12 Days of UNICEF: Clay Aiken Promotes Children's Right to Education

BREAKING NEWS:

December 25: UNICEF Ambassador Clay Aiken blogged today at UNICEF FieldNotes as part of UNICEF's "12 Days of UNICEF" awareness campaign. The blog, entitled Clay Aiken: Help kids in emergencies stay in school, supports UNICEF's School in a Box education kits, available through UNICEF's Inspired Gifts. Aiken, who was appointed a UNICEF Ambassador in 2004, holds a degree in special education and is a former teacher.

In the spirit of this season of giving, please read the blog, then visit the Inspired Gifts: Education & Play section. Find out how, for just a few dollars, you can make a difference in the lives of the world's children by bringing them the stabilizing force of education, during emergencies and throughout the year.

Links to other "12 Days of UNICEF" blogs follow the original article below:


Breaking News:

December 19:
This morning the U.S. Fund for UNICEF announced the "12 Days of UNICEF" blogging campaign, featuring daily blogs from UNICEF Celebrity Ambassadors and Supporters discussing life-saving gift options for children around the world.

25,000 young children die every day from preventable causes—things like malnutrition, poor sanitation and lack of safe, drinkable water.

25,000 children die every day.

UNICEF believes that number should be zero.

Here's your chance to make a real difference. In the spirit of this season of giving, what better gift than to save a child's life for just a few dollars?


U.S. Fund for UNICEF "12 Days of UNICEF" Press Release:

New York, NY (PRWEB) December 19, 2008 -- The U.S. Fund for UNICEF announced today "12 Days of UNICEF," a blogging campaign to encourage Americans to give back this holiday season with Inspired Gifts. Beginning December 19 and running through December 31, UNICEF celebrity Ambassadors and Supporters, including Lucy Liu and Clay Aiken, will post daily blogs on the UNICEF website at FieldNotes about Inspired Gifts and their impact on children around the world.

From nutrient enriched food, medicines and immunizations, to wool blankets, tents and school supplies, UNICEF's Inspired Gifts can mean a world of difference to children living in harsh circumstances due to poverty, exploitation, armed conflicts and natural disasters. Participants in the program choose an item from the collection of life-saving gifts to be shipped to children in need in one of over 150 countries and territories where UNICEF works. Recipients receive a UNICEF Acknowledgment Card identifying the item that was sent and how it will be used to save children's lives.

Celebrities lending their support to the program include Clay Aiken, Lucy Liu, Joel Madden, Nicole Richie, Alyssa Milano, Marcus Samuelsson, Al Roker, Jon McLaughlin, Mia Farrow and Sarah Jessica Parker. Some of the items they will blog about include HIV test kits, bicycles, water well hand pumps, insecticide-treated mosquito nets, measles vaccines and more.

For more information, visit Inspired Gifts or call 1-866-237-2224.


About UNICEF:
For more than 60 years, UNICEF has been the world's leading international children's organization, working in over 150 countries to address the ongoing issues that affect why kids are dying. UNICEF provides lifesaving nutrition, clean water, education, protection and emergency response saving more young lives than any other humanitarian organization in the world. While millions of children die every year of preventable causes like dehydration, upper respiratory infections and measles, UNICEF, with the support of partnering organizations and donors alike, has the global experience, resources and reach to give children the best hope of survival. For more information about UNICEF, please visit U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

Links to "12 Days of UNICEF" Blogs:

Day 1, December 19:

Marcus Samuelsson: Give the gift of nutrition

Day 2, December 20:

Alyssa Milano: Help us fight cholera and dehydration

Day 3, December 21:

Jon McLaughlin: A little can go a long way

Day 4, December 22:

Mia Farrow: We can end the nightmare of malaria

Day 5, December 23:

Téa Leoni: The best gift any mother can give

Day 6, December 24:

Lucy Liu: Give nutritious "milk and cookies" this holiday

Day 7, December 25:

Clay Aiken: Help kids in emergencies stay in school

Day 8, December 26:

Joel Madden: All children need safe, clean water

Day 9, December 27:

Nicole Richie: Give the gift of warmth and security

Day 10, December 28:

Al Roker: Help put a stop to deaths by measles

Day 11, December 29:

Benji Madden: Families need water to survive

Day 12, December 30:

Ne-Yo: The difference between life and death


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Clay Aiken - A Man of Character and Caricature

Congratulations Clay Aiken! What a delightful honor to be given your very own caricature at the world-famous Sardi's Restaurant on December 23rd.

Clay's very successful run in Monty Python's Spamalot ends on January 4 and the show closes on January 11. If you haven't seen this fabulously funny show yet - get your tickets before it's too late. Discounted tickets for Spamalot are available.

How fitting that Broadway performers are celebrated at Sardi's as the restaurant was the birthplace of the Tony Awards. After the death of Antoinette Perry in 1946, her partner, theatrical producer and director, Brock Pemberton, was eating lunch at Sardi's when he came up with the idea of a theater award to be given in Perry's honor. For many years Sardi’s was the location of the announcement of the Tony Award nominations. Vincent Sardi, Sr. received a special Tony Award in 1947, the first year of the awards, for "providing a transient home and comfort station for theatre folk at Sardi's for 20 years."

Clay joins more than 1,300 celebrity caricatures on display. The drawings were originally done by Alex Gard, who created more than 700 caricatures for the restaurant,before he died in 1948. After Gard, John Mackey took over drawing for the restaurant but was soon replaced by Donald Bevan. Interestingly, Bevan was a playwright who co-write the wonderful play, Stalag 17.

Bevan did the drawings until 1974 when he retired, and was replaced by Brooklyn-born Richard Baratz,a banknote and certificate engraver by profession. Living in Pennsylvania, Baratz continues to the present day as the Sardi’s caricaturist.

