The Elephant-in-the-Room: Uncovered!

Dear "Secret": I hate money.

2009-05-25T03:31:00.000-07:00

Detective Dogwith has been nudging me to uncover this particular Elephant-in-the-Room for awhile, now, and today is the day. This Elephant sits in bank corners, bars, and the family dinner table. It's Money-Hating.

I hate money. There. I said it. If you are a fan of "The Secret", you're likely salivating right now. I look like a prime candidate for your club, don't I? Clearly I must not understand that I am about to generate a whole lotta financial crises for myself just by this one post. After all, if I send out to the Universe the message that I hate money, the Universe will shrug and stop sending it to me. Stay positive, Ameriga, your club would tell me.

Here's positive for you: I positively hate money. I have visions of myself dressed up like Rambo, all sweaty with black stuff in smeared streaks on my face and taught arms - and there's Money, looking much like the Geico commercial, in a stack with googely eyes on top, all tied up in rope and quivering with fear.

I level my bazooka and growl "any last words, Money?"

Now I'm the one salivating. I love that dream. And I'm not alone. In this economy, there's a whole lotta people with fear and loathing of money.

Cash had been King forever, and in the last couple of decades, its throne has been toppled for Credit instead. Now Cash has regained its supremecy like a vengeful god. "How dare you worship Credit over me?!" roareth Lord Money, as it topples banks, devestates the auto and airplane industries, imprisons energy in its towers, and throws homeowners into the dungeons, never to see the light of day again.

Well, this is what you get for not electing me President last November. In my first 100 days, I would have abolished national currency, closed down the treasury, auctioned off Fort Knox, paid down our national debt, and reverted the nation to a barter system. Wouldn't you love to be able to pay back your credit card companies with home-baked goods? or whatever service you happen to be good at?

Sure you would. Because you hate money, too. C'mon, you can admit it. Don't worry - I won't tell the Secret club. I won't even tell the Universe. Go ahead, say it loud - say it proud! "I hate money!" No more shall the Money-Hating Elephant invisibly crowd your family room! Never again shall it take up two barstools or sit between you and your banker! Stick your head out the window and yell "I hate money and I won't take it anymore!" (hmm, wait, that sounds vaguely familiar. *grin* If you're a movie buff, you'll know what I mean.) Okay, let's make this simple. We'll take a poll. Who should be King? Cash, Credit, or Barter?

Healthy Is as the Media Does

2009-05-05T04:06:00.000-07:00

Ever see "Jesus Christ: Superstar"? One of the songs asks Jesus why he decided to appear in a time that had no mass communication, suggesting his life would have been spared and more powerful if he had appeared today instead.

Hmm. That makes me picture Jesus as the media mogul that Jonathan Pryce played in the Bond flick, "Tomorrow Never Dies." A rather corrupting role for Jesus. Word of mouth was definitely better.

Mass communication can be just as dangerous as it can be enlightening. Take the Swine Flu, for instance. The media took Mexico's fear about how fast it spread and projected it into countries worldwide - even succeeding in causing behavior change in the U.S. and other "first world" nations.

It's just flu, people. Hand-washing, diet, exercise, vitamins, rest - these are all things that both prevent and help people recover from flu. The young and elderly are more vulnerable, as we know, so they need greater preventive care.

No need to slaughter thousands of pigs. No need to stop buying pork (if that's something you typically buy). No need to stop flying airplanes or close schools or panic in any way. It's just flu.

The media has taken our fear of bioterrorism and pandemics and capitalized on it to sell print, so they can sell more advertising and make money. And they did it successfully. Behavior changed all over the world. People began wearing face masks in public places. Even our Vice President, Joe Biden, said he'd not let his family travel. (I'll bet Obama had some choice words for him after that snafu!)

Overall, we're a pretty healthy country (aside from obesity and a tendancy to murder each other) and we have access to clean water, clean food, clean facilities, and good medical care. We prevent well and we heal well from flu. A pandemic in and of itself could never cripple this country.

But fear can. If the media tells us to be sick and afraid, we will. The Swine flu Elephant-in-a-Room is simply this: we're only as healthy as the media says we are.

Silence, Murder, and Responsibility

2009-04-05T06:36:00.000-07:00

This morning's paper reported a father shot his five children and then himself. The mother was not home at the time, and is now quite traumatized.

Yesterday's paper - 13 killed in an immigration center, the gunman shooting himself in the end. This was just three hours away from my home.

In the last 30 days, today's news marks the fifth case of multiple murders in the U.S. The headline in yesterday's paper was "When Will This Stop?"

I think the recession has hit everyone hard, and people are reacting with more hopelessness than necessary. If there was ever a time that we need to reach out and be kind to strangers, now is that time. A kind word of hope, encouragement, friendship - in these tumultuous times - could save a life.

I understand the urge to murder. Even premeditated. I have imagined committing murder and I have survived attempted murder. My first husband lost it one night, and I ended up in the hospital and him in jail. I was 24 years old. I'm lucky to be here today.

