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Jeremy Lin: What He Means to Asians, Athletes, and Dreamers

Grace Hwang Lynch — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 22:23:01 +0000

I’ve been watching the whole Linsanity phenomenon with a mixture of exhilaration and anxiety. While I don’t generally follow basketball, I am certain that Linsanity means something—to Asian Americans, to the world of sports, to anyone who’s ever had a dream and been told no. I watch and follow and devour any analysis, because Lin is part of my community — I am, like Jeremy Lin, a second generation Taiwanese American, raised in Silicon Valley by engineers. He’d fit right in at a family reunion or church potluck. At least a dozen of my Asian male friends have changed their Facebook avatars to photos of Jeremy.

Feb. 10, 2012 - New York, NY, USA - Jeremy Lin (17) of the New York Knicks drives against Steve Blake of the Los Angeles Lakers at Madison Square Garden in New York on Friday, February 10, 2012. The Knicks knocked off the Lakers, 92-85.

(Credit Image: © Jim Mcisaac/Newsday/MCT/ZUMAPRESS.com)

What I can relate to is the experience of being told “No” – not explicitly because of race (no one says those things so directly in this day and age), but never really knowing if that was the reason. And I can relate to being denied athletic opportunities, even if the only time I even dared to venture in that arena was during my freshman year of high school.

HIgh School Sports Reject

Not that I was any good at sports. Skinny and uncoordinated, I was always last picked for any team in P.E. class. Our coach, a formidable woman who was rumored to have played on the LPGA tour, looked the other way when other kids heckled my nervous attempts to catch and throw. Most of my friends were exempt from P.E., having made it on some sort of school team, leaving me at the mercy of 19-year old seniors who melted eyeliners in the locker room with the same Bics they used to light their joints.

Knowing that I had one more year of state mandated abuse ahead of me, that spring I made a Hail Mary to get out of P.E. – by trying out for the badminton team. It didn’t require years of training or athletic prowess. What it did require was a signature from my P.E. teacher to try out.

As I slipped out of my navy gym shorts and into my stirrup pants that day, I grabbed the green permission slip out of my backpack and marched upstairs to the glass coaches’ office. Cigarette smoke mingled with the metallic odor of a hot curling iron. The coach jumped up from her seat and met me at the doorway.

“Could you —” I stammered, shoving the paper towards her.

“No.” Coach interrupted. She stood there and smiled, her formidable body guarding the entrance to her sanctuary. Perhaps she had misunderstood me, and thought I wanted something else − perhaps to use her phone? Mooch a can of orange soda? Borrow her curling iron?

“Could you sign this form? So I could try out for badminton?” I attempted again. All she did was stare me down with her beady blue eyes and nicotine stained smile. I stood there for a few seconds. Then it finally hit me: she was not going to help. I was being told “No” by a teacher.

Is It About Race?

It’s been a long time since I was denied the opportunity of trying out for the team. Closed that door and locked away the key. But I don’t need to reach back that far to identify that nagging feeling of being told “No”.

Not being promoted from field reporter to news anchor.

Not being having my query letters answered by editors.

Not being acknowledged by a hostess at a swanky restaurant.

Of course, those things happen to a lot of people. And (with the exception of the restaurant) it could very well be that I just wasn’t that good. But when a person is doing something that isn’t typical of their people of their ethnicity, there’s always that nagging doubt. Could it be… because of race?

While at the gym this morning (I still manage to make it to yoga and group exercise classes) I mulled this over as I attempted to balance myself on a giant rubber ball – while holding a plank for a full minute. I fell off the ball after about fifteen seconds.

What would Jeremy do?

Jeremy Lin was not offered a spot on a single college team upon graduating from high school. Clearly, he was good -- he was the state all-star in basketball! -- and he was smart. But at 6'3", his size wasn't notable, neither did he have a flashy playing style. Still, he didn't didn’t walk away with his tail between his legs. He sent his stats and his videos to Ivy League recruiters, and was ultimately admitted to Harvard where he played on the basketball team.

Even though he was a star at Harvard, Lin wasn’t drafted initially by the NBA, although he was eventually picked up and bounced around several teams, including his hometown Golden State Warriors, who left him on bench most of the time, then traded him off. When he finally made his breakthrough, he was a non-contracted D-lister sleeping on his brother’s couch while continuing to practice with the Knicks. He’s famously quipped that the Madison Square Garden doorman asked him if he was a trainer. At least they didn’t ask him if he was delivering Chinese food.

