Pot Calling Kettle?

Not even. Because we all know who the real racist is, even if he can't see it through those thousands of pounds of bullshit he's full of. Call or write to Congressman John Mica and let him know that you don't support Rush Limbaugh and you won't support him either if he does.

Kudos to Presente Action for making this video!

(via CultureKitchen.com)

White Men are Powerful, Latina Women are Angry and Scary.

I actually caught a bit of this as well yesterday, but I think the wonderful women at Feministing did an excellent job of addressing this issue (originally posted here):

In the most aggressive questioning of Judge Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing thus far, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) read out a laundry list of complaints about the nominee this afternoon. Graham went through insult after insult from anonymous reviews about Sotomayor's temperament, including ones that called her "nasty," "a terror," "a bit of a bull," and one that said she lacks any "judicial temperament." Graham then asked her directly: "Do you think you have a temperament problem?"

As both Samhita and Ann have written, there's a specific sexist and racist narrative that accompanies the accusations of Sotomayor as somehow angry or meaner than her male counterparts. (Because when white dudes are strong, they're just powerful. When women of color are strong, they're scary.) And it's simply infuriating to watch it play out in these hearings.

Sharma also points out that Sen. Graham - who has already made his fear of Sotomayor's "fiery temper" quite clear - became a bit of a bully himself (I'd also add 'condescending asshole' to that) in his "bullying" accusations, telling Sotomayor that "maybe these hearings are a time for self-reflection" for her and asking her about her "wise Latina" quote. Because that hasn't been talked about enough, obviously.

When the judge answered in the affirmative, he asked her to recite it - twice. Sotomayor hedged a response, and Graham plowed ahead, said, "I've got it here," and read the quote out himself.

The infantilizing questioning from Graham continued throughout his entire thread; he interrupted her answers multiple times, and made a theme out of asking her to explain her understanding of certain legal concepts and current events...

Sotomayor's Statement to Start With, Bader Ginsburg's Interview On What It's Been Like

Maybe it's because I feel like i've been living the real "American Dream," even though I haven't quite made it to the successful half, but Judge Sotomayor's speech about her humble beginnings certainly made me shed a tear. Let's hope the rest goes as smoothly. Check out the play by play of the day's events in the New York Times.

In related news, the Times recently published an interview with Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg about her life on the Supreme Court. I'm reading it right now and I can already tell it's going to be something else.

Ah, It's always an interesting time to be a feminist (in the government.)