When I was 15, I wanted to commit murder. I imagined every detail of it - getting a big knife from the kitchen in the middle of the night, creeping into my mother's room, and plunging it right into her heart. Not out of anger, or out of fear for myself, but out of duty. I was the oldest of four girls, and she was traumatizing us all - especially my younger two sisters. At that moment, at 15, laying in my bed in the dark and listening to my little sister screaming, I was too frozen and frightened to move, to rescue her. So I imagined murder as my way to rescue her and my other sisters. My sister'sscreams turned to sobs, and my mother's angry tread and bedroom door slam indicated the worst was over. I didn't dare go to my sister yet - I knew what would happen if I did. We were not allowed to comfort each other. I fell asleep, comforted by the thought of matricide. I woke up the next morning and knew I could never do it. And I felt ashamed for not having the courage to murder my own mother.

Telling someone else? like the police, or even a school counselor? Out of the question. At that time, my sisters and I were very clear that we could never beseparated, and reporting our mother meant separate foster homes. Never would we report her. And that bond we forged has existed to this day - you will never find a closer group of sisters - even though we live many miles away from each other. We know now, as adults, that of course we should have reported her. She could have got treatment if we had, and we would have eventually found each other again, or not have beenseparated at all. As an adult, I know there are many options other than murder, and it wasn't lack of courage that made me stop, it was my own humanity.

But I have children of my own, now. And if I should walk in and find someone hurting one of my daughters, I'd probably not think to call the police - the human animal inside me would roar forth and my teeth and nails would be ripping that person apart.

It is likely my childhood has made me more likely to commit a crime of passion than the average person, not that I would, but statistically speaking it's more likely. Perhaps my natural sense of humanity - even in that situation - would step in again and I'd hang onto rational behavior. Hitting the perp over the head and knocking him cold would be more rational than tearing out his ears with my teeth and thrusting my thumbs in his eyes and tearing the flesh from his bones - but not near assatisfying.

See? I understand murder from the perspective of a mountain lion protecting her cubs. Whether my sisters or my own children, I do understand that I have that capacity, and I understand that it is a capacity in all of us. Pain, fear, protection, survival - these can all be the source of passionate or premeditated murder. Yes, yes - we can work on ourselves through faith and counseling and meditation and rebuilding and a host of other healing options, but we don't live in a world that can work if we think to heal only ourselves. We can start there, but we can't stop there.

Our culture in America has become so closed and private. We don't communicate with our neighbors beyond a friendly hello. We feel shame when we fall down, and don't ask for help from even our own family unless we truly have no other choice. Americans honor the self so much that we have lost connection to other humans, to nature, to our spirits. It's one thing to be of a bootstrap mentality - it is honorable to be self-reliant and break your own path. But it's another thing to take that to its extreme and cut ourselves off so much that we don't see what's happening right under our noses, or we wait to ask for help when it is too late.

What happened to me and my sisters is nothing compared to what happened to my mother. I know, now, where her behavior came from. And it just proves my point:

It is not the aggressor that is hurting our country. It is the silence of good people who could have done something about it before it escalated.

Our country was founded on the principle that those who have the ability to take action, have the responsibility to take action. Not vigilante-ism, no Big Brother, no overly-quick accusations, no tattling. That's not what that principle means. Ultimately, it simply means, Love Thy Neighbor.

With murder, there are always as many clues beforehand as afterward. We need to stop ignoring those clues, stop saying "it's not my place to interfere." There is a balance between having some sense ofresponsibility for the people in your community and being a watchdog/tattle-tale. We need to find that balance, be respectful of our neighbors who wish privacy, yet open enough so they know they can always change their mind. Do that - be IN the world as much as OF the world, and our culture will open doors that are alternatives to murder for people who are so lost and in such pain that they can't imagine anything else. And not just for murder. For justice. For the environment. For education. For positive social change.

It is the silence of good people that hurts our country the most.

Compassionate Conservatism for W

2008-10-23T04:38:00.000-07:00

Here's an elephant in the room: what is going to happen to George Walker Bush in January? Will he go quietly into the night? Will he tour the country making stump speeches for Republican candidates in the years to come? Get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for speaking engagements?

Not likely. George W. Bush stood by and helplessly watched his presidency walk out onto a gang plank. The biggest shock to this country as a result may very well happen after he is out of office.

Here's a man who has led a very difficult silver spoon life. Alcoholism is no joke. On top of that, his presidency has been dogged with one misstep after another, and now, in the waning days of his presidency, he is hated by many and dismissed by the rest. Some say he'll face war crimes. Some say he should have been impeached. Some claim he knew that the twin towers were going to be hit (and worse). Some say he just didn't have enough critical thinking skills to handle the job, and he let arrogant others run the Oval Office into the ground, standing by helplessly.

He has looked like a deer in headlights in front of the press during this economic crisis. Dick Cheney has all but disappeared from view. Oliver Stone has splashed all the painful reminders of W.'s personal life on the big screen for the world to see. The mood of the country is one of palpable relief that a new president - any new president - will take the reins from his helpless fingers.

George W. Bush is constantly being watched right now, by his staff, his wife, the Secret Service. They all know that it is very hard for any human to take the severe public criticism W. is under. It is especially hard for a former alcoholic. He likely feels worthless, numb, angry in lucid moments, frightened, and wishing it all were over.

