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On ‘Serendipiters’ and the President’s Address to a Joint Session of Congress

First, let me say that I thought this speech was inspiring.  It was on many levels a national call for ‘Serendipiters.’

For those that don’t remember (or may not yet have heard), ‘Serendipiters’ is a term I coined.  It is defined as “a socially conscious individual, or organization, who inspires innovation and initiative and thus propels good fortune for himself and his community.”

It’s about time for a call to service.  I believe that each and everyone of us needs to stand up and do our part to put this country back on the right track.  But I want to call out one particular Serendipiter that we’re particularly proud of this week.  That’s our very own, Adlai Wertman.

Professor Wertman this week penned an article for the Huffington Post entitled ‘The Army Of Unemployed: How The Laid-Off Can Change The World.’

In the article, he addresses the hard-times that have beset non-profits.

The axiom states that ‘as the rich get richer, the poor get poorer.’ But what happens when the rich get poorer? Those who were not working before the collapse have fallen deeper into poverty. Even

…

Weekend Open Forum VII Open Thread

Welcome, one and all.  We value your input, so please jump right in.  Registration or OpenID is required for commenting, but it’s an utterly painless process. requiring only a valid email.

In case you missed them, here are the Topics from Friday through Monday.

This week’s topics:

Read Across America

For the past 12 years the NEA has promoted Read Across America, a reading challenge to children nationwide. Query: What programs such as this worked for you as a kid? Follow-up: How do you engage older kids and teens in a way that would make them more excited about math and sciences? About the Arts? ABOUT SCHOOL?

Presidential Address to Joint Session of Congress

On Monday, the President gave a speech to a joint session of Congress; Did you see it? What did you think?

Also, the House passed the FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations…

I graduated from Florida State University with an English Education degree and high hopes of making a difference in children’s lives. I taught middle school in a predominantly Hispanic area for five years prior to switching careers. Many of my students struggled with Language Arts because their native language was Spanish and most of their parents didn’t speak much English. Logically, for most of my students this would make my class their least favorite subject or, at least, most difficult. I was faced with a dual challenge. I had to find a way to make English class exciting for 12, 13 and 14 year-old adolescents. Also, I had to entice them to learn more about a subject that was completely out of their comfort zone. This was no easy task, I can assure you. Yet the rewards that followed were some of the greatest experiences of my life.

I would begin every class with soothing music while having them write journal entries on whatever was on their minds. I found this was the best way to get them to WRITE. I would sometimes switch things up by posting a topic of interest to them on the board. I knew many of…

A year after I graduated from college I took a job as a substitute teacher in Tulare County. For those of you who don’t know, Tulare County is one of, if not the, poorest county in California. Primarily agricultural and rural, it has two institutions of higher learning, College of the Sequoias(COS) and Porterville College.

While teaching in the elementary and Junior high schools and high schools there I discovered a common theme that ran each school to which many of the students subscribed. And it was this: higher education was a waste of time and money. The important thing to do was to get a “good paying job” as soon as possible. This meant leaving high school early if one of these jobs became available.

Because attaining anything higher than an associate’s degree or a certificate of some type was the only option for many residents, higher education just didn’t have the promise that a higher degree holds. Because these kids felt their options were limited, they placed self imposed limits on their aspirations and their dreams.

The chair of the College of the Sequoias art department took it upon himself to develop a program in which the teachers went out to the local junior high…

The Parent Challenge

My 5 year old is participating in ‘Read Across America’ in her kindergarten class.  With this three week project, kids have to do things such as check out a book at the library, make a poster of their favorite book, record the minutes they read, etc.  Great!

The first week the teacher’s aide in my daughter’s class said to me, “it really shows the good parents from the bad,” and now at the end of the three weeks I can see why.  Especially for the little ones, it’s a lot of hard work for the parents.  Which, in my opinion, is also a good thing.

See, parents know they should read to their kids each night, and their kids should read to them at home.  We’ve see that on most afterschool programs since some of the parents were in diapers.  But some ‘rents (as the kids these days call us) need a little kick in the pants.  This folder their child is turning in has their fingerprints all over it, or should, and will inevitably be judged by someone.  Can’t initialing on an official school document that, yes, your kid read these books and, yes, for this amount of time;…

‘Read Across America’ Open Thread

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Readers, let us know what you think!  We know you’ve got an opinion, and we want to hear it!  Registration or OpenID are required for commenting (this keeps down the spam), and registration is a painless process that requires only a valid email address (which we don’t sell, rent or share).

