Amy Myers for President!

Quite often, politicians make mistakes when speaking off the cuff. Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin went on a near-boycott of the media after Katie Couric interviewed her during the 2008 campaign and questioned her views and statements.


Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-MN), often spoke of as a possible presidential candidate in 2012, has also made some gaffes. During a speech in Concord, NH, Bachmann told attendees that it was a privilege to be where the American Revolution first began, in the place where the "shot heard 'round the world" was fired. Unfortunately, this shot was fired in Concord, Massachusetts.

And then there was the time when Bachmann said that the Founding Fathers "worked tirelessly until slavery was no more," despite the fact that nearly all of them—Washington, Jefferson, Madison and Monroe—owned slaves (although John Adams did not) and all died before slavery was officially abolished.

New Jersey high school student Amy Myers thinks that Bachmann's mistakes reflect poorly on women in politics. So Myers wrote her a letter, saying, "As one of a handful of women in Congress, you hold a distinct privilege and responsibility to better represent your gender nationally. The statements you make help to serve an injustice to not only the position of Congresswoman, but women everywhere. Though politically expedient, incorrect comments cast a shadow on your person and by unfortunate proxy, both your supporters and detractors alike often generalize this shadow to women as a whole."

But this isn't just your typical letter of criticism. Myers, who refers to herself as a "typical high school student" yet admits she has watched All The President's Men at least a few times, has a challenge for Bachmann:

"I, Amy Myers, do hereby challenge Representative Michele Bachmann to a Public Forum Debate and/or Fact Test on The Constitution of the United States, United States History and United States Civics."

Bachmann or her representatives have yet to respond, and some conservative blogs have even questioned whether this is a legitimate letter and not one written by an adult trying to ridicule Bachmann.

But for now, Myers stands by her guns, and waits to see how Bachmann will respond. And now, perhaps the media will be somewhat more attentive to fact-checking remarks made by our elected officials, and challenging them when they exaggerate or have their facts wrong.

Then again, probably not. Read the full text of Myers' letter here.

Not Much Ado about Coming Out...

While I don't spend much time focused on celebrity coming-out stories because I believe they should be more of an everyday occurrence rather than a major event, two recent announcements—and the non-reaction that surrounded them—made me somewhat hopeful.


Over the weekend, the New York Times published a great article on long-time NBA executive and Phoenix Suns President & Chief Executive Officer Rick Welts, who has just now publicly come out as gay. Welts, who lived in the closet for more than 40 years for fear that those within the NBA would discover his homosexuality, saw a 14+-year relationship end because his partner could no longer handle living in secret. Ironically, Welts came out to NBA Commissioner David Stern the day before Kobe Bryant used a gay slur when yelling ata referee.

Said the Times:

"'This is one of the last industries where the subject is off limits,' said Mr. Welts, who stands now as a true rarity, a man prominently employed in professional men’s team sports, willing to declare his homosexuality. 'Nobody’s comfortable in engaging in a conversation.'"

Interestingly enough, although homophobia is routinely expressed by professional athletes, when it came to Phoenix Suns player Steve Nash, Welts' publicly acknowledging his sexuality wasn't that big of a deal. "Anyone who’s not ready for this needs to catch up," Nash said. "He’s doing anyone who’s not ready for this a favor."

Since the announcement was made public, Welts said the feedback he has received has been tremendously positive. "The outreach has been amazing," Welts said. "I've been hearing from families, friends. The emails have been uniformly positive."


The day following Welts' announcement, CNN anchor Don Lemon also acknowledged his homosexuality. While Lemon's sexuality was apparently not a secret from his friends, family or colleagues, he came out publicly in an interview with the New York Times, a month before the release of his memoir, Transparent.

Lemon has gotten significant support from CNN, which also supported him when he publicly divulged that he had been molested by a pedophile as a child. However, Lemon fears how the public will react to him now that his sexuality is public. As he told NPR, "Most people would think if you’re the prime news anchor, then you should sort of be this Edward R. Murrow, Clark Kent guy with the family and 2.5 kids — or the perky cute, yet smart Katie Couric." Lemon said. "Anyone would have to be naive to think that it wouldn’t make a difference."

However, Lemon felt that coming out was important to help those struggling with their sexuality to steer clear of suicide. (He dedicated his memoir to the memory of Tyler Clementi, who committed suicide last October after his roommate videotaped his encounter with another man and then bragged about it on Twitter.) And although many people believe that everyone in the public eye should come out (including Lemon's colleague, Anderson Cooper), Lemon doesn't agree.

"I think it would be great if everybody could be out," he said. "But it’s such a personal choice. People have to do it at their own speed. I respect that. I do have to say that the more people who come out, the better it is for everyone, certainly for the Tyler Clementis of the world."

What is refreshing is that while both of these stories have garnered media attention—and the usual crackpots trolling anonymous internet chat rooms and Twitter feeds—they've not been viewed as that big of a deal. While I'm not naive enough to think that this signifies a wholesale shift in public perception of homosexuality, it does mean things are changing.

And a little bit of change is a good thing...

Book Review: "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" by Seth Grahame-Smith

Abraham Lincoln is one of the most famous people in American history. His accomplishments while president, his speeches and, of course, his assassination, are legendary. But what you probably didn't know is that, in addition to achievements as a political leader, Abraham Lincoln was one of the world's most accomplished vampire hunters.

Every time I saw this book in the store, I was intrigued by it. I'm so glad I finally bought it, because I really, really liked it. Seth Grahame-Smith, who also wrote Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, combines true historical fact with incredible fiction to create a fascinating account of Lincoln's life and his struggles with the undead. The unique twists in the book and Grahame-Smith's attributions of certain instances in history to vampires is incredibly creative (and actually explains a lot, if you think about it). This isn't a silly book by any means; there is so much thought and attention paid to details that I found myself wondering how Grahame-Smith could have thought of all of this. (And the photos in the book are terrific, too.)

