True confession: I could not bear to watch or read any of the media coverage of last week’s healthcare summit. The pre-meeting posturing and pandering left me anxious and a tad nauseous. I was worried that the actual event would hurl me into a black abyss of disillusionment (or cause me to hurl, one or the other). Perhaps I’m wearing both my political stripes AND my naivete on my sleeves when I say – If reasonable and even-tempered Obama can’t get the players to work together, who can?!?!?!

Fortunately, a recent article from The Washington Post pierced my despair, like the comforting whiff of freshly brewed coffee. Dan Zak’s Coffee Party Activists Say Their Civic Brew’s A Tastier Choice than Tea Party’s showcases the new Coffee Party movement. The mission of The Coffee Party USA is to:

The Coffee Party Movement gives voice to Americans who want to see cooperation in government. We recognize that the federal government is not the enemy of the people, but the expression of our collective will, and that we must participate in the democratic process in order to address the challenges that we face as Americans. As voters and grassroots volunteers, we will support leaders who work toward positive solutions, and hold accountable those who obstruct them.

Now, THIS is a political sentiment I can embrace (and hang on to tightly – for dear life). It’s a welcome alternative for a Wise Woman who enjoys chatting over coffee and is suspicious of anyone swinging around tea bags in protest.

The fledgling movement is gaining traction through virtual discussions and live meetings in various communities. It’s all a bit confusing and messy, yet invigorating. I’m not sure how much I want to jump into the fray (or even can in my Facebook-less life). But even the notion that this movement exists is enough to wake me out of my cynical slumber. Similarly-minded people are standing up to demand that public officials work toward solutions, not throw up politically-motivated roadblocks. How great is that?

Pour yourself a cup of coffee, and let’s talk about it.

Most of us are involved in our community in some way – whether it is a charitable organization, our local schools, or our church.  In addition to the time we commit, sometimes it would be nice to have a few extra dollars to get a new project off the ground or supplement current programs which are underfunded.

Over the next five months, Pepsi-Cola Company is giving away over 20 million dollars in grants ranging from $5,000 to $250,0000, as part of the Pepsi Refresh project.   Each month consumers can apply for a grant, and consumers vote on those projects which are deemed most worthy.   While it is a huge experiment in social marketing, what do we have to lose?  It might just be worth a shot – it’s rare to know that a sum of money that size is sitting there waiting to be awarded.  Check out the site by clicking on the Pepsi Refresh Project above, and then start collaborating in your community about how you just might put some of these funds to use.  It’s worth a try.

If I lived in a different state (i.e., had moved back to my home state of Massachusetts) and time (a time when a filibuster-proof Democratic majority was assured), I could actually see myself voting for newly-elected Senator Scott Brown.

I kind of like the guy.

I like the fact that he had a “rough” upbringing. I appreciate some of his moderate political positions. I admire his triathlete discipline. I even cheered for his daughter Ayla when she was a contestant on American Idol in 2007.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am bitterly disappointed by his recent election and the risk it poses to enactment of health care legislation. But, I understand why Massachusetts voters would vote for him.

What I DON’T understand, however, is why Brown’s posing nude for Cosmo (as a law student in 1982) generated only a few winks. Where was the pundit outcry?!? The occasional national media wisecrack – e.g., Cosmo’s campaign slogan suggestion:  Vote for Brown. He Has One Hell of a Stimulus Package -  did nothing to derail Brown’s growing popularity and eventual victory.

What would have happened if similarly-revealing photos had spring up of his opponent, Democrat Martha Coakley or, reaching back further in time, Republican Sarah Palin? I suspect neither politician would have survived the ensuing firestorm and questions about her judgment/suitability. Heck, Ms. America can’t even keep her crown when risque photos surface.

I don’t blame Scott Brown for this double-standard. Actually, I don’t know who to point my finger at. Maybe that’s what makes this gender double-standard so frustrating!

I feel like my recent posts have been downers lately. Without meaning to, I’ve drifted toward heavier topics, less fluff. Thus, my intention was to be lighter with today’s Wise Women discussion; but now I just can’t. The situation in Haiti after Tuesday’s massive earthquake is too distressing to ignore.

I can count on one hand the number of foreign countries I’ve visited in my lifetime (well, maybe 1.5 hands). Haiti is among that relatively small group.

I traveled to Haiti as a high school student with my friend Cathy and her family. Cathy’s family was the kind that had the inclination, social conscience and money to expose their kids to the world. I was along for the ride. Visiting Haiti was my first time outside the U.S. My memories of Haiti include the genuine warmth and directness of the people I met juxtaposed with neighborhoods of cardboard houses and children begging me for money for their next meal.

Thus, listening to and seeing the reports out of Haiti is frighteningly surreal. How can it be that this poorest of countries has been dealt such a devastating blow?  It reminds me of my reaction as I tried to wrap my brain around the growing number of deaths  following the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004 (nearly 230,000 died). What must it be like to have loved ones in Haiti and not know their fate? To know that the county’s shaky infrastructure is now non-existent and that it may be impossible to ever learn what happened to friends and family. Or, to actually be in Haiti, walking the streets and realizing there is nobody and nothing to which to turn.