Although I share the same Christian faith as Lin, I have to admit, I don’t have that kind of faith. I’m a doubter -- always anxious for the bubble to burst, for the other shoe to fall. And most of all, I’m apprehensive about fairy tales, especially ones that promise a color-blind society. We’ll see. Will his popularity be written off simply as a novelty? The racially charged Twitter smack talk has already begun. Will there be Jeremy Lin sneakers and branded basketballs? Will he go on to have a long career as a commentator? Or like the handful of Asian American athletes who have gone before him, will he be passed over the lucrative promotional opportunities and retire into obscurity?

I’m also realistic enough to know that sometimes as a minority in America, you have to cherish each victory. Storms they will be coming. But like Lin clings to his faith, I think we can all look at his accomplishments as a sign of what was, and is, and is to come.

Portions of this post were originally published in "Mamas and Papas: On the Sublime and Heartbreaking Art of Parenting" (San Diego City Works Press)

Race and Ethnicity Section Editor Grace Hwang Lynch blogs at HapaMama and A Year (Almost) Without Shopping.

Exploring Race & Friendships In America

foxyc — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:11:49 +0000

Before deciding to pen this story, I did a bit of investigative "snooping" with several sources close to the two women involved. Normally, this stuff I wouldn't take seriously, but due to the nature of the situation, I decided to question and perhaps gain insights from both races on the ongoing subject of Race & Friendships,or what we perceive as friendship,opposed to just being "friendly."

In the field where I work, there's often a mixture of folks from all religions, races & cultures of life. African-Americans, Whites, Hispanics, Asian, Indian,and Mexican : A gatherings of a small United Nations and it's all good. But, then, there's always someone,or, some bothersome something that occurs,often leading to disbelief, suspicion, distrust and this post! Situation:

Two friends; 1 black, 1 white , stick together like 2 peas in a pod on the job: eating, working, smoking, breaking & gossiping- as women oftentimes tend to do. The white friend invites the black friend out where she introduces her black friend to a group of white friends in this manner "This is (person) my 'n#gg# ' friend!"

When I heard this story from reliable sources, I became angry at the situation. Angry at both women and angry that in 2012, people are still so insensitive - referring to the "N" word in such a jovial manner... not to mention at the expense of another person's feelings.

Reportedly, the woman was so "hurt" by this introduction, she came to work and told all what transpired on their friend's night out!

On my job, I'm friendly to everyone. I'm a professional woman who doesn't feel the need to resort to racially demeaning tactics in order to impress and circumvent a sense of entitlement or show people what a true "ass" I really am! What you see in me, is what you get. I think after hearing about this situation, more diversity is called for in the workplace. More enlightened conversation between those we think of as friends of different races, and more self respect for all!

What's your take on yet another conversation about Race in America?

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Women in Combat: Rick Santorum's Peculiar Way of Courting Female Voters

All Glamour All The Time — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:10:06 +0000

I'm a total pacifist -- a vegetarian, animal rescuer, protector of spiders, etc. Until, of course, I feel my family or farm is threatened, in which case, I don’t care what I have to do to protect those I love.

The past few nights, aside from the usual paranormal activity that happens here during a full moon, the tenants on the commercial side of our farm have been seeing people sneaking around the property at night. I mentioned this to the state police, who said they would patrol the farm, and I also told our tenants that if they felt threatened, I had no issue with them heading out their front door carrying a loaded gun. Because this is Bethany, folks, and trespassing on ANYONE'S property at night or any other time is just, plain stupid –- people here have guns, including the women. Or is it especially the women? In any case, all of them will hit their intended target, as they are excellent shots and none would dare miss for fear of accidentally hitting a horse, instead. (I'm only joking here, people . . . kinda . . . but not about their aim.)

I remember reading a story from New Year's Day about an 18-year-old mother in Oklahoma, Sarah McKinley, whose husband had just died of cancer. Two men were trying to break into her house, and she had locked and barricaded the doors, popped a bottle in her infant's mouth and called 911. There was no way help could get to her in time, and Sarah asked the dispatcher if she could shoot the man if he got inside. The woman replied she should do what she had to in order to protect her baby, and when one man finally barged through the door, Sarah shot him dead. The other, who was slower and possibly smarter, took off running. Talk about a woman keeping a cool head under pressure in an emotional situation.

