Just When I Thought I Was Finished

I admit – the political goings-on over the past year had grown tiresome even to me. I’d decided that the upcoming election would bear no winners with the exception of the actual candidates. We – as in the American taxpayer – have nothing to celebrate in terms of the outcome. I swear, I think both parties are counting on folks to just throw up their hands and say, “Do what you’re going to do – you’re going to anyway.” Remember how, as a kid, you’d end up getting your way sometimes simply by exhausting your mom? She’d throw up her hands and give in, but you’d always hear her say, “OK – now get outta here and let me catch my breath.”

The DNC, as we all know, is wrapping up today – and not a moment too soon – and believe me, I say that because BOTH conventions are over with.

This week could not have been a more nightmarish week for the Obama Administration. It was day after day of bad news on top of more bad news. Here are a few of my ledes from this week:

• As the Democratic National Convention roars on, news broke that a record 46.7 million Americans — or roughly one in five adults — used food stamps during the month of June.
• It just wouldn’t be a holiday weekend if gas prices didn’t jump higher. This time, though, a new record’s been set. Gas prices, up by 9.4% in August, are higher than they’ve ever been in U.S. history, beating the record set in 2008.
• On Thursday, economists were expecting 150,000 new jobs to be added to the employment rolls. Admitting it wouldn’t really affect the unemployment rate, those economists were hopeful that at least the number wouldn’t be any lower. On Friday, we’re wondering what the economists are saying with the paltry 96,000 jobs that were added in August.
• The national debt hit the $16 trillion mark today. When Obama took office four years ago, it was $10 trillion and Congress continues to spend as though nothing is at stake. Unfortunately, each American’s share of the federal debt now rests at $37,437 – there’s definitely a lot at stake.

The worse part of all of this is knowing Obama has still managed to keep pace with Romney – the polls still show them at an even split. The only thing thing that makes sense to me is that everyone is voting for their candidate not because they necessarily support him but rather, they dislike the other candidate even more. Somehow, that just doesn’t sit right. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Our nation wasn’t built on the premise of choosing presidents based who we dislike less. And yet – there it is. Which leads me to…

There has been a shift, I’ve noticed, on all of the social networking sites. Folks threatening to “shut down” their Facebook pages and close their Twitter accounts. They say they’re tired of the political rhetoric. I get that – I got burned out too before this week got me fired up again. Here’s the thing, though – for the first time in our history, Americans are able to come together in an unprecedented and rather casual way. Even the last presidential race didn’t include as many Facebook and Twitter users. I don’t even think I had even considered any kind of social networking presence four years ago. At any rate, some of the nonsense is just that – nonsense. I’ve had a lot of “tags” of ridiculous photos and images that trash talked one candidate or another. I eventually had to change my settings so that I could control what was being posted to my wall (I’ll do my own trash talking, thank you very much). My point is it would be a shame that anyone would choose something like politics as the reason for bowing out. Every now and then, something comes along that absolutely goes against everything we believe – and then we actually take a minute to consider it and it’s in those moments change happens. It’s rare – but weeding through the nonsense becomes worth it when it does happen.

 

Maybe a Shift is Occurring Anyway

For two years, I’ve climbed my soap box and hollered from the rooftops that if the entire American financial sector wasn’t overhauled, it would crash hard. The massive hits our economy has taken simply cannot include a Band Aid and hope for a better day as the cure. It’s like getting flood damage in your home – just because your ceiling doesn’t get wet doesn’t mean it’s not ruined. It all has to be replaced, right?

Now, though, there’s an interesting new platform that just might shift the scales ever so slightly. This is one of those things that if it does well, it will soar to the heavens. If it fails, though, it’s going to crash hard.

Many people don’t know, but 80% of Americans don’t have access to the stock market for one reason or another. Usually, it’s just too intimidating. Most have no idea where to find the answers and there are those who feel the stock market is just too big a gamble. But – what if you could buy stock from a company via its Facebook Fan Page? That’s exactly what’s happening right now.

