Online Public Relations Thoughts

To blame previous presidents for a plane crash that occured on your watch and whose causes are still unknown is shameful, yet Trump did it yesterday.  Does he understand empathy and the need to wait until investigations are done?  Apparently not.

The White House denies that it had any role in issuing the funding freeze directive that has caused consternation in the country.  President Trump is scrambling to stay above the fray.  He is not the first president to distance himself from his own people.  He won't be the last.  

President Trump's freeze on federal grants is sending a message to citizens.  This time is different and life in the US won't be the same.  Whether that is good or bad is to be determined, but it is clear now that he is taking a wrecking ball to the economy.  How that will play out is anyone's guess.  What is certain is that millions of citizens did not vote for that and they will be enraged.  President Trump is dealing in negative PR.

 A bill pending in California would let victims of wildfires sue oil companies because Big Oil is partly responsible for climate change.  It is a reach for deep pockets to pay for wildfire damage.  Climate change comes from the actions of millions of citizens burning oil and its derivatives for energy.  Big Oil is meeting the needs of society and to turn on it now is to rewrite economic history. Nevertheless, lawyers will try because there is money in it for them.  It doesn't take much to be cynical.  There are already climate change lawsuits against energy companies.  Add this pending one to the list.  

This face-off is guaranteed to stir ill will in Latin America where the "yanqui" has long been detested.  So much for allies...  US arrogance has been communicated once again.  

Consumers are ready to blame someone, anyone for the spiraling cost of eggs.  But there is no one at fault.  Bird flu has devastated chicken farms nationwide.  That, however, won't make a difference to unhappy shoppers already squeezed by inflation.  President Trump has an issue on his desk that he will need to address if he wants to keep inflation under control.  Jawboning farmers and distributors won't help much.  They can't deliver what they don't have.  Trump might need to appeal to facts to explain the shortage.  If so, that will be unusual for him.  

 This will help the economy.  Ahem.  

One wonders what is the truth behind allegations and denials.  The public hears them so often that it discounts both sides.  The only safe harbor is confirmed facts but they are missing.  Hence, battles of opinion amd ideology,which help no one.  

 Ironies abounded in this speech.  

As this story indicates, architects and builders know well what it takes to make a house fire resistant in wildfire areas.  The question is:  Why wasn't this communicated to homeowners in high risk locales?  Or, maybe it was and people weren't listening.  For many, it takes a disaster to make threats real. They live in denial.  "It won't happen to me."  Then, when a wildfire incinerates their homes, they look for someone to blame.  There are those who did make preparations and lost their homes anyway.  They are the truly unlucky.  Either way, building codes should reflect a proper understanding of how to protect homes from wildfires. It is proper to force the issue for the greater good.   

Special Counsel Jack Smith has countered president-elect Trump's claims of a stolen election with a 130-page report that details Trump's efforts to overturn the results. The report details how  Trump got away with criminal behavior.  The document affirms what many believe but is rejected by those who support Trump.  It is a communication that will be used by historians for decades to come to assess Trump's reputation.  Trump may have succeeded in the short run but he faces long odds in the future. 

Conservatives can keep saying that there is no such thing as global warming, but facts remain.  How do they explain them away?  Sooner or later, they will need to concede and join the efforts to control it.  It might not happen in the next four years, but it will come to pass. 

But, there is no such thing as global warming... 

One can only hope this works rather than professional fact checking.  Depending on the public to get facts right is a danger in an era of "making it up." 

Here is a clear case of "I win and voting was honest" or "I lose and there was fraud."  Republicans are hypocrites and they don't care if voters see them that way.  They have power now so they can rewrite history and turn facts on their heads.  It's disgusting communications straight from Animal Farm. 

Puerto Rico's new governor is making big promises to her island citizens to improve infrastructure, especially power, which is highly unstable on the island.  Her constituency will hold her to them. By all accounts, Puerto Ricans are worn out by a lack of basic services on the island.  They want change.  It is an opportunity for the new governor and also a danger if she doesn't produce quickly.  If she succeeds, her image will soar and she will go down as one of the best governors in the history of the island.  If she fails, it will be more of the same and her PR will be in the crapper.  One hopes she likes a challenge.  

James Carville has focused on the central issue and messaging Democrats need to take back the White House and Congress. His argument makes sense but will Democrats listen?

It's not a happy New Year in New Orleans this morning.  In fact, it's more of the same violence and suffering of 2024 and previous years.  One asks why and there is no good answer.  What makes people act out and kill others?  One can say they are mentally incompetent but that is not a definitive response.  There is a deep well of unhappiness and conspiracy theories in the US, and it produces killers time and again.  It is a symptom of a disease in the body politic, one that will not disappear easily or ever.