Which, of course, is not at all what I wanted to write about today -– I was actually determined to tell the story of Mikey our bull calf getting out of his pen and into our youngest pig, Petunia Buttercup's paddock. But being a news junkie, one of the first things I do every morning is visit CNN.com, where I generally avoid videos in favor of articles as I need to get my information fast so I can get outside to feed the horses. This morning, however, I got sucked in by two video headlines:

The first one intrigued me because while Mrs. Gingrich is always by her husband Newt’s side, she seldom speaks. And now we know why. Callista Gingrich took an eternity to say her husband’s hobbies are golf and reading, and frankly, I’ve met animatrons at Disney World that had me more convinced they were human than Mrs. Gingrich did. Also, the animatrons were far less scripted.

The second video, in which Rick Santorum opined about how female emotions were not appropriate on the front lines in a battle zone, was flat-out offensive. First, because he suggested females are emotionally different and somehow not as strong as men, and second, because he stated with authority that the men fighting on the front lines would feel so protective of the women with them they wouldn’t be able to focus on the mission at hand. OK, Rick, take a step back and listen to what you just said –- the women aren't the ones with the “emotional” problem; you said, on the record, that the men would be influenced by their feelings. Well, which is it, big boy?

But let's take a moment to talk about war. What about war is not emotional? If you don't have strong feelings about what you’re fighting for, what the hell are you doing on a battlefield? I should hope there is plenty of emotion involved.

Given a choice, whom would I put in a foxhole beside me? Well, let’s see . . . the toughest people I know aren't men . . . they’re women. In fact, they are friends of mine who are country veterinarians who work with large farm animals and horses. These women can be awakened at 2 a.m. by a desperate phone call, drive an hour to treat a patient with colic, spend three hours tubing, walking and injecting a 1,500-pound horse that does not want to be tubed and injected. All the while they are comforting a frantic and emotional horse owner. Should all efforts fail, at the crack of dawn they have to help a desperate owner make a life or death decision about an animal they love more than life itself. And then, these women go to work for the day.

Emotional? Well, yeah, because they love animals and their jobs. Does that affect what they do? Well, yeah, because if it didn't, they would suck at their jobs. Do soldiers get emotional? Hello? Have you ever been to a military funeral? It doesn't mean they don’t perform their jobs while under pressure, just the way most woman do. Of course, there are exceptions for both genders, people who simply don’t have the inner core strength to hold it together at key moments. But then, they don’t make it through boot camp, never mind to the front line in a battle zone.

And Rick, honey, one more thing. I spend my days working with 1,000 to 2,000 pound animals. I carry up to two tons of hay in a day, 80 pounds at a time. I can lift a sick pig into the back of a truck, lug two 50-pound bags of feed at a time, and if a bucking horse throws me into the dirt, I'm back on again in two minutes flat ready to fight it out again. And even as a devout pacifist, if I feel one of my children is threatened, I can put a bullet in a target three acres away (and if I miss, the female veterinarian living on the other side of our property won't.) I know a lot of women who could do the same. Don’t ever question our strength, Rick, especially when we put a little emotion behind it.

Men, on the other hand, have a tendency to get too emotional to keep their priorities in order under the pressure of battle; I mean, you said it yourself, Mr. Santorum. And of course, you do know what you're talking about for both men and women, don't you? Unless, of course, the only example of female strength you’re familiar with is that set by Callista Gingrich.

You see, the women I hang with are a lot more like Sarah McKinley, as I believe the majority of women are.

And I haven’t even brought up the tremendous feat of childbirth, yet . . .

Kathleen Schurman owns Locket’s Meadow Farm in Bethany where she lives a life filled with “glamour” which is her cute little euphemism for “manure/mud/slime, etc.” When she is not writing for the Bethwood Patch she is shoveling glamour, teaching therapeutic riding and occasionally writing a book. But mostly, she’s shoveling glamour . . .

Did A Fox Pundit Really Say Women Soldiers Should Expect to be Raped?