In the days following the passing of the baton in January, it won't all be over. The criticism will be louder. The new administration will release documents formerly suppressed. Only George W. Bush knows the magnitude of inappropriate presidential actions that will be uncovered from his tenure. The fear, the worthlessness, the wishing for numbness will increase. He may sit at the edge of his bed, unable to get up and get dressed, unable to lay back down, frozen, with a drink back in his shaking hands, wishing it all would just go away.

When the spotlight is gone, when a new president is in place, when his cronies have all departed in their separate directions, the vigilance on George will need to increase, or we could very well see the first suicide of an American president.

We must remember that, for all his failings and however much he deserves his critics, George W. Bush also deserves compassion, however conservative we feel about giving it. His suicide would be a shock this country would not be able to take. The failed presidency is the fault of George W. Bush. His suicide would be the fault of an American public that elected him in the first place, gave this weak man a rope, and dared him to do it.

Glenn Beck, Bootstrapping, and Smaller Government

2008-10-09T09:26:00.000-07:00

As a future President of the United States, I think it is important to listen to the pop culture of the day, so I can stay in tune with the public.

One of the icons, naturally, is Glenn Beck. Surprised? Well, in spite of my liberal leanings, I do have some conservative values. Glenn Beck speaks to those values. I do get offended, frequently, at some of his positions - (more oil drilling? are you kidding? do you really want to defer our energy problems and global warming to your kids to solve?) - but for all his wrong-headedness, there are times when he makes really valid points.

And, he is real. He was talking today about some of the truly tough spots he has been in - alcoholism, foreclosure, losing everything but his name, and even that he felt he had sold at one time.

You have to admire a man who can fall down and pick himself back up again, and be willing to speak about it. He is honest and forthcoming. Wrong on some of his positions, but if he should ever come to me, as President, requesting I seriously consider a policy change, I will certainly give him my full attention. It is not easy to listen to someone with whom you frequently disagree, but when that someone has the courage to make a mistake, admit it, and correct it, then he deserves respect and a fair opportunity to state his case.

Glenn Beck promotes a smaller government. On this, we agree. Our federal government was never intended to be this large. FDR expanded it greatly, creating jobs in a time when our country desperately needed them, but the result has been a dependence on government not just for jobs, but for everything.

America's principles originally were based on a bootstrap mentality. Every person who could work, did work, and raised families and built industry with their own two hands - not depending on government to shoulder their burdens. There was pride in that. Where did that go?

Well, it began with FDR. Not intentionally - he was a bootstrapper himself in many ways. I don't think he realized the long-term consequences of creating bigger government. And every presidency has added to the growing pile of agencies in some way, until now it is so bloated and inefficient that its debt has exceeded its ability to pay it down.

Under an Ameriga Columbus administration, government WILL become smaller. More power will go to the states, and along with it, more tax revenues. Tax revenues should not be taken and spent at the federal level - they should be passed through to the states and localities. Bootstrapping begins at home. For emergencies, we should all pitch in. Yup, for natural disasters, each state should put something in to help the one that's been hit, rather than depending on the feds to rush in to the rescue.

Interstate commerce, treasury, foreign policy, national security, postal services - these are federal. I'll take a close look at every other agency and see how much can be closed down and shifted to state responsibility. Most states have their own departments of health and energy and education, etc. It is duplicative to have them at the national level as well. If anything, the national level of those agencies should be focused on research: how does our education compare to other nations? how can we best support health research? what are our national and global energy projections? That kind of research can support the states to make good decisions on education and health, etc. Federal level agencies are best as clearinghouses of information, not as regulators and mandate enforcers.

I think Glenn Beck would applaud the reorganization and shrinking of federal government, and the corresponding reduction in taxes to everyone as a result. Not that I'm seeking his approval - he is completely wrong on energy policy - but he has made valid points about the way the feds spend taxpayer dollars and the bloated, inefficient nature of our federal government.

I will change all that. Not yet - it's going to be Barack Obama's turn beginning January 2009 - but he can't be President for more than two terms. I'll be here, celebrating and challenging him as the case may be.

Onward and upward,
Ameriga

America Wins in Iowa!

2008-01-04T06:32:00.000-08:00

I am happy to concede Iowa to the two candidates who resoundingly proved yesterday that Americans are awake, empowered, and flat aren't going to take it any longer!

Mike Huckabee and Barack Obama swept aside Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton in spite of money, race, and experience.

What does this mean for Americans? It means that our unfair, unprincipled, failed campaign contribution system cannot impede the power of voters to choose who they believe is the best candidate. Mitt Romney spent and spent and spent in Iowa, but the Evangelicals came out in droves to say God is more important than money.

If they can do it, so can you. So can every voting American. YES, you do have power. YES, your one vote is meaningful and makes a difference.

Campaign finance is not as invisible an elephant in the room as it used to be, so let's take out the other elephant in Iowa - race.

Iowa is over 90% white and the black candidate won the majority of their votes in the Democratic Caucuses, hands down. This is a huge victory for America. It proves that the color of skin is less important than skill, intelligence, passion, experience, ideas, and character. It proves that this black man has what it takes to win in primarily white (although that is quickly changing) America. It proves that Americans have the capacity to accept people for who they are on the inside. I am so relieved to have lost my own candidacy to this important message that I have to pause for a moment and breathe into a paper bag...

