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March 28, 2005
Weekday with Bernie
I'll never forget my encounter with Bernie Ebbers.
Ebbers was one of a group of investors assembled by Charlotte businessman Felix Sabates, who wanted the National Hockey League to award them a franchise for Raleigh, North Carolina's capital city, back in 1995.
Sabates had asked me to give them political advice about dealing with political and business leaders in Raleigh, where I work for a public relations firm. I happily agreed. The investor group, including Ebbers, met several times. I always got paid.
Like the others, Ebbers spent a lot of his time being interrupted with calls on his cell phone. He had a small, scallop-shaped flip phone that literally hung around his neck on a lanyard. It was supposed to be sylish at the time. Remember, it was 1995. But it struck me as vainglorious. Who knows? Maybe he was on the line cooking the Worldcom books.
Ebbers didn't have much of a personality. He only wanted to talk about deals and money. The other investors liked to talk about cars and yachts. Not Bernie. He just wanted to talk about deals.
At his recent trials, Ebbers claimed he didn't know about the accounting irregularities that led to the bankruptcy of Worldcom. That may be, but he sure spent a lot of time on the telephone.
I hope Bernie Ebbers doesn't spend the rest of his life in prison. I know he is said to have ruined the lives of a lot of his employees and shareholders. But I'm told he teaches Sunday School now.
Most of all, I don't think taxpayers should pay to house him and guard him in jail. That's a colossal waste ofmoney. They ought to find some other way to punish him. Like taking away his cell phone.
Posted by Ken Eudy at 06:54 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Small-town CEO disease
There's been some analysis lately in Mainstream Media about the downfall of small-town, self-made CEOs such as Bernie Ebbers, Ken Lay and Richard Scrushy.
Self-made men tend to worship their creator. And the notion in MSM is that the trait is exacerbated in a small town, where the corrupt CEOs can lavish donations upon the willing denizens, who then name the local concert hall, park or expressway after their benefactors, whose egos are pumped up even more.
That theory may hold water. But I doubt it. First of all, Houston, where Ken Lay lied to employees and shareholders, is one of the five most populous cities in America.
The landscape is littered with examples of big-city CEOs who are just plain crooks: Dennis Kozlowski at Tyco, Maurice Greenberg at AIG and John Rigas at Adelphia.
The common thread, whether the CEO is from Manhattan or Mississippi is the notion that the law doesn't apply to them. They stole. However else you describe it, they stole from their shareholders, many of whom happened to be their employees.
No need to overanalyze it. They're thieves.
Posted by Ken Eudy at 06:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 22, 2005
The Christian Taliban in Charlotte, Part II
Yesterday's post was about the Charlotte-based Central Church of God's anti-Catholic decision to stop giving money to Loaves & Fishes because several local Catholic parishes also support the organization.
Now word comes from Charlotte that Central Church's senior pastor, Loran Livingston, reversed the decision. "It made us look like we are better than everybody else," he said.
Amen! And good for Central Church.
But the church is standing by its decision not to reinstitute support for the Charlotte Rescue Mission, a longstanding residential facility that houses men trying to recover from alcohol and substance abuse. Central Church says it can't support the Rescue Mission because three Muslim students from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte have volunteered to serve meals to the Rescue Mission residents.
This reminds me of the Bible stories I heard as a youngster about the Israelites not being about to eat unclean animals and shunning the Philistines, etc., etc.
Jesus put an end to all that. Why can't Central Church go all the way with the teachings of Jesus and accept people where they are? Why do they choose to go halfway in sharing God's love? Why is it okay to partner with Catholics at Loaves & Fishes but not Muslims at the Charlotte Rescue Mission? Livingston told his congregation, "Zeal without compassion is fanaticism, and no one is drawn to that."
You can say that again, Pastor.
Posted by Ken Eudy at 04:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Breathtaking cynicism in Schiavo case
I'm uncomfortable with the notion of removing the tubes from Terry Schiavo. I don't know all the medical facts. As I understand it, she isn't brain dead. I can't tell from the news coverage whether or not she is in pain. I've had two grandmothers who were bed-ridden, in long-term acute care who seemed to be physically and mentally suffering more than Terry Schiavo. No one would have thought about removing food and water from them.
