I'm learning it's a balance to tune in to tweets and follow the political maestros, on both sides, but golly, some days it's hard to listen to the cachophony, from both sides. I get a little wierded out watching an interplay between good friends that suck up my all friends column on my tweet deck too. Yet I still encourage my students to log in and follow twitterers (tweeters?) because there is definitely a tone, even if you only pick a handful of peeps to tweet and follow.
What I"m looking for is the Party that is FOR something. Many of the political experts can tell me everything that is wrong with the other side. Dissecting every little sentence and taking comments out of context to make their point. That's the work that gives the PR/public affairs industry such a bad name. Frankly, I'm done with that. I'd rather see civility. I have friends across the political spectrum, Dems, GOP, libertarians, non-partisan, non-participant. There are some good ideas (when you get past the rhetoric) from many points of view. No one Party owns the ideas. But geez, get passed the BS and start finding common ground. We need to start as citizens and create a harmony in tone. Otherwise we keep polarizing and keep the stridency playing.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Rising Above Cancer on Easter Sunday
Today, Easter Sunday, I saw a Facebook post from a kid I used to make out with. (Yes, just 'cause we are pushing 50 doesn't mean we aren't still kids in our minds). He posted: "In loving memory of every cancer patient, family and friends who have lost the battle of cancer and the ones who continue to conquer it! Put this on your page if you know someone who has or had cancer. Dear God, I pray for the cure of cancer. Amen. 93% won't copy and paste this. I did, but will you??"
I liked the thought of sharing, but the "I'm better than you cause I'm one of the 7% that will do this" kind of irritates me. I'm not sure who started this on facebook, it shows up on a lot of causes, not just cancer. Anyway I tried to convey that, just wanting people to remember their loved ones without the dare and changed it:
In loving memory of every cancer patient, family/friends who lost the cancer battle and the ones who continue to conquer it! Put this on your page if you know someone who has or had cancer. Praying to goddess for the cure of cancer. Blessed be. There's a throw down about 93% won't copy and paste this, which irritates me. If you're moved today cuz of cancer, say so--or just remember that cancer patient at home.
Unfortunately this rubbed a dear friend the wrong way--she recently lost a family member to cancer and then one of her closest friends just learned she needs to battle it. Probably should have just taken out the repost 93% thing. In any case, I thought I'd talk about just how impacted my life has been from cancer.
Cancer robbed me of both my grandfathers--one to skin cancer (he painted houses with lead paint for a living) before I was born and the other to colon cancer when I lived too far away to say goodbye. Colon cancer tried to steal my favorite aunt once. It waited 12 years to recur to wrest her from us; and I watched her shrivel to nothing. Her daughter, my cousin, had already fought the cancer demon leukemia when her son was three. He thought he survived but relapsed and needed a bone marrow transplant--I think he was 10. I don't remember how many surgeries or treatments he had. At 23 he just had surgery to straighten his wrists from the crippling effects of cancer survival that kept his hands bent in submission.
My boss battled cancer; and as a warrior she had her 2nd breast removed to give cancer nothing to latch on to. A former staffer beat cancer when she was in her 20's, but she must remain vigilant. A second former staffer had to beat that damn colon cancer--I learned more than I wanted to about intestines from her. Two co-workers are CURRENTLY fighting cancer: one is battling that freakin' colon cancer at stage 4--and winning. Another young woman in her 30's just went bald for cancer yet kept battling for health care reform so others could have health insurance.
One of my former students pulverizes her cancer with her wit. In November she was told she had 90 days to live. Just over four months later she celebrated her 28th birthday. Her blog is wicked funny (http://wickedcaseofcancer.tumblr.com/) even though her cancer is not.
Many former and current students are working on the American Cancer Society Relay for Life. Two friends have advocated for that; another works with the Leukemia Society. A coworker was trying to raise funds for a friend who is battling leukemia--I gave a small gift thinking of my cousin's son's battle and we connected, briefly.
And I advocate for youth to prevent STDs so they don't expose themselves to cervical cancer (for girls) or brain/oral cancer (for boys). Sex isn't worth dying from cancer. It's the body's cells gone out of control--your body is killing itself. And the treatment will nearly kill you if you aren't strong enough to survive. And many don't.