Whew! I'm back and breathing again. To lose for lack of money would be frustrating. To lose for the opportunity of a better future for race relations - I am delighted to bow out gracefully for that significant hope.

So, who specifically voted for Obama? He won women and he won voters between 18 and 45 years of age. He didn't take the seniors and won only a handful of babyboomers. It was the youth and sandwich generation (caring for both children and parents), especially those who were too young to fall under the spell of the Clinton era, who carried the day. It was the women who want change, who feel Hillary will be too divisive on Capitol Hill, who carried the day.

And guess what? Both of those demographics exist in large numbers in just about every state in the union. Huckabee's supporters are Evangelicals who believe that religion is the most important issue in the country, and unfortunately for Huckabee, their numbers are small nationwide compared to those who will turn out to vote for jobs, healthcare, Iraq, etc. before religion.

Yesterday set the stage for the very real possibility that Americans will have their first black President ever in 2009.

(quick pause while I dance on the tabletops here at Panera's)

Whew - that felt good. We all should be dancing on tabletops - this is joyous news!

Why is it so important we have a black President? Didn't I just say that the issues are more important than skin color?

Yes, I did. But I ain't stupid enough to ignore the impact of color. Nope - this is huge! Consider this:

Foreign Policy: White Presidents have stepped into nations of color to emphasize freedom - Iraq, Pakistan, Korea, etc. - yet haven't fixed the problems of restricted freedoms for our own people of color! The hypocrisy has hurt us badly in the Middle East, no question. A black President will open doors with much more success than Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, or even Colin Powell and Condeleeza Rice in their Secretary of State roles - especially if Obama wins by a landslide, securing the people's mandate. Remember, his parents are from Kenya and Kansas. He bridges better than any other candidate the connection between the U.S. and the world. The impact of an Obama presidency on foreign policy will shake the world with hope and energy.
Internal National Security: Racism is alive and well in the U.S. No question. Should Obama win the day, I have no doubt security will need to be doubled for him. There are Americans waking up to the news this morning, polishing their shotguns and muttering that only over their dead bodies will a black man lead this country. And if they can't reach Obama, they might turn to their neighbors to vent their spleen. Do you doubt it? Look at our national response to New Orleans compared to California's wildfires. It's shameful. And it's real. Does this mean all people of color should dive for bomb shelters or get gun permits if Obama is elected? No, of course not. I'm not advocating paranoia here. I'm simply exposing the elephant that MUST be discussed openly, without fear, and in a solutions-oriented fashion. Remember, the suitcase bomber can only win in a nation of ostriches.
Domestic Race Relations: There will be an impact on race relations in this country if Obama is chosen as the Democratic candidate - whether he ultimately wins or loses, there will be a lasting impact. He is a very different candidate than Jesse Jackson. He is not playing the race card. He is not playing the religion or moral/value mandate cards. He is simply a man who truly believes everything he speaks - he feels the needs of this nation to his very bones. He has taken the time to educate himself on the issues, to volunteer, to run for office and serve his country. He's not asking for the "black vote." He's asking for the American vote. He's asking Americans to vote for change, for hope, for faith that they are more than peons in a system - empowering them to take back this country and put it in the hands who can build it best - ourselves. He is calling for personal responsibility without preaching. And personal responsiblity is the key to solving the racial crisis that exists in this country. Indeed, it is the only hope for healing.

I realize Obama's platform is bigger than this, but I'm not here to convince you to vote for him. It is up to you to decide which Candidate will best address your biggest concerns for this country. However, while you are making that decision, don't forget to peer in the corners of every room for elephants. You'll feel better about your vote if you take elephants into account.

Ultimately, America won yesterday. Money lost. Racism lost. The power of the individual voter is real. Your power is real. Congratulations, America! What a way to kick off the New Year!

The Assassination of Hope

2007-12-29T04:40:00.000-08:00

I was just crossing into Massachusetts from New York on I-90 to visit my sister and her family when NPR reported the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on Thursday.

The snow had given way to rain. Steam rose from the pavement and clung to empty branches and sleeping hills. My 9-year-old daughter was singing a song she and her friends had made up about Christmas that lightly teased their beloved school principal. I must have gasped because she suddenly asked, "Mommy? Are you all right?"

I barely registered her voice. What? What? whispered my mind. Simultaneously, I was sure I hadn't heard the news correctly and I knew with disabling certainty that Bhutto was dead. The windshield wipers beat on, as if all hope hadn't just died.

When the feeling returned to my fingers, I began punching the seek button, because now NPR was reporting that an escaped tiger had climbed up the leg of a 17-year-old who'd been teasing it with his foot. My compassion for that horribly paid price for a lack of common sense paled in comparison to my fervent wish that I was home in front of CNN. What now? What in heaven's name now?

The implications of this courageous woman's death will not be realized for days, perhaps months, but there is no question that her murder is not only a serious blow to democracy in Pakistan and to women's rights in Muslim countries, but to the broader hope of defeating terrorism worldwide. World leaders and candidates for world leadership positions are all quietly reeling from Bhutto's murder.