The walls of the main dining room cannot display all the caricatures done over the past 80 years. (Or, actually, the copies thereof, since too many originals were stolen — from James Cagney and Streisand to Maureen Stapleton, who snatched her own and burned it.) So now, the originals go into a vault, and two copies are made. One goes to the subject of the caricature, the other up on the Sardi's wall.

Clay's had quite an exciting year and on People.com he Reflects on a Year of Coming Out, Being a New Dad. Clay plans on spending his down time with his son, Parker and Parker's mother and Clay's dear friend, Jaymes Foster before getting back to singing.

Have a Wonderful Holiday and a Fabulous New Year!

And . . . if you have a minute - let us know what's next - there are old fans and new who are eager to hear you sing LIVE!

__________________________________________________
See more pictures of Clay at Sardi's here at Just Jared

And read more at Playbill

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12 Days of UNICEF: Give Gifts that Give Back This Holiday Season

12 Days of UNICEF Update:

The first four blogs by UNICEF Celebrity Ambassadors and Supporters on life-saving gift options have been posted at UNICEF FieldNotes:

They are:

Day 1, December 19:

Marcus Samuelsson: Give the gift of nutrition

Day 2, December 20:

Alyssa Milano: Help us fight cholera and dehydration

Day 3, December 21:

Jon McLaughlin: A little can go a long way

Day 4, December 22:

Mia Farrow: We can end the nightmare of malaria


Read on for details about this innovative awareness campaign!


Breaking News: This morning the U.S. Fund for UNICEF announced the "12 Days of UNICEF" blogging campaign, featuring daily blogs from UNICEF Celebrity Ambassadors and Supporters discussing life-saving gift options for children around the world.

25,000 young children die every day from preventable causes—things like malnutrition, poor sanitation and lack of safe, drinkable water.

25,000 children die every day.

UNICEF believes that number should be zero.

Here's your chance to make a real difference. In the spirit of this season of giving, what better gift than to save a child's life for just a few dollars?


U.S. Fund for UNICEF "12 Days of UNICEF" Press Release:

New York, NY (PRWEB) December 19, 2008 -- The U.S. Fund for UNICEF announced today "12 Days of UNICEF," a blogging campaign to encourage Americans to give back this holiday season with Inspired Gifts. Beginning December 19 and running through December 31, UNICEF celebrity Ambassadors and Supporters, including Lucy Liu and Clay Aiken, will post daily blogs on the UNICEF website at FieldNotes about Inspired Gifts and their impact on children around the world.

From nutrient enriched food, medicines and immunizations, to wool blankets, tents and school supplies, UNICEF's Inspired Gifts can mean a world of difference to children living in harsh circumstances due to poverty, exploitation, armed conflicts and natural disasters. Participants in the program choose an item from the collection of life-saving gifts to be shipped to children in need in one of over 150 countries and territories where UNICEF works. Recipients receive a UNICEF Acknowledgment Card identifying the item that was sent and how it will be used to save children's lives.

Celebrities lending their support to the program include Clay Aiken, Lucy Liu, Joel Madden, Nicole Richie, Alyssa Milano, Marcus Samuelsson, Al Roker, Jon McLaughlin, Mia Farrow and Sarah Jessica Parker. Some of the items they will blog about include HIV test kits, bicycles, water well hand pumps, insecticide-treated mosquito nets, measles vaccines and more.

For more information, visit Inspired Gifts or call 1-866-237-2224.


About UNICEF:
For more than 60 years, UNICEF has been the world's leading international children's organization, working in over 150 countries to address the ongoing issues that affect why kids are dying. UNICEF provides lifesaving nutrition, clean water, education, protection and emergency response saving more young lives than any other humanitarian organization in the world. While millions of children die every year of preventable causes like dehydration, upper respiratory infections and measles, UNICEF, with the support of partnering organizations and donors alike, has the global experience, resources and reach to give children the best hope of survival. For more information about UNICEF, please visit U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

Links to "12 Days of UNICEF" Blogs:

Day 1, December 19:

Marcus Samuelsson: Give the gift of nutrition

Day 2, December 20:

Alyssa Milano: Help us fight cholera and dehydration

Day 3, December 21:

Jon McLaughlin: A little can go a long way

Day 4, December 22:

Mia Farrow: We can end the nightmare of malaria


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Crossroads

As we near the end of the year, I find myself thinking about crossroads. The three things that I’ve thought about the most this year are Clay Aiken, the election and my own life (not necessarily in that order).

The country is obviously at a huge crossroads as we face the toughest economic time in decades and all eyes on the incoming administration to find the fix, sooner rather than later. I have confidence in his abilities but it's quite a mess he's been handed. I used to check the market once or twice a day, now I check it once or twice an hour. My kids' 529 accounts are worth about $5.29. The market will come back, you say? Well, that’s all fine and dandy except we needed that money in about 9 months.

Yes, I’m focusing on 529 accounts as this is a crossroads in our family too. My son is now in high school and one morning this summer, he woke up taller than I am. I’m caught in the vortex of my daughter’s senior year. In the chaos and complexity of common application, recommendations, deadlines, college tours, FAFSA and a mountain of paperwork, there is the real human emotion of preparing your child to leave you. While my daughter looks at a dorm to see how big the room is, I look and see how happy the buzz is in the hallway. How has the time flashed by so quickly that we went from “did you pick up your dolls and put them away” to “did you submit your college essay today” in what seems like 3 months. This is a crossroad that I thought I was prepared for but in reality, I’m distracting myself with researching scholarships so that I don’t notice I’m blinking back tears.

But, sometimes crossroads happen when you least expect them. When your company goes from a record year to hanging on for dear life. When so many of your friends leave voluntarily or otherwise because of it. When the CEO tells you he can’t afford your position but doesn’t want to lose you so you accept a compromise that is far, far less than you are worth but leaves you with free days during the week. When preparing all the complexities of your daughter (and one of her friend’s) college applications and timelines makes you realize you’re damn good at this and maybe this could be a business. When you turn those unexpected free days into productive days and the next thing you know you’re incorporated with a business of your own ready to go in less than a month. When maybe, just maybe, this crossroad was just waiting for the right moment to take a deep breath and turn left with eyes wide open. When friends, family, your banker and even your doctor tells you they haven’t seen your eyes sparkle the way they do when you talk about your new business, you tell them they haven’t seen you before a Clay Aiken concert.

