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Vote Today!
Municipal primary voting begins at 7 a.m. and ends at 8 p.m.
Remember 9-11-2001
The New York Times has organized past and present 9-11 coverage into an on-line package of stories, photos and multi-media. It is comprehensive and compelling: "It was the day when the unreal became the unimaginable. Sept. 11, 2001, the crystalline morning when planes dropped from the skies and toppled the World Trade Center and punctured a hole in the Pentagon, was a demarcation point that shattered the security of the country and introduced a nebulous and virulent enemy previously unfamiliar to most citizens. Nearly 3,000 people died that morning, the vast majority of them in the gnarled rubble of the Lower Manhattan towers, others at the Pentagon and in a rural Pennsylvania field. A numbed country with red-rimmed eyes came to understand the ugly menace of terrorism."
Advice for Politicians
I have received a number of nice messages about last Sunday’s Pignanelli-Webb column in the Deseret Morning News. If you missed it, you can read it here.
Exporting on the Cheap
The latest edition of Global Utah, the weekly newsletter of World Trade Center Utah, features an article entitled, “How to Export on a Shoestring Budget.” World Trade Center President Lew Cramer pays tribute to Utah’s colleges and universities for their “growing global training,” preparing students for international trade. The newsletter includes many more items on global business.
Washington Watch
Senate Honors Miners
The Senate passes a resolution offered by Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett honoring the sacrifice of the six miners and three rescue workers who were killed in the Crandall Canyon Mine disaster last month (see Hatch and Bennett press releases).
Bennett Condemns MoveOn.org
Sen. Bennett says of the MoveOn.org ad questioning the integrity of Gen. David Petreaus: "It is interesting that those who think a senator is corrupted when someone picks up his lunch tab also believe the same senator can be influenced by spending $167,156.64 for a full page ad in the New York Times. The people at MoveOn.org should understand that we have sources of information more reliable than their propaganda. It isn't General Petraeus who is guilty of 'cooking the books;' it is the ideologues who refuse to let the facts stand in the way of their partisan agendas. General Petraeus has served this country with honor for several decades, including risking his own life in combat. He's done it without ever smearing any of his opponents or compromising the facts. They should take a lesson from him" (see press release). See also Wall Street Journal editorial.
Today in Political History
Sept. 11, 1609: Henry Hudson sails into New York harbor and discovers Manhattan Island and the mouth of the river later named in his honor.
Sept. 11, 1919: US marines invade Honduras.
Sept. 11, 2001: The U.S. is attacked by terrorists. Three hijacked commercial airliners are crashed into the World Trade Center Towers and the Pentagon. A fourth plane, United Flight 93, crashes about 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, unsuccessfully reaching its target due, apparently, to a brave effort of the passengers who likely attacked the terrorists. (Source: Perspicuity)
Wise Words
“The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom. For in all the states of created beings capable of law, where there is no law, there is no freedom.”
-- John Locke (Source: Think Exist)
Communications Tip
Ways to Reach Generation Y
Members of Generation Y (the Echo boomer generation) are unique because their lives are laden with choices. Ordering a cup of coffee entails at least 10 selections. Communicators must tailor messages in a unique, attention-grabbing, yet respectful way. Condescending to them will only drive them away. Ways to break through:
1. Interaction is key. Messages should be from peers, not preached, as peers tend to influence brand value. One-way messaging, always lame, has never been less effective.
2. Messages should be packaged in a funny and quirky fashion. Products and services must seem adventurous. Extreme sports are in, indicating the desire for thrill and stimulation.
3. Personalize. They expect things adapted to their needs – they have incredible buying power but are prudent. They expect an array of products and services they can personalize.
4. Use universal appeal. Barriers of race, creed, sexual orientation have broken down and they feel less connected to any one group. They like sports but mostly for the interactive benefits more than for the competition. Also, the global society is perceived as glamorous.
5. Use all facets of technology. Constant stimuli are necessary when getting through to this crowd. Again, providing ways they can interact is important. (Source: CNN Communications Tip)
National Politics
Best Stories From …
-- Wall Street Journal: Sens. John McCain and Joe Lieberman: "[Monday], Gen. David Petraeus ... return[ed] to Washington to report on the war in Iraq and the new counterinsurgency strategy he has been implementing there. We hope that opponents of the war in Congress will listen carefully to the evidence that the U.S. military is at last making real and significant progress in its offensive against al Qaeda in Iraq."
-- Washington Times: Editorial: MoveOn.org's advertisement in Monday's New York Times, "General Petraeus or Gen. Betray Us?", "is worth keeping in mind the next time you hear lectures from the Democrats and the far left about how the Bush administration is 'questioning our patriotism.'" (See also related Byron York column.)
-- New York Times: "Democratic presidential candidates courted the fast-growing Hispanic electorate on Sunday night by debating on a Spanish-language television network, where they promised to swiftly overhaul the immigration system and accused Republicans and President Bush of stoking anti-Hispanic sentiment."
-- Los Angeles Times: "The FBI has begun examining a murky business venture run by disgraced Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu that paid out hefty profits over the last several years to investors, some of whom were pressed to make contributions to Hillary Rodham Clinton and other political candidates."
Blog Watch
Out of Context: Tribune blogger/reporter Robert Gehrke takes a shot at the competition and its coverage of the Crandall Canyon mine disaster. He charges the Deseret Morning News with first praising, then criticizing, mine owner Bob Murray. Gehrke concludes: “Now the DNews says there are tough questions that Murray needs to answer. Of course, if you read that paper, you might not know what any of those questions are.”
Lighter Side
Favorite Headlines
(Source: James Taranto’s Best of the Web on OpinionJournal.com)
A Salt and Battery
"McDonald's Worker Who Over Salted Burger Jailed"--headline, Associated Press, Sept. 9
'Noah, Are the Elephants Getting Enough Exercise?'
"No Rise in Ark. Obesity, but Many Worry"--headline, Associated Press, Sept. 10
Bad News for Amsterdam Pit Bulls
"Dutchman Seeks to Help Nail Biters"--headline, FoxNews.com, Sept. 8
News you can use: "Argentinian Doctors Say Science Proves Only Two Sexes Exist: Male and Female"--headline, Catholic News Agency, Sept. 7 |
