Years ago, I was shocked into muteness to find out that incarcerated women sometime suffer the practice of giving birth in shackles? Really? In the United States? In the post-antebellum United States (as in the Civil War, not Lady Antebellum)?

I first found out about it nearly a decade ago, when I met Kemba Smith at a criminal justice conference and heard her recount the story of her own shackled childbirth. The whole idea of such a thing seems incredibly cruel, not to mention absurd. What is the fear — that an incarcerated woman in labor is bound to go all “Kill Bill” on someone any second… mercilessly taking out the hospital room staff and karate chopping her way to freedom? It makes about as much sense as passing the newborn through a metal detector before entering the nursery.

Tonya Williams of SPARK Reproductive Justice Now has spent two years researching the treatment of pregnant incarcerated women in the state of Georgia. Not so shockingly, it ain’t a pleasant story. Dignity, anyone? She wrote an article about this issue a few months ago. And now, after decisions in Washington state and Arkansas found that the practice violates civil rights and a major class action suit pending in Illinois, NPR has also picked up story.

Ray Liotta was on television last night. I thought to myself, dang, I would love to see him cast as Rod Blagojevich (a man, who along with John Edwards, proves that maintaining the hairstyle of an 80s teen movie heartthrob can only bring a lifetime of scandal and disappointment). Apparently, I am not alone in secretly wishing for such a made-for-tv masterpiece.

I haven’t yet decided who I would love to see cast as John Edwards.

I spoke at a panel for women entrepreneurs last weekend, where I asserted that community organizing might be an “it” skill of the new generation.

I know there have been a few disparaging public remarks made about “community organizing,” as though it were some sort of euphemism for misspent youth. I’ve worked with quite a few community organizers over the years. I won’t deny that some of them are living in their own stratosphere. However, many others are monumental in skills of doing much with little and are profoundly good at influencing people.

These days everyone from authors to politicians to non-profits to corporate brands are trying to motivate the masses to “follow” or “fan” them. Remember when technology was good to have and how rapidly it became essential to existence? Similarly, having a social presence and community was once a nice bonus but is becoming unavoidable for nearly all of us.

I’m not saying that everyone should go out and try to be a community organizer but we could benefit from looking at their skills, strategy and purpose. How is all this digital wrangling of supporters, friends, and contacts really all that different from good, old fashioned community organizing dressed up in the latest threads?

So, I guess that I would say that there’s hope for the legions of young people who were galvanized around Obama’s message of social progress in the last election, and propelled themselves into organizing (as reported by Elizabeth Mendez Berry in her cover story in the Nation this month). Some of them are struggling to find their place in this discouraging new job market.

Sure they still have more to learn, but I think now more than ever, they deserve credit for a legitimate skill. The many people out there scrambling to make rhyme or reason out of the great new frontier of digital campaigning will hopefully figure out that there is value in putting their experience to good use.

Everyone wins lots of free publicity and money from Kanye’s outburst (any of us could probably make some quick cash right now selling Kanye dart boards at the nearest suburban mall).

On the other hand, Joe Wilson’s outburst sets back 46 million people hoping for health insurance. Kanye may be music’s Lex Luthor but MTV is grinning from ear to ear and at the end of the day, no real harm is done. I’m sure Taylor Swift’s agent is amped. The phone is ringing off the hook, no doubt. And like Lex Luthor, Kanye ‘s antics may be the work of a  fictitious character, whereas Joe Wilson and his supporters are all too real.

I’m all for free speech. I like to exercise it regularly. The thing is that all this “death panel,” “communist,” and “birther” conspiracy stuff is reminiscent of other progress-fearing protests in U.S. history. We’re a young country with a diverse population but have long had a significant faction that doggedly resists change (particular as relates to equity and human rights), even when the time has clearly come and it makes logical sense.

If we could put the birthers and Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh and the random screaming people at the town halls in a time machine and plop them out in the sixties, it’s not hard to imagine them holding one of the these placards. I’m just saying that he/she who screams the loudest and the angriest is not always on the side that is most just. While these voices deserve to be heard, their volume should not be mistaken as a representation of the greater public.

Regina Holliday

Woman in DC paints murals for health care reform.

I just planted carolina jessamine in front of the house, hoping that it will climb up the side of the porch and frame our view with beautiful yellow, floral trails of fragrance. Can’t wait. But looking up info on how to take care of it, I learned that parts of the plant are poisonous if ingested. If plants that are deemed bad for human consumption become contraband, should the lovely South Carolina state flower in my yard also be illegal? Just something to think about.

la Chita

I’m looking through the roll call for the US Medal of Freedom honorees this year, and I must say that I like what I see. They’re like the dinner party invite list from heaven.

Special shout-outs to Mary Robinson and Desmond Tutu for being huge role models for human rights advocates coming up in the world. I also have to give a thunderous whoot to Chita Rivera. I crossed paths once with Ms. Rivera. It was my senior year of high school.  She’s just won a Tony for “Kiss of the Spider Woman.” My best friend, a Broadway fanatic, and I were walking through Times Square.

The shows were letting out and a huge crowd formed in front of “Kiss.” We figured it was for Chita. We sasheyed to the front of the crowd, boldly pretended we were in the audience, congratulated Chita on her Tony, asked her to autograph something (we didn’t have programs, obviously), and shamelessly fawned over her.

I’d recently dyed my hair (myself). It was supposed to be blond but looked like fire. It was red, brown and blond. It somewhat ressembled a floral print. Chita said, “I love your hair, darling.” I said, “Actually, it was a mistake.” Chita purred, “Darling, there are no mistakes.” Shazam! That was deep. My friend used it as her yearbook quote. What a lady. Que viva, Chita!

You probably heard about last week’s controversy over NYC’s practice of sending homeless families off with one-way tickets to avoid the $36,000 a year cost of housing them in the city’s shelters.  Essentially, passing the buck on poverty. Is building more affordable housing units really that unreasonable? Seems like a much more stable and longer term solution that could also be more cost effective in the long run.

My favorite comment on the subject was the Huffington Post reader who quoted the Emma Lazurus poem inscribed on the Statue of Liberty:

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

So now President Obama regrets his comment about the Cambridge Police acting “stupidly” in the arrest of Professor Gates.

• a) The press conference where this comment was taken from was about health care and this question was bait. Focusing on his response is an irrelevant distraction,

• b) Anyone who has ever had the misfortune of being at the wrong end of law due to their race would agree that there is a great deal of stupidity in the experience, and

• c) Anyone still naive enough to think that there is no such thing as racial profiling in the US has lived an extraordinarily sheltered life.