So I remembered the people I love who I have lost to cancer, who I pray will beat cancer and who are working to erradicate cancer from our medical vocubulary.
I liked the thought of sharing, but the "I'm better than you cause I'm one of the 7% that will do this" kind of irritates me. I'm not sure who started this on facebook, it shows up on a lot of causes, not just cancer. Anyway I tried to convey that, just wanting people to remember their loved ones without the dare and changed it:
In loving memory of every cancer patient, family/friends who lost the cancer battle and the ones who continue to conquer it! Put this on your page if you know someone who has or had cancer. Praying to goddess for the cure of cancer. Blessed be. There's a throw down about 93% won't copy and paste this, which irritates me. If you're moved today cuz of cancer, say so--or just remember that cancer patient at home.
Unfortunately this rubbed a dear friend the wrong way--she recently lost a family member to cancer and then one of her closest friends just learned she needs to battle it. Probably should have just taken out the repost 93% thing. In any case, I thought I'd talk about just how impacted my life has been from cancer.
Cancer robbed me of both my grandfathers--one to skin cancer (he painted houses with lead paint for a living) before I was born and the other to colon cancer when I lived too far away to say goodbye. Colon cancer tried to steal my favorite aunt once. It waited 12 years to recur to wrest her from us; and I watched her shrivel to nothing. Her daughter, my cousin, had already fought the cancer demon leukemia when her son was three. He thought he survived but relapsed and needed a bone marrow transplant--I think he was 10. I don't remember how many surgeries or treatments he had. At 23 he just had surgery to straighten his wrists from the crippling effects of cancer survival that kept his hands bent in submission.
My boss battled cancer; and as a warrior she had her 2nd breast removed to give cancer nothing to latch on to. A former staffer beat cancer when she was in her 20's, but she must remain vigilant. A second former staffer had to beat that damn colon cancer--I learned more than I wanted to about intestines from her. Two co-workers are CURRENTLY fighting cancer: one is battling that freakin' colon cancer at stage 4--and winning. Another young woman in her 30's just went bald for cancer yet kept battling for health care reform so others could have health insurance.
One of my former students pulverizes her cancer with her wit. In November she was told she had 90 days to live. Just over four months later she celebrated her 28th birthday. Her blog is wicked funny (http://wickedcaseofcancer.tumblr.com/) even though her cancer is not.
Many former and current students are working on the American Cancer Society Relay for Life. Two friends have advocated for that; another works with the Leukemia Society. A coworker was trying to raise funds for a friend who is battling leukemia--I gave a small gift thinking of my cousin's son's battle and we connected, briefly.
And I advocate for youth to prevent STDs so they don't expose themselves to cervical cancer (for girls) or brain/oral cancer (for boys). Sex isn't worth dying from cancer. It's the body's cells gone out of control--your body is killing itself. And the treatment will nearly kill you if you aren't strong enough to survive. And many don't.
So I remembered the people I love who I have lost to cancer, who I pray will beat cancer and who are working to erradicate cancer from our medical vocubulary.
Monday, March 29, 2010
A little more face time, a little tech time
Some people love to write and any excuse, like blogging, will do. I don't love to write. I'm good at it, but I don't love it. So I need another excuse. Being opinionated often seems to be a reason to blog, but (I know my friends will find this hard to believe) but I don't like just pushing an opinion. Really, I don't. Channeling Virginia Wolfe with stream of conscience is way harder than it looks. I struggle with the challenge of doing it all: tweet, social media sites, blog. Read things, stay on top of all the jobs I have. I go 90 miles an hour already, and find it hard to bring consistency to all of that. And find balance. Because sure, it's late tonight so I'm up and writing. But often I'm sleeping. I make time for exercise--walking with my girlfriend, pilates and dancing. I am no longer the svelte size four I was in my 20s. Ain't ever going to be that again so I must exercise, still eating like I'm a svelte 4. Dancing, I do for me. And I don't try to do it all in one day--getting laundry done now, will get to grading papers tomorrow--after a really long day. I asked one of my favorite blogHers how she does it. Incessantly. I can barely track her tweets, let alone her blog. She says just do it whenever. Well, my blog takes a haitus when I do that. Can't.
