Why politicians lie

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They promise that if we elect them, they’ll serve just one term and welch on the deal next election. They promise to vote one way on an issue, and vote the other. Their explanations and rationalizations are stock and without imagination and we voters understand they will do anything to get re-elected. Why? The job doesn’t pay that much. The power is intoxicating but how much do they really have. I think the deeper motivation is they’ll do anything to avoid being sent back to the little towns from which they came.

Please god, I can’t go back to Bumfuck, Missouri, with it’s Wal-Mart and the little coffee shop where the Good Old Boys talk politics every morning. I can’t go back there and run the family business and live out my life so far from here. I won’t go back. I will lie, cheat, steal, corrupt, connive… there is nothing I will not do to stay here. Please forgive me, god. Amen.

And when one party unseats the other and takes away the powerful jobs, the losers will take any shitty, boring job with some meaningless commission or state agency rather than go back to Moberly or West Plains or Kennett. Like some virus that goes dormant until the host is weak enough for it to flare back up. Which is where term limits came in. It was the only way we voters could innoculate ourselves. Opponents warn that term limits will result in bad government. Uh, we already have bad government. It’ll be worse, they promise (threaten?). We’ll take our chances.

Tom Jones Syndrome

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Barb warns you must be of a certain age to appreciate this. And we are. Halley has more.

“Doc, I can’t stop singing ‘The Green, Green Grass of Home.'”
“That sounds like Tom Jones syndrome.”
“Is it common?”
“It’s not unusual.”

Marketing 101

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You see a handsome guy at a party.
You go up to him and say, “I’m fantastic in bed.”
That’s Direct Marketing.

You’re at a party with a bunch of friends and see a handsome guy.
One of your friends goes up to him and pointing at you says, “he’s fantastic in bed.”
That’s Advertising.

You see a handsome guy at a party.
You go up to him and get his telephone number.
The next day you call and say, “Hi, I’m fantastic in bed.”
That’s Telemarketing.

You’re at a party and see a handsome guy.
You get up and, Give eye contact.
You walk up to him and pour him a drink.
You say, “May I,” and reach up to kiss him, and then say, “By the way, I’m fantastic in bed.”
That’s Public Relations.

You’re at a party and see a handsome guy.
He walks up to you and says, “I hear you’re fantastic in bed.”
That’s Brand Recognition.

You’re at a party and see a handsome guy.
You talk him into going home with your friend.
That’s a Sales Rep.

Your friend can’t satisfy him so he calls you.
That’s Tech Support.

You’re on your way to a party when you realize that there could be handsome men in all these houses you’re passing.
So you climb onto the roof of one situated toward the center and shout at the top of your lungs, “I’m fantastic in bed!”
That’s Spam

Source unknown. Found this on Halley Suitt’s blog in 2003

Stock market prediction

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Douglas Rushkoff’s “official and not-to-be-wagered-upon stock market prediction is a 10-15% rise in the S&P by the end of February, and then freefall down to 6500 before the war starts. Then, a blip up with that sense of certainty that always accompanies a good ariel bombardment, and a blip back down when we realize that in a globally networked economy, war is bad for business, too.”

What Should I Do with My Life?

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I really liked Po Bronson’s first two novels, “The Nudist on the Late Shift” and “The First $20 Millions Is Always the Hardest.” And he’s written countless articles about technology, Silicon Valley, Dot-Com boom and bust. The title of his latest book, “What Should I Do with My Life?” almost turned me off. I’m not all that keen on non-fiction to begin with. But I really enjoyed this book. I found so many “take-aways”…but I’ll only give you a few:

When you’re passionate about what you do, time disappears.

People who don’t have passions don’t struggle.

Failure is hard, but success is far more dangerous. If you’re successful at the wrong thing, the mix of praise and money and opportunity can lock you in forever. It is so much harder to leave a good thing.

Don’t pretend what you do doesn’t shape you.

People who love what they do are much more productive than those that are doing it for the paycheck. If we can find work we care about, our productivity will explode. Our value will increase radically. We will be the source of good ideas. And we will be rewarded.

“If you’re successful at the wrong thing, the mix of praise and opportunity can lock you in forever.” Or “if you don’t like The Inevitable Cocktail-Party Question (What do you do?), maybe it’s partly because you don’t like your answer.”

Honky Tonk Woman

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Last night the Rolling Stones did a live HBO concert from Madison Square Garden. About half way through the two hour show they launched into Honky Tonk Women and out struts Sheryl Crow looking like ten million bucks. (Watch on YouTube)

It’s always difficult to tell if Jagger and Richards are leering but they both seemed delighted to have Crow join them and Mick couldn’t keep his hands off her. Crow –the only “special guest” to appear– was just a baby (one or two) when the Stones hit the charts in the U.S. but there she was, on stage in Madison Square Garden, before a world-wide TV audience. I kept asking myself, “What’s bigger than this? What’s ‘up’ from here?” The concert will be rebroadcast at 8 p.m., Monday on HBO2 and 9 p.m., Thursday on HBO.

From William Gibson’s blog

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William Gibson has a blog. I’d like to know if having a website (and blog) was something his publisher pushed or if he was enthusiastic about the idea. One interesting (and discouraging) item from his bio:

“I suspect I have spent just about exactly as much time actually writing as the average person my age has spent watching television, and that, as much as anything, may be the real secret here.”

Dan Landrum

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I heard from a couple of Kennett expatriates this week. Dan Landrum worked with me at KBOA back in the 70’s. He stayed in radio for a while but gave it up to pursue a career in music. On his website he describes himself as “a hammer dulcimer enthusiast and musician, based in Signal Mountain, Tennessee.” He must be pretty good because he’s rehearsing “for an upcoming world tour with Yanni.” That’s pretty cool. Or bizarre. Or both.

Scary Google Trick.

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In the December 20, 2002 edition of JOHO (Journal of the Hyperlinked Organization) David Weinberger shares a “Scary Google Trick”: 1) Go to google.com 2) Type in your phone number, in quotation marks 3) When it finds your name and address, click on
“Maps” 4) You are here. I’m not sure why that’s scary but it is. A little.