The current White house stays on the cutting edge of communication especially to the smart phone crowd.
The White House just released a new applicationfor the iPhone and iPod touch (work with any internet-enabled mobile device, including BlackBerry and Android is in the works).
This White House application is packed with:
News releases from the press room,
Photos of what the President is up to, and
Archived videos of presidential events
Live video streaming that lets users watch press briefings, Presidential addresses, and other media events in real-time.
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So what in heaven’s thinking would lead to this idea?
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Well, here is a couple for your consideration.
The perceived transparency of the government would go up.
The buzz would be favorable and raise our perception of the leading edge Island.
In an increasingly Apps-based world, our youngsters will be inspired to use their IT skills in a forward looking way rather than the commodity programming they may be involved in.
Imagine the wealth that could be produced from an ingenious application.
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” Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”
Punxsutawney is a sleepy little town that I would pass through at least twice a year in accompanying my daughters to their camp site in western Pennsylvania.
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The quiet of the town on most days than February 2 is deceptively simple, but provides a powerful marketing magnet for the entrepreneural-minded.
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Groundhog day is based on a Pennsylvania Dutch tradition of weather lore. It goes like this. If the groundhog sees no shadow, he will leave his burrow, which is a sign of an early Spring. If he does not see his shadow, alas 6 more weeks of dreaded winter.
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Well these folks in little Puxsutawney has leveraged this tradition of February into a economic bonanza. They get global press, sell stuffed animals, have a museum, sell special burgers, and maintian a groundhog club with officers and all. There is even a lottery spin-off the groundhog in Pennsylvania.
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You know they have gained success when they have attracted the attention of PETA, the animal advocacy group. PETA was trying to disrupt this fine tradition and encourage the club to adopt an electronic Phil instead of the real deal. Well, the club told PETA to get stuffed to put it politely.
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As Jamaicans, we look for special opportunities and seize the day. This is one to my knowledge we have not explored as yet. Here is my thinking on the idea.
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Suppose the Jamaican Tourist board:
Establish sister city relationship with Pauxsutawney.
Offer the mayor of Punxsutawney a week-end visit to Jamaica.
Develop our own, Phil, a mongoose (dressed in a bikini. let me take that back, not pc).
The Jamaican Phil would declare endless Summer in Jamaica and invite the Pa Phil to come on down!
We could thus transform the mongoose from a nuisance to a tourist icon.
We would have a new tourist asset to brand Jamaica and differentiate it from its competitors.
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Ja-Phil
So, you think I am crazy, wait this you see an ad from another Island on the Superbowl stealing these ideas.
We are at the two week mark of the devastating earthquake that leveled Haiti. The videos and images keep resonating in out hearts. The stories of miracle rescues are quickly blighted by the dust, stench, and growing human despair.
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We on lookers to this terrible catastrophe have remote after shocks going off in ourselves. We need calibration and re-orientation to deal with the spiritual, emotional, and physical assault on our human sensibilities.
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As I considered who had the largeness of heart, the depth of experience to bring a healing word, and offer a set of guidelines on how we can navigate our journey forward, Pastor Monte Sahlin is the name that was the obvious choice.
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Pastor Monte Sahlin
Sahlin is an ordained pastor in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, currently serving in the Ohio Conference of the denomination. He served for 12 years at his denomination’s North American headquarters with responsibilities for church ministries, media projects, social needs , and research and development.
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He then served eight years as a regional vice president. He has pastored small and large congregations in major metropolitan areas and Appalachia.
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Pastor Sahlin has worked as director, board chairman or strategic consultant with more than 100 innovative, community-based ministries, church plants and nonprofit organizations over the last four decades.
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In 1994 he was awarded an Outstanding Public Service Award by the United States government and in 1996 he participated in the Presidents’ Summit on Volunteerism as well as the prepatory gathering of 50 representatives of the nonprofit sector at the White House.
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I was indeed privileged to get a few ticks on his impossible schedule to dialog on how we can move forward in a constructive manner in the rebuilding of Haiti.
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The questions and challenges are daunting, but his keen insights provide the building blocks that we can add our equity to make Haiti2.0 possible.
Here is a new measure of Jamaica’s viability in the economic world.
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For over a decade, The Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation, Washington’s preeminent think tank, have tracked the march of economic freedom around the world with the influential Index of Economic Freedom.
