Progressive Wednesday

“Five for Fighting– Autism, breast cancer, children's poverty– ¦

What kind of world do you want? That's the question musician John Ondrasik, a.k.a., “Five for Fighting– wants you to answer. But he doesn't want it typed up and emailed. He wants it videotaped, tagged and uploaded to whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com. Why? Because he has started “the first video community that gives back.–

Here's what he wants you to do:

Tell the world what kind of world you want and raise money for charity by making and uploading a video of yourself, your friends or your family answering the question, “What Kind Of World Do You Want?–

Using the video software, Revver, they have set up a system that will donate 49 cents to one of six selected charities anytime someone watches your video. Just stick the video intro for the charity of your choice at the beginning. Those six charities are:

1. Fisher House – Watch the video intro
2. Breast Cancer 3-Day: Komen for the Cure – Watch the video intro
3. Save the Children – Watch the video intro
4. Autism Speaks – Watch the video intro
5. VH1 Save the Music Foundation – Watch the video intro
6. NY Police and Fire Widows & Children – Watch the video intro

Anytime someone watches your video and clicks on the sponsor's link at the end, that sponsor will donate 49 cents to your charity. You can get complete upload instructions here. By the same token, watch the videos that others have posted. Don't forget to click on the sponsor at the end. It's 49 cents each time, so watch and click, watch and click, and watch and click some more.

What kind of world do I want? I want a world that's better today than it was yesterday. A world where a child in the South Bronx has access to the same health care as one on the Upper East Side; where parents can raise their children comfortably and without fear, whether they live in Los Angeles or Sierra Leone. I want a world where it's harder to get a gun than it is to get a job; where we pollute less today than we did yesterday. I want a world where we wage peace ferociously, and war is proven ineffective. But most of all, I want a world that, when I leave it, is better for my daughter than it was for me, because I was in it.

Now– ¦ Where's my camera?

BFFs with the B&MGF

I don't think it's a secret to anyone that we're not big fans of Microsoft's monopolistic business practices, or the company in general. Hey, I'm using open source software to write this on an Apple computer. But he has spent years of his life and billions of dollars making social progress. It's hard to make the case that Señor Gates isn't a social progressive.

In 2000, he and his wife started the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the largest transparent charity on the planet. In their own words, their goal is:

To reduce inequities and improve lives around the world. In developing countries, it focuses on improving health, reducing extreme poverty, and increasing access to technology in public libraries. In the United States, the foundation seeks to ensure that all people have access to a great education and to technology in public libraries. In its local region, it focuses on improving the lives of low-income families.

This foundation doesn't directly work to make these changes, but rather gives grants to other smaller charitable organizations in a variety of fields and then acts as oversight in order to make sure they are maximizing results. Grants have gone to a broad variety of organizations, from improving agriculture technologies in underdeveloped African nations to improving public education in Texas.

So what kind of money are we talking about? It started with an endowment of $106 million and grew to over $2 billion in just two years. But last year Warren Buffet, the world's second richest man (behind Gates), donated $30.7 billion dollars, effectively doubling the money the foundation grants each year. Since its inception, the B&MGF has granted nearly $14 billion.

Money can't do everything, but none of these groups can operate without. If you want to get involved, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation website has provided information on how to work in the non-profit and philanthropic province. And if you don't, well, it's nice to know that such wealthy people are willing to use their children's inheritance in the name of progress.

Watch

Last Sunday you saw former Veep, Al Gore saunter up on stage at the Kodak Theatre to collect an Oscar for his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. (Watch the trailer)While we're not big fans of the title (it could depict a little more urgency), We are big, I'm talking 1800's Arctic Ice Cap-sized, fans of the flick itself.  It's so important to understand the crisis that we face and An Inconvenient Truth combines a genuine passion and moral imperative with cold, hard science to make an irrebuttable case for global warming and the role mankind has played in it.  You can rent it online or in-store, but we recommend purchasing.  Why?  100% of Al Gore's proceeds from the film and its print companion go to The Alliance for Climate Protection.

If this year's “Best Documentary– isn't enough to convince you to make progress, take a gander at the documentary from the good people over at PBS, Global Warming: The Signs and Science.  This picture features Alanis Morissette narrating, and spends a great deal of time focusing on the impact of global warming on average citizens and communities and the actions they are taking to correct the problem.  Unfortunately, this film is no longer available to view online, but you can catch the trailer here.  Then rent it or buy it from PBS.org to support PBS' progressive programming.