Mona Gable — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:16:02 +0000

[Editor's note: Fox News pundit Liz Trotta certainly has a novel idea about the Pentagon's recent announcement about more women serving in combat. It’s so novel, in fact, that even the folks at Fox News were perturbed when she uttered her opinion about it during an appearance on the cable news channel. Ben Armsbruster at Think Progress explains why Trotta doesn't want women on the battlefield.--Mona]

He writes:

She cited a recent Pentagon report that violent sex crimes in the military have increased over the last 6 years and said women should “expect” it, decrying more levels of bureaucracy to support women who have been “raped too much“:

Credit Image: © Xinhua/ZUMAPRESS.com/

"Date Night" Inadequate Sentence in Domestic Violence Case

lauriewrites — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:03:17 +0000

If a man puts his hands on his wife's neck in anger and throws her against a couch, at least one judge thinks that a date night at Red Lobster, bowling, and some flowers are enough to set things right.

After Broward County, Fla., Judge John Hurley heard Plantation, Fla. woman Sonja Bray's case last week following allegations of domestic violence against her husband John, he decided, since it was the man's first offense -- an offense this judge described as "very, very minor" -- that maybe a little romance would do the trick. The judge asked Sonja where she liked to eat, and what she liked to do, and issued his sentence:

[Her husband is] going to stop by somewhere and he's going to get some flowers. And then he's going to go home, pick up his wife, get dressed, take her to Red Lobster. And then after they have Red Lobster, they're going to go bowling.

Image by me and the sysop via Flickr

The judge also ordered marriage counseling for the couple.

Consider Sonja Bray's statement during the first appearance hearing (in a courtroom, in front of her husband, who had recently assaulted her) that she was not afraid of her husband. Consider that it was Bray's first offense. Sure, even consider that Sonja got upset because, as reported, her husband did not acknowledge her birthday, which set the whole thing off in the first place.

But let's pretend for a moment that this wasn't, in the judge's view, a trivial situation, reasonably responded to as a misunderstanding easily remedied with cheddar biscuits and crab legs.

At some point in the conflict, Bray's husband grabbed her by the neck and threw her against the couch. The police came, Mr. Bray was arrested, and then there was a hearing. And now they are supposed to go to Red Lobster to sort things out?

When did taking a woman on a date resolve a conflict severe enough that it resulted in physical violence? When was any physical attack on any person severe enough that it ends in a courtroom a source of amusement for anyone, but especially from the judge hearing the case? When is it remotely reasonable for a defense attorney to ask a judge if his client has to let his wife win at bowling as a part of his "sentence"?

At the risk of interrupting the frivolity here, I can't help remembering that every offender has a first offense. Grabbing and choking -- particularly when reasonably agreed upon to have occurred in the family home -- rank as domestic violence, as Plantation police spokesman Det. Rob Rettig continues to define what happened to Ms. Bray.

We determined that a domestic violence law had been violated and we acted accordingly. The Plantation police are going to continue to arrest offenders regarding domestic violence wherever probable cause exists. According to Florida law the act that took place in this case was indeed an act of domestic violence.

There may be times when increased time together and improved communication can help smooth out the bumps in a relationship. I may suggest to a friend who's feeling strain at home that maybe a night out, some dedicated time and attention to each other, can help with challenges to happiness and harmony.

I try to imagine responding in the same way if a friend told me her partner struck or otherwise assaulted her, and I can't. People can come back from isolated incidences of relationship violence with time and care, but it takes time and care.

An ex-boyfriend stood over me once, drunk and enraged, gesturing as though he was going to put his hands around my neck. We were interrupted and I moved past it, young and in love and deep in denial, but I was never fully unafraid of him again. He never completed his action, but I knew from that point on that he was capable of hurting me -- not just in the physical sense, but in the sense that he would.

Florida victim advocacy group Women in Distress has retracted a complaint against Judge Hurley. Representative Mary Reidel now says that he is "a good judge and an honorable person and he takes this [situation] seriously. My comments in no way would attack him personally, in any way." But what the Wall Street Journal calls an example of "creative sentencing," I call irresponsible silliness in response to a violent situation in a home.

Maybe this is because I have a good idea of how hard it is for people who suffer at the hands of relationship violence to get a fair shake and a place of safety within and outside of the criminal justice system. Maybe it's because I lost a dear friend to a first offender of a boyfriend armed with a gun and a vendetta. Maybe it's because I am tired of examples of women pandered to as the little lady who just needs a night out on the town to fix things up.