Ah, Clay. This has been a crossroad year for you too. You opened up a new chapter of your career by starring in a Tony Award winning comedy-musical that showed you can act, dance and as one of your great reviews said “handle supremely silly”. You bared your soul in an album that is one of the best I’ve ever heard. Your longing for a child provided strength to be true to yourself completely for the first time in your life. You faced your crossroad in a more public way than most of us and yet it is visible to those of us that love you that the road you chose has made you free. You are defined now not only as singer, actor, entertainer, and philanthropist. You are a father.

Hold him tight,Clay. Pretty soon you’ll be blinking back tears searching for scholarships too.

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CONGRATULATIONS PRESIDENT OBAMA!

Our new first family.

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Barack Obama and the American Dream

Around the time that Barack Obama was growing up in Hawaii, I was growing up in Pasadena, California. We lived in a craftsman house surrounded by trees and, entering the etched glass front door, there was an old Persian rug in the foyer. At the bottom of the stairs, between the pocket doors leading into the living room on one side and the library on the other, I would lay face down on that rug, pretending I could fly.

I’d surround myself with comic books, an adventure story or a mystery, and a large drawing pad, and I'd spend time reading and sketching out my dreams. I’d imagine that I was on the stage, famous and beloved. I’d listen to the sound of music drifting out of the living room. Sometimes I’d pray for super powers, so I could spend my life helping people.

The world was before me, laid out across the fields of my imagination.

In truth, my life was not idyllic, though I was more fortunate than many. I didn’t grow up thinking much about race, probably because my parents had taught me to be the best person I could be, not the best person I as an African American girl could be. I had always lived in integrated neighborhoods and attended integrated schools. My family was middle class, my grandparents had been business owners, my parents were college educated. I was a dreamy, shy kid, and an excellent student.

Sometimes when walking home from school, debating whether I’d rather be a pilot or an actress, somebody would drive by and yell the n-word out of their car window.

Out there in the wider world, Martin Luther King, a man of peace, had walked from Selma to Montgomery. I had been taught to trust the police, but these police were really angry about something, holding rifles and yelling at Dr. King and the people walking with him --- students, religious leaders of many faiths, parents, working people, famous people and people who were unknown. He was walking with other black people, but also with white people, with brown people, people with roots in Asia and with the first Americans. All were peaceful.

They simply wanted everyone to be able to vote.

"Like an idea whose time has come, not even the marching of mighty armies can halt us. We are moving to the land of freedom. Let us march to the realization of the American dream.”

--- The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. and civil rights marchers on the road from Selma to Montgomery, wearing leis symbolizing peace. The leis are said to have been the idea of Hawaiian minister Reverend Abraham Akaka.


I put aside my comic books, and started to realize that I did not need any super powers to be of service to others. I started to dream in real life, and my heroes were named Martin Luther King, Cesar Chavez and Bobby Kennedy.

By the summer of 1968, two of the three had been killed, shattering my youthful illusions.

There’s just something wrong with becoming cynical when you’re barely old enough for middle school. Somehow, I didn't give up.

Through my youth, my teen years and now into my adult years, it has become obvious that Martin Luther King was right. The time for the idea had come. Slowly, at times imperceptibly, we marched on to a time when the realization of the American dream became at least a possibility for all.

For eight years now, though, that dream has been on the endangered list. Now is the time to nurture that dream before it becomes lost.




Photo (c) AP/Elaine Thompson --- Obama at Democratic event in Washington state, 2006.

This election is our chance - our moment - to restore the simple dream of those who came before us for another generation of Americans. But only if we can come together like previous generations did and close that divide between a people and its leaders in Washington.

Because in the end, the choice in this election is not between regions or religions or genders. It's not about rich versus poor; young versus old; and it is not about black versus white.

It's about the past versus the future.”

What became of that dreamy little girl of days passed? I graduated from a fine university in Los Angeles, with a major in English and minors in art and theatre arts. I became an assistant director, specializing in motion pictures, and I was invited to join the Directors Guild of America. I do a little writing from time to time. I still dream while I listen to music, enjoying a range of great music from Clay Aiken to Yo-Yo Ma. The joy of my life is service, so I do a bit from time to time for organizations ranging from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS to UNICEF.

I learned an early lesson about looking not at the color of skin but at the content of character. I look at people instead of labels, so I still tend not to think much about race, or religion, or gender or sexual orientation, except for when I consider what a gift to my life diversity brings.

I never learned to fly, but every once in a while, I soared.

I guess I found my American dream. In these difficult economic times, it’s not always certain that I will be able to hang onto it.

And what about that kid from Hawaii, whose mother was from a small Kansas town and whose father was from Kenya? Barack served the people by becoming a community organizer. He earned a law degree from Harvard, was president of the Harvard Review, practiced as a civil rights lawyer and taught constitutional law. He served in the Illinois State Senate for eight years and is currently a member of the U.S. Senate.

I understand that he has a decent chance of becoming president of the United States.

And though he is quintessentially American, and focused on the needs and concerns of those living in this country, he is, truly, African/American, as well, with an eye on our place in the world.

He is the face of America’s future --- if we are bold enough to choose it.

The time has come.

There is no reason for me to list the facts and figures of Barack Obama’s background, education, endeavors and political career --- the information is now obvious and everywhere. I don’t need to cite his policies and positions on the issues: on the day before this historic presidential election, I can’t impart any knowledge with this blog that hasn’t been widely available before.

I simply want this to serve as a reminder that your vote can build a strong new foundation for a dream.

VOTE.

