“Greetings, Jesus. Have a seat.  Well it’s that time of year again. Performance review time.  I’ll go through the review and then you can comment later before you sign it.

“Okay, the good news is that the people seem to like you and they loved the free food you got them at that picnic.  I don’t want to know where you got those loaves and fishes, if they fell off a donkey or what, but it was  great because it didn’t put a dent in our food budget. Some people called it a miracle, but it’s only a miracle if you’re not in the business of selling loaves and fishes.  Our concessions vendors were really unhappy that day.   But our real problem was revenue from plate passing was way down.

In the future if you are going to give away free food, remind them that there is no “free . . . → Read More: Jesus Has His Yearly Performance Review]]> Considering how the Catholic Bishops want to tell people what to do, I though about who was really in charge of that organization. And so I wrote this piece. I just warped around the Sun and used my universal translator to listen into one performance review that didn’t go too well.

“Greetings, Jesus. Have a seat.  Well it’s that time of year again. Performance review time.  I’ll go through the review and then you can comment later before you sign it.

“Okay, the good news is that the people seem to like you and they loved the free food you got them at that picnic.  I don’t want to know where you got those loaves and fishes, if they fell off a donkey or what, but it was  great because it didn’t put a dent in our food budget. Some people called it a miracle, but it’s only a miracle if you’re not in the business of selling loaves and fishes.  Our concessions vendors were really unhappy that day.   But our real problem was revenue from plate passing was way down.

In the future if you are going to give away free food, remind them that there is no “free lunch” right before you pass the plate. You don’t have to come right out and say “give us money” but timing is everything. Whatever they didn’t spend on lunch has to go somewhere and the best place for it is our bottom line.”

Second, we would like you to work on your presentation skills. The stories are great, but we really want to see more bullet points from the Talmud. Quote more from historical rabbis than from this “anonymous father and his deadbeat run-away son.”

Next we are also concerned about the kind of coverage you are getting in the gospels.  We don’t pay attention to the words of minor writers like “Q” who is  scribbling your sayings down, and I won’t even mention anything written by a woman. But we do follow the major gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Shlomo. And they are not reporting a consistent message.

Repeat your bullet points in short snappy sentences. And use numbers too, followers love numbers like the 10 commandments. Having just one or two commandments like ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind’, and  ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ is way too broad. You will not get any repeat business for specific interpretations of those two. I spend half of my time defining “thou shalt not kill” to the angry who want war and the other half talking to money lenders defining “thou shalt not steal.” The good news is that the money lenders are great at tithing with a favorable definition.

We are also concerned about your politics. We want you to keep a low profile with your whole, “love your enemies” stuff  and healing the sick. We can’t really make much money on loving the enemies stuff,  but we like that angry thing you did in the Temple, our target follower loves the anger.

We have a few notes on that incident, again, love the anger, but we don’t like your targets.  Money changers and the livestock industry are two of our biggest donors and if you drive them out of the temple you hurt their feelings and especially hurt our donations.  One big money changer donor told me he didn’t appreciate being called a thief and you naming poor widows as his victims. If we want his contributions to continue,  stop pointing out that as a percentage of wealth the poor widows give more than rich guys like him.  When you do that it makes him look cheap in front of other donors.  And next time? Focus your anger on the smaller unaffiliated merchants selling doves and independent money changers, okay?

Next, could you stop giving away health care? For example, that leper that you cured now has to find a job and his only skill was as a beggar. He was a vital part of the economy by giving wealthy merchants someone they could give alms to so they could feel better. So if you are going to cure someone be sure to make it a cure that keeps him in the system. Maybe a partial cure where his face stops falling off  and doesn’t look terrible but his fingers still keep falling off.

Overall Jesus we were really disappointed with your progress this year. Would it kill you to change your sermons to fit in more with the community? I mean Jesus Christ, remember those good Samaritans aren’t your bosses, we are.  Who died and left you God?

We aren’t going to give you any more shekels this year because times are hard, but we know it won’t be a hardship to you because we heard your mother is selling some of your homemade wine on the side.  We’ll expect to see a couple of bottles on our table this sabbath, something in a deep red if you don’t mind.

