Online Public Relations Thoughts

Congress is facing an imminent deadline when it returns from its holiday recess -- a budget deal.  It won't be easy and the Speaker is proposing a temporary patch that would extend through the rest of the fiscal year.  It is a compromise that has already been rejected by Democrats and some Republicans.  And, it is a major problem for both parties for how do you communicate effectiveness to voters when you can't even agree on a budget?  2024 is shaping up to be a rough year for elected officials, and they deserve it.  The perception is that nothing gets done in Washington and that isn't far from the truth.  

The democratic process of the vote count has been poisoned by continuing base allegations of fraud.  This is one more sin Trump has to answer for.  

Congress is a feckless institution right now.  There are emergencies the world over that the body won't address because it is too busy wrangling amongst itself.  The perception is that of quarreling adolescents, each claiming the other is at fault.  One asks, "Why can't they just get along?"  Congressmen and senators have forgotten compromise.  They want their issues addressed -- or else.  There is little the President can do about it although he is a creature of the Senate and loves the chamber deeply.  Maybe 2024 will be better but it isn't looking like it.  The message to the world is one of disfunction just when we don't need it.

This has been a tradition since 1955.  It's a publicity tool for the Air Force and a good one built on the technology used to track missiles and airplanes in order to protect North American airspace.  As good stunts often are, it was the result of a mistake which an alert Air Force officer took advantage of.  The NORAD center will receive hundreds if not thousands of phone calls asking where Santa is now and it will respond with locations and directions -- a warmhearted event. 

Why in the internet age and ubiquitous presence of information would anyone plagiarize? They are going to be discovered sooner or later and their reputations permanently damaged.  Yet, they don't seem to think of that while they are doing it.   

The new president of Argentina is putting the country through fiscal shock therapy.  On cue, protests have started, particularly from the poor who will bear much of the burden of devaluation and the efforts to control inflation.  The only way that the dispossessed can speak to the government is through taking to the streets.  Argentina has long been a sick country, badly run and out of control.  There is no guarantee its new president can do any better than the last one.  Still, he is trying, and he should not be condemned should he fail.  It could be that Argentina is ungovernable.  

 He is unable to live on his Supreme Court salary so he borrows and borrows from rich friends and today has a compromised reputation.  Did anyone tell him that a Supreme Court justice is not supposed to become wealthy in the job?  

Are Ukrainian soldiers losing faith in their leaders?  It would seem so.  They are still committed to defending their country but they are now openly questioning the military strategies they have been executing.  This is an added burden to the leadership, which is struggling to arm its troops in the face of growing opposition in the US and Europe.  Soldiers need support in the bloody business of fighting.  They need to believe in their generals and be convinced that what they are ordered to do is essential in the steps to victory.  If they lose that faith, Putin wins.  It is time now for communications to the trenches to bolster the morale of the troops.  

 Israel is facing a PR and humanitarian crisis of its own making as it continues its war in Gaza. The issue is where Palestinians will live as they reconstruct ruined towns.  Housing them in tents is a temporary measure and bound to create international criticism, but the devastated cities are no longer habitable. Destruction of the infrastructure is complete if one trusts news reports.  Israel needs a post-war plan to help the Palestinians recover.  Does it have one?  

When one talks of space communications, inevitably conversation gets around to Voyager 1 and 2, two spacecraft 46 years in longevity and billions of miles from earth.  They have flown farther than any other man-made object and they have extended their missions by decades.  They are unparalleled successes for NASA.  Voyager 1 has gone incommunicado for the time being and engineers are working to get it talking again.  If they succeed, its mission will continue.  If they fail, they will conclude its deep space time in triumph and will focus on Voyager 2. It is worth remembering that neither spacecraft has come close to another solar system, which are light years away.  The two spacecraft are reminders of the vastness of the universe and man's inability to explore it with boots on the ground.  We are alone for all practical purposes on a fragile planet that is heating up to dangerous levels.  Will we learn in time to protect it?  

The Pope has wise words for the public when it comes to campaign rhetoric.   He says pay little attention to what is said on the campaign trail and more to what the politician actually does after being elected.  The media should pay attention to that advice.  Journalists are forever jumping on what candidates have said and ignoring their history of action.  It's "gotcha" reporting.  While that makes for headlines, it usually means nothing in the end.  

Begging Congress to act.  Unseemly but the existence of his country depends on it.  It's poor PR for the US to act so churlishly.

Elon Musk is courting the death of X, formerly Twitter, by allowing conspiracy theorists, such as Alex Jones, back on the service. Advertisers are fleeing and the medium is hundreds of millions in the hole.  Musk calls himself a "free speech absolutist", which apparently means he will allow any demented individual to speak out on X.  Musk is lost in his ego and his firm belief in himself.  That wouldn't be so bad were he not harming the public with his actions.  Musk is anti-PR.  He doesn't care what the public thinks of him.  If he loses X, so be it -- a purchase he never should have made in the first place.

The House Speaker has been dealt a major blow with the announced resignation of Kevin McCarthy, the former Speaker who was tossed out by a fractious group of Republicans.  How does Mike Johnson cajole his mulish members to pass legislation when they are against nearly everything?  It is a giant task and Johnson might not be up to it.  Look for chaos in the halls of Congress and don't be surprised if the US fails to live up to major commitments to Ukraine, Israel and other allies.  The public image and reputation of Congress is in the toilet and as such, it hamstring's President Biden who needs to get things done.  It's a terrible situation, especially in an election year.

How can anyone vote for this man when he makes statements like this in public?  He is a PR disaster.

At least 85 people are confirmed dead after a Nigerian army drone mistakenly attacked a religious gathering of Muslims.  The army thought they were armed rebels.  They weren't.  Since 2017, an estimated 400 civilians have been killed in such erroneous attacks.  This is a major blow to the reputation of the government and its effort to take control of rebel territory.  How can a nation pacify its people by murdering them?  All it will do is to drive their sympathies underground and into clandestine support for the rebels.  The fog of war causes tragedies such as this but that makes little difference to survivors.  It is up to the army to get it right each and every time because just one mistake loses the military's legitimacy.  

How do you get to the presidency of the COP28 climate summit with views like this?  It's clear that Middle Eastern countries are not happy about phasing out oil and gas, but opinions that fly in the face of climate science are extreme.  Yet, here we are with a summit helmed by a leader who refuses to believe the evidence.  It's a major PR problem for the UAE.

President Zelenskyy of Ukraine is preparing the public for a new phase of the war with Russia -- the winter campaign.  He says it will be difficult, and that might be an understatement.  The country is struggling with munitions shortages, with inadequate armor and too few fighter jets.  it is also losing troops in the front lines as they get injured or killed.  His message, however, as grim as it is, prepares his citizens and the world for bad news.  That is the proper action to take.  The public doesn't like ugly surprises.  When they happen, citizens begin to question leadership and governing is made all the harder.  Whatever you think of Zelenskyy, he is a good communicator.