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Was Verizon Payment Fee A Publicity Stunt?

In Business, Economy, Local News, Media, National News, Opinion, Uncategorized on January 2, 2012 at 11:14 pm

By Gery L. Deer

Deer In Headlines

In November of 2011, a consumer backlash led Bank of America to scrap plans for a monthly, $5 fee levied on all debit card users. Customers took to social media like Facebook and Twitter, berating the company for punishing the middle class with nickel and dime fees.

On average, the lower and middle classes are the largest group of debit card users. But what if another company, seeing the tremendous amount of free media attention bestowed on Bank of America, decided to try the same thing?

In December, Verizon Wireless attempted to stick customers with a $2 fee for paying bills either online or by telephone. Most experts agree that these services are used primarily by those who either pay at the last minute or late. According to Bloomberg writer Alex Sherman in a January 1st story, Verizon, “It would add the fee to address costs it incurs for processing the single payments.”

Within moments of the announcement, however, customers began railing against the proposal through social media and online discussion boards. By December 30th, less than 72 hours after the fee announcement was released, Verizon Wireless, the largest cellular wireless carrier in the United States, scrapped the entire plan.

In a public statement, Dan Mead, chief executive officer of Verizon Wireless said, “The best path forward is to encourage customers to take advantage of the best and most efficient options, eliminating the need to institute the fee at this time.”

It should be noted that Verizon Communications, one of two parent firms that owns the wireless giant, experienced 12 percent growth over the last year. The company employees more than 83,000 workers nationwide and services approximately 90 million customers.

The consistently volatile economy has made consumers more sensitive to overcharging, particularly by major corporations. Based on what happened with Bank of America, it’s hard to imagine that Verizon executives wouldn’t have predicted a similar, overwhelmingly negative response? Or maybe that was their plan all along.

While no evidence exists to support such a statement, there are those who are speculating that the fee and its subsequent elimination were little more than a publicity stunt. Theorists imagine that Verizon executives and marketing wizards were inspired by the staggering amount of free media coverage Bank of America as a result of the ATM fee debacle.

Where Bank of America was concerned, it’s unlikely that executives were concerned about losing customers. Sitting atop an industry that already had its share of bad press and facing legal troubles over bad mortgages, it’s far more likely the financial behemoth backed down to minimize the amount of negative attention they were getting. In this case, bad press was only making things worse.

Similarly, under attack for excessive and often hidden fees, Verizon has been getting some equally bad press. But they may have decided to see if they could make the negative media work to their benefit by creating a situation wherein they would end up the good guys. It’s possible they may have even initiated the aggressive social media barrage on their own accord just to prime the proverbial pump and get people talking about it.

Going on the old adage, “there’s no such thing as bad publicity,” the company might never have intended to charge the fee in the first place – unless no one complained. If that had happened, they could simply apply the fee where stated, rake in millions in extra revenue, and maintain business as usual with the public none the wiser. They really couldn’t lose either way.

Could the stunt have cost them customers? Maybe, but the number would have been insignificant compared to the amount of free, national media coverage that, in the end, painted a bright, sunny picture of a big corporation that listened to the little people.

Consumers need to be smarter than to think a multi-billion-dollar corporation is really going to be so responsive, regardless of how many people Tweet about them. They are all in the business to make money and as long as they have what the buying public needs, they will continue to do so, unfair fees and all.
Gery L. Deer is an independent columnist based in Jamestown. More information available at http://www.gerydeer.com.

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Mayan Doomsday Prophecy, the End of an Era

In Economy, Entertainment, Local News, Media, National News, Opinion, Uncategorized on December 27, 2011 at 12:09 am

By Gery L. Deer

Deer In Headlines

Over the next couple of weeks media outlets of all stripes will be running the usual, incessant of year-end retrospectives. Without question, 2011 was one of the most eventful years since the beginning of the millennium.

In the last twelve months the people of the world saw the death of Osama Bin Laden. Libya was finally freed from a dictator’s reign. Americans serving in the Iraq War are finally coming home. Suddenly, Wall Street was occupied by people other than thieving billionaires. And now, a couple of hairdos named Newt and Mitt have risen to become serious contenders for the Republican presidential nomination.

