How Many Light Bulbs Does It Take To Change America?

Don Henley’s “The End of the Innocence” is playing as I write this because for the last few weeks (and more) that’s what’s happened for a lot us – those of us paying attention, those of us who don’t have the money or the heart to get lost in the Christmas hustle that feels so unimportant and unreal this year. We as a nation have been awash in waves of shame and pride: our own, each others, those of leaders and idols and ordinary people turned into symbols they never wanted to be.

Yesterday’s CIA “Torture Report” was so revolting it actually inspired bipartisan anger and shame in the Senate. We already knew “intensified interrogation techniques” (G-d save us from the danger of euphemisms) had been used after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the governmental zeal to preempt further assaults. But we didn’t how deeply, cruelly “intensified” they were, or for how long they went on, against so many people, and how ineptly and chaotically the process was handled. “This isn’t who we are,” said an aggrieved President Obama about the program approved by his predecessor. But it is. It’s a big part of who we are and have always been, in spirit, from the genocide of the Indians through Slavery, Jim Crow, Vietnam, and the deeply divided country we’ve become.

And from Ferguson to Staten Island to Cleveland (among others), the recent racial conflicts between police and young Black men (and a child) have made it plain that largely White law enforcement still doesn’t know how to cope with Black communities; that the Judicial System is equally broken and ignorant; and that Americans of all ages and colors are still capable of uniting in peaceful, nonviolent protest against the cancer of racism. Dirty waves of shame, cleansing waves of pride.

A lot of people – mostly White – thought the election of President Obama showed that racism was over in America, an idea that would be hilarious if it weren’t so treacherously untrue. I recall the young, rousing, Barack Obama speaking at the 2004 Democratic Convention saying there was no Black America or White America, just One America. I understood how much he wanted that to be so. I too am biracial and when I was still quite young, I believed it was my destiny, my responsibility, to be a communicator and a racial unifier, because I had a foot in both worlds. I never did figure out how to do that and, it turns out, neither has Barack Obama, even though he’s a whole lot smarter than I am and worked a million times harder.

The unfortunate, revealing, truth is Obama’s election fueled a resurgence of rampant, outspoken, unapologetic racism. I’m sure he expected some push-back, but I think even he was taken off-guard by how forceful it’s been. I don’t think he expected it would grind Congress to a halt, or lead a right-slanted Supreme Court to eviscerate the Voting Rights Act in the midst of a nationwide Voter Suppression Movement, or that he would be called an illegitimate president who is behaving like a king because he’s done the same kinds of things the White presidents did – mainly, behaving like The President.

As we enter a two-year campaign for the 2016 presidential election (please, shoot me now), the pundits are discussing the Obama Legacy, as if it can be assessed just like any other presidency. His legacy, for the record, is that he kept us out of another Great Depression, re-grew the economy quite impressively with no help from either house of Congress, achieved a first attempt at something resembling national health care insurance even though it’s woefully sloppy and over-detailed, accomplished a bushel of things few people either know about or remember (take a look at the White House website), appointed two progressive women to the Supreme Court, conducted himself with presidential dignity in the face of consistent disrespect, managed to get re-elected and be a two-term president, and to date has avoided assassination, even though, it would appear, the Secret Service doesn’t entirely have his back.

Now the media are asking what he’s going to do about racism in America – especially since he’s worked so hard to be The President, not The Black President, and hasn’t wanted to make White people feel…excluded? ignored? uncared for? The irony here (one of several) is that even though White people hold all the cards, a lot of them always feel short-changed because they think poor people and minorities get all the breaks and benefits. They really believe that! The same way rich people (who, except for a handful of entertainers and athletes, are pretty much exclusively White) think they’re taken advantage of because they’re rich. The mind reels.

I guess we’ll have to [hope and] wait for Hillary Clinton. Maybe she can do something about “race relations,” since paying any attention to women’s issues would clearly be favoritism. Shame and pride, pride and shame, and the increased loss of personal and national innocence as the eternal foibles of reality bubble up. And I don’t even have room left to talk about Bill Cosby.

Bad, Sad, Mad

I imagine President Obama isn’t feeling too well tonight.  Since I don’t think he’s delusional, he must know that the insane and protracted debacle that just accompanied the raising of the debt ceiling has ended with a really bad deal.  It pleases no one and may very well kick-start an economic decline that won’t stop until we hit bottom.  This man whom, I believe, genuinely wanted to help make America better – for everyone and everything – must know that he’s made a piss poor job of it, but I don’t think he fully understands how and why he and we got here.  But I’ve got the audacity to think I do understand, so here goes.

Things as they are now really started with the rise of Ronald Reagan and, simultaneously, the rise of Christian fundamentalism and the assassination of John Lennon, all of which occurred in 1980.  What was then called The Silent Majority was very displeased with the events of the 60s and 70s that ushered in a new era of social permissiveness.  They didn’t like what they saw as the success of the civil rights, women’s rights and gay rights movements.  They didn’t like uppity blacks and hippies and The Pill and the wholesale questioning of the existence of God.  They didn’t like the tough economic times of the 70s, or Jimmy Carter trying to rein them in, he with his sweater in a cold White House and the 55 mph speed limit and the energy crisis and his complete inability to get a whole bunch of American hostages out of Iran.

So, in the leadership of Ronald Reagan they saw a man who had seen the error of his own youthful Democrat, union-supporting, Hollywood-decadent ways and had been born again (as it were) in the sobering waters of Republican conservatism, traditional social and religious values, and unbridled free-market capitalism.  He made them feel comfortable and hopeful and much less afraid.

For their part, the Boomers – most in our 30s, a few in our 40s – were so demoralized by Lennon’s death and the end of his love-and-peace message that many of us allowed ourselves to be seduced by cocaine and unprecedented opportunities to make a lot of money, which seemed like a good idea, because it had turned out that love was not all we needed, and an ambitious younger generation (the Yuppies) were snapping at our heels like Pac Man.

Bill Clinton notwithstanding, things went on in this vein for a couple of decades, including an increasing lack of compassion for the poor, the under-employed, and the in any way vulnerable and needy on virtually everybody’s part.  The Silent Majority and Boomers may have been different in many ways, but they had come to share a love of money and success and feelings of safety.  They had kids and careers and comfort and they wanted to stay that way.  It was during these years that glamour was prized, and people shopped ‘til they dropped for things that were to die for.

