Cheers (or Beer - the new White Out!)

I am offended. I am wondering why our Commander in Chief appears impatient when his opinions are not immediately embraced by others, but feels that all it will take is a clicking of beer mugs to smooth over the comments he made about racial profiling.

A beer? Really, is that all it takes? Maybe the Republicans need to invite him over for a beer fest and we can sew up this health reform issue quickly.

Racial profiling is serious business and something I have no tolerance for, but profiling doesn't stop at race. People are "profiled" based on religion, hair color, skin color, hygiene, income, heritage, neighborhood, clothing and more.

Differences make us look twice, whether it's because of race or piercings or a bad hair day. So we often do take that second look, but we need to withhold judgment.

The toughest looking biker may be a hardworking, devoted husband and father who just happens to have tattoos and ride a Harley.

The young guy with tattoos just might be a savvy conservative candidate for public office.

The African-American in dark clothing just might be returning from the opera.

The Latino with a shaved head and tattoos from head to toe might be a cop.

The moody lady behind the cash register might have experienced a recent tragedy.

The girl with the hat who is sitting off to the side in the shade and away from everyone just might be a redhead.

We need to be sensitive and remember that all of us have a history and a reality that is often hidden from the world. We have bad days. We say things out of context. We make errors and feel bad later. We separate ourselves for reasons unknown to others.

The President of the United States is no different, EXCEPT that he is the President of the United States, the Commander in Chief, possibly the most influential world leader today. What he says matters and we do listen, even when we don't agree.

And we know he is human and makes mistakes, but words are what elected him; they were his platform, he ran his campaign based on his practiced ability to use words, to communicate effectively, to speak in a way that would captivate Main Street USA.

Our President continues to emphasize the importance of words every time he 'edits' something the Vice President has said, often changing a single word or maybe two in the original quote. This one word, or two, changes the intent, the timing, and the message that was originally delivered. President Obama knows the importance of words.

During the campaign we repeatedly heard his credentials, his resume of journalistic experience; we witnessed over and over his carefully crafted speeches where each word had a purpose and a place. Everything we know about President Obama began with, was sustained by and continues through words.

The President's words matter; his words in speeches, his words when speaking to the media, his words without a teleprompter, his words in anger and frustration, and his words in accusation and judgment. And his words, like all words, are like feathers, they are difficult to gather after they are tossed into the air.

The next time the President makes a statement that he regrets, or would like to edit his own words in the same way he edits the Vice President, it seems to me that it should take more than a beer to make that happen. It should take a sincere apology, an admittance of error, a serious retraction or restatement. Obama is not perfect, but he is the President and we need to remember that, but more importantly, so does he.

I am still offended. I am insulted that he believes that the American people should cling to his every word, unless he chooses to edit them and then all it should take is a beer to straighten things out. Does he really think that a beer is all it takes to win over the American people? I really hope not.

So the man who has been urging us to listen, now wishes that we hadn't listened quite so intently, and the same man wants to use beer as white out.

I guess we can expect closure on the health care issue in early October - right around Oktoberfest, and so I propose the following, adapted from a traditional beer toast:

For every wound, a balm.
For every sorrow, cheer.
For every storm, a calm.
For every outburst, a beer.

Cheers.

Lights of Liberty

"Let your light shine"...most of us are familiar with this biblical phrase, but do we live it? Some do.

This past week the Rio Grande Foundation held the first annual "Lights of Liberty" luncheon in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The guest speaker was David Boaz, Executive Vice President of the CATO Institute. Let me simply say that David's light is shining.

The sell-out crowd of 170 liberty-minded attendees listened intently through David's 30 minute "Liberty in Crisis" presentation.

The speech was inspiring, thought provoking and real. David doesn't mince words or dance around critical topics. Although politically correct in the appropriate use of the term, his casual lack of concern for unnecessary political correctness - that which goes against the grain of today's liberal-fueled quasi-conventional wisdom - makes him the perfect example of it - of political correctness. He speaks the truth, he says what needs to be said and he says it well.

