My hands are clean, buddy.

Here is the selection of Barack Obama's recent speech at Dr. Martin Luther King's old church that had me yelling at Stephanie Miller and the people who called in to support her and Senator Obama's assertions, emphases mine:

For most of this country’s history, we in the African American community have been at the receiving end of man’s inhumanity to man. And all of us understand intimately the insidious role that race still sometimes plays – on the job, in the schools, in our health care system and in our criminal justice system.

And yet, if we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that none of our hands are entirely clean. If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll acknowledge that our own community has not always been true to King’s vision of a beloved community.

We have scorned our gay brothers and sisters instead of embracing them. The scourge of anti-Semitism has, at times, revealed itself in our community. For too long, some of us have seen immigrants as competitors for jobs instead of companions in the fight for opportunity.

Someone needs to watch Jesus Camp and Friends of God, because almost every person featured in those documentaries about crazy Evangelical Christians was white. I don't remember hearing about Black Friends of God. I don't remember the Congressional Black Caucus running on platforms of bigotry towards the LGBT community. I don't remember any black governors or senators pushing to build a fence along the US/Mexico border to keep those immigrants from "taking our jobs." I don't recall any black lawmakers even talking about Judaism, much less calling for the persecution of people who practice a certain religion, or suggesting that an elected member of Congress needs to prove his allegiance to America. I believe that the most notable people who are committed to keeping non-straight, non-American, non-Christian individuals out of the US are all white dudes. I would link, but do I really need to? I think not.

I wonder why I can't think of a bunch of black people in charge who are perpetrating institutionalized hatred and discrimination. Maybe if there were more black people running our government, more than six non-white current US Senators, or more than five black US Senators over the entire history of our country, maybe then we could get a real grasp on taking down other oppressed groups.

Hooray for Drugs!

House OKs prescription drug imports, by Andrew Taylor, Associated Press Writer. Via Yahoo! News.

The House passed legislation Thursday effectively permitting the importation of lower-cost prescription drugs from places such as Canada, Australia and Europe...

...The bill, passed by a 237-18 vote, faces a promised veto from President Bush over its price tag, and the administration also opposes the drug importation provision...

...The administration "strongly opposes"the drug provision, which would effectively permit individuals, wholesalers and pharmacists to import lower cost U.S.-made and FDA-approved prescription drugs from Canada and other countries...

It might not pass the Senate, and it might not survive a veto. But I'm glad someone is doing something about our health care crisis. There's good news for the children, too:

Senate approves children's health bill, by Donna Smith, Reuters.

The U.S. Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly approved legislation that would raisetobacco taxes to pay for expanding a children's health program, shrugging off a veto threat from President George W. Bush who wants a more limited plan.

The Senate voted 68-31 for the bill that would provide an extra $35 billion to provide health insurance for more children under the popular state grant program. The Senate acted a day after the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $50 billion increase financed by higher tobacco taxes and cuts in payments to private insurers in the Medicare Advantage program for the elderly...

...Bush has threatened to veto either version, which he and Republican allies have called a step toward nationalized health care.

Because nationalized health care would be bad. For the insurance companies. Boo hoo.