Having said that, I can only hope that voters can see the breathtaking cynicism with which the right wing is seeking to gain the political advantage of this tragic case.
This case doesn't belong in Congress or in the federal courts. It has to be resolved in the hearts of those who have responsibility for Terry Schiavo.
The last thing we need is a lecture from Tom DeLay about the ethics of this case. If America can't see that, I guess we deserve the government we get. Oh, boy.
Posted by Ken Eudy at 06:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 21, 2005
The Christian Taliban in Charlotte
The Christian Taliban is alive and well -- at Central Church of God in Charlotte.
This megachurch, with more than 6,000 members, says it no longer will support the ecumenical ministry Loaves and Fishes because it also receives support from Catholics.
Here's what the Central Church said in a letter withdrawing support: "As a Christian Church, we feel it is our responsbility to closely follow the (principles) and commands of scripture. To do this best, we feel we should abstain from any ministry that partners or promotes Catholicism, or for that matter, any other denomination promoting a works-based salvation."
Are you kidding me? Which scriptures command churches not to work with other denominations to help people in need if their creeds differ in the details?
And what organization will be pure enough to qualify for this church's precious dollars?
Let's be honest. This is a tried-and-true scheme by a right-wing church to make their members feel superior to someone or somebody -- keepers of the one true faith. Okay, that's fine. We're accustomed to that kind of Taliban-like behavior from the religious right.
But to withhold support from Loaves and Fishes -- a ministry whose mission is to provide a week's worth of food to families that don't have enough to feed their children -- that is pathetic.
Do you feel better now, Central Church of God? Do you feel cleaner, holier, closer to Jesus? Happy Holy Week!
Posted by Ken Eudy at 06:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 18, 2005
Stand up, CEOs
It's been another rough patch for business reputation in America. J.P. Morgan Chase has agreed to pay $2 billion to settle claims that it sold Worldcom bonds without adequate due diligence. Bank of America got off light; its settlement only cost $250 million.
Bank of America and Wachovia have paid million to settle other claims in the past 12-18 months. None of these corporations, it seems, wants to defend themselves. They just settle and decline to admit guilt.
The pharmaceutical industry is taking a beating, too. Drugs are being taken off the market. Some pharma companies are being accused of knowing that their drugs caused dangerous side effects. But at least the pharma companies are defending themselves and their practices.
Few business leaders want to stand up and be counted among those who are concerned about whether consumers can trust them. Some of our friends in business believe they're the victim of overzealous, politically ambitious regulators. But isn't it time for business leaders to stand up and say that we've got to hold ourselves to a higher standard?
Isn't it time for business leaders to tell the people who work for them that their company's reputation can take years to build and a day to destroy?
Isn't it time for CEOs to forget about Wall Street and worry about whether their management understands that there is something more important than quarterly earnings?
Posted by Ken Eudy at 06:37 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
March 15, 2005
Fun in the sun
This week, newspapers around the country are promoting "Sunshine Week." It's not about excursions to Florida. It's about bringing a little sunshine to the dark corners of government. Good for them.
But as a former journalist, I know that newspapers have some shadows of their own that could use some sunshine. The local newspaper in my hometown recently was tipped off about an internal audit conducted by a state agency. The audit concluded that an outside vendor had overbilled the state by as much as $19 million. The reporter who was told about the audit just shrugged.
Shrugged? That's right. More than a month later, after the audit was brought to the attention of one of the paper's top editors, the story of the audit was published, but downplayed on the inside of the newspaper.
I'm for sunshine. As a matter of fact, the state's public records and open meetings laws were strengthened when I lobbied for the state newswpaper association. But let's be honest, and paraphrase what press critic A.J. Leibling once said: freedom of the press traditionally has belonged only to those wealthy enough to own one.
There is plenty that MSM (mainstream media) know that they're not telling. And there's plenty that they're telling that they can't substantiate.
The blog world has the potential to keep MSM more honest. Blogs are rays of sunshine -- some of them shining into the darkened corners of MSM newsrooms. Someone needs to keep MSM on its toes.