If you're able to suspend your disbelief and give in to this melding of fantasy and history, you'll really enjoy this book. And you probably won't be able to look at the Lincoln Memorial—or a penny—in quite the same way again!

I've Got the Music in Me...

Last November, when I blogged about one thing I was thankful for each day leading up to Thanksgiving, I wrote about how thankful I am for the gift of music. That certainly hasn't changed in the last six months, but every day I realize how music really serves as a soundtrack to our lives.

For fun, I'm participating in a "30-Day Song Challenge" with several friends from college. Basically, each day has a theme—a song that makes you happy, a song that reminds you of an even, a song that describes you, etc. For that day, you post (on Facebook) a link to a video of that particular song.

Today's challenge was "a song you can dance to." I don't dance (well), but what I remember more than almost anything was that during freshman year of high school, the girls who tried out for the pom-pom squad auditioned to Jungle Love by Morris Day and The Time. For years after that audition, no matter whatever Sweet 16 or party we were at, if the song came on, every girl who tried out came onto the dance floor and did the routine. We saw it so often, even some of the guys learned the routine!

And that's what I mean about music really providing powerful links to memories. When I hear a song, I am often reminded about a particular place, time or person in my life, and can even picture hearing that song at that time. When I was in summer camp from 1980-1989, I remember one summer hearing Bruce Hornsby and The Range's Mandolin Rain, just as the sun was going down, and the song echoed through the mountains. Whenever I hear that song, I can almost hear that echo.

What songs remind you of a particular time, place or person? What song makes you cry? What song makes you smile?

Those are interesting questions to ponder—and even more interesting songs to think about.

Book Review: "You Know Who You Are" by Ben Dolnick

Ben Dolnick's latest novel follows The Vines—Arthur and Alice and their three children, Will, Jacob and Cara. The Vines are your typical family living a fairly uneventful life in suburban Maryland. Jacob, the middle child, doesn't have the same self-confidence and self-assurance that his siblings do, and longs for approval, to fit in. When Alice is diagnosed with cancer, Jacob takes advantage of the ensuing chaos to explore his new freedom, causing harmless adolescent trouble and, ultimately, pursuing his first romantic relationship. And when Alice dies, his personality takes on new sensitivity, which he tries to use to his advantage.

You Know Who You Are focuses on Jacob as he moves through high school, college and life after graduation. His relationships are always slightly off-kilter, whether with his family, friends or various girlfriends. Even as he grows he still feels as if he lives in Will's shadow, although Will has his own troubles figuring life out. But all of this uncertainty, and the struggles that Jacob experiences, makes him a tremendously sympathetic character, and it's one of the reasons this book is an enjoyable read.

I love books about family dynamics. While this family is a little less dysfunctional than most, I still found Jacob's story, and that of the entire Vine family, very interesting. It took me a little while to get completely hooked, but once I did, I found myself flying through the book. The plot explores very familiar territory, but Dolnick's storytelling ability makes even the familiar seem slightly different. This is one of those books that lacks fireworks but relies on the strength of its characters to tell a compelling story. I enjoyed it a lot.

Book Review: "Trigger City" by Sean Chercover

Last year I found a new author named Sean Chercover, who writes a series of books featuring Chicago PI Ray Dudgeon. I really enjoyed his first book, Big City, Bad Blood, and although it's taken me a while to get around to his second book, Trigger City, I'm happy to say it's just as good, if not better.

Joan Richmond was the head of payroll for a Chicago company. One Sunday afternoon she was shot and killed by a former employee, Steven Zhang, who left a confession before killing himself. All of those around him noticed Zhang's erratic behavior changes in the few months leading up to Richmond's murder, but no one expected him to react in this way. While this seems like an open and shut case, Dudgeon is hired by Joan's father, a retired military commander with whom she had a somewhat strained relationship, to find out "the truth." But the truth isn't quite what it seems, as it appears Joan's previous employer was a military contractor with secrets to hide—and lots of people interested in keeping them hidden, no matter what. And as Dudgeon continues his investigation while dealing with his own personal issues, he realizes no one quite knows what the truth really is, and maybe that's a good thing.

Chercover's second book moves quickly, has a terrific plot and lots of twists, some of which I didn't see coming. Dudgeon's character is really complex; he's more than just a stubborn private investigator—he has enough personal demons to keep several psychiatrists busy. But he is determined to protect those in need of help, no matter what the cost may be to himself. That complexity, plus some great action, makes for a really fast and compelling read. Plus, the book makes you think about how our government's reach keeps expanding. I hope Chercover plans to keep writing—I want to know what's next for Ray Dudgeon, and you will, too.

Could Mamie Eisenhower Do "The Dougie"?

This is old news by now, but I'm still so excited by it, I just had to share. Last week, as part of her "Let's Move!" initiative, First Lady Michelle Obama danced during an event at Alice Deal Middle School in Washington, DC.

While she had initially promised that she would stay on the sidelines because she didn't want to be the center of attention, apparently the siren call of Beyonce's Move Your Body proved too much, because she proceeded to dance "The Dougie" and "The Running Man" along with the students.

And she danced well.

Sarah Palin may criticize Mrs. Obama's drive to get children to eat healthier and exercise, but in my entire life, I have never seen a casually dressed First Lady energetically dance along with enthusiastic children. Her ability to never forget that she was just a "regular" person a few short years ago is one of the most appealing things about Michelle Obama, and we are truly privileged to have her as First Lady.

Think what you want about the President, but this is pretty awesome. I hope future first ladies (or gentlemen) follow in her footsteps in terms of relatability.