Rather than a retrospective, however, perhaps it would be better to focus on the future. Or would it? According to some, 2012 may be last time the ball drops in Time Square.

Every few years, evangelical Christians stampede to any available microphone and do their best to frighten people into joining their congregations (and offering up their cash) in preparation for the beginnings of events depicted in the Book of Revelations. Of course, they’re not alone. Similar doomsday predictions have been delivered repeatedly by the Chinese, the Egyptians, even Native Americans. Each and every time, they have been wrong.

However, nearly one thousand years before the first words of the New Testament had been scribed, the Mayan culture ofCentral Americaused intricate calculations and primitive astrometrics to create a primitive yet precise calendar. Their culture began to emerge around 1000 A.D. in large areas ofMexico,Guatemala,Belize,HondurasandEl Salvador.

In the 1960’s, archeologists unearthed a stone tablet depicting what could be compared to the Mayan version of Revelations – the return of their god to earth and the end of the world. According to the Mayan Long Calendar, the end will come on the converted Christian calendar date of December 21, 2012. (In case you’re interested, that’s a Friday – good day for the world to end; TGIF, and all that.)

Public fascination with apocalyptic predictions may seem strange to most, but, in this case, it might also prove profitable, both locally and south of the border. Cincinnatiauthor Liz Coley has just released, Out of Xibalba (pronounced shi-bulb-a), a young adult fantasy novel about a modern-day girl thrown back in time to an ancient Mayan civilization. Through a fictional story, the book offers readers a unique look at the Mayan culture and their doomsday prophecy.

In southernMexico, officials are planning year-long celebrations intended to attract tourists to the heart of Mayan territory. According to ABC News,Mexico’s tourism agency expects to draw more than 52 million visitors to the Mayan regions alone. Ordinarily, entire country averages only about 22 million per year. Such an influx of foreign visitors will provide a significant boost to the country’s struggling economy.

While writers, film makers and travel agents cash in on this ancient mythology, fortunately, for the rest of humanity, there is evidence that dates beyond 2012 were recorded. Scientists are baffled, however, as to why people seem to simply ignore it, preferring instead to insist that the end is, in fact, nigh.

In any case, it’s probably a good bet the world will still be here on the 22nd of December so it might be a good idea not to quit work or cash out the retirement account just yet.

Scientists can certainly make mistakes. But, so far, there is no evidence to support any sort of pending global catastrophe predicted by the Maya or anyone else.

Mathematicians and related experts have analyzed the Mayan data time and again. The end of this period of their calendar is no more significant than was the change of the Christian millennia. The best advice is to sit back, enjoy the books, movies and television programs about the Mayan culture, and relax. Oh, and Happy New Year.

Gery L. Deer is an independent columnist and business writer based in Jamestown, Ohio. For more visit http://www.gerydeer.com.

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Beware Sunny Government Statistics

In Business, Economy, Jobs, Local News, National News, Opinion on December 20, 2011 at 10:10 am

DEER IN HEADLINES

By Gery L. Deer

According to government reports, unemployment and foreclosure figures are showing all the signs of an improving economy. In November, USA Today reported the national unemployment average fell to 8.6 percent, down from 9 percent in October. Similarly, according to government accounts, foreclosure filings appear to have decreased over the last year as well. Those numbers seem to vary, depending on the source.

The problem with these statistics is that they often ignore important information showing that, what looks like economic recovery is actually a lie of omission. Take the unemployment reports, for example.

As the economy worsened and more people lost jobs those already unemployed became less hopeful of finding work. Many simply stopped reporting their unemployment status for whatever reason and at that point were no longer included in the statistics.

Over time, more and more people who have been out of work for a long period of time stop going back to the unemployment office. As benefits come to an end and with no job potential on the horizon, people either just stop filing or take part time work to put food on the table.

The underemployed are also omitted from the statistics. Underemployed people are those who have taken whatever work they can find but who may have once earned a higher salary in a more suitable position. An underemployed person could be an architect, for example, who takes a seasonal, general labor job on a construction crew.

Housing statistics can be manipulated in a similar fashion, to show improvement where none yet exists. Listen carefully to how this data is reported. Generally the wording is something like, “The White House reported today that foreclosure filings were down last month …” and so on. The number of filings may have decreased but there are many reasons for that.

