Home

Schedule

Issues

Poems

Be Inspired

About Me

I hope this site becomes a place for dialogue and the exchange of ideas. I want to raise consciousness about issues and stories that don't always make the headlines. I believe that global awareness makes a person smarter and ultimately more human. I'm grossed out by what some "news" outlets masquerade as news. It seems that so many of these outlets cover international stories only when there's catastrophe or war. It's a shame.

There are so many fascinating people doing important things out there. As a journalist I've been blessed with the opportunity to travel all over the world. I want this to be a place for everyone to find out about people and organizations that I've encountered that are doing good work. I'd like to share some of my experiences and invite all of you to share your thoughts and stories you think should be told. Let's expand our horizons together!


	North Korea A trip to one of the most isolated countries on the planet

	Child Trafficking: India In India, there are millions of children who are being forced to work as slaves.

	Inside Maximum Security Unprecedented access to SAC -- a maximum-security men's prison.

	Female Suicide Bombers Increasingly, women are using their bodies to deliver an attack.

	Meth: The World's Most Dangerous Drug An exploration the impact meth is having on societies in Portland, Omaha and Bangkok

Click for more topics

Blog Archive

November 2008 (1 Post)
October 2008 (4 Posts)
September 2008 (4 Posts)
August 2008 (4 Posts)
July 2008 (6 Posts)
June 2008 (10 Posts)
May 2008 (3 Posts)
April 2008 (6 Posts)
March 2008 (12 Posts)
February 2008 (13 Posts)
January 2008 (19 Posts)

There is certainly no shortage of issues that should demand our attention, but here’s a list of some that I think are of vital importance. Please share with me your thoughts on these and issues that are of concern to you.

Topics

latest post by
09/30/2008 at 9:45pm

<prev

next>

October 03, 2008 11:17 AM (go back to main view)

Still here!

Tragically, Uber is shutting down, but as far as I know I'll still be up at www.lisaling.com

I am frankly, stupefied! Last night's Veep show was truly a spectacle to behold. Irrespective of one's political leanings, one candidate is clearly more qualified than the other to potentially assume the role of President. It's not to say that both candidates have not achieved impressive accomplishments throughout their respective lives and careers, but let's get real here: the job requires a substantive command of fiscal policy, foreign affairs and the judicial system. We have been severely lacking in those qualities for the last eight years and as a result, we've watched out country descend into the worst economic and foreign policy crisis' in our history.

My partner Julie Price and I won the Sacramento Law Related debates in high school many, many...many years ago. Admittedly, evading questions and referring back to issues of which one has a better command is a common tactic in debate, but to not be called on it by the pundits is abominable.

As my boss said to me in an email last night, "we will get the President that we deserve." That is a notion, about which I am scared.

Permalink

Post Tags:

We'll be right back.(64 days ago - 31 Comments)

Please check out the following link...(79 days ago - 4 Comments)

Greetings from Alaska!(83 days ago - 7 Comments)

Conscious eating...(87 days ago - 25 Comments)

Please check the Oprah Show and Nightline on 9/29(100 days ago - 20 Comments)

Blog Comments (11):

Posted by Nicole on October 08, 2008 8:18 AM

Hi Lisa! I am a student at the University of Tennessee and I attended your speech a week ago. I just wanted to say I think you are so incredible and I love your work. What you do is what I aspire to do in my career, which is why I'm majoring in Journalism and Electronic Media. I apologize on behalf of that guy that came in and wouldn't stop yelling, I felt so bad. I hope it didn't bother you too much.
Anyway, I'd love to see you speak again sometime. Thanks for coming to UT, it was such a pleasure!

Posted by on October 04, 2008 9:21 AM

i would die if uber shuts down!

i love you and your blogs lisa..

=]

Posted by on October 04, 2008 2:32 AM

Dim, if I may respond to some of the points you made:

*You say Obama has run a clever campaign. Take a moment to remember the sheer length of said campaign, where in the space of two years Obama has gone from freshman just out of the state senate to having conquered the biggest political establishment in the Democratic Party, and is on the cusp of defeating the OTHER biggest political establishment, the Republican Party as a whole, as well. Noting that, and noting that the campaign has lasted as long as half a Presidential term in its own right with all the twists and turns that span of time entails, doesn't that say something about Obama's ability to inspire and lead?

*Secondly, after the past eight years, with Bush's approval rating in the teens, Congress' rating in single digits and all the economic and geopolitical chaos swirling all around, at some point people just want to believe in something again. Something. Anything. And when you have an old soldier committed to continuing a hugely unpopular war, and a fresh face giving the 2008 version of fireside chats, guess which one is going to win in that situation. When people are desperate to believe in something, it's a good idea to give them that something. Even if he turns out to not be able to follow through on all his promises, if he just manages to follow through on SOME of them, most people will gladly take it.

*Biden is not 'overqualified'. There is no such thing as 'overqualified' at this level.

*The better debater, even if I agreed with your premise that it was in fact Palin, does not always win. The winner can be discerned through one measure and one measure only: who won over more people. And as I stated earlier, Biden got 18% of undecideds and Palin got 10%. It's really as simple as that.