Posted by Ken Eudy at 06:47 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 14, 2005
Reluctantly, a tip of the hat to Duke
My friend, Steve Lerner, and I have been to nearly every Atlantic Coast Conference basketball tournament since 1989. We were in D.C. this past weekend. That is, until Sunday. After the University of North Carolina lost to Georgia Tech on Saturday, we packed up and left early Sunday because we couldn't bear to watch Duke play in its ninth straight ACC championship game.
Carolina has not played very well since losing to Duke in early February. Even a week early, Carolina beat Duke, but it was ugly basketball. The Carolina team whose defense had created turnovers that led to fast-break points early in the season seems to have vanished. The lack of defensive intensity in the second half of the season robbed the Tar Heels of a lot of its offensive opportunity. Things do not look hopeful for the NCAA tournament.
I like the tournament in D.C. It's more interesting than having the games in Charlotte or Greensboro. In D.C., there are interesting restaurants and non-basketball fanatic friends to catch up with in between games.And at the games, you see people you only see once a year at this event. But the main attraction is the best college basketball tournament in America. And my tema, Carolina, played two bad games.
Too bad Duke won again. But hats off to Coach K. Even a true-blue Carolina fan like me has to give him credit. He did a great coaching job this year.
Posted by Ken Eudy at 06:36 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 09, 2005
The Nuisance & Disturber?
I'm CEO of a PR agency called Capstrat. The agency does a lot of public affairs work. That is, we help organizations that deal with an issue near the intersection of business and politics.
The head of a local competing PR firm, Rick French, is frustrated that Capstrat wins accounts that he'd like to have for his firm,FVW. So he has gone to the local newspaper, the Raleigh News & Observer, to vent. Rick French has charged that our firm gets business because of political connections. I've been active in Democratic Party politics for years, but I've also donated to a few Republicans.
French says political connections are why we beat his firm out for a contract to market the new Raleigh Convention Center. He makes these claims of cronyism without any documentation. None. In the convention center competition, he says only that our firm got an old convention center marketing plan, which he didn't get. As we do with all our new business efforts, we asked the convention center for brochures, marketing plans, annual reports, media buying plans. The same stuff was available to any competing firm who bothered to ask for it. We won, I think, because we offered smarter ideas and more creativity.
French also claims Capstrat's political influence is why we won a contract to assist the N.C. Health & Wellness Trust Fund in a campaign to keep teens from smoking. But even he says he has no hard evidence.
Despite all that, the News & Observer published a story with French's unsubstantiated claims. French cajoled the paper into writing the story by saying he was going to move his firm out of Raleigh in protest. He would move his firm, French threatened, to New York. Even in the initial story, French backs away from that threat. But that doesn't daunt the News & Observer. It printed a story whose main premise -- the PR guy moving his firm out of exasperation -- was a ruse. His main assertions of political influence by our agency were unfounded.
I don't have much of an opinion about French. It's obvious he's got other problems. My puzzlement is with the News & Observer, which opened its pages to a guy who made charges he can't support, and a threat that he immediately backed away from. The N&O got manipulated, and they knew they were being manipulated, by a PR guy with a vendetta.
How often do you suppose this kind of media manipulation goes on?
Posted by Ken Eudy at 06:30 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 07, 2005
What goes around...
In my adult life, it has seemed inevitable that right-wing politicians who try to cloak themselves in religion inevitably fashion their own noose.
Back in the 1980s, Maryland Congressman Bob Baumann was a firebrand of the right, a rising star, until he was excommunicated from the Republican Party for having a boyfriend on the side.
And then you have the sorry stories of Speaker Newt Gingrinch and his successor-designate, Congressman Bob Livingston, as well as Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde, who joyously accused Bill Clinton of infidelity. All were found to have girlfriends not their wives. All continue to prosper in various ways.
Now the different case of Alan Keyes, who has made a living of being the "articulate black conservative." Keyes, who does not appear to have a way to make a living other than by being the oddity of the political circus, regularly inveighs against homosexuals, whom he views as sinners.
Then Keyes' daughter holds a news conference to announce she's gay. Dad's response: Whatever she does with her life is not connected to my politics. How caring and supportive.
I trust that this stance will finally finish off Keyes in the Republican Party. Even Dick Cheney gets credit for supporting his gay daughter. But this Keyes guy deserves nothing but contempt from the Republicans. It'll be interesting to see if he gets it.
Posted by Ken Eudy at 06:45 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack