Cousins Are Supposed To Be Cool

These past couple of days have sucked me away from reality. Literally. First, Claire McCaskill. Then, Chelsea Clinton. And as if that wasn't enough, Obama. Stuff like that doesn't happen every day.

This is the first Presidential election I will be able to vote in. The first I have been active in paying close attention to what the candidates have to say. And the first I have seen the candidates and their supporters in person. This will definately not be the last time I do this.

Two of my friends and I drove to Kansas City yesterday to see Barack Obama. We got down there pretty early in hopes of getting as close as we could to the Senator from Illinois (yeah Illinois!).

Of course we went down there in our red ONE Mizzou shirts. And of course I brought one for Obama. And a ONE band. And a personal letter thanking him for going on the record and basically rocking and making me proud to call him my Senator (ps, I was a sophomore when he ran for Senator and remember him coming to the train station in my town, and we meet again). Needless to say, I was not going to leave until Obama had a new addition to his wardrobe.
After standing in line for who knows how long, we entered the arena. We neared the stage and positioned our selves as close as possible - about seven rows back from where history would happen.

Anticipation grew and the minutes seemed longer and longer as we waited for The Man to come out from behind the curtains. Kathleen Sebelius, governor of Kansas, spoke about her endorsement for Obama while we all waiting ever more anxiously. And if you're ever going to have someone from Kansas speak, you better follow it with a Missourian. That's right, my BFF Claire was there to introduce the candidate she speaks so elloquantly about. I held up the ONE Mizzou shirt as she spoke on stage in hope that she would see it and be like, "hey, I have one of those shirts." But she never vocalized it. I'm pretty sure we made eye contact, but there's no telling where she was looking in that sea of people.

See, total eye contact in this picture

The moments before Obama's entrance were the most hyped, energized, unreal minutes of my life. Let me set the stage.

I cannot even express what it was like to be a part of that crowd. We literally witnessed history. Right there in Kansas City. They will talk about this Presidentail campaign for years to come.

I wish blogspot would allow me to upload video from youtube of this speech. You'll just have to look it up.

I realized something about Obama that night. He is funny. Ligitimately funny. He was talking about how Bush will not be on the ballot this year. And neither would his cousin Dick Cheney. "When you find out you have a cousin, it's supposed to be someone cool. But Cheney? ...Really?" That's pretty much how it went.

Sometime during my being in complete shock of my surroundings, a lady near the front and to the right of us started to faint. Obama stopped what he was talking about, right in the middle of his sentence, asked if she was alright, and made sure a chair was brought to her. He did not continue with what he was talking about until that lady was in a chair. People helping people. This is what it's all about.

I'm not even going to try to attempt to sumarize what he spoke of for fear, no, knowledge, I can't do justice.

Then came the time at the end of the night when everyone shoves up to the front in hopes of touching hands with Barack Obama. Like I said, I was not leaving with that shirt and that letter. I darted forward and became "that girl," you know, the one who pushes everyone out of her way. I got right up to the front, behind some blonde chick. I was trying to get next to her and she informed me Obama was not signing stuff and pushed me back. I resisted and told her I did not have anything for him to sign. Once I got passed her, I had to reach over some youngins to reach the Senator. I was not about to push little children out of the way. And there were so many of them there. So many.

The noise was unreal and Obama did not hear me call his name right behind him. He was not accepting anything himself as it was for he needed his hands for shaking. Luckily, his publicist was right behind him and I asked her to give the items to him. She said she would give them to him and looked at me like I was nuts.

This is the video. If you have motion sickness I do not suggest you watch it.

I was shaking for a good ten minutes afterwards.

So like I said, Claire McCaskill was there. Her and Obama are tight. And now, they share a common shirt. It is my fantasy that they went back to the hotel, Obama showed her his rockin' new shirt. And before she could say "let me borrow that top," she realized she has the same one and packed it with her. Then they put on their matching shirts and had a pajama party discussing poverty and the Global Child Survival Act. That is what happened that night after Obama blew Kansas City away. In my mind anyway.


Ps, I feel this blog should not be overshadowed, so tomorrow I will continue with the On the Record commitments since more candidates have dropped (Obama Edwards 08?). And the story of my visit with Senator Bond's office today.

Stay tuned.

Yo Mamma

Actually, it was her mamma. And the her is Chelsea Clinton and her mamma is Hilary.



