A private swim club in northeast Philadelphia refused to allow 60 children to swim in their pool, simply because they weren’t white. Apparently the club does not allow minorities in the water, and there was fear they would “change the complexion and the atmosphere of the club.” I’m not kidding.  Watch:

I continue to read online how surprised people are that this happened. I’m not surprised in the slightest. Racism and the hate that drives it is alive and well. Usually people aren’t stupid enough to come out with it publicly. Most of the time it remains behind closed doors, in living rooms or at kitchen tables. The internet is also a fertile breeding ground for those who purvey hate, racism, and homophobia, safely cloaked in the anonymity of the medium. Just check out some of the comments at NBC10 in Philadephia.

Just a thought… I wonder if the Valley Swim Club would have refused to allow Sasha and Malia Obama access to the pool…

Breaking: Fortunately the children may have found a new place to swim… and the incident has caught the attention of Senator Arlen Specter.

No one saw this coming, especially the Republicans. From the Washington Post:

Specter’s decision would give Democrats a 60 seat filibuster proof majority in the Senate assuming Democrat Al Franken is eventually sworn in as the next senator from Minnesota. (Former senator Norm Coleman is appealing Franken’s victory in the state Supreme Court.)

“I have decided to run for re-election in 2010 in the Democratic primary,” said Specter in a statement. “I am ready, willing and anxious to take on all comers and have my candidacy for re-election determined in a general election.”

He added: “Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right. Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans.”

Senate Republicans have since called an emergency meeting, as their ability to block Democratic legislation is now razor thin. RNC head Michael Steele and Senator Olympia Snow of Maine provided contrasting viewpoints in the NY Times.

[Spectre] didn’t leave the G.O.P. based on principles of any kind. He left to further his personal political interests because he knew that he was going to lose a Republican primary due to his left-wing voting record. Republicans look forward to beating Senator Specter in 2010, assuming the Democrats don’t do it first.”

But Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine, who also supported the Obama administration’s economic stimulus legislation, said Mr. Specter’s decision reflected the increasingly inhospitable climate in the Republican party for moderates.

“On the national level of the Republican Party, we haven’t certainly heard warm, encouraging words about how they view moderates, either you are with us or against us,” Ms. Snowe said. She said national Republican leaders were not grasping that “political diversity makes a party stronger and ultimately we are heading to having the smallest political tent in history for any political party the way things are unfolding.”

Welcome to the party Arlen. Now come on Al, you’re holding up the majority. 🙂