So I went to a conference hosted by the American Association of Political Consultants. Some real talent there. An affirmation that what I offer is needed. It may not be unique, but there's plenty of room out there to train volunteers trying to help their friend or sister or mom get into local office. And not all of that--running for local office--needs to be high tech. Tech is a part of the strategy. But winning votes still takes one on one when you run for local office.
So I'll blog some. Try to stay on top of it. And if you don't see me, I'm just doing a litte more face time than tech time.
So I went to a conference hosted by the American Association of Political Consultants. Some real talent there. An affirmation that what I offer is needed. It may not be unique, but there's plenty of room out there to train volunteers trying to help their friend or sister or mom get into local office. And not all of that--running for local office--needs to be high tech. Tech is a part of the strategy. But winning votes still takes one on one when you run for local office.
So I'll blog some. Try to stay on top of it. And if you don't see me, I'm just doing a litte more face time than tech time.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Where have all the political journalists gone?
In her Gawker piece, Ravi Somaiya says journalists' "Fawning Political Interviews Have Ruined American Politics". I think the author's right. When I'm not reproductive freedom fighting or motivating candidates, I teach a course at the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada. Public Relations. We can have the argument that PR isn't journalism for another day. My short answer to that is: Journalists who are PR trained bring integrity to the image making process and if done correctly will provide good stories or at least good story leads. But I digress.
Ravi cited a great example "Take, for example, Palin's 2008 claim to ABC's Charlie Gibson that because she could "actually see Russia from land here in Alaska," she had foreign policy experience. [Rmeember Tina Fey riffing on Palin is the one who said she could see Russia from her backyard.] Imagine if he'd thrown it directly back to her with follow-up questions. What bearing does this have on your ability to make policy? Are you seriously telling us that your qualifications are based on proximity?"
We need to train journalists to ask the hard questions, to think fast enough and to not be elitist and assume that everyone can just see what a stupid statement that is, because they can't.
I'm in the industry of making sure a candidate is "on message". But it's shameful when politicians use a bridge to get to where they want to go in the questioning without answering the question. All candidates should answer the questions. They should be prepared to address serious issues, redress errors or mistatements or even faux pas and should be held accntable to truthfulness. It's amazing to me that prevarication is the norm--and no one is calling them on their stuff. At least at the national level.
Many local reporters do better. My hats off to Anjeannette Damon, Reno Gazette Journal reporter, David McGrath Schwartz, Las Vegas Sun and Jon Ralston, LVS and pundit. They often do ask the hard questions, or at least investigate statements. We need to train more journalists like them, even from the PR side.
Ravi cited a great example "Take, for example, Palin's 2008 claim to ABC's Charlie Gibson that because she could "actually see Russia from land here in Alaska," she had foreign policy experience. [Rmeember Tina Fey riffing on Palin is the one who said she could see Russia from her backyard.] Imagine if he'd thrown it directly back to her with follow-up questions. What bearing does this have on your ability to make policy? Are you seriously telling us that your qualifications are based on proximity?"
We need to train journalists to ask the hard questions, to think fast enough and to not be elitist and assume that everyone can just see what a stupid statement that is, because they can't.
I'm in the industry of making sure a candidate is "on message". But it's shameful when politicians use a bridge to get to where they want to go in the questioning without answering the question. All candidates should answer the questions. They should be prepared to address serious issues, redress errors or mistatements or even faux pas and should be held accntable to truthfulness. It's amazing to me that prevarication is the norm--and no one is calling them on their stuff. At least at the national level.
Many local reporters do better. My hats off to Anjeannette Damon, Reno Gazette Journal reporter, David McGrath Schwartz, Las Vegas Sun and Jon Ralston, LVS and pundit. They often do ask the hard questions, or at least investigate statements. We need to train more journalists like them, even from the PR side.
