Just read a disturbing story about some foster parents in Ohio who made 9 of their 11 kids sleep in cages. The cages were rigged with alarms that would sound if they tried to sneak out. They would also block the cages with furniture. The parents are reportedly saying they didn’t think they were abusing or neglecting the kids. Uh, no. DON’T CAGE YOUR KIDS!!! Read the story here.
Category: Current Events
More on Gas Prices
Great post over at invertedsm.org on the reality of gas prices. He talks about how people are canceling $750 vacations over $30 in gas. Worth the read.
More Big Donations . . . What’s the NFL waiting for?
I think we will see more stories of people and nations donating to help with recovery efforts. The biggest donation I’ve read about by far is from Kuwait. They have pledged $500 million mainly in oil-based relief assistance. Their Prime Minister, Sheik Ahmed Fahd Al Ahmed Al Sabah (coolest name ever), had this to say: “It’s our duty as Kuwaitis to stand by our friends to lighten the humanitarian misery and as a payback for the many situations during which Washington helped us.” That’s pretty cool.
Also, John Grisham the author, a Mississippi native, has set up a relief fund to help his fellow Mississippians who have been hit by the storm. He and his wife have donated $5 million to get the fund started. Lance Armstrong has donated $500,000 to help cancer patients who have been affected by the storm.
Which brings me back to something I’ve mentioned earlier. The NFL’s revenue last year “climbed to $5.2 billion” and they have only donated $1 million!!! That’s ridiculous. That’s less than pocket change for them. To put it into perspective, that’s only 0.02% of their annual revenue. This really makes me mad. They have a franchise that not only is from there but has been relocated because of the storm. This is ridiculous and the NFL needs to raise the bar. I wouldn’t be surprised if the NHL makes a bigger donation than them.
Gas Prices
I must admit that I really don’t have a clue how gas prices really work. I even read a little bit of an article at HowStuffWorks.com, but that didn’t help clear it up. This past Monday morning, before Katrina hit, I paid $2.53 per gallon. That afternoon, after Katrina hit, the price shot up to $2.88 and has gone over $3 at most stores. Wal-Mart’s gas prices are typically how I gauge where we’re at. They had gone as high as $2.98, but today dropped down to $2.83. I don’t understand.
What really gets me is that the prices have very little to do with how much the store actually paid for their supply, it seems. The gas that has shot up over fifty cents this week isn’t new gas. It’s gas that, for the most part, they paid for last week before the price went up. That just doesn’t seem right and that they’re taking advantage of the situation. It’s hard to point the finger because we’re kind of at the mercy of the gas stations. We don’t want to stop driving, so we have to basically pay what they say.
Check out GasBuddy.com to find where the cheapest gas in town is.
American Compassion and the NFL
I didn’t know if I would post anything about Hurricane Katrina, but I’ve been motivated by the donations that certain organizations have made toward relief efforts. Let me first say that I’m always impressed on how much compassion and generosity we show in response to disasters. Money and other donations come pouring in.
The Kidd Kraddick Show raised close to $330,000 in one day alone. Wal-Mart originally donated $2 million, but has since committed $15 million toward the effort. Which is good, considering that the CEO makes over $5 million a year and their annual revenue is close to $300 billion.
The one organization that I think has under-committed is the NFL. They have committed only $1 million. That’s only $1,000,000. The freaking New York Yankees alone are donating that much money. I would think that the NFL would take this more personally, since one of their teams is from New Orleans and their stadium is in the middle of the aftermath that’s going on. The NFL is one of the richest organizations around. They just struck a deal with ESPN for the Monday night games that makes them $1.1 BILLION!!! They can afford to donate more and they should.
Come on NFL. Make a real mark and donate A LOT MORE!!!
Why Mark Cuban is a Good Leader
I’ve blogged quite a few time on the Mavericks. Most recently I talked about Michael Finley and the decision to waive him. Mark Cuban just posted about the agony that came along with the decision to let Fin go. Let me state a few things.
I believe that one of the reasons Mark has done so well in business is that he’s not afraid to admit mistakes. In his post, he took the blame for the previous moves that cost the Mavs financial flexibility. He said it was his own fault. Now, anyone who follows sports closely knows that most moves are not made by one person alone. There is a group of people, such as owner, GM, coach, and others, who are involved with the process. Even though Mark could have use the language “we made mistakes” he decided to take the fall himself. That’s a sign of not only good, but great leaderhsip.
Jim Collins, in the book Good to Great, wrote that leaders of companies that have made the leap to being truly great companies were the one who would accept blame but deflect praise. That’s not normal. Most of us have the tendency to try to point the finger at others when things go bad while taking the credit when things go well.
In a post about success, Mark wrote “we knew that we would get a great audience” and “The Path of Least Resistance is a key to why HDNet Films is offering our slate of films in a variety of day and date options.” Notice the inclusive language. Mark is writing that his success was not an individual success, but it was part of a team. That’s great leadership.
I firmly believe that as long as Mark Cuban is leading the organization, the Dallas Mavericks will continue to be one of the best organizations in the NBA.
Wal-Mart Raises the White Flag
I am not against big business. To me, it makes no sense in a consumer-driven commercial society to punish a business for doing well. I really didn’t like Microsoft being punished for having a monopoly in the PC OS world (even though I’m not a Microsoft fan). It seems to me that our financial system in the US is based on someone or an organization providing a quality service or product and doing that to the best of their ability. That’s the essence of what a commercial-system seems to be to me.
However, you’ve got to love it when the little guy succeeds. When the underdog weathers the storm and comes out alive and kicking. That happened this week in the online DVD rentals world. Wal-Mart called it quits. Wal-Mart! If you’re against the commercial giants of the world, Wal-Mart is the anti-Christ. Netflix not only out-lasted Wal-Mart, they got Wal-Mart to advertise for them on walmart.com. Amazing. I guess Wal-Mart’s philosophy of moving in and offering the same service or product for cheaper doesn’t always work . . . just most of the time.
You can read more about it here.
Cat Shoots Owner
This is too ironic to pass up. I previously noted that a man is trying to pass a law in Wisconsin making it legal to shoot cats when they enter your lawn. Today in Michigan, a man was shot by his cat when it knocked a loaded 9mm off the counter. Read the story here.
Taking Cat Hatred A Little Too Far
Do you hate cats? Maybe you should move to Wisconsin. Check out the article below.
Wisc. Hunter Wants Open Season for Cats
Surviving Fallujah
My brother-in-law (Chris Brintnall)’s brother-in-law (Joe Alvey) is featured in an article in the current issue of Rolling Stone. There is a lot of adult language in the article, so if you’re under 17 have your parents read it before you do.
Click here to read the article.