It Takes a Nation of Cowards to Prove Eric Holder Right

Attorney General Eric Holder's speech to Justice Department employees urging the country to suck it up and have those hard conversations about race generated the predictable accusations from the pundit crowd, both conservative and liberal. Why is he still trying to make white people feel guilty?! We just elected his boss! The media reaction largely proves Holder's point. Rather than actually talking about the causes and consequences of our racial divide, the story has been that this speech has created the latest "controversy" for the Obama administration, starting with the AP article highlighting the "nation of cowards" quote. Apparently, there's only room for one black man at the highest levels of government taking the nation to task on race, and that man can do it once a year at most.

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Smartly, Holder noted that our goal should not be to move beyond our racial past, and for the press to turn a blind eye to racial realities is the wrong way to go. He focused instead on raising the question of whether the nation's attitude toward its diversity will give us strength or take us down. I especially loved his note about how we manage to get along in the workplaces, but as soon as we can, we retreat to our racial corners on the weekends. That's because the diverse people of this country hold unequal power, which often dictates where and how we live.

The word 'coward' is a strong one, but the reality is that because we have such wildly different perspectives on why racial disparities exist, and because they continue to exist long after explicit racism has been outlawed, discussion of racial issues requires a high degree of tolerance for conflict, both intellectual and emotional. In my work reporting on the lives of everyday people and the institutions that shape their lives, I can see how our current rules and structures continue to produce disparities, even when no one intends that outcome. Understanding how the structures work - which has little to do with whether individuals intend to be racist - helps to lower the heat level significantly when these conversations do take place.

The flipside of cowardice is courage - something we all could use a little more of if we truly want to deal with our past and present racism, while we create a future that works for all of us.

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Elizabeth Wong's Nude Photos And Videos Victim Of Scandal In Malaysia Politics

Outspoken Bukit Lanjan assemblyman Elizabeth Wong lodged a police report at the Damansara police station here Sunday night over nude pictures and videos of her that have been circulating via MMS.
In a statement released Monday afternoon, Wong said that the distribution and publication of these photos/ video was a malicious attack.
“This constitutes a gross outrage on my modesty, a gross invasion of my privacy, and in particular the sanctity of my personal life,” she said (see statement in full below).
“I have received a lot of support from my supporters, friends, colleagues and members of my constituency. I wish to thank them for their concern, support and encouragement.
“My family members are standing behind me. I would like to appeal to the media to give me and my family members some breathing space in this trying time so that I can weather this huge challenge,” she added.
OCPD Asst Comm Arjunaidi Mohamed confirmed a report was lodged and that police were investigating.

He appealed anyone who has received or seen the nude pictures of Wong to come forward and cooperate with the police.
"We don't have the pictures and we have not seen them, either," he said.
The pictures are believed to have been taken using a handphone, possibly before the general election last March.
Police sources said that the Commercial Crimes Division has been put in charge of the investigation.
Wong won the Bukit Lanjan seat with a majority of over 5,000, the second largest majority won by a PKR state assembly candidate in Selangor.
She was later appointed a member of the Selangor state executive council, in charge of Tourism, Consumer Affairs and the Environment. She is also the information chief of the Women’s wing of PKR and of her division Petaling Jaya Utara.
As at press time, she had not commented on the issue on her blog.
Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim urged the police to conduct a proper investigation into the matter.
He told reporters at the Parliament lobby in Kuala Lumpur that the Selangor state executive council would discuss the matter during its meeting on Wednesday.
“Someone is trying to frame her," said Khalid, adding that he was waiting for the police report before commenting further.
“The party will discuss the matter with regard to her status. It is unfair to make any decision at this moment without any information," he said.
PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said she would look into the matter and said she felt sad that it happened.
“There is a pattern of PKR assemblymen being attacked,” she said, alleging that the ruling coalition Barisan nasional has had its share of scandals too.
Selangor exco member and Seputeh MP Teresa Kok said she had nightmares after learning about the incident.
“This is like invading a person’s privacy and the incident took place at her home.
“The whole incident could be politically motivated,” said Kok, adding that there must be someone purposely circulating the photos.
“She did not do anything that is against the people’s wishes. She is a victim and I support her," said Kok.
Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak) said the party would wait for Wong to explain the situation to the Selangor mentri besar.
“We don’t want to know if these are old or new nude pictures. She must explain to us and if she is really guilty of having posed or was involved in the taking of these pictures, we will not hesitate to take action.
“But we don’t want to make any speculation as yet,” he said, adding that he had earlier discussed the matter with both Khalid and Pakatan Rakyat de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“And they both agreed that we should not compromise on any disciplinary action. We will leave it to the mentri besar to decide if she is guilty or not as he is the head of the state,” he said.

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Pelosi says birth control will help the economy"

Monday, January 26, 2009
Breaking: "Pelosi says birth control will help the economy"
What a fine example of a Catholic witness in public office:
... not!

The sordid details:

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi boldly defended a move to add birth control funding to the new economic "stimulus" package, claiming "contraception will reduce costs to the states and to the federal government."

Pelosi, the mother of 5 children and 6 grandchildren, who once said, "Nothing in my life will ever, ever compare to being a mom," seemed to imply babies are somehow a burden on the treasury.

The revelation came during an exchange Sunday morning on ABC's THIS WEEK.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Hundreds of millions of dollars to expand family planning services. How is that stimulus?

PELOSI: Well, the family planning services reduce cost. They reduce cost. The states are in terrible fiscal budget crises now and part of what we do for children's health, education and some of those elements are to help the states meet their financial needs. One of those - one of the initiatives you mentioned, the contraception, will reduce costs to the states and to the federal government.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So no apologies for that?

PELOSI: No apologies. No. we have to deal with the consequences of the downturn in our economy. (Drudge)

Pelosi has said so many stupid things before that I didn't think she could shock me still. Well, I was wrong.

What especially gets me about this statement is her obstinance ("No aplogies. No."). She makes no excuses for her radical contraceptive solution and doesn't even have the good taste to qualify her commitments for such bald-faced legislation. Instead, she's dead-set on this solution. An evil solution.

Once again, I can't help but note that she's long overdue for her promised sit-down with her bishop.

143 days, 5 hours, 02 minutes, 33 seconds....

Source : http://www.americanpapist.com

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