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.

Baby Be-Bop, a coming of age story about a young man who discovers he is gay, has been targeted by Wisconsin Christian group calling it vulgar, racial and anti-Christian, and wants the book burned.

Yes. Burned. More from Salon.com:

Now an outfit called the Christian Civil Liberties Union has gotten in on the act, suing the library for, according to the West Bend Daily News, “damaging” the “mental and emotional well-being” of several individuals by displaying “Baby Be-Bop” in the library. Since attempts to label the novel as “pornographic” have failed, the (somewhat shadowy) CCLU hopes to brand it as hate speech, in part because it contains the word “nigger.” The complainants, described as “elderly” by the newspaper, claim that Block’s novel is “explicitly vulgar, racial [sic] and anti-Christian.” They want the library’s copy not only removed but publicly burned.

“Baby Be-Bop,” a title from the Weetzie Bat series that describes the youth of Weetzie’s best friend, Dirk, is, in Block’s [author] words, “a very sweet, simple, coming-of-age story about a young man’s discovery that he’s gay.” Dirk is beaten by gay bashers but steadfastly clings to the possibility of finding love. Block finds the disingenuous charges of racism particularly distressing. “Obviously I use those words, including ‘faggot,’ which is also in the book, to expose racism and homophobia, not promote it,” she said. “It’s a tiny little book,” she added, “but they want to burn it like a witch.”

No Dorothy, it’s not the 1930s. It’s the 21st century. At least outside of West Bend, Wisconsin.

In the video clip below, a West Bend man advocates burning Baby Be-Bop and similar book.:

David Duke, former Republican member of the House of Representatives in Louisiana, and former Chairman of the largest Republican district in that state, and lest we forget former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard, is none too happy with selection of Michael Steele as head of the RNC. Here are a few of his words, (and if you must visit his site, google it):

To Hell with the Republican Party!

I am glad these traitorous leaders of the Republican Party appointed this Black racist, affirmative action advocate to the head of the Republican party because this will lead to a huge revolt among the Republican base. As a former Republican official, I can tell you that millions of rank-and-file Republicans are mad as hell and aren’t going to take it anymore! We will either take the Republican Party back over the next four years or we will say, “To Hell With the Republican Party!” And we will take 90 percent of Republicans with us into a New Party that will take its current place!

I think the insanity of nominating “Mr. Amnesty” John McCain and now this Black racist — will lead to insurgency in the Republican ranks, and a lot of dissidents getting elected in Republican Party primaries around the country. This will result over the next four years a real move by millions of Republicans to take the party back to the populist issues that are not only right but can win for the Republican Party. We must end affirmative action, protect our gun rights and all our constitutional rights, have a moratorium on immigration, we must have protectionism, yes I said protect American businesses and their workers from NAFTA and GATT and the lie of free trade, and we must have America First, not foreign interventionism. Our boys should be home protecting the American borders a not being murdered on the borders of Iraq or Afghanistan. The time as come for Republican Party to stand up to Obama and defend American heritage, rights, and freedom!

While I’m loath to give Duke ANY space here or give his words any air of credibility, it is relevant because of the public displays of racism, hate and intolerance we witnessed at various campaign events in the lead up to the election. While I certainly don’t think Duke’s sentiment is as widespread as he thinks it is, I do think it is a significant enough percentage to cause both the Republicans, and the rest of us, trouble.