Iraq Troop Withdrawal Open Thread

The vast majority of Americans are ready to end this war.  During the campaign, Obama promised to have troops out within 16 months of taking office. Some were calling for 23.  Obama, typically Obama, has settled on 19 months; August of 2010.  What do you think?

Readers, here’s a great place to start telling us your opinions. We’re anxious to hear. Comments require Registration– a 2 minute process requiring only a valid email address– or OpenID.

Get involved in the conversation today!

Some problems with and basic steps toward Education Reform

Today’s topic is a toughie, no doubt about that.  A lot of great minds have set their sights on failing public education in America and come up short.

It’s not for lack of will.  As the Post piece cited in the Daily Topic opens, “For the past 25 years, K-12 education has been at or near the top of most politicians’ domestic agendas. Candidates vie to become the “education” president, governor or mayor. The public cries out for better schools and is even willing to pay higher taxes to get them.”

And yet, headlines like this one from 2005, ‘U.S. falls in education rank compared to other countries,’ and this from 2008, ‘U.S. slipping in education rankings‘ demonstrate a steady, progressive decline in results as a trend over time.  Far from being aberrations, headlines such as these are what we’ve come to expect.

There is also no shortage of ideas on how to fix the problems; though it seems to me that many of these ideas trend toward finding someone or something to blame rather than identifying productive solutions.  The fault is teacher’s unions, or a system that doesn’t allow teacher’s unions enough…

In the spirit of the great article in the Post about the 5 myths, here are five recommendations.

1.  There are something like 16,000 school districts in this country, each with autonomy.  You’re never going to achieve reform without rolling them up.  It’s a tired old US shibboleth that local control prevents the (name your most feared group here) from taking over.  What local control actually does is condemn the US to a crazy-quilt education system.  We have some of the best and worst schools in the world.  First:  Roll up the school district system.

2.  Education fundamentally begins at home.  Parents establish the attitudes kids will have toward education beginning at a very early age.  At adolescence, peers take over, but the real work has already been done by then.  Second:  Include parents in the process by fining them if their kids don’t attend school, and give the parents homework too.

3.  Not every kid is an academic genius, though we talk to them all like they are.  There are many levels of ability, and many kinds of intelligences.  One of the unfortunate byproducts of all the cutbacks public schools have gone through is that the arts, sports programs, and…

‘Education Reform’ Open Thread

It’s a subject that touches us all on some level.  From the inconvenience we all feel when the kid at Mickey D’s can’t do math without a cash register, to the abject and understandable anger of reading about America’s slipping educational rank.

Readers, let us know what you think!  We know you’ve got an opinion, and we want to hear it!  Registration or OpenID are required for commenting (this keeps down the spam), and registration is a painless process that requires only a valid email address (which we don’t sell, rent or share).

I love movies and the Oscars are always the highlight of my social season, even though I usually wear pajamas and not formal wear on the big night. I haven’t missed watching the telecast since I was eight years old and I’m nearly 55.

I hadn’t seen any of the nominated films this year. Eventually, I will – but will do so on DVD, pay-per-view or deep cable. I love movies too much to go see them in a movie theater.

Perhaps I just have bad luck. It seems that I am followed into theaters by knuckle-dragging morons who insist on turning their most idiotic thoughts into speech.

This started back in the Seventies. I recall coming back from a backpacking trip to Europe and thinking it might be nice to take my bride to see the then-new date movie, “Grease,” which had been released during our absence from the states.  Big mistake. Everyone else in the theater had seen it and our first time through was their fourth or fifth time.

“Oh, I hate her, I hate her, I hate her,” a girl behind us said. “I love this part,” she said later. This prattle continued through the

…

I LOVED the 81st Academy Award presentations.  Actually, I thought it was the best ever.  The host was sooooo talented and the song and dance numbers were beautiful and delightful.  The sets were exquisite, especially the crystal curtain.  The presenters had good taste and the winners were gracious.  The presentation of the major nominees by five former winners was a creative format.     Unfortunately, I had only seen two of the films, “Walle (sp?)” and “Slumdog Millionaire”.   For last night, that was almost enough, though I really can’t wait to see the others.  “Slumdog Millionaire” was SUCH a great film that I marked it on my party ballot every chance I got.  I was thrilled to see it sweep the awards and I tied for the party pool!

Academy Awards Open Thread

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So, the weekend got away from me, as it is entirely too wont to do.  I want to revisit this subject in the next weekend open forum, and I hope to have assembled an impressive array of evidence to support my own assertion that the laws are in desparate need of updating.

For now, let me leave it with this:  as of this moment, US Law gives precedence to hard rock mining over essentially any other use for public lands.  Not only does it provide for royalty-free use of the land, but it makes those lands available for 5 dollars per acre.  Local communites are given little to no input on the proposed uses, and mining operations are not subject to the often strict local environmental reviews required by, say, someone building a movie-theater.

