Award-Winning Journalist & Speaker - Expert in ERISA Fiduciary, Child IRA, and Hamburger History
Can you feel that? I can. But I can’t describe it.
It’s somewhere between a tinge of excitement and elated joy. It’s anticipatory and present at the same time. It’s a satisfied grin, a certain bounce in my step.
Or, should I say, a certain “spring” in my step.
That’s it! It’s spring.
Disregard the fact the weather still thinks it’s winter. It’s not the precipitation that matters, Continue Reading “There’s A Reason For That Spring In Your Step”
I’m not really a fan of awards shows. I’ve got a lot of other things to do besides watch celebrities celebrate each other. Oh, and don’t get me going on the value signaling.
But I do watch movies. Mostly old ones. Although for the first time in a long time, I actually saw one of the movies nominated for best picture. Only one of them. And I’m probably not alone in that category.
Top Gun: Maverick did something Hollywood really needed. It made people want to go to the theater again. You can count me among them. Granted, that was the only movie that compelled me since the last James Bond fiasco (see “Abandon Bond All Ye Who Enter,” Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, November 4, 2021).
In return for this gift, the powers that be nominated Top Gun: Maverick for “Best Picture.” It would never win, of course, but they truly believe it’s an honor merely to be nominated. But to make them feel less guilt, they’d have to nominate the film for a few other Continue Reading “On The Oscars, Bank Runs, And Picking Winning Stocks”
Johann Adam Weishaupt, Founder of the Illuminati Source: Art of Charm, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Everyone loves a good mystery. Everyone loves a good conspiracy. And, if you happen upon a good mystery interwoven with a good conspiracy, then you’ve got a best seller on your hands.
Just ask Dan Brown. He’s made a career writing trendy books that allude to the mysteries of the Illuminati. These include The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, both of which, along with Brown’s Inferno, have been made into movies starring Tom Hanks.
Brown writes of a popularized vision of the Illuminati. He is not alone in painting a picture of the clandestine group as a nefarious conclave set on world domination. Through the ages, many have used the Illuminati as their favorite punching bag. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Illuminati was “credited with activities ranging from the instigation of the French Revolution to the assassination of U.S. Pres. John F. Kennedy.”
Josef Wages, author of The Secret School of Wisdom: The Authentic Rituals and Doctrines of the Illuminati and a board member of the Scottish Rite Research Society, explains the reason for this. He says, “There was a nice convenient vacuum and, until my book was Continue Reading “How Banned Cartoonist Scott Adams Became The American Illuminati”
Long ago, before Vatican II, before the FBI targeted Catholics as domestic terrorists, before many of our readers were even born, McDonald’s had a problem. Only they didn’t realize how big of a problem.
That realization would be left to a single franchise owner in Ohio. On January 13, 1959, Lou Groen opened his McDonald’s in Monfort Heights, Ohio. It was the first Golden Arches to appear in the Cincinnati metropolitan area.
You probably didn’t know this, but at that time Catholics represented about 87% of Monfort Heights’ population. And they were good, practicing Catholics. Old-time Catholics. (You know. Toe Blake, Dit Clapper, Eddie Shore. Those guys were the greats!)
Vatican II was still several years away, and Groen noticed something quite discouraging about his new venture. “On Friday, we only took in about $75 a day,” he said.
That was a problem. A big problem.
After researching what the Big Boys chain did, Groen approached McDonald’s owner Ray Kroc (who was very approachable then) and proposed the idea of selling a fish sandwich. The usually astute Kroc did something he rarely did. He made the wrong decision. He Continue Reading “Spaghetti & Tuna Fish”
I had jury duty last week. It worried me.
Do you remember the first time you got summoned for jury duty? This wasn’t my first time. It was my fourth time. Actually, I wasn’t surprised by the notice. I selected the third week in February last November when I opted for my one-time deferral after receiving the original summons back then. I was a high number (meaning a lower chance of being called), but given my schedule I couldn’t risk it. So I deferred.