It’s really very interesting. Loyal3, the company that’s making this possible, is now allowing any business to sell its stocks to any of its Facebook fans under a new model, “Customer Stock Ownership Plan” or CSOP. And you don’t have to know all the frustrating ins and outs of stock trading. There are no fees to do this, either – which is good since broker fees can be as high as 60% of what’s being bought through a trader. All you have to do is find a company you want to invest in and with three clicks, you’re now a part owner of that company. You can invest as little as $10, too. Buy one share or a million shares. Actually, I wouldn’t suggest buying a million shares of anything off of Facebook, but I’m telling you, this could be the start of something quite impressive. Imagine the little entrepreneurs we could raise if we could get young folks to spend just five minutes of their time on Facebook looking for stocks to buy.

Loyal3′s CSOP is in its infancy and currently only has one company on board, but September promises to bring many new companies and all signs indicate this is a sure thing. Since I’m having to stay on top of this for a client, I’ll post anything new I come across, but in the meantime, go see for yourself – y’all know I’m all about due diligence when it comes to money. Visit the Loyal3 website here. And in the meantime, just because I’m not listed with the Dow doesn’t mean you can’t like my Facebook page. So go like it!

 

I Have the Answers – They’re Just Not Politically Correct

Ever have one of those weeks when you just know you’re the one with the answers, but no one’s listening? Yeah, me too. There’s so much – I don’t even know where to start.

First up – if you haven’t seen our president’s latest fundraising efforts, fair warning – it’s a doozy. Take a look -

That’s right – he wants all our birthday bling. And apparantly he’s willing to take on Bridezilla too because he’s more than happy to raid bridal showers across the nation. Here’s the kicker though – earlier this month, he’d made two stops in two days – one in Chicago and the other in Minneapolis. The trips were fundraising efforts for his campign. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who is also Obama’s former chief of staff, introduced him to close to four hundred people who gained entry by shelling over at least $2,500 per person. From there, he attended two more events where folks forked over $35,000 each to be in his presence. Yes – that figure is right – $35,000 and here’s the link. It’s estimated he brought in a whopping $5 million between Chicago and his quick layover in Minneapolis. And he wants my birthday present too? Not in this lifetime.

Now, in all fairness, by the time I saw the latest on his blog, I’d already had a bellyful of his antics this week. Take a look at a few of his tweets. It seems like every time he finds himself in front of a camera or in front his computer, he’s telling us what we need to do. I mean, seriously, Obama wants us to tell Congress this or that? Why? Congress isn’t listening to us (as in the American voter) no more than Obama’s listening to us.

 

So then, today, I’m plundering around Facebook and saw this picture that a friend had tagged. Those photos are tough to see. But the very next picture on my newsfeed is what had my blood boiling.

Am I the only one who gets the irony? Romney is as unplugged as Obama is. I am absolutely confident that if folks took that $5 Romney wants and gave it to the veteran to either reclaim his house or find another one, it would be money well-invested.

Moodys downgraded fifteen banks around the world yesterday – and the top five are based in the United States. Here’s where it gets good though. Immediately – as in within hours – the whining began. The banks were bellyaching that the passage of the Dodd-Frank reform is why they’re struggling. Uhm…if I remember correctly, it was the irresponsible actions, greed and non-compliance with the laws that were already in place that led to Dodd-Frank to start with. Had the accounting scandals, mortgage inconsistencies and downright illegal behaviors of some bank executives not been discovered, these folks would still be moving forward, playing by their own rules. They got caught, then got hit with the repercussions – and now they have the audacity to blame it on new regulations?

Alright – Eric Holder and the Fast & Furious scandal. This is just one more thing that’s had my interest all week. OK, so I know this isn’t even realistic – but it should be: charge Holder with manslaughter or accessory after the fact or something besides contempt. He – and the Obama Administration – are once again writing the rules as they go. And don’t even get me started on the Dream Act and Obama’s sudden announcement last week.

All of these current events – and it seems like the only folks who have no say in how any of it plays out are the American taxpayers. Yes, I know we go to the polls in November, but I’ve said it before – I would be surprised if there wasn’t a record set for low voter turnout. Frankly, I don’t think either of the candidates are capable of running this country.

Finally, and speaking of having no say in something – my son announced – on Facebook, no less – that he’s ready to start skydiving lessons. Just when my nerves settle down after he earns his diving certs, he announces he’s now ready for something even more dangerous. Where he got the idea that once he hit 21 he could play by his own rules is beyond me.

