Is Holder right - are we a "nation of cowards" when it comes to race relations?

Eric Holder is the nation's first black Attorney General.

This week, he said that Americans are afraid to talk about race, adding that "certain subjects are off-limits and that to explore them risks at best embarrassment and at worst the questioning of one's character."

It has been stated that Sunday mornings are the most segregated hours in American society and Holder indicates that weekends are the same. We proudly work in corporate America amidst people of all colours, religious affiliations, ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientation from 9-5, Monday through Friday and yet when it comes to socializing and having critical conversations, we continue to be stymied.

Yes, we have a black President of the United States - I am not disputing that we have come far since the days of slavery and Jim Crow laws, but as a nation, we still have difficulties discussing race openly.

Holder is taking a lot of heat for his tenacity in daring to broach this powder keg of all subjects. He clearly knows that the conversation needs to be had - and in an open forum - not in back alleys, in small gatherings at coffee shops, after a couple of drinks at a cocktail party - but out in the open - for all to hear and participate.

If we do not address racism at a grand scale, we will continue to see people and judge them "by the color of their skin, not the content of their character" to quote Dr. King. Yes - we have Black History Month and Dr. King's holiday, but too often, people find themselves wondering why we even need such observances. We need them in order to constantly remind ourselves of our shared legacy of racism - no matter the colour of our skin - it runs deep and putting a band aid over it is not going to fix the abcess.

Bravo to Holder! Please read the commentary, pro and con, in its entirety at CNN online http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/19/holder.folo/index.html?iref=mpstoryview - it will cause you to dig a little deeper the next time an off colour joke is told, or the next time someone accuses you of only having a job because of the colour of your skin, also known as affirmative action.

And finally - someone is paying attention to the exhorbitant salaries of executives

Love it or hate it, the stimulus package has passed - albeit with hardly any bi-partisan support, but pass it did nonetheless.

For years and years, CEOs and others of that niveau in their careers, have lived a lifestyle of ueberexcess - golden parachutes, private jets, corporate limousines, bonuses in the millions and on.

Now that President Obama is at the helm in the White House, he has taken the issue of executive pay to task.

Here is the link to the story that ran on AOL earlier today: http://news.aol.com/article/white-house-wants-changes-in-executive/344207 - as always, I encourage you to read the story in its entirety, but would like to let you know that the White House is watching. For those banks that are recipients of bailout monies, the bonuses for executives will be strictly limited - and rightfully so.

Here is an excerpt from the story: "The bill passed by Congress set executive bonus limits on all banks that receive bailout money. The amount of assistance will determine the number of executives affected, though top executives will be prohibited from getting bonuses or incentives except as restricted stock that vests only after bailout funds are repaid. Amounts also can be no greater than one-third of the executive's annual compensation." This sounds so much more reasonable than the millions of dollars in compensation and bonuses that we have become accustomed to seeing and muttering about in recent years.

One can only hope that board members and stock and shareholders begin to pay closer attention to the fat salaries and bonuses of their CEOs - this simply should not stand - they should be providing oversight, but apparently, as long as they are making enough monies in their shares, they have not been too bothered by the compensation packages.