Obviously, companies that do mining are in no hurry to see the laws change.  Cynthia is correct when she says that change is probably going to come down to Harry Reid who, though he has stated his willingness to work toward modernizing the law, coming from mining-intensive Nevada, has very little incentive to actually do so.

Of particular concern to me is what is alternatively known as the ‘Red…

Mining Laws

It is truly shocking that the mining laws of the 1800s are still in use.  My understanding is that one doesn’t even have to be a US citizen in order to mine in our national forests!  It is high time that the laws be updated, but unfortunately Harry Reid (Nevada)  is beholden to the mining interests.  He has made it known that, even if new laws are proposed, he (as leader of the Senate) will not allow them to come to a vote.  The new Sec. of the Interior, Ken Salazar, is from Colorado and has shown interest in the health of the mountains there as a senator, but he seems reluctant to confront Reid on the subject.  Politics——so disappointing.

General Mining Act of 1872

I realize that this seems a little obscure, but for those of us facing the eminent desecration of much that makes our homes special, this particular Act of Congress– while arguably sensible in its time– is a thorn the size of a Rocky Mountain Spruce in our sides.

I’m going to use the Open Forum to add lots of information over the weekend, but wanted to state my intentions here and now.  I’ll be back in the morning with a ton of new stuff, but if there’s anyone out there that wants to join this discussion, jump in here and now.

Yes, I have an agenda on this one.  I hope I can persuade you that I am on the right side.

(FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE LAW AND ITS MODERN EFFECTS, DO SO HERE.)

Weekend Open Forum VI Open Thread

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In case you missed them, here were this week’s topics:

President’s Day - A seriously lighthearted look at our past Presidents.  Tell us who your favorite (or least favorite) is, and why.

Privacy vs. Convenience — Who’s watching?  Well, your cell phone for one.  Tell us how much privacy you’re willing to give up in the name of convenience.

High-Speed Rail - 8 billion dollars in the stimulus package for high-speed rail deployment.  Ready to give up the airplane?

Bank Nationalization, Redux - Is the sky still blue where you are?  Do things fall up…

‘Thanks a Million Cookies’

Our interview with Allyson and Sondra on the ES Radio Show ran a little bit long. Unfortunately, that meant that our listeners didn’t get to hear this excellent discussion about the Ames’ charitable foundation called ‘Thanks a Million Cookies.’ It’s a delightful little piece, so I thought that I’d share it here.

We’re going to be back with more about Wonderland Bakery throughout the day. So, please, check in often!

Greetings from Miami, all.  I’m on day one of my east coast tour.  For those of you that listened to the ES Radio Show this morning, I’m sure you heard the term ‘Serendipiter.’  Maybe you wondered what that meant.  Well, below is a video where I explain exactly that.

Enjoy, and if you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave them here.  I’m more than thrilled to answer any questions.  For those that just want more information, please visit the Earning Serendipity website.

Legacy and Family

Those that know me, or that have heard me speak or perhaps just listened to the radio show, know how important this subject is to me.  The following is a letter that I read at my father’s 93rd Birthday.  It pretty fairly sums up why:

When I think about Legacy, I think about my father, Frank Llopis. His legacy was all about “making opportunity matter.” This defined his life and he taught his family the value of such thinking. But my father didn’t live his life to leave a “legacy”. Why? Because my Dad always thought about the well-being of others first. This is what fueled him and his happiness. This is also what has fueled me and my life. You see, my father is also my hero. He and my mother are my best friends. My parents taught me so many things – that were counter intuitive to my generation’s way of thinking. While I struggled with it

…

‘Legacy and Family’ Open Thread

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Allyson Ames of the Wonderland Bakery

‘Bank Nationalization, Redux’ Open Thread

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Monorail?

Well, first let me start off the day by revealing my crush on Rahm Emanuel.  I’m so incredibly happy and proud to see him where he is.  Just the fiery voice Obama needs next door.  And can you say, Josh Lyman reincarnate?  Giddy like a little school girl.

(Cleansing breath) I think a high speed rail system is a logical next step for technological and economic growth.  The TransContinental Railroad connected the country physically and opened many doors that lead to progress and expansion later.  Then automobiles came along and paved roads shortly after.

…a side note, coincidentally, I read something this morning that said in 1908 just 101 years ago there were only 3,000 automobiles and 144 miles of paved roads in the entire country (the flag only had 45 stars, but still).  When I also read that the entire population of Vegas was 30 it didn’t seem that hard to believe…I’m not sure one hotel in Vegas could limit their staff to 30, maybe in a year or two…

Then, of course, came the flying machines.

