Hey, It's Me, Prin :)

I bet you forgot about me, didn't you? You thought I fell off the edge of the world or something, didn't you? Nope, just basically slackin'. Sometimes you just need to do that to regenerate.

The move, while as traumatic as any move after 11 years, went about as smooth as a move can go. We are in our new "entire" house. Except for the few years we had grandma's house, this is the first time we have had something other than an apartment complex type apartment or a duplex. We took pictures and as soon as we get them developed I'll post them. There are three bedrooms, so we each have one and there is one left for an office, yay! For the first time in 11 years I have bookshelves! Granted, they are boards and blocks, but I kind of like the way they turned out. The best thing about them is that there are no more floor to ceiling boxes with books all over the place. It sure doesn't look like I have that many, but then I did donate about half of them. For the first time the walls are not all stark white, in fact I don't think there is one white wall in the entire place. There are actually a few that are pale yellow, which I love! Remember I told you about our galley kitchen in the old house? The one that only one person could be in at a time. Our new kitchen is HUGE! It even has a bar in the middle of it! When I first saw the house all I could see was "potential" and that's the best part. The owner also said when we get ready he would sell it to us for just what he has in it. Awesome! k, that's enough about us. On to the email I got this morning that spurred me to write.

It has been so long since I lived in an all white community I sometimes forget that they still exist. I know they do, but I just prefer not to dwell on it or venture into them. I got this from The Color of Change this morning and for once it didn't happen in the south, hallelujah!



"Two weeks ago outside Philadelphia, 65 children from a summer camp tried to go swimming at a club that their camp had a contract to use. Apparently, the people at the club didn't know that the group of kids was predominantly Black.

When the campers entered the pool, White parents allegedly took their kids out of the water, and the swimming club's staff asked the campers to leave. The next day, the club told the summer camp that their membership would be canceled and that their payment would be refunded. When asked why, the club's manager said that a lot of kids "would change the complexion ... and the atmosphere of the club."1

A "Whites only" pool in 2009 should not be tolerated. The club's actions appear to be a violation of section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act.2 Whether or not any laws were violated, a "Whites only" pool should be something every American condemns.

Please join us in doing exactly that, and please email your friends and family and invite them to do the same. Your signature will also be used to call on the Department of Justice to evaluate suing the facility under federal law. It takes just a moment to do both, here:

http://www.colorofchange.org/swim/?id=2051-628943

Obama is President but that doesn't mean that suddenly all is fine when it comes to race in America. This is a vivid reminder of what we know still lies beneath the surface.

We all know stories like this one -- similar incidents play out quietly every day in different communities across the country. The difference in this case is that folks got caught and there was a contract in place that makes for a potentially illegal act.

Standing up now isn't just about making things right for these kids in Philadelphia or bringing consequences to this swim club (called the Valley Swim Club). It's about creating a climate of accountability everywhere. If we can publicly shame the Valley Swim Club and hold them accountable for this incident, it will make others think twice before engaging in what appears to be blatant discrimination.

Please join us in condemning the Valley Swim Club's behavior and calling on the Justice Department to investigate whether they violated civil rights laws. And please ask your friends and family to do the same.

http://www.colorofchange.org/swim/?id=2051-628943

Thanks and Peace,

-- James, Gabriel, William, Dani and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
July 10th, 2009"



Thank God for Girard College who stepped in and offered them the use of their pool.

""We had to help," said Girard College director of Admissions Tamara Leclair. "Every child deserves an incredible summer camp experience."

The school already serves 500 campers of its own, but felt they could squeeze in 65 more -- especially since the pool is vacant on the day the Creative Steps had originally planned to swim at Valley Swim Club."


Oh, and here's Valley Swim Clubs CYA statement:

"The club issued this statement late Thursday, responding to the allegations of racism:

The Valley Club is deeply troubled by the recent allegations of racism, which are completely untrue.

We had originally agreed to invite the camps to use our facility, knowing full well that the children from the camps were from multi-ethnic backgrounds. Unfortunately, we quickly learned that we underestimated the capacity of our facilities and realized that we could not accommodate the number of children from these camps. All funds were returned to the camps and we will re-evaluate the issue at a later date to determine whether it can be feasible in the future.

Our Valley Club deplores discrimination in any form, as is evidenced by our multi-ethnic and diverse membership. Whatever comments may or may not have been made by an individual member is an opinion not shared by The Valley Club Board.

Daniel Veres, a 16-year old Hispanic teen who is also a member, says the entire situation is just a misunderstanding. "We're not judgmental, we're just friendly," Veres said of the mostly white club."



I'll let you chew on that for a bit while I move on to other things...

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has a new report out. "The report describes the unique and crucial role played by defense attorneys in juvenile court proceedings in providing comprehensive legal representation to children charged with offenses." You can access the full report here It's well worth the read.

If you want a great lesson on just how this health-care reform is going to work, read this. Don't just skim it, if you want the lesson :)

Get your free clean energy sticker here from MoveOn.org, the one's that brought you the great Obama sticker last year.

And lastly, for now, you know you need a good belly laugh. Mudflats blog is always good for that. I suggest you put them in your reader, especially now that Palin has resigned. Here's just one recent post:

First Term Quitters Hall of Fame
from The Mudflats by akmuckraker

A number crunching Mudflatter sent the following:

On a hunch, I reviewed online lists of all the men and women who’ve been elected governor of their state since the year 1900. Pored over them for a few hours. Over 1200 politicians have taken that first-term oath of office. Some soon died in office. Many resigned to accept other positions in government, including Spiro Agnew who was “tapped” by Nixon after being the Governor of Maryland for about five minutes. On a handful of occasions, a first-termer was dragged off to the slammer or impeached. One was incapacitated by a nervous breakdown and one left just as impeachment came knocking on his door. So—how many out of over 1200 just up and quit before the end of their term?

Three: Jim McGreevy, Eliot Spitzer and Sarah Palin.



[h/t Mudflatter WalterNeff]"


Some other great titles from Mudflats blog:

GOP Candidates Tell Palin ‘Talk to the Hand!

Palin’s Milllllions of Dollars!

Palin Wonders Why Sudden Resignation is Such a “Darn Big Deal?”

Threatened by Palin, a Blogger Speaks Out. Shannyn Moore, Meet the Press.





**Disclaimer** I did not proofread this 20 times like I usually do, so If a link is not working let me know and I will fix it later. Thanks