 

The Hokey OpGlobalBlackout

Doesn’t this whole Anonymous drive seem sort of…George Orwell-ish? If you’re not familiar with Anonymous, this is the group that’s taking matters into its own hands – however many hands that might be. It’s a group that, unlike the Occupy movement, isn’t walking up to the line, pointing it out and saying, “Keep on…I’ll cross it. I swear I will”, but instead, isn’t even bothering with the fair warnings; not really. It’s chosen the internet as its vehicle and its threats are being backed up with action. The crazy thing is most folks are egging it on.

Last week, a new message was delivered, courtesy of its typical vehicle of choice, YouTube. The video is titled “Anonymous Message to Congress” and in it, the group warns U.S. Congress that it shouldn’t have shutdown MegaUpload, the controversial file sharing site. As a result, Anonymous’ largest coordinated attack was put into place. 5,000 people took down more than ten federal and and other industry sites last week. And isn’t it interesting this hasn’t hit mainstream media?

Here’s the thing. Anonymous agreed that much of the content on the MegaUpload site is copyrighted, but says the government’s decision had nothing to do with copyrighted material. It’s now demanding the site be reinstated. Immediately. Or else.

Anonymous insists it has penetrated servers of some impressive organizations, including the United Nations, US Bank, Capital One, Twitter and Facebook (and others). If the site isn’t reinstated, it says it’ll take these – and other – servers down.

So now what? Is this what’s it’s come down to? The government, the group and the information highway? Yes, indeed. And with the support Anonymous is gaining, the smart money’s on the group. Check out the video below. By the way – how inadequate are we all going to feel if Anonymous is a group of 12 year olds somewhere in Minnesota whose collective IQs hover around 180?

 

 

Whipped Shortbread

Anyone who’s kept up with this blog over the past couple of years knows I’m more prone to raise a little southern hell about politics, silly celebrities and their latest scandals and other “life in general” moments.  While that’s always a lot of fun and definite break from meeting deadlines and securing new contracts, what I love – what I really love – is hanging out in the kitchen. Seriously – my mom had me in a cake decorating class, of all things, when I was ten. I can remember cooking when I was a kid and more than a few interesting conversations that drove Mom mad (like this one).

One year for Christmas, my mom made my sister and me cookbooks – they’re handwritten with stories from each of our childhoods, along with the recipes she’s always made for us. I cherish that as much as I cherish the pictures of my Jacob and all of his sweet drawings and notes he’s made for me over the years. I’ve said it before: when a hurricane threatens, those are the things I gather. The rest of it? I could care less – I’m just sentimental like that I reckon.

From making sure eggs are cooked without the lace (another lesson I learned early on from another woman who is very important to me) to learning the difference between parchment paper and wax paper (a pretty important thing to know – and the sooner the better), I love cooking.

Today, I came across a recipe for whipped shortbread. Just the sound of it sounds amazing, right? Everyone loves shortbread – and unfortunately, everyone can relate to the possibility of a broken tooth with those store-bought cookies that are a health hazard (or as the Kitchen Magpie calls it, “hockey puck” shortbread). Ah…but then her recipe appears on my Facebook wall – and it was calling my name!

I clicked over to her site and sure enough – there was this amazingly easy recipe that calls for…wait for it…wait for it….THREE ingredients! So off to the kitchen I go and the recipe turned out exactly the way she said. Bit came by not long after I pulled them out of the oven and trust me – we made fools out of ourselves – me and that baby sister of mine. They are so good! Jacob’s getting ready to head for the Delta for some duck hunting and I already have some ready for him to take with him.

So, instead of me attempting to tell a story she told so well, here’s the link to the easy recipe, complete with pictures. It’s definitely worth your time. Keep in mind she stresses two things: make sure you whip your butter and sugar combo until it gets really light and don’t overbake them. Your goal is to “dry” them out and not so much “baking”. No eggs, no oil, no vanilla extract – just butter (or margarine), sugar and flour. Fair warning: I won’t be responsible for the need to buy new britches when you eat an entire batch by yourself. Y’all be sure and go “like” her Facebook page too. Oh – and by the way – if you haven’t visited my Facebook page, be sure and “like” it too!

 

The Week the World Flipped (Sort of)

As Shepard Smith has said all week, “We have to keep an eye out for that school bus that’s expected to fall out of the sky on Friday”.  While he’s referring to the decommissioned satellite that’s hurling towards earth and expected to hit the planet somewhere and sometime on Friday, it’s a pretty good analogy of the week in its entirety: a big yellow school bus barreling smack-dab towards us.

