"Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind." -- George Orwell George Orwell's dystopian classic novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, has been voted as the book that best defines the 20th century. It is a fitting choice and, unfortunately, equally fitting for defining the 21st century to date. Doublethink is an essential concept in Nineteen Eighty-Four. It is ...more
Well Darlings,According to our Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, the controversial Olympic 2012 logo is here to stay. She admits it has not been well received, but claims it is adaptable. Adaptable? Adaptable? To what? Has that woman no shame? Pardon the terminology here but there really is no other way of putting it: for all to see the logo is quite plainly a symbolic picture of a woman giving a bloke a blow-job. It is now constantly referred to...more
Every president has a political philosophy that guides him and, sometimes, the nation.George W. Bush believes he has divine inspiration to do what he wants to do, when he wants to do it, and to make his subjects adhere to whatever beliefs he holds for the moment. His political philosophy is a chunk of swiss cheese that is being forced down the throats of a lactose-intolerant nation.During his first campaign for presidential office, he preached a doctrine against nation building and pre-emptive military strikes. Within a year of his inaugural he was already planning to export his version of democracy to the world. Within two years, he had begun spinning half-truth and lies in his plans to launch a pre-emptive strike against Iraq and to create a "regime change." That "nation building" plan, however, has proven as strong as a bridge built by non-union labor working for a corrupt contractor.As the commander-in-chief, a title of which he is not hesitant to use on almost every occasion, he found out he could move billion dollar warships as easily as the toy boats and rubber duckies in his bathtub.George W. Bush, in attacking Bill Clinton for putting troops into Bosnia, demanded deadlines...more
IMMIGRATION MATTERS SOS message to Immigration Minister Liam Byrne - If you get rid of all our overseas Senior Carers there will be a staffing crisis in the Care Industry.With thousands of Work Permit holders and their families facing the threat of removal from the UK, something must be done to 'Save our Overseas Senior Carers'.The Border and...more
IMMIGRATION MATTERS Liam Byrne, Minister for Immigration, citizenship and Nationality has launched a consultation paper on simplifying immigration and citizenship law. The aim of this initial consultation paper is to seek a range of views to inform a fundamental overhaul of the legal framework within which the Border and Immigration Agency...more
The American Society of Association Executives' Government Relations School in late June boasted a veritable who's who in grassroots advocacy. Following are five important tips that came out of the conference for use by anyone who wants to achieve advocacy greatness.Number 1: Clarity of Mission Trumps Party PoliticsIn what some might consider an "Odd Couple" pairing, Jay Timmons from the National Association of Manufacturers and Wayne Pacelle from the Humane Society of the United States joined forces on a panel looking at how political changes can impact grassroots advocacy efforts. Some might think of NAM as a traditional "conservative" organization and the HSUS as a traditional "liberal" organization. Turns out it wasn't such an odd pairing after all, since Jay is a leader in DC humane society issues and Wayne, well, uses manufactured things a lot.In terms of tactics, both panelists agreed that focusing on your organization's mission as opposed to party politics generates much more long term success. HSUS, for example, has done a great deal to support Republican members who agree with them on specific animal welfare legislation. NAM is beginning to focus on a members'...more
Michael Moore's movie, "Sicko," is his attempt at placing blame for the American health care crisis on the shoulders of the pharmaceutical companies and the government. Clearly, governmental agencies that are supposedly looking out for the welfare...more
Let me start by saying I've never been a Michael Moore fan. Being a libertarian Conservative all my voting life, I've always been opposed to "Socialized" medicine. However, firsthand experience in the healthcare business for the last 17 years has...more
It would be hard to measure the public's surprise at the recent call for supervisory leadership training in Federal agencies. Fair or not, the persona of federal management practices does not encourage the idea of "soft skills" used to develop...more
40-Year-Old Teacher/Coach Woos and Weds a 16-Year-Old Student How does this keep happening? Last Monday (June 25), ABC's Good Morning America (along with every media outlet in the US) reported another case of a trusted teacher hitting on a student! ...more
The debate about global warming continues today and will continue for many decades to come. The subject of global warming refers to the average increase in the earth's temperature--which then causes changes in climate. With the earth getting warmer,...more
Managing stress of society. Can the news media ever be responsible to society? Reporting the news is the function of the news media. And that can be done responsibly or it can be done irresponsibly to society. In fact, every news program ought to...more