Maybe it's because I don't care for reading ledes and punchlines like this in newspaper articles about domestic violence cases of any severity or scope:

"Just in time for Valentine's Day, a Florida judge ruled on Tuesday that a man involved in a scuffle with his wife treat her to an evening at a local bowling alley and a romantic meal at Red Lobster...

Fortunately for Bray and his wife, the Plantation Red Lobster receives high marks in Google Maps' Review section." -- MSNBC

"Justice will be served at Red Lobster in one Florida domestic dispute." -- CBSNews.com

"Money is frequently an issue in domestic disputes. So it would really help if these court-ordered entertainment packages could be good deals, too.

In other words, plea bargains that are more like Groupon bargains.

First time offenders might be offered the box-of-chocolates/Olive Garden/mini-golf package, while recidivists on their last chance would have to agree to the skywriter/Cafe L'Europe/Miami Heat tickets route. Sentencing this way might stimulate marriages and the economy at the same time, and free up the courts to take a sharper focus on the more serious cases of domestic violence." -- Frank Cerabino, Palm Beach Post

I hope that Sonja Bray is safe, and that the couple is assisted in finding a counselor who will help them -- especially her, as she works through the aftermath of being assaulted by her spouse. I respect her wishes to work out her relationship issues. But I also believe that any time a person lands in a courtroom as a result of any kind of relationship violence, that it is serious. I believe that how every complaint is handled affects not only the person standing there, but all other people who may in the future, and that judges who practice "creative sentencing" are challenged, especially when violence is involved. And finally, if I had a chance to ask one question of Judge Hurley, it would be this:

If someone stronger than he is put hands around his neck and threw him against a piece of furniture, would Red Lobster, bowling and some flowers put things right for him?

I can't say I know for sure what he'd say, but I'd just like to ask him the question.

Contributing Editor Laurie White writes at LaurieWrites. Her photos are on Flickr.

Finally! Characters in Romance Novels Who Look Like Me – and Maybe You, Too

Grace Hwang Lynch — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:47:14 +0000

In honor of Valentine’s Day, we are spotlighting women of color who are bringing diversity to the Romance genre.

I’ve never really been a big fan of romance novels. They just seem so… unrealistic. You know, the mysterious hero with the heart of gold, the innocent—yet not so innocent—maiden, and all that creamy ivory skin. Always ivory skin. Never golden, brown, or mahogany. It doesn’t help the preferred settings--the Wild West, Ye Olde England, and Medieval Europe--don’t exactly lend themselves to anything but… ivory skin.

A friend of mine recently posed the question of where to find fun reads—with ethnic diversity. Sure, there’s hyphenated American Literature with a capital “L”, but what about the lighter side to life as a woman of color?

Well, I’d like to introduce you to several authors who are bringing diversity into the world of romantic novels.

Mina Khan

Mina Khan is the author of The Djinn’s Dilemma (Harlequin Nocturne Cravings, 2011) a sensual thriller about a Texas journalist Sarah White and Rukh O’Shay, the half-djinn assassin who was hired to kill her. Khan grew up in Bangaldesh listening to her grandmother’s spine-tingling stories about djinns (pronounced “gin”) a genie-like supernature creature with deep roots in pre-Islamic Middle Eastern mythology. As a teenager, she read British romances, only to become disconnected with the popular WASP characters by the time she reached college. As a writer, Khan is inspired by the advice, “Write the book you want to read.” It was only natural that Middle Eastern folklore would emerge in her own writing, although she initially received mixed reactions from publishers.

Some thought my non-Hollywood Djinns and mixed-race characters– were too exotic and would appeal to too few. One person flat out told me THE DJINN’S DILEMMA wouldn’t sell. Fortunately, there were others who loved it…loved it enough to buy it and make me a published author. The lesson here: Trust yourself, believe in your work.

Camy Tang

Camy Tang is the author of several romance and suspense series (the Sushi series, the Sonoma Series, and Protection for Hire, all by Zondervan) that feature not only Asian American, but Christian themes. When Tang was an aspiring novelist, she went to a writer’s conference where Christian suspense author Brandilyn Collins gave her some prophetic advice.

