The People have spoken



Photo credit: Ozier Muhammad - NY Times

Tuesday, November 4th 2008 will be an unforgettable day for many, not only here in the states but around the world.  It is a day when dreams dared to come true, a day many of us feared would not come, a day of revolution and hope that was way overdue.

I think I spent most of Wednesday, taking it all in, glued to CNN and the other news channels, happy and relieved that the Democrats were back in charge. No doubt, the significance of the Obama election, that of an African American citizen, to the most powerful position in the land, even to someone like myself, a citizen of the world who did not grow up here in the states affected by the "minority syndrome", had so much significance that yes, I held back tears as I saw the coverage.


Photo credit: Doug Mills - NY Times

Obama was not my initial choice for president. That is no secret. I was a Hillary supporter who flirted with the possibility of supporting Mr. McCain when the Democratic primaries came to an end.  But subsequently I watched Obama grow into a very viable and credible candidate, the kind of candidate I would be willing to support, as opposed to the erosion of credibility of Mr. McCain when he chose the unviable and unprepared Sarah Palin. Mr. Obama showed an intelligent steadiness, discipline and even a level of honesty that no other candidate had expressed (well, perhaps with the exception of Joe Biden).

Therefore, I congratulate President-elect Obama, Vice president-elect Biden and their team. I congratulate the Democratic party for this fantastic win. Yes I was also hoping for the filibuster-proof 60 seats (and I'm still hoping), but overall, this win was a victory for the American people. And even those who did not vote Democrat --though they may not realize it today-- are likely to benefit from an Obama/Biden administration.


Photo credit: Genevieve Ross -- AP

I was in awe of the turn out, the energy, the spirit. Like many, I was fearful of another instance of voter fraud and that once again the will of the people would be silenced by the other half that votes on their fear and ignorance. But no doubt, this time the voices were unmistakably clear that we needed real change. And boy did the American People speak up!




Obama, Biden and the Democrats have a huge task ahead, no doubt. I only hope they manage expectations in a smart way so that in two years, they can continue increasing their majority in the next election, and continue the clean up.

There is so much work to be done that the last thing we need is a deadlock in congress, the way it has been during the past 2 years, even despite a Democratic win in congress, barely a majority. So, it seems like now we have a chance with the right representation in Washington.

There is no doubt that this leadership is going to ask us to participate in the clean up process, and many of us will gladly do our part.

I am excited and full of hope that the downward negative spiral we were all experiencing, will be stopped and eventually reversed. I am excited about the people behind the Obama/Biden administration, the great men and women who in the past have served this country so honorably. I am thrilled to hear that the legacy of the Clinton administration will also be part of this new team.


Photo credit: BarackObama.com

Obama has proven to be a very smart man to begin aligning his administration with a successful one, that of Mr. Clinton. I only hope that the Republicans don't come across as sore losers and begin criticizing every one of the steps he takes as he takes over the reigns of power. They live in glass houses and should be the last ones to feel entitled to throw stones. I hope the media won't let them get away with that and allow the Democrats to do their part governing and re-establishing order and peace, not only in this country but also around the world.

The Obama presidency, with all its promise and good will marks an era of new optimism, hope and good will. Not only the American People are winners as a result of this election, but also the rest of the world.



During this past few months I have come to respect Mr. Obama and his family, to love the Clintons, and become a fan of the Democratic party, despite my stance as an independent.  

Therefore, even though I initially did not support him, he earned it, and now as president, he and the Democrats have my commitment to do my part when they come calling to support them in the clean up of the mess the Bush administration and his cronies are leaving behind.

Cheers to new beginnings!

God Bless America

        

The moment of truth?





I would love to think that tomorrow, Election Day, as the votes are finally cast and counted, that we will have a final verdict of who the true winner of this contest will be. Will it be the American People, or the agents of "trickle down economics".

Like millions of us who desire a change as badly as a castaway desiring a fresh change of clothes and fresh water, I also fear that at the last minute another dirty trick will be pulled. With the "technology" at hand we all know that elections can be bought, that they can be fixed and tampered with. We all fear that despite the millions and millions of people turning out to vote there will be a "surprise", the way we were surprised in 2000 and 2004.

Yet it seems the only way to beat this possibility is to vote for the democrats in such high numbers that there would be no doubt left due of any potential "close contests".

What I don't understand is how people can still fall for the politics of fear and ignorance. Why? Can someone explain to me why do people actually believe the crap they are fed by the party that wants to remain in power?

