Citizen Brand

Doctors Without Borders

Doctors Without Borders is an incredible organization. The docs and nurses who volunteer their time and expertise go into the most deplorable and dangerous places in the world to help people in need of basic medical care.

Their new ad campaign may be as stark and real of a portrayal of what they experience as any of us will ever see. It has been running in theaters in the UK and has sparked much discussion. I say bravo for telling it like it is. See for yourself and let me know what you think.

Hiding Places

As we go through our daily trials and tribulations of life in a bad economy, it is easy to forget that there are people facing much more dire circumstances around the globe. Abject poverty and hunger, lack of clean water and families being torn apart are the daily trials and tribulations they face. This PSA from Trocaire, the overseas developmental agency for the Catholic Church of Ireland, gives us a face and a voice for these people.

Filling the Republican vacuum

No one loves it more than him. The fact that Rush Limbaugh has become the center of all things Republican since Barack Obama moved into the White House makes him very happy. His ratings are probably strong which means he can charge his advertisers more for his daily dose of entertainment disguised as political discussion. His pronouncements that he hopes President Obama fails continue which begs the question, what is it you are for Rush? We always know what you are against.

What right thinking Republicans must be asking themselves now is how did we get here? The party of Lincoln, T. Roosevelt and Reagan is in search of their next leader. The Party apparatus elected an African American as Chairman, but no one seems to be showing him respect yet. They sent out poor Bobby Jindal to follow the President and he didn't fare so well. But who would with the tired and worn out format of the "opposition response" to the President. It's not a fair fight and should be scrapped in the future. Why not set a speech the next day for someone in front of a friendly crowd to lay out the loyal opposition's agenda.

Right now, Republicans are in search of their voice and in desperate need of focused leadership. Romney, Palin, Jindal, Gingrich and the GOP leaders in Congress are talking all at once. Which brings us back to the loudest voice the Republicans have right now - Rush Limbaugh. He has the biggest megaphone and any Republican who doesn't fall into line gets called out on the air and forced to apologize to the big guy if they dare criticize him.

The Obama White House is stoking the fire. From the Chief of Staff to the Press Secretary to the President himself, all have said over and over that it is obvious that Rush Limbaugh is the defacto leader of the Republican Party today. This political sideshow is interesting to watch. Who will be the Republican to step up and try to wrest the megaphone away from Limbaugh? Will the Democrats keep throwing logs on the fire to keep Rush the face and voice of the GOP? Will Limbaugh sacrifice the Party that has kept him in the lifestyle to which he has become accustomed in order to keep the spotlight on him?

Stay tuned. It can only get more interesting.

Those rural folks don't need the internet

Former FCC economist Michael Katz might want to rethink his recent comments about rural America when he buys his next loaf of bread. You see, Katz, thinks it's a waste of money to bring broadband internet access to rural areas. That is one of the initiatives outlined in the economic stimulus package President Obama will sign this week.

Katz made these comments in a story broadcast on National Public Radio's Morning Edition today. Here is an excerpt from the story.

"Katz listed ways that the $7.2 billion could be put to better use, including an effort to combat infant deaths. But he also spoke of rural places as environmentally hostile, energy inefficient and even weak in innovation, simply because rural people are spread out across the landscape.

"The notion that we should be helping people who live in rural areas avoid the costs that they impose on society … is misguided," Katz went on, "from an efficiency point of view and an equity one."

"Just the week before, a New York Times story on the rural broadband funding in the economic stimulus package used the phrase "cyber bridge to nowhere." That stung the rural issues advocates at the Center for Rural Strategies in Whitesburg, Ky.

"When they talk about 'cyber bridges to nowhere,' what they're really doing is betraying arrogance," complains Dee Davis, the center's director. "When people think of rural as 'nowhere,' [they're] saying the people who live in those places aren't worth working with, they're not worth helping."

If you follow Katz's logic, then it was a waste of money to bring electricity, telephones and paved roads to the rural areas of America. Arrogance is one excuse but I think this mentality goes even deeper. It is likely that Katz is one of those folks who just don't believe anything good can come from anywhere other than two or three metropolitan areas of this country.

As a fourth generation Kansan, I see firsthand everyday the talent, creativity and work ethic that comes from people who grew up in rural areas. I am only one generation removed from growing up on a farm so I don't have direct experience, but I sure am glad that is part of my heritage.

