We are now heading diagonally back to Ohio on Hwy 80. I was interviewed by Chris Marcheso of the Fort Morgan (CO) Times yesterday. I told him that a big part of the reason Third World poverty exists is because priests and minisiters in ‘First World Countries’ (America, Canada, many European countries…) are not graphically talking about all the abject poverty in places like Haiti, Uganda, Biafra…, and in tandem, exhorting their congregations to dramatically sacrifice and help much more, because, simply: “nine times out of 10, these (spiritual) leaders are very comfortable themselves and are not motivated to encourage sacrifice.” Note: After a talk I gave at Xavier University during Campaign 2004, I addressed this issue. Afterward, a priest approached me and said Pope John Paul II had said the Western World and the Third World were playing out the gospel parable of: “The rich man and Lazzarus — the beggar at the gate.” The cliff note: The rich man is indifferent to Lazzarus, and the rich man ends up in Hell as a result… Note 2: To contemporize this parable a bit more: Compared to most of the Third World, most of us in America are: “rich” — no matter what our arbitrary American categories say are: “rich, upper middle class, middle class…”
8/22/05
We have finished Rte. 160 in southern Colorado and are heading north. In Pueblo, Colorado, I interviewed a woman whose husband had died two years ago of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma (a form of cancer). He had been a “missilier.” That is, he worked in one of the many nuclear missile silos in Montana. And his job, among other things, was to “turn the key and press the buttons” in the case of a nuclear launch. The woman, who asked for anonymity, said of the some 600 missiliers in Montana, during the five years the family was stationed there, there were nine other cases of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, Hodgkins Lymphoma and Cervical Testicular cancer… All, she said, possibly linked to exposure to radiation from the missiles. (And how many more have early stages of these is anyone’s guess, she continued.) She said the military doesn’t have a program for early detection of these cancers in the missiliers.
8/21/05
A few weeks back, I got a case of minor heat stroke and dehydration. In addition, I picked up the flu — as we were going through the desert in Nevada. We don’t use air conditioning in the campaign vehicle, for environmental reasons. And to finish the particular tour route we were on (HWY 95), meant we still had to go south into Arizona, in August. We made a decision to go on, even though my temperature was about 102 or 103… We made it, and shortly after the fever broke… Two days ago, USA Today had a cover story about illegal immigrants making the trek across the desert in Arizona, on foot. According to the article, smugglers drive the immigrants north ot the barb wire fence, cut through it, or climb over it, and enter the desert in Arizona — where summer temperatures reach 115, or higher. They dodge motion sensors, video cameras, helicopters and agents with infrared goggles. If something goes wrong, the “coyotes” think nothing of abandoning these people in the furtherst reaches of the desert, also according to the article… As a result, more and more of these immigrants are dying. The cause of : hypothermia and heat stroke. The article further explained: “As the body temperature soars to 107 degrees, pressure plummets, vital organs fail, victims suffer cramps, nausea, exhaustion. Some strip or go crazy. Ultimately, they just sit down and collapse”… Makes what I went through seem quite minor. And what’s more, many of these people brave all this because: their kids are hungry. How can so many of us, and especially those of us who profess to be spiritual, be so cold to their plight?
8/20/05
While in Alamosa, Colorado, I also met with Brian Benke. He participates in a Community Sponsored Agriculture project here in connection with El Sagrado Farms. People in the area buy “shares” at the beginning of the season ($450 a share). This entitles them to weekly produce from the farm, which is delivered to a centralized location in Alamosa every week. Brian said the farm is totally off the grid with it’s use of wind and solar generated energy. In addition, El Sagrado grows everything organically. (Similar CSA’s have started up all across the country in the past 20 years and is a step toward moving society back to more ‘local production for local consumption.)
8/19/05
A front page story ran in Colorado’s Valley Courier newspaper yesterday about the campaign. The story noted we had moved to the inner city of Cleveland to live side-by-side with the poor in order to be of better help… The story also noted that I thought the increased gas prices were actually a “good thing” (There goes some votes, huh.), because it might get people to drive less — which, ultimately, will cut down on greenhouse gas emissions… The day the article ran, I met with Leon Moyer of Alamosa. He rides a little motor scooter (which gets 85 miles per gallon) all around town. He said because the bike is less than 50 ccs, he doesn’t need a license plate or insurance for it. And he doesn’t believe in insurance anyway. “It’s a form of gambling,” he told me. And he added that many churches actually are opposed to: gambling. Fascinating perspective.