Forty years. I think about those marchers from Selma to Montgomery, who were turned back, attacked, and even though some were killed, they as a group persevered.

Forty years --- and I can simply stroll into my precinct and vote for the most capable and the most inspiring candidate in my lifetime.

Barack means blessed. On Tuesday, November 4, I hope we all will be blessed with the courage to seize our dreams and turn them into a bright new reality.


The time has come. Now is the time for Barack Obama. For America. For the dream.

"The true test of the American ideal is whether we're able to recognize our failings and then rise together to meet the challenges of our time. Whether we allow ourselves to be shaped by events and history, or whether we act to shape them. Whether chance of birth or circumstance decides life's big winners and losers, or whether we build a community where, at the very least, everyone has a chance to work hard, get ahead, and reach their dreams."

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Music & Politics - The Sound of Change from the Past to our Future

I find that I cannot wait to get to the polls on Tuesday and cast my vote for Barack Obama. I'm excited about this election in a way that I haven't been excited in a very long time. I remember the feeling I had when Bobby Kennedy was running for President. It was to be my first election and I had just gotten involved in politics. It was "our" time - my generation's. And the optimism many of us felt in the midst of social unrest was strong. The assassination of Martin Luther King had hit us hard. There were riots in major cities despite President Johnson's attempts to introduce anti-poverty and anti-discrimination legislation. And, of course, there was significant opposition to the ongoing military action in Vietnam. And yet, there was hope. And hope is what I see now when I look at the video and pictures of an Obama rally. Hope on the faces of the diverse audience. And I love my "Got Hope?" bumper sticker I put on my car a number of months ago.

I've been thinking about those late 60's/early 70's years and the music that evolved around the politics of the times. So much of that music still resonates with me - and others - even now.

This clip from The Smothers Brothers shows Pete Seeger singing Waist Deep In The Big Muddy with other brief snippets of other soldier songs. Written by Seeger in 1967, the song tells the story of a platoon wading in a river in Louisiana on a practice patrol in 1942. The captain orders the platoon to continue, until they're finally up to their necks. This is also symbolic of the Vietnam War as a whole, and how the United States kept getting deeper and deeper into the war and eventually became so drawn into it that withdrawal was nearly impossible, but kept pushing on anyway. And now, more than 5 years into the Iraq War - it is sadly timely again.



It's hard to believe that the brilliant Marvin Gaye wrote Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) more than thirty years ago - and profoundly sad that so little has changed:




Tom Paxton has been a hero of mine since the 60's when I first saw him in clubs in the Village. He's just turned 71 and he's still going strong. In this video, Tom takes his "Changing My Name To Chrysler" song about the controversial 1979 loan bailout to Chrysler and updates it to "Changing My Name to Fannie Mae". What's old is new again.



Tom usually includes in his concerts what he calls "short shelf-life songs" and here's his little ditty about Sarah Palin:



Yeah, yeah, yeah - you all know how much I adore Bobby Darin. I also find his song, Simple Song Of Freedom, to be honest and compelling in it's simplicity. It's interesting that what are labeled "protest songs" are oftentimes not negative, but powerfully life affirming. Written in 1969, it just asks us to consider what is at stake. A question that is worth asking ourselves now - on the eve of this important election.



All this Palin and McCain spin about socialism and communism got me thinking about a satirical song called The John Birch Society by the Chad Mitchell Trio from 1962. Just remember :

"You cannot trust your neighbor or even next of kin
If mommie is a commie then you gotta turn her in":

Holly Near. Oh wonderful Holly Near. Teacher. Entertainer. Activist. Her voice is timeless. Here she is singing I Am Willing at a 2006 at a rally outside the White House.




Buffy Sainte-Marie has been singing Universal Soldier since 1963. And here she is singing it for Veterans for Peace and Iraq Veterans Against The War in front of the Capital and Native American Museum in Washington DC on the five year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. 1963 to 2008. And the song is still true. I found this video extremely moving - seeing Buffy singing surrounded by veterans holding microphones to her mouth and guitar.

"He's the Universal Soldier and he really is to blame,
His orders come from far away no more,
They come from here and there and you and me,
And brothers can't you see,
This is not the way we put the end to war."

Spook Handy is a songwriter from New Jersey who created a terrific song called "Vote" and put it together with a video that hopefully will get your toes tapping right out the door to the voting booth!



Written by Woody Guthrie in the 1940, This Land Is Your Land, remains to me the most memorable and patriotic song of our time. The song was written in response to Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" which Guthrie believed to be unrealistic and complacent. How fitting for this blog that Bruce Springsteen once again brought back the song in 2008 as set closer when performing acoustic concerts in support of Barack Obama, this time adding a "Yes We Can" chant before and after the song.

This version, performed live by Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie is my favorite. It lifts my soul, makes me hopeful, and makes me proud. This is my America.



And finally . . . Clay Aiken singing Grace of God to a moving video . . .



I am an American proudly casting my vote for Barack Obama!

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Hope, Healing and High Honor

I’ve always been a political junkie. While I tend to lean left, I really try to do my research. This year, I was looking at Edwards first but after taking some of those surveys on candidates' positions, I chose Chris Dodd as my candidate. Truth be told, another candidate kept coming out first, but for some reason I wasn’t paying attention. But Dodd got 4.5 votes in the primaries so I revisited those surveys to see whose policies I agreed with and Barack Obama still kept coming up first. On the afternoon of December 31st, I sat down with my laptop and reviewed the websites of Obama, Clinton and Edwards and researched where they stood on the issues. The first thing I noticed was that the Obama site was incredibly well done, especially laying out his plan and his positions.

I decided to support Obama and then really started to pay attention. Then I couldn’t stop paying attention. I wanted to hear him speak, I wanted to know more about what he thought, I read his book. I started reading other websites that I’d never even heard of a month before. I am lucky to belong to a non political message board with some of the smartest political junkies assembled and I really learned how to educate others. I bit my nails during the primaries. I pulled on my lip during the debates. I haven’t sucked my thumb since I was six but if there was one more debate, it was either that or start smoking.