Then 9/11 happened and America suddenly realized it was vulnerable in an unsafe world that was changing once again, filled with new kinds of revolutionaries, new kinds of heathens, more people who wanted a slice of the good times pie and we didn’t feel like sharing.  So we kept Bush-43 around for eight years, because he was butch and patriotic and God-fearing, and didn’t back away from a good fight or reckon with no new-fangled ideas.

Then along came Barack Hussein Obama, a clearly dangerous (liberal) black man (!) with a frightening foreign name who was young and handsome and talked real pretty about change and hope.  So the Reagan Democrats and Traditional Republicans and Super-Good Christians organically joined forces and morphed into a revitalized population of über-conservatives (soon to be known as the Tea Party) and radical Christians who eschewed science, common decency and common sense, along with the poetry and parables of the Bible, and chose instead to take everything literally, from the ancient Bible to the 200-year-old Constitution, to the obvious liberal dangers of the new millennium.  They did not see, and still do not see, any reason for rethinking or updating or changing anything, because if they concede to change, the terrible “other” wins.

And when Barack Obama won in 2008 – thanks largely to a whole new generation of uppity blacks and deviant young people – the now not-so-silent majority/minority made it their mission to bring him down even before he could get on his feet.

For his part, President Obama gravely underestimated the toxic level of racism that would be added to an already-vile witch’s brew of philosophical and political opposition.  His chief goal – the one upon which hope and change were firmly tethered – was to make everyone in the Washington power structure play nicely together, understand and respect each other’s differing views, and from the epiphany that would result from this new rapprochement, they would work together to change America for the better.

Maybe it would have worked if Bush-43 hadn’t ratcheted up the debt and deficit, decimated government regulation and oversight of nearly everything, and put two wars on America’s American Express card.  But he did.  And Barack Obama inherited an indescribable mess.  He kept the American (and world) economy from falling over the proverbial edge of the proverbial cliff, but he didn’t get a lot of credit for that, because to most people (like me), economics is math and math is something we don’t understand.

Then the President took the initiative in changing some things he could change on his own, but he hasn’t gotten a lot of credit for that, because modest but meaningful changes are small news and the media didn’t cover it.  Lastly, the President simply would not abandon his “let’s all get along” prime directive, nor did he play hardball with the disparate members of his own party.  It may also be that negotiation just isn’t his strong suit.  In any case, he ended up presenting the country with really crappy versions of change initiatives we wanted, like universal health care and strong financial reform and making the rich & corporations pay up and, now, even raising the debt ceiling came with poorly thought out, never discussed, and damaging laws and protocols that may very well push us over that cliff after all.

The President turns 50 this week and I imagine that even for a president, that’s a rough milestone to reach.  It was a bitch for me.  But it was also the point at which I decided to stop caring about what other people thought of me and just be and accept myself as I am – and let the chips fall where they may.  With any luck, Mr. Obama will have the same impulse and let us know that if we re-elect him in 2012, he’ll be the Obama we voted for last time, rather than the largely ineffectual compromiser he’s been during his first term.  He’s only got one term left and he’s got nothing to lose.  I hope he’ll see it that way – before the rest of us lose everything.

Decency, Honesty and Common Sense Have Left the Room

I’d like to mention a few things about the American past – which feels particularly important at a time when many Americans have no sense of history, even when it’s fairly recent.

After Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980 by the vast silent majority that thought Jimmy Carter was the root of all evil, he instituted a new era of “trickle down” economics, the theory that if rich folks at the top of the food chain (individuals and companies) do well, a good portion of their bounty will trickle down to the rest of us. It didn’t work, never happened. But through both Democratic and Republican administrations since Regan, “trickle down” has been the active policy.

In addition, it was Regan who began chipping away at core US revenues – taxes – and also did something that has important ramifications to this day: he included all those in military service among those who were employed in the country. This created a greatly lowered perception of how many Americans were unemployed. That policy has never changed, so when we’re told now that unemployment is below 10%, it doesn’t reflect the actual number of those unemployed. Additionally, unemployment statistics don’t count those who are unemployed but no longer receiving government Unemployment Benefits, or those who are underemployed: persons working for far less than they used to earn, whether through one fulltime job or several part-time jobs.

Lastly (for the purposes of this discussion), it was Reagan who initiated great changes in Welfare benefits, a policy maintained and furthered by Clinton and the Bush Dynasty. That’s because there are still millions of Americans who genuinely believe that Welfare is a gravy train that permits the “so-called poor” to buy Cadillacs and huge-screen TVs. Welfare benefits vary from state to state. New York has long been considered (and still is) among the most generous. Just as a reality check, I want to acknowledge here that I was on Welfare (for the first and only time in my life) for a few months in 2004 as I awaited permanent Social Security Disability benefits to come through. On Welfare, my rent was paid, I got $150 per month in Food Stamps, received $67 every two weeks for all other expenses, and Medicaid was my health insurance. Oh how the good times rolled!

And speaking of Bushes, it was #43 who turned the budget surplus he inherited from Clinton into the monumental deficit we have now. He did this by never including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in his budgets; he fought those wars off the books, thereby essentially bankrupting the nation. Simultaneously, he provided enormous tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and virtually stripped the financial industry of all pesky government regulations. Despite recent “reforms,” the tax cuts are still in place and banks & Wall Street are having a banner year. Also celebrating their good fortune are oil companies. Exxon/Mobile, for example, earned $19 billion in profits in 2010 and paid $0 (yes, zero) in Federal taxes. Apparently, this is acceptable.

Now, our assorted leaders are creating federal, state and local budgets. Since taxes has become a dirty word and tax increases are now deemed as heinous as child molestation, the Feds, the States and the Cities, all of whom are broke, are proposing budgets that totally eschew tax increases and call for service/benefit cuts in areas that make no sense in a country that prides itself on being the greatest in the world – deep cuts in benefits for indigent women and children, education, police and fire protection, infrastructure repair, all forms of R&D, the arts and public broadcasting, and on and on and on. At every governmental level, the message seems to be “let them eat cake,” except we’re not supposed to eat cake, because we’re in the midst of an obesity epidemic…but that’s okay, since nothing produces weight loss like starvation.

