Solutions Talk

Blushing Frey

Today's Notable Quote: "Man is the only animal that bushes. Or needs to."  - Mark Twain

Frey Won't Pen Book About Fall From Grace

James Frey, the wealthy, disgraced, million-selling author of  "A Million Little Pieces" is contritely submitting to interviews even as his book continues to ride along in the top five list of best-sellers.

Oprah has done the right thing from a damage-control and personal integrity perspective. One would hope that Frey would do the same, and donate the proceeds of his fabricated fortune generator to worthy causes.

Let's hold our collective breath and see if this happens...

And now...the News!

Today's Notable Quote: "Half of the American people never read a newspaper. Half never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half." - Gore Vidal (1925 - ) American writer.

Reading the daily news is something of a ritual for me. Whether "on-line" or holding a "hard copy", I do it to "stay abreast" of the latest happenings in business, diet and health trends, advertising and marketing, consumer trends, etc. The process, is, however, one in which I am subjected to a significant amount of "chaff" as I seek to glean usable "wheat" to share with others. The longer I live and more I learn, the more convinced I become that reporting the news is far more art than it is science. It is much more subjective than many would like to believe.

Whichever side you come down on politically, you almost certainly have your favorite writers, journalists and bloggers. Listen or read carefully the next time you are exposed to their work. Check the facts. Check for biases and preferences. Cross-reference their articles or speeches with those of opposing views and see if their arguments "hold up". 

Don't be like the former friend and colleague of mine who, in his mid forties admitted to having never voted in a presidential election, yet would eagerly argue virtually any political issue--often playing "devil's advocate" to your position...

Read. Listen. Learn.

A Taxing Proposition

Quote of the Day: "Ouch!" - spoken by a number of us as we drive away from the mailbox--having deposited the envelope holding a check to the IRS.

Today is the 62nd Anniversary of the day on which Congress, in its boundless wisdom, authorized legislation which allowed employers to withhold tax on payroll checks. This act in 1943 was the start of the "pay-as-you-go" system of taxation in the U.S.

Rather than rant and rave about the system as it exists today; I thought it would be worthwhile to look at the perspective that others have had on taxes through the years. I hope you enjoy the following as much as I did.

"To compel a man to furnish funds for the propogation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical." - Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) 3rd US President, 1801-1809.

"The difference between death and taxes is death doesn't get worse every time Congress meets." - Will Rogers (1879-1935)

"Why does a slight tax increase cost you two hundred dollars and a substantial tax cut save you thirty cents?" - Peg Bracken (1918 - ) creative writer.

"I would like to electrocute everyone who uses the word "fair" in connection with income tax policies." - William F. Buckley, Jr. (1925 - )

"In the lexicon of the political class, the word "sacrifice" means that the citizens are supposed to mail even more of their income to Washington so that the political class will not have to sacrifice the pleasure of spending it." - George F. Will (1941 -) American writer, political commentator.

"The wages of sin are death, but by the time taxes are taken out, it's just sort of a tired feeling." - Paula Poundstone (1959 - ) American comedian.

"Then render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's." - Matthew 22:21

And last of all..."The trick is to stop thinking of it as your money." - Annonymous IRS auditor.

Just the Facts

Quote of the Day: "Get your facts first, and then you can distort 'em as much as you please." - Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

Another quote, this one from Jack Webb's Dragnet character, Sgt. Joe Friday comes to mind. "Just the Facts, ma'am."

If you've watched the news in the past couple of days, you can be sure of one thing--getting the facts straight is very dificult for newspaper, magazine and television reporters.

From the Newsweek debacle to the hyped-up Barry Bonds knee injury reports to the American Idol scandal, we can be sure to get a number of very different "informed opinions", depending upon our source for "news". Sometimes this spills over into the business world, and even into our relationships with friends and family.

It seems that too many reporters, and maybe the rest of us are taking Mr. Twain's "tongue-in-cheek" advice to heart. Much better to stick with "just the facts"...