What is economic freedom?
Economic freedom is the fundamental right of every human to control his or her own labor and property. In an economically free society, individuals are free to work, produce, consume, and invest in any way they please, with that freedom both protected by the state and unconstrained by the state. In economically free societies, governments allow labor, capital and goods to move freely, and refrain from coercion or constraint of liberty beyond the extent necessary to protect and maintain liberty itself.
How do you measure economic freedom?
We measure ten components of economic freedom, assigning a grade in each using a scale from 0 to 100, where 100 represents the maximum freedom. The ten component scores are then averaged to give an overall economic freedom score for each country. The ten components of economic freedom are:
The category 7 tragedy of Haiti has delivered continued after shocks as we witness the spiraling, wrenching human pain.
I have mentally stepped aside from the gruesome, helpless scenes to think about the last few days.
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Listening to my Haitian colleagues through tear-stained sharing have given me an up close tearing at the heart of the enormity of the loss.
Hearing from one’s relative is comforting, but losing your place of abode steals one’s sense of roots and home.
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A set of questions have formulated in my mind to help me put context to this horror.
We live in a world of instant communication, but it takes finite time to put in place a working logistics to relieve the seemingly unending suffering. How do I guide my heart to the reality of this reality?
How do I explain the devastation and the seemingly arbitrariness of pain given my belief in a loving God?
When your house became the tomb of a family member, how does one find a renewed meaning in HOME?
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Texting support is so simple. Do I need a more tangible means of get a sense of supporting the cause?
Recounting the history of Haiti is healthy , but how can we leverage the information garnered instead of a Babylon blaming tirade?
How do I prepare for a long range support after the cameras have turned to other issues?
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The Haitians friends here will need our continued support. How do we organize to have an effective ministry to them?
How can we stay informed on the development in Haiti and not getting a numbing dose of despair from the TV coverage ?
There are earthquake fault lines that can affect the Caribbean plate. How do we prepare for additional shaking given our limited resources . Can we develop a pooling security blanket for the Caribbean?
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Lots to think about. But let us remember the power of hope.
One of the sentiments we all seem to cherish in our hearts is being home for Christmas.
It is a time where the home hearth, being close to family and friends takes on added, eager meaning. We share our love by sharing gifts and cherished greetings.
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Well, some folks are practicing an alternative tradition , where giving takes on a deeper meaning, as this giving is like that of the three Magi, traveling to foreign lands and giving of themselves with a special treasured meaning.
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My eldest daughter, Christina is a modern day missionary given of herself in a lifestyle impactful way. Christina and her husband Tom have dedicated their lives to service others in diverse places around the world. She spent nearly three years in India building churches and schools. Although she is now based in California, her frequent flyer miles rival most road warriors.
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They work for a very interesting missionary organization, Maranatha International, who has brought a new energy , and innovative spirit to this field of transforming lives. Maranatha is very adept in connecting to the local cultural norms, yet can put up a solid church structure in a day!
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For two Christmases in recent years, Christina has been a part of a short term missionary team who have dedicated the Christmas holidays to building a school, and its subsequent expansion in Ecuador.
There is something eerie about early January. The euphoria of New Year’s day has faded quickly into the stark reality of winter.
The bonus monies of December is consumed by the Christmas shopping.
Little Johnnie is cleaning the grungy car splattered with the salt of winter ware.
The credit card bills start to roll in, and you are shocked by the new interest rate.
The US unemployment rate seems frozen at 10% with green shoots buried under the snow .
The little money you trying to send home to relieve the recent tax hike seem like a spit in the Caribbean.
You try to inch down the thermostat to reduce the expected electric bill spike of February.
You do not care for American Idol or any such derivative , and your favorite team stinks.
This is enough to let one keep holding one’s head!
Yes, you are now hearing the growing drumbeat of the taxman, the tax collector of Caesar.
You fear of debt and taxes is overcoming death and taxes.
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Well, help is on the way!
Curtis Webley is a professor of accounting and income taxation.
He teaches at various colleges and universities in Chicago. Curtis holds two masters degrees: one in taxation and the other in finance. Curtis is currently finishing his Ph.D. in Accounting. He is the owner and operator of Webley’s Accounting Services, P.C. since 1981.