We know what this means. What's worse, we know we may be forced to helplessly watch the fallout in the coming weeks - fallout that the best guesses of our political advisers cannot even begin to predict. Terrorism won. In the moment life left Benazir Bhutto's body, terrorism won. Again.

Today, we still do no know who is responsible - not that we would this early in the investigation. Musharraf's people announced Bhutto was not killed by bullets or shrapnel, but by accident as her head hit a lever in her vehicle's sunroof - as if this technical detail - even if true - could calm the ensuing riots and deflect the blame being cast at the Pakistani President's head.

The truth is, it doesn't matter who is responsible right now. What matters is the perception of who is responsible. What matters is the way the assassination was carried out.

Yes, a suicide bomber can kill a national political icon. Yes, a suicide bomber can trigger days - perhaps weeks or months - of riots and violence. Yes, a suicide bomber can disrupt free elections. Yes, a suicide bomber can freeze the world and inflict hopelessness.

Was Al Qaeda responsible? Was it Musharraf? Was it a man operating alone on some internal belief - voices in his head, perhaps? Whatever the case, the suicide bomber tactic has repeatedly proven around the world that it cannot lose. And world leaders - for all their sincerest efforts - cannot do a thing about it.

As a presidential candidate, I am acutely aware of the sword's edge President Bush must dance right now. On the one hand, Pakistan - meaning Musharraf - is a key ally in the war on terror. On the other, supporting the democratic process of free elections is a U.S. moral imperative. The U.S. may have to choose between national safety and freedom's ring - the very concern brought up in the CNN Democrat Debate weeks ago - in its next action.

President Bush has spoken with Musharraf and is pushing for Pakistan's January 8 elections to move forward. Hillary Clinton is calling for an independent investigation, stating Musharraf's government has lost all credibility. John Edwards is also calling for an international investigation. Barack Obama is highlighting the connection between Bhutto's murder and the U.S.'s dropping of the ball by shifting focus from the Taliban to Iraq. The lack of a swift, terrible response to the World Trade Center collapse has contributed to the spread of terrorism. Mike Huckabee lost no time in connecting Bhutto's death to illegal immigration. Mitt Romney called for greater support of moderate Islamic leaders as a means to world security. Rudy Giuliani emphasized the need for increased military funding for Iraq and the war on terror. Fred Thompson spoke of a "perfect storm" between democracy and stability, especially given Pakistan's nuclear weapon capacity.

Yes, I know. I'm missing Ron Paul, Bill Richardson, and more - I'll try to get back to the computer later and add the rest of the candidates because I think it is important for voters to know where all the candidates stand on issues of such great import - but for now let's take the elephant out of the room.

No one is safe. Terrorism can strike anyone, anywhere, anytime. This is even more true today than it was September 11, 2001.

Bhutto was often heard to say that democratization in Pakistan is "baptized in blood." There was a time when Americans understood that viscerally. Over 200 years ago, our own country was in the midst of a bloody fight for freedom. Today, we keep shopping as if our way of life is not in danger. We find ways to justify Bush's leadership - or lack thereof - in punishing the perpetrators of 9/11. We bury our heads in daily living, hoping our government will keep violence oversees where we can safely watch it on the news.

Imagine being at a picnic in a beautiful grassy meadow - chirping birds, colorful butterflies among wildflowers, the sleepy satisfaction from a simple meal in fresh air - and the shadow of a dark cloud begins to roll out across the grassy expanse. Your red-checked blanket is in bright sunshine, and the gray shadow is spreading all around it. The birds fall silent. The color has disappeared. The shadow is near the blanket, so you pull it in closer, shrinking your space. The air is stifling, your breathing more labored, but you focus on the remaining sunshine, the remnants of your rich repast, the security of your shrinking blanket.

The suicide bomber is here to stay. No fence can keep him out. No policy can prevent the workings of his mind. The ostrich response of the everyday American is giving the suicide bomber greater power.

Bhutto knew she was taking her life in her hands when she returned to Pakistan to fight the good fight. She grew up in a family that knew blood was the price of Democracy - had experienced it first hand. Was Bhutto a saint? No. Maybe. We don't know. As prime minister, her leadership fell under corruption's shadow. We may never know the truth of the mixed insinuations and remarkable heroism of this woman. What we do know, however, is that she was fearless in her pursuit of democracy for her country. Fierce in her defense of her people's right to freedom.

And she paid for it with her life. And Western world leaders - none of whom can begin to comprehend what she and her family lived every single day - unconsciously contributed to her death in their combined failed Middle East policies.

Americans will vote for a new president this year. There is no question that Americans MUST vote for someone who will be able to yield the best of judgment and respect in the world.

We need a person of color as president. We need to erase the face of white greed from the misperceptions of extremists in the world. We need someone to represent the plurality of our nation - the fact that we have a thriving Muslim presence as well as many cultures and ethnicities in our country.

We need to focus beyond foreign policy experience in our choice for president. The next president must have a broad academic understanding of world history, of world religions, of economy, global ecology, of the connections between individuals locally and globally. The next president must be someone who can connect the dots and think outside the foreign policy box when making foreign policy decisions.

We need someone who has first hand experience in living in danger. We need someone who knows, without shadow of doubt, that dying for freedom is no longer the job of a far-away soldier. Our next president - even with a hundred times over more security than Bhutto - will be a target for suicide bombers, one of whom could very well succeed.