According to the real estate website, RealtyTrac.Com, an average of one in every 500Ohiohousing units is in foreclosure. In most states, foreclosure filings are expected to increase, not drop, as the government stats seem to report. Some homes, purchased as foreclosed properties over the last couple of years are in foreclosure again, adding to the problem.

Additionally, within a given region, usually there is a finite number of pre-existing homes, and a particular segment of those whose mortgages have fallen into default. At some point, the market hits a peak where there are no more homes to foreclose on and the number of filings actually drops, but the problem still exists.

Then, while the White House reports “fudged” housing figures, one of the government’s pinnacle villains in the housing crisis is talking out of the other side of its mouth. Freddie Mac reported a noted increase in foreclosure filings in November. The agency estimates that it will take more than 15 years to relieve the burden of foreclosed property inventory.

The point here is that, especially in an election year, government officials will “spin” facts and figures to paint as positive a picture as possible to help keep everyone in their offices. “Spin,” is when the communications officers and public relations directors word the facts in a way that benefits the originator in some way.

Everyone wants credit for making things better and getting people back to work. Unfortunately, short of drafting people and creating more beaurocratic offices, the government doesn’t create jobs – only private industry can do that.

For the public, the only way to be certain of the facts is to go look them up at the source. Looking at the data in its raw form can help shed light on the facts, without the media hype and government spin.

Gery L. Deer is an independent business writer and columnist based in Jamestown, Ohio. Read more at http://www.deerinheadlines.com.

 

 

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Self-Published Authors Making Their Mark

In Business, Economy, Entertainment, Local News, Media, Opinion, Uncategorized on December 13, 2011 at 10:41 pm

By Gery L. Deer

Deer In Headlines

 

Once upon a time, writers who chose to publish their own work were thought simply as “not good enough” to make it as an author. Today self-publishing is rapidly becoming, not only a viable alternative to the snail-paced publishing process, but also allows authors to keep more of their money that once went to agents and publishers.

As one might expect, the talents of the writer play the most valuable role in getting a book from concept to publication. However, in mainstream publishing, there is also a fair amount of luck and back-door politics involved in an author’s success or failure. Generally unknown to the general public, or to beginning writers, traditional publishing is one of the most subjective processes in business.

In traditional publishing, often referred to as “royalty-based publishing,” getting a book to the shelves is a very long, disheartening endeavor. Once a manuscript is completed, the author must spend a great deal of time researching agents and publishers then send queries to each, hoping for a positive response or at least some feedback.

This is done over again many times – sometimes for years – until either the author gives up or they get an offer from an agent or publisher to move forward. If the manuscript is finally picked up by a publisher, it can take as long as two years to get it to market. In the meantime, the author will receive some kind of advanced payment against potential sales of the book.

The author also loses a great deal of control over the manuscript. Drastic changes can occur in editing, cover art or even the story itself, all of which are necessary evils in the business of publishing – if the author wants to be a commercial success and write for a living.

Even though many people have never heard of self-publishing, the concept has been around for hundreds of years. Over the last century, business professionals and corporations often self-published books and other literature designed to demonstrate expertise in a particular business, product or industry. Authoring a book generates a certain level of public credibility, in turn, building the potential for greater earning power.

Originally referred to as “vanity publishing,” self-publishing provides authors with a faster route to getting their work out to the public while also giving them complete control over the product.

Writers who choose the self-publishing method have some major challenges to accept above and beyond completing a polished manuscript. The first challenge they face is the editing process. A lack of good editing is a major mistake made by many self-publishers, particularly those who are unwilling to allow anyone else to review or critique their work; which is one reason some writers choose this way to publication in the first place.

Critical editing is vital to gaining credibility once the book is marketed. If it looks amateurish, the author will not be taken seriously. If that is done well, then the author must choose a printing method, either online or using a brick-and-mortar press house. Printing the book is one of the greater expenses, averaging around $2,000 for about 100 copies of a typical paperback.

Next comes the ‘business’ end of publishing, an area where most writers have little experience. Self-publishing also means self-marketing and promotion. The author will have to become the person who actually sells the book. It will be his or her task to develop a marketing plan and promote the book through advertising and public relations activities.

