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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Iris Burnett, is a communication strategist with experience in developing programs of concern to women’s Issues, entertainment, politics, and media.

Burnett was the Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications Public Affairs and Government Relations for USA Networks and the Syfy Channel. She created the Corporate Communications office and managed all non-profit efforts, public affairs -- both domestic and international, media relations, and government affairs. Among her other achievements, she designed, and implemented “Erase the Hate”, an award-winning national campaign to promote understanding and respect for individual differences. Erase the Hate is now an independent non-profit organization.

Before joining USA Networks, Burnett served as Chief of Staff at the State Department for Public Affairs, and dealt, the Cabinet, the Congress, the non-profit sector and other government agencies.

Burnett helped to create the White House Women’s Office and the President’s Interagency Council for Women. In addition, she served as both an official delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and an official delegate to the U.N. Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, where she directed communications for the delegation, including the congressional delegation and the White House. After leaving USIA, Burnett co-founded and was the Chairman of the Board of Count-Me-In for Women’s Economic Independence, a non-profit organization which is the first online micro-lending organization in the world.

Burnett, who has been selected for the prestigious “Who’s Who in America” and “Who’s Who of American Women” serves on the Board of Directors of the Erase the Hate Foundation, on the National Advisory Board of Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence and has had a Presidential appointment to the Board of Governors of the United Services Organization (USO).

She was selected for the prestigious international Bretton Woods Committee and is a Truman Fellow. She is the executive producer of the award-winning documentary, “The Gefilte Fish Chronicles” a documentary and “Gefilte Fish Chronicles, the Musical”, and the companion cookbook.

She wrote "Schlepper, a mostly true take of Presidential Politics"', “So You Think You Can Be President,” and "So You Think You Can Be President, Who Doesn’t?" which is an award winning, humorous, political nonfiction publication.

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Chickens? Ducks? It's Politics All Over Again ...from Iris

  It was 1992, the beginning of the Bill Clinton Presidential campaign. The Clinton campaign was going to tell the public why they should vote for Clinton. Our operation was to send a message about why they should not vote for Bush. With that in mind, It’s time to tell the truth and take credit for one of the great political campaign contributions. Not money -   ingenuity. Was it done by one person? Hardly. It was my idea but to carry it out took a team effort. The beauty of the idea was that no one really knew where it came from, and where it went. We wanted to send a message ( by my definition a message need not have any audience participation, whereas a protest requires active participation, and can be messy.)     Ron Brown, then the amazing DNC Chairman (there hasn’t been another since, and probably will not ever be) was responsible for the funding, but no one knew even that.   President Bush41 had said he wouldn't debate Governor Clinton in the General, and...
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YOUR LAST FLIGHT OUT

Key West is a place that can only be explained by the people who live there. It is sometimes a state of mind filled with junk stores, good food and lots of colorful people. It is all those things, but so much more, you could write a book about it. Which brings me to another book, which I wrote with Clay Greager, one of those colorful people. When I met Clay he owned a t-shirt shop on one of main streets in Key West. It was called “Last Flight Out" and there was lots of Vietnam and airplane stuff in the window. There was no way I could stay outside, so I went in. There were people milling around and I noticed that the owner was telling interesting and insightful stories. There were no chairs, so I sat down in the corner where I listened to Clay’s stories, and took some political calls - probably from candidates or their staff people. What I didn’t realize was that Clay was listening to my call at the same time I was listening to his stories. When all the customers were gone he turn...
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I Can’t Control What Other People Do

“I can’t control what other people do.” That’s what McCain said today when asked if he would admonish people who said despicable things about Obama.  (These are not direct quotes but I put them in quotes because it’s what I would do if I was writing fiction and someone said something worth quoting.)  What does “I can’t control or I can’t stop them” mean?  It means the general election will be very ugly. David has been with McCain for a day and a half and he says “this guy will be very hard to beat.”  That’s actually a direct quote. Every four years a few elected officials decide they want to be President of the United States. And every four years political junkies, sign on to a campaign and try to try to get them elected. Sometimes the people surrounding the candidate have high ideals and a centered moral core. Sometimes the campaign staff and consultants are a little too Machiavellian for my taste. The end cannot justify the means when the end means the we are left ...
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