The first time I was able to vote legally was the year Carter ran against Reagan. I didn’t like either and hated the fact that I wasted my first vote on John Anderson. I’ve been interested in every election since but I’ve never felt this invested. I’ve never contributed to a political candidate until this year. But, the country that I love was one I feared was becoming unrecognizable after eight years of Bush/Cheney/Rove. How could we find a candidate that was intellectually capable of solving their mess and at the same inspire people enough to want to solve the mess together? There is no denying that Al Gore and John Kerry were smart people but they only made me want to vote for them because they weren’t George W. Bush. I craved for something more.

Obama has been mocked for being all about the speech and all about hope. But when you are facing the problems that America now faces, shouldn’t the first thing necessary be hope? Hope is what keeps this country moving when we are fighting two wars and we’re not sure why we didn’t just finish the first one and avoid the second. Hope is what keeps people working hard despite the fact that their college funds or retirement portfolio is shrinking faster than a grape in the sun. Hope is that there is someone out there who can fix it. Hope is personal. Mocking Obama about hope reminds me of that scene in You’ve Got Mail. When Meg Ryan’s character is losing her business to a ruthless competitor, she is told it’s not personal.. it’s business. And she replies, “What does that mean? Whatever else something is, it should start by being personal. It’s personal to me.”


It’s personal to these women here from a recent Obama rally in Virginia. Look at them, they come from different backgrounds, different faiths. The hope in their faces is personal and yet it’s universal too.

But pull back the curtain on the great speech making; the message, the plan, the ideas are all sound. They aren’t perfect but they are a good foundation to stabilize and then grow the economy. When I watch him speak or when I read about his ideas, I don't see a black man. I don't see a liberal man. I see a smart man. I don't want to have a beer with my president, how ridiculous is that? It's the toughest job in the world and it doesn't belong to an average citizen.

The other thing I noticed as I began to follow Obama is how steady he is when chaos reigns around him with unfounded attacks, campaign suspensions, plumbers who weren’t plumbers just famewhores, constant viral email (and I mean viral in the original and cyberspace definitions) that falsely accuse him of everything under the sun and McCain/Palin harping on one stupid thing after another, in some cases outright lying. Obama continued to keep his cool while McCain gritted his teeth. Obama kept telling us what he was going to do to make things better, John McCain kept telling us he knows how to fix it but not how he is going to fix it. There is a crisis a day in the Oval Office, some we probably don't even hear about. It's been noted that Barack Obama had two presidential level decisions to make in the last few months. One was his VP pick and the other was how he handled the economic crisis. He made these decisions with smart, careful deliberation. He did not make these decisions for short term gains at the expense of an actual solution. John McCain cannot claim the same thing. McCain's constant below the surface tension and anger is of great concern to me. It's right there, visible to everyone. Body language is truth, far greater truth than any "risk" that McCain tries to fabricate about Obama's background. Who do I want leading this great country when Putin shows he still doesn't play well with others? Who do I want analyzing the best course of action if the other economic shoe drops? Not someone who can barely control his anger and contempt in front of tens of millions of people in a debate.

On a side note, I’m partial to Michelle Obama too. Probably because I like smart women, like my ConClayve sisters. I couldn’t tell you if Cindy McCain is smart, she's been a mannequin through most of this election. Her heart does not seem to be in this thing and I actually feel a bit sorry for her until she opens her mouth. I think Sarah Palin answered the smart question after her first two interviews.

I find myself thinking about the election all day, when I’m not checking the market. Bill Clinton said yesterday that right now, our country has so much promise and so much peril. I feel that Barack Obama offers the best chance for a new America; one that competes in the quality of its schools, the innovation of its energy policy, the smart use of its military force. An America that stands tall with honor in the eyes of the world, like the man I hope is elected on Tuesday.



Mosaic found on itech news net made by Charis Tsevis. Constitution picture found on thebruceblog.

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Five Days and Counting

The writers of ConCLAYve blog will be temporarily changing the focus of our topic for the next five days as we approach the homestretch to the Presidential election on Tuesday. The blog topic is not necessarily the opinion of all of our blogging team and in no way is meant to imply any endorsement by Clay Aiken to any particular view. Contributors during this timeperiod will be ConClayve-Nan, Corabeth, berkeley and our newest member, OldMovieGal. We made this decision because of the importance of this election and how committed we are to the outcome. So please indulge us while we say what is in our heads and more importantly, in our hearts.


There is not enough liquor in the world to get me through the next five days. I'm almost afraid to believe what I have seen with my own eyes. This, I think, is what living in America for the past eight years has done to me: I can see an intelligent and informed and articulate candidate who offers hope and decency, I can see poll numbers and anecdotal evidence that point quite clearly to a commanding lead, I can see cheering crowds of people who have placed their dreams in the hands of this man. . .and I still can barely bring myself to imagine that he will win the election five days from now. Because I have felt like I'm living in Bizarro America since the 2000 presidential (s)election, I can look at all of these things – things that any rational and intelligent person would interpret in one way only – and I can still think of all of the almost unthinkable possibilities. Add this to the things that I hope will change with this election: the cynical mistrust of a system that will tell you that down is up and the sky is green, and eventually 50.1% of the population will somehow come to believe it's true.

I just don't know how anyone could look at the Republican ticket (as Alec Baldwin called them on Letterman last night, McBush and Bible Spice) and see a team that is equipped to lead this country in a time of crisis, or even all that interested in that role. McCain is increasingly grasping and confused, pulling random accusations and non sequitur catchphrases out of a hat, but never really seeming to understand or even care that this is a real country with real problems. He seems to want to win just for the sake of winning, but doesn’t seem to realize that winning means having to fix those problems. And Palin -- I used to think that she was just stupid and superficial, with her coy little winks and her cornpone turns of phrase, but now I see her as the most opportunistic, mean, sarcastic, power-hungry psycho I've seen in American politics in my lifetime. And that's saying something, considering that I have roamed the earth in the time of Rick Santorum and Tom DeLay and Dick Cheney and Karl Rove and the rest from their particularly rancid breed of politicians.