It may sound like a dramatic comparison but this situation reminds me of the situation of the pigs in my grandpa farm. The poor animals would be fed tons and tons of leftover food, allowed to happily live in the mud in the midst of their ignorant bliss, while ultimately, their fate was to be slaughtered and be served at the dinner table for some special occasion at the whim of my grandparents. 

I do believe we are being used by those in power, fed garbage, allowed to fester in the mud. Many have been sent to the slaughter for the purpose of serving those self-servient in charge of the administration, who in the end will retire rich and with impunity.

The "trickle-down" economics has been proven not to work. The wealth has remained on top and all we get is leftovers from the big table. I am sorry to compare our situation to pigs in the farm but I feel such pity for those creatures, for they don't know better. There is a special place in my heart for them, right up there with cows, dogs, horses, whales, etc.

The difference between the fate of those poor animals and us, the American people living in this country, is the fact that we can change our destiny, if we only use our head and guts to do the right thing. We do actually have a say over our paths. 

We just have to be brave, follow our hearts, our conscience and do what's right, despite of what others want us to do. Nobody owns us. So, let's remember the spirit of the founding fathers and make this election a revolution against that other tyrant George and his cronies.

So, tomorrow is our opportunity.

I will surely be watching.

And since tonight is SNL's presidential bash, and it has just started, I'm ending here.

Let's declare a revolution with our vote tomorrow, and vote for real change. Let's vote for the democrats to take back command of this great nation.  Of course they are not perfect, but given the record of the Clinton years versus the Bush years, this decision is a no-brainer.

        

I have been a little out of commission for the past month and a half or so, in the midst of so much going on with the economy and politics. So I have tried as much as possible to keep up here. And so during the next few entries I will attempt to cover here what I have found most interesting about this political season so far and so today I will start by embedding (or attempting to embed here) one of my favorite Saturday Night Live videos featuring the look alike of my beloved candidate, senator Hillary Clinton, Amy Poehler and the look alike of governor Palin, played by Tina Fey.

So, click here to go the New York Times website for the article, that also has the link to the video.

Anyway, that is all for this morning.

More to come later....

Thanks for tuning in.

        

So the big news this afternoon sending the markets tumbling is that the bailout bill failed to get the necessary votes to pass in the House of Representatives.

About 60% of the Democrats in the House supported the measure.

Less than 1/3rd of the House Republicans supported the measure.

Democrats

140 Yes
95  No 

Republicans

65   Yes
133  No
1      No Vote

Total 205 yes verssus 228.

12 single votes that the Republicans were unable to deliver.

And the misguided anchors at Fox News had the NERVE to say that the democrats could have come up with more votes and passed this on their own!!!

They know this is a screwed up solution that is forcing the hands of the Democrats, who have shown total flexibility and cooperation. They know politically it's a messy deal, so they wanted to make it a Democrat vote, after they agreed to work in the spirit of bipartisanship.

And like little kids, the Republican leadership failed to deliver and ended up blaming mama Pelosi's strong words pointing at the failures of the last 8 years, which are all true, and I commend her for saying something.

Some little boys and girls got their feelings hurt and decided their feelings and their party are more important than our country. 

Right.

Country First.

Sounds more like the slogan of one of those robber baron "mortgage houses" than the real principle behind the Republican Party drumbeat to stay in power.

The Republican leadership failed, yet once again.  And they have the nerve to point their fingers at the Democrats and Nancy Pelosi.

I would only hope the American People are smart enough to see the real story and not the curtain of fog that the Republicans are once again throwing our way.

Let's vote all the Republicans out of office come this November.

It's time.

        

Oh, this is good!

Here are the Republicans at their best and worst:

John Stewart does a great job juxtaposing their contradictory statements given at different times just to suit their agenda.

Oh, this is a must see.

Click here to watch this great video.

If you have trouble with the link above, then click on this one.

All I can say is, unbelievable.

No doubt Sarah Palin has quite a few positive traits that I admire, but she is no doubt, being used by the Republican machine to suit their need to win regardless. What I wonder is, is she aware of it?

        

I have been quite busy for the past week and have been itching to share my views on all the news worthy items  with you here.

In the meantime, a friend forwarded me an article worth reading.

Gloria Steinem, whom I admire so much just published her view on Sarah Palin in the LA Times. Therefore, in order to avoid any copyright issues, I'm pasting the title and link to the article below.