My position as an elected official (on the Mendon Town Board) provided me with an exemption the first time I received jury duty. They’ve since changed the law and now Continue Reading “And The Jury Is Out”
You’re either living in the past or living for the future because the present doesn’t really exist.
OK, that sounds a little harsh. Allow me to offer something a bit more palatable.
You’re either living in the past or living for the future because the present is a moment that lasts but a quick instant.
Think about it. It takes a lot of effort to constantly live in the present. It’s a constant churn to live for the day every single day. I suppose if you’re a hedonist, it might be a tad easier. Still, even then, you’ve got to be numb to withstand the constant movement of the Continue Reading “You’re Either Living In The Past Or Living For The Future Because The Present Doesn’t Really Exist”
British Parliament Stamp Act 1765, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
It’s a slippery slope. Once the camel’s nose pokes into the tent, it’s only a matter of time before the rest of the beast enters that humble abode.
And so it is with our own communities.
Or at least so it may soon be.
Don’t say you haven’t been warned. These pages brought this to your attention in a most blunt manner several years ago (see “First They Came For Our Plastic Bags…,” Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, February 6, 2020). Each year, it seems, Albany removes another right from our fingers.
Like a spreading disease, this usurpation creeps into the very heart of our lives. This year, it threatens our very communities.
It’s called “Home Rule,” and it’s part of existing New York State law. First paragraph of Section 10 (“General Powers of Local Governments to Adopt and Amend Local Laws “) of the New York Municipal Home Rule Law states:Continue Reading “The Return Of The King: Albany Aims To Take Away Your Home Rule”
Original Sun-Maid package, Designer unknown, incorporates painting by Fanny Scafford, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
At some point, any effective exercise merges theory (the “science”) into practice (the “art”). Ironically, the following analysis of the art of influence and leadership predates the previously discussed science by roughly half a century or more.
That doesn’t mean this art didn’t follow science as you will immediately see.
The convergence of the art and science of influence and leadership can best be found in the field of advertising. Before Mad Men, before Madison Avenue, this field first blossoms in the not-so-quiet offices of the Chicago firm of Lord & Thomas.
You remember Lord & Thomas, don’t you? They were the “McMann and Tate” of the first quarter of the twentieth century. While it’s president Albert D. Lasker (a.k.a., “The Man Who Sold America” who The New York Times once called “The Continue Reading “The Art and Science of Influence and Leadership (Part II: The Art)”
Office of War Information, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Influence, the last of the three leader traits to be researched, stands out as the most practical measure of successful leadership. Be warned, though. Just as obedience to authority contains a dark side, so, too, do the methods of influence.
Scott Adams, creator of the comic strip Dilbert and renowned persuasion expert, calls behavioral psychologist Robert Cialdini the “Godzilla” of persuasion. Cialdini’s research, compiled in various books, lays out in simple language six different ways to influence people.
In his website, Cialdini states, “It is through the influence process that we lead, generate, and manage change. Like most things, the process can be handled poorly or well. It can be employed to foster growth and to move people away from negative choices and in more positive directions, thereby creating the conditions for Continue Reading “The Art and Science of Influence and Leadership (Part I: The Science)”
Did you ever have a dream you kept putting off? A place you always wanted to visit? A story you always wanted to tell?
So did I. (Notice the past tense.)
This site might give you a clue about how I accomplished this. Who knows? It may even reveal to you how you can realize your own greatest goals.
Interested in learning more? Find me on Twitter and LinkedIn. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed.
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‘A Republic, If You Can Keep It’
Thursday, March 30th. 5:03pm.
At least that was the date and time for me. I had just come out of the quarterly board meeting of the New York Press Association. Ironically, during that meeting, we had no idea of any breaking news. It’s likely the news didn’t break until we adjourned.
Perhaps, given the participants, the timing of the release was out of respect.
Not likely.
If you haven’t guessed by now, the event I’m referring to is the first time there was ever Continue Reading “‘A Republic, If You Can Keep It’”