I have always known that I am fairly insulated from all of the conflicts of this election by virtue of being in the most liberal corner of a liberal university -- and further by living in the very blue state of Illinois, so I don't see many television ads or get robocalls or have neighbors stealing the signs out of my front yard. But I didn't realize how insulated I was until, a few weeks ago, I went to Indiana to talk to undecided voters. And what I saw while I was there scared the hell out of me. There I was, with my Obama pin and a stack of brochures and my carefully researched talking points, ready to debate policy issues with the people I met. In retrospect, I was such a giant nerd about it all, clutching my brochures and believing that it was really all about ideology, that I would just reason with people and they would come to see that Obama was the best pick, and that even if they disagreed with me, they would do so on grounds that they reached through rational thought. And what did I get? One really scary guy who kept ranting about some bizarre "plan" of Obama's to set up "neighborhood tribunals" and turn people in to the police for being terrorists. (WTF??? My guess was that the idiot had a meth lab in his basement, and that's what all of his crazy-eyed fear was really about. One can only hope, I suppose.) Another man, a middle-aged African-American man living in a ramshackle house in a neighborhood that could most charitably be described as “blighted,” opened his door a crack, yelled that he was voting for McCain, and told me to get the hell off of his porch. And (my personal favorite) one 30-ish guy in frayed jeans but no shirt or shoes ambled out onto his porch, explained that he had just moved and was busy unpacking right now, and said, "I figure I'll take this fall to settle in, and I'll vote in next year's presidential election."

And that's when it hit me. None of this was about conflicting ideologies, or the inability to decide whose tax plan made more sense or who would do better things with the health care system. Yes, I believe there are undecided voters who are truly weighing the issues, who are wrestling with their positions, and I respect their processes in reaching the decision that is right for them. But I didn't encounter any of that on my day in Indiana. These people -- these people whose votes very well might determine the outcome of the election -- were complete morons. How could they be trusted to cast a responsible vote for president, based on what we might assume are carefully considered beliefs, when in actuality they didn't put any thought process into it at all – would uncritically believe the most patently bizarre fabrications and, frankly, didn't even know that we don't hold presidential elections every year?

So, yeah, it's going to be a long five days. I know what I see with my own eyes, but I won't believe it – will barely even allow myself to imagine it – until Tuesday night when I lay my head down on my pillow for what I hope will be my first night of peaceful slumber in President Obama's America.

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Three Cups Of Tea - One Man's Mission To Promote Peace

PHOTO: US Fund for UNICEF ©


Today there was an article in LA Times Travel Section about Celebrity Travel. It mentioned Clay Aiken and referenced his visit to Afghanistan. Berkeley blogged about Clay's April 2007 Unicef trip to Afghanistan drawing attention to critical needs of children in Afghanistan. In that blog, there is a quote from Clay:

"As a former teacher I recognize that spark of hope and excitement all children possess when given the opportunity to learn," said Aiken, who spent five days traveling between Kabul and Bamyan in the central region of Afghanistan. "Rebuilding schools, training teachers, providing essential supplies and teaching materials are just some of the advances UNICEF and its partners have made to keep that hope flourishing.".

I was reminded of an amazing book I read a few months ago, Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson. Reading this extraordinary true story reminded me of what Clay has stressed about the importance of providing a means for education and it's deep-rooted connection to hope.

Three Cups of Tea tells the story of Mortenson's unsuccessful 1993 attempt to climb K2 and how his recovery in the small Pakistani village of Korphe led to a promise to come back and build this impoverished town's first school. The book's central theme derives from the Baltistan proverb, which says "the first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time, you are an honored guest. The third time you become family." Coauthored with David Oliver Relin, the book chronicles the journey culminating in the establishment of the Central Asia Institute, which has since constructed hundreds of secular schools that are educating thousands of tribal Muslim children throughout a war-torn region. The most effective way to fight terrorism, according to Mortensen, is to educate children and give them a future, and help them rebuild their villages that have been shelled into oblivion over the last couple of decades. As the book continues to a post-9/11 world, the authors present a case for the United States to fight Islamic extremism in the region through collaborative efforts to alleviate poverty and improve access to education, especially for girls.

But the book is also an adventure story. A love story. And a remarkable read.

One of the programs central to the CAI is Pennies For Peace, which "educates children about the world beyond their experience and how they can make a positive impact on a global scale, one penny at a time. It teaches children the rewards of sharing and working together to bring hope and education opportunities to the children in Pakistan and Afghanistan. A penny is virtually worthless, but in impoverished countries a penny buys a pencil and opens the door to literacy.".

There are many teachers in the Clay fandom - check out their website and see if perhaps your students might benefit from seeing how they can become positive change agents half-way around the world.

Watch Greg Mortenson talk about Three Cup of Tea for Borders:




Nelson Mandela once said, "Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world." Greg Mortenson's story is proof that ordinary people can indeed truly change the world.

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Clay Aiken & Champions of Change

Is it possible to fall in love all over again? Not that I ever fell out of love with Clay Aiken - but I'm drawn back in to that place where Clay curls up in my heart and it's like a kitten purring. I want to wrap my arms around him. Around Jaymes. Around Parker. I want the world for them all.

MrNan and I were talking about how now - even after five years - we have such an emotional connection to the man that Clay Aiken is. He can make us laugh. Then think. Then feel. Then cry. In the space of one minute. He is an entertainer - of that I have no doubt. But he is also a caring and generous young man who's truly made a difference.