*Women do not need to necessarily be 'supportive' of each other. That's part of the double-edged sword that is gender equality. The recessive gender gets all the perks, but also all of the responsibilities. (I say 'recessive gender' because there are a few cases where the female is dominant.#) Women do not need to build up other women, just as men do not need to build up other men. An individual, male or female, must be judged by their merits. If Palin cannot operate without falling back on her gender... well, welcome to the big leagues, Sarah.

*Just as a side note... Larry King still has a career? I thought he was just wasting away in the timeslot before Anderson Cooper 360 celebrating Art Linkletter's birthday or something.

*You attended a forum on Thursday afternoon at a college. I think that's your reason for not seeing many students- or Obama supporters- right there. They scheduled the forum at the same time everyone was in class. The students couldn't attend even if they wanted to. It's the same thing that causes me to get lists of retirement-age voters when I go to phonebank during the day.

#- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matriarchy

Posted by on October 04, 2008 7:39 PM

Obama has leadership qualities, but he has based his campaign on the word "change" not "lead". As soon as he is proven to NOT have the ability to change anything, he is just like the rest of the politicians - He knows what to say to get elected. I understand that people are pretty much willing to elect a leader that represents anything other than republican ideology. That was sort of what we gambled on when we elected Bill Clinton to his first term. Bill Clinton turned out to be "not too shabby". He eliminated the countries debt for the first time in America's history. So, with Obama, we may be able to say that we've gotten a break from "politics-as-usual", but we may not be getting all that CHANGE, CHANGE, CHANGE that he has been talking about throughout his entire campaign. Obama might as well start saying: "Read my lips, I'M GONNA CHANGE THE WORLD"

I agree with you that men and woman should be judged on their abilities and merits to qualify themselves for specific roles in society. Unfortunately, the "gender war" is still going on - I would say, mostly led by a coalition of woman who want to do a man's job (a matriarchy). notice: men don't necessarily want to do a woman's job . Woman are naturally nourishing and caring, and where a man is UNABLE to perform those duties - we are more than happy to allow woman to work their magic. The problem is that woman don't believe that they're special. Maybe thats where a little positive reinforcement from Men and Woman can help in a supportive way.

Some of the gender inequality issues that Lisa herself has reported on, are about pure and disgusting male chauvinism (ie. female circumcision, and sex slaves in America). This is purely a MALE problem. Although men and woman may have similar sex drives, or similar levels of sexual fantasies - you don't see woman selling men on the black market as "sex slaves". Honestly, men have some soul searching to do before woman can completely feel comfortable in this world. I really empathize with woman, because they are frequently victimized, and society manages to find a way to turn a blind eye to it.

about my question, where were the common "Main Street" Obama supporters? at 2pm in the afternoon:
Of course, they were at work. That was a rhetorical question. Silly me. I should have known better.

I do have another bone to pick with Obama though. But, I would save it for my next post - to avoid being long-winded. I'll give you a "hint" about the topic; (I, myself, am an African American male). So, thats all for now.. yeah I love lisaling.com too.

Peace,
Dim

Reply | Flag as abusive

Posted by on October 05, 2008 2:10 AM

This may seem pithy, and if it is I apologize, but... the President is very powerful. Many call the position the most powerful in the world. Whichever candidate is elected will, by definition, have the ability to change a heck of a lot just because they're the President. That's why people expend so much effort and spend so much money for a position that technically only pays a quarter-mil per year. Obama isn't going to walk into the Oval Office on January 20th and go 'uh oh, I can't actually change anything in here! Now what do I do?'

Though I will concede that, once elected, if elected, it then falls to Obama to actually perform. Should he screw up or forget what we elected him to do, believe that he will hear about it. But for now, his proposals, his demeanor, his ability to listen and in fact solicit opposing viewpoints, and his proven ability to lead his campaign speak well about him, well enough for me to place my trust in him. I hope he does not betray it later on.

Flag as abusive

Posted by on October 03, 2008 5:46 PM

Hi Lisa,

It is very good to see that you are still up and running on uber.com, I am very glad about that. I have watched the debate last night, and I also read all of the comments that have been left on this topic, and I would like to leave a response.

I have not been following the elections heavily, ever since the only true Presidential candidate of integrity has dropped out of the race - I'm talking about Ron Paul. If the American people were serious about electing a President who is aspirational and values integrity, they would have voted for Ron Paul.

Barack Obama is nothing but a "political superstar". He ran a clever campaign that incorporated the average American into the process of his campaign, and they never stopped riding the wave, and the never stopped to think if they were making the 'best decision' either. I'm not voting for Obama - I'm not voting for anyone. But, I do hope that Obama wins, just so that the American people can realize that all of the "promises" of "change" that he utters during his speeches, is just a bunch of HOT AIR. Sometimes people have to learn the hard way. That is going to be one of the biggest disappointments in American political history, because the voters are truly believing every word he says.