Now write down any comments, sign here and date it.

X____________________ 32 AD

Jesus H. Christ, Rabbi

X ___________________

There will be a billion pixels spilt on these stories that you can read elsewhere by scholars, experts and journalists. What I’m most interested in is what works/worked for the media activists out there.

BTW, can anyone else see the fingerprints and style of Ari Fleischer all over Brinker’s media interviews and statements?

(Fleischer personally interviewed candidates for the position of “Senior Vice President for Communications and External Relations” it’s a safe bet that he would approve and suggest someone who mirrors his style.)

The right has often taken tactics and methods used first by us, discredited them until they have time to become . . . → Read More: How To Use Social Media as a Weapon Against Organizations]]> Tuesday, February 7th on Virtually Speaking Mike Stark and I discussed what we could learn from the SOPA fight and the Susan G Komen Debacle. Listen to the podcast by going to the BlogTalkRadio link

There will be a billion pixels spilt on these stories that you can read elsewhere by scholars, experts and journalists. What I’m most interested in is what works/worked for the media activists out there.

• How we can replicate this to fight the right?
  How can we press the advantage?
  Why the left will NOT press the advantage.

• How will the Right defend against this in the future and who will they enlist to help them?

BTW, can anyone else see the fingerprints and style of Ari Fleischer all over Brinker’s media interviews and statements?

(Fleischer personally interviewed candidates for the position of “Senior Vice President for Communications and External Relations” it’s a safe bet that he would approve and suggest someone who mirrors his style.)

• What steps will the PR experts at Ogilvy take to try to repair the brand?

The right has often taken tactics and methods used first by us, discredited them until they have time to become big in them (by throwing money and automating at them) and then using them to serve their agenda.

• How can we defend against it when it is turned on us?

I’ve already seen several stories about the power of social media in breathless posts about the role of Twitter and Facebook in the Komen debacle. It reminded me of the early days of blogs and before that email campaigns.

I will point out one insight that I got after Mike asked me a question, “Why did the SOPA story work and the push for Net Neutrality go down the wonk hole?”

I wondered about this and why the overwhelming response on SGK’s action regarding Planned Parenthood. Part of it is because we on the left know how to respond to overreach. We aren’t as good going on the attack and creating outrage.

Some people have talked about keeping the pressure on SGK, doing oppo research on the board members and using it against them. I think keeping the pressure on is the right idea, but that’s the wrong approach.

There can be exposure, but not out and out attacks. At this point one of the best ways to put pressure on them is by helping them rip themselves apart from inside. Find and expose the people inside who didn’t agree with the board. Show the world how good people inside fought the board. Some resigned. The board will have to attack “themselves” vs. attacking us for attacking them.

After I made an impact on KSFO and got dozens of advertisers to leave, I backed off exposing them in public. I started letting their new parent company management and board know what the hosts who “apologized” were still doing to the brand. I showed them the sexism, bigotry and continuous violent rhetoric that was still coming out of them. I also enlisted the State Department, the Iraq Embassy staff and the internal news staff at ABC to drive a wedge between the hosts and management. I showed ABC Radio management and journalists how Lee Rodgers was attacking them on the air. “Does it bother you that Rodgers is calling your staff liars, Presidential butt kissers and dopes?”

This turned their anger on Rodgers, not me. Rodgers was an expensive embarrassment who would not apologize to anyone for anything, so I helped the management see that in regards to their own brand.

Rodgers got fired. He blamed the Muslims and a management that listened to them. How do you think the management and Muslims found out about his comments? They don’t listen to the show.

I like to fight the right and force an error or overreaction on their part because then I’m the victim. The left knows how to support victims, but we don’t know how to support our warriors. I rarely get institutional support because attacking the right isn’t really in any groups’ mission statement. Even Media Matters is about, “correcting misinformation”

INTERFERING WITH THE MONEY STREAM IS NOT ALLOWED

My friend Sara Robinson, now a senior editor at Alternet, agrees with me.

You know why Glenn Beck got fired even when he got good ratings on Fox? Because I pointed out to the shareholders he wasn’t making them the kind of money he should have.

(See my post, Rupert and Me, where I called up Rupert during the NewsCorp quarterly financial call and asked him how long he was going to be subsidizing Beck.)

