Following up with... not much.

A week and a half ago I posted about some pretty awful statistics concerning African American women in Memphis and breast cancer mortality rates. The numbers alone were distressing: in Memphis, Tenn., African American women diagnosed with breast cancer are more than twice as likely to die of their illness than white women, the highest racial disparity out of the twenty-five largest cities in America.

What really got me mad, though, was the fact that this study was largely ignored by both press and electeds in Tennessee.

I kept waiting to do a follow up to that post, thinking that a non-blogger would pick it up and spread the outrage. Perfect timing, with the healthcare law before the Supreme Court, right? Didn't the whole country just get really pissed off and fired up over breast cancer, like, last month?

Well, it's been almost two weeks since that study was released, and as of this morning, there was still only one Tennessee paper who had reported on it. Aisling Maki of The Daily News in Memphis put out her story last Wednesday, and it was an excellent piece. You should definitely read it.

And of the nearly twenty (twenty!) individuals representing Memphis or parts of it in Nashville and in Washington, Representative Steve Cohen (TN-9) alone stood up for his constituents. On the floor of the House of Representatives, Rep. Cohen referenced the study, saying that the findings were unacceptable.

Watch Rep. Cohen's short speech from last week:

And that's it.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate what the Daily News published and what Rep. Cohen said -- some fine reporting and a welcome display of leadership in Congress. However, were it not for some bloggers far more talented than I am, I don't have much confidence that this study would have received even this much attention.

But really: that's all?

Lost in the mess of who's paying for birth control, and weirdos dressing up like Ben Franklin and yelling about socialism, is the real goal of the Affordable Care Act: to make healthcare affordable for everyone, including those who are least able and most vulnerable. What's happening in Memphis is the product of a broken healthcare system. Instead of lifting up Memphis as a city that needs the Affordable Care Act to save its inhabitants, or making Memphis a success story of affordable healthcare, Tennessee is sweeping Memphis and its women under the rug: our dirty little secret, hidden in the corner of the state.

Do I sound pissed? You're reading that right.

Another "worst of" win for Tennessee

A black woman diagnosed with breast cancer in Memphis, Tennessee, is twice as likely to die as her white counterpart.

This is according to a study (pdf) released this week examining racial disparity in breast cancer mortality rates. Of the twenty-five largest cities in the country, Memphis topped the list with the greatest racial disparity: the ratio of black women to white women who die of breast cancer in Memphis is 2.09. The study was conducted by Sinai Urban Health Institute in Chicago with funding from the Avon Foundation.

The results were published on Wednesday. It's now Friday.

The Washington Post published a story about this study on Wednesday, and DC wasn't even on the list of cities surveyed. The Denver chapter of Susan G. Komen tweeted a link to a Denver Post article, which is how I found out about the study.

You know where this study didn't make news? Tennessee. Not in Memphis, not in Nashville.

And in the legislature: where was the impassioned plea for the leaders of Tennessee to do something about this appalling statistic, yet another layer of a health crisis already plaguing the state's largest city? It didn't happen.

We know what these numbers mean: black women are not getting the same access to cancer treatment that white women are. This is not a genetics problem; it's a care problem, it's an education problem, and it's a socioeconomic problem.

And it's exactly this kind of care inequality that the healthcare reform bill is supposed to alleviate.

The fact that this study has gone unreported and apparently unnoticed in Tennessee has to be a result of two things: laziness and cowardice.

The laziness accusation speaks for itself. Frankly, I expect so little from the Gannett-owned Tennessean that I'm hardly surprised.

It's the blatant cowardice of both the Tennessee press and the Tennessee political leadership that astounds me. Any discussion of this study will inevitably lead to talk of healthcare costs, poverty, and race -- issues that Democrats, including President Obama, are (or should be) dedicated to addressing. But rather than risk the appearance of supporting President Obama or his healthcare bill, Tennessee leaders are willing to ignore the plight of sick, black women in Memphis. On the second anniversary of the signing of the Affordable Care Act, Conservatives are still trying to equate affordable care with socialism, anti-Americanism, and all sorts of bad -isms. Apparently, the few liberals left in Tennessee are simply too scared to set the record straight.