Ladies and gentlemen – whoever you are out there – we are living in an age of Unparalleled Stupidity, the imposition of Puritan values, and an undeclared but very real Class War. I’m speechless with incredulity and concern. So I ask you as I ask myself: Whataya gonna do about it? I don’t know. I just don’t know.

Health Care Reform: WTF?!

It’s beginning to look like not even a semblance of public health care will be part of the ultimate structure of health care reform. I expect self-serving obstructionism from the Republicans. But I feel betrayed by what I can only view as the cowardice of the Democrats, from the president on down.

Before President Dubya took us into the Iraq War for no legitimate or sensible reason, literally multi-millions of people protested in the US and around the world on the same day, but Bush didn’t flinch. He was abandoned by most of the world community and was only able to assemble an international military coalition of the D-List, but he went right ahead. And in the course of his two terms, he managed to set American democracy back by centuries, nearly nullified the Bill of Rights, sunk us into unprecedented debt, and laid the foundation for the global economic crisis by lessening regulations/ restrictions on everything but the American people. And he got away with it.

But now, the Democrats can’t manage to zip their pants up in unison, let alone forge ahead with radical, necessary, health care reform – and there are a dozen other equally-enormous issues they haven’t had a chance to run away from yet. They’ve allowed themselves to be defeated by a series of well orchestrated Town Hall protests, a well-funded media scare campaign, the inevitable objections and dirty tricks of Republican colleagues (including MySpace rants by the Wicked Witch of the North), and, I assume, their fear that they won’t be elected again if they dare to try to use the power they won.

It bears remembering that it was after the Clinton health care reform efforts failed that American medicine was turned into an HMO system designed by the insurance companies to protect themselves and cut their losses. What do we think they’ll do now that they’ve seen they’re still more powerful than the government and the will of the majority of the people? Why won't the Democrats unite, then stand their ground? Why have they allowed ignorance, lies, and relatively modest resistance to beat them even before they’ve really begun? Why hasn’t their media campaign been as large and hard-hitting as the opposition’s? Why did the president leave it to Congress to put together that huge, sloppy, unintelligible bill? And if we can’t get the change we were promised now, when will it ever be possible?

Barack Obama needs to have an epiphany, an essentially politically suicidal determination to do what has to be done. He should call yet another press conference and say this:

“We are the only country in the world where health care is a business instead of a service and I’m going to stop that, because that’s what I was sent here to do. You – politicians and the public alike – have been reciting a string of terms – socialized medicine, death panels, all kinds of crap – and you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. You are putting your trust in the insurance and pharmaceutical companies instead of your own government. You are confusing competition with democracy and putting the profit of the health care industrial complex ahead of your own best interest.

“So, it stops now. I’m putting forth a government-run, non-profit health care system that will serve everybody and cost far less than it does now – essentially Medicare for everyone, but an updated, improved Medicare. I’m going to put the insurance companies out of business. I’m going to make the drug companies toe the line, and if they don’t, I’ll put them out of business, too. And I will smash any Democrat who doesn’t back me up. Pretend I’m a white Republican and just get in line.

“America, if you don’t like what I’m doing, you can vote me out in 2012. But so long as I’m here, I’m going to do what I know is right – just like my predecessor, who believed he was a messenger from God. I’m going to drag this country into the 21st century before we fall so far down it’ll make the Fall of Rome look like a holiday sale at Wal-Mart.

“I won’t be stopped by your outdated Cold War mentality. You can call me a Socialist or Daffy Duck, I don’t give a damn. I was handed a platter of crap when I came into office and none of the “public servants” on either side of the aisle have done anything but get in my way. I’ve had it with all of you. A big change is coming and if you don’t like it, tough! I’m the president, we’re in trouble, and I don’t care what you think or what you say. Any questions?”

The Fragility of Hope

I’ve been very sad this weekend, because of a synchronistic series of events that clarified my growing sense of dismay about Barack Obama’s approach to some major issues, and the promise of a unique, new, young president that is beginning to feel broken.

Friday afternoon, I gave a little editorial counsel to a friend in p.r. who’s working with a conservationist client, which naturally brought the many environmental problems that besiege us to the forefront of my mind. Then Friday night, I watched Bill Moyers Journal on PBS. His guests included two “radical” environmen-talists: Mary Sweeters, organizing manager of the controversial Greenpeace USA and Erich Pica, director of domestic programs at Friends of the Earth, an influential organization with 77 chapters worldwide.

Greenpeace USA recently staged a dramatic act of civil disobedience by scaling Mt. Rushmore and unfurling a massive banner from its famous presidential heads that said "America honors leaders, not politicians. Stop global warming." When asked to explain their purpose for the demonstration, Sweeters said, “Here you have four great presidents who really stepped up when they were faced with some of the biggest challenges that our nation has seen. And we felt like we wanted to send President Obama the same message. That we want him to step up in a similar manner and really lead the country the way that it needs to be led.”

Erich Pica seconded the emotion by explaining that the Waxman-Markey Climate Bill, which recently squeaked through Congress and will soon be further eviscerated in the Senate, is toothless and totally devoid of American global leadership, because it sorely lags behind the rest of the industrial world. He said: “The bill doesn't reduce global warming emissions in the United States fast enough…[and] the emission reduction targets are just inadequate… It strips away the EPA's authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions…which is a key tool that environmentalists have been using to shut down coal plants. …It gives away a tremendous amount of money. Hundreds of billions of dollars to the polluting industries that have, essentially, caused the problem of global warming. The Duke Energies, Shells, Conocos of the world. Gives a lot of free giveaways in terms of permits…and…this is kind of overwhelming the entire system: it relies on Wall Street to help solve the problem of global warming…by allowing them to manage the trading system that's created underneath this bill.”

I’ve certainly known that there was grumbling in many quarters about the inadequacy of the bill, but I didn’t know any of the specifics until I saw this program, and I didn’t realize the extent to which the president has been actively advocating for [debilitating] compromise. Indeed, in his prelude to the interview, Moyers quoted a recent piece in The Economist that said of Obama, "Rather than shaping public opinion, he is running scared of it. And so, even more, is Congress."