The focus to investors was on the negative financial impact of this nut. I wanted the institutional investors to know about it, so I talked to them in a language they understand. The bottom line.

“…corporations (both for- and non-profit) [need] to learn that putting right-wing ideologues into places of power is a risky, dangerous thing to do. It Does Not Pay, and no board that takes its fiduciary responsibility seriously should ever consider it.

Cross posted at FireDogLake

Last October Chris Christie threw his support behind Mitt Romney, I’m pretty sure that is the reason that Romney will win tonight. Check out the video of the phone call Christie makes to comedian Jimmy Dore bragging about how his support for Romney will help him win. The whole podcast can be found at on the Jimmy Dore show. website. I like to describe the podcast as “The Daily Show for Radio”, very funny, very smart. The “celebrities” who call in are voiced by @MikeMacRaeMike. His Bill O’Rielly and Herman Cain are spot on and the writing, by Dore, Frank Connif, Paul Gilmartin, Robert Yasumura and Steve Rosenfield is hilarious.

“We totally could have gotten the Government to pay Mitt. The guys he hired? PricewaterhouseCooper? More like Pricy Underwater Houses Pooper! They couldn’t figure out how to get the IRS to pay him? Idiots. If we were in charge of his return, he would be getting $3.2 million from Uncle Sam instead of paying out one thin dime.”

“I suppose so, I hate all that political ‘What will it look like to the regular people?’ bullshit.

“Our job is to make the tax system our bitch. That’s why at GE we hire former IRS and Treasury people. It’s an embarrassment to our . . . → Read More: “Mitt paid 13.9% in Taxes? Sucker!” GE Tax Guys Taunt Romney’s Tax Guys.]]> I often have conversations with people who don’t exist to illustrate real conversations I know about and have a 93% confidence level have actually happened. Here’s a conversation I had last night about Mitt, taxes, GE and strippers.

I’m not lying, I’m writing fiction with my mouth.

– Homer Simpson

Over a single malt whiskey at the Scruples Lounge in Bridgeport, Connecticut I spoke to Sam Johnels, junior deputy tax guy for General Electric.

“We totally could have gotten the Government to pay Mitt. The guys he hired? PricewaterhouseCooper? More like Pricy Underwater Houses Pooper! They couldn’t figure out how to get the IRS to pay him? Idiots. If we were in charge of his return, he would be getting $3.2 million from Uncle Sam instead of paying out one thin dime.”

“I suppose so, I hate all that political ‘What will it look like to the regular people?’ bullshit.

“Our job is to make the tax system our bitch. That’s why at GE we hire former IRS and Treasury people. It’s an embarrassment to our profession when people throw the game for political appearances sake. Frankly I’d be ashamed to sign my name to any multi-millionaires’ tax form that didn’t end up with my client getting huge tax credits.”

As the cocktail waitress brought over another drink (with the new Connecticut tax on liquor tacked on to the $29 shot) he explained how they structured income for a global firm. Figuring out how to get a 3% effective tax rate in some desperate country was exciting to him. He complained about how only the U.S. expects GE to pay on income earned in other countries and how they decided to teach the U.S. government tax collectors a lesson by indefinitely investing profits abroad.

Maybe it was the red head on the stripper pole or just because any talk of taxes makes my mind wander, but he said that if the US tax rate was more reasonable, like 25%, more companies would pay it.

I asked, “Really? Do you really think that the companies will be satisfied with 25% and not keep looking for 3% or less? Would you? Won’t everyone keep looking for countries to pay them instead of having to pay?”

He said he hadn’t thought about that, besides it’s not his job to be satisfied.

I asked, “Does your company get any benefit out of services that come from paying taxes? Should it ever have to pay for those benefits?” This was one of those gambits I learned from my friend Dave Johnson when I hear an anti-tax rant come on, I’m supposed to remind them of all the good things taxes can bring, starting with the military, cops, firemen and roads while leaving off anything that isn’t a benefit that they can’t see or touch.