I had been working on a manuscript and thinking about changing my ethnic-neutral characters to Asian characters but hadn’t told anyone about it, and certainly not Brandilyn. Yet as she prayed over me, she told me, “Write your heritage.” I knew then that God wanted me to write Asian American characters, which were scarce in the Christian publishing market at the time.

While Tang believes that ethnic characters, in in romance or suspense novels, can help readers see that others are not so different, her stories were still a hard sell to publishers.

My future editor at Zondervan, Sue Brower, saw the lack of Asian ethnic fiction and the need for it, and she persisted in presenting my story to the editorial and marketing teams until they contracted my series in early 2006. Since then, I've heard from readers both Asian and non-Asian who have really connected with and related to my characters, and I'm very grateful to Zondervan for taking the chance on my books.

Myne Whitman

Nigerian American (and BlogHer Publishing Network member!) Myne Whitman has independently published two romances, A Heart to Mend and A Love Rekindled. Whitman says she didn’t deliberately decide to write ethnic stories, but the settings and characters just came naturally to her. And while there are African American romance novels, few in the U.S. focus specifically on Africa.

Like Khan and Tang, Whitman faced a lot of skepticism when pitching her ideas to agents, something she points out it common to all aspiring writers – regardless of their race or culture.

I doubt the response was much different from what other debut writer experience, irrespective of ethnicity or nationality. I got a flood of ignores or outright rejections A slight difference may have been in the wording of the rejections from agents and publishers. A couple of them mentioned they did not havea market either for my characters, or specifically for a romance novel featuring them.

Instead of changing her writing or giving up, Whitman chose to self-publish. She says the reaction from readers has been positive.

I've head emails from readers from as far as Indonesia, Mexico and India, writing to tell me what an eye opener it was for them and how much they appreciated a different outlook in their romance. Even Nigerians were captured by the idea. Since most of the country's writers focus on literary fiction, a reviewer in a national newspaper described my first book as a "breath of fresh air".

I’m getting all misty just writing this. Maybe there is a happy ending for minority writers, after all…

What do you think? Is ethnicity in a books important to you?

Race and Ethnicity Section Editor Grace Hwang Lynch blogs at HapaMama and A Year (Almost) Without Shopping.

What's All This about Catholics Having to Provide Birth Control?

avflox — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), which contains provisions that started taking effect that same year and will continue until 2017. One of these provisions -- which involves eliminating co-payments and deductibles for preventive care -- came under fire last week when the White House announced that as part of preventive care, employers would be covering the cost of birth control in employee health plans.

Catholic leaders, who morally oppose the use of contraceptives, railed against the policy from the pulpit. Conservative hopefuls vying for office jumped into the fray, describing the provision as a clear attack on religious freedom.

Photo by Bogdan Migulski

After much debate, the Obama administration reached a compromise: employers with religious objections to birth control will not have to offer contraceptive coverage to their employees as part of their health insurance plans. However, the insurance companies themselves are going to have to do it, making it likely that the cost of providing this coverage would be spread across all policy holders.

President Obama addressed the matter in a statement:

Under the rule, women will still have access to free preventive care that includes contraceptive services -- no matter where they work. So that core principle remains. But if a woman's employer is a charity or a hospital that has a religious objection to providing contraceptive services as part of their health plan, the insurance company -- not the hospital, not the charity -- will be required to reach out and offer the woman contraceptive care free of charge, without co-pays and without hassles.

While the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops seemed satisfied with the concession initially, they changed their tune on Friday night, saying they did not believe their concerns had been addressed by Obama's concession. Per the Wall Street Journal:

In [the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops'] later statement, they said they still had "serious moral concerns," noting that the proposal didn't contain provisions for religious employers who self-insure, meaning the employer takes on the underlying risk of covering employees' health care.

The bishops also said that the current structure of the proposal meant that if an employee and insurer agreed to add contraception coverage to a health plan, it would still be financed in the same way as the rest of the coverage offered by the employer.

"These changes require careful moral analysis, and moreover, appear subject to some measure of change. But we note at the outset that the lack of clear protection... is unacceptable and must be corrected," the statement said.

Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski told NPR, that what Obama had offered as a compromise was "a smoke screen in which he has decided to kick the can down the road in the hope that the controversy will go away. I think he is mistaken."