First, we’ve watched, in the past two days, the Dow lose more than 500 points and nearly 4% of its gains. You know, much as I love to watch that ticker every day, I am a little surprised that everyone else is so surprised. There’s nothing good coming down the pipe in terms of the economy from a national or a global level. We’re all as broke as the Ten Commandments these days, right? I’ve said it before, and often caught a lot of grief for it, but I believe the structure in its entirety needs to collapse. It’s the only way this country will be able to rebuild any kind of level playing field. Think about it: throughout history, the tough economic outlooks were deemed “fixed” whenever things improved at the top, regardless of whether or not the average American had recovered. Look at it this way – did Moody’s decision to downgrade the heavy-hitters in the banking industry affect your everyday life? If the jobs reports began to improve and all the other numbers analysts use to determine good from bad in various markets were suddenly quite promising, it’s going to do nothing in terms of your neighbor who’s lost his job and facing foreclosure. It’s not going to mean lower prices on groceries or gas for your car. It’s not going to magically fix your co-worker’s finances so that he won’t have to file bankruptcy before the year’s up. No, it just means the government is doing its little self-congratulatory dance and declaring the world fine and good once again. Meanwhile, millions of Americans can’t cover the $1,000 drug bill for medicines that shouldn’t cost that much, whether it’s life-saving prescriptions for heart disease or an antibiotic that would clear up a sinus infection.

The other highlight of the week was a little-known conference, the f8, which was held in San Francisco this week. I’d sure hate to be Mark Zuckerberg these past few days. Before anyone really gave the Facebook changes a fighting chance (after all, humans are creatures of habit), there was a certain irony that everyone was complaining about Facebook….on Facebook. Then, I noticed all these statuses making the rounds for “fixes” to “revert” it back. Oh, those poor, misled folks. I’m sure there are people sitting up right now trying to figure out what they missed in their cousin’s boyfriend’s mom’s detailed and step-by-step status update that was supposed to bypass the Facebook coding and suddenly become that familiar blend we all know and love. The fact is, those changes that have ruined mankind in one fell swoop? The people at Facebook actually incorporated all those suggestions you, me and your cousin’s boyfriend’s mom have been begging for.

What I find most funny about all of this is the “threats” of leaving Facebook for Google+. That still makes me laugh. There’s a reason Google+ opened its platform for all those poor souls who never received an invitation. They strategically delayed opening their network of circles until the f8 seminar in hopes that everyone would be focused on building their social presence under the big G and disregard Facebook’s updates. I did a review on Google + not long ago and I stand by what I said then. Don’t hold your breath on G+ becoming the next “can’t live without” phenomenon – at least, not in this lifetime.

Busy week, yes? And now we’re about to cap off the work week with our eyes to sky looking for Shep’s big yellow school bus. You’re bound to get a crick in your neck, so go on and get the BC’s and Diet Cokes ready.

 

Common Denominator: Stupid

I think I’ve been watching too many of my new favorite person’s YouTube videos. Randall has this glorious ability to communicate with the wildlife of the world (and no, I’m not talking about Headline News commentators). Randall, God love him, has a series of videos where he puts a voice to various animals’ thought processes. My personal favorite is the honey badger video. You have to see it. Now, though, everything that makes little sense to me is voiced, often only to myself, “What were you thinking, Stupid?” Ah, Randall…you inspire me!

OK…so here are the latest golden moments of today where all you can do is say, “Are you stupid?” It was difficult to choose only a few, but take a look and let’s see if you agree:

MyLife

Does anyone really fall for the commercial with nasal-y voice of the actress who’s in awe that seven people are looking for her on MyLife? And apparently, her amazement is her incentive to pay the monthly subscription fee to discover who these seven folks are. Girly, we’re in a recession – I have a better idea and I can sum it up in one word: Facebook. And you’re going to find a lot more than seven folks you know. Hell, I have almost 300 friends – and I’m amazed. I didn’t even know I knew that many people. Which reminds me, y’all go friend me too on Facebook if you haven’t already.

The Fish Dress

I grew up with a dad who loves to fish – and is an artist when it comes to cleaning and dressing them. This dress, and yes I know it’s Valentino, but it reminds me of an expertly cleaned bass fish that Daddy is so well known for. I don’t care for the dress, but I know he’d appreciate the artistry of it.