He didn’t answer because he was focused on the dark-haired stripper in the leopard print bustier. I asked again and he said, “The CEO constantly pounds in everyone’s head, ‘maximize shareholder value, ‘maximize shareholder value.’ but even though we don’t make anything our division is measured as a profit center. We aren’t a “cost of doing business” division like those lame HR people, but a real driver of profits like the jet engine division. We are constantly try to figure out a tax plan that helps the company.”

“So how do you become a profit center?” I asked.

“Lots of ways, like back in 2008 we hired the guy from the IRS who was in charge of the transfer pricing program.” he said.

“The what? I don’t know what that is.”

“The transfer pricing program is where a company works with the IRS to figure out how to price products and services among subsidiaries. It’s kind of hilarious that the head of that IRS division now helps us screw the feds out of revenue by telling us how to shift profits to lower-tax countries.”

“Aren’t there laws to stop people from helping you do that?” I asked.

Sheinhardt Wing Company Org chart prior to Kabletown sale

 

“Are you kidding? The only laws that still exist are the ones we haven’t lobbied to change yet. Besides, what are they going to do, get the IRS guy to sign a non-compete clause?’ Charge him with treason for keeping money from the United States Treasury? The head of our team is from Treasury! A lot of these IRS guys see ending up at “the competition” the whole point of going into the IRS in the first place. Kind of like congressional staffers on the way to lobbying firms.”

“Oh and then we play the whole, “We want to create jobs” card, but we don’t create them in the U.S. We cut this deal with back in 2004 where we moved a aviation leasing subsidiary to Ireland, with it’s 12.5% tax rate, and got a tax deferral from the U.S. I kid you not! Then we set up a new aviation funding corporation in Ireland with about $15 billion in assets, but no employees! HA!”

“That U.S. “Jobs Creation Act” actually required lessors to have “substantial” work done outside the United States to qualify for a deferral. They rewarded us for doing it! Hey, we were just following the law! Of course it helped that some of our guys wrote it, but is it our fault that the congress got rid of their in-house experts who could have told them about the loophole? Thank you Speaker Newt Gingrich!”

He paused as one of the strippers came over and bugged us for lap dances. I tried to explain about pon farr but she just pouted and started hitting on Sam again. He gave her a $20 just to go away for now so he could finish explaining the world to me.

“You see Spocko, for public consumption Mitt had to show he paid some taxes, but in private the real professionals know he wouldn’t had to even pay that much unless he wanted to. Did you know that over half of U.S. firms paid no federal income taxes during at least one year between 1998 and 2005? Throw that one out to your buddies who whine about the 53 percent who pay no taxes because they are poor. Taxes are for people who aren’t smart enough or rich enough to hire people like me. ”

“But don’t you understand the need for taxes and all the services that come from them?” I asked.

“You don’t get it, my pointy-eared friend, once people have accepted the primary purpose of corporations is to maximize shareholder value, we are always going to look at the minimizing of taxes as our goal, any other societal considerations aren’t our problem.

“Whose problem is it?” I ask.

At the GOP debate on Thursday will Wolf Blitzer ask Mitt, Newt, Rick or Ron any question with the tenaciousness we see on display in this video at a European Central Bank press-conference in Ireland?

I doubt it, but it could happen. It should happen. After all, Blitzer is an Emmy award-winning anchor for CNN and is also a recipient of the Peabody award for his Hurricane Katrina coverage, the Alfred I. duPont Award for his coverage of the tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia and an Edward R. Murrow Award for CNN’s September 11 coverage. Let’s hear his own words of advice to CNN iReporters (their citizen journalist program) on asking questions:

Q: What tips do you have for getting people to get comfortable and open up?

A: My rule of thumb is to be polite but firm in asking the questions and trying to make sure I get the answers.

Q: What is the one piece of advice you wish you were taught about interviewing that you had to learn on your own?

A: The most important thing is to listen to the answer and follow up when appropriate.

Why . . . → Read More: What Wolf and You Can Learn from the Irish Press for the GOP Debate]]>

At the GOP debate on Thursday will Wolf Blitzer ask Mitt, Newt, Rick or Ron any question with the tenaciousness we see on display in this video at a European Central Bank press-conference in Ireland?