If all of that comes together, the author might be able to grow a grass-roots following at the local level and start selling their book. Many self-published authors are now getting the attention of large publishing houses and major book deals. Supporting local authors by purchasing their books can help the economy and encourage literacy in the community.

As independent writers gain credibility and build a following, they also generate millions of dollars in revenue for themselves and on-demand publishers doing short print runs. So this holiday season, buy local and read local.

 

Interested in local authors? Visit http://www.gerydeer.com and click on the Bookstore link.

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Super Committee Failure Not Surprising

In Business, Economy, Jobs, National News, Opinion, Politics, Uncategorized on November 22, 2011 at 12:42 am

By Gery L. Deer

Deer In Headlines

President Obama announced this week the abject failure of the so-called congressional Super Committee, which had originally supposed to hammer out a bi-partisan deal to cut the deficit by a whopping $1.2 trillion. Following the announcement, the president told reporters, “Despite the broad agreement that exists for such an approach, there are still too many Republicans in Congress that have refused to listen to the voices of reason and compromise that are coming from outside of Washington.”

Another typical Obama move; when in doubt, blame the other side. It seems the president has forgotten the definition of the word, “compromise,” wherein both sides need to give and take. They must not teach that concept at Harvard Law.

By definition, a committee is a group of people with differing ideas who are charged to work together towards a common goal. Whether it is made up of government officials or members of the local parent-teacher organization, committees generally produce more problems than they solve. Super-size the typical ineffectiveness of any committee, particularly one made up of bickering, self-aggrandizing members of congress, and the result is at minimum counterproductive and at most disastrous.

Given the poor history of compromise between the Democrats and Republicans in recent years, any attempt at a cooperative group was doomed to failure before it was commissioned. Unfortunately, congressional representatives are far more concerned with gaining political points and winning the day than solvingAmerica’s debt problems.

With the next election barely 11 months away, Republicans are firmly against pretty much anything the Democrats have proposed in the way of budget cuts, primarily because most plans involve tax increases. Conservative committee members insist that higher taxes will increase the burden on the average citizen and cause the country’s economy to backslide.

So what will happen next? Since the committee was unable to meet the deadline for the deficit reduction plan, programs like Medicare will experience automatic cuts in funding. Payments to Medicare providers, for example, will be cut by 2 percent across the board by 2013. Government sources state, however, that expenditures to beneficiaries of the program will be unaffected.

Additionally, the affect on general economic growth is, at this point, incalculable. As the country’s debt rises, it’s overall fiscal worth declines. As an example, as news of the super committee’s ineffectiveness spread over the last several days, Wall Street experienced general overall losses, with the Dow, down, 248 points on Monday.

Inaction on the part of the committee only serves to reinforce the idea that neither Congress nor the West Wing is up to current economic challenges. So far nothing has been done to even encourage long-term business and financial growth and spur job creation. Temporary fixes are not going to carry the country through a recession that is constantly on the verge of resurgence.

And, while the White House is responsible for pushing bad programs onto the Democrats in Congress and leveraging future cooperation to get them approved, it’s up to the legislature to determine the benefits, or the lack thereof, to their constituents. Apparently, common sense is not part of the job descriptions inWashington. Only those capable of double-dealing, back-room politics and cold-heartedness need apply.

Considering all of that, at the end of the day, each and every bad decision made by government officials are actually the final responsibility and fault of the American people because they were elected by the short-sighted, easily coerced voter. Winston Churchill said, “Democracy is the worst form of government; except for all the rest.”

He couldn’t have been more correct. A government by the people has a pitfall for every promise. As long as Americans keep sending the same kinds of self-serving, greedy, power-hungry people toWashington, positive change is highly unlikely.

Gery L. Deer is an independent business writer and columnist based in Jamestown, Ohio. Read more at http://www.deerinheadlines.com

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Occupy Wall Street Protests Lack Purpose

In Business, Economy, Jobs, National News, Opinion, Politics, State News, Uncategorized on October 12, 2011 at 11:40 am

By Gery L. Deer

Deer In Headlines

 

For the last couple of weeks I have been deflecting questions as to why I haven’t weighed in on the recent Wall Street protests. The main reason is pretty simple. While they might have a legitimate gripe with the government’s corporate bail out policies, I really didn’t want to give further publicity to their unbelievably socialistic agenda. But since this pointless movement seems to be spreading and shows no signs of weakening, here’s my take on it.

