bill is up for vote. We, the people, have to compete for coverage in Washington against none other than the major health insurance companies.

10) Democrats are going to have to start calling each other out on the bullshit. Insurance reform without a public option and insurance exchange will lead to increased costs in health insurance. Why wouldn’t it? With no real incentive to lower costs and no real competition to speak of, what motivating factors will cause private insurers to lower prices? Without competition the health insurers won’t do anything drastic, like reduce their rates so that people can actually afford insurance. Getting rid of pre-existing conditions without making health care affordable is not conducive to getting the job done. In fact, it does just the opposite.

11) Health insurers will be forced to accept people who have pre-existing conditions, yet their coverage will not be affordable and may negatively impact your costs. Why? Because they’re considered high risk and insurance companies would have to actually pay for their care instead of deny, deny, then you die. With a public option, the government can essentially create a continual flow of cash from taxpayers to the insurance companies regardless of conditions that previously made working and middle class Americans ineligible.

12) People are of the mindset that health insurance reform is only to the benefit of the low-income, non-working, and those with pre-existing conditions. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Those making up the middle-class with middle incomes who are unable to obtain insurance is not because of any pre-existing conditions, but because it’s not affordable.

13) We need a public option.

14) For those whose insurance companies enjoy high profit margins, where do you think your money is going? A percentage is going straight into the pockets of corporate shareholders and top executives. The more services that are denied, the higher the paycheck bonus for the denier. This is skewed as hell but it is also no secret.

15) Anyone who has worked for a small-medium size company can tell you one thing about the costs of insurance; the more the merrier, the more people in the group plan, the lower the premium. The same is true across all boards. Insurance costs are most cost effective when you have a large, diverse pool including those who fall within the risk category.

16) What has become clear to me while keeping up with the reform debate is that there is no clear way to win Republican support. Independent Democrats need to either put up or shut up, and back a plan that works. What’s interesting is the number of Americans who would rather continue putting their complete trust into huge for-profit corporations masquerading as insurance companies instead of allowing the government to do what they’re there to do. It’s the governments job to regulate.

17) We see what happened when the government decided to listen to lobbyists with congress members in their back pockets. The economy took a nosedive and 10% of the country is out of work as a result.
Do we not learn from mistakes? Why should your health care be based on cost-benefit analysis? We’ll take care of your illness if you don’t cost us a certain amount in the long run. A lot of Americans are running scared of what they consider “socialized” medicine, when the truth of the matter is that when it comes to capitalism health insurers are sort of self-serving.

18) People honestly believe that PRIVATE INSURERS care more about their health than they do about making a profit. Your doctor cares about your health. The insurance company cares about profit. The premiums we pay not only go toward our health plan, prescriptions drugs, etc, they also go toward paying LOBBYISTS who in turn pay legislatures to vote their pocketbook instead of their conscience.

19) How is universal health care an attack on free-market capitalism when capitalism in a free society should breed competition and competition should breed capitalism? How is it that this model works for mass produced goods and services but not for health insurance? A public option makes the system cheaper, more efficient, more comprehensive and far more viable. For the people who are uninsurable, what good is health care reform without the public option? Absolutely none. What good is it for someone with pre-existing conditions to purchase health insurance at a drastically increased cost because of the condition, yet they must omit that condition from being covered by the insurer because they don’t cover pre-existing conditions? It’s absurd.

20) The public option is essential. Those who believe in capitalism, yet do not support a public option are only fooling themselves. We can see right through you. While I don’t agree with big government as it relates to a lot of things, I do believe that its involvement is necessary and essential in regulating and providing health insurance for all Americans.

bonus) The current bill that passed the House is virtually dead on arrival when it reaches the Senate. The Senate is working on it’s own version of the health care bill to put up for vote. If/when it passes, both houses will likely merge aspects of each bill to suit the others purpose. Liberals seem to be united on including a public option no matter what revisions are made. It all remains to be seen.

Chairman of the Nobel peace prize committee Thorbjoen Jagland holds a picture of the 2009 winner.

Congratulations, Mr. President. What an honor. Right wing heads are popping all over the place today. They’re speaking of their disbelief that the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to a young, African American, sitting president. He’s only the third US President to achieve such an honor. After Chicago lost the Olympic bid (thank goodness) conservatives couldn’t help but spout the usual brand of “I told you so’s and that’s what Obama gets” as if he was the one pushing hardest for the bid and not the deluded Mayor Daley.

