Mixed Messages.

This week, on Tuesday, November 4th, 2008, voters elected our first Afro-American President, Barack Obama. Senator Obama won comfortably and on January 20th, 2009 will take office as the 44th president of the United States, relieving the country of the worst eight years it has experienced in years under the governing of George W. Bush and the GOP.

Although it's safe to say, that because of the disastrous events of the last eight years, it was pretty obvious that any democrat winning it's party's nomination, had a very good chance to win the presidency, however, that should not take away from the historic aspect of this election.

So, now that the dust has settled a bit, and we're all done patting ourselves on the back for being so "cool" and "hip" as to have over come this terrible prejudice that has crippled us for so many years, my question is this....now that we've elected a black president, is the United States still a racist country or has one prejudice just been replaced with another? In light of the way Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin were treated during this election, and the passing of such laws as Prop. 8 in California, banning gay marriage...is "bitch" & "gay" the new black? Is it still OK to be sexist and homophobic but not racist? Is it a process, baby steps first...eliminate racism first, homophobia next, sexism last? I must say I'm a bit confused. Why does it feel that we've made 10 steps forward, 5 steps backwards? Who knows, maybe by 2012 we will have gotten past all prejudice and there will be a viable candidate waiting in the wings to sweep the nation and become the first, Afro-American, Lesbian president of the United States. After that, we can truly say, "we have over come!"

So Hollywood...where's the Outrage?

Since the announcement of Alaska govenor Sarah Palin as the Republican candidate for vice president, celebrities in Hollywood and the music industry have made it their mission in life to attack and disgrace Governor Palin as the poster child for everything evil in the world and the ultimate disappointment to feminist around the globe. Well, my question to them after reading the following horrendous story is this... where's the outrage? Why isn't left-wing, liberal Hollywood coming together to make a commercial against acts like this that occur every day in countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia?

Just this week, I read 2 stories where a male Saudi student, who had been arrested for asking what the future held for women's rights in the Muslim religion, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, while in Iran, a female student doing research for her school thesis on women's rights was taken from her parent's home and also arrested. Where's the outrage at the despicable everyday treatment of women in these countries and the denial of basic human rights, such as driving or medical treatment? So listen up Ellen, next time you do a political piece on your show against Palin because she doesn't support gay marriage, or Tina Fey, your next SNL skit targets the fact that Governor Palin was an ex-beauty pageant contestant, or The View does a character assassination of her because she's pro-life...I suggest you all stop and read the story below that ran on MSNBC.com........

MOGADISHU, Somalia - A 13-year-old girl who said she had been raped was stoned to death in Somalia after being accused of adultery by Islamic militants, a human rights group said.
Dozens of men stoned Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow to death Oct. 27 in a stadium packed with 1,000 spectators in the southern port city of Kismayo, Amnesty International and Somali media reported, citing witnesses. The Islamic militia in charge of Kismayo had accused her of adultery after she reported that three men had raped her, the rights group said.
Initial local media reports said Duhulow was 23, but her father told Amnesty International she was 13. Some of the Somali journalists who first reported the killing later told Amnesty International that they had reported she was 23 based upon her physical appearance.


"This child suffered a horrendous death at the behest of the armed opposition groups who currently control Kismayo," David Copeman, Amnesty International's Somalia campaigner, said in a statement Friday.
Somalia is among the world's most violent and impoverished countries. The nation of some 8 million people has not had a functioning government since warlords overthrew a dictator in 1991 then turned on each other.
A quarter of Somali children die before age 5; nearly every public institution has collapsed. Fighting is a daily occurrence, with violent deaths reported nearly every day.
Islamic militants with ties to al-Qaida have been battling the government and its Ethiopian allies since their combined forces pushed the Islamists from the capital in December 2006. Within weeks of being driven out, the Islamists launched an insurgency that has killed thousands of civilians.
In recent months, the militants appear to be gaining strength. The group has taken over the port of Kismayo, Somalia's third-largest city, and dismantled pro-government roadblocks. They also effectively closed the Mogadishu airport by threatening to attack any plane using it.

I suggest we all give this article some thought and write a letter to our US Representatives and Senators and suggest something be done. And, oh yes, after the "chosen one" is elected president, maybe he can put his empty words to some good use and make this issue a priority!