Monday, March 15, 2010
It's my Party and I'll shout if I want to
The anti-choice Democrats need to get out of my Party. Their obsession with controling women's wombs is holding health care hostage. As soon as a woman gets pregnant in their ideology she apparently has no value, certainly no moral compass and must be shamed with a scarlet letter. What the hell kind of Democratic Party value is that? It's not. So get out of my party. No woman plans for an abortion, she's certainly not going to pay an extra check for insurance on this "just in case". No one likes abortions and hopes to have one. But very few Americans think the government has a role in the family conversation of whether a woman chooses to parent or spaces her family size. Your religious ideology, Members Stupak and Nelson, are not mine, they are certainly not Democratic. Democratic values leave room for all religious beliefs, without imposition on others'. Senator Reid once asked Planned Parenthood to stop hounding him about his recruitment of Dems on this women's issue; well it's biting him in the arse now. This Senator, is why we reproductive freedom fighters take where a candidate stands on reproductive rights so seriously and why it's not acceptable to keep letting them get into office.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/15/opinion/15mon1.html?hp
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/15/opinion/15mon1.html?hp
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Minced fish
Have you seen Van de Kamp's commercial where the young girl who's four or five demands that she get a better dinner. She comes in holding a box saying "Minced fish? You're serving me minced fish? Have you ever CAUGHT a minced fish?" And of course the mom runs off to purchase the flaky, whole fish fishstiks which the young girl approves of. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTx2yNmHdgA
What I love about this commercial is her demand for the best, for the whole product and not something piecemeal (pardon the pun). What I hope is that all young girls like Van De Kamps STAY this assertive, but they won't. I watch my university students stop negotiating. They think they are strong and able to do anything, yet they don't assert their value for a salary, an internship, even feeling vulnerable when they do presentations. Somewhere our girls lose the veriloquent voice--they can't speka their own truth. It happens in our education environment, not so much the curricula they are taught, but their contextual backdrop. It's learned. We need to help them unlearn it, better not learn it in the first place. May they all despise minced fish.
What I love about this commercial is her demand for the best, for the whole product and not something piecemeal (pardon the pun). What I hope is that all young girls like Van De Kamps STAY this assertive, but they won't. I watch my university students stop negotiating. They think they are strong and able to do anything, yet they don't assert their value for a salary, an internship, even feeling vulnerable when they do presentations. Somewhere our girls lose the veriloquent voice--they can't speka their own truth. It happens in our education environment, not so much the curricula they are taught, but their contextual backdrop. It's learned. We need to help them unlearn it, better not learn it in the first place. May they all despise minced fish.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Women gotta be asked, so ask
Reading the "Poised to Run, Women's Pathways to State Legislatures" researched by The Center for American Women and Politics part of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers, New Jersey. The research was funded by the Barbara Lee Family Foundation, she of Congress and the lone vote against the Iraq war back in 2001.
The study's findings indicate 5 key elements about adjusting the 54/24 disparity. Women comprise 54% of the voting bloc but only make up 24% of state legislative elected officials. Granted that's an average across states; mine happens to have a high ratio, but I think that's because the pay is atrocious and generally only women work for those kinds of wages. I really believe our governments would run more efficiently and compassionately if women served in equal representation. But I digress.
The five findings are these: 1-Women need to be asked to run, because they don't think of it themselves. 2-Political parties, on both sides, have huge influence on a candidate's success at the legislative level. 3-Women's organizations help recruitment, but aren't the top resource and could do better in asking women to run. 4-There is a vast, untapped pool of qualified women candidates and they don't need to follow a path of school board, then municipal, then legislature stepping stones. 5-Women need more funding and training, not because they can't do it--they don't know that they CAN do it.
These 5 reasons are exactly why I serve on the board of Emerge Nevada and why I am training campaign managers and candidates' kitchen cabinets.
The study's findings indicate 5 key elements about adjusting the 54/24 disparity. Women comprise 54% of the voting bloc but only make up 24% of state legislative elected officials. Granted that's an average across states; mine happens to have a high ratio, but I think that's because the pay is atrocious and generally only women work for those kinds of wages. I really believe our governments would run more efficiently and compassionately if women served in equal representation. But I digress.
The five findings are these: 1-Women need to be asked to run, because they don't think of it themselves. 2-Political parties, on both sides, have huge influence on a candidate's success at the legislative level. 3-Women's organizations help recruitment, but aren't the top resource and could do better in asking women to run. 4-There is a vast, untapped pool of qualified women candidates and they don't need to follow a path of school board, then municipal, then legislature stepping stones. 5-Women need more funding and training, not because they can't do it--they don't know that they CAN do it.
These 5 reasons are exactly why I serve on the board of Emerge Nevada and why I am training campaign managers and candidates' kitchen cabinets.
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