NYC is a great little Petri dish for many things including public transportation.  Everyone takes the subway.  It’s the most efficient way to get around!  Plus,…

“High-Speed Rail” Open Thread

They’re clean.  They’re green.  They’re speedy as can be.  Europe, China and Japan all boast lines that can top 500km/h, and they’re seen by many as the hallmark of a modern economy.  But are they right for the United States?

Readers, let us know what you think!  Registration or OpenID are required for commenting (this keeps down the spam), but registration is a painless process that requires only a valid email address (which we don’t sell, rent or share).

So, login and tell us how you feel.  We really can’t wait to hear.

‘Privacy vs. Convenience’ Open Thread

Readers, as always, we invite your comments on this Topic.  Here is one great place to get started.  And, of course, the dialog exists best inside our Contributor’s posts, so please comment if you see something that interests you.  Registration or OpenID is required, but it’s a quick and painless process and you don’t even have to give your real name (though a valid email address is required to receive your temporary password).

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Viva la First Ladies!

Okay, time for my quasi-feminist take on today.

Why is there not a ‘First Lady’s Day’?  (besides in Virginia for the First Ladies born in Virginia) “Behind every great man is a great woman,” or to some “…an even greater woman” or maybe just “…a woman rolling her eyes”.  So why not celebrate the sounding boards for our country’s highest office?  We have Secretary’s Day, Mother’s Day and even International Women’s Day (take note, it’s March 8^th), we should have a First Lady’s Day.  Is it because no one could agree on plural or singular, Ladies’ or Lady’s?  Just pick one.

Someone needs to bring it up!  Personally, I think Michelle Obama is the lady for the job.  First Ladies have things going on too you know.

For instance, did you know:

Abigail Adams believed strongly in women’s rights and advised President John Adams so much she was sometimes called Mrs. President (not necessarily as a sign of great admiration, of course in those days strong smart women were scary).

Sarah Childress Polk wrote many of her husband’s speeches

Abigail Powers Fillmore (who was the first First Lady to have a paying job before entering the White House) started the White House Library

Eliza…

Presidential Silliness and Oddities

OK, first, I want to be clear that I’m using, exclusively, the children’s book Smart About the Presidents (written and illustrated by Jon Buller, Susan Schade, Maryann Cocca-Leffler, Dana Regan and Jill Weber) as my source for this post.  Since I, as an adult and sometimes semi-literate reader of presidential history, found gross errors in the first few pages of the collection, I would advise readers of this post to take it with a block of salt.

But, leaving my history entirely to this source, here are some of my favorites (in chronological order, of course):

1) Ol’ Shorty Madison’s wife Dolly’s first thought, when the British set fire to the White House, was to get the portrait of George Washington out safely.  Apparently, she did this in a red dress, petticoat and riding boots while smiling and apple-cheeked (from the heat or the DC cold, the book does not specify). 

(Kind of makes one wonder if the portrait was, to Dolly, the 19th century equivalent of ‘Alt.HotExPrez.News,’ doesn’t it?)

2) I love that  Adams, John Quincy, took the time ‘most mornings’ for public indecency.  Swimming naked in the Potomac should be a requirement for the office (the ADA be damned).

3) Skipping ahead…

Oldies, but goodies

When it comes to favorite presidents — sorry, boys, but I’ve got to go for the old guys.

In my lifetime, we’ve had some interesting presidents. Lyndon Johnson, for example, was a master of profanity. He also used to bend the elbow and call journalists in the middle of the night when he was in his cups, to comment on news coverage of his administration. You’ve got to love that personal touch. Plus, he used to hold meetings in the bathroom. He was nothing if not earthy.

Nixon, of course, will always be the continental divide of presidents. We will not see his kind again, Lord willing.

But Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt have been great friends to me as a college professor. I use them both in class as examples of statesmen who were great writers and great readers. I have the collected writings of Lincoln in my office and have never been disappointed when I pull down one of the volumes and open it at random. 

Roosevelt, with his reading obsession, is another great role model to lay on students.

Both Lincoln and Roosevelt help me motivate my classes.

In order to give young writers confidence, I ask my students to write about the…

‘President’s Day’ Open Thread

Readers, we invite you to join our discussion.  Here is one great place to start.  Share with us stories of where you see innovation happening around you.  Or, if you read something here that strikes you, let the Contributor know by commenting on their piece.

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Weekend Open Forum V

In case you missed them, here are the Thresher Daily Topics for the week:

Monday: ‘Shades of Green’ – What does it mean to be an ‘environmentalist’ today?

