Now we see an Arab journalist (for an Iraqi TV station) throwing shoes at our President at a press conference and nowhere in the frame do we see anyone from the Secret Service tackling, shooting or even glaring menacingly at the perpetrator.

Here’s the video…

Can you tell me that the brave souls in this government agency aren’t as fed up with George Bush as are the rest of the American public?

Seriously. The shoe thrower got off two shoes and some shouts before anyone even came close to him. Luckily, the President is so adept at dodging blame and playing laser tag that he deftly avoided damage from the hurled Hush Puppies.

Tell me what you think. Would Obama be quicker? Palin?

Would McCain have experienced a flashback?

What’s the deal here. I know we’re finished with this President, but do your job already. Take a shoe for the Commander in Chief. It’s your duty.

Keep reading!

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Post tags: Iraq, Jeff Cutler, obama, President Bush, Secret Service, shoes, youtube

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The company – Aspiant of Cambridge – sent an email out Tuesday night minutes after the election results had been announced on the major networks, saying that the company would no longer contribute any money to employees’ healthcare plans.

I was given a copy of that email by an employee and decided to share it with my readers.

Here’s the text of that email. I’ve stripped out the addresses of the employee who provided it and also removed Aspiant CEO’s cell phone number, but have left the time stamp and all other information intact.

From: Mirko Geffken
Subject: Health Insurance Employer Contribution Elimination and Travel Reimbursement Elimination
To:
Date: Tuesday, November 4, 2008, 11:02 PM

Hi All,

with the recent events Aspiant is no longer able to provide a health insurance contribution. This means that effective with the next payroll the employer contribution to healthcare is reduced from 50% to 0%. Also, all previously authorized travel reimbursement, including MBTA passes and all other travel reimbursements are hereby revoked.

Effectively this means that the portion you are paying for healthcare will double.

Unfortunately these steps are necessary because it is uncertain that future legal developments will allow for a reduction in benefits. To preempt this development this change is made effective immediately. It is likely that with the change in administration alternative health insurance options will become available that may reduce your health insurance obligation.

It is also likely that our tax obligations will increase and it is unlikely that a raise in rates will be possible from our client in these economic times.

If anyone is interested in researching alternative health plans (PPO only) that provide similar coverage (with maybe higher deductables) feel free to do so and let me know if you find one of interest. Please be aware that MA law requires you to have healthcare coverage, so it is not possible to drop coverage altogether.

I regret having to move in this direction, but this is the partially the cost of doing business in the state of Massachusetts and the impact that future policies will have on this organization.

I can only hope that future elections will provide a more positive environment for business or further measures will have to be taken.

As always should you have any questions feel free to see me.

All the best

Mirko

–
Mirko Geffken
President & CEO
Aspiant, Inc.
Cell:
Tel. (877) 527-7426 x501
Fax. (877) 527-7426

I was unable to confirm if this tactic or measure is legal under Massachusetts law. I’ve also been unable to find out what the impetus for this move was. I’ll try to chase down more of this story as it develops and find out from some healthcare advocates in the state to see if this move is legal or where the abandoned employees can get assistance.

But in a time of economic challenges, wouldn’t you think a business owner might have some compassion for his employees? Further, all contributions into these plans are still deductible on the firm’s taxes.

Maybe the guy is just being a dink because his ballot question, candidate or dog had a bad day.

If he just doesn’t like Obama, he’s still got 70 days to deal with the regulations under the old administration.

I especially like how he says that “all previously authorized travel reimbursement, including MBTA passes and all other travel reimbursements are hereby revoked.” That’s a nice touch. Hope people didn’t travel far for the company on their own dime and now can’t get reimbursed.

Also interesting is the fact the company lists two positions available on its Website and gives the following text as enticement to come work for Mirko…

Aspiant is constantly looking for highly-skilled consultants specializing in Microsoft technologies. We seek candidates with a strong desire to learn and stay on top of technologies in their line of work and look for a company that supports their ambitions.