She was at Mizzou today. Chelsea, that is. And she was speaking on behalf of her mamma, question and answer style. And I mean if you're going to skip an American history class, doing it to see Chelsea Clinton is a good reason.



So I got there, close to the front, but off to the side, standing up. I thought she would for sure answer my question I had. She kept looking over at me. We made eye contact for crying out loud. I kept my hand raised, even while other people were asking questions. I kept looking at my phone to keep the time. I had class at 11 and she started speaking just after 10. After about a half an hour of holding up my hand, a local reporter took note and stood by me with her microphone, hoping to draw attention. Then, about ten minutes later, a couple people got up from the seats in front of me. The ones in the front row directly to the right of the President's daughter.


The reporter gave me a shove and told me to get my question answered. She stood over me, again with her microphone, and even jestured to Chelsea to call on me.


Nothing.


11 o'clock came around and I had to leave for class. Bummer. My plan would not be executed.

Her mother has been known to plant questions. And that is all I have to say about that.


I wanted to ask her what her mother's plans were for reaching the Millennium Development Goals. I already knew part of the answer, what is up on the ONE website, but I wanted everyone else to be aware of the issues as well. I even wrote Hilary a letter thanking her for going On the Record and how much that means to me as a voter. I was going to give it to Chelsea after I asked my question. She never called on me. I guess I'm just a little bitter right now, but this whole thing got me thinking.


I wanted people to hear what the candidates had to say about poverty. So, from now until Super Tuesday, I will be blogging about their plans. Which, coinsidentially, is nine days away and there are nine candidates left. It seems only fitting to start with Senator Clinton.


Reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis

Hilary will commit $50 billion by 2013 for the global fight against HIV/AIDS. This will help ensure universal access to treatment, prevention, and care. The funding will increase US contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.


This funding is crucial to the prevention of these diseases. Because of AIDS, South Africa's population will be 44% smaller in 2050 than it would have been without the epidemic. Between 2000 and 2015 there will be an expected 9.3 million AIDS deaths.


Each year, more than 300 million clinical cases of acute malarial illness occur, mainly affecting the world's poorest populations. More than 1 million people die each year from malaria, and 90% of these deaths occur in children in sub-Saharan Africa.


About a third of the 25 million Africans infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, will die of tuberculosis, a disease that ravages lung tissue. Tuberculosis, also known as TB, is the leading cause of death among people with AIDS. Worldwide, about 5000 people die every day from TB. Most of those deaths occur in Africa, where extreme poverty, lack of adequate health facilities and rampant HIV infection rates are exacerbating an already alarming TB crisis.


Eradicating malaria

Hilary set to end all deaths from malaria on the African continent by the end of her second term. Wow. She will commit $1 billion per year to lead a global effort against malaria. If you read the numbers above, that is almost half a million people's lives she is pledging to save. Huge.


Improving child and maternal health

She ensures she will reach the Millennium Development Goals of reducing child mortality and improving maternal heath. She plans on making investments in nutrition, vaccination, and public health.


According to UNICEF, 30,000 children die each day due to poverty. And they “die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death.”
That is about 210,000 children each week, or just under 11 million children under five years of age, each year.


Where there are 7 deaths for every 1000 births in the US, there are 218 deaths for every 1000 births in Mali. Maternal deaths during birth are 1/2500 in the US compared to 1/10 in Mali.


Acheiving universal primary education

Hilary introduced the bipartisan Education for All Act to commit $10 billion over five years to invest in universal basic education.

Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names. Many times, families have to decide whether or not to send their children to school. It may be too dangerous. If the decision is made, then only the oldest male would be sent on most occasions.

Obviously this is a problem. Education is key if people are to learn how to help themselves.

Food and clean water

Again, she pledged to meet the Millennium Development Goal of cutting in half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

Some 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation. Almost two in three people lacking access to clean water survive on less than $2 a day, with one in three living on less than $1 a day. The loss of 443 million school days each year from water-related illness.

Additional commitments for the world's poor

Hilary ensures complete debt cancellation for all Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC), and she will expand HIPC to an additional 20 countries. She also commited an additional 1% of our budget to foreign assistance.

The developing world now spends $13 on debt repayment for every $1 it receives in grants.

As you may see, the candidates' positions will greatly affect the way our world is in the future. This is a bipartisan issue. It is a non-partisan cause. We need to come together and fix this mess. And now, that these politicians have gone On the Record about their plans, it is our job to hold them accountable. Whether they take office or not. They will always be prominent people in the political spectrum and we need to continue to make sure we are heard.

