If I could do any job I want, I’d get in a police car and spend the days pulling people over who are driving slowly in the left lane of the highway. Growing up, we were all taught to drive in the right-hand lanes unless we were passing. The left lane was for faster cars to pass slower cars. One of my kids just finished driver’s ed, and I asked her to let me know if they still teach this. Turns out they do. But no one does it. If you drive for any length of time in the…
Peppermint shampoo
I recently stayed at a hotel where the complimentary shampoo was peppermint shampoo. When I opened it in the shower, it was like a was washing with a candy cane. (Who can even smell anything in a shower, anyway? What smells in a shower?) When it’s 6am in the morning, the last thing I want is to smell a blast of peppermint in the shower. What’s worse, my whole head smelled like Christmas. Who the hell thought that would be a good idea…?
Conservatives: they walk among us (and they’re not what you think)
The leadership and activists of the American left are, and have always been, anxious to portray conservatives as racists, bigots, homophobes, sexists, and xenophobes (among other things). It’s a great marketing strategy when you know you’re up against the worst marketing department in the world. What’s always fascinated me about this is that we all know conservatives. But that doesn’t seem to occur to people. Back in high school, I used to sit with two friends who constantly discussed the politics of the day. Reagan was President at this point, and listening to them, you’d think he was the…
Who’s responsible?
The nice thing about people who support liberal candidates is that they’re easy to spot. Driving around the country during the Obama years, it seemed everyone who voted for him had a sticker on their car. During the Bush years, and now the Trump years, it’s very rare to see cars with stickers for either of them. I realize I live in a liberal area of the country. But I also travel a lot, and I look for such things. Originally, I figured in Texas, I’d see more Bush or Trump stickers. But anecdatally speaking, I’ve found it far…
Sweet irony: It’s not what Trump says, but what people think he says
Here’s the cycle: Trump speaks, and doesn’t say anything about a particular race of identity group. Trump’s political opponents (leftists) hear racism in whatever he says, even though there’s no actual mention of race (see his most recent tweets about Elijah Cummings and Baltimore as the latest example). The media reports Trump’s political opponents claims of racist rhetoric. Most Americans, not bothering to read what Trump actually wrote or said, hears the claims that Trump’s comments were racist and conclude they must have been racist to garner that kind of response. People conclude that Trump must be racist, because…
It’s the culture. Period.
OK. We’ve got two new shootings in the books, and, surprise, surprise, leftist politicians and activists are rushing to blame President Trump and conservatives. Conservatives, who are saddled with the worst marketing department in the history of marketing, are going in a different direction, targeting mental illness. But I think they’re both wrong. To me, the answer is obvious: it’s our declining culture. For the last 50 years (give or take), our culture has been devaluing life, making fun of our moral codes, running the Ten Commandments out of town, and inundating our kids with sex, violence, and anything…
The toxicity of holding a grudge
I’m not one for inspirational or helpful quotes, but I heard one the other day that really resonated. “Holding on to anger against another is like taking poison and hoping the other person dies.” I’m not sure who said it (though a little research suggests it’s part of Alcoholics Anonymous teaching), but it paints a very vivid picture of how toxic holding a grudge against another can be. Well said, and great advice. Life is too short. Let it go. Chances are, the other person doesn’t even know (or care) that you’re angry, anyway.
White supremacy is to climate change what racism is to global warming
When left-leaning politicians and activists saw that the phrase “global warming” was running into the wall of truth that was a 10 year cooling cycle, the vernacular was changed to “climate change.” Who can argue with “climate change?” The climate, by its very nature, is always changing. So you get to be always right. Meanwhile, after decades of calling conservatives “racist,” it has finally begun to ring hollow. The facts just don’t match the claim. So, as with “global warming,” the marketing machine spun up a new phrase for it: “white supremacy.” We can look forward to hearing this…
Let gravity be your guide
Many upscale hotels and restaurants dispense their restroom paper towels by stacking them in a fancy container so that you can take one off the top of the pile. I’m not sure why this is considered more elegant or appropriate for a nice establishment, but the science is not on their side. The problem with having to take paper towels off the top of the stack when you’re hands are wet is that you can’t help but get the next few towels wet that are underneath the one you are taking. This makes for an unpleasant paper towel experience…
The worst marketing department in the world
Watching the Republican Party for the past 30+ years, I have been dumbfounded, shocked, and amazed (and sometimes impressed) with how bad of a job they do with their marketing. They simply have the worst (or no) messaging strategy in the history of marketing departments. This may sound a bit like hyperbole, but factor in that not only do they miss or blow every opportunity they are given to get their message out, tell their story, or correct the record, but they are also working with the greatest, and easiest product, to market in the history of the world:…