As we've seen in recent months, the Tennessee legislature has taken a decidedly goofy turn. From don't say gay to shariah law to "insidious" UN proposals, Republicans have made Tennessee a running joke, and Democrats cannot and have not done much to stop them. But in this case we're talking about breast cancer. For the second time this year, I'm having to say that breast cancer is not a political issue. Trying to stay off the "worst of" lists should not be a political issue. And yet here we are.
 
I know one more "worst of" list that Tennessee should be on.

Please don't embarrass me.

There's an episode of Tina Fey's showbiz sitcom 30 Rock called "TGS Hates Women." About halfway through the episode, Tina Fey's character Liz Lemon confronts Abby, a new writer and self described "sexy baby." Liz wants Abby to drop the idiot girl in pigtails act and grow up. Shit gets real when Abby tells Liz that how she chooses to act is none of Liz's business.

Liz responds: "Except it is, because you represent my show and you represent my gender in this business and you embarrass me."

Last week in Tennessee, State Senator and Senate Judiciary Chairwoman Mae Beavers, R-Mt.Juliet, proposed a bill that would strip the Tennessee supreme court of its power to determine the constitutionality of laws passed by the Tennessee legislature.

This woman, the head of the Senate Judiciary Committee (no law degree, by the way), a committee that one might assume deals with all things judicial, wants to throw out judicial review.

Remember judicial review? That's the Marbury v. Madison one. It's been on the books since 1803. Judicial review is a check on the legislative and executive branches; it protects the minority from the tyranny of the majority; and if you need an example of judicial review in action, go into a public school: if you see a child who isn't white, bingo. And did I mention that it's been the law of the land for over 200 years? For a little context, we've had a federal constitution for less than 225 years.

Thankfully, someone convinced Senator Beavers to withdraw her bill. For perhaps a zillion reasons, this was a good move. As one prominent DC lawyer put it, even if the legislature did get the bill passed, "the US Supreme Court would knock it down while pointing and laughing."

Now back to 30 Rock. To quote Liz Lemon: Senator Beavers, you represent my gender on the Hill in Nashville, and you embarrass me.

In all fairness, the Tennessee legislature has brought its fair share of idiocy to the floor. Instead of creating jobs or doing something about the state's regressive tax structure, our dearly elected officials are putting all their efforts into gutting women's healthcare, banning Muslims from worshiping anywhere, and making sure that "Christian" kids can bully their gay classmates without being sent to the principal's office. Thank God for the great state of Tennessee!

So yeah, I am singling out Senator Beavers because she's a woman.

Women have enough trouble in politics. Between Michelle Bachmann, Christine O'Donnell, and Sarah Palin, we've got enough representation in the crazy arena. Nancy Pelosi, for all she did as the first female Speaker of the House, is still a favorite punching bag of Republicans. Good grief, people hate on Michelle Obama because she wants America to have healthy kids.

Let's put this in terms of Saturday Night Live. Will Ferrell had a mean George W. Bush. It was seriously funny for almost a decade. It helped that Bush Jr. gave Ferrell plenty of material to work with. But no one holds a candle to Tina Fey's Sarah Palin. The 2008 edition of the Yale Book of Quotations listed "I can see Russia from my house!" as its number one quotation of the year. The economy went to hell in a hand basket, we elected a black president, and the best line from the whole year was Tina Fey making fun of a female Vice Presidential candidate -- a candidate who had been in national politics for about two seconds when that sketch aired. Tina Fey's Sarah Palin will outlive Tina Fey and Sarah Palin.

Senator, and all women in elected positions, you have to be better than the men you work with. Men have had centuries to say stupid stuff in government, and the human race has had centuries to learn to not listen. Whether you realize it or not, your voice carries through the noise. You're still somewhat of a novelty. It's completely, utterly, disgustingly unfair; but when you say or do something as stupid as sponsoring a blatantly unconstitutional bill, people notice.

In conclusion, I'm going to channel every 13-year old everywhere: Please just don't embarrass me.



A few notes:
- Yup, big fan of Tina Fey. Look for many more 30 Rock references on this blog.
- The hilarity of the Senator's name does not escape me.