If you are like me, you may be yearning to do something – anything! – to help our Caribbean neighbors and put a dent in the overwhelming sense of helplessness and sadness. Consider making a monetary donation to a relief organization. You can make an online donation to the International Response Fund of the American Red Cross. (According to the site, if you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster, mail your donation with the designation to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013.)

The Salvation Army, which has run schools, clinics, and children’s homes in Haiti since 1950, is also accepting disaster relief donations. Go to the site and you can specify the Haiti Earthquake when you donate.

Whatever you decide to do … pray …  donate … volunteer … let’s all do something to help Wise Women and Wise Men in Haiti.

P.S. Enjoy the final days of 2009 with family, friends and a good cup of coffee. We’ll be back on January 4, 2010.

This holiday season Anne and I invite you to consider an alternative to hunting down that elusive “perfect” gift in the aisles of Target. Instead, you can buy a lovely present and contribute to world prosperity with a few clicks of your mouse.

Yesterday Anne wrote about an innovative charity called Global Colors whose mission is to create self-sustaining grassroots projects throughout the world for the common good. One of those projects is the World Wish Bead Campaign, the sale of beaded necklaces crafted by women in disadvantaged countries to support themselves and their families.

As Anne shared, “The bead is made by women in Kenya, and the necklace part is made by women in Cambodia. Supposedly when the Kenyan women make the bead, they make a wish, and then when you purchase it, you’re supposed to make your own wish. The necklace has traveled globally and the circle is completed.”

We’re excited that this year’s Wise Women Big Bucks Holiday Giveaway will support the World Wish Bead Campaign. As evidenced by last year’s campaign, we are a generous and civic-minded bunch.

Here’s how our little online community can make a big difference:

1. Join the circle of women from Kenya to Cambodia by purchasing a beaded necklace through My World Wish.
2. Add a comment below indicating something about your purchase … who you bought the necklace for … its color scheme … your wish … as much or as little as you want to share. Remember, you can always comment anonymously, if you want.
3. For every person who buys a necklace and leaves a comment below by December 23, 2009, Anne and I will make a matching contribution of $25 (up to 20 people/necklaces).

So, join us as we partner with our Wise Women sisters from Kenya and Cambodia and help change the world.

Let the bead-buying begin …

On a beautiful drive up and back to Vermont over the Thanksgiving holiday, I listened to an interview on the radio (happened to catch the same interview both ways) with a gentleman named Barton Brooks. Barton, once a Manhattan Real Estate Broker, tossed that life aside four years ago and started Global Colors.  Global Colors’ mission is “to aid in the development of grassroots campaigns using local ingenuity and resources to accomplish very specific goals”.

I decided to do a little investigation of Global Colors when I arrived home.  An hour and half later – after digging into his site and the global projects that he has undertaken – I must say I’m impressed.  Part of the appeal is his simple call to action – just go and do. Visit a part of the world you’re interested in, and ask how you can help.  Involve the locals in the solution – so they too learn how to empower themselves.  It can even be as simple as inquiring at the concierge’s desk at the hotel you’re staying at during vacation to learn if there is an orphanage near by that you can visit for a few hours during your vacation.

His website is filled with stories – and about the projects he’s currently working on and trying to raise awareness to direct aid efforts.  One that struck a chord with me was the Batwa Pygmies in Uganda – a group of people that have been displaced from their ancestral lands – a group of people who aren’t even recognized as humans because of their small stature.  They live on a small bit of land, but can’t afford the seeds to even farm the land.  They subsist on a small portion of porridge daily.

When Barton asked the villagers how he could help, their response was help to raise money to provide a chicken for each of the children – as a chicken will lay an egg a day to give each child the protein they need, as well as give them an animal to care for and love.  Barton’s efforts have turned into a much larger effort – helping the villagers build huts, chicken coops, plant gardens.  I must admit that this project had particular appeal to me – the ability to raise $9 per chicken to provide a child with food is a tangible goal that my son and his friends that are interested in agriculture could embrace.

Another inspiring story is the women of  Nairobi, Kenya – who have been making beads for years – at the Kazuri Bead factory.  (The creation of this factory is one for another blog). Their beads are beautiful – (and are for sale – check out Kazuriwest.com) but the inspiring piece of this story is that these women sometimes provide for up to 20 extended family members, and the company itself is a model of commerce – providing healthcare, childcare, paying three times the customary annual wage for these women that work at the factory.

Barton’s latest project is called 52 weeks to Change the World, and he has mapped out a course to take him to several destinations across the world to implement his notion of “guerrilla aid” – helping with whatever the local need is.  He has a blog where he is reporting on his travels and identifying how people can help.  I have signed up to receive his reports – so will keep you apprised of any interesting stories.  Barton Brooks has created a very inspiring life mission indeed.

Several retail chains have pulled this Illegal Alien costume off their shelves after immigrant-rights activists raised a ruckus and called the outfit dehumanizing; it made a “mockery” of the often desperate situation faced by undocumented immigrants, they said.