One of my favorite pieces so far (I am still reading) by David Boaz appeared in the Wall Street Journal in May 2009 and is titled "Our Collectivist Candidates". His message is timely and timeless; he ends with a statement loosely related to my area of expertise - philanthropy. I will share the final two paragraphs in this blog, but please click on the link to read his entire article.

"But hypocrisy is not the biggest issue. The real issue is that Messrs. Obama and McCain are telling us Americans that our normal lives are not good enough, that pursuing our own happiness is "self-indulgence," that building a business is "chasing after our money culture," that working to provide a better life for our families is a "narrow concern."

They're wrong. Every human life counts. Your life counts. You have a right to live it as you choose, to follow your bliss. You have a right to seek satisfaction in accomplishment. And if you chase after the almighty dollar, you just might find that you are led, as if by an invisible hand, to do things that improve the lives of others."

And he is right; in my experience as a fundraiser, people who have achieved success want (maybe even need) to share with others, and in an interesting example of "what goes around comes around", they are often rewarded for their philanthropic generosity with continued and increased success. It's one of those eternal principles, and yet some would deny that right to personal success and accomplishment. Shame on them; maybe they should be hiding under a bushel.

Keep on shining, David. And may the light of liberty shine on too.

If You Want To Soar With Eagles

Long ago my Dad told me that if I wanted to soar with the eagles, I couldn't hang around with turkeys.

I enjoy working and socializing with smart people. I call my boss the brainiac (in a very respectful way). He blows me away sometimes. The articles below (two earlier blog posts) were written by two very smart policy guys, my boss and our investigative journalist, a couple of educated brainiacs who think at a different level than most of us, well, at least at a different level than I do.

It's not that I am not bright, I have often been told that I am too bright, but I am a big picture person. I see what needs to be done overall, I can see future ramifications before something even happens, I am a visionary with a bit of realism mixed in; the nuts and bolts, the policy details, the checklists, the mini-items - no, they are not on my easy list. I sweat when I have to actually do the little things, and that is simply not attractive on a woman. But put me in a room of people, or give me a long term goal and I will know in short order who should be sitting with whom (and who should not) and what needs to be done to achievethe goal.

So, yes, I enjoy working with smart people, detailed people, policy brainiacs, economic analysts and investigative journalists. They make me feel smarter after I hear what they have to say, whether it's in conversation or because I have read their articles. And they do the detailed research, they do what I don't enjoy doing, so associating with them allows me the opportunity to experience things in an oddly vicarious way through their work.

In today's economic reality, I need these folks to do the detailed research and analysis work and then share it with me (and you). I want to understand details and they help me. I read. I learn. I ponder. And as a result of their work, I am empowered. And then watch out (have I mentioned that I am a redhead?).

I am so glad I didn't choose to hang with turkeys. Thank you Dad!

And I am so grateful that I hitched a ride with some pretty amazing eagles. I guess it's a good thing I didn't go into politics after all.

ABQJOURNAL OPINION/GUEST_COLUMNS: 'Medicare for All' Will Bankrupt the United States

ABQJOURNAL OPINION/GUEST_COLUMNS: 'Medicare for All' Will Bankrupt the United States

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ABQJOURNAL OPINION/GUEST_COLUMNS: Dems' Plan Is Hidden Tax

ABQJOURNAL OPINION/GUEST_COLUMNS: Dems' Plan Is Hidden Tax

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15 Minutes

For years I avoided the news. I didn't even give it 15 minutes a day. I was raising my kids and the news made me fearful. I wondered if they would have a future, if they would be safe on their way to and from school, or AT school, for that matter. After watching horrifying news stories, I worried that my neighbor might be a child molester and that my children's teenage friends were terrible drivers with poor judgment and hidden addictions. So I didn't watch.

I avoided and I worried and I tried to protect my children. We lived in good neighborhoods. I knew their friends and the parents of their friends. I made certain they called to tell me where they were. I went to parent conferences. I tried to keep the communication open, but in spite of all my efforts, I missed some things. I overlooked some things. I ignored some things. I am human, I didn't do it perfectly.