I doubt it, but it could happen. It should happen. After all, Blitzer is an Emmy award-winning anchor for CNN and is also a recipient of the Peabody award for his Hurricane Katrina coverage, the Alfred I. duPont Award for his coverage of the tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia and an Edward R. Murrow Award for CNN’s September 11 coverage. Let’s hear his own words of advice to CNN iReporters (their citizen journalist program) on asking questions:

Q: What tips do you have for getting people to get comfortable and open up?

A: My rule of thumb is to be polite but firm in asking the questions and trying to make sure I get the answers.

Q: What is the one piece of advice you wish you were taught about interviewing that you had to learn on your own?

A: The most important thing is to listen to the answer and follow up when appropriate.

Why shouldn’t we expect Wolf to listen to the answers and follow up? After all, the man is paid two million dollars a year by CNN. We don’t expect it because the people who pay him and selected him for this moderator position don’t really want journalism. They want “content” and entertainment. He is incentivized by ratings, and the more entertaining the news the higher the ratings.

You will note how journalist Vincent Browne demands that the ECB representative explain why the ECB required the Irish people to bail out a bank’s uninsured creditors. In the video Browne says:

We have a tradition in Irish journalism that we pursue issues and that when somebody doesn’t [answer a question] we follow through on it and I hope that that tradition will be respected on this occasion. So could you answer the question?

Now Vincent never really gets an answer to the question, so was it good journalism? Did it get to the truth? Reveal something new? Create awareness of an issue or problem? Some of this depends on what his goal was. In the US journalists are put off using this method in three ways.

1) It is called “gotcha journalism” and somehow, magically that makes the question invalid. Complaining about “gotcha journalism” gives the politician an excuse to not answer the question and turns the viewers ire on the mean journalist.

(Diane Sawyer asked George Bush the same question three times, but even though he refused to answer, she moved on. Why? She said studies showed that the sympathy of the viewer shifted from the journalist to the subject after the same question was asked three times. She didn’t want to be seen as the “pesky media” hounding the poor President.)

2) The legitimate suggestion that this combative style doesn’t necessarily lead to the truth or more information.

If someone is trained to deal with this kind of journalist they can turn it around easily. If the journalist doesn’t naturally use this style it can fail (see John King’s question to Newt about his “open marriage” the other night.) There are styles that combine solid follow through with politeness. It doesn’t always make interesting TV, but it can reveal more when the politician’s guard is down. This is what we could hope for from Wolf, but he won’t because of number 3:

3) Outside punishment for asking tough questions or follow ups, and internal self censorship. They choose to maintain the idea that, “We are all friends here, I’ll see you at the next party.” In celebrity journalism the bigger the star the more say they have on who is doing the interview. Do you think John King will get invited back? Did you know that when an ABC reporter asked Cheney a tough question they were kicked off the VPs plane?

When I watch the debates I focus on the moderators and broadcast journalists as much as the candidates. I’m observing how an exercise in informing people has become an opportunity for entertainment and wondering, “What I can do about this? What can we do about this?”

I used to think that journalism was about getting to the truth, helping educate and give people a chance to question people to see what they are thinking and doing. (I also used to think Sandra Bullock would date me if I wrote her a really funny fan letter.) If this seems odd to you sophisticated media watchers it’s because I was, and still am, idealistic and because I do know some real journalists whom I admire greatly.

While I lament the failure of most of our broadcast journalists, I’ve chosen to help regular people do some the work that journalists don’t feel they can anymore. Sometimes this work involves helping journalists do their job, sometimes it involves helping people act as citizen journalists. Other times it involves helping people talk to the media so their story is clear.

If you are going to watch this next GOP debate, instead of a drinking game triggered by the words of the candidates I’d like you to look at the premises, and questions of the moderators. And instead of thinking about asking your questions of Presidential candidates, think about asking other people in positions of power and control. Maybe you want to ask questions of an “education reformer” who is coming to your town talking about sucking up public dollars for private schools. Perhaps you want to question why Golden Gate Park’s natural grass soccer fields are going to be torn out and replaced with seven acres of concrete, astroturf and rubber tire crumbs. We can’t have Wolf’s access, but we don’t need it for these kind of issues.