Tuesday: ‘TARP, Part II’ – Tim Geithner and the Obama Administration this week rolled out their new bank-rescue plan.  What did you think of it, what would you do differently?

Wednesday: ‘Innovation I’– Innovation is happening all around us, even in times of crisis.  Give us some examples of which you’ve seen, heard, or been a part.

Thursday: ‘If I could, I would…’ — Imagine you had a 2-minute session with US leaders… give them your best pitch!

Friday: ‘The Art and Science to Marketing to US Hispanics’ — Lourdes de la Torriente, President of de la Group PR, made a fantastic appearance on the ES Radio Show.  If you have questions about the who/what/why or how of marketing to or by Hispanics in the US, she can help.  Submit your questions here.

‘The Art & Science of Marketing to US Hispanics’ Open Thread

Readers, as always, we invite your comments on this Topic.  Here is one great place to get started.  And, of course, the dialog exists best inside our Contributor’s posts, so please comment if you see something that interests you.  Registration or OpenID is required, but it’s a quick and painless process and you don’teven have to give your real name (though a valid email address is required to receive your temporary password).

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If I could , I would ask the following question:  As the details of the sub prime mortgage, bank crisis become clearer, how are we going to prevent this type of situation from occurring  again?

A Conscience

If I could……I would give the Republican leaders a conscience.  I guess I was naive to believe that they would put politics aside for the good of the country, if it were in crisis.  I was mistaken.  Their greatest fear is a Democratic success.  In a jihad against Obama, they are willing to sacrifice the country….and the economy of the world with it.    Perhaps the crisis hasn’t hit their Congressional districts as severely as it has hit the Democratic districts (suburban vs. urban), but it will. Throughout the country, unemployment is pushing 8% and climbing.  That will affect every business.  I would start with the Fox News and conservative radio commentators (they seem to be the new leaders of the Republican party) who favor careers of hate-mongering over all the people who have lost jobs and have homes in foreclosure.  Their failed policies of deregulation have brought our nation to its knees and their actions during the negotiations of the Stimulus Program are unconscionable.

“If I could, I would…” Open Thread

Readers, as always, we invite your comments on this Topic.  Here is one great place to get started.  And, of course, the dialog exists best inside our Contributor’s posts, so please comment if you see something that interests you.  Registration or OpenID is required, but it’s a quick and painless process and you don’teven have to give your real name (though a valid email address is required to receive your temporary password).

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Here’s a question for all you struggling non-profits out there trying to pay the bills while you do the good that you do. How would you like $500,000, or $750,000? Heck, why not $1,000,000? You don’t have to do anything for it. You don’t have to repay it. You can use it for what ever you need. Well, there’s a guy out here who is trying to make this happen for struggling non-profits everywhere and anywhere who need a hand.

Pastor Steve Beckham at Trinity Lutheran Church in Ventura, CA has been working on a plan he calls “Change for a Dollar” to help non-profit organizations involved with helping the homeless and the hungry and he needs your help. Actually, he needs every one’s help. The problem, especially in today’s economy, is that it is becoming more and more difficult for people to make charitable contributions, even as the need for such contributions rises. People are losing their jobs and money is tight. Pastor Steve, who began working on this quite some time ago, has come up with what I believe is an innovative way to address this problem. Here’s the plan as I understand it.

Charitable giving can now be automated. One can…

‘Innovation I’ Open Thread

Readers, we invite you to join our discussion.  Here is one great place to start.  Share with us stories of where you see innovation happening around you.  Or, if you read something here that strikes you, let the Contributor know by commenting on their piece.

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‘TARP, Part II’ Open Thread

Readers, as always, we invite your comments on this Topic. Here is one great place to get started. And, of course, the dialog exists best inside our Contributor’s posts, so please comment if you see something that interests you. Registration or OpenID is required, but it’s a quick and painless process and you don’teven have to give your real name (though a valid email address is required to receive your temporary password).

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To be “Green” is to be “Clean” - isn’t it?

Green is the grandfather of all of these new consumer behavior and lifestyle initiatives that promote cleanliness in what we eat and breath.   That as consumers we are becoming prone to believing that the products sold in the past, albeit food, gasoline, cars, etc. were contaminated with a pollutant that would lead us to destruction.