On Saturday, I got a panicky e-mail from Planned Parenthood explaining that the Health Care Reform Bill currently being crafted in Congress is being lobbied against by literally dozens of anti-choice groups who want to see shocking restrictions on women’s health care (not just decreased access to abortion, but a lessening of basic, routine, women’s health care, including contraception) built into the program; in other words, giving more women even less than they’re getting now. I was naturally incensed. At Planned Parenthood's request, I sent letters to my congressman and senators. And I always use my legal Reverend title on such letters and petitions, to give the appearance that this is the sound of the status quo clapping...

Then Saturday night, I saw Anderson Cooper’s pretty-good CNN report on the president’s recent trip to Africa, during which he and his family visited Cape Ghost Castle in Ghana: a fortress, a port, an underground city of indescribable slave dungeons where, over several hundred years, literally millions of Africans were brought and gruesomely imprisoned and tortured before being stacked and stored like cargo on slave ships that took them to the Caribbean and The New World.

This is not part of the president’s personal history, but it is for the First Lady, a direct descendant of slaves and slave owners. The president spoke poignantly about the eerie horror that still lingers like a mist over the place, and what a powerful impact the visit had on him, his wife and their daughters – whom he told to try and imagine what it must have been like for the millions of free humans who were captured, torn away from everything they knew, were treated like beasts and transported like inanimate objects to a life of brutal slavery in a far away land. He also told them to imagine what it was like to be in the slave business or a slave owner, to have complete and ruthless power over the lives of others -- not to sympathize with them, but to better understand the human capacity for inhuman behavior.

Barack Obama is a man who understands pain and injustice and suffering and bondage. He’s a man with affection and respect for the earth. And, I still believe he’s a very smart politician who wants to be an effective and meaningful president, to do good, to do right. I believe he wants this just as much as he wants to make history with a magnificent legacy. You can’t be a shrinking violet and become president. You have to crave power and want to use it.

Which is why I, like a growing number of other Americans, am feeling disappointed, confused, even betrayed. In his effort to transform Washington into a place where law and policy are made in a spirit of unity and cooperation, with everyone having a place at the table where they can sit with dignity and feel they’re being heard, he’s losing sight of something important: he won! He has the power to make the kinds of changes he believes in and that he made us believe in.

But he may blow it, because he’s trying to show that he can play the game better and in a new way. How he achieves what he wants to achieve seems to be as important to him as the goal itself. I think that was a marvelous idea. I don’t think it’s going to work. I think the time has come for him to do the right things by (you should excuse the expression…) any means necessary. Force it down the opposition’s throats. That’s the power of power!

I got addicted to the NBC-TV series The West Wing (pictured above) when it went into syndication on Bravo a few years back. I watched it avidly, repeatedly. It was like comfort food. In the midst of the George W. Bush administration, the idea of an educated, eloquent, caring president surrounded by a staff of bright idealists was enchanting. Interestingly, after Obama was elected, when I watched The West Wing, the dream seemed to pale against the reality.

The series’ President Bartlett was also a liberal who wanted to play the political game smartly – and as a result, as the series progressed, he didn’t accomplish most of what he wanted. In a pivotal episode, “Let Bartlett Be Bartlett,” the president is chastised by his chief of staff for playing it safe, and for being more concerned with winning a second term than getting the job done. By the end of the episode, the president confesses to being weary of a sense of pointlessness and failure, and vows to do what’s needed, even if it means he doesn’t get re-elected (which, by the way, he does, of course).

I say it’s time to Let Obama Be Obama. Be the firebrand, the shaman, the Minister of Hope you were during the campaign. Don’t sell your constituency of believers down the river in an effort to win the support of those who will never be on your side. We need new climate policy. We need new health care policy. But they have to be good, meaty, make-real-change policies. We need to put people ahead of banks and corporations, to put Main Street ahead of Wall Street.

Let Obama Be Obama. Let the revolution begin.

The New Right Stuff

Over the past couple of weeks, in observing the swirl of fright-ening current events and the next-to-final throes of The Campaign Without End, then watching last night’s third and last presidential debate, I’ve found myself reflecting on the nature of intelligence, character and experience, and what exactly it takes to make someone fit to lead. Both John McCain and Barack Obama are smart men. But which of them also has the vision, temperament, and natural talent for leadership that ideally one should have in order to be president?

Since the conventions, both men have had ample opportunity to show their stuff to the people, and they have. McCain has shown that he is old-fashioned and uncreative in his thinking, mean-spirited in his attitudes, loose with the truth, erratic in his behavior, and shockingly self-serving in his ambition as evidenced by his selection of the ignorant and wholly unqualified Sarah Palin as his running mate. In reassuring contrast, Obama has exhibited a clear understanding of 21st century realities, innovative ideas, graciousness, civility, straightforwardness, calm under pressure, and a willingness to properly balance personal ambition with a genuine desire for public service.

But even more important, Obama exhibits high levels of “emotional intelligence” and “cultural literacy.” Daniel Goleman’s 1995 bestseller, Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ, refreshingly introduced the notion that the qualities of social interaction and self-knowledge, including the ability to empathize, delay gratification, and interpret non-verbal social cues, were as essential to personal success as intellectual intelligence. E.D. Hirsch, in his captivating 1987 reference book, Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know, provided the first volume in a string of revisions over the years that list the facts and ideas related to world history & geography, technology, science, language, the arts, religion, mythology and folklore that someone who regards himself as literate needs to know. One only needs to look at George W. Bush to recognize an essentially homicidal lack of emotional intelligence and cultural literacy. John McCain may not be George Bush - but he, too, lacks these important qualities. (Sarah Palin, on the other hand, is George Bush.)