Taking a page from the Tea Party’s playbook, hoards of disgruntled citizens have gathered in protest of … what, exactly? The so-called “Occupy Wall Street, Boston, insert your favorite city here” groups have collected in more than 60 cities across the country. But for all their apparent numbers, they lack a common purpose and desired outcome.

In fact, protestors are insisting that a unifying cause or message is not required. Every movement must have a message. Surprisingly, this particular cause has dozens of different messages and that will likely be their downfall.

If anything, these self-aggrandizing rejects from the Tea Party movement see themselves as future folk heroes standing up for the “common man.” Sorry folks but we common men have to spend our time finding work and paying bills. We can’t spend weeks on end camping out with our hippy brethren in a public park.

Don’t be fooled. This is not a protest for civil rights or freedom from tyranny. Instead it’s a protest against success and achievement and nothing short of a demand for the adoption of socialism. Yep, you read that right – socialism.

According to the dictionary definition, socialists advocate the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution of land, capital, etc., into the community as a whole. In plain English, they want to take what you have worked hard to earn and divide it up amongst the rest of the population so that others don’t have to work or pull their weight. I think there’s something strangely ironic about a group that is pushing a socialist mentality which has no real community goals.

If the utter lack of a unifying purpose isn’t enough to label this movement ridiculous, the list of pseudo-celebrities who are lending their voices to the cause certainly does. On the off chance that participants of these occupations are reading this, I’ll let you in on a little secret.

Giving Al Sharpton or Sarah Palin a soap box and free publicity will do nothing for your absent cause. You’re allowing millionaires to use you like so much left over bacon grease and they’re just getting richer at your expense.

Speaking of expense, no one has considered the financial harm these gatherings are doing. At a time when city governments are struggling to balance budgets they now have to spend millions of dollars for extra security and maintenance that would not have otherwise been required.

In short, if these people don’t get a handle on exactly what they want they’ll never get it.  All I can say to this is that they have far too much time on their hands. Maybe they would do better to redirect some energy from whining and complaining to taking a shower and finding a job.

In any case, some of the anger demonstrated by the protesters should be directed away from corporateAmericaand pointed at President Obama. After all, he’s the guy you want to blame for the bail outs, and, by the way, he’s a multi-millionaire too and a self-admitted socialist. Interesting how he has done nothing to unburden himself from his top-heavy bank account.

People take up causes when they’re convenient or only after something bad has happened to them or someone they know. Without a meaningful goal, however, the Occupy movement will start fizzling out fairly soon, especially in the east, once the cold weather arrives. It will die out because there is no unifying message. In the meantime, the rest of us will keep working and trying to provide for our families so those people can continue to play in the park – on the tax payer’s dollar.

 

Gery L. Deer is a freelance business writer based in Jamestown, Ohio. Read more at http://www.deerinheadlines.com.

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Address Unknown: Saving the Postal Service

In Business, Economy, Jobs, Local News, National News, Opinion on September 20, 2011 at 7:03 am

By Gery L. Deer

Deer In Headlines

 

Cell phones, text messages, email, Facebook; the list of personal contact options is virtually endless and growing daily. Is it any wonder then that it seems like the only things mail carriers leave in the mailbox are bills and junk mail? And now the United States Postal Service is on the verge of shutdown.

In July, faced with a $5.5 billion health care bill owed to the federal government, Postal Service officials announced plans to stop Saturday deliveries, shut down some 3,600 service locations and lay off more than 200,000 employees. If the debt is not paid by September 30, 2011, the agency will be in default and forced to shut down.

On Monday, President Obama announced a plan to save the Postal Service and its employees from insolvency. In addition to other stipulations, the plan includes the previous idea of discontinuing Saturday mail delivery and also allows the U.S. Postal Service to use $7 billion from an overfunded pension account to avoid financial collapse.

Unnamed officials in the Obama administration have admitted that the president’s relief package, at best, would provide only short-term solutions.  So the question now is whether the Postal Service, as it exists today, should be saved at all?