I gotta admit, when I first saw the costume flash across my TV screen, I laughed. I’m a dunce when it comes to Halloween costumes, so I always appreciate a costume with a clever twist.

Then, I listened to the news reporter explain the reaction of immigrant groups and the controversy. I quickly understood how the outfit would be upsetting to the millions of immigrants and their children walking around on Halloween night. I concluded the pain outweighed the pun and agreed with the decision of retailers. (Although I also heard that the costume’s one of the biggest sellers online.)

What’s your reaction?

Let’s strike while the iron’s hot, Wise Women.

Up until this point of the healthcare debate, I have kept quiet and remained on the comfortable sidelines, even though I support reform. My excuse? Not enough time and clearly insufficient passion.

Unfortunately, the people who most need increased access to healthcare are also relatively quiet. But, the reason for their silence is much more compelling: they are caught up in day-to-day efforts to keep their heads above water and deal with their own and their children’s health problems.

The result? The vocal opposition commands the airways with their distortions and scare tactics about healthcare reform. Ladies, it’s time to flex our muscles and make our opinions known.

Think you have no time? You can spend 30 minutes or less and have an impact. Think you don’t know enough? Do you think the people screaming about ‘death panels’ are uber-educated about the issues?!? No, way! They just care enough to voice their opinions.

YOU can influence one of the greatest policy issues of this decade with only a few minutes of your time. Here are some ways:

2 minutes or less: Stay on top of the healthcare debate and join the Health Action Network sponsored by Families USA, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing health care for all consumers. You’ll become educated and the number of  network participants will grow, demonstrating public interest in reform.

5 minutes or less: Click on the administration’s site dedicated to healthcare reform, HealthReform.gov, and express your support online.

10 minutes or less: Write your congressional representative via the House of Representatives site. You enter in your state/zip code and up pops a web form to contact your representative. Your message can be short and sweet – “Pass healthcare reform legislation now!”

20 minutes or less: Write your congressional representative or senator and make a more detailed plea for healthcare reform. Share a personal anecdote about how the current healthcare system has had an adverse impact on you, family or friends. Or, reference policies you would like to see in the final bill (”end pre-existing exclusions”). Don’t think you have to sound like an expert to be convincing. Congressional offices are bombarded with advocacy alerts from national organizations citing statistic after statistic; the only message you need to communicate is that healthcare reform is very important to you as a constituent.

25 minutes or less: Craft similar messages as above, print them out, and spend an extra 5 minutes finding envelopes and stamps to send via snail-mail. Old-fashioned letters have the “Hallmark” touch – they show you cared to send the very best. You can find the addresses of your legislators here.

** Bonus Points**: If you live in Maine, contact Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), a key vote being lobbied by both sides of the aisle, and request her support for healthcare reform. Or, if you know someone from The Pine Tree State, consider asking them to reach out to Sen. Snowe; you can include the link to Sen. Snowe’s site to make it easier for them.

Finally, if you want to get fired up about healthcare reform, watch the video of PBS’s Bill Moyers talking with a former insurance company exec about the industry’s morally bankrupt practices. (Thanks to Wise Woman Stacy for sharing the link with us.)

Shortly before 9 pm last night, I felt my heart thumping, skin tingling and my throat swallowing hard. Channeling Jimmy Stewart in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,*” President Obama was finishing up his speech on healthcare reform and challenged his legislative audience to reject partisan bickering and unite in action:

“We did not come to fear the future.  We came here to shape it.  I still believe we can act even when it’s hard.  I still believe — I still believe that we can act when it’s hard.  I still believe we can replace acrimony with civility, and gridlock with progress.  I still believe we can do great things, and that here and now we will meet history’s test.**“

At this point, I looked over at Wise Hubby and said, “THIS is a great speech!” And, Wise Hubby, usually a bit ambivalent about Obama’s rhetoric, agreed.

Today’s post-mortem analysis of the speech focuses largely on the speech’s passion and idealism. There is also great discussion about Republican’s jaw-dropping incivility during the president’s remarks. (I cringed at the oubursts, yet chuckled at how Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s head kept swiveling back and forth in shock.)

While such observations may ignite invigorating debate, they should not be allowed to obscure the substance of healthcare reform. For legislation to be enacted, we must remember the reason behind the rhetoric – the millions of people who suffer due to a broken healthcare system – and persevere during the pain-staking process of working out the details.

Otherwise, all last night was a passionate jolt of energy for both sides of the aisle. If we don’t move forward, we risk falling into a soul-less black hole, as President Obama eloquently described:

And they [our predecessors] knew that when any government measure, no matter how carefully crafted or beneficial, is subject to scorn; when any efforts to help people in need are attacked as un-American; when facts and reason are thrown overboard and only timidity passes for wisdom, and we can no longer even engage in a civil conversation with each other over the things that truly matter — that at that point we don’t merely lose our capacity to solve big challenges.  We lose something essential about ourselves.

This may sound corny – President Obama’s words make me want to be a better American.

*Credit for this apt analogy belongs to Tom Shales in today’s Washington Post.

** Read the full text of the President’s healthcare remarks.