Last night, The Bubel/Aiken Foundation held a gala benefit with the goal to promote awareness of the benefits of inclusion and to support The Bubel/Aiken Foundation’s programs which give children with disabilities the opportunity to experience life with their typical peers.

From the BAF website:

"Our Vision
The Bubel/Aiken Foundation envisions a world where young people with developmental disabilities are totally immersed in all life has to offer. The desegregation of programs, jobs, services, and educational opportunities will benefit children with and without special needs. We will break down barriers that divide by helping families obtain the services, support and financial assistance that makes full inclusion possible. We will work to educate the public and motivate society to move toward full inclusion as a way of life."

This year's honorees were:

CVS Caremark, a Corporate Champion of Change for their outstanding efforts to improve the lives of children with disabilities.

Dan Habib & Betsy McNamara, Champions of Change for their film, Including Samuel which tells their son’s story of inclusion, along with the trials and triumphs of four other subjects.

Rich Donovan, Champion of Change for applying his world-class business acumen to creating means of empowerment for people with disabilities.

Clay's wish for the evening was that “. . . everyone will join us for an enjoyable evening including dinner, silent and live auctions, entertainment - all in support of inclusive opportunities for all children.”

From the first-hand reports of the evening . . . and the video that was taken - it looks like Clay's goal was met. The BAF raised $207,000 from the live auction alone.

I just listened to his speech. I am in awe of what Clay has accomplished. He said, not that many years ago on American Idol, that he wanted to make a difference. He did. And still is.


I just watched him sing Everything I Don't Need and I am aching for a tour -- for the chance to be on my feet dancing at the next concert.

I just listened to him singing Right Here Waiting with such poignancy and tenderness



I've always loved being a Clay Aiken fan. Now I'm more proud and more in love than ever.

Special thanks to thankful4clay and lonelynomore44 for their video.

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Gift of Life: Join UNICEF's Clay Aiken to Stop Child Deaths

--UNICEF Ambassador Clay Aiken with Somali infant, June 2008

(© US Fund for UNICEF/Nick Ysenburg)








BREAKING NEWS:

UNICEF Ambassador Clay Aiken today launched a campaign aimed at making sure no child dies of preventable illnesses.

Here's how you can help!

Blogging at UNICEF Field Notes, Aiken writes:

Did you know that approximately 25,000 children die each day before their fifth birthday, largely due to preventable causes? Thanks to organizations like UNICEF this number is getting smaller every day. Last year, the number of child deaths worldwide declined to about 9.2 million. In 1990, that number was 12.7 million. That's definite progress, but that number should be zero.

As truly remarkable as it is that UNICEF and other organizations have been able to reduce the number of children who die from preventable illnesses by three and a half million a year in a little less than two decades, it is completely unacceptable that tens of thousands of children continue to die needlessly each and every day, children who could be saved for pennies.

During this worldwide economic crisis, many are looking for ways to save money, not to spend more. I'd like to propose that by pledging as little as a few dollars a month to UNICEF's life-saving programs, millions of dollars can be saved: dollars that would go to military intervention when struggling nations erupt into violence over meager supplies, dollars that would be spent to feed and house millions of refugees forced to flee the desperation of their homelands, dollars that would go to feeble attempts to prevent the spread of what could become a worldwide pandemic rather than taking preventative steps such as eradicating malaria.

The headlines can be bleak, and it is easy to think that it is hopeless. But thanks to UNICEF's child survival strategy, preventable child deaths have declined 27 percent since 1990 and more than 60 percent since 1960 --- proof positive that every penny donated can saves lives.

Don't let another day go by without making an effort to save a child. Whether you have five dollars a month to pledge, $50, $500 or $5,000, every dollar makes a difference.

Even a small amount makes a huge difference. For instance, $5 a month (about 15¢ per day) can ensure five children are protected from measles.

If we could all make this small commitment we may be able to see the day when no child dies of a preventable cause.

--- Clay Aiken

You can save a child's life for the price of a cup of coffee. Join Clay and UNICEF and pledge today.

WHATEVER IT TAKES TO SAVE A CHILD.





--- New dad Clay Aiken with his son Parker, September 2008

(Good Morning America/abc News)








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Clay Aiken - Killing The Elephants In The Room

I've always been a proud fan of Clay Aiken, the entertainer and the man. Now, more than ever. Clay blogged to his fans late yesterday and spoke so eloquently about who he is, his decisions about his personal life, and what role the media should play in a public figure's life.

Clay has never made me cry (well, except for when he sings sometimes - but not just real life) - until I read this blog. And again when I read it to MrNan. Clay Aiken is a remarkable and fascinating human being. I hope that blog is reposted in a variety of different places. It is a beautifully written, heartfelt call for tolerance and privacy. To the gay gossip bloggers who think they can choose for another when is the right time to come out. To the fans who insisted that Clay must identify himself as a gay man - or a straight man - to everyone who thinks their personal interpretation and feelings about another human being trumps the feelings of the person - he has spoken. I am beyond thrilled with what Clay has written and I am so excited about Clay's future, both personally and professionally.

Here is Clay, reminding all of us - fans and not fans - about what is really important in life:

