Online Public Relations Thoughts

Elon Musk in his sweep through government agencies is now calling for retired air traffic controllers to return to work, citing a shortage of employees in the vital position. But, why should they?  It is a high-stress position carrying enormous responsibility for the safety of passengers and air crews, and they had put in their time.  Rather than firing workers, the Federal Aviation Administration should be training and adding new staff. Musk's message is likely to fall on deaf ears, especially in light of the deep cuts he is enforcing elsewhere in the government.  

Failing to vaccinate children against measles is inexcusable.  There is no harm associated with the shot and parents who neglect to have it given are at fault.  The healthy community has preached for decades about the need for childhood vaccinations.  Are these parents listening?  

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."  As long as they have $5 million.

By any measure of management, this was dumb, and it created chaos in the ranks of federal employees.  What was Musk thinking? And, who was going to read all those bullet points anyway? It only adds to the poor reputation Musk already has as a cost cutter. 

Although the Trump administration is promoting business opportunities in Russia, few corporations are eager to return to the country.  They see the behavior of Putin and his reputation for seizing assets and imposing restraints without warning.  He is a dictator and predatory and corporations cannot plan for the long term with him in office.  Once again, the Trump administration is on the wrong side of history.    

Desperate patients will sometimes latch on to anything that can prevent certain death. Hence, they are frequent victims of scammers promising untested miracle potions or wellness regimes.  It is the same gullibility exploited by medicine men in frontier days with the same disappointment when the cure failed to work.  Australia is chasing this medicine woman for her lies which reaped hundreds of thousand of dollars and helped no one.  It is an example of the role of government to protect its citizens.  The current United States Secretary of Health and Human Services is a medicine man who has been put in charge of the machinery of health regulation. One can only hope that he lets science take its course in the development and distribution of life-saving drugs, especially vaccines.  He has influence over millions of Americans searching for cures and desperate to find something, anything that will work.  

Trump's outrageous lies are jeopardizing Ukraine and western alliances and giving succour to Russia.  It will take years to overcome what he has done, and if Ukraine is lost, decades.  What has gotten into this man?  He is evil personified.  Will voters wake up to him and resist?  The next four years will tell, but by then it might be too late. 

How petty can you get?  Trump is hitting new lows.   

Protests against President Trump and Elon Musk erupted across the nation yesterday.  It won't make much difference in Trump's behavior nor Musk's for that matter.  They have insulated themselves from the public.  Yet the movement is important because in two years midterm elections are coming and citizens again have the opportunity to make their voices heard.  If there is deep unhappiness with Republicans for kowtowing to Trump and tolerating Musk, Democrats could take the House again and even the Senate.  The ultimate PR is the ballot box.

The internet is being assaulted with fake AI reviews of products and services.  This has an artificial positive and negative influence on companies that tolerate them.  What a fake review gives, a fake review can take away.  Smart businesses are removing them but hundreds of thousands of small companies don't have the wherewithall to detect and remove fakes.  So, they live with them for better or worse.  Meanwhile, the public is hoodwinked and harmed.  It is one more PR headache for business, which will only get worse.  

It was petty PR for Trump to change the name.  It has turned into a petty fight between Mexico and Google over Google's compliance with Trump.  There are more pressing issues than the name of the gulf.

Ukraine and its people are pawns in the negotiations between Russia and the US.  Their four years of self-defense mean nothing to Putin and Trump.  Putin has seduced Trump and will get what he wants.  It's a sad time for the Ukrainian people.  

President Trump said he could cut inflation the first day he was in office.  What now?  He has changed his tune recently and it looks like he will again and again.  Will voters remember?  

The vice president is attacking federal judges for stopping some of President Trump's executive orders.  His thesis?  They are violating the separation of powers in the constitution.  Left unsaid is the fact that Trump is violating the law in several of his actions.  It leads to a frequently made point.  The person with a megaphone can often carry the day.  If shouting can bend the will of judges, there is no bar to an authoritarian government.  That indeed would be scary. 

It is sad and worrisome that an organization such as this is caught in the USAID shutdown. Catholic Relief Services has an 80-year history of  feeding, clothing and sheltering the poor and refugees.  Who is left to help the needy around the world?  Like it or not, the US is still the richest country and has a moral obligation to help those who have little or nothing.

Poll numbers are dropping sharply for Elon Musk as he pursues a radical government make-over, and they are dipping as well for Trump.  As voters awaken to what they did will buyer's remorse set in?

Trump can't or doesn't want to help himself by controlling his tongue, which is not connected to his brain, if he has one.  His proposal to take over Gaza, boot out the Palestinians and develop it as a resort has outraged nations around the world.  Does Trump apologize or pull back?  No.  He doubles down.   He already has given the US a bad name and he is on the road to making it worse.  Does he care about his reputation or his place in history?

Ending temporary deportation protection for 350,000 Venezuelans is despicable.  These are people who left a country ruled by a dictator who quashes all forms of dissent and has dragged the economy down.  They are ideal candidates for immigration to a country where they can rebuild their lives.  Historically, the US has been the land of freedom.  For it to pull its welcome is a major transgression.  If the Statue of Liberty could weep, she would be shedding tears.

Who among the economists of the world think this is a good idea?  To piss off our allies in pursuit of ephemeral gains is poor diplomacy and terrible PR.  One wonders what the president is thinking.