Tuesday, Lafayette, Indiana

Despite his denials & renunciations, Barack Obama is being stained by association with his church pastor whose inflammatory speech has drawn justified criticism. Despite the defense that the preacher is being taken out of context, Reverend Jeremiah Wright is on record for spewing outlandish, provocative words. Among them was his sermon where he shouted “God damn America.”

And these words were uttered from his pulpit a few weeks after the terrorist attack on September 11th. Say what!?

No matter what justification is given about context of the time and place, such rhetoric is unforgivable and bound to return to haunt you. Even if the point is valid that some of America’s past actions around the world been shameful, there are language choices that are appropriate, even as the words are confrontational. To call on America to accept responsibility for our sins is appropriate in a Sunday sermon. It is a responsibility to advocate atonement even as we express gratitude for our overwhelming blessings. But Wright’s enraged rants smack of stage performance showboating.

Nothing good comes from such flamboyant sermonizing except theatrics in the moment, performing to the audience in the pews. It is all so much gas! And guess what? It has come back to confront him and Obama. What’s the good that comes from screeching preaching? Not much beyond the moment of thrill that excites the audience.

When I was performing as a nightclub comic, we used to shake out heads when a performer found a stage device that manipulated the audience. There were some, for instance that would play a popular rock song to accompany their act and then take the bow that rightfully belonged to the musician that was playing in the background. And so it is with pastors who get a vicarious thrill of being a star in front of a few thousand people in their captive audience.

I have some advice for the Pastor Wright’s of the world: if you need to get your rocks off in front of fans, do it the old fashioned way: go to audition night at the local comedy club or show up for the American Idol auditions. These are the venues that honor verbal shack and awe.

Monday, Lafayette, Indiana

The news over the weekend had the usual buffet of political doings, crime and the dramatic weather plaguing the Southeast. But the ever rising story these days is the teetering economy.

Beginning with the mortgage crisis that has driven thousands into foreclosure it’s having ripple effects through the banking industry and the other markets. The reporters I listened to sounded pessimistic and even alarmed.

Well, that’s just great!
Just what America needs - more nail biting stress.

Of course stress in America is old news. Nonetheless, we still haven’t figured out how to effectively alleviate it. What is worsening is the depth and scale of our stress. And few things gnaw at us with more debilitating intensity than financial uncertainty. Because when the snowball starts rolling, so many parts of our lives get run over. Our companies suffer and that means our jobs might be at stake. And with unemployment comes anxiety about our bills, our mortgages, kids education, even food.

Oh, and gas is four dollars a gallon. Good Heavens! Who’s running this ship?

At times like these - and I don’t remember a lot of times like these - I resort to the core strategies:
I pray and I cling to my family and friends. Hope you do the same. In the meantime, let’s hope that this recession - whether already here or right around the corner - lifts quickly.

I want you to be reading this journal at breaks on your job, not sitting home looking through the paper to find a job.

1. At the first staff meeting after a big company merger, you meet a person with you exact same title and responsibilities. They’re 10 years younger and better looking then you.

10. In the annual report, your image has been photoshopped out of the staff photo.

Friday, Lafayette, Indiana

The Presidential race is still up for grabs. Down to three candidates, McCain, Clinton and Obama, the cable news networks are filling dozens of hours a day with analysis, covering every nuance of the campaign.

And these days there’s increasingly more noise - you know, “breaking news” noise. There is not a focused on issues like the economy, health care and the war (remember that?). Instead we hear about a staff member or supporter who makes an inflammatory remark about the opponent. And again, it is unrelated to the candidate’s views or platform. They target qualities like age, gender or race.

It’s all so revolting!