Read the news story at CNN.com

It reminds me of the two times former President Bush won Time Magazines “Man of the Year”. Twice, mind you. Remember your reaction liberals? Well, multiply it by ten and you’ll have conservative and some moderates reactions to the news this morning. 

Comments such as this one are flooding the Internet:

 ”Are you kidding me? The Nobel Prize has really lost it’s credibility and prestige from this day forward. It should be awarded to men or women who have devoted a LIFETIME to achieving peace, not some pop star version of it.”

When Al Gore won the prize in 2007 these comments were typical. They’re just as typical now. Yes, perhaps the prize should have gone to Sarah Palin or Rush Limbaugh as a statement that America is striving for peace and renewed prosperity. They should be honored for their tireless work toward open dialogue, cohesion and contributions to health care reform, which they support 100%. Yeah, that’s the real joke.

Let’s get serious for a minute. It may be too soon in the minds of many Americans, but it’s about damn time in the minds of many others. The negativity mostly from the right is disappointing to say the least; virile disdain does not coincide with peace in any dimension.

It strikes me as odd how much incompetence was celebrated during the presidency of George Buch jr., but the condemnation accompanying Obama’s win is supposed to be taken seriously. If the Nobel committee is suddenly a joke for awarding this honor to our president, then the joke is on the usual brand of ignorant conservatism.

They do realize that Obama neither nominated or elected himself.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it gave the prize to Obama for his “efforts to strengthen international diplomacy,” his vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons” and for inspiring hope and creating “a new climate in international politics.”

 So why take shots at the president, instead of the committee? 

Premature? Maybe a little. We still don’t have health care for all of our citizens, we’re still a nuclear country, we’re still sending troops to Afghanistan and Iraq and we’ve done little in the way of bringing about peaceful resolutions to Israel and the Palestinians. The Taliban is alive and well, drugs are rampant in Afghanistan as is drug use among soldiers stationed there and the killing and terrorism has not waned to any end. Not to forget the nagging bit of knowledge that not all Americans enjoy equal civil rights. Not yet at least.

On the other end of the political spectrum, Europe is sending clear signals to the American people and the world at large. They want the rest of the world to understand that they are relieved that Americans picked Barack Obama for president. They recognize and fully agree with the promise of hope and change and they have faith in his ability to implement the audacity of that hope on the world stage.

Final thoughts:

I don’t see how Obama can escalate further military action in good conscience if he accepts the award, which he must. The committee took a huge, unexpected leap and they have taken a indirect hand in honoring the promise of re-shaping our future through reachable policies regarding world peace rather than simply awarding past ones. Despite any disgruntling about what Obama’s administration has or hasn’t yet accomplished at home, I’m extremely pleased with the Nobel committees choice. 

Guardian.co.uk

The partially clothed body of Eudy Simelane, former star of South Africa’s acclaimed Banyana Banyana national female football squad, was found in a creek in a park in Kwa Thema, on the outskirts of Johannesburg. Simelane had been gang-raped and brutally beaten before being stabbed 25 times in the face, chest and legs. As well as being one of South Africa’s best-known female footballers, Simelane was a voracious equality rights campaigner and one of the first women to live openly as a lesbian in Kwa Thema.

Her brutal murder took place last April, and since then a tide of violence against lesbians in South Africa has continued to rise. Human rights campaigners say it is characterised by what they call “corrective rape” committed by men behind the guise of trying to “cure” lesbians of their sexual orientation.

When I was apart of the 1×6 roundtable discussion a few months back, one of the topic questions I submitted was in regard to corrective rape and its human rights consequences in South Africa. I watched the video above and read Eudy’s story and was horrified by not only the audacity of the re-wording of such a savage act, but the degradation of women and girls in all of South Africa. Six other bloggers weighed in with their views and further discussion ensued. I didn’t read all of the comments when they were first posted, but one in particular stood out and lost neither its potency nor its truth since that day back in June.