With my background in consumer products, I have seen firsthand what goes on in manufacturing plants (irresponsible lighting), farming regions (inappropriate use of machinery that leads to pollution) and what is printed on labels (the ink and paper that is used).   While I won’t go into detail, I will say that what you see is not always what you get.   On the other hand, there are businesses with which I’ve dealt– business such as COSTCO– that actively strive to be among the most eco-friendly retailers in America.  Next time you walk into a Costco store, walk to the middle and just stand there.   Look at the ceiling and you will see very few light bulbs being used (they support greenhouse natural lighting).  Costco is a very energy-efficient operation, and many more retailers have been following their lead…

A Fantasy of Freedom

Just yesterday, as my wife and I were allowing ourselves to luxuriate in the fantasies of what we might do with our house given unlimited resources, or simply access to a functioning credit market, I landed here again.

We walked through the kitchen.  Of course we’d like to tear out all the cabinets and redo them in a beautiful solid wood (we live in a mountain home, wood is de riguer), tear out the tile and put in granite (well, slate if we had unlimited resources), add some kind of cool-organic back splash, take out the dated track lighting and create a warm, recessed lit space.  We ended up adding an additional chimney to the other side of the house to accommodate the new wood-fired bread oven (we considered relocating the entire kitchen to the side of the house where the fireplace now resides, but it seemed easier in the end to just install a new chimney).

We moved on to ripping out one of the bedrooms to create a large main-floor master suite.  I’ve had a decadent bathroom on my agenda since I was 18 and understood what that could mean (I’ve also, since 18, imagined a rather…

Maybe I just have a bad attitude, but I have no faith in the American consumer, and as time has passed, I am developing no more faith in the Chinese consumer, the Indian consumer, Brazilian or Russian. Sure “green” is a huge buzz word. For most of the world, it is little more than that.

I remember as a child, waiting in line to purchase gasoline on a Monday or Wednesday based on the last digit of my dad’s licence plate. From 1970 on, my parents never owned a vehicle with more than four cylinders, not because they were particularly environmentally conscientious, but because they are fiscally conscientious. I think most people in the world are like my parents, saving a few dollars is more important than saving a few trees, or a few dolphins, or the ocean, or the air. Who, after surviving the gas shortages of the 1970s, would go out and purchase a Hummer or an Excursion, or a Denali in the 1990s? Turns out, nearly everyone. In twenty years we went from purchasing huge poorly made American vehicles that get 12 miles to the gallon on a good day to purchasing huge poorly made American vehicles that…

‘Shades of Green’ Open Thread

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On Stimulus and a Less than Ideal Medical Practice

Most Americans have probably heard this by now, but a group of centrist Republican and Democratic Senators formed a coalition– David Brooks enthusiastically called it a ‘Gang’– to cut more than 100 billion dollars from the proposed Stimulus package.  This was necessary, we are to understand, because Senate Republicans refused to allow an up-or-down vote on the measure and this was the only way to break the stalemate.

We could go on and on about the strange set of circumstances that brought us to this point-Judd Gregg’s (R-NH) abstention, the as-yet uncertified Minnesota Senate race, or the fact that 90% of Republican Senators voting (36 of 40) are against any real stimulus, preferring an all tax-cut policy proposed by Jim DeMint (R-SC) instead (this last bit being both the strongest and most disturbing reason of all)-but the fact is, in the end, that those 4 Republican Senators, both Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, and George Voinovich of Ohio came out of this bit of political kabuki theater swinging an enormous amount of influence on the Senate vote.

So, together with a group of…

Letters - Imagining Future History

It is sad to think that the biographies of the future (whatever form they take) will not have the benefit of the hand written letters.   Do people even save letters anymore, if they receive one?    Emails, with or without punctuation, or text messages just won’t fit the bill.  There is something so special about a card or note sent through the mail.  Pretty stationery or notecards are their own art form and set the tone of the note.  Icons are cute, but not the same for me.  Invitations used to be the first party “decoration” but now E-vites have taken their place.  They are efficient and free and green, but I love paper invitations. Same for Christmas cards and Valentines—an email is better than nothing, but I like something I can hold in my hand.

I read this week that the Post Office is considering shortening its week to five days.  I wonder if anyone besides me would notice.

Why is a Stimulus Necessary?

Blue = early 90's, Red = 2001, Green = Current Recession

To quote one of our commenters from yesterday, “I’ve got stimulus on my mind.” Thought I’d use the Open Forum to thresh it out.

This chart comes courtesy of Karen Tumulty over at Swampland (and before that, Nancy Pelosi’s office). Tumulty notes that “These are not projections. This is actual job-loss data” from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Listen, I’m no economist, but I sure read a lot of them and I’ve been following this debate as closely as time has allowed. We’re in for 2 Trillion dollars of lost economic activity over the next two years. The stimulus plan, as it currently stands, would replace less than half of that; but at least it’s something. Putting Americans back to work, fixing our infrastructure and investing in our economic and cultural future seems a fairly no-brainer way of going about this.