If you are seeking a consulting position with a highly capable and team-oriented environment, please send your resume and a brief description describing what it is you are best at to:

Whatever the case, I’m sure his clients, prospective investors, family and friends will be interested to see how he treats his corporate family.

Keep reading!

© Jeff Cutler for Jeff Cutler - columns, essays and opinions, 2008. | Permalink | 22 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cambridge, election, email, healthcare, obama, universalhub.com

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I’ve always been interested in presidential elections, probably because my father was a broadcast journalist.  I remember getting to stay up late to watch the returns of Humphrey/Nixon.  It went into the wee hours, and I had to go to bed before the election was decided.  I woke up and Nixon was president.  I was like in the fourth grade then.

Nixon won re-election in a landslide. Not every exciting, and after Watergate Carter’s election was predictable.

Carter/Reagan was the first election I got to vote in.  Voted for Carter.  Cable was new then and me and college buddies sat and drank beer all night and watched TBS show a Reagan marathon after he won.  That’s what I remember about that night.

We expected an exciting election in ’92 and friends were ready for an exciting night, keeping track of the states as they came in. We were all supporting Clinton and were sure he was going to change the country, as the first president of the rock ‘n’ roll generation.  That didn’t last very long: Clinton began winning states and it was evident early that he was going to roll. But the lead-up to that night, the anticipation that the leadership of the country was ready to be handed to a new generation, was very close to this one.

Of course, 2000, was the most exciting, with the Florida goes to Gore, no, to Bush, wait, who voted, now it goes to the Supreme Court.  It doesn’t get more dramatic than that.  People went to bed that night thinking Gore had won and woke up not knowing who was going to be president.

But I think the excitement of tonight goes beyond the race, the numbers, the margin of victory, as we look toward an historic election.

I grew up remembering vividly the days Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. were killed.  Those were moments that defined my generation and changed our country.  I often wonder what might have happened if RFK had gone on to be president.  We might have avoided Watergate, and all the damage that did to the faith in the country.  On the other hand, in hindsight, we have seen the Kennedys can also contribute to their own scandals.  But I like to think things would have been different.  Obama offers that same kind of hope Bobby gave in those stirring speeches, which I can still remember, despite being so young.

There are some key issues that define this election.  I believe we are going to see big crowds of people, who have never voted before, who have felt disenfranchised in previous elections, getting out to vote.  And I believe that could point to a more decisive victory for Obama.  I also wonder what might happen if McCain pulls an upset, and what this might say about our country.

The reason this is such an exciting election for me is the promise that, after all these years, Martin Luther King’s dream might be realized: today, a man will be judged by the content of his character and not the color of his skin.

Thanks Ron!

Keep reading!

© Jeff Cutler for Jeff Cutler - columns, essays and opinions, 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: #wburvote, election, Jeff Cutler, kennedy, Martin Luther King, obama, Ron Sylvester, twitter, vote, WBUR

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Even as I compose this column, I’m frantically looking around the room at various objects that might easily take me away from the keyboard and into magical lands. Lands of television watching, Italian Ice snacking, scooter riding, magazine reading, and even furniture construction.

It’s not that I like all of those activities more than connecting with you readers, but I find my mind struggling to slow its pace and stroll along with my fingers. It’s not ADD (as I’ve ranted numerous times about how that’s a fantasy diagnosis created by antsy parents and accommodating physicians), but it is very real. And I’m not alone.

Just today, while cruising the Internet at 82MPH and jumping from Facebook to Twitter to CNN to the Sarah Palin Quotes page, I stopped to read a person’s profile. This guy regularly posts to Twitter as @technosailor and has his regular site here… TECHNOSAILOR.

His name is Aaron Brazell and he’s a self-proclaimed social media expert and backs up this bravado with some impressive writing on the subject and a long line of followers on Twitter. I poked around this follower list and added some of the smart ones to my Twitter feed, but then realized that maybe Twitter is starting to supplant longer forms of writing in the social-media space.

Brazell still keeps a blog going – and has a handful of contributors who blog nearly every day. People like Steve Garfield put videos up and are everpresent in the electronic space. And guys like Adam Gaffin are putting up news and other media by the barrelful.