McLovin' McCaskill

So things are going pretty well right now.

We got in the paper for the second time this year. Check it out.
http://www.themaneater.com/article.php?id=28545

And last night I met Senator Claire McCaskill at a rally for Obama's campaign, although he was not there himself :(. Anyway, after McCaskill's spiel on why Obama rocks she came around for meet and greet. Guess who was there in her bright red ONE Mizzou shirt? Me! (no, it's Morgan Freeman). And I dragged three of my friends and put the shirts on them as well. It was great. I also brought a little something for the Senator.

Last week I called both Senator Bond and McCaskill's office to schedule an appointment to meet with their staff to talk about the Global Child Survival Act. I got a call back from Bond's office the next day and I am meeting with them on Wednesday. McCaskill's office failed to contact me so I decided to let the Senator know. I put together a packet with asks, information on the Bill, information on ONE, all of our news articles, and a personal hand written letter from me. Oh, and I brought her her very own ONE Mizzou shirt and ONE band so she would remember us. She was very nice and listened to everything I had to say even though about 100 other people were waiting to talk to her.

Claire checkin' out her ONE Mizzou shirt

Listening to me talk about dying children and mothers and the bill that is going to work to end that.

IDK, my BFF Claire

During her speech she mentioned Obama is going to be in Kansas City on Tuesday. We're going. In our shirts. And you better believe we're not leaving until the Senator has one for himself. There's a problem though. Last night was the first we heard of his coming to KC, and we cannot find any information on where he is going to be. All we know is that he'll be in KC, and we'll be there. Where there is is only a mystery right now.

Oh, did I mention my picture with McCaskill made the Columbia Tribune?
http://www.columbiatribune.com/2008/Jan/20080126News004.asp

If A Tree Falls In The Forest...

...and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

Forgive me for this short rant I need to unleash.

It has happened. Reality. Today I got my first wave of the harsh majority of the population of this place we call the world. Today I got shot down from my high of being surrounded by activists in DC and got bombarded from the pessimists. The "it's too dangerous to do anything about it, they need to handle this on their own" mid sets. Don't get me wrong, every now and then, more often than I would like, I have my moments of pessimism. But they fuel me. They keep me going. And in a strange way, they give me hope.

Allow me to explain.

This spring break I will be going down to rebuild the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans with Emergency Communities. My dad thinks it's dangerous. Doesn't understand why I can't just come home for break. It's not that I don't like being home, I do. This is what I want to do. Then, from talking about this, we somehow got on the topic of how I want to apply to the Peace Corps after graduation and go to Africa. Needless to say he is forbidding me to go. Thinks I'll die or something. Doesn't understand why I want to put myself in dangerous situations. Says they need to handle their situation on their own. Accused me of not knowing what is going on over there. How things work. What I'll be getting myself into. Not reading up on it enough.

I am a peace studies and philosophy major. What do you think I am learning about, rainbows and weed? Please.

Not to mention, I am very active in the ONE Campaign and STAND.

Some one has to do it. I want to do it.

Sometimes I wonder if I were religious and I told him, "God came to me and told me this was my destiny" if he would go easier on me.

Maybe I should have him email the Senator.
(See Jan 7th post)

Anyway, this got me thinking. Maybe someone else needs to do some reading. A lot of someone elses.

Through my experience I have gathered that many people think this way.

It's dangerous.
No shit! These countries are in danger of extinction! Genocides are occurring. People are getting displaced. Governments are killing their own people. Civil wars. People there live a different life. They live to wake up tomorrow and sometimes they will do whatever it takes for that to happen. They live in a constant state of fear.
So why risk it?
BECAUSE THAT IS NOT HOW HUMAN BEINGS ARE SUPPOSED TO LIVE.
The human race needs to step up and change this. And a lot less aid worker's lives are lost by putting themselves in these situations than people just living every day.

They need to work this out themselves.
Agreed. But they do not have the resources or the power to do so. That is what aid workers and peace talks are for. To guide the people. To teach them. To show them how to change the world they live in. This third world we have separated them into.