Constant rate increases and regular customer service complaints add to the already tarnished reputation of the USPS. Sometime in the 1990’s, postal mail became known as, “snail mail,” for the agonizingly slow rate at which a letter travels compared to electronic correspondence. Sending letters or parcels overseas or through priority service can often require complicated and confusing forms and fees, any of which can change without notice.

However, while the Internet has caused the decline in overall postal traffic, it has also helped the Postal Service – and the consumer. Priority and Express mail, as well as flat-rate shipping, are far less expensive than competitive services through UPS or FedEx making it easier for online stores and auction sellers to deliver their products to customers.

Unfortunately, low cost shipping services have done little to shore up declining sales of first class stamps. As with most other government services that are hopelessly mismanaged and over budget, the Postal Service has continued to operate outside its means, and now the mortgage, so to speak, is in foreclosure.

As much as they politicize the idea and protest against it, each blaming the other for badly spent tax revenue, Congress and the White House continue to pour cash into failing programs and badly managed agencies filled with waste and redundancy. The Postal Service is no different. But what can be done?

It seems as though it would be impractical to completely eliminate a federal postal service, but perhaps the time has come to scale it back and adjust to the times. But even if a trimming of the fat occurs in time, it will still mean more unemployed workers and perhaps an increase in the cost of postage.

Besides USPS employees, millions of other workers would be affected if the Postal Service were to be shut down. Mail room employees, print shop and direct mail workers, delivery drivers and mechanics would all be out of work.

Losing mail service would also have a harsh effect on the elderly and the poor inAmericabecause of limited internet access and education. Many of senior citizens still pay all of their bills by mail and send hand-written correspondence to family and friends. Plus, alternate methods would need to be found for inviting guests to weddings and other formal events and paper greeting cards would eventually become a thing of the past.

Rather than looking for a complete solution to the Postal Service budget issue, government officials are too busy running for office. Politicians – including President Obama – desperate to keep their government jobs in 2012 have done little to directly address deficit problems at the post office. Instead, it has been thrown into tax reduction plans and budget talks as what can only be referred to as an afterthought.

The time to make a decision about the fate of the Postal Service is now. If congress does nothing, the agency will go bankrupt. In the meantime, the clock is ticking and Americans really don’t want to have to pay for another bail out.

 

Gery L. Deer is an independent columnist based in Jamestown. Read more at http://www.deerinheadlines.com

 

 

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9/11: Oh, the humanity.

In Media, National News, Opinion, Politics on September 5, 2011 at 6:52 am

By Gery L. Deer

Deer In Headlines

I don’t know which is harder to believe; that it has been ten years or that it really did happen. Unprecedented in the history of the United States, the events of September 11, 2001 changed lives around the world.

The savage, heart wrenching images of that morning are forever emblazoned into the collective memories of a generation. A horrible tragedy set against the clear, blue sky of Manhattan. Those of us watching from other parts of the country felt it right along with New Yorkers; the tragedy, the helplessness, the pain, the destruction, the hot, debris-filled wind that would sweep over our nation and rock us to our very core.

The day before the attacks, I had returned to Ohio from a week-long trip in Las Vegas. A co-worker heard on the radio that there had been some kind of bombing in New York City and was frantically trying to find information about it on the Internet. But CNN’s website would not come up, neither would CBS nor NBC. In fact, none of the major news sites were available. Millions of hits at once knocked down the websites before any of us could find out what had happened.

Retrieving a 3-inch color television from my truck, several of my colleagues huddled around my desk trying to get a look at the replay of the first plane flying into one of the World Trade Center towers when the unthinkable happened. A second plane ripped through the remaining tower and it too burst into flames. Shock and silence settled over the motley crew of engineers and technicians gathered around the tiny screen.

Ten years later, we’ve all seen those images over and over again, from virtually every angle. We’ve been deluged time and again with eye-witness interviews and video of the brave emergency response teams trying desperately to save as many lives as they could in the midst of utter chaos and destruction.