It is particularly nasty on the Democratic side where Hillary and Barack are nearly tied. Each candidate has had their character impugned - Hillary is a “monster” and Barack’s middle name intimates that he is cozy with Islamic terrorists. So far the actual candidates have distanced themselves from the fray, but the news media keeps entertaining us with the irrelevant soap opera. The most recent episode happened this week when Clinton cut off Geraldine Ferraro for her bonehead remarks about Obama’s race. And he in turn canned the advisor who called Hillary the M word. And McCain has slapped down a local radio host and the Iowa Congressman for their embarrassing rants about Obama.

It could be that like so many recent elections the final count will be close. But there is a growing sense of swelling frustration and rage across the country that cuts across a wide swath of the political landscape. And it might well erupt in November. There is a feeling in the air of a voter uprising against whole mess that is the political environment. From moralist officials caught with hookers and in men’s room trysts, combined with an endless war and spending into bankruptcy how much more will the electorate take?

I just have a feeling it will change in November. And if it is true then if I were betting I would put my money right now on the next President being Barack Obama. Unless some new bombshell sinks him (which of course is possible at any time), he appears to be the most disconnected from the status quo that has alienated the populace. If this should come to pass, I confess to a fear that, given the virulent hatred that rumbles across the country, harm might come to him. And this is a trauma too many citizens my age dread revisiting!

But wether it is President Obama, McCain or Clinton, I am prepared to be supportive of their new direction. Despite the rhetoric of campaigning I believe all three individuals are centrist enough to bridge some of the ugly divide exacerbated by President Bush whose choices in advisors and actions has disappointed me more than any other President in my lifetime. For the sake of our country recovering from a long and deep depression, it’s time for some light and peace.

Why is civility rocket science?

Whoever prevails, I hope the next President will change the tone and tenor of American culture to lift the depression gripping us and harming us around the globe. I pray the next President will do a better, more deft job of balancing focused action smashing terrorists without such collateral damage. And it’s past time that everyone was asked to be involved in our national efforts instead of putting it on the backs of a small number of young heroes (including four of my nephews!) doing all the heavy lifting.

I simply do not believe the hand wringing platitudes of the current "deciders." Because deciding to go to war is a lot easier from an air conditioned office in Washington.

Thursday, Lafayette, Indiana

Dawn Wells who played the legendary Mary Ann on Gilligan’s Island was busted for marijuana possession found in her car after being stopped for reckless driving. Some of the charges were dropped in a plea agreement but made clear that she is a regular user of dope.

Many might wonder what she has been doing since her brush with fame in the 1960’s. These days she ruins the Idaho Film and Television Institute and its annual Spud Fest, a family film festival.

What is most shocking was to learn that Ms. Wells is 69-year-old! Sixty-nine!?!? Whoa!!

Oh how time has past. Most male fans of the classic show Gilligan’s Island are familiar with the debate about who do you find more attractive: Ginger or Mary Ann. The idea is that the two - at the time - young women represented unique styles of female ideals. Mary Ann was the stereotypical “girl next door,” while Ginger was the luscious seductress.

Which woman was more appealing to you? If you were more attracted to Ginger, it revealed your desire for a woman of alluring temptation. In contrast, if you were drawn to Mary Ann, it meant that you were seeking a woman of maternal virtue, mystery and somehow unattainable and accessible.

In reality most men find themselves attracted to each of these prototypes at different times in their life. But everyone gravitates toward a type of love object - and this impulse is not a conscious choice, but rather an unconscious pull toward a desired object. Whether you were a Ginger fan or a Mary Ann fan, it tells us a lot about you. However now that we know she is a pothead. Mary Ann has drifted over to a bit of Ginger Land and worlds are colliding!

Watching the press conference where the disgraced New York Governor Eliot Spitzer resigned I was shocked to see his wife Silda.

My God, she’s beautiful…

and he looks like a Muppet!

She’s a gorgeous Harvard Law School graduate!

What’s he looking for that isn’t standing next to him?

He diserves his disgrace for his sheer stupidy, even beyond his immorality.

And as far as that goes, my question for her is, "why isn’t he in a cast?"