America cannot play world police.
I have been re-watching Boston Legal. I just finished season 1. My favorite episode is the one about the genocide in the Sudan. A refugee, who lost majority of his family to the genocide, sues the American Government for not doing anything. He does not expect to win. Just wants to make noise. Raise awareness. My favorite part of the episode is what the judge says at the end of the trial.
But first, you know it, some background.
Lori wants to use an exaggeration of Tort Law - if you see a guy in danger on the side of the street, you have no duty to help. Unless you pull over. If you do pull over you have a duty to complete that rescue. The theory being other would-be-rescuers would pass by on the street thinking the situation is being handled.
The United States has declared a war on terrorism. We've talked the talk when it comes to Sudan, we've even given help with financial aid. Our theory of law would be analogous. Other countries have sat back, thinking that we're doing something, when really we're not.
They present this analogy to the judge. Offer that the United States government should just say, "Hey, not our problem." That way other countries would know our stance and could step up and play hero.
The defense then steps up and says we are not going to declare "not our problem" when an ethnic genocide is happening.
See, this is how other countries get confused.
The judge comes back after taking the plea under consideration and wonders if we should be worrying about a bunch of Africans killing each other when we have problems of our own, with countries who want to kill us.
And this is my favorite part.
"Why? Because we're Americans? The answer is...yes. Because we're Americans. Because we're a nation, perhaps the nation that's supposed to give a damn. What's going on is an extermination of an entire race of people. We're the country that's supposed to give a damn."
The defendant's motion to dismiss is then denied. Funny, though, they never return to the case and we never find out what happens in trial.

If a tree falls in the forest if no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?
The answer is yes. Because whether we're there to hear it or not, it falls. It crashes against the earth. And makes noise. Just because no one is there to hear it does not mean it does not happen.

People are dying. We can turn a blind eye, but it is happening. We cannot pretend it does not involve us. That we don't have a duty to help.

We need to hear the noise. To amplify the voice of those who are not heard. To get people to care. To advocate. Giving people a voice is one of the most helpful resources we can give them.

After all, the noise of a tree is greater when someone is there to yell "Timber!"

The Little Things That Matter

I have noticed more and more my friends taking note in the ONE Campaign and issues surrounding it.

The other day, one of my roommates from last semester wrote on my facebook wall. She had received her newsletter from John McCain. In it he said that he was a strong supporter of the ONE Campaign, and had some representatives speak at one of his rallies. A couple days prior, my same friend saw a commercial for ONE and again, via facebook, let me know. Little things like this make me so proud to be a part of such a wonderful movement. We are getting noticed and because this is pretty much all I talk about, my friends are taking note.

Earlier today I was talking to one of my best friends, Liz. She told me she has been researching poverty this break because something one of our other best friends, Ashley, does to mock me in a way. Here's a little background.

Like I said, ONE surrounds majority of the things I talk about, and I spit out random facts whenever the opportunity arises. Ashley decided one day, I guess it was after seeing the video I made about aids and poverty, that she would at random times count to three. Every three seconds a child dies due to the affects of poverty. We'd just be sitting around talking and then all of a sudden, "One. Two. Three. Dead child." This really got to Liz. So, she learned about poverty.

Little things. Big difference.

These things may not have a direct affect on policy, or gain support from political candidates, but because people are taking time to learn, to advocate (whether realizing it or not), and to note what their political parties are saying about The ONE Campaign, gives a certain hope that means so much. It will only continue to grow, and that is what I love so much about grassroot movements.

In case anyone is interested (if anyone even reads this thing) here is the video I mentioned.

A Blast From The Past

...of second semester last year.

Every now and then I like to get out old papers I have written and look at the comments teachers have left. It's just one of those weird things. We all have them. Anyway, second semester last year I took a philosophy class called Contemporary Moral Issues. We had to write a term paper on an aspect of society we thought was the most important and the biggest threat to humanity. We also had to offer a solution. I wrote on world hunger and poverty.

And now, some excerpts...

The question of morality is one that needs to be answered right off the bat. Why should we feel morally obligated to help people who are starving half way around the world; who cannot even help themselves? The answer is in the question. They cannot help themselves. They were unfortunate to be born into an impoverished society that is almost impossible to escape. Then the question arises, we did not put them there, why should it be our job to get them out?...They have a claim on us. People have a claim on people. The sheer fact that we are all human beings should be enough to confirm this, but unfortunately that is not the case.

We try and separate ourselves from the world, when in reality; we are all in this together and need to learn to take on the responsibility of solving this problem as one.

