Edward (The Lion) Kennedy

Senator Teddy Kennedy passed away last night and the disenfranchised lost a hero and champion. His leadership, his vision, and his passion will never be forgotten. As we grieve, we must honor his memory and continue his fight for equality for all.

This is the cause of my life. It is a key reason that I defied my illness last summer to speak at the Democratic convention in Denver—to support Barack Obama, but also to make sure, as I said, "that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American...will have decent, quality health care as a fundamental right and not just a privilege." For four decades I have carried this cause—from the floor of the United States Senate to every part of this country. It has never been merely a question of policy; it goes to the heart of my belief in a just society. Now the issue has more meaning for me—and more urgency—than ever before. But it's always been deeply personal, because the importance of health care has been a recurrent lesson throughout most of my 77 years.

— Ted Kennedy

Let's listen to his words at last year's Democrat Convention.

Over 30 and Counting

It appears that Glenn Beck's comments in which he called President Obama a racist have caused some concerns on Madison Avenue. To date, over 30 companies have directed that their commercials not run on Beck's Fox program. Below is a partial list of the companies that have pulled out:

Progressive Insurance
Walmart
Proctor & Gamble
Best Buy
CVS Caremark
Sprint
Clorox
GEICO


When I received a forwarded email earlier this month from a dear family friend about the actions the organization Color of Change was taking to urge advertisers to pull their commercials from Beck's show, I was down for the cause without a pause. I am all for constructive political debate, but the fear mongering/race baiting antics of Glenn Beck only serve to further fracture our country along racial lines.

One of my favorite bloggers (Field Negro) wrote an outstanding post about the Glenn Beck vs. Color of Change showdown and how Beck and some of his fans are fighting back. No matter what side of the fence you stand on in regards to Beck, I hope you make an effort to check out Field Negro's post and share your thoughts on the matter.

Our First Award

Judi, the author of the blog Judi's Mind Over Matter, has given Diversity Ink its first award. According to the creator of this award, being a recipient affirms that this blog invests and believes in the Proximity – nearness in space, time and relationships.

Recipients are asked to bestow this award to eight other worthy blogs. Although there are many blogs that I feel are worthy, I am a bit of a rule breaker when it comes to award memes. However, if any of the other contributors to Diversity Ink would like to get into the award giving act, please feel free to do so.

Thank you again Judi!

Sonia Sotomayor Becomes the Supreme Court's First Hispanic Justicela

Sotomayor takes the oath from Chief Justice John Roberts (right). Also pictured are her brother Juan Luis Sotomayor and her mother Celina Sotomayor.

On Saturday August 8th, Sonia Sotomayor was sworn in as the first Hispanic and only the third woman Supreme Court Justice in the court's 220-year history. Two days earlier, the Senate confirmed Sotomayor's nomination by a 68-31 vote. No matter what your political viewpoints are, it's hard to deny that history has been made.

Forgiveness vs Forgetting.

I was trying to put this into words and get all intellectual with it but.....hell see for your self.



The question here is do you forgive some one for saying something like this?

That of course is if you really believe he is sorry for what he says.

And if you do forgive do you forget?

Just cause you forgive a bigot who asked for it doesn't mean that his views have changed.

It means he now knows to keep his mouth shut.

Bottom line is that he wouldn't be saying sorry if he didn't get caught.

Why should this man keep his job knowing he has to interact with the same community he has so colorfully described?

Does forgiving him mean that we start fresh and let it go like water under the bridge, cause that would mean forgetting too.

I think if I believed he was sorry I could accept an apology, but I sure wouldn't be forgetting, let alone letting him keep his job.

Happy Birthday President Barack Obama

Happy 48th birthday to our 44th President of the United States. Since this is just a simple birthday post, those who like to sharpen their daggers at the mere mention of the name President Barack Obama can keep pushing and save their digs for another post.