Wednesday, Lafayette, Indiana

Will it ever end? Is there no stopping the stupidity of public figures who don’t get the message that everything they do is watched, recorded and taped? It’s one thing to have been caught ten years ago. But to try and get away with miscreant behavior in the current age is just asking for it!

And so it is with knucklehead New York Governor Eliot Spitzer who was compelled to admit that he is involved with a high end prostitution service. Evidently Spitzer was caught in the web of an ongoing FBI sting operation targeting a call girl operation in Washington, D.C. And the sad irony is that Mr. Spitzer made his reputation as an aggressive prosecutor pursuing ethical wrong doing. He relentlessly pursued Wall Street executives he believed were too loose with their practices.

Among the shocking revelations is that the prostitution service, known as the Emperor’s Club charged over five thousand dollars an hour for the services of their ladies. What!?

At the risk of probing an indelicate subject, what in the world could justify five grand for an hour with a hired woman? Regardless of your personal appetites, it is unimaginable what might justify such an exorbitant fee. Unless they are doing your tax returns, painting your house and donating a liver it is clearly price gouging.

In any case, how is any person who pays attention to the modern world naive enough to believe that they can get away with such shenanigans elected to high office? It is sheer stupidity and worthy of the shame that rains down on their head. Govenor Spitzer has led with his chin on this one.

I for one now live my life assuming that every move I make is being recorded.

It’s the only safe way to live.

Tuesday, Lafayette, Indiana

In a stunning report today it is learned that many cities and towns across the United States have tap water that is tainted with the residue of pharmaceutical drugs. Say what!?

The drugs included everything from antibiotics to prescriptions for convulsions, hormones and depression. The problem affects over 40 million people.

The logical question is how can medication get into the drinking water? Well this is where the story goes from disturbing to out right disgusting. What happens is that your sister takes some antibiotics for a flu. And then your brother takes an antidepressant while your father takes Cialis. Your next door neighbor needs an anti-seizure medication and the lady across the street is using heart medication.

Well, not every bit of these drugs gets fully absorbed into their system. So, when they use the Loo as they say in England, the unabsorbed chemicals get flushed out and into local waste water system. Now, evidently…and this is distressing…wastewater is treated and then sent into the regular tap water system! HELLO!

Not only are we drinking reprocessed toilet water, it’s now laced with chemicals! Good heavens! This is awful in so many ways! it means that the water we drink out of the tap has a revolting history. And now we find that it is also laced with a staggering variety of prescription drugs.

As a person who grew up in the era before health awareness - when everyone smoked and drank to excess - I am nonetheless repulsed by this awareness that my kitchen sink is a depository of filth and chemicals.
It is revealing, however to learn that each city studied contributed different chemicals. And not surprisingly New York City had a high volume of anti-anxiety medications in its water.

Monday, Lafayette, Indiana

Growing up as a Roman Catholic it was common to learn that each and every day was a memorial to one of the great saints of the Church. Some were famous, of course, like Saint Peter, Saint Mary Magdalene or Saint Thomas. But most were obscure to say the least. St. Bridget of Sweden or Saint Pancras (might he be the patron of the pancreas?). Some saints, however are those few have ever heard of before. Among them would have to be Saint Clare of Assisi.

Saint Clare live in the 13th century but she has a special and unique place in modern life. Fifty years ago Pope Pius XII declared Saint Clare the “patron saint of television!”

That’s right, Clare is the saint designated to watch over TV! And you will never guess why this happened. It seems that Clare came down with an illness that prevented her from attending Mass. However, she testified that she was able to see and hear the Mass on the wall of her room! That’s right, Clare was the earliest known visionary to have a television experience some six centuries before the actual invention of the technology!

On a related note, modern dedicated viewers might be familiar with the television network EWTN and its star and founder, Mother Angelica, who is a follower of Saint Clare.

This anecdote tells us two important things:

First: the Church assigns saints to every conceivable part of human life to watch over and protect (although from my viewing, Saint Clare might be neglecting her duties as far as television is concerned).