When McCain talks about “winning” in Iraq, he shows a scary lack of understanding that today’s wars (and tomorrow’s) will not be waged and won in traditional military terms, that today’s enemies are not other nations so much as rogue leaders and cults with zealous determination and considerable technological and financial resources; we need smarts, self-control, diplomacy, and a little sophisticated covert operation to address these dangers. When McCain talks about “spreading the wealth” and “class warfare” in disparaging terms, he reveals a dangerous ignorance of the economic imbalances that threaten our national existence and security. When McCain talks about giving people the “choice” to get the health care they want without government interference, he ignores the fact that most people are trapped in HMOs and other profit-making health service structures that long ago robbed patients of meaningful choices and quality care. When McCain rails against taxes and “big government,” he shows a total lack of understanding of how people need to support a government that really and truly supports them. And when he goes into his anti-abortion spiel, well…

Barack Obama is a young man with young ideas. He understands new media. He connects with young adults. He is dedicated to discussion and diplomacy. He has a personal, spiritual foundation that doesn’t deny scientific fact or attempt to control people’s personal behavior. He believes in both personal responsibility and governmental protections. He understands cultures other than his own. He’s a feminist. He supports affordable, accessible education, public education. He’s not afraid to say “I don’t know” or to take counsel and advice from other smart people. He understands the difference between coming from love or fear, and knows that working from fear is dangerous, not insurance against danger. He’s got a cool head and a warm heart. And he’s got Joe Biden watching his back, instead of Annie Oakley. We need this guy and we need him bad.

Singin' the Bailout Blues

Every time I think we’ve reached the pinnacle of greed and bald-faced chicanery of the free market in action, a new instance comes along to show me that we ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Apparently, the Congressional plan to bailout Wall Street has at last been re-worked and is awaiting final votes from our elected leaders to make this unprecedented situation a nightmare reality.

True, no one knows how much of the $700 billion will actually be dispensed to banks and investment companies, and yes, there is a possibility that this rescue measure will actually reap profits for the government before it’s all over and, certainly, anyone who’s been following this confusing and unfathomable story for the last couple of weeks understands that something had to be done to stem the nation’s economic hemorrhage. But I remain unconvinced that this bailout was the only possible answer, even with some sensible precautions/ provisions, which have now been agreed upon – and that don’t go anywhere near far enough.

I am furious, frightened and heartbroken about this turn of events. If, indeed, Barack Obama makes it to the White House, he will absolutely, positively, not be able to do many of the things he wants to do, because the absence of $700 billion in the national coffers, either in cash on hand or by increasing the already obscene deficit, is a deal-breaker, a plan-changer, a dream-stealer of unimaginable proportions. It won’t be about making hard choices, the situation threatens to leave the next President with very few options.

No We Can’t if we’re dead broke or drowning in debt. We can’t fully and properly reform health care and the Medicare/Medicaid systems, shore up Social Security, improve primary education and fund higher education, pioneer innovative energy solutions, overhaul the military and ensure veterans’ full rights, take creative and sensible steps to really increase national security, address poverty and homelessness, advance scientific achievement, re-build the nation’s crumbling infrastructure, build new affordable housing, reform the prison system, fully restore areas devastated by killer storms in recent years, or anything else that urgently needs doing in the public interest.

What I still don’t understand is why there is no legal punishment for the corporate decision-makers who brought us here; for that matter, why there is no punishment for the government agencies that turned a blind eye to the shady dealings of the free market; and why, even with revisions, the bailout plan offers so little relief for average people in this country.

I was raised in the midst of two standards of personal morality, by a mother who spent years and years with individual companies but wouldn’t bring home so much as a ballpoint pen or a legal pad, and by a father who had no trouble “shopping” in Harlem barbershops or near the trucks that merchandise fell off of. Since my mother took care of the family paperwork, we never cheated on our taxes and we paid every bill without fail. It was very important to her that she (and we) behave honorably in all things. I agreed, but I was confused. I still am.

I know virtue is its own reward, but really, where’s the payoff for the 90% of Americans who are not rich by any measure and who take pride in being self reliant? Where is the humane, even generous, assistance, where are the essential rights and privileges? In developed countries around the world, citizens don’t have to worry about the costs of health care or higher education, because they’re covered. Their homes are affordable. Their jobs are far more secure than ours. We ordinary Americans are routinely punished, whether or not we play by the rules – and there are stringent rules for us, while the Masters of the Universe run wild and free. I think it's fair to say that this is the last straw and something good better come out of this bailout, or a lot of nice, honorable Americans are gonna go ballistic.

Unbelievable!

Cancel the debate in the best interest of the nation? John McCain showed his true colors this week - first shielding Miss Congeniality from the Big Bad Press, then behaving like a kid faking a stomach ache the night before a big test at school. His bald-faced self service is breathtaking. He's bullshitting and fear-mongering just like Dubya. They both make me sick.

Obama, on the other hand, was cool, gracious, came across as very presidential, and put McCain in his place when he said the president has to be able to do more than one thing at a time. What McCain (and his ignorant sidekick) can't do is lead or grasp complex issues.

Maybe some good can come out of all this fiscal misery and political garbage. Let's say it in unison:

PRESIDENT OBAMA!!!

American Vampires

For the past few days, I’ve been ponder-ing three subjects: the advent of Repub-lican Vice Presiden-tial nominee Sarah Palin; today being the seventh anniversary of the World Trade Center attack; and the clever new HBO series True Blood, based on the wonderful Dead Until Dark, the first book in the Southern Vampire Series by Charlaine Harris. They all seemed connected, but I couldn’t quite figure out how. Then yesterday, within a few hours of each other, while searching for other images I found the picture of Dubya that illustrates this post (apparently it’s available on T-shirts), and a friend sent me an article about the status of the 2008 campaign by Camille Paglia entitled “Fresh Blood for the Vampire” (available on Salon), and it suddenly came together.

Vampires are currently as popular as Beanie Babies were in the 90s, in fact, there’s a flourishing vampire subculture. We’re not just talking about youthful, cartoon Goth, we’re talking about mostly normal looking adults with an active vampire obsession. It seems that not since the magnificent vampire books by Anne Rice took the nation by the throat 20 years ago has America had such a love affair with the sexy, captivating, undead (or, as the advocates of vampire rights in True Blood call them, “life-challenged Americans” who just want to “come out of the coffin” and be part of mainstream society). There are numerous other offerings in vampire fiction, including a children’s series; several major non-fiction tomes on vampire history; vampire discos, social clubs and dating services; vampire dentistry for those who elect to go through life with genuine fangs; and of course, a nest of vampire Web sites.