But what has happened – or is happening – with the general audience in this space? I fear that it’s slowing and growing at the same time.

Last night my aunt asked me about blogging and ‘doing’ a Website. I told her I could get her up and running in 15 minutes, but I stopped short of asking her why she now wants to enter the digital age. I imagine that in the worlds of people 50 and up, digital is new and fresh and email is the wave of the future.

Look at the younger set, though, and you’ll see a move away from long-form blogs to quick-hit Tweets and Facebook status messages and FriendFeed aggregation of a person’s activity. In fact, I took a look at three people on Brazell’s following list and none of them had a blog post fresher than last June. While each had a Twitter post no older than two hours.

Have they run into the problem of having so much short stuff to share that there’s nothing left to build a bigger discussion around?

Are we facing the ultimate in OMG, L8TR conversations? And where does journalism and column writing fit into this new world?

Thankfully, the proportion of people currently mired in the new-media space is tiny. People are still wondering what a blog does. News organizations are just finding out that a shared Twitter post is called a Tweet. And our legislators don’t even use email yet.

So is the wave of the future ahead of us or crashing down upon us? It’s really up to the consumers to decide.

Ultimately, the delivery system isn’t the major factor to writers and other content producers. A good story, article, feature or column is the ultimate goal. I don’t care if you eat off a paper plate or the finest china, the meal of information should still be top-notch, accurate and compelling.

Let me know what you think and where you are in relation to the wave(s).

Keep reading!

© Jeff Cutler for Jeff Cutler - columns, essays and opinions, 2008. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: aaron, adam gaffin, Boston, columns, editorial, elections, internet, Jeff Cutler, McCain, news, obama, opinions, palin, social media, steve garfield, twitter, video, web

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I’m amazed and discouraged that someone like me – a professional journalist and self-proclaimed genius – is so ill-informed about today’s election. Essentially, my main reason for going to vote isn’t to exercise my rights, it’s to find out what the issues are and to see if I can learn something about my community, region and state through the info posted on the ballot.

Today’s election isn’t for the Presidency or any major Senate seats (I think), but it could be a primary of some sort and it could decide certain municipal issues.

The stuff I hope this election addresses are myriad and related to my life. I don’t care much about environmental issues because I think recycling wastes more energy than it saves. But I certainly care about traffic enforcement, maintaining a level playing field for communications and access providers (e.g. making it illegal for one company to hold a town hostage as the only local cable company or phone service provider), limiting cell phone firms’ ability to jack up rates and lock people into plans*, and educating cyclists, pedestrians and scooter operators that the laws of the road apply to them as well as to cars.

When it comes to government matters, I get my information in a bunch of ways. I read the papers, I listen to the news, I subscribe to podcasts, and I search the Internet. And I’m pretty sure I’m only touching the tip of the iceberg. How in the world can I be qualified to decide who is our best next leader?

I can see where some candidates might have gaping holes in their resume (Palin’s kid being pregnant out of wedlock, Palin thinking Alaska borders Russia, Palin thinking the Georgian conflict was unprovoked. Hmm, maybe I just don’t like Palin), but I don’t have any idea what goes on behind the doors of our democracy when big decisions are being made.

Does George Bush make everyone hold hands and pray? Will Obama as president put too much faith in his advisers?

So, as I hop on the scooter and get ready to vote, I bear in mind one thought. At least I’m not basing my decision on who is the best candidate by wondering if they’d be fun at a bar or interesting at the dinner table. I want my next leader to have the interests of the country in mind when he or she takes office.

And I’m part of that country. Today I’m going to prove it with just one vote.

*A recent California court ruled that termination fees levied by cell companies were illegal. I’ll follow that story for you as it unfolds. But wouldn’t it be an even better country if you could change providers at will and wield some of your own power instead of being raped for $.49 a minute?

Keep reading!

© Jeff Cutler for Jeff Cutler - columns, essays and opinions, 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: AT&T, cell phone, Column, commentary, election, obama, palin dolt, palin idiot, Palin pregnant, palin zealot, president, United States, verizon

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