A lot of economists argue that it’s not big enough , that we’re going to fall into the trap that led to Japan’s Lost Decade if we try

…

Weekend Forum IV Open Thread

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In case you missed them, here are the Daily Topics for the week:

Monday: ‘Buy American’– the House and Senate both included provisions requiring the government to ‘Buy American’.  Is this good policy, misguided protectionism, something completely different or something in between?

Tuesday: ‘Legacy’– When was the last time you thought about your legacy?  Do you believe that everyone lives their lives as if they had a legacy to leave behind, and is posterity worth the effort?

Wednesday: ‘Imagining Future History’– As electronic communications replace a hard written record, what will future generations remember about modern Arts and Culture.  What…

Thank you for the chance to share some thoughts with Glenn today on the challenges facing businesses as they try to market in this economic environment. There are many issues at so many levels and marketers are looking for clarity in direction and approach. Here are 8 tenets to consider as you plan your marketing efforts:

Be Authentic - Today’s consumer wants the real deal. With a lack of confidence in the “institutions” and leadership, trust has been compromised. The public is cynical. Be authentic. Do the right thing. Your reputation is everything.

Provide a real value - Today people want Wal Mart pricing, Nordstrom quality, and Fed Ex service. You can’t be everything to everybody and nobody can have the lowest prices all the time. Decide where you will compete and provide a great value for the service provided.

Show engagement in a larger purpose - Be a good citizen.  Support the socio and ecological intiatives that make the world better for everyone. Green is in. If you’re note, consumers won’t take you seriously.

“Co-Piloting” - Help your clients reach their goals…even if it means they are not fully utilizing your services. Train them. Help them.

Excess is out - Consumers are becoming frugal. Use the…

Used to be you bought and argued your way into the national (and global) consciousness.  Bought through advertising, argued (with the media) via PR and appearances on the Today show and so on.  But I’ve become convinced that the world and the rules have changed.  Those means to attention are over-saturated and under-noticed.  People in general are very suspicious of the hype associated with traditional branding.  Instead, people like David Meerman Scott (http://www.webinknow.com/) have convinced me that the new forms of social media offer tremendous opportunity for people, companies, and ideas to receive worldwide exposure if they’re interesting, funny, compelling, or edgy in some way — and it’s free.  Any organization that isn’t looking into the new media is lost in a time warp — and wasting its marketing dollars.

‘Marketing Today’ Open Thread

We hope that you can join us live at 8am PST for the Earning Serendipity Radio Show .

Mark DeBellis will be taking questions from callers, via email, and from comments on this Daily Topic.  So, if you miss it live, please give us your thoughts here.  We’ll make sure your questions get answered.

In order to help keep a lid on comment spam, registration or OpenID is required to comment.  But, it’s a painless one minute process, requiring only a valid email.  So login and let us know what you’re thinking!

The one constant in this world of ours is change. You can always rely on the fact that nothing stays the same. Your life, your relationships, your business, all will be different in the future. It is only a matter of time and degree. The only questions are when will it change and how much. (Isn’t this why I insure my car, house, and life? Isn’t this why I save for my childrens’ education and my retirement?)

This is also why good times make me nervous. When things are good, chances are when they change, and they always do, they will get bad.

Bad times on the other hand are bound to change and when they do, they usually get good. So I’m excited by the potential in these bad times. I believe things will get better and I believe this precisely because the times are bad. Because in bad times, people pay attention, people look for solutions, people are open to suggestions, they are more motivated to look for and take advantage of opportunities. It is only a matter of time and degree.

When times are good, people are making money hand over fist, wine is flowing, money is flowing, there is…

Weathering a ‘Perfect Storm’

Unfortunately, there may not be “opportunity” from this crisis.  As far as non-profits are concerned, this is a perfect storm.  For-profit businesses earn more revenues as demand for products/services rises and vice versa (thus the supply and demand curve).  In the non-profit world, those two factors are actually negatively correlated.  In a bad economy, demand for social services rises while the amount of revenues from donations and government grants decreases.  Furthermore, as opportunities for independence from the needs for social support decrease (i.e. no jobs), a bottleneck forms within the agencies – more folks coming in for services and fewer are moving out.

So while our fear of a bad economy may be a reasonable cause for reducing our expenditures on consumer goods, we cannot afford to have it reduce our giving.  I know that folks who were worth $200,000,000 and are now worth only $140,000,000 feel poor, but they are not.  And not everyone who makes $150,000 a year is

…

‘Opportunity in Crisis’ Open Thread

It has been widely reported that among of the casualties of the current economic crisis are non-profits.  From the local to the national levels, non-profits are reporting that donations are down or flat across a wide spectrum of charities.