Why is this phenomenon happening here and now? I think it’s because (at least in part) George Bush has been draining the lifeblood out of this country for the past eight years, and the horror that began with the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington DC in 2001 and continued with the double wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has left us ravaged, bereaved, and in desperate need of both comfort and distraction. Real monsters – like Bush, McCain and Vampira Palin – are too difficult to cope with for a lot of people, especially when they’ve lost loved ones or homes or jobs, or are just astutely aware that many of the essential tenets of our democracy have been eroded into dust. Add to that a large dose of inflation/ recession, killer weather, impossible gas, fuel and food prices, the wholesale aging of a once-vibrant generation, multiple instances of toxic vegetables, and the mind-numbing mediocrity of reality television and, well, it’s enough to make anyone want to engage in an exotic fantasy.

Paglia, who is enthusiastic in her support for Obama, says in “Fresh Blood For the Vampire” (she sees the aged, unvanquished McCain as the vampire): “In terms of redefining the persona for female authority and leadership, Palin has made the biggest step forward in feminism since Madonna channeled the dominatrix persona of high-glam Marlene Dietrich and rammed pro-sex, pro-beauty feminism down the throats of the prissy, victim-mongering, philistine feminist establishment.” I love the outspoken, contrary, fresh-thinking Camille Paglia, but I think her appreciation of Palin and her conviction that America could survive Palin’s ascension to power should it come to that, is dangerously misplaced.

Palin reminds me of a couple of demonic “p.r. gals” I worked for briefly, full of cozy smiles for clients and press, but shockingly hateful, wildly demanding and completely clueless with their staff. In a Palin story that has just surfaced, a waitress in Alaska reports that she served lunch to the Governor and some of her cronies the day after Obama unofficially clinched the nomination and heard her exclaim: “So, Sambo beat the bitch!” That, and everything else about her, gives me…pause.

Today, as we once again cast our eyes on Lower Manhattan and remember that day not so long ago when nearly 3,000 people were incinerated and we as a nation descended into a quagmire of heartbroken fear, it’s important that we remember that we cannot resurrect the dead, nor should we try. And we dare not once again put our future in the hands of those who would drain the life out of our nation with their ignorance, arrogance, greed, conceit and religiosity. There isn’t enough garlic to go around.

The President is Screwing Women Who Screw

An infuriatingly underreported action was taken yesterday by President Bush and his henchman at the Department of Health and Human Services. The August 21st press release issued by the HHS, headlined Regulation Proposed to Help Protect Health Care Providers from Discrimination, describes a new regulation, now formally and officially “proposed,” that would “…increase awareness of, and compliance with, three separate laws protecting federally funded health care providers’ right of conscience… ‘This proposed regulation is about the legal right of a health care professional to practice according to their conscience,’ HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said. ‘Doctors and other health care providers should not be forced to choose between good professional standing and violating their conscience. Freedom of expression and action should not be surrendered upon the issuance of a health care degree’.”

As someone who has written countless press releases and practiced the delicate art of The Spin for a living, I am humbled by the audacity of the double-speak of this announcement and outraged by the insidious implications of the proposal. What it means in plain English, as the Boston Globe pointed out in a July 30th editorial warning against this measure (“A New Attack On Birth Control”), is that the “…proposed new regulation would expand the definition of abortion to include any form of contraception that can work by stopping implantation of a fertilized egg in the uterus. This can include common birth-control pills, emergency contraception, and the intra-uterine device, or IUD… The potential impact of this new rule on the more than 500,000 hospitals, family planning clinics, and medical offices that receive any form of federal funding could be dramatic… The proposed rule, while claiming to protect the rights of nurses and doctors, would interfere with patients’ rights. A woman seeking treatment could be denied birth control and not even be aware that the service was available – only denied to her because of the unexpressed personal beliefs of the practitioner…”

Why are the anti-choice zealots – including the one who heads the HHS – opposed to birth control, the very practice that prevents unwanted pregnancies and therefore decreases the incidence of abortion? Because the anti-abortion movement has always been less about abortion itself and more about punishing women who are sexually active. They are, first and foremost, anti-sex and anti-woman as an autonomous being. And most dangerous of all, these fanatics feel completely justified in imposing their views of morality and proper sexual behavior on everyone else.

Here in America, we officially claim shock and disapproval of the treatment of women in other cultures, particularly countries where the strictures of Islam and other socially conservative beliefs hold sway. Yet through indifference, ignorance and a complete lack of appreciation of the seriousness of the situation, most Americans – including women – behave as if the reproductive health and freedom of women are secured and unchallenged. That ain’t so, as this proposal demonstrates. President Self-Righteous promised the Religious Right a going-away-present and this is it. And despite vociferous opposition from Congress, clergy and the medical establishment, this proposal is set to become law in 30 days. Planned Parenthood regards this as one of the most outrageous assaults on the personal rights of women ever proposed and is launching an all-out campaign to defeat it. I urge you to visit their site and do whatever you can to support their efforts. The right to sexual freedom you save could be your own.

How To Embrace Barack Obama Now That He’s The Democratic Nominee For President

It’s going to be hard for many of us who were rooting for Hillary to turn on the proverbial dime and immediately get behind Obama. But whether it takes us a few days, a couple of weeks, or the full five months between now and the General Election, Democrats and Independents will have to bite the bullet and do what’s necessary to end the crippling Bush era and institute important change. Here’s what I recommend:

Get a Grip – We simply cannot allow another Republican to hold court in the White House for four more years. John McCain says he is not a photocopy of Bush. Okay, let’s take him at his word. But he still believes that the War in Iraq can be “won” in the military sense of the word. He still believes that Roe v Wade should be reversed. He still can be counted on to fill future Supreme Court vacancies with conservatives. He still rejects the idea of universal health care, still refers to it as “socialized medicine.” He still believes that Americans are better off with less government support and assistance of all kinds. If you are middle class, working class, or poor, John McCain is not your friend.

Be Fair About the “Experience” Thing – It is indeed reasonable to say that a few years in the Chicago State House and another few years in the U.S. Senate do not comprise sufficient experience for the presidency. But Obama’s opponent is John McCain, a man with many years of experience – and still no clue about what life is like for most people in this country. We’ve also endured nearly eight years of “leadership” by a man who gave new meaning to the word unqualified, a moron who learned nothing from his C-average Ivy League education, his numerous failed business ventures, or his Governorship of Texas. He’s taken no counsel and has regarded all disagreement as treason. Obama is intelligent, well-intentioned and apparently willing to take seasoned advice. We should have faith that his best efforts will be to our advantage.

