Its Pat ( Buchanan) and other 100% Unhelpful Bullshit

Recently while on the Rachel Maddow Show, the ever disgusting Pat Buchanan made this comment in reference to Sonia Sotomayor, who he claims is an affirmative action candidate :

Pat Buchanan: “White men were 100 percent of the people that wrote the Constitution, 100 percent of the people who signed the Declaration of Independence, 100 percent of the people who died at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, probably close to 100 percent of the people who died at Normandy. This has been a country built, basically, by white folks.”

If I was Rachel Maddow I probably would have just bitch slapped him but luckily I'm not and she posted this great response in order to "correct mis-information aired on her show".

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She doesn't even cover The Navajo Code Talkers without which World War Two would not have gone our way.

Also on this topic - Harvard professor and one of the most prominent African American Scholars, Henry Louis Gates Jr, was arrested this week when trying to pry open his own door which had been jammed. He was arrested after giving proof of residence. Gates has accused the Cambridge police of racial profiling. Its kind of amazing to think about how this happened in one of the most liberal states in our country, imagine the situation everywhere else.
For a time I worked at a job going door to door for a political party and I never had any problem getting people to open doors to me. I realized that being a young blond girl in a nice winter jacket made people much more concerned for my safety than theirs. Yet one of the guys I worked with, who was Jamaican, would have the cops called on him repeatedly. There were evenings we ended early because so many people had called the cops. When Henry Louis Gates Jr. is arrested going into his own house it just shows that there is no escaping this. No matter your income or prestige you will never escape racism. It reminds me of the old stunt Michael Moore set up where he had Denzel Washington trying to hail a cab in New York and very few cabs stopped.
Luckily Obama did actually acknowledge the situation in a speech the other day and said the Cambridge police acted "stupidly". A lot of news sources are saying that was unprofessional wording but I'm not sure I've ever felt happier about something he's said. Most presidents would say they don't know all the details so they can't really comment but luckily times are changing - even if its a little too slow for me.

A Sad Week

I wrote about the "right of consciousness" rule just a few days ago. Unfortunately, despite the 150 members of congress (as well as 200,000 people like us) who called for the withdrawal of the bill, it has passed any way. This is really not good, because despite the fact that Obama has plans to overturn many of the these dangerous policies, this "right of consciousness" rule will take effect in 30 days (prior to Obama's inuageration ) making it much harder to overturn.
The Wall Street Journal explained the bill this way:
"For decades, federal law has said that doctors and nurses can't be compelled to perform abortions. The new regulation broadens that to make clear that all health-care workers may refuse to provide information, such as a referral, to patients looking for an abortion. The Department of Health and Human Services estimates the regulation would affect 584,000 hospitals, doctor's offices, pharmacies and other entities."
If you need something to feel hopeful about the article also recounts the many other stripped rights that Obama is intending to put back in place.
Just a reminder, the "right of consciousness" rule defines abortion so loosely that birth control can be considered abortion. It also gives medical personel, pharmacists, receptionists, and health care providers the right to make moral decisions about your health -even health concerns that don't have to do with birth control.
UPDATE:
Planned Parenthood released this statement:
"Now, anti-choice medical staff can withhold information about abortion, birth control, and sex education from their patients. Facilities that receive family planning funding, like Planned Parenthood, will have to certify that they will not refuse to hire nurses and other providers who object to abortion and even certain types of birth control. For example, a doctor who opposes pre-marital sex could refuse to provide a prescription or even information about emergency contraception to an unmarried woman."
for more info and to take action go here
http://www.ppaction.org/campaign/hhsdec08_ppo/iwsinnd4ak6wi58?qp_source=hhsdec08_ppol_e1
or contact your local congressperson.