I encourage you to check it out.

Hope all of you are doing well.

'Till the next one.

Maria NYC

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-steinem4-2008sep04,0,1290251.story

Opinion

Palin: wrong woman, wrong message

By Gloria Steinem

        

    
Photo from http://www.demconvention.com                    Photo from http://www.cnn.com/
 
I could not have been more disappointed as I watched the primaries that ended with the Spring, and saw that my candidate, Hillary Clinton was unable to clinch the nomination.


 Photo credit: www.hillaryclinton.com

It is a shame how it all turned out and the ugliness of it all. It turned into a nasty war of race, gender, class, and all sorts of bias. The media didn’t help. And no doubt, in my opinion, gender bias was stronger than racial bias. Some of you may disagree but that is my opinion. And sure, when Obama was declared the winner, I swore I wouldn’t campaign for the guy, nor do anything to help him get elected, and turned to my old sympathy for John McCain. Many in my circle felt that way.

It’s been a few months since my huge disappointment and I have been harboring those feelings, especially because I did not see any effort from the Obama campaign to reach out to me as a Hillary supporter, except to ask me for money. I saw their nonchalance in how they handled the VP selection. For the record, I was happy she was not chosen. In my opinion, she deserves to be the #1 in a presidential ticket. But the way they handled it was in my opinion rude and deceitful. It angered me more to think their belief is that we’d have no option but fall into the fold because we’d have no other choice. Some of my black friends who supported Obama from the beginning didn’t help by painting the Clintons as evil, something totally uncalled for.

Hillary’s speech calling for unity  --we all knew she would do what she’d have to do—was compelling, but knowing the pressure was on for her to deliver, I was still not convinced into supporting the Obama ticket. Not because I don’t believe in Hillary, but because I believe she’ll do the right thing, regardless of her feelings, regardless of how badly she was treated, and I didn’t think the other guy deserved that. As she gave her speech I was busily typing into my blackberry a compelling argument against a dear friend –one of those Obama supporters who vilified the Clintons—listing Hillary’s voting record, and presenting the case why I supported her.

The next day, in the afternoon I watched a historic moment in the convention during the roll call, when the NY State delegation, led by Hillary Clinton called for suspending the roll call and declaring Obama the nominee by proclamation.


Photo credit: AP
 
During the roll call, watching the states that came before NY, the majority giving a percentage of their vote to Hillary, gave me a dim hope that perhaps she would have enough votes and become the nominee. But when Hillary walked in with the NY delegation and called for the proclamation and for unity, I was utterly touched. I was not the only one with tears in my eyes. I think I finally cried letting out my disappointment when recognizing that my candidate had done the utmost classy move and any remaining hopes of Hillary being elected to president this November were finally dashed. Watching her actions only made me admire her more, but also realize I needed to follow her lead. It was indeed a historic moment for many of us.

And then Bill Clinton spoke that evening. Bill Clinton, the man himself, a man who I’m sure was angrier and more disappointed than I at the way things turned out with our candidate. During the time he was president I wasn’t paying much attention to politics. Things, in my opinion and in my life, were reasonably good for me to worry about what was going on in Washington. It was the equivalent of being a healthy young person. We never pay attention until we develop a life threatening illness and then begin to pay attention. And ever since the race of 2000, I have been paying serious attention to our politics.
 

Photo credit: www.ClintonFoundation.org

And when Bill Clinton spoke at the convention, he sealed the deal for me.  Again, not because I believed in every word he uttered, but he made some points worthy of thought. Those points made me arrive to my own conclusions. Bill –without a doubt -- is still a leader, and his call for support of the Obama Biden ticket was so compelling that I actually began to consider supporting the democratic choice, despite my feelings of disappointment for Hillary’s loss and anger against the cockiness and sense of entitlement of the Obama people.

 
Photo credit: http://speaker.house.gov/newsroom/photogallery

I thought about the people I like in Washington, Nancy Pelosi, my hero, Hillary and Schumer, my senators, the people in NYS government, starting with David Patterson, rep Charlie Wrangler on down, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Joe Biden, even those who disappointed me such as Ted Kennedy and Bill Richardson, the Spanish hot headed man governing the good ole state of New Mexico. They are democrats who I know are aligned with my beliefs and values, and I thought to myself, “Sure! I may not be crazy about the man who beat Hillary and is at the top of the ticket, but along with him, there will be a plethora of those people I do like, behind him, ready to be part of his team at every level, from Washington on down to our local districts. And I know they’ll work to stop the flow of damage caused by the Bush/Cheney administrations and begin to work on the repair and rebuilding of our great nation.”

 
http://biden.senate.gov/press/press_kit/       http://www.demconvention.com/convention-photos/

Watching all those good democrats together, I thought to myself, regardless of my feelings for the top of the ticket, why should the team suffer because my choice candidate was not chosen?