So you've put those two movies in your queue, but you want to know more right now.  Leonardo DiCaprio's environmental organization has put together this three-minute internet movie that concentrates more on our oil addiction but is still a very informative global warming quickie.  Give it look now, and then get ready to do something about it.  And maybe we can save a little moolah in the process.

The AP is “hot.”

If only we could all be as strong as the Associated Press:

The Associated Press decided to give up a major vice last week: its addiction to stories about Paris Hilton. In the past year, Hilton has appeared on the wire an average of twice a week.

The wire service’s entertainment editor Jesse Washington sent a memo to staffers on Feb. 13 that said, barring any major events, the AP would not run any mention of Paris Hilton on the wire.

Before Hilton, I thought that the person who’d made the most out of the least talent was Jimmy Buffett (I mean, I don’t even like margaritas). This section of the press should be applauded for erasing the name of the woman named after La Ville-lumière who shall not be named again here (at least after this post) any time soon.

The press, even the entertainment press, has an obligation to the culture, whether they like it or not. Thomas Jefferson put the importance of a strong and responsible press this way:

The basis of our government being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.

More and more, I think Jefferson would replace “newspapers” with “citizen journalists,” but this move by the AP is, in all honesty, a step in the right direction.

So what should we do in response to this editorial decision? Why, send the AP an email at info@ap.org.

Feel free to copy and paste mine, which went like this:

Dear AP:

Thank you for pulling Paris Hilton from your wire reports. You’ve made Thomas Jefferson a little prouder, and Paris Hilton a little poutier — two good things that go good together.

Feeling French,

Matt Zambito

I simply couldn’t stomach a photo of Ms. Hilton, so I thank

this fine photographer for, you know, this hotter snapshot.

A coach with priorities

Last week, Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff was fined heavily for his part in a National Hockey League brawl. When his star player was blindsided and taken off with a concussion, Lindy retaliated. After the game and post-game press conference during which he criticized the offficiating, Ruff was notified that he had been fined $10,000.

But Sabres fans are crazy about their team and its coach. According to espn.com:

At least two separate fan-based fundraisers were launched to pay the fine against the coach.

If you think that this displays some upside-down priorities, Ruff agrees. One of the highest compensated and longest tenured coaches in the league said:

Whatever money raised will not go toward paying the fine, but instead will be donated to charity.

He hasn’t said yet which charity the money will go to, but he wouldn’t have to look too far to find some participation. The Buffalo Sabres organization is very active in the community and star goaltender Ryan Miller has just begun his own charity, the Steadfast Foundation. It’s mission:

To assist those afflicted and affected by the consequences of cancer, and especially childhood forms of the disease.

With all of the negative news that many sports figures generate, it’s nice to know that many of them still have their priorities straight. Oh, and don’t worry about Lindy. The Sabres have told him that they will foot the bill.

The good things celebrities do

The other day as I was waiting in line to board my plane to Hollywood, with CNN on every television in the Atlanta airport, I heard someone behind me say, “I'm so tired of hearing about these celebrities all the time.– My first thought was, “Well, turn it off,– but the more I thought about it, the more I agreed with him. In order to get some real news you have to sit through the gossip. Britney Spears in and then out and then into rehab again (Is she out again?), or about what was in Anna Nicole Smith's refrigerator when she died. Global warming, genocide, AIDS and poverty in Africa, insufficient healthcare right here in the US of A, and even the war in Iraq all take a back seat to the gossip news, even (or especially) on the major networks.

But sometimes celebrities do amazing things, extraordinary acts of generosity and selflessness that make a big difference in the lives of many. And they should. They have the ability to have their voices heard and their actions seen. Here are some things celebrities have done that are actually newsworthy.

There are few people in the world who are as effective at making progress than Bono. The lead singer of one of our favorite bands, U2, is currently involved in over a dozen charities including The One Campaign, (RED), Amnesty International, and MusiCares. The total effect of his activism on poverty, AIDS awareness, and peace is too great to fully cover but you can read more about it here.

And, of course, there's Brangelina (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie for those of you who have been fortunate enough to miss the immaterial gossip). They seem to be on the front page of the tabloids every week regarding their relationship, where they've been, their diets– ¦ you get the picture. But they are also two of the most prominent activists. Joining Bono's efforts mentioned above they have focused much of their attention to helping children effected by poverty and war in Africa, even adopting refugees. Rather than let the paparazzi make money on their newborn, Shiloh Nouvel, they raised $7 million for charity by selling the rights to her photos.

There are more. Many more. You can read about them here. But the next time we roll our collective eyes at a picture of Britney Spears' barbershop atrocitiy, let's log on and read about some of the great things that come out of the industry as well. Oh, and maybe get involved ourselves.