8/18/05
We went through Wolf Creek Pass (almost 11,000 ft) on Rte 160 in the Rockies today. (Our motor home wasn’t exactly doing top speeds as we approached the summit. Actually, I had everyone leaning forward, and praying.) Down the other side of the Pass, we stopped at Monte Vista, Colorado, where we did a corner whistle-stop event at noon. We got the banner out: “Average Joe” for president… imagine that!” and passed out flyers to people on the street. The editor of Monte Vista’s newspaper asked me why I was running for president. I told him I believed we had the best platform in regards to where we feel the country needs to go… We then drove into Alamosa, Colorado (pop. 8,370). Note: Tonight we took the kids to Alamosa Park for some playground time and a family walk around the track there. On one of the laps, I saw a Colorado bumper sticker that said: “I hike. Therefore I contemplate.”
8/17/05
We headed further east on Rte. 106 into Pagosa Springs, Colorado, where Fr. Pedro at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church said a college friend’s uncle had a lucrative law practice until 1973, the year abortion was legalized in America. Immediately after the Roe vs Wade decision, the man quit his law practice and began traveling the country trying to organize as many Pro-Life groups as possible. Fr. Pedro said this man undertook: “evangelical poverty”… However, there is not much poverty in Pagosa Springs. The town is primarily an upscale resort area that is currently looking to add an additional 415 homes in the near future. I told a reporter for the Pagosa Sun newspaper that this, like so many forms of urban sprawl around the country, is an absolute cancer that is destroying farm land and adding to global warming exponentially, as people move further and further out, which means they have to drive further and further in… I also said to the reporter that we would ask some of those in Pagosa Springs to forgoe their little “piece of paradise” here, and move into the inner cities of America to help children who are dodging drugs, hunger, bullets. Perhaps, spiritually, this may pay off a lot more in the long run for, not only for these little helpless children; but just as significantly –for those making the decision to help.
8/16/05
In Durango, Colorado, I met with Kathy Darnell who had just returned from a humanitarian aid mission to Uganda. She said the poverty there is unlike almost any form of poverty we have in the U.S. For instance, in the villages she visited in Uganda, many were afflicted with AIDs, and had little food, medicine. They live in huts and sleep on dirt floors, with burlap bags as their beds… At a Bible Study at Sacred Heart Church here later in the day, someone mentioned how “generous” Americans were to other countries. I said we often give out of our excess. Seldom do we really sacrifice. For instance, I asked the group how many of them would consider selling their $200 or $300 beds, and sleep on, say, a Mother Theresa mat. Then, how many would send the balance to Uganda so the people there could have just the basics in food and medicine? The next day, I told reporter Jim Greenhill of The Durango Herald that, “as president,” I would sell the big bed in the Lincoln bedroom, sleep on one of those mats in there, and send the savings to Uganda… In his article: Greenhill wrote: He’s (me) challenging the paradigm that a candidate must be either a donkey or elephant. (Although my wife Liz, at times, sees me as a donkey — or rather, the more slang expression for a donkey.) Note: Greenhill also noted that in our 75,000 miles of traveling, we haven’t campaigned in Hawaii yet. “It’s been hard trying to get an out board motor fitted on the back of the van,” he (me) quipped.
8/14/04
While in Cortez, Colorado, I also interviewed Roland Alksnis, a Vietnam Veteran. He was in the Army and saw a significant amount of fighting in 1972. He said he eventually asked to be discharged. I asked why? He said: “I didn’t want to kill people anymore.” He was given a: “Discharge Under Honorable Conditions.” He was also afflicted with a strong case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. “If you didn’t come out of that (Vietnam) all screwed up, there’s something wrong,” Roland added… We then headed further into the Rockies, toward Durango.
8/13/05
Still heading east on Rte. 160, I gave a talk at the Montelores Catholic Community last night in Cortez, Colorado… Prior to this, I took our Sarah and Joseph to the “Black Shawl Drama” put on by the Cortez Cultural Center. It is a moving reenactment of some of the early days of our country — through Native American eyes… This morning a front page article about the campaign appeared in the Cortez Journal. Staff writer John Krane noted that I was opposed to gay marriage. “A father brings varying traits to parenting, as does a mother,” Schriner said. “For a healthy, well-rounded individual, you need both…” Krane also noted my wife Liz and I are concerned about leaving a world of global warming for our children. So to help, our family home has become a “Kyoto Protocol Home Zone.” That is, we cut the thermostat back in the winter, don’t use air conditioning in the summer, bicycle or walk everywhere locally, use a push mower without an engine to cut the grass… Note: At one point, I even put up a “Kyoto Protocol Home Zone” sign in our front yard — which the neighbors found curious — and Liz found, oh, a bit embarassing… The article also noted that in order to help reverse “white flight,” we had recently moved into Cleveland’s “tough inner city” to help the needy.