I know very well what a McCain presidency would mean. He on the other hand, is a man I like, on the top of a ticket with a team behind him, a team of people I have no faith in and who in all honesty so far have proven to be pretty scary. McCain has made it very clear he will follow the Bush Cheney mindset, and that would mean the possible overturning of important civil freedoms, especially for us women. As a cancer survivor, I am concerned about healthcare since it is so difficult to afford it nowadays. As an entrepreneur, I am concerned about business opportunities and taxes. After all, I paid very high taxes this year and did not even qualify for the damn incentive. I am concerned about help for education (I am thinking about going back to school), social security (my mom is about to retire, will I have to bear the burden because her social security payments won’t be enough?) These are real issues, and no longer just empty words in a campaign speech.

During the 2000 primaries Al Gore did not excite me. John McCain did. And I was hugely disappointed and angry at the way the Bush people crushed his exciting run for the nomination. Just watching the dirty plays of the republican party, turned me off about anything that had to do with George Bush. And they have only confirmed those initial impressions over the past 8 years. So I always harbored admiration for John McCain.


Photo credit: MSNBC.com

Since Hillary lost the nomination, I have been seriously considering supporting McCain, the maverick whom I have admired in so many instances.

But the McCain of today is barely a shadow of the McCain I followed in 2000.  I looked at his voting record and it scared me. What’s more it scared me when he said that as president he would place judges more like Alito and Roberts. That would tip the balance of the supreme court to cater to the right wing! Talk about fairness!

What’s more, I saw an interview of Sheryl Crow in CNN this morning. The CNN anchor asked her why was she supporting the democratic ticket. She said something that confirmed I must support the democrats. Sheryl said she approached McCain at a fund raiser a while ago and asked him why have we been so reluctant to sign the Kyoto treaty and hesitant to support the scientific findings behind global warming. According to Sheryl Crowe, his answer was that “Our planet’s better days are behind us”.  What????  Oh my God!  Is this the kind of thinking we want of our next political leader? A world leader?  I’m sure Al Gore would have choked hearing that. This is not the McCain I thought I knew.

And as of the last hour, McCain has selected a new running mate, Sarah Palin. There is no doubt they are going after us, Hillary’s supporters who have been majorly disappointed by the democrat party’s selection.

 
Photo: MSNBC.com
   
And I just heard Sarah’s first speech as McCain’s VP pick. She’s beautiful, strong, sounds intelligent and said some things that resonated with me. She recognized Hillary and that clearly was a way to reach out to us.

But let’s take a look at her record. She’s aligned with the Republican mindset and will support John McCain’s decisions. And unfortunately McCain has been aligning himself with the Bush Cheney administration.

So, unfortunately she is not aligned with my democratic values. Will she support the continuous violation of the constitution brought about by the current administration? Will she support the crappy healthcare plan McCain is presenting? Will she support a woman’s right to choose and the right of gay couples to marry and or unite under law? I don’t think so because of her record so far.

As much as my first impression of Sarah is positive, she’s unfortunately in the wrong party.

Hillary is very different from her. And I find it insulting of the republicans to think that just because she is a smart feminine leader those of us, the dissappointed Hillary supporters are going to run to support the McCain ticket in the blink of an eye just because he chose a woman as a running mate.

It is obvious that to them a skirt is a skirt. They don’t see the tremendous differences between Hillary and Sarah. They are clueless as what Hillary means to us.

How narrow-minded! 

Are we going to vote purely on gender? 

It’s as foolish as those who vote purely on race! The unfortunate thing is that some people have done so and will do that very thing in November. The republicans are counting on it. Let’s just hope our vote in the national elections is a smart vote and not an emotional one.

There is too much at stake and we need to vote on the issues and not on gender nor race.

And now that the race has been defined, I can pledge my support to the democratic ticket, regardless of my feelings. I will follow Hillary and Bill’s lead and hope that one day either Hillary, or another amazing qualified woman like her, will be selected as the nominee and go on to lead us from the White House.