People tend to blind themselves to situations they do not want to admit exist, and because they exist, admit they are not doing anything to help, or worse, may even be contributing to them.

According to Onora O’Neill’s article, “Ending World Hunger,” “population growth would continue to increase and we would over populate the world if there was not world hunger” (241). Leaving people to starve to death is not a justifiable way of preventing over population, if it is indeed happening. We need to stop thinking about ourselves when half of the world is dying due to hunger. There is enough food in the world to feed every person, yet it is unevenly distributed and there is not a reasonable answer to the question why. A major factor in hunger is malnutrition, protein-energy malnutrition being the most fatal form. Out of the 850 million people that are malnourished throughout the world, children are the group of people most affected by it, every fourth child to be exact. Nearly five million children die each year due to malnutrition (worldhunger.org). Although there has been a seventy percent increase in population in the past thirty years, seventeen percent more calories per person are produced. This increase means there is enough food for every person to consume 2,720 calories every day (worldhunger.org). However, this is not the case. People in poverty are prevented from access to these resources because of cost or there is not land suitable for farming.

One-hundred-eighty-nine countries of the United Nations agreed to “spare no effort to free our fellow men, women, and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty,” in September 2000 (poverty.com). Their estimated cost for problems of extreme poverty to be “substantially eliminated” was $195 billion a year, according to poverty.com. To raise this much money would call for the help of governments around the world. At the Monterrey Conference in March 2002, affluent countries agreed to make “concrete efforts” toward ending world poverty. Twenty-two countries attended this conference and agreed to give 0.7 percent of their nation’s income to aid this cause. In September of that same year, the twenty-two countries met once again to re-affirm their pledge.

Five of these countries have already reached their goal, and all five have exceeded the suggested 0.7 percent. Sweden has contributed 1.03 percent of their national income, which is a mere one hundred and three cents for every one hundred dollars earned. Denmark is contributing 0.8 percent, which is eighty cents to every one hundred dollars. Eleven of the countries have scheduled a year to reach their 0.7 goal, some as early as 2010, and no later than 2015. These eleven countries still give a percentage of their national income to fight poverty, Ireland being the closest with 0.53 percent. Six countries, including the United States, have not set a date to reach the goal of giving 0.7 percent of their nation’s income to better the world. Right now, the United States is second to last, above Greece by 0.01 percent, giving only 0.17 percent of our national income to help fight poverty. Greece is scheduled to reach their goal in 2015 (poverty.com). U.S. taxpayers have spent nearly $425,000,000,000 to aid the war in Iraq (nationalpriorities.org), and we cannot seem to spare seventy cents for every one hundred dollars earned by our workers.

Solving world hunger and poverty will not even come close to a reality until we change our mentality as a society, speaking especially of Americans. We like to place ourselves above other countries and patrol the world, but only when it is in our own best interest.

People will ask why it is the right thing to do and this is how I will respond: We are all human beings, and that should be enough. We live off of one another, and because of this some benefit and some are left to suffer. It is not fair that those who are unfortunate to be left to die a slow death while we prosper.

We are always trying to improve, to develop as a society. We think progress means advancements in technology and material objects. To truly make progress – to better humanity – we need to take a step back and away and learn to find value in human life. That would be the greatest progress of all.

And then I wrote a poem to conclude...

If you were dying of starvation, ribs sticking out to the sky,
Would you not sit and wonder why?
What did you do to deserve this and why does anyone not care?
Do they not know that a whole world is in despair?
And then you would stop and think, if I was them and they were me,
Would I help them out of this misery?
I would like to think I would try, but if I were as affluent as they,
It would be hard and they would probably die.
For money and power corrupt us all,
And these unfortunate countries we leave to fall.
It would be nice if this was not our mentality,
But then, things would just be too easy.

...That paper was my first A I ever got in college. And the above was only a sample.