About the debate, I thought that Ms. Palin did very well. I think that she is very intelligent. I believe that Mr. Biden is overqualified to be VP - However I thought that Gov. Palin was a the better "debater" last night (HANDS DOWN). What I resent is that peolpe are only willing to say that Gov. Palin "exceeded expectations" - but remember that those expectations were set after Katie Couric made all kinds of attempts to discredit Mrs. Palin, during her "interview" leading up to the debate.

Question:
What would our perception of Gov. Palin be without the help of Katie Couric's "interview"/badgering?

Even Sen. Biden couldn't help himself last night, giving Gov. Palin all the credit that she deserves, for the great job that she has done for the people of Alaska, during her tenure as Governor.

That is the problem that I have with the Katie Couric situation. If Gov. Palin were interviewed by Larry King, and badgered LIVE on television, the entire country would force Mr. King to apologize for his "sexist" remarks, and his long hard-earned career would be in jeopardy. What Katie Couric did was terrible. It reminds me of When Oprah Winfrey had Secretary of State, Condaleeza Rice as a guest on her show, and she took that opportunity to BADGER Secretary Rice. Oprah lost all credibility with me after I saw that "interview". Woman have come a long way. Woman in positions of influence should be more "supportive" of each other, thats all.

Yesterday, before the Vice Presidential Debate, I attended a discussion/lecture at Hofstra University called "Educate '08". Hofstra University incidentally is the site of the 3rd and final Presidential Debate on October 15, 2008. The panel of yesterday's discussion featured Former New York Governor Mario Cuomo and President of the Council on Foreign Relations Richard Haass. The topic of the discussion was "What Will the Next President Do? Identifying the U.S. Agenda for 2009". It is an unprecedented educational effort that will engage not only students and faculty but also the public. AND IT WAS FREE!

The crowd that showed up to this FREE event was mostly senior citizens and very few students, and faculty members. It began at 12:45PM and ran until 3PM. I was disappointed by the turnout. There were plenty of seats available. So, where were the common "Main Street" Obama supporters? They were a 'no-show'. I don't think they want to discuss their political future with experienced politicians in an open forum - instead they would rather be fed "pie in the sky" promises at rallies - it's apparently much easier to digest.

Former New York Governor Mario Cuomo & Moderator

President of the Council on Foreign Relations Richard Haass & Moderator

Posted by on October 03, 2008 12:47 PM

I'm in Canada, and I didn't watch the Veep show but I already know who I'm rooting for! The US definitely is in desperate need of a change - and I think that with the recent dips in the economy, most Americans are well aware of what qualities they are looking for in these candidates.

Posted by on October 03, 2008 12:45 PM

It appears, actually, that Palin did not need to be called on it by the pundits. She called herself out on it the moment she said to Biden "I may not answer the questions that either the moderator or you want to hear".

Palin was coached. Heavily. That is the major narrative I've seen. She had a script, she had lines to recite, and she was pretty obviously told by the McCain camp that she was not to deviate from that script under any circumstances whatsoever. That's why you saw her go off on unrelated tangents. To actually answer Ifill's questions, or to actually respond to Biden, would be to go off her script.

While she didn't implode as anticipated (it's pretty hard to do if you're successfully reciting your heavily-rehearsed lines), it also leaves you utterly incapable of responding to any unforeseen or unrehearsed lines of attack. Biden, for his part, saw it for what it was, and spent the rest of the debate taking free shots at McCain, knowing Palin was powerless to defend.

The thing that kept Palin alive was a lack of follow-ups. Palin can give a canned answer, but she cannot expand on it. Couric exploited this for all it was worth and Palin collapsed as a result in that interview. Ifill just went from the questions on her card, did not follow up, and thus Palin was able to survive.

The result, as I read from the polls, is that while Palin did get more undecideds to her corner than expected, Biden still got the lion's share- the CBS post-debate poll says 18% of undecideds made the move to Obama, and 10% made the move to McCain. Better than what was expected of Palin (how could it not be?), but in the end, she still lost the debate to the candidate who could better adapt.

Long story short: Palin beat the spread, but still lost the game.

Posted by gchop on October 03, 2008 11:43 AM

We desperately require a new model for leadership, one the recognizes that leaders and those they lead co-create themselves. Hopefully we will aspire to a level of leadership that doesn't just resonate with our gut - which has become a popular strategy employed by one party is particular - but also one that is aspirational and values intellect, integrity, and idealism. It's not good enough to me to be charming and a decent teleprompter reader. We live in desperate and radical times. There are so many reasons why I think the choice this November is clear. Indeed we'll get what we deserve, it's the downside of democracy. Let's hope the tribe evolves and makes the wise call...if even one side doesn't believe in evolution.

Posted by pat on October 03, 2008 11:55 AM

So well said. gchop

Reply | Flag as abusive

Posted by Mark on October 03, 2008 11:41 AM

About the Uber mess. They have been given resources to stay open another month. Beyond that is unknown.
PLEASE do your research on how your site will look after they shut down. Sure you may own the name www.lisaling.com, but Uber controls the look and functionality of your blogging and messages. This will all go away when Uber does. This site is too good to be messed up until you hook up with another company. Again, please be 100% sure and not assume all will be the same because it will not be. Good luck!