Now I watch the news every morning and every night. I read the paper from front to back. I even have news updates delivered to my email and news flashes that greet me in the morning on my Google Homepage, to say nothing of all the Tweets that come my way. It definitely takes more than 15 minutes a day now, but I am much more aware and informed today than in the past. And again in spite of all my efforts, I miss some things, I overlook some things, I ignore some things. I am still human and I am still not perfect.

Life is a flurry of news and information in the 21st century. It's no longer (and maybe never was) only 15 minutes a day. Today's world is whirling with nonstop progress and communication. We are on overload, even if we don't want to admit it. We sometimes know too much, even if we don't want to recognize it. We are force-fed news in every format possible and we rarely choose to turn it off. It's on the TV, the radio, the computer, the paper, the magazines - all of which are easy to obtain, entertaining, and relatively inexpensive.

Some news is better than other news. Let's face it - all news isn't really news - it's gossip or conjecture or opinion, but it's not always news. It's not always accurate or timely or real either. Look at the magazine racks where the majority of publications are sensational or repetitive (how many meal plans can you create for a 1000-calorie diet?). But even worse, listen to the graphic news stories of child abuse and violent crimes - the stories that make us triple lock our doors at night and never sleep with the windows open. An entire generation will not know the bliss of falling asleep with a warm breeze caressing your cheek as it flows in through the window.

If I had been exposed to the reality of the world as I know it today, through what I like to call "newsmania", I wonder if I would have allowed my children to leave my house - ever.

Kudos to responsible parents today for their courage, and prayers for the children who wander innocently into life's experiences. There is a big world with 15 minutes of fame waiting for each of them. Let's hope that fame comes through a positive action and not a tragedy. We all want our name in the headlines, but let's be careful which headline it ends up in. We have to make the best of our 15 minutes of fame because tomorrow's daily edition is about to go to print with an entirely new headline and yesterday's headlines (our headline) will be moved from the front page and buried in the scores on the sports page or moved into the archives of headline fame.

I wish our politicians cared which headline their name was in, but that isn't always the case. Fame is fame to them and they also want more than their allotted 15 minutes. Bad publicity is considered better than no publicity to a politician in the headlines. It's all about name recognition, sustainable public exposure and widespread identity.

News is news, and I read it and watch it, but I also know how to turn it off. If only some of our politicians knew how to do the same.

Reduced Fat

I need to lighten up, this blog was supposed to be the lighter side of politics and there I go talking about things that aren't all that light.

In this day and age it's hard to not get a little heavy with the commentary when discussing economic policy that costs taxpayers billions of dollars, transparency in government, inequitable legislation and other timely and critical issues in the world of politics.

However, I will do my best to do better, to be lighter, to not chew the fat on every issue that comes to mind.

So, here goes, let me start with this bumper sticker, found on the back of a Toyota Tundra in Albuquerque, NM earlier today: I'll keep my guns, freedom and money, you can keep "The Change".

Light, but to the point.

They're Covered!

The question always seems to boil down to entitlement - who deserves what. The interesting conundrum when entitlement is reviewed in relation to elected officials is the disparity between what they think they deserve and what they think the rest of us deserve.

Take national health care reform, for instance. It's a huge issue; everyone's talking about it. We wonder what the proposed changes will do for (or to) us - the average taxpayer. Our legislators don't have to wonder what it will do for (or to) them; they have a very nice benefits package that includes very good health coverage.

How can our elected representatives decide what's best for whom when the decision won't affect them because they already have the best and believe they deserve it?

And how about those NM public employees' pension plans? How can our state legislature vote to require public employees to contribute a higher annual amount to their pension plans and not include themselves? Aren't they public employees? (Yes, they are.) Granted, the additional amount collected would be minimal if our legislators had included themselves in the legislation, but that isn't the issue and they should have known that.

This is a lost opportunity, where a little integrity could have made up for lost ground; our legislators not only missed the mark but they added another layer of mistrust to the already multilayered film that shrouds New Mexico's state leadership.

Who deserves what? A very good question and one we should be answering, not them.

Monopoly anyone?