I am that candidate.

I am a Latina. I know that we cannot justifiably fight for freedom in foreign countries when we have not yet succeeded in ensuring freedom for our own people - racism in America has serious foreign policy implications. I have survived twenty years of unpredictable violence in my daily life between three and twenty-three years old.

My education is not only in public policy, but in psychology and world religions. Islam is one of many beautiful and richly spiritual religions in the world. As President, I would address the people of the world with a deep understanding of their pluralistic points of view, academically and experientially prepared to bridge differences.

And I am uniquely prepared to die for my country, for the protection of freedom. Between the ages of three and twenty-four years old, I lived a daily life of unpredictable violence in the suburbs of America. Broken bones, fear, intimidation, hunger, attempted strangulation - it is a life unfortunately known by many Americans, but not by recent American leaders. That life is no stranger to me, and I can represent that population of America and the world not as a victim or survivor, but as a brave, intelligent, solutions-oriented leader who holds wisdom like no other.

Having looked death in the eye has shaped me to be the leader that can step fearlessly where angels fear to tread, respecting life when making decisions about war, leading by example, rejuvenating the everyday person to find her own courage - to reach out to neighbors and build a coast-to-coast national community that calls out proudly, intrepidly, unanimously "Responsibility begins with me!"

Terrorists want to assassinate hope. Americans need a leader who will empower them to understand the impact of the world on everyday lives. Hope cannot be assassinated where there are no ostriches.

Vote for Ameriga Columbus as a write-in candidate on your ballot in November.

Flu, Plague, and Abortion

2007-12-16T11:44:00.000-08:00

Or, Overthrowing New Jersey’s Government

"If people let the government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as the souls who live under tyranny."

- Thomas Jefferson

Can you imagine living in a country where the government forces parents to give questionable medical services to their children? Where parents are no longer allowed parental authority and decision-making on their children’s care?

Well, you don’t have to imagine it. If you are in New Jersey, you are living in it.

The New Jersey Legislature and Governor have just made a very serious mistake that will impact the health and future of thousands of children. New Jersey has become the first state in the nation to require flu vaccines for preschoolers or older students. You can read the story here.

How NJ could do this on the heels of Merck's Hib vaccine recall is beyond me. Vaccines are not necessarily safe enough to mandate everyone to take them.

And, the effectiveness of vaccines can backfire over time. You know how pediatricians are suddenly refusing to provide antibiotics as much as they used to? Well, medical science now shows that the treatment of antibiotics in children has been so overdone that some children are now vulnerable to the very bacteria that the antibiotics were supposed to treat.

This is a result of the “just in case” factor. We’ve learned that using antibiotics as a preventive – just in case the child has strept or could catch strept (or bronchitis or whatever) – means that later in childhood the antibiotic will no longer help them overcome bacteria. Any bacteria.

The same is true for the flu vaccine. Flu strains mutate and just because you get a vaccine for one strain doesn't mean you'll be resistant to another, tougher one later.

Exposure to bacteria and viruses can actually be good for you. Your immune system quickly learns how to fight and how to adapt. Picture you immune system like Mohammad Ali - light on its feet, in a constant vigilant dance, light as a butterfly and tough as a - well, as tough as that world-famous boxer.

Overkill on anti-bacterial handsoaps, flu vaccines, antibiotics, etc. can actually weaken your immune system, like a boxer resting on his laurels and becoming undisciplined in his training.

All a mandatory vaccination for flu will accomplish is making children less able to fight off flu later - for the rest of their lives. Just like the over-dependence on antibiotics has done. Gee, thanks New Jersey. Better beef up your state healthcare budget. You'll be paying for this big time in the out years.

Flu is not the public health problem of, say, polio or plague. The worst cases are the youngest and the oldest people. And of those two populations, the percent of deaths is very small. Not that any death is acceptable, but when government weighs the efficacy and impact of public health policy, it is supposed to consider how likely a disease will be widespread across populations and how dangerous it really can be. Plague, well, that's pretty darn dangerous and can easily be widespread (historically). Polio, well, that's pretty darn devastating and could also be widespread (historically).

Flu? Not so much. The vast majority of the population can easily overcome it without a vaccine. Those who are at the most risk can decide for themselves whether or not to take it. But to risk giving it to everyone that the government defines as at-risk is the height of hubris. This is an issue that should be between parents and pediatricians, without government interference as if it were some huge public safety scare.

Constitutionally, the Supreme Court has already put a high priority on privacy and choice between patients and doctors. That's what abortion is all about - keeping government out of very personal and sometimes devastating decisions between patients and doctors.

Of course, abortion is not contagious like flu, but it is no less serious. If our country has already set a national precedent for valuing doctor-patient privacy and decision-making, why is New Jersey suddenly throwing that out the window in favor of dictatorship? Is New Jersey purposely trying to create an overdependent population of people who cannot think for themselves and must lean on government for everything? Are parent rights so meaningless in that state?

As for you, parents, are you really going to stand there and watch some stranger who can never know your child as well as you do place a needle in your child’s arm or a spray in your child’s nose a flu vaccine that has questionable affect and unknown long-term consequences?