Wenski, like many opponents, thinks the measure will remain problematic so long as employees of Catholic charities, hospitals, and universities receive coverage for contraception. On the other hand, many Catholic organizations, such as the Catholic Health Association and Catholic Charities USA, are behind the reform for this type of preventive care.

For example, Sister Carol Keehan, who works in an association that oversees some 600 Catholic hospitals, applauded Obama's compromise, as a win-win situation. Ultimately, she said, health care reform is in line with the Catholic Church's desire to help the poor and uninsured.

Conservative Catholic groups are not the only ones who can't seem to agree -- liberal Catholic groups seem split on the issue as well. According to the Wall Street Journal, Catholics for Choice said the White House had given "victory number one to the Bishops." Catholics United, however, praised the decision -- as did several student organizations at Catholic universities who have campaigned to get students access to birth control.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the insurance industry was caught by surprise by the decision. However, a report by the Department of Health and Human Services found that "previous expansions of contraception coverage had zero cost increase."

AV Flox is the section editor of Love & Sex and Health on BlogHer. You can connect with her on Twitter @avflox, Google Plus +AV Flox, or e-mail her directly at av.flox AT BlogHer.com

Author Jeffrey Zaslow Dies in Car Accident at 53

sassymonkey — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:26:43 +0000

Best-selling author and journalist Jeffrey Zaslow died February 10 in a car accident in Michigan. He was 53. His loss is felt keenly in the BlogHer community. We had the privilege of working with Mr. Zaslow, and his most recent book, The Magic Room, was one of our BlogHer Book Club selections.

I only worked with him for a short time. Most of our communication was done via third parties and in his comments on our discussions about his book. I enjoyed those exchanges immensely, and he showed a great sense of humor in his replies. Having read his work, I know that he was a compassionate man with a large capacity for love. Dedicated to his daughters, The Magic Room was sparked by his desire to express his love for them and convey the love he wished them to find in a spouse.

A nonfiction writer, Zaslow was well known for his work with computer scientist Randy Pausch on The Last Lecture. He worked with Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, veteran astronaut Mark Kelly, on their memoir, GABBY: A Story of Courage and Hope. His writings include Highest Duty, co-written with Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, and The Girls from Ames, which followed a group of 11 childhood friends over 40 years. He was also one of two columnists chosen by the Chicago Sun-Times to replace Ann Landers in 1987.

Zaslow had this to say about the people whose stories he highlighted in his essay for the BlogHer Book Club:

In a way, I become just a messenger, helping people –- both the famous and the little known –- find and explain the lessons of their lives. For me it’s a great responsibility, and also a great honor.

It was a great honor to work with a writer as modest as he was compassionate. Our hearts and sympathies are with his loved ones.

BlogHer Book Club Host Karen Ballum also blogs at Sassymonkey and Sassymonkey Reads.

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SUPER TUESDAY OR BUST: Santorum Surge Gives Moderate Heartburn

@erica_holloway — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:18:14 +0000

Twist.

Senator Rick Santorum jumped to the head of the pack of Republican presidential hopefuls again last night, securing wins in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri.

It's led to a chorus of shock-and-awe warning that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney might be on the ropes.

Hardly.

As former California GOP Chair Ron Nehring said in POLITICO this morning:

"I doubt the Romney team is particularly worried. No delegates were at stake yesterday, and Romney alternatives are bound to do better in conservative-dominated caucuses and conventions as the frontrunner positions himself for a general election matchup."

Lagging behind in third and not competing in Missouri, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich decided to set his sights on... California? Weird.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul remains in the race, though marginally.

Romney leads the current delegate count with 91; Santorum is now in second place with 44. Presidential nominees need 1,144 delegates.

Santorum's three-peat wins poise a March 6 Super Tuesday showdown with Romney that should separate the wheat from the chaff.

Despite his ham-handed rhetoric, Santorum cannot march a band of traveling volunteers on an anemic budget to the Republican nomination in August.

And what says the ultimate opponent?

Most of the barbs fired from President Obama's chief re-election strategist, David Axelrod, aim directly at Romney -- seemingly signifying that he's the most feared challenger.

Romney isn't a dream Republican candidate. But we could do far worse.