Faith Bosworth

I’m actually from South Africa and while I’m well schooled in debates of cultural relativism there are times where you do have to just draw a line and say, this is wrong and the people who are doing this are wrong. As Knowledge pointed out, the problem is rape in South Africa, period. We have the highest rate in the world for a number of reasons: extreme poverty, people living on top of each other thus making women extremely vulnerable to any man who wishes to have his way with her. Furthermore, as in most countries, it is a crime which is just not really backed up by the legal system. You basically have to pitch up at the court with a few broken legs and sperm running down your leg to prove that you were actually coerced into sex. The legal system is dominated by men and in a culture as saturated with machismo as ours is, it’s always the woman’s fault – she just gave the poor guy the wrong message shame. Rape is literally considered an ‘easy crime’ the convictions are so low. Fatal Attraction, of course a lot of people don’t agree with the law and there are many many tireless campaigners picketing rape trial after trial (I myself attended one where a man had raped over fifty women and still gotten out of jail after a few years) but it’s not easy to fight something which is so institutionalised within every aspect of society. And of course, to make matters worse, we have a president who used the excuse that ’she wore a short skirt’ in his rape trial setting an example for the rest of South African men. I’m sure you know we have one of the most progressive constitutions in the world declaring that no one should ever be discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation, race, gender etc etc – we can even get married – but unfortunately this constitution is just a fancy piece of paper and its ethos is not always lived out in practice. ‘Curative rape’ as it is called is a part of the larger rape problem in the country BUT it is very problematic to view it as such as well. This, you see, is how the government, and the the rest of the world actually, is able to cast a blind eye to the problem. These women ARE being targeted because they are lesbians going against the grain of patriarchy. The men perhaps feel that they have no power over them and accordingly want to reclaim that power that they believe they should have rightfully as males. Watch this video for an idea of how the men think:

Don’t think for one second that this is just an isolated problem in an already violent country, there are men all over who think like this. It just may not be as easy for them to act on it, and get away with it, as it is in our country.

image @ http://www.everyhumanhasrights.org/

While addressing congress and rebutting the many falsehoods concerning health care reform legislation, Pres. Obama explained that illegal immigrants would not be covered under his administrations proposal. This was quickly followed by South Carolina Senator Joe Wilson (R) shouting out, “You lie!” in response, which drew shock and mixed reactions from Democrats and Republicans alike.

According to factcheck.org there is nothing in the proposal that will allow illegal immigrants to receive health coverage under the national plan. They would not be entitled to any public subsidies, which are public grants and benefits. Per federal regulations, it’s illegal to ask someone for proof of status. So, technically, illegal immigrants must be treated if they have private healthcare or if they need emergency treatment at a hospital. This is the way the system already operates.

In any case, this outburst is another example of how denigrated the office of the president has become since Obama took the stage. The people who support and are in agreement with Wilson’s outburst are more than likely some of the same idiots who protested Obama’s education speech.

Senator Wilson issued an apology, which Pres. Obama accepted.

“Shame on you!” shouted someone from the Democratic side. “Throw him out!” shouted someone else. First Lady Michelle Obama, seated behind and above Wilson, seemed to mouth a drawn-out “damn” at the scene unfolding before her.

Following Obama’s speech, Joe Wilson was criticized by both sides of the aisle. It seems to be a character flaw of his. The New York Times pointed out that “Jackie Calmes points to the biography of Mr. Wilson in CQ’s “Politics in America,” which includes this line: “Wilson’s sharp and careless remarks sometimes land him in hot water.”

Sen. John McCain, (R-AZ), said the outburst was disrespectful and demanded an apology. He told Larry King, “No place for it in that setting or any other, and he should apologize for it immediately.”

Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.) said, “I’ve never seen anything like that before. We do not invite the president of the United States into the House of Representatives and hurl insults.”

Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), the longest serving member in House history, said: “Well, you’ve got to understand: They’re Republicans. They’re just doing what comes natural.”

Not long after the speech ended, Joe Wilson issued an apology.

“This evening I let my emotions get the best of me when listening to the President’s remarks regarding the coverage of illegal immigrants in the health care bill. While I disagree with the President’s statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the President for this lack of civility.”

Joe Wilson also phoned the White House to apologize. However, he did not reach Obama, but spoke to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who accepted the apology in Obama’s stead.

Meanwhile, Joe Wilson’s web site crashed, his Twitter page took a beating, and Democrat Rob Miller raised thousands of unexpected dollars online for a possible rematch with Wilson in next year’s midterm elections.