In New Jersey you will. In a Maryland school district you will. Or face fines, jail, quarantine – for no other reason than an urge to protect your child at all costs. (Parents, click here for pertinent information regarding vaccines and children.)

Speaking of costs, New Jersey says it'll offer discounts or free vaccines for the very poor, and that insurers will foot the bill for all these vaccinations.

How naïve can a government be? Insurance companies are for-profit institutions - they aren't going to hurt their shareholders or company profits. You pay the cost, through higher insurance premiums. It seems the NJ Legislature has forgotten we live in a free-market system.

As President, I would respect the doctor-patient relationship. I would do my best to keep government from interfering with the rights of parents as long as I can simultaneously protect the rights of children. I would ensure the availability of natural and alternative methods of prevention of disease, so as to minimize the need for widespread overkill of vaccinations and other side-effect-ridden treatments, while empowering the people to make their own decisions about health care prevention and maintenance.

Please vote for Ameriga Columbus as a write-in on your November ballot. Empowering you, rather than government.

Meanwhile, please join me in working with the American Association of Health Freedom against these disaster-in-the-making public policies in NJ and MD. Click here to see what you can do.

Elephant Rant Candidate: Teabag voting and the Waking Phoenix.

2007-12-14T10:48:00.000-08:00

Elephant Rant Candidate: Teabag voting and the Waking Phoenix.

Teabag voting and the Waking Phoenix.

2007-12-14T10:21:00.000-08:00

The following is an excerpt from my campaign trail in Iowa. Please pass it on by asking everyone you know to go to www.elephantrant.com.

Eleanor Roosevelt, who would have made a fabulous President by the way, once said a woman is like a teabag, you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water.

A vote for me is a vote for teabags everywhere. I don't think a single 2008 candidate can hold a candle to my real life, messy, everywoman strength. No candidate is as in touch with the Everyperson reality as well as I.

I am very young, and very old. I thrill in the human condition. Hope. Redemption. Many, many mistakes. Bright joys. Brief passions. And the kind of personal discovery that grabs you and shakes you until your teeth rattle with Truth and your eyes pour relief, and your knees buckle willingly to the floor, completely ready to let go.

Like the Phoenix, I have repeated Burning Days, and repeated new birth from ashes, and I love it all. I think the best lesson I have learned is that life is messy, exhilarating, painful, sweet, frustrating, amazing - and it is all just as it should be. For too long I tried to avoid the Burning Days that come with being human, and the more I avoided, the slower and more tortuous the burn when it finally came.

That is the burden of the Sleeping Phoenix - denying its nature, afraid of the burn, unable to comprehend the joy of the new life on the other side. A true Phoenix chooses the burn, walks into the fire with her head held high, ready to be cleansed of mistakes and impurities, and walks out a new woman, forged with balance and strength and wisdom, ready to begin her next cycle with a firm step and a bright sparkle in her eyes.

A teabag, a phoenix - these are the character qualities that are vital in running a country. The toughest job in the world doesn't require the toughest people. It requires the wisest tough people.

Vote for Ameriga Columbus as a write in on your November ballot.

Gardisil, Welch's, and Mis-Incentives

2007-12-12T13:58:00.000-08:00

I've done a pretty good job so far of keeping my rants at an even keel, but today I'm going to let loose.

As President, I would ban Gardisil from every corner of the United States and its Territories. Here we have a company shamelessly capitalizing on public fears of cervical cancer on television ads targeted to young women and their moms for the sake of profit. No, they aren't the first company to do so, and likely not the worst, but they are the ones in my face on television attached to women's programming everyday.

Gardisil is an "unproven" vaccine for HPV, a virus that has been around forever but for some reason, (well, we know the reason, it's because Gardisil was invented) we suddenly all have to take this vaccine against this virus. The virus has been known, upon rare occassion, to be linked to cervical cancer. Whether or not it is a causal link is yet to be determined, but hey, facts are not important here - it's better to make everyone take a vaccine "just in case" because it'll make women "feel better" about their cancer risks.

Hogwash. That's like saying that antioxidants in Welch's grape juice will protect you. (Oh, wait - that IS what Welch's commercials are saying! As if antioxidants didn't exist in grape juice before we "discovered" them.) Gotta love those warm, fuzzy commercials that pat you on the head and say "buy this, now there's a good girl."

Vaccines for HPV are relatively new, considering the typical clinical trials most drugs are put through. Remember Vioxx? Are you SURE you want your college age daughter to be among the first to take this vaccine that's only been tested a couple of years rather than ten? Any drug or vaccine that's been tested for less than five years should be viewed with suspicion. Long term affects can take ten or more to show up.

I have two daughters, one 23 and one 9. My 23 year old and I had a long conversation about this, because her GYN recommended she take the vaccine as a precaution.

A precaution for what? To make sure she is exposed to sufficient potential for side effects? No one has ever died from HPV, in fact, many don't even know they have it.

Yes, people die from cervical cancer, but to tell every woman in multiple TV commercials until it seems like fact that Gardisil is your best protection against cervical cancer is like telling everyone that grape juice is your best protection against old age.

Follow the money. When there are commercials out there that address important health issues, look at who's funding them. And please, please take them with a grain of salt.