In the meantime, if we are to really choose for issues that are important to us, Hillary supporters, let’s put our hands over our heart and vote to put the Democrats back in charge this November. You know they'll do the right thing in comparison to the republicans.

So let's follow Hillary's lead and support the democratic choice.

        

Many of us have two major reasons to celebrate this 4th of July weeekend:

1. The commemoration of the declaration of Independence for this great nation.
2. The liberation of Ingrid Betancourt and the other hostages on July 2nd.

How momentous to know that Ingrid Betancourt is finally free!

Photo credit: Ingrid Betancourt reunited with her children after six years - Huffington Post

As a Latin American living in this great city, I had not been disconnected from events happening outside the US borders, and had been carefully following Ingrid's plight in the hands of the FARC.

Like millions of us around the world, I was very concerned that this symbol of new fresh leadership, this new light of hope in Latin America would fall while in the hands of terrorists. After all, look at what another terrorist group did to Benazir Bhutto last December on the other side of the world.  Coincidentially enough, the picture of an emaciated Ingrid was published also last December. I guess those two events, plus Hillary's negative depiction by the media made me start this blog so I could rant and rave about injustices against the rise of female leadership figures around the world.

While Hillary lost the primary here and Benazir Bhutto was assassinated, there is at least a ray of hope in seeing Ingrid Betancourt finally free.

Much credit should be given to the people who were behind her liberation, as well as that of the other hostages. And I mean credit to those in the planning and execution as well as those who will remain anonymously behind the scenes for obvious reasons.

As a business woman, living in Latin America from 2000 to 2002, I was exposed quite often to news of Ingrid Betancourt. Many of us already saw her as a beacon of leadership in a growing network of emerging political figures. She reminds me of a few other fantastic and visionary Latin American personalities I met while living there. To me, Ingrid is the blend of a tough leader and a loving mother figure, who had the passion, the right intentions and the right words. Had I been a Colombian citizen, she would have had my vote.

Which is why learning of her kidnapping, seeing that heartbreaking picture last December, made me fear for her life.

And now she's finally free. What a coincidence, right in time for the 4th of July celebration here in the United States.

Some may call it a coincidence. But if you connect the dots, there are a few key points to address. For one, out of the blue, John McCain happens to travel there on the day of the liberation. We cannot take away the fact that three of the other liberated hostages are American citizens. Of course the United States government has to say there was no correlation. If they are smart, and for the good of the reputation of Alvaro Uribe, Colombia's president, especially in the light how his dimwit peers, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and that other clown, known as the leader of the Republic of Ecuador, Correa view him. And by the way, I do have to ask myself, where is the fighting spirit of the Ecuadorian people? Whenever they have a bad president, they depose him right away. Why haven't they removed this loser, full of so much hatred, leading them down the wrong path.

But, back to the coincidential points.

Ingrid Betancourt was released right in time for the 4th of July, a date when this fantastic nation (yes, fantastic despite its current leadership) celebrates its freedom. And the presidential candidate for the same party as the man sitting in the White House happens to go to Colombia? The same presidential candidate, a former Prisoner of War? Mmm....  And what do you know, just like two centuries ago, there is the presence of the French in the picture.  How interesting.  And how great! Vive la liberté.

The United States may deny it, but there has to be some credit given there. After all, the US Air Force base in the city of Manta, Ecuador --a few minutes of flight away from the Colombian border-- is in place to help fight the troubles in Colombia. How could the US Air Force advanced technology not have served as aid for a resoluton of such a crisis? Of course the Colombian president may have been at the helm of this, but there had to had been help from the US and France. Both very interested and willing parties.

So, I take my hat off to all those who participated in freeing Ingrid and the other hostages, whether they acknowledge participation or not.

And so my July 4th weekend as a resident of this great city, was even more special this year. At home we celebrated the release of the hostages and especially that of Ingrid. Though I do not personally know her, it felt as if she were a part of my family.

Last night I lay awake in the middle of the night, listening to the sounds of the summer breeze move the leaves of the trees outside my window, as I would hear some birds in the background. And I thought of what Ingrid and the other hostages had to endure in that jungle, and many of them continue to endure, night after night. It must  be terrifying to spend the nights in such state. As she herself said, living with death by your side. And I felt lucky to be where I was, safe in my own comfortable room.