The good news is that not everyone is aswell trained in evasion as Newt and Mitt. And you don’t have to be a browbeating questioner like Vincent.

What it takes to do this kind of work is some research up front so you can ask real questions and an understanding of how they are likely to respond so that you can dig deeper. I’m not of the mind that you shouldn’t ask a question that you don’t know the answer to (like the lawyers always say you are supposed to do with witnesses on the stand), but I do think that most people only have one level of answer prepared. If you are not worried about getting invited back, if your salary isn’t based on being entertaining and you don’t worry about hanging out at the same parties, citizen journalists can help get to a lot of truth.

I’ve worked with people going to a town halls or other event to ask questions. I’ve also worked with the people who have to answer those questions. I’ve found it helps to know what each side thinks and operates. When I work with people going into town halls I help them understand why modern broadcast journalists ask or don’t ask certain questions, but how they crave someone asking those questions. (BTW, if you are an organization that has members going into a town hall or event and want to prep them using 24th century media techniques, contact me. I have a special non-profit quatloo rate.)

I will tell you a secret. Lots of journalists, for all their moaning about bloggers and questioning of citizen journalists, will happily use the questions that they pose as a jumping off point for their classic, “He said She said” stories. You have provided them with a side of the story that they should provide, but they don’t want to be seen as “choosing sides.” You are doing them, and the community, a huge favor. It’s just too bad nobody will pay you 2 million dollars a year to do it.

Cross posted at FireDogLake

Now some of you might laugh and consider this a silly reason for Mitt’s loss.  I disagree. This is a very important thing to note. It is so important that it was the subject of the mainstream political press just five short years ago during the last Presidential campaign. Only that time the person not wearing a flag pin was Sen. Barak Obama. On Oct 4th, 2007 the Drudge report ran the story, “Obama Drops American Flag Pin.” It was then picked up by the national main stream media.

The exact same thing should happen here with Romney and Paul not wearing flag pins.

Matt Drudge, ABC’s Good Morning America and ABC’s World News, host Charles Gibson should all cover it (BTW, must credit Spocko of Spocko’s Brain) at the same level as the coverage of Obama’s flag pin story.  This time it is not a Democrat but a Republican skipping the flag pin, shouldn’t they know better?

I look forward to Sean Hannity saying the same things about Mitt Romney and Ron Paul for not wearing a flag pin as he  said about Obama. It shouldn’t make a difference if the person is a Democrat or a Republican . . . → Read More: Why Did Mitt Lose to Newt? No Flag Pin!]]>

Now some of you might laugh and consider this a silly reason for Mitt’s loss.  I disagree. This is a very important thing to note. It is so important that it was the subject of the mainstream political press just five short years ago during the last Presidential campaign. Only that time the person not wearing a flag pin was Sen. Barak Obama. On Oct 4th, 2007 the Drudge report ran the story, “Obama Drops American Flag Pin.” It was then picked up by the national main stream media.

The exact same thing should happen here with Romney and Paul not wearing flag pins.

Matt Drudge, ABC’s Good Morning America and ABC’s World News, host Charles Gibson should all cover it (BTW, must credit Spocko of Spocko’s Brain) at the same level as the coverage of Obama’s flag pin story.  This time it is not a Democrat but a Republican skipping the flag pin, shouldn’t they know better?

I look forward to Sean Hannity saying the same things about Mitt Romney and Ron Paul for not wearing a flag pin as he  said about Obama. It shouldn’t make a difference if the person is a Democrat or a Republican or if he is a black man or white man.  Hannity himself gave the reason why all Presidential candidates should wear flag pins:

HANNITY: Why do we wear pins? Because our country was under attack.

Hannity attacked Obama during the October 4 edition of Fox News’ Hannity & Colmes, with Kate Obenshain, the former head of Virginia’s Republican Party,  identified on the show as being affiliated with the conservative Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute:

HANNITY: Let me ask Kate. Kate, this is the point: Barack Obama accused our troops of killing civilians, air-raiding villages, when there’s no evidence. We’ve had a series of incidents: They’ve been compared to Nazis by leaders of the Democrats. [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid [D-NV] said the troops have lost the war and the surge has failed. And what’s bothersome to me here is the American flag on your lapel ought not be politicized.