Many of the morning television news programs originating from New York had instant coverage of the disaster. Reminiscent of Herbert Morrison’s anguished report from the site of the Hindenburg crash, live broadcast reporters were overwhelmed by pure emotion, moved to tears by the terror they witnessed. Morrison was the radio announcer on the scene in Lakehurst, New Jersey that day in 1937 as the great Zeppelin exploded and crashed to the ground.

Sent by a Chicago radio station to cover the airship’s arrival, the recording of Morrison’s immortal delivery and genuine disgust for the disastrous scene before him became the prototype for how broadcasters would report tragedy and war for decades to come. I wonder, at times, how he might have described the scene that day in New York but I believe his most famous phrase is more than sufficient, “Oh the humanity.”

Actually, even after the hundreds of news stories about the terror attacks, it’s difficult to fathom what else could be said to describe one of the worst days in American history. I can say, though, that I believe the days that followed 9-11 brought about an amazing spirit of survival and determination in our country.

From unmitigated calamity arose an unparalleled sense of unity and patriotism. Americans had spent the last half-century bickering amongst themselves over political and social issues. For the first time since the Second World War, we had a common enemy, even if we were not yet sure who it was. What we did know, however, is that the United States would recover, as a people and a nation; and we did.

On the tenth anniversary of that fateful day, all Americans send thoughts, prayers and best wishes to the families and friends of those who perished in New York, at the Pentagon and in the fields of Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania. Nothing can return their loved ones to them but they will be forever remembered by a nation.

Gery L. Deer is an independent columnist based in Jamestown, Ohio. Read more at http://www.deerinheadlines.com

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Political Autobiographies: Style Lacking Substance

In Entertainment, Local News, Media, National News, Opinion, Politics, State News on August 29, 2011 at 10:24 pm

By Gery L. Deer

Deer In Headlines

 

Between Joe Biden’s spray-on tan and Michele Bachmann’s fashion faux pas, the political stage has never been graced by such a ridiculous cast of insubstantial people. It’s amazing how many people of lackluster quality can gain the attention of so many Americans.

As the kings and queens of shameless self-promotion, each one spends most of his or her time in front of a camera criticizing the other guys for doing the same thing. Of course, that’s part of their job, but running for the highest office in the land should depend more on substance than style. Sadly, however, that’s just not how it works on modern politics. Today it’s all about marketing.

Getting the word out to the mush-brained masses requires use of every media trick in the book, old and new. All those 2012 Republican nomination hopefuls are jetting around the country doing television interviews and giving stump speeches in the hopes that they will be the next tenant at1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Seemingly in three places at once, these people maintain an almost inconceivable campaign schedule. One way to disseminate as much information as possible is by writing an autobiography.

Books are a great way to control what information is given out about a candidate, but they’re almost never written by the politician. When political heavyweights want to write a newspaper column or a book, they often use a ghost writer.

Ghost writers are authors who write material that is officially credited to someone else. The ghost writer does the research and develops the manuscript, sometimes with little or no  intervention on the part of the person whose name eventually ends up in the byline.

Some publishers will print only a limited run of political autobiographies to generate as much revenue as possible while the subjects are in the media headlights. With the help of reasonably good writers, political biographies can be interesting and informative, even though they’re just a 300-page brochure for the candidate. Unfortunately, there are times when the political figure has too much influence over a manuscript.

Here’s an example from Sarah Palin’s book, Going Rogue: An American Life. “I was sitting next to the stove, patching up little Gopher’s North Face jacket, when I got the call (to be John McCain’s running mate), and I figured, gosh-a-mighty, why not? Well, they scoot me down toDayton — and let me tell you, that place could use a new coat of paint…” And she goes on to say that theDayton reporters will, “Twist and turn my words so I look like an idjit.”

It gets worse from there. Did she actually use the word, idjit? Unless she was trying to get a part in a movie opposite Yosemite Sam, the reporters wouldn’t have needed to do much to make twist her words. In fact, it would take more effort to untwist them enough to understand exactly what it was she had said in the first place. Clearly, there are times when a ghost writer is not only an option, but a necessity.

Once released, political autobiographies have a short shelf life and quickly end up in the bargain rack.  Publishers do their best to cash in on these projects while there is still widespread demand for information.