Pharmaceutical commercials are banned in most countries, except the United States. For good reason. Keep a health skepticism, and don't give pharmaceutical companies incentives to put more of their hogwash... I mean - misleading advice - out there any more.

And vote for me, Ameriga Columbus, as a write-in on your November ballot. I know I can't really ban Gardisil, but I CAN work with Congress to get hogwash off your television.

Science Fiction Fans Make Better World Leaders

2007-12-09T12:22:00.001-08:00

Or, Emergency Preparedness Begins at Home.

I just finished reading the novel-length version of Nightfall by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg. I strongly recommend every presidential candidate read it. In our post-9/11 and Katrina America, we are more aware than ever before how lucky we have been to not live in war-torn neighborhoods as many of our world neighbors do.

Like Scarlett, too many of us murmur: "I'll think about that tomorrow" and move on with whatever is immediately before us for the day, leaving it up to the "powers that be" to deal with emergency response.

I think this is a mistake. As President, I would increase the size of the National Guard and give state governors the power to influence training and call directly on divisions within their boundaries. I would offer tax incentives to corporations who sponsor community emergency response preparation. I would loosen the federal-level ties on emergency planning and response resources, channeling funds directly to states in proportion to their populations to utilize as they see best for their localities.

Why? Emergencies have local impact and require swift and immediate local response. Katrina happened when our federal attention was elsewhere in the world, and New Orleans suffered from the delayed response. The recent California wildfires had better attention, but was that because of lessons learned in New Orleans or because of a not-so-subtle racism and class-ism in our country?

Whatever the case, there is no question that the rug can be pulled out from under us at any time, and it behooves us to be much better prepared than we are. Our national dependence on government to fix all our problems has weakened us as a people, depleted our pioneering and bootstrap spirits. Nightfall depicts an overnight slide into anarchy and feudalism due to a perceived threat from a worldwide event - everyday people reduced to mindless survival state with only a handful able to snap themselves out of it and remember rational thought.

Americans believe we are stronger than that. We would never succumb to irrationality in times of emergency. After all, we built this country from scratch, didn't we? Our forefathers with their brilliant combination of strategy and values; our fearless pioneers willing to endure any hardship to settle new lands; our neighborly spirit that allowed home-calling doctors and villages to raise each child - oh yes, we have achieved much and can accomplish anything.

Can't we? I'm not so sure. I read science fiction like Nightfall and War of the Worlds, and I truly wonder if Americans have grown too soft and self-absorbed to band together under desperate emergency conditions. The warnings in the Foundation Trilogy, 1984, Gattica, Minority Report, and Jennifer Government are beginning to seem like feasibility studies for the Machiavellian's who are paying attention to the inattention of our population.

My respected opponents in this important 2008 Presidential Race are certainly paying attention. Your job is to vote for the candidate that is not only least likely to promote and capitalize on your inattention, but one who will challenge and empower you to wake up and take part in this America our forefathers began. We are only a couple hundred years old - barely teenagers. Our work has barely begun. 9/11 and Katrina remind us that the break is over - it's time to get back to work - all of us.

If you want a strong nation that earns rather than commands respect, that is ready for any emergency, that leads through the empowerment of its local communities - vote for Ameriga Columbus as a write-in on your November ballot.

Wadda'up with Elephants?

2007-11-18T05:55:00.000-08:00

Pay attention! You think you are alone? Not a chance. Every room you walk in has at least one elephant. Studies show that for every person in a room as many as two elephants walk in. Think of that next time you go to a cocktail party. Wear wading boots. (Did you know there are more elephants at cocktail parties than football games? Seriously.)

My name is Ms. Ameriga Columbus, and I would like to be your next President. There are many reasons why I am the best person for the job, given the current selection of candidates. First, I am a woman of the people. I have been there, done that. Our last President was elected because he was a "regular guy" and someone the average Joe could envision hanging out with over a beer. I bring that ordinary connection a step further - I actually remember my education; am truly a uniter not a divider; I know how much a beer costs and the work that goes into making it appear on the bar; and have lived the kind of typical American life that could only make GW shudder in fear. I've lived fully and not easily, better representing a much wider population than GW or any candidate ever could.

Second, I am the only (unofficial) Candidate who has the courage to speak openly about any "elephant in the room." I went so far as to hire an Elephant Detective - Detective Dogwith A'Bonne - to keep me informed of elephants in every hidden nook and cranny of every room in the nation. (He might be peering into your room right now!)

And we're going to rant, rave, discuss, share, and even brainstorm about them. Every last one. Race, Religion, Politics, Sex, Money - even the not so obvious ones like Water Cooler Gossip, Media Moguls, Hellbender Rights, Going Mental and Loving It, and everything in between.

Know of an elephant you want uncovered? Let Detective Dogwith know at Elephant.Detective@gmail.com. He'll expose them, I'll voice them, and you will unabashedly comment frequently and with no holds barred!

Disclaimer: Not everything you read, hear, or see is true, including in this blog. I won't even tell you which is fact or fiction on this site - you have a brain and Internet access - check it out for yourself and feel free to challenge me at will. This magnificent nation was founded on healthy debate - so hit me with your best shot!