Cheers to 467

I'm not one for getting all emotional and sharing my feelings with people. Especially openly over the internet. But there comes a time when something extraordinary happens that you just didn't expect and the only way to get out everything in your head is to write it down. Lay it all out on the table.
So here it goes.
I expected a lot from the ONE Power 100 Summit, and I got more than that, not only from the speakers that graced us with their presence, but from the people I would come to call my friends.
Four days. That's all we had, and two of them were short lived. I didn't expect to go into this thing and come out with very many close friends. Maybe a couple aquaintances, facebook friends, and faces to those leading the scoreboards, but not people I would miss the moment we went our separate ways at the Hilton.
From the first night there was a group of about 15 of us or so that seemed to just click right off the bat. I mean, that happens when you're put in larger groups outside of your comfort zone, you tend to gravitate towards people you have things in common with. You stick together.
I just want to take the time to give a shout out, a virtual toast if you will, to those people. You guys mean the world to me, and you did that in four short days.
It's not always easy to be the leader of a group so much bigger than yourself, and it is comforting to have the support group of those going through the same thing. Literally, in your shoes. I have never been in an environment with so much energy before. There we were all working for the same cause, feeding off of one another and generating new ideas. It was impossible not to get motivated and fired up.
We may be on different campuses, but we are all working towards the same goal, and while we have our own way of getting to the end result, at the core we are all going through the same thing and a collaboration of our thoughts and actions will get us there. It's nice to know I'm not alone in this and that there will always be someone there to help along the way, especially when things aren't going as planned or no one else seems as motivated as you, or when everything just seems like too much to handle. We are eachother's rock, and no matter what, for ONE or for other causes we may support, or in life in general we will always be here. Like I told Mike, if us activists didn't help one another who would be left to advocate?

See you guys on the scoreboard. Can't wait for the reunion.

And remember, if you're in the game, you're in the game!
...whatever that means

New Year's Resolution: BLOG

And finish in top 10 before the OCC cutoff in February.


I just returned from the ONE Power 100 Summit in DC this Saturday.

Wow.

That was the most inspirational, amazing, mind blowing four days of my life. And that's a true story. Let me try and break this down, but there is no way my words can do justice for this experience.

Wednesday

After being picked up at the Dulles airport, the shuttle traveled to the Capital Hilton in DC. It was breathtaking. I walked in the most luxurious hotel I have ever been in and was greeted by a ONE representative. After checking in and getting my room assignment, I went up to the 4th floor and entered pre-notorious 467. The first thing I did was drop my bags and open to curtains to see what kind of view I had down the street from GW's crib. A brick wall. From both windows.

I then started to settle in and began looking at the itinerary and the bios of the speakers that were scheduled for the week. Talk about an impressive line-up, but I'll get to that later. I had been anxiously awaiting a roommate for about two and a half hours when the door opened. And in walked Matt.

We kind of both stood there for a second and he re-checked the room number. I started laughing because I had always been afraid of ending up with a male roommate, and here it happened, for the first time. I explained my name was Tyler and they probably thought I was a guy. We decided not to change rooms.

That night was the welcome dinner in the Presidential Ballroom. And it lived up to its name. I could have eaten off of the floor and still felt like royalty in that place.

After dinner, some trivia, mingling, and finally meeting Weldon Kennedy and Erin Eagan, the faces behind the masses amounts of emails, Nick Stevens and I decided not to let the left over food from our feast go to waste. We got two to-go containers, packed them full of food, and hit the streets of DC. Probably not the smartest or safest thing to do as two tourists at night in an unfamiliar city, but we were determined to feed some hungry people. And we did.

That night a group of us decided to hit the town and go out for some drinks at a restaurant. On the way there we were joined by a very interesting character who wasn't too proud to beg. Literally. He followed us singing The Temptations Ain't too Proud to Beg for a good half a block. I will never hear that song again without thinking of him.

Thursday

This morning started off like no morning I've ever had before. With a rock, paper, scissor tournament. Now what does that have to do with fighting poverty? More than you think. More than I thought.

Douglas Walker, creator of the Word Rock Paper Scissors Society, spoke to us about the importance of word of mouth and using your resources, aka the Internet, to spread your message. After his speech we all played some RPS with ONE dollars. I was able to make it to the finals, but got knocked out in the first round. I was knocked out by the girl who won it all, might I add.

After a short break we were given the choice of two speakers; Erin Thornton, Policy Director of ONE speaking about AIDS, or Adam Taylor, Director of Campaigns and Organizing for Sojourners speaking about debt relief. I went with the debt relief.