Focus on the Issues Instead of the Personalities – As a planet, a nation and a people, we are in crisis. Inflation/recession/the mortgage crisis, health care, the War, an energy crisis, education, climate change, immigration, Social Security/ Medicare/ Medicaid, civil rights, human rights, veterans benefits, the revival of the Gulf Coast, national security and other issues are coloring our lives and clouding our future. Do we want another conservative addressing (or ignoring) these challenges?

Enjoy and Participate in the Historic Aspect of Obama’s Candidacy – It’s no small matter that Obama will be our country’s first African American president. White privilege and perspective have guided America from the beginning, often with disastrous results. As a bi-racial person myself, I can assure you that the experience of a mixed heritage constitutes a wealth of insight into all sorts of persons, places and things. The time is right for a different perspective in American leadership. For this reason alone, Obama wants to do well, to do better than most others have done over the past 50 years. He wants to be what used to be called “a credit to his race.” We should give him the chance to do just that.

Consider How We’re Perceived Worldwide – Millions of people around the world and scores of foreign governments know about Obama, admire him and would regard his election as a sign that the idiocy of our foreign policy will be taken in hand and radically changed. We no longer have to be the Ugly Americans. Obama will have a unique opportunity to heal many wounds and open many doors.

Don’t Worry, Israel Will Still Be In Safe Hands – The Far Right doesn’t support Israel because they like Jews. They support Israel in an effort to protect Christian holy lands and maintain a secure and formidable democratic base in the most unstable region in the world. Obama knows we need Israel as much as Israel needs us. Whether or not he’s able to help resolve ancient animosities, I don’t believe he’ll throw Israel under the bus.

Join the Civic Renaissance – Obama has successfully engaged millions of previously disengaged people in the process of active citizenship. Now that having Hillary is no longer an option, we should support this new wave of political enthusiasm, especially if it’s in our best interest.

And a President Obama will be in our best interest, given the actual alternative. It would serve us to get used to that idea.

Please, Keep Your Eyes on the Prize

I’m delighted that Hillary Clinton won the Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island primaries this week, and the best-possible outcome (in my view) would be that Hillary win the nomination – fair, square and without a hint of back-room maneuvering. But Barack Obama has hardly become the loser in this ongoing fight. And now that they’re on an equal footing in the race, they each have the ability and the opportunity to make this a process to be proud of – or to go old-school political and connive their way to the nomination. Handled poorly (which is to say, backhanded), winning could result in great losses for America at a critical time.

America deserves better than Dubya Redux with a Presidential win by John McCain, who, although smarter and I think a far more decent man than the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, is not what this country needs going forward. We need someone who will end the war in Iraq, not justify it; someone who will craft universal health care, not get around it; heal the sickly economy, not just preserve the current safe-haven for the few; find solutions for the mortgage and bankruptcy crises, not let them run their free-market course to total disaster; protect a woman’s right to choose and repair the corrupted separation of Church and State, rather than further this insult to democracy. In short, we need what used to be called A Democrat, before Democrat came to mean “he who sits impotently by while the Republicans run the country into the ground.”

Our election process is already compromised by bad voting equipment and everything from incompetence to outright fraud. Add to that the troubling inequities wrought by the continuation of the Electoral College, and, the completely undemocratic power of the so-called super-delegates, and it’s not hard to understand why so many people have stopped participating in this vital activity of citizenship. But now we have two promising candidates – candidates who’ve promised that this is a whole new ballgame: open, honest, in The People’s Best Interest. Yet we can’t expect Presidential behavior that rises above the fray of self-service if our prospective candidates resort to Any Means Necessary to secure the nomination.

I’m frankly less concerned right now about whether it’s Clinton or Obama who wins the day than I am that their infighting will get so hot and so low that Denver 2008 will make Chicago 1968 look like a summer picnic – and give McCain a virtually unfettered path to the White House. Please, Hillary and Barack, remember that this election is bigger than either of you and you both owe us the united party you promised us. Anything less and we all lose.

Primary Concerns

Sort of in preparation for the Iowa Presidential Primary on Thursday (January 3rd), I’ve watched three political films in the past few days: the classic Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, the 90s’ under-appreciated Primary Colors (both favorites that I’ve seen many times) and The Good Shepherd, last year’s acclaimed fictional bio-pic about the CIA (which I found leaden and confusing, but never mind). I passed up another favorite, Wag the Dog, because it was on commercial television and snippets of film interrupted by innumerable quick-cut commercials make me feel like I’m having an epileptic seizure.

The point is, both political pop culture and actual politics are filled with unforgettable examples of idealism, cynicism, cronyism, shameless manipulation of the voting public and genuine efforts to serve the public good, efforts usually thwarted by the steamroller muscle of high-stakes politics. As always, the media treat political campaigns like horse races, as if there were nothing crucial at stake and they have no obligation to prompt serious discourse about critical social issues.

And more than half the public tunes out the entire process the way I manage to avoid absolutely everything about sports. Indeed, it is this high-octane blend of public ignorance and indifference that has helped degrade the political process for years and, most recently, gave us two terms of George Dubya that have literally run this country into the ground. In some ways, I can’t blame my fellow citizens for opting out of this charade, especially since the 2008 campaign is shaping up as interminable, stiff, phony and just plain stupid. Unfortunately, it matters very much who becomes our next president and how we can try to repair the incalculable damage of the Bush years.

Much will be made of who wins and who loses in Iowa, even if there are no decisive winners and even though Iowa will be a dim memory come June. There will be many more primaries leading up to the pointless, staged, inordinately expensive conventions this summer, and by November, those of us who have not been driven into mental institutions by the campaign will do our best to force all the red and blue shit to hit the fan (as much as the electoral college will allow).

It pisses me off that there’s been no opportunity to reflect on the significance, and triumph, of the country’s first genuine, viable, woman and black candidates. It appalls me that despite the 122,397 “debates” that have already been held, there has been no in depth, meaningful discussion of real issues. It severely troubles me that all of the candidates on both sides of the political fence are competing for each other’s existing constituencies instead of courting the millions of potential voters who are completely disengaged from the political process. It infuriates me that the major TV networks, who literally had their broadcast spectrums bestowed on them as gifts decades ago, and who all now have multiple channels under their digitized, high-definition belts, are not required by law to run political ads pro bono (which would hugely reduce the costs of campaigning, since most of the candidates’ war chests are spent on media).