 OBENSHAIN: It ought not to be. And regardless of how you feel politically about the war, we are at war. Our men and women are in harm’s way. Somebody wants to be commander-in-chief should have pride in our country enough to wear the lapel, continue to wear the lapel pin on their jacket during this campaign.

If conservatives really care about this issue, and they certainly sounded like they do, they should care just as much about it when it comes to Romney and Paul.  The media who reported on this controversy can cover it exactly the same as they did with Obama. Eventually someone from a local media outlet will ask Romney and Paul why no flag pin and they will have to provide an answer. Then all the mainstream media will report on the controversy. That is how this works. And the reason that it works this way is because answering the really hard questions is difficult and often complex.

You want a short cut to not like Mitt? Blame it on his lack of a flag pin and not his job destroying views of the economy.

These kind of political stories are designed to entertain. It is fake outrage for many, real outrage for a few. The smart people behind the development of these stories know that their first job is to entertain and their second is to destroy. I wish that the smart people on the left understood this and know how to play this game. I’ve been trying to help them understand it for years, but they don’t get it.  Maybe its time for me to go back to helping the private sector and help them.  In the mean time you will see me with my blah, blah, blah pin from the Di Rosa collection.

Just heard this Christmas song for the first time today. Very funny. Bare Naked Ladies.

“Elf’s Lament”

I’m a man of reason, and they say “‘Tis the season to be jolly” But it’s folly when you volley for position

Never in existence has there been such a resistance To ideas meant to free us If you could see us, then you’d listen

Toiling through the ages, making toys on garnished wages There’s no union We’re only through when we outdo the competition

I make toys, but I’ve got aspirations Make some noise Use your imagination Girls and boys, before you wish for what you wish for There’s a list for who’s been Naughty or nice, but consider the price to an elf

A full indentured servitude can reflect on one’s attitude But that silly red hat just makes the fat man look outrageous

Absurd though it may seem, you know, I’ve heard there’s even been illegal doping And though we’re coping, I just hope it’s not contagious

You try to start a movement, and you think you see improvement But when thrown into the moment, we just don’t seem so courageous

I make toys, but I’ve got aspirations Make . . . → Read More: The Elf’s Lament with Lyrics]]>

Just heard this Christmas song for the first time today. Very funny.
Bare Naked Ladies.

“Elf’s Lament”

I’m a man of reason, and they say “‘Tis the season to be jolly”
But it’s folly when you volley for position

Never in existence has there been such a resistance
To ideas meant to free us
If you could see us, then you’d listen

Toiling through the ages, making toys on garnished wages
There’s no union
We’re only through when we outdo the competition

I make toys, but I’ve got aspirations
Make some noise
Use your imagination
Girls and boys, before you wish for what you wish for
There’s a list for who’s been
Naughty or nice, but consider the price to an elf

A full indentured servitude can reflect on one’s attitude
But that silly red hat just makes the fat man look outrageous

Absurd though it may seem, you know, I’ve heard there’s even been illegal doping
And though we’re coping, I just hope it’s not contagious

You try to start a movement, and you think you see improvement
But when thrown into the moment, we just don’t seem so courageous

I make toys, but I’ve got aspirations
Make some noise
Use your imagination
Girls and boys, before you wish for what you wish for
There’s a list for who’s been
Naughty or nice, but consider the price to an elf

You look at yourself
You’re an elf
And the shelf is just filled with disappointing memories
Trends come and go, and your friends wanna know why you aren’t just happy making crappy little gizmos
Every kid knows they’ll just throw this stuff away

We’re used to repetition, so we drew up a petition
We, the undersigned, feel undermined
Let’s redefine “employment”

We know that we’ve got leverage, so we’ll hand the fat man a beverage
And sit back while we attack the utter lack of our enjoyment

It may be tough to swallow, but our threats are far from hollow
He may thunder, but if he blunders, he may wonder where the toys went

I make toys, but I’ve got aspirations
Make some noise
Use your imagination
Girls and boys, before you wish for what you wish for
There’s a list for who’s been
Naughty or nice, but consider the price
Naughty or nice, but consider the price
Naughty or nice, but consider the price to an elf