So Mr. Katz, we invite you to come out to see how the rest of us live. You might be surprised at what you find and realize that a little investment in rural America does pay off.

(Link to NPR Morning Edition story)  

Homelessness

I can't imagine being homeless. Can you?

Here are two different approaches working to call attention to the homeless who live among us every day. The first one is this video produced by our IPREX partner in Miami, Great Communicators.

The peanut monster

Stewart Parnell is a monster. He is the owner of the Peanut Corporation of America. It's the company that has been distributing peanut products causing salmonella poisoning nationwide. Hundreds of people have become seriously ill. And today we find out he knew all the time.

A U.S. House committee today released emails from the company that reveal Parnell ordered his employees to send tainted shipments of product because he was concerned about lost sales. From MSNBC.com:

"At one point, Parnell said his workers "desperately at least need to turn the raw peanuts on our floor into money," and at another point told his plant manager to "turn them loose" after learning some peanuts were contaminated with salmonella."

"In a June 6, 2008 e-mail from the company owner responding to being notified that some of Peanut Corp. of America's products that tested positive for salmonella had been shipped, Parnell wrote, "I go through this about once a week. I will hold my breath again."

It is absolutely impossible to get your head around thinking and actions that are this inhuman. Imagine being a parent of a child sickened in the past months from these products.

From a business standpoint, a second plant was shut down yesterday.  More than 1,500 products have been recalled thus far. This company will be out of business soon. And now we know it is all because of one man's concern for the bottom line. And there is a domino impact on other, better known brands who use products from Peanut Corp in their products.

Let's hope some good can come of this. We should identify those companies who are ethical in all their actions and celebrate them. And we should hold up people like Stewart Parnell and punish them.

There endeth the lesson.

Countdown's Apology Hall of Fame

As a postscript to my last post, let's take a look at a few more famous apologies courtesy of MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann. It is bipartisan and very funny. Enjoy.

A simple apology

Twice in less than a week, two public figures at the top of their respective professions, told us they made a mistake. How refreshing is that. It shouldn't be news, but unfortunately it is news. We have become so immune to public figures lying, cheating, stealing and blaming others that when someone actually takes responsibility, we notice.

First it was President Obama telling us "I screwed up" last week while taking full responsibility for the Tom Daschle debacle. Then today, Alex "A-Rod" Rodriguez goes in front of the public and says he's sorry that he made the mistake of taking steroids in 2003. Our CEO at Barkley emailed me immediately and said how he instantly thought more of A-Rod after his apology compared to how he felt about Roger "I never took steroids" Clemens. That is the reaction A-Rod deserves.

One of the first rules of crisis management is to take responsibility for the problem. Taking responsibility gives you instant credibility with everyone. It frees you up to move on and begin to fix the problem. It avoids the blame game that wastes time and energy. In short, taking responsibility is the only way that the crisis can begin to come to an end.

Let's hope the President and the ballplayer are only the first of a wave of authenticity and transparency that washes over a few others.

(A-Rod photo courtesy Sports Illustrated.com)

"What can I get for one used Senate seat?"

Can you believe this governor of Illinois?  The only thing that can get the worst economy in a lifetime off the front page is some good old political scandal.

But this isn't your routine governor with call girls scandal.  Oh no.  Governor Blagojevich gets arrested today for trying to sell the United States Senate seat formerly held by the next President of the USA. You can't make this stuff up.

The quote of the day from a wiretap of Governor Blago's phone:  ""I've got this thing and it's (expletive) golden, and I'm just not giving it up for (expletive) nothing. I'm not gonna do it."

This isn't exactly what President-elect Barack Obama needed right now.  He had nothing to do with any of this, but it was his seat.  It's his home state.  And on January 20, it will be his Justice Department's headache.

And by the way, President Bush has 42 days left to pardon Scooter Libby.  One scandal could end just as another gets started.  Meanwhile, the economy remains on life support.

And so it goes.

It is time to get serious

The final act of the longest presidential campaign in the history of the United States has begun.

Our attention spans are being challenged.

Lipstick, hockey moms, pit bulls and pigs.  Is this really what we want to determine who our next President will be?

Are we left to listen to 30 second ads that go beyond distortion?

I celebrate my 53rd birthday on September 12.

All I want for my birthday is for my fellow Americans to wake up and tell the candidates, their confidantes, the pundits and the media to give us two months of serious discourse on what we need to do solve the real challenges we face.

It is time to get serious.