It outrages me that the Democrats don’t have the balls to reclaim their traditional political niche as the progressive, liberal champion of the middle- and working-class and the poor, and, that the Republicans are equally ball-less in not turning their backs on the religious right and reclaiming their traditional niche as fiscal conservatives and social libertarians.

Most of all, I am bitterly disappointed that the post-O.J. Simpson sensationalist broadcast and print media have failed to demonstrate the courage and insight to recognize that they can no longer cover politics as if it were a cross between Survivor, American Idol and Jerry Springer. We can no longer afford bullshit, bread-and-circuses, jingo journalism.

Here in the first decade of the 21st century, our reality has been profoundly altered by 9/11 and terrorism; the radical evolution and expansion of television; and the birth and growth of the Internet, which has created unprecedented opportunities for social communication and interactive involvement in the processes that govern our lives. We are contending with unimagined climate change, unspeakable national debt, a dangerous merging of church and state, a yawning gap between the rich and everyone else, crises in health care, education and employment that are reshaping the national profile, the threat of recession and increased inflation, and the inability to relax with a cigarette in a coffee shop or bar. These are perilous times.

I hope Hillary wins in Iowa. It’s not much, but it’s a start.

Stop Destroying Women

Almost ten years ago, I had the privilege of working with the event production company that coordinated a special international video conference at the United Nations. It was sponsored by UNIFEM, the UN agency devoted to women’s issues around the world. It was the first such conference of its scope and status exclusively about the many forms of violence against women and girls, and the first to be held in the UN’s majestic General Assembly.

Hundreds of women attended in New York and thousands more at participating sites on every continent. Political celebrities and brave survivors spoke, live or via video messages. They talked about honor killings, rape as a tactic of war and terror, sexual slavery, female infanticide, suicide, genital mutilation, and the societal ingredients that facilitate these behaviors: longstanding social/political conflicts, poverty, lack of opportunities for education, and a lack of access to contraceptives, abortion and health care in general.

The conference was a great success, which is to say it generated a lot of attention in the circles of “civil society” (the UN’s core audience of non-profit charities and non-governmental social service organizations). But as far as attention by the mainstream media was concerned, it didn’t even raise a blip on their radar.

So it’s not particularly surprising that women in virtually every country on Earth, but most especially in countries twisted by war and destitution, are increasingly the victims of the most vicious kinds of brutality, the sort that when you hear about it is simultaneously unimaginable and unforgettable. Man’s capacity (and I do mean man) for indescribably sadistic violence against women is demonically ingenious and apparently boundless.

Against this backdrop, I draw your attention to an article by Jeffrey Gettleman that appeared in the 10/8/07 New York Times, “Rape Epidemic Raises Trauma of Congo War.” I beg you to click on this link and read it:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/07/world/africa/07congo.html

As this article explains, the thousands of female victims range in age from three to 75. Many of the perpetrators are former members of Hutu militia forces who fled Rwanda in the 90s after torturing and murdering 800,000 Tutsis. The rest are home-grown forces known as Mai-Mai, who, armed to the teeth, stalk the countryside. The 17,000 UN Peacekeepers are no match for them.

Gettleman goes on to say that horrified medical personnel, social service providers and humane government representatives are non-plused by the quantity and ferociousness of rape that has been ratcheted up to an unprecedented level – even worse than in Rwanda during the genocide. He quotes a Congolese doctor who works in the epicenter of Congo’s rape epidemic, South Kivu Province:

“Many have been so sadistically attacked from the inside out, butchered by bayonets and assaulted with chunks of wood, that their reproductive and digestive systems are beyond repair. We don’t know why these rapes are happening, but one thing is clear, they are done to destroy women.”

Destroying women has been S.O.P. since the dawn of time. At the dawn of the 21st century, things are much better in some places than in others, but nowhere on Earth are women free from the possibility (or probability) of rape and other violence – from fathers, brothers, sons, boyfriends, husbands, neighbors, strangers and soldiers.

What can we do in the face of such heartbreaking, overwhelming destruction of women? Nicholas D. Kristof, in a 6/25/07 op-ed in the New York Times that he wrote while in Congo, offered some good suggestions:

“There’s no simple solution to the conflict, but we can lean on Rwanda to stop supporting its proxy force in eastern Congo, and also to work harder to repatriate Hutus who have destabilized Congo since they fled here after the genocide in 1994. We can push a peace process. We can support the U.N. peacekeepers. We can help with the reform and training of Congo’s security forces. And a six-hour visit by Condi Rice would help put the crisis on the map.”

I’m writing to Secretary of State Rice asking that she make such a trip and specifically speak out against what many are calling Congo’s “rape industry.” Won’t you please join me?

Unfortunately, emails for the Secretary and other staff members at State are not available to the public (!). However, you can snail-mail or fax as follows:

Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice

U.S. State Department

Washington, DC 20520

Fax: 202-261-8577
(no street address necessary)

In addition, I’m sending a copy of my Rice letter to:

Ambassador Jendayi E. Frazer

Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs
U.S. Department of State

2201 “C” Street, NW

Washington, DC 20520

Tel: 202-647-4000 (24-hour service)

I would welcome receiving any further information about this issue and what others are doing to address it.

Remembering New Orleans

Two years ago today Hurricane Katrina eviscerated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, creating the worst natural disaster in American history and adding yet another page to our President’s massive, mind-boggling book of shame. Things are quite a bit better on the Coast, but conditions in New Orleans continue to be a tragedy and an outrage. Thousands of people have worked diligently to repair the damage, but the government – city, state and federal – has been useless as tits on a bull in these efforts. Indeed, disinterest and negligence have been surpassed only by greed, fraud and the imperatives of the almighty free market. Many of those who called New Orleans home have been unable to return and many of those who have come back face enormous difficulties. The city that gave birth to jazz, blues and Zydeco is being gentrified faster than you can say “You want granite countertops with that?” and essential goods and services are being lavished on the nouveau gumbo but withheld from poorer city veterans. President Bush visited the area today and announced that he saw hope in New Orleans. Right. Brought to you by the man who thinks The Surge is working. God Bless New Orleans. She needs all the help she can get.