"What a week or so this has been. In fact, it's just been two weeks since I started back to the Spam. Jerome and I were just talking the other day, though, about how the past two weeks have felt like a month. So much routine to get back into and yet so much routine and consistency to break. No doubt, many of you have been going through quite a bit over the past week or so yourselves. What a bunch of headline news we have had in the past 10 days! Wall Street falling to it's knees. Congress propping it back up. Two debates. Hijackers in Somalia. New leaders in South Africa and Japan. You'd think with all of the important events going on in the world, there would be plenty to fill up the pages of America's newspapers, websites and blogs without the need for information on the private lives of the country's singers and entertainers. But, alas, thats never the case. In fact for the last five years, I've found what seems to have been an inordinate amount of interest (not from the public, but from the media) in my own personal life. The questions never seemed to stop. Oh sure, they die down for a period, but they resurface. The wind blows another direction, and I do yet another interview worried that my personal life will become a topic of discussion. No doubt the birth of Parker would bring the same scrutiny, just heightened. It's an interesting time we live in. Gone are the days when entertainers could go about their lives without the invasion of privacy that we now see everyday in the form of paparazzi and internet tabloid bloggers. So, in the hopes of being able to sing and act (and dance poorly) and do what I love to do for a living while raising my son in a hopefully more private and accepting environment, I chose to go ahead and confront things head on. Yes, I would have preferred to separate my personal life from my professional life. I would have been just as happy to go on without discussing my orientation. But, it seems like that was not an option. Make no mistake, its not because I am ashamed. No, not for a minute. I haven't always been as comfortable as I am now, but I am without a doubt, proud of who I am and make no apologies for it. Instead, I would have been happy to have kept my personal life private for that very reason. Because it's personal life and I have always considered myself a private person. But, living as myself without discussing my sexuality publicly would have been as impossible. One chance to expose the truth would have been a payday for any greedy opportunist.

I went to American Idol, much like many of us did "back in the day". Naive. Unlike the contestants who join up today, we had no idea of the power and pull of Idol when we signed on. (I'm sure many of us season two folks like to think we are the reason the show got so big!!! ;-) ) There I was two months off of the biggest show in the country, sitting at a table with a reporter from Rolling Stone who was asking me every single question I would never think of. Twenty-four years old in the rest of America is a LOT younger and more naive than twenty four years old in the media business. So when this guy started asking me about things that I didn't really know how to answer for myself... things that I was not yet ready to admit to folks like my mother and my family.... things that I found intimidating and invasive, I responded in what I assumed was a benign way at the time. I attempted to "out spin" a professional. I wasn't as good as I thought I was. But, I have no regrets. The truth is, I don't apologize for the responses I gave to that reporter or any reporter over the past five years. I did make every attempt I could after that one interview to never say "I am not gay" or "I am straight". And I never said either. (some interpreted my vague answers to mean that... but I never said either) Some will say thats misleading. In truth, it might be defined that way. But, a better definition and a more accurate way to describe it for me, is a redirection and an attempt to change the topic to something that matters more. For some of you it won't be enough, but I can't apologize for keeping my personal business to myself. If someone feels that they were mislead, I can totally understand that viewpoint and apologize for that feeling, but I can't apologize for how I handled questions that affected me and my right to privacy.

In my opinion, sexual orientation is ALWAYS a private thing. I think the OVERWHELMING majority of people agree with that. Why in the world should someone's sexual orientation be a news item? Why should anyone care? Yet, for all we espouse as a society about tolerance and open mindedness we forget to allow folks the opportunity to be who they are without judgement. Making a decision to come out to family is a difficult and heavy decision. But, for every young man or woman who is struggling with it, it should be a decision that is made on his or her own schedule ONLY. It's never acceptable for anyone to make such a decision for anyone else nor to coerce someone to take such a significant step before they are ready. Not a friend, not a stranger, not the media. So, I waited until the time was right for me. For that I can't apologize either.

There are plenty of you who have anticipated this blog in hopes that I would "set the record straight" or "admit to lying for five years and apologize for it". For that small group of people, I am afraid I will have to disappoint you. My decisions over the past five years have been made with lots of deliberation and at times even heartache. Always with concern for folks who might feel mislead. Don't doubt that. But they have also been made as an attempt, not to hide my true self, but instead to allow myself the same liberties and rights that every single gay man and woman in the world should have... the right to determine for myself when I was ready to discuss my personal life. In as much as that, at times, was interpreted as misrepresentation, I feel badly. But I reserved that right for myself and I can't say I regret it.

I have endeavored over the past several days to allow folks to vent and express themselves as freely as possible without restriction on these message boards. There is no way to change a person's mind when you tell them they are wrong. We all, when backed into a corner, have a human instinct to swing. Having different feelings and opinions and viewpoints are only natural. The only way to deal with that is to accept everyone's right to disagree, and allow them to discuss their feelings. I always have, and I always will. That said, it hasn't been, nor do I imagine it will be, my intent to make the message boards or the OFC a clearinghouse or discussion zone for sexuality or such topics. I hope we can always continue to discuss the same things we have always found important. The need for inclusion for children with disabilities. The desire to make sure every child in the world has access to their basic needs for survival. And any other topics that will make our neighborhoods, our regions, our country and our world a better more acceptable place (where that relates to issues involving sexuality, I hope we are able to advocate, at those times for the acceptance of others)... and I hope we will all still use the message boards for the lively discussion of the need for better entertainment and music in the world!!!! ;-) That said, as of this posting, I have asked the moderators to archive the thread regarding the People magazine article and close it from discussion. For those of you who are still struggling, I encourage you to continue to talk to your friends and neighbors and fellow OFC members in the thread devoted to such support. It is not going to be as easy as accepting something over night, but I believe that we are on the right track. The moderators will resume their regular duties of moderating the boards in the fashion that they did prior to last week, and I (and hopefully all of us) will resume our routines in the same fashion as well. Talking about music, talking about potential tours and other performances and appearances, talking about me forgetting my lines of tripping on stage in Spamalot, and discussing with our friends how many times we have seen the show and will see it! (And... looking forward to the announcement of out Playbill contest winner!!!)

Finally, I will say that, also representative of most every other gay man and woman in the world, that I am not defined by my sexuality. No more so than each of you are defined by your sexual orientation. No more than a man or woman is defined by race or ethnicity. It is, simply, a small facet of the same person I have always been. Most of you realize that nothing has changed. I hope to continue being able to entertain you in the same way I have for the past five years. And I hope you will allow me to continue to inform you of the causes that I find important and entertain you with the music and performances I love. For I love and cherish you all. Yesterday, now and forever.

c"


For anyone concerned about this being brought over from the OFC, Clay has given his OK for his blog to be posted on message boards.

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