Adam was an amazing speaker with a greater message - debt is a modern form of slavery in an economic form. He spoke of problems with the system. For instance, Sub-Saharan Africa has paid back 90% of its debt, yet still owes 201 billion$. This is due to the fact that for every dollar Africa receives in aid, they pay back 2.30$ in debt. Countries that started borrowing money to use for economic advances are now paying more in debt than on health and education combined. He spoke of Jubilee as referred to in Leviticus; a jubilee is a restoration of relationships. Every seven years debt is to be forgiven and people set free. This led to the introduction of the topic of the Jubilee Act. The Jubilee Act would add an additional 29 countries to become eligible for debt relief. Another 15 would be able to become eligible after they met certain standards and goals. A lot of people have unnecessary concerns about countries not using the money for what they're supposed to be using it for - the betterment of the country, but all that has come out of this has been success stories. Camerroon used its 28.9 million$ saved from debt to fight the effects of poverty. Zambia received debt cancellation of 23.8 million$ that they used on agricultural and health care benefits. The list goes on. The bottom line is that the debt in these countries needs to be forgiven. Without that cancellation, they will have little hope in gaining the money and resources to advance their countries. He mentioned an African proverb that I thought was very interesting; Spider webs at night can entangle a lion.

During lunch we were met with a panel of three amazing individuals. Sam Worthington, President and CEO of InterAction, Chief Executive Officer of Plan USA, past Executive Director of Delphi International Group, chair of the global NGO Impact Initiative, founder of Hope for African Children Initiative, just to name a few of his accomplishes; Gayle Smith, Senior Fellow for the Center for American Progress, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council from 1998-2001, Senior Advisor to the Administrator and Chief of Staff of the US Agency for International Development from 1994-1998, she was also a journalist based in Africa for over 20 years as a journalist covering military, economic, and political affairs, again, to just name a few of her accomplishments; Steve Radelet, Senior Fellow for the Center for Global Development, past Deputy Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury for Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, Peace Corps Volunteer, economic advisor to the President and the Minister of Finance of Liberia. So you can see where one might be a little intimidated in a room with these people. They spoke to us about the future of foreign assistance.
Shortly after we were sent to security screening for our session with Jenna Bush. She spoke to us about her work with UNICEF and children in impoverished countries. She even read a loud to the group from her book Ana's Story, which we all received a copy of and got the opportunity to have signed by the President's daughter. Jenna really surprised me, she wasn't what I really expected considering her father, however there was some resemblance.

Then came another break out session, malaria with Suprotik Basu, Public Health Specialist with World Bank, or child and maternal health with John Fawcett, Global Legislative Director for RESULTS. I went to listen to John. The information he gave us about child and maternal health seemed unreal. Sixty percent of births in Mali are done without a professional present, not a doctor, just someone who knows what they are doing. Where there are 7 deaths for every 1000 births in the US, there are 218 deaths for every 1000 births in Mali. Maternal deaths during birth are 1/2500 in the US compared to 1/10 in Mali. How are we letting this happen? Births aren't the only problems either. Health issues that seem trivial here such as diarrhea kills 5000 people every day. Pneumonia is a major problem as well, and if we took 600 million$ to expand health care, we could save 600,000 lives every year that are lost to pneumonia. Seems like a lot of money, right? Wrong. That is how much we spend on teeth whitening and Lunchables. Vitamin A deficiency is a leading cause of blindness in children and a small capsule twice a year could save lives. Nepal launched a Vitamin A program and reduced child mortality by half from 1995-2000. Just five years. So what can be done about all of this? According to John Fawcett, we need an integrated, targeted, measurable plan to reduce maternal and child deaths. The Global Child Survival Act will be up for a hearing in Congress February 14th of this year and it is crucial it is passed.

It was then time to hit the town. We got the honor to eat dinner at the National Press Club. We were first welcomed by their former President and told the history of the NPC as well as stories of past speakers, the rivalry between the women's and the men's press societies, and how the room with the piano unofficially became the Truman Room. Then we heard stories from former White House Aides Tucker Eskew and Nathan Naylor. Tucker was the Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Global Communications until December 2003 under the Bush administration. Nathan served in 1996 as an advance staffer for President Clinton. In 2000 he became Vice President Gore's assistant press secretary/ traveling press aid for the second administration and for the 2000 presidential campaign. These guys were hilarious. To hear them tell stories of their personal experiences with the Presidents and Vice Presidents made me realize that maybe I have been too hard on government officials in the past. After all, they are only human.