Oh, Costanza…I Mean, Beckham

C’mon…this one was just too easy. Y’all know I lose my patience with stupid baby names. So the Beckhams’ named their first daughter Harper Seven. Here’s the deal, though – when I heard “Harper”, I thought how wonderful that was. I mean, it’s the name of one of the nation’s most beloved writers, Harper Lee, who, of course, wrote To Kill a Mockingbird. Then….THEN…they had to go muss it up and put “Seven” behind it. Stupid! To be fair, it was George Costanza who first had the stupid idea. See the clip below from a 1996 episode of Seinfeld:

 

Impressive, But Still…

The past several days have been all about Google’s new social networking site. Those in the know say both Twitter and Facebook are shaking in their social networking boots. Make no mistake: the features are very impressive, but really, aren’t we getting tired of clamoring to every new site where the cool kids are hanging out? Didn’t we outgrow that in high school? Frankly, I’m thinking a lot of us are just too tired to build yet one more digital social presence. Facebook took a little getting used to several years ago, but now, there’s a tab open 24/7 around here (and if you don’t believe me – ask my son who calls me a Facebook stalker). Then, I was told if I was going to really grow my business, Twitter would simply have to become as important as brushing my teeth. That was an even bigger learning curve, but once that was behind me, I absolutely agree it’s a crucial networking dynamic.

Now, though Google + is telling us that not only should we run with its latest offering, but we have to create circles – and that’s after we convince all of our friends to make the switch. Designated circles sounds fine, but that could become rather awkward – what happens when your best friend ends up in your “acquaintances” circle? That could be an interesting conversation. It reminds me of all of those really cool organizational apps – it looks good and the thought of being able to organize every single moment of your day on some calendar app is something most of dream of, but once you get into it, you quickly become overwhelmed with an overkill of organization. Most of us abandon them because they’re too time consuming, which, of course, defeats the purpose. Believe me, I’ve uninstalled more of these apps than I care to own up to.

It looks as though Google + just might be what gives Mark Zuckerberg a run for his money. And, too, if it becomes as big or bigger than Facebook, we’ll either have to make the transition or risk clinging to a sinking ship – much the way MySpace devotees did.

 

A Proud Moment for Mississippi

Anyone who’s ever read any my blogs likely knows first, that I was born and raised in Mississippi and second, I am so very proud of that fact. I love everything about my home state and the thought of living anywhere else is one I would never even consider. This weekend, a family had to put to rest a member of its family who was killed in Afghanistan April 7. Staff Sgt. Jason Rogers, who grew up in Brandon, Mississippi (right outside the state capital, Jackson) was very much loved by his family and community. The grief of the entire state was heavy but it soon turned to anger once it was announced Westboro hate group (again, I refuse to refer to it as a church) would be in attendance. I knew that would be a problem for them. And let me be clear: I hoped with every ounce of who I am that it would be a problem for them. It was.

First up, The Patriot Guard Riders made their presence known as well. I like to think of them as the antidote to the poison this Kansas group spews. They made their intentions clear, too. While they are effective in their presence and tend to allow that presence make their message, it’s what the Mississippi folks did that really hit the message home (despite my declarations on Facebook that coming to Mississippi really shouldn’t be an option this hate group should consider).

By now, most of the country knows about the incident at a local Brandon gas station late last week. See, one of these idiots underestimated the pride our folks have in our country as a whole and most certainly those who defend our nation. The words “zero tolerance” come to mind. Well, down here in Mississippi, we have a saying: “Don’t let your bulldog mouth overload your jaybird ass”. Someone forgot to tell this guy, I guess. He toted a whuppin’ though no one knows who did it and the police investigation was unable to find anyone who witnessed the fight and could identify the one who obliged the ill-directed person.

Rankin County officials had a bad day all the way around. Can you believe all of their county vehicles were left unattended for several hours and no one knew where the keys were to move the vehicles? And isn’t it ironic they had inconvenienced a few folks at a local hotel by blocking them in? Of course, we have a deep respect for hospitality down here, you understand. But try as they might, they just couldn’t get the tow trucks there before these out of town folks could get where they felt they needed to be. But it all turned out OK. Eventually, the vehicles were moved – several hours later and after the funeral was held for SSGT Jason Rogers without incident. The family was allowed those final moments with their son, brother, cousin and nephew without the hatred of these uninvited Kansas idiots. May he rest in peace.