I love board games. Evidently so do the Dem's.

Check this out: House Democrat's Org Chart for Health Plan (at least it's colorful!)

From the looks of the game board, I guess we're in for another game of monopoly.

Roll the dice...

Fidelity

What a novel concept in this day and age...fidelity.

Fidelity in marriage. Fidelity between trusted business and trusting customer. Fidelity between voters and their elected officials.

And fidelity to the law. Again, what a concept. And one that more legislators, attorneys and judges should pay more attention to, as should all of us on Main Street USA.

Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor said in her testimony on Capitol Hill that "fidelity to the law" is at the heart of her judicial philosophy. And she brought her family to the hearings, the first ever to do so. Maybe it was staged, maybe it was unnecessary, or maybe it was because she really wanted them there.

I may not always agree with Ms. Sotomayor's political views or legal judgements, but these two fundamental characteristics are admirable and I am not going to ignore that.

Family and Fidelity. Kudos to Sonia.

Incompetent Competition

I find it interesting the way words can suddenly jump from a page and make you see them as if for the first time. It's almost the exact opposite of the 1st day back at school after summer vacation when you are supposed to write the traditional "What I did during summer vacation" essay. I remember writing words and looking at the paper and wondering what I had written. Was that really the way "route" was spelled?

Words are fascinating. Words can elevate or destroy people, articles, conversations.

Today's two words to consider are: incompetent and compete.

Incompetent: inability to function properly, lack of physical or intellectual ability or qualifications, not qualified or suited for a purpose.

Compete: engage in a contest, measure oneself against others, to seek or strive for the same thing another is seeking or striving for

It's interesting that we consider many of our elected leaders incompetent, but when you think about it for a minute, it actually makes sense.

Competition comes from the base word - compete.

People who compete well and fairly would typically embody the values of self-confidence and sportsmanship and humility. They want to win, but they also know how to lose and can cheer and congratulate the winner. They are worthy competitors.

Incompetent people would typically embody the opposite values, or a lack of same. Ego instead of a healthy self-confidence, dishonesty, cheating and smear campaigns in place of sportsmanship; braggery and cockiness over humility. They will do anything to win and if they lose they have nothing nice to say to the winner, including a heartfelt "congratulations". They place blame. They pout. They say things they shouldn't. They are not able to compete.

How do competitors compare to the incompetent? It's actually quite simple. It boils down to integrity and honor.

I would like to cast my vote for those who know how to compete honorably and lose gracefully. Where are they?

Sheer Curtains

Transparency in government is like the multiple layers of unnecessary drapes in a hotel room. You pull one open to let the sunshine and fresh air into the room only to find that there are several more layers of sheer curtains still blocking the sun, the air and your view.

For a state that claims 300 days of sunshine every year, it's amazing that the sun only shines on the Roundhouse in Santa Fe a few days of those 300. This creates an exclusive setting for our state government officials to represent the people of New Mexico. The message is loud and clear: we, the voters, aren't welcome there. Oh, we can stop by and say hello once every few years, and make donations as often as possible, but for the most part we don't have and aren't invited to have real access to what's going on in the Roundhouse.

New Mexico is fighting a battle that can be won, if the right architect and interior decorator are involved. Anyone knows that the quality of the design can make all the difference in outcomes.

We see this in today's residential construction design with the popular open floor plan where the great room becomes the center of the home, typically open to a large eat-in kitchen and adjacent to an entertainment patio. This arrangement of space encourages open communication, involvement of all to the exclusion of none, and positive behavior. It's an inclusive setting.

In a similar effort to bring more openness in communication, parents are constantly advised to keep the personal computer in the family room and to not allow their children to sequester themselves away behind closed doors with the lights dimmed. The same thing can be said for the telephone, although cell phones have created unlimited opportunities for conversations that are no longer monitored automatically simply because the home phone plugs in at the center of the house.

Although most parents are savvy enough to do some quiet monitoring of URL's, email and telephone numbers that have been called or visited, they are also more comfortable with the situation simply because whatever is going on isn't happening behind closed doors and out of sight. More open communication is being practiced in many American homes today than was in the past. Parents are talking to their children, and even more impressive is the fact that children are talking to their parents. And because of these trends, when privacy is needed it's often given without concern. It's amazing what trust and communication can do.