I only hope that Ingrid does not return to Colombia anytime soon, especially for that upcoming Freedom March that has been set to urge the release of the remaining hostages.

If Ingrid Betancourt does not  attend the march, I think millions of us would understand. I fear she may be exposing herself a bit too soon.

Ingrid, if these words ever reach you, I hope you reconsider attending. There is too much hate on the part of the FARC. The wounds of their losses are too recent and they will strike at anything, and who better than you as a target for their revenge. They'll want to make a statement. Note how quiet they have been since your release. You yourself saw how vicious these people can be. Please be careful!

For now, I celebrate along with the rest of the world, your release, and we only hope that whenever it is that you are ready to take the world stage again, as the great loving leader you are, that you get all the good things you deserve for all you have endured.


Photo credit: Facebook

In the meantime, take good care of yourself, enjoy your newly gained freedom next to your beautiful family, and many of us your followers and admirers look forward to hearing from you.  In the meantime, take your time. We will all await until you're ready.

Cheers!

        

As I inevitably read and listen to all the headlines, opinions and talk about the Clinton vs. Obama race, day in and day out, I can't help but notice very disturbing primitive patterns.

Have you noticed how the majority of Hillary critics are men?  And now so is the majority of members of the black race?

Notice the pattern people? 

We are obviously sticking "with our own", regardless of true, solid credentials and experience for the job.

Why are people so threatened by the idea of putting an experienced woman to lead this country? Especially in these troubled times?

What is up with that?

I wonder if Hillary were a white male, (same age range) if she'd get the same disdain she gets from the majority of the pundits, and the press.

If Obama were a white male --and I'm citing the "white male" example here being this the type that has usually ran for the job-- would we also give him the same adoration he's given now, usually by the less experienced and more naive (and preferably male) crowds?  Would he still be considered a "phenomenon?"

What if he were a white female?

Don't you think he'd be criticized by his "lack of sufficient experience" despite the great rhetoric?

I am not complaining here folks, but if we all took a step back, erased the gender and color issues, and just listened to these candidates, if we just read up on their resumes and accomplishments, without taking into account their physical make up, whom would we really be rooting for?

Isn't that what we should be doing? Instead of running to root for someone because they "inspire us". Didn't George W do a lot of that in 2000 with his talk of "compassionate conservatism" and "no child left behind" BS?

There was a lot of empty rhetoric behind that, and many of us knew it. Which is why many of us were appalled when he was put on the presidency, despite the obvious loss of votes to Al Gore.

And yes, poor Al. Boooooring as he may have sounded, we all know deep inside our country would certainly have been in a different state today.  Perhaps good ole Al may not have "inspired" people to be the "guy you'd want to sit down and have a beer with", but he was better prepared for the presidency than W.

Aren't we in the verge of making the same mistake? This time on the Democratic side?

If we were to just look at resumes and accomplishments of all three candidates, in my opinion, Hillary and John McCain are way ahead of "Wonder Boy", as Maureen Dowd calls him.

So, why can't we wake up and smell the reality coffee. It's nice to dream but we need to look at our reality around us and ask ourselves, why are we really backing our candidate.

Are we backing her just because she's a woman? If you are, then you're not savvy enough to vote.
Are we backing Obama because he's black? Or young? Or you like the way he sounds? Or what he says?  Then you're not savvy enough to vote.
Are we backing John McCain just because you're a republican and you're damn going to vote republican regardless who was the candidate? They you're not savvy enough to vote.

Let's look at their resumes, their accomplishments, their experience and their plans. How realistic are these "plans" or "solutions" they offer.

If you were hiring a candidate to run your company, isn't that what you would do?

I truly hope so.

Let's be fair and truly live up to the expectation of being the best models of citizenship.

Vote with your brain, not with your emotions, biases or fear. It's time to change that.

        

As a woman living in NYC, where the fight for women's equality is on a more fair ground, I was astonished to learn about Pakistan's former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination. Perhaps many of you who live in this great city are thinking, "So what do I care?  As long as it doesn't happen in my backyard..."

We should all care. Male or female. Pakistani or not.

As a woman, I see the world crawling backwards into an almost prehistoric state when it comes not only to women's issues, but when it comes to the issues of fairness in many aspects of life: children, the elderly, animals, our planet and its precious resources. 

God, is it because the people in power are so corrupt that it has given others the unspoken license to run free and spill evil?

And please don't think I am being religious just because I'm using the word "God" in the same sentence as the word "evil." It is only an expression.

