Two years ago I moved back to Co lumbus, in part to care for a rela tive and in part because I missed the progressive community here (yes, there is one!). I moved away nine years before for a job in Lexington, KY and have since lived and worked within and outside of NOW, the National Organization for Women, in 5 states – OH, KY, WA, TN, MI and back to OH. Just before I moved back I went to a Columbus NOW meeting and decided to run for office hoping I’d have an immediate place to “plug in” once I got back and settled somewhat.

Frequently, when attending gatherings, meetings, rallies, workshops, conferences or classes I get asked two things: Isn’t feminism dead (or over)? and What does NOW do (I thought it didn’t exist anymore)?

These questions point to the myths about feminism (and, indirectly about democracy, rights, freedom, and liberty) and about the strengths, visibility and power of organizations like NOW.

In the latest sign of a troubled American democracy, a large majority of U.S. citizens now say they wouldn’t mind if no weapons of mass destruction are found in Iraq, though it was George W. Bush’s chief rationale for war. Americans also don’t seem to mind that Bush appears to have deceived them for months when he claimed he hadn’t made up his mind about invading Iraq.

As he marched the nation to war, Bush presented himself as a Christian man of peace who saw war only as a last resort. But in a remarkable though little noted disclosure, Time magazine reported that in March 2002 – a full year before the invasion – Bush outlined his real thinking to three U.S. senators, “Fuck Saddam,” Bush said. “We’re taking him out.”

Time actually didn’t report the quote exactly that way. Apparently not to offend readers who admire Bush’s moral clarity, Time printed the quote as “F— Saddam. We’re taking him out.”

April 7, 2003

Dear friends,

It appears that the Bush administra- tion will have succeeded in coloniz ing Iraq sometime in the next few days. This is a blunder of such magnitude — and we will pay for it for years to come. It was not worth the life of one single American kid in uniform, let alone the thousands of Iraqis who have died, and my condolences and prayers go out to all of them.

So, where are all those weapons of mass destruction that were the pretense for this war? Ha! There is so much to say about all this, but I will save it for later.

By now, it's a media ritual. Whenever the U.S. government raises the alert level for terrorism -- as when officials announced the orange code for "high risk" on May 20 -- local, regional and national news stories assess the dangers and report on what's being done to protect us. We're kept well-informed about how worried to be at any particular time. But all that media churning includes remarkably little that has any practical utility.

Presumably, the agencies that are supposed to help safeguard the public don't need to get their directives via network news or the morning paper. As for the rest of us, the publicity is very close to useless -- unless we're supposed to believe that feeling anxious makes us safer or looking sideways at strangers will enhance our security.

Americans could be much better protected if journalists found other uses for some of that ink and air time. For instance, a lot of lives would be saved if news outlets did more to encourage people to stop smoking and avoid excessive alcohol intake. For that matter, public health could benefit greatly if media did a better job of confronting