Government could learn from the communication, design and open door policies of homes and families. There are always times when privacy is important and necessary, both in homes and government, but those should be the exception not the rule. The crucial question now is who will join the design team? Who is already elected and who will we elect to fling the drapes open and move the transparency issue into the sunlight?

And I understand the necessity of privacy when dealing with negotiations, personnel, matters of national safety and security, litigation and even some sensitive financial issues, but with rare exception have I ever recognized a need for any other behind-closed-door discussions unless there was something subversive, dishonest or downright mean or illegal going on.

It would be unfair to not acknowledge that we have some eager and ethical legislators in New Mexico - our current design team - who encourage input and participation from New Mexico's voters. New Mexico Representative Janice Arnold-Jones is one of them; she has already flung the curtains open. Kudos to the courageous lady! She gets it, and she wants all of us to get the information we should have too.

These transparency-supporting legislators are working to improve the public's access to the comings and goings and votes and comments in our state capitol. More kudos to them and more power too, because these are the folks who will open the doors and windows of the Roundhouse. it's Historically, transparency, open arms and open doors may not have been the norm in Santa Fe, but moving forward it's going to get better - it has to. New Mexicans are watching and waiting.

Transparency in government; now wouldn't that be a breath of fresh air?

Let the sun shine in!

Unique Symptoms

There is a debate going on nationwide about health care options for Americans. There is a four day online debate going on even closer to home at ABQ CitySeeker . This debate is between five Albuquerqueans with widely differing opinions on how to best reform America's health care system.

With the goal of finding a solution that will guarantee health care to every American, each with their own unique set of circumstances, I was compelled to comment on the debate and in my not-a-policy-analyst remarks I included the following:

"I am unique, but in that uniqueness I am just like every other American. None of us fit the "one size fits all" models being considered."

Identity Crises

If New Mexico's State Investment Officer Gary Bland can publicly compare himself to Prometheus of Greek mythology, and South Carolina's Governor Mark Sanford can publicly refer to himself as a modern-day King David, I can hardly wait to see who comes out as Gandhi.

Anyone care to make a prophecy?

Let Freedom Ring

Fireworks, parades, flags, bar-b-que, family, liberty, freedom, the pursuit of happiness, joy; these are all part of the 4th of July, Independence Day.

I love the United States of America. I appreciate the men and women who have sacrificed their lives and their time for the freedom I enjoy every day.

I have enormous respect for the Founding Fathers of our country. I am amazed at the courage and tenacity of the pilgrims. I have visited Jamestown several times. I have been there when the coast was blanketed in a thick, cold, rolling fog and tried to imagine the lives of those early settlers during the extreme weather conditions of those freezing winters.

I have a contrasting but equally enormous concern for some of our elected leaders today who seem to have egos and power and fame on their minds rather than freedom and liberty, prosperity and opportunity. They prefer to take over businesses instead of legislating appropriately to support a free market and encourage individual success. They travel abroad too often when they are needed here, in their nation, and in their states.

Personally, I am happy to stay in the good ol' U-S-of-A. I love road trips on the highways of our country. Every mile that I drive I am awestruck by the natural beauty that can be found in all corners of our great nation. And I am thrilled when I meet new friends, fellow Americans of different religions, cultural backgrounds, and opinions. They intrigue me. They make me think. They aren't always like me, but they usually make me a better person, especially if I take the time to listen (and learn). Sure, I would love to travel abroad, but there is so much to see and learn about right here that I am in no hurry. Besides, I doubt I could get an audience with the Pope and I don't have anyone in other parts of the world that I want to climb into bed with literally or figuratively - lover, friend or foe.

I am proud to be an American. I treasure my freedom. I respect those who have sacrificed so that I can live in this land of the free and home of the brave.

I believe this is a blessed nation. I hope that we as a nation will live so that it continues to be.

God bless America, land and people that I love...