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Curtis frequently holds seminars on financial and taxation topics, and has authored many articles on financial topics. He is also the author of a novel: Surviving in America.
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We were able to spend a few minutes with Curtis, where he shared some real gems on making your tax experience more favorable.
As we take down the Christmas tree, and put away the decorations, look what we found under the tree, unwrapped, waiting to bless you.
It is the gift of determination.
This wonderful gift is given by a a teenager.
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Her name is Kayla Moffett.
She is just 13 but possess a deep determination to develop her God-given capabilities, and her numerous awards are testimony to her commitment to excellence. Let’s see what wisdom this young lady has to share.
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As I begin this New Year, I cannot help but reflect on 2009 and the many challenges I faced in trying to stand up for what are right and not compromise just to be accepted. I choose to stand firm on my beliefs, knowing that I would not be popular among my peers.
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When asked, why I choose to act the way I do, I firmly say, “I am not acting, I am living my normal life that I am not going to change for anyone” Doing what’s right always pays off. Ben Carson is one of my role models and despite his ridicule, look where he is now.
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I will not give up or give in but always push myself to succeed to the best of my ability because ultimately, the end results can prove rewarding. I have reaped many great rewards at age 13 and the best is yet to come.
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I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.
It’s never too late to decide how you want to start the year off and what kind of impact you want to make in 2010.
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As we crawl out of this economic down turn, we will see a changed job landscape, one in which former jobs will not be returning. Some will remain in denial and adopt an attitude of wishful thinking - like wishing our innocence prior to 9/11 would just return.
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We are thus faced with a consequential decision. Let me share it like this
Innovate or die
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One of the marvelous gifts of the human mind is the ability to anticipate. Moms practice this gift in so many ways as they negotiate the burdens of life. The moms of Bangladesh provide a testimony of folks faced with dire economic situation, who partner with the Grameen bank, to realize very promising results for themselves and their families.
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This is somewhat historic as success on a family level rarely earns the wealth and respect that business accomplishment brings.We are however faced with a changed landscape, where the Internet is enabling possibilities that were not dreamed about before.
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There is a entrepreneur whose work I have followed for the past several years . Here name is MaryEllen Tribby. She is launching a new company focused on supporting women who want to make a difference through their innovation skills. She is offering a free book that is chock ful of many insights to support working moms.
The term I use to describe the last decade is one of shock & awe as our sensibilities on so many fronts were shaken at their foundations.
I can personally testify to this experience as in one year of the last decade, I experienced shock & awe in marriage, health and employment . Around our recent Christmas dinner table , I had a tear-filled moment as I remembered being wheeled out of a hospital by my brother and his dear wife on New Year’s eve, 2000. I am forever in the debt of care and grace of them and many others who supported my restoration from my season of enormous struggle.
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I was able to land on my feet, and finished this decade with a growing hope of the future.
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Others have not been that fortunate. They have experienced shock & awe of greater magnitude and lack the support network to rebuild and restore. They suffered from menacing hurricanes in the Caribbean, Katrina, or are caught in the vortex of the global economic tsunami with the resulting loss of homes , jobs, and dignity.
Shock & awe also produces the menacing fog of fear.
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It is like a category five hurricane tearing through our spiritual and emotional lives, crippling our will and cowering our faith. A general of yester-years shared that fear kills more people than death. We fear poverty, dependence, illness, pain, being abandoned, and being ignored. The stress this produces is more crippling than arthritis!
How do we overcome this life stifling environment?
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Realize that how we respond to circumstance does matter. Leverage hope and the freshness of a new beginning to flush the fear-filled attitude and drink deeply from your well of faith.
Realize that keeping up with the Jones is so yesterday, and prepare for a new normal where internal treasures matter more than external show.
Join an organization dedicated to rebuilding or restoring the social trust of an institution that has been overwhelmed in the past decade.
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Our material well-being is also very important.
We will need a new mind set to also turn the tools of technology from being job eliminating to job creating .
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The Internet’s omnipresence is menacing to so many, but we need to adapt our sails to take advantage of the new wind.
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Yes, the last decade was life disrupting. We however find ourselves at a critical life intersection. What will you do?
I pray that we will energize our circumstance with a spirit of resiliency , lock arm in arm, and move forward in faith.
