I'd like to begin this week's column with a word association game.

I'll offer up a couple of recognizable names and you share the first thing that comes to mind. Hello Kitty. How about the National Parks? We'll stop there, as these two icons will suffice as I make my point.

Last Friday evening, I was watching a news program while attending a conference in Florida. At the end of the program, the host shared a few "you won’t believe this" news bits.

One of his jaw-dropping tidbits was that Hello Kitty has recently been minted on several versions of the Euro coin. According to Hello Kitty’s maker, Sanrio, five different designs will be minted in Paris. The Sanrio Web site states the designs are drawn on "the dreams and admiration Kitty has for Paris." While the most expensive 1-ounce gold coin is priced at 1,200 euros ($1,400 U.S.), the actual face value is 50 euros ($42 U.S.) Order-taking started Monday for the 4,000 coins that are available in five different designs. If Sanrio is sold out and you just can't live without one of the limited edition coins, try eBay. I'm sure someone will be willing to part with their Hello Kitty euro for a handsomely-inflated asking price.

Next up -- national parks. According to a recent news release from Commercial Alert, the National Parks Service wants to solicit companies to let them use the Park Service in advertising or public relations campaigns in exchange for contributions. The proposed plan would give corporations opportunities to put their logos in the parks -- on park brochures, kiosks and benches -- among other places.

Think Enron, WorldCom, and Adelphia.

Gary Ruskin, executive director of Commercial Alert, offered the following on the national park proposal: "Our national parks are owned by the public; they should not be for sale. They exist for our enjoyment and edification, and to preserve their contents for future generations."

So where will it end? Apparently nothing is off limits -- not the euro or our beloved national parks. Some day, we will look back on these unfortunate trends and wonder why we, the public, didn't do more to push back.

Before we can push back with credibility, it's important to understand how much this issue has crept into our own lives. To get a sense of what I mean, try the following.

1. This holiday season, monitor how many gifts your family gives or receives that have some kind of licensed character (e.g. Dora the Explorer) connected with the product.
2. Ask your children/grandchildren to survey their bedroom and count how many different characters (e.g. Sponge Bob) are on their clothes, toys, video games and school supplies.
3. Name all the different places in the public domain that you have noticed those same characters (e.g. movie theaters, theme parks, etc.)

It's critically important to put this issue into context, so we can help the next generation realize it's not "normal" to see licensed products 24/7.

Why is it wrong to have corporate logos invade even more of our public space? And who decides? Is it the public, our congressional representatives, or corporations?

Hello Kitty, which started in 1974 in Japan as a moonfaced cartoon cat on a coin purse, has spread to 60 nations and appears on 50,000 different products.

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