If Romney takes the lion's share of Super Tuesday wins, he'll quickly shift gears to composite-candidate stature, shaping into a candidate made up of lesser parts of other, better candidates with more campaign infastructure, money, and populist appeal -- the greatest weaknesses of Team Santorum.

For now, Santorum can savor the flavor of being a thorn in the backside of the moderates who want a like-candidate facing off with Obama.

Santorum, Gingrich, and Paul playing the "anti-Romney" card plays only so long before delegates fatigue and coalesce in hopes of a GOP White House victory.

NEXT UP: Maine (24 delegates) announces the results of its extended caucuses on Saturday, February 11, followed by February 28 primaries in Arizona (29 delegates) and Romney's home state, Michigan (30 delegates).

I'm Not Black. Why Do You Care?

crunchyvtmommy — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:15:18 +0000

Racial identity is a personal issue that is currently hot topic within the Latino and African-American (Black, depends on with whom one is speaking and how he or she chooses to identify) communities. PBS aired a popular documentary called "Black in Latin America" which explores the "influence of African descent on Latin America". There is tension among Latinos and African-Americans. Some say Latinos deny their roots and true heritage when they deny being Black and choose to classify themselves as Latino instead.

My parents were born in the Dominican Republic and my mother is half Chinese. I identify as Latina and Asian. This isn't an intentional slight to the African-American community. I promise. I am a first generation American whose first language is Spanish. I am the daughter of immigrants. My cuisine, traditions, and language are Dominican. I identify with the Dominican community. Why would I call myself Black?

Image Credit: gadl via Flickr

I make a conscious effort to stay well informed and am aware of the slave trade history on the island of Hispaniola. I know why my skin is brown and why my hair is curly. I am fully aware that some of my ancestors were African. I also have some that were from Spain. I do not understand why I am expected to identify with people I have never met and whose culture I am not a part of in an effort to not offend. It doesn't work that way.

Racists have called me Black in feeble attempts to hurt me. When I corrected a bigot on Twitter recently a friend of mine assumed that by correcting the woman by stating my true ethnicity I was implying that there is something wrong with being Black or being perceived as Black. There isn't. My point was if you're going to spout racial epithets at me at least choose the right ones. They're all equally offensive but I'm fiercely Latina and don't let anyone forget it. Not even a random Twitter racist.

The Latino experience is very different from the African-American one. There is obviously an overlap and we share similarities but it is not the same. My half Black husband had racial identity issues of his own as the son of a single white mother growing up in rural New York but he wasn't placed in a class for developmentally disabled (I wasn't) children because he couldn't speak English and he has never been spat at and told to go back to Puerto Rico (I've never been but that random racist made it sound like a great idea). Our experiences are polar opposites.

I wish people would stop imposing their racial identity on me based on the genetic makeup of my ancestors. Our identities are more than color and country of origin. I understand there are technical definitions and I do check the correct boxes on my taxes and such. but there are plenty of African-Americans that do not consider Latinos as one of their own. My mother's experiences as a Latina growing up in the 70s in predominately Black Boston, Massachusetts are difficult to hear. She was viewed as an outsider and an enemy and was most certainly not welcome among her Black classmates.

Girls tried to cut off her hair and constantly picked fights with her. Imagine the unfriendly reception she would have received when she suddenly declared herself Black. She certainly did not belong however it goes both ways. The Latino community itself has some shameful racial identity issues. Ever watch Telemundo? You'll see nothing but light-skinned faces. The darker skinned Latinos are relegated to the violent, poor, and demeaning roles. It is disgusting and another issue all together.

No one is perfect but I often hear African-American women lauding women like Zoe Saldana and LaLa Vasquez for publicly identifying with their Black heritage. Um, obviously. They are business women and entertainers. Which market is larger in America? The Black or Hispanic market alone or both together? It is common sense for these women to appeal the widest audiences possible. They have products to sell and millions at stake. Please stop offering them up as some sort of shining example of perfect racial identity. Maybe they do choose to identify as Black because of their personal experiences but it doesn't mean all Latinas should.

I am an educated woman and well aware of the history of the Dominican Republic. African-American blood runs through my veins (and those of my husband and children) and I do not find it shameful in any form. My racial identity is formed by my personal experiences, traditions, familial bonds, and the birth place of my parents.

I am not Black, I am Latina. I am a Dominican American and I do not intend to offend you by proudly stating so.