Bono making world a better place

Whatever your thoughts are on celebrities with a cause, hopefully you'll begin to rethink them after you watch and read about Bono. U2 is my second favorite band ever, and the band's frontman, Bono, is a leading voice on the plight of the African continent, specifically on debt forgiveness, poverty and AIDS. I don't say that out of bias - the man's eloquent, well-traveled, knowledgeable on what he speaks, and he lets his actions speak louder than his sage words. What's more, he's not doing this for the money; Bono and his bandmates already have more money than they could ever hope to spend in a lifetime.

In the video clip above, Bono really electrified the audience at the 38th annual NAACP Image Awards, where he received the Chairman's Award.

The difference between Bono and other celebrity blowhards is that he does more than simply complain or give interviews - he backs up his beliefs and thought with action, which should be wildly refreshing to most of us, and a lesson to some. It was to me - start complaining less, and doing more.

Too many celebrities waste away their fame by contributing nothing to society and really just annoying the living daylights out of most people. (Are you listening, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan & Britney Spears?)

I defy you to find a more eloquent voice on these issues today, anywhere in the world.

Watch the video above, then watch it again. Even though you have the video, it's worth reading Bono's words, too, because they should have a dramatic effect on all of us:

"True religion will not let us fall asleep in the comfort of our our freedom. Love thy neighbor isn't a piece of advice, it's a command..."

[...]

"Where you live should not decide whether you live or whether you die. And to those in the church who still sit in judgment on the AIDS emergency, let me climb into the pulpit for just one moment, because whatever thoughts we have about God, who he is or even if God exists, most will agree, that God has a special place for the poor; the poor are where God lives. God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes, where the poor play house. God is where opportunities are lost and lives are shattered. God is with the mother who has infected her child with a virus that will take both their lives. God is under the rubble of the cries we hear in wartime. God, my friends, is with the poor, and God is with us if we are with them. Don't let anyone tell you that it can't be done. We can be the generation that ends extreme poverty."

Click here to sign up for Bono's One Campaign.

Too good not to pass on

I got this in an e-mail forward this morning. I don't even know if it's real or not, but it's too good to not pass on. The point is, even if it's Photoshopped, you can still conceive of the President doing something like this.

Actually, the above forward sent me down memory lane. A few years ago, Bush flew to Iraq for a surprise Thanksgiving visit. The worst photo-op president in history was a bit embarrassed when it was revealed...



...that the turkey he was holding in the photo was fake. Total humiliation? No, but it underscores the fact that he wanted to be portrayed as the self-described "Wartime President" entertaining the troops during Thanksgiving. What a sham.

Still think I'm exaggerating about Bush's photo-op flops? Here's a few more great examples...



This one leaves me speechless. Washington, Jefferson, TR, Lincoln and... and... Bush?!? This photo leaves me breathless with laughter whenever I look at it.

Okay, the real reason I'm on the photo-op kick this morning, is Bush's address yesterday to the NAACP. A quick trip down memory lane: In 2004, Bush became the first sitting U.S. president since Herbert Hoover (also a Republican) to decline an invitation to address the NAACP. His comments at the time included the remark that his relationship with the current leadership of the organization was "nonexistent," while whining about "the names they've called me." I never realized a president could have such a thin skin.

But, I have to give Bush some credit. It takes a pretty big set of balls to appear before the civil rights organization after comments like that. Anyway, out he went yesterday, and it's safe to say the speech could have gone better. On to the photos...



"Look! Over here! I'm with my black Secretary of State! Guess where we are going?" This was taken yesterday morning. You can almost read the body language here - he's making sure he gets the press's attention with that stupid, stupid wave he always does before embarking on Marine One. Rice was headed to the Middle East to deal with the building crisis between Israel and Lebanon, while Bush's busy day included his speech to the NAACP.



Jessie Jackson (whom I'm no huge fan of) sits enthralled with other members of the audience during Bush's address yesterday to the NAACP. Big deal, and not an unexpected reaction, right?
Well, the photographer panned left, and look who was sitting in the audience?



I'm glad Condi could take the time out of her schedule to help solve the Mid-East crisis to hear Bush speak. People are getting slaughtered in the Middle East by the minute, and the whole area is on the brink of war, but that would not take priority over a Karl Rove photo op. Priorities are evidentally not the strong suit of this administration.