We’re trying to think-tank the problem today.  Help us out.  Let us know how you would approach the problems of reduced resources in a time of greater need.  Can you see opportunity in this crisis?

This is our ‘Opportunity in Crisis’ Open Thread.  Make your self heard.  Here is one

…

“Imagining Future History” Open Thread

Readers, as always, we invite your comments on this Topic. Here is one great place to get started. And, of course, the dialog exists best inside our Contributor’s posts, so please comment if you see something that interests you. Registration or OpenID is required, but it’s a quick and painless process and you don’teven have to give your real name (though a valid email address is required to receive your temporary password).

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The great western philosopher, William James said, “This life is worth living, we can say, since it is what we make it.”

If there is anything positive (perhaps, even uplifting) about today’s economic troubles it would have to be that we can finally get back to what truly matters. Those who once believed status was relevant, based on the symbol on their car or the title on their business cards, are finding that it can all be stripped away in an instant. How many of us have been either directly or indirectly affected by the recent layoffs or corporate downsizing? I have too many friends waiting to hear within the next few weeks if they will still be employed by their once ridiculously profitable corporations. (Companies, mind you, we could have never fathomed being at risk.) Many have survived the cuts and some have not been as fortunate.

This time is obviously one of reflection. My “epiphany” came to me long before the country’s economic issues became mainstream. I had a successful career in a coveted position with all the benefits that brings. And what? Most of us go through the “what’s my life’s purpose” phase at some point. Yet, now we…

‘Buy American,’ maybe not such a bad idea?

I must admit, that I’m torn by the topic today. On the one hand, I agree with Nick Morgan, David Lazarus, and Douglas Irwin that this form of protectionism doesn’t really work in a global economy.

First, a little context. Here’s how Irwin described the clauses in play:

“Steel industry lobbyists seem to have persuaded the House to insert a “Buy American” provision in the stimulus bill it passed last week. This provision requires that preference be given to domestic steel producers in building contracts and other spending. The House bill also requires that the uniforms and other textiles used by the Transportation Security Administration be produced in the United States, and the Senate may broaden such provisions to include many other products.”

Irwin goes on to explain that while “That might sound reasonable… history has shown that Buy American provisions can raise the cost and diminish the effect of a spending package.” He then punctuates his argument with an excellent example of a 1990’s project to repair the San Francisco-Oakland Bay bridge that ended up costing $400 million more than it otherwise would have,…

Any discussion of legacy or posterity always makes me think of this old Donald Hall poem (many of you will no doubt recognize it, as it’s been heavily anthologized):

“My Son, My Executioner”

My son, my executioner
I take you in my arms
Quiet and small and just astir
and whom my body warms

We twenty two and twenty five,
who seemed to live forever,
observe enduring life in you
and start to die together.

“Legacy” Open Thread

Readers, as always, we invite your comments on this Topic.  Here is one great place to get started.  And, of course, the dialog exists best inside our Contributor’s posts, so please comment if you see something that interests you.  Registration or OpenID is required, but it’s a quick and painless process and you don’teven have to give your real name (though a valid email address is required to receive your temporary password).

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There’s a brilliant book, The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy, by Pietra Rivoli, that explains why buying American (or any other country) in the end just doesn’t work.  I completely understand the patriotism, but that’s an emotional miasma clouding rational thinking in this case.  A t-shirt begins with cotton grown in Texas.  Why Texas?  Because they’ve figured out how to grow the most cotton the most efficiently anywhere in the world.  Then the cotton is shipped to China to be made into t-shirts.  Why China?  Because the Chinese have the most efficient t-shirt production houses.  The finished t-shirts are sold everywhere, but that’s not the end of the story.  There are a few used t-shirt companies in New York city that collect and ship used t-shirts to Africa, where they have a second life in the bazaars of that country, and turn up on the backs of Kenyans, Congolese, South Africans, and so on.  Why NYC?  You know by now.

Countries around the world have tried various tariff arrangements to control cotton and t-shirts, but the effect has been simply to create a gray market to circumvent the tariffs.  Buy American is a nice, patriotic idea, but we’re…

Readers, as always, we invite your comments on this Topic.  Here is one great place to get started.  And, of course, the dialog exists best inside our Contributor’s posts, so please comment if you see something that interests you.  Registration or OpenID is required, but it’s a quick and painless process and you don’teven have to give your real name (though a valid email address is required to receive your temporary password).

And if you use Social Networking, then you check out the ‘Share This’ tab on every post for Digg, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and tons more.