Second: the story of Saint Clare reminds us that there are individuals who are willing to surrender every convenience and pleasure of modern life to dedicate themselves to the humble service of others. For all the criticism of organized religion, it is incumbent on us to remember that, in the name of religion there is a long, illustrious history of men and women who step away from their life of privilege and comfort to give their years and energy to healing the sick and attending to the poor and the outcast.

While I find it amusing that there is actually a patron saint of television of all things, I am awed by the legacy of people like Saint Clare. I wonder how many young Americans are dedicating their lives to humble service, with no regard for gain.

Blessings to you young lady Clare.

Friday, Baltimore, Maryland

Four years ago this weekend, CBS yanked style maven Martha Stewart’s popular television show off the air following her conviction on lying and stock market shenanigans. Her fall from grace was epic. Complicating her situation was her image as a superior, even haughty persona that made her a woman of great wealth and privilege. Stewart famously went to jail for several months and reports of her time served include offering other women inmates decorating and cooking lessons.

Since that time Martha’s image has essentially been restored. By being open and accessible to the press through media appearance talking candidly about about her experience, she earned the forgiveness of the public. Whether it was her personal sincerity or the counsel of high powered public relations experts, her approach of forthcoming humility rejuvenated Martha’s image. And in this is a lesson for so many other celebrities who go astray.

There have been Hollywood actors, professional athletes and politicians busted for all manner of illegal behavior. And it’s amazing that so few of them learn the lesson of Martha and some few others. Instead we watch the arrogant resistance of tainted celebrities like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, the shallow media contrition of repeat offenders Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, and the refusal to accept responsibility by the privileged who believe they are beyond the scope of responsibility.

Why is this rocket science? How sheltered and obtuse are some of the famous, shielded behind agents, managers, attorneys and other handlers who do the dirty work of cleaning up the mess? It is a reminder that a lifestyle of isolation from peers and other truth tellers leads to skewed judgement and the demise of the personality and the soul.

Martha Stewart may still be an egotistical power freak, but she cannot separate herself from the humbling memory of her prison jump suit.

Tuesday, Lafayette Indiana

Well, well. No sooner had the cable media punditry declared her candidacy in a persistent vegetative state, look who woke up! Hillary Clinton arose and took her place back in the foot race with the Obama juggernaut. While Barack is still well positioned on the delegate count, the game is still on. And yesterday there was a spicy suggestion that perhaps we are looking at a joint Clinton-Obama ticket - a dream match for Democrats.

The historical significance of this prospect cannot be overstated. Either individual represents a change in the culture that would have been unimaginable a generation ago. In fact, no matter who becomes President this year it will set a record. We will either have the oldest President, the first woman or the first African American to hold the office. If John McCain wins and becomes our oldest president it is only by a bit of degree after Ronald Reagan set a new standard in that category.

However, should Clinton or Obama prevail the change would be sensational. In the whole history of the country there has never been a impending political or social change this dramatic. But across the events in my lifetime, it seems like we might well be ready for this eventuality. And no matter how progressive your attitude, there is certainly a sense of excitement mixed with foreboding.

How will a President Hillary or President Barack be received here and abroad? Based on the events of the past decade, it is likely that any change at the top is going to be a welcomed change in many other countries. The compelling question is, should a woman or a person of color be elected to the White House, how will we as Americans respond? Would the virulent divisiveness of the past twenty years continue to immobilize us? Will a radically new Presidential identity bring a greater capacity to bridge the political divide that frustrates progress?

It is this frustration with intractable ideological rigidity that has many Americans so disenchanted with Washington in every branch of government. The refusal to compromise across party lines drives everyone to distraction and is the reason that all three candidates still in the race are individuals who seem more willing and likely to work with their philosophical opponents. Clinton and Obama are clearly more centrist than many in their parties and John McCain’s famous conflict with the right wing of his party are indicative of a new approach to legislating and leadership. We can only hope!