We are not respecting our earth, children, animals, women, and other beings that may not necessarily be in a position of power or in a position of defending themselves.

I only knew of Benazir Bhutto from news during the past 20 years. And I had only come to understand the significance of her role as the only Muslim woman to have ever led a Muslim country, once I learned the terrible plight that life is for women in the Muslim world, where they are considered property of men, and brainwashed into submission, or else death.

My life has been about so many other things and it continues to be (career, money, family, etc.). But as much as I had been so wrapped up in my own life and challenges, I couldn't help but be deeply hurt by the death of Benazir Bhutto, not because I knew her, not because I am a fan of Middle East politics, but simply because of the significance of her death.

They say that for people in Pakistan it signifies the dashed hope of emerging from the sinkhole the extremists have carved out there. So, her death has the significance of our September 11th, or the death of President Kennedy. You can see their pain in the pictures in the media. Perhaps for the world, her death has an impact similar to that of Diana, Princess of Wales. But Benazir Bhutto's death has much more complicated potential consequences that may impact world peace.

After all, Nostradamus does mention in one of his prophecies that the assassination of a "prince" will start World War III. Could she had been that prince? After all, she was of political royalty in her country.

I am not Pakistani. But I am a citizen of the world. I live in a city where citizens of the world dwell. And I can't help but look at the dark and dreary picture for women in this planet. Indira Ghandi was also killed.

People here in this country are having a hard time acknowledging to themselves that they are not ready to see a woman in the oval office. All I hear, and unfortunately mostly from men is, how they don't like her. And then they pour a list of reasons why she'd be so wrong.  Trust me, on the light of the people we have supposedly chosen to be in office, --mostly men-- Hillary Clinton looks pretty good!  For goodness sake. In this country. This country that is supposed to be the model of so many global ideals, is showing how adolescent and egocentric we still are as a people.

Sure! In the lovely grounds of NYC, there is tendency to be open minded, and even here, there are so many biases to face! But the scariest part is that as we cross into the continent and drive deeper into the heartland, we are not that different from the radical Islamists out in the middle east, who think anyone who thinks differently is dead wrong, or worse, will burn in hell for not being a "believer".

Give me a break people! This is the 21st century!!!  The Spanish Inquisition ended over 500 years ago!

Whether we like it or not, we need to open our eyes, and as citizens of the world, open our minds to the fact that there is a world beyond our borders that affects our daily lives. We need to get involved, learn and make better judgments without letting the sensationalism of cheap media such as the NY Post, or the Fox News network dictate how we should think.

What happened with Benazir Bhutto, what has been happening in China for decades with the newborn girls, what's been happening for ages in Africa, in the Middle East, the horrendous kidnapping of innocent men and women in Colombia by the FARC --among them the Benazir Bhutto of Colombia, Ingrid Betancourt-- is something we all need to pay attention to. Just because it isn't in our backyards it does not mean it won't affect us, or our offspring at some point later.

We need to work as a community, inform ourselves, exercise our rights as citizens and vote to make sure others don't make the wrong choices for us, we need to figure out as a community how we can help and make a difference in this world, even if the involvement is only within our community. That would be a start! 

Yes, we all have our challenges. I know all about overcoming life-threatening challenges. We all have challenges.  But what's more important than our daily challenges is how are we going to be remembered when we are gone?

We are in this world for a reason. We choose, every day, to be remembered by doing good or by being selfish and doing mean and evil things. We have the free will to choose right or wrong. To express the higher spirit that is good, or to express the low spirit, bad. And none of this has to do with religion. It has to do with expressing who we are meant to be as human beings.

We make choices every day.

Look around you, and see how you can do one thing today, one thing tomorrow, one thing everyday, to help someone or a situation.  Do it. Then walk away. Don't brag about it. Keep it to yourself. That is how we build good Karma.

There are signs of hope --in the midst of the apparent looming global hopelessness-- looking at positive leaders currently in power, especially the few countries with women in power: Germany (Chancellor Angela Merkel), Liberia (President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf), Chile (President Michelle Bachelet), Argentina (President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner), New Zealand (Prime Minister Helen Clark).

So, why can't our beloved nation digest the fact that it is okay to put a woman in the White House?  

Of course, let's get over our gender issue and vote for the most qualified. Gender aside, if Hillary were a man, chances are many out there would think differently.

2008 will give us the chance to begin to do the right thing.

What will you do first?