Without question, there is a broad audience for this material and, at least initially, most of these books sell very well – some better than others. Barack Obama’s two books for example, Audacity of Hope (2006) and Dreams From My Father (1995), both of which he wrote before ascending to the presidency, have sold nearly a half-million copies.

In the past, a politician could only get a book published if he or she had made some significant contribution. Today, however, the trend seems to be in writing the book before ever doing anything and cashing in on 15 minutes of fame.

 

Gery L. Deer is an independent columnist based inJamestown. Read more at http://www.deerinheadlines.com.

 

Broadcasting Liberal Guilt and Conservative Fear

In Entertainment, Local News, Opinion, Politics on August 16, 2011 at 10:11 am

By Gery L. Deer

Deer In Headlines

Liberals love to make people feel guilty about success in any form. Even as the country struggles to regain its financial legs, President Obama and his Democratic friends constantly seem to be apologizing for America’s achievements. Business or personal success and any obvious practices of capitalism are severely frowned upon in those circles, reserved only for people named Kerry, Pelosi or Clinton, all of whom are millionaires.

Take public broadcasting, for example, where the liberal talents of cloaking capitalism in good deeds and manipulation through guilt are masterfully played over the airways.

Both the Public Broadcasting System and National Public Radio refer to paying advertisers as “supporters,” and people who give in to their annual pleas for donations in exchange for a tote bag are called, “members.” Insulting the intelligence of their audience with the ridiculous notion that there’s something more dignified about the wordplay, an advertiser is an advertiser and P.T. Barnum would have been able to tell them why pledge drives work.

At local NPR affiliate stations, sound engineers crank the bass, throwing in just a touch of reverb, as a soothing, generally raspy, female voice begins to ply the money out of the wallets of listeners. “Keep the support coming,” the woman says softly, “Your pledge will make it possible for us to tell you the stories of the world.” Yes it will, but they still won’t be able to provide a traffic report that’s less than a half-hour old.

It still seems counterproductive that the only government-sponsored broadcasting services have, not balanced, but staggeringly left-leaning content yet are subsidized by the tax payers. Imagine the firestorm of anger that would ensue if a Conservative radio host like Rush Limbaugh was suddenly awarded federal grant money and began soliciting donations over the air. No doubt the Left would go berserk.

Of course, Conservatives have their own brand of manipulation in the form of, for lack of better terms, fear mongering. Their idea is to scare everyone to death about nearly anything in order to sway voters and promote the American dream, which, in their eyes consists of success in every possible way no matter who is trampled upon in the process.

Exaggerating components of important issues like Mexican immigration or social security, Republicans go on the air and strike fear into their constituents wherever possible. Imagine this scene for example.

The sound of what can only be interpreted as a fist impacting a wooden desk top is followed immediately by a voice kindred only to an evangelist at an old time tent revival. “My friends, we cannot let the socialist commies of the liberal party flush America down the toilet of the world,” the exasperated man says, breathless and loud. Papers shuffle in the background.

“We must protect the Ten Commandments on our court house lawns and keep the Democrats from taxing us back into the Stone Age or handing our country over to their Islamic cohorts.”

This onslaught of right-wing rhetoric is usually followed by the host playing sound bites of some popular Democrat which have been taken thoroughly out of context and cleverly edited to elicit just the right response from listeners. Usually, the desired reaction is anger and outrage.

For the record, it is the opinion of this reporter that Limbaugh and his blowhard buddies are uneducated, uninformed, fear-mongering hairdos. But they still have as much right to the airways as pretentious, know-it-all, liberal “newscasters” like Meeshell Norris and Robert Siegel.

If fair and balanced reporting is what people want, it’s unlikely to be found in a free press. Broadcasters are often at the mercy of advertisers, especially in today’s economy. Once a format is chosen and it gains a following, broadcasters need to meet the demands of listeners by giving them what they want to hear and, subsequently, if no one listens, advertisers (or supporters, if you happen to be a Liberal) will dry up.

Keep also in mind that radio personalities like Terry Gross and Rush Limbaugh are performers, not journalists. Their job is to entertain the listening constituency of lemmings who follow their one-sided nonsense, no matter how ridiculous it might seem to a free-thinking person.

Gery L. Deer is an independent columnist and business writer based in Jamestown. Read more at http://www.deerinheadlines.com.