After the realization that not all of the government is made up of bad people, I came to another one, while touring the national monuments by moonlight. I have always spoke out against America and the falsities that it stands for. It's not that I don't like America or being an American, trust me, I know how fortunate I am for being born in the country I was, but I have always sensed a sort of hypocrisy with our country and have always taken it out on our government. I mean it takes a lot more people to screw up a country than just a government, although I still wouldn't put it passed ours. But seriously, if we stood up for what we believed in instead of just accepting it for what it is, things could be different. Not just here, but everywhere. I still believe the world would be better off if we eliminated the boundaries of our countries and states and lived as one big province (think John Lennon's Imagine), but let's be realistic here.

With my new found respect for my country and new understanding of the government, something else happened I didn't think could in four short days. I formed a strong bond with a group of about 15 people from the summit. We spent that night in 467, until we got kicked out and ventured to 599. I'd love to talk about it, but those who were there know and that is all that matters. After all, what happens in 467 stays in 467.

Friday

After having breakfast with our Regional Outreach Ambassadors and the rest of the students in our region, we were taught the importance of the influence of grassroot movements on the Hill from Erin Erienborn, Director of Government Affairs for ONE. The talk really brought into perspective what we can do just by small acts and harassing the government officials and never stopping until you get what you want. We then heard from Tom Gavin, Communications Director for ONE and Kimberly Cadena, Press Secretary for ONE about speaking to any audience.

The next speaker was especially important to me. Patrick Schmitt, Former Executive Director of STAND and (I am the advocacy chair for STAND Mizzou) talked about student organizing. He highlighted some very important points in aspects of organizing. The first point he stressed was to always remember the difference between advocacy and charity. We do advocacy, not charity. The next is to always see ourselves as not just an organization, but as a movement. Movements go places. We are definitely going somewhere with ONE. Have out of the box ideas. Get excited about killing projects (I have been before, but after these four days, excited is an understatement). This next one is something I need to work on. Learn when to be a leader and when to be a follower. I am horrible at delegation. I always take on way more than I can handle when it would be much easier to divvy up the work. Use the technology you have and take advantage of everything. Good pointers from a man that has been so successful in the non-profit advocacy world. After he spoke, I went up and introduced myself and passed on the word about what is going on at Mizzou with STAND.

Our next speaker was Paul Begala, you might have seen him as co-host of CNN's Crossfire, or as the Democratic strategist on The Situation Room. He taught us the Theory of Rational Ignorance - we choose what we find information on because there is way too much information out there for us to know everything. He also gave advice on good ways to get our message out:

1. Tell a story

2. Be brief
3. Be emotional

4. Be relevant

5. Be unique

6. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Our next speaker on education was Gene Sperling, Senior Fellow, Economic Studies and Director of the Center for Universal Education at the Council on Foreign Relations. He also served as a contributing writer and consultant on NBC's "The West Wing." We listened to the harsh realities some countries have to face that we take for granted, and often complain about. Going to school. Majority of the time families have to choose whether or not their children go to school. And if they do make the decision to go, usually only boys get to go. It is too much of a risk for girls to travel to and from school every day.

We were then joined by Josh Lozman, ONE Vote '08 Policy Manager. And I bet you could guess what he spoke to us about. The importance of ONE Vote '08. Candidates across the board are recognizing ONE and taking our issues to heart, going on the record and making huge commitments to work to make poverty history. See, the government will listen if you push them enough.

After a late arrival, we were finally joined by former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich. He informed us on ground rules for advocacy. The first, get them to understand the importance. Two, Go in with a specific goal. And C, close the sale; follow up and make them commit. That part is easier said than done. While I took those points and everything else Gingrich said to heart, one specific thing he said registered and is one of the best quotes I have ever heard. "If we can organize ourselves for war, we can organize ourselves for peace."

That night, following the student run break outs (which were very informative and helpful), David Lane, CEO of ONE, personally thanked us during our final dinner banquet. We had entertainment for that night, who we all were convinced was going to be Bono, but it was Jukebox the Ghost. They were no Bono, but they were great nonetheless.

Needless to say it was our last night and 467 was relived, but in different rooms of course. We already had warnings on two others.

Our last meal together was led by Former Senate Majority Leader, Senator Frist. He spoke of his experiences volunteering overseas and the importance of actually traveling to these countries. I've had trouble convincing my parents to allow me to travel to Africa. Next time they give me trouble I'll just refer them to the Senator.

So like I said, this was our last time together. But this is not the emotional blog about the friendships I had formed. This is the informative blog. The one about the important things. Who am I kidding, the friendships are just as important as the messages from the speakers. But really, the emotional blog is soon to come.

I miss you guys. A lot.