Despite what so many believe about Mississippi, hopefully, this will be what many will think of from now on. There’s such a deep pride in those who call Mississippi home. Tradition, faith and family are top priority and to travel here and then underestimate us in our own state? Not a good idea. There’s also another saying we have down here in Mississippi (well, actually, it’s my Mom’s saying she always used on my sister and me): “You don’t have to like me and you don’t have to love me, but you’re damn well gonna respect me”.

 

BP and Toyota – Two PR Nightmares and Two Very Different Outcomes

Toyota CEO Jim Lentz

Toyota, as we all know by now, has recalled millions of its automobiles due to the faulty accelerator pedals.  It was – and still is – a public relations nightmare.  Lives have been devastated and families shattered.  These design flaws have affected folks around the country and around the world.

BP has had its own nightmare to deal with.  The Deepwater Horizon explosion in late April took the lives of eleven workers and destroyed their families.  It turned into an ecological disaster as millions of barrels of crude oil spilled for weeks into the beautiful Gulf of Mexico.  The company has worked, in all fairness, diligently in its efforts to permanently plug the leak.

Two companies, both foreign, that have been responsible for two proverbial kicks in the teeth to the collective American people.  Why is one company hated while one remains in our good graces?  I have a few ideas.

It all comes down to the attitudes and efforts of both companies; while some mirrored the other, there are those efforts one company made that did nothing but add to the misery of the American people.  Let’s take a look.

Toyota has always taken advantage of the latest in technology – it’s always maintained an active Twitter presence as well as a Facebook page that’s updated constantly.  It was prepared to kick into a proactive stance, versus a reactive scramble the way BP did.  Further, Toyota wasted no time in getting its CEO front and center.  Jim Lentz quickly became the face of the crisis, much the way BP’s Tony Hayward did.  Here’s the difference: Hayward went on the record with some of the most insensitive comments we’ve heard.  Everything from whining about getting his life back to making an across the board statement that he was not overly concerned with the amount of oil spilling into the Gulf, “I think the environmental impact of this disaster is likely to be very, very modest…”  Even now, it makes this writer’s blood boil.

The fact is, his comment of getting his life back would not have made any of us cringe so much had eleven men not just lost their own lives while working for him.

Placing blame is not the way to go in situations such as these.  There’s a huge difference in laying blame and taking

Former BP CEO Tony Hayward

responsibility.  Frankly, at that point, anyone could care less about whether it was Transocean’s neglect or BP’s.  We, as Americans and me personally, having grown up on the beautiful Mississippi Gulf Coast, wanted someone to simply take responsibility, pick up the ball and run with it.  Period.  BP lost in more ways than one.  Then again, I suppose it thought “the little people” wouldn’t have a voice in the long run.  Newsflash for Mr. Hayward: you were wrong, sir.

Toyota had already begun its efforts of picking up the pieces from the very beginning.  While it wasted no time in getting its social media networks moving into overdrive, the company stepped up its efforts and kept the American public aware, at all times, of every decision it was making and how it would benefit those affected by these recalls.   As mentioned, Toyota’s CEO Jim Lentz began taking interviews, including one with Digg, which it promoted heavily.  While major media outlets played a role in getting Toyota’s message front and center, the fact it moved forward with the networking sites, including Digg, only reiterated its commitment.  The transparency, the public approach and the willingness to answer questions during these live interviews as they came in showed a level of commitment we’ve yet to see from BP.

The fact is, information comes at us in rapid fire.  The choices companies now have is to hide in the boardrooms and deal with any crises in private, or, they can attempt to dedicate at least a part of their efforts in a more transparent and highly visible arena.  Toyota made the call to go public and fast.  It hid nothing, it blamed no one and it took responsibility.

Here’s another newsflash: the traditional pressers?  They’re a thing of the past, folks.  Today’s public relations efforts are as fast as breaking news.   Society wants accountability and it doesn’t want to be held back.  Today, we see efforts of laying low as efforts of hiding details and planning an escape.

Both BP and Toyota are model lessons for those future companies that find themselves in deep water.  One’s example you want to follow and the other’s methods should be part of every company’s manual of what not to do when a company is facing a disaster.